Springfield, Brisbane
PM: I've said, as Prime Minister, that I don't want to see a big Australia, I want to see a sustainable Australia. I don't want us to hurtle down the track to a population of 36 or 40 million without doing the work necessary on population policy.
I believe that it's time we just stopped for a moment, take a breath, have an opportunity to reflect, and have an opportunity to develop policies for managing population.
Of course, as an immigrant to this country I'm well aware of the important role played by migrants who come here, who bring their skills, who go to the places that need them and help build our country, so this isn't about immigration, but it is about planning. It is about making sure, as we build new communities, that there are the services and the lifestyle that people need.
Here in Springfield they have got that right: work to bring education services, schools, TAFE, university; working to bring health services, including a new hospital to cater for this community's needs; work to bring the parklands, the bike paths, the shopping, the things that go together to make a lifestyle.
Too often, Australians buy their dream home on the urban fringe but they get a nightmare lifestyle with long commutes, stuck in traffic; not able to move around their community the way that they want to; not having the schooling options they'd seek for their children; too far away from local health services.
We want to make sure that when people get a dream home they get a good lifestyle as well, and so I've asked the Minister for Sustainable Population, Tony Burke, to develop population policies for this country. I don't want to see the kind of problem we have now - some areas of the country with too many people and not enough jobs, whilst in other areas of the country we've got vacant jobs and not enough people.
We can do better than that, and as a Government we will be working to do better than that.
I'll turn to Tony Burke now for a few comments, and we'll be happy to take questions. Tony?
MINISTER BURKE: Thanks, PM. I think today at Springfield you can see really clearly the difference between building a housing development and building a community, and what we've got here at Springfield has been a plan to build a community.
One in three of the people living here will be able to have jobs here, so instead of losing hours and hours of every week that could have been productively spent at the workplace or as special time with your family. Instead of all those hours being lost in traffic, people will actually be in a situation where they're near work.
I had a coffee at the local shops this morning. I saw a bus, and unlike most buses I see in the place where I live there were seats on it. It was actually possible to get a seat on the bus. It was possible to see a community that was growing and working.
That's what we've got at Springfield. That's what sustainable population is about.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, this-
PM: I'll just see if Shayne and Bernie want to start now skiting about Queensland and the State of Origin.
NUEMANN: Well, three-nil, the first victory, three-nil victory since Fatty Vaughtin's day. It's a fantastic result.
PM: We had to let them get that out. Matthew?
JOURNALIST: This community is the exception. This community came because it had an ambitious developer and he had a council that all got behind it. Had nothing to do with the Commonwealth Government, I don't think, in the early stages. It's not enough, surely, just to say, well, we need to have things like this.
Doesn't the Commonwealth have to either legislate, if it has the powers, or work with the States to make sure that as we develop new housing estates they aren't just housing estates, because that's the norm, isn't it?
PM: Well, I'll turn to Tony Burke, but can I just give some examples of the kind of role the Commonwealth can play and some of the ways we've assisted this community. We've obviously assisted this community with some direct work on the local parklands, and that's been important, and then the Commonwealth needs to step forward with things like settings for growth for universities. We put Australian universities on a growth path and we've got a university in this community. We're rewarding Australian universities that enrol students from low-SES backgrounds and the university in this community is.
Of course, we are a funder and a partner in schools, and we're a funder and a partner in health services.
Part of Tony's work will be looking at how the Federal Government can continue to engage, indeed, better engage with population policy, with planning and with the development of local services, but I'll turn to Tony for some comments, too.
MINISTER BURKE: Matthew, you're right in saying that a population strategy only works if you can have good levels of cooperation with each level of government. It reaches almost every portfolio at a Commonwealth level, but many of the levers do exist at state and local government level.
As we get to announcing the panels that are going to be putting together the issues paper that I've been talking about you will find strong representation from other levels of government throughout that, and that's going to be part of making sure that any population strategy isn't just some small corner of population issues at a Commonwealth level. It's actually reaching, in a cooperative way, to state and local government.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, a central way of making-
PM: We'll just have Matthew first and then move across. Matthew?
JOURNALIST: Sorry, just to follow it up, councils want rate bases. Look all over the country, look in your own two cities - there's all these housing developments with nothing but houses, so don't you actually have to take an interventionist role to actually drive this, because there is no incentive for developers to think about it?
MINISTER BURKE: The starting point at a Commonwealth level is to work through it on a cooperative basis. We're certainly not starting on any premise other than that. The consultation is real.
PM: And could I just make a comment, too? I think councils want to see good communities. I think local government is the area of government that feels community concerns about things like not having parkland or not having bike paths. When I meet with local councillors, and of course we've had the opportunity to talk to the mayor of the council that covers this community today, what they want to see for the citizens in their municipality is a great lifestyle, so I believe, you know, they've got a shared aim with us about managing population, about looking towards the set of policies that Tony Burke will develop for the Government.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, central to the great lifestyle is jobs and decentralisation of jobs out of the CBDs into these areas. What is the Commonwealth doing to facilitate that?
PM: Well, I think you're absolutely right. Jobs in a local community are very important to a lifestyle. I met today, one of the community members I spoke to was a man who's a physiotherapist who's got a 3-minute commute to work. There'd be a lot of people very, very envious of that.
Of course, we can play a role, looking at how we distribute services and part of Tony's work can be looking at that, and then the nature of the development plays a role, too, so that there are jobs available in local communities.
The reality here is we do have mismatches around the country: strong population growth and not enough jobs; other parts of the country where we've got strong jobs growth and not enough population. We want to work through that set of issues. It's going to take a comprehensive approach. It's going to take some time, but I've asked Tony Burke to work on this because I want sustainability to be at the heart of how we move Australia forward: not endorsing a big Australia, but a sustainable Australia; how we develop the policies that give us that sustainability.
JOURNALIST: Subsequent to that, we're seeing manufacturing job losses here because of competition, particularly from China. Is that a concern to you, and as a sub-question, would you look at establishing more Commonwealth services here so there are jobs here?
PM: Look, we are a great trading nation and I think we can compete on the world stage - and we do - and so for Australia, being there, competitive on the world stage, wining the international competition is vital to the economic future of this country, so I believe in having a strong economy that offers people the benefits and dignity of work. I don't think we need to be afraid of our ability to compete on the world stage. We are a great trading nation, a competitive nation.
On the question of Commonwealth services coming to municipalities, to localities, to growth corridors, obviously we want to make sure, as part of the great lifestyle, that we want to see Australians enjoy that they've got access to services, and when services are there that does mean local jobs.
JOURNALIST: Can we ask you about Timor? Obviously, some people might say it was arrogant to make an announcement, like you did, without actually having the permission of the people you needed.
PM: Well, the speech I gave the other day on asylum seeker and refugee policy was me laying down what I believe is the long-term, durable solution for the region.
We are not the only country in the region that experiences irregular people movement. It is a problem in our region, and I think the appropriate way of then moving to resolve this problem is to work across the region and have a regional processing centre.
When I outlined that policy a few short days ago I'd spoken to the President of East Timor. I had spoken to the Prime Minister of New Zealand. I have spoken now to the President of Indonesia, and our officials will now work in the region with our regional neighbours to get their views and to work on this proposal.
JOURNALIST: But you haven't spoken to the Prime Minister, Xanana Gusmao, and his deputy is saying that East Timor's unwilling and unable to deliver with this plan. If it's just a half-baked idea for a quick political fix [sic]?
PM: Well, this is an idea, question of a regional processing centre, that has been raised and considered for some time. We have had a process here called the Bali process which brings the region together to talk about issues including issues of people movement, so there have been suggestions in the past about a regional processing centre.
What's new is my determination to achieve this. What's new is my determination to relentlessly pursue it.
On the question of East Timor, can I say this: looking across the region, we will work with regional neighbours; we will have the necessary and respectful conversations.
Obviously, the President of East Timor indicated a preparedness to have the conversation. I'll speak to the Prime Minister of East Timor during the course of this week about the preparedness to have the conversation.
What we want to see here is dialogue across the region. Yes, of course, that will involve East Timor, but it will involve other regional partners as well, participating in that dialogue.
JOURNALIST: Isn't it the case that to be credible on this issue in a political sense, because as you have said, you put up an idea, you're seeking a dialogue, but to be credible on polling day, won't you have had to have done more than simply say this is what I would like to see happen? Don't you have to have results from your relentless pursuit before you ask people to vote for you?
PM: Well, let's just take that a step at a time. What I announced a few days ago was that I believed we needed a regional processing centre and I would be working to achieve that. That work has already started. We are already actioning that work, taking steps forward.
I also announced a few short days ago how we would be dealing with the question of processing asylum seekers from Sri Lanka, and our determination to ensure that people who aren't genuine refugees are returned home.
I also announced the steps that we are taking to strike a return agreement with Afghanistan, so, once again, people who aren't genuine asylum seekers are returned home.
I announced that we will amend Commonwealth legislation to increase penalties when there has been a loss of life because of movement by boat auspiced by people smugglers, and of course I've indicated to the Australian people that I share their concern about managing our borders and we want to do that effectively, which is why I have announced these policies and we are implementing them.
And, can I just say the choice on election day, the choice on election day is between me saying, as Prime Minister, that we will do these things; that we will have a frank and open conversation with the Australian people about these issues; that I am respectful of people's views. I don't want to see labels like redneck or intolerant or racist.
That approach versus Mr Abbott, who's got a slogan that he knows can't be turned from words into action. He's got a slogan - 'turn back the boats' - and he knows, he knows himself, it is impossible to do that and that's all it is, a cheap slogan.
JOURNALIST: Is it a fair burden to place on a developing country with 100,000 internally displaced people, though?
PM: Well, the President of East Timor, who obviously is the local representative, the President of East Timor, someone who, as people would know, across his adult life dedicated his work to bringing democracy and freedom to East Timor-
JOURNALIST: But he has a largely ceremonial role.
PM: Well, I don't think anyone would dispute the expertise of President Ramos Horta in all things East Timorese. The man's devoted his life to ensuring that country enjoyed freedom and democracy and he said that he believes it's appropriate to have the conversation.
JOURNALIST: Surely it would have been smart to have a chat to the Prime Minister of the country first?
PM: Well, look, the ordering here, obviously, we had the East Timorese President in Australia very recently. I followed that up with a conversation with him. Obviously, there will be internal discussions in East Timor and I will speak to the Prime Minister of East Timor as well, but this is a dialogue that will happen more broadly than East Timor. It will happen across the region, and the aim here - the aim here - is a very important one.
We want to take away the product that people smugglers are selling. What they're selling is a boat passage, which may be risky, dangerous, occasional loss of life, they are selling a boat passage to get to Australia in the hope that that will give people the ability to stay. What we would be saying with a regional processing centre is don't get on the boat because you'll end up in the regional processing centre anyway.
We will take our fair share of genuine refugees. We will work with other resettlement countries, like New Zealand, to ensure that a fair share of genuine refugees are accommodated in our country. That's the best way forward.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, the latest boat arrivals, apparently the information was delayed after your announcements of your policy. Is that true?
PM: Oh, look, I'm not aware of that. The timing of announcements about boats being intercepted, there's obviously a set of operational matters and then the Minister for Home Affairs makes the relevant announcement.
JOURNALIST: Climate change - are we stuck without a policy?
PM: Certainly not. As Prime Minister, I've said I believe climate change is real. I believe that it is caused by human activity. Now, that's a pretty sharp contrast with my opponent, Mr Abbott.
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-price on carbon when we have a deep community consensus about that price on carbon.
In the meantime, obviously, we will continue to work, continue to work on climate change policies and reducing the amount of climate CO2, our carbon footprint, as a country.
JOURNALIST: When will you guys stop misrepresenting what Tony Abbott said. That's not what he said. You know that.
PM: Well, he's on the record as saying that. Absolutely.
JOURNALIST: Some of the science is absolute crap.
PM: Well-
JOURNALIST: He didn't say climate change is absolute crap, and he's got policies, (inaudible)-
PM: Well-
JOURNALIST: That say he thinks climate change is real and he wants to do something about it.
PM: Well, my understanding about Mr Abbott's position is that he has been dismissive of the science, dismissive of the science that human activity causes climate change. He has been in favour of a carbon pollution reduction scheme, he's been against a carbon pollution reduction scheme, he's been in favour of a carbon pollution reduction scheme, he's been against a carbon pollution reduction scheme. I haven't checked today what his position on a carbon pollution reduction scheme is, but is has varied substantially over time
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-as a Government, as Prime Minister, I have consistently said, and obviously believe, climate change is real, it's caused by human activity. We will, as a nation, need to price carbon. To get there, we need a community consensus about that change. There are steps we can take in the meantime to reduce our carbon footprint, and we will be taking those steps.
Yes?
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, a local question - it's the second visit to Queensland since you took over the leadership. Do you need to work any harder here because Kevin Rudd was from the state?
PM: Look, I intend to be Prime Minister for all of the country, and to be Prime Minister for all of the country I believe it's appropriate to travel, to talk, to meet with people. I obviously can't be in all parts of the country on any given day, and what I do is rely on our great Labor representatives around the country to give me the best of their views, the best of their intelligence about what's happening in their local community. I'm standing here today with two great local Labor representatives, Shayne Neumann and Bernie Ripoll.
JOURNALIST: Queensland Labor (inaudible) dropping in the polls. Any concerns there with the performance of Anna Bligh and the Labor Government?
PM: Well, look, the issue for me as Prime Minister is I want to work cooperatively with state governments, including with the state government led by Anna Bligh. As Prime Minister I want to make sure we are delivering stable and competent government. What I said when I became Prime Minister I think that we've been a good government but there are a set of issues where we have lost our way and that I did want to take the steps necessary to get our Government back on track. I believe we're doing that day by day and we will be working with our state colleagues on the issues of concern to Australians. They include health, they include education, where I want to work with premiers around the country who are representing their states.
JOURNALIST: (inaudible) deputy PM from East Timor said that you had approached other countries before you approached East Timor. Is that true, and if so, which ones?
PM: Look, the telephone conversations I have had about the regional processing centre are the ones that I've talked about publically, and they are the only conversations I have had to date, so I spoke to the President of East Timor, I spoke the Prime Minister of New Zealand, and yesterday, in the context of a congratulations call to me from the President of Indonesia, we also discussed the matter.
OK, one more and we'll go.
JOURNALIST: Is the problem with a price on carbon now that ordinary people can't afford to pay?
PM: Well, the issue about a price on carbon is people want us to address climate change. I want to address climate change, and ultimately having a price on carbon is a vital part of addressing climate change.
I also want to see Australians, many of whom are doing it tough, I want to see those Australians in on the decision and working with us so that there is a deep community consensus about change. That's how I want to deal with climate change as Prime Minister.
Thank you very much.