Perth
PM: I'm delighted to be here with Minister Stephen Smith and with Senator Glenn Sterle for what is a very important occasion, and that is the opening of the Great Eastern Highway upgrade.
I was just talking to Glenn and local community members about this upgrade. People have been talking about it for more than 20 years, and I'm very proud to be here today to say we have got it done.
And what it means for the people who travel this road is a quicker commute and, most importantly, a safer commute.
Instead of being locked in traffic, people can drive freely on this very important stretch of highway for Perth, getting to the airport, making a difference for travel times, making a difference for commuters, and making a difference for the movement of freight.
As a Federal Government, we are investing in Western Australia's future by investing in the infrastructure Western Australia needs.
We've invested in this Great Eastern Highway upgrade, providing $220 million joined by a contribution from the State Government, but overwhelmingly delivered with Federal Government funds.
And then we are delivering too on the $1 billion Gateway project for Perth airport where we, once again, are delivering the bulk of the funding - $680 million.
And the infrastructure investments don't stop there; we are also working in Northbridge with us investing $230 million and the State Government investing $100 million.
All up, there has never been more Federal Government money invested in the infrastructure of Western Australia than there is today.
That's not only true just in dollar terms; it's true per head of population.
We are investing so that our share per head of population of infrastructure funds has nearly doubled - from $154 per head before the Government was elected, to $261 per head now.
Now at a time of rapid growth in the population of Western Australia, we haven't kept up with population growth, we've done even better than that.
We haven't kept up the per-capita share, instead we've nearly doubled it.
This is a big commitment to the people of Western Australia, to this growing economy, to make sure that there is the infrastructure this economy needs.
I'm very proud to be here today and to get the opportunity to cut the ribbon. And I'm very happy now to take some questions.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, Joel Fitzgibbon says that families living on $250,000 a year are on struggle street, what do you think about that?
PM: I think the point that is being made is that working people need their superannuation and, yes, they do.
Which is why as a Federal Government we're increasing superannuation contributions from 9 to 12 per cent for working people; a very important commitment from this Federal Government
And I think there is now some ambiguity about whether or not that is matched on the other side of politics.
I want working people to retire with decent incomes.
I want them to retire with more super, and I am very prepared to fight the plans on the other side of politics to cut back superannuation for more than three million Australians; low-income Australians.
JOURNALIST: At what point would you consider someone's - what would you put a dollar value on someone's income as being a good income?
PM: I don't think you can just nominate one figure. Families are in all different sorts of circumstances, facing different sorts of cost-of-living pressures. We understand that.
That's why we've moved to help modern families with all of the things that put stresses and strains on their shoulders as they get about daily life.
We've introduced paid parental leave - people didn't used to have it before - some Government support so mum and dad can spend time with their new baby.
We've put more money into helping with child care costs than ever before - meeting 50 per cent of people's out-of-pocket costs.
There is the School Kids Bonus to help people get through with the costs of getting the kids to school.
More family payments for people who are raising teenagers, and of course we've reduced tax too, because we understand people want to keep a bit more out of their pay packet and give less to the Government.
They're our contributions to helping people make ends meet.
JOURNALIST: In the Financial Review today there's a poll conducted by a company with Peter Costello as its chair. It says you'll be wiped out here in WA; you'll lose all your marginal seats. Is there a message there you take out of that?
PM: Polls come and go and in fact they come and go very quickly. Less than 48 hours ago we had another poll, so polls literally happening every second day and as you know, I don't comment on them.
JOURNALIST: What about polls conducted by a company with Peter Costello as its chair saying Labor is going to be whipped out. Does that have much credibility?
PM: Well I think that's really a question you would need to direct to Peter Costello.
JOURNALIST: What would it mean for Labor if you lost all three of the remaining sitting lower house members in WA?
PM: Well, we don't comment on opinion polls. What we get out and do is govern the country in the interests of the people of Western Australia and Australians around the nation.
Nothing more important to people in Western Australia than working to keep the economy strong, keeping jobs and prosperity in this state, and getting ready for the jobs and prosperity of the future.
Infrastructure is important to that, traditional infrastructure like the road we're here to open today, as well as the infrastructure of the future like the National Broadband Network.
And nothing more important than the skills and capacities of the people of this great state, which is why I've been so pleased to spend so much time in schools while I've been here; the next generation and our future.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, you say there is a lot of ambiguity around Tony Abbott's plans for super, but you're yet to clarify and I guess fully explain what you plan to do. Do you think that uncertainty is damaging the super system?
PM: I can tell you with a lot of certainty what we will do. We will increase superannuation from 9 to 12 per cent for working Australians to give them a decent retirement income.
We will make sure that more than three million low-income Australians benefit from the superannuation co-contribution.
The only plan on the table at the moment to cut superannuation for Australians is the plan of the Leader of the Opposition to take away a benefit of $500 for more than three million workers. That's one in three workers facing a superannuation cut.
JOURNALIST: Around here miners are earning $150,000 to $160,000 a year. Do you consider that they are well paid?
PM: I consider they work hard for their money. It is a difficult job.
JOURNALIST: Wealthy? Do you consider them wealthy?
PM: They're had hard-working Australians doing a difficult job often in very harsh circumstances, that is in extreme heat, and away from their families.
It is a great tribute to them that they go out and get it done. They are building the wealth of the nation.
JOURNALIST: But over-paid, under-paid?
PM: Hard-working Australians doing a great job.
JOURNALIST: Joel Fitzgibbon is just one back bencher, and there are other cross benchers who have expressed concern at any move to tax superannuation. Are you're reforms dead in the water before you've even confirmed what they are?
PM: What you can always do is trust Labor with superannuation. It wouldn't be in this country if we hadn't brought it here.
Working people would be retiring on the pension at best.
Instead, we've created a scheme which gives working Australians the opportunity to look forward to a decent retirement income and that will always be safe in Labor's hands.
JOURNALIST: There are some of your own Labor MPs who aren't trusting the direction they think the Government is taking?
PM: Well, superannuation; always safe with Labor.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, last night you alleged that state governments were prepared to cut their own funding towards schools as part of the Gonski review. Was that criticism directed to WA at all?
PM: That criticism is more directed to some other states, to be frank.
That criticism particularly directed to my own state of Victoria; we've seen some dreadful cutbacks to education, including the education maintenance allowance which is money that flows to the poorest families to help them get their kids through school.
We've seen cuts to school; we've seen cuts to technical and further education. I mean, what an amazing approach we've seen from conservative states, from Liberal governments, denying kids an opportunity and a chance to get something like an apprenticeship.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, there's been some negative rumblings from Colin Barnett with regards to the Gonski reforms. What sort of [inaudible]?
PM: Well, it's a plan for better education for Australian kids, and I would hope that our nation can swing behind that.
We've got to be very clear about how important this is to the life of every child and to our nation's future.
As a nation we owe every child a decent education.
As a nation, we can't have a strong and prosperous future unless our kids are getting a world-leading education.
If other nations get in front of us - better skills, better jobs, more prosperity - then that will be to our cost. We will have the strongest future if we are having kids in school getting the best results possible.
That's why I've set a goal for the nation of having our schools in the top five schooling systems in the world by 2025.
JOURNALIST: Do you expect you're going to be able to persuade the Premier-
PM: Well, comes down to a judgment call; how much do you value the education of every child?
JOURNALIST: [Inaudible] considering your tone last night when you were talking about the Premier do you hope to patch up your relationship [inaudible]?
PM: I've got a very good relationship with Premier Barnett.
JOURNALIST: Why have you chosen not to meet with him?
PM: I see Premier Barnett frequently. Just on this trip there wasn't the opportunity. I'll see him in a few short weeks' time at COAG.
Okay, thank you very much.