PM: It's great to be out here at this fantastic hospital and to be co-investors with the NSW Government in making sure that we have a first class hospital here for the future. Our investment, worth some $40 or $50 million, is to build a research facility within this hospital. It's all part of delivering better health and better hospital services to working families right across Australia and right here in this part of Sydney.
I've met many workers here today, and it's been good to talk to them about what work they are doing here on this important project, but also about the importance of superannuation to their lives. I'll also say this. Every single worker here today will benefit from the better superannuation arrangements that this Government plans to introduce. Every single worker.
By increasing the superannuation guarantee, we're going to be improving the dignity and security of working families once they retire. For someone aged about 30 today, and I've met a few of them, and they're on average weekly earnings, they'd be $108,000 better off under this new change to superannuation. For someone aged 40 now, they'd be $57,000 better off. For someone who's 50 now, $22,000 better off.
These are important basic changes for working families. Superannuation provides dignity and security for retirement and this Government intends to support that with better super for working Australians.
I notice today that Mr Abbott has said he will oppose this change to super. Can I say this is not a positive approach to what working families expect right across our nation. Mr Abbott seems to have a habit of opposing nearly everything. He seems to oppose anything that moves.
On this decision, what Mr Abbott is doing, is backing the Super Profits of the biggest miners instead of getting behind the decency and security of retirement for working families. Mr Abbott is willing to sacrifice that dignity and security for working families just to make a political point of opposing everything. You know something, I don't think that's good enough. Working families right across Australia deserve a better deal, and deserve a better deal when it comes to super and that's why this Government intends to get on with the business of doing it.
Finally today when it comes to working families, let me add one further point. Many of the workers I've met today have young families. What we are doing today is also releasing our draft legislation for the Paid Parental Leave Scheme, which will come into effect from 1 January this year. This is important legislation to make it easier for young families. This is an historic piece of legislation, and will give newborn babies an opportunity to spend more time with their mums and dads during those very important early years of life.
These are the sort of basic things which make a difference for working families everywhere. Working families like those of the workers that I've met here today at this building project. Working families who want better super for their retirement, better support for when they have little ones at home. That's why this Government intends to get on with the job of supporting those working families.
Over to you folks.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, obviously the Newspoll today might not be what you were hoping for, what are your thoughts?
PM: Well listen, over the last three years, I have never commented on polls, and I don't intend to start changing that practice today.
My job as Prime Minister is to act in the Australian national interest, whether decisions that I take are popular or not. I intend to continue that practice into the future because it's the right thing to do as Prime Minister of Australia.
JOURNALIST: But it is the first time since 2006 that the Coalition has had an election winning lead.
PM: As I said, my job as Prime Minister of Australia is to act in the national interest and if that means taking decisions which may be popular or unpopular, that's part of the job. I don't intend to change that in the future for the simple reason that acting in the national interest is fundamental to our country's future. I don't intend to change.
JOURNALIST: Do you think voters are unimpressed that you shelved the ETS? [inaudible]
PM: As I said, when you're acting in the national interest and taking difficult decisions, sometimes these will be popular decisions, sometime unpopular decisions, but as Prime Minister, the key task, the key responsibility is to look at those decisions which are necessary for Australia.
Some will be popular, others will not be popular, but what I'm committed to doing as Prime Minister of Australia is getting on with the business of delivering better hospitals for working families, better super for working families, to build the strength of our Government finances, to strengthen our economy for the future. These are the tasks I intend to get on with and I will continue to do that job.
JOURNALIST: Does Mr Abbott have cause to be confident today?
PM: Well, as I said, for the last three years my practice has never been to comment on polls and I don't intend to start changing that practice today.
As I said my job as Prime Minister is to take decisions in the national interest. Some of those decisions won't be popular, but I intend to get on with the job.
And when I look at these workers here today, their concerns are about how do we deal with basic industrial conditions in the workplace, how do we deal with basic things like ensuring they have decent super to retire on, basic things like have they got decent hospitals and accident and emergency to bring their kids to in the middle of the night if they get sick. These are the things which working families are concerned about, that's what I intend to dedicate my efforts and time to, and I won't be deterred from it.
JOURNALIST: Are these the same working families who are mentioned in the poll though?
PM: As I said, when I travel across Australia and I look at working families who want support in their local hospitals, to get into accident and emergency on time. Working families who want better access to elective surgery. They want to be able to find a local GP when they need one. When they want to make sure when life gets tough and they need the services of a hospital like this, that their Government gets behind them.
And those same working families are thinking about something pretty important today, and that's their retirement. And again I say this, I think Mr Abbott today has decided to back the Super Profits of some of our biggest mining companies rather than getting in behind the security and dignity of working families for their retirement.
You know, a lot of these companies that we are talking about also have significant foreign ownership, a lot of the profits go offshore. Their investment, of course, is welcome but what we're talking about is a fair share for their investment but a fair share also for working families and for the whole country. That's what we're on about in these important reforms that we intend to get on and do.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister with another interest rate rise on the cards this afternoon, what would you say to families concerned about property prices?
PM: Well, working families are under financial pressure, and it's very important therefore that Government is involved in the business of helping them with housing affordability. That's one of the reasons why through the Government we now are out there backing First Home Saver Accounts, out there backing the Rental Affordability Scheme, out there backing things like the Housing Affordability Fund so that new housing developments can be delivered to working families at less cost while we are also investing in social housing.
Housing affordability is a key concern for all Australians.
On the question of what the Reserve Bank does, of course we respect the independence of monetary policy, it'll make its decisions known in due course.
JOURNALIST: In relation to the initiative that the Government has taken to keep housing prices down, Sydney and Melbourne property prices have gone up almost 20 per cent in a year. Do you think the Government's initiatives are working?
PM: Well these measures that the Government has introduced are there to provide a helping hand and there are many, many Australians who have been assisted from it. If you look for example at the number of Australians who have benefited from the First Home Owners Boost that we introduced in the course of the global financial crisis, I think you're looking at tens of thousands of working families that have been helped by that. Obviously however, there are real problems in terms of housing affordability. They continue, and we're going to have to continue to work on this in the future.
Part of it lies in making sure we've got decent land supply and decent availability of affordable land across our major cities and major regional cities as well. Many things go into the question of housing affordability. Cost of finance is one, the availability of land is another, and also a whole lot of other factors which we seek to support through the taxation system.
Okay folks, having said that I've got to head off to another part of the country. Can I thank all the workers here for spending some time with us this morning and just to assure them that this Government is rock solid on the question of delivering better super for all working families in Australia. Thanks very much.