Media Releases
Australia to Welcome Their Royal Highnesses The Duke and The Duchess of Sussex
10 September 2018
I am pleased to confirm the Australian Government has invited The Duke and The Duchess of Sussex to undertake an official visit to Australia between Tuesday 16 and Sunday 28 October 2018.
Australia will be Their Royal Highnesses first stop on a three week tour of the region, which includes visits to Fiji, the Kingdom of Tonga and New Zealand.
Along with Sydney, Their Royal Highnesses will travel to Dubbo, Melbourne and Fraser Island.
Their visit will be an opportunity to promote the incredible achievements of Invictus athletes from around the world, and showcase Australian programmes promoting youth leadership, environmental and conservation efforts, and will include a visit to a dedication to the Queen’s Commonwealth Canopy initiative on Fraser Island.
I look forward to welcoming The Duke and The Duchess of Sussex to Australia next month.
Interview with Triple M, Melbourne
7 September 2018
EDDIE MCGUIRE: It is an honour to welcome to the Triple M studio this morning the Prime Minister of Australia, Scott Morrison. Prime Minister, welcome to Triple M for the first time.
WIL ANDERSON: We need to turn on your microphone though Prime Minister, we haven’t done that. So now we have, you don’t have to do it.
PRIME MINISTER: You had one job Wil.
ANDERSON: You’ve been silenced. [LAUGHS] You’ve been in the job for two weeks now, how long to go?
PRIME MINISTER: To the next election and beyond.
ANDERSON: Ok good, good to hear.
MCGUIRE: Prime Minister, can I ask you a serious question? Are you getting sick of, in the first couple of weeks that you’ve been involved, just getting distracted by all sorts of spot fires? Because I’d like to ask you, what’s your vision for Australia? What do you want to do? You are the Prime Minister now, you’ve thought about… probably didn’t think you were going to be Prime Minister this quickly, but you’ve got the hands on the steering wheel, where do we go with this country? Because we here, and most of the Triple M listeners think, that we have vandalised Australia over the last ten years with no leadership in Canberra.
PRIME MINISTER: It has been a pretty… very difficult last decade actually, on both sides of politics. There’s a new generation of Liberals now running the show. That’s no disrespect to the previous ones but, you know, we really do want to start with a new culture and a new way of doing things. I spoke in Albury yesterday, which is where the Liberal Party was actually formed, almost 75 years ago. I talked about wanting an even stronger Australia which focused on three things. You’ve got to keep the economy strong, because if you don’t do that, you can’t pay for anything. Whether it’s Medicare, the NDIS, the pension, affordable medicine, you’ve got to have a strong economy and we’ve had great growth figures again just this last week which shows we are really achieving that as a country. You’ve got to keep all Australians safe. If that’s on our borders, if it’s where our soldiers are defending our values overseas, or it’s here on the streets whether in Melbourne or Sydney or anything else. Safe from bullying, safe from everything, keeping Australians safe. And largely I talked a lot yesterday about keeping Australian together. I think Australians have had a gutful with people fighting with each other over everything. There’s practical things we need to do, and if you love Australia, you love all Australians too.
LUKE DARCY: Prime Minister, we’re getting to know you a little bit. We’ve seen that you’re a massive Cronulla Sharks fan in the NRL and are impressed with some of your moves, you’re out there playing and looked athletic and moved well. You’re a self-described ‘happy-clapper’, what is a happy-clapper, just out of interest?
PRIME MINISTER: Well it’s not how I describe myself, look I’m just a… I go to church on a Sunday.
DARCY: What branch is…
PRIME MINISTER: It’s called the Australian Christian Churches, it is part of the Pentecostal Churches and they’re a wonderful group of people who love God and love each other and love other people. They just want to be a positive influence in the country. It’s just like the Baptists or things like that, we’ve just got often better music.
ANDERSON: You said you were going to pray for rain and since you said that it actually has been raining a lot so we’ll give you… I had my doubts about that as a policy, I’ve got to be honest with you Prime Minister.
MCGUIRE: It rained in Albury, it rained at the MCG last night…
ANDERSON: I’ve been praying for an au pair, can I have one, you giving them out?
PRIME MINISTER: I’ll let you look after your own babysitting mate, and Gil as well.
DARCY: And that fact that you’ve got no kids is a bit weird too.
ANDERSON: [LAUGHS] Whatever, I just thought I could have one for around the house.
MCGUIRE: Prime Minister, can I ask you, as a God-fearing Prime Minister, how hard is it to divide as a churchgoer and someone who is deep into his religion, and many people ask so that’s not a knock that’s a direct question, and being the head of a secular country? Because a few of our Prime Ministers, and Tony Abbott struggled between his views and the views of greater Australia, because when these issues like same-sex marriage go to the electorate, the electorate overwhelmingly have supported them. How hard is it to make that divide? And this is a question that was asked of John F Kennedy back in the 1960’s, so I’m just asking of you?
PRIME MINISTER: Look I don’t find it hard, I never have over the time I’ve been in public life. My faith is just who I am, it’s not my political agenda, it’s not the political party I’m a member of. I’m just trying to be honest about who I am, and people need to know that’s a part of who I am. But my job, my responsibility as Prime Minister, is to lead the country for all Australians. Every single one of them, and to respect all Australians. Whether they’re young Australians and the issues they’re concerned about, on issues like climate and so on, or older Australians who are concerned about their kids but also about their security and retirement. So it informs me, it helps me, it strengthens me, but it’s not my politics, it’s just what I believe.
MCGUIRE: Well we’ve just seen the far right of the Liberal Party, the religious right, knock over a Prime Minister, an elected Prime Minister. How can we…
PRIME MINISTER: The religious right had nothing to do with that, and that’s got nothing to do with it. This has got nothing to do with it.
MCGUIRE: I’m just saying though…
PRIME MINISTER: There isn’t a religious right, I don’t believe. I think that’s an American term which has no place in Australian politics.
MCGUIRE: I think we’ve been aping American policy for the last five years…
PRIME MINISTER: No we shouldn’t…
MCGUIRE: Tony Abbott spoke over there, was it last year, eighteen months ago?
PRIME MINISTER: He can go and speak wherever he likes. I mean…
MCGUIRE: And Kevin Andrews for that matter, he went over and did a speech over in America… I’m not trying to have a blue with you, I think it’s a reality. My point is, there seems to be a disproportionate amount of power with religious organisations in a secular Australian society.
PRIME MINISTER: I just don’t think that’s true at all. It’s just not true. I’ve been in a Cabinet for five years and that’s just not been an influence. I mean people can… you can say there’s been too much influence of the NRL in the Treasury portfolio because I love my footy, but that’s not what is driving policy. And so no, we’ve got to stop appropriating all this stuff from America and everywhere else, it’s not how we do things here. We’ve got our own show, we’ve got our own democracy, and it works differently to those other places. So it’s certainly not how I’ll run the show.
MCGUIRE: Great, well that’s good to hear, because it has been… in both parties by the way, there’s no doubt about that, that Julia Gillard was knocked over by the Shop Assistants Union at one stage there and the fact that she was…
PRIME MINISTER: [INAUDIBLE] …that Bill Shorten is union bred, union fed and union led, there’s no doubt about that, but anyway we won’t talk about Bill today, another day.
ANDERSON: Well Prime Minister, you must have known this question was coming if you’re media people brief you properly about the fact that you’re walking into Triple M, what is your favourite ACDC song?
PRIME MINISTER: My favourite ACDC song is ‘It’s a Long Way to the Top.’ [LAUGHS] If you want a sausage roll.
MCGUIRE: [LAUGHS] Are we going to play a song and come back with the Prime Minister? No we’re going to keep going. So Prime Minister, the next step for you, how hard is it for you in the run to an election to be able to start implementing what you need to do as the leader of the country before you go into caretaker mode?
PRIME MINISTER: Well there’s an election next year, so there’s plenty of time between now and next year…
ANDERSON: Definitely next year? You’ll go the whole term?
PRIME MINISTER: Of course I will, that’s… I think Australians want their government to do that. They would have been rightly pretty miffed with the way people were carrying on a few weeks ago…
DARCY: Has to be by May though, doesn’t it, Prime Minister?
PRIME MINISTER: Yeah for a half Senate election and a House of Representatives that has to happen by mid-May. So look, I’ve got no intention of going anywhere sooner than next year, and so we’ll deal with that at the time. But I’ve been part of this Government for five years, I’ve been the Immigration Minister who stopped the boats, I’ve been the Social Services Minister, now we have the lowest level of welfare dependency of working age people in this country in more than 25 years, I’m very proud of that. As Treasurer, we’ve had over a million jobs created. Today is the day that the Coalition was elected to Government five years ago. I pay tribute to Tony Abbott who led us back into government, and Malcolm Turnbull and Julie Bishop who was the Deputy over that entire period. So I’ve been part of all of that and I’ve been proud of what we’ve been able to achieve. So we’ve got a lot of runs on the board but as I was saying yesterday, I need to explain to Australians why we’re doing things so that in the future, they’ll know how I make decisions.
MCGUIRE: I suppose that’s the thing that breaks your heart, Prime Minister, for us as your constituents is that we see that the economy is going well, we see all these things but for ten years we’ve been told that the sky is falling in on our head. Can we get some inspiration from up in Canberra to take us forward because business wants to go.
DARCY: And I think one of the most inspirational things, Prime Minister, I heard in recent times was our local Premier, Daniel Andrews, came in and has a vision for a 30 year rail project that was going to link the whole of Victoria around. I think the audience we’re speaking to this morning, the Triple M family, tend to be pretty excited by big ideas for Australia, not the sport of small bits and pieces and arguing over little bits of policy. Would you support something on that sort of scale, even though it is on the other side of politics?
PRIME MINISTER: I think people want Australian politicians to work together on big projects. The last time I was here I think we were talking about the Tulla Rail. That’s a big vision for Melbourne, that’s going to completely change the city over time and I want to work with all the state and territory governments right now. I’m particularly working New South Wales and Queensland on how we work together on the drought. One of the things about the drought, you talk about hope and you talk about vision, one of the first places I went was up in Quilpie in western Queensland. We’ve seen a lot of very despair-filled stories about what’s happening with the drought, but the thing… The reason I went there is that they’ve been dealing with it for six years, and the resilience, the determination, the optimism, the hope that was not only in the hearts of the people who were there but the farmers and so on. But in the towns as well, and they really appreciate how Australians are backing them in and that’s giving them a lot of encouragement.
ANDERSON: Now PM ScoMo, I had to say it, PM ScoMo…
PRIME MINISTER: Feel free, anyone, that’s quite fine by me.
MCGUIRE: See I reckon you should give ScoMo a rest.
ANDERSON: You don’t like it? I like it. I feel like I’m a ScoMo-sexual…
PRIME MINISTER: [LAUGHS]
MCGUIRE: [LAUGHS] Now I’m back on board.
ANDERSON: I was looking over your shoulder…
PRIME MINISTER: [LAUGHS] That’s disturbing.
ANDERSON: …at the Today Show and they were having a little poll there that said the trust in politicians, 94 per cent of Australians didn’t trust politicians. Only six per cent did at the moment, of all sides. Bridget Northeast, who’s one of our producers here, you know less than 30 years old and she’s never voted for a Prime Minister who has seen through their whole term. How do we re-establish a trust in all politicians?
PRIME MINISTER: Look it’s day by day, week by week. I remember earlier this season, and forgive me again for an NRL analogy, but it was after the Sharks has a few ordinary games and Flanno, I was in the sheds, and he said to them, “Look, we’ve just got to put a good month of footy together.” You just put a good month of footy together and you get the momentum and you demonstrate to people what you’re about, what you’re doing and you build the trust. You’ve just got to build the trust. You can’t just turn up, and this is what I’ve said to my team. I’ve laid the law down, you know everyone is writing and carrying on about how they feel and all the rest of it… the Australian people couldn’t care less how politicians feel. It’s not about how we feel, it’s about how the Australian people feel, and that’s where I’m focused and that where I’ve been very clear that’s where I expect my team to focus.
MCGUIRE: Were you filthy when you came out, and you are a great Cronulla man, and that’s what I like about you, that you’re a Cronulla man. And don’t go getting an AFL team, that’s rubbish, just be a Cronulla fan, say yeah I keep an eye on the AFL, I like it when I see it but I’m a Cronulla man. But how about when they came out when week after you get up and you say I’m a great Cronulla man when you’ve been invested as the Prime Minister of Australia and they get done for salary cap cheating?
PRIME MINISTER: [LAUGHS] Well not this year, not the premiership year, and it was self-reported, let me say that.
DARCY: Don’t talk to Melbourne Storm fans down here about that, I’ll tell you what…
PRIME MINISTER: That’ll be a big game tonight, the Storm and the Bunnies, that’ll be a huge game tonight.
MCGUIRE: Who wins?
PRIME MINISTER: Oh look, you’d have to say Storm in Melbourne, I reckon. But the Bunnies have a big pack, a really big pack and a lot of talent so… I mean the Sharks have always done pretty well down here against the Storm, but they’re a very professional outfit. I’ve got to say, I really enjoyed last night, and you’re right Eddie. People say, “Oh why don’t you back the Swans?” If I was going to back the Swans I would have been backing them 30 years ago. So look I’ll just enjoy going to games. But I’ve got to say, that Dusty Martin kick last night, Dan Tehan was sitting next to me and he just said, “Mate, that’s as good as it gets.”
DARCY: Any advice for players on Mad Monday, Prime Minister, as we say farewell?
ANDERSON: In Canberra they have Tony Abbott running ‘Mad Monk Day’.
PRIME MINISTER: A, pants on.
DARCY: Let me write this down…
PRIME MINISTER: Pants on, brains engaged, I think that’s pretty…
ANDERSON: That’d be pretty good advice for Barnaby Joyce I’d imagine, Prime Minister. [LAUGHS]
PRIME MINISTER: He’s fixing the drought with me, so you leave Barnaby alone, you leave Barnaby alone. But you know, don’t be a Muppet.
ANDERSON: Again, that’d be pretty good advice for Barnaby Joyce.
PRIME MINISTER: He’s doing a great job.
DARCY: Prime Minister, we appreciate you dropping by the Triple M studio as you have done before, and great to catch up with you.
MCGUIRE: PM, we love having you on and the invitation we have to you as Prime Minister of Australia is to come on and talk to our people, not to come on and have ‘gotcha’ moments with us and we appreciate it this morning and we wish you the best of luck and health in running our country. Because we need a stable government at the top.
PRIME MINISTER: Thanks a lot Eddie, thanks guys, great to be here.
Doorstop - Albury, NSW
6 September 2018
MINISTER LEY: Welcome to Albury, Prime Minister. We’ve had a terrific look at our beautiful CBD and the rain has stopped and the sun has come out, and you and I have been talking about the importance of a Prime Ministership for regional Australia. That makes me very excited indeed. Because great people, great things, great ideas, great infrastructure and a great future comes from our regions. So a very warm welcome from the people of Albury.
PRIME MINISTER: Thanks very much Sussan, and it’s great to have you back in the Executive team of Government, not just because of your skills and your talent but also representing a Liberal here from rural and regional Australia. We have been talking about regional Australia. You heard me talk a lot about – it’s important to keep our economy strong to guarantee the essential services Australians rely on. That’s as true in the regional areas of Australia as it is anywhere else in the major capital cities. One of the things that Sussan and I have been talking about particularly over the last couple of weeks, is you might have heard about the city deals, but what we need is regional deals in places like Albury-Wodonga. This is a community, this is a town, this is a city that is really performing strongly and we need to make sure it has the infrastructure and services and the coordination between all the tiers of government, not just at state and local level and federal, but between two state governments as well. And I think there is a really great opportunity here to actually, as they already have in things like health, to combine how we do things across the border and see this region become even stronger. I do want to be a Prime Minister for regional Australia, even though I’m a boy from the Sydney suburbs. I'm also someone who is passionate about things well beyond the cities. So that means me listening a lot, taking a lot of advice from Sussan and my other colleagues in the Liberal Party, of course also the National Party, and making sure that we are delivering the infrastructure and the services that create the strong economy here that enables the services that everyone relies on here to continue to be delivered in such a successful way.
QUESTION: Prime Minister, it has been a year since Malcolm Turnbull visited the border. He met with local businesses and manufacturers here about skyrocketing power prices. What is your Government doing to fix that because manufacturers are still saying they are struggling?
PRIME MINISTER: Yeah, since then, the ACCC has produced a report to me, then as Treasurer, which I commissioned under Malcolm Turnbull as Prime Minister, and they have come back with I think a very strong plan which we have adopted and we’ve taken even further. First of all, I have a Minister for getting electricity prices down, Angus Taylor, who also comes out of regional New South Wales and his job is to put in place the safety net on price. To put the big stick in to keep the big electricity companies in check, and thirdly to provide an environment where you can get more investment in new, fair dinkum power generation. What I mean by fair dinkum? Stuff that works when the sun isn’t shining and the wind isn’t blowing. That is the reliable power that we need in our system. Now we are already starting to see a change, whether it is on electricity prices or on gas prices. We’ve had a very significant fall in the wholesale prices of gas since we use the big stick with the gas companies to get the gas supply into our system here in the Eastern States. So that’s the approach we’re taking, Angus Taylor will be coming back with further additions to this plan. But we are a Government that is absolutely focused on getting people's power prices down. Cheaper power is good for business, cheaper power is good for people's household budgets.
QUESTION: You spoke earlier about drought, can you expand on that?
PRIME MINISTER: Yeah, the work that has been pulled together by Major General Stephen Day is very important. There are hundreds of things that need to be done, some of them large but most them are relatively minor things, but they all need to get done and they all need to get coordinated and Major General Day is the person we have tasked with doing that. Barnaby Joyce is, I would describe as our chief intelligence officer when it comes to this. He is out there listening. And people, I know, trust Barnaby, and they are sharing their experiences and their stories and their suggestions with him, and that is an invaluable resource for us. He is a bit like our own Macca, from Australia All Over. He is out there all over Australia in the drought affected areas and he is listening and he is reporting back with his insights as well. It is everything from feed and getting it to where it needs to get to, that’s a state responsibility. I have spoken to the New South Wales Premier and the Queensland Premier, for that matter, and we have all got a keen focus on these drought challenges. But getting everybody working together, for us though it’s about particularly the people that are involved, the towns, the fact that people – kids – can keep going to school, and stay in school. It’s about the sort of shops and other businesses we walk around here today, that those local economies continue to have the business. So I want to thank all Australians, just like the kids up the road here who are raising money for drought affected farmers in the towns, make sure you are giving donations in cash to registered organisations. That’s the best way to help everybody, the voucher systems that have been running means the money stays in the towns, and when the money stays in the towns, the jobs stay in the towns.
QUESTION: Prime Minister, the highly anticipated Wagga Wagga by-election is happening this weekend.
PRIME MINISTER: It is.
QUESTION: What is your message to voters as they head to the polls?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, I would, that is a state election and I am not one to interfere in state elections. But what I know is this, and that is Gladys Berejiklian leads a State Government that is getting things done in New South Wales, that has continued like its predecessors to turn around when New South Wales had been for all those years under Labor. They are getting on with the infrastructure, with the investment, the proactive position she has taken when it comes to the drought, working with her Federal colleagues, working on the ground, working with her National Party colleagues, it is a very focused government that is getting things done. I have known Gladys, as Sussan has, for a long time, she is very focused, she is very hard-working and I know the circumstances of that by-election. But how New South Wales continues to be run is really the issue here and how that is supporting regional areas. So I’d encourage them to support the Liberals this weekend. Because the Berejiklian government is doing the right thing by regional New South Wales.
QUESTION: Prime Minister, you were talking about the creation of the Liberal Party earlier on today.
PRIME MINISTER: Yeah.
QUESTION: In the wake of the past few weeks, would you say that the Liberal Party is the same Liberal Party that Robert Menzies envisioned back in 1944, here in Albury?
PRIME MINISTER: Well I believe it is absolutely, and that is why I came here today to say. I mean, when you go through those tumultuous times like Robert Menzies went through 74 years ago, he was able to bring together a whole range of disparate groups. And what he said to them was, he said, when you take up your membership of this new party, as it was then, the Liberal Party, you leave behind, you leave behind the things and the problems at the door and you join up with the new team. That is what is happening, we are bringing our team together. It was a very difficult period for the party a few weeks ago but we are coming back quickly together, we are focused on Australians and their challenges, we are not focused on ourselves. Australians have had a gutful of politicians focusing and talking about themselves. They want us 100 per cent focused on them and that is where I am at, that is where Sussan is at, that’s where the new generation of Liberal leadership, that is where our head is at. We have had great leadership over many years, Tony Abbott, Malcolm Turnbull and Julie Bishop, we thank them for their service to our country. This next generation is getting on with the job and moving forward for Australia.
QUESTION: You spoke a lot about love during your speech, is that the message now to your party, to love one another?
PRIME MINISTER: Well I think that’s always a good message, it doesn't matter if it’s in a political party, in the schoolyard, at the footy club, in the local church, or wherever you are. I mean it. I love Australia, we all love Australia. It is not hard to get people to agree with that. But what it really means is if you love Australia, you love all Australians.
QUESTION: Last week… [INAUDIBLE]… there was a motion passed there calling for you to come and visit them, to see firsthand their plight. Do you have a message to them?
PRIME MINISTER: I’d very much like to do that Sussan, and it has been a pretty busy two weeks, we are going back into Parliament for the next fortnight, but I know Sussan is very across that and I would take that opportunity where I could to do that. Did you want to make any comment on that issue?
MINISTER LEY: A passionate commitment from our Government to agriculture and regional Australia generally has been heard, it’s been heard by the people here, it’s been heard by the people in Deniliquin, and PM, I have said to them, I would love to get you there, but maybe Major General Stephen Day, and they love Barnaby so he is always welcome so we will fight the fight and we’ll keep in touch.
PRIME MINISTER: When it comes to dealing with the drought, we listen, we plan and then we act. That is how my Government will deal with all the problems that we face, whether it is the drought, whether it’s power prices, whether it’s challenges in health or education, you have got to do the listening and you have got to do your planning and then you’ve got to act. That is how you get results. Thank you, everybody.
UK Police Investigation Confirms Russian Agents Responsible for Nerve Agent Attack in Salisbury
6 September 2018
Prime Minister, Minister for Foreign Affairs
The Australian Government strongly condemns the use of chemical weapons by anyone, anywhere and under any circumstances.
Prime Minister Theresa May has announced the results of the UK Police investigation into the use of a Novichok nerve agent on Sergei and Yulia Skripal in Salisbury, UK on 4 March. The investigation has found that two Russian military intelligence officers were responsible for this attack. The investigation also concluded that the Russian leadership authorised the attack.
The results of the UK Police investigation confirm Russia’s culpability for this heinous attack, in clear and direct violation of international law.
Australia shares the UK’s anger and outrage at this dangerous and deliberate act by Russia, which also puts at risk the British public, police and other first responders.
We are in lock step with the UK on the importance of holding Russia to account and reaffirm our support for calls on Russia to fully disclose the extent of its chemical weapons programme.
The Australian Government is in close consultation with the UK Government and other partners. We are committed to acting with our allies and partners to deter further Russian violations of international security.
Boosting Jobs and Opportunity in Cairns
4 September 2018
More people will study and work in Cairns with the Morrison Government funding stage two of the Cairns Innovation Centre at James Cook University (JCU).
The $10 million in funding delivers on a promise made by the Member for Leichhardt, Warren Entsch, during the 2016 election.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison said the Centre will further diversify the Cairns economy.
“It will boost exports and attract innovators from around the world to the city of Cairns. It will create more jobs and opportunities,” said the Prime Minister.
Construction is expected to begin this month and end in February 2020, creating 100 construction jobs and 100 ongoing jobs, including seven indigenous positions.
Mr Entsch said it will help create a place where entrepreneurs, researchers, educators and students can learn from each other.
“Cairns is already one of the leading regional centres for educational excellence, and this funding will help build on that reputation. It’s something the entire community should be proud of.” Mr Entsch said.
“It will generate new skills and further diversify the economy.”
The facility will house JCU’s electronic engineering and internet of things capability workshop areas, innovation gallery, open works areas, start-up pads and space for commercial tenants.
James Cook University and the Queensland Government will contribute a combined $20 million towards this project.
James Cook University vice-chancellor Professor Sandra Harding thanked Mr Entsch for his ongoing support of the $30 million project.
“This centre will nurture a new generation of students and young graduates who will learn from working closely with industry and business and go on to apply innovative technologies in established industries and drive start-up businesses in emerging industries.”
Doorstop - Jakarta, Indonesia
1 September 2018
PRIME MINISTER: We’ll go to questions fairly quickly but it has been a very brief but, I think, a very rewarding visit here in Indonesia. The hospitality and welcome that I’ve received from the President and the other senior members of his government has been quite overwhelming and I think that’s a testimony to the strength of the relationship and of the great and hard work of our embassy officials here and, of course, the former Prime Minister and the former Foreign Minister – Julie Bishop and Malcolm Turnbull. This has been a very seamless transition in securing this agreement, which is very important for Australia, and I want to thank everybody who’s been involved in making sure that we’re able to move very quickly to have this achieved and we look forward to the agreement being signed, as I have said, later in the year. It was also a great opportunity to meet President Widodo. He is as Malcolm promised me a very amiable fellow. He’s a very easy fellow to have a chat with. We swapped pictures of kids and dogs and we talked curries – he’s just a very easy fellow to get along with. No surprise why people feel so affectionately about him here in his country. But we’ll be heading from here back out to the airport, heading home, it’s Father’s Day tomorrow. Looking forward to that, seeing the girls – as I’m sure all fathers are – so, kids, be good to your dads tomorrow and dads always be good to your kids.
QUESTION: Prime Minister, what will the free trade agreement mean for everyday Australians and their cost of living?
PRIME MINISTER: The free trade agreement – and it’s more than that, it’s not just a trade agreement, this is a partnership that goes well beyond that. And it sits with all the other agreements we’ve done – whether it’s with China or Japan or Korea, the TPP – all of this is meaning that Australian companies and the people who work for those companies can get a better go in the international market and for Australians that means more growth in the economy. When there’s more growth in the economy then that means better services for Australians. It also means that when you’re getting rid of tariffs, you’re basically taking taxes off things that are being bought in Australia and our key imports that come out of Indonesia – particularly petroleum and furniture and things like that and wood and even footwear – these are things that will no longer have these tariffs on them and many more.
It also means that between our two countries, there will be a lot more exchange, particularly in the area of education and training. Australians are the best trainers in the world. We’re fantastic at training in everything from training people on aged care through to hospitality management and, certainly, in formal security arrangements we’ve been outstanding trainers in the military in particular which is not obviously subject to this agreement. Our training of those in overseas deployments for foreign countries has been extraordinary. So, we’re a great trainer of people and that builds capability here but it also is an important source of revenue for those training institutions.
QUESTION: PM, this trade deals removes a lot of the red tape that exists between the two countries and facilitates trade. From the Indonesian side, one piece of red tape that does remain is the basic visitor visa that people apply to come to Australia, which is what presumably this deal is designed to do. It costs a couple of hundred dollars, it asks questions like, ‘Have you committed genocide? Are you a war criminal? Are you a sex offender?” It runs to 13 pages long. Is this something that Australia would now consider streamlining? Removing some of this red tape in the future, given how important this relationship is to both nations?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, not just for Indonesia. I mean, the short answer to that is yes. But our comprehensive visa system is one of the most important elements of why we have such a successful immigration program. So, you need a visa to come from everywhere – even, technically, from New Zealand – and what we are doing though is streamlining that process. When I was here some years ago as Immigration Minister, that was a topic of conversation then and there have been improvements since then and I believe there will be more improvements. There are matters that have been brought forward to me which further uses and enhances the technology that is available to us to make sure that our visa system ticks all the right boxes but can tick boxes in a way using the technology that is available to us today which means for visitors or businesspeople or others, you can have both now. You can have the comprehensive visa program and you can have seamless travel. These things are now within sight and so that’s the sort of technology and processes we’re investing in.
QUESTION: PM, how do you convince your opposite number that you’re not just a stopgap Prime Minister for the next seven or eight months?
PRIME MINISTER: These things are based on relationships. I’ve been part of this Government for the last five years and now I have the privilege to lead this Government and our relationship with Indonesia, and in particular with President Widodo, has been a relationship of our Government and that continuity has been assured and achieved here during this visit. Now, we’re all politicians, we all face elections. He’s facing one next year. I’m facing one next year. So we all understand the volatilities of politics and you know, we talk about them too, politician to politician. I’ll be returning to Australia to demonstrate to Australians that I have that plan for an even stronger Australia, an Australia where we keep our economy strong to guarantee essential services that Australians rely on, that keeps Australians safe and just like they’re doing here in Indonesia, keeping our country together, keeping Australians together. Now, that is something that falls to me to convince the Australian people of which I will do every waking hour that I have and, I suspect, a few that aren’t waking as well.
QUESTION: Prime Minister, on the issue of keeping Australians safe. Have you been briefed on the apparent terror threat on the lives of the former Prime Minister and former Foreign Affairs Minister? If so, what can you tell us about it and how much does it concern you?
PRIME MINISTER: It concerns me and, of course, as Prime Minister, I’m receiving briefings all the time and you wouldn’t expect me to go into the details of those briefings ever and I’m sure you didn’t expect me to read you in on this one Tim.
QUESTION: You did receive a briefing on it?
PRIME MINISTER: I receive briefings constantly, constantly on these issues. I particularly want to congratulate the New South Wales joint counter-terrorism team, which not only brings together New South Wales law enforcement agencies but also Commonwealth agencies as well. They’re a tight team and they’re working very closely together and what we’ve seen on occasion after occasion is our security agencies thwart these. Now, as we know, this is a lone wolf action from this individual which has been caught in a very early phase. That’s what they’re about, and you know, the way that they’re able to do their job is because of the resources and support they receive, the cooperation that is now second nature and thirdly, it’s because the relationships that they have with the communities and the tools that they have to gather the intelligence which enables them to keep us all safe. So this is another example of how our policies, our support, our initiatives to keep Australians safe continue to work.
QUESTION: Mr Morrison, you said you’re looking forward to heading to the other diplomatic summits this year like ASEAN. We understand that Donald Trump, the news from the White House is that he won’t be attending, are you disappointed you won’t get to meet him face-to-face and what kind of impact will that have on the ASEAN Summit?
PRIME MINISTER: I spoke to President Trump, as you know, last weekend and we had a good chat about all of these issues. We indeed did speak about APEC as well and the forums in our region. I anticipate seeing him when we go to the G20 in Buenos Aires later this year so that’s where that opportunity will first present itself. Vice President Pence is a good and decent man and speaks with the authority of the President and I’ll be looking forward to seeing him in all of those fora. This back-end of the year is a busy schedule. These events oppose the midterms there in the United States and those events would have seen him out of the country for quite a period of time and, at the end of the day, while this has been a very important visit for me to be here in Indonesia so quickly, my first responsibilities are back at home and I’m sure the President has similar views in terms of where his first responsibilities lie.
QUESTION: Can I ask you just briefly about unions on the home front? You often talk about increasing salaries. They’re beginning a door knocking campaign to try and boost wages. I imagine you’d welcome that but you’re probably a little sceptical at the same time?
PRIME MINISTER: I don’t understand why the unions are wanting the Government to put taxes up. I mean, maybe they could go door to door and tell people that the Labor Party wants to put taxes up every day. I don’t know why the unions want taxes up. If they want people to keep more of what they earn, why do the unions want to increase taxes on Australians? Whether it’s on personal taxes, whether it’s on businesses – small and medium sized businesses – I mean, the unions and the Labor Party have one answer to every question: increase your tax and put their hand in your pocket.
QUESTION: Can you tell us more about the security agreement next week at the Pacific Islands Forum? What is the agreement that is going to be signed?
PRIME MINISTER: I’ll leave that to next week and I’ll address that at that time.
QUESTION: PM, it seems that there’s uncertainty with European MPs about the Government’s position on the Paris Climate Accord. Do you think a free trade deal with the EU has been put at risk by some of the uncertainty around that given your colleagues want the Government to pull out of it?
PRIME MINISTER: No, I think that’s a complete furphy. Let me be clear about this. Australia’s commitments to the Paris targets haven’t changed. We stand on our record when it comes to these things. Australia stands on its record. I mean, we hit our first target, exceeded it by 128 million tonnes. We’re on track to meet our second Kyoto target and exceed it by 294 million tonnes. Australia has committed to our targets and we’ve been hitting them so our record is clear, our consistency of position is clear and Australia’s position on this is specific to Australia. We’re not in some sort of unders and overs game with a whole range of other nations where some are higher and some are lower. No, we stand alone in what we say and Australia’s got a good track record and we stand on our record.
QUESTION: PM, do you think James Ricketson was spying on the Cambodian government?
PRIME MINISTER: Look, I don’t think commenting on these matters is helpful to the individuals involved. Australia will continue to provide all support, as you would expect in this case, and as I said yesterday, that’s where our focus is.
QUESTION: So you won’t say either way, Prime Minister?
PRIME MINISTER: I don’t think commentary on these things ever helps these cases, ever.
QUESTION: Prime Minister, just in terms of back to when you spoke about the volatility of politics. Was a bit of a white elephant at the coffee shop, I’m guessing, yesterday. What did the President say to you about events in Canberra and how did you explain the unexpected transition of power?
PRIME MINISTER: I had spoken to President Widodo earlier in the week and we talked about coming up and he was really thrilled and pleased that I was going to come up and no, it was actually quite an easy conversation. It may be a surprise to you but politicians around the world are used to volatility in politics and we’ve had some in Australia which you know my views about. I was very disappointed and distressed at the events as I know all Australians were at that time but we also know that when we take on these responsibilities you have to just move forward, bring your team together, which I’m working to demonstrate to the Australian people. I want to bring Australians together and keep Australians together but they need to know that first up, I need to bring my team together and that’s what we’re rapidly doing.
QUESTION: Prime Minister, you say you were distressed at the events but I don’t think you’ve said yet what you actually plan to do to prevent a repeat of the events. Do you plan any reforms of the Liberal Party or broader political reforms that will stop you being as the Jakarta Post quotes “a revolving door Prime Minister”?
PRIME MINISTER: You can’t regulate culture and it’s culture – whether it was in the Labor Party or in other political parties – that lead to these types of events and so, I’m going to be focused on building, once again, a positive culture amongst our team. We are very aware, as a team, of the great challenge that is before us but we also don’t resile from it because we know how it important it is. As a Government, we have been able to deliver strong economic growth, over a million jobs, overwhelmingly a majority of which were full-time jobs, we have been able to secure agreements with our trading partners around the world, we have embarked on an infrastructure program which is dealing with everything from Tulla Rail to Western Sydney Airport and, of course, the iconic project from the previous Prime Minister at Snowy 2.0. The M1 in Queensland, the works that we’re doing in metropolitan transport over in Western Australia. Look, we have a strong record as a Government of achievement. What we have to demonstrate to the Australian people is that we are coming together, 100 per cent focused on them and we will continue with those plans that I’ve outlined. I mean, it’s pretty straightforward, a stronger economy, Australians safe and keeping Australians together. That’s what a Morrison Government stands for.
QUESTION: Mr Morrison, a week ago you took over the Prime Ministership. Yesterday you were receiving a full ceremonial welcome at the Presidential Palace here in Indonesia. What was going through your mind when you were on the red carpet inspecting the ranks with President Widodo?
PRIME MINISTER: The people of Australia. It’s a great privilege to serve and this is an important relationship. People who know me well, some of you know me quite well, you know how focused I am on the job and that’s my responsibility and that’s my very pleasant duty.
[INAUDIBLE]
PRIME MINISTER: Fire away.
QUESTION: Julie Bishop has indicated she will recontest her seat. Is this something she has spoken to you about and what’s your reaction?
PRIME MINISTER: Yes, she has and we spoke about it after the change last week and I welcome it. I think, great! I think it’s fantastic to have Julie in our team and I look forward to continuing to work with Julie. I think it’s absolutely tremendous. Let’s not forget that what we’ve been able to achieve here these last couple of days was set up by the great work of Foreign Minister Bishop and Prime Minister Turnbull. I was pleased that I was able to come here under, what you rightly say Tim, were pretty turbulent circumstances and to be able to restore and re-establish that trust and that continuity so we can go forward with this and I think this is a really good example of, despite the dramatic events of over a week ago, my Government is at work and getting on with it and I’m looking forward to getting home and continuing that job back in Australia and I’m also looking forward to Father’s Day. Cheers.
Doorstop - Indonesia
31 August 2018
PRIME MINISTER: It’s a great privilege to be here today at this school here in Indonesia because the children of Indonesia and the children of Australia will be the biggest beneficiaries of the meeting that I’m having today with President Widodo. This meeting we’re having today is about our continuing and strengthening relationship. This is one of Australia’s most important relationships. It is becoming something of a tradition for a Prime Minister to have their first visit to Indonesia and I am very pleased that in such a short period of time that I’ve had the opportunity to come here and say once again how important this relationship is to Australia, to our region, but a lot more than that, because Indonesia is playing, and will continue to play, a much greater role on the global stage – whether that is in the area of economy but also in the areas of security. As we know, Indonesia is taking on the seat on the UN Security Council but the relationship between Australia and Indonesia is not just about governments and policies and all of these things, it’s about the children in this school and the children back in our schools in Australia, and what we share together. This is one of the largest democracies in the world, fourth largest population, it is the largest Muslim population country in the world today. This is a country that has a history that Australia has had a key involvement in – going back to 1947 – but what we share today is this. I want an Australia where our economy is strong, I want an Australia where we keep Australians safe and I want an Australia where we keep our people together. And they are exactly the same goals, I believe, of what Indonesia wants and President Widodo wants for his country, and that’s how we can come together so comfortably, so easily. Prime Minister Turnbull has enabled me to be here today and to take up the work that he begun to pull together the comprehensive economic partnership. That is the part of the relationship where we need to do some more heavy lifting – on the economic relationship. We are not realising the full potential of this important part of the partnership we have between our two countries. We work incredibly closely together on issues of security, we work – I think – in harmony both representing countries that have wide diversity, many different faiths, many different cultures, many different peoples, and that is something that is managed here in harmony in Indonesia – just like we do, as I believe, the most successful immigration country on the planet. But the area where we’re going to do more heavy lifting which the President and I are looking forward to speaking to today and meeting in person for the first time is to do that heavy lifting on our economic relationship. So much more can be achieved and when that is achieved then we will see a prosperity here and our own country that will benefit future generations. Thank you.
QUESTION: Prime Minister, much was made in the close relationship between Malcolm Turnbull and Joko Widodo. How important is it for you to foster a similarly close relationship so that this agreement draft signing today becomes more than just a piece of paper?
PRIME MINISTER: It’s incredibly important. It’s so important that I should be here in my first week as Prime Minister and that’s where I am. This has been an important priority for me as Prime Minister and for my Government and shows the continuity between the work that has been done by my predecessors but there was a very special bond between President Widodo and President – I should say – Prime Minister Turnbull. A very close relationship. There was a very special relationship and I know that that has provided the entrée for me to now continue that relationship and I’m looking forward to our – certainly our formal discussions later today but also the opportunities we’re going to have to spend just a bit of time together. He’s an extraordinary fellow. I mean, I mean, a story I just told those young children. I mean, if that’s not a fair go for someone who’s having a go and he becomes President of Indonesia than I don’t know what is. I mean, he is an inspiration to his people and, frankly, I’m just really looking forward to meeting him.
QUESTION: Prime Minister, one of the key elements we expect to be in the free trade deal will be that Australian universities will be able to be majority owned and operated here which opens the door for unis like Monash, RMIT, Central Queensland. How important is that? What impact do you think that will have on the Australian education sector and what would be the impact here in Indonesia as well?
PRIME MINISTER: I think it’s just a massive win-win. I mean, this is a skills transfer and some sharing. This is building up capabilities within economies. It’s about using Australia’s strengths to build in Indonesia but, at the same time, provide opportunities for Indonesia to tap into what’s happening in Australia. It’s much more than a trade deal we’re talking about today. It’s not a transaction. This is a partnership and this is something that has been in the making for a while and what we’ve seen in our relationship with Indonesia over many, many years, it has just continued to build and it is my absolute intention and priority to keep that momentum going and to take it to a new level and the platform that has been built by Prime Minister Turnbull with President Widodo to get us to this point, I am very happy to hear, to pick up where the Prime Minister previously left us and to take it forward for both countries.
QUESTION: A couple of questions. First of all though, this time last week, you were looking forward to going to watch the Sharkies play and now you’re here in Indonesia as the Prime Minister meeting with school students, talking to them about becoming a future generation of leaders. It must be pretty surreal for you? And second of all, can you talk a little bit about the shift from the relationship with Indonesia being one based on security into being much more of a partnership and particularly given your role as the former Immigration Minister involved in that process?
PRIME MINISTER: First of all, all sorts of challenges get thrust upon you in life and that’s why what you believe and what you values are matter because, at the end of the day, that’s always what guides your decisions and that’s why that’s always been something very important to me to always be very much in touch with those core values that help you in those challenges and I take on this new role with a great deal of both optimism and application. But you’re right about the shift in the emphasis on the relationship. It’s not about stepping back from the incredible partnership that we have on security issues but also on the issues of building harmony and how we both manage those tasks in our respective countries and President Widodo has been a real leader when it comes to the inter-faith discussion that occurs here in this country and is very keen, I understand, to see how that can also be part of our ongoing relationship and how we learn from each other and how we manage those issues in our two countries. But the economic relationship is where we’re underdone and it’s the economic relationship that needs more ballast, more grunt, more investment, more engagement and that is what we’re here to really set off today with this new arrangement and we need to still talk that through this afternoon but I’m very keen, as I’m quite sure President Widodo is, he’s just getting on with it because this is going to be great for our countries.
QUESTION: Prime Minister, we talk a lot about the expansion of China in the region and our elevation of the relationship with Indonesia now, I guess, comes at a very important time for us. What is our priority when we talk about this comprehensive strategic partnership? Are we looking for more backing or, you know, partnership from Indonesia when it comes to standing up to China on issues like the South China Sea, on issues like economic influence in the South Pacific?
PRIME MINISTER: We all live in this part of the world together and that means we all have to work towards having the best possible relationship we can at the highest level we can. The people-to-people relationships I’m not going to underestimate either but for one relationship to be stronger, another relationship doesn’t have to be weaker. I don’t accept the zero-sum game of dealing with our partners and our neighbours. We have great friends in the United States, we have great friends in the United Kingdom, we work closely and we’ve shared prosperity with our friends in China as well and here in Indonesia, we have a bond – particularly going back to 1947, when we have been the advocates for the Indonesian people for decades and decades and decades. And that advocacy has been in the international realm but you know what? It’s been right here - $200,000 under a Howard Government program to build this school, that’s advocacy for the Indonesian people and helping them realise their goals and their dreams so, look, this is about ensuring that we have good relationships and good partnerships. And I particularly want to commend Julie Bishop – now, Marise Payne has taken on the role of Foreign Minister – but this is the things that Julie and I would often talk about. She was a great relationship manager and forger and she recommended to me that Marise Payne took on that role and I think for exactly the same reason. She has tended those relationships carefully and she has delivered Australia with great opportunities – one of which I’m standing in right now as we go into this meeting today.
QUESTION: Prime Minister, would you like to see students from Indonesia come to Australia through the agreement that’s going to be…
PRIME MINISTER: I’ll have a bit more to say about those things later today, about the details, so I might address that at the normal time.
[INAUDIBLE QUESTION]
PRIME MINISTER: Well, all Australians benefit. You know, one of the key planks of our economic plan to make our economy strong which means we can guarantee the essential services that all Australians rely on has been our passionate commitment to ensuring we have open trade. As Bill English used to say, “You don’t get rich selling stuff to yourself”. You’ve got to reach out as an economy like Australia and engage in the world.” And that’s what we have been successfully doing as a Government since 2013. Everything from the China Free Trade Agreement to the work we’re doing here today in Indonesia and I should also mention the work former Minister Steven Ciobo has done in getting us to this point which is now being taken up by the new Minister Simon Birmingham.
QUESTION: Prime Minister, congratulations on your first foreign trip. Can I ask you though about a domestic issue on Peter Dutton?
PRIME MINISTER: Sure, are there any other [inaudible], happy to address those.
QUESTION: Given what you’ve said, you chose not to go onto the other countries that your predecessors have attended to. The Pacific Islands Forum, surely that should have been a priority for a new Prime Minister to call to on the way home? Are you disappointed not to be there and why did you choose not to go?
PRIME MINISTER: I am disappointed to not be there and Senator Payne will be representing me there, and in the ordinary circumstances, I would be there because I love getting together with friends in the Pacific. I’m sending them a message which is for those of you who are familiar with Maori, that in the Pacific we are “whanau”, we are “family” and in the Pacific, that’s how I see our relationship, that we can deal with each other honestly and openly and strongly as family and to all those leaders at the Pacific Island Forum, many of which I know, I respect your “mana” and you can count on me to be able to have a close and friendly relationship. I spoke to Prime Minister O’Neill before coming up here last night, amongst many other things, he’s hoping to maybe catch up with me in the finals. Segeyaro who plays for the Sharks had a special message for his Prime Minister so he’s looking forward to coming and seeing ‘Seggy’ but it’s a good relationship but in the Pacific, it’s a family relationship and we have special responsibilities in the Pacific and that’s what I know. Senator Payne, as my Foreign Minister, will be out there representing on my behalf next week, and I look forward to my next opportunity to engage with my Pacific brothers and sisters.
QUESTION: Just quickly on the Pacific Island Forum, do you expect some of those leaders might be a little bit annoyed that their [INAUDIBLE] not going to be there.
PRIME MINISTER: You’ve spent some time in New Zealand I know.
QUESTION: Do you expect that they might be a bit annoyed that the leader won’t be there.
PRIME MINISTER: I think that they will understand in the circumstances. We are going back to Parliament the following week. I have some very pressing matters as a new prime minister I have to deal with in my own country. Those in particular are the issues of drought, and I’ve taken a number of reports on drought, we’re settling the arrangements for Barnaby Joyce in that special role of Envoy and we have our joint agency taskforce coming together under Stephen Day which is focussing on the drought. There are a number of issues that I want to be progressing next week on that. There’s the critical issue of getting electricity prices down and the work I’m doing with Angus Taylor there and as well as working with Melissa Price on Australia’s many environmental challenges. So there’s a lot of work to do in a short period of time before we get back to Parliament in just over a week’s time. As you know we’ve had very good meetings with the crossbenchers in the lower house which means that we return to the Parliament in a stable environment. Compared to the very unfortunate events of the other week – that means we can get back to work. So look, it is a unusual set of circumstances and I’m sure that my colleagues in the Pacific Islands Forum will be very understanding but I suspect they’ll tease me next time I see them and have a joke at my expense.
QUESTION: Can I just get a comment on the Australian filmmaker James Ricketson? He’s been sentenced to six years jail in Cambodia. Is there anything the Australian Government can do or is planning on doing to help?
PRIME MINISTER: Foreign Minister Bishop at the time had made some direct approaches about that issue and represented Australia’s view at that time. He can expect to get all the consular and other support from the Australian Government you’d expect in these circumstances. And I think, as usual, in these types of events it’s best, I think, to deal with these things calmly and directly and in a way that best assists [INAUDIBLE]
QUESTION: And what about the fact-finding mission on Myanmar? The UN fact-finding mission? It’s come up with this recommendation that six of the top generals including the army chief be prosecuted for genocide. Australia is becoming an outlier in that it hasn’t severed relations with the Tatmadaw, the Burmese Army. Are we looking at that? Are we looking at any movement on that front given the US, the UK, Europe, Canada, have all come out and imposed sanctions on the Myanmar military.
PRIME MINISTER: Of course, we live in this part of the world and it’s the sort of issue that I’d be happy to discuss with my regional colleagues around this. One of my first visits as a Minister in the Abbott Government, is, I’ve been to Myanmar. I’ve been in the Rohingya camps in Myanmar. I’ve been to [INAUDIBLE]. I’ve seen it first-hand. I’ve met with Ministers there and so I’m no stranger the events there and the human circumstances that are there. And so I’ll proceed patiently on these things. These are big questions and these are big issues and I’ll work closely with my regional colleagues in addressing those issues.
QUESTION: On a domestic issue if I may.
PRIME MINSTER: Ok let’s…
QUESTION: Peter Dutton has suggested that he may… someone from within Government is leaking against him in this au pair case. Do you think that’s the case? Will you ask for an investigation and does he have your full confidence in his handling of these matters?
PRIME MINSITER: Look, Peter of course does. I just had him appointed to the Ministry as the Minister for Home Affairs. And look, Canberra loves it when dust gets kicked up and people sling some mud about. There’s nothing new about that in Canberra. But I don’t see those sorts of activities and those sorts of machinations as grounds for anything. I deal with facts. I deal with my colleagues. I deal with the real information that’s before me. Look I’ve been a Minister for Immigration. I know of all the many, many decisions you make on ministerial interventions. And they are made directly by the Minister. That’s not a decision of Cabinet, that’s not a decision of any other group. They have to be exercised personally by the Minister. Now we have some other cases like that which you know are running presently and I referred to those in my press conference yesterday. So no is the short answer in terms of having any direct concerns there. I think it’s the usual Canberra circus and any issues of substance, of course I would consider, but there are none such before me.
[INAUDIBLE QUESTION]
QUESTION: Will you be seeking the facts from Mr Dutton?
PRIME MINISTER: I’ve talked to Peter about this on many occasions and it’s just as I’ve outlined to you.
QUESTION: Malcolm Turnbull [INAUDIBLE]. Are you disappointed that he’s not sticking around until the election?
PRIME MINSITER: Well of course I’m disappointed Malcolm is leaving the Parliament and is leaving public life. Malcolm has been a dear and close friend to me for a very long period of time and he’s served his country well and grandly as a Prime Minister who’ll be well remembered, I believe, over time as a Prime Minister who delivered some very big things for Australia. No smaller than Snowy 2.0. No smaller than Western Sydney Airport and [inaudible]., I know, to ensure that this is getting off the ground. And there are many other projects and there’ll be time enough to go through those on other occasions. But right now I just want to send to my friend Malcolm and to Lucy and their entire family all my best wishes and all my love. You know how much he used to like talking about love. Well, mate, love’s coming right back at you, Malcolm. And I want to wish all the best to you and the time that you’re going to have with your family now and to be able to get out of the madness of politics and all that sort of nonsense that occurred and to be able to refresh and reset. You deserve that, mate. You absolutely deserve that. You’ve served our country well, and on behalf of our country as Prime Minister I just want to say thanks.
QUESTION: What about the banks increasing interest rates? As Treasurer you threatened to use a big stick. What’s your message to them as Prime Minster today?
PRIME MINISTER: Well they should be justifying what they do to their customers. I’m not convinced and I don’t know why their customers would be. And their customers should take their business elsewhere if they’re not happy.
QUESTION: When you were Immigration Minister, did you ever overturn a departmental decision that… to the effect that someone should not be admitted to the country in the same way that the current minister has done?
PRIME MINISTER: Look, I made hundred, no thousands, of decisions as Minister for Immigration and it wouldn’t be unusual to do that. Because, at the end of the day, the Minister makes the decision. It’s not a decision power that’s vested in the Department. It’s a decision power vested in the Minister for Immigration who is accountable to the Parliament and who is accountable to the Australian people. That’s where the authority rests for making those decisions and they’re made on each case by their merits which is what Peter has assured me about. And that doesn’t surprise me because I made plenty of them myself. And they’re difficult decisions. They’re personal decisions. Human decisions. The facts are many and the considerations are large so you would often see Peter and you might have seen me with them… you’re working around with a pile of folders about that high. Every single one of those is a life and every decision you make on that affects those lives and all the lives of the people around them. You don’t makes those decisions in a rush and you make them carefully and in a considered way. So I have no reason and I have no doubt that every time Peter exercised that decision making authority in the same way that David Coleman is making them now, then they’d be following exactly that process.
[INAUDIBLE QUESTION]
PRIME MINISTER: Who hasn’t had one? Who hasn’t had one? You were waiting… you were waiting very patiently.
QUESTION: I was asking you about Dutton. You’ve answered the question.
QUESTION: I would like to ask about Julia Banks if that’s alright.
PRIME MINSTER: Yes.
QUESTION: How will the Julia Banks allegations be dealt with here?
PRIME MINISTER: Well I’ve been in touch with Julie as you know, and I particularly want to thank Nola Marino again and Kelly O’Dwyer as the Minister for Women who’s been getting around our colleagues after what was a very bruising week, last week. But those issues we will continue to address as colleagues, and work those through as colleagues. But as you know, not only do I not have any truck with bullying, I stand up to bullies, as well, as people know. I do what’s right in Australia’s interests and I am setting a tone and a culture that I expect all of my colleagues to follow and I know they will. And I know they will, I have great confidence in them to do that. We have got a big job: an even stronger Australia, keeping our economy strong, keeping Australians safe, and keeping Australians together. And my first job with my team is to make sure they come together for Australians. Thank you.
Indonesia-Australia Comprehensive Strategic Partnership
31 August 2018
Today President Widodo and I declared a new Indonesia-Australia Comprehensive Strategic Partnership. The Comprehensive Strategic Partnership (CSP) elevates our bilateral relationship and sets an ambitious agenda for deeper and broader cooperation across all facets of our partnership.
The CSP sets out five priority pillars for the relationship: 1) enhancing economic and development partnership; 2) connecting people; 3) securing our and the region’s shared interests; 4) maritime cooperation; and 5) contributing to Indo-Pacific security and prosperity. The CSP marks a new chapter in the strong and vibrant relationship between our two countries.
The text of the CSP joint declaration can be found here.
A New Chapter of Economic Partnership with Indonesia
31 August 2018
Prime Minister, Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment
Australia and Indonesia have successfully concluded negotiations on the Indonesia-Australia Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (IA-CEPA), deepening our economic and security cooperation with one of our major trading partners.
A passionate commitment to ensuring open trade with the world, through such free trade deals, is one of the key elements in the Morrison Government’s plan to keep our economy strong. A stronger economy means we can guarantee the essential services that all Australians rely on.
The partnership between Australia and Indonesia is one of our nation’s most significant. Indonesia is playing, and will continue to play, a much greater role on the global stage, particularly in the areas of economy and security.
Indonesia is one of the largest economies in the world, and bolstering the economic ties between our nations will lead to even greater opportunities for Australian businesses.
This stronger relationship will ensure increased prosperity for both Australians and Indonesians. It will further reinforce Australia’s strengths to build opportunities in Indonesia, as well as enable Indonesia to tap into economic prospects here in Australia.
A renewed economic partnership with Indonesia is particularly a major boost for Australian farmers with the grains, live cattle, dairy and horticulture sectors to benefit from greater certainty of access and lower tariffs.
As a result, Australian farmers will be able to export 500,000 tonnes of feed grains such as wheat into Indonesia tariff free. This is a significant boost for the Australian wheat industry, building on our substantial milling wheat exports.
IA-CEPA will support Australian industrial producers in areas such as steel, copper and plastics. Australian service industries including health, mining, telecommunications, tourism and education will also have greater access to Indonesia’s growing economy.
Vocational training providers that are Australian-owned will now be able to partner with Indonesian business to provide quality skills training to upskill Indonesia’s workforce.
The Agreement will also expand the two-way investment relationship between our two countries. Australian investors will now have greater certainty under Indonesia’s foreign investment regime, which will help to drive more Australian investment in Indonesia.
IA-CEPA has attracted strong support from the Australian business community, including the Indonesia-Australia Business Partnership Group.
Malcolm Turnbull, Steven Ciobo and Australia’s trade negotiators have delivered a landmark advance in our economic partnership with Indonesia, which the Morrison Government will proudly build on.
Doorstop - Sydney, NSW
30 August 2018
PRIME MINISTER: Well this morning, welcome to the Shire. I’m here with Jeff Hardy and the Clontarf boys who I’ve been associated with for a long time. But I’m also today wearing Jersey Day. When we lost Nathan Gremmo a few years back in 2015 his parents started this process of Jersey Day to remind everybody about organ donation. Now I wasn’t going to propose to wear this when I’m with the Indonesian President tomorrow, when I’m up in Indonesia, so I thought it would be a good opportunity, a reminder, a day early. Tomorrow is Jersey Day but even more importantly, organ donation saves lives and I think that’s something for all Australians to remember.
Today, though, I’m with Jeff Hardy and the boys here at Clontarf, and I’m at Endeavour High School which James Kozlowski, the principal here. They are the top… they won the top secondary school division here in New South Wales for this year. I want to congratulate James and all the teaching staff here and all mums and dads and the boys and girls who have done such a great job to make Endeavour such a great school. A sports selective high school here in Southern Sydney. But what’s really special about this school also is the Clontarf Academy.
The Clontarf Academy, which operates all around the country for young Indigenous boys, gets them into school, gets them onto a forward path where they can have confidence about their future. I’ve been involved with Clontarf for many years with Gerard Neesham and Ross Kelly, who formed this many, many years ago in Western Australia. It started off all about AFL, now it’s come to the east coast and it has got NRL. Who better than Jeff Hardy, the St. George great, to be running the program here since it was first established many years ago. These boys have a bright future. They’re young Indigenous boys with a bright future. When you meet them they look in your eye they tell you what their name is and they have a sense of purpose about them because they’ve got people here that believe in them and their future. That’s how you turn this thing around.
When I’ve seen these boys go from when they first come in here and when they leave, they finish year twelve, they’ve got 100 per cent attendance records, they’ve come from all sorts of rural parts of New South Wales and they’re out there working, they’re at university, they’re changing their communities, they’re completely changing their lives. It’s a really positive story. So, Jeffo, do you want to talk about the program a bit and what you’ve been able to achieve here? Just don’t mention the Dragons.
JEFF HARDY: [Laughs] No firstly congratulations to you Scott, and I want to say thank you for…
PRIME MINISTER: Come in, mate.
JEFF HARDY: Thank you. Thanks for coming down. Thanks for your support. It’s been fantastic since we started the program here, and across Australia. We are very proud of what we’re doing and your support is awesome and fantastic. To see the boys come through and get up early and come to training in the morning and to lead a healthy lifestyle but to come to school then finish school and go onto employment is what we are all about. We’re doing great things, and all our staff are doing great things across the country. And we want to continue to do so with your support. Thanks.
PRIME MINISTER: Well the Commonwealth Government, we’ve put about $80 million into this program since 2014. The last Budget we put $17 million, which was part of that $80 million. It’s also done in partnership with the State Government, and I want to thank Gladys Berejiklian for the great support that her government gives to Clontarf here in New South Wales, and Dominic Perrottet, my former treasury colleague here in New South Wales. They’re in investing in it, we’re investing in it, and the private sector is investing in it as well. It’s a three way partnership which is putting these boys on the right track. But with that, happy to take any questions.
QUESTION: Prime Minister, the sketch on the ABC show, Tonightly, on your religion. What’s your response to that?
PRIME MINISTER: Oh look, the ABC can by numpties every now and then but my faith teaches me to love each other and to turn the other cheek.
QUESTION: Do you think politicians should be judged on their personal beliefs?
PRIME MINISTER: Look, it’s the same answer. I’m the Prime Minister and I work for all Australians every day. I’m on their side. I’m about brining Australians together not about creating differences and pushing them apart.
QUESTION: Did you watch the sketch?
PRIME MINISTER: No.
QUESTION: From what we saw yesterday, are the wounds in your party too hard to heal?
PRIME MINISTER: No, they’re not. Sure, last week was a very bitter and bruising week…
QUESTION: I’m talking about yesterday and the bullying claims that seem to have come out in the last 24 hours.
PRIME MINISTER: Look, I’ve been reaching out, as have my colleagues, senior colleagues. It is a process of healing. It is a process of binding this together. I want to thank my colleagues, in particular Kelly O’Dwyer, the Minister for Women, who has done a great job, I think, in bringing everyone together. I want to thank Nola Marino also. I mean, we’re a team and sometimes your teams go through difficult phases. I want to thank Julia for all the great work she’s done and the great work she’s going to continue to do. She’s remaining in the Parliament. She’s serving her community and we’re going to go forward together.
QUESTION: Have you spoken to Julia about these bullying claims and has she named names?
PRIME MINISTER: I’ve been talking to Julia for days and days. My first concern for Julia is her own welfare and her own support. I’m a friend of hers as is Kelly and a lot of other colleagues. You know, we’re just getting around our colleagues. People are coming together. People know what their job is. People know why they’re in Parliament – that’s to serve the Australian people. That’s what their job is; first and foremost job is to serve their constituents, serve the Australian people, and do that as part of a unified Government where I’m setting the standard for these things, up here. That’s what I expect of all of my colleagues.
QUESTION: In most other workplaces there would be some kind of investigation when bullying…
PRIME MINISTER: We’re dealing with the issues and I’m doing that with my colleagues.
QUESTION: Has the Whip, Nola Marino, had a formal complaint made to her?
PRIME MINISTER: The Whip has not raised those issues with me. We’re dealing with the issue as a team and setting a very high standard about what I expect as Prime Minister. There is absolutely no suggestion at all that any of these sorts of things have been done in my name or under my authority and I certainly wouldn’t accept it. I have no truck with bullying, whether it’s in this school here or in any workplace. I have no truck with intimidation. I have no truck with any of that sort of stuff. I mean, we are going to bring Australians together. Whether it’s the boys here who have come down from all around rural New South Wales. From the tip of the country to the very west to down in Tassie, we are going to bring this country together to focus on the challenges that we have in front of us. I’m not going to do things that will force people apart.
QUESTION: Do you think Malcolm Turnbull should be flying to New York this weekend? Should he stay back and…
PRIME MINISTER: I wish Malcolm all the best. Malcolm has served his country throughout his entire life whether it’s been in the business community, whether it’s been in public life. I think very few people understand the extent, or are aware, I should say, of the generosity that Malcolm and his family have shown in his community and across Australia. That generosity has extended to his time in public service, as a Member of Parliament, as a Minister, and as a very great Prime Minister. I was proud to serve in his Government, as I was to serve in Tony Abbott’s Government and now it is a privilege that my colleagues now stand and serve with me.
QUESTION: Prime Minister is the NEG dead?
PRIME MINISTER: Angus Taylor is giving an important speech today. As you know, I’ve split out the energy and environment portfolios. Any changes to policy will be done through the normal process, through the Cabinet. Angus Taylor will be bringing forward some recommendations in due course, but the key point he’s making today, is Angus Taylor’s job is to be the Minister for getting electricity prices down. Just like it is Alan Tudge’s job to be the Minister for congestion busting in our cities. Now Angus is setting out some pretty important things today. Firstly, there’s a safety net on price to ensure that the big energy companies don’t rip you off on your power bill. That there’s a big stick to keep them in line to make sure they play by the rules. And that we are putting in place the right environment for people to invest in the private sector, others to invest, in reliable energy supply - despatchable energy. We need more of that in the system so you keep the lights on and you get the prices down. That’s the job I’ve given Angus. He’s an incredibly capable fellow. I have big expectations of him. That’s alright because the country has big expectations of him, of all of us. I know he’ll deliver.
QUESTION: Do you think… are emissions no longer on the table? Are we no longer worried about emissions?
PRIME MINISTER: No, I have a Minister for the Environment, Melissa Price, and it’s her job to continue to pursue our policies in relation to climate and to pursue the policies we have to address our emissions commitment that was given under the Abbott Government.
QUESTION: What will be different with your energy policy compared to Malcolm Turnbull?
PRIME MINISTER: I was part of the formation of policy as Treasurer with the former Prime Minister. I think what you’ll see as a continuing emphasis on the issue of reliability of power, of investment in new generation of power, and making sure we’ve got the right set of conditions to encourage that. That’s the direction Malcolm was always moving in, whether it’s what his ground-breaking work on Snowy Hydro 2.0. That initiative is a legacy of Malcolm Turnbull as Prime Minister and I think he’ll be known as the Prime Minister that initiated and saw the establishment of Snowy 2.0, but frankly, also the Prime Minister that really got Sydney’s Western Sydney Airport really moving and really getting it going. He has a list of achievements that are very long, and I probably know them better than most because I worked with him every day to help him achieve them. But we’ve been in Government since 2013 and together we’ve created, together with the business community and all around Australia, more than a million jobs. 95,500 young people got a job in the last financial year. Boys like this are going out into an economy. There are six boys here who are in year 12 this year. They’ve got a 100 per cent attendance records I’m told, these boys. And they’re going to go out, and they’re going to get a job in an economy where 95,500 young people got a job last year. Best result in 30 years, as I said, since before Taylor Swift was born. When they get out there, I know they’ll be really successful and they’ll shake off any challenges I’m sure.
QUESTION: What about the economy? What do you think about the Westpac rate rise?
PRIME MINISTER: Westpac has to explain that to their customers. They have to justify in this environment, when people are really feeling it, why they believe they need to clip that ticket a little harder when people in Australia and their customers are, I think, doing it tough. So that’s for Westpac to explain, not for me. That’s their decision and others will make their own decisions. But if you don’t like what Westpac has done, go to another bank, because competition is the key to a more competitive and stronger and more accountable banking system. They can make those decisions but they’re accountable for those decisions and I think customers will make up their own minds as they should.
QUESTION: Will Chelsea Manning be issued a visa?
PRIME MINISTER: I’ll discuss that with the Minister for Immigration. They’re matters that are decided specifically by the Minister for Immigration. I used to be a Minister for Immigration and the powers for those things rest specifically with that Minister. So it’s actually not my specific responsibility to do that. As Prime Minister, of course you oversee the whole policy area but I know the legislation very well, this is a personal decision for the Minister for Immigration. I’m sure these things will always be consulted on with me, but it’s like when I was Treasurer, the Treasurer has the final say on foreign investment decisions. Those investment decisions don’t go to Cabinet so it’s important that I respect the law in terms of how these decisions are made. But what I’m about it bringing Australians together. I want to keep Australians together. I want to keep our economy strong, and I want to keep Australians safe. That’s how we’ll create an even stronger Australia.
Thanks everyone.
QUESTION: Can I just ask one on Indonesia?
QUESTION: You did mention that?
PRIME MINISTER: I did mention that. We can go to Indonesia quickly, of course.
QUESTION: I just want to ask, farmers really want a free trade agreement, what do you feel about that?
PRIME MINISTER: I’m going up there today with the President of the National Farmers Federation and we’re going up there to pursue our trade discussions with President Widodo. And I had a good chat with him the other day, on the weekend. I’ve been having a chat with a number of our key allies and friends around the world. I really thank all of them for their kind wishes and also the kind words they’ve had for the previous Prime Minister, Malcolm Turnbull. But we’re a Government that believes in trade because trade creates jobs. It creates jobs in rural and regional towns all around the country and it creates jobs here in the cities as well. So we are a pro-trade Government. We think trade, and we know trade, creates jobs for young people and people right across the economy. So we’ll always be believing that trade will generate positive results for our economy. It’s how we keep the economy strong, it’s how we’ve been a prosperous country. Australia can compete, Australia is resilient, Australia can compete with the best of the world. So it’s my job to make sure we’ve got the best set of conditions for them to go out there and have a go. I know that when they have a go under our government they’ll get a fair go.
Thanks.
Visit to Indonesia
28 August 2018
At the end of this week, I will travel to Jakarta for meetings with His Excellency Mr Joko Widodo, President of the Republic of Indonesia.
By making my first overseas visit as Prime Minister to Indonesia, I want to make a clear statement about the importance of our relationship, and the commitment of my government to deepening our economic and security cooperation.
Australia and Indonesia share geography, deep historical ties, a vibrant contemporary relationship and a vision of a peaceful and prosperous region. Our close collaboration across economic, security and strategic domains makes both countries stronger, safer and more prosperous.
I look forward to working with Indonesia’s President to lay the foundation for the next stage of our bilateral partnership.
Member for Chisholm
29 August 2018
I thank Julia Banks for her outstanding and continuing service to the Parliament, the people of Chisholm and the Liberal Party.
Julia was elected as the Member for Chisholm at the 2016 election, and was the only Coalition candidate to win a seat from the Labor Party, a seat that had been held by Labor for 18 years. This was a truly historic result.
Julia has been and will continue to be a strong advocate for Chisholm. As Chair of the Standing Committee on Social Policy and Legal Affairs she has been leading an inquiry into local adoption, an important social issue.
As the proud daughter of a Greek migrant father and Greek-Australian mother, Julia has and will also continue to work tirelessly to support migrant communities in Chisholm and across Australia, championing their contribution to our modern nation. Her own personal story is one that mirrors the stories of so many others who have benefitted from the fair go spirit of Australia.
Instrumental in the establishment of the Parliamentary Friends of Women’s Health, and serving as its Chair, Julia has also been a role model for women in the Parliament, the Liberal Party and beyond.
I personally appreciate the support and confidence Julia has shown in my Government through her decision to remain in the Parliament until the next election.
Doorstop - Sydney, NSW (Copy)
29 August 2018
MINISTER COLEMAN: Well good afternoon and welcome to Padstow and welcome to Galvatech, a fantastic Australian family business located right here in Padstow in the middle of Sydney. Galvatech has been here since 1974 and currently employs about 60 Australians in manufacturing and galvanising of steel products here in the Padstow area. I want to thank John Bagley and Darren Bagley for having us here today. It’s been great to show the Prime Minister around and to learn a bit more about this great business, Galvatech. So good to see you all and I’ll hand over to the Prime Minister.
PRIME MINISTER: Well thanks very much, David, both as the Member for Banks and Minister. John and Darren, it’s great to be with you here today at the business that has been your lifeblood for a generation. It’s been passed on to the next generation, and together what you and Anne have achieved, both here in this business, and clearly raising a family and doing everything you’ve done here says everything we all know about Australian small and medium sized family businesses. Employees who work here, some 60 of them, many of them have been here for decades. That’s provided the provided the consistency the opportunities in life – they’ve gone to weddings, they’ve gone to all sorts of things of their staff. That’s what family and small and medium sized businesses are like right across the country.
You know fairness in Australia is about you get a go if you have a go. And John and Darren have been having a go and they’ve been getting a go, and we want to see those principles, those values continue to be encouraged in this country. That’s why as Treasurer I introduced lower taxes for small and medium sized businesses and was able to get that through the Parliament. That’s why we were able to get lower personal taxes for all employees, but particularly for those on low to middle incomes who are working right here in this business. We believe Australians should keep more of what they earn. That when they have a go then they get a go and they are the values and the principles that will drive my Government. Now, I should stress that the announcement that I made with the former Prime Minister, Mr Turnbull, last week absolutely holds. We will not be going ahead with the full component of the enterprise tax plan. That matter, we took to the last election, we sought to get it through the Parliament, and we will not be taking the full enterprise tax plan forward that we presented to the Parliament. The Senate has had its say on that issue. What I know in politics is that you have to respect that once it has reached that conclusion. We sought through every opportunity that we had to try and ensure that all businesses in Australia had more competitive tax rates. This Senate and this Parliament has ruled its verdict on this question. But what I will be doing with Josh Frydenberg, with Michaelia Cash, with my Cabinet team, is bringing forward a new competitive tax plan for small and medium sized businesses just like John and Darren’s here in suburban Sydney. Because I want to make sure that they continue to get a go because they are a having a go.
So we are backing in business. We are backing in businesses like this one to ensure that we can continue the strong jobs growth that we’ve been able to achieve. I have served in the Abbott Government where I stood with Tony Abbott to stop the boats. I have served in the Turnbull Government where I stood with Malcolm Turnbull where we’ve kept our economy strong and we got people into work. And my team is standing with me now to continue all of that work and to ensure an even stronger Australia where we have a strong economy, where we keep Australians together and we keep Australians safe. Happy to take questions but it’s great to have you here John and Darren. They’re going ask a whole bunch of questions about plenty of other things so it’s great to have you here. Congratulations on what you’ve achieved.
QUESTION: Will you be referring Peter Dutton to the High Court over the constitutional question under Section 44?
PRIME MINISTER: That's a matter I have been in close contact with the Attorney-General on and I’m taking his advice on those matters and the Government will deal with those matters inside its own processes.
QUESTION: So you’re not saying that you will not refer…
PRIME MINISTER: I am saying that I have been consulting with the Attorney-General and we are dealing with those issues within our internal processes and I would not have appointed Mr Dutton to the important role he has without having considered those matters.
QUESTION: Is it not a matter of concern…
PRIME MINISTER: Now this is not a one-on-one interview and there are lots of other questions and lots of other journalists.
QUESTION: …concern that the Minister who is in charge of the Federal Police is right now… on the Solicitor-General's advice, it is impossible to state the position about the constitution eligibility with certainty – there is some risk. Is there not a problem for Australia that the minister in charge of the Federal Police is under a legal cloud?
PRIME MINISTER: No, I don't accept that at all. I have discussed this matter directly with the Attorney-General and I would not have taken the decision that I have taken without having had those discussion.
QUESTION: Julia Banks has publically condemned your party colleagues for bullying and intimidation. Did you try to discourage her from quitting, have you spoken to her and are you ordering and inquiry into bullying and intimidation within the Liberal Party?
PRIME MINISTER: Well I have no truck with bullying or intimidation in whatever form it is. I said the other day when it comes to keeping Australians safe - that means everything from what we do on our borders through to ensuring we speak out on things that prevent bullying in the classroom or anywhere else. I am the father of two young daughters and I have in truck with that sort of culture or behaviour. One of the things we are moving quickly to do is ensure we restore that strong culture in the Liberal Party and bring the party together and show the stability and unity that is necessary, that Australians are looking to me to provide. I have spoken to Julia today and I spoke to her yesterday as well. I think the events of the last week, they have been quite dramatic events, and all Australians looking in, I know, would have been pretty disappointed, more than disappointed, with those events. They should also know that those events take a pretty high human toll inside the parliament. It is a very robust discussion and I know Julia has been very concerned about that and she has raised those concerns with me. I want to thank her for ruling out the position that she would be leaving the Parliament. I want to thank her for strong vote of confidence she has given me in remaining in the Parliament to support my Government going forward. As you know, Cathy McGowan today has issued a statement saying that there will be her support for confidence in the House of Representatives until the Wentworth by-election in the event that that is called once that is concluded and the writs are returned and then we will sit down and talk again. So I thank Cathy McGowan for her support. I have had a similar verbal assurance from Bob Katter as well so my first job has been to restore stability and get the Government back and working and my Ministers are out there doing that today, including Minister Dutton and the Attorney who are up in Queensland dealing with the Five Eyes meeting at the current time. So I thank Julia for that and I will look closely at these issues and I have been talking very directly with my colleagues. I have laid down the law to my Cabinet. I have laid down the law to my Ministry and to the parliamentary secretary ranks of my Government. They know what I expect and I have every confidence they will live up to what I expect.
QUESTION: What are you doing by way of an investigation? Will it go to the party Secretariat? These are two women that have made these claims, these allegations, do you know the men involved and what are you actually doing?
PRIME MINISTER: The Minister for Women and I have discussed this matter as well today. I will continue to do that with Kelly O'Dwyer but what is important right now is Julia's welfare. I know she is going to take a bit of time out between now and when the Parliament comes back. My first concern is for her welfare and wellbeing and she is taking the time to ensure that that is taken care of and she has my support fully in that. So what am I doing right now? I'm supporting Julia and reaching out to Julia and giving her every comfort and support for what has been a pretty torrid ordeal for her and I will continue to consult with my colleagues about ensuring that there can be no question about the culture of the Liberal Party. There should not be and certainly under my authority there would have been absolutely nothing of that sort taking place.
QUESTION: Are you speaking directly to the three men?
PRIME MINISTER: Well you are making reference about three individuals and those allegations have not been made. I act on facts, not on allegations.
QUESTION: Has the Chief Whip received a complaint?
PRIME MINISTER: The Chief Whip hasn't raised that with me, no.
QUESTION: Prime Minister, the voters in the electorate have called the leadership spill disappointing. What do you make of that?
PRIME MINISTER: I missed the first bit of that.
QUESTION: The voters in Ms Banks' electorate called the leadership spill disappointing. What do you make of that?
PRIME MINISTER: Well it is disappointing. I wasn’t supportive of it. I have come into the role to provide the stability and direction for the Liberal Party and the Government. That is what I put my hand up for, and for my country. I have stood up to serve my country. As I said I served my country under two Prime Ministers and been able to achieve a great deal with those two Prime Ministers and I intend to put my own mark on this Government as well. There is a continuity issue here. There is continuity from border protection, to job creation, and where I intend to make Australia an even stronger country in the areas of our economy being strong, of Australians being safe and bringing Australians together as I bring my own party together. What I'm doing right now is I am introducing myself to many Australians. They want to know who I am. They want it demonstrated to them that they know that I'm on their side. That's what I will be doing in the weeks and months ahead. I have already said clearly I'm focused on the priorities of the drought. That's where I was up in western Queensland earlier this week. I met with the National Farmer's Federation yesterday and talked through those sensitive issues. I met with Angus Taylor yesterday on the critical issue of getting electricity prices down. Here, right here at Galvatech, they have seen their power and gas bills go through the roof. The actions of the Government that I was part of to ensure that gas did not go offshore and stayed here and we secured the gas supply of this country. I was as much part of that decision when it was made as ensuring that it sticks now as Prime Minister today. I am going to be the Prime Minister for getting electricity prices down. Angus Taylor is the Minister for getting electricity prices down and that is a core focus of my Government particularly in the early days.
QUESTION: Labor are refusing to offer Malcolm Turnbull a pair in the lead up to the by-election. Will you be able to govern with such a small majority?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, the short answer is question. Of course Mr Shorten and the Labour Party are going to try and disrupt, they’re going to try to create instability, they are going to try to make hay. Bill Shorten is taking this next election for granted. Bill Shorten is sitting there wondering what curtains are going to be put in his office and he is wondering about who he is going to appoint to be Governor-General. Those are not things I am thinking about at all. What I am thinking about is lower electricity prices, I’m thinking about the drought, I’m focused very much on resolving the issues around school education. I am very focused and will be taking briefings from our new… working with our new assistant minister for the NDIS about the NDIS being delivered on the ground. I am focused on the NBN and its roll out and making sure that that momentum is continued. I am focused on the things that are going to impact on Australian's daily life right now. Bill Shorten can take the next election for granted if he likes. He can behave in that way, that's up to him. I am introducing myself to Australians as I move around the country so people know exactly where I stand and the values and beliefs that I hold dear and that will drive me every day I have the privilege to serve in this office.
QUESTION: [INAUDIBLE]… some Indigenous leaders and members of the Indigenous community don't believe he is the best person for the job. Are you ignoring what they are saying?
PRIME MINISTER: What I've been talking to the former prime minister about, Mr Abbott, has been a role, which I am very pleased that he has responded positively too, which is about getting Indigenous young people into school. What more important job could there be for that for those Indigenous young people. I am sure there is not a person in the country that would not agree that doing something to ensure we keep and get Indigenous young people into school, Indigenous kids into school, is something we should all work on. I would say, that's what we've got to focus on.
QUESTION: Do you think he is a representative voice for the indigenous community?
PRIME MINISTER: I do. I have known Tony Abbott a very long time. I have worked with Tony Abbott alongside him on some important portfolios. I remember a number of visits I made with Tony to central Australia on many issue, many years ago when I was a shadow housing minister and we walked from town to town and we sat in the dust, there were no cameras around, we were just sitting in the town camps in Alice Springs, I have been in Bamaga with him, I’ve been in the Torres Straight with him. I know how passionate Tony Abbott is about changing generationally the life circumstances for Indigenous Australians. One of my areas of passion has been the Clontarf Foundation. That is all about getting indigenous boys into school and having them have a different path in life. When you focus on the outcomes, which I know is what Tony is doing, that makes him the right person. Just like, for me, focusing on those outcomes, that is where we need to go. So with that…
QUESTION: The Sharks… [INAUDIBLE]
PRIME MINISTER: Well, you know, they have fronted up on this issue and I'm always going to be a passionate Sharkies fan but everyone has got to play by the rules. That is an important culture and value for us too. You have got to play by the rules. That is for the NRL to sort out. My job is to run the country. I will leave it to Peter Beattie to run the NRL and I’ll leave it to Flanno and all the boys down there to make sure they are doing the right thing and I'm sure they will have a great win against the Bulldogs this weekend.
Thank you.
Ministerial Arrangements
26 August 2018
Today I am announcing a new generation Liberal National Coalition team to lead my Government forward and implement our plan to keep our economy strong, keep Australians safe and keep Australians together.
This is a team on the side of Australians; a team focussed on listening to Australians and engaging on the issues that are important to them, and acting on my Government’s priorities.
It will ensure we have the stability necessary and begin the work of healing that is needed after recent events. It will enable us to tackle the big challenges that are before us with some new ideas and a renewed emphasis.
More women have been appointed to Cabinet and the portfolios of Small Business and Industrial Relations have been returned to Cabinet level.
The foundation of this team is a stronger economy. The economic team is spearheaded by Treasurer the Hon Josh Frydenberg MP.
And it is my intention to advise the Governor-General to appoint the following members to the executive.
Senator the Hon Mathias Cormann will resume the role of Minister for Finance and the Public Service and will be re-appointed Leader of the Government in the Senate.
Together both Mr Frydenberg and Senator Cormann will build on the Coalition’s economic achievements - continued strong economic growth, record jobs growth and a path back to budget balance.
The Hon Christopher Pyne MP will be appointed Minister for Defence. Under his continued leadership we will build a stronger defence force. Mr Pyne will continue on as Leader of the House. Queensland MP the Hon Steven Ciobo MP will be appointed as the new Minister for Defence Industry, building the capability of our defence forces and rolling out the defence industry plan.
Senator the Hon Simon Birmingham will be appointed the new Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment. Senator Birmingham will also take on the role of Deputy Leader of the Government in the Senate. The Hon Dan Tehan MP will be appointed Minister for Education, to further drive the Government’s agenda for better education.
The Hon Paul Fletcher MP will serve as the new Minister for Families and Social Services. Mr Fletcher is enormously qualified to take on this cabinet position to ensure Australians have continued access to an affordable and sustainable safety net.
The Hon Kelly O’Dwyer MP, will become the new Minister for Jobs and Industrial Relations, a key portfolio in ensuring that our economy is strong. Ms O’Dwyer will also continue to serve as Minister for Women.
Senator the Hon Michaelia Cash will take on the cabinet level position of Minister for Small and Family Business, Skills and Vocational Education and continue to progress our positive small business agenda.
In addition to retaining his existing position as Minister for Communications and the Arts, Senator the Hon Mitch Fifield will be appointed a member of the Expenditure Review Committee. Senator Fifield will also take on the role of Manager of Government Business in the Senate.
Three new faces will be added to the Cabinet. The Hon Melissa Price MP will serve as Minister for the Environment, an important focus both for our economy and for the quality of life and the land we love so much.
The Hon Karen Andrews MP will be appointed as Minister for Industry, Science and Technology.
And the Hon Angus Taylor MP will join Cabinet as Minister for Energy. Mr Taylor’s primary focus will be on continuing to get electricity prices down for Australian households and businesses.
The Hon Peter Dutton MP will remain in the key role of Minister for Home Affairs where he has served with distinction by continuing to protect our borders and keep Australians safe.
Unfortunately there isn’t a place for everyone in Cabinet. I thank the Hon John McVeigh MP for his service as the Minister for Regional Development, Local Government and Territories. The Deputy Prime Minister will take on Regional Development among his existing portfolio responsibilities, while Deputy Leader of the Nationals, Senator the Hon Bridget McKenzie will add the roles of Minister for Regional Services, Local Government and Decentralisation to her current responsibility as Minister for Sport.
As announced, the Hon Julie Bishop MP has decided to resign her position as Minister for Foreign Affairs. Ms Bishop will remembered as one of our greatest ever foreign ministers. I thank her for her tremendous service to our nation.
Senator the Hon Marise Payne will take on her previous role as the new Minister for Foreign Affairs. Senator Payne has served Australia with distinction as Defence Minister and is well respected internationally, and is well placed to fill Ms Bishop’s shoes.
I also thank the Hon Michael Keenan MP for his service to Cabinet. Mr Keenan will continue in the Ministry in his current role of Minister for Human Services with the additional responsibility of Minister for Digital Transformation.
Turning to changes elsewhere in the Ministry, the Hon David Coleman MP will take on the position of Minister for Immigration, Citizenship and Multicultural Affairs.
The Hon Stuart Robert MP will be appointed as Assistant Treasurer.
The Hon Alan Tudge MP will be appointed Minister for Cities, Urban Infrastructure and Population.
The Hon Alex Hawke MP will take on the role of Special Minister of State.
Senator the Hon Anne Ruston will move to the position of Assistant Minister for International Development and the Pacific.
Tasmanian Senator the Hon Richard Colbeck will take on the position of Assistant Minister for Agriculture and Water Resources.
Senator the Hon Zed Seselja will be appointed Assistant Minister for Treasury and Finance.
The Hon Sussan Ley MP will take on the role of Assistant Minister for Regional Development and Territories.
Senator David Fawcett will take on the role of Assistant Minister for Defence, Steve Irons MP will be appointed Assistant Minister to the Prime Minister, Andrew Broad MP will take on the responsibility of Assistant Minister to the Deputy Prime Minister, Senator Linda Reynolds CSC will be appointed the Assistant Minister for Home Affairs. Regional MP Scott Buchholz will take on the position of Assistant Minister for Roads and Transport. Sarah Henderson MP will be appointed as Assistant Minister for Social Services, Housing and Disability Services and Michelle Landry MP will be appointed as the Assistant Minister for Children and Families.
I am also pleased to announce the appointment of a special envoy.
The Hon Barnaby Joyce MP will be appointed as our Special Envoy for Drought Assistance and Recovery. Mr Joyce will be on the ground ensuring that our farmers and communities in drought affected regions are heard across government.
I thank those who served in the previous Coalition ministry for their contributions.
Interview with Ian McNamara, Australia All Over
26 August 2018
Prime Minister: G’day Macca, how are you?
IAN MCNAMARA: Mate I’m a bit frazzled here this morning, I’ve got studio full of people and emails coming everywhere. I mentioned that you might be coming on this morning and I’ve got 7,000 questions to ask.
PRIME MINISTER: I don’t know if we’ve got time for 7,000 mate but I’ll be happy if you pass them all onto me because I think they’re really important mate. I particularly wanted to speak to you today because I wanted to thank you for just the role you’re doing in just talking to people and listening to people. This is a big problem, we all know that. But I think what you’ve done in, and what you’ve always done on your program, is just tremendous. I was listening last weekend, I often listen as you know, and you’re making a big difference mate. We can’t make everything happen but what you’re doing is making a difference.
MCNAMARA: It’s really about, isn’t it, taking to people. It’s as much about, as I’ve always said, when you’re in times of trouble, and I remember a lady rang up and her son had just been killed and she was crying and all you can really do is have a cup of tea and have a cuddle really.
PRIME MINISTER: Sure.
MCNAMARA: And that’s the same thing when you’ve got a drought like this which continues on and on, we need to cuddle one another if you know what I mean.
PRIME MINISTER: Yeah I know what you mean, I think that’s true.
MCNAMARA: And Graham with his 100 trucks going up to Dubbo and all those places and stuff is what it’s all about. Prime Minister, tell me about the last two or three days, and are you used to getting called Prime Minister? You’ll get used to it after a while.
PRIME MINISTER: I keep looking over my shoulder to see if… Someone said ‘Treasurer’ the other day, I was with Josh and I turned around. But you do get used to that, it has been a very busy couple of days and as I said in my first press conference there’s a lot of important things we need to do to make Australia even stronger. But right now, my first set of meetings have been to meet with Major General Stephen Day, who is coordinating all the drought relief and support from the Federal Government’s perspective and to work with the state and territory governments, that’s on top of many other things that are already being done and I can run through those. That’s really been my principle, what is the issue that I’ve really got to get on top of straight away. There are plenty of other issues, there’s no doubt about it, electricity prices, taxes and all of these things. We’ve got to deal with all of those, healthcare, Medicare, but this is the thing that I think Australians very much want the attention of their Prime Minister on and right now, I’ve only been in the job a couple of days, and for Major General Day it’s really about listening, planning, acting. I know people are frustrated, that they would have liked to see things happen sooner, I mean in these circumstances I think we always feel like that. But we’re here and we’re going to do everything we must do and need to do and we’ll get it done.
MCNAMARA: Len rang this morning from Muswellbrook and he was delivering water and it was raining and he said he was really disappointed because he said I might be out of job here in Muswellbrook, because I’ve had a lovely time in the last few weeks or whatever delivering water to these people. He said they’re such nice people and he’s not going to be sad that it’s raining but yeah he just loved his job. Water is one big problem, I was driving past Shepparton about five weeks ago and we went past this huge big shed with hay. It was obviously a centre for a hay distribution company and it might’ve been going overseas. I don’t know, but people ask questions about should we stop sending hay overseas because it’s been a big export business for Australia hasn’t it?
PRIME MINISTER: Yep.
MCNAMARA: All those sort of things, and water and people ring me here with pipe plans and dam plans and putting water into Lake Eyre and stuff like that. I suppose when you’re in a situation like yours it’s really good because you’ve got problems, it’d be different if you’re just there and there’s nothing much to do, but you’ve got some big problems…
PRIME MINISTER: Well there’s plenty of work, yeah that’s right, there’s plenty of work. But the focus we’ve got here… It was pleasing to see the reports on the rain yesterday in the last 24 hours, 19mm in Dubbo, 23mm in Bourke, St George 35mm, 8mm in Charleville and 26mm in parts of the Darling Downs. Look that’s encouraging but we know that’s nowhere near what’s obviously needed. You’ve got to first focus on the people and make sure you’re looking after them and you’re getting the resources to look after them. I know there’s some frustrations in that and getting access to that support. The people who need to get feed for their stock, all that needs to be coordinated. Mate then there’s the towns. I was listening to that lovely woman, I think she called in from Hughenden last week.
MCNAMARA: Yep.
PRIME MINISTER: She was telling the story, that we’ve got to look after the towns. I’ve previously just been the Treasurer and we can’t make it rain, but we can keep these towns alive. That’s why we put that extra money into all the councils in those areas so they can be bringing forward projects and programs so people in the towns can get work, the money will go through the towns, the hairdresser will stay open…
MCNAMARA: Exactly.
PRIME MINISTER: That will… I mean we can’t make it rain but that can be a bit like the effect of rain in those towns. So we deal with that first and then we look at the medium term, and longer term it’s about how we’re even better prepared and we are better prepared next time this inevitably hits.
MCNAMARA: It’s a bit like a future fund really, isn’t it, but a future fund for drought.
PRIME MINSTER: Well I heard that idea you mentioned last week. Look, everything’s on the table, Macca. That’s what Major General Day is tasked. People might remember many years ago when we came into government and I was involved in stopping the boats. Like with any project, you need someone to coordinate your response, you’ve got to pool resources and people from everywhere to focus on it. That’s the same thing we did back then. States and territories, particularly the states obviously, very important here and getting their cooperation. Everybody wants to try and help and do the right thing, but the frustration often in government is getting it coordinated and getting it to where it needs to get. Mate, that’s what we’re going to do. There’ll be no shortage of effort and no shortage of resource.
MCNAMARA: I was at the football about, well it was ANZAC Day actually, and I was lucky enough to get an invite to the Trust, the Sydney Cricket Ground Trust box, I don’t know how it happened but I think I said I wanted to go to the football but I think it was booked out. Always is booked out, like the AFL match Collingwood and Essendon in Melbourne, they get about 80,000 or 90,000. The then Treasurer turned up, we said g’day and I said g’day and I had little Cameron with me. And I said, “Cameron this is Scott Morrison, he’s the Treasurer”, and he said, “Very pleased to meet you”; he’s a lovely little kid. Then we went away and he said, “Is he a treasure hunter?” And I said no, so we spent that next five minutes spelling Treasurer because some kids are challenged, so anyway we watched the football and you departed, we all left and then I was…
PRIME MINISTER: St. George had a good win that day.
MCNAMARA: Yeah they did, that’s the last one probably. Then we were on the bus on ANZAC Parade, don’t mention ANZAC Parade, and I was sitting there thinking to myself, and I thought, “Yes you really were a treasure hunter, because you were hunting treasure to try and get down the debt. How’s all that going?
PRIME MINISTER: Well with debt we’ve turned the corner now. Our net debt is actually falling this year, it peaked last year and it comes down $30 billion over these next four years and it comes down over $200 billion, $230 billion in fact over the next ten. Last year was the last time we had to go out and borrow extra money to pay for the everyday expenditure of government. So you didn’t have to put the groceries on the credit card as of last year as a government. So that any debt that you need is for infrastructure, the stuff that you’d normally use debt properly for to build the things we need to build, roads, infrastructure and so on. So the debt is turning the corner, the Budget is coming back into balance, it’s projected to be in surplus next year. That’s all good but the one thing that I really want to see us do, mate, is if you have a strong economy, you can do all the things – you can respond to a drought, you can pay for schools, you can do all the things you need to do in the towns but you’ve got to have a strong economy. If you don’t have that then all the other things, they’re all just words. So there’s that, we’re going to keep Australians safe mate, but like you’re doing on your program, we’ve got to keep Australians together. We can’t have them thinking that, “Look, you’ve got to do worse for me to do better.” That’s not what we’re about.
MCNAMARA: That’s your struggle. I mean, you’ve got problems on all fronts but that’s good, as I said, I think it’s great to have – it’s no good sitting around, “Well, what will I do now?” You don’t know where to look and in some ways, I feel sorry for you because you’re there in this new job and everybody’s coming at you about all these – because we’ve got lots of problems and so, anyway, good luck. Listen, I understand, I’m getting all these questions for you and I can’t possibly ask them, we’re not a current affairs program but I understand your great-aunt was Mary Gilmore, is that right?
PRIME MINISTER: Yes, yes.
MCNAMARA: Great-aunt?
PRIME MINISTER: My great great-aunt. Yes, and Billy Gilmore and all those guys up in Cloncurry, I was up there last year and Greg Campbell, the mayor up there, he’s a good bloke and we went and visited my great great-aunt’s grave there with Billy and we went out to a property called Longford which they used to run and there was another one called Greenwood which I went there when I was a kid. It was great to go back around there but gosh, it was dry and that was before the rains they had up there. They had been sending me photos of the rain since up there and the transformation was just unbelievable.
MCNAMARA: Prime Minister, I’ll let you go very shortly. I just wanted to – Dick Smith’s rung, he’s said, “Are you going to get country aviation going back again which will help jobs in the bush?” That’s what Dick says. Jade from southern New South Wales says, “Keep grain stocks here in Australia for periods of low supply.” Kerry says, “Are you going to stop exports of fodder overseas?” There’s a million here but you get the drift.
PRIME MINISTER: I do. Well, mate, if all of this, if someone in your studio there can package it up and send it across to us, I’ll put that in front of Major General Day. I’m going up to western Queensland with him tomorrow and we’ll be visiting some areas there and getting on the ground because we’re doing that listening which is needed to then plan and then act and right now, we are rolling out a lot of things at the moment but it’s got to be coordinated and it’s got to get to where people need but for all of your listeners, the way that they’ve responded to help people out there, please keep doing that. Australia’s an incredible country and listening to your program, you just find out how good Australians are.
MCNAMARA: Thank you, Prime Minister. Listen, just tell me where are you this morning? You’re in Parliament House?
PRIME MINISTER: Yes. I’m down in Canberra and I’m going to miss that Sharks game this afternoon against Newcastle unfortunately. It’s Luke Lewis’ last game at Shark Park but I wish ‘Lewy’ all the best and I hope the boys bring home a good one because there was a few upsets this round so Sharks could find themselves in the top four.
MCNAMARA: Yes, exactly. And have you had breakfast? Are you sleeping in Parliament House? All these questions that people want to know.
PRIME MINISTER: No. I’m still sleeping in my flat down here in Canberra but the family’s going home today. It’s been nice to have them about the last couple of days.
MCNAMARA: So do they move down to – do they all move to Canberra now?
PRIME MINISTER: No, mate, we’re not thinking about any of that at the moment. We’re just focusing on the job. That stuff can sort itself out when it needs to but we’ve got a lot of work to do, but we’re restoring the stability – I mean, I just want to assure everyone, there’s a lot of change this week. I know people would have been pretty miffed by it would be an understatement. I think a lot of people would have been absolutely disgusted by it but, you know, we’re a great country. The people are going to get back to where they have to have their heads and where they should have their heads and that’s where I’m going to get their heads so we can get on and make this country even greater than it is now.
MCNAMARA: Prime Minister, thanks for talking to us.
PRIME MINISTER: Thanks, Macca. Hope to do it again soon.
MCNAMARA: Good on you. Bye.
Drought
25 August 2018
Prime Minister: Michael, the DPM, and I met yesterday and again this morning. There are many challenges our country has. Our economic security, our national security. We had the opportunity this morning to speak with President Trump and President Widodo. I’ll have more to say about that another time but the really important meeting in our country right at the moment is dealing with the drought. I’m from the city, I’m not pretending to know one end of a sheep from another but I do know when people are hurting in our country and they have been hurting terribly. I was listening to Australia All Over last Sunday – as I often do, Macca’s a good host – and I was listening to the people ringing up and just opening their hearts up – and good on you, Macca, by the way, you have a calming influence on the people in the country.
But that’s his job, we’ve got a job here to coordinate our response to the drought and that’s why Michael and I are just so thrilled that we had Major General Day appointed in this role a week ago by Prime Minister Turnbull and I commend Malcolm for the job he did in understanding that it did require a national coordination of the drought response and he’s got a week on me so early next week, Michael, the DPM, and I and Major General Day will be up in Queensland in the early part of the week because this isn’t just a drought affecting New South Wales, as much as it is. It’s in Victoria, it’s in South Australia, it’s in Queensland and it does require putting into there all the resources of government at all levels, getting everybody to work together and, Major General Day, that’s your job. I know, I’ve tasked Major Generals before to do big jobs and I know you come highly recommended by the Chief of the Defence Force to do this job and we’ll be talking every day and we’ll certainly be meeting on a regular basis. But, Michael, did you want to share some thoughts?
DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER: Our regional people are hurting and they are really hurting. It’s a dire situation. Our nation is too and it’s been so great to see so much generosity from all people [inaudible]. So many children actually giving up their pocket money and doing awareness campaigns, fundraising campaigns for our farmers, but not just for our farmers, Stephen and Prime Minister, but also for our small communities, our rural small businesses because they’re hurting too. I’m delighted that Stephen has already had a few discussions as to what we’ll be doing, how we’ll be doing it and we’re there, we’ve got these people in these drought-stricken areas, we’ve got their back, side by side, we’re there as a Government, as a nation we’ll do whatever we can to help them.
PRIME MINISTER: Well, Major General, you will have what you need, and our commitment to that, to get the job done and I will do everything within my power – as I’m sure the DPM will – to work with our state colleagues, the Premiers in all the states we’ve talked about, to ensure that you can coordinate a response that relieves. I want to repeat what Michael said, thanks to everyone who’s reaching out and really wanting to ease the suffering but we’ve got to do it the smart way, we’ve got to do it in a coordinated way. Another Major General once told me, “Don’t rush to failure.” And I think it’s important that we listen, we plan, that we coordinate and that we respond. Major General?
MAJOR GENERAL STEPHEN DAY: Prime Minister, I rise to this challenge. It seems to me that dealing with the drought is very important. I’m glad to be on your team.
PRIME MINISTER: Great.
DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER: So glad, Prime Minister, your first visit is going to be a drought-affected area of Queensland. We’ll be up next week.
PRIME MINISTER: We’ll be out in the bush. I don’t have an Akubra, mate, so I’m just going to bring my Sharks hat. Okay. Thank you.