PM: I'm here at Godfrey Hirst with Darren Cheeseman the member for Corangamite and I'd like to thank everybody, both management and staff, for making us feel so welcome here today. We've had the opportunity to tour through and see how they make carpet in this factory. We've also had the opportunity to talk about pricing carbon and Australian manufacturing.
I'd firstly like to congratulate this business, Godfrey Hirst, because they've already been thinking about how they can make this place work and have their product a greener product. Indeed, they now have a carpet on the market that is 37 percent made from corn starch. That's a remarkable thing and Darren and I have had the opportunity to see that carpet today. Making it from a renewable resource of corn starch means the amount of carbon pollution, carbon dioxide, generated in making the carpet is cut by 60 percent, this is smart thinking from a great Australian manufacturing business.
I've had the opportunity here today too, to talk about the support available for manufacturing through our carbon pricing package. We've allocated around $800 million to work with manufacturing businesses and around $200 million in an innovation fund. And what I think coming here today has proved to me is that innovation is possible, indeed Australian businesses are already innovating to make their products cleaner and greener, to ensure that their products have less carbon pollution associated with their manufacture. So, it's been good to be here today, to have the opportunity not only to talk to the people who manage this place, but also to say hello to some of the people who work here, many of them have worked here a long period of time.
I know that a lot of negative claims have been made, as we've talked about pricing carbon as a nation. Many of those claims have talked the future of Australian manufacturing down. This is a tough period for Australian manufacturing because of our sustained high Australian dollar, but I am very confident in the future of Australian manufacturing because I'm confident in the ability of our businesses to innovate and I'm confident in the skills and capacities of the people who work in our manufacturing enterprises, including this one.
So I am very happy to take questions, I do just before I get there want to say having talked to Darren today, I think it's important to explain the household assistance package and the impacts for the greater Geelong region.
Of course, when we put a price on carbon there will be a modest increase in cost of living for Australian families. The price paid for carbon pollution will be paid by around 500 of Australia's biggest businesses that currently put carbon pollution into our skies for nothing, they will pay the price. There will be some flow through impacts onto the things that people buy, that's less than one percent and families and Australians will get assistance.
So the statistics for the greater Geelong area are 23,000 families in greater Geelong will receive household assistance through their family payments, that is the payments we make available to families to assist with the costs of raising kids. Around 100,000 people in the greater Geelong area will get a tax cut. 70,000 of these will receive a tax cut of at least $300 and 50,000 pensioners in the Geelong area will receive an increase in the pension of $338 per year if they are single and up to $510 for pensioner couples. They're the local statistics of the household assistance package. I'm very happy to take questions.
JOURNALIST: Have the powers that were (inaudible) the powers, are they going to be too strong or draconian as some are characterising them today?
PM: I make absolutely no apology for having tough powers to stop any rip-offs. I don't want to see Australian families ripped off and so we will have a tough cop on the beat, with tough powers to go after any businesses that are thinking of ripping people off. Now, I understand that Mr Abbott today has criticised these powers, that's remarkable to me, that he would criticise powers to make sure Australian families don't get ripped off. But that's consistent with the way that Mr Abbott is approaching putting a price on carbon. I believe in asking our big polluters to pay and using that money to assist Australian families, Mr Abbott believes in taking money off Australian families and giving it to big polluters and today he's apparently endorsing rip-offs as well.
JOURNALIST: Are the penalties too steep?
PM: The penalties are absolutely right, no one should do the wrong thing and if people do the wrong thing then they should feel the full force of the law including high fines and penalties, that's appropriate if people try any rip-offs.
JOURNALIST: What can you tell us about what happened in Tarin Kot?
PM: As has been reported there was an incident overnight with insurgent activity in Tarin Kot. No Australians have been injured or killed in this event, but clearly our thoughts are with the local Afghan people who have sustained this violence.
JOURNALIST: And what's your understanding of what role Australians played?
PM: My advice is that the Afghan security forces responded quickly and professionally to this event.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister there's enormous interest in your launching Christine Nixon's book, will you just explain the thinking about that please?
PM: Sure, I'm happy to explain my thinking about that. Christine Nixon joined the New South Wales Police Force in the early 1970s. When she did, less than 180 women had joined that police force since they allowed women to join in 1915. Now I think it's quite remarkable that someone who joined at that time when our police forces hadn't embraced women as part of their ranks in any meaningful way, that someone who joined at that time could rise to become Police Commissioner. I think her individual story is interesting, it's also a story about a change in Australia during that period of time from the 1970s to now.
Obviously in launching her book that doesn't mean that I agree with all sentiments expressed in the book, they are Christine Nixon's sentiments, but I think Christine Nixon's life has been one across a considerable period of change in our society and particularly in policing and I think people will show some interest in the book because of that.
JOURNALIST: So will you be there next Wednesday?
PM: Sorry?
JOURNALIST: You will be there next Wednesday?
PM: Yes I will.
JOURNALIST: Do you think she's being targeted (inaudible)?
PM: Christine Nixon can deal with her own life's events herself. I've never read an autobiography or a biography where I've picked it up and said every decision the person the centre of the book has made was the right decision. I've never had that experience reading any book, I'm not having that experience reading Christine Nixon's book. The purpose of people writing a book is they put their version and of course it will be debated and considered by others, that's appropriate.
JOURNALIST: So have you read the whole book?
PM: I'm about two thirds of the way through and will finish it before I launch it in the middle of next week.
JOURNALIST: Do you think a leader's role is to lead during a disaster, to be on deck?
PM: Of course leadership requires showing people what the right thing is to do in all sorts of circumstances. I'm not going to second guess things in Christine Nixon's book; people should ask her those questions. But for me, leadership as Prime Minister of this nation means leading the nation and charting a course to its future, that's precisely what I've been doing and will continue to do.
JOURNALIST: Do you agree with the need for a Commonwealth Ombudsman's (inaudible) for investigation of self harm in detention?
PM: Well one of the things about the Commonwealth Ombudsman, it's very important that the Ombudsman's work is independent from anything that Government says so I'm not going to comment on the appropriateness of the investigation, once I make a comment that could be seen to be trying to influence the Ombudsman one way or the other and that's precisely the kind of thing I don't want to do as Prime Minister. I understand the Ombudsman will be investigating.
JOURNALIST: But he's already said based on his visits to date he was shocked and surprised by what he's seen and also the rates of self harm, I think it was just over a thousand instances last financial year. Does that shock you?
PM: Well first and foremost we've taken a big step earlier this week to smash the people smugglers' business model. I don't want to see people in detention because I don't want to see people arrive on our shores in leaky boats having given their money to a people smuggler and potentially risk their lives and their children's lives. That's why we entered the innovative agreement with Malaysia on Monday this week.
When people are in detention we do have special services and supports to assist people with mental health issues. Obviously the Ombudsman's going to have a look at this and when the report's available we'll consider the report but we are quite a long way away from that happening at this stage.
JOURNALIST: Sorry, just with those figures, does it shock you or trouble you to learn that those rates of self harm, or attempted self harm are there at the moment?
PM: I'm well aware of mental health issues in detention centres which is why the Federal Government has actually stepped up the supports that are available. We are guided by a set of detention values as to how people in detention are treated and both the current Minister for Immigration and his predecessor, Minister Evans, have done a lot of work so that our detention centres are guided by those kind of values with appropriate support services in place.
JOURNALIST: Just back to the carbon tax, do you think you've been doing enough to get it out and explain it to workers and families? I mean, there's obviously still quite a few who have concerns about it, do you think (inaudible)?
PM: I did see some criticism emanating from Mr Abbott overnight. First and foremost can I say Mr Abbott's basically got all of the calls wrong about carbon pricing. He told families that petrol would go up 6.5 cents a litre, that's wrong. He told people who work in the steel industry it would shut down, that's wrong. He told people who worked in the coal industry it would shut down, that's wrong. He's told families there would be astronomical increases in the cost of living, that's wrong too. Now he's trying to make some reflections about the Government's campaign to explain carbon pricing, it follows from all those examples, he's got that wrong as well.
I will be out in the years ahead explaining the Government's carbon pricing package but I'm able to, and the Government's able to, walk and chew gum at the same time which is why this week what you've seen Government do is enter a historic agreement in Tasmania to better protect forests and secure jobs, enter an innovative agreement with Malaysia to better secure our boarders, release the carbon pricing legislation, release the paper that will guide the tax forum later this year. Wayne Swan's out today with the Minister for Communication releasing a new National Broadband Network site and I'm here talking about carbon pricing. We're able to walk - sorry to chew gum and walk at the same time.
JOURNALIST: Mr Abbott was here a week or two ago in Geelong, walking through factories like this, more like a union chief than a Liberal leader, is he still winning the war of deception?
PM: Well I hope he was explaining to him why he loved Work Choices and I hope he was explaining to them why he rejoiced in workers having their pay cut and I hope he was explaining to them why he thought it was good that people could be sacked with no remedy and no reason given and I hope he was explaining to them his intention to bring all of that back. I hope he was also honestly saying to them I haven't told you the truth about petrol, I haven't told you the truth about steel, I haven't told you the truth about coal, I haven't told you the truth about cost of living impacts. I hope he was going through all of that as well.
JOURNALIST: (Inaudible) selling his own climate change policy?
PM: The last thing Mr Abbott ever talks about is his climate change policy. I mean does anybody really believe Mr Abbott's got a climate change policy that stacks up? I mean Mr Abbott's become so negative in recent weeks he's at war with himself. Now it's one thing to constantly criticise what the Government does, Mr Abbott's now got so negative he criticises his own policy. He was out in the last week saying oh, five percent target to cut carbon emissions, how crazy is that? Then had to remind himself it's his target too. This is the hallmark of a man who doesn't have any policy, all he's got is a negative campaign against the Government's plans, inclusive of misrepresentation every step of the way.
JOURNALIST: And is the Government going into discussions about a possible congestion tax with an open mind, I mean, good faith? Tony Burke's already been out publicly today talking down the idea.
PM: We've seen a newspaper report on the front page of the Daily Tele this morning, I hope they enter it for one of our fiction prizes in Australia, we have a number and they may have a winning entry because it's entirely a work of fiction. The Federal Government has ruled out support for congestion taxes in the past and we've ruled it out again. In any event, these are questions for state governments.
JOURNALIST: So what's the use on it being on the agenda then, for a future meeting with state leaders, if you've already ruled it out? (inaudible)
PM: Well we've ruled it out but you would expect a paper that is canvassing questions including questions that may be addressed by state governments to use the words. What I wouldn't expect is for the Federal Government's position to be misrepresented, it's been crystal clear, we've ruled out any action on congestion charges. As for the attitude of state governments well you would need to speak to them about that.
Thank you.