PM: Well, can I say it's great to be here in Queensland. Coming from Canberra this is a fantastic opportunity to thaw out. So I'm very, very pleased to be here. I'm obviously very pleased to be joined by the Deputy Prime Minister and Treasurer, Wayne Swan, a great Queenslander, and by our candidate for the seat of Dawson, Mike Brunker, who is a fantastic advocate for this local community. And I'd like to thank the people standing behind us from BMA for making us so welcome today as I've had the opportunity to have a look at the Hay Point terminal.
And as you move round here and see this coal coming in and being loaded on to ships it is telling us the story of this part of the world and across Australia. The story of the resources boom, of creating jobs, of growth as we get the mineral wealth from our ground and sell it around the world. I'm very pleased that as a result of the breakthrough agreement we announced yesterday that we have been able to give certainty to the mining industry and to communities like this one in Mackay.
Certainty, so we can wall move forward. And of course, as well as giving the mining industry certainty, the breakthrough agreement we announced yesterday means great benefit for Australians here in Mackay, in the great resource state of Queensland, and around the nation. Benefits in the form of superannuation- we want to make sure that working Australians have decent retirement incomes. And this agreement, this change backs in superannuation changes for working Australians.
A better deal for businesses around the country as our company tax rate comes down and we're able to offer small businesses the benefits of writing off the expenditure that they have on the capital items they need. And of course as well the benefits for mining communities like this one and mining states like Queensland of increased investment in infrastructure. Obviously, growth in our communities, growth in mining requires growth in infrastructure. It's great to be here to be able to see this first-hand, to be able to be briefed about the growth that's happening, and to see on the ground what our agreement with the mining industry and our new Mineral Resources Rent Tax will mean for local communities. And particularly what the benefits flowing will mean for local communities- better infrastructure, better superannuation, reduced company taxation, and a better deal for small business.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, why isn't James Bidgood or Kirsten Livermore here with you today?
PM: They would've been very welcome, but obviously I'm here with Mike who will be asking this community to place its trust in him to be their representative in the federal Parliament. And I suspect when people vote they will be considering things like certainty for the mining industry, the Minerals Resources Rent Tax, and the benefits flowing from this package.
JOURNALIST: Is the Government worried about the seat of Dawson now that it's become much more marginal?
PM: Look, I'm Prime Minister for all of the nation, and I'm going to be trying to be in as many communities as possible. And the physical reality is you can't be everywhere at once. But I've travelled here before. I've had the benefit of talking to local community members before. I've had the benefit of being at the local university for example. It's always good to be able to come out to communities and talk about their needs.
TREASURER: Can I just say also that I've been coming here for many years. In fact, probably over 30 years. So coming through here is a pretty regular occurrence for members of the Government. And plenty of Ministers are through, and they're through frequently irrespective of elections.
JOURNALIST: Do we expect to see you then quite a few times before the election?
TREASURER: Well, certainly I'll be travelling up and down the Queensland coast as I've done for most of my life.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister-
PM: When Wayne says 30 years he means he started coming here when he was very young.
TREASURER: I'm just a bit older now.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, will you be spending some time with Mike today to campaign, or-
PM: Well we're actually going to be talking to some local community members, so I'm very much looking forward to that. The way in which we've proceeded in the last week, the way I've worked as Prime Minister is, I think, you can do remarkable things if you get people round a table talking in a spirit of good will. I've done that with the mining industry. And of course there are some who are still looking and assessing this package and for them our goodwill and good faith extends. We have a process here to continue moving forward, chaired by Don Argus. But with that same style, believing that if you get people round a table you can do some remarkable things, I also want to be able to talk to local community members about what's on their mind. I'm never afraid of frank conversation, so I'll be there looking and learning from people here locally.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, some of the smaller mining companies were quite concerned they were left out of consultations. What is- why was this? And what do you have to say to them?
PM: Well, I have to say the Deputy Prime Minister and the Minister for Resources, Martin Ferguson, talked to people far and wide about this agreement, talked to them about our Mineral Resources Rent Tax. So there have been plenty of discussions. But I can also say the good faith and goodwill that we've brought this week as we've sat round a table to get the agreement we were able to announce yesterday will continue through the process chaired by Don Argus, a man with a great reputation in the resources industry. Working with my Minister, Martin Ferguson, to work on the implementation of these new taxation arrangements. So we'll continue to be talking and working with people in good faith.
JOURNALIST: Should small business expect some further announcements in the future given that the company tax rate is now going to 29% as opposed to 28%, but they still have the costs of increased superannuation?
PM: Well, I think for small business there are great benefits in this package. They will see the reduction in company tax early. They will experience the benefit of being able to get a new tax concession for the capital equipment that they need. You know, setting up a restaurant or running a restaurant and you need new furniture. If you've got a small business and you need new tools and equipment there will be special tax benefits for you. And as we talk about the superannuation changes, this is really important to working Australians. But we understood that businesses including small businesses would need time to adjust, so the changes are being phased in slowly over time to enable people to adjust.
JOURNALIST: The Opposition has promised to turn asylum seeker boats around. Will you do the same?
PM: Well look, this is an area where you can have a slogan, and you can beat your chest, and people do that for political advantage. But really, they're not talking about effective measures. As I believe Mr Abbott would well know, he can talk about turning boats around but the reality is that- and this has been experienced by this nation before- that if we seek to turn boats around, often the boats are disabled, and then there is a question of loss of life at sea. And really don't understand Mr Abbott to be saying he intends to leave people to drown at sea. Which is why of course this is a slogan, it's not a solution. Now, I'm not going to offer a slogan. And I'm going to say to people this is a complex problem. There is no simple fix. Anybody who pretends to you that a slogan and a bit of chest-beating is going to fix it simply isn't telling the truth.
But I do understand the anxiety of Australians about this issue. I feel that anxiety. I understand it. I understand when people see boats on our horizon that it worries them. And so I will be working through this issue. I've got some decisions to make with a deadline of the 8th of July, and I'll have something more to say in coming days. But what I have to say will be truthful, and it will be about effective measures, not chest-beating.
TREASURER: Could I just add to that- because Mr Abbott has said that he is opposed to the Minerals Resource Rent Tax, and therefore opposed to pouring $10.5 billion back into the Australian community to give small business a very substantial tax cut, a boost to superannuation, and importantly for regions like this to stop investment in infrastructure which is just so necessary in regions like this which are expanding rapidly- you can see it here today at the coal loader. You can see the stress on local roads and local communities, and he's opposed to that. So there's no certainty with Mr Abbott but the certainty he would stop those funds flowing.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, since that deal's been struck with mining companies, are we any closer to an election date?
PM: Well look, the election's due in the second half of this year. And so you will see an election in the second half of this year. But I've made it clear that as Prime Minister I believe we've got some decisions, some governing to do. On the day I became Prime Minister I said I thought there were a series of issues where we needed to get back on track. The single biggest was dealing and most pressing was dealing with this question of the Minerals Resources Rent Tax, and I'm very pleased that we've had a breakthrough there as a result of a lot of hard work and respectful conversations that now take Australia forward and our mining industry forward. I'll have something to say in coming days about the question of asylum seekers. But I want to be there governing steadily, day after day, piece by piece, dealing with the issues that are on the minds of Australians. And we will have the election during the second half of the year in the timeframe in which its due.
JOURNALIST: So is asylum seekers the next policy, big policy issue for the Government? Is that what you want sorted out before the election is called?
PM: Well there is a deadline as a result of some earlier decisions. A decision was announced around three months back about suspending processing for Sri Lankan asylum seekers. That three months is up on the 8th of July. And so as Prime Minister I'll need to be indicating the way forward before the 8th of July, and it's my intention to do that.
Thank you very much.