Interview with Jim Wilson, 2GB
19 August 2020
Jim Wilson: Prime Minister, good afternoon to you.
Prime Minister: G’day Jim, look, I just heard that caller, can I be really clear to everyone? No one's going to be- it's not going to be compulsory to have the vaccine. Okay? It's not compulsory. There are no compulsory vaccines in Australia. There are no things that force people to do things. What we want to achieve is as much vaccination as we possibly can. Should the vaccine actually prove successful and get through those trials. I mean, Australia has one of the best records of any countries in the world in getting high rates of immunisation. And we do that through a mixture of measures. I think there's been a bit of an overreaction to any suggestion of this, there will be no compulsory vaccine, but there will be a lot of encouragement and measures to get as high a rate of acceptance, as usual.
Wilson: So just clarifying, Prime Minister, so you're not making it mandatory? I thought unless you had medical grounds for an exemption, you wanted to make it mandatory if the vaccination was successful and if you introduced it?
Prime Minister: No. Well, there are no mechanisms for ‘compulsory’. I mean, we can't hold someone down and make them take it, Jim. That doesn't happen anywhere in Australia today under any of those systems. And that's not what people are proposing. Also, I want to stress that the vaccine has to clear all of the trial tests and to be as safe as any other vaccine that we have operating in Australia. Where we have in some cases of vaccines around about 95 per cent take up, and that protects the health of everybody. So I understand that people can feel very anxious about these things and it's a very stressful time. But I think everyone, we just need to understand no one's going to force anybody to do anything as a compulsory measure. But we certainly will be encouraging people to take this up and to ensure that we support that through ways that the government can assist that. So, you know, I think everybody just needs to understand what we're trying to achieve here. I mean, it's a good, it's a good thing that we're getting close to a vaccine, whether it proves to be one or not. We'll see. But today, we announce that Australia will be in the leading pack to ensure that every Australian can get that vaccine so we can give life back to normal.
Wilson: Well, you've described this as a day of hope, Prime Minister, with the signing of this agreement between the government and the AstraZeneca drug company for a coronavirus vaccine. Are you, are you confident it will be successful because there is a long way to go in this process, isn't there?
Prime Minister: Yeah, there's no guarantees Jim. And there's, I mean, they're very well advanced they are one of, if not the most advanced of the 160 like projects all around the world. And that's why we've entered into this arrangement with AstraZeneca, AstraZeneca now needs to complete manufacturing contracts with those here in Australia. And I had discussions with those who are involved in this today directly on the production side. And I'm very, very comfortable about how that's proceeding. And that is going exactly as we hoped it to be going. So, you know, we will have that production capability here in Australia. But first of all, it has to clear the- it has to clear the trials and and if it doesn’t get out of the trials well it doesn't get into the system. And that's why we set up an expert panel which will be identifying other vaccine projects. And we've got the University of Queensland, which is already underway now, and we're supporting that to the tune of $5 million dollars to ensure that we have other irons in the fire.
Wilson: If one of those other irons in the fire come to fruition and come off, have you got a ‘get out’ as far as this company in the UK that you've signed this letter of intent with?
Prime Minister: Well, there are all sorts of options that go around these arrangements. And AstraZeneca are doing this on a, on a ‘no win, no loss’ basis all around the world. That's what they've committed to. They're not using this to profiteer or do anything like that, which may seem a little surprising in the pharmaceutical industry, but that's how they're approaching, in an excellent phase. So good for them for doing that. And they're doing that all round the world. And Australia can benefit from that. But, you know, these things have to be produced and there are costs that are involved in that. And that's what enables countries like Australia and many others, the United Kingdom being another one, to be able to effectively underwrite that all being able to occur.
Wilson: What is the initial cost of this, Prime Minister?
Prime Minister: Well, at this stage, that's all commercial in confidence Jim. And by, when we get a bit further down the track then the normal process that will apply to that.
Wilson: The Opposition has accused you of lying today, saying a letter of intent is not the same as an agreement and that there are no guarantees in terms of production. What do you say to that?
Prime Minister: The Opposition is always playing politics on this pandemic. They throw stones and sledge every single day. I, you know, what else were they going to say, I mean, to make themselves relevant? Honestly, they do this every day, Jim. And honestly, they just embarrass themselves by the way they play politics with this pandemic. So I don't give them much mind.
Wilson: Just on the battle against COVID. Victoria obviously remains a concern, another 216 cases today. Sadly, 12 more deaths. Now the numbers have come down. What are you being told? I heard the Premier, Daniel Andrews, said he was having a conversation with you late afternoon. What came of those conversations?
Prime Minister: We haven't had that one yet. We've both been tied up in lots of things today and hopefully we will have that conversation today. We sort of text each other quite a bit, as you can imagine. But we're both running from meeting to meeting. Look, we are, I think we have turned the corner there in Victoria and that's very important. One of the things that the Premier and I just had a briefing, another one just this afternoon before coming on this call, and just reinforcing that we still need the testing rates to be kept up in Victoria. And the Premier's been making that point as well and he's absolutely right. So we need to keep that up. But we have seen very significant improvements in how they've been getting the tracing timetables met and isolating people, the doorknocking. I mean, we've got 1,700 ADF Defence Force personnel down there in Victoria. They're knocking on doors. They're entering data. They're in aged care facilities. They're testing and retraining on the use of personal protective equipment. They're everywhere. And they're working with emergency services people. They’re on borders. They're assisting in border towns and they're doing a tremendous job.
Wilson: I want to get to borders shortly. Just quickly on China and its threat against our wine industry. Your Minister Simon Birmingham was very vocal and angrily denied claims that we were dumping or unfairly dumping wine in the Chinese market. What's your response to it?
Prime Minister: Well, it's the same as Simon's, and that is there's absolutely no truth to these suggestions that Australian wine is dumped in China. This is an 18 month process. I know that in the sort of Chinese state media and other reports we've seen that this has been played down a bit at their end. There's an 18 month process. But, you know, if it's based as it should be entirely on the facts, then the Australian wine industry can hold its head up high. I also commend the Australian wine industry for diversifying their markets. China is their biggest market, but almost two thirds of the rest of where Australian wine is sold is in other places. And it's great quality. It's the best quality, we believe, in what's sold into China. It's at one of the highest prices, too. So there's no evidence of anti-dumping and we completely reject those claims.
Wilson: Is it more about politics rather than the wine? Because it's a lot of…
Prime Minister: These things come up from time to time. But the truth is the value and volume of our trade with China has never been higher. And so I'm aware of all the noise that is out there about these issues. But the facts are that the trade is getting done. And the reason for that is we sell things that they want and we buy things that they make. And that's what trade is and that's a mutually beneficial relationship. It's not a one way street and we're that where the benefits go both ways then these deals stick.
Wilson: We appreciate your time this afternoon. Now, before you go, you've got the National Cabinet meeting on Friday. We're told the issue of borders is going to be high on the agenda. You've written to the premiers and the state leaders. What concerns are being expressed to you? There seems to be a lot of people being inadvertently caught up in this. And we spoke to the Mayor of Moree in northern New South Wales earlier on the program who just expressed so much frustration with the ridiculous border, ludicrous border restrictions that the Queensland Premier has imposed on people, especially in those border towns.
Prime Minister: Well, it's about getting some common sense in how these arrangements are put in place. States have imposed these border restrictions. Their reasons for doing that is for them to explain and their medical advice that that's based on. I'm not taking issue with that, I’m just saying they put them in place, they need to be mindful of the impact that has on people. I’ve obviously raised issues around, you know, people having to get to work, particularly in the agricultural industry, as well as people being able to access medical services. And I'll continue to raise those issues just directly with premiers and privately and seek to resolve some of those issues that have been raised with us at a federal level, particularly by our federal members of parliament who are in those areas. And just looking for some practical resolution of specific problems that people are facing. Now, it's not restricted to Queensland. I've raised similar issues in New South Wales and in South Australia where these arrangements are in place and we've been able to make a lot of progress on a number of those. I mean, the New South Wales government just this week, Gladys Berejiklian put in a much more sensible arrangement for agricultural workers within about 100 kilometres of the border coming out of Victoria. So in good faith and goodwill, you can resolve some of these things. But the facts are you put a border in place. We haven’t had borders operating at the state level for 100 years. More, in fact, 120 years. And so them coming back in it can be very disruptive. And I just think in the spirit of cooperation and good faith, we should be able to resolve some of these most severe inconveniences which should be avoidable.
Wilson: I know it's been a very busy day. Prime Minister, we appreciate your time on Drive.
Prime Minister: Thanks a lot, Jim, good to be with you. And again, the vaccine is not compulsory, but we would want everyone, should we be able to get these trials through, well, I think that's a great day of hope for Australia. So let's just focus on that element.
Wilson: Well said. Thank you, Prime Minister.
