Subject:
Chaplaincy program; Western Corridor Recycled Water Scheme
E&OE...
JOURNALIST:
The Prime Minister of Australia joins us on the program this morning. Good morning Prime Minister.
PRIME MINISTER:
Good morning, that's Ross is it?
JOURNALIST:
That was Pete and this is Ross now.
PRIME MINISTER:
Peter, good heavens, you're a confusing pair.
JOURNALIST:
Well yes we are, we confuse each other.
JOURNALIST:
Welcome to Brisbane. I saw you on the TV earlier. They had a photo you 25 years ago and you today. I have to say I think you're looking better now than you were 25 years ago.
PRIME MINISTER:
Flattery will get you everywhere.
JOURNALIST:
I just wanted to know if you've had work Prime Minister?
PRIME MINISTER:
Mate, I've got less hair.
JOURNALIST:
Well you're looking good anyway. How was Southbank this morning? We saw you...
PRIME MINISTER:
I went walking. It was a bit, it was a bit breezy for Brisbane but it's...when you've gone walking in the Canberra winters, anything Brisbane can turn on cold weather wise is child's play.
JOURNALIST:
Absolutely.
JOURNALIST:
I think you're right. Now you're in town for a number of reasons, but one of them, of course, to announce funding for chaplaincy in schools. This received a bit of flak when it was first aired didn't it from certain...
PRIME MINISTER:
It sure did and the people who attacked it have been demonstrated as wrong by the overwhelming number of applications. I'll be announcing approval of chaplaincy programs in 1400 schools throughout Australia and there'll be 450 of them in Queensland and more than 90 per cent of the applications in each state have been approved. Seventy five to 77 per cent of the schools receiving the support are government schools. There'll be another round. I've decided because of the popularity of the scheme to put another $25 million into it so that all of the meritorious applications can be funded. The public want this. They don't see it as some kind of sinister plot to ram religion down people's throats. They see it as a legitimate desire on the part of the Government to support the provision of people who can provide a lot of valuable moral and, if appropriate, spiritual support at times of difficulty for young children and young people at school. If they have a family break up and they have nobody to turn to, if you've got a shoulder to cry on or somebody to give you a bit of help and a bit of advice it can make all of the difference because we all know from our life's experiences that emotional upsets in those early teen years are very difficult to handle because it's a bewildering thing if a couple of people you're very close to can no longer get on with each other and your family splits up. I mean, it's all experience that some people have and I think it's tremendously important that we be willing to provide a bit of help.
JOURNALIST:
Mr Howard, I've worked closely with chaplains over the years and got involved in fundraising for them and I know how tough they have done it for funding up until now. I think it's a real...
PRIME MINISTER:
Up to $20,000 and we fund existing chaplaincy programs and new ones and in the case of Queensland, once again, the number of new programs to be funded is about 450 so it's a very popular scheme. I mean, the critics were wrong.
JOURNALIST:
And it's multi-faith isn't it? It's all faith?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well it is and it's not discriminatory obviously because of the make up of our nation the great majority of the people being funded have an affiliation with a denomination of the Christian religion but there are Jewish and Muslim chaplains being funded because their schools have applied and just as we fund Muslim and Jewish schools which accord with, and teach according to, the curriculum, so it is in relation to these chaplaincies, we do the same thing. So there's no discrimination, it's across the board and importantly government and non government schools, indeed the percentage of applications from the government schools has been slightly higher than I expected. It's a bit above the proportion of government schools within the Australian school community. Now that will probably even out in the next round so any suggestion coming from areas like the teacher's union that this is something that parents reject, I mean, the real test of this is that the parents have supported it. I mean, you wouldn't have got so many applications if the parents hadn't wanted it because the applications have come from the school communities and it means that the Parents and Citizens Association in the schools want this. Now that is my answer to the teacher's union. That is my answer to people like the former New South Wales Premier Bob Carr who said this was some sinister plot by me to establish religion, nothing of the kind. It's a recognition that there is a spiritual component to our lives, that there is a need on occasions for people who are skilled in putting an arm around somebody and listening to them and giving them a bit of advice, there is a place for that. Irrespective of the scale of our religious commitment there is a place for that in schools and our lives and I am delighted that there's been such an emphatic endorsement of the plan by the Australian public because in the end, it's what the parents say that calls the tune. I mean we are in the business of giving parents choice about where their kids go to school, and what kind of schooling they receive. And if parents in local communities want these chaplaincies then they should be available.
JOURNALIST:
It's welcome funding.
JOURNALIST:
Let's move to this other issue that's a very important issue for Queenslanders and the extradition proceedings, are they approved for Jayant Patel by the Justice Minister David Johnston?
PRIME MINISTER:
There's not a lot I can say given that there's a strict legal process involved. We are moving very carefully but speedily to make sure that justice is done and we want to see this man face justice. We also want to see that the rules are properly followed so that there can be no allegations that he was not treated fairly. And the best thing I can say is that when it's appropriate for the Justice Minister to say something, he will say something, but we are cooperating very closely with the Queensland authorities and we are as one in wanting to see this man face justice.
JOURNALIST:
And just finally Prime Minister, you have another announcement as well of some funding?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well what I am able to do is to announce the confirmation of the $408 million in federal funding to build the Western Corridor; this is the recycling project proposed by the Queensland Government. You may remember a couple of months ago when I was in Brisbane I announced this funding, but I said it was conditional on four things being done by the Queensland Government; one of them was publishing a business case, they have done that, an assurance that the Queensland Government would work out satisfactory arrangements for the farmers in the Lockyer Valley and a couple of other conditions, including an understanding that this was the totality of the bid by the Queensland Government for this particular project. Now I am happy to say all of those conditions have been met so the offer is now unconditional. We look forward to being kept very closely informed by the Queensland Government of how the project is proceeding. It's a very important project. We thought it was worth funding and $408 million is a very large slice of the $2 billion National Water Fund that I established at the time of the 2004 election. So the need nonetheless is very great in south-east Queensland, I understand that. A rapidly growing part of Australia. The drought has hit very hard. I am very happy, like other people, to see the rain. I was in Bundaberg and Hervey Bay yesterday and we were running from one building to another to not get so wet. It's a great experience to do that again after all of the drought that we've had. But there's still large parts of the nation, though, that are desperately short of water and sadly when you do get a drought breaking drenching like we've had on a couple of occasions here in Queensland and on a number of occasions further south, it doesn't always fall in the right areas. But it's starting to spread and we keep our fingers crossed, but this is a good project. That is why we are funding it to the tune of $408 million and that commitment is now unconditional because the Queensland Government has met all of the conditions that we attached to it a couple of months ago.
JOURNALIST:
Excellent.
JOURNALIST:
Great news, great news.
JOURNALIST:
Welcome back to Brisbane and see you next time, probably the weekend or so.
PRIME MINISTER:
Indeed.
JOURNALIST:
Okay, thank you.
[ends]