[Australia Tonight has relaunched their channel tonight, with audiences switching on their tv’s to see Yala Talama’s face in the iconic Australia Tonight studio for the first time in years. The following is the transcript of the interview with the Leader of the Commonwealth Party 12MaxWild.]

Yala Talama: Good evening, and welcome to Australia Tonight. As a part of our relaunch, we will be conducting an interview series with the candidates putting their name forward on the ballot this election. These interviews are unscripted, and will be uncensored excluding where TV regulation requires. Continuing our series, I have with me the newly elected Leader of the Commonwealth Party and former Prime Minister 12MaxWild. Welcome Max.

Max: Thank you Yala for having me on tonight. It is a pleasure to be here as one of the first guests of the refreshed Australia Tonight program. I am eager to answer the questions of the Australian people.

Yala: To begin, we will start with the same question to everyone, who are you, where are you running and why are you running?

Max: I am 12MaxWild, the once and now restored leader of the Commonwealth Party of Australia. It has not been publicly revealed where I am running yet but I eagerly look forward to sharing that with the Australian people. I am running for Prime Minister because I believe that Labour, led by Jordology, will lead Australia down the wrong path. Aussie battlers deserve a party who is serious about their concerns, doesn't use parliament as a tool to play political games and delivers results for this country.

Yala: Would you not want to make it clear to the Australian people who you want to represent if you want to also represent them as Prime Minister?

Max: I understand that line of thinking but I believe revealing it too early would distract from the national picture. With the leader of the Labour party, we have seen an individual who is entirely focused on one part of the country. While caring for the NT in itself is definitely not a bad thing, he is not running to be Prime Minister of the Northern Territory; he's running to be Prime Minister for all of us. I would hate for Australians to think I am like Jordology in that respect. I wish for Australians I stand for all of them and priortise their interests over my individual electoral success.

Yala: As you've made it clear that you are seeking to enter the lodge again, let us paint a picture, the road to the lodge. We will start at the journey's beginning, your return to politics. What has made you return to politics after your retirement?

Max: After a long period of self-reflection on my time as Prime Minister and role in politics, I decided that to serve our great nation I was best to be leading it into the future. As I look around at the LNP and Labour, I don't see a positive figure who would affect real change. Thus, I felt like it was time to step up and give Aussies what they want: A true-blue battler who will go to bat for them on every issues that matters. I and the Commonwealth Party have always fought tooth and nail for Australians and I promise we'll do it again.

Yala: One question that would come to many Australian's minds when looking at the Commonwealth Party is 'what happened'. A party that led a government, that collapsed, and whose members fled to other parties, including the now Leader of the Opposition who you are opposing. With this internal strife, why should Australians trust you to govern if you can't govern yourselves?

Max: I accept that our party has had troubles in the past. The past, however, is not now. We are a strong and united team with more strength to get Aussies the outcomes they want. With the Prime Minister's government completely collapsing and Labour having internal strife with Jordology's position quietly being questioned, the CPA is truly the beacon of stability.

Yala: How can Australians be certain of any change in the Commonwealth Party?

Max: They will be able to judge us on our actions come the campaign period. I believe we can show them a united team through our actions on the campaign trail. If they see us present a united front against the totalitarian Labour and right wing extremists in the LNP then they'll be able to tell.

Yala: This is the part where I would ask you about what you would do for your own electorate as part of the road to the lodge, as a Prime Minister needs to be a parliamentarian, however you have seemingly ruled out stating which community you wish to represent. How can you expect a community to trust you to represent them as their local member if you won't tell them that you are running?

Max: Because people don't care if you say you'll fight for them. They care if you actually do.

Yala: How can one fight for a community that they won't acknowledge, name, or share details about what they will do? It is one thing to say something and not do it, but another to not say anything at all.

Max: Because it is not fair to those people to be subject to unfair media examination when all they want to do is get on with their lives. To have parties harass them, for the media to invade their privacy, just because a particularly prominent figure wishes to represent them, is highly unfair and I will not subject them to that for as long as I can. Many in my community, where I have lived since my rake injury, already know I am running, so it is an open secret. I will reveall all in due course; what I don't want to do is do it to the detriment of my community.

Yala: Swerving past that on the road to the lodge, the election, what are you and the Commonwealth Party proposing to do if elected to government?

Max: We are planning to embark on a nation-building agenda. We're planning on funding the construction of High Speed Rail all along the eastern seaboard. We are supporting the fast-tracking of the Suburban Rail Loop in Melbourne, Cross River Rail in Brisbane, Metro West and many others to power our capital cities which are the engine rooms of our economy. We have seen what has been referred to as the Cheems Mindset in recent governments. Nobody wants to spend money on building things which make our country richer. The CPA will reverse this critical underinvestment and create hundreds of thousands of jobs in the process.

Yala: How can the Commonwealth Party be trusted to oversee this development, if one of your candidates was the Treasurer and Minister for Industry that oversaw what you describe as underinvestment?

Max: I'm not going to lie, I didn't love that budget. Cookie is a very talented statesman and I believe he put what he could into that budget but ultimately was held back by the government which forced as much austerity into the budget as possible. The CPA government will build upon this budget and quickly fix any errors it had in it. I have full confidence in Cookie's ability to be Treasurer and will support him in that position.

Yala: In three words, how would you describe a Max tenure?

Max: Australia's prosperous future

Yala: What would the Commonwealth Party seek to do outside of infrastructure policy?

Max: Reforms of the financial and corporate sectors so those who squeeze the most out of our economy are held to account for their actions.

Yala: On the high-speed rail, could you please elaborate on what your plan is for this. Will you be following the Youma-CSID plan of 2018, or forge a new route?

Max: We will be following a Brisbane to Melbourne corridor, stopping in regional hubs along the way.

Yala: Will that include stops such as Albury/Wodonga, Canberra, Byron Bay and Wollongong?

Max: Likely not Byron Bay or Wollongong but Albury yes. Ultimately it's up to the experts to decide the best alignment, not me. I'll put my faith in them.

Yala: Thank you. On the road to the lodge, in the election, how many seats will Commonwealth be contesting?

Max: We aim to contest as many seats as possible. Unlike the Leader of the Opposition, we are actually committed to all parts of the country.

Yala: How many seats is 'many'?

Max: I said as many as possible, I'm not sure what you mean here. I suppose 10?

Yala: Will you be doing any deals or endorsements with other parties or politicians in any seat?

Max: Depends on if we trust them to be good representatives of their constituents. I believe we will be endorsing individuals such as Slow-Passenger-1542 for example. He does a great job reperesenting Mayo.

Yala: Will there be any others?

Max: I can't tell you at this time. I will let you know when they come.

Yala: Continuing down the bumpy road to the lodge, we reach the day after the election. Hypothetically, you awaken and see that with support, you could form a government. Which parties and Independents would you consider working with, and who would you outright say no to?

Max: We would consider working with any independents who are willing to cooperate on delivering our vision for Australia. We cannot rule out coalitions with the LNP, however we will not let Labour into government if we can help it. That is our pledge.

Yala: You can't rule out working with the party that you called right-wing extremists?

Max: Sometimes you have to take the lesser of two evils Yala. I dislike the new members of the Liberal National Policy and how Riley8583 has made ridiculous comments about vaccines. However, I believe there are redeeming factors in their party by virtue of their pro-business sentiments and, more importantly, they are more amenable to their extremist elements. The Labour Party are not. If the choice is between us refusing to form a stable government that the Australian people deserve, and dealing with some unsavoury elements of an otherwise normal party then I would take the latter any day.

Yala: Would you be able to rule out tonight adopting any policies you consider extreme, such as the vaccine example that you mentioned before, in pursuit of forming government?

Max: I can absolutely rule that out. I will never form a government with any groups whose terms include radical policies which are completely anti-logic.

Yala: Are there any seats that you and your party are keeping a particularly close eye on this election?

Max: No. We do not go into elections targeting seats as it implies some people are less important than others because they are in a "safe" seat. We are going to fight this election all across the country and will fight equally hard for everyone.

Yala: Are you confident that Commonwealth will secure a victory next Saturday?

Max: I am confident that we will see success in the election. I'm not leaving anything up to chance though. Aussies have seen the hubris of Jordology and are refreshed to have me as a humble alternative. I would be honoured to serve them once more.

Yala: As you would know, governments will always have opposition's, who they talk to in a variety of ways. How would you conduct talks with any opposition that forms against you, and any crossbench that may be cruical to your legislation?

Max: I strive for bipartisanship but will not back down if I truly believe in a policy which cannot be further amended. As Prime Minister I often worked with the LNP opposition and I imagine I'd attempt to work with whatever opposition comes out of the next election to get this country going again.

Yala: If you formed government with Labour as your opposition, would you talk and work with them?

Max: If they approach us in good faith then we would definitely engage with them. This would require them to actually be willing to do that though and I can't see that happening. That being said, I will approach every issue they bring to us with an open mind.

Yala: At the end of this road, there are two scenarios. One has you entering the lodge, and the other sees your attempt unsuccessful with Commonwealth entering opposition or the crossbench. Let's think about the first scenario, if elected as Prime Minister, what would be your first few actions before Parliament resumes, after Parliament resumes, and what would you like to achieve in that first month of office?

Max: We will begin our term with a bill I am passionate to introduce: We are calling it the Animal Welfare Enforcement Bill. We will make federal standards for the correct treatment of animals and will impose extreme punishments on those who hurt animals. In other fields, we're cracking down on tax loopholes, bringing in billions of additional revenue which was lost under ANCAP and the LNP.

Yala: On the other side of the coin: You awaken next Sunday to see your worst case scenario, Labour have won with enough to block any chance of you forming government. What comes next in that scenario, would you consider trying to support another party to form government, and would you stay on as leader?

Max: In that scenario we must do our duty to the people and hold Labour to account. It is the role of any opposition to drag a government over the coals for any misdeeds. Labour has failed utterly this term to hold this government to account, playing political games by stuffing the legislative cycle with meaningless motions rather than any positive actions. If I find myself in the opposition or crossbench I will constructively but critically pursure the interests of the Australian people.

Yala: Would you continue as leader?

Max: Yes I would. I am here to stay for the foreseeable future.

Yala: Thank you for your time today. Before we finish up, is there any last message you have for the people of the electorate you are yet to name and of Australia before they head to the polls next week?

Max: Australia: We will fight for you, no matter what. Thank you Yala for having me on Australia Tonight. It has been a great pleasure.

Yala: Thank you for your time Max.