JENSEN:
Prime Minister, good morning and welcome to our part of Australia.
PRIME MINISTER:
Well, it's very good to be back in this part of Queensland.
JENSEN:
Now, some of the issues that are current at the moment like tree clearing, Telstra, drought, exceptional circumstances. They're all the sorts of things you're going to be asked about today. Do you think the welcome is going to be nice out that way?
PRIME MINISTER:
I have no doubt that, as always, people of country Australia will be friendly and courteous but very direct, and that's fair enough. I pay regular visits to rural Australia and the purpose of those is to both explain, but also importantly to listen. I know there are particular concerns about aspects of the tree clearing issue and one of the things I will do this afternoon is have a lengthy meeting with AG Force, hear that organisation's views. We want to get it right. We do need to make significant gains for the environment in relation to tree clearing.
JENSEN:
Yeah, could I ask you about that first and there's $150 million on offer from the Commonwealth Government and the State Government, but AG Force and other organisations have regarded that as a bit of a joke from their part. What do you feel about that?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well, I will talk about that this afternoon. I'm not going to give a final response on that sort of thing now and not even this afternoon. The purpose of the meeting this afternoon is to hear very directly from Mr Acton and others of AG Force and the other organisations and just hear what they've got to say. It's what the political and democratic process is all about and I've always tried very hard to be fair to Australia's farmers. We are a Government that's done a lot for rural Australia. We understand the challenges it has, not only the drought, but they've been ravaged by bad world prices for a long time. So, they have a lot of sympathy from this Government. Equally, everybody wants to see a good environmental outcome and the rate of tree clearing in Queensland is one of the worrying factors when it comes to greenhouse gas emissions. So, therefore, we do have to make progress and significant progress on that front.
JENSEN:
Okay, is there much room for compromise on your part?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well, I always believe with these things that you can find an outcome that achieves most of the objectives of good policy, provided people tackle it from a position of good will and commonsense. I will certainly be bringing both of those commodities, I hope, so will John Anderson who will be with me to the discussion and I have no doubt the representatives from the farmer organisations will have the same approach.
JENSEN:
Prime Minister, can we talk about Telstra. Most of the people in the area where you are today would be quite unhappy with the further sale of Telstra. Could you comment on that for me?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well, I'll wait and see. I haven't met them yet. I don't think we should make assumptions that everybody in rural Australia is opposed to the sale of Telstra, I think that would be an erroneous assumption. There is no doubt at all that services have improved very significantly, very significantly indeed. I was at a gathering last night in Roma and a number of people said to me that there's no doubt services have improved quite significantly in country Australia over the last five years, in particular. We're going to outlay another $180 to $190 million on further upgrades. We're fulfilling, we're delivering on all of the recommendations made by the Estens inquiry and I spoke to Dick Estens last night at this gathering. So, I don't think we should jump to the conclusion that everybody in country Australia is marching in the streets on this issue. There will be some people who are opposed to it and there will be some people who will remain opposed to it no matter what is done. But in the end, ownership does not determine the level of service. Governments can legislate for services to be delivered to the bush whether they own shares in Telstra or not, and that is a point that needs to be made again and again. And could I also make the point that if anybody imagines that going back the days of 100 per cent… that government ownership is going to deliver a world class communication system in the bush, they just should remember back to the old party line days at a PMG.
JENSEN:
Have the improvements been enough but? I mean, we get calls here all the time from people who are saying, you know, their mobile phone drops out at the drop of the that, that sort of thing. And is there any guarantee if you do get it through the Senate, if you do get the sale through the Senate, is there any guarantee that those improvements will continue under private ownership?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well, those improvements and the obligations are obligations that can be imposed by legislation. Now as far as we are concerned, you say what guarantee - my guarantee to the people of country Australia is to point to what we have done over the last few years, to point to the $1 billion that has been spent in improving the infrastructure in regional Australia to the almost $200 million that was announced fulfilling all of the recommendations of Estens. In the end, actions always speak louder than words and this Government over the last five years has systematically invested and procured the investment by Telstra of money to upgrade the system. Now, no Government can deliver a perfect system all over the country. There'll always be some patches, but it's a question of whether, in overall terms, the quality of the service, the availability not only of mobile phones, but of the internet and the speeds and all of those things, whether they are up to scratch. And we believe, based on what the findings of the Estens committee showed, that we've put in place or are putting in place arrangements that will deliver that and I just ask people when they, in relation to guarantees, to look at what has been done because what we have done, the investments that have been made speak far louder than any guarantees about the future.
JENSEN:
Prime Minister, there is however a problem with your coalition partners - the National Party. Many MPs on the National Party side oppose the sale. Does that concern you?
PRIME MINISTER:
An issue like this is always going to produce a range of views but we had a very lengthy discussion in the joint party room and the proposal received overwhelming support.
JENSEN:
If we could just move on, we're running out of time I'm afraid. Prime Minister, exceptional circumstances, the word is that you're going to overhaul the system, we know of areas for instance in this region like Stanthorpe or Inglewood who have just been knocked back on exceptional circumstances. Could you comment on that for me?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well any program that is jointly administered by the Commonwealth and the States always has its glitches because things will fall between the two schools of government. But from a Commonwealth point of view, we have put an enormous amount of money into drought relief. We're always, in a sense, reviewing the operations of exceptional circumstances and there are always ways in which it can be improved or enhanced. But we have introduced a situation now, it's been in operation for some months, that once an application is made, providing it is on the surface in order, then a certain amount of assistance will commence immediately pending the verification. So, we have introduced a large number of changes but there will always be some areas of the country that according to the independent assessment are just outside the criteria and what you have to do is make sure that the criteria are always responsive and effective and flexible enough to cover all situations.
JENSEN:
Do you agree that there is still need for some dramatic change. For instance, Chinchilla Shire now have to reapply for exceptional circumstances to prove that they still have those circumstances. Does that signal…?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well, I wouldn't except that there needs to be a dramatic change. We have made a lot of changes already and we are constantly endeavouring to do so. And could I just reminder you that the overwhelming bulk of financial assistance for drought relief all over Queensland now is coming from the Commonwealth Government. I mean, it dwarfed the contribution of the State Government enormously. Now that is the… that's the situation that, you know, we're not complaining about that but I think it is worth pointing out it's very easy sometimes for those who don't have to pick up the tab to have a shot at the Commonwealth Government in relation to these things. Now, I don't suggest the system is perfect, but I wouldn't except that you need to have dramatic changes, there could be further changes in the way it's delivered, there could be further changes at the margin.
JENSEN:
If I could just ask you one final question, Prime Minister - I had a call this morning from the Wambo Shire asking about the reduction in federal assistance, for instance in that Shire they have to find another $500,000 over the next few years because of the reduction in federal assistance…
PRIME MINISTER:
What reduction?
JENSEN:
Well, the grants from Federal Government are less than they were.
PRIME MINISTER:
Well, I'm not aware of that and I don't know the basis of that claim.
JENSEN:
So, what you're saying they're not getting…?
PRIME MINISTER:
No, I don't know the facts and circumstances of that, so therefore I can't comment whether it's a fair claim or not, that's what I'm saying.
JENSEN:
Alright. And finally - we had a note also from the Tourism Association in Roma asking if there's any possibility of some help for the Big Rig in Roma, from a tourism point of view they don't seem to be getting much federal funding.
PRIME MINISTER:
Well, those things are not issues that are normally the subject of regular federal grants. I mean, there is a thing called a State Government which gets a lot of GST revenue, in fact the Queensland Government gets more GST revenue, is further ahead of all of the other states because of the way it's fallen out. Now, I don't know all the details of State Government programs in that area, but it is not the normal pattern of responsibility at a Government level that each and every individual project of a tourist kind is supported by the Federal Government. We have… we've just invested another $20 million in tourist promotion, we've produced a green paper and there'll be a white paper coming very shortly and when that white paper comes out there'll be some further consideration for financial assistance to the tourist industry. Now as to the individual issue, well I'll… if I see some of those people today I'll be very happy to talk to them, but the way in which governments discharge their responsibilities around the country are such that the smaller local projects of that kind are normally funded by State Government grants rather than Commonwealth.
JENSEN:
Prime Minister, I thank you very much for spending some time with us this morning and enjoy the rest of your day in that area.
PRIME MINISTER:
Thank you.
[ends]