Speeches
Virtual Address - Business Council of Australia AGM
19 November 2020
PRIME MINISTER: Well thank you very much Tim for those very kind words.
And can I say, a more extraordinary summary of the year we’ve just had and what’s involved, I don’t think I’ve heard. So thank you very much for that and I join with you in thanking all of those many other leaders, all those many other hard working people whether they have been leading businesses or running small and medium sized enterprises, working in public departments, in health or even of course in places like Services Australia processing people’s payments.
It has been an extraordinary year since we last met. And that was an excellent I think, run-down of what it’s been and it took me back I’ve got to say on more than one occasion.
I’m very pleased to hear about the announcement on Rappville by the way, it was around about, a little earlier last year, I was in Rappville and I stood under the shade cloth of the school in that community that had been devastated and the fact that you haven’t forgotten them, we haven’t forgotten them, I really want to commend you for that. That shows the initiative that you set about, Sir Peter was very practical, very grass-roots based and I’m, along with the many other communities, KI and the rest of it. But I’ve got to say I was rapt to hear about Rappville. So thank you very much.
Well g’day from iso, day one. Named, I'm told, by the Australian National Dictionary Centre earlier this year as the 2020 word of the year. I suspect there are a few other words that have been mentioned over the course of the year with great frequency, but iso seems to be the one that they've landed on.
So it's great to join you, Tim and Jennifer and all the members of the BCA. Albeit in these rather different and strange circumstances.
Can I join you in acknowledging where I am, of the Ngunnawal people, elders past, present and the future.
And particularly today, can I acknowledge all serving members of the Australian Defence Force and our veterans and simply say to them, thank you for your service from a very grateful nation. They have earned the respect with which they are held by all the Australian people.
But you’re right Tim, this year has tested us, our families, our communities, our businesses, our governments, our public institutions, like few that we can recall, certainly in my lifetime and for many generations. Let me say at the outset just how incredibly proud I am of our country and how it has performed.
Everyone has played their part, as you've said, business in particular, large and small, right across the country, banks, utilities, companies, airlines, miners, supermarkets, local small businesses, who have adapted to challenges and demands of restrictions in particular operating in a COVIDSafe manner, the adaptation, the innovation all on display.
Today Australia is one of just a handful of countries leading the world in both our health and economic response to the pandemic, as you rightly say Tim, saving lives, saving livelihoods. I’ve got to say, it was the East Asia Summit on the weekend. I heard one of the leaders use that exact phrase and I was encouraged by it. I must have used it so often.
Recent outbreaks across the UK and Europe and India and the US just reminds us the risks are there. The virus hasn't gone anywhere and that we must remain vigilant in our fight against the virus, that is so essential to maintaining the positive economic recovery.
Rapid response. You're right, on the economic front, the government did recognise that we needed to act fast and purposefully. The longer the economy, we knew, spent in recession, the slower and harder it would be to restore the economy to full employment once COVID-19 was under control by whatever means. Our economic support packages, they did provide timely assistance to affected workers and gave them great encouragement, to businesses and the broader community, 700,000 jobs we know we’ve saved according to Treasury estimates, the doors of tens of thousands of businesses kept open. And today we know, 648,500 Australians have now returned to work since May. And there are positive signs that customers, consumers and businesses are gaining greater confidence in the recovery, as we've seen week after week, as confidence surveys continue to improve and return to pre-COVID levels.
Recent positive news on the prospects of an effective vaccine are also encouraging, the Governor of the Reserve Bank, Phil said earlier this week, the stimulus that is already in the system, the general strength of the private sector balance sheets, credit to those chief executives and boards, and the significant government support for firms to invest and employ. They provide the conditions for a rapid rebound.
With one very important condition though, which we all know - that we continue to manage the virus effectively. It has a habit of reminding us about this all too frequently. Even then, though, we still face the big challenges you’ve flagged, to support the transition to a private sector led growth and to get Australians back into jobs for the long term.
Appropriately, our government has done a lot of the initial heavy lifting to support the economy during this crisis. JobKeeper, JobSeeker, JobTrainer, business cash flow boost, HomeBuilder, our direct support for the aviation sector, the tourism and entertainment sector, the business events sector, there has been much of this. 26 percent of our economy, including the significant monetary interventions undertaken by the Reserve Bank, have been put in place to ensure Australia gets through this.
We even made payments to keep the animals fed and cared for in zoos. That's how practical the federal government support came down. But we must not lose sight of a critical fact. Only a private sector led recovery, a business led recovery can be sustainable and drive the necessary growth for the future.
Our government passionately believes this, a business recovery, that claims new ground - that's essential. Managing the virus and delivering strong policy responses on both the demand and supply sides, that will build confidence and is. Encouraging consumers to draw on their savings, providing an environment for businesses to invest now and fostering the transition to that business led growth.
The government's 2020-2021 Budget did just this, significant tax relief by bringing forward stage two of the personal income tax plan that delivers tax cuts to more than 11 million taxpayers backdated to the 1st of July this year. The extension of the instant asset write off, an instant expensing measure now, which will allow 99 per cent of businesses to write off the value of assets they purchase, and one that I'm very, very passionate about- the temporary loss carry back for companies with a turnover of up to $5 billion, lowering the costs of business investment and providing targeted cash flow boost for business, able to utilise COVID losses now. And I call them COVID losses because these losses were not achieved through any fault of these businesses. COVID hit our economy. And we believe it's very important that those businesses that have had good years coming in, can access the tax they paid to get them through it, not have to wait years in order to realise and use those losses in the future when their profitability returns.
Very much, we are a shareholder in the Australian economy and we've acted like a responsible shareholder. Understanding that your prosperity is the country's prosperity.
Treasury estimates these measures will create around 100,000 jobs by the end of 21-22 and increase GDP by around $6 billion in 2021 and $19 billion in 2021-2022. Now we're also supporting businesses that take on young jobseekers through the JobMaker hiring credit. This provides businesses, as you know, the incentives to take on young jobseekers with a credit of $200 dollars a week for each additional employee they hire aged 16 to 29 years old and $100 hundred a week for those between 30 to 35 who are eligible as well. Now we know that in recessions, it's younger people for whom the scarring on the labour market is the most damaging and the hardest to recover from. So this isn't about excluding others. It's about prioritising some to ensure that the worst effects that we know from recessions aren't realised in this recession, as we go through this recession.
We need businesses to seize those opportunities to invest, grow and create new jobs and to drive that recovery and claim new ground. So I want to turn now to some of those areas of policy that I know of considerable interest to the BCA. And in many respects, we discussed this time last year and through the course of this year as we dealt with the impact of the pandemic.
At the start of the pandemic, the government was quick to identify the rigidity of Australia's industrial relations system as a barrier to overcoming the jobs challenge confronting us. It couldn't be business as usual. Put simply, the system could not deliver the flexibility that COVID not just required, but demanded. Something as simple as requiring staff to work from home did not fit comfortably with many modern awards, let alone those that aren’t so modern.
Business couldn’t reduce someone’s hours or change someone’s duties, even when the sole point of that change was actually just to keep them in a job and the business afloat. And through the JobKeeper legislation, we amended the Fair Work Act twice on a temporary basis so that businesses could make these simple but necessary changes. These provisions played an important role in allowing businesses to survive and keep people in jobs, and without them, many would have had to let staff go or close the doors.
I also want to join with you, Tim, in thanking the ACTU. They came to the table. I remember contacting Sally, asking her around, we had a cup of tea and we talked about what we hoped to achieve, now we didn't make big promises to each other. We just promised to get around a table and do the best that we could. And I agree with you. I think she's been able to bring the ACTU some distance and hopefully more, let's see. Let's just see. But I do appreciate the fact that she stepped up and as a result, that brought with it, ultimately the support of the Opposition when we came to pass those measures through the parliament, for which I'm also appreciative.
Now, at the same time, I was determined to take the opportunity COVID presented to go further, not just in dealing with those immediate needs. In June, I announced the establishment of five industrial relations working groups to look at problem areas within the IR system in order to reduce barriers to job creation. Now, the BCA was a key member of the Enterprise Agreement Working Group and has provided valuable input into the four other groups on greenfields agreements, award complexity, compliance and enforcement, and casual and temporary workers. This is a big effort that you put in. This was a significant investment.
As I said when I launched this process our goal is to try and build as much consensus as possible around our reforms. I said our approach will not and has not been and will not be driven by ideology wars, it will be pragmatic, it will be balanced, it will be realistic in scope, and it will be achievable.
For too long, industrial relations in Australia has been seen as a zero sum game, a battleground with massive effort and political capital spent beating chests trying to secure ultimately, what only end up to be often very marginal changes. Years later massive effort and capital are then spent on trying to reverse that very reform under a different government. Now we've got to get a lot smarter about this. And that was the approach that I hoped to start back there earlier this year, to get changes and to make them stick. And I think the process we've been embarked on, will, can deliver that and will deliver that.
I'm pleased to say a lot of the work has been done now behind the scenes in the past few months, and the working groups spent more than 120 hours in negotiations spanning some 35 meetings, which formally concluded at the end of September, a big effort for which I'm very grateful. Attorney-General Christian Porter has done an extraordinary job, just like the Treasurer in his very quick and very timely and well considered response in driving our reforms on the economic supports through the pandemic.
Consultation with stakeholders has been significant on a package of legislative reforms. Now it remains our intention to introduce an omnibus bill in the Parliament by the end of this year. The Cabinet will consider that very shortly. It will be a reform package that moves employers and workers forward, and one that complements our JobMaker plan by helping businesses have the confidence to hire and get people back to work and also massively reducing red tape.
In the case of enterprise bargaining, I know particularly important to the BCA, we know there are not enough agreements delivering productivity improvements for business and higher wages for employees. Agreement making is becoming bogged down in detailed, overly prescriptive procedural requirements that make the process just too difficult to undertake. And agreements just simply don't happen. They're just too difficult to get approved, both employers and unions have recognised that this system needs fixing through this process. And the government has identified various issues that need to be addressed and will be. The test for approval of agreements should focus on substance rather than technicalities. Agreements should be assessed on actual foreseeable circumstances, not far fetched hypotheticals dreamed up in wherever they happen to dream these things up, and the Fair Work Commission assessment of them should take place quickly, quickly within set time frames where there is agreement from the actual employees and employers involved to be able to get on with it.
Key protections like the better off overall test will continue to be an important part of the framework. However, our goal is to ensure it will be applied in a practical and sensible way so that the approval process does not discourage bargaining, which is what is happening now. And that must change. As we saw with the JobKeeper flexibilities, reform is possible when the benefits to all sides are clearly understood, when they’re worked up as far as possible together, where there are appropriate safeguards and protections and that they are included to prevent reforms being abused.
Now, I don't expect our reforms will lead to people having parades in the streets or the opposite for that matter, I don't expect there to be universal agreement from the union movement. Businesses won’t see their version of industrial utopia for some either. But it will be genuine in its attempt to fix real practical problems in a way that provides shared benefits. The reforms will be significant enough, I believe, to shift that needle for employers and workers so they can move forward to get more people back to work, done in a way that doesn't repeat the tired ideological battles of the past, and one that provides certainty for everyone involved. This is the same approach we've taken throughout the COVID pandemic - solve the problem, work the issue, work with others pragmatically finding the right balance so we can, as you reminded us again tonight Tim, save lives and save livelihoods. It is my mantra. It's true.
Alongside improving the flexibility of our labour market, our success is getting Australians back in to work also by helping them to reset the skills environment in which we operate. How well the skills of our workforce match the needs of our business. That's the test. We all know that Australia needs high quality and responsive skilled system. Jennifer's been an advocate for this over a very long time and that, one that provides skilled workers, businesses need the skilled- sorry provides the skilled workers businesses need, that supports those out of work to gain the skills that are in demand.
Now, again, our Budget extended wage support to employers taking on a new apprentice or trainee with an additional $1.2 billion to deliver 100,000 new apprenticeships, now importantly we made that programme available to businesses of all sizes, including large businesses who have the confidence and capacity to take on new apprentices in uncertain times. And just last month, BHP announced it was investing in 2,500 new apprenticeships and traineeships over the next five years, as well as partnering with the government to deliver a further 1,000 advance apprenticeships and short courses in regional areas. When I got this news, John Kunkel would tell you, I lit up like a Christmas tree. I thought it was fantastic. These employment and training opportunities reflect confidence in Australia's prospects, but they also create hope, real hope, particularly for younger people embarking on their careers, which is particularly hard for them in an environment like this. By keeping apprentices in training and boosting new commencements, we're maintaining the pipeline of skilled workers that our economy depends on.
Results, they are encouraging, the number of apprentices and trainees and training contracts has recovered to be above where it was in March, and it is rising. On the job apprenticeship training is also one part of the story. It's also critical to ensure there are good off the job training options to support upskilling and reskilling for jobseekers and school leavers. That's why we partnered with the states and territories through the National Cabinet to establish the $1 billion dollar JobTrainer fund, that fund is providing over 300,000 training places that are free or low cost in areas of identified skills needed.
Now if you want to know, there’s a lot been said about the National Cabinet, how we set rules for whether people can go to barre classes or not, and a whole bunch more important things as well, I suppose, but that was a good process and we did work together. But the JobSeeker agreement - we were able to bring together in a matter of weeks, and bring together not just the funding to support the more than 300,000 places, but we're able to do it with a commitment to further reforms beyond the current year. Of all the things National Cabinet has done, and I'm proud of so much of the work we've done together, state leaders and the Commonwealth, that one said to me, we need to deal with the problem now and we need to build for the future. And that gives me a lot of confidence going into next year with all the many other challenges that the National Cabinet has to deal with, things like mental health reform, aged care and the like.
The National Skills Commission under Adam Boyton, known well to the BCA is playing an indispensable role in identifying those skill needs, we’re now all benefiting from the, Adam’s rich data driven insights, as you have previously done - on the labour market trends and skills developments, including through his expert briefings to both the federal Cabinet and the National Cabinet. A good example of that was the creation of the Resilient Occupations Index, where the National Skills Commission has mapped expected demand for over 300 occupation types and analysed whether COVID-19 has led to any major changes in future demands. And this in turn has provided the evidence base, a big missing piece for the design and rollout of the JobTrainer fund, including an agreed course list and prices.
All states and territories have signed up, and free or low fee training is available right now in New South Wales, South Australia and Western Australia, with other states due to roll out very soon. So a young person coming out of a tough final year at school in these states, in New South Wales for example, and wanting to become a mechanic and to do a Cert. 3 in engineering for free. An older Australian out of work in South Australia and looking to switch careers because of COVID could take up a free or low cost Cert. 4 in cybersecurity, ageing support, or mental health. And you don't need to spend 2 to 3 years studying if you don't need to. Around two thirds of the JobTrainer places is expected to be in short courses.
For those looking to up skill, there will be skill set courses available in fields like digital imaging, coding and business administration. Courses like these can be completed in weeks, not months, and be relevant beyond our focus on boosting training places in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, we are determined to lift the standard of the VET system through the longer term reform I referred to. All states participating in JobTrainer have signed up to what is a very ambitious heads of agreement on skills reform, committing to immediate reforms to rationalise national VET qualifications, and introducing improved industry- industry engagement arrangements.
Minister Cash is working with her state counterparts on these reforms as a priority. Through the National Cabinet, the Commonwealth and all states and territories have agreed to work towards a new national skills agreement by August of 2021. Priority for the new agreement includes a new funding model that improves the national consistency of subsidies and is linked with efficient pricing and the skills needed by employers.
I've always said that this is a system that my government would be prepared to invest more in, I wasn’t going to throw money at an old broken system that people weren’t prepared to fix. But through the National Cabinet, through Michaelia’s excellent work with her ministers. I'm seeing that willingness to make those changes, we’ve got a long way to go yet. We get there, then it's worth investing more in for all of us.
Now likewise, we need our higher education sector and our research institutions to support our recovery. This year, we turned to our scientists and researchers more than ever, I've seen more white coats than I have in a very long time, and it's been great to get their input. On Monday in Melbourne, I visited CSL Seqirus, where production of the AstraZeneca vaccine has begun. Tremendously exciting. Some of our best minds directing all their talent and ingenuity to creating something that will allow us to resume a form of normal life again.
I saw the same bright, amazing people up at the University of Queensland as well, working on their molecular clamp vaccine. And that's just in the vaccines area. Science and research is not just helping us fight COVID-19. It is at the heart of helping our economy grow back stronger.
Now, for this to happen, businesses and researchers do need to come together. This has been a real failing in Australia. The reality is Australia is a laggard when it comes to business collaboration with higher education and research institutions. And you are both at fault, as is the government. This means we aren’t capturing the full benefits of our world class science and research. We aren’t capitalising on it enough to improve lives, to grow our wealth or to create jobs. The Government understands this and we understand what we need to do.
The importance of our world class science and research community and the role it can play is vital to claiming that new ground on the other side of COVID-19. That's why, recognising what we needed to do the Budget injected over a billion dollars into university research. And I commend Dan Tehan for the great work he's done there to ensure the ongoing capability and excellence of our research workforce. And over $450 million for the CSIRO to support the important science and research work they are doing. So we're investing. We want to provide a platform and a pathway for our talented researchers to partner with you, with businesses all around the country and to apply their intellectual firepower as research entrepreneurs, research entrepreneurs. That's what we want to see. That's why we committed $5.8 million in the budget for a scoping study to examine options for a new scheme to accelerate commercialisation on priority university research and the advice of our business and university leaders will be critical in scaling up our ambition and getting this right.
The Minister for Education, Dan Tehan, has formed an expert panel as part of this scoping study made up of several BCA members, including senior representatives from BHP, Cochlear, Macquarie and Siemens. Jeff Connelly from Siemens has kindly agreed to be the chair. And I thank him very much. I urge all of you to be involved in this exercise in advance of next year's Budget. We do need your ideas as much as we need the ideas of the scientists, your leadership and your dollars to bring out more of our R&D spend to commercial advantage.
Now, let me finally touch on two other signature elements of the government's economic plan, our energy and manufacturing strategies. We are resetting Australia's East Coast gas market unlocking additional gas to drive recovery and developing a world leading Australian gas hub to support higher wage jobs, including in manufacturing. We are putting downward pressure on energy prices while developing the backbone of a reliable, reliable, lower emissions national electricity market.
We are investing more than $250 million to accelerate all priority transmission projects identified in the AEMO Integrated Systems Plan. These interconnectors will create jobs and integrate our world leading levels of renewable energy generation into the grid.
Australia is in the midst of that renewable energy boom, per person Australia's investing in renewable energy 10 times faster than the global average and 4 times faster per capita than in Europe, China, Japan or the United States.
We are committed to the Paris Agreement and our international targets. Our policies have us on track to meet our 2030 target of 26 per cent below 2005 levels. We intend to not just meet our commitments but to beat them. We see them as a floor for our ambition, not a ceiling.
As a country, when we make a promise, we keep it. And we have delivered in spades on our Kyoto era targets, beating them by around 430 million tonnes, that’s around 80 per cent of Australia's annual national emissions.
Because we've delivered, we have the option of using these credits towards our next commitment period. This is the so-called carryover. It's much like getting ahead on your mortgage repayments. I've also said we will only use that carryover, though, to the extent that is required. Let me be very clear. My ambition, my government's ambition is that we will not need them. And we are working to this as our goal, consistent with our record of over delivering in these areas. And I am confident that our policies will get this job done.
Now, I hope to have more to say about this before the end of the year as we update our emissions projections that will take into account new policies and measures. Looking beyond 2030 we want to reach net zero emissions as quickly as possible and to achieve this through technology, not higher taxes either directly through government sanctioned electricity prices or as a result of a carbon tax. Higher electricity prices is not the policy certainty I'm looking to provide. And I won't make a commitment on behalf of the Australian people unless I can tell them how we will achieve it and what this will cost. In this respect in relation to these commitments. Australia truly does stand out.
We are actively working through those considerations right now, including how our practical technology based approach can get us there. Our technology investment roadmap which will guide an expected $18 billion in government investment to 2030 and a further $50 billion dollars in co-investment, will drive reductions in the decades after 2030. Getting these technologies right will avoid around 250 million tonnes of emissions each year by 2040.
Affordable and reliable energy is a cornerstone of the government's plan for revitalised manufacturing in Australia. Coming out of COVID-19, it forms part of the productivity platform necessary for any successful industry policy. Lower taxes, simpler industrial relations, world class training and skills development, less red tape, enabling digital transformation. That's that's step one of having a manufacturing plan in this country and we’ve made it step one as part of our plan, but our $1.5 billion manufacturing plan set down in the Budget is also about setting priorities in areas of genuine competitive advantage, resources technology and critical minerals processing, food and beverage, medical products, recycling and clean energy, defence and space.
We’ve nominated them. They are the priorities. We will also work to improve supply chain resilience in securing sovereign capability in areas of national interest. And just this past week, we announced a $1 billion dollar investment matched by $800 million from CSL Seqirus for a new world class vaccine and antivenom manufacturing facility in Melbourne.
Again, we are keen to have the closest possible partnership with industry in the development and implementation of our manufacturing strategy. Minister Karen Andrews has been driving this from the day after the last election and indeed before. Working very closely with key industry stakeholders in each priority area to co-design the road maps that now need to be developed. And that will set out clear goals and performance metrics over the next 2, 5 and 10 years. She's doing an outstanding job.
So friends, this year has challenged us, as Tim reminded us, like no other in living memory. But with challenge comes greater opportunity. And I want Australians to look to 2021 with hope, with aspiration, with confidence in their selves and in a country they can be just so proud of by what we've been able to achieve this year in the most difficult of circumstances.
We have one of the best records of any country in the world for managing the health and economic impacts of COVID-19.
That has required enormous effort by so many people. And I particularly want to thank Greg Hunt as our Minister for Health. Greg, working together with his team at the Department of Health, Brendan Murphy and Paul Kelly have been an extraordinary group of people to ensure that we could lead on the health response that has enabled us to lead on the economic response with the Treasurer and so many others, including Mathias Cormann, who has now retired from the parliament.
Our task now is to complete the transition to a business led economic recovery in a COVIDSafe way. And I know you share that ambition. With 8 out of 10 jobs in the private sector. We need businesses back out there employing people, investing and claiming that new ground.
Our Australian team has rallied this year. And so far we have risen to that challenge and now we need to push on and win on the other side. Thank you so much for what is, I'm sure your very patient attention during this format.
Thank you.
Remarks - Tokyo, Japan
17 November 2020
Prime Minister Suga [delivered via translator]: My heartfelt compliments to Prime Minister Scott Morrison. I have the honour to greet Prime Minister Morrison as my first guest to meet in person in Japan, [inaudible].
Japan and Australia are special strategic partners, sharing fundamental values, such as the commitment to freedom, democracy, human rights, rule of law and others, as well as a strategic interest of all of our countries to work together to realise that a free and open Indo-Pacific region.
In the Indo-Pacific region, the security and defence cooperation between Japan and Australia, having the will and capacity to contribute to regional stability are becoming increasingly important.
Under this banner I hereby announce that on this occasion we have reached an agreement in principle on our Reciprocal Access Agreement that we have been closing, that elevates from Security and Defence cooperation to a new level.
The Reciprocal Access Agreement firmly underpins the determination of both Japan and Australia to contribute to the peace and stability of the Indo-Pacific region.
We have just signed the Japan Australia Leaders’ meeting statement, further reinforcement of financial co-operations in the areas of security, defence cooperation, economy, and others are enshrined in this statement and indeed I wish to strengthen Japan-Australia collaboration even further.
In the area of the economy we welcome the signing of RCEP and I concur that the collaboration between our two countries [inaudible]. But furthermore to continue our cooperation in steady [inaudible] and expansion of the TPP.
Later tonight at dinner, where we plan to exchange views on others as well, on the respective issues in the region such as dealing with North Korea including the abduction issues, also South China Sea and other matters. I wish to confirm our close collaboration with Prime Minister Morrison.
I look forward to further revitalisation of active engagement of our people at broader levels by collaboration opportunities including next year’s Olympic and Paralympic games and other opportunities.
Thank you very much Prime Minister Morrison.
PRIME MINISTER MORRISON: Thank you Prime Minister, it is a great honour and privilege to be joining you here in Tokyo and to be your first visitor as a nation’s leader, here to both congratulate you on your ascension to the Prime Ministership, but I particularly want to thank you for your very warm welcome today.
Prime Minister, in any relationship first impressions really count and I can assure you the first impressions of us both today I think are very, extremely positive. And I look forward to a very important and very fruitful partnership between us in the years ahead.
Australia and Japan are Indo-Pacific nations. But more than that, we share a very unique view on the Indo-Pacific. We share a great alliance with the United States, we also share a significant and most significant trading relationship with China, and very strong and positive relationships with all the countries, the nation states of the Indo-Pacific. And believe passionately in each of their sovereignty.
So today, our special strategic partnership became even stronger, in particular because today we've taken a significant step forward in Japan and Australia, reaching an in principle agreement on a landmark Defence treaty, the Reciprocal Access Agreement.
We respect and appreciate that the only other nation that Japan has entered into such an agreement, which we have now reached in principle agreement on, is the United States some 60 years ago. And so we respect and appreciate the special trust that you placed in us in getting to this important point of our agreement today.
But there was more to discuss than that arrangement today. We have discussed our cooperation in science, technology, on working together for a lower emissions, and zero emissions future, our hydrogen energy supply chain pilot project that will see the first shipment of hydrogen to Japan in March of next year, working together off the base of Australia's lower emissions technology roadmap, working together on the many trade agreements of which we form a partner together, in particular the TPP, as well as the RCEP agreement that was concluded on the weekend.
As well as working together to reform the World Trade Organisation, working together on the WHO to address the global pandemic that has caused so much suffering and so much economic loss around the world, and in particular working with nations in our own region, be it in the Pacific island states of the Southwest Pacific or the ASEAN nations. When we work together, as we are with many others, in ensuring that the vaccines that can be delivered across all of these countries, hopefully over the course of 2021, to return the world to a greater state of normal than we have known now for some time.
So I look forward to our conversation at dinner this evening in a relaxed atmosphere amongst friends, and I also look forward to in a few months’ time making a presentation to you Prime Minister, as a Sydney-sider, that’s where the Olympics were hosted in the year 2000, we look forward with great enthusiasm to the wonderful Tokyo Olympics that will be held next year. And I present to you, I look forward to presenting, these medals, Gold and Silver, Bronze Medals of the Sydney Olympics to you and to the people of Japan and with you all the very best for the 2021 Tokyo Games.
Remarks - Parkville, VIC
16 November 2020
PRIME MINISTER: Well thank you very much Pat and it’s great to be here at these headquarters, at the premises which I’ve had something to do with over the years. But no one has driven this agenda like you, and I want to thank you in particular for being so available to me and to Greg and so many of my Ministers and other advisers. When Pat McGorry’s calling, you pick up the phone, I can assure you of that, to speak about these issues because he will be telling you about what is happening on the ground with patients and with others in distress and he always has very practical suggestions. We get to the practical element very, very quickly. So Pat, I want to thank you for your leadership throughout this crisis and I am sure that is shared by the Premier here in Victoria, Premiers in other states and territories as well and the magnificent work that is done.
To Christine Morgan my national suicide prevention adviser, and Ruth Vine our deputy Chief Medical Officer. Ruth and I have spoken on many occasions over the course of this last six or seven months, but this is the first opportunity we have actually been able to be in the same room together. I want to thank Ruth and Christine for the tremendous work they have been doing over the course particularly of this year in not just responding to the crisis, but also the foundational work that has been done in terms of how we deal with what happens after this crisis.
And I think we all understand in this room in particular, the legacy that we will have to live through as a result of the scarring impacts of this crisis on Australians all around the country. We understand that and that is why we are doing the things that we are doing.
To the acting Chief Medical Officer, Paul Kelly, who is here with us as well today, thank you, Paul. Paul of course is very focused today on the other challenges we have in relation to the pandemic, particularly in South Australia and he's been working on those issues and we have been meeting on those earlier today and has been meeting with the AHPPC, the medical expert panel earlier today, to address those issues. So I know you will have to get away quickly, Paul. But I thank you for being here as well.
And of course to Greg Hunt, my Minister for Health, but a great Victorian, and someone who - he I together working in a partnership that has been very important when it comes to the national response to the pandemic. But, there are many other areas of passion that Greg and I share when it comes to the Health portfolio. The PBS is one that we have shared, both as Treasurer and now as Prime Minister. But also in the area of mental health. And I remember, in particular, not long after becoming Prime Minister, I spoke to Greg on the phone one day and we were looking forward to the next Budget. I said, Greg, we just have to do more in this area, let's get to work. And Greg hasn't stopped since that time, whether it is drawing Christine into our team of very high-level advisers and working through these issues and engaging the sector and particularly through people like Pat. Greg I want to thank you for your leadership in this area, and your input and carrying that along with the many other burdens.
To the team from the productivity commission here, Innes Willox is here representing industry and that is a very good understanding that this is first and foremost a health issue, but health issues have very significant and serious economic consequences as well. And if there has ever been a year to understand that, it is the COVID-19 pandemic of 2020. Our nation's health is as linked to our nation as prosperity as any other thing and we need no reminder about that going through this year.
That is something that I believe our Indigenous Australians have always understood. And I want to acknowledge and pay respect to the Wurundjeri people and the Kulin nation as the original and ongoing owners and custodians of this land.
I also want to acknowledge Australia's mental health workers. Every day you reflect the very best of our humanity to others. I want to acknowledge all of those Australians who live with mental illness. Those who have lived experience of suicide, their loved ones and their communities. Their carers. In particular, I acknowledge the many veterans who struggle with mental health challenges, who carry a burden because of their service that we must always remember and a debt that we owe to them that we will never be able to fully repay. I thank all of our serving members of our defence forces as well and honour them.
Mental health issues and suicide do not discriminate. It doesn't matter where you live, what you do for a living. 1 in 5 Australians will experience a mental health illness every year and half of us will be diagnosed during our lifetime.
In 2018, 2.4 million Australians aged 18 and over experienced high or very high levels of psychological distress. Now that was in 2018. Now this is before COVID-19 which we know had a significant impact on mental health and wellbeing, not least so here in Melbourne and in Victoria.
In just the last four weeks, Lifeline, Kids Helpline, Beyond Blue together answered over 112,000 contacts for help, around a quarter higher than the same time in 2019.
65,000 Australians, 65,000 Australians attempt suicide each year.
Just let that figure sink in.
We know that last year 3,300 Australians died by suicide.
So that is 9 Australians each and every day.
On average, every suicide impacts around another 135 people.
Men and boys account for three quarters of all suicides, and our highest rates of suicide are among men over 85, men in their 30s, 40s and 50s.
But there is also an increase in self-harm and suicide amongst women and girls. I can tell you as a father of two daughters, this is something that terrifies me.
Most confronting and heartbreaking is that suicide is the leading cause of death amongst our young people.
As we know, Indigenous communities bar the scars acutely. Last year, 195 Indigenous Australians were lost to suicide. I know Indigenous Australians Minister Ken Wyatt understands this only too well.
Indigenous Australians die by suicide at double the non-indigenous rate.
And of course, as I mentioned, our veterans are also vulnerable. From 2001 to 2018, 465 Australians who had served over the previous 17 years died by suicide.
Phil Thompson, a colleague of Greg's and mine, has been to too many of those funerals. It is an experience that I can't pretend to imagine.
And I applaud all of those veterans in the way they stand by each other and deal with this.
Today, I want to speak to you about the road ahead, though. I want to talk to you about where we are going on mental health and suicide prevention.
Of course it is a big challenge. The figures I have just shared with you are quite overwhelming. If you dwell on them for too long.
They are intended to confront us and so they should - brutal truths should have that effect. But our response shouldn't be to fall victim to them, but to chart a better way forward and a road out.
I want to affirm the government's commitment today to providing Australians with the mental health support they need, particularly in these challenging times.
In my first Budget, as I reflected before as Prime Minister, this included an additional $740 million over 7 years to improve access to mental health service and to combat the tragedy of suicide.
This included our $509 million youth mental health and suicide prevention package, the largest in Australian history, which is growing the national HeadSpace network to 153 centres around the country by 2021. That's right, next year. While reducing wait lists and boosting funding for youth psychosis and eating disorder services.
Now both HeadSpace and the early youth psychosis services I have just mentioned, they are the brainchild as we all know of Professor Pat McGorry who is with us here today. I want to acknowledge Pat's enormous contribution, developing and scaling-up early intervention and youth mental health services. And Pat knows, because he equally acknowledges it, that when HeadSpace was set up under the Howard government and particularly with Christopher Pyne, who was the Assistant Minister for Health at the time, of the many things that we have done as Coalition governments, both present and in the past. I can think of few more important than the services that we have established in the community for assisting young people with their mental health through HeadSpace. And again, I thank you, Pat.
Today, I am releasing the Productivity Commission's report into mental health. Now, this is the most comprehensive report of its kind in our history in Australia. And I have got the executive summary here because I can’t carry the other two volumes that sit with this report. It is well worth the read for all of us who care about the mental health of our fellow Australians.
It examines the interaction and effectiveness and outcomes of policies, systems and programs across all jurisdictions and I'll talk more about that. As well as assessing the economic and social impacts of what we are doing right now.
The commissioning of the report was one of my earlier decisions as Treasurer. Followed through, of course by Treasurer Josh Frydenberg, and I want to acknowledge Professor Stephen King and Ms Julie Abramson and Professor Harvey Whiteford commissioners on the PC’s Mental Health Inquiry.
Last year, I appointed Christine Morgan, who is here with us, on the Minister for Health’s very strong recommendation. It took many of all of half a second to agree, as Australia’s first National Suicide Prevention Adviser, seeking new direction on how we can prevent the loss of so many Australians each year and today I am releasing her suicide prevention interim advice. There will be further volumes coming I know in the final and, again, these reports given the events of 2020 could not be more timely.
When we set out on this path, nobody could have foreseen a global pandemic impact every facet of our way of life. Separation from family members, the loss of jobs and businesses. The disruption to our community and social networks.
Devastating, for some the loss of a loved one. And being constrained and restricted from being able to process that loss through the normal human interactions we would have at that time.
Understandably, that couldn’t take place, but it doesn't take away the pain or the lost opportunity that is presented by how we deal with grief in attending the funeral of a loved one. You can't replace that. And so, that has made that experience so much more difficult than it always is.
COVID-19 has exposed a new vulnerability to a range of known mental illnesses. A substantial year on year increase in child and youth contacts for eating disorders, with hospital admissions up 40% in most states.
For others, the pandemic has triggered mental health, mental ill-health for the first time.
We know the pandemic is taking an immense toll on business owners. I was with business owners here in Melbourne this morning. In late September, around 54% of small business owners and managers reported being concerned for their personal health and wellbeing. And those I spoke to this morning talked about their concern for their staff's personal mental health and wellbeing.
And as a Government, we've held nothing back in our response. Since the onset of the pandemic, we've invested more than $500 million in additional mental health and suicide prevention services. Switching on telehealth for all Australians, and making more mental health services subject to the Medicare rebate. Setting up a new Beyond Blue COVID-19 wellbeing service and getting extra resources into Lifeline and into Kid's HelpLine and other support services.
Establishing 15 pop-up Head to Head mental health clinics across locked down Victoria. Doubling the amount of medicare funded psychological services from 10 to 20, under better access. And ensuring better culturally appropriate help for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians, and people from cultural and linguistically diverse groups.
I would especially like to acknowledge as I already have, both Dr Ruth Vine and Ms Pam Anders for their support in establishing the Victorian mental health clinics during Victoria's lockdown.
With investments made this year, the Commonwealth's health portfolio expenditure on mental health is expected to reach a record high of some $5.7 billion in 2021. Those seeking the additional support, I can assure you, have been pushing on an open door right from the outset, and I believe that's been their felt and lived experience as well in dealing with our Government, and I'm sure with state governments as well.
A key focus has been on prevention and early intervention. And today, I announce a further down payment on prevention and early intervention, for young people in particular. We will extend the early psychosis youth services program for a further year to June 2022 with funding of some $53 million to support that work.
We will extend the National Mental Health Initiative, called Be You, delivered by Beyond Blue, for a further two years with funding of $46 million. 70% of schools are participating in Be You nationally, and in that context, I also acknowledge the announcement on the weekend by the New South Wales State Government and the work they're doing on putting mental health nurses and supports into public schools, into schools around New South Wales. States are doing their share as well.
And thirdly- fourthly, I should say - extending the important work of emerging minds for a further 2 years with funding of $16 million.
These investments build on the $45.7 million expansion of the individual placement and support program of the 2020-21 Budget to assist vulnerable young people with mental illness to participate in the workforce. A clear message from our advice is that we need to, must look at the whole person and these reports say the same thing. And take into account their whole life circumstances in our approach to mental health services.
Counselling alone isn't going to alleviate distress. Not if you're about to lose your house, your job, your relationship. Looking at the whole person means working with the states and territories in the community and business sectors to reduce the risks of loans defaulting, home evictions and even, of course, going without food. Investing in financial counselling, food relief, domestic violence services and family support programs - all essential. We need to keep this going. We need to keep the dialogue going. But, we're well under way.
With more Australians experiencing mental health challenges, we are in the dialogue about it more as a nation, together. More Australians know, now, it's OK not to feel OK. And to talk about that, and to raise it.
It’s okay to talk about it.
It's a good thing to seek help and others will encourage you in that. We've been helping each other now I think more than every, certainly in my lifetime.
Connecting in new and different ways. It's a reminder of the untapped force of the human spirit. Our compassion and love for one another. The family and friends and our fellow Australians.
Mateship isn't just something that is talked about as a form of identity that we like to celebrate, it has a very practical relevance for every single Australian, because it goes to our deep affection for one another, and that's what we're enlisting to deal with this great challenge.
Collectively, as Australians we must set ourselves the goal of making COVID-19 an inflection point, on a path to a new and better mental health system. Both the Productivity Commission's final report on mental health and Christine Morgan's interim advice on suicide prevention offer very detailed and sober reflections based on excellent research on where we are as a country, and more importantly, what needs to be done.
Christine's advice is particularly compelling. It's data-rich, but importantly, it draws, and I commend you to read that first report in particular. Read them all, but I must admit, I was really sat down on reading the first report. Because it draws on the voices and experiences of almost 2,000 people who have lived with this in their own experience and amongst others.
This is a process that has listened hard and the listening is not easy. Among them are those who survived suicide attempts or lived with suicidal thoughts, and those bereaved by suicide, who I think often believe, don't think their voices are heard. That their experiences are shut out of the policy process. Not so, in what Christine has done in bringing forward her report and the extensive listening and narrating of their stories back to Government.
The Productivity Commission report also offers detailed data on the basis for reforms. So I like how these two come together. They support each other. Evidence that is absolutely critical. And I've often said, the economy is about people. And the Productivity Commission has framed it in a similar way in addressing this issue. They’ve said, it's not necessary to quantify the cost of mental illness and suicide to understand the damage that they impose on the lives of individuals and the community as a whole.
That's true. We don't need convincing of that. We know it's a big problem. But quantifying these costs, they say, helps to identify where reform efforts should be focused. And that's very, very wise.
So how much does mental ill-health cost? What's the update? The answer is at least $200 billion a year. That's more than a tenth of the size of Australia's entire economic production in 2019. It's around $550 to $600 million each and every day. When you add up the impacts on work, as Innes would know, on health and life expectancy, that's what you get. And as the report says, these costs are borne by those people with poor mental health and the people who care for them. And by governments, employers, insurers and the wider community, it's the cost that doesn't discriminate. It falls right across-the-board. The cost of lost opportunity, lower living standards.
You know, when young people disengage from education. When those with mental illness and their carers have reduced hours of work or cannot work or are less productive at work. It's also the social and emotional costs of suffering, exclusion and in worse cases, premature death.
Both reports shine a very bright light on the existing challenges and, as I said, it's not easy reading. But despite our efforts, people are still falling through the cracks at different points. Too often, mental health services aren't looking beyond the symptoms to work out what help a person needs to recover and remain well.
There is a sense in which the mental health system has been tacked on to the physical health system and when you think about it, it's obvious that we can't use the same template for a national mental health system as we use for a physical health system. If you have a broken bone or cancer or other physical problems, Australians seek help from within our universal health system but we tend not to react the same way when we're experiencing mental illness or risk of suicide.
Yet both, obviously, life-threatening. As serious as cancer. Many suffer in silence. Many never reach out. Even for those who do reach out, the health system isn't always as helpful as it could be and it's rarely the whole solution.
Now, I don't think that that is because people don't care. I don't think that it is because the system doesn't want to provide every support it can or governments, likewise. But we're not getting there yet. Both reports tell us that the mental health system needs to look beyond the symptoms to work out what help a person needs to recover and remain well. Because multiple factors, biological, environmental and social, affect mental health and wellbeing.
Another clear finding from the report says that too many Australians are treated too late or, sadly, not at all. Up to half of those who die by suicide have not interacted with the mental health system in the months leading up to their deaths.
And finally, the system is too complex and uncoordinated. Our mental health system fails too often because it is too complicated to navigate. And that system is despite the incredible care and efforts of mental health professionals. People who need help and their families are left to try and find and coordinate their own care without clear guidance about what is available, affordable and appropriate. And this happens at a point in their lives when they are most vulnerable and they will be finding it most difficult to try to access the services. The services that are there. Well intentioned, well supported, well funded. But difficult to access.
Both reports are emphatic. We need new approaches. Together they set out three directions for changing reform.
First, we must take an investment lens when it comes to a person's mental health and wellbeing. That means our first line of defence in preventing mental health and suicide is, as Pat McGorry has often reminded me when it comes to young people, is having a strong economy and communities and a strong safety net. Housing, employment, psychosocial services that support people to engage in the community can be as or more important than healthcare alone.
Both reports are adamant one of the most important protective factors is a job. Now, I don't need to establish the Government's credentials in terms of how keen we are on creating jobs, and of course, that has an enormous benefit to the Australian economy and people's livelihoods. But a key plank in promoting mental health and wellbeing is getting Australians into work and back into work, particularly right now. Because there's strong evidence that not having a job, even for a short time, can impact your mental health in a very negative way. It is a significant disruptive life event that can trigger many mental health episodes.
People receiving unemployment benefits are three times as likely to have anxiety or depression as wage earners are. This is not only as a result of financial hardship, but often associated with limited social support, loneliness and a decreased sense of personal control and achievement.
The second line of defence is addressing stigma once and for all. I believe we are making progress on this. So different from what it was a generation ago. So people can reach out for support when they need it, and we can't wait for risk factors to eventuate or for warning signs to escalate. 75 per cent of adults with mental illness first experienced mental ill-health before the age of 25.
To identify the early warning signs, we all need to play a role at various levels. We need to go beyond Government. We need to go far beyond the health system, and we need a whole of economy approach, whole of community approach, partnerships between all levels of Government, sectors, organisations. All of us are involved in this.
And we also need to harness the power of our business and community organisations to ensure people remain socially connected and feel supported. Participants at the PC's business round table, and I want to thank them for their participation and the business community's prioritising of this issue. It's not new, they have long done that. And they suggested there that mental health in the workplace should be elevated from the HR department to the boardroom and that's good advice. That's a powerful endorsement of the approach we need, but also about leadership in the corporate sector when it comes to dealing with mental health issues right across our economy.
Secondly, this must be comprehensive and compassionate and provide the right care at the right time. This involves a range of supports for easier to access support and low intensity services for those needing help every now and then, right through to coordinated community support for those with moderate to complex needs. That means filling gaps in the system,particularly for those with mild and moderate needs in what's called in the report, in the Productivity Commission report, the missing middle, who are not sick enough for hospital care, but do require more care and support than provided by the GP.
A comprehensive system would also harness the power of technology. But when we think about this missing middle, this is the grey zone between federal and state governments. Both of which I can assure you, as we often speak of these matters, as you would expect us to around the National Cabinet table. And indeed last Friday, when we said the National Federation Reform Council's priority on the next agenda would be this issue.
There is a grey zone. At a federal level, we deal with that primary care. At a state level, they deal with hospitals. But in between, both in prevention and dealing with those who may have had suicide attempts on the other side of hospital, there is a role for both in community-based mental health care. And we have to get that partnership right between the states and the Commonwealth, and I am looking forward to having a discussion later on today with Premier Andrews, who I know is very passionate about this topic. He and I may not agree on everything, but I can tell you that we agree on this very, very firmly. And I think together with other Premiers, who I do know are very committed to seeing that we can get the right set of arrangements in that we can get it right.
And that will include through the digital area. We've begun through digital service platforms and telehealth, as well as expanding access to NDIS rebates. What's recommended here in the report itself, and we've already taken action on those - extending out telehealth and mental health for two years. And obviously, understanding its longer term value.
A comprehensive system needs a skilled, comprehensive workforce. So central to every single health challenge we have in this country, whether it's mental health, whether it’s aged care, whether it’s disability support. Building up our care workforce, and in particular, our mental health workforce, will be vital to how successful we are. We must build a workforce inside and beyond the health system from peer workers, community workers. And as well, of course, our clinical workforce. It must be compassionate and it must take a recovery-based approach.
Compassion means going to where people are, rather than waiting for them to present. Why I'm so thrilled to see how Headspace is trying to get their services out in the community, not waiting for people to come in, Pat, a chat we've had many times, particularly with those who work within Headspace.
And third, we must build a system centered on the experience of those with mental ill-health and their carers. In the Productivity Commission's words, the mental health system is plagued by a bewildering array of unpredictable gateways to care. We must value the input of people who have lived that, who understand it better than the politicians, better than the policy makers and administrators and the bureaucracies that do this. You want to know how to fix it - then the people who have had to live with it have got a pretty good idea about how we can help them navigate a system that has become complex.
The lived experience of mental illness at all stages of planning, commissioning and reviewing services should be paramount in our thinking. Focused on the outcomes and views of these individuals who receive those services. It's about empowering people to make decisions for themselves and their loved ones, and this is important - never leaving them alone to do the heavy lifting or feeling alone.
So what's at stake if we don't implement these reforms? According to the Productivity Commission, 84,000 quality adjusted life years lost, and about $18 billion. According to Christine Morgan, more lives lost, more lives impacted. Recently, the National Cabinet agreed to establish a health reform committee - one of only six. National Cabinet has been cleaning house when it comes to a lot of the committees and councils and things that can drag down our Federation and distract it and slow it down.
So we're going to focus on six key areas reporting to National Cabinet. This is one of them - a Health Reform Committee whose first priority is to deliver a new agreement on mental health and suicide prevention by November 2021. That's this time next year. And if we can get there sooner, we will. The agreement matters because it will clarify that grey that I was talking about between the states and federal in the most important areas of where mental services have been found to be ambiguous or missing.
Over recent years, there has been great bipartisan support around Australia to improve the system and there have been many reports and inquiries. The Royal Commission, of course, here importantly in Victoria and there's tremendous good will. But that framework isn't there and we need to put it in place, agreed by the Commonwealth, states and territories. We all have responsibility here that we'll all have to get our cheque books out, too. Australians don't care who is responsible for delivering mental health care services. They care about them being delivered. They don't care about whose particular part of the job it is in their role to prevent suicide. They simply, rightly, want suicides prevented.
So, that's how it will be. People focused, coordinated, comprehensive and compassionate. This agreement will be at the heart of delivering just that. The Health Reform Committee will be led by my good friend and Federal Minister for Health, Greg Hunt, who is, as I said before, a passionate advocate for mental health reform. I know Greg and all the state and territory ministers will leave no stone unturned to deliver the first ever agreement under the auspices of the National Cabinet in this area, to ensure that whole of Government and lived experience input.
We need the Health Reform Committee to be supported also by a small strategic advisory group which brings together the views of experts, and importantly, Australians with lived experience of mental health, ill-health and the business sector.
So today, the National Mental Health Commission also launches a suite of resources for our workplaces. Practical guidance on how to be a mentally healthy workplace in COVID. These resources have been developed with a mentally healthy workplace alliance, a group of dedicated organisations representing the needs of workplaces across Australia. These resources will help sole traders, small businesses and medium and large organisations right across Australia.
So as we strive for these better days ahead, I commit my Government to a number of principles that will guide our way and governments around the country to honour them as well, as I have no doubt that they will. Moving towards preventative and proactive support for all Australians, starting with infants and families.
We will not wait for risk factors to eventuate or warning signs to escalate, but offer the right intervention as early as possible. It will support Australians where they live, where they learn and where they work. There will be more front doors into support. If you knock, we need someone to hear you and for someone to open that door and for someone to help. And proactive help for people who can't knock on that door or ask for it.
This also means better identifying points of transition or disconnection, where our mental health and suicide prevention efforts are most needed. It will require health systems to better integrate with schools, businesses, civil society organisations, non-health sectors where people at risk or in distress are most likely to be identified early.
To provide that triple A care - appropriate, affordable and accessible. No matter where you are on the mental health spectrum, or how persist your suicidal thoughts are, support must be there to meet your needs and this means timely proactive care that treats the person as just that - a person. Not a case, not a number. Not even an experience, but as a fellow human being.
We will build a system of comprehensive coordinated and compassionate care. That must be our goal, bringing together clinical care and social supports in the community and understanding how they connect, particularly for Australians with complex needs. And this means holistic care based on the needs of the person, their carers and their family, and we'll commit to a system that is consumer, person-driven, carer driven. This means facilitating power and choice, recruiting people into support networks into the individual's recovery journey and listening when something isn't working.
Of course, we must be driven by evidence, by the data, enhancing our understanding of what is happening in our communities. Understanding what works and why it works, and using this information to arrive at further decision making. We'll build a system that is scalable. The pandemic has shown that we need a system that is adaptable and scalable, up and down as needed.
Given the breadth of our ambition, mental health will be a feature of the budget not just next year, not the one that we just had and the one before that, but it will be a feature for many years to come under the governments that I lead.
This is a reform agenda for all Australians. Those who are currently receiving or requiring support for their mental health, their carers, their families, their colleagues, their mates. And those who might be well right now, but may, one day, like so many will, seek help for themselves or someone they know.
We all have a part to play as individuals, as families and communities. As businesses, non-profits, governments, and ensuring Australians get the support they need. And as one submission to the Productivity Commission said, those of us with mental illness need much more than weekly therapy to bring back the health and stability. We need support and companionship. Help connecting to communities. Help with friendships. Support to study and to work.
So, in conclusion - my Government will be carefully considering all of these reports but with a view to action. Reinforcing the actions we're already taking. Better coordinating and linking together the actions we've already taken. Those of state governments as well. Developing a comprehensive report to the Productivity Commission's report by the May 2021 Budget and other measures earlier if possible.
This will be informed by public consultation as well as other key reports and especially the advice of Christine Morgan’s final report due next month. Of course, he Victorian Royal Commission on mental health and the work of Gayaa Dhuwi on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander suicide prevention, the National Children’s Mental Health and Wellbeing Strategy, and the findings of the independent taskforce on the mental health workforce.
No shortage of source material for us to use to transform our system which is mammoth and it will be a long-term undertaking. But we will make the progress. It’s not just about money and resources. It’s about the way we pout it all together, ensuring how this health apparatus interacts and supports how we support each other.
It will also require some good doses of humility and some good faith as we engage with each other, acknowledging where weaknesses have been and where vulnerabilities may continue to present. Because we must all be prepared to call those out and acknowledge them and learn from each other to understand the complexities of our humanities and strive to support each other much better.
No government, no not-for-profit, institution or mental health professional has all the answers to this. None of us can pretend to. But I am an optimist. I am always one who votes for hope. By working together, we can make tremendous progress so that Australians suffering from mental ill-health will have more better days and fewer bad ones.
That’s always our goal, whether in treatment or therapy or as a nation. Thank you so much for your very patient attention. Thank you.
Resources available at the below links:
PC report on mental health: https://www.pc.gov.au/inquiries/completed/mental-health/report
NSPA interim advice: https://www1.health.gov.au/internet/main/publishing.nsf/Content/mental-national-suicide-prevention-adviser
NMHC workplace resources: NMHC workplace resources: https://www.Health.gov.au/mentally-healthy-workplace
Opening Remarks, ASEAN Australia Virtual Summit
14 November 2020
Prime Minister: Well thank you very much, Prime Minister Phúc, and thank you to your Excellencies and Your Majesty for the opportunity for Australia to join with you today, our ASEAN friends. So many friends who I see on the screen before me today. And I extend our warmest regards and kindest wishes to you all and what is a very difficult time, I know, throughout our region.
Congratulations also Prime Minister Phúc on this first virtual ASEAN Australian summit. Indeed, I'm sure we would have all preferred to be there with you in Vietnam as I was last year. But I congratulate you in such a difficult year of being able to bring together the summit in this way and our appreciation to you and and all of those who have assisted with this outcome.
I want to commend Vietnam and ASEAN for leading a strong response to COVID-19 in the spirit of a cohesive and responsive ASEAN. COVID has changed much, as we know. But ASEAN remains united as always and Australia's commitment to a region of sovereign, independent states, resilient to coercion, remains absolutely steadfast.
We are more than your neighbour, as your first dialogue partner we are also your partner in the great recovery that is now occurring. ASEAN’s centrality is at the core of Australia's vision for the Indo-Pacific. We strongly support, as I've said on many occasions to you, the ASEAN outlook for the Indo-Pacific and we remain committed to working with the region and helping the region recover from COVID-19.
In Australia we understand that your prosperity is our prosperity. It matters to us and we're very committed to it.
Under our partnerships recovery policy. We are turning this into real action once again. Australia recently committed some $500 million dollars over three years to support access to safe and effective COVID-19 vaccines for South-East Asia and the Pacific. Equitable access to safe, effective and affordable vaccines for COVID-19 will be the central factor in our collective recovery.
The support that this provides, gives us all, and particularly throughout the region, new choices based on health and science and the best health and science, and reflects our shared stake in your recovery.
As part of this package we will also contribute $21 million dollars to the ASEAN Centre for Public Health Emergencies and Emerging Diseases, which was launched last Thursday.
And I want to outline some new initiatives to support ASEAN’s economic recovery as well. Again, in the spirit of a cohesive and responsive ASEAN and our partnership with you.
The first initiative is $70 million for Resilience and Recovery in Southeast Asia. The package is in line with ASEAN’s priorities. Your priorities, maritime, connectivity, sustainable development and economic cooperation.
The second, even more targeted, is a $232 million dollar package for the Mekong, focussed on the environment, infrastructure, cyber and critical technologies, and scholarships. A prosperous and resilient Mekong is an important part, as I know all members of ASEAN know, a strong ASEAN.
As a longstanding supporter of the initiative for ASEAN integration Australia has been working with you to close the development gap. These announcements come on top of the $83 million dollars in assistance to ASEAN my Foreign Minister announced earlier this year, including the $1 million dollars for the ASEAN COVID-19 response fund. And on top of our $1 billion dollar annual development assistance for South East Asia.
It goes to what Australia brings to ASEAN, a constructive approach, options, balance and deep friendship. This is what we do as neighbours and as strategic partners. And I look forward to hearing from all of you today, particularly as you've dealt with the many challenges of COVID-19. And I commend all leaders who are joining us today for your leadership in each of your own countries. It has been a very difficult year for all of us, but here in our region we are doing all we can for the betterment of our peoples.
Thank you so much for your attention.
Press Conference - Canberra, ACT
13 November 2020
Prime Minister: Good afternoon, I’m joined by Professor Kelly as usual and I’m also joined by our Chief Scientist, Dr Alan Finkel. Today’s meeting of National Cabinet the 31st this year occured on a day where once again, no deaths, there was no community transmission occurring in Australia and there were seven international cases and as Doctor Finkel reminds me and as Professor Kelly when you are identifying and securing these cases when in quarantine on return of Australians back to Australia, that is a sign of the system working and we welcome that. It has been another positive and very practical meeting of the National Cabinet. There will be a statement issued later that will go into much more detail but we note the key items that were discussed today and I will ask both Professor Kelly as is your usual to run through the key items from an epidemiological point of view and was briefed in the National Cabinet today but I will also ask Doctor Finkel to speak on one of the key matters that was dealt with today and that was the national contact tracing review, which we received today from Doctor Finkel and I want to thank Doctor Finkel as well as Leigh Jasper, our digital technology and delivery expert, a very successful professional in that area commercially and Doctor Tarun Weeramanthri, a public health expert and for many years and was the WA Chief Medical Officer. The three of them have worked together to do an exhaustive review of the contact tracing system in each state and territory and making recommendations and observing the improvements that have been made there and there's a set of recommendations all of which have been adopted by the National Cabinet today to take forward. So I thank Dr Finkel for that and he can take you through those recommendations in more detail.
Also today, the national vaccination policy of the Commonwealth was endorsed by the National Cabinet today, not just noted they were keen to endorse it as well and it's another sign that together as a country, we are working to prepare ourselves to be able to disseminate and administer those vaccines all around the country when they're ready and when they have passed the necessary TGA approvals to ensure that they are safe. Once we have cleared those important benchmarks, then we must be in a position to be able to disseminate and administer those all around the country and of course, that requires the usual support of states and territories and how that's done and Professor Kelly who is the Deputy Chair of the advisory group to the Commonwealth on our national vaccination policy and strategy will be able to update you on that policy and that will also be released today together with this with this document as well. The framework for national reopening when we met last time, we were able to adopt that in principle but we had two jurisdictions that were still in caretaker mode. So the plan that I outlined at our last meeting and that we spoke of here after the last meeting has now been agreed with the one exception of Western Australia, which I've already flagged. That is a plan to have Australia open by Christmas, with the exception of Western Australia. It also is a plan that importantly imbeds public health metrics in ensuring that when Australia opens safely that it remains open safely and that's incredibly important. The things that need to happen and importantly the work of Dr Finkel's contact tracing review which also identifies additional metrics that are needed to make sure that we are always aware that we are staying on track and have the protections in place to keep Australia open.
Other matters dealt with today of course, is getting Australians home. This remains a very, very significant challenge and while we will see some 25,000 odd Australians returned to Australia since I first spoke of this some some weeks ago, if not months the number of Australians coming onto that list as you know has been growing every day, every week, including the number of vulnerable Australians. We're getting vulnerable Australians home. We're getting thousands of Australians home. We’ve today increased 150 additional places coming out of Queensland. We thank them for that. We have additional capacity, as I announced last week when I was in Tasmania and we've got additional capacity we were signed up to in ACT and the Northern Territory but the challenge is still greater than the capacity to receive people back into quarantine. Now obviously Australia is going to maintain its quarantine arrangements for people returning overseas. National Cabinet and the Commonwealth Government is very committed to that. This has been one of Australia's great successes and as I was discussing yesterday with President-elect Biden was one of the reasons why Australia has been so successful as we've put these strong measures in place and I should have mentioned that a copy of this national contact tracing review, as a result of discussion I had with President Biden yesterday, I'll be forwarding to their team because it tells the story of why Australia is being successful and will continue to be successful. We will of course, copy that to the US administration as well but given President-elect Biden's interest in this issue and the people he's bringing together there, he was very keen to know what we were doing and I'm sure while not able to get on a plane and go there, Dr Finkel and his colleagues would be available to assist whoever, wherever they are in whatever country to learn from Australia's experience.
But in terms of getting Australians home there's greater flexibility that will be applied to the caps. The caps have been done on a daily basis and that would mean on some occasions a cap might be fully utilised on any given day. So by doing them over a week, that means we can get greater utilisation of the caps which will increase our ability to get more Australians home and wherever possible we are looking for additional capacity. I'll be meeting with the Victorian Premier when I go to Melbourne next week and there will be the opportunity for us to talk about that. I know they're progressing on those issues and he gave us a bit of an update on that this morning but they're not yet in a position to make an announcement yet, but that's because they're preparing to be able to do it and we welcome that from Victoria and when Victorian opens up to receive those flights again that will help us get many more Australians back and the figures I talked to you about before of around about the mid 20,000, 25,000, that wasn't assuming a Victorian participation. So that will add we believe to our capability to get more Australians home. But the challenges we have in getting Australians home means that the ability to move and take international students back at this time through quarantine arrangements does not present itself. It's Australians coming home first. That is the Commonwealth policy. That is our policy and that is the policy that is also being followed by the National Cabinet. We need to use every available space that we have in quarantine and it's not just simply a matter of are there rooms in hotels to do it. There is also the police support that is needed to properly run quarantine and the health support that is needed in addition to that. So it is a function of all of these and the quarantine system has been working effectively and we want it to keep working effectively. What we're seeing around the world which Professor Kelly will speak to is heartbreaking. I had another meeting with the European leaders this week, which is that group I've been meeting with for many many months and the situation there is very serious, as it is in the United States and that means here in Australia we need to continue to be careful and we will be. So sadly that will delay any ability to be bringing international students to Australia soon because we must use every available place to get Australians home.
Just finally, the natural disaster arrangements that were subject to the Royal Commission I tabled with my colleagues today the Commonwealth's response to that Royal Commission. Minister Littleproud he'll be standing up on that separately this afternoon. Our response will be released on that today. What was important in the discussion we had today though was there are very good practical operating arrangements between the states and territories and the Commonwealth when it comes to dealing on the ground with these natural disasters. Whether it's combating the fires or dealing with the cyclones or the floods, there are very good operating arrangements and the Royal Commission points to how they can be improved and particularly around some of the governance issues that sit above that but the last thing we want to do as Premiers, Chief Ministers and Prime Minister is interrupt operational arrangements that are working well in how people are moved between jurisdictions, how equipment is shared, how the equipment that is needed is identified by fire chiefs that is what we respond to and we'll continue to do that. But there I'll leave it to Minister Littleproud to deal with the many other aspects of that later today.
And the National Federation Reform Council will meet on the 11th of December and my suggestion, and it was warmly received, a key focus of that meeting will be on mental health. We will have the Productivity Commission report out at that time. We will also have the national suicide prevention adviser's report available and out at that time. There is the interim report of the Royal Commission in Victoria and we all agree that particularly after a year where Australians have been so tested and our mental health systems and support have been boosted at a state and territory level and at a Commonwealth level at unprecedented levels, then it really is about how we maintain our effective supports and improve them into the future. That will be addressed along with the other items that are standing items on its agenda, women's safety, Indigenous Closing the Gap measures and other measures will be added to the agenda as necessary between now and then. So with that, I'll pass you on to Professor Kelly and then I'll pass you on to Dr Finkel.
Professor Paul Kelly, Acting Chielf Medical Officer: Thank you, PM. So, as the PM has mentioned, another excellent day for Australia, no deaths and no locally acquired cases. So we do have seven overseas acquired cases, five in the NT. That's related to the recent arrivals on those assisted flights from the UK and from India that are- and people are currently in quarantine in Howard Springs and then one each in New South Wales and Queensland, again in quarantine. And as the PM mentioned, this is a sign of success for our measures there.
In terms of the total numbers since the start of the epidemic in January, 27,698 with 907 deaths. The current situation in Australia, we have, over the last week 77 active cases, 22 in hospital and no one, not a single person in intensive care. So over the past week, we've had 58 cases in Australia across Australia, of which 56 are overseas arrivals in quarantine. So only two cases in the entire week. I just need to really stress the contrast of that with most other countries in the world. If we take the UK, for example, just in the past week, they've had 157,000 people have been diagnosed and they have now over 50,000 people have died from this virus. In the US in the last week, 731,000 cases. They have 65,000 people in hospital. Their hospitals are overstretched as is the case in many other countries around the world. It really just reinforces the importance of keeping our borders secure.
The other element that the PM mentioned was the vaccine policy. So that will be released publicly today. And so, we, Professor Murphy actually gave an update in relation to that to the premiers. So we now have our advance purchase agreements for four different types of vaccine, 134 million doses. Plus, they are signing up to the COVAX initiative, which would guarantee 50 per cent of our population will be covered through that process. So we have many possible vaccines available. The question remains about their stage three trials. Are they effective? Are they safe? We had very good information on the Pfizer vaccine, which we are signed up to, this week, and we expect other advice from those trials in coming days for the other vaccine. So the AstraZeneca vaccine, which will be and is currently being manufactured in Australia, as soon as that has regulatory approval, it will be available. The Novavax vaccine and the Pfizer vaccines will come from overseas, but they are guaranteed to get some supplies there. The University of Queensland vaccine, Minister Hunt’s been up there today talking about that. And they've made major advances as well. But they will be later in the year when we get those available. The key question is, will they protect against transmission or severe disease or both? And that will be the fundamental driver of the prioritisation of the vaccine to various parts of the population. And that's outlined in general terms in the policy. But it will be absolutely the medical advice from the ATAGI group, our advisory group on immunisation, which advises the Minister for Health on these matters. And that will be what guides the prioritisation. The general principles there, though, those that are caring for vulnerable people, vulnerable people themselves, and those at highest risk of transmission will be the ones on the priority list. At the national level in the Australian Department of- Government Department of Health, we are forming a vaccine division which will be driving this from the Commonwealth point of view. But the states and territories, of course, will be involved and engaged very much on the distribution and logistics of the vaccination programme, as they always are. So we're not duplicating there.
The final point was made very clearly by the PM, as he's done previously, is that this vaccine will be free for all and, all Australians for anyone who wants to take that vaccine.
I'll pass it over to the chief scientist now to talk about his excellent report.
Dr Alan Finkel, Chief Scientist: Thank you, Paul, and thank you, Prime Minister. So, as the Prime Minister said, we've just submitted to National Cabinet today the National Contact Tracing and Outbreak Management Review that was commissioned two months ago. I can tell you it was a very thorough review, even though time was short, we had the opportunity to visit personally the majority of the jurisdictions, the states and territories, and the others we did by video and we were warmly welcomed. And the states shared all the details of their public health and contact tracing and outbreak management systems. And I do extend my thanks to all the people we met in all the states and territories. We consulted with experts. We had an opportunity to go back into a second round with all the states and territories and the Commonwealth, of course, the Commonwealth Department of Health. And I'm therefore confident that our report has had the opportunity to cover all of the issues.
Speaking of confidence, the - perhaps the overriding conclusion from our report is that there is good reason to be confident in the contact tracing and outbreak management systems in Australia. But as was pointed out to me again and again and again, that is the second line of defence. Critically important is the preventative measures which start from the responsibility of the individual through hygiene practises and staying home if unwell, through physical distancing and other measures at a more macroscopic level, such as limiting appropriately access to high risk facilities such as aged care facilities. One of the things that we saw and encouraged through our report is a process of continuous improvement. The COVID-19 disease, the underlying virus is difficult to understand and it has caused havoc, as you know, around the world. And so we cannot afford to rest on our laurels. And the states and territories and the Commonwealth do recognise that. How do you know, in the absence of cases in the field, how do you know that the systems in place are capable of performing if and when there is a problem in terms of outbreaks? Well, you have to do desktop simulations. You have to do functional simulations. The states and territories and the Commonwealth understand that. And we've recommended ways that they can do that even more and more efficiently. We also recommended some simpler and I would say tighter, metrics that will enable the public and the other states and territories to evaluate the performance of each state and territory. And they're listed in the in the review, of course.
Going forward a couple of things to keep in mind. One is that we've recommended that there be a means of digitally exchanging information between the states and territories, because you must keep in mind that under the Constitution, each state and territory is responsible for public health in their borders and they do it and do it very, very well. But as we go to a more mobile society and a fully active economy, they need to be confident that they can share information about people who are travelling from jurisdiction to jurisdiction. At the moment the problem is not manifest. We don't have a serious issue, but we need to be preparing. So we've recommended a very light touch digital exchange mechanism that will respect all of the legislative and privacy requirements to enable states and territories to talk, to swap contact tracing information with each other and access contact tracing information from government agency databases. The second thing to keep in mind going forward is the importance of learning from each other. And one of the things that I would draw your attention to in this report is the listing of what we call the characteristics of an optimal contact tracing and outbreak management system, which is not a checklist that the states have to go through one by one and check themselves again. But it is a list that we've recommended that each state and territory evaluate themselves on from time to time.
I'm confident what's there at the moment, Australia is doing well. We can't be complacent, if we do undertake the recommendations in this report, which was adopted by the National Cabinet today I guess the way I would like to put it is we will go from good to great. Thank you.
Prime Minister: Thank you very much Alan. I'm happy to take questions. Let's stay on National Cabinet first. And I'm sure you’ll want to go to other matters.
Journalist: The issue with the international students. When do you anticipate they may be able to go back - come back into the country? We had the situation, I think, where there were plans for the pilots that’s-
Prime Minister: The pilots will still go ahead. Because they’re being done above caps.
Journalist: Okay. And when do you think that the international students will be able to come back? And given that the universities are particularly reliant on international students as a source of income? Are you going to have to revisit maybe providing support to universities if there is a sort of a delay in coming back?
Prime Minister: Well, there's been significant support provided to the universities, the $1 billion dollar additional and on research funding included, as well as the guarantee of their funding as we set out in the Budget. But that said, I mean, this is a question of priorities and our priorities must be to look after Australian citizens and residents first. Now, because of the deteriorating situation in other parts of the world, we have, we are seeing more Australians than ever, even than a couple of months ago seeking to come back. More Australians who may be finishing off work contracts or studies or or other arrangements they've had over the course of the year are now registering and looking to come back. And so they are difficult choices. Of course, we would like to see so many parts of our economy return to normal, but we must ensure that we put Australians first in that task, it is constrained by the amount of quarantine that exists at a state and territory level. And that's a fact that we have to contend with and where we can expand that we are. But if there's a suggestion - I'm not saying you're making that suggestion, that somehow the quarantine can be waived in order to get through this. Well, that is not an option that either the Commonwealth or indeed the premiers and chief ministers are prepared to contemplate because of the inherent risks are there. I wish it were not so, but it is so. And that means it's very difficult to say when we'll be in a position for more of those students to come in the future. Now, many of them are already here, we know that. But for those who would be seeking to come back, well, there is a queue and Australians are in the front of the queue.
Journalist: Given this, do you have any strategy to try and retain this market in the longer term, for example, to work nationally with universities, to promote online courses, to give some approximate date when you think that we will be back in more full operation?
Prime Minister: The short answer to that is yes. And that strategy has been working out this year on the very things that you've just suggested, that's already happening. And the education minister is continuing to work with states and territories and the university sector to get plans in place for when they can be activated. The frustration at the moment is, we'd hoped to be further ahead on this now. But the fact is there are many Australians in vulnerable situations and they're seeking to get home and that that must take priority. And I'm sure I'm sure the university sector would understand that. But, yes, we have those strategies, including the visa-. We will do everything that we need to do and in order to ensure that we can maintain the viability of those operations. But at the end of the day, our universities are there to ensure that they're providing quality university education to Australians and where there's the opportunity to do that for international students as part of that business model, that's fine. But we're guaranteeing their funding. So Australian students continue to get additional places at universities, 30,000 additional places next year, 30,000 additional places in universities next year for Australian students to be able to go and take up that opportunity. And I think that's fantastic. And that's particularly the case in regional areas.
Journalist: on the vaccination programme. There will be a lot of people who'll be reluctant to be vaccinated. There's a lot of anti vaccination material circulating on the Internet. I'm just wondering what measures the government might have in mind to regulate that, if any, what sort of encouragement you would give people to be vaccinated and what sort of restrictions there might be for people who don't vaccinate?
Prime Minister: Well, I'll ask Professor Kelly to speak more to the vaccination strategy. But as you know, it won't be a mandatory vaccination that is not the government's policy and has never been the government's policy. And there is a lot of misinformation that's out there. Yeah. You know, you don't go to Dr Google, you go to the doctor when it comes to these things and seek medical advice from your GP or your other medically trained professionals who are there and available to assist you, and so that that doesn't change. And, of course, we would encourage people to take up the opportunity, but they will make their own choices and we will be seeking to provide the necessary assurances about the safety of the vaccine. That's why it has to pass the TGA standards. There are no shortcuts here. There are no lower benchmarks that apply to this vaccine. It's a very important vaccine for the country and for everybody's health. But we will be applying the legal requirements that are there for people's protection.
But Professor Kelly, did you want to add to that?
Professor Paul Kelly, Acting Chielf Medical Officer: Thanks, PM So firstly, we are an excellent immunisation nation. Most people agree with immunisation being an important component of our preventive strategy for ensuring the health of the nation. So this is not the first time we've had an immunisation programme. We roll out new immunisation programmes often. But I would say this has particular challenges as to the newness of it and so forth. And so we're very aware that there will be people that are not wanting to have this vaccination, or to spread information which is not true. So we have, as part of the strategy, a very strong component of communication that's already starting putting out information about the types of vaccines, their advantages and so forth. As the PM said, absolutely there are no shortcuts to this. It's going fast. That's true. But all of the processes for regulation will be there, all of the systems to make sure that we have, we're certain about safety. And if anything happened, that would be we would know about it and be able to deal with it quickly. And people will be very much encouraged. And I'm sure there'll be a lot of people that will be queuing up for this vaccine through next year.
Journalist: Is there growing frustration about the stand off between New South Wales and Queensland and the fact that the relationship between those two premiers appears to have really broken down now. Do you think there's a role for yourself to kind of broker some sort of deal between them? Or are you hands off and just leaving it to them?
Prime Minister: Well, I have an agreement with both of them that we will be open by Christmas. That's what the National Cabinet has brought them to. Now, the timing of that is has always been up to the individual premiers within their jurisdictions. The federation is still the federation. That hasn't changed, the Constitution, is still the Constitution. They both joined the meeting today very productively and very positively. So, you know, sometimes these disagreements, I suppose, and what are written up as conflicts are maybe a little more dramatised than the reality actually is.
Journalist: Just on the, you mentioned that you're going to pass on a copy of the National Contact Tracing Review to the Biden team, on a day where the-
Prime Minister: And the U.S. current administration.
Journalist: On a date where the US has recorded 150,000 new cases in a day. Do you think that the Trump administration can also take a leaf out of that book as well? And are you hopeful that the situation in the US will improve under a new approach from Biden?
Prime Minister: Well, look, I wouldn't comment on that other than to say that we are sharing our learnings both with the administration and the incoming administration. The reason for that is I was invited to do so by President-Elect Biden yesterday, in our conversation he was very interested in Australia's success. And it's obviously the top of his priority list as as he's been saying himself. And I wish him all the best. I wish President Trump all the best in dealing with what is just an awful an awful situation there. But, you know, the situation in Europe is the same. The situation in Europe is just terrible. I mean, the number of deaths, 50,000 didn’t you say Paul in the United Kingdom, I mean, the death toll from the Blitz was less. I mean, that is- that puts some perspective on what's occurring. Now of course, the Blitz had many, many, many, many thousands, tens of thousands who were injured and maimed and that was obviously a calamity during war time of extraordinary proportions. But when you think about that and the population at the time was much lower than it is today. But, you know, the situation that is happening overseas, we can't ignore. And the comparison to what's happening here in Australia by the great work that's being done right around the country is a tremendous credit to this country and it's being noticed around the world. I mean, how we do things here - the question just on immunisation, Paul's absolutely right. No one does this better than us. No one does it better than us. We're really good at this stuff. And Australians can take some confidence about that I think.
Journalist: Prime Minister on state borders, just on state borders, obviously WA is set to reopen to most states tomorrow. But the health minister has said they'll slap restrictions back up, hard border right back up should the risks come back, have you encouraged them not to be so hasty, especially with potentially some of the sharing of contact tracing, digital information that might not be necessary? What's your response to this kind of position?
Prime Minister: I was pleased, and Dr Finkel you might want to comment on this because you spent a lot of time looking at the West Australian situation and the former chief WA health officer was on your panel. But what today's said and what Dr Finkel’s report demonstrates and the work is that Australia's system is good, it's strong, and we can have confidence in it. That doesn't mean there aren't risks. I mean, there is no world without risks. Of course there are risks, you can't manage to zero risk. And that's not the National Cabinet’s policy. It is, it is suppression. And the systems that support a suppression strategy are contact tracing, are testing, are the COVIDSafe behaviours and in particular the registration systems, whether it's the COVIDSafe app or indeed the other technologies which are becoming so much more commonplace and need to become ubiquitous. I mean, here in the ACT and New South Wales, the whole process for registration with quick population of your registration, using the codes and so on, this is becoming quite normal for people. And I notice young people are used to it very, very quickly. When I was in Tassie the other day, doing the same thing, as Jenny and I went out to a restaurant and we did it. And then we went for quiet little drink afterwards at a pub and did it as well. This becomes normal, but these systems must become ubiquitous across the country, whether it's in Western Australia or in Tasmania and in particularly in states that are opening up. This is even more important. New South Wales is battle hardened on this. They've been doing this for some time now. And so their confidence, I think, is rightly strong. But in other states opening up, I'd encourage them to push through like New South Wales did, because the target is, the task is, to reopen safely and then to stay safely open by staying safely open you are giving confidence to businesses, to people in jobs, to people that make decisions about their future and what they're going to do. Stop, start, stop, start does not provide that. So I have no doubt that that would be the intention of the Western Australian government to actually to open safely and to stay safely open, because that's what's in the national interest and that's what's in Western Australia's interests. But Professor Finkel?
Dr Alan Finkel, Chief Scientist: So Prime Minister, I would add that the states will open their borders if they're confident in the other states and their own ability to deal with any outbreaks or cases that occur. As we travelled and we looked at the systems, we saw fabulous evidence of well established, enduring public health systems in many of the states and territories and progress towards that in the ones that started a little bit behind at the beginning of the year. The other thing that has been impressive to note is the way the states have converged on consistent public health advice to the citizenry in terms of their personal actions and behaviours, the things that they're responsible for, and also the covid safety plans that are now required of every single enterprise, whether it's a government workplace or university or an aged care facility or a sports venue, it takes time to bring these kinds of things on board and to learn from experience and know what will be effective. But they've been through that and the preventative measures in place are effective and I think really quite well communicated to the citizenry. And the third thing is perhaps still evolving, but it's doing well. And that's the increased use of technology, because if numbers are high, when numbers are low, everything's easy. But if numbers are high, there's a finite workforce to deal with the numbers that are there. Every state and territory has been thinking about where it will get its surge workforce by training other members of public- of public servants from other departments or seconding people from other agencies. But ultimately, the efficiency of every single one of those people can be significantly multiplied by having technology to support them. Technology starts, starts from the moment that you go to have a sample, a specimen collected. That information can be and is increasingly digitised. So there's efficiency all the way through from taking the sample through the pathology lab to informing the patients who had a sample taken, a test done through to informing the health departments of those positive test results, the allocation of those positive cases to a case interview officer can be done digitally so that never again should a case interview fall through the cracks, etc., etc., etc., so the combination of those three things - public health expertise, good preventative health measures in place that are well communicated and the increasing use of technology, I think, should give states, whether it's the leadership or the population, confidence that Australia certainly in comparison to the rest of the world, but also in an absolute sense, is in a good place, not perfect, but a good place, somewhere I'm certainly happy to be.
Journalist: [Inaudible]...obviously overseas and the devastating figures that you've drawn attention to, doesn't logic suggest that we're not going to get international students back in Australia in large numbers until we've got a vaccine? To Professor Murphy- Sorry, Professor Kelly, I'm sorry. Forgive me if I'm wrong about this, but the Pfizer vaccine, I gather, has to be stored at very, you've got to freeze it basically or keep it at very low temperatures. Right. If that's the model vaccine that ends up being rolled out first, do we have the infrastructure in the country in order to roll that out? To Dr. Finkel, you've said in your contact tracing review, which we've only just got so I haven’t read it, but you've referred to digitisation to refer data between states. Does that require legislative change, given the constitutional arrangements? And what exactly are you talking about in terms of transferring information? Sorry.
Prime Minister: Well, why don't you gentlemen start?
Professor Paul Kelly, Acting Chielf Medical Officer: Some of the- of the last first.
Dr Alan Finkel, Chief Scientist: Okay we’ll start with the last one, so the mechanism we recommended, which we've just called the data exchange, is a very light touch, but highly efficient approach. So all it does is open up a communication pathway between the digital system in one state or territory and the digital system in another, and also, where appropriate, a Commonwealth government databases just for contact tracing information. So the recommendation is that a request goes out for some contact tracing information. It gets responded to, but the data never gets stored in the data exchange. So there's no need to reconcile two disparate databases. There's no large target for cyber attack. So it's intrinsically and certainly if done properly, should be very, very secure. No, it's unlikely to require legislative changes. But until the final design is done, it's not clear. But we've certainly recommended that it be built consistent with the legislative requirements at the state, territory and Commonwealth levels for privacy.
Professor Paul Kelly, Acting Chielf Medical Officer: So just to add to that and the concept is to start with a pilot programme between New South Wales, Victoria, and ACT. They're the ones that have expressed a particular interest in this and we will be working with them from the commonwealth level on the data exchange. Just on the vaccine. So the Pfizer vaccine, you are correct. It's a type of vaccine known as messenger RNA vaccine, at the moment - it's a brand new technology at the moment for stability. It needs to be kept at minus 80, which is dry ice, essentially. So that is a challenge. It's one of the many challenges in relation to this vaccine rollout, but it's only one of the four types of vaccine that four vaccines that we've signed up to, if it's the first, Pfizer as part of their agreement with us, is that they guarantee that they will deal with the distribution issues from the place of manufacture to the place of immunisation. So that's that's part of the contract.
Prime Minister: And on the other matter. No, I don't know if night follows day in that way, Katharine. I mean, the key constraint at the moment in people coming in is the capacity of quarantine. If there are ways we can boost that, then that's great. And that's what we're working on at the moment. But the rush of those additional seeking to come back is obviously exhausted that resource, and that's why we keep adding to it. But I've got to say, the fact that we no longer have New Zealanders coming through that process, that's freed up some additional capacity. Equally as domestic borders go down, then we won't have Australians from each other's states sitting in hotel quarantine and that will enable more Australians to come home and that will be helpful without accessing one additional room and having or one additional police officer or health worker to be able to support that capacity. So as Australia opens, we will get more. All we said today was as right now as we're looking towards Christmas, I can't give a commitment to the states that we'd be in a position to allow any broader entry of international students at this time. But we'll look at it again in several weeks. And I hope if we're able to establish some additional capacity and how things may change in terms of those seeking to come back, it's understandable that many are looking to get back before the end of the year around Christmas and so on. But we'll keep a close eye on it and we'll keep working closely with the sector.
Journalist: Prime Minister, on your three step opening plan, you said earlier that it's the timing of each of the steps and that measures is up to each Premier in their own jurisdiction. Business has said that it can be, it's quite confusing the sort of piecemeal manner. Was there any discussion or commitment to, I guess doing a kind of report card, something that's combined that shows what all the states are doing when? And just on the international arrivals. Can you give us an update on the net figures? How many people on the list now? How many have actually come back of that 26,500 from a couple of months ago?
Prime Minister: To be honest, it changes very regularly and I'd be happy to distribute those accurate numbers through my office about the number as we have it right now and I suspect it will be different again tomorrow. I would note though, that over the course of this pandemic more than 400,000 Australians have come back from overseas. 400,000 that's a lot and I'd add that we have already, since the 13th of March, helped over 30,800 Australian citizens and permanent residents return home directly and that includes over 10,000 on 358 flights of which 67 were directly facilitated by the Government and we have many additional flights now that we're doing now. So this has been an ongoing process for many, many, many months and we've been getting through it as best as we can. I can tell you the figure I have here is that we there's some 35,600 still registered abroad who've indicated an interest in returning to Australia and now it’s more than, it's around about 10,000 more than we were talking about and that includes people already having got back out of that caseload and so it is a cup that keeps filling up every time we get someone home and so that will continue to be a challenge. I think I missed the second part of your question.
Journalist: The first part was around the reopening plan, is there any…
Prime Minister: We do have a system across all the states and territories, and I can understand the need for that. I mean, it's a big exercise to get seven states and territories to agree to get this done by Christmas all of it and the states are always very adamant, extremely adamant about the decisions that they take, which of what happens within their jurisdictions and that's the Constitution, and that's how the system works and so the Commonwealth obviously has no ability to change that timetable through I suppose the force of national interest we've been able to get to the agreement that we have and I welcome that. But we're moving quickly as I said, the many jurisdictions now have announced and more will, I know, when they're opening up to Victoria. We've got Victoria opening up as well and people moving around and accepting international flights, which is not too far away. So there is a frustrating patience that is necessary as we move through this but when you compare that to the uncertainty of those in other places this is the best place to be in the world.
Don’t worry, I won’t leave you out, I’ll come here.
Journalist: A number of your state and territory counterparts want to see the practical action on the Natural Disaster Royal Commission extend to carbon emissions policy of commitment to net zero by 2050. What's your reaction to them? What's your message to them? And very separately, you are planning to travel to Papua New Guinea. We're seeing media reports that there is a political challenge on the Prime Minister. If he is ousted, will you still go there?
Prime Minister: Well, I'm not going to speculate on those events, but it's my intention to be with Prime Minister Marape next Wednesday as planned and I'll be heading up to Japan, obviously, before that for the important meeting with Prime Minister Suga and we have the ASEAN meetings virtually over the course of this weekend and Dr Finkel may want to comment on this as well. One of the key findings or conclusions of the Royal Commission was that the locked in impacts of climate change already that are there largely set an elevated risk for the next 20 years and the report actually says that regardless of what might happen in terms of emissions reduction that is a known quantity and as a result, a key part of dealing with climate change in this country is dealing with the resilience to what is already there and that is a big part of what the Royal Commission recommends and I've been advocating some of you may recall from my first speech at the National Press Club at the start of this year, I said this agenda has to be about resilience as well. Of course it's about emissions reduction. Of course it is. No argument about that from the Government, but it also must be to protect Australians and keep them safe. It is about resilience measures and that's what our response will certainly address and in subsequent announcements that we will make, that is what in some respects the National Bushfire Recovery Fund in part is addressing. Our commitment is we would like to achieve the outcome you've indicated as soon as we can, but we will get there with a technology roadmap which achieves that result, not through taxation. See, if you can't get there by technology, you get there by taxes and we are not going to get there by taxes. If other countries choose to get there by taxes, that's a matter for them but Australia will set our response and we’ll meet our commitments based on our national interests and the policies we set here in Australia and that's why our technology roadmap is so important because if we're talking about reducing global emissions, not just Australia's emissions or indeed other developing countries emissions, then we must have technology in developing countries implemented, affordable, scalable, commercial that will transform their economies as they grow because all the increase in emissions is going to occur in developing countries. That is what is going to continue to see emissions rise into the future. Developed countries, we’re reducing our emissions. We are signatories to Paris and we will meet those commitments as we have been to Kyoto and we've had great success there and we believe we'll have great success in the future and so I've been really clear with Australians and that unless I can tell you what it's going to cost you, unless I can set out that plan for how it's going to be achieved then I think we are leaving Australia in a position that is vulnerable to a situation that would see higher costs imposed on Australian families when I believe that the path to it is in better technology and that has been a view that we've developed, closely informed by the work of the Chief Scientist. So I'll invite him to make comment.
Dr Alan Finkel, Chief Scientist: So earlier this year at the National Press Club Prime Minister, you did talk about the impact of climate and the need to have resilient responses, as well as the long term mitigation and you asked the CSIRO to do a report specifically on climate and disaster resilience, working with an expert advisory panel chaired by myself and we did that and submitted it mid-year and it became one of the significant inputs to the Royal Commission, which has been presented to National Cabinet today and there are many, many things that we can do to improve our resilience but the first is to acknowledge that this is a serious problem there that has to be dealt with. The first four words, the first sentence in the Terms of Reference from the Prime Minister to the expert advisory panel and the CSIRO was ‘Australia's climate is changing’. You have to acknowledge that and then work hard to deal with adapting to the problems that are there but at the same time, we absolutely have to be doing our piece to mitigate, to avoid emissions, to reduce emissions into the future and there are many things that are actually underway. You know, if you go back a longer time there's the renewable energy target, which drove a pretty good amount of solar and wind at large scale into the market. There is the integrated system plan that AEMO is operating with at the moment, which actually came out of the review that I chaired back in 2017 and that imposes sensible connection requirements on large scale solar and wind so that they don't destabilise the grid and through the integrated system plan allowing long distance interconnectors to bring electrons from where they generated to where you need them. We can now bring in solar and wind electricity at a much faster rate than we could have contemplated. The Government adopted the National Hydrogen Strategy last year and that is actually recognised around the world as a thoughtful and significant approach to realising the potential of hydrogen to contribute to emissions reduction. And the low emissions technology statement that the Prime Minister just mentioned, which was released in September this year is actually outlining how one can use technology to overcome the problems that are fundamentally wrought by the technology that we've been using increasingly for the last 200 years and those technologies, the purpose of the low emissions technology strategy, is to see how Government intervention and encouragement and signalling can lead to the most rapid decrease in price of those low and zero emissions technologies so that ultimately they will replace the higher emissions incumbent. They cover hydrogen again but also batteries and pumped hydro to help to firm up more and more solar and wind. They look at zero emissions steel as a future export potential for Australia. They look at Low emissions aluminium as a major export potential for Australia and then the Low Emissions Technology Statement recognises that it doesn't matter what you do, there will be sources of emissions that you can't zero out and you have to offset that by some kind of geosequestration or by sequestration and that's also covered in the Low Emissions Technology Statement. So I think that there are several things in place at the moment that are moving us in the right direction.
Journalist: Scientifically would you like to see Dr Finkel, therefore, net zero by 2050 from a scientific perspective?
Dr Alan Finkel, Chief Scientist: I would like to see us proceed towards net zero as fast as we can do so with economic efficiency and I think that the measures that I just mentioned to you are the kinds of things that you would be putting in place if you were trying to move as quickly as possible towards net zero.
Journalist: Prime Minister, what progress has been made in standing up alternatives to hotel quarantine like on campus or at home quarantine? And how far off of those alternatives?
Prime Minister: Well, Paul might want to comment on that as well. These matters have been looked at by the AHPPC, they were discussed again today and they are not considered options that we can safely take on.
Paul?
Professor Paul Kelly, Acting Chielf Medical Officer: So there are some pilots in relation to, to on farm quarantine for example, for the seasonal workers that have come from very low risk countries in Queensland for example that's that's one that's ongoing at the moment. So there are some bespoke arrangements currently operating in the states, they've made those decisions to to to try those pilots. But in terms - I think your question really goes to, is there large scale alternatives to hotel quarantine and the answer is no and I think the reason has been outlined already about how dangerous the rest of the world is and how important our border arrangements are.
Prime Minister: We've taken a good look at it and those options aren't presenting and we'll keep looking but I'm not going to raise an expectation that you could expect to see them.
Journalist: You’re ruling them out. They're not safe enough. You're ruling them out. They're not safe enough.
Prime Minister: Calm down. That's not what we're doing. We're going to keep looking at what the options are as we always have and if we can find viable options then we'll implement them but we haven't been able to find any viable options that are safe at this time.
Journalist: Was there any preliminary discussions today about next year opening up international travel from low virus countries such as Singapore, Japan, parts of China, Taiwan that you sort of flagged earlier in the week?
Prime Minister: Well, we have a greenlight process with New Zealand. We have a process where we're investigating other countries that could potentially be considered low risk and Paul might want to comment on that but the decision then for that to translate into some new access we have not made that decision at this point and we’re, I couldn't say we would be in that position before the end of the year, we would obviously like to be if that were possible but we're not going to compromise on the safety side. So what is important at the moment is that we're doing the proper assessments and we are working with those countries. That's one of the things I'm looking forward to speaking to Prime Minister Suga about when we're up there, it’s something I’ll indeed no doubt, talk to Prime Minister Marape about next week as well but we want to be able to work out well what are the what are the assessments? What do they look like? What sort of assurances would you need? And they're the sort of things you want to work out country to country and you also need to do that upfront with the states and territories because ultimately they are responsible for public health within their jurisdictions and of course we would consult them. It's a Commonwealth decision which is respected by the states and territories, but we'd prefer to do that on the way in, in getting their views about that and how that can work. It's working well with New Zealand at the moment. There may be small small countries where there are zero cases and very low risk where that at the margin can be achieved but I think, again, the point you made Paul, in terms of scaled change that is not in our immediate future that that's a reality of of a COVID world that at the moment as we see overseas is is incredibly dangerous. Paul, did you want to add anything to that?
Journalist: I just, PM we were last time requested, the National Cabinet requested the Australian Health Protection Principal Committee, the AHPPC to do further work on this and we have done looking at very at a general way of looking at risk of different countries and then a very detailed country risk assessment for specific countries of interest so the ones that have been mentioned are the ones that are of interest. So it's those that those ones we have close ties with a couple of which the PM is visiting next week but also the Pacific where you know they've had a very different experience of the pandemic to other countries around the world. So it remains in our sights and so we're not ruling anything out into the into the far future but at the moment, the decision is the the the world is red, which means 14 days hotel quarantine unless they are very specifically detailed as green in which case these alternatives might be available.
Prime Minister: Thank you Professor Kelly. I might have to leave it there. Just on that issue?
Journalist: On contact tracing report.
Prime Minister: Sure, sure.
Journalist: Did it actually identify deficiencies specifically in the Victorian system of contact tracing and do you believe they've been fixed since?
Dr Alan Finkel, Chief Scientist: So the contact tracing review is not the result of a enquiry it's not a scorecard it's truly looking at the characteristics shared across the states. I can tell you that the Victorian system is really working quite well now. It's obviously, was under incredible stress and not working well three four months ago, but it's actually dramatically improved.
Prime Minister: Thanks everyone, thank you.
Press Conference - Canberra, ACT
12 November 2020
PRIME MINISTER: Good afternoon everyone. There’s a number of things I’d like to get through this morning and in particular the reason that the Defence Minister joins me here today to deal with the receipt of the IGADF report.
But before I do that, I can let you know that I had a very, very warm call with President-elect Biden this morning, and we both made very clear our strong commitment to strengthening our alliance, which will celebrate 70 years next year. This is a relationship that he understands very deeply, based on his broad experience over a long period of time, and the United States, and his engagement of course as Vice President and his many other roles and I was also - had the opportunity to personally extend that invitation for him and Dr Biden to join us next year as part of the celebration of those, the 70th anniversary of the ANZUS relationship. Something we both reflected upon was, first entered into by a Liberal Prime Minister and a Democratic President. So this is a relationship, as I said on the weekend, that has been stewarded by many Prime Ministers, by many Presidents, from many perspectives, but what has also remained very clear and very true and was evidenced in the discussion we had today, that it is one that is bigger than both of us and important to all of us, not just here in Australia and in the United States but in our own region and more broadly around the rest of the world and we understand those responsibilities. We agreed that there was no more critical time for both this alliance between ourselves and the United States but more broadly the working together especially of like-minded countries and values that we hold and share working together to promote peace and stability of course in the Indo-Pacific region and more broadly through the many multilateral institutions and agencies that exist, whether they be on trade, in the United Nations or others. The Quad, the G7, the OECD, the G20, these also are very important in the forums that we work together. Within the United States and of course here in Australia of course we respect the transition process that is underway, at least informally. When that formally commences, that is of course a matter for the US Administration and we will continue to work closely with the US Administration respecting those protocols in the months ahead because there remain many issues on hand that we are dealing with the United States administration. We also discussed the many global challenges of course. Whether they be COVID-19, which is very much clearly top of his agenda in addressing the situation there, as well of course the economic impacts of that. The President-elect was very interested in Australia's success here and what Australia could contribute from our lessons and our learnings and the way we have managed the COVID-19 pandemic and the economic dimensions of that as well. We’ve discussed, as I already indicated, security and the environmental challenges that Australia and the United States can work together on, particularly in the areas of emissions reducing technologies.
I can also advise today that next week I will travel to Tokyo and I will meet with the new Prime Minister of Japan Prime Minister Suga and I am honoured to be the first foreign leader to visit Japan to meet the new Prime Minister, following his appointment. I will also be visiting Port Moresby as I, on the return to Australia.
Our relationship with Japan over the past few years has really gone from strength to strength. They are an important partner on so many issues within our region. We are special strategic partners, we work closely together on trade, security, defence as the Minister knows, technology issues and indeed our present involvement in the Malabar exercise is a very good demonstration of that. We will play an important role in our economic recovery from COVID-19 and discuss many of, ways that we can further deepen our trade ties that is worth some $86 billion, including the Japan-Australia economic partnership Agreement and on the return as I said, I will be meeting with my very dear friend Prime Minister Marape as we will continue to discuss the work we are doing together to support them on COVID-19 and in particular how we can assist them through our vaccine program and the many other partnerships we have in place with them to address their challenges, in dealing with not only the COVID-19 pandemic, but of course the economic recession that flows from that. Now, I'll be strictly following, as you would expect, the many health advice, and quarantine requirements when I run to Australia. I will go into isolation for 14 days as well as those who are accompanying me and what will be a first, I anticipate for the Australian Parliament, joining Question Time by video link. So that will be a first and I can only look forward to that, as I am sure all of you will also.
But, to the also, and very serious and significant matters that draws us to this press conference today and I appreciate your patience, I am going to call on it again.
As Prime Minister, and I know the Minister for Defence joins me in this, all members of our Government, all members of our Parliament I am so extremely thankful to every Australian who chooses to put on our uniform to serve under our flag to protect our freedoms to uphold our values and to protect our interests. That is a choice Australians make to serve. I respect that choice and I am deeply grateful for it and their service. Our Defence Forces have a proud history one we remembered again yesterday. Our serving men and women are deserving of the respect and admiration in which they are held by the Australian people and not just here but our allies and partners around the world. They have earned it. They have demonstrated it and I can say this because serving men and women in our Defence Forces both past and present share the expectations and aspirations of the Australian people for our Defence Forces and how they engage in their conduct. That means when you have such standards and respect such standards that from time to time this requires us to deal with honest and brutal truths, where expectations and standards may not have been met.
Now, this has been the case regarding some very serious issues that were raised regarding conduct by some members of Australia's special operations task group in Afghanistan. It is our Australian way to deal with these issues with a deep respect for justice and the rule of law, but also one that seeks to illuminate the truth but also seeks to understand it because that is what must drive our response. To ensure that indeed justice is truly served but also in understanding and illuminating the conduct of those who may have acted in ways that do not accord with the high standards expected of our ADF and those expectations as I say are no less held by the serving men and women of our ADF and their veterans community past and present. That we not just seek to illuminate that truth that we understand it and not for those who are just specifically involved in such conduct but those who had responsibility for the environment in which those Australians served the context of that service the rules and the culture that were relevant in understanding that conduct. All of this is relevant and if you are serious about illuminating the truth here and dealing with its consequences, then you must take that broader view as a Government and I have no doubt the CDF and the Defence Force will do the same. Such conduct must be held accountable in our justice system by Australians in accordance with our justice system and the Australian rule of law, but responsibility must also be taken by leadership to ensure the lessons are learned and these events are never repeated.
So as is right the Chief of the Defence Force General Campbell in 2016 initiated the Inspector- Generals of the ADF to conduct an inquiry at arm's length from the Defence Forces and the Government to determine whether there was any substance to the allegations made in relevance to the task group. Those inquiries have now been completed as that part of the process and the CDF is considering findings and will release the details of that next week while the Government makes preparations to deal with the release of the report. This will be difficult and hard news for Australians I can assure you to hear. Covering conducting over the course of what has been three Governments, over more than a decade. Our responsibility is to ensure now that we deal with this in a way that accords with our Australian standards of justice that respects the rule of law that provides the relevant checks and balances through this process that upholds our values and standards and the respect that we have for our Defence Forces that they have earned and deserve, that we protect the vulnerable whether serving currently or who are in our veterans community who have no part in this who have no involvement here and who must be assured by all of us as Australians by ensuring the integrity and robustness of a response and a process that is consistent with the values that they hold and cause them to choose to pull on that uniform. For those in our veterans community for whom this may be a very difficult time there are supports available and one of the instructions that the Minister and I and the Minister for Veterans Affairs have given to our agencies is to ensure that those processes are in place to assist them.
So today I announce the following response. Given the likely allegations of serious and possibly criminal misconduct the matters raised in the inquiry must be assessed, investigated and where allegations are substantiated, prosecuted in court. To undertake this role, the Government is establishing the Office of the Special Investigator, the Office of the Special Investigator will address the criminal matters made in the Inspector-General's report and investigate those allegations, gather evidence and where appropriate refer briefs to the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions for consideration. There is a significant number of incidents or issues to be investigated further and that investigation will be inherently complex. The investigation will require cooperation with international agencies and the evaluation of large amounts of material. The Special Investigator will be an eminent person with experience in the justice system and international law. The office will be established within the Department of Home Affairs and staffed with experienced investigators, legal counsel and other support personnel. It will include investigators from the Australian Federal Police and state and territory Police Forces with the requisite experience and skills. It will leverage the Australian Federal Police investigative capability and powers. The office of the Special Investigator is expected to be fully stood up next year if not sooner and the Office of the Special Investigator will remain in place for as long as is necessary to resolve matters arising from the Inspector-General's inquiry. Establishing the Office of the Special Investigator will enable the Australian Federal Police also to remain focused on keeping Australians safe and secure through its primary focus on fighting serious organised crime, terrorists and foreign interference. This will be a non-statutory body so there is no requirement for legislation to put this in place they will act in effect under the powers of the Federal Police Commissioner.
But there is another task beyond the justice task and I will ask the Minister to speak to that in just a moment. The Government will also establish a separate and independent oversight panel comprising three eminent Australians whose expertise and experience will provide oversight and assurance relating to the defence response to the inquiry relating to cultural organisational and leadership change. The oversight panel will report directly to the Minister for Defence on the implementation of the inquiry's recommendations and their consideration of any wider implications and actions in response to the inquiry and I thank the Minister for her recommendation of the establishment of this oversight panel which will enable her also to ensure that the matters that require to be addressed within the ADF are in fact being done so and while at the same time preserving the integrity of the justice process that we have set in place and keeps Government Ministers directly at arm's length from both of those processes. The Oversight Panel will be comprised of Dr Vivienne Thom AO, a former Inspector-General of intelligence and security, Robert Cornall AO a former Secretary of the Attorney-General’s Department, and Professor Rufus Black, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Tasmania and a noted ethicist. Ultimately the Oversight Panel will be the Government's and the public's independent body to ensure that Defence is making the changes recommended by the inquiry to help ensure that we can address any underlying issues. Its role will be a central part of ensuring ongoing confidence in our Defence Force.
I can also advise that the Opposition has been briefed on these arrangements today this morning. They also have been involved in briefings leading up to this more broadly on other matters and I would invite the Minister for Defence to make some remarks.
SENATOR THE HON. LINDA REYNOLDS CSC, MINISTER FOR DEFENCE: Thank you very much Prime Minister and good afternoon. It has been widely known that over the past four years the Inspector-General of the Australian Defence Force has been inquiring into the conduct of Australia’s Special Operations task group in Afghanistan. In particular rumours and allegations relating to possible breaches of the law of armed conflict over the period 2005 to 2016. As the Prime Minister has said, in 2016 these matters were referred to the Inspector-General of the ADF by the now CDF General Angus Campbell. The Afghanistan inquiry was conducted at arm’s length from both the ADF chain of command and from Government's. This was to ensure the independence and the integrity of the process. The inquiry was also conducted in private as it involved matters both of operational security and of potential harm to the reputations of individuals. The Inspector-General has now completed the Afghanistan inquiry. The inquiry report was delivered to the Chief of Defence Force last Friday. General Campbell has provided me with an initial briefing on the report. He's also advised me that he is now considering the very detailed findings and the many recommendations contained in the report. Can I just say this the CDF must have the time the necessary time to give the report his serious consideration. Once he has gone through this process he has indicated his intention to speak publicly on the report and I believe we must, we must provide the CDF with this opportunity. Therefore at this stage, I will not be making any comment on the substance of the inquiry report itself.
The Australian Government is taking all of the necessary steps to ensure that there are the appropriate mechanisms in place to deal with these most serious of matters. In addition to the measure that the Prime Minister has outlined in relation to the inquiry, I have established the Afghanistan, it is called the Afghanistan Inquiry Implementation Oversight Panel. This panel will provide oversight of the Defence response to the inquiry. It will also provide assurance to the Government and to me as Minister and also to all Australians that this report is being implemented as all Australians would expect it to be. Accountability, accountability will be the cornerstone of Defence's response to this inquiry ahe Oversight Panel will report directly to me on Defence's implementation of the inquiry recommendations but importantly it will also consider and also report on any wider implications and actions in response to the inquiry findings. As the PM has said, I have appointed three eminent Australians to this Oversight Panel and between them, they have all of the requisite expertise and experience in complex and sensitive legal matters, in forensic review, in organisational scrutiny and reform, in ethics and in policy development. To lead the panel, Dr Vivienne Thom AO will be leading that panel of work. The Terms of Reference for the inquiry itself have been released and will be publicly available today.
Can I say I have absolutely no doubt, no doubt whatsoever that this is likely to be a very difficult and a very distressing time for those impacted by this report. Particularly so for those who are vulnerable and those who are at risk. This Government is absolutely committed to ensuring that current and former serving ADF members and of course their family members, any of them who are impacted by this inquiry have access to the right support. This includes a very comprehensive package of legal, psychological, medical, pastoral care and social work support and I strongly encourage all current and former serving ADF members and their families to please reach out and seek the support that you need.
These are extremely serious matters and the measures that the Prime Minister and I have outlined today means that this Government is taking all of the necessary steps to ensure that these matters are addressed and that they are comprehensively and very transparently implemented.
So thank you Prime Minister.
PRIME MINISTER: Thank you Minister. Can I thank the Minister for Home Affairs and the Attorney-General for their assistance.
Phil?
JOURNALIST: We have had a 4-year investigative inquiry now we will have an investigation into the findings. How long realistically until we may see a prosecution and is there any statute of limitations that were applied on any potential offences in terms of the time they were committed?
PRIME MINISTER: The first point for me to make Phil is that continuation of a process not a new process as would occur in any such report it would in ordinary practice be handed on to the AFP to prepare a brief of evidence to make available to the DPP. Now in this case, this is no normal set of circumstances and the expertise scale of this that is necessary to properly fulfil that function that the AFP would normally provide here does not exist and as the Minister for Home Affairs has submitted through this process would significantly overwhelm the AFP in their many other very important works that they have to do. So it is necessary to build that capability. It sits under the AFP’s commission and continues that process. So I wouldn't want there to be a perception and I know you are not suggesting this, that this is some new investigation. The report does not provide a brief of evidence. That was not necessarily its purpose and so this is the next step and it will go for an indeterminate amount of time. A key task of the Special Investigator will really be to triage I think the many issues that are raised in the report. Now, I can assure you, neither the Minister or I are privy to the unredacted version of this report when it comes to the names and identification of individuals. That is important I think for the separation of our roles from this process and the integrity of that process but Phil, the short answer is, it is an indeterminate period of time and it will take as long as it takes to progress through what will be very complicated legal issues and so we must prepare ourselves for what will continue to be a long and arduous journey.
Chris?
JOURNALIST: Statute of Limitations?
PRIME MINISTER: I will come back to you on that specifically but to the extent that anything, we will have to abide by the normal laws that sit around those matters unless the minister has anything to add to that?
SENATOR THE HON. LINDA REYNOLDS CSC, MINISTER FOR DEFENCE: It’ll be subject to, given it is such a wide period of time, that will be one of the things that the special investigator will take into consideration.
JOURNALIST: You seem to think that the process will be Australian justice. Does this mitigate against the possibility that some of our soldiers could be called before the International Criminal Court?
PRIME MINISTER: We believe so, yes. That is the important advice we have taken on this. We need to deal with this as Australians according to our own laws, through our own justice processes and we will and I think that will say a lot about Australia. Of course, this report will be difficult news and all of our partners must be assured and those around the world who rightly hold the Australian Defence Forces in high regard, I believe by the process we are outlining to you today shows why that is the case, that in Australia we deal with this stuff and we deal with it honestly, but in accordance through the rule of law and by following the justice practices and principles that makes Australia what it is.
JOURNALIST: Are there any concerns within Government that any of the evidence that has been related may not be admissible given the nature in which it was compelled from witnesses and are you confident that the current Chief of Defence and current Chief of Army have declared any potential conflict of interests given their time that is covered in this report?
PRIME MINISTER: The short answers to both requests are yes and yes. There are, there is evidence that is contained in the report that obviously has been gathered under different circumstances and those are the very reasons why a Special Investigator working under the AFP's powers must be appointed to resolve those issues and that is why it is not a simple matter of just taking this report and then dropping it down to the DPP. That is not possible and so, that is what I mean when I refer to the very complex issues that have to be addressed here by the Special Investigator and indeed the Director General sits above that and makes sure the entire operation runs and I will ask the Minister to comment also more specifically on the CDF but that is, I am confident about that and I would expect if there are any issues that arose they would be raised directly and immediately with me and or the Minister.
SENATOR THE HON. LINDA REYNOLDS CSC, MINISTER FOR DEFENCE: Thank you, Prime Minister. I share the Prime Minister's confidence in the CDF and Defence's senior leadership. But one of the reasons why I did recommend and we are now establishing the Oversight Panel is to ensure that any matters that relate to culture and any matters that might be found in a report as I have said, emerge during the course of the implementation are considered not only by the CDF but also considered externally. So that is exactly the purpose so that we have accountability and transparency that sits out of the ADF chain of command and outside of Government.
JOURNALIST: Just on cultural issues are you willing to have senior leaders in the ADF sacked over or if it emerges they looked the other way or knew what was going on and allowed it to flourish?
PRIME MINISTER: As I said in my opening remarks, it is not just the specific conduct of individuals that relate to acts that are covered in this report. It is the environment, it is the context, it is the rules, it is the culture and the command that sat around those things and if we want to deal with the truth of this, we have to deal with the truth of that and I know there would be some concern in the veterans community and I know there would be some concern within those serving members of the ADF that this process may only just focus on those specifically involved and I want to assure them that both the CDF, the Minister and myself are very, very keen to ensure to really understand and learn from this, then those matters can't be ignored and they need to be understood and they need to be addressed. Now, when it comes to the who is serving and where they are serving, that is a matter for the CDF and that is a matter that ultimately is then oversighted by the panel led by Vivienne Thom that the Minister has appointed. I think that provides the appropriate check and balance here I think in keeping that on the right keel but I would add this and this is what I am also very keen to stress, there is some disturbing conduct here but we cannot then take that and apply it to everyone who has pulled on a uniform and if we did that, that would be grossly unjust, grossly unjust. I know that wouldn't be the view of people here or in Government or anywhere else. We all share a deep respect for our Defence Forces, but we also share a deep respect for justice. It is about managing those two issues to the high standards I think we place on them in Australia.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, do you have any concerns for the safety and well-being of our serving personnel overseas currently and also embassy staff? And Minister, how often do you expect to be hearing from this Oversight Panel?
PRIME MINISTER: Why don't you deal with that one first, Linda?
SENATOR THE HON. LINDA REYNOLDS CSC, MINISTER FOR DEFENCE: In relation to the oversight panel, I will get an official report every quarter from them and I will be reporting regularly to the Parliament on their reports to me. If I need more, then I will obviously ask them to do more. I will be in regular contact with the Oversight Panel and can I just stress, nothing will be out of bounds for this inquiry. There are many lessons no doubt to be learnt at many levels and so this inquiry this panel will be absolutely looking at all of them.
PRIME MINISTER: Just to answer the other part of the question. I don't want to overstate them but it is an appropriate thing for the Government to take appropriate precautions about and that is why today I am announcing the process and there is a period of time, both for the CDF to continue to consider the report himself, but we also have been engaged and have begun the process with state and territory governments as well as ensuring the Department of Veterans' Affairs and the many services that they support are in a position to deal with the response when, sorry, the report when it is released next week.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, how many soldiers are there accusations against when you talk about it? Does it involve all members of the ADF, can we get a sense of that are you shocked by what you see in the report and just in relation to the Joe Biden phone call, are you surprised…
PRIME MINISTER: I will come back to that. I will try to remember till we get to that, but yes.
JOURNALIST: I was just saying, are you surprised that Donald Trump hasn't conceded yet?
PRIME MINISTER: I won't go to those issues. In terms of the other matters that you have raised, I think they are best addressed by the CDF when he releases the report next week and he can go to those matters. This is his report and it is for him to release it and speak to its contents. So I will allow him to do that. But in terms of what the Government has been briefed on, I think you can tell from the seriousness and the gravity in the way we are responding to this that you can get a clear sense of how seriously the Government is taking this Andrew. This is going to be very difficult for Australians. It is going to be very difficult for our serving community and our veterans community. It is going to be difficult for all of us but what we are seeking to do as a Government I think what we have to do as a country, is to absorb this in a way that enables us to uphold the integrity of our justice system and uphold the integrity of our Defence Forces. We rely vitally on both of these institutions absolutely vitally our safety, our security depends upon it and that is why you are hearing the response from us today as you have heard it. Michelle?
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, this has been a matter of debate obviously now for years. What has already been done to improve the culture in the relevant part of the Defence Force and also there has been some suggestion that maybe it would be a positive move to disband the SAS and reorganise things. Can you rule that out or do you think that has any merit?
PRIME MINISTER: I will allow the Minister obviously to deal with the progress that has been made there. I would simply say this Michelle this will be a long process. This is the next stage and I am not about to pre-empt or prejudge any actions in any way, shape or form that the CDF would think is appropriate in responding to the report. That is his job and he knows this. We have worked together for some time. He knows what his job is, we know what our job is and we expect each other to do both of those. But Minister?
SENATOR THE HON. LINDA REYNOLDS CSC, MINISTER FOR DEFENCE: Thank you, Michelle. As I said, this started four years ago with a range of rumours and allegations that were circulating within Defence and so they did start off as rumours and allegations which is why the now CDF referred this through to the IGADF. 39,000 Australians have served in Afghanistan since 2001 and 26,000 of those in uniform and they have done so, with a few exceptions, which the CDF will address when he delivers his comments publicly and also delivers a version of the report that this should in no way undermine the work of a vast majority of those 39,000 Australians. They served with great distinction and 41 Australians lost their lives in that process. Today we have and as Minister I could not be any prouder of the work that our men and women are doing on Operation Bushfire Assist, COVID Assist. We have got 3,000 of our Defence personnel serving overseas at the moment in quite challenging circumstances but it is important Australians maintain confidence in the ADF. So for all the reasons that the Prime Minister has said today, it is critically important that the CDF has time to consider the report, work out what his response to the findings and recommendations will be and to deliver his implementation report but since 2016, since these rumours and allegations emerged there has been a significant and long-standing reform processes in Special Operations Command, and those reforms continue today and after the CDF has ready findings and the recommendations, I am certain he will have more say about what more yet has to be done with our Special Forces Command and their units.
JOURNALIST: Can I just clarify on the report that is being released next week, what is the level of detail you anticipate being released apart from names of individuals, do you accept in order for the country to move on and grapple with this that as much detail as possible about the conduct is released publicly?
PRIME MINISTER: It is quite a voluminous report I can assure you of that but it will be for obvious reasons, a redacted report both to ensure the integrity of the justice process that is flowing from it and also national security issues as are relevant.
JOURNALIST: PM, you obviously were not Prime Minister and the Minister wasn't Minister when decisions were made about these deployments but if you had a chance to reflect on lessons that your predecessors as PM and Ministers might have had? Did we ask too much of our SAS and the Commandos in Afghanistan were there criticisms with the tempo of operations? Were our political leaders in the past making a mistake in sort of, maybe, contributing to this sort of culture that developed and things like that?
PRIME MINISTER: The span of your question I think goes in part to some of the issues that will be covered in the report. Not from a political point of view because the matters contained in the report were never raised is my advice with Government with ministers at the political level. That is my understanding of it. It has certainly been the case save for what has been initiated in my time as both a Cabinet Minister and indeed as Prime Minister but I would say this: anyone we ask, to put on a uniform, we are always asking a tremendous amount of them and particularly those who serve in the most dangerous of situations, and that of course goes to our special operations. And whether that is those that are based over there as part of the Special Air Services Regiment or indeed the 2 Commandos, not far from where my electorate is in southern Sydney, we ask an extraordinary amount of them and we always do. This is why I stand in awe of those who choose to put on a uniform because they do that knowing they will be asked to put themselves in very difficult situations and that is why their service is so extraordinary.
JOURNALIST: On the special investigation, you said the special investigations would be part of a continuing continuation of the process. Does that mean that AFP investigations that have already been underway for a couple of years would be sort of rolled into the new process? And just a second question…
PRIME MINISTER: The short answer to that is I would assume the AFP would resolve how they handle those issues within this new structure.
JOURNALIST: And would you be seeking to strip medals from any soldiers who have been found to commit crimes?
PRIME MINISTER: I will ask the Minister to comment on that.
SENATOR THE HON. LINDA REYNOLDS CSC, MINISTER FOR DEFENCE: In relation to any of the findings and recommendations in the Inspector-General's report, the CDF is considering all of those options. There will be many options and many recommendations for his action and it would be my expectation that the CDF would consider each and every one of those recommendations, which may well include what you just said but again, I am going to wait until the CDF has finished his deliberations and there will be many other issues that will emerge that the CDF will have to consider and also possibly how and when he refers these matters to the special investigator.
PRIME MINISTER: The lights are a bit bright. We’ve got two questions up the back.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, there has been some criticism of the time this report has taken, four years these further investigations, and the mental health impact has been hard on soldiers, on serving soldiers and veterans. Will these further investigations, will there be any timelines or deadlines for them?
PRIME MINISTER: My answer is the same as the answer I gave to Phil. It is an indeterminate time frame and I simply say I can appreciate that frustration and I can appreciate the anxiety, but these are incredibly complex events involving actions and conduct in another country in a war and that is not a simple process in terms of the evidence gathering, arrangements and there are language difficulties, there are international law issues. This is not a simple matter and it remains not a simple matter and so it will take as long as it needs to take to ensure we deal with our dual objectives here of addressing the justice that is necessary in accordance with our laws and our systems but also ensuring the integrity of our Defence Forces on which we all rely on.
JOURNALIST: In your discussion with Joe Biden include the need to reach net zero emissions by 2050?
PRIME MINISTER: No he didn’t. It wasn’t raised with me during the course of the call but we did discuss I raised with the President-elect the similarity between the President-elect's comments and policies regarding emissions reduction and technologies that are needed to achieve that and we look forward to working on those issues but the specific matter that you raise was not addressed in that call.
JOURNALIST: Are you concerned about the transition of power between from Trump to a Biden Presidency, are you concerned about that and are you also just following up on Andrew’s question, are you surprised he has not conceded yet?
PRIME MINISTER: In answer to your first question, no I am not concerned and we will respect the processes that the United States have. This is not the first transition from one President to another, it happens from time to time and those procedures are well established and the President-elect and I discussed that this morning and that we both have to respect that and there are matters still on foot that we are working with the current administration on and we will continue to do that. So that is quite regular. In relation to the other matter, it is not a matter for Australia. It is not a matter for me to pick up the phone as others were suggesting I do, well here that’s what they were doing, that is not a matter for me that is a matter for the President and we will just work through patiently with the issues we have in Australia's national interests.
JOURNALIST: Thanks PM, Minister, just on- borders are still closed, a lot of Australians might be surprised that you are travelling overseas. Why is it important that you are in Japan, what will be the outcome of that trip, and how will Parliament work with you in isolation, assuming you are at the Lodge for two weeks?
PRIME MINISTER: First of all, I will be one of tens of thousands of Australians who over the course of this pandemic have left Australia this is not unusual, there are many tens of thousands of Australians who have had to travel overseas including indeed the Minister for Defence and the Minister for Foreign Affairs regarding their business activities, many others on compassionate reasons and those figures will be well known to you. And for many, many months now I have engaged in telephone diplomacy on a large number of matters and will be doing so again this weekend with the ASEAN meetings that will be held over the course of this weekend and the East Asia Summit and I’ll be looking forward to participating in those and engaging with my colleagues in the region there. To be the first national leader, I think, to engage in Japan with the new Prime Minister and to have the opportunity to do that is significant for Australia, because Japan is a very special relationship with Australia. It's not just an economic one, it's not just a trade one, it's not just a cultural and social one, importantly, it is a strategic one that we form together with the United States and India a very important quad relationship. We play a very important role together in working in the Southwest Pacific together. And when it comes to the development, and in particular more recently, the COVID-19 assistance which has become provided, issues around vaccine development in South East Asia, work that has been done in the Mekong. Japan and Australia are very important together in providing, I think, a like-minded alignment on these strategic issues within our region. So the opportunity to go there and conclude some very important arrangements in this space is in Australia's national interest. While I am there I will also have the opportunity to discuss economic issues as well and importantly, given I will be going, as you rightly say into 14 days' isolation which I will do here at the Lodge, then I will be able to also importantly visit with Prime Minister Marape, you all know my strong commitment to the relationships within the Pacific and while I’ve spoken to Pacific leaders regularly throughout the course of this crisis, this is an important opportunity to do that face-to-face. It will happen to be, I will actually happen to be in Port Moresby the night of the next State of Origin so I suspect we will take a moment to watch that game together as we like to do. It is part of the social element of our relationship.
Chris?
JOURNALIST: Did the President-Elect raised the possibility of a summit of democracies which is something he has been pushing?
PRIME MINISTER: No, he didn't but we did speak about multilateral engagement and the US is what I believe is their indispensable and important role in those multilateral fora, we did talk about the OECD for example, we spoke about the G7+, where the UK Prime Minister Johnson has invited me to participate in the G7 summit next year, as we would have been in the United States this year were it not for COVID restrictions, and indeed as we have participated when France hosted it last year. So we talked a lot about our involvement in these fora, and in particular, the ones that bring together like-minded, market based democracies and he understands this part of the world extremely well. So I was very pleased to hear his very strong commitment to not only seeing that continue but to see it strengthen in the years ahead. So I may finish where we started and that is, we, he and I will be the next pairing of stewards of this important relationship of this alliance. We understand the responsibilities of that extend well beyond our terms and our specific domestic responsibilities. This is one of the most important relationships we agreed in the world and we will be doing everything in our national interest to ensure that it is maintained in good order.
Thank you all very much.
Press Conference - Canberra, ACT
10 November 2020
Prime Minister: Over the course of this year, our Government has been providing the leadership and the certainty and stability that Australians have needed in one of the toughest years of their lives. We've acted decisively in relation to the global pandemic and the COVID-19 recession that has followed. We've acted effectively and in a timely way to support Australians as they've confronted the challenges that they've had to face in their own communities, in their own homes, in their own families, in their own workplaces. We have been there each step of the way, each and every day. Whether it's the significant programs like JobKeeper, the doubling of JobSeeker to support Australians through, cash flow support for businesses and the many other measures. While that has provided very important practical support to Australians, in addition the $18.5 billion of extra health investments that we've made to support our hospitals, to support respiratory clinics and testing reagents and the PPE requirements, all of this. What it actually has meant to Australians over these many months is that this Government has had your back in the course of the worst pandemic we've seen in a century and with that assurance they've been able to get through each day. It's been tough, no doubt. And mental health and anxiety and pressures on families, economic and otherwise, have been extraordinary, but knowing that each day the Government would be there and provide the support that was necessary and has not held back, I think, has provided in the feedback that I've received from Australians around the country a peace of mind that has been very important during the course of this crisis and, of course, the challenges continue.
This is the third successive day now we've had no community transmission in Australia. That's very welcome but it can't be taken for granted and the challenges of the pandemic and the COVID-19 recession don't just end. They remain challenges for some time yet to come and the approach we've taken up until now is the approach we will continue to take. We will be responsive. We will be targeted. We will be proportionate. We will calibrate the supports that are needed when and where they're needed. The first part of that plan has been to cushion the blow and the blow has been great, but the support that has been provided has cushioned that blow, for individuals, for businesses right throughout Australia. But we cannot allow the lifeline that has been extended to also now hold Australia back as we move into the next phases of recovery. We've always been clear that we would move through various phases and we've announced changes to other elements of the supports that have been put in place by the Government. Those cushioning the blow supports were not only important to those individuals, but they bought Australia time. They bought the states and territories time. As states have had to close down their economies, it has been the Federal Government that has underwritten those measures. They would not have been possible were it not for the underwriting of the Federal Government and I know Premiers and Chief Ministers understand that. We took those decisions together. They understood that we were stepping up in the same time as them stepping up to do the things they needed to do.
But as we go forward, we are seeing confidence return, whether it's on the NAB measures just released today, the ANZ measures showing confidence getting above where it was pre-pandemic or the Westpac figures that were released for last month. Confidence is returning. Australia is safely reopening and it needs to remain safely open. Jobs are returning. Job advertisements have doubled since May on the most recent figures in October and we know that employers are looking for people to come back to work and we need to ensure that we have the right settings in place to support that.
Today, we are announcing the changes to JobSeeker supplements, the COVID Supplement that we introduced at the start of the pandemic, and we will be extending that supplement for the three months after the end of December. We will be changing the rate of that supplement down to $150 for that period, out to the end of three months, and this will come at a cost to taxpayers of some $3.2 billion over that three month period. Not a small measure, a very important measure, to ensure that that support remains. I was very clear that when we made the changes to JobKeeper, we would make a later decision on JobSeeker, taking into account what was happening in the labour market and we would go through that process. That will need to be legislated before the end of the year, so Cabinet has considered it, it has now gone through our party room this morning and legislation will come to place later this week. And I will ask Minister Ruston to take you through the other details, because many other aspects of the COVID supplement and eligibility arrangements will also be maintained over that three month period.
But you know we cannot stay stuck in neutral in this country. We have got to keep moving forward, like the emblems on our national crest, the kangaroo and the emu, they only go forward, and that can be the only plan for Australia. That is what we tell the kids when they come here to Parliament House. That is what Australia is all about and our COVID recovery plan is exactly the same. It's about continually going forward, not taking steps back. And today's announcement to gear through the changes in the JobSeeker payment, as we are doing at the same time with JobKeeper, will see more and more Australians, will see more and more businesses graduate from the economic supports that were so essential over these many months. I will ask Anne to go through the further details and we can take questions on that, and I have no doubt on other matters you would like to raise.
Senator the Hon. Anne Ruston, Minister for Families and Social Services: Thank you very much, Prime Minister, and today we're here to announce the extension of temporary measures, as we see our economy gaining confidence and momentum to start to build. So we are making announcements today not only about the increase in, sorry, the extension of the temporary coronavirus supplement payment but also a number of measures that will be extended from the 1st of January through to the 31st of March. These measures also allow more Australians to be able to get access to payment, as we stand side-by-side with Australians who have been hit by the COVID pandemic but we will continue to monitor the economic conditions to make sure that we strike the right balance between providing elevated levels of support for people who need it but at the same time creating incentives for people to re-engage with the workforce.
The particular measures contained in the extension from the 1stt of January to the 31st of March 2021, as the Prime Minister said, the extension of the coronavirus supplement at a rate of $150 per fortnight. In addition, we will be extending the income free area, which is currently at $300 per fortnight, because we want to encourage Australians to dip their toe back into the jobs market and test their ability to get work, because we know that people who report earnings are twice as likely to actually come off payment in the short term than those that do not report any earnings at all. We will be maintaining the elevated level of the partner taper rate, which means that people whose partners are earning up to $80,000 per year will also still be able to gain access to payment. In addition, the expanded eligibility criteria will cover people who are sole traders, people who are self-employed, those that have been stood down but remain connected to their workplace, people who are in isolation and people who have to care for somebody in isolation. We will also be extending some of the waiting periods to make sure that people have got quick and easy access to payment.
So, as we go forward and as the jobs market starts to open up and as our economy starts to recover from this extraordinary pandemic, we want to encourage all Australians to re-engage with the workforce. Over recent months we have put in place social security measures to support all Australians through this pandemic, but now our focus has to be on supporting Australians back to work.
Prime Minister: Thank you, Anne. Questions on the announcement today?
Journalist: [Inaudible] a decision on the base rate of JobSeeker at the end of March to coincide with the end of this extension?
Prime Minister: We haven't made a final decision on that, Mark. What we are focused on right now are the emergency measures that need to be in place for the pandemic. There are issues that relate to the question you have raised, they are certainly there but right now what matters is the supports that will continue to be provided at these elevated and temporary levels. That is where we have applied the focus. What we have learned throughout the course of the COVID-19 pandemic and recession is things can change quickly, and we need to be very responsive to the conditions on the ground economically, and otherwise. We are getting a lot of feedback from around the country, and particularly in regional areas, about employers who are just trying to get people to fill jobs. And we know there are many people out there for those jobs and we need to connect them into those jobs. The mutual obligation arrangements have been reintroduced and they will soon again be reintroduced in Victoria as well and an announcement will be made about that at the appropriate time. But I’ve got to tell you those mutual obligation arrangements are also being enforced. There have been close to 260,000 suspensions, and for the 4th August to the 31st of October there have been 242 payment cancellations. So the mutual obligation requirements are there and we are serious about them. But we are also serious about the support we need to provide to Australians, so we will consider those other matters at a later time but right now we are focused on the delivery of the supports that are needed here in the middle of the recession.
Journalist: No decision has been made, does that mean that you could continue the $150 fortnightly supplement indefinitely? And is there recognition that JobSeeker cannot return to the rate of $40 a day?
Prime Minister: My answer is the same as I just gave to Mark. What we are announcing today is what we are doing for three months at a cost of over $3 billion to taxpayers, to extend a higher, an elevated level of support for JobSeeker out until the end of March, that is what we have announced today. I have not speculated on any other questions.
Journalist: [inaudible] Alan Tudge and Christian Porter…
Prime Minister: Before we go on to those other matters, let's stay focused on JobSeeker and the support we’re providing to Australians during the pandemic.
Journalist: But it could be extended beyond March, so which is it?
Prime Minister: What we're doing is what I have announced today. If we make are to make another announcement at another time about other issues, we will do it then.
Any other questions on JobSeeker, the recession, the pandemic? Yep, John?
Journalist: You are saying we will sort of move forward here, just seen a new president elected, there is good news on the vaccine today.
Prime Minister: Yeah there is good news.
Journalist: Do you feel we are at some sort of turning point in the last few days?
Prime Minister: I think we are in another, we have been on a turning point and moving forward again now I think for some time, it is still tough for so many Australians. I remember, I was asked in this courtyard a while back when we were talking about national accounts figures and where the economy was, well we will know about that later in this year in December, prior to the mid-year statement with the National Accounts tell us what happened in the September quarter. But that’s what the numbers will say, the lived experience on the ground I know is still very different for many Australians, and that is why we have been clear about extending the support through JobKeeper and JobSeeker, and that is why the JobMaker hiring credit is in the Budget, that is why instant expensing arrangements are there in the Budget and the loss carry backs for COVID losses to support the recovery of the Australian economy, that’s why HomeBuilder is in place, that’s why JobTrainer, which delivers 340,000 additional training places is there, that is why there are 30,000 additional university placements for next year, that is what Australia needs, that is what the government is providing and so, yes I do believe we are well on the road to recovery, the comeback for Australia has certainly begun and we want to see that accelerate. We are seeing Australia reopen. It was great to be down in Tasmania as it reopened to people from New South Wales on Friday and Saturday and I think we will see that continue, National Cabinet is meeting later this week and we will get a further update on our goal of getting there by Christmas, and I think we are making very good progress on that. You mentioned the vaccine, I don't want to overstate it, but that is welcome news, it is one of four vaccines that Australia is involved in and these results are very promising and I am optimistic and hopeful about next year, about the rollout of those vaccine programs as the Health Minister said yesterday in the House, manufacturing has begun of the AstraZeneca vaccine and that is subject of course to TGA approval and all the necessary health checks and approvals. The vaccines that will be made available to Australians will be done so first and foremost on the basis that they are safe. That they are safe for Australians to take, and that is our commitment to Australians and that is our very robust process.
Journalist: Are you concerned about reports from charities and social organisations, ACOSS, for instance, worried about a rise in issues like poverty, like homelessness like people not being able to afford food, based on a lowering of the JobSeeker rate of the coronavirus supplements.
Prime Minister: This is why we are extending it. This is why we are extending JobSeeker, this is why we are extending JobKeeper, this is why we are getting people into jobs. This is why we have a JobMaker hiring credit. This is why we are doing all of the things we can to get Australians into jobs as we see the number of job advertisements and places become available again. We can’t stay stuck in neutral, we do need to move forward and there is other forms of cash and emergency assistance, and Anne, you might want to comment on those, that is available to people through the normal channels. I mean Australia has a strong social safety net. What we did at the start of the crisis was to strengthen that even further for how strong the blow was that we would have to withstand. But as the economy starts to move back and confidence lifts and jobs come back, we can’t allow our safety net to hold people back. We can't have that. That's not good for them. We want them to be able to bounce back and be able to get back into the jobs that are increasingly becoming available, but Anne did you want to talk about emergency cash assistance?
Senator the Hon. Anne Ruston, Minister for Families and Social Services: Certainly. Through the COVID pandemic we put a number of measures in place including the support package that we have provided, a $200 million package that is over and above the support that we give to emergency relief providers and our food relief providers to support Australians who have found themselves through difficult times through this pandemic. But we have to remember, this is in addition to elevated levels of support that were already in place for these measures, including, significant increase in the amount of funding that was provided to victims of domestic violence during this pandemic. In addition to the unprecedented $340 million that is, that sits behind the Fourth Action plan, an additional $150 million has been provided to domestic violence front-line services to support particularly women and children who found themselves victims of domestic violence during this pandemic. So there are a number of measures that are in place in addition to those that are already in place to support Australians.
Journalist: The recent surge of the virus across the northern hemisphere, what is your view on when the international borders might open again and what plans you are putting in place to try and do that?
Prime Minister: It is a topic that we will discuss again on Friday. Not to the point of a decision on that, but I think to further assessment where things are at. We continue to hold these discussions with countries like Japan, we have had them before with Korea, the Pacific nations of course, New Zealand has already been open for travel into Australia without quarantine arrangements, and I welcome the fact that in Hobart those flights will be able to go there directly. So I think we proceed cautiously. There are countries that are doing obviously far better than what we are seeing of course in Europe and the United States. The situation in Europe and the United States is awful and obviously that presents great risks for people coming in from those parts of the world to Australia, but out of many parts of Asia, particularly in North Asia, places like Taiwan and I would also say parts and provinces of China, Singapore, we, you know, are looking at what alternative arrangements could be had to channel visitors through appropriate quarantine arrangements for low risk countries. That is a process that other countries are doing as well. We are open to that but we have not come to a point of decision on that. I mean we are now three days without any community transmission, that is welcome so, the risk going forward for us, with the pandemic is twofold. That we take the success for granted and fall back into old habits and I would say particularly in those states that are reopening now, and I hope will open more in the future like Queensland, is to ensure the COVID safe plans are in place for businesses and particularly hospitality businesses. I haven't finished yet. And they ensure they are practising them and the QR code registration in premises, that all of this is done very, very tightly and that the social distancing practices and the COVID safe behaviours are enshrined and the necessity to wear masks on public transport all of that, if we lose our commitment to that then we put ourselves at risk. The other risk of course is people coming back from overseas and we have Australians who are still coming back from overseas that we are looking to facilitate through both direct flights and lifting the caps to enable them to come back, the quarantine arrangements and then the outbreak management beyond that, is how we continue to manage this this but I am looking forward to a different environment next year Chris, and we assess this at every meeting about what is possible.
Journalist: Will you launch an investigation into the alleged behaviour of Christian Porter and Alan Tudge? And how do you respond to allegations of a culture of misogyny here in Parliament House?
Prime Minister: Well, I think the issues that have been aired in relation to this matter are very important and when the former Prime Minister made the announcement that there was a need to change the ministerial standards to address this, he had no greater supporter in that than me. And I am pleased he did. And I believe that was a very important step in changing a culture. And that culture you will all know, is not restricted to Government or Opposition, to Labor or Liberal, or frankly the media in this building. It is important that everyone should feel safe in their workplace. That everyone should have proper channels through which they can deal with any issue about which they are uncomfortable. I think that is incredibly important. I think the change in ministerial standards introduced by my predecessor were important. I note that at the time that they were mocked including by many media commentators, I note that they were mocked by the Labor Party, I note that the Labor Party has still not embraced them. They have still not adopted them. I think they are very important. And I ensured after becoming Prime Minister that they were maintained and upheld and they will continue to be and I think that is a good thing. I would hope they would be a permanent feature, not just in the workplace, that happens just in my office, or any other Minister's office, but in your office, in legal firms and accounting firms, in hospitals, in schools, in whatever your business is. That should be a normal standard. I think there are many businesses that have moved in that direction for a long time, and that's great, and I am pleased that under my predecessor those standards were applied to his Cabinet and they apply to mine. And I would hope that they would be applied in many other places to provide that safety, whether it is in this building or anywhere else. But I do take this issue extremely seriously. In terms of the individuals who were the subject of the report last night, those matters were addressed by my predecessor at the time, and they relate to issues that predated that ministerial standard and as a result he dealt with them at that time.
Journalist: [Inaudible] anything further in relation to what was aired by Four Corners last night?
Prime Minister: They relate to circumstances that occurred that were known to the Prime Minister at the time, and they were appointed to the Cabinet and the Ministry and those matters were dealt with then.
Journalist: Does it raise any questions for you about Alan Tudge and Christian Porter and their fitness to hold officers as ministers?
Prime Minister: What it raises to me is that there is considerable cost and hurt and we are all accountable for our own behaviour and we apply standards to ourselves, and should. I am not one that seeks to judge others on these things, and I know that many particularly in the media do not think it is their job either to judge on these things. What is important is there are standards and the standards are adhered to and under my administration, under my government, I take that code very seriously and my ministers are in no doubt about what my expectations are of them, absolutely no doubt, about my expectations, and I expect them to be lived up to. But, you know, when you get past all the other issues around this issue, all I know is there are a number of families that have been broken, and there are some people who are really hurting over this. And I know that the people involved in these issues are working really hard to try and restore what has been terribly lost. And there is no greater thing that breaks my heart than the breakdown of a family. It breaks my heart. And frankly, that's the thing that moves me most and we've all got a job to do to ensure we do everything we can to keep families together and we all have personal responsibilities in that regard.
Journalist: It is the Attorney the right person, is the Attorney-General now the right person to be prosecuting your integrity agenda vis-a-vis the corruption commission and that sort of thing, given this controversy?
Prime Minister: Well, these are matters that were dealt with by the former Prime Minister years ago and so no, I don't hold any issues regarding that matter. I mean, I welcome the great work he has done in pulling this proposal together and working with colleagues. I think that would be quite a leap.
Journalist: Prime Minister, there is clearly a group of women who don’t feel like this matter has been dealt with, which is why we saw the allegations we did, last night. Will you launch any sort of investigation, moving forward, given that these are now Ministers sitting in your Cabinet and have you spoken with either of these Ministers this morning about the allegations or last night?
Prime Minister: I have spoken to both Ministers, I’ve spoken to them, speak to them quite regularly as you would expect including about these matters and in terms of what their conduct is as one of my Ministers, since they have served in my Cabinet, there are no matters before me regarding their conduct while they have served in my Cabinet and indeed I am not aware of any conduct nor was the previous Prime Minister after the introduction of those standards. See, our Government responded by putting in place standards that do not exist in many of your newsrooms. They don't exist. Those sort of standards between employers and employees don’t exist in many workplaces around this country. I tell you what they exist in mine. I have imposed them. They are there and they will be adhered to.
Journalist: Minister Ruston, can I ask you as a woman in the Government your reflections on the culture inside has it gotten better, worse, or no change since the bonk ban era?
Minister Ruston: Well Phil the only thing that I can,
Prime Minister: Sorry, how this ban is referred to I think is quite dismissive of the seriousness of the issue Phil and I would ask media to stop referring to it in that way. We took it very seriously and I think constantly referring to it in that way dismisses the seriousness of this issue, it’s a very serious issue. Thanks, Anne?
Journalist: [Inaudible] What are your impressions?
Minister Ruston: Well Phil, I can only reflect on my own experience since I have been in this place since 2012, and I have to say that I have always felt wholly supported while I have been here and I particularly note that since becoming a member of the Cabinet and a member of the ERC there is nobody who has provided me more support and shown greater respect towards me as an individual than the Prime Minister.
Journalist: [Inaudible] The code of conduct only refers to the behaviour of Ministers with their own staff. Do you think there is any case for expanding that to the behaviour of Ministers with staff, generally, in the building?
Prime Minister: Well, what it goes to, and when it was introduced by the former Prime Minister, and I had a hand in it as well as we discussed it, is dealing with what happens in your workplace and in all of these offices here. In my office and Ministers' offices there is that direct employer - employee relationship that it is seeking to address. It is not what I’d call some sort of moral policeman or code more broadly, what it is about is dealing with genuine workplace issues in a workplace and in a Minister's office, that is the workplace and this is incredibly important and I think it has had a big impact on the understanding of the culture that is expected in Ministerial offices. And since its introduction, I think it has been a very positive thing and I would hope that those who didn't support it at the time would now support it and I think increasingly that is the case. I thought it was a very wise act by the former Prime Minister, a very wise act and I appreciated it very much.
Journalist: The ABC Managing Director yesterday told a Senate hearing that he had been copied in on emails from Federal Government staff members relating to whether this was in the public interest or not. Why did your government raise concern with the ABC about this story?
Prime Minister: Well I am not familiar with the emails you are referring to but all I can say is as I said yesterday, the ABC has to uphold its charter, and I think that is reasonable. I think that’s totally reasonable. I mean the matters that were aired last night it’s for others to form a perception about whether that was done in a way that focused on one side of politics rather than another I won't offer a commentary other than to say it only focused on one side of politics and if anyone who has had any experience around this place thinks that issues in the past are limited to one side of politics well, honestly, you reckon? You really reckon? And so I think it is an important issue for all of the Parliament and it doesn't matter if you work in a Shadow Minister’s office or a Minister's office, I think the same standard should apply. I know it applies in my Ministers’ offices and I think it should apply in the Opposition as well.
Journalist: [Inaudible] ABC charter, you referred to it yesterday as well because you have twice referred to it what is your belief, do you believe that that story reflected the responsibilities of the ABC under its charter and what are you going to do about it?
Prime Minister: What I found interesting and I expect many viewers did also was the dismissal of the idea that there should have been no investigation into anyone other than Government members, Government Ministers. I mean people in this place will know there have been a lot of allegations over time and I really don't want to go into those to be honest because that is not what I am seeking to do. I think there is a standard we have set that should be upheld. I am not one that’s suggesting that there should be some kind of pouring over the coals of every person in this place going back over many many years, I suspect if they did there would be a lot to write about and there’d be a lot to report, but the suggestion that is implied that there were, there are no matters of this nature that are potentially subject to investigation by an independent report outside of the Liberal Party is absurd.
Journalist: Will you rule out any disciplinary action against Christian Porter and Alan Tudge?
Prime Minister: Well what are you suggesting?
Journalist: Are you going to take any disciplinary action against them.
Prime Minister: As Prime Minister they have engaged in no conduct as they have served in my Cabinet that is in breach of the code. I expect them in their behaviour as of all of my Ministers, and myself included, to abide by the code and to live by that code as Ministers, that’s what I expect of them. If there are breaches of that code, that is how you deal with it. I have considered breaches of the code in the past. Not on this matter, I should stress on other matters which you are familiar with.
Journalist: Do you think it passes the pub test? Do you think Australians are looking at Christian Porter and Alan Tudge and think that they should be in the Ministry right now?
Prime Minister: I think Australians understand more about human frailty than perhaps you are giving them credit. You know, family breakdown and individual decisions of people, and there is also no suggestion here of anything unconsensual, I should stress. These things happen in Australia. They happen in people’s lives and people greatly regret them and they do tremendous damage to people’s families and the lives of many others, and I know there would be deep regrets about that. And I think Australians understand human frailty and I think they understand that people who work in this place are just as human as anyone else and are subject to the same vulnerabilities and frailties as anyone. And I think some sensitivity to that, perhaps I have a better opinion of Australians. I think they are far more understanding when it comes to human frailty and their understandings of what happens in their own lives and their own communities. Of course they want standards. That is why the standards are there, that is why the standards were introduced. The action was taken under the former Prime Minister one that I strongly supported and one that I uphold to this day and will continue to in the future.
Thank you all very much.
Statement on Indulgence - US Election
9 November 2020
Prime Minister: On indulgence, Mr Speaker.
The United States of America is a great democracy.
Vibrant, passionate, heartfelt, resolute.
And the people of the United States have spoken again - and electing its 46th President in its 244 years of being a Republic.
I join with other nations and other nations’ leaders Mr Speaker, and say on behalf of the Australian Government and the Australian people, that I congratulate President-Elect Joe Biden and Vice President-Elect Kamala Harris on their election.
Almost 150 million votes cast, possibly more when the final tallies are in.
Remarkable engagement and participation. And we celebrate that as Australians, as a liberal democratic people.
Australians always do take a deep interest in US elections – in part because of their vibrancy and passion, but more so because our history and our futures being so closely intertwined.
The United States is amongst our oldest of Allies and our firmest of friends.
The Australian-US Alliance is a pillar of our nation’s security and the stability of our region.
An alliance we have nurtured over nearly seven decades under the ANZUS alliance.
As President-Elect Biden put it when he visited Australia as Vice President in 2016: "Thank you for having America's back. And we will always have your back.”
He said: “The partnership between Australia and America is at the core of our vision for the region’s future. It’s not what we can do for Australia. It’s what we can do with Australia.”
It’s always been that way, a true partnership.
This is an Alliance built on fundamental shared values: the equal and unalienable rights of all people, the supremacy of the ballot box, the rule of law, freedom of the press, separation of powers, the free flow of commerce and ideas, market based economies, mutual respect.
It’s a relationship that transcends partisan politics.
Since 1918, it is a relationship that has been built upon and strengthened by 24 Australian Prime Ministers and 18 American Presidents. From right across the political divide.
We are all custodians of that relationship, unencumbered by domestic partisanship.
I thank also President Trump, Vice President Pence, Secretaries Pompeo and Mnuchin and Esper– and the entire Trump administration for their deep commitment to this relationship over these past four years. And I thank them for the working relationship that we’ve had and indeed will continue to have as the administration transitions.
We have worked in partnership to strengthen our alliance and to advance shared interests in our region and all around the world.
We have forged new areas of cooperation - in space, critical minerals, frontier technologies, and more.
And this work will go on. And a new chapter will begin on the 20th of January, 2021.
2021 marks 70 years since the signing of the ANZUS Treaty under Prime Minister Menzies and President Truman.
ANZUS is the cornerstone of our security and I look forward to honouring that anniversary at an appropriate point with the President. And I have written to the President-Elect inviting him to be in Australia for the purposes of the celebration of the ANZUS alliance.
President-Elect Biden has been a good friend of Australia over many years.
There is a shared affinity. President-Elect Biden once said this about Australians: “In my view. Australians are defined by their character; by the grit, their integrity, their unyielding resilience.”
Having witnessed the President-Elect’s personal and public journey over many years, I believe we can say the same of him. A man of grit, character, integrity and unyielding resilience.
Australia looks forward to working with him on the many challenges the world faces.
We are still in the midst of a global pandemic – the health, economic and geo-strategic consequences of that are still being played out.
Australia believes in a free and open Indo-Pacific region. We are committed to upholding the rules, the norms and standards of our international community.
We share views on the importance of multilateral institutions and strengthening democracies.
And on the crucial role of open, rules-based trade as the world emerges from the pandemic recession.
And like President-Elect Biden, we are committed to developing new technologies to reduce global emissions as we tackle climate change.
My message at this time is clear: American leadership as always is indispensable to meeting these challenges.
And as I said on the White House South Lawn last year Mr Speaker: Australia looks to the United States, but we don’t leave it to the United States.
And we never have.
We play our part.
We carry our own.
Sir Robert Menzies once said that Australians and Americans “are warmed by the same inner fires” – and we are.
That’s why this relationship has always been bigger than any one of us.
As Prime Minister, and to the President-Elect we share now in that special custodianship of that relationship that has endured so long and been so important for the citizens of both our countries.
And I have absolutely every confidence it will continue to go from strength to strength - as we work again with an old friend of Australia, President-Elect Joe Biden.
Press Conference - Black Mountain, ACT
9 November 2020
Ms Judi Zielke, Chief Operating Officer CSIRO: Prime Minister, good morning, welcome to our facility here at Black Mountain. This is one of CSIRO’s largest facilities around the country. We have 56 sites. So it's wonderful to have you here this morning to join us. Thank you.
Prime Minister: Well thank you very much. Well, it's great to be here with you and all the team here at Black Mountain, and it's particularly good to be here with Cathy Foley. Each year, the Government invests through various programs, science and research, research and development some $10 billion dollars. Indeed here, in the most recent Budget, we ensured that the CSIRO would be able to continue the important work it does by supplementing their funding, by over $400 million out over the forward estimates because they are doing critically important work.
In the recent Budget, we also announced our manufacturing plan and one of the key components of that manufacturing plan it that there is the science and the research and the technology to back it up. Just upstairs we were looking at how that's being put to work when it comes to plastics recycling and the intensive research that is required at the outset to get things to a scalable and commercial level of application. That is what's needed to ensure that we can realise these future advanced manufacturing industries in Australia. And so the work that we do here at the CSIRO and through so many other research institutions around the country, is absolutely joint when it comes to realising Australia's manufacturing strategy, which Minister Andrews has led in both its development and now it's implementation and one of the key people who will be involved in this process going forward to ensure that where we're placing our priorities and how we're understanding the many scientific challenges that Australia must face, is the role of the Chief Scientist.
And that's why I'm pleased to announce today the next Chief Scientist will be Dr Cathy Foley. Cathy has been the Chief Scientist here for the last two and a half years, but she's been with the CSIRO for 36 years. She's a physicist and she has worked in superconducting and a whole range of other programs which have included how to do maps underground, the resources, I'll let her explain that, I won't even attempt to, but this is the sort of level of sophistication and brilliance that we have in this country and I'm very pleased that Cathy is taking on this role. She is an outstanding scientist. She's she's recognised around the world. She's certainly recognised here as well and she will take up also the great work that's been done by Dr. Alan Finkel. Alan has served our country extremely well in this role now over many years and he continues to serve and you’ve seen from the work that he's doing for the National Cabinet around COVID-19 measures, particularly around contact tracing and other projects and so he has been an invaluable support to the Government as we’ve addressed so many of these great scientific challenges and so his work will continue and Cathy will pick up that work and add to it in her own style and we're looking forward to that very, very much, as we do with the challenges ahead.
I'm going to ask Minister Andrews to say a few words and then and then we're going to hear from Cathy, whose, her tendency is for just a few words I’m told that's her preference. But that said, Cathy, congratulations to you. You’ll do an outstanding job and I'm very pleased that Minister Andrews brought forward that recommendation to Cabinet. We're very pleased to accept it and we wish you all the very best in the role.
The Hon. Karen Andrews MP, Minister for Industry, Science and Technology: Thank you. I'm absolutely delighted to welcome Dr Cathy Foley as Australia's next Chief Scientist. Kathy has a particularly distinguished career as an applied physicist, as you heard from the Prime Minister, Dr Foley has worked with CSIRO for about 36 years. So she's had a very distinguished career here in a variety of roles, most recently as CSIRO’s Chief Scientist but she also has done a lot of work with CSIRO in manufacturing. So she brings to the role of Chief Scientist significant technical research, scientific skills in applied physics, but also experience in scaling up operations, particularly in manufacturing. Her role will be to work alongside Government with the implementation of a number of key strategies, including the modern manufacturing strategy, where she will be providing advice to us on opportunities for us to scale up manufacturing here in Australia, of course science and technology are key enablers of industry, and particularly over the last few months, we have seen just how significant science has been as we have worked our way through the COVID crisis. So I look forward to working with Dr Foley and of course, I would like to take the opportunity to thank Dr Finkel for the work that he has done over the last few years and wish him all the best for the future.
Dr Foley?
Dr Cathy Foley, CSIRO Chief Scientist: Well, Prime Minister and Minister, thank you so much this is an extraordinary honour for me not just to be in the role of being Australia's Chief Scientist, but the thing that’s really exciting from my perspective is that it’s a chance to serve the nation in a way which will allow science and technology to be able to assist the Government in addressing the many challenges which we've already seen are confronting us right now. We've seen the science sector come together along with what is in manufacturing and the ways to take science from the lab to make it be used every day and we've seen that the sector coming together to show what value we can add and I hope that I'm going to be in a position to support the Government, to be able to find the best information, the best knowledge from across all the science sector in Australia, and also to see if I can encourage the youth of today to see that science and technology, engineering and maths are really a way forward for them to be able to have careers that are exciting, well-paid, and something which will also contribute to society and so I actually thought as a way to start this off was actually to work with the Prime Minister's daughters and we’ve got some gifts for her, to actually hope that they will start off a journey to become CSIRO scientists in the future.
Prime Minister: My youngest in particular will be very pleased about that, thank you.
Dr. Foley: Fantastic. I think it's really important for us to make sure that our youth realise the importance of science and technology.
Prime Minister: Thank you, thank you very much.
Dr Foley: And it's something which I hope you will enjoy.
Prime Minister: She’ll have a lot of fun with it.
Dr Foley: So thank you. Thank you Prime Minister and Minister, this is for me such a wonderful opportunity. It’s going to be terrifying leaving CSIRO after 36 years but I also know that I can reach into not just CSIRO, but the whole of the science sector to be able to support me. So thank you very much.
Prime Minister: Thank you Cathy. Now we're happy to take questions on this announcement and then move to other issues.
Journalist: Dr Foley, your predecessors have been drawn into controversy in the past over the issue of climate change and, of course, your predecessor has previously been criticised, for suggesting that gas is a safe part of the future solution. Can you just tell us how significant or immediate do you think the threat of climate change is? Do you have a view on gas as part of the solution?
Dr. Foley: So first of all, I think everyone agrees that climate change is something that has to be dealt with and it's something which is not just a single solution, we're going to have to see over a long time a whole range of different things and approaches that have to come together. Alan Finkel, our current Chief Scientist, has identified gas as a transition to being able to deal with the future, and I guess my role is to see how to build on that, to be able to make sure that we've got what's needed into the long term, because it's not as though we can swap things over overnight. You have to actually work towards that and have a really, I guess, methodology, which actually brings together a whole range of different components.
Journalist: Do you have a view on the debate though, remember when the Climate Scientist wrote to..
Dr. Foley: I think everyone has to say that at the moment that debate is, everyone realises that climate is changing, that now we have to deal with it.
Journalist: Prime Minister on that, sorry I’ll re-frame you as well.
Prime Minister: You’re multitasking.
Journalist: That’s right. With the Biden election, does that now mean you've got a target of zero emissions by 2050. Will Australia look at tweaking our approach then over the next little bit in consultation with the US?
Prime Minister: Australia will always set its policies based on Australia's interests, Australia's national interests and the contributions that we're making in these areas as I said yesterday, we would be welcoming the United States back into the Paris Agreement, somewhere we've always been. We are committed both to Paris, we committed prior to that to Kyoto. We meet, we met and beat our Kyoto targets, and we believe we'll do the same when it comes to our Paris commitments as well. So we welcome them coming back in but not only there, I understand that will also extend to organisations like the WHO as well, a place that we also stayed and so we would welcome them back into those arrangements and then there's opportunities potentially around the TPP as well, where the United States has always been welcome to rejoin them. Whether they do that or not, this will be a matter for them but the United States will make their decisions based on their interests and their capabilities and how their economy is structured and we will do the same. There are many countries that have made commitments in this area, but they have also made those commitments with qualifications. For example, in New Zealand, their commitment to 2050 excludes methane. So it basically excludes agriculture and forestry, which are about half their emissions. So countries also have qualifications that deal with export parts of their sector. So it isn't a one size fits all in terms of the commitments that are out there. Our goal is to achieve that as soon as you can, but we'll do it on the basis of a technology roadmap, which Dr Foley will play a very important role in as we go forward and so we have the technology to achieve lower emissions in the future and to you know, you've got to have the plan to get there and I owe it to Australians that if we make such commitments, I have to be able to explain how we get there and what it would cost and what it would mean for things like the 2030 targets that we have, you know our 2030 targets are set and we'll meet them and so I do know that when the Labor Party here in Australia said that we should sign up unconditionally to a 2050 target, well the, having done that as the Labor Party, I think it's incumbent on them to tell the country what does that mean for their 2030 target? I mean, when we went to the election in 2013, seven years out from the 2020 Kyoto commitment, we were very clear about what we were going to do and how we were going to meet that target and when we were elected, we set about that task and we achieved that and we bettered it and so if there is to be an alternate view on this question, then you need to be able to explain well what does it mean for the 2030 target? Labor have walked away from every 2030 target now, our commitment to Paris is even stronger than the Labor Party's because we have a target and we'll meet it and we have a plan to achieve it.
Journalist: Prime Minister, the ABC will be broadcasting a program tonight that's billed as some sort of sex scandal involving senior members of your Government. There are reports this morning that the Government's applied pressure to the ABC via the Managing Director, the News Director, Gaven Morris, and possibly the Board as well. Have you, any members of your Government, or your office been pressuring the ABC to pull that story and why would you do that?
Prime Minister: Well, there's a lot of allegations in there Sam and I'm not sure what they're based on. So I’m not in the habit of responding to allegations people make based on a program that I haven't seen and I don't even know what's in it. So I think that it's a bit difficult for me to respond to a whole bunch of hypotheticals but I'd say this, we would just expect that the ABC always is that they would act in an independent and an unbiased apartisan way. And if they're going to make enquiries, I would think they'd want to do them across the political spectrum and it's really for the ABC under their charter to remain true to that and it's always important the ABC remains true to their charter, and I would expect them to do that.
Journalist: Do you still support the bonk ban, if you want to call it that, that Malcolm Turnbull put in place? What would be the penalty if one of your ministers was found to have been in breach of that?
Prime Minister: Well Sam I more than supported it, I ensured that it continued and you use that term to explain it but it's actually a very important issue. I mean, when the former Prime Minister introduced it, I was one of its strongest supporters and why it's there, is to protect, I think the culture in the Parliament and it's not just on any one side of politics can I tell you, it's important as a cultural change within the Parliament. And certainly the former Prime Minister and I supported it and continued it as Prime Minister to ensure that you have these sorts of standards that they are important to ensure you have the right sort of a workplace. I note that the Labor Party has mocked the ban and hasn't supported it. It wasn't supported by the former Leader of the Opposition and it's not supported by the current Leader of the Opposition. So our standards and that we've set as a Government are very clear. I'm unaware of the matters that you're referring to because I can't know about a program that I haven't seen but that arrangement was put in place on a prospective basis by the former Prime Minister and I have continued it.
Journalist: So I don't want to ask you about a question, a program that you haven't seen. I do want to ask about any pressure that the Government has applied. Are you aware that your office or other members of your Government have contacted the Managing Director of the ABC or the News Director Gaven Morris, to try and pressure them not to run the story? Have you applied pressure?
Prime Minister: Well, the only thing I'm aware of is that the Government always stands up for ensuring that the ABC would act consistent with its charter and I would think all Australians would expect the ABC to act consistent with its charter.
Journalist: How can you determine that they wouldn't be acting consistent if you haven’t seen the program?
Prime Minister: Well Sam you’re making assumptions. You’re making assumptions.
Journalist: I don’t think it’s an assumption, I understand that you have contacted the ABC Managing Director.
Prime Minister: All I'm simply saying is the Government wants the ABC to stand up for it’s charter and act consistent with it’s charter and Australians will make the judgement about whether they do, or they don't. Ok thanks very much.
Journalist: Over the weekend, you welcomed the new President to Australia at some point. Have you spoken to either Donald Trump or Biden directly?
Prime Minister: Not at this point and there are processes for that. And, but we've had those reach outs obviously, to President, sorry President-elect Biden and we'll be working through that in the days ahead.
Journalist: And are you hoping to try and get the United States back in the Trans-Pacific Partnership?
Prime Minister: I addressed that before. I mean that's a matter for them. I think, look it's very early days on many of these issues. It's not clear how a lot of those policies that were announced by the Vice President during the course of the election campaign will be implemented. Obviously, they'll go through their transition period, we’ll be patient and respectful about that process. Of course, we will continue to work with the current Administration. And there are still many issues, very important issues that we're working on with the current Administration. And you can expect us to remain in close contact with them about those matters.
Journalist: And on China, Australian exporters have had difficulty getting their products into China, are there jobs at risk? And what are you doing about trying to get those to remedy that situation?
Prime Minister: We're working through the processes with the Chinese Government to address what they describe as the technical issues that they're raising in regards to those products as they're coming into China. Now there's a process for dealing with that and we're following it, we’re working closely with industry to seek to resolve those technical issues. But at all times, we will do what's in Australia's national interest and we will act consistent with our values. That has always been our position, both now and back under, the time of previous Governments, most notably under John Howard, there's no difference in the policy that we hold today in relation to all of these matters that was pursued by the Howard Government. Times have changed of course, there are new developments, there are new tensions that weren't there well over a decade ago but what hasn't changed is our values and our interests and I can assure Australians that my Government will always put those first.
Thanks very much.
Press Conference - Kirribilli, NSW
8 November 2020
Prime Minister: Good morning everyone. There is no more important, no deeper, no broader, no closer relationship, no relationship more critical to Australia’s strategic interests than the one that we enjoy with the United States. With its government and its people. This relationship is bigger than any one individual and those who have the great privilege to serve in either the offices of the Prime Minister or President are the custodians of that enduring relationship. The United States is one of the world’s greatest democracies, alongside Australia and many others, and democracy is proven, not just in the times of still waters but when the waters can get choppy and, of course, we have seen that in recent times in the United States. But democracy is the process that they have always stood by to resolve such differences and to ensure that they can elect their leader and their leader can engage with the rest of the world, particularly with those countries with whom they share such deep and abiding interests, as we do with the United States.
Of course, there are processes that will still continue in the United States and the institutions that sit around those are important to their democracy and that is important and they will continue. But I join with other nation’s leaders around the world in congratulating President-elect Joe Biden and Doctor Jill Biden, together with Vice President-elect Kamala Harris and her partner Douglas Emhoff for their election at this recent US election. This is a profound time, not just for the United States, but for our partnership and the world more broadly and I look forward to forging a great partnership in the spirit of the relationships that has always existed between Prime Ministers of Australia and Presidents of the United States. I particularly look forward to this with President Biden because he comes to this relationship with a deep experience and a deep history, a history that has seen him come to Australia before. One that has involved many, many years of experience within the US system and one that deeply understands this part of the world. When he was in Australia, on-board the HMAS Adelaide, he said this, "Thank you for having America's back. And we will always have your back." During the same visit to Australia, he said America and Australia continue to look to one another for mutual support and he described our alliance with the United States as the core of the US's vision for the Indo-Pacific. That was true then and that is true now. President-elect Biden also has a deep understanding, I think, of the national security issues that confront not only the United States but those more broadly across the world, and a deep personal understanding obviously with his late son Beau having served in Iran. But you may not know that President-elect Biden had two uncles who served in New Guinea during the Second World War, one of whom he was killed in New Guinea and another seriously injured. So the relationship goes deep and it is personal and I think that is something that will bring a lot to an understanding of the people to people relationship and the depth and history of the relationship between our two countries.
I hope that he and Doctor Biden will join us here in Australia for the 70th anniversary of ANZUS. ANZUS has been the bedrock of our security foundations in Australia since that alliance was first established and I look forward to inviting the President-elect to join us next year in their formal capacities at that time and for us to be able to celebrate 70 years of peace and stability and security that has been established by this incredible relationship. And so, we look to begin a new chapter in this important relationship. We wish the American people all the very best. We are like minded. We share values. We share an outlook, a peaceful outlook on the world, and on life. A life where families can live together in peace and stability and pursue their own dreams and plan for their own futures with confidence. These are the values that we hold dear as two countries.
But as one chapter opens, of course, another chapter closes. And I want to thank President Trump and Vice President Pence, Secretary Mike Pompeo, Secretary Mnuchin and the many other members of his Cabinet with whom we have had a very, very good working relationship over the years of the Trump Administration and, of course, that will continue through the transition period. President Trump equally showed a great commitment to this part of the world and the relationship between Australia and the United States. This was also true of Vice President Pence, who I remember meeting for the first time in Papua New Guinea and spending some important time with him there as we discussed the challenges, particularly in the Southwest Pacific, and how we could work together and as we have been. Secretary Pompeo has also been a great voice for peace around the world and I thank him for his special relationship with Australia. And Secretary Mnuchin, who I had the opportunity to work with both as Treasurer and as Prime Minister.
This relationship is bigger than all of us and in the time we serve in the roles that we have the privilege to serve in, we share a custodianship of that relationship and I have every confidence because it is based on more than 100 years of successful partnership. That this partnership will only go from strength to strength under the new shared stewardship that President-elect Biden and I will share going into the future. Thank you very much.
Journalist: Prime Minister, with the President-elect so strong on climate change, how will that influence Australia’s commitment to climate change and especially to the net zero by 2030… by 2050?
Prime Minister: Australia's commitment to addressing climate change will continue. We are signatories to the Paris Agreement and that is something we hold fast to and not only held fast to, we have a strong story to tell about our achievement when it comes to commitments on the global stage. Whether it is exceeding both the Kyoto one and the Kyoto two targets and now being able to confidently meet our 2030 commitments and should the United States, which I assume they will under President-elect Biden, join the Paris Agreement, we welcome that. Australia never left, Australia was always there meeting and keeping commitments. I also particularly welcome the comments that were made during the campaign by Vice President Biden, at the time, when he showed a lot of similarity to Australia's views on how technology can be used to address the lower emissions challenge. We want to see global emissions fall and it's not enough for us to meet our commitments. We need to have the transformational technologies that are scalable and affordable for the developing world as well because that is where all the emissions increases are coming from in the decade ahead in the next 20 years. We need to ensure that those economies can successfully and commercially and prosperously transform through these technologies. I believe we will have a very positive discussion about partnerships we can have with the United States about furthering those technological developments that will see a lower emissions future for the world but a stronger economy as well where we don't say goodbye to jobs we don't have to say goodbye to. OK, thank you very much.
Journalist: In the event that President Trump refuses to leave, what circumstances would Australia and other firm allies need to be to ask him to respect the vote of the American people?
Prime Minister: I have great confidence in the institutions of America’s democracy and I have been expressing those consistently. I have taken a similar tone to many others and that is to express patience and respect for the US system. It is in fact, I think, a sentiment President-elect Biden has also expressed. This is a time for those processes to finalise and for us to move on with the important work because there are so many important challenges, whether here in the Indo-Pacific when it comes to world trade, when it comes to dealing with the global pandemic and the global recession that has followed from the pandemic. There is much work for like-minded countries like Australia and the United States to get on with and those processes in the United States will come to their conclusion and the transition will proceed as we always understand it to be. This is not a new process, this is a time honoured process and a time established process and I have confidence it will resolve itself in time.
Journalist: Prime Minister, what is Mr Trump’s legacy...
Prime Minister: Sorry, I couldn't quite hear you over the birds.
Journalist: What is Mr Trump’s legacy in the Indo-Pacific?
Prime Minister: There has been a tremendous commitment by the Trump Administration here in the Indo-Pacific and we have seen, importantly, the Quad come back together again. Together and the Malabar exercise that has been under way recently, I think, is a very good example of that. The bringing together of like-minded nations in the Indo-Pacific to work to one simple goal and that is to see the prosperity of all countries and peace within the Indo-Pacific region. Whether that is here or in Indonesia, whether that is in Vietnam, in China, throughout Japan, South Korea, there has been an integration and I think an effort to try and bring people together in that regard and we will continue that work because it's very important for Australia's interests. We want to see all of these countries succeed. When they do succeed we can live together peacefully and prosperously.
Journalist: Prime Minister, it is likely that President-elect Biden would rejoin the Trans Pacific Partnership, perhaps in a more protectionist way than in 2016. What changes would you allow to the TPP if it were to enable the US to rejoin?
Prime Minister: We are one of the many partners in the TPP and we are obviously champions of the TPP and particularly in its resurrection after the Trump Administration's election four years ago. And we are very pleased that we are able to keep the door open for the United States and many others to join as well. Now, the terms of how that would occur is one that would have to be done collectively with the other partners to that relationship. It is true that there are many similarities in the trade outlook of both sides of politics in the United States and I think we have seen that but we would welcome the re-engagement of those trade forms. Because, you know, coming out of the COVID-19 recession, the way out is not to withdraw. The way out is not to fall back in. The way out is to reach out and the way out is to engage in market-based trade, fair trade, under the proper rules through the World Trade Organisation, and that's something we are committed to. We would welcome a commitment to that objective as well. That is going to help the world recover from the COVID-19 global recession and we are very committed to that course and we welcome all other countries doing the same.
Journalist: Are there any changes though that you wouldn’t allow, that are non-negotiables?
Prime Minister: I think it would be very early days to speculate on those matters. I would simply say to the United States, the door has always remained open on the TPP. It is open now. It will be open in the future and you are welcome any time. Thank you very much.
Press Conference - Canberra, ACT
28 October 2020
Prime Minister: Good afternoon, I am joined by the Attorney-General to make announcements about appointments to the High Court. After the Attorney met with the Governor-General this morning in Executive Council and Cabinet considered this matter last night. After an extensive process, which I’ll ask the Attorney-General to talk you through. But first of all, can I say to all of those in Melbourne in particular and across Victoria again congratulations and I hope you enjoy being out and about. I know you have been waiting a long time for that and I would just encourage you to as you open safely, that’s the way to remain safely open into the future. But I am sure it has been quite a day and quite a late night for some down there in Melbourne I completely understand that. And I just encourage everybody to continue as we open up, to do that, conscious of the various other restrictions and other things that remain in place. And we will continue to make strong progress there in the weeks and months ahead as we work towards that Christmas deadline, which the National Cabinet has given strong support to get open by Christmas. Of course with the exception of Western Australia.
Also, can I note today is the national Memorial Day for Fire and Emergency Services and earlier today a memorial service was held here in Canberra and this is I know, a very important day for all Australians, but particularly for those who have lost loved ones through their service to the community. And if you would just indulge me, I would like to just read the names of those 14 people who have lost their lives and remember this morning those 14 responders. Phillip Bell, Ian Long, Robert Panitz, Geoffrey Keaton, and Andrew O'Dwyer, Sam McPaul, Colin Burns, Ian McBeth, Rick DeMorgan Jr, Paul Hudson, Bill Slade, Mathew Kavanagh, David Moresi, and George Baldock. We thank them for the incredible service to our country, some of them came from across the seas to be here at our moment of greatest need, and we remember them and we think of their families who deal with their loss every single day. Earlier this year on Australia Day I actually went to the memorial service, some of you may recall with my daughters on Australia Day, and I encourage those particularly who live in Canberra or those who are visiting Canberra to take a moment and go and visit that memorial. It's a very moving place I think for all Australians.
Can I now move to the issue though that has led to us joining here this morning. This morning the Governor-General accepted the advice of the Government to appoint the Honourable Justice Simon Steward and the Honourable Justice Jacqueline Gleeson as the next Justices of the High Court of Australia, they will fill the vacancies that will arise upon the retirements of the Honourable Justice Geoffrey Nettle AC on 30th November this year, who will be replaced by Justice Simon Steward, and the Honourable Virginia Bell AC, on the 28th February 2021, who will be replaced by Justice Gleeson. I want to thank Justices Nettle and Bell in advance of their upcoming retirements for their many years of judicial service to the Australian people. I will ask the Attorney to speak to both of these appointments and as well as the process we have gone through exhaustively to arrive at this decision on these appointments. The High Court is one of the most important institutions of our democracy. And every Justice appointed to it carries a significant burden to uphold the laws of our land. I congratulate Justices Steward and Gleeson and I wish them all the best for their very important service. Attorney.
The Hon. Christian Porter MP, Attorney-General and Minister for Industrial Relations: Thank you, Prime Minister and I join with the Prime Minister in congratulating the Honourable Justice Simon Steward and the Honourable Justice Jacqueline Gleeson as the next two Justices of the High Court of Australia. I and the Cabinet are incredibly confident that Justice Steward and Justice Gleeson will make very worthy additions to the High Court bench, they are both outstanding judges, they have been outstanding barristers, they are outstanding members of the legal and broader Australian community. Just a very brief summary of the process that leads us to this point. The process has been about six months and starts with a statutory requirement upon myself as Attorney-General to consult with all of the state Attorneys-General, behind the state-based consultation sits a whole range of state-based bar associations and law societies and a range of groups. Those bodies are also consulted with by me on a Commonwealth level as well as heads of jurisdiction across Australia. So it is an exhaustive and extensive process, and the two appointments have emerged from that very long and extensive process with the legal community I think, noting throughout the consultation that both have absolutely impeccable records and skills for the High Court.
Justice Steward will commence on 1 December and replace the Honourable Justice Geoffrey Nettle AC who retires from the court at the end of next month. The appointment of Justice Steward to the High Court continues what has been a remarkable stellar indeed career for one of Australia's leading legal professionals. It was noted when he was brought into the Federal Court that he took silk in 2009 just 10 years out from law school being the first person in his graduating class to do that. He was appointed in 2018 to the Federal Court of Australia where he has demonstrated exemplary judicial skills and achieved wide recognition as a leading expert with speciality areas in taxation and administrative law and I have no doubt that his years of experience both at the bar and on the bench of the Federal Court will provide invaluable skills for his new commission as a Justice of the High Court.
With respect to Justice Gleeson, Justice Gleeson will commence next year on 1 March replacing the Honourable Virginia Bell AC who will retire from the court on 28 February 2021. Justice Gleeson was appointed to the Federal Court in 2014, she is held in obvious and very high regard by all the members of the judiciary and the legal profession. She was appointed to the Federal Court following a diverse legal career both at the bar and as a solicitor. In fact the diversity of Justice Gleeson's expertise across a number of civil jurisdictions in both public and private practice has served the Federal Court incredibly well and will no doubt be a major asset to the High Court going forward. Her appointment to the High Court represents yet another very significant achievement in an already distinguished career. I should note, and it’s not really possible to appoint her Honour Justice Jacqueline Gleeson without noting that she is the eldest daughter of former High Court Chief Justice Murray Gleeson. That places her in a rather unique position. I am told that is a first in common law countries. I might pause very briefly and say I note that because it is notable.
But looking through the CVs of both Justice Steward and Justice Gleeson, their families have played an enormous role. Parents nurturing people, partners and children supporting people through their career and there has been a long history of broad family support for each of these two very fine Judges to have been nurtured to the point where they can provide the sort of skills and impeccable track record that they bring to the public service on the High Court. I’d just like to close by taking the opportunity, of course, to thank the Honourable Justice Nettle and Justice Bell in advance of their upcoming retirements for the remarkable service they have given the Australian people through the High Court.
Prime Minister: Thank you. Let's take questions on the appointments first. I'm happy to move to other issues.
Journalist: Mr Porter, just a question I have asked at all of these for the last 20 something years, in my old state of South Australia it has long been a grievance that state has never had a High Court Justice in 117 years. Was anyone from that state considered as part of this process and is there anyone there in the pipeline in the next few years?
The Hon. Christian Porter MP, Attorney-General and Minister for Industrial Relations: It weighed very heavily on my mind and the mind of Cabinet. And the consultation process we went through starts with a long list and as you will see that list becomes shorter with each iteration. But that is something that has played on Cabinet's mind and there are always people from all over Australia geographically considered in that list. But there are future appointments obviously, but that did play very much on our mind.
Prime Minister: I will also point out and the Attorney made this point to Cabinet last night, this obviously frees up a number of appointments in the Federal Court and that provides the opportunity to create a further pipeline of others who can be considered into the future.
Journalist: Prime Minister first, your initial reaction to the incident at the Doha Airport? We also know that women from other countries were subjected to the examinations. Have you spoken to other world leaders about the investigation and also what is the official message that has been sent to the Qatari government?
Prime Minister: We find this unacceptable. That has been the official message and conveyed very clearly in the investigation because it is unacceptable. I mean, it was appalling. As a father of daughters, I could only shudder at the thought that any woman, Australian or otherwise, would be subjected to that. So I think you can be confident that those messages were conveyed very clearly and at the time and more recently. In addition to that, we expect to see the result of that investigation very soon and that will be shared with us, that has been assured to us by the Qatari Government. So it is important that wherever travellers are travelling, that they are able to do so free of those types of incidents. And we will continue to ensure that we support Australians in all those circumstances both here and when travelling overseas.
Journalist: Prime Minister, why are we waiting for the results of the report before we decide what action to take and what action can you actually take to ensure this never happens again?
Prime Minister: Well, you rightly raise the fact this occurred not in Australia it occurred in Qatar, it occurred in a set of circumstances that were also quite awful. We are talking about the death of a child and that is a very distressing incident as well. But what's important is that the international norms and rules as people move through international airports and move between countries that we are able to do that in a way where certain standards are upheld and so I think it is important, given we have been given the assurances by the Qatari Government that we will be provided with the results of their investigation and I think it's important that we can look at that before making a further response. There is no doubt in the mind of whether its Qatari Airlines or the Government about Australia's strong objections and views about this and I think those views are shared widely, and so we will make a further response. Not our first response a further response once we have the opportunity to see the results of that investigation.
Journalist: Is your advice, that the baby is dead?
Prime Minister: I don't have any further information on that, I can’t confirm either way.
Journalist: Given the seriousness of this situation, would you have expected that the Foreign Minister would have picked up the phone right away to her Qatari counterpart?
Prime Minister: The Australian Government made its views very clear at the time and since as we should have and we have.
Journalist: A short time ago, the Qatari government issued an apology if they caused any distress to the passengers impacted by the search. Even if we do get that report, what more can the Australian women whose rights were so seriously violated actually expect in terms of a further apology or compensation, even legal action, given the diplomatic nature of the event being overseas?
Prime Minister: As I said, we will consider all of these options once we have the opportunity to review the investigation.
Journalist: Prime Minister, thousands of Australians might be going to Qatar for the World Cup in 2022. What assurances will you be seeking from the Qatari Government that it has not only a full and transparent inquiry but that you can get assurances that nothing of the sort ever happens again?
Prime Minister: These are the assurances we are seeking and this is why the investigation is so important and any further response which we would be making in response to that investigation. And it is not just people going to a World Cup. We have 15 per cent of those Australians who are coming home at the moment are coming back on Qatar Airlines. They are actually providing a pretty important role in getting Australians home. So we need to continue to manage both of these issues because I know they are of great significance and importance to Australians all around the country. So we will continue to take a very strident approach on this. We are appalled by what occurred as anyone would not just as an Australian but any traveller would. They should not be subject to these invasive procedures.
Journalist: Prime Minister, Australia’s major trading partners Japan, China, the EU have all moved towards a net zero emissions target. Why is Australia so reluctant to adopt a target and are concerned about our future exports?
Prime Minister: No I am not concerned about our future exports and my discussion with the Prime Minister last night was a very positive one. We speak quite regularly I think this was our fifth conversation this year. They are not all formal discussions some are more formal than others and there are many other informal exchanges between myself and the British Prime Minister on any number of issues. The key focus of our discussion last night was actually on the UK free trade agreement and our commitment to get that moving as quickly as possible. Those processes are already under way and we both committed to continue to play every strong message to our negotiators to get this done and to get it happening as soon as it's able to be done under the arrangements that the UK is currently constricted by and to have an ambitious free trade agreement with the UK. We are not looking for any ordinary agreement here, we are looking for a real ground-setting arrangement here with the UK and I believe that in what the Prime Minister said to me last night. Comprehensive, across-the-board, the sort of thing we have been able to achieve with the United States and other places. That’s what we talked about last night. So I'm not concerned about that. The other point I would make is when I have discussed this with the British Prime Minister before and last night. See, Australia, we’ll set our policies here. We’ll set them. Our policies won’t be set in the United Kingdom, they won't be set in Brussels, they won't be set in any part of the world other than here. Because it's Australian’s jobs, it’s Australia's economy and it’s Australia's recovery from the COVID-19 recession that matters to me and my Cabinet and the decisions we take. I'm very aware of the many views that are held around the world but I tell you what, our policies will be set here in Australia. And no one understands that better than the British Prime Minister, given his recent election on the issue of Brexit. So he totally understands Australia's sovereignty when it comes to making these sovereign decisions about our future. And the commitment I gave to Australians was that the targets we set the plans we make I will explain, I will detail, as I did at the last election and could demonstrate how we would get to our commitments for 2030. I demonstrated how we would already going to exceed the commitments we made for 2020 and what other further commitments that we would make I would only do where I can be very clear with the Australian people about how that would be achieved. One thing the British Prime Minister and I agree on is that achieving emissions reductions shouldn't come at the cost of jobs in Australia or the UK. It shouldn't come at the cost of higher prices for the daily things that our citizens depend on. It's about technology, not taxes, is what we talked about last night. And that's not just important in terms of how we continue to transform our own economies to lower emissions, it's also important about how we achieve the gear change globally in developing countries. See, if the technologies don't exist that make sense for developing countries to adopt and make part of their economies, guess what is going to happen? Emissions are going to go up and up and up. In developed economies, they will come down as ours indeed as I was able to say last night had fallen 14 per cent since 2005. 1 per cent is the fall in New Zealand and 0 per cent is in Canada. Our record on this speaks for itself. We are achieving it and when we make commitments in Australia's interests, then we will meet those commitments as well. But what the Prime Minister and I agreed last night was to form that partnership on technology. To ensure that these technologies won't only work in Australia and in the United Kingdom but they can work in India, that they can work in China, that they can work in Vietnam, that they can work in those countries which will have rapidly rising emissions over the next decade. And that's important. If you want to bring down global emissions and deal with climate change, you don't just have to do it in developed countries, you have got to make sure developing countries have access and are able to take on technologies which we can develop, which sees them have a lower emissions future. Otherwise, you're not really making a lot of progress.
Journalist: You were reported to have told your party room last week that you would go full term. Will you make that commitment here, is there any chance at all of an early election?
Prime Minister: My view hasn't changed Andrew, and as it hadn’t changed when you raised it with me last time. But you’ve been sticking to your line.
Journalist: Under your tax plan in the Budget passed very speedily, people who are earning $90,000 and less will actually have more of their income going to the tax office from July next year than what is happening right now. Are you considering any extra help for those low and middle income earners?
Prime Minister: There have been a number of stimulus measures that we have put in place, as you know, in response to the COVID-19 recession. They have had an impact, whether they have been the $750 payments on two occasions, there are two further payments of $250 coming for those on welfare. There is a stimulus payment injected into the tax changes that were made this year which saw a doubling up of the tax cuts in that one year and that was there as a stimulus measure and I think it has been important to target those measures to low and middle income earners in the course of the recovery. Now, we have lower taxes for all working Australians into the future and those plans are legislated, we brought forward elements of those plans as you know in the Budget. If there is a need for us to consider other stimulus measures as we move forward into next year's Budget or indeed even if that were necessary as we went into the mid-year update and, of course, the Government would consider that I think on every single occasion. From the day I came out here with the Treasurer and we announced firstly, firstly, the doubling of JobSeeker and then the JobKeeper arrangement the single largest income support measure that this country has ever seen which has saved livelihoods and it has saved lives. I mean, one of the most pleasing aspects of when I had the opportunity before Parliament came back to go up to Queensland, the number of Queenslanders that I was able to speak to for whom JobKeeper was the difference between being unemployed and employed, the difference between having hope and having no hope, the difference between their business that they are owned remaining open and having to shut. I mean, JobKeeper was the biggest game changer that has enabled Australia to pull through this COVID-19 recession. We are not out of the woods yet, there is a long way to go and we have demonstrated on every occasion that where the need is there, where we believe that can make a constructive difference then we will make the decisions that are necessary to back Australians in.
Journalist: Prime Minister, you’ve got 34,000 Australians trying to get home. Gladys Berejiklian has raised concerns today that she has taken far too much of the load of hotel quarantine. She is asking Queensland to pay the bill, is she right or is this all getting a bit silly now and when should the international arrivals caps be lifted?
Prime Minister: It is something we raise at every National Cabinet meeting and as I said after the last one just last Friday, we were able to get additional capacity out of Western Australia and Queensland and I appreciate that. We will continue to bring those Australians home through all the channels that we have, including the eight chartered flights and where there is a necessity for more of those that will be done as well. The arrangements that the states go into in terms of the cost of quarantine, they’re matters that the states handle and I will leave that to them. One of the reasons we are examining the different options for quarantine, one of the reasons that we allowed quarantine free travel from New Zealand into Australia was to free up those very places and that has been quite effective. The next big, I think game changer in that area will be for Victoria to open up to international arrivals for people to come back, the Victorian Premier has not given me a commitment on that yet but they are considering those matters now and I hope that won't be too far away, because there are a lot of Victorians who want to come home.
Journalist: Prime Minister, on the SAS war crimes allegations, a former Army Commando has told Sky News that SAS members feel hogtied and are being tried by media allegations about what has gone on in Afghanistan. What commitment can you give about how unredacted this Inspector General report will be when it is finally released and that these SAS soldiers are given an ability to clear their names?
Prime Minister: Look, these reports, of course, I mean, people have been reading those. His comments about the media are for the media to respond to, not the Government to respond to. We don't decide what media reports about these issues. That's on your side of the table. But the reports are troubling and the claims are exactly why this process was set up. Now, the Inspector General of the Australian Defence Force is conducting that enquiry to determine whether there is any substance to those rumours and allegations relating to possible breaches of the law of armed conflict by members of the Special Operations Task Force Group in Afghanistan over the period of 2015-16. This is a very serious inquiry. It's done by people who are highly skilled in handling what are very sensitive matters and I have no doubt that they're very aware of the careful way they need to conduct this inquiry. I mean, the Attorney might want to add to this. But the Government, the inquiry, the Defence Forces and the Defence Department are taking this incredibly seriously. And the issues you raise in managing the justice and fairness for those who have had accusations made about them in the public domain and those being published and printed in the media raises those complexities. And it will be managed as best as possibly can using the what are transparent processes, but also very official processes to get to the truth and to deal with the truth. Christian?
The Hon. Christian Porter MP, Attorney-General and Minister for Industrial Relations: Justice Brereton has been dealing with this matter for several years and obviously this matter will proceed in stages. But the next stage is the release by Justice Brereton of his report. Justice Brereton determines when and how, because that is an absolutely arm's length investigation from executive government. So he will make determinations on those matters you've raised. But I think that you can expect to see a very, very detailed and substantive report.
Journalist: Prime Minister, is the recession over?
Prime Minister: We won't know that until December, which is when the national accounts figures for the September quarter will be released. And until then whether technically that's the case or not, I know Australians are still hurting. And so I didn't need the numbers from the national accounts to tell me that JobKeeper was needed. I didn't need that. I knew Australians were hurting. I knew what the impact was on our economy and we acted and swiftly and at a scale this country has never seen before. And so the national accounts will say what they say. But what I know is in the many months ahead, there are businesses that are still not open again. There are people we still need to get back into work. I mean, that's the reality. That's the reality. And I'm focused on policies that deal with the reality of the economic challenges that we have ahead. And as much as we welcome what has occurred in Melbourne overnight, it's still a long road back and there's going to be some deep scars there, economic and people's mental health. And these are going to have to be healed and it's going to take us some time to achieve that. And so I can assure you, I'm in no doubt, the Treasurer is in no doubt, the whole Cabinet is in no doubt of the massive task that we still have in front of us, both on an economic basis and on a health basis and I can tell you one of the first things, and it was an extensive discussion actually, that Prime Minister Johnson and I had last night was about COVID and he went out of his way to congratulate Australians and Australia on the way that Australia has been able to weather this terrible storm. We know what's happened in the UK and, of course what's happening across Europe as he recounted to me as well. I mean he himself has suffered directly, and so he understands just how important the success Australia has means. He knows what it looks like when it doesn't go that way and the hurt and the cost and the pain. Now, in Australia we've been able to avoid the worst of that but that doesn't mean we haven't been hit. We have been hit hard and so we will continue to respond each and every day in the interest of all Australians. I’ve got time for one more because of the bells. John.
Journalist: Prime Minister, on ASIC, do you have confidence in the organisation? And also, it’s stood aside Chairman James Shipton, who you appointed as Treasurer and do you believe there may need to be a broader restructure of the organisation’s operating model, as many in the government and business community believe?
Prime Minister: Well, the appointment, I was Treasurer at the time. The Minister responsible at the time was Kelly O'Dwyer, as you know, and she was in Cabinet at the time, of course, that I had a role in that process, as did the Prime Minister at the time, and indeed as did Cabinet. As we have today and in the recommendations that had been brought forward by the Attorney-General which we support strongly and there's an investigative process underway that is appropriate there and I don't think it's helpful for me to be offering commentary about that while that's underway. I don't think that's fair to those who are involved and I'm pleased that those processes are in place. When issues like this and there are a couple of other issues like this at the moment, people have been stood aside as they should have been. Inquiries are underway as they should be and then the recommendations that come from those inquiries need to be addressed. That's how you deal with these problems. That's how I’ll always deal with these problems. That's how you run a Government. Thank you.
Statement, House of Representatives
27 October 2020
Mr Speaker, I indeed would have been happy to second the motion, Mr Speaker. I join with the Leader of the Opposition and I believe it is very important that this Parliament today come together and express its thanks and gratitude to the people of Victoria, Mr Speaker, for their extraordinary resilience, and their determination, their patience, the care that they have shown for each other through what has been an exhausting and difficult and overwhelming time for so many.
There have been many things asked of Australians over the course of what has been probably in most people's living memory, one of the most difficult times they have ever experienced and certainly as a nation, our collective experience, it has been many generations since Australians have had to go through a time such as this. But for Victorians, this time has been a time like no other in Australia have really had to endure, Mr Speaker.
And so it is right for our Parliament to congratulate and to thank Victorians for the way that they have conducted themselves over these many, many difficult months and indeed, yesterday, I was pleased to hear of the decision of the Premier and the Victorian government to take this next important step forward.
Mr Speaker, I said at the outset of the Victorian lockdown that Australia will not win unless Victoria wins and we are now starting to see Victoria win again, Mr Speaker, and I welcome that. This is a good thing for Australia, it is a good thing for all Australians and we all welcome it, I'm sure, from every corner of this country.
Mr Speaker, when the first wave of the coronavirus pandemic hit this country, we brought together all State Premiers and Chief Ministers to what was an innovation in the National Cabinet that has now met on 30 occasions, Mr Speaker. Unprecedented in our Federation history for Premiers and Chief Ministers to come together with the Prime Minister and work in the way that we have. And there have been critics of the National Cabinet, Mr Speaker, and there have been disagreements amongst the National Cabinet from time to time. But I can assure Australians, as I do, Mr Speaker, I don't know why there are any interjections, Mr Speaker, this is a bipartisan motion.
Mr Speaker, in that National Cabinet as we work together, as we work together Mr Speaker, to deal with that first wave and the many challenges that presented, it was indeed the Victorian Premier, the New South Wales Premier, all of the Premiers and Chief Ministers who supported that national effort and what we sought to do, Mr Speaker, in that first wave, was to build our national resilience, to build up our health response, to ensure the respirators were in place, that the testing and tracing kits were in place, to ensure the COVID-safe practices could be established.
Mr Speaker, the interjections continue. But Mr Speaker, I will endure over them because Mr Speaker, it is important that Australians know that this Parliament has come together on this issue today and I would urge those opposite, Mr Speaker, to cease the interjections because we are at one on this and this is the truth. This is the truth, Mr Speaker, of Australia’s success, that well outside of this place, Australians have supported each other, each and every day, through this pandemic, Mr Speaker. Outside of this place, Mr Speaker, governments have worked together, each and every day, each and every day. And the National Cabinet has been an important part of that process.
So as we built up that national resilience as a country, as a people, as governments, all across the country, we looked forward to that time in July where we had agreed as a National Cabinet that we would be open again in July and we looked forward to that day and we were moving well towards that day, Mr Speaker. In seven states and territories, that progress continued but sadly in July, we saw the case numbers begin to rise in Victoria and we saw the failure of the quarantine which is understood and well-known and has been documented. We saw the issues of contact tracing and we saw Victoria descend into what was a cataclysmic second wave of this virus and it was the right decision of the Victorian Premier and the Victorian government to impose the lockdown measures, which I welcomed at the time and urged all encouragement to Victorians to endure those measures, Mr Speaker, because they had come necessary. That lockdown had become necessary. As borders between New South Wales and Victoria had become necessary, Mr Speaker.
But I say this, borders and lockdowns are not demonstration or evidence of success. They are not evidence of success, they are evidence of outbreaks that have got out of control. They are evidence of things that have not gone as they should and so now Mr Speaker as I welcome the reopening of Victoria and the endurance and the sacrifice of Victorians and the way they were able to work through this issue Mr Speaker I welcome that. I think it's tremendous and I think it's great that Tasmania's opening back up again. I think it's fantastic, Mr Speaker, that South Australia's opened up again. And I am encouraged by the words of the former Queensland Premier Peter Beattie who believes things should open up again Mr Speaker, I'm encouraged by that.
People in this place know that I have always wanted Australia to work their way through this crisis and not get stuck in a rut Mr Speaker, and that's what we must do. So I welcome the fact that Victoria is opening but as Victorians went through this crisis and I can assure you of this, this Government stood by them. Mr Speaker, this Government stood by them. 28 Commonwealth GP-led respiratory clinics assessed over 175,200 people in Victoria. 1,400 interviews assigned to Commonwealth teams on contact tracing, 27.8 million masks from the National medical stockpile, some $1.3 billion in funding for specific COVID safe health costs in Victoria, testing for aged care workers, interstate truck drivers and train drivers, support through communications, tailored mental health programs, 15 mental health clinics Mr Speaker, $200 million every day of support to see Victorians through this crisis.
Mr Speaker, our Government has stood by Victorians every single day of the lockdown that became necessary as a result of the outbreak that got out of control. And as we look to the future and we look to the new three step process that has been agreed by National Cabinet and I thank, in particular, the Premier of Victoria who was one of the first to sign up to open it by Christmas when we agreed this in September.
Mr Speaker, as we look to the future, we cannot look to a future of lockdowns as a way of managing this virus. What we must do is ensure we have the testing and the tracing and the isolation and the quarantine options and all of these things which National Cabinet and my cabinet are working to deliver for Australians because we are going to open safely and we are going to safely remain open under the policies of our Government, Mr Speaker, working hand in glove with the state and territory Premiers and Chief Ministers around this country.
So, Mr Speaker, I join with the Leader of the Opposition in commending Victorians, I thank the many public health workers in Victoria, I thank the tram drivers, Mr Speaker, I thank all of those who have worked whether in aged care, childcare, distribution centres, schools, hospitals, wherever they have been, they have been champions of this country in their time of crisis, Mr Speaker, and I thank them for every single sacrifice because the cost of the lockdown has been significant. It has been a heavy blow. There are so many Victorians who will carry the scars of this lockdown, Mr Speaker, for years to come. That is the advice we have received from Christine Morgan, my National Suicide Prevention Adviser, and the Deputy Chief Medical Officer Mr Speaker, Ruth Vine, who is focused on mental health. There will be scars that will be carried by Victorians and I assure those Victorians that just as we have stood by you throughout this terrible lockdown we will stand by you through the recovery, we will continue to support you in the economic needs that you have and get you back into the jobs, to open your businesses again and to rebuild your lives.
Mr Speaker, this Christmas I want Australians to come around the table and talk about 2021 with positivity, with hope, with aspiration, looking forward to what they are going to do, the schools their kids are going to go to, the training courses they are going to do, the jobs they are going to get into, the health that they will be able to enjoy because in this country we have one of, if not the best records of managing the health and economic impacts of this pandemic of any country in the world. God bless Australia.
Press Conference - Canberra, ACT
23 October 2020
PRIME MINISTER: Well, good afternoon everyone. Today in Sydney the friends and family, colleagues have gathered to farewell Susan Ryan. We thank her for her amazing service to this country. In remembrance of her today, because of National Cabinet, I was represented there today by the Deputy Prime Minister and I thank him for representing the Government and for all those who’ve gathered, a remarkable and wonderful Australian, and we thank her greatly for her service to our country.
Also, just moments ago, 161 Australians touched down from London, in Darwin as part of a series of flights that the government has been organising to support other changes in cap arrangements, which is steadily and surely ensuring that more and more Australians are getting home. And I'll come back to that in reporting on the outcomes of National Cabinet. And, of course, the acting Chief Medical Officer Paul Kelly will report on the usual matters.
At National Cabinet today. We agreed in principle, given that we had a number of jurisdictions today who are in caretaker arrangements, that constrains a bit of what they can do at each meeting, even here in the ACT. While the outcome there was fairly clear they are still not finalised in those arrangements so technically in the ACT, they were still in caretaker. But we agreed in principle, again, - with the exception of Western Australia and their reservations were outlined on a previous occasion - with the reopening framework for Australia by Christmas. And this is the plan and it sets it out. It'd be very familiar, I think, to many, the reopening plan to get Australia open by Christmas of this year. Importantly, this plan not only details the opening of various activities within our economy and within our community and society. An important part of this plan is that it includes the necessary actions and that are needed on a public health response to support that plan. And the work that Alan Finkel has been doing, in particular, the work that has been done on hotel quarantine and improvements in all of those areas are vital and essential to the achievement of that goal by the end of this year. Premiers and Chief Ministers reiterated their support for that goal today. And we have made further progress and that will come back again to National Cabinet when it next meets on the 13th of November. And indeed, where things can be progressed before that, they will be. But over that time, we will also have further actions coming from the Finkel work that has been done around tracing mechanisms around the country. As I’d indicated after our last meeting.
We also agreed the recommendations of the hotel quarantine review that was undertaken by Jane Halton. And that report will be released after this media conference. It was also agreed to develop a risk stratification approach, as it is known, to international arrivals and their quarantining arrangements. Now, one of the great challenges, as we discussed today, particularly early on in the pandemic, was there were many things that had to be done extremely quickly to respond. And what we want to be, is in a position as we go forward and when we're in a position to make decisions down the track, not today, but down the track when it comes to other types of international arrivals that may be able to come to Australia again when we're in a position where we can reopen some of those arrangements, particularly in relation to things like international students and migration, these types of things, then we want to be sure that we've worked the options well, we’ve trialled and tested them so we can give Australians great confidence that we're in, when we're in a position to do that we have worked through those. So whether that's quarantining in home, on farm, in camp, at a mining camp, on campus or any of these options - we'll be looking at, and working together with states and territories to both identify and trial some of these options. So when we're in a position to make further decisions on arrivals to Australia, then they will be well worked through and we can have a great degree of confidence about their implementation when that occurs.
We agreed to increase caps again for a number of jurisdictions, which will further assist Australians coming back from overseas, an additional 140 next month in Western Australia, another 150 in Queensland. But we've also got continued support out of South Australia at the ACT and we have the arrangement in Northern Territory that I announced last week. Tasmania stands ready to assist. I want to be very clear, but as they don't yet have an international airport and those systems in place, if we need to stand that up in order to achieve what we've set out, then we will certainly do that. They are our further standby option. I want to thank Premier Gutwein for his working together with us to achieve that and it would be on very similar arrangements to what we've done in the Northern Territory. But of course, we're continuing with our work together Premier Gutwein and I, as part of the Hobart City deal to stand up the international airport in Hobart, and we will be having further discussions on that in the weeks ahead.
All jurisdictions, though, have offered their support, particularly to provide flexibility around caps to enable us to get the most vulnerable of Australians home. Now, I can confirm when we made our commitment on the 18th of September. There were registered, some 26,200 Australians. 4,100 of those were vulnerable. So far, 1,278 of that vulnerable cohort have come home. That doesn't include those who've just arrived in Darwin and 4,591 have otherwise returned out of that cohort of 26,200. So we continue to make good progress towards returning Australians home. And we want to do that as effectively and quickly, as safely as possible. And we'll continue to work with all state and territory jurisdictions to facilitate that wherever we can. And I thank them for their cooperation to date.
We adopted the very important report of the Conran review. Now, you recall some months ago up in the committee room upstairs, I made the announcement of the National Cabinet and the new framework for federal-state relations. Well, at that time, as you would have recalled, there was a large number of various committees and forums and ministerial groups which had built up over time under the old COAG process. And we asked former Cabinet Secretary Peter Conran, who'd attended his first AG’s State Ministerial meeting back in 1982. And his first COAG meeting as an official in 1992. So he knows a bit about how all of these systems work. And he's made recommendations which we will release in his report, which were adopted, all 33 recommendations of that report today, which basically streamline how we work together as a federation. Importantly, in that, we'll be elevating one particular area of work, the National Federation Reform Council, that will meet at the end of this year on the 11th of December. That will be its first meeting in its new format. And that meeting will establish a Veteran's wellbeing taskforce. Now, the purpose of the National Federation Reform Council is really to deal with those whole of government broader societal challenges. There are already task forces that deal with indigenous affairs, indigenous Australians, one that deals with women's safety. And we agreed today on my recommendation that we should be also establishing ones for veterans wellbeing so we can look at how government right across federal, state, local is dealing with the challenges that veterans face in our community. And I think that's a very good step, which had the unanimous and enthusiastic support of all Premiers and Chief Ministers. So we will release that report today, which basically streamlines further the federal state relations process and ensures that the National Cabinet imperative, which is leaders making decisions, leaders providing direction into the system about what we want to see achieved in so many areas gets the focus, not the accretion of bureaucratic agendas, which slows everything down. And I think all the Premiers and Chief Ministers for the support of these very important changes. And in that mode, we also established the National Cabinet Reform Committee on Health, which was one of the small number of subgroups of National Cabinet that we had agreed to appoint some months ago. That National Committee will be focussing on the COVID health response, but it'll also be focused on the reforms needed to improve mental health and suicide prevention. The work that has been done by the Productivity Commission, the work been done by the National Suicide Prevention Adviser to me, and as well as things like the Mental Health Royal Commission in Victoria. So that will provide a strong group to be able to take those issues forward, as well as working together on a national response to the Aged Care Royal Commission. So aged care, mental health, suicide prevention and the COVID health response will be the focus of that group's work and that will report into the National Cabinet.
And with that, I'll ask the acting Chief Medical Officer Paul Kelly to provide his report.
PROFESSOR PAUL KELLY, ACTING CHIEF MEDICAL OFFICER: Thanks, PM. So just a few numbers first. So as of today, 27,476 cases in Australia, an extra 10 so far today. There's a couple of states that haven't quite reported yet, but that's where we are at the moment at midday. No new deaths so far reported today, 905 therefore, total since the beginning. We've got only just over 200 active cases in Australia now, only 19 in hospital and nobody, nobody in intensive care. We haven't had a new aged care resident diagnosed with COVID-19 since the 28 of September. So the second week in a row on the common operating picture that we have where we have had no new cases of aged care residents.
So we're doing remarkably well. In the last seven days, only 109 new cases, of those, almost 80 per cent are actually overseas acquired. So that's back to that first wave. You may remember early on in the pandemic where most of our cases are coming from overseas, very few local cases. In fact, the 14-day rolling average now in Victoria is continuing to decrease. It's now 5.8 cases per day and 3.1 cases per day in New South Wales. And that's stable and no other locally acquired cases elsewhere in the country.
So we're doing extraordinarily well, continuing to do testing where that's required, and particularly in those geographic areas where cases have been found or wastewater or sewerage testing has shown that there may be cases. And so, again, an appeal to the Australian population. When you're asked to get a test, please get a test. This is the way we'll know where we have problems. So we're doing remarkably well. We are part of a global pandemic, yet the international situation is completely different. So when you consider what has happened in the last week in the UK, over 100,000 cases in the UK alone, 2.4 million new cases worldwide and 36,000 deaths in the last week. There are literally millions of people, active cases of COVID right now in the world. In many parts of Europe, the intensive care units are full. The hospitals are overflowing and lockdowns are being introduced or planned in many countries. In fact, other than the Western Pacific region of which we're part of in terms of the World Health Organisation regions everywhere else is doing it tough. And I think that's something we should remind ourselves of how well Australia has done to now and also how important the issues that the Prime Minister's mentioned about that risk stratification approach to overseas arrivals that we really take into account where those issues are in the rest of the world.
I think I'll leave it there PM.
PRIME MINISTER: Thank you. Well, let’s just deal with National Cabinet first, and I'm sure there're other issues you'd like to go to.
Brett, yep?
JOURNALIST: PM just on repatriation, you mentioned there's still about 2,800 vulnerable travellers overseas. Are there extra steps being taken to get them home? And on a particular case in Lao. There's around 40 vulnerable Australians who've been unable to get home. They've attempted to hire their own plane they were given approval to land that plane in Cairns. They bought tickets and late yesterday they were told that that had been cancelled. Can you update us on that charter flight, please?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, that is something you'd need to raise with the Queensland government, because I understand that's the issue that ultimately prevented that flight from coming to Australia. I understand it was supposed to land in Cairns. And so you would have to raise those matters, it had other clearances already in place. So you'd have to raise that matter with the Queensland government. But you're right, there are still remaining, a number of Australians, quite a number, who still want to come back home. And this is the first of some 8 charter flights, which I mentioned last week that have been arranged and they'll be taking place and where there's a need to further supplement the commercial flights that are available to Australia to get people back to Australia. Well the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade is working with its officers around the world to facilitate that.
So it's good to see 161 Australians coming home. Welcome home. Is my message to you as you come into Darwin and as you go off to Howard Springs, where you'll get great care and I'm sure your families will be looking forward to you coming back to your home cities when you're able to do that in a few weeks time.
Phil?
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, given that the plan to open by Christmas and things getting under control in Victoria. And we're coming to a period now where we're not going to have any election, state or federal, for a while. Was there any indication out of the National Cabinet today about more willing or better preparedness to adopt a national hotspot definition rather than resort to border closures again, in the future, should there be more outbreaks?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, the focus of the discussion, I think, was moving more towards the public health capability to ensure that you wouldn't need those sorts of closures in the future. I mean, where Victoria has been able to get to now, and I'm sure Paul will agree. We're very pleased that those numbers are now where they are. And obviously that provides the opportunity to open up again. And I'm sure all Victorians, and particularly those in Melbourne, would like to see that occur. And I understand the Premier will make some further announcements this weekend. That’s a matter for him to do, as he regularly does each weekend. And so we're obviously keen to see that opening up, whether it be in the hospitality sector or other parts of the economy. The shut down in Melbourne that has had obviously a terrible impact on Victorians, on their mental health, on their economy. The Premier knows that. And so we continue to encourage him and his government to move forward with reopening there. But what will prevent a further set of measures having to be put in place in Australia, is this the strength of the public health system to respond to any outbreaks. And that's why the work of Dr Finkel is so important because that stress testing and match fitness of the tracing regime, I mean, it will be a good problem to have we hope, that our contact tracers will have no sort of live experience in the weeks and months ahead. But the work that we're doing with those tracing regimes is to ensure that they remain match fit, that they do the desktop exercises, they do the stress testing. And so if things were to occur, if there is an outbreak somewhere, through whatever risk that may present, then we can have confidence that we can move quickly, as indeed New South Wales has done on so many occasions, to ensure that that outbreak can be contained. So I look forward to the continuing opening up of the country. Western Australia, we understand there are some special circumstances there. I've made that very clear in Western Australia. The nature of their economy and how it works and the Premier continues to maintain his position on that. That's a matter for him. But around the rest of the country, they have their timetables and we look forward to that opening and the commitment by Christmas of this year. Certainly seven out of the eight states and territories will be open and that'll be a great day for Australia. You never know, there might be eight.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, on the repatriation issue, officials from your Department said the other day that there were discussions going on with Melbourne about reaccepting international flights and that that would be a game changer. You mentioned just now that you might, we might see something happening with Tasmania in coming weeks. How close is Melbourne to reaccepting?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, what I said about Tasmania is they are a reserve option because there is not an international flight capacity reception arrangements in Tasmania. But I just wanted to be clear that there was no lack of willingness on the Tasmanians part to be part of that process. They're very, very willing and I spoke separately to Premier Gutwein earlier today. Yes, I have had these discussions with Premier Dan Andrews and we are hoping that they'll be able to make a move on being able to receive international arrivals. That day isn't here yet, but I know that it's a priority for the Premier because he wants to see Victorians come home. These are Victorians who are overseas. Many of those who are seeking to come back from around the world are from Victoria and the ability to come and quarantine in their home city I think would be very welcome to them. So we look forward. I think that will give a great boost. If we can get Victoria opened up again in the weeks ahead, preferably, or hopefully not longer than that, then that will really, really give us a bit more pace in getting people back before Christmas. Of those 26,000, as I said before, we want to get them home by Christmas and that's what we're working to achieve.
JOURNALIST: Would you take a question on another subject?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, that's a matter for your colleagues.
JOURNALIST: Will Australia move from a system of compulsory hotel quarantine to allowing quarantine in other settings? What will be the benchmark for that shift? And how many of the Australians stranded overseas are you committing to bring home by Christmas?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, I just answered the last question. It's our goal to get those 26,000 Australians home that were registered by Christmas. Now, whether we achieve that or not is going to be dependent on many factors. It's going to be dependent on the flights. It's going to be dependent on the continued cooperation of the states and territories. It's disappointing to hear about the arrangement that has occurred up there in Cairns. But as I said, I'll leave that to the Queensland government. We've had good cooperation from the Queensland government on these other caps. So that's what we're doing there. In terms of other forms of quarantine, that's the very questions you're asking are the same questions we're asking. And that's why we've set up the group today to go and do that work, identify what these other quarantine options are and how they can be used for different areas. I mean, we're already doing that when it comes to seasonal workers who are coming under the seasonal workers programme. That's happening right now. That's been happening at Howard Springs. We're already doing it in Queensland, which I think is a very innovative on-farm quarantine arrangement when it comes to some of these seasonal workers as well. That's a good initiative. I know there's a lot of interest from universities to look at on-campus quarantine. I know that with large corporates, there's a strong interest in the National Coordination Commission under Nev Power’s chairmanship has been looking at how corporates themselves can set up their own quarantine facilities under strict guidelines and standards, obviously overseen and accredited by state health authorities. But the more of these options we can identify, the more of the other capacity it frees up and the more we can move back to sort of more normal arrangements. But we’re in… there is no undue haste here. There are risks here. And so what we agreed today is before we make any of those decisions, we want to know what the options are. We want to know whether they work. And we want to know whether they're safe. So, you know, you don't want to build that aeroplane in the sky. You want to build it before it takes off. And that's exactly what we're doing.
JOURNALIST: Just on mental health today…
PRIME MINISTER: I'm still dealing with National Cabinet, so if you could just..
JOURNALIST: Qantas has brought home 161 Australians today. At their annual general meeting today they've flagged that they want to be able to do COVIDSafe travel to Japan, places in South-East Asia and had some very strong words about the border closures in Western Australia and Queensland, blaming them for $100 million losses. Do you share those views on the borders and how far off would travel bubbles be with Japan and South-East Asian nations?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, I couldn't put a timetable on international and the airlines understand that. They know that. We've already moved on New Zealand and that's gone well, I'm pleased with how that is proceeding. There were no issues raised about that today. So that's good. And I think we'll just keep moving ahead with those arrangements. I think the quarantine issues that we've just, that's the first thing you've got to resolve. How would people quarantine if they're coming and in what arrangements and what are the commercial arrangements for that as well? So that's the work we'll do now. I think what's important is what we're signalling to the community and whether it's airlines or others and all those who work in airlines who depend on it for their jobs is where we're already moving forward to try and solve these problems so we can be proactive about this. Early on in the pandemic, of course, there were many challenges and we had to be very responsive and reactive at those times. But now, once we've got Australia, once again, after this Victorian wave to get the cases again under control, we can be planning for that next step. And that's exactly what National Cabinet was doing today. I mean, you all remember the early meetings of National Cabinet. It was, you know, a phone book of announcements on almost every second or third night. Now, we're well past that. We know a lot more about the pandemic and how it works and the economic issues and we've learnt a great deal and our officials have too. So it enables us to plan for this. So on issues of borders, the states and territories have already, with the exception of Western Australia, already indicated what they're doing there and that's welcome. The states will make their own decisions on those and I've never disrespected that. But I've also made it very clear that borders don't come without costs. They're there to do a job as the premiers have outlined and they can only ever be justified on health advice, on no other grounds. But they do come at a cost. They do cost jobs. They do impact businesses. And that cost has to be weighed up with the benefits and Premiers have to explain that trade-off.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, the Productivity Commission review into mental health has not yet been released. Why has it not yet been released and when can we expect to see this come out?
PRIME MINISTER: Before the end of the year.
JOURNALIST: Victorian officials have speculated potentially looking at using ankle bracelets for returning travellers so they could isolate at home. How comfortable would you be with that being part of the framework going forward?
PRIME MINISTER: Look, I'm just going to let those experts who are going to work on these options do their job. It's not for me to do a running commentary on every thought that someone has about this or speculates in the press. Let them just do their job, let them do their work, let them work out what will be most effective and can best facilitate us getting back to us to a COVID normal in the future with these arrangements. But I expect them to be innovative. I expect them to think about new ways of doing things and they'll bring that back to the National Cabinet, the AHPPC, Paul, which you lead, will be heavily involved in this process to ensure that the health elements of this are not compromised in any way, shape or form. That is a strong view of the National Cabinet that that input is necessary. I mean, there's a spectrum. Of course, Western Australia and it has expressed great reservations about it any time having those international arrivals. I understand their position. Other states, New South Wales is already receiving a large number. So, look, there's a spectrum of, I think, of caution when it comes to these things. So let's just get the systems right first, and that will lead to better decisions when they are ultimately taken.
JOURNALIST: Just in relation to Australia Post…
PRIME MINISTER: I'm still on National Cabinet, Sam, so I will come back to you. Yep?
JOURNALIST: Professor Kelly, obviously good news today about the aged care cases. But a month ago, the Aged Care Royal Commission handed down a report about COVID in aged care and I quote, ‘Measures implemented by the Australian Government on advice from the AHPPC were in some respects insufficient to ensure preparedness of the aged care sector.’ It also said that there were no aged care specialists on the Committee. Was this something that was discussed today? What have you done in response to better that Committee and what are we doing to protect our elderly now?
PROFESSOR PAUL KELLY, ACTING CHIEF MEDICAL OFFICER: So there's a Royal Commission, as we know, and the counsel assisting has been reporting on his views in the last couple of days. There was, as you say, that interim specific list of recommendations. I believe there were six about COVID. And the Government is taking those on board. The first recommendation was to report by the 1st of December. So we will report.
JOURNALIST: [Inaudible]
PROFESSOR PAUL KELLY, ACTING CHIEF MEDICAL OFFICER: We've got an advisory committee that's been set up under the auspices of the AHPPC in relation very specifically to aged care, which has a range of aged care specialists, practitioners, geriatricians and so forth. They're meeting three times a week. So they are really very active and giving us information and advice.
JOURNALIST: And that was discussed today at the meeting?
PRIME MINISTER: Aged care was discussed today and, as I noted, the National Reform Committee of Cabinet, the subcommittees of health, they will be taking on those issues and reporting back up to the National Cabinet and that's where the carriage of that will be from a state-federal basis. But all the recommendations that were provided by the Royal Commission have been adopted and are being implemented by the Government.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister?
PRIME MINISTER: Yes, I think we've moved on from National Cabinet? Unless… yes.
JOURNALIST: Thanks, Prime Minister. Yesterday, you said he was shocked and appalled by the gifting of four Cartier watches to Aussie Post executives. Are you equally appalled that the head of the corporate watchdog, no less, should have pocketed $118,000 when he shouldn't have?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, that is a matter which the Treasurer has already issued a statement on today. He may have actually already conducted a press conference. I'm not aware, I haven't been able to check that since I've come out today. And he is standing aside, the Chair, and the recommendations of the ANAO are being followed.
JOURNALIST: Chirstine Holgate, the Collingwood football captain, president, I should say, Eddie McGuire said today that what he's watching is a pile-on, a beat up, an attack on one of the most impressive women that he's ever met by dullards. Are you, as he suggested, engaging in the politics of envy? And if $3,000 Cartier watches are so unacceptable, why are the bonuses that have been paid to these executives that are worth hundreds of thousands of dollars more Ok?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, we are the shareholder on behalf of the taxpayers and not only the matter that you referred to, but the other matters that came forward in evidence yesterday, is sufficient to demand this investigation that we've put in place. And that investigation is not just into the management and the executive into all the matters you've raised, but into the conduct of the board as well. And I didn't pull any punches on that either. So, no, I don't agree with the assessment that Eddie has made. Eddie and I agree on some things. We don't agree on others. But no, I don't agree with his assessment on that. I don't think what we learnt yesterday would have passed any test with the Australian public when it comes to a company that is owned by the Government. Companies that are owned by the Government, they I believe, and through their board and their management executives, will be held to that standard. And I think I applied that very firmly yesterday. Mark?
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, in regards to the protection of taxpayers interests you just referred to there and Andrew's question, the statement that the Treasurer and ASIC have released makes plain that ASIC gave tacit approval for this arrangement, basically a blank cheque from the corporate regulator. And then we had this instance yesterday with Australia Post. There's a lot of community interests about the level of remuneration and bonuses that are paid in that organisation. Is it time to have a broad…
PRIME MINISTER: Australia Post?
JOURNALIST: Australia Post. But is it in those instances being current? Is it time to have a full investigation on audit of remuneration and tax arrangements and bonus arrangements for all these government appointees to see whether there's some sort of systemic issue and that taxpayers are being ripped off?
PRIME MINISTER: I think it will be important to receive the recommendations of the reports and enquiries that have been initiated and it may well be that that comes forward. Let's wait and see. I'm very open to those recommendations. Let's see. Let's see. But I think there wouldn't be a board member of a government agency or a CEO of a government agency that didn't get my message yesterday. I think they got it with a rocket. And so my advice to them, is to get it.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, on that, would you say that there's a culture problem in the public sector under your watch? And do you think it's fair and reasonable that Christine Holgate will continue to be paid while the Government conducts its four week investigation? We estimate that would be more than $100,000.
PRIME MINISTER: Well, the answer to the first question is no. On your second question, that is a matter upon which the Government has to take legal advice and that is what the Government has done.
JOURNALIST: Just one follow up repatriation. You said that Hobart is ready and willing to assist if that becomes necessary. If not now, when there are thousands of Australians who want to get home now?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, the issue with Hobart is that we can replicate those arrangements, whether in the Northern Territory, we could replicate them in Cairns. We can put them in South Australia, where there are existing Border Force and other international receiving arrangements then we will use those ports. And as I said, we have eight charters running now. One has just returned. And as more, if they become necessary, we have some coming out of India, we've got some coming from South Africa, we will use the ports where the facilities are there because that will be the most rapid way. But the most effective way we're getting through getting Australians home is by increasing these caps. And so I welcome the decision from the Queensland and Western Australian governments. As we keep increasing the caps, when we get Victoria on line as well, then I think that will only aid us as we continue along the path we are on, to get Australian open by Christmas and to get Australians home by Christmas. Thank you all very much.
Virtual Multicultural Community Roundtable
23 October 2020
Prime Minister, Assistant Minister for Customs, Community Safety and Multicultural Affairs
Minister Tudge: We’ve got community leaders from right across our great nation and some very familiar faces there as well. I think I’ve come across nearly every single one of you this year. It’s particularly great obviously to have our Prime Minister here on this particular conference, as well as Assistant Minister Jason Wood. I can see Sev Ozdowski right in front of me here as well, who is the chairman of our Australian Multicultural Council, so a particular welcome to him and all the other community leaders across our country.
I’ll only speak for two or three minutes and then hand it over to the Prime Minister, but I just wanted to say a few things up front. Once again, to just say a very big thank you for all of the leadership which you have shown during these tough times throughout the COVID period this year. A particular call out to those Victorian leaders who I think have really had to go beyond the call of duty in the last few months, and that continues on. Thank you for working so closely with us, for helping get that information out there, including some of the translated materials. And ensuring that community members within your community understand not only what some of the restrictions are but equally what the programs that have been put in place that people can access - whether they be small business, whether they be mental health support or other support that people are able to access. A very big thank you in relation to that.
Today’s session is really part of our ongoing engagement with you. As you are probably aware, we have really ramped up our engagement with the multicultural leaders this year during the pandemic. I’ve led a lot of those, but equally through our regional directors and our community liaison officers we’ve had over 8,000 engagements with different community leaders and different communities this year, which is a fivefold increase in what it was last year. This engagement and particularly these forums are a terrific way for us to be able to hear directly from you and understand some of the things, which are on your mind as well as an opportunity for us to impart some of the policy changes which we have made.
I can tell you that some of the feedback we’ve had from these forums has directly led to the policy changes which we have made. In particular, I reflect on a few things which I have put in place following the forums that I’ve held. Such as putting religious leaders, for example, on the exemption list at the border so that they can come in more readily, because they’ve been so important during the pandemic. Such as addressing some of the visa application charge issues which we can discuss further. Also in terms of really getting going on this anti-racism campaign, which many of you have raised directly with me as well, which I think has been quite effective in terms of how we’ve done that. Thank you for that engagement and that will be ongoing – with the Prime Minister today obviously being the most important one.
I’ll just finish by mentioning three important policy changes in my portfolio which are directly relevant, I think, to multicultural leaders and through you to your communities. And then I think the PM is going to touch, obviously more broadly on the Budget and our economic recovery and the like.
First up, I just want to mention the partner visa changes. Specifically, that we have almost doubled the number of partner permanent residency visas available for this financial year – up to 73,000 (77,000 family visas). That’s a really important move and it means some of those backlogs that we have had, we’ll be able to address this year. And that provides stability and certainty for those partners of Australians or permanent residents. That’s the first one.
The second one I want to briefly mention, and no doubt this will come up in the Q&A as well, is the changes we’ve made to our English language programs. We have removed almost every restriction on migrants being able to access free English language classes. So that means from now anybody at any stage, no matter how long you have been in the country can get as many free English language classes as they need to get themselves up to a functional level of English. That’s a really significant change and hopefully through you, you’ll encourage those people whose English might not be up to speed to take advantage of some of those free English language classes -even if they’ve been in the country for ten years. Related to that is, we’ve put an expectation upon the partner visa applicants that they’ll at least make a reasonable effort to take advantage of those free English language classes. No hard and fast test, but a reasonable effort we want to see. And I don’t think that’s an unreasonable policy.
Finally, just briefly, and this gets raised with me frequently and the PM may say more about this in relation to our borders and our ongoing migration program. Obviously we closed the borders in March and we’ve been slowly re-opening them again since. But it means our migration program overall will be completely diminished this year and next, before we expect it to ramp back up to close to normal in year three or four. That, I know, is tough for some of your community members who either may not be able to travel to see their loved ones or their loved ones may not be able to come here. We acknowledge that, we’re working on that, there’s further developments almost every day. I just want to sort of, I suppose, reassure you that we are very conscious of this and that we will get back to normal at some stage I think and be back to this great immigrant country that we are so well known for around the world.
So let me just finish on that point and now introduce the Prime Minister – the main guest today – to say a few words. Then I think we’re going to have some questions and answers for the rest of the session. Over to you PM.
Prime Minister: Well, thank you Alan, and to Woody as well as he's affectionately known amongst his colleagues and I'm sure that many, if not all of you as well. Can I start particularly by just acknowledging the Ngunnawal people here where I am in Canberra. It’s a different [inaudible] where you may be, but where I am is in Ngunnawal today, and I acknowledge their elders past, present and future. And any veterans with us, Defence Force personnel as well, reservists and so on, thank you for the amazing work you do for our country.
Alan, can I thank you and Woody as well. And particularly you, Alan, you've taken on a very big load this year. I know many of you also would know David Coleman and he was doing a fantastic job before circumstances meant that he had to stand aside for personal reasons this year. And Alan, you've taken on an enormous load in this area, but I've always known it's been an area you've had great passion for, and you've really acquitted yourself so well on the relationships and the application you've had in this very important portfolio, which, you know is very dear to my heart as a former portfolio I once held for quite a period of time, both in opposition and government. So I want to thank you for the sacrifices you've made to be able to basically do two very big jobs this year, and I'm sure that those on the call will have noticed the passion with which you engage in that. And for Woody, that's always the case. He’s passion with a capital P, particularly when it comes to this topic and whether it's in his own community or elsewhere. Since taking on this role, Woody, you've just been fantastic. So thank you very much for the work that you've done.
I want to echo Alan's thanks to all of you for your leadership in all of the various communities you represent across Australia. To you Sev as well, a real veteran of this space and I see many other veterans who I've known for many years on this call, and thank all of you for your leadership. As we go through what has been one of the toughest, if not the most toughest year that most Australians have gone through in living memory. That has particularly been the case, I think, for the many different communities you represent across Australia.
This year has required a leadership that has been needed across our communities to give people hope, to give people direction, to give people confidence in a time where there's a lot of uncertainty and there are a lot of unanswered questions. In times like that, people, they do look to their leaders and they've been looking to you for that guidance and that direction. And so I want to thank you for how you've been able to do that, and I want to thank you for the way that you've been connecting, not just with us as a federal government and our ministers, but I also want to thank you for the way you've connected with your state and territory leaders. I just might ask our technical guys here. I'm not getting the vision here on the screen.
Today, after this, I'll be meeting with the National Cabinet. And it is a regular topic of our conversation about how we’re engaging, particularly in a communications sense, with the many different communities across Australia. And particularly when it comes to public health, mental health support and economic engagement and participation, workplace safety, using public transport, all of the most obvious and basic things about our everyday life in a COVID-19 pandemic. These relationships we've probably had to call on and draw on more than ever before. I’ve got to tell you, it's been an enormous success. It really has. I'm incredibly proud of the way that Australia's multiple communities have actually worked together in a very focused way, in a very practical way. It goes back to earlier this year when we were really only coming to terms with what this pandemic was, in late January, and we closed the borders in the first of February. And we had many returning Australians from all around the world at that time, particularly out of China initially. That was not a time when we were running hotel quarantine. We were running home quarantine, in isolation. The discipline shown, particularly in our Chinese-Australian community in those first few weeks was amazing. It was exemplary, and actually set the tone, I think, for the broader Australian response that has followed in these many months since then.
So I'm only full of appreciation for the leadership of communities that has enabled us as a country to do better, both on the economics and on the health than almost any other country in the world. So pat yourselves on the back because you've played a huge role in that. As Alan said, in Victoria, that strain and that challenge has been just so much greater in these recent months and the stresses and strains are there, have been very difficult to cope with, but you've been sustaining your communities and I want to thank you for that. And hopefully we'll be making further progress there soon and some form of normal life can resume. On that front, I think it will be important as we go forward that the messaging continues. And messaging is just not one way. Messaging is also us receiving messages from communities and understanding what the difficulties are or constraints might be in putting public health practices in place or getting economic participation or COVID-safe practices and everything, as I say, from public transport, to what happens on the shop floor, or in the community hall or whatever.
The other thing I'm sure we're all looking forward to is, the COVID-19 experience this year means that on so many occasions the community or activities that would normally take place with great enjoyment and great community bonding, sadly, have not been able to take place. And that would have just been so incredibly hard. The combination of religious/cultural/community events, and they merge each into the other and they’re so much part of the heart of community life. It's sad that we haven't been able to have those this year. I believe that would have left a big hole, a big vacuum, I think, in communities all around the country. They usually bring to knit people together and to give people reassurance and fellowship. That would have been hard.
That said, the COVID-19 year, the very platform we're meeting on today has probably seen a greater engagement amongst leadership and with government than perhaps we've seen before, and that is a good thing. I hope Alan and the many leaders that are on the call today, Woody, that this will be something - and Alice I also want to thank you for your work in this and Home Affairs as well. I hope this is something we can continue, because we all have very busy lives, pre or during or post-COVID. But let's not, as it says, forsake the meeting together like we are in this forum, because I think that is a positive development out of COVID that I think better connects leadership of communities.
I've always been, as you know, a keen advocate and supporter of Australia's immigration program, and there are many reasons for that. It defines us, who we are as a country. We are the most successful immigration country in the world. That's not debatable. It's a fact and daylight second. We show the rest of the world how to do this. Doesn’t say it’s perfect, but no one comes close to us when it comes to how we live together as a society here in Australia. The fact that we get so frustrated sometimes by our failures, I think only underscores how high our expectations are of Australia as a multicultural society. And that's a good thing. Let that ever be the case, that we won't settle for second best or third best on these things. We want to continue to be the best in the world when it comes to how we engage. I think what underpins that is an appreciation of what the migration program, firstly, contributes to the country, and that is undisputable. It's one of the key pillars of our societal strength, but also of our economic success as a country and that must continue. COVID has really hit that hard. Borders, while about 60-odd, 65-odd thousand Australians have left over the course of COVID and travelled overseas, three times that have actually come back and come to Australia over that period of time for various reasons. I mean, it hasn't been a completely closed border, it's been a highly managed border, but that is obviously a fraction of what we normally experience. We need to get back. We need to get back to Australia being open and people being able to come. But it obviously has to be done safely and at a time when our systems can support it, and pre-vaccine and post-vaccine that will be made that bit easier.
But the other part of it, I think is it's just not about population. It's about participation and connection, and that's where I think our efforts must continue. Now on participation, I just want to talk briefly about economic participation. Australia's economy is recovering. It's not will recover, it already is recovering and it is recognised as recovering. Victoria will catch up to that. And I think you will catch up very quickly once we can get Victoria open, and I think Victoria will move. One of the things we've done as a government is try and preserve the fabric of our economy over the course of the COVID-19 recession, to keep businesses together, to keep training in place, to keep skills current, to keep trade connections in place, to preserve supply chains, to do all of this. That's been done through JobKeeper, and JobSeeker, and training initiatives and cash flow support. All of this has been about investments to keep the fabric of our economy woven and not ripped apart. And so we avoid the potential scarring of our economy that could lead to a generation of disadvantage, of non-participation, of economic exclusion. Some of the groups that are most susceptible to that are obviously young people, and that's why our budget is focused on young people. Women, which is why our budget is focused so much in that area as well. But also the many different ethnic communities of the country, some of which can be more disadvantaged than others. We need to work harder on continuing to engage that participation.
As we know, businesses, ethnic businesses are the most entrepreneurial in the country. The rate of entrepreneurialism amongst the many migrant communities in Australia is higher than it is for the otherwise national average. And so supporting business has very much been a multicultural policy in Australia, because so much of the multicultural community's economic progress and wellbeing is subject to the success of the small and medium sized business environment. I see the two is as uniquely connected in the way we're responding to the crisis.
That's why this year's budget is focused on the job hiring initiatives, the investment allowances, loss carry backs - all of this designed not just to preserve the fabric of our businesses and our economy, but to see it recover, to take back what was lost. Then in the third component of our budget, it is to build our success for the future. Now, whether that be in our advanced manufacturing sector and technology and research, or in our services sector, the continued expansion of our social services in a private and not-for-profit perspective, whether that be in aged care or community services, all of which so many communities are directly involved in. Building for the future with the skills and capabilities and investments that are needed to underpin our economy will see Australia emerge from this crisis, I would say, amongst a handful of countries - just a couple, literally, just a couple - which will see Australia come out on the top of the pack.
Now, one other initiative - I’ll close on this, Alan, and then we can take some questions. We initiated a little while ago, I call it Project Money Ball. It has a more formal name and the officials and others can refer to it by that if they wish. What it involves is, we’ve set up a team and I’ve appointed a special envoy on my behalf - his name is Peter Verwer. He’s leading a team, under Alan’s direction as Minister, that is going around the world and basically, targeting companies, leading academics, researchers, scientists and others from around the world and saying come to Australia; come and establish your businesses here.
The COVID experience, I think, has demonstrated to many around the world and whether there are, you know, real challenges in places like Hong Kong and so on. And we’re saying come to Australia, establish your business here. One of the reasons we could that is because of the rich multicultural history and presence that Australia has today.
That is an exciting project and I’m sure, no doubt, Alan, that we’ll be reaching out the community leaders to assist. You know, if we have a company that’s decided to rebase itself from Singapore to Australia, or from Thailand to Australia, or from the UK or from the United States, wherever they happen to be, or from Lebanon - it doesn’t matter where. They will be able to come into Australia and form part of a community that is present and can be supportive and can drive that participation.
So look, I could go on about this, as some of you know, at length. I already have and for that, I apologise. But it is an area, as I’m sure many of you know me well know it’s a great area of passion for me, this. It is part of, I think, Australia’s greatest boast and as Prime Minister, I want to ensure that it remains one of our greatest boasts as a country; that we are the most successful multicultural and immigration nation on the planet. Alan.
Minister Tudge: Thank you very much, PM and very well said. In fact, one of the great illustrations of that last point which you’ve just said, is the phenomenal work which so many of the communities did during the bushfires and indeed during COVID, in terms of raising money, cooking meals, the Buddhist monks providing massages for the weary firefighters and the like. I think that was such a great example of our multicultural country at work and we’ll sure be very proud of that.
Now, Alice, I think you’re going to moderate the questions and look after the technology to let people in and out. I’ll hand it over to you and I presume some of the questions will come to me, but most will come to the PM.
Department of Home Affairs Host: Thank you very much, Minister. Yes, the first question for today is for the Prime Minister. It comes from Dr Yadu Singh who we can see on screen. Dr Singh.
Prime Minister: We don’t have the audio from Dr Singh.
Question: Can you hear me now?
Department of Home Affairs Host: Yes, Dr Singh. Please go ahead.
Question: Good morning, Prime Minister. Thank you very much for your great leadership. You really, really have been a great Prime Minister. My question to you is: what is the latest about the COVID-19 vaccine for Australians and when are we, Australians, likely to get it? Prime Minister. Thank you.
Prime Minister: Well thank you, Dr Singh. And again, thank you for your leadership in the Indian community across Australia. Last week, I was up in the University of Queensland and was able to meet with the researchers that are leading the development of the vaccine there - the molecular clamp vaccine. I asked them a very important question which was the first time I’ve actually got an answer to this question that actually satisfied me. I asked the lead researcher: why is it that the world has never been successful in finding a vaccine for a coronavirus? Now, my assumption had been that there was some unique scientific challenge here that made this totally inscrutable and that’s not the case, thankfully. What has occurred in the past is that coronaviruses have peaked and passed long before the urgency of a need for a vaccine. So it never sort of sustained long enough to sustain the investment and focus for a vaccine to be developed in those areas. So there isn’t necessarily a greater scientific challenge to finding this vaccine. The former chief medical officer and now Secretary of Health, Brendan Murphy, sort of explained it to me like this: just the sheer volume of investments and the research that is going into finding this vaccine, you play the percentages and you've got to be optimistic because of just what's involved here.
What I also learned up at UQ was: they are coming at it from different angles. I mean, the work that the Oxford University is doing and the way they're tackling it, I think with what's called a protein spike or something; and then you've got the molecular clamp, which is another type of process; and then you have a sort of a mirrored virus, which I think is what the Chinese are doing; and then you've got a genetic approach, I think it is, that the Americans are doing, which is at a whole another level.
The science that is going into this is quite amazing. And so that gives me a lot of confidence that one will be found. It could be that final stage trials on the AstraZeneca Oxford vaccine could be successful by the end of the year. Could be. I think ours will be a bit after that from what we're seeing at the moment. But these things do have a habit of accelerating if the results prove positive.
Now, the challenge then is not just how, if someone cracks it, [inaudible] the rest of the world's leaders to commit that if any country finds it, they share it. And I've had a lot of good responses to that.
The next point is that you've got to manufacture it. You've got to distribute it. That's why we've entered into a domestic sovereign manufacturing arrangement with CSL here in Australia, which will enable us, through a $1.7 billion investment, to get the doses of both an AstraZeneca and a UQ vaccine available to every single Australian.
Now, that production timetable, you know, if you’ve got successful trials towards the end of this year, early next year, then you're probably talking about now next year by the time you've ramped up production and distribution and immunisation moving through the community. So it's not just finding the vaccine, it’s manufacturing it and then disseminating it and applying it. And so, there's a good, I think, from start to finish around about a year potentially in that. If it happens sooner than that, then great.
The other point I wanted to make about the vaccine is, we've made a commitment to support all our Pacific island communities as well with the same level of support. I think we may be able to also assist South East Asian countries in a more targeted way as well.
Another thing that I'm pushing very hard for on an international level and getting good support from this, including out of India, is we can't allow the developing world to have some sort of second-best vaccine or become guinea pigs when it comes to a vaccine. I find that morally reprehensible personally.
A vaccine that you get in Australia should be a vaccine you get in Africa or Papua New Guinea or Malaysia or Indonesia, Vietnam, China, wherever. There shouldn't be one vaccine for the developing world, which is of, you know, lower testing standards and lower medical veracity for the sake of just reaching volume. I think we have to commit to ensuring that all the world's population get access to the same quality of vaccine. And that's something that we will be pushing very hard through the multilateral forum.
Department of Home Affairs Host: Thank you very much, Prime Minister. Minister Tudge, the next question is for you and comes from Dr Philip Ahn, who I think we have joining us by phone.
Question: Hello. Can you hear me?
Department of Home Affairs Host: Yes. We can. Thank you very much, Dr Ahn.
Question: My question to the Minister Alan Tudge is regarding the partner visa and then the two criteria - I'm going to ask you the definition of your criteria and the process of testing the English language. Do you know that the group of the partner visa applicant, they are coming over in many cases with a partner already established in Australia to start a family and establish home? This set an unprecedented stress for the new applicants if the criteria for passing is unknown or beyond their capabilities. [Inaudible]… within a relatively short time limit of two years. Therefore, we would appreciate have the discussion on this criteria.
Minister Tudge: Yeah, thanks Phillip for that question. And it's important to- I suppose, let me just explain briefly who it applies to, and what the standard is that we're seeking.
First up, if you're coming in, say, on skilled visa, your partner comes in as a secondary applicant, and there's no English language tests associated with that, or with any of the other secondary applicants attached to the other visas. What we're, here we're talking when an Australian citizen or a permanent resident in Australia falls in love with foreigner, and that foreigner then subsequently applies for a partner permanent residency visa. And what will happen is, that person will come into the country, as they do, and they'll typically be here for two to three years on a provisional visa before they're eligible for their permanent residency visa.
In that time, Philip, we are asking people to make a reasonable effort to learn English, if you don't already have a functional level of English. Now, by what we mean by reasonable effort to learn English, we'll define those over the weeks ahead. But, broadly speaking, it might be for a person who is an ordinary person, ordinary, capable person, it might be doing 500 hours of the freely available English language classes in Australia. That would be considered a reasonable effort, but of course, there'll be exemptions for that if you've got a disability or the like. Now, of course, if you've already got a functional level of English, you don't have to worry about that. What we're trying to achieve for everybody to have a basic level of English so that we can converse with one another, maintain our social cohesion, but equally importantly, Philip, is so that they've got the best chance of getting a job and fully participate [audio error]… have English, the chances of you getting work are very, very small. In fact, only 13 per cent of people in Australia today with no English are in a job, only 13 per cent. And that's because it's, the labour market is very different to what it was - I remember in the 50s and 60s when people did come in with no English and went straight into work. Because today, the occupational health and safety rules mean you need to have at least a basic level of English to be able to participate, and of course you can't participate in all aspects of Australian life fully without a reasonable command of English. So, that's the intent of the policy. There's no hard and fast test at all, and I want to make that clear. There's no hard and fast test at all. There is simply a request and a requirement that those partner applicants make a reasonable effort to learn English in those two or three years that they are already in Australia, before they get their final permanent residency.
Department of Home Affairs Host: Thank you very much, Minister. Prime Minister, the next question is for you and comes from Belle Lim, from the Council of International Students Australia. Please go ahead Ms Lim.
Question: Thank you. Thank you Prime Minister, Minister Tudge, and Minister Wood for your time today. My question is that as the largest service industry, service export industry that has been severely impacted, what is the Morrison Government's strategy to ensure the recovery of Australia's international education sector? And may I just say that as student leaders, CISA would like to offer our help in this.
Prime Minister: Well, thank you very much, I appreciate your question, Belle. My plan is to get the students back, and to get them back for next year, and to work with the states and territories, the universities sector to achieve that as best as we possibly can for next year. As Alan knows, we're working on that quite hard at the moment. We've got two pilots running now in the Northern Territory and South Australia, I know New South Wales is also very keen to move ahead in this area. We have to, sort of, balance community confidence with that plan but at the same time, it is not beyond our wit at all to do this safely. It may just take longer for people to get back to Australia and to be in a position to start their study again next year, but I think we've got the time to achieve that as much as we possibly can.
When it hit us at the start of this year, it obviously had a terrible impact, because, I mean, to be fair, at the start of the pandemic, the level of knowledge about how the virus worked and how the quarantine arrangements and how they functioned, and all of that, it was very early days and it was very unsafe to just bring everybody back and go ahead on that basis. That could have had diabolical outcomes, the like of which we've seen, particularly over in Europe and other parts of the world. But we've got enough time, I think, to plan and to do as much of this by the start of next year as possible. And so, we're certainly doing that, and we're looking forward to working with yourselves, but particularly the universities. And we will have to look at innovative ways about how quarantine can be done. It may well be the case that students may get to come early and be backpackers for a while, before they go back to university, and perhaps spend a bit more time in Australia and see a lot more of Australia.
We've got a lot of fruit to pick, I know that much, and that's another problem we've got, actually. And Alan and I are working on that problem right now as well, and sometimes you can solve two problems with the same solution. And so, we are thinking laterally about this, and so we would like to work with you on that to see how we can get people back, perhaps sooner, and then you can do it on a more orderly basis, make best use of the quarantine facilities that we have. I mentioned before, the tremendous discipline and application that existed especially in the Chinese-Australian community with the returning Australian residents early on. So for many of our students who'd be coming back from parts of the world they already have a very good appreciation of the health issues here and I really don't think they will be careless about this. And so, and I think universities equally understand the economic importance of it.
Look, the short answer is the plan is to get people back, and as soon as we can and to do it in a safe way and in an orderly way. And that may involve people being here for longer, it may require us, as Alan knows, looking innovatively, flexibly at some of the conditions around those visas for students who are returning to Australia early, and to enable them to maybe do a bit more while they're here before their studies start again. So, COVID-19 requires us all to be innovative, and that includes officials at the Department of Home Affairs in terms of how we structure visas and how we, and how we work the conditions of those.
Department of Home Affairs Host: Thank you very much, Prime Minister. The next question is for Minister Wood and comes from Dr Rateb Jneid, who I think I can see online, from the Australian Federation of Islamic Councils. Please go ahead, Dr Jneid.
Question: Firstly, on behalf of the Federation of Islamic Council, I would like to thank you Prime Minister and thank Ministers Alan Tudge and Jason Wood for taking the time to talk to us. Australia is enriched by its diversity [inaudible]…powerful message to hear significant ministers to sit with us on Friday morning. It would be great it would be have more time, maybe in the near future we can. The question is, will the department be funding programs that will help combat xenophobia and Islamophobia?
Assistant Minister Wood: Thanks very much Doctor. Good morning, friends and it's absolutely fantastic to be with you here this morning. Thanks Alan Tudge. First of all, can I say, it comes down to leadership, and you haven't got a better leader when it comes to the understanding of multicultural issues and respect and having a zero tolerance approach when it comes to our Prime Minister, Scott Morrison. And we've all seen this first hand, he went out in my electorate, and he was demonstrating which I thought was a big call for the Indians how to make a curry. And this is something which shows how fantastic and great our country is when you've got a Prime Minister who can go out there and demonstrate and respect the cultures of other countries.
And I know [inaudible] challenge, Prime Minister, at this weekend they'll be looking to you for another curry. Can I say, too, it also comes to the multicultural- [inaudible].
Prime Minister: Happy to get some tips later.
Assistant Minister Wood: [Inaudible] very much. Well, in actual fact, this is fantastic, because my Indian community was actually asking for the recipe, which is really nice. And can I say from the multicultural community, when it comes to sport and the great work you do and I look at this when it comes to the Indians the Sri Lankans for cricket and also when it comes to Aussie rules football. And can I say, Bachar Houli and he's playing for the Tigers tomorrow night, as a Richmond supporter, I'm so excited. The leadership role he has played has been absolutely incredible and has had a very strong government support. When it comes to specific programs, we have the Muster Grants, the understanding social tolerance and respect programs and Alan Tudge was right behind the Racism Is Not Acceptable campaign. Very much targeted at COVID era and to ensure we don't have actually racism in there. This budget again, $62 million social cohesion a major focus, community liaison officers. And can I say it's so important to get all our multicultural communities together and in actual fact 50 per cent of Australians were either born overseas or one of their parents works like my wife Judy, and we have a little one who on the weekend, Jasmine, who learns Mandarin. On the tougher side, can I say and we, our thoughts are still with what happened, that awful atrocity in Christchurch in New Zealand. And can I say ASIO and the AFP are very focused on any extremism right wing extremists and they will focus on that. Something I'm really excited about and that the PM, after that awful attack under the safer community funding grants made the grants very focused on supporting multicultural communities. In particular for religious organisations and in actual fact, nearly one-third of that funding was to Muslim communities. So, and the great news is, with this latest strand of the Budget, Safer Communities, again, we have $35 million and something I'm really excited about half that money will be for early intervention programs, to make sure young people don't go down the wrong paths whether it be in gangs or extremism. So, we're 100 per cent behind our multicultural communities in calling out racism.
Department of Home Affairs Host: Thank you very much, Minister, And I think we have time for one final question today. And it's a question for you, Prime Minister, from Susan Gin from the Chinese Association of Victoria. Please go ahead Ms Gin.
Question: Thank you, Alice. Prime Minister, the Federal Government's response to the pandemic has been both swift and impactful for many of us in our migrant communities, whom, as you have mentioned, are predominantly in small businesses. And please accept our sincere thanks to you and to Minister Tudge and Minister Wood for your leadership. My question centres on two measures announced in the recent budget, and one is to do with a range of tax incentives and income tax relief, and the other is the intention by the Government to reduce red tape and regulations to make it easier to do business. We applaud both of these measures. I'll have to mention that for small businesses, due to the absence of an economy of scale, heavy compliance requirements do place a very real burden on our scarce resources and often on a very daily basis. So may I ask our Prime Minister to further elaborate on these measures and other support measures which are especially aimed at helping a small and medium businesses, who most of us in the migrant community happen to be to help us to recover and invest? Thank you.
Prime Minister: Well, thank you for the question Susan, I can see Samir there on the call. G'day, Samir. Samir's a dear friend and many years ago when we were working together, I forget what portfolio I was in back then Samir, it doesn't really matter. And I remember sitting down at the LMA in south western Sydney and we were talking about the issues and you talked to me about roads. You talked to me about police resources, you talked to me about urban amenity, you talked to me about education. [Audio error] remember that conversation and the reason I make reference to that, Susan, because you've just asked me about tax. I think one of the one of the great misconceptions in this country when it comes to dealing with multicultural policy is that it is restricted to issues of identity and things of that nature. But actually it's just about achieving the same participation and quality of life and opportunity as any other Australian. That's ultimately the goal in my view and I learnt that lesson early from Samir in his advocacy for his community. I've learnt it from Hass, I've learnt it from Benjamin. I've learnt it from so many of the people I can just see people on the screen and [inaudible] and so on. That's been my great learning in this area. That if we focus on the things that actually enable communities to succeed and individuals to succeed, then multiculturalism and social cohesion is the by-product of that. So long as we identify things that might get in the way for particular communities or disadvantage them in terms of their participation. And Alan's comments today about English language I think is a good example of that. That can be an impediment to people's economic participation and social participation and even more significantly, their safety in whether it be the workplace or even in their own home.
So always keeping the focus I think on the broader things that matter to everyone regardless of their background I think is really important Susan. So, I thank you for raising that question. One thing I've always known about wherever someone has come from to this country there is an optimism and a sense of making a contribution and getting ahead that is indefatigable. And so I've always believed good tax policy is good multicultural policy, and that Australians being able to keep more of what they earn to be able to invest in their business to see them grow and see them succeed and how that is then ploughed back into the very organisations that are represented on this group today from those businesses makes the community stronger. So lower taxes through the particularly the one that I'm most proud of in this budget is the loss carry-back initiative. Now that initiative says to businesses who through no fault of their own this year will experience losses and particularly in the hospitality sector, the aviation sector, the entertainment sector. These are the areas that have been hardest hit and they would have what I'll call COVID losses and their losses would normally they would have to wait some years before they could offset that against their profits when and indeed if they recover a few years down the track. Now that will be of absolutely no use to them at that point. What they need is they need to offset those losses right now and in the budget we've said that you can offset those COVID losses against the tax you paid over the last couple of years. So what would I hope, in many cases have been the likelihood of a stronger profit performance coming into this. And so, you can utilise the strength you had coming into this crisis to help you get out of it. I think this is one of the most innovative parts of this budget. It's not one that I can usually explain in about five seconds on the news or in a radio interview or something like that. But I got to tell you I think it's one of the most important things we've done in our COVID response. Yes we've brought forward the tax cuts the individual tax cuts they were already part of our plan they were already legislated. And we believed it was important to bring forward tax incentives Susan, that would encourage people to do something now with what they might have done in two years. And the same with the immediate expensing and the great virtue of the immediate expensing, which means you can write off anything of a capital nature in your business and there's no cap on the value and for small and medium sized businesses because this goes up to $5 billion in turnover. So that's going to - obviously, I think it's about 98 per cent of businesses it's going to cover doesn't include the banks the big banks. But, whether that's investing in a very large piece of plant or machinery in your factory, in the high technology business or advanced manufacturing business or buying a Hilux or a new blast freezer or whatever you need to have for your business to move forward it's designed to bring forward that investment to get us through what is a gap what is a valley in what would occur with investment. And that's been backed in with the Commonwealth and states' investments too on infrastructure and various other things.
So this budget has quite a deliberate economic plan and the plan is assuming one thing that Australians are resilient and will back themselves to get out of this. And so the tax measures we've put in are designed to do that and I think that's a good bet. I think it's a very good bet and because people have worked hard for their businesses and none greater than those who have come to the country from somewhere else. Those challenges are greater than those Australians who were born here. And for that and I think often of Gladys Liu, who you know well I'm sure and when Gladys tells her story about her professional story and what she had to do. Now that is a story that others that sit around my cabinet table, Alan, or sit around our party room. There are some who have some that have some hard difficult stories in life. But, Gladys showed a determination, and I think that's very characteristic of the migrant experience in Australia. So I really do hope that the tax measures we put in this budget to bring forward the investment measures the loss carry-backs. Yep, I hope people love the partner visas increase, I hope they like the English language extension lift and I hope they particularly like the commitment we're making to anti-racism strategies and social - I hope that's all great. But, the one that I hope that is talked around when we can get people back to restaurants and Box Hill or wherever it happens to be is that I was able to use the COVID losses to offset against those profits and my business is still going and I'm putting on another five people next year. That's the conversation I want to hear amongst migrant entrepreneurial communities in Australia. And I sincerely hope the budget has given them a massive shot in the arm to know that we're backing them. They've backed Australia in the choices they've made and we're backing them.
Department of Home Affairs Host: Thank you very much, Prime Minister.
Prime Minister: I was about to say Mr Speaker, I've completed my answer.
Department of Home Affairs Host: Thank you very much, Prime Minister and we'd like you to invite you to make any brief closing remarks, after which we'll ask Minister Tudge as the host of today's meeting to close the meeting.
Prime Minister: Well, look, I think I'll just go straight to Tudgie, but I do want to thank you all again just for being on this call. Look I hope we can do this again, Alan. Can we, I'll leave that to you and Woody to sort that out. And I've missed so many of you that I haven't been able to see personally and it's been nice to see your faces and I hope you're all terribly well and as we go into the holiday seasons, I wish you and your families all the best. But I just really just want to say thank you for the leadership you've shown. Alan.
Minister Tudge: Yeah. Well, thanks PM and just let me say my thanks as well to everybody for participating today. I know we didn't get to all of the questions, but we will follow up on the ones that you've submitted. Thanks PM for joining us today as well and we will make sure that we've got further ones of these coming up. We do have other senior cabinet leaders lined up for the weeks ahead for multicultural leaders to be able to communicate with as well. But, it's so important that we maintain our engagements with all Australian leaders, including the ones here on this conference and I particularly want to request that you continue with that engagement as well with our regional directors. Their teams have been bolstered in this budget. We're putting on more people who have got language skills as well so that if we've got any gaps we'll be able to address some of those gaps there also. So, please maintain that engagement to feed that up to us.
Finally, for all those AFL supporters, I hope your team wins…
Assistant Minister Wood: Go Tigers.
Minister Tudge:…on the weekend and I know Woody is a keen Richmond supporter. No doubt there are some other Richmond supporters on the line as well. I'm going for the Cats for what it's worth. So good luck, everybody, for your code this weekend. Thank you once again.
Statement - House of Representatives, ACT
22 October 2020
Prime Minister: Thank you Mr Speaker.
I move that the House commemorate the anniversary of the National Apology to the survivors and victims of institutional child sexual abuse.
Mr Speaker, two years ago today, this Parliament — on behalf of all Australians — apologised unreservedly to the victims and survivors of institutional child sexual abuse.
It’s a day that I’ll never forget.
I’m sure it is a day that all the members of this chamber will never forget, and the then Leader of the Opposition also, who joined with me in that important apology will never forget.
And nor should we.
The Parliament was full of Australians from all walks of life.
Some of those, in this place also as members, who know only too personally of these matters.
All here to reclaim a part of their life - or to honour a loved one who could not be with us.
Through an action as gentle and as powerful as an apology, we confronted generations of suffering.
Their stories, strength, courage and presence allowed us to confront some terrible truths: that for generations our country chose silence over truth, the powerful over the vulnerable, and the reputations of institutions over the safety of children.
On that day, we apologised for the pain. For the suffering. The trauma inflicted upon victims and survivors.
We apologised to their children and parents.
To their siblings and families.
To those who have shared their experiences, and for those whose pain is still too searing to share.
And sadly, may forever be.
As I said on that day: “As a nation, we confront our failure to listen, to believe and to provide justice.”
Our apology didn't, and can’t undo our shared failures.
Nor did it return lost childhoods, or bring back those no longer with us.
But I earnestly hope it provided some small measure, some moment of solace to all those who suffered, and continue to.
And affirmed a national determination to never let those times be repeated.
Mr Speaker, prior to the apology I along with many others, met with members of the Survivor’s Reference Group who said “an apology without actions is just a piece of paper”. And that is right.
Today I will honour that sentiment and once again, report further on our actions.
The foundation of our response are the findings of the Royal Commission.
Of the Royal Commission’s 409 recommendations, 206 are directed wholly or partially at the Australian Government.
84 were about redress, and led to the establishment of the National Redress Scheme — now in its third year.
Of the other 122 recommendations, 45 have been fully implemented. And 76 are continuing to be in progress.
And only one is still to be implemented.
The Government continues to work with states and territories on another 56 endorsed joint recommendations, and we are playing a role in more than 50 additional recommendations that are primarily directed at the states and the territories.
Our first Annual Progress Report was tabled in December 2018, the second last December, and the third will be done by year’s end.
The National Office for Child Safety has, once again, invited a range of non-government institutions to provide a report — on their actions to keep children safe.
69 institutions have been invited this year — an increase on the 53 in 2019, and 11 in 2018.
The National Redress Scheme is now in its third year.
It continues to support victims and survivors with the support they need.
I can report that the latest figures show 8,297 applications have been received.
Of those, 4,670 decisions have been made.
This includes 3,826 payments, with an average redress payment of around $82,000.
This is a rapid increase on the 600 payments that I reported last year.
I said then this wasn’t good enough. It wasn’t. And we still have more work to do.
This was why Minister Ruston announced a further investment of $11.7 million in the Scheme.
We are now in the process of reviewing the Scheme, with an additional $104.6 million to be invested over the next four years.
This will ensure that the Scheme can meet victims’ and survivors’ needs.
It will ensure the Redress Support Services continue.
And it will allow us to finalise the on-boarding process for the 158 institutions that have committed to join the Scheme, to be completed by the end of the year.
The Royal Commission, the Apology - and these yearly reports are about accountability.
Bringing the truth into the light.
So I am reporting that on 1 July this year, 6 institutions were named as having failed to declare their intention to join the scheme.
Since then, 2 of these have joined.
We still have, reprehensibly, 4 institutions who have been named publicly and who have blatantly refused to join the Redress Scheme.
They are:
Jehovah’s Witnesses
Kenja Communication
Lakes Entrance Pony Club Inc
Fairbridge (Restored) Limited.
It is not acceptable.
We are currently finalising the further sanctions, I know that are supported by the Opposition, the Commonwealth will place on institutions who continue to refuse to join the Scheme. Including withdrawal of their charitable status for these offending organisations.
Mr Speaker, one of these areas that the Royal Commission recommended the federal, state and territory governments work together on, was on a National Strategy to Prevent Child Sexual Abuse.
Unfortunately, progress to finalise the Strategy has been significantly impacted by the pandemic.
I know this is deeply disappointing for everyone involved. Including the Government.
But let me reassure the House: the Government will deliver this Strategy, and we now expect it to be finalised in 2021.
Mr Speaker, the pandemic has seen the National Office for Child Safety redirect its efforts over the past several months.
It has focused on supporting organisations, sharing resources with states and territories, and progressing policy work within the Commonwealth.
Efforts continue on implementing the Commonwealth Child Safe Framework.
This Framework sets minimum standards for child-safe culture and practices within Australian Government entities.
New resources are also being developed to help children and young people understand that they can speak up when they feel unsafe — and how.
This work is being spearheaded by the Commissioner for Children and Young People in Western Australia — with funding from the National Office — and will be available in December.
Other resources are also in the works, including supporting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander organisations and communities to implement the National Principles for Child Safe Organisations.
And in a way that is culturally safe and relevant.
I am also pleased to announce that additional investment is being made to expand the Australian Child Maltreatment Study.
This is the first national study of its kind, and it looks into the prevalence and health impacts of all forms of child maltreatment in Australia.
The results will be released from September 2023, and will help guide Australia’s child safety policy priorities in the years that follow and well into the future. It’ll be a key tool.
Mr Speaker, last year I quoted a survivor who said, “Let our voice echo”.
My response was: May it ever be so.
My Government’s commitment to this — to ensuring the voices of victims and survivors are remembered and heard— will be enshrined in permanent form with a National Memorial.
The Memorial will be built here in our nation’s capital.
The Budget allocated funding for the Memorial, and it is expected to be completed in 2022.
Mr Speaker, our actions are not only about the past - but protecting Australian children now and into the future.
The safety of our children is all of our first priority.
That’s why in the past year, we have strengthened our laws to reflect this.
We’ve introduced a range of new offences.
We’ve increased maximum penalties.
We’ve introduced mandatory minimum sentences for the most serious and repeat offences.
We’ve also made it easier for agencies to investigate and prosecute child sexual abuse, and created offences for Commonwealth officers who fail to protect children under their care, supervision or authority.
As well, we’ve put more resources into responding to reports of child sexual abuse, and are working closely with our international partners to make sure the digital industry plays its part protecting children online.
I acknowledge the work of Australia's eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant and her efforts in schools and universities working with young people, with those institutions - helping keep our young people safe.
I can report we’re on track to launch the National Centre for the national Prevention of Child Sexual Abuse next year.
The Centre will put a national lens on improving outcomes for victims and survivors — reducing stigma, raising awareness and understanding, and of course preventing child sexual abuse.
Mr Speaker, I said two years ago “We can never promise a world where there are no abusers. But we can promise a country where we commit to hear and believe our children.”
That is what we reaffirm today. Together.
This is our shared and constant responsibility. Together.
A responsibility I know, in this place, we are all determined to meet.
Speech, The Australian E-Commerce Virtual Summit
21 October 2020
Well, thank you very much, Jackson. And to Chris Dore at The Australian and Christine Holgate, who you've just been hearing from, from Australia Post. Thank you for the opportunity to be here.
Let me begin, of course, by firstly acknowledging the traditional owners of the lands on which we meet, wherever we are in Australia joining this summit today. Here in Canberra of course, that's the Ngunnawal people and I pay my respect to their elders, past, present and especially emerging.
I also want to acknowledge, as is my practice, any veterans or any men and women serving in our defence forces who are joining us today and say once again on behalf of a grateful nation, thank you. Thank you for your service to our country.
And thank you, of course, to our hosts for the invitation again to speak today.
It seems very appropriate that the Australian and Australia Post are bringing together this summit today.
Both organisations have had to navigate and are still indeed navigating as you've just heard, the changes that the digital revolution is bringing, not just for weeks or months during this pandemic, but continually year after year.
This year, everything accelerated that rapidly.
This year has been a thunderclap to so much of what we assumed to be normal.
While some parts of the economy, by virtue of the pandemic restrictions, were frozen in place, others had to accelerate at warp speed.
But all of us have had to adapt and to find a place of resilience and resolve.
In the first three weeks of this pandemic, a quarter of Australian businesses changed the way they deliver. Almost a quarter changed what they deliver. Diversifying into new products and services. And almost a third of them expanded their online presence.
One study found that during COVID, nearly 9 in 10 Australian firms took on new technology to support business continuity. As businesses went online, customers followed.
A study by McKinsey found that we vaulted 5 years forward in consumer and business digital adoption in around 8 weeks.
Now we've all heard the amazing figures from Australia Post, 26 million more parcels between March and May, delivering an average of 2 million parcels every single day.
In April, 5.2 million Australian households bought something online. I was one of them, more than once.
More than 200,000 of those were shopping online for the first time.
In August online sales reached over $3 billion dollars, an 81 per cent increase on August of last year.
We've seen that acceleration in other areas of digital life, in areas like telehealth and remote working.
In the first few weeks of lockdown, over 40 per cent of small and medium businesses bought or installed the software for remote working. Another 22 per cent, said they were headed in that direction.
Now that's almost two thirds of Australian SME’s with new capability and flexibility. New technology at their fingertips.
This year, the imperative of what we faced drove this adaption and adoption.
Aircraft manufacturers started making ventilator's, gin distilleries started making hand sanitiser, and local cafes moved online and got people ordering home delivered dinners. Kept Josh fed all the way up until the Budget I can assure you.
Our challenge is to keep the foot on the digital accelerator.
As we emerge on the other side of this pandemic, whilst we can marvel at the innovation and the digital acceleration. The bigger picture is that our economy has taken a massive hit.
So we have two stories happening simultaneously now here in Australia, an economy that is experiencing the worst set of economic circumstances since the Great Depression, devastating and ferocious adaptation that businesses have engaged in to keep these circumstances at bay, and their effects.
Today, I want to talk about these twin interconnected stories.
From the earliest days of this pandemic, the government's focus has been on getting through to the other side, that bridge to the other side.
And the centrepiece of that has, of course, being JobKeeper, the biggest financial lifeline to Australians in our history, a $101 billion dollar economic lifeline that has supported three and a half million jobs. Just think about that for a second.
The cash flow boost to small business helped more than 800,000 small to medium sized businesses stay afloat.
And because of our financial strength that we developed over many years, acknowledged in particular yesterday by Standard and Poor's who said our balance sheet was strong, we have been able to provide over $500 billion dollars in combined economic and health support, which is more than a quarter of the size of our economy, our GDP.
Our efforts, we know from Treasury, saved 700,000 jobs going, the doors of countless small and medium sized businesses are still open today, or will be able to reopen because of the support the Australian government provided and continues to provide.
As I've said for many years, in good times and in bad times, our economy is not an end in itself, our economy is always about people.
Our support now is about a journey back, a journey back to jobs for Australians.
And our Budget does that by bringing forward decisions on investment, on jobs and on tax cuts, and by laying the groundwork for recovery with affordable and reliable energy, with lower emissions, cooperatively reforming workplace relations to get more people into work, increasing and bringing forward infrastructure investment- small and large, driving deregulation cutting the red tape, making it easier for Australian businesses to do business- more important than ever in these circumstances.
And arguably, most importantly, investing in the skills of Australians so businesses can get the skills from Australia's that they need for their businesses to succeed and Australians of any age can get the skills that will put them in jobs and keep them in jobs well into the future, helping our businesses make the leap to a post pandemic world.
The digital economy is central to these tasks, to creating the jobs that Australians need. The speed of change in the digital economy means that our training system needs to be fast and responsive.
The pace of technological change means people are more likely to need to regularly reskill.
These are the facts.
A recent study suggested that by 2040, Australian workers will on average need to increase time spent learning new skills, all of us, by a third- 33 per cent over their lifetime, learning never stops.
That's why we are undertaking ambitious skills reforms to ensure our vocational education and training system is responsive, forward looking, dynamic, trusted.
We are piloting a digital skills organisation to ensure digital training needs meets the skill needs of employers. Employers and employees, that's what training's about. Not trainers, not providers. It's about the people who use it and the people who need it.
And we are investing $1 billion dollars in the JobTrainer fund together with our partners in the states and territories to deliver up to 340,000 free or low fee training places in areas of skills needs such as information technology and cyber security this financial year, right now.
It's not only individuals who have to prepare for such change. Every Australian business also must grasp what is before us.
Last year I was seeing studies that showed Australian small businesses were spending less than 1 per cent of their revenue on technology.
When I was Treasurer, it used to really frustrate me, I’ve got to say, it used to trouble me that small and medium sized businesses, particularly small, were not yet taking up digital technology as fast as they could. And this was holding them back. That was the frustration.
So I asked Mark Bouris, well-known to so many, to look into this. And he said to me when he came back, having reviewed this for a period of time, and he's very frank in usual way, he said mate, small businesses aren't looking to the government for ideas.
Fair enough. Fair enough, Mark. I’m pretty sure you're right about that.
We can't make that easier, but we can make it safer and easier to get paid by doing the things we can do digitally online to make payments, to connect with customers and deal with government we can do that.
And with the JobMaker digital business plan in this year's Budget, some $800 million dollars. We're basically upgrading the circuit boards of our economy.
That's the bit we can do. We’ve gotta do our part and we're doing that.
This is about using the gains we've just made this year as a springboard to become a leading digital economy by 2030.
I said that after the last election. That's where I want to see Australia go, because there's jobs there, there's incomes there, there's wages there, there's investments there, there's opportunity there.
An economy where our leading industry sectors, mining, agriculture, manufacturing, services, as well as small businesses all around the country, are at the global frontier of technological adaptation, enable them to scale up and grow.
That doesn't need to be- mean that Australia has to be one big Silicon Valley. No, we’ve just got to be the best at adopting. Taking it on board. Making it work for us. And we're really good at that.
Where workers across the country, including in regional areas, have the digital skills and capabilities they need to take advantage of new and changing job opportunities and where we have a trusted, secure and safe online world for Australians, particularly our kids also, to keep them safe from the dark forces we know are out there.
But also our businesses and the essential services upon which we all depend each and every day.
So our plan brings all that together. Investments actually beyond the Budget of some $4.5 billion in the NBN, $1.67 billion in cyber security.
As I said before, some $800 million in investments in 5G digital skills capability, regtech, fintech, open banking and a massive innovation in Australia, the consumer data right. Right out there in front of the rest of the world when it comes to how data is understood in this country and in the world as having real value.
They all sound pretty high-tech, I know as you'd expect, but at the heart they're all about one thing - making it easier and safer to do business. That’s just simple.
A part of the plan is making sure that our regulatory system is up to date. It doesn't create barriers. They've lost all meaning in the digital age.
Much of our regulation, you know, was written back in the time of Casio calculators.
It needs to be operative in our digital world. It's about making it faster and easier also to deal with government online. We're doing our bit.
The digital identity system already helps business do that, and we're continuing to improve and expand that system to make access to government services more secure and more convenient.
We've been working for a while and making it easier to register a business, taking 32 - that's right - separate registers and consolidating them into one.
In the digital business plan, we're mandating e-invoicing for government agencies by July 22 and looking at options to mandate the invoicing for business as well.
Doing it digitally reduces the cost of an invoice by around two thirds. Why wouldn't you want to do that? It's common sense.
And if we have the systems and procedures in place to pay on time and pay more quickly, everybody wins.
Our new payments platform in Australia is the most advanced of its kind anywhere in the world.
Real time payments.
And that helps us, along with so many other areas, supporting fintech to get a foothold in international markets and encourage foreign investment and job creation here in Australia.
I've always been very passionate about fintech for a long time, especially when I was Treasurer.
I launched Australia's FinTech positioning paper back in 2016, brought some of the most bright, forward thinking fintech thinkers and entrepreneurs together to guide how we were setting up our fintech industry here in Australia.
There's no politics in that. Most Australians wouldn't be that familiar with what happens in the fintech space.
But I saw very quickly, I knew how important it was going to be, for how our economy operated and the people who work in that sector I've always just found incredibly exciting and inspiring.
Even four years ago, it seemed all a bit futuristic as they'd share their ideas about what was possible and in a very brief time, that's translated, and it's reached every corner and cranny of our economy.
And it's not just the Bitcoin or block chain. It's GoFundMe. It's Kickstarter. It's AfterPay, Apple Pay, Google Pay, its phone banking apps. These are now becoming very familiar.
We carry them in our pockets, our keys, our phones, and fundamentally they just make business easier, they also make life easier.
And we can expect more and more innovation in our fintech sector and we can expect Australian fintech entrepreneurs and innovators to be in the leaders of the pack around the world.
We can expect fintech to open doors to more markets and opportunities here and across the world.
Our digital business plan is just the start of our journey to becoming a leading digital economy by 2030, and it's already happened.
The task force and my department continue to lead the work across government and with industry to build on this substantial investment.
The digital world is not bound by geography or tyrannised by distance. All the old things that often held Australia back, all flipped on their head now.
All our business practises and supports and the regulations were set up in the analogue world, as I said, not the digital world and this year has reminded us of this.
And also remind us how far we still need to go.
We need to get our rules and our systems to catch up to what our technology now allows us to do.
That's the task for government.
We've got to get this moving and we are.
We're leading work with other countries and seeing in that light by other countries to make it easier to do business across borders with free flows of data and an open, accessible and in a secure online environment for those things to take place.
In the World Trade Organisation, Australia is chairing leading negotiations on the trade-related aspects of electronic commerce.
That involves 85 nations that account for more than 90 per cent of global trade. There we are driving the bus.
At the regional level, the landmark Trans-Pacific Partnership contains the region's first set of digital rules to support the free flow of data and facilitate digital trade.
That includes prohibitions on customs duties, on digital products such as software or music, and promoting paperless trading through electronic customs forms and authentication.
And we are working with individual, like-minded nations in our region to raise the level of ambition in this area.
The world-class Australia-Singapore Digital Economy Agreement is a digital bridge that features modern, upgraded rules to free up data flows and increase compatibility for online trade.
It eliminates unnecessary restrictions on where data has to be stored, at the same time protecting personal data and consumer rights.
It makes government information easier to access and government rules easier to follow.
It covers everything from AI to ID, e-invoicing to e-certification, data protection to protecting kids from online harm.
It's a massive step forward.
It's the benchmark now.
And there are many more steps still ahead of us in this space.
And I thank Prime Minister Lee and the Singaporean government, who've been such a wonderful partner to strike this agreement and we're working to strike more digital economy agreements with other partners in our region.
Australia has also been a strong contributor to the OECD’s Going Digital Project, which is assisting countries to adopt digital policies for stronger economic growth.
Good for them, it's good for us. We all win.
And Australia's candidate for the position of Secretary-General of the OECD, Mathias Cormann, would continue to boost this important work and drive implementation of OECD recommendations to support the recovery from COVID-19.
Open, liberal, market-based economies trading with each other. That's how the world comes out of this.
Not by shrinking, not by hiding, not by withdrawing, but extending out in new and safe ways, charting new territory.
This is what we're doing. It's very exciting. And Australia is in the vanguard.
All of this digital transformation, it's not an Everest we have to climb. We're not just doing it because it's there.
We're not trying, as I said, to create the next Silicon Valley here in Australia. That's not it.
We're doing it because we're a practical people and we get it.
It's a massive productivity boost to our economy.
The biggest game changer, arguably, the world has ever seen.
It saves huge amounts of time, money, energy, resources and space.
You don't have to be a tech-head.
You don't have to be someone who was totally absorbed in the technology of this to understand its implications.
You know it works.
You know it's going to change our lives.
It comes with risks, sure. And we're protecting against those.
But we know it creates untold opportunities to innovate and find new markets.
Customers, progress and prosperity.
It is a massive priority of my Government.
It puts our businesses, large and small, on the frontier of the digital world.
COVID-19 has pushed that frontier further forward.
Let's push past it.
Let's keep going.
Being competitive, adaptive, becoming more productive and innovative.
That's our path to a post-COVID recovery.
A recovery, jobs, investment and a better future.
Thank you very much for your attention. I look forward to working with all of you as we create this new, exciting future for Australia.
These have been very dark times, but amongst this darkness, there have been some real shards of light that have been coming through.
Most significantly, the resilience and determination and innovation of the Australian people.
The only assumption I made in this Budget is about the Australian people and what they can achieve and what they can do and I back that assumption every day.
Thanks very much.
Press Conference - Sydney, NSW
16 October 2020
Prime Minister: Good afternoon everyone it’s good to be back here in Sydney, also been tremendous to be up, right across Queensland, moving from the Gold Coast all the way up to Cairns, and to return to Sydney today for some very important matters. Unfortunate of course, that we were unable to have the National Cabinet meeting today that will be held next Friday. There was a mechanical difficulty with the BBJ which prevented my return to Sydney yesterday and so National Cabinet has been rescheduled for next Friday.
But importantly today, the National Security Committee of Cabinet has met today which I was able to return for and there we were able to finalise arrangements for our agreement with the Northern Territory Government, I will be meeting with the Chief Minister this afternoon to work through these and many other issues, as an important bilateral discussion with the Chief Minister for the use of the Howard Springs facility, which, under the agreement as referred to as the Northern Territory Centre for National Resilience. This agreement will extend out, on this arrangement until the end of March with both the opportunity to extend that agreement and expand that agreement should additional capacity become available at that facility. That would give us roughly, over that period of time, given the two week quarantine period plus the cleansing of the facility in between groups coming through of around about 5,000 people over that period of time. This arrangement is intended to supplement the more significant arrangements that we have in continually lifting the caps at our major ports of entry into Australia which is now, as a result of the changes we put in place at the last National Cabinet, at just over 5,500 weekly slots, sorry, weekly capacity of people coming into each of those areas and going into hotel quarantine. Which means we're getting more and more and more Australians home every week. Now we're also being able to supplement that with this additional facility, which initially will be used to take in groups as a result of supported flights coming out of three locations. Firstly, out of the United Kingdom but there are also flights being arranged out of India and out of South Africa. Not all of those will necessarily go to Howard Springs but those flights, which are being done by Qantas, particularly the UK flight, they are, the seats on those flights are being sold by Qantas. But Qantas has the priority list of vulnerable passengers who are in the UK that get the first opportunity at those seats on those flights and our High Commission there is contacting all of those individuals and giving them the opportunity through Qantas, to be on those flights so they can return.
But the good news is, of the around about just over 4,000 Australians who were identified and DFAT identified as vulnerable on 18th of September, just over a quarter of those have now been able to return to Australia and we're making very good progress on ensuring that more and more Australians are getting home. And as those places continue to open up at our major points of entry, when we can get in particular Melbourne back online, that will make a big difference and we look forward to that happening as soon as that can. I've obviously raised that with the Premier some weeks ago but there remain challenges there at this point in time, but we look forward to being able to pick that up again.
Now, at Howard Springs, at that centre, those who come through will obviously in the same way that others are paying for their quarantine arrangements, that will be the case there at Howard Springs and that's at $2,500 for an individual and $5,000 for a family. Today we also, as a NSC, a National Security Committee of Cabinet, further discussed how we may be able to progress in a number of other areas, that is travel from safe countries into Australia. We're many many months still off this. But the medical expert panel is already considering various options about that, how that can be achieved using a traffic light system for the various countries. It does involve looking at the many other quarantine options that could be made available from home isolation to corporates who are returning various workers from various parts of the world and being able to put in place their own corporate arrangements for quarantine that would meet standards that would need to be in place, that would be at least equivalent to what is done in the publicly-run facilities or supported, I should say, through the hotel quarantine arrangements for returning Australian citizens. And so that means that we can work to try and get back to a new kind of normal for Australia, as much as getting Australians home is our top priority when it comes to utilising these quarantine arrangements, our other priority is to get Australia back to a safe level of engaging with the rest of the world and in priority areas. That of course is in areas like students and business visitors to Australia, and the like. And potentially other visitors.
Now, today, we have already welcomed our first Kiwis back to Australia for a holiday. That's fantastic. Some 230, I understand, were on the flight this morning that has arrived, and I think is just going through customs now as we speak, and there are others who will be coming. And we welcome those Kiwis, Kia Ora to those Kiwis who've joined us today, I hope you enjoy your holiday in New South Wales or the Northern Territory or the ACT and tell your friends and we’re looking forward to seeing more of you, we’ve got a few Australians in New Zealand at the moment for the Bledisloe on the weekend. There'll be a few Kiwis heading this way for the Bledisloe return matches here in Australia in a few more weeks’ time.
So we're making progress in all of those areas. It's important that we look ahead. Yes, we need to deal with the here and now when it comes to COVID-safe travel and behaviour and quarantine, and returning Australians. But with or without a vaccine, we need to be in a different place next year to where we are this year. And we need to be planning for that now, and we are, just as we've been planning around these Howard Springs arrangements now for some period of time. Howard Springs has actually been used in recent months, particularly to enable people on their way through the Northern Territory to ensure they complied with other border arrangements in other states and territories, in particular in Queensland. It's been used for inbound, those arrivals into the Northern Territory. It has also been used for seasonal workers that have been coming through for important areas in our horticultural industry in the north. And so now, as we move into this next phase, we'll be able to use this facility to support the far greater capacity, which has always been our first priority, of
opening up those ports of entry.
So it's excellent to be in a position that we've got our first visitors, our first international visitors, coming to Australia. That's a real turning point from where we were just over six months ago. And here we are, already, before the end of the year, getting at least to some new point of normal when it comes to COVID-safe travel. But it has to be done safely. And in putting these arrangements in place where we have AUSMAT experts who will be in place at Howard Springs to ensure those arrangements are done well, there will also be a regular external audit of infection control practices at Howard Springs and that will be advising directly through to the Chief Medical Officer.
Now before I move to a couple of other items, and to your questions, I also want to announce today that Nick Warner AO PSM will be retiring when he concludes his current term as the first-ever Director-General of the Office of National Intelligence. He'll be stepping down and retiring in December. I've known Nick for many years, as many of those who have worked at a senior level across government, have for a very long time. He has served in this role as my principal intelligence adviser and the head of the national intelligence community since December of 2017. Nick has an extremely long and distinguished career serving Australia's interests and defending and protecting Australia's interests. He's a great Australian, who has done an outstanding job, spanning some four decades in areas from national security and foreign policy and so many other areas. And so, we thank you, Nick, on behalf of a grateful nation for keeping Australia safe and keeping Australians safe. You've done a superb job. And obviously we look forward to continuing to work with you over the balance of your term, and we wish you all the best in your retirement, but I have no doubt that Nick will still be in a position to be supporting us in any number of other arrangements on a less formal basis going forward into the future. His expertise, his experience, his knowledge of these areas is, I would say, without peer and we have indeed been well-served by him in his time, both in this role as the Director-General of the Office of National Intelligence but also as Director-General of the Australian Secret Intelligence Service. Prior to that he held a range of senior positions, including Secretary of the Department of Defence and a senior international advisor to Prime Minister John Howard. He has served many Prime Ministers and he's served them extremely well. And without fear or favour, I can assure you, as I'm sure my predecessors will also attest. Overseas, he served as the High Commissioner to Papua New Guinea, a special coordinator of the regional Assistance Mission to the Solomon Islands, RAMSI which was a tremendous success. And so I have no doubt he will continue to serve Australia well, but perhaps not at quite the frenetic pace he's done so, for four decades.
I also want to welcome, the announcement by Naval Group that they have commenced, put out expressions of interest for 23 major items of equipment for the new Attack-class submarines. This work has been assessed by Naval Group as being worth up to $900 million across the 12 submarine fleet. Manufacturing such as essential pieces of equipment in Australia will support Australian jobs while building confidence in the Australian defence manufacturing industry and we're working with Naval Group to maximise opportunities for Australians, and Australian industry, including through this announcement today. Naval Group has committed to maximising Australian industry involvement with at least 60 per cent Australian industry capability.
So a lot on the agenda today. That was the key focus today. I look forward to the National Cabinet meeting being held next week. There were no pressing matters that National Cabinet, that we were anticipating significant announcements or decisions on today. It was a meeting that was continuing to review a number of proposals and get status reports on that, and provide them with further direction. And we will deal with those formally next Friday. I note also what has been a pleasing set of numbers out of Victoria when it comes to case numbers today. I agree with the Premier, this is important news, but especially for Victorians. You know, Victorians have kept up their side of the bargain. Victorians and, in particular, Melbournians, have done their bit to see this second wave that occurred in Victoria be brought under control, to arrest it. And that has come with great sacrifice. Some 70,000 jobs have been lost in Victoria over the last two months. The impact on the mental health and anxiety of Melbournians, and Victorians more broadly, has been significant. We've worked together with the Victorian government to provide the support through additional mental health support and services, and to work closely with them with the deployment of the ADF and so many others to assist Victoria as they've gone through this difficult period. But at some time you've got to step off the shore and you’ve got to start moving forward again. We've been in contact, of course I spoke to the Premier the other day, we're working with him as he prepares his next stage. They are all matters and decisions for the Victorian Premier but I know Victorians are really hoping that on the weekend they can see some significant relief to the significant impositions that have been there, that have been put in place by the Victorian government to get this second wave under control. We cannot be complacent about this. We see what is happening in Europe at the moment, devastating results there, further restrictions coming in, curfews in major European cities. And Melbourne has been going through that. And we don't want to see Melbourne or Victoria go back into that situation again. But the Premier has made it clear that they have improved their tracing capability and it's time to ensure that we can now move forward and give Victorians and Melbournians the opportunity to build back, to recover what has been so terribly lost over these recent, very difficult months and I'm looking forward to those announcements on the weekend, and I'm sure Victorians are. They'll be, along with the rest of the country, urging the Premier to move as far as he possibly can go, because Victorians have earned it. They've done the right thing. They've kept their side of the bargain and now it's time, I think, for them to be able to move further forward. We look forward to those announcements on the weekend.
Happy to take some questions.
Journalist: Prime Minister, did you attend a Liberal Party function last night?
Prime Minister: No.
Journalist: Why wasn't there another plane sent for you?
Prime Minister: There was. It arrived this morning and we got on it and flew back this morning.
Journalist: Could it have come earlier?
Prime Minister: Not to get us back in Sydney at a reasonable time, no.
Journalist: There wasn't a security facility in Townsville…
Prime Minister: Not for the purpose of this meeting. The National Cabinet is not just me on the end of the phone. There's the Secretary of the Prime Minister and Cabinet's Department, there is the Chief Medical Officer, who was flying up to Sydney for that event. We can't help mechanical failures of planes. They happen from time to time. When that happens we reschedule arrangements. It’s as simple as that.
Journalist: Prime Minister, you mentioned Nick Warner's retirement,
Prime Minister: Yeah.
Journalist: Given the reports that came out in the ASIO report this week, the thwarted attempts to influence Australian intelligence, what is the current threat to Australia from foreign agents?
Prime Minister: Well we have strong protections in place to deal with those things at all times. I think the report just reflects how successful our intelligence agencies have been. But I'm not about to go into a commentary about their capabilities or how they do their work. All I know is they're very effective at doing it. And Nick Warner has been an architect of our capacity for a very long time.
Journalist: Senator Abetz in estimates this week was asking Chinese-Australians to denounce the communist party. Do we need to make a pledge like this for foreign-born Australians?
Prime Minister: There is only one pledge that any Australian citizen should take and that's the pledge they take when they become an Australian citizen.
Journalist: What do you make of Senator Abetz then asking Chinese-Australians to do that [Inaudible]?
Prime Minister: I just said the normal practices should be observed.
Journalist: Prime Minister, you prioritised vulnerable people, what classifies a stranded Australian as vulnerable? Is it their age, their health condition, and who assesses that?
Prime Minister: The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade assess that, based on their consular experience. And so those, they make, and it’s a whole range of issues, I mean people can be medically in a situation where they’re vulnerable, there may be family circumstance, there may be issues of economic need, it’s a broad cross section of issues that could place someone in a vulnerable position. Their ongoing accommodation arrangements where they may be. There is a range of different issues that DFAT uses to make those bespoke assessments on each and every case. And the numbers do move around based on changing people's circumstances as well. And so, but we are prioritising those who they've identified, our consular officials have identified as being the most vulnerable and they have the priority allotment for those flights.
Journalist: If someone cannot pay for their flight or their accommodation, how can a stranded Australian in need take advantage of this?
Prime Minister: We awarded to the Department of Finance, Foreign Affairs and Trade some months ago $65 million to support the work of DFAT for those who might be in a difficult situation. There are a range of arrangements they put in place. Zero interest loans which can be paid back over a longer period of time. There's emergency cash assistance in some occasions can be provided. That's all done at the discretion of the Australian consular officials. Australia's consular corps are extraordinary. I mean, this year, more than any, they've been doing an amazing job. Over the course of the last, over the COVID period, there have been 29,100 Australian citizens who have been assisted by DFAT to get them home. Over 29,000. That's what they've been able to achieve. And that work continues. They do it each and every day. And you know, that included getting Australians out of Beirut after it was blasted. They did that while the windows were shattered in their own offices, working with the most basic of communications facilities and they got those Australians home. So I think our consular corps in our Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, they're brave, they are smart, they work incredibly hard, they're amazingly compassionate and they deal with people at their most vulnerable when they're away from home. And I think they're amazing. I think they do a tremendous job.
Sorry, up the back?
Journalist: Just how damaging is the scandal involving the New South Wales Premier to your Coalition's re-election chances?
Prime Minister: I've already made my remarks about the Premier, I’ve worked with the Premier for many years, many, many years. And there’s an inquiry going on and that’s appropriate. But Gladys Berejiklian is the Premier that New South Wales needs in these difficult times. She has been an extraordinary leader, particularly setting, I think the right bar, the gold standard, as I've called it, when it comes to contact tracing and testing arrangements here, and outbreak containment. Keeping New South Wales open while keeping New South Wales safe. It has been an extraordinary effort. And like all the Premiers, Chief Ministers, myself, as we've gone through COVID it has been a very uncertain time. We've had to make adjustments along the way, learn what we've needed to learn and make the changes to our programs. And no-one has done that, I think, better than Premier Berejiklian and she has very strong support, obviously, from the Deputy Premier and the many members of her team. The Deputy Leader of the Liberal Party, Dominic Perrottet, they are a team just focused on keeping New South Wales safe when it comes to COVID-19 but also keeping New South Wales open.
Journalist: Should WA's borders come down now given that the Chief Health Officer has said travel bubbles between states should be fine?
Prime Minister: That's a matter for the Western Australian Government. Again, I've had no quibble with the Western Australian Government about the decisions they've made. They should be made on health advice. Where there are borders, domestically, in this country they should only be there for as long as they need to be and they should come off as soon as the medical advice permits that. And that's the only reason why those borders should be in place. And the Western Australian Premier has always said that those borders have been there for those reasons. And I'll leave it to others to make judgements about what has been said by the Health Minister and the Chief Health Officer in WA. They also need to be done on a consistent basis and there can't be double-standards about it, and there needs to be common-sense applied to ensure that the wheels of commerce continue and that - borders, of course, can provide some further protection, they are no substitute, though, for a world-class contact tracing system. They are no substitute for a world-class testing regime. They're no substitute for ensuring COVID-safe behaviours and practices. Sometimes people can get a bit more confident when the borders are up and ignore some of those practices, and that actually puts everybody at great risk. You may forget the virus but, I can tell you, the virus won't forget you. We need to continue to manage our COVID response on that basis. There's no vaccine at this point. I was enormously encouraged when I went to the University of Queensland last week during the course of this week, I should say, and to see the remarkable progress they're making. But that's not in place yet. We have a long way to go. We've got to continue to build back. We've cushioned the economic blow of COVID-19. Our health results are among the best in the world. Our economic results in cushioning that blow are amongst the best in the world. But now we have to recover those jobs. And we’re seeing that happening everywhere else except for Victoria. And we want to see those Victorian jobs come back and that's why we're looking forward to some positive news this weekend. But then it’s about building back for the future which is what our Budget was all about, it’s been incredibly well received. I was so pleased to see how well it was received up in Queensland over the course of this week, visiting so many businesses seeing their optimism. I made one assumption in this Budget and that was in the strength and resilience of Australians and I think that’s a very safe assumption.
Thank you very much.
Press Conference - Canberra, ACT
9 October 2020
PRIME MINISTER: Good afternoon everyone, I’m particularly pleased to be here today and joined by the Minister for Finance and the Leader of the Government in the Senate on this significant day for you Mathias, and, of course, Hayley and the family.
But as we both know, today is an even more important day for Australians all over the country. Earlier today, in the Senate, the Government was successful in having the tax relief, the bring-forward of personal income tax cuts to ensure that working Australians all across the country can keep more of what they earn some 11 million of them. Also as part of that bill, we were successful in being able to pass what are critical tax changes for businesses to be able to invest in their future, creating jobs right across the country to ensure that we can come out of this COVID-19 recession. In addition to that, there is the important changes to our tax laws, which will mean that businesses, through no fault of their own, who are performing well as they came into this COVID-19 recession, making profits, paying taxes, and they've been hit with what I'd call COVID losses. We won't make them wait for years and years before they get back into profitability, if they can achieve that. They can offset those losses, those COVID losses, against the taxes they paid out of their profits before they came into this COVID crisis. Which means they can get back on their feet quicker. Which means they can keep more people employed. Which means they can invest in their business. Which means, importantly they can create more jobs.
In addition, $2 billion worth of special incentives on research and development, which will drive forward particularly our manufacturing industries, as part also of our manufacturing plan. And important changes that says that you're a small business, and medium-sized businesses, up to $50 million in turnover, where you can access important concessions that cut red tape and enable you to get about your business. All of this means more jobs.
This was all in the Budget speech on Tuesday night from the Treasurer, and it's law on Friday. This is real change. This is a real Budget that is going to have a real impact on Australians as we come out of this COVID-19 recession. This is the Budget that Australians needed. This is the plan that Australians have needed. And this is the plan that has been legislated, made law in our Parliament, in three days. In just three days. That's how serious we are about our plan. That's how serious we are about making this real for Australians. We know they need that support now. This is a plan to boost business, to boost jobs, to boost investment, to boost research and development and technology, to drive jobs in our economy.
And I want to thank the Finance Minister, and in this particular case, as Leader of the Government in the Senate, to ensure we were able to take this through the Parliament this week, to ensure that Australians can go into this weekend, turn up to work on Monday, even those working over the weekend, I'm sure, knowing that our plan for the economic recovery from the COVID-19 recession is moving. It's happening. It's law. It's real.
Mathias.
SENATOR THE HON. MATHIAS CORMANN, MINISTER FOR FINANCE AND LEADER OF THE GOVERNMENT IN THE SENATE: Thank you very much, Prime Minister.
Yes, so today the Parliament passed the foundation of our plan to get Australia out of this COVID recession. Within three days, we were able to persuade the Parliament, including the Senate, to back in our plan to maximise the strength of our recovery, to get Australians back into work as quickly as possible.
What we have legislated today is income tax relief for hardworking Australians. Putting more money into workers' pockets, but also stimulating the economy by boosting aggregate demand. That will help to maximise the strength of the recovery sooner. What we also legislated today is a whole range of initiatives to give business the incentive and the encouragement to invest in their future growth and success, because in the end, what our Budget is all about, it is about facilitating a private sector-led recovery, a private sector-led recovery where viable, profitable, growing businesses start hiring more Australians again.
I thank my colleagues in the Senate for working with the Government as constructively as they have to pass this very, very important part of our plan to get Australia out of this COVID recession.
PRIME MINISTER: Questions?
JOURNALIST: What does Minister Cormann's departure mean for MYEFO in December? Will there be one? Is there a need for one?
PRIME MINISTER: That's the regular schedule and that's what we intend to do. We will keep on with the job. As Mathias kindly said in his remarks today, when he steps down later this month, he will be leaving a Government that is stable, that is united, that has a clear plan for recovery from the COVID-19 recession, and that is getting on with the job. Mathias has made an extraordinary contribution, not just to this Budget, but the six that preceded it. We have worked now together on six of those Budgets in total, including this one. They've all been confronted with different challenges, and different situations and of all of them, I'm sure Mathias would agree, this has been the most challenging, where we find ourselves now. But this Budget, through the hard work that has been done by all who have contributed to it, has ensured that we can put this plan in place very quickly, just as we moved so quickly in putting the JobKeeper and JobSeeker arrangements in place as the COVID-19 pandemic hit this country. And so we go forward with strength. We come from a position of strength, of which Mathias has been a key part, and we'll get on with the job of delivering our plan.
JOURNALIST: The RBA today has warned that Australia's historically low population growth rate will hike the...
PRIME MINISTER: Sorry, I missed the second part of that.
JOURNALIST: Sorry, the RBA has warned today that Australia's historically low population growth rate will heighten the risk of falls in property values in the future. And Treasury has said that your stimulatory housing measures are bringing forward demand for future years. What will the Government do to fill that approaching cliff?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, the population impacts of the COVID-19 recession are obvious and I don’t think they’re of any surprise to anyone. But whether it's programs like HomeBuilder and others, what we’re doing is there has always be an excess of demand over the supply of housing in this country. Always has been. And that's what has fundamentally driven house price values all around the country and that is still true today. There is still a surplus of demand over supply and that's why our HomeBuilder program, and to give you an idea of its impact, what we've done in the housing sector is we've been unlocking and bringing forward the decisions that home builders want to make. And that will see some 20,000 homes built at a cost of around $500 million. If I hark back to the GFC and, Mathias will remember this, the then Government had a scheme to build just under 20,000 homes, and it cost $5 billion. So, I think I can leave it to you to work out which is the better way to get homes built when it comes to the taxpayer and generate the construction activity in the residential building sector, to get things moving in that area. See, this is what our plan is all about. Our plan, as Mathias just said, is about enabling investment in the private sector. We don't see government as the solution forever. We see government's role in the middle of this COVID-19 recession to assist the private sector get back on its feet, to bridge this gap during the course of this COVID-19 recession. But back the fact that our long-term prosperity, and the jobs that depend on it, will come from those businesses going forward again. And that's why what has passed today is so important. So important. It's important because businesses can go now and say, we can purchase that equipment, we can go and purchase that new header, we can go and purchase that new blast freezer, we can go and purchase that new fridge, we can go and purchase that new fleet of vehicles, or those trucks or those utes, or the testing equipment and medical laboratories, or whatever it happens to be. What we've said today in the Parliament, through the law, is we're backing you to invest and employ people. And they can go out there with that confidence. Not off a speech, off the law. This is real. And the Parliament just made it real.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, the WA State Government posted a surplus of $1.2 billion yesterday. Is that a good thing? Obviously some people were critical, given it's a pandemic. Minister, if you'd like to pitch in as well?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, I'm going to quote the Minister for Finance, because as he pointed out in the Senate today, and I wish the Western Australian Government well, and I wished them well some years ago, when we put the GST reforms in place. I note that $1.5 billion, wasn't it, Mathias...
SENATOR THE HON. MATHIAS CORMANN, MINISTER FOR FINANCE AND LEADER OF THE GOVERNMENT IN THE SENATE: The top up payment.
PRIME MINISTER: The top-up payment as a result of the GST reforms that the Finance Minister and I worked together on as Treasurer means that the Western Australian Budget is in surplus. And so you're welcome, Mark.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, just on Labor's childcare reforms, do you agree that it will help low and middle-income families and boost female workplace participation?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, look, there are many questions that the Leader of the Opposition still has to answer for us to understand exactly what he's put forward. He hasn't released the detailed costings of his policies, he hasn't told us what the changes are to the activity test and how that impacts on things. What I do know is that someone who is in the top 10 per cent of income earning in this country are the big beneficiaries of that plan. When we announced our childcare changes, it was focused on those low and middle-income earners. That's where all the money was spent. That's where the majority of the $9 billion goes under our plan, is to support those on low and middle-income earners. And when we put our plan in place, that's why I wasn't surprised that workforce participation increased to record levels, that women's participation in the workforce rose to record levels, that the arrangements we put in place to ensure that rebates were based on a price cap meant that we could start bringing the costs of child care down. And, indeed, the Australian Bureau of Statistics has confirmed that since our package went into place that those costs actually did come down. So, there are many unanswered questions about what the Leader of the Opposition said the other night. You know, for the most part, we'll file it under fiction. What this is is law. Our plan is law. Our plan is in place. But Mathias?
SENATOR THE HON. MATHIAS CORMANN, MINISTER FOR FINANCE AND LEADER OF THE GOVERNMENT IN THE SENATE: I might just reinforce a very important point here. After six years of Liberal-National Government, and our economic reforms and implementation of our plans to strengthen the economy and create more jobs, workforce participation by women in Australia was at its highest on record. The gender pay gap was at its lowest ever on record, under our Government, as a result of the policies of our Government. So, we do not need an unfunded policy prescription. We need to go back to what got us into that good position before, as we work our way out of this COVID recession.
PRIME MINISTER: John?
JOURNALIST: Thanks, PM. On the business-led recovery, businesses generally welcome that, and also the 100 per cent temporary expensing. But it is a temporary measure, about a hundred of the largest companies are going to miss out on it, they say. And also when that measure ends, as you'd understand, because they won't get the depreciation they would have otherwise got, those smaller companies, their effective tax rate is going to go up in the medium term. Does this underline the need for a broader, more fundamental, permanent tax reform at some point, once these temporary measures move? Would you be open to that?
PRIME MINISTER: This plan that we've been working to, frankly, since the start of this pandemic, has had three phases. The first is to cushion the blow and that's what we've achieved. Had we not acted with JobKeeper and JobSeeker, 700,000 more people would have been out of work. And over that period of the last six months, we've seen 760,000 jobs that had been reduced to either zero hours, or had gone, come back and that has ensured that we've been able to get the economy to where it is today. The second part of the plan is to get things brought forward as part of our recovery plan from the COVID-19 recession. And the measures we've announced particularly, which the Finance Minister has been able to steward through the Senate, has meant that we can bring forward decisions to invest, bring forward decisions to hire, bring forward decisions by 11 million Australians to spend, by bringing forward Stage 2 of those tax cuts, focused on low and middle-income earners. Bringing forward so businesses can go ahead. But the third stage is to build for the future. And the research and development tax concessions that have been legislated today are important for that. That manufacturing plan, backed up by that research and development tax concession, and the many other elements of that plan which we set out in precise detail in the speech I gave to the Press Club last week. The energy plan that ensures that manufacturers can get access to gas feedstock. If you can't get the gas, you can't make things here. You’ve got to get the gas to make things in this country. And so if you're not for gas and getting the gas, then you're not for jobs. And our plan sets that out very clearly. So, there are three stages. And we've always been a Government, as Mathias knows, and he has been a champion of this, about getting taxes low. Lower taxes has always been part of our economic plan, and we will never lose our passion for lower taxes. Mathias?
JOURNALIST: Ich habe eine Frage. Can you clarify exactly when people will see these tax cuts flow through into their own pay pockets?
SENATOR THE HON. MATHIAS CORMANN, MINISTER FOR FINANCE AND LEADER OF THE GOVERNMENT IN THE SENATE: As has been explained by the Treasurer on a number of occasions now, now that this has been legislated, the Tax Office, within a few weeks now, it is an administrative process for them, will adjust the withholding tax schedules. In relation to the Low and Middle Income Tax Offset, there will be a lump sum payment at the end of the financial year, because you know that their tax cut has already been baked into their withholding tax right as we speak. We have given them a double-up, effectively of the value of their tax relief at the lower income level. Then in terms of the tax withheld up until this point, that will also be reconciled as part of the tax return at the end of the financial year.
JOURNALIST: What about debt and deficit? You're introducing like a lot of the measures are temporary in support for business, but the tax cuts are permanent. The Treasurer said you won't really start the task of budget repair until you get unemployment under 6 per cent. Is there any way of maybe starting that sooner I mean Is it a task perhaps in 12 months' time, when the immediate crisis is over, that you can start sooner on that?
PRIME MINISTER: Our first priority is jobs. Because the first priority of Australians is jobs. You can't pay down a deficit if Australians aren't in work. Now as Mathias made very clear in his outstanding speech today in the Senate, he saved his best till last. He pointed out the work of budget repair we did over many, many years, and that was a function of some $250 billion or thereabouts, Mathias, of specific things we did to get the budget spending under control. But the biggest contributor to getting the Budget back into balance in that 18-19 year was the fact that 1.5 million jobs were created from when we were first elected until that time. What that means is, we changed people who were on welfare into people who are in jobs and paying taxes. And businesses, there were more of them paying more taxes, making more profits. That's how you fundamentally balance a budget. You balance it by ensuring that you have an economy that is growing, that is putting people in work, where they are less reliant on government, and more able to walk their own course. And for those who regrettably can't do that, Mathias spoke about this well today, you can see, I listened very carefully today, Minister. That social safety net needs to be strong. And that's why this Budget also guarantees the essential services that Australians rely on. More money for hospitals, more money for schools, more money for disability, more money for aged care. I did note that the Leader of the Opposition criticises the level of debt and the level of deficit but then proceeded to add to both of it last night, with no indication of what else in the Budget he would change. But we're used to that from Labor. They'll have a bob each way on everything. As I said, they'll go for a place and a win in a two-horse race on every occasion. That's called each way. And you can't balance a budget like that. And that's what I have been partnering with Mathias Cormann now for many years to achieve. And that's why we will grow the economy, get people back into jobs, that's the first priority. We've demonstrated our ability to balance a budget before. That's what the ratings agencies have actually recognised in the statements they made after the Budget and they know we have that capability, because we've demonstrated. And we will demonstrate it again. How do I know we're going to put people back in jobs again? Because we've done it before. 1.5 million jobs from the time we were first elected. How do I know that a Coalition Government will balance the Budget again? Because we've done it before. And we will apply the same discipline and the same passion to getting people into work as we did before. But I'm going to leave the last word to Mathias.
SENATOR THE HON. MATHIAS CORMANN, MINISTER FOR FINANCE AND LEADER OF THE GOVERNMENT IN THE SENATE: It has been fun. See you at Estimates!
Press Conference - Canberra, ACT
8 October 2020
Prime Minister: Well good morning everyone. As you have heard me say on many occasions now and the Treasurer and the Finance Minister and the Deputy Prime Minister - this is the most significant global recession the world has seen since the Great Depression. This year we will see, we expect, the world economy to shrink, to contract, by 4.5 per cent. By comparison, during the global financial crisis, it shrunk by 0.1%. So this is a global economic crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic that really is on a scale that the vast majority of us have never seen in our living memory. But what makes it different, I think, from the Great Depression is that this global economic crisis is happening in a truly globally, interconnected, real-time economy. We have not seen this scale of disruption occur in our global economy in a way that the effects can be so quickly transmitted. There is not a corner of the world today that has not been touched by this COVID-19 pandemic or the economic tragedies that have followed it.
Australia has always been a country that has looked not just amongst its own, but beyond, for our economic opportunities. We have always been an outward-looking country, a nation that has backed itself to make its way in the world, to lead, to set example, to get ahead, to trade, to welcome people from all around the world - we are the most successful multicultural immigrant nation in the world and I wouldn't say arguably, I would say definitively. That's who we are. We know we don't get rich selling stuff to ourselves. We know that the opportunities and the growth, the jobs that are necessary, not just today, but into the future, depend on a resurgent global economy. There are many things we can do here as we did on Tuesday night as part of our Budget for the recovery from the COVID-19 recession. And to build our economy for the future. Things that address matters here in our domestic economy and to get that firing up again.
But Australia will always be limited by the growth and the performance of the global economy. And that's why we're interested in those issues, that's why we're engaged in those issues. And the OECD is the gathering and a gathering, I would say, that is more important than I think it's ever been during its time, because it brings together the liberal democracies and market-based economies of advanced countries all around the world and our view is - and I know in my many, many discussions with the leaders of those countries that form the OECD - that we want a global economy in the future that will grow on the basis of those market-based principles. That will see the incentivisation of investment, that will see market-based economies and the trade that follows from that and the economic advancement that follows from that and the jobs and the betterment of peoples all around the world will depend, we believe, on the success of those market-based principles once again just as that has delivered since the Second World War, the most prosperous age in world history. But that is now under threat and those same market-based principles are the same ones that will again recover the global economy.
It is the pandemic that has caused this recession. It's not some global failure of capitalism or market-based principles. Quite the contrary. The world economy got shut down because of a health pandemic and we're going to grow our way back out of it and the way that is going to happen globally is through the return and the nourishment of those market-based principles that are so evident in the liberal democracies of the world today. The OECD has played an incredibly important role on so many issues in which Australia has been a key participant. The base erosion in profit-shifting, the taxation of multinationals, all of these important international principles that govern and help drive our global economy. The OECD plays a specially important role in supporting the work of the G20 of which Australia has been a very active member. And so we believe that as the Secretary-Generalship of the OECD is coming up after many, many years, and I pay tribute to work of Angel Gurria who has led that organisation for many years, I’ve met him on numerous occasions and he's done a fantastic job and we have worked well with him and I thanked him personally for the great job that he has done.
We believe the OECD needs the sort of leadership that we think Australia and an Australian can provide. And so I am announcing our intention to nominate Minister Cormann, Mathias Cormann, for the position of Secretary-General of the [OECD]. Mathias's 7-year experience as our longest-serving Finance Minister, Belgian-born, French-German and Flemish to boot, I think ideally equips him for the challenging role of the Secretary-General of the OECD. His belief fundamentally in these market principles and the way they can drive a global recovery I think are essential for the job. But beyond that, I'd make this point: The OECD brings together most of the European economies, but it also brings together the economies of North America and the Asia-Pacific as a truly global organisation and a voice from the Asia-Pacific which will increasingly be the centre of the global economy, a voice that understands this region as well through our traditional relationships with both Europe and North America, we think, is just what the OECD needs.
Australians have an ability to work with everyone, to get on with everyone, to find the way through, to be practical, to bring people together and to support the many global organisations with which the OECD would work, particularly the G20. And so that's why I'm very proud, after Mathias had indicated he was intending to retire at the end of this year, I approached him about whether he'd be interested in us putting him forward as our nominee for the OECD Secretary-Generalship. And I was very pleased that he agreed because I can think of no finer candidate that Australia can put forward - with his experience, with his skills, he has accompanied me and former Prime Ministers as we have attended the G20 meetings, he has participated in all these high-level meetings in the past and is well-known, not only in North America in the Asia-Pacific, but particularly well-known in the big economies, in Germany and France and the United Kingdom, but also in the economies of Netherlands and, of course, his home of his birth. And he is well respected and he is well-known. I have had numerous conversations over these past many months discussing Mathias's candidacy and it has been well received, but, of course, it will be the usual process. We will do our very best and it's important that Mathias is in a position to be able to be there for that process in November and so at the end of this month, on 30 October, Mathias will formally retire from the Senate and from his position as Minister for Finance and then we will move immediately to formally nominate him for that role. I have already advised the leaders of the OECD nations of our intention to make that nomination and, as I said, it's been well received.
Of course, Mathias's departure at that time necessitates us making a number of other important decisions and Senator Simon Birmingham will become the Leader of the Government in the Senate after Mathias retires at the end of this month and I congratulate Simon, on that appointment. He will also be sworn in as Minister for Finance from the time of Minister Cormann's retirement. He will continue in that role as well as his current role as there are many issues that continue in the trade agenda, not the least being the EU and the UK Free Trade Agreement which he will continue to lead, and as I have already flagged, at the end of this year, I'll be making further announcements about any further changes to the ministry line-up at that time after Parliament has risen at the end of this year. Simon's promotion also necessitates the appointment of a new Deputy Leader of the Government in the Senate and that will be Senator Michaelia Cash and I congratulate Senator Cash on that appointment. I have worked with both Simon and Mikaela over many years and I'm pleased to be able to appoint them to these very important roles within the Government. That will ensure the strong continuity of what the Government is doing, the implementation of our Budget, of course, Minister Cormann will continue on in that role as you couldn't drag him away from it to appear in those final two weeks of Senate estimates which may be even more closely watched than usual and perhaps even more than his appearance on Mad As Hell last night on the ABC which I'm sure some of us saw.
So, look, congratulations to you, Michaelia and to you Simon, but particularly Mathias. Today is not so much about those appointments as I know my colleagues know. It is about Australia, as I flagged last year, last October, when I spoke to the Lowy Institute, that we would take a position, we would take an interest in the areas where we thought we could add the most value and we believe this is an area where we can add that value and I know Mathias Cormann is just the person to ensure that we will add that value should we be able to get the support of the requisite members of the OECD to do that job.
Mathias?
Senator the Hon. Mathias Cormann, Minister for Finance: Thank you very much Prime Minister.
It is a great honour to be nominated as Australia’s candidate for the position of Secretary-General of the OECD.
I thank the Prime Minister for showing such faith in me.
The OECD is without any doubt one of the most consequential international economic policy and governance bodies in the world today.
Through its work over the past six decades it makes a difference to the daily lives of billions of people all around the world.
The OECD helps to improve living standards, build social cohesion, strengthen environmental performance, not just in its own member economies, but through its work in countries all around the world more broadly.
It does so by sharing information, developing policy best practice and agreeing standards and norms to help facilitate the operation of a free market and by sharing norms and standards which help to promote growth and productivity.
As we confront the economic impact of the global COVID recession, this is going to be a particularly important time in the history of the OECD.
The importance of practical co-operation has never been greater, whether when dealing with the pandemic, the challenge of climate change, education and skills needs, the promise and challenges of the digital economy and narrowing differences on taxation policy.
These are big challenges.
I have accepted this nomination because I believe I can make a real difference.
I believe I bring a combination of the right skills and experience and, perhaps a rare perspective to an organisation made up of 38 nations from Europe, the Americas, the Asia-Pacific and the Middle East.
I have shared my life in equal measure between Europe and the Asia Pacific.
The first half in Europe, growing up in the German-speaking part of Belgium and graduating with a law degree after studies in French, Flemish and English.
So I hope you will indulge me if I make some other remarks.
Pour nos amis francophones à travers l’OCDE.
En ces temps difficiles, l’OCDE est plus importante que jamais.
Pour maximiser la force de la récupération éxonomique et des emplois;
Pour renforcer la résilience économique et pour reparvenir à une croissance durable du niveau de vie.
Ce serait un grand honneur de diriger l’OCDE au nom de ces members et de soutenir ces efforts visant à générer une croissance durable du niveau de vie.
Für unsere deutschsprachigen Freunde.
Die Arbeit der OECD ist in diesen Zeiten wichtiger denn je.
Um unsere gemeinsame wirtschaftliche Widerstandsfähigkeit zu stärken und um Wachstum für uns alle wieder zu erreichen.
Es wäre mir eine große Ehre, die OECD im Namen ihrer Mitglieder zu leiten und ihre Bemühungen zu unterstützen ein nachhaltiges Wachstums des Lebensstandards zu erreichen.
Prime Minister, may I again thank you for the faith that you have shown in me by nominating me on behalf of Australia for this position.
May I also close in congratulating my friends and colleagues, Senator Birmingham and Senator Cash on their nominations to become the Leader and the Deputy Leader of the Government in the Senate.
I have thoroughly enjoyed my job as Leader of the Government in the Senate. I have thoroughly enjoyed working with the Prime Minister to help put Australia on the strongest possible foundation and trajectory for the future.
I can honestly say that I have given this my everything. I have put my heart and soul into this job, I will continue to put my heart and soul into this job until the end of October.
I look forward to participating in that great democratic exercise, which is Senate Estimates, for the final two weeks of October and after that I will give you this commitment, I will do everything I can do to help successfully secure the position for which Australia has been kind enough to nominate me here today.
Prime Minister: Well, thank you, Mathias. Now, we won't go to further comments today. We are pressed for time with Parliament sitting. We can take a few questions. You can ask them in English, French or German. I will let Mathias take the French or German ones.
Phil?
Journalist: There's a growing field of candidates for this job. The Estonians, the Canadians, I think Americans and Swedes. You've asked Anthony Albanese, as I understand it, for bipartisan support to give Senator Cormann maximum chance. There are some people in Labor who are still bitter about Kevin Rudd not being approved by the Coalition Government for the United Nations job in 2016. What is your message to those people in Labor? Why is this different?
Prime Minister: We consider every candidate on their merits. And I know Mathias has gained the respect of members all around this place. I think that will be demonstrated today as, whether it's today or at a later time, Mathias will make a final statement in the Senate Chamber. And I think what we'll hear today are earned tributes to Mathias' role and the way that he's conducted himself, not just as a fine Minister, our longest-serving Finance Minister, but also the way he's conducted himself as a member of this Parliament, and in particular the Senate, which he's led on behalf of the Government, and he's earned the respect of his colleagues. So, it really is a matter for the Labor Party to - I'm not going to make any statements on their behalf. I had a discussion with the Leader of the Opposition earlier today, and I know that Mathias has also had a discussion with the Leader of the Opposition in the Senate. So, I will leave their response to them.
Journalist: Senator Cormann, can I just ask you a quick Budget question…
Prime Minister: Why don't we just stay with the OECD? Yep, Chris?
Journalist: Is it your view that leadership of these international organisations, not just the OECD, but the UN, is more important now because there is a real contest of ideas between liberal democracy and market-based economy, and a more authoritarian view of the world?
Prime Minister: Well, I set this out in my speech to Lowy a year ago. And my argument there is that, yes, there are a lot of contestable views. And in our global economy today, things are far more interconnected than they used to be. And I think these issues have profound importance for the wellbeing of people all around the world. And so these are important organisations through which we will have our participation. What I said a year ago is that we had to focus that effort. And liberal market-based democracies had to focus their efforts too in that process. And through the course of this pandemic, that has been a keen topic of conversation. Whether it's with the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom or the chancellor of Germany, the President of the United States, the Prime Minister of Canada, the Prime Minister of Japan, the President of Korea, all nations I've had extensive discussions about these issues, and, of course, the President of France. The way we do things, as liberal market-based democracies and economies, I think holds the answer to the problems the world faces today. And I have great confidence about that, because I know the generational prosperity that has been delivered by that process over a very long time. So, it is time to turn up and to make those cases respectfully as part of global organisations.
Yes, I might go to Lanai because he’s also the Senator for Western Australia, and I think that gives some priority to the West Australian.
Journalist: Senator Cormann, how confident are you that you will be able to convince the other countries that Australia is the best country to lead the OECD? And how will you transition from moving from Perth to Paris?
Senator the Hon. Mathias Cormann, Minister for Finance: I am a veteran of selection contests. Rule number one is to never take anything for granted. I look forward to working as part of a strong team, Team Australia, to put our best foot forward, to put our case, both in terms of our proposed agenda as well as in terms of my own personal credentials. Then it will be a matter for the decision-makers to make a judgement on who they think is best equipped to lead the OECD moving forward. In terms of the latter part of the question, the other thing I have learned as a veteran of selection contests is never to get ahead of myself. So, I am not going to think about these sorts of things. If we are successful in securing a consensus across the OECD membership, I am sure that there will be enough time to consider these matters.
Journalist: Congratulations on your nomination. A hearty congratulations, making Mad as Hell last night, you must have really made it. When it comes-
Senator the Hon. Mathias Cormann, Minister for Finance: There might be another job now for Darius. He will be relieved.
Journalist: Perhaps. When it comes to the candidacy, though, how do you lobby for yourself? Will you have to travel to Europe? I mean, because it's a very Euro-heavy organisation, the OECD. And, secondly, on the subject of climate change, you have had a - it has been a prickly subject for you over the years - carbon pricing and the like. Where will you stand on that when it comes to talking about climate change to some of those European nations?
Senator the Hon. Mathias Cormann, Minister for Finance: Thank you very much for those questions, Andrew. Firstly, clearly in this coronavirus-impacted times, it is going to be logistically somewhat more difficult to get around all of the 38 members of the OECD, including Costa Rica, which has recently started the process of joining. I will make my way to Europe in November. That is the intention, which is why the Prime Minister has indicated the transitional arrangements he has, to free me up to give that my everything. I am going to try and engage, and our colleagues across the Australian Government will try and engage, with as many of our friends across the OECD as possible, to make our argument and to put our case. In the end, it will be up to them to make a decision. In relation to climate change, the discussion in Australia has not been, as far as we are concerned, about whether or not we are committed to effective action on climate change - we are. The debate in Australia has always been about what the best method was to most effectively and most appropriately, from an economic point of view, achieve the best possible emissions reductions in an economically sensible fashion. If you look at our track record in Australia, we have not just met, but exceeded, our emissions reductions targets agreed to in Kyoto. We are on track to meet and exceed our emissions reduction targets agreed to in Paris. We are committed to the Paris Agreement. Nous sommes attachés à l’accord de Paris. We are committed to the Paris Agreement and we are committed to meeting our emissions reduction targets. I know there is always a lot of commentary, which with great respect, is not always as well informed as it should be. Australia's performance when it comes to investment in renewable energy, for example, is outstanding. It is better than that of many of the European countries who are perceived to be the leaders in this field. Just to give you one example, the investment in Australian renewable energy on a per capita basis is three times as high as the investment in renewable energy in Germany. Even in aggregate terms, our investment in renewable energy in Australia is higher than that in Germany, for example. So, the way I am going to approach this is in a typical Australian way, and that is to explain, on a factual basis, what we are committed to do, and what we are doing to meet those commitments. I think you will find that both our track record and our commitments about what we are committed to do into the future compare very favourably with the performance of other nations around the world.
Prime Minister: I’m looking forward to the candidacy as a way, as Mathias has just said, to actually take that process forward, to be actually able to put the case as to what Australia has been doing. 'Cause there has been a lot of misinformation about Australia's record here. And this is a wonderful opportunity that I've already taken the opportunity of in the discussions that I've had with leaders already.
Journalist: Senator Cormann, you've been a key figure in every iteration of this Government. And a key contributor to the economic strategy of the Government through the Abbott-Turnbull and now Morrison period. Is this the Budget you would have liked to have gone out on?
Senator the Hon. Mathias Cormann, Minister for Finance: Well, it is the Budget that Australia needs right now, given that we have been hit by the COVID recession. I take a great amount of personal pride and I know that all of my colleagues, rightly, take a great amount of personal pride, that the work that we have done during our first six years in Government, to strengthen our economy, to create more jobs, to repair the Budget, has put Australia in one of the strongest positions of any country around the world, as we entered into this crisis. Australia was in a position to put all of the necessary resources in place, supporting our health system, supporting the economy, supporting business, supporting jobs, supporting Australians who lost their job through no fault of their own. As a result of the work that we did over our first six years. Of course, in the context of the sort of global recession, a 4.5 per cent contraction in the size of the global economy, and the implications that had for individual Australians, of course the Government had to step up and do what we did. It is important now that we invest in securing the strongest possible economic and jobs recovery moving forward. It was very important to me, after I first spoke to the Prime Minister about my intention to retire later this year, it was very, very important to me to ensure that, before I left, I would contribute to the best of my ability to help shape the plan designed to help maximise the strength of the economic and jobs recovery for Australia moving forward. It was important to me, as part of an orderly transition, and I feel satisfied that the Budget that we delivered on Tuesday is a very credible, very strong plan to get Australia out of this COVID recession and to get Australians back into work.
Journalist: Prime Minister, there's growing concern from unions, crossbenchers and Labor about the JobMaker hiring credit, that it will be open to exploitation by employers. Are you willing to strengthen the eligibility test so that they couldn't reduce the current hours of an existing older employer, or removing them altogether, and replacing them with several other younger employees?
Prime Minister: Well, that is exactly what the hiring credit is designed to do, to ensure that it is not abused. And we have a very strong track record of enforcing the integrity of our measures. Youth unemployment rate is more than double what the national unemployment rate is. One of my great passions, whether as Prime Minister, Treasurer, Social Services Minister, Immigration, Member for Cook, that I have always had in this place is youth unemployment sets people up for a life of welfare dependency, one of the most significant achievements of our Government, of which Mathias and I have laboured strong and hard for, for many years - this is our 6 Budget together - has been to ensure that the welfare dependency of Australians was reduced to 30-year lows under the Budgets we have been a part of. An Australian starting out their working life on welfare is a sentence of disengagement. From Australian life. And I don't want to see any young people start out their working life on welfare. I want them in a job. I know their parents want them in a job. I know their grandparents want them in a job. But this is a Budget for all Australians. And we will ensure the integrity of our measures. This is a Budget for all Australians. This is about a Budget of bringing all Australians together in the national interest, to get us through. And there will be voices that will try and set young people against older people, women against men, jobs in one sector versus jobs in another sector - they are the voices of division that will undermine the future economic prosperity of all Australians. My job in this Budget, in this Government, from the first day of this COVID pandemic, has been to bring Australians together. Bringing together the National Cabinet. Bringing together unions together with employers. Bringing together all Australians to focus on our shared goal. So, you will hear the voices of disruption, of division. People who have come to this place to fight, not to build. That's not why I'm here. That's not why my team is here. That's not what this Budget is about. This Budget is about all Australians going forward in the national interest. Thanks very much.
Multicultural Press Conference
7 October 2020
PRIME MINISTER: Well, thank you very much. And thank you all for joining us today. I'm glad we could do this today. Specifically focussing in on the many communities that make up modern Australia. Australia is the most successful multicultural nation anywhere on Earth. We are the most successful immigration nation anywhere on Earth. Immigration has been one of the key pillars of Australia's social and economic success over a very long period of time. The composition of our migration changes over the course of our history. But it is it will always be part of our future and it is a very important part of our past. And so I want to thank you for joining us today to focus particularly on the budget we released last night. Australia has been able to absorb and cushion the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic from both the health and economic perspective better than most of the countries around the world today. Our health performance, our health performance, combined together with our economic performance, puts us in a handful of countries that have achieved the same level.
JOURNALIST: Rosa, PM is on mute.
PRIME MINISTER: This is on mute as it? Can anyone hear what I'm saying? Have we got an audio issue. I'm just checking the audio. If people could nod if they are receiving the audio.
Press star six. That's to mute. Are we receiving the audio now?
JOURNALIST: Yes, we are.
PRIME MINISTER: Excellent. I might start again then, if that's okay. Well, look, thank you everyone for joining us. What I was just saying was that Australia, as you will appreciate, is the most successful multicultural nation on Earth. We are the most successful immigrant nation on earth. Hundreds and hundreds of different nationalities, cultural and language groups have been brought together into Australia to make us the strong nation we are today. Immigration has been a key pillar of our economic success and social success in the past and will continue to be and is a major part of our future. We lead the world in social cohesion. We lead the world in successful immigration programmes. The COVID-19 crisis has obviously had a very significant impact on how our programme runs, and it is also impacting our connectedness with the rest of the world. With the travel restrictions and other international border restrictions that are in place not just in Australia but all around the world. But what I will say about what Australia has been able to achieve in our response to the COVID-19 pandemic is there is that we are amongst a handful of countries that have had similar success in cushioning the blow, both from the COVID-19 pandemic in the COVID-19 recession that has gone around the world. The world economy is participating forecast of contract by four and a half per cent this year. During the global financial crisis just over a decade ago the global economy contracted by nought point one per cent. So the scale of the economic challenge that we're facing around the world today is 45 times greater than the global financial crisis. Now, you will know this with the way that this has impacted here in Australia, but you will know it even more so in many of the host countries that the language groups and ethnic groups that you're representing through your various publications around the world this pandemic has had a devastating impact. And in many countries that impact is worsening, not improving as the case numbers grow and that collapses in on their economies. Now, Australia is not immune to these things. Australia is not immune to the economic or the health consequences of the pandemic. But together with South Korea, with Taiwan as another economy, with Norway and Finland, Australia stands with that group of nations as the best performing on both health and economic terms throughout this pandemic. And we intend to keep it that way by getting the right balance. There are countries that may have had fewer fatalities per million population than Australia, but that has come as a heavy economic cost. New Zealand, for example, has had a 12 point two per cent fall in their economy in the June quarter. Australia was seven per cent in Sweden, for example. They have had not only a more open response to the COVID-19 pandemic, but they have had 5,000 additional deaths through their economy and through their nation, which would have been absolutely devastating. And still, Australia's economic performance has been better. Now, I make those points not to be critical of other nations. We are all dealing with this in the way that sovereign governments do, and they make the decisions that we make and the balance the various interests that need to be balanced. But I make the point that Australia is together with just a handful of nations coming through this crisis better than most around the world today. Now, in this budget we are doing three things to address the economic challenges that we face that are on an historic scale. We are cushioning the blow with measures such as the JobKeeper and JobSeeker and cashflow supports and other support payments to get Australians through the worst of this crisis. And those measures continue in this budget. Secondly, we have an economic recovery plan to take back what has been lost. Already we've seen 760,000 jobs come back, 760,000 just in the last few month and that is jobs that were lost or jobs that were reduced to zero hours. And so we're pleased with that progress. But there is still a long way to go. And in this budget we bring forward some important plans. We bring forward Stage two of our tax plan that will put a thousand dollars additional this year in the pockets of those up to earning up to about ninety thousand dollars a year. It brings forward tax cuts that sees those who are paying 19 cents in the dollar to be able to keep their tax rate at that level go from thirty seven to forty five thousand. And to keep only paying thirty two and a half thousand for ninety thousand up to one hundred twenty thousand dollars. This was part of our income tax plan that we outlined some time ago. And we've brought those proposals forward. We're also bringing forward through our investment incentives, investment decisions that will be made by business through our investment allowance, which allows businesses up to with a turnover of five billion dollars a year to immediately expense their capital investment. On top of that we're allowing cover losses to be offset against past profits against past tax paid. And so at the end of the year is tax returns are completed businesses can be confident of being able to take back the tax that they paid in previous years, and that can help keep people in work now, hire new people and to support their investment, which is obviously accelerated in terms of the benefits through the incentives on the investment allowance. But it's also done through bringing forward decisions to hire people through the JobMaker hiring credit. Another incentive, another initiative designed to get particularly young people back to work. The third stage of the budget's plan is for the longer term, for the medium term to longer term. And in recent weeks and months, we've been outlining that plan, whether it's our plan on energy, lower affordable, lower emissions energy, investing in the technology, some one point nine billion dollars through the CFC and the Arena Finance Corporation. These organisations investing in energy technologies for the future. Our manufacturing plan one and a half billion dollars, prioritising key areas like food and beverage, manufacturing, aerospace and the defence industries, mining sectors and so on, key areas that are going to drive our economy forward. And in addition we have job training initiatives on training incentives, universities, deregulation and work that we've done on digital transformation. Industrial relations reforms are also being progressed through our process, led by the Attorney-General. I make those points to make it clear that whether it's our infrastructure investment or other important medium term reforms, this is what is going to see, pardon me. The Australian economy continue to recover and grow into the future. Why have I spent so much time telling you about those top line issues in the budget? The reason is, is because it benefits all Australians, regardless of what your background is, what regardless of what community, what regardless of what corner of the country you live in. These measures are designed to support everyone right across the country. And I believe that they will be particularly supportive of our ethnic communities who have always demonstrated a level of entrepreneurialism, a level of commitment and a work ethic that will see them best able I think, to take advantage of these opportunities. Australia's immigrant story is not just about more people creating more demand. It's about bringing our entrepreneurial spirit to Australia and an entrepreneurial spirit that will see these incentives to employ people to invest and to grow their businesses at a time when others might choose to stand back. And so this is very much a budget, I think, for multicultural Australia because it recognises the enterprise of multicultural Australia. Our multicultural communities and citizens are more likely to start a business. They're more likely to own a business. They're more likely to employ other Australians. And we've seen that across so many different communities. On the social side in this budget there is important things we're doing to maintain the social cohesion as we keep our country together. Then our country will be more prosperous and they're important things we need to do. We need to ensure that language media is available so all Australians, regardless of their background, can understand what is occurring in their country as patriots. They'll be keen to understand the policies of the government. They'll be keen to understand the programmes that are available. And we're investing in more ensuring that Australians of so many different backgrounds can understand what's available to them and how they can move their own life circumstances forward. But in addition to that, it's also about giving them the tools. The changes were made to the Australian the Adult Migrant English programme, the AMEP, removing the constraint on hours, removing the constraints on time, being able to learn English in Australia is a vital tool for social and economic inclusion. Doesn't matter what country you go to, if you're unable to engage in the first language of that country and in Australia that is English, then you will have your opportunities limited in this country, not by the government or not by anyone else, but by language challenges. And we want to try and remove those barriers. That's not to deny the other languages that are spoken. We encourage it, it's part of our multicultural society. But English is a necessity for all Australians who are looking to engage and participate. It's also very important for people's safety and particularly for women in our community. We want women in particular through our AMEP. program to ensure that they can learn English and they can be aware of what their opportunities are and what their rights are and what their protections are in this country. And so the changes we've made to AMEP are very important. The last area I wanted to draw attention to was the changes we were making to the partner migration program for this year. Now you will know that the COVID-19 recession means that restrictions are in place on how people can move. That will have an obvious impact on who can come to the country in the short term. Now, the borders will eventually be lifted when we're in a position to do that and Australia won't hesitate when it's safe to be able to do that. But for the foreseeable future that will be a big challenge. I don't think that comes as any great news. But what we have decided do, given there will be vacancies in the program that will ordinarily go to other visa classes, we're creating another 30,000 places in the partner program this year. That will be an important opportunity to get through I think what has been a frustrating backlog for many Australians who are seeking to have their partners and to be able to come and get visas and ultimately become Australians. So we see this as an opportunity to ensure that more Australians become Australians, both through the visa program and then ultimately through citizenship. So with that, I think I might leave it there and happy to take questions.
ROSA STATHIS: Thank you PM. The first question this morning is from Eunjin Suasna Park from Korean Today, please go ahead Susana.
EUNJIN SUSANA PARK: Good morning PM. Thanks for the time this morning. I'm just wondering, you know, that it's quite the kind of uncertainty but do you have in mind any in what time do you think the government could open the border to these safe countries? And what are the definitions of the safe countries?
PRIME MINISTER: It's a good question, and it's one that is vexing the minds of leaders all around the world and I made an announcement, well the Deputy Prime Minister did last week that our first step into this area will be with New Zealand and New Zealanders will be able to come across the Tasman and enter New South Wales and the Northern Territory and I suspect South Australia will soon follow. And that means Australians will be able to return from New Zealand as well. And that will be our first step. Now, New Zealand's COVID record is a very, very strong on the health side of things, and that will be our first step in that direction. But I have had discussions with President Moon and and former Prime Minister Abe about how Australia might be able to move forward together with other countries. I mean, other countries where this is possible. Countries like Singapore, where it could be done as we move into next year. And seek to try and normalise as best we can, student entries into Australia for the start of next year's university year, we're still working on that. But the reality is we must be very careful. I mean, Australia is an open country. We've always looked outside ourselves, not just for our economic opportunities, but for our social connection with the rest of the world and through our many migrant communities and ethnic communities in Australia maintaining that link we know, is incredibly important and the migration programme that supports our economy that I said before. So, look, I won't say we'll be rushing here, we'll be proceeding carefully. The impacts of further waves of COVID coming through our country would be devastating. We've seen what that has meant in Melbourne. We don't want to see that happen again and so we will be cautious, but we are open to those opportunities and I am working with other leaders around the world to see what can be achieved. Technology will be a key factor in this, testing technologies in particular moving to alternative types of quarantine arrangements, trialling those and making sure that we can have confidence about them, and ensuring we get even more enhanced tracing capabilities in Australia to deal with any potential outbreaks which may come from a relaxation of those arrangements but I don't anticipate them happening anytime soon, but New Zealand step will be the first one and then we'll we'll go from there.
ROSA STATHIS: Thank you. The next question is from SBS Hindi program, Mosiqi Acharya please go ahead.
MOSIQI ACHARYA: Thank you Prime Minister for joining us today, my question is what was the thought behind introducing the English language requirement for partner visas?
PRIME MINISTER: Which, as I said in my opening remarks, English is the vital tool for social and economic inclusion in Australia. Now, I used to be an Immigration Minister and I used to be a Social Services Minister and I am very aware that the lack of English language skills, particularly amongst partners, has put many of those partners at risk in Australia, at risk of domestic violence, at risk of being abused in the workplace and having their rights overtaken. And English language is absolutely critical to help people when they come to Australia to take the greatest opportunity of what life in Australia can mean and English is the passport for that to occur in Australia. And we feel very strongly about this as a Government. English unifies the country and it enables us all to connect both economically and socially and so that's why we believe that's an important step that needs to be taken. I don't want to see people who come to Australia be vulnerable and if your English language skills are not strong or even non-existent, then you will be more vulnerable in Australia. From a negative point of view and from a positive point of view, you, you won't be able to maximise life in Australia for you and your family. And so that's why we're encouraging that process.
MOSIQI ACHARYA: Have you got a minimum requirement set out?
PRIME MINISTER: Well it isn't what you'd expect for economic migration. It's a much more basic level of English language competency and we think this is important to just enable people to engage, to access government services for example, to engage with those who are seeking to assist, to access and get the best possible medical treatment to understand what teachers are saying at school, at parent teacher conferences or to understand their rights work and all of these types of things. It's a basic English language requirement, but we think a very necessary skill and ability that people will need to get the best out of life in Australia and to be protected.
ROSA STATHIS: The next question is from Cecil Huang, 1688 Group.
CECIL HUANG: Hi, Prime Minister. Thank you for the opportunity. The Budget has a strong focus on youth with the JobMaker program which benefits people in the age of 35, which is fantastic. But would it make it harder for older people to find jobs?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, the good news is, is that several budgets ago when I was Treasurer, I introduced a programme called the Job Restart Program and that provides incentives for older workers to be able to go into the workforce and for employers to have subsidies to support their employment so that's an ongoing program. That was several years ago when we were actually aware of the challenges faced by older Australians getting into work. So that program continues. But what we do know from the COVID-19 recession is that the biggest impact on people's employment has occurred with younger people and has occurred with women. And so in this budget, you see the incentives for those under the age of 35 to be able to have that access to the hiring credit through their employers. In addition to that, we are also supporting women through the Women's Economic Security Statement. And that statement encourages women to be able to access entrepreneurial opportunities, skills training particularly in the STEM subjects and areas where there will be great opportunities going into the future. I mean, the jobs in this budget aren’t just hard hat jobs. They are tech jobs there, they're high, high wage earning skill jobs. There are so many different jobs, particularly in the advanced manufacturing sector. The Industry Minister herself was an accomplished engineer before she came into Parliament. And so the opportunities for women through the Enterprising Girls program and so many other women support and enterprise initiatives I think will support women as well as young people. 60 per cent of the jobs that have come back since the pit of the recession have been for women. And so there has been a need to ensure we get women and young people back into jobs. Our experience in this country, and I'm sure to be true in other places, that if young people lose a job or don't get into a job and they remain in that situation until their early 20s by about 24 to 25, then their likelihood of remaining on welfare well beyond that and potentially over their lifetime is greatly increased and that would be a great tragedy if young Australians were to live a life dependent on welfare. So we want to get them back into work as quickly as we can.
ROSA STATHIS: The next question is from Anwar Harb, Annahar.
ANWAR HARB: [Inaudible]...we also know that you are very capable of overcoming all the damage it has caused. Your achievements are superb. Could you give us an idea about the long term effect of this virus on the Australian economy?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, thank you, Anwar my good friend. It's good to see you. Good to see you looking well as well. Thank you. Anwar, the COVID-19 virus most lasting impact on Australia I anticipate will come through the impact on the global economy, how the global economy ultimately recovers. We'll put a lag on and limit on everything that Australia can achieve. And what we are doing is to get our economy moving again and open up our economy again safely and try and restore as much as what has been lost and as I said, set us up for the future. This recession caused by this pandemic will be very different to other recessions. In previous times countries move into recession over a much longer period. And they also come out of it over a much longer period because it is the result of structural issues or policy decisions that have occurred in those countries. And as a result you expect a different profile of the recovery particularly for jobs. Now, with this recession, it has been caused by the necessity to close our economies down for a period of time. And so the greatest thing we have to overcome first is to be able to open up again. And once we can do that, I think we've been somewhat successful in preserving the fabric and structure of our economy. So it hasn't scarred to the extent that it may have occurred otherwise. And so businesses will be able to re-establish. Now, regrettably and sadly, there are some businesses that will not reopen, but the dynamism in our economy, hopefully we'll see opportunities present in other parts of the economy for those businesses and those individuals to find new opportunities. The flip side of that though Anwar, is that the global economy. Let's say, for example, when we came out of the early 90s recession, while there was still very difficult times globally, nothing like what we're seeing here in around the world today. And the global sector, just like during the GFC, with the Chinese economy being so strong, the single most important thing that actually took Australia through the GFC was actually the Chinese economy. Now, that's not happening to the same degree as it did on that occasion. While China remains in growth and that's welcome the level of growth, it will not be what we saw from China during the GFC. And so Australia will have to come back at some very strong global headwinds. I think even once we're able to get our economy back into a growth phase and that will that will limit it. But importantly, Anwar, there won't be the corrosion of our business infrastructure. There won't be the corrosion of skills. There won't be the scarring that can occur in the labour market. And so I think the way we've been able to manage this has meant that our economy can come through in a stronger position to restore and to grow again. But we will be limited by how well the rest of the world does and how we open up to it again, both in a trade in goods and services again, and tourism and education and all of these other service areas which are very important to our economy. Our challenge will be to see those grow again in international context. So there are there are pluses and minuses compared to previous recessions. Our business infrastructure, I think, will be stronger and more resilient as a result of what we've done over the last six months. But we will still face some very stiff headwinds for some time to come because the rest of the world is not faring as well as Australia.
ROSA STATHIS: The next question is from Shivendra Singh, Punjab Times.
SHIVENDRA SINGH: Yes, hi. Although you were announced 18 billion in funding higher education institutions, to support universities and higher education providers, It doesn't seem like it's enough to offset the 40 billion brought in by international students each year. So when do you forsee the return of international students to Australia, perhaps through a quarantine arrangement?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, that's something we're working on right now. There are two pilots, the state governments and territory governments are running in the Northern Territory and South Australia now. I think that will give us a good guide as to what can be achieved between now and the start of next year's university year. And I think there are a lot of practical options that can be put in place between now and then that would hopefully see us take the opportunities that we can. We'll be careful about it. We obviously want to see that element of our our economy returned to growth. And I think much of that is possible. Universities have taken decisions about international students now for some time, and there's always been business risk attached to that and the government doesn't self insure the university sector for the business decisions that they make. But what we have done in this budget, for example, is to ensure that where that that revenue most supported research activities, we put an extra billion dollars into research in universities in this budget are to ensure that core research and other important research continues as almost 450 million dollars were put into the CSIRO as well to mitigate the impact of corporate revenues that go into the CSIRO to ensure that that research capacity continues. This is necessary because it feeds into things like our advanced manufacturing and modern manufacturing initiatives. And we want to see that that graduate intake and the undergraduate intake, which can feed these dynamic sectors of our economy, continue into the future. Now, that will be from Australians who are born resident here, but it will also come from those who have studied in Australia and with the additional work rights that apply after the completion of their degrees. That will continue to be an important part of how our economy works and we access the skills that we need. So it will take some time, I think, to get back to some form of COVID normal with international students. And we are not going to put the recovery at risk by being acting with an undue haste in those areas and not protecting against the potential health impacts that could come. We would have to make sure that those arrangements are effective, but there is no lack of willingness on the Government's part to see that that occurs. That also has to be balanced up with the fact that we need to get existing Australian residents into jobs and that means that when students come, they obviously have work rights that are attached to while they're studying and that needs to be weighed up with high levels of unemployment that we're seeing at the moment. And we need to see those Australian residents getting back and jobs as well. But I'm optimistic, but cautious.
SHIVENDRA SINGH: Thank you.
PRIME MINISTER: Rosa?
ROSA STATHIS: Hi Rajni, sorry, Rajni Luthra Indian Link.
RAJNI LUTHRA: Mr. Morrison, you've sort of touched upon the issue that I wanted to ask, but only partially. It has been said of the budget last night that it is the most important since the Second World War. One of the growth factors for Australia post the Second World War was the strong migration to this country. Yet the net numbers of migration are negative and it will take them time to get back to the pre COVID numbers of 240,000. Should they have been stronger measures in this budget to build up the migration numbers?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, there are. As I said, there's 30,000 places that will be put into the partner program. But with the borders shut to international travel, there is a limited scope for what the Government can do when it comes to those migration intakes and that's not a permanent scenario. That is a temporary scenario. And once we can get more flexible and effective quarantine arrangements in place then we'll see what opportunities open up for us. Of course, we know that the reduced migration intake will have an impact on the Australian economy. It does factor into, for example, new home building starts and things like that, that's why we've provided additional stimulus into the home building sector. So we do want to see ultimately a return to the controlled migration and effective migration that we've had. And as you know, there's 160,000 cap on intakes through the permanent program and we have no plans to change that. We made that commitment at the last election. And over this term and we'll keep to that. But obviously, in the course of this year and arguably next year, we're unlikely to see anything like that. But there are areas of opportunity, like in international students area, like in the Pacific worker and seasonal worker programs, potentially in backpacker areas and things like that. But it requires effective border management and quarantine management to make that a reality. So we'll keep investing in that technology and those processes to try and open those opportunities up as soon as we can.
RAJNI LUTHRA: Thank you.
ROSA STATHIS: Thanks PM. The next question is from Rajesh Sharma, Indus Age. Go ahead Rajesh.
RAJESH SHARMA: Uncertainties in the stock market, self-funded retirees are facing significant [inaudible] reduction in their retirement income over a prolonged period. How does this affect [inaudible]? How can you reassure the self-funded Australians and their life after retirement is secure?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, we have a pension in this country is, as you know, and their eligibility requirements for that fee for self-funded retirees incomes for and they can get access to the pension. They can get access to the pension loan scheme, which was a new initiative that we introduced in last year before, sorry the year before’s budget, which gave people access to that scheme, which previously was only available to pensioners, which provides a in in many people's views and more secure access to using people's own assets to supplement their incomes. Now, in addition to that, the most effective thing we can do to support those who live off their investments and who have provided for their own retirement is to ensure that their economy that they're investing in is stronger and for the businesses that they've put their savings into to be able to be more profitable and more successful. And so whether it's the, the ability to write off COVID losses this year against previous incomes or the investment allowances which are significant over these next two years, these things will support better returns from their portfolios. And growing our economy will be a key part of supporting them in their retirement. The pension is there is a safety net in Australia and that will be there for those who need it. But for those who don't qualify for the pension because their income is greater than that, we will continue to do all we can to ensure that their incomes are stronger in the future because of the economy that they're investing in. We've also changed the deeming rates and updated those to reflect current conditions. We've changed the minimum drawdown requirements for those who are concerned about eroding their capital base during a time of recession like this as well. So we've sought to give greater flexibility to those who are self-funded retirees and then just work to strengthen the economy to ensure that they're able to achieve the returns that they would hope to.
ROSA STATHIS: The next question is from Suzan Horani, Radio 2Moro. Go ahead, Suzan.
SUZAN HORANI: [inaudible] and commercial foreign language media in Australia, does ACMA have a road map for how our radio service and others like us will be granted access to digital radio spectrum? We are stuck between regulations and legislations. We are ready to employ. We'll be really happy to train more young people but ACMA needs to move with the times with this example.
PRIME MINISTER: Well, I might take that one on notice and ask Rosa to connect you up with the Minister for Communications on those issues, which I suspect you've already had some engagement with when it comes to that spectrum issue. Now, there are quite a number of reforms going on in the media space at the moment. It's a very difficult time for media, not just with the COVID-19 recession, but also the significant impacts that are being felt in the media industry when it comes to the activities of large internet based platforms and social media platforms and the like, which have been eroding the advertising base for media, small and large now for some period of time. The Minister for Communications, Paul Fletcher is very aware of that, and he's leading some important reforms in that area now, and that relates to spectrum and various other matters so I might leave that for you to follow up with Paul.
SUZAN HORANI: Thank you. Prime Minister.
ROSA STAHIS: P.M we've come to time now. Thank you very much.
PRIME MINISTER: Well, thank you all very much. And I appreciate you spending the time with me today and I look forward to us to be able to do this on other occasions.
PRIME MINISTER: Well, thank you very much. And thank you all for joining us today. I'm glad we could do this today. Specifically focussing in on the many communities that make up modern Australia. Australia is the most successful multicultural nation anywhere on Earth. We are the most successful immigration nation anywhere on Earth. Immigration has been one of the key pillars of Australia's social and economic success over a very long period of time. The composition of our migration changes over the course of our history. But it is it will always be part of our future and it is a very important part of our past. And so I want to thank you for joining us today to focus particularly on the budget we released last night. Australia has been able to absorb and cushion the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic from both the health and economic perspective better than most of the countries around the world today. Our health performance, our health performance, combined together with our economic performance, puts us in a handful of countries that have achieved the same level.
JOURNALIST: Rosa, PM is on mute.
PRIME MINISTER: This is on mute as it? Can anyone hear what I'm saying? Have we got an audio issue. I'm just checking the audio. If people could nod if they are receiving the audio.
Press star six. That's to mute. Are we receiving the audio now?
JOURNALIST: Yes, we are.
PRIME MINISTER: Excellent. I might start again then, if that's okay. Well, look, thank you everyone for joining us. What I was just saying was that Australia, as you will appreciate, is the most successful multicultural nation on Earth. We are the most successful immigrant nation on earth. Hundreds and hundreds of different nationalities, cultural and language groups have been brought together into Australia to make us the strong nation we are today. Immigration has been a key pillar of our economic success and social success in the past and will continue to be and is a major part of our future. We lead the world in social cohesion. We lead the world in successful immigration programmes. The COVID-19 crisis has obviously had a very significant impact on how our programme runs, and it is also impacting our connectedness with the rest of the world. With the travel restrictions and other international border restrictions that are in place not just in Australia but all around the world. But what I will say about what Australia has been able to achieve in our response to the COVID-19 pandemic is there is that we are amongst a handful of countries that have had similar success in cushioning the blow, both from the COVID-19 pandemic in the COVID-19 recession that has gone around the world. The world economy is participating forecast of contract by four and a half per cent this year. During the global financial crisis just over a decade ago the global economy contracted by nought point one per cent. So the scale of the economic challenge that we're facing around the world today is 45 times greater than the global financial crisis. Now, you will know this with the way that this has impacted here in Australia, but you will know it even more so in many of the host countries that the language groups and ethnic groups that you're representing through your various publications around the world this pandemic has had a devastating impact. And in many countries that impact is worsening, not improving as the case numbers grow and that collapses in on their economies. Now, Australia is not immune to these things. Australia is not immune to the economic or the health consequences of the pandemic. But together with South Korea, with Taiwan as another economy, with Norway and Finland, Australia stands with that group of nations as the best performing on both health and economic terms throughout this pandemic. And we intend to keep it that way by getting the right balance. There are countries that may have had fewer fatalities per million population than Australia, but that has come as a heavy economic cost. New Zealand, for example, has had a 12 point two per cent fall in their economy in the June quarter. Australia was seven per cent in Sweden, for example. They have had not only a more open response to the COVID-19 pandemic, but they have had 5,000 additional deaths through their economy and through their nation, which would have been absolutely devastating. And still, Australia's economic performance has been better. Now, I make those points not to be critical of other nations. We are all dealing with this in the way that sovereign governments do, and they make the decisions that we make and the balance the various interests that need to be balanced. But I make the point that Australia is together with just a handful of nations coming through this crisis better than most around the world today. Now, in this budget we are doing three things to address the economic challenges that we face that are on an historic scale. We are cushioning the blow with measures such as the JobKeeper and JobSeeker and cashflow supports and other support payments to get Australians through the worst of this crisis. And those measures continue in this budget. Secondly, we have an economic recovery plan to take back what has been lost. Already we've seen 760,000 jobs come back, 760,000 just in the last few month and that is jobs that were lost or jobs that were reduced to zero hours. And so we're pleased with that progress. But there is still a long way to go. And in this budget we bring forward some important plans. We bring forward Stage two of our tax plan that will put a thousand dollars additional this year in the pockets of those up to earning up to about ninety thousand dollars a year. It brings forward tax cuts that sees those who are paying 19 cents in the dollar to be able to keep their tax rate at that level go from thirty seven to forty five thousand. And to keep only paying thirty two and a half thousand for ninety thousand up to one hundred twenty thousand dollars. This was part of our income tax plan that we outlined some time ago. And we've brought those proposals forward. We're also bringing forward through our investment incentives, investment decisions that will be made by business through our investment allowance, which allows businesses up to with a turnover of five billion dollars a year to immediately expense their capital investment. On top of that we're allowing cover losses to be offset against past profits against past tax paid. And so at the end of the year is tax returns are completed businesses can be confident of being able to take back the tax that they paid in previous years, and that can help keep people in work now, hire new people and to support their investment, which is obviously accelerated in terms of the benefits through the incentives on the investment allowance. But it's also done through bringing forward decisions to hire people through the JobMaker hiring credit. Another incentive, another initiative designed to get particularly young people back to work. The third stage of the budget's plan is for the longer term, for the medium term to longer term. And in recent weeks and months, we've been outlining that plan, whether it's our plan on energy, lower affordable, lower emissions energy, investing in the technology, some one point nine billion dollars through the CFC and the Arena Finance Corporation. These organisations investing in energy technologies for the future. Our manufacturing plan one and a half billion dollars, prioritising key areas like food and beverage, manufacturing, aerospace and the defence industries, mining sectors and so on, key areas that are going to drive our economy forward. And in addition we have job training initiatives on training incentives, universities, deregulation and work that we've done on digital transformation. Industrial relations reforms are also being progressed through our process, led by the Attorney-General. I make those points to make it clear that whether it's our infrastructure investment or other important medium term reforms, this is what is going to see, pardon me. The Australian economy continue to recover and grow into the future. Why have I spent so much time telling you about those top line issues in the budget? The reason is, is because it benefits all Australians, regardless of what your background is, what regardless of what community, what regardless of what corner of the country you live in. These measures are designed to support everyone right across the country. And I believe that they will be particularly supportive of our ethnic communities who have always demonstrated a level of entrepreneurialism, a level of commitment and a work ethic that will see them best able I think, to take advantage of these opportunities. Australia's immigrant story is not just about more people creating more demand. It's about bringing our entrepreneurial spirit to Australia and an entrepreneurial spirit that will see these incentives to employ people to invest and to grow their businesses at a time when others might choose to stand back. And so this is very much a budget, I think, for multicultural Australia because it recognises the enterprise of multicultural Australia. Our multicultural communities and citizens are more likely to start a business. They're more likely to own a business. They're more likely to employ other Australians. And we've seen that across so many different communities. On the social side in this budget there is important things we're doing to maintain the social cohesion as we keep our country together. Then our country will be more prosperous and they're important things we need to do. We need to ensure that language media is available so all Australians, regardless of their background, can understand what is occurring in their country as patriots. They'll be keen to understand the policies of the government. They'll be keen to understand the programmes that are available. And we're investing in more ensuring that Australians of so many different backgrounds can understand what's available to them and how they can move their own life circumstances forward. But in addition to that, it's also about giving them the tools. The changes were made to the Australian the Adult Migrant English programme, the AMEP, removing the constraint on hours, removing the constraints on time, being able to learn English in Australia is a vital tool for social and economic inclusion. Doesn't matter what country you go to, if you're unable to engage in the first language of that country and in Australia that is English, then you will have your opportunities limited in this country, not by the government or not by anyone else, but by language challenges. And we want to try and remove those barriers. That's not to deny the other languages that are spoken. We encourage it, it's part of our multicultural society. But English is a necessity for all Australians who are looking to engage and participate. It's also very important for people's safety and particularly for women in our community. We want women in particular through our AMEP. program to ensure that they can learn English and they can be aware of what their opportunities are and what their rights are and what their protections are in this country. And so the changes we've made to AMEP are very important. The last area I wanted to draw attention to was the changes we were making to the partner migration program for this year. Now you will know that the COVID-19 recession means that restrictions are in place on how people can move. That will have an obvious impact on who can come to the country in the short term. Now, the borders will eventually be lifted when we're in a position to do that and Australia won't hesitate when it's safe to be able to do that. But for the foreseeable future that will be a big challenge. I don't think that comes as any great news. But what we have decided do, given there will be vacancies in the program that will ordinarily go to other visa classes, we're creating another 30,000 places in the partner program this year. That will be an important opportunity to get through I think what has been a frustrating backlog for many Australians who are seeking to have their partners and to be able to come and get visas and ultimately become Australians. So we see this as an opportunity to ensure that more Australians become Australians, both through the visa program and then ultimately through citizenship. So with that, I think I might leave it there and happy to take questions.
ROSA STATHIS: Thank you PM. The first question this morning is from Eunjin Suasna Park from Korean Today, please go ahead Susana.
EUNJIN SUSANA PARK: Good morning PM. Thanks for the time this morning. I'm just wondering, you know, that it's quite the kind of uncertainty but do you have in mind any in what time do you think the government could open the border to these safe countries? And what are the definitions of the safe countries?
PRIME MINISTER: It's a good question, and it's one that is vexing the minds of leaders all around the world and I made an announcement, well the Deputy Prime Minister did last week that our first step into this area will be with New Zealand and New Zealanders will be able to come across the Tasman and enter New South Wales and the Northern Territory and I suspect South Australia will soon follow. And that means Australians will be able to return from New Zealand as well. And that will be our first step. Now, New Zealand's COVID record is a very, very strong on the health side of things, and that will be our first step in that direction. But I have had discussions with President Moon and and former Prime Minister Abe about how Australia might be able to move forward together with other countries. I mean, other countries where this is possible. Countries like Singapore, where it could be done as we move into next year. And seek to try and normalise as best we can, student entries into Australia for the start of next year's university year, we're still working on that. But the reality is we must be very careful. I mean, Australia is an open country. We've always looked outside ourselves, not just for our economic opportunities, but for our social connection with the rest of the world and through our many migrant communities and ethnic communities in Australia maintaining that link we know, is incredibly important and the migration programme that supports our economy that I said before. So, look, I won't say we'll be rushing here, we'll be proceeding carefully. The impacts of further waves of COVID coming through our country would be devastating. We've seen what that has meant in Melbourne. We don't want to see that happen again and so we will be cautious, but we are open to those opportunities and I am working with other leaders around the world to see what can be achieved. Technology will be a key factor in this, testing technologies in particular moving to alternative types of quarantine arrangements, trialling those and making sure that we can have confidence about them, and ensuring we get even more enhanced tracing capabilities in Australia to deal with any potential outbreaks which may come from a relaxation of those arrangements but I don't anticipate them happening anytime soon, but New Zealand step will be the first one and then we'll we'll go from there.
ROSA STATHIS: Thank you. The next question is from SBS Hindi program, Mosiqi Acharya please go ahead.
MOSIQI ACHARYA: Thank you Prime Minister for joining us today, my question is what was the thought behind introducing the English language requirement for partner visas?
PRIME MINISTER: Which, as I said in my opening remarks, English is the vital tool for social and economic inclusion in Australia. Now, I used to be an Immigration Minister and I used to be a Social Services Minister and I am very aware that the lack of English language skills, particularly amongst partners, has put many of those partners at risk in Australia, at risk of domestic violence, at risk of being abused in the workplace and having their rights overtaken. And English language is absolutely critical to help people when they come to Australia to take the greatest opportunity of what life in Australia can mean and English is the passport for that to occur in Australia. And we feel very strongly about this as a Government. English unifies the country and it enables us all to connect both economically and socially and so that's why we believe that's an important step that needs to be taken. I don't want to see people who come to Australia be vulnerable and if your English language skills are not strong or even non-existent, then you will be more vulnerable in Australia. From a negative point of view and from a positive point of view, you, you won't be able to maximise life in Australia for you and your family. And so that's why we're encouraging that process.
MOSIQI ACHARYA: Have you got a minimum requirement set out?
PRIME MINISTER: Well it isn't what you'd expect for economic migration. It's a much more basic level of English language competency and we think this is important to just enable people to engage, to access government services for example, to engage with those who are seeking to assist, to access and get the best possible medical treatment to understand what teachers are saying at school, at parent teacher conferences or to understand their rights work and all of these types of things. It's a basic English language requirement, but we think a very necessary skill and ability that people will need to get the best out of life in Australia and to be protected.
ROSA STATHIS: The next question is from Cecil Huang, 1688 Group.
CECIL HUANG: Hi, Prime Minister. Thank you for the opportunity. The Budget has a strong focus on youth with the JobMaker program which benefits people in the age of 35, which is fantastic. But would it make it harder for older people to find jobs?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, the good news is, is that several budgets ago when I was Treasurer, I introduced a programme called the Job Restart Program and that provides incentives for older workers to be able to go into the workforce and for employers to have subsidies to support their employment so that's an ongoing program. That was several years ago when we were actually aware of the challenges faced by older Australians getting into work. So that program continues. But what we do know from the COVID-19 recession is that the biggest impact on people's employment has occurred with younger people and has occurred with women. And so in this budget, you see the incentives for those under the age of 35 to be able to have that access to the hiring credit through their employers. In addition to that, we are also supporting women through the Women's Economic Security Statement. And that statement encourages women to be able to access entrepreneurial opportunities, skills training particularly in the STEM subjects and areas where there will be great opportunities going into the future. I mean, the jobs in this budget aren’t just hard hat jobs. They are tech jobs there, they're high, high wage earning skill jobs. There are so many different jobs, particularly in the advanced manufacturing sector. The Industry Minister herself was an accomplished engineer before she came into Parliament. And so the opportunities for women through the Enterprising Girls program and so many other women support and enterprise initiatives I think will support women as well as young people. 60 per cent of the jobs that have come back since the pit of the recession have been for women. And so there has been a need to ensure we get women and young people back into jobs. Our experience in this country, and I'm sure to be true in other places, that if young people lose a job or don't get into a job and they remain in that situation until their early 20s by about 24 to 25, then their likelihood of remaining on welfare well beyond that and potentially over their lifetime is greatly increased and that would be a great tragedy if young Australians were to live a life dependent on welfare. So we want to get them back into work as quickly as we can.
ROSA STATHIS: The next question is from Anwar Harb, Annahar.
ANWAR HARB: [Inaudible]...we also know that you are very capable of overcoming all the damage it has caused. Your achievements are superb. Could you give us an idea about the long term effect of this virus on the Australian economy?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, thank you, Anwar my good friend. It's good to see you. Good to see you looking well as well. Thank you. Anwar, the COVID-19 virus most lasting impact on Australia I anticipate will come through the impact on the global economy, how the global economy ultimately recovers. We'll put a lag on and limit on everything that Australia can achieve. And what we are doing is to get our economy moving again and open up our economy again safely and try and restore as much as what has been lost and as I said, set us up for the future. This recession caused by this pandemic will be very different to other recessions. In previous times countries move into recession over a much longer period. And they also come out of it over a much longer period because it is the result of structural issues or policy decisions that have occurred in those countries. And as a result you expect a different profile of the recovery particularly for jobs. Now, with this recession, it has been caused by the necessity to close our economies down for a period of time. And so the greatest thing we have to overcome first is to be able to open up again. And once we can do that, I think we've been somewhat successful in preserving the fabric and structure of our economy. So it hasn't scarred to the extent that it may have occurred otherwise. And so businesses will be able to re-establish. Now, regrettably and sadly, there are some businesses that will not reopen, but the dynamism in our economy, hopefully we'll see opportunities present in other parts of the economy for those businesses and those individuals to find new opportunities. The flip side of that though Anwar, is that the global economy. Let's say, for example, when we came out of the early 90s recession, while there was still very difficult times globally, nothing like what we're seeing here in around the world today. And the global sector, just like during the GFC, with the Chinese economy being so strong, the single most important thing that actually took Australia through the GFC was actually the Chinese economy. Now, that's not happening to the same degree as it did on that occasion. While China remains in growth and that's welcome the level of growth, it will not be what we saw from China during the GFC. And so Australia will have to come back at some very strong global headwinds. I think even once we're able to get our economy back into a growth phase and that will that will limit it. But importantly, Anwar, there won't be the corrosion of our business infrastructure. There won't be the corrosion of skills. There won't be the scarring that can occur in the labour market. And so I think the way we've been able to manage this has meant that our economy can come through in a stronger position to restore and to grow again. But we will be limited by how well the rest of the world does and how we open up to it again, both in a trade in goods and services again, and tourism and education and all of these other service areas which are very important to our economy. Our challenge will be to see those grow again in international context. So there are there are pluses and minuses compared to previous recessions. Our business infrastructure, I think, will be stronger and more resilient as a result of what we've done over the last six months. But we will still face some very stiff headwinds for some time to come because the rest of the world is not faring as well as Australia.
ROSA STATHIS: The next question is from Shivendra Singh, Punjab Times.
SHIVENDRA SINGH: Yes, hi. Although you were announced 18 billion in funding higher education institutions, to support universities and higher education providers, It doesn't seem like it's enough to offset the 40 billion brought in by international students each year. So when do you forsee the return of international students to Australia, perhaps through a quarantine arrangement?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, that's something we're working on right now. There are two pilots, the state governments and territory governments are running in the Northern Territory and South Australia now. I think that will give us a good guide as to what can be achieved between now and the start of next year's university year. And I think there are a lot of practical options that can be put in place between now and then that would hopefully see us take the opportunities that we can. We'll be careful about it. We obviously want to see that element of our our economy returned to growth. And I think much of that is possible. Universities have taken decisions about international students now for some time, and there's always been business risk attached to that and the government doesn't self insure the university sector for the business decisions that they make. But what we have done in this budget, for example, is to ensure that where that that revenue most supported research activities, we put an extra billion dollars into research in universities in this budget are to ensure that core research and other important research continues as almost 450 million dollars were put into the CSIRO as well to mitigate the impact of corporate revenues that go into the CSIRO to ensure that that research capacity continues. This is necessary because it feeds into things like our advanced manufacturing and modern manufacturing initiatives. And we want to see that that graduate intake and the undergraduate intake, which can feed these dynamic sectors of our economy, continue into the future. Now, that will be from Australians who are born resident here, but it will also come from those who have studied in Australia and with the additional work rights that apply after the completion of their degrees. That will continue to be an important part of how our economy works and we access the skills that we need. So it will take some time, I think, to get back to some form of COVID normal with international students. And we are not going to put the recovery at risk by being acting with an undue haste in those areas and not protecting against the potential health impacts that could come. We would have to make sure that those arrangements are effective, but there is no lack of willingness on the Government's part to see that that occurs. That also has to be balanced up with the fact that we need to get existing Australian residents into jobs and that means that when students come, they obviously have work rights that are attached to while they're studying and that needs to be weighed up with high levels of unemployment that we're seeing at the moment. And we need to see those Australian residents getting back and jobs as well. But I'm optimistic, but cautious.
SHIVENDRA SINGH: Thank you.
PRIME MINISTER: Rosa?
ROSA STATHIS: Hi Rajni, sorry, Rajni Luthra Indian Link.
RAJNI LUTHRA: Mr. Morrison, you've sort of touched upon the issue that I wanted to ask, but only partially. It has been said of the budget last night that it is the most important since the Second World War. One of the growth factors for Australia post the Second World War was the strong migration to this country. Yet the net numbers of migration are negative and it will take them time to get back to the pre COVID numbers of 240,000. Should they have been stronger measures in this budget to build up the migration numbers?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, there are. As I said, there's 30,000 places that will be put into the partner program. But with the borders shut to international travel, there is a limited scope for what the Government can do when it comes to those migration intakes and that's not a permanent scenario. That is a temporary scenario. And once we can get more flexible and effective quarantine arrangements in place then we'll see what opportunities open up for us. Of course, we know that the reduced migration intake will have an impact on the Australian economy. It does factor into, for example, new home building starts and things like that, that's why we've provided additional stimulus into the home building sector. So we do want to see ultimately a return to the controlled migration and effective migration that we've had. And as you know, there's 160,000 cap on intakes through the permanent program and we have no plans to change that. We made that commitment at the last election. And over this term and we'll keep to that. But obviously, in the course of this year and arguably next year, we're unlikely to see anything like that. But there are areas of opportunity, like in international students area, like in the Pacific worker and seasonal worker programs, potentially in backpacker areas and things like that. But it requires effective border management and quarantine management to make that a reality. So we'll keep investing in that technology and those processes to try and open those opportunities up as soon as we can.
RAJNI LUTHRA: Thank you.
ROSA STATHIS: Thanks PM. The next question is from Rajesh Sharma, Indus Age. Go ahead Rajesh.
RAJESH SHARMA: Uncertainties in the stock market, self-funded retirees are facing significant [inaudible] reduction in their retirement income over a prolonged period. How does this affect [inaudible]? How can you reassure the self-funded Australians and their life after retirement is secure?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, we have a pension in this country is, as you know, and their eligibility requirements for that fee for self-funded retirees incomes for and they can get access to the pension. They can get access to the pension loan scheme, which was a new initiative that we introduced in last year before, sorry the year before’s budget, which gave people access to that scheme, which previously was only available to pensioners, which provides a in in many people's views and more secure access to using people's own assets to supplement their incomes. Now, in addition to that, the most effective thing we can do to support those who live off their investments and who have provided for their own retirement is to ensure that their economy that they're investing in is stronger and for the businesses that they've put their savings into to be able to be more profitable and more successful. And so whether it's the, the ability to write off COVID losses this year against previous incomes or the investment allowances which are significant over these next two years, these things will support better returns from their portfolios. And growing our economy will be a key part of supporting them in their retirement. The pension is there is a safety net in Australia and that will be there for those who need it. But for those who don't qualify for the pension because their income is greater than that, we will continue to do all we can to ensure that their incomes are stronger in the future because of the economy that they're investing in. We've also changed the deeming rates and updated those to reflect current conditions. We've changed the minimum drawdown requirements for those who are concerned about eroding their capital base during a time of recession like this as well. So we've sought to give greater flexibility to those who are self-funded retirees and then just work to strengthen the economy to ensure that they're able to achieve the returns that they would hope to.
ROSA STATHIS: The next question is from Suzan Horani, Radio 2Moro. Go ahead, Suzan.
SUZAN HORANI: [inaudible] and commercial foreign language media in Australia, does ACMA have a road map for how our radio service and others like us will be granted access to digital radio spectrum? We are stuck between regulations and legislations. We are ready to employ. We'll be really happy to train more young people but ACMA needs to move with the times with this example.
PRIME MINISTER: Well, I might take that one on notice and ask Rosa to connect you up with the Minister for Communications on those issues, which I suspect you've already had some engagement with when it comes to that spectrum issue. Now, there are quite a number of reforms going on in the media space at the moment. It's a very difficult time for media, not just with the COVID-19 recession, but also the significant impacts that are being felt in the media industry when it comes to the activities of large internet based platforms and social media platforms and the like, which have been eroding the advertising base for media, small and large now for some period of time. The Minister for Communications, Paul Fletcher is very aware of that, and he's leading some important reforms in that area now, and that relates to spectrum and various other matters so I might leave that for you to follow up with Paul.
SUZAN HORANI: Thank you. Prime Minister.
ROSA STAHIS: P.M we've come to time now. Thank you very much.
PRIME MINISTER: Well, thank you all very much. And I appreciate you spending the time with me today and I look forward to us to be able to do this on other occasions.