Media Releases
Australia’s Commitments to Security in the Middle East
21 December 2018
Prime Minister, Minister for Foreign Affairs, Minister for Defence
In keeping with our strong Alliance relationship, the Australian Government is consulting closely with the US Administration on the implementation of its recent announcement on Syria, and its long-term plans in Afghanistan. Australia has been among the most steadfast of US security partners in Afghanistan and the Middle East.
Australia’s serving men and women continue to play an important role in the security and development of both Iraq and Afghanistan, including training troops to make their communities safer.
Since 2001, the purpose of Australia’s mission in Afghanistan has been to support the Afghan Government to help contain the threat from international terrorism.
Both the NATO-led Resolute Support Mission in Afghanistan and the Global Coalition to Counter Daesh in Iraq and Syria continue to deny terrorist organisations safe havens in which to plan and export terror attacks across the globe, including to the Indo-Pacific. We cannot be complacent about this threat, including the threat of resurgence by Daesh.
With our international partners including the United States and NATO, Australia will continue to provide security, humanitarian and development assistance in the region.
Australia last month reiterated its ongoing commitment to support Afghanistan’s transition to stability and self-reliance, and welcomes recent progress towards a political settlement. Like our coalition partners, Australia recognises there is no military solution to the conflict in Afghanistan.
Australia also continues to contribute to the Global Coalition to Counter Daesh, which has made substantial and sustained progress to degrade and defeat Daesh in Syria and Iraq. Since 2011, we have committed $433 million in humanitarian assistance to Syrians displaced by the conflict.
Thanking our troops for their service and sacrifice
20 December 2018
It has been an honour and a privilege to visit around 800 of Australia’s serving men and women in our defence forces here in Iraq and at our main Middle East logistical hub to thank them for their service.
Australians of all generations are proud of the service they are rendering for our country and I was able to see firsthand the professionalism, dedication and skills they are bringing to their respective tasks.
Our forces are highly regarded for the work they are doing here and deeply respected by our allies and partners.
It was my great privilege as Prime Minister to meet with as many of our service men and women as possible and thank them all for their service; not just personally but on behalf of our Government, the Parliament and most importantly, every single Australian.
Our ADF members serving overseas at this time of year are all making a real sacrifice to serve their country and in doing so be away from their families, friends and loved ones.
This is hard at the best of times and especially so at Christmas and we are thankful.
On my trip I have seen firsthand the work that members of the Australian Defence Force are undertaking, supporting the development and security of the region.
Our serving personnel in the region today and the tens of thousands who have served since 2001, have been vital in our efforts to combat radical Islamic terrorism, whether that be in Mosul, Kandahar or back at home.
Through our efforts in Baghdad and Taji, Australian Forces have trained over 40,000 Iraqi troops, building their capacity so they can continue to protect their people and make their communities safer.
That’s something to be proud of and it’s something we should all honour.
We will continue to work side by side with Iraqis, Afghans and our Coalition partners to destroy Da’esh and Al Qaeda.
During my visit I met with the Iraqi Prime Minister Adil Abd Al-Mahdi to reinforce our ongoing commitment to fighting Da’esh and its sympathisers.
Addressing Task Group Taji - Iraq
20 December 2018
PRIME MINISTER: Thank you General Campbell. There’s two things I want to say to you all today; first of all it’s a great honour to be here with you, the Seventh Brigade. The Seventh Brigade has one of the richest histories in our defence forces, formed in 1915 it’s seen the toughest places that we’ve ever deployed to. Gallipoli, the Western Front, two VCs that I’m aware of, Daniel Keighran recently in Afghanistan and a fellow called Johnny French at the Battle of Milne Bay when the Seventh Brigade turned up. At Milne Bay Australia, the Seventh Brigade right there, was the first time the Japanese had been defeated on land up until that point in the Second World War. The turning point. While the Seventh Brigade was over there at the Battle of Milne Bay - the chockos were up there [inaudible] - doing their thing and it all turned around. Seventh Brigade went on to Long Tan, Afghanistan, everywhere. You’re always there. The honour that is in the heritage of your Brigade – and I know that there are groups from beyond the Seveth Brigade here and we’ve got some friends from New Zealand, so kia ora to you fellas and girls – but the honour that sits within your Brigade is something that you carry with you and you’ve brought it here. You’re honouring it here and so I’ve come to pay honour to you, continuing that legacy, for adding to that heritage each and every single one of you.
The other reason I’ve come here, apart from wishing you a Merry Christmas, is to say thank you. To say thank you for your service. To say thank you for your service from me, Scott Morrison, who lives in Port Hacking in southern Sydney, wife Jenny, two girls Abbey and Lily. On behalf of my family to you and all your families I want to say thank you very much for your service. I also want to say thank you to you as a Prime Minister, as a leader of a Government, as a Member of the Australian Parliament, on behalf of our entire nation.
Wherever I go in our great country, people honour and give thanks for our serving men and women. I hope you know that. You’ll feel it on ANZAC Day perhaps, you’ll feel it on special days, Armistice Day and so on. But know that each and every single day, Australians greatly value your service. And also know that when your service has been completed, know that Australians will always value it when you’re a veteran. When you’ve returned and you’ve returned to civilian life. But particularly at this time of year, I want to thank you, because for some, it may be the first time on deployment when you’ve been away from young families and partners, wives, husbands. For some this is not the first time, you’ve done it many, many times. And you’ve come up with routines and things that, you know, make sure that your kids and family still have something special on Christmas Day. But I understand it’s a sacrifice, I understand it’s a big thing to be away from your family at this time of year and that’s why I’ve decided to come here. Just to simply say thank you as one Australian to another and to honour your service and thank you for your service and to really appreciate how you are continuing the story of the Seventh Brigade. So, how good is the Seventh Brigade? That wasn’t a very enthusiastic response General Campbell, how good is the Seventh Brigade?
[Cheering]
Excellent, well Merry Christmas everyone. I’m going to get around and see as many of you as I can and I’d love to hear your stories. Love to hear what you’re looking forward to while you’re here, hear a bit about what life is like at home and we’ll do that now and it looks like there’s cake too so that’s pretty good. Anyway thanks very much it’s great to be here.
[Applause]
PRIME MINISTER: It’s great to be here in Iraq on behalf of all Australians just to say thank you for the service of the men and women who you can see standing behind me, but also to honour them and their Brigade and all of those who have gone before them, because they’re keeping up that tradition and they’re living that out here in their service. For many it’ll be their first Christmas away from family on a rotation. For some it’s something they’ve done many, many times and they have their own special traditions that they’ve been able to work up with their families and their kids to try and still make sure it’s a special family time. But we wish them well and we thank them for what they do, particularly at this time of the year. Please remember our service men and women overseas.
JOURNALIST: You tend to carve out a bit of time on your trips to honour our armed services, you did the Singapore War Memorial, obviously you’ve done various treks. How significant was it for you personally to be able to do this first trip as PM to come and actually shake hands with the troops and get to know them on a personal level?
PRIME MINISTER: Well it’s a great honour to say thank you for your service, whether you’re doing it in Australia at Enoggera where a lot of these servicemen and women are from, or up at Lavarack or over at HMAS Stirling. Wherever you go in Australia, but also here. Its one of the great privileges I think, for any Member of Parliament and certainly for a Prime Minister, so for me it’s always been a matter of honouring service and honouring the great tradition of service that they live out.
JOURNALIST: You’re a man of family and a man of faith, how much of an impact did that have, to go around and meet some of these young mums and dads that are away from their families come Christmas time?
PRIME MINISTER: It just makes you even more appreciative of the sacrifice and the service that they’re contributing for their country. I mean there’s mums here who have got one year olds at home. You know, a lot of the younger men and women here have got very young families, kids who are one or three. You know, they’re very special times for a young family and for them to be here and away from them on these occasions, that’s a real sacrifice. That’s a sacrifice they willingly make and it’s a choice they happily undertake and that just shows the spirit of the units they’re part of and the spirit of service that exists within our ADF.
JOURNALIST: Our troop numbers peaked in Iraq in about 2010 and now we’re into a more of a “train the trainer” role?
PRIME MINISTER: That’s correct.
JOURNALIST: From your perspective, can you see an end line in sight? Is it something form, your conversations, that you’ve heard soldiers ask you about?
PRIME MINISTER: Everyone who is here is very proud to be here. For some of them, they’ve sort of been planning for this for many years; to come and be on a rotation. This is the eight rotation through. Today, in discussions I had with the Iraqi Prime Minister, we talked about how Australia’s role is transitioning and moving – as you say – more into that traditional “train-trainer” role and that will continue to evolve. We’ll work that through with our coalition partners in the months and years ahead. But what is very clear is that Australia’s role here is greatly valued by the Iraqi Government. We’re here at their invitation, at their request. The contribution we’re making is very significant, extremely so. We’ve trained 40,000 security forces personnel here in Iraq but not only that, the special operations work that is being done by our best, is highly valued. Not just by the Iraqi Government but by our partners here in Iraq.
JOURNALIST: Just a couple more, you mentioned you met with the Iraqi PM today. On those two key metrics we’ve got about 600 troops in Iraq, we’ve got about $180 million in aid from 2014-2020. Was there any request to change either of those metrics dramatically? Do you see any of them shifting in a major way?
PRIME MINISTER: No and there was no such request either. I talked today about Australia being here because we support a free and independent and sovereign Iraq. Part of achieving that is being able to move to a point where this type of support in the future will be no longer necessary. That will be a recognition of their success. They, I think, seek that as much as anyone else, so the more we can help them achieve that and move to that position, I think that’ll be a positive day.
Our financial assistance is all humanitarian aid but what was particularly pleasing today in speaking to the Prime Minister was, his focus on economic development here in Iraq. He knows that having secured the country against Da’esh - there’s always the risk that they could resurge, ensuring they keep that down – but also ensuring that the economic opportunities, of education, all of that can be extended into all of the regions of Iraq. That’s what will make them free and independent and sovereign.
JOURNALIST: Just on Da’esh, you speak a lot at home about stamping out radical extremist Islam and it’s violent tendencies in that cohort. How important was it for you to come and witness what’s happening on the front line in the Middle East to stamp out the Islamic State?
PRIME MINISTER: Well one of the things that is done here is the whole issue of returning foreign fighters and the work we do here to track that because those members of Da’esh who have been defeated here will be seeking to find their way back into South East Asia or even back into Australia. It reinforces to me why we need the Temporary Exclusion Orders, why we need the special legislation that we’ve been able to pass and to ensure that we can tool ourselves up to protect Australians and to keep them safe from these sorts of radical Islamic threats. I think that is well understood here and that’s why they’re doing the work they’re doing. Thanks.
Office of National Intelligence
20 December 2018
Today the Office of National Intelligence (ONI) formally commences its role as the lead agency of Australia’s national intelligence community.
The evolution of the Office of National Assessments into ONI follows the recommendations of the 2017 Independent Intelligence Review. A key finding of the Review was that better coordination of our intelligence community was necessary to respond more effectively to the unprecedented changes in Australia's security environment.
As well as being Australia’s premier all-source intelligence assessment agency, ONI will coordinate, integrate and evaluate the work of the national intelligence community, which is now a major enterprise and should be managed as such.
The Director-General of National Intelligence will be the Prime Minister’s principal advisor on intelligence issues.
ONI’s mandate ensures that Australia has a contemporary national intelligence enterprise built on strong collaboration. By drawing together and leveraging the talent of our national intelligence community’s workforce – and the best technologies – ONI will help position Australia to better meet the challenges of its evolving security environment. ONI will play an important role in my commitment to keep Australians safe.
Joint Press Statement with Adil Abd Al-Mahdi , Prime Minister of Iraq
20 December 2018
Prime Minister, Prime Minister of Iraq
PRIME MINISTER OF IRAQ ADIL ABD AL-MAHDI: In the name of God the merciful, the benevolent, we renew our welcome to his excellency Prime Minister of Australia Scott Morrison. In our first meeting, we discussed the relations between the two countries and we discussed the important security cooperation regarding the liberation of Iraq from Da’esh and liberating also the area. Also we discussed the importance of the economic trade relations, cultural relations, to serve the interests of our countries and people and also to enhance… to promote security and stability in Iraq. And we also discussed the situation in the region and the importance of… that Iraq should have good relations with all countries of the region and the friendly countries to Iraq.
There is no doubt that terrorism and poverty is a common enemy to our countries and people. We thank Australia as a country and people and Government to stand with Iraq and its war against Da’esh. We hope to continue cooperating and we hope even to promote this cooperation to include more fields and sectors for the interests of our two countries. Iraq, your excellency, is looking forward for a wide participation of Australian companies and investors, those well-known companies, which are well known of their capabilities and the investment and reconstruction and to find job opportunities for Iraqis to promote stability. Because the stability of Iraq is the stability of the region, and the stability of the region would be stability for the whole world.
Iraq is a diverse country in terms of religion, nationality, or maybe even culture and even civilisation. And Iraq has one of the oldest civilisations. That’s why this diversity needs peaceful coexistence and needs maybe some support and understanding by all our friends for the importance of making use of this diversity in order to have more relations. We think that Australia knows the dimensions of this situation. Sometimes people might think that this diversity reflects some conflicts but we had such experiences I think that now everyone know that diversity is such a great thing to reach the unity. We look for all our citizens on the basis of national identity. Diversity has such a nurturement and powerful feel… factor to the country that we are looking for and investing in it.
We are keen to have balanced relations with the countries of the world, especially countries of… our neighbouring countries. The Constitution of Iraq is written by Iraqis. We have democracy and we had elections in a very peaceful way. So this experience is such a good experience in the region, so it should be supported and encouraged in order to encourage the whole region and to attain stability in the region. Iraq does not want to be a base or path for terrorism. Iraq is not going to use its lands to launch any attacks but we would like to build friendships with all countries based on mutual respect and mutual interests, according to the United Nations convention. Thank you your excellency for visiting Iraq and we welcome you once again and we would like to hear your remarks.
PRIME MINISTER OF AUSTRALIA SCOTT MORRISON: As-Salaam-Alaikum.
PRIME MINISTER OF IRAQ ADIL ABD AL-MAHDI: Wa-Alaikum-Salaam.
PRIME MINISTER OF AUSTRALIA SCOTT MORRISON: It is a great pleasure and privilege to be here with you, Prime Minister, and to congratulate Iraq and the Iraqi people for its brave fight against extremism. And in doing so, we acknowledge the great suffering that the Iraqi people have experienced over this time of their brave fight.
Australia is a friend of a free, independent and sovereign Iraq and that has always been our goal and our motive in seeking to support Iraq in these difficult years and over a sustained period of time. We have been here for some years and the invitation of Iraq and we remain here at your invitation, seeking to support you with your goals. And I congratulate you again on your election as Prime Minister and as you’ve continued to form your Government. And I also congratulate you on your emphasis in your remarks particularly today on the inclusive nature of how you’re seeking to rebuild the economy of your country to ensure that all Iraqis, wherever they live, whatever their backgrounds, that they are able to participate in Iraq’s future in an equal way and to have the same opportunities. Whether it is for a job, for their health, for their education, these basic things that we would want for all Iraqis and I know you want for all Iraqis as well.
So we want to encourage you in that process, whether it’s the work we’re doing through our humanitarian aid. Since 2014 Australia and over the next few years will have invested some 180 million Australian dollars in supporting the humanitarian effort here in Iraq and we will continue to do that, of course, as Iraq continues to improve and progress then the nature of Australia’s arrangements and support will change. But that is a reflection of the progress that is being made and nothing other than that. Our friendship and our support remains just as strong.
So I want to thank you again for the opportunity to come here and visit with you today. I wish you and your Government, and the Iraqi people most importantly, every success. You have been brave in the face of extremism and now it requires a new form of bravery to build that economy. With so many young people in Iraq defiant and have hope for their future and a job. Jobs are as important in Iraq as they are in Australia, and we’re both committed to seeing more jobs and I look forward to seeing that happen here in Iraq as well as back home. So thank you very much for your hospitality today, it’s been a great pleasure to be here and to meet with your party and particularly with yourself. Thank you.
Addressing Task Force 632 - Iraq
20 December 2018
PRIME MINISTER: There’s only one thing I wanted to come here to do, whether it’s here or up at Taji; it’s just to say thank you. That’s it, thank you. Not just from me – I am saying thank you from me and Jenny and my two girls, just as Australians – but I’m also saying thank you on behalf of my Government.
I sat in our National Security Committee of Government for the last five years pretty much, I’ve been there when we’ve made all the decisions that we’ve made, which is why we’re here doing what we’re doing here as a Government, what we’re doing now and what I know many of you have been doing for many, many years now. The Government thanks you, the Parliament thanks you and the other thing is that the country does. I have been a member of Parliament now for over a decade and at this time of year when you say to people in your community - and some of you here come from our of the part of Sydney where my electorate is and where I’ve lived with my family down in southern Sydney – and you say: “Just think about our serving men and women overseas this Christmas”. They all nod and they go: “Yeah we will, I’m glad you said that.” Because they want to, because they know you’re here doing your job and this is where you do your job and you know that. But that does mean that for many of you this will be the first time you haven’t been there with your kids at Christmas, the first time when you haven’t been there with your wife or your girlfriend or your parents. For some of you, you’ve done it many, many times and you’ve worked out routines and things to make sure it’s just that bit easier on the kids – I’m a dad, I know what it’s like to be away from your kids at important times in their life – and that’s something you give for your country. It’s something you give in your service, to come here and you do what you do.
Now I know this team here is the best of the best. I know a lot more about Two Commando than I do about SAS, but SAS’ reputation precedes it. But when you chose to do what you do, you make a conscious decision about the contribution you’re making and I would hate for you to think that as you’re doing that – you’ll have great days and you’ll have really difficult days – but that on any of those days, that you didn’t know how much your country appreciates what you do. Because they really do. Kids, do, little kids do, grandparents do, right across all the generations of Australians, there’s no group of Australians I think, that is more respected than our serving men and women and that respect continues when you no longer wear the uniform and you go back into civilian life as a veteran. Australians absolutely support what you’re doing and you’re doing what you’re doing based on decisions the Government has made. You don’t get to make those decisions, but the choice you’ve already made is that you’re going to serve in whatever conditions, or in whatever task that you’re asked to do. So as a Parliament, as a country, as a Government, as a Prime Minister but also just as a fellow Australian, I want to tell you how grateful we are.
The other thing I wanted to do is pay honour. That’s an important word, not just in the military but in our community and our society and one of the things I love about the various parts that make up our defence forces, is that everyone has a good sense of the heritage of whatever part of the military they’re from. I’m someone who likes to understand the heritage of things and I have all sorts of people that I think about when I go about my own job. There was a guy I came across a number of years back when we were trekking the Wau to Salamaua Trek, the Black Cat Track. We’d done this as few times – not Black Cat, we’d done Kokoda and Sandakan as I was mentioning to a few of you before – and we learned of a bloke called George Warfe. Does anyone remember George Warfe? The Mad Major he was called and he was one of Australia’s first commandos. He had been in the Battle of Bardia over in the Middle East there when they took Tobruk, all of those things. He was well-decorated and he found his real calling when he found himself in the jungles of New Guinea when there was the surge on following Kokoda. They were going, advancing towards Salamaua which was a movement that was occurring while at the same time, they were coming around the other way to Tarakan Island which was a critical battle as you’d know, in the Second World War. But this was a bloke who was a builder and a cabinet-maker from Melbourne. He wasn’t trained really in any of these things like jungle warfare. But he had to use his ingenuity, he had to use his determination and his sheer drive to sort of understand how to fight in those environments. I think a bloke like George Warfe is absolutely emblematic of what you guys and girls do; the ingenuity, the capability, the commitment, the problem-solving but most of all the passion for what you’re doing. So I think you’re a great tribute to guys like George Wharf who went before you and you’re really honouring I think, that tradition so it’s my great privilege to come here and honour you in the same way. We recognise it, we get it and we thank you for it. So I hope you have the best Christmas you can have here and I hope you enjoy those moments that you have to Skype and Facebook and WhatsApp video and all the various things we have these days, which is much better I suppose, than it used to be. I hope you enjoy those moments but more importantly, I look forward, as I’m sure you do, to when you can go home and be with your families and friends, your mates and parents, kids and all of that. You can tell them you have served your country because you have and I know you’ll keep doing so.
Thank you very much and God bless.
Middle East Headquarters Region remarks
20 December 2018
PRIME MINISTER: Well thank you very much. It’s a great pleasure and it’s an honour and it’s a privilege to be here with you, the serving men and women of Australia’s Defence Forces. Last night, a few of you had a meal with me. We had a curry. I love curries. One of the reason I love curries - there is a point to this story, I promise - is how you put it all together. You start with your oil, so last night it was a Sri Lankan chicken curry, how good is that by the way. Start with the oils, you put your curry leaves in there, get your spices in there, your whole base. It infuses the oil, you put your onions in, it’s layer on layer. You may have marinated the chicken with coconut cream. It comes out like magic. How you blend it together, all of these different ingredients, to produce something which is pretty magnificent, is how I have experienced seeing what you do here. Whether it is here, or over in Taji, it’s the time I’ve had to spend. I can’t tell you how impressed I am about how all the different specialist units, components, skills and backgrounds, are blended together to make an amazing team. I think that’s the real impressive thing about our Defence Forces and our partners and those we work with see.
There is a humility to the way you do your business. But there is an incredible professionalism, a great pride in what you do, and a tremendous commitment. I came here because I just wanted to do something quite simple - I just wanted to say thank you. I want to say thank you for your service. I wanted to say that as a fellow Australia, as a dad of two young girls living in suburban Sydney. I wanted to do it as the Prime Minister and the leader of the Government who has made decisions which is why you are here. I wanted to do it as a Member of Parliament which I have been for more than a decade and I just had the very sobering experience of signing the book alongside those who have fallen in this theatre over the many years we’ve been here. So I wanted to say thank you. I wanted to say thank you because there are many things that make me proud of Australia. Going along to a school presentation, you see families and kids doing well, holding up their certificates and they’re full of optimism and pride. That makes me proud. It makes me proud that we’re a country that can make some of the most life-saving and difficult to fund and afford drugs for everyday Australians. That makes me proud, that we can do that as a country. It makes me proud when we beat the Indians in cricket.
But I’ll tell you what really makes me proud - looking at you. Looking at what you do and the professionalism with which you do it. The way you look after each other as mates, which has been part of the fabric and the values and the code of our Defence Forces since Australians first put on a uniform and fought together and worked together. I’m incredibly proud, our nation is incredibly proud of what you do. Please never forget that. I know you are. I know you know what you do and you commit to what you do. That’s why you’re here and that’s why you won’t be with your families this Christmas. And for some of you it’ll be the first time you’ve been away from your families on active service. For many, you’ve done it heaps of times, and you’ve got your own traditions, as I said to colleagues yesterday. Where you still make it a special day for your kids, your wives and husband, parents and family. You make that connection. And you’ll make it special here today, as I hear last night about some of the things you’ve got planned and I think that’s tremendous.
But understand Australians are proud. Understand that Australians are thankful for the sacrifices that you make. Understand that Australians are enormously proud of our men and women who wear our uniform. You wear it in our name, you wear it under our flag, and you do it to honour and to serve the values that has made Australia the greatest country on earth in which to live and raise a family.
So with all of that, I wish those of you who have just begun your tours - which is many of you I know - I wish you all the best. Stay safe, look after each other. Do the job, which I know you will. And when you return home to Australia, you will be able to remember the time that you’ve been here. Know that you’ve helped change a country. Know that you’ve done something positive for the future. Know that the reason you decided, all of those years ago, “Yeah, I’m going to join the ADF. That’s what I’m going to do.” That your time here was further proof that that was a very, very good decision on your behalf. And one for which I, and your country, truly thanks you. Merry Christmas, have a great new year, and up up Australia.
Boosting support for older Australians
17 December 2018
Prime Minister, Minister for Health, Minister for Indigenous Health and Aged Care
The Liberal and Nationals Government will deliver more support for older Australians, with a half a billion dollar ($552.9 million) increase to aged care funding including the release of 10,000 high-level home care packages within weeks.
We understand that older Australians prefer to receive support and services in their own home and live independently for as long as possible.
The 10,000 new high-level home care packages deliver important services at home, such as complex clinical care from a range of providers, nursing and mobility care, nutrition, hydration and meal preparation and transport support.
The packages and will be available in early 2019 and will be spilt across 5,000 level three and 5,000 level four care packages, providing up to $50,000 per person in services each year.
The $287 million home care expansion is on top of the extra 20,000 packages funded in the past year, which combined will result in a record 40 per cent increase in the number of people receiving home care packages.
We will also ease the cost of living for 70,000 older Australians by reducing the daily maximum fees payable by up to $400 per year for level one packages, $200 a year for level two packages and $100 a year for a level three packages.
Older Australians who are not currently charged this maximum fee will still benefit because we will increase the value of packages by providing a top-up payment for additional services by providers that is the same amount as the fee reduction.
We are also investing more in providers that support older Australians living in rural and remote areas and people who have been affected by homelessness.
These providers face unique circumstances and cost pressures and we want to ensure their sustainability.
The Viability Supplement for eligible residential aged care providers is to be increased by 30 per cent, through an investment of $101.9 million.
Currently, more than 550 services, accounting for around 13,500 residential care places, receive the Viability Supplement to offset higher care costs in regional areas.
The Homeless Supplement will also be increased by 30 per cent, through a $9.3 million funding injection. Currently, 42 residential services receive the homeless supplement on behalf of more than 1,700 residents.
We will also invest $98 million to fund increased payments to GPs to attend residential aged care homes to treat patients. This recognises the important role of GPs in supporting the health and care of patients in residential aged care.
These initiatives reflect the rollout of our Government’s unprecedented aged care improvements to help ensure older Australians receive the care they want and deserve, where and when they need it.
We have invested an extra $1 billion a year in aged care services since 2013 and have continued our record investment through the 2018/19 Budget’s $5 billion boost over the next four years.
Because without a strong economy and getting our budget back into balance, we can’t make these important decisions. This is why a strong economy matters; because it guarantees the essential services Australians rely on without higher taxes.
It is this strong economic management that ensures we continue to invest record amounts of funding in aged care and other vital health initiatives including mental health, life-saving medicines, Medicare and public hospitals.
Even as the Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety goes about its’ important work, our commitment to improving care for older Australians will continue at full pace.
Keeping children safe online
16 December 2018
Prime Minister, Minister for Communication and the Arts, Minister for Education
The Liberal and Nationals Government is taking action to support parents and keep Australian children safe online with a new $17 million online safety package.
It will include new resources for parents and carers, an online safety research program and the development of an Online Safety Charter for digital platforms.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison said the government’s top priority was keeping Australians safe.
“We must all work together to ensure the safety of our youngest Australians online, including parents, social media companies and the community,” the Prime Minister said.
“Nothing can be more important than protecting our children and in many cases this means defending them from dangers in the online environment.”
The Keeping our Children Safe Online package includes an education campaign for all parents and new educational resources for parents and carers of children under 5 years old, in recognition of the fact that it is never too early to start teaching good online safety habits.
It will raise awareness of the resources available to parents to protect their children online, particularly the work of the eSafety Commissioner, and develop new resources for parents, childcare centres and community groups to support a safe online environment and positive cybersafe behaviour in young children.
An Online Safety Charter will be developed in consultation with parents, stakeholders and social media and digital platform companies which will outline the Government’s expectations for industry in relation to protecting children online.
The Charter will have an explicit focus on children, recognising they need special protection. A draft will be developed over the summer and the final Charter will be agreed in 2019.
And a new research program will be rolled out to underpin initiatives to keep kids and other vulnerable Australians safe online.
Minister for Communications Mitch Fifield said the Government expected digital platforms to do their bit to keep Australian kids safe.
“Our new Online Safety Charter will clearly set out our expectations of industry. We will consult with the sector, stakeholders and most importantly parents over coming months to develop the Charter,” Minister Fifield said.
“Businesses who interact with children in the real world have to meet high standards of safety and digital businesses should be treated no differently.”
“This generation is the first to be immersed in the digital world. There is much we don't know, and as technology evolves we are funding more research to improve online safety,” Minister Fifield said
“This generation of children are the first to grow up immersed in the online world and as digital technology rapidly evolves it is important that we have the best information about the impact on our children and ways to ensure that their experience is a positive and safe one,”
Minister for Education Dan Tehan said parents wanted to be in charge of what their children experience online.
“We know how difficult it can be and how it can feel like it is too hard to take control but parents should be reassured that it is never too early - or too late - to start teaching responsible cybersafe behaviour,” Minister Tehan said.
“That's why we are developing a new awareness campaign and funding new resources to help parents make sensible and safe choices about their kids’ technology use from their very first exposure.”
These latest measures will be rolled out in early 2019 and are part of the Government's ongoing commitment of more than $100 million over the next four years to improving online safety.
The eSafety Commissioner was set up by the Liberal National Government to provide support to families and educators and help victims of online safety. For advice on how to keep your children safe online visit the eSafety website.
These measures complement the Government’s other initiatives to combat bullying and cyberbullying including the National Day of Action against Bullying and Violence. Schools across Australia are encouraged to register to take part in the National Day of Action on Friday 15 March 2019 by visiting Bullying. No way! website.
The Government has received the independent review of the Enhancing Online Safety Act 2015 and the Online Content Scheme, conducted by Ms Lynelle Briggs AO and is considering the recommendations.
Australia's new Governor-General
16 December 2018
Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II has approved my recommendation to appoint His Excellency General the Honourable David Hurley AC DSC (Retd) as Australia’s next Governor-General.
General Hurley will be Australia’s 27th Governor-General.
General Hurley is currently the Governor of New South Wales, having been appointed to the role in October 2014.
He has been a very popular Governor of NSW. From his weekly boxing workouts with Indigenous children as part of the Tribal Warriors program to his frequent regional trips, Governor Hurley is known for being generous and approachable to old and young alike.
General Hurley will be sworn in on 28 June 2019, to allow for the fulfillment of his duties as Governor of New South Wales.
Her Majesty The Queen has agreed to extend the appointment of the current Governor General, His Excellency General the Honourable Sir Peter Cosgrove AK MC (Retd), until that time.
Prior to his appointment as Governor of New South Wales, General Hurley served in the Australian Army for 42 years, including as the Chief of the Defence Force from 2011 to 2014.
He was appointed a Companion of the Order of Australia in 2010 for eminent service to the Australian Defence Force and was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross for his leadership during Operation SOLACE in Somalia in 1993.
General Hurley and Mrs Hurley have been married for 41 years and they have three adult children: Caitlin, Marcus and Amelia.
The Governor-General holds office at the pleasure of The Queen, however the term is usually understood to be five years.
General Cosgrove has discharged his duties to date with distinction and grace and I thank him for agreeing to continue in the role to assist in the transition.
Press Statement, Canberra
16 December 2018
Governor General, Prime Minister
PRIME MINISTER: Well thank you for joining us this morning on this important day. The office of the Governor General is the most significant in our nation and it is designed under our constitution to provide stability and certainty and continuity to our democracy and to the democratic institutions that protect Australia, that keep Australia together. It was these very important responsibilities that fall to a Governor-General - stability, continuity and certainty - that were foremost in my mind in exercising my responsibility as Prime Minister to make a recommendation to Her Majesty about who the next Governor-General for Australia should be.
I had only one choice, my first choice and he is standing next to me. I am very pleased to announce that Her Majesty the Queen has agreed to appoint His Excellency General David Hurley AC DSC as the 27th Governor-General of the Commonwealth of Australia.
General Hurley has served Australia for almost half a century and I've had the privilege to serve with him as a minister of a Government in which he served as the Chief of the Defence Force. He joined the Army in 1972, that was not a time when military service was popular - sadly - in our country. He served for 42 years and rose to become the Chief of the Defence Force, a role he was appointed to by the former Labor government. It was General Hurley who first spoke the words; "The standard you walk past, is the standard you accept,” which is a lesson to all of us. It’s a phrase that embodies what Australian leadership is all about. It’s a phrase that has embodied the service of General Hurley. In 2014 he was appointed as Governor of New South Wales by the then Premier Mike Baird and it’s a role where he has shone and Mrs Hurley has shone. He is known for his weekly boxing workouts with Indigenous kids, as part of the Tribal Warriors program. These kids in the program call him “Guv”, I suppose they will call you “GG” now. As Governor, he's taken to the highways and byways of New South Wales and the spirit of people like forebear Lachlan Macquarie. The people of New South Wales have taken to the Hurleys. They are generous and they are approachable and they live out a joyous public service. The Governor and Mrs Hurley have been married for over 40 years are an example in that relationship as well. Mrs Hurley has made Government House in Sydney a warm and inviting place. Her sing-alongs are legendary but they serve as an important purpose - to put people of all walks of life at ease. At so many of their functions, heads of industry and government will find themselves singing along with a local charity worker or someone they’ve met on their travels. When they lived in Canberra, Mrs Hurley was a volunteer with the Canberra Hospital and hospice and she has an enormous compassion and grace. This was very much a package deal in inviting Governor Hurley to take on this role with Mrs Hurley.
As you would be aware, Sir Peter Cosgrove's term was due to expire in early 2019, so when I approached General Hurley, who was the stand-out candidate, my first and only choice, he indicated that he wanted to conclude his term as state Governor before taking up the new appointment in 2019 with respect to his responsibilities for the forthcoming state election. This would ensure that New South Wales has an experienced Governor on hand for their state election in March. He believed the honourable thing was for him was to fulfill his current constitutional obligations before he took on new ones. Sir Peter, who has served our country so well and continues to, has agreed also to a short extension of his term, which also has been approved by Her Majesty. This will mean that both New South Wales and Australia will have an experienced Governor and Governor-General in place at the time of the forthcoming elections. As a matter of courtesy, I have spoken to the Leader of the Opposition and informed him of my recommendation to Her Majesty earlier today. He was made aware of my decision as a matter of courtesy, these consultations or I should say, this information was passed on to him.
When I look for a Governor-General, as I say, I was looking for someone who could fulfill that constitutional role with great dignity, but with a levelness. General Hurley is known for looking people straight in the eye, not up and not down. He was that way with those that he led in the military. He's been that way as a Governor and throughout his life, looking eye-to-eye, face-to-face, understanding people's challenges and issues one-on-one in a very direct and very humble and a very humane way. Mrs Hurley is the same.
So, I am very pleased that he takes on those great Australian values of someone who is able to bring people together. He embodies these great characteristics and I am delighted that he's agreed to take on this important role and continue his career of distinguished public service for the Australian people as Governor-General. Congratulations.
HIS EXCELLENCY GENERAL DAVID HURLEY AC DSC, GOVERNOR GENERAL DESIGNATE: Thank you, Prime Minister.
PRIME MINISTER: I'll ask Governor Hurley to make some statements and then for questions, I'll ask the Hurleys to retire and I’m happy to take those questions.
GENERAL HURLEY: Prime Minister, thank you. Of course it is the highest honour to be asked to be the Governor-General of Australia. I am very humbled and proud to have accepted. I was surprised to receive your request, Linda and I are enjoying our work at Government House in Sydney and we were looking forward to the next stage of our lives after my term as Governor concluded towards the end of next year. We know though, that if I was to retire, the most significant part of our current role that we would miss would be the opportunity to visit and meet the multitude of extraordinary Australians in our community. I have certainly confirmed in my own mind over the past four years, something that I had sensed about Australia, but really hadn't had the opportunity before to witness on a day-to-day basis; that Australia is a very rich country in a nonmaterial sense. Australians have an amazing and indeed an enormous capacity to contribute their time, their energy, their talents, their emotions, their care and indeed their money to assist others. I look forward to continuing to be involved with them in these pursuits.
As the PM has mentioned, you can't do these jobs without someone standing by your side and Linda has had such a unique manner in the role in the last four years. I look forward for the two of us fulfilling the responsibilities of Governor-General together.
My commitment to the people of Australia is that we will fulfil our responsibilities in the same full-hearted manner that I have worked in New South Wales or we have worked in New South Wales over the past four years, including supporting and encouraging them in their community endeavors, recognising their achievements and promoting those achievements at home and abroad. I will be enormously proud to represent Australia in the role of Governor-General. Thank you.
PRIME MINISTER: Again, congratulations and to all the family, congratulations. Well, I am going to leave the Hurleys to have a cup of tea and we will catch up in a minute, but thank you very much.
Q&A, the Sydney Institute
15 December 2018
GERARD HENDERSON: Thank you Prime Minister for an important address. As I said, the PM has got a busy day so we’re going to take a few questions and they are not going to go too long. So if you have the microphone, you have got the question, so Anne and I are so here with microphones. I am going to lead off. Prime Minister just come back this way some, there is a lot of people watching on television. As you know Australia is an influential nation, a formidable power and as you know and pointed out in your speech, we have been influential in the Middle East and North Africa in the First World War and Second World War, in 1948 particularly under the Chifley Labor Government with the establishment of Israel. So a speech like you are giving today, to what extent do you think we can play a significant role in bringing about a two state solution? Or is it just kind of a role on the sidelines?
PRIME MINISTER: Thank you Gerard, this is a critical question. I said in my statement that Australians have earned the right over a very long period of time to be making influential contributions in this area. I said ‘to step up to the microphone’ - and I don’t think we should be doing the microphone drop when it comes to dealing with these issues - I think those who put us in this position deserve better than that. They deserve us to steward that responsibility about how we continue to contribute when you look at our incredible influence both in the creation in the State of Israel and our partnership with it over so many years. It’s hard to say that Australia’s influence has been small. It has been quite great, often through the great fashion of the expatriate population that has settled in Australia, who I think has always kept us up to the mark on these issues, as they should.
So while Australia’s voice and the megaphone we have, is not as great as the great powers - that is true - but I’ve got to say that ever since I raised this issue several months ago, people have been pretty keen to know what we are going to say. I think a world that was disinterested in Australia’s view I don’t think would have responded like that. Of course, I’ll tell you why our voice matters; because we are a successful country, we are a fair country, we are a democratic country, we have got the runs on the board about how you run an effective nation state. You look after your people with compassion and you engage with the world in an outward way. This is our form and our form gives as great respect as Marise knows better than most on the world stage. We come from the voice of reason, we come from the voice of experience, we come from a voice of passion and commitment to the principals of peace, democracy, the inalienable rights of individual human beings. We speak for that, we live that as a country and as a result I think our voice holds great importance.
GERARD HENDERSON: Stephen Hollings.
STEPHEN HOLLINGS: Prime Minister thank you very much for your speech and thank you for your references to the leadership role that Australia has played in since 1948 and beyond in the UN. At the beginning of your speech and also at the end you talked briefly about the Pacific. I was wondering if I could ask you more about the challenges you see to our traditional leadership role in the Pacific, given the fact that big powers now have taken such interest in countries very close to our home?
PRIME MINISTER: Sure, well thank you very much for the question. I have titled it the Pacific ‘step up’ because that’s what it is. Now our pace and level of involvement with our overseas aid program in the Pacific has been strong over many, many years. But as I said, we are more than the sum of our transactions whether that be aid or trade there is another dimension to our relationship with the Southwest Pacific which we are stepping up on. It is cultural, it is educational programs like once again ensuring that young people from across the Pacific will be given scholarships to come to Australian schools, that we are extending both our strategic partnerships, whether it is in defence or law enforcement, training officers, lifting standards, working alongside and continuing on the work we have just been doing over the last few years particularly up in PNG through their constabulary. But also the work we are doing in health, the work we are doing in cultural exchanges, whether it is on everything from football - it doesn’t matter what code you follow, they will follow it all - these are cultural connections. Our unique role here is to be the honest family member who can engage together with our other family partners in the Pacific with how we deal with the rest of the world.
There are plenty of people making offers, as to how they might come and help and they do look to us like a brother or a sister to say: “Well, what do you reckon, will this be good for us?” You would know; “You’re part of our family.” That is very much how I have communicated the nature of our role along with New Zealand with the other world leaders and that is well received. The great powers, they have a presence in so many places but their size means they don’t have the advantage of flexibility which we do. So there; through our great partnerships with them, we are able I think to achieve even more on behalf of our Pacific brothers and sisters.
So the most exciting project in PNG joining together with United States, Japan, New Zealand and ourselves to take PNG from 16 per cent electrification to 70 per cent by 2030, that’s a game changer. That changes our part of the world. Think of what that will mean in Papua New Guinea. When I am often asked about why I am in Papua New Guinea, I say if you walk the Kokoda track you know why and that will never change.
GERARD HENDERSON: Final question, Katherine O’Regan.
KATHERINE O’REGAN: Thanks Gerard and thanks Prime Minister for coming to today to the Sydney Institute it’s good to see you again. One of the things which I think is great is a clarification you have given in terms of Israel, but maybe you can expand a bit more on why West Jerusalem and particularly the trade and defence presence that will be there and how that can work towards the two state solution?
PRIME MINISTER: Sure, let me start with the second part first. Trade and defence - I am particularly talking about defence industry when I am talking about defence as we know - the Ministry is established in Tel Aviv so we are not talking about a diplomatic type activity there. We are talking about trade activity there as we have been embarking upon what has been the biggest capitalisation of our defence forces since the Second World War, getting to 2 per cent GDP of investment in defence. That is a well-recognised achievement. Now as I have met with the various leaders in recent times, not too many people are moving in that direction and that is well respected particularly by our allies. That defence industry capability in the partnerships we are making there, right through the supply chain, are incredibly important. So this is another great opportunity to take another step in that space and our trade relationship with Israel is only building up, particularly in the technology space and particularly in these sort of security type related sectors and that obviously feeds into defence.
I said there were two guard rails, if you like, for the discussion. One was a two state solution and Dave first suggested about how this would be considered in context of the two state solution. I think that was a very interesting suggestion and I was quite taken by it. But the other premise was - as I have outlined - the importance of for us to remain in the rules to Security Council resolutions. We rely on those resolutions in many other contexts, so we don’t get to give ourselves a leave pass on those in how we deal with other issues. So when it comes to West Jerusalem in particular the 1967 boundaries and green light and so on, those issues are not in dispute in terms of where Israel is a resident within those borders. Now where those ultimately are, well, that’s a matter for the final status and that will be determined just like where East is, a matter for final status. So we are not buying into that particular discussion, but what we are saying is that we have got to move this forward.
The rancid stalemate has to be broken. This is our contribution of submitting measured thinking about how we think this can move forward. In part calling it out and daringly ask the question, which others don’t seem to want to ask in this country. Those who say they support Israel didn’t even want to ask the question and even today the Labor Party doesn’t seem to be able to even embrace talking about the answer we’ve put forward.
So people know where we stand I think we have always been consistent on this issue. My view is the same today as it was yesterday and what it will be tomorrow when it comes to this issue. It may not always be popular and it may cause controversy from time to, time but politics is about doing what you believe in. I’ll leave it at that.
Backing Queensland’s Bait Prawn Industry
14 December 2018
The Liberal National Government is supporting jobs in the Queensland bait prawn industry as it works to recover from an outbreak of white spot syndrome virus.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison said $5 million over three years will be shared among local organisations to relieve costs of keeping our country free of the virus.
The funding will also be used to educate commercial and recreational fishers on the risk of not using commercial bait.
"The bait prawn industry plays an important role here in Queensland and we want to make sure these businesses survive and keep employing locals," Prime Minister Scott Morrison said.
"We want to help get rid of this virus so fisherman down the coast here can get back to business as usual."
Queensland’s continuing efforts to control and contain the disease mean uncooked prawns, including those used for bait, are unable to be moved outside of the affected area until they are treated.
Industry, Science and Technology Minister Karen Andrews said the Queensland bait prawn industry is experiencing significant losses in revenue, affecting the livelihoods of Australian fisherman, both in Queensland and interstate.
"The white spot outbreak area extends from Caloundra to the NSW border and west to Ipswich where the greasyback prawn is found,” Minister Karen Andrews said.
"This is a common bait for recreational fishers, and the Coalition is helping to stamp this virus out."
“The Coalition is working to protect the local prawn farming industry and jobs through this funding allocation."
The white spot syndrome virus is a highly contagious infection that affects crustaceans, such as prawns, crabs and yabbies.
There is no impact to human health, so Australians are encouraged to support the local seafood industry, particularly over the Christmas period, by continuing to buy and eat Australian seafood.
Linkfield Road overpass to be duplicated
14 December 2018
Prime Minister, Minister for Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Development, Minister for Home Affairs
A duplication of the Linkfield Road overpass will bust congestion and improve safety at a notorious bottleneck in Brisbane’s north.
The overpass currently forces vehicles to merge from two lanes to one before the Gympie Arterial Road on-ramp, frustrating thousands of motorists on a daily basis.
Federal LNP Member for Petrie Luke Howarth and Federal LNP Member for Dickson Peter Dutton have been fighting for funding to bring the duplication to fruition and have received thousands of signatures to a petition in support of the upgrade.
Today the Liberal and Nationals Government announced a commitment of up to $100 million to help fund 80 per cent of the works.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison said the upgrade would make sure that local motorists aren’t stuck in traffic while doing the school run and traveling to and from work.
“We are focused on congestion busting upgrades which get people out of traffic so that they can spend more time with their families in the morning and at night," the Prime Minister said.
“This upgrade has long been called for by local residents and they have been extremely well supported by their Federal LNP Members in Luke Howarth and Peter Dutton.
"Luke and Peter have been campaigning for this critical upgrade for months and because of our efforts to build a stronger economy we are able to back them in.
“Now it’s up to the Queensland Labor Government to get on-board so work can start as soon as possible."
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Development Michael McCormack said the upgrade would improve safety in the area.
"We know the accident and near-miss rate at the northbound highway connection to the Gympie Arterial Road is a major issue," Mr McCormack said.
"This upgrade will create a safer overpass and bust the congestion that motorists endure as they merge from two lanes into one."
Federal LNP Member for Petrie Luke Howarth said the upgrade would be welcomed by motorists who regularly travel on the overpass.
"This upgrade will remove a significant bottleneck that has been a source of great frustration," Mr Howarth said.
"In particular, it will reduce driving time for the thousands of motorists who access the Gympie Arterial Road and Bruce Highway from Linkfield Road, getting them home to their families sooner and safer."
Federal LNP Member for Dickson Peter Dutton said the upgrade would include an in-depth planning phase.
"The exact scope of this upgrade will be investigated as part of the planning process and I look forward to seeing the overpass transformed to be a safer and more efficient part of the road network," Mr Dutton said.
"This is a great outcome for the Linkfield Road overpass campaign which Luke and I launched in March this year and is a well-deserved reward for the thousands of people who signed the petition and contributed their time and voice to this worthy issue."
The $100 million commitment to the Linkfield Road overpass builds on a commitment of $150 million for northbound entry and southbound exit points at the Dohles Rocks Road interchange on the Bruce Highway.
The Palaszczuk Labor Government is yet to commit its 20 per cent contribution to the Dohles Rocks Road interchange project and will also be asked to fund 20 per cent of the costs to duplicate the Linkfield Road overpass.
In total, the Federal Liberal Nationals Government has committed $10 billion to upgrade the Bruce Highway corridor as part of an overall $20.4 billion commitment to transport infrastructure in Queensland since 2013.
Annual Progress Report on Implementation of Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse Recommendations
14 December 2018
Prime Minister, Attorney-General, Minister for Families and Social Services
Our Government has today tabled the first Annual Progress Report.
The Report highlights the progress being made across the Australian Government to implement the recommendations made in the Royal Commission’s Final Report presented to the Governor-General in December 2017.
Since the release of the Final Report, significant progress has been made. Action is being taken on all recommendations where the Australian Government is responsible, with work continuing in partnership with states and territories to ensure children are safe from abuse in institutional care.
Key achievements as outlined in the Annual Progress Report include:
&stablishing the National Office for Child Safety – July 2018.
Commencement of the National Redress Scheme – July 2018.
Finalising the National Principles for Child Safe Organisations for Council of Australian Government endorsement and developing National Standards for Working with Children Checks with states and territories.
Opening the Australian Centre to Counter Child Exploitation – July 2018.
National Apology to Victims and Survivors of Institutional Child Sexual Abuse – October 2018.
Implementing the Commonwealth Child Safe Framework across Australian Government entities.
The Prime Minister has also written to all institutions from which the National Redress Scheme has received applications demanding they sign up urgently.
The redress scheme is an important part of acknowledging the harm caused, and holding institutions to account. Institutions need to meet their obligations to the community.
While the Royal Commission’s report is focused on the issue of abuse in institutions, measures are being implemented with a broader focus on child protection, wellbeing and safety.
Children should always feel safe and be protected from abuse.
State and Territory Governments and other institutions will produce their own annual reports outlining their progress in implementing the recommendations that apply to them.
As the Report highlights, work on the implementation of the Royal Commission’s recommendations such as the development and implementation of a national strategy to prevent child sexual abuse will continue in 2019 and beyond.
To find out more about what the Australian Government is doing to protect our children visit the Child Abuse Royal Commission Response website.
Doorstop, Bridgeman Downs
14 December 2018
Prime Minister, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister for Home Affairs, Federal Member for Petrie
LUKE HOWARTH MP, MEMBER FOR PETRIE: Good morning everyone. Welcome down to Bridgeman Downs. I’m Luke Howarth the Federal Member for Petrie. It’s really great and I welcome this morning the Prime Minister to my electorate here as well as the Deputy Prime Minister Michael McCormack and the Minister for Home Affairs and a local member for Dickson, the Hon. Peter Dutton. This morning we’re announcing a very important announcement around the Linfield Road Overpass. This overpass has been congested here for far too long. Along with the Member for Dickson Peter Dutton, we’ve been campaigning to upgrade this overpass for well over 12 months. The State Government has been completely silent on the issue, they’re not committing to busting these local transport congestion issues and it really is important that these roads are fixed for local people. So, pleased to have all of you here and I’ll hand over to the Prime Minister to announce the details.
PRIME MINISTER: Thanks very much Luke it’s tremendous to be here with Peter and the Deputy Prime Minister Michael McCormack to announce yet another project which is about congestion-busting in our cities. But also, boosting our investment right across Queensland for important infrastructure projects and important transport infrastructure projects. Already we’ve got $2 billion down as a Government for infrastructure projects here in Queensland and we continue to wait on the Queensland State Government to put in their share. There’s over $1.2 billion that we’re waiting on from the Queensland State Government to match the $2 billion we put down for projects like the one I’m just about to announce now.
It’s $100 million for the Linfield Road Overpass right here, which is a congestion-busting project which often turns what we see here behind us, into a car park most mornings. It is important that these projects are put in place to bust the congestion and ensure that small businesses that use these roads, that people getting to and from work can get home in time to be with their families, they can leave at reasonable hours to get to work and the pressures of a city that is growing, can be alleviated by investing in the infrastructure.
Now the reason we can invest this $100 million on an 80-20 – so we’re putting in 80 per cent – 80 per cent of the funding, the reason we’re able to do that is because we’re running a strong economy and we’re running a strong Budget. On the 2nd of April next year our Government, the Liberal and National Government will hand down a Budget in surplus for the first time in 12 years. It has been our ability to keep expenditure under control, taxes under control and see the economy grow that means we’re able to make these important investments in congestion-busting infrastructure here in Brisbane. It’s also why we can invest in affordable medicines, in Medicare, in hospitals and schools. I welcome the fact that we’ve finally been able to get the Queensland State Government on board for our national schools funding deal which will put record funding into Queensland schools. So we welcome that agreement finally coming through. But we’ve got a real contrast here; while we’re investing in the infrastructure Queensland needs, we’ve got a state government that is investing in a bigger and bigger public service. I mean more desks is not the answer to Queensland’s road needs. More roads is the answer to Queensland’s road needs and that’s why we’re investing in this project here, $100 million on an 80-20 basis. We call on the state government to join us, we’re still waiting for them to be here on the Pine River to Caloundra section we’re still waiting for them on the Gold Coast Light Rail. I mean we’re putting serious money down and 80-20, like we are here on this particular project and we need the state government to get control of their budget, which is blowing out with now $7 billion more in a bloating public service, when that money could be going into road infrastructure here. That’s where it’s needed. More roads, not more desks.
I’m going to hand over to the Deputy Prime Minister, who will talk more about how our infrastructure programme is busting congestion in cities and setting states up, like Queensland, where we can get those partnerships in place if they’d only come on board, to ensure that we can take the state forward. Michael?
DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER, THE HON MICHEAL MCCORMACK MP: Well thank you Prime Minister and yesterday I was in Parkes in central west New South Wales turning the first sod on the Inland Rail, a 1,700 kilometer corridor of commerce between Brisbane and Melbourne. That’s $9.3 billion of investment, $6 million of which is going to go into Queensland. Queensland is the big beneficiary of the record $75 billion spend in the Liberal and National Federal Government is investing right across the nation. Of course this Linkfield Road Overpass duplication announcement today is going to be so important for south east Queensland, so important to the electorates of Petrie and Dickson, so well represented by Luke Howarth and of course Peter Dutton. Good local members making sure that they have listened to the needs and wants and expectations of their local constituents and they’re delivering, delivering in spades, delivering a congestion-busting programme that is going to see people be able to get to the Gympie arterial road, to the Bruce Highway, wherever they want to get, they’re going to be able to get there quicker when this duplication happens. So we call on the state Labor government here in Queensland to also get on board, to provide 20 per cent of the funding. We’re stumping up 80 per cent. We believe that’s necessary because we want to get people home sooner and safer, that’s what our $75 billion investment right across the nation means for Australian people. It is getting people home sooner and safer. It is making sure that we address the freight task, the logistics task that this great nation has. So for these people here in Brisbane, for the constituents of Peter Dutton and Luke Howarth, this is going to mean such a difference to them, to be able to get to – as the Prime Minister has just said – home to their families, to their workplaces, but doing it quicker, doing it safer. That’s what it’s all about. I’d like to ask Peter Dutton also if he’d like to make comments.
MINISTER FOR HOME AFFAIRS, THE HON PETER DUTTON MP: DPM thank you very much, Luke, firstly thank you very much for having us here in your electorate in Petrie and to the Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Minister, thank you very much for your support. This is a big day for the local residents here in Petrie and in Dickson. This is an announcement that will change peoples’ lives and the way in which they commute to work and back home in the afternoon. Just behind me, on any day you can see traffic banked up, for kilometers back. People who come from Warner or Eagles Hill will sit in their cars on some days for much longer than they need to. This $100 million announcement today is going to change the way in which they drive to work and come home. It will reduce the amount of time they need to spend in their cars. I want to say thank you very much to Luke Howarth in particular, who has been a champion for this project, together we’ve worked very closely gathering signatures to demonstrate to the state government that there is a definite need. Why the Palaszczuk Government hasn’t yet recognized that this is a worthy project to invest in, is beyond me. You only need to talk to local residents who are stuck bumper-to-bumper in traffic each morning where the two lanes go down to one. If the State Government was listening to those local constituents, this probably would have been built by now. So I hope today the $100 million announcement from our Government says to the State Government that we need your 20 per cent and this project will get underway as soon a possible. It is going to make a big difference in the lives of local constituents. In a big way, it’s Luke Howarth’s hard work and I want to say thank you again to the Prime Minister and the Deputy Prime Minister for their support. There were a lot of competing road projects around the country but this has been identified as a priority in our area. I’m very proud that we’ve been able to work really hard, over a long period of time and to deliver this for our local community. Thank you very much.
PRIME MINISTER: Well thanks Peter and congratulations to you and to Luke. Our entire Queensland team of LNP members in the federal Parliament really do work together as a team and they identify the priorities that are needed for road infrastructure right across the state. So Peter and Luke don’t just have the support obviously of myself and the Deputy Prime Minister in pursuing this project, they have the support of their entire LNP federal team who are backing in this project as well. Because as a team of LNP members, they are putting Queenslanders first, they are putting Queensland first and they’re backing that in with their shared support for each of these projects. So well done Luke and well done Pete. Happy to take some questions.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister I want to ask about the federal corruption watchdog.
PRIME MINISTER: Yep, why don’t we focus on road projects first and I’m happy to deal with any other political issues as you like. But particularly with both Luke and Peter here –
JOURNALIST: Questions about the road, in terms of the State Government funding, is someone actively then approaching either the state member or the State Government to actually start to talk about this?
PRIME MINISTER: Absolutely, Luke do you might want to comment on that?
MEMBER FOR PETRIE: Thanks Michelle that’s a good question. Back the February this year, I wrote to Mark Bailey about the importance of the Linkfield Road for all the people of Bald Hills, Bracken Ridge and Carseldine and up in Peter’s electorate. I haven't had a response from the Minister, the State Minister yet, but he's well aware of the situation. He was out here yesterday with the Member for Pine Rivers looking at the area, I saw him down here. So perhaps he is aware and you can put those questions to him. So this isn't something new. He knows it needs to be built and we’d ask him to get on board as quickly as possible so we can build it.
JOURNALIST: What area, like the length, whereabouts is this duplication going to go to and from?
MEMBER FOR PETRIE: Particularly the overpass right near Bunnings at Carseldine here, we know that's where the bottleneck is in particular, where it goes back to two lanes. So we've had the overpass along Telegraph Road that the Brisbane City Council and the former State Government built. But this bridge here over Gympie Road is an absolute priority. In many ways the State Government should be funding the lot. But the Federal Government, because of our growing economy and because of the need for local people, have stumped up 80 per cent, so I don't think it's too much to get 20 per cent.
JOURNALIST: Where will it actually end? Like it will link up to the overpass but will it go to this intersection?
MEMBER FOR PETRIE: Yeah, it’ll come right through to here so you get clear traffic flow, four lanes, two lanes in each direction. $100 million of course is a lot of money. We've also finished construction at Boundary Road overpass, which was $100 million in total. That was 80 per cent, $80 million federal and 20 per cent state, federal, $20 million state. Up there we’ve got a new six lane bridge, two lanes each way with two turning lanes. Next year, the Deception Bay overpass starts in June. Once again, $120 million as the Prime Minister will be aware, coming up and announcing that funding that will start in June next year. And so now, we've got additional funding for this third overpass here and of course, Peter Dutton was instrumental in getting the on-and-off ramps at Murrumba Downs, in Griffith where the Federal Government has put $120 million on the table there. We're still yet to hear anything from the State Government on that as well, so they really need to get their act together.
PRIME MINISTER: Any other questions on infrastructure? I should stress again that the reason we can do this is because of the strong Budget. I mean, when you're in Queensland blowing your budget out, by another billion dollars on the public service, I mean, this is the pressure that the Queensland Government has put on themselves. Which means that they're letting Queenslanders down by not coming forward and putting in their contributions to all of these projects.
I mean they've got a coal-fired public service here; they are taking all the royalties that are coming out of an industry that they decry, and what it’s basically doing is bloating the public service and not putting the money where it really needs to be, which is into roads and infrastructure.
So we want to see them get control of their Budget. But it's a reminder that Labor just can't manage money. They're no different at a federal level under Bill Shorten than they are here in Queensland and that's what you can expect so see; money going to the wrong things, while infrastructure priorities like this don't get the attention they need.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, the anti-corruption watchdog federally. Why have an anti-corruption watchdog if it can't make corruption findings?
PRIME MINISTER: Because it’s job is to be an investigative body and prepare a brief of evidence to provide to the DPP, so that charges can be laid and prosecutions can be pursued. I mean the whole point is to actually - where people have engaged in criminal conduct - that they get held to account and the book gets thrown at them. There's no point in having a kangaroo court just issuing press releases. What you need is an investigative body with teeth, that actually can pull together and investigate, put a brief together. I mean, Peter knows all about this as a former policeman; this what is we're giving them the powers to do, to actually hunt this stuff down, deal with it and see people brought to justice over these things, not to engage in some sort of political stunt. This is a serious body with a serious job and serious resources to do it.
And I note the comments the Leader of the Opposition, the leader of the Labor Party was making yesterday. This will apply to any criminal conduct, whether it's occurring now, or has occurred previously, if that conduct was a crime at that time. So the idea that it won't deal with, you know, the actions of this government, or former governments, the government that Bill Shorten was a part of, of course there were all those issues that arose at that time - if there's any criminal conduct, that was a crime at that time, well, of course that wouldn't escape the attention of the body we put in place either.
So, you know, I thought that the press conference from Bill Shorten and Mark Dreyfus proved yesterday that Bill Shorten's got the worst lawyer in the country. I've got the best one in Christian Porter and I think that was on show yesterday.
JOURNALIST: So the former New South Wales Corruption Commissioner said the public is entitled to know what the court is doing, that is why they hold public meetings, public hearings. You said it should be the same with anti-corruption body, so why do you say otherwise, that it should happen in closed door sessions.
PRIME MINISTER: Well, I'm from New South Wales and I’ve lived through what has been the farce of the New South Wales ICAC. At the end of the day, the New South Wales ICAC has, I think, disappointed, because it just became a vehicle for corporates, for bureaucrats, for politics - politicians and others - just to sling mud around. That wasn't elevating or doing anything about improving public administration. That's why this will run like a police force. It will actually investigate crimes and ensure that crimes and those who perpetrate them, are brought to justice. That's its job. It's not there to provide a sort of a ‘Judge Judy’ daily episode.
JOURNALIST: How do you know it is doing those things if it is all happening behind closed doors?
PRIME MINISTER: By getting results, by people getting charged, by prosecutions being pursued. Because that’s what we do, we're serious about law enforcement in this country. We have demonstrated that. We have demonstrated our seriousness about ensuring that criminals get no truck here in Australia. That’s why Peter and I cancelled 3,000 visas of criminals and sent them home. Our record as a Government, as a Liberal and National Government is that there's no quarter given to criminals under our Government. This new body will ensure that that record is continued.
JOURNALIST: How does the concept of private inquiries sit in what is meant to be an open and transparent democratic process?
PRIME MINISTER: It works the same way that any criminal investigation is undertaken. I mean police don't conduct investigations in that way. They just get on with the job, they prepare a brief, people are charged, it goes to court and if it's able to be proven in court, people go to jail. That's how it works.
JOURNALIST: We're talking about elected representatives.
PRIME MINISTER: Yeah, they're subject to the same justice as anyone else in this country. So they should be.
JOURNALIST: What’s your reaction to the Productivity Commission's reports that urge you to abolish the Department of Veterans Affairs?
PRIME MINISTER: Well on veterans, we've been working incredibly hard. We've got the number of days it takes for veterans claims to be dealt with significantly reduced, about five-fold, over the last few years. Because we have investing in the system at veterans affairs. Veterans Affairs does a very important job for our veterans. We want to see our veterans respected and we want to ensure that the benefits that are there to support them when they come back home after they’ve finished their service, can assist them to adjust to civilian life. That’s why we’ve announced programmes recognising their service, by the compact agreement which is getting them into jobs and working with corporates to get them into jobs, as well as ensuring they can get simple discounts from anything from a cup of coffee and their dry-cleaning to something more substantial. We have put in a comprehensive programme to support veterans in this country, to make sure they get the respect they deserve and there is a culture of respect for veterans were we thank them for their service. So the Productivity Commission will make recommendations from time to time, but what is most important to me is that veterans get the support and the benefits and respect they deserve. Any decisions taken by our Government will have that as it’s top priority.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, Gary Spence the LNP leader, is reportedly going to resign today. How do you feel about that, will you be sorry to see him go, given he had a hand in the leadership spill? You’ve obviously become Prime Minister.
PRIME MINISTER: Well to my knowledge, he's not made that announcement at this point in time so I think that’s all a bit premature.
Thanks very much.
Review into integration, employment and settlement outcomes
13 December 2018
Prime Minister, Minister for Immigration Citizenship & Multicultural Affairs
The Liberal National Government has commissioned an independent review into Australia’s integration, employment and settlement outcomes for refugees and humanitarian entrants.
We are focused on keeping Australians together. This means ensuring all new Australians can find their footing and participate in their new home.
“We want to make sure we are doing everything we can to help people get jobs, and integrate into the community,” said Prime Minister Morrison.
“Having a job gives people financial independence, increases their personal connections and is one of the quickest ways to improve language skills.
Professor Peter Shergold AC will chair the review, which will recommend ways to improve integration, employment and settlement outcomes.
“I have asked Professor Shergold to provide my Government with advice on how we can better ensure refugees and humanitarian entrants can make valuable contributions to our society and our economy.”
Minister for Immigration, Citizenship and Multicultural Affairs David Coleman said Australia has one of the most substantial refugee and humanitarian programs in the world.
“Our per capita refugee and humanitarian intake is matched by very few other nations,” Minister Coleman said.
“We are a vibrant and very successful multicultural country, but we also have clear responsibilities in building an even stronger and more socially cohesive society.
“This review will ensure refugee and humanitarian entrants, those that have already arrived and those not yet here, are best placed to succeed and contribute to the Australian way of life.”
The review will consult broadly with stakeholders across the country and across sectors and will deliver a report to the Government in February 2019.
Interview with Ben Fordham, 2GB
13 December 2018
BEN FORDHAM: Thank you very much, there’s Bernice. This is Scott Morrison, Prime Minister, good afternoon.
PRIME MINISTER: G’day. Bernice is far more interesting, you should have stayed on the line, mate.
FORDHAM: Well I didn’t want to brush you.
[Laughter]
PRIME MINISTER: I appreciate that. But how good is she?
FORDHAM: She’s fantastic. You have just been raised in a conversation with Mick Fuller, the NSW Police Commissioner.
PRIME MINISTER: Yeah, good bloke.
FORDHAM: Because, once upon a time when you were neighbours, according to the Commissioner, and I think this has been confirmed, you used to bring his bin in. When he’d leave the bin outside, the wheelie bin outside, and he was too lazy himself to bring it in, you would collect his bin and wheel it in for him. True or false?
[Laughter]
PRIME MINISTER: That’s what good neighbours do. That’s what they do. Mick is a great bloke and that’s the Shire way.
FORDHAM: How come you don’t do it anymore?
PRIME MINISTER: Well I don’t take the bins out anymore.
[Laughter]
FORDHAM: Why?
[Laughter]
PRIME MINISTER: Because I haven’t even found where they are yet.
FORDHAM: Ah of course, at Kirribilli House.
PRIME MINISTER: At my place, Jen would be home for often than not to take the bins out as I’d be travelling or something.
FORDHAM: Hang on, hang on, hang on. When you say my place, you mean our place?
PRIME MINISTER: No, no, when I lived in the Shire.
FORDHAM: Oh OK, I’m just clarifying there.
PRIME MINISTER: That’s very true Ben, and you’re right to point that out.
[Laughter]
Often neighbours would do that for each other, mate. I think that’s done in most parts of the country and Mick’s a good bloke.
FORDHAM: Well if you really loved him you’d be driving from Kirribilli House back to the Shire just to make sure the bin was in.
PRIME MINISTER: Fair point, I think that’s a fair point.
FORDHAM: Well I’ve just realised, we’ve got blokes from the Shire in charge of the NSW Police Force and in charge of the country. That’s not bad.
PRIME MINISTER: Well mate, it’s an amazing place down there in southern Sydney, what can I say?
FORDHAM: There are all sorts of problems at the Sharks though, maybe you need some of those leaders in charge of the Sharks?
PRIME MINISTER: Well yeah, that is a bit troubling. They’ve got to work all that out, I just sent a text to Flanno the other day just seeing if he’s alright, like you do when friends of yours are under the pump a bit. So look, I don’t know where all that’s going, I don’t know enough about it. But I know fans would be a bit troubled and concerned, but hopefully everything will be alright. We’ll see.
FORDHAM: Do you feel like you’re under the pump at the moment?
PRIME MINISTER: Nah mate, I just love doing the job I’m doing. We’re getting through everything and we’ve had a strong week. I was just down with all the Premiers yesterday agreeing how we can better manage population and $1.25 billion extra into hospitals and community health, particularly on mental health and things like that. So we’re just getting about the job and coming into Christmas, obviously everyone is looking forward to spending some time with family and hopefully your listeners will and they’ll have a safe time together. It’s a lovely time of the year and I’m also always remembering this time of the year that people will be feeling that little bit more lonely and isolated. So I think it’s important people keep an eye out for that. And particularly our troops overseas, we wish them well too.
FORDHAM: You mention COAG, how are you going to balance that? I know that this is probably going to be a difficult balancing act but I mentioned on the show yesterday that South Australia and Victoria are saying no, no, we don’t want to slow things down, we want just as many as we’re getting or more in terms of migrants. And then you’ve got Gladys Berejiklian saying I want to halve it. Is there a way of doing that so you can satisfy Gladys in New South Wales and also satisfy Dan in Victoria?
PRIME MINISTER: Well that’s the whole point. I mean, it’s like rainfall - there is no such thing as average rainfall around the country. There is no such thing as average population growth. It’s different in every city and the needs are different in all different parts of the country. So what we’re doing with our migration program, and I think I’ve hinted pretty clearly that it won’t be as large next year as the cap has been in the past, because it is running under the cap quite consistently now. But we’re going to make sure we get the people where we need them and where the pressure is on in places like Sydney and I’ve got to say in parts of suburban Melbourne - I’m surprised Dan is keen to see more and more people piling into Melbourne because that will just put more pressure on their standard of living - but we just want to work closely with the states. You can’t do these things in isolation. I mean, they build the roads and they manage the schools and the hospitals. We’ve got to connect up how you deliver all that with what you’re setting your migration program at.
FORDHAM: When you say you’re surprised that he wants more migrants in Victoria, do you reckon he’s got it wrong or do you reckon he’d know his state well?
PRIME MINISTER: Well you’ve got to rely on the states to make those calls. I mean, if that’s his call, you know, I’ve got to respect his call on that. But at the same time, we will at the end of the say… the Commonwealth sets what the migration program is. We’ve got to manage our temporary migration program. For every extra ten people you get in Australia each year, four of them are temporary migrants. So they’re students or long-term visas on tourism and things like that. Just under four of them were born here and two of them are permanent migrants. The key thing that’s driving population growth for these temporary migrants, so that’s what we’re trying to manage together and make sure that we’re sending them to the places that they’re needed most. And Gladys made the good point that she’d like to see regional universities and some of the students go out into regional areas which is good for those towns.
FORDHAM: Sounds like you want to give a bit more power to the states on this issue.
PRIME MINISTER: Well I just want to listen more to them. I mean, we have to make the ultimate decision - and I will - but what has been missing, and I found this when I was an Immigration Minister too, there just wasn’t enough feedback coming back from the states and territories about where the choke points are, where the pressure points were. And we need to know that stuff, and they’re the ones who run it. So it made sense for us to get together and have this new framework for sorting this out.
FORDHAM: Was it feedback that led to your change of heart on a Federal anti-corruption commission? Because once upon a time you described it as a fringe issue, you have confirmed today that it’s going to be a reality. Was it feedback or was it satisfying other parties, what was it?
PRIME MINISTER: Well we’ve been working on it since January. I mean, it wasn’t an issue that I was pressing as my top priority when I took over as Prime Minister.
FORDHAM: Sure.
PRIME MINISTER: I knew it was something I had to resolve by the end of the year. My top priorities were drought and small business, getting taxes down and that’s what we’re addressing, and health funding. But it was on the list to get done by the end of the year and we’d had the work that had been going on and Christian Porter as the Attorney-General kept bringing that forward. But what I have never been interested in was the sort of kangaroo court type arrangement which we’ve seen in this state for too long where it’s only ever used - well it seemed to only be used - for people to have a shot at each other…
FORDHAM: It’s a sledgehammer.
PRIME MINISTER: You know, as either settling commercial vendettas, political vendetta or personal bureaucratic vendettas. Now, what… and you’ve got to make ensure you have a commission that has teeth, and ours will, and powers and resources, but the idea is that it is an investigative body. It goes and finds out whether the claim is actually fair dinkum. And if it is, send it to the DPP, press charges and prosecute.
FORDHAM: You mention the drought, I’m wondering how Barnaby Joyce is doing as the Special Envoy on the drought and how Tony Abbott is doing as the Special Envoy on Indigenous affairs. Because there was some who were warning you when you made those appointments, look Barnaby and Tony are going to cause trouble for you.
PRIME MINISTER: No not at all, they have been great. I mean, Tony gave a speech in the House of Representatives before we rose and he has set out some really good agendas there for how we keep these kids, Indigenous kids, in schools in remote areas. We’ve already been addressing some of those housing issues and some of those remote communities being identified and some money being flowed towards that. I mean, he was making the really good point that we want teachers to go into these remote areas, not to get some sort of leg up and promotion or some extra pay, this is premier league teaching, is his point. And you need your best teachers out there because this is hard core, hard work. And we need to look at ways we can get those type of you know, those teachers who see this as a vocation and a calling, to go and be in these places and change the lives of these kids. I thought that was a good point. And Barnaby has worked closely with us on the drought summit and just at the moment, we are continuing to work on getting this household farm assistance paperwork and bureaucratic burden down and that was the last meeting I had with him, that was about ten days ago. So both of those guys have just got about it and got to work and I really thank them for the work they’ve put in.
FORDHAM: What about Malcolm Turnbull, is he still in the picture, does he still offer bits of advice from the sidelines?
PRIME MINISTER: I haven’t heard from him for a while. He’s left Parliament, he’s left politics, and I respect that and I wish him and Lucy all the best for Christmas and this time they’re spending with their family and good luck to them. And you know, good for them, I wish them only the best things and I’ll always treat all former Prime Ministers with the courtesy and respect both they and the office deserves.
FORDHAM: But do you lean on each other? Does he lean on you with advice or do you lean on him for advice?
PRIME MINISTER: Oh no, I wouldn’t say that. But I spend a bit more time talking to John Howard.
FORDHAM: You speak to Mr Howard quite a bit, do you?
PRIME MINISTER: Of course.
FORDHAM: You’d be mad not to.
PRIME MINISTER: In the same way I used to talk to- when I was Treasurer, I used to talk to Peter Costello quite a bit and John as you know as he is the elder statesman of the Party, but you know he did the job for eleven years.
FORDHAM: How often do you reckon you speak to him?
PRIME MINISTER: Oh I talk to him every week or two, yeah. But sometimes it happens just a bit more often than that. We’ve had them around for dinner and Mrs Howard is just lovely and so I’ve had a long-standing relationship with John Howard.
FORDHAM: Is he on the payroll?
[Laughter]
PRIME MINISTER: No, no.
FORDHAM: Well I’m happy to negotiate on his behalf.
PRIME MINISTER: Are you? Fordham Management.
FORDHAM: Well I mean he’d be worth a bomb.
PRIME MINISTER: He is a tremendous bloke. But look, I've had the opportunity to meet with a number of people that you have the privilege to do in this role. I had a really good catch up with the former Canadian Prime Minister, Stephen Harper, who he was in power as a centre-right person like myself. And he was an outstanding Prime Minister of Canada and we - he’s written a great book actually - we spent a bit of time talking about these things. So part of this job is to lean on people who have done it well before and to learn from their experience and try and ply that. And that’s what I’m seeking to do Ben. I know I’ve got a big job ahead of me, mate. I know we’re behind but I tell you what mate, I’m going to fight this thing for the people I believe in every single day.
FORDHAM: You sound energetic. What are you doing for Christmas?
PRIME MINISTER: A family Christmas, which is just the best. I haven’t seen my girls for a little while so I’m looking forward to seeing them soon, and Jen. We’re just going to have a lovely family Christmas and for those of us who have had the blessing of family, it is just the best thing on earth and I just feel terribly for those who don’t and I hope in some way that we can give them some cheer this Christmas as well.
FORDHAM: Realistically, how long will the phone go off? How long can you say, “Righto, you know, you know what, I’m here with the family, I’m with the girls.” The phone is off for the next, what, week? Day? Hour?
PRIME MINISTER: There will be a period where I officially stand aside and Michael McCormack will be the Acting Prime Minister for about a week.
FORDHAM: Right.
PRIME MINISTER: And that’s when you can really do that. I’ll take a short break for that to come back for the Pink Test with Glenn McGrath which will be great, here in Sydney, and it will be great to support that tremendous event. But no, there will be a bit of time for that then and hopefully for the family’s sake it’ll slow down a bit. But they understand Ben, they are very supportive of what I’m doing. You do anything in public life as a family and as a team and I’m just blessed by the wonderful family I have and particularly Jenny who is, you know Jen, you’ve met here, she is just amazing.
FORDHAM: You sound like you’re in a very good space at the moment. You’ve got a big year ahead and I hope you get some time with the family over that break and we’ll talk to you in the New Year. Merry Christmas.
PRIME MINISTER: Good on you mate, all the best. Take care.
Government Response to Religious Freedom Review
13 December 2018
Prime Minister, Attorney General
Our government is acting to protect religious freedom in Australia and to protect the rights of Australians to be themselves.
Our response to the Religious Freedom Review, chaired by the Hon. Philip Ruddock, is about protecting every Australian from discrimination.
The Review concluded there is an opportunity to further protect and better promote freedom of religion under Australian law and in the community. We have accepted 15 of the 20 recommendations, and we will consult with the States and Territories on the terms of a potential reference to the Australian Law Reform Commission on the remaining five recommendations. Those recommendations deal with current exemptions to anti-discrimination provisions in Commonwealth, State and Territory law.
Australia is a place where discrimination on the basis of a person’s identity — including their religious identity — is unacceptable. It is also a place where we respect the right of religious institutions to maintain their distinctive religious ethos. Our laws should reflect these values.
Our commitment to striking an appropriate balance is clear in our proposed amendments to the Sex Discrimination Act 1984. We have sought to overturn exemptions introduced by Labor so we can make clear that discrimination against students is not acceptable, while at the same time ensuring religious educational institutions can teach and maintain rules consistent with their faith.
The Labor Party’s opposition to those amendments highlights how difficult it is to secure bipartisan support on these sensitive issues. Our offer stands, however the issue highlights why our work with States and Territories and the independent Australian Law Reform Commission will be so important.
We are committed to finding a way forward that cuts through the political debates about whether some rights are more important than others.
Our response to the Religious Freedom Review includes:
establishing religion as a protected attribute in a new Religious Discrimination Act, rendering discrimination on this basis unlawful;
establishing a new statutory position of Freedom of Religion Commissioner in the Australian Human Rights Commission;
developing a Human Rights Legislation Amendment Bill for introduction into Parliament as soon as practicable, implementing a range of amendments recommended by the Ruddock Review;
supporting the Australian Human Rights Commission to increase community awareness of the importance of freedom of religion.
We look forward to consulting on the legislative package, which we intend to introduce in 2019.
We thank Mr Ruddock and the Expert Panel that informed the Review, as well as the Australians who took the time to have their say.
The Review and our government’s response is available at: https://www.ag.gov.au/RightsAndProtections/HumanRights/Pages/Freedom-of-Religion.aspx
Commonwealth Government to establish new integrity commission
13 December 2018
Prime Minister, Attorney General
A new Commonwealth Integrity Commission will take the lead on detecting and stamping out any corrupt and criminal behaviour by Commonwealth employees.
The new CIC will be the lead body in Australia’s successful multi-agency anti-corruption framework.
Our government is committed to ensuring that Australians remain confident their representatives and Commonwealth employees are acting in their best interests.
This is a serious new Commission with teeth, resources and proper processes that will protect the integrity of Australia’s Commonwealth public administration, while avoiding the pitfalls, weaknesses and abuses of systems introduced by state jurisdictions and being proposed in alternative models.
We began carefully considering options for a national anti-corruption body in January this year, and we have taken the time to ensure this model fits into the existing system but avoids the worst aspects of some state anti-corruption bodies.
We have been determined to get this right, rather than ride a political bandwagon.
The CIC will be a well-resourced, centralised and specialist centre that will investigate criminal corruption across the Commonwealth. It will be an independent statutory agency led by a commissioner and two deputy commissioners, with public sector and law enforcement integrity divisions.
The public sector integrity division will cover departments, agencies and their staff, parliamentarians and their staff, staff of federal judicial officers and subject to consultation judicial officers themselves, as well as contractors.
The Australian Commission for Law Enforcement Integrity (ACLEI) will be reconstituted as the law enforcement integrity division, with a significantly expanded jurisdiction to also include the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC), the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA), the Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC), the Australian Taxation Office (ATO), and the whole of the Department of Agriculture and Water Resources (DAWR).
Both divisions will investigate allegations of criminal corruption. We will amend the Criminal Code Act 1995 to add new corruption offences to ensure the most serious and systemic incidents of corruption are clearly understood and can be punished.
The overwhelming majority of people working for the Commonwealth do the right thing, and they do their work for the right reasons. The CIC will help ensure that this remains the case.
Our government will avoid the serious failings of state-based integrity bodies that on too many occasions have proved to be ‘kangaroo courts’ falling victim to poor process and being little more than a forum for self-serving mud slinging and the pursuit of personal, corporate and political vendettas. We have learned from their mistakes in bringing our proposed new Commission together.
While the CIC will have the power to conduct public hearings only through its law enforcement division, the public sector integrity division will not have the power to make public findings of corruption. Instead, it will be tasked with investigating and referring potential criminal conduct to the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions. This approach ensures that it is the courts that make findings of criminally corrupt conduct.
It is disappointing Labor has sought to undermine Australians’ confidence in the public service in recent months, announcing a proposal for an integrity commission yet providing no detail of how it would work, how it would be structured, or how it would operate within the existing multi-agency framework.
Our approach is designed to give Australians confidence appropriate mechanisms are in place to detect and prosecute corrupt or criminal behaviour by all commonwealth employees.
Further details on the CIC model are available in a paper at https://www.ag.gov.au/Consultations/Pages/commonwealth-integrity-commission.aspx
We will undertake extensive public consultation on the proposed model, led by a panel of technical experts. The outcomes of that consultation process will feed into the final design and our government will then legislate to implement that design.