Doorstop - Burnie, TAS

17 February 2019

JOHN MULLEN, TOLL GROUP EXECUTIVE CHAIRMAN: I would just like to welcome everybody here. This is a momentous occasion for the company, and I think also for Tasmania and Burnie. A real vote of confidence in the future of the economy here and trans-Tasman trade. Well we're really excited to be launching the ship and to have a very distinguished guests the Prime Minister, the Premier and many others with us this morning.

WILL HODGMAN, PREMIER OF TASMANIA: Morning. Thank you. Thanks John. I might now take the opportunity to welcome the Prime Minister to Burnie and to be here with state and federal colleagues and most importantly to acknowledge this extraordinary investment by Toll in Tasmania and indeed Australia's economy. Tasmania's economy is one of the best performing in the country. We've had the highest rate of export growth of any other state and we've seen five consecutive years of growth and last year we had a record year. So Tasmanian products are in demand and as a result we're seeing that demand met by great businesses such as Toll. This is an extraordinary investment in our state. It's a sign of great confidence, not only have Toll put these ships on the Bass Strait which services 99 per cent of our trade but they've also partnered with state and commonwealth governments to invest in the infrastructure here in Burnie to make this port capable of servicing larger ships more frequently.

I want to also take the opportunity to acknowledge the Coalition Government. The Federal Coalition Government led by Scott Morrison has been an extraordinary contributor to Tasmania's economic prosperity. And when you look at this port and travel and trade across Bass Strait, the Federal Government has done so much and it's largely been driven, not only by the Prime Minister but Scott Morrison as Treasurer, that saw additional investments into this port which were matched by state contributions and Toll as well, but also in ensuring that our rail network is revitalized, opening up links across our state and the freight equalisation scheme has turbo-charged to Tasmania's export industries. So this is very much another important partnership and it has been delivered through a Coalition Government working very closely with the Tasmanian Government to deliver what is one of the strongest performing economies in the country and it's our plan to keep it that way.

And just in conclusion again to acknowledge the extraordinary contribution of Toll. They're not only putting new ships on the Strait, investing in the port infrastructure, they're employing around 600 Tasmanians. And with our economy strong and more Tasmanians in employment we have a great partner in Toll that are not only meeting current demand but also have an eye on the future. So this is a true demonstration of a state that's powering ahead and this is a fantastic day for our state, for the nation and for Toll. Thank you.

PRIME MINISTER: Thanks Will, it's great to be here with Will in the turnaround state that is Tasmania under Will Hodgman’s leadership. Will’s just going through I think the stunning performance of the Tasmanian economy under his leadership and what we're seeing today are the fruits of what happens when you run a strong economy. People want to come and invest in it and Toll made this decision two and a half years ago. They could see where that state was going. They could see where our national economy was going and they’ve come and they've invested and they've invested big. Not only in our shipping industry, they've invested in the primary resource producers of Tasmania. They've invested in our forestry industry here in Tasmania, they've invested in our ag industry, they've invested in the manufacturing industries of Tasmania because they have seen the strength and the turnaround that is occurring here as people are coming back to Tasmania making this their home. Where they're starting businesses and they're being successful in those businesses. We've got growth running above the national average here in Braddon as Gavin Pearce will know, the Liberal candidate here and Braddon. He will know that unemployment has come down from where we were first elected to over 9 per cent here in this seat to just a bit over 6 per cent today. And I'll tell you what, we stick with this national economic plan and the economic plan that Will has here for Tasmania and that number will keep coming down. Because it's going to happen because of these investments and continuing to back in our traditional industries here in Tasmania as well as those new industries that are occurring right here in Tasmania as well.

So again, it's just all about jobs. More jobs for Tasmanians which makes our economy stronger which means that we can guarantee essential services that Australians rely on, whether it's Medicare hospitals and schools. These are all the dividends of happens when you have a strong economy. OK, happy to take questions.

JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, is it ironic that you’re launching a boat today on a day when you’ve released a video about stopping more boats?

PRIME MINISTER: Well this is one boat I want to start, this one. And this is one boat that we have had a keen hand in supporting it starting because it's driving jobs and growth here down in Tasmania and right across the country. But the boats I can assure Australians I'm going to stop are the ones who are going to carry those who would seek to illegally enter Australia. The Labor Party made it quite clear that they're happy to trade votes in the House of Representatives to undermine our border protection. But I make this point as well. Why are we so strong about border protection? Well first of all it's to stop the deaths at sea occurring again. I remember it only too well. And secondly what the Labor Party has done in the Parliament bears no resemblance to the facts on the ground. There are 60 medical professionals on Nauru for 420 people. If you had that ratio of medical professionals to people here in Burnie… I mean, you wouldn't be able to move for the doctors and medical professionals. So the suggestion that there is not medical treatment being provided is a lie. And thirdly it's ensuring that always the Government is the one who can ensure the protection of our borders and it should never be traded away for cheap deals in the House of Representatives for politics in the bubble.

JOURNALIST:  Do you think the video you’ve released has much impact on people not getting on the boats?

PRIME MINISTER: It did last time. I've cut one of these videos before when I was Immigration Minister and it's to send a very clear message. This Government, the one I lead, is in charge of the show. And you've tried to get past me before and you failed and you will fail again. Our Government will be doing everything within our powers - despite what the Labor Party have done to undermine our border protection regime - to ensure these boats don't come. That is why we have taken the recommendation of the Department of Home Affairs to reopen Christmas Island. That's what we've done. That was not our suggestion. That was the recommendation of the Department of Home Affairs that this is what was necessary to address what has occurred in the Parliament by the Labor Party voting to weaken our borders. So, the one thing standing between boats coming to Australia again and Australia, is my Government.

JOURNALIST: Can you tell us what developments there will be tomorrow on a disability Royal Commission?

PRIME MINISTER: Well tomorrow the motion that will come from the Senate will pass. It won’t be opposed by the Government and was not going to be opposed by the Government. I think this was one of another of the cruel lies that was put around last week.  As Prime Minister I've never opposed such a Royal Commission. My priority has been to establish the Royal Commission into aged care which I have done and to conclude the Royal Commission into the banking and finance industry which I initiated which I commissioned, which is just recently completed. So these were my priorities. We need to do everything we can to support Australians with a disability. And I'm disappointed that on Thursday the Labor Party chose to play politics with this issue. There was no suggestion that the Government was not going to support that motion that afternoon in the House of Representatives and the motion was not going to even come to the House of Representatives that afternoon. And so to suggest other things I thought was disingenuous and dishonest.

JOURNALIST: Does this enquiry need the support from the states and the Premier might like to indicate whether Tasmania has what position that?

PRIME MINISTER: You raise an important issue about the specific terms of reference that would have to be established. Now, the Labor Party has been talking about this for two years and hasn't even produced a terms of reference. So they say they want a Royal Commission but they don't know what they want the Royal Commission to be into. So as usual, the Government will do the proper work of consultation, liaising with the States and Territories as appropriate, liaising with those advocates in the disability sector by working with those who work in that sector and rely on services in that, to ensure that we get the right way forward as to how we can address the issues that will support people with disability. So we will do that work. I will do it in a bipartisan way just as I have on the other Royal Commissions and we will just do the work and ensure that people with disability can get the support they need.

JOURNALIST: What steps has the Government already make towards a Royal Commission?

PRIME MINISTER: Well I've already had some discussion with advocates already. But when we are working through the issues of the Royal Commission into aged care there was already some work being done around those issues. As you know, we included young people with disability living in the residential aged care sector into that Royal Commission. See, when you have a Royal Commission, you've got to be quite specific what you talking about. You've got to give your Royal Commission very clear guidelines as to what you want them to do. Otherwise it is just a general conversation, which runs the risk of not landing at any quite targeted recommendations that you can act on. And so we want to make sure that anything further we do in this area is done with that well considered terms of reference and directions. To ensure that it can do its job.

JOURNALIST: Just back on border security, how much is the Government actually spending on these videos you’re transmitting?

PRIME MINISTER: Oh it's all included in the Operation Sovereign Borders budget. And these videos have always been a part of the strategic communications of Operation Sovereign Borders. It's part of what they do.

JOURNALIST: What evidence do you have that these videos are effective…

PRIME MINISTER: No boats turned up.

JOURNALIST: But do you have any evidence it’s effective aside from the boat turnbacks?

PRIME MINISTER: Yes I do and it's contained in our own intelligence reports which I obviously aren't going to go into. But you asked me ‘what is the evidence that the Government's border protection policies work?’ There have been no boats. And I remember before the 2013 election that they told me that turnbacks wouldn't work. And I told them they were wrong and I implemented them and they stopped the boats. I told them I could fix the offshore processing arrangements that Labor had put in place recklessly, in a way that was underfunded. And I fixed them and I ensured that the temporary protection visas, which is what denies people that come to Australia illegally, denies them a permanent visa which is what the Labor Party want to return to doing giving them permanent visas. They said I wouldn't be able to get that into the Parliament but we did. We implemented all of our policies. We closed 19 detention centres. Labor opened 17 because of their failures. And I regret the fact that we now have to reopen the Christmas Island detention centre, which will have a real significant cost. About half a billion dollars is the estimate at the present over the next two years. $1.4 billion over the next four years. Now that is not money I had to spend a week ago, but because of the actions of the Labor Party and Bill Shorten, we now have to reopen that detention centre when there are serious calls on the public purse, particularly up in North Queensland and indeed here in Tasmania. Will, we have been talking just today about how we’re going to be working together to put a recovery and reconstruction package together here to support tourism operators here in Tasmania post the fires. So these are the things that really need our attention. But because of what Labor has done to our borders in the Parliament for a cheap vote in the Senate, they are now seeing resources pulled away from those tasks. Now I'll ensure that they will still get the support they need. But honestly I cannot tell you how disappointed I am in the priorities of the Labor Party that put forward, overwhelming and undermining our border protection regime rather than prioritizing the need of North Queensland cattle grazing.

JOURNALIST: From Adelaide, federal Labor is promising to extend the lease of Adelaide Zoo for Wang Wang and Fu Ni pandas if they come to government, will your Government be doing the same thing?

PRIME MINISTER: Well I've been talking to Steven Marshall about this and we'll have more to say about this an appropriate time and as will he. But I'll simply say this - my priority at the moment, actually with all due respect to people in South Australia and pandas -is cattle lying dead upon properties in North Queensland. That's where my focus is right now. If the Labor Party wants to focus on pandas that's fine. I'm focused on dead cattle on the ground in north Queensland.

JOURNALIST: Will further Government support be available for fire affected areas in Tasmania?

PRIME MINISTER: At this stage we're still working up plans together and Will might want to speak to this as well. But after I was here with Richard last time we were down the Huon Valley and with Will and we were touring the area, we basically said right at the end of that visit ‘we're going to have to work together on how we can support the tourism industry’. And I say to Australians - get yourself to Tasmania. It's, you know, all the places you want to go, you can get to and you can enjoy. Whether it's a Wineglass Bay down at Coles Bay there which is I think actually one of the most, probably my favourite parts of Tasmania. Or it’s up in Cradle Mountain or the Walls of Jerusalem or down at Salamanca Place or wherever you want to go. It's all open the coffee is good, everybody's just as friendly. And the scenes and the sights there are a lifetime of memories.

JOURNALIST: There's been reports up to 300 people, refugees and asylum seekers, are seeking medical advice in detention centres. Are you able to clarify those numbers?

PRIME MINISTER: I'm aware of those reports and we're preparing to deal with that sort of a caseload and remembering people don’t have to be sick. They just have to be seeking some further assessment.

That's all it requires. And as the Attorney was I think explaining really, really well this morning. I mean, they can drive a truck through the supposed protections Labor said they put in place. All I know is last week Labor weakened our borders. What I'm doing today is to strengthen them but importantly what I'm doing here in Tasmania is to stand with the Premier and all of our team to acknowledge and recognise the great strength of the Tasmanian economy, and there's no greater indicator of that than when you get Toll Group turn up and invest the millions and tens and hundreds of millions of dollars that they are investing here in the future of the Tasmanian economy. But the plan that the Hodgman Government has for the Tasmanian economy which works hand in glove with our plan for a stronger economy, which will be supporting all Tasmanians. In particular as I know Gavin sees, all of those here in northern Tasmania and Braddon. Thanks very much.

https://pmtranscripts.pmc.gov.au/release/transcript-42129

Doorstop - Somerset, TAS

16 February 2019

GAVIN PEARCE, LIBERAL CANDIATE FOR BRADDON:  Good morning all and welcome to Somerset on the north west coast of Tasmania on this humid day where we can almost hear the trees growing. We are here today at the Forico nursery right in the heartland of Braddon on the North West Coast of Tasmania, I’d like to, on behalf of all present today and all present in Braddon today, alongside of Senator Richard Colbeck, Minister Sarah Courtney, our nominated candidate for the Senate, Claire Chandler, in welcoming the Prime Minister to today’s facility and to have a bit of a tour of what is happening here in Forico.

I’m also joined today by some of the heavy hitters in the industry, people like Shawn Britton up the back there who runs one probably one of the best operations anywhere in the world right here in Smithton. Welcome Shawn. 

I’m sure that the PM will glean from you a lot of your knowledge you’ve picked up along the way.

Bryan Hayes the CEO, welcome Brian and good to see your presence here this morning.

Andrew Jackson, chief technical officer. Andrew Moore, been showing us around has done a fantastic job, PM, this morning.

Sean Britton, along with Craig Jones, and some of the forestry heavy hitters like I said before, like Ross Hampton, ACTA, chairman, altogether we’d like to join together – please give a big welcome for the Prime Minister in this very pertinent place, right here in the centre of Braddon.

PRIME MINISTER: Thanks Gavin.  It’s great to have you here. I’m here because of jobs. The forestry industry carries about 70,000 jobs; 20 billion dollar industry. I’m interested in growing more trees and growing more jobs. It’s a simple as that. And what we are here to announce today is all about how we are going to continue to foster the growth and sustainable development of this industry. Not just for a little while, but for a long while.

The Tasmanian economy, the north-western and northern economy of Tasmania, the economy of Australia depends on the success of this industry. And as a government, my government, we’re not going to allow that industry to not have the opportunity to further develop and further grow and create more and more livelihoods for Australians – whether it’s here in Tasmania and everywhere else right across Australia. And so it has been a great opportunity this morning to come and see right at the start of the supply chain here this morning. And how it all begins. And to see how this sector has developed a technology and a capacity to support a growing and thriving and sustainable industry.

Today we’re here to announce the specifics of our regional forestry hubs. I’m going to ask Richard Colbeck to go into more detail about how this works but we are seed funding $12.5 million to support these hubs right across Australia and for their initial 3 to 4 year operation. The hubs we announcing today are of course here in the North and North West of Tasmania, North East of New South Wales, the green triangle as it's known in South Australia and Victoria, as well as in South West Western Australia. They are the first four pilot hubs that are being established and we've put $12.5 million in for establishment of that initial operation. A further five hubs will be established in 2020. That's in Gippsland, in Victoria, the south-west slopes of New South Wales, the Central West of New South Wales, South East Queensland, and in North Queensland. What these hubs are about is ensuring that government is working together with industry to clear things out of the way that stops those industries from progressing and developing and creating more jobs. It is pretty straight forward, just working together to ensure that the industry that has a plan for its future, a sustainable plan for its future can get on with it create those jobs and provide a prosperity and way of life and living for Australians all around the country. So we're very pleased to be doing It is all part of a much broader forest industry plan that I really want to commend Richard Colbeck for championing. He has done extraordinary work, not just recently on these issues, but over a very long time in his public life and his role in the Australian Senate and within the Liberal and National Parties as part of our Coalition for a long time, so this really is a coming together of many, many years of Richard has put into pulling this plan together and a mark of Richard's work is how closely he works with community and how closely he works with industry because he understands, as I do, that for this to work, you’ve got to have all of these three working together. It doesn't matter whether that's here in the Tasmanian forestry industry or indeed where I was yesterday with the North Queensland cattle industry which my thoughts are very much with at this time, and I'm sure all Australians are, but we can cover that off on in questions if you like. Richard, come and share with us your vision here because really is what you've been driving, and this is an exciting day for the Tasmanian forestry industry but more broadly for the Australian forestry industry. It has the future, a plan and the backing of a government who gets it and believes in it, thank you.

ASSISTANT MINISTER FOR AGRICULTURE AND WATER RESOURCES SENATOR THE HON RICHARD COLBECK: Thanks, PM. When we launched our national forest plan in September last year, we had a number of actions in it. And this is one of the first of those actions which is the announcement of our initial forestry hubs. We are announcing four initial trial hubs today and a further five in other parts of Australia, and the whole concept behind that was one that came from industry actually in the first instance, so thank you, Ross, for that, which was to identify areas which are forestry areas within Australia. Those that had existing infrastructure, those that had sawmills, existing timber industries that were working hard, and see what we could do to build those industries in those regions. The forest plan that we launched seeks to plant a billion new trees by 2030. That is a huge task. And we need to make sure that the regulatory frameworks, the logistical frameworks and the employment and labour available in local communities for us to achieve that, and it will have a significant impact and this is about growing a stronger Australian economy and the jobs that go along with that, which are very important. So, PM, thank you for the announcement of those first four pilot hubs. We would be happy to talk to any state, territory or community about expanding this process because we know that at this point in time it hasn't covered all forest communities, and we will continue to work with them for the development of this industry plan and so this is clear action off the back of the launch of the plan last September.

While I'm here, I also want to launch the National State of the Forest Report. The State of the Forest Report says that we have 132 million hectares of forest across Australia. We have around 2 million hectares of plantation. The concern in the plantation sector is that that estate has reduced by about 44,000 hectares over the period from the last forest report, and so if we are going to meet a projected quadrupling of the demand for forest and forest products globally by 2050, we need to put more trees in the ground and we need to start doing it right now and that's the focus of our national forest plan. A stronger forest community contributing to a stronger national economy. So any of you who want to talk further about either the forest plan or the State of the Forest Report, we can talk about that with questions later. Thank you.

TASMANIAN MINISTER FOR BUILDING AND CONSTRUCTION AND RESOURCES THE HON SARAH COURTNEY MP: The Tasmanian Government welcomes today's announcement from the Australian Government. We know that forestry is an important part of the Tasmanian economy and today's announcement clearly recognises the competitive advantages we have across north and north western Tasmania. This region has access to ports, has access to labour, it has access to trees, and we want to see forestry employing more Tasmanians. We know already forestry in Tasmania employs directly and indirectly around 5,700 people, many of those in regional areas. It also directly contributes around $700 million to our economy, so the Tasmanian Government is very welcoming of today's announcement which will further consolidate our reputation of being a grower of trees of choice and be able to showcase the forestry industry in Tasmania and ensure that it continues to have a sustainable future.

ROSS HAMPTON, CEO AUSTRALIAN FOREST PRODUCTS ASSOCIATION: Just a couple of quick words, PM, Sarah, Senator Colbeck. PM, this is about jobs, it is indeed, but it is also about the ultimate renewable. The great thing about today's announcement from our position is that it ticks all the boxes - regional jobs, but also helps our carbon accounts in this country and it’s also going to ensure the development of the right trees in the right places. We have been working with the Government on this for a number of years because we knew that in order to meet those targets that Senator Colbeck laid out to try to be at least try to be self-sufficient in our soft wood, for example, for our housing frames for our own homes that we had to start to grow the estate, but it had to be done in a way that was manageable by the community, that was sustainable.

So the right places is where forestry is already very well accepted and where we can work with communities, particularly farmer groups, to make sure we grow in a sustained and careful way. There are three elements really needed to grow forestry in this country and that's the right places, we can tick that box today, but the right trees at the right scale is still where we have work to do. So we are really looking forward to going forward with the Government and those involved on the ground in these places that have been identified to try to work out what the mechanisms are that are going to allow us to help the government meet that huge call, terrific goal, of another billion trees for Australia to meet its needs.

PRIME MINISTER: I'm happy to take questions, Tasmania's forestry workers, I think, are in no doubt and should be in no doubt about my government’s support for them and their future. Not just today, but for their kids as well. This is an intergenerational industry, particularly here in Tasmania. I think Tasmanian forestry workers learnt that very well from John Howard or those years ago, and we are right there in exactly the same way, we will continue to back those forestry workers. Yes, I want to see new industries grow in Australia, of course do. I want to see the medical and technology sectors grow. It's exciting and it's great. But our traditional sectors, in forestry, in agriculture, in mining, in all of these places that generate so many jobs and support the livelihoods of regional communities in particular, all over the country, I’m there and backing them in as well. That's part of our national economic plan that Richard was talking about. We’ve generated 1.2 million jobs already as a government over the last five and a half years. Over the next five years, my pledge is to create another one and a quarter million jobs. One of the ways we are going to do that is ensuring industries like the forestry sector have a big future. Let’s take some questions on what we announced today, particularly with the others who are joining me here. Happy, as always, to move onto other issues, and then we might excuse those who don’t have a direct involvement to leave us.

JOURNALIST: Is this an election promise or is the money going to be spent now?

PRIME MINISTER: It’s in, done, it’s not a promise, it is a decision of the government. It’s in place and it is happening.

JOURNALIST: Where will the hub exactly be located?

PRIME MINISTER: I'm going to let Richard explain how this works. It's not so much a physical hub as…

ASSISTANT MINISTER COLBECK: So this is an identification of a region that is strong in forestry, we recognise there might need to be some work on boundaries that might need to be done in conjunction with local communities, the industry and state governments. We are not being prescriptive in that sense but we are working with industry, state governments and communities to define the sorts of things. This is the commencement of that process. We start when we launched the plan, in September last year. That's why we started with four pilots so that we can work our way through the process and make the process for the following areas and regions of Australia, and I said we haven't identified them all. So that we can then smoothly work through the rest. It's about making sure, as Ross quite rightly said, if we grow the right trees at the right scale in the right places. With have set ourselves an objective of one billion trees by 2030, that’s a lot of trees that is about 400,000 hectares, we have seen previously, and we are sensitive to the fact that when you see land conversion, it creates issues in the community. We're sensitive to make sure we manage that properly. That’s why we are going through that process.

JOURNALIST: Do we have land available to be converted or spare land that can be put under trees?

ASSISTANT MINISTER COLBECK: I think there is, I think there is a lot of it. We will also be working very closely with the farming community, in fact, this process has engaged the National Farmers Federation, all the way through its development. We see enormous opportunity as part of the development of the plan and growing the trees, to work with farmers in agriforestry, and in fact at a forestry meeting yesterday in Melbourne, that was one of the key things that we talked about. There are some inhibitors in the current framework around the growing of trees on farms, one of the things we said in the plan we would do, is to review those, we are doing that and looking to take those regulatory hurdles out of the way. If we are going to meet that projected quadrupling of demand by 2050, that's only 30 years, it's shorter than the life cycle of some plantation trees. We are going to have to start putting trees in the ground now. Getting the regulatory inhibitors out of the way, is going to be really important in doing that.

JOURNALIST: The hub in the north west, is it going to be an office, is it going to be dispersed public servants assigned to work on this issue? What is it going to be?

ASSISTANT MINISTER COLBECK: It's a recognition of a region, it will include work on looking at infrastructure needs, working closely with state governments, local councils and communities, what are the infrastructure needs, what are the employment needs that are required, making sure that we put the resources into actually managing those things that facilitate the growing of trees. We don't necessarily a bureaucratic infrastructure.

PRIME MINISTER: It’s not a desk, it's not an office, it’s not a building.

ASSISTANT MINISTER COLBECK: Shawn Britton, Forico, these guys can do all that. But what we need to do is make sure that the inhibitors that exist around the country to growing trees, to meet the growing demand for trees, and timber products, can be met. For example just up the hill here at Highclere, we are looking at the development of a new cross laminated timber plant. That is a new technology that will take up demand for timber that has previously gone in to other things. We need to be able to meet that demand. You've got down in the Derwent Valley, where Norske have just in recent times, in fact the day we launched the National Forest Plan, fermented the first batch of product called Cyrene. That is a replacement for petrochemical products to go into a whole range of downstream things like pharmaceuticals and cosmetics. All of these sorts of things are starting to come online, creating new demand for timber and timber-based products. We need to make sure that we have the resource to meet that demand.

PRIME MINISTER: So it’s a hub for the growth of trees and jobs. That’s what it is, in a concentrated area. And these hubs all around the country provide hubs of prosperity in all of these regional communities and combined together, they will lift the overall contribution of the forestry industry to Australia's national economy.

JOURNALIST: I assume there will still be some restrictions on turning prime agricultural land into plantations, however?

ASSISTANT MINISTER COLBECK: So farmers will be left to make their own decisions about what they grow on their own lands. That's I think a really foundation principal. But we’re not going back, for example, to the days of MIS. We are very cautious to make sure that’s not where we go. Bearing in mind that the MIS rules still exist, they haven't gone away. So we’re not and don't have to create a new MIS system. What we’re doing is looking to work with landholders, and to grow trees, and from conversations that I had with forestry ministers yesterday, I am certain that there are very creative ways that we can encourage farmers, for example, to put windbreaks on the land which won’t reduce the productivity. In fact it will increase their productivity and it'll give them another revenue stream.

PRIME MINISTER: We just saw some of those trees over there.

ASSISTANT MINISTER COLBECK: That’s exactly right Prime Minister, we just saw some of those trees. So they can get a revenue stream out of growing trees for timber, they can get a revenue stream out of growing trees for carbon and when you bundle those things, they actually have a rationale to plant trees where they don't have trees now and I've seen properties where up to 20 per cent of the property has been put back into trees with zero reduction in productivity from an agricultural perspective. These are the things that we can do. As part of that process, that billion trees will contribute up to 18 million tonnes of CO2 storage as part of that process. So we're ticking a lot of boxes here from an industry perspective, from a jobs perspective, from an environmental perspective and working closely with communities including the farming community so that we can give them another revenue stream for their properties but also create jobs in local communities.

JOURNALIST: And Richard, do you know what Labor’s policy is for the north-west in forestry and do you expect it to be different to yours?

ASSISTANT MINISTER COLBECK: I don’t think anybody knows what Labor’s policy in respect of forestry nationally is. They been very quiet. In fact, my opposite number Joel Fitzgibbon has made almost zero comment on forestry, except to deny that the policy that Tony Burke pushed through their National Conference which is to go back to the disastrous sham Forestry Deal that they proposed here and devastated Tasmania's forestry industry a few years ago. Which along with the Hodgman Government, I am pleased to say, we have said is dead, that has been put to bed. Because we are about growing a sustainable industry and ensuring that this industry has the resources it needs to create jobs in local communities and continue to make a significant contribution to the Australian economy.

PRIME MINISTER: I can tell you the Labor Party won’t be determining what their policies are on forestry. That'll be determined by the left-wing and the activists and the Greens and everyone else. They won’t be deciding what their policy is. They will have their chain pulled by everybody else, and we’re seeing this across so many policy areas today. Bill Shorten is not in charge of his own economic policy. He is being pushed to and fro on his national security policy, for that matter. Who knows what the Labor Party policy will be. All I know is that Bill Shorten won’t be the one deciding what it is.

JOURNALIST: And Prime Minister, why have you decided to come to Somerset today and why do you believe the forestry industry is so important to the north-west?

PRIME MINISTER: What I just said a few minutes ago, I want to make it very clear to Australia that whether it's the forestry industry, whether it's the agricultural sector, or it’s the resources sector, that my Government is very focused on seeing all of these sectors go forward in a sustainable and prosperous way. Richard has done an outstanding job on the forestry plan and these hubs, as he said at the first instalments of that plan.

We have a very clear view about how this sector will continue to grow, working in partnership with community and with industry. So it is an important part of my national economic plan. I've talked in that plan about taking all industries forward. Not just the brash, exciting ones with people wandering around in skivvies and all the rest of it. That’s great, good for them, and they're doing a great job for Australia too - just don't ask me to wear the skivvy. But I want to see the forestry industry grow, I want to see the agriculture sector grow. And particularly in part of the country like in North Queensland at the moment, where they have been devastated by these terrible floods and we will be there with them every step of the way to get them back on their feet to see the great prosperity in Australia's north that the cattle industry has always provided and will again. So that’s why I’m here. Whether it’s in North Queensland, in Tasmania, in Western Australia, in all the areas which Richard and I have worked on to have these hubs, it is about seeing that occur.

JOURNALIST: Can we move on to other questions?

PRIME MINISTER: If there are no other questions on those topics, I’m... I should stress I've nothing against skivvies, OK?

[Laughter]

The skivvy industry is important as well.

JOURNALIST: The Wiggles, the Wiggles.

PRIME MINISTER: Exactly, they did wonders for skivvies.

JOURNALIST: Sorry Senator, have you got any comment about training?

ASSISTANT MINISTER COLBECK: Well look, obviously as the forest industry in Tasmania has recovered, one of the things we’ve seen is a demand for people, which is fantastic. We had a really tough time here about five or six years ago, and it is good to see the industry come back. We will work closely with industry as part of the hub development process, as I said earlier, around making sure they have the right people with the right skills to be able to assist the industry to grow. We’re going to have to do some new things, as we move into more agroforestry, for example, we’re going to have to have probably more defined skills around how trees are a) put in the ground, managed and then harvested. And I can say through the conversations I have been having with industry through the Forest Industry Advisory Council, they’re actually doing some homework for me at the moment and coming back with some potential models on how that works. So we’re not looking to try and dictate in this space, we know that there will be new developments. In fact, if you look at how trees like this used to be planted to how it's done now, it's completely changed in its process. So we'll be working closely with industry to do that, and if you consider where we were here in Burnie just a few weeks ago where we have a new welding training plant where it is all done with technology, they’re not physically doing welds, they have got equipment there that uses gaming technology to simulate welding. Gav’s not a bad welder by the way, he passed his test. There's all of those sorts of new things that come on, and we have to be sensitive to that, and we need to working with industry to facilitate that.

PRIME MINISTER: Great. OK, we might move to others, thank you to other guests who have been with us today, and partners, thank you very much. Happy to take other matters.

JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, LNP support has dropped 3 points in Queensland according to the latest News Corp poll. Is that consistent with your tracking?

PRIME MINISTER: Look, I'll allow others to commentate on these things. I’m just focused on a stronger economy, keeping Australians safe and secure, and keeping Australians together. And I’ll continue to make that case, that's why I’m here in Tasmania. That’s why I was in North Queensland yesterday, it’s why I’ll be here again tomorrow. I’m focused on the things that make Australia stronger, and my opponents are going to do things that make Australia weaker. And I will continue to make the case from now until next election, and Australians will make their own decision then. But we’ve seen just this past week just how prepared Bill Shorten and Labor have been to make Australia weaker, for some cheap political exercise in the Parliament. I mean, they’ll do it again this week. They’ll come down there, they’ll chuck their toys around and they’ll carry on and say it means this and that and everything. They’ll play their juvenile games in the Australian Parliament. What I’m going to be focused on in this week is some of the things I've already raised with you. We’ve got a serious… I can’t tell you how serious this issue is up in North Queensland, and that has my focus. Last week in Parliament, we were focused on the Closing the Gap Report and the announcements we were making to boost educational support for young indigenous Australians all around the country. That's what we were doing last week. We were protecting our borders last week. What the Labor Party was doing last week was just showing how they’ll trade anything away, and if they’re given the opportunity, they will make Australia weaker. Our economy weaker, our national security weaker. They can’t be trusted.

JOURNALIST: Are such comments just baiting people smugglers?

PRIME MINISTER: No.

JOURNALIST: If the Government supports the motion to support a Royal Commission into the abuse in the disability sector, is that about sparing the Government from another humiliating defeat on the floor?

PRIME MINISTER:  No. We were prepared to allow that motion to go through on Thursday afternoon. The simple fact was the motion wasn't coming back to the House of Representatives on Thursday afternoon. Were it coming back, it would have passed through the House and on Monday when it comes it will also pass through the House. The Government will make any ultimate decisions about Royal Commissions, that's who makes decisions about Royal Commissions, but even today I've been in contact with disability advocates about this issue.

My first priority was to initiate the Royal Commission into the aged care sector, which I have done. At no time have I ever said that I didn't think there wasn't a need for a Royal Commission in the disability sector. I just had the priority of dealing with winding up one Royal Commission which I had initiated, initiating another when it came to aged care and that is under way now, and that now leaves us in a position to how we might consider dealing with this other challenging issue. But I would simply say this - I'm not going to play politics with disabilities and I thought the way that issue was used on Thursday afternoon was very disappointing, as I expressed in the House. I'm going to be focused on dealing with the needs of disabled Australians and their families. I’m not going to be playing politics with it and I would encourage others who are participating in this space not to do that either.

JOURNALIST: So will you pre-empt a vote and announce a Royal Commission?

PRIME MINISTER: The motion will go through on Monday and the Government will continue to work through the issues associated with how we address that issue.

JOURNALIST: I understand you're going to Hobart next week. Will you finally announce this deal?

PRIME MINISTER: Yeah we will be announcing the Hobart City Deal then, when we have the opportunity. We've been able to come, I think, to a final position on all of that. It's just a matter of logistics now. We have made great progress on that and I want to particularly thank Will Hodgman and the great he’s been doing there. But today my focus is on the north, very much on the north of Tasmania and tomorrow and there’ll be the opportunity to have a focus on the south another day.

JOURNALIST: Will you move asylum seekers currently on Manus and Nauru to Christmas Island?

PRIME MINISTER: We will comply with the law of the land and I want to make something very clear about Christmas Island. It was the recommendation of the Department of Home Affairs that Christmas Island be reopened. Now, I have seen some comments by Shane Neumann, the Shadow Minister - who many of you won't know - but what he said was outrageous. He said this was reckless - this was the recommendation from the Department of Home Affairs. We have simply acted on the recommendation of that Department. Now, it should come as no surprise to him because prior to him voting for this Bill to weaken Australia's borders he was not only briefed on this, but the advice that was provided to us by Home Affairs had been declassified. And so he was well aware that if the Labor Party voted to weaken Australia's borders, as they did this past week in the Parliament, then we would have to reopen the Christmas Island detention centre. That will cost us, in the next couple of years, we estimate, half a billion dollars and $1.4 billion over the next four years.

Now, I can't describe to you the fury that is within me that I have to now go spend money on opening a centre that I didn't need to open a week ago, when the farmers and communities of North Queensland are crying out for our support. Now, if you want to know how much the Labor Party cares about what’s going on in North Queensland, look what they did in the Parliament this week, forcing us to reopen the Christmas Island detention centre because they voted to weaken our borders. I have not seen such an act of reckless disregard for the advice that was received by the Government, by Bill Shorten. He knew what the recommendations were. He knew what the advice from our security agencies were, and he disregarded it and pressed ahead anyway. It was an act of weakness that I have seen from few people in our Parliament. Very few, and certainly not many leaders. And he counted himself not a leader this past week because he simply doesn't have the ticker, the mettle, to hold to the strong border protection arrangements that we have. Look, we saw it today. I mean, the Fairfax - even the Fairfax press - reported this today. The people smugglers know they won't get through me and Peter Dutton, they know our resolve. They won't try it on with us. Because they know what they'll meet. But they certainly know they're going to have a crack at Bill Shorten if he ever becomes Prime Minister and they are preparing to do that as we speak. Now, that's not me saying it. That's them saying it. That's people smugglers going all the way back up the chain to Pakistan. We have got other people who are ready to put boats again out of Indonesia talking openly about it. They know my resolve. They know my Government's resolve. But they know that Bill Shorten is weak as when it comes to border protection and you don't have to take my word for it. Look at how he voted in the Parliament this week.

JOURNALIST: Could the Government's actions in Parliament last week, including the extended Question Time, could that feed into the public’s perception of the dysfunctional Canberra bubble?

PRIME MINISTER:  No, it proves the Canberra bubble is exactly that. The Canberra bubble is obsessed with itself and what happens inside the Canberra bubble. You know, the rest of the Australians are interested in having strong borders. That's what I'm focused on. The rest of the country is concerned about what's happening with the future of our agriculture, forestry and resources industries. That's what they care about because that's where their jobs are. That's what I'm focused on. I'm not focused on the Canberra bubble. They can carry on and do all they like over the next week. And they'll claim it means this, that and any other thing. They look like a bunch of juvenile high school debaters the way they're carrying on in the Parliament at the moment. I'm going to focus on what the country needs me to focus on, which are these very important issues of our economic security and our national security. That's what has my absolute focus. I’m not going to get distracted by Bill Shorten's juvenile games in the Parliament.

JOURNALIST: If you're worried about extra boats and more boats coming, won't your turn back the boats policy sort that out before they arrive?

PRIME MINISTER: Well what I can tell you is this. We have increased the strength, resource and capability again of Operation Sovereign Borders following the decision of the Parliament earlier this week. We have already done that. We have also, as you know, acted on the advice of the Department of Home Affairs to commence reopening the Christmas Island detention centre. So that's what we're doing to deal with that decision. So any boat that does try to come here you can thank Bill Shorten for that.

If we're able to ensure that they don't get here you can thank this Government for that, because people know our resolve on this. They know where we stand. I drew a very clear red line. I didn't care if we lost the vote. Bill Shorten was more interested in winning a vote in the Canberra bubble than he was in telling the rest of Australia that he would stand up for border security. That's the key. That's the key. He's more interested in the politics of the Canberra bubble than he is in the national security of this country, and I do not say that lightly. But this is a bloke who wants to chair the National Security Committee of Cabinet, and if he could be blown over that easily, that quickly, against the clear advice of his own security agencies that if he were Prime Minister he would sit around that table with him. Now I know this. I have served on the National Security Committee of Cabinet for pretty much the last five years so I know what gets discussed there and I know what is required of the person who chairs that committee. You can't trust Bill Shorten to do that.

JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, sorry I have got a question from our Brisbane office.

PRIME MINISTER: Sure.

JOURNALIST: There are calls for Canberra to appoint a minister for loneliness to address what's called an emerging public health crisis. Is this a proposal you'd seriously consider?

PRIME MINISTER: Well what we need to continue to do is ensure we get the resources that are needed to support mental health across the country. Just late last year, we put an extra $52 million, I think it was, into headspace, particularly to support young people who are facing mental health challenges and a key part of that funding was to deliver assistance into remote and regional areas. But particularly remote areas through telly presence-type support you can do with mental health. It's another key area that we have been focused on with the drought and now with the floods. I put $3 million extra into support specifically in Queensland last week to support additional mental health services to support those regions suffering from national disaster. So our Government will always place a very, very high priority on the mental health of Australians, and particularly when they're confronting nature's worst or economic challenges. That can hit any part of the country at any time. I'm pleased that today I'm in Tasmania on a very positive note to announce what we're announcing here but it was only a week or two ago, a couple of weeks ago, I was here with the Premier and with Richard down the Huon Valley where we were dealing with something very different and very serious. So these issues have a very high priority for me. We have a Minister for Health in Greg Hunt who is absolutely focused on the very issue you're talking about.

I'll tell you another thing we did this week. We had the first meeting of the Small Business Mental Health Advisory Council, an advisory committee that we brought through together as part of our small business package because we understand that small businesses face a lot of challenges. Yes, we have reduced their taxes, yes we’re increasing their access to finance and yes we're absolutely ensuring they're getting paid more quickly, not just by governments at a Commonwealth level, but at a state level and large companies. We have done more for small businesses than any other government in memory. But the other thing they raised with us was the mental health of small business owners. I was at that the meeting during the course of this week, another thing I was doing in the Parliament this week while the Labor Party were playing silly games. We were talking about how we can further support and strengthen the resources and services that are available to small business people who have many serious mental health issues. It comes on because of the stress of running the business. It can come from being sideswiped by any number of events.

So we take mental health incredibly seriously, and I would hope that would always be a bipartisan initiative. That's certainly the way I'll always approach it. But with that it's been good to be here with you Gavin and everyone else and I want to thank you for the opportunity to come and share this announcement and well done again, Richard. This is a very important day for the forestry industry not just here in Tasmania but right across the country. Thank you very much.

https://pmtranscripts.pmc.gov.au/release/transcript-42137

Securing the future of our forestry industry

16 February 2019

Prime Minister, Assistant Minister for Agriculture and Water Resources

Photo: AAP Image/Sarah Rhodes

The Morrison Government is backing the future of the Tasmanian forestry industry with the roll out of its Regional Forestry Hubs, driving investment and jobs growth for generations to come.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison said the development of nine initial Regional Forestry Hub sites will provide strategic vision for forest industries in Northern Tasmania, Western Australia, South Australia, Victoria, New South Wales and Queensland.

“Today in Tasmania’s north-west forestry belt, we are sowing the seeds for the first of our Regional Forestry Hubs under the $20 million National Forest Industries Plan.

“We want Northern Tasmania’s key forestry industries to be even stronger, and today’s announcement will ensure a brighter and more secure future.

“This plan will protect and grow Northern Tasmania’s vital forestry industry, create more jobs, and open up opportunities to build new and improved roads, rail and port facilities.

“Around 52,000 Australians are directly employed in growing and processing our forest products. Tens of thousands more jobs are indirectly supported by a sector that contributes more than $23 billion to the national economy.”

Assistant Minister for Agriculture and Water Resources Senator Richard Colbeck said the Regional Forestry Hubs were a commitment in the Morrison Government’s National Forest Industries Plan and will support strategic planning of future needs for the industry in the region.

“Timber is the building material of the 21st century and the Morrison Government is beginning the process of creating the initial Regional Forestry Hubs to meet future demand for forest products,” Minister Colbeck said.

“Four trials of nine initial pilot Hubs will be created, and the Government will work with industry, State Governments and Local Governments to deliver maximum benefit from them.

“Our Government has committed $12.5 million to the Regional Forestry Hubs and research and development elements of the National Forest Industries Plan to further grow Australia’s forest industries and set the industry up for the future.

“This Plan ambitiously aims to deliver a billion new trees to meet a projected quadrupling of global demand for timber products by 2050, planting the right trees, at the right scale in the right places.

“The end result will be better returns to business, more investment, more jobs and greater economic prosperity for Australia.”

Through the development of Regional Forestry Hubs and the implementation of the broader set of actions in the Plan, the Government is supporting forest industries as part of our commitment to deliver 1.25 million new jobs over the next five years.

Most of those trees will be in key areas that have clear competitive advantages for forestry, such as access to processing plants, transport routes and a skilled forestry workforce.

The State of the Forests Report released today shows clearly the need to plant more trees to create Australian jobs and increase our access to this truly renewable resource.

Planting a billion trees will also contribute to the removal of 18 million tonnes of greenhouse gas from the atmosphere per year by 2030.

Locations of the pilot Regional Forestry Hubs are:

• South West - Western Australia

• Green Triangle – South Australia and Victoria

• North/North West - Tasmania

• North East - New South Wales

Locations of Regional Forestry Hubs that will follow the pilot hubs:

• Gippsland – Victoria

• South West Slopes - New South Wales

• Central West  - New South Wales

• South East  – Queensland

• North – Queensland.

https://pmtranscripts.pmc.gov.au/release/transcript-42127

Doorstop, Julia Creek, QLD

15 February 2019

BELINDA MURPHY, MCKINLAY SHIRE COUNCIL MAYOR: So firstly welcome, everyone, especially the Prime Minister, to McKinlay Shire and to the Shires of the North West. The support we’ve received from the Prime Minister down over the last ten days, and the State Government, has been phenomenal and we cannot express how much we’re happy to have you out here. As confronting as it is to see on the ground what is going on, we’re really looking forward to the discussions moving forward. We’re very happy with where they’re going at the moment. The Prime Minister has taken time out already to talk to our local businesses. This is beyond the farm gate. This is about the survival of our communities in the North West and I think that’s clearly understood from the top down. We look forward to him meeting with our graziers and continuing today. So, welcome, and also, Deb, thank you very much for coming.

DEB FRECKLINGTON, QUEENSLAND LEADER OF THE OPPOSITION: No worries, Belinda.

PRIME MINISTER: Belinda, thank you very much. John and the other mayors who have been with me here as I came into Cloncurry last night. Those who I spoke to at the Bowl-o last night and then producers this morning, small businesses, Lions Club. Once again, in a scene of a genuine national disaster, we are seeing the real mettle of Australians, we’re seeing the real resolve, the real heart and compassion of Australians, thinking of others first before themselves. This is my number one priority right here, right now. It has been pressing now as the events unfolded here in the space of such a short period of time and I think I’d ask all Australians to be mindful of the level of shock that are in these communities. I know there are people all around the country who are wanting to help and they’re actually even asking, “Why haven’t they got back to us? We’re offering help.” Well, the reason they haven’t is because they’re dealing with a lot here. And there’s a lot going on here now as these communities are getting around each other and they’re working on the immediate response to the disaster that has occurred here.

The disaster that has occurred here is different in all different parts of the regions. It’s affecting small businesses in some towns different to other towns. The producers, the graziers themselves, the nature of their herds and the stock losses is different. The composition is different and right now, the urgent need is to deal with the immediate response, which is why we have provided the Category D assistance to primary producers at $25,000 up to $75,000. We’ve ditched all the paperwork. We’ve provided Category C assistance to those who are eligible for small businesses and we’re looking at the eligibility of that.

We’ve provided them $1 million for each Shire that is affected and we’re looking at extending that, even now as we speak, to those who are affected. Where it’s needed it’s going to happen but the nature of our response is very much being guided by the local mayors here right across North Western Queensland and I want to commend them for their leadership. They have been under an enormous amount of pressure as they have been dealing, in many cases, with the impacts to them and their own families, let alone what’s happening more broadly in their communities, and the leadership they have shown to gather people together, the volunteer effort, to make sure that I, the Premier and others are informed about what the needs are has been excellent. I also want to thank Brigadier Jobson for the amazing work that he’s been doing. And he, like me though, we’re taking our instructions from the local mayors here because they’re the ones who are in constant contact with their community and their graziers and primary producers.

There is a long road ahead here. Of course we need to provide the immediate response and that is occurring as we speak. We then must look to the future and the future requires some key things to be done. First of all, if you look around here, you know, you’ve got to rebuild a lot of this critical infrastructure which is linking all of these towns and linking up their economies. This is very important, we’ll be doing that together with the State Government and the Deputy Prime Minister and with Linda Reynolds – the Assistant Minister for Home Affairs – they’ll be here over the next few days working through some of those issues. But it’s also about restocking, it’s also about the future – the next five and ten years. This will be again one of the most prosperous regions in the country. It is the top of the supply chain in many respects when it comes to our cattle industry and we’re going to rebuild the cattle industry here. That’s my message to the people of North Queensland.

My Government, working together with everyone else, we’re going to rebuild the cattle industry and it’s going to be an area of great opportunity and prosperity into the future but we need to get back to that starting line. We’ve been knocked off our feet here a bit right across the region but we will get back up, we will all get back up together and we’ll get back to that starting line and we will do everything that is necessary to help people do that. There’s issues of debt to deal with. There’s issue of the stock losses. There’s issues of cash flow. We’re aware of all of these things but the other thing we must be keenly aware of is we have to get these plans right. That’s why I’m here. Of course I'm here to provide some comfort and to let people know that the rest of the country that they are here with them as well. But I’m also here to listen about what the recovery and reconstruction plan is and we’re quite advanced in our thinking in these areas and what I’ve been able to do over the last 24 hours, as well as the earlier contact I’ve had with the mayors and the military and others, is to really start fashioning some serious longer term plans.

I’ll have more to say about that when we’ve got it right. But in these situations and in the wake of a natural disaster like this, you don’t rush to failure, you get it right, you listen, you get the facts in, you listen to what all the options are and then you take action on the basis of the decisions you make. That’s what I’ll be doing and, so, I would ask for some immediate patience because I believe, as Belinda and I were discussing – and John and Greg this morning, that’s what they want too. They’ve got to make a lot of decisions locally too. You don’t want to make decisions in the immediate wake of a disaster that you regret in two, three years’ time or even 12 weeks’ time. So, we will get those decisions right, we’ll get them right by working closely together.

But for today, my heart goes out to the people of North Queensland. You know, it’s very upsetting. I mean, you can’t smell what we can smell here today and I’ve got to tell you, it doesn’t smell as bad here as it did where I was earlier today, as I was with families who have been on this land for generations, building up a herd of the finest cattle in the world that are Australian, generations of breeding, and to see that all washed away and lying just in the mud which is turning to dry dirt and the smell is overwhelming. So there’s a lot of healing that has to go on here. We’ve put the additional mental health support into the programs here and I was pleased last night at the Bowl-o to be hearing back from people about how they welcome that. A simple request is that Australians will reach out to you and you will reach out to each other and on the other side, as always, we will be stronger than ever.

JOURNALIST: Do you think the wider Australia understands the scale of this disaster? People that don’t live in this region, they’ve seen pictures but do you think they get a sense of just how big it is?

PRIME MINISTER: No, I don’t and I don’t say that critically. I mean, how can you? You know, I’m a boy from the Sydney suburbs, I’ve been here before actually, it was 30 years ago. I’ve been to Cloncurry more recently so I do know this part of the world maybe a little bit better but they can’t. And what they can’t understand I suppose is that, it’s not just the economic impact of this and the natural impact of this. This is a livelihood, it’s a life, it’s a way of life and we’ve got to make sure that doesn’t get washed out to sea as well and it won’t because none of the people I've spoken to today who can still put a smile on their face and tell you a good yarn, they’re going to stay and they want to stay but they’re saying, “Can you help us stay?” And my answer to them is, “Yes, I will.”

JOURNALIST: In terms of the losses, it is a significant chunk of the beef industry. Do you anticipate that will have a national effect?

PRIME MINISTER: Of course it will. Just like the droughts have. The drought has had a significant impact and I’ve got to say, in preparing our reconstruction plans, a lot of the lessons that we’ve worked on and learnt through what Major General Stephen Day’s been doing as the Drought Coordinator, we can apply here. I mean, frankly, some of the water infrastructure, on-farm infrastructure, write-off programs and things like that will actually come in very handy here. I mean, you can’t just go and put a whole bunch of new stock on these properties tomorrow morning. Fences have to be fixed, turkey’s nest, all this sort of stuff. This all has to be fixed. There’s a lot of work that has to go on to these farms now and so that’s a key part of the plan. And then there’s the restocking. But as I’ve said, the property I was out at today, they just can’t go and just buy the same stock they had before. They built those stocks up over generations and they have to breed that stock back up and that will take many years.

Now, they’ll have other options in the meantime to run a sort of a cash operation to do that but to rebuild that, that won’t happen overnight. But there are others who have different operations and there will be an opportunity. There’s opportunities for adjustment, there’ll be opportunities where there are more drought-affected areas and where some of that stock might be able to come here. So we’ll see. But they’re the plans and the details we’ll have to work on. I also want to thank those who have been carting fodder up here, the fodder drops that have been done over the last week or so. And are now extending more into the Gulfow country where it’s going, that will continue but now we’re getting to the point where we’re over that immediate demand and I’ve got to say to the ADF, who were rescuing people in the middle of those floods, Lindsay and Sally I know out at Longford had to be rescued off the top of their roof and the only offence they took was that they were described as an older couple – with a smile on their face so that shows you the sense of humour that’s still here.

JOURNALIST: PM, you said you don’t want to rush it but any idea of a timeframe on when we might have…?

PRIME MINISTER: I’m not talking months, I’m not necessarily talking days but I’m not talking weeks either. This is an important part of my process and it’s important why Linda and Michael will be here tomorrow and working closely, I’ve got to say, with the State Government and retired Major General Smith. Retired Major General Smith who is the State Coordinator working together with Brigadier Jobson, they are dealing predominately with this immediate response and recovery. What I’m talking about is a five, ten year plan to rebuild the cattle industry.

JOURNALIST: What else outside of the cattle industry, how to rebuild these towns, aside from the industry stuff?

PRIME MINISTER: Well, you’ve got to keep the money churning in the economy. That’s what we’ve learnt from the drought. One of the things that has been most successful in our drought program was those $1 million we put into all of these councils, you know, a very large investment, $100 million and more and what that means is that the money, whether it’s been doing up the local amenities block or doing some dog-fencing or things like that, that’s kept money moving around the town. As we were just chatting before, Belinda, with the local small-business people, they’ve got cash flow problems at the moment because the people that need to pay them, they’ve been underwater. And so there’s going to be a bit of a cash crunch here, a bit of a cash drought in the next little while. So our small business programs, and I’ll be speaking to Minister Cash about that, the need to be integrate in with what we’re doing with the primary producers as well. That’s why it’s not a simple answer and I know when there are natural disasters, everybody thinks, “You’ve just got to do this and this and you send them the army and it’s all done.” No, no. This is far more complex. It goes to your question. This issue is far more devastating and far more widespread and it requires a much broader and comprehensive response.

JOURNALIST: The Queensland Government has a new report out into the Adani project which looks like it could be killed off because of the small black finch…?

PRIME MINISTER: I’m happy to take that question in a sec, I’m very happy to take that question but if there are other questions on…?

JOURNALIST: Do we have any idea of the scale of the losses at this stage?

PRIME MINISTER: No, I think that’s the short answer. I mean, I’ve been talking to producers today, they don’t know. The best estimates I’m getting from them is saying 50 per cent, the worst is 100 per cent. Estimates of 80 per cent. So, it’s the worst this district has seen. I mean, in the 70s, there was very severe conditions of drought – for floods then, they’ve had droughts here too but what really snapped this more than anything was the combination of the floods and then the winds. I was at a property this morning, the flooding impact was not actually that significant relatively speaking. What killed their herd was the wind and the exposure. So it was the combination of these two events together which really proved just deadly.

JOURNALIST: On Adani, are you concerned that this ABC report on the black finch could be the death nail for the mine? What’s it going to mean?

PRIME MINISTER: Look, I’m always concerned about jobs and I’m always concerned with people playing games about jobs. We support the mining industry. We want to see mining jobs and we want to be able to see projects stand on their two feet and be given a go on the basis of their commercial realities. We don’t think they should get special legs-up or subsidies or anything like this. But I think the people of Queensland are dealing with enough at the moment without having decisions to take away their jobs.

JOURNALIST: Just one more, will the Government accept Brian Burston’s vote in the Senate going forward?

PRIME MINISTER: How he votes is up to him. We’re not negotiating any votes with him. That’s not how it works. We’re not seeking his vote on things. What he does is up to him. What they all do. You know, you could say the same thing about the Greens. I mean, they all wreak their havoc in one way, shape or form from time to time but last night I was pleased to see that we were able to get some very important legislation passed in relation to superannuation.

JOURNALIST: Do you have a view on the suspension of the parliamentary pass of James Ashby?

PRIME MINISTER: No because I’m not the Speaker and I’m not the President of the Senate. I’m happy to leave those matters to those guys.

JOURNALIST: The Government’s been warning about rapists and paedophiles and murderers being among those brought into Australia under the Medivac regime. Isn’t there a risk that this sort of extreme rhetoric could imperil the US deal to take 1,200 refugees?

PRIME MINISTER: No, I actually met with our Ambassador yesterday and the US deal is fine. I mean, we’re just telling the truth about what’s going on with all that. I’ll tell you one thing, you know, I’ve got to tell you, we’re here trying to put a reconstruction plan together for North Queensland. The fact that I have to go and spend half a billion dollars in the next two years and $1.4 billion over the next four years to reopen a detention centre that I don’t need to open, four days ago, the fact that I have to do it now because the Parliament decided to make a stupid decision, makes me pretty angry because I want to invest that money here, not on a detention centre that I now have to open because of people who made a very bad decision. Thanks very much.

https://pmtranscripts.pmc.gov.au/release/transcript-42128

Indigenous Education Boost

14 February 2019

Prime Minister, Minister for Indigenous Affairs

Australia’s Closing the Gap targets will be redeveloped in partnership with Indigenous Australians for the first time with a direct focus on education as the key to unlocking the potential of this and future generations. 

The Prime Minister said the 2019 Closing the Gap report highlighted successes across the country but that refreshed targets were an opportunity to work together to accelerate progress.

“Today is a day to celebrate what so many people have helped achieve, but we cannot hide from the fact that on average at the moment Indigenous children do not have the same opportunities as other children growing up in our country,” the Prime Minister said.

“With only two of the seven Closing the Gap targets on track to be met, it’s time to refresh what we’re doing.

“There is hope. Together there’s nothing we can’t achieve.

“The original targets were well intentioned but developed without the collaboration and accountability for states and territories and without input from Indigenous Australians.

“We want a Closing the Gap framework that’s developed alongside Indigenous Australians with targets based on science. That’s why the partnership we took and agreed through the Council of Australian Governments late last year is so important. These things take time, and we are committed to getting it right.”

The Prime Minister said his focus through the refreshed targets would be on education as the key area that can drive generational change, kickstarted by a funding boost for a suite of Indigenous education initiatives.

“Education is the key to skills, to better health, to jobs,” the Prime Minister said.

“Our new suite of initiatives builds on the record investments we’re making from the high chair to higher education to ensure the next generation of Indigenous businessmen and women, academics and workers get the education they need to have a foundation for a successful life.”

The package includes:

• Teacher boost for remote Australia - Removing all or part of the HELP debt for 3,100 students to encourage more teachers to work and stay working in very remote areas

• Youth Education Package  - $200 million extra support to give more Indigenous students the support and mentoring they need through their secondary studies

• Getting kids to school – Working community by community and school by school to invest $5 million in remote and very remote areas for projects that support and promote school attendance 

The Minister for Indigenous Affairs, Nigel Scullion said the new education measures were designed to build on the success of existing Government policies developed in partnership with local communities.

“We’ve seen huge success in working with Indigenous communities and organisations over the last five years, to deliver real and meaningful changes. The Indigenous Advancement Strategy has been able to double the number of Indigenous organisations delivering services to Indigenous people since its establishment in 2013,” Minister Scullion said.

“At the heart of our agenda has been getting children to attend school and stay at school. I’m pleased that with the Prime Ministers announcement today, we will be able to further increase our efforts and investment with remote communities.”

Minister Scullion also announced an additional commitment to the Indigenous business sector with the Indigenous Procurement Policy 2.0.

“The Indigenous Procurement Policy, better known as the IPP, has supercharged growth in the Indigenous business sector with 1,473 Indigenous businesses delivering 11,933 contracts worth over $1.83 billion since its establishment in 2015. This is a spectacular increase from the 30 Indigenous businesses winning just $6.2 million in contracts in 2012-13,” Minister Scullion said.

“So from 1 July 2019, the Indigenous Procurement Policy 2.0 will introduce a target of 3 per cent of the value of Commonwealth contracts are to be awarded to Indigenous businesses within a decade, adding to the existing IPP target that 3 per cent of the number of Commonwealth contracts are to go to Indigenous businesses.

“We are investing further in what we know, what the data shows and what Indigenous communities tell us, works.”

https://pmtranscripts.pmc.gov.au/release/transcript-42122

Radio interview with Ben Fordham, 2GB

13 February 2019

PRIME MINISTER: G’day Ben.

BEN FORDHAM: Thank you very much for joining us on the line.

PRIME MINISTER: That’s alright, Tony was making a lot of sense there, I didn’t want to interrupt him.

FORDHAM: I thought you might have been listening in and I know you’ve had a busy afternoon, so thank you for jumping on the line and talking to us. Look, he was suggesting that this was evidence, what we’re watching today, with Bill Shorten’s support of this medevac bill, that he’s not fit to be Prime Minister. Is that a blunt and honest assessment?

PRIME MINISTER: Well it is. He hasn’t got the ticker for it when it comes to this stuff. I mean when it comes to national security, you don’t trade in it, it’s an area of pure conviction, you do things because you believe it. You don’t sort of flip and flop, which he has done here. It’s very similar to what happened with Kim Beazley all those years ago and John Howard. It’s almost like a rerun and this is the great problem I have with Labor; they can never, ever, ever learn the lesson. They think they can fiddle with this stuff, just like they did when they got rid of temporary protection visas in 2008 and now the boats come. They think; “Oh, it won’t make any difference.”

I mean Bill Shorten said; “We’re getting the balance right.” The last Labor Prime Minister who said that was Kevin Rudd and they just never, ever learn.

FORDHAM: You’ve acted as Immigration Minister, you know more about stopping boats than anyone else in Australia; will people smugglers re-start their trade because of this bill?

PRIME MINISTER: That is the great risk we’re now facing. I’m going to do everything to make sure that doesn’t happen and the only thing standing between a boat and Australia is me and Peter Dutton and our Government. They know our resolve. But if we were not there, I can guarantee you they’d be coming thick and fast, that’s what would happen. Now if one comes, it will be the result of this weakening.

I had the National Security Committee meet this morning, which I convened. We took a number of decisions to strengthen what we were doing with Operation Sovereign Borders. We’ve done that. We’ve taken now, the step – sadly – we will have to re-open the Christmas Island detention centre. That will come at a cost and we haven’t finalized those costs yet. But that’s what Labor knew would be the consequences when they did this. They just disregarded the advice of the Chief of the Defence Force, the head of ASIO, the head of the Department of Home Affairs. They just went and did it anyway.

It showed terrible weakness on Bill Shorten’s part. I mean, it’s the only way I can put it Ben it was just sheer weakness.

FORDHAM: Is it right that there’s already been a reaction in parts of the world where people smugglers ply their trade, that there’s already chatter in that part of the world?

PRIME MINISTER: That doesn’t surprise me at all, because what they look for is a change of policy. Now, we haven’t changed our policy, but what the Parliament has done is to force one upon us. That’s just how the people smugglers work. See all these journalists down here in Canberra, in the bubble, they think all these little nuances matter - and the Labor Party think it - to the people smugglers. They just turn up to someone sitting up there in Indonesia and they say: “Guess what, they changed the laws down there in Australia, you can get on a boat now. Let’s go” that’s what they do. They think they’re all sort of glued to listening to journalists down here in Canberra, explaining the intricacies of these things. It’s nonsense.

FORDHAM: I can remember a Four Corners investigation into people smugglers and some of them that were based here in Australia and that was the case.

PRIME MINISTER: Yeah.

FORDHAM: I remember the interviews with some of the people and they were just saying; ‘They kept lying to us and lying to us and lying to us about where we were going, what we were doing, what would happen when we were on the boat.” That’s obviously what they do. 

PRIME MINISTER: They’re criminals. That’s what criminals do, they lie.

FORDHAM: Have our intelligence agencies actually heard any chatter though, because it’s being reported by David Speers, that he’s been told that Australia’s intelligence agencies believe that “the beast is stirring,” since the passage of the medevac bill? They’re trying to ensure that the beast doesn’t wake up, the beast of course being the people smuggling trade. Have you been told by our intelligence agencies that there is chatter?

PRIME MINISTER: I could never confirm that one way or the other Ben, because that’s intelligence that I receive as Prime Minister. So I can’t comment on that for obvious reasons, but what my job is, is to make sure that beast doesn’t wake up. I can tell you, Bill has given it a big poke, that’s what he has done. He’s done it willfully and he’s done it because he can’t stand up to the far left of his own Party. I mean you’ve got Tanya Plibersek running immigration and border protection for the Labor Party now. Just picture this for me; Bill Shorten chairing the National Security Committee with Tanya Plibersek sitting alongside him and whoever else they’ve got in there - and they are going to decide whether boats get turned back? I mean what they’ve done is, they’ve already said they’re going to give permanent visas to people who arrive illegally by boat, enter Australia illegally. They’ve already said that. They’re going to get rid of what we put back in place. They’ve now basically trashed offshore processing as we know it and they’re telling the Australian people, “Oh trust us, we’ll turn boats back.” Give me a break. Bill Shorten does not have the ticker or the mettle for that and he demonstrated that in the Parliament yesterday and if he ever tells anyone, “Oh the Coalition and us, we have the same border protection policy.” That’s complete guff. We don’t. He doesn’t have the strength for it, he doesn’t have the policies for it, he doesn’t have a clue about it.

FORDHAM: One of the issues here obviously is that when people get a medical transfer to Australia then a lot of them then launch legal actions to stay. I think out of those who have come here, more than half of them have done that, engaged lawyers and said; “Righto, I’m not going back.”

PRIME MINISTER: That’s exactly what happens, that’s exactly what happens. So look, this is why they play with this stuff thinking they can appease people in their own party. I mean, if Bill Shorten had any ticker he would have stood up to them and said; “No, no, we need to have strong borders. We said that the Coalition had got it right and that we’d stuffed it up and that we can never go back there.” That’s what he should have said. But he didn’t do that. He just rolled over. This bloke is seriously, seriously weak.

FORDHAM: I really got the sense watching you at the National Press Club that you are going to stick a stake in the ground on this and just stand to it and not budge a centimetre. And you made a call and I’m paraphrasing here, but you said; “Bill Shorten is looking for the middle ground here, but you can’t find middle ground on 1,200 people dying.” And I don’t know, it strikes me that you’ve got a very strong argument to go to the next election and also to say to people, “We don’t want to see hundreds of people drowning and dying like we saw last time.” I mean, who would risk that?

PRIME MINISTER: I remember the debates. I remember when that boat crashed up on the jagged rocks of Christmas Island. I remember the debates in the Parliament when the Labor members came in and they cried in the Parliament. The tears have run dry because their memories have gone. That’s what’s happened. They have not learned the lessons from those tragic events and they are doomed to repeat them if they’re elected.

FORDHAM: And if anyone is trying to convince you to change your mind, forget about it, it’s game on.

PRIME MINISTER: Absolutely. I mean, I know what works. I know from bitter and difficult experience what works. Because I lived it and I did it with Tony and Peter who has done it since and we’re part of that team. And we’re going to do everything we can to make sure one doesn’t come. If one does come, it’s on Bill’s head and if one doesn’t come, I can assure you it’s because they know that Peter and I and Tony, we’re all still here and we’re going to do everything we can to stop them.

FORDHAM: Prime Minister, thanks for joining us, appreciate your time.

https://pmtranscripts.pmc.gov.au/release/transcript-42136

Hakeem al-Araibi

12 February 2019

Prime Minister, Minister for Foreign Affairs

Hakeem al-Araibi is home.

We welcome the Thai Government’s decision to allow Mr al-Araibi to return to Australia.

We know all Australians will deeply appreciate the decision, allowing him to return to his wife, family and friends.

The outpouring of support – from the Pascoe Vale Football Club, to the advocacy of Craig Foster and the Football Federation of Australia and so many others – is a testament to how deeply Mr al-Araibi’s situation touched Australians.

We also appreciate the efforts of Australian officials and diplomats in working towards this outcome.

We commend Thailand’s commitment to due process and human rights which had led the Thai Government to take this decision.

The people of Australia have a great affection for Thailand and the Thai people.

Australia and Thailand enjoy a long, deep and enduring partnership. We look forward to continuing to strengthen the friendship and partnership between our two nations.

We also acknowledge the constructive dialogue that we have had with Bahrain in helping to resolve this issue. Australia and Bahrain share an important and longstanding relationship which we will continue to build upon.

https://pmtranscripts.pmc.gov.au/release/transcript-42116

City Deal for South East Queensland

12 February 2019

Prime Minister, Minister for Cities Urban Infrastructure and Population

The Morrison Government has committed to working with the Queensland Government and local councils in South East Queensland to develop a City Deal for the region.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison said the Federal Government was already delivering billions of dollars of funding for congestion busting roads and rail projects and this new deal would help unlock further investment.

 “I want people to get home sooner and have dinner as a family. I want tradies to spend less time on the road and more time at the worksite,” the Prime Minister said.

“We want to ensure Queensland remains a major tourism destination and one of the world’s premier locations to live, work and raise a family.”

It will be the second City Deal for Queensland following the policy being first established in Townsville.

It comes in addition to the Morrison Government piloting a Regional Deal for the Bundaberg Hervey Bay region.

The commitment to an SEQ City Deal is supported by Queensland LNP MPs and Senators who have campaigned for funding to support the diverse sectors within the region including tourism, manufacturing and education.

The Morrison Government has been working with the SEQ Council of Mayors, in particular Lord Mayor Graham Quirk, on the recently released People Mass Movement Study which explores the impact of population growth on the region’s ability to cope with future transport demand.

Minister for Cities, Urban Infrastructure and Population Alan Tudge said the Liberal and Nationals Government was committed to the people of South East Queensland and to making the region even more liveable than it already is.

“South East Queensland is already home to over two thirds of the state’s population and is expected to accommodate 5.3 million people within 25 years’ time,” Minister Tudge said.

“We need to cater for this rising population and the SEQ City Deal will be a huge step forward in making sure the people of South East Queensland get the most out of living in this beautiful region.

“I along with the Prime Minister will be meeting with the SEQ Mayors to discuss the Deal, and we will also be working constructively with the Queensland Government as we have already in Townsville.”

The Liberal and Nationals Government is already investing $7.2 billion into major transport infrastructure projects within the region including:

• $2.7 billion to upgrade the Bruce Highway north of Brisbane to the Sunshine Coast;

• $1.2 billion for six projects to bust congestion on the M1 Pacific Motorway between Brisbane and the Gold Coast;

• $1.1 billion to construct the Toowoomba Second Range Crossing;

• $902 million to increase the efficiency of Brisbane’s motorway network by building the Gateway Upgrade North and;

• $390 million to duplicate the North Coast Rail Line between Beerburrum and Landsborough and provide further improvements to Nambour

• $300 million to support better public transport via the Brisbane Metro;

• $207 million to support construction of Stage 2 (Gold Coast University Hospital to Helensvale), and Stage 3A (Broadbeach South to Burleigh Heads) of the Gold Coast Light Rail project;

• $200 million for additional lanes on the Ipswich Motorway between Rocklea and Oxley;

• $170 million for critical safety upgrades at the Yamanto and Amberley intersections with the Cunningham Highway; and

• $20 million for safety and congestion works along Bribie Island Road.

Earlier this month the Morrison Government also committed $244 million for a range of local congestion busting road, and park and ride, projects through its $1 billion Urban Congestion Fund.

https://pmtranscripts.pmc.gov.au/release/transcript-42114

Doorstop, Canberra ACT

12 February 2019

PRIME MINISTER: I was pleased to be here this morning. As you heard, I give thanks for the answered prayers of so many Australians that Hakeem is coming home, we had confirmation of course of that overnight. We have seen the picture of him on the plane, with a smile on his face, and that’s great to see. And I particularly again want to thank the Thai Government for working with us so closely. I also want to thank the Bahrain Government for our interactions with them as well. We have excellent relationships with both of countries, but the best news of all is Hakeem will be in Australia this afternoon and I think that’s something we can give great thanks for and give great acknowledgment to all the fine work that’s been done by our officials, our Australians of the Year, everyone who has been involved. I thank them all very much.

JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, if you lose the medevac Bill today, why should you not drive to Government House and call an election?

PRIME MINISTER: It’s not a matter [inaudible], that’s why. I mean, the independents have said that themselves. So I think they’ve answered their own question. That matter will be determined I assume later in the Parliament today. I have made it pretty clear that the Bill is acceptable in no form. We will not be giving any comfort or any licence for the Parliament to support this in any way, shape or form.

JOURNALIST: Will you allow it to come on for a debate today though?

PRIME MINISTER: It does come on for a debate today, that’s the process.

JOURNALIST: So you will consider absolutely no Labor amendments to this Bill whatsoever?

PRIME MINISTER: This Bill is acceptable in absolutely no form. It only weakens our borders, it does not strengthen them. I will not give a leave pass to this Parliament to weaken our borders. Thanks very much.

https://pmtranscripts.pmc.gov.au/release/transcript-42113

Government delivers on future submarine program

11 February 2019

Prime Minister, Minister for Defence, Minister for Defence Industry

Photo: AAP Image/Lukas Coch

A key plank of the Government’s plan to keep Australians safe has been locked in with the signing of the Attack class submarine Strategic Partnering Agreement with Naval Group.

The $50 billion Attack class program will see 12 regionally superior submarines designed and built in Australia for the Navy.

The formal signing of the Agreement is a defining moment for the country.

The submarines will help protect Australia’s security and prosperity for decades to come and also deepen the defence relationship between Australia and France.

Work on the submarines has taken place under the Design and Mobilisation Contract and this will continue uninterrupted under this Agreement.

Our Government is committed to maximising local industry involvement in the program to ensure Australians get the most out of this important national investment.

It’s estimated the program will generate an annual average of around 2,800 jobs, helping end the ‘valley of death’ in naval shipbuilding jobs we inherited from the Labor Party.

Work continues to deliver the first Attack class submarine, to be named HMAS Attack, in the early 2030s within budget.

The formalisation of this agreement represents the contractual basis for the program.

The decision to partner with Naval Group (formerly DCNS) was made in 2016, following a competitive evaluation process commenced by our Government after the Labor Party failed to commission even one single new ship for our Navy. During the negotiations, the Government focused on delivering an equitable and enduring agreement in the interests of our nation.

Other activities required to deliver this major program, including the development of the submarine construction yard at Osborne in South Australia, are continuing. 

The Attack class submarines are a major pillar of our $90 billion National Shipbuilding Plan, which will see 54 naval vessels built in Australia, to meet the strategic requirements set out in our 2016 Defence White Paper and giving our Navy the edge it needs in an uncertain world.

https://pmtranscripts.pmc.gov.au/release/transcript-42110

Funding to support women and children escaping domestic violence

11 February 2019

Prime Minister, Minister for Families sand Social Services, Minister for Women

Hundreds more women and children escaping domestic and family violence will have a safe place to sleep with a $78 million investment by the Morrison Government.

This investment includes a $60 million grants program for eligible organisations to provide new or expanded emergency accommodation facilities for those escaping domestic and family violence.

This program will build up to 450 safe places and assist up to 6,500 people per year. The grant program will be structured to encourage contributions from other levels of government, and from private and philanthropic sources.

A further $18 million will be invested in the Keeping Women Safe in their Homes program, which has assisted over 5,200 women since 2015-16, providing security upgrades and safety planning so women and children can remain in their own homes, if it is safe to do so.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison said this investment was a key commitment to the Fourth Action Plan 2019-2022, the final plan under the National Plan to Reduce Violence Against Women and their Children 2010-2022.

“The first priority of my government is to keep Australians safe and secure,” the Prime Minister said.

“I am focused on providing more support to women and children escaping domestic violence.

“The National Plan is one of the best examples of governments working together and the more we work together to solve this problem as partners, the better the outcome for victims and survivors of domestic violence.

“This is the third significant initiative we’ve funded for domestic violence support in as many months, following $67.2 million committed as part of the Women’s Economic Security Statement and a further $10.9 million towards 1800RESPECT, announced in late November.” 

Minister for Families and Social Services Paul Fletcher said that this investment is designed to significantly increase our national stock of emergency accommodation for women and children escaping domestic violence.

“When a woman needs to escape domestic violence, often she has very little chance to plan – she may well have raced out of the house and jumped in the car with just the clothes on her back.

“That is why it is so important there is emergency accommodation available – so a woman in this situation can have a safe place to live while she works out what she will do next.”

“I have seen in my own electorate the vital work done by the Hornsby Ku-ring-gai Women’s Shelter, which has provided emergency accommodation to nearly 300 women, 72 per cent of whom needed help due to domestic violence.

Minister for Women Kelly O’Dwyer said women had the right to be safe in their homes, in their communities, online and in their workplaces.

“The Government has zero tolerance for violence against women and this new package will make a very real difference to women and children right across Australia.”

“Today’s announcement comes on top of the more than $350 million the Government has invested to improve women’s safety since 2015.”

If you or someone you know is impacted by sexual assault, domestic or family violence, call 1800RESPECT on 1800 737 732 or visit www.1800RESPECT.org.au.

https://pmtranscripts.pmc.gov.au/release/transcript-42109

New $662 million aged care package to support older Australians

10 February 2019

Prime Minister, Minister for Health, Minister for Senior Australians and Aged Care

The Morrison Government is making a further significant investment in aged care, with $320 million for residential aged care and an additional 10,000 home care packages across all levels as part of a new $662 million package to support older Australians.

The $320 million residential aged care component equates to approximately $1,800 per permanent resident and will provide additional support to the sector, over the next 18-months, to deliver quality aged care services while the Government considers longer-term reform funding options.

It builds on the existing enhancements to the viability supplement and homelessness supplement and the $50 million investment to support the transition to the new quality standards.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison said looking after older Australians was the Government’s top priority.

“We need to have a culture of respect and care and that’s why I announced the Royal Commission into Aged Care. It’s why as Prime Minister and Treasurer I have delivered thousands of additional home care places,” the Prime Minister said.

“These places give older Australians the choice about how and where they want to live their lives.

“Older Australians have worked hard all their life, paid taxes and done their fair share, and they deserve our support.

“While we are delivering record aged care funding, Bill Shorten is raiding the savings of almost 1 million retirees.”

This new $662 million investment aims to help speed up access to home care and ensure older Australians receive safe, high-quality services when and where they need them.

It will increase aged care access and further strengthen safety, quality and transparency and allow older Australians to live in their home longer and stay independent.

This latest funding will boost aged care through:

• $282.4 million for 10,000 home care packages across all levels

• A $320 million general subsidy boost in 2018-19 to benefit senior Australians receiving residential aged care services from increased support for aged care providers

• A $4.2 million mandatory national aged care quality indicator program

• $7.7 million to enhance the safety, quality and integrity of home care

• $35.7 million to increase home care supplements for dementia and cognition and veterans

• A $4.6 million trial of a new residential care funding tool to replace the Aged Care Funding Instrument

• A new $7.4 million business advisory service for both residential and home care providers to help them improve their operations and share best practice.

Health Minister Greg Hunt said this new aged care funding boost would provide more services and security.

“Older Australians deserve the best care and support and our Government is delivering choice,” Minister Hunt said.   

“This funding ensures our older Australian have the support they need to live in their homes longer or provide significant support for the residential aged care sector.”

Aged Care Minister Ken Wyatt said the Liberal and Nationals Government was delivering record aged care funding.

“Under the Liberal and Nationals Government, aged care funding is increasing by about $1 billion each year,” Minister Wyatt said.

“This is about more choices for a longer life – giving older Australians more aged care options and the capacity to live independently for as long as possible.”

The mandatory national aged care quality indicator program for residential care includes an indicator on the use of physical restraint in line with our commitment to better regulate chemical and physical restraint in aged care.

This latest investment builds on our Government’s $552 million aged care boost in the December MYEFO, which included 10,000 high level home care packages, reduced home care fees, increased viability supplements for residential aged care, and a $98 million fee incentive for doctors visiting aged care homes.

Thanks to our Government’s strong economic management, in the past year we have announced 40,000 new home care packages and $115 million to grow the Commonwealth Home Support Program.

Unlike Labor, we are committed to funding this crucial support to those most in need. Our funding of $19.8 billion in 2018-19 is almost $6.5 billion more than Labor provided in its last full financial year (2012-13).

https://pmtranscripts.pmc.gov.au/release/transcript-42108

Doorstop with the Minister for Immigration, Citizenship and Multicultural Affairs

9 February 2019

Prime Minister, Minister for Immigration Citizenship and Multicultural Affairs

PRIME MINISTER: Well, good morning. It’s great to be here with David Coleman, not only the Minister for Immigration, Citizenship and Multicultural Affairs but of course the Member for Banks and my neighbour as the Member for Cook. It’s wonderful to be here with David and to be part of the Lunar New Year celebrations which are going on all around the country. So xin nian kuai le to all of those and gong xi fa cai to everyone to continuing to engage in those celebrations from the Vietnamese, the Chinese and Korean communities. It’s a wonderful time of family and celebration and recognising the great contribution of particularly the Chinese community to Australia, and all of these communities, to Australia and the incredible, strong relationships that we have with China, with Korea and Vietnam. There is a major Vietnamese celebration on this evening where David will be representing me. So it’s wonderful to be here for that purpose, that’s why we’re in Penshurst.

But given we’re both together today I thought it was an important opportunity to make this very simple point to Bill Shorten; there is no form of this bill that is acceptable. This bill is not only a bill that will undermine – in any form – the Government’s successful border protection regime. It is also a completely unnecessary bill. Children, the last four with their bags packed to go to the United States, will be off Nauru. We have announced at the beginning of this week, a measure that does not require legislation, that provides the transparency and assurance to Australians about the medical services that are provided. There is no form of this bill that makes our border protection stronger or fairer. All it does is weaken that border protection. There is no middle ground to be sought here, there is only the right ground that we stand on, that we have stood on for decades. We’ve had to solve Labor’s problem of opening our borders, not once, but twice. And Labor are still enticed into this folly of seeking to undermine it. Already, they have said that they will abolish temporary protection visas, just like they did last time when the boats came.

They have already now put us in this position where Bill Shorten is still toying with the idea of passing legislation that would lead to the undermining of our successful border protection regime. He has finally accepted a briefing after five days. That briefing and the advice that the Government has received has been declassified and has been made available. What it says is pretty clear; if you go ahead with this, detention centres like the one at Christmas Island will have to be reopened. That will not only open our borders again but it will lead to a cost to tax payers of at least $1.4 billion, because those estimates don’t include the restarting of the boats, that’s just dealing with the 1,000 people that we would expect to make their way from the regional processing locations to Australia.

This bill is folly. This bill, however positively it might be motivated by some, it’s detail, it’s construction, can only unpick and undermine the strong border protection framework that we have worked hard to put in place and that has been successful.

If Bill breaks this, he owns it. If Bill breaks this, he has taken Australia into this position and it will be on his head in terms of what follows from this. We have always remained resolute in our position on border protection and we will remain exactly in that position.

I want to ask the Minister to make a few comments on that and then there’s one other matter I’d like to address before we take questions.

THE HON DAVE COLEMAN, MINISTER FOR IMMIGRATION, CITIZENSHIP AND MULTICULTURAL AFFAIRS: Thanks PM. Our Government has been extremely successful in securing our borders, stopping the boats and getting people out of detention. There were 2,000 kids in detention when we came to office, we got them all out. As the Prime Minister said, all of the children on Nauru but for four that will shortly travel to the United States, have been removed from Nauru. You can only do that when you have secure borders and when those borders are managed by the Government. Now Bill Shorten’s law – and let’s be clear on this, this is Bill Shorten’s law, it’s not Kerryn Phelp’s law. There’s one Kerryn Phelps but 19 Labor senators who already voted for this law. This isn’t theoretical, Labor voted for this law already in December and if they’d had their way, it would have become the law of Australia in December. That just shows the political opportunism of the Leader of the Opposition and his wiliness to play politics with this most crucial of issues.

Now if Bill Shorten’s law comes into being, we anticipate within weeks, substantially all of the 1,000 people who are on Manus and Nauru will come to Australia. We expect that will overwhelm our existing systems in the management of arrivals from offshore processing centres and we expect that will mean the Christmas Island detention centre will need to be reopened. Now we’ve closed 19 detention centres that Labor opened. The reason we’ve been able to close them is because we’ve secured our borders and stopped the boats. The law that Labor voted for in December is extraordinary, it is incredibly badly thought-through. It will lead to the effective end of offshore processing as we know it. What that means is that people smugglers say; “There’s an opportunity,” and the boats start again. Incredibly, Bill Shorten’s law applies not only to the people that are on Manus and Nauru now, but also any future arrivals. So any future arrival who comes to Manus or Nauru simply needs to get two doctors in Australia to say that they should come to Australia for assessment and they will come. That is an extraordinarily low bar and it means that the integrity of offshore processing will be fatally undermined. As the PM said; there is no middle ground on this. We have a very strong record and this law would bring to an end offshore processing and would lead to a restarting of boat arrivals.

PRIME MINISTER: Thank you David. Now, we’re talking about border protection and on Monday I’ll be talking a lot more about our plan for a safer and more secure Australia and those issues go beyond defence and border protection and terrorism and things of that nature. They also go to keeping Australians safe in their homes and they go to keeping Australian kids safe online. That’s why I’m pleased that today we are announcing $10 million to support a grants programme, to support not-for-profit organisations that are working in our communities to keep kids safe online. Also, working with the Alannah and Madeline Foundation to work up a concept, a proposal that can lead to the establishment of digital licenses. This is I think an important initiative. There’s a lot of work still to be done, but today – David and I are parents, in fact our kids go to the same schools – and there’s nothing that more terrifies parents, it certainly does me as a dad of two girls, about the safety of kids online. We all have these conversations with our kids and we all need to, but we also need to work as a community to keep our kids safe online. It is a dangerous place. It’s a place where they can learn many things, where they can connect with their friends and that’s all fine, it has many positive purposes and uses. But we also need to know that our kids are as safe being online as they are at the local playground or in their school. That’s why I’m pleased to announce that this is part of what I mean when I say I want to keep Australians safe. It’s not just from terrorism, it’s not just from the external threats and the bolstering of our Defence Force and our security agencies. It’s about keeping our kids safe, it’s about keeping women safe, it’s about ensuring the broader safety of all Australians in our community and in their homes.

But Minister Fifield will have more to say about that later today and I want to thank the Alannah and Madeline Foundation for their cooperation in working through this. But also, again pay tribute to our Australian Heroes of the Year who started Dolly’s Dream, it’s a great legacy they’ve established and we’re pleased to work with them in any way we can.

Happy to take questions.

JOURNALIST: Why is the Government assuming the cost over the next five years? Whether these people would have gone on to the US or other countries by then?

PRIME MINISTER: No, what we’ve done here is we have asked our agencies to tell us what we would have to do in the event this bill was passed. Their advice to us is that these detention centres would have to be reopened, because it would overwhelm our existing network. The cost of that over the Budget and forward estimates would be $1.4 billion and that’s a pretty conservative estimate. Because as I said, that doesn’t even take into account any restarting of arrivals which they also note is a likely outcome from this. So $1.4 billion is the opening gambit, it only gets worse from there. Remember when Labor lost control of the borders, it cost an additional $11.6 billion. That’s when Chris Bowen, the now shadow treasurer who wants to become the Treasurer, he couldn’t control the borders and it cost the Budget an additional $11.6 billion.

JOURNALIST: There are medical doctors saying this bill or some variation of this bill is necessary. Do you say - 

PRIME MINISTER: No, I absolutely reject that. I absolutely reject it, we have the medical processes in place and what the Minister and I announced on Monday, I think provides an appropriate assurance and transparency around that process. We cannot have Australia’s borders determined by panels of medical professionals. They have a role to play in the system and they play that role, but ultimately that decision must rest with the sovereign, elected Government. You cannot contract these decisions out, you can’t compromise on this.

I’ve seen this before. When Labor were floundering in Government last time, I was the shadow minister, I saw it, I lived it every day. All they tried to do was solve the politics in the media cycle every day and they refused to confront, head-on, the serious problem. We’re not doing that. I’m not looking for a compromise with Bill Shorten, he’s the one who has created this diabolical situation. He’s the one who can end it by simply saying; “We’re voting against the bill, that’s it, we made a mistake.” Let’s move on.

JOURNALIST: So you can categorically [inaudible] rule out any coming to the table –

PRIME MINISTER: There’s no table to come to. There’s no table to come to, this isn’t about a compromise. There’s no need for this bill, it is completely unnecessary and the ground we’re on is the right ground. We’d simply say, if you’re for border protection, you’ll stand with us on this ground, to the Leader of the Opposition. Why he’s decided to go where he has gone, only he can explain. He’s already demonstrated to date a very serious weakness and failing. He has been tempted by the opportunity of some sort of political humiliation of the Government in the Parliament. Well, I’ll cop that if it means protecting our borders. If that’s what Bill Shorten prizes, he can have it. He can have it, I’ll have the Government’s position on stronger borders any day of the week.

JOURNALIST: Were the costings done by a Government department?

PRIME MINISTER: Yes.

JOURNALIST:  By your office or a Minister’s office?

PRIME MINISTER: They were done by the Department of Finance. It was done as part of the process of Home Affairs advising the Government about what our response would have to be and those costings were done in the normal way by the Finance Department. It wasn’t about costing Opposition policies, this was about costing what the Government’s response would have to be in the event, as a contingency of this bill being passed. So they are official Finance costings.

JOURNALIST: How much would the Government save by winding back operations on Manus and Nauru?

PRIME MINISTER: Well, as you know Manus is closed. That centre has already closed and we maintain and will always maintain regional processing on Nauru because it is a key part of the border protection framework. I can tell you what it costs if we close it; at least $11.6 billion because that’s what it cost last time Labor lost control of the borders. You close regional processing and you shut it down at your peril. I remember having to argue until I was hoarse in Opposition; you must reopen offshore processing and Labor fought it and they fought and they fought it and they eventually relented in the dying days of their government. Yet here they are again. I mean how many elections do we have to have on this issue for the Labor Party to get it? We just want strong borders and to keep the policies that are working. Why is Bill Shorten playing around with this? It defies any sense and betrays a great weakness on his part.

JOURNALIST: Will you remove Tim Wilson as chair of the franking credits inquiry?

PRIME MINISTER: No of course not. I think Tim is giving a voice to retirees around the country and the Labor Party can’t stand it. They have treated these retirees with contempt and disrespect. They have said; “They don’t pay tax.” These are people who have paid tax all their lives, all their lives and it’s insulting and offensive what the Labor Party has been saying. I’m not surprised they’re furious and they’re turning up the hearing to voice that. Tim and his entire committee have given these Australians a voice and I think they should commended for that.

JOURNALIST: You’ve said this bill would mean murders and rapists will come to Australia.

PRIME MINISTER: I said it can allow it.

JOURNALIST: Are there murders and rapists in those detention centres?

PRIME MINISTER: This bill doesn’t just apply to those who are here now, it applies prospectively. What it fails to do is provide those protections, that’s just a simple legal fact. A simple legal fact and it makes the point that David has made and I think he’s put it rightly; this is Shorten’s bill. This is Shorten’s ‘ending offshore processing’ bill. That’s what this bill is, because if he votes against it, then it’s gone. If he votes for it, it’s likely to pass and what that bill does is it changes the border protection arrangement for the worse, not for the better. You can’t fix this bill, you can’t fix it. You can’t make it better, it’s an unnecessary bill. It’s time to bin it and for him to admit that this was not something they should have even entertained. That fact that they even entertained it I think has already given Australians sufficient  cause for concern about the real weakness that lies at the heart of Bill Shorten and the Labor Party.

https://pmtranscripts.pmc.gov.au/release/transcript-42107

More support to keep children safe online

9 February 2019

Prime Minister, Minister for Communications and the Arts

The Morrison Government is today announcing further measures to support families and keep children safe online.

We are investing $10 million in a new Online Safety Grants Program to enable non-government organisations (NGOs) to deliver practical online safety education and training projects.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison said one of our Government’s top priorities was keeping our kids safe online.

“Every mum and dad, including me and Jen, worries about our kids when they go online.  It’s terrifying for parents,” the Prime Minister said.

“Jenny and I sit down with our girls and talk to them about being safe and responsible.

“We all have a role to play to ensure our children have the tools and information they need to stay safe whenever they are online.

“We’ve seen too many tragic cases of online abuse and bullying. This new suite of measures will help keep our children stay safe online and support parents, community leaders and teachers to do our bit.

“Organisations, like the Alannah and Madeline Foundation and Dolly’s Dream are doing some great work in this space and we need to follow their lead.”

Following a request from eminent child psychologist Dr Michael Carr Gregg, the Government will commission a review of ‘digital licences’ and other tools designed to build and test children’s online safety skills.

The Government recognises that there are a number of organisations already doing good work in this space.

We will look at existing tools, in particular the ‘eSmart Digital Licence’ developed by the Alannah and Madeline Foundation.

Communications Minister Mitch Fifield said our highest obligation as a society is to protect our kids and that’s why safety of children online is a major focus of this Government.

“We’ve already done some good work in the online environment. We’ve established the world’s first eSafety Commissioner. We’ve legislated a kids cyber-bullying material take-down regime. But the community expect us to do more,” Minister Fifield said.

The independent review will also explore the elements that make up an effective competency-based program for educating children about online safety.

The review will examine whether the current online safety training and testing tools available for children are effective, and if any improvements are needed.

“For our children and young people, the online world is now as much a part of their lives as the offline world. These measures will ensure they have the knowledge and practical skills they need to be safe and responsible online,” Minister Fifield said.

The Online Safety Grants Program will enable non-government organisations to deliver practical, on-the-ground improvements to online safety for Australian children. 

The program will be administered by the Office of the eSafety Commissioner which was established by the Coalition in 2015 as a world-first statutory authority for the community’s online safety. 

Today’s announcement builds on the $17 million Keeping our Children Safe Online package announced last December which included new resources for parents and carers, an online safety research program and the development of an Online Safety Charter for digital platforms.

https://pmtranscripts.pmc.gov.au/release/transcript-42106

Extraordinary measures to help North Queensland farmers

8 February 2019

Prime Minister, Premier of Queensland

Queensland farmers hit by devastating floods will receive more support, with Prime Minister Scott Morrison and Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk increasing grants from $25,000 to $75,000. 

The Prime Minister said the assistance is being provided through the joint Commonwealth-Queensland Disaster Recovery Funding Arrangements (DRFA).

“Widespread flooding in Queensland has had an enormous impact on already struggling farmers, flattening crops and devastating livestock,” the Prime Minister said.

“The images of hundreds of dead cattle in western Queensland floodwaters is heartbreaking.

“The flooding is not over but we already know the situation is dire for many communities.

“Queensland’s farmers need our support now, which is why this assistance is being made available immediately.

“The money is available to farmers in nine local shires, and can be used for things like the hiring and leasing of equipment, purchasing fodder, salvaging feed or crops and repairing essential plant and equipment.

“The Commonwealth Government is also contributing $3 million to bolster mental health services on the ground.

“The Commonwealth’s contribution to North Queensland, as a result of these floods, is now over $100 million.”

Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said stock losses would be immense with some farmers in Queensland reporting 100 per cent of their herds lost.

“Almost two years of rain has fallen on an area that weeks ago was in drought,” the Premier said.

“Weakened cattle that have managed to survive the floodwaters are still unable to get to feed as properties remain isolated and in some cases, the water continues to rise.

“We have had reports of a station near Julia Creek that normally runs approximately 70,000 head of cattle and they have only been able to locate 1,000 of their herd to date. 

“Another producer in the same area has reported 3,000 head of cattle have been lost so we need to provide as much assistance as we can to these farmers immediately.

“The Queensland Government will continue to work closely with the Commonwealth Government to provide additional assistance to other impacted primary producers as information comes to hand.

“It’s important for all levels of government and industry to work together in response to these devastating and protracted floods and the Queensland Government and Queensland farmers thank the Commonwealth for their assistance so far.” 

https://pmtranscripts.pmc.gov.au/release/transcript-42105

Prime Minister's Literary Awards open for entries

7 February 2019

Prime Minister, Minister for Communications and the Arts

The 2019 Prime Minister’s Literary Awards are now open for entries. 

The Prime Minister said the Awards celebrate Australia’s most talented authors, poets, illustrators and historians and acknowledge their influence on contemporary Australian literature and our understanding of Australian history.

“We’re committed to supporting the literary arts and its contribution to Australia’s cultural and intellectual life,” the Prime Minister said.

“I encourage all Australian authors, publishers and producers to take part in this prestigious award which continues to grow each year.”

Minister for Communications and the Arts Mitch Fifield said the Awards had supported hundreds of Australian authors since they were first established and continued to showcase the best of Australian writing.

“Over the past 11 years there have been 242 shortlisted authors and 70 winning authors. Last year we received more than 500 entries from emerging and established writers and illustrators highlighting the diversity of our literary sector,” Minister Fifield said.

Awards are presented across six categories: children’s and young adult literature, fiction, poetry, non-fiction and Australian history. The Australian history category is open to a range of media including journals, magazines, film, radio and online content.

Expert judging panels from across the industry assess all entries and make recommendations to the Prime Minister. Prize money is awarded in each category with up to $80,000 for winners and $5,000 for shortlisted books.  

Submissions close on 15 March 2019.

To be eligible, entries must have been published or released between 1 January 2018 and 31 December 2018.  Entry forms and guidelines are available at: www.arts.gov.au/pmla

https://pmtranscripts.pmc.gov.au/release/transcript-42103

$121 million to bust congestion in east and south-east Melbourne

7 February 2019

Prime Minister, Minister for Cities Urban Infrastructure and Population

Motorists and public transport users in east and south-east Melbourne will benefit from a $121 million investment in congestion busting infrastructure.

The funding injection includes $68 million in park and ride facilities at six locations - Croydon, Mitcham, Ringwood, Ferntree Gully, Hampton and Bentleigh.

This investment will deliver more than 1,500 new car spaces for daily commuters who would otherwise have to sit in traffic when travelling to the CBD.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison said additional car parking and removing pinch points and bottlenecks will make a real difference to the lives of people living in the outer east and south-east regions of Melbourne.

“Michael Sukkar, Tony Smith, Jason Wood and Tim Wilson have all called for congestion busting investments to help local families and businesses,” Prime Minister Morrison said.

“I am focused on delivering for Melbourne where congestion is increasingly taking away the time that families get to spend around the dinner table at night.

“We want people spending less time stuck in traffic and more time at home with their families and working in their businesses - this is what matters.”

The $121 million investment also includes:

• $20 million for intersection upgrades, including traffic lights, and widening works in the southbound direction on the Maroondah Highway from Melba Highway to Ingram Road.

• $17.8 million for eight intersection upgrades along the Princes Highway at Beaconsfield Avenue; O’Neil Road; Brunt Road; Bayview Road; Tivendale Road; McMullen Road; Arena Parade; and Thewlis Road.

• $13 million to upgrade the McGregor Road and Pakenham Bypass interchange on the Princes Highway to assist motorists needing to exit or enter the Freeway from the east.

• $2.5 million for improvements in the westbound direction on Plymouth Road between Narr-Maen Drive and Midhurst Road in Croydon.

In total, the Liberal and Nationals Government is delivering $261 million for 14 projects across Melbourne as part of the $1 billion Urban Congestion Fund.

Federal Member for Deakin Michael Sukkar said parking at local train stations has been an issue consistently raised by local residents.

“I am really pleased to be delivering this critical infrastructure, making life easier for local commuters who struggle to get a car park in the morning. Improving parking at our local train stations will also reduce congestion on our roads and further encourage commuters on to public transport,” said Mr Sukkar.

“The upgrade to Plymouth Rd will make school drop-offs and pick-ups safer for students and parents at local schools as well as take pressure off local roads around the McAdam Square Shopping Centre.”

Federal Member for Casey Tony Smith said $20 million of federal funding for duplication works and traffic lights in Coldstream will be warmly welcomed by the local community who have been advocating for these much needed improvements.

“Maroondah Highway is the key gateway to the Yarra Valley. When completed, the project will not only reduce congestion and improve safety for local residents and businesses, but also for those who commute from Yarra Glen and Healesville each day, and for the millions of tourists who drive through Coldstream to visit the Yarra Valley,” said Mr Smith.

Federal Member for La Trobe Jason Wood said he had been fighting for extra funding to help reduce congestion on local roads.

“I’m very pleased to deliver more than $30 million in funding to help with these two important local projects,” Mr Wood said.

“Because of our growing economy, we are able to deliver the services and infrastructure our community desperately needs.”

Federal Member for Goldstein Tim Wilson said car parking at train stations is critical to ease people’s daily commutes.

“This $8 million will be a game changer for public transport in Bayside and Glen Eira and conserve the liveability of our community,” Mr Wilson said.

Minister for Cities, Urban Infrastructure and Population Alan Tudge said he understood the frustration of Melbourne commuters stuck in traffic on a daily basis.

“I’ve seen firsthand why congestion in Melbourne in now rated worse than Sydney,” Minister Tudge said.

“This investment will help to deliver a more reliable road network for Melbourne commuters and builds on a commitment of more than $20 billion to Victorian road and rail projects since 2013, including $7.8 billion in last year’s Budget.”

Major projects supported by the Liberal and Nationals Government, which are already underway across Melbourne, include the M80 Ring Road and Monash Freeway upgrades, the North East Link, and the Melbourne Airport Rail Link.

https://pmtranscripts.pmc.gov.au/release/transcript-42101

New multicultural centre for Berwick

7 February 2019

The Morrison Government is backing a new state-of-the-art Multicultural Education and Resource Centre in Berwick with a $500,000 grant.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison said the centre would feature its own library and be used as a place for the community to meet and spend quality time with each other.

“Our government is focused on keeping Australians together and this new centre will be a boost for Berwick and communities across Melbourne,” the Prime Minister said.

“Our $500,000 investment in the new centre is about giving people a place to meet friends and run cultural events.

“Backing local culture breathes life into a community, lifts local pride and boosts the morale of the people who live there.” 

Federal Member for La Trobe Jason Wood said the new centre would showcase the community’s history and personality by bringing diverse members of the community together to share knowledge and skills.

“Whether young or old, this project will provide a place for Berwick residents to relax and socialise and enjoy the benefits of community life and culture.”

“A new facility like the Multicultural Education and Resource Centre will encourage people to come along and enjoy common experiences and reflect on what it means to belong.”

The estimated cost of the development is $1 million with the Australian Government providing $500,000, the Victorian Government $240,000 and Buddhist Vihara Victoria Incorporated $260,000.

https://pmtranscripts.pmc.gov.au/release/transcript-42126

Doorstop, Skye Victoria

6 February 2019

CHRIS CREWTHER MP: I’m Chris Crewther, the Federal Member for Dunkley. I’m here at the intersection of Greenwood Drive and Ballarto Road with the Prime Minister Scott Morrison, Minister Alan Tudge and the Mayor of Frankston City Council, Councillor Michael O’Reilly. I’m very pleased to be here today with the Prime Minister and the Minister to announce $30 million for intersection upgrades along Ballarto Road, including Greenwood Drive, Dion Drive, Potts Road and elsewhere. Since Carrum Downs, Skye and Sandhurst all came into my electorate, residents have raised with me on a continual basis how hard it is to get in and out of residential streets, particularly during peak hour times. Skye CFA have also raised the issue of just getting onto Ballarto Road to fight fires and that can be very difficult at peak times. So this will resolve intersections along the road, it will mean families can spend more time at home, it means safer roads and it means quicker response times for the Skye CFA along this road.

PRIME MINISTER: Thank you. Well thank you very much Chris and to Alan and to Michael, thank you for being here with us today. Can I first of all congratulate you Chris. I mean, we can’t go and make these congestion-busting investments unless we have the people on the ground who know what they’re talking about and are in touch with their local communities. So the way the congestion-busting fund works is that Alan as the Minister for congestion busting, works with the local members to identify what those key priorities are. It can be as frustrating trying to get onto these key corridors, as it can sometimes be being on them. The congestion-busting fund, whether it’s here in Victoria or up in south east Queensland where I was last week, are all about doing two important things; getting families together at night, ensuring that parents can get home more readily and more safely and they can spend time together as a family. Secondly, it’s about ensuring that people running small businesses, tradies and others - and those that we’ve just heard from, the Skye CFA who I just met with just before coming here - can get to where they need to get to quickly and safely as well, to do the job. If you’re a tradie, you don’t get paid for sitting in a traffic jam or trying to get onto a road, you get paid for being on site. What this congestion-busting fund is delivering is exactly that.

$30 million here for Ballarto Road to do the upgrades, but also $50 million for two projects. $50 million for the Calder Corridor which I’ll ask Alan to speak to, and the Hume Corridor. These other important parts of the road network here that will enable people to be able to get home sooner, get home safer, to where they need to be.

So Alan, thanks again for the great planning work you’ve done. You’re linking all of these great projects together and it’s a great way to ensure that this urban congestion fund iS delivering exactly what it was designed to do when I handed down the Budget in May. Thanks Alan.

THE HON ALAN TUDGE MP, MINISTER FOR CITIES, URBAN INFRASTRUCTURE AND POPULATION: Well thanks very much, Prime Minister and Chris. We’ve got $20 billion worth of infrastructure projects being delivered here in Victoria. That included $7.8 billion just at the last Budget. Most of that money is going towards the big corridors, the big rail, the big road projects, such as $5 billion for the airport rail. Half a million dollars to upgrade the Monash. $225 million to electrify the line from Frankston to Baxter, which Chris has so strongly supported and many other projects. This urban congestion fund project is actually aimed at those small pinch points where, as the Prime Minister says, sometimes you spend as much time getting held up in traffic in those pinch points as you do being held up in traffic on the major corridors such as the Monash Freeway.

Today we’re announcing four projects. We’ve heard a little bit about Ballarto Road from Chris, $30 million going in there. We’re also funding two $50 million projects. The Calder Freeway, which is already heavily congested, particularly on the inbound traffic and there, we’re going to be investing money in order to improve the capacity from Gap Road all the way down to the Ring Road which is the most congested area. We estimate, the forecasts are, for the traffic to increase by 3,000 cars per hour to about 4,000 cars per hour during peak hour. If we don’t do anything, the traffic will slow by almost half. So we’re investing there to improve the traffic flow.

Then on the Hume Freeway - and everyone knows the Hume Freeway, it’s a massive corridor between here and Sydney - it’s particularly congested in the last section before you hit the Ring Road. So, another $50 million investment there to increase the capacity of that and that will complement some of the other work which we already have going on with the State Government at the intersection of O’Hearns Road and the Hume Freeway. Then this afternoon we’ll be announcing smaller projects with Kevin Andrews and that’s just a small corridor there of $10 million.

Together, these projects will really make a practical difference to the lives of Melburnians. I’m born and bred Melbourne; I know the congestion of this city. We need to be investing and we are investing and what these local projects are about, is getting people home sooner and safer.

MICHAEL O’REILLY, MAYOR OF FRANKSTON: I’ll just be very brief. First of all I’ll just thank the Prime Minister, our local member Chris Crewther and Minister Tudge for coming out today. The one thing I get as Mayor of Frankston is complaints about the traffic congestion here in Carrum Downs. There are only a few exits onto Ballarto Road and as you can see, it’s the middle of the day and we have already traffic going up and down in an extremely busy state. When this gets to rush hour, people are sitting in their cars, coming out of the intersections, constantly. So this is an amazing thing for not only Frankston City but for the people of Carrum Downs. So I thank everyone for their contribution.

PRIME MINISTER: So we’re listening and we’re doing. It’s a big priority for our Government; congestion-busting in growing cities all around the country. Let’s take some questions on the announcement today and then I’m happy to address other issues as well.

JOURNALIST: The state government says; “Thanks for this and now can we have $3 billion for the East-West Link”. Are you going to hand that over?

PRIME MINISTER: Well that currently is part of a contingency which is in the Budget and is still there, there's a Budget in April this year.

JOURNALIST: Are you able to elaborate a little bit more on exactly what upgrades are going to take place here at Ballarto Road? Is it widening, is it adding some lanes, duplicating?

PRIME MINISTER: I’d be happy for Chris to answer, explaining the details of the project.

CHRIS CREWTHER MP: So in a number of different intersections along this road, we are looking to upgrade those intersections so people can get in and out of the residential streets easier. So for example, they include lights, they include lanes so that people can actually merge with the traffic instead of sitting perpendicular with the intersection and it may include other upgrades as well to reduce that congestion. At Potts Road for example it will include lights and then the option to press a buzzer so the CFA can actually control those lights and get out to fires when they need to do that. But importantly, there are many roads along here that intersect such as Greenwood, Dion Drive, Potts Road and other intersections. We are looking to upgrade as many of those intersections as possible so people can spend more time at home with their families.

JOURNALIST: [Inaudible] you’ve asked the Premier to match this funding but he says he found out about it when he read it in the newspaper. Is that correct?

PRIME MINISTER: We welcome their investment in the project and we’ll work closely together with the Victorian Government. We work closely with them on a whole range of projects and I’m looking forward to working with Premier Andrews and that’s why I sent him a note after his recent re-election saying just that.

JOURNALIST: Are you meeting with him during your time in Melbourne?

PRIME MINISTER: Not today, but we catch up. I saw him just the other day actually when I was down here for the Anniversary of the Black Saturday Fires.

JOURNALIST: But a face to face meeting?

PRIME MINISTER: I don’t have one planned today, no.

JOURNALIST: Just to clarify, so you expect in the Budget there will be some announcement around the $3 billion?

PRIME MINISTER: I just said the Budget is in April, that’s all I said. There’s currently a contingency, that provision sits in the Budget currently on this and we’ll be looking at that. That’s there for the East West Link. That’s what it’s there for.

JOURNALIST: [Inaudible]

PRIME MINISTER: It’s a contingent liability, it’s there in the event that it’s triggered by a state government wanting to do that project, then there is the contingent commitment that we’ve made and that’s how it sits on the books.

JOURNALIST: Hakeem al-Araibi and Thailand, have you managed to speak on the phone to your Thai counterpart?

PRIME MINISTER: I have written two letters now to the Thai Prime Minister and our consular officials and others have been using every opportunity they have, to press the case to bring Hakeem home. We’ve also been pressing that case with the Government of Bahrain as well.

I’d simply say this; it is within the executive authority of the Thai Government to actually enable him, under their law, to be returned to Australia. I have pointed this out in the engagements I have had with the Thai Prime Minister and what I have also stressed is that the Australian people and the Thai people have a wonderful people-to-people relationship. I have stressed just how strongly Australians feel about this and I would be very disappointed if as a result of how this matter has handled, that the relationship between us the Thai and Australian people were affected. I would be very disappointed about that. So I have appealed to the Prime Minister to take that into account. They do have the authority to use those executive controls for him to come home. So we’re going to continue to work patiently and respectfully to secure that outcome.

JOURNALIST: Labor is calling on Tim Wilson to resign over a conflict of interest. Do you think he has a conflict of interest?

PRIME MINISTER: So the Labor Party aren't content with arrogantly dismissing thousands upon thousands, hundreds of thousands of retirees around our country who they basically want to steal money from with higher taxes. Now they’re going to throw mud at the person who is giving those retirees a voice? Labor frankly have no shame when it comes to this issue. They don’t want to listen to retirees, they have arrogantly dismissed them and now they want to shut down people who are trying to give retirees a voice.

This is classic Labor, classic thuggish Labor, throwing mud wherever they can because they do not want to face up to the fact that they’re putting a $5 billion a year tax on the retirees. It’s egregious. These people have paid taxes all their lives and what does Chris Bowen and Bill Shorten say to them? They haven’t paid any tax. I mean seriously, how offensive is that? So look, they’ll throw mud, they’ll treat retirees with disrespect. But I tell you what; those retirees will be remembering Bill Shorten when they go into those ballot boxes.

JOURNALIST: So you won’t be sacking Tim Wilson?

PRIME MINISTER: No.

JOURNALIST: It’s $160,000 in taxpayers money, is it right to be politicising a parliamentary committee?

PRIME MINISTER: I think it is great that retirees all around the country have got a voice and they can bring forward their concerns in this forum. I mean, that’s what the Parliament is supposed to be about; giving Australians a voice. Bill Shorten wants to shut them down, arrogantly dismiss them and take their money. No wonder they’re upset.

JOURNALIST: On the Royal Commission Prime Minister, why would the Government continue grandfathering [inaudible]?

PRIME MINISTER: Well I note that the Labor Party is yet to fully respond to the Royal Commission. The Government has provided a full response, we did that when we released the Royal Commission Report on Monday. The Labor Party is still using words like “in principle” and all the rest of it, so I don’t know what their response is at this time. I’ll wait to see what their full response is, when they get around to providing it.

But what I do know is that we are acting on all 76 recommendations and we’re going to do it carefully and we’re going to do it in a considered way. I’ve been a Treasurer and when you’re preparing legislation and making big changes in the financial system, you do it carefully, because otherwise, you can put the system at risk. So Bill Shorten might want to cobble together legislation and throw it around in the Parliament, that may have been how he ran things when he was the Financial Services Minister and did nothing about Storm Financial and all the other financial collapses. He didn’t call a Royal Commission, he didn’t do anything. So now, we will wait for him to give his response. But as a Government, we’ll be taking action on this for years, we will continue to take action and we’ll continue to take action on the 76 recommendations of the report.

JOURNALIST: On the Phelps bill, is it fair to say that any two doctors can sign off on an asylum seeker coming to Australia and the only way it can be rejected is if a Minister decides it’s on national security grounds?

PRIME MINISTER: What the Phelps inspired bill does is contract border protection away from the government to any two doctors. It can be any two doctors. No one has been pre-approved, it could be no one who has any sense or understanding of what the security issues are at risk. There is insufficient provisions in that bill to do any proper security assessments. But worse than that, it doesn’t provide for the usual arrangements which would enable us to reject someone coming to Australia because they have a criminal history. They may be a paedophile, they may be a rapist, they may be a murderer and this bill would mean that we would just have to take them.

So this is what will happen. If Bill Shorten does not put national security ahead of his own political opportunism, hundreds upon hundreds upon hundreds of single males - because there are no kids on Nauru as you know, I made that clear on Sunday, the last four are on their way to the United States - hundreds of them will have to be transferred to Australia at the directive of doctors, not the Government. This will mean we will have to reopen detention centres that we closed, like Christmas Island. We shut Christmas Island. This will cost a serious amount of money on the Australian taxpayer and it’ll undermine the successful border protection framework that has stopped the boats and ensured the integrity of our borders for the last five and a half years.

So I said to Bill Shorten last night; if you break it, you own it. And I would implore him to step back and put national interest and national security ahead of what is just flagrant political opportunism.

JOURNALIST: If you lose that vote, will that be a trigger for an election?

PRIME MINISTER: No, of course not. Why would it be?

JOURNALIST: Is it actually going to get to a vote in the next two weeks, the next two sitting weeks?

PRIME MINISTER: Well that’s how it’s scheduled, yeah.

JOURNALIST: Will you try and delay it?

PRIME MINISTER: No.

JOURNALIST: Has Cathy McGowan given you an assurance she won’t vote for the Kerryn Phelps bill?

PRIME MINISTER: Cathy is still considering her position, but let me be clear, this isn’t about Cathy McGowan. This is about Bill Shorten. This bill passes if Bill Shorten votes for it. So the border protection framework which has been so successful, which I was the architect of, if Bill Shorten wants to tear it down, he will instruct his party to vote for this bill coming back from the Senate.

So it’s on you, Bill. Here’s the test. Whichever way it goes, we will have passed the test, because we have stood up for having the right border protection framework in Australia. As for Bill Shorten, who knows what he believes?

JOURNALIST: On the banks, they had their best day on the share market in a long time yesterday. It is a sign that the Royal Commission was a bit soft on them?

PRIME MINISTER: No, I think what it showed was that Commissioner Hayne has done a very sound and responsible job. I think he has managed the issues in a very appropriate way. I think it’s a very well-considered report and it provides a lot of action for us to now follow through on, which we are doing. But equally, he has been able to do it in a way which has minimised disruptions to the financial system which has always been a key issue. We had seen as a result of the Commission a tightening in credit around the country which has had an economic impact which Australians full well know. That’s why we have to continue to manage this issue very carefully.

We will take the action that is necessary, we will do it in a responsible and measured way as the Treasurer has been indicating and illustrating. The financial system is in a safe pair of hands in terms of ensuring that it continues to perform the vital role it does in the Australian economy and the Labor Party will just frankly play politics with it. Remember, the financial system is where you get your mortgage, it’s where you get your loans, it’s how you finance your car, it’s how you run your business, it’s what your job depends on. So you don’t go around just playing around with this sort of thing. You’ve got to be very careful and considered in how you do these things and that’s exactly what the Government has done. My voice is starting to give way, so...

JOURNALIST: Are you sick a bit?

PRIME MINISTER: Oh well I’ve been up in Townsville, I’ve been down in Hobart, we’ve been travelling a lot and I’ve met thousands upon thousands of people, literally, wishing them all a happy Chinese New Year as well so you’re bound to pick up a bug here or there.

JOURNALIST: Huang Xiangmo, do you think he’ll ever be allowed back into Australia?

PRIME MINISTER: Well look, you wouldn’t expect me to comment on those issues. They’re sensitive matters. The Government has always acted consistent with the advice that we receive and that’s what has happened on this occasion.

JOURNALIST: With the money he has donated to the major parties, should it be returned?

PRIME MINISTER: Well, from the first of January this year, the bill that we put to the Parliament to outlaw foreign donations - so the Liberal Party and the National Party, that was our initiative - that came into effect on the first of January this year and we’re fully compliant with it.

We’ve introduced the law to ban foreign donations. That’s what we did, that’s the action we took. In relation to past donations, well the actions we’ve been taking in relation to this gentleman, that’s based on information that exists today. I’m not in a position to say what the position was several years ago. So where these things have happened in good faith - and we know that donations have been made to many political parties, not just one - then we have prospective laws that deal with that into the future and I think that’s the responsible way to deal with it.

JOURNALIST: Just on climate change, the Climate Council has released a report today talking about Australia’s extreme weather. What are you doing about climate change?

PRIME MINISTER: We’re going to reduce emissions by 26-28 per cent by 2030 through our Emissions Reductions Fund and the many other measures that we have. We’re meeting our targets, that’s what we’re doing. We’ve set our targets, we’re meeting them. We hit Kyoto 1, we’re going to smash Kyoto 2 and we’ll meet 2030 in a canter with the measures we’ll have in place to achieve that.

So I think Australians expect their Government to take action on climate change and we are, but what we won’t do it this; we won’t put a 45 per cent target on the Australian economy that will shut down industries, that will shut down jobs. That’s what the Labor Party wants to do. It’s bad enough that they want to put $200 billion of higher taxes on Australians all around the country. A deadweight on the Australian economy, as we go into some difficult times. They want to make matters worse with a reckless target that will shut down jobs all across Australia. We won’t be doing that, we have a responsible target and we have the programs to meet them. Thanks very much.

https://pmtranscripts.pmc.gov.au/release/transcript-42100

$140 million to bust congestion north & south of Melbourne

6 February 2019

Prime Minister, Minister for Cities Urban Infrastructure and Population

Photo: (AAP Image/Stefan Postles)

Motorists north and south of Melbourne will be getting home sooner and safer after a $140 million injection to bust congestion.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison said the funding would make a real difference to the lives of people living in Frankston and surrounding Bayside areas, as well as those commuting north of the city.

“We want Melburnians to get home sooner and safer with help from our Urban Congestion Fund,” the Prime Minister said.

“Our plan for a stronger economy means we can back the local projects that will help bust congestion around the city and suburbs.

“I want people to spend less time stuck in traffic jams and more time at home with their families and working in their businesses, that’s what matters.

“Chris Crewther has made it clear how much pressure congestion is putting on Bayside families and businesses given how quickly that area of Melbourne is growing. Help is on the way.”

The Government has committed $30 million to upgrading Ballarto Road – a key east-west arterial that experiences significant congestion, and carries up to 12,000 vehicles a day. The project will include intersection upgrades to reduce congestion and allow traffic to enter the main roads safely from residential streets.

The funding forms part of a $261.3 million investment in Melbourne’s road network through the Coalition Government’s $1 billion Urban Congestion Fund.

Federal Member for Dunkley Chris Crewther said he had been fighting for extra funding to help reduce congestion on local roads.

“So many residents of Carrum Downs, Skye and Sandhurst, along with Skye CFA, have told me how hard it is to get in and out of Ballarto Road to and from their residential streets. So I’ve been fighting for funding to resolve this major congestion issue,” Mr Crewther said.

“With so many families and businesses living in and moving into the area, we’re coming to the rescue to stop locals from being stuck in traffic, to keep people safe and to ensure they can spend more time at home with their families.”

Minister for Cities, Urban Infrastructure and Population Alan Tudge said he had lived most of his life in the outer suburbs of Melbourne so had seen firsthand why congestion in Melbourne in now rated worse than Sydney.

“I know the frustration that Melbourne motorists feel which is why we’re targeting local traffic headaches as well as major highways,” Minister Tudge said.

“Our Urban Congestion Fund is helping to deliver a more reliable road network for Melbourne commuters and freight, and support critical access to employment centres and freight hubs.

Estimates put the cost of congestion in Australia’s capital cities at $25 billion per year, projected to reach $40 billion by 2030.

The most congested section of the Calder Freeway – 23.3 kms from Sunbury to the M80 Ring Road – will receive a $50 million boost. A further $50 million will target the expected massive increase in peak hour traffic on parts of the Hume Freeway. In 2011, 2,500 vehicles travelled on the Hume during peak hour periods, expected to jump to 4,300 by 2031. The Fitzsimons Lane and Main Road corridor in Eltham will also receive $10 million to tackle congested sections.

The Coalition has committed more than $20 billion in Victorian roads and rail since 2013, including $7.8 billion provided in last year’s Budget.

Minister Tudge said major urban infrastructure projects already underway across Melbourne included the M80 Ring Road and Monash Freeway upgrades, the North East Link, and the Melbourne Airport Rail Link, and builds on our work that is already busting congestion including the CityLink Tulla Widening project,” Minister Tudge said.

“The Urban Congestion Fund will deliver a more reliable road network for commuters and freight, and support critical access to employment centres and freight hubs. This is as much about hitting those local traffic headaches as it is about the major highways and providing a safer journey home for motorists,” Minister Tudge said.

https://pmtranscripts.pmc.gov.au/release/transcript-42099