Subject:
Bruce Highway upgrade; pulp mill; federal election.
E&OE...
PRIME MINISTER:
Well ladies and gentlemen this is a very big day for Far North Queensland and I am delighted to announce on behalf of the Government a massive injection of a further $2 billion in the upgrading of the Bruce Highway which, of course, is the backbone, the road infrastructure backbone of Queensland. And I particularly acknowledge the untiring efforts of Charlie McKillop, the Liberal Party candidate for Leichhardt, and Warren Entsch the Member for Leichhardt, in arguing the case for the injection of this additional money. And most particularly we are committing out of the additional $2 billion, which will be spent in the five years between 2009 and 2014, some $800 million of that money will be to upgrade the link between Sarina and Cairns. And that represents an enormous boost for the people of this part of Far North Queensland.
The Bruce Highway, of course, is already the subject of very heavy investments by the Commonwealth Government and the money that I am announcing today, which commits the Government to spend an additional $2 billion on upgrading the highway between 2009 and 2014 with the commitment of more resources to be identified between 2014 and 2020.
This is a part of a huge investment of billions of dollars in road infrastructure under the AusLink Program and its extension in roads all around Australia. But what is important to Far North Queensland is the $800 million figure, which is to upgrade the road from Sarina to Cairns, and that will be over that five year period between 2009 and 2014.
It will include much better protection against flooding, an eventuality with which people in this part of North Queensland are very familiar; the rehabilitation of bridges, increased overtaking lanes, the upgrading of the Cardwell Range Crossing. Now they are but some of the things that will be included in the $800 million upgrade between Sarina and Cairns.
As you all know, building roads is the responsibility, in the construction phase, the responsibility of state governments and their road traffic authorities and we now will expect and look to the Queensland Government to play its part, to get on with the job as quickly as possible so that the resources already committed and the resources that will be committed and available from 2009 can flow through as quickly as possible.
I do want to pay tribute to Charlie who has worked and pestered my office regularly about this. She has acted with great energy and great commitment. This is very important infrastructure for the electorate of Leichhardt. It's very important infrastructure for Queensland. Roads are the backbone of this country and they're very important to huge states such as Queensland and this is a very necessary investment and one that I know will provide enormous reinforcement of the economic strength and infrastructure of the Leichhardt electorate and of Far North Queensland. Any questions?
JOURNALIST:
Why has it taken 11 years to fix up the road between Mackay and Cairns?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well you can always say why has it taken...I mean the implication in that is that we haven't invested money in relation to earlier upgrades and the reality is that because we are now in a very strong economic position we can afford it. I mean the thing that is forgotten about all of these announcements is that they made possible by the economic strength that this country now has. When I first became Prime Minister we had a $96 billion debt. We had a huge budget deficit and the idea of being able to invest the billions of dollars that we can now invest in infrastructure was a long way away.
JOURNALIST:
Is it also being announced because there is a strong election threat?
PRIME MINISTER:
It is being announced because it is needed and we are in a position to make the money available. You need those two things to come together and you have to look at the merits of the proposal. It's a good proposal, it has very strong community support and we are in a financial position to do it. If we weren't in such a strong financial position, we wouldn't be able to do it.
JOURNALIST:
Mr Howard, there has been some talk about whether this is old money, or new money, or new, new money can you clarify that, and also when you talk about the billions or the money coming between 20...
PRIME MINISTER:
No, well, when I...look, there was a certain amount of money put in the Budget under Auslink, but we didn't identify the individual projects. Now this is an identification of how we're spending $2 billion of the money that's in Auslink.
JOURNALIST:
Mr Howard, is there more money, do you think, we can spend on roads in Queensland in that Auslink 2020...
PRIME MINISTER:
Well I think the best answer I can give to that, Clinton, is that as we're in a position to make particular announcements like the one I'm making today, we will make them. But we put a large amount of money in the Budget under the general heading of Auslink and we indicated then that as time went by we would announce how that money was going to be spent. Now what I'm doing today is announcing in relation to the period between 2009 and 2014, the expenditure of $2 billion on the upgrade of the Bruce Highway and of that $2 billion, $800 million will be, and if you look at this, the $800 million will cover the area from Sarina through to Cairns and that is the major individual portion. There are other upgrades which, of course, don't directly affect people who live in Far North Queensland but we put a whole lot of Auslink money, some $14-odd billion in the Budget and what I'm announcing today is the allocation of some $2 billion out of that specifically for the Bruce Highway. And within that $2 billion, I'm announcing that $800 million is going to cover the bit from Sarina - it's not a bit, it's a large portion, a large stretch of the road between Sarina and Cairns. You can see from this that there's $450 million to upgrade the highway between Sarina and Gympie and there is $750 million for the southern Bruce Highway, which is, of course, of more concern to the people further down in the State. Thank you.
JOURNALIST:
What about further north of Cairns?
PRIME MINISTER:
What about further north of Cairns? Well the announcement I'm making today is as I've described. If we're in a position to make further announcements, we will do so. I am committing firmly, clearly and unconditionally, I'm committing the $2 billion in the manner that I have described including $800 million between Sarina and Cairns.
JOURNALIST:
Do you think the State Government will happy with $2 million and ...
PRIME MINISTER:
$2 billion.
JOURNALIST:
$2 billion, sorry.
PRIME MINISTER:
Well, that's a matter that you have to ask them for, but we are carrying the lion's share of this and it's our responsibility, what, some 80 percent, I think, of the cost of the upgrading of the Bruce Highway. Well that is...I mean, we're very happy and willing to do that. I hope the Queensland Government is willing to work in a constructive fashion. The local people are not interested in the Queensland Government scoring political points on this issue. They just want the road built, they will welcome the commitment from the Federal Government and I'd simply say to the Queensland Government, let's work together to get it done. I am not going to attack them if they do their bit, they will have nothing but praise from me. If they don't do their bit, well I will criticise them.
JOURNALIST:
Mr Howard, the announcement by Environment Minister Malcolm Turnbull today about the Gunns pulp mill in Tasmania.
PRIME MINISTER:
Yes.
JOURNALIST:
The Opposition is already criticising the process, how do you think Mr Turnbull's handled it?
PRIME MINISTER:
I think Mr Turnbull has handled this splendidly. He's consulted the Chief Scientist, he's announced a decision which reflects the advice of the Chief Scientist, and the Opposition has got to say where it really stands. I mean I would say to Mr Rudd and Mr Garrett, do you support the decision or do you oppose it? They can't hide behind a criticism of the process, now that the announcement has been made, but this is typical of their behaviour on these sorts of issues. I mean are they for it or against it? Do they agree with the mill subject to the stringent environmental requirements, or do they oppose it? Do they want jobs for northern Tasmanians or don't they? I mean it's playing chicken politics to just criticise a process. I mean they've got the decision, we've taken the decision, we didn't put it off, we didn't defer it because it was a bit difficult. Mr Turnbull has faced it square on, he's consulted the Chief Scientist, he's said what our position is, now the Labor Party should tell everybody what its position is and it shouldn't try and engage in some kind of peripheral skirmish by attacking the process. That is pathetic. They are either for it or against it.
JOURNALIST:
Do you think the people of Tasmania will be for it?
PRIME MINISTER:
I think there will be mixed views, but we have taken the right decision on the merits. The cowardly thing to have done would have been to have put it off until the end of the year or early next year, that would have been the cowardly thing to do. Now we've taken our decision, it's been carefully considered, Mr Turnbull has handled this exactly in the right way. He's consulted the Chief Scientist and the scientist has given advice, and who are we to argue with the scientist? He's the Chief Scientist of Australia and he's consulted experts and he's said this is how it should be, and Mr Turnbull's followed that, and quite honestly if the Labor Party disagrees with that, let them have the guts to tell people where they stand not just attack the process. I mean that is a cowardly way of responding to something as difficult as this. The people of Tasmania and people, whether they are for or against the mill, are entitled to know both from us and from the Labor Party exactly where we stand. Now they know where we stand, do we really know where the Labor Party stands? I don't think so.
JOURNALIST:
Mr Howard what is your message to the company? I mean as far as I know they haven't responded?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well look my message to them is...
JOURNALIST:
(inaudible) too many more conditions...
PRIME MINISTER:
Clinton, an announcement's been made, I support the announcement, I fully support the way Mr Turnbull's handled it and I don't have anything to add to what I have said. The company will respond in its own way and own time, and I won't be giving it any advice. I am now going to go and put a hat on because it's getting a bit hot.
JOURNALIST:
Mr Howard you had a lovely question yesterday from two young girls about the election.
PRIME MINISTER:
Yes, yes, they ask it so much more nicely than journalists do.
JOURNALIST:
Mr Entsch is behind you...
PRIME MINISTER:
Well we are not taking any questions on election timing.
JOURNALIST:
My question is just will parliament return?
PRIME MINISTER:
The position in relation to parliament is that it's scheduled to meet on, what, next Monday week, it is scheduled to meet on next Monday week.
JOURNALIST:
On limiting Sudanese refugees, is this an example of the Government playing the race card again?
PRIME MINISTER:
Absolutely not, that's a contemptible suggestion. Thank you.
[ends]