Speeches
Address, National Flag Raising and Citizenship Ceremony
26 January 2020
Welcome everyone. Your Excellencies, Governor-General, Mrs Hurley, Danielle Roach and your wonderful team at the Australia Day Council, to our Australians of the Year, you are magnificent, thank you so much, to Ministers who are here with us today, parliamentary colleagues and importantly, Australians all.
But especially to you, Aunty Tina, and to the Ngunnawal people. I start today by acknowledging you, our first Australians and pay my respects to elders past, present and importantly emerging, which is the future.
And I also acknowledge on this very important day all who have served or are serving our nation today day in our defence forces, wherever you are. Our veterans as well and simply and say, on behalf of a grateful nation, thank you for your service.
And on this day, Australia Day, we acknowledge all those who have gone before us, from ancient times to modern. We stand here today because of their sacrifice, their learnings, their stories, their efforts, their trials.
My great great aunt Dame Mary Gilmore I though put it best in her verse ‘Heritage’ where she wrote;
Not of ourselves are we free/ Not of ourselves are we strong/ The fruit is never the tree/ Nor the singer the song
The strength we give is the strength we make/ and the strength we give is the strength we take/ Given us down from the long gone years/ cleansed in the salt of others tears
The fruit is never the tree/ Nor the singer the song/ Not of ourselves are we free/ Not of ourselves are we strong.
In this season, we've been reminded anew that Australia’s story has always been one of achievement but also one of pain, effort, prosperity and struggle, and it is the story of a people from ancient times until now, overcoming the many challenges and learning the important lessons that come from living in this great continent.
This summer as we stand in trial, Australians have rallied to each other.
This Australia Day we honour and especially celebrate our wonderful volunteers. Our firefighters - especially those who never returned home from the fire grounds.
Our emergency services and forestry workers. The members of our Defence Force, including the 3,000 reservists who answered the call.
Our community, church and wildlife groups and the many young people involved. Those who set up evacuation centres, distributed supplies, and tended to the needs of our animals.
And the generous support of an amazing nation – our school kids donating their pocket money.
Through it all, the work has not been easy. The homes lost, the lives lost, the businesses destroyed.
But there are remarkable stories.
The Captain of the Wingello Brigade, Mark Wilson described the night fire swept through Wingello in early January.
The crews moved from house to house and in his words, it was “run, run, run”.
He said near night’s end, he felt like “we were losing”.
But when the sun rose, he realised their efforts and those of other brigades had saved the town.
14 houses, yes, were lost that night in Wingello - painful for a small town, excruciating for the families - but 80 homes were saved. The General Store was saved as well.
That’s the story of this summer. It’s the story of our today.
A story of perseverance and struggle and overcoming.
A story of pain and loss and seeming failure at times and yet at the same time, a story of courage, perseverance, and a willingness to fight until the sun rises.
It’s a story that prevails, of everyone playing their part.
Many more stories will never be known, but all of which will remind us, those who know them, what it means to be Australian.
Raj Gupta, a pharmacist in Malua Bay kept the pharmacy open, even without a payment system, right throughout the worst of the bushfires – even though he’d lost his own home in the blaze.
He wanted to make sure the medicines got through.
In Gippsland, a local Indian restaurant have been cooking thousands of free meals of curry and rice for bushfire victims.
The owners said they’re simply following the Sikh way of life, and also “just doing what other Australians are doing today.”
In Yeppoon, the local Big W manager refused to take any money from customers who’d lost their homes and only had the clothes on their backs.
In Bega, a supermarket trolley attendant offered his own home to parents and kids sheltering overnight in the underground car-park, and countless others opened up their homes as well.
And on Kangaroo Island, teenagers gathered frightened and injured koalas into their car, mirroring so many other efforts protecting our wildlife.
Eight indigenous men from Bourke and Brewarrina in western New South Wales, chosen by their Elders to care for their country. They’ve been protecting sacred sites, caring for kin, and fighting fires.
An all-Indigenous firefighting crew, matched this effort, the Gunaikurnai women, the all-Indigenous, all-female firefighting crew of the Lake Tyers Brigade, fighting to protect family, community and sacred land.
That’s the spirit of our nation on display.
Fighting fires, caring for people, tending animals, helping others, not counting the cost.
Our volunteers understand that the best lives stem from making a contribution, rather than taking one.
As my late father John taught me through his own life’s example, life is about what you contribute not what you accumulate.
We have so many liberties and as Australians, they are only exceeded by our individual responsibilities to make Australia even stronger.
The spirit of the volunteer understands that our nation’s greatness lies not in the great buildings behind me here, but in the strength and vitality of the thousands of local communities that together make up our incredible nation.
A sum greater than its parts.
And all of these communities are dependent on the strength of the families and individuals that make up them up.
These bonds are not found in the compulsion of governments, but the autonomy, self-expression and sovereignty of local people.
That is what our volunteer spirit serves - our communities, and the families and individuals they comprise.
They serve us all. That is why I’m so pleased to announce on this special day that Australia’s brave fire, police, ambulance and emergency services volunteers and workers, along with Defence Force personnel and reservists and overseas personnel who came to our aid, will be eligible to receive a medal in recognition of their service and sacrifice during the current bushfire season.
The National Emergency Medal will honour the selflessness, courage and sacrifice that we have all witnessed this summer.
Ladies and gentlemen, our national identity which we celebrate today is not a negative or exclusive tribalism.
Rather, it is the positive identity that comes from living a life as a good citizen and who thinks and believes in something greater than their own self.
This is the greatness of Australia. This is the strength of Australia.
This is our secret. This is why, as Australians, we prevail.
Because of that, our instinct as Australians has always been to look over the horizon.
To look to the hope that is there, that we know is there.
It is why we are hopeful even during difficult times.
And we are so because of the example of those, as I said, who have come before and those who are there today - who dream big, work hard, and think of others rather than themselves.
And because of them, we have been granted to us this amazing country that we claim today as Australians as our own.
The best place on earth.
Happy Australia Day!
Remarks, Australian of the Year Recipients Morning Tea
25 January 2020
Well, g’day everyone. Welcome to the Lodge, and I particularly want to acknowledge the Ngunnawal people. I'd like to acknowledge elders past and present and pay my respect to them and in particular, those who are emerging. And can I acknowledge all other Aboriginal peoples from right around the country because many have gathered here today and it's so wonderful to have you here at this residence.
Can I also acknowledge those who have served us in our defence forces and indeed serve us today and simply say to you as we approach Australia Day tomorrow thank you for your service. And as I'm sure you would agree, you would also want me to acknowledge all of those who are out there today right around the country, volunteering and supporting communities as they fight fires and they support those who fight fires on this, another difficult day as we have had so many over this very terrible summer, a devastating summer.
On behalf of Jenny and I, can I welcome you all. Can I particularly also welcome Danielle Roach, who's done such a wonderful job and in bringing you all together and the wonderful program you lead, Danielle, you do an absolutely amazing job and we are so pleased with the work you do around these important awards and Australia Day. To Ken Wyatt, the Minister for Indigenous Australians, our first ever Indigenous Indigenous Australians Minister, it's wonderful to have you here with us today, Ken, and thank you for the great work that you do to my Assistant Minister, Ben Morton, who's been very involved with all of this process. Great job, Ben. And can I thank also Carly Brand for the work that you've done around bringing everybody together for these 60th Australians of the Year awards, which is a very important milestone.
As I said, Australia has had a tough summer and it's not over yet. So our gathering this year is tinged with sadness as well as congratulations to those who have gathered here today to recognise your tremendous service to our country. And that service, I think, speaks of the resolve that in the short time that I've had this morning to speak to quite a number of you, that resolve which has driven your dedicated service. We have lost 32 lives, 3,000 homes and more. So much of our wildlife and so much of our landscape. But the resolve to stand by each other and to stick with each other in these times and in the months that will be ahead and always we will rebuild and we will come to terms with what was lost. It was around a year ago that I stood with some of those who are here today up in North Queensland in the devastating floods that wiped away a generation of work of those who run properties up there right across North Queensland and built up an enormous heritage. And they are rebuilding. They are rebuilding. And those who have been so affected by these terrible fires, they will rebuild also and Australians will stand with them as they do that.
We've seen Australia's character again in these times and it is strong. We have seen what makes Australians great and we've also seen in that greatness the love that Australians have for each other, their country. It's in that spirit that I welcome you today with Jenny, because our Australian of the Year Awards are a celebration of our country's character. It's when we come together to tell the stories of who we are, particularly at this time that we discover again a fresh and encourage ourselves about the wonderful character and stories of Australia.
He's a few stories that some of you are very familiar with. In New South Wales, Professor and orthopaedic surgeon, Munjed Al Muderis, seven times now he's taken teams to his former homeland to help the victims of a conflict that he fled, paid out of his own pocket. And he has also educated other surgeons in complex, vital procedures.
There's Victoria's Archie Roach, known to most Australians, I'm sure, whose music has captivated us for decades with messages of love, reconciliation and healing. He's been a true advocate for our First Australians, our First Nations people.
There is Rachel Downie from Queensland. How good is Queensland, Rachel? Rachel channelled - this is so true of so many of the stories that I read about Australian service - channelled the grief she felt after losing one of her students to suicide in 2009 to create and self-fund Stymie. For those who don't know, Stymie is an anonymous harm reporting tool for students and in 2018, schools receive more than 40,000 notifications nationwide.
Over in the West, Annie Fogarty is also involved in education. In her case, she spent the last two decades together with her husband, Brett, leading the Fogarty Foundation and investing in education programs and teachers and by extension, the communities. What's more, Annie's EDvance program has helped students from lower socioeconomic communities get more support and better results.
And across the border in South Australia, Dr James Muecke has been a pioneer for blindness prevention. After starting his medical career in Kenya, James has done some incredible work here in Australia and worldwide, particularly through the Sight For All organisation he co-founded. James’s work not only treats blindness, but also helps tackle poverty and disadvantage.
Our nominee from Tassie, Dr Jess Melvin Thomas is an internationally renowned marine and Arctic and climate scientist. Now with the CSIRO, Jess is focused on sustainability and bridging the gap between complex research and decision making. And beyond that, though, she's a flag bearer for women in STEM and a co-founder of Homeward Bound, a project that saw an all-female group travelled to Antarctica as part of a leadership journey in 2016.
And here in the ACT, Katrina Fanning, who I was with just earlier in the week as the meeting of Indigenous Peak Groups came together, where she is a leader in working on Indigenous issues. But she also is a woman's rugby league pioneer, another subject close to my heart, opening one of our great codes to women, not just here in the ACT, but by extension all throughout the country. And she's done that for a quarter of a century. A proud Wiradjuri woman for indigenous women.
And finally, there's Geoff Thompson, Geoffrey Thompson from our top end. Geoffrey is an ex-RAAF flying doctor and he's seen a lot in his time. Back in 1974, he oversaw RAAF’s efforts to evacuate Darwin following the devastation of Cyclone Tracy, despite losing his own home. And he stands here with us today. In later years, he'd use his own plane to travel to remote Indigenous communities to offer general medical clinics and as a sports medicine specialist, Geoffrey has been the chief medical officer for the Paralympic athletes since 2008.
Some good stories, some great yarns. Well done to all of you, to Munjed, to Archie, to Annie, James, Jess and Katrina. Thank you on behalf of a grateful nation. And of course, we are joined by the many other 23 nominees, our local heroes, our senior Australians, our young Australians. Like our country, you are a diverse group - researchers, educators, advocates, volunteers, fundraisers, sportspeople, environmentalists. You've looked out for others.
Earlier in the week, my father passed. He loved Australia. And he would love you all because you've been building the country he loved. You've helped make Australia a better place. You've made us proud. You would have made him proud. And I know the family members and loved ones who are here with you today are as proud.
Right now is a difficult time for Australia and we draw strength from you, from your example, from your courage, from your compassion. We draw strength from those amazing volunteers who are out there today, selflessly serving. Their courage, their generosity. How good is Australia?
So on behalf of Jenny and I and all Australians, I say thank you and I say congratulations. I hope you enjoy this day together. Despite the background of what we meet together in today here in our nation's capital, it is a very special time for you and your families and all those who have worked with you and supported you.
So take that time to just reflect and understand how you've made our country better. Thank you.
Remarks, Traditional Water Blessing Ceremony
25 January 2020
Well, thank you so much, especially to you Aunty Agnes. Thank you for welcoming my family and to Ken and to Ben and to his family as well. Can I particularly start by acknowledging the Ngunnawal people and I acknowledge their elders past and present and emerging as well, which we are so excited about. The emerging young Indigenous leaders that are there that I have met all around the country and I think fill you with hope and I think fill the nation with hope about how they see the future and how they see a future together. And it is wonderful to provide that acknowledgement here today.
This gathering, that we are having for the second time, I am very appreciative, because it is an opportunity for my family and those who have joined us to stop and reflect as we go into an important day tomorrow. And to reflect on the many centuries and thousands of years of ancient Indigenous culture which is so inseparable from the land and it was always be inseparable from the land. And so in coming here today, what I am seeking to do with my family and my ministers and their families is to seek to try and connect with that and it has been wonderful to experience it this year in a different way again and to connect with the language that is so much a part of how that culture sits and connects with, understands and helps us interpret the land of this wonderful continent in which we live.
In recent weeks and months, we have once again learnt how ferocious this land can be and earlier this week, I met with the coalition of Indigenous Peaks. We spoke about many issues that are important to closing the gap and closing the gap, as Ken and I speak of, not from the perspective of where government sits and sees where the gap is but trying to understand the gap from the perspective of Indigenous Australians and how you see the gap and what the gap is and how we work together to close that gap. Not from governments telling others how the gap should be closed but how we can close the gap together and the most important gap to close is the one that you see and that connects and brings Australians all together in the way that we must.
But particularly over the course of these fires, we have been reminded of the wonderful care that Indigenous Australians have for the land. Whether it be the wonderful group that Ken wrote about earlier this week the Indigenous female bushfire brigade in East Gippsland that turned out for the, I think, eight or nine of those who have been charged up in Brewarrina and Bourke as custodians of the land, not only to protect as firefighters but the cultural places and this is something that has been done for thousands and thousands of years. And this week we stopped and we thought about the fires and how for Indigenous Australians this brings another element to the great crisis and disaster that we’ve lived through over these many months and we understand that when the land suffers like this, Indigenous Australians understand that at a level the rest of us can only try and understand.
So that’s what today is about. Today is about us trying to understand together. To listen, to learn, to expose our understanding to things that we need to know more about. And so it is a simple gathering today, it’s not a large one, it’s not intended to be. But it’s meant to be personal. Because the only way that we can continue, I think, to come together is if we engage these issues in that way - in good faith, in good spirit, as fellow Australians who love each other and love the land on which we live. And if we can get an inkling of the understanding that the Indigenous Australians have for our land and how we can care for it in the future, whether it’s how we face and deal with disasters or how we care for it more generally, then all Australians will be much better for it.
So I want to thank you again for welcoming us here today and the wonderful spirit in which you have received us. It is very touching. Can I also thank you for your very kind regards regarding the sorry business of my father. It is a difficult time for our family but Indigenous Australians know better than any how to comfort each other in times like this. So thank you so much, it is greatly appreciated.
Australian of the Year Awards
25 January 2020
Thank you very much. It's wonderful to be here. Earlier today I was with the Ngunnawal people, the traditional owners of this land to show my respects, along with Jenny and my family, and to reflect on 60,000 years and more of Indigenous custodianship of this wonderful land. And so I want to begin tonight by acknowledging all of our Indigenous peoples. They have cared for this land before anyone else. I pay our respects to them all and I acknowledge the Ngunnawal people in particular, elders past and present and the future. I also acknowledge our veterans and our serving men and women of our defence forces and I say thank you for your service.
Normally at this event, we look to our nominees as reminders of lives of service over self, generosity over selfishness and a willingness to show courage in the face of adversity. But tonight we need no reminder. Because beyond these walls to the south, to the north, to the east and the west of our great continent, thousands of volunteers are fighting fires and reminding us what it means to be a citizen of this great nation. They, like the nominees here tonight, are demonstrating to us that our national story is one of great achievements, but also of pain, of effort, sweat. There is prosperity and there is struggle and it is a story of a people grappling with the most tenacious yet most beautiful continent on earth.
Through this long summer we have seen the unquenchable spirit of Australians. Australians rallying to each other, be they family, friends or indeed strangers. A summer of countless good deeds, great sacrifice and yes, terrible loss. Some known, some not known, but all profound. Thousands of firefighters, including those who will never return home. 3,000 army reservists who took up the call, packed their kit and left their homes. Communities, church groups, service groups who man shelters, make meals, lend a hand. Vets, wildlife workers who tended our gorgeous wildlife. And the kids of this country who gave away their pocket money to help the fireys.
These are the acts that touched us as a nation. The pharmacist in Malua Bay who stayed open so people could continue to get their scripts despite losing his own home. The Army of Angels truck convoy made up of farmers, mechanics, tree loppers, beekeepers, delivering essential supplies across Victoria. The all-Indigenous, all-female firefighting crew at East Gippsland. It wasn't the first time. They previously fought the Black Saturday bushfires all those years ago. And one of their vehicles is a piece of artwork that's simply called ‘Working Together’. That is a motto for our times.
These are the stories of who we are, of what makes Australians Australian. And that is also what we celebrate tonight as we gather to honour and to name our Australian of the Year and the many other recognitions tonight. But I'm sure, having met with them today, that all of our nominees would agree with me tonight to share that time with all of those who have so selflessly served during this past year.
So tonight I say to all the heroes, not just to the bushfires, but the floods of a year ago and our terrible drought that has ravaged our country - you are all Australians of the year. Once again, this year's nominees embody a good and generous and courageous group of people who I have had the privilege to meet. You've explored new ideas, you've broken new ground, you've inspired, you’ve led and you've lived out the best of Australia's values.
So just let me congratulate you on behalf of Jenny and I and to thank everyone nominated tonight and their family and their friends whose support they have received over so many years. You've done tremendous work. You've helped make Australia an even better place and we're so proud of you all. Thank you for everything you've done for Australia.
Press Conference - Canberra, ACT
23 January 2020
PRIME MINISTER: Well thank you ladies and gentlemen, I’m joined here by the Chief Medical Officer Dr Brendan Murphy and of course the- the chief of the Defence Force General Angus Campbell. There are a number of updates that I want to provide and they'll be providing further details in each of their areas and I will make some other points about the assistance and support being provided to charities in relation to the bushfire crisis.
And of course, I've just come from a meeting with the Coalition of Indigenous Peak Bodies, led by Pat Turner. And I want to thank Pat and all of those who were able to join me there for what has been a very important meeting as to how we're continuing to work together to close the gap. The big change that has been occurring in policy and outcomes that we're working to, for indigenous Australians is they are now looking at this gap from the perspective of indigenous Australians, not from the perspective of governments, but listening to indigenous Australians about those gaps, where they are, how wide they are, and the policies and the responses that are needed from the perspective of indigenous Australians and the coalition of indigenous peak groups has been invaluable in their partnership with us to go about that work. And that work will go forward to the Council of Australian Governments. We are working with indigenous Australians all across the country, but it was a very productive meeting and there were particular initiatives about data collection, but also in the area of early childhood education. There were discussions around issues of housing. It was a very comprehensive meeting. And again, I want to thank Pat Turner for her tremendous leadership in the way we have been completely turning around, the way we are approaching this issue of closing the gap and ensuring that we're doing it from the perspective of indigenous Australians, from their view, how they're looking at those gaps and how we can overcome them.
But moving on, let me make some important points today about the coronavirus. Now, I know that Australians will have concerns around this issue and particularly those who may have elderly parents and those others who are more susceptible to these types of things. And I just want to provide you with some assurances about the information we have available to us now. And Dr. Murphy will take you through some of the more specific issues about the nation's preparedness, both at a commonwealth and a state level. This is a rapidly evolving matter, and we're obviously taking advice from the World Health Organisation. But after consulting other government agencies in the states and territories, the Department of Health is undertaking evidence based, proportionate, additional measures. The national incident response room where I visited yesterday has been stood up within the Department of Health and has been activated in response to this outbreak. A human coronavirus with pandemic potential was added as a listed human disease under the Biosecurity Act of 2015, enabling the use of enhanced border measures. Flight MU 749 from Wuhan has landed in Sydney Airport this morning. All passengers on this flight have been greeted by biosecurity and health officials and receive information about the virus on arrival. And if they have symptoms of an infectious disease, they will be assessed by NSW Health. Additional information will be displayed at all major international airports. And you saw some of that yesterday when I was with the CMO, and at all major international ports around Australia with instructions on what to do if travellers have symptoms or if symptoms develop. DFAT has updated the Smart Traveller travel advisory for Wuhan. So let me be clear, it's for Wuhan, not China as a whole. But just for Wuhan, to reconsider your need to travel to Wuhan. That was updated this morning after receiving further advice overnight. The Department of Health is also preparing updated advice for doctors and other health professionals in Australia and we’ll be providing advice on the Department of Health website and to peak organisations for circulation. The Department of Health does not currently recommend mass screening of passengers at airports, including thermal scanning, due to the limited evidence of effectiveness of those measures. And I'm sure Dr Murphy can add to that. There are over 10 million protective masks in the national medicine stockpile and there have been no confirmed cases, I'm advised, of the virus in Australia. So the Government has moved quickly. The Department of Health, the Chief Medical Officer working closely with states and territories to ensure the necessary precautions are being put in place. The scale and level of of risk on the coronavirus is something that I'll allow the CMO to speak to directly. But it's, I think it's important that we continue to get good information. We go about our normal course of business. But just being aware of those risks and to the extent that they are there and you're in a situation where you might be more in a risk profile than others, then appropriate precautions are taken and the treatment services are available.
Going to move to the other matters. And then I'll ask both the CMO and General Campbell to respond further. And then you can, they can take questions along with myself. The other thing we’re announcing today is that on the 7th of February, that will be 28 days of continuous compulsory service for reservists. When we called out the reservists on a compulsory call out earlier this month, they were advised that they would be deployed for those 28 days of continuous service and beyond that as required. I want to thank all the reservists and their employers for their rapid response. We went from some 890 deployed people through the Defence Forces back in December to over six and a half thousand in a matter of weeks. And that has been an extraordinary exercise conducted by our defence force. And I think General Campbell and General Ellwood and all the team that have been working so closely on this. It is making such a big impact on the ground. I saw it first hand again yesterday when I was at Batlow and at Tumbarumba inspecting the medical unit that was there, but also seeing the work that was being done on road clearances and support for agricultural producers in those areas. It has been an outstanding effort that I think has not just had a practical impact, but really lifted the morale of communities that have been so devastated in the wake of those bushfires.
As a result of decisions we've taken today, we're going to now move into the next phase of Operation Bushfire Assist, and that would mean the compulsory call out provisions will terminate on the 7th of February and that those recommendations will be made to the Governor-General. The compulsory call out of reservists is a power that should be used sparingly and in a limited fashion. And we are treating this call out in exactly that way. The power remains to further call out into the future should that need arise. But it's important that we use it in a very limited way, and that's exactly what we've done. Now, I want to stress absolutely that this does not mean in any way, shape or form that you're going to see any, any significant change at all in the level of the Defence Force deployment to support the recovery effort with these bushfires. We're just simply moving into a non compulsory call out phase for reservists. Many, many reservists, thousands of reservists will continue to provide ongoing support in their roles on a voluntary capacity as part of the operations they're already involved in. And the General Campbell will be able to take you through how that will continue on into the future. We know that this risk, that these fires and the recovery effort, which requires the deployment of Defence Force, will be needed for months and months to come. And that's what the Defence Force have been planning for. They've begun the consultation in communities as to their ongoing role. And I saw this on the ground yesterday. As you see local contractors starting to come in and doing the work, which involves road clearing. And that means the defence forces can move on to the next task. And we can see that local effort now start coming in as communities rebuild themselves. This is important for the revival of these local economies as well. The recovery process is very important in actually supporting the local economies. And so where the defence forces have been urgently needed, they have been there. They have been clearing past. They have been dropping fodder as they continue to do today. In particular, the run that was done from W.A., a tremendously generous effort from our friends and fellow Australians in Western Australia that has now made its way to the East coast. And that's being assisted with its deployment by the defence forces over the next few days. So this is a new phase of the deployment, but the intensity of effort and the response to need at the direction of of the of the defence forces remains in place. We are here for the long term. We are here for the recovery. The Defence Force will be here, day in, day out supporting that effort.
Now, another matter which I know has attracted a lot of attention, indeed was raised in the roundtable we had both with the charities last week, as well as with the national peak organisations on Friday that I convened here in Canberra. And today, the National Bushfire Recovery Agency is having further engagement with those charitable groups. It is very important that the funds that have been raised by charitable groups through the generosity of Australians obviously get to people as quickly as it possibly can. We are working with the state governments to assist the charities to do just that. They were very clear in the meeting I had with them last week that they want to honour the trust that has been put in them. These are the charitable organisations that Australians have always had deep trust and respect for. The Salvation Army, the Red Cross, St Vincent de Paul. These are trusted, respected, good-hearted organisations that have proved themselves in so many disasters, and that's why we rely on them. This disaster is of a very large scale and we are working with them to support them, to ensure that they can get more support out to the places where it's needed. What has been worked on as a response of the work the roundtable we had last week is the Commonwealth has been building a database capability which would enable charitable groups to access that, to know all of those we've been able to support in these communities. Now, that's around about 50,000 people and about $60 million that has already come out from the Commonwealth to go to those individuals into those communities. The state government in New South Wales in particular is also working as part of this process to support the charitable groups to get that support to where it's needed. There is a constant process of communication to identify priority needs through the National Bushfire Recovery Agency, but also with the state governments. So our message is very clear. We want to encourage the charities to get that support to where it's needed as quickly as possible and the Commonwealth and the state governments are working together to give them every assistance we can to help them with that important task. But I know that we are very appreciative of all the work they do, of the volunteers they themselves have within their own ranks that are in recovery centres, that are in communities, that are there to help people in a time of need. And so it's about working together to help them do the job that they do so ably.
Can I just move to one last point, because I imagine it is an issue that some of you have noted, and that's on the issue of the labour force data today. I'm very pleased to say that the unemployment rate has come down to 5.1 per cent. We welcome that and I can say that unemployment now is lower than it was at the 2019 election, the 2016 election and the 2013 election. And over 1.5 million jobs have been created over the course of the last six years since we first came to office. So I welcome those figures. I also welcome those figures as they relate to youth unemployment. Keeping our economy strong is the basis to ensure that as a government, we can continue to provide the support and essential services that Australians need, whether that's the National Disability Insurance Scheme, whether it's the support for mental health and our towards zero goal on suicide or indeed the unprecedented response we're making to these national disasters and other challenges that we face as a nation today. With that, I'm going to ask Dr Murphy to provide some comments on the Coronavirus and I'll ask the CDF, the Chief of the Defence Force, to do the same on his areas and then we'll take some questions on that. And I'm sure there are other things you'd like to raise with me as well.
DR BRENDAN MURPHY, CHIEF MEDICAL OFFICER: Thank you, Prime Minister. Just a little bit of extra information on top of what the Prime Minister has said. The Chinese authorities have now confirmed that there are 571 cases of confirmed coronavirus infections and 17 deaths. Those data are not surprising. We know that over the last week we're getting a significant feed of data as the Chinese authorities get on top of some of the historical and retrospective data. This is what we expected to happen. The other developments are that the Chinese authorities have now stopped transport out of Wuhan city, including after the flight today to Sydney, there'll be no more flights from Wuhan city we're being advised, nor will there be other transport out of Wuhan to other parts of China. So that threat of direct flights from China after today's flight, which the Prime Minister said was met by biosecurity officers, New South Wales health officials and I'm pleased to report just on the way in that no ill passengers were found on that flight. So we still, of course, there'll be people who've been in Wuhan city in the last few weeks or month when the disease has been circulation, who could come to Australia from other cities or other ports. So we continue to provide enhanced advice at every port of entry, both airline and sea and others. There have been no reported confirmed cases of the coronavirus in Australia as yet. There will be on a regular basis people who might be suspected that the state and territory health authorities will investigate. If we do find a case, we are extremely well prepared. Every one of our state public health departments has a designated isolation facility and clearly established protocols to get people to those facilities. The tests are being sped up at the moment. It's still taking one or two days to get a confirmatory test. We're getting much more rapid tests on the hand. And at the moment, as I said, there are no confirmed cases. So we are watching this development. The World Health Organisation had a meeting last night and they haven't yet declared this a public health emergency of international concern. But they are meeting again in the next 24 hours to reconsider that position. We are meeting again with all of the state and territory health officers this afternoon and tomorrow to discuss, make sure that we have good information, good shared information. We are well-prepared and are keeping a very close eye on this, so I'll leave it at that. Thank you, Prime Minister.
PRIME MINISTER: Thank you. General Campbell?
GENERAL ANGUS J. CAMPBELL, AO, DSC, CHIEF OF THE DEFENCE FORCE: Thanks, Prime Minister. As the Prime Minister has said, we are seeking through the Minister of Defence, Senator Linda Reynolds, to the Governor-General, the revocation of the call out order effective on the 7th of February. I anticipate personnel in the reserve who have been serving under continuous full-time service will start to transition from that service on and from the 1st of February. I anticipate that those personnel will typically have served for 28 days of continuous full-time service. As the Prime Minister also noted, this is in no way either the end of reserve contributions to the ADF’s Operation Bushfire Assist, nor indeed to the ADF’s continued efforts. All those who have been participating through a call out mechanism are invited to consider if their circumstances allow a call for volunteers to continue to serve as reserve members within Operation Bushfire Assist. And indeed, that invitation is extended more widely to all members of the reserve across Australia whose circumstances might allow them to continue to serve in Operation Bushfire Assist or to start their service of Operation Bushfire Assist in a voluntary basis. The Australian Defence Force is working through our joint task forces in New South Wales, in Victoria, and in South Australia, Tasmania in close cooperation, in complement and under the direction of state and territory authorities to ensure that effort in relief and early recovery is focused where communities require it. We will continue to be doing that and we will be engaging with communities to understand when rightly we lift off in specific roles or specific locations because of the return of commercial or local capabilities or because tasks have been completed and it is now better to wait our efforts elsewhere. I want to emphasise to you all, please, that you should see this as an appropriate transition in the form of service being invited of our reserve component, not a change to the effort being offered by the Australian Defence Force to assist in this time of national bushfire concern. We are also, at any point, well able across the Force, to lift the rate of effort or to redirect that rate of effort as the bushfire season continues to unfold and we come to see whether more substantial and catastrophic circumstances re-emerge or not. And that will continue to be the case throughout the next coming months. Thank you very much.
PRIME MINISTER: Thank you, General. Questions both to Dr Murphy and General Campbell as well as I on the matters that I've announced. Jen?
JOURNALIST: General Campbell, there is an emergency situation unfolding right now near Canberra Airport with the fire situation reaching Queanbeyan. Is the Defence Force currently assisting with firefighting efforts down there?
GENERAL ANGUS J. CAMPBELL, AO, DSC, CHIEF OF THE DEFENCE FORCE: The Defence Force is both assisting to a degree and looking to whether that needs to be reinforced. Those fires have, as you know, just emerged in the last couple of hours. I have people who are both involved as persons who need to be moved from areas and office buildings that are potentially in danger and also those persons who are part of the bushfire assist effort,. An unfolding situation.
JOURNALIST: And aircraft?
GENERAL ANGUS J. CAMPBELL, AO, DSC, CHIEF OF THE DEFENCE FORCE: Our aircraft are available wherever that need might be required.
JOURNALIST: General, have you worked out at all how much the extra effort of the military contribution to bushfire assistance is going to cost in terms of the paying of reservists, the deployment of assets and things like that?
GENERAL ANGUS J. CAMPBELL, AO, DSC, CHIEF OF THE DEFENCE FORCE: We're working to understand those figures. But this what the Defence Force is for, to help Australia.
JOURNALIST: Are you going to need an additional appropriation for your operations budget?
GENERAL ANGUS J. CAMPBELL, AO, DSC, CHIEF OF THE DEFENCE FORCE: I think that's an interesting question, perhaps for another time.
PRIME MINISTER: The Finance Minister and the Defence Minister are working through those issues but I should stress that the support we've provided through the Australian Defence Force and I should say in addition to that category A, B and C assistance in the disaster recovery payments and the disaster recovery allowance, that is all being funded from within the Budget and I should stress without a levy. There was no need for us to apply a levy because of the way we’ve managed the nation's finances and on top of that, you've got the $2 billion recovery fund and the deployment of that I've gone into some detail about over the last week.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, you mentioned trust with charities. How can Australians and people from around the world who have donated to the Red Cross for fire only to be told that it could be used for cyclone or flood response down the track trust charities and will you commit to reviewing how that money is handled when it’s coming in such big volumes in very specific incidents like the fires?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, look, I’m not going get ahead of the issue here in this sense. We're working with the charities for them to fulfil their obligations and to those who have made donations and how they can best get them the support that they have to those families, to those people where they need it. That's, that's my focus at the moment. I want to help them do the job they're doing and in every way we can assist them to do that and there's been an enormous amount of work done over the last week to give them that the technology tools, the database, the information, to be able to direct them to people who need that assistance. And I know the New South Wales State Government in particular is working on proposals to assist them with that. See, right now, I just want to get the support to where it needs to go and all of the charitable groups are part of that effort and they have conveyed to me personally in the meetings we've had their commitment to maintain the trust. And so it's for them to follow through on that and I'll be looking for from the charitable organisations as they work with the Commonwealth Government, as they work with the state governments, to be able to give us clear indications about how they're getting that support to people, because we need to coordinate with them as well. It's as much an operational issue as it is a trust issue because it's all about getting help to people who need it.
JOURNALIST: Just on Wuhan. There are still outbound flights from Sydney travelling to Wuhan. Are there any concerns that we're sending people potentially into areas where the infectious disease occurring? And secondly, the incubation period for the illness takes some time.
DR BRENDAN MURPHY, CHIEF MEDICAL OFFICER: Correct.
JOURNALIST: Might we be receiving people who are, in fact, ill that we don't know about?
DR BRENDAN MURPHY, CHIEF MEDICAL OFFICER: It is always possible that we could have or received people, there could be people incubating the virus on that plane today. That's always a possibility in any disease of this nature. That's why our response at the borders has been as much about detecting people on the flight, but is also telling them that if they become unwell in the next week or so, in the next couple of weeks, to contact their doctor and tell them that they've come from Wuhan. That is the most important thing. We're providing that information to every doctor in the country today, all the health facilities. The biggest challenge is finding people who may have come during an incubation period and developed the disease. If they do, it's not a big issue. We, as I said, we've got really good systems to quickly isolate, test and quarantine people.
PRIME MINISTER: Doctor, you might want to, as you've advised me before, the risk of this virus and how that compares to some more serious strains that we've seen in the past.
DR BRENDAN MURPHY, CHIEF MEDICAL OFFICER: Sure. So at the moment, whilst the evidence is still evolving and we don't have a complete picture, there are clearly a number of mild cases of this condition. We believe that there are likely to be more than the 571 confirmed cases because we believe they're are mild cases that haven't been diagnosed. So whilst there is a mortality, not a high mortality, a mortality of 17 people so far, they've likely in many of them have been people with existing chronic diseases or comorbidities and so the early evidence at this stage would suggest that it's not as severe a disease as SARS or MERS. But we don't have the final picture yet and we're watching it closely. But there are clearly mild cases.
JOURNALIST: And just on the outbound flights issue?
DR BRENDAN MURPHY, CHIEF MEDICAL OFFICER: Well, the city of Wuhan is now trying to ban all transport in and out. So I think that will be solved, too. I think the Chinese authorities are really trying to isolate that city. That's a developing issue at the moment.
PRIME MINISTER: And that's why we changed the travel advisory today, based on that advice overnight.
JOURNALIST: [Inaudible] communicate directly to you that they are…
DR BRENDAN MURPHY, CHIEF MEDICAL OFFICER: No, we haven't had formal communication. Our communications so far is that the Chinese authorities are locking down the city and trying to stop all traffic out and in. That's what we’ve heard so far. But that needs to be confirmed.
JOURNALIST: People can still travel to Wuhan, there are still flights available, but the city is trying to…?
DR BRENDAN MURPHY, CHIEF MEDICAL OFFICER: The city has stopped... my advice is that the city, the Chinese authorities, have stopped all flights leaving Wuhan. I have don't have up to date advice on what they're doing with incoming passengers, but we are advised that they are trying to cut down all traffic in and out.
PRIME MINISTER: I wouldn't be suggesting people travel there. That's what the travel advice means.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, did you meet with Michael McCormack and…
PRIME MINISTER: Before we move to those other issues, while we've got the CMO and the General here let's deal with those issues. But I'm happy to come to those. Any other questions?
JOURNALIST: Yeah a question to the General. HMAS Adelaide is leaving the New South Wales coast today. I believe there is still sort of fire danger in the area today of extreme heat. Is there any particular reason why it services are no longer required?
GENERAL ANGUS J. CAMPBELL, AO, DSC, CHIEF OF THE DEFENCE FORCE: It's heading back to port in Sydney. But as you'll appreciate with our naval assets, all of which are on very short notice to move, it can be redirected at any time and indeed, we'll be maintaining amphibious sea capability to support the bushfires as might be required throughout the bushfire season. Right now, it's not seen as being as well utilised as other elements of our contribution through road and air capability. So that's why and I want you to think of this as a very dynamic operation. We move our assets to get the best effects in particular circumstances and as circumstances change, we change the way we're employing our Force. Thank you.
JOURNALIST: Is there a test for the virus yet?
DR BRENDAN MURPHY, CHIEF MEDICAL OFFICER: There is a test for the virus. At the moment the test is a two-faced test. It's an early test for pan Coronavirus to say it's that type of virus and then the labs are sequencing the DNA. So that takes a couple of days, but within days we'll have a specific one step test that will be done in less than a day and our labs across the country are developing that. But there is a test at the moment and we're getting a quicker one.
PRIME MINISTER: And I think there was one more to General Campbell?
JOURNALIST: General, the reservists who do want to stay on in a volunteer capacity, are their jobs still protected?
GENERAL ANGUS J. CAMPBELL, AO, DSC, CHIEF OF THE DEFENCE FORCE: They would have to engage with their employer. So those provisions, both of compelled service and protection of employment, change in a voluntary setting. So each would engage with their employers to understand their arrangements. And could I say that Australian businesses, employers all over the country have been extraordinarily supportive of the call out. And also of voluntary service of our reserve, not just for the bushfires, but for many, many years. I deeply appreciate it. Thank you.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister-
PRIME MINISTER: Ok thank you very much, General. Thank you, Dr Murphy. Yep?
JOURNALIST: How does the jobs and unemployment rate change the debate around stimulus for the economy?
PRIME MINISTER: It's always our job, and it's always our focus to continue to strengthen the Australian economy. Before the end of last year, you were aware that I'd been working closely with the states to bring forward about $4 billion dollars worth of infrastructure expenditure. And I was pleased that we were able to get that moving and that, that will now be rolling out, particularly over the balance of the course of this financial year. These are important projects. They were projects that were already part of the Government's program. And to be able to get the moving is something we're pleased to be able to do, similarly the very significant investment we're making in bushfire recovery, that will also have a positive impact on the ground, but it obviously displaces the many negative aspects. And you would have seen the reports in relation to the lower visitation now expected in the tourism industry. So there's a lot of swings and roundabouts in all of this. The Australian economy continues to grow in the face of significant international and domestic challenges. And so our plan, which is to ensure that we continue to engage international markets, that we continue to invest in our skills performance, that we invest in our infrastructure, that we operate under low taxing environments. All of this is designed to ensure a stronger economy, because without it, you can't get unemployment down and you can't put yourself in a position to be able to fund the sort of recovery assistance we're putting in place in relation to the bushfire crisis, as well as to keep investing in the important projects we have in essential services like disabilities and mental health.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister I understand you had dinner at the Lodge last night with some of your colleagues. Was Bridget McKenzie's future discussed? And was she present at that dinner?
PRIME MINISTER: No, she wasn't there. I mean, I dine with the Treasurer and the Deputy Prime Minister regularly. You'd expect me to.
JOURNALIST: Does Senator McKenzie need to resign?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, as you would have seen in the statement that was issued yesterday afternoon, last Friday, I referred the matter of the Auditor General's report to the Secretary of Prime Minister and Cabinet to consider any matters there that were relevant to the statement of ministerial standards. Yesterday, there were further matters relating to disclosure that were reported, and I immediately referred those matters also for the consideration by the Secretary. That process is important, has been put in place on many of these occasions simply to ensure that there's a consistency of application and assessment in relation to these issues, and it's the right thing to do for me to seek advice on those matters. And I'm awaiting that advice and I'll wait for that report.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister could you advise whether Senator McKenzie declared on her personal register of interest that is held by your office that she held a membership in the [inaudible]?
PRIME MINISTER: Well again, there’s a process in place to look at all of those matters and we’ll report on those matters once the Secretary is in a position to.
JOURNALIST: [inaudible] spoken to?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, I haven't. I haven't. I've allowed him to do it independently. And so I'm not putting any pressure on him one way or the other. I mean, he needs to do his job. That's why he's there. And I have confidence and trust in his abilities. And he will, I'm sure, get under this task as he has now since last Friday. In a, in a timely way. But he needs to assess it thoroughly and follow proper process.
JOURNALIST: If that assessment finds that she wasn't in breach of the Ministerial Standards, would you expect her to resign, given she's a Nationals Minister? You aren’t in a position to sack her are you?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, let me make two points. First of all, the reference of this matter last Friday to the Secretary of the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet was done with the full knowledge and acknowledgement of the Deputy Prime Minister. I also advised the Minister at that time, the referral yesterday of those other matters was done in concert with the Deputy Prime Minister, and he was fully aware of those matters at that time. And we have worked closely together on these issues as you would expect us to within a coalition. But I'm not going to prejudice the outcome of that report. I think that would be unfair to that process and to the Secretary. I'll let him do his job and then I will look at that advice and take whatever action is necessary.
JOURNALIST: Do you stand by the contention that you and your ministers have been making over the last week that she's done nothing wrong, that no rules have been broken?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, they were quoting the auditor general's report.
JOURNALIST: Why does Bridget McKenzie still have a job, given how scathing that auditor general’s report was?
PRIME MINISTER: Well this is why these matters have been referred to the Secretary. And I'm following that process. I said at the time, as you'll recall, that I took these matters very seriously. I took the auditor general's report very seriously and we are acting on the recommendations of that report. And as to how that report and his findings reflected in any way on the statement of ministerial guidelines and indeed what were a very different set of matters, very, very, very different set of matters which were reported on yesterday, which was new information. Then it was important that they were similarly referred. And so I'll await that advice.
JOURNALIST: Will the investigation known to these matters look into any interactions between your office and the Minister's office?
PRIME MINISTER: This is a report on the statement of ministerial guidelines and the matters I’ve referred to them. But there are no issues there.
JOURNALIST: What role did your office have in administering those grants, in deciding where they went?
PRIME MINISTER: Prime Minister's, and my office will refer matters that are put forward to us, advocacy for various programs from local constituents and members. That is the normal course of events. The matter and the program was administered by the Minister and Sports Australia, not the Prime Minister.
JOURNALIST: Why did it take until yesterday for you to say that Senator McKenzie had been referred to Mr. Gaetjens when I think on Monday you were happy to mention that you have referred it to Christian Porter, the Attorney-General?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, that was in response to a question. And what I referred to yesterday was in response to inquiries from the media.
JOURNALIST: There was reports this morning that one club was given $8,000 dollars through this program. There's no- that club has been placed into liquidation and no one knows where the money went. Sports Australia is trying to claw that back, are you concerned about the operation of this grants program if things like this are occurring?
PRIME MINISTER: What I'm pleased about is that hundreds of sporting bodies all across the country who put forward eligible projects were able to get support for those projects and that they have a government that cares about the sporting infrastructure and communities. Because I've got two daughters. I don't want them changing in the car, or out the back of the shed. I want them to have access to sporting facilities in our community like the boys do. And sporting infrastructure is central to the functioning of Australian communities. That's where people come together and that sporting infrastructure engages participation of people of all ages to ensure that they can live healthy lifestyles and be functional and part of their communities. And this program was designed to support that infrastructure, that enables them to do the wonderful work that they do. The auditor general's report has been completed. The Government is following up and actioning the recommendations of the auditor general's report, and any of the other matters that you've raised. I have referred, properly, to the Secretary of the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet for review in relation to the statement of ministerial guidelines. And I will await for him to complete that process properly. But if you’ll excuse me now, I have some family matters I have to attend to.
Thank you very much.
Remarks, Indigenous Peak Bodies Roundtable
23 January 2020
PRIME MINISTER: Welcome everyone. We’re just still waiting on Anne, I think Anne might have been delayed this morning, I know she’s been very active in dealing with matters particularly out in the Adelaide Hills and on Kangaroo Island and I hope we will see her shortly.
But to you, Pat, and to everyone, thank you for co-chairing this today, Pat, and the Ministers and my team who are here today. It's wonderful to be having the opportunity to do that, this get together this week. I will say a bit more about that in a second, as I know you will, Pat. But first of all, can I ask Cindy and Katrina to provide the acknowledgement of country.
CINDY BERWICK, PRESIDENT OF THE NSW ABORIGINAL EDUCATION CONSULTATION GROUP: Thank you. Prime Minister. I'd like to acknowledge that we are on the land of the Ngunnawal people, seven clans made up the Ngunnawal nation and I’d like to acknowledge my ancestral homelands of the Woolobaloah clan in the Yass area just over the border. My father was born on the Pudman Creek Aboriginal Reserve and my great grandmother is buried over there in the Yass cemetery.
So I'd like to say, Yirradhu marang. Yuwin-dhu Cindy Berwick Ngunnawal yinaa ngay yuranha mulunma Sydney. Dhalang yarra Wiradjuri gulbarra miyagan-dhi. Ngunnawal mayiny -ngan.gu ngurambang-ga nginha ngan.girra dhurinya gayi yindyamarra.
[Translation: Good morning. Name I Cindy Berwick Ngunnawal woman but grew up in the inner city of Sydney. Today I speak Wiradjuri acknowledging my kinship ties. I’d like to acknowledge the Ngunnawal people and pay my respects.]
KATRINA FANNING, CHAIRPERSON OF THE ACT ABORIGINAL AND TORRES STRAIT ISLANDER ELECTED BODY: I too would like to pass on my respects to the Ngunnawal people on whose land we gather today. It’s important for us to acknowledge that this place has always been a gathering place for the meeting of clans and discussing significant business. So it’s important that we take the time this morning to continue that protocol on such a significant gathering of people.
PRIME MINISTER: Well, thank you very much. I also acknowledge the Ngunnawal people, elders past and present and of course, emerging and in the future. Because so much of what we're discussing today is the future that we all, I know, are committed to and share a vision for.
I have a very simple goal and I suspect we all share it. And that I want Indigenous boys and girls to grow up with the same opportunities in life as every other Australian. At least. At least. And we have such a huge job, which has been the task of governments for many years, and I think today is another step in that process. Pat, I want to thank you for your partnership in all of this. It was over a year ago when we met and closing the gap is so important. But we also, I think, need to look at this task, as Ken has often reminded me, about the progress we are making as well. It's not about addressing a negative as much as it is about gaining a positive into the future. It's a process of hope that we're seeking to address here and I want to thank Ken for the way he has led us within the Government about our thinking about these issues and the unique perspective that he's brought to our Cabinet in his historical appointment. He's shown enormous insight to all of us in helping us to understand the challenges that we face.
So as we go forward today, it is about partnerships and there are many partnerships with Indigenous communities all around the country. Those partnerships, probably more important than anything, exist at that local level on the ground, with people working together on the ground in communities for the future of their communities and everything builds from that. And those who have gathered around here, at the table today, come from those Indigenous communities, are involved in local communities as well as national responsibilities. And our approach as a Government really is to build that partnership from the ground up with Indigenous Australians all around the country. And of course, the national peaks represent an important partner as well in being a partner especially in service delivery in so many important areas and the big shift that has taken place in the last year or so is we’ve also taken through the COAG process - and Pat, you've been such a champion, I appreciate your support in this - is to turn this issue around. Closing the gap isn't about what the government says it's going to tell the country to do, from the top down, and tell people what the gap is. Now, this is a gap that we all acknowledge and that we all define together and Indigenous communities define and Indigenous communities define the priorities. And then we work together to close the gap in where you see it, not from where we see it, as a government. So understanding what that gap is from Indigenous communities is terribly important to my government and today is a really important opportunity to work it out, that process through more thoroughly and how in the partnerships we have with the peak organisations which are service deliveries. But there are many others, there are PHNs and other service providers that exist in different places which also have an enormous role to play, which I know you understand, Pat, and you support. But our partnership with the peaks is also very important in driving this process.
So I want to thank you for coming together today. But more importantly, in the spirit of which it's done and I look forward to what I believe will be some very useful discussions today in how we are taking this forward.
PAT TURNER, CEO OF THE NATIONAL ABORIGINAL COMMUNITY CONTROLLED HEALTH ORGANISATION: Thank you, Prime Minister. Thank you Katrina and Cindy for your acknowledgements of country. Thank you, Prime Minister, for your welcome and for the invitation to meet today. It is an historic day. Never have Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peak bodies from across the country come together in this way, to bring their collective expertise, experiences, and deep understanding of the needs of our people to the task of closing the gap. And never have Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, through their elected community representatives, had a formal agreement with governments on how we can work together to close the gap.
We have an unprecedented opportunity to change the lived experience of too many of our people who are doing it tough. We know that over many years, our people have lost faith in the closing the gap policy. It wasn't delivering the changes needed and year after year, failure was reported and people disengaged. Governments too lost faith, seemingly contented with the reported failures.
There was no longer any ownership for closing the gap. The coalition of peaks are rising to the challenge. We acknowledge the Prime Minister's leadership in bringing the Council of Australian Governments to the collective task. Since September last year, with formal engagements led by the coalition of peaks, nearly 4,000 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people have now had their say on what is needed to close the gap. Today, the coalition of peaks brings those voices to the Cabinet table.
Thank you again, Prime Minister.
PRIME MINISTER: Well thank you Pat, as I ask the media [inaudible], and Pat and all the peaks in working to the task in responding to the national bushfire crisis that we’ve had. We sat in this very room last week together, and I thought that the piece you had out there today, Ken, spoke volumes about the fire service, the Indigenous female fire service, in Victoria. It was a beautiful story about just the effort that is being required across the nation in response to the bushfire crisis and how Indigenous Australians, like all Australians, have been at one in responding to this terrible challenge. And we know, as you reminded us last week, Pat, the quite specific impact on Indigenous communities, particularly in remote parts of especially New South Wales and Victoria, who have been impacted by this crisis. And we thank you for the great work you’re doing with us and with the state governments in particular to progress their needs.
Press Conference - Canberra, ACT
20 January 2020
PRIME MINISTER: Well, good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. I'm, of course, joined by the Treasurer and the Minister for Small Business and I’m also pleased to welcome the head of the Business Council Australia as well as the head of COSBOA. Big business, small business, working together, supporting each other. And the announcements we're making today, which have already been reported in today's press, go to one of the most significant areas we've been working on as part of our response to the national bushfire crisis. We've seen it envelop so much of the country over the course of the past week and more, we've been working closely with the business community to identify the priority needs they have, to rebuild local economies from the ground up. And we want to thank all of those who've been such an important part of that consultation. I want to thank Michaelia Cash for the work that she's done with the Treasurer, working with the state governments to ensure we can get these most immediate areas of assistance in place as quickly as possible. But you've got to get the design of it right, and you've got to get it ready to go. And that's what we've been working on over the course of the past week.
The National Bushfire Recovery Fund was set up just over a fortnight ago. In the course of the last fortnight, we have made commitments now well over half a billion dollars with the overwhelming majority of that to be spent before the 30th of June this year. That is an enormous investment in the response and recovery efforts that we're putting onto the ground, to assist these local economies recover. That began with our investments in local councils, some $60 million dollars investment in those local councils to ensure that they can meet those most immediate needs, well over a week ago. That was followed up by investments in mental health support of some $76 million dollars, $50 million dollars going in to support the recovery of wildlife. There was another $100 million dollars which was just announced over the weekend, which is going to the cleanup costs contribution of the Commonwealth to ensure that all private residential and commercial sites in the bushfire affected areas will have their cleanup costs paid for by the Commonwealth and state governments so that those who have been affected in those areas can build from that clean slate, whether that's with their existing level insurance, and if they're under insured, then that means their insurance is going to go that little bit further. This was something that was done after Black Saturday, and that was something that was shared 50/50 between the federal government, the state government. And we're pleased, very pleased to have that same arrangement in place. And the offer is also on the table for South Australia and other states, should they wish to take that up.
Payments have been going out the door. And tonight, over 20,000 children aged under 16 will have that additional $400 dollar payment. As I said, we'll be rolling out from today. That will be happening over the course of this week. Over $50 million dollars worth of disaster recovery payments have already been made and to over 40,000 Australians in these affected areas. Now, just to give you an idea of the scale of that, work has been done by Emergency Management Australia, that in New South Wales and Victoria alone, the population in those areas of the country that have been directly impacted by what are described as the burn scars of this natural disaster, they have estimated that population at the last census of in the vicinity of around 65,000 people. So when you think about the number of people that have received those payments, we've been getting the money to where it needs to be.
Another important part of what we've been doing is trying to get greater alignment between what our charitable sector is doing, what the Commonwealth government is doing and what the state governments are doing. There has been an enormous outpouring of generosity, whether it's to the Red Cross, Salvation Army, St Vincent de Paul and many other charitable groups, wildlife groups in particular. And those groups have told me very clearly that they intend to honour the trust that's been put in put in them in handing that money over to be put to the best use available. And we're working together with the state governments to ensure that everybody in those charities, particularly the major ones, has access to find out who needs the support most so we can get that support to them, whether that's an emerging need, which is in accommodation in a lot of these areas that was identified late last week. And the roundtables we're undertaking as we move on, as several weeks from those most horrific fire days with people moving back into communities. And we've got quite a number of people going back into Mallacoota with the airlift of- being done by the defence force, of people returning to that community and ensuring that their accommodation needs can be met. So this is a comprehensive response.
On the weekend, we also announced the $76 million dollars for the tourism response. Now, this is one of the biggest, if not the biggest, I would say the biggest challenge the tourism industry has had in living memory. You'd have to go back to things like the collapse of Ansett and the airline pilot strike of many, many years ago to get somewhere even close to what we've seen happen as a result of the broader impact on bookings, not just in the bushfire affected areas, but right across the country. And so the response of $76 million dollars, $45 million directly and in promotions and advertising, teaming up with industry to get people moving around the country again, direct support into little communities like Narooma, where there's going to be an oyster festival that comes up in a few months time, that $10 million dollars we're putting into those local tourism associations is designed to support exactly those types of events. When we heard of the Narooma Oyster Festival from the Deputy Prime Minister just last week, it was important in crafting our response that we knew that those types of events would get the support from what we're doing. I tell you this because I'm trying to communicate that we are going to a very granular level of detail in delivering this support on the ground where it's needed to be done. Now, today, the small business package, which I'll ask the Treasurer to go into more detail on, and the Small Business Minister, as well as Tim Reed from the Business Council and Peter Strong from COSBOA, has one key objective, and that is to understand that the biggest crisis that those small businesses face right now is their cash flow. And we need to try and remove every burden from their cash flow right now so they can get to that first step. The first step is the hardest when responding to the crisis, to get yourself up off the mat, to actually be able to look forward and say, my business has a future. My town has a future. And what these payments and what these supports are designed to do is to help small business get to that first step to see that they can get to the other side of this. And the Commonwealth government, the state governments, the big businesses, large businesses, local economies and communities are going to work together to rebuild their local economies. And for that to happen, the local businesses have to rebuild. So there's bigger grants, there's big loans with zero interest to be paid over the first two years. There's tax concessions and arrangements which will take the pressure off their cash flow. And we think this will have a significant impact.
This is initial and it's additional. It's not the last word we're going to have on this. There are many other things that we will be considering. But what's important right now is getting this support out the door. This support will be assessed and administered by state governments, as is always the case for these types of payments, as is the case for the $75,000 dollar payment from for farmers, graziers and primary producers. And this will further add to the reboot of the local economies. So with that, I'll hand over to the Treasurer and the Minister for Small Business.
THE HON. JOSH FRYDENBERG MP, TREASURER: Thank you, Prime Minister.
Small businesses are the backbone of the Australian economy, and nowhere is that more apparent than in regional communities. The cafe, the butcher, the baker, the sport shop, the corner shop, indeed, the mechanic. They're all integral to not only the economic activity and employment in these small regional communities, but they're also critical to the social fabric of these communities. And last week, the Prime Minister, the Minister for Small Business, and I sat down at a roundtable with representatives of the small business community, and we heard firsthand from them about their needs in the wake of these bushfires. We heard from small businesses who couldn't afford to keep their staff on, who had mounting bills to creditors for stock that they never sold. That had mounting bills and interest payments for new equipment that they had bought, for customers that never arrived. So, as the Prime Minister said, our priority is to ensure that these businesses remain viable and sustainable and can continue to be part of these communities well beyond the recovery period and well into the future. So today's package comprises a number of measures. There's a grant of up to $50,000 dollars for those businesses that have been damaged by the bushfires. And this will enable these small businesses to get back on their feet. There are loans of up to $500,000 dollars, both for those businesses that have been directly impacted, but also those that have been indirectly impacted. And this money will help go to meeting their wages bill or leasing a new premises, helping to pay their creditors and helping to replenish the stock that may have been damaged in these fires.
These loans will, as the Prime Minister said, be for up to 10 years in duration, the first two years are interest free. Thereafter, the interest rate will be at half the 10 year Commonwealth bond rate, which is at 0.8 per cent. This is of substantial benefit to these businesses with their working capital, but also to rebuild their businesses after the damage that they may have sustained in these bushfires. A third component relates to the tax measures that the commissioner for Taxation is implementing. We've been in discussions with the ATO and for small businesses their quarterly BAS payments for the December quarter will now be due on May 28th. This is a number of months later than would have otherwise been the case, and this builds on earlier announcements by the ATO that will also assist households get through this difficult period.
There's also going to be a small business hotline that will be established by the government and will be up and running by the end of this week. This hotline in the first instance will provide a portal, an opportunity for people to get direction as to the various government loans and grants that are on offer and this was something that was raised in the roundtable last week. There will also be 10 trained financial counsellors who will be able to assist these small businesses with some of the economic decisions that they need to take to remain viable. This is a comprehensive package. It's part of, as the Prime Minister said, a range of initiatives that we have announced with more than half a billion dollars already committed by the Commonwealth over and above what is already available to people for disaster recovery payments and allowances in categories A, B and C. This will make a real difference on the ground because not only have homes been lost, but also small businesses have been lost and we want them to continue to employ people, to continue to be viable well into the future.
PRIME MINISTER: Thank you, Josh. Michaelia?
SENATOR THE HON. MICHAELIA CASH, MINISTER FOR EMPLOYMENT, SKILLS, SMALL AND FAMILY BUSINESS: Prime Minister, Treasurer, this package responds directly to the feedback the government has been receiving from small businesses in the fire impacted areas, but also more broadly in the greater areas. I'm really pleased that today we're also joined by Tim Reed from the BCA. Tim's going to address exactly what big businesses are doing to help small businesses in need. But also Peter Strong from COSBOA who can talk directly to the feedback that he's receiving from the ground. In terms of the feedback that the government has been receiving we've been in talks now with small businesses, affected small businesses, for many, many weeks. We also, as you know, had the small business roundtable last week. We had over 70 representatives from small businesses across Australia. In fact, the desire was so great to participate in the conference that we had almost 30 people from disaster affected areas phoning in so they could give us their feedback. The package that we are presenting today responds directly to small businesses and what they have told us they need. As the Prime Minister said, the most important thing the government can do for small businesses in these communities is to get them back on their feet.
Small businesses are the lifeblood of the Australian economy, but in particular when it comes to small communities, they are well and truly the lifeblood of these small communities. So as a government, we need to ensure that they have the capacity to get back onto their feet so that they can continue in business and supporting these communities. And that's why we have the grant relief available to small businesses in the disaster affected areas. And then, of course, more broadly, the feedback in relation to those businesses who may not be in the disaster declared areas, but have been impacted by the fires and in particular in relation to loss of income. This is where we're directly responding to their needs with the concessional loans of up to half a million dollars, but also having the ability to get that financial assistance that is really acute to small businesses. We're going to also be providing those financial counsellors that the Treasurer referred to. And just in relation to the tax relief, we were told by small businesses on the ground they just need some breathing space and that's why we're now deferring the payment or the lodgement of the income tax return and the BAS statement until the 28th of May this year, we're going to give them that breathing space that they tell us they require. But also what we're putting in place is local economic recovery plans.
So we'll get those small businesses back on their feet. But then, as the Prime Minister has said, we are going to work with those communities on the ground so that they can build back better. And certainly the feedback that we have received on the ground from the fire affected communities is that they are going to embrace the opportunities presented by the local economic recovery plans to well and truly build back better. So it's small and family business, the lifeblood of the Australian economy, but really exemplified in terms of the lifeblood of rural and regional communities, Prime Minister.
Thanks, Michaelia. Can I ask Tim and Peter now to join me. Thank you, Tim. I'll throw to Tim first and first, can I just say thank you to the Business Council, Tim, and the large businesses, which I know have been doing a lot over the last few weeks in particular to take some of that burden off your small business partners and really appreciate the strong cooperation we have from BCA.
TIM REED, PRESIDENT OF THE BUSINESS COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA: Thank you, Prime Minister, and thank you everyone for joining us today. Perhaps before commenting on the initiatives that big business has been undertaking, I would just like to take a moment to recognise everybody who's been involved in terms of frontline response to this crisis. It is, you know, doesn't go past any of us, the people who are out there every day putting their lives on the line and those that are supporting them, many of whom are employees of many members of the BCA. And I'd just like to, on behalf of businesses big and small, thank them for all the efforts they have been putting in. The Prime Minister absolutely hit the nail on the head. Very quickly, past the emergency response, there is going to be a cashflow crisis that many businesses that are operating in this area are going to face. And that isn't something that government is just thinking about, it's very much something that big businesses are thinking about.
Business big and small, thrive together. There is an ecosystem at play here and when one part of that ecosystem is weakened, all parts of that ecosystem are weakened. And so through our members, we've been working on multiple initiatives to try and make sure that big business is responding. Firstly, working with members to make sure that they are waiving or deferring debts and payments wherever possible. Whether it's a power bill, whether it's a phone bill, whether it's a software subscription, right across our membership, we've been looking at clients who are in the impacted areas and what we can do to alleviate the pressure on cash leaving their businesses. Of equal importance, however, is, of course, cash coming into their business. And in that sense, we have multiple members and are encouraging not just our members, but businesses right across the nation who owe money to a business in an impacted region, not to wait until it's necessarily due, but to pay it as soon as possible, because those funds coming in right now are going to be critical to businesses, as the Treasurer said, making payroll in the coming weeks.
We are also encouraging all members and businesses across the nation to look at how they can get in and support economic activity in these local regions. That means holding sales conferences. It means holding management offsites. It means getting in there and actually making sure that the cash registers in these local businesses are turning over and turning over as quickly as possible. Post the immediate cashflow need, however, there is going to be an ongoing commitment that business across the nation have to rebuilding these communities. Communities only thrive when their local economy is thriving. If there aren't jobs in these local communities, if there aren't businesses that are operating there, then what we've seen in the past when these disasters happen is the community just frays and shrinks. That's not what we want. We want these communities to be built, rebuilt. We want them to be rebuilt bigger and stronger than what they are today. And the BCA is very much committed and our members are very much committed to ensuring that is the case. To achieve that, Sir Peter Cosgrove has volunteered his time to head up an initiative that we're calling the Community Rebuilding Initiative and this is aimed at matching needs that specific businesses have in those local communities to things that our members can supply. It might be right now that that is simply providing jobs to people who have lost jobs because a local business has shut down. And Sir Peter is going to be setting up mechanisms so that our members can do the best to make sure that we create those employment opportunities. It may also be that it is a supply of a certain specific need, whether it be temporary facilities, whether it be certain goods or stock that they can't get because there was inventory that was lost through the bushfires. Again, we're providing a direct line from small business in these local communities into our members who will be able to respond to that quickly and meaningfully.
Finally, we're also fundraising and those funds are going to be able to be targeted at helping business, which many of the relief agencies under the Charities Act are not able to do, but also to rebuilding the local community halls in these areas, because we know that often they become a focal point for the local community. And in doing so, we'll be creating employment in these local, local areas. So let me just say again, Prime Minister, we appreciate the challenge that has been put out to many small businesses in these regions. Big business tends to have a geographic footprint that means we're not as geographically focussed in the performance of our business. And that does mean that there is an opportunity for us to step up and to make sure that we are here side by side with the relief agencies, with governments, local, state and federal, making sure that we're doing our part to to rebuild these communities.
PRIME MINISTER: Thanks very much, Tim. Peter?
PETER STRONG, CEO OF THE COUNCIL OF SMALL BUSINESS AUSTRALIA: Thank you very much, And congratulations Prime Minister, last week was extraordinary. The roundtable, the gravitas, the history that was there, of course, becomes meaningless unless something happens in the announcement today, is very welcome. Half a million dollar loans. We know not every business wants half a million dollars, but they can have it if they want it. I think they've got to jump through a few hoops, they've got to make sure that they follow the rules, there’s no drama is there. That is very welcome. We were hoping to get $20,000 dollar grants and we've got $50,000 dollars. So you can't complain about that. We know it's complicated. The states are the ones that are responsible to take this out and take it out to the communities. And this is very difficult. You're going- each community is different from each other. We know that, you've listened to people, you know yourself, as does the Treasurer. Communities are different. They're full of different people. And this is a response that will get down to that level. And let me say to the BCA, I got a phone call from the BCA out of the blue saying, ‘Peter, we're going out, we're telling our members to pay their bills and pay them now’. So it wasn't something we requested, it was something that was thought up from big business, greatly appreciated and greatly appreciated what's happening there. We do know that big business and small business have a few barneys, and we do, our competition policy… a couple of things like that. Well it’s happened, I know, but most things we don't- we need them and they need us. And the relationship is at times feisty. The consumer wants it to be like that to get good prices and services. But we work together and we cooperate. We've signed an MOU doing that. So, so important that people know we do disagree, and we're going to publicly do that. And we do agree and we publicly do that. This crisis is a moment when we have to do that. We have to come together. The government is certainly facilitating that. And we will get out there and talk to our members and make sure our members understand what's going on. I know Michaelia’s office has already received, I think 7 or 8 phone calls today from business people saying, where do I get this loan? And that's coming through Parliament House. So the sooner we set that up, the better. And I've got to say, the other good thing is we are continuing to talk and we have to do that because the local economic development part of this is the key. The best thing you can do for a worker is open the business. To do that, we need to come together and congratulations to the government and big business for doing that.
PRIME MINISTER: Thanks very much, Peter. I'm happy to answer questions.
JOURNALIST: There’s a lot of money being spent on the bushfire recovery, which the Prime Minister has said take precedence over the surplus. And we know the bushfires are going to be hampering the economy, but is it fair to say it's unlikely that you will deliver a surplus in May?
TREASURER: Well, the overall economic impact could be varied. We do know that obviously those communities have been absolutely devastated and that has impacted on everything from tourism to to household consumption. And the full economic impact will- is yet to be seen. But we also know that the Australian economy is very resilient. We've withstood comprehensive and damaging drought. We've seen the trade tensions between the US and China play out. We've also seen the uncertainty generated by Brexit. And I'm pleased that a few of those issues look much more positive this year than they did last year. But our focus is not on the surplus per say, our focus-
JOURNALIST: - but you’ve outlined some challenges, do you think it's likely you will deliver a surplus or you won’t?
TREASURER: Look, I'm not in a position to give a firm answer to that question because the full economic impact is still uncertain. But what I want to say-
JOURNALIST: -If you don’t deliver a surplus, and you said you don’t know whether you will, isn’t that breaking a core election promise given you went to the last election with the back in black, saying you’re back in black, you went to the last Budget saying you were back in black when you weren’t, if you’re not back in black?
TREASURER: Greg, let me just make one clear point. What we went to the Australian people, was with a commitment to live within our means. Now the Budget is back in balance for the first time in eleven years. What the Australian people know is that when you are responsible economic managers, you have the financial flexibility to respond to crises and economic shocks whenever they may occur. This is one, this is a time when the Australian people know that their government is there to spend on the things that they need most. And the announcements the Prime Minister has already outlined are the most comprehensive and the most immediate of a federal government financially to a crisis such as this. And that's why responsible economic management is so important.
JOURNALIST: Could we take the easier question, could you give us, Treasurer, an overall figure for this financial year? This financial year, of the commitments that the government has made so far? An overall budgetary figure that is.
TREASURER: It's $500 million. So- it’s $500 million. As we said, we said this at the last press conference that we foresaw that $2 billion dollars, which was our initial and our additional contribution to this national bushfire recovery fund, would have an allocation of half a million dollars in 19/20- half a billion dollars in 19/20, 500 million in 19/20. Now, obviously, some of these programs are demand driven. So it's above that. It will be, it will be above that. And then the rest of the allocation will be over 20/21 and 21/22.
JOURNALIST: And the announcements of the last couple of days have added to that?
TREASURER: Well, of course, they’re added-
JOURNALIST: They’re within that $500 million envelope?
TREASURER: No Michelle, well in terms of that, they are under that half a billion dollars in terms of 19/20. But that number will continue to go up as a result of additional announcements that we are making, as the Prime Minister also indicated-
JOURNALIST: So the $500 million is a minimum?
TREASURER: 500- the way the numbers are playing out right now, $500 million dollars is probably going to- an estimate and probably lower than what will actually go out the door. But as you would understand, these are demand driven programs. And I want to make this very clear. You've got the $2 billion dollars for the bushfire recovery fund. And the Prime Minister pointed to a number of announcements that are within that fund for example, the wildlife initiative, the mental health initiative, the tourism initiative, the primary producer grants up to $75,000 dollars, the grants that we've announced today, and loans. But on top of that, you have commitments under categories A, B and C where we continue to see money go out the door, as a result of our commitments to a comprehensive disaster recovery response.
JOURNALIST: Mr Reed, would you like to see the government do more- would big business, like to see the government do more to tackle climate change?
TIM REED, PRESIDENT OF THE BUSINESS COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA: Let me take the question on the Budget first, and then I'll certainly be happy to speak about climate change, because I think it is an important debate that is being had here. If you look back in December, the BCA put out our Budget submission. And in that we said that unless exceptional circumstances arise, we believe that the Budget should be back in a surplus, for 8 years the BCA have been calling for the Budget to be returned to surplus, but even in that document we said, other than in exceptional circumstances, I don't think there's any doubt that we are now in exceptional circumstances. I think if you look at the package that the government announced today for small business, it is absolutely the right thing to do. Many small businesses in these regions make 100 per cent of their profits between Christmas and Easter. Now, you cannot understand the fear that will be going through those people's hearts and minds at the moment as they are standing there looking at the rest of the year, where money goes out of their business, where they have this one moment, this one season each year where money comes in. And so, you know, from the BCA’s perspective, let me make this just very clear on the Budget. We believe that a Budget in surplus is important because we believe it gives the nation the opportunity to respond to circumstances like this when they arise. And we do believe that these are exceptional circumstances. And while we would love to see the Budget in surplus, we would not like to see it in surplus at the expense of these local communities. So I just-
JOURNALIST: What about- I'm sorry, what about climate change? Would big business like to see the government do more?
TIM REED, PRESIDENT OF THE BUSINESS COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA: So climate change is a large and and vexed issue across our community. And I think you've seen that and you've seen it in recent days. The BCA has a very well stated climate change policy which says we believe that Australia as a nation should be driving to meeting our obligations under the Paris Accord, of reducing emissions from the 2005 level by 26 to 28 per cent by 2030. We are, in the BCA at the moment, going back and having a look at the policy around how that is achieved, what are the mechanisms that should be encouraged to make sure that we do hit that obligation. Because the science moves forward at quite a rapid rate. And so I don't want to pre-empt what is going to be done by the work in that committee, which will be done over the next few months. But let me be very clear. We believe that the nation made an undertaking under the Paris Accord, and we believe that undertaking should be met.
PRIME MINISTER: Tom? Tom, and then Jen.
JOURNALIST: Do you regret saying on AM this morning that the New South Wales environment Minister didn't know what he was talking about when it came to climate change?
PRIME MINISTER: No, I don't. What I said is, he didn’t know what he was talking about in relation to what was going on in the federal Cabinet. That's what I actually said. So I think I’ve answered the question. Jen?
JOURNALIST: Do you endorse your ministers running parallel grants programs and spending taxpayers money for their own political gain?
PRIME MINISTER: I endorse ministers running programs that change local communities for the better by ensuring they have the sports infrastructure they need to ensure that young girls and teenage girls don't have to change in their car or out the back of the shed and that they have the facilities in their local community sports grounds and that's what that program was designed to do. I take the Auditor-General's report, as I said earlier today, very seriously, and we're acting on the recommendations of that report and to address the issues that it's raised.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, this morning you didn't rule out you or your office having any role in the approval or allocation of those sports grants. Will you do that now?
PRIME MINISTER: I think you've misrepresented what I've said this morning. What I've said is that the Prime Minister's office has always relayed on representations made to it by its Members. That has been what every Prime Minister has always done in relation to any program. The Minister was the one making the decisions on those grants programs.
JOURNALIST: [Inaudible] being targeted at marginal seats then?
PRIME MINISTER: I just simply said what the process was.
JOURNALIST: Are you considering adopting a net zero emissions by 2050 policy?
PRIME MINISTER: You'll be aware that in the Pacific Island Forum we made a commitment to review that issue over the course of this year and that will certainly be done. But I'll tell you what I won’t do. I would never commit to something like that if I didn't know what was going to cost Australians. And what troubles me is that there are plenty of people at the moment who will go out and make a glib promise about that and they can't look Australians in the eye and tell them what it'll mean for their electricity prices, what it will mean for their jobs, whether it's in north Queensland or in Western Australia or in the Hunter Valley. Now, if I'm going to answer that question, I'll answer it and be able to tell you what I think the impacts would be in those places. So that is not the government's position at the moment. That is not the government's position. I said I would- I gave an undertaking at the Pacific Island Forum that that would be a matter of the government review this year and that's what the government will do.
What I notice is the Labor Party are going around saying they're going to commit to this and just like at the election campaign, when they were talking about 45 per cent emissions reduction targets and they couldn't tell people, what did it mean, what did it cost? Here they are again, doing exactly the same thing, going for all the big statements about what their commitments are and not able to tell Australians what that will mean to them. I'll tell you what I'm going to do - we're going to meet and beat our emissions reduction targets, which are set, as Tim just mentioned, at that 26 per cent level. And I'm going do it without increasing people's taxes with a carbon tax. I'm going to do it without pushing up their electricity prices. And I'm going to do it without wiping out important sectors of our economy upon which this nation depends, and particularly in regional communities, for their very living. That's the policy I took to the election. That's what I'm going to continue to do. That's the faith I am going to keep with the people of Australia to get emissions down and to keep our economy growing strongly for the future.
JOURNALIST: The states have made similar commitments to net zero emissions by 2050. Are those glib promises, including in those Liberal states?
PRIME MINISTER: That’s for you to work out and you should ask them that question. We’ve got two guests here on small business and I’m happy to address all these other issues as you know I always am. But if there are any questions to Peter and Tim I’m sure they’re happy to take them. Otherwise I might excuse them. Are there any questions to Tim?
JOURNALIST: You talk about the ecosystem and how important is the business to be part of the ecosystem. Could big business be a better part of the ecosystem by paying more tax?
TIM REED, PRESIDENT OF THE BUSINESS COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA: So big business pays a significant amount of tax in this nation already. I think one of the things that we've got to understand is when big business makes investment decisions, they are investment decisions that are made after the tax consequences of them. And what we believe at the BCA is that Australia needs to have a competitive tax regime to attract global investment. Big businesses are able to invest and choose where they invest and it's very important that Australia continue to have a competitive tax regime. If you look at the 28 going on 29 years of unprecedented economic growth that Australia has had, for the majority of that time, our tax rate has been towards the middle of the OECD. We do not believe that Australia needs to be a low tax environment because we think there are other great reasons for businesses to set up and to invest in Australia. But we do get concerned when the corporate tax rate gets too far away from the OECD average. And so our very clear policy is that every single business should pay all of the tax that is due. We believe that businesses that are part of the local community have an obligation to pay tax in the local community. But we do get concerned when the company tax rate goes too far away from the OECD average. We've been very clear on that policy for a number of years and continue to maintain it.
PRIME MINISTER: Can I thank Tim and Peter.
PETER STRONG, CEO OF THE COUNCIL OF SMALL BUSINESS AUSTRALIA: I'll make one more, please, Prime Minister.
PRIME MINISTER: Please, Peter, by all means.
PETER STRONG, CEO OF THE COUNCIL OF SMALL BUSINESS AUSTRALIA: We’ve just got to remember that people out there, hundreds of thousands of people out there that need the benefit from these packages. So out there, they won't care about these things. They may when they come out of the crisis they're in. But we've got to get to them with all the support. We've got to get to them with the information, with the mental health support, so important. And this is going to continue for some time. So I think it's good to focus on big picture issues, but it's what the people out there are focussing on is their lives at this moment.
PRIME MINISTER: Thank you, Peter. Good commonsense advice.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, you said you’re looking at legal issues associated with the sports grants program. Would that potentially look like a retrospective change to the law to justify those grants? Is that even possible?
PRIME MINISTER: No. What I'm simply saying is that the report raised a number of issues in those areas, and I've asked the Attorney to look at them.
JOURNALIST: Would you change the law to justify them?
PRIME MINISTER: I’m going to ask the Attorney to have a look at them and then he'll come back and give some advice about the matters that are raised in the report.
JOURNALIST: Bridget McKenzie routinely overruled her own government... her own government department’s advice about these and selectively chose sporting grants in electorates that you were targeting in the election. Do you not see anything wrong with that?
PRIME MINISTER: The Minister took decisions which actually increased the number of Labor held seats that actually received grants. The Minister took decisions which the Auditor-General has confirmed were to ensure that only eligible projects received funding and that no rules were broken. Now, this is in stark contrast to what Catherine King did and what Ros Kelly did, where they were found to have actually made payments and grants to ineligible projects. So there is no complementarity between those two circumstances. The Auditor-General's report is a very serious report. We take it seriously. We're acting on the recommendations. And what the Minister did was to actually ensure that more Labor seats actually received funding under the grants program than they would have otherwise done under the recommendations and the advice that was provided by Sports Australia. Now, I stress that Sports Australia cut the cheques and authorised then those payments based on the decisions that were taken, which were done in accordance with the rules.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, did the Cabinet discuss a possible Royal Commission and what was the progress made towards that if it did?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, we had a very lengthy Cabinet meeting, it was our first face to face meeting this year. We'd had one which included a phone hook up last week, obviously, to address some of those more immediate issues around the bushfire crisis that the government has been responding to. We canvassed a whole range of issues this morning, Michelle. You know, it's not my habit to go into the details of Cabinet discussions in any detail. But as I said in the interview with David Speers over a week ago, that I would be taking forward a proposal. I am working that through with Cabinet colleagues and particularly with the Attorney-General. And I said I would do this in consultation closely with the states, in particular the premiers in the most affected states. And that's exactly what I'm doing. But let me be very clear about where the focus is and this isn't the urgent priority, because as Peter said before, the urgent priority is the implementation of these grants and these many other programs that we're putting in place now. And frankly, that's the focus the states have too. So we are not spending an enormous amount of time on this issue at the moment.
But in broad terms, what we're interested in finding out is where is the crossover point where we were able to move to a position in January of this year where we instructed the defence forces to actually move and integrate as opposed to respond to requests. What that meant was that in December, we had 890 Defence Force personnel directly involved, boots on the ground, in responding to the bushfire crisis in December. After we made the decision in early January to initiate, to move on our own initiative and to move and integrate with that bushfire response, which included the first compulsory call out of the reservists in relation to a bushfire crisis that I understand from the advice of the Chief of the Defence Force, Australia has ever done. That figure is now over 6,500. So that is a completely different level and scale of operations in terms of the Commonwealth involvement. What we need to understand is what the best way to handle those issues in the future is.
JOURNALIST: Do you need a Royal Commision for that?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, given that we have taken the current deployment to the absolute extremes of constitutionality, Michelle, then I think if you were to consider the establishment of emergency powers, emergency powers for Commonwealth action that would most likely in all cases require state referrals of powers, then I think a Royal Commission would very much assist that case if that is indeed was what they recommended. I think that would be very helpful.
JOURNALIST: Couldn't you do that just through COAG negotiations?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, I think the case would need to be made for such a change, Michelle, and there have been many organisations, including the Greens, which have called for a Royal Commission into all of this. And they've gone a bit quiet on that since some I seem to agree with them. But a Royal Commission would be very focused on what that federal-state interaction should be in the future and I think that would be very helpful for the states to have that looked at as much as it would be for us. But as I also said, it has to deal with the other practical issues of preparing for Australia, which is hotter, which is drier and for longer in these seasons. And the resilience and response we need and everything from hazard reduction and vegetation management, control burns, particularly using potentially Indigenous practices more than we do in the current arrangements, land clearing laws, all of these things. I think Australians coming out of this bushfire crisis as we go into the next season will want to know how they can be safer facing the next season and safer facing the next season, I think, goes to all of those issues which I've just outlined. So we will proceed in a timely way. We will consult with the states and territories, in particular, the states most impacted. And I've already had a number of discussions with Premier Andrews and Premier Berejiklian about this. They've been very constructive. We're working closely together. And I think that will mean that by the time we go into next season once again, because it was true this year, once again, every season we face, we face more prepared than the last one. And you only have to go back to those horrible events of over a decade ago with the Black Saturday fires. The lessons learned from those fires have saved lives in these fires. I've seen that. I've seen it with the practices and the technology and the procedures that have been put in place, particularly at a state level, and that has saved lives and we need to keep saving lives for the way we prepare in the future.
JOURNALIST: Mr Frydenberg, Matt Kean has said that Cabinet ministers have approached you and said they're concerned about the government's approach on climate change and you need to do more. Is he right?
THE HON. JOSH FRYDENBERG MP, TREASURER: He's wrong. Thank you.
PRIME MINISTER: Thank you very much.
Remarks, Small Business Roundtable, Australian Parliament House
14 January 2020
PRIME MINISTER: Can I, first of all, thank all of you for coming today at relatively short notice. Can I particularly thank those who are on the call today because you are in the fire-affected communities as we speak and can I thank you for the incredible jobs you are doing on the ground during a very difficult period. There is a lot of anxiety, understandably, there are a lot of questions I think people have, and I think the people sitting around the table today, as well as those who are on the call, are in a position, I think, to work through many of those answers as to how we ensure that Australia responds to this bushfire crisis as it is extended across so many state borders in a way that is consistent with the great spirit of our country. We are a country of overcomers, we are a country of great spirit and nobody, I think, demonstrates that tremendous spirit and passion and enthusiasm than the small business owners and operators of this country. They have a passion which is extraordinary but it is a passion that I know would have been under extreme threat and extreme challenge as we work through these terrible circumstances on the ground and it’s important that you are able to know that the Federal Government, state governments, local governments, large businesses from around the country, whether they be large retailers or banks or others, are all working together to look at everything that can be done to ensure that our small business communities in these local economies are able to rebuild and restore and be able to move forward.
I’m joined today by the Treasurer, he is going to run through a couple of things and he will be followed, I understand, by Coordinator Colvin who is leading the Recovery Agency. I want to thank the state authorities who are here with us today as well. This has been a partnership with state governments right from the start of these fires back in September in Queensland and I want to assure everybody that whether you’re in one of those communities that has been most recently impacted in south east Victoria or south east New South Wales or you’re up on the north coast or mid coast of New South Wales or you’re at Scenic Rim in Queensland or you’re over in Kangaroo Island where more than half of Kangaroo Island has been burnt, or in the Adelaide Hills or even parts of Western Australia which have also been affected or indeed on the eastern coast of Tasmania. This is a bushfire season that has touched all of the country and the measures that we have been working on and we want to consult today, we are in the middle of a fairly extensive small business package. I have just, with the Agriculture Minister, announced our agriculture package which is payments of $75,000 to primary producers, to farmers and graziers, which is consistent with the response that we provided up in the North Queensland floods and that is also ensuring a level playing field too with what is being provided on the ground in each of the states and territories under the Category A to C assistance. Much of that Category A to C assistance is already rolling out but the Category D assistance, which is fully funded by the Federal Government, is what the Treasurer and I and the Minister for Small Business and Coordinator Colvin and David Littleproud, the Minister, are working together on at the moment as there has been a lot of consultation with the sector. I want to thank those representing the sector that have been doing that with us, as well as our state counterparts as well. So with that I again want to thank you for your strength, I want to thank you for your commitment. Most of all, I want to thank you for your hope and for your optimism because that is something that small business people have in large doses and we want to fill that hope tank up again for small business. We want them to be able to see the bright future that enabled them to first commit to starting a small business in the first place in these wonderful parts of our country and we want them to be able to rekindle that enthusiasm again and see how they can get through this and we’ll get through it together. So thank you very much and I appreciate you all spending the time today. Josh.
THE HON. JOSH FRYDENBERG MP, TREASURER: Well, thanks Prime Minister, thanks Michaelia. Small business is the engine room of the Australian economy and nowhere is that more clear than in local regional communities. The Morrison Government’s response to this natural disaster has been comprehensive and immediate with the establishment of the National Bushfire Recovery Agency. The initial and let me emphasise additional $2 billion we have already committed, as well as the comprehensive call out of Defence Force Reservists and personnel. Some of the money is already making its way into people’s pockets. We’ve already provided over $40 million to state governments to provide to local governments. There have been around 36,000 people who already have received more than $40 million in direct payments. The Prime Minister has made a major announcement about mental health support and yesterday about supporting wildlife and the support we’ve announced today for primary producers and as the Prime Minister has indicated, we’re working through a small business package.
Our focus is on a local-led recovery and an economic recovery of these communities, bearing in mind that a lot of small businesses have been directly affected but there are also small businesses that have been indirectly affected. So we’re here today to listen, to hear about some of the challenges that small businesses are facing, to hear about your needs and to talk about how we can work together to help small businesses get back on their feet and therefore ensuring that those communities get back on their feet.
Press Conference - Canberra, ACT
14 January 2020
PRIME MINISTER: Good afternoon. While we are facing more benign weather conditions in the short term, this morning, I received briefings from the Bureau of Meteorology, which set out that over the medium term out to the end of April Australia will continue to be experiencing warmer and drier conditions. I make this point that despite the fact that we are seeing some welcome and more relieving conditions in the foreseeable future over the next few days, and at this point, I have not- been advised to me the next spike day, as we've seen in previous times, that's not to say one won't present itself, but it is to stress again that our focus is very much on not only the significant recovery plans that are being put in place, and we'll be announcing more of those today after the National Security Committee in its expanded form met today with ERC, but to stress that there are still many more months of response and directly confronting these fires as they continue, whether they're smouldering in places where they've had some welcome rain or are active in still many cases around the country.
And so we also have seen in Victoria today, as those in Melbourne in particular, will have been noticing, the same sort of haze and smog that others have experienced, particularly up in Sydney, earlier in this fire season and has been experienced here in the capital. This is also a reminder, I think, to Australians of the ongoing bushfire crisis, even though weather conditions for right now and over the next few days are going to provide further opportunities for both firefighters and for response efforts to roll in to the various communities that are receiving this support. Yesterday, I was able to advise the Premier of Victoria of further supports that we're putting in place in Victoria, and they'll be duly announced between our respective ministers about the various requests that they've been making. That means that is bringing it more into line with Category C assistance, as is already in place in New South Wales. That's supporting issues such as community recovery, as well as enabling us to then better define what our Category D support is. Why is that relevant? The category D support as I said when I announced the $2 billion dollar recovery fund, category D support is provided completely and funded absolutely by the Commonwealth Government out of that recovery fund, and that recovery fund, as you know, has already supported the payments to local governments. It has already supported the mental health plan that I announced here with the Health Minister, it has already supported the wildlife recovery program that we’ve announced. And we'll be making some more announcements from that plan today.
I'm also very pleased and appreciative of the revision to the travel advice by the US administration for that being scaled back to Level 1 again, as I indicated to you two days ago, I had the opportunity to raise this at very senior levels of the administration, and I particularly thank the US administration, obviously the President, but also, Vice President Pence and also Secretary Pompeo for their kind attention and urgent attention to those issues, and we very much appreciate that being revised, and that will be, I think, a welcome encouragement to our tourist industry and not just in the bushfire affected areas, because these things affect the tourist industry more broadly and obviously the discussions I had with the US administration was to point out the broad nature and the large scale nature of our continent and the fact that obviously you can still go swimming on the reef and you could still be visiting Kakadu and you could still be visiting Uluru and over in Western Australia and down at Cradle Mountain and as I was able to say, and the south coast of New South Wales is open again as well, and so I very much thank the United States administration for moving so quickly to address the concerns I raised and other officials raised with them in recent times.
The Defence focus at present, is focussed on a number of issues. Firstly, they are working on firebreaks that are related to the Dunn's Road Fire, fodder distribution, bridge damage assessment. I also commend them on the great work they did with those who are finally able with air support to be able to make their way out of Mallacoota, some 66 vehicles were able to make their way out of Mallacoota. So that would have included people with caravans, things like this who had remained in Mallacoota, that they didn't want to leave those vehicles and they stayed there for that period of time and didn't participate in the evacuation, but 66 of those vehicles were able to make it through with Defence Force support. They were also very active in animal burial, carcase disposal, which also presents very real health issues. That has particularly been their focus on Kangaroo Island, where the stock losses from our reports have been the most dramatic, particularly in terms of the size of KI and the number of agricultural producers, primary producers, farmers on KI, and we now have more than half of KI that has been affected by these fires, and our presence there is very, very strong. The Defence Force have also been supporting the protection of important economic assets such as forestry assets, and that's why they're very significant, their work doing around the firebreak in relating to the Dunn's road fire is so important to protect those forestry assets which are going to provide livelihoods for that part of the country in the forestry industry into the future. So we welcome their great support there.
In good news, the Tour Down Under in South Australia is going ahead from the 16th to the 26th. That's a strong message, I think, to the world that Australia's tourist industry is very much open for business and the greatest experiences in the world are always on offer here in Australia and whether it's in South Australia or anywhere else and I commend the organisers and the defence force are actually assisting to ensure that event can go ahead as planned and we welcome that decision.
I also welcomed the fact that Standard and Poor's, I think it was yesterday, issued their statement which reinforced the point that I've made to you on other occasions, that it is because we've been able to put Australia in a strong financial position and that means we're able to respond to this crisis without any threat to the broader fiscal position of the government and as you know, that means we're able to respond significantly in the way as we have outlined these announcements without impairing the budget at a structural level. That is what you can do when you place financial management as a priority in the way you exercise government. When you do that, you build your financial resilience so you can respond in times of crisis as we are doing now without the need for taxes or levies or things like this, which have a broader impact on the economy and we are avoiding those outcomes.
I want to move to some announcements now, later today I should stress I'll be meeting, we've got a small business roundtable that is coming together and we'll be consulting with them on a small business package that we've been working on now for about the past week or so in consultation with that roundtable will be important today. The expanded National Security Committee today considered a first pass on those proposals and we look forward to having more to say on that as we get to the end of this week, and we want to talk through some of those issues with that small business roundtable today. The Deputy Prime Minister and the Health Minister have already held hook-ups and roundtables with stakeholders in transport and health sectors and Minister Robert will be similarly speaking with disability groups this afternoon. Tomorrow, roundtables have been organised with key environmental groups hosted by Minister Ley. Broad science community was hosted by Minister Andrews. The education sector hosted by Minister Tehan and the financial services sector hosted by the Treasurer, along with Michael Sukkar and Senator Hume that's happening tomorrow. On Thursday, the Treasurer and Assistant Minister for Charity, Senator Seselja, will meet with charities and key not for profit stakeholders. Minister McKenzie will be talking with the agricultural sector and taking them through the announcement I'll take you through in a second. Minister Birmingham is bringing together the tourism sector on Friday after attending the funeral for Sam McPaul. I'll be bringing together peak bodies to ensure our bushfire relief, response and recovery effort is strong and coordinated across the country, and that will provide an important opportunity to both brief all of those organisations and get their feedback and response.
Today, we have agreed an important package to support our farmers, to support our graziers, to support our primary producers. And that package is delivering significant support under Category D. That was provided in response also to the North Queensland floods, where you know, that devastated graziers and farmers right across those parts of north Queensland where their entire herds were decimated. Those grants of up to $75,000 dollars proved an absolute lifetime to those agricultural communities and importantly to the farmers to whom they were provided. We will be providing those $75,000 dollar grants, up to $75,000 dollars to farmers and primary producers in the affected areas to enable them to deal with the immediate needs that they have where they have been impacted by this fire event, and so where they've had that impact when that can be everything from sheds and fences, or it could be equipment. It could be the solar panels that actually power their pumping facilities on their dams or anything of this nature. These, or carcase disposal where they've been engaged in that, the need to employ veterinarians and things of that nature. This is crucial, rebuilding immediate recovery support that is absolutely critical to enable these primary producers, these farmers, these graziers to be able to get through this first hurdle, to get over this first hump so they can be able to put themselves into a position to be able to start planning for their future. It's this $75,000 dollar support we estimate, and assign some $100 million dollars out of the recovery fund to support this. This is an estimate. It is not a cap. This will be a demand driven program. If more is needed under the demand, then more will simply be paid without the need for any further decision. This will be a demand driven program. The primary producer, the farmer, the grazier does not have to have their principal place of residence affected by this in order to have access to this funding support. It includes the support that is provided already at Category C, but there are some tighter access conditions that are applied to that category C funding. For example, what we will be doing is exempting any off farm income in the same way that we have exempted off-farm income of up to 100 thousand dollars per person when it comes to the assessment of the farm household allowance. We will be exempting that off farm income up to that amount per person to ensure that those farmers whose properties have been affected are able to get access to this important assistance. And I think that will be a a real shot in the arm. Those farmers and those properties, primary producers that I've visited, I know this is what they need right now, and these payments will be made by the state governments, they'll be making those assessments. The Minister has been already in contact with the states this morning and I’ll allow her to take you through that process, but we want it to be as simple as possible because we need to get this cash into the hands of these producers so that they can get on with the jobs that they urgently need doing.
I would stress that these payments will also provide welcome economic injection into these rural communities. I mean, I know Tim's been down there in southern New South Wales and he's seen this on the ground as well and to see more money, more cash moving through these communities, fences getting done, contractors getting the opportunity for jobs, supporting the local economy. This will be very important for those small businesses in those towns as well, to see people coming into their towns doing this work and really putting some important oompf into the local economy by getting these payments out. This is what we also saw up in North Queensland in the response we did there. This will be supported by 60 rural financial counsellors in addition to those that are already on the ground at a cost of some $15 million dollars. What we don't want to see is support that is being provided for drought, redirected to support to respond to the bushfires. That's why what I'm talking about today is initial and additional and that means that we will continue to roll out the work we're doing on drought response in all of these communities. Those particularly who are not affected by bushfires should know that the drought support for you remains a very important priority of the government. But for those communities who have been hit by both, then they know that there'll be additional support that is coming through in these measures. So they're the announcements that we have today to come out of this recovery fund. The recovery continues, but the fires also continue and we're dealing with both of those conjointly and I'll ask the minister to go into further detail.
SENATOR THE HON. BRIDGET MCKENZIE, MINISTER FOR AGRICULTURE: Well, thank you Prime Minister. We've all seen the images, we've heard the stories and many of you have been in these communities who have been battling bushfires in some instances in the north coast of New South Wales and southern Queensland for a long time. Some are entering that recovery phase and I know north New South Wales is part of that, but as we've seen post New Year’s Eve, the devastation, of the impact of the bushfires on agriculture, on primary producers, on our fishers, on our foresters and in our regional communities has been significant and it is continuing today. Right now, today, there are farmers and volunteer firefighters fighting fires, building containment lines right now while we have some respite in the conditions, but farmers, foresters and fishers, 19,000 enterprises across bushfire affected communities are often the first responders to these crises as well and so there is a level of exhaustion in these communities as they return home from their fighting the fires, saving their neighbours property, often as in the case of Walwa, a very tiny little community in north east Victoria, they saved the town. The local CFA brigade saved the town, only to return home to see stock losses, fences down in some cases, in some regions, their own homes burnt. One dairy farmer I know returned home to see his whole future herd, all his heifers that he'd had off on another block disappear while he was fighting someone else's fire, protecting them and so as we've all travelled to these communities and we've talked to locals, our state farming organisations, we've heard stories right across agriculture. It's not just livestock losses. It's oyster sheds on the Clyde River. It's what's going to happen to those type of enterprises once the charcoal and ash after a good rain ends up in our waterways. It's our Batlow apple farmers. It's the wine industry in the Adelaide Hills, and it's our sheep and beef producers more broadly and our dairy industry.
So each commodity group has very, very different pinch points in a recovery, but right now, across them all, the things we're hearing on the ground is access. Get me back to my property yesterday. I want to check on the stock. I want to see what damage is done. I need to get home to my home and start the rebuild phase, and so there has been, I guess, a real effort in those communities that are fire affected to get the ADF on the ground, to get the killed trees down, so that farmers can have safe access back to their properties. That's been number one. Then it's been water and fodder and you will have seen great stories of Farmers Federation in Victoria and, you know, the ADF, community groups, hay drives, fodder drives and the like, getting farmer helping farmer right across these bushfire communities. We had a great season in the south west of Victoria, that hay is going east to East Gippsland and that's a great testament to our communities and the drive of our farmers to support each other.
And third- fourthly, it's about re-fencing now. Once you get the water and follow the herds, okay, it's about re-fencing, making sure you protect them and the disposal of dead livestock and we've seen those actions happening right over the last 10 days and they will continue. It's been incredibly heartening to see the generosity. So whilst there's been stories of loss and heartache, there's also been, I think, incredible stories of hope and of strength and of community and I think we need to really draw on that. I've been very, very proud of Australians over this period of time in how we've worked together to support each other. We need to get our farmers back to business, to growing food. It's what they want to do. It's actually what they like to do. They like to grow grapes for wine. They like to breed cattle for meat, you name it. They just want to grow food. So we need to get them back to their normal way of life as soon as possible, and that's exactly what the $75,000 dollar grants are all about. It's about cleaning up the property as soon as possible, about having two days of excavation, clearing, clearing trees, as the PM says, getting that essential critical infrastructure to get the farm up and running in the immediate time. Future measures obviously, this is the initial phase. This is what we've been hearing is absolutely needed on the ground. Cash payments to hire local contractors to get the job done so we can get back to producing food. We've heard stories of dairy farmers, you know, fighting a fire only to get home, the herd safe, the heifers are gone. Next year's herds gone. But milking cows are still there and they've had to milk twice a day, every day now for the last 10 days to keep supply up and I just want to give a brief shout out to the dairy processors. I'm sorry I've beaten you off in the recent recent times, but they have hand on heart, been doing a magnificent job supporting their milk suppliers through these tough times and making sure the milk cheques still get there, despite in often cases where we can't get the tankers through, picking up of that supply.
So our announcement obviously being assessed by state governments. The eligibility criteria will be incredibly simple because our goal is actually to get cash on the ground to the farmers so they can actually get on with the rebuilding. Officials are in contact. We're working with state governments right now on guidelines and eligibility criteria and assessment criteria. We're wanting to this to be a consistent application, obviously, across all bushfire affected regions and I guess it's part of our first step in our bushfire recovery, obviously next, it'll be rebuilding and I'm meeting with farming organisations, commodity chairs, food supply chain. Often we're seeing flow on effects from not just the farm gate, but into regional communities with a lack of supply into the processing sector. Transport sector will be affected, so they'll be coming to Canberra on Thursday so that we can start that broader discussion and an ongoing discussion over the next two years about how we assist agriculture and food supply in this country to rebuild and to build a more resilient future going forward, which I'm also excited to take part in once we get this initial piece out of the way. And as the PM touched on, the angels of the drought, the rural financial counsellors, we're going to roll out another 60 into bushfire affected communities to help farmers assess what financial assistance they're actually eligible for but also, I think as we move into a rebuilding phase to really do that on farm business planning, what does my business need to look like going forward? Are there any opportunities that have come out of this current crisis that I can actually take advantage of for my farming business going forward?
I could go to actual commodity groups in terms of the different impacts, because I have had the opportunity, obviously, to head into New South Wales, Victoria and South Australia yesterday but I might leave that to questions but we're here for the long haul. Our primary producers know that. Our regional communities know that. We've made that very, very clear. And today is a first step in what's going to be a long journey. Our farmers want to get back growing food and we need them to get back growing food. So we are with them all the way.
PRIME MINISTER: Thank you Bridget. Questions?
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, just with the assistance for the farmers. We're hearing stories of farmers who are having to ask for more bullets to put down livestock.
PRIME MINISTER: Ask for more?
JOURNALIST: ask for more bullets to put down the injured livestock as a result of what we've seen over the last week, given what we've seen with the drought, how cruel is that? And on dairy farmers, is it now up to the supermarkets to start looking at increasing the prices to try and pass on some more of that to those affected farmers?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, I’ll deal with the first one, I mean, part of the role of the ADF has been, as well as the recovery agency, has been working closely with local farming communities to provide, if necessary, any assistance when it comes to stock disposal and that includes not just the destruction of stock in some circumstances, but I'm not advised of any cases where the Defence Force have been required to do that, but they've certainly been available do that if necessary but those issues have been, have been dealt with by local farmers themselves and other local community members have supported them in that task. Then the focus particularly on Kangaroo Island has been the burial of that stock. I know that when we were dealing with the terrible events in North Queensland, the destruction and disposal of stock is an awful business. It is not just the economic toll, but it's the emotional toll that this puts on farmers and often farmers will dispose of each other's stock sometimes, particularly when it comes to the destruction of stock, because it can be a pretty tough thing for farmers to do but they do do it and they've been working through that process and they've had support available from both state agencies and Commonwealth, in performing that task, but look, the flow on impacts of the disaster when it comes through the agricultural commodities and prices, whether it's for milk or anything else like that. I mean, that will be assessed in the days and weeks ahead and, but I'll ask Bridget to speak to that, but we can't hide from the fact that we've had an enormous shock to our farming community and that will obviously have flow-on effects along the supply chain. Bridget?
SENATOR THE HON. BRIDGET MCKENZIE, MINISTER FOR AGRICULTURE: Thanks, PM. State agencies, agricultural agencies are out there assessing on farm right now, not just the animal welfare of stock that are still alive, but also assisting farmers to dispose of and euthanise stock that need to. We've offered over 100 Commonwealth vets to that task and would encourage state governments to actually take advantage of that offer, because that's part of the recovery process, is really dealing with the animal welfare issues on-farm post bushfire as quickly as possible. When I was up in Batlow, just to your point, farmers actually cleaned up after the horrific fires on Friday, Saturday, cleaned up Sunday, all the livestock there because they wanted to bring their kids home and didn't want their kids to see what the bushfires had done to their family’s herd. So, yes, farmers are doing it tough. We have the support structures there to assist them. In terms of prices for food, you might have seen reporting that supermarkets are letting the Australian public know that they'll have to pay more for their red meat. Yes, you will. That they'll have to pay more for their fruit and vegetables because of the bushfires and the drought. Yes, you will. Well, then the supermarkets also need to let the Australian public know that because of the bushfires and the drought, you will have to pay more for your milk. Now, processors are doing the right thing by farmers, by actually paying milk cheques when in many cases they're not getting the product and therefore that's having an impact on their business. Well, it's up to the supermarkets to not just talk about being the fresh food people, but get on with supporting in a very real and tangible way because farmers don't grow food for free. It's a business. I know we like to get all a bit romantic about it, but the reality is it is a business. They need to make a living and that means we need to pay the cost of producing the food and through tough times such as we're experiencing now, drought and bushfire are severely impacting input costs about farmers and now our processes in the supply chain so the other end of the supply chain needs to stump up.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, you mentioned that your Ministers are going to be meeting with charities later this week. How do you propose all the donations get disbursed?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, obviously, the charities will be accountable for how they disperse the donations that they've received and the purposes they set out for attracting those donations and state governments and the Commonwealth have quite an exhaustive list of all the various organisations that people can go and support and the meeting later this week, I think will be an important opportunity to try and align a bit of effort to ensure those charities are well briefed on what the immediate needs are. Can I stress again something I've said earlier, sending food, sending clothes, sending goods is not what these communities need. If anything, that actually negatively impacts the local businesses that are selling food in these communities. The local IGAs or other grocery retailers or others on the ground, those bringing in those goods for free, just undermine the capacity of those local small businesses to actually survive as well going through this difficult period. So I would encourage everyone, and Australians have been just so monumentally generous and I think that's been all done in tremendous good faith and I know the charities and not for profit organisations are similarly acting in that good faith. So I think later this week is an important opportunity to align that and to make sure the effort is getting where it needs to get as quickly as possible. The distribution mechanisms that these charities have, whether it's St Vincent de Paul or the Red Cross or the Salvos or others who I've seen out there in so many different places, they're in a very good position, I think, to understand the most immediate needs. And they're very good organisations to deal with the immediate post-impact in these communities and the relief that they provide and what is then needed post that is the recovery and the rebuilding and that's where the governments themselves, Commonwealth, federal, state and local governments are playing the lead role. Tim?
JOURNALIST: Can I just ask how many farmers you believe are in drought, in fire-affected areas in our country, how many there are? Also, you've spoken more positively today about the Budget withstanding the impact of the fires, notwithstanding the fact that you've talked about billions in assistance. How damaged is the $5 billion budget surplus in your estimate as we stand?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, I'll deal with that issue and Bridget can talk through the number of farmers and graziers, primary producers we anticipate are affected. My answer is the same, Tim. These issues will be reconciled when the Budget is brought down in May to assess the overall impact of where expenditure has come to on these issues between now and then. We've made a big commitment. As you know, we've put in a half a billion dollars, which we expect to go out under all of these programs between now and the 30th of June of this year and you will know that is obviously an amount that's not the same as the projected surplus at this time. But the projected surplus at this time is also conditioned by the consumption in the economy and where that's expected to flow over the course of the rest of the year and those assessments will be made at that time. I've made it really clear that my focus is on delivering the recovery and the support and what is needed now and paying the price and the costs that are needed to be met here and now and over the next, at least, the next two years and the impact on that Budget will be very clear. What I've referred to, I mean, I wasn't referring to something I'd said, Tim. I was referring to something that S&P have said and S&P have said that they do not see a negative impact on the structural strength of Australia's financial position and our Budget as a result of the support we're providing to this crisis and I welcome that acknowledgement by S&P and I believe I think Moody's has said something very similar and that says that when you manage a Budget well, it means that your government can actually respond to the crisis without taxing you more, without dragging on the economy anywhere else, because you want your economy to continue to be able to grow in these circumstances because that's what supports the ongoing effort and rebuilding effort in the affected communities and when you look at the map, as we have on every occasion when we meet as a National Security Committee and we look at the scarred areas, there are vast, obviously portions of the country that have not been affected by these bushfires and it's important that those parts of our economy also continue to go forward and perform strongly to support the rest of the country, but Bridget, on the other matter.
SENATOR THE HON. BRIDGET MCKENZIE, MINISTER FOR AGRICULTURE: Thanks, PM. Well, 19000 primary producers, farmers, fishers and foresters are within the bushfire-impacted areas. Now, whilst what the PM says is correct, the localised impact will be significant, particularly if you think of timber towns - Eden, Tumut, Tumbarumba, etc. East Gippsland, a significant forestry employment region severely impacted when their primary source of product has disappeared. I was talking to a private forester in northern New South Wales who was impacted prior to Christmas and of the 25,000 hectares of plantation they had, 20,000 hectares disappeared like that overnight. So there will be significant regional impacts, Tim, depending on the different commodity. So you look at the Adelaide Hills, a third of their wine vines gone. Do we know the extent of smoke damage? No. We've got to invest in some research there to the harvest and the vintage this year but nor do we know how we're going to assess the vascular damage to the actual vines, that may take a couple of years to actually work out the loss of production over time. So depending on the commodity and the region, individual farmers will be severely impact and potentially regional economy significantly, whilst not impacting the overall budget position.
PRIME MINISTER: It is a practical thing. On Kangaroo Island at the moment, the Defence Forces are actually assisting with a garlic harvest to get it out of the ground. They need that help. I mean, that's the sort of level of practicality this federal response is extending to.
SENATOR THE HON. BRIDGET MCKENZIE, MINISTER FOR AGRICULTURE: And I think it's the level of practicality regional Australians expect.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, you spoke about speaking to the US, encouraging their citizens to still travel here. What other countries have you spoken to or do you plan to speak to the leaders or the government of any other countries to encourage them to do the same?
PRIME MINISTER: Oh, look, it's typically been a topic that has come up in most of the discussions I've had with other leaders and that has been to just explain what the impact has been and there is a bit of a false perception overseas that the entire continent has been affected and that's obviously not true and so those calls which I've taken and they've been on behalf of those countries to extend their sympathies and support and in many cases very practical offers of support which have been taken up but it's also been a good opportunity for me to inform them of what the true nature of this is and where it is impacted, but that's why I think it's just fantastic that the cycle race is going on in South Australia. I think that's tremendous. I mean, that has been a very important event for the South Australian tourism industry for many, many years and the fact that they're just getting on with it, I think all of those things just go to the story that we're seeking to tell. Now, I can tell you that Tourism Australia and through our embassies and high commissions around the world, they are actively involved in providing briefings to those governments about the situation in Australia so there is no misinformed decisions but again, I very much appreciate the decision taken by the United States. That's one that particularly needed my intervention and I was very happy to do that. That's the job, and I thank the United States for their very prompt response to my request.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, can you get all the states to sign up to a Royal Commission or will you have to scale back your ambition given Western Australia's opposition and separate inquiries in Victoria and New South Wales?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, let me just deal with the issue of inquiries and Royal Commissions more broadly. First of all, in the discussions I've had with Premiers and as I've already relayed to you in other forums, it has always been our understanding that states would be undertaking their own reviews. I knew that in Victoria, it was something that Dan and I discussed the other day. In Victoria there is actually a statutory requirement for one to be done in response to bushfires after Black Saturday. So that's understood, and the same will happen in New South Wales and I've made that reference. So anything I've said in this area has not been to replace or otherwise be instead of any of the normal reviews that you would expect to be undertaken at a state level. So any suggestion that these two are in somehow are in conflict is just completely false and because this is the very thing I've been discussing with Premiers. The ambit and scope of what the Federal Government will look to pursue is to look at all the areas that I outlined on Sunday in the interview that I had with David Speers, as well as in the press conference that followed and that, first of all, deals with the preparation and response to these terrible fire events as they've extended across many state borders. Secondly, to look at the whole issue of resilience and thirdly, adaptation going forward in the recognition of longer, hotter, drier seasons, which is not in contest, that is an established and acknowledged fact and has been by the government for quite a long period of time and was the basis for the disaster risk framework process that we'd set in place in the 2019-20 Budget and is ongoing. So our process in order to address questions around, for example, how federal assistance, how federal involvement is triggered, particularly federal support that is triggered proactively, not at the request of state governments as has occurred in all previous disasters. What is different with this disaster and what we put in place last Saturday week was not responding to a request, but to initiate and to actually go forward, and so I think it's important that we have a very clear understanding in relation to future events that there is an established understanding of what the threshold point is and what powers and what authorities, and yesterday I was... sorry, the day before, I was talking about what a federal state of emergency or national disaster, what that would entail. What powers it would create. What payments it would trigger. What authorities would be established. Now, to understand how that should occur, you obviously have to have a good understanding about what the state effort has produced in these fires and this is why I've been at pains to stress this. The preparation and response to these fires by our state governments has been simply extraordinary. The loss of life is devastating, but for those of you who have been out there, you will know, having seen the charred remains of the landscape, that so many more lives could have been lost and the fact they haven't been goes to the preparation and response that has been put in place and supported, of course, by the Federal Government under all the standing arrangements that we've had and that point, I think, extends also to the loss of property. While the property losses well over 2,000 now have been significant, in the absence of the work and the response that has been put in place, coordinated nationally, delivered by state authorities, has been exemplary and there would have been many, many more, arguably thousands more properties and homes that would have been lost in the course of this crisis. So what needs to be understood in any review is what is the overall capacity of that state response and at what point and in what set of events would that trigger moving from the response setting of the Federal Government to a proactive setting? Now, I've noticed some of the commentary, particularly that has been made by the Labor Party, regarding the call out of our ADF. It's simply false what they are saying. What we have done has been a compulsory call out of up to 3,000 Defence Force reservists that required the signature and approval of the Governor-General of Australia. Now, the advice I've received from the Chief of the Defence Force is that has not occurred before in response to any disaster. Now, I was pretty clear about that on Sunday, and I think it's disappointing that some would seek to try and twist that into something other than what it is. Now, that's been backed up, of course, by the recovery agency and the $2 billion and all the other things I've referred to, but what has been different about our response in the last week and a half has been that the Commonwealth has been acting on its own initiative to go into these areas. It's being done in what I'd call a cooperative environment, but we haven't waited to be asked and that was the key change that was made last Saturday week from the way that previous disasters have been dealt with. Now, that point about when that is actioned and the most common thing that has been put to me is should that have been done sooner? Well, as I said, the state of disaster had only been declared a day or two before that in Victoria, which hadn't been in place before that and I think there'd be reasonable positions, I have no doubt, put by Western Australia that the Commonwealth is proactive on its own initiative involvement by Defence Forces and Commonwealth agencies is quite a significant step to take and states have all always, I think, been very affirmative about their ability to deal with these crises within their own state borders and I think that has been the history of that performance. That said, clearly, based on the community expression that I've heard, they are looking for a more proactive, direct involvement of the Federal Government that doesn't just respond to requests for assistance, as has happened in previous ADF arrangements. Of course, the ADF has been involved in previous disasters. They've done so at the request and of course, reservists were involved. Reservists were involved before we had a compulsory call out. That's the ordinary course of ADF activities, but on this occasion, we had to go to the Governor-General to get him to sign off on this deployment and this compulsory call out. That has never been done before and those who suggest this wasn't quite an unprecedented step either haven't got the faintest idea what they're talking about or I fear they're seeking to play politics at the most unfortunate of times.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, there’s a senior business figure Paul Bassat who says that these fires are a Port Arthur moment in terms of action on climate change. Do you accept that parallel? Do you think it's a reasonable parallel in terms of what it means for future climate change policy?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, first of all, I find it difficult to make comparisons between different horrific events and Port Arthur is one that remains a deep scar in our community's psyche even all these years later, and I'm sure those who lost lost loved ones in that horrific event would never be too pleased about it being drawn up, I suppose, but I don't like to make comparisons between these sorts of things. I think they're very different events and out of respect for those who have been affected by those events, I won't make any further comment on that. What I am saying, though, is that on this occasion, the necessity of the government taking the action that we have, the unprecedented action that we have taken, and I must say, since we have done that, it has greatly amplified, I think the capability of what the state agencies have been doing on the ground. I think it's worked really, really well and I think it has really helped what they are doing and it's been tremendous to meet those Reservists out there able to be providing assistance in their own country. This is why they join up as Reservists. This is why they like to serve and they've been so pleased to be out there and supporting their own countrymen and women as they've gone through this disaster. I've set out what I think we need to do in terms of the future and that has been very much ensuring that we continue to meet and beat the emissions reduction targets that we've set. I've said, though, I think more significantly that resilience and adaptation need an even greater focus. People have said it's not just about emissions reduction, it's about hazard reduction. That's true. Hazard reduction is climate resilience and ensuring that you're able to successfully pursue those programs is very important. So climate resilience, climate adaptation, the fact that over the next 10 years, it's a fact that we've got longer, hotter, drier summers means we have to prepare practically as we have been and need to do so more in the future. That is where can you build, that is how you manage native vegetation, that is, as I said in an editorial I published last year as these fires were raging, listening to Indigenous Australians about their traditional practices. It is all of these things. There is no single answer. It is all of the above and the reviews that we will take in due course, I think we'll get to those answers and give very practical instructions on how we can be more resilient and more adapted and better placed in the years ahead.
JOURNALIST: Is the focus on resilience and adaption perhaps an admission that the emissions reduction challenge has been lost, that we won't be able to bring down and avoid unavoidable climate change and that we have to get used to it?
PRIME MINISTER: No, I wouldn't put it like that. What I'd say is Australia's emissions reductions performance, particularly as we speak of it now, 2020, meeting and beating our target by 411 million tonnes, I think speaks to the achievements that we've made. I think the fact that we've been experiencing record investment in renewable technologies in Australia far above and beyond, particularly on a per capita basis, than I see some of the media commentators in other countries seem to have overlooked or are not aware of our performance in these areas. What we've been doing in that area is being part of the global effort and Australia has been carrying its weight. In fact, we’ve been over performing in comparison to many other similar countries, particularly in relation to 2020. And I believe the same will be true in 2030 as we continue to take opportunities, particularly with the technologies that are available to meet and beat our 2030 targets. What that is a simple statement of is that the longer, drier and warmer seasons that we're seeing are a reality and so while you take your actions as part of a global effort on emissions reduction, the practical thing that actually can most keep you safe during the next fire or the next flood or the next cyclone are the things that most benefit people here and now. As I think all of you have acknowledged, the emissions reduction activity of any one country anywhere in the world is not going to specifically stop or start one fire event but what the climate resilience and adaptation work can do within a country can very much directly ensure that Australians are better protected against what this reality is in the future. So my response on these things is always a very practical one. I said when I became Prime Minister, one of my core responsibilities was to keep Australians safe and the response that we are providing right now, whether it's the $75,000 payments we're making to support farmers and graziers get back on their feet. Whether it's the significant investment, over $70 million in supporting people's mental health to heal the scars of first responders or young kids who have been experiencing even if it's just the haze and the smoke that they've never seen before, or it's the recovery effort we've provided to the wildlife, which Josh and Sussan announced yesterday, or the many other measures which we will continue to announce. That's what we do now but we must build our resilience for the future, and that must be done on the science and the practical realities of the things we can do right here to make a difference and we'll have more to say about those matters in the next few days but right now, I have a Small Business Roundtable I have to attend to. Thank you all very much for your attention.
Press Conference - Canberra, ACT
12 January 2020
PRIME MINISTER: Good morning everyone. I’m joined by Minister Greg Hunt and Christine Morgan who is the head of our mental health agency and we thank her for joining us here today. Can I start by offering our sincere condolences to the family of Bill Slade, who was killed overnight and that was confirmed, while fighting fires near Omeo with Parks Victoria. I had the opportunity to pass that on to the Victorian Premier this morning. This is a terrible tragedy, as all of those fatalities have been during the course of these terrible fires. 28 people now have lost their lives in the course of these fires. And for all of those other family members for whom this latest confirmation will be just a further reminder of their own loss, our thoughts are very much with you also this morning.
Can I also just confirm a couple of other things before we make some announcements this morning. And that is that I can confirm that since the stand-up of the National Bushfire Recovery Agency just a week ago today, $42 million dollars has already been paid to the states to support those local council areas. I can confirm that we're adding one additional council, that's the Alpine Council in Victoria, to that list of 42. We will also be moving, today, we've been working with the Victorian Government, to declare 3 of those councils as Category C assistance areas and there is a range of supports that flow from that and they'll be confirmed later in the day. Further than that, of course there was the tax and welfare compliance arrangements which have been waived. The mobile pop-ups have been established. We've seen them now in operations in many localities that have been bushfire-affected around the country.
The National Security Committee of Cabinet has now considered quite a series of proposals. We'll be detailing one of those here today as we have already on other occasions with other measures. I can confirm that 2,700 reservists have now been deployed. That has occurred in six days since that call-out occurred. Sorry, in the past week I should say, since that reserve call-out started last Saturday week. I want to commend the ADF and all of those reservists for their very prompt response to that call-out. Around $40 million has now been paid out in various forms of disaster assistance by the Commonwealth to over 30,000 people. Those payments will continue to flow and I would note that where there are issues or, as there is on occasions in the minority of cases, some confusion about eligibility and these things, Minister Robert has set up a very, very swift process for reviews to be undertaken or where there are policy changes that are needed to ensure that payments can flow, that is being done very swiftly. There are a large number of people that are involved in assessing and making sure these payments get out. In the odd case there may be circumstances that need to be rectified. I want to give you that assurance that that is being acted on with the Minister overseeing that, very carefully and very clearly.
Over the course of the next week, the ministers are convening round tables, the Minister for Health in fact convened one on Friday, I'll be participating in one in particular on small business on Tuesday. There'll be those on tourism, agriculture, the scientific community, environmental groups and there'll be a gathering of a series of national peak groups here in Canberra next Friday to consult and further consider proposals around the bushfire recovery response. Today though, the Government is announcing a further policy announcement that goes to the critical issue of dealing with trauma and mental health occasioning from these bushfire disasters around the country. There has been a deep scar in the landscape that has been left right across our country. But I am also very mindful, as is the Government, of the very real scars that will be there for quite a period of time to come for those who've been exposed to the trauma of these bushfires. These bushfires have been across so many different areas. People who have been exposed to them, many have returned to where they may - where they reside, having been away during those fires, and it's important that the response today reaches out across all those who have likely to have been impacted. The response that we're providing today is considerable. There's $76 million dollars being dedicated through the National Bushfire Recovery Fund. That is going to counselling support on-the-ground, in communities, Medicare rebates, to ensure psychological support sessions, bolstering support for Headspace to ensure that, particularly, younger people who've been exposed to these terrible events are getting the support that they need. In particular, the reach out to emergency responders working with the state governments and the services that are delivered through their agencies. As I've met with so many who've been those first responders, you can see it, and it is a very difficult burden that they have been carrying and we need to assist them with that first responder trauma and mental health support, and that's coming through this package. More broadly, and we've learnt this from previous disasters, there is a need to be proactive in the outreach of these mental health services. That outreach is going to be there to extend people who may not come forward, who may not think that they need that support, but there is additional support going into outreach services to achieve that. Now, all of this is coming out of the National Bushfire Recovery Agency fund. I remind everybody that fund, that $2 billion dollars is over and above all of the Category A to C assistance which the Commonwealth provides, as well as the disaster payments and disaster allowance. So these funds are in addition to all of those amounts which are provided under various arrangements that we have directly with the states and territories or directly as a Commonwealth government.
I want to thank Greg Hunt for bringing all of this together and working with Christine and the sector more broadly. The Government is working through in a very orderly and a very carefully considered way, to address all the key recovery issues that need to be attended to. The policy work is being done. National Security Committee of Cabinet in an expanded membership, is looking at each and every one of these proposals as they are coming through, they are going through the filter of the National Bushfire Recovery Agency led by Andrew Colvin and the process he chairs with every single Secretary of every single department in the Commonwealth, to ensure that we get the design right and so it can reach the area of need. We are focused on other priorities particularly at the moment as they relate to small businesses that are affected in these areas, we are focused on the habitat and environmental recovery that is so critical, and will be part of the renewal effort that will come over the next decade. There'll be many other issues that we'll be touching on as the National Security Committee meets on several occasions again over the course of next week. Thank you, Greg.
THE HON. GREG HUNT MP, MINISTER FOR HEALTH: Thanks very much Prime Minister and Christine. This morning, Christine and I met on behalf of the Government with a group of people - GPs, psychologists, Luke McCormack, who is the senior psychologist at the National Trauma Centre, where, for the first time, we have mobilised on Australian soil the medical assistance teams, and, in particular, though, with two firefighters from the Balmoral RFS. The captain, Brendan, and Vicki, one of the members of that RFS, and that Balmoral Village faced one of the great conflagrations that we had seen during the course of these terrible fires, and they talked about the challenges that individuals in the community but also the emergency responders, the volunteers had faced. It affects each of them in different ways. Vicki lost her house and yet she was here today to talk about the needs of her community and it reminded us of the incredible courage and resilience of individual Australians and of the volunteers, but also the fact that each individual can be touched in a different way. And their stories have helped inform, along with the advice of medical and mental health professionals around the country, of Christine and the people we've consulted, the states and the territories, the package that we're bringing forward today.
The $76 million dollars that we'll be providing is about ensuring that there is support for every person who has been touched by the fires in terms of their mental health and recovery needs. It’s immediate support, with regards to 10 counselling sessions for people who have been in the fire-affected zones, whether that's farmers, whether that's young people, old people, whether that is small business people, people who are living in residence in the area and faced the fires, or visitors or emergency service personnel and volunteers. In addition to that, there is an investment in both telehealth services immediately available and also the 10 Medicare psychological services. Sometimes the harm and the trauma will only manifest itself later. It might be 3 months or 6 months. It can be different for everybody. But we want to make sure there's immediate support through the counselling and longer term support over the course of the next two years. If more is needed, more will be provided for people with whatever conditions and whatever circumstances they might individually have. Then, as the Prime Minister said, a particular focus on youth through the support of almost $7.5 million for Headspace and that will reach across the states that have been affected by the bushfires. In addition to that, $16 million for emergency service personnel, such as those we saw today, they're going well, both Brendan and Vicki are going well but they know the stories and they recognise the risks that they and many others face. Our volunteers are extraordinary. Our professional workers are extraordinary. But all of them, as Luke has said to me, have the risk, the fear, the chance that they may suffer some mental health effects at some stage and that's why we want to specifically support them. And then the community outreach, which is something that Christine has emphasised. That by giving communities the support through $6.9 million dollars to hold their events, to bring people together, to chart the recovery, sometimes it's not a medical professional that a farmer or somebody will reach out to. It's if they're sitting, they're talking, then they'll feel that for the first time they can unburden themselves. That can lead to the help that they need. So that process of immediate support, individual support, and community recovery are all built together in this package. Christine?
CHRISTINE MORGAN, CEO NATIONAL MENTAL HEALTH COMMISSION, NATIONAL SUICIDE PREVENTION ADVISER TO THE PRIME MINISTER: Thank you, Prime Minister, thank you, Minister. I would just like to stress and to say, firstly, thank you to all of those who've contributed to collaborating with us to form what we wanted to be two things. One, we wanted a comprehensive package and, secondly, we wanted it to be compassionate because the one thing we know at the moment is that it's OK to not be OK. This is a really significant event that has touched not just one community but a whole range of different communities, different demographics, and we know that our mental health is an integral part of our humanity. It's almost impossible, I think, to go through this without some sort of impact. So we consulted broadly. We learned through our Beyond Bushfires which looked at what has happened after the Black Saturday fires, we looked at the WHO guidelines and we consulted.
There were three key things that we knew were important. One, that we provide what we call psychological first aid. That is the ability to be there and to actually help people deal with their immediate need for security and safety, to have strategies to cope, and to enable them to start to regain a sense of ability to control something. So through, as the Minister has said, the distress and counselling sessions which we're making available to people, that is there in the community straightaway, through PHN’s, through the Services Australia, or through the recovery centres. The second thing is the provide access to mental health services. That is something we needed to do above and beyond what is there for any Australian anyway. So the additional psychological therapy support services that are available on a Medicare-rebated basis and the 10 sessions that are available through the tele-health Medicare rebate, will mean where ever you are in Australia, even rural and remote areas, you can gain those extra services and the most important thing about those is you don't need a mental health plan. Whilst we encourage anybody who is affected to go to their GP, the GP is a fantastic first door, you can actually access those services by going to a psychologist yourself. So we call on any Australian who needs that, who has come from a bushfire-affected area to do it. The third and most important thing as the Minister has said, and we've heard this loud and clear, and we heard it again from Brendan and Vicki this morning, is enable and support communities to actually be able to respond and find solutions for their own members. We know that communities have an incredible ability to identify what they need. So rather than coming in over the top and superimposing services, make it an enabling thing.
Part of the recovery, as Vicki said to us this morning, is that anything that anyone wants to do is a positive, so let them contribute. It was critical to us that the package actually focus in on what can communities do to try and find the answers themselves. So, in that compassionate approach and comprehensive approach, we've tried to ensure that we've opened every door. We've tried to ensure that any psychologist or other therapist in Australia can be accessed, whether it's through the public health services through the PHN’s etc, or whether it's through the rebated system that we have in our private health. We've opened the doors. We want people to come forward. We're enabling communities so that as the Minister and the Prime Minister has said, average Australians, every Australian, can reach out to their neighbours because they know best what it is that's needed. We just want to encourage everybody to say don't think that you just have to be strong and get through this. In fact, that would be unusual. This is about starting to find the conversations you can have with people because if we can work on our mental wellbeing, then we can best underpin every other aspect of recovery in Australia.
PRIME MINISTER: Thank you, Christine. So this is an initial and additional investment in these programs. As we've said throughout all of these recovery agency fund programs, if more is required, more will be provided. We are monitoring closely the take-up of these services and working closely with the states and territories to ensure they can continue to meet the mark that we’ve set. Happy to take questions.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, is there a particularly incident that stands out for you that puts a bit of colour around the trauma that people are going through, through these bushfires?
PRIME MINISTER: There are so many. There are so many. Whether it was embracing Owen up in Taree, meeting those, you know, in the south coast town, inland town there of Cobargo, being over on Kangaroo Island, being up in Rappville some months ago, walked into a community there that had been hit by a ferocious fire storm and they took shelter in the local school together. And on each occasion, you can see the shock, the fear, the bewilderment on occasions, you see how resilient people can amazingly be in those circumstances, yet, at the same time, you can sense their frailty. You particularly see that amongst the firefighters. Tired, they've seen things they'd prefer not to have seen, they've experienced things they'd prefer not to have seen. There is a lot of raw emotions out there. That's why I say there are scars on our landscape and there are scars on our people, and scars you won't see. The rebuilding effort is not just rebuilding the infrastructure, it is just not rebuilding the towns and the homes. It is rebuilding communities. To do that you have to help people restore as well. No-one is immune from that. None of us are. Any of us who have been out there and experienced it, those who've experienced it in the worst possible form by being directly impacted either through loss of homes or in the worse cases, loss of loved ones. So this is going to be quite a healing process for our nation. And it's really time we focus on the healing. It's time we focus on healing our communities, our people, healing the divisions and bringing people together to focus on the task we have. That's my focus. That's my team's focus.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, can you just clarify, are you open to a more ambitious 2030 target or are you ruling that out? Are you sticking to 26 to 28 per cent? And what did you mean by being open to "evolving policies"? What new policies do you wants to consider?
PRIME MINISTER: Sure. David and I had a long conversation about this morning and, again, I thank you, David, for conducting that interview this morning. What I've said, I think very clearly, the Government has set its targets and we're going to look to meet and beat those targets. That's what we've done in Kyoto. That's what I intend for us to do when it comes to Paris. In meeting and beating those targets, we will always be taking up the opportunities of measures that enable us to achieve lower emissions, but lower emissions at the same time as we stay true to the policy I took to the last election, and that was to ensure we get the balance right, to get our emissions down without putting a tax on people, without increasing their electricity prices, without removing the industries upon which they and their communities and their towns and their regions rely on for their very livelihoods. So it's a balanced policy. There will be new technologies, as there has been since the Kyoto targets were first set, and we will look to embrace those and we will look to take the opportunities that are in front of us to ensure that we don't just meet these targets but we beat the targets that we have set. And at the end of the day, that means ensuring we get more effective emissions reduction while continuing to strengthen our economy and protecting people's jobs and their livelihoods. Our policy is one of balance. Australians, I think, believe they want that balance in how we approach these issues. They are challenging tasks. But they are ones where it can't be either/or. You have to be able to balance these interests - that's what the national interest demands.
JOURNALIST: The carryover credits, could they be dropped?
PRIME MINISTER: In the same way that as we move forward with our Kyoto, and Greg can speak to this because he was Minister at the time, there has always been the option to have those carryover credits and they've been used in the past and if they're needed, it is the Government's policy to use them in the future. But what our commitment is to do is to reduce emissions and reduce it in the way that I've said. That is to ensure that we protect Australians from reckless targets, from reckless policies that can destroy their livelihoods and their incomes, and the future of their towns and of their regions that force up their electricity prices and then force up their costs of living. That is not a policy that our Government embraces. Our Government embraces a balanced policy that reduces emissions and strengthens our economy. But, Greg, you might want to comment on that?
MINISTER HUNT: Sure. I know this well because I lived it for a decade. I remember when we came into Government in 2013 there were many people who said, "Well, you'll never achieve your Kyoto 2020 targets without a carbon tax and an electricity price." Then when it looked like we were going to, they said, "You'll never achieve it without the carryover credit." I would say for historical purposes, carryover was included in the Australian commitment by the Labor Party not just as an option but as a condition precedent for Australia participating in Kyoto 2. I think that point has been lost to history. That it was written in as a condition precedent for Australia participating in Kyoto 2 by the Labor Party. Nevertheless, we haven't just done that, we've achieved our goals and we've then gone on to beat them. What does it mean in practice? It means that whilst Australia under the previous Government, and I acknowledge and appreciate this, committed to -5% for 2020, we've actually achieved an effective -10% but without an electricity tax. We will do it without having to rely on the carryover. The important thing is, going forward, all this means is we're achieving and recognising what we've achieved early. It's a bit like paying off the mortgage early. You wouldn't want to take away the incentive. This is the perverse thing. You wouldn't want to take away the incentive for people to over-achieve early because that actually matters. That's important to the planet. That's important to the global achievements. I have a suspicion that over time we'll do better and better and better because we'd said we'd do better, and we did that for 2020, we're already ahead of our 2030 targets, 10 years in advance.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister just on the bushfires, there are reports that there’s ABC and NBN infrastructure has been damaged. Do you have any details on that? Do you have any figure on the economic infrastructure costs of the fire?
PRIME MINISTER: On economic and infrastructure costs at this stage it would not be possible to give you any sort of reliable estimate on that and there’s a further reason for that, is the fires have not yet finished. We still have many, many fires burning around the country. The conditions, while they've significantly improved after the peak day a few days ago, that gives some welcome respite to go and address many of the issues we’re talking about. Today, the ADF has actually I understand been involved in helping support air lift people in the energy sector to get to particular areas so they can start making assessments and doing reconnaissance on how to stand up some energy infrastructure as well. The same sorts of supports are being provided to the other sectors - well, the ABC I can't speak to. I'd have to check that with the Minister for Communications. I've been a bit more focused on telecommunications and I do know that the NBN has been moving very quickly to restore their services, and particularly in those first few days, we saw a dramatic reduction in those customers that were without access to NBN. It dropped by thousands. That was great work done by NBN to get in and restore a lot of that. But there are still many customers both from an energy and telecommunications point of view which are cut off. One of the great pieces of work which has been done by the ADF, by our defence force, has been retaining contact with isolated communities. That's been particularly the case down in Victoria around East Gippsland where there are many of these communities, and as, I think, at a press conference at the other day, I was talking about in advance of the peak day, we were getting in early again in the case that they may have been cut off again. And so that's with satellite right phones and various other tools that may have been available to us. And so yes, telecommunications, infrastructure are very important. As is energy infrastructure. There is actually a medical team that has gone up into the Snowy infrastructure to support those who are working up there as well. All of these tasks are part of the coordinated recovery effort that the Commonwealth is involved in through Andrew Colvin's agency. It is working hand-in-glove whether it’s with telecommunications companies, energy companies, state agencies and various others.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, are you flagging potential expansion of constitutional Commonwealth powers in these kinds of national emergencies?
PRIME MINISTER: It is a good question. And because - the most common question, I think, that's been put to the Federal Government, particularly in recent weeks, has been about what actions the Federal Government should have taken or have taken. Now, we know what actions we have taken, and I've outlined them again this morning. Two significant actions that were taken last Saturday, and I want to be very clear about this, the first one was the call-out - Saturday week. Was the call-out, compulsory call-out, of the Reserve. Not the standing defence force, to go and provide support in response to requests from the State Government. That's been done in fire disasters whether within states or specifically or across borders, for many many years that's been the default setting of how the Federal Government responds to these disasters. They do it at the request of the state government and that's what's happened in times past. So on this occasion what we did was, A, we sought approval from the Governor-General and received that for a compulsory call-out of up to 3,000 reservists and those numbers currently stand at 2,700. In addition to that, the instruction was given to the Chief of the Defence Force to act regardless of a response - sorry, act regardless of a request where they thought they needed to do so. When they did so, they would seek to do so in a way that engaged. And so the instruction was, "Move forward and integrate." As opposed to, "Respond to request." Now they are the two big changes that have occurred from previous events. Now as I stressed with David this morning, that has taken us into some extreme constitutional territory and that has been able to be achieved because of the cooperative spirit that is existing between the states and the Federal Government in how we're responding to this crisis. Now, in the future, one of the other things that has often been put to me is, "Why has a federal national state of disaster or emergency not been declared?" Well, the simple answer to that is, There is no such thing. There is no such statutory state of emergency which is declared at a federal level under federal laws. See, states of disaster, as was declared, or emergency in New South Wales, and both of those have now completed in both of those states as of today, they then give particular powers in New South Wales, say, to the Chief Fire Commissioner, RFS Commissioner. There are powers in Victoria which enables people to move people on and those powers followed the Black Saturday fires. There are specific authorities and payments, and other things that are triggered by those declarations. And so, consideration of what a federal "state of disaster" declaration by law would mean is a very serious matter that the Commonwealth will now consider in concert with the states and territories. That's what I was meaning this morning when David was interviewing me, to point out where we need to go into the future. And the role of the Federal Government, there is an expectation that I think has been quite clearly communicated that in the future, and indeed now, as has been done, there is a more prominent and directive role as opposed to just a response role. And that would require consideration of all of those issues and, likely, referral powers, potentially, based on the conversations I've had with the Attorney-General.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, do you, just to be clear, are you open to lifting the emissions reduction target and do you accept that this unprecedented crisis has perhaps changed the public sentiment that demand, I guess, stronger action on climate change?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, I'll say what I said before. We have set our targets and we intend to meet and beat them and to evolve our policy to ensure that we reduce emissions as much as we can within the policy framework of not having a carbon tax, not having people's electricity prices go up, not wiping out the important industries that Australians rely on for their livelihoods across the country. What I'm saying is we want to meet and beat our emissions reduction targets consistent with the policy I took to the last election.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, the US has increased its travel advice to Australia making it, putting more warnings. Have you taken any action, or what action are taking to address that?
PRIME MINISTER: I've been in direct contact at senior levels of the US administration.
JOURNALIST: On a proposed royal commission, can you outline more what the terms of reference might look like, and in your interview this morning you mentioned that this would need to be done in acknowledgment of the impact climate change is having on our conditions. Would a proposed royal commission look specifically at climate change policy?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, first of all, I will seek to take through a proposal in the next little while through Cabinet - that's the first step that needs to be done. That proposal would then need to be consulted upon with the states and territories, in the same way that we were able to arrive at the terms of reference for the disabilities royal commission. The Disabilities Royal Commission also addresses many areas that are outside the Commonwealth's constitutional responsibilities. So letters patent that complemented the federal royal commission would likely be necessary, I think, for it to be effective and look at the fall gambit of issues that I believe Australians will want considered in looking at this crisis, which I stress again is still occurring and there is still many months of fire season ahead of us. What I said this morning is I thought there were three areas in particular that we would need to look at. The first of those is the operations both in terms of the preparations for this season and the response that occurred, and the recovery mechanisms that have been put in place, and how that has worked together between the Federal Government and the state governments. And in particular there, the issues that I was referring to just before about a more direct and proactive role of the Federal Government and, particularly, the defence force and how they could be deployed in the future. I should stress that that could also extend to how various categories of payments of assistance and disaster support are also declared in particular areas. There is a currently a process for that. I don't have any particular complaints about that process but if we are going to look at those issues then they're relevant things to consider as we move through. The second area is to understand that the climate we are living in now and will live in for the next 10 years, the advice is hotter, dryer, longer seasons. And with that understanding, what the implications of that are, for assisting us at a federal and state level, to build our resilience to deal with that new environment and that will continue to change, going forward. That needs to be understood. And so, what is the resilience actions that need to be taken. The third part of that is really what is the adaption policies and mechanisms that need to be used to ensure that we can adapt to that new environment more broadly. Now, that isn't just about bushfires I should stress. That applies equally to floods. It applies to cyclones and other forms of natural disasters and the national disaster risk framework which we initiated in the last Budget and was considered and agreed at a top level by ministers in June of this year and more details of that are now being worked out through the local governments, which is another thing we referred to this morning. That is an important issue as well to be considered going forward. So what we're saying is the issue of the fact that we're dealing with hotter, dryer, longer fire seasons, that is an established point. That is not something that we have to spend a lot of time ruminating over. That's the case. And that's going to be the case going forward. And so it's important that we have an environment policy that addresses that into the future, practically, and issues of our emissions policies are very, very open for all to see. I've already addressed those in my earlier remarks.
JOURNALIST: PM on the ADF and calling out the ADF, are you suggesting there could be federal legislation to have some sort of federally-declared state of emergency? What would be the role for the CDF? I think you said this morning that the CDF would have to believe that public safety is at risk. Isn't the CDF's role to look beyond Australia at defence threats? Would this be a big change in his role?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, it would be I think, as recent events have shown, with the involvement they've had in this last 10 days or so in particular - but let's not forget they have been involved since September when the base of support for the operations on that fire was in Canungra and I was there in September. What this would mean is there would be, after all assessments are undertaken, yes, a proactive role for the defence forces of this nation to be engaging in response and recovery in relation to disasters of this nature. That would, if that were the path we went down, that would require some rethink of how defence positioned itself, training that was undertaken, what its arrangements were to deploy. They've proved to be outstanding under General Ellwood in recent times and prior to that, under their other commanders. There is no criticism of that. But if we’re moving into a new proactive position for the role of defence forces, there are obviously implications for that. We are not rushing to that decision. I think there’s a lot to asses before we got to a point like that. But the key question that has kept coming back and is being asked I think quite reasonably by the public, is what is a federal state of national disaster? What does that then mean, what resources are then brought to bear in those circumstances, what powers and authorities are then assigned to particular individuals that sit within the federal structure? Clearly, the Chief of the Defence Force would be a very important person in making independent, objective assessments about how such powers could be used. I think that's a very important issue. So there are a lot of sensitivities here, there are a lot of legal issues to address...
JOURNALIST: Legislated powers?
PRIME MINISTER: Oh, it would have to be. I mean, I’m saying the power to do that now is very unclear. And I say, it is happening now under a very cooperative environment and necessarily so, and that's understood by the states and territories. But to continue to do it on that basis as we move to a new normal then I think it would need a much more resilient legal framework to be able to be clear about who does what, when, what triggers it. And what happens in those circumstances.
JOURNALIST: Would you need a referendum on that? Or could the states confer the powers?
PRIME MINISTER: No, the states could confer those powers.
JOURNALIST: Christine can I ask you a question? I just wanted to know what some of what the mental health impacts that these volunteers and residents are at risk of getting in the short-term and the long-term?
CHRISTINE MORGAN, CEO NATIONAL MENTAL HEALTH COMMISSION, NATIONAL SUICIDE PREVENTION ADVISER TO THE PRIME MINISTER: Very good question. Because there are a range of different issues. I think the Minister and the Prime Minister heard me many times say that we use two words "mental health" to describe a very broad range of things. So I think though that what we do know is there are increased rates of anxiety. Obviously across the range of anxiety disorders. There are increased rates of potential depression. We must look at the potential for PTSD amongst people who are on front-line services. But can I stress that there is the initial response that anybody who has gone through something like this will have where they will be feeling concerned, but there is the heightened risk then, of actually coming within one of those mental illnesses. It is predominantly around the anxiety, the depressive, and the impact of stress.
PRIME MINISTER: Thank you all very much.
Press Conference - Canberra, ACT
10 January 2020
PRIME MINISTER: Good morning every one, just two brief issues I want to provide brief updates on today. Of course, a very quick update on what's happening with bushfires today. But I will direct people specifically to the statements being made at the state level in New South Wales and Victoria. We have severe and extreme conditions in both of those states today and we should be taking the advice and instructions from those state authorities and local authorities in relation to those matters. I know the New South Wales Commissioner and Premier have already stood up today, and in other briefings provided in Victoria. And so I won't go over those matters at length today. Firstly, though, I want to address the issues in relation to the terrible events in Tehran. As has been noted and spoken to by our colleagues, both in Canada and the United States today, I can confirm as I have on the radio this morning, that Australia has received similar intelligence to that which has been spoken to by both the Prime Minister of Canada and from out of the United States, this underscores the terrible nature of these events, all of that intelligence as presented to us today does not suggest an intentional act and that is the basis of the information that has supported the comments I've made today. We are obviously working closely with the Canadian Government, particularly with so many of their citizens affected, as we have an embassy in Tehran, they have been supported also by other partners to support those families that are affected but there are many other nationalities that have similarly lost loved ones and citizens in this terrible event, that includes from the United Kingdom, from Germany, from the Ukraine in particular and I'm hoping to speak to my counterpart in the Ukraine later today. But that is an awful event, our thoughts and sympathies and condolences are with the families who have lost so many loved ones. Whether they were Iranian citizens, Canadian citizens, British citizens, German citizens, or Ukrainian citizens. It is a terrible, terrible event and we'll provide whatever support we can. It is absolutely critical that a full and transparent investigation is undertaken into this terrible event and that would include undertaking all efforts to ensure we get recovery of the black box recorder that can obviously inform that investigation. But- as apart from what I've just said, there is nothing further for me to add really those events. We have had and shared the same intelligence that has been available to those other jurisdictions and have already commented today.
If I can turn to the bushfire events of today, I've noted the severe and extreme conditions that are across two states, what I've said in my briefings this morning with the ADF is I've given them very clear instructions that they are to stand ready to move and support immediately in the event that they are needed in the wake of what we hope we will not see today but we must prepare for today. The conditions we have already seen in South Australia as they are affecting communities there as we speak. Those conditions, same conditions, are now moving through southern New South Wales and Victoria, and my orders to the Defence Force, as communicated to the chief of Defence Force today, is to ensure that they are standing ready to move and provide support to those communities as and when required and to work obviously in close liaison with the state agencies and emergency service and RFS and the CFA authorities that are operating in those States. I can also say that Defence has been taking proactive actions in recent days in particular to ensure that communities that have been isolated and some contact has been able to be restored, similarly could be affected in the course of the next 24 hours and become isolated again so proactively through the Chinooks they have been dropping supplies into those communities so they are pre-prepared in the event that they are cut off again. Equally the Defence Force have been very active working with the state agencies on stock disposal which becomes a serious health issue. There was a lot of work going on with that yesterday. That has been already taking place on Kangaroo Island but that's obviously hampered at present because of the fire front that they are confronting there and that is something that the Defence Force can add considerable effort to and that will be of great relief I think to those farmers and graziers for whom the disposal of their stock and the stock losses is a very difficult issue for them. So, the other part of the work and effort that is being undertaken by the ADF is in the engineering side of works, clearing roads, working with local authorities to re-establish contact with isolated communities but again that will all come under threat again today. So, having put the Defence Force in a position to move quickly in the event of fire activity today, they will move and ensure that they can provide that support as swiftly as they can, but again working in concert with local, state and territory authorities. In addition, I'll ask the Minister to run through the deployment of the announcement we made yesterday. Pleased to say that all those payments were provided to the state governments yesterday. It had been our intention that they would go through at the very latest today but I thank Treasury for getting moving on that as quickly as possible. Those funds have been transferred and the Minister together with the Coordinator of our recovery agency has been in contact with those council areas, so I might ask David to provide some details on that.
THE HON. DAVID LITTLEPROUD MP, MINISTER FOR WATER RESOURCES, DROUGHT, RURAL FINANCE, NATURAL DISASTER AND EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT: Thanks, PM. Can I just reinforce your comments particularly around today. It's the responsibility of every Australian in the path of these fires, to take the adequate precautions required of them, to enact their plan when they are asked to do it, and if those brave men and women, those emergency management personnel ask you to do something, do it, it's imperative. This is a very serious situation and we have prepared meticulously for this. Our fire commissioners have done an exceptional job, before the season and during the season, but they need your support now. Obviously, this is also hampered some of our pop-up centres, unfortunately because of the weather today some of those pop-up centres have been pulled out because of the dangerous conditions, but they will continue and I have to congratulate Services Australia for the way that they have engaged with those communities in getting that first response of relief to those people out there, the thousand dollars per adult and $400 per child to give them some dignity and respect just to get the essentials of life. In fact in Batlow yesterday, there was an estimate of probably 50, would be wanting the services of Services Australia all up, we had over 25 come to the pop-up tent there yesterday, so these are effective conduits of the Australian government to its people, right at the coal face. As we’ve said, this is going to be a locally-led recovery, not a Canberra-led recovery so we'll continue to made sure we deploy those services when it's safe and we'll continue to make sure, where it's needed. With respect to our announcement yesterday, I was fortunate to be with Andrew Colvin to go to Wingecarribee?
PRIME MINISTER: Wingecarribee.
MINISTER LITTLEPROUD: And I met with the Mayor there, and to see the joy and his face that the Australian Government was going to stand shoulder to shoulder with them, to relieve the financial pressure that they were feeling, with respect to the recovery, not just in an infrastructure sense, but in a human sense. The human toll that's been taken on a lot of those communities was significant. And we met with a number of those, Andrew and I, and some who'd lost everything. To know now that their council was empowered to help in the clean-up, we are expecting obviously insurance agencies to do their bit but to help in that rebuilding of not just the community but the lives of those people that lived there was an important aspect and the first step. That is the first step of this comprehensive plan that we will have in the recovery of these communities. We'll be making further announcements and every Minister has been tasked. Can I say particularly, as we met with David who owned the small business, the shop in the community there yesterday, he obviously is feeling the brunt of no tourists, no people using his shop, those small business owners across the country, we are working closely with Peter Strong from COSBOA and we are making sure that our response is effective and is being led locally. We are hoping that will be announced very soon. But those small businesses that are hurting, particularly in those tourism areas, they can take great comfort in the knowledge that their industry leaders are working with us to make sure that our response is effective. And it’s also in tourism, it’s in agriculture and it’ll also be particularly in the environment. And I know that we are working quickly on that. It's important that we are methodical about this and we are going to make sure that we give the time that is needed to make sure that our plan is comprehensive but this will be a matter of days for the balance of this money to be expended to make sure that we get the balance right. But again there is a responsibility from both us and the State Government to ensure we take this opportunity. It is actually our responsibility to make sure we build back better, we use betterment to build the infrastructure and build the resilience of our communities for future disasters.
PRIME MINISTER: Thanks David, and the Defence Force I should also stress have been very active in supporting with fodder drops into a lot of those isolated rural properties for those stock that have still survived, that is a very important element of what they need at the moment. So look we have got time for a few questions today.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, just on the Iran tragedy, could you clarify what you mean by it was unintentional, ie. was it a case of mistaken identity, they were aiming for something but didn't realise it was a passenger plane or in fact it was a total accident they shot anything out of the sky?
PRIME MINISTER: All I'm saying is that the intelligence that we have is similar to what our partners have, and that there is nothing to suggest there at this point, an intentional act. Now I'm not going to go any further than that at this point. There'll be further reports I'm sure made by others who are more closely associated with this terrible tragedy. What I'm simply saying, is that, as the Prime Minister of Great Britain and Canada have also said and I'm basically saying exactly the same thing as them, what this intelligence suggests is that it is difficult to come to the conclusion at this point that there was some sort of intentional act here.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister what are the implications for civilian air travel ongoing around that region and what is the advice that you have for airlines, Australian airlines?
PRIME MINISTER: Let me deal with travel advice. That is all set out on the DFAT website and I encourage people to look at that very closely and do not travel to Iraq- as it related to Iraq, and in terms of Iran as well, it's a very restricted advice on that locality as well. I should also say that our Consulate there- I should say our embassy there, working together with DFAT has been just looking to ensure we have a good handle on who is there and where they are and so we can be aware of that is important in these types of environments. The normal arrangements for dealing with what I would call very dangerous areas, presently, would be in place, that's all overseen through the national aviation protocols of which Australia is a participant and all of the airlines would be operating in accordance with those advice and instructions. There are international arrangements in place to deal with this and that is how we are responding.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister do you expect fire emergencies of this magnitude to become more common in the future with climate change?
PRIME MINISTER: Look, we have covered that on a number of occasions now. There'll be the reviews that take place as you would expect and I've already indicated in response to questions that we'll be working closely with state and territory authorities on how they are undertaken. The links and the implications here have been acknowledged.
JOURNALIST: Do you accept that community sentiment has changed and shifted somewhat on climate change, that some that perhaps didn't want more action maybe do because of the bushfire season and will you consider perhaps bringing back the National Energy Guarantee, something that you were a big supporter of, or something similar?
PRIME MINISTER: I accept that community sentiment today when we have got severe and extreme fire conditions in New South Wales and Victoria, would have me absolutely 100 per cent focused on ensuring the response effort that may have to role in within the next 24 hours is ready to go and that I've given the order of the Defence Force to be ready to go and get in there. That's what I believe the community wants me focused on right now.
JOURNALIST: And the National Energy Guarantee?
PRIME MINISTER: I’ve already addressed-
JOURNALIST: Back on Iran, you talk about providing the support to Canada, can you clarify what assistance we are actually providing right now, and with the investigation, will Australia be offering any assistance? For example we’ve got AFP officers that helped with MH17? Could we see them help in this case?
PRIME MINISTER: Sure. Well I've simply offered to the Prime Minister any assistance that they need. That's also been provided through our DFAT channels through to their counterparts in Canada and so we will just respond to their requests. On those matters, the direct consular support has been provided by another partner but of course we have been there for some time and we are able to provide whatever additional assistance is necessary so the Prime Minister has an open invitation on that front and which he understands and in relation to any investigation, well, it's up to those authorities that are directly engaged here to set up such an investigation but of course, whether it's through the many international partners who've lost citizens in the course of this terrible tragedy and when I speak to the Ukrainian, my counterpart there, hopefully later today, then I'll obviously be offering the same assistance and support as they want to take up.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, you have been asked a lot this week about your response times for the bushfire crisis. You are human like the rest of us. Why is it so hard to admit that you could have acted more quickly?
PRIME MINISTER: I've already given I think quite detailed responses to those questions. What we have got here is the single largest federal response to a bushfire disaster nationally that the country has ever seen. Both in the scale of the Defence response, the Call-Out of reserves, the establishment of the recovery agency and deployment of $2 billion on top and beyond category A-to-C to assistance on top of the Defence effort, on top of the standing services and support that comes out of our Social Services agencies. The government's responding to an unprecedented crisis with an unprecedented level of support. Thank you very much.
Press Conference - Canberra, ACT
9 January 2020
PRIME MINISTER: Good afternoon everyone. I’m going to start by addressing the series of issues in Iraq and then move on to some announcements in relation to the National Bushfire Recovery Agency and response initiative. First of all, let me say that early today, the National Security Committee met, yesterday afternoon when I returned to Canberra I also met with the Chief of the Defence Force and other senior defence and intelligence officials to be briefed on the situation and the events in Iraq.
That was then presented with further advice this morning by the Chief of Defence Force and those officials. Our goal remains a united and stable Iraq and the focus of our efforts is in countering Daesh and its support network. This is the mission that we have been part of, as part of a broad coalition, and that remains our mission and we remain tasked to that mission as our people there in the Middle East are pursuing. So we remain committed to carrying on this important work. As I said yesterday, our priority right now is the safety and security of Australians and, along with all other coalition personnel, there were no casualties or losses that were suffered there yesterday. The Chief of the Defence Force and the Secretary of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade advised that every precaution is being taken to ensure that Australian military and diplomatic personnel are safe. As I have said before, Australia wants to see and has encouraged restraint and de-escalation and I welcome President Trump's statement overnight. We remain in close contact with the United States and our other partners, indeed this morning I was in discussions with the Canadian Prime Minister, Mr Trudeau, where we discussed this matter. I have been in contact also today with the New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and we will speak again later today about these issues. There has been much contact between us and our coalition partners in the United States. It is very clear that our intent remains that the safety and security of our people has been maintained throughout these events and we will continue to monitor these situations very, very closely and remain as committed to the task that we have in front of us there as so many, particularly of our defence force personnel and our diplomatic personnel, they have been so tasked and so passionate in their deployment over many years now and they have achieved a great deal, particularly in raising up and training efforts that have been particularly implemented out there in Taji and they have done great work and they will continue to do great work.
Let me move to an operational update on the issues of the bushfire disaster around the country and the work of the recovery agency and the deployment of the recovery fund which I announced earlier this week. Firstly, operationally, there are 27 confirmed fatalities and there have been, on this morning's reports to us, 2,131 homes lost but I am sure over the course of the day, as further damage assessments have been undertaken, particularly in Victoria, the numbers will continue to sadly change and they will continue to escalate. Fire weather is increasing in the south and east today and it will spike along the east coast tomorrow. Over 1,600 defence reservists are currently assigned to bushfire operations around the country. In New South Wales and ACT, the focus is on re-establishing power to blacked out communities and there have been thousands of homes and customers who have been reconnected just in recent days but there are still many without power. It is also about getting emergency support to impacted areas and tackling the damage and risk to key infrastructure, such as transmission lines, generators and there has been a particular effort through the defence force of supporting what is occurring at the Eden woodchip mill. Naval assets remain off the south coast of New South Wales, supporting reconnaissance and prepared to assist with evacuations and ADF medical personnel have been provided to Tumut Hospital and Batemans Bay. I should stress with the positioning of these assets, particularly the HMAS Adelaide and the Choules, that we are a long way from the end of this crisis and this disaster. Their prepositioning along the coast is very important. These are significant assets with significant capabilities and provide a staging post to render any amount of assistance as required. As we go into some difficult days, as we are already seeing in South Australia today and we expect to see on the east coast tomorrow, those assets being in place, those ships being in place and what is on those ships with everything from helicopters and engineering equipment and fully-staffed medical facilities will prove vital in the event they need to be called on at a moment's notice.
The Department of Human Services have put additional resources into all service centres and established pop-up service centres in key locations to ensure quick access to relief payments. There are eight mobile teams out currently. There are two buses and over the course of the next week, this will be rolling out to more communities. That is going to be done in concert with the ADF and the support that they can provide in these communities but also working closely with organisations in New South Wales, such as Services New South Wales, so there can be a whole of government, at Commonwealth and State level, response to community members in these affected areas. In Victoria, the Government has extended their state of disaster declaration for the six LGAs impacted by fires in the east of the State. The focus remains there on establishing access to isolated communities and getting emergency supplies and assistance to them. This is also including the important work, as we have seen also in South Australia, of the disposal and burial of livestock carcasses to avoid health and water quality impacts. That work is actually undergoing support from the ADF on Kangaroo Island now. I have been in discussions with both the New South Wales and Queensland governments about the support that is needed in those areas. Particularly in Victoria, one of the challenges is there are many isolated communities and there are still many roads that are cut off. Getting access into these areas to undertake those important functions can be very difficult but that is what our teams are very focused on.
The ADF has transported doctors and other medical professionals by helicopter to Mallacoota, while another evacuation by sea was completed by HMAS Choules. All those who have been registered for evacuation of Mallacoota have now been evacuated out of Mallacoota. Our defence personnel are also assisting in reopening the Great Alpine Road and are working with state road crews to reopen other major roads. In South Australia and Tasmania, where Brigadier Cantwell is leading the joint task force in both those areas. He is in Tasmania today. The focus there, particularly on KI as I saw yesterday, was on securing water supplies and helping state authorities to strengthen fire breaks and containment lines. As we have seen with the difficult fire weather today on Kangaroo Island, one of those containment lines has been broken. Army personnel are also assisting in the construction of that SES camp and rescuing injured wildlife and distributing bottled and bulk water to Kingscote Airport. In Western Australia - let's not forget this is not on the east coast - the Coolgardie Esperance Highway has been reopened and the Eyre Highway at the WA and SA border is still closed to all incoming and west-bound traffic. Emergency services are optimistic that the Eyre Highway on the WA and SA border will be open within 48 hours, provided conditions remain favourable. So that is the status update on where things are at as the Commonwealth has been advised as we speak.
The National Security Committee met today to consider a series of proposals which have been brought together by ministers in their respective portfolio areas. We are prioritising our focus on a number of matters and I will make an announcement on one of those in particular today. But providing that immediate and urgent cash assistance and injection into local communities to meet those most urgent and critical needs as we speak, we must also have a keen focus in the areas of tourism, small business, agriculture, forestry and fishing. The environmental rehabilitation and habitat restoration, not just in the immediate effect in terms of providing first aid assistance to wildlife but the longer-term plan so they have a habitat to return to. And of course the health needs and I will make further announcements on the health front in the course of the next few days.
But turning in particular to the urgent and initial cash injection that we will be providing into local government areas, we have agreed we will be paying $60 million into local government areas that are most affected. That will involve a million dollars as a base initial payment going into 42 local government areas and they are the ones that are either at category C assistance level now or we have been in discussions with the state governments about going into a category C assistance, even if that hasn't been fully formalised yet. We expect that to occur with two local government areas in Victoria, the largest of those being East Gippsland, which is a very large council area. Two in South Australia, which includes Kangaroo Island, which is another large area. There are five in Queensland, with one to be added to that - sorry, that includes one to be added to that with Livingston and there are 33 in New South Wales. Now, those of you who have done the maths, that comes to 42. There is $18 million in addition to that which, at the discretion of the coordinator, Mr Colvin, who is with me here today, and the Minister, they will be adding supplementary payments into those most affected group of councils over and above that initial $1 million payment. That will be done on the basis of assessed need, talking with those on the ground in those areas and particularly the state emergency services and other agencies that are working in those areas, as well as liaising with our ADF teams in place. It is also to recognise that not all councils have the same population, not all councils have the same area. When you look at East Gippsland and you compare that to some of the smaller north coast councils in New South Wales, for example, there is a big difference. So the coordinator will be ensuring that there is additional support and that can be many times what is provided in that base payment, to ensure councils have what they need. What I want to happen is if you're a Mayor in one of those areas today, if you are out in your community, seeing needs that you know need to be met right now and people are asking you to meet them, I want to give them the confidence and support by providing this cash assistance right now so they can say, "Yes, we can do that, yes the council can move in and do that. The Commonwealth is supporting us to go and make these immediate decisions which can provide immediate relief. This can go to supplementing the work that has been done to support the rehabilitation of local infrastructure, it can be on local roads, it can be on restoration of facilities, it can be providing staff and services support in their local areas to assist with whatever the need may be. Our local governments are the governments on the ground when it comes to trying to respond to these types of crises. They need that immediate cash injection to ensure that they can move confidently and start to respond to what is happening. This is coming out of the recovery fund which I announced earlier and this is a small but very significant initial payment. I said the money would be flowing immediately and those million dollar payments will be sitting in the state government's bank accounts tomorrow so they can immediately start distributing those out to those council areas so they can get on with the sorts of things they need to do. But as they go into the next few days and particularly as they face what they will see tomorrow, they can have great confidence that they will be in a position to respond and the resources will be there to back them up.
I also want to stress this is initial and urgent. There will be more and that will be assessed but we are going to be disciplined and careful and consultative in the way we make sure that additional support is rendered into these communities. We want to ensure we do that in a proper and coordinated way that enables the support to get to the places that need it most. This will be commenced this afternoon with the Government being in contact with all of those 42 councils to be communicating this decision directly to them and obviously to deal with any questions or issues that they would like to raise. That will be another important opportunity to be getting information directly from the ground to further inform our response. There already has been contact with the Premier’s department and the Australian Local Government association and this will mean work can get underway. I want to stress, particularly using local businesses and local contractors to undertake this work where that is what is needed.
There will be further announcements that I will be making in the days ahead before the National Security Committee meets again to consider further proposals next Tuesday and between now and then, we will be unfolding some of those further announcements while we work with the stakeholders that are particularly engaged in the decisions that we have made today. I want to thank Minister Littleproud for the work he has been doing with all of the other ministers and all my ministers who have been feeding in their response, whether it is in health, education, the environment, agriculture, tourism, in Treasury, understanding the economic impacts, all of this is undergoing right now and the proposals continue to come forward. The establishment of the Bushfire Disaster Recovery Fund means we are able to move incredibly quickly to get the resources out and on the ground. Minister?
THE HON. DAVID LITTLEPROUD MP, MINISTER FOR WATER RESOURCES, DROUGHT, RURAL FINANCE, NATURAL DISASTER AND EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT: Thank you Prime Minister. And what we said from the start was we said this was going to be a locally-led recovery, not a Canberra-led recovery and empowering our local councils to go and lead that at a community level is so important. They are the ones that know how to rebuild their community and help rebuild the lives of those Australians impacted by this devastating fire. We have got to understand this is the first tranche but what those councils can understand today is the cheque is cut. It is ready to roll. Get on with the job in the comfort of knowing that the Australian Government is standing shoulder to shoulder with you to make sure what you need is there. And we will continue to make sure that AJ and I are out there around the tables of those shire halls talking to the mayors and understanding and listening to your concerns. This is the first part of a comprehensive plan, a whole of government plan in making sure that we not just support the individuals and the communities but we support the industries that underpin them. That is why we can't rush in with huge announcements straight away, particularly while we are still in operational management. We have a very serious situation unfolding again tomorrow and we need to engage those experts in the comfort, in a time when there is clear air for them to be able to put their energy and their ideas into making sure that the Federal Government's response is as comprehensive as we want it to be. But that doesn't mean we are kicking it down the road. This is going to happen in weeks, not months and we will make sure...
PRIME MINISTER: In days.
THE HON. DAVID LITTLEPROUD MP, MINISTER FOR WATER RESOURCES, DROUGHT, RURAL FINANCE, NATURAL DISASTER AND EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT: In days, exactly, we are going to be there to make sure that every step of this is done comprehensively. It is encouraging to see that the New South Wales Government's also announced a package today. It is important to understand that we will work hand in hand with the state governments, as we have done during this whole disaster. There has not been one request that any state government has asked, in the operational management of these fires, that I have not approved. Some I have approved within a matter of minutes. We have understood the gravity of this situation from the start and we are continuing to understand the gravity of the recovery in all these communities and lives. Particularly when we talk about the infrastructure, it is important that the underlying ethos that both State and Federal and local Governments should be is that we build back better. This is a unique opportunity to actually better the infrastructure we put in, to build the resilience of our communities, as we face further natural disasters into the future. This should be an underpinning principle and I will be writing to the States that they work with us on that. Because out of this, we should be able to take with us a stronger nation that's better prepared for future disasters.
PRIME MINISTER: Thank you, Coordinator Colvin is here to respond to any questions as well. Happy to take your questions. If you would like to deal with the Middle East issues first? We could perhaps do that and then move to the bushfires.
JOURNALIST: The HMAS Toowoomba is due to leave on Monday, what can you tell us about that mission, the significance now has that changed at all and has there been any change in the rules of engagement?
PRIME MINISTER: No. No, it is tasked and it is shipping out, as you have said, it’s first port will be in Mumbai, as I have outlined and it will be there undertaking a number of tasks there for a period of time and we will continue to assess the situation but it’s tasking remains as I have previously outlined.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, should Australian troops be withdrawn from Iraq?
PRIME MINISTER: That is not the decision we have taken.
JOURNALIST: Why not?
PRIME MINISTER: Because the situation overnight has stabilised, that is a very relative term in the Middle East, and the cessation of those immediate hostilities that we saw yesterday and the nature of the statement also issued by the President today, as well as the intelligence that we have, means that we are in a position to continue to undertake the mission that we have set for ourselves in the Middle East and we remain committed to that, as do our other partners. As I said, I’ve been discussing those very same matters with the Canadian Prime Minister this morning, there is a strong uniformity of view about the partners and we remain together and working together to ensure not only the safety of our own people, but to also ensure that we are in a position to continue to build a stronger Iraq.
JOURNALIST: On the situation facing Kylie Moore-Gilbert, who is locked up in Iran? And have recent developments in the area affected what the Australian Government is doing to try to get her released?
PRIME MINISTER: The Australian Government continues to exercise all opportunities and all avenues available to us to secure her release and to provide her and her family every possible support we can. And her cause is not assisted by me or anyone else, for that matter, engaging in broader commentary on it.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister are you confident that Australians in Iran, like diplomatic staff, are safe?
PRIME MINISTER: That is our advice. And the appropriate precautions are undertaken and the necessary contingencies are in place, as they are for all of our missions in this place. And they are well-briefed and they are well aware of the environment in which they're operating. I must say, that right now, as I spoke to Prime Minister Trudeau this morning, through our mission in Tehran, then we are providing whatever support we can to the families of the Canadian citizens, or whatever other assistance Canada needs, because we are there with our mission. Canada doesn't have a mission there. And I expressed to Prime Minister Trudeau our deep sadness and condolences to the terrible loss - some 63 Canadians were lost when that plane went down. And that is a terrible blow to him and his country. And in the same way that he was ringing to extend his great sympathies to us with what we're going through, it was the same opportunity for me to extend that same sympathy and condolence in return. We have been blessed with the amount of support and assistance that is being provided to us from countries all around the world. And, one, obviously we have the existing standing arrangements with New Zealand, Canada and the United States - and I've gotta say it's been of great comfort as I've walked into incident response centres, whether it's in Mudgee or Albury, or where ever I have been around the country, and you can hear that Canadian accent, the US accent, the Kiwi accent that is there alongside the Aussie accents, just focusing on the tasks. But I tell you the one that's also been overwhelming has been the loving response from our Pacific family. The Vanuatu Government provided $250,000 Australian dollars, and it might not sound like a lot in terms of the tremendous assistance provided by many other countries, but from them, that was a gift from the heart. And the same has been true from Prime Minister Marape and Prime Minister Bainimarama and Prime Minister Sogavare. They have all been reaching out to Australia. They know how Australia has been faithful to them in all of their hours of need, and they just, in their own way, are trying to extend that in the best way they possibly can. We're very grateful for it.
JOURNALIST: President Trump has called upon the other signatures of the JCPOA and China as well to step up in dealing with Iran, take the threat seriously. Is there a role perhaps Australia could play in easing some of these tensions? Obviously we have our mission there, diplomatic relations going back 50 years, probably one of the better relationships for a Western country, comparative. We've had a high level of engagement with the Iranians over the years. Any role at all we could take on board with that?
PRIME MINISTER: I think President Trump has summarised well the status of the JCPOA. Australia is very committed to nuclear nonproliferation, and particularly when it can get to the position of being weaponised to the extent that it appears that they have been seeking to achieve. And so it's important that we counter that threat and we'll play whatever constructive role we can do to achieve that. And there are mechanisms within that arrangement for those parties that remain in it, that I know that they are seeking to pursue, particularly United Kingdom and France. But from where we're sitting, my own view is I think the President has summed up where it sits for now quite well.
JOURNALIST: On the bushfires Prime Minister, the million-dollar payment, will councils have to submit and tell you what they want to spend it on, like they do with the million-dollar drought payment? Or will you just be giving them the money and they can spend it as they see fit after they receive it?
PRIME MINISTER: We're getting them the cash in their bank accounts and they need to get on with it. That's what this disaster requires.
JOURNALIST: What do you expect local councils will be spending that money on? They're not exactly in charge of some of the responses that you would expect the state government to have?
PRIME MINISTER: I was discussing with Premier Berejiklian this morning, it's in order for them to respond to the immediate needs in their local communities. That can be everything from fixing a local government road, because many of the government roads in these areas are local government roads. It can be local facilities that need to be stood up. It can be from public amenity blocks, it can be any number of things which are presenting as challenges in their communities. They may keep some of it aside to redevelop local sporting facilities, if that's what they wish to do. But, see, this is the point, and Minister Littleproud I think has put this very well. This is a ground-up response that we're supporting. They're setting their priorities, they understand their needs. What they need from us is the financial backing to get on and meet those needs. I'm trusting those local governments, and I have a great reason to have trust in them, to know their local communities. I was with the local Mayor on Kangaroo Island yesterday. He knows what needs to happen, he just wants the backing to ensure he can get on with it and this will enable him to do just that.
JOURNALIST: Back to Iran just momentarily has previously responded to attacks on its proxies around the world...
PRIME MINISTER: Sorry, I couldn't quite hear you.
JOURNALIST: Iran has previously responded to attacks through its proxies around the world. Has this incident increased the risk for a terror attack?
PRIME MINISTER: Australia obviously, and our agencies, constantly monitor these issues and where there is any need to change any of our alert levels, then that is done. But this is something that is under regular assessment. The National Security Committee, while having been very focused, of course, on the national response to the bushfire disaster, we have at the same time, and now for some period of time, been considering these issues very carefully, for some time now.
JOURNALIST: Labor’s made some suggestions for mental health support for fire victims, including lifting the 10-visit cap for Medicare-funded services. Will the Government look at these options and look at adopting them as well?
PRIME MINISTER: The Government has already been looking at all of those matters. We'll be making our decisions and making our investments in accordance with the processes we've set down. I mean, the Government is setting that as a high priority. Mental health was something I flagged when I stood in this courtyard and announced the $2 billion dollars the other day. And these are things that we are addressing and we'll make further announcements on that, once those packages are finalised.
JOURNALIST: So, those Medicare-funded visits could be made freely available?
PRIME MINISTER: When the Government is in the position to make the announcement that we intend to make, and we've made some decisions on that this morning, and we'll be making those decisions. The Government is well aware, fully aware of the needs particularly in mental health. As I've gone into these communities, particularly those where the fire has just ripped through, and I've seen the desolation and the impact not only on the residents but on those who have been directly involved in fighting these fires, and the first responders, we are very aware of the needs that they have, and the medical update I have here on initial work that has been done - there's been 1.9 million P2 masks allocated to states and territories. Public health updates are provided on air quality by the Acting Chief Medical Officer. Five national critical care and trauma critical medical teams have been deployed to New South Wales and Victoria, working with the states and the ADF. Mobile examples of that include Wangaratta Hospital, Mallacoota, and Batemans Bay. The Acting Chief Medical Officer is in daily consultation and coordination with state health authorities. Initial counsellors are already in place when it comes to mental health with the DSS and ADF teams. And we've also tasked the Health Minister, as I said, he has brought forth a package which we have considered this morning. People can expect that sort of support to be rolling out in the very, very, very near future.
JOURNALIST: In regard to the million dollar payments to the councils, with the money going directly into their accounts, is there a risk that the money could be misspent or inappropriately spent? And is there any sort of oversight or mechanism to claw it back if they do the wrong thing?
PRIME MINISTER: Look, there is a relationship between the departments, both at state and federal level, when it comes to these issues. But to be honest, that's not what is concerning me right now. What concerns me right now is that they need the cash, not paperwork. They need the cash so they can get on and respond to the need on the ground, and that's what the NSC, and I as Prime Minister, have prioritised in getting this support out there.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, there was a $70 million donation today. Obviously, Mr Colvin is in charge of the relief effort. With all this money coming in, who's taking charge on the ground?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, it's a very good question. And can I start by acknowledging the tremendous generosity of so many Australians, whether it is James Packer or Anthony Pratt, or Andrew Forrest, or whoever it happens to be. I think there's been tremendous generosity expressed from those at that level of means down to boys and girls raising money in their local schools and passing that on to the Red Cross and to animal welfare groups, to support them and aid their recovery. So, the generosity of that response, I think, has been simply extraordinary. But you're right - it's important that we work hard to best channel and coordinate that support that is coming through into the areas of greatest need. Now, that is being done both at the Commonwealth level, and Commissioner Colvin - sorry, a force of habit, mate - Coordinator Colvin is addressing that in the same way that it was being addressed through the drought response, and in the North Queensland response. I'll let Andrew speak to that. And state governments are also working, I think, to best channel that. And if you are in a position where you have been raising money for the bushfires, and I thank you for that, first and foremost, and all of those who have supported you, then it is, I think, important to take advice from both the state and federal agencies about where you can best direct that support. Now, in the case of Mr Forrest's initiative, he's highlighted two areas where he's putting $20 million into. That is firstly related to immediate recovery in areas using the great experience and expertise of Western Australians to come to the aid of the eastern states that have been affected. And I'm sure he's pulling that out of mining communities or others, where he's had a great deal of experience. There's also the work that he's foreshadowed in supporting habitat reconstruction. And the Government is equally and working on its own plan in that area. And that requires a lot of consultation. I've gotta say, in the environment area, that is one of the particular areas where we need to get, I think, a great deal of alignment. There are a lot of organisation that do a lot of fantastic work, and we need to try and best align how they're all working together. So, my simple request to those who are expressing this amazing generosity is to, as far as possible, call it all in and let's get it aligned, let's all work together on this. That's the key. Whether it's working together with local government, working together with local environmental charities, working together with state governments, the ADF, our Defence Force is working with emergency services, it's about working together. But, Andrew, did you want to comment on that?
ANDREW COLVIN: PM, just to say that obviously the last thing we want is for Government and my agency to be a block to funds, support getting to the people in need. But clearly we're working with these organisations, we're working with these very generous people, who are giving time, money and effort, logistics, products, and we're trying to direct that to where we think it is best going to be utilised. On the ground, there's great coordination. Sure, there's lots of people doing really good work, but there's good coordination, that's a very local thing. As the Prime Minister has said, the message we have is let's make sure that what we give is tailored to the community who needs it. As I said before, across the fire-affected parts of Australia, there are vastly different community needs. So, we're gonna tailor this to the local areas. But we're talking to all of our[ [inaudible] We've spoken to Twiggy Forrest- very generous what he's put together. He's done this before. Last thing I'm gonna do is step in the way of that. [inaudible] I will make sure it's best utilised.
PRIME MINISTER: It's a busy time. We've got a lot of work to do. Tomorrow is gonna be a very difficult day on the eastern states. And so once again, I express my sincere condolences and sympathies to the families of all of those who have lost loved ones during the course of this terrible disaster. We will continue to remember them, but also their families in particular in what they need, in supporting them. But I would encourage all Australians to continue to follow the advice of authorities, to keep being kind to each other as the way you are. Thank you for your generosity and your support. All levels of government will keep working to ensure that we come through this together, by staying together. Thank you very much.
Press Conference - Canberra, ACT
6 January 2020
PRIME MINISTER: Good afternoon everyone. I want to provide a general overview of the situation as we understand it today and the status of operations of particularly our ADF forces, as well as outlining some of the key decisions that were made today at Cabinet and the National Security Committee.
But before I do that, 24 fatalities have been reported across the country. 18 of those in New South Wales, three in Victoria, three in South Australia. Two people are missing in New South Wales. And none, we believe, are now missing in Victoria. For all of those who have lost loved ones, for all of those who have lost everything, their homes, their livelihoods, once again as a Government and as a nation we extend our deepest sympathies to you, and we make this commitment to all Australians - that that we will be there for you during this immediate response, and we will be there for the rebuilding and the recovery. Today in Cabinet we have made a number of decisions to support that recovery effort, to do whatever it takes, to do whatever it costs to meet those needs, to build our resilience for the future and to enable Australians, wherever they are, all across the country, to be able to go forward in confidence for their futures.
In New South Wales there are no total fire bans declared for today. Coles, Woolworths, Aldi and IGA have commenced resupply of stores in the far south coast. 3,872 head of livestock have been euthanised or confirmed deceased. 400 tonnes of fodder is in transit with distribution points finalised for Cooma, Bega, Moruya and Milton which will be set up once fireground activity eases. And the ADF will assist with distributing of isolated and cut-off properties. In Victoria, there are no total fire bans declared for today. Smoke is, though, interfering with further aerial evacuations in Mallacoota. Victoria has established a permanent standing Bushfire Recovery Agency and with funding I understand of some $50 million. In the ACT, there are no total fire bans declared for today. In Western Australia, total fire bans are declared for today for the Kalgoorlie, Boulder, Coolgardie and Dundas districts and partial closures of the Coolgardie Esperance, Eyre and Goldfields Highways. In South Australia, a fire ban is declared for Kangaroo Island for the today. In Queensland, there are no total fire bans declared for today. There are no further updates to the situation in Tasmania from what I have a previously reported, and there are also no total fire bans declared for the Northern Territory.
Disaster relief payments, as it stands, $111 million or thereabouts, over $100 million, which includes $25 million already out the door in disaster assistance payments and just over $100 million in total combined with that that have already been committed. Jointly, these payments are available in 46 local government areas in New South Wales. Those two in the East Gippsland area in Victoria, six in South Australia, one in Tasmania and 17 in Queensland and the Australian Government disaster recovery payments are available in 26 LGAs in New South Wales, two in Victoria, six in South Australia and eight in Queensland.
Turning to the ADF rollout, in New South Wales reconnaissance and liaison teams have gone in Wombeyan, Eden, Bega, Moruya, Narooma, Batemans Bay and Merimbula on the South Coast. Logistics support which includes providing water, food and critical fuel by road and air to Tarcutta, Tumbarumba, Adelong, Batlow and Gilmore in the Snowy Valley area. Engineering teams which are clearing fire breaks and opening roads in Maitland, Mudgee, Nowra and the Southern Highlands. Resupply of evacuation centres are occurring at Narooma, Batemans Bay, Bega and Moruya on the South Coast. Health support with medics, doctors, nurses and psychologists are ready to deploy into priority areas, which do include on the South Coast Batemans Bay, Moruya, Narooma and Bega Valley. In Victoria, 350 people were air evacuated out of Mallacoota yesterday. That also was supported with a generator move into Mallacoota to restore power to the Mallacoota Airport. Choules is unloading diesel and a fuel management team for generators is powering Mallacoota. We’ve supplied some 18,000 litres of fuel to the town of Omeo for generators for powering the town and contacting the 18 cut-off communities in Victoria currently. The majority of those have already been reached but I am advised they will all be reached by the end of the day, flying in emergency supplies as required. We are working with Vic Forestry and assistance to open access to major roads. In South Australia, we’re working with South Australia water to deploy a water purification system to supplement damaged infrastructure. That’s water for both human consumption and for stock we’re preparing to bring in bottled water as an interim measure. The teams are on Kangaroo Island and a veterinary officer to assist euthanising stock and wildlife. A critical issue going forward will be the disposal of carcasses which obviously presents very serious health issues as we’ve seen in other disasters.
Internationally, three helicopters and an engineer company from New Zealand will arrive at RAAF Richmond and deploy to the South Coast region. We thank very much the New Zealand government and Prime Minister Ardern who has been in regular contact with me. I also want to thank Prime Minister Lee. Two Singapore Chinooks are preparing to deploy from Northern Australia to East Sale which is our forward staging point in Victoria for those operations. Last night, I spoke at length to President Macron who extended his deep condolences and sympathies and full support for Australia as a great friend and we are working with his government, as we are with many around the world at the moment, who have made very generous and kind offers of assistance. In the case, as President Macron has already noted, that has included firefighter assistance as well as other engineering and environmental support as well. Integrating all ADF teams visiting towns with a person from the relevant state agency when they are there, which is either the RFS, the SES or police. This move forward in integration has been under command locally of what’s happening there and the New South Wales Assistant Commissioner Willing from the New South Wales police is assigned to a joint task force to ensure that integration. The running total of Reservists as called out now is 497.
Today, in Cabinet, we approved the arrangements that flow from the establishment of the National Bushfire Recovery Agency which is being led by the former AFP Commissioner Andrew Colvin. As I said yesterday, Andrew is already at work. He is already working now and chairing an inter-departmental committee across every single government department in the Commonwealth, which is bringing forward proposals to assist the recovery effort and to feed in to the response effort also. Today we agreed that we would support the National Bushfire Recovery Agency by establishing a National Bushfire Recovery Fund which will be administered by that agency led by Mr Colvin. The Commonwealth is committing an additional and initial $2 billion over the next two calendar years, starting right now, to support all of the efforts of recovery right across the country. This is not just in those areas that are experiencing fires now. They are in those areas that have already experienced fires, particularly up in Queensland and Northern New South Wales and, sadly, as there are many months still to go into this fire season, those parts of the country which still may yet face great risk of fire impact in the future. The Recovery Agency and this funding is in addition to the NDRA category A, B and C assistance which is provided under those national arrangements. To give you a bit of an idea of the scale of that, when it came to Cyclone Yasi and the Brisbane floods over a period of some six years, I’m advised by EMA that there was $5.6 billion paid out in disaster recovery arrangements, the overwhelming majority of that was actually for A, B and C payments. There was some $365 million, I think it was, that was in category D assistance and things like the River Walk that was reconstructed and the commitment made to that infrastructure.
So the $2 billion commitment is an additional commitment, it is in additional cost, an initial commitment and if further funds are required, further funds will be provided. What we are focusing on here is the human cost and the rebuilding cost for people's lives. We are not focused on the financial cost, we are focused on the human cost and ensuring we can do everything we can, as quickly as we can, to support that recovery effort. The indicative priorities at this point, as they are being worked through and we have discussed in Cabinet this morning, primary producer grants for restocking, replanting and fencing, additional support for small businesses and grants to help them initially, as we saw so successfully in parts of northern Queensland with the funds that were provided particularly under category D assistance. Direct grants to local governments to support them in their immediate rebuilding works, to support local infrastructure and local services, supporting mental health programs that will be going in, working closely with state and territories and I stress that will include mental health support for those who have been first responders in relation to these bushfires.
I have been in so many of these communities over many months now and it isn’t just the disastrous impact of the fire on the physical buildings and the physical communities and people's physical well-being, but the mental impact, the mental health impact of what has occurred is going to take a significant toll and we are prioritising the provision of mental health support as part of the recovery project. There will also be funds for infrastructure projects to support economic and community recovery and resilience, particularly essential infrastructure. This will not be done on the basis of matched funding from the states and territories, as I said yesterday. The states and territories will be, I have no doubt, making significant financial commitments in their areas of responsibility on infrastructure and roads and bridges and schools and hospitals and all of these things. And as part of this Fund, through the normal course of arrangements, we'll be looking to support those where appropriate. State governments, local governments, the Commonwealth government, will all be making significant and massive financial commitments. These are investments in the hope of our country and to provide and support that hope that on the other side of this disaster, there is a rebuilt future and a strong positive reason to move forward into that future.
In addition, also today, we agreed there would be rollout of 20 Service Australia pop ups. They’ll be actually working in with the ADF as they go into communities. That will be there to ensure that people know what Commonwealth's resources and payments and services are available. We will be streamlining wherever possible, wherever we’re getting the feedback, access to these payments and any of the administrative issues that raise with this. We've already taken a number of decisions in this area to streamline those payments. It's important that cash gets in people's hands as soon as possible. We are suspending debt recovery and mutual obligation requirements for those in bushfire affected areas or those affected by bushfires for an initial two months and that will be reviewed again in the future as we continue to assess the impact of this fire season. And similar arrangements have been put in place by the Australian Taxation Office.
Today's Cabinet was one of great resolve. It was one where we stood together and said whatever it takes, whatever it costs, we will ensure the resilience and future of this country and we will do it by investing in the work that needs to be done and we will do it by investing in the greatest asset this country has ever had and it is its people, Australians. We will be investing in them and their future to give them the support they need as we all work together to rebuild after these terrible disasters. Michael?
THE HON. MICHAEL MCCORMACK MP, DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER: Thank you, Prime Minister, and for those hundreds and hundreds of Australians, indeed thousands, who have lost everything, we stand with you today, we will stand with you tomorrow, next week, the months and the years ahead. We will help you rebuild your communities. We will help you rebuild your homes. We will help you rebuild those towns, which in many cases have lost almost half their buildings. Cabramurra, I know Batlow and Adelong and Tumbarumba have been severely impacted in the Snowy Mountains and they’re just a few of the communities just near my electorate in the east of the Riverina, let alone the communities in Queensland, which we have not forgotten about. The mid-north coast and north coast of New South Wales, which we certainly have not forgotten about, but also in Victoria, those places in South Australia, of course, Kangaroo Island, Western Australia and also Tasmania. There's not too many parts of the country which have not been impacted and there's many, many Australians, indeed, all of Australians, who have felt the full effects of this dreadful crisis.
The National Bushfire Recovery Fund will help restore, rebuild, reconstruct. It will help restock and replant. And for regional Australians, as the Prime Minister has just said, they are a very resilient bunch. They are full of hope and we will give them that hope. We will give them those funds, whatever it takes. We will be there to help those regional Australians and others besides. And when I talk about Tumut, the pine plantations in and around that town, 70 per cent of the economy of Tumut and Tumbarumba are underpinned by forestry. And of course, in many cases, they've lost almost all of their pine plantations. We look at Batlow, where surrounding Batlow are apple orchards. Of course, Batlow is a town famous for its apples, and many, if not most of their orchards have been incinerated, and so it takes five years to rebuild, to replant, to regrow an orchard. In the case of the pine plantations and the forestry resource that we've lost, up to 20 years. So for those people who've not only have the risk and assessments are being done today, not only have many people have lost their homes, but they've also lost their jobs. And when there's no pine plantation, when there's no orchard to go back to, that does provide them with little hope. They've not got a house, they've not got a livelihood. But we will be there for them. We will help them through this fund, through the agency that Andrew Colvin is now heeding. Sugar Pine Walk, one of the Riverina’s most iconic, most photographed tourism spots, planted in 1928, has been almost totally destroyed. That is heartbreaking and I've just got off the phone from James Hayes, the Mayor of Snowy Valleys Council, and he's hopeful for the future. He said to me, you know what, we'll get through this because we're resilient. We thank you for the support that you've given. We thank the state authorities and particularly those brave men and women who wear yellow and orange uniforms, indeed, whatever uniform colour they are. They've been out there. They've been fighting the fires. They've protected thousands upon thousands of homes. Yes, we've lost more than 1,600 homes, but we've also saved, those brave people have saved thousands of homes, thousands of livelihoods. So we thank them again. We can't thank them enough.
And we want to ensure, of course, today that for those areas that have been burnt out just since New Year's Eve, not to forget those areas burnt previously in Queensland, right up to Michelle Landry's electorate of Capricornia through David Littleproud’s electorate of Maranoa. And I really want to pay special tribute to David Littleproud for the job that he's done, not just not just on the drought front. And, of course, many of these communities so affected now by fires have also been dealing with drought. So it's a double whammy for them. But they will, as James Hayes, the Mayor of Snowy Valleys Council said, they will get through this because they're such a resilient bunch. And with the regional development funding that we are making available today, we will rebuild. We will put put back in place those roads that have been badly affected. I've spoken to each and every one of the state ministers. I've just got off the phone from the Victorian minister, Jacinta Allan. We will work together, as we've done very successfully, Prime Minister and Treasurer, to help in that reconstruction phase. Of course, with agriculture, there's a big, big impact on livestock. Priority access for farmers is, of course, getting back to their properties so they can assess the damage. Many of them can't even get back to their own properties, but to the provision of emergency livestock, fodder and water. We thank those people who've done hay runs. We thank those people who've made donations. The coordination of donations and offers of assistance are very, very greatly appreciated. The provision of generators and diesel for generators and large farm equipment also that effort is being coordinated and we thank those people for that.
But what I also do say is for people driving on our roads, roads that have been shut by this fire disaster, please take care, drive with your lights on. But also many, many fences have been burnt out and that leads to wandering stock. So please be mindful of that as you traverse up and down those regional areas. Of course, animal welfare, we've put a hundred veterinarians into the field and we want to make sure that the disposal of carcases is done in a very efficient and very quick fashion. And that is that is happening with state authorities. But we also want to make sure that we've got for those animals that can be saved, that we're there for them. And we've put a hundred Commonwealth vets and others into the field. And we want to make sure we get to those farms and help those farmers out, because, of course, not only is livestock very, very important, but so are our farmers. They've lost so much with the drought. And those hardy few who've managed to get their stock through the drought are now faced with this crisis as well. And, of course, the mental health of farmers is so, so important. And I know the Minister for Health, Greg Hunt, has made some important announcements today. And of course, we're going to keep monitoring that process as well.
We will rebuild farm infrastructure, whether it's fences, yards, water tanks, whatever the case might be. We will do that in conjunction with our state authorities. We will be monitoring animal health. We will be making sure that we get the fodder and the assistance there. Agriculture is such a key component of our economy and we want to make sure that we are there to help and support our farmers through this crisis. I know Bridget McKenzie is doing a fantastic job, she’s been all over as a Senator from Victoria, all over that state, as well as NSW. And her and I and others of course will be making important visits over the coming days, weeks and months to make sure that everybody understands and knows that the Federal Government is there for them. This national bushfire recovery fund and agency are going to play such a pivotal part in the rebuilding effort. Thank you to all of those who have helped out. The firies, just Mr and Mrs Average, just the kids who have done so much to raise funds to help put out fires, to rebuild regional Australia and indeed our nation, thank you so much, we will as a Federal Government be there supporting you all the way, shoulder to shoulder and putting our arm around our wonderful people who have been through so much. We are not out of the situation yet but we will be there now and into the future.
PRIME MINISTER: Thank you.
THE HON. JOSH FRYDENBERG MP, TREASURER: Thank you Prime Minister, thank you Deputy Prime Minister. My first thoughts today are with those communities who are still battling these horrific fires. A big thank you to the brave men and women who are volunteer firefighters who are working as emergency service personnel, and in the Australian Defence Force who are putting their lives on the line to save others. A very big thank you. As the Prime Minister has announced we will be making an initial, additional contribution of $2 billion to the national bushfire recovery fund. This is on top of money that is already flowing under existing payments and allowances. This money will go towards supporting small businesses, to supporting local councils, to providing mental health support, investment in social and economic infrastructure, as well as providing environmental protection and important protection for native wildlife which has been so badly hit by these tragic fires. It is important to understand that this money will help rebuild lives and restore livelihoods. This money will help communities get back on their feet after these devastating fires. In addition to this announcement today, the Australian Tax Office has also taken steps to ensure that people have a 2-month deferral with the lodgement of payments and other obligations for those who are in the fire affected areas. People should not be concerned about their tax affairs at this time. The ATO has set up a hotline where people can get individual support. That is 1800 806 218. When it comes to insurance companies they will be absolutely critical as part of the recovery, rebuild, and resilience task ahead. There has been some 6,000 claims that have already been made totalling nearly $400 million. And the insurance companies have put assesses and recovery specialists out into the field already where it is safe to do so and tomorrow I will be meeting with the insurance Council, the regulators and CEOs to see what can be done to get that money back into people's pockets as quickly as possible. When it comes to the banks they have also taken steps to assist those who are in the fire affected areas, loan and interest payment deferrals, additional finance to help cover cash flow shortages, waiving fees and charges so the banks will continue to take action to support those communities. When it comes to charity, we know the Australian community is enormously generous and we have seen this generosity already, many people want to know how they can help, and where to send the money to. The new agency will be putting a list of leading charities like Red Cross, Salvation Army, the Rural Fire Services’, and others, their details are going up on the website for people to see, and to access. The ACNC, the charities commission together with the ATO will be providing advice and assistance to those who are seeking to establish charities to respond to the bushfire emergency. And the ACCC will be establishing a hotline where people can report any scams or unscrupulous activity from those who may seek to profit out of other people's misery. So there are a number of steps that have been taken to support the Australian community at this very difficult time.
PRIME MINISTER: Thank you, we’ll take questions.
JOURNALIST: How quickly do you think this money can hit the ground, would you consider, is it something like a stimulus for some of these hard-hit areas, and do you think there are some small employers in these areas which are losing money right now, in the holiday season, is there anything else that can be done for them?
PRIME MINISTER: That is exactly what this money is for. Amongst many other reasons. What we saw particularly when we were responding into the North Queensland Flood crisis was the support that needed to go in quickly for small businesses and particularly the primary producers in those areas. And that is what this is designed to do. We will be doing that in concert with those locally who are on the ground, those in local administrations, those who have so much of the information that we need to best direct and target these payments. We obviously want it to move as quickly as possible, and I'll be looking forward to making announcements about local governments in the not-too-distant future. We're working through some of those details now and we will consult closely with the state governments. There are coordinators as you know in recovery agencies as I said before that have been set up in Victoria today, as well as already in NSW and northern NSW for some time. In Rapville and places like that which were devastated, and now in Southern NSW and in Queensland they have had a similar arrangement. We will be working in with them to ensure that that support gets where it needs to go.
JOURNALIST: In weeks? Is weeks too optimistic or is that?
PRIME MINISTER: No it is not too optimistic in terms of when we can get that to those council administrations and things like that. Already, the disaster recovery payments that are under category A B and C where those areas have been declared, those payments are already flowing right now for example, if you’re in an affected area that’s under those relevant classifications, then you’ve got a position of lost income because you might be in an area where there is literally nobody where there should have been a lot of people this time of year. You can claim up to 13 weeks and ongoing support under what is effectively the welfare payments that would otherwise be in place. That happens very, very quickly. That is available in many areas now, and they are triggered by the state governments and we turn that around immediately, and those payments flow. So the national scheme, the NDRA scheme that has been set up has been designed to get a lot of those initial payments out. What we're particularly also talking about here is not just the initial payment but the long-term investment. I said yesterday that the new agency will run for we envisage at this moment, for two years. It may well run longer than that. But we will ensure that they have got $2 billion initially to work with over that two calendar year period. That obviously spans across three financial years over the forwards. That is there to be either brought forward if more needs to be done earlier, and then we can consider what other additional support is needed and the budget is not too many months away, and we will have a better picture of the damage assessments and what the need is on the ground. So it is all of those things and more.
JOURNALIST: On a related issue, is the funding for this new agency separate from the funding that is going out through the category A B and C grants.
PRIME MINISTER: Yes.
JOURNALIST: Is the funding separate actual kind of, projects or will there be some overlap in the kinds of projects that are funded by each fund?
PRIME MINISTER: A B and C assistance works with category D assistance. Category D assistance is a discretionary level of assistance and it is quite targeted to the conditions you may find at any particular time. That will draw from this new fund, but category A B and C assistance will run as it has now for many years. And as it is rolled out.
JOURNALIST: But is there an overlap there between the two?
PRIME MINISTER: No I wouldn't see why they would be. It would be a supplement to, I wouldn't describe it in those terms.
JOURNALIST: A very distinct programme?
PRIME MINISTER: If for example if you are a small business and you haven't been able to access under category C assistance a $15,000 immediate grant to get you through the next two weeks with your employees or trying to get your business open again or something like that you may well be eligible for new payments that we would do under category D or even beyond that. Of up to as we saw in North Queensland of up to $75,000. Those payments to those primary producers there were lifesavers. And they moved very, very quickly. Now I should stress yesterday, that Andrew Colvin met with Shane Stone, as you know Shane led the North Queensland agency and also now leads the drought recovery agency and so we have already been through this in terms of standing up these arrangements. And so those lessons are being very quickly transferred across to the agency which is being led by Andrew. Another important role that the agency plays is helping people in these circumstances know what support is available. Communications about that support, so you know what is there is not only great for morale but it is very practical, and we need to get it through as quickly as possible.
JOURNALIST: Just so I understand- so the new agency then is like a category D grants?
PRIME MINISTER: Category D plus! It get everything else and beyond. For example where there may be mental health packages that are needed, support in some areas around education, there may be need to support tourism promotion for particular areas down the track. All of these funds are designed for these purposes and as Josh just said a few minutes ago, support for wildlife preservation and restoration in these areas, and I will have a bit more to say about that in not too many days time.
JOURNALIST: I know it is early days but do have an estimate of what the damage bill may be, and are you worried that these fires are going to have a major impact on economic growth and are you still confident you will reach the surplus?
PRIME MINISTER: The surplus is of no focus for me, what matters to me is the human cost and meeting whatever cost we need to meet. But I can tell you this: being in the position of strength that we are now, enables us to give what is one of the most significant, if not the most significant response to a crisis of this kind the country has seen. I mean if I go back over most recent times, we saw at Mallacoota one of the biggest evacuations using military resources that this country has seen. The only one that would have been bigger would have been Cyclone Tracy all those years ago. And I should stress that these funds that we are putting as part of this effort are separate to the ongoing support of those defence operations and many other government activities that are funded through the Budget. And I suspect we will also face higher costs and they will be reflected in the estimates variations that flow through the Budget in May. And it will be all be totalled up and will be reconciled then.
JOURNALIST: But you must have some sort of indication of the financial cost so far, maybe Treasury does some analysis, rules of thumb on how this does affect,
PRIME MINISTER: The fires are still burning and they will be burning for months to come. And so that is why I outlined today that this is an initial and additional investment of $2 billion. If more is needed and the cost is higher then more will be provided but I give you that reference point, that over six years, over six years, and that was the category A B and C payments predominantly, it was a cost of some of $5.6 billion over six years to respond to Cyclone Yasi and the Brisbane floods. So what we're seeing , the comparative figure I suppose to the $2 billion here is during that emergency, there was around about $365 million which was in the order of category D assistance that was provided in response to that. I mean we’ve set aside $2 billion here for those types of payments and many other levels of support.
JOURNALIST: But you’re saying the surplus is not top of mind right now? I mean that’s a shift in rhetoric. You have just had an election where you said the surplus would be back in black in this financial year. Can you guarantee that you will be back in black, you will have to involve cuts, you’ve rules out a bushfire levy yesterday, are you going to have to cut in other areas?
PRIME MINISTER: Well I don’t envisage any of those things, what I envisage is guaranteeing to the Australian people at this time of crisis that we will meet every cost that needs to be met, make every investment that needs to be made, both to assist the response to this crisis and the recovery needs that follow. That is clearly the priority now and, the point I would make, and I am sure the Treasurer would, is the reason we are in a position to do this is we have been so careful with our financial management. I’ve always said, the reason you strengthen your financial management is to build the resilience of the country to deal with these types of crises which can often be unforeseen at this level, so that strength enables us to make the commitments we are now making.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister we are hearing cries from the ground for basic human [inaudible], one woman in Batemans Bay who, she won’t be paid for a week. She will not have electricity for a week. She says she’s getting frantic, because she has reached out to government agencies including Centrelink and they can’t help her because her house has not burnt down. So in this announcement today, this funding, exactly what out of that will help people immediately in those sorts of situations and, is that being communicated?
PRIME MINISTER: Well we’ll work closely with the states and their levels of support I mean, many states and NSW would have this would be be emergency cash assistance through the Department of Social Services also there are emergency cash assistance arrangements that are in place right across the country and those are administered through the Department of Social Services and the various contracted suppliers which provide those grants for immediate cash assistance. And by getting in contact as she has I know, that is one of the reasons why we are putting in these pop-up squads of the Services Australia teams that are going and with the ADF into these towns and you will see more of that as the days progress which will enable people in a lot of these communities to be able to go there and sit down with someone and start working through these issues. I mean disasters of this measure throw up any number of extraordinary challenges and some of them are very difficult to deal with, others are more straightforward. The disaster recovery payments are arrangements that have been in place for many years, are designed to address many of these needs. And so that is why the recovery agency and the other work that is being done by state and the Commonwealth governments and local governments for that matter are there to help people in immediate point of need.
JOURNALIST: Treasurer, as the PM alluded to, said the $2 billion will be spread out effectively over 3 financial years, the 2 calendar years. What is the initial part of the initial $2 billion, in the 6 months left of this financial year? And have you had to offset that elsewhere in the Budget or is this come straight off the bottom of the surplus?
TREASURER: No, we haven’t sought to offset that. The indicative numbers and that is the key word here, they’re indicative, because obviously we’re going to try and get the money out as soon as possible. And to work through the new agency would be $500 million in 19-20, $1 billion in 20-21 and $500 million in 21-22 but $2 billion over the two calendar years. This is an initial and an additional commitment. Our bottom line is getting support to the Australian people. That’s our bottom line, and this is unprecedented. What we're seeing across the country. And what we're doing now is, as you heard from the Prime Minister, we have galvanised the resources of the ADF, we have all the other agencies, Emergency Management Australia, the Bureau of Meteorology, we had all the ministers today contributing in their portfolios and they have been given one task by the Prime Minister, to get out there and get support to those communities in need, we are now coordinating it through this recovery agency under the leadership of Andrew Colvin.
JOURNALIST: Julie Bishop said today that Australia needs to show global leadership on climate change. You yourself have said it’s a global problem, we need a global effort, will Australia have another look, under your leadership, at its climate change policies? Is there any room for a rethink perhaps on the Kyoto carryover credits or adjusting the targets or any other measures do you think to show greater leadership on climate change?
PRIME MINISTER: Well right now, I got to say, my absolute focus is on deploying this $2 billion to support communities around the country and to address their most immediate needs and get the infrastructure and support in place to provide the platform recovery for these communities. Personally, physically, their livelihoods, their communities and getting them back on track and that will take considerable effort to get to that point and that will be the absolute focus across every single minister, every single department, brought together through a whole of government response. Which we are leading right now.
JOURNALIST: So there won’t be any [inaudible]?
PRIME MINISTER: No, I’m, no what I’m saying is that is what the government’s focus is. I have said on numerous occasions that the government will continue to work to meet and beat the commitments we have made for emissions reduction as we will this year and as I believe with the policies we will continue to put in place by 2030 to meet that commitment that I was pleased to be part of a Cabinet with Julie, together with the rest of us set and put in place the mechanisms to achieve it.
JOURNALIST: Who signed off on allowing the staff at the Department of Home Affairs to leave their air conditioned offices and work from their smoky homes in Canberra for the next two days?
PRIME MINISTER: I’d have to refer that matter to the Secretary.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister do you have numbers please for the number of people who will be eligible for the debt recovery and the mutual obligation suspension?
PRIME MINISTER: Not to hand. But we can work to provide that for you.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister can I just clarify, in relation to the Defence Minister, yesterday she said that she had taken what she described as a few days to spend time with her family and she said that she was not on leave. Now later your office and her office confirmed that she was actually on leave for 8 days with plans to be I think 9 days and Christian Porter was the acting Defence Minister. Given your criticism of other people in these situations in the past, what in relation to the Victorian former Christine Nixon what is not- business as usual about having the Defence Minister in her Bali holiday home, organising the evacuation of Mallacoota? Shouldn’t she have been back here, why did you sign off on that leave?
PRIME MINISTER: Well Sam I gave you the details of our response to that last night. It was a very full response and I think that addresses the situation. What I know has taken place in the last two weeks, over the time you been talking about, is we have called out up to 3,000 Defence Force reservists, we have put in place the biggest defence force to a national disaster since events such as the, of Cyclone Tracy. Not one decision has been hindered by any those arrangements, not one piece of information, not one authorisation, not one deployment, it has all continued to proceed and at the end of the day that is what matters to people Sam. Are things getting done on the ground? And when you get 1,100 people evacuated out of Mallacoota by the deployment of a Naval asset in the Choules, that was done during this period of time, I think what has happened on the ground speaks for itself and Australians are interested in the results that we're getting and the actions that we are taking.
JOURNALIST: Aside from the $2 billion you’ve set aside today, the additional cost for Defence forces that you’ve also flagged, other funding, do you anticipate there will be other economic impact costs on the budget as well and can you still pledge that the Budget is going to be in surplus as you did a month ago when the MYEFO came out?
PRIME MINISTER: Well I will let Josh speak to that specifically but as I said the final Budget outcome for this financial year is not what is driving the decisions that we have made today. What is driving the decisions that we have made today is to do what it takes, to pay what costs, to ensure that we can get Australians back up on their feet and the response in place. But I can tell you is that, because of the strong financial management of this government, it has put us in a position to do that without having to strike a levy, without having to make offsets in other places that we can as the Treasurer just said put the bottom line to work that we have sought to build up to build the financial resilience of this country. To ensure that it has been there this year. The first year we have returned to the position of strength that we have outlined now for some time, in 12 years. And that can be put straight to work to meet Australian's need in their hour of some of their greatest need. Josh?
THE HON. JOSH FRYDENBERG MP, TREASURER: Well thank you, PM. We have been consistently saying, a surplus is never an end in itself. It is all about getting money to the people who need it most and that is what we're doing today, as we were doing in light of the drought. The mid-year economic and fiscal outlook that was released at the end of last year did acknowledge and refer to the fires as well as the drought. It is too early to tell what the full economic impact will be but the key message today is there is $2 billion now put to work to help those communities to rebuild, to recover and to become more resilient in the future.
PRIME MINISTER: Thank you all very much.
Press Conference - Canberra, ACT
5 January 2020
PRIME MINISTER: … While the weather conditions have improved as you would have heard, as reported from New South Wales and Victoria, there are still many fires that are raging and there's a very significant firefighting effort which is continuing. The better conditions today will obviously assist, but it's important to stress, as I've been advised, that the nature of those fires is still very strong and it will take some time and that will require a considerable amount of effort and we absolutely understand that is where the primary focus is, particularly of the fire commissioners as they are addressing that very urgent task.
Today I wanted to provide you with an update on the work of the ADF, both yesterday and what their focus is today and I'm joined by the Minister for Defence and I’m also joined by Minister Littleproud and later today, the Minister for Defence will be joined by members of the Australian Defence Force to commence what will be a regular operational briefing conducted at Russell by those who are operationally responsible for those matters, of course, which you will be invited to attend and they can provide a lot more of the detail than I'll be providing here today, because it's appropriate for that to be done on that basis and you can direct any quite specific questions to them, later today I will be joining the Premier of New South Wales and the RFS Commissioner Fitzsimmons, in New South Wales to look at that particular effort that is being undertaken by the Australian Defence Force. What I can tell you is that the focus of the ADF today is to be making assessments of the need, and to work with the various state agencies as to how best they can now move forward and meet those needs in the critical areas. In the last 24 hours, in Victoria, Navy support that has of course included Navy ships evacuating some 1,100 isolated persons from Mallacoota and the MV Sycamore arrived in Western Port this morning on the Mornington Peninsula with 61 evacuees and pets. The HMAS Choules arrived in Western Port, that was on Saturday, I should say, some 1100 evacuees. As we said yesterday, that is in addition to what can normally be taken on board that vessel. Those 2 vessels are returning to Mallacoota and I understand that the Sycamore is already there, the Choules has been re- provisioned and will be making its way there also. Blackhawk helicopter support has been provided and based out of RAAF base East Sale and has been involved in transporting firefighters from Bairnsdale to Mallacoota and transporting the injured and vulnerable from Mallacoota to East Sale to receive medical treatment by emergency services. Three Chinook helicopters are operating also from the RAAF base at East Sale to provide support to those firefighting operations. These were already involved in evacuating people from remote townships in eastern Victoria and ADF helicopters evacuated 42 people from Omeo last night, and you would have seen some of the footage of that. Another three Chinooks are preparing to deploy south from Townsville and the first of those will depart today. Mobility operations, the JTF, the joint task force, is providing engineering personnel and equipment to support state capabilities, to clear and reopen roads. Now that includes moving forward some heavy engineering equipment up to East Sale so they can be operating in those parts of East Gippsland. I should stress that when they are seeking to clear those roads, it isn't just a matter of moving the debris, as I'm sure you are probably aware, off the road themselves, and I see Phil here and he has probably experienced that first hand over the last couple of days, it is also being aware of the assessment of falling trees that are adjacent to the roads and there needs to be a technical assessment made of those things as well. So I just make that point, just because you can see the road clear, and it may still be closed, there are very serious reasons why people will be taking great care to ensure those roads are safe before people can move through them. ADF will also be engaged with damage assessments, as they've been doing for some time now. As you heard from both Victoria and New South Wales this morning, we won't know the full impact of the devastating fires last night until there's been an opportunity for those teams and we always prepare ourselves for difficult information once those assessment teams start to move through the areas as they get access to them. As you were reporting yourselves last night, it was difficult to get eyes on many parts of the fire because of the heavy smoke, which we can physically see outside of this building today, and in those parts was even more extreme, and so that was very difficult last night to see where they were going but they did an extraordinary job and their predictive technology proved to be very accurate. What we need to note is that now those assessment teams go through, they will be able to inspect what damage has been incurred in those places and then that will assist in terms of the support that will now be needed in those communities.
Air traffic controllers are also providing services at Bairnsdale Airport and a P-8A Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft is conducting reconnaissance from Sale to Mallacoota to assess the engineering requirement. The HMAS Adelaide has on board heavy engineering equipment which can be used to support road clearing from the other side, where you can get equipment in from the land side, there is the potential for that to be done on the sea side through landing that engineering equipment and those, of course, assessments will be made about the most appropriate way to do that, and that will be done under the direction of the State agencies.
In New South Wales, the engineering support, there are crews from our engineering operations as well as our logistics operations going into a number of areas, working closely with the New South Wales government to assess what capabilities and needs will be needed in those areas. That will also include the deployment where needed of medical teams, and these can be quite small medical teams which can deal with a first sort of level of assistance to people in these areas. The HMAS Adelaide, which is down around about where Eden is, presently means there is a potential to supply from that point, not just medical support but also other essentials that may be necessary in those areas, but again this will be done in close coordination with the state authorities as we assess that need. There are 400 personnel on the Adelaide, and there is 300 tons of relief supplies on the Adelaide, and it is in position, just as the Choules will be soon, back on the south-eastern coast, and the other vessels are already there. In terms of helicopter support, Army and Navy are providing maximum capacity operations through the combination of the Taipan, Seahawks and the EC-135 helicopters for fire mapping, surveillance and search-and-rescue support operations supporting New South Wales fire service throughout the Hunter, greater Sydney, Illawarra and southern regions.
In terms of going forward, fire trail clearance is already- will be undertaken from the 6 January to the 10 January out in Mudgee. In terms of transport and logistics and expansion of the ground transport and logistics tasks is already supported in five new locations, from Tamworth, Mudgee, Nowra, Maitland, and Queanbeyan. In recovery operations, the ADF is providing personnel and equipment to undertake initial recovery tasks as identified and these tasks will be in Tamworth, Wollondilly, Nowra, Mudgee, Maitland, and Wingecarribee and they will commence from the 6th [January]. There’s special logistics, as I mentioned, moving into areas to make those assessments about what is needed, and the transport of firefighters will continue, as has been happening for some time and the ADF is currently engaging with the New Zealand Defence Force and the Singapore Armed Forces to identify options for the kind offers of military support and they have generously put forward, and the Papua New Guinea government has also made similar offers through the Prime Minister to me directly, which has been passed on to the ADF for them to progress.
Before I pass on to the Minister for Defence, I referred yesterday that the- to the fact that the government will be standing up a recovery agency to support the recovery effort. The National Bushfire Recovery Agency was considered yesterday at the National Security Committee and it will be stood up and it will be led by the former AFP Commissioner, Andrew Colvin, who has accepted that role, and he will be there today and it will be established within PM&C and it will be modelling its operations very closely on the successful response that was provided to the North Queensland floods, where we stood up the agency in that situation, which was led by Shane Stone. That organisation worked extremely closely and extremely well with the Queensland government. That agency will be drawing on a series of support measures, they will be particularly in the area of income supports, and I will have more to say about that tomorrow after Cabinet considers further issues on this, but in those floods and also in the drought response that has been going now for some time, there have been a range of payments that have been made to support small businesses. There have been payments made to support councils with the re-establishing of critical infrastructure and in some cases, particularly after those floods, and it's the same case in many rural areas, there’s fences to be rebuilt and there is carcasses to be removed of animals who have been caught in these fires, and that is a fairly grizzly operation but that’s an operation that needs to be done and it needs to be done as soon as you possibly can. So that agency, which will report to Minister Littleproud, established within PM&C will work right across government, this will include dealing with things like coordinating mental-health support into particular areas. Those of you who have been in some of these areas will know that this fire and the haze and the fear and the quite extreme conditions would have had a profound impact on the mental health and well-being of people in communities, not just in those areas where people are resident but people who would have been there during the course of these fires. So it's important we are addressing the mental health needs as well as the many other health needs that will need to be addressed. This organisation will be stood up for at least two years and we will be able to talk more about its funding arrangements in the not-too-distant future after Cabinet considers the formal proposals, which are coming forward and have already been considered by the National Security Committee. But it's important that agency work closely, as it will, as similar agencies have in the past, with what the states and territories are doing. I will not be seeking matching funding from states and territories for what the Commonwealth will be providing. I have no doubt they will have a long list of recovery tasks that they will be performing, as we saw in Queensland. Rebuilding of bridges, rebuilding of roads and other critical infrastructure and we will just work hand in glove, as we have in response to previous crises, to ensure the recovery commences and is undertaken in a timely way and getting that support, particularly to small businesses, the number of small business people- I met a fellow down in Bega who just said, Mate, my business is gone. My business is gone. So it's important that they can start to think and have options about how they are going to be able to get through, particularly the next few months and beyond, and then to work closely with the recovery support that's available to then make decisions and plan for their future. That agency will be tasked with ensuring that those forms of income support are in place for those arrangements.
So with those two, the update on our defence operations as well as the announcement of the national bushfire recovery agency, I will hand over to the Minister for Defence and then David to make a few comments.
SENATOR THE HON. LINDA REYNOLDS, MINISTER FOR DEFENCE: Prime Minister, thank you very much. As the bushfire escalates both in scale and time, so too is the ADF’s response. For the past two months, we have had 2,000 defence personnel from Army, Airforce and Navy on the ground supporting civilian emergency services. As the Prime Minister has said, that has escalated significantly and as we announced yesterday, we have raised that again so my job over the next few days and weeks is to ensure that Defence provides all possible support to initially the humanitarian assistance and also disaster relief activities across all bushfire affected areas.
So the main activities for the next, in moving forward for the next week is as the Prime Minister has said, we are moving more helicopter assets, both from Australia and now looking to source additional helicopter support from allies overseas. We're also making some significant movements into the affected states of army assets, particularly vehicles and engineering support. We are working with the state and federal Health Department to look at what more we can do together in providing medical assistance. Not only on our, the HMS Adelaide and Choules but also deploying medical teams out to remote communities who need that support. We now have three naval vessels on-call as the Prime Minister has said, HMAS Adelaide steamed from Sydney yesterday with 400 personnel, 300 tonnes of relief supplies, a hospital on-board, and so that is now rendezvousing with the Choules and also the Sycamore which have dropped their 1,100 evacuees off at Western Port in Victoria. So in relation to what those naval vessels do next, we are liaising with the Victorian and New South Wales government to ensure we make best use of those naval assets over coming days.
We are also now standing up our three new taskforces. For the first one based out of Victoria, based in 4 brigade in Melbourne, that is going progressing very well, we’ve also stood up a joint task force based out of the 5th Brigade headquarters in Sydney and also now out of 9th brigade in Adelaide and Tasmania. We have activated these brigades through the callout to ensure that we have the maximum possible trained personnel available to support the efforts in their States. We have also activated army reserve elements from 17 brigade, which again is headquartered in New South Wales for their specialist logistics support so as we said yesterday, we are making sure that we have the maximum possible specialist people, aircraft, naval vessels and other equipment out forward, so that we can respond very quickly to emerging requirements at the community level. The implementation of the callout which we initiated yesterday, we requested from the Governor General yesterday, is now under way. If anybody who is watching or listening would like further information about the callout, they can contact 1800-DEFENCE to provide further information. And from tomorrow the major newspapers will also contain information on the callout and its implication for the personnel involved, for their families and also their employers.
In addition to this additional support we continue to provide as the Prime Minister had just gone through in some detail, all of the support that we have been doing for the past two months. Doing surveillance, reconnaissance, flying firefighters, overseas firefighters and Australian firefighters to where they’re needed across the country, we have been doing emergency engineering work, we have been feeding hundreds of firefighters and accommodating them across the country and we are now also making bases available for evacuees who need accommodation and healthcare. So please be assured that the defence forces are doing everything that they possibly can to assist Australians across the country who are in need.
PRIME MINISTER: Thank you again Linda, David?
THE HON. DAVID LITTLEPROUD MP, Minister for Water Resources, Drought, Rural Finance, Natural Disaster and Emergency Management: Thanks PM. And I think it is important for Australians to understand while conditions have abated, we are still in a severe fire season and conditions can turn in the coming days and weeks that mean people will still be in harm’s way. So I say to every Australian, you must have your plan, you must enact on that plan, you must listen to those brave men and women, those emergency service personnel when they give you direction. Do it. You owe it to them, you owe it to those brave three Australians who serve the community and their nation and lost their lives serving us. It is not a she'll be right situation yet, and we've got to make sure that we work as a nation and we have those plans enacted and ready to move on them. Obviously announcing Andrew Colvin in this agency is an important step in the recovery and we’ve already committed over $100 million already in direct payments to those that have been impacted but also to the NSW government in the recovery of these fires. This is about making sure that we don't just have a Canberra solution to this. This has to be a localised solution whether it be in Kangaroo Island, whether it be Mallacoota or whether it be in Stanfield. We need to make sure that the recovery is tailored to those the local communities to get them up back up on their feet. This is not just about the building infrastructure, rebuilding the infrastructure, is also the huge numbers of native species that we've lost through these fires. But also this is about rebuilding the lives of those Australians that have been hurt by these devastating fires. We are not just going to build the infrastructure, we are going to rebuild the lives. It's important that as they go through this grief of this disastrous event, they understand that their nation is with them. They share that grief and together we will rebuild their lives and get them back up to where they were before. We are a proud nation, we are a rich nation and we don't intend to leave any stone unturned. We owe it to our fellow Australians who have been impacted by these severe fires.
PRIME MINISTER: Thanks you David so to conclude the opening statements, can I again thank all of the State premiers, can I think again all the fire commissioners for the extraordinary work they have been doing in integrating and coordinating with each other and with the Commonwealth, can I thank all those who have been out there in incredibly difficult conditions overnight. Like many of you, I was observing last night those individuals who are gathering together down on the Eden wharf, I can understand the great sense of anxiety as some of them now as they left their homes, at some point they will be able to go back and check on what has happened to their properties but the calmness and the order and the stability in which people responded last night and followed the messages I thought was extraordinary and I think greatly assisted the authorities as they went about the task they had to go through last night. But to all of those, thank you so much for the way you have been responding and the Commonwealth, states, local government will continue to provide the support and response coordination needed. Chris?
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, how do you respond to the NSW rural fire service chief’s statement that he was disappointed and surprised by being blindsided by your announcement yesterday and that when the call did go to Gladys Berejiklian it came 5 minutes before your announcement which some in the New South Wales government are saying shows a fundamental lack of professional courtesy.
PRIME MINISTER: Well in terms of last point, I don't agree with that point, but what I would say is that this matter was dealt with at National Security Committee yesterday, I left that National Security Committee meeting and then went out and I contacted Premiers. And advised them of the decisions that we were taking and I want to stress the decisions that we took yesterday and enacted yesterday were a statement all about the scale of this crisis. It is in no way a statement on the performance of the state and territory agencies. I have been consistently complementary and remain absolutely complementary of their extraordinary work. And without their work, without their planning, without their preparations, then I fear what has really been a terrible tragedy would have been far worse. And so we have enjoyed as the Commissioner himself has said, a very strong working relationship. There was a breakdown in communications at the defence liaison level with the headquarters yesterday, that matter was addressed by the Minister for Defence yesterday and she made comment about that this morning, in the media. And so there has been a subsequent conversation between myself and the Premier, and the Minister in New South Wales and we have addressed any of those issues that arose from that. We communicated the decision as soon as it had been made. To all states and territories, particularly those who are affected today, last night, I mean South Australia, Kangaroo Island, I know the Premier is there today, attending to those issues. All of those Premiers who are directly affected were contacted and understand, I believe, that the nature of this support is to supplement, to support, to cut down any response times to ensure that
what we are all focused on, whether it is myself, the Premier, in New South Wales or any other state, or the Commissioner in New South Wales or anywhere else, is just trying to get as much support and coordinated effort in as quickly as possible.
JOURNALIST: You've announced more air tankers yesterday. You announced $11 million in
December, but there have been calls for a long time now for more capacity with aerial firefighting and more contributions from the Federal Government. Why wasn't more done by the Federal Government sooner to put in funding ahead of the bushfire season? Have you been putting in too little, too late?
PRIME MINISTER: Well David I addressed this yesterday at the press conference we had yesterday. The response that we made was to provide the additional funding last year of $11 million and this year of $11 million. Which brought it up to the level that was being sought in those years. And in this year's Budget, that will be provided again on an ongoing basis. And so after becoming Prime Minister they were matters we put in train with that additional funding and resource and as was noted yesterday, at 8.00pm the previous evening we received the request for an additional water bombing asset and we moved to provide four with an additional $20 million so when you look at that over the scheme over the last couple of years and the additional resource that has been provided on top of our standing commitment of $15 million, it means that the resources were delivered and now we will ensure they are there on an ongoing basis.
JOURNALIST: PM on the recovery and reconstruction arrangements you've announced today, the Black Saturday royal commission put the cost of those fires at $4.4 billion, its obviously early days but do you have an estimate of the cost of these fires and in terms of the financing arrangements, things like that, there will be a hit to agriculture and tourism from this. Are you looking at- can you fund the reconstruction from within the Budget or would you be looking at things like a levy or something like that to protect the surplus?
PRIME MINISTER: Well let me deal with those in turn. The cost- the fires are not over. The crisis is not over. There are months to go. And particularly in the southern states and speaking to Premier Hodgman, I mean in Tasmania and in Victoria, their more difficulties seasons usually come later in January and in February. So there is still a long way to go. And sadly there will still be more cost that will be incurred as a result of the devastating impacts. The recovery need is going to be great. Very great and that recovery, the rebuilding will be done. It'll be done, supported by the Commonwealth government, by the state governments by the local government. The Commonwealth will be acting across all those tiers, providing financial support, both directly whether its primary producers, to small businesses, to local councils and others to engage in that rebuilding effort. There will be no levy because have been assuring that we have been in a position to deal with matters such as this. And so, we will be committing everything that is needed and more as it is required. Cabinet will be considering the details of that but there is already a firm proposal that was considered by National Security committee yesterday about what the initial investment will be and I will make further announcements about that with the Treasurer, with the Treasurer tomorrow, and so we will be focusing on what the need is and ensuring that that is met.
JOURNALIST: [inaudible]?
PRIME MINISTER: Sorry? I will give further details about that tomorrow after it has been considered by Cabinet.
JOURNALIST: You’ve been heavily criticised for your handling of the fire situation, can Australians still have faith in your leadership and that you are able to lead them through this disaster?
PRIME MINISTER: I will continue to demonstrate what we are doing through our actions. Sure, there has been a lot of commentary, there has been plenty of criticism, and I’ve had the benefit of a lot of analysis on a lot of issues. But I can't be distracted by that. And the public, I know are not distracted by that. What they need us to focus on, all of us actually. All of us, focusing on the needs there in the communities in getting the support where it needs to go. That is very much where my focus is and that's where it will continue to be, working closely with the states and territories, working closely with my ministers and the agencies, the defence force, the new recovery agency, to be led by Mr Colvin and ensuring they have the support, resources and communications that they need.
JOURNALIST: What you say though to the criticism that the ADF announcement yesterday came too slow? Do you believe you could or should have announced it earlier, a week ago or before Christmas? And could that deployment, the use of the ADF and the assets have actually have helped in the fire crisis over the last couple of weeks?
PRIME MINISTER: Well the question assumes the ADF wasn't present or doing anything and that's not the case as you know. The ADF has been present and involved significantly and heavily at the request of state agencies now for many months, going back to Canungra in September. And they have been deploying consistently since that time. The announcement we made yesterday was the first ever as we understand it, compulsory callout of reservists to provide support in relation to a domestic natural disaster. That is an unprecedented step. That step was taken as a consequence of the sheer scale that had moved beyond what is the reasonable expectation of any agency or state or territory authority. It is a statement of the scale of the need, not a statement of the response of any agencies up until that point in time. And it needed to be stepped up and as I said yesterday, this was something that we were building up to week, by week, by week. That commenced with deploying ADF liaison officers directly into local incident response centres. To ensure they were more quickly aware of needs on the ground that could be channelled up through their chain of command. And that could be raised at headquarters level to ensure that the needs were there and people were aware of what responses could be provided and that now will continue in a more proactive way. And so this was what was needed yesterday. This will be needed now for some period of time. I should stress whether it is the additional payments that are being made for income loss, for volunteer firefighters, or what was announced yesterday, this is the most significant. This is the most comprehensive, and the most dramatic in terms of escalation of response by a Commonwealth government that we’ve seen to disaster such as this. And I believe that is where we need to focus our attention and we are seeking obviously to communicate that directly to Australians to ensure they can have comfort, that the response is matching the need. Phil, Phil?
JOURNALIST: On the topic of climate change, you have stated several times in recent months that Australia's contribution to global emissions cannot be blamed for the climate changes driving this crisis. Given that, can you give a commitment to people in this country that Australia will use whatever diplomatic influence it can to pressure bigger allies like the United States and countries like China, the big polluters, given that we are now at the forefront of this, to do more? I mean, can you use your relationship with Donald Trump, for example, as fruitless as it may be, to pressure him to re-join Paris, given your own country is now at the forefront of the effects of climate change?
PRIME MINISTER: I should stress that there is no dispute in this country about the issue of climate change globally, and its effect on global weather patterns, and that includes how that impacts in Australia. Because I have to correct the record here. I have seen a number of people suggest that somehow the Government does not make this connection. The Government I lead has always made that connection and that has never been in dispute. What we are focused on is what our response is and we set that out very clearly and that response, as it always has, will continue to be upgraded to ensure we meet and beat the commitments that we have made. Now, I participate in these discussions globally all the time and if you look actually at what is occurring in the United States and you look what their emissions trajectory is currently, you will note that it is not increasing, as I am advised, and whether that is done and it is achieved in isolation as an individual country or how they choose to engage in an international agreement is ultimately a matter for sovereign governments to determine. Other governments are engaged in their commitments, but I am pleased to say Australia is one of the countries that can say that this year, as we face this crisis, as climate change has impacted on the world's weather patterns that has led to where we are here today to some extent, combined with many other factors, the drought being the most significant, that right now, Australia is beating the commitments that have been made in 2020, and there are very few countries that can make that claim. So in terms of our response, particularly what we have been able to do, which means our emissions per year are 50 million tonnes less on average each year then when we first came to government. This is something that has been achieved through many efforts but they included the efforts of the government as well to ensure we can be in that position and meet the targets we have. So we will continue to engage in those forums as we recently have, but most importantly, we will continue to carry our share of that burden and demonstrate that through the way that we are going to meet and beat our emissions reduction targets to ensure we can have the proper effect on global temperatures.
JOURNALIST: The Prime Minister has obviously copped a bit of belting for going to Hawaii during the bushfire crisis. Minister Reynolds, have you taken any leave during this period? Have you been out of the country at all?
SENATOR THE HON. LINDA REYNOLDS CSC, MINISTER FOR DEFENCE: Like many of my colleagues, I have certainly spent time with my family over Christmas. But throughout that time I can assure you that I have been regularly on the phone with the CDF, with the Prime Minister, with Minister Littleproud constantly. So...
JOURNALIST: So you haven't been out of the country?
SENATOR THE HON. LINDA REYNOLDS CSC, MINISTER FOR DEFENCE: I have had a holiday with my family for a few days over Christmas, but again, I wasn’t on leave.
JOURNALIST: Was that in Bali?
SENATOR THE HON. LINDA REYNOLDS CSC, MINISTER FOR DEFENCE: Yes I was.
JOURNALIST: Were you on holidays in Bali?
SENATOR THE HON. LINDA REYNOLDS CSC, MINISTER FOR DEFENCE: I spent a few days with my family, yes. But again, I was in total contact with the Prime Minister and the Secretary and the CDF.
PRIME MINISTER: All the announcements that we have made, we have continued to work closely, as all Cabinet Ministers have worked together and directly with their state and territory counterparts.
JOURNALIST: Are you still confident you can bring down a budget surplus this financial year given the financial cost you face?
PRIME MINISTER: Based on my mid-year statement and my discussions with the Treasurer - the Treasurer is a member of the National Security Committee, as is the Minister for Finance, and we considered those matters yesterday and the commitments that we can make, particularly what are needed right now, we can meet within our budget requirements as they are currently assessed. Obviously, as you go into the Budget, there are other economic parameters which will impact on that ultimate outcome and I can't foreshadow those at this present point in time but based on the financial position that was outlined not that long ago in the mid-year statement, then that enables us particularly this year, to be in a position and next year to be able to provide significant support.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, Australia is a federation and states are primarily responsible for fighting fires, but what seems to be extraordinary about the circumstance this summer is they’re burning in Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria, Tasmania, South Australia, Western Australia.
PRIME MINISTER: All around the country.
JOURNALIST: Is it time for a national Royal Commission into this specific circumstance so that we can know what could have been done that might not have been done and how we proceed from here? Would you consider that?
PRIME MINISTER: Certainly. And it is something I would consider in concert with states and territories and these are matters that we are assessing right now. But right now, the message I have from state premiers and from fire commissioners, is we are fighting the fires now. We are dealing with the emergency response now. We are dealing with the coordination and delivery of resources right now, and there is a broad agreement about the need, as there always is after any natural disaster, for there to be a thorough and proper review of both the contributing factors and the response and improvements that can be made. And it has been that very process in the past that has led to so many improvements that have been on display as we have dealt with this current catastrophic season. So of course, Chris, what form that ultimately takes is something that I will work closely with the premiers on.
JOURNALIST: And strategically, as we all know, anyone who has travelled to any coastal town in Australia is there is one road in and one road out of every town in Australia. Again, do we have to look at the way our infrastructure is set up in terms of trying to remove people from harm’s way?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, there is not only that, there is matters I have referred to also around planning and building regulations and where people are allowed to build residences and in what circumstances and the land clearing arrangements, and of course hazard reduction has been a constant refrain as I have been on the ground. But I also acknowledge the drought conditions can make that very difficult on occasion but we also know there have been many occasions where the hazard reduction has been actively resisted and that is something that we will have to learn from as well. So I think they are all very valid points that you are making and they are certainly things that will be considered and brought together initially, in terms of initial lessons and immediate take outs for action when premiers rightly meet when there is the opportunity to do that as has been scheduled in March. I think that gives us the appropriate time to bring forward some immediate steps and for those to be considered by premiers before moving to broader scale reviews. There hasn't been a question at the back, I'm happy to move it around…
JOURNALIST: You’ve mentioned hazard reduction, there is a bit talk about out there on the ground as well about the Greens being blamed and environmentalists being blamed for the state of these bushfires. Do you buy into that at all?
PRIME MINISTER: Look, there has been a lot of blame being thrown around. And now is a time to focus on the response that is being made. Plenty of people have blamed me, people have blamed the Greens, people have blamed... who knows? Honestly, blame doesn't help anybody at this time, and over-analysis of those things I think is not a productive exercise. The appropriate exercise at the moment is coming together, as David was just saying. That is the other piece of feedback that I get in response to a lot of the noise and blame and commentary and analysis on particular issues that are a long way away from the main issue which we need to focus on, and there is a frustration in elements of the community that too much attention has been placed on that at the moment and there is a need for the community to want to come together, despite the great frustration, despite the heavy sense of loss and the heavy sense of grief and the fear. I mean, one part of this fire crisis and catastrophe across the country, which is not unprecedented in one way, but its extent I think is more extreme than we have seen, and that is the smoke and the haze that sits over this city now, that sits over my home city in Sydney, that sits in many places along the coast and the fire-affected areas, and that haze, that smoke, apart from its direct health effects, which are also of concern, really does, I think, impact on people's sense of well-being and that can have broader impacts about how people are feeling through these events. And despite all that, I have been so impressed by the calmness and the support that people have provided. And so I understand that, I really do. Jenny and I understand it, our kids are here, they breathe the smoke like anybody else and we have the same concerns that others do who would be in an area that is not impacted directly by fire but these things, it makes it very ever-present in people's minds. I can understand that, how that contributes to how people are feeling about this issue around the country, and so that is acknowledged. But what most importantly is needed is that we just keep working together, and we are. Premiers, commissioners, Prime Ministers, local mayors, local volunteer workers, police, emergency services, paramedics, rural fire service volunteers, emergency services, St John's Ambulance, the list is long. It is incredibly long. And then there are those other stories of incredible kindness, as people have gone to the checkout with a bag full of groceries or things that they have needed, and they have looked like they are in terrible distress, and the person before them paid for the groceries before they even showed up. I have heard that story many times and it is a touching story about what is the real spirit and Australia's real response to these disasters.
JOURNALIST: Just following up on Sam’s question about holidays, whether it's the decision to take a holiday or whether it's questions over the timing of the ADF deployment, the big question here is, has the government done enough soon enough? Australian elect leaders not just to respond to crisis but to anticipate and prepare for them. What do you say to that big question about whether you were sufficiently prepared, sufficiently took this seriously enough to deploy as much help ahead of time as possible? What is your response to that?
PRIME MINISTER: The big question is the response that people need right now and will continue to need right now. But in terms of the broader question that you have raised, the government at Commonwealth level, at state level, has responded based on the advice that was provided by commissioners and others from Emergency Management Australia to prepare us for the current fire season and has taken the precautions in accordance with that advice. And I must say, that advice accords with a lot of the sort of more public commentary about other advice that has been reported on, and that is why the extra $11 million went in this year, why it went in last year. That's why a lot of the arrangements that have been undertaken have been put in place. As I have said on a number of occasions, we had similar fears going into last year's fire season and thankfully for that time, they were not realised. This year they have been realised and some. Well beyond, I think, even what the most severe predictions were and that is why the response that we have now escalated to has been lifted to that level. There are many views in hindsight, David, and that is why you have reviews to have the benefit of that hindsight to support you respond to future events, which no doubt will occur again in Australia but the response that you undertake, the things that you prepare for, like the callout, which was prepared for in November. The issues of income loss support. Options prepared well in advance of that decision as well and activated upon the request of the New South Wales State Government. The options constantly being prepared, even the stand-up of the Agency as we are talking through now, has already been through some significant earlier runs in our response to previous arrangements, which means we can put them in place very, very quickly. The scale of the disaster is enormous and it is a reminder of the terrible threat that nature provides in this country, and we will continue to seek to match that as best as human beings are able to do, working with everything that we have available to us. And my answer to Australians is yes, you can be confident that the government, the state governments, the local governments, all agencies, are putting everything they have into this and will continue to do to support their safety, to protect their homes, to protect their property and then to rebuild both their lives and their communities and their homes and their businesses and their services as quickly as possible on the other side. I had one question there who has been very patient and then I'm happy to take… I haven't got much to what I said on Iraq yesterday but...
JOURNALIST: Just on your ad detailing the ADF assistance. The Australian Defence Association has been labelled it a clear breach of the non-partisanship convention applying to both the ADF and ministers. I just wanted your response on that?
PRIME MINISTER: I think this issue received a lot of attention. Let me just stress firstly that the postings that we've made in messages has been to inform the community about what the Commonwealth Government is doing. And that is what we must do. Wherever I've been, people have said, "What are you doing? What are you doing? What are you providing? What is the ADF doing? What payments are being made? Where are the aerial bombers?" All of these things, the questions that have been to me as Prime Minister and it’s important that I communicate what we are doing with the Australian people. As much as we'd all like to only rely on the reporting of the media to get those information out, I will also seek to carry that message directly to the Australian people to ensure they are aware of what we are doing. Now, this is the same format that has been used to communicate these messages now for months, including the sorts of images that you have referred to and no objection has previously been made when that has been done. There's been some talk of the authorisation that sits on the end of that video message. That is a requirement of Australian law. It is not something that I can post on my social media page without carrying that authorisation. That does not mean it is a political message in any way, shape or form. It is just complying with Australian law. As you know, the Opposition, the Labor Party and other parties have similar authorisations on the back of very similar types of messages that they have been conveying on their commentary about these events. So where that can be improved, I'm happy to take the helpful suggestions that have been made, that we've been acting in accordance with the same procedure we've had in place now for many, many months. But let me assure Australians, the purpose is to communicate as simply and helpfully as we possibly can about what the Government is doing to get resources, to get support, to those places that need it and it's important, I think, that over-analysis of these things can create unnecessary anxiety and we're simply seeking to help people know what we're doing.
JOURNALIST: Isn’t there an Australian Government sponsored ad and a Liberal Party sponsored ad, the ad is in tomorrow’s papers…
PRIME MINISTER: It wasn't a Liberal Party sponsored ad. It was authorised me, I am the leader of the Liberal Party, and that’s the only authorisation I can post on something that is posted on my page. As you’d know, that is the same thing that applies to other politicians in Australia. It is simply complying with the requirements of Australian law and to infer from that, and to infer from that there was some other purpose in these communications, I reject absolutely, absolutely and the commentary on that along those lines, I think, is false.
JOURNALIST: With these ads in tomorrow's papers explaining the rollout, is the taxpayers going to fund them or the Liberal Party?
PRIME MINISTER: Those are being placed by the Australian Defence Forces directly under their own authority and under their own budgets for undertaking those and they’ve been done at their decision.
JOURNALIST: Did the Liberal Party pay for this ad?
PRIME MINISTER: It was on Facebook. It's put together by my own office. There are no real honest expenses that are of any significance that are attached to making a Facebook post.
JOURNALIST: Can I just ask where the CDF’s assessment of the safety of Australian troops in Iraq is up to? Has there been a decision at this point to withdraw any troops from Iraq?
PRIME MINISTER: No, but as I said yesterday, these matters are under close observation and under continued review but there are no decisions or I'm not flagging any decisions that would be a decision that the Government will be taking but we will continue to take advice and assess the situation on the ground.
JOURNALIST: Just back on David's question. We're likely to see this disaster continue every year. Do you think there is a need to handle it differently, say, next summer or the summer after?
PRIME MINISTER: Every summer we handle it differently and very summer we handle it better. Every summer, the response that is provided and the improved response that is provided undoubtedly ensures that we save more lives and we save more homes and we save more properties and we save more livelihoods. There's no doubt about that. After every event like this, we will all work together to do it even better next time. But I must say, as I said many months ago, our response to these calamitous bushfires is world-leading. Australia's firefighters, Australia’s emergency services, Australia's defence forces, are world leaders in responding to these events and that is on display out there now. And as much as there will always be frustrations when you cannot in all cases completely counteract the forces of nature, there will undoubtedly be shortfalls and frustrations, undoubtedly. But what you do is you identify them and you seek to improve on the way that you address those challenges again in the future. But one thing we can always rely on is that is the good nature and amazing spirit of the Australian people. That assists greatly in how we respond to these crises and keeping the focus amongst our authorities on the things that we need to focus on. There are a lot of distractions out there at the moment. There's a lot of commentary out there on issues that are a long way away from the things that matter most and that is getting help to the people who need it now. Phil.
JOURNALIST: Just on that, if I can ask a logistical question on behalf of those out there in those fire areas. One of the biggest - apart from water - one of the scarcest commodities is fuel, especially diesel.
PRIME MINISTER: Yep.
JOURNALIST: And it's difficult, obviously. There's been runs on petrol stations and the fire trucks are using all the diesel down there, etc. Would it be logistically possible if necessary for these ADF members not to commandeer petrol stations but to start supervising the distribution and supply of fuel and the supply of fuel? There's instances where service stations were stocked but no-one turned up to open them because they were out fighting fires and queues down the streets. That hampered the evacuation the other day. Is that something and I know that's on the minds of people down there - is that something the army can do?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, Phil, I know that was an experience you had most recently. I appreciate you relaying that to us at the time because that actually did factor into a lot of our thinking in recent days. Despite the amazing efforts of the New South Wales Government on what was a very, very difficult day in supporting the evacuations that were taking place, there are obviously places that were under considerable stress and experienced the exact things you talked about. That is why through the call-out, one of the things that is on offer and is available as is required is to support the, if you like, the civil order, of being able to facilitate those evacuations. That is a decision that obviously has to be taken with the support of the state government, but this highlighted to me personally when you raised that, of the need for a resource above and beyond what was reasonably expected to be able to be provided in every single corner of every single state affected by the fire. I want to stress this again - the scale of the deployment which is unprecedented in Australia and the federal response, whether it's in the payments we have made or the defence call-out and defence response, is an expression of the scale of the fires. That's what it is. Whether it's Commissioner Fitzsimmons or any of his colleagues, the state premiers, I have nothing but the highest praise for their efforts and every single one of those who serve under their command. It has been extraordinary. But, you know, there are no supernatural powers here. That means that everybody needs support and assistance and where the Commonwealth can step in and provide that in a proactive way, that's exactly what you're seeing, that's exactly what you will continue to see over many months still to come now, proactively, as we said. The Adelaide, sitting out there right now, out of Eden, able to move and will move with what it has available to it, whether it's the engineering equipment that is on board or the medical supplies or the other stores that are there, to be called in and employed in close consultation with the states, so that effort can be well delivered on the ground for the people who are there. So I thank you very much for your attention and there will be futher... sorry?
JOURNALIST: On hazard reduction, you expressed some concern about hazard reduction being a factor here, or lack thereof, and that's borne out in some stats about perhaps not enough of it being done. Do you think that's an area where the Federal Government needs to take a stronger role or even have some kind of takeover of the responsibilities in parkland areas?
PRIME MINISTER: Let me be clear first about the comments I have made on hazard reduction. They've been in response to questions like yours just now and they have also reflected what I have been told on the ground, whether it's in East Gippsland or other parts of the country. So it would be no surprise to anyone who was closely associated with this, that that is a matter that I would say has been most commonly raised when I've been out and about. You're correct to say those issues are run and overseen entirely by state governments, as are many of the other issues that will come into play - whether it's planning and zoning laws and building codes and things of that nature. They are state responsibilities and what is important, I think, in the first instance, is to have a proper consideration of what the contribution of those factors are and what state and territory governments migh do in response to those. But what I have noticed in these disaster, which has been… and I was talking to Prime Minister Howard this morning, former Prime Minister Howard this morning, in comparison with things that we’ve dealt with in the past, there has always been I think a good understanding of the first-responder nature of state governments. But on this occasion, I think the scale of things has been calling for a more… the role of national agencies, which have been there as I have stressed, but how that flows onto these other questions of state responsibilities of hazard reduction and planning and development laws and things of that nature. I mean, that is fundamentally a discussion for the Federation. I think people like things to be as local as possible and that they want things to be delivered as locally as possible. That’s always been my inclination. But you can have no doubt that we will provide the national perspective on this and integration and coordination, using the authorities that we have. People want to see that, just as I think they wanted to see what we announced yesterday and that we’ve built up to now for several weeks. And so we will work together to do all those things, but that’s the key, David. We’ve got to work together and we are working together and we are working together incredibly well and that’s important, especially for the many months that we’ve still got to go on this issue. Anyway, I note again there will be an operational briefing by Defence which the Minister will be there for and that will provide more detail on the granularity of what the Defence response will be. That will be a daily briefing and that will be provided by those who will be operationally responsible. Thank you very much.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, you have brought your family, you’re now basing yourself in Canberra with your family.
PRIME MINISTER: Yes.
JOURNALIST: When did you decide to make that decision and why?
PRIME MINISTER: When we moved, obviously, to the announcement we made yesterday and that we have the fires now moving in a much higher level in multiple states, previously the primary state that was feeling the heaviest of the burden was in New South Wales. That was before the Victorian fires that escalated earlier this week. And we’re standing up, particularly, the response agency which I have announced today and the recovery agency, the Defence Force heightened operations on the new posture, it is better for me to be based here in Canberra than previously where I could get more quickly to the New South Wales headquarters and move around some of the challenges in New South Wales where I previously was. Thank you.
Press Conference - Canberra, ACT
4 January 2020
PRIME MINISTER: Good afternoon everyone, I’m joined by the Minister for Defence and the Chief of Defence Force, and the Head of Emergency Management Australia.
This is a very difficult day for Australia and I want to start by extending my sincere condolences and sympathies once again to all of those Australians and families who've lost loved ones during the course of these devastating bushfires. 23 confirmed deaths to date and we are facing another extremely difficult next 24 hours. This is taking a very heavy toll with more than 1,500 homes already lost throughout the course of this fire season, which has been running since September of this year. From those first fires that I visited up in Canungra all those months ago, through to most recently now. So our condolences to those who continue to suffer and many of those who are left in absolutely disastrous situations as we speak.
I also want to acknowledge the outstanding work that is being done by all of those who've been turning out and responding to these natural disasters, not just in the states currently impacted most dreadfully, in New South Wales and Victoria today, but also up in Queensland, across in Western Australia, down in Tasmania, even today South Australia. This has been touching the entire country.
The responses that have been led by our states has been extraordinary and I want to commend all of the state Premiers for their very close engagement with the Commonwealth and particularly the Premiers I want to thank for the close liaison they've had with me personally as we've been addressing the many issues that they are attending to as they lead those responses in each of their respective states. I also want to thank the various fire commissioners who have been working closely together, and particularly working closely with Rob Cameron from the EMA, coordinating the responses across all the states and all the territories. They have been providing a constant stream of advice, not just now during the course of these fires but, as they do each and every day, 365 days a year, which is their job, to continually provide that advice, both on preparations and planning and, of course, now when we're in the very heat of the fire season itself.
A State of Disaster was declared and commenced yesterday in Victoria and as well there being a state of emergency declared in New South Wales with very serious fires in South Australia with confirmed loss of life there just this morning and as well as in Tasmania, there being serious fires there, fires have also been in WA and, of course, in Queensland where they continue to burn. In recent times, and particularly over the course of the balance of this week, we have seen this disaster escalate to an entirely new level. This length of season is, of course, in many senses, unprecedented, but the ferocity and the absence of dousing rains that would normally bring a season like this under greater control is nowhere in sight and so that means a much longer season is planned for. When I was in Victoria yesterday, one of the key points that was made to me, that the most difficult part of their season is typically usually ahead of them at this point going through February and so there is still a very long way to go. As a result of the lengthy nature of this season and the longer way to go, and the comprehensive application of these disasters in so many states, we have traditionally always acted on the posture of respond to request, in relation to the Commonwealth's action. That is what we've been doing throughout the course of many months now, whether it's been the work that the Australian Defence Force were doing in Canungra all those months ago through to most recently, the reactions we've had to income support, income loss payments that were made at the request of the New South Wales government and the many other requests for assistance with road clearing or, indeed, the response that was made with the evacuation yesterday afternoon. We have been responding in relation to the requests that have been made by those state and territory governments.
We now must move our posture as a Commonwealth as we’ve agreed at the National Security Committee this morning from a posture of respond to request, to move forward and to integrate with the local response. This has been the very clear message that I have received on the many fire grounds in the many affected communities that I've visited now over some months but I particularly must say over the last couple of weeks. The scale of the fires is stretching resources on the ground and there are clearly communities that need additional help and in response to that, we must move forward first as a Commonwealth, particularly with the work of our Defence Force, and then integrate with the local operations that are in place in those local communities. So today we are making a number of announcements in terms of what we will be doing to move into that move forward posturing.
First of all, just around half an hour ago, the Governor-General signed off on the call-out of the Australian Defence Force Reserve to surge and bring every possible capability to bear by deploying Army Reserve brigades to fire affected communities across Australia. I want to stress that the Australian Defence Force have already been out there as you saw in great measure yesterday in particular through the evacuation work that you have seen through the work of the Choules, but I would say as I've seen in many places, whether it's been on search and rescue, whether it’s been surveying the fire front, providing the planning and coordination information, whether it’s been providing catering and accommodation support, clearing roads, our defence force have been out there for many, many months. And what this means is we will deploying those more on a move forward basis and taking on these additional reserves which are being called out as a result of the decision we've taken and authorised by the Governor-General today.
A two-star emergency ADF national support co-ordinator, Major General Justin Ellwood, will have national authority over the ADF joint taskforces in each of the affected states working in co-operation to support state emergency authorities. We already have two such taskforces established in New South Wales and in Victoria, a third will be stood up for South Australia, but particularly focusing on Kangaroo Island at present, as well as to support what is occurring in Tasmania, and if further are needed then further will be established based on what we believe to be the requirement on a move forward basis in other states.
The priority of this deployment is to assist ensuring the safety of life, to support the evacuation of affected people, particularly in isolated communities and to provide assistance to isolated communities and support state-managed evacuation centres. It is to move in and to move forward, particularly in areas that have been devastated by fire to support the immediate response needs there and the recovery that will also follow. The ADF surge includes the deployment of up to 3,000 designated ADF Reserve forces, and I will ask both MINDEF and the CDF to go into details of where they will be placed.
Secondly, the HMAS Adelaide, the navy's largest amphibious ship has been readied to join the HMAS Choules and the MV Sycamore, in supporting the evacuation of citizens from fire affected areas along our coastline. The HMAS Adelaide will sail from Sydney this afternoon. I initiated that process earlier this week at the same time that we initiated the process with the Choules to do what they did so successfully yesterday. They will sail this afternoon, they will be located offshore from the fire affected areas from tomorrow afternoon and the Adelaide is fully equipped and I should say, down in the border area between New South Wales and Victoria. The Adelaide is fully equipped for disaster relief and humanitarian aid, is able to operate all ADF helicopters, 400 crew including medical staff, as well as 300 tonnes which have been loaded up in recent days of emergency relief supplies. The Government has also ordered relevant ADF airlift and reconnaissance capacity to preposition at the RAAF East Sale base which will remain the central hub for Defence Response in the Southern areas.
From tomorrow an additional three Chinook helicopters from Townsville will be deployed over the coming week to support a range of resupply, evacuation, and transport tasks, across the breadth of the affected areas, an additional C-17 Globemaster, 2 C-130 Hercules and 3 C-27 Spartans will also be prepositioned to East Sale. And for people in short-term evacuation distress, defence force bases from Brisbane to Adelaide will provide temporary transit accommodation and support arrangements.
The third area that was considered by the ADF today and by the NSC this morning was that following a request from the Australasian Fire and Emergency Service Authorities Council which was made at 8:00pm last evening, for 1 additional water bombing aircraft, today we have committed up to $20 million to lease 4 extra planes to fulfil that request and to meet any anticipated future requests. That will include two long range fixed wings DC-10s with 36,000 litres capacity and two medium range fixed wings large air tankers with an 11,000 litre capacity. The Commonwealth will fully fund the leasing costs with operational costs to be shared with state and territories as usual as they seek to use those assets. They asked for 1, we’ve given them 4. The Government has already processed, I would note, some 20,600 claims for assistance this bushfire season, and delivered nearly $25 million in Australian government disaster recovery payment and Disaster Recovery Allowances as well as deployed mobile service centres and extended Centrelink phone hours including opening this weekend. As with the floods and the drought we can and will ensure that communities and businesses have the help they need.
I’ll be making further announcements, the Government will standing up a national recovery agency along the lines of what we already established for drought and for the response to the North Queensland floods and I’ll have more to say about that in the next few days about those arrangements.
Today it is about ensuring that we deal with the urgent crisis that is existing across fire grounds in four states in particular, to ensure that we are giving everything that is needed on the ground without being asked, we will be turning up and we will be integrating particularly through the amazing work of our Defence Force coming under an integrated command which will be based here out at JOC as it has been now for some time for their other operations.
I want to end again by thanking the state Premiers for their close co-operation and their support. I know where their focus is. My focus is in the same place. We are communicating regularly and constantly and the fire chiefs and the other emergency services leaders are doing an outstanding job, but today it's about keeping safe, putting yourself in a position of safety, wherever you can, following the instructions that are being provided to you, being patient and being understanding of the difficult situation that the country finds itself in in responding at this time, given the absolutely comprehensive nature of this fire disaster, and to know that each and every hour of each and every day governments of both state and federal levels as well as the local level are working hand in hand to ensure we can deliver the support and the resource that that is needed to alleviate your very difficult situation. I will ask MINDEF to make some comments, and also the CDF.
SENATOR THE HON. LINDA REYNOLDS, MINISTER FOR DEFENCE: Prime Minister, thank you very much.
I would like to begin also by extending my condolences to all of those that have been impacted by these catastrophic fires. For those who have lost loved ones, for those who lost their livelihood, their homes and their pets, I extend my condolences. I also want to add my thanks and my admiration to the amazing men and women of the bushfire services and also all other emergency services who are providing enormous service and sacrifice to our nation.
I also want to thank in particular our brilliant ADF for the work that they've been doing for the past two months. Over 2,000 regular and reserve members have been out across Australia supporting a wide variety of activities. We've had men and women from the army, air force and navy. They've been doing everything from damage assessment to fire surveillance and mapping, helicopter support, providing base support, catering, logistics, transport, accommodation, and a wide variety of support. So for that, I'm very grateful and I thank them for their efforts.
Three joint taskforces are now operating in New South Wales, Victoria, as well as now in South Australia and Tasmania as of today to provide command and control of ADF assets in those areas in this difficult time. As the Prime Minister said, they will be led by Two Star Major General, Major General Jake Ellwood who will be located at JOC in Bungendore with all the appropriate authorities.
So what does this mean for the ADF? It means that as we ramp up further in support, our personnel and our military assets can be deployed in a timely manner, and also as the Prime Minister has said in a very forward-leaning arrangement with state and territories. But it also allows the ADF to remain agile and as events unfold, particularly as we see how events today and into the next few days occur, we can respond as quickly and agilely as possible. Also to support evacuees leaving fire zones, Defence is providing temporary accommodation at bases as the Prime Minister said, between Brisbane and Adelaide. That will continue.
The most significant announcement today is the call-out of the army reserves. At the Prime Minister's request early this morning, I signed an instrument requesting the Governor-General call out designated army reserve forces. This includes the 4th Brigade from Victoria, the 5th Brigade from New South Wales and now the 9th Brigade from both South Australia and Tasmania. As well as reserve logistic elements from 17 Brigade which is headquartered in New South Wales. Can I say the Government has not taken this decision lightly. In fact, it is the first time that reserves have been called out in this way in living memory and, in fact, I believe for the first time in our nation's history. In November last year, I requested that the Governor-General authorise a much smaller call-out of 20 reserve personnel for service in Queensland and this was undertaken as a validation exercise in the event that we would need a much larger call-out in this bushfire season, which sadly now has come to pass. So with the Governor-General's concurrence in the last hour, the compulsory call-out will give the CDF the authority to direct reservists to perform continual full-time service, to provide civil aid, humanitarian, medical, civil emergency and also disaster assistance. This will be enhanced with specialist ADF personnel with wide ranging skills, including engineering, medical, logistics and also transport support.
So, building up over time, from the next few days and weeks, as required, up to 3,000 reservists will increase Defence's foot-print and they will reach out to all fire affected areas in coming days. The CDF's four key priorities for reservists under this call-out, are firstly, to provide isolated communities with life-saving supplies for immediate relief. Secondly, to provide evacuation to vulnerable people in isolated communities. Thirdly, assisting with assessment and reopening of vital roads and fourthly, to assist fire services with preparation of fire breaks away from the fire fronts themselves. As I have previously said, at this stage we do have sufficient personnel between full-time and reservists who have been called for that are currently deployed. I've got to say as a reservist myself, our nation's proud history of service, reservists have always performed a critical part in these call-outs for national disasters here in Australia and overseas but it has always been on a voluntary or called-for basis.
From today, reservists who are called out be will be placed on compulsory continuous full-time service for the duration of the call-out order. Which will remain in place until it is no longer needed. This means they will be supported in the same way as their permanent force colleagues and their civilian employment or their day jobs will be protected under legislation. Many of our ADF reserves are already engaged in responding to these fires in many different ways. I also need to make it very clear, particularly to the reservists out there today, who are looking at this action – is that for those reservists who are already engaged in the current emergency response, will be exempt from this call-out. So that includes reservists who are already providing service in voluntary fire services state fire and rescue, state and Federal Police, ambulance, and emergency repair of power and communication company support. Also, ancillary support to the Red Cross. Also any reservists who find themselves, their family or property under threat from fires, of course, will also be exempt from this call-out.
Finally, on the call-out, any business that employs reservists, subject to the call-out orders are eligible for financial remuneration under the employer support payment scheme if specific conditions are met. For those who have any questions on this today, there is a number that you can call. It is 1800 DEFENCE.
So in conclusion - to the families of our defence force personnel as well as all of those emergency services men and women fighting these fires, I thank you all very much for your service and also for those of you in the communities who are supporting our ADF men and women out in the community. Particularly for families, your support for your loved ones in uniform makes their service possible. But I’d also like to thank the Prime Minister for his incredible leadership during this difficult time for our country and also to Minister Littleproud. This has been a whole-of-government effort from the very start. The co-operation at all levels of government, both federally and with state, has been outstanding. We are not out of this yet. But I want to assure all of you that this is what the ADF does best - they get on with the job and they do it really well. All Australians can be assured that the ADF is doing all it can to support our communities in this time of need and I’d end on this point, to say I'm incredibly proud to be the Minister of our ADF and see and know what they're doing. There's probably no prouder Minister for Defence anywhere in the world today. Thank you.
PRIME MINISTER: Thank you, Linda. Angus? Would you like to add further comments?
General Angus J. Campbell, AO, DSC, Chief of the Defence Force: Prime Minister and Minister, I thank you very much for both of your comments. Could I echo the acknowledgement, the respect and admiration that I and the ADF and colleagues in the Commonwealth feel for the efforts of emergency services, fire services and the leadership of states and territories throughout this bushfire crisis.
The announcements today see a lift in our naval on-water presence with HMAS Adelaide joining Choules and Sycamore, an increase in the number of aircraft and helicopters operating in affected areas involving Chinook helicopters, multirole helicopters, light liaison helicopters, as well as P-8 surveillance aircraft, C-17, C-130 and C-27-J transport and lift aircraft. Importantly, the approach of welcoming and opening for temporary transit and support, our bases from Brisbane through to Adelaide is to assist those who have evacuating affected areas to return to home and loved ones where they can.
The Minister and the Prime Minister have offered in some detail the call-out orders that have been issued. Major General Ellwood will command three joint taskforces and others if they are required centred on New South Wales, Victoria and South Australia-Tasmania. His role through those joint taskforces will be to coordinate, engage and work in complement to the direction and intent of states and territory authorities and to utilise the enhanced capabilities of our call-out reserve elements and those specialist elements of the permanent force that will be put together and working in integrated self-contained and self-sustaining teams able to move into areas in coordination with state authorities to assist those isolated communities, to assist persons seeking to evacuate, to support state established evacuation centres and to work with fire agencies, with regard to the cutting of fire breaks or the clearing of roads and any other activity that might assist those isolated communities in terms of resilience, support, care to our people and I emphasise - it's our people. It's your Defence Force and we are here to serve you. And it's an incredible privilege to find myself leading that Defence Force at this time and we are moving out and moving forward to work with state and territory colleagues to do everything we possibly can to assist Australia. Thank you.
PRIME MINISTER: Thanks you Angus. And today's decision puts more boots on the ground, puts more planes in the sky, puts more ships at sea, and puts more trucks to roll in to support affected communities. Today I will also note that the national security committee also considered the events that have taken place very recently in Iraq and I can deal with those matters also by question if you’d like. Let's move to questions.
JOURNALIST: Just in relation to those water bombers, the RFS Chief in New South Wales Shane Fitzsimmons has said today that the Federal Government rejected the business case a couple of years ago for more of those water bombers. Was that a mistake and how quickly will they be able to actually be tackling the fires in Australia if you are leasing them?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, two points - first of all, in response to that business case, the Government responded with two separate decisions of $11 million which brought it up to the same level of capacity as was sought by that business case. There was a first decision which I announced just over a year ago and Linda was the Emergency Management Minister at the time and more recently just before this Christmas, there was a second supplementary investment of $11 million which supported the same business case proposition. That ongoing support will be there at that level in the Budget and going forward. So that business case was addressed through a different method,
JOURNALIST: Was is a mistake not to actually just get the planes though?
PRIME MINISTER: Well what happened was we put the resources in to provide the support for those assets and we have over 147 in fact, and we've just added an additional set of four very large assets to that mix. So we have provided those resources, we will continue to provide those resources. I note that last night at 8:00pm we were asked for 1 by those same agencies and we have provided 4. And so whenever asked, we are responding. But as I said now, we are moving past responding, we're not waiting to be asked, we're moving forward and integrating with what is happening on the round.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister where are the water bombers actually coming from and which world leaders have you called to ask for water bombing assistance?
PRIME MINISTER: These arrangements are done through the arrangement of NAFC. I can ask Rob to comment further on this, but what we need are water bombers that meet the technical and specific requirements of the deployment in Australia. It's not a matter of just trying to hustle up some planes from somewhere around the world. What you need is the precise asset to deal with the situation in Australia. And NAFC is an organisation we work through to source and locate the specific aircraft that we need and meet those payments. Now, two of those will be available within seven days and the other will be available within 14 days is my advice. We received the request at 8:00pm last night and we have actioned it today.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, as of 1.00pm today, there are three emergency warnings, 16 watch and acts in NSW alone, resources are stretched, as you acknowledged - how concerned are you about what we're likely to see at the end of the day?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, over the last many months and particularly in recent weeks, I have had the opportunity to engage directly with people and understand their fear, their concern, their frustration, their anxiety and their anger. When I listen to that carefully, and I understand it, and feel it with them, the response that is required is what I have announced today. The response that is required is to get the boots on the ground, to get the planes in the air, to get the ships out to sea, to ensure the trucks are ready to roll in with the supplies, not just in advance or to support or to try to make contact with these isolated communities which has involved everything from dropping in supplies, I mean out at Mallacoota we've been delivering 12,000 litres of fuel every day. Over 1,000 people were evacuated yesterday, getting contact into those very remote areas. It's also been about what happens after. What I saw particularly last week is what happens after the fire has gone through and how isolated and alone people feel. I experienced that first hand. That has been a key factor in what has led to today's decision.
JOURNALIST: …I want to confirm that you will stay in Australia for the rest of the month?
PRIME MINISTER: Yes, I should have mentioned also, it's already been reported, but I was able to speak to the Prime Minister of India last night. I made it I think pretty clear yesterday that my intention about the upcoming visit to India and Japan but of course the first people to hear about that should be those who had invited us to those meetings. That's why I took the time to be able to make contact directly with the Japanese ambassador last night and I spoke directly to Prime Minister Modi. Both, and Prime Minister Abe was able to relay it to me through his ambassador, their sincerest wishes and deep sympathies to Australia, as did Prime Minister Modi directly. These events they're very aware of and they completely understand. I should stress that both of those scheduled meetings are postponed and we will be moving quickly to identify another opportunity, preferably earlier this year, where our arrangements can align and we look forward to that. There was a lot of work we were looking forward to doing at those meetings, both of those meetings. We were at an advanced stage when it came to our Defence, intelligence and security arrangements with both India and Japan and we were looking to progress those as well as well as broader trade discussions but they both understand that right now the ongoing nature of these crises and also the fact that we will move as the fires roll on, there is a recovery then to be initiated. And the Commonwealth agencies will also play a very significant and often lead role when it comes to things like income support, and disaster relief, and rebuilding businesses and rebuilding infrastructure, which we will do also in concert with the states. I will have more to say about that in the next few days. That will be a very significant focus of my efforts, particularly over the course of this month but also continuing to go out and listen to those who are on the ground and provide what other comfort we can through making those visits.
JOURNALIST: Can we clarify the numbers involved in this extraordinary call-out of reserves. Minister Reynolds I think you said up to 3,000, then you outlined exemptions, does that mean it's 3,000 less those who are exempt or is there a bigger catchment group of 4,000, 5,000, from which you can and will draw?
MINISTER REYNOLDS: Ultimately it will be as many as is required. We are starting the logistics of the call-out today. The processes to contact and identify people and get them enlisted. So that they come under the continuous full-time service requirements. It won't be, we won't be calling out entire brigades. What we will be doing is that the brigades are now already standing up and the taskforces, but we will go through and identify those people that we need, people that have got the trades and skills we need for tasks to undertake. So we've said we've estimated up to about 3,000, but again, it might be less, it depends on what's actually required as we go forward. Because at the moment this is open-ended. So we haven't got an end date for this. So the numbers will ebb and flow. But ultimately we will be there as long as we are needed, until communities are able to sustain a lot of the local logistics themselves through local businesses in particular.
PRIME MINISTER: If we need to call out more, we will. I think that is important. Going across all the announcements we have made today, as you heard, the Minister for Defence had already effectively drilled this exercise earlier to ensure that we were in a position to make this very decision. The decisions that were made in relation to the deployment of the Choules and Sycamore and indeed the Adelaide had been made earlier this week. The loading up of stores and the dealing with getting the Adelaide ready for deployment had been happening now for some days and equally the work we've been able to do to move on the aerial, the water bombers, as I indicated yesterday at the press conference, this is something that Emergency Management Australia working together with the states and territories have been prepositioning for, which means, enables us to move as quickly as we are.
JOURNALIST: Have you spoke on the states about this and have any expressed reservation about this, about you potentially tripping over each other, which is what you said at your press conference?
PRIME MINISTER: Yeah I spoke this morning particularly to those states directly affected, and I spoke to Premier Andrews and Premier Berejiklian and Premier Marshall and Premier Hodgman, all of whom welcomed the initiative. As I made clear and as both Linda and the CDF has said, move forward and integrate. That is the order, that is the direction. Which means to work under the control and command and direction of those local authorities. Now, it was about two weeks ago or thereabouts, after I was out in Ilford and out in Mudgee, what became clear to me at that point and what was a very helpful outcome of that visit and the Defence Minister and I spoke afterwards is that we needed to get Defence liaison officers not just into the headquarters, in Brisbane and in Sydney and in Melbourne, we needed them actually in the incident response centre, whether it was in Bairnsdale, or whether it was in Mudgee or whether it was in Wilberforce or any of these other places, to ensure that we had eyes on the need at a local level and this will be one of the key mechanisms through which Defence can task the brigades that have been called out. We will know what is coming through by our direct liaison in those incident response centres. I was in Bega the other day and speaking to our Defence people there. They know what is happening on the ground. They can relay that up in parallel to the joint taskforce commanders and indeed the two-star and that will mean we will know to move forward and how best to integrate.
JOURNALIST: The RFS Commissioner's business plan that you mentioned before, you have pointed to the one-off funding payments, he said it is hard to plan for the long-term without a dedicated ongoing funding boost, are you going to commit to that?
PRIME MINISTER: Well I just did.
JOURNALIST: So as ongoing [inaudible] money every year or what does that mean?
PRIME MINISTER: As Prime Minister, when I became Prime Minister, this is one of the early decisions I made, was to put that $11 million in, in that year, in response to this need. That has been repeated this year. And as I indicated earlier that will be going into this year's Budget on an ongoing basis.
JOURNALIST: Just in relation to any Commonwealth public health warnings in relation to the smoke. The first instance is fires and people that are injured but there are babies being born in smoke-filled birthing suites, there are parents that are worried about long-term warnings for cancer, pregnant women giving birth to premature babies. What is your advice to families and parents in relation to the long-term health effects of this smoke? Has the National Security Committee received any briefing on this? Are you going to commission any research or do you have any advice to families in relation to that smoke?
PRIME MINISTER: There is an existing process between the States and Territories, and the Health Minister has been directly involved in this as well, which is examining that if the response capability and these health effects. And the advice we have received is that the response that is available to support those health needs at present is working well and there is no requirement for additional support whether it be through hospitals or things of that nature. My advice to those parents – and I completely agree with you about their sense of anxiety about that, and that would also go to elderly people, one of the key actions that is being taken in a lot of the areas, in leave zones, and I saw it yesterday, I saw it down in the South Coast earlier in the week, is moving people out of the affected areas so they can get to places where it is a little less smokey, the haze will come and it will go, as Canberra residents know, as well as Sydney residents know, and everyone else knows depending on which way the wind is blowing but the local health response, your local health providers, your local GP, your local medical services are the ones best placed to advise you. The advice we have received is that capability is very strong and is holding up well.
JOURNALIST: Just in relation to that anger on the ground, I know you have dealt with this issue to some extent but Zoey Salucci-McDermott in Cobargo says you turned your back on her. We've all seen the video. I've watched it, you pat her on the arm and turn around within three seconds. You said twice, both at a press conference yesterday and on A Current Affair, that you talked to this woman. She said you didn't.
PRIME MINISTER: What she spoke to me about was the need for more local fire brigade support. That's what she raised with me when I was talking to her and I went on to meet a number of other people,
JOURNALIST: Why did you walk away from her, do you regret that?
PRIME MINISTER: There were a number of other people there and other people wanting to talk with me as well which is what I went and did. She raised her point with me. I understand her anger. As I said before, Sam, my response to that - I mean I was the first senior leader to go into Cobargo and I understand the first person who is going to walk into that town was going to feel the anger and the fury and the frustration and the loss and the fear that was evident in that community. Now in that community, as others who I met with on that day have said, there was a mixed response. Some were incredibly pleased. Some I embraced, some others didn't wish to, some wanted to shake hands, some didn’t.
JOURNALIST: So are getting your office to follow up with her?
PRIME MINISTER: We will be responding to the need in Cobargo. Her need as she outlined to me on that day was to ensure there was greater RFS support and I have already relayed that on to the RFS. That was the key issue she raised with me. Others I offered to talk to, they didn't want to talk to me and they had some other advice they gave to me - colourfully. I understand that too. I was the first leader to walk into that town. As a result, I anticipated some would feel that way. But I was prepared to go and Jenny and I were prepared to listen and were prepared to offer what comfort we could but the key,
JOURNALIST: And your wife did hug that fireman in Cobargo as well, who was very grateful for that. But as a leader, after that experience and the experience of the firie in the Quaama shed that didn't want to talk to you because he lost his house, what have you learnt as a leader from these last couple of days?
PRIME MINISTER: In all of these incidents, Sam, as you would know because you've been covering these things for a long time, people in these situations have a mix of emotions. These arms have given a lot of hugs in the last three months, in fact they’ve given a lot of hugs over almost the last year and a half in which I have been Prime Minister. Whether it has been comforting the victims of the drought in north Queensland or elderly residents up in Taree. On some occasions people are looking for that. On other occasions they frankly just want to keep their distance. With the brigade captain at Cobargo, he was exhausted. I could see he was exhausted and he just wanted to get back to the shed and have a rest. I was keen for him to have that. There is a lot of criticism and commentary that comes on these things by a capture of a small moment and what you simply seek to do in these circumstances, and you know for Jenny, it's amazing to have her with me when I do this, you try and respect people's space but you know it is a very emotional situation and you have just got to try to manage it as best you can. What I must do is what I'm doing today. The best response I can provide to people who are feeling angry and people who are feeling isolated, for people who are fearful and afraid is to do what I'm doing today.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister do you concede that people aren't just angry about your leadership over these bushfires, they're also angry at what they perceive is a lack of action on climate change by your government? Yesterday you did say you would pursue policies leading up to 2030 that would equate to taking real action on climate change. What does that mean and are you going to be announcing new policies this year?
PRIME MINISTER: We will continue to announce policies in this area as I said at the last election and we will continue to take action on climate change. There is no disagreement at a political level in this country about the need to take action on climate change between the government and Opposition. There is no disagreement about that at all. That was very made very clear at the last election. There is a need, in my view, in my government's view, to pursue a responsible and balanced policy in this area and that is exactly what we are doing. But I've got to tell you, as I’ve toured fire grounds and as I've sat with the victims of these fires, the most constant issue that has been raised with me has been the issue of managing fuel loads in national parks. That has been, particularly where I was in Gippsland, the most common issue raised with me. You raise an important point and a right point about our changing environment and our changing climate. What that means is events such as we've been seeing - and it is the culmination of both the savage drought together with many other impacts, not least being the impacts of arson, and the number of arsonists we have seen through this fire season - is understanding all of those and ensuring that we've got regulations and policies in place that enable us to deal with these longer seasons that don't often come, sometimes with dousing rains. That means you’ve got to deal with hazard management in national parks. As is often the case, those who on one hand say they are seeking those actions on climate change, which we're delivering, can on the same hand, also be those who don't share the same urgency of dealing with hazard reduction. These are difficult issues to balance and resolve and this, of course, will be one of the things that we will consider when Premiers come together after they've been dealing with the fires and that's where they want to be at the moment. I have spoken to Premiers about this. They don't want to be coming to meetings, they want to be dealing with the fires, which is exactly where they are and they'll continue to do that. It is one of many issues but I’ve got to tell you that the issue that is needed today is boots on the ground, planes in the air, ships at sea and trucks rolling into communities that have been impacted. Thank you all very much.
JOURNALIST: Just one on Iraq and Iran,
PRIME MINISTER: Iraq? Ok,
JOURNALIST: Just one on Iraq, the killing of Iranian General Qasem Soleimani, you said the National Security Committee discussed it. What did they discuss? Did the US give advance notice and where does it leave the force protection for Australia's maritime security construct element?
PRIME MINISTER: Let me deal with a couple of things on this. I obviously won't go into the sensitive details of things that are discussed in the National Security Committee, and you wouldn't expect me to. But I will say that what we are urging and are in constant contact with our partners is exercising restraint and pursuing de-escalation when it comes to these issues. Our goal remains a united and stable Iraq, which is what also the Canadian government have said and we echo the sentiments that they have expressed. We are very mindful and have spent a lot of effort focusing on those Australians who find themselves in the Middle East at this point and particularly in Iraq and also in diplomatic posts in the region and assuring ourselves of the protections that are in place and support that is there for those individuals and we are monitoring that situation incredibly closely. I would also say that we have been aware of the concerns that the United States have had in relation to some practices by the Iranians for some time and I will leave it to them to talk to what their actions are. But we've been aware of their strong views about those things for many years and I think that speaks for itself. But what we are pursuing is a restraint and a de-escalation of the situation and staying in constant contact with our partners over this issue as well as ensuring the protection of those Australians who find themselves in that region. You mentioned the construct, the Toowoomba hasn't yet left but it will be making its way firstly to Mumbai, I understand, and it will be steaming towards there in a few days' time. We will continue to monitor that situation very closely.
JOURNALIST: There are reports in the UK though that thousands of British troops are there and they weren't told, they weren't given any warning of this action. Was Australia given any warning?
PRIME MINISTER: The United States took this action based on their own information and they took that action without discussing it with partners.
MINISTER REYNOLDS: Can I also just add in relation to force protection, for all of our 2,000 deployed personnel, force protection is always under constant reassessment and that is particularly so in the Middle East. We have personnel in Iraq in three separate locations and the CDF and his team are now doing a reassessment but we are making sure that they are as safe as we can make them.
PRIME MINISTER: And there is contact that is occurring, as I said before. The Defence Minister will speak to her counterpart this afternoon. The Foreign Minister has already spoken to the counterpart in the United States. So there is a constant engagement there and I will be undertaking whatever engagements I need to do at that level as well.
JOURNALIST: Are there any concerns for Australians in the Middle East that you have?
PRIME MINISTER: Well it's a dangerous area, it always has been. I was there with the CDF just over a year ago. The Governor-General was only just recently there, just before Christmas. It is a very dangerous area. We have people at Taji, we have people there at Baghdad airport, we have people in the headquarters there, in fact 280 Defence Force personnel who are there as we speak and let's not forget also the diplomatic personnel that are in these places. Our Embassy there in Baghdad has moved to a very heightened sense of security and is effectively in lockdown and that is the appropriate response I think given the security situation.
JOURNALIST: Has there also been any advice as to whether fuel here could sky rocket as a consequence of what happened?
PRIME MINISTER: Look no, there has been no advice on those things at present. I should also stress, given you’ve raised that issue, we will also be in contact today with AEMO given the risks to the Snowy Hydro assets and generation and capability and transmission lines there which have a fairly significant supply to especially Victoria. That's something that have been managed through AEMO. Our advice currently on that, is that obviously could have a big impact on electricity supplies but, in isolation of themselves, that can be managed but, obviously, given the extreme weather conditions we have at the moment, the loss of that transmission capability, combined with other high demands, could obviously put a very serious strain on the system. So the Energy Minister will be liaising closely with AEMO on those issues as well.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister there are already reports off the back of this press conference that one of the reasons you have decided to take control of this situation is you were frustrated that New South Wales was not accepting offers of assistance. Sharri Markson has been reporting that, has there been any issues or problems with you offering assistance and New South Wales offering a rosier position on the ground than actually was the case?
PRIME MINISTER: What we've been doing is we’ve been working closely with New South Wales. As I said up until now, we've been working to a respond to request posture and we believe, because of the escalation of the scale of what is occurring across now specifically - most significantly four states, that is really going to stretch resources now. I saw that on the ground when I visited communities, that it really does now require us to cut down the response time, for us to move first and move in and integrate under that local command to ensure that these gaps are closed. This is in no way any criticism of any state agency. As I started this press conference I complimented the states, I compliment Premier Berejiklian, I complement Shane Fitzsimmons who has been as always an outstanding leader. He is a fire chief that I think, together with other chiefs, who have done an amazing job both in preparing for this incredibly serious event and leading that response throughout this event.
MINISTER REYNOLDS: That's also one of the reasons why we have pushed out the liaison officers so that we have made it very clear through Rob Cameron’s organisation the EMA, that the states actually know what they can ask, because this is an unprecedented level of support. So part of it has been also for us to communicate early what we can do and for the states then to be in a position to feel comfortable to ask us.
PRIME MINISTER: So for all Australians today, stay safe, listen to the instructions, stay patient, be kind and support each other as I know Australians will. In crises and disasters like this, I always see the best of Australians and the best of Australians will be on display, particularly those very much in the face of that ferocious fire front. I want to thank all of those for everything they're doing today, every child they comfort, every service they render, in ensuring that we get through today and that we get into the rebuilding phase. I want to assure Australians about this: we will rebuild. At a Commonwealth level, we will be playing a significant role, as we have in response to previous disasters, to ensure we meet and beat this challenge as Australians always have. Thank you very much.
Press Conference - Bairnsdale, VIC
3 January 2020
THE HON. DARREN CHESTER MP, MINISTER FOR VETERANS AND DEFENCE PERSONNEL: Thanks, everyone, for coming out today. We really do appreciate your interest in our region. It's a really difficult time for the whole East Gippsland community. I'm obviously here with the Prime Minister Scott Morrison, and it's terrific to have you, Prime Minister in East Gippsland. We'd rather have you under other circumstances, but it is good to have you boss, and showing your support to our community. I've got Tim Bull here, the Member for Gippsland East and the Mayor, Councillor John White a state member of parliament as well. And members of the Australian Defence Force who have been so instrumental in our recovery and relief operations. I’ve got to say, having been OUT on the fire ground today and meeting with people who've lost everything, their spirit and their determination is simply magnificent. The support they're receiving from family and friends is critical. The way our community's rallying together is quite amazing. But to have the professional people here in the incident control centre, to have the volunteers out on the ground, to see them all working so well to make sure that we absolutely minimise the risk to people during these bushfires, but support them as they get through into the recovery stage of the operation - we're in for some pretty tough times again over the next 36 hours. We’ve just received briefings again about the risk, and the number one consideration of us all is the safety of our community. So again, thanks for being here today and to get the message out to our constituents, our people, our families right across the region. It's great to let them know that help is available to them. The Prime Minister will talk, I'm sure, about the extraordinary effort of the Australian Defence Force here in East Gippsland. And I certainly welcome your ongoing support for our community in a very desperate time. Thank you so much. Prime Minister.
PRIME MINISTER: Thank you, Darren. To you and state colleagues as well, and to Brigadier Laidlaw, and to Rob Cameron from Emergency Management Australia, it has been a gruelling period of time here, obviously, in recent days, and there are some gruelling days ahead, as you all know. What I have been pleased to see here has been the absolute integration of the local efforts together with the state efforts and the efforts of the Australian Defence Force. On arriving in Victoria earlier today and being briefed at Sale, there are three very clear focuses of tasking that has been provided to the ADF, and that they are following through in exemplary fashion.
The first of those is to assist with the evacuations that are taking place as we speak now, down in Mallacoota. I report that 57 have already left on the MV Sycamore - they're already on their way - and we expect that, that by 5:00pm this afternoon, the Choules will also be leaving as you know they can take around 900 on that vessel. So around about 1,000 people should have been evacuated out of that area this afternoon. Also I should stress that, in addition to the evacuation effort – and in this evacuation effort, as the Premier said yesterday - it being done in a very coordinated way and a very calm way, reduces the risk of injury and threatening people's safety. And I was pleased to see today, even as we were coming in today, the orderly way in which people are leaving the area - being patient in the queues, whether it's at the service stations or elsewhere. I think that's extraordinarily helpful. But people getting to places of safety right now is incredibly important because, in about 24 hours from now, or even less, the situation will be far more dangerous and, when people are trying to move in those circumstances, then they're obviously putting themselves at great risk and potentially others as well. So that evacuation effort today is extremely important and it's had a very big focus from the Commonwealth.
A second part of the ADF's tasking has been providing the support to isolated communities. Of course, Mallacoota indeed is receiving 12,000 litres of fuel each and every day to ensure that the centre of that town remain operational. That is being done principally through aerial support. And that will continue. Providing this contact into a lot of the isolated communities that you see throughout the East Gippsland area is one of the great challenges, and many of those who are still unaccounted for in this part of the fire grounds are because they are in a lot of those remote communities, and it's very difficult to get to them. But the air support to provide communications in these areas and to provide continuing supplies is a very important part of what the ADF is being tasked to do here, and they are working hand in glove here with the local incident control centre as well as plugging into the broader state-wide effort.
The third area where the ADF is very focused at present is in ensuring that we can keep and we can open up road access to the various parts of the district that have been closed off. And that has been done through the engineers and they are working in with the State Emergency Service, who are doing a tremendous job as well, to ensure that we can get some of these key roads open. But that is a big challenge, and that will particularly be a big challenge in the days ahead when we're confronted with such significant weather conditions and fire threats.
The ADF is also working now with the state government on setting up evacuation centres and providing accommodation - not a tent city, but at a number of those locations that are available - Cerberus is likely to be selected for that task, as is Bandiana. The Sale base has a different role and that is a staging point for operations in assisting with all the things I’ve been referring to before. But all of this will continue to be considered carefully as the planning is put in place. What you can see here is the Australian Defence Force stepping up, along with the many other Commonwealth agencies - whether it's providing support through the payments - earlier today, when I had the opportunity to be with the Churchmans out in Sarsfield, as well as John Kinniburgh, and to see the devastation on their properties - the Churchmans' property, in particular, it is a reminder of the terrible economic impact in the destruction of these primary producers and these businesses. There will be a big rebuilding effort here in East Gippsland, as there has been, and there will need to be in many other parts of the country, as disasters have befallen them. The Commonwealth will play a key role in working together with state and in particular local authorities in building those businesses back up, in building the infrastructure again and ensuring that we can see a recovery of the area. Not just physically, but also economically, to provide those ongoing services that are necessary.
Our concerns are obviously now looking out over the next sort of 24 hour – 48 hour period, this is a ferocious fire that is still out there and the climactic conditions are going to be very difficult to contain that in the next 24 to 48 hours. That's why the evacuation messages are so incredibly important. These fires are at a scale that has been said, on many occasions now, unprecedented - particularly for this time of year, and the length of the fire season, and the absence of the dousing rain that can tend to see some of these larger fires getting under control under different circumstances. But that's not what’s present here.
But what is present here, as I saw out at Lucknow this morning, is the tremendous community spirit. The greatness of Australians in these times of great difficulty. And as a reminder today, this is a time to focus on the task in front of us and coming together and working closely together. I can assure you that is happening absolutely between the Commonwealth and the state government. The Premier here in Victoria and I are in constant contact, and those in New South Wales should know that that is also the case there in New South Wales. We're also standing up today – the volunteer firefighting payments, arrangements in South Australia and in Tasmania, I’ve been in contact with the Premiers there and we're continuing to talk about those arrangements here. That's a matter for the Victorian government. From here, I'll be returning to Melbourne, where I'll have the opportunity to be briefed at headquarters there on the broader state-wide efforts. But in particular here what I've been pleased to see is the community spirit, the community response, despite the terrible and devastating impacts of these fires - the resilience of those who've lost everything and taking great comfort of those who live around and about them as neighbours, as friends, as community members, and the way they've been able to support them at this great time of need. That, combined with the tremendous experience and professionalism of the people who are working out of this very building and the support they're being provided by the Australian Defence Force, providing every plane, every ship, every truck that is necessary to ensure we continue to supply these communities and support them in every possible way we can.
Happy to take some questions.
JOURNALIST: Your reception here was a lot warmer than in Cobargo. How would you respond to what happened there?
PRIME MINISTER: People are frustrated. People have suffered great loss. They're feeling very raw, particularly where I was yesterday. And that's the case in many parts of the country. And so I understand how people are feeling. And however they wish to respond is a matter for them. All I seek to do is to provide the support of the Commonwealth government and to assure them of everything we are doing to support them in this time of need, whether it's through direct assistance payments or whether it's the work of the Australian Defence Force or getting in behind the emergency services effort here, flying in fuel, flying in supplies, transporting firefighters - I understand there are more firefighters heading south from Queensland at the moment, and we welcome that. Prime Minister Ardern was in contact with me earlier today, and there are more firefighters coming from New Zealand. Prime Minister Marape from Papua New Guinea has also been sending very warm messages of support for his friends here in Australia. And so we're just there to support people in every way we can, however we find them, however they feel.
JOURNALIST: With all due respect, it didn't seem like you were supporting them - when a woman expressed her concerns, there was a bit of an awkward moment - you walked away. Is that really offering support?
PRIME MINISTER: I stood there with the same lady that you're referring to. We talked about what she was asking for, which was greater support for the firefighting effort in that part of New South Wales. So we talked about that.
JOURNALIST: Are you surprised that the attacks are personal, personally directed to you?
PRIME MINISTER: I don't take it personally. I just see it as a sense of frustration and hurt and loss and anger that is out there about what is the ferocity of these natural disasters. And I understand that, and we will seek to provide that comfort and support in whatever way we can.
JOURNALIST: About Andrew Constance on Sunrise this morning saying you got the welcome you deserved?
PRIME MINISTER: I've known Andrew for a long time, and I've reached out to him today. Andrew, like so many in that part of New South Wales – I mean, his neighbour lost his own property there, and he's been defending his own property there. He's deeply part of that community. So I can understand how Andrew would be feeling at the moment. So I've reached out to him today, and offered that apology to him. I was under the understanding that we had made contact with him. That wasn't the case and that's regretted. But I assumed that he was otherwise occupied on that day, which would be completely understandable. But Andrew's been through a terrible, terrible experience and ordeal, and so I totally understand how he'd be feeling.
JOURNALIST: Do you understand that this isn't just anger about what people have lost, but also just anger directed at your leadership, which is what people are saying?
PRIME MINISTER: People are angry. I understand it. People have suffered great loss. People are hurting. People are raw. That's what happens in natural disasters. And we will continue to stay focused on exerting all of our effort to deliver all of the resource and all of the support to ensure that all of these communities can come through.
JOURNALIST: But you don't believe that that actually means people are angry at your leadership?
PRIME MINISTER: People are angry, and they will, if people want to direct that at me, that is up to them. It's not something that will distract me. It is something that I will empathise with. It is something that I understand. It's not something for me to take personally. My job is to stay focused on ensuring that we have the maximum coordination of effort across many states.
JOURNALIST: These criticisms have come from your own party.
PRIME MINISTER: It's the same answer.
JOURNALIST: [Inaudible] evacuation efforts in other areas apart from Mallacoota? I’m thinking particularly of the Corryong fire, where there’s I think the ADF is quite involved, I was wondering if you or anybody else can provide some information about that today?
PRIME MINISTER: Brigadier, did you want to say anything on that one?
BRIGADIER DOUG LAIDLAW, ADF commander of the East Gippsland fires joint taskforce: Thank you. At this stage, the task that we have before us to support an evacuation effort is really to look at where short-term crisis accommodation might be made available for those folk leaving those areas. We have a number of plans which are being worked up at the moment, and that will involve preparation of Defence establishments that the Prime Minister has talked about. We may also remain agile as to whether we have to look at other centres to be constructed to support whatever might unfold over the weekend. We are making preparations to see that we've got those necessary people and equipment available to do that. But we've got to remain agile to see how things unfold over this high-risk period over the next couple of days.
JOURNALIST: There was talk of, correct me if I’m wrong, of a road convoy to get people out of the Corryong area at some stage today. Can you elaborate?
BRIGADIER LAIDLAW: I can't give any further detail on that, no, sorry.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, have you received any more requests for assistance or resources from New South Wales or Victoria over the last couple of days?
PRIME MINISTER: These requests are in real-time and they are flowing through by our embedding in the headquarters both in Homebush in New South Wales and here in Melbourne. As the Premier has already outlined to you here in Victoria, every single request, every single proposal that's been put forward, we have been meeting. And we will continue to do that. The same is true in New South Wales. But I've got to tell you, we're going beyond that. What we are doing now, as these fires continue to rage across a larger and larger area, is I tasked earlier this week the Defence Force to be forward-leaning in both to identify additional supports that they can be providing at a local level and at a state level, and that included, obviously, positioning of naval assets, and we're still working on those things at the moment. But our Defence Forces and all of our other agencies are not just waiting for requests - they are seeking to pre-position before receiving them and, in other cases, just to move forward and provide that support. One of those areas where I'm particularly focused at the moment is the support that will be required on the other side - what we should see, or what we may see, over the next couple of days, where you have communities which may again be isolated and the support that will be needed there for supplies. In particular, whether they be the most basic of supplies in terms of food and water in some of these isolated communities and other potential evacuations that might need to be undertaken. And so these are the things that we're doing. These are the things that we're doing. These are the things that need to be done. And the government is just getting on with that job, working closely with our state counterparts and ensuring that this is done in a very coordinated way.
JOURNALIST: You said on radio this morning that at this stage you’re still open to going to India in nine days. Is that still the case? If it is, is it really appropriate to leave the country when it's in so much desperation?
PRIME MINISTER: The National Security Committee is going to hook up actually in the morning on this. I'm inclined not to proceed with that visit. There are some issues that I need to resolve formally, through what you’d expect when you make a decision of that nature. To work though those issues with the other Ministers. But that is my inclination at this point, I’ll make a further announcement on that and we’ll make the arrangements accordingly.
JOURNALIST: Have you reached out to world leaders to see if you can use their aircraft? In France and Canada, they’re sitting dormant, it’s winter. Can we borrow that?
PRIME MINISTER: These are things that our emergency management authorities and our chiefs and other work through all the time to locate where potential other assets are. As you know just over a couple of weeks ago, before Christmas, we increased the amount of funding for the firefighting fleet - our aircraft - by $11 million. That was on top of the $15 million we already had in. We're also now looking at what additional requests - it has been now quite a few days now where we have been looking at the options available to us to source other aircraft.
JOURNALIST: Is that looking likely?
PRIME MINISTER: We’ll be able to respond to the requests that we have from the states.
JOURNALIST: There have been further requests made since that $11 million?
PRIME MINISTER: There is a request that has only just very, very recently came through, but we are I think well pre-positioned to be able to respond to that.
JOURNALIST: Is that in terms of funding for the aircraft or aircraft themselves?
PRIME MINISTER: It follows the normal arrangements we have between the states, and the territories and the Commonwealth. We all have a cost-funding sharing arrangement, and we'll be meeting our obligations and more, if needed.
JOURNALIST: The Premier confirmed yesterday that the state would be rebuilding the Clifton Creek Primary School. Are there any such specific promises that the federal government can make?
PRIME MINISTER: To work shoulder to shoulder with the state government. I mean the Commonwealth government also as I’ve said to a number of those whose businesses were affected today, provides cash grant support to small businesses, particularly in the short-term. There are other forms of cash-grant assistance that we'll be looking very carefully at for the rebuilding effort. We want to ensure that that rebuilding effort uses as much of the local resources as is possible and to support the local economy. Our minds have already turned to that recovery, reconstruction effort and ensuring that we have the right grants and paperwork to make sure it's as seamless as possible. This proved very essential when we responded to the North Queensland flood crisis earlier in the year getting those payments out quickly. We'll be looking to follow a very similar path.
JOURNALIST: The New South Wales fire chief Greg Mullins, he has compared the way you’re handling these bushfires to the way Trump has handled the mass shootings. How did you feel about those comments?
PRIME MINISTER: I really just remain focused on the job that I have to do, this isn’t about any one individual – certainly not me or anyone else. We all have to do the job that we have to do. I'm going to keep focused on doing that job, I’m going to keep turning up in places that need our support, and our assistance and our encouragement, and I'll continue to do that each and every day while working - what we need to work back in Canberra with the support of the agencies and the coordination of the Australian Defence Forces. The role of the Australian Defence Force will become greater and greater in the days ahead, particularly when the things that they do - the airlifting, the evacuations, the engineering support, the accommodation, the evacuation centres - all of this become more and more required as these fires get larger and larger. And so we'll be running that on a daily basis, on a very close watch. And I think Australians can be confident of that being the case.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister do you regret not listening to Greg Mullins advice earlier this year and the other former emergency leaders that you needed to have more preparations in place for this summer fire season?
PRIME MINISTER: As I said at the time, we took the advice of the fire commissioners. And the fire commissioners' advice were the same as that which is being provided. So we've acted on that advice. We have acted on the advice of the fire commissioners who are there right now and who were preparing us for this season. And that preparation included - in particular - ensuring we had a larger aerial/aviation firefighting fleet in place, and they were one of the many things that we did to get us to where we were going into these fires. I want to be really clear that the response that has been made by our firefighting agencies, our emergency services, our Australian Defence Forces has prevented the loss of many lives and many properties and so no-one went into this fire season thinking that we weren't facing a very big challenge. We indeed thought we would be facing a very similar challenge last year. Over the course of the last 12 months what has made it even more difficult has obviously been the dryness, the last time I was here in East Gippsland, was with Darren, we were looking at the issues of the drought here. So to be here today talking about fires and the response to fires brings those two great disasters that have been impacting our country together. And so these are things that our State agencies, our Federal agencies, our Defence Force have been preparing for. Had they not been able to do that, then I think, although what we have seen has been terribly tragic, particularly with so many still unaccounted for, compared to previous events, they have done an outstanding job and I commend them for their great efforts and in particular for their preparations. Thank you very much.
Press Conference - Sydney, NSW
2 January 2020
PRIME MINISTER: Earlier today at the invitation of the family, Jenny and I attended the funeral and memorial service for Geoff Keaton. To be there with his partner and his parents and his broader family, it was important to be able to honour his great sacrifice and his tremendous service. Sadly, we will be attending two more of these services in the not too distant future. It was also tremendous to be there with the men and women of the Horsley Park Rural Fire Service Brigade as they provided their guard of honour for their mate. So from all of the nation to Jess and the family, we extend our deepest sympathies and to those who will be gathering together for similar services in the near future, we extend that to them also.
The priority today is fighting fires and evacuating, getting people to safety. What is incredibly important is that we continue to maintain the focus on these very important tasks. Those tasks are being well led and run by our State authorities, both in Victoria and in New South Wales and I am in constant contact with Premiers of both of those States. I am also mindful, though, of the emerging situation in South Australia and even in Tasmania and we will continue to work closely with those States, where the need arises.
At a Commonwealth level, our task has been to fully support and provide whatever assistance is necessary through all the various agencies of the Commonwealth. Now, that in order has gone from the provision of disaster payments that have now exceeded some more than $21 million in New South Wales alone and we expect more of that to continue in Victoria as the full devastation of the fires there becomes more evident and the damage assessments and people are able to make claims on those funds. But that has been an important task for the Commonwealth, working with the States, where the assistance has been triggered to get those payments to people as quickly as possible and I want to thank all of those and Services Australia who have been working to be able to deliver those payments and support but also I should say the State Government agencies who have directly are involved in the administering of those payments.
There is also the work that is being done through Emergency Management Australia. It is so important, particularly as we are going through what can be the very dangerous exercise of evacuations and getting people to safety, as the Premier of Victoria Dan Andrews was just saying a few moments ago, that this be done in a very coordinated and safe way and so it is important, as we work through those evacuations, that people continue to remain patient and remain calm and to follow instructions. For those places where there is still stores and other assistance to be provided, it is on its way. I have just now come off the phone speaking to the CDF, General Houston - Campbell I should say, to ensure that all of that effort is being deployed right around the country, as it is needed. The other important assistance that is being provided by the Commonwealth is of course the support provided by the defence forces themselves as I have just noted. As you know, we have deployed naval efforts which we moved earlier this week and there are other assets that have been identified and are awaiting tasking. All of these assets, I should stress, whether it is the Black Hawks or any of the other things that are being made available, that is being done to, A) get it in readiness to deploy and then, secondly, it is then activated at the request of the State agencies. What you cannot have in these situations is Governments stepping over the top of each other in responding to a natural disaster like this. It must follow a clear chain of command. It must follow the headquarters model which is in place and which Commonwealth authorities are embedded in, both in New South Wales and in Victoria. In both New South Wales and Victoria, there are joint task forces which have been stood up by Defence which are coordinating the Defence engagement in each of those responses and they are fully plugged in to the headquarters in both New South Wales and in Victoria.
With the roads now open out up the Cooma Road but also up to Sydney, we know that people are making their way back to Sydney or other places where they have come from, where they were holidaying down the south coast. I would continue to just ask people to be patient. I know you can have kids in the car and that there is anxiety and there is stress and the traffic is not moving quickly but the best thing to do - the best thing that helps those out there volunteering, out there trying to restore some order to these situations is for everyone just to be patient. That help will arrive. There are parts of both obviously Victoria and New South Wales which have been completely devastated, with a loss of power and the loss of communications. Every absolute effort is in train to ensure that those things can be stood up as soon as possible. In some cases, we have been able to get tankers in to restore fuel supplies, that is now greatly assisting. There are other places which are still too difficult to get these supplies into now but we will be able to do that as soon as we possibly can.
Defence has been assisting in providing advice to the communications companies to assist in getting communications restored as soon as possible and the same things are being done when it comes to standing up energy supplies. In particular, down in Cobargo and places like that, where we know, where dairies have been milking and they simply have to pour the milk down the hill because of the lack of power to those areas at this time. That is the tragedy of what is occurring as a result of these disasters. But I really do want to commend the State agencies and their leaders, both within the fire services and other emergency management agencies that are coordinating this response and leading it both in Victoria and in New South Wales.
From this point on, what the Commonwealth will continue to do is to support those operational efforts. We will also be there to support the recovery efforts and they will start coming into being in the weeks ahead and months ahead indeed and I have already had a number of discussions about the various payments and forms of assistance that go to small businesses that have been impacted and the category C assistance which is already available in so many local government areas around the country, in these affected areas. That support will be very important and there are other levels of assistance that we can move to as we saw was so effective up in response to the North Queensland floods. Making sure that support flows quickly and effectively is so important to get the recovery effort up and running after these fires. But unlike a flood, where the water will recede, in a fire like this, it goes on and it will continue to go on as those in the agencies have advised us, until we can get some decent rain that can deal with some of these fires that have been burning now for many, many months.
So my simple request is to be patient. To have confidence in the State agencies that are leading the operational response on the ground. If you are in a position where you can get yourself to safety, then please do that and follow the instructions that are available to you. If you are in a position where you have to hold and wait, then know that there is support that will get to you. It is already on its way and in those places where it has already been able to be delivered, we thank those who were able to get that support through to where it is needed. The stores will then be built up again, particularly using the assets and support of the ADF. There is a major evacuation, I have already alluded to it and what is happening in Victoria at the moment with the [HMAS] Choules assisting with that. There has been no request from New South Wales of a similar ADF support for an evacuation of that nature on the south coast given that the roads are open. So if you are able to get yourself in your vehicle and drive back to Sydney or Canberra or where ever you have come from, then that is the advice you are receiving to follow that local instruction. I might leave it there for now. We will take some other questions. And I will ask David to make any further comments as minister responsible.
THE HON. DAVID LITTLEPROUD MP, MINISTER FOR WATER RESOURCES, DROUGHT, RURAL FINANCE, NATURAL DISASTER AND EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT: Thanks PM, can I firstly acknowledge and congratulate the exemplary efforts of our States in the way that they have led their agencies through these fire legacy that started back in September in Queensland. Every jurisdiction has stood up and they do that not only for their own States but we work together in a coordinated way. Their peak body AFAC is working constantly in making sure that we share resources around the country to make sure that everything that can be done is being done and also work through the Commonwealth in making sure we bring in those international firefighters that are here from the United States and Canada and New Zealand as we have reciprocated for them in their hour of need. Obviously, we will continue to work with AFAC and the States as they put further requests in. The States are doing everything they humanly possibly can and so too is the Commonwealth. Let me just say to those people that are frustrated waiting for whether it be supplies or electricity or even fuel, can we just say to them, please be patient. Everything that humanly possibly can be done is being done. We understand the situation you are in. We cannot put more Australians in harm's way in trying to deliver these services as quickly as some would like it. So we are getting there as quickly as we can. Obviously some of the decisions in restoring some of those services just take time and that is why the Australian Defence Force, with the assets they have, have been called upon to bring those in where it is possible and where it is safe. But that will continue to happen but we just say to every Australian in those fire zones, it is also important now that you listen to the direction of those emergency management personnel on the ground. Those men and women are putting their lives on the line. We have already had too many fatalities in these fires and, sadly, we have had three brave Australians who were serving their community and their country who have made the ultimate sacrifice. So out of respect to them, it is your responsibility to listen to those emergency service personnel, to do what they tell you but to be prepared and to act now. This is not "She will be right" sort of moment. This is a serious situation as we get into the weekend. It is imperative, it is imperative that you look after yourselves. There is a responsibility to look after yourselves and your families and you owe it to the men and women who are fighting the fires to keep you safe, to do exactly what they say.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister you keep saying don't panic, I am not panicking, be patient, have confidence, but when you look at all the deaths and all the people unaccounted for, all the homes lost, at what point should we start to worry or panic or be concerned that firefighters can't or authorities can't do anything to stop the sort of weather we are having and the sort of bushfire seasons we are having and that we’ve got a real long term crisis starting to begin here?
PRIME MINISTER: There is no doubt natural disasters are termed that way, Andrew because that is what they are. They are natural disasters. They wreak this sort of havoc when they affect our country as they have for a very long time and the scale and length of this bushfire season is something I have referred to now on many occasions. The first fire incident that I attended with Jenny was back in Canungra back in September and these fires have ranged through Queensland, South Australia, New South Wales, Victoria, Tasmania and there were concerns in Western Australia. That is all true. The best way to respond is the way that Australians have always responded to these events and that is to put our confidence in those who are fighting these fires and who are experienced and know what they are doing, the agencies that prepare 24/7, seven days a week, that is what their job is. Emergency Management Australia at a Commonwealth level, its task is to ensure that in times like this, there is a fully coordinated response between the Commonwealth and the States and even at the local level and the payments are appropriate and they are triggered and they are actioned and that is what is occurring. What we are saying is we cannot control the natural disaster but what we can do is control our response, what we can do is support those who are out there putting themselves at risk by showing the patience and the calm that is necessary, that enables them to do their job and we need to do that for as long as it takes and it will cost whatever it costs to ensure that we can continue to deploy this very well coordinated response. In the midst of the disaster, I understand the anxiety and I understand the fear that is there for many and I understand the frustration but this is a natural disaster. Natural disasters are best dealt with through the methodical, well-coordinated response that we are seeing today. If it were not for that response over these many months - and you're right Andrew, we have seen far too many lost and as the Premier in Victoria has just indicated, still many unaccounted for in a lot of these small communities in East Gippsland and it will be some time before we are able to know where they are and if they are well or indeed they have been lost. The way to ensure we do that job, whether it is an evacuation or the med-evacs that are occurring as we speak, is to continue to do it in the responsible and well-coordinated way that we are doing. Had we not done that, many more would have been lost and many more properties will be lost.
JOURNALIST: On that response Prime Minister, Lake Conjola, Ron Coote and his wife lost their home and they haven't had a drink of water, there is families there who haven’t got nappies for their children. This is 48 hours since the fire ripped through. They are saying the response has been completely inadequate and they are just desperate for some help.
PRIME MINISTER: I can understand their frustration and that’s why we say in these circumstances some of these parts of the country are very difficult for State authorities and agencies to be able to get the support into. This is a fire front that was running pretty much all the way up the New South Wales border, all the way up to the upper reaches of the South Coast and Lake Conjola sits in the middle of that. I know the area very well. So there are many areas that are in that situation right now. That is why it is important to allow the response to just roll out and do it as effectively and quickly and safely as possible.
JOURNALIST: With respect though Prime Minister, do you understand the frustration of people when you keep saying this is a State issue, this is the State agencies in control of this? Because we have fires raging all around the country and you're the Prime Minister.
PRIME MINISTER: That is why the Defence Forces are out there, that’s why our agencies are providing for the payments. That’s why our agencies are coordinating responses between Commonwealth resources and State resources. That is what the Commonwealth does in these situations and that is what the Commonwealth will continue to do and what we won't allow to happen is for Governments to be tripping over each other in order to somehow outbid each other in the response. What is needed is the coordinated response that these agencies planned for in circumstances like this. I understand the frustration, I understand the anxiety. I understand the fear but what I also understand is the need to allow the professionals and the experts who plan and then operationalise these responses to do their job and to give them every support and every resource, from the Prime Minister to the Premier, to the Mayor.
JOURNALIST: You’ve talked a lot about anxiety and fear and terror in the community and you talked about operational issues today. What about the long-term threat? All the experts say this event is turbo-charged by climate change and a lot of people would say your Government is not doing enough about climate change. What about the long-term threat and what is your Government doing to allay those fears and anxieties?
PRIME MINISTER: I've always acknowledged the link, as has the Minister, between the broader issues of global climate change and what that means for the world's weather and the dryness of conditions in many places. But I am sure you would also agree that no response by any one government anywhere in the world can be linked to any one fire event and I don't think you're suggesting that here in New South Wales, Victoria or anywhere else. The Government’s plans on climate change are very clear and the achievements we are making we have set out well. This year, 2020, is the year we beat the Kyoto 2020 commitment. We don't just beat it by a bit, we beat it by a lot. We are one of the few countries that can actually say that. We have the policies and plans to ensure that we will meet and I believe beat our 2030 commitments and we will continue to manage those issues responsibly. Right now though, as I said, my focus right now to deal with the anxiety in the community is the anxiety about getting the support and supplies and getting people to safety and ensuring that our firefighters have every support they need and, as I said, I am in constant contact with the Premiers in terms of what, if any, other additional assistance they need to get the job done on the ground. When I speak to the firefighters, when I speak to those who are involved in the operational effort, that is what they want from us. They want support for what they need to do and that is what we are giving them.
JOURNALIST: So you said in your opening statement that other assets are identified and awaiting tasking and also that other levels of assistance that we can move to are there. Can you explain what both of those are?
PRIME MINISTER: At this stage, is still in a planning phase. We have a number of naval assets here in New South Wales that have been assessed for how they can be tasked and to put them in a state of readiness. They haven't been called upon by the states. The naval assets that, in particular, Victoria has requested they are in place. We are also tasking Spartans and C-130s to assist with any evacuation effort in Victoria but the weather conditions there are making that very difficult. Some of the other aviation efforts we have there are being used for medivac purposes in getting those who are particularly in need of support. And there has also been work done particularly over the last week to look at all the medical response capabilities, particularly in New South Wales and in Victoria, and the assessment there is very positive. Those services are not being overstretched at this point in time, in terms of the response that they need to provide and so that is a welcome piece of news. But this is what happens when you work through managing and coordinating the response to these disasters. You are dealing with everything from payments to medical supplies, to aviation assets and what may further be needed there. Whether other assets need to be leased or brought to bear but we have over 140 aerial firefighting assets in Australia as part of the coordinated group that we put together and only put an additional $11 million to just more recently as this fire season escalated.
JOURNALIST: Are you looking at leasing more?
PRIME MINISTER: We are considering every option because we know the fire season still has a long time to run and particularly now as we are calling in more ADF assets to deal with this, then what we are constantly doing, as we have been doing for months, is looking at what the contingencies are going forward. Those contingencies are also now being worked and the National Security Committee of Cabinet will be meeting on Monday to consider a number of those issues, as well as the longer-term response in relation to some of the issues we have already been identifying to consider amongst Premiers after the fires. And I have got to stress this, I’ll let David make the point, what the States are saying to us is "Let us deal with the fires now, let us focus on that, give us every support that you can to help us with that." And as you have heard the Victorian Premier Dan Andrews saying today he has complimented the role between the Commonwealth and the Victorian Government in what is happening with the evacuation even as we speak. That is the spirit in which we need to continue to engage this right now, right here. The longer-term issues are always being addressed. They are addressed after every single fire. One of the reasons I mean, more homes would have been lost, more lives would have been lost and it is a tragedy how many have already been lost in this season, had it not been for the coordination and planning that our agencies have learned and put in place because of their response to previous natural disasters. David?
THE HON. DAVID LITTLEPROUD MP, MINISTER FOR WATER RESOURCES, DROUGHT, RURAL FINANCE, NATURAL DISASTER AND EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT: With respect to aerial firefighting equipment, we take our advice from AFAC, which is the peak body of Fire Commissions. They give us advice around the number of aircraft and it is not just one type, it is obviously a suite of planes that are required to fight fires. We take that advice from them. Obviously, we are in constant contact with them as they coordinate all the fire commissioners from around the country and give that advice. If further assets are required then obviously we will take that advice and work with those individual agencies to make sure they are available. But the states have again led in an exemplary way, not only now, but they plan for this. You just don't turn up on a Monday and lease an aircraft to fight fires. This is something that has to be strategically planned for many, many months and that is what our current Fire Commissioners have done and we should take great comfort and pride in the professionalism of our Fire Commissioners who have planned meticulously for this. They stand ready and the strategy, the strategic thinking around where we need to go if this campaign continues is being done constantly through AFAC.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, if you concede climate change is a factor - and, you know, I acknowledge what you're saying about global emissions and obviously China and India are much more of a problem than Australia - then can we just expect this, or worse, what has happened here in years to come? Is that what you're anticipating to deal with as a Prime Minister?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, one of the review issues we will obviously have to deal with is the many contributing factors to this particular fire season and we can't go beyond the drought. As David also has responsibilities in that area, I mean, one of the most striking things during this fire season was when I flew over the range and saw the two calamities our nation has faced come together just on the other side of the Great Dividing Range with the drought and bushfires. And obviously the drought has created a tinderbox around much of the country and that has, through various forms of ignition, has seen these fires run for long periods of time, particularly when there is no dousing rain that has normally followed now the longer-term impacts of what this means for fire seasons was what was looked at going into this season. There were many concerns that this type of fire season would have occurred last year. I remember those briefings very, very vividly and thankfully we were spared that last year but it has certainly hit us this year and that is the planning that was being put in place for last year, obviously, was going in place for this year. So an event of this scale, well, you may never know specifically where it may run over the course of the country. You know the various factors that are combining together and part of the review process will need to look at those issues about the length. That is why the payments which I initiated not that many days ago was recognising the longer time of service that we are seeing volunteer firefighters have to engage in and States in New South Wales and Queensland have now triggered those payments. They haven't been triggered in the other States at this point. But that is another factor which I think is assisting the Commissioner in New South Wales in terms of how he is deploying and being able to call up his resources. There is also the issues of fuel loads. That is very clear. That has been a constant source of feedback by those on the ground. Issues in national parks, issues of hazard reduction and how that has worked over a period of time, that needs to be looked at undoubtedly. But the suggestion that there is a single policy, whether it be climate or otherwise, can provide a complete insurance policy on fires in Australia, well, I don't think any Australian has ever understood that was the case in this country.
JOURNALIST: But that’s the question, really - will this be the norm, these sorts of fire seasons? Do you fear that as Prime Minister?
PRIME MINISTER: The season has been quite extraordinary in terms of the very lengthy drought that has preceded it. Now, let’s hope in the future and let’s certainly hope as we go through this year that we will see that drought end. That will, hopefully, ensure that we’ve got a different situation as we confront next year's fire season. But other issues of how you manage hazard reduction and things of that nature are important, because as you say, the impact more broadly of climate change and drought and these issues can have a pronounced effect, does have a pronounced effect on the length of the fire season. So that, equally, then has a need to address issues around hazard reduction in national parks, dealing with land-clearing laws, zoning laws and planning laws around people's properties and where they can be built in countries like Australia, up and down our coast. That being the case with the climatic effects of what we are seeing, then there have been many restrictions put around those issues that now, I think, would have to be reviewed on the basis of the impact of the broader climatic effect we are seeing in this country.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, a lot of those things you have mentioned are actually state issues, issues that the Federal Government would not normally intervene in. What about… what can you tell Australians about what your Government is doing to mitigate or to plan for the long-term economic and environmental impacts of climate change over the generation as our children grow up?
PRIME MINISTER: Meet and beat our international commitments to reduce our emissions because that is what a responsible country does...
JOURNALIST: Is that the only planning that the Federal Government is doing? Just the climate policy settings as they are?
PRIME MINISTER: Our climate policy settings are to meet and beat our emissions reduction targets. Emissions reduction under our Government is 50 million tonnes on average a year less than it was under the previous government and we want to see the emissions reductions continue in this country and we want to continue to better the achievements we have already made, with measures that achieve that. That is why our policies are constantly being improved and the Minister for Energy and Emissions Reduction has already outlined that. He has already flagged that additional measures, where they can be put in place will be put in place. Let me be clear to the Australian people - our emissions reductions policies will both protect our environment and seek to reduce the risks and hazards that we are seeing today and at the same time, it will seek to ensure sure the viability of people's jobs and their livelihoods all around the country. What we will do is ensure that our policies remain sensible, that they don't move towards either extreme and stay focused on what Australians need for a vibrant and viable economy, as well as a vibrant and sustainable environment. Getting the balance right is what Australia, I think, has always been able to achieve. But right now the focus, as I said at the outset, is to fight these fires and to get people to safety. That is what we are focused on, that is what state agencies are focused on, that is what the Commonwealth is doing through Defence Forces and many of our other agencies to lend everything that can be done to get that operational response in place, to get help to where it is needed, to get people to places of safety and sustain the firefighting effort. Thank you very much.
Remarks, New Year’s Day Cricket Australia- The Mcgrath Foundation Reception
2 January 2020
PRIME MINISTER: Today we’re also joined by Dame Annette King who’s here from the High Commission and we welcome you. We also have Glenn and Sarah McGrath from The McGrath Foundation which is the reason principally why we are all gathered here today and this Test has become an icon on the Sydney calendar and it has always been a Test that has talked about, I think, the great empathy and generosity of Australians and the tremendous service that Glenn has led through this foundation for many years now and the fact that there is the wonderful blend between that spirit and Australia’s National sport I think those two come together in a very special way. So Glenn it’s wonderful to have you here back at Kirribilli House again.
To all of our teams who are here today, Kia Ora to the kiwis, and gday to the Australians it's wonderful to have you here at this annual event and I've been watching closely over the last series and the ones that proceeded it and I have to say as a very proud Aussie, I could not be more proud of Tim and the whole team and so I’ve texted him on too many occasions, Tim, telling him how enthusiastic I've been about it all but I want to thank you again Tim for your great leadership.
I remember we stood here last year and it was a tough time for cricket this time last year and your leadership through that I think has risen you to be a great leader in sport and I want to thank you again for the way you continue to lead our national team so congratulations to you and all your team.
Can I also welcome those from Cricket Australia, Cricket New South Wales and the SCG trust and Tommy Iceton the unofficial selector of the PM’s XI, that's a Shire joke.
This Test and this whole season has been played out against terrible events both here in Australia, and also in New Zealand with the White Island tragedy. And those terrible events continue to this very day and they'll be ongoing during the course of this test match. And in all of these terrible events, be it the fires or the White Island tragedy, as in so many other times before, Australia and New Zealand have always stood together and that has been very true on this occasion as well.
But today I want to particularly recognise the contribution of New Zealand's firefighters and what they have done to support their Australian mates here at his testing time. Since November more than a hundred fire fighters, an incident management team, aviation specialists have supported our team's battling the blazes in New South Wales, the RFS headquarters, Northern Rivers, Casino, and Singleton, Hunter Valley and in Queensland in the headquarters there and the South Eastern region at Charlton, we've been so well supported by those from so many other nations during these terrible fires and none more so than our Kiwi cousins and as you go out there on Friday, I know you'll be going out there and particularly the Australian team, thinking of the terrible fires that are underway at the moment and I want to thank you Tim and the team and both Captains for the commemoration that you will make, in wearing the black armbands for those who we’ve lost over the course of these fires in particular, Having lost Sam McPaul just the other day and in just a dreadful terrible incident just outside of Albury, but also Geoff Keaton and Andrew O'Dwyer who we lost earlier in the fire season and your recognition of them during the course of this test match. I think will mean a lot to their families and a lot to their mates who served alongside them in these terrible fires.
But the fires do rage on, it is a time of great challenge for Australia. Whether they're started by lightning storms or whatever the cause may be, our firefighters and all of those have come behind them to support them, whether they’re volunteering on the front line or behind the scenes in a great volunteer effort, it is something that will happen against the backdrop of this test match. But at the same time Australians will be gathered whether it's at the SCG or around television sets all around the country and they’ll be inspired by the great feats of our cricketers from both sides of the Tasman and I think they'll be encouraged by the spirit shown by Australians and the way that people have gone about remembering the terrible things that other Australians are dealing with at the moment.
The other reason this test is so important is The McGrath Foundation as I said before and it's a great pleasure to be involved with the McGrath Foundation. This is an organisation that I think has a particular link to where so much of the devastation is being felt at the moment in Australia - out in our rural and regional communities. That's always been at the heart I know of Glenn’s passion for The McGrath Foundation that those parts of our country that don’t often get the same levels of support or services or find it harder to access, this has been Glenn’s passion to turn that around and what he's been able to achieve and all the foundation’s been able to achieve has been simply remarkable and so it's no surprise that as we go into this Test match and again seek to raise funds and raise awareness about breast cancer and the many treatments and support that need to be provided and the resources that are needed to keep those treatments and support up to the standard that we would want for all of our loved ones, We know that The McGrath foundation will equally be very mindful of the times that we're in and the disasters that are befalling so much of the country and they know that the same volunteer spirit they draw on in their foundation is the volunteering spirit that is at work in those communities even now and we thank them for everything they do.
So it's going to be a great Test, but the real test Australia is facing right now is out there on the fire front, and as those brave Australians go about what they do on that fire front and around the country. I know that this Test match will be again a great display of the brotherhood and sisterhood between Australia and New Zealand and we thank you all very much for being here with Jenny and I today.
Thank you very much.
Press Conference - NSW RFS Headquarters
29 December 2019
PRIME MINISTER: ...Commissioner Fitzsimmons. Can I thank both of you for the extraordinary job that you've been doing in what has been a very difficult fire season here in New South Wales, starting early and very prolonged. Can I also thank all of those who continue to be out there today, who have been out there over the Christmas period, in particular. Can I also say that that is occuring, of course, here in New South Wales but in more recent times we've also seen this threat extend into South Australia, where I was earlier this week and we're seeing a real difficult situation emerging in Victoria. We know of the weather conditions are particularly challenging over the next few days, which will see not only those very severe conditions here in New South Wales, but also in South Australia and Victoria and in Tasmania. Being a New South Welshman, I’m obviously very focused on the terrible events that have been occurring here. But I want to assure those Australians outside of New South Wales that the challenges that they're facing and their states, as was the case up in Queensland earlier in the season, that our attention is equally there and ensuring that the coordinated effort across states and territories is being put in place.
So I want to thank all of those and as the messages and I’m sure the Commissioner and the Premier, when they speak, will go into what we can expect over the next few days. Stay safe, check the information. The information provision that is being provided at a state level through the incredible communications efforts they're making. But also, I've got to say, when I visited the incident response centres, the local messaging that is taking place in each of the communities, whether it's out in Mudgee or down in south western Sydney or the south coast or earlier in the year up in Taree and Wauchope and places has just been extraordinary, the efforts that have been undertaken to ensure people are informed of what's going on. The Premier advised me that, last night was it Gladys, that meeting down south coast and I want to thank all those community members for just the very good natured, patient way that they're engaging in receiving that information and making decisions.
Today, having received a request from the New South Wales government and working closely with the Commissioner here and the Premier and, of course, the Minister for Emergency Services here in New South Wales. Earlier in the week, the Minister raised the Commissioner's request that we consider looking at the issue of income loss here in New South Wales, and we have been working on this for some time. The Commonwealth has been working up various options and, importantly, taking our lead from those who are directly responsible for fighting these fires and that is Shane. That's the Commissioner. And taking advice on the priorities from our states as to where this effort should go and how it should be targeted has been very important as this is a very prolonged fire season. This is putting additional demands on our firefighters, in particular, and it means that the turn outs and call outs have been far more extensive than in previous years, going well and beyond and above what is normally expected of those who are engaged in volunteer service. I've got to say, particularly when I've been out outside the cities and seen the impact, particularly in rural communities, on farmers who are dealing with drought during the day and dealing with fires at night and through the afternoon. This is obviously having a very big impact. So we have carefully worked through how best to deal with the issue of income loss that has been suffered as a result of people stepping up to defend their communities and work shoulder to shoulder with those who are seeking to put an end to these fires as quickly as they possibly can.
We have drawn on previous experience that have been put in place by the Commonwealth on early one-off occasions. And we have developed, I would argue, a more targeted and even more extensive response. What the Commonwealth will be doing together with the states who will administer the payments, is to be providing payments for income lost by firefighters, rural fire service volunteers here in New South Wales, that will be paid with a maximum of up to $6,000 per individual. It will be paid at a maximum rate of $300 per day, depending on what the income loss is for those individuals. It will be a non-taxable payment. So obviously, the the the gross level, if you are looking at your earnings, is much higher than $300. It’s about $420 or thereabouts of what they would otherwise have been earning on a gross basis during that time. It is retrospective for this financial year. So for all of those who are already called out, particularly up in those mid coast and north coast fires that we saw earlier in the season, they will be also able to make a claim through the New South Wales state government to access that payment.
What this basically equates to is around 20 days of emergency services paid leave for self-employed people and for people working for small and medium size employers. That represents about 60 per cent nationally of people who work in this country and have employers and this will be supported through those direct payments on application. I should stress this isn't about paying volunteers for turning out the fires. That's not what this is about. The volunteer arrangements that exist, not just here in New South Wales but all across the country, are incredibly important. What this is doing is recognising that in extreme cases like we've seen here in New South Wales and on advice from the Commissioner, it is necessary to ensure that we can provide this safety net for income loss to ensure that he is in a position to continue to call out this volunteer force and for them to be able to be there on an ongoing basis without suffering ongoing financial loss. This is about helping fight the fires. We will still always have volunteers who will go out and selflessly volunteer, and that is crucial to our firefighting effort, whether it be here in New South Wales or in any other state or territory where these calls are being made. This is about addressing the issue of income lost to enable those, and I would say particularly in rural and regional areas, to farmers, to tradies, to contractors and to others who have been called out day after day after day because the fire has been literally lapping at their back door on many occasions and they've gone out to serve their community.
So I particularly want to thank the Premier. I want to thank Minister Elliott as well for having raised that on behalf of the Commissioner earlier. And I want to thank the state government for working really closely with us to make sure we get this right. I don't do things in any knee-jerk way. I carefully consider what the issue is, what needs to be addressed, how you can best target the measure to get the best response and to work consultatively with those who are working on the ground to make sure that it works. Now, I should also stress that this same payment will be available to other states and territories of premiers and ministers who wish to initiate that with the Commonwealth. Obviously, the situation in New South Wales is more extreme than it has been in the other states and territories. But I've spoken to the other premiers and spoke to the Queensland Premier in particular last night, and I expect that we'll have a conversation soon about these matters. I'm pleased that the situation in Queensland has significantly improved. But that doesn't mean that those who suffered income loss also earlier in the year in Queensland shouldn't be entitled to the same level of support and recognition of that service. And I’m sure we’ll work through quickly on that. But in this case, we are working specifically with New South Wales at the direct request of the Commissioner. I want to thank him again for raising these issues and as issues continue to be raised, we'll continue to make decisions. We'll continue to make responses. Earlier this week, as you know, I announced the four weeks emergency service leave for all Commonwealth Public Service employees. We also now have new arrangements with our Defence Force to lean in more directly, particularly at the local level, to ensure that Defence Force support has been provided at the local level. And now we’ve taken this decision. They’ve been taken calmly. They've been getting the policy details right and working consultatively. I’ll hand over to the Premier.
THE HON. GLADYS BEREJIKLIAN MP, PREMIER OF NSW: Thank you, Prime Minister. Can I start by thanking you and your government for the support you provided you New South Wales during what has been a very difficult and exceptional fire season. And I want to stress as well, echoing the Prime Minister's comments, this is not paying volunteers. It is covering their financial loss, it's making sure that people don't go backwards, it’s making sure there's food on the table. And it's also making sure, given what is likely to be an ongoing, prolonged fire season, that people volunteer with a confidence insurance that will be covered if they have to take more time off work or if I have to stop their business running. So this is to give all of our amazing volunteers the confidence, the surety, to keep doing what they do on behalf of all of us and we can't thank them enough. And it's not to pay them, but it's to compensate them. It’s to make sure they don’t go backwards, they’re not suffering a financial loss on themselves or their families enduring additional hardship on top of what is a very stressful. So I want to again thank the Prime Minister and the Commonwealth for supporting New South Wales in this measure. We want to ensure that nobody goes backwards and suffers unnecessary hardship because they’re putting their life and property on hold to support others and to keep people alive and to keep properties. And we are assuming that this season will be prolonged this year. The weather conditions aren’t easing and we appreciate that for many firefighters who have been there since July, we're asking them to keep going. We're asking them to keep going further on to what will be, as I said, a prolonged fire season. But it's also a timely opportunity for us to thank every single person who has put themselves in harms way to protect others. Again, today, New South Wales, as the Commissioner will update, there are over 80 fires still burning. 40 of them uncontained. A couple thousand volunteers out there in the field today as we speak. And to each and every one of those, we say to you please do not worry about what’s happening at home and in your business. We are here to support you and cover you and I thank Commonwealth Government for their efforts in supporting New South Wales. New South Wales will continue to put an unprecedented amount of resources into this fire season and include our emergency services personnel, both paid and volunteers, to make sure they have the best equipment available, the best resources available, to keep all of us safe. And for that we are grateful.
SHANE FITZSIMMONS, RFS COMMISSIONER: Can I just start by thanking the Premier and the Prime Minister for today's announcement. There is no doubt that this will this will provide comfort. This will provide a security net to ensure that volunteers are not disadvantaged or going through loss of income as a result of their extraordinary and ongoing commitment. I would also acknowledge that speaking with the President of the Rural Fire Service Association, the representative body for volunteers across New South Wales. He too and his organisation welcomes today's announcement. It's a sensible, it's a considered and most importantly, particularly for the extraordinary commitment that's been going on now for many months up in northern New South Wales and extending much further afield, it's retrospective. So it ensures that we capture the interests and the conditions of volunteers that have been committed now for a long period of time throughout this entire season. So thank you very much for your support and for making today's announcement. It will go a long way to ensuring the ethos of volunteers, volunteering for the want of nothing more in return than to making a difference. They don't want to be paid. That's the message I'm getting loud and clear. But to ensure that there is no hardship or adversity as a result of that volunteering commitment, today's announcement will certainly provide that surety and that confidence and that safety net for volunteers, particularly those that are self-employed or in small or medium business.
As the Premier indicated, things continue to be extremely busy across New South Wales. But we've still got 80 fires and and just under 40 of those are still not contained. We've got some deteriorating weather conditions over the coming days, particularly Monday and worsening through to Tuesday. Tomorrow, we can start expecting to see some fairly widespread severe conditions, particularly down through the southern half of New South Wales, the south eastern quadrant of the state. And those conditions will then intensify as we head into Tuesday with not just widespread severe that will extend from the south east corner of the state, right up through our central west and through the Hunter and places like that. We can also expect a broad geographic area of extreme fire danger ratings, which will extend through places like the Southern Ranges, the Illawarra South Coast and probably down through to the Monaro area, down through through the high country.
We continue to have fires of considerable focus across those 80 fire grounds, the large complex of fire north west of Sydney, the Gospers Mountain fire, the Grose River fire, and those fire complexes spreading from effectively Blue Mountains all the way up through the through the Hunter Valley there towards Singleton and Muswellbrook and right out to the west to places like Rylstone, Capertee, Ilford and communities along the the Castlereagh Highway. We've also got the fire south west of Sydney in the Green Wattle Creek fire, which effectively extends now from Mittagong down the Picton area all the way through out towards Jenolan Caves along the Wombeyan Caves Road and then back up back into the back end of the Blue Mountains around the Megalong Valley and Katoomba area. And of course, we've got the large fire on the south coast, which effectively now stretches from the Batemans Bay region right up to the Nowra area and out west to places like Nerriga. And over the last couple of days, instability in the afternoon, dry lightning storms, thunderstorm activity, has resulted in a number of new ignitions, some of which were escalated in their warning alert levels yesterday, including a fire that got to the emergency warning alert level yesterday afternoon just to the west of Tumut and Adelong down there south of the Hume Highway. So unfortunately, we are expecting more thunderstorm activity this afternoon, more dry lightning activity. So there is every prospect of new fires as we head into the deteriorating weather conditions over the coming days. The work of the crews in the field, the incident management teams, the personnel on the ground, whether it be firefighters, machinery operators or aircraft in the air, their work on establishing and consolidating containment lines ahead of the deteriorating weather conditions over the next two days have been quite remarkable in this last week, and particularly through the Christmas period. Christmas Day, Boxing Day, there were still thousands of firefighters and personnel out each day pathing up those lines and shoring up as much protection as they can to the communities along the Bells Line of Road to the end around Kurrajong Heights and Bowen Mountain. And of course, the townships of the Blue Mountains, stretching from Mount Victoria, Blackheath, Katoomba and villages further to the east.
So an extraordinary amount of work and that's being replicated right across all those fire grounds and we know we need everybody to ensure that they've got their plans. And a plan isn't just about being at home. A plan is about when you're travelling, whether you're out visiting loved ones or whether you're out taking a break somewhere, spending time with family. Have their bushfire survival plan relevant to where you are and what you're doing. Know the risk in your area, monitor the risk in your area and most importantly, be ready to act in accordance with that plan. It could make all the difference to the survivability of you, your loved ones, and, of course, your home and property.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, why has it taken so long? Many of these volunteers have spent Christmas believing that they wouldn't be compensated.
PRIME MINISTER: Well, that hasn't been the case based on today's announcement. The firefighters have the community's backing and what this announcement today demonstrator is we have their back when it comes to protecting them against income loss. It's also important to note that you don't rush in to these sorts of decisions. You carefully consider all of the implications, which is what the Government has been doing. The Commonwealth Government has been doing it around these options for some weeks now and we have been engaging closely with the state government. Now, this has been an evolving situation. When the matter was raised with the Commonwealth by the Commissioner and by the Minister, then the Commonwealth was in a position, given the work already done, to be able to proceed to put these arrangements in place. But it is very important in any disaster situation that you don’t run the Government by Twitter, you don't set up programmes by Facebook. What you do is carefully consider what you need to achieve and that's what we've done on this occasion. This is a very targeted payment. This is basically a payment that puts it at about 1.3 times average weekly ordinary time earnings in terms of how we've calculated the arrangement. And that will cover substantively and especially in rural and regional areas around the country. We've taken the time to get the balance right, to get the measure right, work closely with the state government who'll be administering the payments. We will be making the cost of the payments and I think we have arrived at the right solution.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, you said yourself that there are fires across the country. You've had conversations here in New South Wales and Queensland. Why not a national approach, given that Victoria's facing this, Western Australia, South Australia. Why not a national approach?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, this is a nationally applicable approach, but I respect the premiers. I respect the fire commissioners in each and every state and territory and I respect their judgment. And should they wish to enter in this arrangement, if they believe it's appropriate for their state and territory, then we will do so. But I'm not... I don't presume on those states and territories. They run their own shows. They know what their challenges are and their own circumstances. And I've been having these conversations with premiers now for some time and so I respect their judgment. We're there to help the states and territories as they address these crises. The states are the ones, as Premier knows all too well, who are directly responsible for the funding of their fire services and all the other things that are done. We're there to help the states and territories and where they seek our help on these types of issues where we can provide that assistance, then once again, we've demonstrated that we are very happy to do so.
JOURNALIST: With New South Wales, how many applications are you expecting? How much have you budgeted?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, we've ended into this on the expectation that other states will also enter into arrangements. And it's very difficult to cost these matters because, A, you won't know how many will apply. And at this stage, I mean, the Commissioner has rightly been focused on on each and every day in the activities rather than running spreadsheets about how many people have been out there for more than 10 days. But we've entered in this with an expectation it could cost up to $50 million in this year. It could end up costing less than that. It could end up costing more than that. But we've entered into it with that type of an understanding and I had those discussions with the Treasurer and Finance Minister and the Deputy Prime Minister and the Government is very committed to following this through. It's uncapped. So there's no budget ceiling on this. It's uncapped, it kicks in after 10 days of volunteer service. I should also stress that if people still have outstanding recreational leave, that will not be taken into account in terms of the assessment. They should have their recreational. If they have emergency services leave, well, obviously, that is leave that they can they can access and as a result wouldn't be suffering any income loss where people are taking leave without pay. And this is particularly more prominent in rural and regional areas and particularly, I’ve got to say, the self-employed. And I've spoken to quite a few who weren’t asking, but they just relayed what they've been getting about, particularly in those rural communities. And I've got to say, particularly a lot of those working on farm properties that have just selflessly been keep going. And I hope this will give them some some encouragement today and allow them to go back up and do what they've been doing now for so long.
JOURNALIST: When people apply, how long will it take for the cash to come through?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, we’ll be making a $10 million payment immediately…next month, I should say, next month, which is not too far away from here, to the New South Wales government and the state government will then be the processing those payments. But the Premier might want to add.
THE HON. GLADYS BEREJIKLIAN MP, PREMIER OF NSW: We hope to have this up and running in a matter of weeks and days. So now that the Federal Government and the Prime Minister has made this announcement we’ll ensure that from our end administrative is processed as soon as possible, and of course, we’ll also rely on the verification advice from the RFS in relation to who is eligible.
JOURNALIST: Some volunteers have now been volunteering for 100 days. I know it's not a per day payment, but it's a fifth of what some of them have already been working for. If the fire season continues into, say, February or March, will we get perhaps extending this, freezing the cap…?
THE HON. GLADYS BEREJIKLIAN MP, PREMIER OF NSW: It's important to remember, and the RFS Commissioner is i the best position to answer this, but we ensure that people are on shifts, that they’re rotated, that there's, you know, an organisation of tens of thousands of volunteers. They're backing each other up. What we particularly worry about is people who are local command chiefs or district commanders who understand their properties, understand their community and really haven't taken a backward step because they’ve wanted to be there to make sure that that local expertise is there. So I want to give everybody an assurance that the depth for the volunteers, that the size of the organisation means that there are constant shifts, people are rotated, they're given that opportunity to rest. We encourage that. But of course, this is especially for those people in the local communities who don't want to give up their post because, you know, it's a very personal thing when you're there saving your neighbor's property or people you know in your community. And we want to make sure nobody is suffering unnecessary hardship because they’re there to save their property and saving the lives of their community.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, I think the question there was if we see firefighters continuing on with these fire grounds and we're seeing some of them clear over 100, 150 days out there, could we see a further payment above this?
PRIME MINISTER: I'll ask the Commissioner to talk about how long he believes people have been out there. They’re some pretty extreme examples that you're referring to. It's not my advice that that is the common situation, that most of our RFS volunteers find themselves in. Let's remember there are some 70,000, isn't it, Commissioner, registered Rural Fire Service volunteers here in New South Wales. There's 210,000 across the country, remembering that states have been... other states have been sending their volunteers to New South Wales. I should stress that in other states where those states take up this arrangement, that their time serving in New South Wales or in any other state will be counted in terms of that those 10 days. And so they, some of them, may well find themselves in other states immediately eligible under those arrangements. But as has been the case with all of these issues relating to these fires, we will continue to assess the situation based on what's happening on the ground. The reason we're making this decision now is because it was beginning to impact on the RFS’s efforts to fight fires. This isn't, as the Premier said, about paying volunteers. That's a different issue. What this is about is resourcing a firefighting effort to ensure that the Commissioner is in the best place possible to be able to do those call outs. And when I was here last Sunday, I was advised by the Commissioner, as I think I said it might have been during the course of the week, 1,000 extra firefighters turned up on top of the 2,000 that has been out the previous day in response to a call. So there are many registered volunteer firefighters across the state, in many other states and territories. And one of the reasons that we announced that we would give four weeks emergency service leave to all Commonwealth employees was to ensure that that might free up more volunteers coming out of the cities that might be able to then be deployed out into rural and regional areas to provide some relief to those crews. So this is all about fighting fires and people who fight the fires and backing those in who were fighting those fires. Commissioner?
SHANE FITZSIMMONS, RFS COMMISSIONER: So I'm not aware - and I'd be really disappointed - if there was a volunteer that's been constantly at this for 150 days. Yes, the firefighting effort has been going on for hundreds, 150 days, whatever the figure actually is, but it’s a considerable time. But as the Prime Minister indicated, crews rotate and they spend time and they take shifts and it is not an unusual conversation when I'm out in the field and even spending time with the Premier with volunteers on Christmas Day for breakfast. Many of them were were juggling this “I want to commit this time, I've got to get back and look after some family things, I've got to get back and earn a quid”. They've got good arrangements in place with their employers, many of them. This is a safety net to ensure that if volunteers, particularly the self-employed or small, self-employed or the small business owners, know that there's a surety to cover costs associated with that going above and beyond that deployment that they can effectively manage. That's what this is about. We in New South Wales have put into place now for many months volunteer protection orders to ensure that volunteers can't lose their jobs as a result of volunteering. But each individual, each volunteer, has their own individual circumstances, their own employment arrangements, their own status of life. Some people aren't employed. Some people are students. Some people are unemployed. Some people are retired. You've got a cohort of people that are self-employed, sole trader, those sorts of things. So this is actually just about ensuring that what would be the case for, say, public servants and large businesses or even medium-sized businesses where they are granted two weeks or four weeks or more leave per annum to be able to manage their ongoing support for major fire operations. This is about a safety net to provide surety and security to allowing them to better manage and reflect what their engaged might be going on. We've seen an enormous commitment so far, but there's still a lot to be required going forward.
JOURNALIST: Out of interest, when did you ask the state government to ask the Prime Minister?
SHANE FITZSIMMONS, RFS COMMISSIONER: Well, we've been working on these sorts of arrangements for quite a couple of weeks now in New South Wales. I sat down to have a good conversation with the Prime Minister only last Sunday when he came in for a briefing. One of the first questions I got from the Prime Minister was how are the volunteers going, how are they managing to sustain this effort, is there anything we can do for them to provide surety or support? And we talked about a number of the things that we were contemplating, precedents that had been set previously and how they might work and we were trying to get access to the details, to be truthful. And then in the ensuing days and weeks, working with the Commonwealth and working with the states, we worked up a viable option, formalised that request to have it implemented.
JOURNALIST: So it’s been in the past week?
SHANE FITZSIMMONS, RFS COMMISSIONER: Sorry, what was the question?
JOURNALIST: If you're saying you were talking the other Sunday with the Prime Minister, it’s really been…
SHANE FITZSIMMONS, RFS COMMISSIONER: I formally met with the Prime Minister last Sunday but we've been talking with the New South Wales government and Commonwealth authorities for a few weeks around what were some of the precedents and the arrangements that would provide the sorts of safeguards we're talking about. And we firmed up those details and formalised the request this week.
PRIME MINISTER: So on Tuesday afternoon, after I left South Australia, I was speaking to the Minister for Emergency Services, and that's when that was put to me quite specifically and that was followed up with a letter from the Commissioner, I think they day after Christmas it was or thereabouts, and that then followed through. The arrangements we put in place leading up to today. The Commonwealth been doing contingency planning around these things, which meant that when the request came through, we could actually move quite quickly. I mean, lots of other ideas that have been sort of tossed about in the public, about tax credits and things like this. But if you’re familiar with how these things work, you know that they're ineffective and they’re not a really good place to deal with these issues at all. This is a much more targeted, tailored way. It has to be done in partnership with the state because the state obviously knows who's out there and where they're fighting the fires. And there was also all of the existing disaster recovery payments that are administered through the states, as has been provided throughout these disasters as indeed they are in other types of disasters like floods. So it's been worked up over the course of this week.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, obviously there are nuances to a broad brush plan, one of which would be the fact that it’s Christmas time and many sole traders would be on holidays intentionally. Does there have to be proof of loss of income or just by virtue of their status as a sole trader they can take a cash grab?
PRIME MINISTER: There will substantiation of income as you’d expect in any of these measures. It’s one of the difficult things about designing a measure like this. I mean, you need to make sure that it has integrity and there will be substantiation. But people know what they earn, and you have remember a lot of these places…. I mean, you think about the south coast at the moment. This is the busiest time of the year. This is when they make most of their money. So it actually works both ways. There will be parts of New South Wales whose earnings during this time of the year as a sole trader will be much higher than they were during the ordinary course of the year. So, look, we'll be erring on the side of ensuring that we're providing what is genuine income loss compensation.
JOURNALIST: How do you do that?
PRIME MINISTER: People know what their assessments are on an annual basis.
JOURNALIST: Well, they don’t and the Government doesn’t.
PRIME MINISTER: Well, the Government does actually because it's done for a whole range of different payments, whether it's child care rebates or any other forms of related payments then the Commonwealth will be able to assist state verification. But, I mean, people who run small businesses know what they earn and they know what their busy times of the year and they know what they’re able to out forward and accountants and others and themselves, they know what that is. Now, for those who are employees, it's a much more straightforward matter. But we’re not looking to tie this up in red tape, and I’m sure the Premier won’t be doing that either. But it’s a fair dinkum process for compensating people for income loss. And that's the rule.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, the firefighters unions were surprised by this move. They said that their members are more than happy to do the work without any recognition. Have you spoken to volunteer firefighters that have called for this?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, the Commissioner, as he said before, has spoken to the Association. Over some weeks now, whether it was, you know, back up in September when the Premier and I were up in Taree and Wauchope or where I've been more recently over the course of this last week, no they don’t ask for it. But I do know, particularly in those rural and regional areas, that particularly for self-employed people, this is really starting to bite and really starting to have an impact. I haven't had volunteer firefighters saying they want to get paid. That's not what this is. What they're acknowledging is that there are those, particularly in their communities, for whom this has meant a bigger sacrifice than for others. I mean, if you work for the Commonwealth Public Service, then you have access to the leave. If you work for the state government public service, you have access to the leave. But for small and medium-sized businesses, and I said, we're taking this up to $50 million in turnover. So that that encompasses around 60 per cent of employees in this country who would be captured under this definition. That is far more extensive and, on average, around 20 days… many people will have access to more than 20 days under this arrangement based on what they earn. This is far more extensive than any other response we've seen for income loss to any previous natural disaster relief. That's how extensive and comprehensive this response is. But equally, it's extremely targeted. And how do you do that? You just don't knee-jerk react. You think about it. You talk to people who know what they're doing and you get the processes right and you put it in place.
JOURNALIST: Premier, may I ask you in relation to New South Wales fireworks, given that we have extreme and severe conditions coming across the state, particularly the southern areas, and there is a southerly that I understand they’re very concerned about on New Year's Eve. Should we be cancelling those?
THE HON. GLADYS BEREJIKLIAN MP, PREMIER OF NSW: Look, as in every year and especially this year, we get advice from the RFS experts. But I want to send a clear message to the community - and the Prime Minister will have something to say as well - is that New South Wales has to stay strong. We are a hopeful, optimistic state. We're a resilient state and we appreciate that there's a lot of suffering in the community at the moment. But notwithstanding that, when New South Wales stands strong, we’re able to keep supporting our communities that need our support. If the RFS, if the experts say it's safe to have the fireworks continue, well, we should do that. It sends a strong message to our communities. Of course, we need to assess case by case. There may be regional communities who are close to the fire fronts who might have different circumstances. But my feeling, and I appreciate that there may be others in the community that don't share this view, but New South Wales has always been a state that's hopeful about the future, that’s resilient. that's optimistic. And we need to stay strong so we can keep supporting our communities that are doing it tough. Sydney is one of the first cities in the world that welcomes in the new year, and if it's safe to do so, we should continue to do it as we've done every other year.
JOURNALIST: Is there a financial consideration as well, given the fact that the BBC, CNN broadcast to the world on New Years Eve, as you say, among the first cities to celebrate. Is there a financial consideration in terms of the tourism dollar that brings, that attracts people to Sydney as to whether the fireworks will go ahead?
THE HON. GLADYS BEREJIKLIAN MP, PREMIER OF NSW: This is all about keeping keeping our state strong. And ultimately it's a decision for the Sydney City Council, but I would support their efforts in keeping the fireworks going and I appreciate there's a lot of anxiety in the community. There's a lot of fear depending on where you live about what's happening in the community at the moment. But the best thing we can do is to stay strong and resilient, to keep supporting the communities that need our support and also to appreciate that we're doing well as a state overall, and I don't want to take away from individuals, families and communities who are left with not much. But for us to keep supporting those communities into the future. We need to stay strong. We need to be hopeful and optimistic about the future, which I genuinely amd. We'll get through these times, as difficult as they are, and I think it's important to send a message to the world, so long as it's safe to do so, we will take the advice of RFSas we do every year. So long as it's safe to do so, we should keep doing what we're doing normally.
JOURNALIST: Well, Commissioner, will it be safe?
PRIME MINISTER: I just want to echo the words of the Premier on this matter. Wherever I go in the world and I talk to others and leaders and what they know about Australians is that we're incredibly optimistic people. That whatever gets thrown at us, we overcome. We are positive and we look to the future. And, you know, on New Year's Eve, the world looks at Sydney every single year, and they look at our vibrancy, they look at our passion, they look at our success. And they all think to themselves - what an amazing place. And they're right. And so in the midst of the challenges that we face, subject to the safety considerations, I can think of no better time to express to the world just how optimistic and positive we are a country. Sure, we're going through tough times. You know, it's not the first time Australia and, in particular this city, has gone through difficult times before. But we always rise above them. We don't allow them to get us down. I acknowledge the anxiety around this question, but I'll tell you what I really want to acknowledge, and that's how wonderful a country Australia is. And on New Year's Eve, that's what we tell the world with an amazing display of optimism and vibrancy. Commissioner?
JOURNALIST: With your understanding of what the conditions will be like, especially around the Sydney CBD area at the moment, do you believe it will be safe for the fireworks to go ahead?
SHANE FITZSIMMONS, RFS COMMISSIONER: Obviously, we'll be working with the Bureau of Meteorology closer to Tuesday and ahead of New Year’s Eve. But at this stage, we are expecting the southerly change to start moving through the coast. It will start impacting into the Sydney basin somewhere around 7 o'clock in the evening and moving through over a couple of hours, which means the conditions will certainly ameliorate in terms of hot temperatures and dry, windy conditions. But we're obviously very mindful of the volatility of the southerly. So I don't remember a time when we've had total fire bans in place in the Greater Sydney region where we haven't been able to accommodate the risk elements. But conducting the New Year's Eve fireworks in the Sydney Harbour area, particularly, obviously, we work very closely with the local fire brigades, our fire and rescue and RFS brigades where relevant. And if there are areas subject to the prevailing winds and those sorts of things, the materials might drop. We just heightened our level of coverage to ensure a safe and effective New Year's Eve function. Having said that, as the Premier indicated, we do need to give due consideration to the variety of other festivities that are undertaken across the broader geographic area of New South Wales, where the risk could be greater. What we're not generally into is giving exemptions for the backyard permits where there's fireworks and those sorts of things operating in people's homes or the local park. We work very closely with a range of local councils and other authorities around New South Wales and each area, each condition is assessed on its merits based on the local conditions, based on the level of risk and based on the level of protection that might be able to afford it. So we do that every year when when it coincides with New Year's Eve, and we'll do that again this year. But at this stage, I can't foresee the Sydney New Year's Eve efforts being compromised by a total fire ban.
JOURNALIST: Commissioner, surely that would be a very costly process to be called off at the very last minute. Is there a cut-off when that decision will have to be made?
SHANE FITZSIMMONS, RFS COMMISSIONER: If I determine it to be too risky, that doesn't concern me. If we determine a risk, I'll work with the government and say this is too risky. But we will firm up our weather forecast as we head into tomorrow night, Monday night, and that will strengthen up the again throughout the day on Tuesday. Look, these pyrotechnics organisations and the local authorities, they're very used to dealing with us and working with us around exemptions throughout the summer period. All of our activities, whether it's Christmas movie or some other event, they know the arrangements, they know the procedures and we'll work through to make sure that risk is appropriately addressed. And when necessary, we won't allow them to go ahead.
JOURNALIST: Premier, is there a dollar tag on that? Is there a projected tourism figure on what the fireworks provide?
THE HON. GLADYS BEREJIKLIAN MP, PREMIER OF NSW: That’s not of issue or concern to me al all. It’s about the message we’re sending, and it's about ensuring that as we've said already, this is about our resilience, it's about our optimism, and it's also about putting safety first. And of course, we take the advice of the experts. But we also need to make sure, as much as possible, we keep doing what we do best. We keep looking forward. We keep being optimistic about the future. And hopefully we'll get through these difficult times. We always do. And I say these and make these comments without taking away a second. And in my job and the PM’s job and the Commissioner’s job, you see people every day doing it tough. You speak to them personally and appreciate that hardship they’re going through. And the best thing I feel that I can do and I'm sure that the PM and the Commissioner feel the same, is to maintain our strength as a state, to keep doing what we're doing, to be able to continue to support those who need our help. But also send a strong message to the world about our resilience and effort and our support And I want to stress this point. I appreciate there's been some sentiment expressed about some of those dollars elsewhere, which is spent on the fireworks. But in New South Wales, when you talk about drought or water infrastructure, we’re investing in excess of $3 billion into the future. When you talk about our rural fire services and emergency services personnel, we're putting billions every year to support our communities. So let's put everything into perspective. I appreciate sentiments are high. I appreciate people are experiencing anxiety and in some circumstances fear. I think, more than anything, those of us who aren't on the fire front are asking each other what can we do to help? And people are looking to do that. And I say the best thing we can do to support our volunteers and our fire services personnel is to take their advice, to ensure that we have resources to support their efforts. But also to stay strong and resilient and hopeful about the future, because that's what makes New South Wales what it is. That makes us the state we are and our people are our best asset and that continues.
JOURNALIST: Premier, I know you fear it's a trap that I going to say that you're putting financial dollars ahead of safety. I’m not. It's just a factual question. What is the projection?
THE HON. GLADYS BEREJIKLIAN MP, PREMIER OF NSW: I'll have to get those figures on what we project in terms of tourism. But we can't pretend that the City puts on a wonderful experience for people not just present, people travel long distances to be here. And it's a strong message of the world and all of us, whenever you bring in the New Year, no matter what the circumstances, all of us feel a sense of hope about the future, especially as we enter into a new decade. We experience a hope about what the future might bring us that's building positivity and optimism. I don't see why we shouldn't continue to do that. In fact, under these circumstances, I think it sends a strong message to our citizens and the world that we're resilient, we’re strong. Yes, we’ve going through difficult times, but we’re always positive about our future.
PRIME MINISTER: Well said.
JOURNALIST: Premier, what would Sydney look like on the world stage if we weren’t to have those fireworks?
THE HON. GLADYS BEREJIKLIAN MP, PREMIER OF NSW: Well, look, I don’t apologise for safety first. And we'll take the advice from the RFS, from the Commissioner. It's safety first is always the case. And we're elected on behalf of the community to protect our citizens, to protect public safety. But if there's no safety reason why those fireworks shouldn’t go ahead, they’ll be there.
Press Conference - Wollondilly Emergency Fire Control Centre, NSW
22 December 2019
THE HON. GLADYS BEREJIKLIAN MP, PREMIER OF NEW SOUTH WALES: Good morning everybody, it’s good to be here with the PM, with Commissioner Fitzsimmons, with the Minister for Emergency Services in New South Wales and of course the local members to offer our support to the community down here in the Wollondilly and Wingecarribee shires that have experienced the most horrific and horrendous circumstances in the last 24 hours, in fact in the last couple of weeks or so. And we had the privilege and the honour of meeting with families who’ve lost everything but not lost their lives, and they’re eternally grateful even though they’re going through a lot of shock and a lot of hardship they couldn’t speak highly enough of our amazing firefighters on the ground who tried to save their properties but again at least saved their lives and again other examples of people who are so grateful to discover their properties are ok and it was wonderful to see that in a very short amount of time, even though literally hundreds of people have walked through the evacuation centres at Picton and Mittagong and also Narella, that many families have been billeted and alternative accommodation has been provided until they find out whether their properties are safe or until they get the devastating news that they’ve lost everything. We’re making sure that whether it is through our chaplaincy services, family and community services or, in fact, through all of our state and government agencies that everybody is supported during this very difficult time. I, in particular, want to thank community members who have opened up their facilities, whether they are clubs, other facilities, to allow community members to come in and use those facilities. The generosity of the community down here has just been outstanding. It really exemplifies what we've seen if other parts of the state and for some communities, experiencing this devastation since July. But now obviously this community has been hit as well. We have got the devastating news that there's not much left in the town of Balmoral. Very sad to hear that. And many residents, of course, have had that news in the last little while. Of course, communities like Buxton and others have been very hardly hit. Commissioner Fitzsimmons might want to comment about this himself, but obviously the milder conditions in the next few days will allow us to be proactive when next weekend we expect weather conditions and Monday week, in fact, for weather conditions to worsen again. I also want to say thank you to the federal government - the PM and his team - because jointly we have ensured that Wingecarribee and Wollondilly council areas will have access to that emergency funding that other council areas had received. So, as you know, we announced joint funding and now that joint funding is in excess of $63 million across the state and extends to about a dozen councils and now Wingecarribee and Wollondilly are now part of that. That means people can access emergency funding but also farmers, small businesses and others can access grants of up to $15,000, just to start preparing their properties and start fixing things around their properties like fencing that otherwise they wouldn't have access to. I also want to stress - I have mentioned this to the mayor who is here today - that $63 million is on top of the $25 million the New South Wales Government's already set aside to get rid of hazardous materials and just to start the clean up. For some families, some families will be given notification they can go back to their properties, perhaps today, tomorrow. Other families have to wait. We want to make sure - no matter what people's circumstances - just the hope of being able to move forward is so important. If we pick up the tab - sometimes it costs thousands of dollars - to get the hazardous materials off the property, to start the clean-up process, whether you're insured or not insured, the state government is picking up that cost to make sure you can get on with rebuilding as soon as you're physically and emotionally ready to start the rebuilding process. As I've said, to communities all along, we're not just here today and tomorrow but we will be with you for the weeks and months and for some communities years during the rebuilding process. The devastation is shocking. I have also been just literally bowled by the way the community's come together, the resilience and people's generosity. People with not much are giving away everything they have to support others. And it's times like these when you really appreciate what New South Wales and what Australia's about. PM?
PRIME MINISTER: Thank you Premier, Gladys. It is great to be here with you of course, your colleagues, and Angus Taylor, the local member here federally, and Commissioner Fitzsimmons. Thank you, again, for the tremendous job you're doing with all of your team - all around New South Wales. As the Premier said, it is quite humbling as you come and speak to families and you speak to individuals, you speak to volunteers, and you see the best of Australia on every single occasion. That's what we're seeing here again today. Friendships, neighbours looking after each other, simple kindnesses that are being extended. I met one wonderful, wonderful lady today from Malta. She was there with another lady, a single lady, who was finding it a bit tough. She was looking after her. She was making sure that she gets back to her property today. She's holding her hand. That's what she's doing. And this is the grace, this is the kindness, that events like this need and that's what's being displayed here on the ground. That will continue. Not just through the ordinary every day things that are done by members of the community off their own bat, but also by the many volunteers. We rightfully praise those in the RFS, but equally today we met with members of St John's Ambulance, the State Emergency Service, those who are looking after the care and welfare of animals and others, there are so many people who stick up their hands in these times. We thank them very, very much for everything they are doing. As the Premier has just said, the category C assistance is being extended to the Wollondilly and the Wingecarribee Shires. That, as the Premier said, includes payments for small businesses and producers and businesses of up to $15,000 and also includes things like mental health support and small grants to communities in both shires to help them rebuild particularly with community resilience programs and things of that nature coming out of that fund. That support is going to around 40 local government areas around New South Wales at the moment. It's the same sort of support that's been provided in many other parts, say, of Queensland where they have had the fires as well in recent times. These programmes are designed to help people with their immediate needs. The Premier and I have agreed also this morning that those $1,000 disaster assistance recovery payments that are paid to each individual and the $400 that are paid for each child, in a family, that will be extended to the Wingecarribee shire as well. It is already in place for Wollondilly. Those arrangements will be put in place today. These things are done as a partnership. This is the best coordinated, the best resourced, the biggest-hearted response that I think we've seen once again here from our response to these terrible disasters. It is something, I think, Australians, as I said earlier today, can be enormously proud of, seeing their country at their best. That is what we have to keep focused on, allowing Australians to continue to be at their best, supporting them as they get tired and ensure that we can continue to roll out what has been an extraordinary performance from all of those who have been involved.
PREMIER BEREJIKLIAN: Commissioner, did you want to say anything?
SHANE FITZSIMMONS, COMMISSIONER OF THE NEW SOUTH WALES RURAL FIRE SERVICE: No, I'm happy to be questioned.
PREMIER BEREJIKLIAN: Ok, any questions?
JOURNALIST: There's been concern in Balmoral specifically about when people will be able to get back in to that village and see whether or not their home is still standing?
PREMIER BEREJIKLIAN: Look it’s devastating not knowing whether your property is standing or not. Unfortunately, we have received bad news. There's not much left in Balmoral. I might ask the commissioner to add to my comments, but I understand expert teams are going in on the ground in those communities today to make full assessments and to let people know when it's safe to go back. And even if people have lost their properties, they still want to go back to see what's left and if there is anything I can salvage we know that's part of the recovery. And we want people to have access to their land to their property as soon as they can but it has to be safe as well and the expert teams will make sure that happens as soon as possible.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, you said that you were going to discuss the bushfire response at COAG in March. What do you say to people who might have reservations about that, maybe being too long to wait to have those discussions?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, the immediate needs as I said this morning, simply require the request to come forward as they do through the regular meetings that are held of the fire chiefs and commissioners. The ministers responsible, David, they only met a few weeks ago. And what we need to do in March is to ensure that we deal with the recommendations that come out from many of the lessons that have come through these fires, not just here in New South Wales, but in other states and territories as well that have been affected. And we look forward to receiving those proposals then. Right now they're fighting fires and we don't want them sitting around writing submissions. We want them obviously to be focussed on the operational tasks they had in front of them. COAG has been very busy over back end of this year, particularly dealing with a lot of the environmental management issues that we've been working on, waste management, which I thank the premier for her support on. And we'll be considering those proposals. A lot of the ministers have been meeting through their various councils in recent weeks and months. And that means there will be a really good body of work that comes forward to COAG in March, which will be in New South Wales, and it'll be in Rooty Hill. And I'm looking forward to being out there at that wonderful new facility out there in Rooty Hill.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, you've discussed fatigue a lot today it’s obviously something you're particularly concerned about. Given you know we are still early, still in the traditional bushfire season. Can we expect further announcements around these? How are we going to deal with that exhaustion that is clearly going to be a problem?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, I might defer to the Commissioner on this. He and I had a chat about this this morning. It's obviously one of the many significant issues that the commissioner manages with this incredible volunteer fighting force that is out there. But I've got to tell you, one of the things the Commissioner told me this morning, which just impressed me so much, is when a call went out yesterday, wasn’t it Commissioner, for extra hands, an extra thousand firefighters showed up in response to that call, a thousand. That is just that is just incredible. People know what's at stake and they're all making their contribution personally.
COMMISSIONER FITZSIMMONS: Thank you, Prime Minister. Look. Fatigue management and the drain, and the relentless nature of this season is certainly taking a toll. And so, too, is the geographic spread of the activity, you might recall, for several months between July and into September, most of our effort was really concentrated in north east New South Wales we’ve now got the fire spreading from north east New South Wales, Queensland border down to the south coast of New South Wales. Those logistical challenges, those transport and accommodation challenges, fretting and moving people right across such a broad geographic area all add to the challenges of fatigue and crew rotation. Underpinning all of this is a combination of members that are in a very strong position, a very ready position to sustain ongoing efforts and support for three days, five days at a time, coming back for a rest and doing another three to five days, coming back for a rest. Not everybody can do that. There are also teams that need to maintain a local presence at a local level of fire covering in case we get new fires. And then on days like yesterday where we saw such a broad area affected by a catastrophic forecast and unfolding in the day. Devastating fires. We saw a whole a whole bunch of people in the order of a thousand people stand up and make themselves available to bolster that effort. We've got another 30 people that the Prime Minister met this morning in at the state headquarters that have just arrived from Canada and the United States. We've got commitments to see beyond that from our interstate colleagues and overseas colleagues to help us with the fatigue management and the crew rotations and where appropriate, the bolstering of numbers on those difficult days. It is a tough challenge. It is a difficult challenge and something that we work very closely on and we will continue to work very closely on as we see through the through the balance of this season. We've got to keep in mind that we're not expecting any rainfall to make any meaningful difference to these fires until January, January-February. That's still a way to go. We're still talking four to six weeks at best before we start to see a meaningful reprieve in the weather. Based on the forecasts that are available and then as the Prime Minister indicated, we will want to do some very critical post incident reviews, postseason reviews, gather the information, gather the support from firefighters and communities right across New South Wales. That will take some time. The last thing we want is, is ad hoc-ery, or unnecessary reactiveness so close to the end of this season, and particularly when other states and territories are still going to have challenges heading well and truly into March. So there will need to be a very concerted effort to consolidate the learnings to ensure that we're hearing far and wide and formulate that into lessons and proposals in due course. But it is certainly something we'll be very much focussed on.
JOURNALIST: Commissioner do you have any specific numbers concerning the number of homes that were lost in Balmoral?
COMMISSIONER FITZSIMMONS: Unfortunately, I don't have the specific numbers. There are teams in the field today, but as the Premier indicated, the team inside there said it was devastating and I think they coined a phrase. There's not a lot left or there's not much left. And that's just really confronting to contemplate. And whether it's Balmoral or Buxton that are the two hardest hit areas in this in this locality. We aren't we are talking dozens of properties, dozens of buildings. As a matter of fact, right across all the fire grounds of the last 24 hours, we could be talking about another hundred buildings being added to the state tally so far this season. That doesn't mean there's 100 homes and we need to make sure we differentiate between buildings, property and homes. The detailed analysis that is going on in the field now, will seek to differentiate between what is what is a home, what is a house, what is a shed. And you know, and that takes some time. We need to be able to access these areas. But the toll is significant. And as we know earlier this morning, we are still working with police to try and locate an unaccounted for person up near Lithgow with the community for Dargan. And so there's a long way to go before we really have an understanding of the magnitude and scale of the loss and damage here as the result of these fires.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, with the RFS volunteers, it's amazing what they're doing. But say if you work for yourself, you've been doing it for a couple of weeks now, we’re three days from Christmas. You've done yourself out of a fair bit of dough, it's a hard pill to swallow.
PRIME MINISTER: Well, it is. It is tough and it always has been. The volunteer effort is, it is a standing volunteer force of over 200,000 people around the country. In fact, as I said this morning, there are more members registered here in New South Wales than we have in our ADF, both on reserve and in the standing ADF. So it is an enormous number of people who turn up. And it's not just also because as we know, when they're fighting fires, but the training that goes into the work that is done out of season. Let's not forget that as well. This is a year round job for anyone who's involved and turns up and over here on any other given day and the support that goes in behind it and say, look, we're certainly open to talking about those issues, about how we can best sustain that volunteer effort. But I think we always must be mindful that at its heart, it always has been, and for it to exist on that scale, it will always exist as a volunteer effort. As I said this morning there, they're all professionals. Some are paid, some are unpaid, but they're very professional about how they do their job and how they apply themselves to that task.
COMMISSIONER FITZSIMMONS: Do you mind if I add something to that?
PRIME MINISTER: Sure, please.
COMMISSIONER FITZSIMMONS: Just picking up on that point, and I've spent quite a bit of time with volunteers at various different locations over the last few weeks and months. And there's a whole range of different statuses of volunteers, whether they're self-employed or employees of somebody else. Retired, uni students, there is a whole bunch of different categories. And particularly with the self-employed, the amount of people that I speak to, they are running a real challenge, juggling what they're doing, what their priorities are. There is no doubt their absolute priority is to secure income, pay the bills and look after their family and talking to them, they always say to me, we're up here, we're doing our bit, but every now and then I've got to get home and earn a dollar because I want to be up there with my mates. I want to be up there with my colleagues and trying to make a difference. We're very conscious of that. We're really conscious of how difficult that is when you're trying to run a business. And in some of these drought stricken areas of New South Wales, even small business owners, whether where the where the business revenue has slowed down so much because of the drought, they might be the only person running their business now. So they can't even duck away for a few days because they're they've had to lay off employees or something. So we know acutely very much how tough our people are doing it. But the overriding message that they've got when these things are happening, when their colleagues are out there and they're trying to defend their communities, they want to be there with them and they want to be there partnering to try and make that difference. But it's a real challenge to juggle that up all the time. And so, too, for the employers. The generosity of employers, small, medium, large scale business, the private public sector, there's a there's a lot of people that have been away from work for a long time. And we've got arrangements in New South Wales where there's subsidies for payroll taxes and all those sorts of things. And we'll continue to work with the government on what other things can be done to support and incentivise employers and small business and volunteers. And let's not forget let's not forget it's the generosity and support of the employing community, but without the love and support at home that the partners, the families, the kids, the wives, the husbands, the mums and dads without that love and support at home, and extraordinary sacrifice, particularly over recent months and most notably as we head into what is regarded as some of our most precious family time of the year as we head into the Christmas and New Year break. There are going to be thousands of people are not home for Christmas this year because they're going to be out there either concerned because they're directly impacted by these fires as community members or they're going to be leaving a leaving a Christmas lunch or a Christmas dinner or a Christmas function because they want to do their part. They want to join with their colleagues and try and make a difference in that local community and continue to save and protect as much as they can. And we're very mindful of all of that. And it's tough.
JOURNALIST: Given all that Commissioner, from everything you’ve seen, how proud are you of your people?
COMMISSIONER FITZSIMMONS: I couldn't be any more proud. And we've seen, we've seen only tragically this week, the risk is real and the consequences can be fatal. And as a result of the events, only this week, there are families, there are loved ones, there are wives and there are children. And there are mates who will never be the same again because of the horrendous events that unfolded this week. I could not be any more proud. Not just of the extraordinary volunteers that but I have the privilege of being the Commissioner for, but the entire coordinated fire response effort here in New South Wales partnering with the Commonwealth. We've got men and women from firefighting agencies, forestry, national parks, Fire and Rescue, RFS, all the emergency services, support agencies, the police and so many functional areas of government right through to community volunteers. It's a massive, huge logistical operation, maintaining and sustaining more than 2000 people per shift day and night. The people behind the scenes, the people on the frontline, I could not be any more proud of the extraordinary efforts and commitment and dedication that we see rolling out, day in, day out. And we know that they're going to be doing it as long as their community and their people of New South Wales are going to be threatened. And all we pray for is rain. And unfortunately, we need a lot of rain to start giving us some reprieve.
PRIME MINISTER: I think all Australians, I think are very proud, I know that the Commissioner is very proud and the Premier is very proud of the services that they leave. All Australians are extremely proud of what's being done here and in so many other parts around the country whether it's down on Kangaroo Island in South Australia today, or other parts of Victoria or terribly right across New South Wales and up in Queensland, all Australians are proud and they have a great, great reason to be proud. This is this is Australia at its best. Australia at its best. And I thank them all. Thank you.