FAINE: Kevin Rudd, good morning.
PM: Good morning.
FAINE: Thank you for joining us up here at Kinglake. There's an air of expectation and anxiety over what's to happen over the next few days. What message do you give to the people who are coming out the other end of a most anguished year?
PM: Take pride in your resilience. It's extraordinary resilience in those communities. I've been back up there probably half a dozen times or so since the tragic events of 12 months ago, and it just stuns me each time I go there, Jon. It's just the absolute guts, resilience, strength of the families, the individuals, the community leaders that I meet. So take pride in your resilience, because it's seen you through so far, and will continue to see you through.
FAINE: Has it brought out the best in people up here, and has it brought out the best in Governments, at Federal, State and Local Government level?
PM: Well, for the community as I've observed it on the ground up there, I've just seen the great Australian story at work, and in people looking after their neighbours rather than looking after themselves. And it's just been extraordinary to see.
And I've got example after example after example - whether it's rebuilding someone's fencing, whether it's putting up a shed down the back, temporary accommodation is shared before a house is rebuilt. Whether it's groceries, whether it's helping out with accommodation with the kids in Melbourne while things are done up on the house in fire-affected areas. So, for the community, it has brought out the absolute best in the community, and I think has done something for the spirit that is Australia.
As for Government, others can make those judgments. But at a cooperative level, I've got to say we've worked pretty seamlessly with John Brumby's Government, and with the local authorities in the area, and we've worked our way through a whole bunch of very practical, detailed and complex challenges. So, the individual public servants have been working on this - Christine Nixon and others - let me just say, I think they've done a sterling job, under a lot of pressure as well.
FAINE: Not wanting to focus on the negatives, but there are a few things on people's lists that have not been done, and we keep coming back to the idea of a national warning system for emergencies, whether it's cyclones in the north or bushfires in the southeast. And here we are, one year on, promises were made, and we don't have a national warning system, an emergency warning system, as expected.
PM: Well, what we've agreed with the States and Territories is three national plans of action.
One is the national catastrophic natural disaster plan, which outlines contingency arrangements for any area which is overwhelmed by catastrophic disaster. That's one. Second is the national work plan to reduce bushfire arson. And we're working our way through that. And the third is a national disaster resilience strategy, which goes to also the effectiveness of warning systems.
On the warning systems question, what we agreed with the States and Territories is to implement the emergency warning measures for this season. The Commonwealth has committed over $26 million to assist States and Territories in development of a telephone-based emergency warning capability, and this allows alerts to be sent by voice and text messages to landline and mobile phones based on an owner's billing address.
That's a practical step in the right direction. But I'll be the last to say, Jon, that this is the end of the story, we've got to continue to improve the system.
FAINE: Is there anything that Governments can do to make communities safer, that hasn't already been done?
PM: I would rather refer that question to the experts, Jon, rather than give any glib answer to that. All I can say is we, the States and Territories, through the Council of Australian Governments, looked long and hard at the catastrophes suffered by the people of Victoria.
And we tried to learn through those three national plans that I mentioned before, that you raised just before - how do we better do warning systems, you know, the actions we've taken in the last 12 months. But you know something, we have an ability to continue to respond to practical requests from the authorities to do more where that is necessary. Whether it's community hardening, whether it's the prevention or the reduction of the arson risk, whether it's the management of vegetation, all those things, very practical things. The job of Government's to respond to practical proposals that they put forward.
FAINE: One of the things that the Opposition clearly are already preparing to do during this probably election year is to accuse you of over-promising and under-delivering. And as I look through their list of things that they say you've promised and not delivered on, of course, making extravagant promises to people whose communities are destroyed by bushfires could end up being one of those. What would happen if the bushfire recovery effort was dragged into the federal election?
PM: I'd be pretty sad, and pretty surprised by that. But, can I just reflect for a moment, you know, in a statement which both I made and the Leader of the Opposition made to the Parliament made to this week - [line drops out]
FAINE: Kevin Rudd, have we got you back?
PM: I'm back Jon, with you, loud and clear.
FAINE: We've just heard you saying that there was some discussion in the Parliament.
PM: Yes, you questioned whether in fact this had become a matter of political controversy. I certainly hope not.
One of the great things of the last 12 months was that Governments have worked together, and we've worked pretty closely with local Members of Parliament, you know, Liberal, Labor, Calathumpian.
But the other thing is, in Parliament this week, Mr Abbott was very plain in his statement that the Government responded to the bushfire emergency and reconstruction effort effectively, and made that very plain in his statement. So I think that's the spirit we need to capture for the future as well.
The broader point you make, however, about the Government's performance - can I just say this on the basic action point, we've been through the worst global economic crisis in the last 75 years.
This country, through direct Government action and infrastructure stimulus strategy, has emerged as the only one of the major advanced economies not to go into recession. It's the only one of the advanced economies to grow last year. We've increased jobs by 112,000 when the rest of the world's putting millions into unemployment. So in terms of action, our action has been focussed about keeping the economy afloat when economies have been cut to ribbons around the world. And so far, the report card's okay.
FAINE: Well there are many people listening here up at the Kinglake (inaudible) Park where we've come in from the rain- now I hope it's not raining on Sunday when you come to Melbourne for the national memorial service at St. Paul's. And thank you for your words this morning.
PM: And, can I just say to you and your listeners how much we, the Australian Government, value the active engagement of all members of the Victorian community in the reconstruction effort.
Governments can do so much. But frankly - you mentioned Rotary before, who are doing the sausages out there - it's all those community organisations, community leaders who have made it work. So my heartfelt thanks to them, for making this recovery effort what it's been for the year, which has been a hard year for the good people of Victoria.
FAINE: Thank you for your time, and we'll hear you speaking on Sunday as well.