Interview with Michael Rowland, ABC Breakfast
28 February 2020
MICHAEL ROWLAND: Mr Morrison. Good morning.
PRIME MINISTER: Good morning, Michael.
ROWLAND: How concerned should Australians be about coronavirus?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, we're not immune, but they should be assured that we're very well prepared and that we will get through this. I mean, we are seeing the transmission of the virus into many more countries, over 40 countries now. That's been one of the key factors that has emerged in recent times. And this virus is highly transmissible, which makes it very different to what we saw with SARS and MERS. It's not as severe, but when it's reaching more people, it is actually obviously in the most extreme cases affecting people. And we've seen more lives lost from this virus than we saw with SARS and MERS put together. So it's, that's high transmissibility that is the real concerning factor. And that's why we got ahead early with how we contain the virus. There is no community transmission of the virus currently in Australia, and that's good news. That means people go about their daily lives as I said yesterday, go to the footy, go to a Chinese restaurant, play with your mates if you're a kid, do all that. Australians should feel very comfortable doing all of the normal things that they are doing. But they should also be assured, given the anxiety that I'm sure is there because of what's happening globally, that we are well prepared should the virus come to Australia and be transmitted in Australia.
ROWLAND: You’ve extended the China travel ban. Prime Minister, are you looking at applying that travel ban to other countries?
PRIME MINISTER: No, we're not. And that's not the medical advice either. And the medical advice is that it is not proportional to the risk. And once it gets to sort of the stage where it's affecting so many countries, the advice is that you have to prepare for it going into pandemic phase. And that's what the emergency response plan does, which has been agreed with the states and territories. The health minister is meeting with his counterparts this morning about the operational aspects of that. And this is everything about stockpiles, capacity in hospitals, surge capacities, workforce issues, to ensure people can be in the places we need them to be at, all the common sense preparations, should it get to that next stage and now being put into place with the states and territories.
ROWLAND: Ok, are border force authorities, for instance, taking extra precautions, going on to a higher alert level at the airport? And ports around the country?
PRIME MINISTER: Yes, they will be. And the Border Force commissioner is coming back to the National Security Committee next week with some specific proposals about that and what they will need. But they are already in a position to do more there, and they'll certainly be doing that. And they've already conscious of the fact that more countries are affected. So they’re screening and the inquiries that they're making, the messaging that they're providing at airports, all of that is reflecting that that new phase.
ROWLAND: How confident are you that this stockpile preparation can happen? Emergency doctors, prime minister, are telling us that many countries around the, many, many hospitals around the country and states and territories are already at capacity. They'll struggle if there's a surge for demand. What are health ministers, state and territory health ministers telling you realistically about what they can achieve here?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, look, they're very positive. And that's the point of the meeting this morning. That's the point of this emergency response plan to ensure that we can identify any potential vulnerabilities or gaps or weaknesses and we can move quickly while the virus is not in Australia and being transmitted in Australia. And we can get the readiness in place to address any issues that are there. So that's exactly the process we're going through right now Michael, they, are the right questions to ask. We're asking them and we'll get those answers and we'll make sure they are addressed. And that gives, I think, Australians a great sense of assurance. No country in the world would be better prepared to deal with this than Australia. And we've got a great health system and we've got an economy and a financial management and stability that means we're going into this in a stronger position than most countries, if not all.
ROWLAND: We've heard a lot on this program and certainly right around the country from tourism businesses affected by this. So many other businesses as well, universities, we know they are struggling from the China travel ban. Can these businesses in particular, say the tourism businesses expect direct government financial assistance to help them get through this troubling time?
ROWLAND: Well, let's be clear. I mean, what, the impact on the Australian economy is because of the coronavirus, that's impacting our economy. It's impacting economies all around the world. So we're not immune from those economic impacts. And you're right, in some sectors, they're more targeted than others. And initially, this is particularly been on those which are outward facing, the tourism industry, the education sector, some of our marine exports, these sorts of things. And so what the advice from Treasury is, is not to do widespread cash splashes or anything like that. They're saying that's exactly what you shouldn't do. What they are saying and what they're working on with the Treasurer is to provide advice about more targeted what they've described as a modest, targeted and scalable measures. And that's what the government will be considering.
ROWLAND: Okay. Just before you go. Prime Minister, on the sports grants affair, is it still your position that all your office did was to pass on MP's requests for grants to Bridget McKenzie’s office?
PRIME MINISTER: What we did was, like all prime ministers do, made advocacy on behalf of the information that we'd received about projects and we passed that on. And more importantly, the auditor general found and gave testimony to say that's what we did, and it had no greater influence on this, on the outcomes than any other influence. So, I mean, that's what the auditor general found and in relation to the contributions of my office.
ROWLAND: But why did Bridget McKenzie send that email to your office the day before the election was called full of those colour-coded charts or the list of electorates and sports grants before sending it off to Sport Australia? What did your office do with that email?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, what occurred is she approved the projects on the 4th of April -
ROWLAND: [interrupting] Why didn’t she send it to Sports Australia - excuse the interruption - why didn’t she send it to Sports Australia on the 4th of April?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, well, you'd have to ask her. I don't run the email service of her office. What she sought from me was approval to make announcements. So, I mean, she'd made the decisions. She'd authorised the decisions on the 4th of April. And it's commonplace for ministers before they make announcements about projects that they seek approval from the Prime Minister.
ROWLAND: So there was no direct involvement by any of your staff in deciding which electorates, which sporting clubs get the money and which didn't?
PRIME MINISTER: We weren’t the decision making office -
ROWLAND: [interrupting] there was no direct involvement by any of your staff members in deciding where the money went in tandem with Bridget McKenzie staffers?
PRIME MINISTER: Of course not, because they were the, they were the authority for making the decisions. And this is what the Auditor-General found, Michael. I keep stressing this. The Auditor-General found that our contributions to this process didn't sway ultimately decisions one way or the other any more than anything else. So, you know, he's already commented on that matter very clearly.
ROWLAND: And just very finally, I know you swim there sometimes. Can anybody defend the North Sydney pool in Sydney getting $10 million dollars from a Regional Sports Grants program?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, when I announced that program, I said it was Australia wide. That's what I said. And it's supporting community facilities all around the country. And that is a community facility in Australia. So it’s consistent with the announcement I made at the time.
ROWLAND: But the upgrading pools aspect was done specifically for rural and remote areas of Australia?
PRIME MINISTER: That was a statement the department said, I'm going off what I said when I launched the program. I said it was right across the country-
ROWLAND: [Interrupting] so there was a-
PRIME MINISTER: I acted consistently -
ROWLAND: So there was a miscommunication between the department and you?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, I can't explain what, the department's comments. All I can say is when I launched that program, I said it was going to support community facilities right across the country and that facility is in need of an upgrade like many.
ROWLAND: Okay. Prime Minister Scott Morrison, thank you so much for joining us on News Breakfast.
PRIME MINISTER: Thanks, Michael.
