PRIME MINISTER:
It’s a real honour to be with Bill Glasson. I’ve spent a lot of time with Bill Glasson over the years, I hope to spend more with Bill in the Parliament. He’s a terrific bloke, this contest is going to be close, but anyone who wants to improve the quality of our Parliament, raise the tone of our public life should be supporting Bill Glasson and I certainly am. Bill, do you want to say anything?
BILL GLASSON:
Just quickly, can I just thank the Prime Minister for coming up today and launching our LNP campaign for the federal seat of Griffith. It’s a pleasure to have you here and I think again just to reinforce the message to the people of Griffith. In seven days time – one week today – you’ve got an opportunity to elect a strong voice in Canberra. A voice that will be relevant to the current Federal Parliament and to remind people that one day post the election, Tony Abbott will still be the Prime Minister of Australia and the LNP Government will still be in power. So it’s an opportunity for you to elect, as I said, a new member for Griffith with a strong voice. So thank you very much.
QUESTION:
Mr Abbott, can you guarantee there won’t be a Medicare co-payment?
PRIME MINISTER:
Michelle, nothing is being considered, nothing has been proposed, nothing is planned. Now, I’m happy to talk about Medicare because Bill Glasson and I have done a lot of work together on Medicare. As a result of the work that Bill and I did when I was the health minister and Bill was the president of the AMA, we’ve got the Medicare safety net in place, we introduced the supplementary payments for bulkbilling and took bulkbilling rates to record highs. I used to say that the Howard government was the best friend that Medicare had ever had because we spent record levels on health, but not only did we spend at record levels on health we got record results in health in terms of improving life expectancy, in terms of improving the cost effectiveness of our health services and at every step of the way in that period I was assisted by Bill Glasson. Often I was guided by Bill Glasson and Bill didn’t just help me, he subsequently helped the successive government as head of Cancer Australia. As I said, Bill Glasson, he is the best friend that Medicare has ever had and if you want to look at what’s actually happened to Medicare, the only person in recent times who has cut Medicare was the former health minister who has been rewarded with the deputy leadership of the Labor Party. She cut $1.6 billion out of public hospitals, including in the middle of the year over $100 million out of hospitals here in Queensland.
QUESTION:
In light of the latest scare campaign however, can’t you just knock it on the head, pull the rug out from under Labor’s scare campaign and guarantee no co-payments?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well I think I have knocked the scare campaign on the head and again this is all the Labor Party has got. Nationally or locally, all they’ve got is a scare campaign and I think that the people of Griffith and the people of Australia are bigger than that. I really do think that we are all bigger than that, but unfortunately what we’ve seen since the election last year is not that the Labor Party has grown, the Labor Party has shrunk. It’s as if they just have not learnt because certainly they have not changed.
QUESTION:
But what would be wrong with the co-payments surely there are arguments in favour of it?
PRIME MINISTER:
I’ve dealt with this issue now are there other questions?
QUESTION:
Prime Minister, analysts say this is your first real test as a Government, this by-election, what’s your view on that?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well I want us to win this election because I think if Bill Glasson wins the election the people of Griffith will win the by-election and that’s what it’s all about. It’s all about getting the best possible local member here in Griffith and plainly if you look at the two principle candidates side by side, look at them together and ask, who would you rather deal with if you had a problem; who would you rather deal with if there was a local issue; who do you think is going to be focused on you rather than focused on the factional deals which sadly play too big a part in Canberra? I don’t think there’s any doubt as to the answer.
QUESTION:
Prime Minister, the lifeboat that washed up in Java – is the Government going to get these things back?
PRIME MINISTER:
We are intending to stop the boats and that’s exactly what’s happening and we said before the election that we would stop the boats. We articulated a range of policies, we’ve been consistently articulating a range of policies for years, not for days, not for weeks, not for months, but for years we’ve been saying that if you wanted to stop the boats there were certain things you had to do and that’s precisely what we’re doing and the boats are stopping. And I saw the rather arresting photograph on the front page of the Daily Telegraph this morning and I read the story on the inside pages of the Tele and the really interesting thing was one of the would-be illegal arrivals in Australia was saying ‘we’re getting the message; the way is closed’. Well thank you sir, the way is closed. The way is closed and as far as this Government is concerned never ever will it be reopened. You’ve got to come to this country the right way, not the wrong way and we’re happy to invite people in by the front door, but we’re never going to allow them to barge in by the backdoor.
QUESTION:
Prime Minister, the protestors out the front were shouting that you were too gutless to face the constituency here. Your reaction?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well, the last time I was here in Griffith was just before Christmas and I was out and about in Griffith, I think Bill, we concluded our stroll with a cup of coffee at one of the lovely local cafes and different people came up and some were happy, one or two were not so happy, but look and I think you’ll find I’m here again over the next few days and I’ll do my best to greet and talk to all-comers.
QUESTION:
Prime Minister, you’ve got to make up some ground to win the seat, are you happy with the way things are travelling?
PRIME MINISTER:
We’ve got the most extraordinary candidate; I think a very good campaign has been run here. Yes, it is the safest Labor seat in Queensland, or it was going into the last election. So it’s not going to be easy, but I think that we can win this seat, but it’s not about us – it really isn’t about us – it’s about the best possible outcome for the people of Griffith and the bloke standing beside me would be an outstanding, absolutely outstanding, member.
QUESTION:
Prime Minister, you’ve been exceedingly glowing of your reference of Mr Glasson, what sort of time frame would you look at for perhaps a frontbench spot for him?
PRIME MINISTER:
Ok, well this is the question that every candidate gets asked, particularly a candidate of Bill Glasson’s calibre, but again it’s not about him or me, it’s about the people of Griffith and ultimately in the long-term it’s about the people of Australia and Bill is not seeking to be a frontbencher, Bill is seeking to be a Member of Parliament and that’s why I was able to say in there that I don’t believe I’ve ever met someone whose motives for coming into the Parliament were as true and as pure as Bill’s. I think the last thing that has gone into his head is all that kind of stuff because that’s what normal, ambitious, careerist politicians – that’s the way they think, but that’s not the way Bill Glasson thinks.
BILL GLASSON:
Can I just say on that – if I‘m successful on the eighth of February, my role and responsibility is to the people of Griffith and that is to get around the people of Griffith which I hadn’t met. I’ve had 14 months meeting a lot of them, but I want to see every business, I want to go to every hospital, every school, every aged care facility. I want to meet as many people as possible so I can truly represent them at the Federal Parliament. So, my role and responsibility is purely to serve the people of Griffith.
QUESTION:
What issues resonate with them?
BILL GLASSON:
Well, cost of living, jobs, childcare costs, aged care issues, infrastructure and certainly in terms of my passion around health, obviously, I want to make sure we build that children’s hospice, Hummingbird House over near St Vincent’s Hospital because I think that we owe it to those children that are dying.
QUESTION:
Dr Glasson, the Labor campaign has been very focused on trying to tie Tony Abbott and Campbell Newman. Do you think that they are a benefit or negative to your campaign?
BILL GLASSON:
As I said in there earlier, this is not about – with the greatest respect to the Prime Minister – it’s not about the Prime Minister, it’s not about Mr Shorten, it’s certainly not about the Premier either. It’s about Bill Glasson and his Labor counterpart and so I want the people of Griffith to judge us. Hold us up – Bill Glasson on the one hand and my Labor opponent in the other – and say, who would you want to represent you for the next three years in Federal Parliament? Who can take your issues with a certain amount of authority, experience and knowledge and organise practical solutions? Which of those two candidates are the best? And I’d suggest to you that in terms of life experience, in terms of leading major organisations over the past 20 years or so; I think I do, pushing my own trumpet, I think I come out in front. So I do have a life experience, I run a small business, I’ve done a huge amount of volunteer work across the country and overseas so I’m certain the people of Griffith trust me. I respect you and if you can give me the privilege of leading you I would do it with great enthusiasm so that everybody in Griffith is better off.
QUESTION:
How worried are you about the Greens preferences?
BILL GLASSON:
Look, preferences are always an issue don’t get me wrong and we’ve got 11 starters in this Melbourne Cup field. We’re on the 11th barrier, but the reality is, in winning this seat the preferences are always the most difficult thing and so it’s the Green preferences particularly. So I say to the people in the Greens, if you want to put Green one so be it, but where you put number two is really important and then ask the question ‘do you want Bill Glasson or do you want his Labor Opponent’ because a Green candidate is not going to get up. So I suggest to my Greens that are listening – come with me, trust with me and I’ve a fair environment rub on my shoulder. I believe in the environment and I want to work with the Government to make sure that environment in this country and also overseas is better.
PRIME MINISTER:
Thanks so much.
QUESTION:
Dr Glasson [inaudible] Melbourne Cup, you’re paying up to five dollars.
BILL GLASSON:
Well, that’s alright, I’ve had worse odds then that and got up, I can tell you.
PRIME MINISTER:
Well done mate. Thanks so much
[ends]