Speeches
Remarks, Launch of the 2021 Kmart Wishing Tree Appeal
01 December 2021
PRIME MINISTER: I'm looking forward to Christmas, I think we're all looking forward to Christmas. I think Australians are coming together for Christmas and that's really exciting. I think we're looking forward to this Christmas, like few up until now and this weekend, I'm putting the lights up on the house. I'm looking forward to that and the ritual with the girls and with Jen, and I'm wishing everybody here a Merry Christmas. Anthony, Penny and Adam and of course, Barnaby and the great team at the Salvos and the wonderful support we get in the community for the Salvos. An interesting mixture here. Albo's got a unicorn. I’ve brought the GraviTrax. That got me through quite a few lockdowns this year, I've got to tell you, as others went through puzzles and various other things.
So the other thing I'm looking forward to, I think it's going to be a bumper Christmas for our retailers who have been doing it really tough. So when you're out shopping for Christmas, shop local, support your local small businesses, they've had a tough year. So why not give them a great Christmas present by doing your local shopping in your local shops, supporting the local businesses who stood by you during the course of this pandemic; And it'd be great to see them also having a bumper Christmas and as their staff are coming back and also looking forward to that great period of time.
But Christmas is an important Christian religious festival as well, and something that's very important, I know to so many Australians and it is a great time of family and coming together. But for those of the Christian faith, it is a very important time of the year and we celebrate the birth of Christ. So enjoy the season and wishing everybody a very merry Christmas. And I'll ask the Salvos to say a few words.
Press Conference - Queanbeyan, NSW
01 December 2021
Prime Minister: Well, it's great to see you all here this morning, and can I thank Winston at Headspace and all the Headspace team here in Queanbeyan, and can I thank them for the tremendous work they do supporting young people right across the country. Headspace is a great Coalition innovation, and it's been helping young people for a very long time and has provided us really with the guidebook as to how we can be more broadly addressing mental health issues right across the country, they take a holistic approach to the health, mental health of young people. They look right across all the various things. Are they getting work, are they getting support and the various treatments that are available to them, and they really try to treat the whole person, all the influences that are coming in on their lives. So I really want to thank Headspace. It is a world leading initiative and when I travel around the world, when I have to, I'm always so proud when people ask me about Headspace in Australia and how big an impact it has had in supporting the mental health of young people.
I want to thank the parents and kids, who have been able to join us this morning to talk about this really important issue because it's what everyone around kitchen tables, around the Christmas table this year, all of these things, these are the things as parents and families that really do go to some of our deepest and most significant concerns. You know, the online world is changing every single day. It's rapidly changing. And as parents, and as communities, as families, it's hard to keep up with it. And it's hard to have confidence that always that you can be safe online. It's important for young people. It's important, particularly for women who are some of the most targeted for attacks and abuse, trolling right across the country. But it doesn't stop there. It affects all people right across the community. And if it hasn't directly affected you, you're in the minority. But you know someone who has and particularly if you're a grandparent or it could be your niece or your nephew, your son or your daughter. And so we know this is an issue of significant concern. And over many years now, we've been standing up as a government to the digital companies, the big digital, big tech companies. And we're saying something very simple. You built it. You make it safe. And if you won’t, we will make you. And that's what we've been doing for these many years now. We've been working hard to make sure, and I particularly want to acknowledge that Paul Fletcher as the Minister for Communications, who's done a terrific job in ensuring that the rules that exist in the physical world must exist to protect Australians in the online world as well.
Now, last Sunday, as you know, I announced that we're introducing the anti-trolling bill. Now that is a bill which is going to do something really important. It's going to unmask those trolls who pretend to be someone else or someone who it doesn't even exist and are there and are preying [sic] upon our kids and our family members and harassing and stalking in the most cowardly way. We are ripping the mask off those trolls to protect Australians online. We want the online world to be safe so we can have all the benefits of the online world but protect Australians from the terrible abuses that can take place there.
And as I said, we've taken many steps already. The world's first eSafety Commission, take down provisions, the issues dealing with terrorist content. But we must keep going further because the online world keeps changing. And so the online trolling and bill legislation, draft legislation, we're releasing today and we want to hear from Australians about their experiences, but not just on those measures.
Today, we're also announcing a Select Committee that I've asked Lucy Wicks, my dear friend from the Central Coast, Member for Robertson, who has had a passion in dealing with these issues and the need for people to be safe online, particularly women and kids, and to ensure that we can have the proper protections in place. And they're not only going to hear from you about this legislation, but we also want to hear from you about the many other things that go to online safety. How the measures that we've already got in place are already working and how they can be improved, how the big tech companies use your data and how that impacts on you. We want to hear about the things that can make our online world safer, and we're all parents here as ministers and as Members of Parliament, and we want to make sure it's safer for all of our kids. So I want to thank you Lucy for taking on this job, and we're going to be reporting back by the time we get back to Parliament because that anti trolling bill is coming back into that parliament and I expect to see it passed because we need to do this to keep our online world safe. The rules in the real world have to be the same in the online world. There are few issues, frankly, that as people come together around the Christmas table this year. These are the issues that I know keep you up and worrying about the environment in which your kids are growing up. And this is one of the most important things we can do to keep Australians safe. And with that, I'll ask Paul to make comments and then David. And of course, Lucy.
The Hon. Paul Fletcher MP, Minister for Communications, Urban Infrastructure, Cities and the Arts: Well, thank you very much, Prime Minister. It's great to be here with you at Headspace in Queanbeyan, with David Coleman, your assistant minister, doing so much great work on mental health, with Lucy Wicks, who's going to be chairing this very important select committee. As you've said, Prime Minister, from the time we got into government in 2013, we've been very focused on this issue of keeping Australians safe online, particularly women and children. We know this is an issue of great concern to parents and families all around the country. We've just had a really good discussion with a group of local parents and children about the ways that each family seeks to keep their children safe, but there's no doubt this is something parents are concerned about. What do I need to do, as a parent to keep my children safe and how do I make sure that these services that my children are using have safety features built in. The community expectations about safety being met. So we've done a lot in this space. We established the eSafety Commissioner in 2015 and just this year we passed a tough new Online Safety Act, which will take effect from January next year and our eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant will have even stronger powers. But we are not stopping there, and this select committee is a very important opportunity for the parliament to hear about the concerns and perspectives and experiences of parents and families across Australia about how social media, how Big Tech is impacting the lives of all of us.
Of course, the internet is a wonderful educational, scientific, economic, cultural, social resource. No question about it, but it has to be safe. That is not negotiable. And that's why this select committee that Lucy Wicks is going to chair will be so important so we can hear all these perspectives. Lucy, of course, a parent, she's also a former executive in the telecommunications sector. She brings a lot of highly relevant experience. This is the parliament doing what it ought to do, dealing with an issue of great concern to Australian families.
Prime Minister: David. David's been working on all of our mental health policies and suicide prevention strategies.
The Hon. David Coleman MP, Assistant Minister to the Prime Minister for Mental Health and Suicide Prevention: Thanks, PM. Well, there's nothing more important than the mental health of kids. Literally nothing more important. And we have seen in recent years concerning trends in youth mental health. We've seen significantly increased rates of prescriptions of antidepressants to children. We've seen significant growth in appointments in the Medicare system for children as compared to adults and a range of other concerning trends. And when we look at why that's occurred, there are a range of reasons. But there's no question that this issue, which concerns parents so much about the impact of social media, is a significant part of the issue. Headspace's own surveys of young people have found that young people have nominated the impact of social media as the number one reason why youth mental health is getting worse. It's a very, very significant issue, and the truth is that the social media companies have had more than a decade to address these issues about youth mental health, and they have failed. They have not taken the steps they should have taken to keep kids safe. And there are some very concerning things that happen on social media and the way those platforms can direct children to very concerning content. That's why the government has done so much in this area through the Online Safety Act, so many other areas. The Online Privacy Code, which we recently released exposure draft legislation on, which will require social media platforms in the future to act in the best interests of children. We know that we can't rely on social media to act in the best interests of children, so we're going to force them to. And this inquiry that Lucy is doing will further explore these really important fundamental questions about how we hold social media to account, how we keep kids safe online through further measures. Because there is nothing more significant than this issue, and it is central to the concerns of so many Australian families, and we're very, very focused on ensuring that the social media companies are held to account because, you know, it's not the sovereign nation of Instagram, it's the sovereign nation of Australia, and we will continue to stand up for Australian families in this area.
Prime Minister: Thanks, David. Lucy?
Ms Lucy Wicks MP, Federal Member for Robertson: PM, thank you for the opportunity, this is such an important issue that is so dear to the hearts of all of us here in Australia. I was thinking about when I moved home just recently, a few weeks ago and a couple of kids came up to see me at night at my front gate. They heard I'd moved in and they wanted to have a bit of an impromptu chat. There were two things they raised with me. One was the fact that the local council had removed their bike racks that they'd set up behind my house. And they wanted those back. The other was social media and the importance of keeping people safe online. And so, Prime Minister, this inquiry is going to be incredibly important, I think, to parents, to grandparents, to those of us who have had an experience on social media that has left an imprint that should never be left in anyone's life. Unfortunately, too many of us have a story to tell, and the age at which those stories get told is getting younger and younger and younger.
We want to do all we can to make sure that the stories that perhaps have happened in the past are not the stories of the future. This inquiry is going to be incredibly important, I believe, to be able to make sure that all Australians, whether you are five or six or perhaps 106 using social media or Facebook or a way to be able to connect with family and friends. We want you to raise to use your voice, to tell your story, to give us your perspectives on how we can help make social media a safer place where we can make sure that online experiences are safe and you will have perspectives, you will have ideas. That we want to be able to bring forward and to be able to help make a really strong report to be able to contribute to the parliament next to you. Prime Minister, I thank you for the opportunity for doing this. I hope that out of this, we can also look at exploring some of the tools that are available, particularly for parents in terms of online safety. I know that's a world that I'm grappling with at the moment, and my 12-13 year old son seems to be much more ahead of it than I am, and I'm always sort of playing catch up. But you know, this will be an important avenue to be able to explore those things as well as the role of Big Tech. And the stories that so many of you have, I have no doubt are going to be a very powerful platform for us to be able to explore what we can do. So I thank you Prime Minister.
Prime Minister: Well, thank you, Lucy. So Australia, the conversation our government wants to have with you over the Christmas and summer, parliament may be rising this week, but we'll continue working on the issue, we want to be working with you over summer on how we can make the online world safer. So we look forward to hearing your stories through the committee process that Lucy is going to lead, and we’ll bring that homework back over from the summer break. We'll keep working away and we'll start the year next year, making the online world safer, particularly for women and children.
Journalist: Prime Minister, on the Jenkins Report, just hours after it was released and you told the Party Room that it was sobering and that people should read it, a Coalition Senator apologised, accused of growling at Jacqui Lambie in the Chamber. In any other workforce that person would potentially be fired. How serious are you about accountability, and do you insist that all Members read this report?
Prime Minister: Well, yes, and that’s exactly the instruction I gave, and I would, I would expect all parliamentary leaders to be seeking to uphold those standards. I’ve been in the Parliament a long time. Just last week, the interjections that I hear in the Chamber coming across. I mean, these are things that all Parliamentary leaders continue to have to uphold the standards of, and I expect that of my team. And I was very, very disappointed about that act, extremely.
Journalist: Have you spoken with him?
Prime Minister: Not as yet, I only learnt of it late last night.
Journalist: On the COVID variant, Prime Minister, doesn't living with COVID mean you have to live with the variants? Are we going to be changing the rules every time the variant comes in - delaying, pausing, stepping backwards every single time there’s a new variant?
Prime Minister: We shouldn't be stepping backwards and our Government is not doing that. Our Government is having a pause for the next step. Everything we were doing up until now, we are going to keep doing. And the meeting of National Cabinet yesterday, I thought, was a very useful one. We all got on the same page about what this variant means and there was nothing in front of us yesterday that should suggest a step back. Nothing. And it's important that I think we continue to live with this virus safely, we open up safely, we stay safely open and we keep moving forward. The variant, over this next few weeks, we’ll learn a lot more about it, and I think that will give us the confidence to keep moving forward because that's what we want to do. That's what I want Australians to do, and I want to be there to support Australians to keep doing that. That's certainly where the Federal Government is going and particularly in those states that have had the most difficult COVID experiences in New South Wales and Victoria. But, of course, here in the ACT. There is a commitment to keep moving forward, not going back. That's the way we live with COVID and we live together with COVID.
Journalist: And a big part of that is the new vaccines. Melbourne scientists have developed Australia's first mRNA vaccine. What can you tell us about that?
Prime Minister: Yeah. Well, I'm excited about this, because the Federal Government has been one of the partners in this project, which is seeing the development of this new mRNA vaccine science, which will now go into trials, which is very important. mRNA is a very new area and we have already been investing in this area. We are in the final stages of looking at the manufacturing capability, and I've been speaking to a couple of premiers in particular about that, and the partnership we’ll need to make that a reality. This is not just important for obviously what we're seeing happen now with this pandemic. But mRNA vaccines are going to play a more important role in the future of vaccines more broadly - flu vaccines, any number of other vaccines. And, so, we've already invested in this science. We're going to be investing in ensuring that we not only have science, but we have the production capabilities here in Australia, and that's another part of our Modern Manufacturing Initiative, frankly. I mean, medical manufacturing vaccines, this is all part of a Modern Manufacturing Initiative, which is already seeing a million Australians back in work. Under Labor, one in eight manufacturing jobs went. Now we've got Australians back working in manufacturing. I was in Adelaide on Friday, and on Friday I met former Holden workers, now working in a medical manufacturing company - 120 people there - and they're putting the wheels on the machines. That's the, that's the story of Australian manufacturing. It's changing, it's developing, it's growing, and mRNA is another important part of that story.
Journalist: Prime Minister, overnight European markets went down because the boss of Moderna raised doubts about whether its vaccine, how effective it would be with Omicron. What what information have you received from your own health advisers, and are they concerned about this possibility as well on the back of those statements?
Prime Minister: Well, there's no information that the Government has which says that the vaccines are ineffective against the Omicron strain of the virus. In fact, the early information that we reviewed yesterday, the indications are that Omicron will be a more mild form of the virus. Now, if that proves to be true, that's a major, that's a major game change in the pandemic more broadly, because just as we saw the Delta variant overwhelm the Alpha variant - there are virtually no cases of Alpha anymore - should it be the case that the Omicron variant is is less, is a more mild form, then that has the potential to overwhelm the more, more severe form. But these things are not yet known. And, so, what I would say about Omicron is you keep your head, you stay calm, you make sensible, balanced decisions, you hold your nerve. We've got a great National Plan which is reuniting Australians, and we will continue to take the best medical advice and get the best medical evidence to make our decisions. And the last night was a, was a good opportunity to review all that.
Journalist: Prime Minister, you're also going into the summer asking Australians to trust you to govern after the next election. Given you promised a national integrity commission that hasn't happened, religious discrimination laws that haven’t passed the Parliament, the swathe of infrastructure projects you promised at the election that haven't been even built or started on planning yet, how can Australians trust you?
Prime Minister: We've just gone through and are going through the biggest challenge Australia has faced since the Second World War, and we have one of the strongest economies in the world going through this pandemic because of the decisions, frankly, this Government has taken. There are few Australians around the country right now who would not know that the fact that they are able to stay in jobs, that our economy was able to be kept strong, that businesses were able to be saved, that investments were able to be made. There are 217,000 apprentices in trade training at the moment. That is the highest level since records were kept in 1963. We said we would provide those opportunities. Additionally, for universities, 30,000 additional places that came into place this year because we knew school leavers at this time last year and their parents would be concerned about what the future held for them. Well, they’re in university places, they're in, they’re in training places. And you mentioned infrastructure. I was out there with the, with the Minister responsible for Western Sydney Airport. It’s 25 per cent built, 25 per cent built. You know, when Anthony Albanese came into the Parliament when the Howard Government was first elected, he talked about the Western Sydney Airport, he talked about it, he talked about it, he talked about it. And guess what happened? He became the Minister for Transport. He was the Minister for Transport for six years and didn't even dig a hole for Western Sydney Airport. We are building that airport and we are building that infrastructure.
The Religious Discrimination Act has been introduced by me and it is in the Parliament now and is being debated now.
The Commonwealth Integrity Commission, we have 349 pages of legislation, committed funding for that integrity commission, that must look at serious criminal conduct. Now, the Labor Party doesn't support it. They've got a two page proposal. We've got 349 pages of legislation.
So, whether it be on bringing forward our proposal for integrity commission, the Religious Discrimination Act, building the big infrastructure - the Inland Rail, the Western Sydney Airport, working forward together with the Victorian Government on the Airport Rail Link and the links down to to Geelong and all of those projects - all of these projects going ahead, big game changing projects. The Snowy Hydro 2.0 project, which is so important here for the, for the people who live in Eden-Monaro. That project, an incredibly huge project - nation building, game changing. So, I can tell you, we're getting on with it.
A strong economy, one of the highest vaccination rates in the world, one of the lowest fatality rates in the world, and Ms Dempsey, who we know has just lost her fight against COVID. A health worker, a nurse working in hospital in Melbourne. This is a terrible reminder that the challenges that Australians have faced have been so hard and have resulted for some in the worst of all consequences of losing their lives. But, you know, in this country, under the response that we've led to COVID, we have saved more than 30,000 lives, 30,000 lives. We've brought Australia through this pandemic to here, and we're going to take Australia forward and we've got to keep our economy strong.
The National Accounts will come out today, and those National Accounts today will will bring to account the impact of the most recent lockdowns. But what I can say to Australians is those lockdowns are in the rear vision mirror, and the economic impact of those lockdowns are in the rear vision mirror. And if you want to keep them in the rear vision mirror, then it's important that we continue to pursue the strong economic management that our Government has delivered over the course of our entire time in Government, but certainly since I was elected at the last election, to ensure that we kept our economy strong through one of the greatest challenges our country has ever faced.
Journalist: Going back to Facebook, on Facebook, there's no shortage of inquiries and reports, we’ve had a congressional hearing into this, we've heard countless whistle-blowers, you've heard from families this morning. What can you possibly learn from this inquiry that you don’t already know? And are you not just setting up a show trial before an election campaign?
Prime Minister: Well, I think that's very disappointing that you’ve put it in that way. I’m a parent. I'm worried about my kids online. The parents I've spoken to today are worried about their kids online. You know, Canberra sometimes can get really cynical, really cynical, and this is an issue that is burned in our hearts and in our actions over the course of our Government. And we have stood up to the biggest tech companies in the world. You know, when you're a Prime Minister you've got to have the strength to stand up to those who threaten Australia. You’ve got to have the strength to stand up to the big tech companies. We've done that on tax. We've done that even to protect the freedom of our own media and ensure that media companies could survive through this world. There are many journalists today employed, not just in this town but around the country, who are in those jobs because our Government had the courage to stand up to big tech where other governments didn’t. It was our Government that stood up to big tech after the Christchurch attacks, the massacres there, the terrorist attacks by right wing extremists, that ensured that we introduced laws which outlawed this violent extremist content online. It was our Government that set up the first eSafety Commissioner. It was our Government that ensured that we had the Online Safety Act. It is our Government, which is one of the first in the world, the legislation we released today, which will come into the Parliament when the Committee comes back, which will ensure that publishers, so that digital platforms are treated as publishers and they must unmask the online trolls. So, when it comes to this issue, we've got a strong track record of standing up to those who would threaten Australian safety. And, frankly, it's not just there. To those who would seek to coerce us in the region, we’ll stand up to them. As Treasurer I stood up to the big banks, as Treasurer we stood up, and as Prime Minister, to the big energy companies. I have a record of standing up to those who will seek to threaten Australia's interests, whether they're outside this country or inside this country, whether in the online world or within the real world. And that's the strength that is required to lead this country. Thanks very much everyone.
Virtual Address, Australian Industry Group
30 November 2021
PRIME MINISTER: Well, thank you very much Chris for that kind introduction, and to Innes and everybody else joining us today, thank you for joining us for what is an important time for us to come together.
It’s it’s good to join you and all of your members.
Let me begin, of course, by acknowledging our Traditional Owners.
Here in Canberra, of course, that’s the Ngunnawal people, and I pay my respects to their Elders past, present and emerging.
And, you know, I always like to acknowledge members of our Australian Defence Force or veterans who may be joining us, as well, and I thank them for their service.
Let me begin by thanking you also for your commitment and dedication to keeping our economy moving through what has been an incredibly challenging time.
It’s never lost on me that the decisions we take as a government, of course, impact on you and your businesses, your your members, your employees, your suppliers and and the wider community in in profound ways.
For governments, businesses, families, individuals, COVID has unleashed an era of radical uncertainty and disruption of a scale rarely seen outside of wartime.
The full magnitude of what the world has endured in the nearly past two years since SARS-COV-2 first emerged in Wuhan in China bears a brief reflection, because that is the context.
The pandemic has cost us more than 5.2 million lives worldwide.
That’s a very conservative figure, by the way. Some estimates approach three times that number.
It has resulted in the deepest economic recession in nearly a century, with economies on strikingly different paths to recovery.
We now face some new uncertainty, with the Omicron variant. We’ve seen other variants before, and this is a new one.
And we will need the same focus and fortitude and balance and calm that has helped us preserve lives and livelihoods since the start of the pandemic.
Taking decisions based on the best and most recent evidence and the best medical advice.
And getting the balance right between the competing objectives that are there to ensure the common good for our country.
Enlisting your assistance and forbearance as we just navigate that way ahead.
And last night I announced, we announced together as a government after the National Security Committee met, just a temporary pause on the next step to safely reopen Australia to international skilled and student cohorts in our migration program, as well as humanitarian, working holiday maker and provisional family visa holders. We’ve just pushed it back from the 1st of December until the 15th of December.
It’s a temporary pause, and this is just simply to ensure we can gather information to better understand the Omicron variant, including the efficacy of vaccines and the range of illness which we can expect and the level of transmission.
Now, my expectation is that in a fortnight’s time, perhaps sooner, but I would think in a fortnight’s time, we’ll be able to press on. But there is very much a a no regrets policy, and ensuring we just move carefully so we, the whole point here is to ensure that we can remain safely open, and we don’t want to prejudice anything that might compromise that objective.
The goal here is not no cases and low cases, the goal here is ensuring that our hospital system is able to cope with the pressure. And we’ve already seen in Victoria and New South Wales in response to the Delta variant, where we have had large numbers of cases in Victoria - over a thousand a day - and yet the hospital system has been performing well. That is the objective.
That’s how you live with the virus, that’s how you live together with the virus.
The National Plan is there so we can open safely and stay safely open.
And I would contend that this is the only sustainable approach from both a public health and economic perspective.
I have always said from the outset of this, it’s about saving lives and it’s about saving livelihoods. And as Prime Minister I’ve always tried to ensure that we got that proper balance.
I said it also at the start of this pandemic that we were a strong people, but we’re going to find out just how strong we were. And we have.
What I believe we discovered is that we are stronger and even more capable than we imagined - particularly when we work together.
We have saved, we have no doubt, well over 30,000 lives. Just reflect on that for a second. All the sacrifices that have been made, all the difficulties that have been faced - that has saved over 30,000 lives.
JobKeeper itself though, and the many other measures we took, supported around four million individuals and one million businesses - saved over 100, sorry, 700,000 jobs.
Lives and livelihoods being saved while providing support that ensure that we could have that spring back in our economy when we’re able to move forward, as we indeed now are.
Australia is coming back.
The RBA, as you know, is forecasting the Australian economy will grow by 5.5 per cent next year.
Unemployment to fall to four per cent by the middle of 2023.
Balance sheets, as you know, they’re healthy - both on household and businesses. Cash holdings have increased dramatically.
We’ve retained our AAA credit rating in the midst of this absolute storm, all three ratings agencies - one of only nine countries in the world to do it.
Vaccine uptake, one of the highest in the world - ahead of France, UK, Sweden, the United States, Israel, the list goes on.
Our vaccination rate - with Australia now 87 per cent fully vaccinated, and even states like Western Australia and Queensland closing in on that important 80 per cent mark - that provides genuine cause for optimism as we end 2021 and we move into next year.
Our resilience as a country is not just about our capacity to absorb shocks, though.
It’s also about our capacity to learn, to adapt, to improve - so we are prepared and ready for the challenges of today and tomorrow.
And this morning, I just want to focus on a couple of areas, a couple of areas where Australia must continue to learn, adapt and improve - our supply chains and our skills and training system.
As you know, the Government’s agenda spreads well beyond all of those issues, of course. But these are important, very important parts of our plan, our economic plan, to secure that economic recovery, which you all know cannot be taken for granted.
This recovery cannot be locked unless we can have confidence in the economic management that is going to see us have the right balance and the right balance and policies to ensure that that economic recovery can be secured.
There’s a lot at stake.
In many ways, what I wish to talk to you about today, are the micro-foundations of our economy - providing the hardware and the software that allows the economy to remain flexible and innovative amidst the challenges that we have before us, to secure them and those opportunities.
Supply chains, we know, are under increased pressure around the world due to international COVID-related factors. It was a key focus of our discussions at the G20.
Global container shipping costs, congestion and supplier delivery times all remain around historically high levels.
Global shipping prices are up around six-fold since the beginning of the crisis.
Australian shipping prices have likewise risen sharply, you know this.
And congestion and delays are having flow on effects for domestic supply chains and consumers.
Now, that said, supply chains in Australia have proved generally resilient throughout the pandemic, despite COVID measures, isolated cases at Australian ports and industrial action and other localised disruptions.
And encouragingly, the IMF and the OECD both expect the inflationary effects of these supply chain pressures to moderate in 2022, as consumer demand for goods rebalances and industry responds by bringing on more supply.
The Government’s Office of Supply Chain Resilience, that I established, is monitoring supply chain vulnerabilities right across our economy and coordinating whole-of-government responses to ensure access to essential goods.
Economic ministers, together with myself, continue to be briefed regularly on supply chain pressures, and the National Coordination Mechanism - so critical, so critical for business during the course of this pandemic - is meeting weekly with industry players in the run-up to Christmas.
We have learnt through the pandemic just how much better we can get that integration between how our Government integrates with businesses on these most practical of issues.
The key focus is on the flow of goods from overseas suppliers to Australian businesses and consumers.
And our Government is also keeping a close watch on the potential for industrial action to disrupt economic activity, noting that industrial action at Patrick Terminals is on hold until at least the 10th of December.
Now, we encourage the parties to this dispute to negotiate in good faith and to resolve their issues to get this sorted.
But at the same time, I want to assure you that our Government will take action, if needed, to protect the Australian economy from serious harm.
In light of the recent ACCC Container Monitoring Report, the Government is also examining broader issues associated with the relative productivity of Australian ports.
Ports are the gateway for our economy. Inefficient ports are a tax on all of us.
Coalition Government’s - Liberals and Nationals - have always understood this, and have always been prepared to take action to ensure our ports can serve our economy as best as they possibly can.
And we are taking action by improving port productivity through infrastructure projects, tackling regulatory inefficiencies at the Australian border through the Simplified Trade System - which will streamline compliance costs for Australian importers and exporters while replacing legacy ICT systems.
Now, it’s clear, however, that productivity challenges remain in Australia’s maritime logistics system. These relate to competition, industrial relations, infrastructure constraints and technology uptake.
Now, shortly the Treasurer will be releasing the terms of reference for a Productivity Commission enquiry into the efficiency of our maritime logistics system. This is not an enquiry that I see going on for a long time. I want to see this back here by the middle of the year.
Having supported our economy strongly at the end of next year, I should say, having supported our economy strongly on the demand side through the pandemic, our focus inevitably turns to the supply side levers as the economy recovers, because it's those supply side levers that can have such a big impact on inflationary pressures that put pressure on all Australians, whether mortgage holders or small business, as they try to make their payments and ensure their businesses can proceed forward in getting access to the capital they can to take advantage of the recovery.
Nowhere is this more important, though, in all the issues we're dealing with on supply side than with workforce and skills challenges.
Now, here the responsibility sits with governments, with business and with individuals as well to seize those opportunities that suit their natural talents and predispositions.
And there are many opportunities that are out there. Job ads now at the highest level in 13 years.
We've seen encouraging signs about the increase in jobs post the Delta lockdowns from the ABS payroll data, and 350,000 jobs in five weeks have come on.
But the strong recovery does present us with a workforce challenge to ensure that we have enough workers and enough trained workers to fill vacancies and ensure that our recovery is not held back. This is a difficult challenge. Was a challenge before the pandemic.
Skilled migration, of course, will be part of that solution, and we are taking a responsible path to gradually reopening those borders, as I mentioned earlier, and targeted migration to fill critical skills and labour gaps will continue to play an important role.
And we are doubling the number of Pacific workers to meet workforce shortages in regional Australia, bringing in an extra 12,500 by March of next year. And we're progressing our new agricultural visa.
But our core focus must be on getting Australians into the workforce and increasing their skills and getting them into jobs.
The Government is committed and we have committed a record $6.4 billion in skills and training this year to help develop the skills of Australians.
It has led to the highest number of Australians in a trade apprenticeship - that’s some 217,000 - since records began in 1963. I mean, how many times have you heard people say, ‘Oh, we're not training enough apprentices.’
We have the highest number of Australians in trade apprenticeships training right now since 1963.
Now, that is extraordinary. That is delivery. That is following through on what has been one of the most key issues that have been faced in our economy - get these skills.
And we have also seen the total number of apprentices and trainees increase by 27 per cent on pre-COVID levels.
Support for apprenticeships was one of the first steps we took as a government after COVID hit, and it has been one of the great successes to see so many Australians, including many young Australians, in a job and developing throughout the period.
I can tell you, the reason we moved so early on apprentices in the pandemic is I was concerned that we were going to have a lost generation of skills in this country because of the pandemic.
A lost generation of skills - apprentices, trainees that had started their apprentices, last on, first off, never to come back, never to get those skills again.
And so in the midst of the uncertainty as we faced the abyss of the pandemic, one of our first measures was to say we need to hold onto our skills.
And I think that says a lot about our Government and where that sits in our thinking about the economic link between skills and our economy, the opportunity that Australians needed so they would not become a lost generation in skills.
And this is what is now paying off in setting us up for the recovery. That's how you secure an economic recovery.
The work to secure the economic recovery began the day the pandemic started, and we laid the foundation for the recovery right from the get go.
We also established, as you know, in that vein, the JobTrainer program, in partnership with the states, to further develop those skills, with the overall program supporting 460,000 places and 270,000 have already been enrolled.
Now, these programs are vital because we will need a skilled domestic workforce to take advantage of these opportunities, as I’ve said.
We will need to fill an estimated one million new jobs in the next five years.
And while this presents a great opportunity for Australians out of work or seeking additional work, it also presents risks for employers and the wider economy if we don't have the workforce with the required skills to meet employer’s needs.
I consider this one, if not one of, our biggest challenge to our economic recovery is getting the skills in the workforce.
Like many developed economies around the world, our labour market is shifting towards higher skilled jobs.
We need to ensure we meet those demands through a world class skills and training system that is designed to better match employer needs and job seeker skills, provide targeted assistance to job seekers who need the most help to get a job or undertake further training, and engage businesses so the training system reflects the skills that employers need - not what people want to teach, build skills in critical sectors to maintain Australia's global competitiveness and sovereign capabilities, and encourage employers to take responsibility to upskill their own workers.
When I was out at Western Sydney International Airport, Nancy Bird-Walton, the other day, I was incredibly excited about the progress that has taken place there.
You want to talk about nation building projects, that’s going to put Australia in a completely different place - that, the Inland Rail, Snowy Hydro 2.0 - all of these, massive projects on unprecedented scale.
But what I was even more excited about when I saw that airport 25 per cent completed was the workforce that they are building there - a workforce of highly skilled people that will be able to apply their their skills to more and more tasks into the future. Incredibly exciting.
It's happening in cyber training, cyber skills, medical instrument manufacturing, design and engineering skills.
That's why we are reforming our training system to better engage industry in the design of training, ensuring qualifications updated faster to meet the needs of industry.
And it's why we are working with the states and territories on a new skill, national skills agreement.
I wish it was proceeding more quickly, and we're making great progress with states like New South Wales who understand the importance of this.
But we are meeting resistance in other places and it's important that we work together to ensure we can reform these skills systems.
They're done by the Federal Government in providing funding, but also by state governments. And so for it to work, we have to work closely together to get that right.
Increasing investment, we're very happy to do. I'm very happy to continue to invest in this area, but I'm not going to invest into a system that doesn't work and that refuses to be reformed.
And we will take the action necessary to ensure that the additional funds we want to invest goes to a better system that can support business and workers to get the skills that they need.
And why we're establishing, it’s also why we're establishing a new industry cluster model, which will strengthen employer leadership and engagement, giving industry a more prominent role in our skills system.
You know, there is nothing that thrills me more as a Prime Minister. It's one of the key reasons that I feel so passionately about what we do as a government, is getting young people into work.
It changes a life. It changes a family. It changes a community and it changes a country.
It's so important, and you are such an important partner in that great ambition to see Australians get into work, but particularly those younger people and those who are transitioning their careers, often late in life where their uncertainty is great.
I was down in Adelaide on Friday. I met former Holden workers, now working in a, on a portable brain scanner technology, and they're making the machines.
They were making cars before. Now, they're making some of the advanced medical equipment in the world, and so many of their mates are doing exactly the same thing.
Our economy does have that capability to transform and to take up new opportunities, to see what's ahead - the new energy economy, the other uncertainties are there - and to meet and beat it.
And I believe you believe the same thing.
So at this critical point, friends, I want you to know that I have great confidence in where we're heading. Great confidence. I am confident about our future. I'm excited about it.
There are a number of areas that I could have focused on this morning, but time is short and there'll be other opportunities.
But I want to shout out to all your members and say a massive thank you for everything you're doing to support that spring back in our economic recovery and the industry and jobs of tomorrow.
And happy to take some questions and and discuss any of those other matters further. But thanks for your attention.
Press Conference - Canberra, ACT
30 November 2021
Prime Minister: Good afternoon, everyone. I'm joined by the Minister for Women, the Minister for Foreign Affairs, and the Minister for Finance, to release the Jenkins Review. A little while ago, I had the opportunity to speak to Kate Jenkins and thank her for the tremendous work that she has done at our request in establishing the Independent Review into Commonwealth Parliamentary Workplaces. I want to thank Kate Jenkins and all of her team, not just for undertaking this review, but the incredibly professional and sensitive manner in which they undertook this review. This is a difficult issue. It's a sensitive issue. It's a very vulnerable issue for people, understandably.
I also want to thank all of those who have participated so well with the conduct of this review, in sharing their experiences, telling their stories and, importantly, making their suggestions about how we can make this place a safer workplace for everyone who works here, not just the Members of Parliament and the Senators and indeed our staff, but indeed everyone who works here, including those who are assembled here today.
I also want to thank Brittany Higgins for her courage in speaking up about these issues in relation to the terrible events that led her to make those statements. And, obviously, I have to be careful about what I say about these matters, and you'll understand, given where those matters are currently, so please don't take that as anything other than me seeking to support that proper process. But, more generally, I do thank her for standing up and speaking up, and her voice has been listened to, not just in the actions that we have already taken, but in the report that has been prepared now by Kate Jenkins. And her voice has spoken for many, as this report shows, and the concerns and experiences that they have had in so many occupations working here in this building. So, I thank her for that.
I thank her for the fact that by speaking up the actions already undertaken to establish the Parliamentary Workplace Support Service, which provides that 24-7 support, that was not here when Brittany was dealing with the terrible events that occurred. The Independent Complaints Mechanism that has been established. Both of these following on from the, for the Foster Report, and I thank Stephanie Foster, who has also worked very closely with Kate Jenkins to ensure the work that she has done is dovetailing well into the work that Kate Jenkins is doing. And, of course, the rollout of workplace training that has occurred.
All of these things, already, even before we get to working on the recommendations of this report on a multi-party process, have already made this workplace safer than indeed when Brittany was working here, but not safe enough. Not safe to the standard that all of us who work in this place would expect. As this Parliament and everybody who works here in whatever capacity, this place should be the setter of standards. And that is what I believe this report seeks to achieve. And I thank everybody who has played a role in doing this.
These events have drawn attention to this workplace. And these are not new issues. This report, while dealing specifically in talking to people who work here now, those who have been working in this place for a long time - whether it is you, some of you who joined us here today, indeed, Senator Payne, who's been longer here than either Senator Birmingham or myself - know that these challenges in this work, these deficiencies and appalling behaviour that has taken place here, this is not new to this place, and it is applied to governments, workplaces, past, present, going back over a long period of time. And it's important we understand that, because these sort of cultures don't appear in a short period of time. They've been around a long time, and I'm pleased that our Government, working together with the Opposition and the other parties represented in this Parliament, did come together and respond so quickly to these events and have taken action together, and to do so on a multi-partisan basis, because that's the only way we are going to be able to properly address these issues.
We all share in the ownership of the problems that are set out in this report. But we all share in implementing the solutions as well. And we each have a role to play regardless of what role you have, whether you’re a Prime Minister, a Minister, leaders of parties in this place - which recommendations specifically address - whether you’re senior members of staff, whether in Parliamentary offices or other offices in this building, or indeed you're a member of staff here and working in the many roles that are in this building. We all share in these problems. And we all share in their solutions.
This was initiated by the Government as a multi-party process to fix and address a very, very serious problem - one that we must continue to address in this workplace, as indeed workplaces all over the country must also address.
I also want to thank Kate Jenkins for, especially for her insights into the drivers of this appalling behaviour that people have suffered in this place, and the impacts of that behaviour on people, the power imbalance, the gender imbalance, the lack of accountability for behaviour as well as understanding the challenging and demanding work environment that is in this building.
But I want to stress, just as I think Kate Jenkins does, and I'm sure my colleagues support and people across this building, just because this is a challenging and demanding environment, just because we work under great stress and strain and long hours and deal with issues that are of great import for the future of our nation, that is all true. Similarly, as you deal with deadlines and various pressures in your workplace, stresses in workplaces such as this are real. But this is no excuse whatsoever to normalise inappropriate, unhealthy and unprofessional behaviour. Just because what you do is important and stressful and demanding, can never normalise that behaviour as being somehow, somehow ok. It's not ok. And we all need to understand the drivers here. Of course, we do important things in this place. It's a great privilege to be here and do those things. That should only stress upon us the need for those higher standards, not for lesser.
We have been confronting these impacts. People are living with them. The physical and mental health impacts, the impacts on their careers more broadly, and their well-being. And I thank, again, Kate Jenkins for highlighting those in these report.
The recommendations cover, I think, all the important territory that we must address together. As employees, and I speak now as the Member for Cook, not just as the Prime Minister, but as the Member for Cook, I am an employer. The people in this building who are Members and Senators are employers. And this report reinforces that they are employers. And we all must understand how we can be the best employers we possibly can be, how we hire people, how we support people, how we ensure that they are developed and nurtured in the course of their career and find the work they do here rewarding and positive and and it is a very positive experience for them. That's our responsibilities as employers. And we have a great privilege to hold that position.
So, I'm looking forward to continuing the multi-party process that we have begun and continuing to work together to address all of these issues in good faith. I want to keep people around the table on this. I want to ensure that we engage with each other in good faith. Expect, of course, that we all perform to high standards. That's what we expect from all of our staff and everybody who works here, but respect them as individuals and their aspirations and what their expectations are of a safe workplace.
So, the actions, as a first step, I've asked the Minister for Finance and the Special Minister of State to consult with the Opposition, minor parties and the Independents on a way forward to respond to Commissioner Jenkins’ Review.
Secondly, I’ve instructed my Department to provide every necessary resource and support required by the multi-party approach. This multi-party approach, with the coordinating support of the Department, has already served the Parliament well this year in implementing the significant reforms recommended by the Foster Review, and the success of this approach through the Foster Review has delivered positive outcomes, as I've indicated, for all Parliamentarians and their staff.
Third, the Government will continue the existing supports that we already have in place, the dedicated units to support staff within the Parliamentary Workplace Support Service and the Independent Complaints Mechanism, 24-hour support line, and the continued workplace safety training. These important supports will keep running and adapt as necessary as Parliament responds to these recommendations.
We did not wait to receive this report to take action. We took action through the parallel commissioning of the Foster Report and implementing those recommendations, so we now address these, not from a standing start, but already underway, taking action together to respond to the very serious issues that have been highlighted in this place. These are problems we all own and they’re problems we all have a responsibility together to fix. Marise.
Senator the Hon. Marise Payne, Minister for Women and Minister for Foreign Affairs: Thanks very much, Prime Minister, and let me start by reiterating my thanks to Sex Discrimination Commissioner Kate Jenkins and her team, and commend and welcome the vital work that she has done in this report.
I want to thank the very many contributors to this review, which you will see included, 935 survey responses, 492 interviews, 302 written submissions and 11 focus groups. Let me also acknowledge Brittany Higgins, whose own appalling experience in this building was a catalyst for the report and for the input of so many others who have contributed to Kate Jenkins’ work.
We have already taken some important steps, and the Prime Minister has referred to those, but this report makes very clear that as a Parliament, we have more work to do. One striking observation is that people are rightfully proud to work in the Federal Parliament. They come here because they want to make a difference, as I know we all do in our different roles, and there’s a reference to people's decision to participate in the review. Many participants explained that they decided to engage with the review because they care deeply about the institution, and they want to be part of the process for change. And that's as it should be. It's deeply disappointing that if anyone arrives here inspired, only to become, only to become disillusioned because of the treatment they experience by others. That is terrible for them. It is completely unacceptable and it's not good for the country that they are serving.
So, as the Prime Minister has said, we’ll look at these 28 recommendations very closely and thoughtfully and positively. And I would also make the immediate observation that we, as a Parliament, need to come together to address these issues across parties, across chambers, between elected representatives, between staff, public servants, media, and all others who work in Commonwealth Parliamentary workplaces. We know that the experiences detailed in the report are not unique to Parliamentary workplaces, but as the report affirms, Parliament must have the very best workplace practices.
And, so, making improvements is about doing what is right, about making our Parliamentary workplace better for the future. Parliament rightly values high performance. But with that must come equally high expectations about the way that people are treated. Everyone has a right to feel safe and valued and respected, as they do in all workplaces. And today's report is an important further step towards that goal.
I also want to say today that I know from the many conversations that I have had around this place and more broadly since the beginning of this year, that the release of this report today may have an impact on people inside and outside this place, on Members, on Senators, on staff and on others who work and have worked in this building. Please, if that is a difficulty for you, please seek the support that the Prime Minister has spoken to. Thank you.
Prime Minister: Thank you. Simon.
Senator the Hon. Simon Birmingham, Minister for Finance: Thank you, Prime Minister, thank you, Marise. The Government received this report yesterday, and since our receipt of it the Australian Human Rights Commission and Commissioner Kate Jenkins have provided briefings to the Government and to the Opposition and to other parties and to individuals that the AHRC has identified as key stakeholders with whom it was responsible and appropriate for them to engage.
This is a report that we would wish had not been necessary, but is essential. The release of this report, as the Prime Minister and Marise have indicated, will be distressing for some who are survivors of sexual assault, sexual harassment and bullying. A number of brave individuals are publicly known as survivors. But there are so many more whose names we do not know, but who did come forward to participate in this review. I thank all of those who have engaged so courageously, so openly, in this review, helping to drive change and helping to create a better workplace for those who come through here into the future.
I acknowledge, as the Prime Minister and Marise have, that the release of the report will be a difficult time for many survivors. I urge those in this building and former staffers, former MPs and others who may have been affected, to reach out to the 1800 APH SPT support line, or indeed Australians more broadly who may be impacted by the release of a document such as this to reach out to 1800RESPECT or the other support services that are provided.
This is a landmark document reflecting decades of problems. Some of the findings and many of the stories that are told are distressing and reflect completely unacceptable behaviours. To effect change, there are lessons for all of us to lead, to accept responsibility, to set the example, and Commissioner Jenkins' recommendations reflect those approaches. The report provides a positive roadmap for change in behaviour, culture and practice. The 28 recommendations are rightly focused on delivering a best practice approach to prevention, response and support, as the title suggests, to set the standard.
I thank Commissioner Kate Jenkins and the AHRC for the way in which they've engaged professionally, independently and thoroughly in the development of this report. We will, as the Prime Minister said, respond to this report with the same spirit of cooperation across the Parliament as we brought to commissioning it. When we began this process, I sat down with Opposition, with minor parties, with Independents, with staff, current and former, to engage in relation to the appointment of the Reviewer, to the terms of reference, to the timing of the report. It was this collaborative approach that established the confidence in Commissioner Jenkins and the review. And by adopting the same approach to work with the Opposition, other Parliamentarians and staff, to respond positively and in good faith to all of the recommendations, we can create the best possible chance for success in response to this report.
As, indeed, colleagues have highlighted, everyone comes to this place, to the nation's Parliament, with a pride in their workforce, in their workplace, whether it's as a Member of Parliament, a staffer, a Member of the Fourth Estate, or indeed the many others who support the functioning of this, our nation's Parliament, they have pride in coming here. They should have pride in their work, regardless of their political views, regardless of the role they play, and they should leave this place with pride as well, whenever that time comes. That's the type of positive environment that we all seek to achieve, and we'll be working through these reports to do so.
Journalist: Prime Minister, Prime Minister, this is a pretty damning report. It talks about a trail of devastation for individuals, and I'll read a quote from the report: ‘It is a man's world and you are reminded of it every day thanks to the looks up and down you get, to the representation in the Parliamentary chambers, to the preferential treatment politicians give senior male journalists.’ You've spoken about how long this culture has existed. Will it equally take as long to change? And you've all mentioned Brittany Higgins. Have any of you reached out to her since she was briefed on the contents of the report yesterday?
Prime Minister: Well, first of all, we all have a role to play in answering that question, because the culture of this place goes to every single person who works here. I certainly hope it will, it will not take that length of time. And I undertake to do everything within my power, both as a Member of this place and as the Leader of the Government and the leader of the Federal Parliamentary Liberal Party, to ensure that we do everything we can to ensure that is not the case going forward. As I indicated, even with the actions we've already taken, and I acknowledge there is a very long way to go, but even the actions already taken over the course of this year have made this a safer place than it was at the start of this year. And I think that's a good thing. This Government has taken actions on this issue like no other government has prior, and that has been led by the events that took us to this place, and rightly has taken us to this place.
Now, in relation to specific individuals and their briefing of the report, we have been taking advice on how this should be appropriately handled. As I've always had the view, I’m always happy to meet with people on these issues should they wish to, but I don't presume upon that. And that's why the briefings have been provided through the Human Rights Commission to Brittany and a number of others, as I understand it, and we stand ready to, to work with anyone on this issue as we go forward. But the appropriate actions we've taken and how we're handling this report is we've been following the advice we've been receiving from the Commission and how it's released, we’ve ensured that people have been briefed on this report. Should they wish to have further discussions, certainly with me or my Ministers, then I'm sure they would only be too happy to do so.
Journalist: Prime Minister, the report found that 51 per cent of MOPS Act employees experienced or reported bullying, sexual harassment or sexual assault. What do you plan to do about the MOPS Act? And this is something that Brittany Higgins did ask when she met with you. You said it was her right to ask, your right to consider. Do you regret dismissing her at that time? And has this opened your eyes?
Prime Minister: Well, I didn’t. Well, no, I did not dismiss it because these matters were being considered by by Commissioner Jenkins in this very report, and Commissioner Jenkins has made recommendations in relation to that. And, and we look forward to now making our response to those recommendations. So at, no, I don't accept that, that it was dismissed. I acknowledge that it was raised and it was being raised through the very process that I had established. And, so, I wished for Commissioner Jenkins to complete their work, which she now has, which enables us now to address those issues. As I said before, I think the recommendations cover the, all the right territory, all the right territory. It's important that staff in this place have security of their employment in the way that other, other staff in other places have, and that puts an obligation on employers to ensure that they're employing well, making good decisions when they hire, because if you make a good decision when you hire, then you never find yourself in that situation where you can be in areas of conflict with maybe a member of staff. Much better to have a happy and positive workplace where people are valued and you're bringing people into the team who, who are well suited. And that's that's what I've always tried to do as an employer, both in this building and outside of this building. And I think that's the appropriate way to go forward. But, no, I want to be clear, I have never opposed the MOPS Act being looked at. I wanted that to be addressed as part of the more broader enquiry that Commissioner Jenkins was undertaking. Yeah, Kath.
Journalist: Prime Minister, two things. One of the recommendations from Commissioner Jenkins is for targets to achieve gender balance amongst Parliamentarians. In the first instance, do you commit to that? And, also, I'm a bit confused about how the Parliament polices that, given those are decisions that have been made by the major parties in terms of affirmative action and and other policies. The other thing, if I may, maybe I'm confused because we've only just got this report, but there are two bodies here. There's an Office of Parliamentary Staffing and Culture, and there's an Independent Parliamentary Standards Commission. Which one of those is the independent human resources department, because I think it's the latter, not the former, and will that operate as a genuinely independent human resources department, i.e. removed from from principles such as yourself in terms of decisions about hirings, firings, complaints, etcetera?
Prime Minister: Well, I think the principle that you've set out and indeed I think Kate Jenkins has highlighted is one that we've already sought to put in place with the independent complaints process and what Deputy Secretary Foster has put in place. I think quite wisely, which separates out these important issues so staff members can have greater confidence. One of the distressing elements of this report is the confirmation of that with those who have had terrible experiences of this terrible behaviour that they haven't felt they can bring these forward. And so that independence complaints process with we have already acted upon, set up that process, I think, to make that a, a safer way for people to be able to raise these issues. Now, I want to stress that the take forward of these recommendations is not just a matter for the government. This is a report to a multi panel process and it is for all, all parties. This isn't a report into the government. This is a report into all parliament, but all parliamentary parties, Liberal, Labor, Nationals, Greens. It deals with behaviour over a long period of time, and so it is up to all of the parties that make up this parliament. It doesn't single any parliament or any government out, for that matter. And I think that is understood. But it is for us together to take that forward, and it is not for the government to be obviously taking a position from where we are, but we want to work with everyone else to get this done. I'll let Simon speak specifically to those other two issues.
But on the issue of targets, the report makes recommendations to party leaders, and the Liberal Party has targets on these, particularly, the Liberal Party has targets on them and we do in our division in New South Wales. My cabinet has a third, which are women, which is the highest female representation in a federal cabinet in Australia's history. And I'm incredibly encouraged as I've been able to get out and about from this building, more recently, to be joining female after female Liberal Party candidate in the seats we are seeking to secure at this election, and I'm pleased to see that there have been many more women coming forward. And that's great. I welcome it. It's something I've been working on, as Marise knows, in our own Division for a very long period of time, and I am pleased to say that as Prime Minister, I've appointed more women to my cabinet than any of my predecessors ever in the history of the Federation. And I intend to continue that practice. Simon.
Senator the Hon. Simon Birmingham, Minister for Finance: Thanks PM. Katherine, in relation to the two different entities recommended by Commissioner Jenkins and the Office of Parliamentarians, Staffing and Culture is proposed to essentially operate as a human resources function to take on many of the current functions and responsibilities of the Department of Finance. In that regard, to report and be responsible to the Parliament, rather than to the executive wing of government, and to essentially oversee the operation of the MOPS Act, which is recommended for some particular changes, as well as broader review, under Commissioner Jenkins's recommendations. The Independent Parliamentary Standards Commission is proposed to be the oversight mechanism to to handle consistent responses and independent investigation in relation to complaints, bullying, sexual harassment, sexual assault and other misconduct practises. You will note the recommendations propose a code of conduct be applied as well. This independent commission in that regard would, would obviously take up some of the functions and build upon the work that we've done this year in establishing the parliamentary support services that has established for the first time, independent again of the executive wing of government, a complaints mechanism through the parliament at the centre there and this would build upon that.
Journalist: Prime Minister, one of the things the report identifies consistently is a lack of accountability, even if people do come forward with a complaint. Given what you've just said that you're trying to give people confidence to come forward with this independent complaints mechanism, what confidence can they have that whatever they complain about, they'll get a result, they'll get some kind of accountability? And would you see it as a failing of the government's response to this report, if within a certain amount of time, we are still hearing accounts of people coming forward and not feeling that they got the accountability they were looking for?
Prime Minister: Well, this is, I think, a challenge that will continue on just as it is in workplaces all around this country. And I think workplaces all around this country are striving to ensure that their processes, just like we are striving to here, what we've put in place this year to continually improve this. And that's what my expectation is that we will continue to do better. The independent complaints process isn't just about making an independent complaint, it is also about a process which has the matter raised properly and addressed and for ultimately even for members, for matters to be referred off to privileges at the end of the day. Now, obviously, members of Parliament at the end of the day are hired by their, by their constituencies. But when it comes to other members of staff in this place of which these issues are raised against, from time to time, then that independent complaints mechanism does address those issues of accountability, and I think that's very important. That's why I commended Commissioner Jenkins on the work she did in identifying the drivers behind this and that process, I think, is very important. It's the same process that sits behind the ministerial standards as well when it relates to conduct. I'm going to come here and then over here and then back there.
Journalist: Prime Minister you’ve noted the propensity of people not to come forward with their [inaudible]. I wonder, firstly, how surprised you were, shocked you were at the statistics in here, one in three people who currently work in the building experiencing sexual harassment, more than three quarters of people knowing about bullying or sexual harassment. So how do you feel about that? And aside from changes to the workplace culture and the employment arrangements, do you think there's a need to actually change the way politics is practised that the actual cut and thrust of politics is creating an atmosphere that allows this to continue? What do you do about that?
Prime Minister: Well, on the first point, like anyone who works in this building, I find the statistics that are presented, they're of course, appalling and disturbing. I wish I found them more surprising. But I find them just as appalling. And that's why the actions I think that are recommended do cover all the territory that enable us to take us forward. And what I've seen in there has only reinforced my view about the actions that we've already taken. And we want I mean, what, what Kate has also recommended here is not just the accountabilities that are necessary for employers in this building, but supports and resources for employers to be better employers. And that is a practise that, that employers are getting support from right across the country, in the private sector and the public sector. And I think that's a good thing. And the report notes that the third figure that you mentioned is similar to figures that we've seen in other workplaces. Now that doesn't excuse it by any sense of the imagination. That's not my suggestion. It's simply to say that we're dealing with issues here that are quite specific to this building. In particular, that idea I was talking about before that just because we sit here and deal with national matters of state that in no way condones behaviour of that nature ever under any circumstances. I don’t care what your job is or what you think your responsibilities are. Nothing justifies that. I always take the approach, particularly when I deal with my own team, but also the members of the public service who I deeply respect in this place, you've heard me say expect and respect. That's, I think, the right way to approach the engagement in this place with the work that we do. So it is a challenge I think all workplaces are dealing with. But I want, as my colleagues do, and I have no doubt the leaders of the other parties in this place do want this building to be a standard setter. And that's what I would hope this report would spur us on to. Oh, sorry. On the other matter?
Journalist: Do you need to change the way you engage with each other in the day to day?
Prime Minister: Well, look, I think we all have a role to play in that, don't you? There is great interest in the conflict of this place, and that is something that many of you write about constantly. And on occasions, perhaps seek to encourage, perhaps. That's been the nature of politics, not just in this place, but many parliamentary democracies and we're an advanced democracy. But we're all accountable for how we engage in the affairs of politics and how, how we report them and the environment in which we seek to communicate.
Journalist: Only 11 per cent of people who experienced sexual harassment reported it. How does it make you feel that the culture under, only 11 per cent of people who experienced sexual harassment reported it? How does it make you feel that the culture under your watch as prime minister has fostered that environment. And out of this process, how is there going to be any justice for victims?
Prime Minister: Well, I of course, on 11 per cent again when you see the report of sexual abuse in the community as well as here, of course, that is something that concerns me and I would want these these cases of abuse and sexual assault and of course, reported and not just through the process we have here, but to proper authorities as well because we're talking about criminal behaviour here. And ultimately, that's the place where this must be addressed most urgently. And I'd say you ask about my watch. Well, under my watch, we've introduced the independent complaints process. We've introduced the support service and rolled out the workforce training. We've introduced the 24 hour counselling support line and we initiated this multi-party process to deal with this issue like no government ever has before. So that tells you how seriously I take this. When these issues arose earlier this year, they were deeply distressing, profoundly distressing, and we have not hesitated in taking all possible actions that we could to make this a safer place.
Journalist: [Inaudible], how are you going to ensure there's going to be justice for any of the victims?
Prime Minister: Well, we will continue to support the work of the Australian Federal Police and the courts as the states and territories do, and this is a challenge not just for us, but all levels of government. And you know, of course, we want to see offenders brought to justice that is done through our justice process and you won't find a stronger supporter of Australia's justice system than me.
Journalist: A number of recommendations call for things to be done within a year or even less than that in just in terms of the timing. Some of this is going to require legislative change. There's not much parliament in the first part of next year, just before there's going to be a caretaker period. Will you ensure that this is all set up? Will you guarantee that this is set up within the proposed timeframes. And just on the training that you mentioned that you've already implemented, will that continue after the election for all employees, whether they're new or ongoing?
Prime Minister: Well, I answered the last question, yes, of course, we will continue with all the measures that we've already put in place and enthusiastically and I have engaged in that training and I must admit, I found it very useful and very helpful. And I commend those who, who are delivering it. And I've had similar feedback from colleagues, and I think that's, that's very positive. In relation to the implementation of the report, I want to stress this is a multi-party process. This is just not a response of the Liberal Party or the National Party or indeed the government. This is a joint project because we have a joint problem when it comes to these issues of bullying and abuse and sexual harassment. It is a problem in this building of all parties. It is a problem of the Labor Party, the Liberal Party, the National Party, the Greens Party. All the parties that are represented here have been here a long time know that we all have a problem that we all have to own and we all have to deal with. And I hope that we can deal with this in the most multi-partisan, good faith way that we possibly can, and that we, that will enable us to move as we can on, on what is set out here. And I don't want to prejudice that approach because I want to engage with everybody around the table in good faith to make sure that we can make that progress. I don't want to see this fall into camps. I don't want to see this fall into, into any sort of partisan approach. I want us to stay around the table and get it done.
Journalist: On another on another matter, if I may. There's five joint sitting days, between now, well sorry in the new year before a potential May election. That's not a lot of time to pass the Religious Discrimination Bill or the Federal Integrity Commission. Are you prepared to go to the election having broken those election promises? And what explanation will you give to people if that indeed is the case?
Prime Minister: Well, well, we, I don't accept the characterisation of either of those issues. We have a Religious Discrimination Bill. I have introduced it. I have set it out and we're seeking to take that through the Parliament. We have developed a model for an integrity commission. We have allocated funding for it. We have a 349 page set of legislation to do that. And we have said very plainly that we would like to take this through on a, on a bipartisan basis. And our model is not supported by the Labor Party, who have a two page proposal. We have 349 pages of detailed legislation. So, but I might take us back to the issues of the day.
Journalist: I'm just interested in hearing you speak directly to people who might feel hesitant, despite all the measures already enumerated about what's going to happen to strengthen the process. What do you say to them if they're concerned or hesitant, lacking confidence in the system? What do you say to the power dynamics that might be holding them back from doing that?
Prime Minister: We're hearing you. I think what you've seen today and the actions that we've taken is we're hearing you and we're taking the steps that are necessary to hopefully give you the confidence to be able to raise these issues and to speak of your experiences and to engage in the process that has been set up. No processes are perfect. I think people understand that. But I would hope that it was understood that behind these changes are a serious and good faith intent to enable those voices to be heard, for issues to be raised, for issues to be properly dealt with in a proper process. These are matters that I can't imagine a more sensitive issue. I can't imagine a more difficult issue, for any human being to be able to raise these issues, and we have to provide the safest way for that to occur and to ensure that that can be handled properly. So my simple message is we're hearing you and we're seeking to set up the processes that enable your voice to be heard in the matter to be dealt with.
Journalist: [Inaudible] commit to legislating the positive duty on employers, that was a key recommendation in Kate Jenkins' Respect at Work report?
Prime Minister: We've already given our response to the Respect at Work report and that's set out in my earlier statements.
Journalist: You said several times that this is this occurs in many workplaces. Do you acknowledge, though, that the problem's been, and you've said this over some months, do you acknowledge the problems perhaps been worse in parliament without a stronger HR department set up as corporate life and without consequence? And secondly, as much consequence, perhaps in corporate life? And secondly, on Omicron, the measure that you took. Given the border is already open, why do that pause? Isn't it, you know, you've either got to go one way or the other?
Prime Minister: Well, on the first point you make and I have I have consistently indicated that in this building, in this place, often by the nature of the fact that we have elected members of Parliament and who who are here as employers and and what sits around their employment in this place obviously presents unique challenges to how these issues are managed in this workplace, that is real, this is a unique workplace for many other reasons that all of us understand as well. But as I said that doesn't provide an excuse for unprofessional and other inappropriate and unhealthy and unlawful behaviour. And so, you know, we have our specific challenges to address here. And I think the independence of these HR functions is an important one. The independence of the complaints process, the independence of providing counselling support and the anonymity of that process, I think is incredibly important. The support that is needed to be provided to employers is really, is really challenging. I mean, people who come to this place don't always come having worked in a large organisation with large amounts of human resource experience, they don't come with that. We brought people into this parliament from every walk of life and particularly in our parties, that is certainly the case from all walks of life. And then they are here and they are an employer and they have responsibilities as employers. And when I was sharing with colleagues this morning, that's why I spoke of. We are employers. We have to be good employers. We have to ensure that we've got all the right supports to be good employers. And that's how we can make, as employers, this workplace safer. And the same obviously goes for others who work in this building, ensuring that their workplaces are appropriate. They exist with different corporate structures. You, yourself and others who are here. You work at part of large organisations which have many of the supports in your organisations, but for members of parliament and their staff, it is quite different.
Now on Omicron, let me say this. This is a prudent and temporary pause. We don't know enough yet about it. And the advice that I receive at the National Security Committee of Cabinet for COVID, in which my colleagues joined me on last night, was that this temporary pause will provide the opportunity to understand and learn more about this. It is not a reason to step back. It is just a reason for momentarily that we pause and we seek further information before taking that next step. And that next step is obviously skilled migration students coming, as well as those on a working holiday makers, and the humanitarian programme. We will continue, obviously in areas where we already have exceptions like under the Afghan programme and so on. But that said, this is just about a proven and temporary pause. It is our hope, hopefully our expectation that with Omicron that this will prove to be a more moderate form of the virus. And if that is the case, then we can continue to press forward because what we are keen to do is that we remain safely open and we do not want to take a decision about the next step until, with further information, we know that that, we're not going back to lockdowns. None of us want that. None of us want to go back to those, those long quarantines and all of those sorts of issues. And the way you protect against that, what we did last night was protecting against that by having a sensible pause and to keep proceeding with where we are now and to further assess that information so we can move forward with confidence. Move forward into Christmas with confidence. Look forward to everybody coming together for Christmas and New Year's. And in the summer holidays, Australians are continuing to return from overseas. That hasn't changed. Australians can still leave, although I would urge you, as I'm sure the Minister of Foreign Affairs would, be carefully considering the smart traveller advice and to do all of that. But it is a temporary and cautious pause.
Journalist: On state borders, would you be telling, would you be telling the premiers at national cabinet this afternoon to hold their nerves and stick to their reopening plan so that the internal borders will open by Christmas?
Prime Minister: Yes.
Journalist: Prime Minister, the New South Wales Premier seems to be ignoring this cautious pause, because he's saying that up to 250 international students will arrive in Sydney next week.
Prime Minister: Yeah, that is a separate matter. Because that is a pilot programme that was already in place. We are not ceasing things we were already doing. All we're ceasing was the next step. The pilot programmes we had and I discussed this with the Premier yesterday. So that is entirely consistent. It's entirely consistent because it was already a measure that had been taken and it is under very controlled circumstances and it is part of that process. What we have done is not taken the [inaudible]. We are just delaying, postponing temporarily for two weeks. And indeed, if the information allows us to bring that forward again. Great, tremendous. Because in Australia, we're moving forward. We're not going back when it comes to this virus. We are going to keep moving forward into Christmas and into 2022, and we're going to open safely and we're going to stay safely open.
Journalist: Would it be legitimate, there's a couple of premiers such as South Australia who are getting a bit of pressure from the local AMA to follow your example and take a pause on the state border with Victoria, New South Wales. Would that be acceptable [inaudible].
Prime Minister: Think of the situation, I mean, many of the states are in different places because they have different experiences of the virus currently. So they're going to have to consider those issues based on the experiences in their own states. And I think that that is reasonable. The point we have made and in my discussions, particularly with the two premiers who have moved already onto removing the 14 day quarantine, is that as I understand it, remaining of the 72 hour arrangement, one of the things we did on Saturday is as as the Minister for Foreign Affairs will know is that we took action to back in the requirements for the PCR testing on arrival. And over that over that early period. Now this is incredibly important. If you don't do that, then you are having an offence both on your entry into Australia, re-entry into Australia, as well as under the public health orders in those states. So you must get those PCR tests for your own sake and for the health and safety of others. And what we want to do is for governments not to be surging forward once again into people's lives, but ensuring that governments are able to step back so Australians can step forward both into Christmas and into the New Year. That is our intention. That is the purpose of the national plan. We need to make calm decisions, not get spooked by this. I can assure you that the Commonwealth is not. I don't believe states are from the conversations I've had with them. The purpose of this afternoon's meeting is to ensure that we're all on the same page about what this Omicron variant is, what its risks are, what its risks are not, and the actions the government is taking federally and as announced, as well as actions that states may then take. What is important is we have a whole of population booster programme, whole of population. Ample vaccines to do that. As you know, we have sought advice about whether the time period for the booster shot should be brought forward. The Health Minister made that clear in the last few days based on conversations we had, and we will take the advice on that issue just as we're waiting for the advice on vaccinations for children aged 5 to 11, which haven't occurred yet. We don't know that yet, but when we will, we're ready to go.
Journalist: [Inaudible] the Jenkins report that one hour training, was that one hour? And will you be, in light of this report, expanding that to something more substantial?
Prime Minister: Well, I'm happy to take advice on those issues and and learn from what the first round of the training has been and the feedback that has been provided to those who have been undertaking the training. And my experience of it was it was a constructive and a positive one, and I'm sure it was for many others. And that provided feedback and the roll out of training will continue under our government. I think it's incredibly important because it helps employers be better employers.
Journalist: Is one hour enough, given one in three staff has experienced sexual harassment?
Prime Minister: Well, I found it helpful. But if the advice is that there are improvements in the way that this can be delivered, then why wouldn't we support it? We've certainly supported it without hesitation, as it was first recommended to us, and I see no reason why we wouldn't continue to do that and make sure it's an effective tool for people who work in this place. But with that, Parliament awaits. Thank you all very much.
Press Conference - Canberra, ACT
28 November 2021
Senator the Hon. Zed Seselja, Minister for International Development and the Pacific: Well, welcome to Tuggeranong. It is great to have you down here. Great to have the Prime Minister. Great to have Michaelia Cash and Tarni here with us as well. And in a minute I'll handover to Prime Minister. But as someone who went to school just over there, St Thomas the Apostle, it's great to have the PM down in this part of the valley. Daisy met the PM a minute ago and she said, I can't believe the Prime Minister is down here in Kambah and I think that is fantastic. It is great to be out in the burbs. It's great to see sport happening again. Weather permitting, we will see it continue and but it's great to have the Prime Minister down here for a really important announcement. I'll hand over to him.
Prime Minister: Thanks, it's great to be here with you Zed. And Tarni, it is great to be here with you, but I think the kids are even more excited about you being here and the great example you’ve been to them and to have the Attorney here as well for what is a very important announcement. I'm pleased that Jenny and Abbey have also joined me today because it is a very important issue for all Australians, but particularly for families, particularly for the young girls, for women. And I want to come to that in just one second.
Obviously, the very serious issues regarding the new variant that we've had with COVID has been moving quickly. And I'll say a little bit more about that later in relation to questions as you'd like to raise them. But we took strong action yesterday. I had very good discussions yesterday with the premiers, both in New South Wales and Victoria and fully support the actions that they're taking, as we discussed them yesterday. This is a fast moving issue, but we will continue, as we always have, sensible, balanced, guided by the best possible medical evidence and medical expert advice. That is what has enabled Australia to be so successful through the course of COVID, to open safely and to remain safely open.
Also, we continue to have ongoing operations in the Solomon Islands, which we are taking regular briefings on and meeting about very regularly. And that will continue, of course, today and happy to take questions on those matters and others as well.
The reason we're here today is I want to ensure that Australians are safe online. Our government has done an enormous amount to keep Australians safe. But one of the areas where we've really led the world is by ensuring that Australians can be safe online. The E-Safety Commissioner, the Online Safety Act, the work we've done to increase powers to ensure that social media platforms and the internet is not used as a weapon by terrorists. All of this has been world leading. We've taken it to the big forums of the world, the G20, and enlisted their support. And indeed, we are now continuing to enlist their support and what is necessary to keep our online world safe, safe for our kids, safe for our families, safe for our friends and our community. The online world provides many great opportunities, but it comes with some real risks and we must address these or it will continue to have a very harmful and corrosive impact on our society, on our community. Our government has been taking action on this. We've been standing up and stepping up when it comes to the actions of the big digital media platforms, getting them to pay their tax, making sure they respect and support the freedom of our press. But most importantly, making sure that the rules that exist in the real world must exist in the digital and online world. The online world shouldn't be a wild west where bots and bigots and trolls and others can just anonymously go around and harm people and hurt people, harass them and bully them and sledge them. That's not Australia. That's not what can happen in the real world, and there's no case for it to be able to be happening in the digital world.
Australia wants to be, and we are fast on the way to becoming one of the world's leading digital economies. But for that to be true, the digital world has to be safe. As a parent talking to other parents, I can tell you the thing that concerns us is that our kids are dealing with an online world which we never knew as kids growing up and that we never had experience of. More recent generations have had some experience of that. But I think about our kids going through this today. I think, particularly how the online world is used to harass women in particular, they are one of the biggest victims, when it comes to the terrible things that we see in the online world. Our government is stepping up and standing up to those we need to stand up to. There is no place for people to be anonymously going round and undertaking this horrific abuse and harassment and stalking online. And so that's why our government has taken an important decision to be introducing legislation in addition to all the other legislation we have already introduced and is coming into effect and it will do a number of things and I'll allow the Attorney to go into more detail. But digital platforms, these online companies, must have proper processes to enable the takedown of this content. There needs to be an easy and quick and fast way for people to raise these issues with these platforms and get it taken down. They have that responsibility. They've created this world, they've created this space and they need to make it safe. And if they won't, we will make them with laws such as this, and I will campaign for these all around the world, as I've done on so many other occasions, with Australia taking the lead. We simply want them to make it a safe place because they will need those simple procedures.
Secondly, it's important that we understand that they are the publishers at the end of the day, just like the media is here today, who represent the traditional media. Papers that are published, news bulletins that are broadcast. We all know who's putting that to air and who's putting the ink on the paper, and they're responsible and they're accountable for what is published in those mediums. So too, should it be for these digital online companies that allow these things to be aired and published on their platforms and where people do not identify themselves or the digital companies provide a shield, a digital shield to trolls and bots and bullies and bigots, well, we will hold them accountable for the statements that are made, and they will be liable for what is said. In a free society such as Australia, where we value our free speech, it is only free when that is balanced with the responsibility for what you say. Free speech is not being allowed to cowardly hide in your basement and sledge and slur and harass people anonymously and seek to destroy their lives. That's not freedom. That's cowardice. And there's no place for that in this country.
In this country, we value freedom of speech, and freedom of speech means you take responsibility for what you say. You take responsibility for the statements that are made and that's how a free society works. Now, of course, there will be protections for vulnerable and others, and the Attorney will speak to those. But the actions we are taking today is making sure that people are responsible for what they say and do and where the digital companies provide a digital shield to those who would seek to engage in that behaviour, then they are on the hook and we will be coming after them. Now, just to show you how serious we are about this, the Attorney will be taking a close interest. And yes, we will be looking for test cases and test cases that could reinforce these laws. So if the digital companies or others think they can can think they're only just going to have to at the end of the day, be dealing with perhaps someone of little means seeking to pursue this, then we will look for those cases where we will back them and we will back them in the courts and we will take them on. We'll take them on in the parliament and we'll take them on in the courts because I want to ensure our kids are safe. I want to ensure that women are safe. This is an issue that I know is talked about in almost, if not every family in the country. We are all concerned about the impact that social media is having on our families, on our communities, on our society, and we're taking action, world leading action to make sure we can change that. And so we can protect Australians. We can protect our kids. And in particular, we can protect women who are just so often the victims of these terrible events. And I'll ask the Attorney to speak to this further.
Senator the Hon. Michaelia Cash, Attorney-General: Thank you very much, Prime Minister. And it really is fabulous to be here today at Kambah playing Fields Number One, with my good friend Zed Seselja, the Prime Minister of Australia, and of course, the fantastic Tarni, who will address us shortly. As I look around the playing fields today and I watch all of these young kids and their parents out there, we do everything we can as a government and as a society to make sure that in the physical world in which we all live, and in particular in which these children live, they are safe. We need to, and we have been as a government taking steps to ensure that the online world in which these children, that is now their reality, they will live going forward is also a safe space. And that is why I'm very pleased to be here today to announce that the government is going to take further steps to protect Australians, in particular young Australians, online, because that's what we all deserve. We interact in that online world; we deserve to be safe in the online world.
And that is why we will be introducing legislation, the social media anti-trolling legislation. It will specifically do two things. The first, of course, is an issue that so many journalists have raised with me. It is the impact of the High Court decision in the Fairfax Media and Voller case. The journalists here would be very familiar with the outcome of that decision because what the High Court has said is that a social media user, not the social media company itself, a social media user who has a Facebook page, can now be held liable as the publisher of comments made by a third party on that social media page, even if that particular social media page owner did not know about those third party comments or worse was unable to do anything about them. That has actually thrown a lot of confusion in relation to who actually is a publisher of online third party comments and in particular, defamatory comments that cause so much harm. This has also caused a lot of concern, in particular for small business people ,their mum and dads out there, and small business people, the local plumber here in Canberra, who utilises a social media service such as Facebook, has a Facebook page to advertise what they're doing for you. They can now potentially be held liable as the publisher for derogatory, defamatory comments made by a third party on their Facebook page. So what the Morrison Government is going to do is we are going to bring clarity to the law. We will therefore introduce the legislation to deem the social media service will be a publisher for the purposes of this. We will also, in the legislation, deem that the social media page user, in other words, the small business in Canberra, the journalist represented here today, mum and dads around Australia, you will be deemed not to be the publisher. We need to ensure that Australians have certainty in relation to who is the publisher for these third party comments. Social media services, they need to step up and they need to understand that they have a responsibility in this regard. And that is why this important step providing clarity to all Australians, but in particular to social media companies, you will be deemed a publisher.
But at the same time, as the Prime Minister said, we need to take steps to ensure that Australians are safe online. People have just had enough of third party online trolls putting potentially defamatory comments online that then can cause harm to people. So this legislation is going to empower Australians to unmask these trolls. You should not be able to use the cloak of online anonymity to spread your vile, defamatory comments. And so what we will do is we will ensure that social media companies in Australia, they will be required to have a nominated entity here in Australia. They will be able to get a defence from being the publisher if they have in place a complaints procedure, as set out in the legislation. The complainant asks them to activate the complaints procedure and as a result of going through the complaints procedure, they are able to provide the complainant with the details of the online troll. In other words, unmask them with either their email address, their mobile phone number or other relevant details to enable that person to take a defamation action against them. In the event that they are unable to do this, they will not get the defence.
We will also, however, put in place another mechanism for people who are subject to defamatory comments, to be able to utilise. They will be able to apply to the Federal Court of Australia for an end user information disclosure order. In other words, they'll be able to go to the Federal Court and say, I believe I have been defamed and I am unable to take this action any further because this person is at this point in time, anonymous. The Court will therefore be able to issue to the social media service an order that they provide the complainant with the details to unmask the troll so that the complainant is able to take action against them. At the same time, the social media company, they will need to notify the online troll that there has been a complaint against them. They will need to ask the online troll to take down the material. In many cases, this will actually be the end of the matter. The online troll will take down the material and the complainant will be satisfied. In the event that the complainant is not satisfied, they can say to the social media company, I now need the details of this person so I can commence an action against them. The social media company, therefore needs to go to this person and with their consent, provide their details to the complainant. In the event that they are unable to do this, they will be unable to access the defence, and that is why we are also putting in place the court process, the end user identification disclosure order.
As the Prime Minister said though, when it comes to defamation law in the online world. This is just an unsettled area of law. So in the first instance, the Morrison Government will provide clarity in relation to who is the publisher following the Voller decision, and that will be deemed to be the social media company. But at the same time, we are going to ensure that in cases that raise areas of law that do need to be settled, the Attorney-General of Australia will be given the ability to intervene in the proceedings to ensure that the views of the average Australian are actually represented in the court when they're taking on a social media company. This is just all about ensuring that what happens in the physical world, we know what the consequences of our actions are, are also now ensuring that they happen in the online world. Everybody deserves to be safe online, and today the Morrison Government is making this incredibly important announcement that just builds on all of the work that we have already done in the cyber space to ensure that all Australians, I look around today, in particular these young children, if you are online, you're in a safe environment.
Prime Minister: Tarni?
Ms Tarni Evans: As an AFLW player, I think you become aware of this online issue and bullying online has been quite horrible. In every form, I think it shouldn't be tolerated. As I've seen from a few team-mates and different girls in our league, I think it's important that this issue gets, gets dealt with as soon as possible, and it's been nice to hear that this is coming through and that online bullying will be sorted.
Prime Minister: Thanks. Thank you very much. Well, thank you very much. Happy to take some questions. We might, I know there's a lot of topics today, so I'll hand it over to you guys.
Journalist: Prime Minister, the Attorney mentioned the relevant details social media companies will have to collect. I imagine you mentioned email addresses, mobile phone numbers, what other details will they have to collect? Driver's licence, passports, those sorts of personal details?
Prime Minister: The point here is we want the social media companies to fix this. They have the wit, they have the technology, they have the innovation. They've built this world and what they have to be able to do is ensure that when someone comes and says 'who said this', that they have an ability to be able to respond to that question and say it was them. So that's up to them. Now, I think they have the ability to do this. I mean, digital identities, these sorts of things, it's evolving. But these companies have to take responsibility for it. It's a shame we actually have to do this. You know, they're very good at using their algorithms to drive revenue. I'd like them to use their algorithms to drive safety and to apply their wit and their incredible talent to actually making the online world safe. So I think they have the wit and the ability to address those issues in a way that is fair to their customers. But at the same time ensures that, that there is no shield of anonymity, except in quite extreme circumstances where the Bill that now goes out consultation. And I want to see it come in and when we come back to Parliament next year and I'm sure it'll be able to move quickly through the parliament, I expect to get strong support for this.
Journalist: But then if you're an online troll, you could easily ignore a phone call and emails and something like that. What stronger ...
Prime Minister: If the online company can't tell us who it is, then they are liable. They are responsible, they are in the sights. So I can tell you it is in the social media company's interests to make sure that they have a very voracious way of ensuring that they can actually tell people who this is. Otherwise, they're the ones who are going to get the the case brought against them.
Journalist: Would you be comfortable if Facebook, Twitter, have a large database of every Australian's driver's licence?
Prime Minister: What I'm not comfortable is social media companies allowing online anonymous abuse of women and girls. That's what I'm not comfortable with. I'm not comfortable with that at all. As a father, as a parent, as a member of the community, as a Member for Cook and as a Prime Minister, I'm not comfortable that social media companies provide a shield to trolls and they've turned it, in many cases, into a cowards’ palace. I'm not okay with it. And I don't believe Australians are okay with it.
Journalist: How would you prevent them using a vexatious way? So there are some circumstances in which Chris to be anonymous because they are whistleblower. So could a company that's been targeted by whistle blower use this mechanism to get these whistle blowers identity by claiming defamation, even though perhaps there is none?
Prime Minister: No, there are protections against that in Bill. And we're conscious of that, that there are circumstances that exist like this and those protections are afforded in the Bill as you'd expect them to. See, this is another balanced, sensible bill. We have thought carefully through these issues. The Voller case has, of course, created an even, we've already had, I've got to tell you an incredibly high sense of urgency. You've heard me on this matter many times and you've seen what our government has done on these issues many, many times. And so we will just keep, I can tell, you and I'm not done yet. If this isn't enough, I will do more. I will go further. We will consider whether we create public defender potential opportunities there for people. If the social media companies don't get this right. So my simple request is get it right, get it safe. But do it now.
Journalist: So you are talking about the Commonwealth intervening in cases, is there a possibility that you will set up a public defender's office and intervene in every single case?
Prime Minister: That's not the proposal now, but I can tell you it has been under consideration and it remains under consideration. I want to do this in a measured and sensible and balanced way. I want the social media companies to use their resources, their skills, their abilities to make the online world safe. Now we expect that of every product manufacturer in the country, I expect that of these companies and I won't be just focusing on ensuring that it happens here in Australia. The Deputy Prime Minister is heading off next week. He'll be in the United States and other places and he'll be having these discussions. I know he already has. I had discussions with President Widodo about this. Every leader I speak to about this issue talks about the same problems in their country. It doesn't matter whether it's a developing country like Indonesia or an advanced economy like in Europe. Social media is eroding our society. If we don't ensure that the rules in the real world apply in the digital world, this will keep happening. And Australia has stepped up and is stepping up.
Journalist: In terms of damages. What would you be thinking, because of course, these are multi-trillion dollar exercises, so this is a small amount of money for them. If they were racking up case after case and just playing out, would you be prepared to go further, would you shut the entity down?
Prime Minister: I'm prepared to ensure that we do everything we can to make the digital world safe, Chris. And I think I've demonstrated that, year after year, month after month. We've sought to do this step by step and we've, we've been turning up the heat on the digital media companies now for many, for many years. And guess what? They're responding. They are responding. And media companies know that probably better than anyone because of what we did to ensure that they paid properly for journalistic content produced in Australia, which has saved, frankly, quite a few media companies in this country. But whether it's that or paying tax or stopping terrorists who use their platforms. But I've got to tell you, as a parent, the thing that worries me most is that we all know that that little phone or that iPad that they have, which they're looking at, maybe in the car or on the bus, on the way to school or on the train, or maybe in their room at night, and what can come back at our children and women who are vulnerable, this really disturbs me. It really concerns me, and we're going to do everything we can to ensure that we prevent this as much as we possibly can in a free society.
Journalist: With billions of users using these platforms, I assume it's not going to be retroactive, retrospective. You can't go back, and make all these people provide their details, so they're still going to be able to see that?
Prime Minister: They better move quick then because I'm telling you going forward, if they don't tell us who they are, we're coming after them.
Journalist: So will it be retroactive?
Prime Minister: Well, it can't be, no, we don't do that. But they need to get it sorted.
Journalist: If I have a Facebook page today, will I then now have to comply with these current ...?
Prime Minister: The digital companies, I'm sure in response to this in the months ahead and years ahead will continue to, to tighten up how they can ensure that they can meet the requirements of these laws and they will deal with their customers and they will make those requests. But what I'm telling you is you can't hide on social media to abuse people. That's not okay in Australia, and we're making sure that it's not okay.
Journalist: Have you spoken to the social media companies about this?
Prime Minister: I've spoken about it many times, many times.
Journalist: This specific case?
Prime Minister: I've been talking to them about this publicly and privately for some time.
Journalist: What's been the reaction?
Prime Minister: Well, let's see what happens.
Journalist: Just on another issue, are you considering any …
Prime Minister: I should say it's not so much a discussion. I'm telling them what we're doing. I'm telling them what they're doing, and I'm expecting them to respond, and I will keep taking it further until they continue to do the responsible thing with an all pervasive, what is effectively a product in our community, and I want them to make it safe and I believe they can, and I can only assume they wish to, and I'm sure they do wish to make it safe. I mean, these digital tools, of course, have many positive, many, many positive benefits. Of course they do. We recognise that. But if Australians don't feel safe online, then I think that actually detracts from the positive benefits that can come from these digital developments in technology.
Journalist: Just four sitting days left with the year, you've said Government will be sticking with its original proposal for Commonwealth Integrity Commission, will you have the legislation introduced into parliament before it rises for the year to bring on a debate?
Prime Minister: Well, there's no support for our proposal from those, from Labor or others. Our proposal has been consulted on. We've had it out there for a long time, we're interested in fair dinkum commission that looks at criminal conduct, not on who people's boyfriends are. Labor and others want to have a system that frankly is open to all sorts of abuse and, and game playing and politicking. And we've seen that from Labor over and over the course of this term time and time that is referred off to the AFP wasting their time and coming back completely because that's exactly what's happened. And that's not a proposal we're interested in. We have, we have a very well-designed and well-considered alternative, and that's the option that we have.
Journalist: Will it include a two tiered system goes so where a politician would be questioned in private or as an AFP officer would be questioned in a public hearing?
Prime Minister: Well, the Attorney she can go through the details of that.
Senator the Hon. Michaelia Cash, Attorney-General: That is correct at this point in time. The bill is as it stands with exactly as you said.
Journalist: And why have you gone without consulting for months and months after the original proposal was, I suppose, widely criticised only to say, you know, you’re not changing it at all.
Senator the Hon. Michaelia Cash, Attorney-General: We took on board all of the relevant feedback, but we have determined the model we would put in place is a fair model. It is a balanced model and as the Prime Minister said it will deal with instances of serious criminal corruption at a federal level. That is what this bill is all about. It's not, as the Prime Minister said, a political witch hunt which the Labor Party seem to want it to be. We have a bill, if Labor indicated they would support the bill, our situation would be very, very different. But at this point in time, we have a bill, they don't. All they have is a statement of opposition. That's their situation.
Journalist: Are you concerned about the potential for a new variant to disrupt the national reopening plan? And are you considering any further sort of travel restrictions, border closures on the quarantine period going to be coming for everyone coming back from overseas or overseas?
Prime Minister: Well, the new variant is, is concerning. It moved from being a variant of investigation to a variant of concern within the space of 24 hours and as a result, late on Friday night and again early on Saturday morning, I convened with the Chief Medical Officer and the Health Minister and the Secretary of the Health Department and immediately put in place a set of actions that were implemented successfully yesterday. And I spoke both with the premiers of New South Wales and Victoria, and I support the measures that they are taking within their jurisdictions. We've taken measures in our jurisdiction and that was intended for the states to then follow through on the areas that fell within their responsibilities. And I think the 72 hour isolation of, of, of those coming in from overseas is a very sensible and practical measure, and we'll keep a very close eye on it. And I think we need to be very responsive to further evidence that is, that is becoming available and the expert medical advice. That is what has always guided us on these issues.
But our intention, let's not forget what the ultimate objective is here in this global pandemic. Objective is to open safely and remain safely open. I'm quite encouraged by the fact that despite that, we still have over thousand cases on most days in, in Victoria, the Victorian health and hospital system is standing up extremely well. It's standing up, in fact, better than what the Doherty Institute modelling suggested. The goal here is not to have no cases. The goal here is to ensure that our public hospitals and health systems are able to be able to cope with this virus so we can live with the virus. We can live together with the virus, that we can open safely and we can remain safely open, which is the purpose of the national plan. And so we will continue to work closely with the, with the states and territories who have their responsibilities, and we will continue to work closely as we are with countries around the world. There is still not a lot understood about this new variant. There is no evidence at this point regarding its, whether it has greater severity or not. It certainly does seem to have a higher transmissibility. But in terms of its the effect of vaccines and things of that nature, those matters are still, there’s no evidence to suggest anything different.
Journalist: Prime Minister, the last sitting week of the year is upon us. How would you respond to those who led the charge against you, as Bob Hawke used to say, when you can't run your party you can't run the government?
Prime Minister: For three years, we've had a very strong and focused and united team that has ensured that we've been able to lead Australia through one of the most difficult periods this country has known since the Second World War. We have the strongest economies coming through this pandemic. We have one of the highest vaccination rates in the world and congratulations to all those down in South Australia, ticking over the 80 per cent mark. Great work. And of course, we have one of the lowest fatality rates of COVID anywhere in the world, and we've done that because we've been a strong and united team and in my team, I'm not distracted or in fact or perturbed in any way by the fact that from time to time there are differences of views within the Liberals in the Liberal Party or the Nationals Party. I mean that that is the nature of Liberals and Nationals. We don't go around treating people like drones. You know, we, we respect and listen to the views of our colleagues. They are reflecting views that are being expressed in their community, and I listened carefully to those. And that's why we've been able to maintain, I think, a very strong unity and will continue to in the future because that's how I lead my party. I respect every individual member, even on occasions where I might have a different view to them. That's the sensible, mature way to do things, and that's how you achieve real unity.
Journalist: Prime Minister, working our way through the Greek alphabet with COVID, don't you think at some stage, just in a nod to history, that one of them should be called Xi? X-I?
Prime Minister: Well, I'll, I'll leave the naming of these variants, Chris, to the WHO, I think. But what's important is that we've always said that there will be new variants. This is the nature of pandemic. The fact that the new variant has emerged is, is not a surprise. What we need to continue to do is keep working together and get through this just like we've got through every single other one and we've been able to push through the Delta strain and Delta is still out there. But our vaccination rates are where they are one of the highest in the world, and I want to thank all of Australians for staying calm and pushing through, looking after one another, getting vaccinated. And can I particularly encourage everybody, if you haven't had your first or second dose yet, and there's a smaller proportion these days because we're 85 per cent now, but particularly in Western Australia and in Queensland, I would encourage you to get those vaccines. And if you've already had your vaccine, your second dose and six months, please go and get your booster shots. Booster shots, very important to ensure Australia is in a stronger position, as we possibly can, to deal with these sorts of issues. I mean this is not like it was back in February and March of 2020. We now have good knowledge. Good advice. The uncertainties are not like they used to be. We have good systems which have been proven, which is demonstrated by one of the lowest fatality rates, strongest economies and highest vaccination rates in the world. That's what Australians have done. That's what our government has been working to deliver to open safely and remain safely open.
Journalist: PM, just on the Solomons, do you have an update on that? And secondly, Peter Dutton's speech to Press Club on Friday was pretty strong, particularly the importance of defending Taiwan. What's your view on that? Is that a view that you share that if Taiwan falls, then the rest of Asia might go as well?
Prime Minister: Well, let me deal with the Solomons first, and I thank you for the question on that. We have Australians who have been deployed once again in the Solomon Islands, both AFP and the ADF. I also want to thank the governments of Papua New Guinea, Fiji and New Zealand who are also supporting this response. Papua New Guinean police are already there working with ours. We are working with the Fijian military right now about them also being deployed and and was in contact yesterday with the New Zealand Prime Minister about some support from New Zealand, in a very limited role, but where they have a lot of expertise working within our Indo-Pacific family of nations, there are further afield being deployed today. And I thank also the New South Wales Government for their offer and they'll be supporting our effort there, joining our AFP officers. And I want to thank Premier Perrottet and Commissioner Fuller for their prompt response and coming forward to offer that help. And we are seeing in the Solomons, I'm getting regular updates and we're meeting each day to review the operation, that at this point, although things are very unstable at this point, there are no areas that, to our knowledge, which are, where there has been lost control. But obviously plans are being made and our responses to those to ensure they can be tough. What we want to see happen in the Solomon Islands is for the people of the Solomon Islands under their constitution, under their normal processes can resolve any issues they have. It is not for us to be interfering in their democracy. It's not for us to be interfering in how they resolve those issues. We are just simply there as a good family member to try and provide a stable and safe environment for the issues that are there in the Solomon Islands to be peacefully worked through. And I really do thank the other countries from the Pacific family who have come and joined us to this initiative and the understanding and support that have come from further afield about the role and leadership Australia has played here.
Journalist: On Taiwan?
Prime Minister: Well, obviously, the speech that the Minister for Defence gave on Friday, I strongly support. We discussed it before he delivered it. He simply set out very clearly, I think what the facts are and the facts are very clear. Australia will take actions and have responses to keep Australians safe, to protect our interests and to ensure that we stand up to any form of coercion that occurs. I mean, this is we're a free country and we intend to stay that way. And under our government, we've made the investments in our defence capability. We've put in place the strong alliances and partnerships with like minded countries, particularly the AUKUS arrangement speaks to that very strongly, but also our partnerships with countries like Japan and and India, very critical together with the United States through, the through the Quad partnerships, which just doesn't just look at security issues, but looks at the positive role that we can play in the region for a free and open Indo-Pacific. But the Defence Minister is spot on, when it comes to the uncertain environment in which we live. This is not a time where Australia can afford weakness. This is not a time when Australia can afford people having an each way bet on national security. Our government has always been very firm and very clear when it comes to standing up for Australia's interests in the Indo-Pacific, and we will always do it that way because we believe in it strongly and we have the strength to carry it through. Thanks very much, everyone. Thanks, Tarni.
Remarks, Boothby Community Morning Tea Brighton, SA
26 November 2021
Prime Minister: Thank you very much, Nicolle, it's great to be here with you. And thank you for that that wonderful welcome to country [inaudible]. That was, that was, that was really beautiful. And I couldn't agree more with the sentiment that you expressed, walking along together, [inaudible] together alongside one another. That's exactly, that's the Australian way, absolutely. So thank you.
I also acknowledge the Traditional Owners, their Elders past, present and emerging, and emerging, young and emerging, full of energy and vitality and a lot of hope for the future.
Can I acknowledge also any veterans who are here with us today, and our servicemen and women, and thank you for the tremendous work that you have done serving our country, which we can never lose sight of, while they're in the service and especially also after they’ve left that service. And we remain absolutely committed to that task.
To everyone who Nicolle has welcomed pretty much by name [inaudible]. I’m sure there was many more. But it's tremendous to be here with you, Nicolle. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed working together. You are such a a burst of energy on every occasion and when I'm here, particularly with you in your community, I get that sense more than ever, even when we're in Canberra. But here you are in your element amongst your community, and you've been such a great community based Member of Parliament. And I know Rachel, given the opportunity by the people of Boothby, will carry on in that very fine tradition, from one outstanding woman from her community to another outstanding woman from community, representing our Party here. I couldn't be more proud. I couldn't be more proud of what you've achieved and and Rachel, you coming forward to step up as our candidate, I’m thrilled to bits to have Dr Swift joining our Liberal team.
I'm also very thankful that you've chosen for us to be here. This is a very familiar setting for me, as the Member for Cook back in Sydney along the beautiful Bate Bay, where they say the local surf clubs like to tell the story that as Captain Cook sailed up the east coast he looked at Bate Bay and said, ‘That would be a nice place for a surf club.’ And, so, they had four that were put there. And the surf club culture I've always enjoyed. You know, I look around, I love going to the club rooms of surf clubs as well, and I look around, I see the names on the boards, you know, going back a long way. I look at the names of the life members and and just the history and the heritage of community service, and as we were chatting before, the Seacliff, it brings together the great Australian traditions of healthy lifestyles and sport and competition, of service, of care for others. And that's why I always ask about Nippers, wherever I go I ask about Nippers, because I want to know how many young people are catching this great positive culture that exists in our surf clubs all around the country.
So I'm really pleased to be here. But to be in a place of community like this, Nicolle, and to hear the stories as you've introduced people to be here today [inaudible] Rachel, and many more who I’ll meet shortly, it just reinforces my belief in how is the best way to run this country. Australia has achieved something extraordinary in the last couple of years. At the outset of the pandemic, I remember standing in the courtyard with the Chief Medical Officer and said, ‘We like to think we're a strong people. We're about to find out just how strong we really are.’ And I never doubted what the answer to that question was going to be.
And almost two years’ on from that point, it has been confirmed once again about the strength and the character and resilience of the Australian people. As we’ve stared down the big challenges, we looked into that abyss of what COVID might be. I remember particularly those early months working very closely with Steven Marshall here in South Australia and the decisions we had to take and the unknowns and the uncertainties that were there. But our entire plan was based on backing the resilience and strength of the Australian people. It was all invested in you and in rooms like this, and people who meet together in rooms like this to plan what they're doing out there or in your own community groups and the work that you're doing, because that is our experience as a Government, as individuals of Australia.
Our members of my team come from our communities, like Rachel, like Nicolle. Their heads are not, frankly, in Canberra, and their hearts, they’re not in Canberra, and the political shenanigans and games and all the nonsense that can go on there. Their heads and their hearts and their minds are here, in the community. That's what my team focuses on. That's what they bring, and they bring it from such a diverse range of backgrounds. No, I haven’t got a team of bots, that sort of turn out, you know, warm bodies that are moved around the Parliamentary Chamber. I've got passionate, experienced, dedicated, community people, as you’ve known Nicolle to be, and as you will know Rachel, as you already know her, many of you, to be, who come and bring that to the table, and to do it in a way which strengthens our Government, and has that passionate belief that at the end of the day, Government is about enabling community, it is about enabling business, it is about enabling individuals. Not telling them what to do, not getting in their way, not thinking that Government is the answer to their question, but understanding that they are the answers to their question. And our job is to back them in.
That’s why I believe in lower taxes, because it means you keep more of what you earn so you can make choices about what you're doing with your resources back in your community. And if you want to put the gold coin in as you’re coming up the stairs or you’re, you want to put it in the plate on a Saturday or whatever it is, that's your choice. And we want to back that in, every single day. That's why Australia has the lowest, one of the lowest fatality rates in the world from COVID. That's why Australia has one of the strongest economies in the advanced world going through COVID. And that's why Australia now has one of the highest vaccination rates in the world, and that sets us up now to secure this economic recovery.
350,000 jobs in the last five weeks. The Australian economy’s springing back, and I need Rachel as part of my team. Can I tell you, I need Rachel as part of my team, here in Boothby, as much as I’ve needed Nicolle to be there, alongside me and the rest of my team, to ensure that we can have the Government that believes in the Australian people, not have the Australian people dependent on the Government. That is the big difference at the end of the day with, I think, as we go forward with this next election and how we secure this economic recovery.
It's time for Government to step back. There has been a need for Australians to have the Government step forward in the past 18 months or so. Of course, there has been. But that time is coming to a very near end, I certainly hope, and we will see governments step back. That's certainly what our Government is doing, so you could step forward here in this club, on that beach, out there in environmental projects and community projects all over the electorate of Boothby, and the person who can lead you to do that is Rachel, going forward in the future, Dr Swift, as my Liberal candidate for Boothby. Your Liberal candidate for Boothby. And, on that, I think it’s time for me to handover to Rachel. Please welcome Rachel.
Press Conference - Tonsley, SA
26 November 2021
Ms Nicolle Flint MP, Federal Member for Boothby: Well, good morning, I’m Nicolle Flint, Federal Member for Boothby, and I am so delighted to have Prime Minister Scott Morrison here this morning, the Minister for Finance Simon Birmingham, and of course the Liberal candidate for Boothby, Dr Rachel Swift.
We have visited Micro-X, which is one of our incredible manufacturing success stories here in South Australia. We've seen a lot of their products, which I'm sure the Prime Minister and Rachel will talk about. But what I'm really proud of is the $8 million we have delivered to Micro-X as part of the Stroke Alliance, which is going to develop a new HALO X-ray machine that will revolutionise the way that we diagnose and are then able to treat strokes. This will have a worldwide impact. Fifteen million people a year suffer a stroke. So the economic and health and personal outcomes that we will be able to deliver through this incredible technology will change lives worldwide, all here from South Australia. So I’m going to hand over to Dr Rachel Swift now, the Liberal candidate for Boothby, to say a few words. Rachel.
Dr Rachel Swift, Liberal Candidate for Boothby: Thanks, Nicolle. It's a real pleasure to be here this morning. As Nicolle just said, we've just done a tour of Micro-X and that technology is incredible. The opportunities it will offer us to be able to take health care to rural and remote communities in Australia, but also internationally through our humanitarian program, is incredible. But what was so energising when we were in there today was talking to so many of the people on the manufacturing side who had come from previous roles in places like Holden and have been able to reapply their skills to this great medical technology innovation.
It's really my pleasure today to welcome the Prime Minister Scott Morrison. This is the first non-sitting day that the South Australian borders have been open, and he's keen to be here and see the great work that we've been doing in South Australia, particularly around manufacturing, innovation and technology. So, I'll hand it over to the Prime Minister.
Prime Minister: Well, thank you very much, Rachel, and thank you Nicolle, and and to Minister Birmingham, to Simon, to Birmo, as we know him, it's great to be here with you, here in South Australia. I'm really excited to be here in South Australia. South Australia's open. Australians are wanting to holiday in Australia. That's going to be a great opportunity for South Australia as it’s, as it's opening up. The National Plan is being realised here in South Australia - living with the virus so we can live together with the virus. We're opening safely here in South Australia so we can remain safely open. And today there's, I’m going to give a big PM’s challenge to South Australia. I have no doubt that the most optimistic premier there is in Australia, Steven Marshall, would be joining me.
Today, the figures I have this morning is 79.5 per cent of South Australians are double vaccinated. Now, you’ve been getting along at about a half a per cent today. So, South Australians, the call is out. Go out there, if you haven't had your second dose of your vaccination today, go out and get it today so we can all wake up tomorrow and hear the news that South Australia is 80 per cent double vaccinated. That's a significant milestone in the National Plan, and those milestones mean that governments are able to step back so Australians can step forward, that businesses can step forward, that Australians can increasingly live together with this virus. And I want to congratulate South Australians and Premier Marshall on the great work that has been done keeping South Australians safe, so we can now open safely and remain safely open.
Australia has done amazingly well during the course of this pandemic. We have one of the lowest fatality rates in the world. We have one of the strongest economies coming through this pandemic of any advanced economy in the world. 350,000 jobs springing back in spring in our economy over the last five weeks. The Australian economy is springing back, and we knew that would be the case because of the underlying strength of this economy. And, of course, we have now one of the highest vaccination rates in the world. And I want to encourage everybody to go out there and get their boosters. Go and get those boosters. I had my booster last week with my good mate now, Jane Malysiak. And particularly for those who are elderly in our population, you were the first to get the jabs, and now it's important that you're the first to go and get those booster shots. You're due for them. If you've been through six months since your second dose, you can go and get that booster shot now, and I want to encourage you to do it. Because the pandemic’s not over, globally. Australia’s doing incredibly well and we now need to get those booster shots so we can go forward, so we can, importantly, secure the economic recovery.
Securing this economic recovery is now the big challenge we face. And to do that, we need to be investing in the industries that create the jobs. And I'm very excited to be here today at Micro-X and in this amazing facility. This facility, as I look up there at Flinders University and Zero-X [sic] and and the other companies that are here in what used to be Holden. This very place tells the story of the economic transformation of South Australia and where our manufacturing industries are going in the future. One in eight jobs in manufacturing were lost under Labor. We have got manufacturing employment in Australia back to more than a million Australians working in manufacturing. They've gone from making Holdens to now making x-ray machines and high tech brain scanners that can be moved to the most remote parts of the earth. That's the technology, but it's also the skills. The skills that have been built up here to make things in South Australia are being reapplied to new manufacturing tasks and ensuring that new businesses are forming.
We invested $8 million as a Federal Government Zero-X [sic] to develop this technology. That alone created 20 jobs, but it will create far more in the collaboration that has occurred between the entrepreneurs of Micro-X, the scientists and the graduates coming out of Flinders University, and the partnership that is here with both State and Federal Government to make this happen. This is how we secure our economic recovery - lower taxes, training people. There are 217,000 Australians right now in trade training in this country. That is the highest it has ever been on record. And those records go back to 1963. I wasn't even born then. And we have now got more people in trade training today, learning the skills that enables them to power up these companies, like Zero-X, Micro-X, I should say, who are ensuring that we can secure Australia's manufacturing future.
And, you know, in South Australia more broadly, Lot Fourteen, I always get excited about Lot Fourteen, in terms of the space industry, I’ve been there to the National Space Centre and seen what they're doing there. I get excited when I come to South Australia, where full cycle docking, happening here in South Australia. Last time I was here, and the many times before, you're always keen to know what we were going to do there. I said that we had to make another big decision before we made that full decision on full cycle docking. Well, we made that. We're going to make nuclear-powered submarines. And what we were able to put together - that landmark agreement with the United States and the United Kingdom - which will see Australia's defence capability boosted in a way that that few could have dreamed of. That technology only once shared before by the United States with the United Kingdom in 1958 and now Australia.
And full cycle docking, can tell you South Australians, your success in being able to turn around full cycle docking here in South Australia is the reason we decided to keep it here. You achieved. You put the work in. You demonstrated your performance when it came to that project. And that's why it's kept here. And I can tell you, it was a critical issue in gaining the confidence of the United States, that not only can we do that, but we can go ahead and do the things we want to do together in the development and making of nuclear-powered submarines. So, well done South Australia. That's why we're building the Hobart class frigates here. That's why we're doing the destroyers here. Sorry, the Hunter class frigates, I should say, and the Hobart class destroyers. And that's why we've been building the patrol boats here, the Arafura class. That's why we're doing full cycle docking here, because we believe in the manufacturing capabilities of this state and we're investing heavily in it. And that's where the jobs come from. And that's how you secure Australia's economic recovery. Happy to take some questions.
Journalist: So, you seem very fond of Steven Marshall. Why isn’t he here with you today [inaudible], the day that the borders open?
Prime Minister: I’m with him later today, we’re catching up today.
Journalist: Why isn’t he here publicly?
Prime Minister: Sorry?
Journalist: Why isn’t he here publicly … ?
Prime Minister: Oh, our schedules didn’t just align today. I can assure you there is no stronger relationship with any premier in this country than Steven Marshall and I. He is a dear and close friend, a dear, and he's doing an amazing job. Today we're here because we're talking about what the Federal Government is doing. State Government’s doing a terrific job here in South Australia. Today we're talking about what the Federal Government is doing.
Journalist: Are you concerned about what’s happening with his parliamentary party? I mean, he's lost his deputy, he's losing votes in Parliament.
Prime Minister: No, look, they’re matters for the State Parliamentary Party. I’m focused on my, the Federal Parliamentary Party I lead. Steven, you know, Steven’s Government here, the Marshall Government here, has been the inspiration to create this culture of transformation in South Australia that has brought back confidence. If there’s one thing I've seen more than anything else that Premier Marshall has achieved here in South Australia, is he's brought that pride back, he's brought that confidence back. He's brought that can do attitude where people who were previously working in industries that are no more, have had the confidence to go and move into new industries and create those. We've met those workers here today. And Steven Marshall has been the energy behind that transformation. And I could not speak highly enough about his inspiration to achieving that change here. No more phoney fights and carrying on with Canberra. He's just getting on with the job. All those phoney fights, they don't help anybody, and they certainly won't help in South Australia. He's turned all that around. And here we are working together, and look what's happening.
Journalist: Prime Minister, Sky News has been told there was a meeting between you and Bridget Archer in your office yesterday after she crossed the floor. What was the tone of that meeting?
Prime Minister: What was the...?
Journalist: What was the tone of that meeting?
Prime Minister: Very positive and very encouraging. Bridget and I are close colleagues and we have, we have a very good friendship. And I was pleased to be there with Senator Payne and Josh Frydenberg and to be there to support Bridget.
Journalist: Sky News has been told it was a frank exchange with Mrs Archer. Was it appropriate to be so frank?
Prime Minister: That’s not how I’d describe it at all. It was a very warm and friendly and supportive meeting. Bridget is a close friend and colleague, and I wanted to ensure that she was being supported.
Journalist: The Chinese vessel that was pushing the absolute limit in Australian waters.
Prime Minister: Yeah.
Journalist: In light of that, can we really wait until the end of next decade to receive nuclear submarines?
Prime Minister: Well, we’ll build them as quickly as we possibly can. And that's not the only thing we're doing, of course. But you're right to highlight the presence of the Chinese naval vessel in our economic zone. They have every right to be there under international maritime law, just like we have every right to be in the South China Sea, and other free liberal democratic countries have every right to be having freedom of movement in the South China Sea. Our movements in the South China Sea and those of other countries has been an issue of of challenge to Australia. And the fact that we’ve stood up for our right to be there is one of the reasons amongst many, like freedom of the press, freedom of of speech, ensuring that we're building up our own defence capability, including nuclear-powered submarines. All of these issues are things that the Chinese Government have taken great issue with, and and they that is the reason why we've had the difficulties that we've had.
But these are not issues that any self-respecting government like Australia’s, or indeed any self-respecting liberal democracy, would ever give ground on. And I think the presence of the Chinese Navy, which we were aware of, and they were keeping a close eye on us, and we were keeping a close eye on them. And the importance of that is to highlight to Australians that there is a very serious situation in the Indo-Pacific. I've been saying that for a long time. These things are true. And Australia has to be able to stand up, and that requires great strength. I've been criticised by many for the strong stand I've taken on this issue. But it's important that you stand up for Australia. You need strength to take Australia through a time like this. There is never a time for weakness when it comes to leading a Federal Government, particularly at a time when you're dealing with these very significant security issues and the economic challenges we have, and we're seeing that writ large in the South Pacific, even now in the Solomons, where we have our people on the ground now.
Journalist: So, have you or will you raise concerns with Chinese officials about this ship being in our…
Prime Minister: Well, no, look, they have every right to be where they are. We we knew they were there and they are, they are able to be there under international maritime law. But don't think for a second that we weren't keeping our eye on them, as they were seeking to keep an eye on us. What it demonstrates is now no one can be complacent about the situation in the Indo-Pacific. And while we have rightly, I can assure you, been very focused on our achievements during- achieving through the pandemic to ensure that we've got the lowest fatality rate, the strongest economy, and one of the highest vaccination rates, I can assure you that not for a second have I been distracted as a Prime Minister, and my Government, our Government has not been distracted, as Minister Birmingham knows as a member of the National Security Committee, that we remain laser-focused on ensuring that Australia's national security interests and defence interests have been absolute.
Journalist: Prime Minister, do you know if the Solomons have sought assistance from China?
Prime Minister: No, they have not, to my knowledge. I spoke to the Prime Minister Sogavare yesterday. The Solomon Islands came first to Australia and they have also had discussions with Papua New Guinea, and I spoke to Prime Minister Marape yesterday about that. We have those 23 AFP who arrived last night. Operations have commenced there in the Solomons this morning to ensure stability and to ensure that as quickly as we possibly can, hopefully resume a peaceful setting in the Solomon Islands. Later today, the detachments will go from Townsville. There has already been movements from Amberley this morning to facilitate that. There’ll be additional 15 AFP who will arrive over the course of today in the Solomon Islands, and I’m keeping, as you can imagine, a very close watch on the situation on the ground there.
We have Australians who are bravely going back to the Solomon Islands to support our Pacific family to ensure that we can have stability and peace so they can resolve issues internally. They are not issues that Australia involves ourselves in. I thank the Prime Minister of Fiji, Prime Minister Bainimarama, Prime Minister Ardern, Prime Minister Marape, for their strong support for the role that Australia has taken. It’s a positive role. It's there to support our family in the Pacific at a time when they need us.
Journalist: You’ve wasted no time coming into South Australia since our borders opened-
Prime Minister: Sorry?
Journalist: You've wasted no time coming into South Australia since our …
Prime Minister: I love South Australia.
Journalist: … borders opened Tuesday. How concerned are you about the seat of Boothby and the Liberal Party retaining that seat, and how many more times can we expect to see you here in the lead up to the election?
Prime Minister: Well, I'm looking forward to coming back on many, many occasions, and I'm really pleased to be here, and I’m particularly pleased to be here with Dr Swift and Nicolle. You know, one of the great things about the Liberal Party is we draw experience from so many walks of life. You know, we have bus drivers, we have medical scientists, you know, we’ve even got a few lawyers too, but you’ve got to throw a few of those in every now and then. We've got, you know, former police officers, we've got Defence Force veterans, we've got small business people, we've got technologists, we've got people from so many walks of life in our parliamentary ranks. And that makes our team strong. I mean, what I'm looking forward to with Rachel, Dr Swift, putting herself forward to be part of our team at this next election is that we add again further experience to our team.
Nicolle has been an outstanding champion for her local community and and she's taken her decision to retire at the next election and we wish her well and we thank you for the great job you've done, Nic. But what's great is when you get someone as fantastic as Nicolle, deciding to retire, you get someone equally as fantastic as Rachel stepping up and to come in and put herself forward for the Liberal Party in the seat of Boothby.
But if you want to see the jobs continue in South Australia, if you want to see the manufacturing continuing in South Australia, if you want to see us secure the economic recovery which your family depends on in South Australia, then supporting your Liberal candidate and Liberal Member here in South Australia is the best way to achieve that and secure your economic recovery so you can plan for your future with confidence.
Journalist: Have you spoken to the Premier about moving the state election?
Prime Minister: Sorry?
Journalist: Have you spoken to the Premier about moving the date of the state election?
Prime Minister: No.
Journalist: Prime Minister, there’s a new COVID strain in Africa, I believe. Is that concerning? Should Australians be concerned about that right now?
Prime Minister: Yeah, at present, that is a a variant, and there are many of these variants, I should stress. I’m advised that is under investigation and not as a variant of concern. But that can change. And we monitor all of these these variants and and we note the responses that are made by other countries and we consider those in real time. What is more important, though, is the best protection against any new variant, including and those that are present, is vaccination, and having those vaccinations. So, again, South Australians, let's hit 80 per cent. We can hit 80 per cent today here in South Australia. We’ve got half a per cent to go. So if you haven't had your second dose of the vaccination, let's go out and get that jab today, and tomorrow, let's make this an 80 per cent double dose vaccinated state.
Journalist: Have you had talks with the Solomon Islands … with the Solomon Islands Opposition Leaders, given you say this is an apolitical issue?
Prime Minister: Yeah, well, under the treaty, obviously the request comes from the Government, whoever the Government happens to be, and I respond to the Prime Minister under that treaty. Through our mission, as the Foreign Minister said yesterday, we are seeking to have those engagements, but our role, as I made very clear to the Prime Minister yesterday, was to support, crowd control and protection of key infrastructure - ports, airports, things of that nature - not parliamentary buildings, not providing close personal protection to government ministers or executive buildings of the Government. We are there to support the Solomon Islands Police, Royal Solomon Islands Police Force to quell any unrest that is there and hopefully see the situation return to some calm. Overnight, we have seen what started as a protest, we have seen some more indiscriminate looting and things of that nature, which is more general civil unrest behaviour, and we want to see that come under control. At present, that is, that is proceeding, I’d say, reasonably. But, you know, we're on, we're on alert, and that's why we're continuing to provide further support.
Journalist: Just on the Solomons, we understand that there's been targeting of Chinese buildings and Chinese people in Honiara. Do you condemn any targeting of Chinese?
Prime Minister: Well, of course, I condemn all the violence, including that, and there is a bit of a mixed story, the targeting of particular buildings in the Chinatown district, and we saw that during the serious unrest that occurred prior to the RAMSI initiative. There was also an opportunistic element to that in that that’s where they just happened to be. And so, you know, we await further information about what the cause of that particular violence was. But if if there is certainly any violence that is racially targeted, then that would obviously be abhorrent.
Journalist: And how long do you plan on committing Australian forces and police to this operation, bearing in mind the last peacekeeping mission was 14 years ago, or lasted 14 years, sorry?
Prime Minister: Yeah, the request is … Yeah, no, and I think that's a very good question, and this is something, you know, the Government considered in relation to the request made under the treaty. And the request is for weeks. That is what the request has been. And, so, that is our understanding of our commitment. And hopefully in the weeks that are ahead then the situation can return to some calm and the issues that are related to this internally can be resolved internally, in accordance with their Constitution.
Journalist: You said you’re yet to speak to Steven Marshall regarding the election date or whether ours may have to move ...
Prime Minister: Well, no, I just don’t, there’s no need for me to talk to him … The election date …
Journalist: If if the South Australian election has to move then …
Prime Minister: When we determine what an election date might be next year, I've always said it's going to be in 2022, so there's no secret there. It's due by about the third week in May, and we'll make, I’ll make a determination about when that is held … And if that requires that discussion, then I'll certainly have that discussion.
Journalist: So, you can’t tell South Australians now whether our election will be moved?
Prime Minister: Sorry?
Journalist: So, you can’t tell South Australians now? Ours, we have a fixed date ...
Prime Minister: Well, your election’s in March. That’s when it’s due.
Journalist: That’s right. Will it have to move?
Journalist: Prime Minister, when was the last time you spoke to Alex Antic, and are you confident he will support Government bills and motions next week?
Prime Minister: I spoke to Alex during the course of this past week, as I spoke to lots of colleagues.
Journalist: Will he, will he support Government bills and motions next week? Are you confident he’s going to do that?
Prime Minister: I think Alex has raised issues that are very important to him. And, you know, in the Liberal Party, we encourage our Members to be themselves. You know, I don’t lead a team of drones and warm bodies that I just move around in the Parliament. That's what the Labor Party does. That's how they treat their Members. You know, if you disagree in the Labor Party, they keep you out. That's what they think about freedom of thought and expression in in politics. We don't do that in the Liberal Party. And, so, from time to time, when Members might have a strong view on things, you know, I let my Party breathe. I don't seek to to to bind it up, claustrophobically. I want people in my team who speak their mind. I'm not afraid of that. I'm not afraid of Members raising issues with me and being strong advocates on behalf of their community. I actually think that makes our Government stronger. I like it that I have Members of my team that come from all walks of life and not drones coming out of, you know, the apprenticeship solely of the union movement and political offices. Now, there’s a place for people to come from all walks of life, even from unions and even from political offices. But I'm really pleased that I have a parliamentary team that speaks its mind, stands up for the things it believes in, even if from time to time that might not agree with my view, but I'm big enough to deal with that. My Party's big enough to deal with that. Australia’s big enough to deal with that. And that's the nature of the liberal democracy we are.
But I want to thank everybody here, particularly at Micro-X, for having us here. I want to congratulate you guys on the tremendous job you're doing here, creating jobs for South Australians. And we are, we are on lift off here, with Micro-X, and, you know, the Australian economy is springing back. And we're seeing that - 350,000 jobs coming back into the economy in five weeks. So, that's exciting, but we've got to secure our recovery. And today we've got to secure that 80 per cent double dose vax rate here in South Australia. So please, go out and get that vaccination. And if you've already had your second dose, please go and get your booster. Thanks very much, everyone.
Religious Discrimination Bill 2021 Australian Parliament House, ACT
25 November 2021
Prime Minister: Thank you, Mr Speaker.
I move this bill now be read a second time.
Our anti-discrimination laws play an essential role in protecting the liberty of our citizens, each as individual human beings.
Today, we fix an important weakness in our discrimination laws, as our Government promised to do, to the people of Australia, at the last election. Today we honour that commitment.
Laws needed to protect citizens in a tolerant, multicultural, liberal democracy.
The Commonwealth has a Sex Discrimination Act, a Racial Discrimination Act, a Disability Discrimination Act and an Age Discrimination Act.
However, there is no standalone legislation to protect people of religion, or faith, against discrimination. Or indeed for those who choose not to have a faith or religion.
The introduction of this bill, the Religious Discrimination Bill 2021, will fix this.
In this age of identity politics where we hear much about how we are identified by our gender, our age, our sexuality, our race, our ethnicity or our level of physical or intellectual ability. These are known as protected attributes, and they should be. We are rightly protected against discrimination in relation to any of these attributes.
But Mr Speaker, human beings are more than our physical selves.
As human beings, we are also soul and spirit. We are also, importantly, what we believe. For many, this can inform who they are more than anything else.
The protection of what we choose to believe in a free society is essential to our freedom.
In a liberal democracy, it is like oxygen.
And so it is only right we should expect that what we sincerely believe should be afforded the same protection from discrimination in a free liberal democracy, as any other protected attributes of our humanity.
And as provided for in this bill, this includes not being discriminated against for non-belief.
Such protections respect the true integrity and dignity of the individual. It’s what makes them who they are, who we are, how we choose to live their life in accordance with the laws of this land.
This bill puts this right.
It is a sensible and balanced bill. And I commend the Attorney on the work she has done, in ensuring it is a sensible and balanced bill.
It is the product of a tolerant and mature society that understands the importance of faith and belief to a free society, while not seeking to impose those beliefs, or ever seek to injure others in the expression of those beliefs.
It balances freedom with responsibilities.
This bill also builds on Australia’s proud record as the most successful multicultural, multi-faith nation on the planet.
To so many Australians, religion is inseparable to their culture. They are one and the same. To deny protection from discrimination for their religious beliefs is to tear at the very fabric of multiculturalism in this country.
We are the most successful multicultural country on the planet, united in our love of our country and the freedoms that so many, so many, have come here to enjoy. Particularly to escape discrimination and persecution for their religious beliefs. They came here seeking that freedom. That freedom should be protected for them. These freedoms, most importantly, should be protected from discrimination.
Our nation is an exemplar of acceptance and tolerance.
The Australia we love is one where the people of all faiths and beliefs live side by side and we’re an example to the world.
Mr Speaker, a free society is a tolerant society.
In a free society, we don’t go around imposing our views on each other or seeking to injure one another with those views.
People should not be cancelled or persecuted or vilified because their beliefs are different from someone else’s in a free liberal democratic society like Australia.
The whole point of faith, Mr Speaker, is choice - it is the action of free will.
It is for this reason that free societies typically have had a strong tradition of faith. Faith and freedom have been so inseparable in liberal democracies all around the world.
It is therefore no wonder that people of faith and religion have played such a prominent role in the creation and establishment of free societies. The underpinning principles of our free societies, indeed, the notion of liberty itself, Mr Speaker, draws heavily from the roots of faith.
Religion and faith is also about humility and vulnerability.
It is about love. It is about compassion. It is about speaking the truth in love, as the scriptures say.
It recognises the sanctity and dignity of every single human being.
Faith is about the heart, Mr Speaker, it is about the soul and the spirit. It’s not about the state or the marketplace.
In our democracy we rightly divide church from state, that is an important liberty. But we do not separate faith from community.
History has shown that dictators and autocrats have never felt at ease with people of faith amongst their ranks in their societies. They have never felt at ease with faith or religion. They have never felt comfortable with human choice, human dignity and the refusal of individuals to give to the state what is the proper place of the divine.
Intolerance towards faith and religion is to see the life of faith as a threat to nation and liberty and often the state.
Mr Speaker, in so many settings, faith strengthens lives, it provides that sense of belonging. It builds and sustains and nurtures communities.
I am so grateful for the contribution of countless Australians of faith - who have built schools, hospitals, food kitchens, shelters, started services to meet almost every human need you can imagine.
Religious communities have always sought to bridge the gaps of human need in our free society, between the state and the marketplace.
We need institutions like the Salvos, Jewish Care, Lifeline, Muslim Women Australia, Mission Australia, the Brotherhood of St Laurence, and countless others, offering services large and small.
All of them bring a vital human dimension to their work.
They attend to the needs of the soul and the spirit - not just the needs of our physical selves.
To leave the fulfilment of such needs only to the Government or the state or the market is to weaken our society.
As the late Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks argued, the state can deliver much - health, welfare, education, defence and the rule of law. But I would agree with him when he argues that the state is not the author of the active citizenship that creates the face-to-face care and compassion that constitutes the good society.
The capacity of the state or the market to meet the needs of our soul and spirit have great limitations, if any capacity at all. They can be incredibly impersonal.
In between the state and the marketplace you will find the community, the family and the individual - and there also you will find the work of faith and religion.
The protection from discrimination of faith and religion in the public sphere is therefore central to the strength of our civil society and the health of communities, families, and indeed our very selves.
Mr Speaker, our country is better because of the generosity and charity of our religious communities and institutions.
This bill is about helping protect what we value as Australians: difference, fairness, choice, charity, and if we are not hurting others, the right to live our lives as we choose to.
This bill is a protection from the few who seek to marginalise and coerce and silence people of faith because they do not share the same view of the world as them.
The bill is based on four years of work and is a long-standing commitment of our Government.
In November of 2017, the Government appointed an Expert Panel into Religious Freedom, chaired by the former father of this House, the Honourable Philip Ruddock, a fine attorney.
The Expert Panel received over 15,000 submissions.
It reported to the Government in 2018.
And in 2019, the Government took the Australian people, we took to them a commitment to introduce new protections against religious discrimination, consistent with other anti-discrimination laws.
And since then, the Government has been working through the issues with so many groups.
We have consulted widely on this bill. And again I thank the Attorney-General for her role in leading this process, and her predecessor.
This bill is balanced and thoughtful. It does not take from the rights and freedoms of others, Mr Speaker.
We do not seek to set one group of Australians against another, because to do so would diminish us all.
It strengthens important freedoms that have been buffeted over recent years.
The bill honours the mandate we have from the Australian people to protect Australians of faith and religion against discrimination.
This bill is about extending the umbrella of fairness that is so fundamental to our national character, because Australians strongly believe in fairness.
This bill seeks to protect people of faith from discrimination on the basis of their religion in daily life, including work, education, buying goods and services and accessing accessing accommodation.
While there are some provisions in the existing laws that provide some protections for people of faith, these can be complex and can create uncertainty.
And they are inconsistent across Australia.
In particular, there is a gap in New South Wales and South Australia, where there is either limited or no specific protection at all against religious discrimination.
This bill will provide, for the first time, protections for those of faith and religion at the Commonwealth level, and in the states of New South Wales and South Australia where there is currently no state-based religious discrimination laws.
This bill brings clarity and it provides confidence that Australians of faith can have confidence they will be protected from discrimination.
A Sikh should not be discriminated against because of the turban they wear.
Nor a Maronite because of the cross around their neck.
Nor a Muslim employee who keeps that prayer mat in the bottom drawer at their desk at work.
Nor a Hindu couple who are seeking to rent a property.
Nor a Jewish school seeking to employ someone of their faith - if that faith is their preference - and the publicly stated policy of their school.
This bill ensures people can’t be persecuted for moderately expressing a reasonable belief, what could be fairer than that - whether that belief is motivated by - or indeed, critical of - a religion.
It recognises the unique ways in which those of faith express their beliefs and ensures that good faith statements of that belief are appropriately protected, for both religious and non-religious views.
However, the bill draws a clear line against harassment, vilification or intimidation of anyone.
Religious faith should always be expressed in love.
The bill is about creating a bigger space for everyone in our national lives - to be themselves - who they believe, what they believe - free of discrimination, coercion and judgment.
That is our Australian way, and always has been so.
The bill recognises that religious bodies, religious schools must be free to uphold the tenets of their faith and the ethos that makes their school a community. It is recognition of the sacrifices parents make to educate their children in accordance with their values and beliefs, and the choices they have made for their children’s education.
As many schools have said throughout this process, “faith is caught, not taught”.
The bill protects the fundamental right for religious schools to hire religious staff to maintain their religious ethos, in accordance with a publicly available policy.
This protection will be able to override state or territory laws which seek to interfere with that right.
The approach detailed in this bill provides certainty to school communities and to the staff they employ through the development of policies that are transparent to the school community. It’s only fair.
Nothing in this bill, I stress, Mr Speaker, nothing in this bill allows for any form of discrimination against a student on the basis of their sexuality or gender identity. You won’t find it, anything of that nature in this bill. Such discrimination has no place in our education system.
Mr Speaker, the protections in this bill affirm the generous, openhearted and accepted culture that is embodied in so much of our national life.
However, we believe it is important that what has been treated as a culturally accepted norm should be better codified in law.
Sadly, every age faces its share of bigotry against people of faith.
The Treasurer and his colleagues sadly know too much about this in their own personal lives, and in their own communities. And I particularly acknowledge all those of the Jewish faith. It is a great shame that the Treasurer of our country has to be offered close personal protection - not because he’s the Treasurer, but because he’s a Jew.
The values of ‘tolerance’ and ‘diversity’ have been appropriated against Protestant Christians, Orthodox Christians, Catholics, Mormons, Muslims, Jews, Buddhists, Hindus, Baha'is, Sikhs, and so many more religions.
Discrimination against people of faith is not a new thing. It is ancient.
The sectarian divide that dominated almost the first two centuries of European settlement in Australia is testament to that - Catholics and Protestants. Thankfully now a thing of the past, and we worship freely together, and openly.
Equally, that sectarian divide is a reminder that people of faith too have a responsibility to treat others as they themselves seek to be treated - another great principle and teaching of faith.
Still, many people from various religious traditions are concerned about the lack of religious protection against the prevalence of ‘cancel culture’ in Australian life. It’s true, it’s there, it’s real.
Mr Speaker, the citizens of liberal democracies should never be fearful about what they believe, the lives they lead, or the God they follow, if indeed, they choose to follow one or acknowledge one at all.
Australians shouldn’t have to worry about looking over their shoulder, fearful of offending an anonymous person on Twitter, cowardly sitting there abusing and harassing them for their faith, or transgressing against political or social zeitgeists.
We have to veer away from the artificial, phoney conflicts, boycotts, controversies and cancelling created by anonymous and cowardly bots, bigots and bullies.
Mr Speaker, in our secular society, every religion and belief should have the same rights and freedoms. It’s what freedom is.
That means the faith of any religion, as well as ‘no religion’, should not override the rights of others in a free society.
That means we rightly have a secular democracy and government, but that does not afford secular humanism the state, status of a state religion, as I said in my first maiden speech to this place.
Mr Speaker, just over 80 years ago, President Franklin Delanor Roosevelt spoke about what he called the four essential human freedoms: freedom of speech, freedom from want, freedom from fear and the freedom of worship.
In Australia, Sir Robert Menzies was so taken by those four freedoms that he made them integral to his Forgotten People broadcasts. These broadcasts became the intellectual foundation of the Party that he founded, and I have the great privilege to now lead in this place.
In its DNA, together the Liberals and the Nationals - I join with the Deputy Prime Minister - our Government believes in these four freedoms in the deepness of our own DNA.
The freedom to worship is not merely the freedom to believe.
It is the freedom to think. It is the freedom to exercise our conscience.
The freedom to doubt. Indeed, the freedom not to believe.
This protection will give Australians of faith confidence - confidence to be themselves and confidence in the country they belong to.
A resilient democracy that can embrace faith and not be threatened by it.
Our faith communities contribute to our national life, all playing a part in helping live out our great destiny as a people.
Australians - one and free.
I commend the bill to the House.
Virtual Address, Business Council of Australia Annual General Meeting
24 November 2021
Prime Minister: Well, thanks very much, Tim, and I appreciate that very kind introduction. I must admit, I do enjoy your introductions, they give me a good summary of all the things we’re doing together, and I’m so grateful for your appreciation of those initiatives.
So, thank you for inviting me to speak with you this afternoon. I’m sorry we can’t be doing this in person. But we’ve all got pretty good at this by now.
Let me begin also by acknowledging the Traditional Owners, particularly here in Canberra - the Ngunnawal people, and their Elders past, present and emerging.
And, as you know, I always send out a salute to any current and former members of the Australian Defence Force who may be joining us, and thank them for their service.
And, can I thank through you Tim all of the businesses of Australia who’ve done such a great job in taking on veterans into their employment, and taking on Indigenous Australians into their employment. I was out at Western Sydney International Airport, Nancy-Bird Walton Airport, the other day, and knowing that they are above target when it comes to their Indigenous employment on that site is a great thrill, and I’ve seen that on so many big sites and projects around the country. So, a big thank you.
Can I also acknowledge you Jennifer and recognise your contribution, and the many business leaders that are, that are on this call, and thank you for the cooperative and goodhearted and good faith way we’ve been able to work together over a long period of time, but particularly over these most challenging few years.
Our banks. Our airlines. Our resource companies. Our retailers. Our tech firms and more. You’re all there, and you’ve all played an incredibly important part in getting us to where we are today.
I’ve often refer to this, of course the Government, we’ve played our role, and we believe our role has been incredibly important. But when I think of Australia’s achievements, I see them as Australia’s achievements, and that we’ve all been a part of that.
And we are at a moment of considerable promise.
Our society is reopening, it’s exciting. Our economy is on the recovery path, and we’re all looking forward. We’re not looking in that rear view mirror.
They are looking forward and they’re looking forward to seeing their family and friends coming together.
They’re looking forward to travelling again and many already are now, Alan.
And they’re looking forward to Christmas. I certainly know I am.
And they are looking forward to planning the next phase of their lives with renewed confidence.
Our job as a Government is to enable the choices that they want to make. To back them in. To continue to chart the way forward and strengthen the foundations for Australia’s future.
There’s a natural impulse, I think, for stability and certainty now, in the wake of this terrible COVID storm - especially for families and businesses that have had to endure the stop-go life and economic activity that they have had over much of the last 18 months.
So restoring ‘normality’ to peoples’ lives is an incredibly worthy and important objective.
But, of course, we just can’t turn the clock back to 2019. We also have to look forward and we have to embrace the future, with trademark Australian resilience, ingenuity, optimism and confidence.
Now, earlier this week I announced further steps from the 1st of December, with the return of fully vaccinated eligible visa holders - including skilled workers and international students. And I know that was something that you’ve been eagerly anticipating.
And we approach this next phase of reopening and recovery with a, I think, a strong breeze at our back now.
Australia is now one of the highest vaccinated countries in the world, and I appreciate your comments, Tim. We’re ahead of the UK, France, Sweden, the United States. It’s quite a long list now. And there were their doubters, I know that. But we did everything we could to ensure we got to this result, and we pretty much got there as exactly at the time we said we would.
Our economic management of the pandemic has also ensured that we’re retaining our AAA credit rating from all three credit agencies. We’re only one of nine countries to do that.
And we’ve averted the nightmare scenario of a scarred labour market, which I know was concerning you. Our actions to support our economy, according to Phil Lowe at the RBA, saved at least 700,000 jobs.
With the RBA forecasting that the Australian economy will now grow by 5.5 per cent next year, unemployment forecast to fall to four per cent by the June quarter of ‘23. And household and business balance sheets, they’re looking healthy.
Compared with the end of 2019, household cash savings have increased by $185 billion and business cash holdings have increased by $145 billion by the end of August 2021.
Now, there are green shoots, you’re seeing them, of confidence. Confidence is king, and and Australians can look over the coming months with confidence.
They can also bank on consistency in our approach to economic management - including our core principle that we support a business-led recovery for Australia, not a government-centred recovery.
There is a time, of course, for government to step forward. And and we have done that over the last 18 months. That has been such a time.
All arms of government policy geared to saving lives and saving livelihoods, amidst the greatest health and economic shock in our lifetime. Of course.
But there is also a time for government to step back, so Australians can move forward.
To unwind restrictions. To unleash the entrepreneurship of private enterprise. To enable you to invest and grow and shape your business for the future.
And that time is now upon us. It’s time to move ahead. It’s time, step-by-step, conditioned necessarily by the need to open safely and stay safely open. But that time is now open us.
I want to talk about four, they’re the established pillars of what we’ve been working through. That’s what I want to talk about, just now, and then speak about some new beachheads.
Our focus as a Government has been getting the big calls right. But it’s also been about getting the balance right.
The Government’s economic plan reflects this approach.
There are two interwoven threads to our economic plan.
The first is a strong focus on the established pillars of economic growth and job creation.
Our Economic Recovery Plan has that focus, by providing greater incentive to businesses and individuals through the tax system - encouraging investment and reforming our income taxes, including with the abolition of an entire tax bracket.
Now, investing in infrastructure and skills - our nation’s hardware and our software.
Our roads, rail and ports and airports - through our $110 billion infrastructure investment pipeline that is hitting the deck.
But also, importantly, we’re investing in our people, something I know Jennifer has campaigned for and been a strong believer in over a long time.
Ensuring our education and training institutions are geared to the skills needs of the future, not the past.
The JobTrainer Fund will support 460,000 Australians to upskill and reskill. We’ve currently got 217,000 trade apprentices currently in training. Now, that comes off the back of $3.9 billion in investment to boost apprenticeship commencements. Now, that is the highest number in trade training right now since records began in 1963.
We are building a new workforce - trained, skilled, for the future - in the midst of this pandemic. It’s quite extraordinary.
But we’re also getting there by reducing regulation so business can get on with business, and Tim you’ve mentioned some of those things.
It is about securing affordable, reliable energy, to get those energy costs down and keeping them down, as we go on our path to net zero by 2050.
And by reengaging with the world through our network of trade agreements, and the UK being the most recent.
At the same time, our Plan sets about harnessing new sources of growth, learning the lessons and leveraging the trends that have accelerated through the pandemic.
And this is the second thread of our Economic Plan.
We need to claim new economic beachheads as we recover and reopen to the world. These are the opportunities.
And I want to touch on four of them - areas where we need to step forward confidently to claim our place in a rapidly changing, highly competitive global economy, which you would know only too well.
Now, the first of those is we need to secure our place in the data and digital economy.
Now, I love talking to you guys about this because I know you’re keenly interested in it, and so am I. I’ve spoken about it most times I’ve come to speak to you, whether it has been as Prime Minister or Treasurer, so I appreciate your keen interest.
COVID-19 has accelerated, as we know, the pace of business digitalisation.
We’ve also seen almost nine in ten Australian firms adopt new technologies.
A third of Australian businesses expanded their online presence in the first three weeks of the pandemic. And we’ve seen the tech sector now grow at four times the rate of the rest of the economy.
And I’ve said many times, every business in Australia is now a digital business and there’s no going back, and nor do we want to, given changing expectations about how we live and how we work, how we communicate and how we shop.
The Government’s Digital Economic Strategy is laying the foundations for Australia to be that leading digital economy by 2030. And we’re doing well.
It’s putting businesses, investors and entrepreneurs in the driver’s seat to realise the opportunities that are ahead.
And last week I joined Google CEO Sundar and his Australian team for the launch of Google’s Digital Future Initiative. Now, I’ve had the great thrill and privilege to be at many events where we’ve seen policy turn into action and real results. It’s one of my great thrills of public life, and in the many roles that I’ve had. This was one such a day. An enormous vote of confidence in our strategy to be this leading digital economy by 2030.
$1 billion investment over five years in infrastructure, research and partnerships which will see the development of world-leading capability in the new Google Research Hub - there’s only a handful of these, and Sydney’s one of them, and Australia’s one of them - as well as the partnerships that are occurring through that process with the CSIRO and Australian universities.
Now, the Government will shortly release a whole-of-economy Data Strategy to complement the Digital Economy Strategy, because we know data, as you know, is the lifeblood of our digital future.
And the Australian Data Strategy will seek to maximise data’s value, protect it to build trust, and enable it to use- its use to bring tangible benefits to the Australian people.
And, again, government can act as a powerful enabler. But what that really, what really matters is when great companies share our vision for Australia to be that leading economy, and under Andy Penn’s leadership, Telstra’s new joint venture with Quantium, to unlock the full potential of data and AI to provide more personalised products to its customers, is just one example of the practical realisation of this vision, and the business community working hand in glove with the Strategy that we’ve set out.
Now, a second beachhead to secure is our place in the new energy economy.
The drive for net zero emissions will reshape the global economy. Daniel Yergin, who is someone I have a great deal of admiration for and I met recently with him when I was in Washington, makes this point in his compelling book, The New Map.
I told my Cabinet to read two books on this topic. One was Daniel’s, and the other was Bill Gates’. Now, The New Map, he says this, whereas geophysical maps change very slowly, political, technical and economic maps can change very quickly … And that’s the terrain we’re on today.
The Government’s long-term emissions reduction plan provides, I believe, a credible pathway to net zero by 2050. Not one that necessarily other countries are following. This is a uniquely Australian way to achieving this, one that seeks to maintain existing industry strengths, establish Australia as a leader in emerging low emissions technologies, and ensure a prosperous future for Australia.
And we’re taking coordinated actions across four areas: We’re driving down technology costs - technology not taxes, you’ve heard me say it before.
We’re enabling the deployment of emerging and priority technologies at scale, and this is key. We cannot get global emissions down if we are not going to get those technologies at cost and scalability in the developing economies that we trade with. They are simply not going to move to them. They won’t go there because we charge ourselves more through carbon taxes or other initiatives or mandates. They will adopt them when the technology is at the right price and the right scalability.
There’s the seizing opportunities in new and traditional markets, as well as deepening global collaboration through low emissions technology partnerships, with Angus Taylor, has been doing a cracking job on, as has Dr Finkel.
We are also setting ourselves big goals. For example, positioning Australia to become a world-leading producer and exporter of hydrogen. Hydrogen, the most abundant element in the universe as well as the lightest, has the highest energy density of any common fuel.
And our $464 million investment in Clean Hydrogen Industrial Hubs will bring together producers and users to drive down costs of production and stimulate innovation.
And we are making the needed investments to drive that technology, not through taxes. And over the next decade, Commonwealth investment of more than $21 billion is expected to unlock more than $80 billion of private and public sector investment, including in clean hydrogen, ultra low-cost solar, carbon capture and storage, and energy storage.
And in the words of the International Energy Agency, the drive towards net zero will ‘supercharge demand for critical minerals’ as the world moves to a mineral intensive energy system. The Government’s Critical Minerals Strategy is supporting new investment and delivering infrastructure needed to bring new critical minerals projects into production.
Of course, we’re not walking away from our established strengths, and I understand Meg O’Neill, CEO of Woodside, has joined us, and can I congratulate you, Meg, and can I assure you that all our Government warmly welcomes Monday's announcement of the final investment decision to approve the $16.5 billion Scarborough development. I did a bit of a jig out of the Chamber the other day when Minister Pitt came up and confirmed to me that that had taken place and Richard had been in contact. I just could not be more thrilled about that. That is such a shot in the arm for our economy and it is going to power us into the future. So an enormous vote of confidence in what's happening here in Australia.
Now another one, our third beachhead we must secure out of COVID is the transformation of Australia’s manufacturing sector. We make things and we do it really well. Manufacturing jobs are shifting into high value roles and pre and post-production activities, and into higher value manufacturing subsectors. This transition is playing to Australia's strengths in highly skilled R&D intensive activities.
COVID has demonstrated the resilience of Australian manufacturers, with many firms able to pivot and adapt to new opportunities, and we're also seeing a rebalancing of global value chains towards more diverse and strategic sources of supply. This is opening up further opportunities for Australian manufacturing.
The Government's Modern Manufacturing Strategy has set out clear priorities and leverages our strengths and resources to build new sources of growth, and it's working. We've identified six areas where we believe we have that comparative advantage, strategic interest or capacity to harness the opportunities that are there. Medical products, food and beverage, recycling and clean energy, resources, technology and critical minerals processing, defence and space. Instead of spreading taxpayer dollars thinly across the economy where everybody gets a prize, we are focusing investment in sectors where we can build scale and have a real impact and draw in that private investment that can have certainty about where we're focusing our efforts.
Now, through the Government's $1.3 billion Modern Manufacturing Initiative, we are partnering with Australian manufacturers so they can scale up, translate ideas into commercial success and integrate into local and international supply chains. It's thanks to investments like these that for the first time since 2009, manufacturing employment is back over a million jobs.
Now those that money's already out there. I've been visiting those plants already in those those businesses, and it is changing the game for them now.
The fourth and final one I wanted to talk about as a beachhead sits at the intersection of commerce and our research ingenuity and how we turn great Australian ideas into commercial success. Now, you know, this has been one of the most difficult tasks that we have had, and Catherine knows all about that and I want to thank her for her input to much and so much of the work we've been doing here.
When I spoke to you in November last year, I said that securing our economic recovery will rely heavily on our science and research community and the role it can play in the collaboration with business. That's why we've injected over a billion dollars into university research to ensure the ongoing capability and excellence of our research workforce, they're a key asset. And it's why we provided over $450 million for the CSIRO to support the important research and development work they're doing. And I understand, Larry, you're with us today and it was great to see you last week as well.
There is more to do to drive returns on those investments and unlock all of the potential of our brightest minds. Australia has world class universities and Australian researchers produce pioneering foundational research and many of the technologies and products millions of people around the world rely on were made possible by Australian research discoveries.
Dr Graeme Clark enabled millions around the world as we know to hear with the cochlear implant. The woman who came to do my COVID test this morning, I seem to have them all the time, she was wearing them. The CSIRO untangled our homes and offices by developing WiFi. We have had outstanding researchers such as Michelle Simmons, who is just a superstar leading the world in quantum computing, and our Government wants to make sure that our researchers and universities that house them are rewarded for their discoveries.
Too often this research is just left on the shelf and not taken further down the pipeline towards production here in Australia. Too often, Australian businesses are missing out on those opportunities to commercialise Australian research and Australian universities and researchers are missing out on opportunities to be rewarded for their work.
Now, under the leadership of Minister Tudge, Alan Tudge as Education Minister, Jeff Connolly from Siemens and his expert panel, including senior representatives from BHP, Cochlear, Macquarie and our universities, they've been working hard to create new pathways for our talented researchers to partner with business. So we create a new generation of research entrepreneurs now again.
I know this is something that Catherine Livingstone and many others on this call today are very passionate about, you can probably tell so am I. We want to accelerate commercialisation of priority research, and the advice of our business and university leaders has been critical in scaling up our ambition and getting it right. And what Jeff and the panel have found is that there are a range of barriers to greater commercialisation.
Researchers are currently incentivised to publish and have their work cited as often as possible. And this publish or perish mindset is useful for getting tenure, but does little to spur innovation or create start-ups. Universities need to shift incentives towards high value commercial opportunities, to industry needs and national priorities. We want to see universities create incentives for researchers to collaborate with industry to drive investment, co-investment, and product development.
Now, business has a role to play, and I know you know that. Australian businesses need to recognise the value of Australian research and invest in the ideas that will create products and grow our economy. And so today I'm announcing to you the first phase of our research commercialisation agenda.
Our Government, the Australian Government will invest $243.5 million to identify and support Australian universities that are ready to seize the commercial opportunities from our economic recovery. This is a key part of our economic recovery plan. This new approach aims to incentivise what I call Trailblazer Universities that are early adopters of intellectual property, industrial relations and skills practises to lift collaboration and commercialisation outcomes.
We're going to work with those who are going to make this happen and want to make it happen. The focus is on universities working with the industry partners to revive commercialisation across our six national manufacturing priorities. We are bringing together, integrating, synchronising these priorities that we've set out from our important manufacturing sector and the research and development work being done in our universities. And you are the glue that is going to bring that together.
This investment will allow four select universities, four of them, including at least one in regional Australia, to position themselves as a research and development leader and demonstrate to the entire sector the benefits of a strong focus on commercialisation and industry engagement. We're going to work with those who want to do this work. Funding of up to $50 million over four years to June 2026 will be available to support R&D projects, staff, equipment and opportunities to increase collaboration with industry, enhance the commercialisation capability of research staff and drive the job ready skills of the future through alignment of courses with industry need.
Now, we need our universities to play a bigger role in our economy, working hand in glove with Australian businesses to develop the next generation of great Australian products and companies. They are a giant economic asset for this country, which generations of Australians have invested billions in, and I want to see that put to work to realise this next stage of our economic recovery. And can I urge all of you to look at how your business can take advantage of this research commercialisation agenda.
Now, I know I've been speaking for a while and you've all been terribly patient, but I do want to say to you that Australia, as you know, through all of our efforts, has fared better than virtually any other advanced economy in the world in dealing with COVID-19. And there are many reasons why that's the case. But none is more important than the grit and determination of the Australian people, especially those running our businesses. And you would know, especially those small and medium businesses that you work with, those suppliers, those partners all the way down your value chain. You know what they've been through and you know how you've had to support them in so many cases. In fact, just as we have through the many programmes we’ve run. Now, we're emerging from the pandemic and we're in an enviable position.
We've all worked hard to get the sacrifices, the hard work. Now, as we reopen and recover, we now have a real opportunity to leverage that for the future, and that is what our economic recovery plan is all about.
If we ever need any convincing to back Australia, I believe the last couple of years will leave you in no doubt, and I remain, as always, an incurable optimist, passionate about our country and what we can achieve in the years ahead. I know you are too, and so I'm looking forward to that future as much as we're all looking forward to all coming together, particularly as we go through this summer break.
Press Conference - Canberra, ACT
22 November 2021
Prime Minister: Well, good morning. I’m joined by the Minister for Home Affairs. It’s good to have you here with me, Karen. I like the mask too, Australian made. Australians are looking forward. They’re looking forward to Christmas, they’re looking forward to being at the Ashes, they’re looking forward to coming together, they’re looking forward to 2022. Australians are looking forward. And there is much, of course, that we've been through together as a nation over these recent years. There has been much that Australians have had to sacrifice and there have been many decisions that governments, including my own, have had to make over these past few years. Necessary decisions, but difficult ones.
But together, we have achieved something that few countries have, particularly developed economies. We have one of the lowest fatality rates from COVID in the world. We have one of the strongest advanced economies going through COVID in the world. And now, we have one of the highest vaccination rates of countries in the world. These are extraordinary achievements by Australians. I believe we have achieved this because we’ve kept looking forward, we’ve kept looking at every challenge that has come, we've assessed it on its merits, we've been very clear and got good advice from the best possible health and medical and economics experts, we’ve considered this situation and we’ve made decisions in Australia's national interest. We have made sensible, practical, balanced decisions.
And by making sensible, balanced and practical decisions throughout this pandemic, we have saved lives and we have saved livelihoods. And, so, Australians can look forward to the future. Australians can look forward to this Christmas and holiday season, in a way that few around the world can. And that is why my Government will continue to keep focused on making those sensible, balanced decisions about how we continue to manage our way now out of this pandemic, and most importantly, to secure Australia's economic future as we emerge.
Our National Plan, which I brought to the premiers and chief ministers back in June, was about opening safely so we can remain safely open. And we are making great progress on that Plan. We have sensibly and safely taken governments to a position where they are getting out of people's lives. That’s what the National Plan was about. The National Plan was not about entrenching government in people’s lives. It was about getting government out of people's lives. That’s what we agreed to do - not just once, but twice. And to keep going down that path. And I thank the states and territories for the journey that they’re taking us on to that outcome, but let us not forget that was the point. The whole point of the National Plan was to move forward, to look forward, and to ensure that the many sacrifices that Australians had to endure, that their side of the deal that they have kept by getting vaccinated, and now, we have a more than 85 per cent double dose vaccination. That is extraordinary. An extraordinary achievement right across the country. And we look forward to those states joining that 80 per cent club. South Australia, not far away. Not far away at all. And I have no doubt that Queensland and Western Australia will soon follow suit.
So, this National Plan enables governments to step back and Australians to step forward so they can look forward, and today, we are taking another step forward, a very important step forward. It's another win for Australians who have got vaccinated. It's another win for Australians who want to see Australia to return to some form of the normality that we once knew pre this pandemic. The steps we are taking today are about securing our economic recovery. The steps we’re taking today about, are about Australians looking forward, and the steps we are taking today is about taking Australia forward.
From the 1st of December 2021, fully vaccinated eligible visa holders will be able to come to Australia without needing to apply for a travel exemption. Eligible visa holders, including skilled and student cohorts, as well as humanitarian, temporary, working holiday maker and provisional family visa holders.
In addition to the introduction of the travel from Singapore, which only started on the 21st, from the 1st of December 2021, Australia will also welcome back fully vaccinated citizens from Japan and Korea. Under these arrangements, citizens of Japan and Korea who hold a valid Australian visa will be able to travel from their home country quarantine-free to participate in that programme where states and territories are providing that opportunity, without needing to seek a travel exemption.
The return of skilled workers and students to Australia is a major milestone in our pathway back. It's a major milestone about what Australians have been able to achieve and enabled us to do. It'll mean a lot for the economies of our, of our, of our country, right around the, right around the country who need those workers and want to see those students return. And, so, we're looking forward to that occurring from the 1st of December. We have done this in an orderly way. At first we said, let's get Australians home who are fully vaccinated, and that's been occurring since the first of this month. And, so, from the first of next month we will start welcoming back the students, we’ll start welcoming back those on skilled visas that are desperately needed to ensure we are able to take full advantage of the economic recovery that we’re working to secure.
I'll ask the Minister for Home Affairs to make a number of points about how this is all working in practice, but before I do that, just let me also note that today we’re taken another step forward in relation to the AUKUS agreement. The purpose of the Agreement is to establish a legally-binding framework for the disclosure and use of information related to naval nuclear propulsion amongst the Governments of Australia, the United States and the United Kingdom. This is the first time that the US and UK will have shared this information with a third country, ever. That was something worth securing. That was something that Australia has long sought, and our Government has secured. It was worth securing access to this important defence technology and information.
The Agreement will provide a mechanism for Australian personnel to access invaluable training and education from our US and UK counterparts, necessary for learning how to safely and effectively build, operate and support nuclear-powered submarines. It will enable Australian civilian and military personnel to receive access to critical training and education from the United States and United Kingdom counterparts, necessary to learn how to safely and effectively operate a capability for Australia. The Agreement will also enable Australia to develop the necessary skills and knowledge to create a world’s best practice regulatory and safety regime to guarantee the safe operation of nuclear, naval nuclear propulsion, and ensure compliance with Australia’s international obligations, including under the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons.
Now, this is not a defence alliance or security pact, as I've made clear on numerous occasions. Australia will fully and absolutely meet all of its obligations under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, as I've made very clear to many leaders around the world, as we’ve discussed this issue in recent weeks. This is, this is an important, a very important agreement for Australia’s future security. There are plenty of, there seems to be plenty of others who who don't want to see this go ahead. I think that tells you why it’s so important that we do. Minister for Home Affairs, Karen.
The Hon. Karen Andrews MP, Minister for Home Affairs: Well, thank you, Prime Minister. Australia is reopening to the world, and today's announcement is yet another step forward for Australia. Since the 1st of November, we have been safely welcoming Australians back in far greater numbers than we have been able to during the course of the pandemic. Now, from the 1st of December this year, fully vaccinated visa holders can come to Australia without needing to apply for a travel exemption.
So, I’ll just take you through some of the detail in relation to today's announcement. So, from 1 December 2021, fully vaccinated eligible visa holders can come to Australia without the need to apply for a travel exemption. Now, eligible visa holders include skilled and student cohorts, as well as refugee, humanitarian, temporary and provisional visa holders. A full list of the eligible subclasses is now available on the Home Affairs website.
Now, in order to be able to access the new provisions, travellers will need to be fully vaccinated. They will need to provide proof of their vaccination status, and they will need to present a negative PCR test, that has been taken within three days prior to their departure.
Now, also, as the Prime Minister has said, from 1 December this year, we will also be welcoming back fully vaccinated citizens of Japan and South Korea who hold a valid Australian visa, and they will need to look at the website in terms of what the visa status is for eligibility to travel here. To be eligible though, in addition to travel here from, for Japan and Korean citizens, they will need to depart from their home country. They will also need to be fully vaccinated and they’ll need to provide proof of their vaccination status. They will need to hold an eligible visa and they will also need to have a negative PCR test within three days, 72 hours, of their departure.
So, all of the information has now been updated on the Home Affairs website, so I would encourage all people wishing to access any of those provisions to look at that website so that they are clear on what the criteria is. Look, these changes are crucially important to Australia as we go through our reopening phase. It is, as I've indicated, another step forward to us. Australians are looking forward to what the future holds for them in a post-COVID world, and the Morrison Government is doing all that it can to ensure that we are working in a timely but safe manner to open Australia's borders.
Prime Minister: Thanks, Karen.
Journalist: [Inaudible] getting access to nuclear propulsion technology. Do you mean it was worth the French President saying that he thinks that you lied to him publicly? And also just on the detail of this announcement today, it says that there will be about a million tourist visas issued at a date yet to be determined. Is that likely to be next year? And with Europe blowing up with cases at the moment, are we unlikely to be issuing tourist visas to people from Europe?
Prime Minister: Well, on the second matter, we will take all these issues in turn, and that's why we've taken the very stepped and calm and methodical approach to this, taking the best advice, looking at the situation as it presents. And I said that back in October, when the decision was taken to move to quarantine free travel, and I said, well, we'll start with Australian citizens and residents returning first. Take our time, see how that has progressed. And I've got to say it's progressed extremely well in New South Wales and Victoria and here in the ACT. And I commend all of those working in both states and the ACT for how that has worked so successfully. And so we will now monitor how we move to this next stage. I think Australians are very keen to see us take this step by step approach. They've been through a lot and they've sacrificed a lot to ensure that we can open safely so we can stay safely open. And that's what we'll continue to do. If we're able to move on international visitors, which we are already doing in relation to Korea, Japan and Singapore, that's an important first step, that involves tourists coming from each of those countries, Japan and Korea and Singapore. They are all very important tourist markets for Australia. And so we're welcoming them back with open arms and whether we can extend that to others over the course of between now and the end of the year, well, we'll look very carefully at that. That is our predisposition. But we will act cautiously, take the best advice and make those decisions when we can. On the other, I simply make the point that there will be plenty who will be opposed to decisions we take from time to time. But I take those decisions in the national interest. And the national interest is above all others.
Journalist: PM, you've said that people have had a gutful of governments telling them what to do. Can you point to a single lockdown, which you didn't endorse? First of all, and second of all, why didn't you move on opening up to fully vaccinated visa holders a month ago when the New South Wales Government wanted it?
Prime Minister: Well, don't don't confuse the issues, Andrew. Our government has had to make decisions that has had to reach into people's lives, and that was very necessary in the midst of that pandemic. I'm not speaking against those decisions whatsoever. See, what we've done as a government is we haven't been driven by ideology. We've been driven by the practical situation that the nation has faced and our government has had no greater like of doing those things than Australians liked them having been done. See you've got to deal with the situation as you find it. And the situation when you have a pandemic raging through, when people's lives are at risk, well you have to take decisions to protect those lives. As the circumstances change, then it's time for us to move back, which is what the national plan was designed to do. So I just don't buy this binary proposition that somehow you're either for or against this at all points in the cycle. Times change over that, circumstances change, and governments that are interested in balanced, practical, sensible decisions will make them in the moment with the circumstances they have to face. Since I became Prime Minister, I've always made it clear there are those who are going to drag me over here and there are those who want to drag me over there. I know where Australians are. They're not at those extremes, the vast majority of them. They're looking for people just to make sensible decisions, weighing up all the best evidence and make sure we stay right there in the middle where we're able to ensure that we can keep Australians safe, we save lives and save livelihoods. And I think that's what they expect of a prime minister and government. Not to be distracted and dragged from one side of the binary debate to the other. I don't see it in those terms.
Journalist: Prime Minister, do you think it's reasonable that the same Sydney Golf Club who refused a memorial for four children who died after they were hit by a drunk driver is now looking to plan a 193 units on that same site. And just on vaccine mandates you've had five government senators cross the floor on the One Nation bill. What does that mean for the government's legislative agenda, if the those members of your own government threaten to block anything you bring into the Senate over the next two weeks?
Prime Minister: Well, on the first issue in relation to the Abdallah and Sakr families, I am with them, very distressed, Jenny and I are very distressed about that. We've through these awful events have become family friends, particularly with the Abdallah's and Sakr's. To Bridget and Veronique's father Bob. This has been such an ordeal for them and both families have shown such grace and forgiveness that it's humbled all of us. And I think their simple, honest, humble request that they should be able to memorialise the children that were taken from them, I think is entirely reasonable, and I would certainly hope that a fair outcome can be achieved here for them. Premier and I have been in discussion about these issues. Danny and I were texting each other again this morning and I know that the Premier is working with them to hopefully achieve something positive here, and I certainly hope they do. I think that's only fair. I think the loss of their children has touched the lives of many Australians, and I know, particularly a lot of Sydneysiders, and they've certainly touched mine and and Jenny's lives and not just the loss, but the incredible way in which they have responded and I think shown an example to so many others about the true meaning of faith. They are very faithful people. And I think they've demonstrated their faith in a way that has just been absolutely beautiful in the most awful of circumstances.
On the other issue. Well, in the Liberal Party, in the National Party, we don't run it as an autocracy. We don't kick people out of our party if they happen from time to time to disagree on issues on which they feel strongly. The Government opposed the bill that was in the Senate today, and the bill has not been successful. We don't agree with the with the measures that were in that bill, which would indeed threaten funding for hospitals and schools to states. A bill that would seek to centralise power more in Canberra. That's not something Liberals and Nationals traditionally are in favour of, but I respect the fact that individual members from time to time will express a view and they'll vote accordingly. And that's what's happened today. We're a big, we're big parties. We can deal with any differences of views that occur from time to time.
Journalist: How many visa holders are expected to come in by the end of this financial year? What's the estimate? And then if there are 150,000 Afghan nationals applying for 3,000, I accept that's a floor, but 3,000 more visas, how many of the humanitarian visas will be set aside for Afghan nationals?
Prime Minister: Well, Karen might want to comment on this as well, in terms of the numbers, my understanding is we're expecting probably around about 200,000 or thereabouts that fit into the skilled and other visa categories that we would hope would take this up. Whether they take them all up in December or they take them up in January, well, we'll see. But I have no doubt that the airlines will be responding positively to this and that will see more planes in the air. Planes in the air means also jobs on the ground and people coming back to Australia will also mean jobs on the ground right around the country. So we're looking forward to that because that will secure that economic recovery.
On the issue of Afghan visa holders. It's our highest priority in the refugee and humanitarian programme and I've always seen 3,000 as a floor, not a ceiling. I've made that, I think extremely clear and provided we can work through the relevant processes and and while you quote that number, I think I mean, this is across many different countries. And one of the things we've been doing through our special envoy on this issue in Qatar is working with other countries to ensure that where we're lining up with where applications are being considered in some countries in Australia, was a topic of conversation I had with quite a few leaders when I was overseas, particularly in the UK and in Canada. And so we're all just working together on what is a very challenging issues. And as you know, I was at AMAB on the way back when I came to Australia and was able to thank all of those Australians who did such an amazing job getting 4,100 people out of Afghanistan. But not just that, because that work has continued since and we brought hundreds and hundreds more out of that region and they're on their way to Australia, too. Karen, was there anything you want to add to that?
The Hon. Karen Andrews MP, Minister for Home Affairs: Well, thank you, Prime Minister. All I will add is that we are envisaging that there will be many international students wanting to come and study here in Australia, there are many skilled workers who already have visas who wish to come to Australia as well, too. So we're working on a figure of 200,000. It may well be more than that, but we will be actively looking to bring as many people into Australia as soon as we possibly can. What is important to note is that those visa holders will be under the quarantine arrangements at the state or territory in which they enter and subsequently move too. Now, at this point in time, the arrangements for the quarantine around Australia are very different, and New South Wales, Victoria and the ACT have various arrangements in relation to quarantine free travel for visitors coming into their states and territories. It's quite different in other states such as Queensland.
Journalist: Prime Minister, China and Taiwan have both, are both going to seek entry into the CPTPP. What are your comments on the relative merits of both of those applications?
Prime Minister: We'll work with our other partners in the CPTPP as we work through those issues. I've already had quite a few discussions, particularly with Japan, both their former Prime Minister Suga and Prime Minister Kishida. The CPTPP sets a very high benchmark on what people have to be able to achieve, and so it's important that those who are seeking to become part of an arrangement like that wouldn't want to have a track record of of coercing other trade partners. Thanks very much, everyone.
Press Conference - Luddenham, NSW
19 November 2021
PETER JENSEN, WESTERN SYDNEY AIRPORT, ABORIGINAL ENGAGEMENT MANAGER: Welcome everybody here today, it's an absolute honour to do the first welcome at Western Sydney Airport. My name is Peter Jensen and I'm the Aboriginal Engagement Manager here at Western Sydney Airport. When coming on to country, it's custom to let the old people know that we've arrived, to pay our respects and to move on. I'd like to acknowledge the Darag people. I'd like to acknowledge the possum and the flying fox. The spiritual custodians on the land that we meet today. I'd like to acknowledge all elders past and present. I'd like to acknowledge all Aboriginal people here today and all of my non-Aboriginal brothers and sisters. Thank you very much. Without any further ado, I’d like to invite Melissa McIntosh, Member for Lindsay.
MRS MELISSA MCINTOSH MP, FEDERAL MEMBER FOR LINDSAY: Hi I'm Melissa McIntosh, the Member for Lindsay. Welcome to Western Sydney and to our new international airport. Western Sydney is a powerhouse and this is what it's all about. Creating opportunities and jobs. In Western Sydney we make stuff and we build things and we're building the future right here. And it's really exciting to see because we're creating the jobs of the future for people right here. Three hundred thousand people commute out of western every day for a job. Western Sydney Airport and everything around it will ensure that our local kids have those opportunities for the future, have that optimism, that hope to have jobs close to home. Whether it's in advanced manufacturing, whether it's in agribusiness, or whether it is, very excitingly, in the space industry. So I'm really pleased to invite and to welcome the Prime Minister here today, the Premier, Dominic Perrottet, my colleague, my parliamentary colleague and the Minister, Paul Fletcher and other parliamentary colleagues. And I'd like to welcome Western Sydney Airport and Simon Hickey to say a few words, thank you everyone.
MR SIMON HICKEY, WESTERN SYDNEY AIRPORT, CEO: Thanks Melissa. Good morning. We're here today to mark the start of construction of what will be Australia's best airport terminal. This terminal will take Western Sydney to the world and will bring the world to Western Sydney. This will be an iconic building that Western Sydney will be proud of. We've designed it around efficiency, productivity, customer experience. And that means that you get to your work on time or you get home to your loved ones sooner. This airport is centred around jobs and opportunities, and I'm pleased to say we're on track to open the airport and start flights in 2026. I'd like to hand over to the Prime Minister of Australia to say a few words.
PRIME MINISTER: Well thank you Simon and Melissa. And thank you, P.J. for the welcome. It's great to be here with Premier Perrottet and my colleagues. It's particularly great to be here with all of those who are working here to create the future, not just of Western Sydney, but Australia's future right here in Western Sydney. The Australian economy is taking off. That's what's happening as we come out of this pandemic. We can't take our economic recovery for granted. We have to secure that economic recovery. Australians have pushed through in this pandemic. Australians have kept up their side of the deal. We have had the lowest, one of the lowest, fatality rates through COVID of almost any country in the world. We have had one of the strongest economic performances through the pandemic of any developed advanced economy in the world. And we are now, and I particularly want to congratulate those in New South Wales and Victoria and the ACT, we have one of the highest vaccination rates of any country in the world. Now Australians have pushed through to achieve this, and now what we have to do is secure that economic recovery. That's what's at stake. And the way you do it is by what you're seeing take place behind me right here. This didn't happen overnight. This took a Liberal-Nationals Government to be able to make the case here in Western Sydney for why that airport was necessary. To take the decisions that ensured that the Commonwealth Government could step in and make this a reality. We didn't talk about it. We did it. This project is now already 25 per cent complete, and today we marked the start of the construction of what will be the best terminal anywhere in the country. And that is come as a result of a great partnership. A partnership between the federal Liberals and Nationals and the state Liberals and Nationals working closely together to secure Australia's economic future, and to secure the success of Western Sydney. Here in Western Sydney, the Commonwealth Government alone, over $14 billion being invested not just in building this airport, but working with the state government to ensure we're building the infrastructure that surrounds this airport that creates the aerotropolis, that actually creates even more jobs. Eleven thousand jobs alone here on this project. And the other great partnership we've had is with the workforce and with the companies that are building this project. Eleven thousand jobs, as I've said. Fifty per cent of them from Western Sydney alone. Thirty per cent of them, of people upgrading their skills in training, in apprenticeships, actually building the workforce of tomorrow. So we're not just building an airport here. We are building a workforce that will continue to build Australia for decades to come. That's why this is a transformational project. This project is changing Australia to make it stronger. It's changing Western Sydney to see that it can realise its potential. We've always believed in this project and we've backed that belief in by doing what we need to do to ensure its success. Now what is important, what is important, is we continue to do that and work with our partners here on the ground, with that workforce, with our partners in the New South Wales Government, to realise that. Just let me make one other comment before I ask the Premier to make a few remarks as well. The New South Wales Government has been such a wonderful partner on this project, but I welcome the fact that just like here in New South Wales, in Victoria, they are walking into some new freedoms today. And I want to congratulate the people of Victoria for pushing through, for getting vaccinated, for keeping their side of the deal and ensuring that now they are walking into the fact that this Christmas, they can all get round the same table. On the Boxing Day test they'll be filling the G and on New Year's Eve, just like they will be here in New South Wales Premier, they'll be celebrating going into a 2022 that is going to secure Australia's economic recovery under the sound economic management that our government is well known for. And with that, I'm very happy to welcome my good friend Dom Perrottet, Premier of New South Wales, thanks for your partnership Dom.
THE HON. DOMINIC PERROTTET MP, PREMIER OF NEW SOUTH WALES: Thanks, Prime Minister, it's great to be here. I mean how good is this? This project is going to take Western Sydney to the world. And I'm pleased to be here with the Prime Minister and this partnership, Minister Fletcher, local members, as well as the Parliamentary Secretary for the aerotropolis Shayne Mallard. But this is a transformative project. This is all about vision. They were talking about during this airport when I was a kid. To now see it actually happen before our very eyes is going to transform Western Sydney, transform our state and transform our country. This is, this is what good governments do. I'm here again with the Prime Minister. We're almost doing a press conference every week as we announce this partnership, building infrastructure that's going to transform people's lives. We were out at the WestConnex just recently. These are projects that take a while to be delivered, but when they come, they will ensure that people will be able to get home with their families faster, will be able to travel overseas from Western Sydney. It's going to be amazing that in 2026, when people come to Australia for the first time, many of them will land here. Their first experience in Western Sydney. What a great thing that will be. The Prime Minister spoke very clearly about, not only are these projects important once they're completed, but that have been driving our economic recovery and jobs growth during this time. Many of the people working on this project come from Western Sydney. Our $108 billion infrastructure investment over the next four years will drive jobs growth and economic growth, adding half a percentage point to our economic growth. But on this site alone, 1,000 people working at the moment, up to 3,000 as we continue to move through this period of time. So, I met [inaudible], he's a project manager down there, before this project he was working on Wynyard. We've had all these, all these infrastructure projects across our state are taking us to the next level. And projects like this don't just set us up for today, but set us up for generations to come, so our kids and their kids have better opportunity and prosperity than we have ourselves. And you can't do that without vision. This partnership with the Commonwealth Government, billions and billions of dollars of investment at both a Commonwealth level and a State level, is going to ensure that as Sydney grows, it grows well. When Sydney goes well, the country goes well. This partnership will make our state a greater place than it is today, and we're getting on with the job of building a brighter future, not just for us, but for generations to come.
THE HON. PAUL FLETCHER MP, MINISTER FOR COMMUNICATIONS, URBAN INFRASTRUCTURE, CITIES AND THE ARTS: Well it's great to be here at Western Sydney International, Nancy-Bird Walton Airport, with the Prime Minister, with the Premier, Melissa McIntosh, with Chief Executive Simon Hickey to mark the commencement of construction on the terminal. This terminal is a bold, confident, visionary building. This will be a major public building in Western Sydney and it's been designed to respect and celebrate the confidence and the aspirations of Western Sydney. As the Prime Minister and the Premier have said, the airport is the centrepiece of an extraordinary commitment to infrastructure, jointly between the Commonwealth and New South Wales Liberal and National Governments. We've got the metro Western Sydney Airport, almost $11 billion. The M12 to the airport, $2 billion. The Northern Road, $1.6 billion. And of course, the City Deal. The integrated approach to planning, to investment, to jobs attraction, to backing Western Sydney. Liberal and National Governments, Commonwealth and State working together to back Western Sydney. If Western Sydney were a standalone city, it would be Australia's fourth largest city, third largest economy. And it has a very bright future. Liberal and National Governments, Commonwealth and New South Wales, working together to back Western Sydney. For too long Labor took Western Sydney for granted. Our Liberal-National Governments are backing the potential and the future for Western Sydney.
PRIME MINISTER: Well, thank you very much, Paul. And can I thank you for your work on this project together with everyone at the Western Sydney Airport companies. Paul and I have been, you know, passionate about this project for a very long time, going back to before we even entered parliament, in the various roles that we had before then. And for us to see this coming to fruition here in Western Sydney is a real joy, a real joy, so well done Paul. And it's great to be here with you today, doing this in particular. Happy to take some questions.
JOURNALIST: On the train, Prime Minister, is the metro going to be here day one? I know that was the plan, is that still the plan?
PRIME MINISTER: I might ask Paul to comment on that. But as you know, we're putting over $14 billion, $5 billion of that is actually going into the building of this airport. The balance is actually going into the infrastructure that is around this airport. But I'll ask Paul to speak more about that.
THE HON. PAUL FLETCHER MP, MINISTER FOR COMMUNICATIONS, URBAN INFRASTRUCTURE, CITIES AND THE ARTS: Yes, absolutely. The metro Western Sydney Airport, a 50/50 funded Commonwealth and New South Wales Government. It will run from St Mary's down to the aerotropolis to the south of the airport. And yes, on track to be delivered when the airport opens.
JOURNALIST: Can you open it, can you build and run a train in five years’ time? The metro's take years, like decades, to build.
THE HON. PAUL FLETCHER MP, MINISTER FOR COMMUNICATIONS, URBAN INFRASTRUCTURE, CITIES AND THE ARTS: Well a huge amount of work going on between the Commonwealth and New South Wales Governments, very detailed planning work underway and we're on track to get that metro delivered. On track to get the M12 delivered. Of course, the Northern Road, many of you would have driven here along the Northern Road, that's one of the projects we committed to as part of this. And you can see for yourself, we are delivering projects.
JOURNALIST: Did the pandemic construction shut down cause delays on this project and has it affected the budget?
THE HON. PAUL FLETCHER MP, MINISTER FOR COMMUNICATIONS, URBAN INFRASTRUCTURE, CITIES AND THE ARTS: I'll ask Simon Hickey to add to that, but there was roughly a period of about three weeks. But apart from that, we've been able to get activity back underway and we're getting on with delivering the project. I'll ask Simon just to add to that.
MR SIMON HICKEY, WESTERN SYDNEY AIRPORT, CEO: Thanks very much for that. Yeah, we were we were shut down for a period of time due to COVID, and obviously COVID has played a significant issue in everybody's lives. But we've been able to continue this project that we're on track and ready to open in 2026. First planes will be taking off and landing here on time and we're on budget.
PRIME MINISTER: Thank you. And yesterday, I thanked the manufacturing workers of Australia for keeping Australia going through COVID. I'll thank the mining workers, whether they're up in the Hunter Valley or over there in Western Australia, or up in Queensland and central Queensland. But a big shout out to our, our infrastructure construction workers. The women and men who have kept Australia building through the pandemic. Kept our economy going. But making sure that we kept pushing through on these major projects and the fact that the Western Sydney International Airport, the Nancy-Bird Walton Airport, is on target to meet its 26 opening day, I think is a tremendous testimony to their great efforts, their great skill and their great determination. So thank you to all those workers.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister the Victorian Premier, Daniel Andrews has accused you of engaging in a double standards in chasing the votes of extremists. What's your response to that?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, I was very clear yesterday in denunciating any violence, threats or intimidation that is a plight against anyone, and we have absolutely no truck with that one whatsoever. I couldn't have been clearer about denunciating the violence and the threats and the intimidation. They have no place in Australia's public policy debate whatsoever, whatsoever. I have consistently said, all the way through, that there is a deal with Australians, and that deal with Australians we said, and particular as we saw here in New South Wales Dom, we said come forward and get vaccinated. Victorians did that, in the ACT they've done that, and in Queensland and Western Australia, we are increasingly seeing that. And I said when we get vaccinated, when we hit those marks that have been set by the scientific experts at 80 per cent, that's when Australians expect governments to step back and for them to step forward, and that is my government's view. I'm going to keep the deal with Australians. I've been saying this consistently ever since I put the National Plan together and got all of the states and territories to agree to it, and we're going to keep going with that Plan. Australians have earned that. They've kept their part of the deal. I assure you that I intend to keep mine.
JOURNALIST: On that note, why did you express sympathy for the protesters even when some called for Dan Andrews to be killed?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, as I said, I completely and totally and continue to denunciate any violence, any threat, any intimidation and any suggestion that I have not done that is completely false. I have been completely clear on that issue, what I'm also very clear about is our National Plan. What I'm also very clear about is it's important that governments keep their side of the deal. Australians have kept theirs.
JOURNALIST: Do you have sympathy for those demonstrators?
PRIME MINISTER: I don't have sympathy for violence. I don't have sympathy for intimidation or threats whatsoever. And on those issues then, of course not, I've encouraged people not to participate in that, including those who would number themselves amongst Liberal Party ranks. I've said absolutely, they shouldn't be participating in any violence, and any suggestion that I would is patently absurd.
JOURNALIST: Is it fair to say though that you have sympathy for the cause?
PRIME MINISTER: I have sympathy for Australians who have had a gutful of governments telling them what to do over the last two years, and I think they have been very clear in keeping their side of the deal, and they've kept their side of the deal in getting vaccinated and enabling us, particularly here in New South Wales and in Victoria, where I welcome, absolutely welcome the restoration of the freedoms that have been put there today for Victorians. I think that's fantastic. That's what should be happening. Australians have done their part. It's now time for them to be able to step forward with their lives and for governments to step back out of their lives. That's what Liberals believe. That's what Nationals believe. I know the Labor Party has a different view about that, and they will seek to attack us on these issues. That's fine, that's politics.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, not everyone has done their part because there are anti-vaxxers who are, for whatever reason, ideological, medical, religious, are not getting vaccinated.
PRIME MINISTER: Sure.
JOURNALIST: And they're putting gallows in front of the Victorian State Parliament.
PRIME MINISTER: And that's appalling.
JOURNALIST: But you have sympathy for their frustration but not sympathy for their actions, is that what you're saying?
PRIME MINISTER: I think you're making an assumption that the frustration that Australians feel is only limited to a small group of people who have engaged in violence and threats and intimidation and have worked against the vaccination program. I have no, I have no sympathy with that agenda, but for the broader view of Australians who have done the right thing and got vaccinated and want to come together again and want their lives back and they want governments to stop telling them what to do and have governments step back and then step forward into their own future. That's the cause I have sympathy with.
JOURNALIST: Those Australians have also had a gutful of the anti-vaxxers. Have you had a gutful of it?
PRIME MINISTER: I am the Prime Minister that actually recommended that we should introduce mandatory vaccines for aged care workers. And I got to tell you, it took me some months, some months, as you’ll recall, for all the state governments to back me in on that and put in those mandatory vaccines for aged care workers. For many months I was the one who was saying, go out there and get the AstraZeneca vaccine. I wasn't the one talking down the AstraZeneca vaccine. Others were doing that. I was standing up for our vaccination program, and Australia today has one of the highest rates of vaccination anywhere in the world. But we didn't have to do it by bribing people. We didn't have to do it by saying, we're going to pay you to do it. And our position on mandatory vaccines extended only to those who are working in the health sector, particularly those working with the most vulnerable of Australians, in aged care, in disability, working in emergency wards. That's where we said the mandatory vaccines should be in place. We said in the rest of the economy that it should be up for businesses to decide, it's their business, they can decide these issues. We don't think government should be telling them who should come in and out of their businesses.
JOURNALIST: Are you then having it both ways by acknowledging that people are angry about restrictions when it was the National Cabinet that imposed many of them?
PRIME MINISTER: No, I've said very clearly that over the course of the pandemic that these restrictions have been regrettably necessary and I was the advocate of those. But we have now got to the point where Australian economy is opening up again because of the hard work of Australians in ensuring that they went forward and did what we asked them to do. And that was to push through the lockdowns and they were tough. I have no doubt, and the Premier may wish to comment on this as well.
THE HON. DOMINIC PERROTTET MP, PREMIER OF NEW SOUTH WALES: You're doing well.
PRIME MINISTER: These were not issues. These were not issues that Liberal governments in particular wanted to rush towards, but they were necessary. But there comes a time where government has to step back. You can't hold onto these things forever. These restrictions in places that still have not reached 80 per cent, they remain necessary. But governments have to say when they're going to step back out of people's lives, when are they going to stop telling them what they can do in their businesses. When are they going to stop telling them, you know, what they can do and where they can go. That was necessary for a time, but time has moved on. The circumstances have changed. Australia now has one of the highest vaccination rates in the world, and Australians have earned, through their own sacrifices, through their own actions, for governments to start stepping back so they can step forward.
JOURNALIST: In that case then, if states like New South Wales and Victoria still have some restrictions on the unvaccinated, but we have the highest vaccination rates in the country. Do you support still restricting the unvaccinated for some time?
PRIME MINISTER: What I particularly welcome here in New South Wales, and I welcome it also in Victoria, is that they're setting dates for when government steps back. I think that's fair and reasonable. They have to make decisions in accordance with their public health interest. But they've got to be able to, as they have done here in New South Wales, given business, given Australians the clear signal that this is not something they want to continue doing and this has to come to an end, and governments have to step back and governments have to start letting go of all of these controls on people's lives. And I know, particularly the Labor Party likes interfering in people's lives. They like putting up people's taxes. They like governments controlling with more regulation. I get all that. That's what they do. That's not what we like to do. And so there's a difference of view on that.
JOURNALIST: Premier, can I just ask you, just on schools, it's getting unsustainable, opening, closing, opening, closing because of close contact. That's got to change. Victoria has gone further than that.
THE HON. DOMINIC PERROTTET MP, PREMIER OF NEW SOUTH WALES: Yeah, we're looking at it, and my expectation is that it will be discussed at our COVID Economic Recovery Committee meeting next week. There have been challenges, in the main though, the majority of schools, the vast majority of schools, thousands of them have remained open. We led the way getting kids back in the classroom. We want to make it as easy as possible and streamline it so that in circumstances, if there is a positive case, because there will be positive cases in schools, but we don't want to close them for a substantial period of time. I don't want kids sitting at home. I want them in the classroom. That's good for them. It's also good for parents.
JOURNALIST: Premier, Victoria's taken away all density limits for hospitality, even though they have more cases than us. Why haven’y we done the same here?
THE HON. DOMINIC PERROTTET MP, PREMIER OF NEW SOUTH WALES: Oh it's not about, we can compare this and compare that, ultimately, we've always been here in New South Wales about leading the way to open up our state. The reality is there are very little restrictions, but very little difference between two square metres and no limit. Ultimately, as the Prime Minister just said, I don't like restrictions as much as anyone else. I want to get government out of the way. We primarily believe in freedom that is a core tenet of Liberal Party philosophy, and we had to put restrictions in to keep our people safe. Everyone has done an amazing job, particularly in New South Wales in going out and getting vaccinated and now we can open up. We've led the way on bringing back schools, I'm not going to get compared to Victoria when they've been, had more days in lockdown than probably anywhere else in the world. What we've done in New South Wales, is got the balance right at various times, we haven't always got it right. It's difficult to make some of these decisions, but we'll continue to lead, particularly on Chris's question in relation to schools. We're looking at that. We want to make that as easy as possible and we want to get government out of the way and by December 15, in this state, almost every single restriction will be lifted.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, are you concerned about the disappearance of Chinese tennis star Peng Shuai?
PRIME MINISTER: So I couldn't quite hear you.
JOURNALIST: Are you concerned about the disappearance of Chinese tennis star Peng Shuai?
PRIME MINISTER: Yeah, look, I've seen some reports on that and so I can't make any further comment on the basis that I haven't received any sort of additional briefings from our agencies on these matters, so I don't think it would be helpful to add any commentary on that when I am not familiar with all the details. Those reports, of course anyone in that situation based superficially on the reports that we've seen that would be a cause for concern.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, three candidates are set to challenge Andrew Constance for Liberal preselection in the marginal seat of Gilmore, who will you back and will you intervene in the preselections contest?
PRIME MINISTER: I am absolutely committed, as we go to this next election, to ensure that we secure Australia's economic recovery. I'll be ensuring we've got the best candidates coming forward to represent that to the people right across the country and particularly here in New South Wales. What we're demonstrating here in New South Wales, what is happening right behind us, and this is where I might finish on this today. For many, many years, Labor talked up the need for this airport, in particular the Leader of the Opposition, Anthony Albanese. He talked about it. He talked about it. He talked about it. He was the Minister for Infrastructure and Transport for six years and didn't even dig a hole when it came to the Western Sydney Airport. It took a Liberal National government working with our colleagues in the state government, a Liberal National state government, to make this airport a reality. This is the proof that we get on with things, that when we commit to things, we do them. We build them. And we're not just building infrastructure here, as I said, we're building a workforce. You know, we've got more than three hundred thousand Australians now in training and apprenticeships across this country. That's a 30 per cent increase on last year, and they're working on projects like this. They're working in the mines, they're working in manufacturing industries, they're working up at the Tomago Smelter in the Hunter. They're working right across this country and they're getting the skills in an economy that's growing, that's building, that's opening off, opening up and is taking off. And so our absolute focus of all of my team, my candidates at the next election, my incumbent members from North Queensland across to the west to the tip of Tasmania, we are focused on one very important job and that is to secure Australia's economic recovery. You cannot take it for granted, and we certainly never do that as Liberals and Nationals, whether a federal level or at a state level. And the proof of that is the work going on behind me. Thanks very much everyone for your attention.
Press Conference - Lidcombe, NSW
18 November 2021
Mr Marcus Anderson, LION: I just wanted to welcome everyone to The Tooheys Brewery in western Sydney. Largest brewery in New South Wales. I'd certainly like to welcome Dr Fiona Martin and of course, the Prime Minister to the brewery. We've had an amazing tour, really meeting lots of amazing people along the way and including, you know, our young new young talent that is coming through. Look, we've, we've had a, you know, a really challenging time during the pandemic, but fortunately, we've been able to continue producing and continue to supply our beer out of this great facility. Really exciting year ahead, obviously post-pandemic. And you know, one of the key things is really starting to continue to build our young talent through apprenticeships and the like and continuing to sponsor a grad programme in New South Wales for the University of New South Wales and our new grad programme with our graduates starting in in February 2022. So exciting times ahead and I'll hand over to Fiona.
Dr Fiona Martin MP, Federal Member for Reid: Thank you. Thank you so much for welcoming us here this morning at Tooheys Brewery. It's always exciting to be here. Reid is open for business and it's so exciting to see so many people moving about again and working and, you know, businesses open, particularly our pubs. I think the breweries have seen us go from kegs to cans and now back to kegs again, which is great. Wonderful to see our pubs open too in Reid. Last night, I went to the Inner West Business Awards and saw how during COVID, a lot of our local businesses adapted and have bounced back and things are looking very good for Reid. Consumer spending is up. And I think we're going to have a ripper of a Christmas, a lot more jobs created, and it's places like this, Tooheys Brewery, where jobs are being created. A lot of people here at Tooheys actually live and work in Reid, which is fantastic, and we're honoured this morning to have our Prime Minister here, Scott Morrison, to talk more about jobs and manufacturing. Thank you very much, Prime Minister.
Prime Minister: Thank you. Well, thank you, Dr Martin. Thank you, Fiona. You've done a wonderful job here, Liberal Member for Reid, it's been a tough time coming through this pandemic and your experience in mental health as a practitioner there has been extraordinarily helpful here to the local community. So many parts of our country have really had to push through and have needed that mental health support. Of course, we've invested heavily as a government working together with the states and territories to ensure that Australians had that mental health support throughout this pandemic and Fiona, I want to thank you for the the great advice and support that you've given to us as a government to make sure we've been getting those decisions right to support through people through their mental health.
But you know what, there have been many heroes during this pandemic. Of course, we know of the great heroes in our health professionals and our health workers who've been out there, whether in mental health or out there taking taking the swabs or supporting us in aged care facilities or in emergency wards right across the country. But you know, there have been some economic heroes during this pandemic. We know about the mining industry and how that kept the dollars rolling in to Australia during the pandemic. But Australia's manufacturing industry have been real heroes. They've been keeping the show on the road. They've been keeping the production up to the demand and they've been keeping people in jobs and Tooheys are a great example of that. You know, there are a million people who are now employed in manufacturing. Before we came to government, one in eight jobs in manufacturing were lost under Labor, under our government's policies and through a pandemic, we've turned that around, and we've got more than a million people working in manufacturing. Now, food and beverage manufacturing is the biggest sector of that. It's almost a quarter of those jobs are in food and beverage manufacturing. And so our manufacturers during the pandemic getting their COVIDsafe practises right, making sure they keep the machines turning over and they're ensuring the bottling and the filling and the finishing is done and the products are getting out to market. This has been a heroic effort, and so to all our workers out there in manufacturing right across the country, thank you for the amazing job that you've done to ensure that our Australian economy has been coming through this pandemic stronger than almost any other advanced developed economy in the world.
But the challenges we all now know is to secure that economic recovery. There are plenty of challenges ahead. There are all sorts of headwinds we're going to face, and we cannot take this economic recovery for granted. It's wonderful to see our cities opening up again. It's wonderful to see those borders coming down before Christmas. This is all tremendous. But that alone is not going to ensure that we really secure this economic recovery. Strong economic management is what will deliver that. And without that, this recovery would be placed at risk. In particular, it's great to see what's happening here with skills and training. There are thousands and thousands and thousands of jobs which employers around the country are now looking to fill as the recovery takes hold. I want to encourage Australians who have yet to get back into that workforce. Those jobs are there. The employers are looking for you. So please get out there and sign up and let's get back into this economy and making sure it's moving forward strongly for young people, but particularly for women, it's great to see here. I met Lizzie before from Zimbabwe. Now Lizzie has come here as a migrant, as so many workers and people of different backgrounds right here in the electorate of Reid have. And to see Lizzie, Giselle who has come from Venezuela and of course, Claire from Ireland. Of course, there's going to be an Irish girl here in a brewery with their brewing skills, and these skills are being brought from all around the world. But it's great to see female apprentices, female engineers here, part of the biggest brewery operation here in New South Wales and the second biggest in the country. And it's great to see young women taking on those roles coming out of university, training other women coming up through plants just like this. So it's exciting to see, we've got some 240,000, 240,000 young Australians, largely, who have come in under our boosting apprenticeship scheme. And that is a tremendous result. And the largest number of those are right here in New South Wales. About 48,000 of them. So we're getting people into jobs, we're getting the skills and training that they need and women are leading the charge.
Journalist: PM, we have 22,000 fewer apprenticeships than eight years ago, yes great initiative but clearly more needs to be done, what will you do to address that?
Prime Minister: Well, as you just said, the boosting apprenticeship scheme has got 240,000 largely young Australians in these apprenticeships. Now under Labor, what happened is we had all the dodgy loans that were going for dodgy courses. People were given laptops to turn up to courses that never met. They counted all of those as part of their apprenticeship scheme. It's nonsense. What happened under Labor is they cut, they cut the incentive programme for employers to take on apprentices, and we lost 100,000 apprentices under Labor. 100,000 because they took the incentives away from employers to put them in. We put those incentives back and we've kept those incentives going, and that's why there are more than 45,000 apprentices now in our boosting apprenticeship scheme and there's over 240,000 nationally. So we're putting those people back into work and those apprentices, particularly in those technical trades, the technical trades and the engineering skills that are needed to drive, especially our manufacturing sectors forward. We make things in Australia, we make a lot of things here in Australia, and we've got more people employed in manufacturing now. We've turned around those one in eight jobs which were lost under Labor, and we've got Australians making things again and getting trained to make things again.
Journalist: Protesters in Melbourne have this week have carried signs advocating for violence against politicians. One is accused of encouraging protesters to take guns to parliament to shoot Daniel Andrews. What is your response to this [inaudible]?
Prime Minister: Well, of course, those threats and intimidation has no place in Australia. We're a civil, peaceful society. Where we have disagreements, we don't handle them with violence and there can be no tolerance for that. And there should be no tolerance for that. No matter how frustrated people might be, that is never the answer. And there needs to be the respect shown in those, those debates that we have. There has to be an appropriate balance and civility. Of course, there are many people who are feeling frustrated. I mean, over the last couple of years, governments have been telling Australians what to do. Now, there's been a need for that as we've gone through the pandemic. But the time is now to start rolling all of that back. Australians have kept their part of the deal. More than 80 per cent of Australians are now double dose vaccinated. We now have one of the highest vaccination rates in the world. We've had one of the strongest economies to come through the pandemic, and we have one of the lowest fatality rates from COVID in the world. Australians have done an amazing job when it comes to leading us through this pandemic, but now it's time for governments to step back. And for Australians to take their lives back. And for Australians to be able to move forward with the freedoms that should be theirs. That's certainly what we're doing as a federal government. That's where we see it going. Our position on mandatory vaccines, for example, is in very specific circumstances. We're not in favour of mandatory vaccines imposed by the government. Businesses can make their own choices under the law, but we're not about telling them what to do or telling Australians what to do. Vaccines only are mandatory in cases where you've got health workers that are working with vulnerable people. That's what our medical advice has always been. And as we get above 80 per cent in particular, which the scientific advice shows us and the research shows us, that means Australians can have their lives back. They should be able to go and get a cup of coffee in Brisbane when you're over 80 per cent, regardless of whether you've had the vaccines or not.
Journalist: How concerned are you to see state Liberal MPs joining in on these protests and associating themselves with these kinds of messages?
Prime Minister: Well, I don't, I don't support any of that.
Journalist: PM, thousands of jobs shortages as you mentioned, particularly in hospitality, a lot of businesses are really struggling with vacancies that would have once been filled by overseas workers, what are you going to do to address that, does more need to be done to encourage overseas workers into those hospitality jobs?
Prime Minister: Of course it does. The Premier and I discussed this last week, and we're of the same view on this here in New South Wales and particularly with the decisions taken here in New South Wales. And I would say in the ACT, in Victoria, where there isn't the requirement for quarantine for double vaccinated people, that provides that opportunity. And I envisage that we'll be in that situation very, very soon. When we get into next month, we will be able to be seeing skilled migrants coming up in greater numbers here, particularly into New South Wales, which is what I indicated. So we're getting on with that, but we have got to basically open the country up again. We've got to do it safely to stay safely open. I think Australians don't want to see governments taking decisions that aren't cautious, but they've got to be the right decisions too. And we've got to understand that it is time to move forward, not for governments to hold people back. And that's certainly what the federal government is doing. That's what we're doing. Australians have kept their part of the deal. They've gone and got vaccinated. They've pushed through this pandemic. It's time for Australians to be able to have those freedoms back because of what they have achieved. They've earned it back. It was never something that certainly our government rushed towards. It's not something that comes naturally to us. But it was necessary for a time. And that time, as we've now hit 80 per cent double dose vaccinations, means Australians should reclaim those freedoms.
Journalist: Do you think those businesses will have some reprieve when we reopen the country? Do you expect that those job vacancies will be filled by overseas workers and that will be enough?
Prime Minister: Well, that will play a role, but the key thing is also to keep training people coming out of school. I mean this time last year one of the reasons we put JobTrainer in place was because we were concerned about students coming out of school at the end of 2020 into an economy which was still impacted by the pandemic. And so that's why we put JobTrainer in place. That's why we increased the number of university places to ensure that Australian school leavers would be able to go into high quality training and education opportunities. Now they're one year down in that process. And so going into next year, we've been spending the money on training to get people skilled up, as I said more than 240,000 Australians in that boosting apprenticeships programme, a really important programme, more than 45,000 of them here in New South Wales. That helps the challenge that employers will have, but the challenge we now have is the jobs are there and we're looking to get people into those jobs to support those businesses because you cannot take the economic recovery for granted. And my government will secure that economic recovery.
Journalist: On that note, your office has suggested up to 280,000 jobs created before Christmas, where does that figure come from and where will those jobs be created?
Prime Minister: Well, it's based on public data, but the point is there are thousands and thousands of jobs that are there and they, we need to fill them. Employers need them filled and we want to see Australians get into those jobs. And over the course of the next month or so, we'll be seeing our borders open up more safely and that will ensure there'll be more people like Claire who came here at the start of the pandemic. She turned up in January 2020. Thank goodness she did. She was here on a backpacker visa, and I'm sure she'll be able to transfer onto a skilled visa because of the wonderful job she's done here and make a life here in Australia. And that's what we want to see. Australia is a migration country. We always have been, and Reid is one of the most multicultural electorates in the country and that is a huge part of our economy into the future.
Journalist: Peter Dutton has said that it's inconceivable that Australia would not join the US if it entered into a conflict with China over Taiwan. Do you agree with this assessment and if not why not?
Prime Minister: Well, Australia has always been working with our partners and allies to shore up a free and open Indo-Pacific. We work very closely with all our partners and our allies in the Indo-Pacific to ensure that it is free and open, and that's where all of our efforts are focused. That's what we want to see happen, and that's why we want to ensure there's an appropriate balance in the region to ensure that we don't move down the path that those types of events would realise.
Journalist: PM, even with these job shortages, we are seeing lines outside Centrelink, what is your message to people on welfare that I imagine this is what is driving the unemployment rate. What is your message [inaudible]?
Prime Minister: Well, the reason we've seen in the most recent numbers, what we've seen is because there was lockdowns in Sydney and Melbourne. Those lockdowns are over. And so those lines will now be outside places like this one or many other employers as people line up for those jobs because those jobs are there. Now those lines will be virtual because they'll be on, on the various job sites and the work that is done through the job agencies all around through job active and others. So that's where the jobs are. Those jobs are there. The best form of welfare is a job. The best way to grow your economy is to get people off welfare and into work. Those social security benefits are there as a safety net. They are not to hold people back. They will give them that support when they need it. But the jobs are there now and we want to encourage people to go out and take those jobs because employers are asking for you to come and work. And it's for Australians to go back to work now and to fill those jobs and secure this economic recovery.
Journalist: The US President and the Chinese President met this week and yet Australian ministers still can’t get their counterpart on the line. Is there a concern for Australia or is your government resigned to the fact that we have no high level of communication with our largest trading partner?
Prime Minister: Well, the trade with our largest trading partner continues, and it continues at a very strong levels. And the Australian side has always been very pleased to be able to open that dialogue and we welcome that dialogue whenever the Chinese President and other ministers within the Chinese system are happy to meet with Australia. Australia is always very open to that dialogue and engaging that dialogue at whichever opportunity they seek. Our positions on issues are very clear. We're very clear about what our interests are, our security interests, our economic interests. We will always stand up for Australia's interests. There'll never be any compromise on that. But we equally are happy to work with everyone in our region to ensure we have a free and open Indo-Pacific, and that is the focus of our policy.
Journalist: Lastly William Tyrrell, is there anything you'd like to say on that investigation it’s making huge inroads?
Prime Minister: Well, it is, but this is a very sensitive issue, and given the nature of these matters, I wouldn't want to be making any contributions here that could any way in any way put at risk the extraordinary work that is being done by law enforcement officers around the country. I want to thank them for their persistence and their dedication. My late father was a policeman, so I have a bit of an inkling about the level of patience and determination that is required from law enforcement to never give up. And I want to say thank you to them for never giving up on this case. And, and for all of his family who for whom it is just unimaginable the torment that they have been going through that I hope these latest developments provide them with, with some, some comfort. But my real message to them is those who are looking, those who are looking, for those who've committed the crimes, will never stop. And that's, that's a great I think that's a great statement of the dedication of our police forces around the country. Thank you.
Remarks, Bengaluru Tech Summit
17 November 2021
PRIME MINISTER: Namaskara.
G’day everyone – I’m delighted to join you for the Bengaluru Tech Summit.
And I want to thank my good friend Prime Minister Narendra Modi – as well as Vice President Naidu – and Karnataka Chief Bommai – for once again hosting what is the region’s largest technology event.
Our countries share a deep friendship – mateship as we say in Australia, or as you say, maitri.
Australia and India are diverse, multicultural, liberal democracies who seek a world that is prosperous, safe and secure, and where human dignity is best expressed through choice and freedom.
We seek to lift up, not suppress.
To build a better world, rather than to hold back change.
Our vision of the world understands the potential of technology to respond to the challenges of our time – and to lift all – to raise those living standards.
We have witnessed this so powerfully over the past 18 months, with medical breakthroughs now allowing us all to plan for a world after this pandemic.
That same capacity to innovate will be at the fore of all of our efforts addressing climate change and in transitioning to a new energy economy.
We know that technology-leading nations will have greater economic, political and military power – and considerable influence on global norms and values – into the years ahead.
India is a major technology power.
And technology is at the forefront of the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership which Prime Minister Modi and I signed last year.
We’re already making great progress.
We’re sharing expertise on cyber and critical technologies like quantum computing and AI.
We’re working to make our supply chains more secure and resilient.
We’re collaborating on the mining and processing of critical minerals – like cobalt and lithium and rare earth elements – that are vital to clean energy technologies, and have military applications.
We’re also cooperating on space science, technology, and research – and Australia is proud to be supporting India’s inspirational Gaganyaan human spaceflight mission.
We’re deepening our education and research links also – vital to technological cooperation.
And we’re working towards a low-emissions technology partnership, which will see us combine efforts on hydrogen and ultra-low-cost solar.
Reducing emissions while driving economic growth in both our economies.
Our countries are also working with the United States and Japan through the Quad Leaders Dialogue.
This is about four like-minded democracies coming together, from our region, to show we can make a positive difference in addressing our region’s biggest challenges.
It’s a very practical and positive partnership – fostering an open, accessible, and secure technology ecosystem – that’s a big focus of ours.
Together, we’re working to bolster supply chain security, advance the deployment of secure 5G and beyond-5G networks, to combat cyber threats, and secure our critical infrastructure, and much more.
You know, and I know, that technology isn’t developed in a vacuum.
It reflects the values of the societies that create it and use it – in particular how we use it.
So Australia is working with like-minded countries, liberal democracies in particular, to ensure global technology rules and norms reflect those values – liberal democratic values.
I’m pleased a new Australia-India Centre of Excellence for Critical and Emerging Technology Policy will contribute to that effort.
The Centre will bring together Australian and Indian technologists, policy practitioners, academics, researchers and thought leaders.
Helping our nations shape technology governance so it aligns with our values and supports an open, inclusive and resilient Indo-Pacific region.
The Centre will also promote investment opportunities and innovation between Australia and India in technology, and amplify our policy influence globally.
I’m pleased to let you know that Australia is also seeking to establish a new Consulate General in Bengaluru.
Bengaluru is the world’s fastest growing technology hub – of course we want to be part of it.
It is home to a third of India’s unicorn companies.
Australia’s new mission in Bengaluru would expand our diplomatic presence in India to five posts.
Australia will deepen our ties to India’s innovators, to your technologists and entrepreneurs – as well as India’s governments at all levels.
It is appropriate that today as you gather for this Tech Summit in India, that we’re kicking off the first-ever Sydney Dialogue in Australia.
This is a global summit on emerging, critical and cyber technologies – and I’m delighted to be announcing Australia’s first-ever Blueprint for Critical Technologies at that event.
This signals Australia’s firm commitment to shaping the development and adoption of critical technologies internationally, including by working with trusted partners like India.
And I’m honoured that Prime Minister Narendra Modi will address the Sydney Dialogue tomorrow.
The ties that bind our nations are indeed strong and abiding.
We look forward to celebrating the 75th anniversary of India’s independence next year.
And we will continue to work together, in a spirit of mutual trust and understanding, for the security and prosperity of our peoples and the Indo-Pacific region – guided and enabled by technology.
I wish you a most productive and enjoyable summit.
And thank you for having me participate.
Thank you – and vandhanegalu.
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.