Doorstop - Blayney, NSW

28 January 2020

PRIME MINISTER: Well thank you, Scott and I’m pleased to be back here in Blayney with you again. Just over a year ago, we announced the Drought Communities Programme in Blayney, and I know at that time you already had your thoughts organised as to how you might get about that and here we are just over a year ago, back seeing that money put to great work. 

Can I also welcome my colleagues who are here with me today and Fiona Simpson, Head of the National Farmers Federation, who has been taking part today in the the National North Queensland flood and our broader drought recovery agency board meeting today. I’ll come to those issues in  just a few moments. 

But before I say anything further, I just want to address a couple of matters in relation to the Coronavirus issue. I want to confirm that overnight there was a meeting in Beijing where our embassy officials were briefed by Chinese authorities on these matters and arrangements that they are putting in place. The National Security Committee of Cabinet met yesterday afternoon for some period of time to further oversee our response and our broader engagement with matters overseas, particularly in Hubei province, and Wuhan and I’ll say one or two things about that in a second. The National Security Committee will meet again tomorrow to consider some further initiatives that are being worked up as we speak. 

Now, I've just spoken just a few minutes ago to Prime Minister Ardern and seeking to work closely with the New Zealand government in supporting both their, and our nationals who have been caught up in this event. Right now, the Australian government through our embassy is looking to deploy, working with the Chinese government, consular officials into Hubei province, into Wuhan, this is essential to assist us as we then consider the further options of the support that we can provide to Australian citizens who are in Wuhan and in Hubei province more broadly. I want to commend, in particular the Chief Medical Officer and all of those in the state and territory governments who are working so closely together to ensure that our response to this virus as it becomes more widespread in China and as we see more cases confirmed, there are prior to this press conference, just 5 cases confirmed in Australia but there are obviously a number of other tests that are being conducted on some other people who have presented. These are being done in a very orderly way. The treatment facilities are in place and I’m advised that, by the Chief Medical Officer, that the capabilities and the treatment platforms that are there are more than meeting the need but we're continuing to provide advice, working with schools, with universities, with the tourism industry and others to ensure that the information is getting to people about this virus and that they're in a position then to seek medical attention in the appropriate way, should they be presenting with any of the symptoms. So this is something that the government is monitoring extremely closely. As I was saying, the National Security Committee is meeting every few days. We’ll meet again on Friday to ensure that we manage this response, we’re working closely with the states and territories and we’ll continue to do that to keep Australians safe but I would encourage Australians to go about their business, to understand and listen to the advice that’s being received and if you’ve had any contact with that area directly, then the steps you need to take are fairly obvious. And for those schools and universities and others, I want to thank you for the way you’ve been cooperating with both state and federal authorities, in getting information out to your students as they prepare to go back to school and back to university a little later, and the appropriate precautions are being taken and I can take some questions on that when we get to questions a little later. 

But the reason for being here today. Australia has suffered terrible natural disasters over the last 12 months and it is over the last 12 months that I refer to because it was about this time last year that those devastating floods hit North Queensland, and all year, as it has been the case for many years, drought has continued to ravage our country and in more recent times, where drought has been such a key contributing factor, we've seen these devastating bushfires, and our response to natural disasters encompasses all of these things. 

While there's obviously been a lot of focus on the response to the terrible bushfires in recent months, I want to assure all Australians, all Australians who have been devastated and impacted by the terrible drought that has ravaged our country, not for months, but for years and years and years, that you have not left our thoughts and our plans and our responses for a second. You are very much keenly in our focus in ensuring that you continue to get the support that you need to get through this drought, to get to the other side and to rebuild. To rebuild for when the rains come and while we have seen some pleasing rain in very recent times, we know that's not enough to bust the drought even here as you see a green tinge around us. Now, that isn't always the case and we need drought quenching rains and they have not yet come, but it is nice to see kids playing in puddles. We haven't seen that for a while. It's nice to see the dam over there which not that long ago, was bone dry, seeing some water at the bottom of it today. So there is hope, and we’ve got to build for that time of hope and prepare for that time of hope and that's why the drought and flood agency, which convened today in Orange, not far from here, was focussed on the next range of plans that we need to be able to deliver to support drought affected communities right across the country. 

And today we are making two specific announcements and I'll ask the Minister Littleproud and Minister Tehan, to go into two of those but the Drought Communities program was one of our first responses to the drought and that was putting a million dollars into councils in drought affected areas right around the country, including right here in Blayney and that was designed to get money into these communities, to put people into work. There are some 18 contractors that worked on projects here in Blayney, 13 businesses, including the one where I announced the original Drought Communities program in Blayney now providing I’m assuming piping and various other materials to this works here and there are many other contractors who've been involved as well. That program has been immensely successful. It will now extend to 180 councils to ensure that important local projects, important local works, bringing communities together, providing them support at one of their most difficult times. So we can see these towns and these regions in these districts survive this awful drought. The other approach, so that's a $47 million dollar extension to that program and I’ll allow Minister Littleproud to run through how that's being extended today. 

The other program that we're extending today is the support we're giving to schools, independent schools. To support drought affected families, to keep their kids in school. This is so important. I remember when I went up to Quilpie with David a day or so after I became Prime Minister and one of the issues that was raised by the Tully’s there on that day was, and there was, it was the moment that brought tears to Mrs. Tully's eye and that was what am I going to do about my kids in school and their thoughts for their kids and that is the truth for so many drought affected families living on properties and stations all around the country. School provides that stability. It provides that assurance, it provides that rhythm. My kids went back to school today, and I know how important that is in a family's life and so to ensure that we're directing an additional $10 million dollars in assistance to those schools, they know their students best. They know the families who need the help the most, and that’s how this programme will continue to work. So we’ve doubled that funding, to ensure that parents can have greater confidence about ensuring their kids can stay in school, and they can keep focusing on the very hard tasks that they have, dealing with the drought on their properties. So with that, I'm going to ask David to go a little bit more detail on the DCP programme and then Minister Tehan will speak to the issue of the education programme, and then I’m going to ask Fiona just to say a few words about how the broader drought programme is impacting and supporting and then Andrew Gee, the local member will sum it up. Thank you. 

THE HON. DAVID LITTLEPROUD MP, MINISTER FOR WATER RESOURCES, DROUGHT, RURAL FINANCE, NATURAL DISASTER AND EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT: Well thanks PM and obviously, this is an important step in our suite of measures towards making sure we get as many communities through this drought, because the drought extends past the farm gate into the communities that support them and what you are seeing here is a local example and what we're announcing today with the Drought Communities program is empowering local councils to make those decisions. We want this to be locally led, not Canberra-led and what we are saying is local government knows their communities better than we do. So we're empowering them with a million dollars to go out there and to invest in legacy, infrastructure that will create jobs and leave something for the future. 

So it's important that we continue on that, and today we're saying for the first time we're going to Western Australia. This drought has spread like a cancer from the East Coast up in Queensland, right down the East Coast now right across the Nullarbor into Western Australia and in fact, also into the Northern Territory, for the first time those shires are also being recognised for the impact this drought is having on them and their communities and we’ll continue to be agile. This adds to the over $8 billion dollars that the federal government has committed to this drought response and we’ll continue to do more. As we've said with the fire situation, we will continue to do whatever it takes. This is about people, not about money and we'll continue to make sure we invest in these communities because when it does rain they will recover. 

Obviously, we took the advice of EY and the EY report. We have put up in a transparent way, up online to make sure that the recommendations that they put forward with respect to some of the changes to the Drought Community Programme are there for all to see and they made a number of recommendations that we've accepted in terms of the simplified model and that goes around the weather, in fact, they’ve become, they’ve recommended that we take now two consecutive years of rain deficiency rather than one in two and they've also recommended that there be a scaling for those populations under a thousand, those shires under a thousand, they should get $500,000 dollars and those above should get $1 million. So we've accepted those recommendations. But in light of that, in light of the harshness of those recommendations, we've allowed for the agricultural employment to also include the downstream employment. So those in the processing sector, in abattoirs, to be included in our total agricultural employment data number, but also reduced that from 17 per cent to 12 per cent and allow and prescribe a defined allowance for the Minister to make a decision, down to 7 per cent. And obviously that takes into a number of accounts around the impacts that this drought is having, but also other natural disasters like fires. So we've tried to make sure that we reached as many communities that need this as we possibly can. But we've got to draw a definite line in the sand about where this program is targeted, because it is ultimately about stimulating the communities that are doing it the hardest from the drought, because they are supported primarily by agriculture and our agricultural pursuits. 

So all I can say now is that we'll continue to address the drought through the National Drought Agency and continue to assess our current programs and that's why it's important today that Shane Stone and his agency came together to make that assessment, and they'll be making recommendations on this program and a number of others that the Federal Government’s put out, but also, we made a commitment to bring together the states as well, because they have a role to play in this just as much as we do and back in the last Ministerial Council, Shane Stone was charged with the responsibility of coordinating everyone's response from state and federal to make sure that there wasn't overlaps, that we were getting bang for buck and they were being targeted properly. He'll continue with that work, but I do to the states again, again and again I keep on saying, they can please compliment us with our programs, with complementing this by paying the rates of farmers, and small businesses to these local councils to give them a rate holiday, to take away the crown leasehold, to take away payroll tax. This is an opportunity for states to compliment what the Federal Government's done. This is their opportunity to lead with us to take our hand. This isn't about politics. This is about us all taking a stake in the future of these communities and working together. 

PRIME MINISTER: Thanks David. Dan.

THE HON. DAN TEHAN MP, MINISTER FOR EDUCATION: Thanks PM, and before I start on the education package, as someone who represents regional and rural Victoria in the Federal Parliament, can I thank you PM for your leadership that you've shown not only through the bushfires but through the floods and also through drought. There's been an absolute paradigm shift in the way the federal government is reacting to these natural disasters, and it's through your leadership that we're seeing this. So can I thank you on behalf of my communities, and communities right across regional and rural Australia for what you are doing and the leadership that you're showing. 

What we're announcing today is an extra $10 million, which builds on the $10 million we announced before Christmas for non-government schools to help them deal with the impact of drought. We were just in Orange an hour ago and I was meeting with one of the local schools there and the person who runs the finances, said to me that they're getting two to three calls now a week from farmers saying that they're struggling to pay the fees and he said that he doesn’t want to say to those parents, to those families, that we can no longer provide schooling for your children because schools, especially in regional and rural areas, are so important to the fabric of those communities and that's why by providing these additional $10 [million], which builds on the $10 [million] we announced before Christmas, we'll be able to provide relief to most schools who have put in to seek assistance through our exceptional circumstances funding. This builds on what we're also doing for child care. I know this will be welcomed across schools right across Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria and South Australia where this funding is being provided and I know that under the Prime Minister's leadership, that the Commonwealth Government will remain there as a supporter, as an assistance for all regional and rural communities as they deal with drought, deal with bushfires, and deal with flood. Thank you.

PRIME MINISTER: Fiona.

FIONA SIMPSON, PRESIDENT OF THE NATIONAL FARMERS FEDERATION: Fiona Simpson, President National Farmers Federation, and a farmer myself from Premer, that’s north east of here, north west probably of here actually and also in the grips of drought. The very first day that the Prime Minister took office, he and I had a conversation about drought. He was going on a tour right then of drought affected Queensland and since then PM, it’s been an ongoing conversation and I wanted to thank you PM and your government for always being open to have the conversation and always listening to what's happening out there in the bush and at the moment drought is really crippling. 

I wanted to thank the community for their support of so many communities and so many landholders through many years now in many cases of drought, but it’s really taking its toll. It's getting harder and harder and harder for people to meet their expenses, to meet their commitments, and it’s starting to really cripple families and businesses and communities. So it's important that we keep talking and so NFF is actively engaged in the conversation with the government, with the ministers, with the state governments, and at the recently established Drought Agency as well, where we’ve been meeting today to talk about, not only how we can best get the measures that the government have got on the table to people who need that help, but also what else we need and their needs are immense. Whether you’re talking about families, whether you’re talking about farming businesses, whether you're talking about small businesses in rural and regional communities, communities like Blayney. 

And so it's important that we keep having those conversations where we look at what's available now and how we can better deliver that support, and what else is needed. We need to keep having the conversations, funds like the community funds certainly are helping keep communities like Blayney and others, many others, we heard some good stories today from local Mayors who are really putting that million dollars to very good use and we know that that is important, but we also know that that right now as we approach a make or break time again when people are really going to be looking at getting moisture into their soils, to plant their winter crops. They’re really looking at not just keeping cash flow, keeping jobs, supporting employment, but also an eye to what's going to happen when it does rain. Which surely must be closer each day, each and every day. 

So it's those things that NFF keeps talking to government about, we need to look at cash flow. We need to look at jobs, both on farms and in small rural and regional communities and we need to look at what's going to happen when it rains again and we recover. So we welcome the conversation, we welcome also the action, and we thank the government for their actions but of course, keep having the conversation about what else we're going to do. And of course how we keep supporting rural and regional Australia and agricultural industry which we know has a very bright future. If we can get there and get there till the next rainfall. So thanks very much. 

PRIME MINISTER: Thanks Fiona. Andrew. 

ANDREW GEE MP, MEMBER FOR CALARE: Thanks PM. Well, the effects of these twin disasters and emergencies across the Central West have been absolutely devastating. In terms of the recent bushfires, we've lost about 65 homes, many, many are damaged, in terms of the rural landholders, about 600 are affected. So the recovery process is going to take a long time and it's going to take years and we've been able to get through it because our communities have come together. In the same way that the fires have been devastating, so too has the drought and it's been devastating not only on the farm and at the farm gate, but right throughout our country communities, all of our organisations, our country businesses. It really has been very debilitating and in some parts of our region, while we have had a bit of rain, some haven't caught any at all and the ground is still so dry. It just seems like it's screaming out, and this drought, the drudgery of feeding stock, of worrying about where income is going to come from, how you are going to pay your debts, it just seems to be a ceaseless burden, and PM and Dan and David and Fiona, one of the reasons that we're glad that you're here today is because it sends the message that the rest of Australia is with us. In the same way that, Prime Minister, when you came out with the announcement on the Australian Defence Force, to have those ADF personnel working in our fire hit communities, offered real practical support on the ground, but also sent the message that the rest of Australia is with us and in the same way that you are now out here focussing on the drought, talking about the real issues and delivering practical assistance on the ground. That also sends the message that the rest of Australia is with us on this. And that's something that we really appreciated. So Prime Minister, Dan, David and Fiona, we're really grateful that you came out to see us today and also Mayor Scott Ferguson on your great work and that of your Council on the Drought Communities program. They have done a marvellous job out here putting these projects together, this wonderful hundred thousand dollar project, basically drought proofs this showground. I mean, everyone in this area knows how important it is, I’ve spent many a cold morning out here, watching sport on cold and frosty Saturday and Sunday mornings but it's not just here, you can go to our showgrounds that have received new fencing, our rec grounds. You can go to the Blayney golf club, which has received new decking, all of these projects, make real practical differences on the ground. They improve our community infrastructure, they lift spirits, and they provide an important economic boost for the area as well and you've seen and heard today about the effects that this project has had, in terms of employing local tradies and the economic flow on effects as well. So Scott to you and your team. Congratulations and I think this project in particular highlights the value of drought communities and so I'm really pleased to hear that it's going to be boosted through the announcement today that David's made and also that the education sector is also front and centre as well, because not only is this bushfire recovery going to take years, but getting through the effects of this drought is going to take years as well. And I think we all have to mentally prepare ourselves for the fact that this is going to be a long haul through this. But we've been able to get through it so far by sticking together and our communities have really shown their strength and character and I'm just very grateful to know that the rest of Australia is also behind us as we struggle with these emergencies and disasters. So thanks again PM for coming in today.

PRIME MINISTER: Thank you Andrew. Happy to take some questions, but let’s stay on Coronavirus and issues of the announcement, if there are other political issues, I’m sure Scott and Fiona will take their leave.

JOURNALIST: With regards to the councils that are receiving funding today, Orange is one of the councils that approached the Government late last year to ask for an extension and its missed out, why? 

THE HON. DAVID LITTLEPROUD MP, MINISTER FOR WATER RESOURCES, DROUGHT, RURAL FINANCE, NATURAL DISASTER AND EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT: Well, there's been a clear definition of the criteria needed to qualify for this. Originally it was 17 per cent of your workforce had to be in agricultural employment and there was a rainfall deficiency of 12 months in 24. Now there has to be a line in the sand and this is not about anything other than stimulating those economies. Those communities that are hardest hit by this drought. Now, the reality is, is there are some communities that have been impacted far greater than others. Now, we've tried to make sure that there is great transparency in this program. We went to EY to make sure we got the balance right. We use the science around those economic indicators about what drives these local towns and they drew a line, drew a line in the sand around that we've allowed some defined definition around discretion for the Minister to use but ultimately we have to draw the line somewhere. Otherwise, we'll have communities that haven't,  really no reliance on the agricultural economic makeup in terms of getting this money and the Australian- this is Australian taxpayers money. We've got to be careful with it and it's got to go to those in most need. We're going to continue to complement this with other programs like building better regions funds that are that are targeted specifically to regional areas that aren’t in drought. So there's a number of,  a range of programs that we continue to roll out. This is just one but under each one of these, you have to have a set criteria, a definition around it, to make sure that there is transparency and confidence in the process. 

JOURNALIST: Why are you in Orange today then if there’s other communities that are struggling more than what you’re saying, and also really need to be [inaudible]?

THE HON. DAVID LITTLEPROUD MP, MINISTER FOR WATER RESOURCES, DROUGHT, RURAL FINANCE, NATURAL DISASTER AND EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT: Well, obviously, the drought agency, one of the key components of our drought response is through the Regional Investment Corporation and we as a federal government took the stance that we didn't want them in Canberra, we wanted them in regional Australia and we brought them to Orange but they play an integral part in our drought response. So it was important that we came to the home of the Regional Investment Corporation and that the Agency was able to intertwine with the RIC because there will be a lot more emphasis and we'll be expecting in terms of their results to be ramped up over the coming three to four months. We're putting a lot of opportunity out there. I mean, you as a farmer, you can refinance up to $2 million dollars of your commercial debt from a bank, into the Regional Investment Corporation and pay no interest, no repayments for two years and that, for someone paying around 6 per cent is over $150,000 dollars you are taking out of the big banks pocket and you are putting it back in yours. That is an economic stimulus for those farmers and obviously it is going to be very popular and we'll be saying to the RIC, you have to respond. You have to respond quickly but the banks also have to as well because they have to provide priorities and I've said to the ABA, they need to come up with a protocol to make sure that the banks aren't dragging their feet in allowing us to get this finalised and get that money back into farmers pockets. 

JOURNALIST: The NSW Farmers Association has expressed concern about the length of time that it is taking the RIC to process applications, it’s told us today, between 6 and 12 months. What can you do about that, would extra resources be available for the Corporation? 

THE HON. DAVID LITTLEPROUD MP, MINISTER FOR WATER RESOURCES, DROUGHT, RURAL FINANCE, NATURAL DISASTER AND EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT: Well, one of the first challenges we had was that the Opposition wouldn't support the Regional Investment Corporation. In fact, when I became Agriculture Minister in December ‘17, it was until February ‘18 that I was able to get the legislation through the Senate with the help of David Leyonhjelm because the Labour Party blocked it. We then had to get this bank effectively up and going and that takes a lot of expertise. You have to create products. So we've been behind the the eight ball by some 12 months but we are building up the capacity and we are continuing to ramp down the days and the last advice that I got from the CEO, was it's down now to around 65 working days but there is an aspiration to bring that down further. Working with our service partner, Bendigo Bank, but also the commercial banks in which we're taking this debt off because they've been dragging their feet in providing the priorities for mortgages and that delays the time in which we can get the money back out there. So the banks are being constructive in those conversations and we're working as quickly as we can and we will make sure that whatever resources are required will be provided to the RIC. This is an integral part of our drought response because as I said, this is putting about $150,000 dollars back into farmers pockets that’s taking the burden off their cash flow, every year and we'll continue to work through with our products and the next product we’ll also be looking to put out there is for young farmers, because despite all the doom and gloom, the talk that the bush is buggered, it's not, it’s gonna rain and we're gonna make a quid and when we do, we want our young people to get in and we've made a commitment around agri-starter loans and that's the next tranche of funding that we want to put out there, because we want to say to young people, don't give up. There is a future out here. It will rain. You're gonna make a great future, and a great life out here. 

JOURNALIST: You mentioned that the state government needs to do more in terms of alleviating the pressure with local government rates but local councils are already cash strapped and they're already under pressure financially. So how could you expect local councils to take that on themselves, shouldn’t the Federal Government- 

THE HON. DAVID LITTLEPROUD MP, MINISTER FOR WATER RESOURCES, DROUGHT, RURAL FINANCE, NATURAL DISASTER AND EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT: No I’m not-

JOURNALIST: Shouldn’t the federal government help the state government alleviate that?

THE HON. DAVID LITTLEPROUD MP, MINISTER FOR WATER RESOURCES, DROUGHT, RURAL FINANCE, NATURAL DISASTER AND EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT: Well as I’ve said at the start. We’ve committed over $8 billion dollars across this country in our drought response. We've all signed up under intergovernmental agreement with the states around our responsibilities. We look after farmer welfare, they look after animal welfare, they look after local government. The reality is they have an opportunity to step up now, complement the $8 billion dollars we’ve got out there and do something themselves. South Australia's already done that, they’re paying some of the rates of farmers and small business to the council so the councils still get their money. They've also done something about the payroll tax because what you're going to see is particularly these small towns where you have to meat processers, their drought’s coming, as soon as it rains. The drought's coming because there'll be no stock for them to process and they invariably are some of the largest employers in these towns but state governments are taking payroll tax off them. So you take that out of the system. You put that back into small business’s pocket, you’re keeping employees going. And it's even machinery dealers, I’ve heard in Moree, a machinery dealer having to put off young mechanics because they don't have the work because of the payroll tax they’re paying. We all have a role to play this. The federal government is stumping up and we continue to show that. We haven't stopped even during the fires. We're not only stumping up for the fires, we’re going to stump up for the drought and the reality is we just ask the states also live up to their responsibilities, this would be a real opportunity for them to take our hand, and to make a real difference.

JOURNALIST: Everyone’s talking about water storage, and Orange is down to 20 per cent, we’re three months away from basically shutting down industry unless things improve, what can you say to communities who do not qualify for this funding, still have no water left, and how are you going to fix that situation? 

THE HON. DAVID LITTLEPROUD MP, MINISTER FOR WATER RESOURCES, DROUGHT, RURAL FINANCE, NATURAL DISASTER AND EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT: Well proudly, John Barilaro made a commitment, he and the Premier to the Prime Minister and I that they had a plan for these communities who were running out of water. That's been the state's remit. That's been their responsibility. The federal government has over $3 billion dollars out there in water infrastructure programs and sadly, since 2003, there’s only been 20 dams built in this country, 16 of those have been in Tasmania, because the states are the ones that own the resource, and manage the resource. We want them to build dams. We're not gonna get in their road. Susan Ley’s already taken away the green tape to say, come and take our money. Start building the dams but unfortunately, the states have done three fifths of bugger all and it's time that we actually put some excavators and D8’s in the ground and start digging some holes, particularly when it's dry. So they own the resource, it is illegal for the Prime Minister and I to pick a shovel up in this country and start digging a hole for a dam because of the constitutional requirements that our forefathers put in place but that shouldn’t impede us. The federal government is not walking away from our responsibility, we’re saying we’re there. We're going to be a partner. We're gonna do it and New South Wales has finally said they're going to build two dams as well as look at Mole River, but we need action now and that's what the communities asked for but I'm proud to say that John Barilaro has already put his hand up and said he's going to look after those communities and going to live up to their constitutional requirements and make sure these towns are protected.

JOURNALIST: Has bushfires been a consideration in who has received this funding today in New South Wales, because each of the councils that are getting money, or areas, have been bushfire affected? 

THE HON. DAVID LITTLEPROUD MP, MINISTER FOR WATER RESOURCES, DROUGHT, RURAL FINANCE, NATURAL DISASTER AND EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT: Well all of those, it’s there unfortunately has been a carry-over of disasters, and drought has been one of the factors that have worked in to the fires because it’s built this fuel load, but obviously some of those Shires, the criteria meets on both and they’ve been supported with this because they’re facing a disaster on two fronts. That's what the Commonwealth is saying, we're not just going to be stingy and isolate one to the other, we’re going to say you need all the help you can get, and we’re going to give it to you. The federal government is not taking a backward step on this. We will stand shoulder to shoulder with you. We're going to work our way through that. We're going to empower our local councils who know better than Canberra about how to stimulate their economies. How to rebuild not only their communities but rebuild the lives of those people that have been devastated, all those shires that have been announced have met the criteria.

JOURNALIST: There has been criticism that Western Australia has been neglected. Some farmers are saying that the funding announced today won't be enough to help them. What's your response to that? 

THE HON. DAVID LITTLEPROUD MP, MINISTER FOR WATER RESOURCES, DROUGHT, RURAL FINANCE, NATURAL DISASTER AND EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT: Well, they have been neglected. They've been neglected by the Western Australian government. Let me tell you that in New South Wales, you will get support as a farmer of up to $69,000 dollars, in Queensland, the state government in Queensland will give around $49,000 dollars’ worth of support, in Victoria it's around $25,000 dollars, that's on top of the Australian Commonwealth support to individual farmers, of over $224,000 dollars. So let me just say, the only state that is doing zip, that is not giving one brass razoo to their farmers is Western Australia. So they are being let down. They're being let down by the Western Australian government who couldn't give a rat's about their farmers. In fact, I've visited more farmers than the Western Australian Agriculture Minister has. That's how sad the situation is for those poor people, not only on the farms, but the communities in Western Australia. And we've said to them, stump up, you know, do what the other states are doing. You've got a responsibility in this. We're our hand in our pocket. You haven't done anything. So please, don't hold back. These are people's lives. These are people's businesses, it should be more about politics, less about politics and less about money. Just look after them. 

JOURNALIST: Only 5 of the council areas that are eligible for this programme are not in coalition held seats, is that a coincidence? 

THE HON. DAVID LITTLEPROUD MP, MINISTER FOR WATER RESOURCES, DROUGHT, RURAL FINANCE, NATURAL DISASTER AND EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT: Well, you know what? May 18, there was a clear mandate given but the people of Australia and they voted. And invariably in regional areas they voted for the Coalition because we stood for the values and the principles that they respected. They understood that we've been there standing with them, whether it be through drought or fire. I can't, I can't determine where the Australian people will vote. They voted for us and the fact that they're in Coalition seats just is a matter of where the election results fell and where the, where the weather has fallen. 

JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, is it possible to ask another question about, not the drought announcement today?

PRIME MINISTER: Ok.

JOURNALIST: Have you received the advice from the Secretary of Prime Minister and Cabinet regarding Bridget McKenzie? 

PRIME MINISTER: No. 

JOURNALIST: When will you expect to receive that?

PRIME MINISTER: When he provides it.

JOURNALIST: Do you as of this moment support her being in your Cabinet then?

PRIME MINISTER: Well, we have a process which I'm following, and she remains in the Cabinet. I initiated that process well over a week ago now, and I’ll wait to receive the report. 

JOURNALIST: You have the Education and Water Minister here, is there a reason why you don't have the Agriculture Minister? 

PRIME MINISTER: No.

JOURNALIST: It's not part of her portfolio?

PRIME MINISTER: Not today. We made two announcements, one on the drought community program, which is administered by Minister Littleproud, and the other one is a $10 million announcement, which is administered by the Minister for Education. 

JOURNALIST: Did Sport Australia express its concern to government about the administration of this great scheme? 

PRIME MINISTER: I don't have any advice on that.

JOURNALIST: Prime Minister in the wake of the bushfires. Do you think the states need to lift their game when it comes to removing barriers for volunteer groups to help injured and starving wildlife? 

PRIME MINISTER: Yeah, I've heard that report and if you could pass on any details to us about who has had that concern, then I would be happy to convey that onto the state governments. I mean, look, we've been working very closely with the state governments, whether it's on supporting injured wildlife or it’s supporting Australians who have lost their homes. We're working closely with them as part of the entire recovery effort, the response effort. And I really want to thank the Premiers, particularly in New South Wales and Queensland and Victoria and South Australia, where there's been such a close working relationship and, you know, where there are issues like this that come up, we're in constant engagement with each other. So if there's blockages that have to be removed then, then we'll work together to remove them. I mean, we're working together in good faith when it comes to these natural disasters and I think that's what Australians would expect of all of us and I would want to make sure that wildlife are getting support as much and we also want to make sure that Australians are getting the cash assistance they need and, you know, we're working closely with the charity groups to that, to that end directly. The National Bushfire Recovery Agency working closely with the state governments on issues like clean up. So there's just so much work to do but the point of being here today is to say to those in rural and regional Australia affected by drought, that despite all of those calls on the Commonwealth government, whether it's on bushfires or even still, the floods of a year ago, which I remind all those people up there in North Queensland, we're still working on that recovery too like we promised we would. The drought is something that rolls on and on and as for as long as it's rolling on, we will be there and beyond it, we will be there to help you rebuild your communities, your properties, and to provide for the future. 

JOURNALIST: Do you know if Bridget McKenzie declared her membership of the Wangaratta Gun Club on the ministerial register? It’s not on the Senate interests-

PRIME MINISTER: All of these matters are being reviewed by the Secretary.

JOURNALIST: What did you hear from our local farmers today, from what they said to you are they satisfied with the federal government's response to what they're going through?

PRIME MINISTER: Well it was very helpful today to hear how particularly the drought communities program had been so effective. Also, the drought program where we've been running through the charitable organisations, groups like Vinnies and Salvos and others, this has provided much needed cash assistance. I mean, that cash assistance is so much needed in drought affected communities. People are really suffering with their cash flow and that's why we've made the announcement today in particularly in relation to, you know, keeping people's kids in school and so the discussion we had with the flood and drought agency today was really about further measures that may be required and so it was good to test that with both, with farmers. I mean, it was nice to know that the cherry farmers here have had a not too bad season most recently, and that's one bright spot in an otherwise fairly bleak landscape and there are still problems with farmers- being faced by the orchardists with apples and so on. I saw that for a whole range of different reasons down in Batlow last week but their response is, look, they're doing it tough, but they're standing up and they're standing together. They appreciate the support that's come. They appreciate the fact that they're not forgotten. That they are very much front and centre of my focus and my Ministers’ focus on delivering this programme. The rural financial counsellors have been greatly appreciated, but we've still got to get rid of some paperwork. We've still got to reduce some of the blockages to connect people to this support and it's one of the big challenges that the Agency has, is for people in rural and regional communities to know what support is there. There's a lot of support there and we just want to connect them to it and what we found in North Queensland, because a lot of what we've done has been modelled on what worked up in North Queensland. Once people could see that they could connect themselves to support it not only got much needed works underway, but it really lifted morale and-

JOURNALIST: Did you speak to protesters?

PRIME MINISTER: No.

JOURNALIST: Will the Agency have a regional base, Prime Minister, I know there’s one in Canberra and apparently one opening in Brisbane but will you consider having a base of the agency in regional Australia and if so, where? 

PRIME MINISTER: Well, right now we're focussed on delivering the programmes that they have. That's our immediate focus, I mean we’ve got a lot of programs out there, we’ve got to connect people up to those programs and this is an agency that's not going anywhere. This is an agency that will be there for the long haul and ensuring that we're delivering not just the response, not just the relief, but importantly the recovery and the rebuilding that will happen and if you want to know what that recovery looks like and how it’s delivered on the ground, that's what it looks like. Projects, simple, practical solutions to very hard problems and Scott, I want to thank you again for the great work they’ve done over here in Blayney. 11 projects in all. That's so good. Within the space of just over the last year and that story is repeated and there'll be a 180 local government areas around the country which are getting that support, and getting on with it and we thank them very much for their leadership. Thanks everyone.

https://pmtranscripts.pmc.gov.au/release/transcript-42637

More Support for Communities Affected by Drought

28 January 2020

Prime Minister, Minister for Water Resources, Drought, Rural Finance, Natural Disaster and Emergency Management, Minister for Education

Funding for farmers, small businesses, families and schools in drought-affected communities across Australia will now start rolling out as part of a $57 million support package.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison said it was important that those people and businesses suffering from the drought continued to get the support they need.

“While we know the nation has been gripped in recent months by the bushfire crisis I want all Australians impacted by drought to know that you have remained firmly in our Government’s focus,” the Prime Minister said.

“You remain at the centre of relief, response and recovery plans for the future and making Australia more resilient to these challenges in the future.

“This funding will support local tourism initiatives, new infrastructure and amenities, and funding to help non-government schools facing financial hardship as a result of drought.” 

Minister for Drought David Littleproud said an additional 52 councils would now receive up to $1 million under the extended Drought Communities Programme, determined by rainfall data and both agricultural and broader employment information.

“We will distribute $47 million to drought effected areas based on population, providing councils of less than 1,000 people with $500,000 and those with a larger population with $1 million to ensure we continue to provide appropriate, tailored support,” Minister Littleproud said.

“Drought doesn't just hurt farmers, it goes out the farm gate. It hurts small businesses and the wider community as well, but this extra funding keeps money flowing through affected areas. 

“Funding will support events that create jobs, boost tourism and improve community wellbeing, and enable construction of infrastructure that encourages people to stop in these small towns.

“So far, the DCP extension has funded over 300 projects, such as the construction of amenities blocks, potable water supply, local tourism assets, community resilience events and employing local drought support officers.”

Minister for Education Dan Tehan said the Government was committing an additional $10 million to ensure families affected by drought are supported to continue accessing education.

“We have doubled our drought relief support for non-government schools to $20 million to help more schools across New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria and South Australia keep their doors open,” Minister Tehan said.

“Many of these schools have been taking money out of their own pockets to waive fees and subsidise fees to ensure that families can continue to send their children to school.

“This additional funding will ensure students don’t have their education interrupted as a result of financial hardship caused by drought.”

Since the election the Government has rolled out more than $1 billion in extra grants and payments to support drought-affected communities.

Today in Orange the advisory board of the National Drought and North Queensland Flood Response and Recovery Agency will meet for the first time, working with the National Farmers Federation to improve access to support programs for affected farms and communities across all levels of government.

A list of the additional councils made eligible for the DCP Extension can be found below. A full list of eligible councils for the DCP Extension can be found at business.gov.au/dcp

https://pmtranscripts.pmc.gov.au/release/transcript-42636

Media Statement

27 January 2020

The first sitting day of the Parliament this year will be dedicated to honouring and thanking all those who have so bravely and selflessly served through the ongoing bushfire crisis, in particular those who have lost their lives.

Sadly we have lost too many Australians to this disaster and the Parliament will rightly acknowledge all those who have lost loved ones and those who have suffered injuries or lost their homes or suffered in any way as a result of the recent bushfires.

When Parliament meets for the first day of sitting on February 4, I will move a motion of condolence on behalf of all Members of Parliament.

This motion will also acknowledge the service of all those who have served to protect our communities and those who have provided incredible generosity to those who have been touched by the fires.

These fires have been devastating but through these terrible times we have also witnessed the Australian spirit on display with an outpouring of love, support, courage and generosity.

As a mark of respect, the motion of condolence will be the only formal business considered by the Parliament on our first day, with all members given the opportunity to speak.

The Leader of the Opposition and I have agreed on these bi-partisan arrangements and we will consult on further specifics as needed.

We will also hold a special event at Parliament for those families who have lost love ones fighting to protect communities, alongside representatives from the NSW Rural Fire Service and the Victorian Country Fire Authority.

It is fitting that the Parliament reflects the deep gratitude felt by all Australians.

https://pmtranscripts.pmc.gov.au/release/transcript-42633

Medal to Recognise Bushfire Emergency Responders

26 January 2020

Prime Minister, Assistant Minister to the Prime Minister and Cabinet

Australia’s brave fire, police, ambulance and emergency services volunteers and workers, along with Defence Force personnel and reservists and overseas personnel, will be eligible to receive a medal in recognition of their service and sacrifice during the current bushfire season.

The National Emergency Medal will be awarded to eligible emergency responders who have given sustained or significant service during the 2019-20 bushfires.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison said while his priority was to help people and communities rebuild and recover from the bushfire disaster, it was also important that recognition was given.

“Today as we reflect on what makes our country the best place in the world, we also honour those Australians who have battled this devastating fire season, many of whom will be on fire grounds today protecting our communities from danger,” the Prime Minister said. 

“The response to the bushfire situation has been unprecedented with thousands of volunteer and paid responders working around the clock, day and night, week after week to protect property and save lives.

“Their courage has been extraordinary, and it’s a spirit which we must honour and celebrate this Australia Day and one which we will now formally recognise through the National Emergency Medal.

“We will continue to do whatever it takes to support fire affected communities right across Australia to help them rebuild, recover and become even stronger.”

Assistant Minister to the Prime Minister and Cabinet Ben Morton said while the detailed criteria for the National Emergency Medal will be determined in the coming months after consultation once the current crisis has passed, it is important that we acknowledge the extraordinary efforts and the sacrifice of our emergency services volunteers and personnel.

“It is fitting we honour our emergency service personnel and volunteers for their selflessness, bravery, courage and sacrifice - Australia thanks you for your service,” Mr Morton said.

The Governor-General, His Excellency General the Honourable David Hurley AC DSC (Retd), agreed to a recommendation from the Morrison Government that the 2019-20 bushfires be declared a nationally significant emergency for the purposes of the Medal. 

The National Emergency Medal recognises service in response to a nationally‑significant emergency. Events must be declared by the Governor-General under the National Emergency Medal Regulations 2011, including specific criteria for the award.

At the conclusion of the ongoing response to the bushfires, the National Emergency Medal Committee will provide further advice, as required under the Regulations, to enable the formal declaration of the Medal for the 2019-20 bushfires including the specific criteria for eligibility.

The National Emergency Medal was established in 2011. More than 15,000 medals have been awarded to responders and volunteers to the 2009 Victoria bushfires that included Black Saturday and the Queensland floods that occurred over December to January 2010-2011, including Cyclone Yasi.

https://pmtranscripts.pmc.gov.au/release/transcript-42632

Compulsory Reserve Call Out to Become Voluntary

23 January 2020

Prime Minister, Minister for Defence

The Government will request the Governor-General revoke the current compulsory Call Out of the Australian Defence Force Reserves with effect ‪from 7 February 2020.

As the immediate, wide-scale emergency threat has eased, Australian Defence Force (ADF) support is moving from assisting to save life and property, to relief and recovery operations. 

Prime Minister Scott Morrison said the ADF would continue to provide support where it’s needed most, for as long as it’s needed, with its full-time forces and volunteer Reserve personnel.

“It’s now time to allow ADF Reserve personnel who were part of the compulsory Call Out to return to their jobs, families, communities and personal commitments if they wish,” the Prime Minister said.

“Before any draw-down of the compulsory Call-Out commences, conditions will need to be met which includes ensuring there is no immediate threat to life, and that basic, essential services have been restored.

“The Australian Defence Force will continue to provide extensive support to the bushfire recovery, and dedicated elements of the full-time force will stand ready should an emergency response be required again this bushfire season.”

Almost 6,500 full time and Reserve personnel have been providing direct support in the field, at sea, in the air, and from Defence bases as part of Operation Bushfire Assist.

Minister for Defence Senator the Hon Linda Reynolds CSC said Reservists would continue to serve under Operation Bushfire Assist, on a voluntary Call For basis.

“I am so proud of the service our ADF Reserve members have provided as part of this response,” Minister Reynolds said.

“I also acknowledge and thank their families and employers for their understanding and terrific support that has made this response possible.

“I thank our international partners who have stood in solidarity with Australia in our time of need, and supported our ADF response in bushfire affected communities.”

Detailed planning to recalibrate ADF support to the bushfire recovery is ongoing, in consultation with local and state emergency services and local communities.

Defence and other Commonwealth agencies will continue to work closely with the National Bushfire Recovery Agency.

https://pmtranscripts.pmc.gov.au/release/transcript-42627

Coalition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peak Organisations

23 January 2020

Meeting hosted by the Prime Minister in the Cabinet Room with the Coalition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peak Organisations

The Prime Minister hosted an historic meeting today with senior representatives of the Coalition of Peaks, a representative body made up of almost 50 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community controlled peak organisations.

At the start of the meeting, the Prime Minister provided an update on the Commonwealth’s bushfire recovery efforts and the role of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community-controlled organisations in providing immediate and tailored responses to affected Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities was acknowledged.

The Coalition of Peaks expressed the deep sorrow that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people right across the nation feel at the scarring of their country and loss of wildlife. The meeting recognised the significant role that cultural burning, led by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, can play in expertly managing the impacts of bushfires in the future.   

The Morrison Government and Coalition of Peaks are working together, with the states and territories, to develop a new National Agreement on Closing the Gap, which will set out our shared priorities over the next ten years to improve the lives of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.

The meeting comes after the Partnership Agreement on Closing the Gap was signed in March 2019 by the Council of Australian Governments (COAG) and the Coalition of Peaks where for the first time Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, through their community controlled representatives, and Australian governments share decision making on Closing the Gap. The Coalition of Peaks acknowledged the Prime Minister’s leadership on the development of the Partnership Agreement. 

The meeting discussed the Priority Reforms, agreed in-principle by the Joint Council on Closing the Gap in August 2019, to be included in the new National Agreement. The Priority Reforms that were put forward by the Coalition of Peaks to Australian governments to be included in the National Agreement to change the way governments work with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and accelerate progress on closing the gap:

• Priority Reform 1: Developing and strengthening structures to ensure the full involvement of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in shared decision making at the national, state and local or regional level and embedding their ownership, responsibility and expertise to close the gap;

• Priority Reform 2: Building the formal Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community-controlled services sector to deliver closing the gap services and programs in agreed priority areas; and

• Priority Reform 3: Ensuring all mainstream government agencies and institutions undertake systemic and structural transformation to contribute to Closing the Gap.

The Coalition of Peaks shared the outcomes of the recent engagements with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people on the development of the new National Agreement, where there was overwhelming support for the adoption of the Priority Reforms. One theme that regularly emerged from the engagements was that shared decision-making depends on all parties having access to the same information, leading the Coalition of Peaks to now propose the development of local data projects as a fourth Priority Reform.

The Prime Minister commended the Coalition of Peaks for their leadership on the Priority Reforms and for helping ensure Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people right across Australia have a say on the development of the new National Agreement. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community controlled peak organisations leading engagements with their communities on Closing the Gap is a significant change to the way that policies are developed. 

The Prime Minister committed $1.5 million for an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander data project to develop regional profiles of Closing the Gap targets, Priority Reforms, and other community priorities to support regional decision making between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities and Australian governments. This project will be led by the Coalition of Peaks in partnership with the Indigenous Data Network and form of delivering on the new Priority Reform Four.

The meeting noted the work underway to develop an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander early childhood strategy which will include a dedicated workforce, training and development program. 

A meeting between the Coalition of Peaks and the Minister for Housing to discuss further the outcomes of the engagements on the housing needs of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people was also agreed.

The good progress on refining the draft COAG Closing the Gap targets to reflect the engagement outcomes was noted. 

The Prime Minister and the Coalition of Peaks committed to finalising the negotiations between all governments on the new National Agreement based around the Priority Reforms as quickly as possible. 

https://pmtranscripts.pmc.gov.au/release/transcript-42626

Prime Minister's Veterans' Employment Awards Finalists

22 January 2020

Prime Minister, Minister for Veterans and Defence Personnel

Australian businesses have proved they are getting the message — veterans are good for business. Following the largest number of nominations received for the annual Prime Minister’s Veterans’ Employment Awards, the 24 finalists were today announced.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison said the finalists, spread across eight categories, demonstrated how veterans are excelling in the civilian workforce, and how businesses are supporting them and their families.

“The Veterans’ Employment Awards recognise and celebrate the achievements of veterans in the civilian workforce, as well as how organisations and individuals create employment opportunities for veterans and support their transition,” the Prime Minister said.

“I commend all those who submitted a nomination this year and congratulate all the finalists.”

Minister for Veterans and Defence Personnel Darren Chester said it was great to see so many individuals and organisations translating their passion for supporting veterans and their families into real action.

“Service in the Australian Defence Force (ADF) is overwhelmingly positive — it’s good for the individual, good for the community and is in the national interest, and it sets up our personnel with skills and experience that are highly valued in the civilian workforce,” Mr Chester said.

“These finalists represent a variety of organisations in a range of industries that have seen the incredible value in hiring veterans as part of their business and they should be congratulated on their support of veterans and their families.”

The Prime Minister’s Veterans’ Employment Awards are part of a broad program of activity aimed at raising awareness with employers, both in the private and public sector, of the enormous value and unique skills our veterans can bring to their organisation.

There were a record 129 nominations for the 2020 Awards, the highest in the Awards’ three year history. Finalists for 2020 Awards are selected from across the country; from large, medium and small businesses in a range of industries and professions.

Each category is assessed by a three-member judging panel. Judges are independent and impartial and include senior representatives from Australian business, former Australian Defence Force Members and senior representatives from the Australian Public Service.

The Awards ceremony will be held in March 2020 in the Great Hall of Parliament House, Canberra.

Further information on the awards and finalists can be found on the Prime Minister’s Veterans’ Employment Program website www.veteransemployment.gov.au.

https://pmtranscripts.pmc.gov.au/release/transcript-42623

Prime Minister's Literary Awards Open for Entries

22 January 2020

Prime Minister, Minister for Communications Cyber Safety and the Arts

The 2020 Prime Minister’s Literary Awards are now open for entries until 28 February 2020.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison said the Awards recognise the outstanding work by Australian authors and acknowledge the importance of literature in the cultural life of the nation.

“I am pleased to announce entries are now open for the 2020 Prime Minister’s Literary Awards and encourage our nation’s many great writers to submit their work,” said the Prime Minister.

“Each year I am impressed by the diversity of Australian voices expressed through our literature and historical exploration, and I look forward to seeing another collection of challenging, interesting and entertaining work.”

Minister for Communications, Cyber Safety and the Arts, the Hon Paul Fletcher said the Awards celebrate Australian stories and the significant contribution literature, history and poetry makes to our understanding of the world and our place in it.

“Our cultural and creative sector entertains and educates us, and makes a profound contribution to our national identity. The Prime Minister’s Literary Awards provide a place of national recognition for the extraordinary work of our authors, historians, illustrators and poets,” Minister Fletcher said.

The Awards are presented in six categories – children's literature, young adult literature, fiction, poetry, non-fiction, Australian history – with a total prize pool of $600,000.

If you have published or released work during 2019 you may be eligible to enter.

For more information about the Awards and to apply visit: www.arts.gov.au/pmla

https://pmtranscripts.pmc.gov.au/release/transcript-42622

Secretary of the Department of Health

22 January 2020

Ms Glenys Beauchamp PSM has decided to retire from her position as the Secretary of the Department of Health, with effect from 28 February 2020.

Ms Beauchamp has served the Australian people with distinction over her 21 year career in the Australian Public Service, including nine years at Secretary level, as well as 13 years with the ACT public service.  Ms Beauchamp received the Public Service Medal in 2010 for outstanding public service in coordinating the Australian Government’s response to the 2009 Victorian bushfires.

On behalf of all Australians, I thank Ms Beauchamp for her service.

I am pleased to announce that I will be recommending to the Governor-General, His Excellency General the Honourable David Hurley AC DSC (Retd), that he appoint Professor Brendan Murphy as Secretary of the Department of Health, with effect from 29 February 2020.

Professor Murphy is currently the Chief Medical Officer for the Australian Government and has a long and distinguished career in leadership positions in the health industry and academia. He will continue to play an active role in the management of Australia’s response to the coronavirus and the rollout of health initiatives related to the bushfires.

Prior to joining the Department of Health in 2016, Professor Murphy was the Chief Executive Officer at Austin Health in Victoria.

The current Deputy Chief Medical Officer Professor Paul Kelly will be acting Chief Medical Officer ahead of a formal appointment process.

https://pmtranscripts.pmc.gov.au/release/transcript-43960

Interview with Peta Credlin, Sky News

21 January 2020

PETA CREDLIN: Thank you for your time tonight, PM I know you've got a lot on your plate. I'll get to the issue of bushfires in just a moment, but I can't let it go unremarked that with Australia Day almost upon us, this is about the time ever January that prime ministers usually take to the National Press Club to lay out their priorities for the year ahead. Now, I know a lot of thought goes into these speeches and if you're prepared to look at them carefully, you'll see a strategic plan for the next 12 months that usually is laid out. Tell us what's on your agenda for 2020.

PRIME MINISTER: Well, you're right, Peta, and I'll be doing that next week at the National Press Club. But the first thing always that is most important is we have to continue to work to keep our economy strong and our finances strong so we can guarantee the essentials that all Australians rely on, on particularly the ability to provide their responses to the sort of crises we're seeing right now. And to keep our economy strong then you've got to keep your trade up, you've got to ensure that those trade barriers are coming down, you need to ensure that you're building the infrastructure that Australia needs. And you'll know from last year as we went into the half year update, we put an extra almost $4 billion into bringing projects forward to ensure that we were driving our economy forward this year. The skills agenda will be a big one for us this year and parents and those who are being trained and those who are learning over their lifetime need to know that they can access the skills training they need to get the skills that employers need in their businesses and for them to have a future. This is absolutely critical for us this year. We had a major report last year, which we are now acting on, and the Skills Minister Michaelia Cash will be advancing that with the states. But then there's our national security and our national security, keeping Australians safe, depends on a stable and secure region, the Indo-Pacific region. It's unfortunate that I was unable to go to India and Japan last week for the obvious reasons, but I'm looking forward to taking up those visits again in the first half of this year is the plan to pursue a lot of those important security issues that we're working on with both of those countries. We’ll hit 2 per cent of GDP, which you'll remember was a big commitment we made back in 2013 and we're going to hit it ahead of time and that's important. And what Australians have seen with our defence forces out on the ground, particularly helping at home, is an important reminder of how important keeping up the defence capability is. But when it comes to keeping people safe, it's also about our resilience, our resilience to the environment, the climate we're going to live in in the next 10 years. And I'm sure we'll have a bit of a chat about that tonight. But that resilience, too, whether it's ensuring that our roads are built the right way so they don't get shut down when there are bushfires or ensuring we're addressing hazard reduction as much as we're addressing emissions reduction. I think these are important priorities. But when it comes to services, we've made big promises and we're going to keep them on the National Disability Insurance Scheme and making sure we continue to bring down those response times and also on mental health and attacking our issue of going towards zero on suicide. This is something Christine Morgan has been tasked with and she's given me the first of her interim reports and we're moving quickly to respond to those mental health issues that can be so important to so many Australians. But the agenda is far and wide. It touches the environment. It touches our security, and importantly, it touches our economy. Because without a strong economy, without strong finances, then the government is not in a position to be able to provide the responses that people are seeing right now.

CREDLIN: I want to get into some of the responses, particularly on the bushfire crisis that the government's done, pretty much for the first time for a federal government to be involved in some of these areas. We'll get into the politics of the last few weeks as well. But just on that point you made there about economic security. How much risk do you think the surplus will be after what's been a pretty catastrophic summer?

PRIME MINISTER: Well, we've allocated $2 billion over these next two calendar years. $500 million has been profiled for this financial year, and I've got to say of the $2 billion we've announced, we've already made commitments of more than a half a billion dollars. And the overwhelming majority, almost all of that, will occur before the 30th of June this year because it goes into the tourism payments and others, which I can go through. But the Budget will reconcile what that all means for the surplus at that time of the year and we'll wait for that time to do that update. There are other things that obviously impact on the Budget, general consumption levels, how the economy's tracking. But I was pleased by some of the numbers we were seeing late last year. I mean, retail sales in November are up, we've seen better improvement on building approvals. We also have seen, although it's early, a nice tick up in confidence this week in response to, I think, some of the rains we've seen, but also the response, I think, of getting out there and reacting and responding to the fires and ensuring that we've got a recovery plan in place. As you know, when there's a crisis, people just need to know there's a plan and I can assure them there is one and it's being rolled out at record levels and an unprecedented scale.

CREDLIN: All right, let's get into some of that, because as I introduced you tonight, I played some of the vision of yesterday's press conference where you announced a whole new package of measures for small businesses impacted by the fires. Now, what struck me watching this press conference was how hard it was to get out your message and to tell people what was on offer, those desperately needing help, because a lot of the Canberra gallery insider types, well, they were focused on international climate change agreements and skirmishes between you and Matt Kean, the Environment Minister in New South Wales. Now, whatever might be in these agreements, none of these agreements are going to help people on the ground today and tomorrow and I think more broadly on the issue of bushfire resilience. How do you get the debate back onto the issues that matter? You know, fuel loads in national parks, who has responsibility for what? Because I think some of those lines we've seen over the summer are grey. And what exactly are you doing on the ground for individuals affected? Because that's what people want to hear about, not all the argy bargy about climate change.

PRIME MINISTER: Well, I think that’s exactly right. We're focusing on what people need right now, their immediate needs. I mean, today and the last 24 hours, $10 million has gone out to over 20,000 children and families as a result of the additional $400 payment that we've done through the disaster recovery payment. Now, that brings to some $60 million or thereabouts to some 50,000 people that we've ensured that we've been getting these payments to so they can get cash in their hand. We're working closely with the charities when we've given those charities an additional $40 million to supplement with cash assistance in these communities for emergency relief. One of the first things we did of that $2 billion is we put $60 million with $43 million out the door within a day to go to those councils so they could be responding to those urgent needs on the ground without having to worry about how they were going to pick up the tab because we'd already put the cheque in their bank accounts. The $76 million we announced on the weekend for the tourism recovery package is absolutely vital because this is an area of the impact of these bushfires that goes well beyond the burned areas. We were seeing dropping in bookings in places like Uluru and other parts around the country because of the impact of the media around the bushfires in Australia. And so a $76 million package, which is focused on domestic tourism, getting Australians to travel to all of the areas around the country, but particularly those have been most dramatically affected by the bushfires. International marketing campaigns, bringing travel operators to Australia so they can see everything's fine and they can be booking their clients to come to Australia. This is a very important part of the economic recovery. Now, in terms of small business and agriculture, primary producers, farmers and graziers, we've got $50,000 grants for those small businesses that have been directly impacted by the fires. $75,000 for farmers and primary producers, which can include oyster [inaudible] and people like this where we have a lot of those down the south coast of New South Wales, and that's to help them rebuild from the damage of the fire itself. But then we have the $500,000, two year nothing to pay interest free loans. Now, this is for all businesses in affected areas that are small businesses, less than 20 employees. What this does is give them the working capital to be able to keep their businesses going because 50, 60 per cent of their income often comes at this time of the year. They need to get to next year and they need to ensure that we've got their back so they can keep their businesses operating and be there and build up again to next season and then they can get on their feet again and they can move forward. And we've also put a very big mental health package in place, Peta, this was one of the first things we did. As I toured so many of these areas, I saw the raw emotional scars that have been created by these fires and that is occurring from young kids who would have seen it holidaying in these areas, those who live there, through to the most elderly of residents. And this package, including for first responders, is helping to heal the scars, the non-physical scars of these terrible fires. And then we've got $50 million going in to support the wildlife recovery effort. I was on Kangaroo Island, and it's heartbreaking to see what has happened to our wildlife there as it has all across the forested areas of New South Wales and Victoria. And there have been so many wonderful volunteers who have been getting there and helping rescue and recover a lot of our wildlife and $50 million as an initial contribution to go and support those initiatives. So what you can see from all that, Peta, is we're dealing with the business issues, we're dealing with the immediate needs of people and the relief efforts that are necessary, the economic rebuild and recovery from the ground up. We've also provided the states we’ll be committing over $100 million, so on every single person's site that would need to be cleared so they can rebuild, the government is meeting that cost. And so that's on commercial and residential properties. We're sharing those costs with the states and so that means whatever insurance you've got, it's going to go further because you won't have to pay the demolition costs on your site. Now, that was done, I think, after the Black Saturday fires and we've committed to that.

CREDLIN: I think PM, a lot of people at home are watching this and hearing this for the first time because one of the difficulties you've had over this summer, I think, it's the calamity at the start with a trip to Hawaii and other things, is the inability or the difficulty in getting out the messages from the Commonwealth. And, you know, much of this in responsibility terms, constitutionally and under all the statutes in the country, they all rest with the state government. But people wanted to see throughout this crisis the national leader take charge.

Now, I want to get into the issue of a Royal Commission, because you've said you're open to one and there's two parts to that. One part, obviously, is how we prevent this sort of disaster going forward and the other one is lines of responsibility. I'll deal with that in the second part. But let's start with the Royal Commission, because I need to be convinced and here's your chance to convince me we should have one, because we've had dozens and dozens of fire inquiries. And I said to viewers last night, I've gone through now and read the five volumes of Victoria's 2009 Royal Commission. Pretty much all of them say we've got to have greater management of fire risk, fuel loads and hazard reduction burns and pretty much every state government says, yep, we'll adopt them in full. And then years on, they're not doing what they said they would do and Victoria is a case in point. So what's the point of yet another inquiry? It'll take months to report. It'll cost us all millions only to tell us what we already know. Why don't we just get on and do it?

PRIME MINISTER: Well, I’m more optimistic about that, and there are some specific things that I would want any inquiry to do. The first one is I don't want it to flick about. I don't think it needs to go for 12 months. I don't think it needs to go for more than half that period of time and I will want answers to ensure that we're prepared as we go into the next fire season, because you're absolutely right. You know, there's been 100 inquiries or thereabouts since the Ash Wednesday fires all those years ago and there's a lot of commonality and we'd need to do a very quick audit and there have been agencies that have already done a lot of this work that reconciles what are the recommendations that have been made and what's actually being done. Now, one of the positive things about that is we've gone into this fire season and I think, particularly on evacuation plans. I mean, what we've learned on evacuation plans has saved, I think, hundreds of lives in these fires and the decisions people have been taking in the planning they've done themselves for if the fire hits. And I think they’re good lessons. I mean, there are lessons about the communications we've learnt from previous fires, which I think has also saved lives and I think that's very welcome. But what we have to get to the from the federal government's point of view is a couple of key issues. The first one is at what point should the Commonwealth Government be taking the initiative, which we currently don't have the authority to do, to actually move in and actually put a force on the ground to respond to what's happening-

CREDLIN: So you're talking about the military being involved in civilian disasters, and this wouldn't just be bushfires, this would be floods, this would be an outbreak like SARS. Is that what you're saying, you need clarity on the Commonwealth’s powers?

PRIME MINISTER: Yes, cyclones, all of these natural disasters. What we saw in December, we had 890 ADF personnel deployed and that was operating under the respond to request instructions. Earlier this month, I changed that to a move and integrate and we're now at over 6,500 and that has provided amazing support and that's been done in cooperation with the states. So, you know, I don't think this has created any rubs here that were difficult to manage. What it meant, though, was that the ADF were moving on its initiative, working in closely, getting the boots on the ground and it's made an enormous difference to almost every single task, from evacuations to road clearing to wildlife rescue, to dropping supplies, to getting communications in place, you know, airlifting people to infrastructure, particularly comms infrastructure to get it restored. They have been everywhere doing everything and this is a massive resource the country has. And all through December people were saying to me ‘why aren’t you calling out the defence forces?’ Well, we had, the defence forces were engaged. But in January, we took the initiative for the first time ever to move to a move and integrate posture. We had a compulsory call out of the reserves, never been done before, in relation to a bushfire-

CREDLIN: That’s right, and I agree with you there, PM, but this is the lack of clarity that I think is in the current arrangements. So are you saying tonight that will be part of a Royal Commission?

PRIME MINISTER: I want to know where the trigger line is. I want to know where the authority that is established for the Prime Minister, for the Federal Government, to be able to take the initiative and to move and in and direct getting these resources in place where we believe life and property is under threat and we believe we can play a constructive role. Now that’s no criticism of the state governments, I want to make this very, very clear. They have done an amazing job and particularly in fighting the fires that they have done has saved countless lives, saving countless properties, they have been extraordinary. We have a capacity here which I think has been demonstrated but the Constitution, the laws of our country, are very clear about what the Commonwealth can and can’t do. And I think Australians have an expectation which isn’t currently met by what the current laws are. And so an inquiry will outline all that very clearly.

CREDLIN: I think that’s very true. It was sheeted home to you personally a lot of this angst and you’re right, it is constitutional ambiguity, but also I think that another issue that's unclear and fire doesn’t respect state boundaries is that we don't appear to have a national fire risk management plan or a fuel reduction strategy. For my mind, if you now look at what the states said they would do and have not done, why isn't there something that's transparently tabled in the Parliament, let's say, that we all in the media and elsewhere can look at, can assess and, you know, name and shame those states who are not doing what they said they would do. How about that?

PRIME MINISTER: Well, I think these are very constructive suggestions. We're thinking along very similar lines. The other part of what I think an inquiry would look at is how we're performing when it comes to reducing the risk of- as we face these fires and hotter, drier and longer summers. Now, that's, you know, you talk about action on climate change - that's what that is. Hazard reduction is action to take account of the climate we're living in and which is a more challenging environment over the next decade and beyond. And hazard reduction is as important as emissions reduction and many would argue, I think, even more so because it has even more direct practical impact on the safety of a person going into a bushfire season. And so there are clear rules and transparency arrangements, I mean, we report all the time on what our emissions reductions are. But across the country, there is not a national system of reporting to track how hazard reduction is progressing. There are a range of other issues which go to land clearing laws around properties and on people's private property, how native vegetation is managed, how national parks are managed, whether you can have grazing in national parks, and how that can reduce fuel loads in particular areas. Now, these are all responsibilities of the states and I'm not making any argument for the Federal government to be intervening in any of these areas. But these are, I think, a very reasonable expectation people have that there are national standards, that there is a transparency around how this is being achieved, because whether it's the resilience of building a road and having clearing around it, which means it's less likely to be cut off in a bushfire, or the way you build a bridge in a particular area so it could not be compromised because of natural disasters, what the building standards and codes are. One of the good things is we have much better building standards now for bushfires and one of the great things that came out of the Master Builders last week when we had our roundtable is they're going to be running workshops with their builders, many of whom have not built in bushfire affected areas. They need to come up to speed on those new codes so when we build back and we're going to build back, that we build back better. You know, in response to disasters, it's not about replacement. It's about building back better with better resilience for the future. So you're absolutely right. There's been plenty of chat about emissions reduction, and that's fine. Hazard reduction, though, is the thing that is going to take a more practical effect on how safe people are in future fire seasons.

CREDLIN: PM, you're getting a lot of free advice from all quarters on the issue of climate change and indeed from a lot of countries overseas who are nowhere near as progressed as Australia is in terms of meeting and exceeding targets. You've got some free advice from a predecessor, I might add that the current and your immediate predecessor - not the one that I used to work for - because the one thing I might add, the policy that the government has in relation to climate change now is the policy that Malcolm Turnbull and Julie Bishop and others took to Paris a couple of years ago. How do you manage back the issue of climate change? I would have said at last May's election, Australians were very clear where they sat on the issue and I think you had their full support. Has this issue now been overtaken by the fires? Are you now fighting a political battle that you thought perhaps was put away?

PRIME MINISTER: Well, certainly not within the government, as some have suggested. That's not the case at all. The government is very united on the policy we took to the election and let's just sort of recount what that was. We are signatories to that agreement. We do have an emissions reduction target of 26 per cent. We are going to meet the Kyoto emissions reduction target for this year and not just going to meet it, we're going to beat it by 411 million tonnes. Emissions today under our government since 2013 are 50 million tonnes, or just under that, on average a year less than they were under the previous government. Where we're meeting and beating targets, many other developed countries are not. I mean, there's a lot of misinformation going around. I heard someone say the other day, I think it was Professor Garnaut, who said that we, you know, were the low bar on emissions reduction targets. Well, Japan has a lower target than us. Korea has a lower target than us. Ours is around the same vicinity of New Zealand and Canada and, you know, we're actually tracking better on meeting our targets than many of these other countries. So Australia's carrying its weight, but our climate policies are sensible, balanced policies that also understand the need that is we're not going to put a tax on people to meet these targets with a carbon tax. We settled that one fairly and clearly years ago. We're not going to put up people’s electricity prices to do it. And we're not going to wipe out resource industries in the country of which the country depends and millions of Australians, particularly in regional areas, depend upon for their living. I was asked yesterday about a 2050 target. I mean, 2050, it's a long way away. But the point is, no one who is committing to that is telling Australians what that will cost them-

CREDLIN: No, no. It’s the cost of inaction, PM.

PRIME MINISTER: It was the same thing in the election campaign. I mean, you've got to tell people what the cost is. At the election, I said it was 26 per cent. I said how are we going to meet it. I said we had the $2 billion Climate Solutions Fund and the various other projects we had to meet that target. I was very transparent about it. And so we'll keep to a balanced approach. We'll meet and beat our targets. People said we wouldn't beat, you’ll remember Peta, years ago when we said with direct action and so on, we're going to meet Kyoto and they all said, ‘no you won’t, it will never happen. You need to put a tax on, et cetera, et cetera’. We got rid of the tax and we've met the target. The technology continues to improve and we got there and we're going to get there again. So we just calmly get about it and not destroy the economy because of the calls of others who are intent on putting a tax on Australians.

CREDLIN: PM, look, we're just about out of time, but I want to grab you while I can because this afternoon we’ve heard in breaking news that a man recently returned from China has been tested for a new strain of the Coronavirus. Now, I know people at home will be concerned, this is sort of SARS-like symptoms. What's being put in place at a national level in relation to airports and people who might be arriving into Australia?

PRIME MINISTER: Well, I've met with the Chief Medical Officer today, and he's given a press conference today and I should stress that his advice has been that this virus is not at the sort of extreme level of what the SARS virus has. So I think he's put that in a very different context and it's important to note that even those in Wuhan who have been treated in their homes. So it's a different level of gravity in terms of this, but it's still early days. The necessary precautions are being taken at airports with information being provided to those who are coming from affected areas. And there are the medical procedures in place for people to get that treatment and be identified if they're arriving with any symptoms and to seek that medical attention. There's an incident response group that has already been stood up here nationally to monitor this very, very closely and I'm getting daily updates along with the Health Minister to ensure that we're all over this.

So, you know, there's a few things going on at the moment and this is another one. But I would caution people, I think, to remain very calm about this. At this stage, it is not something that our advice says is at the level of danger of something like SARS, which I'm advised had about a 50 percent mortality rate, that's nothing like this in these occasions. There's only been a small number of fatalities in China related to this outbreak and it's being monitored very closely and the World Health Organization is also very plugged in to what we're doing here and we're listening to them very carefully as well. So a very comprehensive response and the Chief Medical Officer is doing a great job.

CREDLIN: I'll have to leave it there, PM, no shortage of issues on that desk. I'll let you get back to them tonight. But I know my viewers have very much enjoyed having you on the show tonight, really getting into some of those issues. I think they've gone a bit unremarked over the summer, at least in terms of detail. Thank you very much for your time and good luck for 2020.

PRIME MINISTER: Thanks a lot, Peta, all the best.

https://pmtranscripts.pmc.gov.au/release/transcript-42624

Interview with Ray Hadley, 2GB

20 January 2020

RAY HADLEY: Prime Minister, good morning. 

PRIME MINISTER: G’day Ray. 

HADLEY: Jeez you copped a hammering while I was away.

PRIME MINISTER: Goes with the job mate. 

HADLEY: Well, you know, I've got to say, you know, I was from afar, I was up on the Gold Coast and and saw you come back from your holiday and people said you shouldn't have gone there. And, you know, you try. You know, I have given you a fair work out on the odd occasion myself. But I thought you got two little kids, they don't see you all through the year. You take a punt, you go there. We're overwhelmed by a fire crisis. You come back and you're still copping it. And I've got to say that I felt some sorrow for you. I felt sorry for you that you were copping it in the manner that you did. I'm glad you came back. It was the right thing to do. But I mean, you've got to try and juggle- you are the Prime Minister I know, but you're also a father and a husband. And you've got obligations to those kids as well. I mean, you know, in the course of a week, what do they see you? Half a night a week or something like that?

PRIME MINISTER: Something like that. But look that's no different to a lot of parents. As you know, mate, you're juggling work and family responsibilities. And it's true for a Prime Minister, it's true for a tradie. These are things you've got to manage. And I know the expectations on me. I was pretty candid when I came back, about my contrition on that, you know? But you just take your medicine and you just get to work. And that's what we've been doing. Others have sort of gone on about it. But I mean, I think people wanted me just there focused on what needed to be done. And in that time, we've turned out the biggest ever response of the federal government to a national bushfire crisis, six and a half thousand boots on the ground, $2 billion dollars in funding committed, over half a billion of that already committed to programs we've announced in the space of just a fortnight. So we’re getting on with it. 

HADLEY: So in other words, you made a poor judgement call. I think I'm not putting words in your mouth. You came back and, but you still copped it. 

PRIME MINISTER: I mean, in politics, in leadership, you just don't, it's not about me. It's just about getting on with the job. So I appreciate your sentiment, Ray and look, I've you know, people I think have moved on from that, because they just want me to focus on the job at hand. And today, you know, it's getting that support to those small businesses all along the coast, I should say, of New South Wales, because let's not forget the fires that were impacting up there on the mid coast and the north coast as well earlier in the year, I remember being up back up there I think it was around November last year, I was up in Wauchope and in Taree and I'd been up in Rappville. And up in Queensland as well, I’ve been up in Canungra back in September. So, you know, it's not like those fires all just happened in one week, that had been happening over some period of time. 

HADLEY: And some of those places you're talking about are now facing flood. I mean, it's the nature of where we live. 

PRIME MINISTER: Yeah it is but I was pleased to hear was that 16mm at Junee 

HADLEY: Yeah.

PRIME MINISTER: That you said, that's good news.

HADLEY: Yeah in a very short space of time and thunder and lightning down there. Now, if we could just get- there’s a double page spread, you've probably read today in the Telegraph about people still living in tents and caravans. How difficult is it? I mean, there have been a lot of generous support from a whole range of places, including government, improving private enterprise and citizens of Australia and international citizens making contributions. But how hard is it, then, to make sure it goes to the right places? It's not being rorted and you and I have spoken about it before. As soon as the government puts a hand in they kick, some bludger is going to try and, you know, take advantage of it. How hard is it to make sure these people aren't going to be living in tents for an extended time, or caravans? 

PRIME MINISTER: Well, we don't want them to. That's certainly the case. And we've got $57 million dollars out the door to 48,000 claims. And today there's over 20,000 kids in families who will be receiving from today an extra $400 dollars in those areas that have been affected. I mean, the Commonwealth payments that have been going out, I mean, they hit people's bank accounts within 30 minutes. There are a whole range of state payments also. And I can't speak to those. You'd have to check those with the state government about how quickly they're turning around. But then there's you know, there's around $200 million dollars that has been raised by charities and the Red Cross being one of the most significant. What we're working with them on at the moment, and Gladys Berejiklian and I and Dan Andrews down in Victoria in particular, we're trying to make sure we're all working off the same information. So a lot of that charitable support can get more into those communities as in addition to what's already coming from the governments, now I pulled together last week a meeting of all the charities in Canberra with the Treasurer. And one of the things that came up when we were going round all those social welfare charity groups was this accommodation issue. And that's- while there was immediate housing for people who went and stayed with relatives or the local commercial accommodation was quite generous, particularly in those first few weeks. As time goes on and people start coming home and the prices of local motels go up because there's a lot of people coming in to help, then the housing thing starts to get a lot more complicated. Now it’s you know, the states have carriage of that and we're keen to support them. But that housing issue, I think is going to get more acute. And so it's one of the things we've got our focus on and we don't want people living in tents. But I mean, at the same time, this has been a terrible disaster. And when these disasters hit, you can't make it like it was the week before the fire. It's, there's a lot of support. You're trying to get to as many people as possible in the right way. 

HADLEY: Now, you wouldn’t have heard my comments, I know you were in a briefing, but I've taken issue with Matt Kean and to a lesser extent, to Greg Mullins, a former fire commissioner in New South Wales. Look, in relation to climate change. I haven't flogged the barrow either way on my program over a long period of time, but I'm just getting a little sick of everyone blaming climate change, as previously they blamed, of course, global warming and rising sea levels on a whole range of things that never eventually happened. But my point being, that even if climate change is real and many people now believe it is, we contribute 1.3 per cent of global emissions in this country, if we stop tomorrow it would be like a pimple on a whale’s hump. Won’t make one bit of difference, but one place we can make a difference. And that's why I'm disappointed in Matt Kean, one of your state colleagues. Is hazard reduction burning. Bob Carr locked the national parks. Annastacia Palaszczuk locked them again last year in Queensland. We need to have, and I hope this is forming part of the investigation. A really long look at what we do about reducing fuel levels on the ground. We've got to do something, Prime Minister. 

PRIME MINISTER: I agree. And that's the area that I flagged that a royal commission from the Commonwealth would seek to do, see what is action on climate change? Building dams. What is action on climate change? Hazard reduction in these areas. It's native vegetation management. It's land clearing laws. It's all of these things which are often talked about and often on your program or other programs that I know that there's very strong support for. All of those things actually make you more resilient to longer, hotter, drier seasons. And that's what we're going to face in the future. And you're right. I mean, we're taking action on climate change, we’re reducing emissions. And there'll be many listeners who may think that's not necessary. But you're right to say whether they were twice as much or half as much, these fires would have occurred. 

HADLEY: Let's just stop there. I think that's the point I want to make. It's no good saying, and the kids that are talking about it in schools it’s no good saying that the crisis confronting Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria was contributed to by climate change. It doesn't make one bit of difference. What made the fires worse than they ever were, was the fuel on the ground. 

PRIME MINISTER: Well, and then the long drought. And can I assure, your listeners, drought has not gone an inch from my mind over this bushfire crisis. And next week, I'll be out with Shane Stone who is heading our Drought Recovery Agency and we're meeting with his new board and progressing the initiatives we've got there. In fact, many of the things we're doing in the bushfires in response are modelled on the drought support of loans and grants and on the response to the north Queensland floods, which is coming up to the anniversary of those horrible floods which we saw a year ago up in north Queensland. So we've learnt a lot in how to deal with these disasters. But the point you make is the right one. What makes us more resilient? Sure, we'll take our, and we'll carry our load and burden when it comes to dealing with global issues. But what makes Australians more safe in Australia, in response to the longer, hotter seasons is things like hazard reduction. What makes us more able to go through droughts? Dams. So those who have opposed dams and hazard reduction on environmental grounds in the past? Well, that's a fair enough debate for us to have. But I'm not really into the blame game on this. I'm just focused on what are the things we need to do to make Australia more resilient to these things in the future. And a lot of them are just really practical, commonsense things. And indigenous Australians have got a lot to teach us about that too.

HADLEY: Now away from all of that. Senator Bridget McKenzie, and it's commonly called pork barrelling and everyone's been guilty of it since we started having elections in the federation. But it does appear that 9 of the 10 electorates awarded the most money for these sports grants were marginal seats or ones the Coalition were hoping to win. Now, you know, if the Labor Party is going to start crucifying Bridget McKenzie for pork barrelling, we don't need to look too far about who else has been pork barrelling, that happens every election. That'll happen in the next election, and the one after that. But it's not a good look in terms of, you have an independent body that determines, apart from the Minister, where these grants go to. And that was usurped by the Minister. Surely that-

PRIME MINISTER: I got to, well, let's start with the Auditor-General's report. The Auditor-General's report is serious. It's made some very important recommendations. And we're going to implement those recommendations and we're also going to address the legal issue that they highlighted and the Attorney-General's working on that now. Now, the other thing the Auditor-General found was there was not one project that was funded, that was ineligible. Now that's very different to the Ros Kelly case and the Catherine King case with Labor. They funded projects that were ineligible under their own guidelines, that did not occur on this occasion. And the Auditor-General found that the rules were followed. Now-

HADLEY: But will you concede that more deserving organisations missed out, even though they were all eligible. Would you concede that? 

PRIME MINISTER: I mean, it's, these things are hard to judge between, to be honest, Ray. I mean, this isn't about the projects that were funded. These are projects on the ground for community sports infrastructure, which meant the girls wouldn't have to change in their car or out the back of the shed, that they actually had a change room. So, you know, the girls are playing AFL, girls are playing rugby league. Girls are playing rugby. Girls are playing a lot of sports now on fields and places that used to be boys only. And so a lot of these grants were addressing that. Now, I know that those local sports clubs, because I had them in my own electorate. Anthony Albanese has projects in his electorate, and we were both hoping to be re-elected at the last election. I wouldn't describe either of our electorates as falling into the category of what you were saying before. 

HADLEY: Well they're certainly not marginal or his- or maybe the Greens might call it for him, but not for you. 

PRIME MINISTER: But we had local sports clubs raising money for a decade and these grants came in and made these projects a reality on the ground, now people are going to argue the toss about this one versus that one. You know, but money's finite and it can only go to so many projects. But every single one of those projects. I haven't heard anyone raise any project and say, well, that's not a worthy project or that wouldn't have made a big difference on the ground. I think they all have. And I mean, Labor members welcomed the grants. They put out press releases acknowledging them and saying what a great job they had done in securing them. So, look, I think we've just got to get it in perspective. There's lessons to be learned from the process I don't doubt. But the process did provide for the Minister to make the decision. So there we are. 

HADLEY: Okay. I appreciate your time. We'll talk again soon. Thanks very much. 

PRIME MINISTER: Thanks a lot Ray. 

https://pmtranscripts.pmc.gov.au/release/transcript-42620

Interview with Neil Mitchell, 3AW

20 January 2020

NEIL MITCHELL: ...Prime Minister, have you got any estimate of what this will cost?

PRIME MINISTER: Look, it will be hundreds of millions, we expect. But it's an open-ended demand driven program. It'll go to everyone who needs it. And that's both the grants, of course, and the loans. The loans are incredibly important because that gives you two years, no payments, the principal, doesn't expand. That of itself, if you took half a million dollars out in the loan is worth more than $100,000 in the saved interest payments to get your business back and operating.

MITCHELL: So you’re really willing to pay what it costs? 

PRIME MINISTER: Of course we are, because in these communities, and we learned this when we responded to the flood crisis in north Queensland. What you had to do is get those grants in early and we put those $75,000 grants into those agricultural producers, the farmers. We've done the same here in the face of this bushfire crisis. And what we're doing now is the support for small businesses. In so many of these affected towns, whether it's down there in south east Victoria or the New South Wales coast, all the way up even to the north coast. So many of these tourism businesses in particular, and they're going to have real cash flow problems. And I think this really addresses their working capital needs.

MITCHELL: I see the problem but on your figures, it's about 192,000 businesses. The small business associations says about 300,000 businesses. But even as you take yours and give him an average 20 grand, it's it's nudging four billion dollars.

PRIME MINISTER: No, it won't be anything like that. And the eligibility for the grants is for people whose businesses have been directly impacted by the bushfires.

MITCHELL: But that’s 190,000.

PRIME MINISTER: It's not income loss and the degree of impact we will see. But we've set aside, as you know, $2 billion in the recovery fund. Our estimates are well shy of that. But, you know, it's in the hundreds of millions, we expect, and that's why we established the recovery fund to do just that. There are already $15,000 grants that were available that we were joint funding with the state governments and we are funding the full extra amount up to the $50,000 as part of our recovery fund initiative.

MITCHELL: Are you willing to go into billions if necessary?

PRIME MINISTER: Look, at this stage that is not what the projections are, Neil. And that's also not been what the experience is. I mean, when we did these in north Queensland, the average grant that was done on the $75, 000 was about $55,000. And so once you do the proper assessments and you sit down with people and you work through their plans, it's a combination of grants and it's a combination of loans. The other thing we've done today is given relief around people's BAS. That doesn't have to be done till May at the earliest. And for those who do Pay As You Go income tax, the last payment that they would have made, they can claim that back, which will support their cashflow. For those who have done that, they'll have a zero assessment from December, which means we're just trying to take all the pressure off anything on the immediate cashflow.

MITCHELL: Ok, I’m not arguing that. So who check out the applications?

PRIME MINISTER: The state governments, they run these programs for us, we pay the bill. And they have the people on the ground through their financial assessment teams that traditionally provide all of this support. So they'll be working that through. And we've already had those discussions with them and they're already running the programs for the grants for the $15,000. So this is an extension of that. So that's how this is done and we support them fully in that and we will work closely with them to get it out as quickly as possible. 

MITCHELL: What will you have to prove to get a grant?

PRIME MINISTER: Well, on the grant, you've got to have impact to your business, like the actual physical damage to your business.

MITCHELL: Oh, physical damage, so it's not just a lost business. 

PRIME MINISTER: That's right. You've got to have physical damage. The loans, though, are broader. So you just need to be in one of these bushfire affected areas to get access to the zero interest loans. And that really deals with those businesses who know they have got a successful business model when events return to more normal conditions and they need to get through this next year and the year after that. And this gives them the breathing space to be able to do that. These types of loans do exactly what the industry was asking for last week. Peter Strong, who runs the Council of Small Business, said he was expecting grants of $20,000 and so $50,000 is well beyond their expectation. And I think it's just an indication of just how fair dinkum we are about this.

MITCHELL: Farmers are small businesses or are they eligible?

PRIME MINISTER: They get $75,000, farmers. We announced that last week. They have broader capital needs, everything from pumps and dams and solar panels and sheds and tractors and all of these things, their fences in particular. Those grants are also important for these local communities because the rebuilding a lot of the agricultural properties and remembering on the south coast in New South Wales, you've got a lot of oyster leases and things like that. So it's just not, you know, graziers and farmers. It's primary producers in a whole range of different areas.

MITCHELL: How long is it going to take to recover from this?

PRIME MINISTER: I think it'll take a decade. I mean, that's what happened after Black Saturday. And, you know, it will get a long way in the next few years. But this is a long haul process. And that's, well, I pulled together around 30 peak organisations from charities, wildlife, business, tourism, unions last week. And that was our commitment as a group that this is not something that's going to happen just for six months and everyone moves on to something else. This is a long term rebuilding. We've got to build it back better.

MITCHELL: Some in the community are starting to feel a bit isolated. This happened after Black Saturday as well. Can you get boots, can you get people out talking to them?

PRIME MINISTER: Well, I think this has been one of the great successes of getting the defence forces involved. Prior to our decision to take the initiative and do the call out and so we were no longer responding to requests, we were responding on our own initiative. We went from less than 900 Defence Force personnel to 6,500 in a matter of weeks. And getting those people on the ground has been enormously helpful, not just for morale, but for the practical things that need to be done. The Defence Forces are doing amazing work connecting a lot of those very isolated communities in East Gippsland and either doing medical evacuations, dropping supplies, getting sat phones in, dropping fuel, doing fodder drops to remote farms. They have together with, you know, obviously the volunteer firefighters and the professional firefighters in where there's many more in Victoria that they have just done an extraordinary job.

MITCHELL: Labor's talking about zero carbon emissions by 2050. Will you match that?

PRIME MINISTER: I have no idea what the Labor Party is talking about. 

MITCHELL: What will you do? 

PRIME MINISTER: Well, we've got 26 percent reduction in emissions by 2030, which is our Paris commitment. 

MITCHELL: Are you going to expand that? 

PRIME MINISTER: We're going to meet and beat our targets and I'm going to follow the policy that I took to the last election, which is to keep reducing emissions, but not put a tax on people, not put up their electricity prices.

MITCHELL: Is 2050... By 2050, is zero emissions achievable?

PRIME MINISTER: We undertook to look at that through the Pacific Islands Forum in the commitment I gave last year. But we need to understand what that means. And the people can say that. But what does that mean for jobs? I can't answer that question right now about what that would mean for jobs. But I'm concerned that it wouldn't be a good thing and so I think people who make these commitments need to be able to tell people what that will cost them.

MITCHELL: Prime Minister, on something else, the sports grant debate. The Auditor has found, well, massive pork barrelling, but blatant pork barrelling. Did you sign off on it?

PRIME MINISTER: The Cabinet signed off, obviously, on the program and which is a $100 million to go to community sports and regional grants.

MITCHELL: What about the individual grants?

PRIME MINISTER: That was done by the Minister.

MITCHELL: So nobody else was consulted?

PRIME MINISTER: The Minister and Sports Australia. Because Sports Australia write the cheque and ultimately authorise all the payments that go out in accordance with the rules, which is what the

Auditor-General found was followed. The Auditor-General found that there were no ineligible projects, which was different to what happened with Ros Kelly and Catherine King. They had money going to projects that simply were ineligible.

MITCHELL: Was Liberal Party head office consulted, or any campaign strategist consulted?

PRIME MINISTER: The Minister made the decisions and got all the representation from everybody. I mean, that's the thing about grants.

MITCHELL: But it looks political. It looks political. Was there any advice taken from campaign strategists or Liberal Party head office?

PRIME MINISTER: Well, not that I can speak of. What I'm saying is that the grant programs, you know, people in communities want grants for their local sports projects and they lobby for them and they do that through their local members. They do it in direct petitions to the Prime Minister.

MITCHELL: So you stand by her unequivocally.

PRIME MINISTER: I continue to support her. And the reason I do is because she was delivering a program that has changed the futures of local communities. I mean, what we're talking about here…

MITCHELL: Nobody argues that, it’s whether it's done on a political basis and that the Auditor seems to be saying it is.

PRIME MINISTER: Well, it's hard to say, to draw that absolute conclusion when the Minister intervened to make sure more Labor seats got funding.

MITCHELL: Were they winnable seats?

PRIME MINISTER: I don't have lists but one of them was Anthony Albanese’s seat. I think he was pretty confident of holding his seat of Grayndler. 

MITCHELL: So she'll hold on to a job, no question?

PRIME MINISTER: I continue to support her. 

MITCHELL: What does that mean? Long term? 

PRIME MINISTER: I continue to support her, Neil. It's a pretty direct answer to a pretty direct question. 

MITCHELL: Class action threatened by Slater and Gordon. We were aware of that?

PRIME MINISTER: Lawyers are going to try and take opportunity from things. I mean, that's fairly predictable.

MITCHELL: Prime Minister, just finally, you started off the year in a political sense not all that well. There was criticism and we saw that at several levels. I think… have you learnt anything about being a better Prime Minister in this period? 

PRIME MINISTER: I've just been focused, Neil, on the people that need help. I mean, there's been lots of commentary about me and lots of stuff on social media and news agencies reporting social media as if it's truth. I don't... that's not my focus. I mean, my focus is just getting help to people who need it right now in the bushfires. That's it. It's not about me. It's about the pain and the difficulties they're having and those small businesses that need to rebuild. We've been working on this package over the last week, working with industry, the $76 million we've put into the tourism industry campaign is also going to help those businesses. I just want to help them get on their feet as best as we can. We can't make it like the day it was before the bushfire. We can't do that.

MITCHELL: Well, I'm sure you're aware they are calling you Scotty from marketing. Is that insulting?

PRIME MINISTER: That’s what the Labor Party is saying and if others want to repeat those slogans, well, they're just basically running a Labor Party campaign. 

MITCHELL: Is it an insult? 

PRIME MINISTER: Oh, look, I don't care really, Neil. I mean, the Labor Party are going to make snarky comments. They're going to seek to take political advantage of a crisis. I think that's disappointing. I'm just focused on what people need. I'll leave the politics and the commentary and the hoopla to others.

MITCHELL: Yeah, but I mean, you said you shouldn't have gone to Hawaii. That was a mistake. So have you learnt anything?

PRIME MINISTER: Yeah, I was pretty candid about that, Neil. 

MITCHELL: But have you learnt anything about it? 

PRIME MINISTER: Yeah, I wouldn't have done that again.

MITCHELL: Ok. One other thing. Just quickly, the China illness surfacing in China. Are we looking at screening at airports? They are in the United States.

PRIME MINISTER: This is this is a pretty new report and we are looking at these things closely and we've got some established procedures for how we make those judgments and you can be assured that we're doing everything that we should be doing to protect people's health and safety.

MITCHELL: I really appreciate your time. Thank you very much. 

PRIME MINISTER: Thanks a lot, Neil.

https://pmtranscripts.pmc.gov.au/release/transcript-42619

Interview with Sabra Lane, ABC AM

20 January 2020

SABRA LANE: Prime Minister, good morning.

PRIME MINISTER: Good morning Sabra.

LANE: How long will these small businesses need help given for many of them, the period right now, the summer school holiday period is normally the most important trading period of the year for them?

PRIME MINISTER: Well, they’ll need it now and they'll need it for some time to come. I mean for some of these businesses, for many in these areas, this is the time of year which supports the rest of their year until the burst of next summer's season. And so that's particularly why we've done the zero interest loans for two years. So the principal doesn't accrue. There's nothing there, nothing to pay for two years while businesses gets back on its feet. That's working capital. That's also for other works. They might want to do in the business. That's in addition for those businesses that have been directly damaged by the fires, of grants of up to $50,000 dollars that's assessed by the state governments as are other loans through their financing authorities. And then on top of that, the other thing we're doing today, Sabra, is we're providing relief around the BAS for these businesses because that affects cash flow and their pay as you go income tax. I mean, they can claim back anything they paid in the last quarter. They'll have a December, that is for their income tax there is a zero assessment for December. And the BAS doesn't have to go in until at least May. So this is all about trying to support people around their cash flow right now. 

LANE: So how much how much money is- how much how much money is the government willing to spend to help these businesses, even businesses who are indirectly affected? 

PRIME MINISTER: Well, it's a demand driven program, so as many as needed and as many as qualify to what we're doing. This could be in the order of hundreds of millions, affected.

LANE: Your wallet is open? And there are no, no limits?

PRIME MINISTER: Well, this is why we put the $2 billion dollar fund in place. This is exactly why we did it. And we knew this was one of the key things we had to do. We spent the last week working with the Small Business Committee. I mean, you just heard from Peter there in your package, and we've working with the Chamber of Commerce and Industry, local chambers, the tourism industry. I’d stress also a lot of the recovery works that are going to go on is also going to support these towns because it's going to bring contractors and tradies and a lot of activity which will then support local economies. The rebuilding effort of itself will be assistance to small business because it will bring, you know, people doing fences, people rebuilding sheds. And yesterday we confirmed that the Commonwealth will spend over $100 million on this, are supporting the states 50/50 to do all the site clearing costs, clean ups on all residences and all commercial private properties on the demolition works that has to be done for insurance. That means if you've got insurance, you’re starting in many cases, about $50,000 dollars ahead of the situation because you don't have to pay to get your site cleared. So your insurance will go further. And if you don't have insurance well at the very least, you'll have your site clearing costs covered. 

LANE: All right. Cabinet is meeting today. Are you taking a proposal for a bushfires royal commission to that meeting?

PRIME MINISTER: Well, we'll talk about that today. I mean, this is not something that I'm seeking to rush, right now we're focussed on the response and the recovery. I think the three things that, though, have become very clear to me and I talked about them last, in this last Sunday week, and that was we have to get a clear idea about where the line is, is when the federal government can take action and initiate action to provide support in natural disasters. I mean, in December, there was less than 900 ADF personnel that had turned out in response to the requests that were being received by the states, after we changed that policy and we did the compulsory call out of the reserves as the first ever. That figure is now more than six and a half thousand. And I think it's making an enormous impact on the ground and is working closely with the states. And I know that's appreciated. But then there's the broader climate resilience issues that need to be addressed and that’s hazard reduction, that's dams, it's the broader issue, preparedness issues that we will look at and the longer term climate adaptation issues. So I think they are things that we're looking to take forward out of this process and do that as most constructive way we can. 

LANE: How soon before you unveil all the terms of reference for that inquiry? 

PRIME MINISTER: Well, I said we would work closely with the state premiers and that's what I'm doing. So I'm getting ahead of ourselves. And also right now, the focus is on the response and the recovery on the ground. See we've already committed over half a billion dollars, about 90 per cent of which is likely to be spent before the end of this financial year, by the 30th of June. So what I want the recovery agency, led by Andrew Colvin focusing on is actually getting these programs out and doing.  I want cheques in people's hands. I want the money flowing in the communities. I want the tourism campaigns being run. I want the $50 million that we put into wildlife support and assistance, getting to those organisations and the various programs that we run there, the mental health programs, $76 million also there. I want to focus on the implementation.

LANE: Ok. The New South Wales Minister Matt Keane says there are a group of senior liberals, including federal colleagues, urging your government to adopt stronger climate policies and a commitment not to use the so-called carryover credits to meet Australia's emissions commitments. Will you consider those calls? 

PRIME MINISTER: Matt Kean doesn't know what he's talking about. He doesn't know what's going on in the federal cabinet. Most of the federal cabinet wouldn't even know who Matt Kean was. And we are dealing with our climate policies in the same ways as we took them to the election. We are beating and will meet and beat our emissions reduction targets of Kyoto.

LANE: That’s a significant slap down of a state minister. If you're not going to change those policies, as he and others are requesting, how are you going to deal with this? 

PRIME MINISTER: Well who are the others? Who are the other, Sabra? 

LANE: Well, you know that I don't like to divulge sources.

PRIME MINISTER: Well I don't know Sabra, that’s the point. What is being suggested by, in your question that there are others, is just isn’t the case, the government is completely united on focusing on the challenge of the response to the current bushfire crisis and meeting and beating our emissions reduction targets and taking our climate policies forward over the next term of government. And we have the opportunity beyond to ensure we meet and beat our emissions reduction targets, which would see a halving per capita in emissions by Australia over the next 10 years. We are leading the world on renewable energy technologies. That's a fact. In terms of our levels of investment in renewables, we got one in five homes that has solar on its roof. Australia is getting the job done. We're carrying our weight. But I tell you what I'm not going to do. I'm not going to put a carbon tax on people. I'm not going to increase their electricity prices and their costs of living. And I'm not going to wipe out resource industries upon which hundreds of thousands, if not millions of Australians depend on for their living. We know what.

LANE: we need to move on Prime Minister- 

PRIME MINISTER: We know and our target is it's 26 per cent and the government has one. And I can't say that for everyone else. 

LANE: Do you endorse Bridget McKenzie's approach in deciding how public money will be allocated in her administration of the sport's grant scheme? 

PRIME MINISTER: Well, the auditor general's report, I thought, was very serious, and we are acting on its recommendations and moving quickly to do that. And on top of that, there are some legal issues that were raised by the auditor general, which I’m moving quickly with the Attorney-General to ensure that they're clarified as soon as possible. The Auditor-General found-

LANE: I’m sorry, that wasn't my question, it was do you endorse her approach?

PRIME MINISTER: I was getting to it. The Auditor-General found that there were no ineligible projects that were funded and that the rules were followed. So that was the finding of the Auditor-General-

LANE: And the Auditor-General - sorry Prime Minister- also said it was not informed by an appropriate assessment process and sound advice, and that there was evidence of distribution bias. Voters would know that as pork barrelling 101.  

PRIME MINISTER: Well, I also know that the program was delivering very much needed grants to local communities to build sporting facilities, which I know those communities are very appreciative of, and where there are lessons to learn from this process, that's fine. But what I do know is that the program of $100 million dollars was spent on ensuring that young girls don't have to change in their parents cars or out the back of the shed. They can have actual proper facilities in their communities. And I do know that these grants- all eligible, every single one of them was an eligible project, unlike what happened in the Ross Kelly affair and what happened under the previous government. So there was no issues about ineligibility of any projects. The Auditor-General found that.

LANE: Did either you or your office have any involvement in allocating the money to marginal seats? 

PRIME MINISTER: The decisions were done in accordance with the process the Minister set out, and that was that the Minister made those decisions and they were actioned in an endorsing way by Sports Australia. That's how it worked. 

LANE: Prime Minister, thanks for joining AM this morning. 

PRIME MINISTER: Thanks a lot Sabra.

https://pmtranscripts.pmc.gov.au/release/transcript-42618

Interview with Allison Langdon and Karl Stefanovic, Today

20 January 2020

ALLISON LANGDON: Good morning to you Prime Minister.

PRIME MINISTER: Good morning Ally, good morning Karl.

LANGDON: Well, how quickly will these small businesses be able to access these help you’re announcing today? 

PRIME MINISTER: What we're doing today is increasing the grant from $15,000, which is being done with the state governments, now up to $50,000 for affected small businesses. State governments have already the processes in place to assess these applications. They're the ones who assess these applications and that money is available to start flowing in all of those bushfire affected communities. On top of that, we'll be providing loans of zero interest for two years of up to $500,000 and over 10 years at a concessional rate of what was around about 0.6 per cent on the current rates. This is going to save small businesses rebuilding their businesses with working capital. They don't have to have had direct impact of the fires on their business to access these loans. That's worth over $100,000 in interest payments they wouldn't have to make. This means that the loan doesn't get bigger, they can just get back on with it. The customers come back and the businesses rebuild and the local towns and communities rebuild with their support.

KARL STEFANOVIC: PM, I think it's a great thing, but we know from experience that this damage bill will only get worse, a lot worse. And clearly, this is going to impact on the budget and we're talking about a lot of businesses here, something in the order of 200,000 possibly at the very least. How can you possibly hit a surplus now? 

PRIME MINISTER: Well, look, we’re taking all that into account. But that's not my priority. My priority is to get the support into the communities where it's needed. We've set aside $2 billion and that's all been factored into the Budget now. That will all be reconciled when it comes to May. But the important thing is to get the support and the other thing we're doing, which is important, is if these small businesses are paid money already on their income tax back in the last quarter, they can claim that back now. They'll have a zero assessment for December and they won't have to do any of their BAS until May at the very least, at the earliest. So this is all about giving them cashflow support in their communities. That's what they need right now. And for the tourist towns, they need tourists coming back, and that's why we yesterday announced our $76 million dollar package to get people coming back into these communities and right across Australia, in fact. 

LANGDON: Prime Minister, some of your state counterparts are pushing for more action on climate change and this is within your, inside your own camp. Do you not see it as a problem that even your own party is not happy with your stand? 

PRIME MINISTER: Well, I don't accept that position at all. Our party has taken a unified position on these issues to the last election and I'm going to keep to that. We're going to meet and beat our emissions reduction targets. Emissions are falling under our Government, they’re 50 million tonnes less on average per year under our Government than they were under the previous government. We're going to beat our Kyoto targets. We're going to meet and beat, I believe, our Paris targets as well. But what I'm not going to do is I'm not going to put on a carbon tax. I'm not going to put up people's electricity prices. And I'm not going to wipe out our resources sector, which millions of Australians depend on, particularly regional Australians. So we're going to stay with a balanced policy that understands both our economic and our environmental interests. We know the summers are longer, hotter, drier, and we're addressing those measures as well. We acknowledge the link between these things, but we're going to have a balanced policy that doesn't put people out of their jobs.

STEFANOVIC: PM, the country, if I can put it this way, the country has been burning. We now have floods. We now have these horrific dust storms. Homes have been lost, we've lost lives. The country is grieving. Farmers are shooting their own cattle, they can't put food on the table. And I think there is a perception, right or wrong, that you aren’t leading the country on climate change. People aren’t satisfied with what you are doing. Are you not concerned in any way, shape or form that you're out of step with what everyday Australians are thinking and feeling during this crisis, and it is a crisis. 

PRIME MINISTER: Well, longer, hotter, dry summers and all the things that you've mentioned are the terrible experience we've had and we can expect these sorts of conditions into the future. I think there's a lot of misinformation out there, Karl. For example, we will reduce our carbon emissions per capita by half between now and 2030. We are leading the world on renewable investments in technology and in energy in this country. These are the facts, Karl, these are the facts. 

STEFANOVIC: But whether it’s just a perception, that’s fine, but the perception is that you’re not. People want you to do something more. They feel it.

PRIME MINISTER: I don’t think people want me to take their jobs away, Karl. People don’t want me to take reckless policies which threaten people’s jobs.

STEFANOVIC: I understand that.

PRIME MINISTER: And that's why we are meeting and beating our emissions reductions targets. Our emissions are coming down. Investments in renewable technologies is up. Our per capita emissions will fall by half over the next 10 years. And we will do this in a way which doesn't penalise Australians for simply for what job they have. So we're going to keep a balanced policy and we're going to keep talking about what the facts are. So when it comes to building climate resilience for the future, that means building dams. It means hazard reduction. And I'm concerned about the failure to hit hazard reduction targets. There are a great many reasons for why that has occurred and I'm sure that will be looked at closely when we get to the inquiry stage of what we're doing. So I think state governments need to focus what they need to focus on, and I'll focus on what I need to focus on as a Commonwealth Government. We're taking action on climate change and I'm taking forward the policy that I put to the Australian people on this, which means you take action, you reduce emissions and you ensure that your economy remains strong. 

LANGDON: The New South Wales Environment Minister Matt Kean said there are those on your frontbench who don't feel you're doing enough. Have those people expressed that view to you? 

PRIME MINISTER: No. 

STEFANOVIC: Not at all? 

PRIME MINISTER: No, I don't know what he's talking about. 

LANGDON: Are you dismissing what he's saying?

PRIME MINISTER: Well, I don't know what he's talking about. I think Matt should focus on hazard reduction…

LANGDON: Is that not the problem here, Prime Minister?

PRIME MINISTER: I think Matt should focus on hazard reduction and I’ll focus on emissions reduction. 

STEFANOVIC: But you don't... you're not worried that your own party at all? You're not worried about rats in the ranks. 

PRIME MINISTER: No, it's all a beat up.

STEFANOVIC: All right.

LANGDON: Just quickly before you go, one more question. Minister Bridget McKenzie, her handling of the $100 million sports fund. I mean, it's a clear example of political corruption. She won't step down. Do you need to show leadership here and get rid of her? 

PRIME MINISTER: Well, I don't accept the characterisation of it. What I am doing is taking the Auditor-General's report very seriously and acting on the recommendations and ensuring the clarity on the legal issues that were raised. Every single project that was funded was eligible for funding. All the rules of the program were actually followed. The Auditor-General found that. So that's very different to what happened with the Ros Kelly affair and what happened under the previous government as well, very different. And these projects, remember, were projects that were supporting local communities, so girls didn't have to get changed behind the shed or in their car to go and play sport. That's what this program was doing and it's delivered funding, supporting locally fundraised initiatives in local communities, councils, to make local sports infrastructure better for communities. That's what the program is about. It's a good program. 

STEFANOVIC: Prime Minister, there is a lot on your plate right now and we appreciate you coming on our show and we hope to see you again soon and, look, there’s a lot of work to do out there and we’ll let you get back to it. Appreciate it. 

PRIME MINISTER: Thanks Karl, thanks Ally.

https://pmtranscripts.pmc.gov.au/release/transcript-42617

Interview with David Koch and Sam Armytage, Sunrise

20 January 2020

DAVID KOCH: Prime Minister Scott Morrison joins us now live. Prime Minister, thank you for joining us. Happy New Year. You’ve been keeping a bit of a low profile on this. Do you stand by Bridget McKenzie or should she step down? 

PRIME MINISTER: Well, I continue to support the Minister but I also take very seriously the Auditor General's report that was handed down and we're acting on the recommendations that have come forward and particularly to move quickly with the Attorney-General to clarify some of the legal issues that were raised in that report. But let me say this, this program was delivering funding to community organisations all around the country. Community organisations that have been raising money at their own barbecues for many, many years to get this support in place. And every single one of the projects that was approved was eligible. Every single rule was followed in relation to the program. And so getting that support to those community groups, which is what that program was all about. I know it- whether for my electorate, the Leader of the Opposition’s electorate, electorates right across the country. This was about ensuring that girls didn't have to change behind the sheds, they could actually have a changing room in the shed. That's what the program is about. And I think it's important to, yes, acknowledge the issues in the Auditor General's report. But I think we also have to remember this program was about supporting local communities who were supporting themselves, fundraising much of the money to support the grants that were made. 

SAM ARMYTAGE: Did they specifically go to marginal seats? Do you have that? I mean, you admit questions are being raised here and you acknowledged that that could be, there could be a concern. Were they targeted to marginal seats?

PRIME MINISTER: They went to seats right across the country. I mean, they went to Anthony Albanese’s seat. They went to my seat. They went to Labor seats, they went to Coalition seats. They went to what were independent seats. They went right across the board. And the rules show that the decision maker at the end of the day would be the Minister and the rules were followed. But look, we're looking closely at the lessons from the report, but importantly, the recommendations that were put forward by the auditor general and I’m pursuing that, there are many things going on at the moment, as you know, David and Sam, and we're focussing on the bushfires and on the drought. And now, of course, we've got rain events as well. And it's about a year since those terrible floods up there in north Queensland and I haven't forgotten them either. 

KOCH: Ok. So you want to object to a Senate inquiry delving into this a bit more carefully?

PRIME MINISTER: That’s a matter for the Senate, and I’ll leave that to the Senate. They're their own, Senators are masters of their own...

KOCH: But you’re, you’re saying, but you've got people in the Senate too. Um so but you're saying further inquiries need to be made. You're making those inquiries, it’s serious that the Auditor General did bring this up?

PRIME MINISTER: We're following through on the Auditor General's recommendations. That's what I've said.

ARMYTAGE: Ok because this is going to take up a lot of oxygen in the news cycle, Prime Minister, as you can imagine. Do you want to hit this on the head as fast as you can? So, as you say, you can get back to dealing with this bushfire crisis and rolling out these grants that have been handed out to these devastated communities?

PRIME MINISTER: Well, that's what I am focussed on. So I'm totally focussed on that. Today, we'll be announcing $50,000 dollar grants for small businesses who have been impacted directly by the bushfire crisis that we've seen across the country. On top of that, relief on their BAS, on their pay as you go, that means for those businesses..

KOCH: What does, what is, what does that mean- are you going to give them 50 grand?

PRIME MINISTER: Yeah, $50,000 dollar grants, up until now, there's been $15,000 dollar grants in New South Wales. We are increasing that to $50,000 dollars. Now that's to help them with repairs and the clean up and these sorts of things, in their proper- in their businesses, to give them that support. But on top of that, David, and you'd know this. We're offering zero interest loans for two years of up to $500,000 dollars for working capital for people- for businesses to get back on their feet. And then for eight years beyond that, at concessional rate of what would be around on current bond rates, about 0.6 per cent on the concession. So in the first two years alone, if you were taking a loan of $500,000, that would be over a $100,000 dollars in saved interest costs. So you've got nothing to pay for that first two years. The principal doesn't accrue. You can just get your business up and running because we're also working to bring the business back to these towns. Yesterday we announced a $76 million dollar tourism package to get people travelling, not just from overseas, but certainly within Australia and the recovery work that's going to happen in all of these towns. The rebuilding of the fences we've committed to fund, it will be over 100 million dollars in costs from the Commonwealth alone to site clear and clean up every single residence and every single business that has been destroyed by these fires. Now, if you've got insurance, that means it's going to go a lot further. And if you don't, at least you don't have what could be $50,000 dollars of costs to clear your site…

KOCH: How do people apply for that? Who do- who do they talk to to get some of that? 

PRIME MINISTER: They go through the state government run organization- Services New South Wales and similar organisations in Victoria and Queensland. The states actually run these grant programs. We pay for them and they do the assessments. They've got the skilled assessors and so they'll be working quickly, the states, to put those arrangements in place. They already have them for the $15,000 dollar grants. So it's a matter of them now having the ability to scale that up to $50,000 for those who are directly impacted. 

ARMYTAGE: Ok. Prime Minister while we've got you, let's look at Australia Day on Sunday. A new survey has found 71 per cent of Aussies want the day to continue to be celebrated on January 26. That is 71 per cent of us, down a little bit from 75 per cent on last year's poll. Do you think Australia Day should remain on January 26? No one seems to be talking about it this year. We must have something else to talk about. 

PRIME MINISTER: Well, we do have something else to talk about. And it's people affected by bushfires and on Australia Day, tell you what I’m going to be doing, I’m going to be saying thank you to every single volunteer that has supported everybody through this terrible crisis. But not just this one, but all the crises of weather and disaster that we face in this country. I’ve seen the best of Australians, and that’s what I want to celebrate.

ARMYTAGE: So - then Prime Minister you think the day should stay? Should it stay?

PRIME MINISTER: Well of course I do, I mean it’s not even a debate we’re having at the moment so I don’t really want to be distracted by that debate, on Australia Day it’s a time to I think, say thanks to all those volunteers, particularly those volunteer bushfire fighters. When we remember Andrew O’Dwyer in particular, Geoff Keaton and Sam McPaul, as Jenny and I were at Sam's funeral on Friday in Albury - sorry in Holbrook. It was just heartbreaking. And I've just got nothing but a heart full of thanks. 

KOCH: Yeah, well said. Prime Minister, thanks for joining us. 

PRIME MINISTER: Thanks a lot.

https://pmtranscripts.pmc.gov.au/release/transcript-42616

Immediate Small Business Support for Bushfire Affected Communities

20 January 2020

Prime Minister, Treasurer, Minister for Employment, Skills, Small and Family Business

In response to the devastating bushfires, the Morrison Government has today announced a comprehensive suite of measures to immediately support impacted small businesses. 

This initial package responds to the needs expressed by small businesses on the ground and at the small business roundtable last week which saw chambers of commerce from fire affected regions, the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Council of Small Business Organisations Australia come together with the Government to discuss the impacts of this natural disaster on small business. 

This comprehensive package will make it easier for those who have suffered direct fire damage, or have been indirectly economically impacted following the bushfires, to get back on their feet.

This package deals with the challenges we know small businesses in these areas are facing, and will continue to face. Our immediate priorities for small businesses include grant funding, concessional loans, tax relief, a dedicated and single contact point to help them access the support that is available, and financial counselling services that are targeted to help small and family business owners deal with the emotional and financial challenges they face.

Grant funding

To build on the disaster recovery grants put in place by state governments, the Federal Government will provide top-up grants to eligible small businesses and non-profit organisations under the Disaster Recovery Funding Arrangements. 

This program is uncapped and means that businesses and organisations that have sustained damage as a result of the fires can access up to $50,000 in grant funding (tax free). 

Concessional loans 

As well as extra support announced already for families and communities to help keep spending in local stores, the Federal Government wants to ensure small businesses have cashflow to run their operations.

The Federal Government will boost the value and concessions for small business loans, also on offer to farmers, primary producers and non-profit organisations, under the Disaster Recovery Funding Arrangements.

To provide maximum flexibility for eligible businesses, loans of up to $500,000 will be offered for businesses that have suffered significant asset loss or a significant loss of revenue. The loan would be for up to 10 years and used for the purposes of restoring or replacing damaged assets and for working capital.

The loans will be available with a repayment holiday of up to two years, with no interest accruing during this period. The subsequent interest rate would be set at 50 per cent of the ten-year Commonwealth government bond rate (currently around 0.6%). 

The Government will be seeking the agreement of the states to provide these loans under harmonised, consistent terms and eligibility criteria.

Dedicated, single contact point 

The Government will deliver $3.5 million to establish the Small Business Bushfire Financial Support Line as well as to fund 10 additional financial counsellors with the ability to provide advice to around 100 small businesses a day.

We want to ensure small businesses have access to the information that they need, when they need it. The Support Line will be staffed by small business specialist financial counsellors who will be able to provide information on the assistance and support available to small businesses in bushfire affected regions. 

The Support Line, which will be staffed by trained financial counsellors, will provide information on the assistance and support available to small businesses in bushfire affected regions.

While the specialist Support Line is being established, businesses can visit www.business.gov.au or call 13 28 46.

The Commonwealth will also provide support as required to Recovery Centres that are being established by the states in fire-impacted regions. These Centres will be a one-stop-shop for small business owners and operators to ensure they have access to immediate expert support.

Local economic development plans

The Federal Government will work with local and state governments, business groups and other community organisations to develop Local Economic Recovery Plans. 

These plans will be locally developed and locally-led to ensure the focus in each community is on the infrastructure and assets they need to rebuild.

Tax relief

The Commissioner of Taxation has agreed to provide a range of assistance measures to businesses in identified bushfire-impacted postcodes to help to alleviate cash flow pressures and assist these businesses with their recovery efforts. 

In particular, taxpayers in impacted postcodes will now have until 28 May 2020 to lodge and pay business activity statements and income tax returns. Impacted businesses that pay their Pay-As-You-Go Instalments quarterly are also allowed to vary these instalments to zero for the December 2019 quarter and claim a refund for any instalments made in the September 2019 quarter. 

These measures will assist small businesses with much-needed cashflow support during this difficult time.

https://pmtranscripts.pmc.gov.au/release/transcript-42615

Initial $100 Million Bushfire Emergency Support for Primary Producers

14 January 2020

Prime Minister, Minister for Agriculture, Minister for Water Resources Drought Rural Finance Natural Disaster and Emergency Management

Farm, fish and forestry businesses in fire-affected regions will get the help they need to rebuild with an initial $100 million in emergency bushfire funding, which will be made available following agreement with relevant state governments.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison said the Government would provide up to $75,000 in grants for farming businesses in fire-affected regions, with the funding administered by each state government.

“We will do whatever it takes to support those communities and businesses hit by these fires, and if we need to do more, we will,” the Prime Minister said.

“I need to stress this is an uncapped program so if demand for support goes above $100 million, money will continue to flow.

“As the scale of the damage becomes apparent, it is clear that our farm, our fish and forest businesses need support and along with communities who depend on them, we will help them rebuild and we will continue to back them.

“This funding will support primary producers to access essentials like fodder and water, while also help rebuild fencing or hire vital agricultural equipment like water pumps, irrigation systems, horticultural netting and generators.”

This funding is in addition to the extensive work being undertaken by the Australian Defence Force, clearing roads and properties and helping communities rebuild.

The Morrison Government will also provide $15 million to fund 60 additional rural financial counsellors and support workers.

Already the Rural Financial Counselling Service is on the ground providing free financial counselling to our farmers in times of need with now approximately 120 counsellors located within key agricultural communities across Australia.

Minister for Agriculture Bridget McKenzie said so many rural businesses had been hard hit by the bushfires and they were now looking at how they could rebuild.

“Rural and regional communities particularly across Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria and South Australia have been hit hard by the bushfires and we will continue to work together to support all those Australians whose livelihoods have been devastated by these fires,” Minister McKenzie said.

“This funding could help pay for tradespeople to conduct farm safety inspections, for veterinary fees, waste disposal and to repair any damaged property.

“Our farmers, fishers and foresters have been hit extremely hard by these terrible fires. I’ve seen firsthand, farmers who have left their properties to fight fires.

“Our farmers are resilient and very generous putting themselves on the line for their friends and neighbours.

“These grants of up to $75,000 will help get them the equipment they need to start rebuilding.

“We’re working closely with farming groups to develop specific industry recovery plans.”

Minister for Natural Disaster and Emergency Management David Littleproud said the grants were designed to make sure farmers are equipped to get the job done.

“We are working with the states to get these funds to farmers as quickly as possible under existing Disaster Recovery Funding Arrangements,” Minister Littleproud said.

As with the grants for the North Queensland floods in early 2019, funds under the Disaster Recovery Funding Arrangement will be made available to state governments of impacted communities, on request, for delivery through their relevant state disaster response agency.

“This is critical support for primary producers to meet their immediate needs in getting their agriculture businesses back up and running where those needs are not covered under existing insurance policies,” Minister Littleproud said.

“Primary producers from farmers and fishers to private foresters and beekeepers will all be eligible to apply under the extended definition of primary producers in the Disaster Recovery Funding Arrangements.”

Farmers who have been tackling the drought and have off-farm income won’t be disadvantaged, the same off-farm income rules for Farm Household Allowance will apply. This means farmers that aren’t eligible for Category C payments due to off-farm income rules will still be eligible for up to $75,000 to help them normalise their farm businesses as quickly as possible.

Funding will be available through the Emergency Bushfire Response in Primary Industries Grants Program.

This assistance will be provided through a joint Disaster Recovery Funding Arrangement between states and territories and the Commonwealth Government.

Further details will be announced as soon as state-based delivery arrangements are confirmed.

This initiative forms part of $2 billion commitment the Morrison Government has made to address the impact of the recent bushfires.

For more information on the Emergency Bushfire Response in Primary Industries Grants Program please contact 1800 900 090.

https://pmtranscripts.pmc.gov.au/release/transcript-42607

Resignation of Tasmanian Premier Will Hodgman

14 January 2020

Will Hodgman is a Tasmanian and Liberal legend whose leadership has engineered the state’s remarkable turnaround.

He leaves behind a record of distinguished service.

Cutting unemployment from 7.6 per cent to 6.0 per cent and creating more than 19,200 new jobs.

Turning the tide on the 1,000 Tasmanians who left the state each year with the latest figures showing the population grew by almost 2,000 people from mainland Australia in net terms.

Working closely together to deliver the Hobart and Launceston City Deals, a $2.8 billion infrastructure program for projects like the Bridgewater Bridge, Bass, Murchison and Midland Highways, not to mention the Battery of the Nation and Marinus Link projects.

I want to congratulate Will on his leadership and the achievements of his government and thank him for his friendship and support.

As the current longest serving premier, Will has also made a great national contribution not just at the COAG table but in his quiet advocacy for the interests of Tasmania and Australia at every opportunity.

In his maiden speech, Will paid tribute to the tremendous role model his father was, including as a fellow Parliamentarian, hoping to “display the same level of passion, commitment and service to the community”. I think the record shows, Will, you have done that in spades over your more than 17 year parliamentary career and your father would be rightly proud.

Will has been not just a leader for Tasmania, but a tremendous friend and support to me.

I wish him, Nicky and their family all the best as they move to this next stage.

https://pmtranscripts.pmc.gov.au/release/transcript-43959

Interview with David Speers, ABC Insiders

12 January 2020

DAVID SPEERS: Prime Minister, welcome.

PRIME MINISTER: Thank you David.

SPEERS: You have acknowledged the anger directed towards you during this bushfire crisis, you have not yet acknowledged any fault though on your part, will you take this opportunity now to accept that you could have done more to heed the warnings and prepare for this?

PRIME MINISTER: Well let me start off David by saying this national crisis has seen the loss of 28 lives and another confirmed overnight in Victoria which is terribly sad. The response that has been provided to these fires and led by our state governments has been absolutely extraordinary, I have no doubt that without their preparations and the support they were provided in those preparations, going into this unprecedented season as it’s been described, we would have seen even further losses, as tragic as the ones that we’ve had. Over 2,000 homes, but again I suspect that because of the amazing response that has been provided on the ground at these fires, many many more homes would have been lost and I think it’s important to acknowledge that the response to these fires that has been led by our state agencies because that’s the way this is done, has been exemplary and I want to thank all those volunteers. And for all of those leaders who have been involved in those processes from the local bushfire captain all the way through. The other thing that I think that has come through David as we’ve seen as I’ve been on the ground, there- the sheer sense of loss, pain, hurt, grief, frustration, fear indeed, particularly well away from the fires where we’ve seen also that terrible loss of the young girl as the result of an asthma attack. This has I think, created an environment where people for the first time I think, arguably, have wanted to see a more direct involvement of the Federal Government in responding to these national disasters. Now that’s relatively new and you could argue it was new. And that was not something that was recommended going into this fire season. That there’d be any change to the Federal Government’s direct role in responding to a national disaster. But I will happily concede that having gone through these recent weeks, that I think there is a very new appetite, a very new expectation for that to occur. Now I think that raises some other issues and that is, well on what basis, under what rules, how does it happen? The defence force’s engagement from- in the fire response and particularly recovery and support since September has been strong, when I was up with them in Canungra in September. That has flowed all the way through. But the other thing David I’d say is, there are things that I could have handled on the ground much better. These are very raw emotional environments and I’ve got to say, 95 per cent or there about of the responses I’ve had in these cases have been very positive and very appreciative. But David these are sensitive environments, they are very emotional environments. Prime Ministers’ are flesh and blood too and how they engage with people. But when I went in to these places, I went there in the good faith and with Jenny on occasions, to provide what comfort and consolation I could. But they were very strained environments and I think we need to think a little harder about how we do those, I mean I’ve had many I think very effective visits where we’ve been away from the cameras as well, I think that makes people a lot more able to engage with you. And look you know, there have been some things we’d do differently and you’d learn from every event. But the most important thing is the action we have now taken and the steps we are now taking to recovery.

SPEERS: Well I want to, we’ll come back to some of that, but what I’m asking about here is, you say there is no recommendation for the federal government to do more ahead of this season, but as our national leader, should you have seen some of the warnings that were there and done more?

PRIME MINISTER: Well, David, the thing about things that are unprecedented is exactly that - they're unprecedented. I mean, the scale of these events and particularly as they've only emerged in the last few weeks when we had a state of natural disaster for the first time declared only just over a week ago...

SPEERS: But I'm talking about the warnings that were there - let's go through some of them.

PRIME MINISTER: Sure.

SPEERS: For most of last year this group of former fire chiefs were warning this would be a catastrophic season, they were calling for more resources, they were trying to get meetings with you. Should you have met with them?

PRIME MINISTER: Well David, I was, we were taking the advice of the current fire chiefs...

SPEERS: Well the current...

PRIME MINISTER: And the current fire chiefs were recommending the same thing. And the recommendations that were put up which required additional resources for the water-bombers, which were provided both last year and this year, and we’ve provided an additional $20 million just of last Saturday - sorry, last Monday, and that was in response to a request that was made the night before. What we have done and this included briefings to Cabinet, through Emergency Management Australia, they came and briefed our Cabinet going into this fire season, and whether it was this season or last season, there was the view that we're living in longer, hotter, dryer summers. This is obviously affected by the broader changes in climate. There is no lack of acknowledgment of that. You'll find that in all the Government's policy statements. And so the response though that has been coordinated and resourced and supported at the state level as I said in response to your first question, I think we have to acknowledge how exemplary it has been in response to what has been the scale of fire.

SPEERS: I will come back to the climate change issue but there was also yesterday The Financial Review reporting that a national disaster risk reduction framework had been prepared in Home Affairs, your Home Affairs department 18 months ago and then sat collecting dust so apparently...

PRIME MINISTER: That's not true, David.

SPEERS: That's not true?

PRIME MINISTER: No, that’s not true. In the last Budget we put $130 million in to establish this risk framework. It has gone to The Emergency Minister’s Council, and was supported by them only in June of this year and now they're working through the details with local governments to put this in place. This is a longer term risk framework model which deals with one of the big issues in response to climate changing and that is the resilience and the adaption that we need in our community right across the country to deal with longer, hotter, dryer seasons that increase the risk of bushfire. So I think that report took that out of context and I'm not being critical. I'm saying we put $130 million in the Budget to deal with exactly what you're talking about, which I think is one of the many other important responses to climate change.

SPEERS: So you're saying there was no sign to you before this season that the Federal Government needed to do more?

PRIME MINISTER: The recommendations that were put to us were acted upon.

SPEERS: And there were no recommendations that you should be looking at mobilising defence, working with the states, civilian authorities, to prepare for this?

PRIME MINISTER: Not in terms of what had been done in previous seasons and the arrangements that we’ve had where we respond to the requests of the states. Those responses to the requests from the states were significant, as I said going back to Canungra in September...

SPEERS: You're talking about responding to requests. I'm suggesting here that given you had these fire chiefs, current fire chiefs warning that this was an above normal fire potential for this season, you had the Home Affairs department warning too that there was an unimagined scale of the threat to natural disasters, that you shouldn’t have taken initiative?

PRIME MINISTER: There was no advice that said that the ADF should be able to act unilaterally and to deploy on its own initiative in response to any fire event. No, there was none of that advice. But what we did do - I authorised with the Defence Minister for a trial run of a national callout of the reserves. That was approved by the Governor-General. That was done in November. So when it came to the decision that we ultimately took early this, in the New Year, it was being worked through on the 1st and 2nd of January of this year. Then the callout which required the approval of the Governor-General on the Saturday. Now that was the first time, ever, that there has been a call-out of our reservists to respond to a bushfire disaster, to the best of our knowledge. That is an unprecedented action of a Commonwealth Government. It has been in response to an unprecedented set of actions that were happening on the ground. Even a week before that decision was taken, there had still not been a natural state of disaster declared in Victoria. There were certainly the response needed in New South Wales. And as that was occurring, going into December 31, I was already talking to the Chief of the Defence Force, the Choules was already on its way to support a potential evacuation. Also, we were also dealing with the readiness of the HMAS Adelaide which I instructed the CDF to get ready to move in the event that it would be required. That was preceded, David, by my visits into areas like Ilford, where I spoke to people on the ground and I could see we needed a greater connection between what the defence forces were able to do and getting an understanding of what was happening on the local level. The coordination was happening at state headquarters' level. And so after that...

SPEERS: Are you seeing there is a problem with this? Though, the way the states interact with the Commonwealth in situations like this?

PRIME MINISTER: I think we have got to prepare for a new normal. And  the new normal, I think there is a community expectation now that there be a more direct ability for the Commonwealth, particularly through the Australian Defence Forces to be able to take action. See what happened…

SPEERS: What do you mean by that?

PRIME MINISTER: What happened last Saturday, this was the change, the big change, historic change, it moved from a respond to request posture, to a move and integrate posture. Which means the defence force moving in and then coming in and working with the local effort without requests, without any instigation at a state level, now…

SPEERS: You still need state permission to do that though?

PRIME MINISTER: Well, we are acting under what I'd call a very agreeable environment but these arrangements have pushed, I think, the constitutional authorities for us to act to its very edge. And that's why people talk about this being something you can just do - I mean, we required the authority of the Governor-General and we received very clear legal advice before taking the step...

SPEERS: You had to take constitutional advice on this?

PRIME MINISTER: Of course we did. This requires the call-out of Reservists and the CDF- Chief of the Defence Force actually putting people into zones and disaster areas to provide responses.

SPEERS: So does this need to change? I mean, you shouldn't surely need to get constitutional advice, see the Governor General, all these steps- before you can send in the resources?

PRIME MINISTER: This is I think going to be one of the important lessons going forward. As I said, this is the first time where I think the Federal Government has ever been in a position where we had to take this action. To ensure that in the future it can be done in a way that I think is in a more pre-emptive posture, that we can do that I think more seamlessly. Now one of the things…

SPEERS: You want the power to deploy defence assets when you think you need to?

PRIME MINISTER: Where the Chief of the Defence Force believes there is a risk to life and safety and can support...

SPEERS: We're talking about state-run national parks and so on aren't we, to deploy them into?

PRIME MINISTER: We're talking about state Crown land, we’re talking about any area and it would have been done under the legal authorities of the state governments. The point I'm making is I think the states have worked closely with our ADF and there is no criticism by me of that at all. Or any criticism of the state efforts, I think they’ve been outstanding. What I am saying though, particularly we’ve seen and I think Australians have seen it, in the way we've been dropping fodder, getting contact to remote communities, undertaking evacuations, road clearing, proving a route, at least for heavy vehicles, military vehicles through to Mallacoota, the work that has been done by the ADF has massively supplemented and boosted and amplified what the states have been able to do on the ground and I think there's been a lot of lessons learned there.

SPEERS: So just to be clear, this will be a priority when Parliament is back. Will it require legislation to give defence this power?

PRIME MINISTER: Well the first step I think - look, I think there is obviously a need for a national review of the response and let's not forget…

SPEERS: A royal commission, is that what you're talking about?

PRIME MINISTER: I think that is what would be necessary and I'll be taking a proposal through Cabinet to that end but it must be done...

SPEERS: For a national royal commission?

PRIME MINISTER: But it must be done in consultation with the states and territories. I think Australians have a reasonable expectation that any commission of inquiry, royal commission, would need to cover the full gambit of issues. I think there are three to those. There is obviously the operational response which would normally be looked at. And I have no doubt the states will undertake their own operational reviews of their own exercise during and post this event.

SPEERS: The royal commission might run for a year. You can act in the interim?

PRIME MINISTER: Let me say, there are two other issues that it would need to address. The second one would be this federal issue of how the states and the territories and the new role, potentially, of the Commonwealth and that needs to be fully assessed. And the third one, David, I think, is it has to be done in the acknowledgment, not to seek an answer to, but in the acknowledgment, of the climate we now live in and how that - and how climate change has affected that. That is not an issue of dispute. That is an issue of acknowledgment.

SPEERS: So you're open to having all that looked at...

PRIME MINISTER: Of course I am.

SPEERS: And whether Australia needs to do more on climate change?

PRIME MINISTER: Well I think, the climate change response has three elements. The first one, which is most talked about, is emissions reduction. And Australia is taking action on emissions reduction, we are a signatory to the Paris agreement, and I can come back to that. The second one, is our climate change action in relation to resilience. Our emissions reduction targets can be higher or lower but the fact is the next ten years, and beyond- we are going to be living in a very different climate and we need to improve our resilience in our response to that on the ground in a range of measures which have both state and federal responsibilities. The third is the climate change adaption. These are the areas of climate change action that I think need greater attention because they're the things that are practically affecting people's daily lives here in Australia, where we can do practical things that will make us more resilient and ensure that we're safer.

SPEERS: OK. Let's talk about climate change now as you've raised this. So you are willing to have this dealt with at a royal commission and you are willing to change your position on climate change?

PRIME MINISTER: Well, what we will do is, on emissions - I've talked about the other two areas of resilience and adaption and I think they need to be very – and that includes our water infrastructure in responding to drought. I mean it isn't just restricted to bushfires. It deals with floods, it deals with cyclones, it deals with the drought which is affected by these broader issues. Adaption and resilience is key to that. Building dams is key to that. Native vegetation management is key to that. Land clearing is key to that. Where you can build homes, is key to that. And that is as much a climate change response as emissions reduction. But to talk of emissions reduction, we have, and will meet, our 2020 target and many countries like ours won't and so that's important.

SPEERS: Let's just talk about that...

PRIME MINISTER: Sure.

SPEERS: Because that requires the use of the so-called carryover credits for 2030 from the Kyoto period where we were allowed, Australia negotiated a deal to increase its emissions. We are the only country that has committed to use these carryover credits. Others are thinking about it, a few others are thinking about it. But is that really leading the world when it comes to this issue?

PRIME MINISTER: Let's deal with first principles, let's deal with right now because the fires are right now. And the environment in which these fires are taking place is an environment where Australia is one of the few countries that has met and will beat its 2020 Kyoto emissions targets. Now other countries have used carry forward credits to meet those, I mean New Zealand has done that from Kyoto one so that’s not an uncommon practice…

SPEERS: The problem is, Prime Minister, we need to reduce our emissions?

PRIME MINISTER: I understand that. And we are reducing emissions. Emissions today are 50 million tonnes less on average each year under our government than under the previous government. We meet our 2020 and beat them 411 million tonnes...

SPEERS: Well your own department...

PRIME MINISTER: Let me finish the answer David, by 2030 we have a 26 per cent reduction target. It is my intention, and this is the key point, to meet and beat that target...

SPEERS: Thanks to these carryover credits?

PRIME MINISTER: Well, if we're in the position where we don't need them and we're able to continue to reduce our emissions and use the technology and make the investments and continue to evolve our policy to ensure that we can reduce our emissions within the policy framework that I took to the last election, which was without putting a tax on people's living, without increasing people's electricity prices, without writing off $70 billion-dollar industries on which regional Australians depend on for their livelihood, and I believe we can achieve all of that. We have the highest level of renewable investment in Australia on record...

SPEERS: OK, but we also...

PRIME MINISTER: And we are doubling per capita what we’re investing. We have 1 in 5 homes with solar panels on their roofs. Few countries can boast that.

SPEERS: What matters here is emissions right? How much is being emitted. This year, 2020- according to your environment and energy department, Australia is going to emit 534 mega-tonnes of CO2 equivalent. In 2030, the projection is 511 mega-tonnes. Doesn't sound like a big reduction in actual emissions does it.

PRIME MINISTER: Well we’re 1.23 per cent of the world’s global emissions. So Australia…

SPEERS: This argument…

PRIME MINISTER: No no, I’m just I'm putting this in context. We could close down every single power generation facility in the country and those emissions would be taken up by China in about nine days. So I think we need to understand that global emissions don't have an accent, they come from many countries and we need to look at a global solution that deals with…

SPEERS: Don't you think we should encourage other bigger emitters like China, like the US, like India...

PRIME MINISTER: That's why you should meet and beat your targets…

SPEERS: Should we use these carryover credits, we’re opening the doors for others to do so?

PRIME MINISTER: What I'm saying to you, is that in the years ahead we are going to continue to evolve our policy in this area, to reduce emissions even further, and we’re going to do it without a carbon tax, without putting up electricity prices...

SPEERS: So if you can do it without a carbon tax, and putting up prices, are you willing to…

PRIME MINISTER: ...without shutting down traditional industries upon which regional Australians depend for their very livelihood. That’s what I took to the Australian people.

SPEERS: They do. But are you willing to use this crisis now as a reason to increase that target, set by Tony Abbott?

PRIME MINISTER: Well, the Cabinet and the government will continue to evolve our policies to meet our targets and to beat them. That's what I'm saying.

SPEERS: But you are opening to moving the target?

PRIME MINISTER: What I'm saying is I'm not going to put someone's job at risk, a region’s, town's future at risk, I’m not going to put up electricity prices to do it, I’m not going to put a tax on them to do it. I’m going to achieve it in the way we’ve met our Kyoto 2020 targets, meet and beat, and we’ve done that through better technology, through the policies we’ve put through the emissions reduction fund, and we’re going to continue to do that because it is really important.

SPEERS: I appreciate that but I think everyone watching this would note you are leaving open here, pending inquiries and so on, the option of increasing that target?

PRIME MINISTER: What I'm saying is we want to reduce emissions and do the best job we possibly can and get better and better and better at it. And I want to do that within a balanced policy which recognises Australia's broader national economic interests and social interest.

SPEERS: Is the problem for you though that within your party, you party room there are those who either don't accept the science of climate change or don't see it as a major factor here? George Christensen posted on social media overnight, "The cause of these fires is not man-made climate change but arson." Is he wrong?

PRIME MINISTER: The Government's policy is set by the Cabinet. My party room has a broad...

SPEERS: So we ignore George Christensen?

PRIME MINISTER: No, no, let me finish my answer. Our party room has a broad array of views just like the Australian community has a broad array of views. You have got to take everybody with you. Climate change, it is the Government's policy- has obviously impacted on the longer, hotter, dryer, summer seasons. That's the advice we've received. That is not contested. That is the position of the Government, OK, let there be no dispute about that, this is the point…

SPEERS: There has been dispute about this, not just backbenchers but your own Deputy Prime Minister, Michael McCormack, he said it was woke inner city greenies drawing this link. That didn’t sound like what you're saying today?

PRIME MINISTER: Look David, I've set out clearly what the Government’s policy is, in responding to your questions today about what we intend to do in the future - that is to reduce emissions, to prepare our resilience for the future and prepare our adaption. We've already announced those measures in Budgets and we’ve already put money towards those goals. That is the Government's policy. This is important, because there is a lot of division being created in our community based on a false premise. The false premise is about what the Government's actions and policies are. The government is a signatory to Paris. That hasn't changed. The Government's commitment to 26 per cent emissions reductions has not changed. The Government's commitments to take action have not changed and we'll continue to do it.

SPEERS: Your predecessor Malcolm Turnbull has written a piece in the Guardian this morning in which he says, quote, "If ever there was a crisis not to waste it is this one. Morrison has the chance now to reinstate the NEG, the National Energy Guarantee, with higher targets. Both he and Josh Frydenberg were among its strongest supporters when I was PM. They abandoned it in the lead up to an election to pacify the right wing of the Coalition that sabotaged it in the first place."

PRIME MINISTER: That's Malcolm's view.

SPEERS: Is he right?

PRIME MINISTER: What the Government has done is enacted the reliability guarantee which was the core of the National Energy Guarantee.

SPEERS: What was wrong with the National Energy Guarantee as designed? You advocated for it for a long time?

PRIME MINISTER: The key component of was the reliability guarantee. Which ensures that we got reliable power generation…

SPEERS: The other key part was the emissions guarantee?

PRIME MINISTER: And the emissions target has not changed, it, the 26 per cent emissions target, is the same target that the former Prime Minister signed up to for Paris, and the previous Prime Minister before him first recommended...

SPEERS: There is now no requirement on any emitters to reduce their emissions, is there?

PRIME MINISTER: It’s, there is a requirement on the Government to meet our 26 per cent emissions reduction target. What I'm telling you we're going to do, is we’re going to meet it and we're going to beat it and that's what we need to achieve.

SPEERS: Now just coming to your actions through all of this, correct me if I am wrong, but you do acknowledge that some of your interactions on the ground you could have handled better but beyond that, you're not accepting any fault, any mistakes on your part?

PRIME MINISTER: Well, I've talked about what I think has been the change in community expectation, I think, around Federal Government involvement. And I think I've flagged to you I think areas where we need to learn from that and how to improve on that. That said, I’d say though let's look at what we've done in a very short period of time  when this crisis went to an unprecedented level, in particularly in  most recent times. The call-out of reserves, 3,000. First time ever done in response to a crisis. The establishment of a National Bushfire Recovery Agency with $2 billion on top of all disaster recovery payments, and assistance payments, payments with the states, $2 billion on top of that. Since then, money already on its way to…

SPEERS: Will that be enough though?

PRIME MINISTER: Well, if more is needed more will be provided. I haven't finished yet- because the response is very important. Today, more than $70 million going in to mental health support in communities which deals with everything from first responders to those needing immediate counselling on the ground right now, additional money going in to headspace areas in places affected, people…

SPEERS: It is all adding up. Before the election you told us you had delivered a surplus. What is that looking like now?

PRIME MINISTER: That will be assessed as we prepare the Budget for May of this year. But what I said very clearly the other day, the reason we're in a position to move and put $2 billion down as an initial and additional investment, is because we've managed our finances well. Now, if we had responded to previous calls to splash cash here and splash cash there, the Government wouldn't be in the position that we are in today to make the commitment I'm making to the Australian people. $2 billion down now. If more is needed, more will be provided. And that will be done without a disaster levy or taxing you more, or doing any of those things because that would only hurt the broader economy, which we need to continue to be strong. Most recently we saw those good retail figures come out in November. That's very encouraging. Obviously the disaster will have quite a significant impact particularly in the quarter we're now in. But that’s why the recovery and rebuild effort is now our focus, our focus now, the states have done an amazing job in fighting the fires and protecting life and property, our job particularly has been to support the immediate recovery operation on the ground through the defence forces, but now to start rebuilding these local economies and that is something we've set about our task. This week we'll have round tables with small business and we'll have round tables particularly on- with environmental groups, we'll have some announcements there as well in the not too distant future. Now is the recovery and rebuilding tasks. So when people, decimated by fire, small businesses who have been wiped out, know that the Commonwealth Government is working with the states to make sure that we can rebuild those local economies and communities.

SPEERS: PM, let me come to a point of criticism that lingers, that's your trip to Hawaii. Despite the warnings we talked about that came last year and came in recent weeks and as the fire season really started to pick up, you went on a family trip to Hawaii. Was that a mistake?

PRIME MINISTER: In hindsight, I would not have taken that trip knowing what I know now. One of the great difficulties in any job, as you know, David, is balancing your work and family responsibilities. It had been a very busy year. I'd made a promise to my kids and we'd taken forward that break, as I explained when I came back and I thought I was very up-front about my contrition on that.

SPEERS: You're a little defensive though at times. You called in to 2GB from Hawaii after the story broke, and you said, well hang on, I don't hold a hose mate. Did you not see the need for a national leader on the ground at that time?

PRIME MINISTER: Well I was on my way back at the time. I had already made the decision to come back and cut that short, to ensure I could be back here...

SPEERS: Why didn't you announce before you left that you were going, someone else was acting PM?

PRIME MINISTER: Well I’d actually, I texted Anthony Albanese on my way out the door so I wasn't being secretive about it...

SPEERS: Do we tell the media that someone else is now Acting PM?

PRIME MINISTER: I dealt with this I mean on the last two occasions when I’ve taken leave I've followed exactly the same practice. On this occasion that was raised and it won’t be done that way again. You learn from these things, but the office won't do that again.

SPEERS: As PM, you're a former tourism guy, what's wrong with holidaying in Australia?

PRIME MINISTER: Well, the irony of all of this was my original intention was to holiday on the south coast for two weeks and I had to change that arrangement because I was supposed to be on my way to India for that visit to see Narendra Modi, the Prime Minister, and then Prime Minister Abe, and I had to bring forward my holiday with my family, and that was the reason for the change to that date. So it was a very unfortunate series of events that...

SPEERS: Will you be holidaying in Australia now?

PRIME MINISTER: Well, I usually do, David and I suspect I will...

SPEERS: You had Fiji and Hawaii last year didn’t you?

PRIME MINISTER: David, I've holidayed on the south coast of NSW for almost all of my life with my family and my wife and I’ve always been an advocate for that...

SPEERS: A beautiful spot.

PRIME MINISTER: Occasionally like many other Australians I might take my family away for a holiday. I don't think Australians would think dimly of that on the odd occasion which happens.

SPEERS: PM, I know you do have to get back to it. But let me finally ask, what then are the lessons you have learnt as Prime Minister through all of this?

PRIME MINISTER: The first of all I think is we're really moving into this new normal about what the role of the Federal Government must be in a very proactive sense. That is very different to what every Prime Minister has previously done. That is obviously going to need to be assessed and what powers and authorities and arrangements will need to be made with the states to make that a practical arrangement into the future. How you do things on the ground differently, people want to see you on the ground - I understand that. That's why I went. I didn't go there with, you know, 10 months of media planning or anything like that. We walked into one of the most badly-hit areas of New South Wales and I expected people would be raw and upset. I was prepared to go and do that because I wanted to be there and listen and hear. And I heard support and I heard fury and I've heard frustration, I heard fear. And that's why I turned up. And I'll always endeavour to turn up. But I want to do it so I can learn and listen to people in these environments. There has been plenty of critics David, but there'll always be plenty of critics. The one thing I'll never do is I'll never allow distractions to take me from the task I have to keep Australians safe and to do everything I can to support that effort.

SPEERS: Prime Minister, thank you.

PRIME MINISTER: Thank you very much David.

https://pmtranscripts.pmc.gov.au/release/transcript-42605

Immediate Mental Health Services Deployed into Fire Affected Communities

12 January 2020

Prime Minister, Assistant Minister for Health, Minister for the National Disability Insurance Scheme

More mental health support services will be immediately provided to firefighters, emergency personnel, individuals and communities impacted by the ongoing bushfire disaster.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison said an initial $76 million would fund free counselling sessions, extra Medicare and tele-health consultations, an expansion of headspace services for young Australians, and community recovery initiatives.

“These bushfires have been unprecedented in their scale, coverage and duration. They have caused tragic loss of life and physical damage, that have scarred our landscape.  But as I have witnessed in connecting with people on the ground in fire affected communities, they have also taken a traumatic emotional toll on our people.  We need to ensure the trauma and mental health needs of our people are supported in a way like we never have before ,” the Prime Minister said.

“Working together, we will continue to do whatever is needed to support those Australians affected and traumatised by these terrible bushfires by rebuilding communities and helping people in need to recover.”

Health Minister Greg Hunt said the funding was part of the Government’s comprehensive response to the bushfire crisis. 

“I urge people to reach out, get the support they need and check in on loved ones,” Minister Hunt said.

“Our Government’s response will help assist with distress counselling and mental health support for individuals, families and communities, including frontline personnel, impacted by the ongoing bush fire emergency.” 

Minister for Government Services Stuart Robert said Services Australia would put its shoulder to the wheel to help deliver this new level of support to Australians who need it. 

“If you’re in a bushfire affected area I urge you to call 180 22 66­­­. Staff are working extended hours and will continue to do so as long as necessary,” Minister Robert said.

Immediate distress and trauma support

$10.5 million will be provided to make up to 10 free counselling sessions immediately available for individuals, including emergency services personnel, who have been affected by the bushfires. 

The sessions - offered at recovery centres, Service Australia centres, and existing local mental health centres in fire affected regions - will provide short-term distress support, social support, counselling and family based psychological interventions to help people through the immediate trauma and crisis.

A further $3.2 million investment will help deploy bushfire mental health response coordinators to fire affected areas.

Enhanced services through Medicare and Telehealth

To deliver longer-term support to those affected, $29.6 million will be provided for additional Medicare-supported psychological treatment sessions and expanded access to mental health care via telehealth.

Anyone who has been impacted by bushfires will be eligible to receive Medicare rebates for up to 10 psychological therapy sessions provided by GPs, psychologists, and other eligible mental health professionals.

These 10 sessions will be in addition to the 10 psychological therapy sessions currently available under Medicare.

To make it as simple and fast as possible to access the new items, individuals do not need to have a GP referral or mental health treatment plan, but can seek appointments directly with any eligible mental health professional.

In addition, the Better Access via Telehealth Initiative will be expanded, which will allow people in rural and remote areas affected by bushfires to receive Medicare rebated counselling and psychological support through video telehealth services. This will also allow eligible GPs to deliver mental health and wellbeing support via telehealth.

The new Bushfire Recovery and telehealth Medicare items will apply to all Australians, including children, young people, adults, seniors, and frontline emergency personnel who were residents of, working in, or visiting a bushfire affected region.

The items will be available at the end of this week, be in place for the next two years and will ensure that people impacted by the fires are able to receive more intensive services, particularly over the next three to six months when trauma is more likely to manifest. Individuals are also encouraged to use existing tele-psychiatry services where needed. 

Child and youth mental health 

We recognise that young Australians may be particularly vulnerable and to assist with managing any increased demand for headspace services, headspace sites significantly impacted by fire will also each be provided with up to an additional $300,000 to ensure that young people can get support when they need it.

Given the particularly devastating impact of the bushfires on the New South Wales South Coast, the Government will also expand the planned Bateman’s Bay headspace site and expedite funding of $4.4 million over five years to ensure the centre is up and running by the end of the year.

Support for Emergency Service Personnel

Emergency services workers and their families often face the most confronting situations. To ensure they have extensive and ongoing support, we will provide $16 million for specialist organisations to provide them with trauma care services.

This funding will ensure that workers and their families are receiving more intensive support that might be necessary to prevent and treat the effects of trauma, including Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), both now and after the immediate fire threat has passed. 

We will also provide $1 million for training for front line emergency service personnel in trauma-informed care and psychological first aid. This includes training for doctors, pharmacists, and health professionals who are often the first people that communities turn to for support. 

An additional $1 million will also be provided for training of staff in organisations that manage front line emergency personnel, in order to help them identify and assist emergency personnel who may be at risk. 

Community recovery and coordination

The Government recognises that communities will need support to recover and rebuild, and that they often know what is best to support their wellbeing. To assist them, we will be providing $6.9 million for community wellbeing grants and further funding for locally tailored mental health services through Primary Health Networks (PHNs).

These grants will help communities organise wellbeing and recovery activities. Communities will be able to apply for these grants through their local PHNs, which will also receive funding to facilitate these activities and deliver additional mental health resources specific to the needs of each local community.

This comprehensive response, developed in consultation with key experts, acknowledges and supports individuals, families, frontline personnel, and communities during different stages of recovery. It reinforces our Government’s strong commitment to better mental health for all Australians and will complement the existing investment of $5.2 billion in mental health and suicide prevention services this financial year.

Contacts for support

Immediate distress and trauma support - Individuals can contact Services Australia on 180 22 66 [CN1] or their local Primary Health Network (PHN) (found at www.health.gov.au/phn) to locate and access these sessions.

In addition, anyone experiencing distress as a result of these events can seek immediate advice and support through Lifeline (13 11 14), Beyond Blue (1300 224 636), the Kids Helpline (1800 55 1800), or the Government’s digital mental health portal, Head to Health (www.headtohealth.gov.au).

Mental Health Support through Medicare - Individuals should contact their GP or eligible mental health professional to access these services. GP’s or other health professionals seeking advice should visit www.humanservices.gov.au or call 132 150.

headspace - Local headspace services can be found at: https://headspace.org.au/headspace-centres/. For young people unable to attend a headspace centre, eheadspace is available online at www.headspace.org.au or via telephone at 1800 650 890.

https://pmtranscripts.pmc.gov.au/release/transcript-42604