Transcript: Doorstop at Dubbo, NSW, Thursday 18 July 2019
EO&E
MARK COULTON:
Okay. Thanks, ladies and gentlemen. Look, I'm very pleased to welcome the Prime Minister Scott Morrison and the Deputy Prime Minister Michael McCormack to Dubbo today. Obviously, they've been here for the Rural Summit. It was a very good turnout. I think it's going to be a very productive day. Also very pleased that they had the time to call in here at the Royal Flying Doctor base. It's a very integral part of life in regional Australia and the base here does a magnificent job servicing the people of western New South Wales on a daily basis, saving lives and improving the quality of life of people in the bush. So, Prime Minister, thank you.
PRIME MINISTER:
Thank you. Thanks Mark. Great to be back here in Dubbo again. Twice in just a few months and to be here with Michael again here particularly for the Rural Summit that's being held today. Again I just want to commend The Daily Telegraph for bringing that together. I think that’s really brought together some excellent contributions and they’ll continue throughout the course of today. Now including, of course, the presentation by the Deputy Prime Minister. It's also great to be here at the Royal Flying Doctor Service. I take the opportunity when I can to visit the local RFDS where I might be around the country. And it's a reminder, I think, not only of the iconic nature of rural and regional Australia and the national psyche because there's nothing more connected to that than the RFDS, I think, anywhere in the country. It reminds us of the distances, it reminds us of the challenges, it reminds us of the need to ensure we’re connecting services. Not just for physical health but as we were discussing today, the RFDS is out there touching the lives of families and communities in far-flung places of this state every single day as they do right around the country. And that connection point there, the opportunity to see how they're going, how they’re managing it, how their friends are managing it, particularly with the stresses on rural life at the moment around the drought. But they know better than anyone else as well that people in rural Australia are a determined lot and they’ve got a positive outlook on the future and they’re being backed in – whether it’s by these services or many other things that have been deployed to support the here and now on the challenges around the drought.
But as Michael and I, and Mark knows here in his own community, people want to have a look ahead too. And today, we’ve announced our 100:30 programme to ensure that we're building our rural industries and agriculture and forestry and fisheries. That we're dealing with the big issues when it comes to managing our soils. The water infrastructure that needs to be built. Road and other transport infrastructure, the services support. And the immediate relief efforts that are being provided, whether it's on Farm Household Assistance or more direct grants that have been made to councils all around the country. This is all the work that is happening, this is all the work that will continue to happen. My simple message to Australians here today in rural Australia is we're going to stay connected. We're going to grow together. We're not going to grow apart and the future of rural and regional Australia and the future of Australia are inseparable. If rural Australia is not doing well then Australia is not doing well and that is the fundamental principle of how we continue to go forward. So I’m going to hand over to the DPM and then we’ll take your questions.
MICHAEL MCCORMACK:
Well, thank you, Prime Minister. Last time we were here together, you were shearing a sheep, I’ve heard the sheep is still okay. It is fantastic to be here at the Royal Flying Doctor Service and the Government is backing the Royal Flying Doctor Service, whether it's here at Dubbo, whether it's Broken Hill where we've upgraded the facilities, whether it's in Bundaberg where we're putting in place a training facility, or whether it's indeed lowering their operating costs. The Royal Flying Doctor Service provides an invaluable service to rural, regional, country, coastal and particularly remote Australia and we back them all the way and we do and we will certainly continue to do that into the future.
The Bush Summit here today at Dubbo sponsored, supported and promoted by the Daily Telegraph. It’s been a great opportunity to again take the soundings, take the learnings from people right here in Dubbo in the midst of the drought. They are suffering. There's no question. But as the Prime Minister has just said, they're very resilient people and that's my will. We want to continue to back them with more water infrastructure, we want to get on and build dams and that's why we've established the National Water Grid to take the petty politics out of dam building. To put the best available science, but with local stakeholder engagement. That is so critical. So I want to, and I will continue, to talk with states but I want the states to come on board the journey with us. Because if you add water, you grow agriculture. And as the Prime Minister said today, we want to grow it from a $60 billion to a $100 billion dollar operation. It can and will with those trade agreements that we've got in place. We're making sure that we're backing our farmers all the way.
Yes, farmers are struggling and that's why we've put on the table around $7 billion worth of assistance and we want that Future Drought Fund, that $3.9 billion drought fund which is going to be extended to $5 billion, which is going to provide $100 million down payment each and every year. Because there's always some time, some stage that Australia is in drought. Any given year. Any given year. And we want other political parties to make it a bipartisan thing. Why anybody would oppose the Future Drought Fund is anybody's guess. So we urge and encourage those people, those pundits in Parliament who think that the Future Drought Fund is not a good thing to come on board with us. Not just for our sake, but for the farmers here in Dubbo, for the farmers right throughout New South Wales, throughout Queensland, indeed right throughout Australia who are suffering at the moment. They want the Parliament to work together to help them, particularly at this critical juncture. But I commend Mark Coulton for the work that he's doing. He's a good listener, he's a great advocate, and as a Minister he's working very, very hard in the role of Regional Services to make sure that we continue to support those drought affected communities.
PRIME MINISTER:
Happy to take some questions.
JOURNALIST:
Prime Minister, Barnaby Joyce said people on Newstart in the bush are doing it even tougher, that Newstart should be raised. Do you think he’s got a point?
PRIME MINISTER:
The Government has no plans to do that. We continue to increase Newstart every six months, as has always been the practice. Newstart goes up on the indexation that has been in place for many years and we continue to do that. More importantly, for those who are on Newstart it is about well over 90 per cent, about 99 per cent, of people who are on Newstart are actually on other forms of payments as well. So they’re not just on Newstart, there’s rent assistance and a range of other support measures in the income support system, Social Services also support people in those situations. But more importantly, it’s about getting people into jobs. The latest jobs figures show 20,000 additional full time jobs. That’s good news, that’s great news, more jobs. How good are jobs.
JOURNALIST:
Business groups say that lifting Newstart will [inaudible]
PRIME MINISTER:
I’ll tell you what’s going to support the economy, and that’s the tax relief provided to more than 3.5 million people that live outside Australia’s metropolitan areas. Tax relief. We also made the changes to the deeming rates last weekend, and that’s an appropriate adjustment after the movement in the cash rate by the Reserve Bank. So our tax relief, which was opposed by the Labor Party, who were dragged kicking and screaming. I mean, the question is who do they stand for and whose side are they on? They’re not on the side of people who are working hard and giving them tax relief. We’ve delivered on that in just the first week of Parliament, and next week we go back into the Parliament, as Michael has said, we are on the side of farmers and graziers, those in the ag sector, who want to plan for the future and invest in the water infrastructure of the future. That is why you need the Future Drought Fund. That legislation will be going to the Parliament next week. There will also be legislation to deal with next week on ensuring that those cowardly keyboard warriors who incite criminal behaviour of people invading farms, that they will be classed as criminals as well. We expect support on that. There are also some changes coming through on Farm Household Assistance as well. So, next week there will be a very strong focus on rural and regional Australia. Whether it's the work that Michael is doing in infrastructure and dams or indeed the work that is being done to protect farmers from criminals.
JOURNALIST:
Prime Minister, a lot of the announcements that you have made today, they will no doubt have a positive effect in the coming years, and help us be more drought proof in the future. What about people suffering in this drought? How quick can you be to activate assistance to them? And what is left for those people?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well, there's already $7 billion of various measures, which includes direct assistance, and that includes the work we've done on making the Farm Household Assistance more accessible to more farming families and communities. I flagged today that the four in ten rule - a recommendation that has come back out of the review, which will further extend that access, is something we look very favourably upon. The million dollars that we put into every single drought affected shire in the country, including a million right here in Dubbo - and I talked today about how that had flowed through to the local economy - that's an incredible emergency support to these local communities, whether here or anywhere else in the country. And so we will continue to take those steps. I mean, this is not a one point in time issue dealing with the drought. It is every single day. And Minister Littleproud – that’s his job. To ensure we stay up to the mark on what is needed in terms of the right now financial assistance to farming families and communities, but on top of that, it's about looking out into the future and to ensure there is a future resilience, which is what farming communities have said to us. Yes, they need the support now, and are receiving it, and will continue to make sure that that is tailored to meet the needs and we strip away the bureaucracy that can stymie and discourage. But they also want… they also know that Australia is a dry land, and we're looking at a future where these drought events are likely to be more frequent, and therefore the planning needs to be there to preserve the life and way of life and the economies of rural Australia.
JOURNALIST:
Prime Minister, today you set out the 2022 international freight ambition. A lot of farmers here are ready to do that now, they’ve got the infrastructure, they’ve got the willpower, they are ready to go, and they just need water. Either rain or the infrastructure to deliver them the water that they need. Can you just explain what the 2022 target is in terms of trade? And also, given the Reserve Bank Governor has said the infrastructure is a way to stimulate the economy, is this a ready opportunity to make some big nation-building infrastructure commitments to the bush? Longer term things?
PRIME MINISTER:
I will let Michael touch on this as well. Let me sort of deal with the issues in turn. First of all, what I was talking about today is 90 per cent of our merchandise trade being covered by our trade agreements. Now, when we started, it was less than 30 per cent. We have got it up to 70 per cent today and we're going to take it to 90 per cent by 2022. I made that pretty clear during the election campaign as well, as I am sure you will recall. There has never been, I think… well, there just simply hasn't been a government in our history that has gone so far so quickly in ensuring that our agricultural communities, but our exporting communities more broadly, have been able to access so many markets in this way. I mean, it is genuinely unprecedented. And we're keeping the pedal down on that. And it's an important part of what I've raised in G20 forums and others. Australia is the advocate to getting access to more markets. And we will continue to fight for that every single place we go.
Now, just on the point that's been made by the Reserve Bank Governor. I think this was made pretty clear last week between the Treasurer and Dr Lowe. The Government and Dr Lowe could not be more in sync. Could not be more in sync. We have a $100 billion infrastructure program, which is delivering projects on the ground, right here, right now. I have met with the Premiers - whether it is in Western Australia, Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria - and we've spoken about the projects that can come forward under the existing schedule and we will be doing that. But we went to the election with a plan to address the economic circumstances that we currently confront. They weren't a mystery to us when we formed the Budget. We formed the budget on the basis of those, and having been re-elected, we are now implementing those plans, which includes our infrastructure, which includes the tax cuts which Labor opposed, which includes the measures to support the growth of rural and regional industries, in particular the ag forestry and fishing sector that we talked about today. But Michael can talk more about infrastructure.
MICHAEL MCCORMACK:
And whether it’s Malpas, whether it’s the Carcoar Pipeline, indeed whether it’s Wyangala Dam, I want to make sure that I work with the NSW Government and working with the NSW Government in very, very good faith. They’ve brought forward a list of priority projects and I’m working with them to make sure that we build the water infrastructure they need. But more broadly, look at Tasmania. Whether it’s in Scottsdale, whether it’s Forth, just in recent months we were announced more projects there and we’re getting on with doing it. I’ve been up in Western Australia, we go to Queensland and we look at the Emu Swan dam, that’s a project I really want to build, actually see shovels in the ground this year. I had a meeting with Anthony Lynham, the Water Minister in Queensland, just last week to see what we could do to make that happen. Rookwood Weir…
PRIME MINISTER:
I spoke to the Premier about that one too.
MICHAEL MCCORMACK:
Indeed, the Prime Minister did. So, we ask the Queensland Government, work with us, we will build that project, we will get shovels in the ground, we can do it, if they’re prepared to work with us where we can do shovels in the ground, excavators on the ground before year’s end. And that’s the sort of delivery that we want to do and you go to north Queensland – many, many projects up there. Big Rocks, Hells Gate, they’re projects that will grow agriculture and enable us to ensure that we can develop future market opportunities for our farmers.
JOURNALIST:
Prime Minister, on the Future Drought Fund, Anthony Albanese said that he doesn’t want to see the money come from infrastructure and be given to agriculture. Would you consider funding it another way and repurposing that money out of…?
PRIME MINISTER:
No, that’s just another excuse by the Labor Party. Anthony sort of needs to get over the pride on these issues. The Drought Fund converts a previous fund, all of which those projects are being funded under our $100 billion. We’ve got $100 billion being spent on infrastructure, so there is not one piece of pavement, there is not one dam, there is not one railway sleeper that has been taken away from our infrastructure program by going ahead with the Future Drought Fund. And any suggestion by Anthony Albanese that that is the case is just frank misrepresentation. I mean, he is constantly looking for excuses to oppose this. So you’ve got to ask yourself about this guy. What’s he for? And who’s he for? I can’t work it out. And I think Australians are asking the same questions. So next week he’s got a chance to answer that question. We asked him the other week about are you for tax relief? And he said, “No.” Now I asked him, “Are you for the Drought Fund?” Well, it seems as if he’s saying no at the moment. Hopefully, he is in support it to make sure that farmers don’t have to face people invading their properties. Hopefully, he’s for actually making sure that corrupt union officials aren’t able to actually carry on in their business within our industries. I mean, he’s had an absolute shocker on John Setka and made the big promises and John Setka walks around with impunity. So, I don’t know who he’s for. I suppose the Australian public will make a judgement about that.
JOURNALIST:
The New Zealand Prime Minister has arrived in Australia, you’re meeting with her tomorrow. What will you discuss and what can you learn from her? She’s very popular over in New Zealand. Is there anything that you sort of might speak to her about? Not to say you’re not popular on this side, Prime Minister, but…
PRIME MINISTER:
[laughs] Well, look, I look forward to seeing the Prime Minister of New Zealand, Jacinda. We’ve struck up a very professional relationship, and a good personal relationship too, and Jen and I both look forward to seeing them both tomorrow and wish her well for the presentation. I know she is coming as part of the ANZSOG Conference. Last time I saw Jacinda, I’ve got to say it was under the most difficult of circumstances. We were in Christchurch for the memorial service which was a heart-wrenching exercise and we stood there with her and all of New Zealand on that day as I know all Australians did. And I’m very pleased that subsequent to that, we were able to take forward the initiatives we did at the G20 as part of the Christchurch Call to ensure a clear message was received by the world’s biggest economies that social media and internet platforms can’t be weaponised by terrorists, which was obviously a key factor in what we saw in Christchurch. There are many issues we’ve discussed around these security arrangements. Together with New Zealand, we’re very much part of the Step Up Program. They have a very similar initiative in New Zealand. We’ve been swapping notes on a lot of that. We’re both forward-thinking, open market economies supportive of trade and they support that agenda. So there’s never anything short for us to talk about when we get together. And I’ll pass on my commiserations for the World Cup. I’ve got to say I was backing the Black Caps, I actually sent Jacinda a text saying I’m barracking for the Black Caps, they couldn’t have got any closer and we’ll have to win the Ashes for the Kiwis as well as us.
JOURNALIST:
Just on Josh Frydenber’s eligibility sitting in the House of Representatives…
PRIME MINISTER:
Yes.
JOURNALIST:
Another constitutional lawyer said that perhaps there are issues for him to answer. Is it time to draw a line under Section 44, and amend the constitution to deal with these issues?
PRIME MINISTER:
I’ll tell you what it’s a time to draw a line on, and it’s anti-Semitism. I mean, the scourge of anti-Semitic graffiti that we’ve seen in Melbourne just this year, it is absolutely sickening and disgraceful. And for a Holocaust denier and an anti-Semite to seek to progress that agenda by pretending to have some sort of constitutional purity on Josh Frydenberg, I’m just going to call it out for what it is. And I think Australians… I think they would share that. Anti-Semitism has no place in this country. I mean, I saw also what was happening with the graffiti against our colleague Julian Leeser up in Sydney. It’s sickening. And so, we have no truck with these anti-Semitic thoughts or practices or what they’re about. I mean, he shouldn’t be in the Labor Party for a start, how he’s even in there I’ve got no idea because I know that is as abhorrent in their way of thinking as it is to ours. So I’m calling that what it is. Thanks very much.