Media Releases
Interview with David Koch, Sunrise
19 November 2020
David Koch: Prime Minister Scott Morrison, just returned from his visit to Japan, has been monitoring the situation. He joins us from quarantine in The Lodge. Prime Minister, appreciate your time. You've been in contact with Steven Marshall, the South Australian Premier. What's your view on this tough lockdown?
Prime Minister: Well, this is a precautionary circuit breaking action that they've taken in South Australia. There are some elements of what's occurring there where there's some real uncertainties, particularly about the potential of a different strand of the virus. And so while these things are being sorted out and we're getting more clarity on what's occurring there, then I can understand why they would take that precautionary action and to avoid something a lot more long term, as we've seen in other cases. So there's a lot of learning that's gone on. I know this is unconventional to take that step so early, but at the same time, given the uncertainties, I can understand why he took that decision. But hopefully within, you know, a number of days now that would be able to be lifted and things will be able to return to as they were before.
Koch: Once again, this outbreak has started within a medi-hotel, a quarantine hotel, just like in Victoria. Look, we can't stop Australians coming home. We're going to have to live with this for a while. Do we need to lift the standards and the guidelines for actions of staff, any staff in these hotels and make sure they are nationally imposed?
Prime Minister: Well, this is the work that was done by Jane Halton which we commissioned through the National Cabinet. And she's gone and done that review. And she's provided all of those types of guidelines and systems drawing on the experience of each of the states. I mean David, we've had 400,000 people come back to Australia over the course of this pandemic. I mean, over 30,000 of those directly facilitated on over 60 flights by the federal government. So we've had a lot of people coming through and we've had outbreaks and cases that have emerged from quarantine in many states during that time. The issue I mean, you can't have a failsafe 100 per cent system in every case. And I mean, in South Australia themselves, they've had thousands of people come through their quarantine system. It's what you do next. That's why you have many defences and that's what they're putting in place now. And and we hope that this is exactly as is intended, a temporary, very temporary measure and that we can get, stay ahead, I should say, what's occurring in South Australia and avoid a much worse situation which we're seeing play out all over the world.
Koch: Absolutely. And by comparison with the rest of the world, we've done it pretty well. Hey, let's talk about your trip to Japan, signing that historic trade agreement. And it's certainly been slammed by the Chinese government saying that Japan and and Australia, they're accusing us of doing it at the behest of the United States. The Treasurer, Josh Frydenberg, sort of put an olive branch out to China and saying we want to mend the fences, how’s our relationship with Beijing at the moment. And and and can it be mended?
Prime Minister: Well, first of all, with Japan, I mean, you make the point this has been done in our interests by Japan and Australia agreeing to do this. I think one of the big misunderstandings and you saw that in the unofficial list of I suppose grievances you could call them that came out of the Chinese embassy and the media reports on that, is there’s some assumption that Australia and Japan, for that matter, or other countries, act on the behest of the United States. Now, that's a nonsense. Australia is a sovereign country. We make our own decisions in accordance with our national interests. We form partnerships and trade arrangements and defence relationships like with Japan and many other countries. We do that in our interests. We set up our foreign investment rules in our interests. Now, if there are concerns, as indicated by that unofficial document that came out of the Chinese embassy, that Australia acting in our own interests, having a free media, having parliamentarians elected and able to speak their minds is a cause for concern, as well as speaking up on human rights in concert with other countries like Canada, New Zealand, the UK and others in international forums, if this is the cause for tension in that relationship, then then it would seem that the tension is that Australia is just being Australia. And I can assure you, David, we will always be Australia, act in our interests and in accordance with our values.
Koch: Just before I let you go today, the Defence Force is apparently going to release that report into some of the actions of our elite servicemen fighting in the Middle East, and Afghanistan. A really sensitive issue. You feel uncomfortable talking about it when you haven't been to war and you're sitting in the comfort of your lounge room-
Prime Minister: Sure,
Koch: -what can we expect out of this report?
Prime Minister: Well, the first thing you'd expect is the government will take it very seriously and we'll deal with it according to our rule of law and our justice system. This is not a brief of evidence. This is a report prepared for the Chief of our Defence Forces at his instigation, that will be handed over to the office of the special investigator that I announced last week with the Defence Minister. And that will be pursued in relation to any criminal investigation. So a proper brief of evidence can be prepared and ultimately handed on to the Director of Public Prosecutions.
So my answer is, you can expect us to deal with this in accordance with Australian law, but you can also expect us to deal with it understanding the full context of these alleged actions. I mean, we stand in great regard for our defence forces. And what is in this report, which will be released by the CDF, relates to some specific behaviour in a section of our ADF. And we've already, as you probably seen, many special forces, ex service people have expressed their concerns about this and how this doesn't reflect the broader culture or the broader reputation of the ADF. And I would agree with that. And it's important that we respect our veterans, particularly today, and be there for them and we'll be ensuring that's the case. But also, we have to take this very seriously because we have to uphold our standards and our defence forces, above all, would want us to do that, but by our rule of law, by Australians, and we'll deal with it here and we'll do it with respect for our veterans, our defence forces and respect for the justice system as well.
Koch: Prime Minister, I appreciate your time. Thank you.
Prime Minister: Thanks a lot David.
Q&A - Business Council of Australia AGM
19 November 2020
JENNIFER WESTACOTT, CEO BUSINESS COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA: Well, thank you very much, Prime Minister, for that outstanding address about what you've done and what you're going to do and can I echo Tim's comments to thank you for your tremendous leadership of the country.
The PM's agreed to take some questions, use the raise hand function if you don't know how to do that just un-mute. Let me and of course as with our normal courtesy please introduce yourself, let me start with Karen Dobson from Dow.
QUESTION: Thank you Jennifer. It's Karen Dobson from Dow. Thank you Prime Minister for your comments, very encouraging in purpose and in pragmatism. You spoke earlier to the management of COVID and all the concrete things that have been done. I'm going to ask the crystal ball question, when you think about the interplay between vaccines, local outbreaks and borders, both domestic and international, how do you see the next 6 to 12 months playing out and what would you like to see from the business community?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, if I knew the answer to that question I would have known COVID-19 was coming too I suspect, and everything that's followed. But you know, the best way I think to continue to manage what is before us is really what we've been demonstrating and that has been a preparedness to come together, a preparedness to listen to each other, a preparedness not to be boxed in by old approaches and deal with the challenges as they present, now where we go next year and what it looks like, well let me be optimistic. I'm far more optimistic now than I've been for a very long time when it comes to the development of vaccines. Brian McNamee can probably speak more about those things definitely than I can but I'm much more encouraged. I mean, the problem with the vaccine was never that this was some sort of scientific riddle that was insoluble, it was that with [inaudible] - I’ve got a lot of noise and feedback, because people might not be on mute -
WESTACOTT: Yep, can people please go on mute.
PRIME MINISTER: The science of this is not that mysterious. It's just been there has never been a critical mass of effort that has been justified, and investment to focus on the issue of the coronavirus vaccine in the past like we've seen now and now, it is unprecedented, what we are seeing. So, and we're already seeing those early results, and that's good and so the challenge now is not if there's a vaccine, but how you disseminate it, and we've been spending a lot of time on that. So next year, over the course of the year, I believe we will see a vaccine. Next year I think we will see increased confidence about how we live with COVID-19. We're seeing a different approach in South Australia now. I would hope by this time next week, things are exactly back to normal in terms, from COVID normal at least, and that we will have avoided something far more drastic as we experienced in Victoria. I mean, what I know all the Premiers are trying to do is just learn from each event. Now, the in South Australia, the tracing and the testing is working exceptionally well as is the isolation but there are some curious elements of of a possible additional strain which is causing some consternation and one particular source around a pizza parlour. Now we expect to know more about that in a few days and I expect to see the Premier ease off on some of those initial restrictions soon and and keep absolutely to his word about this being a temporary way of dealing with this so we can get back to normal, as I said COVID normal quickly.
But next year, what we have to do is just be more confident in how we live with COVID-19 and that's as important for business as anything else and you ask me, what can business do? Well, of course, business can invest, business can get back to the business of employing people and utilising all the various measures that we’ve put in place because they’ve been put there so you can do all of those things but I think the practical management of COVID-19 safe practices, whether that's the development and proliferation of QR code technology to check-ins and how workplaces are managed, how whether they're manufacturing sites, distribution systems or the like. I remember when we were working through the issues in Victoria, there were some quite rigid initial views about how that was being managed by the State Government and how they sought to do that but it was the very practical experience, logistical minds of the various big businesses that understood how they could do it even better and I was pleased that the Treasurer and others could play a role in try and connecting that so you could get better practical business type outcomes. Businesses need to better solve the COVID-19 in their own workplaces. While it's nice for the government to tell everybody what to do, it's it's better that those who know their businesses better than the government does, to put in place those practices which meet outcomes rather than just satisfy prescriptions. I would like to move to a more outcome based way of actually managing this in 2021. I think that will be better for business. I think it will be better for health. I think it will free up resources both in the private sector and in the public sector to better channel it in those areas of greatest need. So there's a lot more work to do. It's not a very concise answer because frankly, it's not a very concise problem. It has many, many it's a many headed monster in the way that it impacts on us and we've just got to keep working together to get the solves and to get them done.
WESTACOTT: Andy Penn from Telstra?
QUESTION: Thanks very much, Jennifer and hi Prime Minister and can I add my congratulations and thanks to Tim’s as well. Look, one issue I know is going to be on the minds of the BCA members is really, is the very significant growing incidence of malicious cyber activity, particularly in exploiting some of the vulnerabilities that have been exposed by COVID and in fact, you highlighted this risk yourself a couple of months ago. I obviously have a bit of a window into this via Telstra and also chairing your cybersecurity industry advisory. But I'm sure the members would really welcome an update from you on how you see this landscape is evolving, what your Government is doing, which I know is a lot, and also what business can do as well in the in the fight to protect ourselves?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, step one I think is, as you know Andy, and thanks for those kind comments. I mean, step one is we need to raise awareness. We must raise awareness of the risks that are here. And when I called out some major state sector based cyber attacks some months ago now, we have had a dramatic response from business, which we're thrilled about because it means people have got it and they understand their risk and they're engaging with agencies that have a lot of experience in this area and they're being assisted but it's not only that, it's just when things happen, as you know, Andy, that that means you can respond quickly and there's the trust and confidence for people to come in and assist when these things are occurring and what you do next. But having, having the awareness and having the precautions in place are absolutely necessary and there are umpteen numbers of providers who can support businesses doing that but they are no help to them if they don't know, don’t think they've got a problem, they don’t apply those applications. I mean, much of that is outside government that is actually in the corporate sector, in the private sector, in the same way they take out insurance for aspects of their businesses activity. There's no greater protection they need particularly with the digital transformation of our economy and we want to see more of it and so that does mean it needs to be less vulnerable. So what we have to do is particularly focus, as you know, on our on our big systems and our big infrastructure and whether it's the energy systems that, you know, work between the public and the private sector, our telecommunications systems and our rather sensitive systems through government, Defence and so on and and we need to ensure that we're doing the right thing as well and we're doing that, and providing the framework for businesses to go and support themselves and the community as well. There's $1.7 billion over 10 years to invest in this programme that the Government has put in place. It does involve not just those who work in industry departments and things like that but of course, those who have the technical expertise that actually protects Australia's greatest national interests and their tradecraft and they know how these things happen. I should stress it's not just vulnerability to state based actors and it is vulnerability to criminal syndicates, equally just as voracious for different purposes, but just as damaging and so we we shouldn't limit our thinking to it being just in one area, but that the spending will focus on the Australian Signals Directorate cyber enhanced situational awareness and response package known as CESAR, and strengthening counter cyber capabilities in our government agencies. There is also an important amount of work and this is the same in every area, whether I'm addressing mental health challenges in the community, aged care, disability care, the same as cyber, the reason you hear me talk so much about cyber and our skills agenda it's is one of our skills deficiencies in the country while I would say, great skills needs hopefully becoming less of a deficiency and more of just we just need more of them and we need them to be good and so growing cyber skills and bringing people through organisations that have a keen awareness of these things, as well as finance, accounting, engineering or maths, marketing or whatever it happens to be, people who get cyber and the digital space as Tim would appreciate, are vital, as vital as your financial controller, particularly when it comes to protecting the assets of your company and it's also about helping small and medium sized businesses as well get this and this is where, and Andy and I have talked about this before. What I'd love to see, whether it's through a big utility, a bank, Telstra, a telco provider or even an airline, I’m sure Alan’s there but if you're working with your suppliers or you're working with your customers who are small and medium sized enterprises, I would love to see greater bundling of these types of technologies into their systems. If there’s an accounting system, then there should be a cyber system as well, or whatever the package has to be or what their needs are but cyber needs to be bundled up because they won't necessarily always take the initiative themselves but if it comes in as part of a supplier relationship in a supply chain, which a large businesses sits on top of, then that's where I think you guys can play a huge role. You get cyber security. You spend incredible amounts rightly on protecting your companies from cyber attacks but small and medium sized enterprises that sit in your supply chains may not and in the same way you want them to be good engineers or or have good tradespeople working in their processes in their supply chain well you want them doing that as well, because you know that can present a vulnerability for yourselves and we're also investing in the cybersecurity capabilities of universities as well for all that incredible collaboration that's going to happen between the private sector and universities but thanks for your role in all this Andy, I appreciate your leadership there, is an outstanding report.
WESTACOTT: Prime Minister have you got time for a couple of more questions before I head over to [inaudible]?
PRIME MINISTER: Sure! I’m in iso so I'm not going anywhere.
WESTACOTT: Okay, so Robert Spurway from GrainCorp.
QUESTION: Thank you Jennifer. Good evening Prime Minister, and thank you again. My question is also about a topic that not be so concise and what’s your views on our relationship with China and the various trade bans and export bans that some sectors face and importantly your comments on what we can do as business to manage business to business relationship and trading partnerships from a business point of view?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, it is a very difficult issue and I won't pretend it's not. There are clearly tensions there and have been played out again over the last couple of days but I think what we've seen over the last couple of days is you know what is more at the source of these tensions. Australia has always been keen for a productive, open, respectful, mutually beneficial partnership with China and we've put a lot of effort into that over a long period of time as have, as have the members of the BCA who sit around this table and so many outside. Australia has not changed, our view is the same. Our view about our national interests, our view about securing those interests, whether it's on foreign investment or technology or communications or wherever it happened to be, our Ag sector, how our polity runs, how our freedom of our press, our parliaments, our views on all of these things haven't changed they're exactly the same but I, I had not seen before say, 10 or 20 years ago, and I often have these conversations with former Prime Minister Howard. It was a very different China back then. You wouldn't have seen a list of alleged grievances come out of the Chinese Embassy that we've seen in the last 24 hours. You wouldn't have seen that list 15 years ago. That was not the outlook that was there about Australia but Australia is no different to back then. Australia's democracy, what we stand for how we stand up for those things when we speak out, what we believe is important, the integrity of our systems. These are things that we won't compromise and I understand that others understand this as well. It struck me, as I said on the media this morning, that the tension is based on Australia just being Australia. Now, some suggest that this all could be fixed by a phone call. I think that doesn't really appreciate what's really at stake here. Australia has never, at any stage, not been willing to have a meeting or pick up the phone but I'll tell you what I'm not prepared to do. I'm not prepared to agree to a meeting on the condition that Australia compromise and trade away any of those things that were frankly listed in that, in that unofficial list of grievances. Some of them were misconstrued. The other thing that we struggle with and I've mentioned this in some of my national international speeches this year, is it's important that people understand, those who are dealing with Australia, that we set our own agenda, that we have our own interests and we make our own decisions. We don't make decisions at the behest of other countries. Never have, never will. We make our own decisions. If people or countries are unhappy with decisions Australia has made, that's not because someone else told us to do it. It's because we've decided to do it. So we're the ones who can talk about it and we can sit down and help to build understanding about the decisions we’ve taken. I think that's very important. Australia's relationship with both the US and China can't be seen through the prism of China's relationship with the United States or the US's relationship with China. That's their relationship. Where they've got issues in that relationship, that's up to them. We have relationships with both of them, just as Japan does where I was just yesterday and the day before and so it would be, I think, unfair to look at Australia's decisions and Australia's policies as somehow a function of our relationships with other countries and so I would hope that we can make this point, that we remain always very keen to continue to pursue a mutually beneficial relationship but if Australia just being itself, is the cause for tensions, then that's not something that we can change and so we need to be able to push through that and continue to hold to those perspectives in a polite and respectful way as we can but it's, being Australia is something we should never apologise for. Now, it's important that we work through the technical issues that are raised in relation to trade. Now, the Chinese government rejects any notion that, I assume, that the issues that have been raised as the source of the tension is is is the product is being worked out through these trade, these trade issues. That's a matter for them. But we just have to practically work through those through the channels we've got and we will and if others are introduced into that for whatever reason, then we'll just have to practically and patiently work through that as well. But you know, the Indo-Pacific will benefit from trading relationships like the RCEP we agreed to last weekend, where partners can deal openly and confidently with each other and in a transparent way, and where there are tensions and I said this at the RCEP meeting on the weekend that where there are issues that arise, then leaders and ministers have to be prepared to talk to each other. Now, I'm very prepared to do that but all it takes is for that to be arranged.
WESTACOTT: And final quick question from Steve Worrall from Microsoft and then I'll hand you over to Alison Kitchen.
QUESTION: Thanks Jennifer, and thank you Prime Minister, for your time this evening, much appreciated. I want to circle back to a theme you touched on in your response there to Andy’s question and it’s in relation to the digital transformation and digitisation of our economy. We know that been incredibly important through this year, probably more so that at any time but I'm interested in your thoughts on the role that big business can play in helping small business on their journey to digitise, and what you'd like to see as we look out through 2021 and beyond?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, I mean in part I answered the question when answering Andy's question and the supply chain part- partner chain that exists in large businesses to help them up-skill in this area is really important. I mean, it's not, when you can still walk down a main street and pop into a shop and people pull out their paper ledger book in terms of how they manage their accounts and that might be the way they’ve felt comfortable about doing it for a long time and I understand that, Tim Reid’s spent a fair bit of time trying to convince people not to do that with some success, but it's it's what feels familiar to them, but it is actually holding them back in so many ways that you know, whether it's cloud accounting or accessing faster payment times. I mean the thing that motivates small business, more than anything else in my experience, is getting paid on time and getting paid quickly. Large businesses paying small businesses quickly. There are few things that can be done to help the economy, particularly now more than that, they're not a bank to loan from they are a supplier to pay promptly and we've seen a lot of movement I know Jennifer’s led quite a charge on that and the BCA has led a charge on that. Seeking to change those practises. I mean under the new payments platform, I mean payments can be instantaneous now there's no technological excuse for this anymore and other than things being just a matter of policy and I think the biggest lever that business has, larger business has to leverage greater digitisation by smaller businesses is through those direct payment arrangements and if they're on a fast payment platform system and you are well, they get paid quicker. That's a, that's enough to get their attention and the other part is, is the answer to Andy’s question and that is they're also they, one of the reasons they won't do it is because of cybersecurity. They think it's not safe. And getting rid of some of those concerns by dealing with people and educating, educating is really not the word, but addressing their concerns and helping them appreciate and understand how they can be overcome through the solutions that are available. It also means up the skills for that as well and that they’re, they are small business owners they don’t always necessarily come from these backgrounds and we have a role to play there but it's also about the delivery of this sort of training and support that can be done in a way that suits them not suits the trainer and that’s another area I think we need to focus a lot on. I mean, I came to this BCA’s annual general meeting last year and talked about the need to develop a digital transformation strategy. We set it up the next week and $800 million was announced in the Budget, which cover all of these things. One in particular that I've always been quite passionate about is the area of RegTech. Now, the thing I like about RegTech, is it’s not just an exciting technology, but it actually makes regulation work rather than being a compliance issue, it becomes a business behaviour director issue. What I mean by that is that rather than saying here's a phone book full of things that a bunch of regulators have said you need to know about and you'll never read, it actually helps you respond to the issues that are raised in those regulations through the RegTech process, which both achieves the compliance element, as well as ensuring the awareness and and behaviour elements that are necessary through the regulation the government puts in place. So I'm quite excited about how that can develop, and that's why we put money into that as well and that's where we'll see our economy going. But the take up, the adoption, it's it's it's a blessing and a curse. Australia, are great adopters. I think I said this in my presentation last year. We don't have to be Silicon Valley and we're not trying to be, but we're really good at applying it and adapting it. We're a great applied economy in so many ways and I think this area is one of those but you just always got to get over this hump. But that's one of the positive things that have come out of COVID, small and medium sized businesses in particular have probably gone forward 5 years in the space of about 8 months and we've got to, we've got to keep that momentum going. That's not something I want to see drop off on the other side of COVID and I you know, I talk to businesses and visit them, and they talk to me more about this now because it's, for some of them it's very new and so you know, once you crack that, crack the ice there I think you can keep moving. So I’d encourage you to keep going.
WESTACOTT: Prime Minister, thank you very much for that. And can I just say, before I hand over to Alison, the the comments you've made on enterprise bargaining are key to everyone's interests and certainly mine. So we stand absolutely ready to support you on that and to to get behind those reforms. So with that let me hand over to Alison Kitchen from KPMG to move a vote of thanks.
Doorstop - Tokyo, Japan
18 November 2020
Prime Minister: Well, I've just enjoyed a very pleasant evening with Prime Minister Suga and his senior colleagues as we rounded off what has been a very productive day meeting with Japanese industry leaders, meeting with members of the Diet, friends effectively, of Australia in the Japanese Diet which is meeting presently. And this afternoon's bilateral discussion, our one on one, and of course, our rather informal dinner this evening, reinforced once again why it was so important to come.
And that was, with the transition of leadership from Prime Minister Abe who I also had the opportunity to have a private lunch with today, along to Prime Minister Suga. And for us to be the first contact, the first to be able to sit down in an event like we have had today has ensured a continuity in what is one of the most important relationships Australia has in the Indo-Pacific. I've said it many times today, and that is that Australia and Japan have a very unique perspective on the Indo-Pacific.
As liberal democracies, market based, with the similar issues of having a great alliance, each of us, with the United States and a significant relationship with China, particularly on trade, and being able to manage both of those opportunities, as well as engaging with the rest of the region as we did on the weekend at ASEAN.
This is a pivotal relationship for Australia at a time that could not be more important for both of our countries.
Journalist: Prime Minister, under the Reciprocal Access Agreement, the in principle agreement signed today, will Australian troops be subject to the death penalty in Japan?
Prime Minister: Well, what we've been able to achieve is that Australia will meet all of its obligations under its international agreements in relation to that matter.
Journalist: It’s a yes or no question, what’s the answer, sorry, I'm just not clear. That's always been the hurdle in this over the death penalty?
Prime Minister: No we’ve been able to resolve it by ensuring that Australia could satisfy all of our international obligations in relation to that matter. And that has been a key factor for us as we work through this issue. And we're pleased that that was able to be worked through with the Japanese government. And I thank both Prime Minister Suga and his predecessor, Prime Minister Abe, for getting to that point.
Journalist: So there has been progress over the issue of the death penalty?
Prime Minister: the progress of ensuring that Australia is able to meet its commitments under its international obligations. Yes.
Journalist: Can you just explain what that is?
Prime Minister: That's exactly what I just explained to you.
Journalist: I'm not, I'm not clear how the document sets that out?
Prime Minister: It is satisfied in the series of documents which are now finalised as we move to the conclusion of the agreement, which we hope to be able to put in place next year.
Journalist: So Australians won't face the death penalty?
Prime Minister: Australia will comply with all of their obligations in relation to the death penalty.
Journalist: Does China have anything to fear about the increasing cooperation between Australia and Japan, especially in light of the signing of the RAA in principle agreement. And do you think there is a risk of further trade or implications if this particular agreement is taken badly by China?
Prime Minister: Well, I couldn't see the justification for that, at all. Both Japan and Australia agree and always have, that the economic success of China is a good thing for Australia and Japan. Now not all countries have that view, and some countries are in strategic competition with China. Australia is not one of those, and nor is Japan. And what this I think says is that Australia and Japan, as liberal, market based democracies, have a lot in common and we have strategic interests in common. And so this relationship, which is effectively a status of forces agreement that we will seek to conclude next year. The only other such agreement is with the United States, which occurred back in 1960. So this is a significant evolution of this relationship. But there's no reason for that to cause any concern elsewhere in the region. If anything, I think it adds to the stability of the region, which is a good thing.
Journalist: Did you discuss China's assertiveness in the region, Japan considers China to be a significant challenge in its defence white paper, particularly around the Senkaku islands, did that come up?
Prime Minister: Look, we have many, many shared interests in how we see the region. But one thing we absolutely agree on is that the sort of region we want is one of stability and prosperity for China, for Australia, and for Japan. And the way we achieve that is ensuring that all of us can be prosperous within the region, in the way we deal with each other. And I think what we've agreed here today and what we’ll continue to work on in the future, I think only adds to that. And so we look at this quite positively. How others look at it is really is really for them. But we do share that outlook that the Indo- Pacific region benefits from a China that is engaged economically in the region and one that is respecting of, as Australia should, and do, the sovereignty of all nations within the Indo-Pacific. It's also one that benefits from the stability of the presence of the United States and the partnership that Japan and ourselves have also with India and the United States together.
Journalist: Would you like to go to Beijing, as you have now been to Tokyo, to explain Australia’s security position and provide that sort of traditional balance of Japan and China visits as previously undertaken by
Prime Minister: Well there’s no obstacle for that happening with Australia. None whatsoever. Australia is always available for open dialogue with China. I made that very point of view at the East Asia Summit on the weekend and in the discussions about RCEP on the weekend. The very clear point that is there are ever any issue there, that cover any of our trading relationships whether it's between Australia and Japan, or Australia and China, or Australia and South Korea or anywhere else within the region, then there's a responsibility on leaders and ministers to be open to engage in those discussions. And if there are issues that others wish to discuss with us, then we're always very open to discuss them as leaders. And I certainly, in my own case and of course, my ministers are very open to have those discussions. And of course, we welcome them.
Journalist: But no current plans in the works to go to Beijing?
Prime Minister: Well, there's no opportunity for that. And that is that is a matter for China.
Journalist: Will the signing of this in principle agreements on the Reciprocal Access Agreement, will this facilitate more exercises between Australia and Japan in the South China Sea? Do you expect to see more of them?
Prime Minister: We expect to increase our regional cooperation in many forms. And the MALABAR exercise that recently have been conducted together with the United States and together with India, and we would expect to further expand our cooperation in those areas. That's the whole point of streamlining the arrangements with the status of forces agreement of this nature.
Journalist: Japan's carbon neutral commitment by 2050. You mentioned you talked about hydrogen today. You had a meeting today. That is one possibility for Australia going forward. But do you see any threat to Australia's coal exports from Japan's 2050 carbon neutral commitments?
Prime Minister: Not based on the discussions I had today, no. Particularly with the industry leaders that I spoke with today. I mean, Japan's energy mix is weighed heavily towards obviously, LNG and and coal, currently, it's almost three quarters of their energy mix. And that has actually increased since the reduction of the component that has been previously done in nuclear and as nuclear element has fallen, i think it’s about 10 per cent now used to be about 20. And that's been taken up by those other sectors. And there’s a good reason for that. All countries, wherever they are, need reliable baseload power. And Australia has been playing a key role for that in Japan for a very long time, and I’d I expect that to continue for some time. So I don't think there's any immediate, imposition there. And that's certainly what was conveyed to me today. But that said, we share an ambition, although we are not in a position to give a specific timetable around it, a net zero emissions position. Our view is, and all countries deal with this differently, but our view is that some countries, for example, don’t include methane emissions in their net zero commitment, like New Zealand and others will make a complete commitment, like Prime Minister Suga has. In Australia's case, we would like to get zero emission as soon as possible. But our proposal is that we will work out the plan of how that can be achieved, which leads to when it can be achieved. Now we had a very good discussion tonight about our lower emissions technology, technology roadmap and to share and work with Japan as we already are with hydrogen about how they can achieve that goal. And so, a wonderful partnership we've had in energy to date will mature into another relationship, into the future, and there'll be a continuity in that. But in the medium term, then I suspect Australia will continue to be a very reliable partner, supply partner when it comes to Japan meeting its energy needs.
Journalist: Earlier this week it was announced the Moderna Vaccine has 95 percent efficacy. Obviously Australia's entered into a number of vaccine agreements but doesn't have access to this particular vaccine. Are we able to procure some doses of the Moderna drug?
Prime Minister: Well it’s part of the COVAX arrangement. So, we are part of the COVAX arrangement. So it’s not quite correct to say at all that the Moderna vaccine is not included in Australia's existing arrangements, just as it is included in Japan's arrangements who have also made a significant commitment to the COVAX arrangement. But we have an expert panel that is advising us on the vaccines that we've committed to specifically in terms of making available doses, and whether that's Pfizer or Novavax, and the Pfizer vaccines is very similar to the Moderna one in terms of how that's put together and and we are very well advanced as you know in the agreement that we have with Pfizer. But on the other vaccines, particularly AstraZeneca, I mean production has already commenced, I was at the production plant two days ago.
Journalist: As part of the COVAX facility, do you know how many doses Australians have access to in terms of the Moderna vaccine?
Prime Minister: Sorry, could you say that again?
Journalist: Do you know how many doses Australia has available?
Prime Minister: I'll leave that to the health minister to go into, [inaudible] but it is part of the COVAX arrangement.
Journalist: Prime Minister, did you discuss the issue of Australian parents whose Japanese partners have taken their children from them, it’s known as parental abduction here in Japan? Did you discuss that with Prime Minister Suga?
Prime Minister: It wasn’t a matter that came up tonight no. There were many issues that came up tonight and there are many issues that make up the ongoing dialogue between Australia and Japan. And that's a matter I understand that the Ambassador has raised on a regular basis. As you would expect in a sensitive way, it's a very sensitive issue, which I know you appreciate, you've been covering stories now for some time. And when these things occur, they are very difficult and they're very complex and there are different legal systems. And you have to sensitively work our way through those issues. And that's exactly what the embassy here in Tokyo is doing.
Journalist: Do you think there is more that the Australian embassy could be doing to help these families, pushing more publicly, advocating for joint custody, for example?
Prime Minister: I think these things are best achieved, not just here, but all around the world. Our consular and other officials in our posts around the world get an enormous amount done. And the way they get most of that done is not by engaging in open media advocacy, they engage in it through the relationship. I mean, we're bringing, we're bringing thousands upon thousands of people home at the moment, just working carefully around the world and getting people home. We're dealing with sensitive issues like the one you mentioned and many others. And they are never greatly assisted I find, by that type of public approach.
Journalist: What was your first impression of Prime Minister Suga when you met him today, it was your first meeting with him in person. Are you confident that you will be able to form a strong relationship with him as you had with Shinzo Abe?
Prime Minister: I am very confident. I think our first impressions were shared, and they were very warm. We did have the opportunity tonight to have a one on one discussion, obviously, with interpreters because I don’t speak Japanese and he doesn't speak English. But what was quite amazing is that despite the language barrier, there was a very easy and warm connection. And Prime Minister Suga is no stranger to the Australian relationship. In many ways, we share quite a few experiences, both how we came into our various parliaments and indeed how we, in rather unpredictable circumstances, found ourselves in the roles we are in now. And he has had seven years serving in the role that he has. And so he's very, very, very familiar and has played a role in the relationships that Prime Minister Abe has had with both myself and my predecessors. And so it was a very, very comfortable and very warm start. And seldom do you get the opportunity for such a seamless transition. But on this occasion, both in content and the warmth of the relationship, I think we've got off to a cracker of a start.
Journalist: How did the name Yoshi, how did it come up? How did the idea to call him Yoshi come up? Did he bring it up?
Prime Minister: It was mutual. I mean Prime Minister Abe, he used to refer to me as Scomo, right from the start. And Yoshi had observed that over a period of time. And look, I think in all of these relationships, that's why it was so important to come. You know we can write letters to each other, we get on virtual summits, we can attend global summits. But I think the opportunity for such an important relationship to sit down together today, to speak candidly about the challenges we face together, and there's so much we have in common, so much we have in common, our interests, our outlook, our objectives, our ambitions. They align heavily, far more than, there are few relationships, particularly given the geography that you could say the same things about. And that's why it was so important to come and it's not a small thing for a Prime Minister in the middle of a pandemic to take that opportunity and have two weeks effectively when I return, including having to participate in parliament, via video link. That's how important it was for me, this relationship, to ensure that it continue the momentum that we had with Prime Minister Abe and I, I'm leaving here knowing, absolutely confident that the momentum has not just been maintained, but I think it's been enhanced and we will continue to go from strength to strength.
But on other matters today and I appreciate we are dealing with matters here. But I earlier today I was in touch with the South Australian premier and I kept in touch with the Deputy Prime Minister over the course of the day including getting those updates and what's been occurring there. I commend Premier Marshall and all the team in South Australia, the health offices, the public health response, the Western Australian government who has pitched in quite significantly when it comes to the contact tracing effort, the isolation of thousands of those in South Australia. This has been a very rapid response, one that they've prepared for, on the Commonwealth is prepared for. Additional ADF support has been put in, in response to that request from South Australia. Other the states will respond as they, as they see fit to, the federal government has no issue with that. And they will do that across the spectrum based on the health advice that they have in their state and my hope and and confidence is that the response will meet the risk of this outbreak, but there is still a lot more work to do in the days and possibly weeks ahead. But from, for a first start in dealing with this, then I think the indications are positive but we've got some distance to go. And when I return to Australia, I'll obviously be following that up and be speaking to the Premier again in the morning. There's been a few additional cases that have been identified over the course of the day, but the speed at which all contacts have been able to be identified has been critical. I mean, there are, one of the challenges when we’ve dealt with outbreaks before is when contacts remain undetermined for days and days, every day costs you. And I think the speed and the sense of urgency that has been applied in South Australia is protecting the rest of the country. So I commend them for the work. It's a team effort and I, we will continue to stay on the job.
Thanks very much.
Reciprocal Access Agreement
17 November 2020
Australia and Japan have reached in principle agreement on a landmark defence treaty that will further deepen the countries’ strategic and security relationship.
The Reciprocal Access Agreement represents a pivotal moment in the history of Japan-Australia ties.
We share a Special Strategic Partnership and are deeply committed to working together in support of a free, open, inclusive and stable Indo-Pacific.
Our partnership is built on shared values and interests, and enduring trust and respect.
This agreement paves the way for a new chapter of advanced defence cooperation between our two countries.
The only other such agreement that Japan has struck with another country is with the United States 60 years ago.
It will facilitate greater and more complex practical engagement between the Australian Defence Force and the Japanese Self-Defense Forces, and enhance our inter-operability and cooperation. This will also support our joint involvement in broader multilateral exercises.
It means Australia and Japan will have a clear framework for how our defence forces operate in each other’s countries.
From joint military training exercises through to natural disaster and humanitarian support, the RAA establishes streamlined arrangements to support the deployment of defence forces more quickly and with less administration.
The Australian and Japanese militaries have in recent years increased cooperation and exercise activities. These have enhanced our ability to work together towards our common security objectives in the Indo Pacific region and our military interoperability. In principle agreement on the RAA will only see that grow.
The significance of the RAA cannot be understated.
It will form a key plank of Australia’s and Japan’s response to an increasingly challenging security environment in our region amid more uncertain strategic circumstances.
As we finalise the RAA I thank the work done by my predecessors as well as by former Japanese Prime Minister Abe across six years of negotiations.
Japan-Australia Leaders’ Meeting Joint Statement
17 November 2020
Prime Minister, Prime Minister of Japan
Overview
The Prime Ministers of Japan and Australia reaffirmed that the Special Strategic Partnership between the two countries is based on shared values, including a commitment to democracy, human rights, free trade and a rules-based order; shared strategic interests in the security, stability and prosperity of the Indo-Pacific region and beyond; and deep economic complementarity. They renewed their determination to deepen cooperation to promote a free, open, inclusive and prosperous Indo-Pacific region where disputes are resolved peacefully and without the threat or use of force or coercion, and where the sovereignty and rights of all states under international law are upheld. In this regard, they welcomed the continued commitment of the United States to this region and stressed the importance of close cooperation with the United States to contribute to the peace and stability of the region.
The Leaders confirmed that both countries continue to spare no effort to stop the COVID-19 pandemic, protect lives and livelihoods, and mitigate the social and economic consequences of the pandemic. They recognised that global solidarity, cooperation and effective multilateralism through international frameworks, rules, organisations and institutions are required more than ever, including to defeat the virus and support economic recovery. The Leaders also committed to further enhancing coordination with like-minded countries, including through existing opportunities, such as the Trilateral Strategic Dialogue (Japan-Australia-US) and Trilateral Defence Ministers’ Meeting (Japan-Australia-US), the Japan-Australia-India-US quadrilateral meetings, and various dialogues with ASEAN, particularly the East Asia Summit as the region’s premier forum for strategic dialogue. The Leaders welcomed the success of the second Japan-Australia-India-US quadrilateral Foreign Ministers’ Meeting in Tokyo in October 2020 and the 15th East Asia Summit in November 2020. The Leaders reiterated their strong support for ASEAN centrality and ASEAN-led architecture, and the ongoing importance of the principles enshrined in the ASEAN Outlook on the Indo-Pacific, including openness, transparency, inclusiveness, the rule of law, good governance and respect for international law. In this context, the Leaders welcomed the adoption of the Joint Statement of the 23rd ASEAN-Japan Summit on cooperation on the ASEAN Outlook on the Indo-Pacific, and the 2nd ASEAN-Australia Summit on ‘A Strong Partnership for Recovery’. The Leaders also looked forward to cooperating on shared priorities at the APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting and the G20 Leaders’ Summit.
The Leaders expressed serious concerns about the situation in the South China Sea and reconfirmed their strong opposition to any coercive or unilateral attempts to change the status quo and thereby increase tensions in the region. They also shared serious concerns about the recent negative developments and serious incidents in the South China Sea, including continuing militarisation of disputed features, dangerous and coercive use of coast guard vessels and ‘maritime militia’, launches of ballistic missiles, and efforts to disrupt other countries’ resource exploitation activities. The Leaders reaffirmed the importance of respecting freedom of navigation and overflight in the South China Sea, and that all disputes should be resolved in a peaceful manner in accordance with the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) and that the 2016 final award in the South China Sea Arbitration, which was issued by legitimate procedures under UNCLOS, is final and legally binding on the parties to the dispute. They called for any Code of Conduct in the South China Sea to be consistent with international law as reflected in UNCLOS, not prejudice the sovereignty and legitimate rights and interests of non-parties to the Code of Conduct or the rights of all states under international law, reinforce existing inclusive regional architecture, and strengthen parties’ commitments to ceasing actions that would complicate or escalate tensions.
The Leaders also expressed serious concerns about the situation in the East China Sea. They shared their intention to remain in close communication about the situation in the East China Sea and expressed strong opposition to any coercive unilateral actions that seek to alter the status quo and increase tensions in the area.
The Leaders shared their grave concerns over the situation in Hong Kong, and emphasised the importance of upholding Hong Kong’s democratic processes and institutions, as well as the high degree of autonomy set out in the Basic Law and Sino-British Joint Declaration.
The Leaders reiterated their commitment to achieving the complete, verifiable and irreversible dismantlement of all nuclear weapons, other weapons of mass destruction, and ballistic missiles of all ranges of North Korea, and emphasised the importance of full implementation of the relevant UN Security Council resolutions by the international community. In this regard, they also reaffirmed their commitment to international efforts in addressing illicit maritime activities, including ship-to-ship transfers. They called on North Korea to end human rights violations and abuses and to resolve the Japanese abductions issue immediately.
The Leaders reaffirmed their commitment to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons as the cornerstone of the global nuclear non-proliferation and disarmament regime and the basis for cooperation in the peaceful uses of nuclear energy and technology.
Deepening and Expanding Bilateral Relations
With a view to contributing to peace, stability and prosperity of the Indo-Pacific region and beyond, the Leaders determined to elevate bilateral security and defence cooperation under the Special Strategic Partnership to a new level.
In this regard, the Leaders reiterated their strong belief that a reciprocal access agreement between Japan and Australia ("Japan-Australia RAA") will serve as a solid foundation for both countries’ commitment to the peace and stability of the Indo-Pacific region and for further enhancing strategic cooperation between the two countries.
The Japan-Australia RAA is a landmark bilateral agreement that will facilitate cooperative activities, such as joint exercises and disaster relief operations, between the Japan Self-Defense Forces (SDF) and the Australian Defence Force (ADF), through the establishment of procedures and the clarification of legal status for the visiting force of one party in the territory of the other party, thereby improving the interoperability of the forces of the two countries. Areas covered by the Japan-Australia RAA will include streamlining procedures to facilitate deployment and joint activities, including for entry and departure of the visiting force, customs duties and taxes, and criminal jurisdiction.
The Leaders welcomed the agreement in principle reached between the two countries on the Japan-Australia RAA. They confirmed that both sides would continue to work on the remaining tasks necessary for signing the Japan-Australia RAA at the earliest possible opportunity.
The Leaders instructed their respective Ministers for Foreign Affairs and Defence to further strengthen bilateral security and defence cooperation and hold the next Foreign and Defence Ministerial Consultations (“2+2”) at the earliest convenient time in 2021. They welcomed the outcomes of the Foreign and Defence Ministers’ Meetings in Tokyo in October 2020 and the discussions on further developing, broadening and deepening the security and defence relationship. In this context, they reaffirmed the importance of enhancing cooperation between the SDF and the ADF, such as by increasing the complexity and sophistication of bilateral exercises and operations. They also reiterated the importance of enhancing regular bilateral and multilateral cooperative activities in the Indo-Pacific region, including maritime activities in the South China Sea, to maintain a free, open, secure, inclusive and prosperous region.
The Leaders stressed the significance of creating a framework to protect ADF assets by SDF personnel under Article 95-2 of the SDF Law (Provision for the protection of weapons and other equipment of the units of the US Armed Forces and armed forces of other foreign countries) and concurred to progress the necessary coordination to implement this cooperation.
The Leaders decided to coordinate efforts to mitigate the health, social and economic impacts of COVID-19, particularly in the Indo-Pacific, and to accelerate the development and equitable access to diagnostics, therapeutics, and safe, effective and affordable vaccines for COVID-19. The Leaders also shared the view that they would work together with partner governments to strengthen health systems, increase health emergency preparedness, and work towards achieving universal health coverage to ensure essential health services are maintained. The Leaders decided to cooperate on WHO reform to ensure it has the authority and capability to prevent and mitigate future pandemics.
The Leaders affirmed their commitment to strengthening cooperation with Pacific island countries in response to COVID-19, including support for health systems and economic assistance. They committed to deepen cooperation on humanitarian and disaster response and maritime security priorities in the Pacific island region, including through closer engagement between Australian and Japanese civil-maritime agencies on maritime security training with Pacific island countries and enhanced information sharing on maritime domain awareness. Recognising the severe economic impacts of COVID-19 on Pacific island countries, they committed to close coordination on financing support and continued close cooperation on Pacific infrastructure.
The Leaders decided to enhance cooperation in Southeast Asia, including expanded support for quality infrastructure development in accordance with international standards expressed in the G20 Principles for Quality Infrastructure Investment, such as openness, transparency, economic efficiency in view of lifecycle costs and debt sustainability, which will be an important part of the region’s economic recovery from COVID-19 and support for sustainable development in the Mekong sub region. The Leaders concurred to enhance cooperation on health, and welcomed the official announcement of the establishment of the ASEAN Centre for Public Health Emergencies and Emerging Diseases.
The Leaders acknowledged that assuring economic security is becoming increasingly important as a result of digital transformation and ICT innovation as well as the outbreak of COVID-19. They confirmed that a key element of bilateral security cooperation is to promote coordination in the area of economic security, and expressed their desire to seek concrete ways to deepen cooperation in this area including information exchange. The Leaders reiterated that the mutual prosperity of both countries depends on secure and reliable supply chains for critical goods and services. They also underlined the need to strengthen cooperation on space and cyber issues, digital and critical technologies and infrastructure including 5G networks and submarine cables, and on resource security including the establishment of open, secure, resilient and efficient supply chains of critical minerals.
The Leaders underlined the importance of maintaining free and open markets and enhancing the resilience and efficiency of supply chains in the Indo-Pacific region to promote trade and investment. In this regard, they welcomed the signing of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) Agreement on 15 November 2020, while reiterating that the RCEP remains open for India. The Leaders confirmed their commitments to expanding a free, fair, inclusive and rules-based trade and investment environment and to keep our markets open in this region and beyond, including through the implementation and expansion of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP). They also expressed their hope to further deepen bilateral economic relations under those agreements and the Japan-Australia Economic Partnership Agreement (JAEPA). They stressed the need to work together to reform and strengthen the WTO including rule-making on e-commerce as co-conveners of the Joint Statement Initiative (JSI). The Leaders affirmed their strong support for rules-based open trade, based on market principles and in line with their bilateral and international commitments. Such trade builds prosperity and underpins trust and deep links between nations. They further affirmed that trade should never be used as a tool to apply political pressure. To do so undermines trust and prosperity. The Leaders also shared the view that they would work closely to ensure market-oriented conditions and a level playing field to foster a non-discriminatory trade and investment environment.
The Leaders underscored the importance of resuming cross-border travel between the two countries in a mutually beneficial manner in order to facilitate economic recovery and people-to-people links, and expressed their desire to make concrete progress in this area as health conditions permit.
The Leaders concurred to continue close cooperation to ensure secure and reliable energy supply including LNG and to reduce emissions through new and emerging low-emissions technologies and supply chains, including hydrogen, Carbon Capture, Utilisation and Storage (CCUS) and Carbon Recycling (CR). They welcomed the progress made to date on the Hydrogen Energy Supply Chain project in the state of Victoria in Australia. The Leaders concurred to advance hydrogen cooperation to support national and global transitions to a resilient, low emissions economy. In this context, Prime Minister Morrison acknowledged the recent announcement by Prime Minister Suga that by 2050, Japan will aim to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to net-zero, that is, to realise a carbon-neutral, decarbonised society. Prime Minister Suga acknowledged that Australia is implementing a Low Emissions Technology Roadmap to reach net zero emissions as soon as possible, and has already reduced emissions by 14% since 2005.
The Leaders affirmed their commitment to deepening cooperation in agricultural production, particularly to overcome the challenges presented by the COVID-19 pandemic. The Leaders recognised the potential for the two countries to boost agricultural exports into international markets and concurred to explore greater collaboration on regional and global agri-food supply chains.
Doorstop - Broadmeadows, VIC
16 November 2020
STEVE MARLOW, GENERAL MANAGER SEQIRUS: Hello everyone, I’ll explain who I am to get started, my name is Steve Marlow I’m the General Manager for Seqiris, firstly I’d like to welcome the Prime Minister and the Health Minister and the Chief Medical Officer to our Broadmeadows facility today. Also I’d like to thank the federal government for their partnership here and also for the long standing relationship we’ve had with the Commonwealth in protecting public health with our role in the pandemic preparedness, preparing for influenza vaccine, and producing those critical products that are unique to Australia, so anti-venoms and Q-Fever, and really today spells the next chapter in our manufacturing relationship.
I’d also like to thank the Victorian government for their support. Victoria is a very strong biotech hub and we are delighted to be a strong part of it’s future in Victoria.
CSL’s history is linked very much with Australian public health. In 1918 we responded to the Spanish Flu, in 2009 we responded to the H1N1 Swine Flu and today we toured the facility that is looking at producing the COVID-19 vaccine candidate. So we hope that development sees a vaccine early in the new year. The AstraZeneca [inaudible] began production last week, [inaudible] today.
So look it’s been an interesting journey and today we get to announce a significant investment in Seqirus, $800 million investment in a new state of the art biotech manufacturing facility right here in Melbourne, in fact not at all a very long distance away from this facility here, at the airport. We’re delighted to make that announcement.
What this facility will bring, it will deliver new technology, cell-based influenza manufacturing facility. And this will support the seasonal epidemic of influenza and also it will be a key part of our global supply chain network. We have facilities in the US in North Carolina, we’ve got facilities in the UK, and this facility will an integral part of our global supply chain. [inaudible].
Critically, the facility will be in a constant state of pandemic readiness for influenza outbreaks. So pandemic influenza outbreaks, we can pivot the facility very quickly, rapidly scale it up to respond for Australians when needed most. And it doesn’t end there. The facility will also produce anti-venom’s, these are unique products for Australians for snakes, for spiders, and marine creatures, and we’ll also produce the Q-Fever vaccine in this facility.
And just to finish off, we will also produce the MF59 adjuvant and this is really important [inaudible] vaccines and stimulate immune response and this ingredients into [inaudible] CSL COVID-19 pandemic. That will be part of this facility.
So look we are delighted to be able to share this announcement today, with the federal government and it’s a fantastic opportunity that we have in terms of [inaudible] lock in the supply of these critical medicines in Australia for decades to come.
On that note I would like to pass to the Prime Minister, thank you.
PRIME MINISTER: Well thank you very much for the welcome, it’s great to be here at Seqirus and [inaudible] and to all the others that are joining us here today for what is a very important announcement.
What is occurring today is bringing together a whole series of strands in terms of what the government is doing to address the great disruption that we’ve seen through COVID-19 this year. Most obviously it is about the production of Aussie doses for COVID-19, for the vaccine, being made here, right here at this very facility. And I particularly want to thank CSL for their tremendous partnership that we have had, for both the production of the AstraZeneca vaccine as well as the University of Queensland vaccine. We're very proud of this work and we are proud of the science that is supporting it, particularly that in the University of Queensland. And the reality that could unfold which would See Australia playing such a critical role in vaccines for COVID-19.
But we also are very proud of the fact that it can be manufactured right here in Melbourne. These Aussie doses here in Melbourne that will prove to be subject to the TGA's approval an absolute game-changer, not just for our own country. Not just for our own economy and getting back to normal, but, more broadly, around the world. So I want to thank CSL for that tremendous partnership.
But the other thing that we have learnt throughout the COVID-19 and this has been a common discussion amongst like-minded countries around the world, is the need for us to do even more to secure supply chains in critical areas and there can be few more critical than those that apply to vaccines. Whether it is the flu, as you say, or whether it is COVID-19, or, indeed, it is for the any number of venomous spiders or snakes that require the anti-venom that is produced. All of this requires a much more substantial capability that already is impressive here in Australia, but needs to be even greater.
So this is just smart thinking on behalf of the government working together with Seqirus. What we are doing here is using our purchasing power to give the certainty of a partnership of some billion dollars invested in these vaccines over the next more than a decade and that gives Seqirus the confidence to make important environment decisions and this is what our recovery strategy from COVID-19 and building for the future is all about. It is about giving these companies the confidence to invest. Whether it is the lost carryback provisions, the instant expensing arrangements - all of this is designed to bring forward investments and see manufacturing and business more generally go forward, and that brings me to the third part.
And in this year as Budget we announced our manufacturing strategy and in that manufacturing strategy we set out some clear priorities and that includes in this area of vaccine manufacturing and production here in Australia. We want to be leaders here. We want to be setting out jobs here for many years to come. This facility alone, 500 jobs in construction, but 1,300 jobs supported over the longer-term. This is a further demonstration of our manufacturing strategy hitting the ground, ensuring that we have secure supply chains in critical areas, supporting jobs, but at the same time building the reputation and the advantage that we want to have as a country in advanced manufacturing in an area like this.
CSL is a world leader. They are an established world leader and we have been able to draw on that at a time of great need for our country when it comes to the production of these vaccines. But, this partnership will just go to a whole new level and so with that I am going to ask the Health Minister Greg Hunt to say a few words about how this all fits in to our plans and our responses.
I am also going to ask the acting Chief Medical Officer Paul Kelly to give you an update on the situation in terms of the national response, in relation to the situation in South Australia. Of course I can add further comment on that when we go to questions.
So with that, Greg Hunt?
THE HON GREG HUNT MP, MINISTER FOR HEALTH: Thanks very much to the Prime Minister and Paul Kelly, but in particular to Brian McNamee and Andrew Cuthbertson and Lorna Meldrum and to Steve. And all of the employees here at CSL and Seqirus.
Today is about lives and protecting lives. It is also about creating jobs and extending jobs. And I say that because with the Prime Minister, we were able to look at the very floor where the AstraZeneca vaccine is currently being produced and that’s on track and on schedule. What we are seeing is that as we speak, it’s a week since the manufacturing commenced so Australia is in an increasingly strong position, not just with regards to our containment, but also with regards to our capacity to address the virus. And we have 134.8 million units directly ordered. We have another 25.5 million units potentially available through the COVAX International facility. All of those are about protecting Australians, but also playing our part in the world.
Today is also though, about the long-term support and this investment, which the Prime Minister has outlined, is a long-term contract by the government to provide supply for Australia with, firstly, a pandemic-flu capability. Secondly, with our Q-Fever capability and, thirdly, with our anti-venom response. It is Taipans and tiger snakes, it is brown snake and black snake venom, it’s redbacks and funnel webs, it is like a roll call of Australiana in a way, and of course the box jellyfish and even the stonefish are covered in this agreement.
What that means is that we are protecting Australians now, but we are protecting them into the future with an agreement that runs out to 2036, so it provides security for Australians and it provides certainty for CSL-Seqirus, so they can then invest in a state-of-the-art long-term advanced manufacturing plant.
At the moment, the world has been largely using egg-based vaccine manufacturing. This new plant will be a cell-based vaccine manufacturing plant, so it puts Australia right at the global forefront and because of past contracts and past investments, we have had the capacity through this pandemic to have Australian manufacturing and therefore certainty for Australians.
What we are doing is providing that certainty for coming generations and I want to thank the Prime Minister and the Treasurer for their investment. It has allowed us on the health side to be able to ensure that continuity is there and at the same time provide the jobs for Victorians, and the certainty going forward.
I'll turn now to Professor Paul Kelly to talk about the situation in South Australia, but what is happening in South Australia is exactly what we have always said would occur, that there would be outbreaks. In a world where you have Australians returning from overseas, in a world where you have Australian wool and wheat being provided overseas or critical medicines coming to Australia, there is always, always been the possibility that there would be an exchange of the virus from a surface or from an inadvertent touch. What matters is that we have the strength of system in place, the testing, the contact tracing and the isolation and Professor Finkel, who has just completed his review, and what we are seeing is that system come in to place literary as with speak and we have confidence in the capacity of South Australia to respond.
Paul?
PROFESSOR PAUL KELLY, ACTING CHIEF MEDICAL OFFICER: Thank you, Minister. So, my colleague in South Australia, Professor Nicola Spurrier range me yesterday to inform me about the first case they had found in this cluster of cases now in the Northern part of Adelaide. They are doing an enormous effort and very broad effort of finding people, testing, doing that contact tracing exercise and crucially getting people to isolate, anyone who of course has symptoms and is found positive, but also the contacts. So that has been an enormous effort so far from South Australia over the last couple of days. I called an emergency meeting of the Australian Health Protection Committee today and Nicola shared with us the issues that she was seeing. And we had already at that time, from a Commonwealth perspective offered our support of course in whatever way could be done.
So this is guided as the Minister has said from the Finkel review that was just completed and tabled at National Cabinet last week. So we know about the capability of South Australia and we know about the capability of the other states as to what support they can give and indeed from a Commonwealth level. So that has all kicked in, as you would expect it to do.
We remain very ready to assist with that work in the coming days whilst they get on top of this. I do firmly believe that the South Australian authorities with that support from others will be able to get on top of this. As the Minister said, it is not so much what has happened, but how we respond to it. That is how we are going to defeat this virus.
PRIME MINISTER: Thank you, Paul. Happy to take questions.
JOURNALIST: It would appear that the virus has escaped hotel quarantine in South Australia. Does this show that South Australia hasn't perhaps learnt some of the lessons that Victoria should have learnt by now? [INAUDIBLE]
PRIME MINISTER: No, there are no absolute fail-safes in this. That is what Professor Kelly was just referring to. The virus hasn't gone anywhere. It is still there. It will seek to exploit any vulnerability, how small or great, and that is why there are layers to our defences. The most obvious layers are the wearing of masks and the social distancing and the COVID safe behaviours that are on display here in this facility and, more broadly throughout the community. That is the first layer of protection. Then of course there has been the important international border controls and the quarantining arrangements, but they are not fail-safe as well in all cases as we have seen. Not just in South Australia, but we have seen it in Western Australia. We have seen it in New South Wales and of course we have seen it quite significantly here in Victoria.
In fact, we have seen it pretty much everywhere around the country. So it is not a surprise that that can occur from a quarantined facility. What matters is how you respond in these situations. Just as New South Wales saw many small outbreaks, the ability to get on top of them quickly has been essential to keeping that state open and now, as Victoria reopens, it is a very timely reminder here and all around the country, whether you have been behind borders or not, the virus doesn't care. If you are not following COVID-safe behaviours, if you are not following your COVID-safe plan, if you are not appreciating the appropriate social distancing, if you are not registering when you are going into a restaurant or somewhere like that anywhere in the country, then of course you are creating risks. This is a very timely reminder of this very important fact. Borders don't protect you from that. When people are moving around, we still have people coming in, returning from overseas in all states and territories. In fact, we are putting even greater effort into that now with quarantine being set up in both the Northern Territory and in Tasmania to support so many Australians who are trying to get home. So, we always have said that there will be the need for further layers and systems of defence. The testing, the tracing will now be put to the test in South Australia and I spoke to the Premier first thing this morning and, indeed, as Greg has been interacting with his counterpart and Professor Kelly with his many counterparts. Interestingly there, I think, is a greater appreciation of the development of tracing systems around the country. That is one of the things that Dr Finkel was able to highlight. Here in Victoria alone, there has been a dramatic improvement in the tracing capabilities that were on hand going back many months. So we are supporting South Australia in every way that we can and they are aware of that, but I have got to say they have got a lot of people who have moved in isolation. They are running down the contacts. We have stood up the aged care response centre in South Australia. That is important to ensure that we deal with any potential risks or issues in residential aged-care facilities. I particularly spoke to the Premier about that today.
JOURNALIST: The response from other states with regard to the South Australian situation has been different in WA and New South Wales. What is the best response in your eyes?
PRIME MINISTER: It is not for me to make that judgement. The medical expert panel, the AHPPC, met today and they didn't recommend, collectively, any one response. There has been a spectrum of responses by the states and territories and New South Wales and Victoria and the ACT, they are doing more in terms of the screening of people who are coming into their states than other states have shut those things down. What I would add particularly as far as I am aware, particularly with Tasmania is my understanding and the Northern Territory, I was in touch with Michael Gunner earlier today as well, is they see these as temporary responses. What is important is these don't get sort of locked in as part of another enduring disruption and as soon as South Australia is able to get on top of this I would be expecting that states would keep on the path that we have set towards Christmas.
JOURNALIST: Given the two weeks to see how things play out, does this jeopardise your chance of getting borders opened up before Christmas?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, I hope not. But we have always said that these are subject to the local health conditions and what occurs. But I would hope not. That will depend a lot on the disposition of various states and territories, but ensuring that you press on is a sign of confidence in your testing and tracing system. That is what it is. These have significantly improved. It will be a strong test of the South Australian system in the days ahead. But the early signs are encouraging in how they are reacting to that and being able to track down, Paul, the number of cases and they are very much concentrated in one family group, which I am sure the Premier has spoken more about. So far, it is an early good response, but we are certainly not getting ahead of ourselves as to how we anticipate this will play out in the days ahead.
JOURNALIST: In an interview this morning Minister Hunt said that the Commonwealth had offered ADF personnel to South Australia. Has South Australia accepted that offer?
PRIME MINISTER: Not to my knowledge, no. I spoke to the Premier about that this morning. There has already, has been a sort of standing support across Australia of the ADF. There will be ADF personnel in South Australia now already supporting, as they are in many places around the country, and so that is available to them to either redeploy or be reassigned. Paul, there has been a lot of work has been done by our Commonwealth public servants in supporting tracing capabilities and supporting that now. The Aged Care Response Centre has Commonwealth's support and involvement. So there is a ready response that has been in preparation for such an event and that has been swung into action. So it is all hands on.
JOURNALIST: [INAUDIBLE] quarantine programme [INAUDIBLE] Are you disappointed that South Australia hasn’t [INAUDIBLE]?
PRIME MINISTER: Well each state and territory is responsible for running their own show when it comes to these arrangements and we’ve had a very extensive review done by Dr Finkel and prior to that of course the review of the quarantine system that was put in place and while that of itself is not a failsafe it has indicated that around the country there are some very good practices in place. In fact, this is one of the things that has set Australia out from the rest of the world. And while the events in South Australia and in the last 48 hours are of course of very serious concern and are treated as such, I mean the worst day in Australia on COVID-19 is the best day that many would even hope to see overseas, in my regular discussions with overseas leaders, so I think it is important to understand that Australia is doing incredibly well, compared to all the other countries, but one of the reasons that we do is we are not complacent isn't about it. We are very cautious and we are very attentive to what needs to happen. That will be the case in South Australia as all states and territories you would expect it to be.
JOURNALIST: Just on other matters, the government settled the Robodebt class action today. Why did they wait until the day the trial started to settle that given that [inaudible]?
PRIME MINISTER: There has been a process under way, but we have already have paid out more than $700 million of the $1.2 billion so we have been getting on with making this right. I have made comments about this in the Parliament earlier in the year, regarding the Commonwealth’s position and we have been working through that process with the lawyers. But, what we had been doing most importantly, is we have been settling those payments. So over $700 million has already been paid back out through this process and there is a bit more to go and remember these payments have been made at the same time that working through government services and our agencies we've had to enlist some 1.6 million Australians on to JobSeeker and the extraordinary level of disbursements that have been made as part of the Government’s response to COVID-19. So I think the combination of those enormous demands on the system but for us to still follow through on the commitments we made here to make this right, we have done exactly that and the settlement announced today is a further demonstration of that.
JOURNALIST: Is this embarrassing for the government and will you apologise for the Robodebt?
PRIME MINISTER: I already made remarks on that in the Parliament earlier this year. So I can only just refer you back to those, where I did just that. In addition to that, what I would say is we are righting a situation which has found to have been present in this program over two governments and we are dealing with income averaging being used as a basis for raising debts. That was a practice that was employed by the previous Labor government as well as our own government and that has been addressed as being not appropriate to base those payments, those raising those debts, and we have corrected that, and we have been paying the money back, some $700 million already out of $1.2 billion. So that is what the government should do. That is what the government has done, and that is what we will continue to do.
JOURNALIST: [INAUDIBLE] This is a $1.2 billion mistake that has cost the taxpayer that has also caused welfare recipients untold pain. Should the minister Stuart Robert lose his job over it?
PRIME MINISTER: As I said, this is a matter that goes back over two governments. It goes back about a decade, as using income averaging. I would say that the Minister has been the one working together with the Attorney-General having identified the issue of setting, and making it right. This is the same Minister who ensured that 1.6 million Australians have been able to access vital income support, particularly here in Melbourne at a time of great crisis and so to be able to deal with both of these challenges at the same time, suggests to me that he's been getting very much on top this issue and has been a key part of making it right.
JOURNALIST: [INAUDIBLE]
PRIME MINISTER: If he wishes to raise questions with me about that, I'll be happy to address them, but I think the important matters that we have discussed today is not only the continued work we are doing together in response to COVID-19. There are a range of infrastructure issues we were actually dealing with before the pandemic hit and I look forward to returning to some of those and to the agreements and the work we are doing there. But most importantly, an issue that the Premier and I share a great passion for, and I know that Minister Hunt does as well and of course Professor Kelly, is the issue of mental health. Now, you have got the royal commission into mental health here in Victoria. Today, I have handed down the Productivity Commission's report on mental health. There is the interim advice of the National Suicide Prevention Adviser. What these reports show is this,is that we have a hospital system. We have got a Primary Health Care system. And you have people, particularly those who are some 30,000 Australians who seek to take their own life each year, thankfully they are not all successful, but sadly over 3,000 of those result in death by suicide.
But when you have people who have suicide attempts, one of to critical issues that is identified is when they leave hospital, when they are at great risk. Now, we have invested in - and further invested in the Way Back program and those programs exist here in Victoria. There are also the issues of when people come out of incarceration and the mental health pressures equally as when people come out of the defence forces and the mental health pressures that are faced by veterans. All of this is extenuated by the rather extraordinary year we are living through and the anxiety produced by the pandemic.
My point is, outside of hospital, outside of the public health networks, out of the GP care system there is enormous shared responsibility when it comes to community-based mental health care and today I committed to a national framework again for that to be developed by this time next year and I believe between particularly Premier Andrews and myself we will be able, I think because of our shared passion on this issue to try and get that framework right and work with other Premiers whose I know are equally passionate. The next National Federation Reform Council, well, the first I should say National Federation Reform Council will be held in about a month’s time. That is where that process will begin. It will be the most important item on that agenda. Many other important items on that agenda, but that will be in my view, in particular, the most important. That is an area where we want to see how National Cabinet work together well. Sure, there are some disagreements, but frankly it set out Australia apart from so many other countries, the way that we work together. And to take that unity of purpose and apply it to challenges, particularly like in the area of mental health, so probably from the nature of my answer you can expect that he and I will have a good chat about that because we both both feel strongly about it as the minister does and his counterparts around the country. There is a lot of good work for us to do together, and I look forward to catching up with him again. It has been a while since I have been in Melbourne. It has been great to be back. I have ended my run without a Melbourne coffee for some time and I enjoyed that catching up with some people this morning. It is great to be back here but it is particularly great to be seeing jobs, 500 jobs going into this construction alone and a future vaccination capability here, Brian, that is just going to continue to hold Australia up in lights for our great response. So thank you all very much for your time today.
Interview with Tony Pilkington, 5AA
16 November 2020
TONY PILKINGTON: Hello, Prime Minister. Good afternoon, you're talking to Adelaide, thank you for that.
PRIME MINISTER: Yes, I am. Is that you, Pilko?
PILKINGTON: Yes, it is.
PRIME MINISTER: How are you?
PILKINGTON: I'm all right, thank you. But well, I'm Ok. But God, some of us here all of a sudden battling. Prime Minister, can you tell us what's planned?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, I spoke to the Premier first thing this morning. And, you know, these are things that South Australia have been preparing for. There are no failsafes when it comes to all the systems that are there. And the quarantine arrangement has been running for a long time. But I think there's an appreciation that there is a certain inevitability at some point it'll find a vulnerability and that's what's occurred. But it's what matters now is how South Australia responds. And I know the Premier is moving swiftly, the identification and the tracing and the testing that has been done over the weekend. We've stood up the aged care response centre there in South Australia to address any particular needs in the aged care, residential aged care community and more broadly. But I particularly want to let South Australians know that the whole country is working together. All other Premiers have been extending their support to Premier Marshall through the National Cabinet processes that we have. But there's a lot of confidence in South Australia's ability to address this. Of course, that will be put to the test over the next 48 hours in particular. But they are prepared for this and we'll be giving them every support to ensure that they're successful.
PILKINGTON: Prime Minister, what's the immediate support you can offer to the government here, to the people of SA?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, the first and most important thing we've done is to stand up the aged care response centre. That's an area where we're particularly involved and we want to make sure that we're out there ensuring that appropriate testing is being conducted in aged care facilities and standing up that, as well as the re-statement of all the necessary precautions that need to be taking place in aged care facilities, the wearing of protective equipment and infection control practises. What this reminds, I think, all over not just in South Australia, but all around the country is the virus hasn't gone away. It hasn't gone. It's still there. And whether you've had borders up or down, does it matter. If there is a weakness that it's found then within the community it can move and so we can't be complacent about it, and I don't believe South Australia has. But they will move now to address the risk that is presented. And I think people should sort of go cautiously about their business following the COVIDSafe behaviours and the government will get on with its job.
PILKINGTON: Prime Minister, before we let you go, and thank you for the call this afternoon. What's the information that you're getting on on a possible vaccine? I mean, is that still airy fairy sort of stuff? I mean, we're hoping to God it perhaps eventuates. What's the information you're getting?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, that's a timely question. I've literally just driven out of the manufacturing facility here in Melbourne, which I've just seen that production upstairs there in the facility. So that's the AstraZeneca vaccine. Now, of course, that still has to go through the TGA approval processes where, you know, the only vaccines that will be made available to Australians will be those that satisfy the highest health requirements. But in preparation for that, that vaccine is in production right now. In addition to that, there are three other vaccines. There is, of course, the University of Queensland vaccine, which is a bit further back in the process. But that would also be an Australian-manufactured vaccine that would occur here also in Melbourne. And then there are two others. There's the Pfizer vaccine, which at the moment is sort of out in front of the pack. And we have 10 million doses of that which we've been able to secure, including the cold storage facility transfer to take it right to the point of vaccination. And then there's another vaccine out of the United States. So all of this would see Australians vaccinated three times over in terms of the scale. But they're making great progress. But we can't. We can't count on that until, you know, the trials and the medical hurdles are appropriately cleared.
PILKINGTON: Prime Minister, we’ll let you go. Who wins State of Origin on Wednesday?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, of course, the Blues do. It was my great regret that I was unable to come down to Adelaide to see that game. It was probably just as well because the Blues threw that one away, I’m afraid. But I was watching intently and I did see Premier Marshall, he sent me a text with him and Wayne ‘Junior’ Pearce before kick-off and I was incredibly jealous. But congratulations on South Australia. Who knows? We might have converted a few people to rugby league.
PILKINGTON: Good on you, Prime Minister. Thanks for the time this afternoon. I know you're busy. Much appreciate the time. Prime Minister Scott Morrison.
$1 Billion Manufacturing Agreement Secures Australia’s National Health Security
16 November 2020
Prime Minister, Minister for Health, Minister for Industry, Science and Technology
A new high-tech vaccine manufacturing facility will be developed in Melbourne to secure Australia’s long-term supply of critical health products including pandemic influenza vaccines and life-saving antivenoms.
The $1 billion agreement between the Morrison Government and Seqirus also provides the ability to rapidly manufacture vaccines when responding to health pandemics in the future.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison said the new complex would be the largest influenza vaccine manufacturing facility in the Southern Hemisphere.
“Keeping Australians safe is my number one priority and while we are rightly focused on both the health and economic challenges of COVID-19, we must also guard against future threats,” the Prime Minister said.
“This agreement cements Australia’s long-term sovereign medical capabilities, giving us the ability to develop vaccines when we need them.”
“Just as major defence equipment must be ordered well in advance, this is an investment in our national health security against future pandemics.”
Health Minister Greg Hunt said under the agreement, Seqirus would invest $800 million in the development of the facility project, creating 520 construction jobs, commencing in 2021.
“This new facility will guarantee Australian health security against pandemic influenza for the next two decades.”
“Our government’s strategy to protect the health and wellbeing of Australians and the Australian economy, as well as having access to a world class health system.”
“This is a major milestone, ensuring that Australia can mass produce vaccines against future flu pandemics, as well as continuing onshore production of seasonal flu vaccines, Q fever vaccines and antivenoms.
Without this historic agreement, the nation would need to source these critical medical products from overseas.
Seqirus is currently the only company making influenza and Q fever vaccine in Australia, and the only company in the world making life saving antivenom products against 11 poisonous Australian creatures (snakes, marine creatures and spiders).
The current agreement between the Australian Government and Seqirus—a subsidiary of CSL Ltd—is due to end in 2024-25. To continue onshore manufacturing in Australia, Seqirus will now invest in a major new vaccine manufacturing facility close to Melbourne airport to replace its existing, ageing production facilities in Parkville, Melbourne.
The highly specialised production facility is expected to be operational by 2026 with the contract for supply of these critical products extending to 2036.
Minister for Industry, Science and Technology Karen Andrews said Australia’s manufacturing capability had been a huge asset during the COVID-19 pandemic and this agreement will keep us in a strong position.
“The Morrison Government knows just how important it is for Australia to be able to stand up for itself when it really matters,” Minister Andrews said.
“This investment will not only allow us to continue to manufacture the essentials we need well into the future but it will also create and secure high paying manufacturing jobs across a range of skills.
“This agreement is just one in a range of investments we’re making to drive Australian manufacturing forward and create jobs. We’re also investing a further $1.3 billion through our Modern Manufacturing Initiative into projects across six priority areas, including medical products.”
The Morrison Government acted quickly and decisively to address the consequences of COVID-19 and as a result, Australia has achieved some of the best health and economic outcomes in the world.
More than $18.5 billion has committed to support the emergency COVID-19 health response to the pandemic, including $3.2 billion to secure access to over 134.8 million doses of potential COVID-19 vaccine candidates developed by the University of Oxford-Astra Zeneca and the University of Queensland, Pfizer-BioNTech and Novavax.
The Victorian Government has also supported the procurement of suitable land for Seqirus.
Interview with Neil Mitchell, 3AW
16 November 2020
NEIL MITCHELL: Prime Minister, good morning.
PRIME MINISTER: Good morning, Neil. It's great to be back in Melbourne after quite a while.
MITCHELL: I was going to say, welcome back to Victoria. It's February, I think, isn't it?
PRIME MINISTER: It has been quite some time. It’s a beautiful day and it's great to be back.
MITCHELL: Does it look any different? I suppose you haven't gotten to the city yet.
PRIME MINISTER: The traffic is a bit quieter, I can assure you of that, from last time I went down, as Melburnians would know. But as time goes on we will see things continue to sort of get back to some form of normal. But it's, you know, I commend all Victorians for pulling through what has been such a terribly difficult time and now coming out the other side and the comeback has begun.
MITCHELL: You, and more so Josh Frydenberg, were very critical of the way Daniel Andrews ran things here. But was he right, given where we are? Did he do the right thing in retrospect?
PRIME MINISTER: I don't think that's how you describe what I was saying.
MITCHELL: Well, Josh was.
PRIME MINISTER: When Melbourne went into lockdown, we supported the lockdown because it had become necessary because the outbreak had not been contained. There was the hotel quarantine failures and then there was the outbreak containment which wasn't able to bring it under control and lockdown became the only way of dealing with it. Now, that lockdown has gone for a long time, a very long time, and obviously that has significant costs that are associated with people's livelihoods as well. But we've come out the other side and the only real issue was towards the end about at what point did that move open again. But they were decisions for the Victorian Premier and we've maintained a very good working relationship all the way through. In fact, I’ll be meeting him later today while I’m here.
MITCHELL: Yeah but you also, you and other ministers, in fact the Health Minister and Josh Frydenberg talked about the contact tracing not being up to scratch while the Victorian government was saying it was. Well, you were right there, weren’t you?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, and we've just had Dr Finkel who has just completed a national review of all the contract arrangements, including in South Australia, which is now dealing with, you know, a very concerning outbreak there. I’ve spoken to the Premier this morning, the chief medical officer also and they’re swinging into action there, picking up from the lessons from what has occurred in Victoria. And so hopefully they'll be able to get onto that very, very quickly. But that's a concerning situation, but one which no amount of resources being spared to deal with. But the contact tracing, I mean, making sure you quarantine arrangements are in order. But the outbreak containment through contact tracing is absolutely critical and ensuring that they move towards an industrial and digital scale is, I think, one of the key lessons there. And that's what Dr Finkel has done and that has led to a significant improvement in the Victorian contact tracing.
MITCHELL: Is it fixed yet? Is Victoria fixed yet?
PRIME MINISTER: Certainly the advice from Dr Finkel was that there's been significant improvements from where it was.
MITCHELL: Yeah but is it done?
PRIME MINISTER: It is chalk and cheese, night and day.
MITCHELL: Is it right, though? Is it gone as far as it needs to? Does it still need improvement?
PRIME MINISTER: There are still improvements to be made and I am sure the Premier would agree with that. But those improvements are being made. I think that's the critical thing. But it is in a position now that if it were in that position many, many months ago then I think things would have been quite different.
MITCHELL: Ok. In South Australia, would you be sending in more help there? Or have they got it under control?
PRIME MINISTER: We've already stood up the aged care response, like the one we had in Victoria that we set up there. And so, again, moving quickly. There are excellent facilities there because of staff, not because of residents, that we've put into a lockdown amongst those facilities. More broadly across South Australia, they've engaged in very significant testing over the last 24-36 hours. And there are large numbers that have been placed into isolation this morning and that's right. But I think, Neil, it's a reminder, even after, you know, a lockdown, even after all of this time, the virus hasn't gone anywhere and it can be activated. And that's why none of us can be off our game. And we've got to match fit on this all the time. New South Wales have been able to keep pushing through. They've had outbreaks they have contained and, you know, Victoria’s had outbreaks, smaller ones more recently and they’ve been able to get on top of in regional areas. And so, you know, Tasmania was the same. So we've just got to stay on the front foot. But in comparison to the rest of the world, I mean, I just finished the events over the weekend with all the ASEAN leaders and spent a lot of time also with European leaders recently and the United States. I mean, the comparison there could not be more stark. It’s getting worse, not better there. But here in Australia, they're getting better, not worse.
MITCHELL: What does this say about home quarantine and the dangers of home quarantine, which one would assume is less secure than hotel quarantine? What does it say about that?
PRIME MINISTER: We looked at this and considered this last Friday at the National Cabinet and we're not convinced at this point that we can take those risks and that the systems can be as certain. Particularly when you've got the elevated number of cases overseas, we don't think at this stage we can move toward anything like that. I mean, there are already some exemptions that are provided in all states and territories that sort of deal with specific circumstances. But that's only where they can meet the high standards expected of quarantine that is applied in a hotel setting. But let's not kid ourselves that those are foolproof either. And that's why the outbreak containment, the tracing, the COVIDSafe behaviours, the wearing of masks, all of these things are very important to ensure we stay on top of it.
MITCHELL: By the way, you may be aware of this, the Northern Territory has just declared South Australia a hotspot, which means people going to the Northern Territory will have to go into quarantine.
PRIME MINISTER: Yes, I was advised of that by the Chief Minister and, look, I anticipate other jurisdictions will make similar decisions and that's for them to do. The whole point of the hot spot is that it does provide that temporary protection. It's important, though, that as Northern Territory has demonstrated, they put areas of the country, not entire states, on hotspots from time to time, and they quickly take them off again. The Northern Territory has shown a very good model there.
MITCHELL: Would you object to, say, Victoria and New South Wales closing their borders to South Australia?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, I’ll leave that to both of those states to make those judgments. I mean, I remember the conversation I had with Premier Andrews and Premier Berejiklian when we shut the border down between New South Wales and Victoria. I mean, that was a sensible decision, it was necessary and we look forward to those borders reopening. And these are always temporary measures and they need to be done on the basis of health advice. But I spoke to Premier Marshall this morning, and I mean, they've been working hard to keep their systems match fit. But as he said to me this morning, you know, there's a constant reminder and a wakeup call for the whole country. Perhaps particularly for those states and territories that have been behind borders. In New South Wales and the ACT and I'm sure as I move around Victoria today, I don't think I'll see any situation where I think people are not taking this seriously. And it's important that behind borders that a complacency doesn't build up.
MITCHELL: The tennis coming to Melbourne, all the international players coming here for all tournaments, do you need to sign off on that or have you signed off on that?
PRIME MINISTER: No, that's a, that's well, the visa issues, but that of itself isn't an issue. It's the public health issues are being done by the state government.
MITCHELL: So are you happy with it? Happy with it?
PRIME MINISTER: Yes, I am.
MITCHELL: A lot of, a lot of people coming from a lot of countries?
PRIME MINISTER: Yeah but we've already seen a lot of this happening already. I mean, we have people who are coming in for a range of different occupations. I mean, they're not celebrities. They're not coming and playing tennis or anything like that. But I think we've demonstrated through a lot of our major sporting events this year, I mean, the fact that the AFL and NRL and the women’s netball were able to continue, I think, demonstrated that within these codes and within these events that Australia is very good at managing their practices of these things.
MITCHELL: The vaccine lab that you're opening, just how important is that for, I mean it’s great for the Victorian economy and everything - not opening, but announcing - it's great for the Victorian economy, the Australian economy. What does it mean for the future of public health?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, this is, there are two elements here. I mean, the things we've already announced, which is the fact that the AstraZeneca vaccine and the University of Queensland vaccine will both be manufactured here in Melbourne. And that's part of our manufacturing agreements for those vaccines that we've already completed with CSL and that was announced some time ago. So that's dealing with the immediate issues of the COVID vaccine. But what we're doing here is over the next 12 years, we're ensuring that our procurement for vaccines going through CSL and that's about a billion dollars over the next 12 years, that gives them the certainty to invest in upgrading their capabilities. And one of the lessons that many countries, including Australia, is we'd need to continue to invest in supply chain resilience, particularly in areas, it just doesn't deal with the COVID, things like COVID vaccines, because, you know, there could be another pandemic on something else. And to have this capability at an upgraded level, I think is very important. So this is for the future. But it also is creating obviously economic opportunities right now and a security right now and security around our supply chains and in a critical medical area.
MITCHELL: A couple of quick things, I know as the former prime minister John Howard suggested, you have a face-to-face meeting with the Chinese president to try to work out problems there. Will you try to do that once the restrictions on travel are lifted?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, what John said was to do these face-to-face meetings, actually assists, of course they do and Australia is always open to those. I mean, just on the weekend where I was engaged in a multilateral discussion with Premier Li Keqiang on three occasions, actually on the weekend. Sorry, two occasions on the weekend through the East Asia Summit and the RCEP, which is the trade...
MITCHELL: So do you want to do that with President Xi?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, again, we welcome that. I mean, Australia has not broken off any dialogue. We're totally happy to be having those discussions. And we stand ready to.
MITCHELL: This new trade deal with China, though. How can we trust it at a time when Australians are still being told they can be locked up for no reason in China?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, let me just put in context what was agreed on the weekend. This was a new trade arrangement that was driven by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. So countries like Indonesia, Malaysia and others, and they have been driving, for the last eight years, it's quite been quite a bit of time to get a trade arrangement between all of these countries, which includes China, including ourselves, includes Japan, includes Korea. Now Australia already has trade agreements with all of those countries. And what this does will, I think, really simplify those arrangements. So, I mean, what we have with China, we already had established through the China- Australia Free Trade Agreement. But there's no doubt there's been some tensions around some particular commodities and exports at the moment. And we're seeking to work through those patiently and practically. China says very clearly that they're saying that this is not an act of retribution or coercion or anything like that. That's what they're saying. And so we will work with that and seek to resolve these issues as practically as we can.
MITCHELL: Two other quick things if I may, I was just talking to a mother whose 29-year old son in the UK desperately needs cancer surgery, stage 4, back in Melbourne, problems getting him in. Can we raise that with your office and see if there's any room for compassionate action?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, you certainly can. And we've been, I mean, we've facilitated the arrival of over 30,000 Australians directly. I mean, 400,000 Australians have actually come back to Australia since the start of this pandemic and we've got a team of case managers working vulnerable cases specifically. So very happy to chase that up, Neil. It's very hard getting people back because every time we get someone back, there's at least one or two who also wants to come back on top of that. I understand that. And that's why we've had to say RE international students, that there's no shortage of flights. And we put on additional flights. We've opened up quarantine capacity in the Northern Territory and Tasmania, the Commonwealth’s funding that. But until we can get m, continue to be hard for people to get home. But we're moving everything we can to get them home.
MITCHELL: Thank you so much for your time. Just finally, a good working relationship with the state government. Daniel Andrews - Josh Frydenberg, quote, ‘He's not a leader. He's just a liberal.’ That's a good working relationship?
PRIME MINISTER: We get on just fine. I'm looking forward to catching up with him this afternoon. I mean, the National Cabinet has met on 31 occasions, Neil. And so, you know, over the course of this year, of course, there's been a lot of difficult issues. And from time to time, there's been some disagreements. I think people understand that. But I can assure you that we're both leaders, him of Victoria, me of the country, and it's our job to work together and we’ve never lost sight of that.
MITCHELL: Josh isn't going with you is he?
PRIME MINISTER: No, he won’t be there today. But I'm sure he and Treasurer Pallas equally work together very well. Doesn't mean they have to agree on everything. And one of the things I should say, Neil, because one of the other reasons I’m here in Melbourne today is one of the things we have to work on together. And I think Victoria and the Commonwealth can actually set the framework here, is on mental health, because the royal commission is here in Victoria. But also today I'm releasing the Productivity Commission report on this and the national suicide prevention adviser's interim report. One of the key things we've got to do here is work in this grey zone that exists between primary health, your GP and what happens in hospital, there’s a lot of shared responsibility to sit in the middle there. And that is something that he and I are very committed to try and resolve. There’s a lot of good faith and goodwill to achieve that.
MITCHELL: Quite extraordinary isn't the number of self-harm attempts by young people has increased by a third? The number of presentations anecdotally for mental health issues at emergency departments has at least doubled, yet the suicide rate hasn't gone up?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, I think that's a testament to the fact that the services [inaudible] and we have surged those supports, particularly here in Victoria, particularly here in Victoria, through the lockdown. And look, I hope what you’ve just said doesn't change [inaudible] coming in in terms of the actual death from suicide. And it is running on an equivalent level to what we've seen last year. But, you know, whether it's the services for young people, or BeyondBlue, or Lifeline, they have all done an amazing job here in Melbourne. And I really thank all the workers there and the volunteers and those who support those organisations they have been lifesavers.
MITCHELL: Thank you so much for your time. Appreciate it. Thank you.
PRIME MINISTER: Thanks, Neil. Good to talk to you.
Regional Trade Deal to Boost Export Opportunities for Aussie Farmers and Businesses
15 November 2020
Prime Minister, Minister for Trade, Minister for Trade Tourism and Investment
Australian farmers and businesses are set to benefit from better export opportunities with the signing of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) Agreement between Australia and 14 other Indo-Pacific countries.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison said the signing of this long-awaited agreement signalled our region’s shared commitment to open trade and investment, despite the challenges of COVID-19.
“Our trade policy is all about supporting Australian jobs, boosting export opportunities and ensuring an open region with even stronger supply chains. RCEP builds on our trade successes and is good news for Australian businesses,” Prime Minister Morrison said.
“With one in five Australian jobs reliant on trade, the RCEP Agreement will be crucial as Australia and the region begin to rebuild from the COVID 19 pandemic.
“This agreement covers the fastest growing region in the world and, as RCEP economies continue to develop and their middle classes grow, it will open up new doors for Australian farmers, businesses and investors.”
Trade Minister Simon Birmingham said RCEP would be the world’s largest free trade agreement and would improve export opportunities for Australian farmers and businesses, especially in the services sector.
“This deal will further integrate Australian exporters into a booming part of the globe, with RCEP countries making up nearly 30 per cent of world GDP and the world´s population,” Minister Birmingham said.
“RCEP has been driven by the ten ASEAN nations, who collectively constitute Australia’s second largest two-way trading partner and have successfully brought Australia, China, Japan, New Zealand and South Korea into this regional trading block with them.
“This agreement may have taken eight years to negotiate but it could not have come at a more important time given the scale of global economic and trade uncertainty.
“Economic cooperation of this scale sends a strong signal that our region is committed to the principles of open trade for the post COVID-19 recovery, just as we advanced them during the previous years of strong economic growth.
“Greater openness within our region, as well as the greater integration of value chains and more common rules of origin which this deal delivers, will make it easier for Australian businesses and investors to operate throughout our region, helping Australia to continue to grow our exports.
“There are particular gains for Australian providers within the financial services sector, education, health, engineering and other professional services, who can become better integrated within the region and have more access within RCEP countries.
“Australia is committed to fully ratifying RCEP as soon as possible so Australian farmers, businesses and investors can start to access the benefits of this agreement. It will also be an inclusive agreement, with the door open for others, especially India, to join if and when they are ready.”
Australia will also commit $46 million to provide technical assistance and capacity building to help eligible ASEAN countries implement their RCEP commitments, ensuring RCEP delivers on its full potential.
When finalised, the main benefits for Australia will be:
A new single set of rules and procedures for accessing preferential tariffs in any of the 15 RCEP markets
New scope for trade in services throughout the region including across telecommunications, professional and financial services.
Improved mechanisms for tackling non-tariff barriers including in areas such as customs procedures, quarantine and technical standards.
Greater investment certainty for businesses.
Rules on e-commerce to make it easier for businesses to trade online.
A common set of rules on intellectual property.
Agreed rules of origin that will increase the competitiveness of Australian inputs into regional production chains.
For more on the Regional Economic Partnership Agreement visit:
https://www.dfat.gov.au/trade/agreements/negotiations/rcep
Investing in our Southeast Asian Partnerships
14 November 2020
I met with regional counterparts virtually today for the ASEAN-Australia Summit. Australia’s vision of the Indo-Pacific region has ASEAN at its centre.
Australia was ASEAN’s first Dialogue Partner. I welcome ASEAN’s agreement to annual leaders’ summits with Australia, building on the 2018 ASEAN-Australia Special Summit in Sydney and marking a new chapter in our Strategic Partnership.
COVID-19 has changed much but Australia’s commitment to ASEAN remains steadfast. Australia and ASEAN share a vision for a peaceful, inclusive, sovereign and resilient region.
ASEAN is more important than ever as we collectively deal with the health and economic challenges brought on by COVID-19.
Australia will invest in a new package of economic, development and security measures to support the region’s recovery from COVID-19.
We will invest $21 million for the ASEAN Centre for Public Health Emergencies and Emerging Diseases, as part of Australia’s commitment of an additional $500 million over three years to support access to safe and effective COVID-19 vaccines for the Pacific and Southeast Asia, plus a further $24 million towards the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria.
We will provide $232 million to support economic integration and development in the Mekong.
This includes scholarships for emerging leaders, strengthening of cyber and critical technology capabilities, and support for the implementation of the Vietnam Enhanced Economic Engagement Strategy. Australia will also open a liaison office in Myanmar’s capital, Nay Pyi Taw.
We will invest a further $104 million towards the region’s emerging security needs, including in military education, infectious diseases, cyber resilience, maritime security and English language training.
We will expand our Defence Adviser and Defence Attaché network to cover all ASEAN countries and fund Australia’s defence industry to work with regional partners on peacekeeping.
ASEAN’s economic recovery will be supported with $70 million for high quality infrastructure development and technical assistance, plus $65 million for regional maritime states to develop their marine resources sustainably and address challenges through enhanced training, technical advice and cooperation.
We will invest $13 million to help partners work with technology standards-setting bodies to get their economies geared for the future.
Supporting open, rules-based trade is vital as the world emerges from the pandemic recession.
We will provide $46 million for eligible ASEAN countries for technical assistance and capacity building to help implement the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership and the ASEAN-Australia and New Zealand Free Trade Agreement.
Australia and ASEAN are partners in the challenges we face, with Southeast Asia’s economic and health recovery critical to our own.
Reforms to National Natural Disaster Arrangements
13 November 2020
Prime Minister, Minister for Agriculture Drought and Emergency Management
The Australian Government is today announcing major reforms as part of our response to the Royal Commission into National Natural Disaster Arrangements.
The Royal Commission made 80 recommendations with over 50 involving the Commonwealth, and we intend to support every recommendation for which we are responsible:
14 recommendations directly targeted to the Australian Government;
23 recommendations specific to States and Territories;
41 recommendations that are shared between the Commonwealth and States and Territories;
2 recommendations specifically focussed on the Insurance Industry and the Australian Building Code Board.
In the face of the unprecedented 2019-20 Black Summer Bushfires, the Royal Commission made clear that there is a need for a genuinely national approach and a greater role for the Commonwealth to support states and territories to prepare for, respond to, and recover from natural disasters.
While the serious work to implement each and every recommendation in a timely manner will now be a priority for all governments, we are pleased to be announcing a package of Commonwealth measures which will enhance and strengthen our emergency response and recovery capacity as soon as possible.
The package includes a number of interlinked reforms and provides strong leadership on all hazards emergency management and natural disaster risk reduction.
We will introduce legislation to give the Australian Government the power to declare a national emergency to help mobilise Commonwealth resources and help tackle the challenges states and local communities may face.
National Cabinet has also agreed to establish a National Emergency Management Ministers Meeting which will be initially responsible for driving and coordinating implementation of the Royal Commission’s recommendations – in consultation with the range of responsible Ministers - and ultimately ensure that Australia is preparing for future disasters at the highest levels.
We will enhance and strengthen national coordination arrangements within Emergency Management Australia (EMA) to streamline requests for Australian Government assets to assist states and territories in their preparation and response to disasters.
In addition, the Royal Commission has identified the need for a new, dedicated National Resilience, Relief and Recovery Agency, and the government will now commence the necessary work to establish this new agency.
The new agency will initially incorporate the functions of the National Bushfire Recovery Agency, which we established in response to the Black Summer bushfires. It will also integrate the functions of the National Drought and North Queensland Flood Response and Recovery Agency, and the disaster recovery and risk reduction functions within the Department of Home Affairs.
Importantly, it will drive the reduction of natural disaster risk, enhance natural disaster resilience and ensure effective relief and recovery to all hazards.
We will also establish a Resilience Services function to provide enhanced climate and disaster risk information and services to meet the information needs of the enhanced Emergency Management Australia, and the proposed National Resilience, Relief and Recovery Agency.
The government thanks and commends the Royal Commission for its examination of the events leading up to, during and following the devastating Black Summer bushfires.
The Australian Government’s response to the Royal Commission’s report is available at: https://www.pmc.gov.au/resource-centre/pmc/national-approach-national-disasters
Prime Minister's Literary Awards Shortlists Announced
13 November 2020
Prime Minister, Minister for Communications Cyber Safety and the Arts
The 2020 Prime Minister’s Literary Awards shortlists have been announced today by Prime Minister Scott Morrison and Minister for Communications, Cyber Safety and the Arts, the Hon Paul Fletcher MP.
The Awards recognise the exceptional talent of Australian writers across six categories and help raise the profile of our established and emerging writers, inspiring audiences to choose new Australian books.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison said that now, more than ever, we see the profound contribution of books to our cultural, intellectual and recreational life.
“Australia’s literary sector entertains us and educates us. Our authors, illustrators, poets and historians are our storytellers, shaping our national consciousness and contributing to a record of our culture,” the Prime Minister said.
“Books have the power to educate and comfort us, and I know many Australians of all ages have drawn on books during COVID-19.”
Minister Fletcher said the 2020 shortlists highlight themes that are relevant to us all.
“From more than 550 eligible entries, our judges had the difficult task of selecting 30 books, which this year capture diverse voices that make up Australia’s literary community,” Minister Fletcher said.
“I welcome the large number of stories by Australian Indigenous writers and women that are a prominent feature of this year’s shortlist.
“I congratulate the shortlisted authors and thank the judging panels for their work.”
Winners of the 2020 Prime Minister’s Literary Awards will be announced in December 2020.
For more information on the shortlists, including judging panel comments, visit: https://www.arts.gov.au/departmental-news/2020-prime-ministers-literary-awards-shortlist-announced-pmlitawards
The 2020 Prime Minister’s Literary Awards shortlists are:
Fiction
Exploded View, Carrie Tiffany, Text Publishing
The Death of Jesus, J. M. Coetzee,Text Publishing
The Weekend, Charlotte Wood, Allen & Unwin
The Yield, Tara June Winch, Hamish Hamilton: Penguin Random House
Wolfe Island, Lucy Treloar, Picador: Pan Macmillan
Non-fiction
Hearing Maud: A Journey for a Voice, Jessica White, University of Western Australia Publishing
Sea People: The Puzzle of Polynesia, Christina Thompson, William Collins: HarperCollins
See What You Made Me Do: Power, Control and Domestic Abuse, Jess Hill, Black Inc.
Songspirals: Sharing Women’s Wisdom of Country through Songlines, Gay’wu Group of Women, Allen & Unwin
The Enchantment of the Long-haired Rat: A Rodent History of Australia, Tim Bonyhady, Text Publishing
Australian history
From Secret Ballot to Democracy Sausage: How Australia Got Compulsory Voting, Judith Brett, Text Publishing
Meeting the Waylo: Aboriginal Encounters in the Archipelago, Tiffany Shellam, University of Western Australia Publishing
Progressive New World: How Settler Colonialism and Transpacific Exchange Shaped American Reform, Marilyn Lake, Harvard University Press
Sludge: Disaster on Victoria’s Goldfields, Susan Lawrence and Peter Davies, La Trobe University Press in conjunction with Black Inc.
The Oarsmen: The Remarkable Story of the Men Who Rowed from the Great War to Peace, Scott Patterson, Hardie Grant Books
Poetry
Birth Plan, LK Holt, Vagabond Press
Empirical, Lisa Gorton, Giramondo Poets
Heide,π.O., Giramondo Poets
The Future Keepers, Nandi Chinna, Fremantle Press
The Lost Arabs, Omar Sakr, University of Queensland Press
Children’s literature
Catch a Falling Star, Meg McKinlay, Walker Books
Cheeky Dogs: To Lake Nash and Back, Dion Beasley and Johanna Bell, Allen & Unwin
Cooee Mittigar: A Story on Darug Songlines, Jasmine Seymour, illustrated by Leanne Mulgo Watson, Magabala Books
One Careless Night, Christina Booth, Black Dog Books: Walker Books
Winter of the White Bear, Martin Ed Chatterton, Dirt Lane Press
Young adult literature
How it Feels to Float, Helena Fox, Pan Macmillan
The Honeyman and the Hunter, Neil Grant, Allen & Unwin
The Surprising Power of a Good Dumpling, Wai Chim, Allen & Unwin
This Is How We Change the Ending, Vikki Wakefield, Text Publishing
When the Ground Is Hard,Malla Nunn, Allen & Unwin
New Head of Australian Space Agency Announced
13 November 2020
Prime Minister, Minister for Industry, Minister for Industry Science and Technology
The Morrison Government is continuing to put industry at the heart of the Australian space sector, to create jobs and grow the economy, with Virgin Galactic’s Chief Operating Officer Enrico Palermo to become the new Head of the Australian Space Agency.
Mr Palermo will return home to Australia to replace inaugural Head Dr Megan Clark, who will finish in the role at the end of December, before commencing as the Chair of the Australian Space Agency Advisory Board in the New Year.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison said Mr Palermo comes to the position with extensive international experience in the space industry and will be an enormous asset to the Agency.
“Mr Palermo’s leadership will rocket Australia toward our goal of becoming a major player in the international space industry, while providing benefits across our economy,” the Prime Minister said.
“By 2030, we want to triple the size of our space sector – adding $12 billion to our economy and creating up to 20,000 new, high-skilled jobs.
“I extend my deepest thanks to Dr Clark who has led the Agency from its infancy in 2018 and set a clear path forward.”
Minister for Industry, Science and Technology Karen Andrews said Mr Palermo’s background in engineering, commercialisation and innovation would provide strong leadership and direction for the Agency.
“Mr Palermo’s skill set reflects the reality of the space sector, which is about so much more than just research or launch – it improves life on earth and creates opportunities in a range of areas including manufacturing,” Minister Andrews said.
“The economic benefits of space exploration are vast, with highly skilled jobs right along the supply chain from manufacturing to robotics, engineering, and resources.
“The Australian space sector continues to expand at the speed of light, and I look forward to working closely with Mr Palermo to capitalise on the opportunities for Australian businesses and manufacturers in the space industry.
“I know he will build on the solid foundation of Dr Clark, who saw the Agency through lift off – establishing the Agency headquarters in Adelaide, modernising the space legislation framework to ensure safe operations and securing agreements with international space agencies and companies.”
Mr Palermo said he was honoured by the appointment, and excited to take up the role in January.
“In its first two years, the Australian Space Agency has made significant progress and achieved many firsts. I look forward to working with the Agency team to continue the mission of growing and transforming Australia’s space industry,” Mr Palermo said.
After graduating from the University of Western Australia, Mr Palermo has worked extensively in the space industry over the past two decades in the United Kingdom and the United States, including as President of The Spaceship Company, Virgin Galactic’s aerospace-system manufacturing organisation.
Strategic Partnership with Thailand
13 November 2020
Australia has a longstanding friendship with Thailand, stretching back to the establishment of diplomatic relations in 1952.
Today, with my Thai counterpart, Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha, I have elevated our relationship to that of a Strategic Partnership.
In view of the evolving strategic shifts in the region, through this Strategic Partnership we will enhance cooperation in key areas, including defence and security, cyber affairs, anti-money laundering and combating transnational crime.
This historic announcement delivers on a joint commitment that Prime Minister Prayut and I made at the East Asia Summit last year in Bangkok.
Ahead of tomorrow’s East Asia Summit, hosted by Vietnam in virtual format, today’s announcement will strengthen our engagement on economic recovery, political and security cooperation, and in the Mekong.
Thailand is a top-10 trading partner and a natural leader within ASEAN. Our trading relationship will grow even more important as both countries recover from the COVID-19 pandemic.
National Cabinet Statement
13 November 2020
The National Cabinet met today for the 31st time to discuss Australia’s COVID-19 response, the Australian COVID-19 Vaccination Policy, the Framework for National Reopening by Christmas, helping Australians prepare to go back to work in a COVID-safe environment and getting the economy moving again.
National Cabinet continues to work together to address issues and find solutions to the health and economic consequences of COVID-19.
The Acting Chief Medical Officer, Professor Paul Kelly, provided an update on the latest epidemiological data and medical advice in relation to COVID-19.
There have been more than 27,600 confirmed cases in Australia and, sadly, 907 people have died. There are now around 80 active cases in Australia. Most notably, National Cabinet noted the significant reduction in community transmission, and that there have been only a small number of cases of community transmission in the last fortnight. More than 9.2 million tests have been undertaken in Australia.
Australia has done well on both the health and economic fronts compared to most countries around the world. National Cabinet noted the significant increase in COVID-19 cases in many countries and the comparative strength of Australia’s effort in addressing COVID compared to most other developed economies. Globally there have been over 52 million cases and sadly over 1.2 million deaths. Today there have been more than 500,000 new cases reported.
National Cabinet endorsed the Australian COVID-19 Vaccination Policy, which sets out the roles and responsibilities of the Commonwealth, states and territories in rolling out COVID-19 vaccination. National Cabinet welcomed the Commonwealth Government’s announcement that Australia had secured access to 134.8 million doses of four leading vaccine candidates.
National Cabinet adopted all recommendations in the National Contact Tracing Review, presented by the Australian Chief Scientist Dr Alan Finkel. While vaccines are being developed, and treatments for COVID-19 are being improved, an important means to bring about a return to normal economic and community activity is rapid testing, contact tracing, isolation and outbreak management. These measures back up the ongoing need for COVID-safe behaviours such as social distancing and good hygiene.
National Cabinet will meet again on Friday 11 December 2020, when the National Federation Reform Council will also meet, with a focus on mental health.
Framework for National Reopening - A COVID Normal Australia
The Commonwealth, New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania, the Australian Capital Territory and the Northern Territory agreed to a new ‘Framework for National Reopening Australia by Christmas’ (document attached), subject to local health advice and building on and enhancing the 3-Step Framework for a COVID Safe Australia developed in May 2020.
Western Australia did not agree to the National Framework for Reopening, specifically the domestic border and international arrival proposals.
The Framework provides the Australian community and businesses with a way forward where Australians can live and work in a COVID Normal Australia, recognising that the highly infectious nature of COVID-19 means that it will be present until a COVID-19 vaccine is found.
The Framework underscores the need for continued health vigilance while providing a path to easing the physical and mental burden on Australians.
The Framework establishes an updated Common Operating Picture based on the advice of Australia’s Chief Scientist Dr Alan Finkel AO, with strengthened criteria to ensure that health systems are prepared and detailed information is publicly available on COVID-19 conditions.
The Commonwealth and seven states and territories agreed that reopening by Christmas under the Framework sets a pathway for the removal of domestic border restrictions where it is safe to do so, and with free movement of people and freight consistent with National Cabinet’s strategy of suppression with a goal of no community transmission.
Review of state and territory contact tracing and outbreak management systems
National Cabinet endorsed the review led by Australia’s Chief Scientist Dr Alan Finkel of the contact tracing and outbreak management systems in each state and territory and agreed to adopt all 22 recommendations.
All states and territories were assessed as now having strong contact tracing and outbreak management systems in place. The review provides characteristics of an optimal contact tracing and outbreak management system and recommends that every state and territory regularly stress test their systems.
The review found that patient testing, contact tracing and case management should be fully digital end to end. However while a fully digital system dramatically improves efficiency of contact tracing, it will never replace the need for well-trained contact tracers and expert public health oversight – states and territories should employ a permanent workforce for tracing and outbreak management, with senior public health leadership and should have an additional surge workforce trained and at the ready. Contact tracing must never fall behind. In the event of an outbreak, every effort should be made to go hard and go early.
The review recommended the creation of a digital data exchange so that states and territories can easily access and transfer information about cases and contacts where people have crossed borders. Commonwealth, NSW, Vic and ACT will work to develop a data exchange system.
The review found that states and territories should share new and emerging technologies, such as electronic venue and workplace attendance registration systems, smartphone apps to monitor self-quarantine, new diagnostic tests and wastewater surveillance.
Further details are available at: www.health.gov.au
Australian COVID-19 Vaccine Policy
Australia is well positioned for early access to a breakthrough COVID-19 vaccine in 2021. The Commonwealth Government has secured early access to 134.8 million doses of four leading vaccine candidates worth over $3.2 billion, in addition to up to 25 million vaccines candidates through the global COVAX facility.
Vaccines, should they be deemed safe and effective, are expected to be available by March 2021.
National Cabinet endorsed the Australian COVID-19 Vaccination Policy (the Policy). The Policy sets out how the COVID-19 pandemic vaccination program will be rolled out - one of the biggest exercises in health logistics Australia has ever seen. The policy sets out clear lines of responsibility and clear plans for delivering on these responsibilities will be crucial. The Commonwealth will purchase all vaccines, leading logistics and distribution and will manage significant centralised national oversight and coordination in order to manage continuing complexities and critical unknowns, as well as to track the movement of doses and uptake of vaccination and oversee future surveillance. Immunisation administration will be managed jointly between the Commonwealth and the States and Territories.
The key principles and assumptions for the vaccination program include:
Free of charge for all Australian citizens, permanent residents, and most visa-holders
Not mandatory, but strongly encouraged
To be rolled out on the basis of identified priority populations, linked to delivery schedules, with scope for redirections to outbreak response
Centralised Commonwealth oversight, with defined responsibilities for the Australian and State and Territory governments
The initial priority groups for COVID-19 immunisation identified by the Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation (ATAGI) are:
People who have an increased risk, relative to others, of becoming very sick or dying from COVID-19 should they contract it.
People who are at increased risk of exposure and hence being infected with and transmitting SARS-CoV-2 to others at risk of severe disease or are in a setting with high transmission potential.
People working in services critical to the functioning of our society, including select essential services staff and people working in supply and distribution of essential goods and services.
Further details are available at: www.health.gov.au
Australians returning home
National Cabinet agreed to continue to prioritise the return of Australians.
Since the beginning of the pandemic over 414,000 Australians have returned to Australia on commercial flights, and 69 flights facilitated by the Department fo Foreign Affairs and Trade.
Since 18 September 2020, around 10,900 Australians registered with the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade have returned to Australia. However, since 18 September 2020 the list of registered Australians has grown from 26,200 to 35,637. Between now and Christmas, we expect to bring an additional 27,000 Australians home. Further places will become available once Melbourne Airport reopens to international arrivals.
National Cabinet agreed international air passenger caps have played an important role in ensuring jurisdictions’ quarantine systems can protect Australians at home. The Commonwealth will be extending the international air passenger caps till 31 January 2020 for Sydney, Brisbane, Perth and Adelaide, with further increases to be made if and when additional quarantine places become available.
National Cabinet welcomed progress on plans by the Victorian Premier to reopen Melbourne to international travellers.
The Commonwealth and Northern Territory Government are finalising arrangements to increase capacity at the Howard Springs Quarantine Facility. Both the Australian Capital Territory and Tasmanian Governments have agreed to facilitate the return of 360 and 450 Australians respectively before Christmas.
Leaders agreed that, wherever possible, existing surge capacity for quarantine will remain in place for vulnerable Australians. The Queensland Government agreed to continue to surge above their weekly 1,000 passenger cap, and will now allow an additional 300 vulnerable Australians per week.
National Cabinet agreed a range of measures to support efforts to maximise the use of available seats to further boost the number of Australians who can return before Christmas. Going forward, caps and other arrangements will be implemented on a weekly basis and, in consultation with the relevant jurisdiction, an overallocation by up to 10 per cent above caps will be allowed.
The Commonwealth will continue to work with states and territories to facilitate the arrival of additional facilitated flights, carrying registered Australians and prioritising vulnerable Australians.
International Students
The National Cabinet agreed to continue prioritising returning Australians. Quarantine space must be prioritised to Australians, including vulnerable Australians, seeking to return home. While we look forward to welcoming international students back and will continue planning for their return, we cannot progress the broader entry of international students at this time.
Royal Commission into National Natural Disaster Arrangements
The National Cabinet noted the Commonwealth Government’s proposed response to the Royal Commissioner into National Natural Disaster Arrangements and agreed to work collaboratively on the recommendations that require joint government action.
The National Cabinet further agreed that a National Emergency Management Ministers Meeting will be initially responsible for driving and coordinating implementation of the Royal Commission’s recommendations, including design of ongoing governance mechanisms. This Meeting will work closely with other relevant Ministers who have responsibilities relevant to recommendations of the Royal Commission.
The Commonwealth’s response to the Royal Commission can be found at: https://www.pmc.gov.au/resource-centre/pmc/national-approach-national-d…
National Cabinet Infrastructure and Transport Reform Committee
The National Cabinet agreed to establish the Infrastructure and Transport National Cabinet Reform Committee (the Committee), which will be chaired by the Commonwealth Minister for Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Development the Hon Michael McCormack MP.
The National Cabinet tasked the Committee with coordinating efforts to deliver infrastructure investment stimulus between jurisdictions, and presenting opportunities to improve freight transport connectivity across all transport modes by mid-2021. The National Cabinet also tasked the Committee with developing proposals to streamline planning and approval processes at all levels of government to support faster and more efficient delivery of infrastructure projects.
Automatic Mutual Recognition of Occupational Licences
The National Cabinet agreed in principle to establish an Intergovernmental Agreement on Automatic Mutual Recognition of Occupational Licences, with that agreement to be signed by the end of the year following further work by the Council of Federal Financial Relations. To give effect to this, draft legislation to amend the Commonwealth Mutual Recognition Act 1992 will be released by the end of the year to facilitate automatic mutual recognition commencing by 1 July 2021.
Asean-Australia and East Asia Summits
13 November 2020
On Saturday, I will participate in a virtual ASEAN-Australia Summit and a virtual East Asia Summit, alongside Australia’s key Indo-Pacific partners.
ASEAN remains at the heart of Australia’s vision for a peaceful, stable, inclusive, sovereign, prosperous and resilient Indo-Pacific. ASEAN has a central role to play in the region’s recovery and the post COVID-19 regional order.
At the ASEAN-Australia Summit, I will discuss Australia’s role in our region’s response to COVID-19 recovery. Australia is proud to be a Strategic Partner of ASEAN and its oldest Dialogue Partner.
At the East Asia Summit, I will highlight the importance of our collective COVID-19 recovery being guided by the principles set out in the ASEAN Outlook on the Indo-Pacific – by transparency, inclusivity, good governance and respect for international law.
The East Asia Summit is the Indo-Pacific’s premier forum for discussion of our region’s most pressing strategic challenges. Never has this been more important as the world continues to tackle COVID-19.
I will also deliver an address at the ASEAN Business and Investment Summit on Friday night and participate in the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) Summit on Sunday.
RCEP brings together Australia’s top regional trading partners into a single economic framework and will link us more closely with this dynamic region.
I congratulate Vietnam for its stewardship as ASEAN Chair during a very challenging year and for Prime Minister Phuc’s hosting of the ASEAN-Australia, East Asia and RCEP Summits.
Interview with Jim Wilson, 2GB
13 November 2020
JIM WILSON: The Prime Minister is on the line. G’day Scott.
PRIME MINISTER: Hey Jimmy how are you?
WILSON: Very good thank you. Thank you for your time Prime Minister. National Cabinet has met today for the 31st time. Lots of discussion around borders.
PRIME MINISTER: Nothing about State of Origin though.
WILSON: No no, we'll talk about that shortly okay don’t mention Queensland or the Maroons, don’t rub it in. Just on Queensland though on the borders. Are you frustrated that Annastasia Palaszczuk will not open the Queensland border to Greater Sydney well before Christmas?
PRIME MINISTER: Well look let's wait and see what she actually does decide Jim. I think that's the issue. I mean we had a positive meeting today, everyone this was the first meeting since the election and so the Queensland Government signed up to this opening framework by Christmas. There's a lot to be achieved under that plan and and there was no hesitation there. So I welcome that. You know me Jim, I'm always very optimistic and hopeful about these things and they've indicated I understand in the press conference she held later after the meeting that they’re heading in that direction, talking positively also about Victoria. What was very important about today's meeting is Dr Alan Finkel who’s the Chief Scientist for Australia. I tasked him a couple of months ago to go around and look at all the contact tracing systems all around the country and he had unhindered access to everything all around the states and territories and while he says, you know you can't have a zero risk system, he said that you know there's been really great improvements made particularly in Victoria which was not looking that great several months back but all of the states with Queensland, Western Australia, New South Wales, everywhere they have the capacity to deal with things with outbreaks through their tracing system but there's no substitute for the first line of defence which is COVIDSafe behaviours and distancing and making sure you're checking in when you’re going into restaurants and doing all those things. So we have we’ve built the systems up Jim that's the point and so that means that has enabled a decision to open up and so I hope to see that soon. I think there's very strong health reasons and defence in our health systems up there to do it and and so there's no reason not to be confident making that decision in Queensland.
WILSON: We've heard some cruel stories. We've got one coming up after 5 this afternoon a heartbreaking story of a family, Ted who's a Vietnam veteran dying in hospital on the Gold Coast, he has three daughters two are in Wollongong. They can get into Queensland because they're from regional New South Wales and the other one the other daughter is in Penrith with Ted's sister but they are being rejected flatly rejected to go into Queensland and yet we can have a full Suncorp Stadium next Wednesday night. It's just, it's just I think it's very, very cruel on behalf of the Queensland Premier.
PRIME MINISTER: Well look this has been the great frustration with the whole system and I've made a comment on these issues before as you know and it's the it's the inability I think, for, you know, whether you live in Sydney or elsewhere of trying to understand that very point you make and I think that's why it's important they move there as quickly as possible. I mean borders are not a sign that you've got it under control. Borders are a sign that you don't think you can control it and that's what they actually are. It's like when you've had to lock down it's not because everything worked it's because everything failed and that's why I've always been pushing the states to get their contact tracing systems, their public health response systems, their COVIDSafe behaviours and COVIDSafe plans, in their pubs, in their restaurants.
WILSON: But the contact tracing, the contact tracing Prime Minister in Sydney in greater Sydney has been world class.
PRIME MINISTER: It is. It is.
WILSON: So yeah,
PRIME MINISTER: Exactly. They can handle it. The cases I think today's cases again, were only cases in quarantine now the reason New South Wales will have more cases in quarantine is because there are over 3000 people coming in every day in New South Wales and I think that's on a daily basis and there's 1,000 coming in to Queensland.
WILSON: Are you frustrated that you can't make and you talked about this earlier in your press conference I was listening to you, that you can't force the borders open earlier than Christmas as far as Queensland’s concerned?
PRIME MINISTER: That's the Constitution and states have the states have the powers regarding public health management in their states. That's see for listeners who haven't spent time around the Constitution but basically when the Federal Government was formed it was powers that were given to the Federal Government by the states. So if they wasn't specifically given to us they keep everything else.
WILSON: But you'd love to see some common sense and compassion?
PRIME MINISTER: All the way through every day and these things should not be there a second longer for health reasons than than they should be and what Alan Finkel’s saying is that, hey Queensland you've got a good contact tracing system. You've got a good public health system and they do. So I think Queenslanders could feel confident about their borders opening and their ability of the Queensland Government to handle it the delay can only suggest that perhaps they don't think they can and I don't think they've got any reason to think that.
WILSON: Today, the Government also released its vaccination policy for COVID-19 who will be the first Prime Minister to get the vaccine?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, the first step of, most importantly is to ensure that the TGA the Therapeutic Goods Organisation actually signs off on the health side of this. So there'll be no shortcuts on any of that. So once we've been able to deal with that then and we know the vaccine is safe then it can start to be administered. Now those who are in the front of the line of all of this are our health workers and and people in that area and they obviously are the first ones we need to vaccinate and that will make sure that those places are much safer as well. We saw it also around aged care facilities and things like that where our most vulnerable people are and those who are interacting with them and in those in those areas are very important but what we agreed today was a vaccination policy. We needed to agree. It's a Commonwealth, it's a Federal Government policy it's our responsibility. But it was good the states and territories approved and endorsed it they said that's a great plan and there will be further plans which we will get into the specifics as we move through the various groups in the community. I mean one of the things we've often talked about is that you've got a lot of people working in occupations that have a lot of contact with the public and can be potentially transmitters of the virus. People who drive buses, people who drive cabs or Ubers, people who are couriers.
JOURNALIST: Just on that, just on that Prime Minister, Professor Mary-Louise McLaws will join me very shortly she's an epidemiologist also an adviser to the World Health Organisation. She says we should look at vaccinating those who are considered COVID super spreaders that is socially connected people aged between 20 and 30. She says they should get it first. What do you say to that?
PRIME MINISTER: Well I say I'll turn to my epidemiologist and Dr Brendan Murphy who heads up a very expert panel and I will put all of those sorts of medical questions to those people. It's not really Jim for politicians. I'm a geographer with a science degree so I'm going to rely on the medical doctors and experts when it comes to how those strategies and priorities are set. I mean those points that you've just outlined have been made and so they're the sorts the very sorts of things that Dr Murphy, who everyone knows who was the former Chief Medical Officer there particularly through the height of the pandemic and he will be the one ultimately making those recommendations.
JOURNALIST: A couple of things before I let you go. Really appreciate your time. The Premiers discussed the Bushfire Royal Commission Report at the National Cabinet. You've supported most recommendations, but why not the push for national aerial firefighting fleet?
PRIME MINISTER: The states don't either. I mean the states hold assets these firefighting vehicles, the fire firefighting aircraft they own some of them and what happens each year is that the firefighting chiefs actually make a recommendation to us about what things we should go and get to support them in the year. Now some of them they already have and they just share them between the states and territories and that has worked very effectively. Now we put money into that and we're putting additional money into that this year some $11 million. We put a lot more into it in the last fire season. So what all the Premiers and Chief Ministers and myself agree is that the firefighters and the fire chiefs are the best people to tell us about what we need and that has been working and we've provided additional support to it and we'll continue to do that and so we're basically going to continue to be guided by the fire chiefs on those things and they're not calling for that.
JOURNALIST: Just quickly, before I let you go you're going to Japan and PNG next week. Reports emerging this afternoon of political strife in Papua New Guinea. So just as there's been a move against the country's PM will you still be able to go?
PRIME MINISTER: Well that's my plan and as I said earlier today with all of these sorts of things you monitor events as they unfold but these are reports we've also received today but that's my plan. I'm also very much looking forward to heading up to see the new Japanese Prime Minister. This is an incredibly important relationship for Australia. I mean I was planning on going to PNG on my way back through because I would have been out of the country it wasn't planned as a very big visit to Papua New Guinea but we thought we'd take the opportunity to meet with Prime Minister Marape on the way through because we're doing a lot there to support with COVID, particularly to talk through the vaccine, the commitments we've got in the area. This weekend I'm participating in a virtual summit with Vietnam and all the countries of South East Asia where that will be a big focus. COVID The COVID vaccine our support for those initiatives which you know we have a vested interest in making sure our entire region is more stable. So Jim this is a big part of the job but it doesn't take away from the job that is needed here every single day. On the vaccine front I'm very encouraged about how that's moving forward. I was very pleased we got the agreement on the support for the policy today. Greg Hunt has been up at the University of Queensland seeing how that's all going. Another thing that I know comes up on vaccines a lot Jim this Pfizer vaccine which requires cold storage I think it's about 80 degrees minus celsius. Now, that is you know, that's not an easy thing. It's dry ice effectively but our contract with Pfizer requires them to deliver through the supply chain all the way to the point of immunisation where it's administered that cold storage transfer. So we covered that off in the contract as you'd expect us to do but that's just one of four vaccines that we've invested in. I mean, the other one AstraZeneca, that's already being manufactured now down in Melbourne but no one will be offered it until it has cleared all the health checks.
WILSON: and also good progress as far as the University of Queensland. Now, finally, you’ll be away for Origin III. We’re trying to get Ray Warren into Queensland to call Game III. So can you maybe ring Annastacia Palaszczuk and try to bring it forward to Tuesday or Wednesday and get Rabs in there for State of Origin III and do the Blues win the decider?
PRIME MINISTER: Without Rabs I mean that’s just insane that’s mad you can’t have that but I was here in Canberra this week and enjoyed the games with one of my Queensland colleagues and the week before I was watching with my Chief of Staff who is a Queenslander and so the tables were turned let's see how it goes this weekend. Hopefully the Blues will do as good as the Wallabies did up there that was a magnificent game. It was nice to see that turnaround too.
WILSON: We’ve got to get Rabs to Queensland to Brisbane. It’s not Origin without Rabs being there.
PRIME MINISTER: I couldn't agree more sign me up.
WILSON: Good on you, thanks for your time. It’s been a busy day with National Cabinet as always appreciate your time and have a good weekend.
PRIME MINISTER: You too, Jim.
WILSON: Safe travels to Japan and PNG. That’s the Prime Minister Scott Morrison.
Statement on IGADF Inquiry
12 November 2020
Prime Minister, Minister for Home Affairs, Minister for Defence
A new investigative body will be established to assess and examine the findings of the Inspector General of the Australian Defence Force (IGADF) Afghanistan Inquiry.
The Inquiry, which has now concluded and provided its report to the Chief of the Defence Force, was set up to investigate rumours and allegations relating to the conduct of Australia’s Special Operations Task Group in Afghanistan between 2005 and 2016.
The new Office of the Special Investigator will address the potential criminal matters raised by the Inquiry and investigate allegations, gather evidence and where appropriate, refer briefs to the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions (CDPP) for consideration.
The Special Investigator will be either a senior counsel or retired judge with extensive criminal law experience and will be appointed as soon as possible.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison said the Australian Defence Force had served our nation in Afghanistan over a prolonged period, with great sacrifice, while dealing with significant challenges.
“I am so extremely thankful to every Australian who chooses to put on our uniform, to serve under our flag, to protect our freedoms, to uphold our values and to protect our interests,” the Prime Minister said.
“Our serving men and women are deserving of the respect and admiration in which they are held by the Australian people and it’s a respect that requires the highest standard of conduct.”
“The release of the report will be difficult and hard news for Australians but it is our Australian way to deal with these issues with a deep respect for justice and the rule of law, but also to illuminate the truth.”
“We need to ensure justice is truly served by illuminating the conduct of those who may have acted in ways that do not accord with the high standards expected of our ADF and those expectations held by the serving men and women of our ADF and their veterans community, past and present.”
The Government has also established a separate and independent Oversight Panel to provide oversight and assurance of Defence’s broader response to the Inquiry relating to cultural, organisational and leadership change.
The Afghanistan Inquiry Implementation Oversight Panel includes individuals recognised for their expertise and experience in complex legal matters, forensic review, organisational scrutiny and reform, and will report directly to the Minister of Defence.
The independent Oversight Panel will be comprised of:
Dr Vivienne Thom AM, a former Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security
Robert Cornall AO, a former Secretary of the Attorney-General’s Department
Professor Rufus Black, noted ethicist and Vice Chancellor of the University of Tasmania
Minister for Defence Linda Reynolds CSC said the Inquiry was conducted at arm’s length from the Australian Defence Force chain-of-command and the Government, to ensure the independence and integrity of the process.
“This will be very difficult and distressing for those involved and impacted and we are committed to ensuring that current and former serving ADF members and their families have access to the right support at the right time,” Minister Reynolds said.
Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton said the Office of the Special Investigator would be established within the Home Affairs portfolio and staffed with experienced investigators from the AFP, state police experts, legal counsel and support staff.
“There are a significant number of incidents requiring consideration and there are complex issues to deal with and the Office will be drawing on the expertise of senior police investigators, with strong support from the CDPP,” Minister Dutton said.
“As with any allegations of serious and possibly criminal misconduct, these matters need to be assessed, investigated and, where allegations are substantiated, prosecuted in Court.”
The Office of the Special Investigator would exist as long as needed to carry out its brief.
Minister Reynolds said the independent Afghanistan Inquiry Implementation Oversight Panel would provide oversight assurance to Government and Australian people.
“The Oversight Panel will provide an independent body to ensure Defence is making the changes recommended by the Inquiry to help ensure we address any underlying issues.”
Welfare and other support services are available to participants and other individuals involved in, or affected, by the Afghanistan Inquiry, including through:
Defence All-hours support line (1800 628 036)
Open Arms – Veterans and Families Counselling (1800 011 046)
Safe Zone
The Defence Family Helpline (1800 011 046)
ADF Health and Wellbeing portal
For a full list of support options, visit: Afghanistan Inquiry Welfare Support
Current and former serving ADF members who are the subject of the IGADF Afghanistan Inquiry or related investigations or proceedings can access assistance under the longstanding Commonwealth Legal Financial Assistance Scheme.
The Afghanistan Inquiry report has been delivered to the Chief of the Defence Force, General Angus Campbell, who is currently considering the report’s comprehensive findings and recommendations and will address them next week.
The Terms of Reference for the Afghanistan Inquiry Implementation Oversight Panel have now been released.
Visit to Japan and Papua New Guinea
12 November 2020
Next week I will hold important meetings with two of Australia’s closest friends in Tokyo on 17 – 18 November, and Port Moresby on 18 – 19 November.
This will be my first meeting with the new Prime Minister of Japan, His Excellency Mr Suga Yoshihide. I’m honoured to be the first foreign leader to visit Japan to meet with Prime Minister Suga following his appointment.
Our relationship with Japan over the past few years has gone from strength to strength. We are Special Strategic Partners, and we work closely together on trade, security, defence and technology issues. I look forward to continuing to deepen that partnership.
Japan will play an important role in our economic recovery from COVID-19. I hope we can chart a course for the re-opening of travel, and discuss ways to deepen our trade ties worth $86 billion, including under the Japan-Australia Economic Partnership Agreement.
On the way back to Australia I plan to take the opportunity to see my friend the Hon James Marape MP, Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea, our closest neighbour.
We will continue our discussions about advancing our many shared regional and global objectives, ahead of a formal bilateral visit I hope to make next year.
Australia, Japan and Papua New Guinea have managed the coronavirus incredibly well, and I am confident the precautions in place during this travel will minimise the risk of COVID-19 transmission.
I will be strictly following health advice and quarantine requirements when I return to Australia, as will staff and officials accompanying me, RAAF attendants and pilots, and media.
I look forward to hearing from Prime Minister Suga and Prime Minister Marape about their experiences in responding to COVID-19 and discussing ways to work together towards a stable, peaceful and resilient Indo-Pacific.