Speeches
Address, HMAS Brisbane Commissioning Ceremony
27 October 2018
Can I also acknowledge the Gadigal people, elders past and present, his Excellency the Governor General and Lady Cosgrove, Minister for Defence Christopher Pyne and other parliamentary colleagues, Chief of the Defence Force, Chief of Navy, but in particular can I acknowledge all those who stand behind me now, all those who stand before me now, all those who serve around the world today on Her Majesty’s Australian ships and simply say thank you. We honour your service, the service that you’ve given and the service of those standing behind me are about the provide and the service of those serving men and women all around the world today.
“We aim at higher things” is the motto. Brisbane. Aim at higher things. And that is what we as a nation have done.
In commissioning the HMAS Brisbane today, we realise that vision of looking higher. An even stronger Australia supported by a wonderful and proud navy. It is a proud day, it’s a high water mark for Australians as the HMAS Brisbane prepares to sail into service. Our hard won values and freedoms are contingent on a government that holds the safety and security of its people and the defence of its territory and its interests as its fundamental responsibility. Ringed as we are by the sea, girt indeed, the Royal Australian Navy in close partnership with the Royal Australian Air Force and our valued allies provide that guarantee. But it is an enormous task carried out in an increasingly challenging global security environment. Its effectiveness is also critical to the trade flows that sustain our region’s peace and economic prosperity. So while Australia will always seek to befriend and not to antagonise, we must do so from a position of strength, preparedness and capability.
The Minister for Defence and I, we like building ships. We like it. Because we believe in it. Because those who sail on these ships, they carry our voice, they stand up for our beliefs as a nation and they serve those beliefs all around the world and the very least we can do is support them by ensuring they have the capability – the world’s best capability that you see behind us – to enable them to fulfil that service.
So we look at the today, HMAS Brisbane as a combat management system second to none intricate and integrated to the extent that the simultaneous defence can be deployed against air, surface and sub-surface threats. At the same time we should recognise that the outstanding record of ships bearing the name Brisbane stems from the sailors who have served on board. And here with us today are former Commanding Officers and personnel of the earlier generation guided missile destroyer HMAS Brisbane too. While you may have not worn your RAN uniform for many years, I want you to know that the nation will always be grateful to your service.
In the First World War, the light cruiser HMAS Brisbane (I) participated in the hunt for the German raider SMS Wolf – launching, in 1917, the first aircraft from an Australian warship. In 1969, HMAS Brisbane (II) served with the United States Navy’s 7th Fleet in the South China Sea, providing valuable gunfire support off the coast of South Vietnam. Brisbane (II) would also receive the Meritorious Unit Citation for her courageous service during the first Gulf War in 1991.
And so through the proud pages of history we arrive here today, commissioning the third Royal Australian Navy ship Brisbane. She becomes the second of the Adelaide-built air warfare destroyers to reach this milestone under a project initiated by the Howard Government in 2007. I want to place on record our government’s thanks to John Howard for his commitment and vision for where we stand today.
So here we are, commissioning another great ship into service. Men and women will serve on her wherever their nation calls on them to send. And for that, I’m a grateful Prime Minister, we’re a grateful nation and we thank them for their service.
May God bless all of those who sail on her.
Press Conference - Drought Summit
26 October 2018
PRIME MINISTER: Can I start off by thanking all of those who have come from all around Australia today. State and territory leaders, farmers, charity workers, drought coordinators, people who just love rural and regional Australia like Macca. The whole community has come together to focus on our drought relief, our drought recovery and our drought resilience into the future. It has been, I think, a very important day for Australia and a very important session. The spirit of contribution of all those who attended today, I think, was very well received. It was a great opportunity to come together. I can’t recall the last time that when all state and territory leaders, Commonwealth, local government, all of those leaders in the ag sector have come together to focus on an issue like this. And I think that is a very meaningful thing to do, you know, it was all about one important thing and that was getting on the same page. About how we are dealing with the drought, how we are planning to ensure that we have resilience against drought well into the future.
The common operating picture, as Major General Day has talked about, which you can see being shown up here on the screen. This is what getting on the same page means. Whether it is on issues of climate, whether it’s on issues of forecasts, the economic circumstances in towns and regions where services are being delivered. Everybody from around the country, regardless of what state and territory, what shire you’re in, wherever you are. You will now be able to reference a single information point to work out where is the best place to apply your effort in what you are doing to ensure that we are dealing with our drought relief response and recovery and resilience into the future. The common operating picture will continue to be populated through the financial taskforce set up by the Treasurer and the Minister for Agriculture working together with major financial institutions to ensure that the information that they have is also coming online. That the charity information is populating this common operating picture. Because if you're all looking at the same map, if you’re all looking at the same information, if you’re all referencing the same data, then you can all make decisions that work together. That is what drought coordination response is all about. So I want to congratulate Major General Day for that excellent piece of work which is now an important tool for Australians all around the country as we deal with the drought as a national task.
Now as you know today we made a number of announcements and I set those out at the beginning of the presentation and the Summit today. That was the establishment of a Future Drought Fund, starting off with $3.9 billion, assigned from the Future Fund into this very task, protected forever with the returns of the Fund being reinvested to ensure it grows up to $5 billion. But $100 million draw down to enable that to be invested in important drought infrastructure projects and other important resilience projects on an ongoing basis. So we are investing in future drought resilience year on year on year forever, protected by legislation, that Drought Fund, that Drought Future Fund, to enable this country to always have that reserve to draw on in times of drought. Secondly, the extension of the Drought Communities Program. That program will now be $81.5 million extending out into another 21 other councils, 21 shires all across the country and particularly into South Australia. Because we know the drought is creeping. It’s creeping across state boundaries and that enables us to try and get ahead and get support into those communities before the drought fully hits and they are able to restore and provide some resilience against the economics of drought in their local communities.
The mental health support of $15.3 million, that’s on top of the additional investment that has already been put in place for mental health support, which also includes the additional funding we have provided to Headspace, a significant portion of which is being designed to be delivered remotely, online through the Headspace networks. But you know, almost half of Headspaces network is outside the major metropolitan areas. It’s an important resource, mental health resource for young people all around the country. Drought community support, investing through those incredible charitable organisations. Whether it’s the CWA or others which are out there in contact with those communities and know where the people are hurting most and they can provide that support to them which they’re already providing and we’re going to significantly expand their capability. Now that means things, support through voucher systems which means the money gets spent in the town. Because this drought isn’t just about farms, it’s about rural and regional communities and a lifestyle that we are seeking to protect forever which is such an important part of Australia.
The on-farm water infrastructure rebate is $50 million invested in that rebate scheme which is backing in the investment which is being made by farmers drought-proofing their own properties. Now that’s not only good for resilience into the future, but it’s fantastic for the local towns again which is where they get their supplies from to put that infrastructure in place on their properties. And of course, the Farm Hub, which is a suggestion of the National Farmers Federation and Fiona and that will be set up online and will be run by the National Farmers Federation.
One of the things that came out of today’s summit was that, you know, in many cases, information is almost as important as water and how we connect information on the services and support and the planning right around the country so we can invest, target and coordinate our effort to assist our communities get to the other side and then thrive on the other side. And so information sharing, information coordination, is a key outtake. But the other one is on implementation, and Major General Day as our Coordinator-General on our drought response has been pulling all this together and today, I have announced that I am appointing David Littleproud to be the Minister for Drought Preparation and Response. And Major General Day will work together with Minister Littleproud to ensure the actions that are required at the Ministerial level are coordinated and addressed right across all portfolios on a whole of government basis. So that will give Major General Day another great support and assistance in addition to myself as Prime Minister and the Deputy Prime Minister, but an all-day Minister there who can support him in the work that he is doing to coordinate across portfolios.
So it has been a very important day today. It has focused on response, the relief, the recovery and the resilience into the future. We have been listening, we are planning, and we are acting right across a raft of issues. Right across the spectrum, and that was incredibly well received today by those who were in attendance. And we all go from this place better informed, better equipped, better connected to make sure that the communities that everybody is going back to today can be assured of even greater support into the future. I’m going to ask the Deputy Prime Minister to speak and then Fiona and then we’re happy to take questions.
DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER: Well thank you Prime Minister, and thank you again for making drought your number one priority and we see that. On that day you were elected Liberal leader, before you were sworn in as Prime Minister, we were both on the same page. The number one priority had to be our drought stricken communities, because our farmers, our rural and regional communities, they underpin Australia. They really do. When our agricultural sector is strong, so too is regional Australia. When regional Australia is strong, so too is our nation. So I was very, very pleased that you called, arranged and organised this Summit. It was such an important event.
The fact is, I think we’ve come away from today with a sense of purpose and determination and resolve. We stand shoulder to shoulder, side by side, with our farmers, with our rural and regional communities. We’ve done that in past months, we’re doing it now and we’ll continue to do it in the future. Not just for the weeks and the months ahead when it might rain again, but indeed in the years ahead. And the Future Drought Fund does just that. It does just that. It’s going to make sure that we’ve got the available resources, not just capital, but resources as well on the ground when the next drought occurs after this one. And unfortunately, part of Australia is always in drought, so it’s going to be an annual commitment, an annual commitment forever, protected by legislation to make sure that the Government has the back of rural and regional Australia. That the Government continues to have the back of our farmers.
Our farmers are the best in the world, make no mistake. Our farmers are the most resilient in the world but they need a bit of a hand up at the moment. Not a handout, but a hand up, and we’re providing that. The Future Drought Fund does just that. We’ve heard today, it was a very robust discussion at times. We have heard from stakeholders, we’ve heard from charities, we’ve heard from people such as Michael Jeffery, a former Governor-General, who remind us how just how important water and particularly soil is to the national conversation about drought and how we better prepare our nation for those dry times. But I was very, very pleased as well to hear from the Premiers, and not only did they turn up but the Premiers and Chief Ministers came and they stayed and they listened, and they also spoke. And they spoke and they also heard too about the importance of that inter-governmental agreement, which I know Fiona Simpson talked about a number of times at this morning’s summit.
Making sure that we are all, as the Prime Minister has just said, on the same page when it comes to this issue, this drought and future droughts. Making sure that at all levels of government, local, state and federal, that we are all on the same page when it comes to helping our farming communities, our rural and regional communities through these troubled times. And I’m pleased also that we‘re involving the charities and we are also making sure that councils, 21 additional councils, are going to receive the resources and the backing that they need to keep some of that money flowing through the communities, through the towns, and to keep workers in the towns, because that is all important. I would like to hand over to somebody who is not only a leading advocate for drought, not only a leading voice in drought and making sure that we are better prepared in the future, but somebody who is also a farmer herself. The Chairman of the Farmer's Federation and farmer from the Liverpool Plains of New South Wales, Fiona Simpson.
FIONA SIMPSON, PRESIDENT OF THE NATIONAL FARMERS FEDERATION: Thanks very much, Michael McCormack. Thank you Prime Minister, thank you for the invitation and thank you for holding the Drought Summit today. As President of Australia's largest farmer advocacy body I often say that we want the whole of government to be behind us. We want the whole of government support for a strategic focus on our industry, and today not only did we have the whole of government approach from the Federal Government, but we had all the Premiers in the room, the Ag Ministers, right down to local government and stakeholders as well. Never does that happen. Never in my memory can I remember that happening. And I think that is an extraordinary day for agriculture.
Australian agriculture is a very strong industry. We have been strong in the past, we often talk about Australia riding on the sheep's back in in some sort of, you know, nice way. But in actual fact it is not just about folklore. Australian agriculture is an industry of the future. We believe that we can reach $100 billion farm value production in 2030. But we do need government to stand beside us and support us and not just supporting the agricultural industry, but also supporting our rural and regional industries through periods of drought. In the farming community, we know that drought is an inevitable part of our business cycle. Just as we have very good times in agriculture, so do we sometimes have very challenging times and that’s through a lack of rainfall and increasing heat, decreasing soil moisture and a number of factors that make up the map, such as Stephen Day is showing.
So we know that drought policy is a tricky thing. It is not just about one thing. Drought policy is about cohesion, it is about collaboration, it is about all three tiers of government working together with industry to focus on resilience, to focus on preparation, to focus on support during those emergency times when things are critical for many people as they are right now, at the moment. And we very, very much welcome not just the opportunity to talk about some of those issues today and all stand together, but also to some of the announcements that the Government has made. The Drought Future Fund, the $5 million amount which will accrue is an amazing opportunity for us to plan for the future of agriculture through drought. For the future rural and regional communities through drought. To plan for resilience, and to plan on how we are going to keep our industry and our communities strong. Never before have we had this amount set aside, never before have we had the ability to focus into the future and plan for the sorts of spending that we would like in this space. So that is an amazing announcement, thank you Prime Minister.
The extra money to charities will be very welcome for those people doing it particularly tough. The extra money for mental health support in our regions. The extra money for councils. The extra 21 councils that are going to benefit from this. There is already an amazing array of projects that are happening in our rural and regional communities because of this extra funding. It is an amazing scheme, as is the extra money, the $50 million for emergency stock water infrastructure. As I travel around this week, I have been to Roma in the middle of Queensland, and again water infrastructure is something, and spending money on water infrastructure, is something that we know can really help landowners become more resilient in the drying cycle and in the inevitable drought cycle.
Lastly, the drought hub we believe will be an incredible resource for the community to be able to come to one-stop. It is a one-stop shop to be able to get information. Drought support is delivered through many tiers of government, many different agencies, many different stakeholders. It is an incredibly confusing space. At the moment people have to log on to a number of different websites, go to a number of different help desks to try to get assistance. We hope that the drought hub will be a great initiative to enable us to streamline the assistance that is being offered. We hope that the drought hub will be a great initiative to enable us to streamline the assistance that is being offered.
So again, the agricultural industry, it was great to see so many farmers in the room today. It was great to see so many stakeholders in the room today. As I said, three tiers of government.
We really thank the Prime Minister and thank the Government for the support. We know that the Government is really beside us as we go through what is at the moment a really challenging period for our industry and for rural and regional Australia. Thank you very much.
PRIME MINISTER: Okay, happy to take some questions on the Drought Summit and the Ministers and of course Major General Day is here to respond as well. So we’ll start with questions on the Summit. Yes?
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister how will you ensure that Australia remains competitive and that these finances are just used to prop up farmers who have been able to innovate and adapt?
PRIME MINISTER: That’s a very good question and it was a key issue that was discussed today at the Summit. In terms of ensuring that we are making farm businesses stronger businesses, this is about them being strong, profitable, competitive, productive businesses. This Fund, that is the Drought Future Fund, will particularly be investing in broader scale water infrastructure in particular, which goes beyond the farm. That can be dealing with every from large-scale water storage, dams, things of that nature. We’ll have more to say about that. But this is about the bigger set infrastructure and broader resilience projects that can be put in place and funded from those funds.
Now that ties in with the work that’s being done on the on farm water infrastructure rebates. That’s a 25 per cent rebate. So that means the farm is putting in themselves and the co-investment that these measures are designed to support is what, I think, goes to your question. The other issue we talked today about was cluster fencing. Now cluster fencing - as David knows, he introduced me to the concept when I was up at Quilpie - what this does is bring together a series of farmers together with a co-invest, not only with the Commonwealth and the State Government and on occasion local governments, but they also then take up the responsibility for maintaining the fences into the future. When I was heading out into Quilpie that day, I remember we were looking at, we were looking out the window and we saw all these old fences that were all broken down and they were all run down. Then we saw the new ones and those new fences, those dog fences and dealing with pests and weeds, this was a really big part of future-proofing the farms. But they need to be maintained, so our approach is one of co-investment with farms themselves, farming communities themselves.
Then you of course have the charitable sector support and the relief. Now, that is really there to provide some immediate-term relief. But the longer term and medium-term investments, we are making with farmers.
JOURNALIST: Just looking at that map, you’ve got water on one side and not a lot of water on the other side. Will this particular fund be investing in new dams and new pipelines to get the water where we need it? Or will that be separate?
PRIME MINISTER: Well that is one of the things it will be supporting. We will have more to say down the track about our water infrastructure plans. We are very committed to these as well as you know, we have had a Water Infrastructure Fund now - and Michael may wish to make a comment on that - where we have been investing in weirs and a whole range of other important projects, like near Rockhampton, where I was not that long ago.
So we are big believers in investing in the water storage in those catchment areas, to make sure that we just don't see it evaporate and run out to sea. We’ve to make better use of our water. We’ve got the CSIRO report which identifies a large number of those opportunities that need investment. But as the Victorian Premier said today, that needs to be done with co-investment between the states and Commonwealth. And we will be prepared to step up to that. In Queensland they need to be prepared to step up to that, we can’t have a moratorium on dams, we need to get dams done. I’m not suggesting there necessarily is, but there needs to be a commitment to work together to put that infrastructure in place.
JOURNALIST: Was everyone on the same page in the meeting on the two issues of the role of climate change driving climate variability, which you spoke about earlier and also the need for a national intergovernmental drought policy?
PRIME MINISTER: I think everyone was on the same page when it came to having a clear plan to deal with the drought response, that focused, as we have said, on relief, recovery and resilience. As the former Governor-General put it, Michael Jeffery; “We’ve got to know which hill to attack, you’ve got to attack the right hill”, which I thought Major General David particularly got the metaphor. Because he’s been making sure we do attack the right hill on these issues. So I think there was that commonality, people were on the same page and I think when we went through this material, but also the material from ABEAR and from the Bureau of Meteorology, one of the things about this drought season, this drought period compared to others, is the much stronger financial conditions in which this drought is taking place. So the prices people are getting for livestock, the strong arrangements we have in place for trade which is supporting those prices is to some extent mitigating what could be far worse impact in these communities.
So I thought there was a good common understanding. But again I thought Daniel Andrews put it well when he came in and said; “I’m not here really to have an ideological discussion about climate change.” The changing climate, of course, was a matter that was acknowledged and that was discussed in the communique which has gone out today acknowledges that as well, as does our Government.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister would you put more money into the Bureau of Meteorology? One of the things farmers complain about is the unreliability of the forecasts.
PRIME MINISTER: Already have. Check out the last Budget, we’ve put some of the biggest investments into the Bureau of Meteorology to upgrade their IT and their ICT platforms that we’ve seen in a very long time. This was the key issue that was brought to us by the Bureau of Meteorology over the past two Budgets, we’ve funded over two Budgets. The important thing about that ICT platform is that it connects into what the farmers need on the ground. It’s addressing the digital needs, I mean it was a rickety old machine and it needed serious re-investment to upgraded. It was a big commitment in our most recent Budget and we’re following through on that.
JOURNALIST: Why is there a disconnect between what farmers will say today, despite that money? Why are they still not feeling the forecasts are preparing them for the climate?
PRIME MINISTER: Well forecasts are exactly that. The Bureau of Meteorology will always provide the normal qualifications, frankly that just as economic forecasters in my old job, you would always find would qualify on the variabilities. But the science that goes into that and the ICT platforms that we have heavily invested in - more than any previous government- is providing the tools that the BOM needs to ensure that not only do they pull his forecast together, but they can disseminate them digitally to put that information in the hands, on the laptops, on the iPads of the farmers who are out there, connecting that into what they are doing on their farms each and every day.
Now if you go and look at what is happening in agtech and fintech and how it connects all of that data, all of that information is from proving enormously helpful in how farmers are planning and how they’re working with their financial backers to ensure they can mitigate the risks and get the lowest-cost to finance. So, it’s a big investment and it’s a very worthy one.
JOURNALIST: Can I go off topic just very briefly? Because I’ve got to run.
[Laughter]
PRIME MINISTER: Well unless there are any other questions on drought, given it’s a Drought Summit.
JOURNALIST: You’ve brought together a lot of the states and territories, farmers in the past have found it difficult, if they farm either side of the border, with the responses that the different states have to drought. What can you offer them today, after having all these people come here, that there will be greater consistency irrespective of where you farm in this country?
PRIME MINISTER: Yeah well Fiona, you might want to comment on this. This actually was raised in today's meeting and that’s why I want to thank again the state premiers and chief ministers out of the ACT and Northern Territory for being here and being here all day and listening. Because these issues were raised.
One of the things, I must admit, that I found helpful as a Prime Minister is that I have lots of individual conversations with people on this topic, as Stephen does all the time and as my colleagues do. But to have all those conversations and inputs happening in the one place at the one time, so we could all be the same information at the same time – as policymakers, as decision makers, as those who are researching in the field, those who are running farms and coordinating responses - this was enormously helpful. The states and territories can go away with a much better understanding of some of those frustrations. But here was a cracker, which we dealt with a few weeks ago; the issue of the heavy vehicle regulations which was actually stopping hay getting from one side of a border to another. We got rid of it. We got rid of it. Scotty Buchholz got rid of it in a week, based on the feedback we got from Fiona. So yes, doing that is important. But I might ask Fiona to comment.
PRESIDENT, NATIONAL FARMERS FEDERATION: Certainly, Prime Minister and you’ll be pleased to know I am storing up a couple of other little things that only the Prime Minister can do that I am looking forward to discussing with you in coming weeks.
[Laughter]
No look, that was really one of the things we brought to the table, it’s a technical sort of discussion around the intergovernmental agreement. So the drought relief through the States, through the Federal Government, how they work together pretty much, is administered by the intergovernmental agreement. It’s NFF’s view that we do need an overhaul of that agreement. We do need to look very carefully at how we work together. There are people [inaudible] that work on either side of the state boundary who make it incredibly complicated, but also when we’re looking at mapping, when we’re looking at trigger maps, when we’re looking at determining when people are drought and the sorts of things that might be available to them at different stages of the business cycle, it’s incredibly difficult if we don't have national and consistent terms, if we don't have nationally consistent triggers and nationally consistent information.
So today I raised and we had a lot of really good discussion on a range of topics today, but some of the technical things, one of them was around the IGA. David has committed – I’m not sure of the timeline, David - David has committed that is something that we will have another look at, because we certainly need to strengthen that. We need to look at how we work together. We need to make sure that those differences across borders don’t matter to people when they’re in the throes of drought and that it’s much easier to operate businesses. Because as the Prime Minister says, farming is operating businesses. We want to make it as easy as possible. We want to make it as streamlined as possible.
The Productivity Commission and others keep talking about the red tape in agriculture. We don't want to be tied up in that when we are dealing with drought, when we are dealing with businesses and we’re dealing with stock and animals and water and all the important things. We want to get on with the job.
PRIME MINISTER: So the intergovernmental agreement was discussed between the Premiers, Chief Ministers and I this morning and it has been the subject of review by Ag Ministers. Recommendations for how that might be upgraded and updated will be considered by COAG later in the year. So it will be a good opportunity for Fiona and the NFF and other stakeholders to be feeding in there.
There is the text of the agreement, it’s not a particularly long document. It largely separates who is responsible for what. That’s quite helpful. A lot of issues, I think, raised today about what is the accountability then, for those things actually happening and what’s the process for that? Particularly resolving it across state boundaries. So that work is very much under way and acknowledged.
JOURNALIST: Bill Shorten today suggested banks should be stripped of their rights to manage superannuation.
PRIME MINISTER: Are we done with drought? It seems so, let’s move to other issues.
JOURNALIST: Bill Shorten today suggested banks should be stripped of their rights to manage superannuation. Do you agree?
PRIME MINISTER: Well I’m going to wait for the recommendations of the banking royal commission, which Bill Shorten seems to want to ignore and second-guess and override, that proper process, which is underway.
Bill Shorten will always argue the case for union based industry funds and try to provide a competitive advantage for them. He says he wants to run the country like a union, he must want to run the financial system like one too.
JOURNALIST: On a related note Labor published its Royal Commission submission to the interim report... but they’ve directly contravened the rules set out by Commissioner Hayne in bringing up past issues of behavior and talking about unrelated things to the policy questions that he raised. What’s your response to that?
PRIME MINISTER: Bill Shorten doesn't respect the Royal Commission. For Bill Shorten the Royal Commission was only ever a political exercise, for him. Our Government has initiated this Royal Commission. Commissioner Hayne, I think, is doing an extraordinary job of keeping it very focused and ensuring it’s being done in a very timely fashion. We respect the job that he is doing and we respect the work that all of those working for the royal commission are doing. I mean Bill Shorten has been quite offensive, I think, to that process and those who are doing very good work. I mean they are working very hard, they’ve reviewed all the submissions, all of them and there’s over 8,000 of them. They’ve been doing that work and for that to just be sort of dismissed like Bill Shorten has done, I think has shown quite a lot of disrespect. But at the end of the day, it’s just exposed that for him, this was always just about politics. It wasn’t actually about helping people.
We’re focused on that in terms of dealing respectfully with the royal commission. We commissioned it, we initiated it. We’ll work with it once the recommendations are provided and we’ll take further action. Because we’ve already taken a lot of action in this space, whether it’s been the Financial Complaints Authority or the banking executive accountability regime, the additional penalties at the disposal of ASIC, the employment of Dan Crennan as a deputy commissioner of ASIC which enables them to go and prosecute, because that was highlighted by Commissioner Hayne in his first interim report as being a real issue. So, we’ve given the resources and the people to go and do that.
JOURNALIST: Mr Shorten also said that bank executives who were in charge when the banks were ripping Australians off should consider handing back their bonuses. Is that something you’d support as well?
PRIME MINISTER: We’ve already legislated it. I introduced the banking executive accountability regime. Bill Shorten talked about it when Trio and all these things were happening on his watch and he did absolutely nothing about it, while Labor was there.
The banking and financial industry, in all these cases that you’re hearing about, they were happening when Bill Shorten was the Financial Services Minister.
Did he call a royal commission? No.
Did he introduce tougher rules to deal with banking executives? No.
You know, he’s a lion in Opposition and a mouse when he’s in Government. What we’ve done is we’ve taken the big stick, we’ve got the legislation in place, we’ve passed it. And they argued the toss over it. We had to actually twist their arm to get them to vote for it. I mean these guys, they’re all talk, no action.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister on Saudi Arabia, will the Government put a moratorium on defence equipment sales and intelligence sharing with the Saudi regime?
PRIME MINISTER: The Foreign Minister and the Trade Minister and I are monitoring these issues incredibly closely. As you know, we’ve withdrawn our involvement in some important trade events that are occurring in Saudi Arabia. We’re working closely with our partners around the world on this topic. We’re appalled beyond description by what has happened and we expect Saudi officials and others to fully cooperate with what is the process of justice which is underway. We will be taking any and all necessary steps that we think are needed to pursue that path and pursue that outcome.
So thank you all very much, again, thank you to all those who attended from around Australia today. We’re backing in Australians, rural and regional communities and we’re going to ensure that they continue to have the relief and that they continue to have the recovery and that they have the resilience in the future that makes Australia even stronger.
Thank you.
https://pmtranscripts.pmc.gov.au/release/transcript-41898
Address to the Drought Summit
26 October 2018
Well thank you Pip and can I thank you too Auntie Ros and Mary for your wonderful welcome to country. Can I also acknowledge the traditional owners and elders past and present. Can I also thank my colleagues who have joined me here today from the Commonwealth Parliament, particularly the Deputy Prime Minister and all of my state and territory colleagues, the Premiers and Chief Ministers for joining us here today for this important national occasion here in our nation's capital. But can I particularly thank all of you who've come from all parts of the country to be with us here today, to get here and to ensure that we can all get on the same page in terms of how we continue to respond and in terms of how we continue to adjust, to deal with both the relief and the recovery, but also the resilience for the future. So thank you for being here today.
We’re in Canberra, Australia's national meeting place, the place where important decisions that affect the future of our country have been made for generations. In this very chamber, I think it's fitting that we are here today, because these challenges around drought and our response and our recovery and our resilience are exactly the same challenges that they were dealing with here many years ago and we will always deal with as an Australian nation. And we'll always deal with it in our state and territory jurisdictions and we'll always have those challenges. So these conversations about drought, these decisions, these actions, this cooperation, is no stranger to this chamber, any more than it's a stranger to the chamber up the road. The only difference is, I've noticed the seats here a little comfier than the other ones up there.
[Laughter]
I'll have a chat with the Speaker about that at another time, maybe they need a bit of extra padding here, Scotty, I don't know.
It's great to do it here in the nation's capital Andrew, and we’re very pleased I think, to be here on this occasion. Dealing with drought, our change in climate and preparing for drought is a top priority of our Government. I want to thank you for making arrangements with your families, with your businesses, with you workplaces and of course, with those on your farms that have enabled you to travel here today to be part of this Summit. Some of you have left behind incredibly difficult circumstances and you know they'll be there when you get back to them. The drought, which for some Australians I've visited, is easily the worst for them in living memory and it's a long way from breaking. But the true spirit of Australians is not for breaking.
As I welcome you here today, I want to say that we acknowledge that tremendous resilience. Because if the drought is has reminded us of one thing, it's the indomitable spirit of Australians and particularly rural and regional Australians. And the hope that they have in the future and their commitment to ensuring the maintenance of a lifestyle that has been lived in this country for generations and generations and indeed, as I acknowledge the Indigenous people of Australia, our care for our land, for our environment, it goes back 60,000 years and is a great heritage for us to pick up on.
We trust that our mates will be there to help us when times are tough, in our days and our weeks and months and years if necessary, of need. Whatever it takes, Australians have been sticking together in tough times, it's in our DNA and that's why, when I became Prime Minister, I announced that managing the drought would be one of my highest priorities. As we quickly went up to Quilpie, with Major General Stephen Day who I acknowledge today, and the Deputy Prime Minister and Bridget McKenzie and of course the Agriculture Minister David Littleproud, that's what we saw, a great response - and Scotty Buchholz too - to how the Government was moving quickly, to go and stand with people right across the country and in some of its worst affected areas.
So welcome again to the Summit. By bringing you together, we’re seeking to get an overarching picture about where and what needs to continue to be done. The town, the community, farm pressure points, especially in Queensland, New South Wales and Victoria, but increasingly in South Australia and other regions as the drought extends its reach. You are the stakeholders with the expertise and there are many others beyond this place who we couldn't fit all in here today. Your field of vision is what we are looking at today. So please don't be backwards in coming forwards.
We also need to ensure we have a good understanding of the support currently being delivered. So allow me to address those issues before us. Already, there is more than $1.8 billion in assistance measures and concessional loans to support drought-affected farmers and communities. A lot is being done at the Commonwealth level, just as it's being done at the state and territory level. In terms of the Commonwealth, extending the Farm Household Allowance from three to four years, a temporary increase in Farm Household Allowance asset threshold from $2.6 million to $5 million and a new temporary FHA supplement of up to $12,000 for eligible farming couples for household and up to $7,200 for eligible single farmers paid as two lump sum payments. Providing up to $72 million for a special drought round from the National Water Infrastructure Fund, for water infrastructure in drought affected areas, already out there. Increasing support for mental health with an additional 11. $4 million to assist rural communities and communities impacted by drought. Already out there, doing that job. Investing in local infrastructure projects and drought affected communities by boosting the drought communities program by $75 million and providing support of $1 million to 60 eligible councils and shires in this financial year right here, right now, to support the towns, to support the local regional economies. Additional support for producers and graziers to help manage pest, animals and weeds. Changing the rules so that primary producers can immediately deduct rather than depreciate over three years, the cost of fodder storage assets such as silos and hay sheds used to store grain and other animal feed, making it easier for farmers to I believe invest in and stockpile fodder.
And cutting red tape. A really simple thing for truckies carting hay. Longer and higher loads of hay and fodder should be allowed to travel on state and nationally controlled, and that was a partnership exercise in territories to deal with one of the frustrating inconveniences that was just getting in the way of getting the feed to the farm. Now, the one for councils in a drought affected area is there is to help stimulate rural and regional communities with local infrastructure and other product projects, road upgrades, water infrastructure, community events, dog fences, whatever the need happens to be. And on top of this, we have announced another $15 million worth of grants as we did yesterday, to be dispersed to not-for-profits in drought communities through the foundation for rural and regional renewal which I'm sure the former Governor-General has a keen interest in, being involved in that organisation. As all the applications come in, we need to ensure they are targeted and coordinated because a local economy that is kept ticking supports not only farmers, but it also helps the hairdresser, as Barnaby reminds us, the mechanic, the supermarket, to remain open in these towns and services can continue to be delivered. But there's a lot more work to do, as we know.
In bringing it together today, farmers, businesses, charities, banking and financial services - all levels of government, this Summit is an opportunity to go even further with additional measures for relief, for recovery and for resilience for the drought. That's why today I'm announcing a package of significant new initiatives, as part of our Government's ongoing drought response. First the Future Drought Fund. A comprehensive drought response needs to meet not only the immediate needs of those affected but to look to the future to ensure our agriculture sector is prepared and resilient. So we can do this, our Government is establishing a Future Drought Fund with an initial allocation of $3.9 billion in 2019. In time, this fund will grow to $5 billion. The Future Drought Fund will provide a sustainable source of funding for drought resilience works, preparedness and recovery. It's about helping farmers and their communities to prepare and adapt to the impact of drought. Through the fund, the Government will drawdown $100 million a year for projects, research and infrastructure to support long-term sustainability. It will operate very similar to the medical research fund which was established by the Government some years ago. So to establish a base of capital, to see that capital basic spend up to $5 billion, but at the same time drawing down on the earnings of that fund, to ensure we can invest in these ongoing projects, this is about putting money away for a non-rainy day in the future and continuing to do it for the non-rainy days that extend out. And there is no time to waste. We'll begin operating that fund as soon as we are able to pass the legislation through the Parliament.
We know the drought is not just felt on the farm, when spending dries up in regional up towns, it threatens the prosperity of local businesses and the families who run them. So we are bringing this support in to boost local economies and improve business confidence as well. I'm also announcing today an extension of the drought communities program. In addition to that, I've announced the future fund, and I'm announcing the program will be extended from 60 to 81 local governments and shires in drought-hit areas, giving each community $1 million to stimulate their local economy. So an extra the 21 shires will be supported by that program. This will bring the total commitment to $81.5 million. We have listened to farmers, their communities and their representatives in responding in this way and this has been a key issue that's been fed back through Bridget McKenzie and Major General Day. It's also imperative as we know to help as much as we possibly can with the mental health issues that accompany the devastation and loss that comes with drought.
So I'm announcing today a further $15.3 million in mental health initiatives, including $11 million to expand services at the six existing primary health networks subject to drought and adding two new primary health networks which are part drought-affected. This goes is on top of the additional funds we recently announced for Headspace which included more than $10 million focused on providing Headspace areas remotely in rural communities. I’m also announcing today that we are going to take pressure off farmers and families by helping them keep food on the table, meet bills and basic needs. We have the farm household assistance, we have been able cut the time down for filling in the forms by just over a third but we also need to be moving some of the support even more quickly than that. That is why the Government I announced today will provide $30 million to selected charities to continue their important work of supporting farmers, farm workers and farm suppliers, facing drought induced hardship. This initiative will provide support to at least 10,000 households in drought affected regions. That’s right 10,000 supported through programs which are already being one run by organisations like the CWA and others who are doing a tremendous job and we look forward to their participation in this program. They're in touch with their communities, we'll back them in to ensure they can get that support where it's needed as quickly as possible through the CWA and others. This will see cash payments but importantly vouchers, vouchers to meet basic needs such as food, personal products and utility bills, so this support gets spent in the town.
Now, in those areas, where vouchers are too difficult to run because of their remoteness and complexities and logistics, then cash support can be used in those communities. This is about getting that assistance into the town and making sure the money is spent in the town. Not only will this help out many of the great recipients who are doing it tough, but it will be boosting regional businesses. Another area that we are announcing today is $50 million for on-farm emergency water infrastructure through the rebate scheme to provide financial help to primary producers in drought-affected regions. This will assist them with up to 25 per cent of costs associated with the purchase and installation of new on-farm water infrastructure needed to keep up water to livestock. The sort of on-farm structure to benefit includes piping, tanks, boors, troughs, pumps, fittings and desilting. The scheme will also support drought manage activities such as reducing the impact of drought on animal welfare and lowering grazing pressures on pastures. This will not only better drought-proof farms but all of that money will get spent predominately in the towns. Ensuring we are continuing to help those local economies.
And then there is the online farm hub, something that the national farmers have raised with us and I think wisely. Farmers, communities and individuals also need fast and easy access to information and support. There is a lot of support out there but we’ve got to better connect with those who need it with the services that are there not just at a commonwealth level but at a state and territory level where significant support is being provided as well. So as part of this package I am announcing, the online farm hub hosted by the NFF to provide a single trusted point of access to information and services. Through the hub, famers, families and regional communities will have access to what will be a comprehensive listing of available support, data and resources. In total these additional drought assistance measures that I have announced today increase the Australian Government’s commitment to nearly $6 billion growing to $7 billion over time. And that is all being done while bringing the budget back into balance next financial year one year ahead of our plans. It’s yet another sign that our Government is working hard and resolutely committed to helping farmers and regional communities not only make it through the drought but to once again be in a position to prosper when it breaks. It’s the hope I think, that encourages us all as we come here today, the hope we’ve all seen in rural and regional communities about when the drought breaks.
Joining us today we have Fiona Simpson the National Farmers Federation and David Jochinke who is also here from the Victorian Farmers he’s a third generation grain and livestock farmer from North West Victoria. Stuart Armitage from the Queensland Farmers Federation, I welcome you. Stuart’s lived on a farm his entire life and now runs a family operation growing predominately coffee. James Jackson, President of the New South Wales farmers, good to see you. James is a sheep and cattle producer from Guyra New South Wales and the input from all the peak farmers’ reps, each from drought-affected areas I think is going to be invaluable.
As I conclude, I encourage us all to continue on the spirit we've come here together. I want to thank particularly my state and territory colleagues but also all of those from across the Federal Parliament, whatever side of politics we're on, it doesn't matter and it doesn't today and it doesn’t matter in the future. What matters is what we're doing to support our nation, our farmers, our local and regional communities to get through this and to thrive into the future as Australians always have. I want to thank those rural and regional communities who've been out there for some, like in Queensland, as Annastacia knows, for six years, for six years, that is why I went to Queensland first because I wanted to talk to people who have been thriving and surviving in some of the toughest conditions there are. When I met the Tullys up in Quilpie and when I met the other young people who were there with their kids and saw the resilience and hope in their eyes and they showed me pictures of their property where the grass used to come up to their knees and they said, "It's going to come again, we just have to get there.” And that’s what we’re going to do today, we’re going will help them get there and continue to stand with them. Thank you for your attendance today and we look forward to the outcome. Thanks Pip and Macca as well.
Opening Remarks, Drought Summit
26 October 2018
Colleagues, it’s a bit old school today in the Old Parliament House, and it gives us a good opportunity Andrew to use one of the great buildings of the nation’s capital, because drought was something that this building was used to dealing with as well, it’s not something new to any of our jurisdictions and of course at a Commonwealth level.
Australia and Australian leaders at a state and territory level and national level have been dealing with drought ever since the Commonwealth was formed and prior to that in each of those jurisdictions and I think today is a great opportunity for us to get together to swap notes and make sure we are all on the same page I think what is particularly encouraging about how we’ve all been working on this issue of drought recovery, drought relief, drought resilience into the future is I think all the politics has been left outside the room because we all just want to do the right thing by our rural communities, our farming communities whether they are on the farms or in the towns and I want to thank all of the leaders, all of the leaders and Gladys in her absence, her plane has been delayed this morning, for the way we have been able to work and engage together and particularly the way our departments and officials and agencies have been working together and in New South Wales and Queensland it’s been the most ferocious as we know Dan, its coming in vision, its coming into South Australia and even we were saying last night Will, on the east coast of Tassie things are drying up a bit there and so we need to be working right across the country while it may be that the states that are most severely affected right now aren’t in the west, it can be affecting west in the future, today is a good opportunity to get on the same page and get on with it. It’s great.
Press Conference - Canberra, ACT
23 October 2018
PRIME MINISTER: Good morning everyone. This morning Angus and I met Colin and Avril Greef here in Canberra and we want their electricity bills, we want their electricity prices to be more affordable. We want their electricity prices to go down, that’s what we want to achieve, that’s what Angus Taylor is the Minister for, to get electricity prices down.
We have a plan to achieve that and that plan is to get the big energy companies under control. Our plan is based on the expert reports that have been provided by the ACCC. I initiated one of those when I was the Treasurer and the AEMC and following through on their recommendations and putting the necessary focus on keeping the big energy companies under control to get prices down.
Now, there are four components to this that Angus will take you through in more detail.
The first one is to empower customers with a price safety net and to end the loyalty tax that is put on customers all around the country. Just simply because they've stayed with their electricity company, they pay more. That has to end.
Secondly, to give ourselves as a Government and the Parliament, through the Parliament, the big stick we need to keep these big energy companies in line. To stop the gouging, to ensure they pass on the savings that are being achieved in wholesale prices. And I don't bluff. People can make many criticisms of me and they do regularly, that's fine. But they never accuse me of bluffing and I don't bluff when it comes to these issues.
Thirdly, forcing energy companies to buy ahead, to buy ahead and contract reliable energy supply into the market. Fair dinkum power, as you've heard me call it, from the generators so we can keep the lights on and we don't see a repeat of the fiasco we that saw in South Australia. That matter is before the states and Angus will be meeting with them again this Friday.
And to back in investment for more, new, reliable power generation. That fair dinkum power generation that works when the sun doesn't shine and the wind doesn't blow, because if you want to keep the big producers and the big companies in check, well there needs to be more. There needs to be more power, more reliable power generation going into the system to ensure that can get prices down. I mean, as we've always said and Malcolm would say, the laws of supply and demand have not changed, they're just as true as they've always been. There needs to be more reliable power supply, reliable power generation in the electricity market. That's what also gets prices down, forces more competition into the system.
Now, we will meet all of these goals while at the same time, meeting the targets that we've set out for ourselves when it comes to emissions reduction. That is our clear advice, that we can continue to meet the targets that we’ve set out for ourselves. We don't have to choose between the two, we will achieve both. We have met our Kyoto targets. We have met Kyoto 1. We will meet Kyoto 2 and we will meet our targets in 2030, as I've said, in a canter. We can achieve both, Australians expect us to achieve both, but what they really want to see right now from Angus as the Minister for getting electricity prices down, and myself, is the clear action to keep the big energy companies under control, so we can give the power back to the customers and get their prices down.
Angus, do you want to take us through those in a bit more detail? Then I'm happy to take questions.
THE HON. ANGUS TAYLOR MP, MINISTER FOR ENERGY: Thanks, PM. Today is an important day for getting power prices down in Australia. For too long, consumers, customers, have been getting a raw deal. The ACCC has told us this, other regulators tell us this and Australians tell us this. We know the energy market has not worked in the interests of consumers, households and small businesses as well as larger businesses. We need to get the energy companies under control, to stop the rip-offs.
That's why we have been focused on a comprehensive package which has, as the Prime Minister says, four parts. First, stopping the price-gouging by the big energy companies. We're banning sneaky late payments. We're requiring retailers to pass on wholesale price reductions and we're cracking down on dodgy anti-competitive practices. Our plan will be implemented through a comprehensive legislative package that will come through to the Parliament this year, as well as a package that will go to the COAG Energy Council.
We're empowering customers with a fair price safety net. This means removing the loyalty tax, as the Prime Minister said, for people who don't have time to negotiate a price over an extended series of phone conversations. The loyalty tax must go.
We also want to see the confusion go, when people are made offers and contracts in the market, the confusion must go. Yesterday, the Treasurer and I wrote to the Australian Energy Regulator to introduce a benchmark price, which will be worked up for full implementation by July 1. Thirdly, we're backing investment in reliable generation to improve competition, lower prices and shore up reliability.
Today, we begin the consultation process ahead of an expression of interest. We're aiming to have our first pipeline of projects early next year. We will be providing mechanisms to ensure that these projects are financed as per the ACCC recommendations. They recommended a floor price, we won't anticipate the banking, there will be other options as well, a broader range of mechanisms that are being discussed in the consultation paper. We also aim to support reliable power through the reliability mechanism we'll be putting to the COAG Energy Council this week for implementation, by the 1st of July.
Finally, I'm writing to all energy companies, all the energy companies supplying electricity in Australia to convene a round-table. I will be asking each company to individually take action to lower prices, specifically their standing offers by January 1. This is a down payment for all Australians on a fairer electricity market. Our package for affordable, reliable power will ensure a better deal for all Australians, a better deal for small businesses and ensuring that big energy companies do the right thing by their customers.
JOURNALIST: Do you have any numbers, specific numbers, for targets to contain prices or get them down?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, on the residential customers - this is just on the default price - the savings for residential consumers range from $273 in the ACT, through to $832 in savings in South Australia. For small business customers, it can be as high as $3,500 a year in South Australia and just under $1,000 in the ACT. So that is just on those measures alone.
The other measures, as Angus has just indicated, we want to see the electricity price come down in January and we're making it very clear to the electricity companies that's what we expect you to do.
JOURNALIST: Aren’t prices however, set in July in most places?
PRIME MINISTER: Well it's not compulsory, they can take their prices down and I expect them to do it.
JOURNALIST: Minister Taylor, on the investment mechanism which you mentioned there. The ACCC was very clear in its recommendation [inaudible] have prices attached, of $45 to $50 a megawatt hour. Is that what the Government is proposing? And you seemed to suggest that the Government was proposing that and some other things that I'm not really sure what you're talking about?
MINISTER FOR ENERGY: So the ACCC made it clear that one good mechanism worthy of consideration is a floor price. We are certainly including that as a mechanism that can be used. I don't want to anticipate the banking. What we do want to do is make sure we get that reliable power into the system, that Australians get a fair deal, that we have that reliable power that can provide electricity to all Australian households and businesses under all circumstances.
JOURNALIST: So you say you don't want to anticipate the banking, is that you saying - ?
MINISTER FOR ENERGY: Well the ACCC made a recommendation about a mechanism and that's a good recommendation. We're absolutely very interested in using that mechanism. It may not be the only one.
PRIME MINISTER: In the consultation paper, it sets out a number of measures and that is, that providing a floor price, a contract for difference, cap and floor collar contracts, government loans, all of these things are set out in the consultation paper. That's a discussion which we're very happy to have.
JOURNALIST: Whichever method you go with, will it be- take a technology-neutral approach? And will it be left to the market to decide which is the most viable technology?
PRIME MINISTER: Yes.
JOURNALIST: What do you say to Nationals MPs who want this mechanism to be used to invest in coal-fired power stations? Can it be used to do that?
PRIME MINISTER: Where it stacks up, it can be. Where it meets all the requirements.
JOURNALIST: Are you expecting there to be people coming forward with ideas to build coal-fired power stations?
PRIME MINISTER: Whether it's that or whether it’s any other sort of energy, reliable supply to the market to get electricity prices down, that's what we're for. We're for lower electricity prices and for people generating more reliable power in Australia. We don't take positions on the source of the fuel. What we do is we ensure we meet our broader emissions reduction target, which we do. Everything we're talking about here is consistent with that position. But it also means ensuring that we can unlock the investment that needs to come into the sector to ensure more power is generated.
JOURNALIST: Everyone is worried about power prices but some of your MPs are also worried about carbon emissions. Are you open to the prospect of putting more money into the Emissions Reductions Fund?
PRIME MINISTER: I've never ruled that out. I've always said that would be dealt with through the normal budgetary process. There's a Budget next year and there’s an ERC process underway at the moment. The current funding takes us through to the current period. So I've always been open to that.
There's a suite of things we're doing. I mean there’s ARENA, there’s the CEFC, there’s Snowy 2.0 there’s the small and large scale RET, there’s the Emissions Reduction Fund. But you know what there also is? Common sense and technology. Common sense and technology - and Angus might want to comment on this because you're closer to it than me on the details of the technology developments – but renewable energy is attracting investment because it has reached the tipping point where it just makes economic sense and no longer needs the regulatory and other economic intervention to bring it about and that's continuing to be the process in the future, which is where you always wanted it to be. So common sense and technology is enabling us to achieve all of these things, which I think is great news. No longer does government have to sit around and hold the hand of the renewable technologies, like it used to. It's going to happen more and more and more in the future and the investment is going to roll because it's common sense and it's economic sense. It doesn't need the government to be sticking its fingers into it. Angus?
MINISTER FOR ENERGY: Businesses and households have been driving extraordinary energy efficiencies in Australia using new technologies and new techniques for many years now. The forecasters continually have underestimated the amount of energy efficiency we've been getting, the gains we've been getting through use of new technology and techniques and that will continue. The track record in this country is an extremely good one and that common sense the Prime Minister describes is absolutely crucial and will play a major role in achieving these outcomes.
PRIME MINISTER: So the intervention we need now, is actually to keep the big energy companies in line. That's where Australians want governments to actually be acting now. They want us to act to ensure that those big energy companies don't rip them off, which is where our focus is.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister can I take you to another topic?
PRIME MINISTER: Yeah unless there's other questions on energy? As you know, I like to deal with the topics –
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister the energy companies actually say the price caps will reduce competition between companies and hurt consumers, who are already shopping around, they’re going to pay higher prices in the future. What do you say to that?
PRIME MINISTER: I'd say: “they would, wouldn't they”?
JOURNALIST: Is the Government considering asking for a recount of the Wentworth by-election tally?
PRIME MINISTER: Have we dealt with energy?
JOURNALIST: No. Thank you, with this underwriting mechanism, the ACCC was talking about new generation, generation that doesn't currently exist.
PRIME MINISTER: Correct.
JOURNALIST: Could this underwriting mechanism apply to retrofitting existing power stations? That’s the first one and second point, is the Government proposing as part of this not only to underwrite and finance but to guarantee new projects against future carbon risk?
MINISTER FOR ENERGY: So on your first point, there are a lot of ways of getting new generation. Brown fields, green fields, upgrades. There's lots of ways of getting new generation. We want the outcome. That's the focus here. We’ve got to get that dispatchable, that reliable power into the system to ensure that we can keep prices down, increase competition and ensure we've got the reliability and we should look at all of those outcomes. Your second question…
JOURNALIST: Well, there's underwriting finance and then there’s whether or not the Commonwealth guarantees these projects against future carbon risk.
MINISTER FOR ENERGY: What's crucial is that we ensure that new capacity can come into the market at a cost that will be affordable for Australians and Australian businesses. And that means making sure that Government carries as little risk as is necessary but as much as we need to make sure we get that reliable power into the system.
PRIME MINISTER: You make a good point, and that is our policies are based on our plans. Now, the Labor Party has different plans. They have a plan for a 45 per cent emissions reduction target, which would have a bigger impact on household electricity prices than the Carbon Tax that they introduced prior to the 2013 election and a bigger impact for businesses and a bigger impact for householders and a bigger impact for Colin and Avril, who we met this morning. So, no, we don't support those policies and we're not in the business of underwriting Labor's policies. That's the Labor Party's business and what we're saying here is our policies are about getting prices down. Labor's policies will drive prices up, and so under a Liberal and National Government, your electricity prices will be lower than under Labor.
JOURNALIST: Gas prices are going up, so are you saying that you can guarantee that people's retail prices will come down before the next election?
PRIME MINISTER: That is the pressure we will be placing and I'm saying that under the Liberal and National Government and our policies, electricity prices will be lower under us than they will be under Labor. Under Labor you will not only pay more on electricity prices, you will pay more in higher taxes, you will pay more in higher private health insurance premiums. Under Labor you will pay more and more and more.
JOURNALIST: You say "a big stick". Can you tell us what that is? What can you do to force these companies?
PRIME MINISTER: It's everything from enforceable undertaking through the courts through to divestment powers of their assets. That's a pretty big stick.
JOURNALIST: So you're going to tell them that at this roundtable, that if they don’t bring down their standing offer you’re willing to use those things?
PRIME MINISTER: Well that's what a big stick is for. Let's go here and then move around.
JOURNALIST: Over in other parties they're showing a slightly different attitude to your legislation with regards to asylum seekers and refugees.
PRIME MINISTER: Right.
JOURNALIST: What attitude are you bringing to this legislation, given that the support of the Labor Party, the Greens and others seems to be conditional on you amending it substantially?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, Labor have always been for weaker border protection policies. And you don't get children off Nauru by putting more children on Nauru through weaker border protection policies. I'm interested in getting children off Nauru. Over 200 children have already come off Nauru. More children have already come off in recent times under the quiet, effective management of these issues that the Government is pursuing. We're not here to grandstand on this. We're just here to get the job done. And Labor have always sought to weaken. This legislation has been around since 2016 and what they're showing is what they always do. They think this is something to trade over. You don't get to negotiate with people smugglers based on horse-trading in the Australian Senate. This is why Labor stuffed it up so much last time they were in. They thought that's how you manage this. That's just not how it works. You've got to have clear policies that protect our borders and you then have to manage the legacy of Labor's failure, as we have been doing. Closing the detention centres - thousands upon thousands upon thousands of children removed from detention under our Government and we're going to continue doing that job. So no-one understands this issue, I would say, more acutely and more sensitively than I do with my experience of this over a long period of time. I'm committed to ensuring that we can deal with this challenge in terms of the situation with the children and I'm open to every sensible proposal that would not also see more children go onto Nauru. Because don't forget it's not just our policy. It's the Labor Party's policy that if a boat turned up and there were children on that boat, a) that would be horrific enough, because they may have even died along the way, but secondly, those children would go to Nauru under the Labor Party policy. So you don't get children off Nauru by putting more on through horse-trading and this type of business we're seeing presented.
JOURNALIST: Is the Labor Party's offer sensible if it is a one-off for the kids and their children to take them off Nauru and send them to New Zealand?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, the Bill we put into the Parliament was the right answer. And, as I said, you don't horse trade on border protection. You don't do it. Because all you do is run the risk of creating this perverse incentive. Let's just think it through. The perverse incentive that if you put a child onto a boat, well, you're more likely at the other end to get the particular outcome you're looking for. I understand the grief. I understand the great level of community passion and anxiety on this. I do. But I also understand that I must take decisions that don't put more children at risk, which is the great folly of how the Labor Party have always engaged on this issue. They think it’s some sort of domestic negotiation. That's not how this works. So I will consider and take serious advice from people within Operation Sovereign Borders about the potential impacts of all of those things. When it comes to the New Zealand legislation, we've had that in place now for some time. It has never been my preferred outcome as to how we manage that issue. We've been dealing with that issue with our partners in the United States with great effect and one of the other problems with this issue being pursued in this way by the Opposition is it can work to actually say to people on Nauru at the moment, "Oh, I won't take the US offer because the Labor Party might be offering me a better offer." And so they're still on there. And so I would caution people to think carefully about the ramifications of this. I'll be listening carefully to those who are responsible for protecting our borders and stopping kids getting on boats. I'm not sure… to the best of my knowledge, the Labor Party did not seek advice from those agencies in the position they've put to us. I'm not here to horse trade on children. I'm here to help them.
JOURNALIST: So if this legislation passes, you'll take up the New Zealand offer and 150 refugees won’t necessarily go to New Zealand, even if the legislation passes?
PRIME MINISTER: Well let's look at the timeline, okay? The Senate doesn't meet now for several weeks and if the Labor Party wants to move their amendments and they have the support of Greens and crossbenchers, well that's a matter for them. They could have done that at any time for the last two years. They haven't chosen to do that. What we're seeing is the usual sort of panic you see from the Labor Party on these issues in response to domestic politics, rather than considering carefully the ramifications. Now, that matter wouldn't come back to the house until it meets later this year. So what I'm going to do is continue on the program that I have been working with some crossbenchers on very carefully, not in a big-noting way, just getting on with it, managing the issues case by case, talking to those who understand the mental health and physical health issues associated with those who are affected and just continue doing my job, as we’ve been doing for the last five years with great achievement.
JOURNALIST: [Inaudible] would it be your expectation that you can get all those people off Nauru by the end of the year doing what you’re doing now?
PRIME MINISTER: I’m going to continue just to work quietly and methodically with those who are looking to get an outcome here. Who aren’t interested in showboating and grandstanding, who just want to get an outcome. That’s what I’ve always been doing, that’s what our Government has always been doing, that’s why we’ve always been able to get the results and I want to thank those, both within my own Party and the National Party and those on the crossbench who have been taking that approach because we’ve been getting some good things done. We’ve been doing it without running the risk of seeing this whole horrible nightmare open up again. I’m not going to allow this nightmare to open up again. It was far too painful, far too painful, to actually fix this last time, and no one knows that, no one knows that, better than me.
Address to Victims and Survivors of Sexual Abuse
22 October 2018
Thank you. I understand the anger. And can I ask Cheryl Edwardes to come and join me up on stage, please? I'm asking Cheryl to come and join me here today, Cheryl Edwardes led the leadership of the advisory group that led to today's apology. Cheryl was joined by Hetty Johnston who is here. Thank you, Hetty. Richard Weston, CEO of the Healing Foundation and descendant of the Meriam people of the Torres Strait. Caroline Carroll OAM, founding chair of the Alliance for Forgotten Australians. Chrissie Foster, who along with her late husband Anthony, drew national attention to the issue of clergy abuse. Leonie Sheedy, CEO of Care Leavers Australasia Network. And Craig Hughes-Cashmore, CEO of the Survivors and Mates Support Network.
I would like you to join me in doing something. I'm going to take Cheryl's hand. This is the apology that I tabled in the Parliament. I have not read this anywhere. This will be the first place that I read the formal apology, which will be provided to you today. And it is being done for you here in this place. I would like you to take the hand of those next to you, because... stand with you, stand together, and I want to read the apology to all of you.
“Today the Australian Government and this Parliament, on behalf of all Australians, unreservedly apologises to the victims and survivors of institutional child sexual abuse. For too many years our eyes and hearts were closed to the truths we were told by children. For too many years governments and institutions refused to acknowledge the darkness that lay within our community. Today we reckon with our past and commit to protect children now and into the future. Today we apologise for the pain, the suffering, and trauma inflicted upon victims and survivors as children, and for its profound and ongoing impact.
As children, you deserve care and protection. Instead, the very people and institutions entrusted with your care failed you. You suffered appalling physical and mental abuse and endured horrific sexual crimes. As fellow Australians, we apologise for this gross betrayal of trust, and for the fact that organisations with power over children, schools, religious organisations, governments, orphanages, sports and social clubs, charities were left unchecked.
Today we say we are sorry. Sorry that you were not protected. Sorry that you were not listened to. We are sorry for refusing to trust the words of children, for not believing you. As we say sorry, we also say we believe you. We say what happened was not your fault. We are sorry that perpetrators of abuse were relocated and shielded, rather than held to account. That records have been withheld and destroyed and accountability avoided. We are sorry that the justice and child welfare systems that should have protected you were at times used to perpetrate yet more injustices against you. We apologise for the lifelong impact this abuse has had on your health, your relationships, and your ability to live life to its full potential.
We also extend this apology to your children, your parents, siblings, families, friends, and supporters. All those who have helped carry the burden of your experiences and help advocate for accountability. We regret that your children's lives have been changed and relationships have been broken by the enduring effects of abuse. We hear the rage, despair, and hurt of parents, whose trust was betrayed along with your own. We admit that we failed to protect the most vulnerable people in our society from those who abused their power. Our community believed people and institutions who did not deserve our trust, instead of believing the children who did. Because of our action, too many victims are no longer with us to hear this apology. They did not live to see the justice they deserved. But today we remember them and we extend this apology along with our sincere sympathies to their families, friends and supporters.
As we say sorry, we honour the courage of survivors and advocates who spoke out to expose sexual abuse in our institutions, often at great personal cost. Your voices save lives. Your bravery has allowed us to uncover this dark chapter of our national life and understand what we must now do to protect children. We also acknowledge the many victims and survivors who have not spoken of their abuse. Your suffering is no less anguished for your silence.
Together, as a Government, a Parliament, and a community, we must all play a role in the protection of children from abuse. We must accept our responsibility to keep our eyes and ears open and speak out to keep our children safe. We must listen to children and believe what they tell us. Child sexual abuse is a serious criminal act, and a violation of Australian law. Perpetrators must and will be held to account. Today we commit to taking action to build awareness in our community and strengthen our systems to promote children's safety across Australia. We commit to ensuring that all our institutions are child safe. We know that we must and will do better to protect all children in Australia from abuse and that our actions will give true and practical meaning to this apology. Our children deserve nothing less.”
We are sorry.
Can I conclude by thanking Julia Gillard for initiating the Royal Commission. And can I thank you all for your attendance here today.
Address, National Apology
22 October 2018
Mr Speaker, let me first welcome all those who have come here today.
Whether you sit here in this Chamber, the Great Hall, outside elsewhere in the nation’s capital. Your living room. In your bed, unable to rise today or speak to another soul. Your journey to where you are today has been a long and painful one, and we acknowledge that and we welcome you today wherever you are.
Mr Speaker, silenced voices. Muffled cries in the darkness.
Unacknowledged tears. The tyranny of invisible suffering.
The never heard pleas of tortured souls bewildered by an indifference to the unthinkable theft of their innocence.
Today, Australia confronts a trauma – an abomination – hiding in plain sight for far too long.
Today, we confront a question too horrible to ask, let alone answer.
Why weren’t the children of our nation loved, nurtured and protected?
Why was their trust betrayed?
Why did those who know cover it up?
Why were the cries of children and parents ignored?
Why was our system of justice blind to injustice?
Why has it taken so long to act?
Why were other things more important than this, the care of innocent children?
Why didn't we believe?
Today we dare to ask these questions, and finally acknowledge and confront the lost screams of our children.
While we can’t be so vain to pretend to answers, we must be so humble to fall before those who were forsaken and beg to them our apology.
A sorry that dare not ask for forgiveness.
A sorry that dare not try and make sense of the incomprehensible or think it could.
A sorry that does not insult with an incredible promise.
A sorry that speaks only of profound grief and loss.
A sorry from a nation that seeks to reach out in compassion into the darkness where you have lived for so long.
Nothing we can do now will right the wrongs inflicted on our nation’s children.
Even after a comprehensive Royal Commission, which finally enabled the voices to be heard and the silence to be broken, we will all continue to struggle.
So today we gather in this Chamber in humility. Not just as Representatives of the people of this country, but as fathers, as mothers, as siblings, friends, workmates, and in some cases, indeed as victims and survivors.
Ngunnawal means ‘meeting place’. And on this day of apology, we meet together.
We honour every survivor in this country, we love you, we hear you and we honour you.
No matter if you are here at this meeting place or elsewhere, this apology is to you and for you.
Your presence and participation makes tangible our work today – and it gives strength to others who are yet to share what has happened in their world.
Elsewhere in this building and around Australia, there are others who are silently watching and listening to these proceedings, men and women who have never told a soul what has happened to them. To these men and women I say this apology is for you too.
And later when the speeches are over, we will stand in silence and remember the victims who are not with us anymore, many too sadly by their own hand.
As a nation, we failed them, we forsook them. That will always be our shame.
This apology is for them and their families too.
As one survivor recently said to me, “It wasn’t a foreign enemy who did this to us – this was done by Australians.” To Australians. Enemies in our midst.
Enemies. In. Our. Midst.
The enemies of innocence.
Look up at the galleries, look at the Great Hall, look outside this place and you will see men and women from every walk of life, from every generation, and every part of our land.
Crushed, abused, discarded and forgotten.
The crimes of ritual sexual abuse happened in schools, churches, youth groups, scout troops, orphanages, foster homes, sporting clubs, group homes, charities, and in family homes as well.
It happened anywhere a predator thought they could get away with it, and the systems within these organisations allowed it to happen and turned a blind eye.
It happened day after day, week after week, month after month, and decade after decade. Unrelenting torment.
When a child spoke up, they weren’t believed and the crimes continued with impunity.
One survivor told me that when he told a teacher of his abuse, that teacher then became his next abuser.
Trust broken.
Innocence betrayed.
Power and position exploited for evil dark crimes.
A survivor named Faye told the Royal Commission, “Nothing takes the memories away. It happened 53 years ago and it’s still affecting me.”
One survivor named Ann said, “My mother believed them rather than me”.
I also met with a mother whose two daughters were abused by a priest the family trusted. Suicide would claim one of her two beautiful girls and the other lives under the crushing weight of what was done to her.
As a father of two daughters, I can’t comprehend the magnitude of what she has faced.
Not just as a father but as Prime Minister, I am angry too at the calculating destruction of lives and abuse of trust, including those who have abused the shield of faith and religion to hide their crimes, a shield that is supposed to protect the innocent, not the guilty. And they stand condemned.
One survivor says it was like “becoming a stranger to your parents.”
Mental health illnesses, self-harm, and addictions followed.
The pain didn’t stop with adulthood.
Relationships with partners and children became strained as survivors struggled with the conflicting currents within them.
Parents and siblings felt guilt and sadness for what they had missed, for what and whom they chose to believe, and for what they did not see.
While survivors contemplated what could have been.
A survivor named Rodney asks the question so common to so many survivors, he wonders about “the person I may have become, or the person I could have become if I didn’t have all of this in my life.”
Death can take many forms. In this case the loss of a life never lived, a life denied.
Another survivor, Aiden spoke of not getting justice because his abuser had died. He said, “I was bereft because I was robbed. I was robbed of my day in court. I wanted to tell the world what he did. That was stolen. That was him again, taking control.”
Mr Speaker, today, as a nation, we confront our failure to listen, to believe and to provide justice.
And again today, we say sorry.
To the children we failed, sorry.
To the parents whose trust was betrayed and who have struggled to pick up the pieces, sorry.
To the whistle-blowers who we did not listen to, sorry.
To the spouses, partners, wives, husbands and children who have dealt with the consequences of the abuse, cover-ups and obstruction, sorry.
To generations past and present, sorry.
Mr Speaker, as part of our work leading us to this day, I recently met with the National Apology Survivor’s Reference Group, as did the Leader of the Opposition, who are with us here today.
I want to thank this wonderful group of people and brave people.
Many are survivors; they have all worked so hard to make today a reality.
They said to me that an apology without action is just a piece of paper and it is. And today they also wanted to hear about our actions.
It is a fair call.
In outlining our actions, I want to recognise the work of my predecessors, former Prime Minister Gillard, who is with us here today, and I thank you for your attendance. Former Prime Minister Rudd, the Member for Warringah, who continues to serve us here in this place, and the former Prime Minister, Mr Turnbull. I want to thank them for their compassion and leadership as they also confronted these terrible failings.
The foundations of our actions are the findings and recommendations of the Royal Commission, initiated by Prime Minister Gillard.
The steady compassionate hand of the Commissioners and staff resulted in 17,000 survivors coming forward and nearly 8,000 of them recounting their abuse in private sessions of the Commission.
We are all grateful to the survivors who gave evidence to the Commission. It is because of your strength and your courage that we are gathered here today.
Many of the Commissioners and staff are also with us today and I thank them also.
Mr Speaker, acting on the recommendations of the Royal Commission with concrete action gives practical meaning to today’s Apology.
The Commonwealth, as our national Government, must lead and coordinate our response.
The National Redress Scheme has commenced.
I thank the State and Territory Governments for their backing of the scheme.
The Scheme is about recognising and alleviating the impact of past abuse, and providing justice for survivors.
The Scheme will provide survivors with access to counselling and psychological services, monetary payments, and, for those who want one – and I stress for those who want one – a direct personal response from an institution where the abuse occurred.
It will mean – that after many years, often decades, of denials and cover-ups — the institutions responsible for ruining lives admit their wrongdoing and the terrible damage they caused.
The National Office of Child Safety is another big step forward to ensuring the prevention and detection of child abuse, wherever it occurs.
It was announced as part of our Government’s response to the Royal Commission and was established from July 1 of this year within the Department of Social Services.
As Prime Minister, I will be changing these arrangements to ensure that the National Office of Child Safety will report to me. It will reside within the portfolio of Prime Minister and Cabinet, as it should. The Minister for Social Services will assist me in this role, including reporting to me on the progress of Royal Commission recommendations and the activities of the Office of Child Safety.
The Office has already begun it’s work to raise awareness of child safety and to drive cultural change in institutions in the community – to ensure that the systemic failures and abuses of power that brought us here today are not repeated.
Importantly, children themselves are being empowered to participate in these initiatives – because our children must be heard, and when it comes to the work of safety, it must be approachable and child friendly. They must know who they can tell, and they must be believed, and they must know where they can go.
All Australian Governments are now working together to establish a national database, to ensure higher standards for working with children and that data about people’s ability to work with children is shared nationally.
And our work does not stop at our borders.
We are ensuring children across the world are protected by stopping child sex offenders from travelling overseas without permission, which will disrupt, prevent and investigate the abuse of children globally.
And we recognise that as survivors age, those who were abused in or by an institution, have real fears about entering into aged care facilities.
It’s an understandable fear given what happened during childhood, and we will work with survivor groups about what we can to do alleviate those fears and indeed the work of the Royal Commission into aged care will be able to address this as well.
And to assist with lasting change we recognise that there are many more survivors who were abused in other settings such as their own homes and in their communities, who will not be covered by this redress scheme.
These survivors also need to be heard, and believed, and responded to with services to address their needs. So today, I commit to fund the establishment of a National Centre of Excellence, and I call on the states and territories to work as partners in this venture. This Centre will be the place to raise awareness and understanding of the impacts of child sexual abuse, to deal with the stigma, to support help seeking and guide best practice for training and other services.
All of this is just the start.
The Australian Government has not rejected a single recommendation of the Royal Commission.
We are now actively working on 104 of the 122 recommendations that were addressed to the Commonwealth. The 18 remaining are being closely examined, in consultation with states and territories.
Today we commit that from December this year, we will report back to the Australian people, through the Parliament, to be held accountable each year, each year, on the progress we are making on the recommendations over the next five years and then beyond.
We will shine a spotlight on all parts of government to ensure we are held accountable.
And the institutions which perpetrated this abuse, covered it up and refused to be held accountable, must be kept on the hook.
Already, many of those organisations have made their own apologies and have signed up to be a part of the National Redress Scheme, as they should.
But there are others yet to join, and today I simply say that justice, decency and the beliefs and values we share as Australians, insists that they sign on.
Today I also commit to establishing a National Museum, a place of truth and commemoration, to raise awareness and understanding of the impacts of child sexual abuse.
We will work with survivor groups, to ensure your stories are recorded, that your truth is told, that our nation does not turn from our shame, and that our Nation will never forget the untold horrors you experienced.
Through this we will endeavour to bring some healing to our nation and to learn from our past horrors.
We can never promise a world where there are no abusers. But we can promise a country where we commit to hear and believe our children.
To work together to keep children safe, to trust them and most of all respect their innocence.
Mr Speaker, I present the formal apology to be tabled in this Parliament today, which will be handed to those in the Great Hall shortly. It reflects all of the sentiments that I have expressed on behalf of the Australian people, this Parliament and our Government.
And as I table that and, as I do, I simply say: I believe you. We believe you. Your country believes you.
Motion, National Apology to Victims and Survivors of Institutional Child Sexual Abuse
22 October 2018
Mr Morrison:
I move:
That the House apologise to the victims and survivors of institutional child sexual abuse.
Let me first welcome all of those who have come here today. Whether you sit here alongside us here in this chamber, in the Great Hall, outside elsewhere in the nation's capital, in your living room, or in your bed, unable to rise today or speak to another soul, your journey to where you are today has been a long and painful one, and we acknowledge that and we welcome you today wherever you are.
Silenced voices; muffled cries in the darkness; unacknowledged tears; the tyranny of invisible suffering; the never heard pleas of tortured souls bewildered by an indifference to the unthinkable theft of their innocence—today Australia confronts a trauma, an abomination, hiding in plain sight for far too long. Today we confront a question too horrible to ask, let alone answer: why weren't the children of our nation loved, nurtured and protected? Why was their trust betrayed? Why did those who know cover it up? Why were the cries of children and parents ignored? Why was our system of justice blind to injustice? Why has it taken so long to act? Why were others things more important than this, the care of innocent children? Why didn't we believe?
Today we dare to ask these questions, and finally acknowledge and confront the lost screams of our children. While we can't be so vain to pretend to answers, we must be so humble to fall before those who were forsaken and beg to them our apology—a sorry that dare not ask for forgiveness; a sorry that dare not try and make sense of the incomprehensible or think it could; a sorry that does not insult with an incredible promise; a sorry that speaks only of profound grief and loss; a sorry from a nation that seeks to reach out in compassion into the darkness where you have lived for so long.
Nothing we can do now will right the wrongs inflicted on our nation's children. Even after a comprehensive royal commission, which finally enabled the voices to be heard and the silence to be broken, we will all continue to struggle.
So today we gather in this chamber in humility, not just as representatives of the people of this country but as fathers, as mothers, as siblings, friends, workmates and, in some cases, indeed, as victims and survivors. In Ngunawal, 'Canberra' means 'meeting place'. And on this day of apology, we meet together. We honour every survivor in this country. We love you, we hear you and we honour you. No matter if you are here at this meeting place or elsewhere, this apology is to you and for you. Your presence and participation makes tangible our work today and it gives strength to others who are yet to share what has happened in their world.
Elsewhere in this building and around Australia there are others who are silently watching and listening to these proceedings, men and women who have never told a soul what has happened to them. To these men and women, I say this apology is for you too. Later, when the speeches are over, we will stand in silence and we remember the victims who are not with us anymore—many, sadly, by their own hand. As a nation we failed them, we forsook them and that will always be our shame. This apology is for them and for their families too. As one survivor recently said to me: 'It wasn't a foreign enemy who did this to us. This was done by Australians to Australians.' Enemies in our midst, the enemies of innocence. Look at the galleries, look at the Great Hall, look outside this place and you will see men and women from every walk of life, from every generation and from every part of our land crushed, abused, discarded and forgotten.
The crimes of ritual sexual abuse happened in schools, churches, youth groups, Scout troupes, orphanages, foster homes, sporting clubs, group homes, charities and family homes as well. It happened anywhere a predator thought they could get away with it, and the systems within these organisations allowed it to happen and turned a blind eye. It happened day after day, week after week, month after month, decade after decade—unrelenting torment. When a child spoke up they weren't believed, and the crimes continued with impunity. One survivor told me that when he told a teacher of his abuse that teacher then became his next abuser. Trust broken, innocence betrayed, power and position exploited for evil, dark crimes.
A survivor named Faye told the royal commission:
… nothing takes the memories away. It happened 53 years ago and it's still affecting me.
A survivor named Ann said:
My mother believed them rather than me.
I also met with a mother whose two daughters were abused by a priest the family trusted. Suicide would claim one of her two beautiful girls, and the other lives under the crushing weight of what was done to her. As a father of two daughters, I can't comprehend the magnitude of what she has faced. Not just as a father but as a Prime Minister, I am angry too at the calculating destruction of lives and the abuse of trust, including those who have abused the shield of faith and religion to hide their crimes—a shield that is supposed to protect the innocent, not the guilty—and they stand condemned.
One survivor says it was like becoming a stranger to your parents. Mental health illnesses, self-harm and addictions followed. The pain didn't stop with adulthood. Relationships with partners and children became strained as survivors struggled with the conflicting currents within them. Parents and siblings felt guilt and sadness for what they had missed, for what and whom they chose to believe and for what they did not see, while survivors contemplated what could have been. A survivor named Rodney asked the question so common to so many survivors. He wonders about:
… the person I may have become, or the person I could have become if I didn't have all this in my life …
Death can take many forms. In this case, the loss of a life never lived and a life denied. Another survivor, Aidan, spoke of not getting justice because his abuser had died. He said:
I was bereft because I was robbed. I was robbed of my day in court. I wanted to tell the world what he did. That was stolen. That was him again, taking control.
Today, as a nation, we confront our failure to listen, to believe and to provide justice. And again today we say sorry—to the children we failed, sorry; to the parents whose trust was betrayed and who have struggled to pick up the pieces, sorry; to the whistleblowers who we did not listen to, sorry; to the spouses, partners, wives, husbands and children who have dealt with the consequences of the abuse, cover-ups and obstruction, sorry; to generations past and present, sorry.
As part of our work leading us to this day I recently met with, as did the Leader of the Opposition, the National Apology to Victims and Survivors of Child Sexual Abuse Reference Group, who are with us here today. I want to thank this wonderful group of brave people. Many are survivors. They have all worked so hard to make today a reality. They said to me that an apology without action is just a piece of paper—and it is. Today they also wanted to hear about our actions. It's a fair call.
In outlining our actions, I want to acknowledge the work of my predecessors: former Prime Minister Gillard, who is with us here today, and I thank her for her attendance; former Prime Minister Rudd; the member for Warringah, who continues to serve us here in this place; and former Prime Minister Turnbull. I want to thank them for their compassion and leadership as they also confronted these terrible failings.
The foundations of our actions are the findings and recommendations of the royal commission initiated by Prime Minister Gillard. The steady, compassionate hand of the commissioners and staff resulted in 17,000 survivors coming forward and nearly 8,000 of them recounting their abuse in private sessions of the commission. We are grateful to the survivors who gave evidence to the commission. It is because of your strength and your courage that we are gathered here today. Many of the commissioners and staff are also with us today, and I thank them also.
Acting on the recommendations of the royal commission with concrete action gives practical meaning to today's apology. The Commonwealth, as our national government, must lead and coordinate our response. The National Redress Scheme has commenced. I thank the state and territory governments for their backing of the scheme. The scheme is about recognising and alleviating the impact of past abuse and providing justice for survivors. The scheme will provide survivors with access to counselling and psychological services, monetary payments and, for those who want one—I stress 'for those who want one'—a direct personal response from the institution where the abuse occurred. It will mean that, after many years, often decades, of denials and cover-ups, the institutions responsible for ruining lives will admit their wrongdoing and the terrible damage they caused.
The National Office for Child Safety is another big step forward to ensuring the prevention and detection of child abuse wherever it occurs. It was announced as part of our government's response to the royal commission and it was established from 1 July of this year within the Department of Social Services. As Prime Minister, I'll be changing these arrangements to ensure that the National Office for Child Safety will report to me. It will reside within the portfolio of Prime Minister and Cabinet, as it should, and the Minister for Social Services will assist me in this role, including reporting to me on the progress of royal commission recommendations and the activities of the Office for Child Safety.
The office has already begun its work to raise awareness of child safety and to drive cultural change in institutions in the community to ensure the systemic failures and abuses of power that brought us here today are not repeated. Importantly, children themselves are being empowered to participate in these initiatives, because our children must be heard. When it comes to the work of safety, it must be approachable and child-friendly. They must know who they can tell, they must be believed and they must know where they can go.
All Australian governments are now working together to establish a national database to ensure higher standards for working with children and that data about people's ability to work with children is shared nationally. Our work does not stop at our borders. We are ensuring children across the world are protected by stopping child sex offenders from travelling overseas without permission, which will disrupt, prevent and investigate the abuse of children globally.
We recognise that, as survivors age, those who were abused in or by an institution have real fears about entering into aged-care facilities. It's an understandable fear, given what happened during childhood. We will work with survivor groups about what we can do to alleviate those fears, and, indeed, the work of the royal commission into aged care will be able to address this as well.
To assist with lasting change, we recognise that there are many survivors who were abused in other settings, such as in their own homes and in their communities, who will not be covered by this redress scheme. These survivors also need to be heard, believed and responded to with services to address their needs. So, today, I commit to fund the establishment of a national centre of excellence, and I call on the states and territories to work as partners in this venture. This centre will be the place to raise awareness and understanding of the impacts of child sexual abuse, to deal with the stigma, support help seeking and guide best practice for training and other services.
All of this is just the start. The Australian government has not rejected a single recommendation of the royal commission. We are now actively working on 104 of the 122 recommendations that were addressed to the Commonwealth, and the 18 remaining are being closely examined, in consultation with states and territories. Today we commit, from December this year, to report back to the Australian people through the parliament to be held accountable each year—each year—on the progress we are making on the recommendations over the next five years and then beyond. We will shine a spotlight on all parts of government to ensure we are held accountable.
The institutions which perpetrated this abuse, covered it up and refused to be held accountable must be kept on the hook. Already, many of those organisations have made their own apologies and have signed up to be part of the National Redress Scheme, as they should, but there are others yet to join. Today I simply say: justice, decency and the beliefs and values we share as Australians insist that they sign on.
Today I also commit to establishing a national museum, a place of truth and commemoration, to raise awareness and understanding of the impacts of child sexual abuse. We will work with survivor groups to ensure your stories are recorded, that your truth is told, that our nation does not turn from our shame and that our nation will never forget the untold horrors you experienced. Through this, we will endeavour to bring some healing to our nation and to learn from our past horrors.
We can never promise a world where there are no abusers. But we can promise a country where we commit to hear and believe our children, to work together to keep children safe, to trust them and, most of all, to respect their innocence.
Mr Speaker, I present the formal apology to be tabled in this parliament today, which will be handed to those in the Great Hall shortly. It reflects all of the sentiments that I have expressed on behalf of the Australian people, this parliament and our government. I table that. As I do, I simply say: I believe you. We believe you. Your country believes you.
Honourable members: Hear, hear!
Address, National Farmers Federation 2018 National Congress
18 October 2018
Thanks to you all for coming out here this morning and I particularly thank Fiona for arranging this breakfast this morning. As you know, we’re sitting this week and it’d be very… it’d be impossible, frankly, to be here at any other time. So I thank you for coming out this morning and joining me so I could share a few thoughts with you. Can I also thank the Vice President David Jochinke and CEO Tony Mahar as well.
It’s great to be here with you. Tony Pasin is here as a colleague, it’s great to see him here. I was just with him down in Murray Bridge and out through the river lands in South Australia just on the weekend and over the course of the last eight weeks, I’ve had a great opportunity to get from one end of the country to the other. And that has included quite a bit of time actually working through issues that is impacting on rural and regional Australia, in particular the agricultural sector.
Last night I was handing out the Prime Minister’s science awards and it was quite a tremendous evening, but I feel like it’s a continuation of the same conference this morning, the same event. Because the best scientists I know are working in the agricultural sector. They’re farmers, they’re working out there on the land. They’re understanding it, and they have been doing it for generations and generations. The best environmentalists in Australia are farmers. No one knows it better than they do and no one understands it better about how you’ve got to strike the balance between caring for the environment, ensuring the productive use of the resources that we have available. And importantly, the contribution to the social cohesion and community of rural and regional towns all around the country. Farmers get this. You’ve always got this and we get it that you get it. That’s why I’m very pleased to be here with you today.
One of the things that I’m sure you will be appreciative of is that we live in a country that has a strong economy. And that doesn’t happen by accident. It only happens where you don’t take your economy for granted and that you have policies that are designed to keep growing the economy. Because, you know, you can’t have greater fairness without greater prosperity. That’s always been Australia’s story. The two working together. It’s no good having policies that are trying to argue about how you carve up an ever-diminishing pie. You want to grow they pie so there’s more for everybody. You don’t lift some up by pulling others down. That’s what we believe as a Government.
You don’t help your environment by pulling your farmers down. You don’t help your communities by pulling your farmers down, you actually try and lift everybody up. And the agricultural sector in rural and regional parts in our country I think have always understood that you get much further together than you get apart. In our rural communities, our regional communities, that has always been understood and I think it’s something that this place, here in Canberra, needs to focus more on. Actually solving and working through problems together, rather than trying to drive people apart.
That strong economy is of course a function of many things. Lower taxes, which our Government has championed and just this week passing through the Parliament will be further reductions in taxes for business of less than $50 million in turnover to just over 25 per cent. From 30 per cent where we started down to 25 per cent for businesses, and that would be encompassing businesses, rural and regional businesses, agricultural businesses all across the country. It’s a tax cut for farmers and it’s a tax cut we have fought for every single day since we have been elected to ensure that is what invested on a farm which may have a turnover of less than $10 million – the instant asset write-off, the pool depreciation, the GST on the cash basis – it wasn’t there before. It was only reserved for the smallest of businesses. And we have recognised that small and family businesses, which are farming businesses, deserve to have a government that supports them by lowering your tax. We belief that you should keep more of what you’ve earned. Because we believe that you are better placed to invest what you’ve earned than the government is. You’ll invest it in your farm. You’ll invest it in your future. You’ll invest it in your family, in your children’s education. You’ll invest it in your community, and so that’s why I want you can have it so you can invest it rather than it coming down here to Canberra.
Now, no disrespect to the public officials and the government departments. You work closely with them too. But you know, if I’ve got to choose where the money is better off to stay – in communities, in the hands of rural and regional businesses, for farmers – that’s where it should remain. That’s why we believe taxes should be lower. But we also think your markets should be bigger and yesterday, the TPP-11 passed our Parliament. Your sector more than any other knows the opportunities of trade. We have always been an open, trading nation. That is one of the pillars of our national prosperity. We are in our 27th year of consecutive, economic growth. It’s a world record. The fact we are an open, trading nation is one of the most important reasons for that success. And our Government will never give up on expanding our limits for trade. Wherever we have to go, wherever that negotiation is taking place, wherever the opportunity is. Simon Birmingham, before that Steven Ciobo and before that Andrew Robb, out there crunching deals to ensure there are more markets for where you can sell what you grow and what you produce. That’s what… we believe it. Because without it, Australia’s prosperity is diminished. The economy does not grow.
The TPP-11 means improved access for our farmers when they need it most. This landmark agreement strips 98 per cent of tariffs for eleven countries with a combined GDP of more than $13.8 thousand billion dollars and close to half a billion customers. Now as a Government, we believed it was important to fight for it. I remember I was in Germany at a G20 meeting. After everyone said, “It’s all done, this Trans Pacific Partnership.” In fact that Labor Party mocked us, it was like the dead parrot sketch out of Monty Python. That was the joke they were saying about the TPP. We didn’t believe it, because we believe in trade and we said, “We’re going to fight for this.” And our Government did, and Malcolm did and Steven did, and we teamed up together with the Kiwis and the Japanese and Prime Minister Abe in particular. And Prime Minister Turnbull pursued that with a dogged determination that I will also pursue these arrangements and they got the deal. And it stuck. And now we’re the fourth country to ratify that agreement, and there are two more to go and then it comes into effect. The modelling also shows Australia is forecast to see some $15.6 thousand million, $15.6 billion in net annual benefits to national income within just over the next decade from this agreement. So I would call that a good deal. I would call that a deal that is worth pursuing, to ensure that we can realise the opportunities that are out there.
Now I want to have a fair dinkum conversation with you about labour on farms. There has been a lot of talk about this and I want us to have a really honest conversation about it today. Our Government does support moving towards an agricultural visa. There has never been any question about that. There have been plenty of people who want to kick up dust about it, commentating on it. We have never, ever said we don’t think that’s a good idea. But we have to go about it in the right way, and it’s not a silver bullet and it doesn’t solve all the problems in relation to the forthcoming harvest. I want to see fruit picked. I want to see the strawberries picked, I want to see the mangoes picked, I want to make sure that this gets off the vine and it gets to market. And we’ve got a three step plan to achieve that for the harvest. You can’t just introduce and agricultural visa overnight and then all of a sudden everyone turns up and they’re on the farm picking fruit. That’s not how it works.
I’m a former Immigration Minister. It is true that I barely know one end of the sheep from another, or one end of the paddock from another. But I tell you what, I know a lot about how to get things done here. That’s my record, whether it’s on the budget, whether it’s on social services. We now have the lowest level of welfare dependency of the working age population of this country in more than 25 years. On immigration, you know of our successes with Operation Sovereign Borders. So I get it. I don’t know how your farm works, but I do know how this place works and I do know how you can get things done here. So this is how I believe we can solve this problem coming into the harvest. Yes, we will work to establish an agricultural visa. That is the long-term solution that is even the medium-term solution. And we need to work to that and make sure it has integrity and we need to make sure that it can deliver against the requirements of the Australian people when it comes to our immigration programme. But this what we need to do to deal with the problem in the short term.
Now at no stage did I say the only thing that we were going to do to is get Australians into Australian jobs and I still believe that and I’ll never resolve from it. If someone is out there and they are fit and they are able and they are willing to work and they live in those communities, they should be taking those jobs. Because it wasn’t that long ago that they did. I was up in Glass House Mountain a few weeks ago and I was talking to the strawberry farmers and they told me that it wasn’t that long ago that it was the locals picking the strawberries. About ten or fifteen years ago, they said. But it’s not happening now.
And I know down in Tasmania when it comes to the apple orchards that they have had the problems of getting local young people who weren’t in work to come and do this work. And I get that, I’ve always known that. But it doesn’t mean you give up on it. It doesn’t mean you say, “Oh that’s all right, they can sit at home and not have to take work that they should be taking in their local communities, that supports their local communities and just pick up the dole.” That’s not ok, so I’m never going to say it is. And every opportunity I have to connect a young person to a job in their town, I will do it. But I’m not naive. I don’t think and never have I said that I think that’s going to solve the immediate problem.
And so what I ask you to do and I implore you to do this today – and I know that Fiona will as well – and that is, I need you to register the jobs that you need filled on the National Harvest Labour Information Service, 1800 062 332, or go to jobsearch.gov.au/harvest.
I need you to register those jobs because I need to know where are the jobs? When do they start? How long do they run for? What are you paying them? What’s the deal?
Now, where there’s a mismatch between the jobs that are needed and those that are available to do it, we will be moving quite quickly because we’re doing it even now as we speak, parallel with this other process to ensure that the Working Holiday Maker Visa Program and the Pacific Labour Scheme and the Seasonal Worker Program – those two Pacific Island Schemes are very important to us and I’ve spoken to many farmers around the country who use them and they’re successful.
Can they meet all the demand? Unlikely. But then my first port of call when it comes to our partners in the Pacific – and I don’t want to see that program undermined because it’s a very important part of Australia’s national policy and relationships and it’s also good for the agricultural sector. But the reason why I need to know where the shortages are is we just can’t work off a hunch: “We might need a few more here.” I need to know where the jobs are because we will ensure that any relaxation we have around the rules for Working Holiday Makers Visas or any of these other schemes will be targeted to the areas where those shortages are. One of the biggest frustrations I have had as a Minister in this Government, and continues now as Prime Minister, is getting an accurate read on labour shortages. I hear plenty of anecdotes but I don’t see enough hard data.
Now, if we’re going to make these changes – and we will – I’m going to make sure they’re targeted to the areas where the labour shortages are because if they’re not, you know what we end up doing? We relax the visas and we get more Uber drivers in Melbourne. Well, that’s not getting any fruit off any trees anywhere so it must be targeted and I need you and I implore you to work with me, with David Coleman, with Alan Tudge and David Littleproud – and in particular, Michael McCormack because it has been Michael McCormack and I who have been working on this plan from the day we signed up as a Coalition under our respective leaderships.
Michael and I have been working to this plan from that very day and it’s a sensible plan. It acknowledges that we need an agricultural visa but it acknowledges, more importantly, that we have a more immediate issue to address and we all know – if we’re being really honest with each other – what some of the concerns are when you start liberalising the visas for agricultural workers because do you know who tells me about it? Farmers do. Farmers tell me this. They say, “We’re doing the right thing. We pay our people right and we look after them and we follow the rules. But so-and-so down the road is not.” Or: “I know of this case somewhere else.” And having been a former Minister for Border Protection, I know too because I’ve ordered the raids and I know what goes on and I won’t put up with it and you won’t put up with it either, I know, as an industry because I know when you hear those stories about abuse of workers and cash work and illegal work, you’re very disappointed because that’s not your show, that’s not your industry, that’s not your sector, that’s not how you do things.
And as the Prime Minister, and as the Ministers responsible, they need to protect the integrity of this program because, you know, Australians will lose patience with visa programs that fail and allow themselves to be rorted and abused. And so, we have to work together to ensure that when we get to the point where we can have this new visa, that it’s one Australians can support because they know that we’ve done everything we can to get Australians into those jobs, that we’ve done everything we can and will do to ensure that we’re targeting the measures to those jobs in the areas where it’s needed and that we ensure that the integrity of the system where the people who are coming and working are being treated properly, being paid properly and I think we all agree with all of those objectives, I’m quite certain we do and I reckon we can get this done so I’m asking you, and I’m sure I’ll be overwhelmed at the positive response to work with us to get this done.
We can get it done, I’m looking forward to getting it done, we know what the need is, we totally get it, we’ve got a plan to do it and I want to congratulate Michael McCormack more than anyone else for being the champion of working through this issue in a constructive and practical way because everyone can stand up and say, “We’re going to do this, we’ll do that.”
But if you’re not focused on the outcome, actually getting the result, then what’s the point? And that’s what I’ve found in Michael and the team that I’ve been working with and my regional team of Liberals like Tony and Rowan Ramsey and the whole fleet of working together to ensure that we get the right outcome on these issues. Now, in the time that I have available – which is not much, I really want to say thank you to Fiona and the NFF and to all of those who have been working so hard to ensure that we deliver on the ground for farmers and regional and rural communities that have been affected by the drought. When I went to Quilpie, I frankly didn’t realise people get so excited about me wearing a cap, it’s not that uncommon, now I have like a hundred caps, everywhere I’ve been since, everyone’s given me a cap. Which is nice, I like them, they’re great but…
[INAUDIBLE INTERJECTION FROM AUDIENCE]
Sorry? [laughs] A little later. But when I went to Quilpie and really – it seems funny to say this but – really enjoyed the day, met some wonderful families and the reason why I wanted to go to Quilpie, and it was one of the first things Michael and I talked about, was the drought has been affecting parts of my home state in the New South Wales terribly but in Queensland and out in Quilpie they’ve been doing it for a lot longer – six years and more. And I wanted to talk to people who’d been able to get themselves through that last six years and understand how they were achieving it because I thought if I can understand how they got through six years then that’s going to help me work out, well, how can I help those who are in the earlier stages and how they’re going to get through?
And I went up there not really knowing what to expect as a suburban mortgage belt boy from Sydney and what I was so pleased to see and so enthused to see was the optimism, the hope, the belief, the community, the resilience and the success under the most trying of circumstances and it filled me with hope. And I think, you know, when it comes to how we’re dealing with the drought, one thing we’ve got to keep giving people is hope. And I stood there out at Quilpie on that property and they showed me a picture of the field adjacent to where we were at the moment which was pretty brown and they showed me a picture where the grass was up to your thigh. So they understand as you do, it comes back, it goes in seasons, this one’s particularly tough – tougher than most, maybe than any in anyone’s living memory for some parts – but the hope remains, the commitment to the lifestyle remains, the passion for what that means for rural and regional communities remains, and that’s what our Government is investing in. We’re investing in that hope and that resilience and that determination.
I particularly want to thanks the CWA who’s here today, there are many charities and I probably offended many now by only mentioning the CWA and I hope I haven’t because I think they deserve great acknowledgement for the work that they’ve been doing in these communities as the many, many charitable organisations are out there doing. And I want to thank them, we need to coordinate that better, we need to target it better, on Friday week we will be having the drought summit and that’s really the job to get “a common operating picture”, as Major General Day would say, about what’s the situation, what’s the next step, how do we rebuild, what’s the long-term plan, issues around water infrastructure, issues about immediate relief and having the vision towards the longer term plan around fodder storage and fodder reserves and resilience both financially, environmentally, structurally. They’re the questions for next week and I want to thank Fiona for the NFF’s engagement on all of those issues.
Now, there’s one issue that I think probably encapsulates our attitude about how to deal with things when it comes to responding to the drought. It’s the issue we talked about with the heavy vehicle regulation and Scotty Buchholz. The issue was raised, you know, it’s a pretty simple thing. The hay bales, they come down and they spread. Now, that was news to me but that’s what happens and we’ve got these rules which meant the trucks couldn’t cross the line and they were getting fined. Numpty stuff. Total numpty stuff and it had to be fixed and within a very short period of time, Scotty and the team at the Heavy Vehicle Regulation Authority, working together with Government, just got it done. Just got it done.
Now, Ronald Reagan used to say, you get a lot more done when you don’t care who gets the credit. He was right about that. Credits. It doesn’t matter. What matters is we work together to get through the drought, what matters is we work together to deal with the real challenges that we face – whether it’s in labour shortages, whether it’s in science and technology and how we support the sector, whether it’s the finance of how we work for our rural and regional communities, whether it’s opening up new markets and opportunities for our farmers all around the world. You know, we stick together, we work together, we bring Australians together then this country’s just going to get stronger and stronger and stronger and as always, it’s going to be significantly off the back of the people who are in this room. Thank you very much for your attention.
Prime Minister's Prize for Science Awards
17 October 2018
Well thank you very much Fred for your introduction and what a marvellous evening looking out here. All these great minds, all dressed up to the nines, you look fantastic. It’s great to have you here, I’m pleased to see you getting a night out.
[Laughter]
Closeted away all day doing experiments, on the computers working through all the amazing things that you do, going into your own minds and coming out the other side, this is what fascinates me about science. You know, the person who most fascinated me about science was Captain Cook. Now, you might go: “Why Captain Cook?” Well, yes he was an amazing navigator and his voyages and discoveries are legendary, but when you read Cook’s journals and you read about him, you discover that he was actually a scientist. And that’s what he should be remembered for more than anything else; an inquiring mind, a mind that wanted to understand, a mind that wanted to pass on that knowledge, a mind that wanted to explore the boundaries. I don’t know if you know this, but James T Kirk from Star Trek was actually -
[Laughter]
I’m not kidding, Gene Roddenberry confirmed this - was modelled on James Cook. To go where no one had been before, that’s what you do. As scientist you go where we haven’t been before, you dare to imagine the things that others haven’t.
I have no doubt that as you do that, you think it might be there, you suspect it might be. You turn it into a theory, then you follow the rulebook, but it all begins with something you believe. Something you think is possible. And if you look at all the great minds over time, those in Australia, those down through the generations around the world, that is that I think has always really encapsured, the great magic of science, if you like. It starts with belief, it starts with passion.
The people in this room are pressing forward in ways that are making our country stronger. Making our society stronger. You’re keeping people healthier, stronger, safer. You’re making an extraordinary difference to the daily lives not only of Australians but people all around the world.
Now, it’s true I actually have a science degree –
[Applause]
It’s true. But I hate to disappoint you; it’s in Applied Science, Social Sciences and Economic Geography. But that said –
[Applause]
BSc Hons is what I used to put on the card many, many years ago and I’ve always felt like I should have changed it to something else because I never really thought of it in the same way as those of you here. But look, I was passionate and I was interested and I did believe and I did want to learn and did want to know. You know, today in Australia, our people are our best asset, that’s been true for a long time. We’re accepting, we adapt, we’re not very hierarchical in this country and we are inquisitive. And if we want to keep up the huge pace and scale of change in technology and industry that we’re seeing and in our society, we need people who know how to lead us there. There’s people in the room tonight as you’ve gathered together, who exemplify that.
We are in a new fourth revolution, industrial revolution. A revolution that reflects breakthroughs in every field of endeavour. In your daily work in genetics, in artificial intelligence and robotics, nanotechnology, 3 –D printing – this is all the sexy stuff -
[Laughter]
Biotechnology. But in so many other areas which is not so much, that doesn’t often get the headlines but is equally important and people are equally passionate about. We used to think of our assets as being just those in the ground and it was many years ago at the start of the gold rush that it was pretty straightforward to get to surface gold. All you needed was a pick and a shovel, a panning dish and then you could sift with a cradle. It was hard work but it was relatively simple. But with those sorts of tools, you couldn’t get to the good stuff buried deeper down, the stuff that was covered by the basalt in the old creek beds or the gold-bearing quartz in the cracks and the crevasses. That was much harder to get at and very lucrative too. To get that, you had to go below the surface and you had to go below the surface of your own imagination as well, because you needed technology and you needed skills. In Ballarat, they realised this, that they were lacking in the know-how. So they decided to do something about it, as Australians always have. So they set up the Ballarat School of Mines in 1870 and upon opening the school, its first President declared the “era of the cradle and the tin dish was over”, and it was “time for the calculating and inventive brain and cultivated intelligence to play their part.” That’s what he said. Those words ring as true today as they were said then. The new school trained people in science, maths, engineering, geology, mineralogy, chemistry and metallurgy. Many years later, one of the principals of that Ballarat School of Mines was someone called Charles Fenner. Now if that name seems familiar to you, it’s because he was the father of the late Frank Fenner, in whose name we honour the annual prize for Life Scientist of the Year, that we’re presenting later this evening. I want to acknowledge Frank’s daughter Marilyn Fenner who is in the audience tonight, no doubt you’ve heard the stories Marilyn. Today’s gold rush though is a technological one as well. Just like then, it’s massive and just as we did back then we need to sharpen our knowledge if we’re going to take advantage and not miss this huge moment in our history. We’ll need knowledge of science and our knowledge of maths, because maths is the language of science, it is. We’ve got a maths teacher out there.
[Laughter]
I was asked a question recently, who was one of the most formative people in my time at school and in my upbringing. Now if you look at me you’d probably think it was his rugby coach or someone like that. It wasn’t actually, it was my maths teacher, a guy called Mark Reed. He was also our year master and he instilled a passion in his students for how what he was teaching connected to broader life. He was also a mad punter, which I think explained his keen interest in maths. Nonetheless he took what he was passionate about – horse-racing and maths – and it made him an amazing teacher. We did a lot of work on probability theory.
[Laughter]
We actually did. Now, I’ve lost my place. Our STEM education though, on a more serious note, in science, technology engineering and maths, we did used to lead the world in this area. It’s been about 12 years now that we’ve been slipping back into the middle of the pack. It’s something we need to continue to do things about. But not just governments, all of us. I want to ask you something; do you think intermediate level maths should be a prerequisite for studying engineering at uni? You’d think so. I would think so. But do you know in this country, more than 40 per cent of unis will let you into engineering degrees without it? Only 14 per cent of universities require at least intermediate level maths for entry into a Bachelor of Science and only 13 per cent for entry into a Bachelor of Commerce.
I think that sort of says: “No, don’t worry, you’ll be right, just Google it.” Well that’s - I don’t Google the Budget, I can tell you that. Now, some may disagree.
[Laughter]
But I’ll disagree with you, mine adds up. There has been some positive change, notably from the University of Sydney, where they’re working to raise that bar again and good on you to the University of Sydney. It’s just a start, there’s a way to go and as Vice Chancellors come to see me, asking me their usual questions – I don’t have to give you a guess about what it is, though it does relate to budgets, - I’m going to ask them what are your prerequisites for science and engineering courses when it comes to maths? Is it any wonder that there’s been a sharp decline in the number of Year 12 students choosing advanced maths subjects, when that’s the message they’re getting? Why would you bother putting yourself though all that mental challenge of difficult subjects, getting Bs and Cs instead of As, when all the signs point to it not being necessary? Universities and schools need to send that message about maths and science, to young people. It’s particularly important for female students, who according to the statistics are currently much less likely to participate in the more advanced maths and science subjects. As a father of two daughters, I can only encourage them to take a different view. I encourage my daughters and everyone else’s daughters to consider these areas for them. So, we do need to change that. We do need to reassert the importance of science and maths because that is essential if we’re to have the pipeline of students that we require.
You know, I was up in Boeing earlier this year and Boeing – I don’t know if you’ve ever been there and seen the sort of production line that goes into putting the Dreamliners and all of these things together. It’s an absolutely amazing thing to behold. Boeing’s presence in the United States is known, but the second largest presence that Boeing has outside of the United States is actually here in Australia. It’s down in Fishermans Bend. I asked them then, as the Treasurer, keen to see how we can continue to ensure a strong place and a future for manufacturing in Australia. I said: “Tell me, why? I don’t want to talk you out of it, I want to talk you into it, but why? What was the basis of your decision?” And they said: “Because the people who are there are smart.” They don’t have the luxury in a huge production line like that, with a supply chain that goes around the world, to be working with people who don’t know what they’re doing. The future of manufacturing in Australia today isn’t about companies coming to chase cheap labour around South East Asia and the Pacific, that’s not its future, they’ve worked that out too. The ability to get it right every single time is what matters today. That’s where the value is added and that’s where I’m excited about the future of manufacturing in Australia; because the gold mine that sits inside the noodles of Australians is what is going to ensure that Australia has a manufacturing industry that value-adds right into the future. But for that to happen, we need you. We need you breaking that ground. We need you out there like Jimmy Kirk, or Jimmy Cook, or Janie Cook, whichever you like. But we need you out there discovering those new frontiers, breaking open the ground, being the inquiring mind, having the passion whether you’re teacher infusing that passion like good old Mark Reed did when I was much younger and let them see the potential and the excitement and the opportunity.
I’ll finish with this and it’s a tribute to the great champions who work at the CSIRO. One of its former leaders the late Sir Malcolm McIntosh – and tonight we’ll have an award in his name presented to the Physical Scientist of the Year and I want to acknowledge Lady Margaret McIntosh and members of the McIntosh family here also tonight. Not long after Malcolm took up the top job at the CSIRO, he spoke with a science magazine about the importance of getting good science out of the laboratory and into the industry and community. He said this.
“It simply isn’t possible to live sensibly in this society without having some understanding of science. If we’re to progress the society and keep the standards of living of Australians high, then it has to be more than that. It has to be an active participation in science. It’s not actually you do with a big bang, but to inculcate a scientific community is a very long process. It doesn’t start with people like you and me making speeches, you’ll be pleased to know, it starts at school”.
I couldn’t agree more. Now Karen Andrews the Minister for Science, Industry and Technology, I couldn’t have been more pleased to appoint her to that role in my Cabinet. She’s a scientist and she’s a female scientist.
[Applause]
She’s an engineer, she has sat where you are, she worked in industry, she’s someone who absolutely gets it and she’s a great asset in my Cabinet. Both of us are looking forward to working with you in all of your fields of endeavour and giving you whatever encouragement we can to go out and make the difference you do on a daily basis.
I want to wish all the award recipients tonight congratulations and I want to thank you very much for the opportunity to be here with you this evening, an honourary scientist of sorts.
[Applause]
Statement on Indulgence - Ian Kiernan
17 October 2018
Mr Morrison: I rise, on indulgence, to acknowledge the passing of Ian Kiernan AO. We learnt of his death earlier today. His untimely death is a reminder that being a great Australian is within the grasp of every citizen of this country; you just have to be willing to have a go. Ian's approach was always to empower others. When he founded a movement first to clean up Australia and then to clean up the world, he sought not to attract followers but to produce leaders. Whether it was cleaning up beaches, parks and waterways, or planting trees, or conserving water, Ian's ultimate mobilisation of 30 million people in around a hundred countries was never about him. It was about empowering others to take action. As I said this morning, he observed the beauty of the land and the planet on which he lived and he tapped us all on the shoulder and he said: 'We've got to take care of this. It's our responsibility—each and every single one of us.' He did it by igniting that spark of personal responsibility in those supporters and volunteers who rose to the cause or, indeed, led that cause. 'You know best,' he would say.
Ian Bruce Carrick Kiernan was born near Sydney Harbour, which he loved, in 1940 to British migrants George and Leslie. As a builder, renovator and investor, he accrued a prodigious property portfolio, only to see it go belly up in the recession of '74. After that, he said he would do what any self-respecting young builder who sailed boats would do. 'I got on my yacht,' he said, 'and visited 36 of the most beautiful islands that I could find—Tahiti, Hawaii.' And he did it all in one year. But with the postcard imagery that had attracted him came an ugly awakening. It was while he was moored in Hawaii that an overnight downpour pushed a mountain of rubbish down from the local ravines, dumping it in the harbour. Ian surveyed the unsightly mass and instantly felt a twinge of new opportunity, of the difference he could make. However, it would be some years later, after he set an Australian solo world sailing record of 156 days in the 1986-87 BOC Challenge, that those feelings resurfaced into his life's mission. He later recalled seas that should have been magic and myth that were littered with rubbish:
First a rubber thong, then a toothpaste tube, a comb, a plastic bag … The rubbish popped up on both sides of the bow.
So Clean Up Australia Day began, as Clean Up Sydney Harbour Day, on Sunday, 8 January 1989.
The plan initially had been to contain the effort to Mosman's beaches, but Ian was the sort of guy with one eye always on the horizon, like a good sailor. One day he just said—and no offence to the member for Warringah, or indeed to the Speaker of the House for the language—'Bugger Mosman! Let's do the whole harbour.' And he did, with the help of an astonishing turnout of 40,000 Sydneysiders. It went national the next year. It also went gangbusters, bringing together 300,000 Australians to lend a hand.
On behalf of the government and this chamber, I extend our deepest condolences to Ian's family—to his wife, Judy; to his daughters, Sally and Pip; and to his son, Jack. Thank you, Ian Kiernan AO, for your service to our country and to our planet. May he rest in peace.
Honourable members: Hear, hear!
Press Conference with the Minister for Foreign Affairs
16 October 2018
PRIME MINISTER: Congratulations to the Duke and Duchess of Sussex. Tremendous news yesterday overnight and obviously we are looking forward to celebrating that good news while they are enjoying their stay here in Australia. They will be neighbours of Jenny and I, for the next week or so I'm sure we will take the opportunity to congratulate them both in person.
But today, on a more serious note, I wanted to make a number of statements with the Foreign Minister in relation to our Government's position on Israel and issues in the Middle East. Now, the first thing I want to stress very strongly is the Government's commitment to a two-state solution in the Middle East remains, has always been and I believe always will be Australia's policy in relation to the resolution of issues with Israel and Palestine. We are committed to a two-state solution and nothing has changed when it comes to the Government's position on this matter.
In dealing with the matters though that are coming up this week in the United Nations General Assembly and particular in relation to the vote that will be held on Wednesday morning regarding concessions and conference of official status on the Palestinian Authority to chair the G77, this is a significant vote. Our Government will be voting against that resolution. We won't be abstaining. We will be voting against that resolution because we don't believe that conferring that status, especially at this time, would add to the cause of moving parties towards the two-state solution. This is our objective. This is what we're seeking to achieve. In the context of that decision, as a new Prime Minister, I believed it was important to ensure that Australians and others had a much clearer picture of my broader position on these issues that are raised in relation to the Middle East and the many particular points of policy that relate.
First of all, there is the issue regarding the Iran nuclear deal and the joint comprehensive plan of action that has been in place and that Australia has voiced support for over the last three years. There are also issues that go to the question of the capital which come up quite regularly in these discussions around policy relating to Israel. There is also a long-standing and improving greatly defence relationship with our ally in Israel and the defence industry cooperation that has only been improving, particularly in more recent years as Australia has significantly recapitalised our defence forces. So taking each of those issues in turn, we share serious concerns about potentially destabilising behaviour in the Middle East when it comes to the activities of Iran and the Government has taken the decision to review, and I should stress without prejudice, review without prejudice, the Iran nuclear agreement, the JCPOA, to determine whether our current policy settings remain fit for purpose. Now this review will include an assessment of the IAEA and other agencies’ advice on Iran's compliance with the agreement and on whether the JCPOA can meet our long-term objective of preventing Iran from having the capability to develop nuclear weapons. Now, there are matters that currently exist outside that arrangement which have been noted and we need to be working with our other allies including the United States to determine how we can best address those other issues outside that agreement regarding terrorism and matters of that nature and how they're financed and sponsored and these things need to be brought into that discussion and we think that's very important to resolution of issues and creating a safer and more peaceful Middle East.
In relation to defence engagement with Israel, I spoke to the Israeli Prime Minister last night and proposed that we appoint defence attaches in each of our embassies of Australia in Tel Aviv and of course Israel in Canberra and that will only further enhance the cooperation on defence matters and security matters, but also on the defence industry collaboration. Now, in relation to our diplomatic presence in Israel. What I have simply said is this - we're committed to a two-state solution. Australia's position on this issue has to date assumed that it is not possible to consider the question of the recognition of Israel's capital in Jerusalem and that be consistent with pursuing a two-state solution.
Now, Dave Sharma, who was the Ambassador to Israel, has proposed some months ago a way forward that challenges that thinking and it says that you can achieve both and indeed by pursuing both, you are actually aiding the cause for a two state solution. Now, when people say sensible things, I think it is important to listen to them. And particularly, when they have the experience of someone like Dave Sharma. We are committed to a two-state solution, but frankly, it hasn't been going that well. Not a lot of progress has been made. And you don't keep doing the same thing and expect different results. And so when sensible suggestions are put forward that are consistent with your policy positioning, and in this case pursuing a two state solution, Australia should be open-minded to this and I am open-minded to this and our Government is open-minded to this. The proposal that Dave spoke about in his article back in May provided the opportunity for a capital for a Palestinian Authority in East Jerusalem and one for Israel in West Jerusalem. The whole point of a two-state solution is two nations recognised living side by side. And so, opening up that discussion does provide us with the opportunity, I think, to do what Australians have always done and that is to apply a practical and common-sense and innovative role in trying to work with partners around the world to aid our broader objectives, in this case a two-state solution.
So Australia and I as Prime Minister, am open to that suggestion. What I'll do in the months ahead is obviously confer with Cabinet colleagues. I will obviously take the opportunity during the upcoming summit season to confer with other leaders around the world and gauge their perception about this and to make the case that Dave himself has made about whether this can actually provide an alternative way forward and aid the cause that I believe all of us are interested in pursuing. So, no decision has been made in regarding the recognition of a capital or the movement of an embassy, and I should be clear – those two things, they are the two issues. You can recognise a capital, the issue of the real estate and your embassy is a separate one and as Dave argues in his article, those things can be dealt with sequentially. But at the same time, what we are simply doing is being open to that suggestion as a potential way forward and I'm not going to close my mind off to things that can actually be done better and differently to aid the great cause of Australian foreign policy and that's all we have said today. We're open to that discussion and I look forward to pursuing that with people and colleagues and leaders around the world.
So I'm happy to take questions as is Marise. Obviously we have been in the process over the last 24 hours of informing and briefing allies and partners and that process will continue.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, Dave Sharma wrote his article in May. As recently as June you were emphatic about not moving the embassy. Is this decision motivated by Wentworth or keeping the conservatives in your party happy, or both?
PRIME MINISTER: It is not motivated by either. It’s motivated by a commitment to a two-state solution, and listening to practical suggestions about how we can achieve it. In June I articulated the Government's policy. I was the Treasurer. The Treasurer is not responsible for matters of Foreign Affairs. It is my job to articulate and speak to Government policy as it existed at the time.
JOURNALIST: Is it the government's position to support the “It’s Ok to be white” motion?
PRIME MINISTER: Why don't we stay with Israel and Foreign Affairs for a while and I'll come back to that.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, one of the biggest supporters of Donald Trump's move to move the embassy to Jerusalem was American evangelical Christians. Do you believe as a Christian that the restoration of the Jewish temple in Israel… in Jerusalem, is a precondition to the return of Jesus?
PRIME MINISTER: My faith and my religion has nothing to do with this decision.
JOURNALIST: Nothing at all?
PRIME MINISTER: None.
JOURNALIST: I have a question for the Foreign Minister actually, because I think if you have been talking to neighbours and other national leaders or other foreign policy ministers, can I ask what would the reaction be from Israel be… sorry, from Indonesia be to this move? Wouldn't Indonesia object to this position by Australia?
MINISTER FOR FOREIGN AFFAIRS, THE HON. MARISE PAYNE: Well, the Prime Minister can speak to his engagement with President Widodo, but we have obviously briefed the Indonesian ambassador here in Australia and communicated through our embassy in Jakarta with the Indonesian Foreign Minister and we'll continue those conversations.
JOURNALIST: Are they happy with it?
MINISTER FOR FOREIGN AFFAIRS, THE HON. MARISE PAYNE: I think it's a conversation that we're having. We have to explain and we are doing that this morning with the release of a press statement and this press conference this morning and we will continue those conversations.
PRIME MINISTER: And the key point I made in my connection with President Widodo, is that the Australian Government has not changed its policy on a two-state solution. The Australian Government has not made a decision to actually recognise Jerusalem as the capital or to shift our embassy. We have not made a decision to change our policy when it comes to it the Iran nuclear deal. All we have said is that consistent with our commitment to a two-state solution, we are A) reviewing without prejudice the Iran nuclear deal and we are open to the arguments that have been made by our former ambassador to Israel about how we could progress that issue in the context of the two-state solution. So the nuances of this, the calibration of this, is what we are doing.
I also want to make this point - Australia, our Government, I have made this decision without any reference to the United States. It has not come up in any discussion I have had with the President or with officials. Marise has just recently been in the US. There has been no request and there has been no discussion with the United States. Australia makes its decisions about its foreign policy independently. We do so in our own national interests, consistent with our own beliefs and our own values.
JOURNALIST: Given the fact that there has been no discussion or no request from the United States and other allies, doesn't that only add to people who are questioning the timing of this announcement given that it is just a few days before a by-election which our former ambassador to Israel is running behind in?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, I think the point you overlook is that Australia has no control over when votes are scheduled in the United Nations General Assembly. There is a vote tomorrow morning, on Wednesday. Australia will be voting no. Now, that is a significant decision and in my view as a new Prime Minister of only just over seven weeks, that would raise questions about where do I stand on a range of other issues? And I thought it was important that that context be provided straight away. Look, I'm being up-front with Australians. I’m being upfront with leaders and others around the world. This is our thinking on this issue. We think after three years of the Iran nuclear deal, it is timely to have a good look and see whether it is meeting our objectives. Is it adding to greater stability or is it not? I think they are fair questions and I think if we're going to say internally that we're going to look at this question again that we should say publicly that we're doing that. Equally, on the question of the recognition of Jerusalem as the capital, I do find those arguments persuasive that Dave has put forward, but are they achievable, can they be taken through? Is there a consultation process that we now need to follow, particularly with regional leaders and other leaders? Of course, there is. But I am signalling that I think it is a conversation worth having. A discussion is not a decision, but I think I'm being up-front with people. I'm being very clear about what my dispositions are and how I'm forming these decisions and that's how I want to deal with the Australian people and others. I think people know where I stand and I think that can be a great comfort when people know where their Prime Minister stands on these sorts of questions.
JOURNALIST: So the fact that Wentworth has a large Jewish community has not been a factor of your thinking at all?
PRIME MINISTER: No. I have obviously over the last seven weeks had a number of discussions, not just in Sydney, but Melbourne and other parts of the country about these issues. And people from the Jewish community have been raising this with me from day one. From day one. It was literally put to me in the first couple of days of me becoming Prime Minister and I'm not rushing into anything here. But what I am doing today is recognising what is a real concern in the Jewish community in Australia, whether it is about the Iran nuclear deal which is an item of great concern to that community, or it is on this broader question of the two-state solution and how with go about achieving it. See, we want to see a two-state solution achieved and sometimes to achieve that you have got to think about doing things differently. The orthodoxy that's driven this debate which says issues like considering the question of the capital are taboo. I think we have to challenge that. Australians are pretty up-front people and I think we have to show the courage of our convictions in saying we're prepared to talk about other ways about achieving this goal because frankly the other ways have not been getting us there terribly successfully.
JOURNALIST: What about the concern in the Palestinian community when America moved their embassy. There was obviously a large outbreak in violence. Are you concerned about a potential outbreak of protest here, demonstrations or violence or retributions against Australia?
PRIME MINISTER: Well obviously we have been taking advice on those matters and assessments and processes are being followed. But again, this is why I'm urging a full appreciation of the position I'm putting forward. We are having a discussion about this. We are opening up a new discussion which is consistent with what I believe those who are committed to peace in the Middle East, whether from a Palestinian perspective or an Israeli perspective, we are committed to a two-state solution. I'm not doing this because I think it will take us away from that outcome, I'm doing it because I believe it will take us towards that outcome and that I think we need to be prepared, to be open-minded about new ways of achieving this. And Australia, I think, has always demonstrated a preparedness to show innovativeness and innovation in thinking when to comes to addressing these global issues.
JOURNALIST: Secretary Frances Adamson described the American move as being “unhelpful” back when that was made. Have you sought her advice?
PRIME MINISTER: The Government listens to all its officials but the Government is the one that is elected. The Government, and I as Prime Minister, is the one that has to articulate policy and the position of our Government. We will listen to all of our officials obviously but I must, and I’m not making any comment on any particular advice which we have received from any part of the public service, but… I haven’t finished my statement. But what I am saying though is that we want to see the outcome of a two-state solution. And following the orthodoxy of positions past I don’t believe has been making enough progress. So I’m prepared to challenge those positions wherever they may be put, and we may be standing amongst a very small number of countries who actually think this may be a better way to achieve this. But we are passionate about achieving it, and our passion is demonstrated I think in the courage of being able to identify there may be better ways about getting to this goal.
JOURNALIST: Senator Payne, your predecessor Julie Bishop, when Donald Trump walked away from the Iran nuclear deal, your predecessor warned that that could imperil efforts to reach a nuclear treaty with North Korea. Is that a concern you share or is that no longer a concern?
MINISTER FOR FOREIGN AFFAIRS, THE HON. MARISE PAYNE: Well we have an obvious focus, as we have continually, on complete, verifiable, irreversible disarmament, nuclear disarmament in North Korea, in Iran and other countries who would pursue the same polices. That is an absolute focus of our national interest and the review the Prime Minister has announced is I think after three years operation of the JCPOA, a timely look about whether it is actually achieving the outcomes it is intended to do. We are not a party to the JCPOA but I think we have every opportunity here to review its progress, to review its status and to ensure it is delivering on those outcomes. This is a good time to do that, it fits with the Prime Minister’s review of these other issues and I am confident that we will be able to engage with that in a very constructive way.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister…
PRIME MINISTER: Before I go, because I know that other question… what’s yours on, mate?
JOURNALIST: The issue…
PRIME MINISTER: The issue of the day?
JOURNALIST: The issue… the question is are you going to be looking at a solution on the treatment of children on Nauru and whether they can get any medical treatment in Australia? That’s been raised by some of your MPs.
PRIME MINISTER: Yeah it is, and I have been meeting with those colleagues as have the relevant Ministers and we have been acting on those issues. We have been acting on these issues. We haven’t been doing it by making public statements about it every day but we will always consider each and every case on its merits and in the interests of the child and we will continue to do that. I did make the point yesterday in relation to the New Zealand arrangement that there is a Bill still sitting in the Senate from 2016 that would close the back door for New Zealand to Australia which is opposed by the Labor Party and the Greens and the crossbench Senators which is preventing that protection being put in place. Now I would urge them to reconsider their position on that, but on the other issue?
JOURNALIST: Was there a directive from the Attorney-General Christian Porter’s office that the Government should support this “It’s Ok to be White” motion in the Senate?
PRIME MINSTER: Well I’m sure all Australians stand against racism against whatever form it takes. But I believe the Leader of the Government in the Senate will be making a statement about that.
JOURNALIST: Is that the Government position…
PRIME MINISTER: I’m saying that the Leader of the Government in the Senate will be making a statement about that later today.
JOURNALIST: Was it a mistake by Pauline Hanson? Was that wrong… opponents say this is straight out of the extreme right playbook, others say that there is nothing wrong with this motion. What is your position?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, I found it regrettable but the Leader of the Government in the Senate will be making a statement on that shortly. Thank you.
Statement on Indulgence - West Gate Bridge
15 October 2018
Mr Morrison: On indulgence, I rise today to remember an Australian tragedy and to remember those who were lost. On this day 48 years ago, Australians watched in horror as the West Gate Bridge collapsed during construction. It's not a particular anniversary this year, just like it's the 16th anniversary this year since the terrible Bali bombings that were commemorated just a few days ago. But, whether it's the 48th or the 16th or the 35th or the 55th, each time this date and this period is marked it's a chilling reminder and a terrible time of sadness for all of those who are touched personally by these tragic incidents.
On that day, Australians watched in horror as the West Gate Bridge collapsed during construction. Most of us who sit in this chamber would have been small children. Some would not have been born. But Australians around the country on that day watched in horror and 35 men needlessly lost their lives. Just before midday, on what should have been just another ordinary working day, 2,000 tonnes of steel and concrete crashed to the ground and the waters below. Thirty-five working men, many of them migrants who had come to Australia seeking a better life, were killed and lost. Kids lost their dads, wives lost their husbands, parents lost their sons and family members lost their brothers, and many, many more were seriously injured. Miraculously, 18 men escaped the carnage and, on that day, these survivors would be the first responders, doing what they could do to save their mates. It was a day that should never be forgotten, and it's not been forgotten today. I appreciate the Leader of the Opposition writing to me about this anniversary and suggesting us doing this here today together.
Mostly, when these things happen we call them accidents—a chance of fate—but that wasn't the case on this day. The collapse of the West Gate Bridge was not an accident; nor was it a chance of fate. As the royal commission found, the collapse was as a result of man-made errors—error upon error, mistakes compounded by efforts to rectify them, and all occurring within a confrontational culture marked by distrust, division and demarcation. Thankfully, much has changed since the 1970s and, of course, our workplaces are much safer today than they were almost half a century ago. Tougher laws have been introduced and workers have been given more of a say, as they should, about safety on the job. Safety is now something everyone is responsible for right across the organisation. We achieve so much more in our workplaces and, indeed, in a country where we work together and we look out for each other, whatever our role is within an organisation. As the report of the Royal Commission into the Failure of West Gate Bridge said:
It is widely accepted that the essential requirements for good labour relations are mutual trust, confidence and respect as between management, trade unions and men. Once this relationship is established, all concerned will work as a team and first-class production can be achieved. Without it, little if any progress can be made.
As a lesson for today, the mistakes that are made are not supposed to bind us forever; they're supposed to guide us into our future. On this 48th anniversary, we remember the lessons of those times and we remember the 35 men who needlessly perished and their families, who have lived with this every day from then till now and will into the future. Today, tens of thousands of vehicles will pass across the West Gate Bridge. Its flags will be lowered in an act of remembrance. Families, friends and former workmates will gather at the site of the collapse, as they do every year, to remember the loved ones they have lost. It's only appropriate for us here today to pause here in the nation's parliament to remember the lessons of that day so that they might shine a path forward for all of us. May the 35 souls lost at the West Gate Bridge rest in peace and may God bless their families.
Honourable members: Hear, hear!
Remarks, 16th Commemoration Ceremony of the 2002 Bali Bombings
12 October 2018
I want to thank you very much for the opportunity to come here once again and to join with you again on this very difficult day. People have come here today, not just from the Eastern Suburbs of Sydney. They’ve come from Tasmania, they’ve come from southern Sydney, where in my community, we lost seven beautiful girls. 88 Australians.
As we come together on this day, it’s sixteen years. There’s nothing particularly special about sixteen years. It’s another year that we come together, and we remember. We’re sad. We’re hopeful, at least we try to be on a day like today. We remember special moments, and all of those that were taken away in an instant of unspeakable evil.
But what is beautiful about this ceremony is the way that I think it has been embraced by a country that looks to a moment like this for a further step in healing. And that’s why we come together, and we shake hands and we swap embraces and we walk along this beautiful headland and we read the names and we reflect.
I did not know the Coogee Dolphins who perished in Bali. Or indeed the 202 who lost their lives on that terrible day. But we all felt the numbness that swept through this country in the days that followed that terrible night. None of us could believe it, and no one more so than the men and women who gather here and indeed those who were there that night.
In an instant, lives were upended, can’t forget what we saw, read and heard in those days. The fire, the chaos, the confusion. But also the courage, the love, the compassion. All of it’s remembered today. And through it all, we saw in the men and women lost in Bali that night, people who were as loving and as normal and as complicated as anyone else in our country today.
The Australians in Bali were there for no other reason than to enjoy and celebrate life and each other. A moment of happiness. An end of season trip, a family holiday, a surfing safari – the chance to make friends, learn to surf, even get a tattoo, hang out with mates, find love and laugh with strangers.
It doesn’t get more Australian than that. It doesn’t get more normal than that.
It is what made that night so shocking - the realisation that our daily living and our daily freedom could arouse such warped fury and hatred. It’s hard to understand. And those that were left behind - wives, husbands, mums, dads, children, brothers, sisters, clubmates, workmates, friends and loved ones who grieved.
So we carry that numbness today, we remember the survivors, who returned to lives that were never the same but have showed a courage that is truly remarkable.
And we also remember the Balinese people who suffered, and I acknowledge the Consul General today, who suffered. And we also remember today in a moment those who suffer in Indonesia because of the terrible tragedy in Sulawesi. That is a tragedy of nature. What was suffered on this day sixteen years ago was a tragedy of evil.
So places like Dolphin Point matter. For they allow us to draw strength – from our memories, from each other and from our country.
It’s a sacred place, and in the quietness you will hear the voice, the laughs, the jokes, the kindnesses, the mischievousness, the gentleness. So I would encourage you to listen to them. They are part of this place. They are not forgotten.
Thank you and God bless them all.
Address, Melbourne Institute 2018 Outlook Conference
11 October 2018
Thank you very much Paul and congratulations to you on your incredible work as editor at the Australian and I wish you all the very best for your new role at Sky. Can I welcome the great and the good of the economics and publishing community here and can I, well I can say this about the former Treasurer Peter Costello, as he is part as one of the great media chairs in the country these days. But can I particularly acknowledge Peter Costello in the room, the greatest treasurer Australia has ever had, ever had, there is no doubt about that. Angus Taylor is here, one of my colleagues as well. And I want to thank all of you who have come here for what is a landmark event. I’m always very pleased to participate and have been doing so for many years. So I want to thank the Australian and the Melbourne Institute for the invitation to be here today and I want to congratulate the organisers once again on this Conference.
Now the central theme of this Conference has always been about the balance between economic growth and social equity in Australia. And the Conference is a chance to take stock of what I would like to call the modern Australian Compact – a compact that supports enterprise, that supports growth, that supports fairness and social cohesion across our nation. It’s the compact in Australia, a very Australian compact, that makes us, I think different, from so much of the rest of the developed world.
What lies at the heart of this compact? Well you’ve heard me say it, I suspect, a few times, not only over the last seven weeks, but longer than that as Treasurer. A fair go for those who have a go, looking after your mates and leaving no one behind. It is a two-way compact, as it should be. Rights and responsibilities. Give as well as take. A focus on making a contribution rather than taking one. This is the promise that we all make as Australians and that we seek to keep as Australians.
Yet to fulfil this promise, we must never lose sight of this most basic truth. Without a culture of enterprise and growing our economy – without a strong economy that supports jobs, fairness and communities – social equity is a mirage. It is prosperity that pays for our social safety net, not sentiment. It thus falls to each and every generation of business, of citizens, of politicians, of indeed broadcasters and journalists and those involved in public commentary, each generation to stoke the fires of enterprise and growth in Australia if we are to remain both a prosperous economy and a fair society.
That is why today I am announcing a further step forward in the Government’s, our Government’s Enterprise and Growth Plan for Australia, that I first spoke of three years ago in my first Budget. A plan to give greater incentive to small and medium-sized businesses to invest and employ Australians by dramatically accelerating the tax cuts that we have already legislated for small and medium sized businesses. We are going to help our job-producing small and family businesses grow even faster, with major tax cuts for Australia’s millions of small business people.
Australia’s economy is growing, our Budget position is getting stronger and stronger. Because of our economic management, and because of that we can provide further and major tax relief to the more than 3 million small and family businesses around this country who employ more than 7 million Australians, which is more than half the workforce in Australia today. More than half the people who work for a living in this country today work for a business that has a turnover of less than $50 million, and if you go beyond Melbourne and Sydney, south east Queensland or Perth, you go out in the regions. It’s pretty much everybody, it’s pretty much everybody who is working in those businesses that will be the beneficiaries of our plan.
So if you are running a hairdressing salon, or a cleaning business, or a plumbing business, like Warren down in the Shire, who does our plumbing. I remember when Jenny, when we went on ACA, Jenny said she wishes I was a plumber. And I saw Warren down at Cronulla Mall and he said; “Mate, ScoMo, Jenny likes plumbers.” A very Shire thing. G’day Warren.
Or a news agency, or a coffee shop, a dry cleaners, any of these things. This is good news for you and anyone you’ve been able to create a job for in your business. If you are a mum or dad running a home-based business, this is fuel in your tank for your business that you’ve been waiting for and wanting. Your small businesses, if you run a business that has a turnover of less than $50 million, you will be moving to a tax rate of 25 per cent within the next three years.
That’s right, we are going to bring forward the scheduled reduction in tax rates to 25 per cent for small and family businesses up to $50 million in turnover forward by five years to 2021-22, with the first rate cut to 26 per cent to be done in 2020-21. And we will start this process next week. We will be bringing in the legislation next week to make those accelerated tax cuts for small and family businesses law in this country.
So there will be a clear choice, as Paul said, at the next election. Lower taxes for small and family businesses under our Government, or Labor’s promise for higher taxes for small and family businesses. Because they have already said they will reverse the legislation that would have small businesses - the smallest businesses in the country - a reduction of their tax rate to 25 per cent, they have already said they will change that law if they are elected. And now I can only assume that they would seek to change these laws that we are now seeking to legislate to ensure that within the next term of Parliament, by the end of that term of Parliament, these businesses under our laws will be at 25 per cent. Under Labor, they will be at 27.5 per cent.
Now our tax changes are paid for by not proceeding with the tax cuts for large businesses. As you know, we sought to put those through the Parliament and they were rejected ultimately by the Senate, and I don’t think anyone can accuse us of not having exhausted every opportunity to pursue those. Parliament has had their say, and we have decided to move forward to ensure that the benefits of that plan are now completely focused on small and medium sized businesses around the country. It is also not done as a result at any risk or any threat to the return to balance year which is projected for 2019-20, and we will be able to continue to meet that objective on the estimates as they’re currently presented.
Our Government is unashamedly on the side of the women and men who run small and medium sized businesses in this country. And we’re on the side of the millions of people they employ. These Australians tend not to obsess about politics. You won’t find people out there wearing t-shirts calling for lower taxes for small and medium sized businesses, in orange t-shirts or green t-shirts. They won’t be walking around with placards and they won’t be belting down the doors of politicians. They won’t be hassling editors, they won’t be writing op-eds. You know why? They’re pretty busy. Their days are already pretty full – balancing the books, paying taxes, investing in their future, playing by the rules, caring for their families, giving back to their communities and their country. That’s why it’s for our Government to stand up for them and to listen to them and to understand what the challenges are they face. This isn’t a response to advocacy. This is the action of belief and conviction of a Government that believes that small and family businesses and medium sized businesses are the hope of the side, and so we’re backing them in. We’ve been saying that as a Government consistently from the day we were elected. We are backing them in because they are the foundation of this Australian Compact for prosperity and fairness that we believe in.
Let me talk a bit more about the foundations of our national compact. I want defend it today from its opponents who are increasingly filling the benches of those who represent the Labor Party in the federal Parliament. Now this compact, this modern Australian Compact arose from a shared recognition by many people from across the political spectrum some 40 or so years ago. After years of economic underperformance, a generation of Australian leaders from different walks of life came to appreciate that we could only aspire to be a good and compassionate society with a stronger, more competitive Australian economy. Now some came to this view from a liberal perspective, and Peter Costello has been the greatest champion of that view on our side of politics. Our Government at that time under the Howard Government, moving forward to achieve things in this area like few other before it. Some came to that view from different points of political perspective. And they converged on the need for modernising reforms to liberalise our economy, open it to the world and make it more productive. Under the Keating reforms, that occurred and there was a consensus. Because when the Labor Party under Bob Hawke and Paul Keating were reforming our economy, you know who was voting for those reforms alongside them? John Howard and Peter Costello. Backing in those reforms. I can’t say the favour was always returned Peter, when you were moving some of the reforms when you came to Government as well. But you could at least say that there had been some consensus that enabled the economy to modernise and to go through rather significant reform. It led to an era of reform, and they agreed that advancing equity and fairness was best achieved off the back of a growing economy where businesses thrive, where Australians are in work, and our national income rises. Where those who have a go are rewarded. Where opportunities are created for individual initiative and enterprise.
Yes, people differed – sometimes fiercely – over policies. But the mindset was not that different; the direction of travel largely agreed. From Bob Hawke to John Howard, Bill Kelty to Hugh Morgan, if you cared about prosperity and fairness in Australia, you cared and were committed to growing our economy. And how did you nurture that growth? You nurtured it by fostering a vibrant, productive, free enterprise system. The private sector employs eight in ten Australians. To be strong and sustainable, our social compact demands a vibrant, productive, free enterprise system. From this mindset arose the foresight and determination to pursue bold economic reforms, the fruits of which help to sustain the Australian Compact to this day.
Now our Government has served that legacy and acted in accordance with that legacy over the last five years. We have continued the strong, long running economic growth now in its 27th year, a world record. More than a million jobs created in five years as we promised, and before time. The lowest percentage of working age Australians on welfare in 25 years and more. The protection and maintenance of our AAA credit rating under some if its greatest threats, particularly on the other side of the mining investment boom that ripped $80 billion out of the Australian economy. Record investments in health, education and infrastructure, the essential services Australians rely on supported by a strong economy. A progressive tax system where the top 10 per cent of taxpayers are paying almost half of personal income tax and the bottom 50 per cent of taxpayers pay around 12 per cent. The bottom 10 per cent of households by income achieving the highest income growth of any group since the Global Financial Crisis. A tax-transfer system that reduces income inequality in Australia by more than 40 per cent according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics. A social security system that targets benefits to the poor more than in any other high-income country according to Peter Whiteford from the ANU. A decline in what the HILDA research calls ‘relative poverty’ from 13 per cent in 2007 to 9.4 per in 2016. And we are doing this far better than many of our other friends in other developed nations.
The lesson of the Australian Compact is that you don’t reduce poverty by bringing people down, you do it by lifting others up. The recent Productivity Commission report tells us that unlike our friends in the United States, real incomes in Australia have risen strongly across all income deciles over the last 30 years. In Australia, disposable income per capita has increased by an average of 1.6 per cent a year since the 1980s. That compares with 1.0 per cent in the United Kingdom and just 0.7 per cent in the United States. Now should we aspire to do better? Of course we should – and we are, and we will continue to. But the evidence says our Australian Compact is delivering for Australians of all incomes.
Now those who claim the Australian Compact is broken are not just wrong on the evidence. They like to trash talk deliberately, irresponsibly, and cynically, casting a pall over the future aspirations we have as a nation. They do so because they want conflict. They want to divide Australia. They want to turn every single issue into us and them, winners and losers, for their own political advantage, to push their own ideology, and to push their own barrow. They have forgotten that our compact and our social fabric is a shared one. They tear down one part of it, and they weaken us all. For short-term political purposes they seek to take us down the path of other countries where citizen is set against citizen, and where the bonds of our shared endeavour would begin to corrode.
What’s become clear is that today’s Labor Party under Bill Shorten no longer sees economic policy like the Labor Party used to. They are no longer fellow travelers, I believe, on this modern Australian Compact that began roughly 40 years ago. They no longer see this as a project they are willing to stand by. In fact, they are willing to tear it down. They have discarded the mindset of Bob Hawke, and they have embraced Bill Shorten’s politics of envy, and you know hypocrisy is not far behind. In this vein, he and Labor now says millions of workers are ‘ensnared’ by workplace laws that were written by Labor, and him in particular. The trade agreements that were endorsed by Labor as the enemy of workers. The problem with Labor’s modern view of fairness is that it begins and ends and deals only with issues of redistribution. Carving up that under Labor and those mindsets and those policies will only ever be a diminishing pie - less for everybody is the product of that thinking.
For the Coalition - and the Australian people in my experience - fairness has a broader meaning and a more ambitious aspiration. It encompasses redistribution and help for those in need, and of course that’s true. But fairness also embraces reward for effort and responsibility to have a go and be given a go. It encompasses those who need a helping hand as well as those who work hard, get up early, take risk and employ or support others.
The goal of Labor’s anti-business, union bred, union fed and union led anti-enterprise crusade is clear. It is to stoke resentment within our market economy and towards it, with those having a go in business and with our free enterprise system itself. You know you can't lead a country that you want to divide, where you want to drive a wedge between employers and employees. Where you want to drive a wedge between parents who want to send their kids to one school and parents who want to send them to another. You can’t lead a country if you want to divide it. And that’s why under our Government, we want to keep Australians together, and we want economic plans that keep Australians together. None of this bodes well under Labor’s plan for middle Australia, for low income workers and those who rely on our social compact to get by. Because when you put growth at risk - this is the real kicker - the most vulnerable to what our opponents put forward as the alternative approach are the low and middle-income earners who have a higher chance of losing their jobs when growth slows. They are the victims, yet Labor claims they are their purpose. It is a bitter irony, and a costly one for those Australians.
The Coalition Government is determined to champion and strengthen this compact. We believe that only by maintaining a strong and growing economy with thriving businesses can we aspire to be a fair society. We believe for someone to do better in Australia, someone else does not have to do worse. You don’t have to tax some people more to tax some people less. We don’t believe that. We want to lift everybody up. We believe the best form of welfare is a job. We believe our safety net should work like a trampoline not a snare, bouncing people back up. We believe in Australians keeping more of what they earn, so families can get ahead and can plan for the future with confidence.
That’s why in this year’s Budget, we announced one of the biggest personal income tax plan reforms we have seen in generations, completely removing a tier of the tax system. And yes, we did it over seven years, you’ve got to do it responsibly, you can’t do it all at once. But people should know where their Government is going, they should know what the plan is. Our plan is you get to keep more of what you earn. When you put more in, you have the opportunity to keep more of that, and under our plan 94 per cent of workers will pay no more than 32.5 cents in the dollar on the extra income they earn. We believe in that.
The Government legislated tax cuts which we have put through, which Labor will cut in half, provide I think the guarantee that Australians are looking for from their Government that it’s worth putting the effort in. And we’re seeing the response. We’re seeing businesses respond, we’re seeing the jobs created. We’ve seen over 100,000 jobs in the last fiscal year created for young people in Australia. That is the strongest year of youth employment growth in Australia’s economic history, and I know as a former Social Services Minister, if you get a young person into a job by the time they’re about 24, their chances of living the rest of their lives on welfare radically diminishes. But if you fail, the chances of them being on welfare for the rest of their life goes through the roof. Getting young people in jobs is a game changer for our nation, and our Government is delivering that. Of all the things we’ve done over the last five years, I can’t nominate one greater than that. And you know who made that happen? Small and family businesses. The look in the eye of a small business owner who employs that young person that they know in their community, whether it is down in Burney or up in Townsville or wherever it is. The sense of pride that a small and family business owner has when they employ a young person and then several years later they’re at their 21st or maybe at their wedding or then they’re at their christening or Bat Mitzvah or whatever it happens to be. That’s what family business is all about, and they are revved up and wanting to put young people in jobs.
So we’ll continue to back them with our tax cuts, which I’ve already referred to. We’ve already lifted the definition of a small business from $2 billion to $10 billion, which gives them access to a whole raft of small business concessions to make not only their paperwork lighter but their interaction and their cash flow much more flexible. We’ve made changes to the consumer and competition law to put them on a level playing field, we’ve introduced the Australian Financial Complaints Authority. We’re tackling anti-phoenixing behaviour for small and family business to help them get ahead. We’ve extended the instant asset write-off which is enabling them to invest more. And when you’re cutting their taxes, and they can invest more in their business, and they can write these things off immediately as well, you’re allowing them to get ahead.
When it comes to the future of the economy, there really are two alternative visions. Our proven policies that have delivered jobs, investment and opportunity, or Labor’s radically different path. It never used to be that radically different, but there is a big difference now. Under our Government, we have kept real expenditure growth in check at 1.9 per cent, less than 2 per cent. That’s the lowest level of expenditure in half a century. Our responsible budget management has resulted in the smallest deficit in ten years and it is moving towards a balanced Budget in 2019-20. Indeed, the release of the Monthly Financial Statements just for July and August today point to a further strengthening of our Budget position. While this is a very early read, as Peter knows who would have seen these figures come through, the underlying cash deficit is $6.6 billion better than where it was estimated to be at by now in the Budget and our expenditure is lower than expected – and receipts are $4.2 billion higher resulting from a better performing economy – with more company and personal tax receipts.
The foundations of our fiscal strategy and success are keeping expenditure under control and keeping taxes under control, because that is what drives the economic growth that’s what’s supporting our revenue growth. Labor’s plan is to walk away from controlling expenditure and jack up taxes. Labor’s five point plan, as I said on the weekend - more tax, more tax, more tax, more tax and more tax. That’s Labor’s five point plan, and that plan will throw a wet blanket on the Australian economy. It’ll slowing growth and the growth that produces the revenue that pays for the services and essential services Australians rely on.
Now they say when they announce all their expenditure that it’s being funded by savings. Savings, they say. But they’re not savings. They’re tax increases. Tax increases are not savings. Well I suppose they are in one sense, because if you’re going to fund your Budget by higher taxes, what you’re telling Australian families to do and Australian businesses to do is they’ve got to make the savings in their budgets to pay the higher taxes. So Labor won’t control their own expenditure. So they say to every small and family business, they say to every retiree counting on the imputation credits, they say to every small business that will be paying higher levels of tax, they say, “You make the cuts in your budgets, you make the changes to your expenditure, because we couldn’t be bothered and we can’t control expenditure. So we’re just going to tax you more, and we’re going to outsource the savings target to your budget, to your family, to your business, to your retirement.”
Under Labor the Macquarie dictionary will have a new definition. Savings: taking someone else’s money and using it for yourself. That’s would be their definition. Even nine months out we know there is more than $200 billion in higher taxes. Taxes on housing, taxes on savings, taxes on earnings, taxes on business, taxes on investment. All slowing our economy down. So when you hear the shiny promises - $10 billion for this, $5 billion for this, $100 million for this. Every single one of those announcements are dependent on a higher tax, and you’ll pay for it. You'll pay for it twice, actually. You’ll pay for it in higher taxes, and you’ll pay for it in the slower growth that produces the slower economy that your job and your business depends on.
The best way we can continue to build a stronger economy is to support that Australian Compact that I have talked about. And I must say that this Conference has actually championed over a long period of time, and I’ve got to say Paul that the Australian has championed over a very long period of time. To support an Australian Compact that honours the hard work and efforts of its people. I was talking to the Irish Prime Minister the other morning, we caught up. And his party is known as the party who supports people who get up early. I felt a real affinity with that as a party, as a political movement in this country. And you know it’s not just the people who get up early to go to work, but it’s also the carer who gets up early to look after a parent, or a sibling, or to do the many other important jobs that are done around our society. Because that’s what this compact is about. It’s the connection between these two, and that’s what we passionately believe in.
It encourages and rewards those who work hard. It gives a hand up to those who need help. And we believe that prosperity and fairness are not mutually exclusive, they’re not an invitation for division or warfare and phony class warfare for that matter. Rather, prosperity is the foundation of fairness and the stronger Australia that our Government is looking to lead and to drive into the future.
We believe, I believe, our Government believes in the economics of opportunity. Bill Shorten believes in the politics of envy.
Thank you.
Press Conference with the Minister for Health and the Minister for Senior Australians & Aged Care
9 October 2018
PRIME MINISTER: I’m very pleased to be joined by the Minister for Health Greg Hunt and the Minister for Senior Australians and Aged Care Ken Wyatt. We’re here to announce today the Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety. Just over three weeks ago, I announced together with Greg and with Ken our intention to go forward to establish this Royal Commission. Since then, we have undertaken a very extensive consultation process and I want to thank the more than 5,100 Australians who have engaged with us over the last several weeks as we have worked together, together to form this terms of reference to drive this inquiry. I also had the opportunity, as Ken and Greg did, to meet with many of the sector representatives and many of those stakeholders right across the sector to ensure we had a very keen understanding of the priorities that needed to be addressed as we brought this Royal Commission together.
So I am pleased today to announce the Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety has been formally established by the Governor General. I am also very pleased to announce that the commissioners, the Honourable Justice Joseph McGrath and Ms Lynelle Griggs AO have been appointed by the Governor General to lead this important task. Both these individuals have had an enormous volume of experience, an exemplary record of Australian public service throughout their careers, in their respective fields and I am very grateful that they have taken up the invitation to undertake this very important task. They will need to determine the full extent of the problems in aged care and to understand how we can meet the challenges and the opportunities of delivering aged care services now and into the future. This is very much looking at what has happened, but it is also very much about understanding what needs to be done into the future. It is a very future-focused Royal Commission, but we are going to learn from the mistakes and the problems of the past as well.
The Commission will be required to submit their final report to the Governor General no later than, and I stress no later than, the 30th of April 2020, and to provide an interim report no later than the 31st of October 2019. Of course, if the Royal Commission is in a position to provide an earlier report if they believe that they are in a position to do so.
Our Government is committed to providing older Australians with access to care that supports their well-being, the dignity that they deserve, the choices that they are seeking, the comfort and the assurance that their families demand when it comes to making the biggest decision, often, that they have to make about the care of someone they love so deeply. And we need to do it in a way which recognises the contribution of those Australians who are being cared for. Their commitment over a lifetime as an Australian to our community and the service that they have provided. The Royal Commission will be the first step in re-establishing the trust that loved ones will be treated with dignity and respect.
The Royal Commission will be based in Adelaide, but it will also undertake hearings around the country. It will also have the opportunity to take evidence over video and other formats to ensure that people have the opportunity to participate in this very important Royal Commission. We will also recognize, at the end of the day, this is what it is really all about, and this is the major feedback that we have had over the last few weeks as we have consulted, as I said, more than 5,100 Australians. And that is that we need to establish a national culture of respect for senior Australians and Australians as they age. It’s that culture of respect that actually ensures that people are treated with dignity and the care that they deserve.
Now I know right across the sector, as does Ken and as does Greg, we have people working in aged care facilities, caring for young Australians with disabilities living in a residential aged care environment. Those providing in-home care services which are all covered by the terms of reference that we released today. We know that they work hard to provide exactly that care. But we also know that there are too many instances where that has not occurred. So we want to commend those who get up every day and work in our residential aged care facilities and provide that deep loving care that they do every single day they go to work. And I know that they would want, they would want, that all those who they support can have the confidence that all of their friends and all of their families can have confidence about the level of support and care that is provided in our aged care facilities.
So this is an important inquiry, we are very pleased to be in a position that we can do it. I think the country is going to have to brace itself for some difficult stories, some difficult circumstances, some difficult experiences. But that’s part of this process of the Royal Commission, to confront these stories honestly and to confront them in a way that helps us learn, to ensure that they are not repeated in the future. And at the end of the day, the national culture of respect for senior Australians and Australians as they age can become something that as a key outcome, a key product, a key deliverable of undertaking this very important task. I’m going to ask Greg to make a few points about the terms of reference. It mirrors very much what was first outlined a few weeks ago, but there are important additions to that as we have gone through the consultation process and I will also ask Ken to make a few remarks. Thank you. Greg.
MINISTER FOR HEALTH, THE HON GREG HUNT MP: Thanks very much, Prime Minister. This Royal Commission is about respecting and protecting older Australians. As Scott said, ultimately, it is about helping to build a national culture of respect for ageing and our senior Australians, and if we can achieve that, then everything else will follow. So in a way, this could be the most important legacy of everything that we do. By helping to build and helping to foster that culture of respect. In terms of the Royal Commission itself, the commissioners, Justice Joseph McGrath from the Supreme Court of Western Australia, and Lynelle Briggs, former public service Commissioner, former head of Medicare, distinguished career in public service but also now operating within the private sector as well, will bring a fearless and a frank approach. They have been selected, not just because of their history, not just because of their capabilities, but because they will bring a culture of caring and concern, but a frank and fearless approach to the findings that they will make. So now it falls to them to hear the stories, to listen to the concerns of families, to be the custodians of care and concern and future protection for older Australians.
We know, as the Prime Minister says, there will be some difficult times and some difficult stories, but above all else, this is about the future and laying out a foundation for the years to come. That is why the terms of reference are deliberately broad. They deal in particular with the quality and safety in relation to any examples of substandard care, how best to deliver care services, how best to deliver for the increasing number of Australians with dementia. The future challenges and opportunities for delivering accessible and affordable high-quality care. What the government and the aged sector community can do in relation to ensuring quality and safety, allowing people greater choice and control, best delivering services through innovative care and investment and in particular noting the importance of providing options for young people with disabilities who have been placed in an aged care environment and there is also the broad power for the commissioners to examine any matter that they believe are relevant to their inquiries. So they have an area of focus, but they are not constrained in the areas that they can examine as part of that.
So ultimately, this Commission has come about because of the concerns of the Government and the public because of the needs of the present and the importance of planning for the future, but if, at the end of the day, it contributes not just to better care, but a stronger national culture, then it will have been an abiding legacy of decades and generations to come.
MINISTER FOR SENIOR AUSTRALIANS & AGED CARE, THE HON KEN WYATT MP: Thank you very much. This Royal Commission has come about because our Government has listened. We have listened to the families who have been affected, we’ve been listening to those on the ground who have expressed their views. What we want is an aged care sector that is viable and is strong well into the future. A workforce that is trained to meet the needs of people who live not in residential care but in their homes, who have the level of support that is provided.
Geographically, we are a diverse nation. We are a nation of diverse people and in the context of the work that the Royal Commission will undertake, then they will consider the matters that are raised with them by the public during the consultation process. Our Government has been committed to building a stronger and better aged care sector for those who choose to live at home and for those who choose to go into residential aged care. And working with the structures and the structural reforms that are needed, this will give all Australian families a high degree of certainty that the quality of care that is provided in any setting in which they find a loved one will give them the assurance that they will live a quality lifestyle but live with the certainty of knowing that the wrap around services that they need to give them a safe sense of living will be provided into the future.
So I’m looking forward to the work being undertaken, and I certainly thank the Prime Minister for announcing this Royal Commission, which will give Australians greater certainty around aged care.
PRIME MINISTER: Thank you Ken. Well thank you also to Greg and Ken for the great job they’ve done in pulling this together and now the work gets on with it. Happy to take questions on this, let's stay with the Royal Commission at first. I'm sure there are a few other items of the day that we can cover on politics but on aged care?
JOURNALIST: This interim report by 31 October next year, is that enough time?
PRIME MINISTER: I would think so, but again, as is the case with any of these matters, if more time is required, more time will be given. That will be something that will be determined by the Royal Commissioners themselves. Having just announced it, I wouldn’t want to be prejudging those sorts of things. I think that they will get about the task and as is the case always with these sorts of inquiries, if more time is needed or requested, more time is given.
JOURNALIST: Does the Government anticipate that it will implement all the recommendations that are made by this Commission?
PRIME MINISTER: Well again, I’m not going to prejudge the inquiry I think it’s important- I mean we wouldn't be commissioning such an inquiry, if we didn't have such an intention to listen carefully as to what the outcomes and recommendations of the Royal Commission are. That’s why you commission a Royal Commission of this nature.
So, I look forward to it. I look forward to it because I think this will be a watershed in dealing with one of those most difficult of challenges that we have as a society. We are an ageing society like many other countries around the world and demands on our aged care system are changing. This as an important part of the inquiry, I really want this point to be made; it isn't just about the terrible incidents and the neglect and the abuse that have occurred, it’s about how we are going to deal with this problem and this challenge into the future.
More people thankfully are being able to make decisions to remain in their home for longer. That means as they enter into the residential aged care system, their needs are more acute. Last week I was with David Coleman, down in Hurstville and I was talking to leaders of the Chinese community. We are seeing whole cohorts of people from different ethnic groups in Australia now, who have come out in their 20s and 30s and helped build this country and they are now very much moving into the aged care sector. There are particular needs for those types of communities. So, you know, our country is ageing and that brings with it great challenges. What we need to ensure is that culture of respect and that dignity is provided to those senior Australians as they age.
JOURNALIST: There have been some concerns that some of the current reforms will be put on hold or delayed? For example the establishment of the Quality and Safety Commission.
PRIME MINISTER: No they won’t be. We’ll be moving ahead with all of those.
JOURNALIST: So the Commission will be established on the 1st of January next year?
PRIME MINISTER: We will be pushing ahead with all of those, it’s important. Look, the Royal Commission is of course important and it is in addition to all of the things we have already initiated. All of the additional funding we’re already providing and we will be getting on with our job as a Government to deliver quality aged services around the country. The Royal Commissioners will be getting on with their job independently, looking into these issues now and how they’re going to apply into the future.
MINISTER FOR HEALTH: And in fact, we have just passed legislation to review standards as well as having introduced legislation for the quality and safety commission.
JOURNALIST: If you wanted to encourage good people to join this workforce, is there going to be any financial incentives to help people work in the aged care sector?
PRIME MINISTER: I think these are one of the many issues that will be canvassed by the Royal Commissioners over the course of the inquiry. It’s workforce issues, it’s capability, it’s training, it’s sustainability. They have been the subject of previous inquiries and there have been some mixed recommendations that have come from those. So this is another opportunity I think to test what is really needed here and I’m looking forward to those outcomes as well. Anything else on aged care?
JOURNALIST: Just one last one, will the commission be looking at staffing ratios as part of it’s-?
PRIME MINISTER: Well the general issues of the workforce and how it’s engaging in the sector are covered in the terms of reference. So to the extent that the Royal Commission wants to address those issues, they’re able to do that through their terms of reference.
JOURNALIST: Just on banking today Prime Minister, they’re talking about additional compensation as well as repayment for customers who are mistreated or overcharged. Can you just expand on that and how you expect any compensation will work?
PRIME MINISTER: Well I can’t because they’re not sources from the Government. They’re not reports from the Government, that’s industry scuttlebutt. What the Government has done is set up the Australian Financial Complaints Authority, we have legislated it and its terms and it’s powers and what it plans to do is set out in the legislation. So I must admit, I’m a bit of a loss as to what the source of that other commentary is, because we’ve got another Royal Commission going on into the banking and financial industry currently and if there are reccomendations to come from that that deal with the Australian Financial Complaints Authority, then well and good. But I can’t really comment on something which has not come from the Government and is not currently under consideration by the Government.
JOURNALIST: Can I ask you about population and infrastructure? In 2010 you said it would be disingenuous to suggest keeping migrants in regions would ease congestion in Sydney. Do you still have those views?
PRIME MINISTER: At the time the policy that was being put forward by the Labor Party, I don’t think was really what is being contemplated here by our Government. On the impacts that population has across the country, there are many levers that you can pull. Your migration programme is just one of those. What I was referring to was migration in isolation being the solution to the system and it’s not, migration is part of a suite of policies that deal with congestion in our cities. That’s why I established a Minister for Population, which was also sitting alongside his responsibilities for Urban Infrastructure, because that is where the solutions to these challenges lay.
The policies that we are looking at carefully, which have been flagged today by Minister Tudge are all about how we align our migration programme with the economic and infrastructure policies of towns, regions and states all around the country. I was down in Tasmania on the weekend and in Tasmania, Premier Hodgman has a population plan. And how we can work in with his plan with the migration programme and our infrastructure programmes and our other policies, is what we are seeking to achieve as a Government. It’s equally true that what we’re talking about here is a very targeted use of our migration powers and our migration programme to ensure that we can direct and encourage those who are coming to the country, initially on a temporary basis and through those nonpermanent visas, to be able to go where there is a need for this labour, where there is a need for population growth and where there is receptivity to it.
I mean this is about actually trying to support, on the ground, the economic and population policies of local communities. It’s about working hand-in-glove with those communities and following their lead and backing them in on the programmes that they have.
JOURNALIST: Will there be extra spending on infrastructure in those regions to accommodate this?
PRIME MINISTER: There already is, that’s the point.
JOURNALIST: More to come?
PRIME MINISTER: This is the point, it’s about ensuring our migration programmes mirror what we’re doing without our infrastructure policies. Now, we’ve got a $75 billion rolling infrastructure program over 10 years, which is rolling out infrastructure all around the country, whether it’s the Midland Highway down in Tasmania or it’s the Northlink over in Perth or wherever it happens to be. And we’re not just talking about regional areas, we’re talking about cities like Adelaide where I know Premier Marshall is very keen, very keen to see population growth increase in South Australia and in Adelaide. I know up in the Northern Territory where Chief Minister Gunner when he was recently in Canberra, was announcing his very strong policy to encourage population growth in the Northern Territory. What we’re seeking to do as a Federal Government, as a national government, is to back in these local state and territory plans. To use the levers we have to realise the objectives which are being set at a local level.
So it’s very targeted, it’s very cooperative, it’s very consultative and it’s using the tools we have to achieve these broader objectives; to reduce congestion in the places which have a congestion problem and to increase economic opportunities in places that are seeking them.
JOURNALIST: If the policy though is going to apply to 45 per cent of the migrants at the most, would you consider introducing caps on say, international students, which does lead to some congestion.
PRIME MINISTER: We’re looking at all of these issues but we’d have to be very careful when it comes to the international education industry, it’s a very significant part of our national economy. It’s a very big part of the Victorian economy as Greg knows in particular. You carefully consider all of these options but you don't engage in policies which will actually hold our economy back.
We’re for driving our economy forward. The reason we can invest $1 billion and more extra, every year, in aged care, is because as a Government, we’re leading an economy that is growing. An economy, when you grow your economy, when you keep your economy strong, you can afford increases in aged care, you can support additional investment in education and in hospitals, in Medicare. You want a guarantee on Medicare?
The reason we can provide a guarantee on Medicare is because we can grow a stronger economy. We have demonstrated that over the last five years; More than a million Australians have got a job under this government, as we promised they would. We did it before we said that would be achieved, when we first promised it. So whether it’s on jobs or whether it’s on the growth of our economy, that is what is enabling us to guarantee the essential services that Australians rely on. That’s what we will continue to deliver as a Government.
JOURNALIST: In 2010 you said it was false hope to expect immigrants would go to the regions, what has changed?
PRIME MINISTER: That was in terms of permanent residents, and permanent residents can’t, you have no powers under the migration program to direct permanent migrants to live anywhere in the country. But for temporary residents, those on temporary visas, non-permanent visas, then the powers the Commonwealth have are very, very different. I’m sure, I mean I’ve been in this space a long time so I am sure people will look over what I’ve said in the last 10 years. I’m no stranger to this debate, I’ve been part of it for a very long time and I’m very passionate about it. I want us to see our immigration programme work for the strength of Australia. I want to see an immigration programme in Australia that keeps Australians together. I want to see an immigration programme in Australia that Australians are passionate and confident in.
Why did I stop the boats? I stopped the boats because I was concerned not just about the loss of life we had seen, but because the failure of the previous government to control our borders was crashing confidence in immigration in this country. Now our Government changed that. We secured those borders. We have the immigration plans that I believe Australians can be confident in, because we’re listening carefully to those who are being impacted by strong population growth in cities like Melbourne and Sydney. But we are also hearing the voices of those in Perth, in Adelaide, in Darwin, in Hobart, in Devonport or anywhere else around the country, in Wagga for that matter. I was speaking to the Deputy Prime Minister about this only today. Where they have a plan where they believe they can have additional population in those areas and they see it as good for their local economies. So that is the plan we are advancing.
JOURNALIST: Melissa Price says that 90 or so scientists have drawn a long bow in calling for the end to coal power. What’s your interpretation of the report, do you endorse it’s findings?
PRIME MINISTER: We take all reports seriously and we consider all of them and assess those, as you would be expect us to. That report was delivered not to Australia, it was a global report. It didn't contain any recommendations for any actions by Australia. It was making broader observations and Australia is part of that process. But I tell you what I’m about and what our Government’s about; our Government is about keeping our commitments. We have kept our commitments on Kyoto 1 as Greg as the Environment Minister at the time, knows all about. We will complete our commitments and beat them when it comes to Kyoto 2. We will meet our targets out to 2030 as well. We will meet the commitments that we have made. We have the lowest level of emissions per capita now in more than two decades and that is a good result. We had been working to achieve that and we will continue to do that.
But I tell you the other thing we’re going to do; that is we’re going to do everything we can to get electricity prices down. That is what the Minister for getting electricity down, is focused on and that’s Angus Taylor. The Minister for keeping the commitments that we’ve made on the environment is Melissa Price and that’s the job she’s doing. They’re going to do those jobs and they’re both going to do those jobs as part of our government. Thank you very much.
JOURNALIST: Is the Government considering nuclear energy as part of - ?
PRIME MINISTER: All I said yesterday was that I’ll consider options if they can stand up from an investment point of view. I said nothing, frankly, much further than that. What I would find surprising is the Labor Party would not consider something that if it stacked up on an investment basis and did lower electricity prices, they apparently wouldn’t consider it. I found that actually more amazing.
All the work that has been done on that issue to date has shown that the investment proposals haven’t stacked up and don’t stack up. So that’s where that issue rests from my perspective. But I’m not going to rule out things based on ideology, I’m not going to rule out things based on advocacy. I’m going to consider things that I think will ensure that we get electricity prices down when it comes to energy and I will always consider things that will help us practically we meet our environmental targets which is incredibly important to all Australians as well. Thanks very much.
JOURNALIST: Just on the Opera House very quickly, 260,000 people have signed a petition against the display of the race.
PRIME MINISTER: Yep.
JOURNALIST: Have you misread the electorate on this?
PRIME MINISTER: Look, I respect everybody having their say on this. I had mine, they’ve had theirs. I'm sure we can all respect each other's views on this and I’m sure the Premier, as they considered all that, will ensure that how they go forward with this will the done sensitively and respectively. I suspect in a few weeks’ time we’ll all look back on this a little differently. But look, it’s a free country, we all get to say our piece, I said mine. Everybody else has said theirs. We respect all those views and I’m sure Gladys Berejiklian will handle the issue with the sensitivity it deserves. Thanks very much.
Remarks, Hurstville Community Lunch
4 October 2018
THE HON DAVID COLEMAN MP, MINISTER FOR IMMIGRATION, CITIZENSHIP & MULTICULTURAL AFFAIRS: All right well good afternoon everyone and welcome to our lunch here with the Prime Minister Scott Morrison. Thank you very much for joining us. I’m David Coleman, the Federal Member for Banks and the Minister for Immigration, Citizenship and Multicultural Affairs.
The PM and I have just been chatting with people in Hurstville in small business, talking to people who employ so many Australians. You know, Hurstville is a tremendous success story of the success of immigrants investing in the future of Australia. There are so many people employed in the Hurstville area and so many of those people are employed by Australians of Chinese background who have come to Australia, who have invested, who have worked so hard to create those economic opportunities. Today in our group, we have representatives of so many of our local organisations, our non-profit social services organisations, a number of our artistic and musical groups, a number of our local religious leaders and so many other people who have come together to make this such a special community.
I’m so fortunate to have the region of the Hurstville area in my electorate and to represent such a diverse and fantastic community. In my new role as the Minister, I am so keen to talk about the great success stories of multicultural Australia. You know, we have about 1.4 million people in Australia who are employed in businesses that were started by a migrant, which is a fantastic success story. About one in three small businesses were started by somebody who has immigrated to Australia. Our multiculturalism makes us stronger, it is one of our great success stories. We should be very proud of it, we should celebrate it and it is great to have the PM in Hurstville today to meet with you all. So without further ado, please join me in welcoming the Prime Minister of Australia Scott Morrison.
[Applause]
PRIME MINISTER: Nǐ hǎo.
[Applause]
It’s great to be here with you today, particularly to be here with my friend David Coleman, who not only serves in the Ministry, but has been my neighbour here in Banks. I’m in the electorate of Cook, just across the river. Well it’s all across the river now as part of this council area Georges River Council also takes in the seat of Cook these days. But it’s wonderful to be here with you all today.
After I became Prime Minister some weeks back, I said that I wanted to keep Australia’s economy strong so we could deliver and guarantee the essential services that all Australians rely on. I said that I wanted to keep Australians safe, whether it was in the classroom and keeping our children free from bullying, or the broader threats of international terrorism and these things that all countries these days must deal with. I also said that I want to keep Australians together. Bringing all Australians together, acknowledging all the many different parts and contributions that are made to make our country stronger. I said if we do these three things - we keep Australia strong and our economy strong, we keep Australians safe and we keep Australians together - we will build an even stronger Australia than the one we have today.
I’m very pleased to be here today to acknowledge the contribution of the Chinese national Australian community to that story of making Australia stronger, which has been happening for a very long time over our history. It hasn’t always been the case that, I think, Chinese Australians, those who have come here from China over hundreds of years, have had it easy. And it wasn’t always the case that that contribution was acknowledged. The investment, the businesses, the hard work, the enterprise, the families, the education, cultural contributions, it wasn’t always the case. I think it’s great today that we live in an Australia that is, increasingly. But there is more to do.
One of the things I often like talking about, particularly around the time of Chinese New Year, is that just used to be a celebration within the Chinese Australian community. Now it’s a celebration of the entire Australian community, wherever you go around that time of year. It doesn’t matter whether people have come from a Chinese background or not, they celebrate it. It’s become part of Australia’s cultural calendar and it has taken on, I think, a very Aussie, a very Australian element to it. I think that speaks volumes about the contribution that has been made over many, many years.
There are 1.2 million Australians who identify as having Chinese ancestry here in Australia today. They are larger than any other people of non-Anglo Saxon background in the country today and we cherish all of their contributions, in all its facets. It enriches us and we are better and we are stronger as a nation for it. We’re also able to recognise the genuineness of Chinese-Australian commitment in the pages of our history; from our own battles as Australians in the theatres of war, through to our sporting achievements. The grandson of one of Australia’s first Chinese migrants, John Joseph Shying was the first Chinese-Australian serviceman serving in the Colonial Military Forces in the 1885 Anglo-Sudan War. Thereafter, Chinese Australians served in World Wars I and II, in Korea, Vietnam, Iraq and Afghanistan. I’m told the Goldfields Leagues that kicked off in Ballarat on August 26, 1892 included two Cantonese teams – the Miners and the Gardeners – gave birth to a golden decade of hotly-contested AFL matches and spread to Bendigo, Eaglehawk and Geelong. Those pioneering links with this very Australian code, the AFL as we know it today, carry through to today with Port Adelaide and the Gold Coast Suns teams recently playing before packed-out crowds in Shanghai. And Kochie, who I’m sure you all know from Sunrise in the morning, I saw at the AFL Grand Final and he was introducing me to people at the AFL Grand Final, had been very involved and supportive of seeing that representation, that celebration, of Australian life up in Shanghai.
Ladies and gentlemen, this afternoon, I want to affirm as Prime Minister that Australia will always, always welcome Chinese students, investors and visitors to our country, supporting our national interest. This is such a great driver of jobs in our nation. Trade, tourism and student numbers are at record highs. Total trade reaching $183 billion and Chinese student numbers eclipsing 184,000 last year. Chinese visitor numbers now hitting 1.4 million in 2017/18. Now when I started work in the tourism industry several decades ago, there weren’t that many total visitors to Australia, from countries all around the world. Today, Chinese citizens coming to Australia on holidays eclipses that number at 1.4 million.
So I can’t stress this enough; China, as the most populous nation in our region and our largest trading partner, is important to Australia. We welcome its’ remarkable success and we are committed – absolutely committed – to the long-term constructive partnership with China based on shared values, especially mutual respect. We believe in the prosperity of our region and the prosperity of our region depends on these increasingly strong and connected ties.
Our Government is strongly committed to working closely with China’s leaders to advance our Comprehensive Strategic Partnership. This is very important to us, because it’s the unique partnership that provides an invaluable framework for progressing our mutual and complementary interests. In September last year, as Treasurer I visited China for the bilateral Strategic Economic Dialogue, which was part of that partnership framework. And I am relishing further opportunities for engagement that are ahead. We have the East Asia Summit coming up, APEC and of course, the G20 Summit all to take place before the year’s end.
Now Australia and China won’t always agree on everything, we have different systems, different national interests and we have different concerns from time to time. Naturally enough, that will lead to different views, from time to time. But this is what is so crucial; that we manage these divergences constructively, in the spirit of this Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, guided by the principles of equality and our deep and abiding mutual respect and in the interest of the prosperity of our region where we all live. Because and above all, we are acutely aware of the strong fundamentals that we share; our deep-rooted economic, institutional and community links and particularly when we talk about education, when we talk about cultural exchange, when we talk about the people-to-people visitor exchanges. The connections between our peoples will always run even deeper, always run deeper and that provides the platform for the broad partnership that we share with China.
It’s in our two countries’ interests to have a strong relationship because we both benefit. And yet, there remains so much potential to take our relationship even further. Bilaterally on law enforcement, resources and energy including our LNG expansion, agribusiness, services, new technologies in the medical, biotech, and environmental spheres, investment, research and development and innovation. Internationally, working together to promote regional stability and development. To combat protectionism and address environmental challenges and natural disasters.
Now as Prime Minister, your Prime Minister, I am determined to build on the respectful, mutual cooperation that has forged such strong cultural rapport and led to the heights of economic success for both Australia and China over many years.
Now all of that, what I have spoken about, is represented here in our local community here in southern Sydney. It’s particularly represented here in Hurstville. My wife grew up not far from here over in Peakhurst, went to Peakhurst High School. This is where, when we were young people and those days are behind me, but nevertheless this is where we would come, up to Hurstville many, many years ago. We’ve seen this community grow in confidence and strength. As I walked down the street on Forest Road this morning, it was just so pleasing to see the investment and the thriving community, business community that it has become, here in Hurstville. It’s great to see as David said, 1.4 million Australians working in businesses that have been started by migrants. Migrants that have come to this country to make a contribution, not take one. And what a contribution you have been making. I really want to acknowledge that contribution today with the best way I can put it – xièxiè.
Remarks, Resources Roundtable
2 October 2018
Well thank you all for coming around today and it’s great to be joined here by Matt Canavan, Minister for Resources and Northern Australia and Melissa Price, the Minister for the Environment. Nola Marino who is here as the Chief Government Whip, but also as a passionate West Australian who has a keen interest in the resources sector here in Western Australia.
It’s great to be here in the west, the home of around about half our resources exports as a country. That’s why it’s incredibly important that while I’ve been here these few days to take a bit of stock about where you’re seeing things and where you want to see things going. I think it’s exciting to see the turnaround that’s happening. We’ve obviously come from a very difficult position over the last five years or so, that was not just a significant impact, obviously, on the resources sector, but had a very significant impact on the national economy. I knew that as Treasurer.
When WA is doing well, when the WA resources sector is doing well, Australia is doing well. It’s just fundamental maths when it comes to the Australian economy. While plenty was said about the GFC, frankly the fall off in mining investment off the peak of the mining investment boom had far greater impact on the Australian economy than anything else. For that to now be turning around I think is a great sign of encouragement and hope, not only for West Australians but I think for the entire national economy. So we only want to encourage that.
While there are many exciting things that are happening in many different parts of the economy, when it comes to digging things out of the ground, we do it very, very well and very profitably and we need to keep doing it. It’s an enormously important part of our national economic story and when people look into Australia from around the world, I know as Treasurer they always look at the health of the resources sector and the prospects for the resources sector and how the resources sector is meeting those challenges as a key barometer of how they see the performance of the Australian economy in the future. It plays into so many of the other sectors of the economy, whether it’s the housing sector, or whether it’s the manufacturing sector or all the others. While they might not be mining directly related, they are certainly linked ultimately in second and third round effects.
So there’s a lot of exciting things happening in this sector with some of the new base sectors around lithium and rare earths. There are also, as Melissa was reminding me just before, sort of new sectors from a climate and an environmental perspective as well. We’ll have a lot of renewable opportunities there and we’re excited about those. The CEFC and the NAIF have also been supportive in those sectors, but nickel and cobalt as well have come back into the mix of things and we welcome that.
There’s one thing I’ve checked every day for the last three years and that’s the iron ore price. As a Treasurer, I was in a regular habit of that and you know, as Treasurer I had it at 55 and I wasn’t too far off. I always like a surprise on the upside when it came to those things and I suspect you’re all pretty familiar with wanting to surprise your boards on the upside too. When it comes to these things, we’ve taken a pretty conservative approach; we haven’t over-estimated, we haven’t over-loaned I think on the resources sector in terms of how we built our Budgets over the last, particularly, three years. That has been a key part in our story in retaining our AAA credit rating. I think we’ve been pretty honest and pretty conservative about how we’ve been seeing things and it’s been able to perform. And the dividend of that has contributed, I think, to particularly the 2017/18 result, where we saw the lowest deficit in a decade. And it’s been a key contributor amongst many other things, I’ve got to say, people getting off welfare and into work has been one of the biggest, if not the biggest contributors to the Budget. But this has also played an important role as we go forward. We want to see that continue.
So today I was just hoping I could get a bit of a sounding, Matt and Melissa and Nola are far more directly involved in the sector. But I know certainty counts. I know stability counts. I know certainty in policy settings counts and some of you or others would have been involved in the work I was doing around the PRRT side of things and Matt was involved in that as well. We just have the view that when you engage in these sectors, you’ve got to be very clear and you’ve got to make sure that the people who are making investments which have long tails on them, can have certainty about the policy environment they are going to operate in. You know, this sector has been seen as a cash cow, I’ve got to say it, by the Labor Governments in the past. We don’t see it that way. We see it as an economic engine and the stronger the sector does, the stronger the economy does, the more jobs are produced. That’s where the revenue comes from. The revenue comes from people getting jobs and Australia doing well. So we want to see that continue.
Remarks, Western Sydney Airport
24 September 2018
PAUL O’SULLIVAN, CHAIR WESTERN SYDNEY AIRPORT CORPORATION: There are lots of other groups here who made this morning happen. I won’t mention everybody, we could be here all morning, but I do want to call out in particular the staff and the board of the Western Sydney Airport Corporation who are here. I’d like to mention as well our colleagues in the Department of Infrastructure in Canberra, to also acknowledge the Greater Sydney Commission, who has been instrumental. The Forum for Western Sydney, several of the members are here today. Our partners in construction, and our delivery partners, and of course members of the community, several of you who are here.
Today, doubt and uncertainty ends. Construction begins on the new Western Sydney International Airport. It’s a momentous occasion, an historic occasion and one which we are very proud to be marking in the presence of our national leader. So with that, I’d like to pass over to the Prime Minister of Australia, the Honourable Scott Morrison, to mark this occasion with a few words.
PRIME MINISTER: Thank you very much Paul, and Uncle Gordon can I also acknowledge the Darug people, elders past and present. Can I also acknowledge my colleagues who are here today, particularly Stuart Ayers, the Minister for Western Sydney, an absolute champion of the west here in Sydney and I know this is a very special day for you mate and for all of the people of Western Sydney. Alan Tudge, the Minister for congestion-busting amongst many other things, but that includes these big projects.
How good is this? This is an exciting day. Welcome to the future of Sydney. That’s what we’re seeing here. Our Government is into big projects, and there are few projects bigger than this one. This is a project that will determine the future of this wonderful city that I have known all my life. When I look out on these hills, and I think back hundreds of years ago, and when other people look west and they look north and the look south and they saw the potential of this incredible city and they went out and they started creating it. And that’s what’s happening here.
Our Government has been committed to this since the day we were elected back in 2013 and before. My own involvement in this project goes back to pre-1996 when I was in the tourism industry and we knew the importance of this project for our national tourism industry. Not just our New South Wales tourism industry but our national tourism industry. This is nation-building infrastructure, of course it is. It’s economy building infrastructure. It’s job-creating infrastructure. It’s city-shaping infrastructure. This will be a significant boost to Australia. It will make Australia even stronger. It’ll keep our economy even stronger, which means that our economy will be able to support the essential services the people of Western Sydney rely on, the people of Sydney, the people of Australia rely on. This will be a piece of economic infrastructure that supports our economy, that supports all Australians from one end of the country to the other. Some 27,000 jobs.
But building, as the NSW Government knows, to an aerotropolis that is supporting 200,000 jobs. The groundworks which we’ll see commence today – that engineering feat of its own will be significant, as these dozers really get to work in the months ahead. You’ll see that work taking place. So it is a tremendously exciting day. I’d like to pay tribute to those who have gone before Alan and I, particularly the former Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull and the Minister Paul Fletcher who did some very heavy lifting for the Commonwealth Government in this area and of course Tony Abbott before that and Warren Truss who had a big involvement in these projects.
We keep our promises as a Government and this has been a big promise. This isn’t the only nation-building infrastructure we’re engaged in. Snowy Hydro 2.0 of course, big energy infrastructure. But of course the Tulla Rail Link down in Melbourne. You know it was almost 50 years ago the last time we built a seriously big airport in this country? It was Tulla. Here we are out in Western Sydney today, kicking off the next one. It’s about time, I think as we’ve all felt about this. It’s about time and we’re very pleased to be here today to kick this off today.
I want to commend everyone who has been an advocate for it, everyone who has worked in it. I want to thank the local mayors and the local councils who have been so supportive of this project. I want to thank those who have been out there advocating in the media and winning the argument which said ‘this had to be done’. Now it is going to be done.
I think that’s something all Australians can feel very proud about.
So with those few words Paul, probably a few more than I’d planned but nonetheless, I’m going to hand back to you and I’m looking forward to giving the radio signal to get this going.
How good is this? How good is this?
Press Conference - Canberra, ACT
20 September 2018
Prime Minister, Minister for Education
PRIME MINISTER: Thank you, everyone. Our Government believes in choice in education. Our Government believes that parents should have choice in education. This has been a fundamental belief of the Liberal and the National parties for a very, very long time, indeed from our foundation. The policies that we pursue as a Government are about ensuring that choice for parents in education.
That's why I'm pleased to announce together with the Minister for Education, that we have been able to come to an arrangement, a final arrangement, to deal with the issues in education funding that have been of concern to the independent school sector and the Catholic Education Commission. I want to congratulate Dan on the work he's done in taking these issues forward and building on the work that was being done previously over the last three or four weeks.
From 2020, the Commonwealth will transition to a new method of calculating how non-state schools are funded and that will make the education system fairer and more equitable. The updated calculation was recommended by the National School Resourcing Board and its’ review on how the non-state school sector is funded. To support schools during the transition, the Commonwealth Government will provide over the medium term $3.2 billion to support students, parents and teachers of non-state schools. For students, this will mean the opportunity to get the best results from school.
For parents, it will mean that choice remains affordable. An affordable choice in non-government Schools. For teachers, it will mean certainty of funding so they can get on with the job. In addition to this funding, interim arrangements for 2019 will allow schools to plan with confidence for their 2019 school year. The Government will provide $170.8 million to non-government schools for these arrangements. The Government is also committed to supporting parental choice and diversity in the schooling system with a new $1.2 billion fund over the medium term that will provide a flexible means of targeting extra support for those schools in the non-government sector that require the extra support. Such as schools, I should stress, in rural, regional and remote locations, schools in drought-affected areas or underperforming school. I particularly want to welcome the offer by the National Catholic Education Commission and Archbishop Fisher for doing all they can to provide relief for students from families in drought-affected areas where they're attending school, which has been a key part of our discussions. Of course we remain committed to the state school system. We’re delivering record levels of additional recurrent funding for government schools growing from $7.3 billion this year, to $13.7 billion in 2029. I want to thank the National Catholic Education Commission for issuing a statement today where they make it very plain that the National Catholic Education Commission fully supports the package of measures unveiled today. I welcome also the correspondence from the Independent Schools Council of Australia where they say; “The proposal for the phased introduction of a new model for calculating government funding for non-government schools creates a foundation for a fair and reasonable resolution of the current funding issues. It has our full support.”
This is an important issue the Government has been working on for some time and it's been a keen area of focus of our Government over the last three to four weeks. I'm going to ask Dan as the Minister for Education, to take you through some more of that detail. But as a former Treasurer, indulge me for just one second. $1.1 billion over the forwards, $171.3 in 2018/19, $84.8 in 2019/20, $418 in 2020/21 and $499.2 in 2021/22. All of these will be reconciled in MYEFO. Dan?
THE HON. DAN TEHAN, MINISTER FOR EDUCATION: Thanks PM, and can I just start by thanking the Catholic and independent sectors for the very good faith they’ve shown in these negotiations. They’ve conducted themselves thoroughly decently and I’ve really appreciated the time that I’ve spent with them over the last four weeks and the way that I’ve got to know them. Obviously what they provide for parents and communities around Australia is incredibly important. I see it on a daily and weekly basis in my community in western Victoria. A small town like Penshurst in western Victoria, 750 people and there’s 35 students attending the Catholic primary school there and six kids which attend the local state school there. They both provide excellent schooling, but importantly, the way our system works is those parents in those communities have a choice. That is so important.
What this package today is, is making sure that affordable choice for parents continues. It builds on the good work of my predecessor Simon Birmingham and the work of Michael Cheney and the review of the SES methodology which he undertook. Very important work and we are announcing today that we are accepting all the six recommendations of the Cheney review. What that means is that we are creating certainty going forward for the Catholic and independent sectors. For next year, the 2018 interim arrangements will continue for 2019 with some minor tweaking based on the Cheney review. We will then transition to the direct measure, the personal income tax, or as it's described, the PIT measure that was recommended by Cheney. But we will provide some flexibility for both the independent and Catholic sectors as to how they transition. Finally what this package does today, is create a fund, a sector-blind fund which is called the Choice and Affordability Fund which, as the Prime Minister has said, will have $1.2 billion in it to ensure that going forward that parents across our nation will continue to have the choice that we believe they should have, for their kids' education. Thanks Prime Minister.
PRIME MINISTER: Thanks very much Dan and congratulations for putting this together. My thanks also to all of the non-government school agencies that have been part of this discussion. Happy you to take questions.
JOURNALIST: Could you explain to us the flexibility that's included in this arrangement? Does that mean that people will be able to choose or school systems will be able to choose which SES system they use in the interim period?
MINISTER FOR EDUCATION: Yes, so the systems approach continues, consistent with what was there for this year in 2018. That continues for 2019 and then will continue as part of the approach which Michael Cheney recommended with the move to PIT.
JOURNALIST: But sorry, can you just clarify whether they will be able to make a choice of which SES model they use, whether it will be the parents' income or the existing SES system or?
MINISTER FOR EDUCATION: So they will be able to transition, so between 2020 and 2022, it will be up to schools as to when they will make that transition. So they have a 3-year period in which to transition.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, the systems will have the authority and autonomy to decide where they put the funding for their schools?
PRIME MINISTER: Yeah, those arrangement haven’t changed.
JOURNALIST: When Malcolm Turnbull first got up to announce the second Gonski review in 2017, he said he wanted to end the school funding wars once and for all. Since then, you first announced an $18 billion policy and then a $23 billion policy and now it looks like you're up to about $30 billion. How can you say this is now going to end the school funding wars?
PRIME MINISTER: We’re funding school education at record levels. I think all Australian parents, all Australian teachers and all students would be very pleased with that outcome. We're preserving choice, we're supporting state school education, we're stepping up at record levels of funding. I think that's good news.
JOURNALIST: How does this compare to Labor’s promise of an extra $250 million a year to Catholic Schools?
PRIME MINISTER: We can pay for it because we’re going to run a strong economy. That’s how you pay for these things. Labor makes lots of promises, but you can't trust them because they can't fund them. Because they don't know how to run a strong economy and they don’t know how to manage a budget.
That's why you can always rely on Liberal-National Governments. Because what we promise, we deliver. Our Government keeps our promises and we’ve kept them in Government. All the promises we have taken to the last election, we kept. We’ve pursued them and we will keep these because we know how to pay for them. That's why Australians can trust our Government. Because they have seen that our Government knows how to manage a budget, knows how to manage an economy, knows how to deliver on its’ promises.
JOURNALIST: Mr Tehan, the principle behind Gonski 2.0 was for non-government schools to get up to the 80 per cent of the school resourcing standard. Is this package consistent with that or does the extra $1.2 billion give the non-government sector an unfair advantage?
MINISTER FOR EDUCATION: No, no it's consistent with that.
JOURNALIST: What do you say to public school parents who watch private schools get another $3.2 billion over the medium term, just because they kicked up a fuss? Doesn't this just show if you lobby hard enough, you can extract whatever money you want from the Government?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, I’m not surprised you have a very cynical view about this, but I don't think parents will be cynical like that. They will know that we're funding public schools at record levels. All parents want to have choices about how they educate their children. Where there are issues that need to be addressed, we’ll address them. As you know, state governments are the principal funders of state schools. The Commonwealth Government has always been the principal funder of non-government schools. That's not news, that's a longstanding arrangement.
We’ve stepped up on public schools, we’ve stepped up on non-government schools. We believe in choice in education. We believe Australian parents should have choice and we're guaranteeing that choice through the decisions and the commitments and the agreements we reached today.
JOURNALIST: Mr Morrison, what impact will this have on the Budget trajectory?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, I have just outlined it. It’s 1.1 over the forward estimates.
JOURNALIST: What about in terms of the return to surplus timetable?
PRIME MINISTER: Those issues will be resolved in MYEFO. But I’ve set it out year by year and we’re currently going through the MYEFO update process and that will be fully reconciled then.
JOURNALIST: You just survived a motion, a vote to suspend standing orders in the Parliament against Peter Dutton. One of your backbenchers said to another; “Supporting that man goes against what I want to do.” Does this not show that you don't have the unity in the Government, in the Party, you are seeking?
PRIME MINISTER: I think that’s nonsense. The Labor Party have been kicking up a lot of dust this week about votes and how it's all going to go. On each and every occasion, our team has stood fast in the Parliament. So what it has shown today, is frankly that Labor are just full of a lot of hot air. They trumped up a partisan-based committee report in the Senate, which I said this morning, if that same committee used its’ numbers to say the sun didn't come up this morning, well, that wouldn't make that true either.
The Parliament has dealt with this matter now and it continues to deal with the matter. I think it's time for the Labor Party to move on from their games and the Greens to move on from their games.
The Government is focused 100 per cent on the needs of the Australian people.
This week, a Royal Commission into the aged care sector.
This week, dealing very quickly with the issues of alarm that has been happening in our farming community, whether it's with strawberries or whether it's drought today, with the announcement we made about ensuring you can get the hay to the farmers.
Here today again, demonstrating that we are focused on the needs of Australian parents and students.
So that's what the Government's been doing this week. The Labor Party and the Greens and others have just been playing the usual Canberra games. When politicians play Canberra games and when others play Canberra games, you know what the Australian people do? They grab for the sound and they turn it down. They're turning it down on Labor. They’re turning it down on the Greens. They’re turning it up on our Government because our Government is focused on what they're interested in. Yes, Phil?
JOURNALIST: Mr Morrison, earlier this week you postponed or cancelled the COAG meeting with the states. There was also, before the leadership change also scheduled an Energy Ministers meeting this month, state and federal. Can you tell us what the status of that is?
PRIME MINISTER: I haven’t made any decisions in relation to that Energy Ministers meeting and the meetings between ministers have been progressing. In fact Dan was at one last Friday with Education Ministers and they are quickly moving to resolve the issues around how the state’s contribution to the funding arrangements in part we have been talking about today, are being resolved. It was a matter I was pursuing as a Treasurer. The Treasurers are also meeting next month and they'll finalise those issues. So those things have been well addressed, I understand.
You don't have to have meetings if you don't need to have meetings, that's my view. The Labor Party can have as many meetings as they like, they doesn't seem to be able to resolve anything when they in Government. They were great at having meetings. The only thing that happens as a result of not having that COAG meeting, is less Tim Tams will be consumed in Canberra that week. But when the Drought Summit is held, that’s when you’ll see some real work being done.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, just two, if I may, to be greedy? Just on the Budget and the education announcement, you said the figures would reconciled in MYEFO?
PRIME MINISTER: Yes.
JOURNALIST: Will the savings be offset in MYEFO? Second - if I may - the AMA President has written to you and the AMA is in the building today lobbying on asylum seekers. They’ve described the conditions on Nauru as a humanitarian emergency and they’ve asked for families to be removed and for a delegation of doctors to attend in order to assess the physical and mental wellbeing of people in offshore immigration detention. What's your response?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, firstly, the announcement we’ve made today and the funding implications of that, that will be reconciled in MYEFO. That's where that will be announced and MYEFO is in the middle of December. There's still a lot of work between now and then, particularly as you update the various elements of the Budget. That also includes the revenue estimates and as you must have seen from the most recent national accounts, we’ve seen a very improving performance when it comes to the corporate sector and we'll reconcile that along with these other measures by the time we get to MYEFO.
In relation to the other matter, we are getting family off Nauru. That's exactly what we're doing. That's why we have the arrangement with the United States and that's why we're pursuing that. We thank our partners in the United States for the way we’re able to progress with that. But I think you all know my views about this. I'm not going to put at risk any element of Australia's border protection policy because I know when you do that - which is what Labor did last time, thinking it would have no effect - 1,200 people died. So I'm not going to do that.
JOURNALIST: On the school funding, how close was the Turnbull Government to landing this deal and do you give Malcolm Turnbull credit?
PRIME MINISTER: Sure, I mentioned that in my opening in terms of the work that had already been done. This process had been going on for some time and both Malcolm and Birmo had both been involved with those discussions. We’ve picked up those discussions and brought them to a conclusion. But this is my point; our Government has resolved this, our Government was elected in September 2013 and our Government has been getting on with these jobs and our Government has delivered this outcome today. Brett?
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, in March Peter Dutton told the Parliament; "I don’t know these people," in relation to the au pair issue. The evidence presented to the Senate inquiry shows very clearly that he did. Your Minister misled the Parliament, didn't he?
PRIME MINISTER: No, I don’t accept that at all and neither does he and the Parliament doesn't take that view as well. Thanks very much, thank you.