PM RUDD: The Council of Australian Governments meets at a time of global financial crisis. And it's times like this that a crisis affects all Governments, Commonwealth, the States, Territories. And therefore it's time when all Governments must cooperate in Australia's national economic interest.
I am pleased to report today that the Governments of this Australian Federation have done just that - cooperating in practical areas such as how do we advance our regulatory arrangements in Australia to make it easier for businesses to function. How do we bring about uniform areas of national credit regulation at a time when regulation of credit markets is under particular national and international scrutiny? And also working together on how we build the nation through infrastructure projects for the future?
The Council of Australian Governments today has agreed to implement a plan for the regulation of remaining areas of consumer credit. This follows COAG's decision that the Commonwealth would assume responsibility for the regulation of mortgages, mortgage broking, margin lending and all remaining areas of consumer credit such as payday lending and financial counselling services.
The implementation plan that we have adopted is a timeline for the transfer of these responsibilities to the Commonwealth by June 2009. This is a major reform in an area which has been crying out for reform for a long, long time and necessary at times like this.
Secondly, the Council of Australian Governments has also debated today the need for infrastructure reform and to engage in a program of nation building for the future. On infrastructure reform one of the challenges that we have faced in the past is the absence of nationally consistent private public partnership guidelines for the nation.
COAG agreed today that we will have as a nation such nationally consistent guidelines and we have agreed that those guidelines will be adopted by year's end. Furthermore on the question of our nation's infrastructure needs for the future, we discussed the role of Infrastructure Australia, the role of the Building Australia Fund which were announced in the Commonwealth's most recent Budget.
Earlier the Council of Australian Governments has agreed that by year's end Infrastructure Australia would conclude its audit of Australia's infrastructure needs and that its first COAG meeting of next year, that is March next year, that COAG would then examine in infrastructure priority list for the nation.
What the Commonwealth has decided to do is to have infrastructure Australia provide an early report on both of these matters - that is the infrastructure assessment of the nation, the audit, as well as infrastructure priorities - and for this now to be done by year's end. This program of work has been advanced.
We believe this is important because of the outstanding infrastructure needs of the nation, both in our cities and in our rural and regional areas and we intend to get on with the job. This Government, the Australian Government has for the first time in many, many decades decided to take a leading role, an active role, a partnership role in laying out the nation's future infrastructure and we intend to do so in close collaboration with the States. Also the decision we have taken to have nationally consistent private public partnership guidelines will help the private sector be partners with us into the future as well.
On another matter the Council of Australian Governments has also looked at the importance of bringing in a national energy efficiency strategy and we have agreed to set ourselves the object of having such a national energy efficiency in place by year's end.
This is important, always referred to in the public debate as the low hanging fruit of the climate change agenda, the best way, the most effective way and the earliest way of bringing down greenhouse gas emissions and we intend to do so. Our objective is to have that national energy efficiency strategy agreed by year's end.
We have also agreed as Commonwealth, States and Territories to the establishment of the National Curriculum Board as a statutory authority under Commonwealth legislation, accountable to all Australian Governments. And we have also decided through that legislation to bring together the functions of national curriculum, assessment and data management, analysis and reporting at a national level.
We believe this is an important part of the nation's quality education agenda and I look forward to continuing partnership with the States and Territories in this important area of reform.
We also as a Council of Australian Governments today dealt at length with the requirements that have been put to us in the overall area of child protection.
The Council of Australian Governments has agreed to develop a new protocol for information sharing between Centrelink and child protection agencies and to include Centrelink in the national child protection alert system by the end of 2008.
Leaders also agreed in principle to a framework for an inter-jurisdictional exchange of criminal history information for screening of people working with children and we will continue to implement that agenda.
Finally, we had a discussion about closing the gap and the challenges of Indigenous Australia. And this grew out in part of a conversation I had in part with the newly elected Premier of Western Australia, Colin Barnett, last night.
And that is, how we take this practical area of reform into the future.
And what we've agreed, as Premiers and Chief Ministers, and as the Prime Minister of the country, is to hold a dedicated Council of Australian Governments meeting on the practical challenge of closing the gap. The objective, an integrated national strategy to do this, harnessing the different experiences of the states and territories in practical areas of reform that have worked. Candidly acknowledging those things which haven't worked. And incorporating in this new national strategy the input of the private and community sector as well.
Private schools and boarding schools, sporting clubs, sporting organisations such as we've seen here in Western Australian through the Clontarf Academy. As well as private sector generated employment initiatives such as that which is currently being advanced by Mr Andrew Forrest.
This will be an important meeting, and we intend to be well prepared for it.
Finally, we've agreed to bring forward the next Council of Australian Governments meeting. Originally scheduled for December, we intend to get cracking. It'll be held on the 17th of November, and that meeting will bring together the practical work which the Commonwealth and the States have been working on all year on the future reform agenda for health, hospitals, education and the critical areas of future funding reform in the service areas so important to Australia's working families.
I might turn now to our host, the Premier of Western Australia, and then to the Premier of Victoria.
PREMIER BARNETT: Thank you Prime Minister, and might I first thank you and my fellow Premiers and Chief Ministers for visiting Western Australia for this COAG meeting.
I, as you can understand, was absolutely delighted to be here. I didn't think I would, but here I am.
It was a good meeting. A number of those issues that have been before COAG for some time have obviously progressed further. It provided, for myself, an opportunity to not only meet the Prime Minister, but also the others at the table and to get to know them a little.
It also provided an opportunity for me to speak to the Prime Minister at length about some of the issues for Western Australia, and some of the aspirtations the new State Government has and some of the major projects for the future in this state.
I was particularly pleased that the decision has been made to have a special COAG meeting with respect to closing the gap, and issues to deal with Indigenous people in Australia.
Australia is a very prosperous, successful economy and nation, however not for all people. And addressing that area of social injustice I hope will prove to be the crowning achievement of this particular COAG meeting. A lot of work to be done, a complex and difficult issue, but it's one that rises above the interests of party politics, and it's one that rises above the interests of different governments. And I was excited, Prime Minister, I think there was a genuine desire across all the meeting today that we have to take on that responsibility.
PM RUDD: Thanks very much, Colin.
If I could now turn to John as the Chairman of the Council of the Australian Federation to add his remarks, then invite any other Premiers or Chief Ministers who so wish before taking your questions. Over to you, John.
PREMIER BRUMBY: Thank you, Kevin.
I think we had an excellent meeting today from the perspective of the States and Territories. I think it was another great example of Governments working together as the Prime Minister has said before, ending the blame game and getting on with the job of working together to do what is right in the national interest.
We had a long discussion today about the global financial crisis, the world economy, and Australia's response to that.
It is, of course, important to reiterate that the fundamentals in Australia, as they are in each of the states, are particularly good. We are in a much better position than most other governments around the world.
But I was particularly pleased out of today's discussion that the Infrastructure Australia will now be providing their interim report on priority projects in December. This will enable us to have a good look at all of the capital projects that were under consideration, and I guess, if you wanted to summarise this approach, it's really how we fast track what is a very big infrastructure commitment by the Federal Government.
And that commitment will enable the Commonwealth and the States to work together to get cracking to bring major infrastructure projects online earlier than would otherwise would have been the case.
As the Prime Minister has said, we also agreed further significant regulation reforms today, cutting red tape. That was a feature of the last COAG. And again in the context of the global economic conditions, helping businesses reduce red tape, seamless national business regulation, helping them get on with the job, is one of the most important things we can do.
The Prime Minister referred to a national approach to public private partnerships, that's something which certainly we've been seeking in Victoria for some time. We made good progress today and we'll have the final guidelines complete by the November 17 meeting.
In terms of Governments working together, child protection, the exchange of information through Centrelink. Centrelink, in a sense has been the missing link in the information chain in the past and having Centrelink now providing that information will assist in the way in which the states manage child protection.
We also agreed today to a national approach on emergency warning systems. This is something which again the states and particularly Victoria have been pursuing in this era of climate change, one thing we can be sure about is that we're going to see more climatic conditions and circumstances - more climatic events - which create emergency situations.
So whether it's thunderstorms, whether it's bushfires, whether it's wind events, in so having the best possible emergency warning information system in place across Australia, will be a good thing in terms of protecting citizens across the country. And so we've agreed on a full report back by the end of 2008 on that issue so that we can progress it going further.
We also agreed a national approach of course to hazardous chemicals.
The Prime Minister has mentioned climate change. We agreed on the national approach to energy efficiency. We had a very positive discussion about carbon, capture, storage and the critical role that Australian Governments can play in leading the world in carbon capture storage.
And if you think of countries internationally like China, in 20 years time China's economy will be four times bigger than it is today and they will still be generating something like 60 per cent of all of their electricity from coal.
And so tackling the global carbon issue, carbon capture storage, is a fundamental role for Australia to play. We are a leader and the initiative recently announced by the Prime Minister will help us go a long way towards doing that.
Finally, can I say again, another great example in the climate change area, I think in Governments working together. We've agreed today on more regular reporting in relation to the Murray-Darling Basin. More regular reporting of progress in terms of projects. And this is important. In the last year we've seen very strong levels of water trading, and that's a positive thing which is occurring in the Basin. We've also seen significant works occurring in terms of water saving infrastructure, delivering water for the environment. And what we agreed today was regular reporting back through COAG of the success of those investments in terms of releasing water for the environment and particularly the Murray system.
Finally, in relation to the next meeting, November 17, for the states this is a significant meeting. Getting an agreement on the major SPPs, and on national partnership agreements at that meeting, particularly the healthcare agreement.
I know we said at the first COAG meeting in Melbourne last year in December that we will take a year to get the Australian Healthcare Agreement right, if we can do that by November 17, I think that will be just a stunning example of the Federal Government and the States working together in the interests of those who use our health system across Australia. And so that will be a significant focus of that November 17 meeting.
And of course, as Colin has said too, we discussed today closing the gap. And the focus next year with a specific COAG meeting on closing the gap will also be, I think, a very concrete example of governments working together.