TRANSCRIPT: Interview with Oscar Wills, ABC RADIO RIVERINA, 17 JUNE 2019
E&OE
Subjects: Water infrastructure; regional funding; AFP intervention and press freedom.
OSCAR WILLS:
Now as the dust has settled from the federal election, won by the Coalition in May, the Government’s now getting back down to business as I suppose you’d expect. To talk about a few things that have been going on since the election is Deputy Prime Minister Michael McCormack, the National Party Leader and the Member for Riverina. Mr McCormack, good morning.
MICHAEL MCCORMACK:
Good morning.
OSCAR WILLS:
Firstly, a new mobile phone tower unveiled at Wantabadgery late last week. Where are we at with the Mobile Black Spot Program?
MICHAEL MCCORMACK:
Well we announced during the election campaign – in fact it was a little bit before – a new round for mobile phone black spots and I’m very pleased that the New South Wales Government has also stepped up, even more so in as much as they’re putting on the table a huge package to make New South Wales black spot-free by 2023. Wherever I go around the electorate that’s one thing that still comes up. We’ve done a great job - there’s 23 mobile black spots towers throughout the Riverina have been funded or installed or built since 2013. But there’s more work to be done. We’re doing that with the fourth round of the Mobile Black Spot program, with New South Wales also chipping in big time, and telcos obviously also engaging in it. It’s a good thing.
OSCAR WILLS:
There was a concern raised in some of the local papers that the placement of that particular tower still isn’t delivering a better service. Is it a matter of there needing to be more infrastructure around or better placement of that infrastructure?
MICHAEL MCCORMACK:
Well probably in the first instance, yes, more infrastructure needed, of course, but that tower was built in the location for which an independent telecommunications expert agreed that there was available optic fibre, there was available space and there was available electricity. All those things need to be taken into consideration because cost does come into it. But the fact is we’re looking at doing more infrastructure and those farmers who have missed out this time, most were fully understanding. In fact, they’ve put boosters on; they can receive some service now that this new tower is in place.
With the geography of Wantabadgery and indeed, right throughout regional Australia, geography does play a part in mobile phone towers. So you can have one at the top of the hill, it can miss the valley over the next rise - it’s one of those things - but we’re working towards it. I’ve got to say we’ve put in 1,047 of these mobile phone towers, either installed or funded, and it’s a far cry from what we inherited because there wasn’t one cent spent on mobile phone towers before we got into Government.
OSCAR WILLS:
Sure, sure. Mr McCormack with Sussan Ley obviously the Member for Farrer now appointed to the Cabinet as well, as well we’re seeing Bridget McKenzie from the Nationals and Perin Davey also expected to win a seat, all from the Riverina Murray. It seems that all of a sudden the Riverina is quite well represented in Canberra and after a strong victory; you’ve led an election campaign as the Leader of the Nationals; could the region in general be getting a little bit more attention now to reward the country’s faith in you?
MICHAEL MCCORMACK:
The regions never missed out I have to say. The region have always done very, very well and you only have to look right across the region - to look at the Kapooka Bridge, to look at that billion dollars. Not a lot of Wagga Wagga people realise that a billion dollars is actually – or close to - being spent at Kapooka and the Royal Australian Air Force Base at Forest Hill. That’s a significant amount of money which probably doesn’t often get seen behind big walls with security et cetera.
But a lot of that money is going to local joiners and local tradies and local small business. That filters right throughout the community. Elsewhere we’ve got main street upgrades for Cowra, for Gundagai, for Forbes, for Parkes. There’s a new multi-purpose stadium built in Wagga Wagga and of course, the $10 million that we put on the table for the PCYC.
There’s a lot going on in Wagga Wagga and that is thanks to the fact that we have got voices around the Cabinet table, we have got people in there making the decisions that matter for regional Australians and more particularly, those regional Australians closer to home here in the Riverina and Central West.
OSCAR WILLS:
So we’ve seen State Government heavies in the region, as well as yourself, having discussions with irrigators along the Murray over the last few weeks. What were some of the things that you were discussing?
MICHAEL MCCORMACK:
Obviously the drought has taken its toll on river communities and regional communities in general and the Murray Darling Basin Plan, whilst it isn’t perfect, it is an adaptive plan. There are some who are calling for a pause to the plan or indeed the plan to be ditched. I don’t share that view because I think if we put the plan back through the Parliament, what we’re going to end up with is a far worse outcome. What we might end up with is even more water going out the mouth of the Murray and that’s not something that I think our irrigation communities can afford or want or need or expect.
What we do want is commonsense. What we do want is more water infrastructure and that’s why during the election campaign I announced the National Water Grid which is going to take the politics out of building water infrastructure. For way too long in this country – even though we’ve put on the table $1.3 billion for water infrastructure – the fact is it has been difficult to sometimes get it through State Governments, it’s difficult to get it through the bureaucracy. And so I want to make sure that we build the right water infrastructure in the right places according to local stakeholders, according to science - to make sure that we store water in times when it’s wet so that we have it in times when it’s dry. It makes perfectly good sense.
It’s been too long since we’ve built a dam. I’m in discussion with Governments at the moment - and the New South Wales Government and others too have come on board with their plans and their lists of potential sites. Well let’s take it to more than just a list, let’s actually get on and build something and that’s why I’ve established the National Water Grid.
OSCAR WILLIS:
And I suppose given that representation that I was talking about earlier in Canberra, would you expect there to be more movement on some of the issues surrounding the Murray Darling Basin Plan? You just mentioned that National Water Grid plan, but would there be even more movement or priority given to this given that we’ve got this representation?
MICHAEL MCCORMACK:
River communities always give priority from those people who represent them and certainly the National Party, and I know Sussan Ley has done a good job representing the interests of, since 2016, the people since actually winning the seat of Farrer out of the Riverina.
We’ll continue to always, always represent those people fiercely and their interests, but we can’t make it rain. We can store the rain when it falls, and that’s what I want to do. But unfortunately, when you have zero state water allocations it is a bit difficult for those people to make ends meet. I understand that, I understand that we’re in a prolonged drought. I also understand that, of course, we’ve put on the table $7.2 billion or thereabouts for drought assistance to help our farmers and our regional communities and the State Government last week announced a further package of measures to also help stricken communities.
But we will continue to stand side by side our farmers and we will continue to obviously monitor water policy to make sure that we get the best outcomes for our people.
OSCAR WILLIS:
Staying on water, there’s been suggestions that there could be a new dam on the Murrumbidgee River; suggestions that there could be a dam near Narrandera or Gundagai, those two locations have been mentioned.
MICHAEL MCCORMACK:
I know them well.
OSCAR WILLIS:
Yes. Any ideas about, you know, where those are at?
MICHAEL MCCORMACK:
Well, of course, they have to get priority from State Governments and that’s why I have established a National Water Grid so that if we identify a site or indeed local stakeholders identifying a site and say that’s the site that’s been talked about since the 1930s, that’s the site that’s been there for decades. Yes, there are some who say that it’s an evaporation pond. But look, let’s conduct at least a feasibility study. And if we don’t have a willing partner at another Government level, let’s see if the National Water Grid through proper science, through proper local stakeholder engagement can take the politics out of it, saying let’s just see if this can measure up. That’s what the National Water Grid is all about, that’s why I’m so excited - I think it can really make a difference. We put down on the table another half a billion dollars, $500 million late last year for the National Water Infrastructure Development Fund. Let’s utilise that money in the best possible way.
OSCAR WILLIS:
And do we have any time frames for those in your knowledge?
MICHAEL MCCORMACK:
I’ve got the list now and I’m looking forward to when this fog lifts in Wagga Wagga this morning, getting back to Canberra - I’m addressing the Australian Local Government Association Conference if I actually get there - and hopefully, I’ll be able to sit down and have a bit of a look even this morning at water infrastructure and some of the lists that some of the State Governments have actually provided.
OSCAR WILLIS:
You’re listening to ABC Riverina on air, online or via the ABC Listen App. I’m speaking to Michael McCormack, the Member for Riverina, the Nationals’ Leader and the Deputy Prime Minister. Mr McCormack, a couple of weeks ago a big thing that happened that sent some shockwaves through us; I suppose some of the media, were the AFP raids on News Corp journalists and on the ABC. I’m sure as a former newspaper editor you were looking at that with interest. What’s your viewpoint on what unfolded?
MICHAEL MCCORMACK:
The Australia Federal Police don’t take these matters lightly, of course, and they do things according to their own investigations. They operate at arm’s length from Government. Government doesn’t tell the AFP to do these sorts of things; that’s what they’ve done.
Nobody is above the law, so let’s see what comes of these investigations before anybody rushes to judge and say: well, the Government has done the wrong thing or the AFP has done the wrong thing or indeed, the news organisations or the individual journalists have done the wrong thing. Nobody is saying anything - anyone or anything - is being broken yet or the law has been broken, so let’s just see what comes of it. Let’s just see what, you know, transpires from these investigations before anybody rushes to judge them yet.
Yes I understand that a lot of people, particularly in media circles, are concerned about this and about free speech - of course I’ve always upheld the right of free speech. I don’t always like what people say about myself or the Government or indeed anything I’ve done previously, but people have got the right to say it. That’s free speech. We’ve won World Wars to ensure that we have free speech in this country, but before people rush to judgement, let’s see what comes of these investigations and then we’ll make up our minds after that.
OSCAR WILLIS:
We don’t think it sets a bad precedent that press freedom could be at risk?
MICHAEL MCCORMACK:
Well, press freedom is one but also the law is another. So as I say, I’m not saying anybody’s broken the law, but if a law has been broken, the right authorities are probably the police, indeed in this case, the Federal Police, to find out whether in fact a law has or not been broken.
OSCAR WILLIS:
Mr McCormack, thanks so much for making some time for us this morning and having a chat.
MICHAEL MCCORMACK:
It’s a pleasure. Anytime at all.
OSCAR WILLIS:
And I hope you can get on your flight with all that fog and looking out the window, there’s still plenty around.
MICHAEL MCCORMACK:
There’s still plenty around. All good. Okay.
OSCAR WILLIS:
Mr McCormack, thank you very much.