MCKECHNIE:
Prime Minister, welcome to Stateline.
PRIME MINISTER:
Good to be with you.
MCKECHNIE:
You said that this is a generous package. Why be so generous to sugar growers?
PRIME MINISTER:
Because they are doing it tough. There are many communities, especially in Queensland and in the north of Queensland, that depend almost utterly on the survival of the sugar industry, and there are huge social and human dimensions to this, as well as economic and industry. So this is one of those occasions where you really do have to look at the total impact of industry decline, and you can';t just apply pure economics.
MCKECHNIE:
But isn';t this just about politics?
PRIME MINISTER:
No, it';s not just about politics. Obviously all political parties like to do things that are politically positive rather than politically negative. But more than that, it is about the survival of communities and it';s about being fair to a group of hardworking people who are struggling because of corrupted world markets, not because they are inefficient or lazy.
MCKECHNIE:
But in this election year, surely you';d be doing your best to hang on to these marginal sugar seats up and down the Queensland coast.
PRIME MINISTER:
Everybody tries to win, of course. But I repeat #8211; the case for help is one that stands very strongly on those social and human dimensions. We tried to get a deal, as part of the US Free Trade Agreement. Even if we';d have got some quota, it still wouldn';t have been enough. We tried hard. But because of the corruption of the world market and the fact that the American sugar industry doesn';t want any imports, we weren';t successful. And I made it plain then that I would try and do something to help the industry, and we';ve produced a plan that strikes the right balance between being fair to the taxpayer, but also helping a group of Australians who through no fault of their own are doing it tough.
MCKECHNIE:
But there is still a lot of anger out there. I mean Bob Katter yesterday said that this was like palliative care for a dying man. Do you think you have been able to stop that anger?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well I mean, you have to make up your mind. Are you saying it';s too generous or not generous enough? I mean there is a bit of a conflict between the last two questions you';ve asked. I think it strikes the right balance. Some people you will never satisfy and some people always expect more, no matter how much you give. But we';ve got to be fair to the taxpayer, and this does strike the right balance.
MCKECHNIE:
What sort of future does this package give these small communities such as Proserpine?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well it gives them a lot of hope. It means that everybody has got stability and security for the next year, so they can go ahead with planting, they can organise their lives, they can think ahead. Those that believe they can make a go of it through reorganisation and diversification will be encouraged to do so. There will be some that will come to the conclusion they can';t make it, and they';ll take advantage of the much more generous reestablishment grant which goes from $45,000 to $100,000 in the first year. It gives people that choice. And there is a lot of encouragement for people to go into diversification. And very importantly we';re providing help for the older canegrowers who want to transfer their properties to their children, but have so far been stopped from doing so because of the operation of the pension assets test. MCKECHNIE:
Surely there is a big risk in pouring so much money into this industry when things such as ethanol haven';t yet been proven.
PRIME MINISTER:
Yes but this is a plan which is not just dependent upon diversification into ethanol. That';s part of it.
MCKECHNIE:
But that';s a big part.
PRIME MINISTER:
No, that';s a part of it. It';s also about encouraging consolidation. It';s about getting people on a regional basis, and Queensland will have six sugar regions, to organise plans that will lead to greater economies of scale in relation to certain farms, and as I say, will allow an easier intergenerational transfer of properties. I found when I went to Mackay that that was a constant complaint of a lot of people, that if they could only gift their property to their children without being frozen out of the pension for five years, they would be more disposed to do so.
MCKECHNIE:
Prime Minister, thank you for your time.
PRIME MINISTER:
You';re welcome.
[ends]