Speeches
Remarks, The 2021 ASPI Sydney Dialogue
17 November 2021
Prime Minister: Thank you Peter.
It’s wonderful to join you for the inaugural Sydney Dialogue.
Sydney, my hometown, is Australia’s largest city and the ancient home of the Gadigal people.
One of Australia’s many Indigenous peoples who have cared for this continent for over 60,000 years.
I pay my respects to their Elders past, present and emerging.
And I also acknowledge any servicemen and women and veterans who are joining us – including those who have served with our allies and partners – and I thank them all very much for their service.
Let me begin by applauding the Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI) for its initiative in establishing this Sydney Dialogue.
And for giving a home to what promises to be the world’s premier annual summit on emerging, critical and cyber technologies and their strategic significance.
I want to particularly recognise the leadership and stewardship of Peter Jennings, ASPI’s Executive Director since 2012.
As we all know, technological change has helped deliver enormous human progress - in better health, longer life expectancy, wider learning, more leisure and greater prosperity.
Yet experience has also taught us that it brings new challenges, unanticipated consequences and enhanced risks.
Our time of rapid technological change is no different.
It corresponds with profound global challenges - from the immediate threats posed by COVID-19 and related economic disruption to climate change and geostrategic competition.
Technology is at the centre of how we now respond to all these challenges.
The simple fact is that nations at the leading edge of technology have greater economic, political and military power.
And, in turn, greater capacity to influence the norms and values that will shape technological development in the years to come.
Nowhere is this more powerfully illustrated than in the Indo-Pacific region — the world’s strategic centre of gravity.
So this inaugural Sydney Dialogue is very timely.
Australia knows that our future security and prosperity depends on us being part of the technological revolution shaping the world.
And I’m confident this Dialogue will spur new ideas, create closer partnerships and deepen our shared understanding of the opportunities and challenges of critical, emerging and cyber-enabled technologies.
It’s why the Australian Government is pleased to partner with ASPI in bringing together in this virtual format the best strategic thinkers on what’s at stake in the years ahead.
Partnerships matter.
Australians recognise instinctively that to remain a free, open, sovereign and prosperous nation we need strong and durable partnerships - now more than ever.
In September, I announced — alongside President Biden and Prime Minister Johnson — the new AUKUS enhanced trilateral security partnership.
This is a partnership based fundamentally on trust and shared interests.
A partnership where, guided by our enduring ideals and shared commitment to the international rules-based order, for democratic freedoms, we have resolved to deepen our diplomatic, security and defence cooperation in the Indo-Pacific.
To state the obvious, AUKUS is about much more than nuclear submarines.
AUKUS will see Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States promote deeper information sharing; foster greater integration of security and defence-related science, technology, industrial bases and supply chains; and strengthen our cooperation in advanced and critical technologies and capabilities.
As ASPI has written perceptively:
“The real potential of AUKUS lies in how the new grouping can be leveraged in the long term to help Australia deal with the profound technological disruption about to sweep the world.”
Our trilateral efforts in AUKUS will enhance our joint capabilities and interoperability, with an initial focus on cyber capabilities, artificial intelligence, quantum technologies, and additional undersea capabilities.
Our officials will report back to Leaders within 90 days of our announcement with a proposed AUKUS work plan.
This work plan will involve exchanges of information, personnel, and advanced technologies and capabilities; joint planning, capability development and acquisitions; joint collaboration in science and technology; and developing common and complementary security and defence-related science and industrial bases. It’s a big agenda.
AUKUS is a broad and adaptable partnership that will drive our technology and capability cooperation to meet the challenges of the 21st century in our region, the Indo-Pacific region.
We are also deepening our technology partnerships through the Quad.
Together with India, Japan and the United States, Australia is working to harness our respective nations’ capabilities to enhance the resilience of Indo-Pacific supply chains and foster an open, accessible and secure technology ecosystem.
At September’s first in-person Quad Leaders Meeting in Washington DC, we agreed to strengthen lines of effort across a number of very important areas, including:
Technical standards, with initial focus on advanced communications and AI
5G deployment and diversification, and
Detailed horizon scanning and mapping, with an immediate focus on supply chain security for semiconductors and their vital components, as well as exploring opportunities for cooperation on advanced bio-technologies.
We’re also working within the Quad to bolster critical infrastructure resilience against cyber threats, benchmarking against international best practice.
At home, our Office of Supply Chain Resilience is monitoring supply chain vulnerabilities and coordinating whole-of-government responses to ensure access to essential goods.
As a country of around 25 million people in a world of some 7.8 billion people, most of our technology is — and will continue to be — imported. It makes sense.
In most cases having diverse well functioning markets can meet our technology needs – but in some cases – for critical technologies – we need to ensure we can access and use such technologies reliably and safely, in good times and bad.
Taking a wider lens, the Australian Government has developed a range of policies to ensure we maximise the opportunities new and emerging technologies offer and to minimise the risks they pose.
Our Digital Economy Strategy sets a goal of making Australia a leading digital economy by 2030, by investing in the infrastructure, skills, the regulation and systems that support and enable emerging technologies.
Our AI Action Plan sets out a vision for Australia to be a global leader in developing and adopting AI.
Our Modern Manufacturing Strategy is about making science and technology work for industry, and encouraging higher levels of technology investment, especially in defence industry, which is one of our key strategic sectors. 1 of 6.
Our Cyber Security Strategy sets out a framework to protect our nation against cyber threats — including threats against critical infrastructure — and to enhance our cyber awareness and capabilities.
Our Low Emissions Technology Statement positions Australia to become a global low emissions technology leader — to get us to net zero by 2050 – including in clean hydrogen, green steel and aluminium, carbon capture and storage, long-duration energy storage, soil carbon measurement, and ultra low-cost solar.
This is vital, as I said, to reaching net zero emissions by 2050.
And part of our plan for a strong economy and a safer, more resilient Australia.
Today, I am pleased to release another key part of that plan – Australia’s Blueprint for Critical Technologies.
The Blueprint sets out a vision for protecting and promoting critical technologies in our national interest.
It aims to balance the economic opportunities of critical technologies with their national security risks.
And it gives us the right framework to work domestically and with like-minded countries to support the further development of these technologies.
The Blueprint sets out four key goals:
Ensure we have access to, and choice in, critical technologies and systems that are secure, reliable, and cost-effective.
Promote Australia as a trusted and secure partner for investment, research, innovation, collaboration, and adoption of critical technologies.
Maintain the integrity of our research, science, ideas, information and capabilities - to enable Australian industries to thrive and maximise our sovereign IP.
Support regional resilience and shape an international environment that enables open, diverse and competitive markets and secure and trusted technological innovation.
The Blueprint is supported by an Action Plan, which outlines what Australia is doing to protect and promote critical technologies in pursuit of our national interest.
It also specifies our nation’s first-ever Critical Technologies List. You’ve got to set priorities.
This list signals to governments, industry and academia the technologies slated as critical for Australia today or those expected to become so within the next decade.
Through this signal, we intend to drive consistency in decision making and focused investment. A mission focus.
There are 63 critical technologies on the list — but we’ve got an initial focus, very clearly, on just nine.
Let me focus briefly on just one - quantum technologies - applying quantum physics to explore ways to acquire, transmit and process vast quantities of information.
Quantum science and technology has the potential to revolutionise a whole range of industries, including finance, communications, energy, health, agriculture, manufacturing, transport, and mining.
Quantum sensors, for example, could improve the discovery of valuable ore deposits and make groundwater monitoring more efficient; and quantum communications could provide for secure exchange of information to better secure financial transactions.
Quantum technologies will also have defence applications, like enabling navigation in GPS denied environments and helping to protect us from advanced cyber attacks.
Australia is already a global leader in several aspects of quantum technology.
We have some world-class research capabilities and scientists. And strong foundations for a thriving quantum industry.
Now we need to take it to the next level.
The Government has asked Australia’s Chief Scientist, Dr Cathy Foley, to lead the development of our first-ever National Quantum Strategy.
This will aim to better integrate industry and government activities, building on the recommendations of the CSIRO’s Quantum Technology Roadmap.
The strategy will be informed by a National Committee on Quantum which the Chief Scientist will chair, with commercial, research and national security expertise.
I’m confident the new strategy will help position Australia as a quantum technology leader in the Indo-Pacific.
I’m also pleased to announce today that the Government will invest $70 million over the next decade in a Quantum Commercialisation Hub, designed to commercialise Australia’s quantum research and forge links with global markets and supply chains.
This is about capitalising on our competitive advantage and taking our research to the world.
The Hub will be designed to attract private co-investment and to partner with equivalent bodies among like-minded nations. The first step is a joint cooperation agreement which the Government has signed with the United States.
And we’re looking forward to working with other countries, too.
Ladies and gentlemen, technology isn’t developed in a vacuum.
It reflects the values of the society that creates and uses it. And how they use it.
For Australia’s part, we are guided by our values as a liberal democratic nation — based on respect for the rule of law, human rights, economic and religious freedom, gender equality, and independent institutions.
We want technology to protect our citizens’ autonomy, privacy and data.
But you know, not all governments see technology the same way. They don’t see technology that way.
As President Biden has said:
“We’re … encountering a new era — an era of new technologies and possibilities that have the potential to release and reshape every aspect of human existence. And it’s up to all of us to determine whether these technologies are a force to empower people or to deepen repression.”
Australia, like the United States, is committed to playing our part so that rules and norms around technology reflect the values of our open societies.
Our International Cyber and Critical Technology Engagement Strategy provides a framework to guide our international engagement.
We’re heavily engaged in standards-setting bodies like the International Organization for Standardization and International Telecommunication Union.
We’re also working through forums like the OECD, ASEAN, NATO, the G7 Plus and G20.
Australia is one of only 15 founding members of the Global Partnership on AI — a coalition working to ensure AI is used responsibly and respects human rights and democratic values.
And we’ve been working with the United Kingdom to develop ethical principles for human augmentation technologies, which will be progressed at the Future Tech Forum later this month.
We cannot shy away from the ethical implications of new technologies.
We need to be asking ourselves what should be done with technology — not just what can be done.
Ensuring our citizens understand that technologies are safe and secure and working in their interest is fundamental in providing the enabling environment necessary to support deployment.
Before I conclude, I should note that I am also speaking at the Bengaluru Tech Summit today, which is India’s biggest technology summit.
There is much we can do with India in this area - some of which I have already touched on today, including as part of our Quad partnership.
As part of our Comprehensive Strategic Partnership with India, our two countries are already cooperating — on cyber security, critical and emerging technologies, critical minerals, the digital economy, and so much more.
I will expand on some of the complementary initiatives with India at the Summit.
Friends, in this era of technological transformation and strategic competition, there are great challenges before us all.
Our goals are clear: to uphold our liberal democratic traditions, to keep Australia prosperous and to keep it strong and safe.
We will achieve this by working together and investing in the research and capabilities that reflect our interests and our values.
I want to send my best wishes to all who will be participating in this Sydney Dialogue.
Particularly my great friends Prime Minister Narendra Modi, former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, and former Prime Minister John Howard.
I look forward to us having the opportunity to do it all again next year in person.
Thank you very much for your attention.
Remarks, Google Australia
16 November 2021
PRIME MINISTER: Well, thank you very much, Sundar, and thank you very much, Mel. It's great to be here today. And can I also join in my acknowledgement of the traditional owners, the Gadigal people of the Eora Nation. And can I acknowledge their elders past, present and future and emerging. Can I also, as is my custom, acknowledge any veterans who are with us here today and serving men and women of the Defence Forces, particularly those who may be joining us from elsewhere on the broadcast that we're streaming today. Can I also, of course, welcome my good friend and our Minister for the Digital Economy Jane Hume, who has been doing a tremendous job here in developing our digital economy strategy, which I'm so pleased today's announcement has backed in so strongly with the investment that Google has announced today. It's great also to have Larry Marshall, Dr Larry Marshall, Chief Executive of the CSIRO. I'm always absolutely overwhelmed every time I get to spend some time with the CSIRO and to understand the incredible frontiers that they are, they are actually exploring and taking Australia into. They have a proud history of doing that over a very long period of time and respected all around the world. Larry, in his own right, is a tremendous scientist and innovator, inventing eyesight lasers which enable lasers to be used safely in public. It's also wonderful to have Michael Goldman, the Charge d'Affaires from the United States Embassy who's here with us today, and we greatly appreciate the strong bilateral relationship that we have with the United States. They're a great partner and they're a great friend, and we work across so many different areas. And the Quad initiative, which President Biden is leading in bringing together India, Australia, Japan and the United States together to focus on these very types of issues and the contribution that advanced liberal democracies can make in our Indo-Pacific region is very exciting. And of course, I acknowledge my good friend Peter Verwer who is here with us also today and the great work he's doing, bringing the talent that's needed to be here to drive the research labs and the investors and the inventors and innovators and entrepreneurs, which will drive Australia's economy into the future.
The announcement by Google is a $1 billion vote of confidence, I believe, in Australia's digital economy strategy. It is backing in the plan that we've set out. A $1 billion vote of confidence in our economic recovery and along with ensuring together with our great allies and partners in our region, the national security of Australia. Our challenge as we emerge from this pandemic in a very challenging world is to secure Australia's economic recovery. That is the challenge we face as we move into 2022, and Australia's digital strategy is central to securing that recovery. A plan that puts business, investors, entrepreneurs in the driver's seat to realise the opportunities that are ahead. Today's announcement by Google demonstrates that we are taking the right approach, and it recognises the digital leadership that is necessary for Australia to emerge as a top digital economy by 2030, not only in the role the government needs to play in enabling and supporting, but more importantly, recognising that it is great private capital investors and entrepreneurs that actually will drive this change. That's where it happens in a liberal democracy that has a market economy. We believe passionately in Australia that that entrepreneurship is actually what solves the world's biggest problems, whether it's realising the challenges of digital technology or indeed achieving what is needed to be achieved with low emissions energy into the future. Private capital investment, entrepreneurship, collaborating with the world's best scientists and researchers and innovators. That's what solves the problems, not taxes and regulation. So leadership in digital capability, skills, digital literacy, cyber security and safety, emerging technologies and AI and in developing research and industry partnerships with digital leaders such as Google. That's what our digital strategy is all about. The Australian government is embracing these opportunities, but we are not naive to the risks and the challenges. Above all, we need to ensure that we apply the same rules to the digital world that exist in the real world, and this is a challenge for governments. On one hand, we seek to encourage, of course, the massive investment in the jobs and opportunities that digital technologies that will generate here in Australia all of this for our economy, and I think Sundar put it so well, and I'm so appreciative of his leadership and his partnership in the relationship that he's been proactively forming with Australia and our government in assisting it and ensuring that this partnership can go to a whole new level, as he's announced today.
On the other hand, we need to put it an equal amount of effort into making sure the digital world is safe and secure and trusted, because that is the only way I think that we can ensure that we can realise the opportunities of the digital world. This is the tightrope that we walk, and you can't have a world leading digital economy without actually doing both. We have to embrace and encourage and enable those going out and seizing these opportunities. But for those for whom they are seeking to serve, we've got to create the safe space for those technologies to have their best dividend. I want every Australian and every Australian business to understand the opportunities that digitalisation offers us. Every business in Australia is a digital business, every single one. From the doctors conducting telehealth, the farmers operating drones, the restaurants taking orders and the tradies planning their week, through to our world leading fintech, regtech and medtech operators. We know the truth of our world, that our lives, our businesses, even the geopolitical tectonic plates that are being transformed by the technologies that have been unleashed. This is a transformation that is only accelerating. Last year, Australia jumped five years ahead almost in the blink of an eye in digital adoption. All in the space of just a few short months as we found our way into the world's largest pandemic in a century. The adoption has consolidated in 2021, and it wasn't a blip, though. During this pandemic, almost 9 in 10 Australian firms have adopted new technologies. It has been a breakthrough. Pandemic didn't slow the change. It accelerated it. Making the most of this change is integral to the strong economic management the government is all about. In Australia, the estimates are that increased digitisation could add some $90 billion to our economy and create some 250,000 new jobs in the near future. And as you can see, as Larry will share the moment, right across the economy. It's just not people in high tech labs like the one which is excitedly being created here. It is all across the economy in all fields, from the classroom, out to the bush into our major cities. The newly formed Tech Council of Australia has estimated that technology is our third biggest sector after mining and financial services puts it in some perspective, and this sector is growing four times faster than the rest of our economy. We're building an ecosystem that invests in the digital literacy skills of our workforce that grows our R&D investment, is a magnet for engineers and scientists and technologists and removes the barriers to innovation because we either accelerate or we get left behind.
We're going to accelerate Australia, and today is proof of that. Sundar and I have talked many, many times about my desire for Australia to be front and centre in the changes that are occurring, and I genuinely appreciate that he is backed in this relationship with the significant investment that is Google is making here in Australia over the next five years. Our digital economy strategy is about Australia becoming the top 10 digital economy by 2030. And last week, our friends at Microsoft said they thought we were going to beat that. Good. Great. We like to meet and beat targets here in Australia because Australia is always interested in meeting and beating those targets. Today's announcement by Google is a fantastic announcement for Australia that will make a major contribution to achieving our goal. Google is a driving force behind the world's digital transformation and has amazing capabilities at its disposal. It is a thousand universities rolled into one. It's now ranked first in artificial intelligence research output in the United States, exceeding that of the next two institutions Stanford and MIT combined. The decision by Google has major benefits for Australian businesses as we engage with the economic recovery before us. It'll help keep Australian businesses connected with the best digital infrastructure, making them more productive and resilient. It's a big, it will bring more to STEM jobs to our shores, as we've heard, across engineering, computing science and AI. It will provide us with world leading capabilities in the new Google Research Hub. This is tremendously exciting, as well as partnerships with the CSIRO and Australian universities, enabling important research breakthroughs and encouraging the best Australian talent to stay on Australian soil. And as I know, Peter is keen to prove we'll be bringing more talent to Australia to be part of it because it's happening here in Australia when it comes to the digital economy. This is where you want to be if you want to be part of that and it'll have a ripple effect across our economy, supporting the creation of over 6,000 direct jobs and a total economic impact of some $6.7 billion to our economy and further expanding the digital ecosystem, which will be foundational to our economy in the decades ahead. Australia believes in these opportunities.
Our Australian approach balances our optimism with our pragmatism as a nation. We see the opportunities across our economy, but that doesn't mean we're trying to be the next Silicon Valley. No, we just want to create something different here. We're creating our own opportunities. That's why our digital economy strategy is focused in the way it is. It's about getting those foundations right. And Google are investing in those foundations, putting the infrastructure and skills in place, making sure we drive that innovation and growing our local tech sector while also ensuring every other part of our economy, including our small and medium sized businesses, are applying that technology that we're plugged in. And it's about being a trusted partner that works with industry to resolve issues as they arise. And I particularly appreciate the approach that Google has taken to dealing with some difficult issues. But we sat down, we've worked through them and I think we've got the right result for both the citizens of Australia and for the technology future that we both want to embrace and the fact that Google has decided to invest in the way that they have, I think, seals that partnership. We have already worked together with the tech sector on so many fronts, and there are so many more that we need to work on. E-safety, extremist content, a critical infrastructure, working together on taxes and news media competition, all important issues that Google have been a productive partner in working through with these issues and more to come. We know that we can resolve them by continuing to work together.
Sundar, Australians, we are well known for just getting on with it. We let our performance, what we achieve, speak for itself. But that doesn't mean that Australians should be shy about what we can achieve. We shouldn't forget that the start-up that eventually became Google Maps, as we've already said here today, was born here in Sydney. That Wi-Fi was invented here and as well that Australia has got some serious digital shops here. We've got massive potential to do more and Google get that, and this investment will help unlock that potential. So today it's a really great day for Australia, isn't it, Jane? It is an exciting day and the next chapter of the implementation of our digital economy strategy. And for those who believe in the potential of this sector, it's a great day for you as well because you've been looking forward to this day and I'm glad to be here with you. Let me finish on this point. I have great confidence in Australians. That's why I have great confidence in Australia's future, and I have great confidence in the way Australia works. And that it if it just invests in its people and trust them to get on with it. And that's why I'm confident about 2022 and beyond. That's why I'm confident about the economic recovery that I know that we can secure together. But I know how we do it. We've got to back Australians in with what they're doing with their choices, the investments they're making. Create those opportunities, but let them realise them and take them forward. That's how Google became a great company. That's how Australian companies have become great companies, not by governments telling them what to do or where to go. They got there because they have been able to realise their vision for their own organisations, and that's what will secure our recovery and a framework, a policy setting, an environment and a government that gets that, that gets it. That with that entrepreneurship, with that technology, with that investment in the partnerships that go with it, there is nothing that can stop us. Thank you all very much and thank you to Google.
Remarks, Business Roundtable - Penrith, NSW
PRIME MINISTER: It’s great to be back here. It’s been a while since we’ve had an opportunity to do this. And, so, it’s great for people to be coming back out again and getting around tables like this and and working together.
Securing Australia's economic recovery is our absolute mission focus. We’ve done, as a country, incredibly well through COVID, but it's come at a great cost and an enormous impact on our business community, particularly our small and medium-sized family business sector. And that’s, of course, the mainstay of Western Sydney.
There’s a lot going on out here though, there’s an enormous amount going on, whether it’s the airport, whether it’s the big defence contracts, whether it’s, you know, one of the biggest consumer economies in the country out here in Western Sydney. And, so, what we're very keen to continue to understand is how we can continue to fire up that business-led economic recovery out of COVID, keeping your taxes down, keeping your energy costs down, electricity bills down, ensuring that you’re getting the skills that you need and we’re making the investments, as we have been doing throughout COVID. We want to keep that going.
It's great to see the apprentices people are putting on. We were out there this morning at Baker and Provan and seeing that occurring, Mal’s here and, and how exciting that is to see that. The work is certainly coming back but I know there are real challenges in terms of you getting the people you need with the skills you need. That's true in the hospitality sector, it's right across the economy, and economies like Western Sydney will come back strongly, as I think you all know. Our challenge is to make sure we get over the supply side issues that means you can take advantage of that, of that recovery.
So, that's our focus, how we can get government more and more out of your way so you can get more and more in the front of where you want to take the Australian economy, and so, we can back you all in.
Something I announced today with Mal, a big part of what the Commonwealth is doing, in addition to what I’ve said on taxes and skills and infrastructure investments, getting energy costs down and increasingly, as you probably all know, keeping downward pressure on the interest rates, which we're seeing, sort of, movement on overseas, and that that only occurs, you know, if we’re getting our competitiveness right and and businesses are really leading the economy forward. So that's where we’re really focusing.
And with our contracts, we've got over half of the contracts by value that we spent money on as a Commonwealth Government last year, 54 per cent of the $18.7 billion we spent last year went to small and medium-sized enterprises, Australian small and medium-sized enterprises, right across the country. Now, that’s $5 billion up on the previous year.
And, so, we know we can play an important role - not only in making sure that we're giving the opportunity for small and medium sized businesses to be part of the Government contracting space, and that's included changes in the rules, which means you can do direct contracting in particular areas, I think it’s contracts up to $1 million. That is giving small and medium sized businesses a look in. Whereas before you were getting blocked out, and now you’re getting a look in. And that's what we want to continue to see happen with small and medium sized enterprises.
The other thing we can do as a major contractor in the economy is taking the lead on ensuring small and medium sized businesses get paid and they get paid on time, and on digital invoicing our rule is five days or less. Frankly, you should be instantaneous with large companies, and particularly the Government, particularly if you’re using the new payments platform and you're a digitised digital business. That should be one of the big advantages in the digital economy, is that you’re getting paid more quickly, not just by the Government, but all, all those you work with in small and medium sized businesses.
So, cash flow, training, costs, these are all, I'm sure important issues, and of course, making sure you're paying less tax, which we’ve certainly done. I'm keen to hear more about the feedback you've got and the challenges that you're seeing as we seek to work together to secure the economic recovery here in Western Sydney.
I should mention, manufacturing, just before I go. A million Australians now back working in manufacturing. We're making things in Australia and we're certainly making things here in Western Sydney. That's definitely true. We’re seeing the expansion of that. Last time I was out here it was out at Visy, and the major investments that are going into, business, and that's really exciting. So the investment’s coming in, whether it's in recycling or new clean energy technologies, batteries, traditional metals, and so on. All of this is happening. Manufacturing is a huge part of our economic recovery, because it flows into so many other sectors. It leads to technology, it leads to people, it leads to innovation, and we need to ensure particularly the University of Western Sydney is really plugged into that collaboration with the ecosystem here in Western Sydney. So, with that, I'll stop talking and I'll let you guys fill me in.
Press Conference - St Marys, NSW
15 November 2021
Ms Melissa McIntosh MP, Federal Member for Lindsay: Welcome everyone to Western Sydney, and we are right in the heart of manufacturing at Baker and Provan. We make stuff in Western Sydney, just like Baker and Provan do right here in St Marys, and I’m so proud that we are driving Australia's manufacturing forward, and to bring the Prime Minister today. Over 600 manufacturers in my community of Lindsay employing over 6,000 people. This is what it's about, creating local jobs for local people. And I'm really pleased that the Prime Minister is here today at Baker and Provan. Thank you.
Prime Minister: Well, thank you very much, Melissa. It's great to be here. Before I speak about this manufacturing hub out here in Western Sydney, just a couple of very quick points on what’s unfolding in western New South Wales. I was with the Premier earlier today and there is a pre-evacuation order in western New South Wales, for Forbes, and the Lachlan River. It's a flooding area that, when you think back a number of years ago, was beyond imagination. But that is the nature of Australia. And, so, if it's flooded, forget it. That's our very clear message. The Federal Government, of course, working closely with the New South Wales Government to provide whatever support is needed. At present, there isn’t a requirement, but I have no doubt the Premier will reach out if indeed that is required, and certainly the Emergency Services Minister David Elliott. So, our thoughts are with those in western New South Wales today. And while it's great to see the rainfall that we have seen across so many drought-affected parts of this state, it also brings those dangers as we go into the summer season. It is the floods, it is the cyclones, it is those types of weather events that we're anticipating to be more of a risk this summer. Obviously, the risk of bushfires and others are always present in Australia, but the various briefings that we've had at the National Security Committee and also with premiers around the country has been to very much focus on those flooding and cyclone events.
But it is very, very great to be here at Baker and Provan. In fact, Arthur Baker, who started this business together with Provan 75 years ago is actually from the Shire, and came out here. So there's that Shire-Western Sydney connection once again, Melissa. And, so, it's wonderful to see what's being achieved here, whether it's the apprentices that have been trained, and it's great to see so many people a part of this great family business that have been here for more than 20 years. I think it just goes to show the continuity, the stability, the expertise that had been built up to ensure that they have been such a successful business and now expanding, with the size of the projects and the contracts that they have.
Small and medium-sized businesses are at the heart of our economic recovery, and our Government is seeking to secure that economic recovery as we come out of COVID. This is the big challenge facing Australia. Australia has done an incredible job as we’ve fought our way through this pandemic. So, now, what will be one of the highest vaccination rates in the world, and so much was done here in Western Sydney to achieve that during the recent outbreak here across Sydney. One of the highest vaccination rates in the world we're heading towards right now, we have one of the strongest, if not one of, the strongest economy of advanced economies in the world coming through the pandemic, and, of course, we have one of the lowest fatality rates from COVID in the world. But the challenge now is to secure that economic recovery, and manufacturing is at the heart of that strategy, with our Modern Manufacturing Initiative, by keeping electricity prices down and ensuring they have the reliable, affordable energy they need to power up what they're doing right across the country. The defence contracting work, particularly defence manufacturing, being such an important part of our Modern Manufacturing Initiative, which Baker and Provan here are benefiting from with the significant projects that they're a part of.
But there's also the Snowy Hydro project, another massive infrastructure project, one of the biggest, if not the biggest in the country, together with projects like Western Sydney Airport, not far from here. These big infrastructure projects, combined with the investments we're putting into skills and manufacturing, the instant asset write-off, we're creating the right conditions through our policies to secure Australia's economic recovery, and we're putting small and medium-sized businesses right out front in leading that recovery.
Today, we can tell you that 54 per cent of all the Commonwealth contracting has gone, some $18.7 billion in total, has gone to small and medium-sized enterprises. That's up $5 billion on the previous year. That's a massive surge that we've seen this Government, my Government, investing in small and medium-sized enterprises through what we're procuring to make sure that they're getting a go.
I said at the last election, a fair go for those who have a go. Small and medium family-sized businesses are having a go in this country, and we've increased the procurement to those businesses by $5 billion in the past year alone. So that's a big vote of confidence in small and medium-sized enterprises, and we need to continue to keep getting out of their way.
We're also making sure they're getting paid on time by Commonwealth Government agencies, whether that's the Department of Defence or Snowy Hydro projects, or the many other projects that are out there on infrastructure. We're making it a term of those conditions that we have with the big contractors that they pay their small and medium-sized enterprises on time, particularly on digital invoicing of five days or less, because cash flow is what keeps people in jobs. Cash flow is what secures our economic recovery, and we're doing our bit on that. And there's no doubt family and small businesses right across the country are doing their bit. Happy to take some questions.
Journalist: Prime Minister, this net zero modelling released on Friday appears to show to get to net zero you need a carbon price of between $24 a tonne and $400 a tonne. What's the difference between that and a carbon tax?
Prime Minister: Well, what we have is the cost of abatement that is run through our Climate Solutions Fund. So, we've been running that for years. That's what we're doing. We don't have a carbon tax. We will never have a carbon tax.
Journalist: Doesn't that pass cost on?
Prime Minister: No, there’s no carbon tax in Australia. And there won't be one, because we are for technology, not taxes. And what we are doing is we're procuring abatement through the Climate Solutions Fund, which has been a very important part of our, our commitments to already be achieving a 20 per cent reduction in emissions. That's what I said at the last election. I went to the last election, I said we would have a 26 to 28 per cent target for 2030. We keep that commitment, and I said one of the ways we were going to achieve that was through the Climate Solutions Fund, which we've topped up again. So we’re procuring that abatement that is actually driving technology improvements in everything from soil carbon to the low emissions technologies and energy. And that's an important part of ensuring the technologies labour path to our net zero goal.
Journalist: But that's funded through tax, isn’t it? I mean, ultimately, we're paying, when you're putting out these incentives, these supplements.
Prime Minister: But we’re not putting a, we’re not putting a tax on Australians to do that. Not at all.
Journalist: Are you ruling out a more ambitious 2030 target for COP27, if you're elected?
Prime Minister: Well, all that happened at COP26 was all countries noted a request to revisit these things. But I've been very clear about what our target is, and that we will meet and beat it. See, we are going to achieve a 35 per cent reduction in emissions by 2030. That's what we're going to achieve and that's what actually matters. It's, what matters is what you actually achieve. And, so, we're well above our target.
Journalist: Why don't you make that your target then, if you're going to get to 35 per cent anyway?
Prime Minister: Because our policy is to meet and beat, that's what we do.
Journalist: Prime Minister, do you agree that COP26 sounded the death knell on coal?
Prime Minister: No.
Journalist: So you disagree with Boris Johnson?
Prime Minister: I don’t believe it did. And for all of those who are working in that industry in Australia, they’ll continue to be working in that industry for decades to come, because there will be a transition that will occur over a long period of time. And I make no apologies for Australia standing up for our national interests, whether they be our security interests or our economic interests. We have a balanced plan to achieve net zero by 2050, but we're not going to make rural and regional Australians pay for that. We're going to do this in a balanced way, focusing on the technological advances that we know will actually see us solve this problem. We’re not going to tell Australians to do that. We're not going to legislate them and regulate them and force them to do things. I think Australians have had a gutful of governments telling them what to do over the last couple of years. And our approach going forward to secure our economic recovery is not tell businesses what to do, not tell customers what to do. Our plan is to ensure that they can take the lead, that their choices take the lead. The Labor Party loves telling people what to do. And the only thing they like doing more than that is taxing.
Journalist: Prime Minister, Dave Sharma has revived calls for a more ambitious reduction target, saying that by 2035 we should have sufficient technological development for us to reach 40 to 45 per cent by that time. I mean, is this something that the Government would ever consider?
Prime Minister: What we want to do is ensure we achieve our emissions reductions by growing our economy and seeing low emissions technology be more and more cost effective and scalable in, not just here in Australia, but around the world. And when that’s achieved, then emissions will reduce. And, so, we're happy to see emissions reduce. We're happy to over perform on our targets. But I'm not happy to tell Australians what to do through climate policy. I'm not happy to tax Australians on those things. And Australians, I think, can have confidence about that. We’re not having an each way bet on this. We know where Australia’s interests reside, and we will always stand up for those interests to ensure that Australia's economic security is, is there. That's how you secure Australia’s economic recovery.
Journalist: There’s been a rapid increase in the number of illegal fishing boats off the northwest coast of Australia. What's being done to prevent that? And is it time that the crews and the ships are detained, not just deported back to international waters?
Prime Minister: Well, no one has been stronger on border protection than my Government. No one. Ever. We are the gold standard of border protection because we're not double minded about it. You know, we don’t, we don't squirm about it in the Coalition. Australians understand that if they want their borders secure, then only a Coalition Government can give them that confidence. And we have the runs on the board, and we have one of the best border protection agencies of anywhere in the world. We established the Australian Border Force. We made it happen and we funded them to do the job. And they’re best placed to be out there on that front line, making the calls that they need to make to ensure that Australia's borders and fishing interests and other security interests are protected. I just was, I just caught up this morning with one of our Border Force crew who is crewing up from the Northern Territory, will be heading back there shortly. I mean, it goes to tell you about where the Border Force draws its people from around the country. They do an amazing job. A very brave job. But we invested in their, in their capabilities, and there's no one better than the Border Force in protecting our borders, and there’s no one stronger than the Coalition to make sure they have what they need to get that job done.
Journalist: [Inaudible] Andrew Bragg’s inquiry into the ABC complaints system, and have you discussed the matter with Andrew Bragg?
Prime Minister: Well, that's a matter for the, for the Senate. I mean, there's no government agency that is above the scrutiny of the Senate, and I don't understand why that would be an extraordinary initiative to take. The Government’s responsive to inquiries undertaken, whether it's by Joint Standing Committees. I mean, we've had a Senate Committee that has been enquiring into the management of COVID from the start of COVID. They look into what the Chief Medical Officer does, or General Frewen does. There’s no government agency that's beyond the, beyond the scrutiny of the Senate. There's no special set of arrangements for one agency over others.
Journalist: So, you’re comfortable with the inquiry?
Prime Minister: Well, why wouldn’t it be? It’s a government agency. Yes, they have their independence, and no one's questioning that. But they're not above the scrutiny for how they conduct themselves using taxpayers’ money, or any other government agency. That’s, that’s that’s, sort of, business as usual for the Australian Parliament. I don’t know why they consider themselves an exception to this.
Journalist: Prime Minister, you seem to be out campaigning early. Do you regard yourself as the underdog at this election?
Prime Minister: Well, I think that's fairly clear. And I’ve been there before, on more than one occasion. And what I’m thrilled to be doing is, having spent pretty much since June locked up in various quarantines and other lockdowns in New South Wales and Canberra, I am just pleased as to be out and about, talking to people like Mal, talking to the, to the trainees and the apprentices that are on the tools here, seeing the country open up again, because I'm just full of optimism about where Australia is and where we're heading.
But I’ve got to tell you, manufacturing, which is why we're here today, is going to play a huge role in Australia's future. We've got a million Australians back working in manufacturing. Under Labor, one in eight manufacturing jobs went. We have restored that. And you can see it here in Western Sydney, you can see people are back on the tools here in Western Sydney in manufacturing jobs. That's occurring right across the country. What's driving it is lower taxes. What's driving it is we're keeping the pressure down on electricity and energy prices. What's driving it is putting money into training and skills, so the apprentices of tomorrow can be learning what they need to learn, to ensure businesses like this go for another 75 years. That's what's driving the policies that put business and Australians in the driver's seat when it comes to securing Australia's economic recovery. We're backing them in. We don't want to tell them what to do. We want to support the decisions that they’re making. Labor’s all about telling them what to do.
Journalist: Chris Minns says that all public transport should be manufactured in New South Wales for New South Wales. Would you support making that mandatory across the country, the state, or the country, at least Australia, produces the public transport that their citizens can travel on?
Prime Minister: Well, I can just tell you our record, 54 per cent of the $18.7 billion of Commonwealth spending this last year has gone to small and medium-sized enterprises, just like the one we're standing in today. So, that's not a promise, that's a record. That's a record. You know, not far from here, is Western Sydney International Airport, which is the Nancy-Bird Walton Airport. Now, Labor had six years in government. The Leader of the Opposition Anthony Albanese banged on about a Western Sydney Airport, day in, day out, but did nothing. They’re good at whinging, they’re good at whining, they’re good at sledging, but they weren't that good at building. And what you can see out there, and what you can see in our defence contracting, what you can see at Snowy Hydro, what you can see at Inland Rail, what you can see is things getting done, things getting built on the ground. And what we're seeing here is apprentices getting employed. What we're seeing is new equipment getting built. What we're seeing is defence contracts coming through to small and medium-sized family enterprises. That's how you secure the economic recovery. And that's what's at risk under Labor.
Journalist: Prime Minister, on the economic recovery, on the economic recovery, how concerned are you that inflation in the US and supply chain problems around the world could screw up the recovery here in Australia that we're expecting, going into the election?
Prime Minister: This is a very good question. It was one of the most important meetings that took place at the G20, there was more focus on other things. But at the G20, one of the most important sessions was convened by President Biden, and that was looking at the security and the volatility in supply chains, and in particular in that area, I was highlighting the need for critical critical minerals, rare earths and supply chains that go into building this new technology. But we are seeing disruption in supply right around the world, whether it be on our wharfs, and that's why it’s very important that we don’t allow the unions on the wharfs to do the wrong thing by our farmers and our manufacturers who need critical supplies coming in and they need critical exports going out. But whether it's on that, our infrastructure and the regulation that sits around all of this, it’s so important that we can free up those supply chains. So we need less regulation in this area, not more. We need to let business take the lead in securing this economic recovery, not tie them up in more legislation and regulation. So, yes, you’re right to highlight the inflationary pressures in the United States. I think it does highlight that Australia's economic recovery has to be secured by people who have a track record of economic management. Otherwise, you're going to see petrol prices go up. You're going to see electricity prices go up. You're going to see interest rates go up more than they would need to, otherwise. And that's why economic management is so important now, as we come out of COVID. Having secured our help through the pandemic, we now must secure the economic recovery.
Journalist: The Chinese Embassy has lodged a complaint through Australian Parliament about James Paterson about a speech he did last week talking about the risk of foreign interference. Is it appropriate for a foreign embassy to then be interfering in Australian Parliament in that way?
Prime Minister: Well, I think the comment is very ironic, I think, because the whole point is Australia, as a liberal democracy, believes in free speech and and none more so than in our Parliament, and for Australians who are elected to our Parliament to be able to speak very plainly about what they believe the issues are that are needed to secure Australia's defence interests. And James Paterson does a tremendous job on that, and I will always stand up for Australia’s liberal democracy, and it's been a big focus of my attention engaging with other leaders around the world who lead liberal democracies, particularly in the United States, in India and Japan through the Leaders’ Dialogue with the Quad. This is an important way of ensuring liberal democracies work together to ensure that we can have a free and open Indo-Pacific. Our model for how we run our country is one that gives people their freedoms, and one of those most important freedoms is their freedom of speech. And, so, this is one of the issues that has been highlighted by the Chinese Embassy here in Australia about one of their issues with Australia, one of the reasons why they have expressed disappointment in Australia about the relationship. Well, I'm not going to sell out Australia's free speech. It’s never going to happen. Australia is a free country where you can speak your mind, and under our Government you can be very sure that will be retained and always stood up for in whatever forum is necessary. Thanks very much everyone.
Remarks, Business Roundtable - Penrith, NSW
15 November 2021
PRIME MINISTER: It’s great to be back here. It’s been a while since we’ve had an opportunity to do this. And, so, it’s great for people to be coming back out again and getting around tables like this and and working together.
Securing Australia's economic recovery is our absolute mission focus. We’ve done, as a country, incredibly well through COVID, but it's come at a great cost and an enormous impact on our business community, particularly our small and medium-sized family business sector. And that’s, of course, the mainstay of Western Sydney.
There’s a lot going on out here though, there’s an enormous amount going on, whether it’s the airport, whether it’s the big defence contracts, whether it’s, you know, one of the biggest consumer economies in the country out here in Western Sydney. And, so, what we're very keen to continue to understand is how we can continue to fire up that business-led economic recovery out of COVID, keeping your taxes down, keeping your energy costs down, electricity bills down, ensuring that you’re getting the skills that you need and we’re making the investments, as we have been doing throughout COVID. We want to keep that going.
It's great to see the apprentices people are putting on. We were out there this morning at Baker and Provan and seeing that occurring, Mal’s here and, and how exciting that is to see that. The work is certainly coming back but I know there are real challenges in terms of you getting the people you need with the skills you need. That's true in the hospitality sector, it's right across the economy, and economies like Western Sydney will come back strongly, as I think you all know. Our challenge is to make sure we get over the supply side issues that means you can take advantage of that, of that recovery.
So, that's our focus, how we can get government more and more out of your way so you can get more and more in the front of where you want to take the Australian economy, and so, we can back you all in.
Something I announced today with Mal, a big part of what the Commonwealth is doing, in addition to what I’ve said on taxes and skills and infrastructure investments, getting energy costs down and increasingly, as you probably all know, keeping downward pressure on the interest rates, which we're seeing, sort of, movement on overseas, and that that only occurs, you know, if we’re getting our competitiveness right and and businesses are really leading the economy forward. So that's where we’re really focusing.
And with our contracts, we've got over half of the contracts by value that we spent money on as a Commonwealth Government last year, 54 per cent of the $18.7 billion we spent last year went to small and medium-sized enterprises, Australian small and medium-sized enterprises, right across the country. Now, that’s $5 billion up on the previous year.
And, so, we know we can play an important role - not only in making sure that we're giving the opportunity for small and medium sized businesses to be part of the Government contracting space, and that's included changes in the rules, which means you can do direct contracting in particular areas, I think it’s contracts up to $1 million. That is giving small and medium sized businesses a look in. Whereas before you were getting blocked out, and now you’re getting a look in. And that's what we want to continue to see happen with small and medium sized enterprises.
The other thing we can do as a major contractor in the economy is taking the lead on ensuring small and medium sized businesses get paid and they get paid on time, and on digital invoicing our rule is five days or less. Frankly, you should be instantaneous with large companies, and particularly the Government, particularly if you’re using the new payments platform and you're a digitised digital business. That should be one of the big advantages in the digital economy, is that you’re getting paid more quickly, not just by the Government, but all, all those you work with in small and medium sized businesses.
So, cash flow, training, costs, these are all, I'm sure important issues, and of course, making sure you're paying less tax, which we’ve certainly done. I'm keen to hear more about the feedback you've got and the challenges that you're seeing as we seek to work together to secure the economic recovery here in Western Sydney.
I should mention, manufacturing, just before I go. A million Australians now back working in manufacturing. We're making things in Australia and we're certainly making things here in Western Sydney. That's definitely true. We’re seeing the expansion of that. Last time I was out here it was out at Visy, and the major investments that are going into, business, and that's really exciting. So the investment’s coming in, whether it's in recycling or new clean energy technologies, batteries, traditional metals, and so on. All of this is happening. Manufacturing is a huge part of our economic recovery, because it flows into so many other sectors. It leads to technology, it leads to people, it leads to innovation, and we need to ensure particularly the University of Western Sydney is really plugged into that collaboration with the ecosystem here in Western Sydney. So, with that, I'll stop talking and I'll let you guys fill me in.
Remarks, Australian Indian Community Centre - Rowville, Victoria
12 November 2021
PRIME MINISTER: Thank you very much, Alan. Thanks for that. It was very, very kind. Namaste. Happy Diwali, everyone. Can I acknowledge the Wurundjeri People of the Kulin Nation, their Elders past, present and future. Can I also acknowledge any servicemen and women, veterans who are here with us today, including those who've, who fought alongside our Australian Forces in so many times in so many places around the world.
Can I acknowledge Alan Tudge for the tremendous work you do here in your community. I work closely with Alan as, of course, he's a key member of my Cabinet team, and we've worked together in many different roles over the years. But I know one of the roles he cherishes more than any other is his local community, and particularly his wonderful association with the Australian Indian community. We've been at many such events over the years, over quite a number of years, and we've always enjoyed them, as much as I know, I know you do.
And to Jason Wood, who's here. Jason is Assistant Minister for Multicultural Affairs, but also in your own community in La Trobe, working across so many different multicultural communities. But I know you have a very, very big soft spot for the Australian Indian community.
To Matthew Guy, as patron, as well, along so many different areas of the multicultural communities of Victoria. And I know that's something that you hold very dear as a Member of Parliament, as the Leader of the Opposition, and you've demonstrated that over a lifetime of parliamentary service, and I'm really pleased you are here with us today, Matthew, to share in this.
And Consul General, can I thank you very much. Can I particularly thank you very much for the very kind and generous donation of the statue of Mahatma Gandhi. Thank you very much, thank you. It is the second occasion where I've had the great honour to be able to unveil a statue of Mahatma Gandhi. Here, of course, today in Victoria, and some years ago when the President of India was in Australia and I had the great honour to join him in unveiling the statue in Parramatta. In so many ways, like the very community we're joining here with, Vasan who's been a great leader of the Indian community here in Victoria for a very long time.
Can I congratulate the Australian Indian Community Charitable Trust, and Vasan especially, on this wonderful community asset. You know, Australians have a way of appropriating everybody's parties. Now, you really know that a community is just at one with Australia when we start to celebrate the same cultural festivals with even more gusto and vigour than some, some of the others. We've seen it, of course, with Chinese New Year, Lunar New Year. So, that's a great opportunity for a party, Australians join in with that one. And I'm really thrilled that that's happening with Diwali now. I mean, it's been happening for many, many years. But I think this is as particularly as the the size and and awareness, in a really positive way, of the Australian Indian community has grown. And so many things that go to Indian culture are appreciated here in Australia. And I must admit, I am a hopeless fan. I am absolutely hopeless fan.
Jenny was hoping to be with me here today, obviously to attend Bert's funeral, but also to be here today, and she wanted me to send her best wishes. She very much, well she would have enjoyed that Bollywood dancing. I would not have been able to stop her from getting from there and joining in. I've seen her do Bollywood dancing. It's pretty good, I can tell you, it's pretty good. And she loves to dress in a sari, and any time she has those opportunities, she loves it. And I think that says just a lot.
There is just an easiness, a natural connection between Indian culture and this wonderful land. And it just sits very comfortably and it comes so naturally. And that's why community centres such as this are so important. But, also, between Australia and India, we do, we do share very important beliefs and values in democracy and liberal democracy, in believing in the individual, their enterprise and their freedom, in particular. And to unveil a statue in honour of Mahatma Gandhi, this is a very important opportunity for us to reflect on that particular element of the relationship.
You know, he sought peace over violence, an idea that transnationality, race, creed, culture and time itself. And when he passed, the Anglican congregation at St Paul's Cathedral here in Melbourne, offered this prayer: 'And they said hear, he said hear the cry of India, bereft of that leader whose frail person so often stood in the gap, whose life was devoted even unto death, to his country's cause.'
An Australian Anglican congregation all those years ago, attesting to the great significance of the life of Mahatma Gandhi, not just in India, but to the world itself, as the Consul General remarked earlier.
Next year marks the 75th anniversary of Independence. I plan to celebrate. I'm sure you do. It's going to go off in here. I have no doubt there will be great celebrations here, and up in Harris Park in Sydney and over there in, in the Western Australia, where I had a wonderful visit earlier in the year to be with the Indian community there.
I caught up with my very good friend Narendra Modi, just a couple of weeks ago, and he, he is also a great leader, internationally. A strong leader who believes passionately in the principles of democracy and the future of his country. And together in Washington we were, we were together in the G20, together at COP26, and next week we will be virtually sharing a platform at the inaugural Sydney Dialogue with ASPI, talking about cyber and technology.
We first met here in Melbourne many years ago at the MCG when he came to Australia and I was fortunate enough, I was the Minister for Immigration at the time and I was seated next to him, and we had a long conversation that night. I wasn't expecting because, you know, he's a rock star and I thought he would be absolutely overwhelmed by everybody in the room, but thankful to security that night, he and I had quite a nice and friendly chat, and we've remained friends ever since. And, so, I'm hoping that we will see him here next year. And we've spoken about it many times, but I owe him a visit there, which we've had to postpone because of COVID and the bushfires here in Australia. And I'm very much looking forward to going there. And, in fact, former Prime Minister Tony Abbott, I asked to be my Special Envoy and to go and see him in India recently, in New Delhi. And, of course, the Trade Minister Dan Tehan has also been there. So, we continue to, we continue to mark those relationships.
During the pandemic, too, can I thank you all very much for the tremendous job, Vasan, and Consul General, that the Indian community have done. Community centres here keep the bonds of community. It's just a building. Of course, it's just a building. But it's what happens in the building, what the building enables, in terms of being able to bring people together and to keep up the bonds of community. And the bonds of community, of course, have come under great pressure and great stress during the course of this pandemic, and particularly, as Matt knows, here in Melbourne, particularly here in Victoria, where Victorians and Melbournians have have had the worst of it. And when it comes to having to, you know, struggle through and push through in COVID. And in the Indian community in particular, so many small and medium-sized businesses in this community.
It's one of the things, I think, that, that the Indian community is so renowned for, your entrepreneurial can-do spirit, getting on and doing things, even amongst great adversity. Your commitment to family and raising up the next generation and wanting the best for them. These are wonderful values and you've lived those values throughout the pandemic. You've lived the values of community during the pandemic. You've reached out to each other, you've supported each other and you've kept those community bonds strong.
And I really want to thank you Vasan and Consul General for the way that has been achieved, not just here in Melbourne, but I've seen it right across the country, and Jason would have seen that as well in his role. So, I want to thank you very, very, very much.
You know, we're looking forward to Indian students coming back to Australia, Alan. Not too long now, not too long now. We've recognised, of course, the many Indian manufactured vaccines and, through the Therapeutic Goods Administration, and that will be facilitating the return of, of Indian students and Indian travellers to Australia, I think soon, and already, as you know, we expanded the definition of immediate family, which I know was very important to the Indian community, who had been separated from their parents for some period of time. And I'm so pleased that we made that change, and I suspect many were able to be here and be together for family as, while Diwali was on, as well. And I couldn't be more pleased about that.
Now, finally, can I talk about Dr Dinesh Parekh. The Dr Parekh Museum India is a wonderful gift and I want to pay tribute to him. Around us we see his passion for sharing Indian culture and history. His collection, which is around and about us, is nothing short of extraordinary. They are a portal to the past, a rare and precious picture of the millennia long history of India. In one of those fascinating coincidences, Australia's second Prime Minister, Alfred Deakin, a great Victorian, travelled to India as a young man and he wrote a book about it, and he described India as truly a land of wonders. And in that same year he was, book was published, which was 1893, an Indian man named Hajee Mohamed travelled to Melbourne, and he too wrote a book about his travels, and he compared Melbourne to the glittering cities of Europe. 'On Saturday night,' he wrote, 'Melbourne was brilliant with illuminations and crowds of pleasure seekers. I wandered about in amazement and wonder till a late hour.'
Well, that is going on again here in Melbourne, thankfully. Two men are brought in each other's countries, each struck with wonder by each of them, and we can all learn so much about the world we share when we see it through others eyes. And that's exactly what this centre here is about. It provides an opportunity, of course, for community connections, but it also creates an opportunity for outreach, for inclusion, for coming together.
Australia is the most successful multicultural immigration nation on the planet. Alan and I have both served as Ministers for Immigration and there's, and and Woody has, in many different roles and particularly this current one, and it's, that is a proud boast of Australians. And I don't say arguably because it's not arguable, it's absolute. It's a fact. And one of the reasons for that is because we're a tolerant country. We're a country that likes to learn from each other, and we're a country that likes to understand each other better, and centres like this and the, the outreach that will come from here, I think, will only further contribute to those great bonds.
It's one of the things I'm most proud of when I travel overseas, and people do know this about Australia. They say to me, 'How do you, how do you guys get this so right?' And, you know, no one does it better than Victoria. Victoria, of all the communities, has always had a keen understanding of this, right across so many nationalities and language groups. And it's something I think the rest of the country continues to learn from and seeks to emulate.
So, thank you again for inviting me to unveil your new statue of India's spiritual leader and father of Independence. The only, there's only two people missing from today's event. One is Jenny and the other one is Narendra. And perhaps we'll be able to remedy that next year sometime.
Gandhi's life is his message, a message that endures. It's not a whisper from the past, but a teaching embedded in the hearts of millions around the world and reflected in every respect of this building, every aspect. So, congratulations, and I win, I wish, I should say, this centre a long and illustrious life, but more importantly, I wish the vibrancy of this community every success. Namaste.
Remarks Doncaster RSL, Doncaster East, VIC
11 November 2021
Prime Minister: Well, thank you very much Keith for that very kind introduction, and it’s great to have you as our Liberal Candidate for Menzies.
To Ryan Smith, the State Member, and to Councillor Michaelle Kleinert, Mayor, thank you for being here with us today.
To all the local RSL representatives who are here today, but most of all, to veterans and to their families. And particularly to Felix and Yvonne Sher and to Bernard and Lee Case. We remember Greg and Marcus today, along with 102,000 other Australians who have done more for this country than any of us could possibly imagine, because we are all here, because they gave their today so we could have this tomorrow, and that is something we will be forever grateful for.
And not just for those of us who are here in this wonderful country, but those who have enjoyed freedom in so many other parts around the world. Because so often we have fought away from our own shores, in all cases, really, and that is something that I think Australians have a great deal of pride in.
And, so, today we come together and we honour their sacrifice, and we honour the sacrifice of your service, of their service, and those families, as well, who carry that sacrifice each and every day, not just on important days like this.
I want to acknowledge the Traditional Owners of the land on which we meet, the Wurundjeri people, and pay my respect to their elders, past, present and emerging. And the many Indigenous Australians who have served and continue to serve in our Defence Forces. That service for a long time was not recognised, but I’m so pleased - I’m sure veterans would agree - that it is recognised now, and it is honoured.
I always acknowledge veterans when I get up to speak, in the same way that I acknowledge our Indigenous Australians, because we owe so much, probably more to those two groups than any others.
Our Indigenous Australians who have stewarded this land over from ancient times, but most of all our, also our veterans, who have ensured the freedom that we all enjoy today.
Remembrance Day is a day to honour, in this room, the veterans who have served in Vietnam and East Timor, in Iraq and Afghanistan.
It doesn’t matter which battle, which conflict, it’s the same uniform that has been worn. It is the same honour that is being lived up to and shown as you’ve stepped up in our name.
We are safer today because of your efforts and we are free today because of your efforts, and we are deeply thankful.
It is a day for profound reflection - 102,000 Australians lost their lives in the service of our nation.
As Keith said, it’s worth fighting for. He knows, he has.
It’s a day for listening, also. And in that stillness and in that silence, particularly those two minutes, we contemplate the duty and the courage, and above all the sacrifice.
Preserving freedom. Safeguarding democracy.
Standing against tyranny. Protecting our home.
Standing up for our values, so that Australia is never bullied.
I particularly want to again welcome Bernard and Lee Case, the parents of Lieutenant Marcus Case, and Felix and Yvonne Sher, the parents of Private Greg Sher.
These young men lost their lives while deployed on our mission to Afghanistan.
Bernard and Lee, and Felix and Yvonne, I know, from our short discussion, that this has been a difficult journey for you, as it is for families of all those who’ve lost. But also those families when veterans have returned and struggled with the scars of service, which go beyond the physical.
I read about Marcus and Greg’s service last night, and thought about them and their siblings and parents, and got to FaceTime a few seconds ago with his nephews and nieces. Life goes on.
They both lost their lives while deployed.
Marcus - the boy who was born to fly and achieved his lifetime goal of becoming an Army Combat Aviator.
Taking those who’d dare for recreational joy-flights at Lilydale Aerodrome, screaming, “Are you ready for this?”, before performing some pretty awesome aerobatics.
He was an idol to his niece and nephews who, upon seeing a helicopter, would point to the skies and cry, “there goes Marcus”.
Greg - it was said he’d do anything for anybody.
The number of times I’ve heard that said about those who have fallen, when I’ve met families and I’ve heard their stories.
A young man of purpose and determination for whom serving his country was the ultimate reflection of his character.
His colleagues said of their quiet friend: he always got the job done.
Bernard, Lee, and Felix and Yvonne, I want you to know there is no more decent and good purpose than being willing to serve the country that you love, and I know you know that, and I know you know that they know that.
Only the exceptional do it. And, we, of course, will always be proud. And, of course, we will always remember.
And even as I say these words, I know veterans in this room will be thinking of many other names, many other friends.
Friends, when we listen on Remembrance Day, that also means coming alongside our veterans.
Committing ourselves to standing by them.
And I want us to ensure that the men and women of our ADF get the support they need, not only while they serve, but after their service is completed.
The men and women of our ADF are people of immense skill, strength and character.
I see that when I visit them, whether they’re out there in the field or at base or wherever they might be, and after they've returned.
Our Parliament will and should always remember what the price of freedom is.
I know Keith understands that as well.
A former platoon commander who served in a number of combat tours, including Timor Leste and Afghanistan.
And as we see from this morning’s gathering, the veterans of this country are close to his heart.
And I believe he will be a great advocate for you, joining many other veterans who serve in our Parliamentary ranks.
Many of them, obviously, who serve on the Government’s side on the benches. But, indeed, on the Opposition’s side as well. And there is a great spirit of camaraderie amongst those veterans, and I can tell you, they keep us honest when it comes to these issues, and I’m very grateful that they do, on a daily basis.
To the veterans in this room, I want you to know we are a Government that seeks to listen. Not all the things are easy to hear, and they’re not all easy to tell. But I want you to know, that those ears will always be attentive to the stories that you wish to share with us and the lessons that you know we need to learn.
We’ve undertaken some very significant reform of the veterans system across the decades.
And I know, for those, particularly from earlier conflicts, particularly those who experienced Vietnam, it has been a particularly hard road for you in terms of the support that’s been provided to veterans, and the terrible way you were welcomed back to our country.
This is something that Australia will carry for a long time, and I hope the sting of that always reminds us of where we’ve let people down and where we must always do better.
Centring our support to veterans is why we’re now providing veterans with free mental health care for life, and expanding access to the 24/7 counselling services for both veterans and their families.
And we will be listening to the Royal Commission into Defence and Veteran Suicide that I commissioned, as it speaks with veterans and families. And I believe that will be a, I hope, a helpful process, as many of these Royal Commissions have been.
And the further work that we’re doing for the ongoing Commissioner, who will work each and every day to ensure that every life matters of every veteran, well long after they’ve served.
There is much more we are doing, and still much more to do.
So, I want to thank everybody for their tremendous service to our country.
Can I thank all of those who were involved - Keith’s parents, in particular - for helping with the bringing the breakfast together today, and give us the opportunity to come together and honour the fallen in the way we have this morning.
This is a great set of rooms, I’ve got to tell you. As I look around these walls, and I think about the meetings that have been held in these rooms over decades and decades and decades, you can sort of transport yourself back, I think.
And you go out in the room out the back there and you see the wonderful collections of the memorabilia of various conflicts that have been lovingly and carefully pulled together.
It’s a, it’s a work of honour, and it’s a work of service, as well.
And, so, I could think of no better place to be this morning, frankly, in a room just like this, where so many veterans have come and provided encouragement to each other, tried to help each other out, particularly at times when services were not what they are today in supporting veterans. That they can always be better.
And it’s the fellowship and bond that were forged in the most difficult of times in combat, which were then lived on in in simple rooms like this in our suburbs and our towns, in the quiet places all around this country.
So, it’s been a, it’s a great honour to be with you today, and I thank you very much for your service, and I thank your families, too. Thank you very much.
Address, Victorian Chamber of Commerce and Industry
10 November 2021
PRIME MINISTER: It’s great to be back in Melbourne. It is absolutely wonderful to be back here in Melbourne, as Melbourne begins its process, and Victoria begins its process of roaring back. When I think about Melbourne, I think about the roaring crowd at The ‘G, I think of the roar of the crowd at Flemington, I think of the hustle and bustle of the streets and the people in the cafes enjoying the wonderful city life that is Melbourne, and to see everybody back here this morning, many of you for the first time to be together again in this way, it is really, truly, tremendous to be back. Just as the roar of the crowd, whether it’s at The ‘G or at Flemington, we want to see that roar of the economy back here in Victoria, we want to see that roar of Melbourne as it ascends again and takes its place, and we see it drive once again, the Australian economy, as it so importantly does. So, it’s great to be here, and with so many people who make our economy tick here in Australia.
To Karyn, President of the Victorian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, thank you for that very kind introduction. To Paul and everybody, I want to thank you.
I begin by acknowledging the Traditional Owners of the land on which we meet, the Boon Wurrung and Wurundjeri peoples of the Kulin Nation, and pay my respect to their Elders, past, present and emerging.
As we approach Remembrance Day, in particular, I also want to acknowledge, as I always do, our serving men and women of the Australian Defence Force and any veterans who are with us here today, and thank you for your service.
I am particularly pleased to be here with the Victorian Chamber - the premier business group for small and medium businesses here in Victoria.
To Paul Guerra and his team have done an extraordinary job, in difficult circumstances, bringing this breakfast together - and I want to thank you very much for hosting me.
I also want to recognise the many colleagues joining me this morning. Too many to mention, and they already have been, but I really want to thank Josh Frydenberg, my Deputy and very dear friend, for his strong economic leadership during the course of this pandemic. Alan Tudge is here of course, and Angus Taylor is here, Jane Hume and Tim Wilson. Here I go. Katie Allen is here, and I’m sure there are others here as well. Sarah Henderson is here, I can see, so thank you for being here with me today.
Can I acknowledge Matthew Guy as well, and thank Matthew for the important role he has played here in Victoria, of reminding everybody about where we have to go forward. We have to go forward in this state, and ensure we stay open, and embraces the opportunities that are before us.
As we gather this morning, the reopening and recovery of our Australian economy is proceeding at pace.
Just last Friday, the Reserve Bank confirmed that our economy is recovering rapidly, and as Josh reminded us yesterday the news of business confidence I think backs that in.
Australia has done the hard yards through the pandemic, and especially here in Victoria, and especially those running small and medium-sized businesses.
I want to thank you for what you’ve done. Of course as a Federal Government, we’ve been pleased to do our bit, to play our role through JobKeeper and many other programmes, but you’re the ones who’ve kept Victorians in jobs.
You’re the ones who’ve kept supply chains open and connected.
You’re the ones who’ve managed the heartache, and the complexity and the frustration of extreme lockdowns and restrictions and keeping your people COVID safe.
And you are the ones who are now opening your doors again.
I also want to thank more broadly the people of Victoria.
You have had to endure what no-one else in this country has had to endure during this pandemic. You’ve had the worst of it. You’ve endured the hardest of it.
And, now over 85 per cent of Victorians over 16 are now fully vaccinated.
The human face of reopening, I’ve been enjoying in these last few days since coming back - recovery and renewal is everywhere to see here.
You see it in the smiles on the faces of small business people, as they pull up the shutters in the morning on their deli, their newsagent or their coffee shop.
You see it in the hugs at airports, as families reunite across geographies and across generations.
And you see it in the really simple of pleasures. Friends catching up. Having a beer. Going to restaurants. Strolling around the shops. Getting a haircut.
It must never be taken from us again.
That is why I put the National Plan together. I also want to acknowledge the wonderful work of the Doherty Institute. A plan based on the best possible medical science, home grown here right in Melbourne, and economics to ensure we open safely and stay safely open. We’re not going back.
Australians have kept their side of this deal by getting vaccinated.
Governments, right across this country, must now keep theirs and return to Australians their freedoms.
So here we are.
One of the lowest fatality rates from COVID anywhere in the world, we’re now approaching one of the highest vaccination rates in the world, even exceeding the UK, on double dose, and one of the strongest economic performances of any developed nation in the world through the pandemic.
So, what’s next? What’s it all about now? What’s the big issue?
Our challenge now is to secure the economic recovery for all Australians.
That is what my Government is 100 per cent focussed on.
Only by securing our economic recovery can we restore our livelihoods and continue to guarantee the essentials that Australians rely on to support our Australian way of life - our health, our security, our jobs, our freedoms.
That is what is now at stake. And we cannot take it for granted.
Economic management matters more now than ever before.
The world remains a highly uncertain place.
The pandemic will continue to rage.
Inflationary pressures are re-emerging, putting upward pressure on interest rates.
Strategic competition between the world’s two largest economies, the United States and China, is reframing the global geopolitical landscape, especially in our region.
We need to keep Australians safe.
Supply chains are being disrupted and reformed, not always to our advantage.
And the global energy economy is transforming as the world responds to climate change.
Now, all of these forces have very real implications for Australia.
How we navigate these next few years, the choices we make, as a Government, the choices Australians make as a people, will have a major impact on our future prosperity and indeed the security of our country.
But you know what, I’d rather be us, here in Australia, than anywhere else in the world. As always we have reason to be optimistic. It is our country’s nature, and I can assure you it is my nature.
In its latest economic forecasts, the RBA projects the Australian economy to grow strongly by 5.5 per cent, you didn’t hear me wrong - 5.5 per cent by 2022.
And the unemployment rate, as Josh constantly reminds us rightly, is forecast to decline to four per cent by the end of 2023, the lowest rate since August 2008. It is currently 4.6 per cent, down from 5.7 per cent when we came to Government.
We’re not there yet. There is still a big job to do. But I am very confident that with your enterprise, combined with the continued right policy settings we will continue to secure our economic recovery and Australia’s future.
Today I want to speak more about one of the single largest economic challenges our country will face in the decades ahead. And, there are many, and there will be many opportunities to discuss those as well on other occasions.
But, today I want to focus on this: How we respond to climate change, and the impact that the global response to climate change will have on Australia - that is a significant economic challenge.
These issues are not just about the environment. They will have profound economic implications.
There are great opportunities associated with these changes, but there are also great risks for Australia. It’s not a one way street.
Taking action on climate change is extremely important for the health of our planet.
Australia is doing its part and we will continue to do our part to achieve our target of net zero emissions by 2050.
Australia has already reduced our emissions by more than 20 per cent. Now, I’m not sure a lot of Australians know that. Our emissions are going down, not up. They’re down by more than 20 per cent. You may say to yourself, or others listening in, ‘Oh yeah, other countries, they’re doing so much better than that’. Not true, as Angus Taylor and I had the opportunity to share directly with them, whether it was in Rome at the G20 or at COP26, because a 20 per cent fall is broadly in line with what’s being achieved across the EU. But, it’s better than the United States, it’s better than Japan, it’s better than our Kiwi cousins across the ditch in New Zealand, in Canada and South Korea.
Australia’s emissions intensity has fallen since 2005 by 54 per cent. Now, that ranks Australia second only to the UK of all the G20 countries. I particularly enjoyed sharing that with my G20 colleagues when I was there.
While reducing our absolute emissions by more than 20 per cent since 2005, our economy has grown by 45 per cent, proving that emissions reduction need not come at the expense of economic growth. And, Angus will remind you this is at the same time we developed one of the world’s biggest LNG industries.
Our latest projections show that our emissions will fall by up to 35 per cent by 2030, and may well exceed that. But, what I do know it exceeds is the Paris commitment that we gave of 26 to 28 per cent.
A lot of people are making a lot of claims about what they’re gonna do about this. What I know is what Australia has done, and what Australia will continue to do.
Now, this is happening because Australians are making their own choices in this area, they’re not being told what to do by government or international bureaucrats overseas. That’s not the Australian way.
There is no better example, I think, than the fact that we have now hit three million rooftop solar energy installations in Australia.
Aussie rooftops are now the nation’s largest power station, reducing carbon emissions in 2021 by more than 17.7 million tonnes. And this will only increase more and more in the future.
More than one in four houses and many non-residential buildings have installed small-scale rooftop solar. And we’re adding up to 2,000 small solar installations every business day.
Now, some of you might have heard that I was in Rome and Glasgow recently for the G20 and COP26. A little bit went on while I was there.
The pandemic, our economic recovery and the global response to climate change, that was my focus in my engagement with leaders while I was there.
My discussions at these events, and indeed Angus’s, reinforced my core beliefs about how we, as a free, open and enterprising society, should approach these challenges.
You know, no one passed a law or introduced a tax or passed a resolution at the UN that led to the world developing a COVID vaccine. No one passed a law or introduced a tax for the world to move from analogue to digital. Google and Cochlear were not invented at a UN workshop or summit.
Just as the animal spirits of enterprise have worked together with scientists and technologists to change the world in the past - and we’ve seen that here in this very city - through advances in medical science and digital technology, I am more than convinced they also hold the answer to solving the challenge of a decarbonised economy.
If you don’t believe me, just follow the money. Boris made this point at Glasgow, in his opening remarks, $100 trillion of private capital pouring, pouring like a waterfall into climate technology solutions - that’s the big change between Paris and Glasgow, versus on a good day $100 billion from Governments, all going into climate finance initiatives.
In many respects, Glasgow has marked the passing of the baton from political diktats of targets and timetables, which have had their place and are necessary, to private enterprise and the millions of dispersed decisions, choices and flashes of inspiration that make up consumer-led technological progress.
Of course, summits have their place, I particularly have to say that in the middle of the Exhibition and Convention Centre. But we believe climate change will ultimately be solved by ‘can do’ capitalism; not ‘don’t do’ Governments seeking to control people’s lives and tell them what to do, with interventionist regulation and taxes that just force up your cost of living and force businesses to close.
‘Can do capitalism’, not ‘don’t do Governments’. I think that’s a good motto for us to follow not just in this area, but right across the spectrum of economic policy in this country. We’ve got a bit used to Governments telling us what to do over the last couple of years, I think we have to break that habit. It’s had its place, sure.
The issue in responding to climate change is no longer about if, or why or when, we’ve had that debate. It is all about the very practical question of how.
The world does not need to be punished for climate change, we just need to fix it. And it will be fixed painstakingly, step-by-step, by the entrepreneurs, by scientists, by technologists, by innovators, by industrialists, by financiers, by risk takers. That’s the Australian way. That’s the way I’ve been championing on the world stage. And, you know, like minded capitalist market based economics should be doing the same.
As Liberals and Nationals we have far more trust in those who will risk their own capital to bring about these innovations than Governments using your tax dollars to tell you what to do.
And I think Australians, after almost two years of governments telling them what to do through this pandemic, they’ve had just about enough of that approach.
That approach does not come easy to us as Liberals and Nationals. It just doesn’t. Every fibre of our being in many of the decisions we’ve had to take, it goes against our instincts, it goes against our grain, but it was necessary. But, what you can take from that is we’ll reset, back to letting our economy do the work and let those who drive it be able to do that work as quickly as we possibly can, because that’s how you’ll see the Victorian economy roar back to life. It’s not something, as I said, we instinctively do, and it’s not something Australians want to see more of in the future. I don’t believe they do.
As we work to secure our economic recovery and future, we must secure Australia’s place in this new energy economy.
Countries with net zero commitments cover more than 80 per cent of world’s GDP. And 90 per cent of Australia’s exports are to countries with net zero commitments. That of course is going to have an impact here in Australia. These are decisions being taken in other countries.
We can’t ignore the reality of this. We cannot just sort of wish it away.
Again, my time in Glasgow affirmed my belief that Australia can - and must - chart its own unique path for achieving net zero emissions by 2050.
Our geography, our demography, our resource endowments, our human capital, our export profile, so reliant on rural and regional Australia, all mean that our pathway will be quite different to relatively small, densely-populated, services-based advanced economies in the North Atlantic. Just because it works in the North Atlantic doesn’t mean it’s going to work in the Indo-Pacific, in countries in the same way like Australia and certainly not in the developing countries of our region who we do business with every day.
This is why we will continue to join others in opposing prescriptive deadlines for phasing out particular fuels or gutting our agricultural sector - demands that are disconnected from realities, our industries, and our people, particularly in rural and regional Australia.
Demands that are also disconnected from technology trends and the lessons of history, the economic development imperatives of so many countries, especially in our Indo-Pacific region.
The disruptions, price spikes and energy shortages many countries are now experiencing in recent times reinforce why evolution - not revolution - is the only sustainable approach to net zero - politically, economically and, then ultimately environmentally, because it gets the job done.
The Government’s Long Term Emissions Reduction Plan, with our target of net zero emissions by 2050, embodies this approach, building on successful policies and our record of exceeding our emissions reduction targets.
Under our plan, Australians do not have to upturn their lifestyles or our economy to reach net zero. We can make our own Australian way.
Under our plan, Australia will continue producing and exporting world-class resources, energy, manufactured goods and agricultural products, led by globally competitive businesses.
There are five principles that guide our plan. They are:
Technology not taxes.
Respecting consumers’ choices, not telling them what to do with mandates. Trusting customers to make good calls, and trusting businesses and enterprise to respect their customer and their demands and what they want to pay for it, and ensure they can get that cost down to meet that demand.
Driving down the cost of a range of new technologies - many more horses in the race, as we like to talk about, Angus and I.
Keeping energy prices down with affordable and reliable power.
And, also being accountable for our progress. Australia reports every quarter, every gas, every sector, every emissions. The rest of the world has to catch up to that sort of transparency.
Together, all of these are designed to ensure that Australia can shift to a net zero economy in a way that does not put industries, jobs or regions at risk.
The focus of our plan is on driving down technology costs, not increasing the cost of alternatives, and accelerating their deployment at scale across our economy.
It is all about establishing Australia as a leader in low emissions technologies tied to our industrial strengths and our national interest.
We have identified our priority technologies and the stretch goals linked to those technologies to drive down costs. You want to know the targets that matter in achieving net zero:
Clean hydrogen - under $2 per kilogram
Ultra low-cost solar - under $15 per MWh
Energy storage - under $100 per MWh
Low emissions steel and aluminium - under $700 per tonne for steel and under $2,200 per tonne for aluminium
Carbon capture and storage - under $20 per tonne of CO2
Soil carbon - under $3 per hectare per year.
These are the targets that matter, because if you achieve those then you can achieve a decarbonised economy and you don’t have to sell your economy out to achieve it.
My colleague Angus Taylor launched the second Low Emissions Technology Statement at COP26, and I want to thank also and recognise the contribution of another great Victorian, Dr Alan Finkel. I think Alan is here with us today. Chair of the Technology Investment Advisory Council, which advises on these statements. I’ve been well advised by so many great Victorians over, not only my colleagues who are here in the room, but people like Alan who have just been tremendous, the Doherty Institute, Professor McVernon, who you know. But also people like Pat McGorry who have been tremendous advice to the Government. I can see Alan there. Great Victorians who have been tremendous in our national effort.
As well as driving down technology costs, we’re also enabling deployment of low emissions technologies at scale.
Yesterday, we announced the first national Future Fuels and Vehicles Strategy, backed by an expanded $250 million Future Fuels Fund investment.
This Fund will focus on four areas of investment:
Public electric vehicle charging and hydrogen refuelling infrastructure
Heavy and long-distance vehicle technologies
Commercial fleets
Household smart charging.
Practical things. We’re not going to be forcing Australians out of the car they want to drive or penalising those who can least afford it through bans or taxes. Those regulations and taxes hurt those who can afford it least, and they’re usually cheered on by those who can afford it most. I don’t think it’s fair. Rather, the Strategy will work to drive down the cost of low and zero emissions vehicles and enhance consumer choice.
Today, I’m announcing a further step beyond Glasgow and towards net zero, as part of our step-by-step Long Term Emissions Reduction Plan - aligned with our technology not taxes approach.
At present, around 75 per cent of the $20 billion of Commonwealth investment in low emissions technologies by 2030 is focused on supporting the deployment of near-commercial technologies.
Some $13 billion of total financing is through the Clean Energy Finance Corporation (CEFC).
Analysis to inform our plan, including by organisations such as the International Energy Agency, show that a large share of the emissions reductions necessary to achieve net zero will come from technologies that are not yet commercially available. I made this point to Fatih Birol when I was with him in Glasgow.
For Australia to become a low emissions technology leader globally, we will need to continue to expand support for early-stage technology research, development and demonstration, that’s where we can play a role - to support the Technology Investment Roadmap stretch goals, by getting Australia within range of net zero and then to close the remaining gap through technology, not taxes.
To that end, the Government will establish a $1 billion Low Emissions Technology Commercialisation Fund within the CEFC, injecting $500 million in new capital with the balance $500 million to be sourced from private sector investors.
This Fund will address a gap in the Australian market, where currently small, complex, technology-focussed start-ups can be considered too risky to finance.
So, we’ll step in. It’s about supporting an idea, an idea that then gets to a lab, that then gets to a market, and then into your home or business.
The Fund will support Australian innovators to develop their intellectual property and grow their businesses in Australia, and is expected to earn a positive return for taxpayers. It’s a good bet.
It builds on the CEFC’s success as the world’s largest government-owned green bank. The CEFC has committed $9.5 billion across 220 large scale projects and 23,700 smaller scale transactions, driving an estimated $33 billion in new investments across the economy.
The Fund is very much in line with what Bill Gates has been talking about, and I met up with him also at Glasgow and compared notes on the technology challenges and opportunities that are ahead.
As Bill has observed this in the book that I asked my entire Cabinet to read, which they did, ‘We need to think about how to turn lab-proven concepts into ubiquitous products that people want and can afford to buy’.
This, he notes, ‘will require a massive effort to fund hundreds of commercial demonstration projects of early-stage climate technologies’ - projects that are complicated, risky and expensive - and hard to finance.
So, that’s the approach we’re taking. It’s precisely the challenge we are responding to with this new Fund.
The goal is to deploy a blend of private and public finance and technical assistance on the road to net zero.
We are seeing our technology-driven approach to reducing emissions play out right across the country, including here in Victoria, drawing on established industrial strengths and skills.
The Latrobe Valley has a long history as an energy producing region.
It is geologically suitable for producing hydrogen and storing carbon underground, while also being in close proximity to electricity and shipping infrastructure.
These advantages underpin the Hydrogen Energy Supply Chain project, a world-first pilot project supported by the Australian, Japanese and Victorian Governments - a project designed to safely and efficiently produce and transport clean hydrogen from the region, which again Alan has been closely involved in, Alan Finkel.
This is just one example of the opportunities available to regional Australia in the new energy economy.
We’re also working to secure the future of Australian manufacturing in a post-COVID, low emissions economy.
For the first time since 2009, manufacturing employment is once again topped a million jobs. A million Australians working in manufacturing. Under Labor, one in eight manufacturing jobs, gone. We’ve restored them, and we’ve done it through a pandemic and a global recession.
Our $1.3 billion Modern Manufacturing Initiative (MMI) is helping transform manufacturing businesses so they can scale up, translate ideas into commercial success and integrate into local and international supply chains.
Just two examples, I’m almost done.
The Integration Stream of MMI helps manufacturers integrate products into domestic and international value chains and to enter new markets.
With $2.3 million in funding, the Victorian manufacturer Titomic is working to commercialise the manufacture of space vehicle parts using green titanium for Australia’s growing space sector and for overseas export.
Another Victorian-based company, Savic Motorcycles, has been awarded a grant under our Commercialisation Stream, to develop a range of affordable electric motorcycles.
It is on course to develop the first Australian designed, assembled and tested high performance battery electric motorcycle to roadworthy certification.
This nexus of government and business co-investing in low emissions technologies and products will be the key to driving growth in modern manufacturing.
Ladies and gentlemen, our Government’s technology-driven approach to reducing emissions it will have clear benefits and it will also have them beyond our borders.
Through the joint efforts that Angus Taylor and Alan Finkel have undertaken, Australia has negotiated a series of new low emissions technology partnerships with key partners - Japan, Germany, Singapore, South Korea, Vietnam, the UK and Indonesia - and we are close to concluding one with our great friends in India.
Our emissions reduction goals are also indistinguishable from our geostrategic challenges.
There are two aspects to this.
The first is that carbon credits that become an important source of income for developing countries in our region.
In collaboration with our partners in the region, including the Quad - the United States, India and Japan - we’re working to establish a high quality carbon credit scheme in the Indo Pacific, building on Australia and Japan’s existing efforts.
We can’t afford for the supply chains of the new energy economy to be dominated and held hostage to the geostrategic objectives of countries that do not share our interests, or have our interests at heart.
We are therefore progressing through the Quad specific proposals to forge closer partnerships between our economies to build competitive and reliable net zero supply chains that start with the production of rare earths and critical minerals.
At the Quad meeting in Washington in September, I announced that to accelerate that work we will host a Quad Clean Energy Supply Summit in Australia in the first half of next year.
It will be a unique opportunity, frankly for Australia to show off about what we’re doing in this area, but also to learn from our many colleagues and partners in the regions. High-level dialogue between the governments of Australia, India, Japan and the United States, and many other regional partners, as well as leaders in science and technology, manufacturing, mining, finance, risk takers, entrepreneurs.
Tomorrow is Remembrance Day and one of the greatest figures in our history is the legendary General Sir John Monash.
Sir John was a soldier, as we know, and an engineer.
After War’s end - in 1921 - a century ago, he was made the first chairman of the State Electricity Commission here in Victoria.
In its day, it was a new industry, with technical challenges and it had more than its fair share of critics.
Sir John saw the potential of low cost and reliable power. For jobs, for households, for the regions, and for Australia’s future, and Victoria’s future.
The technologies have changed. The solutions of 1921 are not the same as 2021. For Sir John Monash, the engineer, he would have understood that.
But a century on, the challenge is similar, if the technologies may be different.
Innovating for our times. Building and creating a job boosting economy.
Keeping power prices down and ensuring reliability of supply - so that industry and households can have confidence.
And for our generation, it is to do this while keeping emissions down as we transition to a clean energy economy.
That is what we are doing, that is what our plan seeks to achieve. And, friends, that is how we secure Australia’s economic recovery, and Australia’s economic future.
Press Conference - Port of Newcastle Carrington, NSW
08 November 2021
Mr Craig Carmody, CEO of the Port of Newcastle: Good morning everyone. The Port of Newcastle acknowledges the traditional custodians of the land and waters that we operate on, the Awabakal and Worimi people, and we pay our respects to their elders, past, present and future. I'm Craig Carmody, the CEO of the Port of Newcastle, and I'm joined by Mike McKensey. Mike is Divisional Director of Macquarie Group and our partner in this project.
Mr Mike McKensey, Divisional Director of Macquarie Group: Thank you all for coming today. Prime Minister, on behalf of Macquarie Group and the Port welcome back again. The last time the PM was here, we showed him our plans for a container terminal, a key diversification strategy of ours. Today, we're very happy to show him the other diversification plan we have, which is clean energy. Macquarie Group and the Port of Newcastle have come together to do a step change for the region of the Hunter, which is to prepare us for the low carbon economy. We are the world's largest exporting coal port, so we know that diversification is not a nice to have, it's a must do. And we are confident we can achieve this. We are already a leading global port and we have the supply chains. We have the customers. We have the markets. So it makes sense for us to make this play. We believe our diversification strategy is entirely consistent with the Prime Minister and Government's net zero plan. It's about supporting existing jobs and businesses, while seizing the opportunities that the new carbon economy, or the low emission economy creates. And Prime Minister with your support for these life changing projects, we are sure that the port will be able to assist in creating jobs and businesses that secure the future of the Hunter. Thank you.
Prime Minister: Thank you. Thank you Craig and thank you Mike, and all the partners in the important announcement we're making today. And I'll introduce Nell and Brooke in just a moment. Australia's economic recovery coming out of the COVID-19 pandemic recession is well underway. The Australian economy is powering out of this pandemic in a way that few countries are around the world. We know that we've had one of the lowest rates of fatalities of COVID of any country in the world. We also know now with the New South Wales about to tip over 90 per cent double dose vaccination, the country over 80 per cent. We'll have one of the most vaccinated populations anywhere in the world, and most importantly, our economy is the economy around the world. One of the most advanced developed economies in the world that is powering its way out of this COVID pandemic. We're seeing that with our businesses, some $150 billion on their balance sheets, we're seeing the insolvencies that are down. We're seeing businesses taking up the new opportunities. And that is critically true here in the Hunter.
And the partnership that is being brought together here in the Hunter is incredibly exciting. The Hunter has gone through its fair share of changes over my lifetime, and what's really exciting is how the Hunter keeps adapting, keeps evolving, keeps seeing the opportunities that are ahead, but also maintaining that rich legacy of its history, its industrial base. And it keeps finding ways to move forward, creating jobs for tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands of people right across the region, securing those opportunities, but at the same time, maintaining the momentum that it's always had. It's a place that builds things, a place that makes things, a place that innovates and ensures that it's bringing its young people through so they can stay here. They can have a career here, they can raise their families in what is a beautiful part of our country. And today we're announcing $1.5 million as part of a partnership together with the Port of Newcastle and Macquarie Group. And there are many other partners to play a role, with the University of Newcastle, the City of Lake Macquarie. So many partners coming together to ensure that hydrogen, a hydrogen hub here in particular can be a great success.
Hydrogen is one of those great technological opportunities for Australia, which is recognised all around the world. When I was in Glasgow recently, it is understood. You want to get hydrogen, this is the place to get it. And this is why we need to invest here in places like the Hunter because we make it work here, it will work in so many like regions all around the country. Our plans to move to a lower emissions future very much has the Hunter at the centre of our thinking. Everything we do, every plan we have, every investment we're making is making sure it works here in the Hunter because we know if it works here, it will work to create jobs and prosperity all across the country. So that's why I'm always so pleased to come back. One of the reasons it worked so well in the Hunter is because of the collaboration between the state government, the federal government, local government, the ports, the universities, the companies that are here, the entrepreneurs who are investing their own funds to ensure that this can be realised. We're investing $1.2 billion in our hydrogen industry here in Australia to make this work and our entrepreneurs, our industrialists, our scientists and researchers are making this happen to make sure that this technology is affordable, that it's simple, that it's scalable. And you know, we get that right here, Australia will be able to export this to the rest of the world. So this is a huge opportunity. A 40 megawatt electrolyser, four times the size of things currently under contemplation here in Australia, and that will go up to a thousand megawatts. And that will mean that right here in the port of Newcastle, the world will be able to plug into Australia's hydrogen industry well into the future. And when you plug that in, you're plugging the Hunter into jobs well into the future. So it is a very exciting plan. It is a very exciting future here for the Hunter. It sits absolutely perfectly within our lower emissions technology plan to take Australia forward and to power up Australia's recovery out of the COVID pandemic. So I'm very pleased to be here to be announcing that today. Renewable Energy Agency, ARENA, is the vehicle through which we're making these investments, through which we're making so many other investments. $20 billion together with the CFC, the Clean Energy Finance Corporation, together with the Renewable Energy Agency, pumping into the new technologies, whether it's hydrogen, carbon capture and storage, low cost soil carbon management measurement, the green steel and aluminium, all of these important technology targets that we will meet and drive our economy forward.
So with that, I want to introduce Nell McGill and Brooke Vitnell. Nell is our candidate, Liberal candidate here in Shortland, and Brooke Vitnell is our candidate in Paterson. They're key members of my team, and I'm really thrilled that they've been able to step forward and take up these roles and put themselves forward in the Hunter. Because together, by supporting them, the Hunter is supporting their own future, the jobs, the investment, the technology that will continue to see the Hunter have a very powered up future. And with that, I'll start with Brooke and then hand over to Nell.
Brooke Vitnell, Liberal Candidate for Paterson: Thank you, Prime Minister. My name is Brooke Vitnell and I am the Liberal candidate for Paterson at the upcoming federal election. I have the great privilege of welcoming our Prime Minister Scott Morrison here to the Hunter region today. This is our Prime Minister's fifth visit to the Hunter in the last 18 months. So I know he's committed to the Hunter and committed to jobs here in the Hunter. Here, we have a proud history of digging, bending, making and shaping things. And I know our Prime Minister backs the jobs of each and every single one of the people working in those industries. I have a pledge in particular to the people of Paterson. I pledge to put the people of Paterson first every single day. I want to see Paterson be a better place for people to have economic opportunities, jobs, more jobs for our most precious resource, our young people. I'm a firm believer that those putting up their hand to run for the community they seek to represent need to match the strength and aspiration of that community and when I look at the Paterson electorate, I see strong and aspirational Aussies right across the Paterson electorate. So, thank you Prime Minister for your commitment to the Hunter. Thank you.
Nell McGill, Liberal Candidate for Shortland: I'm Nell McGill, I'm the Liberal candidate for Shortland. I'm so proud to once again be the Liberal candidate for Shortland. I want to say thank you to the Prime Minister and Senator Hughes for being here on this exciting day. I want to be a fresh and positive voice for Shortland. The Hunter is going to be an economic powerhouse coming out of COVID and under the Morrison Government's plan to reach net zero by 2050. And that means fantastic opportunities in Shortland. My focus is going to be the jobs and infrastructure that we need, so the people of Shortland have safe and happy lives and happy futures. I'm really looking forward to getting out and meeting as many people as I can to find out what the people in Shortland want to make their lives better. Thank you.
Prime Minister: Happy to take some questions, focusing on things local at first, and then I am sure there are other questions.
Journalist: Prime Minister, could you first explain the hydrogen hub? What does it actually mean? How does it work for the people at home?
Prime Minister: Well, what this means is, hydrogen has been around for a long time and it is the future fuel, whether it's how it produces ammonia as well, which could be used in coal fired power plants, not just here, but all around the rest of the world. It is the fuel that can charge up our mining trucks and get them operating, and power vehicles to travel extremely long distances. It is the fuel that actually can over time ensure that it can make up, in some estimates, 10 per cent of the world's energy needs. And Australia is so well placed with this because we have the space and we have the technology and we have partnerships with, take companies like Sun Cable, which is another low emissions technology venture. You combine that with the work that is being done in hydrogen hubs which we’ve set up all around the country in places just like the Hunter, which get a combination of science and the engineering and the technologies, the university together building up in skills. And you take that through to how you do powering up your manufacturing industries as well. Hydrogen is simply a fuel that can power our traditional industries and our energy generation. It means lower cost, and it means more jobs for the Hunter.
Journalist: Prime Minister, you said [inaudible[, so what message did you sell to Glasgow and how was it received? And do other countries recognise we are doing this?
Prime Minister: Our commitment to net zero by 2050 is not going to be achieved by legislating jobs away. It's not going to be achieved by forcing people to do things. It's going to be achieved by getting the costs of the technologies that change the world, down. Not by putting the cost of other things up. You don't have to put electricity prices up to get emissions down. You don't have to sell out your economy and the jobs in your economy to get your emissions down. Australia has had a 20.8 per cent fall in our emissions since 2005, and we've had a 45 per cent increase in the size of our economy. And at the same time, we've actually developed one of the largest LNG industries in the world. Our emissions intensity has fallen by 56 per cent. Now, there's only one other country in the G20, which I told them in Rome, that has a better performance than Australia when it comes to emissions intensity, and that's the United Kingdom. Better than all the other countries in the G20, and there are only four countries that have actually had a better performance on emissions reduction in the G20 than Australia. And that's France, Italy and the United Kingdom and Germany. That's it. And all the others, Australia has outperformed.
What I was able to say in Glasgow, is Australia is doing it. We're doing it here in the Hunter. We're doing it up in the Pilbara, we're doing it up in Darwin, we're doing it up in north Queensland. We're doing it down in Bell Bay in Tasmania. Australia is doing it our way, the Australian way. The Australian way is not legislating jobs away. It's not putting costs on businesses. It's actually providing the right incentives and the right investments to make technology a reality. You get hydrogen for $2 AUD per kilo and you are really starting to fire up your economy and the economies of our partners around the world. Now let me make another point about that because it wasn't just developed advanced economies from Europe that I was meeting with in Glasgow. It was Indonesia, Vietnam, countries in our own region, India, developing economies. Developing economies who need this technology and they need it at the right price. And so they can scale it. You're not going to address climate change unless you can put low cost technology in developing countries like that. Countries like Indonesia and Vietnam and India. They're looking to Australia for that. In the same way our big trading partners, when I met with the new Prime Minister of Japan, Prime Minister Kishida, as well as the President Moon from Korea. These are the issues we were talking about. Australia has always been a big energy partner for our region. And, you know, with programmes like this, we will continue to be. So if you're working here in the Hunter, well, you've got a bright future.
Journalist: Prime Minister, when will you release the net zero modelling?
Prime Minister: Soon.
Journalist: Do you have a, do you have an estimation then?
Prime Minister: Soon.
Journalist: A few months?
Prime Minister: Soon.
Journalist: And when will we see the details of the deal struck with The Nationals, do taxpayers have a right to see what that deal was to get that agreement?
Prime Minister: We're already outlining our policies and all of that we'll announce between now and the next election, which will show the big investments that we're making in the regions to back in these investments we're making, particularly in new technologies like the hydrogen hubs all around the country. The investments we're making in the regions are about them making those regions stronger. And so that's a good deal for Australia.
Journalist: Just on the local picture, you've got Brooke and Nell here, front and centre today, you must be confident then that you can flip those two electorates, Shortland and Paterson?
Prime Minister: Well, I think they represent the right way forward for the Hunter. Nell and Brooke represent a way forward for the Hunter, which is about ensuring we maintain the momentum of the heavy industry that is here in the Hunter, while at the same time embracing the new opportunities. You don't have to let one go to take up the other. And what the Liberal Nationals way forward here for the Hunter is to embrace that industry, to support that industry, to ensure that they can compete around the world and be and be world's best in these areas, and to ensure that we don't legislate away the jobs. I mean, the Labor Party is against the Kurri Kurri gas fired power station, and now we hear they're going to legislate to tighten up the safeguard mechanism using heavy regulation to regulate away jobs here in the Hunter. That's what their plan is. The Labor Party is always the same way. They want to tell you what to do. They want to legislate everything. They don't trust Australians to just get on and do it. We've been able to reduce emissions by over 20 per cent in this country because of the inspiration of entrepreneurs, good investment and good support from governments through our Emissions Reduction Fund, our Climate Solutions Fund, which continues to be a big part of our net zero plan, which is bringing about the changes that help us meet these targets. The Labor Party just wants to legislate everything and tell you what to do. That's not what Brooke and Nell are about, they're about backing the decisions of locals with what they want to do.
Journalist: Prime Minister, in one sentence, can you tell us why Australians should return you as PM based on your record?
Prime Minister: We have, through the course of this pandemic, had the strongest economic performance of almost any country in the world. Now there's only been one recession in the last 30 years because of that pandemic here in Australia, and we've got 1.4 million people in jobs since we were first elected. The unemployment rate now is down 0.6 per cent. We've managed to maintain our AAA credit rating, one of only 9 countries to do so in the world. And we've done that with one of the lowest fatality rates in the world, and we'll end up with one of the highest vaccination rates. Australia, under our government, has had the strength to stand up to those who would seek to counter our interest. You've got to have the strength to do those things. And our government has the strength to stand up for Australia and importantly, do the right things by our economy that keeps people in jobs.
Journalist: Prime Minister, the West Australian Government has committed to reopening its borders to the rest of Australia at a 90 per cent vaccine rate. Will you be asking Mark McGowan to reconsider this? Have you spoken to him?
Prime Minister: Well, I just spoke to him last Friday. We had the National Cabinet. The modelling done by the Doherty Institute makes it very clear, and that's what was agreed in the national plan, not just once but twice. And that is, once you hit 80 per cent double dose vaccination rates, then you're able to move forward. We're seeing that here in New South Wales. We're seeing it in Victoria, seeing it in the ACT and the most recent work done by Doherty just backs that in even further. Of course, there's a big difference between 70 and 80 per cent. When you look at the curve of the pandemic, once you hit 80 per cent, whether it's a low number of cases you're going into like would be the case in Western Australia, or a high number of cases like we've seen in New South Wales and Victoria. Once you hit that 80 per cent threshold, there is a scientifically backed-in proposition, which is that you can take the next step. And the advice we have from the Secretary of Treasury from Dr Kennedy is once you go over 80 per cent and you keep things locked down, you are doing more harm than good to your economy. You are actually putting a price on Australians, when you continue to put heavy restrictions on your economy, once you get 80 per cent vaccination rates. So the national plan was a deal with Australians. My government is keeping our part of that deal. Australians and keeping their part of the deal. Today, the boosters start. The boosters start on November 8. Those who are immunocompromised have been getting their booster shots. Looking forward to turning up and having one very, very shortly. And those booster shots are important. But what's even more important is the fact that here in New South Wales today, we will go through that 90 per cent threshold of double dose vaccinated and that will only just further strengthen our economy.
Journalist: [inaudible].
Prime Minister: They were dealt with a year ago by the Department of Finance who found that there was nothing further to investigate.
Journalist: Prime Minister, locally, one thing you haven't been able to get on with here is the container terminal, there's been a change in the state coalition government. Can you update us on how you see this playing out?
Prime Minister: Well, I've always thought this is a good plan, and I've said that while I've been here before. The ACCC have been dealing with these matters and they really want the parties to be able to sort this out, and I certainly hope they do because I just want to see more investment, whether it's in the Port of Newcastle or right across the region. There is, this footprint here at the Port of Newcastle, I think is incredibly valuable, not just for the jobs that are out here, but the linkage it gives to right across the region and frankly, the whole state. I mean, this is the biggest port on the eastern seaboard of our country. And so this is a very big deal and we want to see that to continue to go forward and be highly competitive. So that's what our economic objective is. We're very hopeful that parties could resolve that so they can actually take it forward.
Journalist: Is there something to be done at your level, Prime Minister?
Prime Minister: Well, there's not much further that we can do at our level. What we need is the parties to be able to sort it out and get on with it.
Journalist: What's your response to allegations aired on 60 Minutes last night that the Assistant Treasurer is rorting or misusing taxpayer funds for party political purposes?
Prime Minister: Well, I just answered that question a second ago.
Journalist: Are you confident children aged between 5 and 11 will get a COVID vaccine by the end of the year? Or is it now looking more likely to be next year?
Prime Minister: Well look, thanks for the question. We discussed this last Friday. The TGA, the Therapeutic Goods Administration and the Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation, have not yet formed a medical opinion that that should proceed at this point. And the studies, we were advised last Friday, that led to the decision in the United States were based on a sample of some 3,000 individual cases. Now vaccinating children aged 5 to 11, you know, we need to be very careful. We need to be very cautious. And I can tell you that we won't take a further step on this unless there is clear medical advice that it should proceed. Any parent, I'm sure, would want the government to be as careful as possible with the whole population, particularly children aged 5 to 11. We've also been advised by the Chief Medical Officer that the incidence of serious disease amongst younger children with COVID is not the same for the rest of the population, so the risk is different for children aged 5 to 11 compared with those who are older. So we'll be ready to go if and when the medical experts say it's safe to do so and we won't be authorising a vaccination arrangement for children aged 5 to 11 until the medical experts say it's safe for your children to be vaccinated. Okay, thanks, everyone. Thank you.
Press Conference - Westconnex Motorway Control Centre, St Peters, NSW
05 November 2021
Dr Fiona Martin MP, Federal Member for Reid: Alright, well, I'd like to firstly acknowledge the traditional owners on the land in which we meet and acknowledge all Indigenous people across the country and their connection to land, seas and the community.
It's very exciting to be here this morning to see the progress that has been made on the M5, M4-M5 interchange here at WestConnex. I believe above me here is Newtown, which is very close to where I went to university, the University of Sydney, so it's really exciting. This project is going to have incredible, significant changes to the people's lives in my area of Reid. Parramatta Road, which is a very busy road in Reid, trucks will be taken off Parramatta Road. There'll be less pollution. People will be able to get home faster and safer from work. It's going to make a big difference to people's lives and this is a significant project. A State Government and Federal Government initiative, $16 billion. It's going to change the way we get around Sydney.
I'd also like to just quickly welcome back the Prime Minister from Glasgow. I'm sure you're still jetlagged. I'd also like to acknowledge the Premier of New South Wales Dominic Perrottet, who is here, and all my state and federal colleagues who are here to see the progress that is going on.
I will hand over to the Prime Minister now. Thank you very much.
Mr Scott Charlton, Transurban CEO: No, that's okay. Thank you. Thank you, Dr Martin. Thank you for that Welcome to Country. I'm Scott Charlton. I'm the CEO of Transurban. We're very privileged to have all of you here, and welcome to the M4-M5 Link, and we're very privileged to have all our guests here I think, Dr Martin, you introduced. So thank you very much for that.
Again, just to give you an idea where we are, we're 50 metres below Newtown. And if we go back out that exit there, we're about a kilometre away from St Peters Interchange, where we'll meet Sydney Airport and move on to Port Botany. And if we go six kilometres in that direction, we’re at Haberfield and we meet the M4 Tunnels. We all know that WestConnex is a city shaping project and we're very, very proud to be a part of it. We know that within 10 years, about 40 per cent of Sydney's population will live within five kilometres of this 33 kilometre road network, and it is one of the biggest infrastructure projects in Australia. That being said, last year there were over 150 million trips taken on the first two projects of WestConnex, and that was saving a tremendous amount of time, safety, and not only time in these roads, but time on the, the competing roads or the alternative roads as well. And the Prime Minister is going to mark the milestone we hit today, in just a few minutes.
But I'd like to thank the over 9,000 workers who have so far created this project. They’ve put in over 10 million man hours, and when you combine that with the other two projects that are part of WestConnex, that's over 50 million man hours that have been worked on this project. And thank you to our partners and JV and Acciona Samsung Bouygues, it's around here somewhere, who are doing an excellent job, safety and efficiency, and going to produce a world-class asset and on time.
And also would like to thank our partners in the New South Wales Government and the Federal Government, who without their vision, their planning and their foresight, and the original funding, this project would not be possible and we wouldn't have been a part of it. So thank you very much for allowing us to be a part of it.
But mostly, we'd like to thank the community, Dr Martin and every other MPs along the route, we'd like to thank you for your patience and understanding in completing the project. We're very excited. It's almost over for you. And now I'll turn it over to the PM to mark the occasion.
Prime Minister: Thank you. Well, thank you very much, Scott and Fiona. It's great to be here with Dom Perrottet, Premier of New South Wales, and my state and federal colleagues, and to say thank you to them for the breakthrough that we're marking today. Can I particularly acknowledge the 9,000 workers who are making this amazing project a reality here for the people of Sydney. It is a breakthrough.
There's another breakthrough that we're going to go through today, and that is that 80 per cent of Australians aged over 16 will be double vaccinated today. We will pass through that mark today and that will be another massive breakthrough for Australia. And, so, as we're breaking through here on the M4, M4-M5, we are breaking through in the economic recovery that will now follow from the success of that vaccination program, which the Premier understands has been led right here in New South Wales with that fantastic job. We are seeing Australia open up and this is something that we're all terribly excited about, and it's wonderful to return home and see those scenes, whether it's here in Sydney or down in Melbourne, the ACT, the news about the borders opening up in Queensland, and even the changes that are being made in Western Australia. Australia is recovering and is emerging from this COVID-19 pandemic.
And I want to particularly congratulate the workers here who have pushed through during COVID and ensured that we've been able to continue to deliver on this city shaping and changing project. Of course, the Federal Government put $1.5 billion into stages one and two, some $2 billion in concessional loans. But the State Government now pressing ahead with stage three of this project. In talking to those, the workers here on the site, you think back to what it must have been like when the Harbour Bridge was built in Sydney. And you think about the change that that made to the city at that time. WestConnex is no different. WestConnex has been a city shaping and city changing piece of infrastructure. It's had its opponents, there's no doubt about that. But I can tell you, the Liberal Government’s at a federal and state level have always believed strongly in this project. And we’ve pressed ahead at it over the many, many years, because we know how big a change it is going to mean for people living in Australia's biggest city.
It means 40 minutes off your journey from Parramatta to the airport. I mean, that's massive. It means 10,000 trucks coming off the roads. 10,000 trucks coming off other roads, which means that those roads are safer. That means those, those congested arteries of our cities are freed up. That's how important this project is. And, you know, we're working together at a Commonwealth level and a state level like never before to deliver these big projects.
It's not just here, but of course, what's happening out at the Nancy-Bird Walton Western Sydney International Airport. These are the big projects. The inland rail making its way all the way through New South Wales. These are the nation changing projects. Snowy Hydro 2.0. All of these projects has been driving Australia through what has been one of the most challenging economic times through the COVID-19 pandemic and COVID-19 recession. And here we are, emerging now, positively, optimistically, looking forward to the future. I'm certainly looking forward to that as Australia re-emerges, whether it's the, achieving these, these record rates of vaccination, or the breakthrough projects that we're seeing here today.
I really want to thank the New South Wales Government. I want to thank the Premier. Premier obviously today and also as aTreasurer, as we both were when these projects were going through their earlier phases. I really want to thank Dom for his strong leadership on that. And of course, I want to thank the former Premier Gladys Berejiklian. I'm sure Dom would join with me in saying that and our colleagues who had the strength also to be pushing through with this project.
So, as two Liberal-led Governments, we’re getting on with it, for projects that are changing the lives, getting people home sooner and safer, getting them to work sooner and safer. And that's what busting congestion is all about with these nation building, game changing projects. And with that, I'll pass on to Premier Perrottet.
The Hon. Dominic Perrottet MP, Premier of NSW: Well, thanks, Prime Minister. It's great to be here with you, our ministerial colleagues and our state MPs and federal MPs for this important announcement. This is a game changer for our city and state. And as Scott Charlton spoke about, he used the word vision, and that's exactly what this announcement today and this progress today is all about.
We, for many years, for many decades, Sydney and New South Wales stood still. The Prime Minister spoke about the Harbour Bridge or the project's $108 billion of infrastructure investment that's occurring right across our state today, is not just driving economic growth and jobs growth, it's going to transform the way that we live and play for decades to come. This is all about projects like this saving time so people can get home to their families faster. This is a breakthrough of a tunnel, but it's a massive breakthrough for Greater Sydney. These investments, billions and billions of dollars, they're big numbers, both from the partnership between the State and Federal Government, in partnership with Transurban. They're they’re big figures, but behind every one of those dollars is a person in our state who these transformative projects will make a real difference to as we move forward. Imagine now, when these projects are complete driving from the Blue Mountains all the way to the Sydney CBD without having to pass one traffic light. These are the changes. These, this is the visionary infrastructure investment that will take our city from good to great.
As Sydney grows, we want it to grow well, whether it's public transport, and I was down with Minister Stokes, who’ll speak shortly, down with the Metro at Barangaroo the other day, another major project in the pipeline. When we came to office, the Northwest Metro in North West Sydney had been promised for decades and decades and decades, back when I was a kid at school, but we got on with the job. We built that project and we're on to the next one. There's a wave after wave of these major infrastructure projects here in our state that will make, that is making a real difference to people's lives today and well into the future.
The Prime Minister spoke about the pandemic and the economic challenges that we've had. It's been the infrastructure investment in this state that's driven our economic growth and laid strong fiscal and economic foundations prior to the pandemic beginning. We didn't just turn the switch on, and the Prime Minister spoke about the 9,000 people working on this project, including Maddie Turner, who I just ran into, I was at college with, these these projects, and this strong pipeline, provide certainty for all workers across our state as we head into the future. It's, in the lead up to the pandemic last year, just our public investment of $108 billion over four years was contributing around half a percentage point to our economic growth each and every year, plus the tens of thousands of jobs. That's providing opportunity and prosperity for people in Sydney and right across our state. And it's great to be here today with the Prime Minister and our colleagues to announce another important milestone as we take our city and state from good to great.
The Hon. Paul Fletcher MP, Minister for Communications, Urban Infrastructure, Cities and the Arts: Well, as Commonwealth Minister for Urban Infrastructure and Cities, I'm very pleased to be here to join the Prime Minister, the Premier, Minister Stokes, New South Wales Minister for Transport and Planning, Fiona Martin, Member for Reid, Scott Charlton and all of the crew from Transurban, all of the workers here, all of my state and federal colleagues, and we're here, as the Prime Minister and Premier have said, to mark a very significant breakthrough on this project. And of course, the continuation of what's been, throughout the lives of the New South Wales and Commonwealth Liberal National Governments, under different leaderships, but we've continued to get on with delivering WestConnex and so many other important projects around Sydney, Commonwealth and State Liberal National Governments working together.
And one really important feature of WestConnex is the way that it will improve access to so many parts of our enormous metropolis, for people from south western and Western Sydney, Liberal National Governments, State and Federal, working to deliver infrastructure for the people of Western Sydney. Of course, this joins with the Western Sydney International Nancy-Bird Walton Airport, $5.3 billion. The new metro that's being built to the airport, over $10 billion, joint Federal and State. The new M12 that will go to the airport $2 billion, Federal and State. The Northern Road being upgraded to four lanes all the way, Federal and State investment. Liberal and National Commonwealth and State Governments, the Morrison Government, the Perrottet Government working together and particularly delivering better access, better facilities, transformational infrastructure investment for Western Sydney and for our whole city.
The Hon. Rob Stokes MP, NSW Minister for Transport and Roads: Thanks, everyone. Well, as has already been said, this is a case study in collaboration. It proves what can be achieved when governments work together in the public interest. I remember talking to an old planner many years ago who said that many returning servicemen and women from the Second World War thought that they were coming back to help build Sydney's motorway network. Yet while governments have talked about this for 70 years, we're actually getting on and delivering these important links that we know provide $14 billion in productivity benefits to everyone in society and help us with our 60, 60, $66 billion freight task here in New South Wales alone. These are big figures, they’re big projects, but ultimately, as Fiona Martin said, it's about the people. It's about the people who can get home quicker and more safely. And as the Prime Minister said, it's about the 9,000 people who have worked so hard to make today a reality. Thanks.
Prime Minister: Well, happy to take some questions, but just before I do that I should have mentioned, when I met with His Royal Highness Prince Charles at Glasgow, one of the key things he raised was the great urban projects that are being done here in partnership with the New South Wales Government, and made particular mention of the work that both Premier Perrottet’s been doing and Rob Stokes was doing as well. And I think that's a great recognition of what is happening here in New South Wales, and particularly here in Sydney. And, so, congratulations, Dom. It was, it was great to hear his keen, keenness, and I know you both have worked closely with him on that, but happy to take some questions.
Journalist: You did just return from overseas, you didn't have to quarantine, are you grateful for the Premier sorting that out for you?
Prime Minister: Very. I can assure you. It would have been my fifth quarantine in the last 12 months. So I think it's tremendous and I think that's a demonstration of what Australia has achieved. Today, not only has New South Wales and Victoria and the ACT reached 80 per cent double vaccinated for those aged over 16, but the whole country will be past that 80 per cent mark over the course of today. And when we get the figures tomorrow, I'm quite certain that will be confirmed and as we meet together, the premiers and chief ministers and I later today, that will be a moment to reflect on. I mean, we've achieved that in the first week of November. That means we overcame all the challenges that we had with supplies that didn't show up from Europe and things like that. And we pushed through and we've got it sorted. And I particularly want to commend General Frewen for the great job that he has done, supported by, of course, Professor Murphy and Greg Hunt and here in New South Wales, Brad Hazzard and all of them. Achieving that 80 per cent milestone here in Australia in this timeframe, Australians have rolled up their sleeves. They've kept their part of the bargain and governments are keeping their part of the bargain. And that's why I can join with you today.
Journalist: [Inaudible]
Prime Minister: Well, what's most important, whether it's in WA or Queensland, is they need to get those vaccination rates up to those marks and now until you hit those marks, then those opportunities that are now being realised here in Sydney and across New South Wales and Victoria and the ACT. What those same things can be enjoyed in Western Australia and in Queensland. So the real task is to get those vaccination rates to those same levels we're seeing in other states. And you know, those numbers are lifting. They obviously haven't moved as quickly as they have in New South Wales and Victoria and the ACT. But if we keep driving forward on that, I'm particularly pleased to see how the 12 to 15 year olds vaccination rates have lifted. Our kids are back at school. How good is that. How good is that, Dom?
Journalist: What do you think is the main differences, the comparison between the states and territories, why has New South Wales and Victoria gone faster than Queensland and WA? What do you think the reason is?
Prime Minister: Well, look, I think an obvious part of it has been the third wave that hit New South Wales, Victoria and the ACT. I think that's a very fair assessment. And you know, when you're in a state where there's been effectively no COVID, there's a different level of urgency in that state compared to what happened here in New South Wales. And you know, we understood that. I mean, New South Wales was facing the worst of that third wave, and that's why we were able to secure those additional doses, those Polish doses. So I was very pleased to see the Polish Prime Minister in Glasgow and to thank him very much, particularly on behalf of the people in New South Wales. Because when I spoke to him, what I said to him, I said, you know, we've got a real big challenge here in our biggest city and this will really help us to be able to try and break the back of the challenge we had here in Sydney. And that's indeed what happened. And so I was very grateful to him and of course, the UK government to Boris and everyone there and Sajid Javid. That really helped us breakthrough here in New South Wales. And that breakthrough in New South Wales led to the breakthrough in Victoria, the breakthrough in the ACT. And I believe it will lead to the breakthrough right across the country.
Journalist: [Inaudible] travel to Bali before Christmas?
Prime Minister: Yeah, I believe it is. President Widodo and I did have a good discussion about that. He is really pleased that Australians are travelling again just as pleased as Prime Minister Bainimarama is that about people being able to travel to Fiji and the Pacific Island leaders who I met with overseas are very thrilled about that. You can imagine what that's going to mean to their local economies, and the same is true in Indonesia. So they're looking to see how they can reduce the number of days that would be required when anyone or particularly Australians are going into Bali. And I would expect over time to see that fall, but they're obviously being cautious about that and and that is entirely appropriate for them. And but as we know on the 21st, I was able to announce with, when I met with Prime Minister Lee that we'll have that open arrangement with Singapore from the 21st of this month. And what that is showing is particularly here in New South Wales, we're just taking it step by step and demonstrating how this works, giving Australians confidence all around the country, that this is working, that we're opening up the economy. You know, we've got $110 billion worth of infrastructure that we want to see get built. And for that to happen, the country has to be open, ports have to be opening and working well, and we'll be focusing a lot on that issue as well.
Journalist: Prime Minister, on the French contract, the US President suggested that was handled clumsily, do you concede that?
Prime Minister: We've moved on from that issue, that's what I said when I was in Dubai.
Journalist: You spoke about the economic breakthrough, in hospitality we're suffering from critical shortages, [inaudible]?
Prime Minister: Yeah, I know the Premier will want to speak about this, and we share a view about this. I'm keen to see that happen. I'm keen to see it happen this year in whatever staged format we can, and I think it's going to be particularly important for our agricultural workforce. We're already moving quite well on our Pacific programmes for workers. We've got the new agricultural visas as well. We spoke to, I spoke to President Widodo about that, ensuring that Indonesia could participate strongly in our agricultural visa programme and there was keen interest in that. But we, you know, as we're, as we're now in economic recovery mode, in fact, beyond that, we're in growth mode with our economy, realising that means we've now got to deal with the supply side challenges we're going to have. And that is in the labour markets. It is on the ports. It is ensuring that our cities are functioning well, which the timeliness of projects like this is so important coming out of COVID, we need to be removing those blockages, ensuring that red tape is not going to dry up investment or stymie investment. We've got to get on with the clean energy technology changes that we're putting in place and developing all that. But Dom, I'm sure you'd want to talk about that.
The Hon. Dominic Perrottet MP, Premier of NSW: Well, let me begin by saying that it's a better problem to have that high unemployment. And the good news about some of these shortages is it provides an opportunity for people right across the state to get into work and in a challenging time. Over the last two years, we lost close to 300,000 jobs last year, recovered every single one of them in this state, plus 30,000 more. We've had a challenging time during Delta. We want to get everybody back into paid work and the financial stimulus by the federal and state government here has allowed us to provide opportunities for businesses to remain open, for our workers to remain paid in what's been a challenging time now. In relation to labour shortages, it's a serious issue. It's a major issue facing our state, the Commonwealth Government and the Prime Minister is completely across that. We've, as he has pointed out, we made some substantial changes in relation to agricultural visas. That was most important because we didn't want to have after droughts and bushfires in our state, a situation where our produce was left to rot on the ground. And that's been crucial in ensuring that regional New South Wales continues to recover from the pandemic. But obviously in the hospitality sectors and in those other areas where shortages are, we need to address that. We'll continue to work closely with the federal government. As the Prime Minister has said, it's a staged process by ending quarantine for fully vaccinated people in Sydney. That has been a great start. Obviously, with the returning Australians that then moved to other areas and we need to ensure as we move through this period that businesses have the support. The other thing that's important as well is we've had pretty flat wage growth in this state for a, and across the country, for a sustained period of time. There's great opportunity now for our workers who are sitting at home to get out, get a job and get paid well.
Journalist: Prime Minister, do we still need purpose built quarantine facilities given the two biggest states no longer require quarantine?
Prime Minister: Well, the decision we made to go ahead with those was not a short term decision. I will never forget that first weekend when the events of Wuhan had become very clear and there were planes on their way to Australia from Wuhan that weekend. And it's important that in the future, for whatever pandemic we may face in the future, that we have that initial bank of facilities in Victoria and that one is progressing well. We've changed the scale of the one in in Queensland, Western Australia. So at three points, we can ensure that there are facilities in place at those arranged. So that was not from our point of view, as much about dealing with the current situation, although it can, particularly in Victoria, provide some support because we're still quarantining unvaccinated Australians coming back into the country. That is still the case and that could present some challenges so that it's, I think, provides a positive contribution. But this is about a longer term capability and they have been built to be multi-use facilities as well. So they had their own longer term, not just their shorter term advantages.
Journalist: Last month you accused the Queensland Premier of extortion on hospital funding, what's changed and how much are you prepared to provide?
Prime Minister: Well, we announced today we're going to keep the block funding arrangements in place out till the end of this year, and we've extended out also for some time ago, the COVID arrangements, which are 50/50 arrangements. We have the National Health Reform Agreement, which provides record funding into hospitals. But I got to say, and I'm sure Dom might want to comment on this as well, but when we were looking at the modelling for what the impact on our hospitals would be and, you know, tremendous work was done collaboratively at a federal-state level to really understand all the scenarios that we might face in terms of the pressure on the hospitals. Those worst fears have not been realised. The worst case and they weren't even the worst case scenarios, there were far worst case scenarios we had to be mindful of. And it reminded me a lot of that early part of the pandemic when we were preparing for the absolute worst and thankful for the best. And I think that's what we're seeing now. We were prepared for the worst and we're thankful for what is one of the best results that we're seeing. I've had the last couple of days had the opportunity to share experiences with other countries who have been going through this and a lot of their experiences have been very similar. So it is, you know, we have put in place the plans to deal with the surges here in New South Wales and Victoria, and I commend the Victorian Government as well. They planned well and that I think gives a lot of confidence to Queensland and where there hasn't been the big number of cases for them to deal with. And in Western Australia and others which will eventually when their borders open up, face some demand on their system. But I think the states in New South Wales and Victoria that it can all be managed well. You plan well, we've modelled it and worked through those issues. And I think that has been a good result. But Dom, I think you've got similar a experience.
The Hon. Dominic Perrottet MP, Premier of NSW: Well, I think it's one of the untold stories of the pandemic was initially from the outset we invested record amounts in our health system. I remember saying to the Health Minister at the time, whatever you need financially, you will have, to ensure our public health system particularly was ready for the worst case scenario. Now we didn't go anywhere near that, but that's been a substantial benefit to our health system here in our state, and we're incredibly confident as challenges come our way moving forward and the pandemic is not over. As we open up, case numbers will increase, hospitalisations will increase. We know that, but we're ready. And ultimately, from the state's perspective and as a former treasurer, I'm always going to try and get more money out of these guys. But ultimately, what our strategy and our approach and plan during this pandemic is to stand out own two feet in this state, to not blame the Commonwealth, but to actually deliver for our people. And that's what we're focused on. We're going to make the investments. We spent, I announced yesterday, since the pandemic began, we've invested $44 billion in this state and whether that's on business support or the health system right across the board. That's close to half our annual expenditure to keep people safe, to keep people in work and to get businesses open. So we'll continue to do that as we move through this difficult time. But we're confident we're in a very strong position here in our state.
Journalist: Premier, just on this project here, you say it'll be open to travel in 2023, will it be open before the 23rd of March 2023 and the material we've received still has the Beaches Link on it, obviously all this talk we've had today of Coalition governments working together, to deliver projects, will you deliver the Beaches link?
The Hon. Dominic Perrottet MP, Premier of NSW: Oh, well, that's part of our infrastructure programme and pipeline. We've got $108 billion over the next four years. We've allocated money in the 21/22 Budget, close to $500 million for the Western Harbour Tunnel and Beaches Link project, and we continue to work through it. In relation to the opening of this project, well, you know, we don't build infrastructure for the sake of winning elections. We build infrastructure to make a real difference to people's lives. So obviously it's, you know, open in 2023. What's most important is that we get it done and we get it done properly and with the 9,000 people working on these projects, we're very confident we'll get it open as quickly as possible.
Journalist: Paul Toole's failure to declare [inaudible], is he well and truly across his disclosure requirements?
The Hon. Dominic Perrottet MP, Premier of NSW: Well, look, I spoke to the Deputy Premier yesterday, obviously after Estimates. He's rectified that. He had disclosed his properties as he was required to. He just hadn't mentioned in the rent aspect that he was receiving an income. He's spoken to the legal team at the Department of Premier and Cabinet. He's made the appropriate change.
Journalist: He didn't do it for seven years though, is that a pretty big oversight?
The Hon. Dominic Perrottet MP, Premier of NSW: Well, look, let's you know, it was an oversight. But in terms of the scheme of things, it was a mistake and he's rectified the mistake. And that's most important.
Journalist: [Inaudible]
The Hon. Dominic Perrottet MP, Premier of NSW: Well, there's a review being currently undertaken by the Commonwealth Grants Commission in relation to GST reform. We've always held the view here in our state that GST distribution should not penalise states that reform, but incentivise states to reform. You know, it goes back to Michael Egan days where we've argued for a per capita basis in New South Wales, but we haven't always got our way. I've taken the view that we have an obligation to support smaller states. That's still, that's still our perspective. But there's always going to be these discussions. And I think as we move forward post this pandemic, there's going to be a real discussion between the Commonwealth and state governments in relation to federal financial relations and those arrangements moving forward and we should welcome that.
Prime Minister: Just as we go. To all of our Indian community in Australia, I'm sure that Premier Perrottet would join me, we wish you all a very happy Diwali and Namaste.
Remarks at Al Minhad Air Base - Dubai, UAE
3 November 2021
PRIME MINISTER: Well, thank you Patto, as I know you are affectionately known by everybody here. And to their Excellency, our Ambassador and to our host, the UAE thank you for your tremendous support so we can all be here. But to all of you, who've I come to see and say thank you. I want to thank you for your service to our country. This has been the base that has been responsible for Australia's largest ever air lift in these circumstances. It was, I think, some of Australia's proudest days, as over the course of a very short period of time, the men and women here working together, but agencies also outside, the ADF, Australian Border Force and DFAT, ensured that 4,100 people were brought to safety from one of the most dangerous places in the world. And it was the innovation, it was the determination, it was the professionalism, it was the training, it was the dedication that you have spent all of your service preparing yourself for a time such as that. And in that moment, our defence forces and all of those who served at that time were not found wanting. What we found is you excelled, you exceeded the expectations. At the outset of that operation, we had envisaged that perhaps it could be as many as a thousand people we would have to airlift over that period of time, and it was more than four times that amount. And you continue, you continue to ensure that people are even still being brought to safety, and are making their way to Australia for their new home. There are thousands and thousands of Australians who have been taken from Afghanistan to their new home in Australia. And the people they can thank most for that are the men and women who served during that operation and who brought them to safety and put themselves at great risk.
So I am very grateful to all of those who were here at the time, and I know there are still some of you here, but there's been a rotation since then and those who have come in and continued that work know that the standard set by those who were here during that time was a very high one. And I have no doubt that should you be called upon in a similar way, that you would be able to respond in exactly the same measure. So, your country is incredibly proud of what you're doing here. I know you're far away from your family and your friends and that's what you have chosen to do in your service. And that is a service that we're very grateful for. So I'm looking forward to getting around and having a bit of a chat and hearing a lot about your service, and for those particularly who were here at that time, I'm particularly keen to see you as well and I want to wish you all the best for the rest of your time here. Please stay safe. And on behalf of Australia, thank you. Thank you.
Press Conference - Dubai, UAE
3 November 2021
PRIME MINISTER: It's a great honour to be here. First up, I just want to say how thankful I am that Cleo is home and that she's safe. To Ellie and Jake. This is every parent's worst nightmare and the fact that that nightmare has come to an end and our worst fears were not realised is just a huge relief and a moment for great joy. This particular case obviously has captured the hearts of Australians as we felt such terrible sorrow for the family. And I want to thank particularly all of the police and all of those who were involved in making sure that Cleo’s safe. And we're so thankful. Thank you so much for what you've done. I know you do it every day and I know that you'll soon feel a great sense of satisfaction in the work you've done to bring it home. But we know each and every day they're out there doing the same thing and trying to keep our kids safe and keep our people safe. And so thank you so much, and I just thank God that Cleo is home and that she's safe.
It's a great honour, as I said, to be here at Camp Baird. This was the site of our base to run what was the largest ever airlift that we've ever been involved in as a country. Round here, over 2,000 people at any one time were there and being supported and cared for. This was an extraordinary operation and I want to congratulate Air Commodore Patterson and his whole team for what they were doing. We were obviously speaking very regularly during that time. 4,100 people were airlifted out of one of the most dangerous places in the world, and we brought them here. And I particularly want to thank the Crown Prince and the United Arab Emirates for their hospitality and their incredible support during that time. The Crown Prince made it very clear to me as we spoke quite often over that period back in August that whatever we needed, they would be there to support us. And here we are still to this day as people are still being- had been brought through here on their way to Australia, in addition to those who were evacuated at the time.
In terms of where we've just been over in Glasgow, those talks will continue. Australia was able to go there and outline very clearly not just what our commitments were, because Australia always meets and beats our commitments when it comes to addressing the very real threat of climate change and not just in terms of emissions reduction, but the support for developing countries, particularly in our own part of world, our Pacific family and South East Asia, to deal with the adaptation challenges that they have right now. And Australia has been a leader in that area of providing that support for resilience in developing countries, and that has also been an important part of COP26. It is, of course, about reducing emissions, but it's also about dealing with the impacts right now. Australia understands those very well, and we have tremendous partnerships right across the region to help particularly developing countries to deal with the impacts of climate change that they're experiencing right now.
I wish the rest of COP26 all the best for the discussions, and I congratulate Boris Johnson on the work that he's done to try and bring people together around this challenge. For Australia's part, it's about technology enabling us working principally through the private sector now, which will carry so much of this because it's the entrepreneurs, the industrialists, the financiers working together with the scientists and the researchers that will be delivering those technological solutions on the ground. Our technology led approach was well received by all of those I spoke with. They understand, like we understand that if you want to actually deal with this, you must drive the costs of these low emissions technologies down. So they're realisable, so they're scalable, so they're affordable not just in developed countries like Australia, but they’re realisable, affordable in countries like Indonesia and Vietnam. And, of course, China and India. And so Australia's case at COP was very much about supporting them to ensure they can achieve what I know they want to achieve, but they need to be able to do it with the technology that gets them there. And Australia intends to be at the forefront of delivering that technology.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, just on Cleo Smith, how important was the AFP to the case and what will you do with the police services to ensure that they can, you know, if this ever happens again, that they can find the person quicker.
PRIME MINISTER: Well, God forbid that it does, but we know the risks are very real and and every parent knows that. But the AFP has record support from our government and will continue to, and we have extraordinary people who work within the AFP and the capabilities that they have. I won't go into the details of this case specifically other than to say that everything that we have available to the AFP was there to be used and to lock in with the work that was being done in Western Australia. And so, I congratulate the Western Australia state police, they've done a tremendous job there. Had this occurred in another state or territory, I know the exact same thing would have happened in terms of the capabilities that would have been brought together. And so we're just very pleased and very proud of those who did such a great job to bring Cleo home.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, should world leaders feel safe to send you messages from now on because this is the claim from the French Ambassador back in Canberra that they might now have concerns those messages might be leaked.
PRIME MINISTER: Well, let me just make a couple of points on this issue. All the obvious objections and reactions to Australia's decision here have come from all the obvious places for all the obvious reasons. I'm not going to go further into these issues as, you know, I set out very clearly how and why Australia made the decisions that we did. Now this contract was about delivering the best possible capability for the men and women who serve in our Defence Forces. We have 250 of those here. That's what these contracts are about. These contracts are about giving Australia the capability we need. So the men and women who serve in our defence forces can get on and do their job and keep Australians safe. That's what these contracts are about. They're not about other countries. They're about Australia and our defence interests. And we're focused on that. And that's what this issue’s about. I'm going to, it's important now that we all just move on, frankly.
JOURNALIST: You said this is about the contract. It is beyond that now. The Ambassador to Australia says that relations are now at an unprecedented low because personal messages between you and President Macron were leaked.
PRIME MINISTER: Well, I was very clear about what that communication was and that was necessary given the matters that were raised, but I don't think there's any further profit for anyone in continuing down this path. We made the decision we needed to make in Australia's national interests. We understand the concerns and objections that have come in relation to that. They were understood when we made the decision and this was the decision Australia needed to make in our national interest and that is something that I'm responsible for and I'm very keen to ensure that now we move on and deliver that capability, which the men and women of our Defence Force need. That needs to be the focus now, and that's certainly going to be my focus.
JOURNALIST: Mr Macron's office in France …
JOURNALIST: Given all of this, do you intend to actually issue an apology?
PRIME MINISTER: There’s no need for that.
JOURNALIST: Mr Macron's office in France is briefing newspapers in Paris that the leak came from your office. Did the leaked text message from Mr Macron come from your office and has it made things worse?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, I'll just say again, I made very clear what the timeline was and why I believed that we had made very clear that there were very significant issues about us moving forward with this contract. See, Australia made the decision not to go ahead with a contract for a submarine that was not going to do the job that Australia needed it to do, and I'll never make any apologies for that decision.
JOURNALIST: Malcolm Turnbull's joined Emmanuel Macron. He's called you a liar. He's called Emmanuel Macron the greatest leader of our times. Would you like Malcolm Turnbull to find something else to do with his time?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, look, as you know, I always treat all former prime ministers with respect, and I'm going to continue to do that.
JOURNALIST: Is this one treating you with respect, this former PM?
PRIME MINISTER: All of you can make your own judgements about that.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, obviously, it was a highly unusual event for private messages of a foreign leader to be leaked. What was the threshold that necessitated that? Was it the, was it President Macron calling you a liar?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, claims had been made and those claims were refuted.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, was it fair for you to do what you did?
PRIME MINISTER: Claims were made and claims were refuted. What is needed now is for us to all just get on with it. I mean, that's what is most important to the Australian people. That the United States, the United Kingdom and Australia get on with the historic agreement that we came to, to deliver an incredibly important capability for Australia, to keep Australians safe and to defend and protect Australia. That's the most important thing. That is what is, that is what is at issue here. That is the thing that matters most to Australians is that we do everything we can to ensure that Australia's defences are the best they possibly can be. And the men and women who serve in our defence forces get the best. And that's what I was seeking to do. If others have other motives, if others have other agendas. Well, that's for them.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, they say it's not just the subs, they say there was sharing of data as well, like, you know, like you're talking about with the AUKUS agreement. What do you say to that?
PRIME MINISTER: We were operating under the contract at the time and and we're not going ahead with that contract. We're not going through those gates.
JOURNALIST: It's clear this diplomatic stoush is not going away. The French Ambassador says Australia has stabbed France in the back. So what are you going to do to try and repair this rift?
PRIME MINISTER: I'm going to move on and get the job done.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister has the gain from this trip been worth the pain?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, importantly, at the G20 and again at COP26, I had the opportunity to talk with a large number of leaders, in particular yesterday with the newly elected Prime Minister Kishida. And we'd spoken before, obviously the election. But the fact that he had prioritised so highly a meeting with ourselves and Japan's key partners, I think speaks much to that very good relationship we have with Japan and the partnerships we're forming through the Quad. The meetings I've had, whether it was with Vietnam or those in Eastern and Central Europe, the opportunities to engage with leaders, in that part of the world doesn't come around in such numbers very often. And what I sense from all of those discussions was such a keenness to engage with Australia across Europe. I had a very, very warm and very helpful meeting with with Chancellor Merkel, who of course, is retiring. I thank her for the wonderful relationship Australia has had with Germany. But Australia's relationships across, right across Europe, I think recognise that Europe is a very big place and there's a lot of countries that we work with there very effectively who are very keen to understand Australia's perspective on the Indo-Pacific, and they understand and respect Australia's role in the Indo-Pacific and they're very keen to engage more. And I was encouraging particular European countries to engage more, particularly economically in the Indo-Pacific and to work together, especially on the challenges of addressing the climate needs and the technology and the development that is needed to take place in particularly developing countries in our region.
JOURNALIST: PM, you met the IEA yesterday, the head of that agency has expressed concern about nuclear proliferation. It is an issue with the nuclear submarine proposal. What was your message to that agency about how you would contain nuclear proliferation with that submarine?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, we're going to work very closely with the IEA and we had a very positive meeting and they'll have a clear process that we'll completely comply with. Australia's non-proliferation reputation is not under challenge, it is not under challenge at all, and we will ensure, as I stressed to countries when and if they raised it, I did proactively on many occasions just to affirm that once again Australia, particularly in the Pacific, has a very strong record when it comes to nuclear non-proliferation. Australia can speak in volumes about the consistent approach that we've had in thr Indo-Pacific.
JOURNALIST: Better than the French?
PRIME MINISTER: I just speak to Australia's reputation
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, how can any world leader trust you or build a relationship with you if private correspondence is going to be leaked?
PRIME MINISTER: I have outstanding relationships with so many leaders around the world, and that's what I've been engaged for over the last couple of weeks, I've already addressed the point that you've made in earlier questions.
JOURNALIST: Just on climate change, are you disappointed that China didn't turn up, the bigger polluters didn't turn up? And do you still believe, I think, as you argued a couple of years ago, that the developing nation status needs to be questioned in terms of the leave pass it gives them among things like pollution?
PRIME MINISTER: The approach Australia took to COP26 was to talk about what we were going to do and how we were going to particularly work with other countries to meet the technology challenge of addressing climate change. That's what we were doing at COP. We weren't there to lecture others. We weren't there to tell others what they should be doing. We were there to focus on what we were going to do and how we were going to contribute and work with others and the technology partnerships, which we formed with so many countries now. And we look to extend that even further. There was very good discussions with Vietnam, who are very interested in working with us on these issues and we will take those forward in the weeks and months ahead. So it's very clear that whether it's in China or whether it's in Indonesia or Australia, indeed in the North Atlantic developed countries, unless you get the cost of this technology down, rather than focusing on putting the prices of energy up everywhere else, then you are not going to get countries actually achieving the things they say they want to achieve. That is the practical task now. Post COP26, it's not about the if and the when, it's only about the how. And we need a mission focus of the world's R&D efforts into the technologies that are actually going to make a difference here. And they will work as much in the developing economies of the North Atlantic as they will in the developed economies of the North Atlantic, I should say, and the developing economies of the Indo-Pacific. It has to work in both places and for that to happen, this is about enlisting the private sector effort, whose own investments will outpace all government efforts, as it indeed should.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, China has a list of grievances. It seems like France now has a list of grievances as well. Is there a dollar figure that makes this go away? And realistically, there's the presidential elections for Macron in April, and we will have our election around the same time or whenever you choose to call it. Realistically, you'll have to settle on some sort of a financial arrangement. That's my take out from today's speech. And will it sort of take that cycle, you know, moving on to next year, to be able to work through this?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, as I said, the objections to Australia's decision not to proceed with those submarines and go forward with nuclear powered submarines was made in Australia's interests. Those who objected to that decision have objected for very obvious reasons with very obvious motives. But I know whose side I'm on. Thank you.
Address, National Statement - COP26
1 November 2021
PRIME MINISTER: There is cause for optimism as we gather here.
18 months ago we were staring into the abyss of a one in hundred year pandemic. The vaccines we would need had not only not been invented, but there had never been a vaccine for a Coronavirus.
But here we are. Billions vaccinated and the world is reclaiming what COVID has taken from us.
The challenge of combating climate change will be met the same way.
And it will be met by those who are frankly largely not in this room. It will be our scientists, our technologists, our engineers, our entrepreneurs, our industrialists and our financiers that will actually chart the path to net zero.
And it is up to us as Leaders of governments to back them in.
Technology will have the answers to a decarbonised economy, particularly over time. And achieve it in a way that does not deny our citizens, especially in developing economies, their livelihoods or the opportunity for a better quality of life.
Driving down the cost of technology and enabling it to be adopted at scale is at the core of the Australian Way to reach our target of net zero emissions by 2050 that we are committing to at this COP26.
Cleaner technology solutions must outcompete existing technologies if they are to be successful everywhere, and especially so in developing economies.
This needs to work not just in the developed economies of the North Atlantic, but in the developing economies of the Indo Pacific as well.
Raising the cost of energy just impacts on those who can afford it least.
Driving the emergence of low-emissions technologies and fostering their widespread adoption is at the heart of our plan to reach net zero.
And that’s why we’ve set cost targets for clean hydrogen, low cost solar, low carbon steel and aluminium, energy storage, carbon capture and storage and soil carbon.
And we’re not starting from scratch – 90 per cent of commercial solar cells globally use Australian technology.
Australia has the best rates of rooftop solar in the world.
Our installation of renewables is eight times faster than the global rate and three times faster than some of the most advanced economies in Europe.
We have already reduced emissions by more than 20 per cent since 2005 and 54 per cent as an emissions intensity measure. We’re ahead of the pack. Over the same time, our economy has grown by 45 per cent, proving that economic growth is not at odds with emissions reduction.
And by 2030 our nationally determined contribution here at COP26 notes that our emissions in Australia will fall by 35 per cent by 2030, far exceeding our Paris commitment. Australia meets and beats on its commitments. And we are doubling our initial climate finance commitment for our pacific family and south East Asian partners to $2 billion committed here at COP26.
Looking forward we are forging technology partnerships domestically and abroad - with Singapore, Germany, the UK, Japan, Korea and Indonesia — and we are close to concluding one with India.
Australia is investing over $20 billion dollars over the next decade to drive the transition, leveraging private sector investment to reach $80 billion dollars in total.
We are also working to establish high-integrity offsets internationally. Working with our close friends and neighbours in the Indo-pacific.
The scene is set. Global momentum to tackle climate change is building. Countries with net zero commitments cover over 80 per cent of world GDP. In Australia’s case, 90 per cent of our exports are to countries with net zero commitments.
Our researchers, scientists, entrepreneurs, investors and most importantly our people are ready. The Australian way is to bet on them — and we think that’s a good bet.
Press Conference - Glasgow, Scotland
1 November 2021
SIR ROGER CARR, CHAIRMAN OF BAE SYSTEMS: Good morning, everybody. My name's Roger Carr, chair of BAE, as you know. We welcome today the Prime Minister who we're delighted to see to look at a project that has united two countries in pursuit of building one of the most advanced warships in the world. So we've been able to show him that today and reinforce the partnership that exists. So, Prime Minister, please.
PRIME MINISTER: Well, thank you very much, Sir Roger. And to Charles and Simon and the whole crew here who are doing such a fantastic job on what is a vision of the future for the Royal Australian Navy behind us here. Nine of these Type 26, which will be Hunter class frigates in Australia, an investment of some $35 billion. Mid this decade, we'll be cutting steel and we look to get the first one of them later in the decade.
SIR ROGER CARR, CHAIRMAN OF BAE SYSTEMS: Indeed.
PRIME MINISTER: And that's where we're tracking, and we've had a good opportunity to talk about the project today. When I was here in London a few months ago, Sir Roger, Charles and I had another opportunity to meet to talk about the project and how we were proceeding. So it's good to see it in real life and to see- have a vision of what is to come. And it's great to catch up with at least one of the Australians from Adelaide who are here working on the ship today because a big part of this is the skills transfer that takes place in such enormous tasks, of these naval shipbuilding projects. And so this is one of just many as people know, and the partnership with BAE has been very, very positive. And I thank you Sir Roger for the accessible way you've been able to engage on issues. They're difficult projects. All of these are. They have their challenges and their problems. You work through them and that's how you get ships in the water and that's how you look after Australia's national defences. I'm happy to take a couple of quick questions on that if you'd like, because there's a number of other matters I know you're keen for me to address and so am I, but I wasn't going to impose on Sir Roger and Charles others. So are there any questions you wanted to raise on that matter. Not today. Thank you very much.
SIR ROGER CARR, CHAIRMAN OF BAE SYSTEMS: Thank you very much Prime Minister. It's terrific to see you again.
PRIME MINISTER: Thank you. Thank you very much. Well, I want to address a number of the issues that came up when we gathered together yesterday for the press conference. I have no interest in personalising these matters. That's not what this is about. But I thought it would be good to give you some of the background as to where we got to and how these decisions were made.
Certainly, the submarine contract was a significant investment by Australia. A decision taken five years ago. At that point, given the strategic circumstances at the time and the technology available to Australia, the Attack class submarine was the right decision for Australia, but there have been significant changes that have occurred in our strategic environment in the Indo-Pacific, which has completely changed the game. And it's also fair to say that the contract that we had with Naval, had its very significant challenges. There were quite a few issues that went to following through on the commitments on Australian industry content. There was a lot of issues in relation to delays in the project and of course, the costs. These were matters that we raised quite regularly and indeed I raised with President Macron at each opportunity when we either spoke over the phone or we had our bilateral meetings going over a number of years. Those delays and those concerns led me to take a decision early on about 18 months ago or thereabouts, to ensure that if we did have concerns about how this project might proceed, then we would need to have an alternative. And in my view, we had to have a better alternative. I didn't want Australia to settle for less, and we'd always had the aspiration to have a nuclear powered submarine. And so I set in path the process of investigating whether that was possible. That was very tightly held. And frankly, at that point, the likelihood of that succeeding would not have been rated as high.
But we went methodically through that process. Working with both the United States system, it wasn't raised, as I told you before at a political level with the previous administration and wasn't raised with the current administration until well into this year after technical and other issues around nuclear stewardship and Australia's capability had been thoroughly assessed. And fundamentally dealing with those technology issues around the stewardship issues- the nuclear stewardship issues because the reactor technology available from the United States goes into the boat over the course of its life, which of course, as I told you, doesn't then require a civil nuclear industry in Australia to be able to acquire that capability. We pursued that. And as time progressed, we continued to clear hurdles in terms of Australia being potentially able to have that capability.
At the same time, we were working through in good faith with Naval to address the problems that we had in the contract. And it's no secret, I'm sure in Australia, that this was a project that had few friends, and that is a point that we had made to Naval and particularly to the French Government. But I appreciated the work that President Macron was doing to seek to solve those problems. And many of them were. And had we been in an ultimate position to go forward on that contract, then we still would have had issues. There were still things to resolve, but I'm confident we would have been able to resolve them. But it was our concerns over the early delays and the delivery on, particularly on things like Australian industry content, time and cost that had raised concerns in my mind. And after the 2019 election, I began to enquire into these issues and tasked Defence to give us options and alternatives in the event that circumstances prevailed that we wouldn't be able to proceed. This is a contract. It has gates in it, and the purpose of this contract was to deliver submarines to Australia that would suit our defence interests and our strategic defences. That's the point of this contract and that's what we were seeking to procure under this arrangement. Now, as we work through this process of enquiring into our nuclear capability and whether we could be able to move into that space, then we got to the point with the United States and the United Kingdom that we were able to elevate this to a political level discussion. And that is the context in which AUKUS was framed and born. And when we went to Carbis Bay and we had that historic trilateral meeting, it was at that meeting that we were now in a position to try and move forward to where we ultimately arrived at.
But I want to stress when we met in Carbis Bay, we had not at that point made a clear decision and neither had our trilateral partners about whether we would be absolutely proceeding with the nuclear submarine option, that was not a finalised arrangement between any of the trilateral parties, but one of the biggest things that had changed over the course of that year and previous was the change in the strategic environment in the Indo-Pacific. At Carbis Bay and prior to it, President Macron had invited me to visit him at Elysee on the way to Carbis Bay. I chose not to do that. At that time, we hadn't settled the arrangements for the trilateral meeting that we had. Once that trilateral meeting was in place and pending the outcome of that, I agreed to go and have that dinner because I needed to share with him where Australia's thinking was. That was the reason I went to that dinner. To let him know after the meeting with the trilateral partners about where we were at, because only at that point had it then escalated to the possibility and likelihood of us potentially going down another track.
Now, at that point I made it very clear that a conventional diesel powered submarine was not going to meet Australia's strategic requirements. We discussed that candidly. I did not discuss what other alternatives we were looking at. They were in confidence and they were subject to the security arrangements we had about those other discussions. And it wasn't appropriate to do that, and I made that point. But what we did discuss was the issues that we were still dealing with, with the Attack class submarines. An important one of those was our view that this project would be further delayed and that would not see a submarine in the water until the late 2030s and possibly as late as 2038. That would mean that this submarine, when it went in the water would be obsolete almost the minute it got [inaudible]. Now, of course, Naval and others disputed whether that delay would actually occur, and President Macron undertook to look at that issue. After our dinner that night, the French defence system swung into full action and engaged in a full court press with all of our officials and others, including Defence Minister and others, addressing this issue around the contract. So their very response indicated that the discussion I had had with President Macron the night before, that night, and the briefing was provided back into the French system they swung into gear and began to raise issues. He said that he would like to send Admiral Morio out to Australia, which he did, to address the issues that we had raised. So that was very clear at that stage that they were responding to the issues that I had raised at our dinner.
At our dinner. I gave the opportunity for the French to respond to the matters that I had raised, and that process took place over the next few months. Now we eventually formed the view that we would agree to disagree, that the Attack class submarine would not meet our requirements. And we decided finally, only in the days before the announcement of the AUKUS arrangement and going forward with the arrangement on nuclear submarines was that decision finally made and that occurred at the same time that I could be assured that we had a clear path forward for a nuclear submarine. I was not going to leave Australia stranded between two projects. The two had to come together, and that's why we worked so closely and so securely over such a long time to ensure that we had a continuity of engaging and creating this capability for Australia. So we took the decision. It was a difficult decision. But a difficult decision that would lead undoubtedly to an impact on the relationship with France and, of course, an offence that would be caused. But in these interests, in Australia's interests, I have to put Australia's interests before any interest that involves in potentially offending others and how they would blowback in terms of their reaction. Australia's defence interests had to come first. This submarine was not the submarine Australia needed. The contract had had its difficulties that had led to me enquiring into potential other options, which for Australia's sake, actually came to fruition and we were able to secure nuclear submarine powered technology, that only two countries in the world possessed. That was worth pursuing for Australia, and I was not prepared to risk it for Australia's future defences. And that is why we took the decision that we did.
There was a three month period where the issues that had been raised were being discussed between French and Australian officials and the Naval Group, and we finally formed the view, made the decision we had to. There's no easy way to say to a contractor that you're going to not proceed through the next gate of the contract. Oh, I should remind you of this- We were supposed to have gone through the scope two works project gate in the previous December, and those marks were missed. And ironically, had that been achieved, then quite likely all of this would have been moot. That opened up a further opportunity to pursue our alternative, which I did in Australia's interests, and I make no apology for it because I need to ensure that Australia has the best submarine capability in one of the most complex parts of the world in the Indo-Pacific, and so Australia can pursue our defence strategies with the best possible capability. So based on all of that, we made, I believe, the right calls for Australia. I don't wish to personalise this. There's no element of that from my perspective. I must say that I think the statements that were made questioning Australia's integrity and the slurs that have been placed on Australia, not me, I've got broad shoulders. I can deal with that. But those slurs, I'm not going to cop sledging at Australia. I'm not going to cop that on behalf of Australians. I can deal with whatever people throw at me. But Australia has a proud record when it comes to our defence capability. That's why we will be building these. We'll be building others. And Australia’s service record, I think needs no elaboration. And so that's where we are. Happy to take questions. One at a time. Lanai, why don’t we start with Lanai and move around.
JOURNALIST: You said you're not going to accept the sledging of Australia.
PRIME MINISTER: Yeah.
JOURNALIST: So what are you going to do to resolve this diplomatic issue? Because there is a diplomatic issue here.
PRIME MINISTER: Well, Australia will happily work with France on projects of mutual interest. I think it's clear from President Macron's statements yesterday that the level of offence is still very great and we will wait for that to subside. We have a lot of projects to get on with. We have an important role in the Indo-Pacific. We are working with the EU, with NATO, of course, with our other partners in the region. We have much to do and we're always keen and would welcome the involvement of our ongoing partnership with France.
JOURNALIST: With all of that in mind Prime Minister, you've put all of that on the table you said you did, why did he say you lied to him? Is there any [inaudible], do you understand why he might have said that?
PRIME MINISTER: No, I don't. I absolutely don't. But as I said, I don't seek to personalise this. I've made it very clear that we, that we believed absolutely that a conventional submarine was not going to meet our strategic needs. That's why I went to dinner in Elysee. To tell him that. Because that was the precise time, it was only a few days before that I had met with our trilateral partners. And I needed to convey to him very clearly that we had big concerns about that boat meeting our needs. He asked for the opportunity to discuss that further to address our issues. That opportunity was provided. It didn't convince us, and we did not believe we should go through the gate of that contract. This is about a contract to deliver submarines, and that contract had gates in it, which enabled Australia not to proceed if it was not in our interest to proceed. It was not in our interest to proceed. We communicated that. I had hoped to be able to do that directly by phone. We had sought such a call. And indeed, President Macron indicated he wasn't available at that time and was concerned that the nature of the call related to the contract and whether it would be proceeding or not. And he had communicated that to me several days before. I would have preferred to have said I told him directly. But that opportunity, that call wasn't offered.
JOURNALIST: Can you just clarify, when you had the dinner with Mr Macron and you relayed the concerns about the subs, you said you were looking at alternatives or just didn’t tell him what they were?
PRIME MINISTER: Yeah, no, he enquired about that, but I said I wasn't at liberty to discuss those.
JOURNALIST: But was her aware you were be looking at an alternative without going into detail?
PRIME MINISTER: Yes. But I wasn't able to say, I mean, at that time, you'll remember, Phil, because many of your reporting it, I mean, there was discussion about what was happening with the Collins extension and a son of Collins. There were discussions happening with other defence contractors at the time, they were referred to in your own reports, I think, as Plan B options. I mean, when contracts had had the difficulty that we had, then of course it would be imprudent if I as Prime Minister, or the government, wasn't looking to identify alternatives. I just wasn't prepared to let Australia settle for less, if this contract wasn't going to proceed. I wanted Australia to have an even better capability. A supreme submarine capability. And that's what we have now been able to secure.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, you said that you weren't able to communicate with the French President. But you were engaged in another discussion, can you be a bit more candid about why? Did the Americans ask us not to ...
PRIME MINISTER: Well, I'm not going to get into that because they're all matters of our respective national security, so I'm not going to go into that. And, you know, leaders understand those things. We all understand there are security issues that apply constraints on what we can and can't discuss. But one point I made very clear on behalf of ultimately the partners, was that Australia initiated this. The United States and the United Kingdom did not come to us and seek to undermine the contract that the Naval Group had with Australia. They did not seek to do this. I was seeking an alternative in the event that a) we wouldn't be able to proceed and b) even more significantly if the conventional submarine option was not going to deliver on our strategic needs. Now we formed the very strong view, the unanimous view of all the Chiefs of our services and Defence Force, that this was a capability that was not going to meet our needs. We respectfully gave the opportunity for France to respond to that. If I, the suggestion that these things were not raised does not gel with the way the French defence system flew into action the next, very next day and other diplomatic engagements we understand were being pursued.
JOURNALIST: PM, you said quite clearly that you wanted to change this contract because the strategic circumstances for Australia had changed.
PRIME MINISTER: Correct.
JOURNALIST: We're now here at COP26. We've been at the G20. Russia and China are not here. Is that not a sign that the multilateral systems of the world are breaking down?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, I think it's very important for like minded countries to work as closely together as we possibly can. And that is why Australia will always remain committed to working with France when they are in a position to want to do that again with Australia. We will go forward and make some suggestions about ways that can be done. But it is clear from President Macron's statements yesterday that I don't think they are of a mind to do that at the moment. I understand that and we'll just get on with it and we'll move on.
JOURNALIST: Why didn't you message him back? So he sent you this message two days out from the AUKUS...
PRIME MINISTER: I did.
JOURNALIST: And what did you message back?
PRIME MINISTER: I said I thought it was very important that we spoke.
JOURNALIST: Which indicated in your mind that ...
PRIME MINISTER: And then when we weren't able to have an agreed time for a call because we had now got to the point we were about to announce this arrangement. And I wanted to tell him personally that we formed that decision because in correspondence as well as my own messages, I'd made it very clear that at the end of the day, Australia's national interest was going to determine our decision. And it did. And we communicated that. So when there wasn't the opportunity for us to speak directly, I forwarded the letter by text message to him that set out our position. And as you know, since then, I've written to him personally by hand and sought to move the issue forward. I understand that he's very personally upset and he's made some personal remarks. I don't intend to do the same.
JOURNALIST: Why was this decision to release the text message from him to you? I notice it has been leaked to the Daily Telegraph. James Morrow has it, it says should I expect good or bad news for our joint submarines ambitions. Why did you decide to leak that text message? And can you confirm that Emmanuel Macron did offer to build nuclear submarines for Australia?
PRIME MINISTER: No, I can't specifically confirm that. But what I can say is that we don't have any interest in that option.
JOURNALIST: And on the first question?
PRIME MINISTER: I can confirm that ...
JOURNALIST: No, the first question was why did you, why did you...
PRIME MINISTER: Well, I'm not going to, I'm not going to indulge your editorial on it. But what I'll simply say is this, is we were contacted when we were trying to set up the meeting, the call, and he made it pretty clear that he was concerned. He was concerned that this would be a phone call that would result in the decision of Australia not to proceed with the contract. And that happened several days before the decision was made. And so it was very clear that they were aware that the contract- I mean, Admiral Morio was sent to Australia to try and save the contract after our dinner in Elysee. So if there was no concern about the contract being under threat, Admiral Morio would never have come to Australia.
JOURNALIST: But Prime Minister, doesn't the text message exchange show that just a few days before AUKUS, Emmanuel Macron, a NATO power and a longstanding ally was still in the dark on the ultimate decision just two days before. Now, didn't Emmanuel Macron as such a strong ally of Australia and head of France deserve more than just that last minute notice of that ultimate decision?
PRIME MINISTER: Well this was a highly secure decision, a highly secure announcement over which we had held these things incredibly tightly. Not just for many months, but in Australia's case for more than a year. And it was my obligation to advise him of that directly. He was clearly aware over some months that there were concerns and they were responding to those concerns, and we had had correspondence and other messaging during the course of that period, and we decided in Australia's interests not to go ahead with the contract. That is what has occurred here. There was a contract, it had a gate. That gate should have actually been passed through last December. Delays in the contract meant that that didn't occur and that it extended out well into July. We had not made a decision which they would have been very well aware of, that we were not, you know, we had still not made a decision on that scope to works and and they were enquiring and they were seeking to respond to that.
But at the end of the day, I'm going to take the tough decisions to ensure Australia gets the best defence capability and you've got to have the strength to put up with the offence that sometimes that may cause. When you stand up for Australia's interests, not everybody is going to like it. It's not going to make everybody happy and you've got to have the strength to be able to deal with that. I'm very confident about the decision that I've made in Australia's interests, and we're going to pursue that decision as we are on many others, just like we're doing here in Glasgow, COP26 and ensuring the security of Australia in our region, in the Indo-Pacific, where Australia has stood up, my government has stood up, I've stood up and I will always do things in Australia's interests. Thanks everyone.
Press Conference - Rome, Italy
31 October 2021
PRIME MINISTER: Well, good evening, everyone. Australia is open. Australians are travelling again. Victoria has reached 80 per cent vaccination. Australia's opening up to Singapore, opening up to New Zealand. The National Plan is working. The Australian public have been keeping their side of the deal, which means the national plan is enabling them to regain the things that COVID has taken from them. We've been here over the last couple of days and indeed in the days ahead where we've been with more countries from around the world. It has highlighted to me once again that Australia's experience through COVID has been quite unique. The lowest fatality rates anywhere in the world from COVID. Our economy has performed strongly through COVID by comparison to so many, both advanced and developing countries, countries around the world. But thirdly, as our vaccination rates continue to rise, it just demonstrates that our response to COVID, ensuring that Australians can grab onto the things and reclaim the things that have been taken from them during the course of this pandemic. You look right across the pandemic, it continues to rage around the world. And that's why the vaccination programme we've discussed over the last few days remains so important because until the world itself is more broadly vaccinated, then the pandemic continues to rage, I was very pleased that over the course of the last couple of days while we were discussing, of course, some serious and significant issues of our responses to climate change and of course, the issues around the pandemic. The issues that we also raised, as a build up to next year around social media and digital platforms.
I raised that in my first intervention and then subsequently in many of the direct discussions I had with other leaders. This is not just something that Australians are experiencing. The harassment, the bullying, the misuse of these platforms shielding behind the anonymity of these digital media platforms, the lack of accountability when it comes to being a publisher. These are the same issues, whether I'm talking to those in Korea or in other parts of the world, in Indonesia. And so I was very pleased to see the communique today that this was recognised and understood. And when we talked about this, people and leaders had a very keen and deep appreciation of the impact this is having on mental health, particularly of young people and vulnerable members of their population. So having a work programme to go forward into next year, which will be led by Indonesia, we'll be supporting them strongly.
One of the things I discussed with President Widodo yesterday, and I'm just so pleased to see it picked up by so many others. When it comes to climate change, one of the things I think that was highlighted in my discussions here is that Australia has a deep understanding of the challenges being faced by developing countries and whether it's Indonesia, close by our dear friend and neighbour, the countries in the Pacific. But further across Southeast Asia, Australia because of our relationships, our economic relationships and you know, our involvement in our own region gives us a special insight, which says that, just like with vaccines, unless the whole world is vaccinated, then the pandemic continues to rage, the same is true when it comes to dealing with climate change. Unless the technologies are both affordable and scalable in developing countries, then you will not see emissions fall in those countries. It is not okay for developing countries to say, sorry for developed countries to say to developing countries that they somehow have to settle for less, that they can't have the same growth that their own economies and the jobs and the lifting of living standards that developed countries have been appreciating. And the way that is achieved for them is ensuring that we can get those technology costs as low as possible and so they can be taken up in developing countries and they can realise what they hope to achieve. I'm positive about this, so I'm optimistic about it, because 18 months ago there was no such thing as a COVID-19 vaccine. And in the space of less than two years, the world is now becoming vaccinated against a pandemic that we knew nothing about two years ago. And that just demonstrates that when the world focuses its investment in technology, science and research, that these answers are found and so the if and the when, those issues are no longer the issues, the only issue now is how, as we go to COP26. I hope that is the focus. The focus is on how we achieve that and how we achieve that is through ensuring that that technology is affordable and scalable. And if we hit those technology targets that are set out in the Australian way plan, then net zero by 2050, is something that not only Australia can achieve but so many other countries as well.
JOURNALIST: The reluctance expressed at the G20 on climate change on 2050 by the Russians and Chinese, the Indians for the watering down of the communique. Does that sort of kick the stuffing a bit in out of COP26 in terms of what we can expect from it in terms of meaningful progress.
PRIME MINISTER: Well, I think there will be progress. The destination, I think is understood and agreed. The world will move to a new energy economy. It will move to a decarbonised net zero economy. And the pace of that and the way that journey is, is travelled by countries will be different. In different countries they've got different, different challenges and they will find their different ways to that same destination. And to think that aspiring to that goal means that every single country has to get there the same way. I don't think that's realistic. And frankly, I think it's a bit naive.
JOURNALIST: But Prime Minister not at the same time either, like 2050 is what you've signed up to.
PRIME MINISTER: Sure.
JOURNALIST: But the big emitters aren't signing up for that. How much of a concern is that? That really weakens the COP26 result.
PRIME MINISTER: Well, let me speak to Australia's performance, and you've heard me say many times I'm going to tell you again. There are only four countries that sit around the G20 table that have a larger reduction in emissions since 2005 than Australia. Germany, Italy, France and the United Kingdom. There's only one other country other than Australia, who has had a greater reduction in their emissions intensity, expressed as a percentage of their GDP. That's the United Kingdom. Australia ranks second in the G20. So we're getting it done, we’re 20 per cent more down already on our emissions and our path is going to be set by technology. The point I make, is that technology is the way that China can achieve it, India can achieve it, Indonesia can achieve it. The idea that we're going to take developing economy models and force them, sorry developed economy models and force them on developing economies and say this is the path you must travel, that is not going to work. The path we're setting out is to say let's get those technology costs as low as possible. Don't force up the cost of what they're currently using. That is only going to hurt the people who can afford it least. Our model, and I think this comes from a deep appreciation of the challenges faced by our own partners and friends in our own region, whether it's in Indonesia, or India, or Vietnam or places like this. They need this technology cheaper. Now, if we can produce a COVID vaccine in 18 months, we can achieve this as well. And when you achieve that, these countries will embrace it. Why wouldn' they?
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, President Macron has told a couple of us around the corner that you didn’t …
PRIME MINISTER: A couple of you, sorry?
JOURNALIST: President Macron told a couple of us around the corner that you didn't tell him the truth on the subs deal. In fact, you said that you might have lied. Is that true?
PRIME MINISTER: No.
JOURNALIST: He said that what happened was detrimental to your reputation. What do you say to that?
PRIME MINISTER: I'll always stand up for Australia's interests.
JOURNALIST: But he's also accused you. He says he doesn't think you lied to him, he knows you lied to him.
PRIME MINISTER: I don’t agree with that.
JOURNALIST: Has not not told you that to your face? You saw him today. You saw him yesterday. You just said to a to a camera, I don't think you lied to him. He knows you lied to him.
PRIME MINISTER: It’s not true.
JOURNALIST: What are you going to do to repair the relationship, because he said it was, he was pretty clear that you need to do something to repair the relationship?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, we’ve begun that process.
JOURNALIST: But he doesn't, he obviously doesn't feel that way.
PRIME MINISTER: Well, there’ll be some time, I think, to go down this process. But we've begun it, we've spoken several times over the last couple of days. I'm sure we'll speak a bit more before I head back to Australia. But let me be very clear, the decision I've taken as Prime Minister, that my Government has taken, was in Australia's national interest. I don't resile from it for one second. These decisions are difficult. Of course, it has caused disappointment and it has caused an impact on the relationship with France. But I'm not going to put that interest higher than Australia's national interest, and I don't think any Australian would expect me to do the same - would expect me to surrender that interest for the sake of another. Now, we just wouldn't do that. Australians wouldn't expect me to do that. I've been very clear about the way I've communicated about this. We had dinner together. As I've said on numerous occasions, I explained very clearly that the conventional submarine option was not going to meet Australia's interests.
JOURNALIST: So, are you saying that he said that at the Élysée Palace - because that was in June - are you saying that over dinner, a private dinner, as I understand it, you told the French President that this deal was not going ahead. Is that what you said?
PRIME MINISTER: No, I didn't say that. I said the conventional submarines was not going to meet our strategic interests.
JOURNALIST: So, does that mean, did he offer a nuclear option?
PRIME MINISTER: I'm not going to go into the discussion. That is all I have ever said. At that stage, we had not concluded any other arrangement with any other parties.
JOURNALIST: But doesn't this, doesn't this show that the diplomatic relationship is a lot worse than you think, he has accused you of lying?
PRIME MINISTER: No, I'm quite conscious of the disappointment that's there. And I'm not surprised - it was a significant contract. And so I'm not surprised about the level of disappointment.
JOURNALIST: You're going to have to see him at COP.
PRIME MINISTER: I've seen him several times today. You guys have seen him, you were getting selfies with him.
JOURNALIST: You’re going to have to continue to see him over the next couple of days. Will you be, you’re going to have to continue to see him over the next couple of days, will you be talking to him about the comments he said to people here?
PRIME MINISTER: No, look, I literally saw him about half an hour ago, just before, sorry, just before the last session I was in, and we exchanged pleasantries once more.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, just on the submarine contract. First of all, we weren't taking selfies with President Macron. Second of all, when he talked about …
PRIME MINISTER: I must have been misinformed.
JOURNALIST: When he talked about the submarine contract, he expressed no confidence that there would be an outcome for Australia. He said, ‘good luck’.
PRIME MINISTER: On what, sorry?
JOURNALIST: On us getting nuclear submarines. He said, you've got an 18 month process. Good luck. The question then, is, how confident are you that out of this process, you'll have a nuclear submarine in the water by 2040?
PRIME MINISTER: That's exactly what our plan is.
JOURNALIST: How confident are you that that will come to pass?
PRIME MINISTER: I am confident.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, you say that you’ve begun that process of, you know, figuring out where to next. Can you give us any detail about what that process is, what your thoughts are, and how you plan to actually move forward with France as a nation?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, we will work together on projects of shared and mutual interest, particularly in the Indo-Pacific.
JOURNALIST: But it doesn’t sound like he wants to work with you?
PRIME MINISTER: These things take time, these things take time.
JOURNALIST: So, did you, Prime Minister, just to be clear, in your discussions with President Macron, did you tell him at any stage you were considering exercising the gates - I think you have described, in the contracts - and getting out of it?
PRIME MINISTER: I was very clear that the conventional submarines were not going to be able to meet our strategic interests, and that we would need to make a decision in our national interest.
JOURNALIST: Yeah, that’s not the question, though.
PRIME MINISTER: But that’s my answer.
JOURNALIST: But it's now a very important matter, Prime Minister. You have a leader of a major European country accusing you of being a liar. That's an extraordinary allegation.
PRIME MINISTER: And I don't accept it.
JOURNALIST: And it's on the basis that you weren’t frank with him and you didn't tell him that you were considering exercising this exit clause in the contract. Did you or did you not?
PRIME MINISTER: I was very clear that what was going to be provided to us was not going to meet our strategic interests, and there was still a process we were engaged in, and we then engaged in, over the months that followed. And then we communicated to him our ultimate decision.
JOURNALIST: But did you indicate that you’d break the deal?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, it was very clear. We all understood what the gates in the contract were and what then needed to be decided.
JOURNALIST: But you didn't, you hadn't told him that a new gate had opened, that Australia was …
PRIME MINISTER: Well, not until it had opened.
JOURNALIST: But but Australia, at that period, was also red hot in favour of a nuclear option, surely?
PRIME MINISTER: We were considering all our options, and the French Government was aware that other options were being considered …
JOURNALIST: Were you considering …
PRIME MINISTER: Because there was, because there was quite, that had been a fairly open process.
JOURNALIST: But no, but that, I don't think that they knew that we were considering a nuclear option.
PRIME MINISTER: Well, that was a matter that was secure to Australia and our partners, so that was not a matter that I was going to engage in in any sort of broad conversation about. That would have been against Australia's national interests to do that. See, I want to be very clear. The ability for Australia to have now gained access to the most sought after defence technology in the world - there's only one other country that has it other than the United States, and that's the United Kingdom. This is not something that you go around having broad conversations about. Well, as you know, even within the Government this was incredibly tightly held. Why? Because the outcome for Australia was so incredibly important for our future security …
JOURNALIST: But France has …
PRIME MINISTER: No, let me finish. The Australian Government secured this, something that no previous government has been able to secure in 50 years, and this has well-positioned Australia to defend ourselves into the future. So I make no apologies for getting the right result from Australia. And we knew it would be a difficult decision …
JOURNALIST: No apologies…
PRIME MINISTER: … We knew it would be hard to work through that decision, once we had made it. It is not a small thing to not go through the gate on a contract of that size. But that's why you have gates in contracts. You have gates in contracts because you make decisions of that which whether you wish to proceed or not. But Australia decided not to proceed. That was our right. That decision was made in Australia's national interest. And I'm going to back Australia's national interest, and I know Australians are going to back Australians who back our national interest.
Press Conference - Rome, Italy
30 October 2021
PRIME MINISTER: As I said yesterday, this is a very pivotal time. The pandemic is still raging and the economic recovery, particularly in the developed world, is really getting underway. And so it's important that we balance these challenges as we go forward. Today's session focused very much on health security and economic security. The points I was able to make focused firstly on health security that we need to keep fighting this pandemic and doing everything we can to protect against the next one. On fighting the pandemic, there is a very strong view about the need to lift the level of vaccination rates now amongst developing countries and the multilateralism, as Prime Minister Lee refers to it often, of vaccines. Now that's not just about getting doses, it's about getting the jabs literally in the arms and the process that is needed to achieve that and the distribution system and the training of people and the physical process of organising for those and then indeed the production of the vaccines themselves. And it was interesting to learn of the new facilities that have been set up in places like Africa. And of course, India is a major producer of vaccines. So the vaccine challenge was very much front of mind at the G20 today, and Australia was able to speak positively of the role that we're playing within the region, not just in our 130 million commitment to the COVAX facility and the more than $600 million that we've been spending in the region to ensure we're supporting those vaccination programmes being effective, but also the 60 million doses that we are rolling out across the region as our commitment through the Quad.
So then there is the challenge of protecting against the next pandemic and whether it was the 100 day mission that was raised at the G7 earlier this year or most importantly ensures, as I once again said, we need to know how this started so we can prepare and we can protect against the next pandemic. There is no agenda in that, it is just a very straightforward need that we have the best prepared world for a future pandemic. And there was again strong support for giving greater strength to the World Health Organisation to ensure that they have the capacity to be able to take stronger action, particularly at the onset of an outbreak. Often spoken of the need for an early warning system where countries have an obligation to put up their hands when they can see a serious communicable disease break out and then the world can respond and then it can respond to the production of vaccines and distribution. So there's a lot of focus today on how you can prepare and protect against a future pandemic and to draw the lessons from the one that we are still very much in.
On economic security, there are a number of points raised, but I had the opportunity to speak to the new secretary general of the WTO today and ensuring WTO is working, that the rules of global trade there, that they're being administered, they're being adhered to. There's a resurgence of global trade as we come out of the global recession, that has emanated from the pandemic and that the WTO was supported, whether it's in the appellate system or its other rules and the rulebook is fit for purpose, as we move into this next period. There was also a lot of concern, as I expressed, in ensuring that developing countries are not over overwhelmed by debt and the projects that they engage in are projects that help build their economy and particularly in the areas of the development of new clean technology supply chains. And we're able to talk, particularly this morning, to President Widodo about how he and I, Australia and Indonesia can work even more closely on those issues so we can support their industrialisation so their economic growth, but do so on the back of new clean energy processes and supply chains that of course, Australia is investing in under our low emissions technology roadmap. And so these were important issues that we focused on today.
The third area I raised today was on digital and ensuring that the digital world is a safe world for digital economy, but for our citizens. And I've had very good feedback on that and the fact that in Australia, there's great concern shared by the Government about the way digital planning platforms operate and the opportunity of how those platforms operate for people to engage in harassing, victimising behaviour. The G20 has already taken action on this. Several years ago in Osaka, where we pushed forward on that issue following the Christchurch massacre and then also builds on the work that needs to be done due to cyber attacks and ensure that the digital world is a safe world, both for commerce and for citizens. And this morning, President Widodo had the opportunity how that workstream can be further progressed next year under their G20 presidency. So these issues, whether it's keeping our kids safe in the digital world or ensuring that Australia can continue to be successful as a trading nation or thirdly to ensure that we're prepared for the next pandemic. These are the global issues where we have been focusing on that have a very, very real implications for Australia.
Now before I get to questions, I just want to say something very briefly about Australia's most beloved Bert Newton. Very sad to hear of his passing, Bert was someone who invited himself into the living rooms of Australians at a time when appointment viewing and we all used to watch the same thing at the same time, some will remember that. And he was such a welcome guest. And every time he came into our living rooms, we always looked forward to coming back. He had a great sense of humour, and he understood probably better than most self-deprecating humour, which is a real Australian trait. And he had it down to a tee. And I think that's what endeared him to so many Australians, whether it was Graham Kennedy or with Don Lane. I remember, you know, staying up late way past my bedtime to watch the Don Lane show and all those crazy skits they used to do. And they're still all there. And there are such fond memories. And in all his career, he was known as Moon Face, but he he shone brightly to Australia and we're going to really miss him. To Patti and to all the family, Australia loves you. Australia just loves you. We loved Bert. We're going to miss him dearly, but we're going to have so many great memories of him because they were all captured on film over such a long period of time. The family will be in mourning and as indeed, I think Australians are.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, President Biden said that the French aspect of the submarine deal was handled in a clumsy way and not with a lot of grace. Did he throw you under the bus?
PRIME MINISTER: Australia made the right decision in our interests to ensure we have the right submarine capability to deal with our strategic interests. It's never an easy way for us, I think, to get to a point where we had to disappoint a good friend and partner in France that we wouldn't be proceeding with that country, but that was always a difficult decision for Australia. It was the right decision for Australia. We work closely with the United States and United Kingdom and we take them up to date, the administration with where we're at in our various discussions with France. Had the opportunity to see President Macron today, and we exchanged our greetings and shook hands and that follows the conversation we had yesterday. So we're on the road back there and looking forward to catching up with him again over the next four days at the various events.
JOURNALIST: But Prime Minister, he is calling you clumsy and without grace. Isn't that the implication of what Joe Biden is saying?
PRIME MINISTER: No.
JOURNALIST: So what did you say to Emmanuel Macron today?
PRIME MINISTER: I said g'day. I said g'day. At these events that, he was having a chat with someone. I went up and just put my arm on his shoulder, I said g'day Emmanuel and look forward to catching up over the next couple of days, which I assure you, that's the way these things work. And he was happy to exchange those greetings, and we've known each other for a while. But you know, it's just the process of of being on the road back.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, it's very clear that Joe Biden is doing everything he can to heal that that hurt with Emmanuel Macron. But when it comes to what the French President might want of you. Are you any clearer because he obviously wants to extract something from this calamity as he sees it?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, it's not about that. What it's about is just two like minded countries who have a lot of shared interests, following us not proceeding with that contract and finding those projects we will now work together on. And that's how Australia sees it. I mean, France will pursue its interests and we'll pursue ours and there's a great deal of overlap between those two things. And so it's not surprising that there's a significant degree of disappointment about these events. That's not surprising. And we're very understanding of that and it'll take a bit of time. But the fact is, the overwhelming interest of both countries is that we continue to go forward on so many other projects. I mean, we discussed the other night quite a number of projects which were already doing. But if there are things that we can add to that, I look forward to doing that. One of those, is particularly these issues around social media. Now this is an issue which is [inaudible] to Paris and France. And I just had a meeting with the Spanish Prime Minister. And they are also very concerned about this. After making those comments on social media about the social media issues and digital platforms, the Argentinian President sitting next to me lent over and grabbed me by the arm, he has that challenge too …
JOURNALIST: We are talking about a significant, very significant European nuclear power that is deeply annoyed with you, with your government. You must have some understanding of the strategic ask that they are presenting of you and the Americans.
PRIME MINISTER: Well, we have a clear eyed view about how we will continue to work with the French Government. And our interests, as I say, greatly overlap. Let me be really clear. Australia has made the right decision when it comes to our defence interests in going forward with a nuclear propelled submarine capability and doing that in partnership with the United States and the United Kingdom. That's the right decision for Australia. Of course, it's a difficult decision. We were very aware that that would lead to some deep disappointment. But you've got to make the right decision for Australia. And that's exactly what we did and we don't recall from it at all.
JOURNALIST: Are you surprised by Joe Biden's comments, given that you said the White House knew what, what every step of the way, I think you said essentially the US and the UK, are you surprised by what he said?
PRIME MINISTER: Oh, he's had a candid conversation with the French President and I'll leave his remarks to him.
JOURNALIST: Did Boris Johnson bring it up with you today in your own bilateral?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, of course. I mean, AUKUS is partnership between the three countries ...
JOURNALIST: But specifically about Emmanuel Macron and what's going on?
PRIME MINISTER: Not at any great length [inaudible], those issues will take managing.
JOURNALIST: On your intervention regarding the WHO, you said you got some support from world leaders about it. What about specifically on your call to make it more transparent and more independent, do you get the sense that leading that meeting, that world leaders the as well?
PRIME MINISTER: Yes, I do. And, I mean, we all expressed it in different ways. I mean, there's been a good discussion happening for some time now about a pandemic treaty, which basically goes to the same issue, [inaudible] things that I've actually been talking about, so whether it comes together in that form, or as the World Health Assembly comes together and reforms that can be pursued through the WHO, the financing issues that are being talked about leading up to the World Bank. All of these things work together to say that the next time you face a pandemic, there will need to be stronger arrangements in place, a) to understand what's happening at the minimum and then to be able to respond more effectively, particularly in vaccine development and distribution. That said, when you think of the past 18 months and you think about the fact that there was even no conception of a vaccine and now here at this Summit, we're focusing on a 70 per cent vaccination rate globally by the end of June next year. That's a bold target, but I think that says a great deal about what's been achieved in terms of [inaudible].
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, Mr Biden seems to be saying that he was, he either misunderstood your communications with the French before the announcement of AUKUS, or he was mislead. Which is it?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, all I can say is that we kept the US Administration up to date with the status of our conversations and discussions had been with the French Government.
JOURNALIST: Do you think the officials did not tell him?
PRIME MINISTER: All I can say is what I've said.
JOURNALIST: Did you ask for a bilateral with Emmanuel Macron in the lead up to this? And are you disappointed it was a phone call instead of a face-to-face meeting?
PRIME MINISTER: No, we didn't, because we understood that the relationship is one that's on the way back, and we're patient and the timing of that, I think was right to have a phone conversation. As you know, I wrote personally to the President setting out where I saw the issues and how I thought we could take it forward. I was very pleased that led to a phone conversation before we headed here, and we had a very pleasant and friendly exchange today.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, Boris Johnson is obviously a good mate of yours, you've spoken to him this afternoon. Pretty important that Prime Minister Johnson emerges from the G20 with a strong statement in terms of climate action, ahead of the COP, it's a pretty important [inaudible]. What's Prime Minister Johnson's view on Australia's position on the coal language of the communique?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, I mean, he is warmly welcomed our position on net zero by 2050 ...
JOURNALIST: No, but on the coal language?
PRIME MINISTER: Well those matters have been worked through, through the sherpers and through the communique. There's quite a large group of nations that are, hold similar concerns about this. So we'll see what that lands in the next day or so.
JOURNALIST: But it's problematic for Prime Minister Johnson isn't it, in the lead up to COP to emerge to basically ...
PRIME MINISTER: The G20, I mean the G20 is comprised of nations that are all coming from very different places. And to suggest there's always, you know, a consensus and commonality of view on those things right across 20 countries, that's a pretty big assumption.
JOURNALIST: What about on your end, because there's this debate about the communique language on net zero. You've made a commitment to net zero by 2050. Do you think that the G20 as a group could set that as an ambition in its communique tomorrow?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, I'd simply say that the Australian has made its position very clear. But, you know, we have always taken the view that we'll speak for ourselves. We're not in the business of telling other countries what they should be doing and other countries have different challenges. And I had a very, very positive meeting today with President Widodo. It was great. The last opportunity we both had to see each other was when he was in Australia, and we recalled that rather interesting afternoon we had in the Governor-General's golf cart going around looking at kangaroos at Yarralumla, which he enjoyed very, very much. And so I'm looking forward to being up in Indonesia next year. He invited me. So their challenges there, I think will be very much realised and addressed through the technology programme that we're pursuing. And there is quite a strong view, I think emerging that technology is what is going to solve this problem. And you've heard me make the comparison before that. The world didn't need a summit to develop a vaccine in response to COVID, the world didn't need a summit to actually ensure we went from analogue to digital and we're still dealing with that. That is the nature of the change that we need to see occur here over the next 30 years to achieve net zero by 2050. And so the technological advancement, ensuring we get this by driving the cost of that down and ensure that is completely scalable, particularly in developing countries. That is what solves the climate challenge and that is the path that Australia is on. That is the Australian way. And I think the Australian way has a lot of appeal to countries like Indonesia and Vietnam and other developing countries that want to realise their economic opportunities, their jobs and do it in a way that is consistent with ultimately a net zero goal, and that's how I see it going forward, that's the point I'm going to continually make both here and in Glasgow, and we'll take it from there. But technology is really the hope of the side. It really is because as I say, not taxes and not regulation. Thank you very much.
Press Conference - Rome, Italy
29 October 2021
PRIME MINISTER: The G20 meeting in person. This is very important. The first opportunity we've had to do this since we all met back in Osaka. And so the opportunity for us to come here at a pivotal time, the world's largest economies, to be focusing on the road ahead. Now that road ahead is still one where the global pandemic is still raging and particularly in the developing countries of the world. And Australia is moving towards one of the highest vaccination rates in the world, joining others, particularly in Europe and North America. The rest of the world, particularly in developing countries, still have very low rates of vaccination. Now Australia, we're doing our bit as part of that, particularly in our own region, particularly in the Pacific Island Forum and our family there. But as well as out throughout Southeast Asia, which was an opportunity I had just recently to address the East Asia Summit to reinforce the 60 million doses that we'll be getting out around as part of our initiatives through the Quad throughout the region.
But the economy is going to continue to change as the pandemic changes. The economic response has been very clear and our economies are now starting to emerge and indeed the Australian economy as well, particularly this quarter, with the scenes in Melbourne as people rushing back to retail shops in Melbourne. It's just another sign that the national plan is opening up our economy as our vaccination rates rise and Australians start reclaiming the things that COVID has taken from them. But around the world, that remains a very big challenge, and I know that will be a key focus of our discussions here in Italy, in Rome over the next couple of days.
In addition to that, there's also the build up to Glasgow. And of course, those issues will be discussed here and that Australia's commitment for net zero by 2050, as you well know, is a significant commitment from Australia, and I'm looking forward to updating other leaders on our plans and programmes, particularly on our keenness to work with other countries on those technology breakthroughs that frankly, when you're talking about hitting net zero emissions, it's the same sort of challenge the world faced when you're looking for a vaccine, a vaccine to end the pandemic. It's only through those solutions that all around the world will ultimately address this very big challenge.
But there are many other issues as well. When we were in a Osaka, we had the Osaka declaration. That followed the Christchurch massacre, and that was about bringing the world together to put the pressure on the big digital platforms to ensure that they were not being used as a weapon by terrorists. But we know these risks exist beyond the threats of terrorism. We know the threats that come from digital platforms, which have many positive utilities, but at the same time can be a tool that is used by those looking to to harass and bully and cause great harm to others, not just in Australia, but all around the world. We can't have a digital world that plays by different rules to the real world, and that is really our challenge as countries to set out really what our expectations are of digital platforms to ensure that they are providing a safe environment for those who are using them to engage, to enjoy the many benefits of those platforms. Whether it's our children or particularly women who could be the subject of harassment and abuse on these platforms, it's not good enough for them to operate on different rules. Ensuring that we have digital platforms that understand their roles as publishers and do not provide a shield for anonymity for people to go and just go out and impact on others lives. Anyway, happy to take questions.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, China's President Xi Jinping is not going to be at this conference. He's not going to be Glasgow. What do you think it says that an important global economy like China is not at these conferences?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, if we're to address climate change globally, which is the challenge, no single country acting on its own can impact on that overall outcome, particularly Australia. And it is true that China, the biggest emitter in the world and their emissions, will continue to rise to 2030. And it is important that we get these global technology solutions that can work as well in China and India and Vietnam as they do in Australia and Europe and the United States. This is why Australia, the Australian way to achieving net zero emissions, I think, is a way that all countries could embrace because it's about getting technology solutions at scale and affordable cost, because that's what history tells us always makes the change.
JOURNALIST: Just on the phone call with President Macron. What did you make of the timing of the call? It sounded like a tense call, and when he asked for something tangible in his statement, what do you think that is?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, I welcome the call, firstly. As I've written personally to President Macron and set out our keenness to to find a way forward following the obvious disappointment which we respect and understand. And so I very much appreciate the fact that he reached out to have that personal call, which we had last night before I joined you all on the flight here. And so we started the way back. I think that's a positive thing. Of course, there'll be candid conversations at the start as we as we deal with the issues as they presented. But Australia and France have so many shared interests, apart from being longstanding liberal democracies who share values and beliefs. Our interests are shared in the Indo-Pacific, and the way you build back those relationships is you work together on the things that matter to us both and the Indo-Pacific policies on our oceans, our policies on technology, particularly moving towards a net zero economy out to 2050. All of these are shared interests where I think we have a great opportunity to work together. Antarctica is another key one of those where we share an interest. And Australia is a highly reputable operator there, and I know France equally has their interests there so we can work together on all of this. So I'm quite positive about it.
JOURNALIST: On climate Mr Morrison, as Lanai said, the Chinese aren't coming. The Indians have said they're not going to do net zero by 2050. Russia is not turning up. Joe Biden apparently [inaudible] a bit of is his package through the Congress, just as he came. Do you think there's a risk that Glasgow might end up a bit of a damp squib?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, it all depends on what your expectations are. What I know is we'll just keep taking steps forward. That's what this is about. Australia's taking steps forward. We're taking strong steps forward. Our emissions are down by over 20 per cent. By 2030, we anticipate they'll be down by 35 percent. So we're all taking steps forward. And I think this is a good opportunity to align and discuss what our various plans are, learn from each other, but in particular work together to ensure that we keep moving forward to this very important goal.
JOURNALIST: Will you be meeting on the sidelines with Mathias Cormann at all, and what do you make of his calls for a stricter carbon price globally? Are you shocked by that?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, I look forward to meeting with the Secretary-General of the OECD over the course of the next little while, and he's there to represent the broader views of all the various members of the OECD there. He's not there representing Australia's interests. That's my job. And so I'm sure we'll have a good opportunity to discuss what he's been, what he's been raising in his role as the OECD, but that's his job now. He's focused on the policies and the measures that are considered within the forums of the OECD. It's my job to represent Australia's national interest, and I'm sure he has a deep understanding and appreciation of it.
JOURNALIST: Back on President Macron, he said that Australia's commitment should be commensurate with the climate risk, and he says that Australia should stop the consumption and production of coal both domestically and internationally. This is our second biggest export. What do you say to that?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, I raised it, advised President Macron on the fact that we've reached this point in Australia, where I simply would now be able to commit to a target of net zero by 2050. They are issues that he and I have discussed in the past and I was pleased to be able to report that progress. But our policy is very clear. We are not engaged in those sort of mandates and bans. That's not the Australian Government's policy, it won't be the Australian Government's policy. All countries are coming at this task from different places, their economies are different. And as a global community, we've got to understand that. Developing countries have different challenges to those in Europe. Indeed, Australia's economy in the shape and form of our economy is very different to many of those as well. So we'll all get on this path. That's what we're doing. But we've always got to make our own path, and the Australian way is our path and that's what I'm here to talk about and and be faithful to.
JOURNALIST: PM, with China and Russia not being here and also not going to COP, are you concerned that the strategic competition that's going on, that the world's becoming more divided and making it more difficult to continue to face global challenges?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, that's why I think events like the G20 and as many as those who can be here in person, I understand that particularly China will still participate in the G20. Not many Chinese officials leaders have been travelling, so that is not a great surprise, I must say. Premier Li Keqiang was on the East Asia Summit the other night, and he had his contribution. So they're engaging in those forums, indeed, as they'll with this one. COP26 has another very separate rule and respect that. That's why I'm here in terms of the rules that are set out for an in person attendance, and I'm very pleased to be here for that. But that's why I think the G20 is such a useful and practical forum. Anyone who thinks that at all times there is a complete consensus agreement amongst 20 countries of this size with very different populations, many different political systems and many different economic economies, I think that would be an accurate assessment, so this is a good opportunity to focus in on some of the priorities. And as I said on something like social media where it doesn't matter what country, those digital platforms are having massive impact on those societies, and we need to ensure that the rules that we all apply differently in our own countries in the real world apply in the digital world and that we don't allow those digital platforms to be used as tools, weapons for others to oppress and coerce and harass people. And we're going to have to stop that.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, do you expect to cop any flak at all for not a stronger medium term target? And what do you think of Boris Johnson's comments being pessimistic about what will come out of the COP26?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, I wish Boris well the best for this COP26. He chaired a magnificent G7 Plus at Carbis Bay earlier this year, which I attended. And you know, Boris is really good at these events and trying to get people to focus on what's most important. I'm sure he will do everything he can to get the best possible outcome here, but one that respects the different views and starting points and where people are at in the journey. I think that's a very important point. And so I'm looking forward to discussions over the next few days. But Australian policy is very clear. Our interests are determined in the policies that we've set out, they're designed for Australia and our way forward. Australian jobs, the livelihoods of people in rural and regional areas in particular. We've made a lot of great progress in the announcements we've made on net zero by 2050 is a significant shift forward for Australia and for our government. I'm pleased that I've been able to bring the government together to do that. And so I can come here with that with that clear statement and to ensure that we're moving forward on what is a very important issue.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, you'll see President Macron both at G20 and COP. Do you envisage having a bilateral with him or a pull aside or something formal or informal engagement. And also if I may, Reuters has draft copy of the G20 communique, which contains some strong language on the phasing out of fossil fuels. What will Australia's position be in relation to that aspect?
PRIME MINISTER: Every time you come to these events, there's all sorts of bits of paper that's flying around well before, and I'm sure the final communique will be worked through over the next few days and Australia's policy on these issues are crystal clear, and you can expect the Australian Government here, whether it's in Rome or whether it's in Glasgow, myself as Prime Minister, to be always putting Australia's national interest first and ensuring that they are the views that are represented here on behalf of Australia. Thanks everyone.
Address, Daily Telegraph Bush Summit
29 October 2021
Prime Minister: G’day, everyone. It’s great to be with you again. Wherever you are joining us, I acknowledge our traditional owners. 60,000 years of contending, reckoning and understanding the wonders and challenges of this continent. I pay respects to their elders past, present and emerging.
I also acknowledge the service men and women of our country, and the veterans who have served - so many of whom are drawn from our rural and regional communities.
The soul and character of our country is drawn from rural and regional Australia.
More than our identity, it is a critical part of our economy and our day to day lives.
We’ve seen this during the pandemic.
You kept the food on the tables.
You kept the supply lines open.
And you kept the resources coming out of the ground, the exports on ships - and you kept the country going.
You had the country’s back.
And I want you to know that my government has yours.
We had your back during the drought.
We’ve had your back as you’ve faced the fires and floods and calamities of recent years.
And we’ll have your back as the world transitions to the new energy economy.
So it’s great that we have this Summit again.
I want to thank Ben English and everyone at the Tele for getting us all together again for another year.
I know the Deputy Prime Minister will also be speaking and he will outline the Government’s investment in water and infrastructure to support regional Australia, so I’ll leave that to him.
A lot has changed since the last Summit in Cooma.
And how good it is that there’s been some rain!
Murray-Darling Basin storages are at 89 per cent and this is driving record production.
Areas across the country that were struggling with drought have then had to deal with floods, especially in NSW and Queensland.
Nature is a force, certainly, to be reckoned with but we’ve shown that this Government is always here to help you get back up, to clean up, to get up and doing what you do best.
The value of farm production is forecast to reach a record $73 billion this year. We’re well on the way to supporting the industry to reach its goal of $100 billion by 2030.
COVID might have stopped us from gathering this time, but I tell you what, that won’t be the case for much longer!
And I want to thank regional Australia - not only for getting the jab and playing your part in the extraordinary national effort on vaccines, but for your work during the pandemic more broadly.
You’ve adapted, you’ve got on with the job.
You know, all of us have learned many things during this pandemic.
Again and again, I’ve heard people say one thing - it is, “we worked out what’s most important.”
In our personal priorities, in our families, and our communities.
And we’ve seen that in the economy as well.
What’s important? Jobs.
Being competitive.
Keeping costs down.
Being able to adapt to the changes that are going around us.
All around us, the world is changing.
As you know, I am on the way to Glasgow where I’ll share Australia’s pathway to a low-emissions future.
I want to speak about that today.
To explain our pathway to net zero emissions by 2050, and what it means for you, for your jobs, for your communities.
Our plan is to deliver on our target of net zero by 2050.
It’s a serious plan.
It’s not something that we’ve doing lightly.
And we’re not starting from a zero base.
Because as a nation we have already achieved a 20% reduction in our emissions, mostly due to the heavy lifting done by our agricultural sector.
That contribution hasn’t gone unnoticed, I assure you, or unrecognised and I want to thank you for the hard yards already taken.
I also want to thank the National Farmers’ Federation and peak industries bodies like Meat and Livestock Australia and Australian Pork Limited for their leadership in supporting a reduction in the carbon footprint of the sector.
We are backing you all the way, including through significant investment in research and development.
I want to assure you that our plan for net zero doesn’t force our farmers to do anything more that what you’re already doing and will choose to do in the future.
And we won’t be asking the states and territories to use their powers, under our plan for 2050, to regulate the way you use your land.
We trust you as being the best stewards of your land.
Our Government wants Australian farmers to be able to choose how they use their land to get the highest and best outcomes.
Our plan for net zero supports farmers to take advantage of new markets, including carbon markets.
And we’ve got a detailed plan, based on the best economic modelling and analysis, done by the Government’s departments, the Department of Industry, Energy and Resources, that sets out how, not just the why or when.
How we do the right thing by jobs, in particular how we grow regional jobs.
How we do the right thing by the environment.
How we develop and deploy new technologies.
How we strengthen our rural and regional communities through the global transition to a new energy economy.
To me - and I know for you - the how really matters.
I want you to know, so you can be certain our plan won’t put jobs or industries at risk.
It won’t reduce the competitiveness of our exports, including our agricultural exports.
It is about ensuring that we’re not leaving people behind, but we’re going forward strongly together.
What our plan does is deal with both the costs and the benefits.
It puts regional communities at the heart of the opportunities that are real and that are there.
Our plan - the Australian Way - will continue to reduce emissions while keeping our economy growing, ensuring reliable energy and ensuring our regions, importantly, remain strong.
In the plan, you’ll see our approach takes a technology-driven focus.
Technology, not taxes.
Building on work we are already doing.
Work that will see the Australian agriculture sector grow to $100 billion by 2030.
With up to 100,000 new jobs by 2050 in hydrogen, renewable energy, green iron and alumina, and critical minerals.
And the majority of those jobs will be in regional Australia.
Under our plan the Government will not close one mine, one factory or one power plant or change the way farmers manage their land.
Not one thing in our plan that we have set out does any of those things.
But we all know, there will be regional communities that face more challenging transitions because of where the world is heading.
We are not blind to that, and we know you’re not either.
The world is changing, and we need to respond and adapt, and put ourselves in the strongest possible position to be successful, just as you’re seeking to do.
But those transitions, they’ll unfold gradually and predictably.
We’re not forcing them, giving us ample opportunity to make the long-term investments necessary to achieve a smooth shift to the industries and jobs that will be there in the future, not just today.
Clean hydrogen, energy storage, even lower cost solar, low emissions steel and aluminium - and much more, will see Australians benefit from global energy transition that is already under way, and we can’t pretend is not occuring.
I am determined that the gains will outweigh the costs.
Knowing what’s truly important: jobs, more affordable power, lower emissions, and an Australia that is competitive.
Importantly we will bring on major new investments in our regions to support:
New energy generation - as we decarbonise and electrify our economy.
We aren’t afraid of power - or hold our noses when it comes to power generation. Our goal is to expand the power sector with a large roll out of new renewable and Carbon Capture and Storage projects.
Projects that will be foundational to the continued growth of the Australian economy.
We are investing and will invest further in Hydrogen - creating a major new industry providing hydrogen both for exports and for domestic use.
These projects will become major regional energy, industry and jobs centred on areas like Gladstone, the Hunter, Darwin, the Pilbara, Whyalla and the Upper Spencer Gulf.
You are going to hear a lot about critical minerals in coming years as well.
Australia will be a world leader - mining and processing rare earths and minerals such as nickel and copper, it’ll boom in order to supply clean energy and new technologies the world over.
And we will be investing in more productive farming - unlocking productivity in our pasture and cropping lands creating incentives to boost solid carbon.
Under our five technology stretch goals we’re aiming to get soil carbon measurement from over $30 a hectare to under $3 per hectare.
That’s the transformation that achieves the positive change.
Australia has untapped potential as a globally significant source of carbon sequestration in our soils.
Getting carbon measurements costs down will provide our farmers with a valuable additional revenue stream.
And increasing soil carbon concentration can improve farm productivity and crop yields.
That’s why it’s important for agriculture to be part of the plan, to be part of the future with where we’re heading with our low emissions technologies.
Our National Soils Strategy, backed with over $228 million in investment, is aimed at helping farmers care for our land and soils.
For example, we’re investing in:
a National Soils Minoring and Incentive Pilot program to improve our understanding of the condition of our soils; and
a National Soil Science Challenge to help address gaps in soil knowledge
We want our farmers to be rewarded for their efforts and their innovation.
That’s why, through the leadership of Minister Littleproud, we are delivering the $66 million Agriculture Stewardship Package.
As part of this, we’re trialling the Carbon + Biodiversity Program, a market-based mechanism aimed at rewarding farmers for increasing biodiversity while also sequestering carbon and receiving payments under the ERF.
Today, you will hear that both sides of politics are saying they can achieve net zero by 2050, or at least setting that target.
But I want to be clear: only the Liberals and Nationals, only the Coalition actually has a plan and having no plan puts future wellbeing at risk.
It’s a blank cheque.
Labor won’t say how they’ll get there. In fact, they’ve be highly critical of our technology not taxes plan.
I’ll tell you, if you’re not getting there by technology, then the way they’ll seek to get there is by punishing through taxes, punishing industries they don’t like, making the false choices of those who don’t live in rural and regional areas, and imposing those costs on those in the bush.
It’ll come with greater regulation and mandates, telling you what to do in rural and regional Australia.
We don’t share that view.
We believe that in the bush people are making their own choices now. They’re taking their own actions, they’re moving forward, they’re making decisions. They’re actually part of this process already, that has already seen our emissions come down by more than 20% and our economy grow by 45%.
You’re already doing it, and we just want to back you in to do it.
We don’t want to tax you to do it.
We don’t want to put restrictions on you.
We don’t want to put new laws on you and legislate you.
We just want to get on with it, and enable the technological changes that you’ve always known.
You’ve always know that the science and technology are what happens on your property, in your manufacturing industries, in the regional towns and centres all across the country, in the mines, in the transport sector, on the roads.
All of that, you’re already doing. And we want to back you in.
That’s why I believe you can be confident that the Coalition understands regional Australia and rural Australia, understands its place in our country - and in our economy.
Of course we’ve wrestled with this. But we feel this in our bones.
There’s an outlook, an ethos, a way of life, that is part of rural and regional Australia.
And I promise, we will always serve to protect it - and we will promote it and celebrate it.
Because we get it.
We instinctively understand how intrinsic the way of life is in rural and regional Australia to who we all are as Australians.
So I want to be very clear: Only the Coalition has a plan, and will stand up and be strong to ensure that we keep Australia strong, our economy strong, our rural and regional areas strong.
A plan that keeps those regions moving forward.
A plan that is strong for more affordable power.
And we’ll stand up to those who will seek to want to shut things down, stand up to those who’ll want to shut you down.
We have a plan that enables us to go through that together, and ensure that we don’t have to have those punishing mandates and regulation and taxes that others think are the answer.
We don’t think that’s the answer, we think you are.
And a plan that involves you at its centre, is a plan that delivers net zero by 2050.
Not taking jobs - certainly not in farming, and not in mining or gas. That has a strong future.
Ours is a uniquely Australian plan: an energy, trade and economic plan, not just an environmental one.
It focuses on our national interests, and keeps our traditional advantages in the regions.
That’s what we are working towards.
So I want to thank you all again for coming together with the Tele for this important Bush Summit.
I wish you all the very best for your discussions.
I’m sorry I couldn’t be there, and we couldn’t all be there in person once again, but I’m looking forward to that opportunity down the road.
So thanks again everyone, and I’m pleased I’ve been able to share these views and updates with you. And I’m sure you’ll be looking forward to hearing from Barnaby shortly and through the course of the Summit.
Thanks everyone, all the best.
Press Conference - Canberra, ACT
28 October 2021
PRIME MINISTER: Good morning, everyone. I’m joined by the Minister for Health and Aged Care and the Chief Medical Officer. Australians are taking their lives back from what COVID took from them. And this is positive news. And as we go into the weeks ahead, we will continue to see positive changes happening all around our country. We’re beating COVID and we’re taking our lives back. And we're doing this as we see the vaccination levels in our country rise and rise. We are beating the models, the models that have instructed us along the way and set out the path that may occur, whether it's on the impact on our hospital system and the way that things are playing out - we’ve prepared for the worst but we always plan also for the best, and we’re seeing more of the latter than the former.
But, that said, that does not mean that difficult days are still not before us. And that is particularly true for the family and friends of loved ones, particularly in Victoria today, where we've had 25 deaths, and two in Sydney. And, once again, we extend our deepest sympathies and condolences to all the families and friends of those who’ve fallen victim to COVID. It is a sobering reminder of the terrible reality of this pandemic. And that that reality is still visited upon us here in Australia, despite the progress we’re making.
But our best defence against all of that has been the vaccination program, and today, three quarters of Australians have now been double dosed vaccinated. That is an extraordinary achievement by Australians all around the country, led particularly in New South Wales and Victoria and the ACT where those rates now, particularly on first doses, as I said yesterday, is higher for Australia than now even the United Kingdom. So Australians are doing what their part of the deal was, and we’re keeping our part of the deal, because from Monday, fully vaxxed Australians, we will see them being able to travel overseas from next Monday. In New South Wales and Victoria and the ACT, they will be open. Australia is connecting together again.
And I can tell you, no one is happier about that than me as Prime Minister to see that occurring, and we're going to continue to see that occurring in the months ahead, and substantially before Christmas, as all states and territories have been outlining that plan, obviously with the exception of WA, before
the end of this year. So, I welcome that.
Regional travel returns, interstate travel returns and international travel returns, happening across all of those jurisdictions. That means families reuniting together. It means business travellers being able to get on planes and connecting again and getting our economy moving, as our economy is one of- been one of the best performing around the world when it comes to COVID-19. Not only have we had the lowest fatality rates in the world, amongst those of the lowest in the world, but we’ve had the strongest economy - one of them, advanced economies coming through this COVID pandemic - and now we are on track to have one of the highest vaccination rates in the world, which means that we are able to open up Australia, in accordance with the National Plan.
Now, an important part of that is moving forward with the booster program. And that booster program will commence on November 8. And I’ll ask the Minister for Health and Aged Care and the CMO to take you through a few more of those details, but they’re on November the eighth, that process will begin again. Jane Malysiak and I and the CMO will be heading off soon thereafter to be able to ensure that we have those boosters.
Those booster programs will obviously, will have a focus, especially on aged care and health workers, but it is an all of, whole of population booster program. And there are enough vaccines to do it. In fact, as JJ Frewen, General Frewen, announced only the other day, there is enough vaccines right now here in Australia to ensure that everybody who wants one, to get both single and double vaxxed, can have one.
So, it’s over to the rest of Australia. Wherever you are, there are enough vaccines here to ensure that we can be hitting those 80 per cent marks, which we expect to achieve next week, and to ensure that in Queensland and WA, in particular, there are enough doses there for those 80 per cent and 70 per cent marks to be achieved right now. So, I encourage people to take up that challenge and go out and get those doses.
I’d make one other point before I pass over to Greg, and that is, obviously tonight I’ll be heading off to the G20 Leaders’ Summit, as well as the COP26 in Glasgow. The world is reaching what I think is a critical point in our health and economic recovery from COVID, and that will be a key focus of the discussions that I know we'll be having there. The multilateralism of vaccines and the 60 million doses that Australia has already committed, and I was speaking about these last night as part of the East Asia Summit which I participated in.
I also note that yesterday, in our meeting of the first ever Australia-ASEAN ongoing annual dialogue, that we achieved a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership - that is an elevation to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership level relationship with ASEAN. Now, that is the first such partnership ASEAN has entered into with any country in the world. Such is the closeness of our relationship with our friends and partners here in South East Asia that ASEAN has selected Australia to be their first Comprehensive Strategic Partner. And no doubt, there will be others. But our longstanding relationship with our ASEAN partners, I think, has been recognised in that being able to be achieved yesterday, and I thank particularly Minister Payne for all the tremendous work that she has done on that task.
And, so, whether it's in summits like that or others, this issue of reaching that critical point on our health and economic recovery from COVID will be a keen focus for discussion amongst G20 leaders, and ensuring there’s equitable and safe access to effective vaccines.
Another key issue that I'll be raising, though, will be that we need to fully harness the benefits of digitalisation. But, in doing that, making sure the rules that apply in the real world apply in the digital world. I will continue to press, as Australia always has, and show the leadership on this issue globally that we must hold social media platforms to account. They’re publishers, not just platforms, and particularly when they allow people to anonymously go on their platforms and publish their vile rubbish, whether that is to bully a young girl or target people online or to push defamatory statements out against people, and to do so anonymously with impunity - that’s not freedom of speech, that’s just cowardice, and we cannot have that thrown up on our social media platforms to Australians in this country.
It's not just a problem here in Australia, it's a problem all around the world. We led the charge, together with New Zealand and France, after the Christchurch massacre, and I took that to the G20 in Osaka and we achieved a Global Leaders' Statement that has followed through with real action to ensure that the Internet, and particular social media platforms, are not used as a weapon by terrorists. But, they’re still being used as a weapon right now, destroying the mental health of our young people, destroying lives, and it's just not on in this country.
The online privacy draft legislation that we've already released, and people are aware of that today, that builds on so many of the other things we've already done to, on take down powers, the eSafety Commissioner. Australia is leading in this area and we’ll, I'll be raising that with other G20 leaders when I’m there because we have to go further than we are now.
Of course, at COP26, I’ll have the privilege of being able to confirm Australia's commitment to have a target of net zero by 2050, and of course to update our projections as part of our Nationally Determined Contributions, that our 26 to 28 per cent target, we anticipate, will be exceeded with a 35 per cent reduction in our emissions by 2030. And on that, I’ll pass you to the Minister for Health.
THE HON. GREG HUNT MP, MINISTER FOR HEALTH AND AGED CARE: Thank you very much, Prime Minister and to Professor Kelly. Australia already has one of the highest vaccination rates in the world. We have one of the most recently vaccinated populations, and now we are set to have, after Israel, one of the earliest whole of nation booster programs.
Yesterday, we set out the fact that the TGA had approved the Pfizer vaccine for booster. Today, I'm really pleased and privileged to be able to announce that ATAGI has recommended that we commence the booster program for the whole of nation, with the Pfizer vaccine. Other vaccines are likely to put forward applications - Moderna, we are expecting to do that.
I'm very pleased to be able to say that I’ve spoken with the country representative for Novavax today, and we are expecting Novavax to submit their application for their vaccine to the Australian regulator in the coming weeks, if not earlier. And what this means is that commencing November the 8th for the full national program, the boosters will be available on the basis of six months plus from your vaccination. Early priority will be a focus on aged care and disability, but, by definition, we have enough vaccine in the country to vaccinate everybody who comes due. And so as your six months has passed, then you will be eligible to come forward.
Indeed, the first aged care vaccinations are occurring today, literally as we speak, in four minutes from now, I think, they’re due to commence in the Geelong area, where TLC is commencing their program, and others will be carried out over the coming days before November 8, and if any GPs wish to commence, then they’re in a position to do that, but we're setting this program to commence more generally across the country.
I'm also pleased that we will be offering Pfizer to all pharmacies in Australia and they can use that for primary and secondary doses or to complete the, complete the booster program for people. And it will be up to individual pharmacies whether they take that up, and the first of those will be rolled out from the week of the 8th of November.
Finally, just in terms of the rollout itself, we've had another 221,000 vaccinations in the last 24 hours. We've now passed the 35 million mark - 35,049,000 vaccinations. And as the PM said, we’re over 75 per cent double dose. We’re 75.5 per cent for the 16 plus population and 87.6 per cent of 16 plus Australians have now had a first vaccination. And just to put this in context, perhaps, most importantly, 98.8 per cent, 98.8 per cent of our over 70s have had a first dose, and 99.8 per cent of our aged care workers have had a, have had at least a first dose, and here in the ACT, you’ve passed 99 per cent. So, thank you and congratulations.
PROFESSOR PAUL KELLY, COMMONWEALTH CHIEF MEDICAL OFFICER: Thank you PM and thank you Minister. So, it's a very important day after a lot of discussions with ATAGI to get that final advice on the booster programme. A couple of points I just want to make to add to what the Minister has said. This is a boost. Two doses, the primary course of the vaccination will be fully vaccinated and seen as fully vaccinated in any way that that works through to, for example, for the overseas travel and so forth. So two doses is fully vaccinated. The booster, I've said this before, it gives you a boost, and it's important for those that have got to that six month time to consider their booster. It definitely gives extra protection against severe disease, particularly for older Australians and those that are in that vulnerable group. You'll remember last year with that 1a and 1b, we're not prioritising this time around, but they will be the ones that will be first to get to that six month period, so they should come forward. Health care workers can come forward. Anyone can come forward if they've, if they've got to that six month time to have the boost. So that's important that's been seen in the ATAGI statement will be published later today. It demonstrates the safety of that approach, demonstrates the effectiveness of that approach based on what we know from international experience. It's where we will be one of the first countries in the world to offer a booster to the whole of the population based on that six month mark once people are due.
The other, the other one thing I would like to say has been some a lot of excitement, of course, about the opening up of the international border on next Monday. There's been a challenge for those that are travelling as families, for children of a of an age, particularly between the age of 12 and 17 in some countries they haven't started that programme for vaccinations for that age group. In the UK, for example, they take one dose of vaccine as being fully vaccinated. So I've been working very closely with my colleagues in the ACT, Victoria and New South Wales in the last couple of days just to get certainty for that. And so that will be that will be resolved today, later today. But just in general terms, we're not going to be splitting up families. Those children will travel above the cap and they will be required to have a seven day home quarantine and a couple of tests just to give that extra safety buffer because they are not fully vaccinated. But we're not splitting up families and we've got agreement, as the PM has said across those three jurisdictions, very good cooperation. I thank my colleagues for working through that. There will be further to say in detail about that later today.
JOURNALIST: [Inaudible] The Nationals secured a regional infrastructure fund as part of the net zero deal. Can you be transparent with the public and tell us how big this fund is? Who's going to run it and what is the investment mandate?
PRIME MINISTER: All of the policies that we'll be announcing to invest in rural and regional Australia will be included in the usual budget updates and that'll be done between here and the next election.
JOURNALIST: You said earlier this week that your net zero target by 2050 was an economy wide target. Mr Joyce this morning indicated that agriculture has been carved out, that methane emissions won't be included. Can you clarify?
PRIME MINISTER: It's a whole-of-economy emissions reduction target. What we've said very clearly, though, is we're not signing up to the 2030 methane request, and that's actually a bipartisan position, and we made that very clear and that's been reported today. We've also said very clearly that under our plan, we won't be putting any mandates on farmers. We won't be targeting them in any way as part of our emissions reduction plan. They're the clear assurances that we've made. We won't be doing things that will have a net negative impact on our agricultural sector. What we want is the agricultural sector to be able to participate in this. We don't want them to be excluded from the revenue streams and income sources that will flow from their participation in this programme. To exclude them from that would be a great disadvantage to them, and I don't want them to be cut off from that. The other point I'd make, though, is on the safeguard mechanism, which you'd be familiar with, which came from the King Review, he, ah, that mechanism currently doesn't include any feedlots or any farmers or anyone in that situation, and nor will it because of the way that it's designed, and we have no plans to change that. And so that's the nature of the things that we've discussed. I mean, the agricultural sector is going to be better off under our plan and they’re better off being part of the plan, and they have a lot to contribute to the plan as they have already. They've played a huge role in the 20 per cent reduction in emissions that we've already been able to achieve, and they'll continue to play a positive role, a role that benefits them, that boosts their productivity and their opportunities and lift the incomes and the economies of our rural and regional areas.
JOURNALIST: Can I just clarify on that? Was it the Australian Government's position before negotiations started with The Nationals that the country would make a pledge to cut emissions methane emissions by 2030? And the negotiations, with the negotiation with Barnaby Joyce on that matter did not try ...
PRIME MINISTER: We never had any plans to sign up to that.
JOURNALIST: The COP President, Boris Johnson's COP President, Alok Sharma, has welcomed your 2050 commitment, but he's called for a more ambitious 2030 NDC. What will you say to him when you get to Glasgow and second question with the G20, will you be looking to mend some bridges when you meet with the French leader and also the Chinese delegate, I think that's the foreign minister at the G20?
PRIME MINISTER: I'll take up all of those opportunities and looking forward to wherever we have those opportunities, I mean we'll be conscious, particularly of I know the deep disappointment in France about the decision we took in Australia's national interests regarding the submarine contract. We've been working those issues through. I welcomed back the Ambassador to Australia. I'm pleased he's here, there's been good engagement with him over the course of this past week, which has been great and and we'll take that forward in a spirit of cooperation in particularly for France, because, you know, we're both here in the Indo-Pacific, we are like-minded, we share values and we share the objectives and aspirations for the Indo-Pacific region, of which France isn't just an observer of, they're a participant. They're here as part of the French territories. So we have an obvious partnership here in the Indo-Pacific, and I know that's understood in France. There is some deep disappointment on those contractual issues on a bipartisan basis, but we'll work through those and I'm very confident about that. You'll have to remind me about the first part of your question.
JOURNALIST: ... the COP President ...
PRIME MINISTER: We've got a plan for Australia. They've got a plan for the UK. And I welcomed Boris's comments the other day because Boris actually has a pretty good understanding of the Australian economy. But let's just talk about how well the Australian economy has gone with our emissions reductions to date. I mean, when you compare them to our good friends in Canada and New Zealand, which haven't even cracked double digits yet on emissions reduction and then of course, the United States or Japan, we're outperforming all of them on our emissions reduction. And that is at the same time that we've had one of the biggest increases in our LNG industry in our history. And so that tells you something about our ability to manage the sort of economy we have to achieve emissions reduction completely different to what the UK is doing and be able to say exactly what we're going to say. We've always taken the view that we intend to meet and beat. We've always taken the view that performance means more than aspiration on these things. And we have set out, I think, very responsible targets. We will meet them and we will beat them, but particularly on the issue of 2050 v 2030. This is a very important point and that is that the technology that you need, much of which was some of which at the very least, is yet to be realised, that has long lead times and you need to put the resources in now for things that could take 10 or even 20 years. And if you divert your resources away from those types of things that has the, that 2050 pay off, you actually put the 2050 payoff at risk. We want to achieve the 2050 outcome and we want to achieve it with the technology that delivers it. Now, I know there's been a lot of feedback on our plan, which doesn't express the same confidence in technology to achieve this outcome that we have. And I can tell Australians very clearly that if you don't think technology can do this and you're not confident about that, and it seems the Labor Party is not, they have two other options. They'll tax you and they'll regulate you and force your decisions. Now, that's not our plan. That's not the Australian way. That clearly seems to be the path they're heading down. That's a matter for them. Other countries will make their decisions. We'll make Australian decisions, in Australia for Australia's interests, and that's what I'll be saying in Glasgow.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, Barnaby Joyce says agriculture has been carved out of the net zero deal. You're saying it hasn't. Has there been some sort of misunderstanding here?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, I have no misunderstanding. It's a whole-of-economy emissions reduction plan.
JOURNALIST: Did Barnaby Joyce misunderstand?
PRIME MINISTER: That's the policy. That's the policy agreed by Cabinet.
JOURNALIST: On the forthcoming legislation on the Integrity Commission. Have you given any thought to strengthening that legislation, given comments from your own backbench about the need for that? And secondly, do you regret the comment you made about "we would not follow a New South Wales ICAC's style model", given what we've heard from Gladys Berejiklian's own former colleagues in the last couple of weeks about her, how she should have disclosed the relationship with Daryl Maguire?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, on the second one, no, I don't have any regrets about that in terms of the statements I've made previously and on the other matter, we've been setting out our model, if that model is not accepted by others in this parliament, well, that's a matter for them. But that's the model that we would seek to proceed with and will seek to finalise that, that final legislation. We think that's the best way to go ahead. I think there are differences between state governments and federal governments when it comes to these matters. I mean, we have a lot of other institutions here at the federal level that I think are being ignored by others who do a very, have a very important role. I'm not about to let or support a system that, you know, takes us down the path where it's it's trial outside of proper processes. That's not something that I think is consistent with our values.
JOURNALIST: [Inaudible] the voter ID legislation introduced this morning to be in place for the next election and what do you make of the criticism that it is a very large response to a very small problem?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, you know, this has been the, I used to be, one of my first jobs in this place, I was the deputy chair of the Joint Standing Committee on Electoral Matters. That was one of the first jobs I had. And, you know, at the ‘13, ‘16 and 2019 elections, the Joint Standing Committee on Electoral Matters has been recommending these types of changes. It's not an earth shattering proposal that when you go to the vote that you should be able to say you are who you are and provide some form of identification to support that, that's an important protection for our democracy. In fact, it's so important that countries like Canada, France, Sweden, Belgium, at least 14 states in the United States, the United Kingdom has this year introduced voter ID laws to the House of Commons just this year. I mean, this is a standard practise that is in liberal democracies. The Declaration Vote process provides the safeguard for those who may be vulnerable and for whom this might prove a challenge, but not one vote will be lost that is a formal vote and a real vote from a real person, and those safeguards are built into the Bill. But I think it's fair enough in a democracy. If I turn up at the ballot box, there in Lilli Pilli and say, my name's Scott Morrison and give them my address, that I should be able to say, and here's a form of identification that we all have these days to be able to to be able to substantiate that. And if I don't have that, well, you do a declaration vote and that's sorted out during the normal process.
And on the answer to the other one is yes, of course. I think this is an important change, and I think it's good for our democracy. So if the Labor Party doesn't want to support people actually telling people who they are and backing that up, well, you'd have to wonder why.
JOURNALIST: Is there a goal for the optimal coverage of booster shots? And if not, why not given it's a population wide programme? Do we need to get that 70-80 per cent target again?
PRIME MINISTER: I'll ask Paul to address that.
PROFESSOR PAUL KELLY, COMMONWEALTH CHIEF MEDICAL OFFICER: The short answer is no, Clare. There's no target for this one. It's a boost. Just to reiterate the first two doses that primary course is the full vaccination, after that is is an extra bonus, which I would very much encourage people to take up. As the PM has said, we have plenty of vaccine all over the country, multiple places that people can get this, get their dose for their booster. And in the meantime, those that haven't had their first and second doses, please go ahead and get that done today.
PRIME MINISTER: Plenty of vaccines. There's enough vaccines out there for everybody who wants one to get one. So please, if you haven't done it yet, go out there and get vaccinated. I'll see those of you on the plane, a little later. Thank you.
Remarks, ASEAN-Australia Virtual Summit
27 October 2021
PRIME MINSTER: Well, thank you very much, Your Majesty and Your Excellencies. I'm delighted to be here at this first annual ASEAN-Australia Summit with our ASEAN friends. Another significant milestone in our relationship.
As your first dialogue partner, our annual summits will allow us to deepen our already very, very strong ties, and will guide us through an era of profound change in the Indo-Pacific.
I wish to particularly commend Your Majesty Brunei Darussalam for its leadership and commitment to promoting stability and recovery during what has been an extraordinarily challenging year.
Your Majesty, I have particularly valued our work together this year on mental health - the shadow pandemic - which I know you have made mention of in many forums as leaders have come together over the course of these past few years.
Brunei Darussalam’s Chair theme, ‘We Care, We Prepare, We Prosper,’ underlines the importance of our shared recovery.
And as we continue to grapple with COVID-19, we know that we cannot respond and recover alone. In true partnership, that is the best way forward.
There is no higher priority for us all than access to safe and effective COVID-19 vaccines.
We have shared almost four million doses directly with ASEAN partners to date, and we expect to share millions more by the end of next year.
I am also pleased to advise that we will share at least an additional 10 million doses from our domestic supply with ASEAN countries by mid-next year.
ASEAN members’ growth underpins regional stability, and Australia's prosperity.
Your stability is fundamental to our own. Our health security is inextricably tied to yours. And our enduring partnership supports an open, inclusive and resilient Indo-Pacific region.
ASEAN is at the centre of the Indo-Pacific. And we back this, both through our words and our actions.
In 2020, Australia made significant investments to support your COVID-19 response and recovery, including some $500 Australian dollars - million dollars - of packages of support that I announced at last year’s Summit, consistent with the four key areas of the ASEAN Outlook on the Indo-Pacific, which we share.
Australia has proposed an elevation of our partnership with ASEAN to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, because we want our cooperation to reach new heights.
I respect ASEAN's process for considering CSPs.
Should ASEAN decide to agree to CSPs, Australia is, of course, ready.
A CSP, though, is more than just a label. We will back it with substance that positions our partnership to address complex challenges in the future.
And I'm pleased to announce today the Australia for ASEAN Futures Initiative, to drive cooperation, support implementation of the ASEAN Outlook on the Indo-Pacific, and deepen our investment in the region's future.
Australia will provide $124 million to fund projects, jointly identified by ASEAN and Australia, to address to address complex and emerging challenges.
Challenges like COVID-19 recovery, terrorism, transnational crime, energy security and transition to lower emissions technology, the circular economy, and, of course, our healthy oceans.
Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States, as you know, recently announced an enhanced capability and technology sharing partnership, which is known as AUKUS.
All three of us are ASEAN Dialogue Partners.
And I want to address this upfront, because transparency and communication on this important initiative is important to Australia, with our ASEAN friends.
And I know hearing from us has been important to you.
AUKUS does not change Australia's commitment to ASEAN or the ASEAN Outlook on the Indo-Pacific. Indeed, it reinforces it. It reinforces the backing that we have for an ASEAN-led regional architecture.
These commitments are stronger than ever.
AUKUS adds to our network of partnerships that support regional stability and security.
Australia remains deeply committed to international law and the rules-based order that has underpinned regional stability and prosperity, and which all ASEAN members depend.
AUKUS does not change Australia's deep, long-standing commitment to nuclear non-proliferation - Australia does not want and will not seek nuclear weapons, as I've assured all ASEAN members.
We will continue to meet all our obligations under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.
Australia and ASEAN - we're good friends, we're good neighbours, and are natural partners at the centre of the Indo-Pacific.
And so I look forward to hearing from you all today, and I thank you very much for the honour of being part of this first dialogue partnership. Thank you, Your Majesty.