Leader of The Nationals David Littleproud on the Today Show

JAYNE AZZOPARDI

Let's bring in today's talkers, Nationals leader, David Littleproud and author and commentator Maria Thattil. Good morning to you both. David, we know your party is already backing the ‘No’ case. So what do you think of this campaign showing Indigenous Aussies saying ‘not my voice’. Is this a good idea?

DAVID LITTLEPROUD

This is who it's about, in essence, because this is about closing the gap and where the gap is, the widest is in rural and remote areas. And as I understand these ads will focus in on those Indigenous Australians, where the disadvantage needs to be fixed. And that's the unique lens that The Nationals look through this and we've gone through a representative body before and it's their fears of another representative body. Rather than empowering local Elders around campfires and around town halls, with local solutions, rather than having someone that could be thousands of kilometres away, hundreds of different communities across those thousands of kilometres, it just doesn't make sense to them.

And I think it's important, particularly for metropolitan Australians, just to feel this different lens of exactly why there is a differing opinion out there. And so long as it's done respectfully. And I think it's important that no matter which side you take, you do this respectfully, and you prosecute your case in a respectful manner. But look through the lens of those lives that we are trying to actually better.

JAYNE AZZOPARDI

Maria, David is using that word respect that is going to be very important in this campaign, but this does seem to be setting the stage for an ‘us against them campaign’. How do you feel about it?

MARIA THATTIL

Well, I'll start by saying, you know, firstly, as a woman of colour who is not First Nations in this country, I think we should be listening to Indigenous voices. And I really appreciate that David is acknowledging the importance of doing this with respect, irrespective of what you think. But I do want to be mindful of, and I want to highlight what ads like this can do. There's this tendency and this thing that we do sometimes when we try and understand First Nations communities, but also communities of colour. And what happens is we can oversimplify thoughts, ideas, and views of what are increasingly diverse and complicated communities.

We try and say that people think either this or that, or we all think the same thing. And I think what's coming through in this particular ad campaign is that we are pitting what's everyday Australians who say ‘no’ against a cavalcade of celebrities and sporting legends who are apparently saying ‘yes’.

And it's not as simple as that. We cannot clearly delineate and separate these groups and purport that this is what the split looks like. And ironically, I think a lack of diversity and representation is why we tend to do that. You don't have enough voices speaking on behalf of the communities and showing the nuance and the critical thinking. So for me, I think the voice is a really important vehicle for progressive change. And I've got some friends, Brooke Blurton and Matty Mills who've, you know, put a great podcast forward with First Nations voices on this. I just think it's important that we don't oversimplify and get quite reductive when we are thinking about diverse communities that should be represented.

JAYNE AZZOPARDI

That is very well said. Let's move on to another issue. Now. There are growing calls for a national policy on mobile phone use in Australian schools, New South Wales, the latest state to ban their youth during class time, as well as recess. That'll happen from term four this year. David, Queensland is one state that is yet to jump on board. That's where you are, where your kids are going to school. What do you think about this?

DAVID LITTLEPROUD

Yeah, look, Annastacia Palaszczuk should get on board. Chris Minns, good on him. He's hit the ground running, after being elected only a couple of weeks ago. He stood for something and he's acted on it.  I think parents out there would say, good on you Chris. This is a good move. And I'll just say to Annastacia Palaszczuk, please pick up the ball and run with the other states. I think there is a time and place for our phones. We've let it dictate our lives for too long. But when we're learning and dictate our kids' education and taking away what is a very hard job for teachers already and making it even more difficult, let's give them the tools to make their job easier and to educate our kids better.

JAYNE AZZOPARDI

Maria, is this a no-brainer? Do phones just need to be banned in schools? Full stop?

MARIA THATTIL

Yeah, it's been a really long time since I've been in school, in fact, so long.

JAYNE AZZOPARDI

But not as long as me or David?

MARIA THATTIL

No, but in fact, so long that I actually discovered my first gray hair this week. But I'm saying this with the wisdom of a gray woman and also with research. I do think the bans need to happen because, you know, evidence has shown us that, phone use in the classroom, it does negatively impact test scores and long-term retention and it doesn't help what's an already shortening attention span for kids. Like, as an adult, I can't control myself when I go down the TikTok rabbit hole.

So I do think a ban needs to happen. I don't think there's a place for it in the classroom.

JAYNE AZZOPARDI

No, I think everybody's on the same page here, except maybe the kids who are in the classroom who want to be on their phones, but, they're too young to vote at this stage. Finally this morning, forget your awkward angles and your bad lighting. Capturing the perfect selfie is now being made so much easier thanks to Selfie Studios and they're all decked out with themed backdrops to make your selfie look amazing. There is a catch, though. A full day visit will cost you $1,400. Maria, you have a big following on social media. Is it worth it?

MARIA THATTIL

Okay. I wanna start by saying, I know there are going to be people at home who are scratching their head and they're going to say ‘over a grand to get a selfie?’. Like, that's ridiculous. I just want to clarify, this is for content creation. So content creation studios like that exist so that creators who are part of a booming economy, and it's expected to hit about $70 billion, approximately in 2030. So it's something, this is how they create content and market products and services, and this is how marketing is. It's a way of the world. So it's not quite a thousand dollars for a selfie.

I think it's beautiful, you know, and now I'm in tv. I've written a book. I did Miss Universe, I've got some great shows coming up, but I actually started as a content creator and my marketing brain thinks, yeah, that's absolutely essential to putting your best, you know, work forward. So I say, get on it.

JAYNE AZZOPARDI

So it's just a cost of doing business. David, you've got a little set up there. You look, in your home studio, beaming into Weekend Today. Do you think you'll be paying a visit to the selfie studio anytime soon?

DAVID LITTLEPROUD

Yeah, well look, as the one with the most gray hairs on the panel and the one that needs the most photo shopping, I’m probably the one that needs to pay the $1,400. But I don't think I'm going to do that. I need all the help I can get, but I'll leave it for those that have a better, have more to work with than me.

JAYNE AZZOPARDI

Trust me, there's this amazing thing called hair dye. It covers all the gray so you don't even need to worry about it. No one will ever know. It's our secret. Thank you both for coming on this morning.