PM: Today I would like to announce a policy about extending the Education Tax Refund to school uniforms. The Government introduced the Education Tax Refund to help families with cost of getting the kids to school. The costs covered by the Education Tax Refund at the moment includes the cost of books, of stationary, of computer items that support kids in their learning at school.
Our experience with the Education Tax Refund is that not all families have claimed it and not all families have claimed the full amount. The full amount at the moment is $390 for primary school students and up to $780 for secondary school students, and obviously that amount is indexed year by year.
Eligible families are families who receive Family Tax Benefit A. That means that the Education Tax Refund is a benefit for 1.3 million families and around 2.7 million students. I have determined that if the Government is re-elected, we will extend the coverage of the Education Tax Refund to school uniforms.
Obviously this is a measure to help ease the cost of getting kids to school for families. It's something to take a little bit of pressure off. Obviously there are a number of ways we could choose to assist families. I've chosen to assist families through this new measure to help with the cost of school uniforms because of my belief in the transformative power of education and the need for that education to be one of discipline and rigour.
Yesterday in Adelaide, in my home town, I took the opportunity to speak about the things that have driven me all of my adult life. A key involvement of mine across my adult life has been working on education policy. I've been driven by the belief that to truly have a fair go society we've got to make sure that our society offers the chance to every child - to every child - to have a high-quality education, and I believe part of a high-quality education is learning how to present yourself to the world, and that's what a school uniform is all about.
I also believe that having a school uniform helps undercut the kind of unhealthy competition we can see at schools to have the latest, most expensive, fashionable gear. Consequently I think it's the right thing to do to extend the Education Tax Refund to give this additional assistance to families in getting the kids back to school. Overwhelmingly, school students in this country wear school uniforms approved by their local schools.
This policy will apply to expenses in the tax year in 2011-12, so my message to families would be: keep your receipts - keep your receipts now because you will be eligible for the Education Tax Refund on items like books and stationary and then if the Government is re-elected we will deliver this policy and people should certainly keep their receipts for the cost of school uniforms.
I'm very happy to take questions.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, if families are doing it tough from higher living costs now (inaudible) why did (inaudible) for at least two years?
PM: Well, this is a policy that we will implement if re-elected at the forthcoming election, whenever that is. We intend to extend the Education Tax Refund. I believe that's the right thing to do.
Obviously we are already in a financial year. We will need to make arrangements for the change. We would make arrangements for the change so that it will apply to the expenses that are incurred in the tax year '11-'12.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, when you call the election, will you leave your writs open for a week in line with ALP policy to give first-time voters a chance to get on the roll?
PM: I understand that given the Senate, particularly the Liberal Party, did not pass out legislation in relation to electoral reform, that there are Australians, particularly many young Australians, who may not have become enrolled to vote. My message to them would be being enrolled to vote, having the right to vote, is your birthright - get yourself on the roll.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, do you think every school should have school uniforms?
PM: Look, I certainly believe in the value of school uniforms. These decisions should be made by school communities. Overwhelmingly, schools do have school uniforms and this measure that I'm announcing today will help families with the cost of those approved school uniforms.
For myself, I joked yesterday that I think I still have at the back of the wardrobe the prefect's tie that I proudly wore at Unley High School. I believe having a school uniform gives people a sense of self, a sense of discipline, a sense of how to present yourself to the world. I also think it undercuts some of those unhealthy things that can happen at schools when there's a competition for the latest, most fashionable item. That's why I think this is appropriate.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister -
PM: We'll go to Latika and then come across to Matthew.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, the vote in East Timor last night, is that a setback to your East Timor solution?
PM: Well, this was a vote on a resolution in the East Timorese Parliament at a time that the Parliament was not well attended. We, of course, are dealing with the East Timorese Government. We have officials in East Timor. They were involved in discussions with East Timor yesterday. Those discussions will continue. Our focus is on discussions with the East Timor Government and the East Timor Government continues to confirm to us that it is open to the dialogue about the regional processing centre and we're in that dialogue now.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, as you've said, well, you've suggested, (inaudible), You've stated you like the idea of school uniforms. (inaudible) Why should people who have children at schools that don't have uniforms not be able to access this because their schools don't have uniforms? Why are they disadvantaged? Why don't they get help buying clothes for their kids?
PM: Well, an education, the Education Tax Refund is available for all families who get Family Tax Benefit A, there to help with the cost of getting kids to school. Now, for many families, for the overwhelming number of families, that will include the costs of school uniforms and I think parents would know school uniforms can be very expensive and if you're trying to kit out a number of children who are going to school it adds up to quite a cost. That's why there is this additional measure that I have announced that we will deliver if re-elected.
I believe it is appropriate to assist with the cost of getting the kids to school. They obviously have to be the formal cost of getting kids to school, costs that we can track and measure, including the costs of school uniforms.
We'll go to Phil and then we'll come forward. Phil?
JOURNALIST: (inaudible) Just before you knocked off Kevin Rudd, Labor was leading the Coalition 52 to 48 (inaudible) still leading by the same amount. Has it been worth it, the last three weeks?
PM: Well, the numbers that matter to me are the numbers of Australians in a job; the number of kids who are completing secondary school, and we're of course talking about an education initiative today; the numbers of doctors and nurses that are available to meet people's healthcare needs. They're the numbers that I'm focussed on as Prime Minister and delivering those measures to assist hard-working Australians day after day.
I said we'd come here and then we'll come back. Yes?
JOURNALIST: How close are you to doing a deal with WA on health reform, and if you do cut them a deal, won't the other states and territories be understandably upset?
PM: Look, I did meet with Premier Barnett when I was in Western Australia recently. I am, of course, always available to have discussions with Premier Barnett about things that would benefit his state. I want to, the Minister for Health wants to, deliver better health care for the people of Western Australia. We will continue that dialogue. We will continue that dialogue in good faith.
The Federal Government, though, has a set of ambitions here in health reform. They were very clearly discussed when the Council of Australian Governments met. They include changes to make sure that our health system is properly governed and financed. We want to be the majority funder of health care. We believe that that is important to ending the cycle of blame shifting and cost shifting that Australians are heartily sick of and which from time to time has caused problems for patients trying to access patient care, so, very open to having continuing discussions with Premier Barnett.
Sorry, I did say Chris. Yes?
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, you've given us a sense of how you're different from the Rudd Government. Can you give us some sort of sense, you keep talking about going forward, what will a Gillard, should you be re-elected, what will a Gillard Government look like? What are the things that matter to you? What's your second term agenda?
PM: Well, the things that matter to me are as follows. First and foremost I'm someone who believes in hard work. I believe I've worked hard myself over my working life and I work hard now. I therefore believe in the benefits and dignity of work. I believe the single biggest aim of running a strong economy is so that it can offer people the benefits and dignity of work. I want to run an economy that offers Australians access to jobs, an economy where we get into the workforce people who have been excluded from that workforce. I believe a life outside the workforce, a life on welfare, has a corrosive aimlessness which shows in individuals and their families and so I want to run a high-participation economy.
Secondly, the ongoing belief of my adult life, the thing that first got me involved as an activist in politics, is my belief in the transformative power of education; that education literally makes lives. It made mine. I would not be in the position I am today without having had access to a great quality education, and when I compare my life course with my parents' life course, the difference is the ability to access a quality education, and so the Government I lead will always have a focus on providing to every child and every Australian adult the access they need to the transformative power of a high-quality, rigorous education.
Third, my message is don't be afraid of the future. I believe much of our public policy debate in Australia has become bogged down because people are continuously invited to be afraid of the future. I don't believe in being afraid of the future. I believe the best days of this country are in front of it, not behind it, and we can work together to shape that future. We can work together to go forward.
I'll come back through because Matthew's had one. Yes, at the back.
JOURNALIST: From a health point again, are you coming around to Colin Barnett's view that WA gets a dud deal on the GST?
PM: Look, what I've said is the only thing I can say. I've had one discussion with Premier Barnett. My door is open for further discussion. We have got a set of aims here about improving health care for the Western Australian people. I'm always happy to have a conversation with good will and with respect to see if we can find our way through to a solution.
Yes?
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister have you been in contact with the Government in Fiji over the expulsion of Australia's acting High Commissioner?
PM: No, I have not. I have not. The Foreign Minister is dealing with this matter.
Obviously our attitude to this is we are gravely concerned that Fiji continues to take itself beyond and outside the workings of the international community. We will be making very, very clear to Fiji our protest about this unreasonable and uncalled for action.
Yes, we'll go to Mark and then come to Misha.
JOURNALIST: Doesn't having special concessions for WA imperil agreement with the other Labor states?
PM: Well, Mark, what I'd say is listen to my words, and my words are I'm prepared to have a conversation in good will. You are obviously making some assumptions about what might come out of that conversation. The assumptions aren't called for.
We'll have a conversation in good will. My aim: to improve the health services for the people of Western Australia, just like our aim is to improve the health services nationally. That's why the Government has been on the process of health reform.
What does it mean for Australians? Well, it means more doctors, more nurses, a greater focus in hospital emergency departments on attending to people within clinically recommended time; it means a focus on the provision of beds; it means a focus on local hospital networks and local engagement in running the health care system; and it means the level of government with the greatest financial capacity steps up to the plate to become the majority funder, given health costs are growing in our community as we age and as new technologies become available.
I said Misha next, so I'll go to Misha.
JOURNALIST: On that basis, (inaudible) earlier about your future agenda, one of the biggest pieces of unfinished health reform in this country is the disgraceful situation where tens of thousands of Australians cannot get access to dental care. Quite basic health problems then escalate into very serious medical condition. Is it your intention to act to fix this problem?
PM: Well, as you'd be aware, the Government has been trying to act to fix this problem, only to run into Tony Abbott and his Liberal Party who have always been in denial about the circumstances of the need for dental care in this country. I think, as you would see from the statements of the Minister for Health, she has vigorously pursued trying to deliver to Australians a better circumstance of dental care. The question, therefore, is one for Tony Abbott about why he continues to stand in the way.
Patricia?
JOURNALIST: Julia Gillard has the negotiations with WA moved on because you've taken a different approach to your predecessor, just like you did with big mining groups? I mean, I've obviously spoken to the sorts of people who are close to it who say that you went in and said they've opened up the negotiations, let's put different things on the agenda, we're willing to negotiate, we know we have to move on our side, you have to move on your side so we can come to an agreement. Is that the approach you took?
PM: Patricia, I didn't see you in the room when I was there, remarkably. You must have been-
JOURNALIST: Invisible coat-
PM: Right, wearing her invisible coat.
I've had a conversation with Premier Barnett. Health care reform is obviously complex. People would recall, I think, the lead up discussions for the Council of Australian Governments meeting - the intensity of the meeting itself, the volume of documentation that came out of that meeting. So, one conversation is not going to get us to a solution here. Whether we can get to a solution very much depends on the content of future conversations. What I am indicating is an attitude in those conversations and the attitude is one of good will and respect.
We'll go to Matthew just because you're sitting there and we'll come back through.
JOURNALIST: Your assessment of the way people are, you say shouldn't be afraid of the future, that they've been invited in the past to (inaudible) can we just dig down into that a bit. Are you saying that, say, the Howard Government, was John Howard a fear monger who traded on people's insecurities, and are you saying Australians aren't naturally like that, they're not naturally conservative?
PM: I'm saying Australians are naturally a people who want to go forward and I said that in my speech yesterday. We are not a country that has made its way through our history, or made our way in the world, by shying away from the challenges of the future. We're a country that has, across our history, embraced the challenges of change. I mean we wouldn't be here in the current circumstance we are as a nation if we hadn't embraced what were at the time some very, very difficult changes.
To go to just some of them - last night I was obviously at the launch of Bob Hawke's biography. Look at the degree of change overseen by the Hawke Government, the degree of economic change, the degree of social change, and Australians worked alongside the Government, embracing the future.
I think there are times when people are invited to be afraid of the future. They're invited to conclude that somehow the best days of this country are behind it, not in front of it. I don't agree with that with every fibre of my being. I do not agree with that.
I think with some of Mr Abbott's sloganeering people are being invited to conclude that somehow as a nation we can't work our way through complex problems and get to the right outcome. Well, I don't agree with that. I believe we, as a nation, are up to working our way together through the most complicated of circumstances and getting the right solution. That's what I stand for.
Now, I said we'd go here and here. Yes?
JOURNALIST: Have you spoken to Chris Trevor and how helpful is it that for two weeks he's been vacillating on whether to stand or not in a key marginal seat in Queensland because (inaudible)
PM: Look, I have spoken to Chris Trevor. I speak to our great Labor team as much as I possibly can as I go about the rest of my working day.
Chris Trevor is a great member for Flynn. He is someone who is very much focussed on delivering to his community. He represents in the Parliament an area of Australia that is undergoing great change and he wants to make sure that the community gets the assistance it needs to manage its way through those changes, so I have spoken to Chris Trevor. I will of course respect any decision that Chris Trevor makes, but he is a terrific representative of his local community in the Federal Parliament.
JOURNALIST: Ms Gillard, this might seem like a strange question- but do you feel like the Prime Minister? Or will it take victory at the election (inaudible) There's something about this pre-campaign period that seems like Opposition Leader and Opposition Leader, strangely. Do you feel like the Prime Minister?
PM: Look, I feel like the Prime Minister. I am the Prime Minister. I've got the benefits and the burdens of this office. The responsibilities are considerable. What I also believe is that it's very important Australians get to exercise their choice. They'll get to do that at the forthcoming election. Australians obviously want to pick who their Leader is. I'm well aware that Australians are looking at me and assessing me, looking at Mr Abbott and assessing Mr Abbott, and they'll make their choice. But for me, going about this job day by day, I certainly am there as Prime Minister doing the job that needs to be done as I best see it for this country, driven by the values I'm describing to the Australian people and the aspirations I have for them.
Yes, we'll go there, and then back to Phil.
JOURNALIST: What factors are you taking into account when deciding the timing of the election?
PM: I know everybody enjoys- everybody sitting in front of me, the great men and women of the Canberra Press Gallery enjoy election speculation-
JOURNALIST: (inaudible)
PM: Okay, right, well, I've misread the room, I'm sorry about that. But I'm not here to add to election speculation in any way, shape or form. I've got work to do. We've got some governing to do.
Phil.
JOURNALIST: Just on that motion, the resolution in the East Timorese Parliament. What weight would you describe Julia, that some here have described it as the equivalent to a pack of kooks in the Senate (inaudible). What weight do you give that resolution?
PM: Well, I think in all of this it is best to rely on the bedrock of the facts. And the facts are that we are in dialogue with the East Timorese Government. And the facts are the East Timorese Government continues to indicate its openness and its preparedness to have that dialogue. And I know there's been a lot written and thought about how we got to this moment of dialogue. We got there because last Tuesday I announced that my view for a long term solution is that we need a regional framework with a regional processing centre.
I want to take away from people smugglers the products that they sell. I want to stop people risking life and limb, sometimes the lives of children, getting on dangerous boats and trying to make a journey by sea. That's why I announced the policy. I spoke to President Ramos-Horta, who obviously then consulted with the Prime Minister, and the Prime Minister has indicated that it is President Horta who will deal with this agenda for East Timor. That is, I spoke to the man who is the man taking this agenda forward for East Timor. We are in dialogue with East Timor.
For the Opposition, you know, Mr Abbott, I've said it before, he's a man who's good at slogans. He's got a slogan, it's a hollow slogan, a very hollow slogan. And increasingly over the last few days, the very hollowness of this slogan has come to the fore. Mr Abbott is so (inaudible) with this slogan, he hasn't persuaded Philip Ruddock, a long term Liberal Immigration Minister, and he hasn't persuaded another Member of the Liberal Party frontbench. They- Liberal Party members- are saying this slogan is hollow. What Mr Abbott is trying to sell the Australian people is a fairytale. And his very own Liberal colleagues are calling them on it- yes.
JOURNALIST: You talk about facts in your asylum seeker policy, but isn't it also a fact that any deal that your Government does with the Government of East Timor will have to be approved and enacted by the Parliament that yesterday passed a motion rejecting the idea?
PM: We will work through with the Government of East Timor, obviously- people working through to develop a concrete proposition which then would be dealt with by the East Timorese Government through its normal processes. Michelle.
JOURNALIST: Ms Gillard, can you give us any indication of your timetable on your climate policy- is it today? Would you anticipate it out before the campaign? And secondly, you've made much of consensus as a key part of that policy, and you're praising Bob Hawke as a consensus politician. Is consensus more widely one of your organising ideas in your Government?
PM: Well thank you, and I'll take the second part first and then come back to climate change. I believe that people want their Prime Minister to lead, but they want their Prime Minister to lead in circumstances where people have been consulted and feel like they are involved in and own the decision. That is, I want to respect people's views. Now I'm well aware, I'm well aware, that you can sit around tables and work issues through and not come to agreement. That means of course that I have to make a decision, I have to lead, and I will do that. But I'm also well aware from experiences across my life, including my public life, that if you get people around a table, if you sit down in a spirit of goodwill and you try and work through difficult issues, then often remarkable things can flow.
I think Bob Hawke understood that as Prime Minister, and he was of course noted for taking tough decisions, for having hard conversations with the Australian people. I mean, when we look back on that history, there was nothing popular or quickly embraced about the kind of economic reforms that Bob Hawke drove, but he did it because he believed it was right for the nation. But he did it in dialogue, seeking the maximum consensus for action that he could. That is my outlook too. That is how I want to lead as Prime Minister.
On climate change, I said in the first statement I made as incoming Prime Minister that I understand there are millions of Australians disappointed that we have not yet been able to put a price on carbon. I am disappointed by that too. But in order to get there, we need to have a dialogue with the community that leads to a deep and lasting consensus about how we will price carbon, how we will go forward with a market-based mechanism, how we will work together to achieve the kind of transformations in our economy and the way we live that pricing carbon necessarily implies. I believe there are other steps we can take on climate change. And yes, of course, the Government is working its way through these issues, and we will do so methodically, taking the time necessary to get it right.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, is it your intention to announce the process for that consultation to occur?
PM: Well, the Government is working on these things now. When I've got something more to say, then I will. But we will work on these things methodically. We will work on these things so that the policies are right, right for the Australian nation, right for the future and take us forward.
Thank you very much.