PM: Today following extensive deliberations by the Cabinet over the last month I have recommended to the Governor General the appointment of Tony Burke as Australia's first Minister for Population.
Mr Burke will also have responsibility for developing Australia's first national population strategy. Mr Burke will also be retaining his positions as Minister for Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries.
The facts are that Australia is projected to have slower population growth over the next forty years than we have had over the last forty years by a factor of some fourteen percent. None the less many Australians have legitimate concerns about the sustainability of different population levels in different parts of the country. Particularly its impact on urban congestion, its impact on the adequacy of infrastructure, its impact on the adequacy of housing supply, its impact on government services, its impact also on water and agriculture and on our regions.
In developing Australia's first ever national population strategy Minister Burke will also be acutely mindful of the positive impact of population growth on future economic growth, on Australia's ability to fund the future needs of our health and hospital system, but also the future needs of our national security as well.
Therefore, the Minister will be examining how to balance the future needs of our nation, how to balance future levels of possible population growth for Australia against the impact of that growth on our infrastructure, on our planning and the different regions which make up the nation. I might just now turn to Tony to add and then I'm happy to take your questions.
MINISTER BURKE: Thanks very much Prime Minister and obviously I'm very honoured to have the opportunity to be Australia's first Minister for Population.
Population policy and developing a population strategy reaches into almost every corner of government policy whether it be urban planning, whether it be transport, provision of health services and other government services, right though to water infrastructure.
These issues have never previously been coordinated at a government level and they require a high level of cooperation with every level of government. Population pressures hit different parts of the nation differently. Whether it be the regional employer who is desperately trying to find more workers, or whether it be the person living in one of our cities who's seeing an increase in congestion from the population increases we already have. There'll be a very high degree of consultation in the coming months as we work through an area of policy which has always affected Australia, but we've never actually had a strategy to develop previously.
PM: OK folks, thank you very much Tony and over to you folks.
JOURNALIST: Is today a distraction from boats (inaudible)?
PM: We've been working on this proposal over the course of the last month and it's important therefore that we get on with the job. We got on with the job of developing Australia's first ever national population strategy, as I said, there are positive impacts of population growth but there also legitimate concerns in the community about its impact on planning, on our regions, on our cities, on housing and therefore you've got to get that balance right for the future and therefore the Minister's work has to get underway. The Minister as will be reflected in the statement which will be released soon will be working on this over the course of the next twelve months. I'd also say that developing a national population strategy should be a matter of bipartisan support and whoever wins the next election, we would hope, that this important work will continue into the future.
JOURNALIST: Is Christmas Island full?
PM: The advice that I have the morning is that capacity remains on Christmas Island.
JOURNALIST: On population (inaudible) do you have a specific target for the nation's population?
PM: Well what the, let's just lay some facts on the table, the projection by the IGR is that Australia's population growth will be slower over the next forty years than it has been over the last forty years by a factor of some fourteen percent. Therefore our challenge is to make sure that we get our future population levels as right as possible and against that analysis make sure we're planning properly for the infrastructure needs, for the housing needs, for the transport needs for the regional needs and that's why we're doing what we're doing. Therefore the importance of Australia having for the first time, a Minister for Population and for the first time developing a national population strategy is to get the future balance right and that is the best answer to the debate about optimum population levels of one type or another.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister (inaudible) a Catholic Minister has compared this morning (inaudible) sexual abuse?
PM: I haven't seen those remarks but can I say this more broadly about the churches collectively, and I say this very advisedly, the churches collectively protestant, catholic, have a responsibility to make sure that all these matters are properly and thoroughly investigated, properly and thoroughly investigated. I think I'll just leave it at that.
JOURNALIST: Just on asylum seekers and how many people will fit on Christmas Island (inaudible) what are the numbers you have been given?
PM: Well I think the Minister has made that plain over a period of time. I'm simply responding to your question, the advice I have received this morning is that capacity remains.
JOURNALIST: Are you concerned (inaudible) about the increase in arrivals?
PM: Can I say that, let's just put all this into context with some of the things we've been talking about as well. Australia's permanent migration flow each year to Australia, has been a bit like this. When the Howard Government came to office, it was about 85,000 a year.
When the Howard Government left office it was about 180,000 a year. In the last two years that we've been in office we've kept it at about that level and across all those years the number of refugees accepted into Australia has been about 13,000. The other thing I'd say is this, when you talk about individual numbers - that when it comes to the period of the Howard Government, at various times annual arrivals of people by boat out of that 13,000 got up to 5 or 6,000. In other various years 3 to 4,000, in various years 2 to 3,000.
In the year 2009, under this Government, it was something like 2,700. These figures will constantly change depending upon international and regional security circumstances. It's important that we place this in its context.
JOURNALIST: But it is a problem isn't it (inaudible)?
PM: Well what we've said is, I am just responding to you in terms of the advice received from Immigration Department.
JOURNALIST: Back to the population investigation, are you worried it will open the door to more debate on immigration numbers?
PM: The key thing is just getting the balance right for the future. Here we are in 2010, the settled history of this country is now 212 years on. This is the first time that we are appointing a Minister for Population and secondly it's the first time we are developing a national population strategy, in order to make sure we get this balance right for the future.
Natural population growth, migration growth, against the impacts across the country and different parts of the country. People in various parts of the country who will be concerned about urban congestion, others will be concerned about the means to find people to go and work in regional areas. Others will be concerned about the supply of affordable housing, others in turn will be concerned about the adequacy of agriculture for the future, and the adequacy of our water supply for the future. As Tony said before, frankly, getting the balance right across all these factors, that's what Australia needs to do for the future. That's why we are doing this and we believe we can get this balance right
JOURNALIST: What will the population strategy include (inaudible)?
PM: Well, this of course now forms part of Tony Burke's in-tray but also in consultation with a whole bunch of other Ministers as he said, quite rightly before, this impacts on every area, practically, of government policy both at the National level and I've got to say at the State level as well.
Let me give you one example. Regional policy, cities policy, how do we make sure that our cities are planned for future population growth against their infrastructure needs. For the first time the Australian Government, at the end of last year, obtained the agreement of the States and the Territories that all future federal funding for infrastructure to the States will depend on the existence of an improved, city-wide long term plan, including a long term plan for infrastructure in each of those cities.
We have taken steps in this direction already, we've taken steps in the direction of regional development, we've taken steps in terms of being the first Federal Government to invest, for the very first time, in urban rail. I draw your attention to what we've done most recently in Melbourne and on the Gold Coast so we have begun a number of investments in these areas, a number of planning decisions in these areas, but the challenge across our vast country differs from region to region. That's why we need an integrated approach and that's why we have a Minister for Population and the development of Australia's first population strategy.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, on the hospital reform package, in particular how are negotiations proceeding with the States particularly with Victoria?
PM: We've had three rounds of discussions now between myself and Premier Brumby. We've worked through a lot of areas of potential agreement and we've worked through a number of areas of potential difficulty as well and there is still several seeks to go between now and the Council of Australian Governments.
But the mood that I pick up from the majorities of the Premiers is that they want to get on and do this thing and to get it right. I'm not diminishing the degrees of difficulty still remaining. We need to make sure we get everything right and that includes working with Premiers and Chief Ministers from all Australia's States and Territories whatever their political complexion, whether or not there is a change of Government in Tasmania for example, whether the Premier of Tasmania is Labor or Liberal, my responsibility as Prime Minister is to work with them to deliver better health and better hospital services for all Australians. This is a once in a generation opportunity to bring about the biggest reform to the system since the introduction of Medicare.
JOURNALIST: There has been some criticism considering that the media release announcing boat arrivals in December last year is basically exactly the same as the one issued last night, so do you think about (inaudible)?
PM: Well, first of all, that's a question which you should direct to the Immigration Minister. Second is, we have constantly said that it's important to respond as previous Australian governments have done to the changing security circumstances of the region and the world. That's (inaudible) affects the overall number of asylum seekers in the world. This is not a problem uniquely to Australia, it's a problem for countries across the region, it's a problem for countries across the world. Therefore, as security circumstances change so to do the policy settings in response to those circumstances as well and we will continue to apply that approach into the future as well.
JOURNALIST: (inaudible)
PM: Can I just draw your attention, again to what I said before, under the period of the Howard Government, at various years there were 5 or 6,000 people coming in, 4-5,000 people, 2-3,000 people. In the case of 2009 I think we have 2,700 people.
It's important to place all these matters into their historical context. That is what is necessary and important for the future and secondly, to understand where these numbers fit within the overall context of Australia's annual, annual permanent migration intake. The numbers I gave you before 185,000 were coming to this country each year in Mr Howards final year in office of which 13,000 were refugees of which, in the last 12 months having kept those numbers at the same, we've had 2,700 arrive here as asylum seekers by boat. I think it's important to place all of this into its proper context.
JOURNALIST: (inaudible)
PM: That's a question you'd best direct to the Immigration Minister.
JOURNALIST: (inaudible)
PM: My advice is that a hospital has just issued a statement confirming that Lady McMahon has just passed away.
Could I, on behalf, of Therese and myself say to members of Lady McMahon's family that we express our sympathy to them and our support and our prayers in what is a difficult time or any family.
Lady McMahon was a distinguished representative of Australia, she was the wife of a Prime Minister of this country, and they lived in the house where we are currently standing this morning. So I believe appropriate respect should be conveyed to her family, appropriate respect to the contribution that she and her husband made to Australia and understand, at a purely human level this is a day of great sadness for any family.