PM Transcripts

PM: It's really great to be here in Rockhampton with Kirsten Livermore, our federal member for Capricornia, and thank you very much to everybody at Rockhampton State High School for making me feel very welcome today.
I've had the opportunity to declare officially open today two new facilities at Rockhampton State High School; the agricultural and languages centre, the trade training centre in engineering and manufacturing; these are great new facilities to help the students of this school have more support for their education and more choices in their study.
I'd like to pay tribute to Kirsten Livermore for the work she's done with this school to make sure that they could access this funding. We are working to bring the benefits of trade training centres to every high school around the nation. We provided the support for science and languages centres as part of economic stimulus. It was sought for right around the country, and it's a tribute to Kirsten and to the leadership of this school that their application was successful.
Today in Rockhampton before coming to this school, I've had the opportunity with Kirsten Livermore to view the works that are happening - the Yeppin Lagoon bridge and roundabout works - these are works that we are supporting through the proceeds of the Minerals Resource Rent Tax.
Kirsten has been able to explain to me exactly the difference that this project will make for the local community, relieving congestion, improving safety and of course improving flood resilience as well.
Here today in Rockhampton, I can announce that applications are now opening for the next stream of funding through the Minerals Resource Rent Tax. Through the Minerals Resource Rent Tax, we are providing around the nation to mining regions and communities $6 billion worth of funds for vitally needed infrastructure works.
This community benefited in the first round, now the second round - $4.5 billion - is becoming available. And from today the guidelines as to how those funds will be dealt with will be available to local communities.
Communities will be able to see the guidelines that they will need to acquit in order to benefit from this funding. I can also say that central Queensland will benefit from $1.5 million of planning investment so that the local communities right across central Queensland can work together and work with local industry to ensure that their planning is right and that they can make the best possible applications into this pool of funds.
In this time of change in our economy, we are seeing an incredible resources boom, and here in this region of Queensland people feel that boom every day. That boom is bringing great prosperity. But at the same time the growth the boom brings, brings stresses and strains as well. It puts a lot of pressure on local infrastructure, which is why we've always believed it was the right thing to do to tax additionally through the Minerals Resource Rent Tax the companies that are making the biggest profits during this resources boom, and to use that money to support new infrastructure works in mining communities that are seeing that growth.
We are seeing the benefits here in Rockhampton already, and I'm looking forward to seeing more benefits in Central Queensland.
I'm happy to take questions.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, Tony Abbott was in Gladstone last week and labelled central Queensland ground zero for the carbon tax. What do you think about that?
PM: Well, we're standing here in Rockhampton, Gladstone's still thriving, and so the list across central Queensland goes on. Look this is part of a continuation of Mr Abbott's fear campaign on carbon pricing. Mr Abbott said Gladstone would be wiped off the map, he identified it like Whyalla as one of those places that would cease to exist on 1 July. Well already Mr Abbott's been proved wrong.
JOURNALIST: Just some questions from Canberra, Prime Minister. On the G20 Summit, did the Federal Government specifically ask Queensland to make greater contributions to security costs and other costs?
PM: We've had officials from the Federal Government talking to Queensland officials about how to work together to support this event. We're using exactly the same approach we took to working with the Government of Western Australia on the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting, the same approach that was taken by Prime Minister Howard's government working with the state government in New South Wales to support APEC; we are providing $370 million to support the G20, and we'll work with Queensland on making police resources available to support the event.
JOURNALIST: Are you disappointed, like other members in government, that Campbell Newman hasn't made a financial contribution commitment?
PM: Look, there are guidelines and understandings about how these big events are supported, and we're working on the same guidelines and understandings as we've had with other events.
JOURNALIST: Another national one. This morning's Newspoll there in Victoria showed Victoria (inaudible). What's your reaction there, do you think your lack of popularity in Victoria is affecting the party?
PM: There was no - there was a story in the Australian today but there was no Newspoll today, I'm afraid. So the question's not right. Look, there's a state by-election going on in Victoria and it's a state government by-election and of course the voters of Melbourne understand that they're voting for a seat in the state parliament.
JOURNALIST: Are you confident Prime Minister, it's a seat that the Labor Party's traditionally held. Are you confident that you'll retain it this time?
PM: This is a question for the Victorian ALP, it's a state government seat.
JOURNALIST: Here also in Rockhampton today you are at a school. What would you say to idealistic young people who wanted to get involved in politics but would lean towards the Greens Party? Why should they vote for the Labor Party?
PM: Of course whether I was talking to a young person, a middle-aged person or an old person, I would say particularly standing in Queensland, the birthplace of the ALP, that if you believe, as I do, that working people and people from poorer backgrounds deserve a fair share in our nation, if you believe as I do in taking all of the steps necessary to shape a fairer future and a stronger future for our nation, then you believe in the cause of Labor. That's been our historic mission and it will always guide us into the future.
JOURNALIST: Do you see that as enough of a differentiation, say between the Greens?
PM: I'd refer you to my Whitlam Institute speech from last year where I canvassed these matters in a great deal of detail.
JOURNALIST: Many of your colleagues have been quite vocal this week on this issue-
PM: And I would refer you to a speech the best part of twelve months old which deals with these questions.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, petrol prices in regional Queensland are a big issue. We're seeing them lower in metropolitan areas. What are you and the petrol commissioner doing to try and make petrol prices more affordable for regional Queenslanders?
PM: Well it is the petrol commissioner that can crack down on any anti-competitive pricing practices in petrol. People do frequently question some of the weekly cycles, they see in petrol pricing and they do wonder whether is some work between petrol companies of what they are going to price petrol at. Of course all of that is anti-competitive conduct, and we do have the petrol price commissioner and the staff at the Competition and Consumer Commission generally to deal with any anti-competitive practices.
JOURNALIST: Are you satisfied the petrol commissioner is doing enough to reduce prices in regional Queensland?
PM: Look, I'm satisfied that the ACCC and as a result the work on petrol is adequately resourced for the task.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, you were talking about the defence culture issues of commercial radio this morning. Do you believe that a rotten culture has sprung up in certain parts of the Defence Force?
PM: No, and that wasn't the implications from my words. We've received a major report which contains some very, very distressing material, some very serious allegations from people who have borne the scars across their lifetime of what they say they were subjected to. So given how serious that material is, the Government, through the Minister for Defence, is now considering what's the best way of responding and the best way of going forward.
I was, you know, asked on radio today about people in the Defence Force or who had been in the Defence Force who were ringing in, and were saying ‘Look, I was in the Defence Force all of my life, I served my nation and I never saw anything like that happen.' And of course there would be many, many, many thousands of Australians who are either in the Defence Force now or have been in the Defence Force who are able to say that. That they've done the most remarkable job for their nation and they've never seen any of these unacceptable practices.
But that doesn't mean that there aren't any problems. The report speaks to problems and instances that have happened over a long period of time, some of the individuals coming forward are talking about things that happened a number of decades ago, but every individual needs to be treated seriously and respectfully and that's what we're working through now.
JOURNALIST: Are you worried that the law firm that's investigating the issues has encountered some resistance from certain sections of the Defence Force?
PM: Look, I'll leave these matters for the Minister for Defence to deal with. He's released the report, he's indicated on behalf of the Government that we are considering very deeply what is the appropriate path to go down now, given the nature of this material, some of which is truly shocking, and most of which will distress people on reading it.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, just on Don Argus again, we spoke briefly about it this morning when he criticised the lack of leadership in the country. What you said there was that you had to make some controversial decisions that would move forward, that would keep the country moving forward. He says, he's actually criticising these directly, saying they're not actually productive, they're actually hindering the country. Can you respond any more directly to what he said?
PM: I don't accept an analysis that says the big decisions that we've made for this nation's future aren't necessary to shape that future. We've taken a controversial decision about putting a price on carbon. We need to do that to shape a cleaner energy economy for the future, to make sure that we can realise all of the opportunities of a clean energy future, and our nation doesn't get left behind.
We've taken a big decision - one that is controversial in some parts too about rolling out the National Broadband Network. But I'm not prepared as Prime Minister to see our nation left behind with yesterday's technology while other nations in our region have the benefits of the technology of the future. And, I'm not prepared as Prime Minister either, to see our kids left behind. Which is why we've been engaged in such a comprehensive reform agenda in education, so that today's kids have the skills they need to seize tomorrow's opportunities.
Now these are all big decisions for our nation's future, many of them have been hotly contested, but they are the right decisions to ensure that our nation's children and grandchildren get to live in a stronger and fairer country.
JOURNALIST: Was it a mistake to enter a formal government agreement with the Greens? Plenty of Labor figures have been criticising the Greens this week, calling them loopy extremists. Was it a mistake?
PM: Well I've dealt with that question and I dealt with all of this controversy quite a long time ago in my Whitlam Institute speech, so I'd refer you to that.
Thank you very much.