PM: Thank you very much. The Council of Australian Governments meeting has just concluded.
I know in the run up to this meeting there was a fair degree of scepticism about whether or not COAG could still get things done. Well I think we've proved today that we can still get things done and I want to thank my colleagues, the Premiers and Chief Ministers, for the cooperative spirit that they brought to the COAG table today.
Today you will witness us sign a new National Agreement for reform of skills. Now this mightn't have been the subject of much squabbling in the media, but the lack of squabbling shouldn't disguise from people the true significance of this reform to our nation's future.
If we want a strong economy in the future then we have to have a higher skilled workforce. If individuals want the best out of life, the best salaries, the best job security, then they will need higher and higher levels of skill in today's economy, and certainly in tomorrow's economy.
The agreement we are signing will reform our skills system, so that over the next five years we will see 375,000 additional training places, we will move to a system based on entitlement, so that an adult Australian who lacks a Certificate III qualification can get a training place to get one and that is the first qualification that makes a real difference to people's employability and their earnings.
This new system will deliver too the benefit of income contingent loans for upper level VET qualifications. That means that people who are getting higher level vocational skills will get the same deal that university students do. Instead of having to pay upfront, at a time when they mightn't be earning much, they will be able to pay later, when they are earning more as a result of their qualification.
So I am very pleased that we are able to say today that this agreement is being signed by all States, all Territories and the Federal Government. It's a major reform.
I'd also like to thank the Premiers and Chief Ministers for working together with the Commonwealth and with business leaders on strengthening our economy though lessening red tape.
As a nation we need to focus on productivity, on getting more productive and consequently becoming wealthier in the future. Red tape can strangle that productivity.
We listened to business leaders yesterday and today we have responded with decisions to take forward the key priorities of business leaders.
I'd particularly like to thank Premiers and Chief Ministers for working with me to ensure that we can get to a new system, which will still give us the best possible environmental protection, but cut out the double handling and time delays that can prevent important projects getting off the ground.
Today too we've talked about the National Disability Insurance Scheme. We've had a good discussion about the next steps in what is a truly nation changing reform. We've all acknowledged our commitment to it, we've also acknowledged that this is a big reform and a big change and we need to work on it together.
We will be working on it together in coming months, including addressing things that could deliver real benefits even as the National Disability Insurance Scheme is built.
I'd also like to draw people's attention to the fact that today we have signed an agreement on mental health, which will support Australians with mental illnesses and make available to them new packages of care.
This flows from decisions taken by the Federal Government during the budget last year and I think captures the spirit across all States and Territories that we are seeking to do better for Australians who battle with mental illness.
I'll hand over now to Premier Weatherill, in his capacity as the head of CAF, leading the States and Territories. We'll then execute the Agreement and then we'll be happy to take questions.
PREMIER WEATHERILL: Thank you Prime Minister and if I could begin by thanking the Prime Minister and my Territory and State colleagues for the constructive way in which they've dealt with the Council of Australian Governments agenda.
I want to just mention two of the initiatives that we've dealt with today, the first skills and the second, the decisions that flowed from the Business Advisory Forum.
In relation to the skills agenda, we know that we have an economy in transition in this country. We know that for many Australians participating in the benefits of this economy is a challenge and this is an important issue for the strength of our economy, but it's also an important issue to ensure that we share the benefits of the prosperity that many parts of our country enjoy.
So linking up people with the jobs that exist is a real challenge. Of course we have courses, we've had courses in the past that have these training exercises, but what we are now doing is providing the means to connect those people with the skills that are necessary, making it easier for them to get into these courses, by expanding the number of courses that are available, making it easier for them to get in by getting rid of upfront fees, making it easier for them to stay in the courses when they might have difficulty in actually being successful in those courses.
So it's about ensuring that many more Australians get to share in the prosperity that we know exists in our country. This is very important for South Australia, we are on the verge of a mining boom, it's already begun, and there are anxieties that some of our citizens won't get to share in the mining boom.
This is the means by which more South Australians get to share in the benefits of the mining boom.
The second set of initiatives really goes to our response to the Business Advisory Forum and I want to just select one of those for discussion, and that's the decisions that we made about getting rid of the double handling and the duplication in relation to environmental assessments.
Both tiers of government, State Governments, Territory Governments, Commonwealth Governments, have environmental assessments, but for some of our projects both of those assessments take place and they take place one after the other, adding to a lot of time and cost and complexity, which is the enemy of investment.
From South Australia's perspective, just to give you two examples of what this means, on the Sturt Highway duplication, an important project for South Australia, because we had to have sequential State and then Commonwealth assessments, it added nine months to the project and many millions of dollars of expense to the project.
Now that's something that was unnecessary, because approvals were actually gained in both systems, there's absolutely no reason why those assessments couldn't be carried out by the State Government on referral from the Commonwealth. We're going to explore ways in which we can do that.
Another example was when we were attempting to take measures to protect our lower lakes in the most recent drought. We had this awful spectre of acidification of our lower lakes, which meant that we had to take urgent works.
We went through all of the State assessments and then we found we had to go through Commonwealth assessments and yet we were very urgently needing to take those works and it was a real race against time.
It was completely unnecessary for there to be two separate systems of assessment. This isn't about watering down the quality or the rigour of these environmental assessments, in both of those cases both State and Commonwealth environmental approvals were given, it's just they could have been done as part of the one process.
We're now going to explore the way in which we can achieve that and we're very confident we will get that result and there are timelines set down in the Agreement.
I think they're two very substantial achievements that without diminishing all the other work that's gone on in the COAG process.
PM: Thank you very much. So I will sign the Skills Agreement, the new Skills and Training Agreement and then pass it to Barry.
Get the signing happening that way and whilst that's happening, because Premiers and Chief Ministers can do well more than one thing at a time, we'll start taking questions.
Yes, Matthew.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, I just wanted to ask, your skills package is detailed and you've rolled it out yourself over a series of announcements over about a year, I think.
Can you confirm that all aspects as you have envisaged them have been accepted by the States, there's been no tinkering, or if there has can you explain what that is, particularly with regard to the financial arrangements?
PM: The total amount of money that we were prepared to devote to this National Partnership Agreement remains the same. The key reform elements that we sought are the same too, the entitlements system, the additional places and the income contingent loans.
I think we've been able to work on this in a spirit of cooperation because across our great nation everybody understand we need a difference training system for the future and everybody understands we need more places, more agility and higher level qualifications.
So many jurisdictions have been reforming their own systems, or aspiring to reform their own systems in this direction and that's why we've been able to partner on it.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, the Communiqué talks about a progress report on the NDIS. What progress has been made on the NDIS?
PM: Well the progress report will be released to you; it is work that has been undertaken particularly by Ministers for Disability Reform and Disability Services. It does pose very directly a set of questions that we will need to work through and answer to build a National Disability Insurance Scheme.
As leaders we've had a good discussion about the NDIS, we had most of that discussion in fact last night and we, I think, are understanding about how important this reform is, but also how complex it is, how we want to be realistic with people about the time taken to build the new system, but we also want to get on and work on some of those things that might be able to be done quickly and can make a difference for people now.
JOURNALIST: (inaudible) comment from State Premiers on the NDIS?
PM: Pick a Premier, who would you like?
JOURNALIST: Mr Baillieu.
PREMIER BAILLIEU: Well we've been very supportive of the NDIS. We are pleased that progress continues. There are obviously a lot of issues associated with this, there are some principles that have been agreed, there's some more work to be done and this is not something that's going to be done overnight, it's going to be step by step over a considerable period, but I think there's a much greater understanding of what's now required and indeed I think more confidence that we all understand how we have to contribute in the longer run.
JOURNALIST: The Communiqué on the NDIS acknowledges that the Commonwealth share and level of funding will need to increase, is it fair to say that also given the overall funding that's required, the States' level of funding will also need to increase?
PM: Well we are going to work together on funding arrangements and we're not going to prejudge now how all of that will work, but the Communiqué makes, what I think is an obvious and common sense point, that at the moment the money burden of providing services for people with disabilities largely rests on the shoulders of the States.
We as a Commonwealth Government, we have increased the amount of money we're making available for disability services, but to build a National Disability Insurance Scheme we will need to step up to a bigger share of funding.
Now the details of that are all things that need to be worked through as we work through the details of a very profound, but also very complicated, piece of public policy reform.
Yes, Karen.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, you sound like you have in principle agreement on disability insurance and the Opposition Leader has today proposed a joint taskforce. Can you tell us what your response is to that suggestion and how that would fit in with this process?
PM: Well, we're here getting it done.
JOURNALIST: What's your response to the suggestion, is it a reasonable suggestion?
PM: This is work that has to be done by the Federal Government, with State Governments, with Territory Governments, working together to get it done.
We're here today getting it done.
Latika. You didn't indicate, sorry. Yes.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, you've put a lot of effort into occupational health and safety, by the look of the Communiqué I think you've got six of nine jurisdictions.
Are you disappointed that you can't get all of it done? And also I'd be interested in the views of State Premiers on that as well.
PM: Well, we have worked hard on occupational health and safety reform and I continue to believe that completing the current harmonisation is in the interests of the Australian nation and in the interests of Australian businesses.
Jurisdictions, some of them have taken a different view from that. You will see in the Communiqué that there will be further work looking at occupational health and safety laws, but I would hope over time we can find our way through here to end up with a truly national system.
Yes, Andrew.
JOURNALIST: The first steps for the NDIS will be the introduction of no-fault motor vehicle insurance.
Now it would involve WA, South Australia and Queensland changing its rego rules. What's your message to them; given that the views of Premiers Barnett and Newman is that they don't want to increase the cost living and it would involve some increase in the cost of the rego?
PM: Look, I think in the question you're making a series of assumptions about how the system might be built and how jurisdictions in particular might want to build towards it.
We are not underestimating - none of us are underestimating the amount of work that needs to be done, how challenging this is, the need to look in a very hard-headed way at all of the details, including how it would be funded, but also the need too, to keep your values and principles and perhaps your soft heart there too, knowing as we do today that there are too many Australians with disabilities who don't get to live as fuller life as they could, because we haven't as a nation found a way to provide them with all of the services and supports they need.
So I think that's what's driving us. It's not in anybody's interest sitting here to pretend that they've got the crystal ball that can prejudge all of the operational details of this scheme. No one has that crystal ball. We've got a lot of hard work in front of us.
Phil.
JOURNALIST: A question of Premiers O'Farrell and Newman, a bit of a double banger.
Are both of you gentlemen still of the view you were yesterday on the EPBC that environmental assessments should be at the discretion of the States?
And if I could just sneak in a domestic question, Premier O'Farrell, Kathy Jackson from the HSU has today requested a meeting with you to discuss solutions to cleaning up that union, including possibility bringing in administrators to force fresh elections. Could I have your views on that as well please sir?
PREMIER O'FARRELL: Well on the EPBC, can I say it's our view, as reflected in the Communiqué that there should only be a single approval process, we should seek to remove duplication. We recognise the Federal Government has responsibilities, but ultimately what we were told yesterday, what we know as State Governments is that having a dual approval process slows things down, adds to cost and fails to deliver, in many cases, the necessary infrastructure.
In relation to the HSU, I'm happy to pursue what options are available in New South Wales to give the members of that union in New South Wales, if possible, the relief they're seeking, which is a chance to actually have an election. That's the sort of relief that others around the nation would like as well.
PREMIER NEWMAN: Look, from our perspective what you read in the Communiqué at the end of the second page, is progress and I'm very happy with that.
It's not everything that we'd ultimately like to see, but I think I've been very happy that the Prime Minister's been prepared to listen to the issue, to listen to business as well, not just the First Ministers who are up here, and if we can streamline this so we only have one approval process ultimately, I think that'll be a great outcome.
Now Queensland's more than happy to have the Commonwealth audit our approval processes, to make sure that we're doing it the right way, but ultimately we would hope that even on these world heritage issues, that we could be the ones that are doing that assessment process.
Now that's further down the track, but at least we've come a fair distance in the last 24 hours, so I'm happy about that.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minster, the Communiqué says that the GST distribution review will be released prior to the budget. Maybe, can I ask you why you've nominated the budget and not before that and can I ask the First Ministers and maybe I'll direct this to Mr Barnett first, what they think of that, have they now got all the information from that review that they seek, or are they still waiting for more?
PM: Look, I'll go to Premier Barnett first.
PREMIER BARNETT: Look, I actually asked the Prime Minister if that would be released and I appreciate the fact that that will now happen.
My view is that the Commonwealth State financial relations at present are dysfunctional and obviously I have a West Australian perspective.
I can give you one example, with due respect to Paul down the other end of the table, Western Australia has 2.4 million people, the Northern Territory, I think, has 280,000, we both receive $2.9 billion in GST - ten to one.
I think a West Australian is at least equal of a Northern Territorian. So there needs to be some fundamental reform, and even a Queenslander's worth four to one, I think.
So, look, if the system's broken hopefully this review will put all the figures out there clearly and I would hope that we get a simple reform of GST.
I'm not asking for an equal share, I'm simply asking for a fair share for Western Australia and if we have a system as it is today, we will hold back the development of a State like Western Australia, which will inevitably hold back the Australian growth, because Australian growth is dominated by export income and investment income and most of that is in Western Australia.
JOURNALIST: Have you now got all the information that you and your Treasurers were seeking?
PREMIER BARNETT: We'll wait for the review of that, I think we know the situation, but obviously having Nick Greiner and John Brumby do that review, it's a step back. So we'll wait for that and I'm very appreciative that it will now be released.
PM: I think you meant a step back, in the sense of stepping back and looking at it, not-
PREMIER BARNETT: -We won't step back on our opinion.
PM: No, no, I didn't expect that.
Louise.
JOURNALIST: Can I just ask the Victorian Premier-
PM: -Sorry, just on that question from Lara, Tasmania.
PREMIER GIDDINGS: I cannot let the West Australian Premier get away with all of that, because Tasmania disagrees that the system is not broken and we are also very pleased that the interim report will be released, that will help inform the entire discussion.
Because what you have with the Grant Commission process is a very complex formula, which takes into account a number of issues to try to ensure that there is fairness and equity in the way that we are able to access funding that helps support hospitals and schools and roads across the nation, in a way that ensures that no matter where you live in this nation, you have a similar access to a similar level of service.
Now for Tasmania we have just seen a further drop in our GST because of that formula.
I'm not complaining, because it was the right thing to do, it took into account significant Commonwealth funding to our State to help fund a new Royal Hobart Hospital.
We will see our relativities to back up when that money is flushed through the system, but it is an absolutely critical issue, which is not as simplistic as Colin Barnett, the Premier from Western Australia, would make you believe it is and we look forward to some vigorous debate around this issue over the coming months.
HENDERSON: I'd also point out Colin, that your probably have ten times the revenue raising capacity than we have in the Northern Territory and we have a whole scale of greater disadvantage, so let the discussions continue.
PM: OK, let's move right along, I think.
Louise.
JOURNALIST: I just want to ask the Victorian Premier, Mr Baillieu, you had objections before the meeting to the move on occupational health and safety regulation. Have you still got those objections and also I think you had objections to the quality regulator in the vocational education system?
PREMIER BAILLIEU: Well let's just deal with the occupational health and safety. I think everybody at this table and everybody at the business forum yesterday wants to see nationally based occupational health and safety laws and they want to see them based on best practice and that's certainly our view.
The Victorian system is widely regarded as best practice, the safest, the most efficient and the lowest premiums and indeed when the decisions were made to move to a national system, the Victorian system was the model which it was hoped other jurisdictions would move to.
So that's the starting point from as far as we're concerned. The Commonwealth did an impact assessment of the new laws that was fuzzy at best about the application to jurisdictions.
We, in turn, have done a very detailed assessment and that assessments suggests very clearly that the costs for Victorian businesses over the first five years will be more than $3 billion.
And as far as we're concerned that is the application of the model laws which now have been applied in some jurisdictions.
So, as far as we're concerned, we're doing to stick up for Victorian businesses, stick up for Victorian jobs and we're not going to sign up to the model laws and we will continue to prosecute the case for the application of the Victorian based laws on other jurisdictions and I'm conscious that other jurisdictions that have implemented the model laws, they are already experiencing some pushback and of course Western Australia have not yet implemented it either and we look forward to working with jurisdictions to introduce best practice, not average practice.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, you mentioned at the start of your address today the lack of - my words - argy bargy in the issue relating to skills.
Just wondering with, we've come here frequently; see the parade of passing people in and out, different political stripes and much is made of how easy it must be if they were all the same stripe.
I just wonder what's your view now that it's quite a split, about the ongoing utility of COAG as a driver of reform in the areas that you're interested in and if you could nominate a few of the go forward issues?
And if I could direct the same question to Premier Barnett, who in a short time has become a veteran here, about your reflection on the same issue, going from being just one conservative Premier to it being quite an even split?
PM: My view about what's achieved at this table, or indeed at any other table that I sit at, including the Cabinet table, is you don't weigh the measure of what's achieved in column inches in the newspapers, you weigh it in what's achieved for the nation and for the lives of individuals within our nation.
So, skills reform mightn't have been front page of the newspapers for days and days and days, but in terms of what will make a difference for how our economy performs in five, ten years time, how people live and the opportunities that they get in five, ten years time, what we've achieved today is profound.
Put yourself in the shoes of that individual who hasn't even got the starting qualification to get themselves a decent job and a decent life - well this is going to make a difference to that.
Put yourselves in the shoes of a business person who can't get the skilled workers that they need, breaks their heart that they need to go the skilled migration route instead of giving a kid, or an adult they know, a chance in their business.
Well this will help change that. So these reforms are the big reforms, whether they're the most talked about reforms is a whole other criteria.
These are big reform for the nation's future. So that's how I weigh the measure of what's achieved.
We've got big things in front of us to do, which are going to be difficult to achieve and in an environment where, for every level of government, revenue is very strictly constrained.
We're all living with the aftermath of the global financial crisis. We're all living with the structural changes in the Australian economy.
It's taken a lot out of our revenue, it's taken a lot out of the revenue of States and Territories, but even as we deal with those challenges, I think we can sit round this table and be clear about our reform ambitions for the nation, including a National Disability Insurance Scheme, including work like less red tape choking Australian businesses, including ultimately further work on schools funding and school reform.
But it requires patience, you don't get these big things done overnight, skills hasn't been done overnight. It's taken a lot of work, a lot of discussion and exchange between jurisdictions, but it shows what you can achieve when people come here with the best interests of the nation driving them, rather than anything else.
Whilst the political composition of COAG is always the subject of much interest in the media agenda, and I understand that - it's to colour of the passing parade of politics, to pick up your terminology.
My experience as Prime Minister has been that it isn't that much about which political party people come from, it's rather about whether or not they're coming to this task with a degree of goodwill and a preparedness to get things done.
So even in an environment where people have been sceptical about whether or not COAG could continue to work, because of the election of Premier Newman in Queensland and consequently a change in the dynamics between representatives of political parties within COAG, this meeting today proves that as leaders we can come together and get things done.
We have.
PREMIER BARNETT: If I can add to that, there will always be machinery issues that need to be dealt with at a meeting like this. The critical comments I make from time to time, is I think COAG should have a serious agenda about issues that affect all of Australia and all of the States.
This time we did, with the National Disability Insurance Scheme and in my view the discussion that we had in private last night played an important role in getting the States and the Commonwealth aligned on how this will go forward.
Had that meeting not happened last night, I think we would be at disparate points of view at this press conference, so that's important.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, before you go can we just hear from you on the retirement of Senator Bob Brown from politics today?
PM: Yes, firstly I'd want to say I think Bob Brown has made a remarkable contribution to Australian politics. Clearly I don't see eye to eye with Senator Brown on a range of issues, but you'd have to say he's lived a life in Australian politics, an interesting life, a life starting with his environmental activism around the Franklin Dam and leading him all the way to the Senate and to leadership of a political party that he created, the Australian Greens.
So it has been an interesting and, I think, remarkable political life. I do with him well in his retirement, he and his partner. I don't know what they have planned for the future, but whatever they do have planned for the future; personally I wish him and his partner the best in that future.
JOURNALIST: Does this change anything with your professional relationship with the Greens, the arrangement you have?
PM: Well, firstly the agreement we have is with the Australian Greens political party.
On the outlook for the Australian Greens now with the new leader Christine Milne, and I do take the opportunity to congratulate her.
I would say to Christine Milne and the political party she now leads, that we would expect them to conduct themselves responsibly and reasonably, working with the Government to achieve big changes for the Australian people, including bringing the budget to surplus and continuing to deliver services to Australian families.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, just briefly can I get your response to events out of North Korea this morning?
PM: Yes, we actually talked very briefly about this in the COAG meeting, because the news was coming through as we were meeting. This missile launch has clearly failed, but despite the fact it's failed, it was a dangerous and provocative act.
We are calling on the UN Security Council to come together quickly to deal with this matter. I had the opportunity when I was in South Korea for the Nuclear Security Summit to make very clear Australia's view of this conduct by North Korea.
It is in breach of UN Security Council resolutions, it is in breach of the agreement that North Korea entered in to with the United States of America in February this year.
This is an isolated regime that can take steps back from that isolation, if it engages in better conduct and conduct that it has agreed to engage in, in February this year, when it entered the arrangement with the US, steps towards further and further isolation are not in the interest of the people of North Korea.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, do you agree with Bill Shorten that Fair Work Australia's delays in investigating the HSU are unacceptable?
PM: Look, I've dealt with these matters before and what I've said is I understand the keen public interest in seeing these matters dealt with and the various reports made accessible to the public.
I do understand the public's interest in that, but the actual timing and mechanics of those releases are for Fair Work Australia.
Thank you very much.