PRIME MINISTER:
Well, here we are. Ann congratulations.
ANN SUDMALIS MP, MEMBER FOR GILMORE:
Thank you.
PRIME MINISTER:
Well, thank you. Behind us will be built, a new bridge. A new northbound bridge. Four lanes.
We are committing, from the Federal Budget half of the cost of that, $155 million.
This bridge, that hasn’t even been built yet, is the best known bridge in Canberra. Because Ann Sudmalis has been as persuasive as she has been persistent. Everybody knows about the importance of this bridge.
ANN SUMALIS MP, MEMBER FOR GILMORE:
For some Ministers would say painful I think, but never mind.
PRIME MINISTER:
Effective, that’s what the people of Gilmore want. They want an advocate who is effective and gets things done.
And you know what? We’ve got a strong Budget. We’ve got a strong economy. Record jobs growth. We’re bring the Budget back into balance. That is our trajectory, to do that. We’re not going to compromise that, but these stronger revenues enable us in responsibly managing the Budget, to invest in essential services and infrastructure. To deliver them.
Ann has done a fantastic job of explaining the importance of this new bridge and what it means for her community and she’s had the strong support of her community here to ensure that this community, with Nowra here and Bomaderry on the other side, are linked.
These bridges are vital. So Ann, congratulations, well done.
ANN SUDMALIS MP:
Thank you very much.
PRIME MINISTER:
Tell us about your campaign to build our bridge and how important it’s going to be?
ANN SUDMALIS MP:
Look Malcolm, it’s been a really long project. It’s started in, gosh, early 2012 and people in the community said: “What are you going to do, what are you going to do?” And I said: “Look, what do you want?” Universally, they said we need a new bridge.” So its been a long process but we’ve built it up.
We’ve done phone canvassing, letter boxing, door knocking, everything possible to raise awareness and we got people signing a petition. So, we've done more than 3,000 signatures on the petition now. I'm very pleased with that. It's been quite fast. But it goes back to you, to reflect to you that this really is an important piece of infrastructure.
I can not thank the community enough for getting on board with getting the bridge. Because it is really, you get tired after a couple of years, you start thinking: “Am I on the right track, am I doing the right thing?” Then the community says: “Keep going, we need that bridge”. Thanks to all of them, I would absolutely like that message to go across.
Thank you, community. You’ve helped this happen.
PRIME MINISTER:
Well, you’ve secured, first the $10 million for the business plan and the design.
ANN SUDMALIS MP:
Yep.
PRIME MINISTER:
The support of the community demonstrates this is a highest priority project. Because of the strong economic growth we've got, the jobs growth that we’ve got, the responsible management of our Budget and our public finances, we're able to deliver half of the cost of the bridge. We look forward to the New South Wales Government having more to say about it shortly.
JOURNALIST:
Prime Minister, given revenues are so much higher and stronger than you expected, can we expect an earlier return to surplus?
PRIME MINISTER:
I am not going to comment any further on the budget. That's for the Treasurer.
JOURNALIST:
Your Finance Minister wouldn't rule it out this morning?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well, the Budget is next week and the Treasurer will have a lot to say.
JOURNALIST:
Prime Minister, will the Federal Government commit to funding this entire project or will this money be it? And will the State Government deliver on the rest of the funds?
PRIME MINISTER:
Look, we’re very confident. This bridge is a priority for the State Government as well, so it's a joint priority. We have funded, as you know, the business case and the design work already. This is a $310 million project, is what's been estimated and so we're committing half of that cost, $155 million in the Budget.
JOURNALIST:
Chris Richardson said it's raining revenue in Canberra. Is there a problem here that you might be spending a bit too much of what is just a temporary lift in revenue, rather than return the Budget to surplus?
PRIME MINISTER:
We are managing the Budget with great care and with great responsibility, believe me.
We are committed to bringing the Budget back into balance. As we've said, we inherited a Budget when we came into government, which was in deficit, with a lot of structural problems too, that has made it hard to bring it back into balance. But we're doing that and we're getting the dividends from stronger economic growth.
You know we had record jobs growth last year and what that means is more people are in work, more people are getting ahead, realising their dreams. More people are paying tax and course, that means less going out in unemployment benefits.
JOURNALIST:
Prime Minister, are you committed to a 2021 surplus date?
PRIME MINISTER:
That is the date – 2021 - we will be, our forecasts say, we will be in surplus. But you’ll have all the updated forecast in the Budget next week. So, wait until then.
JOURNALIST:
Prime Minister are you concerned about Australian Navy officers allegedly caught up in the US Navy, Fat Leonard bribery scandal?
PRIME MINISTER:
Look, I can't comment on that.
JOURNALIST:
[Interjections]
PRIME MINISTER:
Hang on, no wait a minute, one of the biggest issues in this press conference is that everyone is asking questions at the same time. So, let's go around. You first, sir.
JOURNALIST:
Thank you, Prime Minister. One of the big issues down here is upgrading the Princess Highway. There's certainly been a number of accidents down in the southern part at the Shoalhaven and the big issue is an 80-20 funding split. So what's the latest on that, is there any possibility we could be seeing more federal money going into upgrading the highway here?
ANN SUDMALIS MP:
So let me just jump in Prime Minister, because I've been on the ground working for this for some time.
Last August a number of federal MPs got together and knocked on the Infrastructure Minister's door and said: “Princess Highway needs to be recognised by the Federal Government, what can we do about it?”
There’s a study in place as we speak in order to get the Princess Highway as a nationally recognised road of strategic importance. Other than that, nothing will come out other than patchwork funding for election promises or black spot promises, until we get that particular ratio sorted and you can't do anything at this moment, until that’s sorted.
I'm so pleased to be able to say that in this forum, because there's been so much rubbish put out there in the media, that it's very frustrating. So this is fantastic, we get the full message out there in front of everyone.
Thanks for the question.
PRIME MINISTER:
Good on you, Ann, hooray! Well done.
JOURNALIST:
Prime Minister, a Sky News Reachtel poll shows 50 per cent of those polled support a 90 day limit on refugees on Manus and Nauru, including 50 per cent of Liberal voters. We’ve heard from Penny Wong this morning who says that it’s something that Labor should possibly implement. Is that something that the Government would consider?
PRIME MINISTER:
Absolutely not.
If Penny Wong is supporting a limit of that kind on the time refugees would be held or detained at Manus or in Nauru, that is rolling out the welcome mat to the people smugglers. It’s extremely irresponsible.
We have stopped the boats. We’ve stopped the drownings at sea. We've only done that because the people smugglers know that they will not be able to get through and that has to be maintained.
We must maintain the security of our borders. We owe that to the Australian people, who expect their government and their government alone to determine who comes to Australia, whether they're an immigrant, whether a visitor, or whether they're through the humanitarian program.
Hang on, next one. So we’re just going to move around. Who’s next?
JOURNALIST:
What is your reaction to the Commonwealth Bank losing 20 million records of data?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well, it’s an extraordinary blunder. It's hard to imagine how so much data could be lost in this way.
I have to say that the bank - if that had happened today, the bank would have to publicly advise each of their customers about the loss of data, under the new laws that we have brought in and have been operating since the beginning of this year.
But this maintaining data security is of vital importance for everybody, whether it's the private sector or governments and if there is a serious data breach or data loss, then the people affected should be advised, so they can take steps to protect themselves.
JOURNALIST:
On top of the APRA report that was released this week, do you share your Treasurer's frustration that more executives will now have to go, more members of the board?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well, the board members and executives, leaders, have to take responsibility for their organisation.
We've already seen some resignations at AMP for example. It's vitally important that those who have done the wrong thing, are held to account. We are doing everything to ensure that these wrongs, this injustice that has occurred, will not happen again. So that's my commitment.
We've already made some very big changes to the law. We got started on this two years ago when I called this out. What we've seen is, across the financial services sector and in banks, insurance companies, and in wealth advisers - we've seen a failure of culture, where the customer has not been put first. That has to change. I called that out.
JOURNALIST:
Should heads roll?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well, what we need to see is those who have done the wrong thing be held to account. We’ve introduced tougher penalties and tougher regimes so that bank executives that have done the wrong thing, may find themselves unable to work again. And also, we've put in place the stronger measures to ensure this sort of thing will not happen again.
JOURNALIST:
Just back to the Shoalhaven -
PRIME MINISTER:
Hang on, we're going back to the Shoalhaven, it’s alright.
JOURNALIST:
[Interjections]
PRIME MINISTER:
Hang on, please, a bit of chivalry from you sir, there is a lady here with a question. Come on, step up.
JOURNALIST:
Yeah sure, Ann Sudmalis, you mentioned that you were looking into the highway and that 80-20 split that the Federal Government has given to the northern parts of New South Wales. When can we see that?
ANN SUDMALIS MP:
Bec, I think I just explained that study is in place right now. I can't anticipate the outcome of that study. It's in place and I've been working with the Minister on this for some time.
You can not anticipate an outcome for a study as important as that, to make sure we address the fatalities that have occurred on that highway. It needs to be considered. So, whatever the formula is, that’s the way it will be as a recommendation.
PRIME MINISTER:
Can I make this observation, Bec and it's really important to understand that the people who pay for infrastructure are the Australian people, Australian taxpayers. Whether it is a 50-50 split as we’re talking about with the new bridge here, or whether it's an 80-20 split where the Federal Government puts in 80 per cent, or whether it's a situation where the Federal Government pays 100 per cent or the State Government pays 100 per cent or the local government pays it. One way or another, it comes from Australian taxpayers.
So, the important thing is to ensure that governments work together and we've got a great relationship with the New South Wales Government. Gladys Berejiklian and I and all of our respective colleagues, work very closely together. So you look at what we've done, for example, in Western Sydney, where there's a big, a piece of big new infrastructure, the new Western Sydney Airport and also a commitment to build a new rail link down at - the North-South Rail link - which we will do 50-50.
But so you see whichever way we work it out, Bec, the most important thing is that it gets built and that Australians get the essential infrastructure that they need. But at the end of the day - governments can talk about which government pays - the reality is Australian taxpayers pay.
That’s why responsible budget management and strong economic leadership is vital. Because that’s what ensures that we have more money in the pockets of hardworking Australians, we guarantee and deliver essential services and infrastructure and the Government, whether it's federal, state or local, lives within its means.
Thank you all very much.
JOURNALIST:
Were you offended by President Emmanuel Macron calling Lucy “delicious”.
PRIME MINISTER:
Thank you. Lucy was very flattered.
[Laughter]
Very flattered and she’s asked me to say that she found the President’s compliment as charming as it was memorable.
It was a great visit. President Macron charmed Australia, he certainly charmed all of us, all the Turnbull’s and I think he is a great friend of Australia. I have to say his visit has been a real success.
I think Australia-France relations, which have always been very strong and very warm and of course, you know were forged in the intense conflict of battle 100 years ago. They have grown and developed and become stronger still. I think one of the great memorable moments in history was when the President of the French Republic stood in front of the ANZAC Memorial in Hyde Park and he said on behalf of France, thank you to the Australians who defended the freedom of his country.
It was a great visit and as I said, Mrs Turnbull is both flattered and charmed, as we all are, thanks a lot.
[ENDS]