TRANSCRIPT: ROCKHAMPTON DOORSTOP, 14 July 2020

E&OE

Subjects: Rockhampton Ring Road, Northern Australia, JobKeeper;

WITH: HON. KEITH PITT MP, MINISTER FOR RESOURCES, WATER & NORTHERN AUSTRALIA, HON. MICHELLE LANDRY MP, ASSISTANT MINISTER FOR NORTHERN AUSTRALIA, CHILDREN & FAMILIES, KEN O’DOWD MP, MEMBER FOR FLYNN, ADRIAN DE GROOT, LNP CANDIDATE FOR KEPPEL & TONY HOPKINS, LNP CANDIDATE FOR ROCKHAMPTON.

MICHELLE LANDRY

Look, it's wonderful to have the Deputy Prime Minister, Michael McCormack, here and also Keith Pitt, the Minister for Resources and Northern Australia, my colleague Ken O'Dowd and also our two state candidates, Adrian de Groot and Tony Hopkins.

We're here today to make an announcement about the Rockhampton-Yeppoon Road. During the Federal Election campaign, we committed $64 million. Last week there was $5 million that was announced for doing paving work along the road. And we're now bringing forward another $8 million on the Rockhampton-Yeppoon Road. This is a horror stretch. There's accidents on it all the time. I live in Yeppoon myself and you know, I've just come across one too many accidents. We've seen deaths of young people on this road and it's just appalling.

So, we have been speaking to Michael about this and so I'm very pleased that we can bring that money forward. My discussions with the Mains Roads Department have been about making this four lanes as far as possible but also fixing up those access roads, particularly at the [inaudible] turn-off there, where we've seeing numerous fatal accidents. So very pleased that we could do that today and I'll be pleased to see the roadworks going.

I just wanted to also comment with regards to Main Roads, that we've been trying to get a meeting with them since last Monday and it has been held up by the State Government. The State Minister has to approve a meeting. So Federal representatives of the Federal Government cannot get meetings to find out where things are up to with these roads and I think that is an absolute disgrace. They're playing politics with people's lives. So, you know, I am urging Mark Bailey to get on board and sign off so that we can have a debrief from the Main Roads Department.

KEN O’DOWD

Well, good morning everybody. Great to be here with Michael and Keith for this important step-forward in our travel corridors around central Queensland. It is so important that we have our corridors right because we've got three major ports in central Queensland, that's Port Alma, Gladstone and Bundaberg. But these ports have got to be connected with the right road works, whether it's the Bruce Highway for the north and the south, the Dawson Highway or the Capricorn Highway. So, it's so important that we get the planning right and it's pleasing to see that we're taking that step forward today by announcing the actual plans and the process of calling for tenders to get this project underway.

And I'm talking about the billion-dollar Ring Road around Rockhampton. It will come in from Gracemere in through to the Alton Downs area, out here to the crossroads behind us, which will take traffic straight onto the Yeppoon road. So, it's a great concept. It's going to take a while to build, a billion dollars’ worth of works to be done. Hopefully, a lot of that will go to local contractors. And we're all about and so is Michael and Keith, about local jobs for local people and for local projects.

So, I really thank Michael and Keith for being here today for this important announcement. And I know the Main Roads have put a lot of work into this planning. As far as the people from Alton Downs, they're very concerned about how they'll get into Rock I'm sure that will be covered for in the Main Roads plans.

Also, the release of floodwater back into the river systems after we get those floods, which does happen, would you believe, in these drought conditions, but it does happen from time to time, every 10 years we get a major flood in the area, so it's so important with the plans that we allow that water to escape back into the river once there has been substantial flooding.

MICHAEL McCORMACK

Well, thank you Ken and thanks Michelle, great local representatives doing the right thing by their local communities, making sure that those local jobs and that local procurement is first and foremost in any piece of infrastructure that we are building. Good to be here too with Keith Pitt and he knows, as the Minister for Northern Australia, as the Minister for Resources, just how important it is to get the right infrastructure in the right places.

And great to be here too with Adrian de Groot and Tony Hopkins, two LNP candidates for the October 31 election, the state election, which is going to be such an important day for Queenslanders, whether they continue with a government which has not looked after regional Queensland. Whether they continue with a government which has not put the interests of central and northern Queensland first or whether they select candidates such as Adrian and Tony and whether they get a Deb Frecklington LNP Government, making sure that the delivery for Queensland is there and not just South-East Queensland, not just Brisbane, but indeed these very rich, diverse regions, these agricultural regions which Ken and Michelle have fiercely represented for so many years and will continue to do so. Because when it comes to road projects such as the Rockhampton Ring Road, when it comes to road projects such as the Rockhampton-Yeppoon Road, when it comes to no matter what it is, roads, water, infrastructure, Michelle and Ken are in there fighting. They're in there advocating. And I know Keith understands as well just how important Northern Queensland is in his portfolio area there and making sure that we get the right infrastructure.

As Ken has just outlined, when we get these sorts of projects up and off the ground, when we get all the approvals done and we're fast tracking those, when we get the pre-construction works happening, it means hundreds of jobs. It's already written into the procurement processes, into the contracts and the tenders that local procurement has to be a part of it. That local workers and local jobs have to be very much a part of it. And when you look at a project such as the Second Range Crossing at Toowoomba, that meant that more than three-quarters, in fact, it was up to 90% of those jobs were locals, were people from Toowoomba.

And this project, once we start the pre-construction in 2021, once we start the full construction in 2022 and by the time we complete the Rockhampton Ring Road in 2025, that's the objective, it will be involving mostly local workers. And so that's going to be great, whether you're a hairdresser, whether you're a café owner, no matter what the case might be, in this region, in Rockhampton, you are going to benefit from this investment.

$800 million of federal money towards the billion dollars that this project is going to cost, that's the Ring Road and of course, as Michelle has announced and as Ken has also outlined, $8 million of bring-forwards so that the State Government can unlock the necessary works that it now needs to do for the Rockhampton-Yeppoon Road.

So, it's onwards and upwards for infrastructure. It's part of the $100 billion infrastructure roll-out that we are doing right across Australia. And of course, regional areas are very much part and parcel of that. A third of the hundred billion dollars is going towards regional areas because as Keith and I understand full-well, as Ministers in the Government, when you have the regions strong, when the regions are going well, so too is our nation. And certainly, through COVID-19, this is going to be of critical importance.

ADRIAN DE GROOT

This is a great announcement today by the Federal Government. It will create jobs in our local area. Keppel will benefit and it's like the hairdressers, the people on the roads that work, everybody will benefit from this outcome.

TONY HOPKINS

As you all know, I come from a transport and construction background and I really appreciate these sort of infrastructure projects coming to the town. It is very long overdue. I've been in the transport industry for a long time and we were promised this back in the ‘70s and it's coming to fruition now because of the Federal Government and I really appreciate it because it's a lot of jobs for a lot of families and makes the community stable.

KEITH PITT

What can I say? It's fantastic to be back here in Rockhampton, in central Queensland with Michelle Landry and Ken O'Dowd and of course, our local State candidates for the LNP. Once again, we are driving jobs into regional economies. A billion-dollar road is a significant investment and it's not just about the jobs but it's about that infrastructure link. It's about a transport link through central Queensland to the south and of course, the ability to travel to the north, making the Bruce Highway safer, faster, less affected by flooding.

But what we know is the candidates and the local members standing behind me are supportive of jobs, whether it's in agriculture, whether it's in resources, it doesn't matter, we stand up for the people who are out there working hard. Now what we know is, this morning the Leader of the Opposition, Anthony Albanese, had an opportunity to stand up for jobs in Queensland, to demand that Premier Palaszczuk support the new Acland Mine. There are jobs which are being lost right now. In fact, the Labor Party finally had some lone voices.

Shadow Minister for Resources broke ranks, called on the Premier to approve the mine and the first thing the Leader of the Opposition did was shut him down. He has shut down his own party and his own people standing up for jobs. So I say to Premier Palaszczuk, it is past time to approve this mine. It is past time to make a decision. Stop hiding behind the court system. Approve the mine and let these people have new jobs into the future.

JOURNALIST

Michelle, speaking to a lot of nearby business, which obviously has been compensated for their business, they're finding it a bit difficult to transition away from [inaudible], what's your advice on that?

MICHELLE LANDRY

Yes, they're most welcome to contact my office and as I said, I tried to get a meeting with Main Roads just to find out where everything is up to. You know, there'll be some changes and that is the price of progress. I know that we've been trying to make things as easy as possible for them but, you know, they can feel free to contact my office and we can go and visit them and just help them through their transition.

JOURNALIST

Michelle, this additional $8 million, we know that the $5 million that you announced last week was that 13-kilometre stretch. Including that deadly section which has been a major talking point in the last few weeks. So, this additional $8 million, what is that going to go towards?

MICHELLE LANDRY

Well, that's why I need the meeting with the Main Roads Department to talk about this. But what I really want is that we can get these four lanes up and going as soon as possible and these access roads also. Last time that I spoke to them, that's what they were going to do, was to get the four lanes as far as we possibly could go, but also to fix those accesses and particularly that [inaudible] And I think we've got to get it going sooner rather than later, because we cannot afford to be losing any more lives on this road.

JOURNALIST

How many jobs are we looking at for the construction of this project?

MICHAEL McCORMACK

Look, there's many, many dozens of jobs that are going to be for the Rockhampton-Yeppoon Road and 700 jobs for the Rockhampton Ring Road. So, these are jobs which are mostly going to be local people. And we're going to, if they're not already trained up, we're going to get them trained up. And certainly, the Queensland Government is always the one who put out the tenders and they actually manage the contract. But the fact remains we're putting up 80% of the funding for both projects. That's what normally happens. It's an 80:20 split. So, we've got a big stake in this. Michelle and Ken O'Dowd have got a huge stake in this because they want to see people get to where they need to be sooner and safer.

That's what our roads infrastructure funding is all about. Safety aspects, yes. Making sure that people like Tony Hopkins, with his transport company, making sure that those trucks can get to where they need to be sooner and safer. It's a good announcement. It's certainly something that I know has been waited for a long time and we're delivering.

JOURNALIST

Australia's youth are facing, I guess, I wouldn't say unemployment crisis, but they are facing high levels of unemployment. We have been speaking today with some local charity groups who are really concerned about when that JobKeeper payment and they're saying that there will be a crisis for our young people. What have you got to say to that?

MICHAEL McCORMACK

Well, I share those concerns about our young people. Our young people are the best and brightest. They are the people who we want to see to have a future in this country and certainly a future in regional areas. Regional areas are not broken. They certainly have great potential as far as jobs are concerned and great potential as far as living areas are concerned for young people. And that's why I know the Federal Government is doing everything it can through making sure that we skill our young people up.

Michaelia Cash at the moment is working up a skills and apprenticeship program to make sure that there are the sorts of jobs there. I know Dan Tehan has worked up and announced and we're going through the process at the moment, with our universities to make sure that those tertiary degrees, the graduates who finished them, there are jobs there for them, to make sure they're even better job-ready for the future. And certainly, when it comes to JobSeeker and JobKeeper, well we are looking at that at the moment because what we don't want to see through the back of COVID-19 – and we're not out of it yet by any stretch. We've seen in Victoria those outbreaks. We've seen in The Crossroads Hotel in Sydney that we do have a concern there.

We do have a concern of outbreaks and we want to make sure that we minimise that, contain that as best we can. We've done very well so far but there are also jobs in regional areas, 30,000 vacancies, the Regional Australia Institute identified in May alone. There are jobs there. We want to make sure that the young people have the skills. But we're not going to pull the rug out from underneath our young people or indeed, any businesses or, indeed, any workers. We want to make sure that through COVID-19 and as we come out the other side that there is hope for the future, that there are prospects for those young people and indeed, for all those people who are willing and want to work. And even those who are unable to find jobs, unable to find employment, we'll be there for them.

JOURNALIST

On young people, are you concerned that a lot of young people are accessing their super maybe without realising what it will cost them in the future?

MICHAEL McCORMACK

Well, we've given them that provision to be able to do that, but the prospects for young people are brighter than a lot of people give them credit for. Our young people are very resilient. Our young people, they've got the ability, whether they go and do a tertiary degree, whether they go and get an apprenticeship, no matter what they do, there are prospects out there particularly in regional areas. I know that Keith Pitt is standing behind me as the Resources Minister and there are many jobs in the resources industry.

We are very pro-resources. We're very pro-mining. The Opposition, well, they want to stop projects. They want to stall projects. They want to stymie projects and they want to stymie and stall and stop those prospects for young people who want a job in the resources sector. Similarly, with agriculture there are many jobs in agriculture, but whatever the case might be for a young person, there are jobs there. Yes, you may well have to move from a particular area to take a job and certainly in a regional area. I have to say, I would encourage young people to go on and have a look at the Regional Australia Institute website. Have a look at the prospects there. They might be in Rockhampton. They might in another regional area of Queensland. But there are prospects there.

Yes, we don't want young people to be able to, you know, use all their super up. That's why there are conditions over that eligibility to be able to withdraw the amounts of superannuation that is part of that provision. But it was there to ensure that they had the footing underneath them to be able to get through COVID-19 and it was a situation that, I have to say, advocates and organisations such as the charities you mentioned, actually advocated government to provide and we did so.

JOURNALIST

Obviously, like you've said yourself, the coronavirus is far from over in Australia. I mean, are there discussions about what will happen with JobKeeper and JobSeeker and if there's any, I guess, modification that can be made to tighten people's eligibility so that we can keep supporting the young people in Australia or everyone for that matter?

MICHAEL McCORMACK

Well, in short, yes, because we've been discussing it as a Cabinet. We've been discussing it at the highest levels of government right from the start of COVID-19. I was at a business dinner last night with a number of people who have said that but for JobKeeper, their businesses would now not be operating. It has been a life-saver for so many businesses indeed, keeping their workers engaged, keeping their workers on the books. It has meant the difference between businesses not re-opening and being able to continue. We've made sure that we've kept those businesses afloat.

We've made sure that we've kept those workers attached to their organisations. Yes, those discussions have been on a daily basis. The Cabinet has not rested since COVID began and indeed, working through drought, working through the bushfires, it has taken its toll on the Australian economy. But luckily, we've had a government there that has been willing and able and measured and considered and been making sure that we've put the right measures in place at the right time to support business, to support workers and to support those not fortunate enough to actually have a job before these dilemmas began and also those who have actually lost their jobs. We've supported them through it. We'll continue to support them out to the other side.

TONY HOPKINS

It's a very important topic. Our young people aren't getting the chance. In my industry, average age is 57 and getting older. Compliance and safety have got to allow us to bring the the younger adults into our industry so they can be taught on the jobs. A lot of our stuff can't be taught in the classroom. So, our big problem with employing young ones lies with work, health and safety and compliance. They've got to make it reasonable so the young people, the future of our nation, can be trained.

JOURNALIST

Can you inform us, the report that came out this morning that Australian Special Forces killed as many as 10 unarmed Afghan civilians in the Kandahar Province in 2012? Does that alarm you?

MICHAEL McCORMACK

Well, there's an independent inquiry into that and I will leave that process to take its proper course.

Shane Manning