SENATOR ZED SESELJA:
Welcome to Fyshwick. We’ve got a lot of Queanbeyan locals here and it’s great to be here in Canberra and also to have my cross-border colleague, Peter Hendy, here who obviously represents this area and we know that many of the workers here do come from in and out of the region.
But of course to the Prime Minister and to Bruce Billson, we’re here with Scott and Janine today and thank you to Scott and Janine for having us because what we’ve been hearing about is their trailer business going from strength to strength and that’s what we want to see.
We’ve been hearing from other local businesses who have been benefitting from the Government’s instant asset write-off and other policies that have been announced in the Budget. There’s a lot more certainty now that the legislation’s gone through.
So, I think that’s fantastic news and with that, I’d ask you to welcome the Prime Minister.
PRIME MINISTER:
Thank you, Zed.
It is great to be here in Fyshwick at Better Trailers. I want to thank Scott and Janine McPherson for making myself, Zed, Minister Bruce Billson and also Peter Hendy so welcome this morning.
This is a business which has benefited from the Budget. This is a Budget for confidence, it’s a Budget that was designed to recognise and reward people who are out there having a go. There are some two million Australian small businesses that are eligible to benefit from the instant asset write-off, the tax cuts in this year’s Budget. And the great news for these two million small businesses is that yesterday the Senate passed our instant asset write-off, which means that all of those two million businesses can go out there and invest again and again and again up to $20,000 and get it written off straight away against their tax.
So, this is the best Budget ever for small business. These are the biggest small business tax cuts ever. It’s good that it’s gone through the Senate because that provides the certainty that the small businesses of Australia need if they are to go out there and invest, employ, and serve their customers better.
There are a lot of encouraging signs in the economy right now. Last week, we say unemployment dropping. We’ve had almost 290,000 jobs created since the election. We are on track for our economy to create some million further jobs in five years. The week before, we saw that our economy was growing at 0.9 per cent, which is just about as high as anyone in the developed world.
None of this happens by accident. It happens because you’ve got a Government with policies that make our country open for business. We’ve scrapped the carbon tax. We’ve scrapped the mining tax. We got three free trade agreements finalised. We’ve cut $2 billion from business red tape costs. We’ve provided environmental approvals for $1 trillion worth of new projects.
This is a Government which is getting Australia going.
Now, obviously the Minister for Small Business has done great work here and Bruce you might like to support these remarks.
SMALL BUSINESS MINISTER:
Thanks, PM.
Well, for Scott and Mrs McPherson here at Better Trailers, this is an example of a family business. Nearly 25 years of their life they’ve worked side by side to create opportunities for themselves and others and the team that are here making some of the finest trailers you’ll find anywhere in our country. Jim’s Mowing knows that. Scott and Janine’s customers know that.
But we’ve also seen a response to what’s been the best Budget for small business in this nation’s history. More orders coming through this factory. The other businesses in this vicinity similarly boosted and buoyed by a Government very committed to supporting their enterprise.
As the Prime Minister said, we’re working hard and in a focused and sure-footed way to get the economic conditions right so that enterprising men and women can grow their businesses, grow the jobs that result from it, and we’re seeing those signs: green shoots across the economy, optimism – the National Australia Bank pointing to very strong business conditions and business confidence and we’re seeing results.
More jobs, more vibrancy in our small business sector – that’s what we’re on about, being the best friend small business and family enterprises can have. We’re their allies and their advocates and I admire their enterprise. They’re taking the opportunity to have a go, to take hold of the opportunities our Budget provides for them and that’s what we’re on about, that’ll build jobs and economic strength.
PRIME MINISTER:
Peter – a former small businessman.
PETER HENDY:
Indeed, Prime Minister. Thank you.
And just to emphasise the cross-border connection here. Janine and Scott who run this business are constituents in Eden-Monaro from Bungendore.
There are a number of people here who are from Queanbeyan and the surrounding region and you’re finding that the small business package is really, really strong and being grabbed with real enthusiasm by businesses across regional Australia and rural Australia.
PRIME MINISTER:
Ok, do we have any questions?
QUESTION:
Prime Minister, are you concerned there’s been another leak on the citizenship changes that you’ve planned to bring in?
PRIME MINISTER:
What the document in question does is demonstrate that this is a Government which is serious about protecting our country. We are absolutely serious about keeping our people safe and the reason why we are so determined to strip citizenship from terrorists who are dual nationals is we don't want them coming back. If they go to Syria and Iraq to fight with terrorist armies, and we can stop them coming back – we will. That's what this stripping citizenship from terrorists whose are dual nationals are all about and the legislation will be in the Parliament in this fortnight.
QUESTION:
Will there be an investigation into how this national security matter came to be in the hands of journalists?
PRIME MINISTER:
Again, I just want to stress that this is a Government which is absolutely focused on keeping our people safe. We will do whatever we reasonably can to keep our people safe. Frankly, if you have taken up a gun or a knife to your fellow Australian simply because of who we are, you've forfeited any right to be considered one of us.
QUESTION:
Does it also suggest that one of the intentions of these laws is to wedge Labor?
PRIME MINISTER:
Obviously, we want the support of the Parliament with these laws. I'm pleased that belatedly the Labor Party said 10 days or so back that they supported these laws in-principle. Let’s see what they do in practice. Our previous legislation has been to some extent watered down because of splits inside the Labor Party here. I know that many good people in the Labor Party want to do the right thing. Unfortunately, there are some people in the Labor Party who don't take national security as seriously as they should.
QUESTION:
We haven't seen the legislation and neither has anyone – apart from people that are leaking it. When will we see it in the Parliament?
PRIME MINISTER:
As I said, the legislation will come into the Parliament this fortnight. That's always been our position. It's been our position from the very beginning. The legislation will come into the Parliament in this fortnight. I am confident that this legislation will do exactly what the Government says we need and that is to strip citizenship from terrorists who are dual nationals.
QUESTION:
Just on the leaking of it though, you did tell the Party Room that Cabinet had had a come to Jesus moment on the leaking of these sorts of documents. Again today and yesterday, we see the leak of this document which is – as I understand it – stamped "confidential". Is that a concern to you and your Government?
PRIME MINISTER:
David, again, I know people in Canberra obsess over these things but as far as the public are concerned they want a Government which is keeping Australia safe and I want to give every single Australian this assurance: this Government will do what is necessary to keep you safe – whether it's toughening up our anti- terrorist laws, whether it's boosting the resources that or police and security agencies need, whether it's sending a strong force to the Middle East to tackle this problem at source, or whether it's stripping citizenship from terrorists who are dual nationals – we will always do what is needed to keep you safe.
QUESTION:
Prime Minister, Indonesia says it's not a hard question to answer whether payments were made to turn back boats. Why won't your Government provide that clarification and don't you risk damaging the relationship with Indonesia over this?
PRIME MINISTER:
Again, the only thing that really counts is: have we stopped the boats? And the answer is a resounding yes. Let's contrast the record of this Government with that of our predecessor: the former government put the people smugglers back in business – 50,000 illegal arrivals, 1,000 boats, tragically more than 1,000 deaths at sea – all of that has stopped under this Government.
QUESTION:
With respect for them, Prime Minister, is it a matter of the ends now justifies the means, no matter what work is done to turn these boats around, so long as the boats are stopped you're happy to use any number of methods to make this happen?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well, the most moral thing you can do here is stop the boats. Let me repeat that because it's such an important point: the most moral thing you can do here is stop the boats, because as long as the boats are coming, the evil people smuggling trade is in business, and the deaths continue. So, we've done the right thing, we've done the moral thing, the decent thing, the compassionate thing. We've stopped the boats by doing whatever is necessary within the law to stop the boats.
QUESTION:
[inaudible] weighed into this debate overnight, and that follows Foreign Minister Marsudi. This is now going up the chain in Indonesia. Have you contacted or one of your deputies contacted anyone in the Indonesian Government to put your position forward or is this all being played out via the media?
PRIME MINISTER:
Everyone knows the Australian Government's position. We will do whatever is necessary, within the law, consistent with our standards as a decent and humane society, to stop the boats because, as I say, that's the moral thing to do. Now, the great thing about stopping the boats is that that has very much improved our relationship with Indonesia. We have a good relationship with Indonesia. It's a strong friendship. It's getting stronger all the time. Occasionally, people will say things which journalists like to savour and conjure. There are many media outlets that are more interested in promoting discord than in celebrating all the constructive things that happen between our two countries and when it comes to people smuggling there has been very strong and close cooperation between our countries. Thanks to the good work of our agencies, including our cooperation with Indonesia, some 250 people smugglers are in jail, mostly in Indonesia.
QUESTION:
With respect, these aren't people – this is the vice president of our most powerful neighbour saying this.
PRIME MINISTER:
Well, I am telling you what the Australian Government is doing. We are stopping the boats, we have stopped the boats. We will stop the boats from ever starting again and one of the big questions, and I would urge you all to put this question to the Labor people is: what is their position on turn backs? What is their position on turn backs? What is their position on overseas processing? What is their position on refugee visas? Because the fact of the matter is Labor gave the people smugglers their business model. If Labor were ever to get back into Government, the people smugglers would be back in business.
QUESTION:
Prime Minister, can I just get a clarification from you? Is it legal for ASIS to pay boat crew to turn boats around?
PRIME MINISTER:
I am absolutely confident that at all times Australian agencies have acted within the law.
QUESTION:
Does that mean that that did happen?
PRIME MINISTER:
I just want to repeat – and you can ask me any number of times – but I am in the business of supporting our agencies not undermining them, I am in the business of stopping the boats not starting them, I am in the business of building a strong relationship with Indonesia, not aggravating things because that's my job as Prime Minister of Australia. Let me repeat for everyone's satisfaction: I am confident that at all times Australian agencies have acted within the law.
QUESTION:
On our relationship with Indonesia, do you agree with the Foreign Minister's comments that Indonesia is to blame for not maintaining the sovereignty of its own borders?
PRIME MINISTER:
Certainly under the former government we had almost 1,000 boats – most of them from Indonesia – come to Australia. There was one or two incidents where boats were seeking to go from Australia to Indonesia and I'm happy to say that none of those boats left Australian waters.
QUESTION:
Indonesia says they were surprised by Ms Bishop's comments that they should worry about their own borders. Do you think her comments were appropriate?
PRIME MINISTER:
I absolutely support all of the actions of my Ministers. They're all doing a very good job. But what I want to say is that to the relief and satisfaction of the Australian people, this Government has stopped the boats. Again, I stress, the most moral thing you can do, the most decent and compassionate thing you can do in Government is stop the boats. We've stopped the boats. If Labor ever gets back they'll start the boats up again, because they don't support turnarounds, they don't support temporary visas for people found to be refugees, they don't support offshore processing. Basically, Labor's position is: if you can get here, you can stay here. That's why, under Labor, we saw an absolutely massive people-smuggling trade which on any reasonable estimate put about a half a billion dollars in the pockets of people smugglers.
QUESTION:
On foreign investment, should foreign governments be allowed to buy Australian agricultural land?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well, this is a Government which has put additional safeguards in place when it comes to agricultural land. The threshold has come down dramatically. We've always taken a special interest in foreign governments buying anything in Australia, including land. Any foreign government investment in Australia is subject – from the first dollar – to Foreign Investment Review Board scrutiny and that's the way it should be.
QUESTION:
Your Agriculture Minister Barnaby Joyce has this morning argued that state-owned enterprises and overseas governments shouldn't be able to buy any farmland at all. So, you're completely at odds with him on that issue?
PRIME MINISTER:
Look, he was simply making the point that when it comes to foreign governments, as opposed to private businesses from overseas, different rules apply. They always have and as far as I'm concerned, they always will.
I'll take one more question.
QUESTION:
Prime Minister, just back on citizenship legislation – Gillian Triggs last night says she has concerns about them and she fears that they're being rushed through. What do you say to those comments and do you believe that it is a hinder that someone in her position is saying things like this when you're trying to push the legislation through?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well, as I said, we will introduce into the Parliament in this current fortnight, strong new laws to strip citizenship from terrorists who are dual nationals. As well, we have put in place a national discussion that will be led by Philip Ruddock and Senator Connie Fierravanti-Wells on citizenship more generally. On the responsibilities, as well as the rights of citizenship; on what we expect of Australians because what we want are people to be part of our team, fully committed to our country, fully supportive of the core values of our country. So, that conversation is going on.
It's quite likely that at the end of that conversation, further legislation will be necessary because many of the people who are going overseas to fight with these terrorist armies aren't dual nationals, they are Australians born and bred and it's appropriate that we should consider what the consequences for Australians should be if they go overseas and fight with these terrorist armies because, as we know, the Daesh death cult, the Islamist death cult, is regularly exhorting its sympathisers to take up arms and kill Australians.
So, anyone who is working with these terrorist armies, frankly, is guilty of the modern form of treason. They have put themselves outside the extended family of the Australian nation, and, look, this is a big and welcoming extended family but if you take up arms with these terrorist armies, these terrorist armies who are targeting Australians – well, frankly, you've got to ask yourself the question: do you any longer deserve to be considered one of us?
Thank you.
[ends]