TRANSCRIPT: YEPPOON PRESS CONFERENCE, 15 October 2020
10:15AM AEST
E&OE
Subjects: COVID Recovery Forum, Budget, Queensland State Election;
WITH: THE HON. KEITH PITT MP, MINISTER FOR RESOURCES, WATER AND NORTHERN AUSTRALIA, MEMBER FOR HINKLER, THE HON. MICHELLE LANDRY MP, ASSISTANT MINISTER FOR CHILDREN, FAMILIES & NORTHERN AUSTRALIA, MEMBER FOR CAPRICORNIA, ADRIAN DE GROOT, LNP CANDIDATE FOR KEPPEL & TONY HOPKINS, LNP CANDIDATE FOR ROCKHAMPTON.
MICHELLE LANDRY
It’s wonderful to be at the Keppel Bay Sailing Club today in beautiful Yeppoon and I have the Deputy Prime Minister with me, Michael McCormack and Keith Pitt, the Minister for Resources and Northern Australia and Water and Adrian de Groot and Tony Hopkins, our LNP candidates.
We’ve just had a recovery forum, a COVID recovery forum and we’ve had some business people in there from right across the sector, just to talk to us about the issues. And one thing that really still keeps coming up is about getting workers. And look, I’m urging people that are out there if you are on JobSeeker, please go and find a job. There are employers actually crying out for workers. We’ve got farmers who are having to plough food back into their fields. You know, the fruit’s falling off the trees. We’ve got hospitality, you know, places like the Marina, can’t get staff. They can only open a couple of nights a week. And the business owners that I’ve been speaking to are saying, “You know, Michelle, we’re working 16-hour days. We just can’t keep this up. We just want workers.” People need to realise that the JobSeeker is actually, you know, has decreased and it will continue to decrease. We need people back in work. We need people working to get our economy moving. This is not an endless gravy train that they’re going to keep on getting higher unemployment benefits, because they won’t. They need to get a job and they need to get out there and help these people that are looking for workers. Because it is becoming very serious and I’m extremely worried that, you know, what’s going to happen to our economy if people don’t go out and find work?
MICHAEL McCORMACK
Well, on this International Rural Women’s Day it’s fantastic to be here with Michelle Landry and it happens to be her birthday. So, it’s fantastic to celebrate a birthday with a fantastic colleague, somebody who has worked so hard, so diligently and in such a dedicated fashion for and on behalf of the people of Rockhampton and the electorate of Capricornia. And Michelle will go on doing that, because she knows that more than ever now, her people need her to fight hard for better infrastructure, for better roads, for safer roads, for more water infrastructure. And that’s why she played such an important part – as did Keith Pitt, my wonderful colleague, the Minister for Northern Australia, the Minister for Resources, the Minister for Water – to bring about a budget which was there for business. To bring about a budget that had three key elements – jobs, jobs and more jobs. That’s what the budget was predicated on, making sure that business could be its best self.
We understand in an LNP Government, in a Liberal and Nationals Government in Canberra, that it’s not government which creates opportunities and jobs. We provide the parameters around which business provides the opportunities and jobs. So if we can make businesses be their best selves through programs such as being able to have a wage subsidy for apprentices, for instant asset write off where they can buy capital equipment up to any dollar amount and just write it off in the year of purchase and indeed, paying the least amount of tax that small business has since 1940, then they’ll hire people. They’ll give that young person their first start. They’ll give that older Australian another opportunity. It’s business that creates jobs, and we’re backing business. That’s what the budget did. It also backed infrastructure – Bruce Highway funding. We’re backing water infrastructure with $2 billion of additional money on top of the one and a half billion dollars that we already have and are spending in the National Water Infrastructure Development Fund. We’re backing indeed, Local Roads and Community Infrastructure in this electorate alone to the tune of $19.2 million. A little bit is going to Flynn and Dawson on the edges, but for the councils that Michelle represents, they’re going to receive the benefit of $19.2 million over the next year or so on their local roads, on their regional roads. And, of course, that’s not just to talk about also the $522 million that Queensland will benefit from and Central Queensland will benefit largely from the money that’s going to be spent largely on road safety upgrades. And that is under the use-it-or-lose-it system that I’ve put in place to make sure that states spend the money when the milestones are coming up for the necessary spending of that money. Because if they don’t, then states will lose it to another state.
And that’s why I’m delighted that I’ve got Adrian de Groot and Tony Hopkins behind me – candidates for Keppel and Rockhampton respectively. They know how important it is to have better roads. They know how important it is to have a voice in a government which actually gets on and does things. And that’s why I’m looking forward after October 31 to be dealing with an LNP Government here in Queensland. Because it’s only an LNP Government that are going to provide the sort of necessary collaboration and cooperation with me to get infrastructure built. For too long we’ve talked about Rookwood Weir. We’ve put on the table $176.1 million. We want to see that project underway. We want to see other water infrastructure projects underway, whether it’s Urannah, Big Rocks, Hells Gate, any of those dam projects, those water infrastructure projects that Michelle and Keith have fought so hard to bring about as part of the budget process, as part of the funding mechanism, we want to get them done.
KEITH PITT
Great to be back in Central Queensland as the Minister for Northern Australia. Fantastic to be here with Michelle Landry and of course, Michael McCormack, the Deputy Prime Minister and two of our local candidates. And this is an incredibly important state election.
What was raised with us this morning in today’s forum predominantly were state issues. It was about the price of electricity, which in regional Queensland is controlled solely by the Queensland State Labor Government. It was about Great Keppel Island and the fact that the local member had not delivered on their commitment from the last election and was out making more commitments. So, it was about the opportunities in the resources sector which we continue at a federal level to deliver on because we know that it drives local economies, provides jobs. And as Michelle has said, it’s about available workforce and ensuring people who are available to work are out taking the jobs which are there right now. And this has been a common theme right throughout regional Australia. So, it’s a challenge across the country. We know Victoria still being in lockdown leaves a lot of people in difficult circumstances, but there are parts of regional Australia and regional Queensland where the economy has ticked right back up and we need them to continue to do that because it’s in the interests of all of us that our nation gets back to work.
JOURNALIST
I’ve got a question for you. Why won’t the Federal Government put more money in to the South Rocky flood levee?
MICHELLE LANDRY
Well, with regards to the Rockhampton Flood Levee, council had made the decision that the $50 million that was on the table, 25 for state, 25 for federal, was in limbo at the moment and they have asked that they could use that money for other things. As we know, the Rockhampton Levee, the cost has blown out significantly – $60 million it started at and $120 million and then it’s gone up to about $190 million. This is, once again, in the hands of the State Government and the bureaucrats in Queensland and Canberra have been talking about it. But, it’s basically been just sitting there. I have said and I have spoken to the Deputy Prime Minister about this, that after the election that, you know, we’re prepared to sit down with the three levels of government to have a serious discussion about it because council does feel that there’s a lot of extra costs that have been put on to that by the State Government. It’s a little bit like Rookwood Weir – it blew out by $200 million, no-one knows where, apparently in concrete. So, I think that we really need to have a good look at it and just see what we can do with the costings of that. But at this stage the $25 million, we’re keen to see other projects advance with that. And as I said a couple of days ago, it’s about the regional development for the area, the economic development and to get other things moving.
JOURNALIST
So, talking about opportunities in the resources sector here in Central Queensland. There’s a bit of concern here with the Labor Party pretty much saying, you know, they’re looking to transition out of coal. What’s the Federal Government’s stance on that? How have you got a plan? What’s your plan for the future in terms of keeping the coal industry going and keeping the jobs?
KEITH PITT
Our plans for the resources sector is very straightforward – we support it 100 per cent. The only people who want local workers, whether it’s in the coal sector or elsewhere, to transition out of their well-paid jobs which provide enormous amounts of payments for what is – you know, these are the essential services that Australians rely on. Whether it’s hospitals or schools or roads or other infrastructure. It’s paid for by sectors like the resources sector. It is only Queensland Labor and Federal Labor that want those people who are out there working hard, keeping the lights on, to lose their jobs. They are the ones that want to transition away from what’s been a very successful part of our country. We stand with them 100 per cent.
MICHAEL McCORMACK
I might just add to that. I mean, we’ve got the coal industry, which is supporting 55,000 jobs. The coal industry, which is providing 66 per cent – two-thirds – of our energy needs in this nation. We’ve got a Labor Party at federal and state level that want to shut it down. They want to tell those people that they don’t deserve to have a job. They want to tell their families that they need to go on the welfare queues. That’s the Labor way. I cannot for the life of me understand how Labor in some far off city – be it Brisbane, be it Canberra – sit in their air-conditioned offices, air-conditioning provided by coal power and make these sorts of assumptions, make these sorts of decisions for and on behalf of the hard-working people in the coal industry. They need to take a good, long, look at themselves.
JOURNALIST
Why won’t you support media reform?
MICHAEL McCORMACK
Well, I do support media outlets and we’ve got any number of cameras here. And we will continue to work with the media industry, with key stakeholders right throughout, whether it’s television, radio, newspapers indeed, any provider of local news. I want to see as many cameras as we’re seeing at this press conference now. So, we’ll work with those stakeholders. We’ve already provided substantial money, $50 million under the Public Interest News Gathering Program, to support those newspapers, those other media outlets, through COVID and through the downturn in what has been a very difficult and challenging year for the media. And I know that there’s been talk of antiquated laws. Well, let me tell you, the media reform laws were looked at back in 2017 and we made changes then. And I appreciate that Ray Martin, eminent media personality that he is, is out there talking about local media and that’s fantastic. We want more people talking about local media. And the Federal Government will continue to make sure that we do everything we can to keep that vibrancy in regional areas. I’m a former newspaper editor myself, and back when I had stewardship of a daily newspaper in a regional city, I had 58 journalists in the various newsrooms that I oversaw. And it was the heady days of the newspaper sector, the newspaper industry. And whilst I appreciate that some of those many mastheads have gone online and fully online during COVID-19, we have provided that key assistance. We have provided JobKeeper to many of these newspaper and other media outlets and we’ll continue to do what we can to make sure there are journalists on the ground. Because local journalists mean that local events and local people are seeing their faces on television and hearing their voices on talkback radio and getting their photos and stories in local newspapers. It’s so important. I look forward to continuing to have those discussions with Paul Fletcher, the Communications Minister and most importantly, the news outlets that provide such a wonderful service for our regional communities.
JOURNALIST
On the one-to-one market rule, why don’t you support the scrapping of that?
MICHAEL McCORMACK
Well, we’re looking at all those things right now. We haven’t said no to anything. Everything is on the table. Appreciating that local news outlets have come together and cranked up this Save our Voices campaign. It’s a good campaign. I know that Tim Fischer, a former leader of the National Party and John Anderson as well, have also in the past talked about media reform. And there have been tweaks and changes to media laws which have enabled the media to be where they are today. And media outlets, many of them are still making money. Media outlets are still providing the local news that we’ve come to know and love for so many years. And we want that to continue. So, we’ll continue to have those discussions. We’ll continue to have them both at the Cabinet level and of course, with the stakeholders in the media industry to see what we can do to help local media do what it does best – write, report and cover local news and events.
JOURNALIST
But all political answers aside, would your Government support the scrapping of that law?
MICHAEL McCORMACK
Well, I’ve just given you the answer. I’ve said that we are looking at what is being asked of us by media outlets, by media stakeholders and owners. So, we’re looking at that. Communications Minister, Paul Fletcher, has made some comments about it. We’re continuing to have those discussions and we’ll obviously go on doing that. Haven’t ruled out anything just yet. Happy to take on board what the Save our Voices campaign says, what local stakeholders say and most importantly, what the news outlet owners also ask of us.
JOURNALIST
The Federal Government is all about creating jobs, getting people back into jobs. But people can’t get jobs if they’re not skilled. And one of the jobs Central Queensland has is that, you know, we’ve got one of the most construction projects in the state, yet we’ve got no training. So how is the federal budget going to help stimulate the economy by getting the next generation of workers skilled and into those jobs?
MICHAEL McCORMACK
Well, two ways, through an upskilling fund that we’re providing and I know that Michaelia Cash and Karen Andrews, the Minister for Small Business and Skills and the Minister for Industry and Science, respectively, have had something to say about that. Certainly, in the manufacturing sector, certainly in construction. We want more apprentices getting their first start. That’s why we’re investing heavily in apprenticeships, why we’re investing heavily in upskilling. Whether it’s somebody straight out of school or whether it’s somebody transitioning from another place of work. We’re spending a considerable amount of money on doing just that and those provisions were made for in the budget.
But we’re also encouraging businesses to take on that apprenticeship with programs and funding mechanisms by which they can take on that new apprentice, give them their first start. The budget was all about manufacturing, getting people back to work. Jobs, jobs and more jobs. And that’s what we’re out talking about it. Because we’re pretty excited about it. It was an infrastructure budget. It was a regions budget and it was a jobs budget. So, whether it’s in manufacturing, I’ve got two people behind me in state candidates, one of whom owns a family-owned trucking company in Tony Hopkins and Adrian de Groot, a boilermaker. They want to see more people in the transport sector, people in the boilermaking industry and generally trades, making sure that, you know, they take advantage of those opportunities that are available in regional Australia. Identifying that the Regional Australia Institute, 45,600 jobs at the moment in regional Australia. That’s what they’ve earmarked. That’s what they’ve said is out there. We need Australians to be more mobile. And as Michelle Landry has just said, get off the couch and get back to work.
JOURNALIST
On that topic of upskilling the next generation of workers, yesterday the Premier committed to building new infrastructure at schools across the state, that will upskill students for industry of the future like hydrogen, agriculture and aquaculture. Are you surprised that there was no commitment there to coal?
MICHAEL McCORMACK
No, I’m not surprised at all, I always say with Labor, believe what they do, not what they say they’re going to do. Labor doesn’t have an interest in coal and the Queensland Government gets a lot of royalties from coal. It doesn’t have any interest in coal having a future. I tell you what the people behind me and beside me do. They know that for this area and indeed, for Queensland more broadly and the nation as a whole relies on coal for energy needs and for exports. Of course, Labor had no provision for coal. I mean, why would they? It’s a dirty word for them. It’s a dirty four-letter word. It’s not for us. We want to promote and thank those people who work in the coal industry. And they’re not just all the people who put the hard helmet on with the torch on the front of it in the hi-vis and goes down into the work site. It’s the people who work at Adani who work in geotechnics, who work in accountancy and all those sorts of things. Adani, a thousand people. That’s what they’re helping with. And that’s replicated right throughout Queensland in the coal industry. And I’m proud to stand up and say I’m a supporter of coal. And I know these people beside me and behind me are as well. Annastacia Palaszczuk, she doesn’t have a future for coal. She doesn’t have a plan for the resources sector. She doesn’t have a plan for Queensland. That’s why it’s been too long that she’s been in government and that she needs to be replaced and replaced on October 31 by Deb Frecklington and an LNP team, which is committed to coal, which is committed to a better Queensland, a safer Queensland and a Queensland which can be its best self. I come from New South Wales and I know when Queensland is strong, so too is our nation. Our nation relies on Queensland being its best self. And at the moment it’s being dragged down by a Labor city-centric government.
JOURNALIST
I’ve got a question for Tony, the Rockhampton Regional Council has asked for candidates to support northern suburbs who are wanting to join the Rockhampton region, so merging Glenlee, Rockyview and Glendale into Rockhampton rather than Livingstone. Would this be something that you can support?
TONY HOPKINS
Well, I’ve had discussions with Margaret Strelow on the 10th of August about this. And what she said to me, it’s gone into a stage where it’s going through a process to see which way it’s going to go. Now, I have given her my undertaking that I am not going to interfere with that due process and I will abide by the umpire’s decision.
JOURNALIST
I’ve got the same question for Adrian, actually. So, on that topic, Rockhampton Council’s calling on local candidates to consider, you know, [inaudible] Rockhampton residents become part of the Rockhampton Regional Council. How would you incorporate that in your electorate?
ADRIAN DE GROOT
I’ve talked to both the councils – Livingstone and Rockhampton Council. I will abide by the commissioner’s decision on this because it affects both Rockhampton and Livingstone Shire. So, I will abide by the umpire.
ENDS 10:39AM AEST