TRANSCRIPT: INTERVIEW ON CREDLIN, SKY NEWS AUSTRALIA, 22 May 2020

E&OE

Subjects: Funding for Local Governments, Decentralisation, Coronavirus, Trade with China;

CHRIS SMITH

Trade tensions, they have truly escalated. Don't listen to the spin. Our official trade relationship with China, I'm sorry, the rhetoric doesn't seem to match the reality. Leader of the National Party and Deputy Prime Minister, Michael McCormack, joined me earlier today from Canberra.

Deputy Prime Minister, thank you very much for your time. 

MICHAEL MCCORMACK

Good evening, Chris. 

CHRIS SMITH

Before we get to coal and the Chinese, can I ask you about your reaction to the announcement by the New South Wales Government today to install a four square metre rule for eateries, which means some places might have as many as 50 people in some of the restaurants around Sydney? What's your reaction?

MICHAEL MCCORMACK

Well, I think it's been welcomed and certainly welcomed by hoteliers, certainly welcomed by club goers, certainly welcomed by the public at large. Yes, people are still going to have to maintain social distancing, if not a bit more but, the relaxation of rules and numbers is going to mean that these restrictions, slowly but surely Chris, are easing and that means that people can get out to their favourite eateries and enjoy each other's company and not be as house bound as they have been for some weeks past, so welcome news. 

CHRIS SMITH

How worried are you that the Chinese seem to be discouraging the purchase of Australian coal? How worried should we be?

MICHAEL MCCORMACK

Well, we'll work through these things in a careful and considered manner, in a diplomatic manner as you would expect and I know having spoken to the Trade Minister Simon Birmingham, having spoken with Keith Pitt our Resources Minister, they want, of course, iron ore, they want coal, they want all our other wonderful minerals and resources being able to be shipped abroad and certainly to China. China’s a good customer of ours, $149.7 billion reasons why we should continue trade with China. Yes, of course it is a concern but we're working through those issues and I'm sure that there'll be a resolution in the not too distant future.

CHRIS SMITH

How do they work through those issues, either of those Ministers, when they're not getting a call back from the Chinese officials?

MICHAEL MCCORMACK

Well, we do it at a DFAT level as well. The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade of course, we have people based in China, in Beijing and of course, we will work through that in a careful and considered manner, as you would expect the Government to do. 

CHRIS SMITH

Should the Prime Minister or even yourself, the Deputy Prime Minister, pick up the telephone and try and talk to your opposite number in China?

MICHAEL MCCORMACK

Well, we're going about it in the right way. The way that's worked well in the past. What we need to remember too, is that for the meat worker in Casino, for the farmer who's growing or potentially growing barley and making decisions upon what winter crop they will grow, these are important considerations to be resolved and resolved quickly because they need certainty. Whether you're a farmer, whether you're a worker in a meat processing plant, an abattoir, they want to be sure that they're going to have a job, they want to be able to be sure that they're going to have a place for their grain in the future and they're the people we need to consider and are considering certainly as we have these discussions and try and reach an agreement with China on these important matters. 

CHRIS SMITH

But how much further can they bash us up? They seem to be intent on punishing us and punishing the Prime Minister for daring to call for an independent inquiry. How far will this go? 

MICHAEL MCCORMACK

Well, these are things which have happened before on other matters. You know, what we need to do is make sure that we continue to keep the lines of negotiation open. We are doing that and I'm sure, I’ve got every confidence in Senator Birmingham and Minister Pitt to be able to bring about a resolution for this. We need obviously these trade markets, we need to also, you know, ensure that we've got as many trade opportunities as possible and that's why I’m pleased that as part of the $1.2 billion that we've put on the table for the aviation sector that through that international air freight mechanism we've been able to actually diversify some of our markets for our produce. Whether it's Victorian lamb, whether it's Geraldton lobster, indeed, whether it's salmon from Tasmania, we've been able to make sure that we have in some cases diversified our markets where due to the COVID-shutdown in some places where that wonderful produce would normally go, it's now going elsewhere and we're still getting a pretty good price for it. 

CHRIS SMITH

You’re sounding rather positive about all of this, but on the iron ore –

MICHAEL MCCORMACK

You have to be Chris, you've got to be positive! 

CHRIS SMITH

Yeah, but yesterday, we had Simon Birmingham say that changes to inspection rules by the Chinese would reassure the iron ore industry in Australia that the Chinese will keep buying it. That's not what the Chinese media said late yesterday, things are a little bit more grim than what you're making out aren't they?

MICHAEL MCCORMACK

Yes, but we have to be optimistic and we have to be confident about the future. We produce the very best thermal coal, the very best metallurgical coal, the very best iron ore and the very best agricultural produce in all of the world, make no mistake about that. You know that, I know you've spoken to a lot of our resource sector people and a lot of our farmers on your show over many years. We produce the best, we need to have those markets, we’ll do what we can through the diplomatic channels to ensure that we can continue to have those markets, Chris.

CHRIS SMITH

Okay, can I raise something about Joel Fitzgibbon? There have been calls for Anthony Albanese to sack him today because he's been pretty critical of Australia's approach to the Chinese relationship. Just let's hear what Joel Fitzgibbon had to say firstly.

[Joel Fitzgibbon Exert]

What are your thoughts? Should Anthony Albanese get rid of him? 

MICHAEL MCCORMACK

Well it's a Team Australia moment that Joel Fitzgibbon failed the test on, failed the test on yet again, we need to be Team Australia at the moment. There has been a lot of bipartisanship working through these issues through the crisis of COVID-19. Look, Anthony Albanese has got a lot of pressure on him at the moment I appreciate that. He's got the Eden-Monaro by-election that he's got all the pressure on him because fact is, there's only been one in 158 by-elections ever won by the Government against the Opposition, he’s got pressure on him there, he’s got pressure on him because Joel has said the wrong thing and Joel needs to know that he belongs to Team Australia. That was very unfortunate. Whether or not he should go, well that's a matter for Anthony Albanese.

CHRIS SMITH

There’s a bit of talk around today about trying to decentralise the population, I've heard this a thousand times. What specifically will the Government do to actually entice those in the city to continue their work, but live in the bush?

MICHAEL MCCORMACK

Well, I think if there's one thing that COVID-19 has taught us, is that you can actually work from home and very, very successfully. Whether you're on NBN or whether you are on full broadband or whether indeed, you're still on ADSL or whatever methods you might have being able to tele-presence into a conference with your colleagues anywhere in Australia, indeed Chris, anywhere in the world is very, very possible and I think companies will very much view this and workers and people who are thinking about a tree change should very well do that. Because you can own a very large house with a very large backyard with a very nice swimming pool in a very nice neighbourhood for a fraction of the cost that you would be able to own a shoebox apartment in either Sydney or Melbourne, dare I say? You can have a very nice lifestyle, raise a wonderful family, you can be an hour flight from Sydney or Melbourne and do what you would normally do in the past by, you know, spending an hour and a half in congested traffic getting to and from work. There are some wonderful opportunities available in regional Australia. I continue to espouse those. I was so happy and so glad that Andrew Gee, as our Decentralisation Minister, was out on the front foot with a plan, with a vision, with a blueprint for decentralisation. It is very much National Party policy to decentralise and I’ll just give you one quick example, Agri-futures moving from Canberra to my home town of Wagga Wagga. Ask any of those people who work for Agri-futures, the actual organisation has expanded, the people are having much more time with family, much more time to enjoy their home life and their family life and they live in a great part of the world and that can be replicated right across the country. With congestion in Sydney and Melbourne and elsewhere, which we are addressing, we’re doing a great job in terms of easing congestion but it still remains that there are opportunities in regional Australia and they have been exposed and opened up by COVID-19. There are downsides of course, to these sorts of pandemics but one of the up sides if you could call it that, is the fact that it has opened some people’s eyes to the fact that they can live in regional Australia and do what they would have otherwise thought was only possible in a metropolitan area.

CHRIS SMITH

You've announced a $1.8 billion contribution to councils today as well, what specifically will that help them with? 

MICHAEL MCCORMACK

Better roads, better community infrastructure, local input at a local level with local jobs and local procurement, I've used the word local quite a few times there. $500 million to go towards that community stimulus, indeed there's also $1.3 billion brought forward for Financial Assistance Grants. This is going to make such a difference, Chris, to getting people back to work and indeed people in jobs and even if they come from outside into doing those jobs, they've got to be accommodated, they've got to be fed and watered etc. So it's a real boom for the 537 Local Government Councils right across the nation.

CHRIS SMITH

They’ve certainly been crying out for a little bit more help, you've given that to them today, thank you very much for your time. Have a great weekend. 

MICHAEL MCCORMACK

You too Chris, all the best mate.