PRIME MINISTER:
It’s great to be here in Burnie in beautiful Tasmania with my friends and colleagues, the Local member, Brett Whiteley, and also my fellow Pollie Pedal rider, the Member for Lyons, Eric Hutchinson.
This is the start of the 18th annual Pollie Pedal bike ride. It’s something which has been an important part of my life and political personality over the last 18 years. It's a great chance for Members of Parliament to get out of their comfort zone, to see parts of Australia that senior politicians don't normally get to and to raise money for a very, very good cause.
This year's Pollie Pedal is raising money for Carers Australia. There's almost three million carers; they're the unsung heroes of our society. We're hoping to raise about a half a million dollars for Carers Australia this year and that money will help the carers of Australia to be better represented. It will help to ensure that the carers of Australia are in contact with each other, more able to access services, and I'm really proud once again to be associated with this splendid cause.
Obviously, last night the Parliament passed the metadata retention legislation. This is vital legislation. About 90 per cent of counter-terrorism investigations rely on telecommunications metadata, 90 per cent of child abuse investigations rely on this important information. About 80 per cent of organised crime investigations rely on telecommunications metadata. So, by passing the legislation, the Parliament has given our crime fighters the information they need to keep us all safe.
Tomorrow is the New South Wales State election. It's a very important election, not just for the state but for the country. If you want to keep Mike Baird as Premier, if you want to keep our economy safe, there's only one thing to do and that is to vote Number One for your Liberal or National candidate. The last thing we need is to elect an L-Plate Labor leader through a protest vote.
Again, great to be here with my friends and Tasmanian colleagues on the 18th annual Pollie Pedal.
QUESTION:
Prime Minister, Labor argue that a loss for Mike Baird in New South Wales will mark an end to your leadership. What would you say to that?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well, I expect the people of New South Wales to re-elect what is a good Government and the only way to keep our economy strong, the only way to keep Mike Baird as Premier is to vote Liberal or National.
QUESTION:
Are you confident Mike Baird will be re-elected, though?
PRIME MINISTER:
He's a terrific human being. I know him very well. I know him very well, indeed. I regard him as a friend as well as a political colleague. He is a good man doing a fine job and keeping New South Wales in safe hands.
QUESTION:
There’s been an update overnight on the Germanwings air disaster. Does this mean there's scope for stricter international regulations on flight crew and their whereabouts?
PRIME MINISTER:
Whenever you’ve got a major aviation incident, everyone reviews their procedures and this will be no different.
QUESTION:
Prime Minister, take us through the Burnie Autism Centre just here and how important that is to local people.
PRIME MINISTER:
The Burnie Autism Early Learning and Care Centre is something which local people cherish and I was very pleased to be able to announce with Brett Whiteley last night that funding is secure for this centre for the next three and a half years. There's another five similar centres right around our country and their funding, likewise, will be secure for the next three and a half years.
QUESTION:
Prime Minister, just further on the air disaster, have you had any further contact with your international counterparts?
PRIME MINISTER:
No, I haven't, but I certainly have been talking to the Aviation Minister, the Deputy Prime Minister. We've got a briefing on it, as you’d expect, and I’m seeking a further briefing on it, as you’d expect. But I just want to assure people that whenever there is a major aviation incident, everyone reviews their safety procedures to ensure that our airlines are as safe as they possibly can be. Aviation is the safest form of transport and we want to keep it that way.
QUESTION:
A poll out today shows overwhelming support for constitutional recognition of Aboriginal people, so why wait?
PRIME MINISTER:
It's important to get this right. Yes, we want to do it, but we want to get it right and it's more important to get it right than to rush it. This is an important cause – a very important cause. John Howard put it on our national agenda in the lead-up to the 2007 election. Every prime minister since then has supported it, but it is important to get it right and that's what I intend to do. We've got the Joint Parliamentary Committee, chaired by Ken Wyatt, deputy chaired by Nova Peris, and that Committee will be reporting in the next couple of months and that will give us a strong foundation on which to build.
Thank you.
[ends]