PRIME MINISTER:
It’s terrific to be here at Server Racks. This is a dynamic and growing Australian business. It’s good to be here with Ian Macfarlane, the Industry Minister, with Peter Hendy, the local member, and it’s also good to be here when costs are coming down for this business thanks to the repeal of the carbon tax. If you've got costs coming down, obviously, businesses like this are in a better position to invest, to employ and to serve the people of Australia. That’s what this Government is trying to do every day: we are trying to serve the people of Australia and our fundamental purpose is to build a strong and prosperous economy for a safe and secure Australia. Trying to ensure that costs are as low as possible for businesses like this is at the heart of our fundamental mission.
Another important part of our fundamental mission is trying to ensure that Australia is as competitive as possible, and today I am able to share with the Australian people the first installment of the competitiveness agenda that the Government will be rolling out in the weeks and months ahead. We are moving to a new apprenticeship system; a system that will be employer-led and outcome focused, designed to ensure that we increase the completion rate for apprentices. At the moment, something like 50 per cent of people who start their apprenticeship training don't complete it. There are a host of reasons for this, but obviously, one of the things that we need to do is to try to ensure that as far as is humanly possible, the apprenticeship system is employer-led and outcome focused.
That’s why we’re shifting over time from the current Australian Apprenticeship Centres to a new Australian Apprenticeship Support Network, and as part of this new system, there are two new programmes – and I will ask Minister Macfarlane to provide some of the details in a moment – but two new programmes: the Training for Employment Scholarships, which will be money that will go directly from the Government to employers for job focused training, and the Youth Employment Pathways, which will be for youngsters between 15 and 18 at risk of unemployment. This will be money that will be available to community organisations to work with these youngsters to try to ensure that they get the jobs they need.
So, this is a Government which is striving every day to ensure that the young people of Australia are job ready, to ensure that the businesses of Australia have the support they need to employ people so that ultimately they can serve their customers better. The overall objective is to build a strong and prosperous economy for a safe and secure Australia.
I'm going to ask Minister Macfarlane to add to these observations and then obviously the local member will have something to say.
INDUSTRY MINISTER:
Well, thanks very much, Prime Minister, and today is about a new direction in the way we train people in Australia. It is about making sure that particularly young people, but all people, are trained to get a job. There's no point in having training for training’s sake. The training system has become convoluted, complicated, and too rigid in some areas to actually produce outcomes. We want to see cooperation between training organisations and sections of training. So what we're doing today, with the Australian Apprenticeship Support Network, is actually providing a pathway where someone will not only complete their apprenticeship, but the Apprenticeship Centre will be able to assist them in getting a job and making sure they keep that job.
The Youth Pathway programme is also there to pick up those young people who have basically fallen out of the system and are actually not even training ready, let alone job ready. We want to make sure that those people are bought back into the workforce. We want a training and apprenticeship system that actually works, that gives people a real chance and, most importantly, turns out people that employers want to employ. That will mean that employers under our new range of announcements, which will roll out over this week, will actually have input into the way people are trained and the skills they receive.
It is a new age, it much less complicated, it will be much easier for people to employ people and to train them. The Government will assist them with these two pilots and these pilots, of course, if they are as successful as we expect, we’ll obviously roll out further programmes based on that.
DR PETER HENDY:
Right, well thank you, Prime Minister, and thank you Minister Macfarlane for coming to Queanbeyan and Eden-Monaro today. We've actually got some 500 manufacturing businesses across this electorate and they've been boosted by the fact that we've abolished the carbon tax, and that's a big, big thing, but this sort of policy, I used to run the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, I know small business will really welcome a new system for apprenticeships and traineeships and so I welcome the new benefits that will come, not just to Eden-Monaro, but across Australia.
PRIME MINISTER:
Ok, do we have any questions?
QUESTION:
Prime Minister, did you or anyone in your office have any communications with Mal Brough about James Ashby's allegations before the story broke in the newspapers?
PRIME MINISTER:
I’m happy to take some questions on the Ashby matter, but let's deal with that after we've dealt with any other subjects. So, any questions on any other subjects today?
QUESTION:
I do have one on ISIS?
PRIME MINISTER:
Sure.
QUESTION:
Julie Bishop has said that ISIS is something that's not going to be able to be defeated. What do you say to that?
PRIME MINISTER:
The important point to remember about all of this is that right now there are at least 60 Australians that we know about who are fighting with ISIL and other terrorist groups in Syria and Iraq. Right now, there are 100 Australians that we know about that are supporting those who are fighting with ISIL and other terrorist groups in Iraq and Syria. So, this is a matter of domestic security rather than simply being a matter of international geopolitics. What we are doing is trying to ensure that as far as is humanly possible, people who have been radicalised and brutalised by serving with ISIL are not a menace to the Australian community. That's the fundamental purpose: to ensure that people who have been radicalised and brutalised through contact with this death cult are not a menace to the Australian community.
Obviously, as part of that, we are working with our friends and partners, including Middle Eastern countries such as Iraq itself, to see what we can usefully contribute to operations, to protect people from ISIL, to disrupt and ultimately degrade what ISIL can do, but in the end, our fundamental objective here is to ensure that the Australian community is kept safe from the people who, for some reason, have got themselves involved with this terrible death cult. It’s a remarkable and unprecedented phenomenon and it does pose some new challenges for our country and for so many other countries right around the world.
QUESTION:
Do you think it’s something that can be conquered, that we can actually, you know, succeed here?
PRIME MINISTER:
There are a range of measures that will be needed to tackle the ISIL movement and the military component is only a part of it. Obviously, it's going to be very important to have an inclusive, broadly based government in Iraq, it's going to be important to have strong domestic security measures, it's going to be important to work with like-minded countries in the Middle East as well as elsewhere. It's also going to be important to work as hard as we can here at home to ensure that everyone understands that we're all part of Team Australia and I think that the more people appreciate about the true nature of the ISIL death cult, the more people are repelled by it and the more people are conscious of just how lucky we are to live free and prosperous and pluralist country such as Australia.
QUESTION:
Prime Minister, in regards to the bus crash in Kenya that’s killed at least two Australians, what's the Government's response to that? Are you providing support for those people's families and to the wounded in that crash?
PRIME MINISTER:
Look, this is obviously a terrible business. It's awful beyond belief for the families of all of those involved. The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade is providing consular assistance to the families of the dead and injured and obviously anyone who’s concerned about their family members or their loved ones should make contact urgently with the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.
QUESTION:
Can you confirm, Prime Minister, that the new submarines will be made in Japan and not Adelaide? The Adelaide Advertiser is carrying a story to that effect today?
PRIME MINISTER:
I can confirm what we've said all along, that the Australian work on the new submarines will be centred on the South Australian shipyards in Adelaide. Now, the precise nature of how we are going to do our next generation of submarines is still subject to a whole range of further decisions, but the most important thing is to get the best and most capable submarines at a reasonable price to the Australian taxpayer. As I've stressed all along, we should make decisions here based on defence requirements, not on the basis of industry policy on the basis of regional policy.
QUESTION:
Prime Minister, what do you think of Wyatt Roy's suggestion that you double the refugee intake now that you've stopped the boats?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well, the important thing is to ensure that the boats are stopped and stay stopped. But I can obviously point to the fact that the slowing and all but stopping of the boats has certainly enabled us to help people who are prepared to come to Australia the right way, not the wrong way. We recently announced that there would be 4,500 places available in the refugee and humanitarian programme for people who have been displaced by the conflict in Iraq and Syria. So while we don't plan at this time to increase the overall numbers, within the existing programme there is a lot more capacity to look after people who are doing the right thing and not the wrong thing.
QUESTION:
Just on the renewable energy target, are you seeking to make a deal with Labor on that and what do you say to the Business Council who wants it adjusted so it doesn't go above that 20 per cent level?
INDUSTRY MINISTER:
Well, what we are seeing is period of discussion. The report is out from the review panel headed up by Dick Warburton. There will be a long discussion, not only amongst the parliamentarians, but also amongst the business community and the community in general.
QUESTION:
[Inaudible]
INDUSTRY MINISTER:
Look, we'll discuss it with anyone quite frankly. What we need to do is come to an outcome because if we continue with a period of hiatus where the Labor Party’s not prepared to negotiate anything, then in the end it’ll be the renewable energy industry that loses. We need to a resolve this issue. We have had a review. Their recommendations, it's the review panel's report; it's not the Government's report. We’ll be giving it full consideration as will Cabinet and we're happy to have discussions with anyone on that topic.
QUESTION:
Prime Minister, will Australia’s involvement in Iraq include air strikes and if so, how many of our planes are going to be involved?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well, there's no doubt that Australia could capably add to the actions that have already taken place which have quite significantly added to a humanitarian outcome in Iraq. There's little doubt that the US air strikes did relieve the siege of Mount Sinjar, did contribute to relieving the siege of Amerli, did very substantially contribute to halting the ISIS advance in the Kurdish areas in Iraq. So, these US air strikes have been effective and again, I make the point that our fundamental objective has got to be to protect people and obviously part of protecting people could involve disrupting, degrading, ISIL's capacity. Now, we are continuing to talk to our partners and allies about how Australia might be able to contribute, whether we should help with some air capability, whether we should help with some military advisers. We’re obviously talking to our partners about what might be done but I stress, no specific request has yet been made and no decision has as yet been made by the Government.
QUESTION:
Prime Minister, the US President is going to outline his plan later this week to tackle the IS threat, do you think that plan will involve a specific request for Australian help?
PRIME MINISTER:
Could I make it absolutely crystal clear that we dignify a death cult when we refer to it as Islamic State. This is not a term that I will ever use because it's neither Islamic nor a state, it's a death cult. Please, we should not give credence to people who are evil, pure evil. It's very important. Look, I'm looking forward to President Obama's next statement. I think President Obama has provided steady and sensible leadership on this subject. Clearly, the Americans have not rushed in here. It's a complex and difficult situation, as I said myself on a number of occasions, the Middle East is a witch's brew of complexity and danger. We rightly shrink from reaching out to these conflicts. The tragedy is that these conflicts reach out to us and as I say, at least 60 that we know of, Australians, fighting with these murderous groups – at least 100 that we know of working with these murderous groups. This is a domestic security situation for Australia as much as it is an issue for the Middle East.
QUESTION:
Prime Minister, can we ask on James Ashby now? Are you still confident…?
PRIME MINISTER:
Is there anything else that people wanted to ask about?
QUESTION:
Are you concerned about a jihadist flag being auctioned in Sydney?
PRIME MINISTER:
The point I want to make is it is a serious crime; it is a serious offence under Australian law to work with terrorist organisations, to fund terrorist organisations, to fight with terrorist organisations. These are serious offences under Australian law and where there is evidence that Australian law has been broken it will be dealt with severely. It will be dealt with severely.
QUESTION:
Prime Minister, you've added a new line to your rhetoric – you want to protect the vulnerable – are we going to see any policy put in place to achieve this?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well, ultimately, the best thing we can do for every Australian, including vulnerable Australians, is to strengthen our economy. The stronger the economy is the more jobs there are, the higher pay there will be, the more government revenue there will be and the better government services there will be. So, that's our fundamental objective and one of the reasons why in the Budget we have proposed some measures, tough measures, but nevertheless important measures is that we want our system to be sustainable. It will be sustainable if we have higher participation, including by older people. It will be sustainable if we have fewer young people leaving school and going into unemployment. These measures are necessary to have a sustainable, decent and a compassionate system because to keep the system going we need the strong economy to sustain it.
QUESTION:
Expand on your promise to end the rip offs – what rip offs are you talking about?
PRIME MINISTER:
Obviously, we want to see every Australian pulling his or her weight, that's very important and the last thing we want is to see young people leaving school and going on to unemployment benefits, particularly when, as a result, in part, of the announcements that we're making today – building on announcements that we've already made – there is going to be a stronger training system. A stronger and more effective training system in the future than there has been in the recent past.
QUESTION:
On James Ashby, Prime Minister, will you be seeking an explanation from Christopher Pyne about what he knew of this matter before it went public?
PRIME MINISTER:
Let me make the fundamental point at the start, that that was a particularly squalid, sordid, miserable period in our national life when you saw a decent and honourable speaker forced to resign by a desperate prime minister, replaced with a less worthy person just so that she could shore up her numbers in the Parliament. It was a squalid, sordid period and I think the Australian public, particularly those who might have watched that programme last night, would be pleased that it's now all in the past.
QUESTION:
Given the sordid nature, would you like to clear your mind that there was any involvement from any of your senior colleagues?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well, the important issues here are: did the former speaker sexually harass a member of his staff and did the former speaker misuse his entitlements and both matters have been before the courts. Obviously, Mr Ashby was able to put a point of view last night and the courts have dealt with the misuse of entitlements matter and the former speaker has been convicted of that serious offence.
QUESTION:
Prime Minister, Mr Ashby has made some more allegations last night and you've said before and your frontbenchers have said before, for example, Christopher Pyne, he had no specific knowledge about the events in question. Can you clarify those comments and did you have any general knowledge?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well, I certainly stand by everything that I've said about this and I am confident that Christopher will stand by everything that he's said about this business. What fundamentally emerged from the programme last night is that Mr Ashby did what he did because he thought it was the right thing to do. He believed that he had been treated in a way which was not only completely improper, completely and utterly improper and wrong and despicable, but he believed that he'd been treated in ways that were contrary to law. And look, I watched the programme last night, I saw what I took to be a decent man who had been put into an impossible position and I had a lot of sympathy for him. But the point that I make is that all of this has been before the courts and it all relates to a period in our national life which was discreditable, which was sordid, which was squalid and which is over. Thank you.
[ends]