Interview with Katie Woolfe, Mix 104.9 Darwin
31 October 2018
KATIE WOOLFE: The Prime Minister Scott Morrison is on the line, Scott Morrison how are you?
PRIME MINISTER: G’day Katie how are you?
WOOLFE: Very well, thank you. So, over the weekend you announced a suite of initiatives to recognize Australian veterans including a discount card and lapel pin. We know here in the Northern Territory we’ve got a massive Defence contingent and we wanted to find out a little bit more about the announcement. Can you tell us exactly what the initiative means for veterans, specifically those in the Northern Territory?
PRIME MINISTER: Well and all those still serving at Larrakeyah and Robertson and up at the RAAF base at Darwin and Coonawarra, I mean those who will be veterans. What this is, is a compact. The compact we will have with the veterans is this; we’ll provide a recognition through an accredited card, which a veteran would have and they would have a lapel pin but the card would mean that any company anywhere in the country that wanted to provide discounts or other special offers and services in recognition of the service of our veterans, would be able to do so and there would be that accredited card which mean that those who were entitled to receive that support and that recognition, would be able to receive it. So over the balance of this year, we’ll be working the details of that up, getting the system in place so next year that can come into effect. Now already we’ve had groups like Bunnings, Target and Coles and motoring organisations like down in New South Wales the NRMA and others, already saying that they’re keen to be involved in this. I was at a clothing store the other day down in Canberra called On The Go and they do sports apparel and they’re signing up. So it’s about just a really simple way, whether it’s just buying a cup of coffee, to buying a car, it’s up to the company or Australians, to say “thank you for your service, we really appreciate what you’ve done.” After you’ve served our country, we want to recognise you and give you that extra acknowledgment and help.
WOOLFE: Of course another part of that, like you mentioned, is the lapel pin. The aim of this I guess is to make it easier for all Australians to recognize and respect the unique contributions that veterans have made in Australia. I mean how important is it in term of recognition for our veterans? And what are they telling you?
PRIME MINISTER: Well they actually were suggesting this in our engagement with them. I mean we’ve been doing a lot of work with the veterans community since we came to Government. Over the past five years we’ve reduced the processing times for veterans claims to the Department of Veterans Affairs from 120 days down to just over 30 and as you know, we now provide free mental health services to all veterans, regardless of whether they spent one day or many decades in service. So we’ve been working closely with them and this was another initiative. It’s part of that compact that was raised and it’s about that culture of respect that you speak of. We’re pretty good compared to other countries when it comes to this but we can’t take it for granted. We’ve just had the Invictus Games down in Sydney and what a lot of the other athletes who came to the Invictus Games noticed was just how, in Australia, there is this attitude of respecting our veterans and honouring their service. But I don’t think you can take that for granted, you’ve got to keep building on it, you’ve got to keep sowing into it and that’s what this is about. I mean we can never take that for granted.
WOOLFE: Yeah I agree, there is no doubt we’ve got to make sure that we recognize the amazing work that our veterans have undertaken. It is such an important thing to do. Prime Minister, as I mentioned, we haven’t spoken to you since you took the top job and well, there were a couple of announcements for the Northern Territory which were imminent when Malcolm Turnbull was ousted. One of them was the long-awaited cities deal for Darwin. Is this going to happen or are you going to keep us holding on until the federal election is called?
PRIME MINISTER: It will happen and Alan Tudge who is the Minister – he was just putting things back to the Chief Minister last week on some of these arrangements so you know, we’re getting close to an announcement in that area. That work has continued and obviously Kathy Ganley, who is our CLP candidate for Solomon up there, she’s been very interested in all this as well, I have no doubt. She has a good track record of working in Government up there and has been a deputy coroner as well. So we’re advancing that. As Treasurer I was very supportive of the Territory, as people know, $260 million I ensured went directly to the Territory because of what I thought was a pretty bad outcome of the GST arrangements for them in that last round. That’s going to get another top up of over $60 million in the forthcoming year. So I’m no stranger to understanding the challenges that the Northern Territory faces. I’ve been very forthcoming when it comes to my earlier roles and that will continue as Prime Minister. The Commonwealth Government has, I think a very unique relationship with Territorians, it’s different to all other states and territories. I think we do have special responsibilities there, it’s one of the other reasons I committed to half a billion dollars for the remote Indigenous housing when I was Treasurer; because we have a special responsibility to Indigenous Australians in the Territory and I know Jacinta Price, our candidate for Lingiari is a big supporter of what we’ve been doing there for remote Indigenous housing.
WOOLFE: Prime Minister at the moment, I’m not sure if you’re aware but we have had a really rough patch, especially when we talk about our CBD. Businesses are shutting up shop in the city. Commercial vacancy rates are high, the Northern Territory Government, well, they’re trying to roll out projects in an effort to keep things moving but there is a lot riding on this deal. Can you assure us today that this is indeed going to go ahead and when?
PRIME MINISTER: I can assure you it is going to go ahead and I think you’ll see that before not too long. I mean we’re pretty close to landing that.
WOOLFE: With respect though, we have been waiting over 500 days.
PRIME MINISTER: Well, you won’t be waiting much longer, I can tell you that.
WOOLFE: Will you announce it when you’re in Darwin?
PRIME MINISTER: Well as I keep telling you, it’s going to happen, it’s not far away. We’re onto the final details now with the Chief Minister as they know and we’ll be looking to do that soon.
WOOLFE: So you are here though of course when Shinzo Abe is here.
PRIME MINISTER: Yeah we’ll be meeting with the Japanese Prime Minister Abe when we’re up there, that will be very soon. That’s in between the APEC meeting up in Moresby as well as the East Asia Summit. So I will be up in Darwin soon, I’m no stranger to Darwin as the Northern Territory News has often reminded me. I’ve always enjoyed their front pages on my visits to the Northern Territory.
WOOLFE: So can we expect the announcement to happen then?
PRIME MINISTER: You can expect it to be soon.
WOOLFE: Oh!
PRIME MINISTER: You can expect it to be soon.
WOOLFE: ScoMo you’re keeping us hanging mate. You’re really keeping us hanging on.
PRIME MINISTER: Not much longer.
WOOLFE: We know, there, as I say, I really can’t reiterate just how important it is to Territorians and indeed to Darwin residents at the moment. We are, like I mentioned, we are going through a rough patch and we’ve got a lot riding on this. We are really hoping that this comes through and you know, not just a sign-off but that commitment to funding. Will it be $100 million as was leaking in documents not too long back?
PRIME MINISTER: Katie, again, when we’re ready to make an announcement, I’ll make the announcement with all the dollars that are attached to it. But I can tell you already $260 million is what I put into the Northern Territory as the Commonwealth Treasurer. So I’m no stranger to backing up the Territory when the Territory needs us. I understand how important this deal is. That’s why we continue the pace of landing it. These things have be agreed between the Northern Territory Government and the Commonwealth and so that’s a process which hasn’t yet finished. There are two parties to an agreement, but I think the discussions with Michael and Nicole have been very positive. I know people would like me to be announcing it right here on your program Katie, I’m sure you would like that too. But what I’m saying is we’re very committed to it and we’re not far away and we won’t leave the Territory hanging.
WOOLFE: Prime Minister I know one of the other things that you have had discussions with our Chief Minister about is Kakadu. Can we also expect some commitment at some point in the near future when it comes to Kakadu?
PRIME MINISTER: We’ve been working through a number of issues particularly with the Park and some of the issues out in Jabiru as well and Nigel Scullion has had a big role to play in all of that. I would really like to see Kakadu continue to be realised in terms of its tourism potential for the Territory. It’s always been one of the big ticket items in Australian tourism. As you know, I used to work in tourism before I went into politics many years ago. I was just down in another part of one of the great icons of Australian tourism, the Great Ocean Road and the Twelve Apostles in Victoria where we put some investment in there. So I get that our natural assets are not only great, wonderful things we have to protect from an environmental perspective, but they’re the livelihood for many Territorians and so Nigel and I will continue to work together on how we can best utilise and best manage that asset for both purposes.
WOOLFE: Prime Minister one of the things that I’ve heard you are a bit of a fan of – and correct me if I’m wrong – is the Northern Territory Government’s plan to try and attract more people to the Northern Territory?
PRIME MINISTER: A good plan.
WOOLFE: Yeah well I think it is a good plan and you have certainly flagged changes to migration in your effort to boost the population in regions, especially regions like Darwin. How soon can we expect some of those changes to come into play?
PRIME MINISTER: Well we’ve been working through some of the visa arrangements as a Government now for the last couple of months, about how we can back in the population plans of the state and territory governments. This is what I like about what Michael has done - and other states like South Australia have done this also, I know the New South Wales Government is going down a similar path – I mean our immigration intake has to reflect what the population policies are as state and territory governments. So they’re deciding where the schools are going to be and where the roads are going to be and where the services are going to be and how many more people they want to accommodate. Now once they do that and they set that out for us, then we can adjust our migration programmes to ensure that people go where we need them to go. Now permanent migrants to Australia can live anywhere in the country there’s no restriction on that. That’s how the law runs, but for those on provisional or temporary visas then it can be a condition of those visas that they are in particularly states or territories or even particular areas. So what we’re looking to do is ensure we match that type of a programme with the population plans of in this case the Territory Government who have shown a keenness and a willingness to want more. But I do know in the southern states, particularly in Sydney and Melbourne, that they want a few less.
WOOLFE: Yeah.
PRIME MINISTER: I get that.
WOOLFE: And it seems like a no-brainer I guess.
PRIME MINISTER: You have sort of one big national immigration figure and that’s what the discussion is about, I think that does Territorians a great disservice because all that ends up happening is you get the same number of people going to Sydney and Melbourne and no one ends up coming to the Territory.
WOOLFE: Well –
PRIME MINISTER: So I want to make sure the Territory gets their fair support, for what I think is a really good population plan that they’ve been pursuing.
WOOLFE: It seems like a no-brainer I guess if you’ve got some of those major capital cities, you know, like Melbourne and Sydney struggling with the population growth, yet we here in the Territory need that population and need to fill different types of jobs, it does seem like a no-brainer to me?
PRIME MINISTER: Well it is common sense. Look, it’s like “average rainfall”, it means nothing. If you’re in a drought-affected area you’ve got naught. If you’re in parts of the north, well it’s quite different to that. The average of both places means absolutely nothing and population growth is the same. So I think Territorians, South Australians, Western Australians and North Queenslanders, people in rural and regional parts of the country, Tasmania, they’re all saying they want more people. But in the major eastern seaboard cities, they say they want less. So I want to make sure we’ve got a migration policy and a population arrangement that hears all Australians on this, not just those in the major capital cities.
WOOLFE: Well, Prime Minister Scott Morrison I know you’ve got an incredibly busy schedule, we really appreciate you taking the time to have a chat to our listeners here on 360 this morning. We are very much looking forward to having you in Darwin to hopefully announce that City Deal.
PRIME MINISTER: Well I’m looking forward to coming Katie and looking forward to making a few of those announcements when we’re in a position to do that. As I say, won’t be too long now. Good on you.
WOOLFE: Thank you so much. Scott Morrison there of course, the Prime Minister of Australia.
