PM: It's great to be here in Queensland in the federal electorate of Petrie. I'm joined from federal politics by the Minister for Health, Nicola Roxon, and our fantastic local member Yvette D'Ath, and it's also a great pleasure here in Queensland, to be joined by the Treasurer of Queensland Andrew Fraser, and by our local state representative for the seat of Redcliffe, Lillian van Litsenburg.
We're here to announce some very good news for Queensland and for Queenslanders that rely on their health system. And the good news flows from the historic partnership between the Federal Government and the Queensland Government for health reform. We signed a health reform agreement because we wanted to work together to improve services for people here in Queensland.
And so today it's a great pleasure to be able to announce an allocation of $95 million to make a difference to healthcare here in Queensland. First it's going to make a difference for patients needing elective surgery, it's going to fund 8000 extra operations, and by funding those 8000 extra operations, we're building on what has already been achieved through our elective surgery blitz.
And then as part of this funding, we will also be allocating new money for paediatric care and I'm standing here in Redcliffe Hospital because it will specifically benefit from this new money for paediatric care.
Firstly here at Redcliffe we will refurbish the paediatric ward to provide a six bed short stay unit for that ward, some very excited staff at the back, we will refurbish the community health building to provide four additional paediatric outpatient clinics and we will renovate the emergency department waiting area to improve it as an area for children and their families.
And investments will also be made at Caboolture Hospital, which will benefit from five paediatric same day beds and doubling the paediatric consultation rooms from four to eight. So a special focus on the care of children as well as a focus on elective surgery for people here in Queensland.
I'm very pleased that before we came to the hospital we were able to tour the Superclinic that is taking shape, able to offer multidisciplinary care to people here locally, one of the Superclinics that we are investing in around the country, making a difference to people who need care in our community and need to see more than one health professional and excitingly this Superclinic development also has a training capacity so we will be training health professionals here in Redcliffe with them looking to have a future in healthcare in this area.
Whilst I was at the Superclinic I did have the opportunity to meet a young apprentice there, I said I'd assist him with his work, I'm not sure, despite our best efforts, that the Minister for Health and I were of much assistance to him but I was very pleased to meet him and I'm also very pleased to announce that today we have seen national figures released which say we are at an historic time for the number of students, the number of apprentices. That is Australia is training more apprentices than we ever had before, there's very good news in Queensland, with growth rates of more than 12 per cent, and I think we all know that if a young person can get a start as an apprentice then it puts them on a great pathway for the rest of their lives.
So I'm very pleased to be able to see those good figures and that good news.
I'll turn now to the Minister for Health for some comments.
MINISTER ROXON: Thank you very much. I'll just add briefly to the comments that the Prime Minister has already made.
Of course inspecting the work that's underway at the Super Clinic has been fantastic.
Yvette as the local member has campaigned incredibly hard to get those investments and worked with the foundation that had a vision as far back as 2005, that the community wanted this sort of investment. They raised money, I think more than $1 million themselves.
So for the commonwealth to be able to commit $5 million and an additional $5 million, so there's a total investment now of $10 million there, I think is a significant, really significant compliment to the community for the work that was done to get that idea ready for us to be able to fund.
The Prime Minister has also mentioned the $95 million that is being invested today. This is part of the money that was agreed through our COAG negotiations with the Queensland Government.
We're very proud to see that, that is now turning into specific investments in communities. Like here in Redcliffe, like in Caboolture and of course, just over $60 million which is going to be invested in Surgery Connect which has been a very successful program here in Queensland to make sure that, particularly those patients that are waiting longer than recommended, can get some urgent attention.
So we are delighted to be in partnership with the Queensland Government to deliver extra services whether it's investing in capital like we are here at Redcliffe, whether it's investing in more procedures being undertaken like you see through Surgery Connect.
We believe that by working together we can provide better services for the Queensland community and that's why we're so committed to our health reform agenda and to continue to implement it as we're doing here in Queensland.
MINISTER FRASER: Thanks. This is a good day for someone who is the Treasurer and the Acting Health Minister, what you see here is health reform in action. Put the politics aside and what you get here are better health outcomes for Queenslanders. Health reform delivering more money for hospitals here in Queensland and more surgery. Our Surgery Connect program we funded with a $90 million commitment in our last election, and a $60 million has been allocated out of the (inaudible) and focus on hospitals and health is going to deliver another 8000 episodes of surgery.
We already have the lowest elective surgery waiting time in Australia and we're determined to keep it there, and we're going to keep there because we want to work with the Federal Government to deliver on health and hospitals reform, that's precisely what this funding commitment today does.
It's also important for booming suburbs around Redcliffe and Caboolture have increases to paediatric care. I've already met a young man on the way into the hospital today that was taking home child number four, we know that there's a baby boom here and that paediatric services are absolutely vital for the nappy valley suburbs around these parts of the world.
What we see here is the sort of commitment and the sort of results you get when you put the politics to one side and focus on delivering better healthcare. That's what we are determined to do with the Federal Government.
PM: Very happy to take questions.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister given the split in your climate change committee would you accept any compromise (inaudible)
PM: We've decided to have the Multi-Party Climate Change Committee work through the issue of carbon pricing, it's going to keep working. It's no surprise at all that people would bring different views to that table, we understood that when we created the Multi-Party Climate Change Committee, and it will work through the question of pricing carbon. As Prime Minister I'm saying very clearly to the nation we have to get this done, we need to come together as a nation in 2011 and make a decision about how to price carbon so that we can set get this job done. That will be better for us because it will enable to develop the low pollution economy we need for the future.
JOURNALIST: (inaudible)
PM: Well Multi Party Climate Change Committee is discussing how to price carbon, that's what we always it will do and it's doing that job.
JOURNALIST: How soon is the Government going to release plans to improve competition in the banking sector?
PM: Well Wayne Swan, the Treasurer and of course a great Queenslander, has been working on the package and he has said he will release it in December so the Treasurer is on course to do that.
We have worked through this package carefully, Wayne first indicated publically that he was working to build on our earlier competition reforms in October this year. When you are dealing with something as important as banking, you've got to get it right. The Treasurer will announce the further package in December.
But I would remind people that we've already moved to increase competition in the banking sector, already moved by supporting second tier lenders during the global financial crisis, already moved by cracking down on unfair exit fees that keep people tied into a mortgage they no longer want and they want to be able to go and get a more competitive product, we've already moved on questions like ATM transaction fees.
So there's been work to bring more competition to our banking sector, the Treasurer will build on that with a package of measures this month.
JOURNALIST: The My Schools website (inaudible)
PM: The time is being taken that's needed to check this data, we want the My School website to be right, this is a new era of transparency. When we first launched the My School website, Australians had more information than they had ever had before about schools around the country. Indeed, Ministers for Education had more information that they had ever had before about the performances of schools.
Now we're adding to that information, some extra processes are being built in to double check that information so that when the site is launched next year, people will know that they information has been through a very rigorous process.
JOURNALIST: Is it embarrassing though given that last month you said it was ready to go?
PM: The advice from our experts at the Australian Curriculum Assessment and Reporting Authority is that they want to take some time to check the information again, they've actually engaged some external assistance to go through that checking process. I want to get it right, I want this information to be out there, it's going to be hugely powerful when people see it. For the first time ever having the information on the resources available to schools, how much the Federal Government puts in, how much State Governments put in, and how much is raised from parents. This is information no one in this country's ever had before. I don't have it, Premiers don't have it, no one's ever seen it before and everybody's going to be able to see it through My School.
JOURNALIST: (inaudible) slump in retail sales?
PM: I know that the retail figures have been released today and they are consistent with what we would have expected having seen the national accounts this week. Our economy has come through the global financial crisis strong, and it is growing strongly. Consumers are showing a bit of caution and are saving some more money, but when we look overall at our economy, and particularly when we compare it to circumstances around the world, our economy is growing strongly, we have a huge pipeline of investment, a huge pipeline of investment including particularly here in Queensland.
So we have a resources boom mark II for the nation, our job as Prime Minister and also here in Queensland with the Queensland Government is to make sure we balance that growth, that we are cutting company tax to help balance that growth, we're investing in national savings through superannuation and we're investing in the infrastructure a growth economy needs including the National Broadband Network.
JOURNALIST: Are you concerned attacks on your staff (inaudible)
PM: Am I concerned about what sorry?
JOURNALIST: Attacks on your personal staff and are you happy (inaudible)
PM: I'm not aware of any significance and obviously my staff do a great job.
JOURNALIST: (inaudible)
PM: I talk to my very capable Ministers about portfolio allocations and Chris Bowen's a great person for that very difficult portfolio of immigration and he's doing a fantastic job.
JOURNALIST: Any regrets about not going to Zurich for the World Cup bid?
PM: I've been to Zurich to support the World Cup bid, when it comes to things like this big decision for the World Cup, I think it pays to get in before the rush, I did get in before the rush by firstly hosting the bid inspection team at Kirribilli when they were out in Australia looking at our fantastic facilities for putting on sport. I went to Zurich to meet with the President of FIFA to explain to him just what a great bid Australia's got. Like many Australians I'm going to be sitting on the edge of my seat tonight in my pyjamas watching the coverage come through very, very late at night. I'm very excited to see the result and what we can say as a nation is Australia put on the best Olympics ever, we can put on the best World Cup ever.
JOURNALIST: The Premier Anna Bligh says that she's had a bloody awful year, how would you describe how the State Government's doing?
PM: Well I'll be catching up with Premier Bligh tomorrow and be very pleased to see her. Premier Bligh and I are working on the big challenges for this nation, making sure we've got a strong economy, making sure that in this period of economic growth we are investing in what we need for long term prosperity, that we're tackling the challenges of the future like climate change, and that of course we are making sure we've got a fair society that gives everybody a chance at opportunity. There's nothing more important to that than the quality of local healthcare services. People can't participate in our society and take advantage of all of its opportunities if they can't get something like healthcare when they need it. That's why I'm so excited by today's announcement.
JOURNALIST: Just back to the World Cup video (inaudible) for its jingoistic imagery, do you think that runs counter to the modern image of Australia (inaudible)
PM: I'm proud of that Aussie imagery, I think when people overseas think of Australia they do think of kangaroos and so to weave a kangaroo comedy script around the World Cup showing some of the great iconic places in Australia I think was a good idea. It's meant to be there as a promotion of Australia, it's meant to be there with a bit of fun attached and I think that does summarise what people could expect coming to Australia for the World Cup, that they'd be in a country with world class facilities but in a country that will welcome people from right around the world for the World Cup, that's why the theme is 'Come, Play', this is a great place to do it.
Thank you very much.
JOURNALIST: (inaudible) Cabinet meeting tomorrow here?
PM: We've got a Community Cabinet this evening.
JOURNALIST: (inaudible)
PM: Yep.
JOURNALIST: Is there a full Cabinet meeting on tomorrow or is that it?
PM: We'll have the Community Cabinet so Ministers are available in the local community, obviously we're taking the opportunity to have some internal discussions and meetings, but we'll be on display at Clontarf Beach State High School just a few hours from now.
JOURNALIST: (inaudible)
PM: No I'll be here in Queensland and I'll get to watch the World Cup result here in Queensland overnight.
Thank you for your interest in my program, thank you.