US AUKUS Review: Perspective and Purpose

12 June 2025

The current US Department of Defense review of AUKUS is well within its remit and not unlike the strategic assessment recently conducted by the new UK Government following the election of Prime Minister Starmer. This is a departmental review, not a policy decision, and should not be over-interpreted.

The focus of the review is not new and rightly centres on US submarine production rates. This is a known and genuine challenge for the US industrial base. This goes directly to the maintenance and expansion of the US submarine fleet, and it’s an area where Australia is already uniquely contributing under AUKUS Pillar I. Importantly, this is also a challenge the Trump Administration is committed to addressing.

AUKUS is fundamentally about strengthening collective deterrence, particularly in the Indo-Pacific against potential adversaries. Pillar I is about more submarines, not fewer, across all three partners. Pillar II, and the development of the trilaterally-produced AUKUS-class submarine with the UK, continues to move forward with strategic purpose.

The case for AUKUS was first built on convincing the US and UK defence institutions during the period of the first Trump Adminsitration and the Johnson Government about the technical merit, sovereign capability, and shared security interests. It has enjoyed bipartisan and institutional support in both Washington and London from the outset. That foundation matters and was important to secure.

As the Pentagon leads this review, the depth of US-Australia engagement, the professionalism of our collaboration, and the consistent backing from Secretary Hegseth, as reaffirmed in his discussions with Minister Marles, remain reasons for continued confidence.

Now is the time for Australia to make the case again. We have a good case to make in both our own interests and those of our AUKUS partners, especially in the US.

Award of the Companion of the Order of Australia

9 June 2025

I am honoured and grateful to have been awarded the Companion of the Order of Australia. It was an immense privilege to be given the opportunity by the Australian people to serve them as their 30th Prime Minister of Australia from August 2018 to May 2022.

During this time Australia faced challenges and threats not experienced since the second world war. These ranged from unrelenting natural disasters and a once in a century global pandemic and the recession it caused, to coercion and intimidation designed to threaten our support for a free and open Indo-Pacific, a world order that favours freedom and our strong bond with allies and partners.

Australians responded to these events in the best traditions of Australian patriotism and mateship with trade-mark courage and a care for their country and one another. This was especially displayed by the men and women of our defence forces, both at home supporting their fellow Australians in crisis and serving our interests overseas. Australians showed their capacity and determination to adapt and overcome. This is why Australia proudly prevailed and will continue to be able to do so in the future. As Prime Minister it was these innate qualities of Australians that I and my Government relied upon to lead Australia through these myriad crises and keep Australians together.

However, we also took our opportunities. We worked to deepen and strike new alliances like AUKUS and embrace new economic opportunities by extending our trade partnerships and to develop our industries and skills and ensuring that Australia sought to live within its means. We did this to keep our economy strong, because we understood that a strong economy will always be the foundation for keeping Australians safe and delivering the essential services that Australians rely on.

In accepting this honour I thank the Australian people and my many colleagues, including State and Territory leaders and in particular Hon. Josh Frydenberg, Hon. Michael McCormack, Hon. Greg Hunt and Hon Marise Payne. I am also grateful to the Leaders of our AUKUS, QUAD, Five Eyes and Pacific family partners who I served with to take on the global challenges we faced together.

I thank the Liberal Party and the people of Cook for the honour of representing them in the Australian parliament. I am thankful to my many staff, led by Dr John Kunkel, for their dedication, skill and professionalism that enabled us to serve our country during incredibly testing times. Above all, I am exceedingly grateful to my wife Jenny, daughters Abbey and Lily, my mother Marion and late father John, and all my family and friends for their self-less love, support and sacrifice that enabled me to follow my passion to serve our country.

In closing I acknowledge my Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, the author of my faith, in whose joyful service and care I will remain forever. God bless Australia.

80th anniversary of bilateral relations with the Netherlands

17 April 2022

As Australia and the Netherlands mark 80 years since the establishment of full diplomatic relations, we can reflect with pride on the warm friendship we share.

From the Duyfken’s exploration of the north coast of Australia in 1606, to the contribution made by generations of the thousands of men and women of Dutch heritage to this country, Australia and the Netherlands share enduring bonds of friendship and family.

Our historic defence ties, forged on the battlefields and in the skies of the Second World War, were strengthened most recently by our military partnership in Afghanistan. Today, we stand united in support of the rules-based international order, our defence of human rights and the rule of law.

As we continue to pursue truth, justice and accountability for the downing of MH17, we also stand together in supporting Ukraine as it defends its sovereignty and territorial integrity. 

Australia values our cooperation with the Netherlands in supporting our neighbours in the Indo-Pacific, to ensure a region that is open, stable and resilient.

The strong trade relationship between Australia and the Netherlands is the foundation for our collaboration in other areas, such as the green economy and cyber security. Through our growing engagement with global fora, we will cooperate to advance our mutual economic prosperity and stability.

For 80 years, Australia and the Netherlands have worked in unison to build and enhance our strong bilateral relationship. I am proud of what we have achieved in the name of friendship and cooperation, and I look forward to the many opportunities that lie ahead.

https://pmtranscripts.pmc.gov.au/release/transcript-44186

Brisbane 2032 Board

10 April 2022

Premier and Prime Minister announce the final five Board directors and Andrew N. Liveris AO as the President of the Organising Committee Board for the Brisbane 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games

Leaders of business and industry have been named among the final five people who will be the President and independent directors on the Board of the Brisbane Organising Committee for the 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games (OCOG).

The five comprise:

Andrew N. Liveris AO (President) Chairman Lucid Motors and Blackrock Long Term Private Capital. Former Chairman and CEO of Dow Chemical Company. Former student Brisbane State High School and The University of Queensland. 

Rob Scott Olympian. Silver medallist rowing 1996 Atlanta. President and Chairman Rowing Australia.  CEO and Managing Director Wesfarmers Ltd.

Sarah Kelly OAM. Associate Professor Marketing and Law - The University of Queensland, Deputy Chair Brisbane Lions AFLFC and Tourism and Events Queensland. Queensland leader of the Minerva Network mentoring professional sportswomen with women business leaders. Awarded a Medal of the Order of Australia for services to sports administration and tertiary education.

Brett Clark Founder and Managing Director ePharmacy. Managing Partner Chemist Warehouse Qld and Northern NSW. Chairman Queensland Rugby Union. Former Director Queensland Ballet. Brett is well known for philanthropic and community work including Mater Little Miracles and Bridgeworks.

Shelley Reys AO. Co-Chair Reconciliation Australia, CEO Arrilla Indigenous Consulting. Instrumental in events including The People’s Walk for Reconciliation, Parliament’s Apology to the Stolen Generation, Australia Day and the Australian of the Year Awards. Partner and Board Member KPMG Australia.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison said the Commonwealth and Queensland Governments had worked closely to select leaders who would bring the experience, skills and drive that would help make the Games a success.

“These Games aren’t just an opportunity for our next generation of sporting talent, but they’re an opportunity to further unlock the potential of Queensland and spread the benefits across the country,” the Prime Minister said.

“The Board of the Organising Committee represents some of this country’s most successful leaders who will ensure the 2032 Games are the world’s best ever.”

The Premier and Minister for the Olympics Annastacia Palaszczuk said the Board reflects a breadth and depth of experience that also has its heart firmly in Queensland.

“This will be the biggest single transformational event in a generation,” the Premier said.

“Our job is to honour the commitments I made to the International Olympic Committee (IOC) but also provide a lasting legacy for our State and I am confident that is exactly what we will achieve.”

The five new independent directors join 16 other directors who come from diverse backgrounds, including multiple Olympic and Paralympic representatives.

Other board members include John Coates AC, Vice President of the IOC and the President of the Australian Olympic Committee (AOC), the President of Paralympics Australia Jock O’Callaghan, Brisbane Lord

Mayor The Right Honourable Councillor Adrian Schrinner, three-time Olympian Bronte Barratt OAM OLY and the triple Paralympic gold medallist Kurt Fearnley AO PLY.

Adrian Schrinner Lord Mayor of Brisbane City Council said the critical stage of forming the OCOG Board for Brisbane 2032 was an important step forward.

“We are officially off and running now with the Board announced, and with 10 years to go we have time to ensure Brisbane is ready to be on the world stage in 2032.”

John Coates said Andrew Liveris is well-known to the IOC as the Chair of a former worldwide sponsor of the Olympic Games and the IOC is well-known to him.

“He adds tremendous value and international credibility.

“The strong representation of Olympians and Paralympians on the Board will ensure athletes remain the focus of our preparations,” Mr Coates said.

Mr Jock O’Callaghan, President of the Australian Paralympic Committee said Brisbane 2032 was already setting a new standard.

“I am pleased to see the diversity of the Board, with representatives advocating for our First Nations People, and voices championing accessibility, inclusion, and the regions to ensure tangible and meaningful conversations are had at the Board table,” Mr O’Callaghan said.

Mr Liveris, the newly announced President of the OCOG Board, led Dow as a TOP (The Olympic Partner) sponsor of the IOC in 2010, becoming the Sustainability Partner to create the ‘Green Olympics’, with London 2012 being the first of its kind in minimising the impact of the Olympics on the environment. Recycling technologies for building materials and water management were introduced, as well as designing and implementing carbon emissions and climate change strategies.

Mr Liveris said he expects his new role will be one of the greatest and most satisfying opportunities to contribute to Australia.

“I have worked around the world and I have always attributed my success to my study at the University of Queensland, so Brisbane holds a special place in my heart.

“I am honoured to have been asked to make an important contribution to our State and nation in this critical role,” Mr Liveris said.

The Board will ensure the OCOG raises revenue through sponsorship, philanthropy, ticketing and Brisbane 2032 merchandise, manages the temporary overlay and operation of the venues, and recruits the

Brisbane 2032 volunteers, to make the Brisbane 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games a memorable and successful experience for all.

The inaugural meeting of the OCOG Board will be held later this month.

The Board of the Brisbane Organising Committee for the 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games (OCOG)

President:

• Andrew N. Liveris AO

Vice Presidents:

• The Honourable Annastacia Palaszczuk MP, Premier and Minister for the Olympics

• Senator the Honourable Richard Colbeck, Federal Minister for Senior Australians and Aged Care Services and Minister for Sport

• The Right Honourable the Lord Mayor of Brisbane Councillor Adrian Schrinner, Brisbane City Council

• Mr John Coates AC, Vice President of the International Olympic Committee and AOC President

• Mr Jock O’Callaghan, President of Paralympics Australia

Board Directors:

• Robyn Smith, Australian member of the International Paralympic Committee Governing Board

• Matt Carroll AM, CEO of the Australian Olympic Committee

• The Honourable Steven Miles MP

• Mayor of Redland City Councillor Karen Williams

• Ted O’Brien MP

• Bronte Barratt OAM OLY

• Kurt Fearnley AO PLY

• Patrick Johnson OLY

• Natalie Cook OAM OLY

• Tracy Stockwell OAM

• Rebecca Frizelle OAM

• Sarah Kelly OAM

• Shelley Reys AO

• Rob Scott OLY

• Brett Clark

Brisbane 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games Organising Committee Summary of the Board Directors

Andrew N. Liveris AO (President)

Andrew N. Liveris AO is a proud Australian with strong ties to Queensland. He moved to Queensland as a teenager and studied at Brisbane State High School, before graduating with a degree in Chemical Engineering from The University of Queensland in 1976, where Mr Liveris recently established an Academy for Leadership and Innovation to nurture leaders for the 21st century. His career at Dow Chemical spanned 42 years, with roles in manufacturing, engineering, sales, marketing, business and general management, across three continents. This culminated in Andrew serving as Chairman and CEO for 15 years for an organisation that employed over 60,000 people across 160 countries. He is currently Chairman of Lucid Motors and Blackrock Long Term Private Capital, a director of IBM and the Minderoo Foundation and is a member of The B Team. Mr Liveris has significant experience and relationships globally across the public, private and philanthropic sectors and is dedicated to making the Brisbane 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games memorable and successful for all.

Sarah Kelly OAM

Dr Sarah Kelly OAM is an accomplished business leader and company director, with over 20 years of combined experience within the sports, marketing, law, education and waste management sectors.

In addition to a PhD in sports marketing and her legal qualifications, Sarah holds an MBA and a Bachelor of Commerce from The University of Queensland where she is an Associate Professor in marketing and law and the co-leader of a trust, ethics and governance research hub. Sarah is currently the Deputy Chair of The Brisbane Lions AFLFC and Tourism and Events Queensland.

Sarah is passionate about sports and its impacts on local, national and international communities. She is the Queensland Leader of the Minerva Network, a national network uniting female business leaders with professional sportswomen through mentoring, advocacy and training, and Founder and Director of the Sports Diplomacy Alliance. In 2021, Sarah was awarded an Order of Australia Medal for her services to sports administration and to tertiary education.

Shelley Reys AO

Ms Shelley Reys AO is a Djiribul woman of far north Queensland and a respected Indigenous specialist, strategist and service provider. She has been a leader in the corporate, Indigenous and reconciliation space for nearly three decades.

As CEO of Arrilla Indigenous Consulting, Shelley has been helping the Australian workforce to work in the Indigenous space with greater skill and confidence. She is also a Partner and Board member of KPMG Australia.

She is known for her role in leading large conversations and events of national importance, including The Walk for Reconciliation across the Sydney Harbour Bridge, Parliament’s apology to The Stolen Generations, Co-Chair of Reconciliation Australia, and Vice Chairman of the National Australia Day Council. Shelley has been named by the Australian Financial Review as one of Australia’s 100 Women of Influence and awarded the prestigious Officer of the Order of Australia in honour of her nation-building work. Her vision is “to create a culturally competent Australia, one workplace at a time”.

Brett Clark

Mr Brett Clark is the Founder and Managing Director of ePharmacy and the Managing Partner of Chemist Warehouse stores in Queensland and Northern NSW. He negotiated the merger of the two companies in 2004, which is now the largest privately owned pharmacy group in Australia with over $6 billion in sales and more than 500 stores employing approximately 17,000 staff.

Brett has enjoyed a lifelong connection to Rugby and played at Brisbane Boys Grammar School. He is currently the Chair of Queensland Rugby Union (QRU) as well as Chair of the QRU Foundation, which aims to improve participation and enjoyment across all levels of Rugby Union in Queensland. Brett was also a director of Queensland Ballet for 10 years, and served the last six years of his tenure as Chair before retiring in 2019.

Brett is a well-known philanthropist in Queensland and has assisted his wife over the past 15 years in raising over 1.5 million dollars for the Neo-Natal Intensive Care Unit at the Mater Hospital in Brisbane. He has also held past board and committee positions in the not-for-profit sector, including Chair of Bridgeworks - a registered training organisation owned by the Sisters of Mercy, and a founding committee member of the Mater Little Miracles.

Rob Scott OLY

Mr Rob Scott OLY is a dual Olympian in rowing, having stroked the Eight at the Barcelona Olympic Games in 1992 and winning a silver medal in the Pair at the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games. He has been the President and Chairman of Rowing Australia since 2014 and oversaw preparations for the 2016 Rio and 2020 Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Rob has significant experience in business, leadership, major projects, governance and public affairs, across a range of industries in Australia and internationally. He is the CEO and Managing Director of Wesfarmers Limited, a top ten ASX-listed company with an annual turnover of $34 billion and employing over 120,000 people. Rob has previously worked with Deutsche Bank in Asia and Australia in various investment banking roles and is a past President of the Insurance Council of Australia.

Rob holds a Master of Applied Finance degree from Macquarie University and a Bachelor of Commerce degree from the Australian National University. He is a qualified Chartered Accountant and has completed the Advanced Management Program at Harvard Business School.

https://pmtranscripts.pmc.gov.au/release/transcript-43953

Australia To Gift 20 Bushmasters To Government Of Ukraine

8 April 2022

The Australian Government will provide further support to the Government of Ukraine by gifting 20 Bushmaster Protected Mobility Vehicles, including two ambulance variants, to aid the Government of Ukraine’s response to Russia’s unrelenting and illegal aggression. Australia’s response follows a direct request from President Zelenskyy during his address to the Australian Parliament on 31 March 2022.

The Bushmaster was built in Australia to provide protected mobility transport, safely moving soldiers to a battle area prior to dismounting for close combat. The Bushmaster is well suited to provide protection to the Ukrainian Armed Forces soldiers and Ukrainian civilians against mines and improvised explosive devices, shrapnel from artillery and small arms fire.

The 20 vehicles are painted olive green to suit the operating environment. Additionally, a Ukrainian flag is painted on either side with the words “United with Ukraine” stencilled in English and Ukrainian to acknowledge our commitment and support to the Government and people of Ukraine. The ambulances will have the traditional Red Cross emblem.

The Bushmaster will be fitted with radios, a global positioning system and additional bolt-on armour increasing their protection. Defence will continue to work with the Government of Ukraine to develop a suitable logistics support package, while training will be conducted through Army video training with Ukrainian subtitles.

To date, Australia has committed a total of around $116 million of Defensive Military Assistance to Ukraine, the addition of these vehicles takes our commitment to around $165 million. In addition, Australia is delivering 70,000 tonnes of coal to power Ukraine’s resistance, on top of $65 million in humanitarian assistance for the people of Ukraine, with a focus on protecting women, children and the elderly, including for food, shelter and emergency medical supplies.

The Government will not disclose further specific details of delivery arrangements at the direct request of Ukrainian officials and our other partners.

The Australian Government will continue to identify opportunities for further Defensive Military Assistance where it is able to provide a required capability to the Ukraine Armed Forces expeditiously.

Australia stands with the Government and people of Ukraine, and calls on Russia to cease its unprovoked, unjust and illegal invasion of Ukraine. The Australian Government will continue to take steps, together with our partners, to ensure Russia pays the highest possible price for its actions.

https://pmtranscripts.pmc.gov.au/release/transcript-43947

Australia To Deliver Anti-Armour And Ammunition To Ukraine

8 April 2022

The Australian Government will provide further military support to the Government of Ukraine in response to Russia’s unrelenting and illegal aggression.

This $26.5 million package of anti-armour weapons and ammunitions for the Ukrainian Armed Forces will further boost the capabilities Australia has supplied that have proven critical on the battlefield so far.

This will bring Australia’s total military assistance to date to approximately $191.5 million. 

This extra support comes on top of the 20 Bushmaster Protected Mobility Vehicles we announced today that our Government is gifting the Government of Ukraine.

The Government will not disclose specific details of the new package, or delivery arrangements, at the direct request of Ukrainian officials and our other partners.

Our Government will continue to identify opportunities for further military assistance where it is able to provide a required capability to the Ukraine Armed Forces expeditiously.

Australia may be thousands of kilometres away but we’re standing side by side with Ukraine against this illegal invasion with arms, equipment, aid and even energy sources.

This fight is important because not only are Ukrainian lives and their lands at stake, but so are the principles of freedom and the rule of law.

Australia stands with the people of Ukraine, and again calls on Russia to cease its unprovoked, unjust and illegal invasion of Ukraine.

https://pmtranscripts.pmc.gov.au/release/transcript-43950

Interview with Tom Elliot, 3AW

8 April 2022

Tom Elliott: Scott Morrison, the Prime Minister, joins us right now. Prime Minister, good morning.

Prime Minister: Good morning, Tom.

Elliott: Well, I know that the election is unofficially on, because we're all out campaigning. Or at least you are. When are you going to call it?

Prime Minister: Oh, it won't be very long from now. You know, it's coming up to three years in the middle of May. Since the last election. And I've always said that, you know, that’s the time for the election. Others have speculated, I've always been pretty clear in my mind and upfront with the Australian people about it. So that's coming up soon. That's when it was expected to be done, that's when it will be held. And the election gives people the opportunity to take a good look at the choice, and this election is a choice, not a referendum. It's a choice between the Liberal Party and the Nationals and Labor supported by the Greens. Our future plans and our track record of the economy and national security, and plans we don't know anything about from Labor and the Greens. They're an unknown. It's a choice between what you know and what you don't know.

Elliott: The polls say that you're not doing too well. Do you reckon you'll win?

Prime Minister: Yeah, look, I'm confident in the Australian people that as we get to this election, as people focus on the choice that's before them, that they will make a choice that will ensure that Australia continues to be strong in very uncertain times. There are incredible pressures on our economy. There are incredible pressures on our national security. And now is not the time to be changing course. Australians have worked incredibly hard, over what has been an extraordinarily tough three years and we need to keep going in the way that we have, which has made Australia one of the strongest economies coming out of this pandemic in the advanced world.

Elliott: In about half an hour, I'm going to speak to the CEO of the National Australia Bank, Ross McEwan, and there's a story in the The Age this morning saying that the big banks are going to lift interest rates four or five times in the next six months. Do you think that's going to exacerbate cost of living pressures on Australian families?

Prime Minister: Well, there are lots of pressures on the Australian economy and there are those pressures. There's no doubt about that. That's going all around the world. I mean, inflation is running double in the United States what it is here in Australia and significantly higher in the United Kingdom and in many other developed economies around the world. And that's why strong financial management in the years ahead is going to mean more than anything, and we've had a steady hand on those issues. We have retained our AAA credit rating in one of the worst economic crisis the country’s ever seen. When we talk about the global financial crisis, you know, back when Labor was in power, what we've been through in the last three years, 30 times worse than that and our employment outcomes have been 50 per cent better. We've actually got unemployment down in the middle of an economic crisis. Under Labor it went up.

Elliott: Do you think cost of living will always be lower under a Liberal Government than a Labor one?

Prime Minister: I think the pressures on keeping cost of living down we will always be able to manage better than the Labor Party because we know how to manage money. We know how to retain a AAA credit rating. We know how to grow the economy. And that's been proven in one of the most difficult times that Australia has faced over the last three years. But pressures come from everywhere, and the issue is how you deal with them. And we've had to deal with the toughest set of circumstances we've seen since the Great Depression in our economy and on national security - the hardest we've seen since the Second World War and on both of those, Australia is stronger and that's what we promised to do.

Elliott: You've pushed the price of petrol down, or at least Josh Frydenberg has, by halving the excise from 44 cents to 22, but it's only a temporary cut in the excise. Now it's going to apparently go back up in September. Will you commit to raising it again in September or will you just revisit the idea then?

Prime Minister: Well, this is a temporary and targeted measure to provide immediate relief to cost of living that's responsible. It's affordable, and the reason it's affordable is we've turned the budget around by over $100 billion in the last 12 months as the economy has recovered strongly from the policies we put in place to see the economy through the pandemic and to ensure we were building and recovering strongly on the other side. So it is responsible and it is providing immediate relief. Treasury estimates that the fuel price, the oil barrel price, will be coming back to more regular levels over that period of six months. New Zealand did it for three months. We believed it would take longer than that. And so we've done it for six months.

Elliott: Now, Katie Allen, who represents the seat of Higgins. She's one of your colleagues in the Parliament. She conceded today that your unpopularity as Prime Minister is likely to weigh against her in the upcoming poll, the upcoming election in Higgins. Why do you think that you are unpopular, at least in Melbourne?

Prime Minister: Well, I don't know if that's the case right across Victoria, right across Melbourne at all. But you know, look, when you're a Prime Minister, you've got to be strong. You've got to be resilient. You've got to make decisions that take the country forward. And I accept that not every decision that I've taken over the last three years has met with everybody's agreement. It's been the most extraordinary last three years that anyone could have imagined, particularly going into it. And so of course, we don't claim to be perfect, but what we do claim is that the results on our economy, the results on our national security and the plans for the future that draw on that success. They're real. You know who we are. People know who I am. No one knows who Anthony Albanese is, they don't know what he's going to do. He's had three years to tell the Australian people what he's going to do. He hasn't. Why won't he tell us? What we did find out the other day, though, is he's going to lift the cap on taxes in this country. I put that cap in place to ensure that taxes would not rise to a level in this country that would slow down the economy and cost jobs. Now, his Shadow Treasurer confirmed they're getting rid of the limit on taxes. Why would you do that unless you had plans to raise taxes?

Elliott: Well, sure, and I saw Jim Chalmers talking about that. But the limit on taxes is a bit weird. It's 23.9 per cent, but spending is at least 3 or 4 per cent higher than that. I mean, is there much point to having a limit on taxes if you don't have a commensurate limit on government spending?

Prime Minister: Well, the taxes is what is levied on income taxes, company taxes. There are also other revenue streams into the government that are on top of those, and that's what balances the Budget. So, you know, so but the thing that really ...

Elliott: But the Budget, the Budget's not balanced?

Prime Minister: No, it's not balanced yet, but it was balanced then we hit the pandemic. That's, that's very important. We spent all of our time, we put the limit on taxes, we said we're not going to balance the Budget by raising taxes. We're going to put a limit on taxes and we're going to grow the economy and we're going to keep being careful about our expenditure. And that's what we achieved before the pandemic hit. And having a limit on taxes actually puts a limit on ensuring that you have constraints on your spending. That's how you do budgets. I've, I've done eight of them. The leader of the opposition has done none. I did one as a member of the Expenditure Review Committee, three as Treasurer and four as Prime Minister. That's how you do budgets. You've got to control your taxes so you don't slow the economy down, and they want to take the brakes off taxes and you've got to keep control of your expenditure and make sure your expenditure is wise and growing the economy and are guaranteeing essential services.

Elliott: Three years ago, you had a good run against Bill Shorten because Bill Shorten had all these unpopular policies. You know, he wanted to get rid of negative gearing. He wanted to tax franking credits. He wanted to, you know, he told coal workers he was on their side and he told the greenies he was on their side. This time around, though, Anthony Albanese isn't saying much at all. Does that make him difficult to campaign against?

Prime Minister: Well, I think it's the same crew, but different problems. I mean, now they won't tell you who they are. I mean, at least Bill Shorten was upfront with people about what he was going to do. I mean, no one knows what Anthony Albanese will do because he hasn't told anyone. And he sort of wants to skate off to an election without any scrutiny. There's been a pandemic. There's been many issues that have, quite understandably, the Australian people have been very focussed on, and that's why this election campaign is really important. He wants a quick little election campaign to run off to the polls and hope nobody notices that they don't know who he is. We don't know who he is. I know who he is. I've known him for a long period of time, and he's pretending to be someone very different as we go into this election. And what I know is when things really get tough, you always rely on the principles and things you've believed in for a long time. And, and with Anthony Albanese, we haven't seen a more left-wing Labor leader, I think, since at least Gough Whitlam and probably before that.

Elliott: Now Tuesday night, you had your now infamous run in with angry pensioner Ray Drury up at Lake Macquarie. Are you going to now avoid interacting with the public like that, or will you keep campaigning the same way?

Prime Minister: We'll keep going to say way. And look, Ray, I listened to respectfully and carefully. And we've been following up with Ray since that night, and he was upset about some rather difficult circumstances in his own life. And, you know, as a member of Parliament, as a Prime Minister, you listen, and you listen carefully and people have been through a tough time over the last three years. And I understand that and I think for many of them that's leaving them very angry. They're sick of the lockdowns that were put in place.

Elliott: But Ray was specifically angry about his disability pension and various other things. Have those issues for him been sorted out?

Prime Minister: Well, they're very complex, is my point. I mean, it was a combination of things. It was in New South Wales iCare compensation scheme. So it was a overlay between that and the pension scheme and how income is determined, it was very complicated and there were some rather complex integration issues as well. So I listened carefully to Ray. I understood where he was coming from. He'd been... These are problems that he's been dealing with for 11 years, going right back to when Labor was in power, so I can understand his frustration.

Elliott: Now, a couple of nights ago, one of your Liberal Senators, South Australian Alex Antic, asked the Federal Health Secretary Brendan Murphy, to define a woman and Brendan Murphy could not do it. He sidestepped the question. Just to avoid any confusion could you define for us what a woman is?

Prime Minister: A member of the female sex.

Elliott: Member of the female? Why couldn't Brendan Murphy say that?

Prime Minister: You'd have to ask him.

Elliott: Yeah, but he's one of your senior health, he’s the senior health bureaucrat. Why is it so difficult, do you think?

Prime Minister: Well, I don't think it is.

Elliott: That's good, he seems to disagree.

Prime Minister: I'm not- Look, public servants are independent. And I've relied heavily on many things that Brendan and, you know the Secretary of the Treasury, and Prime Minister and Cabinet, but we're the government, they work for us. We set out the policies and they implement them. And a woman is a member of the female sex. I think that's pretty straightforward.

Elliott: Well, you might need a sternly worded letter from your Prime Minister's Office to tell him that. Hey, now look, finally, before I let you go, three and a half years ago at the MCG, I gave you a Carlton jumper and you laughed at it. You laughed at it and said, didn't they finish last? I don't know if you've noticed, but this year they're three and zero and they're third on the ladder. Has Josh Frydenberg convinced you to start wearing it around the place?

Prime Minister: No look, I will always be who I am, as everyone knows in Melbourne, I'm a mad NRL fan. I love going to the AFL and I appreciate the jersey. I've still got it. I've been given jerseys, I think, by almost every club over the last three years, but I think it's a magnificent sport. The people know I'm an NRL fan, and I don't pretend to be anything. I'm not. People know who I am. I know they might not agree with everything I've done. But with me, you know what you're going to get. And you know, the track record of performance we've had in government and getting us through the pandemic and the plans for the future. So it's a choice between what people know and what they don't know. And in uncertain times, you want to go with what you know.

Elliott: Scott Morrison, thank you for your time.

Prime Minister: Thanks very much.

https://pmtranscripts.pmc.gov.au/release/transcript-43948

Jobs Boost As Work Begins On $1 Billion Defence Investment In Victoria

8 April 2022

The Morrison Government’s more than $1 billion defence contract for new self-propelled howitzers for the Australian Army has marked a significant milestone with the start of construction of an Armoured Vehicle Centre of Excellence at Avalon, near Geelong.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison today led the sod-turning for the Armoured Vehicle Centre of Excellence, which will build the self-propelled howitzers and armoured ammunition resupply vehicles.

The Prime Minister said the project would deliver a major economic boost for Geelong with more than 300 jobs to be delivered over its lifespan.

“With the turn of the sod today at Avalon we are keeping our promise, securing Geelong’s rightful place in our country’s advanced manufacturing and defence industry, creating skilled jobs and delivering huge economic benefits for the region,” the Prime Minister said.

“As construction ramps up it will create up to 100 jobs, and once this cutting edge facility is up and running around 300 locals will be employed at the site.

“Importantly, several local businesses will be engaged along the way to help deliver this critical $1 billion defence project. This includes an Australian-owned Victorian-based construction company that will build this $170 million facility with completion by 2024.

“This project is a clear demonstration of my Government’s commitment to securing a strong economy and a strong future for all Australians, with investments in both our economic and national security.

“When Labor was last in Government they delayed this project, before cancelling it entirely when they drove down defence spending to its lowest level since before the Second World War.

“In contrast, Australians know they can trust my Government to make the tough decisions and make strategic investments that secure Australia’s interests in an increasingly uncertain world. Since we have come to office we have rolled out our plan to protect Australians, and this $1 billion contract is a key part of that plan.”

The turning of the sod today follows the signing of a $1 billion defence contract in December last year for the new self-propelled howitzers, which was awarded to Hanwha Defence Australia.

Based in Greater Geelong, the contract will procure self-propelled howitzers and armoured ammunition resupply vehicles under the LAND 8116 Phase 1 project. The Government committed to this project in May 2019.

Hanwha will build 30 of the self-propelled guns and 15 armoured ammunition resupply vehicles used to replenish stocks of artillery shells on missions.

Minister for Defence Industry Melissa Price said the $1 billion contract again demonstrated the Morrison Government’s commitment to supporting jobs in Australia’s growing defence industry.

“This project will create hundreds of jobs, with more than 90 per cent of vehicle sustainment to be completed in Australia,” Minister Price said.

“The opportunities for our defence industry are significant and will benefit local companies until the late 2040s.

“The self-propelled howitzers are just the latest step in the Morrison Government’s 10-year plan to invest $270 billion to increase Defence capability, not only securing the defence of our nation but bringing enormous benefits to our defence industry.

“The big advantage of these highly mobile, hard-hitting weapons is that they can fire, and immediately move, before any enemy can accurately locate them.

“The new guns, mounted on tracks and with heavy armour, offer much better protection to their crews in the face of nuclear, biological, chemical and radiological threats.

“The result is that our troops have a mobile and versatile weapon system that gives them the best possible chance of successfully completing their mission and returning home safely.”

https://pmtranscripts.pmc.gov.au/release/transcript-43949

More Assistance For Queensland Flood Victims

7 April 2022

Further disaster assistance will be extended to flood-affected communities in Queensland, with an additional package of support worth $771 million to be co-funded by the Commonwealth and Queensland Governments.

This additional funding means the Federal Government is providing over $1.3 billion and the Queensland Government is providing around $700 million to support Queenslanders affected by this recent flood event.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison said although primary responsibility for this proposal was to be delivered by the Queensland Government, the Federal Government was stepping up to support Queenslanders.

“Queenslanders just want these issues to be addressed and for funding to continue to support residents and businesses in need,” the Prime Minister said.

“I know many people are still doing it tough and I want to ensure the only focus of my Government is to support their needs.

“To date, the Federal Government has committed over $1.3 billion in flood relief support to Queensland residents and businesses affected by this most recent flood.

“This includes paying out more than $383 million to the bank accounts of over 451,000 Queensland flood victims. These payments are 100 per cent funded by the Federal Government without support from the Queensland Government.

“As part of our agreement, I look forward to the Queensland Government providing regular public transparent reporting on how they are getting money into the pockets of Queenslanders in need.”

Minister for Emergency Management and National Recovery and Resilience Bridget McKenzie said this next package of assistance was funded under the Disaster Recovery Funding Arrangements.

“Australians want their leaders to be getting on with the job and supporting people who need it. They don’t want us playing politics with disaster victims. What people need is the hope and confidence to carry on with their recovery,” Minister McKenzie said.

“That’s why the Commonwealth has agreed to a package of support for Queensland which focuses on resilience and mitigation.”

The new package of support for Queensland includes:

• $275 million Resilient Household Rebuild Program

• $350 million Voluntary Buy-Back Program

• $6 million industry and community education program

• $100 million Resilient Household Raising Program

• $10 million property level flood information project; and

• $30 million for extensive clean-up.

This assistance will be provided for the 23 Local Government Areas affected by the recent floods and severe weather.

“The significant devastation wreaked by these floods across Queensland is something this government is determined to mitigate against, now and in the future,” Minister McKenzie said.

“I have seen the impact on Queenslanders first hand, I have walked the streets with survivors and I know this next wave of support will enable residents in flood ravaged communities to build back better and become more resilient to future disasters.”

Queensland’s Acting Premier Cameron Dick also welcomed the announcement.

“We are pleased to work with the Commonwealth Government to deliver this nation-leading program to help Queenslanders build back better,” Acting Premier Dick said.

“The program will mean many Queenslanders who have suffered multiple flood events can now have peace of mind.”

This announcement is in addition to the $558 million package agreed by the Commonwealth and Queensland Governments on 5 March to support primary producers, small business and local councils and sporting clubs.

For more information visit recovery.gov.au.

https://pmtranscripts.pmc.gov.au/release/transcript-43946

Interview with Graeme Goodings, FiveAA

7 April 2022

GRAEME GOODINGS: The Prime Minister of Australia has joined us now, Scott Morrison. Prime Minister, thanks for being with us today.

PRIME MINISTER: G'day Graeme.

GOODINGS: You've got some announcement or something you'd like to say about the submarines?

PRIME MINISTER: I've heard some of that misreporting that's been occurring in relation to the building of nuclear powered submarines. And I just want to put people's minds at rest. I mean, there's no change to our policy here. We will build submarines in South Australia, and we will build as much of them in SA as we possibly can. And any suggestion that's being made to the contrary is just frankly false and misleading.

Of course we need to get them built as quickly as possible. But that doesn't change our commitment to build as much of those submarines in SA as we possibly can. It's not a question of if, it's a question of how. And we've already acted to secure more land at the shipyards, following visits by the US and UK experts in Adelaide, and next week the US Armed Services Committee and the delegation visiting Osborne. That's how committed our AUKUS partners are to us having a build program in SA, because when I put the AUKUS deal together, the whole point wasn't just that we could have nuclear powered submarines, but that we would be adding to the number of nuclear powered submarines being built. So they're already building them in the United States and the United Kingdom. And the three of us, Joe Biden and myself and Boris Johnson wanted to see more of them built and have our capability to build them here in Australia to add. So I just wanted to be really clear. I mean, there's some mischievous things going on in sort of an electoral context, and we can't have that being played with Australia's national security. So I just want to put that to rest, absolutely.

GOODINGS: Well, you were quoted in the Australian as saying that the paramount goal is not to build them in Adelaide, but to ensure we get the capability as soon as we can?

PRIME MINISTER: Of course, we need to get the capability as soon as we can, but that doesn't change our commitment to what we're doing in South Australia, at all. At all. All I was saying yesterday was consistent with everything we've said, and so they are going to be built in South Australia. But the question was how much of them is going to be built in South Australia? And my answer to that is as much as we possibly can. I mean, obviously, the reactors are not things we can do in South Australia, and there are, we haven't down-selected to the particular model yet. And so as a result, there'll be a lot of technical issues that we'll have to work through. But the whole point of the AUKUS agreement is to ensure that we have a capability to build nuclear powered submarines in Australia and that we're adding to the overall combined effect, combined force, of nuclear powered submarines that the AUKUS partners can put in the water. And so, you know, it's, you know, elections come up and people get a bit mischievous and sometimes can take things out of context. But I just want to be really clear about that. There's been no change to our commitment. And as you can see from the work that is being done, the visits that are being undertaken, you know, we've been very clear about our commitment. And that's exactly what we'll do.

GOODINGS: You can't quantify, though, how much of the submarines will be built here?

PRIME MINISTER: Well, no one can. I mean, because we haven't down-selected to the actual submarine. Obviously, the nuclear reactors can't be built in Australia, and everyone knows that. And then we have to work from there to determine those things that ... we can only build in Australia what we can actually build and everything we can build it is our intention to do just that.

GOODINGS: Prime Minister, thanks for calling in today. You obviously feel very concerned about this because you're a busy man. You're about to call the election, by the way. Can you tell us when it's going to be called?

PRIME MINISTER: Well, we'll be getting to that very shortly. And the election campaign, I think, is going to be very important, and that's why it needs to be, you know, fought on the issues and on the facts. And that's why I wanted to be sure that particularly on this question, of the building of submarines, that there was no doubt in the minds of people of South Australia and that, that words wouldn't be twisted or anything like that. We’re the government that actually has stepped forward on this. We're the ones who've stepped forward with the Hunter Frigates. We've already completed a massive part of the shipyard down there at Osbourne to that task, and we're getting on with that, and there's thousands and thousands of jobs. But those jobs aren't just about ensuring that we have that economic advantage. It's also about ensuring we have the defence advantage of sovereign capability of building, manufacturing our defence assets, and that's what keeps Australians safe.

GOODINGS: There's been a lot of negative reaction to the fact that the cancellation of the French submarine was going to cost us $5.5 billion.

PRIME MINISTER: I've seen that report, I mean, provisions are made, but that's, no that's not what is necessarily at the end of the day, how these things will be settled. But I mean, the fundamental question there is, and we would, we would, would have ended up building a submarine that events had overtaken. I mean, having a conventionally powered submarine out in the next generation is not what was going to deliver for Australia. And so, I took the hard decision, which said no, we need to change tact. We need to go for something better and we were able to achieve that with the AUKUS arrangement, the most significant defence arrangement in 70 years since ANZUS. And that gives us the capability. You know, you don't just keep going with something because, you know, it might be difficult not to. You've got to make the right decisions in the national interest and this is the right decision. And, we took those issues into account when we made that decision.

GOODINGS: Australia's going to build hypersonic missiles. Is this a sign of the times with what's happening in Ukraine and the, the sort of situation with China?

PRIME MINISTER: Well, certainly, but things that we had already planned for, and that the AUKUS agreement when we pulled it together, had these elements built into it, and we've now announced that that's been part of the agreement. We've said for some years now that we need to extend our long range defence capability and the development of hypersonic weapons is critical to that. And that's why the AUKUS agreement is so transformational for Australia. It isn't just about nuclear powered submarines, it's about quantum, it's about artificial intelligence, it's about cyber. As you know, in the Budget, we put $10 billion, just shy of that, into our cyber warfare, offensive and defensive capabilities because the first shots fired in any conflict these days won't be out of a gun, they'll be to disable and dismantle and disrupt our energy, our banking systems, all of this. And that's why we need to invest in those cyber capabilities. And that's a key part of the AUKUS arrangement as well. It is massively enabling us to upscale our capabilities together with our biggest and most trusted partners, the United States and the United Kingdom.

GOODINGS: Prime Minister, thanks for calling in today. Appreciate your call.

PRIME MINISTER: Thank you very much for your time. I appreciate it.

https://pmtranscripts.pmc.gov.au/release/transcript-43944

Interview with Neil Breen, 4BC

7 April 2022

Neil Breen: Good morning to you, Prime Minister.

Prime Minister: Good morning, Neil.

Breen: What did you make of that attack from Cameron Dick yesterday?

Prime Minister: Well, there's been a lot of politicisation of these terrible disasters, but Australians, Queenslanders just want these issues addressed and, and already we've supported the 50/50 program they put to us, which was over a half a billion dollars. And that was for small business grants and sport and recreational grants for places affected, primary producers. And we've also already paid out $379 million directly to Queenslanders, and they will know that.

But look, Neil, what we want to ensure is that people don't get left behind here. And while yes, we have spent more than the state government has even committed to these projects to this time, well, I've spoken to my, particularly my colleagues overnight, Julian Simmonds and others and Trevor Evans. And we believe that, you know, if Queensland wants to play politics with floods before an election - well, that's up to them. But what I want to make sure is that people are getting the support they need now.

Now the requests that the Queensland Government have made for this further support, they go well beyond any other request for floods of this nature in the past. They are things that are the state government's responsibility, but it's pretty clear they want to play politics with this. I don't want to play politics with this. I just want to make sure people are getting the support that they need. So we'll meet that, the 50/50 costs, but there'll be a couple of conditions. First of all, Neil, the Queensland Government is currently sitting on $52 million in their bank account that we have provided them over the last three years for various disasters that was supposed to help people. It's just sitting in their bank account. They haven't even spent it. And so my cautiousness in agreeing to a request from the Queensland Government on the eve of an election, I think people might be able to understand when they won't even tell you how much they've already spent on the money we've already committed to in this flood crisis alone. I can tell you every day yesterday it was $370. Today it's $379. That's how much the Commonwealth Government has already paid out to support flood victims in South East Queensland. I can't tell you what the Queensland Government has done with the $280 million we've committed to them in a 50/50 program for their first request, because they don't tell anyone. There has to be greater transparency about this.

I mean, we don't want to have politicking over the support that is provided in times of natural disaster. And I must say, normally we've worked very closely with the Queensland Government and were throughout the course of the floods. But as we're coming into this election, I think people can see what's going on here. And so yes, we will provide that support. Yes, it is beyond the scope of what is normally done. These are things the Queensland Government should be doing because it is their responsibility.

But we're in the current situation where the Commonwealth Government has already paid out more money to people in Queensland, than the Queensland Government has even committed to spend on these issues up until the request they've just made.

Breen: So, so, can I just ask, so what are you asking for, in return for you to pay half of the $771 - well, you're actually paying half of of a component of it already - but to pay half of it, what are you asking them to do in return exactly?

Prime Minister: I want them to be transparent with the payments that are being made. I want them to report to the public. I want them to be able to answer your question.

Breen: Yep.

Prime Minister: So, Treasurer Dick, when or how much has been paid? How much is being paid to Queenslanders? I can tell you the answer to that question from the Commonwealth - $379 million. But we need transparency. These big announcements and commitments are made by the Queensland Government, but how much have they actually paid to people? It has been many weeks now since we gave them the commitment to 50/50 funding on small business grants, not-for-profit grants, sports and recreational grants, primary producers. That was a $558.5 million program, which we agreed to weeks ago. How much money have they paid out? I don't know. They won't tell us.

Breen: No, they don't, they don't. They won't tell us about quarantine costs. There's a lot of things they don't tell us about. Hey, the $52 million, Prime Minister, from previous disasters. What's that all about?

Prime Minister: Well, what happens when you have disasters is you commit to funding to support and then you make payments to the states, and then they have to acquit that for the purposes it was sent to them. But where they don't spend it, they get to hold onto it. And that's what the Queensland Government did, and they've got $52 million right now that they haven't spent on previous disasters. They should be spending that money on things like flood mitigation. Now, we've talked about that before. They've also asked us for more money for flood mitigation. They've been sitting on $52 million of the Commonwealth's money, already that that could have been done to those projects.

So there's not a transparency here, I think, Neil, and that's the problem. We're happy to support and we are. So, what this will mean with our commitment today, is that there's been $1.9 billion committed between the state government and the Federal government to supporting the Queensland flood response. $1.3 billion of that will be coming from the Federal Government. So that doesn't sound like 50/50 to me. But people who have been affected by floods don't want this politicking and fighting. They just want it sorted out. So I'm happy to do that.

But I think it's important to be very clear that there's got to be transparency arrangements around this. Now, the Minister, Minister McKenzie, she'll be standing up later today and she'll talk more about these things. But one of the things she's also insisting on is we need a fairer deal about how we manage these disasters in the future. Because the Commonwealth, we always stump up. That $379 million on Commonwealth disaster payments, which people received immediately - those $1000 payments. We paid for that 100 per cent. We don't ask the state governments for it. We just get the job done. Now, in the future, if there's going to be, you know, more of these requests that come, then we want to know from the state governments, what are you doing on flood mitigation? What are you doing on hazard reduction? What are you doing on planning and approvals over where people can put houses and build them? Because the state, the state governments hold all the levers when it comes to protecting people on the ground from these disasters, and then when their policy failures come through, they just try and send the bill to the Federal Government, so it's not taking responsibility. We're happy to have shared responsibility here, and I think I'm demonstrating that today.

We've made a reasonable response. It was politicised by the state government, so I'm just not going to allow that to go on. So we'll stump up, but I'm looking forward to the Queensland Government being more transparent about this, we're now meeting two thirds of the cost of the flood response in Queensland. And I'm not counting things like Defence Force support and things like that. State government, of course, does things through the State Emergency Services, and they all do a terrific job. But when it comes to direct financial support, two thirds of the support for the South East Queensland flood victims is coming from the Commonwealth Government, and we've already spent more directly than the state government has even committed to, prior to this most recent request.

Breen: Prime Minister Scott Morrison, thanks for your time today. You've returned serve to that. You've returned serve to the Queensland Government. We'll see what their response is.

Prime Minister: Thanks very much, Neil. Good to chat.

https://pmtranscripts.pmc.gov.au/release/transcript-43943

AUKUS Leaders' Level Statement

6 April 2022

Today, the leaders of the Australia-UK-US (AUKUS) partnership – Prime Minister Scott Morrison of Australia, Prime Minister Boris Johnson of the United Kingdom, and President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. of the United States – assessed progress under AUKUS.

We reaffirmed our commitment to AUKUS and to a free and open Indo-Pacific. In light of Russia’s unprovoked, unjustified, and unlawful invasion of Ukraine, we reiterated our unwavering commitment to an international system that respects human rights, the rule of law, and the peaceful resolution of disputes free from coercion.

We are pleased with the progress in our trilateral program for Australia to establish a conventionally armed, nuclear-powered submarine capability. We are fully committed to establishing a robust approach to sharing naval propulsion technology with Australia that strengthens the global non-proliferation regime.

We also committed today to commence new trilateral cooperation on hypersonics and counter-hypersonics, and electronic warfare capabilities, as well as to expand information sharing and to deepen cooperation on defense innovation. These initiatives will add to our existing efforts to deepen cooperation on cyber capabilities, artificial intelligence, quantum technologies, and additional undersea capabilities. As our work progresses on these and other critical defense and security capabilities, we will seek opportunities to engage allies and close partners.

[Ends]

Please see fact sheet for more details:

• AUKUS fact sheet - PDF

• AUKUS fact sheet - Word Doc

https://pmtranscripts.pmc.gov.au/release/transcript-44184

Joint Media Statement - AUKUS Leaders' Level Statement

6 April 2022

Today, the leaders of the Australia-UK-US (AUKUS) partnership – Prime Minister Scott Morrison of Australia, Prime Minister Boris Johnson of the United Kingdom, and President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. of the United States – assessed progress under AUKUS.

We reaffirmed our commitment to AUKUS and to a free and open Indo-Pacific. In light of Russia’s unprovoked, unjustified, and unlawful invasion of Ukraine, we reiterated our unwavering commitment to an international system that respects human rights, the rule of law, and the peaceful resolution of disputes free from coercion.

We are pleased with the progress in our trilateral program for Australia to establish a conventionally armed, nuclear-powered submarine capability. We are fully committed to establishing a robust approach to sharing naval propulsion technology with Australia that strengthens the global non-proliferation regime.

We also committed today to commence new trilateral cooperation on hypersonics and counter-hypersonics, and electronic warfare capabilities, as well as to expand information sharing and to deepen cooperation on defense innovation. These initiatives will add to our existing efforts to deepen cooperation on cyber capabilities, artificial intelligence, quantum technologies, and additional undersea capabilities. As our work progresses on these and other critical defense and security capabilities, we will seek opportunities to engage allies and close partners.

• AUKUS Fact Sheet

https://pmtranscripts.pmc.gov.au/release/transcript-44185

Interview with Leigh Sales, ABC 7.30

6 April 2022

LEIGH SALES: Prime Minister, welcome back. 

PRIME MINISTER: Thanks Leigh, great to be here. 

SALES: When you look at the threats to your Government's survival, they're almost all own goals. Almost all of the incoming fire is from your own missteps or from inside your own party. Why would the public trust you with another term as Prime Minister, when many people on your own side don't seem to trust you?

PRIME MINISTER: Leigh, over the last three and a half years, since I took on this job, I said I wanted to keep our economy strong, I wanted to keep Australians safe and keep Australians together. And at that time, none of us could foresee what would come in the form of the pandemic and the many other disasters. But at the end of that, where are we? We've saved 40,000 lives. The Australian economy has come through this pandemic stronger than all of the G7 countries in the world. We have the second ratest high, the second rated highest pandemic preparedness in the world. We've got unemployment down to four per cent and falling. Even our debt, given the massive interventions we've had to take, is a fraction of what we're seeing overseas. And we've landed some of the biggest security agreements with our biggest allies and partners in the world today. Now that is doing what I said I would do, and I don't get distracted by all the other things, because that's not my job. My job is to focus on those things. We've delivered on those, and more importantly, we've got the plan to keep doing it to keep Australia strong in the future.

SALES: Alright. If it's that rosy a picture, why are the polls all showing things tight, with Labor in a winning position? 

PRIME MINISTER: The elections are always tight, Leigh. The last election was tight. In fact, most elections are tight, and …

SALES: Yeah, but shouldn't it, shouldn’t it be not tight, if it's as rosy as you said?  

PRIME MINISTER: No, I think Australians, well, no, I didn't paint that picture, Leigh. What I was saying is you asked how, you know, how we have performed, and I'd set out how we’d performed. Australians have still got many challenges, the cost of living challenges right now. And that's why it's been so important that the $100 billion improvement that we've been able to achieve, just in the last 12 months, by the biggest single economic recovery you've seen in seven years, means now that we can take action to deal with cost of living pressures right now. That's exactly what we had to do in the pandemic. We got the Budget back into balance, worked hard to achieve that before the pandemic hit, which meant we could do JobKeeper, which saved 700,000 jobs, countless businesses and lives.

SALES: Alright, let me put it to you that with the record of performance during COVID, which, as you point out, is better than around the world, and the economy doing relatively well, that there can only be one factor that's playing into the negative sentiment towards the Coalition. And that, without sounding rude, has to be you.

PRIME MINISTER: Well, it's a tough job and it's been a tough time. And people have had a tough time of it over the last three and a half years …

SALES: People in your own party, because they're the ones that seem to be leading the criticism? 

PRIME MINISTER: Oh, look, Leigh, there are always people who are disappointed with outcomes that they wanted that they didn't get, and they'll have an axe to grind. And we've seen that, that's pretty normal in politics, particularly when you're going into an election. So the people I work with every day in my Cabinet, we've all been very focused on getting Australia through this crisis. And Australia has come through this crisis stronger than almost any other advanced country in the world. And that's what we've kept focused on. And that's what we'll continue to keep focused on because I know my economic plan is working because Australians are in work. Unemployment has fallen from 5.7 per cent down to four per cent. Now that has happened during a crisis, an economic crisis, that was 30 times worse than the global financial crisis that Labor faced. And our employment outcomes are 50 per cent better.

SALES: I'll come back to some of the criticisms from your colleagues later, but just to ask you about the news of the day - the New South Wales court decision. Let's go back to first principles. Why did you decide to intervene and dictate this preselection process yourself, with a small group of people, rather than leave it to local branches to pick candidates? It's the same sort of faceless men scenario that the Liberals used to tear shreds off Labor over.

PRIME MINISTER: Let's go back to first principles. Sussan Ley, one of my finest Cabinet Ministers, one of our most successful women Members of Parliament, was under threat. She was under threat from factions within the Liberal Party, and I decided to stand up to it.

SALES: Yeah, but that’s for the rank and file. It's a democratic party, supposedly. 

PRIME MINISTER: No, well I’m sorry, no, I'm very serious about having great women in my ranks. 

SALES: Yeah, what about the others? There's other seats as well. 

PRIME MINISTER: Well, Fiona Martin was another.

SALES: Trent Zimmerman? 

PRIME MINISTER: Fiona, and Trent Zimmerman was someone, you know ...

SALES: Yeah but, but it’s not, what what's going on with the Liberal Party that the Prime Minister’s dictating, rather than the grassroots of the Party?

PRIME MINISTER: No, the Prime Minister was standing up to things happening in the Party to make sure that quality people, who are doing a quality job in their seats, should be able to go forward to the next election.

SALES: Yeah, but they should be able to persuade their grassroots members if they're doing that.

PRIME MINISTER: Well, when that process, on this occasion, was not getting that outcome, I thought it was really important. See, I'm asked all the time, Leigh, “Why won't the Prime Minister do more about getting good women in Parliament and stand up for the women in Parliament?” See, I stood up for the women in my team.

SALES: It wasn't, it wasn't just women.

PRIME MINISTER: Well, that's what the principal reason was and people know that. There were other members who were, who were able to be endorsed by that process. But the other, all the members that I, not just I, this process was done by myself, the Premier. They see our faces all the time. And the other one was Christine McDiven, who was the first ever female President of the Federal Liberal Party. Now, she's certainly not a faceless man, she's a woman who I've worked with over a long period of time …

SALES: But what’s the point of being a…

PRIME MINISTER: But of those candidates we picked, Leigh, 50 per cent of them are women, 50 per cent men. Of those, they came from Vietnamese, Indian, Chinese backgrounds, as well as Sri Lankan and Croatian. I think the candidates that we've chosen, I'd like the members to be able to do that, but we were running out of time. The job had to get done and, but I will always stand up for those in my Party, and particularly those in my Government where factions try to take them out.

SALES: But you're in a faction, well, you're not in a faction, actually. 

PRIME MINISTER: No, I'm not, no, I’m not, Leigh, no, I’m not. 

SALES: But you've, you’re not, but you've got your own agenda though. You've got your own people that you want ... 

PRIME MINISTER: And that is ensuring that we put the best candidates in the field, to ensure that our Government can put the best foot forward to ensure we continue to have a strong economy for a stronger future. I've never had any time for the factional games in the Liberal Party. When I was Director, you know, you get plenty of enemies in that process when you don't let people bully their way into getting the outcomes that they want.

SALES: Oh come on. You've got your allies and your agendas. You’re a, everyone in politics does. You have to. It's disingenuous to say you don't.  

PRIME MINISTER: No, I don’t, I think it's unfair. If you knew my record better, particularly when I was a Director, I always stood up to the factions. I came independently into the role.

SALES: You're claiming like you're like an honest broker who doesn't have his own agenda and his own allies. Of course you do. 

PRIME MINISTER: No, I'm a Prime Minister ensuring that the Party that I lead puts the best candidates in the field. And the candidates that I, and the Premier and Chris McDiven have selected, as I said, represent the diversity of our population and our Party. They represent men and women. And importantly, they're nurses, they're small business people, they're Defence Force veterans. These are great candidates. Maria Kovacic there in Parramatta - she hasn't been parachuted in from the Eastern Suburbs. She was the Western Sydney businesswoman of the year, and I'm really glad we were able to select her.

SALES: In the past week, we've seen two MPs from in your own party, from different factions, come out with the most strident criticisms of you. The first was Senator Concetta Fierravanti-Wells, and today it's a state New South Wales MP Catherine Cusack. Miss Cusack said she would not vote for you in the election, even though she's a lifelong member of the Party. Why would somebody like that just turn on you if there was no basis?

PRIME MINISTER: Oh well, look, Catherine, I've known for a long time. She made pretty similar criticisms of Gladys Berejiklian, actually. So when people have become frustrated in the political process, they've lashed out. People have axes to grind in in political parties. Connie, the same. They will express this, and particularly at a time when it is sought to do most damage to the individual. And look that's, they're the things that I've become very used to in politics. But you know, as Prime Minister, you've got to take all the slings and arrows, and I do. But I don't, I never lose my focus on the job, Leigh. And a Prime Minister can't. And I’ll always stand up to the things that are trying to take our our Government off in the wrong direction. 

SALES: But let's look at the range of people who’ve questioned your character. Senator Fierravanti-Wells, Catherine Cusack, Barnaby Joyce, in a text message, where he called you a hypocrite and liar. Jacqui Lambie, Pauline Hanson - both say they’ve felt bullied by you. Julia Banks. Emmanuel Macron said that you lied to him. There was a leaked text from Gladys Berejiklian calling you a horrible, horrible person.  That's a lot of smoke ... 

PRIME MINISTER: Which she denies. 

SALES: That's a lot, that's a lot of smoke - no fire?

PRIME MINISTER: No, what I'm saying is, if you take a thread through all of that, across my political career and particularly as Prime Minister, I mean when people come and they just want a yes from me or they want the outcome they're seeking, and I disagree with them and I take a different position, that's not what people are ... the allegation they make against me on that is not true. 

SALES: Yeah, but they don't always come out ... 

PRIME MINISTER: I'm allowed to disagree with you, but that doesn't mean, that doesn't mean the alternative. 

SALES: Of course, but ... 

PRIME MINISTER: And as a Prime Minister, you can't just say yes to everybody and give everybody what they want. And when they don't get what they want, like a $90 billion submarine contract, then of course they're going to lash out. 

SALES: But it's not always to the degree that we're seeing around you, particularly coming from inside your own Party. You know, the discontent around the floods response. The discontent around the preselection. There's a lot of noise within your own ranks. 

PRIME MINISTER: Well, I'm very determined, Leigh. And I'm very determined to ensure that the Government can get on with the important job that it has. And on our flood response - I mean, $2.1 billion has been committed into the New South Wales flood response. Over a billion of that has already been paid out the door. Now, I find in these situations when people have an axe to grind, particularly on the eve of election, you know, that is what happens in politics. But the facts tell a different story about what we've done. 

SALES: But let's talk about, say someone has an axe to grind. Catherine Cusack, as part of her discontent, points out that in the initial raft of flood disaster recovery payments, it went to seats held by Nationals. Then it was extended to Labor areas after a huge outcry. You said today that was because more assessment was required. But come on, it was immediately obvious that all of those areas needed help. 

PRIME MINISTER: No, no. Actually, you've completely mischaracterised the situation, Leigh, to be fair. What I said when I went to Lismore is that we'd immediately identified three local government areas on the basis of the advice we had from the National Recovery and Resilience Agency that should qualify for those three payments. And I said when I was there, I said it to the Ballina Mayor, who we hadn't included at that time, I said to the Labor Member up there in Richmond, I said that we would be doing further analysis in the coming days, and we'd make further announcements. And that's exactly what we did. Now that misunderstands that in every disaster, that's how it works every time. You list some local government areas straight away, and then you add others to the list. Now I can understand why Catherine would have been devastated by those floods. She's lived up in that area, grew up in Alstonville, and she knows that area well. It's her whole life, so I can understand why she was upset. But the truth of the matter was, that, you know, we had always intended to make further assessments, and if those assessments supported those payments, then we would, and we did. 

SALES: In an interview last week, you said, “I know I've got critics who say you shouldn't be spending money on helping people during these crises.” Who said that?  

PRIME MINISTER: Oh look, all the time. 

SALES: No they don't. Who said that? Who said people, you shouldn't spend money helping people in crisis?

PRIME MINISTER: No, I’m sorry, you should try looking at my Facebook feed from time to time. It's probably just as as nasty as yours, as people what you're saying on yours.

SALES: No, seriously.

PRIME MINISTER: No, there are some views that sort of says, ah well, people, you know, they shouldn't get payments, they should have their insurance, and I know they can't get insurance. And so we have lent in. I mean, we had $6 billion in this Budget alone to be dealing with the most recent natural disasters, the South East Queensland floods and the New South Wales floods. And we moved quickly also on the fires as well. The pandemic payments, JobKeeper all of these, the Cyclone Seroja, all of these, we have been the first there in getting payments out. Now right now, as I said, in New South Wales alone, more than a billion dollars have been paid directly into people's pockets. Now, New South Wales has yet to get those payments through because they go through their small business payment process, and we're funding half of those as well. But our job in those crises, because we fund those payments 100 per cent by the Commonwealth, is to get them out as quickly as possible. And the team at Services Australia do a great job in achieving that.

SALES: You've always been big on Australian values, like community and mateship and so on.

PRIME MINISTER: Yeah.

SALES: I wanted to ask you, you've been friends with the former Hillsong Pastor Brian Houston for a long time, right? He stood down from Hillsong last week, when the church leadership was concerned about two incidents. One was that he had sent a flirtatious text to a staff member. The other was he spent 40 minutes in a woman's hotel room. Why did you kind of disown him last week when you were asked about that, given that he is a long-term close friend?

PRIME MINISTER: No, I wouldn't describe that as my reaction. I said I was disappointed and I was shocked. 

SALES: And then you pointed out you hadn’t been at Hillsong for 15 years. It's like you were distancing ...

PRIME MINISTER: Well, this is what had been put to me. 

SALES: It's like you were distancing. 

PRIME MINISTER: Well, no, look I haven't been. I mean, I've attended their conferences. I attend many churches around, but my home church is in Sutherland.  

SALES: But as a loyal mate, why didn't you say, you know, “I don't want to join a pile-on of this bloke”?  

PRIME MINISTER: Well, I didn't. I just said I was disappointed and shocked, like a lot of people have been. And I said the church's response was very appropriate, and I think it was.

SALES: Have you spoken to him since then? 

PRIME MINISTER: No, I haven't. 

SALES: Every federal election, when Australians think about who they want to vote for, there's a few things they can take into account. They can think about, you know, who they like and trust more out of you and Anthony Albanese. For the Government, they can look to your record. They can also look at your policy agenda going forward. But going forward, where is the Coalition's transformational plan? Because, for a decade, there's been nothing on company tax, nothing on industrial relations, the things that people would traditionally look to a Coalition Government for.

PRIME MINISTER: Well, Leigh, we've cut company tax from 30 per cent to 25 per cent for small and medium-sized businesses. We've abolished a whole tax bracket. And in the next term, on the laws we've already passed, if you’re earning between $45,000 and $200,000, you will pay no more than 30 cents in the dollar in tax. So I wouldn't say that's all, that has been significant. But on top of that, our investments, particularly in training - we have 220,000 apprentices in trade training right now. That is the highest level of trade apprentices in training since records began in 1963. The investments we're putting into skills, the infrastructure we’re building like the Western Sydney International Airport, which is something we did and made happen. The investment in ensuring that we're getting reliable and affordable energy - there's $21 billion transforming our energy sector. The data and digital plan - that is some $2 billion that we're investing in, which includes now, on top of that, 120 per cent tax deductions for small and medium-sized businesses to digitally upgrade their businesses. And, of course, the modern manufacturing plan, and we mentioned just this week the Treasurer announced further support for the critical minerals and rare earths sector to to build up our processing capacity here in Australia. But it's not just that, it's in space, it's in defence industry, it's in the food and beverage, it's in medical. We're going to have mRNA manufacturing down in Melbourne. We just announced money to support the Cyclotron and that backs up the synchrotron, which is the big infrastructure you need to have great medical advances. So, our plan has been, that has been our plan. That's why we've had a $100 billion turnaround in our Budget in the last 12 months. And that plan will take us forward. The thing I'm most excited about, Leigh, is $21 billion being invested in our regions. Now in that plan, whether it's up in Middle Arm, which is up in the Northern Territory, up in Central and North Queensland in the Burdekin, the Pilbara, the Hunter. They are regions where we need to unlock the wealth. And the infrastructure investments we're making there in this Budget is transformational. It is Snowy on on steroids, and that is what is going to produce the wealth that’s going to pay for the things that matter. Because if you don't have an economic plan, which we clearly do, and that's demonstrated in our results, then you cannot fund the things and the essential services that we've been able to guarantee.

SALES: Prime Minister, every election campaign for the past 27 years that this show’s been on, both leaders have done a couple of primetime interviews on this show during the campaign. I've already invited Mr Albanese and he agreed. So, I wanted to invite you while I’m here. Would you be happy to do a couple of interviews on air?

PRIME MINISTER: Well, we'll be appearing on the ABC and everybody's programs over the course of the campaign, Leigh. And we've always made ourselves pretty available.  

SALES: Well, that's not a direct answer, actually. Will you be doing two interviews on primetime on 7.30?  

PRIME MINISTER: Well, the election isn't about the 7.30 report. It's about the Australian people and we’ll make ourselves available to the ABC and all the networks, and I'll be standing up every day. And you make a good point, Leigh ...

SALES: You want to be the first, are you going to be the first Prime Minister in 27 years to not do two interviews on the main primetime current affairs program in the country?

PRIME MINISTER: Surprisingly, I don't think the major issue that people are thinking about at the next election is the 7.30 Report. 

SALES: No, not at all. But they do want to hear from you. And that's a million people that you're turning your back on, if you don't do it.

PRIME MINISTER: They will get that opportunity. They will get that opportunity.  

SALES: Alright, well we'll put a bid in every day and see how we go. 

PRIME MINISTER: Not a problem. 

SALES: Thank you, Prime Minister. 

PRIME MINISTER: Thanks a lot.

https://pmtranscripts.pmc.gov.au/release/transcript-43939

Locally made medicines

4 April 2022

The Morrison Government is supporting new local jobs in Australia’s innovative medical sector and investing to secure local manufacturing of life-saving medicines.

Under the Collaboration Stream of the Modern Manufacturing Initiative, the Government has today announced $23 million support for the $71.2 million Australian Precision Medicine Enterprise.

Global Medical Solutions Australia will work with partners Monash University and Telix Pharmaceuticals for the production of precision medicines for the treatment of cancer, kidney disease and other illnesses here in Australia.

Currently Australia imports more than 90 per cent of its medicines. This project and its facility to be built in Clayton, Victoria will secure Australia’s sovereign capability, while its economic impact is expected to be $461.8 million over the next 15 years.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison said the investment demonstrated the Government’s commitment to building Australia’s medical manufacturing capability.

“Making medicines like these right here means more security from disruptions, more homegrown skills and more local jobs,” the Prime Minister said.

“Building up our ability to make products like these is key to our plan for a stronger future.

“The pandemic has shown us more than ever before we need access to what Australians need here at home and this project will help ensure we have critical precision medicines for our patients.

“The Australian Precision Medicine Enterprise will help cement precision medicine development here in Australia, also helping deliver a stronger economy by growing opportunities for our medical sector and the highly-skilled jobs it supports.”

The 2022-23 Budget demonstrated the ongoing commitment to manufacturing with an additional $1 billion for the Morrison Government’s Modern Manufacturing Strategy, including an extra $750 million for the Modern Manufacturing Initiative.

Minister for Industry, Energy and Emissions Reduction Angus Taylor said these projects will help onshore technology and expertise not currently in Australia, while securing new sovereign capability.

“This project will see the construction of a new facility that will house a high energy 30 mega-electron volt (MeV ) cyclotron, which will be a new domestic source of critical radioisotopes – which are currently imported into Australia – and will be used in the treatment of cancer, kidney disease and other illnesses,” Minister Taylor said.

“By combining research and development and the manufacture of precision medicines locally we are shoring up our supply chain resilience.

“These projects will also create highly-skilled jobs in the medical sector, such as radiochemists, radio pharmacists and engineers, while also reducing our reliance on overseas suppliers of vital medications.”

Minister for Health and Aged Care Greg Hunt said the project will see incredible collaboration with the Monash Biomedical Imaging Centre, National Synchrotron and the Victorian Heart Hospital.

“Not only will this facility and the precision medicines it will help lead to better patient outcomes, it will help bolster Australia’s entire medical ecosystem,” Minister Hunt said.

“This project will help realise the incredible potential of medicines that are customised to patients, all the way from clinical trials to their local manufacture right here at home.”

The facility will directly support 42 jobs with 105 additional along the supply chain.

https://pmtranscripts.pmc.gov.au/release/transcript-43936

Transforming Australia's critical minerals sector

4 April 2022

The Morrison Government today approved a $1.25 billion loan through the Critical Minerals Facility to Australian company Iluka Resources, to develop Australia’s first integrated rare earths refinery in Western Australia.

The refinery will produce separated rare earth oxide products (Praseodymium, Dysprosium, Neodymium and Terbium), which are used in permanent magnets in a wide range of technologies, including electric vehicles, clean energy generation and defence.

The Eneabba Refinery Project strongly aligns with the objectives of the Government’s Critical Minerals Strategy. It will capture more value on-shore from our critical minerals, strengthen Australia’s position as a trusted supplier of critical minerals, and create regional jobs crucial for the new energy economy.

This loan builds on our Government’s support for the critical minerals sector to help realise our vision of becoming a global critical minerals powerhouse by 2030.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison said the announcement represented a decisive step forward in rare earths production and processing in Australia.

“Australia has the best resource industry in the world and we have an unrivalled competitive-edge when it comes to being a reliable, sustainable provider of critical minerals and rare earths,” the Prime Minister said.

“Our support for this project will capitalise on our advantages, helping to strengthen Australia’s critical minerals supply chain while also creating huge job and economic opportunities for Australians for generations to come.

“Australia’s critical minerals are in demand because they are the key input for everything from mobile phones to fighter jets, not to mention the technologies of the future that haven’t even been realised yet.”

Treasurer Josh Frydenberg said the project would help secure Australia’s manufacturing capability, unlocking a new generation of high-wage, high-skill, high tech jobs.

“Building a modern manufacturing sector and securing our sovereign capability is a key part of our plans for a stronger economy and a stronger future for Australia,” the Treasurer said.

“Australia’s critical minerals sector and the job-creating industries that rely on it are being supercharged under the Morrison Government’s $2.5 billion Modern Manufacturing Strategy.”

Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment Dan Tehan said the project would promote Australia as a reliable and trusted supplier of oxides.

“The Morrison Government is advancing Australia’s position as a world leader in the critical minerals sector,” Minister Tehan said.

“Our Government is supporting businesses to invest in projects in regional Australia, create jobs and meet the global appetite for critical minerals.

“We are working with our trading partners to help facilitate partnerships between Australian critical mineral project proponents and potential sources of offtake and investment.”

Minister for Resources and Water Keith Pitt said the project would help Australia increase its sovereign critical minerals processing capacity, potentially underpinning new industries and applications.

“The facility could supply up to nine per cent of the global rare earth oxide market when it comes online. It will initially use the Eneabba Stockpile – one of the highest-grade sources of rare earth elements in the world,” Minister Pitt said.

“The refinery is also designed to process concentrate from many other deposits across Australia, making it a natural hub and reducing the capital required to bring other projects online.”

This loan will be administered by Export Finance Australia and is the third project under the Government’s Critical Minerals Facility to be announced.

https://pmtranscripts.pmc.gov.au/release/transcript-43935

Premier Peter Gutwein

4 April 2022

Peter Gutwein leaves public life with gratitude and great respect.

As Premier since 2020, he led Tasmania through a once-in-a-century pandemic. Peter did not put a foot wrong.

As Treasurer since 2014, Peter along with former Premier Will Hodgman was the architect of Tasmania’s economic revival.

He leaves politics with a world-best response to COVID and a Tasmanian economy thriving with jobs at a record high. 

His contributions to the National Cabinet have been invaluable. 

As Prime Minister and beforehand as Treasurer, I have always respected the way Peter has demonstrated strength and compassion in his leadership, delivering jobs and lifting communities. He is a great Tasmanian leader.

However, public life demands a great deal from all of us. Peter has come to the realisation that he has given it his all. Not only a public figure, Peter is a husband and father as well and he knows where he has to be.

I thank Peter for everything he has done for the Liberal Party, Tasmania and Australia – and on behalf of his federal colleagues, I wish him and his wife Mandy, and children Finn and Millie, all the best for the next chapter in their life together.

https://pmtranscripts.pmc.gov.au/release/transcript-44183

Significant new investment in regional Tasmania to deliver affordable & reliable energy to mainland

3 April 2022

The Morrison Government is unlocking Tasmania’s renewable energy powerhouse potential and thousands of new jobs through a significant new Commonwealth investment in the Marinus Link electricity interconnector and Tasmania’s Battery of the Nation project.

Marinus Link will export 1,500 MW of fast-start, reliable hydro-electricity from Battery of the Nation and across Tasmania into the other regions of the National Electricity Market (NEM) when it is most needed, delivering an expected $4.6 billion in benefits across the market.

The Government is investing a further $75 million, on top of a previous $66 million already invested, to progress the Marinus Link to a Final Investment Decision and through the next stages of planning, design and approvals.

The Government is also providing $65 million to fund upgrade works on the Tarraleah hydro power scheme redevelopment in Tasmania’s Central Highlands, the first of the Battery of the Nation projects.

These projects will deliver reliable increased renewable capacity to the NEM and brings the Commonwealth Government’s total commitment to $206 million.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison said ensuring Australians have access to affordable reliable energy is part of our plan for a stronger future, and addressing cost of living pressures.

“Marinus Link and Battery of the Nation are true nation building projects,” the Prime Minister said.

“This will have enormous benefits for Tasmanians and Victorians, strengthening the economy, creating thousands of jobs, driving down power bills and easing cost of living pressures. More energy in the market means lower prices for everyone.

“Together these game-changing projects will generate thousands of jobs, particularly in regional Tasmania and regional Victoria, and unlock new investment in other renewable energy projects across Tasmania.

“Marinus Link and Battery of the Nation are what a Morrison Government is all about – taking real action to deliver job-creating projects, unlocking economic opportunities, securing our supply of essential services, and ensuring Australians have more money in their pockets to pay for the things they want and need.

“Today’s announcement is the result of the strong partnership I share with Premier Peter Gutwein and his team, and reflects our shared long term commitment to the Marinus Link and delivering for Tasmania.”

Premier Peter Gutwein said the historic agreement would deliver thousands of jobs for Tasmanians while cementing Tasmania’s renewable energy future.

“This is a significant agreement for a clean energy highway, helping to reduce emissions, deliver reliable and affordable energy for consumers, and strengthen Tasmania’s economy through new jobs and investment.

“Tasmania is already a world-leader in renewable energy.  We can already generate 100 per cent of our energy from renewables with a target to double that by 2040. 

“Through Marinus Link, we will take this to the next level, helping to cut at least 140 million tonnes of CO2 emissions by 2050 – the equivalent of taking around a million cars off the road. During construction it will deliver 1400 direct and indirect jobs in Tasmania.

“But most importantly, for Tasmanians and Tasmanian families, it will put downward pressure on electricity prices, helping to ease the cost of living for Tasmanian families into the future.

“I would like to acknowledge the Morrison Government for its support and collaboration in this game-changing infrastructure, that will underpin Tasmania’s continued leadership in renewable energy and the benefits that has for Tasmania.”

Minister for Industry, Energy and Emissions Reduction Angus Taylor said Marinus and Battery of the Nation are key parts of our balanced plan to deliver a more reliable electricity supply, a more secure grid and lower prices.

“Support of critical reliable generation, like Battery of the Nation, and support of transmission projects that stack up for consumers, like Marinus Link, are key parts of our plan to ensure Australians continue to have the affordable, reliable power they deserve as we bring down our emissions,” Minister Taylor said.

“This is why, in addition to the $140 million in direct support we are providing today, we have also committed to a clear pathway for progressing underwriting of the Tarraleah Battery of the Nation Project through our Underwriting New Generation Investments program.

“Labor have opposed the Underwriting New Generation Investments program, choosing to vote with the Greens in the Senate against this program. On-demand reliable power is critical to keep the lights on and prices low, and Labor’s actions show that all they stand for is a less reliable grid and higher prices.

“Labor’s vote is a vote against Battery of the Nation, against thousands of jobs and economic gains for Tasmanians, and a vote against new generation to power a Tasmanian hydrogen industry.”

Energy and Emissions Reductions Minister Guy Barnett said this was another important step in delivering this nationally significant infrastructure, as well as providing Tasmania with further energy supply and storage capacity – giving us even greater energy security.

“Marinus Link is expected to inject billions into the Tasmanian economy, create thousands of jobs, and provide broader renewable energy opportunities,” the Minister said.

“Its construction is expected to create 1400 new direct and indirect Tasmanian jobs alone, with a further 1400 in Victoria, unlocking projects such as Battery of the Nation which will enable thousands of jobs and opportunities across the supply chain. 

“Complementary to our green hydrogen plans, this will deliver the confidence in our renewable energy future that investors have been looking for, unlocking a further pipeline of projects in Tasmania.”

The Commonwealth and Tasmanian Governments will provide strong oversight of both projects through a Joint Ministerial Governance Committee and a Joint Committee of Senior Officials to monitor delivery milestones. Commonwealth nominees will also join the Marinus Link Pty Ltd Board to reflect our 50 per cent investment and partnership in the project.

A Final Investment Decision on the Marinus Link project is anticipated in 2024.

The project, which involves 250 kilometres of undersea cable and 90 kilometres of underground cable in Victoria, will deliver around 2,800 jobs at peak construction, and will stimulate investment in hydro and wind generation. Battery of the Nation is expected to deliver a further 1,120 jobs across Tasmania.

https://pmtranscripts.pmc.gov.au/release/transcript-43933

Historic trade deal with India

2 April 2022

Australia today signs an historic trade agreement with India, the Australia-India Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement, that will further strengthen our relationship while making Australian exports to India cheaper and creating huge new opportunities for workers and businesses.

Tariffs will be eliminated on more than 85 per cent of Australian goods exports to India (valued at more than $12.6 billion a year), rising to almost 91 per cent (valued at $13.4 billion) over 10 years.

Australian households and businesses will also benefit, with 96 per cent of Indian goods imports entering Australia duty-free on entry into force.

India is the world’s largest democracy and the world’s fastest-growing major economy, with GDP projected to grow at nine per cent in 2021-22 and 2022-23 and 7.1 per cent in 2023-24.

In 2020, India was Australia’s seventh largest trading partner, with two-way trade valued at $24.3 billion, and sixth largest goods and services export market, valued at $16.9 billion. Our Government’s goal is to lift India into our top three export markets by 2035, and to make India the third largest destination in Asia for outward Australian investment.

The Australia-India Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement (AI ECTA) signed today will further strengthen that relationship.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison said the agreement would create enormous trade diversification opportunities for Australian producers and service providers bound for India, valued at up to $14.8 billion each year.

“This agreement opens a big door into the world’s fastest growing major economy for Australian farmers, manufacturers, producers and so many more,” the Prime Minister said. 

“By unlocking the huge market of around 1.4 billion consumers in India, we are strengthening the economy and growing jobs right here at home.

“This is great news for lobster fishers in Tasmania, wine producers in South Australia, macadamia farmers in Queensland, critical minerals miners in Western Australia, lamb farmers from New South Wales, wool producers from Victoria and metallic ore producers from the Northern Territory.

“This agreement has been built on our strong security partnership and our joint efforts in the Quad, which has created the opportunity for our economic relationship to advance to a new level.”

Benefits of AI ECTA include:

• Sheep meat tariffs of 30 per cent will be eliminated on entry into force, providing a boost for Australian exports that already command nearly 20 per cent of India’s market

• Wool will have the current 2.5 per cent tariffs eliminated on entry into force, supporting Australia’s second-largest market for wool products.

• Tariffs on wine with a minimum import price of US$5 per bottle will be reduced from 150 per cent to 100 per cent on entry into force and subsequently to 50 per cent over 10 years (based on Indian wholesale price index for wine).

• Tariffs on wine bottles with minimum import price of US$15 will be reduced from 150 per cent to 75 per cent on entry into force and subsequently to 25 per cent over 10 years (based on Indian wholesale price index for wine).

• Tariffs up to 30 per cent on avocados, onions, broad, kidney and adzuki beans, cherries, shelled pistachios, macadamias, cashews in-shell, blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, currants will be eliminated over seven years.

• Tariffs on almonds, lentils, oranges, mandarins, pears, apricots and strawberries will be reduced, improving opportunities for Australia’s horticulture industry to supply India’s growing food demand.

• The resources sector will benefit from the elimination of tariffs on entry into force for coal, alumina, metallic ores, including manganese, copper and nickel; and critical minerals including titanium and zirconium.

• LNG tariffs will be bound at 0 per cent at entry into force.

• Tariffs on pharmaceutical products and certain medical devices will be eliminated over five and seven years.

Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment Dan Tehan said AI ECTA would also further strengthen the people-to-people links between our countries. India was Australia’s third largest market for services exports in 2020.

“This agreement will turbocharge our close, long-standing and highly complementary economic relationship in areas such as critical minerals, professional services, education and tourism,” Mr Tehan said.

“It will create new opportunities for jobs and businesses in both countries, while laying the foundations for a full free trade agreement.”

Both countries will facilitate the recognition of professional qualifications, licensing, and registration procedures between professional services bodies in both countries.

Australian services suppliers in 31 sectors and sub-sectors will be guaranteed to receive the best treatment accorded by India to any future free trade agreement partner, including in: higher education and adult education; business services (tax, medical and dental, architectural and urban planning; research and development; communication, construction and engineering; insurance and banking; hospital; audio-visual; and tourism and travel.

Australia will also provide new access for young Indians to participate in working holidays in Australia. Places in Australia's Work and Holiday program will be set at 1,000 per year and Australia will have two years to implement the outcome. This is expected to contribute to both workforce requirements and to boost tourism to support our post-COVID recovery.

In a boost to our STEM and IT workforces, the length of stay for an Indian Student with a bachelor’s degree with first class honours will be extended from two to three years post study in Science, Technology, Engineering or Mathematics (STEM) and information and communications technology (ICT) sectors.

Australia and India have also agreed to undertake cooperation to promote agricultural trade as part of the agreement and will now work toward concluding an enhanced agricultural Memorandum of Understanding (MoU).

Mr Tehan today signed AI ECTA on behalf of Australia during a virtual ceremony with India’s Minister of Commerce & Industry, Consumer Affairs & Food & Public Distribution and Textiles, Piyush Goyal, attended by Prime Ministers Scott Morrison and Narendra Modi.

Today’s announcement builds on the Morrison Government’s $280 million investment to further grow our economic relationship and support jobs and businesses in both countries, that includes:

• $35.7 million to support cooperation on research, production and commercialisation of clean technologies, critical minerals and energy;

• $25.2 million to deepen space cooperation with India and

• $28.1 million to launch a Centre for Australia-India Relations.

AI ECTA is an interim agreement and both countries continue to work towards a full Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement.

https://pmtranscripts.pmc.gov.au/release/transcript-43930

Petroleum Exploration Permit (PEP-11)

1 April 2022

Prime Minister of Australia

The Prime Minister has taken the final step to reject the application for the Offshore Petroleum Exploration Permit PEP-11.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison said the Government’s decision under section 59(3) of the Offshore Petroleum and Greenhouse Gas Storage Act 2006 to propose to refuse the application has been formalised.

“PEP-11 is officially dead in the water,” the Prime Minister said.

“I said the project would not proceed on our watch, and that is exactly what has happened.

“The decision has been finalised to ensure PEP-11 will not go ahead as a result of the steps taken by my Government.

“I would like to thank our local Liberal Members and candidates and the coastal communities from Newcastle through to Wollongong for voicing their concerns and for working with the Government to ensure the local communities and environment remain protected.”

The New South Wales Government agreed with the Morrison Government’s proposed decision.

The National Offshore Petroleum Titles Administrator (NOPTA) has advised the applicant of the decision.

https://pmtranscripts.pmc.gov.au/release/transcript-43927