Speeches
Motion - Clerk of the House of Representatives
1 August 2019
Prime Minister
Mr Morrison: (Cook—Prime Minister and Minister for the Public Service) (15:18): I move:
That this House place on record its appreciation of the long and meritorious service to the Parliament by the Clerk of the House, Mr David Elder, and extend to him and his wife and family every wish for a healthy and happy retirement.
The Clerk is a very humble man. He has been a gentle reminder to all of us who have had the good grace to serve in this parliament during his tenure, whether here or down the road—and there are many who have had that opportunity; hundreds of members, if not over a thousand, whom he's stewarded have come through this place—of the dignity and great honour it is to serve in this chamber. There are 151 members here, many of those for the first time, following the last election. All of us remember—I'm sure new members do, because it was only a few weeks ago for them, and I'm sure all of us do, whether it was 12 years ago, as it was for me, or much longer than that, as it was for the Leader of the Opposition, who was first elected back in 1996—the day when we first walked onto this carpet and how special a privilege it was for us.
We approach the parliament in the morning, and we look up at this atrium; you leave the chamber, you see the flag and you nod to the Speaker—a reminder of our country, our history and our responsibility to it. It's something that connects us all, despite our often very significant differences at a partisan or any other level. But we are united in this, and this House is united in showing its deep appreciation to the Clerk.
This place doesn't just rely on the beliefs, the courage, the passion and the integrity of all of those who come here and the enthusiasms of all of us who have been elected; it also relies on the dignity and institution of this House—the impartiality, the judgement and the enthusiasm of those who serve this parliament, whether as Clerk, attendants, Serjeant-at-Arms or others. Our Clerk—the 16th Clerk of the House of Representatives—has worked, as the Speaker has just reminded us, in this building and the one down the road for 38 years. I'm pleased you've only had nine prime ministers, not 10!
Mr Albanese: Don't speak too soon!
Mr Morrison: It's his last day, mate, so I can be confident of that!
But, in keeping with the tradition of all those years, he has not spoken a word in this parliament in one of these microphones. You won't find any word he's said in the Hansard, really, in terms of offering commentary on bills or anything of that nature. Though he has been among us, he has not joined us in those debates, muttering interjections or any of those things, but for 38 years he's let his actions speak for him in the dignified way that he's conducted himself—his judgement, his integrity, his demeanour. We have seen the true character of the Clerk through the very decent, honest man that he is. He reminds us that we are all—from the father of the House to the newest member—only temporary custodians of this institution which we inhabit for a time.
So, can I say more informally to you, David: thank you for your service to our country and to this parliament. You have served it with tender love and devotion, because that has been your passion and your service, and we thank you. We thank you for your dedication. We wish a very happy and long retirement to you, Louise and your family, who have earned, I have no doubt, this retirement with you that you can share with them. So, on behalf of the government, I want to extend our thanks and appreciation for everything you have done for us, for this parliament and for our democracy. May God bless you.
Motion - Cowra Breakout 75th Anniversary
1 August 2019
Prime Minister
Mr Morrison: (Cook—Prime Minister and Minister for the Public Service) (14:01): On indulgence, and at the strong suggestion of the Deputy Prime Minister, I move:
That this House record its remembrance of the 75th anniversary of the Cowra breakout and offer its thanks to those who gave their lives in service to Australia, remember the costs of war that are inflicted on all peoples and recognise the people of Cowra for their contribution to reconciliation and Australia's contemporary relationship with Japan, an ongoing relationship with Japan, a great friend.
Cowra is, in the words of a former Japanese ambassador to Australia, the spiritual home of Australia-Japan relations. The story of Cowra is the story of unimaginable consequences, militaristic ideology, the goodness of ordinary people and the willingness of two enemies to become the best of friends. During the Second World War, Cowra was the location of prisoner-of-war and internment camps that housed thousands of Japanese and Italian prisoners of war and Indonesian civilian internees.
The Cowra breakout of 5 August 1944 was neither expected nor, in its time, properly understood. By all accounts, the relations between captors and prisoners before the breakout were benign. Cowra was a world away from the war and its many fronts. The prisoners were not required to work. The camp met the requirements of the Geneva convention and it was regularly inspected by representatives of the International Red Cross. But, below the surface, there was a cauldron of angst and despair. Japanese prisoners felt deep shame about being in captivity. The words of their field service code were clear: do not in death leave to posterity a stain on your honour by having suffered in life the disgrace of being a prisoner.
At Cowra, in the words of the Red Cross delegate, the Japanese soldiers experienced moral isolation. To them, they had been disowned and discarded. They were dead to all but themselves. They lived in a deep and mistaken sense of shame. This adherence to a militaristic code of duty resulted in the men deciding to break out of Cowra and end their lives.
On 5 August 1944, at two in the morning, around 1,000 Japanese prisoners of war, armed with improvised weapons such as kitchen knives, baseball bats and pieces of wood, attempted to break out from the Cowra detention camp. They met brave resistance from Australian soldiers. Three Australian soldiers were killed that night: Private Benjamin Gower Hardy and Private Ralph Jones, who were posthumously awarded the George Cross, and Private Charles Henry Shepherd. Three more men were wounded. Another Australian serviceman, Lieutenant Harry Doncaster, was ambushed and killed during the recapture of the prisoners. During the breakout, 234 Japanese servicemen died—many at their own hand, some at the hands of their comrades, all in line with the perceived expectations placed upon them. A subsequent military court of inquiry found that conditions at the camp were in full accordance with the Geneva conventions and that the actions of the Australian garrison resisting attack averted an even greater loss of life.
It was after war's end that something deep, wonderful, and human started to occur at Cowra. In 1946 the men of the Cowra sub-branch of the RSL noticed that the graves of the Australian soldiers who were killed during the outbreak were unkempt and overgrown. The men started to tend them. Then it was noticed that the Japanese graves nearby were also untended, so their working bees were extended. In time they started to plant trees: gums, kurrajongs, wattles, pines and oleanders. Gardening became meditative and, through pulling up the weeds, mowing the lawns, carting water and planting trees, forgiveness was found. Peace and reconciliation were found.
In 1964 it became an official war cemetery. It's the only Japanese war cemetery outside of Japan anywhere in the world. Today the Australians and Japanese both lie in peace in Cowra soil. And that was just the start. A Japanese garden and cultural centre was built, student exchanges and cultural exchanges took place and, in time, the former prisoners would return as free men to Cowra and bring their families. They were welcomed in our country by Australians as friends. The Cowra peace bell is a tribute to their ongoing commitment to peace and the spirit of friendship, respect and reconciliation that now unites Australia and Japan.
Seventy-five years on we pause to reflect on the price of war and the courage of all those who accept the burden of service, we pause to honour the past and ensure it is never forgotten and we give thanks that, in the years after the brutality of war, Australia and Japan have forged a deep and enduring friendship. I can think of no better reflection of that than the honour I had to join Prime Minister Abe in Darwin as we remembered the bombing of Darwin—an act of silent grace by Prime Minister Abe that I've never seen before. On this anniversary we remember all who lost their lives, both Australian and Japanese, and commit ourselves to a world in which such conflicts are consigned to history and peace is our future.
Remarks, Bilateral Meeting with Prime Minister Marape
22 July 2019
Canberra, ACT
Prime Minister
PRIME MINISTER MORRISON: Prime Minister, first of all can I congratulate you on becoming Prime Minister of our great and true friend Papua New Guinea. We have no truer friend than Papua New Guinea, a very true relationship and one that has been forged and developed and maintained through the best of times and in the most difficult of times. It is a great pleasure for me to formally welcome you here to Australia as a guest of Government. This is an honour we bestow on our great friends and partners around the world, and I’m very pleased that my first opportunity to do that has been not only with yourself but also with Papua New Guinea as our true friend.
I look forward to our discussions today. There are many areas where we are working together. I want to particularly welcome all of the Ministerial team that you’ve brought together at a very high level. It is a very senior delegation and we greatly appreciate the respect that has been shown in bringing such a significant team of Ministers here. But not only Ministers of your own government, but the Governors who sit behind you today. It is wonderful to have the Governors here, some whom I’ve met before – I have met Charlie [Benjamin] before up in Manus before, many times – and it's great to have that partnership forging between the provinces of Papua New Guinea and the states of Australia. And I know that the Finance Minister and the other Western Australians around the table are very excited about the fact that you will be all going to Western Australia later this evening, which I think will be a very important visit between Papua New Guinea provinces and the state of Western Australia.
But our objectives are very clear, and that is to ensure that our relationship continues to grow and build, that we enjoy the shared prosperity of our region and we encourage each other for the benefit of our citizens to continue to prosper, and for the health and wellbeing of our citizens. And we continue to forge the close people-to-people relationships we have between Australia and Papua New Guinea. We have engaged – particularly over the last 12 months – in a real step-up in our relationship with all of the Pacific nations, and there is no larger, stronger and more significant Pacific nation, of course, than Papua New Guinea. When I was in Papua New Guinea for the hosting of APEC, that was a significant milestone for Papua New Guinea and I think the world got to see what Papua New Guinea is capable of. And under your Prime Ministership I have no doubt they will see more of that and today we will have the opportunity to talk about how we can partner in PNG’s further development and prosperity in the future.
So I welcome you all, and on behalf of my Ministers and the delegation who are here today, and look forward to discussions in taking our partnership to a whole new level. Prime Minister.
PRIME MINISTER MARAPE: Thank you Prime Minister Morrison. Myself and my delegation here are extremely pleased and honoured to be received by yourself. Not only here in the Parliament House and the Cabinet Room, but also yesterday. When we arrived I placed on the record our greatest appreciation. We felt warmly welcome in a very cold winter here in Canberra.
[Laughter]
And so I think your warmness as a person-to-person adequately compensated for the coldness we felt as we arrived in Canberra.
Look, as you said, we echo your words. In our own foreign relations, although we have a foreign policy that goes like this. And since 1975 our founding fathers of our nation entrenched our foreign policy that still stands up to this point in time. We are friends to all, enemies to none, but a greater friend we believe is a friend we are sitting opposite right now and we deliberately chose to make our first visit to Australia – in my instance as the eighth Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea – and my colleagues who share the table with me in Cabinet, we felt that it was strategic and in the interest of our country. We share common borders, common history, common heritages and going forward, whether we like it or not, we are stuck in this part of the planet forever. And so we felt that as part of our Government’s contact with other governments in the region, our first contact must be with the Australian Government to ensure that we consolidate what we have and we improve on areas we need to improve going forward so that into the future as you can see Prime Minister yourself and myself arrived in politics in 2007/08 or thereabouts. But politics is a revolving process and our time will be up down the line, and your and my time will be… the younger generations will lead us. I think that personal rapport and person-to-person, leader-to-leader, government-to-government and people-to-people must go beyond the institutions of government. And I think what has transpired last night and into today is very warm and fruitful. We have issues to discuss on the table, but look, our discussions here should hopefully set the pace for our Ministers-to-Ministers, officials-to-officials to discuss as we come later on in the year. And so I did propose inside that we make this sort of an annual meeting with the leaders of our two countries. That should set the pace with our Minister-to-Minister as they change and ensure that we are all on the same page going forward.
But you know, many issues in PNG will affect and influence your life and your government in Australia and many issues in Australia will affect and influence life and government back in PNG. So we are always in the face of each other forever, as we have been in the past. And it is very important this rapport is at some years now, and I just thought we would accept the invitation when you placed your call in to me when I was elected into office as Prime Minister and for us to make the first visit. And so we kept ourselves on the same page as we will into the future.
It would be remiss of me not to appreciate every help since 1975, and even before 1975, the Australian Government and the Australian people have always made to Papua New Guinea. And after this point in time you still remain our number one supporter, whether directly in our budget support or indirectly. You still remain our number one government supporter, but also I think PNG has been one of the, if not Australia’s best place of investment. As I speak today, I am reminded that over $17 or so billion worth of investments Australian businesses have in PNG and more than 5,000 Australian companies operate in and out of Port Moresby, in and out of PNG. So PNG continues to be a great port of call for business investment as well as in a casual, social context, an individual context over a long period of time.
So it is very important that at a leader-to-leader level we set the basics, especially when Australia hears our assembly of new leaders that has come on board in PNG. You might be thinking what has happened up there, so we just thought we’d come and put our face to the name and tell you how we’re still human beings and we still have the same rapport and views on Australia. But there is room for improvement and we can work on to improve so that our relationship gets stronger and deeper and more meaningful. And in our view we want to be economically resilient and independent. Many of you said my leaders are sitting with me and those leaders that we left behind, they have the view that we can’t be a dependent, we can’t be spoon-fed from our partners in the region, our partners beyond our borders.
We need to be economically solid and strong, and a stronger, solid PNG needs a stronger, solid Pacific and stronger, solid region. And of course, Australia is safe and secure and we have been many times. Whether the World War II experience, in the Manus experience, until today we have always had our fair share of intervention and help across the Torres Strait just to ensure our friends in Australia are given a good night rest from as many intrusions as possible into Australia. So we will this year and we will always be there forever. But I think at this point in time, we just thought we would come and put a face to a name, and show to you what we are all about and as we go into the future, we can tidy our relationship and work on a better platform going forward.
So Prime Minister, I would at every chance say we have many, many MOUs and undertakings that we have asked for. We are proposing that as we come to the Minister meeting, maybe we can condense everything into one platform and we have one understanding between Australia and PNG and we work out way through based on a single platform, a single agreement and a single understanding.
But thank you very much for receiving us. We felt very warm, despite the coolness outside.
[Laughter]
We felt warm at the heart.
[END]
Address, Daily Telegraph Bush Summit
18 July 2019
Dubbo, NSW
PRIME MINISTER: Thank you very much Ben and welcome to everybody here and thank you for your very kind welcome and introduction.
Can I particularly thank Aunty Margaret for her welcome to country here today, and the boys from Clontarf. In Mark Coultan and I you won't find two stronger supporters of the Clontarf Foundation all around the country, I know that is shared by the Parliament and I am sure Anthony would agree.
It is a magnificent organisation and we’re so proud to see you boys up here doing that today. Gerard and Ross would be proud of what you are doing back over there in the west.
Can I of course acknowledge my many colleagues here today. I don't think I'll call the roll but we're all here today together, whether it is state, federal and local, indeed, to focus on these very important issues.
But to the Opposition Leader, Anthony Albanese, who is here with us today, the Deputy Prime Minister who will be speaking as well, it is great to be here with Michael. Bridget McKenzie, our first ever female Minister for Agriculture in Australia, it’s great to have you here with us.
And Matt Canavan is here, he’s here from Queensland. I just wanted to be sure, Matt didn't come here today because he lost a bet over the Origin. That’s not true, I won't have it said. Matt is here as Minister of Resources and that is a critical part of regional and rural Australia and particularly here in NSW. Thank you Matt for making your way down today, I know you were an early sign up to the event.
And of course to be here with Mark Coulton, who is the local member. Once again, it’s great to be back here in Dubbo.
I also begin by acknowledging the elders of the Wiradjuri nation. I pay my respects to elders past, present and emerging, as we’ve seen here this morning with the Clontarf boys.
I also want to acknowledge any servicemen or women from the Australian Defence Force and any veterans here today and say simply: Thank you for your service.
I also want to thank the Daily Telegraph and Ben English in particular for bringing this Summit together.
Today is once again about bringing Australians together.
Now, it would be a great mistake I think for those of us who come from the relative economic shelter of the suburbs of Sydney or Melbourne or South East Queensland, to think that we are somehow immune from the challenges faced in rural and regional Australia. This is a dangerous and false sense of security that some may sometimes feel.
The fact that the Daily Telegraph, which is Sydney’s leading daily newspaper, is bringing this Summit together here in Dubbo, I think speaks volumes. It says that they understand that the future of regional and rural Australia is also about the future of all Australians, regardless of whether you read the Daily Telegraph or indeed here in Dubbo the Daily Liberal. What a great name for a publication.
[Laughter]
You should change the name Ben.
[Laughter]
I don't think Anthony would agree.
Australia’s economic and environmental future has always been and will always be dependent on the success of rural and regional Australia. That’s why we’re here.
Our Government’s plan for Australia’s future is based on and invested in this very important principle.
It’s good to be back in Dubbo. I was last here a few months ago with Michael and Bridget and David Littleproud and we went out to Kevin and Robyn West’s property in Eumengerie.
Whilst I was there, they kindly offered me the opportunity to shear a sheep.
Now, I’m not sure who was more concerned – me, my media team who were in a startled frenzy, or indeed the sheep. And we all had cause for concern.
And the journalists looking on I can assure you were certainly not on my side, they are always looking for a great pic Warren, or potentially a great cartoon, I have no doubt. And from that point of view, they weren’t on the sheep’s side. They could see an embarrassing picture coming.
The last time I had stood in a shearing shed, while shearing was on, was at my Uncle’s property at Greenwood, outside of Cloncurry in North Queensland. I had been there with my brother, we’d been sent up by our parents to experience life in the bush. And it was a life changing experience for me as a young fella.
Thankfully, as we roused about Uncle Bill’s shearing shed, I had observed very carefully the skills of the shearer on that day. And as I crouched aside that sheep in Eumengerie, it all came flooding back.
So it all went OK. Good news for me, good news for the sheep, who I am sure was very grateful for retaining a slightly thicker winter fleece over the winter period than she normally would have had.
The bush has a wonderful place in the soul of every Australian, whether we have a direct personal connection or not.
For many in our cities, just like Warren was mentioning, you only have to go back a few generations in your family history to find someone who picked up from the bush and moved to the city.
In my own family, it was my grandmother, who left behind multiple generations of Thorncrafts and Greenhalghs in Eugowra when they came to the city to marry my grandfather, Sandy.
Mardie, as we knew her, grew up in the depression in that farming community in NSW. She worked at the local store. Her sister, Neva worked for a local doctor.
She used to play piano for a local trio that used to tour the district around all the country dances, which were so important to keep the community together at that time. She told me that during the depression there was always people in the house. Theirs was one of those houses. Everyone was there around the piano, because Mardie played the piano, Doris was her name, and they would share a meal when they could. They shared what they had.
And for me as a young person listening to these stories of my grandmother, it was my first early lesson on the bonds that tie regional and rural communities together.
Now I have seen that, as I’m sure my colleagues have, time and time and time again in the generations since.
So while many urban Australians, and that’s what I am. I once famously said I don’t know one sheep’s end from another, but that was sorted out at Eumengerie.
It is important that we can make contact and keep between our cities and the bush and understand that our future is shared.
I want us to grow together, not apart as we go forward.
I want Australians in regional areas in particular to know that their efforts, their struggles and their values are respected by all Australians. Particularly as they face the challenges they do now.
More recently I have become very concerned about the disconnection between the city and the bush, and this is what has led Ben to bring us together today.
The recent spate of highly organised farm invasions is utterly disgraceful. As a Government, we are taking strong legislative action as promised.
Those laws have been introduced to criminalise these actions of these cowardly keyboard warriors inciting these crimes. That’ll happen next week. I want the Parliament to pass them within the next fortnight. These Australians should not have to worry about whether the Parliament is on their side. I don’t believe they will have that worry as we go through this.
But these extreme actions betray a much more concerning trend.
Last time I was here in Dubbo I referred to this research conducted by the Australian Council for Educational Research.
40 per cent of Grade 10 students in secondary schools in Australia believed farming damaged the environment. Now what is interesting is that figure for Grade 6 year olds was 17 per cent. That’s quite a shift in four years.
Any wonder that we’ve now got activists storming farms.
Meanwhile, 75 per cent of Grade 6 students believed cotton socks came from an animal and 45 per cent believed bananas, bread and cheese didn’t come from farming.
We have to bridge this divide and connect Australians once again with what’s happening in our rural and regional communities and ensure there is an appropriate balance in what our kids are being taught in our schools and in our communities.
Our farmers are Australia’s best environmentalists. They have to be. Their livelihood and those who depend on them in rural and regional towns around the country depend on them being the best environmentalists in the country. To think they are anything but that, and for our kids to be told that they are anything but that, just makes you shake your head.
And that’s why we have committed, and I did on that day when I was last here in Dubbo, $10 million to reconnect urban kids with our farms and rural and regional Australia, through a programme of supporting farm visits by students and to bring the ifarm initiative, which many of you would know about, into our urban schools so that kids can understand what happens on farms, how things grow, and how that changes and supports their livelihoods and their daily lives. And that programme, that money will begin to roll out next year in 2020.
These are practical things we can do to bring communities closer together between the bush and the city. But the here and now, as we have already talked about in rural Australia is very much about drought.
Unrelenting drought.
A drought measured in years, it’s taking its toll and wearing away even the strongest souls and strongest communities.
A drought that in just the past twelve months has seen farm GDP decline by almost seven per cent.
When I first became Prime Minister I went with Michael and we went up to western Queensland to Quilpie to see for myself what was happening on the ground.
That was followed up by the National Drought Summit last year, which was brought together and included particularly the work done by Major General Steven Day as our National Drought Coordinator.
At that National Drought Summit we brought together all States and Territories, producers, rural stakeholders, agricultural scientists, meteorologists, charitable organisations and many more to focus on a coordinated national drought action plan.
Now, that plan was not just about drought relief. Because rural and regional communities have told us so clearly that it had to be about longer term recovery and resilience to realise the opportunities ahead. Because in rural and regional Australia, you look into the future. Because your head is not down, it’s up. And it’s out. And we agree. And our view about regional and rural Australia is the same. It’s up and it’s out. It’s looking to the future.
Since then we have been implementing this plan and I particularly want to extend my public thanks to Major General Steven Day and his team for the work they did to bring this plan together and work with Government Ministers and Departments, communities and producers across the affected areas of the country. They covered a lot of territory. Major General Day has now finished that task, and it is now the task of the Drought Minister Littleproud who is running that programme directly.
Our national drought strategy and long-term plan continues to be based on the clear foundations and directions set out by Major General Day. That is drought is an enduring, regular feature of the Australian landscape and is likely to become more regular.
Drought preparations and planning must always continue, especially during times when there is no drought.
Building drought resilience requires comprehensive understanding and integrated management of our soil, vegetation and water resources.
Drought policies, programmes and preparation must be developed with industry, the ag industry and communities and informed by the best possible information.
That means ensuring that this information is collected, that it’s accurate, that it’s timely, that it’s collated, that it’s shared and it’s understood. We need to all be on the same page, with a common operating picture, which is what Major General Day worked to bring about at that Summit.
To make good decisions, to have more options, you’ve always got to have better information.
Our rural producers and communities need more and better information to help them to plan better and to make better calls about their own futures. Whether it is how they can diversify their income, and that will increasingly be a factor in rural and regional Australia, staying up to date with new farming practices or technology or simply being kept up to date with Government programmes and initiatives that are out there at all levels on Government.
That’s how you help people, I think, take charge and stay in charge of their futures. By giving them the tools and information to make their own decisions, not having state, federal and local governments tell people what they should be doing.
Our regulatory regimes and policy frameworks need to help, not stymie.
This means abolishing unnecessary and bureaucratic rules that get in the way or demoralise recovery and resilience efforts.
We must continue to support and bolster community leadership capabilities which have been outstanding throughout the drought to aid planning and to cope with future shocks and stresses.
Our drought response has not made it rain, of course it can’t. But our efforts, in addition to those provided by State Governments, and the Deputy Premier John Barilaro is here today here in NSW, have been practical and they have been substantial – with $7 billion at a Commonwealth level in measures for drought relief and recovery announced and being implanted to date.
This includes:
Over 7,000 farmers currently receiving the Farm Household Allowance - and almost 12,000 farmers over the life of the program - with over $114 million provided through that allowance and the supplement last financial year alone;
Concessional loans to support farmers and communities - doubling the total funding for low interest loans to $500 million a year - and doubling the limit available to farmers - up to $2 million;
Additional financial counselling support for farmers and small businesses. Those rural financial counsellors have been a Godsend in drought affected areas;
The Drought Communities Programme – getting money out into local communities, so that the pharmacy, milk bar, the hairdresser, the news agency is still there when the drought has passed. It’s already provided $84 million directly into local communities. Cheques cleared, funds transferred, money spent. For example, the Dubbo Regional Council used its funding for investing in Stuart Town Water Supply, the installation of shades for the Dubbo Livestock Markets, and an ambulant toilet facility here in the CBD. Practical projects that wouldn’t have happened otherwise.
As well, we are providing across Australia:
New investments in water infrastructure through the national water grid;
Over $25 million in new support for producers and graziers to help manage pests, animals and weeds;
Major investments in vital mental health services and support including $29.4 million in drought specific mental health support; and
Over $50 million to support major charities and not for profit organisations who are working on the ground to help affected communities, including the Salvation Army, St Vincent de Paul Society, Rotary Australia World Community Service and the Country Women’s Association.
Our approach has not been to set and forget. We continue to assess everything we are doing to ensure it hits the mark. In particular, I am referring to the Farm Household Allowance.
The Allowance provides our farming families with food on the table, fuel in the car and clothing. That is the responsibility of the Commonwealth under the arrangements we have with the states and territories in income support.
With drought continuing, we’re constantly reviewing the that support that we provide - including FHA.
The recent independent review of the Allowance found that the current arrangements need to be improved to better align with the reality that farming in Australia is very volatile.
It recommended that FHA be available to farming families for four years in every 10 and that’s coming before Government and their going to get a very good hearing on that.
Minister Littleproud is working with the industry on the long-term drought strategy and we’ll have more to say on that in the coming months.
We know our climate is changing, and we know that drought has always been part of the Australian landscape.
We know this drought won’t be the last. That’s why we are seeking to establish a Future Drought Fund – with an initial investment of $3.9 billion rising to $5 billion.
The Future Drought Fund, which will draw down over $100 million next year, will provide a sustainable source of funding for drought resilience works, preparedness and recovery.
Now this is the only partisan note I’m going to make today, and I’m sure Albo will make one, perhaps. Just one - or maybe a few more here and there.
But this is not something we agree on. The legislation will be in the Parliament next week. I’m releasing the draft of that legislation today. It hasn’t changed, it’s what we put before the Parliament last time. But it wasn’t passed.
We’re investing our money in infrastructure, $100 billion as Michael will refer to, and that Drought Fund needs to pass the Parliament. If Labor doesn’t support it then we will work with the crossbench, which we did on income tax cuts, where they were opposed leading up to that vote and we ensured that they passed.
We must be careful though, having spoken about drought - and I thank you for indulging me for your time today, I’ll get that in - that the drought doesn’t mask the many achievements that are occurring in agriculture.
Our farmers are amongst the best in the world, if not the best
75 per cent of what our farmers produce is exported. Our farmers feed more than 40 million people at least, and they’ll feed more.
According to ABARE the value of farm production is about $60 billion. That’s up by a half in a decade where we have been six years, seven years in drought.
I know we can do better, and you know we can too.
The National Farmers’ Federation also believes we can do better. We can hit $100 billion by 2030. And I am determined to ensure that we do.
That’s why today I’m announcing that Agriculture Minister Bridget McKenzie will draw together a national plan to enable Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry to become a $100 billion industry by 2030.
And that all means one thing - more jobs.
Despite the drought being in the first five years of this Government, employment grew by over 200,000 in areas outside our capital cities.
And here in NSW - and credit to the NSW Government - we have seen 30 per cent of all jobs growth occur in regional areas. This is a testimony to the power of economic diversification and income diversification in these sectors.
Our ‘100:30’ plan will come together in the months ahead, working with the primary producing sector, drawing on earlier work that is being done, building on our achievements to date and will be reflected in the announcements we make between now next year’s Budget.
We are going to invest in policies designed to achieve this goal. More and bigger markets, removing non-tariff trade barriers, new investments in Research and Development, adoption of new digital farming technologies, assisting with intergenerational land transfers, ensuring our water policy hits the mark, access to finance, enhancing soil health, and new efforts tackling pests and weeds and managing native vegetation.
Our investment will in turn give greater confidence to all those who are investing or planning to invest in the future of our primary producing sectors. We’re backing them in which will give them confidence to that they can back them in also.
Since 2013 on trade deals, just to give you an idea of what we’re already achieving, we have secured duty-free or preferential access to 1.7 billion additional customers.
Regional communities, along with our cities, are already benefiting from agreements with China, Japan, South Korea, Peru, Indonesia, Hong Kong, our Pacific Island nation states, the EU and the UK are next cabs off the rank.
We’re working on the RCEP deal throughout ASEAN and southeast Asia and I will be in Vietnam very, very shortly.
Our goal is to expand our export markets and lift the share of our two way trade covered by these agreements to more than 90 per cent by 2022. Now we can hit that, because when we came to office it was 26 per cent and it is now more than 70 per cent. We’re going to 90 per cent by 2022.
Our $100 billion goal is achievable. Just like our goal to create 1.25 million jobs and 250,000 new small and family businesses over the next five years.
I want this goal to focus our policy development and delivery efforts. Australians should expect their Government to tell them what their policies are designed to achieve, and that’s what this is designed to achieve.
Now I want to talk a bit about our environmental landscape before I close. And in particular the management of our water, soils and land.
In each of these spheres we must make generational leaps.
At the National Drought Summit I convened last year, there was one voice I must say that stood out above all the others and it stuck in my head. It was the voice of the former National Soils advocate and former Governor General Major General Michael Jeffery.
He articulated a soldier’s common sense to these diabolical problems.
He argues that one gram of carbon in the soil can carry eight times its weight in water. An eight to one ratio. And as he notes, it works in reverse also, not in a good way. Scientists will argue the numbers but the point is what’s important.
Healthy soils with a higher carbon component, protecting our soils, remediating our soils, is essential for any serious water resource management policy. This is especially true in Australia where, due to the increasing marginality of the lands we farm, we must do more with less.
That’s the reality, that’s the business risk of running a business in the agricultural sector.
Australian soils are under strain.
They’ve been working overtime, producing food for a growing population and to meet international demand for our high-quality produce.
They’ve been eroded by wind.
They’ve been baked by drought.
They’ve been impacted by, on occasion, not the best practices.
While we have areas of highly fertile soil, overall our soil is often poorly structured and affected by salinity and other issues.
Australia isn’t unique in facing these sorts of challenges.
Around the world we’re seeing arable land being lost, and soil carbon levels at very low levels.
Our farmers are the stewards of this precious resource. With around 60 percent of Australia being used for agricultural production, farmers are at the forefront of managing this vital asset on behalf of 25 million largely urban Australian, including on the coast.
I agree with Major General Michael Jeffery that we can step-up when it comes to soil management.
As he set out in his final advice to Government in 2017 in his now retired role of National Soils Advocate,
“Australian farmers can improve their profitability and the resilience of their farming systems, even in the face of more frequent and extreme droughts, and climate change, if they are supported in nurturing their soils … Excellent soil management increases water storage, builds carbon, slows rates of soil acidification and minimises soil lost through win and soil erosion.”
So today, I am recalling Major General Jeffery to service as our National Soils Advocate once again. We will also be making this role a permanent office, beyond Michael’s role, properly supported by Government, particularly through my own Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet.
The role will advise across portfolios including education, training, overseas development assistance, science and technology, the digital economy, agriculture, water policy, and regional development on our national soil strategies and initiatives.
It will take on a broader global advocacy role on soils as part of my Government’s broader global environmental agenda, which will address issues such as oceans anand coasts and waste management, especially within the Indo-Pacific and as part of the Pacific Step-Up, working with our Pacific Island nation family, with whom Major General Jeffery is very familiar and highly respected.
But for Major General Jeffery to do his work, knowing him pretty well he always wants a very clear statement of mission, a context with which to work.
That is why our Government will support his recommendation to adopt as a national objective to ‘restore and maintain the health of the Australian agricultural landscape to guarantee a food secure nation and sustainable farming communities.’
We will also support Major General Jeffery’s work by providing $2 million over 4 years for the invaluable work of Soils for Life. This is an Australian non-profit organisation dedicated to encouraging the adoption of regenerative landscape management.
The good news is that there is a lot to work with in this area, there is a lot being done.
Our $40 million investment in the Cooperative Research Centre for High Performance Soils is going very well.
The CRC involves a whole lot of scientists from a range of areas including social science, economics, biology, chemistry, agronomy and soil science.
It joins them up with farmers so they can put their minds together to work out how to increase soil performance in the short and long term by educating them in soil knowledge and increasing their technical capacity to more effectively extend cutting edge soil science into the broader farming community.
It is already working in partnership on research projects with Charles Sturt University, the University of Tasmania, the University of Newcastle and the NSW Department of Primary Industries.
Alongside the Government investment in the CRC, there’s also more than $120 million in additional contributions from 39 participants.
It’s the largest collaborative soil research effort in Australia’s history, and its work is essential to the health of the bush.
The head of the Soil CRC, Michael Crawford, has painted a picture of what soil management practices and tools Australian farmers might be using in the year 2030, based on potential outcomes from the research they’re doing.
For example, measuring soil characteristics would be revolutionised – so you’d no longer have to take bulk soil core samples, send them off to a lab and wait four weeks for a result.
Instead, farmers could access real-time measurements of a wide range of soil metrics using hand-held, machine-mounted or in situ sensors that provide cheap, accurate and timely information.
The research is looking at how farmers can be supported to be much more targeted and precise in their ability to manage soil.
These projects are everything from mining nutrients from waste streams to use in fertilisers, to further development of carbon sequestration.
The challenge of soil management is an area where you will see more announcements ahead.
It is also clear to me and my colleagues that Australia has underinvested in water infrastructure.
We want to deliver the water infrastructure projects that will drive growth, create jobs and support local communities.
This is why we are establishing the National Water Grid.
The Grid will develop a pipeline of projects - that is, build dams - and bring together the world’s best scientists to better understand and build our plan for water allocation, capture and storage.
The Grid will build on the Government’s $1.3 billion investment to fast-track water infrastructure through the National Water Infrastructure Development Fund, and the $2 billion National Water Infrastructure Loan Facility.
We will have to more to say on this project, and much of that will be said by the Deputy Prime Minister who is leading this project.
Let me say a few words about the Murray Darling Basin Plan.
The Basin isn’t just the source of precious water. It’s our food bowl. Almost half our irrigated agricultural production comes from the Basin.
It’s home to more than 2 million people and supports tens of thousands of businesses.
I know this is a difficult area - plagued by more than a century of overlapping and often ill-considered state deals, squabbling over a national water resource with very little vision to the long term.
So long as States cling to these legacy deals, we will be locked out of a further step change in how we manage this precious resource and build on the Murray Darling Basin Plan.
The Basin Plan works within these imposed constraints.
Now I know there are plenty of people prepared to criticise the Basin Plan.
And the truth is, change is always going to mean difficult choices in this area – and more so when compounded by the effects of the drought.
But the fact is, this plan is the best chance we have to get the balance right, keep the river alive and ensure our regional communities stay resilient.
Others might say it’s the worst plan, except for all the other alternatives.
Either way, it’s the plan we’ve got.
The plan has bipartisan support, which makes it workable.
The potential to unpick the plan is both limited in scope and carries with it the risk of only making the plan worse, not better.
Six years in, we have recovered around 2,100 gigalitres of water to keep the rivers healthy.
And we are making sure we use water efficiently by building more than $3 billion of water infrastructure projects throughout the Basin to better manage water resources, and improve the water infrastructure that supports farms and regional communities.
It remains a work in progress. For the Government it’s about making it work and doing what’s achievable.
Turning back to land, we’ve now entered Phase 2 of the National Landcare Program.
We’ve got $1.1 billion going into Landcare - including funding to support smart farming and sustainable agricultural projects.
These projects prevent soil degradation and help agricultural communities build resilience against drought and a changing climate.
One such project is in Yeoval, about 60kms from here for the Little River landcare group to host a number of Masterclasses for local farmers, including a recent soil masterclass about making soils more profitable and sustainable over time.
As well, our $134 million Smart Farms small grants are about helping farmers, fishers, foresters and regional communities adopt best practice land management.
Our $450 million Regional Land Partnerships are about helping develop, trial and implement innovative technologies and practices that protect natural resources and support sustainable production across primary industries.
These programs have been particularly beneficial during the on-going drought. Because the reality is that drought conditions are unlikely to ease in the short term.
The success of our regional economies are obviously linked to the performance of our primary producers. That is why I have chosen today to focus the majority of my remarks on our primary producing and agricultural landscape.
But this summit is more than about drought and agriculture.
That is why it is worth mentioning our $100 billion pipeline of infrastructure investment, that includes major road and rail upgrades to better connect regional communities.
Our $9.3 billion commitment to inland rail is about changing the way freight moves along the eastern seaboard – between Melbourne and Brisbane.
We are also making major investments in regional rail in Victoria and Queensland – backed in with our ongoing program of works for the Bruce Highway and the Pacific Highway.
Our $4.5 billion investment in Roads of Strategic Importance will upgrade freight routes and help agriculture and mining exporters.
Locally, in Central and Western NSW, we’ve invested in the Newell highway (more than $760 million), including $100 million for the Parkes bypass.
As well, we are investing heavily in regional communications with:
Our black spots program delivering over 1,000 new mobile phone towers;
$420 million for schools in regional areas;
New regional study hubs and improved access to Youth Allowance for regional students; and
A regional health strategy set to deliver 3,000 additional doctors and 3,000 additional nurses and health professionals in rural general practice over the next decade, as well as important telehealth services funded through Medicare.
One key aspect of economic resilience in regional areas is the presence of a diversified economy.
That means the encouragement and support of industries such as higher education, mining and tourism. Industries that will even out the cyclical aspects of agriculture.
And I will never allow those in our cities to tell those in our regions and in rural areas what industries they can work in, how they should live or how they should seek to protect their way of life into the future.
What is in the interests of rural and regional Australians is in the national interest.
This will bring together the stories and experiences of how regional economies are diversifying, how regional industries are finding their way, how regional communities are boosting their resilience and working together to secure their future.
So, in closing let me thank the Daily Telegraph again for inviting me to be here today and everybody who is here today, everybody who has come to make a contribution.
Thank you also, Ben, for inviting me to be here today for the participation I have been able to have.
Let me celebrate once again that so many of our regions are succeeding despite the challenges. This gives me great confidence about the future.
That’s why we will be establishing a House Select Committee that looks at the future of rural and regional Australia which Tony Pasin, the Member for Barker, will Chair. That will work right across to make sure we are looking at those great stories and what is happening in a positive way in rural and regional Australia.
That’s an important next step for us leading up to the regional statement that Michael will make as Minister for Regional Development.
And let me assure you that our job, as your Government, is to back you in.
That we do what we promised to do at the recent election - and that is to give a go to regional Australians because they are having a go.
Thank you very much.
[Applause]
Remarks, USS Ronald Reagan
12 July 2019
Pacific Ocean
Prime Minister
PRIME MINISTER: What an honour it is to be here on the deck of the USS Ronald Reagan – this extraordinary symbol not only of American power, but of the United States’ commitment to the many nations of this region and their security.
It’s not something we can ever take for granted.
77 years ago the mighty US Navy carriers Lexington and Yorktown and their crews were not too far from here, in the Pacific defending Australia during the Battle of the Coral Sea.
Pushing back, alongside our own Defence Force, against militarism and expansionism.
That naval battle is also known as the Battle for Australia — and our nation remains grateful to the men who gave their lives to this ocean.
They helped secure the freedom we enjoy today.
Their sacrifice, to appropriate the words of Thomas Jefferson, tended the tree of liberty here in the Pacific.
They are part of the soul of our enduring Alliance.
More than a great power, the United States is an old and dear friend and a great force for good throughout the world.
It was something I reflected on when I joined other leaders in Portsmouth last month to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the D-Day landings.
As I sat beside Chancellor Merkel, I was reminded how much our world has changed for the better.
I felt the same way when Prime Minister Abe joined me in Darwin to commemorate the bombing of that city by the Japanese.
The post-war world order has achieved something truly extraordinary and the United States deserves great credit for that.
In 1981, the great President for whom this ship is named posed a question to the graduating class of the University of Notre Dame.
He asked, “I wonder if anybody ever thought what the situation for the comparatively small nations of the world would be if there were not in existence the United States — if there were not this giant country prepared to make so many sacrifices”.
It’s a powerful question.
And President Reagan was quoting another man.
He was quoting Australia’s 19th Prime Minister, John Gorton — himself a World War Two veteran — who served in the Pacific – and who half a century ago spoke about the value of American leadership to free peoples everywhere.
Our two countries have always understood each other and stood by each other.
Australia believes in what Ronald Reagan called the “truths and traditions” that define the United States.
We stand together in these self-evident truths.
We stand together for personal liberty and freedom.
For democracy and the ballot box.
For the rule of law, and freedom of association.
For free economies and free peoples.
Yes, we are in awe of the strength and power of the United States which this ship so ably represents, but at the heart of our friendship are the values and beliefs that knit our two countries together.
Ships will come, ships will go, politicians will come and go, but our values will endure. They always do.
Australia and the United States see the world through the same eyes.
Or, as President Reagan put it, “We both recognise the responsibility of freedom and are prepared to shoulder it squarely.”
That’s what all of you do every day — the men and women of the United States Armed Forces and the men and women of the Australian Defence Force.
You shoulder the responsibility for all of our safety.
You uphold the finest ideals of our nations.
And you answer the greatest of callings — to serve your country selflessly.
Over the next few weeks, alongside our friends from New Zealand, the UK, Canada and Japan, 25,000 men and women will participate in gruelling field training exercises.
You will put yourselves to the test and ensure that ours is a seamless partnership — one that works on the seas, on the ground and in the air. And that the great mateship that underpins the Australian military ethos extends to our US mates.
On behalf of the Australian Government and the Australian people I thank all of you for your service and wish you all the very best for a successful Talisman Sabre 2019.
Remarks, NDIS Roundtable - Launceston
8 July 2019
Launceston, Tasmania
PRIME MINISTER: Thank you all so much for coming and everyone who has joined us today. It’s great to be here with Bridget and Gavin, obviously the local members here in Northern Tassie. It’s great to back in Northern Tasmania once again - I’m making quite a habit of it. But it’s a good habit, and a habit I intend to keep. Of course, we have Stuart Robert who is the Minister for the NDIS here today, as well as the Acting CEO of the NDIS.
The purpose of today, and I started these consultations soon after the election. We had our first one out in Penrith in Western Sydney. There is a formal process that the NDIS is going through to ensure that we’re doing the job better, and Stuart is leading that as the Minister. And so this is in place with all of those other formal processes that we have and we are engaging with the NDIS organisation, the NDIA and others.
What this is simply about is, particularly for me as the Prime Minister together with my local members, is having the opportunity for a pretty candid discussion about how things are going. The positives, things we need to work more on, and that provides a bit of a backstop, if you like. So when the briefs and submissions and formal processes come up to Cabinet that I have the benefit of having had direct conversations with people who are directly involved in the scheme. Whether directly as clients or parents or families, and we’ve brought together our youngest clients right through. And so it is a good opportunity for me to get a first-hand hearing of how things are progressing.
So I want to thank you all very much for coming along. I want to thank Bridget and Gavin for their massive interest in what we are doing here. The NDIS is the biggest social institutional reform that this country has undergone for a very, very long time. It’s a huge project, it’s our target to have more than half a million Australians on this scheme in the next five years. But not just on the scheme, but on a scheme that is working for them, on a scheme that is meeting those needs. We’re very conscious of the needs. The challenge in this area is that everybody is different and everybody has a very specific set of needs and we need to build a very large program that gets that and that can deliver on that. And that’s not easy.
So we acknowledge that there is still a lot more work to be done but we have made considerable progress in starting this off. It was started by the previous government, we made sure it is fully funded, the systems are coming together, but we know we’ve still got a long way to go. So that’s why we’re here today. We also know that at a macro level there is a lot of support for the NDIS. At a micro level, there are frustrations, and that’s what we’ve got to get on top of. So we want to continue to leverage what is I think a broad-based, wonderful community support for the NDIS, and learn from the good stories as well as the stories that say we can do better. So with that, I want to thank you all very much for coming and coming with a view to sharing your experiences. The cameras won’t be there for that, but the notes that will be taken today are very much for my benefit, they’re not going into other processes or anything like that. They’re just going to be for me and my office to ensure that I am better informed of what we are doing as are Bridget and Gavin. But Bridget, Gavin, did you want to speak?
BRIDGET ARCHER MP, MEMBER FOR BASS: Yes, I would like to welcome you back to Launceston Prime Minister, and Minister Robert. We have seen you a few times this year and very pleased to see you again. As you have said, the NDIS is very important work, and I am so glad that we have got this opportunity today to bring some of those participants and their families together to hear directly from you about the issues that are important to you, what is working and what is not working. So I am very much looking forward to hearing from you here today.
GAVIN PEARCE MP, MEMBER FOR BRADDON: I echo the welcome as well, it is certainly a great thing that a Prime Minister and a Minister can take the time out of their day and come down to regional Tasmania to see what is really going on. When it comes to regional Tasmania I think we have got our own hurdles, our own obstacles in that regionality. People in my electorate of the north west of Braddon, you know we have got people down in Queenstown, King Island, Circular Head, they don’t necessarily have access to specialists. So that’s another hurdle and another aspect of the system that we need to explore today. So welcome Prime Minister, welcome Minister, and we hope that this will be worthwhile, talking to Scotty, Carolina and Zoe. How are you?
PRIME MINISTER: The wonderful thing about the NDIS is it is not a welfare program, it’s a [inaudible], it’s a program that simply wants to ensure that every Australian, regardless of life circumstances, has the same opportunity to fulfil everything they hope to achieve in life. That’s what it is in a nutshell and that’s what we want it to achieve. So we’re going to do a lot of listening today and going to take a lot away from today. Stuart, was there anything you wanted to mention?
THE HON. STUART ROBERT MP, MINISTER FOR THE NATIONAL DISABILITY INSURANCE SCHEME: Happy to be here with the CEO Vicki, happy to serve PM.
Remarks, Psychology CAFFE
8 July 2019
Latrobe, Tasmania
PRIME MINISTER: It’s good to be here in Latrobe today and it’s particularly good to be joined by Christine Morgan. Christine Morgan is taking on the job of our National Mental Health Adviser, which is going to be a key role which will help the Government implement our plan to make a big change when it comes to improving the mental health of all Australians. And in the most extreme of cases, ensure we’re moving towards zero when it comes to suicide. It’s not just for young people but for people of all ages.
One in five Australians struggle with mental illness or mental anxiety each year, and so it’s a very common thing and we need to make this conversation as normal as anything else. In the same way when we have physical illnesses we need to engage with the issues of our mental health and wellbeing in exactly the same way. You know, I go swimming pretty much every day. I do that for two reasons. One, to stay physically healthy and the other one is to stay mentally healthy. And we all have our own regimes and our own ways of looking after our wellbeing, and this is going to be a very important focus of the Government over the next three years and this is what. And this is what Christine has joined with us, she comes with a great background and experience with dealing with eating disorders and the way it has not only robbed young Australians of their futures in the most extreme of circumstances, but robbed them also of their quality of life over so many years. And this is all about improving the quality of life of all Australians, and whatever conditions they find that they’re confronting, wherever they happen to live. If it’s here in Latrobe, so they can get access to the wonderful service which I had heard about here from Greg Hunt who said that this place is fantastic, you’ve got to go and check it out. It is really changing things here in Tasmania, so we were very keen to come and see it here.
We’re looking for the best practice all around the country, and Christine will be working with agencies right across the government to make sure we’re all working together. Whether it is how we support our veterans, how we’re dealing with these challenges in remote and regional parts of the country, particularly amongst Indigenous Australians, how we’re supporting young people through the headspace initiative and the significant investments we made there. In the last Budget over $730 million being invested in improving the mental health and wellbeing of Australians.
So it’s a huge job, we’re all very committed to it and I believe there is going to be very strong support right across the country for this. Everyone understands it. We don’t often talk about it as much as we should, but I think there’s been a lot of great heroes who have spoken up. I remember, Christine, Jana Pittman and what she has done in that space when it comes to eating disorders right across the board. So we encourage family to talk about it. This is a place that provides a real safe haven for families to deal with these issues and so I want to commend you guys for the wonderful work you’re doing here. And the fact that it’s happening here in Tassie, Jono, I think that’s pretty good too. It’s great to be back here in Tassie and Christine, thank you for taking on the job.
CHRISTINE MORGAN, CEO NATIONAL MENTAL HEALTH COMMISSION: Thank you.
PRIME MINISTER: We’re looking forward to helping millions of Australians.
CHRISTINE MORGAN, CEO NATIONAL MENTAL HEALTH COMMISSION: Absolutely.
PRIME MINISTER: Thanks very much.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, how will your Government make sure that Tasmanians living in regional areas aren’t marginalised by the NDIS when this isn’t a state or federal responsibility?
PRIME MINISTER: Well that’s exactly the job the Minister is engaged in. One of the reasons we came down here today was to listen to the clients and families and those who are relying on the NDIS. And the good news was everybody understands its importance but at the same time, there is a long way to go. This is a very big project and we’re making really good progress.
JOURNALIST: But people you spoke to today were saying transport as being a key thing, saying they like NDIS but they can’t actually access some of these great services because of the lack of transport. So what’s your advice to them, are they just meant to be waiting it out?
PRIME MINISTER: No, that’s why we came down here to listen to what the problem was and get about fixing it.
JOURNALIST: Will you wipe Tasmania’s housing debt?
PRIME MINISTER: Those issues we’re still working on with the Tasmanian state government as well as with Senator Lambie.
JOURNALIST: What assurances were given to Lambie?
PRIME MINISTER: We already covered those off over the back end of last week.
Condolence - Bob Hawke
3 July 2019
Mr Morrison: (Cook—Prime Minister and Minister for the Public Service) (09:31): I move:
That the House record its deep regret at the death, on 16 May 2019, of the Honourable Robert James Lee (Bob) Hawke AC, a Member of this House for the Division of Wills from 1980 to 1992 and Prime Minister from 1983 to 1991, place on record its appreciation of his long and meritorious public service, and tender its profound sympathy to his family in their bereavement.
The first Prime Minister to speak at this dispatch box in this chamber in this magnificent parliament building was Robert James Lee Hawke. But that meant he was also the last Prime Minister to do so at the despatch box in the House of Representatives chamber in the old Parliament House down the hill. In so many ways, not just in that physical way, he took our country from the old to the new. He was personal enough that every Australian felt connected to him, regardless of their politics, and big enough that we actually entitled an era after him—the Hawke era.
As I said at his memorial, which I was very grateful to the Hawke family and to Blanche for being invited to participate in, Australians loved him just as he loved them. There was a great romance that played itself out in every part of this land with Bob Hawke. They knew each other, he and the Australian people. They forgave each other. They understood each other's virtues and they identified with each other's weaknesses. In Bob Hawke's own words, it was a 'love affair'—and, indeed, it was.
In 1983, Bob Hawke campaigned on the slogan 'Bringing Australia Together', and so he did. From 1983 to 1991, Bob Hawke led a government that redefined our nation for a modern age—floating the dollar, regulating the financial system, admitting foreign banks, dismantling tariffs and starting the privatisation of government owned businesses, microeconomic reform in partnership with the states and territories and retirement incomes for all workers. With sights firmly fixed on the long term with his team, Bob Hawke opened up the Australian economy to the world, increasing competition and laying the foundation for a quarter of a century and more of economic growth that continues to this day.
Now, of course it might not have seemed that way during the dislocation of the 1980s and the recession of the early 1990s, but our country had certainly, at that point, turned outward under his leadership. And I also wish to acknowledge that this work was done in a partnership, most significantly with his Treasurer Paul Keating. But it was also a work that was largely, almost completely, supported by those who sat in opposition. Now this was achieved by Bob Hawke's leadership, and that's what I acknowledge; his leadership to embrace common sense, common good, economic reforms, to make Australia stronger and to bring Australians together for that purpose. He had many fights whether in this place, within his own ranks of his own party, or outside this place, but such was his passion, such was his commitment, such was his determination to see the future of Australia going down a common path that it will be forever to his credit and we will be forever in his debt. And as a result of his vision and commitment, the tempo and direction of this economic reform agenda that indeed started under the Hawke government has continued long after that, to this day under my government and beyond.
The achievements of government under Bob Hawke were not just economic, they were social as well. After all, economies are meant to serve people. He understood that. They make those great social reforms possible. They were landmark social reforms made possible by that economic success, social reforms that became embedded in our national life, and now, in so many cases, enjoy bipartisan support that was not present when they were initiated. The Medicare card we all carry in our pockets is a reminder of his great contribution, and its promise of universal access is an achievement that has stood, and will always stand, the test of time, as does the outlawing of gender discrimination in the workplace. There was the listing of the Central Eastern Rainforest Reserves—what we know as the Gondwana Rainforests—the Wet Tropics of Queensland and the Uluru national park on the World Heritage List, and the handback of Uluru to the traditional owners, the Pitjantjatjara people. His work, along with health minister Neal Blewett, ensured Australia's response to the AIDS epidemic was the best in the world. Tens of thousands of people are alive today because of those efforts. And abroad he stood against apartheid, committed Australian forces to the liberation of Kuwait and was pivotal to the establishment of APEC, which endures to this day.
Bob Hawke was the most electorally successful federal Labor leader in our history, the winner of four successive elections, and is our third-longest-serving Prime Minister. But like John Howard, I agree that he was Labor's greatest Prime Minister. Now Bob Hawke would never accept that. He would say that that honour belongs to his hero, and the hero of so many in this place, John Curtin. And there is no doubt that war takes a great toll on prime ministers—and with that sacrifice with John Curtin there will always be great, great honour—but what Bob Hawke did with peace and in peacetime I think was the greatest tribute you could pay to those who fought for it, including John Curtin.
Some say that the path of Bob Hawke was a destiny prewritten. That was certainly what his mother believed, and his father too. When pregnant with Bob, his mother repeatedly found herself drawn to the words of Isaiah:
For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given, and the government will be upon His shoulders.
It was a legend he felt entirely comfortable with. But destiny was not an easy partner for Bob Hawke. We know that through the well-told story of his life.
Of course, Bob Hawke always revelled in his belief about the purpose of his life. It's a good thing. When he was asked to conduct Handel's 'Messiah' for his 80th birthday, which those of us who were there were able to relive, Bob felt he had to remind people that the music was actually not about him—not terribly convincing, though! When we look at the extraordinary events of 3 February 1983, one might just have to wonder. A day like none other in Australian politics in many respects: a Prime Minister seeks an early election, a Governor-General makes him wait and wait, and a Leader of the Opposition resigns. He was Leader of the Opposition for just 36 days—no doubt a great mercy! In a coincidence, the current Leader of the Opposition equals that record tomorrow.
It was to our country's fortune that Bob Hawke seemed to have more than his share of luck. When he took office, the drought broke and, of course, Australia emerged from recession—welcome developments. We only pray that that will happen now in terms of the drought. On 26 September 1983, little more than six months into the Hawke government, the nation was galvanised by an unlikely triumph in sport that we all remember. I was a young teenager at the time and I can still remember that morning. It seems like yesterday. In my mind's eye, I can still see him at the Royal Perth Yacht Club—the joy, the exhilaration, the chaos—a reformed teetotaller drenched in champagne. That gaudy red, white and blue jacket emblazoned with the word 'Australia'—how good was that! Sadly, they don't make prime ministerial jackets like that anymore. We can hear his laughter, see the way his body wrenched around, and hear a bold declaration that reminded us that this Prime Minister was very much one of all of us. Whoever we were, whatever background we had, wherever we sat within the great spectrum of Australia, he was always one of us. He was pitch perfect for the times, fearless, brash and Australian. As Australia beat the world, he was so comfortable about who we were—signature notes for the advancing tide of 1980s optimism.
If destiny was Bob Hawke's friend, he understood, as I said, it was not a passive relationship. The call to do great deeds is itself a burden, a silent contract involving an obligatory call to discipline, sacrifice and restraint, which he exercised. Bob Hawke, for all of his powers of reasoning, could also be pretty acutely visceral. A few journalists understood that from time to time, as I'm sure people on both sides of this chamber did. He had a capacity to feel, to not disguise or hide his emotions. He shed tears at times. He rose to anger. He expressed joy. He was emphatic as well, but maybe that's because he had his own share of pain. As a boy, he watched his only brother die of meningitis. As a young father, he carried an infant son, his namesake, to his grave—a pain so dreadful he could not visit his own son's grave for almost 20 years. Of course, he was fiery too. There were tears he shed over his daughter's struggle with substance abuse and the tears he shed for the victims of Tiananmen Square as well.
Through it all, we saw the totality of the man, his authenticity and imperfection. He never hid it. I'm told of a story—it may be apocryphal; I'm not sure, but I'm pretty convinced it's true—that on one occasion at Kirribilli House the AFP officer on duty on the day, who was tasked to bring forward the papers and put them in the vestibule at the entry to Kirribilli House, one morning got to see all of Bob Hawke as he opened the door in all his glory. The AFP adopted a different protocol for launching the submission of those documents each morning with greater care so as not to be exposed to the full glory of the great Robert James Lee Hawke. He did never hide himself, physically or otherwise, and Australians loved him for it.
In honour of the life and service of Bob Hawke I am pleased to announce today that the government will provide $5 million to the existing endowment fund of the General Sir John Monash Foundation to create an annual scholarship known as the Bob Hawke John Monash Scholar. The scholars chosen by the foundation will study in any field deemed in the interest of the nation. The aim will be to support, for up to three years, talented young Australians with ability and leadership potential to develop their skills at leading overseas universities. We believe that this is an appropriate way to recognise the memory of such a great Australian—to see it lived in the lives of many great Australians who will follow in his footsteps in this regard in the future.
On behalf of the government and indeed this parliament and the nation I sincerely want to extend to Mr Hawke's widow, Blanche, and to his family the deepest sympathies of our country. We share and thank you for caring for Bob through the long sunset of his life.
Again today, as I did on the day that he passed, Jenny and I particularly want to acknowledge the support and contribution of the late and wonderful Hazel Hawke, who was a tremendous support and inspiration to Bob and his family, and who is also deeply and sorely missed by a nation who loved her. Australia is grateful for the leadership and service of Robert James Lee Hawke. Australians can all rejoice for his life. Having served his country tirelessly, diligently, selflessly and passionately, may he now rest in peace.
Election of the Speaker
2 July 2019
Mr Morrison: (Cook—Prime Minister and Minister for the Public Service) (11:25): Thank you, Mr Speaker, and can I be the first to congratulate you on your election, again, as Speaker. In doing so, I'm sure you would agree to pass on my congratulations to all members of this House, particularly those first elected to this chamber, which is a great privilege and an enormous responsibility. I know for all of you, all of your family and friends and those who have supported you this is a very special moment. And for those who have been given the great honour and opportunity to be re-elected to this place as members of this great House, I equally congratulate you and your family and friends and others who have gathered here today to share this very important day with you.
But to you, Mr Speaker: you have many great loves and passions in this life, none greater than Pam and the boys, who I know once again will be deeply proud of their dad today. You have great passions, as we've heard, for the Carlton Football Club, your Holden panel van and many other things which we have discussed on so many occasions as great friends. But one of your great passions is this House—this chamber—and the role that it plays in our great country. You bring a real honour to this institution.
This is the second time that you have been elected unchallenged to this position following an election. I think that says much about the respect with which you are held by all members of this House. You understand its responsibility, you understand that we all come here, particularly on a day like today, expressing great hopes and noble intentions, but these are things that you have always lived—as a man, as a member of your community, in your family, as a friend and as a member of this House—and that is what best commends you to this role, more than any of each of us here.
You have a wise and calming presence in this place. The normal passions and the heat of the debate that occurs in this place you accept and you celebrate, but at the same time you temper us in those times when, of course, there is overreach.
In this role, Mr Speaker, you also do something which I think is truly great, and that is you honour and work so well with those who serve us in this chamber, and you lead them incredibly well. In congratulating you again on your elevation to Speaker today, I think you'd join me in also thanking all those who serve us in this House: the Serjeant-at-Arms, the clerks—and you'll forgive me by paying a particular thank you to the Clerk, David Elder, given what the Speaker advised us before the election; he wouldn't want us to indulge that moment too much, I know, but he enjoys the deep respect and gratitude of this House for his service—the attendants, the librarians, the cleaners, the drivers and all the support staff that make up the team that serve us here in this place. You lead that team, Mr Speaker, in your own inimitable way. Those who work for the parliament watch over this institution. They don't just serve us, the members, but more importantly they serve the Australian people. As we come together here for this first time in this place, we all know that our focus should be not on the people who are inside this building but, indeed, to serve those who are outside this building who will always remain our focus.
We thank you again, in advance, for your work in shepherding this 46th Parliament as its Speaker. Mr Speaker, I look forward, and the government looks forward, to working with you as we have always done in the past. God bless, and I wish you all the best in your endeavours and responsibilities.
Address, Welcome to Country Ceremony
2 July 2019
PRIME MINISTER: Our Parliament meets on Ngunnawal land.
Here, 65,000 thousand years of Aboriginal culture meets mere centuries of Westminster tradition, which the Leader of the Opposition and I represent, being here together and I acknowledge Anthony as I do all of my Parliamentary colleagues, the Deputy Prime Minister who joins us here today.
We gather in respect – acknowledging the Ngunnawal elders, the ancient ceremony of fire and smoke that will commence shortly has become part of the tradition of this building, and thankfully so.
It was just over a decade ago that the first ever smoking ceremony accompanied the opening of Parliament, and I thank the Speaker and the President of the Senate for their continuing support of this as it shall always be in this place.
We couldn’t imagine this day without this ceremony. And nor should we.
It is appropriate that at the entrance of our parliament, just beyond the Great Verandah is the beautiful mosaic on the forecourt.
Michael Nelson Jagamara’s Possum and Wallaby Dreaming.
Brush tail possums.
Red kangaroos.
Rock Wallabies and more – Jagamara's Dreaming ancestors all gathering for an important ceremony.
Stirring in its subtlety.
As the artist said himself, the 90,000 hand-guillotined granite pieces present, and represent a place ‘where all people come and meet together, just like we do in our ceremonies to discuss and work things out together’.
And that captures the work, the job of this place: to ‘work things out together’.
In my maiden speech to Parliament, I said that ‘a strong country is at peace with its past’. This is a work in progress.
Being at peace with our past, being at one with our past.
While we reflect on how far we have to go, consider though how far we’ve come.
This year, my Government appointed Ken Wyatt as the first ever Aboriginal person to hold the position of Minister for Indigenous Australians - and as a member of Cabinet and I welcome him here this morning.
And I’m pleased, as I know the Leader of the Opposition is, that he is joined in the Parliament by the Member for Barton, Linda Burney, and Senators Patrick Dodson; Malarndirri McCarthy and Jacqui Lambie. But together, between Linda and Ken, I think Anthony and I are both very optimistic about the partnership that can be forged.
Indigenous important voices that I’m confident will be joined by many, many more in the years to come.
It was a different story at the official opening of what we now call the Old Parliament House back in 1927.
Not a single First Australian was invited to celebrate.
However that didn’t stop two men.
Jimmy Clements – better known as King Billy – and John Noble.
They left their home at Brungle Mission near Gundagai and began a long walk to Canberra.
They trudged over the mountains.
Until they arrived in the nation’s capital.
The 80 year old King Billy stood firm in front of the new Parliament and protested ‘his sovereign rights to the Federal Territory’.
The police ordered him to move on – fearing his shabby clothes and the dogs at his bare feet would offend the sensibilities of the Duke and Duchess of York who were in attendance.
An incredible thing happened.
The crowd, Australians, took King Billy’s side.
They called on him to stand his ground. He did.
A clergyman declared that he ‘had a better right than any man present’ to be there, and that was true.
King Billy won that fight.
And the next day, he was among those citizens officially presented to the Duke and Duchess.
His long walk to Canberra paid off.
Almost eight decades later, footballing great Michael Long would also begin a long walk to Canberra – and would famously meet with the then Prime Minister John Howard to discuss issues facing Indigenous communities.
As Michael’s wife Leslie put it so well ‘when one person starts walking, someone will walk next to them…and they’ll say ‘I believe in that too - I’ll walk with you.’
So here we are. Walking together.
All Australians, Indigenous or not, walking together side by side.
Towards reconciliation.
Towards equal opportunities.
Towards Closing the Gap once and for all.
Walking in the same way a determined, steely eyed, 80 year old Wiradjuri man walked to Canberra almost a century ago.
We have a long way to go. We know. But we will walk that journey together.
Address, Last Post Ceremony
1 July 2019
PRIME MINISTER: I extend a warm welcome to everyone who has joined us here this evening. In particular, can I acknowledge the traditional owners, the Ngunnawal people, their elders past, present and emerging.
Can I also acknowledge any servicemen and women who are here with us today, indeed any veterans, and simply say on behalf of a grateful nation - thank you for your service.
In this place, our national War Memorial, the 102,000 men and women who have given their lives in the service of our country, call us to live and believe in the future of our nation.
Our inheritance is the result of their sacrifice, and our freedom is the result of their selflessness.
At this Last Post today, Members and Senators from the new Parliament, together with the public, gather to remember.
In this hallowed place there is no Liberal, National, Labor, Green or party affiliation.
The only word that matters is one that unites us all: Australian.
The only cause that we share today is Australia.
We gather and we draw strength from the men and women whose names adorn the cloisters above.
We are a country of memory, and it is right that every day this memorial reminds us of the stories of those who have gone before us.
Today we’ll hear the story of Private Lloyd Sylvester Sibraa of the 1st Independent Company.
One of over a thousand Australians that would perish aboard the Japanese prison ship Montevideo Maru.
Today marks 77 years to the day since this worst maritime loss in our nation’s history.
A thousand Australians lost, among the 40,000 who would give their lives during the Second World War.
Thousands of Australian prisoners of war were held on ships like the Montevideo Maru.
The ‘hell-ships’ as they were known.
Sickness and disease aboard these vessels were rife.
People locked in holds with little food, water or sanitation.
A thousand prisoners could be crammed into spaces meant for mere hundreds.
All the while at constant risk of being attacked by submarines – for these vessels looked no different than any other Japanese commercial vessel.
Eighteen hundred Australians would perish aboard these ‘hell-ships’.
Yet these names fell out of memory.
The Montevideo Maru.
The Harugiku Maru.
The Rakuyo Maru.
And the Tamahoko Maru. A ‘hell-ship’ that was sunk and whose survivors were transported to Nagasaki.
Last week marked 75 years since the Tamohoko Maru was sunk – with 190 Australian Prisoners of War lost.
None of those Australians lost on the hell-ships had burial places – and so this Memorial is where they will be forever remembered.
This is where families have honoured the memory of their own: touching the wall, kissing it, or leaving a poppy.
And we remember those who remained and who were forever changed.
Behind every name that surrounds us is a family, an Australian family, proud of their loved one’s service, but never quite the same.
There were mothers like Mary Keid.
When collectors came to the door and ask for donations to help build a local war memorial, she replied ‘Sorry, not me. I already gave four sons’.
She would raise her grandson Les.
Les died aboard Montevideo Maru.
And widows like Katherine Russell. Her seven sons signed up in the Second World War.
Two of them, Andrew and Charles, were on the Tamahoko Maru.
Charles drowned when it sunk.
Andrew was rescued after 11 hours in the water and delivered to a PoW camp in Nagasaki, where he died from its cruelties months later.
Their younger sister Dorothy would keep their photos by her bedside till the end of her days.
We also remember Mark and Jesse Turner who lost three sons Sid, Dudley and Daryl on the Montevideo Maru.
Sid and Dudley Turner were especially protective of their younger brother Daryl.
He was just 17.
They enlisted together and they were all selected for the 1st Independent Company.
They kept their promise, to stay together and watch over young Daryl.
Until they all perished together.
Their father Mark Turner withdrew from society.
And their mother Jesse would wear her government-issued silver badge with three stars – one for every son killed – until the day she passed away.
These are the casualties of war we don’t see.
These stories are not just relics of the past.
They live with us, as they should, today.
As long as there is Australia – and that will be forever – our people will never forget the sacrifice of those who served in our name to establish it.
And as long as we are a free nation, the men and women of our Parliament will come here to draw strength, as we do this evening, from those who served.
Lest we forget.
Remarks, Governor-General Reception
1 July 2019
PRIME MINISTER: Can I start by thanking you, Tina, for your very warm welcome to country. Can I acknowledge also the Ngunnawal people, elders past, present, and those who are emerging.
Can I also acknowledge any servicemen and women who are here with us today and any veterans who are also here with us today and simply say to you, “Thank you for your service.”
To the members of the Diplomatic Corps who join us, your Excellencies, Parliamentary colleagues, and particularly His Excellency David Hurley and Mrs Hurley.
When Sir Paul Hasluck became Governor-General fifty years ago, he noticed that the school children who came to visit Government House and wrote him letters asked him a very consistent question, and they would say, “What does the Governor-General do?”
It's something that we know as Parliamentarians that school children ask similar questions when we meet them here in the building.
And it's an important question. There's an important answer.
Because the answer is central to the stability of our system of democratic government. The Office of Governor-General has provided the stability in spite of politics for more than a century.
But the role goes beyond constitutional, as His Excellency indicated today in his own remarks.
Years later, Sir Zelman Cowen answered that question when he said. “The Governor-General interprets the nation to itself.”
And His Excellency I think has started in such excellent fashion today in putting that very much at the forefront of his term.
The Governor-General finds the good in this country and shines a light on it.
In a global age of fragmentation and tribalism, we have in our system a constitutional office beyond politics that enables us all to come together.
The joy of this role is who you meet every single day.
Farmers getting on with their lives, providing for their families and their communities despite crippling drought.
Veterans recovering from their wounds that are seen and unseen.
Teachers who work back late to give kids the best possible start in life.
Those who care for our local environment and their communities, planting trees, picking up rubbish, keeping faith with our stewardship of the land.
Researchers making the breakthroughs that not only we need as Australians, but the world needs.
Brave heroes who will tell you they are not heroes.
Selfless community workers who can't see their selflessness.
And to all those people enduring the moments and tragedy and triumph, they embody all of us.
Our Governor-General - not just on tarmacs, or daises such as this, or platforms, but in classrooms, hospital wards and on drought-stricken farms.
More than any role in public life, the job of Governor-General is to bring Australians together, to remind us all of our social fabric, to uplift the discouraged and to give hope.
To do that, you need to be a person of extraordinary character and in our retiring Governor-General and Lady Cosgrove, we had two such people. And with His Excellency today and also with Mrs Hurley, we have been able to find two such people.
Real character that can only be found from a lifetime of service.
In this Governor-General, we have such a person. A Distinguished Cross holder. Your Excellency, you have served, so like so many.
You led with distinction as an officer in the Australian Army, especially in Somalia, where your command of a battalion group in a foreign conflict was a first for the army since Vietnam.
All up, more than four decades of such service, culminating in your appointment as Chief of the Defence Force.
Later, as Governor of New South Wales, and I'm particularly pleased that we're joined today by the Premier of New South Wales, Gladys Berejiklian, and also the Premier of South Australia, Steven Marshall is also here, and I acknowledge you also Steven.
In that role you were determined to get out of the city and meet people in small towns and regions right across the state.
Long after your duty was done, you stayed, you listened, you broke bread, and you connected with people - and Mrs Hurley, usually for much longer after that.
Because real connection with people matter to you, because people matter to you both.
You regularly jumped in the boxing ring with young Indigenous people in Redfern.
And at first they simply knew you as Dave. After your cover was blown, you were bestowed with a slightly more formal title - Gov.
You have shown yourself to be generous, approachable, humble, humane, and as someone who looks people straight in the eye, not up and down.
All of those qualities, together with Mrs Hurley, you bring together to this role.
In Mrs Hurley, we have an unstoppable dynamo in whose presence even the most reserved of guests will find themselves - and I'm sure my Cabinet colleagues will know this joy soon - taking part in ‘You Are My Sunshine.’
She's a lady of genuine compassion. The last time you lived in this city, Mrs Hurley volunteered at the Canberra Hospice.
I know Mrs Hurley will take that, her Christian kindness and compassion, around Australia over the next five years, as will His Excellency.
General Hurley, you are our nation's 27th Governor-General because you have lived out your old motto from the First Battalion Royal Australian Regiment - ‘Duty First’.
Members and Senators will return here tomorrow to commence our formal Parliamentary duties for this term, and for many it will be the first time that they will have walked into that Chamber in that new role and I welcome them particularly also here today.
We look forward to you opening the 46th Parliament during your first full day on the job, and I thank you again on behalf of Jenny and I for accepting that invitation that was extended to you, and I know I'll be able to continually say, "Thank you for your service."
Joint Remarks with the Prime Minister of Japan
27 June 2019
Osaka, Japan
PRIME MINISTER ABE: Welcome to ScoMo on your first visit to Japan as Prime Minister. I'd like to offer my congratulations on your historic victory in the general election.
I'm looking forward to working with you, hand in hand with ScoMo. I strongly empathise with the speech on diplomacy that you delivered yesterday. We have a special strategic partnership with Australia. We must promote that forcefully so that we can cooperate for the realisation of a free and open Indo-Pacific.
Once again, I'd like to welcome the visit of Prime Minister Morrison to Japan.
PRIME MINISTER: [Inaudible] …relations as well. It’s a great thrill and pleasure to be here with you again, and on this occasion my first visit to Japan as Prime Minister, but not my first visit to Japan.
I want to thank you again for when you visited Australia and we were able to meet, and particularly to meet in Darwin. It was a very important opportunity for us all to reflect, and I can tell you that visit along with your wife, Mrs Abe, this had a profound impact on Australians and we remember it extremely fondly. Now, at the beginning of the Reiwa Era, with such significant events occurring, not just the G20 here today and over the next few days, but also with the Rugby World Cup upon Japan soon, as well as the Olympics next year, this will be a very exciting period of time in Japan.
Of course, as we move towards the end of this year and your own term as Prime Minister - reaching the longest ever for any Japanese Prime Minister - is a real testament to your both endurance and leadership and what you’ve been able to achieve in leading Japan, but not just Japan. I meant what I said in Sydney yesterday - your statesmanship in the region holds you in very high regard, well beyond the office. And I wish you well for the next few days and we're here to thank you for the support you gave in Australia some years ago at the G20 in Brisbane and we're here to return that support and assist in any way we can. And I particularly want to thank you Prime Minister for your support in relation to the combating terrorism on the internet. That initiative, and your support in allowing that agenda to come through into the meeting, and we look forward to what we might be able to achieve in that area, as well of course with the Osaka Track on the digital agenda.
Joint Remarks with the President of the United States of America
27 June 2019
Osaka, Japan
PRESIDENT TRUMP: Hello everybody. I hope you all had a nice flight - those that came with me.
[Laughter]
It’s very nice to have dinner. And, really, I want to congratulate the Prime Minister on a tremendous victory. He had a fantastic victory, as you know. He didn’t surprise me, but he surprised a lot of other people. See, I knew him, so I said, “He’s going to do very well.” And he did. He did. They called it an upset, but I don’t call it an upset. You probably didn’t. Your wife didn’t call it an upset.
[Laughter]
But I want to congratulate you very much. It’s a fantastic thing you did.
PRIME MINISTER: Well, thank you, Mr. President, and thanks for hosting us here tonight. It’s going to be an important few days. But there’s no better or stronger or deeper relationship than the United States and Australia. As you said, we’ve been together for a very long time - 100 years - as our ambassadors have been involved in that program in the United States of fighting together but working together. And the achievements speak for themselves.
PRESIDENT TRUMP: That’s exactly right.
JOURNALIST: Mr. President, are you coming to Melbourne for the President’s Cup Golf?
PRESIDENT TRUMP: I’ll tell you what - I’d like to.
[Laughter]
PRIME MINISTER: There’s a warm invitation. It’s standing.
PRESIDENT TRUMP: It might not be easy, but I’d like to. That’s a big deal. That’s going to be great. That’s going to be great.
JOURNALIST: Mr. President, you talk about ‘America first’ a lot. Do you recognise that, for many of your allies, sometimes it’s seen as ‘America alone’ because it has adverse impacts on countries like Japan and Australia - like on trade, for example?
PRESIDENT TRUMP: Yeah, well, I think I can say very easily that we’ve been very good to our allies. We work with our allies. We take care of our allies. Generally speaking, I’ve inherited massive trade deficits with our allies. And we even help our allies militarily. So we do look at ourselves, and we look at ourselves, I think, more positively than ever before. But we also look at our allies. And I think Australia is a good example. We’ve worked together very closely - just recently, on a big trade situation. We had a little bit of a trade deal going, and it worked out very well for both of us. And I think especially when it comes to those great allies, and Australia would be right there. We’re very proud of it. It’s one of our oldest and one of our best. We were just talking about the battles that we fought together. These are big-name battles, and they were tough battles, and we won every one of them.
So, it’s great to be with you.
PRIME MINISTER: Thank you very much.
Asialink Bloomberg Address
”Where we live”
26 June 2019
Sydney, NSW
PRIME MINISTER: Thank you to Asialink and Bloomberg for the opportunity to address you here today prior to my attending the G20 Leaders’ Summit in Osaka this weekend.
Today I want to talk about our plan to foster an open, inclusive and prosperous Indo-Pacific, consistent with our national interests.
I would like to set out the principles, consistent with our national values, that will guide my Government’s engagement with the Indo-Pacific region.
The Indo-Pacific is where we live.
It is where we have our greatest influence and can make the most meaningful impact and contribution.
It is the region that will continue to shape our prosperity, security and destiny.
It is the region where, together with our allies, and especially the United States, our people made great sacrifices when our peace was threatened.
It is the region that has accounted for two-thirds of global growth over the last decade.
It is home to more than half the world’s population.
It is the destination for more than three-quarters of our two-way trade.
It embraces our Pacific family with whom we have special relationships and duties, our close neighbours, our major trading partners, our alliance partners and the world’s fastest growing economies.
Where else would Australia want to be?
During the early years of European settlement, our geography seemed a burden. Today, I think we now appreciate that it has proved to be a great blessing.
While comfortably understated in our approach, we do not underestimate our influence, especially if we choose to focus and target our contributions where we can have the greatest impact.
Our economy has grown faster than any other advanced economy over the last 28 years.
Australia is alone among advanced economies in enjoying uninterrupted growth over this period.
We are one of only ten countries globally with a AAA credit rating from all key agencies.
We host 10,000 foreign-owned businesses, and $3.7 trillion in foreign investment.
We rank third as a destination for foreign students, and seventh as a tourist destination.
We play a critical role in underpinning the resource, energy and food security of East Asia.
We are the fourth largest pension market. Our funds management sector is the sixth largest in the world.
We are a standard bearer for democracy and the rule of law.
We are a staunch and active ally of the United States, deepening our security cooperation to help secure our region.
Our post war trading relationship with Japan, marked by our Commerce agreement secured in 1957, saw Japan become our largest trading partner until just under over a decade ago. The relationship is now broader and deeper than ever before, This weekend Prime Minister Abe will preside over the G20 as a great friend of Australia and one of the region’s most highly respected statesmen.
We share a comprehensive strategic partnership and free trade agreement with the People’s Republic of China, with a broad and deep relationship underpinned by people-to-people ties; evidenced by the fact we are home to 1.2 million ethnic Chinese and are host to 1.4 million Chinese visitors and 205,000 Chinese students each year.
The growth in India’s economic and strategic heft is increasingly felt beyond the Indian Ocean, creating new opportunities for Australia based on our shared values and outlook. India is also now the single largest source of permanent migrants to Australia.
Our special relationship with ASEAN since its inception has plugged us into a critical network of independent and dynamic developing economies working together to create their own norms and rules for intra-regional growth, critical to the interests of all Indo-Pacific members.
And we are the single largest development partner with the island nations of the Pacific.
So together in our region we share a future. We have much to contribute and much to gain.
The Indo-Pacific is a region which has undergone and is undergoing profound change. We have helped shape that change.
Post war social development and economic prosperity led initially by Japan.
Global engagement with the People’s Republic of China and the resultant economic miracle of China’s economic advancement.
The emergence of ASEAN, which has supported the regional stability that allowed its members to prosper.
The burgeoning of intra-regional trade. The build-up of regional security capabilities, with inevitable tensions in some areas.
The economic liberation that has flowed from free trade, new technologies and innovation.
New environmental pressures and threats to our climate, oceans, species and forests that don’t recognise national boundaries.
The confluence, agglomeration and dynamism of these forces now shaping our region has brought us to a new threshold.
Undoubtedly, the most significant change in most recent times has been the shift in the relationship between the United States and China, who exert the greatest influence on our region.
The world’s most important bilateral relationship – the US-China relationship - is strained.
Trade tensions have escalated.
The collateral damage is spreading.
The global trading system is under real pressure.
Global growth projections are being wound back.
The impact of any further deterioration of the relationship will not be limited to these two major powers.
The balance between strategic engagement and strategic competition in the US-China relationship has shifted.
This was inevitable.
China’s conscious decision to pursue prosperity as a strategy for national unity and stability launched one of the world’s greatest economic miracles.
Now China is a significant power, with vast military, global interests and the biggest economy in the world in terms of purchasing power parity.
It is important to acknowledge that this success was made possible by the active and strategic engagement of the United States and the wider global community.
Firstly, through enthusiastic bilateral exchange and then by supporting access to the global rules-based trading system through China’s accession to the WTO in 2001, gave it much better access to the markets of 154 member economies.
This also required reforms from China that supported its rapid economic expansion.
China is now the major trading partner of more than 50 countries.
In 1980, China’s trade with the outside world amounted to less than $40 billion. By 2015, it had increased one hundredfold, to $4 trillion
China is the largest holder of foreign US currency reserves.
China’s economic rise has not been a zero sum game. This has been especially true in Australia’s case, but also for the United States.
This is why Australia has always, and will continue to, welcome China’s economic growth.
However, the ground has now shifted. It is now evident that the US believes that the rule-based trading system - in its current form - is not capable of dealing with China’s economic structure and policy practices.
Many of these concerns are legitimate.
Forced technology transfer is unfair.
Intellectual property theft cannot be justified.
Industrial subsidies are promoting over-production.
China’s rise has now reached a threshold level of economic maturity.
While we acknowledge that large parts of China are still to realise the prosperity of its major economic centres, it is also true that its most economically successful provinces, some of which are larger than many developed nations, including Australia, has reached and sometimes exceeds the economic sophistication of its global competitors. Yet, at the same time, these economies get to compete with concessions, whether they be on trade, environmental obligations or other terms, not available to other developed economies.
Our current trading system seems incapable of acknowledging, let alone resolving, these issues.
The rules-based system is in need of urgent repair if it is to adequately respond to these new challenges, including the rise of large emerging economies, changing patterns of trade and new technologies.
Our prosperity, and that of our Indo-Pacific partners, depends strongly on the maintenance of an open global economy and a rules-based trading system.
It will also depend on a positive, productive and cooperative bilateral relationship between China and the US.
This will require the exercise of special responsibilities by these “Great Powers” to resist a narrow view of their interests.
But this won’t be the first time such leadership has been required or demonstrated.
In 1951 George Kennan wrote, in American Diplomacy:
“If our purposes and undertakings here at home are decent ones, unsullied by arrogance or hostility towards other people or delusions of superiority, then the pursuit of our national interest can never fail to be conducive to a better world.”
The statement was made at a time when the United States was in the process of building a new world order, with institutions and common rules unashamedly seeking to secure prosperity as a bulwark against the madness that saw 60 million people killed and slaughtered, including 45 million civilians, during the Second World War.
According to some, estimates this included up to 20 million Chinese as well as 419,000 Americans and almost 40,000 Australians.
This new world order was the dividend of the peace bravely won, none more so than by the United States, who understood that with its great power came great responsibility.
The principles of this new order reflected the values and aspirations of its architects.
It was also informed by the failures of pre-war institutions and mindsets that saw emerging and recovering economies become frustrated, giving rise to the most evil of nationalist ideologies to take hold.
As I joined other leaders in Portsmouth recently to commemorate D-Day, I was somewhat overwhelmed by the history of the moment.
Sitting beside Chancellor Merkel, I was inspired by just how far we had come. No different to when I joined Prime Minister Abe in Darwin to commemorate the bombing of our northern capital. The post-war world order has achieved something truly extraordinary. The United States deserves great credit for this achievement.
Central to these institutions has been a respect for the individual sovereign state, no matter how large or small, and the ambition that each may be able to engage and participate with the security afforded by a common set of rules that means they can get a fair go, free of coercion.
Like any nation the US is not perfect, but it has form in being able to look beyond its own horizon to see a bigger picture.
The United States has demonstrated an understanding that the responsibilities of great power are exercised in their restraint, freely subjecting itself to higher order rules, their accommodation of other interests and their benevolence.
Such power supports the independence and sovereignty of other nation states and affords protection beyond its own interests, in the knowledge that this is necessary to maintain the peace and stability that ultimately underpins their own prosperity.
The level of global interconnectedness means this has never been more true than today.
As a rising global power, China also now has additional responsibilities.
It is therefore important that US-China trade tensions are resolved in the broader context of their special power responsibilities, in a way that is WTO-consistent and does not undermine the interests of other parties, including Australia.
The accumulation of issues that have led to these tensions must be acknowledged, addressed and resolved at the negotiating table in a way that reinforces our open and inclusive global trading system.
Like all of us, China and the US have a strong interest, and a special responsibility, to modernise and support the system that has delivered unprecedented growth in national wealth and living standards over the last two decades.
We can support these efforts and outcomes by rejecting the fatalism of increased polarisation and resisting the analysis that only sees these issues through a binary prism.
It is in no-one’s interest in the Indo-Pacific to see an inevitably more competitive US-China relationship become adversarial in character.
All nations in our region, not just Australia, are having to adjust to this period of great power competition.
Japan, India, New Zealand, Vietnam, Singapore, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea. All of us are similarly seeking to balance our interests, our history, our geography, our alliances, our partnerships and aspirations in the context of this new dynamic.
Like others who live here, Australia simply seeks the freedom to be ourselves, peacefully pursue our national interests, consistent with our values, appreciating our history and being transparent and honest about our aspirations for the future.
These shared challenges create important common ground, which is where I see Australia continuing to play an important role.
So we won’t be fazed, intimidated or fatalistic.
Of course the international environment is difficult.
Of course there are risks of further deterioration in key relationships and consequent collateral impacts on the global economy and regional stability.
There are also pressures to decouple the Chinese and American economic systems, whether this be in technology, payments systems, financial services or other areas.
But these are not insurmountable obstacles. To think they are not does not amount to some modern form of appeasement. This is a straw man argument.
And what’s the alternative?
These risks not only can but must be mitigated, and this comes more possible when we work together.
We should not just sit back and passively await our fate in the wake of a major power contest.
This underestimates and gives up on the power of human, state and multilateral agency.
There are practical steps that we can pursue.
So we will play our part. We will not be passive bystanders.
Our approach will be based on key principles.
A commitment to open markets with trade relationships based on rules, not coercion.
An approach which builds resilience and sovereignty.
Respect for international law and the resolution of disputes peacefully, without the threat or use of coercive power.
And a commitment to cooperation and burden-sharing within strong and resilient regional architecture.
None of those principles is inconsistent with the natural instinct of sovereign nations to compete.
And It is not inevitable that competition leads to conflict.
We have already demonstrated that like-minded nations can take measures to help shape their own destiny.
We will continue to lead by example, developing our close web of relationships across and within the Indo-Pacific.
In recent years, we have been investing heavily in our major bilateral relationships, to advance our security and prosperity and build regional influence; encouraging regional economic integration and cooperation; and promoting rules and norms to guide peaceful cooperation.
We are stepping up our economic engagement.
Our defence cooperation is stronger than it has ever been.
We are leading collaboration on issues at the frontier of a changing world, like e-commerce, cyber security, infrastructure development, innovation and technology and maritime security.
We are working more closely than ever before with close partners like Japan, India, Indonesia and Vietnam.
Our special, strategic relationship with Japan is based on deep shared values, interests and beliefs. Prime Minister Abe has a vision to strengthen the international order as his leadership of the G20 this week, at the dawn of a new Reiwa era, will demonstrate.
My Government is enhancing our partnership with India, one underpinned by shared values, a plan to bring our economic relationship to a new level, and a common strategic outlook.
We are committed to being a leading security, economic and development partner for Southeast Asia.
Our vision of the Indo-Pacific has ASEAN at its core.
We have continued to push ahead with an ambitious trade agenda that has rallied the region and sustained momentum for trade liberalisation.
Under Tony Abbott’s Prime Ministership we concluded major trade deals with China, Japan and South Korea.
When the United States walked away from the Trans Pacific Partnership, we rightly pressed ahead to success under Malcolm Turnbull’s Prime Ministership. It was the biggest trade deal since the birth of the WTO and a positive affirmation of middle power diplomacy.
There is now strong interest in TPP-11 from nations both inside and outside the Asia Pacific.
This year we hope to conclude the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, an agreement that includes 16 economies and accounts for about one-third of global GDP.
It would be the first regional free trade agreement to include India and has the 10 nations of ASEAN at its core.
RCEP’s membership includes 10 out of Australia’s top 15 trading partners, account for over 60 per cent of Australia’s two-way trade, and over 70 per cent of Australia’s goods and services exports.
To conclude the agreement when leaders meet in Bangkok in November this year, I would urge leaders to send their Trade Ministers to the meeting next month in Beijing with a clear mandate to deal.
There are other priority initiatives that will add ballast to regional relationships.
Australia strongly supports Indonesian President Widodo’s vision and leadership in developing ASEAN’s ‘Outlook on the Indo-Pacific’.
Our recently-concluded Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement with Indonesia is another major step to secure Australia’s economic future and to strengthen out critical relationship with our largest neighbour.
While continuing to work with other partners in the region we will also deal directly with our great and powerful friends.
Our relationship with the US has never been stronger.
Ours is a resolute and mutually beneficial alliance partnership where neither party has the need to prove anything to each other.
Our alliance with the US is the bedrock of Australia’s security, providing us with irreplaceable hard power capabilities and intelligence.
Australia is a stronger regional power because of the US alliance.
We are committed to working with the US internationally because we agree it has borne too many burdens on its own.
Australia will continue to pull its weight.
And we will work with the US, as well as Japan, Indonesia, China, the EU and others, to reform international institutions, including the WTO, to ensure they’re fit for purpose and serve their members’ interests.
Because we will be more secure and prosperous in a global order based on agreed rules, not one based on the exercise of power alone.
My Government is also committed to further enhancing our relationship with China.
Our relationship with China has many strengths.
Our trading relationship is flourishing, with two-way trade reaching a remarkable $215 billion in 2018, which benefits both countries.
Our cooperation with China through our Comprehensive Strategic Partnership goes well beyond economic issues.
We are working together across fields including health, education, and taxation, where Australia offers world-class expertise.
We’ve also been cooperating successfully to counter drug trafficking through Taskforce Blaze.
There is more we can do. That’s why we established the National Foundation for Australia-China Relations earlier this year.
The Foundation will strengthen areas where we already cooperate, deepen the already rich links across our communities, and help identify new areas for practical cooperation.
I want to acknowledge the presence of the inaugural Chair of the Foundation, Warwick Smith, and thank him for his leadership. While we will be clear-eyed that our political differences will affect aspects of our engagement, we are determined that our relationship not be dominated by areas of disagreement.
The decisions we make in relation to China are based solely on our national interests, just as theirs are towards Australia, and these are sometimes hard calls to make.
But they are designed always to leave large scope for cooperation on common interests and recognise the importance of China’s economic success.
This success is good for China, it is good for Australia.
McKinsey estimates that 2.6 per cent of consumption in the rest of the world is imported from China, compared with 0.8 per cent in 2000.
Chinese imports now account for 2.0 per cent of the gross output of the rest of the world, compared with 0.4 per cent in 2000.
We welcome Chinese investment.
We have welcomed it for decades.
The stock of Chinese investment in Australia in 2018 was more than 8 times larger than a decade ago, and China is our ninth largest investor behind the USA, Japan, UK and the Netherlands.
Australia has the most liberal foreign investment regime in our region. It is not possible for Australians to invest in China in the way Chinese investments are made here. Perhaps this will change, but our policy is not framed in the context of reciprocity, but national interest.
We retain our sovereignty over these investments, especially in relation to strategic and national security considerations, but where such issues are satisfied, we would be only harming our own economic interests if we were to deny our economy access to this capital.
That is why we operate a non-discriminatory approach to investment screening.
And I note that all nations, including China, screen foreign investment.
The infrastructure needs of the region are enormous and Australia welcomes the contribution that the Belt and Road Initiative can make to regional infrastructure investment and to regional development.
We support regional investments with commercial merit that meet genuine market need and international standards, including on transparency and debt sustainability.
Finally, a key pillar of our Indo-Pacific engagement is our Pacific step up.
We have returned the Pacific to where it should be – front and centre of Australia’s strategic outlook, our foreign policy and our personal connections.
This is where we have special responsibilities as part of a Pacific family - our Vuvale, our wantok, our Whanau.
It is a fundamental building block of our engagement with the Indo-Pacific. A South Pacific that is secure strategically, stable economically and sovereign politically.
It’s where Australia can make the biggest difference through our initiatives including the Australian Infrastructure Financing Facility for the Pacific, our labour market programs and undersea cable projects, for example.
A strong, stable region keeps us more secure and enables our economies to grow and our peoples to prosper.
Today I have focused principally on the economic dimensions of our regional relationships and engagement strategy. On another occasion I will address these issues from the perspective of our strategic, security and defence interests, and in turn from the perspective of our environmental and development cooperation.
I have done so, consistent with the priority I have assigned on building our economy to secure the future of Australians at our recent election.
But for today let me close by making the following observations.
There are gathering clouds in the global economy.
The trading relationship between the world’s two most important economies is under serious strain.
But an ever-worsening trajectory in this relationship is not inevitable.
We all have responsibilities to deepen patterns of co-operation, especially in the Indo-Pacific.
Australia is ready to play its part.
We embrace free trade, global engagement and an international system where we agree rules, stick to them and honour our commitments.
That is the surest path to an open, stable and prosperous Indo-Pacific.
WA Chamber of Commerce and Industry Address
24 June 2019
Perth, WA
Prime Minister: Thank you.
I value my engagement with the Chamber of Commerce and Industry WA.
In the big debates – particularly on the GST, but others as well – the Chamber always comes to the table with well researched views and a case worth hearing.
On election night I said the result was a victory not for the Liberal Party, but for the quiet Australians. Australians who quietly go about their lives, working hard each day, running their businesses, caring for their families, volunteering in their local communities.
There is a champion in every Australian. It is our job to support them to realise that champion within.
The election was a message that Australians wanted their Government to respect their aspirations and back them in as they did everything they could to get ahead and make a better life.
Australians rightly see themselves as being in charge of their own lives and their own destinies.
That is why I have now exhorted my team to respect the outcome of the election by governing humbly, understanding that the election result was not about us, but it was about those quiet Australians and their honest and decent aspirations.
Our job is to ensure that our decisions can simply make the lives of Australians that little bit easier.
Australians also said they were are no longer prepared to accept any claim that Governments can solve all your problems just by giving them more of your money or saddling future generations with a mountain of debt.
Australians live within their means and simply expect Governments to do the same and get the job done. The election also confirmed our view that Australians appreciate that the services they rely on depend fundamentally on ensuring we have a strong economy, not higher taxes.
Without a strong economy, all else is in vain. Jobs, funding for schools and hospitals, combatting youth suicide and the NDIS.
And so today, at the start of this new term, I want to speak to you about getting on with the job of building our economy to secure your future.
The Australian economy has shown remarkable resilience over a long period of time.
We are on track to achieve 28 years of uninterrupted economic growth and Australia’s real GDP has grown faster than any G7 economy over that period.
The median age of Australians is around 38 years. These Australians have not known a recession over their entire adult lives.
At 2.9 per cent, jobs growth has been stronger than any of the G7 countries over the past year. The vast majority of the nearly 1,000 jobs a day created over that time have been full-time positions.
Almost three quarters of Australians aged 15 to 64 have a job – a record high. Female workforce participation is also at a record high. So is the workforce participation of those aged 65 and over.
So the great Australian jobs machine continues to whir away. A great strength. But there’s more to do, which is why our pledge to create 1.25 million new jobs over the next five years is central to our economic plan.
The 2019-20 Budget, only days away, will be in surplus. It’s been a long road back, 12 long years, but we’re almost there. Another great foundational strength for our economy. And our AAA credit rating remains in place, one of only ten nations in the world to achieve this outcome from all key agencies.
That said, we do face some challenges and headwinds.
That’s not news. Treasurer Josh Frydenberg and I have been talking about this for some time.
The Treasurer’s reports from his recent trip to the G20 Finance Ministers’ meeting in Japan as well as to London, Berlin and Washington, confirm that international risks have increased over the first half of the year.
Protectionist sentiment and trade conflict, especially between China and the US, is weighing heavily on global confidence and here in Australia as well. The uncertainty regarding Brexit is also not helping, although the impact of this on Australia is quite muted.
The unfolding of all of these events are own goals for the global economy given the broader consensus points that the fundamentals of the global economy are relatively sound.
As a trading nation, this week’s G20 Summit will be an important opportunity for the world’s leading economies to map out the way forward from here.
We are also close to the peak of the global cycle on interest rates ‑ with pressure on European Central Bank and the United States Federal Reserve to lower rates to support their economies.
In the domestic economy, there are challenges too.
We’ve seen the effects of prolonged drought and floods on regional communities – with farm GDP declining by 6.8 per cent over the past year.
A necessary moderation in the housing market has also contributed to softer consumer spending.
Removing Labor’s threat of massive changes to the housing taxation system has erased some of the gloominess from the sector, which combined with interest rate cuts, prudential changes and our forthcoming First Home Loan Deposit Scheme are providing some support to the market.
Credit tightening, post the Banking Royal Commission, has also dimmed economic activity, especially for small business and housing development.
The latest national accounts showed quarterly growth of 0.4 per cent and, while this was a modest increase in growth compared with the previous quarter, it also indicates subdued activity in some parts of the economy – the housing sector, business investment and household consumption.
It’s fair to say that politics has also played a role, with the election weighing on confidence. The bounce back in the business confidence as measured by the NAB Monthly Business Survey following the election, showed the largest monthly increase since the change of government at the 2013 election.
Our job post-election is now very clear – to get Australians off the economic sidelines and on the field again.
The Reserve Bank’s recent cut in the cash rate will put more money in the hands of Australians.
But as Governor Philip Lowe has stated, we must also drive economic growth in the longer term.
The key goal of these policies is job creation. For our Government, it’s always been about jobs.
Our economy has displayed an enormous capacity to absorb record levels of employment growth. The more jobs that are created, the more Australians keep entering the workforce, increasing participation rates also to record levels, forcing economists to now postulate that full employment is now an unemployment rate closer to 4.5% than 5%.
This means that to see larger increases in incomes from wages growth we need to see even more jobs created to reduce unemployment to these levels.
The only way to create more jobs is to increase the levels of investment in our economy. Job creating investments that unlock productivity gains and enable Australians to earn more.
This relies on businesses having the confidence, capability and incentives to back themselves.
Today I want to focus on three elements of our plan to achieve this.
First, how we will get things moving by lowering taxes, sharpening the incentives to work and invest and get infrastructure projects underway.
Secondly, provoking the ‘animal spirits’ in our economy by removing regulatory and bureaucratic barriers to businesses investing and creating more jobs.
And thirdly, boosting the economy’s long-term growth potential by unlocking greater economic dynamism and productivity by lifting our skills capabilities and driving uptake of new digital technologies to promote innovation and competition in our financial system.
Firstly, tax relief.
Australians must keep more of what they earn. In fact at the last election, they demanded it. Next week in parliament we will submit our tax plan to the parliament, just as we presented it to the people.
Labor’s high taxing agenda has now been rejected at two successive elections. Labor’s primary vote at the election last month was their lowest in a hundred years, even lower than when they lost Government in 2013, 1996 and 1975.
Labor’s internal conniptions about supporting the Government’s plan to simply let Australians keep more of what they earn exposes Labor’s deep mistrust of Australians to do what’s best for them with their own money. Labor always think they know best. Australians disagree.
The fact Labor are having to be dragged kicking and screaming, putting up one excuse and ruse after another, shows they simply don’t understand that when you find yourself in a hole, you should stop digging
Our proposed tax relief doesn’t just have a strong political mandate. It has a compelling policy rationale. The first stage of our tax changes will support economic growth by putting money in people’s pockets that they can use to boost consumption. Worth at least two 25 basis point rate cuts.
This will include immediate tax relief to low- and middle-income earners after they lodge their 2018‑19 tax returns.
For middle-income earners, this works out to be over $1,000 dollars for singles, and it’s double that for dual income families.
More than 10 million taxpayers will benefit. Right here in WA, around 1.25 million taxpayers will benefit from our plan.
This first stage is part of our longer-term plan to simplify our tax system and sharpen the incentives to work and invest for the future.
While stage 1 of our tax plan will fast-track and boost tax relief for low and middle income families and support the economy, stages 2 and 3 are more fundamental long term changes to our personal tax system.
We are simplifying the system, more closely aligning the middle tax bracket with corporate tax rates and improving work incentives by tackling the ‘silent thief’ of bracket creep.
As the PEFO statement confirmed prior to the election, the measures are fully incorporated into the medium term projections, which also maintain all spending projections on current profiles.
It still baffles me why Labor can readily sign up to spending schemes that run for decades but cannot do the same to let Australians keep more of their own money.
Under our changes, from 2024-25, 94 per cent of Australians will pay a maximum marginal tax rate of no more than 30 cents in the dollar, compared to only 16 per cent if stages 2 and 3 are not delivered.
Or to put it another way, almost 80 per cent of hard working Australians will keep more of what they earn following stages 2 and 3 of our tax plan.
They will receive greater reward for their efforts, providing an incentive to put in the effort to get a raise or secure a promotion.
Getting these incentives right in the workplace is vital to raising our productivity.
We are also backing small business by reducing their taxes so that they have more money to invest back into their business to support their growth aspirations.
In our April Budget, we increased the instant-asset write-off threshold to $30,000 until 30 June 2020 and expanded access to medium-sized businesses so that around 22,000 additional businesses employing around 1.7 million workers will now be eligible.
This is in addition to fast-tracking the company tax cut for small and medium-sized companies with an annual turnover of less than $50 million.
While lower tax is a centre-piece of our plan for a stronger economy, contrary to most commentary, it is by no means the whole story.
To get things moving, the Deputy PM, Michael McCormack will be ensuring the Government leads by example with a single minded focus on implementing our $100 billion infrastructure investment programme.
This programme increases Commonwealth support for transport infrastructure by about a third by funding nationally significant transport projects across all states and territories, unlocking productivity by decongesting our cities, creating jobs and supporting future population growth to make our cities more liveable.
The immediate focus is for Minister Tudge to work with the St. e congestion busting urban infrastructure projects that can be readily actioned to spur growth, support local jobs and get things moving.
The same will be done by the Deputy PM for regional communities through our building better regions and water infrastructure schemes..
Here in WA we’ve committed more than $13.6 billion since we came to office and we’re getting on with new projects – including further upgrades to the Tonkin Highway, and improvements for the Oats Street, Welshpool Road and Mint Street Level Crossing Removals as part of METRONET.
Since our re-election, I have already met with Premiers in NSW and Victoria to take stock, get a common view on project timetables, priorities and to do lists. While here in WA, I will be meeting with Premier McGowan to do the same.
The last thing we want is project delays leading to more congestion and greater costs.
That’s why infrastructure delivery will be an important item on the COAG agenda for August.
The same process is being followed for our historical investments in defence capability. With more than $200 billion being invested, with generational job creating projects here in WA, as well as South Australia and Queensland.
Ensuring these investments remain on schedule and that we realise the uplift in skills and technological capabilities for our defence industries, will be the strong focus of our new WA Defence Industry Minister, Melissa Price.
To provoke the much needed ‘animal spirits’ in our economy we must also remove regulatory and bureaucratic barriers to businesses investing and creating more jobs.
Congestion is not just on our roads and in our cities.
We also need to bust regulatory congestion, removing obstacles to business investment.
When we came to power in 2013, our Government launched its ‘Cutting Red Tape’ Initiative.
Working across every government department in Canberra, we set ourselves the goal of reducing the burden of regulation on the economy by $1 billion each and every year.
And we succeeded. Between September 2013 and December 2016, this initiative yielded red tape savings of $5.8 billion.
Removing what governments identify as excessive or outdated regulation is one thing. Whether we are really focusing on the barriers that matter to business in getting investments and projects off the ground is another.
Take the WA mining industry for example. In 1966, the late Sir Arvi Parbo took the Kambalda nickel mine near Kalgoorlie from discovery to operation in 18 months.
By contrast, the Roy Hill iron ore mine took around 10 years to complete around 4,000 approvals. Delays to the project meant delays to over 5,000 construction jobs and 2,000 ongoing jobs.
This in a region where iron ore mining has been taking place for decades and is relatively low risk.
There is a clear need to improve approvals timeframes and reduce regulatory costs, but in many cases regulators are making things worse.
Look at the WA Environment Protection Authority and the uncertainty it has created over new emissions requirements for the resources sector. Business will also make valid criticisms of many Commonwealth agencies and departments.
That’s why I’ve asked my colleague Ben Morton – as Assistant Minister to the Prime Minister – to work with me, the Treasurer and other Ministers, to tackle the full suite of barriers to investment in key industries and activities.
This will be a renewed focus on regulatory reform but from a different angle.
Rather than setting targets for departments or government agencies, we’ll be asking the wider question from the perspective of a business looking, say, to open a mine, commercialise a new biomedical innovation, or even start a home-based, family business.
By focusing on regulation from the viewpoint of business, we will identify the regulations and bureaucratic processes that impose the largest costs on key sectors of the economy and the biggest hurdles to letting those investments flow.
What are the barriers, blockages and bottlenecks? How do we get things moving?
I urge the business people in this room and around Australia to engage with this process.
Step one is to get a picture of the regulatory anatomies that apply to key sectoral investments. Step two is to identify the blockages. Step three is to remove them, like cholesterol in the arteries.
While reducing taxes has had a major impact in the United States, it was actually the Trump Administration’s commitment to cutting red tape and transforming the regulatory mind set of the bureaucracy that delivered their first wave of improvement in their economy. You can be assured I have begun this term by making it clear to our public service chiefs that I am expecting a new mindset when it comes to getting investments off the drawing board.
One particular area where it’s essential to get regulation right is to protect investment from the impact of militant unions, that would have been given free reign under a Labor Government if elected six weeks ago.
Events since then with the CFMMEU in full R18 rated technicolour have only underlined the wisdom of the Australian people in rejecting going down that path.
Labor does not run the unions in Australia, the unions - through their money from member’s indentured fees and union super funds, their numbers in their factions and their armies on the ground at elections, run modern Labor.
It is a very far cry from the balanced relationship of the Hawke-Crean-Kelty alliance of the past.
Our Government is committed to enforcing the rule of law on Australian work sites. All Australian businesses have the right to expect that they can go about their work without being subject to bullying and disruption.
When we’re back in Parliament next week, another of our priorities is to introduce laws to give greater powers to deal with registered organisations and officials who regularly break the law, prohibit officials who are not fit and proper persons from holding office, and stop the rorting of worker entitlement funds. All measures Labor resisted during our last parliamentary term.
Like you, our Government believes in cooperative workplaces.
In his new capacity as Minister for Industrial Relations, I am asking Christian Porter to take a fresh look at how the system is operating and where there may be impediments to shared gains for employers and employees.
Any changes in this area must be evidence-based, protect the rights and entitlements of workers and have clear gains for the economy and for working Australians.
We would expect business organisations such as yours to build the evidence for change and help bring the community along with you too.
Just as our economy is growing and changing, our skills system needs to grow and change with it.
Demand for skills is shifting from manufacturing to the services sector and emerging industries like advanced manufacturing, ICT and cyber-security.
Our vocational education system needs an upgrade to ensure it remains world-class, modern and flexible.
That’s what business has told us – you’re not getting enough people walking through your doors with the skills you need.
The Joyce Review we commissioned prior to the election confirms this and will now guide the changes we will seek to make during this term of parliament as a key component of our economic plan.
The Review acknowledges the good work undertaken in the sector so far, but says VET needs to adapt so it can support important and emerging industries and become a first choice for students who want to pursue technical careers.
We believe that learning through a vocational education is just as valuable as a university degree, so we want to transform the way we deliver skills, support employers and fund training
We’re addressing the findings of the Joyce Review by setting up a National Skills Commission and a new National Careers Institute to give people the information they need to decide their future careers and the best pathways to get them into a job.
We’re simplifying and targeting increases in apprenticeship incentives.
And we’re creating up to 80,000 additional apprentices over five years in priority skill shortage areas through a new apprenticeship incentive.
The Review’s recommendations are wide ranging and responsibilities for the sector are shared.
Vocational education sector is one of my key priorities and I intend to make it a primary focus of discussion with states and territories at COAG.
This work will also be led two Western Australians, Michaelia Cash in Cabinet and Steve Irons as Assistant Minister, a trade qualified electrician and small businessman.
Digital disruption, especially in financial services is changing the way people, businesses and governments interact.
Consultancy firm McKinsey argues that “digitisation could contribute between $140 billion and $250 billion to Australia’s GDP by 2025, based on currently available technology alone.”
I have appointed Senator Jane Hume as Assistant Minister to support the Treasurer to drive the changes we are making in this area.
Our upcoming legislation to introduce Open Banking, through a new Consumer Data Right, will give customers more control over their own data and empower them to compare and switch between products and services, and encourage competition between service providers.
The Consumer Data Right will enable customers to get assistance and tailored support by empowering them to own and share their information as they choose, driving further innovation and competition.
While we are starting with banks, we intend to expand this choice to multiple sectors, for things like phone and internet providers or your energy bill. It will lead to better prices and more innovative products and services.
The New Payments Platform (NPP) makes payments faster and simpler for consumers and businesses and will pave the way for further innovation in the payments system. The challenge is now to encourage economy wide uptake.
The potential gains that are available to businesses, particularly small and family businesses, through the NPP and its ability to reduce payment times are immense.
We will also continue with the establishment of a mandatory comprehensive credit reporting system that will increase competition.
With greater information, new entrants and small lenders, including innovative FinTech firms, will be encouraged to compete for small business and retail customers. The mutuals sector, including customer owned banks and cooperatives, will also be able to compete better with our legislation lifting restrictions on their ability to raise capital being passed just before parliament rose.
More broadly, our Government will continue to advocate strongly for a rules-based and open global trading environment that supports digital trade, builds trust and confidence in the online environment, and reduces barriers. Right now we are seeking to conclude a new benchmark agreement on digital trade with Singapore by the end of the year that I discussed with Prime Minister Lee just a few weeks ago.
We also kick-started negotiations on e-commerce rules in the WTO.
At the upcoming G20 Summit, I’ll continue to advocate for initiatives like these which clear the way for us to do business with the world, while ensuring trust in the online environment, including consumer privacy.
There are of course many other components to our plan to build our economy into the future that we don’t have time to delve into this morning.
Expanding our export markets and lifting the share of our two way trade covered by trade agreements to more than 90% by 2022.
Keeping Government spending and taxes under control, keeping the budget in surplus and eliminating net debt within the decade
Keep supporting greater investment in innovation and new technology.
Reducing energy costs through market reforms and in continuing to foster increased investment in both renewable and reliable energy infrastructure.
Supporting our drought and flood impacted agricultural sectors and deliver on the national water grid.
We will return to these on other occasions. For now, we will just keep getting on with the job that millions of Australians have entrusted us with to support them to realise their goals and aspirations.
Remarks, NDIS Roundtable
13 June 2019
Penrith, NSW
Can I just start by thanking everyone for joining us here today. It’s great to be here with you, Melissa, so early on after the last election and congratulations to you on your election here in Lindsay. And it’s great to have Stuart Robert, a good mate over many, many years, who has taken on the job in Cabinet of the NDIS, as well as government service delivery more broadly.
And the opportunity today was really - once all these cameras go away - for us to get a lot of listening happening on our part, hearing firsthand about your experiences with the NDIS and where you see some of the good work being done, but also the challenges we’ve got.
The NDIS over the last few years, we’ve gone from 30,000 people involved to 270,000. We’ve got over 80,000 people who are now accessing the services and disability support for the first time ever. This has been quite a steep curve that the organisation has been on. I think it is one of the most important social reforms that our country has seen in at least a generation. It is an enormously big task, and obviously in implementing it, it’s going to have its challenges, and it’s going to have its frustrations. But I think it’s important to keep our eyes focused on the goal, and that is to see the full scheme implementation and full coverage extending to around half a million Australians, and for that to be done in a timely way, in a quality way and an effective way.
Because the NDIS, it’s not compensation, it’s not welfare. It’s not any of these things. It’s a support that enables people to realise their potential, in the same way any other Australian can. And that’s very much how I see it, and so I will try to understand what some of the frustrations and blockages are, particularly for Stuart and Melissa, so we can understand how to remove some of those and make sure it’s everything that we want it to be, and that we have a clear understanding what the expectations of the scheme are.
It isn’t the answer to every single problem, but it certainly is the answer to many, and we want to get a good understanding of how we can take it from where it is now, with 270,000 clients, to around about half a million clients over the next five years. And that’s a very worthy goal, I think it’s very achievable, but it’s got to be done in a way that’s actually hitting the mark. Because people rely on this scheme, as they should, and I think it can really transform people’s lives and lead to a higher quality of participation and involvement and engagement, which is what everyone is looking for.
So I want to thank you very much for coming together today. We’re going to run through a bit of a programme, a discussion, but there will be a lot less talking from me and Stuart and Melissa and a lot more listening and we’re looking forward to that. So thank you all very much.
Stand Tall Event - Sydney
12 June 2019
Sydney, NSW
PRIME MINISTER: How good is Gladys? Isn’t she great?
[Applause]
It's wonderful to be with you all today, and it's wonderful to see many of you. Are there any guys from the Shire here today?
[Applause]
Is there anyone from the Hills district, anyone from the Hills?
[Applause]
How about out in south western Sydney, down near Campbelltown way?
[Applause]
Are there any Sharks fans in the house?
[Applause]
I thought that’d get a mixed reaction, the Endeavour High School kids down here in Kirrawee I think there has been plenty.
The reason I wanted to come here today, and the reason I know Gladys wanted to come here today, and the reason Stand Tall - a bit croaky - and the reason Stand Tall is so important and the reason everyone else has come here today, to have a chat to you - and people get to chat to you today as adults - because they're going to talk about serious stuff. But the reason all of us have come here today is because you matter.
I want you to tap the person on either side of you and say, ‘You matter’. It’s really important because everyone believes you do matter. Ad you know sometimes, sometimes guys, sometimes you can feel that’s not true. Sometimes you can think, ‘I don’t matter, and the problems that I have are just too big, and no one cares, and no one thinks I matter’. And you can feel really small, and your problems can feel really big.
But what Stand Tall is all about is making sure that you know you matter. And in life, lots of things can be taken away from you. Lots of things. You can lose things, you can lose friends, you can lose money, you can... all sorts of things can happen. Sometimes you can lose your health.
But the one thing that can never be taken away from you - and this is really important to understand this - is your value. Your value as an individual human being, as a man, as a woman, as a son, a daughter, a brother, a sister. You matter very, very much.
Now, in coming here today, I thought I would ask a few organisations about some important lessons they would want me to share. And I must admit they’re the same things that I've also reflected on.
You know, in life you never come up against things where you where you don’t succeed. When you’re going to fail. It happens. In fact, if you don't have a go at something where you might fail, you'll never achieve anything at all.
You can play it safe always, but unless you’re prepared to have a go at the things where you might fail, and risk failing, then you'll never really fully understand how amazing you are - you wouldn't have any idea about how amazing you are.
I remember many years ago, I took a group of young people together with a good mate of mine from the other side of politics, Jason Clare, and we took some young people from the Shire and from Lakemba. And it was after the terrible riots that we'd seen down in our part of Sydney down in Cronulla, many years ago. And we thought the best thing to do was to get all of our young people together and try and help them understand how amazing they were and how wonderful Australia was and how that connected them together, despite their very different big differences. Whether it was their religion, or their background, or where they lived or how they grew up.
And so we went and walked the Kokoda Track together. And it took us six and a half days. And I can tell you, it was really, really hard. But over the course of that Track, what everyone understood was just how much more they could do. And how much more helpful they could be to each other. And the funny thing was that at the start of the Track, people were saying, ‘Well, how fit I am, how much can walk harder than the others’, and all the rest of it.
But by the end of the track, people weren't thinking about themselves. They were thinking about how much they can help their fellow walkers and their trekkers. And I remember one night in particular, we were coming down to a little village hall called Efogi, where they had seen terrible battles during the war. And it was pouring with rain, it was late at night, it was very dangerous trying to get down this… the side of this mountain, getting down to this little village.
And some of the trekkers were really, really struggling, and some of the stronger walkers had got down in earlier. And rather than just put their packs down and get in their tent and get a good rest for the next day, they dropped their pack. They walked back across the river, and they went back up the mountain, and they helped everyone else down.
And so when I saw this in these young people, helping each other, what I understood was, they were working out just how much was inside them. And all they had to do was focus less on themselves and more on others, and they really were able to work it out.
So a couple of things, a couple of pointers I give you, which has been given to me by some amazing organisations - which include organisations like Stand Tall - but also organisations like Kids Help Line and headspace, and a whole range of these organisations.
The first thing to do is don't be afraid to fail, and change the way you think about failure. If you haven't failed, you’ve learnt nothing. And when things failed, it's a matter of just looking at it as an opportunity to learn from that experience.
You know the first time I ever ran for politics, you had to do a thing called preselection. And that's where I got a whole bunch of party members together and they’ve got to decide who their candidate is going to be in the election. There was about 150 of them. I got eight votes. Eight votes, the first time I ran.
And what we did when that happened, I had to go home and tell Jen, ‘It didn't go terribly well.’ And I had to share with them that we'd put our lives on hold for a long period of time, to try and seek this opportunity, and it just didn’t come. But we learned from that and we didn't give up and we kept going forward.
So the first thing to do is if you encounter failure in your lives - because you will, and if you don’t, it means you're not trying things - then it's important not to see that as the end of the road, but importantly as the start of another road, and one you can walk tall on.
The second point I'd make to you is that what's good for your body, is good for your mind. Who likes to stay healthy? I'll tell you what, if you keep your body healthy, you can keep your mind healthy as well. And it's important that when you keep your mind healthy, you can stay positive on the things that when you're facing challenges in life.
So when it comes to keeping your body healthy, whether it's making sure you get enough sleep, whether you get your physical activity and your exercise, or you ensure that you eat well and you know... it's all right and have fun every now and then. That's all good. But at the same time, if you can keep your body healthy, it means you can keep your mind healthy. Because you’re confronting lots of things.
Now Gladys and I have really stressful jobs. And you guys all face your own stresses and challenges. So one of the things I do is I try and swim most days. You'll find me down at the Caringbah pool, or the North Sydney pool, or anywhere I can find a pool - and yep, I do wear the Speedos, so I don’t let the cameras in. Ever. That's never happened guys, it's never going to happen.
[Laughter]
But it's important that you take the opportunity to get your regular exercise, and look after what you're doing with your body each and every day. If you keep a healthy mind and a healthy body, you will be able to confront the challenges that you face.
And the last point I wanted to make to you is this - you're never on your own. Who's ever felt like they've been on their own before? Just you? I have, heaps of times. If you haven't got your hand up, I think you’re telling the truth.
At all stages, we're going to feel like we're on our own in the middle of facing something at some time. You know, 52 per cent of young people - this is an important statistic - 52 percent of young people who say they have a mental health problem are embarrassed to discuss the problem with anyone, and 49 per cent are afraid of what others would think.
Half the people in this room, if you're suffering from a mental illness, or mental anxiety, or something like that, don't believe you can get help. And you also believe that others will think differently of you if you do.
Of every 30 young people - I heard from batyr yesterday - about seven of them will be dealing with issues of mental health. Only two of them will seek help. And that's a great shame, because there's heaps of help out there if you're having difficulties, and you're really struggling to come to terms with the challenges that you're facing in your own life.
And you might think, ‘Well, those challenges are small compared to what everyone else is dealing with.’ But they're not. Why? Because you matter, and the things that are affecting you matter. And if you're dealing with those anxieties and those challenges, or you don't understand why you feel the way you feel, when you can't get up out of bed, when you can't motivate yourself to do the things that you see like all the other kids can do, or you're having difficulties at home and you can't understand why and you're really frustrated about it. These are all things that you can get help with and you can call Kids Helpline.
And who's got their phones with them at the moment? Anyone got their phones with them at the moment? I want you to jot some numbers down in your notes on your phone. OK? Because I’m going to tell you why in a sec. I got this tip from batyr yesterday. Here it is - Kids Helpline 1800 55 1800. Who’s heard of Kids Helpline? Put your hands up. Kids Helpline - 1800 55 1800. Headspace, who’s heard of headspace? We’ve all heard of headspace? Good - 1800 650 890. Then there’s reachout.com, beyondblue.org.au, and of course there’s the 000 number.
Now, I want you to make me a promise. All of those numbers, if you didn’t hear them now, go and look them up later. Just check it out on your phone while you’re checking Facebook, and Instagram, and all the other things. And make sure if you’re talking to a friend, and that friend is telling you the things that I've just been talking to you about - that they don’t feel right, or they don’t know how to cope in a situation, or they’re finding it really hard to deal with things, whether at homes or other circumstances.
You may not have those answers to them at that point. You may be the best friend - and I'm sure you are - but you won’t always be equipped to deal with those questions that are posed by friends. And batyr - this wonderful organisation Greg Hunt had the opportunity to go and meet with yesterday - that is the time that you put your phone on speaker and you dial one of those numbers. And you and your friends, standing with your friend, standing tall with your friend, can go and have a chat with a trained counsellor to make sure you can deal with the things you need to deal with.
So look, it’s been great to have the opportunity to come and speak to you this morning. Just remember what we just talked about - you matter. Who matters in this room? You matter. And because you matter, tell your friends, because you matter, what’s happening to you matters. And as a result, you need to make sure you deal with failure in a positive way. Because if you don't fail at something, it means you've never tried something. And you need to keep your mind and body well, and you need to know you're never alone, because there is always help there for you - whether it’s through one of the professional services or through each other.
So I hope you have a great day. I want to thank all the other speakers who have come together to be with you today. I want to wish all the guys from Endeavour and Kirrawee all the best, they’ve put on an amazing performance up here a little earlier today, that’s going to rock the place amazingly. So how good will they be? I hope you have a great day. Have a good one. Cheers.
[Applause]
Speech, Singapore
7 June 2019
It’s fantastic to be here in Singapore, along with Marise Payne and Simon Birmingham.
I want to acknowledge our High Commissioner Bruce Gosper and his team.
And a big thank you to AustCham - firstly to Amber Williams for that warm introduction and to Adam and your team.
Not only for hosting us today, but for everything you do to advance the warm and enduring relationship between Australia and Singapore.
Singapore is a place where hard work, enterprise, and entrepreneurial risk-taking are encouraged.
Singapore - the world’s second biggest port - is the ultimate Smart City.
I am here today to underline that my Government’s agenda, both here and across Asia, is about expanding opportunity through connectedness.
And nowhere better exemplifies this commitment than our close partner Singapore.
Singapore is perhaps the best example on the planet of the success and prosperity that flow when a country connects with the rest of the world, opens its markets and embraces free trade.
That’s also been Australia’s path for many years.
So it’s good to be back.
We have close and common interests. And a long history together.
In 1965, when Singapore emerged as an independent nation, Australia was the first country to establish diplomatic ties.
Our then Prime Minister, Sir Robert Menzies, and Singapore’s great statesman, Lee Kwan Yew, forged a friendship and foretold a vision of growth that has been amply fulfilled.
In 2015, on the 50th anniversary of that pact of friendship, our nations committed to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership: a framework for cooperating across the breadth of our relationship.
Australia values deeply this connection with Singapore.
Our relationship is longstanding and multifaceted.
Our agenda spans trade and investment, regional infrastructure and smart cities, the digital economy, education, arts, and defence and security.
Our cooperation on science and innovation is strong.
We work together on Fintech. We work on economic improvement for women in the region. We work on counter-terrorism and defence strategy.
And we are always working on improving the way Australian businesses find their way into the promise of this thriving marketplace.
I know the strength of today’s turnout is a testament to what you’re already achieving here.
Many of you are already flying Australia’s flag here and elsewhere in Southeast Asia – from Hanoi to Manila to Kuala Lumpur to Jakarta – and we want to support you to do even more.
Companies like Bluescope, a global manufacturer, are thriving here.
Lendlease, a global leader in construction, is redeveloping the Paya Lebar Quarter into a world-class city precinct and business hub.
And it’s not only businesses. James Cook University continues to invest significantly in Singapore, our biggest offshore education hub. CSIRO and the Australian National University recently opened regional offices here.
Austrade’s Landing Pad is also very successful, with many graduate start-ups attracting capital and choosing to base themselves here in Singapore.
On infrastructure, the opportunity for Australia and Singapore to support Southeast Asia’s unfolding urbanisation is growing day by day.
We’re already investing in a number of ways: through our aid program; in partnership with the US and Japan; through a new Infrastructure Governance Facility for the region; and through the ASEAN-Australia Smart and Sustainable Cities initiative.
When we met this morning, Prime Minister Lee and I talked about one thing that will be absolutely pivotal to any country’s success in the years ahead: the digital economy.
While we have ambitious digital trade commitments with Singapore under TPP-11 and the Singapore-Australia FTA, we want to do more together in this area.
Australia seeks digital trade rules and standards that build trust and confidence, and by deepening cooperation with Singapore we can set a benchmark for others in the region to adopt.
So we will deepen our work together to help our businesses and consumers capitalise on the manifold opportunities in the digital economy.
Today we also discussed the practical ways we collaborate, for example working with Singapore and Japan on e-commerce rules in the World Trade Organization.
We also looked at how we can cooperate more on the jobs and businesses of the future, and both countries are enthusiastic about this work.
Australia and Singapore cosponsored the East Asia Summit Leaders’ Statement on Deepening Cooperation in the Security of ICT and the Digital Economy.
Later this year, the High Commission here will host a Digital Economy Forum to better explore that opportunity.
According to this year’s IMD World Competitiveness ranking, Singapore is the world’s most competitive economy.
Ever since the early 80s we have proved again and again that we’re better off open to the world than closed to its possibilities.
Better off engaged in the world than in retreat from its challenges.
These beliefs are not only our outlook on the world, but our plan for success at home.
Australia’s economy is growing, now approaching an unprecedented 28 years of economic growth. But it is growth we never take for granted.
It requires continual effort.
Having successfully secured re-election last month my government is back at work, getting on with the job of implementing our national economic plan.
We have just handed down the first Budget surplus in 12 years.
Our AAA credit rating has been strengthened and we will eliminate net debt within the decade.
More Australians are in work than ever before.
Over 1.3 million new jobs have been created since the September 2013. Our economic plan will see 1.25 million more jobs over the next five years, with one in five of these jobs will be for young Australians.
With jobs growth outstripping all of the G7.
Our plan is for less tax and not more.
We are providing tax relief to Australia’s 3.4 million small, family and medium sized businesses that employ over 7 million Australians.
Ten million Australians are receiving personal income tax relief.
Legislating our personal tax relief plan in full will be the first substantive business of the new Parliament, keeping faith with the will of the Australian people expressed at the election.
Under our we are making record investments in health, education and infrastructure - and in the essential services that Australians rely on.
We are proceeding with the big projects governments have talked about for fifty years and have not done.
Faster rail, inland rail and airport rail links are being funded.
By 2026, when you are deciding to travel or send freight to
Sydney – you will have the choice of not one airport but two.
We are investing in our productive capability – in the transport infrastructure that will lower freight costs, bust congestion, and help Australia grow.
Trade is foundational to this government’s agenda.
Around 1 in 5 Australian jobs are trade-related, and Australian households are $8,500 a year better off because of opening up our trade over the last thirty years.
When our Government was first elected, free trade agreements covered around 26 per cent of our two way trade.
It’s now over 70 per cent.
Agreements with Japan, China, South Korea and the 10 other nations of the Trans-Pacific Partnership.
Of course, we have a long-standing FTA with Singapore which was amended and strengthened in 2017 - providing greater access for education, legal, financial and other professional service providers.
Our export agreements, have provided improved access to markets with 1.75 billion consumers.
Our monthly trade balance is running at record levels, just under $5 billion in surplus in April, with the longest consecutive run of monthly surpluses since 1973 – over 45 years ago.
Our continued success depends on being open to trade and investment. We don’t get rich selling things to ourselves.
Our plan to further expand our trade opportunities will see 10,000 more Australian companies export beyond our shores by 2022, with around 90 per cent of our trade covered by trade deals.
We have skills and resources in abundance that the rest of the world wants. And we are a reliable partner.
The dividend for us of a strong, stable region is more jobs, more opportunities, more years of uninterrupted growth to add to the 27 already on the board.
So as this region transforms and evolves, it makes sense for Australia to deepen our engagement, and not just economically.
Australia is strongly committed to deepening ties with Southeast Asia, exemplified by our convening of the ASEAN-Australia Special Summit last year.
Australia and Singapore are not only natural friends, but strategic partners with shared interests in the stability and prosperity of our Indo-Pacific neighbourhood.
We have a vision of an open, inclusive and prosperous Indo-Pacific.
This includes wanting to see an inclusive architecture for regional trade as Singapore, Australia and other partners work to finalise RCEP and that our existing trade agreements keep pace with technological change, especially the digital economy.
My visit today aims to expand our growing cooperation on shared regional objectives, including by defending the proposition that international rules and norms help trade, underpin our common prosperity and help keep the peace.
The global trading system is under real and sustained pressure. Trade conflict between the US and China is testing the system as never before.
No-one suggests the framework of rules in the WTO is perfect – far from it.
Each year Singapore hosts the Shangri-La Dialogue, which exemplifies what Singapore is about.
Opennness, connections, a regional focus with a global perspective. It shows that in Southeast Asia we need security and peace to maintain our prosperity. At this year’s Shangri-La Dialogue, held last week, there was a remarkable convergence of themes raised by colleagues from the region.
In his insightful speech, Prime Minister Lee said – and I fully concur – ‘We need to reform and strengthen multilateral institutions, not cripple or block them’.
He also said: “The bottom line is that the US and China need to work together, and with other countries too, to bring the global system up to date, and to not upend the system.”
In her first major speech as my new Defence Minister, Senator Linda Reynolds, said here at Shangri-La: “Australia’s Indo–Pacific vision reflects our national character and also our very unique sensibilities. We want a region that is open and inclusive; respectful of sovereignty; where disputes are resolved peacefully; and without force or coercion.”
Minister Reynolds was joined by others from the region who also adopted a counter perspective to the contemporary analysis that interprets decision making in our region though a narrow binary prism.
As independent sovereign nations in the Indo-Pacifc we don’t see our options as binary, and nor do we wish them to become so.
Philippine Defense Secretary Lorenzana said “‘Let us be clear: each and every nation has a shared and unquestionable responsibility in preserving peace and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific region.’
General Ngo Xuan Lich, Vietnam’s Minister of National Defence, said “What matters the most is finding ways to handle competition...to cooperate, close the gulf of differences and settle disputes.”
And Indonesia’s Minister of Defence General (Rtd) Ryamizard Ryacudu, said: “In ASEAN, we continue to seek to enlarge our similarities and commonalities and to decrease and minimise the differences.”
Singapore and Australia understand that if we are to make the most of our region’s dynamism, we must do so together and in concert with other independent sovereign nations of the Indo-Pacific.
We must commit to remain open to each other, with inclusive fora that protect, respect and reinforce our sovereignty and independence.
Now is not the time to be complacent.
I said in Jakarta in my first overseas trip as Prime Minister that, set against rapid social and economic changes, our region is experiencing sharpening strategic competition.
In an era of rapid change and uncertainty, we must know who we are, what we offer and what we’re about.
Retreating into protectionism is – to borrow Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s famous analogy – like throwing away your umbrella in a storm because you’re not getting wet.
I’ve said before that our foreign policy must not be simply transactional. It’s about our character and values. Who we are in the world, and what we believe in.
We believe in the rule of law; in equality of choice and opportunity.
We believe in peace and liberty through the prosperity of private capital, property rights, free and open markets.
We believe in being good neighbours and we are a partner that pulls its weight.
We want to see an open, rules-based Indo-Pacific where the rights of all states are respected.
Our vision of a dynamic Indo-Pacific has ASEAN at its core.
Because a strong, united and resilient ASEAN can play a critical role in fostering peace, security and economic growth.
In the last 20 years, the ASEAN region’s combined GDP has more than doubled and the region is on track to become the equivalent of the fourth largest economy by 2030.
Australia’s two-way trade with ASEAN is worth over $120 billion a year – bigger than our trade with the US or Japan.
We want to see strong and resilient regional architecture, with ASEAN at its heart. We want architecture that’s capable of supporting deeper engagement, more cooperation, more productive relationships between nations.
Cooperation and collaboration are vital in this effort.
As Australia and the members of ASEAN said in the Sydney Declaration a year ago, we are partners with a vital stake in a dynamic region undergoing major changes.
We commit to intensify our shared work to shape a secure and prosperous region for our people.
We live in a region with tremendous promise.
There are 1 million Australians living overseas – many of them young, building relationships, broadening their horizons, developing their skills.
Each in their own way a representative of our country.
You are part of a deep and flourishing business community here in Singapore, absolutely critical to Australia’s strong and expanding presence in the most promising part of the world.
I commend your entrepreneurial spirit, and your very Australian willingness to ‘have a go.’
And again I say thank you to AustCham for your role in bringing this community together, today and every day.
Australia-UK Chamber of Commerce
4 June 2019
London, UK
Thank you for your warm welcome.
Free peoples, quietly going about their lives, going to work, running their businesses, raising their children, saving for their future, seeking to realise their aspirations, while always respecting the peace and freedom of others. That’s what our nations are about. At our recent election, I called them the quiet Australians.
But even more, we are free peoples in two nations bound together by special bonds of history.
Australia’s political inheritance – parliamentary democracy, the rule of law, the separation of powers, the equality of all citizens, the freedom to believe, to speak and to worship as we see fit – these precious gifts all have their roots in this green and pleasant land.
The bonds of history also help explain why I am here this week – as I prepare to join other world leaders tomorrow to mark the 75thanniversary of D-Day – the Allied operation that began the liberation of Western Europe from Nazi tyranny.
At those beaches now etched in time – Utah, Omaha, Juno, Gold and Sword – tens of thousands of young men faced enemy fire and their own fear for the higher cause of freedom.
Allied casualties on 6 June alone are estimated at 10,000 killed, wounded or missing in action. This includes 6,603 Americans, 2,700 British and 943 Canadian cousins.
Terrible as that day was, it was just the beginning. Between D-Day and 21 August, the Allies landed more than two million men in Northern France and suffered 226,386 casualties, with nearly 73,000 killed or missing in action.
It is an honour to represent Australia as we honour all those who stormed the beaches and landed in Normandy on the 6th of June 1944.
At that time, our country’s major military focus was on fighting for freedom in the Pacific.
Yet Aussies were here too – some 3,000 Australians were part of the D-Day invasion force.
Around 500 were serving on Royal Navy warships and about a dozen were attached to the British Army.
More than 2,000 airmen served in the Royal Air Force and the Royal Australian Air Force during the campaign.
We lost 14 brave men, 12 airmen, and 2 sailors on D-Day.
Men who had wives, children, mothers, fathers and siblings.
Hundreds more Australians lost their lives in operations directly related to the invasion of France in the period leading up to D-Day and in the days that followed.
I’ll be remembering their sacrifice tomorrow at Portsmouth, one of the major embarkation points for the assault.
Just as we have an obligation to remember the past, we have a duty to build a better future for our peoples.
That’s also why I’m here this week.
To discuss with leaders the many challenges we face in a new age of anxiety and uncertainty.
Shared challenges such as counter-terrorism, cyber security and nuclear non-proliferation.
Challenges in an interconnected world such as preventing violent extremist exploitation of the internet.
Challenges to the world trading system and the liberal order that has underpinned global commerce – and your businesses – over many decades.
SUPPORTING THE GLOBAL TRADING SYSTEM
We must do everything we can to avoid a zero-sum mindset developing, especially when it comes to global trade and commerce. And we must guard against the lurch towards a narrow, transactional approach to international relations – where our relationships and the ambitions for the world we share, become nothing more than the sum of our deals.
Our international relations are also the product of context, our shared experiences, our people to people connections, and above all, the lessons of history, something we have all gathered together to commemorate this week, and are reminded that these lessons come at a great price.
Nowhere is this more important than in supporting the key multilateral institutions that have underpinned global growth and development for the better part of 70 years.
Just as we remember D-Day 75 years ago, we should also recall the burst of institution building that began the following month with the Bretton Woods conference in New Hampshire in July 1944.
There Britain played a critical role – albeit not always in agreement with the United States – in helping forge the nascent architecture of the post-war liberal economic order.
These institutions - the World Bank, the IMF and the original General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) - combined together to build a post-war prosperity unprecedented in human history.
They culminated in many ways with the birth of the World Trade Organisation almost 25 years ago, at the end of the Uruguay Round of trade negotiations.
Yet today, the global trading system is under real and sustained pressure. Trade conflict between the US and China is testing the system as never before, and is putting the prosperity and living standards of billions of people at risk.
No-one suggests the framework of rules in the WTO is perfect – far from it.
As Singapore’s Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said last Friday at the Shangri-la Dialogue, the WTO was designed for an agricultural and manufacturing-based world economy, but the world has moved on to services and now increasingly digital and intellectual property, which need much more complicated rules.
Yet as Prime Minister Lee also said – and I fully concur – ‘We need to reform and strengthen multilateral institutions, not cripple or block them’.
Reform efforts are gathering momentum, particularly after G20 Leaders sent a strong message of support for WTO reform in Buenos Aires last year.
WTO members now need to agree on concrete reforms to demonstrate progress.
Australia is at the forefront of reform efforts. Updating the WTO rulebook is a priority. We are developing new rules on e-commerce to cut red tape on services, and pushing for an outcome on fisheries subsidies.
Our key concern is saving the dispute settlement system that provides the accountability the system needs to function.
The WTO remains the best foundation we have for securing continued prosperity in a fast-changing world; as the Brexit debate in this country demonstrates only too well.
So we must remain committed to this task – to allow commercial society to flourish – to allow the people in this room; the entrepreneurs, the employers, the risk takers; to make the investment decisions so vital to future prosperity.
It is critical, therefore, that like-minded countries, including Australia and the United Kingdom, lend their support to WTO reform – to mend, not end, the rules-based trading system.
International rules are also important to ensure the digital economy and the IT platforms we have established remain our servant and not our master, nor become weaponised in the hands of terrorists and criminals.
This is another key area where countries can work together – in fact, need to work together – to ensure we modernise and harmonise our laws and regulations so that the online and digital world, the new economy, meets the same standards that we expect of the behaviour in the physical world.
An urgent focus here is keeping violent extremist and terrorist content off the internet, following the horrific terrorist attacks in Christchurch, and those it inspired.
There are things countries can do. Australia has already passed legislation to deal with abhorrent online material. But there is more that can only be done through international cooperation, including with industry. The Christchurch Call set the standard, but we need more countries to participate and more action by industry.
The global community needs to make it clear to business that it is their responsibility to take down the content, and preferably, prevent it going up in the first place. The platforms are not just ‘posties’ - they are responsible for what they deliver. There are practical reforms industry can do and standards by which the global community can hold them to account.
This is why I am pushing this at the G20 and appreciate the support we have been receiving on this initiative, especially from Prime Minister Abe in his role as G20 President.
The G20 proved its effectiveness on cracking down on multinational tax avoidance through base erosion and profit shifting. The G20 has the right make-up, including the countries that host the platforms and those that consume its content and now has the opportunity to respond at Osaka.
THE CASE FOR AUSTRALIA
Australia’s economic interest has always been tied to continuing our success as a modern trading nation.
As a country, we have never got rich selling things to ourselves. Our external focus has been key to Australia now being in our 28th year of uninterrupted economic growth.
Australia’s real GDP has grown faster than any G7 economy over that period.
Real GDP per capita has risen around 60 per cent since the early 1990s. This compares with an average rise of 44 per cent in the United States, Japan, Germany, Canada and the UK.
And we’ve seen strong income growth across the income distribution.
Half the Australians voting at our recent election had never experienced a recession during their working life.
Trade has always been central to our plan.
One in five Australian jobs relies on trade.
The average Australian family now earns $8,500 more a year than they would have, if we had not lowered barriers to our trade for the last three decades.
Our Government adopted trade as a core component of our economic plan from the day we were first elected back in September 2013.
Over the past five and a half years we have worked hard to further embed Australia into the major economic engines of our region through transformational trade agreements with Japan, Korea, China, and the 10 other nations of the Trans-Pacific Partnership.
Since the Coalition was first elected, the coverage of our free trade agreements has increased from around 26 per cent of our total two-way trade to over 70 per cent.
New export deals have given Australian exporters improved access to an extra 1.75 billion consumers in the world’s largest, fastest growing economies.
Our most recent major agreement was signed with Indonesia earlier this year.
But there is more to do.
An uncertain global economic outlook means Australia’s economic fortunes will depend even more on the quality of our economic management.
This was a key issue at our recent election.
The result of that election means our government will now continue with our ambitious, pro-growth approach, supporting individuals, families and businesses looking to get ahead and prosper.
Our plan is simple and straightforward.
Keep our budget strong Lower taxes Back small and family businesses
Ensure reliable, sustainable and affordable energy
Build the infrastructure Australia needs
Drive all our industries forward, not just the new ones
Ensure all generations have the work skills they need
Encourage and protect workplaces so employers and employees can work and earn more together
Keep big business accountable, and
Secure even more overseas markets for our exporters.
And we implement that plan working from a strong base of achievement.
In Australia, we have just handed down the first Budget surplus in 12 years. We have also retained and affirmed our AAA credit rating from all major agencies, one of only 10 countries in the world to do so.
Having stabilised our net debt, peaking at just 19 per cent of GDP in 2018-19, we will eliminate our net debt within the decade.
More than 1.3 million new jobs have been created since September 2013, especially for younger Australians and women.
Female workforce participation is at record levels. The gender pay gap is at record lows as is working age welfare dependence.
There are more Australians in work than ever before – with jobs growth outstripping all of the G7.
230,000 new small and family businesses have been created.
We are making record investments in health, education, infrastructure, renewable energy, airports, airport rail links, fast rail, to name a few areas. So Australians have the essential services they rely on.
And we’re doing all this without raising taxes.
Indeed, when parliament returns in July our first item of business is to legislate the full tax plan we took to the last election, a plan that cuts taxes for all working Australians and backs in their aspiration.
Our economic plan will see 1.25 million more Australians get a job over the next five years. One in five of these jobs will be for young Australians.
It will see another 250,000 small and family businesses open their doors during the next five years.
It will give an additional 80,000 Australians a career by gaining an apprenticeship.
It will see 10,000 more Australian companies export beyond our shores by 2022 supported by export deals, that by then will cover around 90 per cent of our trade.
AUSTRALIA-UK ECONOMIC RELATIONSHIP
Finally, let me say a few words about our bilateral economic relationship.
The UK is our 8th largest bilateral trading partner with two-way trade approaching $30 billion. And our third largest services trading partner.
The UK is also our second largest source of overall foreign investment – estimated at $575 billion at the end of 2018.
British businesses invest in Australia because they know it’s a stable, growing, well-regulated economy with plenty of opportunity still to come.
Australia is a great place to do business.
The Scottish craft beer company ‘Brewdog’ knows this.
Opening a brewery in Queensland sounds a bit like taking coal to Newcastle.
But Brewdog is doing just that – translating the success it’s had with breweries and bars here in the UK, across Europe, and in the US, by having a go in Australia.
They’re almost ready to open a new 50 hectolitre – that’s 5,000 litres – brewery, canning facility, taproom and restaurant on a greenfields site on the Brisbane river.
It’s a $30 million investment that will create more than 150 jobs in the first few years and around 100 more in the long term.
It’s a big vote of confidence in doing business in Australia. And perhaps a fair exchange for the amount of wine Australia exports to the UK every year – as our biggest international wine market.
Our defence industry relationship is another area of growing opportunity for both countries.
We’re investing in shared platforms and capabilities, which means we can work together seamlessly on global security challenges.
We decided a year ago to partner with BAE Systems to build nine Hunter-class frigates for our Navy.
They’ll be built in South Australia using great British design and know how – with Australian skills and Australian steel.
Let me also stress that the approach of Brexit hasn’t taken the shine off Australia’s confidence in the UK.
The UK remains our second largest foreign investment destination.
And we believe starting FTA negotiations post-Brexit would be an important next step in the relationship. We already have a working group in place looking at the parameters of a free trade negotiation once Brexit happens.
We want to launch negotiations on an FTA with the UK as soon as possible post-Brexit, recognising that the shape and nature of Brexit will affect the timing and nature of future negotiations.
But whatever transpires, Australia will be an active partner, loyal friend and determined advocate of a post-Brexit Britain.
We share the ambition of the UK Government to build a stronger global partnership – in trade and investment, in protecting our security interests, and in supporting global rules and institutions that create the foundations for stability and, thus, for your businesses to thrive.
Our remembrance for those who sacrificed all for the cause of our peace and freedom seventy five years ago is best cherished by ensuring we continue to enable the honest aspirations of our peoples to be realised today - their prosperity, their safety, their happy and quiet enjoyment of life.