TRANSCRIPT: INTERVIEW ON TRIPLE M RIVERINA, 13 August 2020

E&OE

Subjects: Coronavirus, Border Closures, Wear Your Slippers to Work Day;

LEIGH RYAN

Poppy and Leigh with you this morning and we’re joined this morning by Deputy Prime Minister Michael McCormack. Good morning.

MICHAEL McCORMACK

Good morning, Leigh. Good morning, Poppy.

POPPY PENNY

Good morning. Now we'll start off with, I think, what is on a lot of people's minds and its border closures, obviously. There's been a couple of changes in the last, I guess, sort of five or so days with where that border region actually falls here in New South Wales. We spoke with the Mayor of the Greater Hume Shire because, basically a chunk of that is now no longer – 

MICHAEL McCORMACK

Heather Wilton, Yes.

POPPY PENNY

Now no longer part of the border region has there been any consultation? I know that it's a State Government decision, but between you guys and the Premiers, do you guys have any input in those sorts of decisions?

MICHAEL McCORMACK

Look, we certainly do and it's around the National Cabinet table and I am also on a regular call. I would be on it on a daily basis if I didn't have the morning's call with the Prime Minister and Treasurer, but there is a daily call that goes on between the border Members of Parliament, both at State and Federal level. I know Steph Cooke, my Nationals State colleague for Cootamundra is on that call, as are of course other members, Federal Members and we discuss all those issues with James McTavish, who many of your listeners will recall was the great hero of the floods not that many years ago, when he was heading up the co-ordination efforts for that. And James McTavish is the Cross-Border Commissioner. Look, these issues are so difficult. I mean, one of my colleagues yesterday told me about a constituent and that his 12-year-old daughter couldn't get across the Queensland border because of restrictions, because of new rules put in place. She needed to get to a doctor's appointment in Toowoomba. He is a single dad, he went back to his farm in northern New South Wales, they jumped in the prime mover and because it's a truck, they got straight through because there's different permits, different systems with that. So there are some anomalies, I appreciate that and there are difficulties and we just ask people to be as patient as they can.

I appreciate that for many it is so annoying and it's so frustrating and it's affecting livelihoods. But I suppose these State Premiers are putting in place these rules to protect their jurisdictions and their people and I get that too. And I get the fact that coronavirus doesn't discriminate between boundaries. It doesn't know what a border is and the trouble is, if people have the virus and haven't downloaded the COVIDSafe app or haven't been tested, one person can then infect goodness knows how many others. It forms other clusters. And so everybody is a little bit anxious and nervous at the moment.

POPPY PENNY

With those conversations with the State Premiers that you guys are having, have you got any idea of when Mark McGowan might think about opening the Western Australian border so I might go home for Christmas?

MICHAEL McCORMACK

Well, they've had a very, very tight border and that very tight border has, you know in some ways, West Australians quite like it because it's actually protected them. But of course, you know, there are others such as yourself who are concerned that they won't be able to get home and see family and friends. I understand fully your situation, Poppy, because I've got a daughter down in Melbourne who is in lockdown, teaching from home. That does create difficulties and people just get stir crazy being locked up in a small apartment, being kept away from family and friends. But you know, it's just one of those things, we don't know how long this is going to take. We are trying as leaders in the community and as politicians and as health experts, to get as many people through, obviously, without getting the virus, as possible and the whole way through we have listened to the best medical advice and acted upon what that advice has told us.

LEIGH RYAN

Very quickly, I just want to touch on university funding. There's been a new model which has been introduced and there are some issues that The Nationals have taken with this university funding, particularly as it relates to regional students. Can you run us through what this means?

MICHAEL McCORMACK

What it means is that Dan Tehan has put in place and opened it to negotiation with the universities, with the likes of Charles Sturt, to see that with this funding model that the funding goes to those courses which are going to make graduates job ready, which are going to actually have jobs at the end of their courses. Now, the taxpayers of Australia pay in large licks for people to go to university. And it is the best loan, the HECS loan, that anybody could ever take. They don't have to start paying it back until they earn a certain amount over $50,000. That's when they start repaying those course fees, etc. And what we want to do is make sure that people are going to courses that are going to provide them a job for their future and for Australia's future, for the nation's future. Now, we took our plans, it was the Denis Napthine review, we took them to the election in May last year and we were endorsed as the Government.

Now Dan Tehan, the Education Minister, who is a regional Member of Parliament himself, he has put these proposals forth and they are out for draft consideration at the moment, for exposure to the universities. And I've got to say, the universities I've spoken to and the Chancellors and Vice Chancellors I've spoken to and others besides have broadly welcomed the changes. Now take some of these universities which operate in a regional space, they offer hundreds upon hundreds of courses, some of which, many of which and the majority of which are not being taken up by students or if they are, there's only going to be a few in the lecture theatre.

So why would you be offering a course where it's going to cost you a lot of money, have only one or two students, when you could be offering other courses in other areas which are going to provide the job ready ability for those graduates and that's what we need to do. We need to steer our young people and of course, it's not just university. I’ve always believed that a TAFE certificate or a trade is worth every bit as much as a university degree. And what we want to do is make sure that Australia is job ready for the future because that's what we need, particularly in regional Australia. So if the regional universities, including Charles Sturt University, are largely embracing the changes that we're proposing, then I think that's got to be seen as a good thing.

LEIGH RYAN

Charles Sturt University has announced changes just recently too, particularly I think one with mental health being at the forefront of everybody's mind, they've announced changes to their psychology degree in this area. Knowing that people who study regionally are more likely to stay regionally, is there a way that the Federal Government can help push those courses into a regional area?

MICHAEL McCORMACK

Those courses will still be available and at the end of the day too, the courses that the universities provide, whilst they do get a large amount of course, of federal funding and other areas of source revenue as well, including foreign students, the courses that the universities decide are largely determined by the universities themselves. So what they offer is up to them. They are autonomous, clear of government and they do not get told by government what they must do, but we do provide a lot of money and we obviously do want those courses that they are offering to be the right courses for the future of the nation. But Charles Sturt, I'm sure, being a regional university, are going to be putting forward courses that are going to be filled by students because there is a need and a demand, it is demand-driven by those students. And that those courses, whatever the case may be, whatever the faculty perhaps is, if they are going to fill theatre rooms then Charles Sturt University will certainly provide them. And of course mental health is a big issue and that is why we have put more and more funding into that area and whether it is in the space of getting people properly trained or whether it is indeed, at the very front-line level and providing services and telehealth services, that is what we're doing as a Federal Government.

POPPY PENNY

Just very quickly, how much of a key is the education sector in the economic recovery from what we have seen with COVID-19?

MICHAEL McCORMACK

It's massive. It's like everything, every single sector of the economy and of course, the education sector is one big parcel of that. Of course, it's wanting to be a part of the relief and recovery efforts and of course, every sector, Poppy, has been very hard hit by coronavirus. By shutting down borders etc, that has had a huge impact. Just the fact that foreign students have either not been able to come or may well not be able to come anytime soon has really created a vacuum there for the universities and their revenue-generating activities. And so I understand that and of course that is why we have provided $314 billion of assistance and that is only this week while in Darwin, I have been calling for the States to do a little more because if you look at the combined assistance measures provided by the states it only adds up to about $45 billion, helped in part yesterday by an ACT initiative. But when you compare what the Federal Government has done with what the other states have done. That is why I made the call as Deputy Prime Minister to the States to perhaps dig a little bit deeper. Because they are the ones closing the borders, they are the ones making sure that those border closures are very tight and that is affecting livelihoods and of course, that is affecting jobs and the ability of the nation to make revenue.

LEIGH RYAN

Now of course, Deputy Prime Minister, the halls of Canberra yesterday would have been awash with the news, on Friday August 28, Wear Your Slippers to Work Day.

MICHAEL McCORMACK

Wear Your Slippers to Work Day, it has probably been front and centre of my mind, I have to say, Leigh. Which pair of ugg boots to wear. I have one pair with a great big hole in the toe which are still my favourites because I have worn them for quite some time and I have another brand-new pair which my son Alexander gave me last birthday or the birthday before, actually. So, I just don't know which ones I will wear on the 28th but what a great cause. The Kids Cottage, Ronald McDonald House, those kids who do need to travel and stay overnight and for longer for their medical and surgery needs. It's so important, it's so good and well done to all involved in this initiative.

POPPY PENNY

So I'm assuming this means this has federal backing?

MICHAEL McCORMACK

Absolutely. I will be wearing slippers and I encourage others to do the same and to support the move by donating to the cause. I know the Kids Cottage Appeal has been supported for many, many years past by the Carroll Cup, the school boy footy and Marc Geppert and his team have always been making sure that there has been that gold coin donation for what generally is the best football for the year and that's is going ahead in September, so well done Marc and Riverina AFL for supporting that initiative again. But it is so important. August 28, get your slippers out and wear them to work.

LEIGH RYAN

Absolutely. Well, Michael McCormack, thank you for joining us this morning. You have a wonderful time in Darwin. I hope it's not too cold for you up there at the moment, as Wagga's shivering.

MICHAEL McCORMACK

The sweat is running out of me at the moment, I’ve got to tell you and not just because of the tough questioning.

LEIGH RYAN

TIO Stadium and Possum Park would be about the same temperature at the moment, I am sure. Thank you so much for your time this morning and we will catch up with you very shortly.

MICHAEL McCORMACK

Good on you. Thank you Leigh, thank you Poppy.