Kingston High School, Tasmania
This transcript contains excerpts from the Community Cabinet meeting held in Kingston, Tasmania on Monday 3 October 2011. A complete transcript of the Public Forum detailing all questions and answers can be found via the Community Cabinet links on the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet http://www.dpmc.gov.au/community_cabinet
Footage of the school, students, community reception and members of the community meeting the Prime Minister.
Narrator: On the 3rd October the Gillard Government held a Community cabinet meeting at Kingston High School where the local Tasmanian community were given an opportunity to speak with the Prime Minister and other Ministers.
Student 1: Julia Gillard is coming to our school and you know, having Cabinet, which is pretty cool.
Student 2: I think it's great because instead of staying in Canberra and saving people going there it gives more people a chance to go and see what they do and we have this great new school. I think it's a great opportunity.
Footage of Kingston High School and one-on-one meetings
Community Member 1: Many (people) wanted to know what the Federal Government is doing for young Africans and looking at what happened recently in Libya and Somalia and even in South Sudan.
Footage of one-on-one meeting participants
Community Member 2: She (the Prime Minister) was kind enough to take up some of our proposals, some of our ideas to have a look at. So that was very encouraging
Community Member 3: We don't often get a chance to see or meet the Prime Minster, we generally can't afford to get to Canberra to go and talk to her, so the fact that she has come down here to talk to us is a good thing. We emphasised how important it is for people with a disability to get access to employment, as there are huge barriers for people with a disability who want to work. She also sent someone after us to get some more information, so hopefully they will.
Footage of the public forum, questions from the community and answers from the Prime Minister and Cabinet
Helen Gourley, Principal: It is with much pleasure that I welcome the Prime Minister, Julia Gillard and members of her Cabinet to our wonderful new school.
Prime Minister: Thank you very much. Thank you, for that warm welcome. Thank you to my colleague Julie, for introducing me. Can I too start by acknowledging the traditional owners of the land on which we meet and in a spirit of reconciliation, pay my respects to elders past and present. Can I thank Helen for having us in her very beautiful, very new school.
Community Member 4: Thank you Prime Minister and Minister Bourke for your efforts to deliver the Inter-Governmental Agreement on Tasmanian forests. Will you work with the Tasmanian Government to make sure that they are aware of the benefits of the agreement? Which there are many.
Prime Minister: We're very happy to work with the State Government, we're very happy to work with the Tasmanian Parliament, we're very happy to work with the Tasmanian Upper House. We will be very focussed on delivering the Inter-Governmental Agreement, including through the Tasmanian Upper House.
Community Member 5: With all these major industries being taxed for all their emissions, why aren't we taxing the 1000's we get from our own cars?
Minister Greg Combet AM MP: The short answer is that a lot of fuel, or all fuels have excise taxation essentially applied to them.
Prime Minister: The level of understanding about climate change and about policies to deal with carbon is incredible amongst young Australians.
Community Member 6: It was the first time I have seen Julia Gillard in person and I was just interested to see what she had to say, particularly about Tasmania and its future.
Community Member 7: By creating the opportunity for individuals to speak directly to government, they can get a greater sense of what's going on in a place.
Footage of the community reception. Ends with musical interlude
Footage concludes (3 minutes)