PM: Well it's good to be here with the Deputy Prime Minister, Minister for Education, the Treasurer, Wayne Swan, the Minister for Employment, Mark Arbib. We also have with us the Coordinator-General.
Today marks 12 months, one year, since the Government announced its national economic stimulus strategy. We did that at a time when the world was facing the economic abyss. We saw, 12 months ago, where employment could have gone. We saw 12 months ago that small businesses could have been smashed across the country, and so 12 months ago we decided to take early, decisive action. That's what we did.
12 months later the results are, here, locally, but they are written right across the nation, and they have been observed across the world. 12 months later, of the major advanced economies, this is the only one not to have gone into recession. This one has the second lowest unemployment across the major advanced economies. It has the lowest debt and the lowest deficit of the major advanced economies, and on top of all of the above, we uniquely among the advanced economies, generated positive economic growth in '08-'09.
That's the national report card and that is the product of early, decisive action and engagement also on the part of the Australian business community and the wider community as well.
This national economic stimulus strategy was our response to the global recession. The national economic stimulus strategy was opposed by the Liberal Party - lock, stock and barrel. 12 months ago Mr Abbott voted against the national economic stimulus plan. He was wrong then and he is wrong now.
The bottom line is this: if Mr Abbott is to take $20 billion out of stimulus spending across the economy, it means cancelling thousands of school modernisation projects like this, right across Australia.
Let's be very blunt about it. There are about 5,000 of these projects yet to go up. 5,000 projects in schools right across Australia which are now at risk because of what Mr Abbott has said.
I'm glad to see this report card on the part of the progress that the Government has achieved so far in the implementation of the national infrastructure stimulus plan. 49,179 projects have been approved right across Australia. 35,853 projects have commenced. 8,339 projects have been completed.
We see here in this school, two projects which have been completed and one which is on the way and we see that story right across the country.
Let me go to education itself and look at the impact of what is being achieved there. Altogether, some 24,000 projects in schools right across Australia. Let's look at the examples, for example, of the classroom modernisation and the conversion of this room into the school library - all under the umbrella of what's called the National School Pride Project.
Some 12,800 National School Pride Projects approved across Australia. 12,467 national School Pride Projects currently underway, of which 4,435 have been completed. That's happening right across Australia. There are about 10,000 schools in our country.
Go to the Building the Education Revolution projects. That is, like the one we've just seen out the back here - what will become this multipurpose hall, access for the local community, and used also for after-hours school care, so the principal tells me, wider use as well, as well as freeing up this space to become a purpose-built or purpose-used library. Building the Education Revolution projects: 10,600 have been approved across the country, 5,334 now we have onsite construction, 200 of those projects have been completed and 500 have yet to commence. This is a massive project across the country.
Also, let's go to our secondary schools - some 503 new language and science centres which have been approved and we have already three of those completed. This is building the education revolution. This is giving our kids the best possible education facilities for the 21st century. It's about supporting working families, it's about providing the best facilities for kids as possible, and it's also about providing the best quality education for kids that's possible.
I'd conclude by saying this - here at Garran, this primary school, is where the rubber hits the road. Here you see the practical results of work which has been done and still to be completed.
But you know something? We've just been talking to some of the tradies outside as well. One of them just said, come the middle of last year, things were starting to look a bit dark and he himself has had work around this part of the world at a number of school projects. This is the story not just here in this part of Canberra, it's the story that Wayne and Mark and Julia and myself have heard right across the country. I've heard it in Cairns, I've heard it in Townsville, I've heard it in Geraldton, I've heard it everywhere in the country.
As the economy was running into real strife last year and falling through the floor, where you had the real risk of small businesses collapsing, tradies losing their jobs, apprentices being laid off, as well as unemployment going through the roof, we instead decided to take action.
So, what we have done in overall terms is this: through our national economic infrastructure plan, we have kept the economy strong, we have protected Australian jobs and supported working families. That's the stuff of government when you face a national and global economic crisis.
Over to you, folks.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, (inaudible) that was awarded funding in the first round of (inaudible) which was separate, of course, from the National School Pride program (inaudible). Are you happy with the progress of this and other projects when after eight months all I can see out there is a slab?
PM: Well I'll turn to Julia on the details of this particular school project, but can I say if you've 10,600 such projects being built right across the country, the Government is delighted with the progress which has been made right across the country, given this is the biggest school modernisation program in Australia's history. Julia?
GILLARD: Well can I take this opportunity to thank everybody who's been so generous with their time today as we've had a look at the school, including the kids, who are just delightful. On the details of this school projects, the school hall that we toured is obviously under construction. It was funded out of round one of the Primary Schools for the 21st Century program. Round one projects are to be completed by the end of this year. The project here, the school set an internal deadline for completing it much earlier than that, and the project is actually running three weeks in front of the schedule that the school set.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, you're particularly proud of the stimulus package. Why hand out the report on its progress two minutes before this press conference (inaudible)?
PM: There'll be, I'm sure there'll be ample opportunity to debate this through the course of the day and I'm sure it'll be the subject of some considerable attention during the course of parliamentary debate as well today. If there are -
JOURNALIST: But there will be no opportunity for us to ask you questions?
PM: If you wish to ask further questions about it at some early juncture, I'm delighted to do so. Absolutely delighted to do so. You know why? The Government believes this is the right project, the right program for Australia in dire economic circumstances last year.
It's very easy in politics to criticise everything. Very easy in politics to complain about everything, but come up with solutions to nothing. We see that from Mr Abbott all the time. We see it on the economy. We see it on health and hospitals. We see it on education.
We are proud of this record. We'll defend it and argue it till the cows come home.
SWAN: And Matthew, I mean, if it wasn't for projects like this, for this economic stimulus project, the investment in the infrastructure, Australia would be in recession right now. If Mr Abbott and Mr Hockey had their way, Australia would be in recession.
JOURNALIST: (inaudible)
SWAN: We're happy to talk about the stimulus any day of the week.
PM: Can I just say on this question of transparency to the correspondent from The Australian newspaper, we have a website. It's called the Nation Building website. Every day, each one and every one of you can check on progress around the country. So can I suggest in terms of transparency, which is the question that's just been posed by the correspondent from The Australian, that this Government is in the business of transparency. And furthermore -
JOURNALIST: Funny you should say that (inaudible) came here and visited myself and all I saw was a fence, after seeing it on the website.
PM: Well there has been a slab put down over the summer, and we are building the purpose built hall which has been described. Can I contrast this, by the way, with transparency on such capital projects nationwide, to the extent that they existed, on the part of the previous Government. Do any of you recall a website detailing capital projects under the Regional Partnerships program of the previous Government? I don't think so. Maybe I missed that. But you know something, we're upfront, it's out there, go to the website, here is a consolidation of the report.
As I said, it is very easy, very easy indeed, for people to criticise. Very easy indeed to complain about everything and to offer solutions to nothing, which is Mr Abbott's approach to everything.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, what is your plan B if the emissions trading scheme is defeated again?
PM: Well, let's see what happens first of all in the Reps, and see who votes in the Reps, both in terms of our side of politics, the other side and the Independents. As I said yesterday in response to this question, if the Parliament votes it down then quite plainly, climate change, together with the economy, together with health and hospitals, together with schools, will be a strong part, a central part, of the next election campaign.
Let me go to also the alternatives which are on offer. What do we offer? Our scheme right now, as described, is- one, we put a cap on carbon pollution; two, we charge the biggest polluters; and three, we use that money to compensate working families for the 1.1 per cent increase in the cost of living which would flow from the scheme. That's ours, pure and simple.
What does Mr Abbott offer by contrast - and I'll come back to your second question- what's Mr Abbott offer by contrast? Firstly, he's not putting a cap on carbon pollution. Secondly, he is also not charging the polluters one brass razoo, and thirdly, what he is doing is passing all the costs therefore, onto families, who he doesn't give a single dollar of compensation on. And that's why we say Mr Abbott's plan is nothing more than a climate con-job, because it does less, it costs more, and is totally unfunded.
JOURNALIST: So you don't have a plan B?
PM: We will as I said, climate change, together with other matters, will be central to an election this year, whatever form that election may take. We were very clear about our approach to climate change prior to the last election. We've been consistent with that since the last election. And in the last six months, as Mr Turnbull reminded us recently, Mr Abbott has had about five different positions on this question. We've been constant, a) because we believe climate change is real. He says that climate change is absolute crap, to use his own words, not mine.
Secondly, we have a system which puts a cap on carbon, which charges the big polluters, and provides funding therefore, from that for compensation for families. For him, no cap, let the polluters off scot free, and transfer the tax burden which flows from that on to working families.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister why is it then do you think, that business groups like the Farmers Federation and the Mineral Council are backing the Coalition plan?
PM: Well each group in the community is entitled to take whatever view that it likes. I notice particularly, though, in the case of the Minerals Council, if you're the Minerals Council and someone walked into your door and said guess what, we're not putting a charge for the pollution of any of your members, they'll go 'yippee'. Then they'd say 'whose going to pay the bill?' Oh, the good old taxpayers of Australia. Guess who the taxpayers of Australia are? Working families everywhere.
Let's be very blunt about this. Mr Abbott's climate con-job is totally unfunded and therefore can only be paid for by increasing taxes on working families, or cutting services in schools, in hospitals, and in defence. And all three he refused to rule out, when asked this morning. Let's be very clear. It's a totally unfunded climate con-job and can only be paid for by whacking new taxes onto working families, or by cutting health, schools, hospitals and defence, and he refused to rule those out when asked explicitly this morning.
JOURNALIST: Youth Allowance (inaudible) you seem to be running out of time before the new university years start. Are there going to be scholarships in place for regional kids come the first day of university this year?
GILLARD: We'll obviously be bringing the Youth Allowance legislation back to the Parliament. We'll be doing that as soon as we can. But the vital question here is that Mr Abbott as new leader of the Liberal party, reassesses this issue. What is stopping us paying scholarships to kids right around the country who want to go to university is that Mr Abbott and his Liberal party are blocking the bill.
We want to make sure we're in a position to pay those kids scholarships to deliver a better and fairer Youth Allowance system. In order to do that, we need the bill to get through the Senate. We want Mr Abbott to actually engage with this issue and to think about it, because there are going to be kids who need that money to go to university and it's Mr Abbott that's keeping that money out of their hands.
JOURNALIST: Would you look at paying those scholarships retrospectively?
GILLARD: We will do everything we can to deliver the system as quickly as possible after the legislation is passed. But there has been delay caused by the actions of the Liberal party. We can't pay scholarships, we can't have Centrelink engaging with the processes to pay scholarships until we've got the legislation through. That's why it's urgent. It was urgent at the end of last year and the Liberal party said no, they didn't want to give these scholarships to kids around the country.
We're asking Mr Abbott, as the new leader of the Liberal party, to look at this issue again. And if he cares about getting vitally needed dollars into the hands of the kids who need it to go to university, then we will reverse the Liberal party's current position.
JOURNALIST: Mr Rudd, you said yesterday that you needed to improve your communication of the Government's scheme. Just wondering, now that there is a clear difference between the two sides on climate change, whether you feel, how you'd rate your performance so far in explaining to people your system and whether you're confident that now that there is at least there's a debate you'll be able to really press through and turn the tide on this?
PM: The first thing I'd say is climate change is hard. It's really hard. Let's not pretend it's not. As I said before, very easy to criticise, it's very easy complain. Very hard to solve, and to be practical about how you're solving it. That's the first point. Secondly, as I've said yesterday, it is quite plain that it's incumbent on the Government, including myself, to explain the challenge of climate change as clearly as possible to the Australian people, and the content of our response to it.
Thirdly you asked, now that there is something on the table from the other side, frankly, I welcome this debate. Because what's been put on the table is a climate con-job. It does less, it costs more and is totally unfunded. And let's go back to it. If it's totally unfunded it is going to be paid for by higher taxes on working families, or cutting services in schools, hospitals and defence. You don't actually have an alternative there. And the last thing I'd say on the cost, this cost is three times larger to the budget than the Government's Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme. Let's just be very blunt about that.
Even on Mr Abbott's own figures, this costs more than $10 billion. The Government's Treasury costed proposal is something in the order of $3.3 billion. This costs more, Mr Abbott's climate con-job costs three times more than the Government's plan. And those taxpayer dollars on working families go to make up for Mr Abbott's plan. That's the bottom line here. On the last aspect of your question, in terms of the judgment of others about our communication of the message, I will leave that to others, rather than conduct a, you know some sort of other evaluation.
JOURNALIST: (Inaudible)
PM: On the question of the National Apology, this is an important question. Last year we decided to deliver the update on the day closest to the anniversary of the apology itself, and we are doing so again this year, which means that the apology will be delivered next Thursday - sorry, the annual statement to the Parliament will be delivered next Thursday. Let me state it so everyone's clear about it, it will be the sitting day closest to the anniversary of the Apology to Indigenous Australians, and that will occur next Thursday in the House of Representatives.
JOURNALIST: (Inaudible)
PM: Well you know something, the Leader of the Opposition says that climate change is absolute crap. I'm sure Lord Monckton may use more elegant language than that, but they're running a unity ticket when it comes to climate change.
Thank you very much, got to go.