Prime Minister
GEORGE CHRISTENSEN MP, MEMBER FOR DAWSON: Thanks very much, ladies and gentlemen, for coming along. It's great to be here on the McKenzie Farm, here at Horseshoe Lagoon in the Burdekin. Thanks very much to Andrew, the manager, for letting us on-site and also thanks to Gary Stockham who has made the PM an official cane-cutter. So that's an honorary North Queensland badge that you've got there, PM.
Look, it's serious business why we're here, though, today. Obviously with the floods that we had throughout North Queensland, the Haughton River really overflowed. It flooded various properties along the river and also in tributaries coming off the river. There were dozens of cane farmers affected throughout the region. Gary's farm, in particular, was one of those that was pretty badly affected, pushing sand and debris God knows where into the paddocks, that are all going to have to be laser levelled, wrecking pipes, and in some cases on other farms, pumps, a whole heap of equipment that has had to be restored. And thankfully, given the swift action that the PM brought to bear, these farmers have been able to access assistance from the Federal Government and also there has been assistance coming from the State Government, and it has been swift and very much well received. So thank you, PM, and without any further ado, I will hand over to you.
PRIME MINISTER: Thanks, George, and it is great to be here with Phil Thompson, our newly minted Member for Herbert in Townsville - he has made a great start in the Parliament - and to have Shane Stone here as head of the recovery agency, that has also, I think, been doing an extraordinary job.
It has been about six months since the floods hit North Queensland and while the nation's eyes were very much on what was happening not only in Townsville, but pretty soon after what was happening to the west and the absolute devastation that we saw to graziers and primary producers right across the region. So it wasn't just what was being hit in terms of the livestock industry, particularly for cattle, but it was cane growers, it was people across a broad range of different primary producing activities, and of course there was the impact that was occurring in Townsville itself and the damage and devastation that occurred.
What we saw from the local community on that occasion was surely… of course, it was expected because that's how Australians respond and that's how North Queenslanders respond. But it didn't make it any less courageous, it didn't make it any less brave, it didn't make it any less impressive, because it was all of those things. And to see the response that came from everybody was extraordinary. Often, six months on, the rest of the country can move on, but the challenges that still exist here are here, and I've come here today just to reassure everybody that we haven't taken our foot off the pedal on any of these things. And particularly through Shane Stone and his agency and working with our local members here and working with the council and working with the State Government, we remain very much up to the line on ensuring we are dealing with the many challenges that still confront.
Yes, we were able to get a lot of money out the door very quickly, and that responsiveness of the Federal Public Service, particularly the Human Services Department, getting those cheques to people, getting it into people's hands, was really important not just to provide that immediate assistance, but also to make it really clear that we were moving blockages and obstacles out of the way so that people knew we were standing with them, and that was also true when it came to putting in place the measures to support business, to support primary producers, and here in particular with Gary I mean, there is 41,000 in a particular grant to help him do some of the work that he was doing in restoring pumps and things like that, and now there is a further 34,000 that we've been able to approve through the appropriate process, and that's what is happening right across the district, right across the region, that's what the recovery agency has been doing, working hand in glove with local communities, listening very carefully, trying to get bureaucracy out of the way wherever they can and identify the next challenges coming up.
One of the big challenges we have got in the wake of a flood like that is prickly acacia, and I will give you a close-up of this map in a sec, but all the threats of the prickly acacia sit right in Queensland and that's why it's so important for us to work together to get this problem solved now, so it doesn't become a huge problem in the future. As Shane was saying to me, 20 years from now, if we don't address this, people will be saying, "What were they doing?" I tell you what we are doing. We have put $5 million in, additional, new money through the agency to ensure we can tackle the issue of the spread of prickly acacia which can be devastating to primary producers into the future unless we get this in hand. Now, we would love the Queensland Government to go and put the other $5 million in, we want them to do that, and I hope they do, not rebadge old money they are already spending, but new commitments because the problem is bigger, the problem is new in terms of what it's likely to be in the future, and so we need that additional commitment, and I hope to raise that again with the Premier when I meet with her this afternoon and tomorrow over the course of COAG. But we will seek to do this in the most cooperative way we can, and we will continue to work together, to be fair, as we have, and I want to commend them for the work they have done working with us, particularly (inaudible)… and things like that which Shane can talk about, they have been doing a great job in helping farmers and producers get back on their feet.
So today it is that extra $5 million we are putting into addressing that prickly acacia issue going forward and you will continue to see the support, whether it's the $75,000 in individual support grants, whether it's the restocking grants I mean, there is over $3 billion in support that has come in across the region to help them rebuild.
So, it's six months on, we're still here, everyone else is still here and we will continue to be here in the future, informed heavily, of course, by our people on the ground which is Phil Thompson and George, and of course Shane and his team as part of the recovery agency, and continue to apply ourselves to the rebuild. It is a generational task in particular parts of the country which have been affected here, and as I was talking to Gary today, what we're doing here is not just restoring a living, because it is a living what people do here, but it's also a way of life and we're restoring that, too, and that way of life, I think, is very important to who we are as Australians, and we all want to see that way of life preserved and continued here in North Queensland. I’m going to ask Shane to talk a bit about the response and the challenges, and then we're happy to take some questions. Shane.
SHANE STONE, NORTH QUEENSLAND LIVESTOCK INDUSTRY RECOVERY AGENCY: Gary, of course, represents the human face of the people that we've been working with throughout the region, and can I say that we hit the ground running on 1st March and in the intervening period, we have now gone past the $100 million mark for the initial $40,000, $50,000 loans for small business and $75,000 grants for the agricultural sector. Can I say that never in the history of the Federation have we seen a response that was so timely, locally led, locally implemented and delivered on the ground than the Morrison Government approach. We got out there and we got on with it. We have a funding envelope of some $3.3 billion over the life of the agency which runs for five years. So we still have a lot to do, there is still a lot to be addressed in the region. Mental health issues remain top of mind. We have made special funding available to ensure that no kid who lives in these isolated areas has to be pulled out of boarding schools. We have assisted local governments in giving them grants upfront to deal with everything from carcass removal through to rate relief for small business in these small communities. Because if these small communities fold and disappear, then you have a major challenge in the region. And understand this: We don't do this because we feel sorry for farmers; we do this because there is a social utility in the agricultural sector. It directly impacts our balance of trade, it directly impacts the employment opportunities of Australians, families that are on the land, whether they are growing watermelons, cane, or raising cattle, sheep or goats because they are all casualties out there, and it's great to be here with you today, Gary, because you're the living proof of what can be achieved to give you that hand-up. It is not a hand-out, it is a hand-up to get you back into business. Thank you, Prime Minister.
PRIME MINISTER: Thanks a lot, Shane, and thanks, Gary, and thanks to Anthony too for the tips on the header. I was giving him some advice that he really should pop the question to your niece.
UNKNOWN: Rigteo. She will be thrilled.
[Laughter]
PRIME MINISTER: Anyway. Happy to take questions.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, Jenny Hill said the Townsville Council is $242 million out of pocket at this stage and asking when that will be reimbursed. Are you aware of that situation?
PRIME MINISTER: Yes, all the money is with the State Government. She just needs to knock on the door.
JOURNALIST: What has been the hold up from the State Government? Why has the money not be released?
PRIME MINISTER: You’ll have to ask them.
JOURNALIST: You had a phone conversation with British Prime Minister Boris Johnson last night. Do you want to give us an insight as to what was discussed or what you canvassed?
PRIME MINISTER: Yes, look, as people know, there has been a very disturbing series of events that we've seen in the Straits of Hormuz, and freedom of navigation and safe shipping lanes is very important to the global economy and that is a matter that is as important in that part of the world as it is in many other parts of the world, and these are matters that we discussed with the United States when we had Secretary of State and Secretary of Defence here on the weekend. So I spoke to Boris Johnson last night and indicated to him that we were looking very carefully at our participation in this initiative which we would see as an international, multinational initiative. This is not a unilateral initiative by any one country, and it is about safe shipping lanes, it is about de-escalating tensions and making sure that the current situation does not worsen. So we've engaged with both the United States and the United Kingdom in understanding what role Australia could play here. We haven't made any decisions on this yet. We want to be fully satisfied about the operational arrangements that are in place. But the point I want to stress is this is about a multinational engagement which has been put together. It is very early days yet and it will be a while before these things, I think, will come together. So we're taking it step by step, but we are working with our allies, we are working with our partners, and this should be clearly divorced from the broader issues that relate to Iran and the JCPOA. That's a separate issue. This is about safe shipping lanes and ensuring that we can restore at least some stability to what is a very unstable part of the world at the moment. So I appreciated that chat with Boris Johnson. It was actually officially the first chat I've had with him since he became Prime Minister. I spoke to him just a few hours just before he was sworn in to congratulate him on becoming the leader of the UK Conservatives. But I'm pleased with the way the parties are all looking at this and there are other countries who are in a similar position to us at the moment who are just engaging before making any full decisions, so we'll have a bit more to say about that down the track.
JOURNALIST: Do you agree with Andrew Hastie’s comments that China poses an unprecedented test to Australia's national strategy?
PRIME MINISTER: I just refer to the speech I gave a few months ago, before I went to the G20, and I set out pretty clearly what the challenges were there and continuing to successfully manage our strategic allies and comprehensive strategic partners.
JOURNALIST: Do you believe he might be damaging the relationship with China given his extreme language on China?
PRIME MINISTER: We will continue to manage these relationships with the way that I set out in that speech I gave at Bloomberg before I went to the G20. These issues are not new and the challenges in doing this are not new. They are well known to the Government and they are things that the Government has been very proactive about for some time. We will continue to work, to have a cooperative arrangement with China. Of course, there is much to be gained from that relationship, particularly from the trade side, but let's not forget that relationship is far broader than just the economic one. But equally, our relationship with the United States is a very special one indeed and there is a deep connection on values and that's of no surprise to anyone, so we believe we can continue to manage these relationships together, but I don't think anyone is in any way unaware of the challenges that present there, and so to that end I don't think it's really offering anything new.
JOURNALIST: Are the comments jeopardising the relationship?
PRIME MINISTER: Pardon?
JOURNALIST: Are the comments jeopardising that relationship?
PRIME MINISTER: No, I don't believe so.
JOURNALIST: Not comparing China’s expansion to the expansion of Nazi Germany, that's not harming the situation?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, these are – Andrew, of course, is not a minister within the Government and he is free to make comments he wishes to make as a member of the backbench and so he entirely entitled to provide his perspective, but what's important is that the Government maintains, I think, the very consistent approach that we have on these issues. We are very clear about what decisions we’ve taken in relation to that partnership we have with China. We're very transparent about how we do that, and we seek to work closely with them, in the same way we do with everyone in the region. A sovereign, independent Indo-Pacific is crucial to Australia's national interests. It's crucial to our strategic interests more broadly for the region, and that's something we're working very hard with all of our partners in the region, whether that's Indonesia, whether that's India, whether it's Japan, New Zealand, and next week I will be at the Pacific Islands Forum, working closely with our family of nations there. So this is a proactive thing Australia is doing, and will continue to do. We are very aware of the complexity of the world in which we live and we've fashioned our policies to address that not just recently, but actually over quite an extensive period of time as a government.
JOURNALIST: PM, we are moving forward with Stage 2 of the Haughton Pipeline.
PRIME MINISTER: Yes, we are.
JOURNALIST: When can we expect that funding to be released?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, right now we are in the stages of sitting down with the State Government and addressing those issues, but our commitment to that pipeline, as was secured by the now Member for Herbert, along with the many other projects that we are pursuing in the district of course, the Haughton River Bridge, which we saw all the works on the way in - over $400 million from our Government being invested in those projects - and, of course, the port and what will be achieved there with the dredging that, I think, will provide a really strong economic base for the region. And it's nice to see the that we funded almost complete. Last time I was here, it wasn't, and I got to tour the site and it hadn't obviously proceeded to that stage. So that’s encouraging to see that, and hopefully, that will encourage the Cowboys on tonight.
JOURNALIST: How quickly will we see gas reservation in Australia and how much will companies be forced to stockpile here?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, what we've announced is an acceleration of the process to consider those issues. There is no determination on those issues at this point.
JOURNALIST: Would you welcome more Indian investment in Australian coal mines?
PRIME MINISTER: Sorry?
JOURNALIST: Would you welcome more Indian investment in Australian coal mines?
PRIME MINISTER: I welcome investment in Australia's resources industry every day of the week, not just from India. It creates jobs - I think that's good - and like any investor, whether they're domestic or foreign, they of course must comply with all the relevant environmental controls and processes, and we've also got to make sure that those controls and processes are completely navigable, don't serve as a disincentive to investment and under what is necessary and only what is necessary and aren't used as a proxy for some other political agenda, and we need to make sure that people who want to invest in Australia, they will get a go to do that, consistent with our national interests.
JOURNALIST: Report what are your hopes and expectations of COAG?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, there is a lot of issues on the COAG agenda for tomorrow, but the biggest one, I think, apart from the things we’ve picked up from earlier meetings, addressing domestic violence which is an ongoing agenda there, which we've been working on, we've made a lot of progress on that front, but the big one for me is skills development. This is an area, I think, of frustration for all jurisdictions and it is particularly a frustration more importantly for businesses who want to employ people and people who want to get trained so that they can get employed. And the system at the moment is letting us down on that front, and so it's important that the Commonwealth and states come together to ensure that it is a far less bureaucratic, a far less public service-driven sector, and it is actually about the needs of businesses who want to employ people and people who want to get trained to be employed. And I'm confident we can make some progress on that issue. We spent a lot of money together on that issue, over $7 billion a year, and we need to make sure that's well spent. My message also is to… and it's not just young people who are involved in technical education. I mean, people are coming out of industries that are changing and moving into new industries, people who are going to work in the human services field and things like aged care, disability care and support, new cyber technology areas. All the technology training that needs to be done in these areas goes right across the spectrum of people's ages and experiences, and we need to make sure that we are training people for those jobs. It is not an historical exercise; it is actually a future-focused endeavour, getting our skills and vocational training systems right. It is not perpetuating any one type of provider in the system, it's not about the providers, whether they be public in TAFE or private, it’s actually about the people who want jobs and people who want to employ people. That's where the focus has to be. And I fear that, as the Joyce Review found, which I initiated well before the election, and we announced in the last budget, the National Skills Commission, work to build up the foundational skills of particularly disadvantaged Australians, including Indigenous Australians, making sure that they can get themselves into training and be able to be trained and they have the foundational skills on a range of things like literacy and a range of other matters, that they can go on and be successful. It is supposed to help. My message to those young people or those who are elsewhere engaged in the technical education system is TAFE is as good as uni. Vocational education is as good as uni, and I've got to say some of the people that I've met who have been most successful in business, they've done it out of a trade and technical qualification, and we want to really lift the status of vocational education in Australia. You ask me my passion about what we're going to be talking about at COAG, it is about how we can get people better trained in our economy, support employers who want to put people into better trades so that they can make their businesses do better.
JOURNALIST: Kenneth Hayne has said that the use of slogans is undermining institutions in the place of policy debate. You are well-known for using slogans, like, “Stop the boats”, “Have a go, get a go”. Do you take any responsibility for that?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, I did stop the boats and people who do have a go do get a go under my policies, so I think that's a pretty good plan. Cheers.