PRIME MINISTER:
It was good to have a chance to address the Australian Strategic Policy Institute, good to have a chance to, I suppose, set the scene for the coming defence white paper which is all about building on the strengths of our armed forces. We have more capable and more potent armed forces than ever before, but they will need to be even more potent and even more capable in the years and decades to come, given the multitude of challenges that they face here and in the wider world.
QUESTION:
Is this the last sitting week before a poll?
PRIME MINISTER:
Look, I would certainly advise anyone who was thinking that way to – in the old terminology – have a Bex and a long lie down, because this is a Government that was elected to govern for three years. I think what you’ve seen over the last fortnight is probably the most productive fortnight in this term of parliament and I want to build on that, not cut it short.
QUESTION:
Prime Minister, are you, as your opponents say, politicising national security?
PRIME MINISTER:
No. Obviously, there is a political process, a parliamentary process, that goes into the finalisation of national security policy, but at all times I have tried to ensure that national security is bipartisan and while there’s certainly been some disagreements, I’ve got to say that the Opposition has been pretty responsible when it comes to national security and I have a degree of gratitude for the cooperation we’ve had from the Opposition. We’ve seen some signs of statesmanship if I may so from the Opposition on this, if not necessarily on all other matters.
QUESTION:
Prime Minister, you’ve just committed to a continuous build of surface naval ships in Australia. Can you give us some more detail on that and is it to make up for not building submarines in Australia?
PRIME MINISTER:
We’ve got a very clear process for the finalisation of the future submarine programme and that’s well and truly underway. Within a very short few weeks, we’ll have a lot more to say about naval shipbuilding. The fundamental principle is that while we don’t need to build all of our major equipment here in Australia and we never have – any number of major pieces of equipment from our Joint Strike Fighters to our amphibious ships are substantially built overseas – we do need to have a strong defence industry capability for sustainment purposes and we do have a preference for a local build where it’s of world-class quality, where it’s at a reasonable price and where it doesn’t interfere with interoperability.
QUESTION:
PM, can I just ask you, what do you make of the ABC's decision to repeat Q &A yesterday, and have you banned Government ministers from appearing on the show?
PRIME MINISTER:
Utterly incomprehensible – utterly incomprehensible. Here we had the ABC admitting a gross error of judgment and then compounding that terrible mistake – that betrayal, if you like – of our country by giving a platform to this convicted criminal and terrorist sympathiser, they compounded the mistake by rebroadcasting the program. Now, frankly, heads should roll over this – heads should roll over this. I've had a good discussion with the Communications Minister, Malcolm Turnbull. I know he has made a very strong representation to the ABC. We've announced that we are not satisfied with an internal ABC inquiry because so often we've seen virtual whitewashes when that sort of thing happens. There is going to be an urgent government inquiry with recommendations, and frankly, the ABC ought to take some very strong action straight away.
QUESTION:
What’s your message to people in Punchbowl and Campbellfield after those places were labelled as terror hot spots yesterday?
PRIME MINISTER:
My message always is that Australia is the most marvellous and the most welcoming country in the world. Australia is a place where every single person ought to feel free to be himself or herself, to realise his or her best dreams and big ideals. We all should be free to do that, but it's got to be done in ways which are consistent with the like freedom of others and that's why it is gruesome beyond belief to see some people, including some in our midst, who are utterly at war with our society and with the great ideals which we seek to realise here.
[ends]