Transcript: with Deputy Prime Minister Michael McCormack Minister for Agriculture David Littleproud Charles Sturt University Vice Chancellor Professor Andy Vann, Wagga Wagga, 25 April 2019

EO&E

ANDY VANN:
Look, really wonderful to be able to welcome the Minister of Agriculture, David Littleproud, and the Deputy Prime Minister Michael McCormack here this morning. It's been a great opportunity for us to show off the facilities of Charles Sturt University, and the wonderful partners we are working with in agricultural innovation. We're working really hard to support the industries in the Riverina. Really great to be able to get the Minister to see what we're doing, and to all the people we're working with, and we're very excited about the future. And now, we'll hand it over to the Minister, who I think has some announcements.

DAVID LITTLEPROUD:
Yeah. Well, thanks, Andy and it's great to be here, and to see the innovation at work, and we announced a review into our research and development to make sure it's fit for the future, and I can tell you, a hub here is fit for the future. The work that you're doing is so important not only to agriculture, but regional and rural Australia. But another part of the agricultural chain that I think has been under cooked in many respects in terms of support, is our bee industry. It supports two thirds of our agricultural production. So today, we're announcing $3.1 million into improving genetics of bees, and also improving the actual understanding of bees, and the role that they play in the chain of agriculture.

It's important we get this right. We've got an under supply of bees, so it's important that we continue to make this investment to ensure that agricultural production will hit $100 billion by 2030. So we'll be working with AgriFutures to make sure that with conjunction with the industry, we get this right, in improving the numbers, improving genetics, and improving agricultural production.

This goes to the heart - the heavy lifting of agriculture starts with bees, so this is an important announcement for agriculture's future into what is an exciting period. DPM?

MICHAEL MCCORMACK:
Well, thank you very much, David. That's a good announcement. That's a fantastic announcement. It's so appropriate that it's here at Charles Sturt University, and Professor Andy Vann's just indicated just how this campus centres on agriculture, centres on the regions, making sure that if it comes to agriculture, then it can be learnt here at Charles Sturt University. It plays such an invaluable role in the future of agriculture, and this announcement today is going to delight, I'm sure, the [inaudible] right across the Riverina and Central West and right across Australia, because as David Littleproud has just indicated, bees underpin agriculture. Also research and development underpins agriculture, and here at Charles Sturt University, they are also helping to develop better research and development, into agriculture.

I'm pleased and proud that John Harvey, the CEO of AgriFutures Australia, is also here today. He notes, he understands just how important agriculture is, a $60 billion industry, which the Minister has indicated that he wants to make it a $100 billion industry. We all do, particularly here in the regions, we know where our food comes from, we want more people to know where our food comes from, we want to make sure that people understand and know the importance of bees, the importance of agriculture, and the importance of R&D. And when you look at AgriFutures, you see an organisation there, which has benefited from The Nationals in Government decentralising.

Originally, it was about a dozen, 13 jobs, and I commend Fiona Nash and her work through decentralisation. I know she's doing some important work now with Charles Sturt University, and her work in promoting the region's agriculture, will only continue. But when you look at AgriFutures, you see that that 13 or so jobs, has now developed into about 30 jobs, doing important administrative work as far as R&D right across the nation, but particularly here in the Riverina, and it's also a saving of a million dollars in rent coming out of Canberra, moving into Wagga Wagga, and when you look at it, you look at the Grains Research Development Board, you look at council, you look at the organisation, the Murray-Darling Basin Authority, which David Littleproud recently announced, is moving to Griffith, taking 30 jobs there. It's decentralisation, it's making sure that we make these important agricultural announcements. I commend David Littleproud for this announcement today, so important for the bee industry, and appropriately that it’s here at Charles Sturt University. Any questions?

JOURNALIST:
Mr McCormack? Has Barnaby Joyce set the Nationals campaign back, given his response to questions about the 2017 water buybacks?

MICHAEL MCCORMACK:
The ANAO, the Office of the Auditor General is going to look into the water buybacks right back to 2008. That's appropriate. Barnaby Joyce has said that he has done nothing wrong. Indeed, you look at the fact that the Queensland Minister, Anthony Lynham actually called for water buybacks. Called for that water for the Narran Lakes, for the Condamine, the Balonne area, to get that environmental flow, and that was achieved through that buyback. But you also look at Penny Wong. She made a $300 million buyback, so, that's what Federal Government is doing. We're going to ask, and we have asked, and David Littleproud has asked yesterday for the Auditor General to go right back to 2008, to look at all the water buybacks, and to make sure that everything is as it should be. That's what the taxpayers would want, expect, and that's what they deserve.

JOURNALIST:
Mr Littleproud, just on the water buyback issue, when did you see Tony Burke support the auditor general review of all water buybacks?

DAVID LITTLEPROUD:
Look, I spoke to Tony Burke yesterday. What I did when I became Water Minister was try to take the politics out of water. This was about leadership. Australians want leadership, and they want certainty, particularly the two million Australians that live up and down the Murray Darling Basin, and we delivered that. We've now got legislation agreed by everybody, even the Australian Greens. On the 21st of September, they didn't put a disallowance motion against the Northern Basin Review. So this is about leadership. What we've asked is that all purchases be referred to the Auditor General, to make sure that due process was followed. And that was what I informed Mr Burke we'd be doing. He didn't say that he didn't agree with it. So basically out of respect to him, the way that we've dealt with leadership in this, but what I'm disappointed is that, if he wants to start a review separate to that, he's politicising this issue. The Australian public are sick of that. They want due process to be followed, they want leadership from their politicians. We've done this in a bipartisan way. It's time to now let the umpire the Auditor General, to go and sort this out, and we get on with the job of governing this country.

JOURNALIST:
Michael I guess, Labor yesterday announced an inquiry into Inland Rail, I guess is this necessary?

MICHAEL MCCORMACK:
Well, Inland Rail is going to deliver up to $94 dollars a tonne savings for farmers, for small businesses, right up and down the line. 1,700 kilometres, a corridor of commerce, nation-building, transformational, and for small businesses, you know, that's going to be so important. And recently the CSIRO determined that $94 a tonne saving, but it's going to average out at $76 a tonne. That's a lot more than the $10 a tonne originally estimated. We want to get on with the job, and indeed we are. The last lot of steel was dropped off at Parkes, to build the Parkes to Narromine line, just recently. They're getting on and they're building it with those 14,000 tonnes of Whyalla steel, 14,000 tonnes of Liberty Steel, 14,000 tonnes of Australian jobs, and that's what the Inland Rail is doing in the construction period, hundreds of jobs. And the fact is, we're getting on with it. The fact is, the New South Wales Government has signed an intergovernmental agreement, just like the Victorian Government has as well for us to build the Inland Rail.

There's been reviews, there's been discussions, we've got the community consultative committees set up, up and down the line, to make sure that the community has input, and we will continue to engage with local communities, we will continue to engage with local government areas, and we will continue to engage with the states. I'd like to see the Queensland Government coming on board, and signing their intergovernmental agreement, but I appreciate that we're in election mode. I appreciate we're in a caretaker phase, but once the election is over, I'd like to sit down further with Mark Bailey. I know he's going to work in good faith with us, because I know he too, understands the benefits of Inland Rail, and also been enunciated by Annastacia Palaszczuk, so we want to just get on, and build this nation-building piece of infrastructure, and we'll do it.

JOURNALIST:
Mr McCormack, a Coalition candidate says Weather Bureau staff have doctored temperature records to spread climate change hysteria. How acceptable are those views?

MICHAEL MCCORMACK:
Well, I do appreciate that for some statistics, for both flooding and temperature statistics, that many, many years ago, they weren't actually calculated or recorded in the areas where the high temperatures, perhaps being recorded now. So for Wagga Wagga, the temperature was always taken at the post office. Well, it's now being taken out of the airport. And for some of those statistics, they also looked at the machinery, they also looked at the actual gauges that they were using, and found that they could have been faulty, so I appreciate that BoM wants the very best statistics available. I appreciate too when the Murray-Darling Basin plan was looked at, some of the floods weren't recorded, either side of the actual plan being put down, because they felt as though some of the gauges then, weren't also as accurate as possibly they could have been.

So look, I understand that BoM has its way of calculating, they want the most accurate way to calculate temperatures, to calculate cold, whether it's hot and indeed flooding. So appreciate that, you know, as we get more technological, we've got better data, we've got better gauge to measure it by, and I appreciate that I'm not a weather person, so I give BoM its due, and its credit, and they do a grand job, and they continue to do that for a long, long time.

JOURNALIST:
How acceptable are Mr Rennick's views, though?

MICHAEL MCCORMACK:
Well, he's entitled to his views, he's a candidate. I appreciate that, you know, he's getting out there, and making a few opinions about a few different topics. I'm just delighted that with The Nationals, we've got Susie McDonald getting out there and talking about the things that matter to people, and that is lowering tax rates. That is making sure that there's more jobs, making sure that for Queensland, they have to have a strong agricultural sector like all states, like all regions, and she's standing very much opposed to the land clearing laws that Queensland Labor has put in, and that Bill Shorten wants to nationalise. She wants to make sure that farmers can farm what they like, where they like, how they like, and when they like. Fact is, Labor doesn't want to do that. Labor wants to take away farmers' rights to be able to clear their land, they want to take away farmers' rights to be able to do all sorts of things as far as their animals, and their best interests are concerned. We're backing farmers, we're backing tax cuts, we're backing jobs. Susan McDonald does that, and I'll back her all the way.

JOURNALIST:
Back to the bees, with the funding though, that ... is the funding go to be spent just here at the Wagga campus or is it across the CSU network?

DAVID LITTLEPROUD:
Well obviously, we're charging AgriFutures with the responsibility of working with the bee industry in distributing a lot of the funds, but it will go right across the nation. Bees are important in every part of this country, and it's important we show and shine a light on the heavy lifting that they're doing in the agricultural sector. So this is actually builds on $5.2 million that we've previously spent to build up the bee industry, and making sure there's a greater understanding of the importance they play.

JOURNALIST:
In New South Wales, honey production was down 30%. Is this one way we might be able to see it addressed with funding like this?

DAVID LITTLEPROUD:
Totally, and it's about improving the genetics, the smarts, that these people here at CSU have. The smarts of the 21st century to build genetics, to get better productivity, to be able to feed not only Australia, but the world. And we produce the best food and fibre in the world, we should be damn proud of it, and that's what this investment is about, is making sure the building blocks, which are honey production, bee production, pollination, is supported into the future.

JOURNALIST:
Mr McCormack, how credible is the view that preschool for three-year-olds is a Labor plot to strengthen government control over children?

MICHAEL MCCORMACK:
Well I don’t believe that.

JOURNALIST:
How unusual is it for preselection candidates to donate to the Coalition before winning spots in election tickets?

MICHAEL MCCORMACK:
Well, anybody's entitled to donate to a political party, and let's face it, look at what GetUp's doing. Look at the money that GetUp is getting from ordinary people right across the nation, and then spending it on campaigns, which are quite disgraceful, knocking out surf lifesaving people who go out volunteer their time and efforts, to save people, to rescue people, and particularly in this week, where we've seen a number of drownings, particularly tragic stories, for GetUp to come out and to spend people's money on a campaign, a social media campaign, rubbishing a former prime minister, but rubbishing life-saving in general, is quite frankly beyond the pale.

JOURNALIST:
Do you think that Gerard Rennick's candidacy should be reviewed?

MICHAEL MCCORMACK:
Well, that's a matter for the LNP and the Liberal Party but no, I don't. The fact is today, we are going to do the ballot draw right across the nation, and there are many interesting and varied candidates right across the nation who are putting their hand up for public office. It takes a big thing to put your hand up for public office. I'm very much looking forward to seeing The Nationals all return to their seats and adding a few besides. We've got some outstanding candidates in the National Party, and I'm really, really delighted that we've got 11 women who are putting their hand up for National Party selection, National Party candidacy. Right across the nation, we've got outstanding candidates - the incumbents, and those who want to sit in the National Party room to make sure that we build a better Regional Australia. That's what National Party people do.

I've also been very pleased to go to a number of my Liberal Party colleagues’ seats, and help them in their campaigns to make sure that we've got the infrastructure to get people home sooner and safer, and to make sure that people understand that we've been a very good government. We've lowered the taxes, we've made sure that we've helped small business and large business besides, create 1.25 million jobs in the past five years, and we want to replicate that again in the next five years. They're the sorts of things that people, ordinary mums and dads and families who are doing their household budgets, they're the sorts of things that they're concerned and they're talking about.

JOURNALIST:
Just back to the Inland Rail, you mentioned community input before. Labor alleging residents and farmers have not been adequately talked to and consulted on, how do you respond?

MICHAEL MCCORMACK:
Oh, it's a political campaign, of course Labor's going to say that, I mean, you know, if we said something was black, they'd say it's white. We said something was red, they'd say it's blue. I mean the fact is, Labor are going to come out and knock and mock anything that we're doing. Fact is, we've put down $9.2, $9.3 billion dollars for the Inland Rail. The fact is, we’ve been talking about the Inland Rail since the early 1900s. Labor, they didn't do anything when they were in office, as far as Inland Rail infrastructure is concerned. We're getting on, and we're building it, and we're not just talking it. We don't just talk the talk, we walk the walk, and we build. And that's what we're doing, and as far as the Inland Rail is concerned, there are many, many farmers. There are many, many small businesses who are delighted that the Inland Rail is being built. Go to Parkes and talk the people at the Intermodal Rail Hub that they're building there, go to Wagga Wagga, and go out to Bomen at North Wagga Wagga and talk to people there, and how they will benefit from the Inland Rail.

The advantages are going to be from Melbourne to Sydney. 1,700 kilometres of advantage for this nation, to build on the free trade agreements that we've been able to broker with Peru, with South Korea, with China, Japan, we'll only build on that, and this area particularly the Riverina and Central West is going to be a big beneficiary of it, given the fact that we've got Griffith just 180 kilometres away. It is one of the food bowls of the nation just like David Littleproud's electorate, but this is a great area for growing agriculture, a great area for, as David points out, "Add water, grow the very best food and fibre in all of the world”. That's what Australian farmers do, and we back them all the way. Thank you very much.