TRANSCRIPT: Press Conference with Michael McCormack and NT Senator Sam McMahon Darwin, Northern Territory, 22 September 2019
E&OE
Subjects: Road Black Spot Program, Water Infrastructure, Drought, Northern Territory Government Debt, Energy, Productivity Commission
SAM MCMAHON:
Thank you for coming along today. It’s really great to have the Acting Prime Minister Michael McCormack here. We’ve had a good weekend so far with the Country Liberals annual conference. It’s fantastic that we’ve got seven outstanding candidates so far to announce for the Territory election. So we’ve had a really good conference and fantastic as always, Mr McCormack is a great friend to the Northern Territory. He’s been here many times, he’s always keen to announce infrastructure projects for the Northern Territory and I’ll hand over to him to give you details about this one.
MICHAEL MCCORMACK:
Well, thank you, Sam and Sam is doing an outstanding job for and on behalf of all Northern Territorians following on from, of course, Senator Nigel Scullion. I’ve got every faith that Sam McMahon is going to continue to advocate and campaign and represent the interests of Northern Territorians fiercely in the Nationals Party Room, in the Liberal and Nationals Government and indeed across the nation.
But we’re here today to make an announcement of a Black Spots program to the tune of $400,000 for the Stuart Highway here at Virginia. An extension of guard rails which mightn’t seem all that much but in the scheme of things, not only that on the inbound verge but also in the median strip an extension and indeed an implementation of guardrails will, inevitably ensure that there are less accidents. In the past five years there has been 10 major accidents, five of them run off accidents and indeed a half of those accidents have been quite serious leading to injury and trauma.
And of course if there's one thing that this Government is committed to do through its 10 year $100 billion pipeline of infrastructure investment, it’s lower the road toll. Getting people to where they need to be sooner and safer, that's the objective of our infrastructure program and that's certainly the objective of our Black Spot program. And the Northern Territory is faring well out of that particular initiative and for this, indeed, program here, this project here at Virginia $400,000
is going to prevent future accidents that we've seen over the past five years. And as I say, the Northern Territory is a big part of the infrastructure program and indeed I'm very much looking forward to announcing even further infrastructure across the Northern Territory. It was delightful to be with Steve Edgington last night and to continue discussions about the Barkley Regional Deal. For Tennant Creek, that's going to make the world of difference.
And whether it's the Outback Highway, whether it's infrastructure at Katherine, Alice, Darwin – wherever else – we're investing in the Northern Territory's future, we're making sure that when it comes to infrastructure that creates jobs, local jobs here in the Northern Territory. Local procurement, that's something that I've been very, very big on since becoming the Deputy Prime Minister and Infrastructure Minister in February last year, to make sure that tier two and tier three – not just tier one companies – but the smaller companies, small and medium sized businesses, local family run companies are getting a slice of the action. And of course, that there are local jobs as well be created out of the infrastructure spend that we're doing here in the Top End. And when you have local jobs, that means local investment, that means prosperity guaranteed going forward for the Northern Territory.
Happy to take any questions.
JOURNALIST:
So is this the funding from the infrastructure facility [indistinct] city or is this?
MICHAEL MCCORMACK:
This is guaranteed funding from the infrastructure spend that we're doing in the Northern Territory - $400,000. Work will begin in January next year. Work will be completed, weather permitting of course, in April next year, $400,000 for the Stuart Highway here at Virginia, important infrastructure and we're getting on and building it.
JOURNALIST:
I was wondering if you could us about designs and plans that are under way for the damming of the Adelaide River or any other rivers at the Top End.
MICHAEL MCCORMACK:
Well look, I was delighted last year to take a report from the CSIRO, of course that independent august organisation, where they identified potentially – not just in the Top End in the Northern Territory but indeed right across the top of Australia – particularly three potential catchments, three potential significant areas where we can harness water and potentially to build six dams.
These are important infrastructure developments, this is important analysis and certainly with the National Water Infrastructure Development Fund we've got $1.3 billion that we're going to be spending on building more dams. And when we've spent that, well we're going to top that up with even more money.
And I'm delighted that next month we'll be making more announcements about the National Water Grid Authority. So we're going to invest in getting the world's best available science but also not forgetting that we're going to have local stakeholder engagement. We're already going to put shovels in the ground and excavators digging holes at the Emu Swamp in Stanthorpe, Queensland – running out of water, that particular Granite Belt area – but we want to make sure that if there's, if it stacks up, if the scientists say yes, if the local stakeholders say yes, and if they're willing to back themselves as well, well the Federal Government will say yes. What the National Water Grid Authority will do will be taking out the petty politics.
It‘s been far too long in this nation since we've built the water storage infrastructure that we need to and of course whether that's the Northern Territory or anywhere else. This drought, this prolonged dry spell has told us again that we need to build the water storage infrastructure to protect our farmland, our agriculture for times when it will be dry again.
JOURNALIST:
[indistinct] water scientists from Charles Darwin University [indistinct] a drop in barramundi spawning for example. [indistinct] concerned is there pushing the dams agenda here in [indistinct]?
MICHAEL MCCORMACK:
Well of course the National Water Grid Authority will always take on board all concerns and that's why I've said, that best available science, and we're looking to attract some of the internationally acclaimed experts in this field to take part in the National Water Grid Authority.
It's far too long since we've built a dam – whether it's in the Northern Territory, whether it's down south, whether it's further east – we want to get on and build dams. We know that when you build dams you can build agriculture; we know that when you add water you add agriculture. We've got a $60 billion agriculture industry in Australia; we want to build it by 2030 to $100 billion. Bridget McKenzie, the Agriculture Minister, is committed to doing that and certainly will take on board any environmental impact concerns – we always do. But the time for building dams is now and we're getting on with it.
JOURNALIST:
Joel Fitzgibbon said this morning, Michael, Joel Fitzgibbon made comments this morning that the Government was like a rabbit in the spotlight on drought, criticising you for not doing enough over the last six years. I was just wondering what you think about that and whether farmers need to change their practices long term to be more sustainable as well?
MICHAEL MCCORMACK:
Well first of all I'd say that our farmers are the world's best. They are the best carers of country, they are the best carers of river and I certainly wouldn't want to criticise any farmers about their land practices. They know that they have to protect their land because if they don't well they won't have it, they won't have it to grow crops, they won't have to raise their stock in the future. And for anybody to say that farmers are not doing the right thing well that's a way bridge too far for me.
And the fact is we've always backed our farmers to the hilt. We don't tell farmers where they should farm, what they should be farming ,how they should be doing it and what they should do in the future – that's the Labor way. This is the Labor Party which, quite frankly when it comes to foreign investment, don't even really want a trigger point for the Foreign Investment Review Board. And we have backed our farmers. We've backed our farmers with more than $7 billion of assistance including $3.9 billion for a Future Drought Fund which will grow to $5 billion dollars, and there'll be a draw down of at least $100 million per year going forward when that takes effect.
So for Joel Fitzgibbon, somebody from the Labor Party I might add, who sat in a Party which opposed a Future Drought Fund, I think that's just a bit rich for him to say that we haven't been doing all that we can. Yes, it's been difficult. Yes, farm household assistance measures needed to be tweaked so that more farmers could take advantage of them. We did that. We've listened to our rural communities. They are hurting.
What they don't want to be seeing is politicians fighting over the minutia of what really stands to be one of the worst droughts in history. What they want to see is political opponents getting on. Sure, I had an argument with Joel Fitzgibbon in Parliament the other day, I got a little bit tired of him criticising the fact that, you know, not enough was being done when a lot has been done in the side, and for, and on behalf of farming communities. So we've hopefully settled our differences, a little bit disappointed with what you've just told me what he said this morning. Joel needs to get a little bit more on board with what we're doing and farmers need to see that.
JOURNALIST:
Speaking of infrastructure, are you likely to meet with the NT Government this weekend? And, I mean obviously they’re fishing for a ship lift here in Darwin. Will the Federal Government seriously consider whether they might lend any funds towards that project?
MICHAEL MCCORMACK:
Well I know the ship lift is being considered by the NAIF at the moment, and that's right and proper. We need to obviously see a business case for that and I know that we want to build more infrastructure. And certainly we always look at those particular pieces of infrastructure, those particular projects which stack up. I met with Michael Gunner just the other day in Canberra, wasn't able to arrange a meeting with him this weekend but certainly I'm always available, he's got my number and certainly always happy to have a chat.
Fact is though, what I would like to see is this Northern Territory Government reducing its debt. Now, when they took over Government they had at $1.8 billion net debt, Now it's up to, it's blown out to $35 billion. Now that's not good enough. It’s typical Labor that when they spend all of their own money they come after yours and unfortunately that's been writ large here in the Northern Territory.
Now we've got seven outstanding candidates that we put forward yesterday for pre-selection for the August 22 election for the Northern Territory next year. I'm backing those seven candidates and I know Sam and I will certainly look forward to seeing even more candidates in the field as we lead up to that important election. It's an important point in history for the Northern Territory. Do they want to continue with a Government which has got net debt and deficit spiralling out of control? Or will I give the CLP, the Country Liberals, another go? I think I know what the answer should be and that is the CLP taking over the Government here again in the Northern Territory, making sure that they reduce that net debt for on behalf of all the Northern Territorians because what you don't want to do is saddle the Northern Territory with too much debt that just cannot be paid off in the future.
JOURNALIST:
Speaking of debt, will the Government wipe the debt that the NT Government inherited when it gained self Government like it did for Tasmania?
MICHAEL MCCORMACK:
Well look, we always look at whatever we can do to boost our states and territories. But the fact is we are working towards and we are achieving a surplus in the Federal Government at the moment. We've seen what New South Wales can do when you have a surplus situation. After 16 years of dreadful Labor Government the New South Wales Liberals and Nationals took over in 2011 and turned that State's fortunes around. We've seen what Will Hodgman has done in Tasmania. We've seen what Steven Marshall is doing in South Australia at the moment. The worst performing Governments in Australia are those run by Labor, are those running Queensland, here in the Northern Territory and indeed in Western Australia.
The Liberal Nationals, the CLP, know how to manage money. We know that for the people, the average people – who are average, everyday, ordinary Australians who are working hard to run their businesses, get their kids to school, pay off their family budgets – for them – they know how to run a budget because they do it each and every day and they expect governments to do the same.
JOURNALIST:
I was just going to say are there plans for more water restrictions going into summer?
MICHAEL MCCORMACK:
Are there plans?
JOURNALIST:
Yeah.
MICHAEL MCCORMACK:
Well, water restrictions are a matter for local government and indeed the Federal Government doesn't impose water restrictions. I appreciate that when you've got a lack of water that some restrictions are needed to be placed on household water. I understand that, I live in a drought community myself. It will rain again, it will rain again and we need to make sure that we put in place measures for the future to ensure that we can harvest that water so that when we actually have the next dry spell – and hopefully that's a long time into the future, if at all – that we're properly prepared.
Yes?
JOURNALIST:
Are you implying that if the Northern Territory elects a CLP government next year the Federal Government might consider wiping the debt?
MICHAEL MCCORMACK:
No, I'm not saying that at all. But what I'm saying it's important to have fiscal responsibility. What I'm saying is that you can only trust the Liberal-Nationals, the CLP, to deliver prudent, sensible, fiscal responsibility – that's what we do. And I know that certainly when the CLP took back government they had a $3.5 billion debt here in the Northern Territory and in four years they reduced that to $1.8 billion up to 2016 when they lost the election. And of course now we've seen it spiral out of control, its $35 billion of net debt. I mean that's the Labor way.
The Liberal-Nationals way, the CLP way, is to pay down debt and to make sure that you can invest in infrastructure. When you've got a surplus budget – as New South Wales has shown – they’re spending actually $94 billion on infrastructure over the next four years – that's a state to be envied, that's a state to be copied, that's a model to be replicated across this nation. When you have Labor governments at either territory, state or federal level you've got debt, because Labor equals debt.
JOURNALIST:
Do you agree with Senator McMahon’s comments in her maiden speech that renewable energy’s a flawed and immature technology and that in fact [indistinct] of a hoax is being perpetuated in [indistinct].
MICHAEL MCCORMACK:
Well, it was a cracker of a speech and Sam McMahon is a marvellous representative for the Northern Territory. And of course we all say things in maiden speeches because we set our vision for the future. What we need to do is make sure that when it comes to renewables, when it comes to traditional forms of energy, that we have a good balance. Australia's got to take up rate for renewable energies that it's almost second to none in the world. We're way ahead of many other countries when it comes to the take up of renewable energy and importantly in the investment in renewable energy, so I'm proud of that fact.
But what we need to do, in a practical pragmatic way, what we need to do is make sure that we have a balance and that's what we do. And when it comes to the environment, and I know Sam agrees, we've got policies in place that is going to make sure we meet our international obligations. But whilst meeting those international obligations I tell you what we're not going to do, and that's we're not going to destroy business, make it unaffordable for families to turn on the power, to turn on the air conditioning in summer and to deindustrialise our nation and send manufacturing offshore. I know Sam agrees with that because we've spoken about it. She's going to be a fierce advocate for the Northern Territory. She's going to speak her mind and I like that. We don't want just bland, boring people in Parliament, we want people who are going to speak up their mind, rattle a cage occasionally. Sam’s just that sort of person and I know from what she's brought up in the Party Room, what she's brought up in the Joint Party Room and indeed what she said on the floor of Parliament, she's going to be a fighter, she's going to have a bit of spirit. I think I know Northern Territorians well enough to know they're going to like what they see in her.
JOURNALIST:
Well, in the context of the drought could we be doing more on climate policies though?
MICHAEL MCCORMACK:
Well in the context of the drought what people want to see is us to build dams and we're getting on and we're doing that. It’s been way too long in this country since we’ve built a dam and in the context of the drought what we want to do is back our farmers. Our farmers are the world's best environmentalists, they will continue to be that. They need a bit of support from Government, they're getting that in spades – more than $7 billion of assistance, and we will continue to stand shoulder to shoulder, side by side with our farmers, whether they're from the Top End or whether they're from the Deep South we’re going to, we’ll back them all the way.
JOURNALIST:
What about our climate policies though Michael? In relation to the drought?
MICHAEL MCCORMACK:
Well our climate policies, we took our climate policies to the May 18 election, we were very clear – very, very clear – about what we had in mind for climate policies going forward and I appreciate there were quite a few people went out and protested on Friday. I would have liked to have seen how many of those people would have backed up again possibly if it had’ve been on a Saturday when it should have been. Having a climate protest on the busiest business day and the busiest school day of the week, I think it is not appropriate. What they also should have done rather than go down streets and cheer and scream, and carry on like pork chops, is what they should have done was actually, every one of them, plant a tree and you know what? Then look after it. How much better would Australia's climate have been today and going forward into the future had each and every one of those protesters – from small country towns to the capital cities – had they all gone and planted a tree instead of yelling at the top of their lungs about ScoMo and Adani. Most of them wouldn't even know where Adani was, most of the schoolkids didn't even know what they were protesting about. Absolutely ridiculous. What they should have done, and what their teachers should have told them, go and plant a tree and then water it, look after it. Protect your planet.
JOURNALIST:
Just a question on the Productivity Commission, is the Commonwealth likely to accept the proposal around the remote area tax concessions?
MICHAEL MCCORMACK:
Sorry, can you start the sentence again?
JOURNALIST:
Just on the Productivity Commission, is the Commonwealth likely to accept the proposal around the remote area tax concessions?
MICHAEL MCCORMACK:
Well, the Productivity Commission Report is a Report to Government, not by Government. We’ll consider its findings, we’ll consider its recommendations and we'll be making more comments about that in the future.
JOURNALIST:
When will a decision be made on those recommendations?
MICHAEL MCCORMACK:
In coming weeks, that's certainly up to the Treasurer and the Finance Minister. I know they're seriously considering what the Productivity Commission came up with, but again I state, it's a Report, as Productivity Commission Reports always are, to Government not by Government.
JOURNALIST:
As someone from a regional-
MICHAEL MCCORMACK:
And there's an important distinction in that.
JOURNALIST:
As someone from a regional area do you think that would be detrimental to regional Australia?
MICHAEL MCCORMACK:
We always – as Liberals and Nationals and CLP – we always protect the tax interests of those people who decide to live remotely, those people who decide to live regionally and always will.
JOURNALIST:
[indistinct] Can you confirm that won’t happen to this?
MICHAEL MCCORMACK:
Well I’m happy to work with the Northern Territory Government to make sure that when we've invested heavily in enabling roads we know what an important area this is for the future, for tourism, for the local communities they’re around. And I'm always in discussions with infrastructure ministers, indeed with the Chief Minister about what we can do going forward.
JOURNALIST:
So you won’t allow fast tracking [indistinct]
MICHAEL MCCORMACK:
Well look again – and I know that there's been some talk about bringing forward infrastructure to ensure that we have that stimulus into the economy – of course there always is labour constraints as well, we need to have the right people at the right time to enable us to build the infrastructure. We've got a $100 billion pipeline of investment in infrastructure, that's a record amount. We increased that by $23 billion in the April 2 budget. We're getting on with the job of building Australia's future. We're getting on with the job of building the Northern Territory's future. Happy to work with any government of any political persuasion to build the infrastructure we need.
JOURNALIST:
Just there’s been a lot of talk about this Adelaide River dam for many years. Are there any actual concrete plans [indistinct] by building? What can you tell us about the status of this [indistinct]
MICHAEL MCCORMACK:
Yeah. Well look I’ve been, I asked last October for states and territories to bring forward their priority water projects, their priority storage projects – they've done that. Looking at them now, considering them now. Of course the National Water Grid Authority is being established, has been established but is kicking off from next month. We're putting in place a very, very good board for that particular organisation. We’ve, of course, got the National Water Infrastructure Development Fund. I want to work with governments of state and territories of any political persuasion to build the water infrastructure we need. Delighted, absolutely delighted that the CSIRO came up with that Report – that's very, very encouraging – we want to work with those sorts of reports, with those sorts of people to build the water infrastructure we need.
Thank you very much.