PRIME MINISTER:
The Premier and I have had a discussion and I will say a couple of things and the Premier will say something. Can I again repeat my profound admiration for the wonderful job that so many people have done. But to share the words of the Premier when he said that it's going to continue to be quite difficult and that it is very important that the community continue to work together.
I am very pleased that I came today because it's allowed me and the Deputy Prime Minister to see first hand the devastation and to understand through conversation with fellow Australians the impact this has had on their lives. There are a number of announcements that I make, and I point out as I go along that some of these things are being done by the Commonwealth alone, some of them are being done in cooperation with the State Government under the existing natural disaster relief arrangements.
I start off by saying that each of the two Governments will be contributing a million dollars towards the relief fund. That relief fund will of course attract tax deductibility and it has already enjoyed very, very strong support from a number of large business organisations and we would welcome a continuation of that in the weeks ahead.
I've also decided that the Federal Government will, as a special income support measure, provide what is the equivalent of what's called the Newstart Allowance, but what is commonly understood as the unemployment benefit to affected farmers and small businesses for a period of six months. This will be subject to an income test but it will not be subject to the farm assets test and that will provide some ongoing assistance. It will apply to small business operators as well as to farmers.
Now in addition to that, the Federal Government has decided to provide as a tax free grant an amount of $10,000 to each farmer affected or small business affected, and small business to be defined at present as a firm employing fewer than 20 full time employees. Not 20, its not a head count, it's a full-time-positions count because I understand there are many seasonal workers here. And that will be a tax-free grant and that will be available not only to farmers, but it will also be available to small business operators.
Over and above that, the Premier and I have agreed, as part of the natural disaster relief arrangements, that we will make available loans of up to $200,000 at concessional rates, and let me describe what the concession is. A four per cent interest rate, there will be no interest of principal requirement in the first two years of the loan. These loans will be administered through the Queensland Rural Adjustment Authority which I understand operates very, very effectively and is well understood the way it operates. In addition, if the money borrowed is used for the purposes of re-establishing a business such as, for example, replanting sugar cane or the equivalent in any other, or sheds or the like, we will make available 25 per cent of the $200,000 loan as a cash grant. So for example, a person who got $200,000 to restart, they would get $50,000 of that as a cash grant, they would not pay anything in the first two years, thereafter they would pay interest at the rate of four per cent and the requirement at this stage would be for the loan to be repaid within a period of some nine or 10 years. Now we believe that that is a reasonable and sensible and fair and necessary response to a very, very difficult situation. And might I say the opportunity I had today to talk to some banana growers and to road test this, you've got to do this, you can dream something up a few thousand miles away but unless it's road tested with the locals you can sometimes get it very badly wrong can't you Mr Premier? We both know that experience, we've experienced that.
So this is our, I mean let me say speaking for the Commonwealth and Mr Beattie will speak for the state, but this is our initial response and we will of course monitor how this operates but I think it's a very comprehensive response to a very difficult situation. I have been impressed with remarks that have been made to me today by local people about the concern that they might lose a lot of employees who don't have jobs and they'll go elsewhere. They'll go south or west or whatever and they'll lose them. Now the Federal Government will have a look at whether there are perhaps some other things that we might do in that area but these measures I announce today, they will take affect as soon as it's humanly possible to put them into affect and we're very, very keen to get people up on their feet and we do hope that the very fact that we've been able to announce these things immediately rather than go away and think about it for two or three weeks will be seen by the local community as an earnest of our determination to help them.
This is not anybody's fault and therefore a country like Australia can afford to be fair and generous and to help people get back on their feet. Can I say again that I'm very anxious indeed that the Federal Government and the State Government and local governments work together. This is a natural disaster where Australians should respond as a team. We've done magnificently as a team at the Commonwealth Games in Melbourne, let us demonstrate that same team spirit here in Far North Queensland in responding to a natural disaster and so that that great Australian spirit will shine through.
Can I finish by thanking my two local Federal member colleagues Bob Katter and Warren Entsch who have kept my office informed and I know there's been great cooperation across all political lines in trying to respond to the needs of the people. This is a challenge to our decency and partnership as Australians. It's not something that should be contaminated by party politics.
PREMIER BEATTIE:
Prime Minister, can I just say a couple of things. Firstly Prime Minister, thank you; I appreciate that. I just wanted to say a couple of thing if I could. Firstly some of the experience overseas in New Orleans for example, it fell apart because there wasn't cooperation. What you see here is the strongest cooperation you possibly could get between the Prime Minister, the Federal Government, the State Government and the local council. Now I thank the Prime Minister for the contribution towards our local communities here on behalf of all Queenslanders because frankly this is what we needed. We needed an immediate response. You've seen that right from when the cyclone hit and that was on Monday morning. Now we worked our guts out to try and rebuild. What this package does, it gives this whole community of North Queensland an opportunity to rebuild and that partnership is very important. We're prepared to pay our way. Some of you will ask how much will it cost; the reality is that depends on how many people will apply. We don't know. What we're doing is saying to the people of North Queensland, here is a package to give you heart, give you an opportunity to rebuild.
We will also as a State Government contribute $1 million to that fund. The donations, I want to thank the corporate sector who've already made contributions. A number of those were released later. I want to appeal to corporate Australia to continue to donate to that fund because that money will go directly to the local communities. So we have a partnership, we have a new opportunity, I do want to say to you though that there is going to be enormous frustration, I have said it before. We are going to see a lot of people go to hell and back over the next few days and they need every bit of support that they can get. What they know though, from today with this partnership that we have announced is that there is a future, that's the important thing, there is a future and we are determined in partnership to build it with them.
JOURNALIST:
Mr Howard, much of this programme deals with farmers and small businesses. What is your message to individual employees that have lost their jobs, doing it tough, waiting for the Centrelink payments?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well the best thing that we can do for them is to get business going again. I mean the people who are employed here are overwhelmingly people who are employed in business and they are the people whose jobs are either gone, or at risk and until you get the business sector up on its feet, and I believe this package will enable the overwhelming bulk of small businesses in Innisfail to actually sort of (inaudible). I mean you can immediately access the $10,000 for cleaning up and restocking and if you want to take out the loan, the first 25 per cent of it is a cash grant and even in this era of very low interest rates let me say these terms are very, very concessional and so they should be because of the situation that calls for concessional circumstances.
UNKNOWN SPEAKER:
If I might just say, I made a statement earlier about our position and many positions. Can I say what you've just announced has taken a huge amount of weight of my shoulders and I'm sure a huge amount of weight off business people in this community. I can tell you now that within the next month I can feel sure that we'll have our business operating based on what you've just said. And we'll be taking advantage of that and the 25 per cent will be a lovely bonus and we appreciate that and thank you very much.
PRIME MINISTER:
Good on you.
JOURNALIST:
How many people will be eligible for the $10,000 grant as an estimate?
PRIME MINISTER:
I would say several thousands but I can't put a figure on it. I mean look, I can't give you an accurate figure. I mean obviously this is all up on both sides is going to run into some hundreds of millions of dollars, I would be surprised if it didn't. But I can't tell you exactly how much and look, the nation can afford it. And I don't say that carelessly, I'm not known as somebody how throws money around, but the nation can afford it. This is a fortunate country and once, I mean when some of our own are down on their luck their luck they deserve a helping hand and that basically is what we are going to try and do. And we'll look at this as things go along and if there are some anomalies and some gaps that can properly be argued have appeared well we'll have a look at them, but we think this is a fair-dinkum and strong response to a very difficult situation, which is no fault of anybody's and we hope it has, as well as a real impact, we hope it has a psychological impact. Because people will feel that there is somebody concerned and they want to help.
PREMIER BEATTIE:
I think you've got to remember that you are going to get tens of millions of dollars that will have to be spent on roads, on bridges, on infrastructure, this package is designed to get industry going again, to get the community back on its feet. This is going to be a long haul over the next two to three years. The problem was that if we hadn't of done this people would have left the community and that relationship between the farmers and the town would have dissipated so there is multi-facets to this proposal.
JOURNALIST:
Mr Howard, given that you have seen the devastation first hand now are you amazed that there've been no reported fatalities?
PRIME MINISTER:
I am absolutely not only amazed, I am thankful to the almighty that there haven't been, I think we all should be. I think it is a miracle. We all ought to believe in miracles, it is a miracle that there have been no fatalities. Can I say that it is also a tribute to the orderly commonsense of Australia.
PREMIER BEATTIE:
Hear, hear.
PRIME MINISTER:
One of the great things about we Australians and I won't get any argument in this room, is that we can pull together in difficulty and if somebody gives you a commonsense warning we take notice of it. And I think the cohesion of the community has meant that the preparations have been very meticulous, there has been good cooperation on the ground. Can I say again I think the local SES and the cops; and they all do a fantastic job, they really do. They're the citizens on the beat the whole time and they do an absolutely magnificent job.
JOURNALIST:
Do you think a longer term package is needed for say something like the sugar industry?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well we did have a sugar industry package and a lot of people think it is the best sugar industry package that we have ever had. And look that is still there but as far as the longer term of the sugar industry, separately and apart from the cyclone, let me say that for the first time in a long time international prices were a bit better and the sad thing is that just when it looked as though, and I am addressing the sugar growers here, just when you looked as though you've got something, you've got clobbered by Larry.
PREMIER BEATTIE:
Just when it looked good it went bad. That's what happened. Look we do need to get to inspections, as you know, very soon.
PRIME MINISTER:
The gentlemen from the bananas.
UNIDENTIFED SPEAKER:
When we talk about the low interest loans here capped at $200,000 will they be looked at on an individual basis, because in the scheme of things, some of our larger growers, when you look at re-establishment say for a 1000 acre grower, we're talking $3 million to get him back in production?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well the intention at this stage is to a have them at $200,000. I don't rule out, depending on how the thing operates some kind of adjustment to that, but that is quite, for the average grower, that is quite a significant amount. But we'll see how it is, how it operates and if there is a need to make an adjustment, and you're not talking about a large number, I think on the advice I have that the $200,000 would capture a very significant proportion of it. That's why we've set it at that figure. But if we can be persuaded that the ceiling should be a little higher in certain circumstances we're willing to look at that. Absolutely.
JOURNALIST:
How long do you expect the ADF to remain?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well as long as they are needed and from what I've been told, they're doing fantastic work and absolutely terrific work and I'll say again, thank heavens for the men and women of the Australian Army. But they will stay as long as they are needed.
JOHNSTONE SHIRE MAYOR:
Just to wrap up Mr Prime Minister, on behalf of the people of the Johnstone and Cardwell Shires we've been totally devastated, but I congratulate both yourself and the Premier on the leadership that you've shown in this dramatic event that has hit us. You recognise that it's going to affect us for a long period of time and I thank you very much, both of you, for taking such swift action.
PREMIER BEATTIE:
Thank you.
PRIME MINISTER:
Thank you.
CARDWELL SHIRE MAYOR:
Can I just add to that, its one of the things that really helped us out is your Department Mr Beattie, your Premier's Department and I would like to say thank you for that. We've got power into Tully last night. I rang up Fiona yesterday and got that through.
PREMIER BEATTIE:
Well done. Thank you.
UNIDENTIFIED SPEAKER:
Is there any opportunity to talk to the banks and say some of the big chain stores in terms of future orders because we're already hearing about cancellations of stock orders in North Queensland?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well I will.
UNIDENTIFIED SPEAKER:
(Inaudible) the ANZ Bank announced today in any way shape or form (inaudible) we might change them, but they've made an announcement that there's a three month amnesty on repayments including principal...
PRIME MINISTER:
That's fantastic. The rest should follow.
PREMIER BEATTIE:
Last question and then we'll go.
JOURNALIST:
When will people actually have money in their hip pockets?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well some of them are getting it now under the $1000 arrangement. But the $10,000 arrangement, that programme will be administered through Centrelink and people can start applying effectively tomorrow.
[ends]