TRANSCRIPT: Doorstop at Australian Local Government Association National Conference Canberra, 17 June 2019
E&OE
Subjects: AFP Raids; Border Security; Paladin Contract; Tax Plan; Water Infrastructure; Women in the Workforce
JOURNALIST:
[Indistinct] … or to the ASD having increasing powers of surveillance on Australians, do you think it's appropriate that Australians are surveilled by the Government?
MICHAEL MCCORMACK:
The fact is what we've seen in recent weeks with the AFP raids are at total arm’s length from Government. The fact is nobody's saying that anybody has done anything wrong at the moment. The AFP have conducted investigations and we have to also remember that it takes quite a bit of effort for the AFP to get clearance to be actually able to go into a workplace to investigate these sorts of things. So the AFP have done this under their own steam. Nobody's saying that anybody has done anything wrong. But let's see, before we rush to judgment, let’s see what comes of it, what comes of these investigations before anybody says that Government is doing something wrong because they haven’t; or the AFP’s done something wrong, because they haven’t; or indeed the journalists have done something wrong, because at the moment they haven’t either.
Let's just wait and see what comes of these investigations before anybody knows the full facts of what actually has transpired.
JOURNALIST:
Why would the ASD though need greater surveillance powers on Australians? Why is that necessary?
MICHAEL MCCORMACK:
Well the fact is national security is the Government’s first order of priority. We have to take care of Australians, we have to protect Australians.
Now, if the ASD thinks that more surveillance measures are necessary then the Government will take that on board. We will take that into full consideration. The fact is I think Australians want to have the safety and security of knowing that they are being well protected, and the Government will always do everything in its power to make sure that they are.
JOURNALIST:
PNG’s Immigration Minister has rejected Paladin's contract, or rejected the idea of it. Is it their call?
MICHAEL MCCORMACK:
The fact is we need to have strong borders and the Government will do everything in its power to make sure that we have good borders, strong borders, borders that protect again, Australians’ interests. We closed 17 detention centres. We stopped the boats. If anybody's got a record on making sure that border security is number one, it's the Federal Liberal-Nationals Government. We've done what we need to do.
Yes we work in close cooperation with our partners, PNG and Nauru and anyone else, to make sure that we've got the right measures in place, to make sure that we're meeting our international obligations, but first and foremost to make sure that Australia's borders are protected.
JOURNALIST:
Why Paladin over say a local PNG contractor?
MICHAEL MCCORMACK:
Well again, that’s a matter that will be sorted out in the fullness of time. But at the moment our first order of priority is to make sure that we've got strong borders and we're doing that. We've stopped the boats. We're worried by the fact that our border protections are being weakened by Labor's policies, by Labor's pushes just prior to the election. That's why Christmas Island was revisited, that's why we looked at that again.
The fact is Australians want their Government to make sure that border protection is a priority, and for us it is. Labor? Well, they'll do everything in their power - they've done it in the past - to weaken our borders and they'll continue to do so even from Opposition.
JOURNALIST:
Labor's written to the Government saying they support the first and second stages of the Government's tax plan, but they're hesitant about the third stage. Can you tell us how much the cost is to the Budget of the tax relief to those earning over 180,000?
MICHAEL MCCORMACK:
Well look I'm not going to get into the whys and means and wherefores of how much things are going to cost. The fact is we went to an election with our tax policies in place. We went to an election seeking a mandate from the Australian people to put our full suite of measures as far as the tax package is concerned, in place. And we were elected. Overwhelmingly we were endorsed by the Australian people to put in place the policies that we took to the election.
Now, Jim Chalmers can write letters to Josh Frydenberg the Treasurer, to Mathias Cormann the Finance Minister, all he likes. The fact is, Jim Chalmers, Chris Bowen, Bill Shorten, Anthony Albanese - they can all accept the fact that the federal election was won and lost largely on tax, and on other issues as well, and they can understand, understand this: The fact is we have a mandate to now put that tax package in full to the Parliament and to get it endorsed, to get it legislated. Australians want that, they need it, they expect it. Business and individuals want the full suite of tax measures put in place. That's what they voted for, that's what they got on 18 May, and why should Labor now want to skirt around the edges? Let's pass one thing, let's pass another. No, let's pass it in full I say to Labor. Let's pass the whole thing in full, stop mucking around, realise that the will of the people was spoken very, very loud and largely on 18 May, and get with the program, and just for once stop being obstructionist.
Get on board with what the Federal Government put to the people and the people endorsed.
JOURNALIST:
Pauline Hanson says she still hasn't been spoken to. Are you hoping Labor will buckle?
MICHAEL MCCORMACK:
Spoken to by whom?
JOURNALIST:
By, I imagine, Mathias Cormann, in relation to those tax cuts.
MICHAEL MCCORMACK:
Well, Mathias Cormann talks to Crossbenchers and other senators.
JOURNALIST:
She says he hasn’t been.
MICHAEL MCCORMACK:
Well, I'm sure they know each other's numbers and I know Mathias Cormann is absolutely committed to making sure that we get our full suite of tax measures through the House of Representatives and through the Senate. I know it's important, and it's important not just to Mathias Cormann, not just to Pauline Hanson or anybody else in the Parliament, elected representatives, but indeed to the Australian people. The Australian people want to know that the Government that they re-elected on 18 May can get its mandate, can get its policies through the Parliament. That's what they voted for, that's what they want, and that's what they deserve.
JOURNALIST:
Ms Hanson said she’s still refusing to support the Government’s tax plans, instead wants the Government to focus on struggling farmers and new generations of infrastructure. Will you do that?
MICHAEL MCCORMACK:
Well, here's good news for Pauline Hanson and I speak to Pauline Hanson quite a bit as well: The fact is we're getting on board with helping struggling farmers. We have right since the advent of this dreadful crippling drought. And as the Nationals Leader, I know full well, and as somebody who comes from a drought stricken community, I know full well how our farmers are struggling.
I've been there. I've had the lived experience and I live it every day of the week, talking to farmers, talking to small business people, about how this drought is really affecting their bottom lines and their futures, their hopes; and we're making sure of that through the $7.2 billion that we've already put on the table for drought measures. I know the New South Wales Government came out to Coolamon in the Riverina district just last week and announced another suite of measures on behalf of the State Government. So, State and Federal Coalition Governments are getting on board and making sure that we've got the right assistance in place for farmers and indeed for regional business people, indeed for everybody who lives in a regional area hard hit by drought.
And as far as water infrastructure is concerned, we've got another $500 million on the table - that’s half a billion dollars on the table - that we put in addition to the money that we'd already had there for the $1.3 billion National Water Infrastructure Development Fund. Throughout the campaign, I talked about the National Water Grid, which I recently established, which I want to take the petty politics out of building water infrastructure. So whether it's dams, whether it's heightening, lengthening, strengthening weirs, whether it's putting down pipelines, we want to build water infrastructure. So, the Crossbench member, One Nation Leader who you mentioned and I are on one ticket as far as building water infrastructure is concerned. We need to do it. The Liberal-Nationals are going to; we're the only people in politics who can get on board and do it. And so, if it comes to tax measures and that being the only hold up, I’d advise Pauline Hanson to get on board. We want to build water infrastructure. We want the full suite of tax measures to get through and we'll do just that.
JOURNALIST:
Analysis released today shows that men are going to benefit twice as much as woman from the third stage of the Government's tax plan. What do you make of that announcement? Will the Government do anything to change [indistinct] getting into higher paying jobs?
MICHAEL MCCORMACK:
Participation of women in the workforce has been one of the real features, one of the crowning achievements, of the Liberal-Nationals Government since we were elected in 2013. When we came into Government, women were not getting the same fairness as far as jobs were concerned, were not getting the same superannuation benefits of course from their labours.
The fact is we've increased female participation in the workforce considerably - something that hadn't been achieved in the six years prior to 2013. We've placed that as one of our priorities. I know that Kelly O'Dwyer did such a great job in that regard and I know that Michaelia Cash, as the Minister for Small Business, has it on her priority list to do just that as well. We want women to take part in good, meaningful, well-paying jobs and we're doing just that with all of our policies.
But more than that, we also want women to have the ability to be able to back their own judgment and to start their own small businesses. We're encouraging them to do just that as well because women have some great small business ideas, and under the Liberal-Nationals Government, there's never been a better time to be in small business. So we've got the right measures in place and we encourage women to certainly back themselves. They’ve got some fantastic ideas, start their own small businesses, and take part in this amazing revolution in small business with the lowest tax rate since 1940, the instant asset write-off extended to $30,000. There’s so many opportunities, so many rewards there for women who want to back themselves and want to have a go. Thank you very much.
JOURNALIST:
Thank you.