TRANSCRIPT: PRESS CONFERENCE with The Hon Warren Entsch MP, Member for Leichhardt - CAIRNS, 8 October 2018

E&OE

Subjects: Infrastructure projects; National Highway Extension; Funding

WARREN ENTSCH:

First of all, thank you very much indeed for being here today. I’m here with Michael McCormack, the Deputy Prime Minister who arrived up yesterday and I grabbed the opportunity of taking him for a drive along the proposed new extension to the Bruce Highway and up to Kuranda – the Kuranda Range – and to give a bit of a familiarisation about what was happening there and explain where we were at the moment. And I really, Deputy Prime Minister, welcome you into our community, it’s great to have you here. It’s the second time since you’ve been elected as Deputy Prime Minister and it’s great to have you here, so thank you very much indeed. I’ll hand it over to you.

MICHAEL MCCORMACK:

Thank you Warren. Warren wants the National Highway extended to Smithfield and Kuranda Range – we had a good drive along it last night. I see that there are issues with congestion, I see that there are issues with changes of speed limits. I understand all that. I’m from a regional area and so I fully understand that the freight task is going to double over the next few years, indeed up to 2030 the freight task is expected to double and that places a huge demand on the logistics, on the infrastructure of the nation. That’s why the Liberals and Nationals in Government are spending $75 billion – a record amount of infrastructure money – a pipeline of investment over the next decade to ensure that roads in and around Cairns, roads in and around the other regional areas, indeed all around Australia – those issues are addressed. We need of course to do it based on priority lists from local governments, priority lists from the state governments. So we cannot do this alone and that’s why I’m so pleased that Warren Entsch has had fruitful discussions, he tells me, with the Queensland Main Roads and Transport Minister, Mark Bailey, to see the Queensland Government’s appetite for placing these roads that he’s talking about – an extension to National Highways – on the Queensland Government List. So we call on the Queensland Government to see what they can do as well, because of course, we need to look at what the Government priorities are from the various states and territories, and obviously local concerns as well. We’ve got, as I say, a $75 billion infrastructure commitment – that involves also $3.5 billion announced in the May budget for 2018-19; of $3.5 billion going forward, $1.5 billion is for this roads of strategic importance bucket of money dedicated to North of the Tropic of Capricorn. So electorates like Leichhardt and indeed in Northern Australia can benefit from that. I know Warren Entsch wears the carpet out leading into my Canberra Parliamentary Ministerial office. He’s always advocating for more infrastructure, for better roads.

We had a look at the performing arts centre yesterday with the Mayor, Bob Manning. What a fantastic facility that is and I look forward to coming back to seeing a performance there. But, look, Cairns is going ahead; we see the cranes along the skyline over Cairns. It’s certainly going ahead and this doesn’t happen just by chance. This happens because of lower taxes brought about by the LNP Government; this happens because of fighters like Warren Entsch making sure that they get in and fight for not just their fair share, but indeed, more than their fair share for their federal electorates and that’s exactly what Warren Entsch does in the seat of Leichhardt.

JOURNALIST:

What’s the effects for the Kuranda Range?

MICHAEL MCCORMACK:

We have to obviously do a business case, we’d have to do a full look at how much this is going to benefit economically, but also, there’s obviously a lot of engineering and specific details that would need to be worked out – need to be worked out in conjunction with the State Government obviously. Warren Entsch has placed it on the radar with Mark Bailey, the Queensland Minister, and we’ll see where it goes from there.

JOURNALIST:

Just- extending the National Highway, as you said, Mark Bailey did put in his requests last week; have you had a chance to look over it?

MICHAEL MCCORMACK:

I haven’t been back to Canberra – I’ve been away all of last week, I’ve been in the Northern Territory, I’ve been in Tasmania, I’ve been in Victoria and New South Wales, now I’m in Queensland – so I don’t get back to Canberra until next week. Parliament sits then; I’ll certainly have a look at my in-tray and if Mark Bailey sent a letter there, I’ll certainly be looking at it.

JOURNALIST:

Are you confident there’ll be funding committed to extending the highway from the Federal Government announced in the near future?

MICHAEL MCCORMACK:

Well we’ve got $75 billion allocated to infrastructure over the next ten years and we want to work with state governments, with state governments which are willing to work with us to bring about congestion-busting infrastructure, to make sure that the infrastructure that we are building, whether it’s Beef roads, whether it’s part of the Northern Australian Roads program, whether it’s part of the Roads of Strategic Importance – whatever the case might be – but Black Spot funding; we need to make sure that that fits in economically, that it’s going to enable food and fibre to get from regional areas to port, to markets quicker; but also that there are business cases done. It’s one thing to place these things on the media’s radar and it’s one thing to place on the community’s radar, it’s another thing altogether for state governments to also stump up money. Often these projects are done on a 50-50 basis, and particularly in regional areas they’re usually done on an 80-20 basis. So, we’re not just a big ATM for state governments; we need to make sure that business cases are done; we need to make sure that state governments are also willing to come to the party. Warren Entsch has told me that of his priorities for infrastructure in the seat of Leichhardt, in and around Cairns. I listen to Warren. He’s a fierce and passionate regional advocate. I know he’ll continue to be just that, and I look forward to working with him and indeed with Minister Bailey and other state and territory ministers to see what we can do.

JOURNALIST:

You say if the letter is there? Are you not confident it’s there?

MICHAEL MCCORMACK:

Well, if Mark Bailey said he sent me a letter I’m sure it will be there. It’s just a matter I’m not in Canberra at the moment. I’m in Cairns, so I’ll certainly have a look. I’m sure that he’s sent it, whether it’s via email or whether he’s sent it in the post matters not, I’ll have a look at it and I’ll act upon it.

JOURNALIST:

The Mossman Sugar Mill’s been another project that’s been quite important on Warren’s radar. Is that something you’re willing to back?

MICHAEL MCCORMACK:

I had a chat with the Northern Milling people today. Mossman milling is an important part of the economic fabric of that community. Understand that there are about 7000 people who are in that area and I understand that many hundreds of them are reliant on making sure that that particular milling company in one way, shape or form continues to invest and continues to operate for the future. I also understand that there are about 340 small businesses directly and indirectly affected by that milling operation, so I had a good chat with Marianne and her team this morning. In fact, it went for over an hour. Understand that they are passionate about the future for their community. Understand that they’re passionate about sugarcane farming. And look, I’m from a generational farming family. I understand full well that sometimes farming communities need to look to the future and it’s not necessarily in the traditional way that they’ve always operated. Sometimes they need to diversify. I understand that Northern Milling has a plan and a vision for the future, and I’m willing to work with them and Warren Entsch to see what we can do to make that possible.

WARREN ENTSCH:

Can I just say on that, too, the Deputy Prime Minister spent an hour and half with them today. Not just with the mill, the Mossman milling people, but also State Development came in and provided information. Some of the proposed partners, looking at where they go in the future, came down and we also had representatives from the Mackay Sugar. So it was a very comprehensive meeting and a lot of questions were answered. And I think it is fair to say that they had a really good hour and a half. And the meeting broke up because basically they’d run out of questions. And so the Minister’s very well informed. Of course, we’ll be catching up with him again next week during the Parliament as it goes to [indistinct] provided a lot of useful information.

JOURNALIST:

Are you confident that the funding will be there, then?

WARREN ENTSCH:

Well, I will do my darndest to make sure that it is. It is absolutely critical. And as the Deputy Prime Minister said, this is not a group coming forward with a problem and saying we need you to give us a bucket-load of money to find our answers. They’ve got the answers.  I mean, the problem is not of their doing. They've actually got solutions and they’ve been very comprehensive in the work that they’ve done. And the state government and the local council are coming on board. There are conditions associated with that, and you’ve always got to be prudent when you’re doing these things. But nevertheless, I think that they’ve given a very strong case for the minister now to consider.

JOURNALIST:

The financial…significant financial backing?

MICHAEL MCCORMACK:

Well look, obviously anything like this takes considerable economic and government funding. Understand that the Queensland Government is also looking to see what they can do. We had people from Queensland State Development in the meeting or part thereof. I’ll be working with anybody who wants to progress this. Obviously there’s a proposal on the table, and I’ll be considering that in due course.

JOURNALIST:

Just going back to roads, what’s the earliest you reckon we might be able to see some sod turning?

MICHAEL MCCORMACK:

Oh look, that's probably too far off; as you say, Mark Bailey has sent me a letter. I need to consider that. You know, you don't just get a letter and instantly turn around and fund a proposal. So I'll be looking at it and I'll certainly get back in touch with Minister Bailey and obviously work with Warren Entsch to see what we can do.

WARREN ENTSCH:

It doesn't close until the end of this year, the applications for this particular investment; it doesn’t close until the end of this year.

JOURNALIST:

We’ve had an opportunity to look back at the Daintree incursion of immigrants from Vietnam. Do we know how they managed to get as far south as they were able to at this point?

MICHAEL MCCORMACK:

I’m not the Home Affairs Minister but I think of our record of incursions, unauthorised arrivals to Australia, and compare and contrast that with Labor’s. I think it’s about 800 to one. The fact is no boat should arrive unauthorised, but shame that there was one. Fact is it does go to show what will happen, indeed, if Bill Shorten forms Government because that boat arrival, we’ve had one in a number of years. That will become a daily occurrence under Bill Shorten. If he ever becomes prime minister, they will soften their border protection policies. We heard Kevin Rudd say before the 2007 election that he was an economic fiscal conservative and the fact that he also had strong border protection policies just like the Howard government whereas the opposite was in fact the case. He wasn’t a fiscal conservative and that's why we're still in the debt and deficit legacy. We’re still paying it back from those sorry years, those six sorry years under Rudd and then Julia Gillard and then Kevin Rudd again. And of course we saw 800 unauthorised boats with 55,000 unauthorised people on them. And the fact is we're still mopping up Labor's mess. We’ve had one and we've worked hard to ensure that there hasn't been another. So, I’ve got to tell you Peter Dutton and before him Scott Morrison did a very, very good job of cleaning up Labor’s mess while making sure that border protection [inaudible] what our Government’s been doing.

JOURNALIST:

Do you support a review into Roundup and the use of Roundup on agricultural properties?

MICHAEL MCCORMACK:

Well look, that also needs to be considered in the overall scheme of things as far as agriculture is concerned. Of course Roundup has been a very useful product. I understand that there is a litigation overseas at the moment into its use, into what potentially has happened with - in one particular case - a fellow who has unfortunately succumbed to some elements that is claimed that is a cause of over-use of Roundup. But the fact is the Government will take on board that particular case and look at what we can do in the future. Our Agriculture Department is working on it at the moment. We need obviously to be able to use herbicides and pesticides because we need to make sure in this environment that we get the very best food and fibre. Understand that all these sorts of things are always looked at, peer reviews, experts doing  it. I know the Agricultural Minister David Littleproud is looking at it in the context of where we go from here, and certainly what we do will be a practical solution to it.

JOURNALIST:

It is in wide use throughout agricultural practices. I mean, what would the implications for the industry be if it is found to be a danger?

MICHAEL MCCORMACK:

Well, obviously, necessity is the mother of invention so we'll watch and see how the case unfolds overseas. We'll make our deliberate and considered decisions based on that. I don't want to get too far ahead as to what we would potentially do if one particular product had to be banned for the market but we’ll do everything in a sensible, practical way. One thing that we won't do to agriculture is placing native vegetation laws that prevent farmers from doing what they have done all the while along. We won’t make sure that we tell our farmers what they should and shouldn't be doing and we certainly, with tree-clearing, we’ll always make it sensible and practical measures unlike what Annastacia Palaszczuk is wreaking upon the regional areas of Queensland. We don't want that to become a national problem because if Bill Shorten gets in, that's exactly what will happen. Joel Fitzgibbon, the Agriculture Shadow Minister, wants to tell our farmers what to do, how they should do it and where they should do it. We don't operate that way. Our farmers are the very best environmentalists. They operate in a sustainable way and we back them all the way.

JOURNALIST:

I’m sorry to topic jump as we have been today, but the Home Affairs Minister in Parliament has said that there have been boosted border security measures since the Vietnamese people arrived in Cairns off the coast. What are those measures? I mean, he’s frankly refused to give us any more detail.

MICHAEL MCCORMACK:

Well, he's the Border Protection and Home Affairs Minister. He understands full well what needs to be done. And look, I would compare and contrast Peter Dutton’s record against that of the Member for McMahon, Chris Bowen, any day of the week. I mean, Chris Bowen largely held the portfolio of immigration and border protection. It wasn’t really border protection when Labor were in Government, and look, we've certainly tightened up surveillance. We’ve certainly tightened up all those measures to prevent unauthorised arrivals. The fact is what we also don't want to see is 1200 deaths at sea, and that's the tragedy of having loose and easy to exploit border protection policies. The fact is we have been very, very tight on border protection. Our record compared to Labor’s is chalk and cheese.

JOURNALIST:

And when you say tightened up- how exactly do you mean? Is that in the Torres? Is that sort of aerially? What measures have you done …

MICHAEL MCCORMACK:

Well, you'd have to refer that question with the Home Affairs Minister. I’m the Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Development Minister, but I have every faith in Peter Dutton as the minister carrying out his responsibilities and I would compare our record with Labor's any day of the week.

JOURNALIST:

And is this visit and the very public endorsement of Mr Entsch sign of an election [inaudible]?

MICHAEL MCCORMACK:

No, it's actually a show of faith in what I believe that Warren Entsch is capable of bringing to the Parliament. I want him to continue to do that. I’m great mates with Warren, we always have been. We always have been, and we're very like-minded on some things and not very in others, but the fact is …

WARREN ENTSCH:

Careful with that arm.

MICHAEL MCCORMACK:

[Laughs] He's a great mate of mine. He, like other members of the LNP, other regional members of the Liberal and National Parties and CLP members as well, understands the challenges but the opportunities also for regional Australia. He wants the electorate of Leichhardt go ahead. He and I came back into the Parliament in 2010 – well, he came back into the Parliament, I entered the Parliament in 2010 – we've been great mates ever since. I've got great faith in his ability to continue to produce outcomes and achievements for Cairns and for the wider Leichhardt electorate. And as I drive around – and we went on a very, very long drive last night, let me tell you – he took me on so many twists and turns that I was almost going to check out right there and then I thought I was going to get travel sick just travelling with him. But the fact is, he represents the people of the Leichhardt very fiercely and he produces results in Canberra. That’s where it matters – getting results, getting outcomes for local people, and I know that he'll continue to do that.

JOURNALIST:

And just very quickly, back to the national highway expansion. I mean obviously you can’t talk very specifically in terms of funding and commitments at this stage but in terms of this highway as a national priority, I mean, how important is it from the national level, this road, to improve and expand?

MICHAEL MCCORMACK:

All expanding and growing regions are important to the Federal Government, to the Liberals and Nationals, they’re all important. And if it’s important to Warren, moreover, if it's important to his community, then it’s important to me.

JOURNALIST:

And I understand you’ve been attending a bus conference in town?

MICHAEL MCCORMACK:

I have and …

JOURNALIST:

Have you had an opportunity to check out our public transport here in Cairns?

MICHAEL MCCORMACK:

Well, look, I travelled there on a bus. I won’t say it was public transport. But there's one thing I know in regional areas: there's always the need for more public transport but it was a very good conference – 700 delegates. It just goes to show when you've got the convention facilities and the conference facilities that people will come for conferences such as this. But the bus industry obviously plays a vital role, not just in transporting people to and from work and other things, but certainly for tourism, and I'm delighted that the Building Better Regions Fund – which was announced the latest round of that just a couple of weeks ago – that it's going to have of that $200 million that councils will be able to apply for a component of $45 million set aside for tourism. And if there's one thing that Cairns is very, very good at, that's attracting tourists and making sure they have a great time while they're here.

Thanks guys.

Shane Manning