Media Releases
Geelong to Melbourne travel cut in half - part of 20-year fast rail plan
22 March 2019
Prime Minister, Treasurer
The Morrison Government will deliver $2 billion to bring fast rail to life between Geelong and Melbourne, cutting the 80km journey in half to 32 minutes.
The congestion-busting rail will be the first of its kind in Australia – travelling at the fastest speeds of any train line in the nation at an average of 160 km/h.
As part of the Government’s Plan for Australia’s Future Population to take pressure off the big cities and support the growth of the regions, the Melbourne-Geelong fast rail would be the first of many the Liberal Nationals Government would build over the next twenty years between the big capitals and surrounding regional centres.
The Government’s 20-year fast rail plan also invests $40m for detailed assessments of five additional corridors, complementing the three presently underway that the federal government has funded, and others that state governments are funding.
These detailed assessments will determine the next priorities for funding and construction.
The Morrison Government will create a National Fast Rail Agency to guide the work, determine priorities based on the assessments, work with state governments and communities and the private sector and provide innovative finance solutions.
It would also take enormous pressure off the Princes Freeway and West Gate Bridge. Over 54,000 vehicles take the Princes Freeway every day.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison said the congestion busting investment in infrastructure would give time back to commuters and enable more people to live in our regions and work in our cities.
“This is all part of our plan to manage population growth that I announced this week to take the pressure off our big cities like Melbourne and make our regional cities like Geelong even more attractive places to live and work,” the Prime Minister said.
“As our population grows, fast rail networks are crucial to easing the congestion pressures in our cities and shaping Australia’s future.
“As well as reducing our migration cap and introducing new visas and incentives to encourage more migrants out to the regional areas that need their skills, our record investment in congestion busting infrastructure is key to tackling Australia’s population challenges.
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Development Michael McCormack said faster rail services meant greater accessibility to regional Australia.
“Faster rail services not only help to ease road congestion, it also means more people can access regional centres such as Geelong and wider region with reliable transport connections, which helps to generate more growth opportunities, beyond the city limits,” the Deputy Prime Minister said.
“This is all part of the Australian Government’s plans to help Australians get home sooner and safer, and to share these benefits in regional Australia, by building strategic infrastructure projects that make a real difference to peoples’ lives, and enable the flow of people, trade and investment that is essential to having strong and successful economies in our regions.”
Treasurer Josh Frydenberg said the Geelong fast rail was possible because of the Government’s plan for a stronger economy.
“As a proud and passionate Victorian, I am particularly pleased to see this important piece of infrastructure announced by the Coalition,” the Treasurer said.
“It will help in creating jobs, reducing congestion and unlocking the potential of our regions.
“Investments like these can only be made because our plan for a stronger economy is working.”
Minister for Cities, Urban Infrastructure and Population Alan Tudge said the fast rail plan was a critical part of the Government’s Population Plan.
“Fast rail from the big capitals to the regional cities eases the pressure off the big cities while supporting the growth of the regions,” Minister Tudge said.
“This works alongside other measures such as reducing the migration rate and encouraging more new migrants and students to settle in smaller cities and regions that need them.
“Geelong is a strong growing regional centre, but transport connectivity to Melbourne is constrained by existing infrastructure.
“During peak hour, trains are often full at key stations such as Wyndham Vale and Tarneit, with passenger numbers exceeding capacity on the line. Services on the Geelong Line also suffer frequent delays.
Federal Member for Corangamite, Sarah Henderson MP, said this is a long-term, visionary project that will strengthen and grow our region and dramatically cut travel times.
“This is a truly historic announcement,” Ms Henderson said.
“For years so many people have talked about fast rail. Today, I am so proud to be a member of the Morrison Government that will deliver. My job is to get things done – to deliver for my community.
“Fast trains mean so much more than fast travel times. This project means jobs. This project means more time with your family. This means economic growth.”
The Liberal Nationals Government’s $2 billion commitment will the $5 billion commitment to the Melbourne Airport Rail Link which will increase capacity between Sunshine and the Melbourne CBD.
The Morrison Government’s funding includes backing new business cases for fast rail between:
Brisbane to the Gold Coast
Melbourne to Albury-Wodonga
Melbourne to Traralgon
Sydney to Wollongong
Sydney to Parkes
Interview with Neil Mitchell, 3AW
22 March 2019
NEIL MITCHELL: The Prime Minister is with me, Scott Morrison good morning.
PRIME MINISTER: Good morning. Good to be here.
MITCHELL: Have you got little lights you can put on your car so you can come roaring down the middle of the road?
PRIME MINISTER: [Laughter] I'll struggle through the traffic like every other Australian does here in Melbourne, that’s why we’ve got to bust this congestion.
MITCHELL: Okay, get to that in a moment.
PRIME MINISTER: Yeah.
MITCHELL: We're into an election campaign, can you give me four or five words, what is your pitch, what your slogan? Why should we vote for you?
PRIME MINISTER: Under the Australia I'll continue to lead, our economy will be stronger, Australians will be safer and I'll continue to bring Australians together. Without a strong economy, you cannot pay for the hospitals and schools that you need. Under Bill Shorten, the economy will be weaker.
MITCHELL: Four or five words then, it’s; “stronger economy, safer Australia, come together”?
PRIME MINISTER: That's it.
MITCHELL: Have you got the slogan yet? Or that’s it?
PRIME MINISTER: [Laughter] I'll leave that to others, but that's what I've been talking about from the day I became Prime Minister. Those three things Neil, you’ll probably recall, in that first press conference I did, that's what I wanted to do; keep our economy strong, keep Australians safe and keep bringing Australians together.
MITCHELL: The polls aren't good, you didn't get any real bounce from that offshore processing issue and that was pushed pretty hard. Do you still recon you can win?
PRIME MINISTER: Yes absolutely, because this is the stark choice; I mean when your economy is facing stiff headwinds that we are – yesterday unemployment came down to the lowest level in seven years, 4.9 per cent, youth unemployment down to the lowest level in seven years - our economy facing headwinds is going to put all that at risk. So you don't hand the wheel, the economic wheel, to someone who doesn't know how to drive. That's the Labor Party.
MITCHELL: Still, a lot of people say it's going to happen, all the polls say it's going to happen.
PRIME MINISTER: Well, that’s what they say.
MITCHELL: They’re all wrong?
PRIME MINISTER: The polls always say this and people say this and that about the polls. But you know who gets to decide? Australians, when they turn up to vote.
MITCHELL: We change prime minister on the basis of the polls.
PRIME MINISTER: Well, the basis of who is elected at the next election, that's going to be done by the Australian people. They will get to have their say in May.
MITCHELL: Speaking of that, is Malcolm Turnbull going to campaign for the Government?
PRIME MINISTER: He already is.
MITCHELL: [Laughter] No he’s not. In Flinders? Ask Greg Hunt about that.
PRIME MINISTER: No, he's been supporting particularly Dave Sharma in Wentworth.
MITCHELL: Okay, so he will be out there campaigning for you?
PRIME MINISTER: In the seat, I assume he’ll be out there in Wentworth supporting Dave.
MITCHELL: Have you asked him to keep his head down a bit, not cause trouble?
PRIME MINISTER: We haven't had that conversation.
MITCHELL: Do you think he will?
PRIME MINISTER: I don't feel the need to have that conversation.
MITCHELL: Don’t you?
PRIME MINISTER: No.
MITCHELL: Well, he’s campaigning against one of your ministers in Flinders.
PRIME MINISTER: He’s been nowhere near Flinders.
MITCHELL: Ohh, what about his statement? Yes, alright. One Nation, I saw ad nauseam on The Project last night, you're not going to commit to putting them below Labor in the preferences, at this stage anyway. There’s no decision?
PRIME MINISTER: Well hang on, we’ve just got a process Neil. We'll make that decision in accordance with our normal process, not because the Labor Party wants to go around, you know, trying to force us into making decisions. I mean at the last election that it was the Labor Party that benefited from One Nation preferences, to win seats like Longman and Dobell. So it's a bit rich for the Labor Party to go around giving us lectures, particularly on the same day when they've got the leader of the Labor Party of New South Wales Michael Daley saying that Asian immigrants take our jobs.
MITCHELL: Well the union movement has also said; “put the Liberals last”.
PRIME MINISTER: Well, the union movement, yeah. Look we're not going to take lectures from the Labor Party on this. We will make the decision the way we always do and we're certainly not going to do any deals with them. I mean we've got the Labor Party doing deals with the Shooters Party up in my home state.
MITCHELL: And you won't do deals with the Shooters?
PRIME MINISTER: No.
MITCHELL: Will you preference them?
PRIME MINISTER: We won't do any deals with them, so that means –
MITCHELL: So you haven't decided on preferences there either.
PRIME MINISTER: No, it'll just be done when we know who the nominees are, because we learned this; we've had people with very extreme views pop up in all sorts of seats. So you know, let's just wait to see who nominates and then we'll make the decision in the normal way.
MITCHELL: Well, look at that One Nation beast. Pauline Hanson, is she a racist?
PRIME MINISTER: Look Pauline has expressed extremely strong views on these issues over a long period of time. I must say in more recent times particularly in this term of Parliament we've worked closely with Pauline on a lot of important issues - issues like family court issues, which I know she feels very passionately about. I think it's pretty easy to sort of say - and I'm not suggesting you're saying this Neil - but just go; “Well, they’ve got a view on this and they've got nothing to contribute on any other issue”.
MITCHELL: But don’t they?
PRIME MINISTER: I tend to deal with people on the issues they present to me and Pauline has never raised or come to me over those issues. What she has been coming to me about, is things like how welfare is spent and ensuring there's integrity in the welfare system and she has very deep concerns about the way the family court system works.
MITCHELL: She is described today as a racist and a bigot. Is that fair?
PRIME MINISTER: Look what I said last Monday when I was here in Melbourne is, I don't think it helps that we constantly go back to just herding people into tribes and seeking to create further conflict around this stuff. I want us to all step back from all that. I want to step back from all the name-calling. I want us to step back and say; “How about we just deal with the issues that are in front of us and stop treating politics like a sport, where you have to pick sides and throw rocks?”
MITCHELL: Well, let's look at One Nation the Party then. Do One Nation policies represent Australian values or are they at odds with Australian values?
PRIME MINISTER: Well they’re not ones that exist certainly within my Party.
MITCHELL: Are they anti-Australian in their values?
PRIME MINISTER: I said last night that I think there is a lack of knowledge, or awareness or understanding particularly when it comes to Islam in Australia. It can be sort of stereotyped, I think there's no doubt about that. I think it's the job of leaders such as myself to improve that understanding. But the question is are all of their policies or their policies inconsistent with Australian values, well, many of their policies are not policies I would share.
MITCHELL: Which ones?
PRIME MINISTER: Well I don't share their views when it comes to how they see a role for big government in this country. I don't share their views for intervening in so many different parts with additional regulation and things like that. When it comes to their views on immigration and the fact that they believe that, you know, it’s certain types of people in the immigration program which are the issue. So, I've never shared those values -
MITCHELL: Isn’t that itself racist? If you base immigration on race?
PRIME MINISTER: Well Neil, what I'm not going to do today - which is I think what you're inviting me to do -
MITCHELL: Well I mean I’m interested, you’re tiptoeing around One Nation. Why are you being so careful?
PRIME MINISTER: Because I don't think it helps Neil, for us to just get into this slanging match between all of the personalities here. What happened last Friday was abominable and I think the right response in relation to that, is not to get into tit-for-tat between political parties and start with; “This person is this”, or “that person is that” and “they’re to blame for this” and “they're to blame for that”.
I think the right thing to do is to reach out to the Muslim community and give them a big hug. The right thing for me to do is to turn up at a Coptic Church on Sunday with my family and pray for the victims in a Christian church that actually knows quite a lot about being impacted by these sorts of attacks. I think the right thing to do is for me to stand up in Melbourne and say; “Hey, how about we treat each other as individuals and not members of groups and try and set them against each other for public entertainment?”
MITCHELL: Well, do you think Pauline Hanson supports you on that philosophy?
PRIME MINISTER: I have no idea, I have never discussed it with her.
MITCHELL: You don’t care?
PRIME MINISTER: It's not for me to have a view about that, it's for her to have a view about what she does. She is accountable, as is her party, as is every party, for their own decisions and all the things that they say. I'm responsible for what the Liberal Party does and what my Government does.
MITCHELL: True, true, but you will to an extent be judged on your reaction to parties like this. I mean you were quite happy to take Fraser Anning’s head off for what he did.
PRIME MINISTER: Which was abominable.
MITCHELL: Which was obscene and which was wrong, but sometimes Pauline Hanson … she won’t even condemn Fraser Anning.
PRIME MINISTER: Well, I certainly don't agree with her on that, that's for sure.
MITCHELL: But you can take his head off, you won’t take hers off.
PRIME MINISTER: I absolutely didn’t agree with what she did in the Parliament, when she wore the burqa to Parliament. I thought that disrespected the Parliament and you know, we made those comments at the time. So look, again Neil, I don't think it helps the debate if we make it about the personalities. I think what helps the debate is by being constructive.
Yesterday I was down at Punt Road with Bachar Houli and we announced $15 million dollars for the project we've got going down there, not just with his leadership program with Muslim Australians, but also for young Indigenous kids. That's what we should be doing.
MITCHELL: The reason I did raise it by the way, is Kevin Rudd has tweeted; “It's appalling that Morrison,” you, “can't simply state Liberals and Nationals, put One Nation last. Hanson’s racism and religious bigotry is as clear as day. What about some leadership, Morrison?” Not Mr Morrison either.
PRIME MINISTER: Well, Kevin Rudd doesn't get to make decisions for the Liberal Party. We have a process for making our decisions. As our record shows, we're in the Senate, we didn't preference them in the Senate last time, that's what our actions are. Labor got people elected on the basis of One Nation preferences last election. Michael Daly thinks Asian immigrants take Australians jobs. I haven't heard Kevin Rudd call out Michael Daly.
MITCHELL: No.
PRIME MINISTER: Or Bill Shorten for that matter, by the way.
MITCHELL: What has Bill Shorten done? Is he racist?
PRIME MINISTER: Well why has Bill Shorten not disassociated himself with the comments of Michael Daly in New South Wales?
MITCHELL: On the Asians?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, why not? You’ll remember when John Howard many years ago was attacked for those things, a long, long time ago.
MITCHELL: Yeah I remember.
PRIME MINISTER: Labor had a lot to say about that, so where is Bill Shorten today? Tanya Plibersek? Anthony Albanese? When it comes to the leader of the Labor Party in the New South Wales Parliament –
MITCHELL: Well, for the same reasons you won’t bag One Nation, it's political.
PRIME MINISTER: I'm sorry, this is his own Party.
MITCHELL: It’s politically difficult, it’s the middle of an election.
PRIME MINISTER: This is the leader of the Labor Party in New South Wales who was has said Asians are going to take people’s jobs.
MITCHELL: A fast trail to Geelong. You've talked about $2 billion dollars towards it. You'll need, when it comes in, you’ll need the sky rail, a tunnel or acquisition, which will it be?
PRIME MINISTER: Well this is the business case that is now going to be developed.
MITCHELL: Oh so this is just a business case?
PRIME MINISTER: No, it's $2 billion down, to actually make sure the project can proceed based on the business case that has to be developed. It's no different to what we did when we announced the Melbourne Airport Rail Link. At that stage we didn't have a preferred route, now we do have a preferred route. We have a heads of agreement between Dan Andrews and ourselves.
MITCHELL: But you’d agree it’s going to have to be one of those three? It can't just arrive at the edge of the city and go from 160 to 20.
PRIME MINISTER: Well, sure.
MITCHELL: You’d either need sky rail, or a tunnel, or acquisition.
PRIME MINISTER: And that’s what the process will determine.
MITCHELL: When will we be in it, when will it be running?
PRIME MINISTER: Well our best estimate at the moment is that within about two years we should be able to start construction. There's a lot to be achieved over that time and I know the State Government has already been working on this. That's one of the reasons why it's the project that we've decided proceed with. But let me put it in perspective, what this project is all about. On Wednesday I announced together with Alan Tudge and David Coleman, a population plan for Australia's future. Now that is about having the right and balanced migration settings. But it's also about having the infrastructure we need to support population growth. This project is a critical example of the sort of infrastructure we need to ensure our cities can grow.
MITCHELL: So is it ten years off?
PRIME MINISTER: Well we have to wait for the business case to be done.
MITCHELL: So the business case is two years off?
PRIME MINISTER: No the business case will be done more quickly than that, then you need to get into the advanced planning works. Then you need to get the tenders and then you need to start construction. I mean you can't go –
MITCHELL: It sounds ten years off.
PRIME MINISTER: Well you can't go into the McDonald's drive through and get yourself a fast rail to Melbourne. You can get a few other things I notice -
MITCHELL: [Laughter] I did want to come back to that.
PRIME MINISTER: Look, these are big projects Neil, they can't just be done by yesterday afternoon and they don't start unless the Commonwealth in this case, is prepared to make this sort of a commitment of $2 billion, which we have and we'll work with the State government.
I think we're demonstrating that on Melbourne Airport Link. We took the initiative there, to put our $5 billion down, this time last year and it's moving towards becoming reality.
MITCHELL: So you like the idea of Geelong being like a suburb of Melbourne?
PRIME MINISTER: No, it's a satellite city and it has been.
MITCHELL: Yeah, they wouldn’t like that.
PRIME MINISTER: It's a city in its own right.
MITCHELL: And Albury Wodonga, you want to have a look at a business case?
PRIME MINISTER: Yeah, we’ve got a series of them.
MITCHELL: [Inaudible].
PRIME MINISTER: We’ve got a series, there's Terralgon, there’s Gold Coast, there’s Wollongong and there are already projects underway that we've done, into Newcastle and out of Ballarat and a range of other projects. So we're serious about fast rail.
MITCHELL: Matthew Guy did float this himself during the election campaign, didn't do him much good.
PRIME MINISTER: Well –
MITCHELL: It is pretty much his plan, isn’t it, the one he floated?
PRIME MINISTER: No because what I'm announcing is an infrastructure project in the context of an entire population strategy Neil, this isn't just a one-off announcement. This is a fair dinkum plan to manage population growth, which involves migration settings, investments in social cohesion, planning frameworks with state and territory governments and local governments and congestion-busting projects of over $330 million dollars here in Victoria alone. Things like Racecourse Road where I was out there with Jason Wood, $70 million for widening Racecourse Road.
MITCHELL: That’s the one in Cranbourne, not Flemington?
PRIME MINISTER: Pakenham.
MITCHELL: Pakenham, sorry. Tax. There is a lot of discussion about minimum wages and you’d agree they’re too low?
PRIME MINISTER: Well they increased 3 percent, the minimum wage.
MITCHELL: It’d be hard to live on, wouldn’t they?
PRIME MINISTER: Of course. Of course they would be but the majority of Australians don't live on the minimum wage, the majority of Australians are actually paid above award. But those who are actually on the minimum wage, 56 percent of them actually work for small and family businesses, not large businesses. Less than 10 percent of those who are on minimum wage, are actually employed by a large business, so those who actually pay those wages are small and family businesses who oftentimes - as you know Neal - when they're going through hard times, don't take a wage at all. See if you own a business, your wage is what you can take out of the business. Those small and family business owners often don’t take any wage.
MITCHELL: So would you look at this? If you’re on the minimum wage, you’re paying $70 a week in tax. What about a ‘shandy deal’, employers pay them a bit and you increase the tax-free threshold, give them some back in tax?
PRIME MINISTER: We actually are delivering tax cuts. We've already legislated tax cuts.
MITCHELL: How much will it give to someone on the minimum wage?
PRIME MINISTER: Well it can provide at that level, I think, it's around about a few hundred bucks.
MITCHELL: A year?
PRIME MINISTER: Yeah.
MITCHELL: I'm talking almost 70 bucks a week, you take out of them now.
PRIME MINISTER: Well that's not something that the Budget could sustain and what I also understand - you know we also have a Newstart system, we have family tax benefits systems, we have a whole range of other payments and support that exist for people on low incomes. That's actually what the Fair Work Commission found –
MITCHELL: Well, what –
PRIME MINISTER: Let me just, this is an important point Neil - the minimum wage isn't the only form of income that people get, who are on those minimum wages. As the Fair Work Commission has found, this work has been done, they have a range of other income supports which help them in that situation. That's what the Fair Work Commission takes into account. Now they will set the minimum wage is, it's an independent process. If I say it should go up, well, that's good.
MITCHELL: I loved the fact that the child who served you at McDonalds didn't know who you were.
PRIME MINISTER: [Laughter] I think that’s great too.
MITCHELL: How often do you go to Maccas?
PRIME MINISTER: Oh, occasionally yeah.
MITCHELL: And a pot and a parma at the pub in Malvern? How often, the health police will be onto you.
PRIME MINISTER: [Laughter] Why would they be onto me for going to the Malvern Hotel?
MITCHELL: Because you’re not allowed to eat Maccas, you’re not allowed to eat parmas, you’re not allowed to drink beer.
PRIME MINISTER: Well, I’m pretty much like everyone else Neil –
MITCHELL: How often at Maccas?
PRIME MINISTER: Oh, I’d probably pop in once or twice a month, maybe.
MITCHELL: Do you have fries with it?
PRIME MINISTER: I certainly do.
MITCHELL: Thickshake?
PRIME MINISTER: Nah, I don’t go a thickshake.
MITCHELL: Coca Cola?
PRIME MINISTER: I just go the normal quarter-pounder meal or something like that.
MITCHELL: And a Coke?
PRIME MINISTER: Yeah, it’s always a Coke.
MITCHELL: A bucket of sugar and some fat.
PRIME MINISTER: Yeah, bit of that from time to time. It’s still not illegal.
[Laughter]
MITCHELL: It will be.
[Laughter]
Thank you very much for coming in.
PRIME MINISTER: No worries Neil.
MITCHELL: The Prime Minister.
[ENDS]
Interview with Waleed Aly, The Project
21 March 2019
WALEED ALY: Prime Minister of Australia, Scott Morrison welcome to the Project.
PRIME MINISTER: G’day Waleed.
ALY: I want to do something I never thought I would do.
PRIME MINISTER: Yeah?
ALY: Particularly in an interview with a politician. I'm going to let you set the agenda to begin with. What do you want to say?
PRIME MINISTER: It has been an extraordinary few days and you've just gotten back from New Zealand, meeting with Prime Minister Ardern, you would obviously have a keen sense of what it's like on the ground there.
These events are tectonic, they affect us all. On Friday I was in Sydney when the first news came through and at that stage it was just very unclear. We didn't really know what was happening, who it was, except for where it was happening. Obviously that was deeply distressing; in a mosque. Then as the news came through - and you get the briefings and it became crystal clear what had occurred - there was just a numbness. We all experienced it. You experienced it, we all experienced it as the news came and then the horror came, of the hatred and the ugliness that had led to this.
I have a very forthright way as you know and others know. My first response - apart from getting in contact with Prime Minister Ardern to express our deepest sympathies and to say kia kaha which as you know means “stay strong,” to our New Zealand whanau - it was to let all Australians know what had happened. To call it as it happened and what it was. To seek to bind us up.
Now in the same way – as both Prime Ministers in New Zealand and Australia - my first reaching-out was to the Muslim community. The following day I was able to meet with the Imams Council and I have many friends there and basically we hugged when we met, my friends and I. Then we spoke honestly about what had occurred and how people were feeling in the Islamic community and the feelings that were going right throughout the country. But what really impressed me was the leadership was focused on two things; they were focused on reaching out to those in New Zealand and the practical things, burials, observance of rights and so on, how that could be done and how they could assist. But the other one was to get close to their own community and help them to try and absorb and understand.
So all of us over the last four or five days, have sought to come to terms with this. It's been a very emotional time. It has reminded us I think, of the fragility of life and how quickly hate and violence can take the most important things from us.
So as I said on that first Friday night to Australians; just hug each other tonight. I think we need to keep hugging each other.
ALY: It's an attack that has kind of, I was going to say ‘reset’ but it's least caused pause. Because if I can put it in such crude terms, the community that for 15 years or 18 years has been framed in the public imagination as a perpetrator, suddenly became the victim. The reverse was also true. So we're now having a lot of discussions about Islamophobia in Australia as well as of course in New Zealand and around the world.
PRIME MINISTER: Sure.
ALY: Does Australia have an Islamophobia problem?
PRIME MINISTER: I don't know if Australians understand Islam very well and that can often lead to fear of things you don't understand. So by definition that's what it leads to, but that doesn't always translate into extremism, just like any view doesn't necessarily flow into extremism. Malcolm used to say; “Domestic violence starts with disrespect of women,” -
ALY: But not all disrespect –
PRIME MINISTER: But not all disrespect of women leads to violence.
ALY: I understand your point but when I ask about Islamophobia, I don’t mean just that people don’t understand and they are a bit apprehensive. I mean effectively, an ‘ideologized’ form, an approach -
PRIME MINISTER: There's no doubt that exists in Australia, there's no doubt that exists in Australia but there’s –
ALY: How big of a problem is it?
PRIME MINISTER: But there's no doubt that so many forms of hatred and stereotyping goes on in the Australian community. I mean my -
ALY: How big of a problem is this, do you think?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, we have been tracking through our agencies, this form of extremism. Now, people use different words, I have said right-wing extremist, others have said white supremacists or white separatists. It all means the same thing ultimately. At the end of the day it's just where a view gets taken to an absolute extreme, when you're talking about supremacists and separatists.
Any community can take itself to a point where they engage in a form of fundamentalism, extremism, which is a danger to innocents. Now this is true in the Christian community, it's true in the Hindu community - in other countries I should stress, I mean we all know of violence that has occurred there - Buddhist communities, Muslim communities. Where in any of these communities, you allow fundamentalism and extremism to take hold and as a community you don't guard against that, then this is where it ends. And the great victim is innocents, the great victim is peace.
ALY: Okay. Well let me be perhaps, more focused in the way I want to ask this. Does the Coalition have a problem with Islamophobia?
PRIME MINISTER: No, I don't believe the Liberal Party does and I don't believe - I can't speak for the National Party, I’ll let the leader of the Nationals –
ALY: No, you can though, you are Prime Minister, it is your Coalition.
PRIME MINISTER: No, no I don’t believe so, I don’t believe so. But I’ll speak for myself -
ALY: No, no, I get that you want to speak for yourself, but it is important to focus on the Coalition generally.
PRIME MINISTER: I think it’s important for all of us – and today is Harmony Day. Harmony Day is an opportunity for us, I think, to understand difference better. You know the classic wisdom; “Seek first to understand, before you understood”. I think that is one of the important lessons of Harmony Day. The problem I have is that we don't do a lot of ‘seeking to understand first’. We often jump to conclusions about others. In politics, I think it's important that we have disagreements, but I wish we could disagree better. I wish if we did disagree, that we always didn't leap to assuming other people's motives. I think that's important.
You know, you and I can disagree and you've interviewed me before, when you're in radio and years ago and we've disagreed. But I think it's really important in Australia if we want a better society, that we've got to disagree better and respect each other more and the motives of others. Not to leap to prejudiced conclusions about others.
ALY: Sure, okay. So let me just run through some things and perhaps you can help me understand better or explain motives or whatever it might be. When you have people in your Coalition, George Christensen speaking at a Reclaim Australia rally, appearing on an alt-right podcast, speaking at a Q Society event where horrible things are said about multiple minorities. When you've got a former Prime Minister Tony Abbott saying that; “Islamophobia never killed anybody,” when actually it already had - it's not just that it was true at the time and it isn't now, it wasn’t true at the time - and suggested that when Muslim leaders condemn terrorism, they don't really mean it. ,When you have Peter Dutton suggesting that Lebanese immigration in the 70s was a mistake or that mistakes were made around it. When you have him talking about Mehreen Faruqi who is a Muslim Senator who is part of the Greens, being ‘as bad as Fraser Anning’s after the Christchurch attacks. When you have multiple, I think seven Coalition Senators shaking Fraser Anning’s hand after he gives the ‘final solution’ speech in Parliament. And when you have reports in a newspaper like The Australian that it got to the point that the head of ASIO Duncan Lewis contacted members of the Liberal Party and of the Coalition, to warn them about the way they were talking about Islam. When I aggregate all that and - there are other examples I could give - when I aggregate all that, is there something that does need to be confronted within your own Party henceforth?
PRIME MINISTER: As leader it's my job to ensure that the tone I set, is the right tone. The tone I have set, you can you can see from my experience Waleed. I mean you may not be familiar with my experience in this area, let me tell you the story.
When I came in and the Parliament in 2007 in the seat of Cook in the southern part of Sydney, that was not long after the riots there and the revenge attacks that took place soon after. So I know what it looks like in a community, when things turn very bad and the cycle of violence is allowed to perpetuate. My predecessor Bruce Baird responded to this working with a wonderful bloke who has become a dear friend of mine Jamal Rifi. They brought the communities together by taking a whole group of young Muslim people in south-western Sydney and they trained to be lifesavers, particularly in the North Cronulla Surf Club. Now when I came into Parliament we wanted to keep up this program of bringing those two parts of Sydney together. Jason Clare, a good friend of mine and a Labor member for that part of Sydney, we decided to take young people from both of our communities and walk the Kokoda Track together, to help us understand and particularly our younger people, these two different types of cultures, what I described as “very different Australian experiences”.
Now since then, Jason I did it two more times, we walked the Sandakan death march together with a similar group and included indigenous group actually from Rob Oakeshott’s electorate at the time. We did the same thing with the Black Cat Track in 2013 and had some great young Muslim women, there some of whom were working for the AFP and again in 2015. I wasn't able to go on that one, but I helped organize one we took to Gallipoli. Now over that period of time, it has been my work in Parliament to try and build these communities together, not apart. Now that's my form Waleed and my form is to take that experience into my own Party as leader.
ALY: But is that happening? Especially when, with that track record … I'm trying to draw you on whether or not that track record is a problem and I haven’t -
PRIME MINISTER: The best way for me to address any problem is to lead by my own example and I’ve just said –
ALY: Okay sure, but is that track record a problem in the first place?
PRIME MINISTER: Well there were a number of cases there that you've talked about where, you know, I've made comments on those at the time. I think there are a few in there that I'm not sure you're representing in the right light.
ALY: Sure okay.
PRIME MINISTER: I'll give you a good example. The comments you've referred to in relation to Peter when he talked about the immigration period in the 1980s. Now that was a humanitarian intake where there weren't the normal assessments that would be done now. There were things that were done at that time which the Immigration Department would tell you today, they would have done differently if they'd had the lessons of that period -
ALY: Only in relation to the Lebanese community?
PRIME MINISTER: No, they learn lessons from all sorts of areas of intake –
ALY: So why single out the Lebanese community in that context?
PRIME MINISTER: I'm simply saying Waleed that what Peter was explaining were some lessons that were learned during a period of what was a fairly tumultuous time in the world –
ALY: But he singled out the Lebanese community –
PRIME MINISTER: If your question to me Waleed is this - which I believe it is - do I think that every single statement by any single member of the Liberal Party -
ALY: That’s not my question.
PRIME MINISTER: Has always been consistent -
ALY: That’s not it's not my question.
PRIME MINISTER: Maybe you might want to rephrase it.
ALY: No, I'll just re-ask it. Does your Party and your Coalition have a problem of Islamophobia?
PRIME MINISTER: I’ve already –
ALY: Given that track record of behaviour –
PRIME MINISTER: I already said to you before that no, I don't think the Party has that problem, I don't think the Liberal Party as a total group has that problem. No, I don't and I don't think the National Party does either.
I mean our Party is made up of a lot of individuals and in our Party, individuals have a lot more freedom to say what they think, than in a lot of other parties and it is not for the Party to answer for every single member on every single occasion -
ALY: What about though, if they are speaking at a Reclaim Australia rally?
PRIME MINISTER: I didn't support that at the time.
ALY: Yeah, but it is a problem.
PRIME MINISTER: He was a backbencher and remains a backbencher in the Government –
ALY: And an endorsed candidate I assume.
PRIME MINISTER: By the LNP, but again, do we want to get bogged down in this or do we want to move on to how we actually make things better? In terms of the individuals, I talk to all of my members and as I say, I try and lead by example. My example has been to work with the Muslim community very, very deeply. One of the hardest things I ever did as a politician was when Jamal rang me and there was a family, the El Baf family - I don't know if you remember the story about the four brothers. Jamal rang me when I was Immigration Minister and said; “These four boys have left, we think they have gone to the Middle East to fight for ISIS.” He said; “Is there anything you can do to try and prevent them from getting there?” I immediately got in touch with what was then the Department of Immigration and Border Protection, but sadly had already gone through clearances and they'd already gone through South East Asia. Those boys are all dead today to the best of our knowledge, we know two are dead. But Jamal rang me and said; “I'd like you to come and meet their parents”. So I did and I sat down with them and I was also there with Tony Abbott's knowledge, who was the Prime Minister at the time. I just sat there and listened to their grief. So, I have a keen understanding of what terrorist recruiters can do to destroy families and innocence, again, is the victim. It doesn't matter whether you're Muslim, it doesn't matter you're Christian; when evil comes it robs and it steals.
So I think the answer is not for us to retreat into tribes and try to herd people into tribes and say; “Well, you've got this problem, you've got that problem.” I think the answer is to do what I said before; let's try to better understand where we're all coming from, not try to line people up on teams.
ALY: I appreciate that sentiment, I think talking about the past is important because the only way that you can move forward, reset at a moment like this, is if you acknowledge things that have happened in the past that are a problem and that need fixing.
PRIME MINISTER: Well, let me talk about –
ALY: No, no, but let me talk about the future -
PRIME MINISTER: You also said Peter was talking about the comment made by the Greens Senator. That comment was suggesting that I and Peter Dutton were responsible for the terrorist attacks in Christchurch. Now, would you find that a reasonable statement to make?
ALY: Would I equate it with what Fraser Anning had to say? Would you?
PRIME MINISTER: That I personally –
ALY: Did she say literally that you personally were responsible?
PRIME MINISTER: That was the clear implication Waleed.
ALY: The clear implication, okay, we’re going to get into implication –
PRIME MINISTER: I mean –
ALY: You’re comparing it to the direct statement of Fraser Anning –
PRIME MINISTER: No sorry, you raised the issue, so let me address it.
ALY: No -
PRIME MINISTER: Do you think it’s reasonable –
ALY: I’m trying to answer your question.
PRIME MINISTER: For any Senator to say that the Prime Minister and the Minister for Home Affairs were responsible for the terrorist attacks in Christchurch?
ALY: No, I don’t.
PRIME MINISTER: Well I think –
ALY: But you’re –
PRIME MINISTER: It’s reasonable that Peter would have found that quite offensive –
ALY: Yes.
PRIME MINISTER: In the heat of the moment when people are upset –
ALY: Oh, it was the heat of the moment thing? Is that what you’re saying?
PRIME MINISTER: Waleed, the other night, you were very emotional and I’m sure you may have said some things about me, that based on our conservations since, you think may have been a bit over the top, about my own motives when it comes to these issues.
ALY: Sorry, say that again? You think I said what?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, you were on the other night and as we discussed today, you implied that Muslims couldn’t feel safe because they had a Prime Minister who somehow had been prejudiced against them. I don’t believe that’s true.
ALY: Okay, you know what -
PRIME MINISTER: I don’t think you believe that’s true either.
ALY: I don’t, no, and that wasn’t the implication that I was making.
PRIME MINISTER: People say things sometimes –
ALY: But since you, Prime Minister, no, let me ask this question. Since you raise it, we’ll come to that report, that shadow cabinet report. You say that this never happened, you’ve called it a smear and a lie. Who is lying?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, I can only say anyone who may have talked to a journalist to smear me in that way. Because there have been a number of members who were at that meeting who have gone on the record to support the fact that it did not happen.
ALY: Well, there were some members who went on the record, some of whom weren't at the meeting. There are other members who –
PRIME MINISTER: Phillip Ruddock was there and he said it didn't happen.
ALY: Yeah, no, my understanding -
PRIME MINISTER: Tony Abbott was there and he said it didn’t happen.
ALY: No, no let me explain it.
PRIME MINISTER: David Johnson was there and he said it didn't happen.
ALY: Prime Minister –
PRIME MINISTER: I mean, I was there and I say it didn’t happen.
ALY: With respect, Phillip Ruddock did not say it didn’t happen, he said that he could not recall. I have looked high and low -
PRIME MINISTER: Okay –
ALY: No, but it’s an important difference isn’t it.
PRIME MINISTER: Well -
ALY: You talk about people who have been on the record. Well, there is at least one of those people on the record saying that it did happen, that being Andrew Robb.
PRIME MINISTER: No, no hang on –
ALY: You have multiple journalists reporting ‘multiple sources’ –
PRIME MINISTER: Hang on –
ALY: Let me finish the question. Let me finish -
PRIME MINISTER: No, I have to stop you there.
ALY: You can get to that point in a second. You have multiple journalists -
PRIME MINISTER: No Waleed, you have said that Andrew Robb said something that he did not.
ALY: Reporting from - I’ve read it with my own eyes today.
PRIME MINISTER: No. What Andrew –
ALY: You have – let me finish this.
PRIME MINISTER: I’ll let you finish, I apologise.
ALY: You have multiple reporters, reporting from multiple sources that it happened and you have one on the record saying the same.
PRIME MINISTER: No, that’s not true.
ALY: What I am interested in –
PRIME MINISTER: Waleed, that is not true. What is suggested is that I said that we should exploit, exploit concerns about Islam in the community to our political advantage.
ALY: Exploit I think is your word. Alright -
PRIME MINISTER: No, that –
ALY: Let me ask you this way -
PRIME MINISTER: Andrew Robb –
ALY: Let me ask you this way -
PRIME MINISTER: Do you mind if I finish?
ALY: What did you say?
PRIME MINISTER: No, I’m sorry, Andrew Robb did not say that I did that.
ALY: No, Andrew Robb said that you raised the issue.
PRIME MINISTER: Yeah, I was the shadow immigration minister at the time and I was very concerned about these issues and the way people were feeling in the community.
ALY: So when you raised those issues in that meeting, what did you say to them?
PRIME MINISTER: I was concerned that we needed to address them, which is what I've been doing inside and outside of the Parliament for the last 10 years of my life.
ALY: Address those concerns?
PRIME MINISTER: Yes, to lower them.
ALY: So what your argument was in that shadow cabinet meeting was?
PRIME MINISTER: Yes, I was acknowledging that there were these fears in the community and that we had to address them, not exploit them. To actually seek to try and address them.
ALY: So the reports then of other people in the shadow cabinet concluding that discussion by saying; “We have a non-discriminatory immigration policy and that's the way that it should stay”?
PRIME MINISER: Yes, that has always been my view.
ALY: Right, but –
PRIME MINISTER: I have championed that view as a Minister, as a member Parliament for my entire public life –
ALY: Why would that need to be said though, if the discussion in the meeting was about; “How can we dampen down community concerns about Muslims”?
PRIME MINISTER: Because I think we have responsibilities - as you were just asking me to do - that where we are concerned that people would have fears about these things, that we would seek to alleviate those fears.
ALY: This was a meeting about campaign strategy and you were saying –
PRIME MINISTER: No, this was just a shadow cabinet meeting.
ALY: Okay and you –
PRIME MINISTER: Talking about policy.
ALY: At the end of that conversation somebody had to say - it was reported as Julie Bishop who I understand was chairing that meeting – said: “We're drawing a line under this because we have a non-discriminatory immigration system.”
PRIME MINISTER: Yes, that's my view and that was my view. It has always been my view.
ALY: But I still don’t understand why she would need to say that, if that wasn't a matter of controversy within the meeting?
PRIME MINISTER: No what I'm saying is that I was concerned about those fears in the community and that it has always been my practice - as I've demonstrated to you outside the Parliament and inside the Parliament - to seek to address those. Why else do you think I would have been working like I have as I explained to you before, why do you think I would be? That's been my experience and that’s why on Saturday after these horrendous attacks, I went to speak to those at the Lakemba Mosque, I was greeted with hugs and tears. Do you think that is the act of someone who hasn't been working closely with the Islamic community in Sydney for a long time?
ALY: I'm not accusing you of not having ever worked with the Muslim community in Sydney, or even not having done it for a long time.
PRIME MINISTER: Well can’t you see that what you’re suggesting –
ALY: I’m not suggesting –
PRIME MINISTER: Is at complete odds –
ALY: Prime Minister –
PRIME MINISTER: With the experience –
ALY: I’m not suggesting –
PRIME MINISTER: That I’ve been involved in over my last ten years of public life?
ALY: Prime Minister I’m not suggesting anything. I’m simply -
PRIME MINISTER: Doesn’t it sound odd that that report -
ALY: Prime Minister I'm asking you a question about a report that is sourced from multiple people, that was reported by multiple journalists, by which all of those journalists stand.
PRIME MINISTER: Two unnamed sources, who have never gone public.
ALY: Well, one of them has.
PRIME MINISTER: Well who?
ALY: We’ve had this discussion already, I’m asking you –
PRIME MINISTER: No, Andrew Robb is not one of those.
ALY: Prime Minister I’ve asked you to explain it.
PRIME MINISTER: And I have.
ALY: You’ve provided your explanation, fine, people will just draw their own conclusions on that. I have no problem with that.
PRIME MINISTER: Waleed let me just say for the record -
ALY: Can I come - no, no, I’ve got to ask you this question.
PRIME MINISTER: Well –
ALY: You wanted to look forward and you wanted to talk about the tone.
PRIME MINISTER: I want to rule a line under this issue. It never happened, I’ve always been deeply concerned about attitudes towards people of Muslim faith in our community. I entered the Parliament after one of the most horrible scenes that we've seen on our own soil on this issue and set about immediately to try and bring communities together.
ALY: Okay.
PRIME MINISTER: I have always acted consistently with that in shadow cabinet, in the Cabinet, by my policy decisions as Minister and in my own personal conduct. So such a report is so at odds with my experience and actions, that I think that speaks for itself.
ALY: Does acting in accordance with those beliefs mean that you will be henceforth – this is about the future and about the tone you want to set as a leader - that you will be preferencing One Nation last?
PRIME MINISTER: We are not going to do any preference deals with One Nation.
ALY: Not a deal, will you on your how-to-vote cards, be putting One Nation last?
PRIME MINISTER: Those matters are determined by the Party when we know what the nominations are.
ALY: You have a very strong voice within that Party.
PRIME MINISTER: Yeah and we won't do any deals with One Nation -
ALY: I'm not talking about deal with One Nation. I'm talking about a decision from your Party to preference One Nation - who by the way said that Islam was a disease that needed to be vaccinated - will you be putting them last on your how-to-vote card?
PRIME MINISTER: Well what if Fraser Anning is running candidates?
ALY: Right. So if Fraser Anning is, you will put One Nation ahead of Fraser Anning?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, you tell me -
ALY: I’m just asking.
PRIME MINISTER: Well this is the point Waleed, I don't know who is going to nominate. In the electorate of Longman –
ALY: Let me rephrase –
PRIME MINISTER: In the electorate of Longman – no, well you’ve raised the issue –
ALY: No, no, no, let me rephrase because I know what you’re going to –
PRIME MINISTER: Waleed please let me answer one question.
ALY: No, because I’ll ask this question -
PRIME MINISTER: Oh okay –
ALY: This is going to the point.
PRIME MINISTER: I'm just trying to answer your questions. I was raising the issue –
ALY: Let me rephrase it Prime Minister –
PRIME MINISTER: On the practical issue of Longman –
ALY: I need to get through this question. Will you at the very least committed in every seat, to putting them below the Labor Party and the Greens?
PRIME MINISTER: I am going to wait to see what all the nominations are and in our Party those decisions are made by the Party organisation. I know the Labor Party wants me to do a preference deal with them. I won't be doing a deal with the Labor Party or the Greens or anyone else.
ALY: None of this –
PRIME MINISTER: The election nominations will be called, we will see the candidates and we will make our decisions at that time.
ALY: Prime Minister why are you talking about preference deals? I'm not talking about a preference deal.
PRIME MINISTER: I’ve just answered the question as to how we're going to conduct ourselves in relation to preferences.
ALY: But you’re talking about a preference deal, which is not what I’m talking about.
PRIME MINISTER: No, I said we’re going to make these decisions at the time nominations close and then we'll apply those decisions at that time as a Party organisation.
ALY: Do you think, particularly in the circumstances that we face right now, that the Liberal Party and the National Party where relevant, should be preferencing One Nation below Labor and the Greens?
PRIME MINISTER: I’ve said we're going to make that decision at the time of the nominations closing.
ALY: What do you think?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, you’ll know when we make that decision at that time.
ALY: Do you have a view on it?
PRIME MINISTER: I'll be consulting with my own Party organisation, I won't be doing it through your program.
ALY: Why is it difficult? Why is it a difficult question?
PRIME MINISTER: Because I'm part of a Party that has a process and that Party listens to a lot of people in it's organisation who are members of our Party. That is a decision that is actually taken in each state and territory division of the Liberal Party, by the President of that Party, as part of their preferences committee on which I will have representatives. That is respecting our process.
ALY: But there is also the question of leadership, which you have raised.
PRIME MINISTER: And I’ll be exercising that at that time.
ALY: Would it not be a strong act of leadership to say right now that you shouldn't be preferencing in One Nation ahead of Labor and the Greens? It would be an uncontroversial thing.
PRIME MINISTER: No, all I’m saying at this stage is that we will never do a preference deal with One Nation and that we will settle those matters at the time of nominations closing, when we know who all the candidates are.
ALY: So does that mean it is possible that you will be preferencing One Nation ahead of Labor and the Greens?
PRIME MINISTER: No, it just means what I just said.
ALY: No, it wasn't clear to me on that point, sorry. Does that mean -
PRIME MINISTER: We will make those decisions –
ALY: You will, it’s possible?
PRIME MINISTER: Clear at the time of the nominations closing, Waleed.
ALY: Okay on the question of immigration - and here I’m not talking about the policy of immigration so much as the rhetoric of immigration, the discourse around immigration - do you think it's a problem when we talk about asylum seekers in particular through the prism of the possibility of them being rapists, of being murderers, of being paedophiles? This kind of ‘quasi Trumpian’ language? In his case applied to Mexicans.
PRIME MINISTER: Well that's only relevant if in the cases that we're talking about, that’s what is known about the actual individuals who may be subject to transfers. That was the topic of that debate at the time and that's what was said.
ALY: Right.
PRIME MINISTER: Should we ignore the fact that if there are persons who do have those records, or for whom those issues are present, that we should ignore that?
ALY: The question –
PRIME MINISTER: Like it's taboo, you’re not allowed to mention it?
ALY: No, no there are multiple points to this, one of which is that it was warning that these people would be in Australia, as though they would be in the community. The bill in question never did that. I suppose it's about whether –
PRIME MINISTER: Well no, the bill actually could do that, if they were put in community detention in metropolitan parts of the city, that’s exactly –
ALY: The bill made clear that they could be denied on those grounds and so they wouldn't get they into the country in the first place.
PRIME MINISTER: No I'm sorry Waleed, the bill didn't do that. The bill didn't do that. So for those for whom that is a particular issue, and there is intelligence or information that relates to those individuals who have that as an issue for us, well of course we're going to take the necessary precautions.
ALY: We spoke to numerous people who were involved in drafting the bill, there seems to have been no advice that those people, with those track records, would be able to –
PRIME MINISTER: Well sorry, we are the Government and we have to implement it. We know that's exactly what can happen and we can't resist it.
ALY: Right, so do you understand though that –
PRIME MINISTER: We're implementing that bill right now, it's not ours.
ALY: I understand. Do you understand –
PRIME MINISTER: We are taking the advice on how it has to be implemented and we'll be doing that.
ALY: Do you understand though that when you frame the issue in that way, that creates an environment of prejudice? Or do you think that's not what happens?
PRIME MINISTER: No, I think we're not going to sugar-coat to the public the implications of laws passing the Parliament and Waleed, it's important that you don't either.
ALY: No, I’m not in the process of doing anything of the sort.
PRIME MINISTER: In your commentary on these things, all journalists I think, have to be careful that they don't create a false impression of the risks that need to be managed.
ALY: I am asking you a question about whether or not describing people, Prime Minister –
PRIME MINISTER: The only people are described like that, are people that you could make that description of.
ALY: I feel like it’s very difficult to get through a sentence at the moment. The question really is about whether or not front-footing that description of these people, when there are so few of them in that category - and the categories that we were being warned about ended up being so vanishingly small once further questioning was applied to them – that that creates -
PRIME MINISTER: Well actually we’re talking about a number.
ALY: That that creates a prejudice.
PRIME MINISTER: No, no Waleed, you've got to be honest with people. If a bill that was put forward and supported by the Labor Party, was going to be creating risks for managing the transfer of people into the community, then I'm not going to tell the Australian people what those risks don't exist. I'm not going to sugar-coat it. There are real risks, there are very real risks. I mean people used to accuse me of this when I was talking about what we needed to do to actually get our borders under control. They used to accuse me of all sorts of motives. But I was right, it needed –
ALY: And how many people were in this category?
PRIME MINISTER: My last advice on all of those of whom there were some serious concerns on character issues, I think was over about 50.
ALY: No, 50 murderers, rapists and paedophiles?
PRIME MINISTER: Not only those but also people who had serious character assessments –
ALY: No, no how many, how many murderers, rapists and paedophiles are we talking about?
PRIME MINISTER: They were actually published –
ALY: How many?
PRIME MINISTER: We had people with character concerns, over 50 people Waleed –
ALY: No, no that’s not what I asked. How many murders, rapists and paedophiles? It’s an important question because that's –
PRIME MINISTER: They were among those 50, that’s true.
ALY: Among? Two among? Three among? 50 among?
PRIME MINISTER: So how many rapists – no, let me put this to you Waleed. How rapists and murderers should be transferred to the Australian community?
ALY: I would say none, which is what the authors of the bill contend.
PRIME MINISTER: And they were wrong, they were wrong Waleed.
ALY: No, no but let me ask you the question. Because as you say –
PRIME MINISTER: There only needs to be one Waleed, that’s my answer.
ALY: And if the Minister has discretion to stop that person?
PRIME MINISTER: But they don’t.
ALY: They do.
PRIME MINISTER: They do not Waleed. I’m sorry, I’m the Prime Minister, I’m responsible for implementing it and I have the full availability of the Attorney General, the Attorney General’s Department, the Department of Home Affairs and their advice to me is, no, we don't have that power. So I don't know whose advice you're relying on, but I'm sorry, you don't know.
ALY: So because of that one person. Is it one by the way?
PRIME MINISTER: No it's more than one, it's well over that –
ALY: Okay can you give me that number, I am actually interested to know it.
PRIME MINISTER: I've already told you there's, there's almost 60 actually who were identified as having serious character concerns, that in other circumstances we would never allow to be transferred to Australia. So that's enough –
ALY: You know that’s not the question I’ve asked.
PRIME MINISTER: Well, I’ve asked you the same question and you’re saying ‘no rapists’.
ALY: There were reports about murderers, rapists and paedophiles.
PRIME MINISTER: They exist and they are there –
ALY: How many? How many of those 60?
PRIME MINISTER: And those crimes have been committed actually in Papua New Guinea.
ALY: How many of those 60?
PRIME MINISTER: There are a number, I don't have the numbers to hand, but this is getting into a semantic discussion. What I'm saying to you Waleed is this though; don't sugar-coat this stuff.
ALY: I’m not.
PRIME MINISTER: It doesn't excuse it.
ALY: I have no interest in sugar-coating any of it.
PRIME MINISTER: Well I'm afraid mate, sometimes you could be accused of it.
ALY: Yes? Is that what you’re doing now?
PRIME MINISTER: Well you're saying that there was no risk Waleed.
ALY: I'm asking you, no –
PRIME MINISTER: And there was there was risk and you say it didn't exist because the bill didn't allow for it. I'm telling you that's wrong.
ALY: I'm saying the bill protected against that risk.
PRIME MINISTER: So I was always trying to be honest with the Australian people about the risk.
ALY: And I’m not sugar-coating anything with that. Let me ask you about one final area here. What needs to happen now communally, from the Government? What does the Government need to do, what leadership does the Government need to show to lower the social temperature in Australia, do you think?
PRIME MINISTER: You mean particularly after Friday?
ALY: Yeah.
PRIME MINISTER: Well, exactly what I did do. The first step, call this out for what it was. Next step, go and sit down with Muslim brothers and sisters that I know and express my deepest and serious condolences and talk about the issues we needed to manage straight away. On Sunday, I went to the Coptic Church in Arncliffe in Sydney, a community no stranger to shootings in churches, who understand probably more than most how deeply these things can affect communities. I went there and spoke there, prayed there with my family. On Monday, I went to the Australia-Israel Chamber of Commerce here in Melbourne and I gave a speech which talked about the need for Australians to see each other as individuals, hot herded into particular groups. That we could actually respect each other and the motives that sit behind each and every individual and not make assumptions about people based on what other people have said. That we need to disagree better, not necessarily agree more. That we didn't allow conflict in debate to become more sport than an entertainment, but that we were able to get behind that and actually have real community-building initiatives which are exactly the type of initiatives I announced on Wednesday of this week.
ALY: So, I fully –
PRIME MINISTER: Initiative Together for Humanity, which we put $2.5 million in, initiatives like the one we announced today with Bachar Houli down there at Richmond at Punt Road. These types of programs which I've been supporting and my Government has been funding for years now. That's what we need to do.
ALY: So I fully expect that when someone, one of your political opponents behaves in a way that is contrary to the spirit of that, that you will censure them. I fully expect that. Do you think you will do it when it comes from within your own set of political allies?
PRIME MINISTER: Well I have. So again Waleed, look to the experience that I've laid out for you tonight and don't prejudge me.
ALY: I’m not prejudging, I’m asking the question. Will you henceforth -
PRIME MINISTER: That's my form Waleed.
ALY: So next time –
PRIME MINISTER: I'm happy to call out people, as others have sought to call me out on things, I'm not shy about doing these sorts of things. I'm not shy about doing these sorts of things because I know what my values are and I know what I have done in my life, to try and build these bridges between communities.
When I became Prime Minister I said I want to do three things; I wanted to keep the economy strong - because if you don't have a job you don't have a lot of choices. If the economy is not strong you can't pay for service like hospitals and schools.
I said I want to keep Australians safe - and that wasn't just about strong borders and our Defence forces, it was about the biggest ever plan for countering domestic violence in Australia's history, at $328 million which we announced just the other week.
And I said I wanted to bring Australians together. Now I have form on all these things Waleed and I'm bringing Australians together. I think you'll find it hard to find another member of Parliament who has not made at least the same effort that I have to build these bridges between these communities.
I continue to do that as Prime Minister each and every day because you know, we've got to love all Australians. It doesn't matter what their background is, it doesn't matter what their religion is, it doesn't matter what their ethnicity is. We are the most successful multicultural country on the earth, the best immigration nation of any country on the earth. That's my responsibility to make sure it stays that way and that's my absolute commitment.
ALY: Prime Minister I wish you all the best with that endeavour.
PRIME MINISTER: Well I look forward to your support and we will be doing it.
ALY: We’ll certainly be watching and supporting, absolutely where that does happen.
PRIME MINISTER: Cheers.
ALY: Thank you very much for your time.
Doorstop, Pakenham Victoria
21 March 2019
JASON WOOD MP, MEMBER FOR LA TROBE: Thanks everyone, it’s fantastic to be here in my electorate of La Trobe in the suburb of Pakenham and I thank the Prime Minister very much again for his visit here today, his second trip in recent times. To Alan Tudge who is actually now on his third trip in Pakenham and Tudgey grew up in Pakenham, so has been here many times before. To Councillor Graeme Moore and also Councillor Ross, to Colin here, Mayor of Cardinia. We've been working very closely on congestion-busting in the south east.
Can I first of all say, the great news is when it comes to the Monash Freeway, we committed $1 billion back in March 2016, so a $1 billion dollar proposal, $500 million federal funding. Stage 1 has been completed, that's from Clyde Road to the South Gippsland Highway. The second stage is South Gippsland Highway to Warragul Road and from Clyde Road right out into Cardinia Road. Recently also, we announced with Alan Tudge, money - after a visit from the Prime Minister – for McGregor Road off-ramps. The money has been fully committed.
Also when it comes to the Monash, the great news is that the Beaconsfield Interchange, that project starts at the end of this year. Again, the PM has been there and that sees the creation also of 10,000 jobs in the city. But the fantastic news here today is, we're fully committing $70 million dollars to Racecourse Road for an extra lane going right across the Princes Highway and down to Henry Road. This is a very exciting announcement and can I again personally thank both Alan Tudge and of course the Prime Minister for being here today and joining us in La Trobe.
PRIME MINISTER: Thank you, thank you Jason. It's great to be here in La Trobe and with our local government partners and of course Alan Tudge the Minister for congestion-busting. Now today we're making these announcements, but before I do that let me say a couple of things.
It's great to be here in Melbourne again at the opening of the AFL season. It's obviously a very exciting day for everybody in Victoria, I'm looking forward to along to the match this evening. It's also great to be here on Harmony Day. Harmony Day is a day we celebrate that we have the most successful immigrant country anywhere on earth today, the most successful multicultural country of any country on the earth today. I particularly want to commend Jason on the great work that he does here in his local community here in La Trobe, whether it's working with a local Sri Lankan or the Indian community and recently the funding we announced for the Sikh Games which has been a key issue for bringing people together.
You know, we're a stronger country when we invest in the social fabric of our nation. That makes us a more prosperous country and makes us a safer country and it means that as our country grows, we grow together, we don't grow apart. So happy Harmony Day to everyone. I know my girls this morning, back in Sydney, they'd be going off to school for Harmony Day which will be in schools all across the country today. It's a wonderful opportunity to reflect on the great strength that comes from our strong immigrant nation.
Now yesterday, Minister Tudge and I with Minister Coleman announced our serious plan to manage population growth in Australia, into the future. We’ve benefitted a lot from the growth that we have experienced, but as we also know, that growth can have some growth pains attached to it. We know that is the case here across Melbourne. That's why we've been investing in projects here, particularly in the electorate of La Trobe with Jason. $500 million on the Monash Freeway, a very significant part of that, but the programme we have to manage population growth into the future, is not only ensuring we have migration settings that are responsible, but also to ensure that we have the investment in congestion-busting infrastructure that can improve the quality of life and protect that standard of living all across our big cities. That's what we're here to announce today. Better coordination with state and local government authorities, that's on display today and ensuring we're investing in the social fabric and social cohesion of our country, so we can grow together as I said. That's on display today as we celebrate Harmony Day and other initiatives we've been announcing.
Today we're announcing $70 million dollars here for this important congestion-busting project. This is a programme which Alan can speak to more specifically, but whether it's the Monash Freeway or here where we are today, this is about ensuring that people get home sooner and safer to their families. It's about ensuring that tradies can get on site, because you don't get paid for sitting in a traffic jam. You get paid for being on site and that's true for small family businesses out there as well. So these projects make our cities more liveable. They make our cities more efficient, which is good for our economy and enables us to grow together. $330 million dollars we have delivered and we have committed to urban congestion projects here in Victoria. A third of our entire fund, is being committed to projects here in Victoria. Why? Because this is where the congestion has to be busted.
When I appointed Alan Tudge to be the Minister for congestion-busting, I wanted someone with Melbourne eyes, to put on a Melbourne problem. That's what Alan's experience has done, growing up in Pakenham, understanding uniquely the challenges being faced in our suburbs, as Jason does. These projects deliver on our plan to manage population growth into the future and I want to welcome Alan here to make a few comments on this particular project.
THE HON ALAN TUDGE MP, MINISTER FOR CITIES, URBAN INFRASTRUCTURE AND POPULATION: Thank you Prime Minister, Jason, Mayor and others. This is a great congestion-busting project in one of the fastest-growing areas of Australia. As the Prime Minister and Jason were saying, I grew up here in Pakenham. When I grew up in the early 70s, it was a small town of 2,000 or 3,000 people. I was in fact born in a hospital called the Pakenham Bush Nursing Hospital. Today this town is 50,000 people and is expected to grow another 20,000 people when east Pakenham is developed in the next few years. So, extraordinary growth and with that growth though does come congestion pain.
So this project’s $70 million dollars will ease one of the real congestion hotspots here in Pakenham. The congestion hotspot we're talking about is right here on Racecourse Road and this particular project’s $70 million dollars is going to fix up the on-ramps at the freeway exchange there with Racecourse Road, so that people can get onto Racecourse Road more simply. Because presently you have a bank-up because of people getting onto Racecourse Road. You can often have a 500 meter bank-up and that means it's dangerous on the freeway. Then there’s going to be a duplication all the way down as far as to the railway line down there. This particular intersection here with Bald Hill Road is going to be fixed. Now that intersection is a particular congestion hotspot, it has 20,000 cars going through it each and every day. It will soon have 32,000 cars according to projections from the Council. So we are fixing up that interchange, that intersection as well.
Of course it works hand-in-glove with what the State Government is doing, because they're doing the fixing up of the railway line there, so that there will be a bridge going over Racecourse Road rather than a level crossing as such. So this works hand-in-glove that. The end result of it, $70 million, fully funded, it means that this will be another congestion-busting project that we get completed. It means that people will be able to get to work more quickly, get home at night and spend more time with their families.
Can I Particularly thank Jason Wood for his work on this, he has been an incredible advocate for this project. He's worked very closely with the Cardinia Shire Council in developing this project and they've been great partners in this as well and I'd like to thank them. They're dealing with extraordinary growth down here and they need our assistance. We are delivering that assistance with projects like this to make it easier for everyday families here in Pakenham and further afield.
PRIME MINISTER: Thank you Alan. I’m going to invite up the Mayor, Graeme, who has done a lot of advocacy on this project, working with Jason.
CR GRAEME ROSS, MAYOR OF CARDINIA: Thank you Prime Minister and thank you Jason Wood for the generous funding that we've been waiting for a long time in Pakenham. This is a community project that has been – we’re ready to do this straight away. What a great result we’re going to have for our community here in Pakenham. There is safety, there’s upgrades to quality and I want to thank you Alan and thank you Prime Minister for being here today. We’re stoked. I don’t need to go on about it, I just want to thank our staff who have worked tirelessly to get this down on the ground today and we’re shovel-ready. We are ready to do this project. We can’t wait for it to get underway.
PRIME MINISTER: Well thanks Graeme, I’m stoked too.
[Laughter]
Well, the other thing that is actually really impacting on Melbourne has been the impact of housing not being able to keep up with population growth, as well. It's important - as Alan was pointing out in our population growth strategy presentation yesterday - that we need to see the housing industry continue to do well. What we've heard today from is SQM Research is they have released independent research today which has said what the impact will be of Labor's housing tax. Now that housing tax, or getting rid of negative gearing as we know it and putting up the capital gains tax, we all know what that means for people's house prices right across Melbourne. But what many renters won't understand is what that research shows today is that rents here in Melbourne could rise by as much as 15 percent. Now if you're fortunate enough to be paying say 500 bucks a week when it comes to a two bedroom flat or a house, then you'll be paying somewhere up to or around $4,000 extra a year. Obviously more than that if your rent is much bigger than that, or you have the need for a larger property.
Labor's housing tax will punish everybody, whether you own an investment property or not, whether you rent or whether you buy, whether you're an investor or you’re a first home buyer. Labor’s housing tax will hurt all of you.
It will also hurt you if you're out there working in the residential construction industry, costing tens of thousands of jobs every year. That's what the independent research says; this is a very dangerous policy, a housing tax, to be putting on the growth of Australian cities. It will slow down construction and mean that those who are trying to live with expanding population growth, will only have to suffer further difficulty because of those sort of pernicious taxes that Labor want to put on our cities and our homeowners and our renters.
JOURNALIST: If this if there is a change of government, will this project go ahead?
PRIME MINISTER: This money is committed in the Budget. The Labor Party would have to strip it out of the Budget. But our plan is to ensure they would never get that opportunity. They should not have that opportunity, because what Jason Wood has demonstrated here in La Trobe is, he promises and he delivers. $500 million for the Monash Freeway, or funding for Sikh Games to support local communities. Or indeed $70 million dollars here from Racecourse Road.
We are investing - and I should stress also we're working closely together with the Victorian State Government, it was just last week I stood together with the Victorian Premier out at Sunshine and announced that we'd signed our deal when it comes to development of the Melbourne Airport Rail Link, the Tulla rail. Now, we're working together on projects and I acknowledge the work of Victorian State Government here, with the flyover they’re putting over the rail line here. Good for them. We're all going to work together to make sure we manage population growth into the future and I can assure you as Prime Minister I will work closely with the Victorian State Government, every state government regardless of what their political persuasion is, because I just want to get stuff done.
JOURNALIST: Is there any state money in this project?
PRIME MINISTER: There is no requirement to start this project, we’re fully funding this. They've put their investment into the flyover and we welcome it, working together to fund important components of this project - to deliver the outcome which is to bust congestion.
JOURNALIST: How long is it predicted to take?
PRIME MINISTER: I might ask the Mayor or the Minister to address that issue.
MINISTER FOR CITIES, URBAN INFRASTRUCTURE AND POPULATION: The money is in fact from last year's Budget, so it is there, ready to be deployed and as soon as that can be scoped up and delivered, we've got the money ready to go.
JOURNALIST: So this isn’t a re-announcement then?
MINISTER: No.
PRIME MINISTER: No, it’s not. I announced in the Budget last year, a $1 billion congestion fund. We have been going through the process as of last year's Budget, of committing those funds to specific projects. In that Budget, there was no detailing of any of the projects and so what we have done, over the course of the last year is, we have worked closely with our local members to allocate that money to the projects of greatest need in breaking the bottlenecks in our cities. This is a key one which Jason has highlighted and we're backing in with $70 million. So it's real money, it’s right there. It’s ready to go, the cheque is ready to be signed.
JOURNALIST: On another issue, have you spoken to the Turkish President directly or do you intend to speak to him directly about his comments?
PRIME MINISTER: Let me make a couple of comments on this issue. Overnight progress has been made on this issue. Overnight we have already seen a moderation of the President’s views expressed in an article in the Washington Post today. I welcome the moderation in those views. There have been further meetings held between our officials and the Turkish Government and that’s the appropriate place for those to be held. There’s an OIC meeting taking place over the next few days and the New Zealand Foreign Minister will be there, our Ambassador to Saudi Arabia will be attending at that meeting and there will be opportunities for further discussion. But as I said yesterday, it’s my intention here to break any cycle of recklessness. To work through these issues practically, to register in the strongest and clearest of terms, the offence that was taken – I believe rightly – by those comments yesterday, but now, to work constructively.
I want to stress again that Australia and Turkey, the peoples of both countries have a tremendous relationship built up over generations. The Turkish-Australian community, you’ll find no finer community in Australia, one of the many, many migrant communities that have built Australia. So those issues, I think are quite separate. This is a matter that I’m confident we’ll be able to resolve and be able to work through in the best interests of the wonderful relationship that we have had with Turkey over a long period of time. So we’re making progress.
JOURNALIST: So would you follow the New Zealand lead and send the Foreign Minister [inaudible] talks?
PRIME MINISTER: Well he is attending a meeting that he was already scheduled to attend and I’ve been in contact, in discussions with the New Zealand Prime Minister as well last night. We were discussing a number of issues including our joint efforts to promote social media companies taking responsible action in terms of the posting of extremist material. I spoke to the Japanese Prime Minister last night also on this topic, to Shinzo Abe. He is the President of the G20 and I’m pleased that we’re being able to progress that issue also with our officials to see if we’re able to take that forward at the Osaka Summit. So a lot of progress made overnight on all of these issues. Our officials are doing the jobs that they’re paid to do, they’re the professionals and we’re making a lot of progress. But I think it’s very important that yesterday Australia registered our views very, very clearly and unambiguously and my colleagues know, I’m quite well-known for that. I think I made the point.
JOURNALIST: Do you feel the President has [inaudible] regretted what he said?
PRIME MINISTER: Well I’ll allow the process to follow before making any further comment.
JOURNALIST: Did the Government seek clarification through official, I guess, diplomatic channels before you hauled in the Ambassador and publically blasted the President?
PRIME MINISTER: There was a series of advice that I took before both the meeting with the Turkish Ambassador, which included direct consultation through our Embassy in Ankara.
JOURNALIST: Australians will travel to Gallipoli for ANZAC Day, do you expect those Aussies who travel there now will be safe from [inaudible]?
PRIME MINISTER: Well the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade is still reviewing the travel advice. When they conclude that process, we’ll make our announcement. I have welcomed some of the more positive statements about the safety of Australians travelling, from the Turkish Government overnight. I have welcomed that, but I still think we still have a bit more distance to travel.
JOURNALIST: Do you say they should go ahead and book, if they have -
PRIME MINISTER: Well, let’s just wait for the official travel advice, I’m not going to make any further comment on that. I think the prudent thing to do is to go through the proper process and make the proper assessment.
JOURNALIST: Labor announced today they'd be looking to invest $2.8 billion into high speed rail from Melbourne up to Brisbane, is that something that is on the Government's agenda and what do you make of that?
PRIME MINISTER: I find it very hard to take the Opposition seriously when they talk about projects like that. I mean, we are building the Inland Rail now, that's actually what we're doing now, that’s our record.A Melbourne to Brisbane fast rail link is a very ambitious program and the wherewithal to do that and the timeframes around that, I think the Opposition should be very clear about.
We're focusing on projects that we know are going to make a big difference to people right here and now and that's Racecourse Road. So I mean, that's going to make a difference to people living here in Pakenham, right here, right now. Our congestion-busting projects are focused on that. But then, our visionary projects - the Melbourne Airport Rail Link, a $10 billion dollar programme that we're doing together with the Victorian Government - that is city-changing infrastructure. The North-South Rail Link that we're putting in place in New South Wales and the Western Sydney International Airport, the Nancy Bird Walton Airport, these are projects that Labor didn't move on for generations. But our government is moving on and making it happen and that includes the Inland Rail. That is a project that has been around for a long time, but it has taken our Government to make it happen. It has taken our Government to build Snowy 2.0. It has taken our Government to step up and make sure that we can see a second interconnector between Tasmania to get hydro power from Tasmania into Victoria and into Melbourne, to ensure that we don't see the brownouts that we've seen on previous occasions.
So our Government has a $75 billion dollar infrastructure plan that is being rolled out and has been for years, that is driving our economy forward. It is busting congestion and improving the living standards of all Australians.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, the baby that was abandoned in Perth? Do you believe it’s time, like in Europe and the United States where we change our laws to encourage mothers that don’t want babies to [inaudible]?
PRIME MINISTER: First of all, my thoughts frankly are with the young child, the infant and that they are placed in the best of care. I have absolutely no doubt that is what has occurred. The Western Australian Government has the processes and systems in place to provide that care. I also have concern for the mother as well and that the right supports are being placed around her, if she is able to be identified and for the issue to be handled sensitively. So today I think, that's where my thoughts are and there will be time to consider other matters, I'm sure. But right now my thoughts are with the child and the mother.
JOURNALIST: Can I get your thoughts, you’re in Melbourne -
PRIME MINISTER: I’m backing Richmond, I’m in Melbourne and I’m backing Richmond tonight. I’m not an AFL fan, I don’t follow it all the time but you can pick my tips, you can see them all there. I’m in it to win it.
JOURNALIST: And the female Carlton player, the shot of a goal - I imagine - with the leg up high. She was trolled online. Have you seen that photo?
PRIME MINISTER: Yeah I have and it's a great photo. I think it's a cracker photo.
JOURNALIST: And what do you think of these so-called trolls getting on board and saying despicable things?
PRIME MINISTER: I think they’re grubs. I think they're cowardly grubs who need to wake up to themselves. You know, trolls on social media, they’re nothing new these days sadly. But I think what is horrible is those trolls tend to target women. They tend to be the target for an inordinate share of the abuse that happens online. I think that's a shameful indictment on the grubs who get on there.
I mean I don’t know what's up with them, like, would they say to anyone’s face? No, they haven't got the guts to do that, they're cowards, they're weak. They are acting out some sort of hatred, in a way which really just lessens them as people and they just need to wake up to themselves. We should give them no quarter and we should treat them as the grubs they are.
JOURNALIST: Just one more, do you support the Adani mine project in Queensland?
PRIME MINISTER: We support mining right across the country, we think mining is great for Australian jobs. It's great for Australian jobs right across the country.
JOURNALIST: Fraser Anning has spent nearly $35,000 flying his family around the country last year, that is within his entitlements, but do you think that's reasonable?
PRIME MINISTER: I think he's had enough oxygen, I'm not going to give him any more.
Thank you.
Education hub to build culture and diversity at Punt Road
21 March 2019
Prime Minister, Treasurer
The Morrison Government has thrown its support behind a new educational hub for young Indigenous students and members of the Bachar Houli Academy at Punt Road Oval.
The $60 million William Cooper Centre will bring together sport, culture and diversity under one roof as the home to the Korin Gamadji Institute, the Bachar Houli Academy, Melbourne Indigenous Transition School (MITS) and women’s and community football.
The Centre, initiated by the Richmond Football Club, will deliver residential accommodation, digitally enhanced learning spaces, and improved amenities and training facilities.
It will also increase the number of people engaged through the facility from around 90,000 to more than 200,000 on an annual basis.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison said the project would help foster a stronger sense of community through sport.
“Australians know all too well that the power of sport extends beyond the boundary line and that’s what establishing the William Cooper Centre is all about,” the Prime Minister said.
“This Centre encourages inclusion, promotes understanding and will empower young Australians from a diverse range of backgrounds to achieve great things.
“We’re building on our plan for Australia’s population with projects like this, by helping promote stronger ties within our communities.
“It will serve as an enduring legacy for its namesake William Cooper, who was one of the leaders of the NAIDOC movement, and has inspired generations of Indigenous people to follow in his leadership.”
Treasurer Josh Frydenberg said the Morrison Government had committed $15 million to help establish the centre as part of the upcoming Budget.
“We understand that initiatives like the Korin Gamadji Institute, the Bachar Houli Academy, MITS and increasing women’s participation in sport play an important role in the social and economic success of our community,” Mr Frydenberg said.
“This investment will ensure that more young people can share in the benefits of these important programs by removing the constraints at the current facilities.
“Our Government can make these investments, which benefit our communities, because our plan for a stronger economy is working,” the Treasurer said.
The development will also see an increased seating capacity at Punt Road which plays regular host to VFL and VFLW matches.
The funding for the William Cooper Centre follows a $2.1 million investment in MITS for a new Alumni Boarding House, $15 million to make Carlton’s Ikon Park the home of AFLW in Victoria, $15 million to establish a home for the Brisbane Lions AFLW team in Springfield, Queensland, and $60 million to support grassroots sports clubs to upgrade their facilities through the Community Sport Infrastructure grant program.
Racecourse Road Upgrade flies out of the gates
21 March 2019
Prime Minister, Minister for Cities Urban Infrastructure and Population
Motorists in Pakenham will be spending less time in traffic after a $70 million congestion-busting package was announced today by the Morrison Government.
The commitment will fund Pakenham’s Racecourse Road upgrade between the Princes Freeway and Henry Street.
The upgrade would put traffic signals at the Bald Hill Road intersection and upgrade the freeway overpass.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison said the project would be a game-changer for local drivers.
“This will solve the congestion headache problem for the more than 20,000 motorists who use this route every day,” the Prime Minister said.
“We’re building on our plan for Australia’s future population by busting congestion in places like Pakenham. We’re reducing the pressure we’re putting on the infrastructure in our big cities and delivering policies that connect migrants to communities looking for more workers and skills.
“This is about getting people home sooner and safer, tradies being able to be on site rather than stuck bumper to bumper, and families spending more time together.”
Federal Member for La Trobe Jason Wood said taking action now was crucial to ensuring the area was equipped to allow for the strong residential growth in the area.
“The Morrison Government understands the importance of easing local congestion issues, particularly in areas such as Pakenham that are experiencing strong population growth,” Mr Wood said.
“Traffic queuing from the intersection of Racecourse Road and Bald Hill Road, often extending back onto the freeway, is a well-known bottleneck and a safety issue. It is something we are committed to fixing through the funding injection announced today.”
Minister for Cities, Urban Infrastructure and Population Alan Tudge said the upgrade would improve access to the Pakenham town centre and support the growing residential in north and east.
“It will be welcome news for local businesses and residents across Pakenham,” Minister Tudge said.
“It will mean faster, safer and more reliable access between the Princes Freeway and Princes Highway, as well as into the Pakenham town centre.”
This funding builds on the Government’s additional $261.3 million investment announced recently for Melbourne under the nationwide Urban Congestion Package, as well as major congestion-busting investments such as the North East Link, Monash Freeway Widening, M80 Ring Road Upgrade, and the $5 billion commitment to deliver the Melbourne Airport Rail Link.
Press Conference Canberra ACT
30 December 2021
PRIME MINISTER: Well good afternoon, I’m pleased to be joined by Minister Coleman and Minister Tudge. This is a very important day, because today we are launching Australia’s first Commonwealth serious plan to manage population growth into our future.
This plan is about protecting the quality of life of Australians right across our country, in our urban areas, in our regional parts of the country. Its about realising the economic opportunities that are all around the country and it’s about investing in the fabric of our community so we can grow together. At a very practical level, it’s about acknowledging the impacts that are happening in our cities and the opportunities we need to seize in our regional areas. Its about understanding that parents want to get home sooner and safer to have time together as a family. The tradies want to spend less time in traffic and more time on site, because that’s where you get paid and to ensure that the congestion that is impacting on our cities is addressed – not just now but that it’s well-,managed into the future. That congestion and the liveability of cities was one of the key items that was highlighted by the Productivity Commission in the report into the five year priorities for productivity improvements that I commissioned when I was Treasurer.
So today’s announcement is about addressing that productivity agenda as well. Our population has been a key component of our economic growth. Equally that population if not well-managed can retard growth, that is true, with the impacts of congestion. So it is very much about getting the balance right across these various objectives. The plan that I announce today, supported by Ministers Coleman and Tudge, has four key components.
The first is ensuring that we have a responsible and well-planned and targeted migration programme. A programme that of course, has integrity and that programme will be capped at 160,000. That programme enables us to pause at that level over the forward estimates, but as always the Government has the opportunity to respond to changing circumstances in the future. But it about the forwards, it is about ensuring that the population planning and the infrastructure investments and the working out of the plan that I’m outlining today with Ministers, is able to have it’s effect across the country. It’s about incentives, to get people taking up the opportunities outside our big cities and I know much of the discussion is focussed on regional areas but these ‘outside the big cities’ areas include Adelaide, they include Darwin, they include Hobart, they include Newcastle, they include some of our faster growing areas around the country. It’s important that we have the opportunity for people to go where they are needed. Over 45,000 job vacancies in regional Australia, as Alan reminds me regularly, constantly, for rural and regional areas and have been put to the government, through the migration programme and the need to have more workers in those areas. So it’s important that we take the opportunity for our migration programme to play its role in seizing those opportunities.
Secondly it’s about busting congestion in our cities and ensuring that our cities are well-managed. There are an array of initiatives there, whether it’s the City Deals, the most recent we announced yesterday in Adelaide, or it’s the congestion-busting infrastructure projects, or the very large scale projects like the Tullamarine Rail or the North South Rail Link we’ve recently announced in western Sydney to support the Western Sydney International Nancy Bird Walton Airport, these are important projects. It's about planning for the future together, with state and territory and local governments.
As you know, last year I took a new approach to population planning, to work closely with the states and territories, to the COAG meeting. That was endorsed at that COAG meeting and we continue to work together on that framework. That includes importantly, working with local government. As you know, the ALGA was part of that COAG meeting and welcomed that approach to acknowledge the challenges being faced by local governments across the country. Under this plan, particularly on the migration programme, as David will run through later the states and territories will go from having just less than a fifth of a say about the annual migration intake into their states, to almost a third. So that is giving them a real role in the migration programme in Australia, that they have never had before.
Finally it's about continuing to invest in bringing Australians together. A cohesive society, one where we invest in the social fabric of this country, is one that enables us to support population growth into the future. It is one of Australia's most significant successes. Sure, we can always do more and we can always do better, but Australia is a country that welcomes people from all around the world and our social cohesion and our migration programme makes us the most successful migrant country in the world today. We will not take that for granted and what we're announcing today will further invest in the social fabric as part of a comprehensive plan.
So a responsible migration plan, busting congestion in our cities, planning to grow together and bringing Australians together to invest in our social fabric; that is the serious plan, the Plan for Australia's Population Future, that we're announcing today.
I'm going to ask Minister Tudge to go through some of the data. I know how much you'd like me to take you through data charts from Treasury days - Shane is giving the nod of approval - but I'm going to allow Alan to do that today, to run through the data that has really contributed to the strategy that we've come forward with today and talk about the particular infrastructure components of what we're announcing today. Then I'll ask David to go through the more detailed components of the migration changes that we're making today. So, I'll hand you over to Alan, thank you.
THE HON ALAN TUDGE MP, MINISTER FOR CITIES, URBAN INFRASTRUCTURE AND POPULATION: Thanks Prime Minister. This is a plan to ease the pressure on our big cities, while supporting the growth of the smaller cities and the regions. We've been working on this for many months now and I'd like to take you through at least some of the analysis which has underpinned where we have actually got to. I hope this presentation works, if I press this button, it should come on. That one there, there we go.
Let's start by looking at this. Australia's population is growing fast, but it's always been a relatively fast-growing nation. We're at about 1.6 per cent per annum presently, which is the average since Federation. But clearly you can see we've had faster-growing periods of time in the Populate or Perish policy and also in the Roaring ‘20s. We've had an up-tick in particular in the last decade or so, so we're still going along at a reasonably fast pace of 1.6 per annum, which is double the rate of the United States and almost triple that of the OECD average.
When you look at population growth, there's really only two ways you can grow; through natural increase, because we're having more babies and living longer, which we are doing, and through net overseas migration. We've always been a land of immigrants and so immigration has always been a big part of our population growth. In recent decades, the proportion of our population growth which is due to immigration has actually lifted. So it now sits close to about 60 per cent with about 40 per cent due to births and increasing life expectancy.
Now, this is perhaps one of the more important slides, that while the growth of Australia is relatively quick by international standards, it's particularly fast into three areas; that is in to Melbourne, Sydney and south east Queensland. There, as you can see they're represented by these three bars here, they constitute three-quarters of all of the population growth in the country overall. So those three cities, those three areas, are growing very, very fast, while these other areas, which are growing much more slowly, when in fact want to grow more quickly. In many cases, they're crying out for more people.
The Prime Minister indicated previously that in the regions alone, there are 47,000 job vacancies today, according to the Regional Australia Institute. We know that a place like Adelaide, which is down here, the Premier wants 15,000 to 20,000 more people each and every year. There are parts of Australia where which are literally crying out for more workers. So while we've got very fast growth in the big cities, we've got other parts of the country that do want to grow more quickly. Here's just one indication in Warnambool, in my home state of Victoria, this is the Warnambool Mayor who says they need 1,000 workers today to fill the job vacancies which they have. That's three or four hours outside of Melbourne, a beautiful coastal town.
So moving along, when you've got fast-growing population, you need infrastructure to keep up. Now, this chart tracks the infrastructure expenditure with what the population growth is. As you can see, it broadly tracks. So the red line there is the infrastructure expenditure. The dark blue line is the population increase and basically they largely track each other. Although, you'll see at times - and particularly here, which is sort the mid-2000s to late-2000s, the population did grow well in excess of what the infrastructure expenditure was. Interestingly here we have a big up-tick in recent years. That is largely due to the massive investment going on in New South Wales where the Berejiklian Government has done enormous amounts of public infrastructure work there. Of course, very strongly supported by our Coalition Government here federally as well. So while generally it's kept pace there have been moments when it hasn't kept up and of course this is expenditure which doesn't always mean the roads are there, built, ready to be used, sometimes there can be a lag still of a couple of years thereafter.
Now, what happens if you've got fast-growing populations with the infrastructure not necessarily keeping up? Well, you end up with serious congestion and the data backs up what everybody in Melbourne, Sydney and south east Queensland particularly know from daily experience; that is the roads and the rail are getting more and more congested. So here is just one piece of data, when you look at the Melbourne traffic times. A decade ago, you could be assured of travelling 30km on the freeway in the morning peak hour and it would take you 39 minutes. A decade later, that's almost taking you an hour. So the freeway speeds is one marker of congestion and they've slowed down considerably and there's some roads, such as the Monash in Melbourne, which are almost a carpark every single morning. That translates of course, into a serious economic cost as well, which the Prime Minister mentioned. You can see that we've had congestion costs rising steadily in recent years and on the forecasts, if we do nothing different, it would continue to go up quite, quite heavily according to what the experts would suggest.
Now another part of this equation as well is if you've got strong population growth which is not being managed well, is that the housing approvals and completions don't always keep up. This is an important chart and what it shows is the ratio of dwelling completions to population change. If you're above the red line, you're basically building more houses than population coming in. If it's below the line, the contrary, your housing developments are not keeping up with your population increase.
Now, guess what happens if your population increase is running ahead of what your dwelling completion is? Your prices spike and that is exactly what has happened of course, in the last decade or so. That’s just another feature of what occurs if you're not managing your population well and making sure you've got your population growth aligned with key services and key approval processes like housing approval and dwelling completions.
So that's just a quick snapshot, if you like, of some of the challenges of population growth. Now, we're going to flip to say, well, that doesn't necessarily mean that you put the brakes on. You've got to consider the opportunities which strong population growth brings and that is, it does help drive our economy.
Now, on this chart, the red line is the population growth on an index. The blue line is the real GDP per capita and this is often not, sort of, fully understood. Not only does population growth help with GDP growth overall, but it helps with GDP per capita growth too. So it's actually made all of us wealthier. In fact, Treasury estimates that 20 per cent of our per capita wealth generated over the last 40 years has been due to population factors. Now, how does that come about? Well, in part - I'll go to the next slide which sort of explains this - at least in part, because when we bring in migrants, they come in younger than what the average Australian is. On average, a migrant comes in at the age of 26. The average age of an Australian is about 37. So it very much helps with our workforce participation and that's essentially what is a big driver of our GDP per capita growth.
PRIME MINISTER: Just on that, I’d also mention, from a pensions point of view and social welfare point of view - achieving more of a balance in the working-age population means there's more people in the working age to actually pay for the pensions and the welfare bill for those who aren't able to be in the workforce. With an ageing population, that is one of the levers and policy measures you have available to you to address an ageing population.
MINISTER FOR CITIES, URBAN INFRASTRUCTURE AND POPULATION: So this has been really important. As you probably know, our Government has slightly reduced the age of coming in as well, because we know when people come in as skilled people, as young people, they immediately contribute to the economy and they help everybody else. The other side of the ledger here - so in some respects that talks about your participation rate staying high - this side of the ledger talks about our permanent migration programme and really goes to the fact that it supports our productivity as well. Because over time - and this started under John Howard - we've slowly increased the proportion of our overall intake to being geared very much around skilled migration. Those people that do come in, come in with skills which are higher than the average person of a similar age in Australia. So the population factors support our participation rates and they support our productivity. They also support, obviously, businesses being able to grow when they can't find Australian workers.
I'll go into the next slide, which is really the last slide which we'll show. So that in some respects, that analysis goes to where do we get to now in terms of our plan? This is a recap really of how the Prime Minister summarised overall. So there's four main elements to our plan. First up, reducing the migration cap and encouraging more migrants to go to the region and David is going to take us through the specifics on that. Busting the congestion, which goes with that. Working much more closely with the states and territories and bringing the communities together. So basically we're easing the pressure on the big cities and supporting the regions, we're investing heavily into those cities and elsewhere, while we've got the pause going on. Making sure we've got proper plans with the states and territories and the local councils so that these sort of problems are better managed in the future. And of course, continuing to invest to ensure we maintain a cohesive society.
David, I think you're going to go through the details, particularly around one and four, there's a lot of detail in relation to the specifics there. Let me just say very briefly in terms of just addressing number two and number three; we’re busting congestion with investment in our roads and rail, we've been doing a lot of that, particularly in the last couple of years. We've got a $75 billion national program we're investing not only in the major road and rail corridors, but also particularly in the last six months or so, investing in the real pinch points in suburbs across our big cities. Those pinch points are important because often you can spend as much time trying to get onto the freeway, as you can actual being held up on the freeway itself. So that's a very important part of this plan and we'll continue to do that sort of work. We've mentioned fast rail briefly in the documents which have been circulated. That will also be part of our population plan as well and of course that can help with the decentralisation agenda, if you connect fast rail to your orbital cities around the big capitals. We'll have more to say about that at a later time. This planning mechanism the Prime Minister kicked off with COAG, saying that we need to much more closely align the levers which we have at our disposal - which largely set the population growth rate - with the responsibilities of the states and territories, who have primary responsibility for the infrastructure, the housing approvals and the like. They need to be much more closely married together and also the states and territories are now having a bigger say over what the population and the migration settings should be.
Critically, under this as well is the City Deals mechanism, which are becoming very important mechanisms to tie the three levels of governments together, to be able to plan better for our bigger cities. Now, we just announced the Adelaide City Deal just yesterday. We've done other City Deals, particularly the Western Sydney one which is a great plan for the development of Western Sydney, to deal with some of these congestion pressures in advance and getting it right. We're also going to do one in south east Queensland over the next 12 months. So they're two elements of the plan. The real details are in number one and four and, David, I think it's over to you now to take us through some of those initiatives.
PRIME MINISTER: Thank you, David and thank you Alan.
THE HON DAVID COLEMAN MP, MINISTER FOR IMMIGRATION, CITIZENSHIP AND MULTICULTURAL AFFAIRS: Thanks, PM, thanks, Alan. Good afternoon, everyone. This migration plan is about acknowledging that different parts of Australia have different immigration needs. A one-size-fits-all approach is not appropriate, because the immigration needs in Sydney and Melbourne are very different to the needs in South Australia or in Tasmania or in so many other parts of Australia where there is a real need for additional people to fill un-met demand for skilled jobs. So this is about focusing in on those needs around the country and seeking to ensure that our migration programme is matched to those needs and doesn't impose one solution across the entire nation.
So the first point as the PM noted, is that the annual migration cap will be coming down from 190,000 to 160,000. That, over the forward estimates, is a reduction of some 120,000 places. Now, that enables us to take some of the pressure off the cities that are experiencing, as Alan pointed out, some very significant pressures in terms of the congestion and so on. By reducing the total cap under the programme, we create the opportunity to reduce that pressure. Then, very importantly, what we further do is that we will ensure that a greater proportion of migrants settle in regional Australia.
It's really notable when you go round the country, the differences in the demand for migrants. I was just in South Australia this week and there is such a strong desire in South Australia for more people to fill the un-met demand for jobs and so on. That's the case in many other parts of the nation as well. So under this plan, what we will be doing is creating 23,000 places within the skilled scheme, where people will be required to live and work in regional Australia for a period of three years in order to obtain permanent residency. I just want to explain why this is a very important point; for people who emigrate to Australia, permanent residency is at the top of their priority list. It means that you can stay in the country and plan your future in this nation. So by linking the requirement that a person stays in a regional area for three years to their permanent residency, we will see a very, very high level of compliance with that requirement, because if people don't comply, they won't get permanent residency and they will not be allowed to settle in Australia. Now, at the moment, there is already a scheme under the state and territory nominated system which works in a similar way. About 8,500 people in 2017/18 were under this system, where they had to stay in a regional area for two years in order to obtain a permanent residency. Now, the compliance rate with that program, is 99 per cent. That's because permanent residency is such a powerful incentive.
So we're doing two things in expanding this concept of provisional permanent residency for regional Australia. The first is what is known as the employer-nominated scheme, currently known as the Regional Sponsored Migration Scheme. Now, under that scheme there are about 6,000 places, there were about 6,000 places in 2017/18. We'll be increasing that to 9,000 places and we'll be requiring that people who come under that scheme, stay in a regional area for three years in order to obtain permanent residency.
The second significant change is in relation to the state and territory nominated program. As the PM mentioned, we'll be giving the states and territories the opportunity to increase the number of people that they nominate to come to their state. So that was 8,500 people in 2017/18 and that will be increasing to 14,000 people in 2019/20. So 23,000 people over all will be required to live and work in regional Australia if they want to obtain permanent residency. That means they will not be residing in Sydney or Melbourne or Brisbane or the Gold Coast or Perth. So, importantly, that helps to take the population pressure off those centres.
Now, within regional Australia, it's important to understand that people are able to move around under this programme within regional Australia. So as I said, regional Australia excludes Sydney, it excludes Melbourne, it excludes Perth, it excludes Brisbane and the Gold Coast. Those individuals will not be able to settle in those locations. If they do, they will lose their visa and they will not be able to settle in Australia. We're also allocating $7 million to increase compliance with these regional rules. People will be required to advise the Department of Home Affairs if they change employers or move and most importantly, at the end of the three years,when they seek to obtain permanent residency, they would need to substantiate that they had, in fact, lived and worked in regional Australia for that period of three years. So some very strong compliance measures there which will ensure that people who come under those visas stay in regional areas and which will take the pressure off population growth in our big cities.
The other thing that it’s important to point out is that under this plan, there is no reduction in the number of places that can be nominated by employers. So part of our immigration programme, the permanent programme, is that employers can hire a specific individual where there is a skills gap in a particular region and that person can come to Australia.
Now, in 2017/18, there were 35,000 people who employers were able to sponsor into Australia. In 2019/20 that number is 39,000, so there's no reduction in the employer-sponsored programme. In fact, there is a modest increase.
The other thing I would also like to point out is there is no change to the family program. So in 2017/18, just under 48,000 people settled in Australia under the family program and the number in 2019/20 is precisely the same, so just under 48,000 people. So no change to the family program and obviously, people will settle right around the nation in relation to the family program.
So this is about ensuring that our migration programme is better matched to the needs of Australia. Our needs are different in different parts of the country. We know that Sydney and Melbourne in particular are facing very significant population pressures and we know that places like South Australia, Tasmania and other parts of Australia are literally calling out for more people.
So what this plan enables us to do is to deliver on those requests from different parts of Australia in relation to their migration intake. It enables us to importantly, take pressure off the cities.
PRIME MINISTER: Thank you. Do you want to speak to the social cohesion programs, just briefly?
MINISTER FOR IMMIGRATION, CITIZENSHIP AND MULTICULTURAL AFFAIRS: Sure. So over the past several months, the Government has been working on a package of social cohesion measures that are aimed to promote, encourage, celebrate multicultural Australia and tolerance within our community. Today we're announcing $71 million worth of measures in the social cohesion area, which we'll provide the full list of those later today. There are a few I wanted to specifically highlight as part of this announcement. One is a program called Together For Humanity. This is a really important program that sends people into schools to discuss religious difference, religious tolerance. It has been operating successfully for a number of years. It is so important as a society that we are cognisant and accepting of our differences. Religious freedom is so fundamental to this nation and Together For Humanity does a great job in helping people to understand religious difference and to promote tolerance. They'll be receiving $2.2 million under this program.
Another important initiative is community languages. It’s really important to note the significance of community languages in Australia, especially for kids. There are so many kids out there who do a community language after school, on the weekends. It helps to enable them to learn more about the culture that maybe their parents or grandparents have come from. Of course, there are other kids who learn languages that are not their background culture, but also enable them to learn more about the diversity of our nation. So we'll be providing $10 million in funding for Community Languages Schools for grants of up to $25,000 to assist in the development of these important programs.
In addition, we'll be having another round of the successful Fostering Integration Grants. These were just run quite recently, grants of up to $50,000 which again, seek to support organisations that are promoting tolerance, education and inclusion in our community. We'll be allocating an additional $3 million to that program as part of this announcement.
PRIME MINISTER: Thank you very much, David. Just finally, also with student visas, we'll be extending an additional year of working rights for those who come under the international student visa program and study in regional areas, the areas that have been defined. This will do two things. One, it will bring, I think, a much needed boost to a lot of these regional communities with students going in with the spend. It is one of our biggest export earners as an industry and to see that benefit of that sector spread more into the regions will be positive, as well as taking the population pressure off. As I have said repeatedly, if there is ten extra people on the bus, just under four were born here, just over four have turned up on a temporary visa and two have turned up directly on a permanent visa. That's how population growth enters Australia. Over time that changes, of course, as people move on to other visa classes. So trying to manage also the temporary migration program and support that in its dispersal I think is important. In regional areas there is also 450 additional occupations that are available to regional employers that are not available in those other areas. So there are more opportunities under those regional visa schemes to achieve that. You're also very aware of what we do around the seasonal worker program and the working holiday-maker visa program to support the needs in regional areas as well and we’re going to continue to encourage that. Happy to take questions.
JOURNALIST: Just on the 23,000 skilled visas, under the current arrangement they stay for two years. What's the retention rate of people staying in the regions and do you have an estimate or a model of what extending it to three years will do to that retention rate?
MINISTER FOR IMMIGRATION, CITIZENSHIP AND MULTICULTURAL AFFAIRS: A couple of points. So first point, there's two different programs. There's the state and territory nominated, which is currently 8,500. That goes to 14,000. The proportion of people who comply with that provision is 99 per cent. Obviously, once someone has spent a number of years in a regional area, it is reasonable to assume that the vast majority of those people will continue to settle in regional areas. Then we have the other program which is 6,000, going to 9,000, which is effectively does not currently have an effective regional requirement. So we have an additional 14,000 people who currently don't have a regional requirement in order to obtain permanent residency, who will. Permanent residency is top of the list in terms of the incentives for people. So we certainly expect that these will be well subscribed and that there will be a very high level of compliance.
PRIME MINISTER: Alan, did you want to add to that?
MINISTER FOR CITIES, URBAN INFRASTRUCTURE AND POPULATION: Yeah I would just note that the analysis we've looked at previously as well is after five years, more than 80 per cent of people are still in the regions, so who have chosen to go to the regions. People go make it their home, they go there, their kids go to school, they join the local soccer club, netball club, local church and make it their home and that’s what this plan is designed to do.
PRIME MINISTER: When you link up with states and territories and shires and local governments as well, when your migration plan is built around that, then your odds of success increase because you're taking people into areas where they want them to go, where the services are and where there are jobs.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, Minister Tudge told us the importance of population growth to GDP growth and also GDP per capita but we're also told there's a 47,000 shortfall in regional skills. Why didn't you keep, say, the migration cap at 190,000 and use that extra 30,000 to bolster this program that has 23,000 regional skilled stream? If it's going to be successful why not keep it even bigger and perhaps fulfil that 43,000-person shortfall?
PRIME MINISTER: As you know, as a result of the improvements in our immigration systems in recent years, and it was shown in Alan's chart earlier, that the level of permanent residency granted under those permanent visas has fallen in recent years. So what we're doing is basically pausing at that level and redirecting the composition. Even at the levels and the targets that we've set now for people to go beyond the capital cities, we know that they are ambitious targets to meet for those areas. It is about pausing the overall level of intake and ensuring the spread of that intake is more targeted to where the jobs and the opportunities are.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, the presentation…
PRIME MINISTER: You're waiting patiently there.
JOURNALIST: The presentation stepped through the contribution that migration has made to economic growth. Have you modelled the subtraction from economic growth that the reduction in the permanent residency program will have, and if so what is that number?
PRIME MINISTER: We're not expecting any change. That'll be set out in the Budget. As I said at the start of this process, and I should have stressed, when we stood up this process, we formed a Cabinet subcommittee which is chaired by the Treasurer, who is obviously not here today with us because he is busy writing the Budget. So I want to thank Josh for his work in leading the taskforce that the Ministers have been involved here. The whole point here is to do two things. Yes, to pause the overall level of permanent intake, which is basically running at those current levels on actuals. But also to address the impacts on the economy of congestion. There is population growing too quickly in parts of the country where there is too much congestion, which the Productivity Commission showed actually is a drag on productivity and is a drag on growth. That's why I described this as a serious but very balanced plan. So we can actually move to this level without impacting on the Budget and I think without impacting on growth and continuing to maintain the momentum of that growth.
JOURNALIST: So does the economic gain of reducing congestion offset the economic subtraction from reducing the intake?
PRIME MINISTER: The impact of this plan is to have no negative impacts on our growth prospects. Katharine.
JOURNALIST: Just on that regional-sponsored migration scheme, forgive me if this is not right - but I think it is right - there's 22,000 people currently in the pipeline for that scheme. So, if moving people to the regions is such a priority, why are those people in the pipeline, what’s going on. And just not on a point of policy but a point of logic, I know you've said to us that permanent residency is the carrot for moving people or requiring a three year residency rather than two. But it is a strange incentive, isn't it, to increase the time you have to be in the region in order to get permanent residency? It's not really an incentive, is it? It’s sort of… well, the hurdle is greater before you get permanent residency, which brings me back to the Prime Minister’s point which is that a minute ago, it’s an ambitious target for 23,000 right, for that cohort. So if you don’t meet your own target, what happens? Does the overall number under the permanent program fall?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, let me address those matters and David can comment on them also. First of all, just because someone has an application, it doesn't mean it'll be approved. There are lots of applications. What we have seen, particularly in recent years, is the integrity of our processes and the improvements in those mechanisms which Home Affairs has put in place, has meant that fewer of the applications have actually been approved. We have high standards and we'll continue to have those standards, and an application existing does not mean that that is a pending approval. And we'll continue to follow that path. In terms of the issue of two to three years, this is about having the opportunity for people to put further roots down over that period of time. And so, rather than, I think, being a disincentive, I think it only enhances the incentive for people to commit further to where they are locating and settle themselves and their families in the jobs they are in and seek further opportunities in those towns or wherever they may be, or in that city. The purpose of permanent residency is a very, very attractive one because of course it leads to citizenship, which is the ultimate club to be in and so we do not consider that as any impediment or any lack of encouragement. Remind me of your last point, Katharine?
JOURNALIST: You referenced a minute ago that 23,000 in relation to Andrew’s is a difficult benchmark to reach…
PRIME MINISTER: Remember, this is a cap. It is not a target. Just like 190,000 has previously been the cap, not the target. When I became Immigration Minister back in 2013, these things used to be targets. They tried to fill it. They used to try to find applicants to approve to meet the targets for the Immigration Department. Now, that changed. We changed that. As a Government, we changed that some years ago. So that means that it is there as a cap. It's there as a ceiling but the standard of applications that they have to meet is unchanged. And so, there are no performance bonuses for people to approve visa applications in the Department of Home Affairs. There's a simple standard. As part of this package there is investment in new systems also to support the visas that will be granted. And in particular there'll be enhanced visa processing for regional areas and a regional migration hub to undertake outreach activities, support regional employers and local authorities to navigate the visa system. We're also investing in the process of how people might see the region as an opportunity. But David, did you want to add?
MINISTER FOR IMMIGRATION, CITIZENSHIP AND MULTICULTURAL AFFAIRS: A little while ago we $19 million in additional investment related to regional processing, a significant component is increased emphasis on regional processing. So basically to proritise regional processing. So what that means is that some of those people in that pipeline, the ones who comply with the rules, will be processed more quickly, which will assist in achieving the target of 9,000. In relation to the 14,000, which is the second component of the regional target, so these roles are nominated by states and territories. As I mentioned earlier, we're in a discussion with the states and territories about their needs, in particular, locations. We estimate that that 14,000 number will be met through their requests. So we think the 23,000 can be achieved.
PRIME MINISTER: We'll go over here and then we'll come back to you.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, you mentioned earlier there are a couple of election buses winding their way through New South Wales at the moment. How much of that election has put into your mind the timing of today's announcement?
PRIME MINISTER: None.
JOURNALIST: Nothing to do with what's going on in New South Wales?
PRIME MINISTER: No. We started this process last year. We stood the taskforce up soon after I became Prime Minister and I highlighted this as a very significant issue I wanted to address as Prime Minister. The end bookmark… the end mark on this is the Budget. That requires us to actually frame the migrant intake under the permanent program to be included in the Budget. The Budget's less than a fortnight away. So this was always the timeframe. Yes?
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, just a particular interest for our audience. They're asking when you speak about compliance measures, what does that mean? Are we talking about a population police going door-to-door to check where people are staying, what does it look like? And migrants are quite concerned about how that might impact their experience in Australia. The second question if you’ll allow is the Federation of Ethnic Communities Council of Australia has said particularly given what has happened in Christchurch this week, it is irresponsible and erroneous to link congestion to migration. Can you reassure migrants they're not to blame for these challenges that we’re facing? We saw very clearly in slide six that government has not invested in infrastructure that is needed and it’s not their fault.
PRIME MINISTER: Sure. I'm happy to reassure them on that point. Australia's immigration program has been one of the most important pillars of our prosperity and success. And our migrant communities, from whichever part of the world they come from, it is just a consistent story of success. One of the things I enjoy doing most in this role and previous roles has been to attend annually, where I can, the Ethnic Business Awards, which now includes indigenous businesses. It is a true story of remarkable achievement and often times quite teary stories about what people have been able to achieve. Indeed, we've had a habit at each of these events to honour all of those who've created these amazing businesses over the course of their life. Migrant communities and migrants to Australia have a higher level of entrepreneurship and business ownership, self-employed work than other any other cohort of the country. The real success of Australia's immigration, and why I say we are the most successful immigrant country on earth, is because on all the key metrics - educational attainment, employment, small business ownership, when it comes to the justice system - all of these things, when you look at the migrant versus non-migrant population in Australia, it just achieves either at the same standard as the rest of the population or, indeed, for many communities, even better. So migration and those who have come to Australia to make a contribution, not take one, has been an enormous boon for Australia we want to continue to encourage that. You're right, it is about planning for population growth, which is what we're talking about today. As I said on Monday in my speech to the Australia-Israel Chamber of Commerce, any conflation of this debate certainly with the terrorist atrocities last week, it's just not on. There's no connection between these things whatsoever. This is about dealing with practical issues. I expressed on Monday my great frustration that in addressing these issues of population, and immigration programs, that these debates so often get hijacked by those of competing views who seek to exploit them for other causes. Now, I reject all of that absolutely. This is a practical problem that Australians want addressed, that migrant communities wanted addressed. And so by ensuring we have both the migration programs that are responsible, the infrastructure programs that are responsible and forward-looking, and the planning processes that are inclusive, and the social cohesion programs which build on the success of our social fabric, well, that's all win.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, a number of your Queensland MPs have come out publicly today saying they don't want Pauline Hanson last on the ticket in Queensland. They think…
PRIME MINISTER: Can we finish talking about population? If people have questions on population policy issues - I'll deal with politics later. I'll deal with policy first. Shane?
JOURNALIST: PM, I'm just wondering 160,000? Why not 170,000? Why not 150,00, or lower? How did you come to 160,000? Is there modelling around 160,000?
PRIME MINISTER: Yes, there is. If we were to take the figure below 160,000, then that would have had a direct fiscal impact on the Budget. This is the nominated level where the program is constructed where we would not experience that impact on the Budget. So that's obviously sensible. It caps it, as we've talked about today, at a pause level, which is where the program has been directing. It has been at 190,000 for some time. I think it makes sense to take it back to the levels on or about that we've been projecting at and experiencing. So we have considered a range of options here and we think this is the most balanced and the most sensible.
JOURNALIST: Can you just explain how the states get a greater say? Is it simply by being able to nominate more migrants that they want coming to their state, or is it the way the states are engaging with the Commonwealth on this issue as well?
MINISTER FOR IMMIGRATION, CITIZENSHIP AND MULTICULTURAL AFFAIRS: Alan, do you want to talk to the population aspects?
MINISTER FOR CITIES, URBAN INFRASTRUCTURE AND POPULATION: The answer to question is both. So David will be able to talk about right now what's happening with the state-nominated scheme. More broadly, we're working through the COAG process where the states have a much greater role overall in setting up what the migration program should look like going forward. Ideally, as I said before, we need to make sure that you're marrying up your population growth rates, which largely we set through the migration settings, with your infrastructure, your housing approvals, your services and the like which the states and territories have primary responsibility for. They need to be completely in sync. If they're not in sync, you end up with some of the issues that we talked about where housing is not being approved in time, the infrastructure is falling behind, and the like. So that's what we're working on and the Prime Minister is leading that through the COAG process, and there's still more work to do on that.
PRIME MINISTER: We've had great support from the states and territories, but there is still more work to do. David?
MINISTER FOR IMMIGRATION, CITIZENSHIP AND MULTICULTURAL AFFAIRS: In terms of the migration program, the process is that we ask the states what are their needs, for the state and territory migration program. We're basically saying, "Here's a significant increase to the allocations you'll be able to take on", and being very responsive to those requests from different states. So it is about working together and thinking about future of the country in terms of the broader migration program over a number of years.
PRIME MINISTER: Still on this topic?
JOURNALIST: What has been done to actually vet employers who want to sponsor migrants? In South Australia there was an example of one migrant who was currently waiting to find out about his future. He went to a regional city, being Murray Bridge. He worked for an employer who then ripped him off, about $7 an hour. He is now facing deportation because he wanted to provide for his family, got a new job. Obviously breaching his visa conditions, no doubt about that. What is being done to actually vet employers so they are suitable and we know they won't treat our migrants poorly?
MINISTER FOR IMMIGRATION, CITIZENSHIP AND MULTICULTURAL AFFAIRS: Project Cadena has been running for some time which is focused on precisely that issue. And we also have recently the report by Professor Fels in relation to these matters and the bottom line is any behaviour of that kind is completely unacceptable, they are criminal offences and people are prosecuted, as they should be. The reality is, unfortunately, there has been exploitation in some industries. But Project Cadena is focused on going after those employers through Australian Border Force and we’ll continue to be.
JOURNALIST: Just a question about compliance, what can migrants expect in terms of policing where they're living?
PRIME MINISTER: I'll let David mention that, speak to that. The point is here at the end of the day, there is a strong self-assessment process to this because people need to demonstrate where they have been. Through people’s own records, where their addresses have been and where their power bills are, and all of these sorts of things. Their employment records, their tax file numbers - all these sorts of things - we have a pretty reasonable understanding of where people have been and where they've been living. So the suggestion of some sort of walking the beat enforcement arrangement here is obviously ridiculous. That's certainly not what we have in mind. It is a far more, I think, practical and more cost-effective way of just working cooperatively.
MINISTER FOR IMMIGRATION, CITIZENSHIP AND MULTICULTURAL AFFAIRS: Yes, and the bottom line is, at the end of the three years, when you want your permanent residency, you need to be able to substantiate that you lived and worked in regional areas. Permanent residency is, as I said, the absolute top priority. And so people have a very, very strong incentive to ensure that they comply or they won't get PR.
MINISTER FOR CITIES, URBAN INFRASTRUCTURE AND POPULATION: This is not radically new either. We've already had some geographically restricted visas already. It is not a radically new concept here. It is expanding what we've been doing.
PRIME MINISTER: On this topic, I haven't forgot you, Sam, don't worry.
JOURNALIST: So if a skilled migrant comes out, Minister Coleman, and ends up with a shonky employer for example who shifts away from, say, Bennellaland and goes to Kalgoorlie, then they’ll still be...
PRIME MINISTER: Well, Kalgoorlie is still within a regional location.
JOURNALIST: Yep, so as long as it's with regional -
PRIME MINISTER: Outside the big cities. To maintain the flexibility in that, I think is really important. Otherwise it becomes an unworkable program. I've very much appreciated the extensive questions on the policy topic. Sam?
JOURNALIST: OK, two questions. First is a number of Queensland MPs have said today they think you should always put One Nation last... put the Greens last, sorry, not One Nation. What's your thoughts on that? Will you been preferencing the Greens ahead of One Nation?
PRIME MINISTER: First of all, preferences, as you know, are determined by the party organisation. Secondly, our policy, which is unchanged - so this hasn't changed in recent days. It was the position stated by the former Prime Minister - we won't be doing deals with One Nation. It was actually the Labor Party at the last election that benefited from One Nation's preferences that elected members like in Dobell and Longman and other places. So I'm not about to take lectures from the Labor Party, particularly at the moment, when you have Michael Daley out there basically saying that Asian migrants are taking Australians' jobs in our cities. I denounce that statement like I'll denounce any other statement that is similar to that. I'm surprised Bill Shorten as yet hasn't disassociated himself. He is as far away from New South Wales as he could possibly be this week, he's over in Western Australia. If he goes any further he'll be in the ocean.
JOURNALIST: I don't think I got an answer to the question...
PRIME MINISTER: Our policy is not to do deals with One Nation.
JOURNALIST: My second question is, you described as a disgusting lie claims that at a 2010 shadow cabinet meeting that you sought to capitalise on anti-Muslim sentiment in the community. Now you’ve been backed by Greg Hunt on that.
PRIME MINISTER: On the record.
JOURNALIST: On the record, except the problem with that is Greg Hunt did not attend the meeting. Now those that did attend the meeting told the Sydney Morning Herald in 2011, quote, that Scott said, ‘What are we going to do about multiculturalism?’
PRIME MINISTER: Sam, I'm going to stop you there. I’ve already addressed this issue today. It is an ugly and repugnant lie, I reject it absolutely 100 per cent and my record of working with the Muslim community in Sydney in particular speaks volumes for my track record. Any suggestion to the contrary, I find utterly offensive. Thank you.
Press Conference, Canberra ACT
20 March 2019
PRIME MINISTER: During the past few days, in what has been a very difficult and sensitive time around the world, obviously as the New Zealand Prime Minister and I have been addressing the terrorist attacks in Christchurch, remarks have been made by the Turkish President Erdogan that I consider highly offensive to Australians, and highly reckless in this very sensitive environment.
They are offensive, because they insult the memory of our ANZACs and they violate the pledge that is etched in the stone at Gallipoli, of the promise of Ataturk to the mothers of our ANZACs. So I understand the deep offence Australians would be feeling about this. It is truly upsetting. I have conveyed that in the strongest possible terms to the Turkish Ambassador today and I do not accept the excuses that have been offered for those comments. There will be further meetings held today between our ambassador and the Turkish government, and foreign ministers will also discuss this matter today, but I have made it very clear about where Australia stands on this matter.
I believe the comments also completely misrepresent the very strong position taken by the Australian and New Zealand Governments in our response to the extremist attack in New Zealand that was committed by an Australian, but in no way, shape, or form, could possibly be taken to represent the actions, or any policy or view of the Australian people. All Australians have condemned it, as, indeed, I have, swiftly, and the New Zealand Prime Minister has. But not only that, it has not just been our condemnation of that attack, but it has been our response, both as countries, who have an open, tolerant society, accepting of all faiths and peoples, that we have reached out to embrace our Muslim brothers and sisters in New Zealand and in Australia, quite to the contrary of the vile assertion that has been made about our response.
The response of our free people in New Zealand and Australia, I think, is the message that needs to be communicated to the Turkish people, and I believe is a view respected by the people of Turkey and certainly by Turkish Australians. In my own discussions with Turkish Australian leaders this morning, they have expressed to me their deep disappointment about these comments. They don't represent the views of Turkish Australians. Turkish Australians have made an extraordinary contribution to this country and particularly over more than a century as they've joined with us to commemorate the battles of Gallipoli. They have demonstrated, I think, both a spirit of goodwill and I know that they would not seek to be associated with these comments at all.
So what I'm saying is this - I am not going to single out the comments of one person and ascribe it to a people, whether in Turkey or across Australia. I don't think it does reflect the views of the Turkish people, or certainly of Turkish Australians. My job is to keep Australians safe. My job is to ensure that we act in a measured way to take the temperature down and ensure that we continue to work to foster goodwill between peoples. That said, I am expecting, and I have asked, for these comments to be clarified, to be withdrawn. I've asked for these comments, particularly their reporting of the misrepresented position of Australia on Turkish television, the state-sponsored broadcaster, to be taken down and I expect that to occur. I will wait to see what the response is from the Turkish Government before taking further action, but I can tell you that all options are on the table.
But my actions here are to be measured, to de-escalate, to not engage in a cycle of recklessness, but to engage in a positive spirit and to focus on the key issue before us, and that is to reach out to our populations here in Australia and New Zealand and provide comfort and support to those who have been the victims of these horrific crimes.
Also, the travel advisory to Turkey is obviously under review, and that is a process that will take some time and when that has been concluded, we will make a further announcement.
JOURNALIST: What's your advice today though, Prime Minister, to those thousands of Australians who are planning to go to or may already have booked to go to Gallipoli next month for ANZAC Day?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, I think there's a common-sense response to that, to be mindful of the nature of these comments and to await further advice from the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. But I think people should exercise common sense in relation to their travel plans.
JOURNALIST: Are you concerned that these comments by the President expose or open Australia to terror attacks?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, I believe that how we respond to this - which is, frankly, in sorrow, in disappointment - is the appropriate response, and to appeal to the goodwill of the relationship that has existed for a very long time and to see that put back on its appropriate footings. I don't intend to sort of engage in that cycle I referred to, to ensure that we can keep Australians and Turks safe.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, you have a deep connection we know to the ANZAC story. Can you give us a sense of your immediate reaction when you heard these remarks from President Erdogan?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, I was just deeply offended, as any Australian would be. The first thing that came to my mind was the promise of Ataturk. I mean, Ataturk sought to transform his country into a modern nation, an embracing nation, and I think these comments are at odds with that spirit and the promise that was made to Australians, that we have relied upon, I think, to build the good relationship that we have.
JOURNALIST: What do you mean by ‘common sense’? Are you suggesting that Australians put their travel plans on hold?
PRIME MINISTER: I think they should exercise caution and await further official advice.
JOURNALIST: Could you expand, please, on your comment that all options are open?
PRIME MINISTER: Only to say that all options are open.
JOURNALIST: Is it an apology that you're demanding from Erdogan?
PRIME MINISTER: I'm seeking a response in the good faith of our relationship.
JOURNALIST: What was the ambassador's explanation for the President's comment?
PRIME MINISTER: The excuses I don't accept are that things get said in the heat of the moment. The excuses that I don't accept are that things are said in an electoral context. I expect, in our relationships with our friends, that we always act in the good faith of that relationship. There is an opportunity, I think, for that to now take place. I will extend the time to do that. I should also note that I've spoken with the Leader of the Opposition and he endorses this approach that I am taking and we appreciate that. I am also keen to ensure that we continue to liaise very closely with New Zealand on this.
JOURNALIST: Can I ask Prime Minister, have you seen the vision? Because they seemed to be very warmly received, these comments. People cheered, the crowd applauded, they chanted. What do you make of that? He's obviously playing to a certain section of his community and his electorate in his campaign events.
PRIME MINISTER: Well, I choose to have faith in the tremendous relationship between the Australian and Turkish people, which has been experienced by Australians as they've travelled with Kiwis to Gallipoli for many, many, many years and the experience, the hospitality and goodwill of the Turkish people. I choose to believe in the good faith and great citizenship of Turkish Australians in this country. The Gallipoli mosque, as it's known, in Auburn, and as a result, that's what I choose to have faith in. As you know me, I always am the optimist. I always will seek to act in good faith and I simply would hope that others would do the same. Thank you very much.
Interview on ABC News Breakfast
20 March 2019
MICHAEL ROWLAND: We're joined from Canberra by the Prime Minister Scott Morrison. Prime Minister good morning.
PRIME MINISTER: Good morning Michael.
ROWLAND: The current intake is not much above 160,000, that’s the new cap you're announcing. So what difference will this make?
PRIME MINISTER: Well this is a responsible plan to manage our future population growth. It's not only about the change to the cap as you say, coming from 190,000 down to 160,000. It's about the congestion-busting infrastructure and other major projects we're putting around the country. It’s about the plan that we’ve got in a framework with the states and territories, who will have a bigger say about the intake into their states and territories. That comes out of the COAG meeting I took these plan to last December. Of course, it's about achieving greater cohesion, bringing Australians together wherever we are in Australia, investing in more of those social cohesion programs that support migrants in our community, to be successful.
ROWLAND: The economic benefits of migration are unquestioned as you know.
PRIME MINISTER: Sure.
ROWLAND: We do know, as you also know, that the economy is slowing, so won't this hurt the economy down the track?
PRIME MINISTER: No it won't because it's a responsible cap. The employer-nominated positions under the plan will be maintained. The skills and occupation list particularly for regional areas, will remain at their expanded levels to ensure that they can get the skills they need and the places they need them. It's also about ensuring Michael, that the congestion that occurs in our major cities - that can be a sheet anchor on growth as well, a tradie doesn't get paid for sitting at a traffic jam, he or she doesn't build anything when they're sitting there, it happens when they get on site - so it's important that we manage the quality of life and the liveability of our cities.
The Productivity Commission, I tasked as Treasurer to tell me what the big productivity challenges were going forward. The management of our cities and population was a key one of those. That’s why we’re acting on this and I began that process after becoming Prime Minister.
ROWLAND: But equally Prime Minister how much of this congestion is due not so much to migration, but state governments of both stripes, not thinking strategically and thinking ahead, building your roads, building your rail lines many, many years ago?
PRIME MINISTER: This is why our plan does address those issues, Michael. It's not just about the migration settings. They're responsibly settings, but equally it is about those other points I mentioned; the congestion-busting infrastructure in our congestion-busing fund, dealing with some of those specific road projects that need attention. I was at Fullerton Road just yesterday in Adelaide, there’s 60,000 cars that go down there, it needs to be widened. We're going to invest in that project with the South Australian Government and there’s countless others of these projects around the country. It's about a planning framework with the states and territories to ensure that we are lining up infrastructure spending with how we're managing migration. It's also about making sure Australians come together and we can live together. We are the most successful immigrant country on earth. Michael Daley from New South Wales doesn't seem to agree with me on that, he's made rather appalling comments regarding the contribution of Asian migrants to this country. I completely reject those comments and I think Bill Shorten should disassociate himself as well.
ROWALD: A few other issues before you leave Prime Minister. The Turkish President Erdogan overnight, visiting Gallipoli, and speaking of the Christchurch attacker said, and I’m quoting him directly regarding the many Australian who visit Gallipoli each year: “Your grandparents came, some of them returned in coffins. Have no doubt we will send you back like your grandparents." What do you make of that comment?
PRIME MINISTER: I find it a very offensive comment, of course I do. I will be calling in the Turkish Ambassador today to meet with me and discuss these issues. I have denounced, Australia has denounced, New Zealand has denounced, absolutely and completely, the act of extremist right-wing terrorism, white supremacist terrorism that we saw in New Zealand. We could not have been more forward-leaning in offering our great condolences and support to the Muslim community, both in New Zealand and Australia. I find the responsibility in these situations, I think of all leaders, is to take the temperature down on these issues. I don't intend to seek to escalate that in the response I'm giving today. So I’m going to be speaking directly to the Turkish Ambassador about this.
We've had a tremendous relationship with the Turkish people over a long period of time. We've seen that in the spirit in which Anzac Day has been able to be commemorated each and every year. So I don't find these comments very helpful, I don’t find them very accurate or truthful as well, because the actions of the Australia and New Zealand Government have been consistent with our values of welcoming and supporting people from all around the world. We are the most successful migrant countries and particularly Australia, on the planet today. We are an example to the rest of the world about how we can all live together in peace and harmony. I think Australia and New Zealand has a lot to offer the rest of the world and perhaps, they should be looking more closely at the example we set.
ROWLAND: I also want to give you the opportunity on national TV to clear up a controversy that has been swirling in the past few days. Do you Scott Morrison, in a shadow cabinet meeting back in 2010, did you urge the Coalition to capitalise on anti-Muslim sentiment for political purposes?
PRIME MINISTER: Absolutely not, it is a disgraceful smear and an appalling lie.
ROWLAND: Have you ever in any shadow cabinet or Cabinet meeting raised that thought.
PRIME MINISTER: No.
ROWLAND: Your office has threatened to sue the Ten Network which raised this allegation on Thursday, for defamation. Will you proceed with that?
PRIME MINISTER: I have no intention of doing that, I just simply want people to report the truth and that is an ugly and disgusting lie. I reject it absolutely.
Over the last decade Michael, I have spent my time as a public figure working with the Muslim community in south western New South Wales. I have walked the Kokoda Track with my Muslim brothers and sisters, I’ve done it on the Sandakan Death March. I have done it on the Salamaua Track in Papua New Guinea and organised, together with my good friend Jason Clare, similar visits to Turkey for the centenary of ANZAC. That’s why I’m welcomed when I attend mosques in south western Sydney, with warm embraces. Perhaps if people focused a bit more on the story they don’t want to tell about my relationship with people of all faiths in this community, then perhaps they wouldn’t leap to make prejudiced conclusions.
ROWLAND: Okay Prime Minister, just before we go, you speak a lot of boosting harmony, which a lot of people would agree with. In that vein, will the Liberal Party put One Nation last on it’s how-to-vote cards in the election?
PRIME MINISTER: We won't be doing any preference deals with One Nation. I do notice that the Labor Party did at the last election. I’m not going to take lectures from the Labor Party who had -
ROWLAND: Prime Minister you mention no preference deals, but the –
PRIME MINISTER: I haven’t finished Michael.
ROWLAND: The question was, will you put the –
PRIME MINISTER: Michael do you mind if I finish my answer? At the last election, the Labor Party did a preference deal with One Nation that saw people like the Member for Dobell elected into the Parliament. So we will wait until nominations close and then as is always the case, we will set our preferences on the full range of tickets. Because we don't know who some of the nominees are going to be. What if Fraser Anning runs candidates all around the country? So we're not going to prejudice that, we’ll go through the normal process. I won't be doing any preference deals, that's the same policy that we've had for years, there’s no change to that position. There hasn’t been -
ROWLAND: But you can't guarantee you will put One Nation last. Not -
PRIME MINISTER: I know that's what the Labor Party wants you to ask me Michael –
ROWLAND: It’s - Prime Minister, the Labor Party hasn’t asked me to ask anything, I’m -
PRIME MINISTER: They’ve been putting it around the entire gallery for the last three days Michael and I think it's quite appalling that the Labor Party would be putting this about, when they themselves were the ones who did deals in the Senate with One Nation, at the last election. So I'm not going to buy into it.
ROWLAND: Prime Minister Scott Morrison thank you so much for joining us on News Breakfast.
PRIME MINISTER: Thanks, great to be here.
Radio interview on ABC AM
20 March 2019
SABRA LANE: The Federal Government is unveiling a population policy today. It will cap the nation's permanent migration intake at 160,000 people for the next four years. That's about the level it's at now. It's a reduction of 30,000 places. It's also introducing a new skilled worker visa covering 23,000 migrants. But it will require them to live in regional areas of the nation for a minimum of three years as a condition for them securing permanent residency. It's also promising better fast rail links to some regional cities to help relieve congestion. The Prime Minister Scott Morrison joined me a short time ago, but we began with questions about the New Zealand investigation. Prime Minister thanks for joining AM.
PRIME MINISTER: Thank you Sabra.
LANE: How would you quantify the threat of right wing extremists in Australia?
PRIME MINISTER: I think it's serious and I think it always has been and that's why at the federal level our agencies have always taken it seriously. And the work that they've done over a long period of time I think has greatly assisted us, particularly in recent days when we've been responding to the issue, the terrible tragedy in Christchurch, the terrorist attack, to ensure that we're well prepared for the response that was needed here.
LANE: The New Zealand minister over there Andrew Little says that authorities there were only really alert to this midway through last year. What assurances can you give Australians here that their investigations are on point?
PRIME MINISTER: The Australian investigations picked up immediately and we've been assisting not only directly with the inquiries in New Zealand but also providing assistance and coordinating that investigation linking up with other countries around the world. When it comes to our knowledge of white supremacists or separatists or other extreme groups like this, we have got quite a bit of intelligence in these areas and it goes back quite a way on these groups. So we'll continue to act on that and that is very much informing our participation.
LANE: Where would you suggest voters in the upcoming federal election put One Nation and the Shooters Party?
PRIME MINISTER: Well we're not having any preference deals with One Nation, we’re not having any preference deals with the Greens or Labor for that matter. You know, when the nominations are all set that's when our preferences are determined.
LANE: Yeah. Will you instruct your organisation to put them somewhere?
PRIME MINISTER: Well we'll wait for who is on the list of every candidate all around the country. I mean, as we've seen in the past, there can be some individuals who present very, very extreme views even beyond those of some of those you've mentioned. So I mean, we'll wait to see what all the nominations are and that's our normal process. It was at the last election that Labor did a preference deal with One Nation. I recall it. The Member for Dobell was elected on the basis of it.
LANE: Is a censure strong enough for Fraser ending in Parliament? Some want him suspended for the rest of the term.
PRIME MINISTER: Well look, the suspension is a matter that the Senators will consider. I understand that's being discussed, but in terms of a motion that is currently being moved by the Government with the support of the opposition I think is highly appropriate. But I think he should face the full force of the law, personally, and that is what I expect state and territory police authorities to be looking at.
LANE: In regards to assault, or in regards to hate speech?
PRIME MINISTER: I think there are a range of avenues open there and I'd expect people to be applying the law.
LANE: Onto your announcement today, this intention has been flagged for a long time. The rate that you want is one that Australia is currently close to. Is this confirmation of something already happening?
PRIME MINISTER: What today is is about a comprehensive plan for Australia's future population growth. I want to see Australians getting home safer and earlier to spend time with their families. I want to see tradies being able to get on site, not sit in traffic jams. And that means you need a balanced, responsible migration settings but it also means taking opportunities outside the big cities. Whether that's in Adelaide or Darwin or in regional locations like Newcastle or places like that, it's about seizing the opportunities where they present and relieving the congestion burden where it's really impacting on quality of living. And so that's what the plan is designed to do and that means busting congestion with the infrastructure investments we've made, planning for future population growth together with the states and territories to take on a much bigger role, moving from determining less than a fifth of the total intake to more than a quarter. And then of course continuing to bring Australians together and working on the social cohesion, the social fabric which provides the very opportunity for continued prosperity and Australians living well together.
LANE: The Chamber of Commerce and Industry's James Pearson has described this shift as an economic own goal. He says it's very disappointing that you're imposing a lower cap. How do you respond?
PRIME MINISTER: I think once James has the opportunity to actually read the policy I think he will react in a more measured way -
LANE: I've spoken to him personally this morning.
PRIME MINISTER: He's entitled to his view but I think what Australians need and our economy needs is a balanced and responsible migration plan. I mean, under this plan we're seeing increased places for employer nominated skilled visas. Under this plan we're seeing opportunities for more regional visas where there are some more than 40,000 job vacancies in regional Australia. So this is about ensuring that our migration plan is tied towards where the opportunities are and relieving the congestion which can slow economic growth. I mean, a tradie isn't getting paid when they're sitting in a traffic jam. They get paid when they get on site.
LANE: Sure.
PRIME MINISTER: And his members who are tradies will want to get on site and have a good migration plan that helps them do that and infrastructure to back it up.
LANE: This announcement comes three days out from a crucial state election where population growth and congestion are very big issues there and where the incumbent Liberal Party is in trouble. What's the public to make of this timing?
PRIME MINISTER: That this is an important plan that we've been working on from the day that I became Prime Minister. I took these matters to COAG last December. This has been the product of an enormous amount of work. And I said that it needed to be finalized before we handed down the Budget because the migration settings, as handed down in the Budget Sabra which as you know is in less than a fortnight. I think the issues that relate to this matter in the New South Wales election are the outrageous comments by Mr Daley. I mean, Mr Daley has basically said that Asians take Australian jobs and I've just find that abhorrent with all the talk about these issues lately. I mean, I denounced those comments and I think Bill Shorten should do the same.
LANE: What is the economic… where is the economic modelling and what are the economic benefits of your announcement, given that migration is a very strong economic stimulus?
PRIME MINISTER: Well the fiscal impacts of this plan are no impact, it has no impact on the Budget and that's what we've been working through and that's why it is, I think, a very responsible level of intake. There are others who would have liked to have seen lower levels of intake. I don't share those views. This level of intake I think is the one that continues to support the important employer nominated skill stream. 70 per cent of our intake under this plan is skilled and that's the program which helps drive the economy forward. So this is a positive plan for the economy. There is nothing to suggest that this would do anything other than support our current growth levels in the economy, whilst avoiding the serious congestion problems which can slow our economy down.
LANE: 23,000 migrants will be required to live in regional areas under this plan. How will you force them to do that and will there be jobs for them?
PRIME MINISTER: No, look that is a misrepresentation of the plan. What it is is the opportunity for 23 classes for skilled migrants to settle and remain in regional Australia. No one's being forced anywhere. This is an opportunity for people and we're talking about places outside the big cities. So that includes Adelaide, it includes Darwin.
LANE: Sure but how you can you can't compel them to live in those places.
PRIME MINISTER: Well what the visas will do will say that if you have complied with the terms of the visa to live in a regional area, then you will be able to apply for permanent residency. Now this is what is very important at the end of the day, if you comply with the arrangements particularly for the issues around where student visas where there will be extra incentives for students to go and study in regional areas, which will be very good for regional economies, then the ticket to permanent residency will mean being able to have maintain your provisional requirements of your visa to live in those areas. Now, that that is a very big incentive. When people come to Australia on those visas and there is a requirement for them to be in particular places, and it can be all over the country. It's not in one particular area. And if there are no jobs in those places, they won't go there. They will go where there are jobs and where places and cities are looking for them to come. I mean, Adelaide, Arana, Kalgoorlie, Darwin, Warrnambool - all of these places have been telling us that they actually want to see more people and there'll be opportunities for them to go there and where they take up those visas, whether they're state sponsored or whether they're under the new visa forms we're announcing today, then that will provide them with a better pathway towards permanent residence. So it's done through incentive, that's where it's done.
LANE: All right. Prime Minister we're out of time. Thank you very much.
PRIME MINISTER: Thanks very much Sabra.
Interview on Sunrise
20 March 2019
SAMANTHA ARMYTAGE: Prime Minister, good morning, welcome.
PRIME MINISTER: Good morning.
ARMYTAGE: Now, you have said it’s your job to have a plan for managing our population, we agree with you. So will you be successful in directing migrants to regional areas? And what support in these regional areas once migrants get out there?
PRIME MINISTER: Well you’re, Australia does need a plan for population growth management, that’s one of the things I said when I became Prime Minister and that’s what we’re releasing today. The way we are encouraging people to go into the regions is through a number of points. First of all, for students going into the regions, they will get an extra years work right should they study in a regional area. So that’s population going into regions that can actually support regional economies. We should also be clear here that the regions we're talking about are out of the big cities, so it includes Adelaide, it includes Darwin, it includes places like Newcastle. So we’re talking about other urban areas, we're not talking about outback towns, but where there are opportunities in those places, of course that is encouraged.
The skills test, the skills points test, you will get extra points for going out into the regions as well. There are more occupations listed under our skills program in these areas than there are in the big cities, so it is very much an encouragement program and incentive program. And at the end of the day, if you're looking for permanent residence and you have a visa that has you in a regional area out of the big cities, then obviously, if you come and live in the big city, then you won't get a permanent visa. So there is very a big incentive to stay with the program there.
But when people get jobs in these areas, and we only talking about people going into places where there is the jobs, where there is the services and opportunities, where we have got a lot of shires and councils around the country saying to us, “we want people”. I was in Adelaide yesterday with Premier Marshall, he’s saying we want more people, so this facilitates that.
DAVID KOCH: Now the Opposition has questioned the timing of this immigration announcement, given what we’ve seen in Christchurch. Does that wash with you?
PRIME MINISTER: No it doesn’t. I think it’s disappointing. I made it very, very clear - this is about managing population, it’s about infrastructure investments, it is about congestion busting on our roads, it’s about actually having social cohesion programs which I’m announcing today, which is about bringing more Australians together. It is a plan to work with the states and territories. They will get an increased say about the intakes in their states and territories from less than a fifth to more than a quarter. It’s about managing our population growth and I think to conflate it with other issues is very disappointing. I can understand why Labor would be sensitive about this given Mr Daley's comments in New South Wales, I found those comments about Asian immigrants to be very upsetting and offensive and I think Mr Shorten should disassociate himself from those comments.
ARMYTAGE: OK, now sweeping changes to the welfare system are also going to be announced today. Job hunters are going to be allowed to search for work on their home computer or smartphone, there is a new app coming. How will that help jobseekers?
PRIME MINISTER: Well we’ve already had more than 1.25 million jobs created since we were first elected and one of the reasons we’ve been able to do that is through these services. We’re increasing greater flexibility into jobactive to mean that we still have clear rules and clear standards. But the plans will be more targeted to those individuals, it’ll be different in rural areas where there may be different opportunities in city areas. So it’s a more flexible plan giving people more tools, both helping those people find jobs and those people looking for jobs. But our economic plan is creating jobs. Another 1.25 million jobs over the next five years and that’s on top of the 1.25 million since we came to government.
KOCH: You have appealed to world leaders to crack down on social media platforms following the Christchurch Mosque attack. What you want them to do?
PRIME MINISTER: I want the social media companies to use their technology to ensure that instantaneously, their platforms cannot be used as weapons by terrorists. If they can geotarget an ad to you based on something you’ve looked at on Facebook within half a second - it is almost like they are reading your mind - then I'm sure they have the technological capability to write algorithms that screen out this type of violent and hideous material at a moment’s notice. They built these things, so they should have the technology to make them safe and we need to act in concert with other countries.
I was speaking to Jacinda Ardern about this last night, I will be seeking to speak to others. There was a meeting up in Japan yesterday that we participated in and I welcome the support that we are getting the support from other countries there. I think there will be a groundswell on this and as we go forward to the next G20 meeting, if we can act together as we have to make sure they pay their taxes, I think we can make sure we can act together to ensure that they keep our citizens safe. These tools are good, they can be very positive, connecting families - I don't want to touch any of that, I just want to make sure that these platforms cannot be weaponised by terrorists to spread their hate and their violence.
ARMYTAGE: Yeah let’s hope they’re listening and they start using it for good and not for evil. Prime Minister, we have to leave it there, thanks for your time.
PRIME MINISTER: Thanks guys, good to talk to talk to you.
Radio interview with Alan Jones, 2GB
20 March 2019
ALAN JONES: The Prime Minister is on the line, Prime Minister good morning.
PRIME MINISTER: Good morning Alan.
JONES: Firstly PM, Erdogan, the Turkish President. Do you have a comment on that?
PRIME MINISTER: I do. First of all I'll be calling in the Turkish Ambassador today to make my remarks directly to him. But I find the comments obviously, offensive. Deeply offensive. But also I think very unhelpful because Australia and New Zealand, we have both absolutely, unconditionally condemned the terrorist attack in Christchurch. We have reached out and provided every support to the Muslim community both here in Australia and in New Zealand. Australia and New Zealand are models of tolerant societies for people from all around the world.
Now I find President Erdogan’s comments very much at odds with what Ataturk said -
JONES: Correct.
PRIME MINISTER: That our son’s could lie safely on their shores and rest in peace there. I find it a violation of that as well. So this is all - you know I think it's our job here Allan, not to escalate this.
JONES: True.
PRIME MINISTER: It is our job to take the temperature down, that's what tolerant societies do. I find the comments very regrettable and unhelpful. Perhaps, he's a member of the G20, I hope he will join with me in addressing issues around social media when it comes to terrorist attacks. Because social media platforms have been weaponized by terrorists of all influences around the world. Hopefully he can join in constructive initiatives working together with ourselves and New Zealand on that.
JONES: Okay. To come back to this immigration thing, 160,000. Many people would say Prime Minister that that’s about where it is at the moment. Do you think – right, 160 so you're not really making too much of a change at all and the fact that you say it won’t alter any kind of Budget appropriations indicates that it’s already there. But do you think the people of Sydney in particular and Melbourne will feel any difference in terms of what you're saying today? And if so when?
PRIME MINISTER: Well they'll start feeling that in terms of how the intake is done from 1 July this year. Because it's not only what the overall number is - which is the cap of 160,000 - but it's about where people are being encouraged to go. So this is about ensuring that there is less pressure on big cities like Sydney and Melbourne, where there are real population pressures which are frustrating people getting home on time and safely, to be with the kids, help with homework, as well as tradies being able to get on site. You don't get for paid sitting in a traffic jam. So, it’s about encouraging people to go out outside the big cities. So that includes Adelaide, it includes Darwin, it includes Newcastle
JONES: How do you get them to stay there?
PRIME MINISTER: Well the points test will give them incentives if they want permanent residence to remain in these locations. Everyone who comes on a provisional visa, they want the permanent residence. To get the permanent residence, you'll have to comply with the terms of your visa. But equally the states and territories will be given more places under the current program. They'll go from less than a fifth, to more than a quarter. That will give them a greater say about how many more people are coming into the states and territories.
So I think this is a very balanced plan Alan. It is one that deals with infrastructure which is the real issue that needs to be addressed. You've talked about things like fast rail, but the congestion-busting road projects we're putting right across the country, the road investments we're making out around Western Sydney International Nancy-Bird Walton Airport, all of these programs are designed to try and relieve the burden on our big cities, while realising the opportunities outside our big cities.
JONES: Okay. Just to use language that people can understand, the number of permanent residents is what you're talking about here. So all the Department of Home Affairs has to do, is to reduce the number of permanent resident stamps. That's fine and you're talking 160,000 and it's very easy to understand. But wouldn't you concede that many of the future permanent residents are already here? I mean some of them are partners of citizens. Some of them are partners of permanent residents. They have a right to permanent residence, it’s just a matter of when. So is the permanent intake the one that counts? Because there are many people here who will increase the population as a result of the fact that they here and will be able to secure permanent residence and they aren’t part of the 160,000?
PRIME MINISTER: Ultimately, to have a permanent visa, they would have to be in the 160,000, that includes family visas and those visas – which are about 45 or 47 odd thousand a year at the moment. There is no change to that, that will continue. But 70 per cent of the migration program will continue to be on skills. This is a very important issue, having skills be the dominant form of migration to the country, that's what actually grows the economy.
I remember back when John Howard came into power, after Paul Keating, the percentage of that migration program that was skilled was round about 30 per cent. 30 per cent and now we've got it up to 70 percent.
JONES: 70 per cent, right.
PRIME MINISTER: That is very important. It's really adding value and because migration does, migrants have added value, of course, to our country. So I'm disappointed with the comments of Michael Daly in New South Wales.
JONES: Oh forget him, forget him.
PRIME MINISTER: They were appalling comments on the contribution of Asian immigrants to Australia. Bill Shorten should denounce it.
JONES: He's no worry to you. Just tomorrow though, are you going to be undermined in a way because - unless you've got a bit of an insight, I'm sure as Prime Minister you most probably have - because these net overseas migration figures come out tomorrow. It'll count everyone who is here for 12 months out of the last 16, net overseas migration. It's been running at massively high levels of over 200,000 net overseas migration figures. What happens if tomorrows figures are even higher?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, it would only reinforce the need for the plan that we've announced today. But you're right to say that temporary migration has had a very big impact on the level of population growth. And I've been making I've been making that point for a long time. I mean, if you think about a bus and there's 10 extra people on the bus, well four extra people on the bus coming in a year were born here about - just under that actually - a bit over four have come as temporary migrants who seek to move to permanent residence, and the balance two are permanent migrants. So that's basically how the inflow of population works.
JONES: Yeah but I mean, you've got 500,000 international students, 500,000 international students. My God.
PRIME MINISTER: And let me say in this plan we've announced today we're providing incentives for those students to actually go and study in regional areas by giving them an additional a year of work rights.
JONES: But supposing they get the permanent residency, supposing they get... just half of them get permanent residency.
PRIME MINISTER: I know but Alan that has to come in them as 160,000 cap. That's how these two things work together. So the issue if you think about, it the impact of what our international student industry and our tourist industry obviously is massively important for our economy it creates a lot of regional jobs. So you've got more of those students who are coming in choosing to study in regional areas or places like Adelaide or Darwin and things like that. That is going to support those economies and it's going to remove congestion pressure off Sydney and off Melbourne. So the real design of this plan is to focus not just on what the total level of intake is but where people are encouraged to go.
JONES: OK good. I won't talk to you today about the infrastructure because that's part of where they will go to settle. You talk about Melbourne to Shepparton and Sydney to Newcastle and so on…
PRIME MINISTER: We'll have more to say about that.
JONES: Quite. But could I just say on that, the notion that we want to get people out of the capital cities, a most laudable notion. The elephant in the room, Prime Minister, surely is water. If you harvested water, if you built dams, if you moved water to regional Australia you could increase productivity dramatically and not only would there be a capacity to live in the regions, people would be happy to live there and you increase the productive quotient in Australia. So in infrastructure, when are you going to harvest the water, move the water and build some dams?
PRIME MINISTER: Well we're building one at Hughenden.
JONES: Not enough.
[Laughter]
PRIME MINISTER: I’ve been in the job for just over six months, one of the first thing that it was we we got this dam project underway up in Hughenden. We've got a half a billion dollar water fund which is designed to get a lot of these projects moving. So look I don't agree… sorry I do agree, I should say, with the idea that we need to get this water infrastructure. One of the other things that…
JONES: You could feed Asia, you could feed Asia, people would willingly live west of the Great Dividing Range and the quality of life if they knew they weren't going to be immersed and surrounded and enveloped by drought. And we have to guarantee water. Harvesting does that.
PRIME MINISTER: Agreed.
JONES: OK, one other thing because we're both running out of time here. I'm just wondering whether you would, because governments interfere and intervene notions they interfere. Intervene often in issues of great crisis. I'm putting to you the dairy industry is in crisis. Now, Coles and Aldi have said, ‘oh well we'll lift the price for home brand milk’ and so on. The problem is not at the retail level. Prime Minister. The problem is at the farm gate. Now at the moment there's a drought on. That means the cows produce less milk. The price of food goes up, the hay and the grain goes up and the processors, mostly foreign owned, are screwing the dairy farmer. Now, I know you're going to call people in over social media and well done about that and say listen there's got to be some responsibility along with the profits. But why wouldn't you call these processors in and say look, enough is enough. I've seen it all. You're not going to continue to rip off the dairy farmer. You have to renegotiate the farm gate price so that the cost of production is not greater than the price he's getting for his milk. Forget Coles and Woolworths. They're not the problem.
PRIME MINISTER: Well as you already noted there has been sort of movement on this as we've seen reported today. And I think that's well…
JONES: That’s Coles and Woolworths, that’s not farm gate prices. These people are on contracts. The ACCC have said these contracts that have been entered to by the poor dairy farmer are extortionate. Why doesn't someone speak to the processors and say you can't go on like this. If you can't regulate yourself, we will.
PRIME MINISTER: Well I think that's a fair point to be made to them and this is what David Littleproud and I will continue to do with those very producers and the ACCC as you rightly say should have an important role in that because they have the power to move prosecutions in these cases. And remember, it was our Government that introduced the effects test. That was introduced by our Government which actually started to level the playing field between the big companies and whether they be, you know, the big milk producers or others, the wholesalers or the retailers. The milk code conduct, the dairy code of conduct, that is someone with already taken action on. And we've been doing that into partnership with industry. But I do know the frustrations. I was down in the seat of Gilmore the other day I heard it loud and clear, so there is a lot more work to do on that front and David Littleproud and I will continue to progress that.
JONES: OK, good. I'll let you go. But it isn't fair, is it, to put it in very simple language, PM. Supposing you're a dairy farmer, you are working all hours of the day and night. It's an important industry. It’s on our breakfast table every day. The Tasmanian farms have already been sold to Canada to China. So what we've got left we've got to look after. Now, why would we say to any Australian that the price of your commodity will be less than the cost of providing it? And farmers are desperate. We're talking suicide and everything here, PM. I mean, they're looking to you just say - you said at Gilmore - I understand it, these are foreign owned processors, I'm going to pull them in and say something's got to be done.
PRIME MINISTER: Well there's a lot more work to be done on that. There's no doubt about that.
JONES: Can you report to us on what progress you will be able to make.
PRIME MINISTER: Yes I will.
JONES: Good on you. Good to talk to you, thank you for your time.
PRIME MINISTER: Thanks Alan.
A plan for Australia's future population
20 March 2019
Prime Minister, Minister for Cities Urban Infrastructure and Population, Minister for Immigration Citizenship & Multicultural Affairs, Minister for Regional Services Sport Local Government and Decentralisation, Minister for Education
The Morrison Government will tackle the impact of increasing population in congested cities and back smaller cities and regions looking for greater growth to secure their economic future and the key public services they rely on.
We will reduce the cap on our migration program, build the infrastructure and deliver the services Australians need, and plan for a more evenly distributed population growth. These changes are about easing population pressures in our biggest cities, while ensuring regional communities are given a much needed boost.
Australia has thrived from a steady population growth and is the most successful immigration nation in the world and our plan will ensure our country continues to lead the way. But over the last two decades, the infrastructure and services have not kept pace, causing congestion on our roads and public transport particularly in Melbourne, Sydney and South East Queensland.
At the same time, many of our smaller cities and regional areas are crying out for more people. Some regional areas simply cannot fill the jobs available. There are an estimated 47,000 job vacancies in regional Australia today.
The Morrison Government’s plan for Australia’s future population will ease the pressure on the big capitals while supporting the growth of those smaller cities and regions that want more people.
Last year, we brought the permanent migration rate down to its lowest level in a decade by focusing on the integrity of the visa system and prioritising Australians for Australian jobs. Part of our population policy will include stronger incentives for new people to our country to settle outside the big capitals in areas that will welcome their skills and expertise.
New measures will be introduced that will better match migration to regional needs, ease the pressure on big cities and ensure Australia remains an attractive destination to live and work for highly skilled and talented people from around the globe.
We will continue to deliver a record $75 billion investment in infrastructure, underway right now across the country.
The Government’s population policy includes:
1. Reducing the migration cap by 15% and incentivising more new migrants to settle outside the big cities where there are jobs and services
Reducing the migration ceiling from 190,000 to 160,000 places.
Introducing two new regional visas for skilled workers requiring them to live and work in regional Australia for three years before being able to access permanent residence. 23,000 places will be set aside for these regional visas.
Introducing new tertiary scholarships to attract Australian and international students to study in regional Australia ($15,000 scholarships will be available to more than 1000 domestic and international students each year).
Giving international students studying at regional universities access to an additional year in Australia on a post-study work visa.
2. Busting congestion on our roads and trains.
Plan to better connect regional centres with fast rail.
Investing $75 billion in road, rail and air infrastructure across the country.
Investing more in congestion-busting infrastructure through the $1 billion Urban Congestion Fund.
3. Planning for the future by working more closely with state and territory governments to match infrastructure with local population need
Population management as a fixture of future COAG discussions with the adoption of a bottom-up approach
Continuing to deliver new City Deals and Regional Deals to ensure three levels of government working together
Establishing a Centre for Population, ensuring there is a central, consistent and expert perspective on population growth. The Centre will pursue opportunities to improve data and research on population and facilitate collaboration on population planning across Commonwealth, State, Territory and Local governments.
We will also build on the work our government is doing to support grassroots initiatives that foster belonging and break down barriers to social and economic participation.
These changes also enhance the Government’s focus on skilled migration, with the number of Employer Sponsored skilled visa places increasing from 35,528 in 2017-18 to 39,000 places in 2019-20. There is no change to the Family stream of the program, with 47,732 places available in 2019-20.
Under the two new regional visa categories, skilled migrants will be priority processed and will have access to a larger pool of jobs on the eligible occupation lists compared to those who live in our major cities. Migrants on these visas must demonstrate they have lived and worked in regional Australia for three years before being becoming eligible to apply for permanent residence.
The changes will mean migrants will stay in regional Australia longer-term, as they will build ties to a particular location through workforce participation and community involvement, easing the pressure off our congested cities.
Labor’s failure to plan for the impact of record migration on our cities and infrastructure has meant we have been forced to play catch-up.
On 23 September 2019, the Minister for Population, Cities and Urban Infrastructure, the Hon Alan Tudge MP, released an updated version of 'Planning for Australia's Population Future'.
City Deal underpins a bright future for Adelaide and SA
19 March 2019
Prime Minister, Premier of South Australia, Minister for Cities Urban Infrastructure and Population, Minister for Immigration Citizenship and Multicultural Affairs, Lord Mayor of Adelaide
The Federal Coalition and South Australian governments and the City of Adelaide today put pen to paper on the Adelaide City Deal, designed to boost economic growth, enliven cultural tourism and build the city’s future as a centre of innovation excellence.
The signing of the $551 million Adelaide City Deal marks the start of a decade-long collaborative effort of the three levels of government.
It will directly focus on growing Adelaide’s innovation economy, supporting population growth in the city and across the state, and boosting Adelaide’s burgeoning cultural and tourism economy.
The Deal paves the way for the transformation of Lot Fourteen in the north-eastern corner of Adelaide’s CBD into an innovation precinct. Lot Fourteen will host the headquarters of the Australian Space Agency, its mission control facility and the Australian Space Discovery Centre, as well as major cultural attractions, high tech businesses and world-class education facilities.
The major infrastructure projects planned for Lot Fourteen, together with a focus on supporting Adelaide’s growth, will help take the city to the next level in terms of its potential to achieve major economic growth over the longer term.
The City Deal will stimulate Adelaide’s cultural economy through investing in an Aboriginal Art and Cultures Gallery and an International Centre for Tourism, Hospitality and Food Studies at Lot Fourteen.
It will also boost tourism by investing in key projects such as the Heysens Gallery in Hahndorf, the Mitcham Hills and Glenthorne Trails in southern Adelaide, and upgrading Carrick Hill House at Springfield to include a visitor centre.
More information is available at https://citydeals.infrastructure.gov.au/adelaide.
Busting congestion across Adelaide with $194 million boost
19 March 2019
Prime Minister, Premier of South Australia, Minister for Cities Urban Infrastructure and Population, South Australian Minister for Transport, Infrastructure and Local Government
The Morrison and Marshall governments are busting congestion across Adelaide with two new jointly funded road projects set to get people home sooner and safer.
Construction will soon commence on both the Cross Road-Fullarton Road Intersection at Highgate and the intersection of Portrush and Magill Roads in Maylands.
The projects are part of the Morrison Government’s Urban Congestion Fund package for Adelaide.
The projects are a big win for local motorists accessing nearby schools and amenities via the heavily congested intersections.
Each government will invest $30.5 million to upgrade the Cross Road and Fullarton Road intersection. This upgrade will deliver significant safety and travel time benefits for parents who are sick of the gridlock they face when dropping the kids at school, or picking them up in the afternoon.
Approximately 60,000 vehicles travel through this intersection each day and it is at capacity with travel time delays in peak periods. Historical crash data also indicates 44 crashes over the last five years (2013-2017).
Cross Road forms part of Adelaide’s Outer Ring Route, with both roads serving as important commuter routes for traffic to and from Mitcham Hills Area and South Eastern Freeway.
Each government will also deliver $49 million to widen Portrush Road on approach to the Magill Road intersection to ease congestion and ensure people spend less time stuck in traffic and more time productively at work or at home with their families and loved ones.
This project is in addition to the $35 million to deliver the long-awaited Goodwood/Springbank/Daws intersection upgrade.
The Morrison Government has committed $5.3 billion in transport infrastructure since 2013 across Adelaide and South Australia.
Australia-Israel Chamber of Commerce Q&A
18 March 2019
QUESTION: I suppose one question I'll ask is about the role of social media, YouTube, Facebook. And the sort of thought process that we’re having as a nation of how we can create that sort of society, taking into account the disruption of technology.
PRIME MINISTER: Thank you Leon. I think that’s an important question we will now work through. First of all I'd like to make it clear that the social media technology companies did cooperate with the requests from agencies and authorities in Australia. But clearly the capability to deliver on that willingness hasn’t been present. And that's the problem. There needs to be the capability to shut this… these horrific things down immediately. And if you can't do that then the responsibility of having those features available is something that really genuinely needs to be questioned. It's not something you just rush into with a knee jerk reaction. It’s something that is going to be considered very carefully by the Government about what our response can be specifically to this and we will do that in a measured way, we’ll do that in a very determined and informed way. But all companies, as you leave the market standing, carry social responsibilities. And I should say it’s not just limited to social media companies. A number of times we have had to also address the concerns that come out of the gaming, the online gaming sector as well. We can’t ignore the possible impacts of links also on how they can be affected and twisted, what those who engage in that sort of violence. So that is not an accusation, it’s just a simple observation that there are many things we need to address here in social media and other areas online, particularly to keep Australians safe, that’s certain.
QUESTION: Thank you very much, we’ve got microphones to my left and my right. One of the questions is we talk about civil liberties as being essential for our society. We talk about security. Are there red lines or how do we manage this as a society?
PRIME MINISTER: Well thanks Leon. [Inaudible] Liberties are [inaudible], that’s what societies do. It’s not a jungle. That's not a civilized place to be a successful civilization. That always requires a balance between personal responsibility for one's own actions, in particular being responsible for its impact on others. And what then is the responsibility of the state in [inaudible] that behaviour. And I think this is always a moving balance in response to issues that arise, technology that occurs. Various influences that present themselves and sometimes these things can be required for periods. And on other occasions on a permanent basis. And so I think it's very important to make… we’re all flexible. We know what the principles are. Australia believes in free speech, of course we do. But again, let’s not allow that debate to be hijacked by the tribalists and extremists either and turned it into the sort of black and white type of debate that occurs in this area. It’s just not as simple as that. I faced this, and anyone who is involved in politics does. You are expected to and I understand why we try and simplify issues. But the truth is, getting the balance right between civil responsibility and civil law making is very difficult. It’s extremely complex, it’s not straightforward. There are many shades of grey and I think it’s important to be responsible and understand that and don’t try for oversimplification on some issues when it simply doesn’t exist.
QUESTION: Thank you for that informative, interesting and courageous speech where you have shared everything you have about diversity and inclusiveness and how important it is for us to support each other and society to welcome immigrants and help each other. My question is about the success of our gun laws in Australia. Do you think that New Zealand should follow our lead and adopt Australia [inaudible] John Howard?
PRIME MINISTER: Unquestionably. I think this is what the Prime Minister has indicated. We have already been discussions about that, with the Prime Minister and I about how Australia can offer any assistance that is necessary to go down that path. And what John Howard did after Port Arthur, who amongst us would ever have thought we see something like again in our lifetime in our part of the world? And on this occasion the number was even higher. So I believe [inaudible] and we will see the support. I think it’s important to understand the difference between the gun law arrangements in New Zealand and Australia. It is very significant thanks to the bravery and the courage of John Howard and should never be allowed to be undermined or watered down with any deals that are done at a state level, or anywhere else for that matter. These… that was a unique moment in time where John Howard proved his leadership in response to this most horrific tragedy that happened on Australian soil. And we must preserve it and never forget it. Never forgetting is so important, to think oh it’s been many years now. No, no. As we’ve just learned, the danger lurks.
QUESTION: Thank you, Angus Livingstone from the Australia Associated Press. Our security agencies have been very effective in thwarting Islamic State inspired terror plots here in Australia. What assurances have you sought from them that they are on top of the threat from far right extremist plots here in Australia and do you believe that we’re doing enough to counter that threat?
PRIME MINISTER: In the area of counter-terrorism we are always seeking to do more. This is not a new area of activity for our security agencies, they have been monitoring this area for quite a long time. Sadly, white supremacy in sections of Australia is not new. It’s been around for well over a century and at one time in Australia’s history it could even be argued that it held some sort of mainstream position. Thankfully that’s no longer the case. I know there has been a number of comments made about how a terrorist was able to go for so long and be undetected. And I made reference to the fact that he had only been in Australia for 45 days out of the last three years. But I would encourage people who may think that this is an easy thing to identify, just go on social media. Read some of the comments that have been made in relation to the stands that I or others have taken in denouncing these attacks. And see some of the comments that are on there. There are hundreds of them, if not thousands. This what I found truly disturbing, in addition to the sheer atrocity. This is why I have given the speech I have given today. I have to call this out to my fellow Australians. We need to fix this, we really do. How we deal with each other, how we understand and manage differences between us. Because if we don’t, it goes to a very, very dark place and I do not want to see that happen in this country. A country in which my children are growing up, and yours are as well. So the short answer is yes, it’s a serious issue. It will always get more and more attention. It has not not been on the radar, it has very much been on the radar, certainly with ASIO and our intelligence agencies and to the extent by which this is done by state and territory police forces. I know there has been some commentary on that today, well that is something that I am sure will be pursued by the Home Affairs Minister with those state and territory jurisdictions to ensure that is all joined up. But as we assess the lessons of this, I think it is important - that’s why I’m quite open with answering the question - I don’t answer the question from a position of defensiveness. I think in all these situations, you look at what you’ve done well and what we have done in that area over a number of years will put us in a much stronger position over the last couple of days to stand up and deal with any potential further threat that might come in those areas. So we are forever vigilant, I can never take anything for granted, and so Australians right across the country, our agencies are working closely together both to counter that threat and any other threats.
QUESTION: Thank you so much. The question that I would mention now is that you called these ‘troubled times’. My question is going to be what can you do as Prime Minister to get together people of different faiths and communities, and I think you’ve answered that question by the address you’ve given and [inaudible]. It’s very hard for us to ask questions because I think we’re all grappling with what we heard about in other countries but not so close to Australia and New Zealand. I could think of no person better that you in a time of [inaudible] so would like to propose a vote of thanks on behalf of us all here today. Ladies and gentlemen, PM Scott Morrison.
Funding for community safety
18 March 2019
Prime Minister, Minister for Home Affairs
Our government is extending the Safer Communities Fund following the terrible terrorist attack in New Zealand.
Funding will be boosted for the upcoming round of grants from the fund for religious organisations to increase security at their premises.
Fifty five million dollars will now be available in round 4 and grants will be prioritised for religious schools, places of religious worship and religious assembly.
Grants ranging from $50,000 to $1.5 million will provide for safety enhancements such as CCTV cameras, lighting, fencing, bollards, alarms, security systems and public address systems.
Funding is available over three years for security infrastructure and projects and applications for funding can be lodged from tomorrow.
Our government is committed to keeping every Australian safe. No one should have to fear for their safety.
This latest funding announcement brings the total amount available under the Safer Communities Fund to $119.9 million between 2016-17 and 2020-21. To date around 340 grants have been made.
Applications for round four can be submitted from tomorrow and will be assessed progressively in the order they are received until the funding is exhausted.
Potential applicants should start preparing applications now. Further details are available on the Australian Government’s Safer Communities Fund website at: https://www.business.gov.au/assistance/safer-communities-fund-round-4.
Doorstop, Sydney
17 March 2019
PRIME MINISTER: Love conquers hate. That is what we came here today to proclaim. Love conquers hate and an attack on one faith is an attack on all faiths. No one understands that frankly, better than the Coptic community and the many other religious communities around the world, whether here in Australia, in New Zealand, or any part of the globe today. But they all bound together in a community, faith, and I think there is a community today that extends beyond any one faith. It is a community that is committed to innocence. It's a community that is committed to love and peace and that is the group that binds together today, to speak against the evil and the atrocity that was committed against Muslim brothers and sisters in Christchurch.
So today we are gathering together in churches all around the nation, as they gathered together in temples yesterday and mosques on Friday, to all come today, to bring Australians together in one community and to proclaim the triumph of love over hate.
So I'm very pleased to be here with David Coleman today and to join with the Coptic community and to have Jenny and the girls here. This is the important message of hope today. In the midst of this awful atrocity, this is the hope that we can all cling to as peace-loving and free people all around the world.
JOURNALIST: Just on Fraser Anning’s remarks, do you think the bipartisan censure motion goes far enough? Or do you think there is a case to remove him from the Senate?
PRIME MINISTER: I think the full force of the law should be applied to Senator Anning.
JOURNALIST: We have seen horrific pictures on social media, the attack was live-streamed.
PRIME MINISTER: Yeah.
JOURNALIST: At what point are social media companies accountable?
PRIME MINISTER: First of all I’d say that the social media companies cooperated with authorities over the last 48 hours, so I'm making no comment against their willingness to cooperate. But I sadly have to say that the capacity to actually assist fully is very limited on the technology side. In the past, they have suspended this sort of Facebook live-streaming and assurances were given that when it was put back up, it could avoid this. Clearly it hasn't. So I think there is some very real discussions that have to be had about how these facilities and capabilities as they exist on social media, can continue to be offered, where there can't be the assurances given at a technology level, that once these images get out there, it is very difficult to prevent them.
Now, there's obviously a personal responsibility for those who would seek to share these images. Personally I have not even seen them, I don't wish to see them. I don't wish to give the extremist terrorist, the right-wing extremist terrorist, the satisfaction that I would have looked at that, because I have no interest in what he has to say. I have no interest in his manifesto. His manifesto is a weak manifesto of hate that has no place in our country or in any other country of the world today.
But we will be seeking to get assurances from the social media companies about their capability to ensure that this tool cannot be used by terrorists.
JOURNALIST: Can you give us an update on cooperation between New Zealand and the Australian authorities [inaudible] prosecuted?
PRIME MINISTER: The process is for him to be prosecuted in New Zealand and New Zealand authorities are providing the updates on those matters. I'm having regular meetings and updates from my agencies and authorities about not only what's happening here in Australia and the actions and precautions that are being taken here, but also the significant assistance that is being provided by Australia to New Zealand. I had a very lovely message from Prime Minister Ardern this morning when I awoke, thanking Australia for everything that is being done to assist them.
An event of this horrific nature would test any nation's capability in responding. I want to commend all those in New Zealand, the health workers, those in the hospitals, the emergency service workers, the police and other whose have attended the scene for the way that they have been able to perform their responsibilities in what I can only imagine must be the most difficult of circumstances emotionally and otherwise. But they have applied their professionalism. Australians are there providing assistance, coordination assistance, medical assistance. There are already Australians in New Zealand supporting coronial efforts. I know having met with the Muslim community here yesterday, that community is also providing support to the Muslim community in New Zealand as well. So, every request is being not only met but anticipated. They ‘have us at hello,’ when it comes to supporting them.
JOURNALIST: In Australia, is security being tightened, are you concerned about copycats here?
PRIME MINISTER: The short answer to “are we taking precautions?” Yes. I said that two days ago, that has been the immediate response; to stand up our response here in Australia right across the country, not just at places of worship, but more generally. That is being implemented through the state and territory police forces and I want the commend them for all the work they are doing. Their level of cooperation with federal agencies is exemplary, as you'd expect it to be. I want to thank all Premiers, particularly here in New South Wales given the nature of the investigation that has been undertaken in relation to this Tarrant. The work that has been done, not only on that investigation here in New South Wales, but how that extends to a broader international investigation that is being coordinated and assisted by Australian authorities.
So yes, we have stood up our response plan. It is in place and that's the vigilance that has been applied each and every day, to keep Australians safe. But as I said this morning, it's also about keeping Australians together. We can all band together to stand against this hatred and this violence. We all stand together - people of many different faiths, or no faith at all - standing together for innocence and peace and for love over hate.
Thank you, all, very much.
Doorstop, Lakemba
16 March 2019
PRESIDENT OF THE LEBANESE MUSLIM ASSOCIATION, SAMIER DANDAN: Welcome all. This is an initiative that our Prime Minister has decided to take, to come to the Islamic organisation and meet the Islamic religious leaders and Islamic community organisations, to offer his condolences to the sad events the whole world witnessed yesterday, an event that the community will pay the price and I guess humanity will pay the price. We are here to show solidarity that collectively together, we aim to stand up any time to Islamophobia or discrimination or extremism that affect the social fabric of what we hold dear to our hearts – that is our nation of Australia. Prime Minister?
PRIME MINISTER: Thank you very much. Thank you Samier, to the Grand Mufti and to the members of the National Imams Council, it’s a great privilege to be here with you today and to be joined by the Foreign Minister and David Coleman the Minister for Immigration, Citizenship and Multicultural affairs. I want to thank you all for bringing everyone together to have the opportunity today, not only for me to come with my colleagues and express our profound and deepest condolences and sympathies for the horrific and tragic terrorist attack that took place in New Zealand - that not only impacted New Zealand but frankly has impacted all around the world and certainly has shuddered our own nation and all of our communities here. It’s important to be here standing with you, because as Prime Minister Ardern said yesterday, an attack against one, is an attack against all of us, from all communities who love peace, who love the freedoms that we have both here in Australia and New Zealand and the peace-loving peoples of the world. This is what is under attack.
We have spoken today about the real enemy being hatred and intolerance. This is the root of all extremism and terrorism. It's about fostering a hate and trying to foster a cycle of hate and we stand here together today to break that cycle as we always seek to do, to actually bring Australians together.
This horrific event took place and was targeted to one particular community, the Islamic community, in a mosque as they went to prayers in New Zealand. But in doing so, it was an attack on all peace-loving peoples, on all innocent peoples and that's why we can all stand together in support of our Muslim brothers and sisters who were the specific targets of this attack and to ensure that we speak out against it happening anywhere else and to any other Australian here or any other peace-loving person in the world today.
So I want to thank you very much for the opportunity to come and share the feedback and understand the feelings within the community today. I want to thank you for the response that you've made in bringing your own community together, providing support. I particularly want to thank the community here for the way they've actually reached out to the New Zealand Muslim community and I have had engagements today with the New Zealand Government and the New Zealand Prime Minister about how the Muslim communities between the two countries are supporting each other to go through this very difficult time for them. The Muslim community in Australia is very well-established, very well organised, it has great support and social structures that reach out to its own community here, for which it should be commended, which as a Government and as a Minister I have a close knowledge and had a deep involvement with. That same experience is being offered in support of their brothers and sisters across the Tasman Sea in New Zealand.
I also wanted to say - and I would normally not want to give this any oxygen - but I want to absolutely and completely denounce the statements made by Senator Anning in all of the comments that he has made. His conflation of this horrendous terrorist attack with issues of immigration, in his attack on Islamic faith specifically, these comments are appalling and they're ugly and they have no place in Australia, in the Australian Parliament also. He should be, frankly, ashamed of himself. It's not something my Government associates with. It's not something the good faith people of Australia, of any faith or any background, would seek to associate with. So, I think I have made that pretty clear out where I stand on that.
I know that there have been discussions between Senator Cormann and Senator Wong today and the Government will lead, as part of a bipartisan motion, a motion of censure against Senator Anning when Parliament returns in a couple of weeks’ time. The Parliament I'm sure will express a very clear view about what he has had to say.
With that said, I'm happy to take questions. I’m not going to trouble our partners and colleagues to be here for the usual political questions that are sometimes asked, I want to thank them very much for hosting me today and pulling people together at such short notice and for the leadership that has been shown. We are standing together against hatred and against intolerance and extremism in all of its forms. I want to thank the community here for their ongoing support in all of these tasks, thank you.
The Ministers and I are happy to take questions.
JOURNALIST: Is there any medical assistance to New Zealand?
PRIME MINISTER: We're responding to a series of requests. On that front there have not been significant requests made at this time. We're providing significant assistance when it comes to the police investigation, the technical aspects of that investigation. The international engagement element because this reaches well beyond the borders of both New Zealand and Australia and we're providing that support.
But I can tell you also, as I conveyed the offer of support today, the Muslim community here in Australia is offering support with counselling services and even the most practical issues around the burial of those who are deceased and I want to thank them for that.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister do you think our gun laws must be reviewed and or tightened?
PRIME MINISTER: Our gun laws are always being reviewed, as you know our gun laws were significantly changed after the Port Arthur massacre. I had hoped and prayed we would never see a massacre in our part of the world, of that scale and order again. But sadly, we have and I think we must be clear that the context of the gun laws between New Zealand and Australia are very different. They're very different as a result of the massacre that occurred in Australia all those years ago. But I tell you, the events of the last 24 hours … it was over 20 years ago but it all comes back and we all know as Australians, how we just grieved so deeply during the Port Arthur massacre. So I can only imagine now how New Zealanders are feeling. I say to them again, kia kaha, stay strong.
JOURNALIST: So you will be reviewing the gun laws?
PRIME MINISTER: We're always doing that. We're always seeking to improve them. As you know, they're matters for states and territories, but I can say that Australia has, I would argue the most strengthened gun laws of anywhere in the world today. We are the standard by which other countries measure the strength of their gun laws. To John Howard, we will always be grateful for that.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, when was the latest conversation you have had about the terror threat level?
PRIME MINISTER: This morning.
JOURNALIST: What was discussed?
PRIME MINISTER: No change.
JOURNALIST: Is there an ongoing threat of terrorism in Australia?
PRIME MINISTER: Look, there always has been. This is not new - as we discussed today in our meeting, these right-wing extremist views, these white supremacist, white separatist views, are not new. I mean, these sentiments have sadly existed in Australia for hundreds of years. So - hatred, bigotry, racism, these are things that we do stand against and we always seek to combat. We are a tolerant, multicultural society, the most successful immigrant country on the planet. We can, I think, take comfort in that fact today.
But that said, we will always seek to improve wherever we can. So these issues aren't new, these have always constituted a threat. There has always been and we have certainly invested in and ensured there's a capability to address that element of the terrorist threat in Australia. It hasn't had a lot of public commentary, either in the media or elsewhere but that doesn't mean it doesn't happen. It has been and it has been very important to us particularly in the last 24 hours, that we've been able to draw on the knowledge and the work done by our agencies in this area, that we can lend our expertise and advice about these matters as part of the investigation.
JOURNALIST: Have you spoken to the Indonesian Prime Minister in relation to the attacks?
PRIME MINISTER: I have been in contact with the President of Indonesia and the Prime Minister of Malaysia.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister have you have any conversation with Fraser Anning and have you told him perhaps, to pull his finger out? Given he only had 19 votes, I mean, how can he be a representative and be allowed to keep on going like this?
PRIME MINISTER: As I said, the Senate will deal with that when they resume. That will be a bipartisan motion moved by the Government. I don't think Fraser Anning is in any doubt about what my views are of his despicable comments.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister what did you say to President Widodo when you spoke to him?
PRIME MINISTER: Well the way we usually contact each other - he's in the middle of an election campaign over there – is we have a very good process of texting, as we’ve done many, many times together since we formed our relationship last year. It was effectively to express the same sentiments that I have here today. In particular in relation to Indonesians who have been caught up specifically in this terrorist attack and to offer our sympathies and condolences there. But also to make it very clear to all Indonesians that this attack on people of Islamic faith that has occurred at their most private and peaceful time of worship, is abhorrent to Australians and it is abhorrent to my Government and to ensure that is well understood throughout the region.
JOURNALIST: Are you concerned that this suspect wasn't on an Australian intelligence watch list?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, the interesting thing about this individual is he was - as I'm advised - on nobody's radar anywhere, even when it comes, I'm advised, in relation to any offences that may have occurred. So, this is the real challenge when it comes to issues of terrorism, regardless of its origins; in this case extremist views based on white supremacist and separatist ideologies which are abhorrent and foster hate. This is what happens, so you know, that's why we need to continue to be vigilant in this area. But there are no guarantees and protections. Hatred and intolerance will seek to work its evil wherever it can.
JOURNALIST: The Australian National Imams Council this morning said that Senator Anning is inciting violence and hatred. Is there nothing more that you can do other than a censure motion when Senate resumes?
PRIME MINISTER: To the extent - if Senator Anning has committed offence under any law anywhere in this country, I would be expecting authorities to take whatever action they could in relation to that.
JOURNALIST: Will you be extraditing the perpetrator of these crimes back to Australia?
PRIME MINISTER: That’s very premature. There is a court process going on in New Zealand, as I said yesterday and it's very important that New Zealand - this has occurred on their sovereign territory - it has involved an Australian-born citizen and he is facing the New Zealand justice system. That's where that process begins.
JOURNALIST: What else can you tell us about your conversation with Jacinda Ardern?
PRIME MINISTER: Other than her appreciation for the great warmth and support that New Zealanders have felt from Australians - we're cousins, New Zealanders and Australians and they've really felt the outreach from Australia. The gesture yesterday of lowering the flag over Parliament House to half-mast, I sent Jacinda Ardern a picture of it and said: "We're with you.” She was greatly appreciative of that, as flags around the country today are at half-mast in solidarity and in sympathy and in condolence for the people of New Zealand. I understand - I was speaking to the Governor-General earlier today – and there's a New Zealand flag flying at half-mast at his residence as well. So they're very appreciative of the support.
This is a traumatic and tectonic event for New Zealand. This is, I think, what is so shocking; it's such a peaceful place. It's such a calm, peaceful place. I lived there for some years myself and for this to happen in that silence and peacefulness, is incredibly distressing. But its intent was to inspire more hatred and violence. Its intent was to try and provoke others to the same. Its intent was to provide some sort of sick leadership to others who share those views. What we say today is; “No.” No, peace and love will triumph.
Thank you very much.
Live Cross, Seven News
15 March 2019
MICHAEL USHER: Prime Minister thank you for your time this evening. It really is a lot to take in, quite overwhelming in fact, You’ve been briefed at the highest levels today. The main suspect is from our country. What is the Australian Federal Police investigating tonight? What might you be able to shed some light on there?
PRIME MINISTER: Well the investigation is spanning both obviously New Zealand and here in Australia. The Joint Counter Terrorism operations which investigate these matters have been stood up here in New South Wales and investigations are being undertaken now in relation to this individual. He’s an Australian-born citizen and he is a right-wing, extremist, violent terrorist. That’s what he is and we’ve got to call this out for what it is.
It has just been the most shocking and shuddering of events and particularly, our hearts go out to all New Zealanders and to all those of Islamic faith here in Australia as well as in New Zealand. We just want to reach out to them today and say; “We will stand with you.”
USHER: Prime Minister it is an uncomfortable, even sickening truth that this shooter is a home-grown terrorist from New South Wales. Can you reassure us on an any of the information that you may have, that he has no further links or supporters here?
PRIME MINISTER: Well I can’t offer too much comment on these things this evening, other than to say that in response to these terrorist incidents there is an automatic process which our authorities and police around the country immediately move into. That has been undertaken and that happened earlier today. All steps are taken to ensure the safety of Australians and there is a high level of cooperation directly between New Zealand and Australian authorities. They are investigating and taking action in relation to this terrorist act.
USHER: Do we need to be concerned about any similar attacks here? Any extra protection for mosques in particular?
PRIME MINISTER: Well these steps are already being taken as you’d expect them to be. The terrorist threat level in Australia remains unchanged on the advice of ASIO to me today. But always, always, I think we need to be mindful of these threats. Terrorism comes in all forms and in this case, it came in the form of right-wing radical extremism.
USHER: It’s good advice of yours, to give everyone a hug on this subject, but what do we say to New Zealand, our closest friends, this will never be forgotten?
PRIME MINISTER: We say kia kaha, which is Maori for “stay strong”. Whanau is the word for family in Maori and that’s how we see New Zealanders and I expressed our sincere condolences to all of them, our sympathies and our prayers and thoughts and I wished Prime Minister Ardern - who I will be speaking with again - every support we can provide to them at this time. Christchurch is such a peaceful place. It has been rocked by tragedy before, but not of this kind. This is a very evil kind and we will be doing everything to support them in very possible way we can.
USHER: Indeed. Alright Prime Minister we really appreciate your time, thank you.