PM: Well, it's good to be back in Queensland and good to be back home here in Brissie for a couple of days in my case, and Wayne I think you're here for the weekend. So, it's also good to be here to receive the honour which we have of being made patron and vice patron of the Former Origin Greats.
This is a great community organisation which goes out there and does community and charitable work, and also supports junior rugby league development across the state as well. This is a good contribution which they've been making for some time. And Wayne and I, as good patriotic Queenslanders, are more than happy, more than happy to take on these new roles.
The other thing I'd like to talk about today is an important agreement reached today in Melbourne between the Federal Families Minister, Jenny Macklin, and her State and Territory counterparts. This goes to an important agreement in the area of disability funding. And, as a result of this agreement, the Commonwealth is confirming today that the Commonwealth allocation of funding to the Commonwealth, State and Territory Disability Agreement will increase from $2.86 billion to $3.86 billion. This represents a 35 per cent increase in the Australian Government's funding for disabilities. This extends, of course over the next four years.
When you put together the Australian Government's contribution with that of the States and Territories, we're looking at a much larger figure overall. That is, that the total funding between the Commonwealth and the States in this area will increase from $10.2 billion to $12.1 billion. This represents an 18 per cent increase on the total Government investment since the last agreement between the Commonwealth and the States. Putting all those dollars into numbers of places, let's put it in these terms. What we've reached cooperatively between the Commonwealth and the States today is an arrangement which provides funding for an additional 24,500 places. That's respite places, that's in home support and supported accommodation places for people with disabilities.
This is an important agreement which has been reached between Canberra and the States, between the Australian Government and the Government's of the States and Territories. This agreement builds on the $100 million allocation which I announced prior to the Budget. That was for supported accommodation and respite facilities, very expensive to provide - but important, particularly for young people who have disabilities, who are cared for by older carers. And as older carers become increasingly concerned about their ability to physically provide care, and where, therefore, their children as they become older themselves with disabilities, where they'll be looked after, it's these sort of places which we provided that funding for.
That was prior to the Budget. What you've got now agreed between Canberra and the States is a new agreement over the next four years which provides the amount of money that I described before. 24,500 places, additional places, for respite, in home support, and support for accommodation places.
This is an important contribution to an area of great need. And that is, those suffering from disabilities and those caring for those with disabilities.
The other thing I'd say to the above is we've reached this agreement cooperatively between Canberra and the States. In the past, the Australian Government was heading off in one direction, and its disabilities programs, and the States and Territories in a completely different direction. These were not coordinated in terms of the funding effort. What we now have is a coordinated effort which we believe will also reduce duplication and overlap between the Australian Government and that of the States and Territories which means more dollars spent on the actual support given to people with disabilities.
And the final thing to say is that the final Commonwealth State and Territory Disabilities Agreement will be negotiated at years end. And therefore, we still hold open the possibility that we will do more in this area as well. But today's agreement has been important because it releases funding now to provide for these additional 24,500 places. Very important for those suffering with disabilities. Very important for those caring for those with disabilities.
JOURNALIST: Where are these places?
PM:These will be distributed nationally and, as I said in those three categories, respite care, supported accommodation, as well as in home support. And the distribution will occur by the normal means across the States and Territories.
JOURNALIST: So will that mean whole new centres being built?
PM: Well, in the case of some of the supportive accommodation, typically what happens, particularly with children whose parents are no longer able to care for them, is that you have supported accommodation often involving six or eight people with a residential carer within that facility, providing a secure, safe environment for those people to be cared for into the future.
This is a real psychological burden, carried by older carers as they look at their children whom they have given their lives to, often over many decades, but no longer feel that they can physically provide for that care themselves. Or, who worry, legitimately about who will care for those people, those younger people, once the carers themselves pass on.
JOURNALIST: On petrol, do you stand by the ACCC analysis (inaudible)
PM: Well, the competition watchdog has done the economic modelling on this. And the economic modelling has produced the findings that in Western Australia over a seven year period it resulted in a price per litre of up to 1.9 cents less. Therefore, if you're in receipt of that information as the Government, and if you're in receipt of the information from Australia's competition watchdog which says it also gives motorists choice and consumer power by knowing in a given 24 hour period where the cheapest petrol can be bought in your metro area, so that you can go there and buy that petrol, these are the reasons why we've moved in the direction of FuelWatch.
Because, right now, it's not a level playing field. You've got big oil companies over here with all the pricing information available to them but no such information being made available to motorists and consumers. We are unapologetically tipping the scales in the direction of motorists and consumers because we think they should be able to take advantage of that price information. If in the metro area you've got, for example, variations of 10, 15, 20 cents per litre, not only within the given day but across petrol stations themselves, surely consumers should have that information, not just the big oil companies.
We stand up for consumers, the Liberal Party is standing up for the big oil companies. And it is no surprise that most of the major oil companies, like the Liberal Party, are opposed to FuelWatch.
JOURNALIST: (Inaudible)
PM: So, Australia's competition watchdog - which the former Treasurer Mr Costello, said was the best institution in the Government to examine pricing matters - produces economic modelling, examines the data over a seven year period in Western Australia and comes up with that conclusion that, on average petrol there, being up to 1.9 cents a litre cheaper than in the eastern states. What this outfit is saying is that's all wrong.
Can I say, you've got two clear options here. Major oil companies, and those who support them like the Liberal Party, saying that all the pricing information should be in the hands of the major oil companies. We say, all that information should be in the hands of consumers. And the way you do that is through FuelWatch.
Dr Nelson has a simple choice here. He can either back a cosy arrangement between the major oil companies, or, back the interests of motorists and consumers who are struggling to balance the family budget. The Labor Government stands behind motorists and consumers, the Liberal Opposition is standing behind the major oil companies.
Dr Nelson has a clear choice next week in parliament. He can kill FuelWatch, he can kill it stone dead if he votes against it. That's his option. He can kill it stone dead. That's his option.
I would appeal to him by saying that you have a clear choice here between motorists on the one hand and a cosy arrangement between the major oil companies on the other. And can I quote Graham Samuel the head of the competition watchdog, who said that this arrangement among the major oil companies is about as close to collusion as you can get, and described these arrangements as a cosy comfortable oligopoly.
That's the arrangement which Dr Nelson and the Liberal party is supporting. That's the arrangement which the Labor Government is opposing because we are prepared to stand up for Australian motorist and consumers. Because they are suffering from high petrol prices and we want to give them every bit of help, even if it's at the margins so that they can make those choices everyday.
JOURNALIST: You said before it is half time - you've probably lost first half with the last week that you've had? It has not been easy.
PM: Well it's as you know, you take a whacking from time to time. I imagine also that we'll take a whacking in next weeks opinion polls but you know something, politics is like that. Sometimes you get whacked, sometimes you don't. They key thing is get on with the job and to get on with the job of implementing our undertakings to the Australian people. Responsible economic management, helping families and individuals under financial pressure as we've done through the budget which Wayne's just brought down and investing in the future in hospitals, in education and in infrastructure, including roads.
JOURNALIST: So you have taken a bit of a bruising?
PM: We've taken a bit of a whacking, but that's what politics is like. It's never smooth sailing. The key thing is to stick to your guns and to say this is what we're elected to do. Get on with the business of responsible economic management, get on with the business of helping families under financial pressure and get on with the business of investing in the future and on helping families under financial pressure - let me just add this. Take an average family where you've got a full time worker $60,000 a year, a part time worker $25-$27,000 a year. You've got a couple of kids, one at preschool, one at primary school. If you put together what we've done on tax, on the childcare tax rebate increase from 30 per cent to 50 per cent and the education tax refund. Our calculation is that that family will be receiving an additional $52 a week, that's one thing.
Compare that to what's been put on the table as the alternative, which is a proposal from Dr Nelson and the Liberal party. Which says that you've got 5 cents excise, lets just say you're consuming 50 litres of fuel a week - $2.50 a week. We're offering through the tax cuts, the childcare tax rebate and the education tax refund which Wayne has put forward through the budget, $52 a week. Mr Nelson is putting forward $2.50 a week. I'll let people make up their own mind about what helps at the end of the day to meet some of these huge additional pressures on the family budget.
JOURNALIST: You are talking about getting on with the job. Does that also relate to the public servants and have you (inaudible).
PM:Look we have a lot of respect for the Australian public service. We work with them everyday. They are good partners in the business of Government, we respect their professionalism and we respect the traditions that they bring to bear. We respect also their work ethic and we've formed a strong working relationship with the heads of our agencies and with our own departments.
But you know something when it comes to this Government's commitment to hard work and a strong work ethic, when it comes to the future it's going to get more intense, not less intense. So let's just understand that we've got a first class public service, they are very professional. But it will become more intense, not less intense, when we look at the future challenges which Government has to implement what the Australian people voted for us to do, and to meet the big challenges of the future. All of which require us to be burning the midnight oil.
JOURNALIST: Does this mean (inaudible)
PM: Well we are going to be talking about that soon. We'll sit down and have a bit of a yak about what's possible. The Charitable sector and community sector in this country does a fantastic job. One of the things we are currently doing through the Government, through Parliamentary Secretary Ursula Stephens is looking at how effectively Government can partner with the community and charitable sector into the future because so many of these organisations do a fantastic job on the ground. But without adequate or sufficient support from Government. We are working our way through that - FOGS obviously is a candidate.
JOURNALIST: (inaudible)
PM: Look I used to be a public servant myself. People make career choices the whole time. I repeat what I said before, we have a first class Australian public service. They are dedicated, professional, they work really hard - but we're a Government that's elected to Govern. We are a Government that's elected to work hard and work hard for the people who put us there. And therefore we'll be continuing to burn the midnight oil and I don't think there will be any slackening on that front.
JOURNALIST: (Inaudible)
PM: Well there's nothing particularly unusual about that, I mean I think we've been copping some incomings on that since the day we were elected.
SWAN: We have
PM: But you are either committed to implementing the program we took to the Australian people. Honouring your commitments to the Australian community and getting on with it and that means particularly in the early stages of a new Government that you are going to have a lot of work to do. Take in the case of Wayne - bedding down a budget in the matter of three months. Normally Governments start the budget preparation process you know sometime around October, November the previous year. We were elected in November, sworn in, in December then sitting down to begin the budget process late January - early February. Very difficult, very demanding but the first class contribution by our public servants, from Treasury, from PM&C, from Finance and the line agencies all to be supported, great public servants. But you know something the work ethic of this Government will be increasing not decreasing.
SWAN: And you know why it's so intense, because we're doing what we said we'd do. And we are implementing the commitments we took to the Australian people and that has involved a lot of work in a short period of time. And we've been able to do that because of the dedication of the public service, as well as the dedication of the Government.
PM: The Government has a big policy agenda. On responsible economic management, producing a budget surplus of $22 billion, implementing the tax changes, implementing education tax refund, implementing the childcare tax rebate, introducing for the first time big new housing affordability measures. At the same time as working on climate change and water, bringing about the first national agreement between the Commonwealth and the States for a single body to manage the Murray Darling. On top of that many other challenges as well in the international agenda.
We have hit the ground running, working very hard. Obviously there is going to be some complaint about that I understand, but we will not be slackening our work ethic, it will heading in the other direction.
JOURNALIST: Is it fair to expect more from the public service (inaudible)
PM: Well I say the first demand on Government lies with those of us who are Ministers and we must lead in this area. We must put our own shoulder to the wheel. Of course you make sure that your departmental arrangements are as flexible as possible so that people can live reasonable lives. But the first responsibility we have as Government is for those millions of Australians right outside the public service. Million of Australians doing it tough right across the country, millions of Australians trying to make ends meet each week for the family budget and our responsibility as the Government is to work night and day to try and make things better for them.
For the future, education, health, hospitals and infrastructure and in the here and now for the sorts of family and individual support packages that we've introduced through this budget and we're already very late for what we've now got to go and do. See you folks