PRIME MINISTER:
It’s really good to be here in Melbourne this morning to celebrate the signing of contracts for the East West Link. It’s good to be the infrastructure Prime Minister standing next to the infrastructure Premier because this is a great project for Melbourne, for Victoria and for Australia. A $7 billion project that will create 3,700 jobs, that will cut out 23 sets of traffic lights, that will take 15 minutes off the journey times of about 100,000 vehicles every day. This is a massive boost for the Victorian economy and it’s a massive improvement for the lifestyles of the people of Melbourne and Victoria.
It’s a magnificent project and of course it’s only happening because of the commitment of the Victorian Coalition Government and the Federal Coalition Government. If you want this project to be confirmed, if you want this project to become an absolute reality, there’s only one way to go and that’s to keep Coalition Government’s in Melbourne and in Canberra because regrettably to this very day, the Victorian Opposition is saying that if they get elected they’ll tear up the contract.
I’m pleased to say that at least in Canberra the Opposition says that Labor honours contracts but for some reason that message hasn’t got through to the Opposition here in Melbourne. That’s why I say to the people of Melbourne, the people of Victoria, the people of Australia; if you want this massive piece of nation building infrastructure to go ahead, you’ve got to keep Coalition Government’s in Melbourne and in Canberra. So I’m really thrilled to be here with the Premier. Good to be here with the Treasurer but really pleased to be in Melbourne to celebrate this massive project that will transform this great city.
PREMIER NAPTHINE:
Thank you Prime Minister. It’s an absolute honour and privilege to be here with the infrastructure Prime Minister Tony Abbott and with my Treasurer Michael O’Brien and it’s really terrific to be here at East West Connect to see the engineers that are already working very, very hard on this great project.
This project, East West Link Stage One, is a game changing project for Melbourne and Victoria. It’s about reducing congestion, it’s about boosting transport productivity and efficiency and it’s about 3,700 direct jobs and hundreds and thousands more of indirect jobs. It’s also about boosting the skills and ability of those people that will stand them in good stead for their lifetime in the workforce. It’s about local content with over 90 per cent of the goods and services used in this project being built and supplied locally – whether it’s the steel, whether it’s the preformed concrete, whether it’s the cabling – all of those things will be supplied locally, creating even further local jobs.
This is a great project for Melbourne and Victoria. It is an essential project when you’ve got significant population growth that we have here in Melbourne and Victoria. We need these major infrastructure projects to drive services to improve our quality of life, to improve our business efficiency and transport productivity across Melbourne and Victoria. And I thank the Prime Minister. I personally thank the Prime Minister for his contribution of $3 billion dollars to the East West Link – $1.5 billion to Stage One and $1.5 billion to Stage Two. The Commonwealth contribution makes a real difference to this project and makes sure that we can deliver this project at great value for Victorian taxpayers and I’d ask Michael O’Brien if he’d like to say a word or two.
MICHAEL O’BRIEN:
Thank you Premier, Prime Minister. This is a great economic driver for Victoria, not just the 3,700 new jobs that will be created, not just the skills and the workforce which will then be deployed now at our other infrastructure programme, but also the improvements of productivity and economic growth that will come from delivery of East West Link Stage One. The reduction in travel times for workers getting home to their families, the reduction in travel times for tradies getting to their jobs on site. This is going to drive and grow Victoria’s economy. This is exactly the sort of project that this state needs and it takes a Coalition Government in Canberra and a Coalition Government in Spring Street to make sure we can get on and build it.
PRIME MINISTER:
Ok. Do we have any questions?
QUESTION:
Prime Minister could you work with Daniel Andrews [sic] if he was to win the election and hand back the $1.5 billion, would you trust him at all, another negotiation?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well, the money that we’ve given is for East West Link. It’s for East West Link and if contracts are torn up against all principle, against all precedent and East West Link doesn’t go ahead that money goes back to Canberra.
QUESTION:
Can you explain the mechanism under which that would happen though? Is it specifically written into the allocation?
PRIME MINISTER:
Absolutely. Absolutely, this money was given for a specific purpose, under specific conditions and if those conditions aren’t fulfilled the money comes back to Canberra.
QUESTION:
And toll tunnels can sometimes be an economic gamble, what makes you convinced that this one will actually work?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well, anyone currently sitting in a traffic jam on Hoddle Street, on Flemington Road, on Alexandra Parade knows that this is a massive boost to their lives, to their personal economy, as well as to the economy of Victoria.
QUESTION:
Can we ask you about ASADA, what do you think about ASADA’s performance over the years and should things be a little bit quicker in the way they perform their duties?
PRIME MINISTER:
I’m happy to take questions on other subjects, but this is so important for Melbourne and Victoria, this is so important for Australia. This is something which will demonstrate that we can make a difference to people’s lives, that we aren’t mired in process paralysis. I’d rather take a few more questions on this before we get onto other subjects….
QUESTION:
What sort of toll do you think would be reasonable?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well that’s a matter for the state government, that’s a matter for the partners, but as I say, anyone stuck in a traffic jam right now in Hoddle Street, in Alexandra Parade, on Flemington Road knows that this makes sense and this is a good investment by the Victorian Government and the Commonwealth Government and it must go ahead.
QUESTION:
Should the payments be made public? Should the public know what the payments are over 25 years?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well look, there are all sorts of things which are rightly commercial in confidence. The important thing is that we have governments in Spring Street and in Canberra that get things done and that’s what we’ve got thanks to the Coalition.
QUESTION:
Just on other matters….what would it take for Australia to become more engaged in conflict in Iraq?
PRIME MINISTER:
Yesterday we began support missions over Iraq. We flew our KC-30 refueler, we flew our Wedgetail airborne warning and control aircraft in support of US and other Coalition aircraft. These support missions will continue. We at this stage are not flying strike missions but in coming days the Government will be making further decisions. Our intention is to work powerfully with our allies to disrupt and degrade the ISIL death cult because this hasn’t just declared war on the people of Iraq, it’s effectively declared war on the world, including Australia.
QUESTION:
Bill Shorten is talking this morning about mission creep, saying that people need to be cautious about that. What sort of guarantees can you give that there won’t be an escalation?
PRIME MINISTER:
We’ve committed a significant force. We believe it’s a prudent and proportionate commitment. There’s up to eight Super Hornet strike fighters, there’s a refueler, there’s a Wedgetail early warning and control aircraft, there’s a contingent of up to 100 special forces there. We think this is a significant contribution. It’s also a prudent and proportionate contribution and these forces will be appropriately deployed by the Government in support of the Iraqi Government and in defence of people everywhere who are threatened by this death cult that has declared war on the world.
QUESTION:
What factors are you weighing up before deciding on national airstrikes?
PRIME MINISTER:
Obviously we are talking to our coalition partners about what they want. We’re talking to the Iraqi Government about the precise conditions under which our forces will be involved but our forces are there in the Middle East, they are already flying support missions, subject to further government decision making, they are certainly capable of flying strike missions because we are a country that plays our part in the wider world. We can’t change the world on our own but we can make a difference and we are determined to make a stand for the universal decencies of mankind which have so obviously been violated by this ISIL death cult in Iraq and Syria.
QUESTION:
Are more cuts to foreign aid going to affect the same region that you’ve spoken about conducting a humanitarian mission in? Namely Iraq?
PRIME MINISTER:
We have slowed the growth of foreign aid. Foreign aid was slated to explosively grow under the former government. Every year the former government put off the growth but nevertheless it was still slated to grow explosively under the former government. We’ve restrained that growth, essentially to CPI in coming years. I think this is a reasonable change but it certainly means that Australia will continue to have a very strong and effective foreign aid programme in the months and years ahead.
QUESTION:
Are you confident that those cuts won’t undermine the fight against terrorism in this region?
PRIME MINISTER:
I am confident that we are doing exactly the right thing in this region and elsewhere.
QUESTION:
Are you disappointed that Liberals, including the Victorian Premier, don’t support your view on banning the burqa?
PRIME MINISTER:
If I may say so, that’s not what I said yesterday. I did have a bit to say on this subject yesterday, I gave a series of very complete answers and I don’t propose to say anything about it today.
QUESTION:
Tony Burke has said that you chose a divisive path, as if you were an opposition leader on the burqa matter. Could you have been more unifying in your comments?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well, I’d invite people to go back and look at those comments. I’m not going to add to them today and I should just say this; it’s hardly the most important issue facing our country right now, as far as the people of Melbourne are concerned right now, what they want is a quicker trip to work, a quicker trip home, more time doing the things that they would like to do in their business, with their families, rather than sitting in traffic jams and I think that’s what really matters to the people of Victoria and Australia today.
QUESTION:
You’ve said that you find it confronting though. A number of your colleagues including the Premier disagree with you. Do you think that that’s a divisive comment to make? Perhaps unhelpful in the current environment where we’ve got terror raids and anti-Islamic sentiments going through the community?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well again, I’d refer people to what I said yesterday.
QUESTION:
You said it was confronting.
PRIME MINISTER:
Again, I would refer people to what I said yesterday and on previous occasions.
QUESTION:
Do you think it’s more of a security issue, say in Parliament House if a face has to be seen purely on that issue.
PRIME MINISTER:
Well again, I fully dealt with this yesterday and look I know that this is a subject of enormous fascination to some people in the media, but as far as the general public are concerned, they want government to be making a practical difference in their lives and that’s exactly what the infrastructure Premier and the infrastructure Prime Minister want to do, we want to make a practical difference. Now what people happen to be wearing as they drive their cars much more freely on the East West Link is really a matter for them.
QUESTION:
And you’ve ruled out federal funding for Melbourne metro rail down the track. Are you still sticking to your knitting in that area?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well, we made it very clear pre-election that we thought the role of the Commonwealth Government is national freight, national roads, roads of national significance. The urban rail systems are owned and operated by the state governments and we think they should be funded by state governments and we’ve made that very clear all along. I know the former government took a different approach. Under this Government there will be the asset recycling fund available and if state governments wish to avail themselves of that asset recycling fund, for any project which is serious economic infrastructure, fair enough, but we certainly are not in the business of making specific commonwealth commitments, aside from the asset recycling fund, to urban rail.
QUESTION:
ASADA, do you think that their performance or the process is too long? We’re looking at two and a half years, three years, four years, maybe five, if there’s a two year ban? Do you think it has to be quickened up for the sake of the players, the staff, the families, everyone involved?
PRIME MINISTER:
Look, this certainly is a very long running saga, it’s a saga which has damaged clubs, hurt people, destroyed careers and I’m not sure that anyone really knows what the hell it’s all about. Exactly what was ever done wrong I think that all of this has been lost in the mists of time and it’s become an ongoing tragedy for everyone. It seemed that the former government needed a distraction on a particular day and presto, they came up with this. It was a terrible example of a rushed and botched announcement that is having consequences to this day and thank god that kind of government no longer operates.
QUESTION:
Did you attend any political fundraisers in Melbourne last night?
PRIME MINISTER:
As a matter of fact I arrived in Melbourne at about half past 11 and as far as I’m aware there were no political fundraisers going on at that time.
QUESTION:
Prime Minister on indigenous recognition, what’s the timeframe for that referendum for that vote and when will you be announcing more detail?
PRIME MINISTER:
Not necessarily within days but certainly within weeks. As you know I spent the best part of a week up in East Arnhem Land recently. I spent much of that time discussing this issue with very senior indigenous leaders, including Galarrwuy Yunupingu who has been one of the really great leaders of aboriginal people and of Australians more generally. I think it is important to set a timetable because once we’ve set a timetable we can get on with the job of discussing the particular proposal. My hope, my devout hope is that we can come up with a form of words that will unite our country in a way similar to that great unifying moment back in 1967.
QUESTION:
So what’s [inaudible] time for when the vote will actually happen?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well, it’s very important that something like this be handled on a very bipartisan basis because if we are going to have a situation where the vast majority of Australians carry constitutional recognition of indigenous people, almost by acclamation as it were, I’ve got to work very closely with the Opposition, I’ve got to work very closely with indigenous leaders and I’ve got to work very closely with the wider Australian community. So there are still some discussions which need to be had before a final date is set but those discussions are in train and I think within a very few weeks we will have a clear and definite timetable, hopefully leading to a clear, definite, defining, unifying moment for our country.
[ends]