Subject(s): Macquarie candidate Susan Templeman; Government investment in Blue Mountains; Trades training centres; Election date; Asylum seekers; Relations with Indonesia
PM: It’s great to be back in the Blue Mountains with our terrific local candidate Susan Templeman.
Susan Templeman is a first-class local candidate, and I've been up here with her before – how long ago was that?
TEMPLEMAN: October last year.
PM: October last year, and neither of us has aged a bit since then.
TEMPLEMAN: Not at all!
PM: But she is extraordinary, 22 years a local, dedicated to this community, and it’s a community to which the Australian Labor government has delivered a lot.
I've just been through some of the things that we've done here. In the schools of this area, 35 primary schools I think in the federal electorate of Macquarie, and we have injected more than $55 million into new libraries, new multipurpose facilities, new classrooms and the rest.
Then when you look at TAFE and trades, and I saw a guy before, he’s an electrician, they're always looking for people coming through. We have built in this area four new trades training centres.
And this is terrific, servicing – the Penrith Valley trades training, McCarthy College trade training, and when I was up here last time, I went up to St Columba’s School and met some of the kids who are using some of those facilities.
But on top of that there’s a whole bunch of folk up here who are now making use of more university places.
Did you know this? Since we were elected five or six years ago, there are now 190,000 more Australian kids at universities than there were before.
Because we took a policy decision which said if you are able, on merit to get into university, Australia should give you a place to be in university.
And as a result of that, 190,000 more young Australians are now at university who weren’t there only five or six years ago. I think that’s a great Labor achievement.
So whether it’s schools, or whether it’s trades training centres, or whether it’s universities, we’re out there making a difference for peoples’ lives, and that’s why we’ve got to continue the work we’ve set out to do.
And one of the areas we’re going to continue to set out that work is through our new national Better Schools Plan.
And that is for better futures for our kids. And this is a very large investment into the future of our schools. It’s needs-based funding, it lifts the standards of our teachers.
It also ensures that we’re offering quality curriculum to our kids because we want every kid to make the most of their lives and then give back as much as they can to Australia.
One final thing about our local candidate here. She has a whole lot of guts and determination.
She is out there in the community working hard, and what I’d say to all you good local people is when you get to the next election, I want Susan Templeman as the next Member for Macquarie.
TEMPLEMAN: This is a fabulous community and we’re really honoured that the Prime Minister has come here on his first weekend as PM in this term.
So we welcome him, a big cheer to welcome Kevin! And we look forward to having you back many more times.
PM: I will be. Now does anyone else have a question for me.
JOURNALIST: Do we have an election date yet?
PM: Consistent with Australia’s Constitution, we will determine that based on all the necessary criteria and we’ll act according to the Constitution.
In the meantime, the government of Australia continues and I'm the Prime Minister of that government, and we’ve got more things to do.
JOURNALIST: Will you raise the prospect of Tony Abbott starting a war with Indonesia when you meet with President Yudhoyono?
PM: What I said, very simply, was this. Mr Abbott has to answer two questions. He says that he will send the boats back to Indonesia.
Number one question, what will he do when a boat sinks? Number two, what will he do if he pushes a boat back, and the Indonesian naval forces push it back in our direction, because their policy is they will not take boats back?
These are two questions for Mr Abbott to answer, and I just say if he doesn’t answer those two questions, he’s not fair dinkum about his policy.
Remember, this bloke is saying that – he’s already written his victory speech, he’s said to everyone that – he says he’s going to be Prime Minister in several months’ time.
Well on top of that he’s got a very basic question to ask about this policy.
Number one, what happens if a boat sinks, and number two, what happens if the Indonesians push the boat back?
He hasn’t answered either of those things, so either it’s a fair dinkum policy, or it’s simply codswallop to try and win some votes.
Next question.
JOURNALIST: Do you regret those comments?
PM: I stand by everything I said, including the fact that my responsibility as Prime Minister is to ensure we have a first-class relationship with 250 million people in Indonesia, a country which constitutes our most important neighbour.
Any others before I go?
JOURNALIST: How buoyed are you by the poll?
PM: Well I think we’re doing okay but we’ve got a long, long way to go, and having said that folks, we’ve got to zip because I've got to head back into Sydney.
Thanks folks.
[ENDS]