PM: It's fantastic to be here on another beautiful Perth day with Chris Evans, the Minister for Tertiary Education, Skills, Jobs and Workplace Relations, and we're here to open this impressive new facility, the Curtin Engineering Pavilion. This is a building that the Federal Government contributed $20.5 million to. It's an important new development for the training of engineering students right here at Curtin University.
In Western Australia we know the economy is running strong, this gives us an historic opportunity to get young people opportunity in life, get them a job, a high paid, high skilled job for the future. The industry players that are here today and who have supported this building, big businesses like Rio and Woodside are crying out for skilled engineers, they want to give young people an opportunity, they want to give young engineers a start, and here at Curtin University, through this new facility, Curtin University will be able to better train and better skill its young engineers. I've met today some students who have talked about the benefits of studying in a facility like this one, which enables them to work together in teams, to collaborate, to do the kinds of things that they will do as engineers in business, working together with other young engineers. It's a real privilege to be here today and this building is really an example of our economic plan for the nation as a whole. I want this country to have a future where young people can aspire to a high skill, high wage job. To do that I want to lift skill levels, I want to lift participation in the workforce - that's part of ensuring that Australians get to participate through the benefits and dignity of work in our strong economy. I congratulate Curtin University for this new facility and it's been a real pleasure to be here. And if I could just recap briefly on the events of yesterday, I would also like to say to the people of Fremantle, it was a great opportunity to have a discussion with them last night at community cabinet, we were able to take questions and have discussions on a broad range of issues, the Government wants to listen to the concerns of local community members, Community Cabinet gives us a wonderful opportunity to do that, so thank you very much to the people of Fremantle, thank you very much to South Fremantle Senior High School for making us feel so welcome yesterday. I'm happy to take questions. JOURNALIST: Prime Minister what do you make of Tony Abbott's welfare reforms? PM: Well I've seen reports this morning of Mr Abbott's so-called plans and let me just say this about Mr Abbott's plans: these are recycled plans, in fact twice reheated. The first time Tony Abbott announced these plans he said he was going to fund it by putting up the excise on alcohol and cigarettes and by increasing the age at which you could get the pension. The second time he announced it was during the election campaign and it had a $1 billion black hole associated with it. This is the third time he's announced it and this time he hasn't even bothered to try to talk about the money, where the money would come from. Now I think I can explain to Australians why Mr Abbott has brought out a twice reheated policy today and that's because the Liberal Party focus groups would be telling him that people are worried that he's negative all the time. So this is all about the politics, all about the focus groups, all about clutching for an old policy that isn't properly costed, isn't properly funded, and trying to pretend to the Australian people it's a new idea. JOURNALIST: So Prime Minister should non-permanent disability pensioners be sent back to work, as he suggests? PM: What I will do is what I've done from the first day that I was Prime Minister. On the first day I was Prime Minister I said to Australians I believed in the benefits and dignity of work, I believe that people should get work opportunities, I want to see Australians who can work in the workforce, that's why as a Government we're investing in skills, that's why as a Government we've worked to create a strong economy with 700,000 new jobs and that's why as a Government we are very proud we've achieved in recent months record participation rates in our labour force. I have already spoken to the Australian people about my intentions to build on our investments in skills and build on our achievements in participation by creating new participation measures in the May budget and beyond. So the Government is there delivering practical changes, working in a responsible way with costed policies to make a difference to Australians. So I'll leave to Mr Abbott the twice reheated policies that don't add up, we'll get on with the job that we've been doing which is delivering the policies and plans that make a difference to participation rates, to the ability of Australians to get a job, and to the ability of Australians to get a great education. JOURNALIST: But should people be forced to work where there is employment, where there are jobs to be had? PM: Look my view is people who can work should work, and that's why we have been reforming welfare, including through income management. That's why we've been reforming the rules about benefits when people are unemployed, making sure that people do turn up, do participate, do seize the opportunities to get a job. That's why I've been talking to the Australian community for many months now about doing more. But let's be really clear about what Mr Abbott's done today, he's obviously feeling some political heat because he's been so consistently negative every day, just getting out there and criticising what the Government's doing with no positive policies or plans. Instead of coming up with any new positive policies or plans, he's gone back to a plan he's run out twice before, here's the report from February 2010 when he ran out this policy for the first time, that's when he wanted to fund it by putting up the age at which you could get the pension. The he ran it out again during the election campaign: a billion dollar black hole. He's run it out again today and he hasn't even bothered to explain where the money would come from. JOURNALIST: Speaking of negative Prime Minister, the Opposition says the GST review could be done sooner, what's your response to that? PM: That's very interesting from a political party that was in Government for 12 years and never mounted a thorough review of GST distribution the way that I announced yesterday. So once again the Opposition are criticising, but no record of positive action. Here in Western Australia, clearly people in the community have been concerned about the way in which the GST is distributed and whether this state is getting its fair share. The review I announced yesterday is a review that will look at how we distribute the GST, I want to be fair to all Australians, I want states to experience the benefits of success and successfully reforming how they deliver services, I want state budgets to be more predictable, I want the whole system to be more transparent. That's why we've got the review team; it's a good quality review team, as Premier Barnett in this state has said himself. JOURNALIST: (inaudible) 14 months ago, of the formula, the Grants Commission? PM: This is a thorough going review led by a panel with a great deal of experience and expertise, raising all of the questions that need to be looked at for the GST formula for the future. What I want to see is a system, simpler, more transparent, rewards reform, has predictabilities, so States and Territories know what is going to be in their budget and deals appropriately with strong economic growth in parts of the country and clearly we see strong economic growth here in Western Australia.
JOURNALIST: On the Northam Detention Centre are there any problems with the site or any things that are going to delay the actual building of that that, or is it all on track? PM: There have been some issues with the construction, hitting of very hard rock, as I understand it, which will occasion a slight delay in the construction, one of those practical problems that you strike when you build. We will continue to work with the Northam community, with the local community and liaise with them. We're working strongly with the community; the detention centre will be constructed, as there's just been a practical difficulty in that construction. JOURNALIST: Do you have a date for when you think it will be completed? PM: As I understand it there will be a slight delay because of this practical difficulty in construction. JOURNALIST: And at Northam will there be set staffing levels or will Serco be able to set its own staffing levels, given the understaffing at Christmas Island? PM: Our contract arrangements with Serco require them to properly staff and manage detention facilities and of course we'll have contract arrangements that are appropriate to achieving that at Northam. JOURNALIST: Given the outcome in Bali, is the East Timor solution dead? PM: On the outcome from Bali, I very much welcome the statement that came from yesterday's Bali meeting. We went to that meeting urging that the meeting agree to regional cooperation to deal with the global and regional problem of people movement and people smuggling. And in the statement from the meeting there is agreement to a regional cooperation framework, I welcome that. I also welcome the fact that that framework will have specific reference to processing centres in the region, so the statements that have emerged from yesterday's meeting are a step forward. Australia did, at that meeting, want to see regional agreement and we've got that regional agreement, so I welcome that step forward. As I said yesterday, the question of the East Timor Processing Centre is something that Australia continues to pursue with East Timor at the highest levels. JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, are you comfortable that your government did everything it could in the lead up to the last election to accommodate the increase in arrival of boat people? PM: We've announced step but step as a Government our policies and plans for dealing with detention and where detention facilities are to be located. So we've taken an appropriate approach at every stage, we've been transparent with the community about pressures and consequently the need for new facilities. The Minister for Immigration, Chris Bowen, has made a series of statements to explain to the Australian community where we plan to put detention facilities and then we're working intensively with local community members. JOURNALIST: At Curtain are there plans to double the site? PM: No there are not, there are no plans. We've already made very clear and I refer you to every statement from the Minister for Immigration, made very clear our policies and plans in relation to Curtin. JOURNALIST: Could it be interpreted the GST review a method of sweet talking WA into agreeing with the Mining Resources Tax? PM: No, absolutely not. The Minerals Resource Rent Tax, I understand it's controversial here in Western Australia. I've had community members raise it with me every time I've visited here since I worked on the Minerals Resource Rent Tax with some of the biggest mining companies in this nation and got their agreement to the Minerals Resource Rent Tax.
So I understand it's been controversial here. We are pursuing the Minerals Resource Rent Tax because it means more for Western Australia, means more infrastructure, more support for businesses, particularly small businesses, it means more support for people's retirement incomes. We will continue to purse delivering the Minerals Resource Rent Tax. The most recent step in that was the Policy Transition Group Report, a group led by a famous mining identity Don Argus and every recommendation was accepted by Government. The GST review I've announced, because I am concerned that to have our federation as we want it for the future, we've got to have fair arrangements about the distribution of the GST and that's what we are aiming for through the GST review.
JOURNALIST: (inaudible) the inquiry into Qantas among others, are you concerned about Qantas safety record? PM: Qantas is a very safe airline and any look at the statistics of airlines around the world will verify that. JOURNALIST: Michael Danby has accused China of detaining an Australian writer, do you agree with your backbencher and what's Australia doing about this situation? PM: There has been concern about the circumstances of an individual, Dr Yang. As I am now advised he is in hospital, he's in contact with his family, we are pleased that we now know where he is and we will pursue consular access and assistance to him, making sure that our officials in China support him. JOURNALIST: Wayne Swan said last night that you now have (inaudible) balance between mining tax and royalty system. He didn't seem though to have a view as to what are you going to do if Premier Barnett includes royalties in (inaudible). What is your answer, what can you do if Premier Barnett is (inaudible)? PM: The Federal Government and State Governments work every day on financial arrangements and relationships between the two of them. If we need to cross that bridge then we will and we'll work with Premier Barnett on doing it. JOURNALIST: The WA Government announced yesterday that value of the resources industry has skyrocketed in the last two years, is the WA Government being a bit silly in their opposition to the MRRT given that? PM: I've got my view about the Minerals Resource Rent Tax, Premier Barnett can put his view to the people of Western Australia, but my view is with the resources industry performing so strongly in this state and around the nation, it is the right thing for Australians to be able to share that mineral wealth, to better share it and the way of better sharing it is that that Minerals Resource Rent Tax is used to fund more infrastructure, particularly for states like Western Australia, to support businesses, particularly small businesses and let's remember in Western Australia, though you are home to huge mining companies, 90 per cent of businesses in this state are small businesses. And also to support more than 800,000 Western Australian have a higher retirement income, I think that's appropriate through the Minerals Resource Rent Tax, Premier Barnett is of a different view and I'll allow him to put his view himself. Thank you very much