Media Releases
COVID-19 Vaccine Pioneer Awarded Prime Minister's Prize for Science
3 November 2021
Prime Minister, Minister for Science and Technology, Minister for Defence Industry
An evolutionary biologist and virologist who played a transformative role in the global scientific response to COVID-19 has won this year’s Prime Minister’s Prize for Science.
Professor Edward C. Holmes from the University of Sydney received the $250,000 prize for almost 30 years of pioneering research on genome sequencing data, providing invaluable insights into diseases such as HIV, Ebola, SARS and most recently, COVID-19.
Last year Professor Holmes was the first person in the world to publicly share the COVID-19 virus’ genome sequence. This crucial data enabled scientists to start vaccine design within days.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison said Professor Holmes’ research into emerging viruses played a critical role in Australia’s response to COVID-19.
“Science has been at the forefront of our minds for the last 18 months, and Professor Holmes’ contribution to accelerating the development of the COVID-19 vaccine – doses of hope, as I call them – saved countless lives,” the Prime Minister said.
“For over 20 years, the Prizes have recognised remarkable Australians whose dedication to scientific research and innovation has led the way in shaping the future of our country, and Professor Holmes exemplified why we placed our trust in science to effectively respond to COVID-19.
“On behalf of all Australians, congratulations to the scientists, innovators, educators and research organisations being recognised for their dedication to solving the challenges of today and tomorrow.”
The $250,000 Prime Minister’s Prize for Innovation was awarded to Professor Anthony Weiss AM from the University of Sydney for his trailblazing research into accelerating and improving the repair of human tissue. In 2008 he founded Elastagen to commercialise his research and inventions.
Minister for Science and Technology Melissa Price said research-based innovation leading to commercialisation demonstrated the value and importance of the work of Australian scientists.
“I would like to thank this year’s recipients for creating a more productive and more prosperous future for all of us through their research achievements, and for inspiring our next generation of scientists and innovators,” Minister Price said.
“Our Government is committed to ensuring we use science – and the incredible work of our scientists – to continue to improve the lives of all Australians.”
Additional prizes presented on the night were:
The $50,000 Prime Minister’s Prize for Excellence in Science Teaching in Secondary Schools was presented to Mr Scott Graham, Head of Agriculture at Barker College (NSW), for changing the way agricultural science is taught by developing unique programs to engage students and emphasise the positive difference agriculture makes to society.
The $50,000 Prime Minister’s Prize for Excellence in Science Teaching in Primary Schools was presented to Mrs Megan Hayes, STEM specialist and primary teacher at Mudgeeraba Creek State School (QLD), for her outstanding work in championing the importance of STEM education in her local school community, and at a national level.
The $50,000 Frank Fenner Prize for Life Scientist of the Year was presented to Professor Sherene Loi, Medical Oncologist and Head of the Translational Breast Cancer Laboratory at Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, for her work to translate scientific findings into innovative treatments that can improve the survival of breast cancer patients in Australia and around the world.
The $50,000 Malcolm McIntosh Prize for Physical Scientist of the Year was presented to world-leading astronomer and engineer, Dr Keith Bannister, whose work using CSIRO’s Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder (ASKAP) radio telescope to solve the mystery of Fast Radio Burst radio waves is now helping solve several of the big astronomical mysteries of our generation.
The $50,000 Prize for New Innovators was presented to Associate Professor Michael Bowen, co-founder and Chief Scientific Officer for Kinoxis Therapeutics and from the University of Sydney’s Brain and Mind Centre, for his work to drive scientific discoveries relating to serious brain disorders (such as opioid use disorder) that lack effective treatments.
The Prime Minister’s Prizes for Science are Australia’s most prestigious awards for outstanding achievements in scientific research, research-based innovation and excellence in science, mathematics or technology teaching.
The 2021 awards presentation was held online, and can be viewed at www.industry.gov.au/pmprizes.
Vietnam-Australia Joint Statement on the Finalisation of the Australia-Vietnam Enhanced Economic Engagement Strategy
3 November 2021
Viet Nam Prime Minister HE Pham Minh Chinh and Australian Prime Minister the Hon Scott Morrison MP, met for a productive discussion on 1 November 2021 at the UN climate conference in Glasgow (COP26).
The meeting between Prime Ministers builds on a strong shared commitment to trade and investment, liberalisation and economic connectivity between Australia and Viet Nam reflected in the Plan of Action under our Strategic Partnership.
The Prime Ministers were pleased to announce the finalisation of the Australia-Viet Nam Enhanced Economic Engagement Strategy, which will support their joint ambition of becoming top ten trade partners and doubling investment.The Strategy solidifies Viet Nam and Australia’s shared commitment to trade liberalisation and economic connectivity, and will help both countries take advantage of emerging market opportunities, including in energy and the green economy, and continue their economic recoveries from the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Strategy reaffirms both countries’ commitment to strengthening the rules-based global trading system as the basis for open international trade and working together to address economic challenges and coercive economic practices.
The Strategy highlights the enormous potential of the economic relationship, by identifying key sectors in which Viet Nam and Australia have particular strengths on which to build in order to further deepen the trade and investment relationship — education, skills and training; resources and energy; agriculture, forestry and fisheries; manufacturing; tourism; science, technology and innovation; digital economy; and other services.
The accompanying Implementation Plan provides a roadmap for the Strategy and outlines a series of mutually beneficial, practical initiatives to deepen trade and investment links in these key sectors, over the initial period of 2021-2025.
The Prime Ministers recognised that the business sector will be critical in supporting the Strategy’s aims and taking the economic relationship to the next level. Accordingly, Viet Nam and Australia have appointed Business Champions to support the Strategy by promoting trade and investment opportunities to business communities in their respective countries. The Business Champions will report annually to governments on industry’s views on progress of the Strategy’s implementation and further ideas for increasing two-way trade and investment.
The Prime Ministers noted the Strategy and Implementation Plan would be made publicly available online in the coming weeks, in both languages, and commended the Strategy to the government, business, investment and innovation communities of Viet Nam and Australia to work together to advance.
Vietnam - Australia Joint Statement on Commitment to Practical Climate Action
3 November 2021
Viet Nam Prime Minister HE Pham Minh Chinh and Australian Prime Minister the Hon Scott Morrison MP, met for a productive discussion on 1 November 2021 at the UN climate conference in Glasgow (COP26).
The meeting between Prime Ministers builds on a strong shared commitment to trade and investment, liberalisation and economic connectivity between Australia and Viet Nam reflected in the Plan of Action under our Strategic Partnership.
Australia and Viet Nam also agree on the importance of a pragmatic, results-focused approach to climate change action, in line with each country’s unique situation.
Australia and Viet Nam share a rapid take-up of renewables, an active focus on adaptation and resilience, and ambitions set toward net zero, with a strong focus on practical efforts to achieve climate targets.
The Prime Ministers’ discussions reaffirmed Australia and Viet Nam’s common energy and climate challenges, including the need to achieve ambitious climate targets while supporting energy security. Prime Minister Morrison congratulated Prime Minister Chinh on the important steps Viet Nam has taken to manage the challenges of improving energy security and access, and driving strong economic growth, while reducing global emissions.
Prime Minister Chinh noted that, as a country with significant vulnerability to climate impacts, like Australia, Viet Nam is itself taking responsibility and positive action on climate change. He encouraged a closer partnership between Australia and Viet Nam to achieve mutual climate, energy security and economic goals.
Prime Minister Chinh outlined steps Viet Nam had taken in developing its forward Power Development Plan (PDP8), National Strategy on Climate Change and domestic carbon market through its Environmental Protection Law, recently passed by the National Assembly of Viet Nam.
Prime Minister Morrison noted Australia’s technology driven approach to climate change, which included a focus on getting new energy technologies to parity with existing energy sources – or preferably even cheaper. Financial markets are increasingly seeking opportunities to invest in low-emissions technology in emerging markets. Viet Nam can and should benefit from this trend and Australia stood ready to support its energy transition interests.
Australia’s practical approach with global application, and its capacity to supply a range of technologies, fuels and expertise, could directly benefit countries like Viet Nam seeking opportunities to meet their growing energy needs with low-emissions solutions.
Prime Ministers discussed plans to expand cooperation on the technical and regulatory reforms and new capabilities that will support the stable and efficient integration of renewable energy into Viet Nam’s grid.
Prime Ministers welcomed work under the newly finalised Australia-Viet Nam Enhanced Economic Engagement Strategy (EEES), to support green economy objectives and a sustainable energy transition in both countries.
Under the EEES, Viet Nam and Australia will establish a dialogue in 2022 to discuss energy, minerals and mining issues that will include a focus on growing trade and investment.
In the meeting, Prime Minister Chinh welcomed Australia’s invitation to Viet Nam to partner with Australia under the Indo-Pacific Carbon Offset Scheme, noting that the world cannot achieve net zero emissions without offsets, including cross border offsets.
Prime Ministers discussed adaptation and resilience, and the importance of nature-based solutions in addressing climate change. Prime Minister Morrison welcomed Viet Nam’s commitment to planting one billion trees, and reflected on Australia’s progress in protecting blue carbon ecosystems.
Discussions between Prime Ministers reflected a strong commitment to closer cooperation between Australia and Viet Nam, and highlighted that climate change is a global problem in need of solutions that work across geographies and sectors, particularly in developing countries.
Prime Ministers agreed to explore further opportunities to deepen cooperation in the transition to a low emissions future.
Vietnam-Australia Joint Statement on Commitment to Practical Climate Action and Enhanced Economic Engagement Strategy
2 November 2021
Yesterday I was pleased to meet with Vietnam’s Prime Minister, His Excellency Pham Minh Chinh, in the margins of the UN climate conference in Glasgow (COP26).
Australia and Vietnam share a dynamic Strategic Partnership, based on strong economic, security and people-to-people ties. We share a commitment to trade and investment, liberalisation and economic connectivity. We open a new chapter, with a Joint Statement on our Commitment to Practical Climate Action and the launch of our Enhanced Economic Engagement Strategy.
Together we discussed the importance of a pragmatic approach to climate change action that is in line with each country’s unique situation. The Joint Statement reflects our nations’ results-oriented approach to COP26 and our focus on practical efforts to achieve climate targets, including areas for cooperation as we transition to a low emissions future.
Australia and Vietnam are committed to the rapid take-up of renewables, an active focus on adaptation and resilience, and meeting ambitions for net zero. We reaffirmed our common energy and climate challenges, which included the need to achieve climate targets while supporting energy security.
I was also delighted to finalise the Australia-Vietnam Enhanced Economic Engagement Strategy by signing respective forewords with Prime Minister Chinh. The Strategy is a commitment under our Strategic Partnership and sets out a detailed roadmap to deliver our joint ambition to become top 10 trading partners and double two-way investment. The strategy will be released in the coming weeks.
For more details see Vietnam – Australia Joint Statement on Commitment to Practical Climate Action.
Australia and Fiji Partner on High Integrity Carbon Offsets to Reduce Emissions
1 November 2021
Prime Minister, Minister for Industry, Energy and Emissions Reduction
The Morrison Government has welcomed Fiji as the first international partner to join Australia’s recently established Indo-Pacific Carbon Offsets Scheme.
The Indo-Pacific Carbon Offsets Scheme (the Scheme), announced in April, is modelled on Australia’s successful Emissions Reduction Fund and is designed to develop a high-integrity carbon offset scheme in the Indo-Pacific region.
The Government is also investing an additional $44 million, on top of the $59.9 million originally invested into the Scheme, taking the total investment to $104 million over 10 years.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison and Prime Minister Josaia Voreqe Bainimarama signed the agreement in Glasgow, which lays the foundations for a high integrity and accessible carbon market for Fiji.
“The partnership will see our two countries share expertise to ensure Fiji is internationally recognised as a source of high-integrity carbon mitigation outcomes,” Prime Minister Morrison said.
“We look forward to working with Fiji, other members of our Pacific family and Asian partners to share our expertise and drive investment in low emissions technologies.
“The Australian Government is also providing further support to help countries in the Indo-Pacific region meet their international reporting obligations, attract investment to lower emissions and set up high-integrity carbon offset schemes with a $44 million boost for the Indo-Pacific Carbon Offsets Scheme.
“We’re encouraging the wider adoption of Australia’s world-leading approach to emissions solutions to support our neighbours reduce emissions and grow their economies. This is essential to ensure all countries can take advantage of the global transition to the new energy economy.”
Minister for Industry, Energy and Emissions Reduction Angus Taylor said Australia would share technical expertise in carbon accounting with countries in our region to enable them to meet new Paris Agreement emissions reporting obligations.
“Australia is the gold standard when it comes to transparency and accountability in emissions reporting,” Minister Taylor said. “We expect all major economies to be held to the same high standard and we will support countries in our region to build the capability of their emissions reporting.
“Our Plan to get to net zero emissions by 2050 recognises there is a role for voluntary purchases of high integrity credits from our region. We are putting in place the building blocks to enable that to occur.
“The scheme will also help Australia’s private sector meet its emissions reduction targets by enabling investment in credible projects in the region that demonstrate high environmental integrity.”
Increasing Support for Region's Climate Action and Economic Growth
1 November 2021
Prime Minister, Minister for Foreign Affairs, Minister for Women, Minister for Industry, Energy and Emissions Reduction
Australia is further increasing its international climate finance commitment to $2 billion over the next five years to support developing countries in our region as they tackle the impacts of climate change.
Today we are committing an additional $500 million, on top of the $1.5 billion announced by the Prime Minister in& December 2020. This doubles our previous five-year commitment of $1 billion between 2015 and 2020.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison said the investment would include an increase for the Pacific from $500 million to at least $700 million.
“Australia’s assistance will support Pacific and Southeast Asian countries to enhance climate resilience for future infrastructure investments, including roads, schools and bridges,” the Prime Minister said.
“It will also drive private sector-led climate solutions that support clean technology, jobs and growth across our region.
“Australia stands with our Pacific family in our joint commitment to scale up mitigation and ensure adaptation support.
“Any solution on climate change that is geared only to developed countries does not solve climate change. We must empower and enable developing countries to industrialise and lift their incomes and standards of living in a new, decarbonised energy economy, as part of our global climate change response.”
Australia joins other countries, including the US, UK and Canada in doubling our previous climate finance pledge of $1 billion between 2015 and 2020.
Minster for Foreign Affairs and Minister for Women, Marise Payne, said cooperation on climate is important to Australia’s international relationships and has been central to many of our discussions with key Indo-Pacific partners.
“Australia and our region are on the front line of climate impacts, as we have acknowledged as a signatory to the Pacific Islands Forum’s Boe and Kainaki II Declarations.
“This is a key priority for Australia and our partners. That is why more than 70 percent of our bilateral, regional and global support is focused on climate resilience and adaptation.
“Our commitment will support local communities to better prepare for and recover from disasters, and to address climate-related water and food security challenges.
Minister for Industry, Energy and Emissions Reduction Angus Taylor said Australia is playing its part in global efforts to reduce emissions. Australia has always stood-by our neighbours, and this support is a commitment to address the impacts of climate change on our region.
“Our focus on technology and getting the cost of clean energy solutions down is an approach that is relevant across our Indo-Pacific region,” Minister Taylor said.
“Australia is a leader in adaptation efforts globally and we are building on our work in the region to reduce emissions and importantly increase prosperity.”
Australia will also share its scientific expertise, providing regional partners with better information and forecasts to plan water resource management and agricultural practices.
We will further support programs that mobilise private sector financing for developing countries to transition their energy systems and economies for a low-emissions future. This will include increasing access to affordable renewable energy, essential for developing nations to reduce emissions.
Addressing climate change is integrated into every aspect of Australia’s international development framework, Partnerships for Recovery.
Our increased commitment will contribute to the global goal of providing US$100 billion in annual climate finance for developing countries and ensuring a successful outcome at COP26 in Glasgow.
Information on Australia’s climate finance programs is available at: Supporting the Indo-Pacific to tackle climate change
Singapore–Australia's Next Steps to Reopening to the World
1 November 2021
Prime Minister, Minister for Foreign Affairs, Minister for Women, Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment
Australia will welcome back fully vaccinated Singaporean travellers in November as part of our step by step and safe reopening to the world.
The quarantine-free travel arrangements will commence on November 21 for Australian states and territories that are ready, and will be available for fully vaccinated Singaporeans travelling from Singapore who present a negative PCR test taken within 72 hours of departure.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced the agreement at the G20 Leaders’ Summit in Rome, following a meeting with the Prime Minister of Singapore Lee Hsien Loong.
“Australia is slinging its doors open to fully vaccinated Singaporean travellers in November,” the Prime Minister said.
“This is another significant milestone in our step by step approach to safely reopening to the world that we outlined in the National Plan.
“It follows the announcement this week that fully vaccinated travellers from New Zealand will be welcomed back in October.
“This means within weeks Australia will be welcoming tourists from two of our top ten travel destinations. This is the billion dollar boost that Australia’s tourism industry has been waiting for.
“Step by step, everything that we know and love about Australia is inching back to normal.”
Minister for Foreign Affairs and Minister for Women Senator Marise Payne said this arrangement followed Singapore’s recent announcement to welcome fully vaccinated Australians.
“Many Australians live and work in Singapore and vice versa. The strong exchanges over many decades have been to the benefit of both our nations,” Minister Payne said.
“It attests to the strength of our friendship and the effective management of COVID in each of our countries that we have been able to agree this early step in the reopening of normal travel.
“As we continue with our shared regional recovery from the pandemic, the resumption of travel between Singapore and Australia will provide great opportunities to move forward.”
Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment Dan Tehan said this was the next logical step in reopening to the world.
“Australia remains a popular, world-leading destination and this is just the start of our international tourism comeback,” Minister Tehan said.
“Australia’s tourism operators and the sector’s 660,000 workers will welcome back with open arms visitors from Singapore.
“Quarantine-free arrivals demonstrate the success of our National Plan and the strength of our recovery.”
Details of arrangement include:
Singaporeans must depart from Singapore to be considered eligible
No requirement to have spent 14 days in Singapore prior to travel
No requirement for quarantine upon arrival to Australia
Arrangements will commence from 21 November with participating jurisdictions including New South Wales and Victoria.
The Australia-Republic of Korea Low and Zero Emissions Technology Partnership
1 November 2021
Australia and the Republic of Korea enjoy a deep and historic relationship, and we mark our 60 years of diplomatic relations by celebrating the enduring friendship of our peoples and the bond between our nations. The strength of our bilateral partnership is underpinned by shared liberal democratic values, common strategic interests, strong economic ties, and extensive community links. We are committed to working together to deepen our close partnership and to support an open, inclusive and prosperous Indo‑Pacific region.
Australia and the Republic of Korea recognise that climate change is one of the defining challenges and opportunities of our time, and that all countries must play their role in the global response. We share a commitment to ambitious action to achieve the goals of the Paris Agreement, and to technology-led approaches that will ensure we reduce greenhouse gas emissions while also growing our economies and creating jobs.
We share the ambition of accelerating the development and commercialisation of low and zero emissions technologies to achieve cost parity with high emitting technologies as soon as possible. To this end, we commit to working together over the next decade and beyond to develop and support initiatives that will help drive increased adoption of low and zero emission technologies, and support our efforts to meet and beat our commitments under the Paris Agreement, including our Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs).
We will collaborate across existing and emerging low and zero emissions technologies, including technologies for clean hydrogen and clean ammonia supply; low emissions iron ore and steel; hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicles; hydrogen power generation; carbon capture, utilization and storage; energy storage; solar; and the critical minerals supply chain. In particular, we commit to make tangible progress on advancing technologies and trade systems for hydrogen supply (including clean hydrogen and clean ammonia), low emissions steel and iron ore, and carbon capture, utilization and storage as early priorities, and also strengthen our international cooperative relationship in these areas.
In support of this objective, Australia and the Republic of Korea will work together to provide funding in accordance with their respective domestic processes to support research and development, and pilot, trial, and demonstration projects in priority focus areas, with a view to supporting accelerated commercialisation of low and zero emissions technologies over the medium term. Initiatives supported under this Partnership will be industry-led and leverage additional financial contributions from the private sector, subnational governments and other sources.
Industries and research circles in both countries have already driven economic prosperity through active and voluntary cooperation on projects in industries such as energy and steel, and are now eager for new cooperation based on a positive vision for low and zero emissions technologies. This desire will be a fundamental driving force for this partnership, and underpin emissions reductions, new economic opportunities, and quality jobs in our two countries.
In preparation for the opening of this partnership, the Korean government has decided to support research on hydrogen supply chains between Korean and Australian companies this year. Australia will work closely with Korea in this effort, while also pursuing a low emissions steel and iron ore initiative that looks to reduce emissions across the supply chain.
Australia and the Republic of Korea will work to develop practical initiatives rapidly to advance this Partnership. The Minister for Industry, Energy and Emissions Reduction will lead work on the Australian side. The Minister for Trade, Industry and Energy will lead work on the Korean side. We will establish a low and zero emissions technology working group under the historic Australia‑Korea Joint Committee for Energy and Mineral Resources Consultations and Cooperation (JCEM) to ensure rapid and sustainable progress, which will meet on an annual basis to advance work under this Partnership.
Strengthening Low Emissions Technology Cooperation with the Republic of Korea
31 October 2021
The Hon. Scott Morrison MP
Prime Minister
The Hon. Angus Taylor MP
Minister for Industry, Energy and Emissions Reduction
Australia and the Republic of Korea will work together to drive increased adoption of low and zero emissions technologies through a new Australia-Republic of Korea Low and Zero Emissions Technology Partnership.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison and President Moon Jae-in of the Republic of Korea (ROK) agreed the partnership during bilateral talks at the G20 summit in Rome, ahead of COP26 in Glasgow.
“Australia and ROK share a forward facing relationship that is rising to new challenges, and today I was delighted to begin a new partnership that will position both Australia and ROK to play a leadership role in the global response to climate change, a defining challenge and opportunity of our time,” the Prime Minister said.
“The Partnership recognises our shared commitment to an ambitious, technology-led approach that will achieve the goals of the Paris Agreement by ensuring we reduce greenhouse gas emissions, while also growing our economies and creating jobs.
“Together, we share the ambition of accelerating the development and commercialisation of low and zero emissions technologies, both existing and emerging, to achieve cost parity with high emitting technologies as soon as possible.
“The Partnership also commits us to advancing technologies and trade systems for hydrogen supply, low emissions steel and iron ore, and carbon capture, utilization and storage as early priorities.
“This commitment builds on partnerships Australia has already entered into with Indonesia, Germany, Singapore, Japan and the United Kingdom.
“This is another example of the commitments we made in our Long Term Emissions Reduction Plan delivering tangible, practical outcomes that will see technology lead the way to achieving our target of net zero emissions by 2050, while establishing Australia as a leader in low emissions technologies, and positioning our regions to prosper.”
The Republic of Korea is Australia’s fourth largest trading partner and a major buyer of Australian resources and energy, including iron ore, coal and LNG.
Minister for Industry, Energy and Emissions Reduction Angus Taylor said the Low and Zero Emissions Technology Partnership would strengthen cooperation and help Australia achieve our Long Term Emissions Reduction Plan while also accelerating global emissions reduction efforts.
“Australia and the Republic of Korea share the ambition of advancing the development and commercialisation of low and zero emissions technologies so they can achieve cost parity with high-emitting technologies as soon as possible,” Minister Taylor said.
“We will collaborate on technologies, including clean hydrogen and clean ammonia supply; low emissions iron ore and steel; hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicles; hydrogen power generation; carbon capture, use and storage; energy storage; solar; and the critical minerals supply chain.”
“Getting new energy technologies to parity with higher emitting alternatives will enable substantial reductions in global emissions.”
Brokered by Dr Alan Finkel AO in his role as Special Adviser to the Australian Government on Low Emissions Technology, the partnership is aligned with Australia's technology-led approach to reducing emissions and will help deliver on the goals of the Technology Investment Roadmap.
Through the partnership, the Republic of Korea will support research on hydrogen supply chains between ROK and Australian companies.
Minister Taylor said Australia will work closely on this initiative with the Republic of Korea, while also pursuing a low emissions steel and iron ore initiative that looks to reduce emissions across the supply chain.
This partnership is part of the Government’s $565.8 million commitment to build new international technology partnerships that make low emissions technologies cheaper and drive investment in Australia-based projects to create up to 2,500 jobs.
Australia-Indonesia Joint Statement on Cooperation on the Green Economy and Energy Transition
31 October 2021
Yesterday, I met with His Excellency Mr Joko Widodo, President of the Republic of Indonesia at the G20 in Rome to mark a new chapter in the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership between Australia and Indonesia.
Our nations have agreed to a Joint Statement on Cooperation on the Green Economy and Energy Transition. It acknowledges the priority to address climate change and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
The statement sets out our shared ambition to cooperate more closely to develop, finance, deploy, and share affordable low emissions technologies and support infrastructure to enable our transition to lower emission economies, while also maintaining and enhancing our energy security. This cooperation reflects commitments our Government has made in our Long Term Emissions Reduction Plan, including our target of reaching net zero emissions by 2050. By working together, we will help build resilient renewable energy supply chains and economies, and drive green investment.
Both Australia and Indonesia will seek to expand trade and investment, building on the landmark Indonesia-Australia Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement. This includes new cooperation on regional energy trade and carbon markets, accessible green finance, and institutional and private sector collaboration. We also committed to strengthen existing collaborations on climate and energy transition, climate finance, environmental governance and resource management, biodiversity protection, water conservation, and disaster risk reduction and resilience.
During the meeting, I also expressed Australia’s strong support for Indonesia’s G20 Presidency in 2022, including Indonesia’s efforts to focus on climate change.
For more details about the Australia-Indonesia Joint Statement on Cooperation on the Green Economy and Energy Transition, visit: Australia-Indonesia Joint Statement on Cooperation on the Green Economy and Energy Transition
Bert Newton
30 October 2021
Australia loved Bert.
There will never be another like him.
Bert came into our homes and made himself very welcome. He was a regular guest and we always looked forward to his next visit.
Four Gold Logies, hosting the Logies on 20 occasions and entertaining Australians for over half a century.
Bert Newton was from the golden era of television when we all seemed to watch the same thing. They were the times of variety programs on TV “the King” Graham Kennedy, Don Lane, Mike Walsh, Jeannie Little and Daryl on Hey Hey!
There was a familiarity that connected us to Bert, but it also connected us to each other. We could laugh together. That was his gift.
Bert could give and take a joke. He could laugh at himself, I’m sure that’s what made Australians warm to him as much as we did. Even when a joke misfired, he had that ability to scramble in a way that made us laugh, and put everyone at ease.
Australians also understood his steadfast love of Patti, and her steadfast strength.
To Patti and the family, Jen and I send our love, and we send the country’s love as well.
Australia-Indonesia Joint Statement on Cooperation on the Green Economy and Energy Transition
30 October 2021
Indonesia and Australia acknowledge that reducing greenhouse gas emissions is a global challenge. We share ambition to address this challenge through cooperation and collaboration to develop, finance, deploy, and share affordable low emissions technologies and support infrastructure that will assist our respective transition to lower emission economies and maintain and enhance our energy security. By doing so, we will support the ongoing development of the region, help build inclusive and resilient renewable energy supply chains and economies, and create sustainable jobs and drive green investment.
Indonesia and Australia recognise the positive outcomes that can be achieved under the pillars of our Comprehensive Strategic Partnership (CSP) and our bilateral economic and development cooperation architecture, including the landmark Indonesia-Australia Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (IA-CEPA), to support green economy objectives and energy transition in both countries. We also recognise opportunities for collaboration in the regional context, including with ASEAN and through regional free trade agreements.
We seek to deepen and broaden our engagement on trade and investment, improving mechanisms and capabilities that underpin a green economy transition including in regional energy trade and carbon markets, accessible green finance, and enhanced institutional and private sector collaboration.
We are committed to strengthening existing collaborations on climate and energy transition, climate finance, environmental governance and resource management, biodiversity protection, water conservation, and disaster risk reduction and resilience. We are committed to promoting and upholding gender and social inclusion, including youth participation in climate action, in support of equitable and sustainable regional development.
Engagement under the auspices of the annual Economic, Trade and Investment Ministers’ meeting, the forthcoming inaugural Energy Ministers’ Meeting and other regular bilateral mechanisms will support progress on a green economy and energy transition agenda, including the areas of focus outlined below.
Opportunities to enhance cooperation include:
Economic and Development Partnership
Emphasise the essential role of trade and investment in the green economy, including to tackle the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and to enable a strong economic recovery for both countries.
Build stronger and more sustainable economic growth in the region, by facilitating the flow of goods and services, securing resilient supply chains, maintaining support for fiscal policy actions and ensuring strong macroeconomic fundamentals and a predictable business environment that promotes transition towards green and circular economies.
Work through existing and emerging green finance mechanisms to support affordable low emissions technology projects that enhance greenhouse gas emissions reduction (including Carbon Capture and Storage/Carbon Capture, Utilisation, and Storage (CCS/CCUS)), clean energy (such as clean hydrogen and ammonia), energy efficiency, environmental sustainability and related green economy initiatives to become commercially viable.
Leverage collaborations on potential carbon offset projects and capacity building to encourage greater private sector investment in climate action in Indonesia.
Utilise the IA-CEPA ECP Katalis program to develop Indonesia-Australia electric vehicle business partnerships, including support to develop the enabling critical minerals manufacturing sector, towards securing future challenges on clean energy transitions and providing value added industries and jobs growth.
Promote collaboration between Australian and Indonesian research institutions and industry partners to support both countries’ energy transition with practical, cost-effective solutions.
Securing Our and the Region’s Shared Interests
Promote innovative solutions for green economy challenges, including by working together to build and support resilient and reliable low emissions energy supply chains, by developing a mechanism to facilitate green and sustainable technology transfer, and by addressing both traditional and new challenges posed by digitalisation of green economies.
Strengthen green economy outcomes that support resilient, low carbon infrastructure and transportation links, including via the Indonesia Australia Partnership for Infrastructure (KIAT), regional program Partnerships for Infrastructure (P4I) and through ASEAN-Australia development programs that are inclusive and mutually beneficial.
Provide ongoing support for emerging private sector initiatives, including in renewable electricity generation production and transmission, and cross border trade, to help drive energy transition and offer low emissions energy to industries and supply chains in the region.
Maritime Trade and Sustainable Development
Promote the sustainable development of the blue economy based on spatial planning, as well as develop marine science and technology collaboration to support green and blue economies.
Explore possibilities to strengthen climate resilience, including through nature-based solutions or ecosystem-based approaches to climate change, reducing economic loss due to climate impacts in agriculture, health, water, marine and coastal sectors, and collaborating to ensure readiness and to reduce risks around climate and non-climate related disasters.
Continue our work together on emissions reduction measurement, reporting and verification (MRV) standards, particularly for nature-based solutions or ecosystem-based approaches such as blue carbon.
Address externalities and negative environmental impacts on ocean systems, including through the low carbon development and climate resilience strategies to tackle negative impacts of climate change, ensure the health, productivity and resilience of the ocean, and maintain sustainability of marine resources and the environment and coastal communities.
Promote cooperation on marine sustainability and blue economy development, protection and conservation of the marine and coastal environment including biodiversity, ecosystems and resources, as well as protecting people who depend on the ocean for their livelihoods from harmful activities and other threats, such as land-based and sea-based pollution, and taking action against cases of Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) fishing, through multi-stakeholder dialogue in both bilateral and regional fora.
Contributing to Indo-Pacific Stability and Prosperity/ Regional and Multilateral Contexts
Collaboration on green economy and sustainable recovery issues through multilateral and regional fora, including ASEAN-led forums, the East Asia Summit, and through enhanced ASEAN-Australia cooperation.
Taking note of the development of Australia’s new Indo-Pacific Carbon Offset Scheme, including identifying opportunities to pilot carbon offset projects that demonstrate mutual commitment to high-integrity carbon trading in the region.
Work together, and with other countries, and in multilateral contexts, including to ensure that policies and measures relating to trade, investment and the environment are consistent with WTO commitments and the other relevant treaty commitments of the respective parties concerned.
Australia expresses its support for Indonesia’s G20 Presidency in 2022 and the theme - “Recover Together, Recover Stronger”. Australia supports Indonesia’s efforts to focus on climate change as a cross-cutting theme under its five priorities of promoting productivity, increasing resilience and stability, ensuring sustainable and inclusive growth, creating enabling environment and partnership and forging a stronger collective global leadership.
G20 Leaders' Summit and COP26
28 October 2021
I will travel to Rome for the G20 Leaders’ Summit on 30-31 October and to Glasgow for the World Leaders’ Summit at COP26 on 1-2 November.
I will be accompanied by the Hon Angus Taylor MP, Minister for Industry, Energy and Emissions Reduction.
These important international meetings come as the world has reached a critical point in our health response and economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic and our collective effort to address the challenges of climate change.
In Rome, G20 leaders will discuss action to ensure equitable access to safe and effective vaccines and to strengthen global health governance to prevent future pandemics.
We will also discuss how to achieve a sustainable and resilient recovery, including advancing the G20 agenda on debt sustainability, high quality infrastructure investment, gender equality, and women’s workforce participation.
The G20 also has a key role in ensuring we can fully harness the benefits of increased digitalisation during the recovery. I look forward to raising how we can enhance confidence in the digital environment, including by ensuring it is safe and secure for users.
COP26 will be crucial in the global effort to address the challenges of climate change. I look forward to supporting Prime Minister Johnson, as host of COP26, to achieve our Paris Agreement objectives and collaborate to collectively deliver net zero emissions by 2050.
Additionally, I will use this opportunity to meet bilaterally with key partners.
Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce will be Acting Prime Minister during the period of October 28 to November 4.
Australians to Receive COVID-19 Vaccine Booster Shot
28 October 2021
The Hon. Scott Morrison MP
Prime Minister
The Hon. Greg Hunt MP
Minister for Health and Aged Care
To provide even greater protection against COVID-19, Australians aged 18 and over who have received two doses at least six months ago, are now eligible to have a booster shot.
Vaccines will be available for eligible people from November 8, following advice from Australia’s vaccine experts; the Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation (ATAGI) and approval from Australia’s medicines regulator; the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA).
Australia’s COVID-19 vaccination program is now one of the most successful in the world – with more than 75 per cent of Australians aged 16 and over being fully vaccinated.
The Government has accepted ATAGI’s advice that the Comirnaty (Pfizer) vaccine is recommended for the booster dose, irrespective of the primary COVID-19 vaccine used.
The booster shot is not mandatory, however it provides further protection against the worst effects of COVID-19.
Those first eligible for a booster, based on when they completed their two-dose course, will be people in high priority groups who were prioritised early in the roll out of the vaccine program.
This includes Australians aged 50 and over, residents of aged care and disability facilities, people with underlying medical conditions, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians, and people at increased occupational risk of COVID-19.
The booster program will roll out directly to people living in Residential Aged Care Facilities and people with a disability through an in-reach program.
Frontline workers are strongly encouraged to book in to get a booster dose, if six months has passed since their second dose.
The Australian Government will consider the possibility of other vaccines being used for booster shots if successful applications are submitted to the TGA, and pending advice from ATAGI.
The Pfizer COVID-19 booster shots are free and will be available through the primary healthcare network (GPs, community pharmacies, Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Services, and Commonwealth Vaccination Clinics) and state and territory vaccination hubs.
Australians will be able to book and receive their booster doses from 8 November 2021.
Although vaccines are the best defence against COVID-19, Australians are reminded to continue implementing other safety measures to reduce their risk of contracting the virus. Physical distancing, hand washing, wearing a face mask, and following other public health measures continue to be important for public safety.
For more details about the Australian Government’s vaccine roll out, visit aus.gov.au
The ATAGI advice is available on the Department of Health website.
Interview with Neil Breen, 4BC
27 October 2021
Neil Breen: Good morning, Prime Minister.
Prime Minister: G’day, Neil.
Breen: This happened pretty quick, Prime Minister. You went over to the United States and obviously met with our allies, the US and the UK. You came back and then climate was on the agenda and this got done pretty quickly. No one thought it would happen.
Prime Minister: No, well, I think it took a lot longer than that, Neil. I mean, this is something we've been working towards for a long time. That the low emissions technology roadmap we released last year, the changes to the national energy market that we've been working through to make sure that we keep our affordable and reliable energy. There's a lot of work that's been going into this for a long time - the Climate Solutions Fund. I said at the start of the year that, you know, we understand the world's changing, and it is. But the thing about our plan is it actually exposes the myth that says that you have to get to net zero by taxing people and forcing them to do things. That's the way some other countries want to do it. That's not how we're going to do it. That's not the Australian way. That's not what we're going to do. And the other point is, is that if you, if you move towards and have a target of net zero by 2050, the world's not going to end. In fact, it's going to give us opportunities to realise the new technology jobs that are there, as well as keeping all of our industries like up there in Gladstone and across Central Queensland moving ahead. We're not going to stop anyone digging anything up or planting anything or running any cattle anywhere - that will continue. We can do this without having to tax people or regulate people.
Breen: It was a, it was a key part of the debate in Australia over the last decade and a half, has been that Australians wanted action on climate change. Then the follow up question is how much are you willing to pay for it? And there was, and people didn't want to pay for it. They didn't want it in their power bills. They didn't want celebrities telling them, you have to do this and you have to do that. It's clear that that's the case, Prime Minister.
Prime Minister: That's right. And that's our plan and that's what our plan demonstrates. We've been putting the building blocks of all of our technology and policies in place over the last several years. And what they demonstrate is we can get there with those policies. We’ve added further support to things like low cost solar and getting that down to $15 per megawatt hour. That goes together with things like soil carbon and and of course, battery storage and and hydrogen and all of these new fuels and technologies, while keeping gas and other other fuels going, which keeps the lights on and keeps prices down. There seems to be this view by some who say, oh, you've got to take action on climate change, and somehow Australians should be punished for the work they do. That's rubbish. Australians don't have to be punished or nor should they feel guilty about what they do for a living, and they should feel no need to make any apologies to anyone overseas for that. So, we'll make our Australian way to do this. We'll get there. We've already got emissions down by over 20 per cent. Our economy is up by 45 per cent at the same time - few countries can boast that. Our emission reductions have already been greater than the United States, Japan, New Zealand, Canada. So, there are a lot of people overseas talking about this stuff, but we're actually just doing it and growing our economy and keeping people in jobs at the same time.
Breen: Whenever you look into a crystal ball, there's always assumptions made, and there are assumptions made here about technology - some existing, some assumptions that some will improve, and that some that don't even exist, will exist. So, we're hanging a lot on a few assumptions, though.
Prime Minister: Well, we’re, what we're doing is backing technological development as the way to achieve net zero by 2050, and anyone who’s ever used an iPhone knows that's not a bad bet. Everyone, you know, we didn't have to tax or regulate anybody to get a COVID vaccine. There was just an understanding that we needed to focus on cracking those challenges, and we did. And it's the same for dealing with climate change. I made this exact point when I was over in the UK early this year to the other G7, to the G7 leaders. I said, this is the same challenge. The whole world has got together and focused on cracking a vaccine for COVID. We've just got to crack these technologies, which means people can keep their jobs, they can keep driving cars, they can keep farming, they can keep mining and not have to, you know, sacrifice that [inaudible]. And that is totally possible. And I've, you know, got great faith. Well, I’ve got to tell you, I’ve got more faith in those who develop these technologies and make them reality, than politicians making laws, putting taxes on people and restricting what people can do.
Breen: Prime Minister, when you are the Prime Minister, everyone hangs off every word you say and tries to pick holes in it. At your press conference yesterday you said the next Budget would reveal further details on the plan, which had everyone going, oh, the Prime Minister’s going to have a Budget in May, which means the federal election will be after May. Are you going to hand down the next Budget?
Prime Minister: Oh, well, the Treasurers hand out Budgets. But, look, what I said was, that's the intention. I mean, I've always said the election is going to be next year. Everybody's been carrying on that it would be on this year. It was never going to be this year. I couldn't have been clearer about that. They’ll be an election next year. It’s, you know, the election is due by the end of, late May. And you usually have a Budget before late May. So, you know, we'll see what happens next year. But what I am saying is we'll be making further investments in rural and regional Australia. We've got more announcements to come to support this plan on issues like fuels and electric vehicles and things like that, but we're not going to be mandating anyone to do anything. This is all about respecting people's choices. This is about the sensible middle ground, which I know Australians want. Of course, they want us to take action on climate change. They want all the fighting and carrying on to come to an end. Every day I've been in this Parliament since 2007, the extremes of this debate have been shouting at each other, and when we're not doing that, they're shouting at the clouds. Sensible people just want to get on with it, get it done, and focus on their jobs and their security.
Breen: You're off to Rome tomorrow, I think it is, for the G20 or somewhere in Italy - I think it's Rome - and then you'll be going to Glasgow. I've got to say, Prime Minister, this morning, I'm worried about the Queen.
Prime Minister: We all are. I've had the great privilege to meet her on several occasions and she's just a wonderful woman. It's one of the highlights and the privileges of serving as Prime Minister is the ability to meet with Her Majesty, and Jenny was there with me on one of those those trips, and she's just absolutely delightful and she loves Australia. She's keenly interested, particularly in the welfare of rural and regional Australians. She, you know, they constantly make enquiries about where we're at on things, and I remember she called me early on in the COVID pandemic and just to see how Australians were going, and she called Jacinda Ardern as well. So, she's a wonderful, wonderful Queen, and we just hope she'll improve. I hear she is. But let's just hope that she will. And all of Australia's prayers and thoughts are with her for a speedy recovery.
Breen: Absolutely. And there’s a silver lining on your trip, too, because when you get home, you won't have to quarantine under the new rules in New South Wales.
Prime Minister: Well, that's true. And if I was going back to Victoria it’d be the same.
Breen: Not in Queensland, though.
Prime Minister: No, and that's why we've got to get those vaccination rates up in Queensland. I mean, that's what enables this. I mean, Queensland’s now over 75 per cent first dose. What I can tell you today is that Australia's first dose vaccination rate is now higher than the United Kingdom. That's as a percentage of the full population. So, that's great news. Australians are doing well and we need those, we need those Queensland second doses to get up so that means we can start, you know, bringing those boundaries down safely. I understand Queenslanders want to do this safely and that's the right thing to do. For that to achieve, we've got to get those vaccination rates up more. So, please go out there, there's there's all the doses available. We could be achieving 80 per cent vaccination rates, double dose in Queensland, you know, within the next week if everyone just went out and got the doses that were there. So, I want to encourage all Queenslanders to go and do that.
Breen: Ok. Prime Minister, well, all the best on your trip to Italy and to Glasgow. And our thoughts are with the Queen as well, and travel and arrive home safely.
Prime Minister: Just before I go, Neil, two quick things. Last night, we also signed off on the fact that Australians will be able to travel overseas from next Monday.
Breen: Oh yes, yep, I spoke to Karen Andrews about that.
Prime Minister: So, that barrier’s gone. And if, that includes if you're in Queensland, you can fly out. You won’t be able to fly back into Queensland without doing two weeks’ quarantine. So, it's a bit of a reverse Hotel California, there. But the other part of it, though, is that TGA has made an announcement on booster shots. The Health Minister’s standing up on that very shortly. And, so, we'll be moving to our booster program very soon. But to have boosters, you've got to have your first two doses, so come on, Queensland.
Breen: Ok, yeah, exactly right. Yeah, those things have been breaking out of Canberra this morning. There’s stacks of news around, clearing the decks before you head off to Rome. Enjoy the plane flight.
Prime Minister: Good on you, Breeny. Cheers mate.
Interview with Neil Mitchell, 3AW
27 October 2021
Prime Minister: Good morning, Neil and good morning, Melbourne.
Neil Mitchell: Big discussion in Melbourne, will you allow unvaccinated tennis players into the country for the Australian Open?
Prime Minister: Well, they'll have to quarantine for two weeks and just in the same way, a skilled worker who has to come in to fix a boilermaker or a boiler or something like that, they can get exemptions to come in and do that. That's an important economic activity and the same applies here, but they have to quarantine for those two weeks if you're unvaccinated. They're the rules. I mean, I'm going to Glasgow. If I wasn't vaccinated when I came back, I'd have to, I'd have to quarantine for two weeks.
Mitchell: But you and I can't go into the Australian Open if we're not double vaccinated, and yet the players can.
Prime Minister: They're rules that are set down in Victoria. And but if they, if they are unvaccinated, they have to quarantine for two weeks. That's the rule.
Mitchell: But the Premier said he doesn't want any. I mean, but you in fact control the borders. Are you saying they will be allowed in unvaccinated?
Prime Minister: If they apply for that exemption, just as just like a skilled worker coming in to have to do a particular job that's been operating for the last few years through the pandemic. Those exemptions can be granted, but then when they come in, they're governed by the rules of what the state public health orders are. And I think that's a very sensible rule if you're unvaccinated, because that's where the risk is. I mean, the virus finds the unvaccinated, then it's important that they quarantine for that two week period.
Mitchell: So if the Premier wants to stop them, he can't really, that's your authority isn't it.
Prime Minister: Well, of course. I mean, the exemptions we've been providing exemptions for workers to come in to do these types of things for all the way through the pandemic. Now it's true that they have to apply one so that the, you know, the blanket rule is no, but there is a pathway for people to do that for those type of economic activities.
Mitchell: Just so on the pandemic, we've got some pretty draconian legislation here, which is when you could go to jail for not wearing a mask. It's all in the hands of the Premier. You could even call a pandemic when there wasn't a pandemic and the local, the state opposition, says it's a massive overreaction. It's undemocratic. What's your view as Prime Minister?
Prime Minister: Well, I can understand people after what Victoria been through over the last two years are very sensitive about that. I mean, their state issues, they're not federal issues. And we've always tried to avoid sort of mandatory powers in everything on this because we've just trusted Australians to do the right thing. And that's been our approach, whether that's been vaccines or anything else except for, you know, in areas like aged care workers where you knew where we had a particular view, but that was the exception, not the rule. I mean, the Commonwealth has, you know, pretty strong laws around its biosecurity, but we've exercised them with a very light touch. And I think it's a matter of you, your trust and relationship with your population, with your people. I mean, we had the Labor Party saying they wanted to pay people to get vaccinated. Well, I don't think we need to do that. I thought it was pretty insulting to people, and today we have the highest rate of first dose vaccination that we've seen and it's higher than there in the United Kingdom, which is why we're able right now to let people from the 1st of November, we've lifted the restriction on people who are double vaccinated, being able to travel overseas. So that was done last night. So 1st of November, after over half a million people have downloaded that international vaccine certificate, so they'll be jetting off.
Mitchell: But it just doesn't seem right. The prospect in Australia of jailing somebody for not wearing a mask. The Premier saying I can declare a pandemic, whether there is one or not.
Prime Minister: They're not sort of rules that we put in place. But, you know, Victoria will make their own judgements about the decisions being made in Victoria and those things that the Victorian Government are responsible for.
Mitchell: There's also a difference between Victoria and New South Wales. In Victoria, the Premier says all next year you will need a vaccine passport to get it to be admitted to a lot of facilities. In New South Wales, once they hit 90 per cent, they drop that. Do you think that's an overreaction by the Victorian Government?
Prime Minister: Well, let's just see what happens. What I'm seeing happen is that as people get more comfortable with the new arrangements, we're seeing a lot of these things fall away. And I think what's happening in New South Wales is showing that this can be achieved. It can be done safely. I understand people are concerned and nervous as we go into this next phase, and they're looking for some assurances. I get all that. But what I think the lived experience will be and it will be quite different. People will see that we can live with this virus, that the higher rates of vaccination. I mean, we're going to have one of the highest rates of vaccination in the world, not just one of the lowest rates of fatalities from COVID and not just one of the strongest economies in economic performance through COVID. But we are going to have one of the highest vaccination rates in the world, and that's a great ticket for us. And I think as people become accustomed to that and their concerns and fears are relayed, I think we're going to be able to move forward next year pretty confidently.
Mitchell: Do you think we're through it? We're just about through it?
Prime Minister: Oh, no, I wouldn't say that. I mean, the pandemic is not going anywhere globally. There are large parts of the world which are still unvaccinated, and that's going to produce, you know, continue to present real risks. I mean, I've been spending quite a bit of time lately on the, on the big challenges up there in Papua New Guinea. I was talking to the prime minister on the weekend. And so, you know, there are still real challenges really close to home. And, you know, we did a great job over there in Fiji. I mean, we've got them vaccinated, they’re thrilled. Australians are going to be able to fly to Fiji next week, so they're happy about that. I can tell you about Frank Bainimarama, I'll see him next week. They're thrilled. They're so grateful to Australia. Australians have done a great job helping our Pacific neighbours during the pandemic. We should feel very proud of that.
Mitchell: Do you have any report on the Delta, the UK Delta variant has apparently appeared in the US? Have you got a new report on that issue?
Prime Minister: Oh, no, I don't. But we've got a we've got a series of meetings today and I expect that we will be updated on that then.
Mitchell: Have you heard anything about that variant in the UK, whether it's a problem or not, because they do pop up every now and again now?
Prime Minister: Well, look, this happens all the time. And so the issue is, you know, which one's are material, which ones are not. And there's a lot of information that flows through on that. And of course, I rely heavily on the advice we get from the Chief Medical Officer and Professor Murphy.
Mitchell: Want to chat climate change in a moment, but the Queen quickly, have you got any report or an official report on how she is? I do read one. She's not going to the Scotland summit now. And second, that she'll only go in public when accompanied by another royal. So she's in a sense taking a step, which is significant for her. Do you know anything about her health?
Prime Minister: Nothing more than has been publicly reported, Neil. I've had the great privilege to meet her on several occasions, once with Jenny, and she's the most delightful, most amazing, one of the most amazing people I've ever met. And she loves Australia. She cares deeply about what's happening here in Australia. I mean, last time I spoke to her, she was still concerned about how things had gone since the drought and she was very interested in actually the mouse plague in Australia. She has a quite a keen interest in Australia. She loves, she loves Australia and we love her.
Mitchell: And we wish her well.
Prime Minister: We certainly wish her well and I'll be passing that on through Prince Charles when I, when I imagine I'll see him next week.
Mitchell: OK. You don't have to quarantine when you get back from Scotland, do you?
Prime Minister: No, I don't. I did in the last year Neil and so that probably means I'm one of the most quarantined prime ministers or presidents anywhere in the world.
Mitchell: Prime Minister, you've been herding cats with The Nationals for weeks, we got the promise of zero emissions by 2050. Real world test. I'm having breakfast in Glen Waverley or I'm dropping off the kids to school in Sydney or Brisbane. How will this affect me directly? Not the theory. How will it affect me in the back pocket as the average Australian?
Prime Minister: Well, it will actually affect you positively because we're not going down the path of taxing and regulating people. I mean, Australia's already reduced our emissions by over 20 per cent and our economy has grown by 45 per cent.
Mitchell: Well you must be, must be taxing to some extent because it's going to cost $20 billion. It comes out of taxpayer's money.
Prime Minister: We're investing in a lot of programs, we invest in the NDIS, we invest in government programs, and these investments we're making through ARENA, particularly in the CFC. These are developing the new technologies that are growing the economy. And so it actually is an added benefit. There's a multiplier that comes from doing this, particularly in rural and regional areas. But I mean, on this debate Neil, you mean you've been covering it for a long time. Every day, I've been in parliament over the last 15 years, this has been, you know, the big sort of issue that people have debated here. And I've just sort of got frustrated that there are the two extremes to this. There are those who say, if you achieve, if you commit to net zero by 2050 we’re all ruined, you know, everything has to shut down. Then there's others on the other side who say that Australia has committed a great climate crime and needs to be punished and taxed and regulated, and that's the only way you can do it. Both of those positions are rubbish. There is a middle way here. It's the Australian way and we'll work it out. We'll do it. Our path on technology, not taxes. Choices, not mandates.
Mitchell: So I'll be driving to work. Nothing will be different. No increased petrol prices, increased energy prices. Will I be driving an electric car, will my job change, no change at all to me?
Prime Minister: Well, you make all of those choices yourself. They won't be mandated by the government and there's nothing in our plan which adds one cent to the price of petrol, that takes away one job. In fact, it adds jobs.
Mitchell: I know you've got a net increase, but jobs go. Some people are going to lose their jobs, whether they get one …
Prime Minister: The Australian economy will be bigger. Australia's regions will be stronger and what we will be doing is developing new energy industries in Australia, which will see us be highly successful in the future. Hydrogen is a huge part of that. There's going to be hundreds of billions of dollars, which will flow into these new technologies and their development around the world. Australia has been marked out as one of the high priority places where the hydrogen industry will develop, and we're going to realise that. But there's critical minerals, there's rare earths. These are the things we were actually discussing when I was in Washington with the President, as well as Prime Minister Modi and Prime Minister Suga, that we need to develop these new clean energy supply chains, of which Australia will be a key part. And that's jobs and that's income.
Mitchell: But Prime Minister, 100,000 jobs will go, now you're going to create more, but there are 100,000 people who are going to find jobs changing or going, aren't they?
Prime Minister: Well that happens every month, Neil. I mean, that is that happens every month. The Australian economy is always changing. That is not new. And Australians understand that. Australians understand that there are a lot of changes happening around the world and this is a big change that's happening around the world. We can't change the choices that are being made in Japan or Korea, which they're being made. Now in the United States or Europe, they're making their choices. But what I'm saying, our plan doesn't stop us from digging one thing up, planting, one one head of cattle or anything like that anywhere in Australia. Doesn't change anything. We're going to keep doing what we're doing. We're going to keep adjusting to global demands. We're going to develop the technologies which set us up for the future. And you can get to net zero by 2050 without punishing anyone, taxing anyone or regulating anyone in a way that changes how they want to live their lives. That's what I know.
Mitchell: And no increase in energy prices?
Prime Minister: Yeah, that's what our work shows.
Mitchell: Mike Cannon-Brookes, the Australian tech billionaire is having a go at you today, says the UK plan is nearly 2,000 pages in some detail. Ours is 129, he calls it, excuse the word, bullshit. It's one hundred and twenty nine pages. There's no, there's no modelling and there's no there's not a detailed list.
Prime Minister: The modelling will be released. But the point is we haven't got a plan which is sort of taxing and regulating people and trying to control their lives, Neil. They want action on climate change, but they want their action on climate change. They want the thing which sort of sometimes lines their pockets. What we want is a plan that doesn't intrude on the lives of Australians. That's just not our disposition. We're going to get there and we don't have to go around having Australians feel guilty about how they're earning a living. And you know, one of the things that really sort of annoys me about this debate is that, you know, people have got to try and put a guilt trip on Australians for what they do for a living to support their families. And I think that's wrong. He can make his money his way, good for him. He's been enormously successful. He's a great Australian who's passionate about this topic, and I respect him greatly for that. But that doesn't mean I have to go and tax Australians out of their jobs.
Mitchell: Will Australia's contribution make one iota of difference to the overall world figures?
Prime Minister: Well, of course it will make a contribution, but you're right to know that the ones that are going to make the big contribution are places like China, India ...
Mitchell: How much [inaudible].
Prime Minister: We're around one per cent of global emissions. That's what we are. But Neil, the point about us taking action on this is less about that than understanding that if we want to realise the opportunities of the changes happening in the global economy, the changes that are happening in the energy economy to attract investment, to develop these new technologies. You can't stand on the sidelines. If you don't, if you don't go down this path, you’ll freeze Australia out of this investment. That will cost us jobs. If we don't go down this path, it'll cost us jobs, especially in rural and regional Australia.
Mitchell: Well, why can’t we see as far as that nuclear power? We've got heaps of uranium. Why can't we accept that nuclear power is the future and work out how to do it?
Prime Minister: Well, I think it's, I'm fine to have a debate about it.
Mitchell: You're not frightened of coal, but you're not frightened of nuclear. You tell people not to be frightened of coal. Isn't this message the same? Don't be frightened of nuclear.
Prime Minister: I think that they're two different issues, and I think people have different impressions of both of those things. But in the United States at the moment, they won't have small modular reactors operating at scale over there for about a decade. It should be just around about 2030. They've regulated for the first one of those to be done. So if we're thinking this is going to massively change the paradigm in the next 10 years, that's not true either.
Mitchell: But we've got to start working on it surely…
Prime Minister: ... Technology develops and we'll be able to watch that and see where it goes.
Mitchell: But surely, we want to be in the game? We've got to start thinking about it and talking about it …
Prime Minister: We already do. I mean, we've got ANSTO. It's one of the most, it's a great nuclear science organisation. It's already there and we're developing obviously the capabilities to support the nuclear submarine programme. So it's not like we don't know things about this area. We do. There is a technological capability here that looks at this. But in terms of lifting the moratorium for civil nuclear power in this country, we don't have any plans to do that. There's a moratorium, there's no bipartisan commitment. All that would do is just hand the Labor Party the opportunity to talk about something else at the election, rather than the fact that they don't even have a 2030 target for emissions, let alone a plan for 2050.
Mitchell: Just a couple of quick things, I know we're out of time, housing ownership is down sixty five point five. The lowest figures since 1954, but the housing market is horrendous to try to get into it. Can you fix it?
Prime Minister: Well, we have been. I mean, the homebuilder first home loan deposit scheme, particularly our programme to support single parents get into first homes that's got tens of thousands of people into new homes since the last election, as I promised to do. I mean, buying a home is never easy. I mean, I mean, everyone who has gone through that at whatever stage of life. It's very, very difficult. But that's why our first home loan deposit scheme, which actually means you can only need a deposit of as little as five per cent. That's making a huge difference to first home buyers and particularly our homebuilder programme, which was rubbished by the Labor Party, has got tens of thousands of people, particularly into their first homes.
Mitchell: Prime Minister, it's been a tough few years with pandemics and now herding the national cats, cats, as you said, forced into quarantine. How are you handling it personally?
Prime Minister: Oh, thanks for asking, Neil.
Mitchell: You are human. You are.
Prime Minister: Yeah, it's very kind of you to ask. But look, I mean, my faith and my family, that's what sustains me. I love them dearly. I haven't been able to see them as much as I'd like. But kids are back at school. They're doing well. Jen's amazing. And you know, we all have our support networks and good friends like anyone else, we're finding our way through this. I'm no different, but I'm just very appreciative to all Australians about how they've been, you know, getting through. We've invested a lot in mental health support in this country, Neil, as you know, particularly in Melbourne, Pat McGorry, a great Victorian, great Australian, has been a constant source of counsel and advice to me over this course of these last two years particularly, and I'm very proud of the work we've done in mental health in the pandemic. Australia has actually been right at the top of the list in understanding the mental health impacts of this pandemic.
Mitchell: But what do you do for your own mental health if you get stressed, if you get down, what do you do?
Prime Minister: Oh, I exercise, but that's the main one that I try and do. And spend as much time as I can with family and friends that doesn't involve talking about politics.
Mitchell: Thank you so much for your time.
Prime Minister: Good on you. Thanks Neil.
Mitchell: Prime Minister Scott Morrison.
Interview with Karl Stefanovic, Today Show
27 October 2021
TKARL STEFANOVIC: Prime Minister Scott Morrison joins us now from Canberra. PM, good morning to you. Nice to have your company this morning. That's all been ticked off. When will boosters be rolled out?
PRIME MINISTER: We'll be approving those plans over the course of the next week or so. The National Cabinet's meeting in a week or so but before that, our cabinet is considering some further issues today as the booster programme is coming together. We've been working steadfastly on that now for some time. The TGA approval, which gives those booster shot approvals for those over 18, six months apart, will be starting, particularly with those in aged care facilities like we did with the vaccine programme. In other news overnight, we've confirmed and lifted the restriction on Australians who are double vaccinated travel overseas. That's formally being done now, though, so that starts on November the 1st, which is also good news. And the other good news is Australia's first dose vaccination rate is now higher than the United Kingdom, so well done Australia. South Australia above 80 per cent. Well done to you, too.
STEFANOVIC: OK, just on the booster shot. Will it be after six months or eight months, is the recommendation?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, you know, that's what we're finalising now with the programme. And there is a period of time in which you can have it and and we'll be rolling that out and we'll be looking to do that in similar ways to the way we've been doing the vaccinations now. And so the states will be keeping a fair bit of their infrastructure in place to deliver that. We'll obviously be leaning heavily again on the primary health network, on pharmacists and GPs who have done the heavy lifting on getting these vaccination rates, which, as I said, first dose higher than the UK.
STEFANOVIC: Will that booster form part of the COVID passport?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, your vaccination certificate keeps a currency on your vaccination status. Now, what states do with that is up to them, but that also feeds into your international vaccine certificate, which you use to travel. Over half a million Australians have already downloaded that. And that's why they can sort of get on it and get on the plane from the 1st of November. And welcoming the fact that in New South Wales and Victoria, there won't be 14 days quarantine, when they return. I particularly appreciate that, I'll be returning from overseas next week as well.
STEFANOVIC: Oh, so you've done it for yourself then.
PRIME MINISTER: Well, it wasn't my decision. I thank Dom Perrottet and I thank Dan Andrews. I've done my fair share of time in quarantine …
STEFANOVIC: I get it. Look on Dan Andrews. He was filthy the other day with this news from Tennis Australia that unvaccinated tennis players will be allowed into the country for the Australian Open. Where do you stand on that? No vax, no play?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, no, well, what they decide, there is up to them, but on unvaccinated people coming into Australia, there are exemptions that occur and if you have a skilled worker to go and fix a boiler in a mine or something like that, they can get exemptions to come into the country. But if you're unvaccinated, you've got to quarantine for two weeks. So that's our view on it. If there is a special exemption that is warranted for an economic reason like that, well, that can happen. But you've got to follow the health rules in that state and two weeks’ quarantine for unvaccinated people, well, that's sensible.
STEFANOVIC: I get that, but unvaccinated players being able to play in Melbourne sends a weird message, especially in a city like Melbourne's that’s gone through so much. If you're a spectator, you have to be double vaxxed. If you work there at the centre, you have to be double vaxxed. That's a weird message to send if you're a player, you don't have to be.
PRIME MINISTER: Well, you just got to manage the public health risk, and, you know, when you talk about large numbers of people, obviously there's the smaller numbers of actual players. I mean, that's how you live with COVID, Karl. I mean, it's nice to have, you know, all clear and hard and fast rules, but there needs to be a little bit of flexibility so we can live with the virus. And we've got to sort of, I think, take that as it comes and and people are going to make some calls on this. They'll make those calls in Victoria ...
STEFANOVIC: But the whole messaging PM, the whole messaging has been get vaxxed. We need to get vaxxed to protect our people. And then it's OK if you're a tennis player travelling internationally, having a game of tennis. You don't have to be vaxxed.
PRIME MINISTER: Well, look, we're going to have one of the highest vaccination rates in the world, we've got the lowest fatality rate, one of the lowest fatality rates from COVID in the world and the strongest economy coming through COVID in the world. So that says to me that our plans have worked pretty well, Karl. And, you know, as we go forward, I think we just got to be sensible and practical, OK? And we want major events in this country. A lot of jobs depend on it. We want Australia to show to the world that we're open, we're getting on with it. And Australian life is roaring back, as we're seeing now in New South Wales and Victoria and even here in the ACT. And, you know, we've just got to move on.
STEFANOVIC: OK, change in the messaging, on your net zero emissions target announcement. It's more a prayer than a policy, isn't it?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, no, not at all. I mean, what this is a plan, this is our plan to hit net zero emissions by 2050 and to get there, not by taxing people and regulating people and telling them what they have to do, but supporting the choices they're making, developing the technologies that are going to change the world. Now, those who think that technology is more of a prayer than taxes and regulation, I disagree with them. Those people never would have bought Microsoft shares or Apple shares. They would never thought we would have had something like this. I mean, technology is moving at rapid rates, and that is a far more bankable proposition than people turning up at conferences and making rules and taxes.
STEFANOVIC: What else you got hidden there, PM? Looks like a cavalcade of things. It's like show and tell. Look, you've said 15 percent of the work in reducing emissions will come from global technology trends, another 15 per cent from further technology breakthroughs. It is a massive chunk of the plan, though that does rely on things you can't exactly control and outcomes you're not sure of yet?
PRIME MINISTER: Well no, I disagree with that. I mean, 40 per cent of the plan is for technologies that are already foreseeable and we're working on. So that's hydrogen, its soil and carbon measurement. It's green steel and hydrogen. It's low cost solar, it's battery technology. All of these things. And because Australia has already reduced our emissions by 20 per cent, increased the size of our economy by 45 per cent, we've got a million people back in manufacturing jobs. One in eight jobs were lost in manufacturing under Labor. So we're getting emissions down and growing our economy.
See Karl, there are two schools of thought that have basically shouted out this debate for the last 15 years, and I think we're all a bit over it. Those who say that in order to deal with climate change, you've got to shut everything down and Australia has to be punished and people have to feel guilty about what they do for a job. Then you've got the other side of the debate, which says that, you know, if you commit to net zero by 2050, the sun won't shine. I mean, both of that is rubbish. Our path is a middle course which says we're not going to tax you, we're not going to shut you down. You can keep still digging things up and planting things and running your farms, and we'll get there because technology will get us there, because technology always has. It's a far better bet than relying on politicians who are going to put taxes and regulations on you.
STEFANOVIC: So how much cheaper will, for example, zero emission fuels be compared to, say, existing fuels for vehicles? I mean, how much cheaper will it be to fuel up a heavy vehicle?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, under our plan, we're not envisaging any increase as a result of the plan that we've set out, not an extra- will come as a result of the things we're doing in our plan on what the price of petrol would be. It won't take a dollar away from your pay packet. It won't take your job away from what we're doing. I mean, things are going to happen around the world, which happen every day. The global economy is changing. We can't change what they're doing in Japan or Korea or the United States or Europe. Australians understand that, and we'll have to adjust to all of those changes like we always have. We don't live in a vacuum down here.
STEFANOVIC: A couple of quick ones. You finally agreed to go to Glasgow as we found out then, for the climate summit next week, a couple of days ago. The Queen won't be making it we learned this morning. That must be disappointing after the lecture she gave you last week.
PRIME MINISTER: No I wouldn't describe it like that. I was obviously looking forward to meeting the Queen again. I've met her on a couple of occasions. It's been a real highlight. She's an amazing person. She's done so much for the world and she loves Australia. When I sit and chat with her, it's a real privilege of this job, she just so knows so much about what's happening in particularly rural and regional parts of the country. Last time we spoke, we talked about the mouse plague, and she was keen to know how we were managing that. So she, it's not just a passing interest, she's got a passionate interest in this country. So we send her all of our love and best wishes and and for her recovery, I hear she's, from the public reports, that she's doing better, but obviously she's going to need to take it easy. So Australia's all there with you, Your Majesty.
STEFANOVIC: One hundred per cent. Okay, just finally, we get the chance in Glasgow to sit down and have a cheeky little Beaujolais with Emmanuel Macron, patch things up?
PRIME MINISTER: I don't think that's probably going to happen this time. I think it will happen eventually, but we just got to give him a bit of space, give him a bit of space. I mean, we had to take the decision we took in the national interest and maybe we'll catch up at some time down the track. But for now, you know, sometimes it's just best to give our friends a bit of space.
STEFANOVIC: Relationship advice from the PM. Great stuff. Thank you for your time this morning, Prime Minister. Always appreciate it.
Interview with Sabra Lane, ABC AM
27 October 2021
Sabra Lane: Prime Minister, thanks for talking to AM. A document the government released yesterday talks about 62,000 jobs being created in mining and heavy industry by 2050 and 100,000 new direct jobs by 2050 in new renewable energy and power industries. Where will those jobs be?
Prime Minister: Right around the country. But we can expect them in rural and regional areas, which is, I think, the most important thing about this plan. By embracing where we're heading to achieve net zero emissions by 2050 as our target, we can do this through the technological changes we're investing in, and the biggest beneficiaries of that will be in rural and regional areas where it's in critical minerals, rare earths and the development of these technologies, like the green steel, the green aluminium, the hydrogen work that is being done, the carbon capture, use and storage, and particularly in areas like soil carbon, which is a key technology target and low cost solar. So all of this is what will drive our economy supported by the other fuels that will continue to play an important role in our economy for many years to come.
Lane: When will you publicly release the modelling on this policy? Until you do, aren't you opening yourself up to claims of greenwashing?
Prime Minister: No look, we will be announcing, we will be releasing that soon, and I'll be talking to the Minister about that. Right now, we're focusing on the plan that we've released and what the plan shows is that you don't have to go and tax and regulate people to achieve this. We've already seen emissions reduce by over 20 per cent in Australia, and we've done that while the economy has grown by 45 per cent. So those who say we're all ruined if we go to net zero by 2050, that's wrong. But those who also say that Australia has to be punished with taxes and regulation to achieve this, to be forced into doing things, that's also wrong. We can do this the Australian way, and that's what our plan sets out.
Lane: The UN said overnight the current pledges mean the world is on track for a temperature rise of 2.7 degrees this century outside what the world has agreed to and that’s temperature rises below two degrees. In light of this new information, will you reconsider Australia's formal 2030 pledge?
Prime Minister: Well, our 2030 pledge is what I took to the last election. And so, you know, that's the trust I have with the Australian people. But what we did yesterday, we will achieve a 35 per cent reduction on our emissions by 2030. That is a significant meet and beat on our targets that we took to the last election. I mean, Australia is outstripping the United States, Canada, New Zealand, Japan. There's a lot of countries talking, but Australia is the one that's actually doing.
Lane: The UN recognises formal commitments, not assertions, and it says most cuts need to be front loaded. Australia's plan currently relies on big cuts towards 2050.
Prime Minister: I don't share that view. And you know, people like Bill Gates agree with me. I mean, what we have to do is invest in the technologies which actually achieve the big changes, and you don't want to go and force things with diverting resources to things that won't deliver those long term gains. And if you want the technologies that are going to get you to 2050, they have long lead times and that's what we're investing in and that's what our plan achieves while we keep digging things up. While we keep ensuring that we plant things and we keep having the agricultural and resources and transport sectors that support rural and regional lives.
Lane: Malcolm Turnbull says this plan still relies on carbon capture and storage, something he says is a con and it's a proven failure. He says it keeps getting run up the flagpole by the fossil fuel sector as a way to defer action.
Prime Minister: Well, when I worked with him, carbon capture and storage was an important technology we were supporting.
Lane: So what are you saying about what he says now?
Prime Minister: I'm not making any comment. I always respect the views of former prime ministers. What I'm saying is our policies are consistent with those of the government has been pursuing for a long time.
Lane: Other than a new cabinet minister and a Productivity Commission review, what other measures have you agreed to in order to get The Nationals onside with the 2050 target?
Prime Minister: Well, particularly the second thing you've referred to and the first are important because it provides an accountability to ensure that the plan we're delivering on is good for rural and regional Australia, and there's an accountability for that. The other areas that we're focused on is ensuring that we continue to invest in rural and regional communities to ensure they can, they can be, come out of this, this process positively and that those jobs are created and investing in the infrastructure and the other supports that are needed to realise that. The other important thing is making sure that we're supporting in the agricultural sector the practises that they are employing and want to continue to employ.
But the ultimate point here is is that everything we're doing is consistent with this plan and consistent with government policy. And it's for all rural and regional Australia. Doesn't matter what party you're from, it doesn't matter who you vote for. We're concerned about rural and regional Australia. The Liberal Party is concerned about that, as is The Nationals. And we're the best people to be able to protect rural and regional Australia for their lifestyle, for their livelihoods, to ensure that these plans can be implemented without punishing them, which is what we saw under the Labor Party.
Lane: When are Australians going to learn about what other measures you have agreed to?
Prime Minister: We'll be making announcements between here and the next election, as we have been for many years. I mean, what we announced yesterday brings together so much of the things that we're already doing, and we make no apologies for that. We've been taking action on these issues every single day, whether the King Review and the changes in the energy market reforms that are being put in place, whether it's the low emissions technology roadmap, which we added to that low cost solar, ultra low cost solar. Now this is going to be one of the key technologies and Australia needs to crack it. We put in place the technology partnerships. I'll be seeing Narendra Modi in a few days’ time. I mean, if we want the world to be able to respond to climate change, then the only way that's going to happen is if technologies are available in India, Indonesia, Vietnam and China that are scalable and affordable. They're not going to put taxes on their economies. They don't have any of those things.
Lane: Prime Minister, you had three cabinet ministers, Barnaby Joyce, Bridget McKenzie, Keith Pitt, who don't believe in net zero by 2050. The plan assumes that there will be major technological advances on cutting emissions. Some have described that as magical thinking. We don't know the modelling that was used for this plan. Why should Australians trust you to deliver this?
Prime Minister: Well, everyone who thinks technology can't achieve it mustn't be aware of what Bill Gates has been able to achieve and what Steve Jobs was able to achieve. And they probably would never have bought Apple or Microsoft shares. Technology, I trust far more than governments taxing people and regulating people. And we know that those investments pay off. We didn't get a COVID vaccine by passing a law or putting a tax on it. I mean, that's what actually achieves the change. And if anybody thinks that you're going to get to net zero by 2050, by some other method than technological change, which is at scale and at cost, then they're kidding themselves. And they're not going to address climate change. They're just going to make themselves feel good saying all sorts of things, but not achieving anything.
We've cut emissions by 20 per cent. More than other countries that are making- our deeds speak far more than the words of others, and we've got a plan that works for Australia. They can have their plans for their countries. That's fine. They could mandate, they can tax, they can do all of that if they want. But that's not what we're going to do in Australia. And I can tell you what we're doing in Australia will show more of a way forward for countries like Indonesia and India and China, than in the developed economies of Europe and the United States ...
Lane: On the pandemic …
Prime Minister: Our way forward helped them achieve this. And if you want to address global climate change, then that's how you do it.
Lane: On the pandemic, when will Australia reopen the international border to foreign students and international tourists?
Prime Minister: Well, I believe, particularly in New South Wales and Victoria, where there's no 14 day quarantine from next month, we will see that before the end of the year. I'm looking forward to finalising some arrangements with Singapore this week. Last night, we signed off on lifting the restriction on Australians who are double vaccinated going overseas from November 1. Australia's first dose vaccination rate today is higher than in the United Kingdom, and that's a percentage of the whole population. So we've got one of the lowest rates of fatality in the world. We've got one of the strongest economies coming through the pandemic in the world, and we're going to have one of the highest rates of vaccination in the world. That's a plan that's working.
Lane: Thanks, Prime Minister for talking to AM.
Prime Minister: Thanks Sabra.
National Strategy to Prevent and Respond to Child Sexual Abuse
27 October 2021
The Hon. Scott Morrison MP
Prime Minister
The Hon. Ben Morton MP
Minister Assisting the Prime Minister and Cabinet
Minister for the Public Service
Special Minister of State
Today, the Australian Government launched the National Strategy to Prevent and Respond to Child Sexual Abuse (2021-2030), a 10 year whole-of-nation framework.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison said the landmark National Strategy was the first of its kind.
“This is a watershed day for Australia. Today we deliver the first ever long-term, truly national plan to protect our children from the scourge of sexual abuse,” the Prime Minister said.
“Australians were rightly shocked and appalled at the findings of the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse, and we made a promise to do everything possible to end these abhorrent crimes.
“We have made great strides since then, through the National Redress Scheme, establishing the National Office for Child Safety, the Australian Centre to Counter Child Exploitation, and the world’s first eSafety Commissioner. But, this is the next big step.
“While the Royal Commission was focused on child sexual abuse in institutions, the National Strategy targets child sexual abuse in all settings, including in the family and online.
“We must stop the abuse, and we must better support those who have been abused and we are contributing an initial $307.5 million commitment to implement the National Strategy.”
The National Strategy was developed in partnership with state and territory governments and in consultation with hundreds of stakeholders, including victims and survivors of child sexual abuse and their advocates, children and young people, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and people with disability and their advocates.
The first phase of the National Strategy will be driven by two, four-year action plans:
the First National Action Plan, which will be delivered by Commonwealth, state and territory governments in a coordinated and consistent approach
the First Commonwealth Action Plan, which will be primarily delivered by Commonwealth agencies.
Minister Assisting the Prime Minister and Cabinet Ben Morton said both action plans would deliver real protections for Australian children, and better supports for victims and survivors.
“The Royal Commission held more than 8,000 private sessions, received a further 1,000 written accounts, and more than 42,000 calls and 26,000 letters and emails from victims and survivors and their supporters, and we sadly know the number of child sexual assaults recorded by police is only increasing,” Minister Morton said.
“The Royal Commission made clear we need to work better across jurisdictions to address these heartbreaking statistics and their related harms, and that is the National Strategy’s central aim.
“Together we will deliver measures like a national awareness raising campaign, a helpline, extra research, and further frontline support services.”
Key measures from the First National Action Plan include:
$22.3 million to deliver a national awareness raising campaign on child sexual abuse
$3.8 million for The National Indigenous Australians Agency to work with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander experts to design and trial a resource to support frontline health workers
$18.6 million to implement a National Victim Identification Framework for online child sexual abuse
$22.4 million over six years to conduct a second wave of the world-leading Australian Child Maltreatment Study.
Key measures from the Commonwealth Action Plan include:
$59.9 million worth of initiatives to be delivered by the Australian Federal Police (AFP) to combat child sexual abuse, including:
establishing dedicated Strike Surge Teams to target organised crime aspects of online child sexual abuse
boosting the AFP’s technology capability to address advances like end-to-end encryption and the dark web
Technology Detection Dogs – trained to detect hidden technical devices containing illicit content when officers are executing warrants
$24.1 million to strengthen Commonwealth capacity to prosecute child sexual abuse offenders
$13.1 million to fund an independent national service to provide free legal advice to all victims and survivors of child sexual abuse
$10.9 million to co-design place-based Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander healing approaches to support survivors of child sexual abuse
$4.9 million to keep children safe while they play sport.
For more information, visit: the National Office for Child Safety website.
Interview with Ben Fordham, 2GB
27 October 2021
BEN FORDHAM: Live from Parliament House, Canberra. Good morning to you, PM.
PRIME MINISTER: G'day Ben.
FORDHAM: Thank you for talking to us. I think we all want to support anything we can do to help the planet, net zero. The question is how and when and at what price. How much will net zero by 2050 cost the average voter in western Sydney?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, the low emissions technology plan costs us $20 billion, investing in the technology, which is going to continue to change the world and which is going to get electricity prices down and keep powering our industries. And we've got to develop those new technologies, whether it's in hydrogen, ultra low cost solar, energy storage, at much more cheaper rates and an important one, soil, carbon measurement. We want to get that down to $3 per hectare. One of the reasons why we need to get the encouragement to improve those pastures is to ensure that you can measure these things at an affordable cost. So this is just a very practical plan, a very practical plan which says you don't have to punish Australians, you don't have to make Australians feel guilty about what their jobs are. They can keep doing their jobs. They don't have to face higher taxes or more regulation. We can get there with the way we're already getting there because our emissions are already down by 20 per cent and our economy's up by 45 per cent.
FORDHAM: PM, you're claiming that the average Australian will be $2,000 a year better off by 2050. But that's pie in the sky stuff. You haven't released the modelling. You don't know if these technologies are going to effectively replace coal and gas, or whether they will lead to an increase in the price of electricity. The UK is experiencing record electricity prices at the moment because of green levies. So how can you claim that Aussies will be better off?
PRIME MINISTER: Because we're not doing green levies. We're not doing taxes. We're not putting the mandates on people. We're not shutting down anything. We're not going to stop digging anything up. We're not going to stop planting anything. That's what other countries are doing. And that's not what you have to do to get to net zero by 2050. We've already got emissions down by 20 per cent without doing any of those things. And so I think there's two myths here, Ben. One is that you have to go and punish Australians and end rural and regional life to hit net zero by 2050. That's not true. It's also not true that if you go and keep going down this path, that you're going to end things the other way, they're the extreme positions, none of those are true. What is true is if you take this middle course, keep developing the technology and enable people to get on with their livelihoods, we will get there. This is achievable. I mean, I'm sure people said that to Bill Gates and to Steve Jobs as well. But you know, we didn't need a tax or a law to develop the iPhone or develop a COVID vaccine. They just got on with it.
FORDHAM: When you talk about the new technology, you're banking on Australia getting to net zero based on this new technology that at the moment doesn't exist and you're spending $20 billion doing it over the next decade and you're presuming that this will lead to a return of up to $100 billion? Yeah, that sounds like some mates of mine who go to the racetrack and they have wishful thinking, thinking, okay, I'll go there with 20 bucks and come back with 100.
PRIME MINISTER: Well, they mustn't have bought any Apple shares or Microsoft shares either. I mean, technology has always solved this problem. We see it in our lives every single day. I'll tell you what I trust technology far more than I trust governments’ taxes and higher regulation.
FORDHAM: So if the technology doesn't work, then how do you get there? Do you get there by taxing people?
PRIME MINISTER: We will never do that. That is never going to be part of our plan. That's what's in our plan, that we will not do it with taxes. We will do it through technology investments.
FORDHAM: Do you get there by banning things that we currently don't?
PRIME MINISTER: No you don't. That's what our plan doesn't do. We don't think you have to do that. You can get there by doing the things that take technology costs down, which get them as part of your economy, which enables you to to move through what is going to be a challenging time and you come out in front. That's what this shows.
FORDHAM: Even though you're not banning coal, if you don't approve new ones or invest in current ones, I'm talking about coal fired power plants, they'll die a slow death, won't they? Because coal mines are busier than ever, we can't export enough to meet demand. At the moment, the price is through the roof. Do you reckon the chairman of Adani, who invested in Australia instead of other countries, would have the same confidence doing so today?
PRIME MINISTER: Yes, I do, because we're not shutting anybody down. And over time, and this is why we're building the gas fired power plant up in Kurri Kurri. That's why we're doing it because you need other fuels, which will continue to be part of the mix for many, many years to come. See we're not shutting anything down then. Us committing to net zero by 2050 does not take away one job. In fact, it adds jobs. It doesn't add one cent to a power price. It doesn't do any of those things. It ensures that our mining and agricultural industries continue to go forward. I mean, countries overseas, Ben, in Korea and Japan and China and other places, they're going to make a whole bunch of decisions over the next 30 years, and we'll have to respond to that. We can't control their decisions, but we're not going to go and punish Australia and shut Australia down just to keep some people overseas happy. I'm not going to do that.
FORDHAM: Just on that, when the UN warns Australia that we have to urgently cut coal by 2030, which is up to $50 billion worth of exports a year for Australia. Boris Johnson is praising you, saying that Scott Morrison made a difficult decision given Australia's reliance on coal and fossil fuels. So that sounds like he thinks that we're going to rapidly phase out coal.
PRIME MINISTER: Well, we're not doing that, and that's not our plan. I mean, what will happen across all sectors, I mean, technology changes, global economies change over time. But I'm not going to force any of that. I mean, the global economy will set many things in place, and that's why it's important, I think, for us to have this target because there's going to be hundreds of billions of dollars, Ben, invested in these clean energy technology supply chains and Australia can really benefit from that. Critical minerals, rare earths, the manufacturing opportunities that come from that and I'm not going to have Australia shut out from that. And that's what this plan also opens us up to. Because we know what's happening around the world, we can't pretend that's not happening. Australia not committing to net zero is not going to change any of that. I'm not just going to let it happen to Australia. We need a plan that can embrace that, can work with it, ensure we mitigate the negatives and achieve all the positives.
But the myth that's been exposed by this work says you don't have to tax people and regulate people and shut people down to get the right results on emissions. Australians want us to take action on climate change, but they're not going to sell their livelihoods for it. And our plan, which is in the middle, enables us to achieve that.
FORDHAM: Oh look, we, don't get me wrong. We love hearing that there are no new taxes and we're not going to put people out of work. But there's not much about nuclear energy. You're saying that you're giving a commitment to monitor the development of small nuclear reactors.
PRIME MINISTER: Yep.
FORDHAM: But, that's a lot different to building one. Your data says our uranium exports could grow from $700 million to $1.3 billion annually by 2050. This is big business. You've got 32 countries who have nuclear energy. They want our stuff. It's clean, it's efficient, but we won't touch it here. So why are we more interested in technologies that don't currently exist instead of going nuclear?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, there's a moratorium on nuclear in Australia at the moment and ...
FORDHAM: But why?
PRIME MINISTER: Our policy has always been that unless there's bipartisan support for that, all you'll end up achieving is one big further fight and get nothing done.
FORDHAM: But that suggests that you're scared of the Opposition and you're not willing to step up to the plate …
PRIME MINISTER: I'm just saying, if you want to move forward. We've got the technologies which can get us to net zero now. So clean hydrogen, ultra low cost solar, energy storage, low emission steel and aluminium, carbon capture and storage technologies …
FORDHAM: But just on nuclear. You've never been afraid of a fight on other issues. Why are you afraid of this fight? Because you always mention, and so does Angus Taylor, ‘oh well the Labor Party will run a scare campaign’.
PRIME MINISTER: Well, what I'm interested in is getting the job done and not handing the Labor Party some big stick, which can distract everybody from what the job is we need to get done. The Labor Party is completely opposed to it. So if the Labor Party changes their mind on that, then that's something we can address at that point. But at this point, I'm not going to allow our plan to get distracted on what the Labor Party wants to run as some sort of big scare campaign at the next election. I think that would be pretty pointless.
FORDHAM: I should just let people know it’s 7:30, we're just going to continue through the start of the news here, and I'll pick up the sports news with Amy Meehan in just a moment. PM a few quick ones. China is responsible for 28 per cent of the world's emissions. They've got a thousand coal fired power stations, about 100 more under construction. They're not turning up to Glasgow, they've got no interest in slowing down. So isn't this just going to increase their wealth, their power?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, this is why we are so opposed to the idea of these taxes and regulation. The only way any of this is going to change around the world and not just in China, but in Indonesia, in Vietnam and India, and we're working quite closely with India, is if we can crack the technologies, which means that we can all keep our jobs and get emissions down. And that's where I think the world has to focus now. All these going off to summits and all the rest of it, what really is only going to matter is if you get the technology which India can use, Vietnam can use, Indonesia can use and indeed China.
FORDHAM: Ok, just on the summit, when you sit down and have a look at the menu in Glasgow, you're going to be offered either a beef burger or a mushroom burger. This is true and there will be advice on the menu that the beef has 16 times more carbon emissions than the mushroom. So do you want the mushroom or the beef?
PRIME MINISTER: I want the beef, and I hope it's Australian beef, too.
FORDHAM: Ok, just a couple of quick ones because we've got the sports news coming up. Can you confirm that from today, you won't need proof of an exemption to book a flight from November 1, going overseas if you're fully vaccinated?
PRIME MINISTER: Yes, I can. We signed that off last night. And so that's in place now, and over half a million Australians have already downloaded their international vaccine certificates. So that's great news. The national plan, opening up Australia is working. We now have a higher first dose vaccination rate in Australia than the United Kingdom.
FORDHAM: Ok, and I've only got 30 seconds. Any thought to including rapid antigen testing through Medicare?
PRIME MINISTER: Not at this stage, but what I do know is that I understand from Monday you'll be able to get it at the chemist. So that's great too.
FORDHAM: So we'll have to pay for it ourselves, no thought that we might get behind this from a federal government point of view to support people in undertaking those rapid antigen tests?
PRIME MINISTER: That's not our plan at the moment.
FORDHAM: Ok. All right. PM, I appreciate you coming on the line when are you taking off. Is it tomorrow or the next day?
PRIME MINISTER: Thursday night.
FORDHAM: We really appreciate you jumping on the line and we'll talk with you again soon.
PRIME MINISTER: [Inaudible].
FORDHAM: No worries. We'll talk to you when you get back and enjoy the beef. Don't be afraid.
PRIME MINISTER: I will. I'll have the burger.
FORDHAM: There you go, Prime Minister Scott Morrison.