GARY ADSHEAD, HOST: Taylor Swift of course folks, you know who that is, and there's a lot of people not happy that she's not coming to Perth. I mean, I think she's very talented but I'm not in a foetal position over it, I'll tell you right now, but of course, she's probably in the top 10 of world acts at the moment. So we don't want to miss out. We might, though. Patrick Gorman is the Minister Assisting the Prime Minister. He's also the Federal Member for Perth, and he joins me on the line. Patrick, are you really worried about this?
PATRICK GORMAN, ASSISTANT MINISTER TO THE PRIME MINISTER AND ASSISTANT MINISTER FOR THE PUBLIC SERVICE: Gary, I'm very optimistic that the Swifties of Western Australia can set this right and prevent a gross injustice from happening next year.
ADSHEAD: Now I've seen that one of your counterparts in Queensland has decided to go all out and he's starting a petition. Are we going to sort of get on that bandwagon?
GORMAN: I think by the end of the day, we will be the Swifties of WA with petitions, I will I normally don't sign petitions as a Member of Parliament, but I will sign a petition for this because I believe in it. And I know that people power makes a difference. There are some things the Parliament can fix. But there are some things that fans and music lovers of Western Australia can fix.
ADSHEAD: Alright, power to people. Now, of course, I'll play devil's advocate. Don't shoot me, I'm only the messenger. But of course, we're getting Coldplay and the rest of the country isn't. But we're not sort of feeling sorry for them, are we? We just think 'you beauty, we've got Coldplay.' So what's the difference?
GORMAN: Gary, I went to the election saying I'll stand up for WA. That's my job. I'll do it every day. And on this, I think it's also important that your listeners know that I actually think that Taylor Swift herself wants to come back to Western Australia. Because she herself said about Cottesloe Beach, which you were just talking about, she called it, quote, 'one of the most beautiful places I've ever been.' Now, I've never heard Coldplay say anything nice about Brisbane, Sydney or Melbourne. But what I know is that Taylor Swift herself has said Cottesloe Beach, 'one of the most beautiful places I've ever been.' So we would be doing her a favour by making sure that that entire Eras World Tour can come to Perth.
ADSHEAD: Have you got a sense yet whether she's hearing some of the social media trending that's happening about getting her here? Do you think she's hearing it? Because I would imagine, Patrick, that the machine around Taylor Swift, sort of the PR machine, the management machine is pretty large.
GORMAN: Look, I would imagine it is one of the larger PR machines anywhere on Earth, but also one of the most responsive and I think one of the things that shows why there's so much concern from fans in Western Australia is that she is so deeply engaged with those fans. And so I think the message will get through and, look, if we need to - I don't mind if we cancel one of the Sydney dates so that Perth can have a date. Now, I recognise it's hard doing international tours -
ADSHEAD: That's war!
GORMAN: So, I'm happy to take something off Sydney and give it to WA. Always am, always will be.
ADSHEAD: Declaration of war there, mate, and you know it! Now, in all seriousness, because I take it when they sit down and work out what they're going to do, they do look to maximise the the money that can be made from the venues that they can play at, without having to keep uprooting the equipment because I'd imagine that her staging and everything's huge. So, is there any incentive? Could the State Government - and they do, we know we don't like to talk about the amounts of money - but there could be some sort of financial incentive here. Would you be urging your state counterparts or even the Prime Minister of Australia to help with this one? I mean, forget about the GST share, mate. This is as important.
GORMAN: Look, there would be some GST revenue for Western Australia collected on the tickets, I acknowledge that too. So there's a few incentives for the State Government to be out there encouraging for this to happen as well. But I think ultimately, touring artists go where their fans are. And what we know is when she toured and performed at Optus Stadium, one of the first acts to perform at Optus Stadium - still one of the artists who has packed it out more than any other - that that was a great night. It's clear that she enjoyed that. Fans do have very fond memories of it. I think that's the only incentive we need. And like I said, I am optimistic that the message from from us here in WA all the way to Swift Central will be heard.
ADSHEAD: The Prime Minister's has he commented on this yet?
GORMAN: He's said, the Prime Minister of Australia, that he will of course welcome Taylor Swift to Australia for these performances. I think your listeners might not know that there are actually a few Taylor Swift records - vinyl - in the Lodge.
ADSHEAD: Yeah, that's what I've heard.
GORMAN: They weren't left over from Prime Minister Morrison. They were brought in by the Prime Minister himself. So he's a fan. And look, I don't know which concert he'll go to, but I'm sure if he was in WA, if there was a WA date on the agenda, we'd try and make it happen.
ADSHEAD: We've got a bit of time on our on our side here, because I think it's February, mid-to-late February that the tour happens down here. So we've got time. The Member of Parliament in Queensland said he would get on bended knees to plead with her, what are you prepared to do, Patrick Gorman?
GORMAN: I'll just back the Swifties of my electorate who have been out there saying this should be fixed. I'll talk to you. I'll talk to anyone. I'll talk to my colleagues. I've been talking to the media here in Canberra this morning. But look, I don't know if that offer from Andrew Wallace is necessarily the most persuasive way to get this changed. But I do know that there has been strong support from West Australians. When Taylor Swift toured in October 2018, she said, 'you set the bar high for how crazy fans can be.' She said that of West Australians. And now sometimes you call people crazy and it's not necessarily a compliment. But when Taylor Swift calls her fans crazy, that is one of the highest compliments a performing artist can give. I think those crazy fans of WA can get their voice heard and get this done.
ADSHEAD: Make some noise. Can you keep us posted as the official negotiations are underway?
GORMAN: I'll keep you posted. And any progress, you'll be the first to know.
ADSHEAD: Cc me in the emails. Thank you very much for that, Patrick Gorman.
GORMAN: Thank you, Gary.