Press Conference - Forbes, NSW
05 December 2021
THE HON. MICHAEL MCCORMACK MP, MEMBER FOR RIVERINA: Well, it's good to be in Forbes today with the Mayor Phyllis Miller who did so well in the local government elections yesterday, and I congratulate her and her forward thinking council for all that they do. It's great to be here with Dom Perrottet, the New South Wales Premier, as well as the Prime Minister Scott Morrison.
We came to not only have a look at the flood situation, of course the Lachlan River, but also to thank volunteers, thank the SES, thank those brave people from right throughout the state who've descended upon Forbes in recent days, recent weeks indeed, to make sure that they kept Forbes and its community safe. Of course, it's not just Forbes that's under water at the moment, it's also Wee Waa, Walgett is bracing itself, as is Mungindi. There are flood waters causing havoc right throughout New South Wales, indeed in Queensland as well.
And it was good to go out to Scott Darcy's farm to talk to him about his situation. He's lost pasture, he's lost crop, and he certainly lost stock. Only about 70 to 80 head, but that accounts, that equates to about $80,000. It's a lot of money. And he is just one of many farmers who've lost so much when the prospects of a good season were just so close. And so it's heartbreaking for those farmers.
And we'll work with the state, we'll work with Shane Stone, with Shane Fitzsimmons through the National Recovery and Resilience Agency, to do what we can to help these farmers, to help this community and to make sure that we get through this. I'll hand over to the Prime Minister.
PRIME MINISTER: Thank you. Well, Michael, it's tremendous to be with you here in your local electorate, and I want to thank you for the great leadership you've shown here right across your electorate over a very long time. And very pleased that the electors of Riverina will have the opportunity to make another very good decision this election.
And to Dom and Madam Mayor, thank you so much for being here with us today - I should say the Premier of New South Wales, we're very familiar with each other - and it's been great to be with the Premier today as we've had the opportunity firsthand to be able to talk to Scott Darcy and his family, and to thank the volunteers, Rocky and the whole great team that he leads here at Forbes. And last time the Premier was here the floodwaters were still rising and here we are, here he is again, and on this occasion, really seeing the impact of what these floods have been.
The first time I came to the Central West as Prime Minister it was drought, the second time I came it was fires, and now this third time I come and it's floods. And the resilience of the people of the Central West is something extraordinary. And just as they've come through these two great challenges, I have no doubt they'll come through these challenges as well.
But coming through these things does require a partnership. It involves working with local volunteer bodies like the ones we are with today, it does mean working together with local government, State Government, Federal Government. It's important that we're able to get people back on their feet. There will be good days ahead, but between now and then, as they recover from these floods, it's going to be tough for a while again. And we'll be there, as we've been with people right across this state and right across the country, and after.
What this has been good to do is to listen and to see, so we can understand and make some good decisions together about the supports and other things that will be needed. Not just here, because there are many other parts of the state that have also been even worse affected, and of course, up in Queensland. And so, our Government, we've been working closely together with both the New South Wales and Queensland Governments, to ensure that we can address those needs.
More broadly than that, though, it's good to see that here in the town, they were able to avoid the worst of those floods. There was some intimidation, but they're back on their feet pretty quickly. Small businesses, which are the lifeblood of these towns, also back on their feet, and that's great to see. But that rural economy that supports so many of these towns across rural and regional Australia, that rural economy has to fire. And that means that these producers, whether it's lambs or whether it's the crops or whatever it happens to be, that they can get back on the front foot and start growing food and fibre that this country, and particularly the Central West, is famous for.
So it was also good to be with the Premier today out at Bathurst. It's great to see so many Australians back doing what they love doing. And the fact that we've been able to reach those incredibly high levels of double dose vaccination rates, I think is a great thrill. Children aged 5 to 11 will be able to join those vaccination ranks in the new year, following the approvals which have been announced today, and that will be a decision for parents to make, and will be further briefings done at the end of next week with the premiers and chief ministers as we roll out those children's vaccines for those aged 5 to 11.
But to all Australians who've been out there and rolled up their sleeve and got that jab, thank you very much. Because it means we've got 2021 in the rear vision mirror and we're looking straight out that windscreen like all those drivers at Bathurst today, looking into the future and looking to better times ahead.
And for our Government, we're in the driver's seat of that stronger economy. And that's what we're focused on - securing that economic recovery as we go into 2022 and having the right plans and policies. And I've got to say, one of our great partners in achieving that is the New South Wales State Government. The Premier and I have worked together in many different roles over the years, and New South Wales has been a great leading state as we've come through COVID and are really showing the way. So it's been really good to be here with you today, Premier. Dom.
PREMIER OF NEW SOUTH WALES THE HON. DOMINIC PERROTTET MP: Thanks, Scott. It's great to be here with the Prime Minister today, and Michael McCormack, and Phyllis Miller to once again be out in the Central West. I came out here a few weeks ago when things were looking a bit shaky. But things have got better, but there's clearly many challenges that need to be overcome.
It's great to have been out to thank many of the SES volunteers. Today is the International Day of the Volunteer and New South Wales has the best volunteers, I believe, in the country, and anywhere in the world. And that's part of the Australian spirit. But to see so many people from across our state come here over this period of time - it's been a challenging period, but people have come from all over New South Wales to help the people of Forbes to get through this difficult time.
As the Prime Minister said, we met Scott Darcy. It's been a very challenging time for him and for his family. But the people of Forbes and the people of the Central West are incredibly resilient, and we've got through challenges in the past, and I know that we're going to get through this challenge as well.
As the Prime Minister has said, we're here to partner with the local community. We've done that in the past. And whether it's working with local government, Federal Government, the State Government is always there. And the constructive relationship, I think, particularly over the last difficult couple of years, has ensured that we'll continue to work together to get every community through this difficult time. As it's been said, it's not just here in the Central West, it's in other places across the state, plus up in Queensland. So there's challenging times all around, but as I said, this is a very resilient community in the Central West, and we'll get through it.
As I said as well, out with the Prime Minister in Bathurst. A great event, first time I'd been to that event, but to see the passion and enthusiasm of the crowd and all the people there today, that is a testament to the efforts that everyone's made around our state to go out and get vaccinated. And that effort has allowed us to open up as quickly as possible and as safely as possible. So there's a great spirit there today. I think that spirit's going to lead into a strong summer here in New South Wales. Our economy is going to get back on track. We went through challenges last year. We lost 300,000 jobs. We recovered every single one of them, plus 30,000 more. With a continued approach of the New South Wales Government partnering with the Federal Government, I believe it's going to be a very strong summer and a very bright future over next year.
PRIME MINISTER: Happy to take any questions.
JOURNALIST: The Pfizer vaccine rollout for children.
PRIME MINISTER: Yeah.
JOURNALIST: Can you promise the vaccine rollout to children won't face the same delays and issues as it did for adults earlier this year?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, what's great is we have got one of, we've got one of the lowest fatality rates of COVID in the world, but one of the strongest economies coming through the COVID pandemic in the world, particularly in advanced economies. And we have one of the highest vaccination rates in the world, and we were able to achieve those in October, which is when the original plan said we would seek to have that done by. And we go into the new year, and particularly where we've been going with those aged 12 to 15 with great vaccination rates amongst that group. And there's plenty of vaccines. There's plenty of opportunities to go and have them in the distribution methods there, particularly through our pharmacists and our GPs, but also through the state-based distribution centres, which will continue to be stood up. And that was an important point we discussed at our meeting just last Friday, I think it was, Dom, where we do want to keep that state infrastructure in place for some time yet.
Obviously, for children aged 5 to 11, state governments will have more of a, than the usual opportunity, because they're largely going back to their schools and things like this. So that partnership, I think, will be very important. But there is a lot of planning that Lieutenant General Frewen has been going through and there's been a lot of engagement with the state and territory agencies in getting that ready to go. This information today has not come as a surprise, we've been working towards that approval and then getting on with giving parents the choice to have their children vaccinated before they get back to school.
JOURNALIST: So is that a promise?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, of course we're going to roll it out. We've been very successful. We have one of the highest vaccination rates in the world, so I'm very pleased about that. That's delivered.
JOURNALIST: Labor is promising to spend $1.2 billion in education and training aimed at emerging industries in areas with significant skills shortages. Do you agree there's a need for more investment there?
PRIME MINISTER: Well we already are putting that investment in. And you've got to remember, it was Labor that ripped out $1.2 billion out of skills, apprenticeships when they were in government, and they took 100,000, 100,000 apprentices out of work and out of the system. That's their record. Labor are going to say a lot of things between now and the next election. They said they weren't going to have a carbon tax last time, and they ended up putting one in. They saw electricity prices double on their watch, whereas under our Government, electricity prices have been falling by over three per cent on average every year over the last three years, since I was elected at the last election. And so you'll hear a lot from Labor. There'll be a lot of noise, but the only way you really understand what a Labor Government will do is what they did last time they were in government.
And when it comes to skills training, we have 217,000 apprentices and trainees in training in skills for trades right now. That is the highest level since they started running the 1000 at Bathurst back in 1963. That is the highest level on record. So we are the Government of skills formation. We have been funding and supporting those places, particularly through the pandemic, like never before. The JobTrainer program, which has been a massive partnership, particularly here in New South Wales and the work that the New South Wales Government have done to invest in those important courses, is helping us to achieve these record levels of apprentices in training, right now. So it's something we're delivering. Labor are just talking.
JOURNALIST: So you agree with Labor there needs to be more investment there?
PRIME MINISTER: I believe Labor should try and catch up with us, and they've still got a long way to go.
JOURNALIST: You've done two media events already today, including on the track at the Bathurst 1000. Is this the election campaign already underway? Is this you making a pitch to voters?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, importantly today I've been here to listen to those and thank, who have been devastated by these floods. And that was the reason I came here today, and to thank the volunteers. And as the Premier said, we've got people who've come here from Broken Hill, driven all the way down here, they're going to head back this week. We've got people who've come up from the city. I know there are people from my own electorate in the Sutherland Shire who've come out through the SES to help others through these floods. So that's why we're here today. I mean, someone else is campaigning and politicking back in the inner city, and we're here out in Central Western New South Wales listening carefully to the impact of these floods on their properties and on their futures.
It was great to be at Bathurst today - it's not the first time I've been at Bathurst - it was great to be back at Bathurst and it was great to see everyone there because that's what we've been working towards. That's what the Premier and I particularly have been working towards. We've been working towards Australians getting their lives back. What we're about is getting government out of your lives because I think Australians have had a gutful of government in their lives over the last few years, and they're looking forward to getting back in the driver's seat. And I want to put Australians back in the driver's seat. I want to put Australian small and medium-sized businesses in the driver's seat. We're already putting trade apprentices in the driving seat through our record investment and results there. And so that's what we want to continue.
JOURNALIST: Given what you've heard today then, and seeing, you know, the crop losses in this region, estimates anywhere between $85 to $100 million losses in this region.
PRIME MINISTER: Yeah, it’s terrible.
JOURNALIST: Will your Government be announcing any further support for those farmers?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, the first point today was to come here and to see and to listen as to how it's impacting. And so it really has had, I think, quite a devastating impact on quite a number of the farmers in this district, but beyond here as well. We also know that impact is going all the way up to Queensland. And so what we're asking, what we call the two Shanes - Shane Stone and Shane Fitzsimmons - who lead the respective recovery and resilience agencies in New South Wales and at a federal level, and we'll work with the Queensland Government to tailor the right sort of support that can get people back on their feet. We've done it many times. We've done it so many times now. It started several years ago when Shane Stone and I went up to North Queensland after they had those devastating floods, Michael as Deputy Prime Minister will remember. I mean, that just wiped out Australia's Far North Queensland cattle industry, livestock industry, and they're getting back on their feet because of the work that we did also, together with the Queensland Government. So this is not unfamiliar territory for our Government. We've become very experienced in understanding what the needs are and targeting support, working with state governments to ensure it can make a real difference. So we're getting that planning right, we're getting that design right. Today was an important part of that to make sure we're listening carefully and seeing the impact for ourselves. But thanks very much, everyone. Thanks for coming out today.
