JANICE PETERSEN:
Prime Minister, Malcolm Turnbull, thanks for joining us. I think this is your first time joining us on SBS News. You've managed to squeeze in the backpacker tax today with support of The Greens, that’s only after others pulled out. Question Time, of course was disrupted yesterday. It's been a pretty shambolic end to the year, hasn't it?
PRIME MINISTER:
The last few weeks have been weeks of great achievement. We have secured the passage of the two Bills that were the triggers for the double dissolution, the Registered Organisations Bill, which ensures that trade union officials have to be as accountable to their members for spending their money and managing their affairs as company directors are to their shareholders. That’s a very big reform and one that the Labor Party has successfully opposed for many years.
And we have restored the Australian Building and Construction Commission to restore the rule of law to the construction sector. Again, Labor has opposed that for many, many years. We couldn't get close to getting it through last Parliament and now, there you are, it has passed, it is law.
And today, as you have seen, we have secured agreement to ensure that the backpacker tax is established at 15 per cent, at the headline rate and we have done that with the support with a number of the crossbenchers and The Greens.
JANICE PETERSEN:
To be frank though, it hasn't been all positive. One constant this year has been your poor approval ratings. You really need more people to like you don’t you? You’ve also just scraped through in this election. It hasn't been a great year for you?
PRIME MINISTER:
My job as Prime Minister is to deliver, to secure the future of Australia, secure our economic future and to deliver on the economic plan that I took to the election, and we are doing that.
Our superannuation reforms, which are very big changes which make superannuation fairer and more sustainable - they have been legislated. Our middle income tax cuts which ensure that half a million middle-income Australians won’t go into the second highest tax bracket, again, that has gone through the Parliament. One reform after another, economics and social policy, national security is all going through the Parliament. We are working with other parties, with crossbenchers, we are making the 45th Parliament work, just as we said we would.
JANICE PETERSEN:
You promote your theme of multiculturalism but do you understand why many people were upset when the Immigration Minister Peter Dutton appeared to link terrorism with past levels of Lebanese Muslim migration?
PRIME MINISTER:
He didn't do that at all. He was misrepresented, recklessly so, especially by the Leader of the Opposition, Mr Shorten.
JANICE PETERSEN:
He did say that really it was a mistake, those levels back in Fraser's days were a mistake.
PRIME MINISTER:
There has been a debate about immigration policy. There is a debate about immigration policy and the decisions that were taken in this case over 40 years ago has been the subject of a lot of literature and a lot of debate. The real issue is what are we doing today and what we are doing today is ensuring that we maintain the most successful multicultural society in the world, and we do that by having a generous immigration program and one that is very well managed and the humanitarian component of it, the refugee program, again is very well managed. The big difference now is that the Australian Government, not the people smugglers, who determine which refugees come to Australia.
JANICE PETERSEN:
Let’s press ahead on that subject. When you addressed the UN in September, you hailed SBS's ability to foster unity in diversity through multiculturalism. So is funding for SBS going to be cut and are there any plans to merge it with the ABC?
PRIME MINISTER:
I am sure that you are very interested in all of those questions but I can assure you that we have a very rigorous budget process and I am not going to provide any forecasts about funding for SBS. SBS is a very important institution and you have heard the way I have spoken about it in the past and I think you understand I am a great admirer of what you do to support multiculturalism and indeed to contribute to the success of our great multicultural society.
JANICE PETERSEN:
I certainly applaud those themes Prime Minister, but what are you actually doing to support SBS, the nation 's multicultural broadcaster?
PRIME MINISTER:
The Australian Government provides the bulk of SBS's funding, as you know, and that is the most tangible support the government does and our government provides to SBS and we will continue to provide substantial funding to SBS.
JANICE PETERSEN:
Let's talk about our relationship with the US. Barack Obama, of course, made the Asia Pacific a key region and issue of his presidency. But we haven't heard much from Donald Trump on that front. What are you going to do to ensure it remains a priority for the next administration?
PRIME MINISTER:
I spoke to the President-elect shortly after the election result was known and he absolutely reaffirmed the United States commitment to our region - commitment to the Alliance with Australia.
The United States has vital, vested interests in our part of the world. Presidents and indeed Prime Ministers come and go but the great national interests of great powers are enduring. And the United States will always have a strong, vested national interest in being a strong power in this part of the world.
JANICE PETERSEN:
Prime Minister, Malcolm Turnbull, thanks so much for your time.
PRIME MINISTER:
Thank you.
[ENDS]