PRIME MINISTER:
It’s good to be here in Adelaide with the South Australian state Treasurer, Tom Koutsantonis, my ministerial colleague, Jamie Briggs, and also Matt Williams, the Local Federal Member, for what effectively is the beginning of the Torrens to Torrens project.
This is a vital project for South Australia. It’s in fact an important national project, because upgrading the infrastructure of Adelaide is very important, not just for the people of South Australia, but for every Australia, because Adelaide and South Australia are a very important part of our national economy.
The Torrens to Torrens project obviously has strong bipartisan support. I’m looking forward to continuing to work with the South Australian government on this project and on the Darlington project, which is the next major stage of the North-South upgrade, to kick off.
The Torrens to Torrens project effectively is starting now. It will be fully underway by the middle of next year. It involves close to a half a billion dollars of Federal money and many hundreds of millions of dollars in state money. Torrens to Torrens alone will create almost 500 jobs over the next four years and there’s about another 400 jobs that will be part of the Darlington project. So, not only is this vital economic infrastructure, but it is a very important job creation project for South Australia.
So, I’m really pleased to be here. I’m really pleased to be working with my South Australian Federal colleagues and also with the state government on this project which is self-evidently good for this city, for this state and for our country.
I’m going to ask Tom to say a few words, followed by Jamie, followed by Matt.
TOM KOUTSANTONIS:
Thank you very much, Prime Minister, and welcome to the Western Suburbs and welcome to Adelaide. You’re always welcome in South Australia, especially when you want to spend some money on some very important infrastructure.
Behind us we’re seeing Woolworths invest in a very large complex, creating 600 jobs in construction and 200 ongoing jobs. Our work, together with the Commonwealth, on the Torrens to Torrens project and here at Ashwin Parade, has given Bardavcol, a local company, the ability to keep working, the ability to keep on procuring, keep on hiring local South Australians to keep building South Australia.
This is an example of state and Commonwealth cooperation that should be encouraged, and I think it’s a great example of people putting politics to one side to build our nation, to build our state.
So, I’m very happy that the Prime Minister is here today to start what is a very, very important project, not only to the Western Suburbs, but to South Australia.
ASSISTANT MINISTER FOR INFRASTRUCTURE AND REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT:
Thanks, Tom and Prime Minister and Matt. Obviously this is part of our broader economic plan to build a stronger Australia. This is the first part of the North-South Corridor commitment that the Prime Minister made last October in Adelaide, where he said we would seek to upgrade the North-South Corridor in a decade. The Darlington project was funded in the Budget alongside the Torrens to Torrens project – a billion dollars nearly of Federal Government money. Add to that the North-South Corridor Planning Study that the Federal Government has paid for, which is due in November, to look at the next stages to make sure we’ve got a motorway which will lift the productivity of our state, create jobs and ensure that South Australia’s as strong as it can be.
It is a great privilege to be here. It’s been terrific to work with a state government that’s got plans for South Australia at the front of its mind when it comes to infrastructure and we’ll continue to work to ensure that these projects are delivered as quickly as possible to get the benefits for our state.
Matt?
MATT WILLIAMS:
Thanks, Jamie and thanks, Prime Minister, for visiting Hindmarsh and thank you for your support for the Torrens to Torrens project. Since I was declared the Member for Hindmarsh, the first thing I did was write to the Prime Minster and say, “I want Torrens to Torrens. I want money for Torrens to Torrens, because this is a vital project for South Australia”. Jamie knows, too, that I was constantly asking him, “Can we have some support for the Torrens to Torrens project?” So, it’s great to have this money for Torrens to Torrens – the $450 million, the jobs, it’s important for South Australia.
Also, I had the Mayor from West Torrens and other local residents and local business associations that said, “We need to do South Road and Torrens to Torrens”, and as you know, the Prime Minister’s committed to doing the South Road within 10 years and that’s a great commitment for South Australia.
PRIME MINISTER:
Ok, now we’ll take questions on this project and South Australian infrastructure matters. If there’s something that’s of a more party political nature, well I might give Tom the chance to slip away. But let’s start off with this project.
QUESTION:
Prime Minister, I’m not sure if you’re aware of it, but both the Treasurer and Premier of the state, behind your back, say plenty of nasty things about Federal budgets and handouts. Is it a bit disingenuous that you stand here shoulder-to-shoulder with him now when actually, when you’re not here, they’re not saying complimentary things?
PRIME MINISTER:
I accept that politics is a rough tough business and I accept that, for all sorts of reasons, some good and some not so good, there will be some sniping across the political aisles. But, today we are on a unity ticket. This is something that is thoroughly, comprehensively endorsed by both sides of the Federal Parliament and by both sides of the State Parliament. Steven Marshall is as much in favour of this project as the Premier is, as the State Treasurer is, so I'm quite happy to accept that from time to time there will be fierce disagreements between the Commonwealth and the state over all sorts of issues but, on this one, we are absolutely as brothers.
QUESTION:
It was not such a warm welcome for you last night at the Adelaide University. What are your thoughts on the protest and how that was handled?
PRIME MINISTER:
People are perfectly entitled to protest and I want to thank the South Australian Police for the way that they did manage to keep the protest reasonably orderly. At one stage, a few people got a bit excited, but the police, particularly the mounted police, did a particularly good job in keeping things under control. People have a right to protest. They should keep it peaceful. People also have a right to speak and they have a right to listen and I think everyone's rights were respected last night.
QUESTION:
Are you listening to them, though, Prime Minister?
PRIME MINISTER:
If they want to tell me they disagree with the Government's policies on a whole range of issues, I hear what they're saying. It's not unusual for people to disagree with government policies on a whole range of issues. That's life in a rumbustious democracy such as ours. I respectfully disagree with them; they rather disrespectfully disagree with me. That's life in our democracy.
QUESTION:
Prime Minister, can I ask about the Medical Research Fund? Are you concerned that the fund may discourage donations to other foundations, while at the same time not making much difference to frontline services or the Government’s debt bill?
PRIME MINISTER:
This is a very important part of building a better Australia. While there have been all sorts of accusations made about the Budget, I want to stress that this is a Budget for building as well as for saving. It is a Budget for playing to our strengths as well as living within our means.
On most of my recent trips to South Australia, I have been to the South Australian Medical Research Institute, SAMRI, which is a marvellous example of the strengths of this city and this state and this sector, above and beyond the traditional manufacturing which has so long been an important part of South Australia's economy.
So, I see what the Commonwealth wants to do – investing in medical research – as over and above all of the other investments which all sorts of individuals and corporate entities want to make in this area.
QUESTION:
Yesterday, Archbishop George Pell made some comments to the Royal Commission likening the Church’s responsibility over priests to a truck company and that of its drivers. What do you make of those comments?
PRIME MINISTER:
I haven't heard the comments. I understand that some people have been dismayed by them. Look, everyone chooses to express himself or herself in his or her own way. All I want to say is that abuse is a heinous crime – an absolutely heinous crime. It needs to be stamped out wherever it occurs. Whether it's in private institutions, whether it's in public institutions, whether it's in homes, whether it's in the community, it needs to be stamped out and, certainly, I very much support the work of the Commonwealth Royal Commission in this area.
QUESTION:
Prime Minister, is the Bill Shorten issue now done and dusted, or is there political mileage for you to be gained out of his comments?
PRIME MINISTER:
Look, it's a long time ago, what was claimed to have happened. It's been looked at, it's not being proceeded with. It's personal and I don't propose to do anything with it.
QUESTION:
What would you have done in his position? Would you have gone public?
PRIME MINISTER:
I don’t propose to offer any commentary on what Bill Shorten did. It’s over, it seems, and that’s the way the thing should be.
QUESTION:
Will you be urging your MPs to leave it alone and would you do anything if one of them raised it under privilege?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well, I don't imagine anyone is going to take it any further.
QUESTION:
Martin Parkinson has been critical of the Federal Budget for not undertaking more in the way of tax reform, particularly in equalising the distribution of taxes, perhaps cutting back on superannuation rebates. Is he right there? Is that something that does need to be addressed, if not in this Budget, the next budget?
PRIME MINISTER:
One of the points I have been making over and over again is that tax reform starts with repealing the carbon tax and repealing the mining tax and reducing the company tax, but it certainly doesn't finish there. We have got a tax reform white paper, which will come out towards the end of next year, which is going to take this issue substantially forward. So, we have been talking about the tax reform white paper since I think the Budget Reply of last year, so I accept that lots of people didn't focus on this in the Budget, its build-up, its aftermath, but it has always been an important part of the Government's plan.
QUESTION:
But I think what he is suggesting is if some of the inequities were removed, it might have been easier to sell the other parts of the Budget. Is that not right?
PRIME MINISTER:
I accept that it’s never easy to ask people to accept smaller increases in the future than they might otherwise have been led to expect, but when you've got a serious fiscal issue, you've just got to deal with it. Now, every government in Australia – state governments no less than the Commonwealth Government – have got serious fiscal issues because, frankly, all of us have been living beyond our means.
This national Government is determined to address it. We can't go on borrowing a billion dollars a month, every single month, just to pay the interest on debt and, if nothing was done, it was going to build up to $3 billion a month. So, we are determined to act. My plea to those who don't like aspects of the Budget is tell us what you'd do. Give us your alternative, because we have to address the issue. We have to address the issue. Martin Parkinson, along with Reserve Bank Governor Glenn Stevens says we cannot go on as we have.
QUESTION:
Prime Minister, just briefly back on to the Shorten issue, has he potentially harmed his reputation and standing within the Labor Party? His admission yesterday, or his outing of himself, is hardly a good look for the Party, is it?
PRIME MINISTER:
I'm just not going to comment on what may or may not be good for the Labor Party.
QUESTION:
His standing within the Labor Party, I’m talking about.
PRIME MINISTER:
Again, I'm hardly well-placed to comment on someone's standing in the Labor Party!
QUESTION:
I’m giving you a free kick here, Prime Minister?
PRIME MINISTER:
Thank you for the opportunity, but I'm going to decline it as gracefully as I can.
QUESTION:
Prime Minister, Peter Greste is appealing his conviction in Egypt. How hopeful, or confident, are you that that will work?
PRIME MINISTER:
I want Peter Greste and his colleagues to be freed from jail as quickly as possible because it's pretty obvious that they were just doing their job. The Egyptian government is very understandably concerned about the Muslim Brotherhood and, frankly, if I was trying to run Egypt, I'd be very concerned about the Muslim Brotherhood. The Muslim Brotherhood is a very radical organisation. It has spawned a lot of even more radical organisations and when the Muslim Brotherhood was in power in Egypt, things went from bad to worse. So, I absolutely understand the Egyptian government's concerns about the Muslim Brotherhood, but, reporting the Muslim Brotherhood is not the same as supporting the Muslim Brotherhood, and I think that's the problem in this particular case.
So, I'm not going to offer commentary on the Greste family's legal tactics; that's entirely up to them. At a number of stages now I've spoken to the Egyptian President, the Foreign Minister has spoken to the Egyptian Foreign Minister. We want to do everything we reasonably can to try to secure Peter Greste and his colleagues' early release. I understand that legal processes do have to be exhausted before the Egyptian President can intervene and it seems, with this appeal, those legal processes are now going to go on for some considerably longer time.
QUESTION:
Prime Minister, the Government promised before the election that 10 new submarines would be built in Adelaide. Is that promise now off the table?
PRIME MINISTER:
We are going to ensure that we have the strongest possible Defence Force. We are going to ensure that we have the best possible submarines in service for Australia. We have got six Collins-class boats that were built here in Adelaide; they are good boats. It took us a long time to get them right, but they are good boats. They're being largely serviced and maintained here from Adelaide and whatever decision the Government ultimately makes on the design and build of the next generation of submarines, there is going to be a massive amount of work on the future submarine project, one way or another, here in Adelaide.
QUESTION:
Prime Minister, the state government is running TV and newspaper advertisements accusing you of breaking promises and breaking agreements that were entered into with states on health and education funding. Are you going to take the time to sit down and explain those decisions to the state government on this visit?
PRIME MINISTER:
Premier Weatherill and I have lots of discussions, and sometimes we agree to disagree, sometimes we agree to agree and we have agreed to agree on the Torrens to Torrens project and on the Darlington project and on the North-South Corridor upgrade to freeway standard within a decade because this is very important for South Australia.
I accept the Premier's point – and it is not just Premier Weatherill, it is the Coalition premiers as well – would have preferred this Government to have continued the arrangements that were made by the former Labor government. But, we said before the election that we would honour those commitments over the then forward estimates period, but we weren't going to be bound in the out years. In this Budget, what was then the first of the out years becomes part of the forward estimates periods and that's why we've gone from the former government's rate of growth to a slightly reduced rate of growth.
But still, if you look at public hospitals, funding will go up nine per cent this year, nine per cent the next year, nine per cent the year after that, and six per cent in the final year. If you look at public schools, or school education, it goes up eight per cent this year, eight per cent next year, eight per cent the year after that, and then six per cent in the fourth year.
So look, I understand that the states would like more. I understand that. States would always like more from the Commonwealth, but our responsibility is to keep our spending sustainable.
QUESTION:
How would you then propose that the states fund the shortfall, because the growth in spending will continue at higher levels than the Commonwealth in the out years?
PRIME MINISTER:
I'm sorry, Tom, that we have been dragged into all of this, but look…
TOM KOUTSANTONIS:
It is a dirty business!
PRIME MINISTER:
Yes, isn’t it? But look, state governments run public hospitals, state governments run public schools. The Commonwealth, from time to time, has some overarching national objectives which we fund the states to meet, but in the end, the precise quantum of funding that individual schools get, that individual public hospitals get, is a matter for the state governments in consultation with the relevant experts and the relevant school and hospital administrations. I’m confident, particularly given that there’s three years to prepare and plan for this, that our excellent public hospitals will continue to be world-class, that our excellent public schools will continue to improve. We will work these things out – we always have in the past and we always will in the future.
Thank you.
[ends]