Speeches
Condolence - Tim Fischer
9 September 2019
Mr Morrison: (Cook—Prime Minister and Minister for the Public Service) (14:01): I move:
That the House record its deep regret at the death, on 22 August 2019, of the Honourable Timothy Andrew Fischer AC, a Member of this House for the Division of Farrer from 1984 to 2001, place on record its appreciation of his long and meritorious public service, and tender its profound sympathy to his family in their bereavement.
Timothy Andrew Fischer was Australia all over. He was an Australian original—the boy from Boree Creek. He was loved, he was admired, he was respected, he was revered. He came from humble beginnings in Boree Creek, and at the recent memorial service, which the Leader of the Opposition, I and many in this place had the opportunity to attend, we learnt of his humble family beginnings in a very loving and hardworking family. Coming from such a modest start to become a titan for regional Australia was his greatest achievement. Like Bob Hawke, who we remembered in this chamber just a few short months ago, Tim transcended the political divide probably more than any I could nominate in this place, and that's why I think so many of us in this chamber and those who have been in this chamber have a story. We all have a Tim Fischer story, I suspect.
If you ever wanted to know what it's like to tour with Elvis, go on the Indian Pacific with Tim Fischer for three days! I did, and as you walked up and down the carriages amid so many other railway enthusiasts, there was none greater than Tim Fischer. He would stop, he would sit and he would listen to their stories. Those big hands would shake the hands of his fellow Australians, and people would just line up as they engaged with him because Tim had this amazing ability just to focus all of himself on whoever was opposite him. He made them the centre of the universe. There was no trick to it. There was no performance in it. It was 100 per cent pure Tim, and they got 100 per cent of him when he was in that moment. This is why, Judy, he was so loved—so, so, so loved.
Tim knew this country like few others, and he loved it as much as anyone possibly could. He was the best of us, and he made all those he encountered better, too, by knowing him. Tim lived a life bigger than I suspect he could have imagined as a young boy on the family property. At just 11, Tim left the farm to board at Burke Hall and, then, Xavier College in Melbourne. It was a lonely time, as his brother reminded us, but Tim was always willing to have a go, and by his final year he was made a prefect thanks to his dependability and trustworthiness in reports—characteristics that many in politics would later come to appreciate. He also joined the school paper. It was where I'm sure he got all his insights into and his knowledge of the media and its wiles—a precursor to his habit later in life of writing columns for the local paper and calling into newsrooms around the country to make sure that they had his view of whatever the issue of the day might be.
Educated by the Jesuits, Tim embodied their call to be a man for others. For Tim, it was always for others. When the call came to serve his country in Vietnam, Tim served proudly and courageously. Given the option of going to university or serving instead in a special rural youth service at Holsworthy Barracks, he said, 'No. You either do something properly or nothing at all.' Recognising the opportunity to gain something from his military experience, Tim applied and was one of the few accepted for officer training. After his training, in 1967, Second Lieutenant Tim Fischer was told that if he wanted to go to Vietnam he would have to extend his service by nine months, and, typical of the man we know, he did—not just once but twice.
He returned to the farm humbly and modestly and worked quietly through so much of what he saw in Vietnam. Not long back, Tim again heard the call to serve his country and, at the age of just 24, he entered the New South Wales parliament as both the youngest-ever Country Party MP and the first Vietnam veteran to serve in any Australian parliament. Thirteen and a half years later, he came here to Canberra.
It's easy now, when we remember Tim, to think first of his many quirks and endearing traits: the stoop, the hat, the big hands I've mentioned, his unique cadence and its faint echo of a childhood speech impediment that was never totally mastered. And then there was that singularity, that individuality that set him slightly apart from the rest of the world. Whether it was his famous and insatiable passion for trains, his love of Bhutan—and he remained a passionate adherent to the indicator of national happiness all the way through his life—his trademark Akubra or his command of chess, there was none like him. But to only remember these things about Tim would be to do him a great injustice. He was a deep thinker; a true representative of the bush; a man respected throughout our region; a man of immense political skill, content with his own company but also one of the people. He was a great coalitionist—one of the greatest, I would say—and a formidable leader.
In 1993, when my side of politics lost what was called 'the unlosable election', under Tim's leadership the Nationals actually picked up two seats. And in 1996, together with John Howard, he delivered the coalition one of our greatest-ever victories, increasing Nationals representation yet again. He threw himself into the role of trade minister. He was tireless—a respected negotiator who championed an end to protectionism and who championed a greater engagement with Asia. As trade minister, he built on 20 years of engagement in the region, and during that time he visited every country in the region but Sri Lanka and the Maldives. He did most of it at his own expense prior to coming into the job. What did every visit and interaction teach him? Respect—mutual respect. That was his currency for engagement.
It seemed appropriate that, when I learnt of Tim's death, Jenny and I were on our way to Vietnam for our recent visit. One of the first countries he visited as trade minister and Deputy Prime Minister was Vietnam. During that visit, he didn't just hold bilateral meetings; he tended to his soul as well. He visited an orphanage built by Vietnam Veterans Reconstruction Group, and he made a private visit to Long Tan. He made many trips to Vietnam. He said he wanted to 'help speed the healing of the scars of conflict', because he said he could 'foresee a future of peace, co-operation and prosperity for both Australia and Vietnam', and he was right. That is now being realised.
Tim was a man of formidable character. Former deputy John Anderson wrote of how 'magnificently freeing it is to work closely with someone who is essentially honest and transparent', and it was that character that defined his finest hour. After Port Arthur, he put the wellbeing of Australians and what he knew to be right ahead of populist politics. Gun laws were not popular in regional Australia, but he stood shoulder to shoulder with John Howard, and, as John Howard said, 'showed tremendous guts and leadership'. Together, they introduced and passed through this place gun laws for which Australians will be forever grateful to Tim Fischer and to John Howard—and we owe a special debt to Tim Fischer in his finest hour.
That was the campaign, I'm told, that Tim was most proud of. Later, in 1998, he had to face the backlash of the gun laws and the first incarnation of One Nation, and he took it on. He didn't demonise those with a different view. Instead, he just sought to persuade them, and in most cases he did. He was pretty persuasive—relentlessly persuasive. The Nationals lost only two seats at that election, which was a remarkable outcome in the course of the argument he was taking to his home territories.
When Tim left this place to genuinely spend more time with Judy and their two then-young sons, we lost him from the parliament but we did not lose him from national service. He served at Tourism Australia. He served and championed the Royal Flying Doctor Service, as its chairman. He served, with distinction, as our first resident Ambassador to the Holy See, appointed by the Rudd government, working closely with the Vatican on the canonisation of Saint Mary McKillop.
I'm pleased to inform the House that, as some may know, Tim was held in such high regard that His Holiness Pope Francis awarded Tim, in his final days, the Order of Saint Gregory the Great, in recognition of his personal services to the Holy See and for the example he set in his community and country. Tim will also be remembered for his tireless advocacy for one of our greatest soldiers, General Sir John Monash. It is fitting that Tim Fischer's name will now join with that of Monash in a perpetual scholarship to be supported by the government. The Tim Fischer John Monash scholarship will be awarded each year by the General Sir John Monash Foundation to a worthy scholar from a rural or regional background, to follow in his very big footsteps. It is a lasting legacy that pays tribute to Tim's belief in education, service and leadership, but most of all his passion for the future of regional Australia.
In mourning Tim Fischer, we remember a statesman, a mentor, a fierce advocate for the region, for our country and for its people. But we mostly remember a very dear friend. Judy and Harrison and Dominic have lost far more than the rest of us: an adored husband and father. We thank you for sharing Tim with the rest of us, Judy, Harrison and Dominic. Dominic is here today, as is Judy. We thank all of his family. His brother, who is also here today, spoke so beautifully at the memorial service. Thank you for sharing those stories with us. We also thank you for caring for him so wonderfully in those final years.
Tim Fischer made this country a better place. He made many of us better people. Now, may he rest in the arms of a loving God. God bless Tim Fischer.
Remarks, Opening of Bickford’s Aseptic Beverage Line
5 September 2019
Salisbury South, SA
PRIME MINISTER: Thank you very much Steven, and It’s great to be here with you again here in South Australia. We share a passion for what is going on here in the Kotses family.
You look around here, this is what Australia is all about. This is what it’s about.
Can I also acknowledge the Garna people pay my respects to Elders past, present and emerging.
And acknowledge any veterans who are amongst us and any serving men and women in the ADF.
I have to tell you I was pretty thrilled at getting this invitation to come along from the Premier. It came, together with yourself, from Angelo and it read and I quote, ‘We cordially’ – cheeky – ‘…invite the Prime Minister to open a new production line.’ How could I refuse that? Bickford’s is truly a great Australian brand and I think what you're doing here in northern Adelaide is fantastic for our manufacturing sector.
You know, we make things in Australia and you're making things here in South Australia. It's happening right here, right now with everyone who’s here today.
Opening this new production line will create new jobs at this facility, as well as potential future jobs across the supply chain. In administrative jobs, in sales and marketing jobs. It will provide current workers with opportunities to upskill and I know Bickford’s already employs some 450 Australians right across the country.
Whether you were born in Lahore, or you were born in Lonsdale, it doesn’t matter - there are jobs here, and jobs here for Australians who come from all manner of backgrounds. It’s a great example of how the latest technology can be used to make production more efficient and also more environmentally friendly. We’re going 100 per cent recycling here at Bickford’s. That's exciting. I know the kids will particularly be excited about that commitment and I know Angelo is very committed to that goal.
More importantly though it will mean more of the delicious beverages - and there's been quite a few in my fridge over the years - ends up in the fridges and pantries in homes and great restaurants and cafes all around the world.
I'm told that some 1.1 million Australians buy Bickford’s. 1.1 million drink cordial each month. Now that's an astounding figure - one in every 25 Australians every single month. And that's not accounting for sales of other products like soft drinks, juices and many other things that were in the video that we just saw. And it goes to show how loyal your customers are and how iconic your brand is.
The new production line is another step forward. I understand it's the only one of its kind in the region, giving Bickford’s a real competitive advantage. Supermarkets in Jakarta, in Tokyo, in Seoul and elsewhere in Asia are overflowing with people wanting to buy high quality - I stress that again. That's the future of Australian manufacturing. High-quality products. And I understand Bickford’s has invested $20 million to establish this new line and in this plant. I'm sure that it will be well spent and it's been well considered, as we've walked through the production line and we see how you do things.
This funding was delivered with the support of the Australian Government. We put $2.5 million into this project. Why do we do that? Because we believe in what's happening here. Why have I come here today? Because I believe in what the Kotses family is doing. I believe in the employees who are here and the hard work you put into what we do and the standards that you set for yourself and the way you work together and you live the values that are put up on the wall here in the plant. We believe in it and if you believe in it, you invest in it, and that's what we're doing here in South Australia, and we will continue to do that through these programs.
This program that has invested $2.5 million is part of the Advanced Manufacturing Fund and the Manufacturing Modernisation Fund. This is all set up to help manufacturers adopt new technology and develop high value products. And there are many other initiatives to boost research and support SMEs all around the country.
But today's opening of Bickford’s new production line is a signal to other manufacturers in Adelaide, in South Australia, that this is a great place to invest and grow. So I do hope it instils broader confidence in the strength of local manufacturing. Bickford’s has a long-standing reputation for quality and reliability and you're combining this with a focus on the future with new technology and new markets.
There'll be millions more people, whether they're here or Vietnam or anywhere else, who will continue to enjoy your products for many years to come. But what I know will never change here, as I've had the opportunity and the great privilege to meet people on the line this morning and to chat to Angelo and his family, is the values that underpin what you do here. The commitment and the loyalty and the values and the commitment to excellence and a commitment to your community to this business being a success. That's what will ultimately turn around South Australia. And that's what I know the Premier is backing in as well. They're backing South Australians and the judgment they're making, backing Australians and the judgment they’re making.
The Australian economy is growing and I'll tell you why it's growing. It's because of you and what's happening in places like this all around the country. That's our future.
We're an optimistic lot, Australians. We are a very optimistic lot. We believe in what we can do in the future. There are plenty of people out there they want to talk things down and get grumpy and mopey and all the rest of it. But I’ll tell you what, that doesn't grow a state and it doesn't grow a country and when you turn up to work every day and when I turn up to work every day, we think about the positive future that Australia has, that South Australia has and Adelaide has. And I really want to thank the Kotses family for leading by example. I want you to put your hands together for the Kotses family.
A great family business. A great Australian family. A family that tells the story of Australia, who came and saw the opportunities here a generation ago. And raising new generations that are before us yet, sharing the prosperity but mainly in the hard work that generated that prosperity.
It's a great Australian story and there are so many more chapters to be written and you'll be writing them all.
We're pleased to be a part of it. Thank you very much for the opportunity to be here today.
Remarks, Opening of the Nancy-Bird Walton Western Sydney Airport Experience Centre
2 September 2019
Luddenham, NSW
PRIME MINISTER: Well thank you very much Paul and it's wonderful to be here on this very important day.
Can I also acknowledge the traditional owners of the land on which we meet, the Darug people and their elders past, present and emerging. And thank you Melissa for your welcome to country here today. And thank you to the young Indigenous singers, singing in the voice and the language of the Eora people.
Down where I'm from down in the Shire [inaudible]. And for as long as I can remember our kids have been singing the national anthem in Dharawal and my children learned to do that at the local public school where they went and it's wonderful to hear the national anthem in Indigenous language. So it's been a tremendous I think, way I think to mark that respect for Indigenous people here today. Thank you very much for that opportunity.
We were singing “in history's page let every stage Advance Australia Fair”. Well that's what we're doing today. And I'm joined here for that very important occasion by the Deputy Prime Minister of course Michael McCormack, to my ministerial colleagues Mathias Cormann and of course Alan Tudge the Minister for congestion busting and many other things, and Stuart Ayres it's always great to be with you here. The New South Wales Government is a tremendous partnership but it's more important to be here with Stuart and Melissa McIntosh and Angus Taylor as Members for Western Sydney.
Every time I come out to this project which has been over a long period of time now it goes back to advocacy back in my tourism days. This project has been so important for Australia's future, for Sydney's future but most importantly Western Sydney's future. And to be here a year ago as we turn the first sod and to be here, not that long ago, earlier this year to name the airport the Nancy Bird-Walton, the Western Sydney Nancy-Bird Walton airport, earlier this year with the Premier, and to be here again today for the opening of this centre and the new works that are going ahead.
This has been a project of great passion for our government first under Tony Abbott and then I acknowledge here that Lucy Turnbull is here today and she's done tremendous work in Sydney more broadly but of course Malcolm was a keen advocate of this project and did a lot to make sure this project is happening here today and I've been pleased to be part of all of that work over the years. What we're talking about here is jobs, jobs and more jobs not just the jobs of the 11,000 that are here on what people are working on at the airport and this next massive phase of moving 25 million cubic meters of Earth. But the jobs that are being brought about by the aero-tropolis itself, this will be the gravity point for Sydney, into the future and the young kids, who raise the flag here today, they’re raising the flag on a [inaudible] here in Western Sydney. For cities to grow and cities to realise their potential.
It's these types of projects that are launching them in to a whole new sphere. And that's why this project has always been so exciting. That's why we have always understood as a government that we had to take the initiative to finally getting this happening. It had been talked about going back to the 60s. And for it to be realised now and through the great work that Paul O'Sullivan and his team have been doing at WSA to ensure we've been able to stay on track and let the contracts and to ensure that the works are proceeding to ensure that all could take place required a determination and a decision making that we have been steadfastly putting in place now for many years. And so the works we can see happening now. This isn't something that's about to happen. This is something that is already happening, and today it's about opening the experience centre which will enable people from all over the world who when they come out here to Western Sydney to see what's happening here. But most importantly for our school kids young children who can come out here and see what's happening in their city in their part of the city and to catch the excitement about what's happening.
I remember when I was younger, when projects were taking place you'd always want to see what was going on. When a little older, when the Sydney Olympics came to this wonderful city and the excitement that spread across the city and here we are seeing something at a whole new dimension happening here in Western Sydney. And this experience will enable a whole generation of young Australians of young people from western Sydney to see their future unveiling before their very eyes. It invites the community to come and watch the progress in real time. It invites people to press their faces to the glass and watch as the future unfolds there under this wide blue sky and it invites them to see that it is their future. They'll see a dozen years hence an airport twice the size of Kingsford Smith, plane journeys that crisscross the globe a bustling aero-tropolis hosting 10 million passengers every year and above all they'll see a landmark that brings jobs investment and dollars and lasting benefits to their city and connects them to the rest of the world. And that's the vision that inspires and propels this project, and has from day one.
So I want to thank everyone who's been involved. I want to thank all of those who will be involved. And we just look forward to what this project continues to offer not just all of us here in Western Sydney today or across this wonderful city of Sydney but right across the country. This is a project of great national significance. This is going to be a boon for the Australian economy not just the Western Sydney economy or the Sydney economy or the New South Wales economy. It is for the entire nation.
We're a government that is building things, will continue to build things because that's how you build the future of this great country so it gives me great pleasure to now officially open the Western Sydney International Nancy-Bird Walton airport experience centre and to thank all of those who have played such a huge role in ensuring that it's been such a great success. Thank you very much for your attention.
Remarks - Maritime Boundary Treaty Ceremony
30 August 2019
Dili, Timor-Leste
Prime Minister Ruak, Minister Pereira, Minister of State for the Presidency of the Council of Ministers, Foreign Minister Soares, Australian Minister for Foreign Affairs Marise Payne, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen.
It’s an honour for me to be here in Dili, on this day full of meaning for the people of Timor-Leste. On this day, twenty years ago, the people of Timor-Leste voted for freedom. They voted for sovereignty, and democracy. They voted to be reborn as the first new nation of the 21st century. And because of that day, as Chief Negotiator, His Excellency Xanana Gusmao once said, “The sun rises every day over a free Timor-Leste.”
Today, you are a proud nation, a young nation, risen from the ashes. One that’s shown the world how to overcome violence with peace, and rebuild what was torn down. So that your land can be renewed and your people can flourish.
In just twenty years you have built a vibrant democracy. You’ve created the institutions that support it, and held the free and peaceful elections that sustain it. You’ve built hospitals and schools and roads. You’ve brought down infant mortality and poverty, and eradicated polio. You’ve sent a team to the Olympic Games four times. You’ve travelled a long road, and I believe even more progress and prosperity lie ahead. I’m very proud that Australia is part of your journey.
Since the days of INTERFET, Australians have worked with you here to promote peace and nurture growth. We are committed to the sovereignty and prosperity of Timor-Leste. And today, we open a new chapter in that partnership. Founded on shared respect, shared interests, and shared values. Strengthened by talking together, working together, and solving problems together. That’s exactly what we’ve done with the new Maritime Boundary Treaty, which comes into force today.
In a region where some boundary disputes remain unresolved, Australia and Timor-Leste have set an example by sitting down, as neighbours, partners, and friends, to finalise a new maritime boundary. We’ve worked through our differences, as friends and partners do, and we’ve led the way in finding a peaceful resolution through the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea.
In Australia’s parliament, there was a bipartisan effort to pass the domestic legislation for the treaty quickly, so we’d be ready to mark the Treaty’s beginning on this day so full of meaning for you and for us. This boundary doesn’t keep us apart. It brings us together. We’ll continue to work with you, as we have done since 2001, on the security and stability of our region.
As we begin this new chapter today, on behalf of all Australians I say: May the sun rise over a free Timor-Leste in all the days to come.
Thank you.
State Funeral Service - The Hon Tim Fischer AC
29 August 2019
Albury, NSW
PRIME MINISTER: Thank you very much Michael.
Tim wasn't someone given to disappointment, but there were exceptions. He was Deputy Prime Minister, Minister for Trade and he was on a visit to India.
He was in New Delhi and his staff had noticed that an interesting meeting had appeared on his schedule. He was to meet with the Indian Minister for Transport. Tim was particularly excited about this day.
He was going to have this meeting on his own - staff were not permitted to go into this special meeting that it would seem that he had personally arranged.
On that day, he went in, sat down with the Minister for Transport. Staff waited patiently outside - it was a rather lengthy meeting - and as he came out, the staff noticed that he had a very glum look on his face. A very frustrated look on his face.
And they said, “What’s up Boss?”
“That man doesn't know his trains!”
It's true. Tim Fischer had a great love of trains, a boyhood fascination that stayed with him for life, and we all have a train story about Tim.
But when I spoke to Judy the other day from Vietnam, she said, “I hope people remember more than Tim than his love of trains.”
And that's what we're doing here today.
It was one of many things we loved about him but Tim was so much more than that.
Today we gather to celebrate the life of Timothy Andrew Fischer AC. We gather with Judy, with Harrison and Dominic to extend to them all of our comfort, all of our love and all of our support and to give thanks for your remarkable husband and father of whom I know you are truly proud.
We gather amongst friends to farewell a dear and true friend. We gather as Australians to honour a veteran, a colleague, and a patriot who served his country faithfully and well.
Tim Fischer was an original. Emphatically made in Australia. He was - and I'm sure Macca wouldn't mind me saying - Australia All Over.
A big man in every sense of the word, as big as the country he loved and served.
His big hat, his big hands, his big frame, his big beliefs and passions, his big view of Australia, and of Australians. He had a big courage, but one he combined with a gentle and forgiving kindness that understood human frailty.
He was a deeply honest man, and he was no stranger to humility.
I heard a preacher say once, “God uses those who care.”
In Tim Fischer, this gave God a lot to work with.
Tim was infectious. For Tim, life was about people.
He had the ability to focus all of his attention on you. He would give himself over completely in his engagement with you - you had his attention, you mattered. He listened and he always remembered.
I was having a beer with Tim once at the Gardeners Inn pub up in Blackheath one night and a fellow came up to him and he said, “You won’t remember me.”
And as I'm sure you know, he remembered his name, he remembered what he talked about and where he met him and it was something like twenty three years previous.
Rule number one - we were just hearing of rules number two and three - of Tim's list of tips for new MPs was to ensure they kept in touch with at least 10 close friends from outside of politics to ensure they kept those friendships alive.
Tim understood the value of people in his life and he never expected anyone else to do what he wouldn't do himself.
In 1986 when a young refugee from Laos devastated by the separation from his family stormed the Immigration Department's office here in Albury it was Tim who walked inside, against all advice, to talk to him, and it was Tim who peacefully resolved the siege hours later.
When his country called, Tim Fischer never failed to answer.
From proudly serving in Vietnam in the Australian Army to his election to both state and federal Parliaments, to his leadership of the great National Party - and I acknowledge Michael McCormack here, the leader of the Nationals today - as Minister for Trade, as Deputy Prime Minister and his many roles post politics.
No one was ever left guessing what Tim believed and what he was passionate about and he always channelled that passion into action.
As acting Prime Minister, he revelled in running the country from Mount Kosciuszko. As Trade Minister, he championed an end to protectionism and greater engagement with Asia.
And because, as much as Tim fought fiercely for the people of his beloved rural and regional Australia, he was big too in his view of Australia's place in the world and he left a great mark upon it.
In the wake of the Port Arthur tragedy in 1996, a truly horrific page in our nation's history, where John Howard who is here today with his wife Janette garnered the strength and mettle to mount swift action with new gun laws, it was as Deputy Prime Minister and Leader of the Nationals that Tim Fischer shared that resolve.
And for him, this task was arguably even greater. Gun laws were not popular in regional Australia in 1996 and where there was resistance, Tim copped the brunt of it.
He stumped up and he persuaded, together with the Prime Minister, and convinced regional Australians about the need for change.
It wasn't easy.
He stood firm with his Prime Minister, co-committed as Leader of the Nationals, to that great Coalition which we share to this day, unwavering until it was done.
Australians are now safe today because of him.
I'm sure the former Prime Minister Howard would agree they were Tim's laws too, and we are indeed truly grateful.
This was his finest moment among so many, and Australia will always be in his debt.
After leaving Parliament Tim continued to put his country first, answering the call from both governments of all sides of politics.
For Tim, it was always about Australia.
His authenticity, his preparedness to be himself made him who he was.
A tower of strength, a titan of regional Australia, a giant of a human being, a man of deep faith, a devoted and adoring husband and father, a dear and loved friend, the son of a grateful nation.
Tim Fischer was one of a kind.
And the boy from Boree Creek has left us too soon.
May he rest in peace.
As he enters eternity, he will no doubt be greeted with the words, “Well done, good and faithful servant.”
And for those who he has left behind here, we can take comfort in the simple fact that we knew and we loved Tim Fischer.
And we are better for it.
Remarks, State Banquet
23 August 2019
Hanoi, Vietnam
PRIME MINISTER: On behalf of my wife Jenny and I and all of our delegation, can I thank you for the incredibly warm and friendly and kind and generous welcome that you've given to us here in Hanoi in Viet Nam today.
I spoke today about an Australian word - mateship. I want to talk about another Australian phrase and it relates to Madam Thu and my wife Jenny. And I can say, Prime Minister Phuc, that we are punching well above our weight.
[Laughter]
Which means that Madam Thu and Jenny - or Madam Jenny, I should call her - look absolutely beautiful this evening.
[Applause]
But I spoke about mateship. I speak of a new relationship between Australia and Viet Nam, one that goes to a whole new level of amity between our two countries. And one that speaks to the personal relationship that I sincerely believe, and if you permit me to say, that I think Phuc and I now enjoy.
[Applause]
We embraced when we met each other today, and that was a sincere embrace. I think it speaks about the strong foundations we have, to see this relationship in every facet go to a whole new level.
But I must say, Prime Minister, as Jenny and I stood on the balcony of Ho Chi Minh’s house today and reflected on the journey since that time, how two countries with such different cultures, such different languages, such different heritages, can be at a point now where we share such a strong friendship and such a shared outlook about the future. It gives me great hope. It gives me great optimism about the region in which we live and the contribution we can both make to the world in which we both live.
We have come a long way and we still have a long way to travel. But I do look forward to making the journey with you. It will be one based on trust and one based - as someone reminded me today about our relationship - one that should be based on a great care shown to each other.
So the spirit of that great care it is for me now to propose a toast also. I invite you to join me in a toast to the health of Prime Minister Phuc and Madam Thu. To the success and prosperity of the Viet Namese people, to the friendship between and I should say the mateship between our two countries and to the health of you all.
[Applause]
Remarks, Business Breakfast
23 August 2019
Hanoi, Vietnam
On behalf of my delegation, we are all very pleased to be here with all of you today. We embraced as I arrived because we are friends, and Australia and Viet Nam are good friends.
Today marks 25 years since an Australian Prime Minister has come to Viet Nam on a bilateral visit. Much has happened during that time and so it is exciting that today we can reflect on all of those achievements that we have been able to bring about together as two countries, and reflect on the opportunities that we will have in the future, anchored by the strategic partnership that was signed last year by you, Prime Minister Phuc.
Trust, an equal partnership, and a commitment to an independent and sovereign Indo-Pacific. We are here because Viet Nam matters to Australia and you have made it personally very clear that Australia matters to Viet Nam.
My goal today, as we work and our wives enjoy Hanoi, is to find further concrete ways that we can further strengthen our economic and trade partnership together and address the many issues that you and I address on a daily basis to ensure strong, independent, and vibrant Indo-Pacific.
Our goal is to become top-ten trade and investment partners and our strategy will help both countries take advantage of those emerging market opportunities and shared trade commitments we have already entered into. And in particular I thank Viet Nam for its commitment for the CPTPP and we look forward to that being implemented and the benefits of that agreement assisting in developing both countries.
Our economic ministers will soon hold the inaugural Australia-Viet Nam economic partnership meeting in Australia. But today, business leaders from Australia who join me here today will speak to this relationship and their commitments and what they see as the opportunities, and I think that will be the great opportunity of this morning’s breakfast dialogue.
Speech - Australian Chamber of Commerce Viet Nam
23 August 2019
Hanoi, Vietnam
Prime Minister
PRIME MINISTER: Thank you to tonight’s co-hosts: Phil Dowler and the Board of the Australian Chamber of Commerce in Viet Nam.
You are tireless in your promotion of Australia’s business interests in this dynamic economy.
And Dr Vu Tien Loc, President of the Viet Nam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI).
The VCCI works closely with Australia to help develop Viet Nam’s private sector and reduce business regulations.
Two great organisations, both working to make the partnership between Australia and Viet Nam even stronger. Thank you both for hosting dinner this evening.
It is wonderful to be here in this city of one thousand years.
Hanoi speaks of the ebbs and flows of history.
Of powers that have come and gone – and of an enduring people and culture that has provided a constancy to national life.
We have in Australia, over 300,000 people of Viet Namese descent.
Through their diligence, enterprising spirit, and their love of family and community they have enriched our national life.
There is between our peoples a direct and deep understanding beyond Governments and political systems of how to work together.
That in many ways is at the heart of our relationship.
It is the foundation for the trust we are building that will bind us together for a bright future.
Here we are, two different societies; two different political systems; two nations who were once in terrible conflict; but who now work together on so many fronts.
As our countries have changed, we have worked to understand each other better and build a lasting relationship.
That is why I am here.
The relationship we have, the relationship we are building.
A relationship that speaks strongly to the future of our region. Partners for a stable, peaceful, prosperous and independent Indo-Pacific region. A region of sovereign interdependent states, resistant to coercion but open to engagement on the basis of shared interests.
The change we see in the connections between our countries is underpinned by the changes that have been occurring in Australia for many years.
Our Governor in South Australia, Hieu Van Le was born in Viet Nam. He is a deeply loved figure in South Australia.
He has said this: “Only four to five decades ago Australia was the most monocultural country in the world. Today, Australia is the most culturally diverse country in the world”.
What Australia has discovered is that these organic people to people linkages create so much opportunity.
As it is tended, this is a relationship that can only grow.
My message to you today is this: Viet Nam matters to Australia.
And I know that our partnership matters to Viet Nam.
I am here because of how far the relationship has come, and because I see the potential.
My government sees the potential.
Our challenge is to realise that potential. We need ambition and action to turn potential into reality.
This is a great time to be doing business in Viet Nam.
Our commitment to each other, and our shared vision for security and prosperity, has never been stronger.
It was a historic moment when His Excellency Prime Minister Phuc visited Australia last year and we formally elevated our relationship to the level of a Strategic Partnership.
It’s yet another sign of our deepening cooperation.
It makes sense for us to work together.
We share a vision for an open, inclusive and prosperous Indo-Pacific neighbourhood.
An Indo-Pacific where we respect each other’s sovereignty and independence, because if we allow the sovereignty or independence of any of our neighbours to suffer coercion, then we are all diminished.
And we share a deep interest in the stability and prosperity of our region.
My Government is about expanding opportunity for all of us through building closer connections, right across the board.
The ASEAN-Australia Special Summit in Sydney last year exemplified that.
As Australia and the ASEAN nations declared in Sydney, we are partners with a vital stake in a dynamic region that’s undergoing major changes.
It’s more important than ever before that we remain open and connected and maintain a regional focus with a global perspective.
We know that in Southeast Asia we need security and peace to maintain our prosperity.
I’m sure many of you have noticed the developing mutual trust between our countries, particularly in areas like economic development, defence, immigration and law enforcement.
We are working together in a very practical way, building closer connections.
Australia’s support for Viet Nam’s development and growth, which has helped build these strong foundations, has evolved into a genuine economic partnership which is strong and vibrant.
Many of you here tonight represent Australian companies and institutions that embody that partnership – some with long histories here too.
We’ve got ANZ which has been helping Australian companies trade with and invest in Viet Nam since it opened here back in 1993 – one of the first foreign banks to do so.
Allens has been here for more than 20 years and they’re one of the largest and most successful foreign law firms in Viet Nam.
RMIT started here back in 2001 with just 40 students.
Today that number is more than 6000.
It’s great to see RMIT and our vocational education providers helping produce job-ready graduates for Viet Nam’s growing workforce.
And I thank Vice Chancellor Bean for his strong support of tonight’s event.
SunRice has been sourcing rice from Viet Nam for more than a decade, operates a rice mill in the Mekong Delta and has invested in research to develop higher value rice varieties — which means better returns for Viet Namese farmers.
Australian companies are also behind some very large and exciting projects here too.
Linfox is expanding – they’ve opened a huge new warehouse in Bac Ninh – worth more than US$20 million – to service northern Viet Nam.
The world’s largest aluminium hull shipbuilder, Austal, is building high speed catamaran passenger ferries here for export around the world.
Hundreds of local workers at their shipyard in Ba Ria-Vung Tau Province are involved in that.
BlueScope Steel is also in that province and they’re investing heavily in local community development there.
You all exemplify Australia’s reputation for quality goods and services in Viet Nam.
So while we may not be Viet Nam’s biggest economic partner, we can be its highest quality economic partner – and that’s thanks to the work that you’re doing.
It’s also thanks to the Viet Namese Government’s efforts to make it easier to do business here, and the Australian business community tells me these efforts are paying dividends.
Viet Nam understands, as Australia does, that the foundation of so much that a country can do starts with a strong economy.
Viet Nam is on a remarkable trajectory of growth - 7.1 per cent last year, and the IMF expects Viet Nam to continue strong growth of 6.5 per cent in 2019.
The short and medium-term growth prospects are positive too.
This is no accident. It’s not a matter of good fortune.
It’s because of hard work and commitment.
It’s because of 30 years of economic reform.
In a time when dark clouds are on the horizon in terms of global trade, it is so good to see countries like Viet Nam supporting and embracing trade liberalisation.
We share a commitment to open trade and investment, and together stand to benefit from the TPP-11.
I want to acknowledge the vital role of Viet Nam to the TPP-11.
When the US withdrew from the TPP, most thought the deal would simply fall over.
It is a great testament to Viet Nam’s commitment to trade liberalisation that it stuck with the TPP even without the US - its biggest trading partner.
Together we created the world’s most consequential trade agreement in two decades.
Viet Nam and Australia also share an ambition to conclude the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership this year.
We’re at a sweet spot in our partnership. Viet Nam is rapidly industrialising and developing, and Australia is willing and able to support that growth.
Our two economies are complementary ― I believe we can and will prosper together.
Our exports to Viet Nam are at record levels.
In the first six months of 2019, Australian merchandise exports to Viet Nam increased by 37 per cent compared with the same six months last year.
That’s an impressive jump.
Viet Namese exports to Australia are also growing.
Overall, two-way trade set a new record of $14.6 billion in 2018.
In the years ahead, I’d like to see Australian investment in Viet Nam grow further, and I hope to make some progress on that during my visit this week.
One area of big opportunity is energy.
When Viet Nam starts importing LNG in 2020, Australian gas producers like Woodside, whose CEO, Peter Coleman, is here tonight, have aspirations to be part of that and are working towards making that happen.
And I know Macquarie Group, whose Executive Chairman David Roseman is also here, is interested in investing in Viet Nam’s renewable energy sector, and in particular, partnering with Viet Nam to develop offshore wind projects.
The capacity for Australia and Viet Nam to work even more closely together is enormous.
Our partnership is full of potential.
It’s full of opportunities.
And the people in this room today are the ones who turn those opportunities into reality.
Thank you for your efforts in being part of a thriving, successful economic partnership.
And I’m looking forward to many prosperous years to come.
Statement On Indulgence - First moon landing 50th anniversary
22 July 2019
Mr Morrison: (Cook—Prime Minister and Minister for the Public Service) (14:00): I start by welcoming to the chamber today Ambassador Culvahouse and the many others who have joined us today representing the United States. Today I rise to recognise the 50th anniversary of Apollo 11's historic trip to the moon and to honour all who made it possible, including the many Australians who were part of that amazing achievement. Fifty years ago it was said that the heavens became part of man's world, and for one priceless moment all the people of this world were truly one. The achievement of that day lives through the ages. We should never cease to marvel at that achievement nor take it for granted, nor the nation that enabled us to achieve it. The Apollo missions were missions of unparalleled risk and opportunity. As President Kennedy said at Rice University in 1962—and we could almost all say it together—'We choose to go to the moon not because it is easy but because it is hard. That goal will serve to organise and measure the best of our energies and skills.' And that's indeed what it did, inspiring generations to follow.
The decision to send a person to the moon ultimately involved the efforts and toil of 400,000 men and women for almost a decade. I'm sure many members and many outside of this place have taken the opportunity to watch many of the documentaries that have been airing and to marvel again at the tremendous stories. I took that opportunity with my kids over the weekend. These 400,000 men and women included 700 Australians. Every part of their effort was vital. Every challenge was interconnected with every other part of their mission. Nothing could be left undone, because the consequences of failure were too great. All who worked on the Apollo program carried the burden of Apollo 1, when astronauts Virgil Grissom, Ed White and Roger Chaffee were incinerated in the command module.
Australia's involvement in the Apollo missions was through our tracking facilities. NASA located these stations around the world at equidistant points in California, Spain and Australia. Communications to the Apollo missions depended on these tracking stations. As The Canberra Times wrote of the stations at Honeysuckle and Tidbinbilla, 'the road to the moon leads through Tharwa', and it did. The tracking stations formed part of the electromagnetic umbilical cord through which information travelled 186,000 miles per second. In the words of historian and author Andrew Tink, who I understand is in the building today, 'Without the tracking stations, mission control would have been deaf, dumb and blind to astronauts on the moon, and vice versa.'
Under the leadership of Tom Reid, who as many Canberrans would know is the late husband of former senator Margaret Reid, Honeysuckle, Tidbinbilla and Parkes all played their part in a remarkable moment for humanity. It is a remarkable thing that we rarely say that Americans went to the moon, though that is a statement of obvious fact. Rather, to us it wasn't just Americans who went to the moon; it was humankind that went to the moon. That's because the United States, through its actions, embodied the best of us and all of us. Buzz Aldrin said, 'The Apollo missions stand as a symbol of the insatiable curiosity of all mankind to explore the unknown.' They remind us that through united, concerted and unrelenting effort we can meet the challenges of our age: cancer, disease, water, climate, race—all things that challenge us.
Fifty years ago our Prime Minister, along with others, was asked to write a message which was inscribed on a disc that was left on the moon's surface. John Gorton wrote:
This is a dramatic fulfilment of man's urge to go 'always a little further'.
May the high courage and the technical genius which made this achievement possible be so used in the future that mankind will live in a universe in which peace, self-expression and the chance of dangerous adventure are available to all.
Fifty years on, that is the lesson of Apollo 11, and the world will forever be grateful.
Speech, Institute of Public Administration
19 August 2019
Parliament House, Canberra
PRIME MINISTER: Thank you very much Martin.
Can I also join you in welcoming my colleagues who are here today, Greg Hunt who is also the Minister assisting me for the public service, to Ben Morton, to Zed Seselja, and to those who may be linking in from other places.
Can I also Martin, place on record my appreciation and that of the Government and all the Governments’ if I can be so bold, to say that you’ve served- for your service, can I thank you for your advice personally, and can I thank you for your dedication to the welfare of the Australian people over an outstanding public service career.
Over almost four decades - we’re having a dinner at the Lodge tonight for Martin and Heather and a number of friends and we can reflect on four decades of stories I’m sure, and that has included more than a decade at the helm of three different Departments, and great Departments of this public service. You’ve been committed to fearless advice, no one can accuse you, not of doing that, to policy reform and making this country a better place.
I wish you and Heather all the very best for the new challenges that lay ahead and we’re a grateful nation thank you very much.
Please thank Martin Parkinson.
I want to also acknowledge all the other Secretaries who are here today, including the incoming Secretary of the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet, Phil Gaetjens who tells me his tie is where it’s always been- at home! Not around his neck. There are many things I’m familiar with with Phil, not just that. And congratulations to you Phil and I’m sure you’ll pick that up in the weeks ahead, and I look forward to working with you.
This place, our Parliament House, is on Ngunnawal land. Can I acknowledge the Ngunnawal people, their elders past, present, and those importantly, who are emerging, who we want to encourage and who we want to celebrate.
To any servicemen and women who are here today, to any veterans particularly as yesterday we marked the commemoration of Vietnam vets. Can I say to you, simply on behalf of our nation: ‘Thank you for your service’.
And today of all days I want to widen the circle to all who serve the Australian public in the APS; those of you in this room, or across Australia, wherever you happen to be in every state and territory as well as overseas, thank you for what you do for our country and all of your fellow citizens.
More than 240,000 Australians work for the Commonwealth Government in one form or another.
About 80,000 are in the ADF. Add to that another 16,000 or so in the civilian arm of the APS providing for our nation’s defence.
There are thousands more men and women in Home Affairs and our other security agencies, working every day to keep Australians safe through intelligence gathering, securing our borders, counter-terrorism, taking up the fight to those who would seek to do us harm.
One of the greatest achievements of these agencies is 16 thwarted terrorist attacks and that’s something that the heads of those agencies can be very proud to have been able to achieve.
Thousands more are devoted to growing our economy, because we all know everything else stems from that. And ensuring Australians get a fair go in their daily lives, delivering on our infrastructure program, making our industries more competitive, opening up new markets, enforcing our corporate laws.
The list goes on – some 19,000 people in the Tax Office ensuring everyone pays their fair share according to the laws of this country, we think people should pay less tax, but they should all pay the taxes that they should pay. And to share the support of the services- and to provide the support for the services we all need by providing that tax revenue. There’s about 6,000 people administering $85 billion worth in health funding a year; and more than 5,000 people running our legal and integrity systems at the Commonwealth level.
Or the roughly 11,000 Australians in agencies working on cutting edge science, from CSIRO to Geoscience Australia; from the tropical North to Antarctica.
I could go on, but this snapshot tells you we’re a pretty big show it’s complex, it’s extraordinarily diverse in all of its functions.
To meet the challenges of today and tomorrow, it also needs, as it has been, needs to be professional, capable, flexible, technology-enabled, citizen-focused, as Martin was saying, and open to outsiders and diverse viewpoints, both within and without.
And while the upholding of the best traditions of integrity at the same time, accountability and service that have been hallmarks of an apolitical APS for the past 118 years.
Today I want to place six guideposts out there to show the way forward as I see it as Prime Minister and for my Government for the public service, for the evolution of our public service and priorities for the future.
My remarks today are framed by a humble recognition that modern government is hard. Change is ever present. Expectations of the public have never been greater. And just as it is in business, the customer - and in our case, the public - is always right.
To support the Government across multiple, fast-moving policy and implementation challenges, the APS needs to evolve. Nothing new about that. In some cases, conventional wisdom needs to be challenged.
And most importantly, in whatever role you have in the public service, we need to make sure you have a clear line of sight, from wherever you are, whether you’re up in Bamaga, or over in Bunbury, whether you’re here in Belconnen, wherever you sit, whatever you do, if there’s something between you and the people you’re trying to serve, in your view, then we’ve got to deal with that. You need a clear line of sight between what you are doing everyday, every decision you’re making every day, every contribution you’re making every day, straight through to the Australian public. It’s not about impressing your boss or impressing your Minister, or- we’re just people along the way.
That clear line of sight is what I would want every single person who works in the Commonwealth Public Service, whether it’s me, whether its Ben or Stuey, or whoever in Ministerial ranks, Secretaries, or the first year recruit into the public service. A clear line of sight. So I hope therefore my remarks today will give you a better idea, a greater understanding of how the APS can better support the government and through the government, our nation.
Now my first guidepost is one I spoke of when I announced Phil Gaetjens’ appointment.
It goes to the heart of the relationship between the Executive branch and the public service that enables all of us to do a good job. We have to get our relationship right between Ministers and the public service.
Because the best teams are the ones where everyone knows what their job is and they do their job well rather than being in a constant running commentary about the job someone else should be doing. I’ve seen those teams. They lose. The teams where everyone knows what their jobs is, what their role is, and focus on that, those teams win. And we’re going to be a winning team.
My approach as many of you would know and who’ve worked with me in other portfolios, and it’s been my great privilege to have serves as a Minister for Immigration and Border Protection, as a Minister for Social Services, as the Treasurer and of course now as Prime Minister. I have enjoyed wonderful relationships with the public servants that I have worked with at senior and junior levels. And my approach has been based on a simple, straight-forward formula for managing that relationship– respect and expect.
Respect the experience, professionalism and capability that the public service brings to the table, both in terms of policy advice and implementation skills. And then having set the policy direction, expect them to get on and deliver it.
It is also about respecting the fact that responsibility for setting policy, for making those calls and decisions lies with the elected representatives of the people, and expecting Ministers to provide that leadership and direction.
Now this imposes an important responsibility, I think, on Ministers. And I’ve made this very clear to my Ministers. They must be clear in what they are asking of the public service. They must not allow a policy leadership vacuum to be created, and expect the public service to fill it and do effectively the job of Ministers.
One of the worst criticisms I can tell you, in the locker room of politicians, that one politician can make of another, is that they’ve become a captive of their department as a Minister. Now that is not a reflection on the department, not at all, not at all, but indeed on the Minister. It speaks to a Minister not driving their policy agenda. Nature abhors a vacuum just as much here in Canberra as anywhere else. And it will get filled. And I expect my Ministers to be in the center driving policy agendas for their agencies and departments. And so I’ve selected and tasked my Ministers top set and drive the agenda of the Government. I believe the public have a similar expectation of my Ministers as well.
This is very important for how accountability is designed to work in our Westminster democracy.
Ministers are accountable to the Parliament and to the public through our democratic process for the policies of the Government. Now I know you all know this but it bears repeating in the context of this principal, a public servant providing advice in a well prepared brief will and must exercise all due diligence and professional care in its preparation, and be absolutely certain and passionate about what they put in that document. But ultimately it is the Minister who must decide, whether approve or not approve, to provide comment, feedback, as they appreciate, because ultimately it is the Minister who will be held accountable by the public. And that’s how it should be.
Only those who have put their name on a ballot can really understand the significance of that accountability. As much as you might appreciate the Westminster system, until you put your name on a ballot, that changes everything.
So I know that sometimes you may feel frustrated, or go how on earth my brief was so perfect, as I’m sure they all are, at the end of the day our Ministers, I, my colleagues, have got to look constituents in the eye, face the public, look them in the eye, and be responsible for those decisions. And that gives you a very unique perspective.
When I played Rugby, my coach used to describe this difference as the bacon and eggs principle, the chicken is involved, but the pig is absolutely committed to the task. It’ll catch on.
That is why under our system of Government it must be Ministers who set that policy direction.
And it is why, having set that direction, they will have high expectations, as they should, of the public service when it comes to implementation and delivery of the Government’s agenda.
You are our professional partners in this undertaking.
The public service is the indispensable engine room for any successful government in delivering on its commitments to Australians. I mean this most sincerely.
I have always believed that, guided by clear direction from Ministers, the public service is at its best when it is getting on with the job of delivering the services Australians rely on and ensuring Governments can implement the policies they have been elected to deliver for the Australian people.
It’s important not only to establish clear lines of accountability. It is also fundamental to ensure our democracy keeps faith with the Australian people.
That’s what ‘respect and expect’ is all about.
My second guidepost is one I spoke to Secretaries about with the Deputy Prime Minister, in May, even before I had recommended my Ministry to the Governor-General.
You’ll remember President Clinton and his famous lines about “it’s about the economy, stupid” he would say.
Well for us, “It’s about the implementation”. That’s and important guidepost.
We need a step-change on service delivery.
Ensuring services are delivered seamlessly and efficiently, when and where they are needed, this is a key priority, the key priority of my Government.
Just as good business strategy is always about how you execute it, the same is true in Government policy. It’s only ever as good as its implementation. And you are the implementers.
I don’t know how many beautiful strategy documents I’ve seen over my course of life, in public service and in other fields, people can celebrate these strategy documents, they can be incredibly impressive, but I tell you what, the only strategies that are any good are the ones that are implemented and work.
And the ultimate test of a strategy is not how pretty it looks, but how well it’s done.
Good government is about receiving excellent policy advice. But that advice is only as good as the consideration in detail that it gives to implementation and execution.
And this is not an exercise in providing a detached or dispassionate summary of the risks that can be logged in the “told you so” file for future reference in memoirs.
It’s about telling Governments how things can be done, not just the risks of doing them, or saying why they shouldn’t be done. The public service is meant to be an enabler of Government policy not an obstacle.
The Australian people need to be at the centre of APS service delivery. That is the thinking behind Services Australia. This isn’t some fancy re-branding exercise.
It’s a message to the whole of the APS – top-to-bottom – about what matters to people.
It’s about what I call ‘doing the little things well’ – everything from reducing call waiting times and turnaround on correspondence, right through to improving the experience people have as they walk into a Centrelink office or any other government service office around the country.
I want to send a message to everyone who is in the service, in whatever role you have – you can make a difference to the lives of the Australian people.
We all have a job to do and that is to serve them.
I’ve talked about the need for a culture of regulatory congestion busting in our bureaucracy.
That doesn’t mean cutting corners or not meeting regulatory requirements.
But it does mean being relentless in finding ways to help Australians make things happen and reach their goals. Not sitting passively while families and businesses struggle to navigate unnecessary rules and unnecessary regulations.
We need interactions with government to be simpler, more human, and less bureaucratic.
Whether it be in delivering services like the NDIS, or rolling out our ambitious infrastructure program, or removing unnecessary barriers to business investment.
It’s why I have tasked my Assistant Minister Ben Morton with revitalising our regulatory reform and deregulation agenda, with a new Deregulation Taskforce which is being led by the Treasurer, out of Treasury.
A key focus is on working with business to identify and remove unnecessary barriers to investment, with a focus on sectors and activities which have the most to gain.
At the departmental level, Secretaries will need to be proactive in identifying ways to bust congestion in the Commonwealth bureaucracy. And all Ministers will continue to remain responsible for ensuring that regulations in their portfolios are fit-for-purpose.
I also want congestion busted in the public service hierarchy which can block your contribution. You don’t have to be in the SES to have a good idea. Did anyone know that’s true? I saw this in Treasury when I used to do budgets.
I used to love going down to the Treasury building in those weeks before the Budget. People there eating pizza well into the night, working really hard, and taking great pride in their work. I remember one night I sat down and I spoke to one of the officers who was working on one of the statements in the Budget which had to do with good debt and bad debt. And I remember meeting one of- their parent, their father, I forget where it was around the country one day, and he reflected this conversation I’d had with his daughter that night. And he was terribly proud of the work that she was doing. And there she was, crunching away there in the bowels of Treasury, in the middle of a Budget process making a big difference to understanding how we treat debt in this country. And really changing the conversation, taking pride in their work.
It was the same when I would go out to the Social Services when Finn Pratt was the Secretary and I remember talking to that wonderful little team that was working on distribution modelling when we were going through some social services reforms a few years ago, and one of them from- I recall, was actually there on an internship I think at the time or they were recent recruit, and couldn’t believe that in their first year in the service here they were sitting down with a Minister crunching through distribution modelling processes.
More recently I visited DFAT and I particularly want to commend there, Frances on the outstanding job she’s doing as secretary of DFAT and I want to thank the- I went there to thank the officers who had worked in difficult situations regarding getting children out of some of the most unsafe places in the world, who had secured one of our citizen’s safe release out of North Korea and my favourite, I could almost say my favourite part of the public service, I’m spending so much time with them recently, the Office of the Pacific, driving our Step Up initiative. And to say thank you to Ewen and all the team there.
I mean this stuff, I get it, I see it, I appreciate it.
And of course during my time at immigration and border protection, the remarkable and courageous efforts of everyone involved in Operation Sovereign Borders. Many of the most critical initiatives that came out of OSB and some of the most initiative were the product of the contribution of line officers in the public sector, working together in teams and focusing on solutions, not problems. Public service at its best.
And I want to harness that to enable your meaningful impact on the decision making process.
I am concerned, I recently learned that in a survey, just over a quarter of the APS does not really feel they can impact what’s going on. That really does concern me. I want people in the APS to feel they can make a contribution. I don’t want you to feel shut out. You need to feel that you can make a difference. Otherwise why are you here? I make the assumption that you’re here to make a difference and I think that assumption is absolutely correct.
Now to be a bit harsh, I think that result is a failure of public service management to enable that real engagement. We’ve got to work harder on that. This is one of the things I expect to see our public service leaders change in the future.
I want to draw further down into the public service for advice to those doing things on the ground. I want more input from you, more visibly in what’s coming through to me in my office and the offices of my Ministers. I want the gatekeepers who control access to Ministers to ease up a bit and let you in. Let me see what others are thinking.
So don’t be surprised if you find yourself in my office or one of my Minister’s office in the future, wherever you happen to sit. And if you get a call and someone who says they’re the PM, it may not be a prank call.
But after this speech, I suspect there’ll be many such prank calls in the next 24 hours.
My third guidepost is called “look at the scoreboard”.
We must have a strong emphasis on delivering outcomes, with priorities, targets and metrics across all portfolios. That’s not new.
Faced with scarce resources, setting priorities is essential. Setting targets and metrics at the same time helps us stay on track. And this is the point. Sure it provides some necessary accountability when performance measures are in place, for people management but the real purpose is to ensure we are getting done what we set out to do.
There are three basic questions I would ask you all to consider every day at work:
1. What are you trying to do?
2. How do you know you’re on track to get there?
3. What does it look like when you’ve got there?
In other words what does success look like, at the start, along the way and at the end?
This is the information that helps me and my Cabinet be informed to make the decisions and adjustments to policy that keeps us heading in the right direction, and providing you with the clarity you need to get on with your job.
A friend of Stuart Roberts’ and mine, General Jim Molan used to have this great sign, stating that no strategy ever survives contact with the enemy. And you know, things have to be changed along the way. And the only way you know that is based on the data and information that’s coming back. That doesn’t mean that the programme’s failing, it just means that you need to constantly adjust and stay focused on your goal.
I want public servants to know and share in the success of public policy. I want you to feel good about what you do, the contribution you make and the positive difference you can make to the country and its future. Because otherwise, again, what is the point?
If your success is measured solely in career advancement through the seemingly infinite grades of the public service, I don’t think that’s enough. It’s not what I want as a citizen from my public service, let alone as the Prime Minister. And I think the overwhelming majority of public servants feel the same way.
Rather than complicating your life, I would suggest these three questions that I’ve outlined, open the door to a more satisfying APS career for you and a better experience for the Australian public.
My Government will continue to set clear priorities and strong targets for the APS.
I have established with Martin’s great assistance and leadership, a dedicated Priorities and Delivery Unit in PM&C and all Cabinet Ministers are developing their own set of objectives and targets.
This is something we’ve been doing a lot of work on since the election. We’ve made good progress, but there’s a lot more to be done.
Now the fourth guidepost is called, I’m sure you’ll love this one “look beyond the bubble”.
There are many highly organised and well-resourced interests in our democracy. They come to Canberra often. They are on the airwaves, they’re on the news channels. They meet regularly with politicians, advisers and departments to advance the policy ideas and causes on behalf of those who they represent.
Some will be corporate interests. Some will be advocating for more welfare spending or bigger social programs. Many will be looking for a bigger slice of government resources.
Yet the vast majority of Australians will never come to Canberra to lobby government. They won’t stay at the Hyatt. They won’t have lunch at the Ottoman. They won’t kick back at the Chairman’s Lounge at Canberra airport after a day of meetings.
And what these Australians who don’t do those things do every day is work hard. They pay their taxes. They put their kids through school. They look after their families. They give back to their communities and they are the centre of my focus as PM and my Government.
These are your stakeholders, not the myriad of vested and organised interests that parade through this place.
They rely, those Australians I’m speaking of on the services that you deliver, that make their lives just that bit easier and better. And they want value for money for those services, through the taxes that they’re paying.
They expect governments to focus on what matters to them:
- A strong economy that generates more and better jobs and better paid jobs.
- Ensuring Australians are kept safe from threats abroad and at home, it’s a convulsing world at the moment, and we all have a job to keep calm and to provide that reassurance to them
- Making sure services are reliable and responsive to their needs.
I want the APS to have a laser-like focus on serving these quiet Australians. Those who don’t meet here, and you never hear from largely, they’re too busy doing life. Australians who just get on with it, but who often feel their voice gets drowned out by the shoutier ones in the public sphere and parading through this place.
There is strong evidence that the “trust deficit” that has afflicted many Western democracies over recent years stems in part from a perception that politics is very responsive to those at the top and those at the bottom, but not so much to those in the middle.
This will not be the case under my Government.
Middle Australia needs to know that the Government and including the public service, is on their side.
My fifth guidepost and forgive me to all the AFL people in the room, but I’m going to use a Rugby League example, feel free to apply your favourite AFL player of all time- I know the Minister for Health is going to do this, but given I’m a Rugby League fan and my Chief of Staff is, we’re using a Rugby League one from this podium today- it is called the Ray Price principle, those of you who know of the Rugby League legend from Parramatta, Mike Pezzullo will well know about this, he’s known as Mr Perpetual Motion.
Ray was everywhere. His work rate was unmatched. The conditions, his opponents, never fazed him. He could read the play and always stay ahead of the game.
The APS needs to be the same. It needs to evolve and adapt amidst constant change. Old ways of doing things need to be challenged and, if necessary, disrupted.
As you know, David Thodey is leading, and is completing now, finalising now, his major review of the APS and I expect his report to pick up this theme of how the service needs to change so it can respond to new and emerging challenges – economic, social, technological and geo-political.
We need the APS to be an exemplar of innovation and adaptability. More agile and more responsive to the public where they live.
There are many dimensions to this challenge, let me focus on three quickly.
Firstly, we need the public service to be more open to outsiders.
Information has never been more available and expertise in our society has never been more dispersed. Citizens from all walks of life have never had more outlets to express their views – their likes and their dislikes.
To succeed, government needs to tap these insights, and these skills and energy from more points on the compass than those who have only ever worked in the public service.
While some of our brightest minds will want a lifetime career in the federal bureaucracy, many of you here, many Australian’s won’t. And we need to find ways for smart, dedicated Australians to see a stint in the public service as part of their career journey.
And likewise for those who’ve chosen a life as career public servants to see that time outside of the APS in the non-government sector and in the business sector, that that is also an important part of their career journey. And their career choice. Their life choice. The APS system should reinforce and reward these choices. And I’m not confident it currently does.
This is about reinforcing two important values as the Health Minister and Assistant Minister- Minister assisting me for the public service reminded me of just over the weekend.
First the importance of outside and mid-career experienced recruits to informing the understanding of how sectors and the economy operate on the ground.
Second, the career development value for long term public servants of their own experience in the private sector. In the same way as experience in a ministerial office is valued, so should be a private sector secondment.
The APS needs to be world-class at collaborating with external partners on all the challenges we face as a country – everything from grasping the productivity opportunity of the digital economy, to ending the export of waste to using Big Data to dramatically improve service delivery.
The second area where disruption and cultural change are needed is in breaking down the bureaucratic silos and hierarchies that constrain our capacity to fix problems.
We’ve only had this problem in the public service for 118 years.
We need an APS that’s more joined-up internally and flexible in responding to challenges and opportunities.
The model I’m most proud of in recent times, and there are many, is the way the APS responded to assist Australians in North Queensland hit by the devastating floods earlier this year.
It highlighted the way I like to work as well: pulling the right people together, removing obstacles to the delivery of programs, engaging with those most affected on the ground, and demonstrating that the Government can be there for them when they need it most.
This really made a difference. It saved lives, literally, and it saved livelihoods. And it saved a way of life, in Australia that has been there for hundreds of years.
This is the sort of agile and responsive public service, which Shane Stone most recently had the privilege to just lead that small team. That sort of attitude we need to further build across all arms of government as Australia navigates rapid change and a more uncertain world.
It will require departments to become more adept at reallocating resources to fit changing priorities. Not just ask for more. Because Mathias will say no. I know it can be done because I have driven it myself in three different portfolios prior to service as Prime Minister.
The third area of disruption is obviously greater use of digital technology which Minister Robert is very closely involved in.
The digital revolution - with the exponential rise in connectivity, data generation, processing power and personalised service delivery - continues to reshape our jobs, industries and lives on a daily basis.
With our fellow Australians among the most enthusiastic early adopters of technology in the world, harnessing the power of digital technology is not an option for the Australian Government. It’s the future of it.
Government needs to connect instantaneously and seamlessly with Australians to answer questions, provide services, make payments and solve problems. I like how Martin referred to it before, when they engage with the public service they don’t feel like they’re going back in time.
So providing a roadmap for our work on data and digital transformation is important, and that’s what the Digital Transformation Strategy did last year and our goal is to have all government services available digitally by 2025.
This is part of a broader transformation, of challenge that includes tailoring policies and service delivery to individuals and local communities and using data and analytics for better policy and service delivery.
Just as technology opens up new opportunities, it also creates new vulnerabilities. Whether it be working through the ethical and privacy dimensions of the digital revolution or protecting our systems and our national security from malicious cyber activity, the Australian Government cannot be anywhere but on the forefront, on the frontier of that activity.
Now you’ll be pleased to know, I’m getting to the end.
My sixth and final guidepost is “honour the code”.
It’s something that I observed amongst the veteran’s community, and I take, and I’d encourage you to take your lesson from them, and our serving men and women in the ADF. They are bound together by a code, an unbreakable code. That sees them act at the highest levels of integrity under the most extreme levels of pressure. It is that code that keeps them together and where that code fails or where that code breaks, then we know what the consequences of that can be.
It’s about governance and integrity across the service.
I want to reaffirm my Government’s and my personal commitment to an APS that is apolitical, merit based and committed to the highest standards of integrity.
These core elements of the Westminster tradition are as important as they have ever been, not least to securing the trust and legitimacy of democratic government that is needed to implement good policy and to deliver services successfully.
And on the critical relationship between Ministers, their staff and the bureaucracy, let me underscore what I have said directly to all of my Ministers. I expect my Ministers to be demanding. I also expect them and all of their staff to discharge their responsibilities with the highest standards of professionalism and within a values framework of mutual respect. And where that isn’t occurring, there are ways and processes to deal with that.
It’s important we value diversity of course in the public service. This is right in and of itself. It is in keeping with the more diverse, pluralistic society Australia has become over many decades. And it chimes with our national ethos of “live and let live”.
I believe a commitment to diversity should encompass diversity of viewpoints within the APS. There is compelling evidence that this helps teams find answers to complex problems by bringing together people who approach questions from different points of view.
The American academic Jonathan Haidt has made this point powerfully in challenging worrying trends toward conformity in the university sector. And I think his observations are relevant to the future of our public service.
It’s vital that the APS avoid the sort of stale conventional wisdoms and orthodoxies that can infuse all large organisations.
I expect there will be more debate on those issues as I have raised today throughout my address when the Independent Review of the APS, the Thodey Review, is received by the Government formally.
The review will be finalised shortly and I want to thank in particular, David Thodey who I’ve already had an opportunity to meet with, and the review panel for their time and commitment to this exercise. It’s been a big undertaking. And it’s been a fair dinkum effort.
Once the report has been received, I will be asking the Secretaries Board under Phil Gaetjen’s leadership to evaluate the review’s recommendations and to report to Cabinet on relevant issues and findings.
So as we gather here in this Great Hall, I want to remind you of a poignant feature of this house of democracy.
This is one of the few parliamentary buildings in the world where you don’t have to walk up steps to enter it.
Our Parliament isn’t a Parliament over the people or above them, but one that people, that Australians, can freely and easily approach.
I want this to be a metaphor for how Australians see their government. And our government.
Our work is not governing over people, but to humbly govern for people. With a clear line of sight always to those people.
Working with people.
Governing for all Australians.
Delivering for them and never letting anything get in your line of sight between you and the people you have chosen to serve, as much as I have.
It is a privilege to serve the Australian people and I am grateful for the enthusiasm and passion of our public service who share this good, and decent and honourable vocation.
Thank you very much for your attention today, I know I’ve unloaded a lot on your today, but I thought it was really important, at the outset of this term, for me to give you a very clear understanding of where I’m coming from, and where my team’s coming from. And we very much look forward to working with you in the years ahead.
Thank you for your attention.
Remarks, Pacific Skills Portal Launch
14 August 2019
Funafuti, Tuvalu
PRIME MINISTER: I particularly want to thank you Prime Minister Sopoaga for your welcome here to Tuvalu. It’s my first visit to Tuvalu and I’m so pleased that under the circumstances you described I was able to join you here at my first Pacific Island Forum. I’m also very pleased to be here with Minister Hawke, our Minister in the Pacific we appointed after the election. He's been here for several days now and I know he's engaging well with everyone here. To President Baron Waqa, you and I have known each other for many years now and it's great to be here again with you. And I can also acknowledge Prime Minister Sogavare, it's wonderful to be catching up with you as well.
As we come together here at the Pacific Island Forum it's very different, you know, to many of the other forums there are around the world because it is truly a family gathering. And whether we say family as kāiga, or we say it is as whānau or we say it as vuvale, or however we talk about it, that's what it is. And when families come together, they talk about the stuff that matters, that's most important to them. And over the next few days, that's exactly what we'll be doing. We'll be talking about the future of our environment. We'll be talking about the future of our economies. We're going to talk about what is talked about in every single family in the world, how our kids are going to get jobs and what jobs they're going to have in the future and how we're going to make sure that that happens. And that's a particularly big challenge here in the Pacific with such a large youth population and a growing youth population. We want to make sure they have the skills for the jobs that they're going to need.
There’s health challenges - everything from drug-resistant tuberculosis to just simply ensuring that we can deliver health services in remote areas. And as you heard on the video earlier, you know, these are challenges Australia deals with as well, no differently, just in a different context, in a different scale. We're wrestling with the issue of making sure our training is right for our young people and for those who are transitioning much later in life with different jobs. And that the jobs that we want them to go into are there and that they will be there in the future.
Similarly, we're doing what we're doing and delivering health services and education services across what is a very vast continent. The difference between the Pacific and Australia is it's just as big, it's just blue for the islands of the Pacific and for us it’s every colour of the rainbow, from the red dirt brown to the green of our rainforests and the blue of our coasts and oceans and sands.
So we're dealing with different, different contexts but we're dealing with the same challenges and that's why I'm very pleased for us to be supporting the Pacific Skills Partnership. I've seen this in practices I've visited with my colleagues and from the forum whether I've been in Fiji or other places, and I've seen the training that takes place and it's- and I've met the students and they've come from right across the Pacific. And this is making a big difference in their lives and it's making a big difference to the one economy of the Pacific which we want to see continue to grow.
And so in being here to offer some closing remarks on this initiative I particularly want to pay a credit to you, Baron, for your initiation of this very important project and the passion you put into it and all of those who've worked on it since to bring it to today's position, and but also to you Prime Minister for bringing it together here. And so it is now launched and as part of an important program. And Australia as you know has been working on this with you. And we will continue to work with you on this. And that's why I'm pleased to say as part of the Australian Pacific training coalition we'll be putting in another hundred and fifty scholarships this program and that includes 30, 30 right here in Tuvalu.
And so there'll be more opportunities for young people right across the Pacific to go and be part of this very exciting program that is just a small part of what we consider to be, what you know I call the Pacific Step Up. And you’ve got to Step Up, you’ve got to show up. And Australia's going to show up, we're not just going to show up here, we’re going to show up for the hard conversations, the good conversations, the family conversations that we have, and that's very much the spirit in which we're engaging. And I'm looking forward to the next few days, it will be great company. And a lot of important things I think it should achieve. So thank you very much for the opportunity here to participate.
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.