TRANSCRIPT: AVIATION SUPPORT PACKAGE PRESS CONFERENCE, 17 April 2020
E&OE
Subjects: Government Support for Australia’s Domestic Aviation Network, Coronavirus
MICHAEL MCCORMACK:
Thank you for all of you who have come to this press conference. It is an important day for aviation with the $165 million domestic network being announced. Of course it was heralded last night at 9 o’clock and at 9:02pm Virgin and Qantas put up their schedules and certainly requested bookings for those flights – 220 flights per week each week for the next eight-weeks and of course, we will look at that when that eight-week period is up as we have done right through this coronavirus pandemic.
We have assessed things as we have done because it is very much a fluid situation, very much an ever-changing situation, whether it is health, agriculture, infrastructure, there have been a lot of demands placed on the government.
Thus far we have put up $320 billion and aviation of course has benefited to the tune of more than $1 billion. I know that to the announcement on March 18 where we made sure that there was the waiving of fuel excise fees, the waving of AirServices Australia fees, the waving indeed of regional security and other security fees that are imposed normally by Government were waived and backdated to 1 February and so what that meant was the fact that there was immediate cash flow for the airlines and particularly for Virgin and Qantas, they were able to engage in that and of course 10 days later I announced the regional subsidisation of funds, to the tune of $198 million, for those 138 centres so reliant on aviation that they were able to partake in that and we underwrite the airlines to the tune of $100 million.
Today's $165 million announcement is going to make the world of difference for those commuters who have come in from overseas, done their 14 days of quarantine. Let me tell you, if they landed in Sydney and are required to get back to Perth with very limited services available, it is a long drive in a hire car across the Nullabor, so that is going to make a difference for them.
It is also going to make a difference to key medical personnel but most importantly as well, people and medical equipment. I know Greg Hunt has done an outstanding job getting, acquiring, making through Karen Andrews and her efforts as Industry Minister, personal protection equipment and indeed getting those facemasks and other necessary gear, medicine, etc on those flights.
That is why today's domestic network announcement is so important and I know that it has been welcomed by both Qantas, Virgin and certainly by the consumers that are going to take part in those flights over the next two months. Any questions?
JOURNALIST:
You say it will be reviewed after eight-weeks, we are talking about maybe the lockdown to be eased in one month's time. When do you think domestic aviation will get back to I guess a semi-normal state where it won't need a Government subsidy to operate?
MICHAEL MCCORMACK:
That will depend on what the chief medical experts say and of course we have taken the advice of Professor Brendan Murphy, we have taken the advice of the state Chief Medical Officers and the Territory Medical Officers.
They have been meeting on a daily basis to ensure that what we do, everything is geared towards making sure we save lives and we protect livelihoods and whether it is the announcements we have done today, whether it is JobSeeker, JobKeeper, every announcement we have made is aimed at addressing the health pandemic crisis first and foremost and of course making sure that we can protect as many jobs, protect as many businesses and as many workers as possible.
So you are right, we will reassess the lockdowns and the various border issues in four weeks’ time and that is appropriate. We need to, during the next month, make sure that we follow the restrictions, make sure that we follow the advice that Professor Murphy and others have given because it is saving lives.
The 63 families who have lost loved ones, for them, that is tragic and it seems a long time ago on March 1 when we had the first Australian to unfortunately, tragically lose his life as part of this COVID-19 global pandemic and it seems a long time ago, but rest assured, Australia has done very well.
If you could use those terms, compared to other countries, if you look at Great Britain and they know they have been doing everything they can to ease and contain the outbreak, but they have lost something in the order of 12-13,000 people. It is a country with a little bit more than two times the population of Australia and when you compare what they have endured and what they have suffered and compare it to what we have had, we have done reasonably well and we will continue to make sure that we place the health of Australians first and foremost.
JOURNALIST:
How important is it for regional economies that the retail sector, the shops, the cafes, the restaurants are reasonably early in the opening up of our economy when that starts?
MICHAEL MCCORMACK:
Well, once the Chief Medical Officer says it is okay to resume life as normal, or ease some of the restrictions, of course it is important for any business. Whether they be in regional or metropolitan areas, for them to be able to reopen and restart and resume life as best they can.
Particularly, you mentioned regional areas and they have endured the summer from hell. The bushfires took such a swathe through so many areas of regional Australia and the tourists – we wanted them back and of course, COVID-19 hit and hit hard and then of course, we said to everybody stay at home and stay away from regional areas.
I lead that messaging because I didn't want outbreaks in regional areas where the medical facilities aren't what they are in capital city areas. We have some of the best health professionals and the best hospitals but we can't have any outbreaks.
We can't accommodate any outbreaks despite the fact we open rural respiratory facilities and one opened in my hometown of Wagga Wagga just this week. We don't want any outbreaks. We’ve seen how devastating that has been for north-west Tasmania. What we want to see is those businesses able open when they can but on the advice of the Chief Medical Officer.
JOURNALIST:
There are reports today that a consortium is looking at Virgin and that is encouraging. Is that the only scenario that the Government is relying on to ensure that Virgin and Qantas can weather the storm?
MICHAEL MCCORMACK:
We want to see a market resolution and a market solution for Virgin. Yes, Virgin were not going as well as Qantas prior to COVID-19 hitting. Qantas' balance sheets were quite healthy. Of course, we well remember back in 2013-14 that when Qantas were struggling, they too wanted some assistance.
Fortunately, they were able to get that capital and were able to re-energise and through good management led by Alan Joyce, they were able to get their books back in the black and very healthy. We want to see that situation for Virgin too. But I know and am confident there is a market solution for Virgin.
JOURNALIST:
[Interrupts]
MICHAEL MCCORMACK:
We'll cross that bridge when we come to it but that is a bit hypothetical. Let's see what happens. I know, if you read reports today, that there are some people who are interested in capitalising Virgin and we hope that comes off.
JOURNALIST:
And venture capitalists who would be more inclined to cut and slash the company to return it to profitability, even though it may not be the same sort of Virgin that we have expected and come to see?
MICHAEL MCCORMACK:
There is no reason that they cannot come out of COVID-19 and get more assets. We don't want to see a cutback of services for Virgin. They were well provided prior to the virus and certainly for regional areas, they have provided competition. They have provided competition on the domestic and international markets.
We want to see that but they've also ensured that for some of those regional routes that there were services available that perhaps would not have been made available. I want to see a two airline solution. I want to see both airlines come through COVID-19.
We will be monitoring the situation and I will be continuing to talk, as I have done on a daily basis, with the key airline executives. I want to make sure that they both get through this and that is why we have put more than $1 billion on the table. And Virgin have been assisted by the measures that we have announced so far. Certainly, they are benefiting from today's announcement.
JOURNALIST:
Malcolm Turnbull says that the AFP Commissioner Andrew Colvin told him that George Christensen had an unusually complex online presence, was spending substantial funds in bars and nightclubs in the Philippines as well as making many small payments to women there. You received a similar briefing. Is Malcolm Turnbull accurate?
MICHAEL MCCORMACK:
I'm not concentrating on Malcolm Turnbull's book. Well done to Malcolm for writing his memoirs. I'm not going to be reading it anytime soon. I have any number of infrastructure briefs. Only yesterday, did I call the state and territory ministers for infrastructure and transport together and talk to them about what we can do in that space. What we can do about bringing infrastructure forward. That is my concentration at the moment. We have been through this...
JOURNALIST:
[Inaudible] To stand by his Christian belief as he does and visit venues like this as the AFP briefed Malcolm Turnbull and yourself that he did.
MICHAEL MCCORMACK:
He has answered everything. He certainly made sure that all of his travel claims that he answered those queries and paid back any…
JOURNALIST:
[Interrupts]
MICHAEL MCCORMACK:
He has paid back anything he needed to pay back and more as well and certainly the AFP found nothing to even query the fact that any laws had been broken.
JOURNALIST:
Are you okay with this sort of behaviour from Mr Christensen?
MICHAEL MCCORMACK:
This is a matter for George and certainly the people who elected him to Parliament. At the May election last year, they re-endorsed him last year with an 11% swing towards him. He has turned a marginal seat of Dawson into a very healthy seat because he works hard. He works hard for the people of Dawson. Moreover, he delivers for those people in the Central and North Queensland seat. They can rely on George to deliver for them. He’s not someone who is ever quiet. He comes to Canberra and he makes a noise. Whether he is in Mackay he makes a noise or whether he is down in Canberra. But, he certainly represents the interests of the people who vote for him and others besides very diligently and I support him in that.
JOURNALIST:
Can I ask you about regional Australians? Particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic, you’ve got situations like Royal Flying Doctor Service in a position trying to fly people, should they get sick and should the health system get overwhelmed, are you open to proposals and ideas from other organisations that may come forward about being able to carry intensive care patients en mass from regional cities into capital city hospitals?
MICHAEL MCCORMACK:
Firstly, Frank Quinlan from the Royal Flying Doctor Service has been very supportive in the measures that we have done and that I announced on March 28. $100 million to underwrite airlines and they can also partake in that overall $298 million announcement that I made for the service and the underwriting of the airlines back on that date and Frank has expressed his support, as has Bruce Scott, the former member for Maranoa who messaged me yesterday to say how well we had done for the Royal Flying Doctors.
More importantly, those in remote areas and the locations they service. Of course we are open and that announcement back on March 28 is also open to other people in the aeronautical medical space and some have contacted us to see how they can partake and we have given them the right information about how they can as well. How they can participate in those sorts of subsidising and that sort of underwriting.
JOURNALIST:
Deputy Prime Minister, the Government today has announced $150 million in assistance to the NBN for families and businesses to stay connected. What’s it say that 12 years after the conception of the NBN that the Government has to come in with $150 million to keep us connected during these circumstances?
MICHAEL MCCORMACK:
What it says is a lot more people are working from home and with a lot more people doing the right thing and we thank them for that and staying at home and stopping and containing and preventing the spread of COVID-19. By working at home and by teleconferencing and by using apps and Housepartying their friends and colleagues rather than inviting them around.
They are doing the right thing and making sure they save lives. What they also do is place a strain on the system. When we came back into Government in 2013, the NBN was an absolute mess and it's taken good and diligent work by our ministers, led by Paul Fletcher, to fix the situation and I'm very pleased with that and with the communications and with everything we have supported through this COVID-19 crisis. We are putting more money in by investing more taxpayer dollars because we want to save lives and protect livelihoods. If that is the way of doing it, then I am very happy for that to happen.
JOURNALIST:
Is it a big problem out there at the moment with Australians to get services that they need online at this time?
MICHAEL MCCORMACK:
I've not heard those problems but we have progressively and forward-leaningly dealt with an issue that people were going to be working from home much more. We have invested in that infrastructure.
JOURNALIST:
Do you think it is fair that federal politicians continue with their wage when we have over a million Australians who are going to be unemployed, many companies are forcing their employees to take wage cuts. Do you think it is fair that federal politicians continue with their current wage?
MICHAEL MCCORMACK:
It is something that both the Prime Minister and the Opposition Leader have addressed. What we have said is that wages have been frozen. It was due to be an increase and that is not going to occur and that is a good thing.
JOURNALIST:
[Inaudible]
MICHAEL MCCORMACK:
Well China’s Government and the way they have their Government is up to China. I am not going to tell China that it needs to become a democracy any time soon. I know they are making sure that as far as capitalism is concerned, they are engaging more with the western world and that’s a good thing.
Yes, China does have some questions to answer certainly over COVID-19 but I think what the world is doing at the moment is addressing the situation first and foremost, what we need to do is get the health of our people whether it’s in Australia, Great Britain, the United States – anywhere. Those scenes out of New York where there is temporary hospitals set up in tents in Central Park are quite frankly, alarming. The millions on dole queues around the world are very, very disturbing. So what we need to do is get the health and economic conditions right, we need a vaccine.
We need to get through this crisis and then we can talk about why it started, where it started and certainly China has some answers to give in that regard. Some questions to own up to and to answer. I look forward to that but at the moment the situation is this.
We need to get through this crisis as a world and we need to do it together. We need to help one another. We need to make sure that we are there for one another as best we can. We will continue to trade with China it’s our largest trading partner and I know for many farmers and many miners they rely upon those Chinese steel mills and those Chinese appetites to ensure that they continue to use Australian resources and the very best, cleanest and greenest produce and that comes from Australian farms.
Thank you very much.