TRANSCRIPT: PARLIAMENT HOUSE PRESS CONFERENCE, 3 February 2020
E&EO
Subject: Bridget McKenzie, Coronavirus, Drought, Bushfires;
MICHAEL MCCORMACK:
Of course there are a lot of issues which are confronting our nation at the moment not least of which of course, is the coronavirus and the Government has responded very practically and very quickly to deal with this major issue and as Transport Minister I’ve been working with the sector to ensure the mercy flight which is being conducted by Qantas and we thank Alan Joyce the CEO and we also thank the crew for volunteering their services. As we speak that flight is on the ground and those 244 people, most of whom are Australians, will be brought home to ensure that everything is fine by them. And of course, with the drought that is ongoing, the bushfires, the recovery and clean-up efforts there. The Government as I say has responded quickly in that regard too. I want to also talk about Bridget McKenzie and I want to thank her for her diligent service over a number of years but particularly in her role as Agricultural Minister, particularly in her roles in the ministry. She has paid the ultimate price for failing to declare a membership with the Wangaratta Clay Target Club. That is unfortunate. She has admitted that this was an oversight on her part. The fact that the secretary of the Prime Minister and Cabinet has said that there was no bias shown in the actual delivery of the sports grants program shows that everything procedurally wise was above board with this program and Bridget oversaw that. She had ministerial discretion and that is important to note.
I know Australians when they send Members of Parliament, senators to this place, and when they become ministers, people in the public, particularly regional Australians, want those ministers to make decisions on their behalf. They don't want the government, the ministers to outsource everything to the departments, to the bureaucracy, and that is so important and critical to remember that ministers have to have overall discretion for these sorts of things.
I know when I roll out the Building Better Regions program, it is generally oversubscribed six to one. Six times the amount that is actually available is oversubscribed and particularly in regional Australia there are projects and delivery of these sorts of things which, of course, needs to happen, critical need in regional Australia, particularly in the sports program, for such things as women's change rooms, women's netball courts, and the like, toilet facilities, shower facilities. Why is it fair that women have to get dressed in cars and behind trees and that sort of thing to play the sport they love? With the growing demand for women's sport this became critically important. Bridget McKenzie saw the need to ensure that women didn't have to put up without any facilities at all, or with very sloppy facilities and she made sure that she addressed that need. I thank her for the role that she's played in that regard and I thank her for her service in the past, currently and going forward to the National Party and to regional Australians in particular. She has been a great servant to the National Party but moreover, a great servant to regional Australians and that's what National Party Members of Parliament do.
We serve regional Australians. We want regional Australians to know that they are our focus, not ourselves, not the Canberra bubble. The people in regional Australia are hurting through the bushfires, through the ongoing drought. We are there to serve them, we are there to put their needs and wants and expectations first and foremost. I thank Bridget McKenzie for her service to this nation and I look forward to serving with her in the National Party in the future.
JOURNALIST:
If the grants weren't rorted for political purposes why did the Government adopt the recommendations the Auditor General to stop them being rorted for political purposes?
MICHAEL MCCORMACK:
The fact is that the ANAO made the Auditor General made a report and the fact is also the secretary of PMC found there was no bias.
JOURNALIST:
So why did you adopt the recommendation to stamp out bias?
MICHAEL MCCORMACK:
Well, I don't believe there has been a bias and if you look…
JOURNALIST:
[Talks over] Why did you adopt the recommendation?
MICHAEL MCCORMACK:
In fact, Labor seats got 8 per cent more, 8 per cent more projects than they would have had Sports Australia's recommendations been followed through in full. The fact is we have allocated funding to those Labor seats and the fact is, again, there was no bias towards targeted or specific seats or marginal seats as shown by the report handed down to the Prime Minister by the Secretary of PMC.
JOURNALIST:
Are you saying there wasn't bias, how do you reconcile the fact that the Auditor General's report found there was bias towards seats that were favourable to the Coalition when the PMC report says the opposite?
MICHAEL MCCORMACK:
Well, I believe the PMC report. You're also going to have sometimes when people look at things, they look at things in a different light. I believe the PMC report that has been handed down, I believe there is no bias. And what I would like to see, what I would like to see, is that these sports grants have ongoing rounds of funding because then those electorates that missed out, those sporting clubs and organisations which missed out, might have better luck next time and I know that right throughout Australia, there are a lot of sports clubs which, yes, put in countless hours to ensure that their reports, their applications were all as they should be and I have to say that every single project which was funded in rounds one, two and three, each and every round, was eligible, according to Sports Australia, eligible according to the Department, and eligible according to the Minister. So that was what she was faced with. Every single project was eligible and she based her allocations on that.
JOURNALIST:
Do you have the numbers to prevent Barnaby Joyce taking your leadership and why should you remain leader?
MICHAEL MCCORMACK:
Well, there is no vacancy for the leadership at the moment of the National Party and I have delivered for regional Australia. I've absolutely made sure that the $100 billion record amount of money that we're spending on infrastructure, for regional Australia, has received its fair share. And when you look at the Inland Rail, those three intergovernmental agreements that have all been signed, two of which have been with Labor States, not an easy thing to do.
When it comes to doctors in the bush, I've made sure that the Rural Medical School Network through the Murray Darling has been established. More than $90 million to ensure that people in regional Australia don't have to wait unnecessarily to see a GP. And that process is taking place as we speak. They are already building the first facility at Orange as part of that Rural Medical School Network at Charles Sturt University and Western Sydney University.
The fact is, there is no vacancy for the National Party leadership. We have a vacancy for the deputy leadership of the National Party. We will have a meeting tomorrow, 9:00am, and we will decide that position then.
JOURNALIST:
How confident are you that (inaudible)?
MICHAEL MCCORMACK:
We'll just have to wait and see. But I have the support of the National Party and nobody, nobody has phoned me to say that I haven't or nobody has phoned me to say that there is a spill. I appreciate that there is media speculation. You guys always have those sorts of media hype…
JOURNALIST:
[Interrupts] Barnaby Joyce has confirmed it. It's not us, it's one of your own MPs out there saying it.
MICHAEL MCCORMACK:
Barnaby Joyce has said he will stand if there is a spill called. No spill has been called and I'm not expecting one.
JOURNALIST:
What does it say about the stability of the National Party in the Parliament if you've got Barnaby Joyce saying he's ready to be the leader of the party when, in fact, you say there's no vacancy?
MICHAEL MCCORMACK:
I'm sure Barnaby is ready to be leader of the party should there be a spill called but there's been no spill called. There's no vacancy for the leadership position. I am the leader of the party, I have the party's support and moreover, I'm out there delivering for regional Australians. That's the most important thing.
People out in regional Australia perhaps watching this telecast or reading newspapers in recent days, they're not focused on the machinations of the National Party or indeed the parliamentary circles here in Canberra. What they're concentrating on is making sure that they get through this drought. What they're concentrating on is making sure that the recovery efforts are there for the fire and I'm glad I'm part of the Government which is doing just that, addressing the important issues which are the touchstone for the people sitting around family tables and talking about bushfires and the ongoing drought.
JOURNALIST:
Do you accept that there are people in your party who are deeply unhappy with your leadership?
MICHAEL MCCORMACK:
No, I don't.
JOURNALIST:
If there's a spill, will you stand?
MICHAEL MCCORMACK:
Of course, and I have the overwhelming majority support in the party room. And, of course, I'm going to continue as the National Party leader, as my colleagues want, and as I think regional Australians would expect.
JOURNALIST:
You wouldn't take that as a vote of no confidence?
MICHAEL MCCORMACK:
No.
JOURNALIST:
Do you say that you believe the PMC report, no-one has had a chance to see that report. We can see the Auditor General's report. Previous reports that have been presented to cabinet in regards to ministerial conduct have been released, why won't you release this report so the Australian people can make up their mind.
MICHAEL MCCORMACK:
It's not my job to release, it is a cabinet document. It is a report by Phil Gaetjens, the Secretary of the PMC, to the Prime Minister and so it is the Prime Minister's report and that's the way it should be.
JOURNALIST:
I've got a question about funding for an organisation that your son's involved with.
MICHAEL MCCORMACK:
I will answer your question, Mark.
JOURNALIST:
Can I ask the question first, though?
MICHAEL MCCORMACK:
I actually heard the gist of it.
JOURNALIST:
Good, I'm glad of that. So is $145,000 that was apparently granted through the scheme by Bridget McKenzie to you a supporting organisation that your son is the treasurer of…
MICHAEL MCCORMACK:
Was treasurer of…
JOURNALIST:
Was treasurer of, okay, that organisation apparently had been knocked back on three previous occasions for government grants. Did you have any responsibility to declare a family interest in that grant?
MICHAEL MCCORMACK:
The organisation you are referring to is the Mangoplah-Cookardinia United-Eastlakes Goannas Football and Netball Club and the ladies of the netball club applied for funding. Having failed three times, applied again and, again, I say to organisations which missed out, if you fail this time, try, try again because that club it was its fourth application. Their netball courts were deemed unsafe and unplayable, not just due to the surface but, as I understand, due to the overall width on the outside of the courts because there wasn't enough room between the interchange benches and the actual playing courts.
They applied for the funding. They received the funding. Nothing to do with my son, nothing to do with me. Fact is, when I found the fact that they had actually applied for the funding, I recused myself from any advocacy and whilst many of the grants throughout the Riverina and for this and other matters sought my support, the Mangoplah-Cookardinia United-Eastlakes Goannas Football and Netball Club did not. It was done by the ladies of the netball club. They were fearing they weren't able to play beyond 2018 on their courts and if that was the case, they would have been the only club in the Riverina Football and Netball League not to be able to use their home venue for netball.
JOURNALIST:
How did you recuse yourself?
MICHAEL MCCORMACK:
I had nothing to do with the application. Indeed, I didn't even know they had applied until they actually had applied for the funding. My son is not involved in that application, was never involved in that application and is no longer treasurer of the club. And I actually commend my son for actually putting his hand up and being a volunteer and that's what we do need. The Mangoplah Club is run by volunteers. Always has been, always will be and they needed a new netball surface otherwise they weren't going to be able to play at their venue as deemed by Netball NSW which is the overall organisation which runs netball in that State.
JOURNALIST:
Talk about challenges the country is facing, what's your message to Barnaby Joyce?
MICHAEL MCCORMACK:
I think we all, all, as Members of Parliament, should concentrate on the things that matter most to the Australian people. At the moment that's coronavirus, drought, bushfires and the overall economy. I'm glad that the December job figures saw unemployment drop yet again and I know that people out there who are struggling to meet the daily household bills, are worried about their futures as far as ensuring that they can recover from these fires, recover from the crippling drought. They're the sorts of things that they're focused on and they're the sorts of things that we are focused on, should be focused on and, if you don't mind, I've got a ministry meeting that's going to take several hours and we will, as a government and as a cabinet, be concentrating on the things that matter to Mr and Mrs Average right across this nation.
We live in interesting times, yes, we live in troubled times, absolutely. But Australians can be thankful that they have a government which is focused on them. Focused on the things which matter most to them and we will go on doing that. I will go on doing that, Scott Morrison as Prime Minister will go on doing that. Thank you very much.