PETER BAXTER: Welcome everyone. My name's Peter Baxter and I'm the Director-General of AusAID and I'd like to particularly welcome the Honourable Prime Minister Tuilaepa of Samoa and, of course, Australia's Prime Minister the Honourable Julia Gillard.
Improving education across the Pacific region is a priority for Australia and its partners and we're all gathered today to launch another phase in Australia's support for education in the region.
Vocational education and training play a key role in development. The Australian Pacific Technical Colleges provide Australian standard qualifications and skills for a wide range of vocational careers throughout the Pacific. And since its inception in 2007, more than 3,000 students have graduated from the colleges with internationally-recognised qualifications. I'd now like to call on Australia's Prime Minister Ms Julia Gillard to launch the next phase of our support for the APTC.
PM: Thank you very much and can I say it's a great pleasure to be joined by the Prime Minister of Samoa for this announcement. As I said at the start of the Pacific Islands Forum, one of my key priorities here was to focus on jobs and education and economic growth. And in order to focus on those things, I've worked with and announced with New Zealand additional resources to support the education of school children across the Pacific, around half a million school children.
I've also announced an extension of Australia's Labor Mobility Trial, a Pacific workers' Labor Mobility Trial in the horticultural industry. We have extended that to another four nations, bringing as it does workers needed in the horticultural sector in Australia and enabling people from our Pacific neighbours to get the chance of a job in Australia, and the ability to remit money back to family in their home nation.
I'm very pleased to be able to make a further announcement, and to do it with the Prime Minister of Samoa, and it is that we intend to build on our current work with the Australian Pacific Technical College. Now this is a college that has campuses across the Pacific, providing Australian qualifications. We intend to dedicate $152 million to supporting the next round of training - 3,450 places. These are places which give Australian qualifications and are very prized in the region, and the Prime Minister and I have had the opportunity to talk about that privately, how these training places are prized and give people the skills and capacities they need for further employment.
I'll take this opportunity too, to just make some general comments on the leaders' retreat and the Pacific Islands Forum, which has concluded its leaders' deliberations today. I came here with a priority for a focus on jobs and economic growth in education and that has featured in the leaders' discussions.
The feature of the discussions was also on aid and development, including on the Cairns Compact, which Australia sees as a very important mechanism for ensuring that aid in the Pacific is doing the maximum amount of work that it can.
We had very detailed discussions on climate change, given many of the nations who attend this forum are particularly at risk from climate change and the manifestations it brings of rising sea levels, of more storm activity. We have had a major discussion about climate change, about the need for resources for adaptation money. This is an area in which Australia plays its part, but of course it's a challenge for our world, for the developed world generally, to provide appropriate aid and assistance to small nations particularly at risk from climate change.
We've also had a focus in these discussions on taking the voice of the Pacific Island nations to the world. I was able to speak at the leaders' retreat today about the G20 and to make an offer to the leaders there to carry their concerns to the G20 which will be held in France later this year. Of course, featuring on the G20 agenda will be matters associated with development, with climate change, and with food security.
We've also had discussions about issues like women's participation and women's representation in Parliaments around our region, and you would see that the communiqué features an agreement for leaders around the Pacific to work on that, and that Papua New Guinea has taken some steps forward on the representation of women.
So it's been a good opportunity to meet with leaders around the Pacific. I do also want to note that leaders gathered today continued to take a strong stand on Fiji. In particular, leaders gathered today calling for a genuine inclusive political dialogue in Fiji, with no pre-conditions and of course an early return to democracy. Fiji remains suspended from the forum.
But can I conclude by saying it's a great pleasure to be here with the Prime Minister of Samoa, and I'll ask him to make some comments on the impact that the technical college work has had in his nation. Thank you.
PRIME MINISTER TUILAEPA: Well I want to thank Prime Minister Gillard for extending the funding for the next phase in the technical college development in Samoa.
The campus in Samoa has produced about 349 graduates since its inception and there are about 150 students studying presently, and would be graduating by the end of this year. The college, or the campus, in Samoa has proven to lift the skills and standard of skills of our people in vocations that are of importance to the development of our country. And we do hope that the high achievers could find further opportunities for further training in Australia.
The value of gaining a certificate which carries an Australian label in our own country is so important for the graduates in terms of employment creation as quite clearly the person who graduates from an Australian technical training is always given priority by any employer compared to any other certificate awarded by an institution within our own countries.
So without further ado, Prime Minister, I thank you very much for your generous effort in helping education in our country. Thank you very much.
PM: Thank you. Can I ask if there are questions on today's announcement, or on the leaders' retreat today, before we move to any Australian domestic matters, so the Prime Minister of Samoa is not involved in that press conference. Yes?
JOURNALIST: Sorry, just very briefly on the seasonal workers program, there was a very slow uptake from Australia. By opening this up to other countries to be involved, that won't necessarily mean more Australians are creating jobs for seasonal workers to come in. Is there something being done in Australia to make sure that the demand for those seasonal workers is there?
PM: Our experience with this scheme was that it did get off to a slow start. I mean it was a wholly new venture, it was the first time we had done anything like this, and so in its first version it did get off to a slow and modest start. Obviously we've learned as we've gone and there have been some new flexibilities introduced into the system, and since then we've seen greater uptake.
So now we're moving from the first four countries to another four countries. It's still a pilot and we're still learning, but it's an industry sector in Australia where routinely employers are telling us that they cannot get the workforce that they need. And that has been a constant cry, irrespective of economic conditions in Australia, that it is difficult for them to get the workforce that they need.
So we hope to continue to learn as we go in this pilot, and as we do, to provide opportunities for people. The evidence to us has been that people who have come have enjoyed it in the sense that it's given them a work opportunity and enabled them to send money back home.
JOURNALIST: Just a question on Fiji: can you explain what you mean by the dialogue you talked about before that needs to take place?
PM: Well, this has been our consistent position and it is a consistent position of this forum. We want to see Fiji return to democracy. We want to see that done at the earliest possible opportunity. Obviously that requires within Fiji and more broadly, a dialogue to start without pre-conditions being drawn, but the ball is there in Fiji's court to make moves forward towards a return to democracy.
JOURNALIST: Did all the island leaders agree with that sentiment, because some here have expressed - they're saying that Fiji should be returned to the forum as soon as possible?
PM: Well the best thing I can do there is refer you to the communiqué and the very clear statement within it.
JOURNALIST: Could I ask Mr Tuilaepa, because he's been very outspoken on Fiji, you've seen the opinion poll that was published this week, which seemed to show that Bainimarama has a high level of support within Fiji. Is this the sort of thing that might make you change your mind about your own assessment of what's happened?
TUILAEPA: Well first of all the opinion poll was carried out by the Lowy Institute using some polls companies in Fiji, and of course we all know that people in Fiji are very, very frightened to say anything contrary to what the leader wants to hear. So I cannot take the results of that poll to be completely reliable. That's my brief answer.
JOURNALIST: Can I ask you just about the Seasonal Workers' Program? What benefit will it bring to Samoa with Samoans now being able to take part in that?
TUILAEPA: The increase in income for those who would be benefiting from the scheme cannot be minimised, but I think the great benefit would be as we have known from our participation in the New Zealand scheme, is the knowledge of the work ethics in a horticulture industry. And that is very advantageous when they go back to work on their own plantations and having been exposed to the work environment in New Zealand, it gives them a totally new outlook on what it means to work hard in a plantation where you expect to produce and sell the fruits of your labour.
I just want you to also know that in our discussions with the farmers, the employers here, they have found that since the inception of the scheme, the people that have come with the experience acquired have resulted in increased productivity and they have recommended to me that the next batch that follows should have a higher percentage of those who have been before. So that there is less time to retrain, and that the benefits to the farmers would be even greater.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, just on the poll results that we were talking about: how do you feel about the Fijian Government saying that Bainimarama is three times more popular than you? Are you concerned about statements like that?
PM: This isn't a question for opinion polls, this is a values question, and the central question is whether you believe in democracy or not. I do, and that's why we're pressing Fiji for an early return to democracy.
JOURNALIST: (inaudible) question of the reliability of the Lowy Institute poll.
PM: I think some good points have been made by the Prime Minister. It is, I suspect, hard for us from Australia to imagine how people feel living in Fiji and then having an opinion poll taken of them. For us that's routine. Obviously, we have a lot of opinion polls and people feel free to say whatever they want to say and they understand that they're confidential and those sorts of things and that there's not an ability to trace back who said what.
I suspect that the understanding of those things and the sense of pressure is quite different to Fiji. But at the end of the day, whatever caused people to give the answers that they gave, this is not a question for opinion polling. You believe in democracy or you don't. We believe in democracy.
TUILAEPA: Can I also mention that very similar kinds of polls have been conducted in my country during periods leading up to elections for the last eight elections that were won. And every single poll of those eight polls were completely wrong.
PM: Well said! Have we finished with Forum issues and issues associated with the Australia Pacific Technical College?
JOURNALIST: Just one about bilaterals if I could.
PM: Okay sure.
JOURNALIST: Did you speak with the Papua New Guinean Prime Minister at all about asylum speakers? Were there words mentioned in-
PM: -We are yet to have our bilateral, so I've had the opportunity during the course of the day in the margins of the leaders' retreat to talk to the Prime Minister of PNG, but we will sit down for a further conversation after this media conference.
JOURNALIST: Asylum seekers wasn't mentioned in that sidelines chat?
PM: The Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea is aware that we are debating these issues within Australia and we have a court case to respond to.
JOURNALIST: And on West Papua, would you agree with West Papua's attempts at becoming [inaudible] of the Pacific Island community?
PM: I'd refer you to the communiqué and what was done in relation to applications for observers by the whole group. So is that it?
OK, so they were going to ask me some domestic questions now. You may not want to be involved in Prime Minister.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, in light of the New South Wales Police not proceeding any charges against Craig Thomson. Do you have full confidence in him and should the opposition apologise to him?
PM: Look, I've consistently expressed my confidence in the Member for Dobell. He is there working for his local community. Police matters are a matter for the Police, and I'm not going to comment on them.
JOURNALIST: The opposition says that he should address Parliament as early as Monday to explain himself. What do you make of that?
PM: I've consistently said in relation to this matter - and other matters involving Federal Parliamentarians, including a Liberal Senator - that it's a question for proper processes. Proper processes need to be gone through and clearly the Police are going through their relevant processes.
JOURNALIST: Should George Brandis apologise?
PM: Look, these are a question for the proper processes. That's my position in relation to all parliamentarians. I've taken a consistent view, whether the person is a Liberal Party person or a Labor Party person.
JOURNALIST: Are you saying he hasn't been cleared yet? You're saying he still has questions to answer (inaudible)?
PM: I'm not saying that at all, and please don't put words in my mouth. I'm saying that there are proper processes, as people are aware, in relation to the Member for Dobell. There's a Fair Work Australia process in train. Matters that are - commentary from the Police is for the Police to deal with - not for me.
JOURNALIST: (inaudible) Tony Abbott to not say that he'll give him a pair to attend the birth of his child?
PM: I am fairly amazed by that statement. You know, employers, people right around the country now make arrangements for men to attend the birth of their children. People do it in all sorts of extraordinary circumstances: footballers shaping up for a grand final. All sorts of extraordinary circumstances people still want to make sure that a dad can get to the birth of his new son or daughter. I would hope Mr Abbott would reflect on this and share that sentiment.
JOURNALIST: PM, Mr Abbott says that they would support the Government's offshore processing policy as long as it didn't include Malaysia and it was only based with Nauru and PNG. What do you make of Mr Abbott's comments?
PM: Look, Mr Abbott made a very open offer at the start of this week to consider these questions and to work with the Government. I'll be holding Mr Abbott to that open offer. He now has some facts at his disposal that he didn't appear to have earlier this week - because we've made briefings available to him. It's now crystal clear to Mr Abbott that legislation is required. It's now also crystal clear to Mr Abbott that Malaysia has a strong deterrence value. I hope he would weigh these facts in the national interest.
JOURNALIST: Do you agree with your Immigration Department head, who says that if offshore processing doesn't take place, that we'll end up with social problems that we saw like in London recently?
PM: Well the Government at the appropriate time will deal with our response to the High Court case. Having heard of all that advice from our independent officials, including the Secretary of the Department of Immigration and Citizenship.
JOURNALIST: Bob Brown said today, he's called those officials “turkeys” today and says that you're further to the Right than John Howard. What do you make-
PM: -Sorry, who?
JOURNALIST: Bob Brown's called the Immigration Department's officials “turkeys” and says that you're further to the right than John Howard now on asylum seekers and he can't bite his tongue any longer. What's your reaction?
PM: Well Senator Brown's completely wrong. It's the wrong thing to do to criticise officials. They are giving the best of their advice and experience, and I ask them to give the best of their advice and experience to the Leader of the Opposition as well as me, in circumstances where our nation needs to respond to last week's High Court Case.
For my position on asylum seekers, what I want to see is the people-smugglers' business model smashed. I believe that's the right thing to do, in attacking a trans-national crime of a great evil, and it's the right thing to do from the humanitarian perspective of not seeing people, including women and kids, get on boats and potentially risk their lives. And our nation saw that only too graphically around Christmas time this year off Christmas Island, and I'd invite people to remember what they felt like, when they saw those images.
JOURNALIST: The Immigration Department says that offshore processing is the only way to go to tackle this problem. What did Labor dismantle the offshore processing regime, and what did you support that?
PM: I think you're putting words in the Immigration Department's mouth. They are saying and advising both us and Mr Abbott that Malaysia has a great deal of deterrence value; it's a very strong deterrent. They're also very clearly saying that to avoid legal risks and doubts, legislation is required. The Government will respond fully to all of this, having received proper advice at the appropriate time. I'm not doing it today.
JOURNALIST: But was it the wrong thing to do to dismantle the offshore processing regime?
PM: Well we'll provide our response to the High Court case at the appropriate time. I'm not doing it today.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, on that advice that you got from the department, have they told the Government that if it has to be onshore, that you will get 600 people a month arriving?
And on a completely matter of the trends, I appreciate you're here and you're not watching Australian television, but have you see the new show about yourself and Tim? What do you make of it and it's supposedly a ratings hit in Australia? What do you think about that?
PM: I haven't seen the new show, because I've been here in New Zealand. I have recorded it, so I will watch it, and I hope that I will be laughing as I do.
JOURNALIST: Just on the-
PM: -Look, the Immigration Department has provided advice to us. It's provided advice to the Leader of the Opposition. We're going to respond to that advice and we'll crystallise the reason we came to our conclusions when the Government has fully dealt with this matter, which isn't today.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, [inaudible] on that program?
PM: You're asking me to make a comment about a program I haven't seen, but I think people who know me well know I've got a pretty good sense of humour, so I expect to be laughing when I watch it.
JOURNALIST: Have you had bilateral discussions with Nauru about processing?
PM: Look I made comments about this yesterday, and I've spoken to the leader of Nauru who's been here. At a meeting of this length, you get a lot of opportunities to have discussions in the margins, when you're having a cup of coffee or over lunch or dinner or whatever. We have had those discussions and he understands that there's a High Court case in Australia that the Government's responding to, and that that's an Australian domestic question.
JOURNALIST: So you did speak to the Nauru President about the issue?
PM: He raised the matter with me over dinner, saying he had been asked by Australian journalists to comment, and in those circumstances I explained that we had a High Court case that we were working through our response to.
JOURNALIST: Can I just ask you one question (inaudible)?
PM: I was never scheduled to attend the post-Forum dialogue, and it's not normal for Prime Ministers to do so. I did want to catch up with the Wallabies while I was here, and I'm able to do that today, still get back tonight and be available for a full working day in Canberra tomorrow. So I thought that was the best program.
JOURNALIST: Do you have meetings planned tomorrow?
PM: What I had intended to do was stay overnight and meet the Wallabies tomorrow. As it's turned out, I've got the opportunity to do that this evening and get back tonight. So just in terms of being in Canberra for the full working day rather than travelling for part of it, that best suits my program.
JOURNALIST: Can I just clarify an answer you gave earlier? Did you raise it with PNG or did they raise it with you, the issue of asylum seekers?
PM: Look, it's been a conversation in the margins. I suspect, but do not know, members of this press pack have been asking for commentary as well. I suspect that's right, and so you'd expect it to be raised over a cup of coffee, no more than that, and it's once again a question that there's a High Court case, and we're responding to it.
This, of course, for us in Australia, it's a big issue, it's a big part of our national conversation at the moment, but it hasn't been a big feature of my discussions whilst I've been here. It's been the subject of a couple of conversations in the margins, because press interest obviously then also plays into the forum itself.
JOURNALIST: (inaudible) resignation of the Chief Trade Advisor, who's a key player in the regional PACER Plus negotiations?
PM: Yes, I understand that the Chief Trade Advisor has resigned and that we will need to replace that position, which needs to continue to be resourced. Thank you.