PM: It's a great pleasure to be here for the launch of the Gunning Wind Farm, a project from ACCIONA. It's been a great pleasure to participate in the opening.
What we're seeing here is part of Australia's clean energy future, and I do thank the global CEO of ACCIONA, Jose Manuel, who has made clear to us how around the world other nations are seizing a clean energy future. Today he's described to us how in Spain 35 per cent of its energy is coming from renewable sources, and, as he remarked, we are a nation perfectly positioned to seize this clean energy future - a nation with a lot of land, a nation with a lot of wind, a lot of solar, with the power of the waves, and with geothermal.
Putting a price on carbon will help us turbo-charge this clean energy future. What it will mean is it will drive investment into clean energy sources, and we will be working, too, to maximise that investment through the Clean Energy Finance Corporation - $10 billion, where a commercial board will work with private sector partners, so we see more clean energy developments.
And we'll continue to invest in research, because the research today will matter so much for our clean energy future. There will be more than $3 billion in a new agency called ARENA to work on proving up new technologies.
So, right across the spectrum of seizing a clean energy future - we've got pricing carbon as the foundation stone, to cut carbon pollution, to give investors the certainty they need to make the big investments that will give us a clean energy future, to change the commercial equation so it's more profitable for businesses to put money into clean energy.
Then, of course, Government standing alongside, with $10 billion of investment, and Government continuing to work with our great scientists and great researchers, to keep proving up the proving up the new clean energy technologies of the future.
Pricing carbon is the foundation stone. Putting a price on carbon pollution will start from 1 July 2012, but I'm very pleased to have been here and to have this insight into how we can generate the clean energy we need for the future.
And I'd also like to say thank you to Alan, who is the farmer whose land we're standing on. It's a father and son enterprise, both of them called Alan, and what they are seeing here and what they've long fought for is a new income source for the farm. They've said to me today that they understood that part of drought proofing for the future was about making sure they had more income sources as a result of using their land. Well, this is a new income source for them and it's showing the way for Australian farmers.
We'll want to be working with famers, too, as we put a price on carbon through our carbon farming initiative - a new source of income and revenue for them from different land management practices, different ways of using the land, so it, too, helps us deal with carbon pollution.
So it's been a great pleasure to be here today and I'm very happy to take any questions.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, your carbon pricing plan has been given a ringing endorsement here today; you're clearly among friends here, but the Australian public's not so friendly, (inaudible) toxic and now Tony Windsor seems to have lost a bit of faith in you as well, the comments on radio this morning, he said he's not convinced that you could win the next election. What do you say to Tony Windsor?
PM: Tony Windsor's made an election prediction and I'm not going to agree with him on the election prediction, but Tony Windsor said in making those comments that he is continuing to support me as Prime Minister, because he wants to support a government with the courage and guts to get a clean energy future for us; that he didn't want to support Mr Abbott and his relentless negativity telling us to turn our backs on this future and to live in the past.
So, I'd thank Mr Windsor for the endorsement of the plans that we are bringing for the nation's future. Yes, it takes courage and yes, it's politically tough and I've always said it's likely to get politically tougher, but this has never been about the opinion polls - this has been about what's doing the right thing to get our nation a clean energy future.
JOURNALIST: How long will you be doing this quasi-election campaign? What's the end point?
PM: We'll continue to be talking to people around the country. Of course, as Prime Minister I'll be continuing to do all of the other things that I need to do to ensure we've got a strong economy, to make sure we're spreading opportunity in this phase of the mining boom, to be improving education, to be improving hospitals, to be rolling out the National Broadband Network, all of the responsibilities as Prime Minister, but I will be taking the opportunity when I can to talk to Australians.
There's been a lot of fear and concern raised about pricing carbon, so I want to be out there talking to my fellow Australians about those fears and concerns and answering any of their questions.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, Tony Abbott yesterday, on the radio in Gippsland said he's never believed or supported a carbon tax or an ETS. He's lying, isn't he?
PM: Tony Abbott, with these words, has deliberately misled the Australian people and this comes against a backdrop where day after day he has misled Australians. He told them petrol would go up 6.5c - wrong. He told them the coal industry would close down - wrong. He told them the steel industry would close down - wrong. He told them they would experience an astronomical increase in their cost of living - wrong.
The cost of living changes from pricing carbon will be less than one cent in a dollar and 9 out of 10 households will get the benefits of assistance through tax cuts, family payment increases and increases in pensions.
He will do or say anything to fuel his negative campaign. He will do or say anything to keep this nation in the past and away from a clean energy future. And in terms of what he said yesterday, I've got the words here. He said, Mr Abbott speaking: ‘I've never been in favour of a carbon tax or an emissions trading scheme', where we know that in the past he said: ‘if you want to put a price on carbon, why not just do it with a simple tax?', and then of course he said ‘you can't have a climate change policy without supporting this emissions trading scheme at this time', and he said we don't want to play games with the planet, so we are taking this issue seriously and we would like to see an emissions trading scheme.
So, Tony Abbott, in presenting this negative campaign to Australians, comes out of John Howard's Cabinet, where he supported a price on carbon. In opposition he supported a price on carbon, he supported a carbon tax, he supported an emissions trading scheme. Now, every day he's going round misleading people to try and stop us putting a price on carbon.
This all just goes to show Mr Abbott will do and say anything to keep his negative campaign up, because he's all about the politics, not about the nation's future.
JOURNALIST: (inaudible) fuel excise for heavy vehicles?
PM: Sorry, I didn't hear the first few words.
JOURNALIST: (inaudible)
PM: When we put a price on heavy road users, from 1 July 2014, that will be done by regulation.
JOURNALIST: So you don't need the support of parliament (inaudible)
PM: My advice is that that can be achieved by regulation. Obviously, as you would be aware, regulations can be disallowed, so there's still a parliamentary process that's engaged in when you make a regulation.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, I understand the same company, ACCIONA, has tried to put a similar wind farm in Allendale in South Australia, but that's been halted by the Supreme Court because of health concerns (inaudible) to the wider community. Is there is the same concerns here, or (inaudible)?
PM: I've stood under one of these wind turbines and they're remarkably quiet, but of course on everything I'm guided by the science. That's why I'm standing here today, determined to tackle climate change and put a price on carbon pollution, because I've listened to the scientists and on any issues we always listen to the best science.
JOURNALIST: Have you been warned about any health concerns for the communities surrounding these (inaudible)?
PM: No, I haven't. There's no advice to me about that.
JOURNALIST: The AFP have been called (inaudible) tear gas on Christmas Island. Are you losing control (inaudible) and what will you do to regain that control?
PM: Yes, there has been an incident at Christmas Island and I've got a very clear message to anybody involved in that incident, which is: you don't get any changes to the process or to the treatment of your claims by misbehaving. Indeed, if you misbehave and commit a criminal offence that can count against you, because there's a character test for getting a visa.
So, people in detention centres should do the right thing, they get absolutely no advantage by behaving badly, indeed it can prevent them getting a visa if they commit a criminal act.
JOURNALIST: Just in relation to that, how far are you from signing the final deal with Malaysia and sending those people on Christmas Island to Malaysia?
PM: We're in very advanced discussions. When we're in a position to say some more about that then we will.
JOURNALIST: Can I just ask you about that Sharia law case in Sydney? Does that sort of thing have any place in our society?
PM: There's only one law in this country - Australian law.
JOURNALIST: (inaudible)
PM: No, it doesn't. There's only one law in this country, the law of Australia. That's what binds us together and everybody's got to abide by Australian law.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, (inaudible) community affect o these wind developments, residents cites the loss of rural amenity, as well as noise and (inaudible) concerns. What do you say to communities like this one who are bearing the economic and lifestyle cost (inaudible)?
PM: I've talked to Alan today, from this place, it's his farm that we're on and obviously he's seen this as a great development for rural Australia. I understand that there are people who may have different views. Any claims should be tested against the most robust science. What we're guided by on all occasions is the science.
JOURNALIST: (inaudible)
PM: Sorry, you'll just have to be a little bit louder.
JOURNALIST: (inaudible) testimony of Rupert Murdoch last night (inaudible)
PM: Looking at all of these events in the United Kingdom, I think Australians have been disturbed by them and I think they've been disturbed to see the reports in the UK and the kind of things that have been happening with telephone hacking and the like and I think that does mean that Australians here look at News Limited and they've probably got some hard questions that they want answered.
On the individual testimony of Mr Murdoch, or anybody else who appeared, I'm not going engage in running commentary on that, but of course I would say the act that we saw with pie, conduct of that nature is grossly objectionable.
JOURNALIST: (inaudible)
PM: Look, I'm not going to engage in running commentary on testimony, but I do believe Australians watching all of that happening overseas with News Corp are looking at News Limited here and wanting to see News Limited answer some hard questions.
JOURNALIST: Are you saying that News Limited papers here have to answer some questions, or just the British tabloids?
PM: I think it's inevitable and it happens on other areas of policy in life. When we see a big thing happen overseas it causes us to reflect on circumstances in our own nation, so I'm saying no more or no less than that. When we've seen big things happen overseas we've then had them influence our national conversation, what we're talking about. I anticipate that that will continue to happen here.
JOURNALIST: I guess I'm asking, are you casting aspersions on News Limited papers here?
PM: Well, all I'm saying is when big things happen overseas, I'm certainly not making up any conclusions, quite the reverse. All I'm saying is when there's been a major discussion overseas, when people have seen telephones hacked in to, when people have seen individuals grieving, had to deal with all of this, then I do think that causes them to ask some questions here in our country, some questions about News Limited here, and obviously New Limited's got a responsibility to answer those questions when they're asked, and I would say if the boot as on the other foot and there was some major political scandal in the United Kingdom involving politicians, journalists from all newspaper stables, including News Limited, would be beating a path to my door to ask me all about it and what the implications are for Australia.
So, I'm really saying no more than what journalists themselves would view as proper conduct if there was a political scandal overseas.
JOURNALIST: Will you be going on these field trips until Parliament sits again, or until you get another bounce in polling?
PM: This is about the nation's future and I will be out as necessary talking to Australians to make sure they get the information they need. Of course as Prime Minister, I've got a lot of things to do, but one of the things I want to do is make myself available to answer people's questions and concerns.
JOURNALIST: How will you know when you've won over the public?
PM: This is about the nation's future, full stop.