TRANSCRIPT: ABC NEWS BREAKFAST INTERVIEW, 30 SEPTEMBER 2020
8:01AM
E&OE
Subjects: Agricultural workforce incentives, Regional Recovery Partnerships, Port Botany Dispute;
LISA MILLAR
We're joined now by Deputy Prime Minister Michael McCormack. Good morning, welcome to breakfast.
MICHAEL McCORMACK
Good morning Lisa.
LISA MILLAR
I know there's also some more funding coming for regional Australia. I'll ask you about that in a moment, but I do want to concentrate on the farm workers. What's the Government actually doing to make sure the summer harvest can be done?
MICHAEL McCORMACK
What we're doing is we're going to make sure that for those backpackers already in Australia, they can stay longer. For those backpackers who are here, they can work for longer for the one employer, they can work, in fact, they can stay 12 months longer than what they otherwise might have and certainly for those unemployed they can already earn up to $300 before tax thresholds come into play. So there's plenty of work out there. Three and a half thousand in the Young district in New South Wales just for the cherry harvest, Lisa, and that's just one area right across the harvest trail. And it's called the harvest trail, so what we're doing is we're making sure that people can work for longer, they can stay for longer and they can earn more.
This is a significant problem for our farmers faced with good rains, faced with the prospect of the best harvest they've had for many, many years. Many of them are through the drought. They can now reap the rewards of their labours. What we want to be able to make sure that they can do is get that fruit picked so that it doesn't rot on the tree, so that it doesn't rot on the ground. Certainly these provisions that we're announcing are going to go a long way towards doing that. It's still going to be very difficult because there are so many jobs in regional Australia that aren't being filled at the moment.
LISA MILLAR
Yes, but one of the problems is that it is hard for people to pack up their lives, pack up their homes. So what is the actual incentive you're giving people to do that? You're suggesting it's just that they can earn this extra money on top of JobSeeker, is that it?
MICHAEL McCORMACK
There's other incentives as well and so more details will be announced but look, what we want to be able to have people do is to be able to work for longer, to stay for longer and they are –
LISA MILLAR
Is it going to be in time for this harvest, for summer?
MICHAEL McCORMACK
Absolutely and certainly the cherry season is really coming into play in four weeks, so we've got only about three or four weeks. Of course other fruits and other work that needs to be done, that will come on a little later on. But, it's fast approaching so any person who is unemployed and looking to earn some more money, any backpacker who is fearing that their visa is up and they may need to leave the country, well there's good news for you. You can stay for longer. You can work for the one employer for longer and that harvest trail needs you. Certainly I know that there's good money to be made out there in those orchards, in the fruit processing plants and regional Australia needs you. We're backing regional Australia. I'm very confident about the future of regional Australia and very confident about the harvest that we are going to have this summer. But we need workers. We need those people to come to regional Australia.
LISA MILLAR
All right. Well talking about regional Australia, it's been hit so hard and not just by coronavirus, by bushfires before that, is the money you're announcing new money in next week's budget?
MICHAEL McCORMACK
It's new money. It's $135 million today being announced. $100 million for recovery partnerships with regions in every State. We're making sure that those hardest hit, whether it's Kangaroo Island or the Mackay Whitsundays or the Gippsland area, that they get looked after, the south west region of Western Australia. They've been very, very hard hit, not just by COVID-19 but indeed by bushfires and other factors as well. And so for those there'll be $100 million spread out over those areas.
We're also announcing $30 million for connectivity for regional Australia because it is so important, those areas outside the NBN footprint and indeed $5 million to help build resilient leaders because there are many great voices in regional Australia. We want them to speak up. We want them to be given that incentive to be able to have their voice heard and to be leaders in their respective regions.
LISA MILLAR
Minister, there was so much controversy over the sports funding. How do you ensure that this system, where you're sort of throwing it out there and getting communities in regional areas to apply for this money, doesn't cop the same kind of criticism?
MICHAEL McCORMACK
Well the Department went through a very exhaustive matrix of data looking at those areas hardest hit. So, they brought that to me as the Minister, I've taken it to Cabinet, I made sure that it was certainly done very much at arm's length of Government, so to speak. It was done by experts, by economists, by regional leaders also having their say on making sure that they pushed just in fact how hard they'd done it through the bushfire season, through COVID-19.
LISA MILLAR
Can I just ask you another question, the New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has spoken this morning saying this travel bubble isn't going to happen until she gets more information about Australia's hot spots, that needs to come from the Government. We're sort of not giving her what she needs at the moment, are we, to open up these borders, the international border?
MICHAEL McCORMACK
I know there's been very good dialogue between Prime Minister Ardern and Prime Minister Morrison. I know there's been very, very good discussions taking place, very productive discussions taking place. We'll take the best advice of the health medical experts. We'll take their advice. We'll set up a bubble between our Tasman friends, we'll get that happening. Of course, we need to reopen Australia for international visitors. That will happen of course, using the best medical advice. That will happen I know with New Zealand probably first because it's important, they've been our friends way beyond Gallipoli and they will continue to be. We're very like-minded countries. Both countries have had very low case rates and very low mortality rates when you compare it to the rest of the world. This is a global pandemic. We need to open up the borders and that's what we're going to be doing with the best medical advice.
LISA MILLAR
Speaking of opening up borders, there's a real problem at Port Botany, are you seeing any areas where this may not end up being another huge maritime dispute?
MICHAEL McCORMACK
Well, it's very difficult for our farmers who, as I've just said, are having the best season or faced with the prospect of the best season. We've got Roger Fletcher, 7,500 sheep he processes at his Dubbo abattoir every day and there are significant hold ups for him, 38 ships, 100,000 containers held up by a wharfie dispute which shouldn't happen. Hopefully today Fair Work Australia will sort it out and if they don't then some other interventions may need to take place.
LISA MILLAR
All right. Michael McCormack, we've got to leave it there, thank you.
MICHAEL McCORMACK
Thanks Lisa.
ENDS 8:08AM