Subjects: new ministry.
PRIME MINISTER: Well ladies and gentlemen you will have the details of the new ministry which I';ll be recommending to the Governor General. The swearing in will take place on Monday afternoon. It represents a significantly different ministry from the one which carried us to the last election. Importantly there are three new members of Cabinet, Brendan Nelson who has been appointed Minister for Education, Training and Science. Senator Kay Paterson who';s been appointed Minister for Health and Ageing, and the description of ageing rather than aged care symbolises the determination of the Government to pursue a broader agenda in that area than simply residential aged care, nursing homes, et ecetera. And also I've appointed Ian Macfarlane from Queensland as a Cabinet Minister and he will take over the responsibility of Industry, Tourism and Resources, and there will be a junior ministry in that area that will have specific responsibility for small business and tourism.
They are areas that have very clear linkages. In addition there are a number of new faces in the outer ministry. Helen Coonan and Danna Vale from New South Wales, Helen going into the position of Minister for Revenue and that will have a particular focus on taxation matters and Assistant Treasurer. Danna Vale will become the Minister for Veterans Affairs and assist the new Defence Minister, Robert Hill. Gary Hardgrave from Queensland will come into the ministry as the junior minister to Phillip Ruddock and his responsibilities will be specifically in relation to citizenship and multicultural affairs. In addition Kevin Andrews will join the ministry as the Minister for Ageing, working with Kay Paterson.
As a result of the new proportions in the Coalition there will be 25 Liberals in the new ministry and five members of the National Party and it';s because of that that Bruce Scott will no longer be in the ministry. I want to record my gratitude to Bruce for the excellent work he did as Minister for Veterans Affairs. I also record my gratitude to Bronwyn Bishop for the work that she has done over the last five and a half years, firstly in the defence portfolio and more recently in the area of aged care. As I indicated this morning on the media, Jackie Kelly told me several days ago that she didn't want to be considered at this time for appointment to the ministry for a number of personal and family reasons. I asked her whether she would consider going on serving the government in the less onerous but nonetheless important job of Parliamentary Secretary to me.
She's agreed to do that. I would hope if the opportunity arises in the future to consider Jackie for reappointment to the ministry because I think she has done an excellent job and has bought a great deal of energy and vitality to her ministerial duties. Overall I believe that the new ministry is a combination of quite a number of proven performers, but the opportunity has also been taken, as is necessary, to give new people an opportunity to perform and an opportunity to participate. I congratulate those who've been appointed for the first time, it';s one of the most exciting and rewarding things in politics to be a Minister of Crown for the first time. And in this ministry I've given a large number of people of great ability opportunities to perform and to contribute.
And I believe that I will take into the third term of my administration a very strong and effective team, it will be a very active ministry, we intend to pursue an active reform agenda, we do not take in any way our re-election as a sign that things should simply be business as usual, certainly they, the Australian public want from us continued good government but they also want from us further reform, plenty of activity, and new ideas, new talent, new people, and that is precisely what I believe that we have provided with the team that I've announced this afternoon. Any questions?
JOURNALIST: Mr Howard, is the role you';ve given to Senator Coonan an acknowledge that perhaps the oversight, particularly of the implementation of the new tax system, has not been as rigorous as you would like and there are problems in tax that need to be resolved?
PRIME MINISTER: I think you do need to have a greater focus on tax administration at a ministerial level. I'm not totally satisfied that the arrangements we had the in past adequately did that, that is one of the reasons why I said we';d appoint the position of Inspector General of the Tax Office and I will be specifically charging Senator Coonan with particular responsibility for seeing that there is an appropriate interaction between the Taxation Office and the business community, especially the small business community. It's a difficult job tax administration but it';s also important that the lines of communication be open, it's also important that the culture of the tax office not be as closed as it has been in the past, I have quite strong views on that. I respect the Tax Office but I do think it needs to have a rather more open culture and it';s very important that the relationship between the Tax Office and the business community be revitalised, that the Tax Office needs to reach out a little more and engage the business community and to understand that they do have legitimate concerns about the complexity of taxation law. And whilst expressing again my acknowledgment as a former Treasurer of the difficulties of tax administration I do believe the relationship can be stronger, more positive and better and having a minister specifically designated as being responsible for revenue areas, obviously answerable to the Treasurer who has overall responsibility, I think that is a step in the right direction.
JOURNALIST: Should the commissioner of taxation be getting concerned about his independence given this new portfolio responsibility and the other appointment, related appointment, that you've mentioned of Inspector General?
PRIME MINISTER: He shouldn't be concerned about his statuary independence. He certainly shouldn';t be and a statutory office holder like the commissioner of taxation, confident of his brief and his place in the administration of the taxation law, should never see ministerial interest and oversight of taxation policy as an infringement of independence. But the system has got to be made to work effectively, consistent with the secrecy provisions of the taxation act. I think we can do better in this area, I think we can preserve the secrecy provisions, preserve the statutory independence of the tax commissioner but make the tax office and the business community interact in a more positive fashion with each other, I don't think we've done that well enough in the past and I think we have a great opportunity now and with a special ministerial focus for that to occur.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, why did you think it's important to have a new portfolio of citizenship and multicultural affairs? And wasn't multicultural a word that you didn't like previously?
PRIME MINISTER: Well people said I didn't like it. It';s a word I don't perhaps use as often as others but it';s acquired a certain meaning and place in our society and I think you have to go with the flow with some of those things. Bear in mind that Phillip's overall portfolio is a combination of immigration, multicultural affairs and indigenous policy. I didn';t want to take indigenous policy outside of the Cabinet, I think it's important to keep indigenous policy and reconciliation issues inside the Cabinet and you';ll notice that Mr Ruddock still assists me on reconciliation matters in the arrangements. And the sensible way of doing it was to have a junior minister who obviously will do a lot of the community work in the area of immigration and multicultural affairs and I'm sure that he will work out with Philip Ruddock, who will be appointed by me to the National Security Committee of Cabinet and I';ll be announcing next week the new Cabinet committees. One of the new committees that I';m going to have is a policy and priorities community which I will chair and whose responsibility will be the development of the ongoing agenda of the government for the third term so there'll be no lack of policy momentum at the very top to ensure that there are plenty of policy initiatives flowing through for the benefit of the Australian people and the abiding interest of the Federal Parliamentary Press Gallery.
JOURNALIST: Mr Howard what qualities does Senator Paterson and Dr Nelson have that see them go straight into Cabinet?
PRIME MINISTER: Well Senator Patterson has special qualifications in the area that I've appointed her to. She is a skilled geriontologist, she has very significant, indeed impressive, academic qualifications in that area, she';s been in Parliament since 1987 and she';s been an extremely effective Parliamentary Secretary to two ministers, both of whom spoke very warmly of her, the former Health Minister Dr Wooldridge has spoken to me on numerous occasions of her ability, I've observed her over a period of time, I've been impressed with her, and I have no doubt that she';ll do an extremely good job. Dr Nelson is a very intelligent person, he was a skilled general practitioner, he ran the Australian Medical Association for a number of years, he may I say has taken in the early time that he was in parliament some disappointment in terms of ministerial preferrment extremely well, worked very hard as Parliamentary Secretary to Peter Reith and I've been particularly impressed with the work that he';s done over the last three years and I think it's a very appropriate appointment, I wish him well, I think he'll be an excellent minister.
JOURNALIST: What type of things…
PRIME MINISTER: I beg your pardon?
JOURNALIST: What countered against Mr Hockey?
PRIME MINISTER: It';s not a question of something counting against Mr Hockey, it';s a question of, you';ve only got 17 Cabinet posts and I think it was better to put to Kay Patterson and Brendan Nelson, not because I didn';t think Mr Hockey was good, it';s just that I thought that they were more appropriate for the positions that were available.
JOURNALIST: Is Danna Vale's elevation a recognition that with Jackie Kelly gone you still want representation from Western Sydney which has been important electorally for you in the last two elections?
PRIME MINISTER: Well there are a number of reasons why I';ve promoted Danna, I';ve promoted her because she';s an incredibly effective community politician, she is stunningly effective at relating to middle Australia in the community and I think you need people like that. And I';m an unashamed admirer of somebody who can beat Robert Tickner with a 12 per cent swing and then build on it to the extent that she won every polling booth at the last election. Jackie has been a good performer, but I've explained the circumstances of her not being there this time. I';ve got a lot of talent in that area, I';m glad that I';ve been able to give Ross Cameron an opportunity as a Parliamentary Secretary and Simon Crean will have to do more than just visit the Western suburbs of Sydney symbolically after the election, we in fact are delivering policy and I say the thing that the people of the outer suburbs of Sydney are characterised more - by more than anything else and that is a sense of aspiration. I heard Simon Crean talking about this morning about hope and fear, it's the aspirations of the people of that part of Australia that our policies appeal to and aspiration has more to do, more in common with hope than it does with fear.
JOURNALIST: Is Bronwyn Bishop's exit from the Ministry a concession that aged care and the whole nursing homes issue has been a trouble spot for the Coalition – you think it could be handled better, doesn't need to be so troublesome?
PRIME MINISTER: No it's a situation where Bronwyn has been a Minister in the outer Ministry for 5 and a half years. And I';ve respected the work that she's done and I appreciate it very much. I did not feel I could promote her to the Cabinet and I formed the conclusion, the view, that there was therefore a case for giving some other people an opportunity. Its not a dumping on her, its not an adverse judgement on her. It';s a recognition that you do need to maintain a certain form of momentum in the choice of Cabinet positions and Ministerial positions. You do need to give a number of people opportunities over a period of time. And I';ve always said that part of Cabinet making and part of forming a Ministry is giving people opportunities - younger people and bringing people forward. I think you do need to have a proper balance between men and women and I';ve tried to do that. I';m pleased to note that there are now two women in the Cabinet. They're there obviously on ability but it is nonetheless important that there be those balances and obviously there';s even more room for preferrment and advancement in that area. But you have a lot of people that you can choose from and you do have to maintain the prospect that people can win preferrment and win an opportunity to demonstrate their ability and it carries a certain dynamic and a certain energy if you can continue to do that.
JOURNALIST: Apart from personnel, how is this Cabinet make up reflecting your policy priorities? You mentioned today industrial relations will be one, what will be your policy priorities and how are they reflected in this Cabinet make-up?
PRIME MINISTER: Well all of my Ministers reflect my policy priorities. We all in that sense endeavour to sing from the same hymn sheet. We have a commitment to strong economic management, we have a commitment to further industrial relations reform, we have a commitment to strongly family oriented policies. And you will see both in personnel and in the arrangement of portfolios, quite an emphasis on that. You will notice the creation of a new portfolio of Children and Youth Affairs which brings together for the first time responsibility for youth affairs and responsibility for policy affecting children. I';m going to shift the administrative responsibility for Centrelink back to Senator Vanstone so that Larry Anthony can focus on policies that affect children and affect youth affairs. That's an important thing as far as we are concerned. We are as I mentioned earlier going to have a focus on the whole ageing process and not just aged care. Not just the nursing home part of it and with Kay';s experience as a geriontologist and her understanding of that area. And I know the great interest that Kevin Andrews has in social policy. I think we have a very effective couple who can make quite a mark in that area.
JOURNALIST: How long do you think it will take to clear up the problem with Mr Tuckey?
PRIME MINISTER: I wouldn't expect very long. But the proper thing to do is not swear him in until its resolved.
JOURNALIST: Mr Howard the odds would have, some of the bookies would have put odds against Mr Macfarlane being elevated to Cabinet with the GST Groom scandal.
PRIME MINISTER: Well I don';t accept the description of scandal.
JOURNALIST: Are you confident the ATO, the pending the outcome of the ATO investigation will clear and absolve him and any of his advisers of any wrong doing? And more numbers of Queensland MPs in the Cabinet and Ministry is that a recognition of the strong showing, the Liberal Party's strong showing?
PRIME MINISTER: In relation to the ATO investigation I';m told by the Federal Director of the Party and he';s going to put out a statement this afternoon, that the ATO';s completed its investigation and reported to the Queensland Division.There was $312 that had to be paid and they';ve quite properly copped a 50% fine. Which is $156.20 or something, that will actually be paid. There';s been absolutely no aspersion cast on Mr Macfarlane or indeed any other Member of Parliament in relation to that. But as to further inquiries on that you should speak to Mr Crosby. I';ve every confidence in Mr Macfarlane';s integrity. In relation to Queensland it was appropriate that Queensland have a higher representation in the Ministry yes, and I have done that for Queenslanders. You can';t be a slave to these things but you can';t ignore them either. Queenslande has as many Members of the House of Representatives in the Liberal (inaoudible), as Victoria, 15. And its quite a remarkable achievement by the Queensland Division. It did everything I asked of it. I asked three things of it. I said you';ve got to hold all your marginals, you';ve got to win back Ryan and win Dickson. And they said yes sir and went away and did it. And I';m very very grateful.
JOURNALIST: Mr Howard why Senator Hill for Minister for Defence?
PRIME MINISTER: Because he is a very experienced Minister. The position is vacant, he wanted a change, he';s had 5 and a half years in the Environment. He has a great interest in defence and foreign policy. The Foreign Affairs portfolio was not available and neither it should be because Alexander Downer';s doing a splendid job. I think Robert would be a very good Defence Minister.
JOURNALIST: Mr Howard these changes transfer quite a bit of the action to the Senate. Do you thing House of Reps Question Time is going to be a bit short on interest?
PRIME MINISTER: Well what does it do? It takes the Health Portfolio. Most of the questions on economics go to the Treasurer, very few go to the Finance Minister so the transferring of that … its just the Health Portfolio is the only major one. I don';t think …
JOURNALIST: Defence?
PRIME MINISTER: Oh Defence, yes. But I think I might get a few Defence questions – I hope so!
JOURNALIST: Mr Howard why David Kemp for environment?
PRIME MINISTER: Why? Because David's a good thinker. He understands as somebody who's reflected on the philosophy as well as the practice of politics of the mainstreaming of the environment as a policy area. I think he';s well suited. JOURNALIST: Mr Howard a comment on Mr Abbott as Leader of the House and his behaviour in the House?
PRIME MINISTER: I am sure that he will defend the Government';s patch very well and extend his customary generosity of spirit and magnanimity to all of those who gather under the roof of the House of Representatives.
JOURNALIST: Mr Howard is Jackie Kelly';s experience a sign that new mothers or young mothers simply can';t be in the Ministry – that its not a place for them? PRIME MINISTER: No I don';t think so. She actually had her first child in the Ministry. I don';t think its that at all. It';s clearly not that.
JOURNALIST: Mr Howard, just to clarify, you said this morning on industrial relations that you plan to bring forward the package you announced in the election. Is that the first priority in a parliamentary sense …
PRIME MINISTER: Very early yes. There may be one for technical reasons that has to come before it but from a broad policy point of view I';m going to get that legislation ready And its very important to us and it will give the new Opposition Leader an opportunity to demonstrate that he';s freed himself from the shackles of the union movement and he will have a chance to say well I may have been the President of the ACTU but that is now behind me. Although I love the union movement, I';ve freed myself of it and I';m not controlled by it or owned by it now. It will be interesting to see. If he';s true to his promise and his word well he might take a more constructive approach to that legislation and I hope he does. And Australia will be the winner and he will rise in public esteem as a result.
JOURNALIST: We seeing an area of contention on unfair dismissals - are you open to negotiation on unfair dismissals?
PRIME MINISTER: Open to negotiation?
JOURNALIST: In terms of accepting some forms of say ….
PRIME MINISTER: Lets put our policy up and see what the Labor Party does.
JOURNALIST: Mr Howard what will be the differences, if any, between the legislation that you intend to press in the new term?
PRIME MINISTER: We';ll put forward what we promised in the election campaign. JOURNALIST: That';ll be the same as the legislation that';s already been..
PRIME MINISTER: What we promised in the election campaign is what we';ll put forward. JOURNALIST: It';s reported that the Pope is apologising to the stolen generation.
PRIME MINISTER: The Pope? JOURNALIST: The Pope is apologising on behalf of the Catholic Church
PRIME MINISTER: On behalf of who?
JOURNALIST: … of the Catholic Church apologising to the stolen generation. Has he been ill advised by his representatives here in Australia?
PRIME MINISTER: I don';t know of that possible gesture but until I do and out of deference to his Holiness I won';t make a comment. Of course my view is unaltered. JOURNALIST: You mentioned, you praised the Queensland Division and have rewarded that division accordingly in ministerial and cabinet appointments. On the other hand Victoria's representations in the Cabinet is down. Does that indicate that you';re somewhat disappointed with Victorian ….?
PRIME MINISTER: Well I mean the number of Victorian ministers is in fact the same – six. Two went, Reith and Wooldridge went, and I brought in Patterson and Andrews. And one of them';s gone into the Cabinet and one hasn';t. I mean I think it really is carrying the precise reflection of mathematical outcomes in cabinet representation to micro-demented lengths to think that that represents some punishment of Victoria. I think what you';ve got to do with these things you';ve got to take some broad cognisance of the state balances but not be a complete slave to them. And obviously when a state loses two long serving experienced people like Wooldridge and Reith you can';t expect to automatically have two cabinet ministers back and equally of course the strongest performing division in the Liberal division in the whole country is New South Wales. In fact the New South Wales representation from the Liberal Party in Federal Parliament is the best it';s been since the party was formed. JOURNALIST: Have you seen anything in Simon Crean';s shadow cabinet to make you shudder and make some last minute arrangements?
PRIME MINISTER: No.
JOURNALIST: Nothing at all?
PRIME MINISTER: I said this morning on radio that I never take opponents lightly. I';m not going to make that mistake. You should never assume that you have some automatic ascendancy over your rival and I';m not going to make that mistake. I';m starting now to work very hard to win the next election. The campaign for that next election has started already and I don';t intend to let up and I don';t intend to take Simon Crean….treat him as inadequate to the task. Let the Australian people make a judgement of that. I will give him some tests along the way. I';ll invite him to match his rhetoric with his deeds. But I treat my opponents with appropriate respect and I've seen some of my opponents make mistakes in that area to their great political cost.
JOURNALIST: Are you going to be out in western Sydney pretty soon as well?
PRIME MINISTER: I'm always out in western Sydney. I never leave it.
JOURNALIST: Mr Howard, why have you raised the media ownership laws when you know that there';s really no hope of getting it through the Senate?
PRIME MINISTER: I don';t know. I thought every policy was under review accept the sale of Telstra. So if that is the case I will say again that I believe the cross media laws should be abolished. I believe that there is a strong case for not only abolishing them but also altering the restrictions on foreign ownership in that area. And if in fact the Labor Party and or the Democrats slash Greens were interested in changing their policy that would be good and we certainly will be keen to advocate change in that area. All I';ve said is that it';s not something that I';m going to totally preoccupy myself with but I';m certainly in favour of change and if the Labor Party has every policy under review surely that means the media laws are under review.
JOURNALIST: What sort of priority [inaudible]?
PRIME MINISTER: Well I';d give it an appropriate priority. Not as higher priority as industrial relations. But certainly a higher priority than quite a number of other things. I think there';s been a little bit of an over reaction to some comments I made on this subject. Your esteemed journal got a little worked up about something I said on this.
JOURNALIST: Mr Howard did you confirm this morning that Cabinet had discussed, I don';t know in how much depth, about the idea of a commercial liner….?
PRIME MINISTER: I think my recollection, and I haven';t had an opportunity this morning because I';ve been on the phone quite a bit….
JOURNALIST: How many calls did you make? PRIME MINISTER: About a hundred.
JOURNALIST: [inaudible]
PRIME MINISTER: Fran, I think what I was thinking about is that the task group may have looked at that as one of the options. And it could have been discussed in the passing and it might get discussed again but the piece I read this morning by McPhedran seemed sort of much harder and much further than my recollections had gone.
JOURNALIST: Is there any intention to begin processing people now on Christmas Island given the legislation';s through to excise Christmas Island from the migration zone?
PRIME MINISTER: Well it';s the case that we';re certainly using it for transiting purposes. I don';t think and I may….I';ll probably have to take that on notice and just check. I don';t carry all the around but my recollection is that it';s just being used for transiting purposes and there';s no current intention to process. Although because it';s been excised it';s in a different position than the mainland.
JOURNALIST: In all those phone calls did Mrs Bishop offer you any advice for the next three years now that she won';t be on the frontbench?
PRIME MINISTER: I had a discussion with her and I';m not going to reveal what was in that discussion. She';s obviously disappointed and I understand that and I respect the work that she';s done and I don';t have anything unkind to say about her. Certainly not. I thank her for what she';s done. She';s worked very hard inside the Liberal Party in New South Wales. These things are never easy. We have a different system from the Labor Party and our system vests enormous authority and responsibility and therefore the ultimate personal challenge is involved in the Prime Minister. And in the end everybody does leave it to the Prime Minister and you are therefore blamed if it goes wrong and you might get some credit in ten years time if it goes right. That';s just the way that our system operates. But Bronwyn has been a great servant of the Liberal Party and I respect her for that and I know that she';ll go on making a contribution. I can certainly understand that she would feel a sense of personal disappointment because I know how committed she is. I mean I feel for her in relation to that but I have to make decisions based upon the sort of criteria that I mentioned a few minutes ago.
JOURNALIST: On that point how closely did you consult Mr Costello on all these appointments?
PRIME MINISTER: I discussed matters relating to the appointments with both Mr Costello and Mr Anderson.
JOURNALIST: What time did you finalise it? Last night, late? PRIME MINISTER: I finalised it in my own mind probably late yesterday afternoon. I finally fixed on it finally. You can';t sort of keep redoing it. Once you';ve done it and announced it you';ve got to fly with it and see how it goes. And it';s a pretty….if I can pose that rhetorical question I saw somewhere during the campaign ,what a way to run the country. It';s, you know, you can';t keep sort of changing the ministry.
JOURNALIST: [inaudible] review in 12 months or so?
PRIME MINISTER: Why would I do that Dennis?
JOURNALIST: [inaudible]
PRIME MINISTER: Everybody';s got to perform. I';m sure they will. I wish them well. I congratulate those that have been appointed for the first time. I think they';ll all make a great contribution and I thank those that have padded up for another innings.
JOURNALIST: [inaudible] What';s your plans for the rest of the year? Will you be working up to Christmas or having a bit of a break?
PRIME MINISTER: Well I won't be taking any holidays as such before Christmas. I will have a proper holiday in January and Mr Anderson and Mr Costello will share the duties at various times, (inaudible) as Acting Prime Minister. And I';ll be away for a few weeks, well I may not be away. I may have a holiday in Sydney. But I';ll be out of action for a few weeks but between now and Christmas I';ll be on duty. I may not be campaigning everyday and racing around the country. I';ll give all of you a bit more rest and you all want a little bit of a rest do you? Everybody';s nodding furiously. Well I';m not aware of any by-elections between now and Christmas.
JOURNALIST: Cabinet would meet….
PRIME MINISTER: Cabinet will….we';ll have the swearing in on Monday. We';ll have a full ministry and then a Cabinet on Tuesday. Cabinet will meet again before Christmas. Perhaps twice I just don';t know but it';s not an enormous formal agenda but I do want to get the new group talking as a team very early and it';s very important that at the very beginning we focus on the agenda for the whole three years and I do take seriously the evolutionary policy process that we followed very successfully in the lead up to the election. I think one of the most important meetings that we had and one that';s probably not been talked about so much in all of the retrospectives on the campaign in the last year was a meeting we had, an unscripted one without officials, we had in Sydney as a Cabinet during the Olympic Games in 2000 when we really sat down and identified the five or six areas where we needed to have policy initiatives post the introduction of the new tax system. And that was the meeting that identified road funding and defence and salinity and science and innovation as being very important areas. The ones that we formed a view had to be tackled and dealt with, and we need to have a forward policy for years into the future over the course of 2001. And I think that meeting was quite crucial, and it was in September 2000, in laying down the foundations for what was to become our political comeback last year.
JOURNALIST: [inaudible] government departments?
PRIME MINISTER: Not a major revamp. I've announced a number of changes. I think the changes we made in 1998 are still structurally quite relevant. I've built on those. I've done a bit of realignment in relation to science and youth affairs and some realignment in the small business area. But fundamentally I think they're working pretty well. Obviously I'll have something to say about arrangements for secretaries now that the new ministry has been installed, or announced in the normal way.