PM: It's really good to be here at the Men's Shed in Whittlesea, and to spend some time talking to Phil, and also to the other blokes who are here this morning. Ron, who's been doing some excellent woodwork over here, and also Eddie the Dutchman up there for his fine scone making skills, which I hope you as ladies and gentlemen of the press may be able to sample as well on the way through.
What we're here to talk about today is Men's Health. Blokes are basically pretty hopeless when it comes to their own health. That's my experience of it, blokes are pretty hopeless when it comes to dealing with their own health. They either think that they're invincible - that is; that they can just tough it out. They don't like talking about it usually, and frankly, the problem with all that is it makes it really hard to deal with men's health problems before they become too serious. So that's where frankly, the work that's been done here at this local level at the Men's Shed in Whittlesea is so important.
I was jsut talking to Rob Mitchell, our candidate for McEwen about this before, and the important role which Men's Sheds play in bringing blokes together to talk about anything and everything but including their health and practical things which need to be done to deal with health problems as they arise. So there's no stigma attached to wondering when and where you should get a prostate check-up; so there's no worry about frankly talking about mental health problems. So there's no concern about talking about what it is to be depressed, and how you can deal with those sorts of things when they hit you.
So that's what's really good about this group of blokes here, because they're the sorts of things they're talking about as well. Of course another part of that is just blokes coming together.
I grew up in a country town in rural Queensland, and there were always CWAs, and there were lots of organisations where the women of the community would get together and have a natter and a chat about stuff which is of concern to them, often their health as well.
I don't recall in the town I grew up in there was any such association for blokes apart from the local pub. The good thing about this is it's actually changing that around. And what I've seen here at Whittlesea this morning, I'm told from the Men's Sheds Association folk, we've got 300 or more of these now growing across Australia. That's a really good thing, because it brings blokes together in a pretty welcoming environment, do things practically together, make things, most importantly having some friendship - for isolated blokes that's really important - and talking about the things that worry them, including their health, and most importantly work out ways to deal with it.
What we're doing today is releasing Australia's first ever male health policy, first ever. It's a pretty important time that we do that, we're probably about 110 years late, but it's good that we're doing it and I'd really like to congratulate Warren Snowdon, the Minister, for his work in putting this policy together.
This is a really important document for the future. It provides us with the framework to deal with men's health associations right across the country, it provides us and State Governments with a framework within which we can help those organisations on the ground to make things better for blokes who are dealing with health challenges. It's good work. It hasn't just been plucked out of space. This is the product of extensive consultations across the community - Warren tells me some 26 public forums across Australia, involving one or two thousand people, discussing what actually makes a difference on the ground when it comes to improving the health circumstances of blokes.
On average we die five years earlier than women. Now, that's in part because we don't deal with preventable diseases. Various things like cardiovascular disease, lung cancer - their rates are much higher with blokes than they are with women.
Therefore we've got to turn that around, and where there is a preventable opportunity for doing that, we've got to grasp it with both hands and do something about it.
This policy therefore today encourages men of all ages to take action to improve their own health. It seeks to provide information, assistance and support across a number of key priority areas. It will involve an investment of some $16.7 million specifically dedicated to dealing with men's health challenges.
Now this investment includes a number of pretty important components. One of which is a $3 million investment for the Australian Men's Sheds Association, to help secure the future of Men's Sheds and to support those sheds into the future. I asked Phil before, what problems have you got here at Whittlesea, always useful to sit down and talk to the locals over a scone or two, or three, and find out what makes it work here and what could make it work better.
He said to me that Men's Sheds around Australia work on the basis of a couple of things. One, obviously, getting enough local blokes feeling comfortable about what goes on in the shed, but two, having enough finance to make it work over time.
So this investment of ours to the Men's Sheds Association is designed to do that. The other thing that we're doing is investing nearly $7 million to establish what's called Australia's first longitudinal study into the social determinants of male health, to understand all the social, economic and behavioural factors which affect the length and quality of the health of Australian men.
That's never really been done before, and that's why we need to do it. What's happening here is from the ground up, very practical things being done in sheds like this. But we also need to look at the science, and actually study what happens with men's health journeys over time, so that we can actually deal better with some of the challenges which are faced here in local communities.
One of the other things we're doing also is to assist with half a million dollars or thereabouts, to assist in the provision of regular bulletins on men's health in order to provide the most up to date information, right across the spectrum, to organisations like this, so it's on hand, on tap, and it's in a way which people can understand.
I saw up the back, by the way, a pamphlet which was headed 'What the Hell is...' and it named a particular disease condition. I didn't even know what the name of the disease condition was, but it's stuff like that which actually is very helpful for people on the ground.
So to those of you who are here at this Men's Shed here in Whittlesea, can I say to each and every one of you - you're doing a really good thing. Not just in terms of getting together and providing opportunity for you yourselves as blokes to talk about men's health challenges, but you know something, you're also giving back into the community as well, and the stuff you make here, you're contributing to the community life. And it's also good to see the local community, like the local TAFE, chipping in with the provision of some of these woodworking lathes that I see up the back here at the moment.
We have a big interest as a Government in making sure that this takes off more right around the country. Because guess what, blokes need a bit of support when it turns to dealing with men's health issues which they frankly, have been not the flashest on in the past. It's time to turn the corner on all this.
Warren did you want to add on this before we hop into questions?
SNOWDON: Just briefly Prime Minster, I think the unique nature of this men's health initiative, needs to be properly understood. It is the first, and that's why I think it needs to be applauded. But I want to also just highlight just one other main item that we're funding, which addresses Indigenous men. A $6 million program to address Indigenous men's health, and their families, to work with men so that they have more of a role in bringing up their children together, so it's very much a family orientated initiative and something that we're very pleased to announce. Prime Minister, I think you've summarised it extremely well, thank you.
PM: Thanks very much Warren, and having said that, I'm happy to take any questions you've got.
JOURNALIST: PM, [inaudible] you're launching or releasing the scoping study of the NBN today. Are you confident that that project is still viable?
PM: I'll leave those who are currently being briefed in Canberra to discuss the internals of that study on the future of the National Broadband Network. Let me be very clear, this Government is determined to build a National Broadband Network, and will not let anything get in its way. And the reason for that is that wherever I go across Australia, people are crying out for effective, high-speed, decent bandwidth broadband.
Let's go to health for example. I was recently at a community in Perth, where they described to me the absolute importance of having decent bandwidth to get health information around about individual patients. I was at a GP Super Clinic in the northern suburbs of Brisbane a few days ago, in fact on Monday, and they are fully geared up to be able to whip patient data right around the country, to specialists and experts in a particular disease category, on one condition, there's enough bandwidth to do it and right now there isn't.
So if you, for example, Phil down here has a health condition, sorry if you don't have one Phil but I'm about to tell the world that you do.
PHIL: - That's okay.
PM: Mate, most of us do. And he goes off, gets all of his diagnoses done, wherever he gets them done at the local hospital here, the local specialist. He goes to Queensland on holiday, he gets crook. We actually need to be able to get all of his patient data through as quickly as possible and that's called patient controlled electronic health records. We've got no system in the country at the moment to whip that stuff around. The result? Phil gets a worse diagnosis than he would otherwise get because the local docs up there don't have his historical health data, and secondly he has to get diagnosed again which costs the heath system thousands and thousands of extra dollars and Phil as well. You know something, that's got we've got to change.
I just give you one example therefore. So, national broadband network, this government will not be deterred from rolling out a national broadband network because it benefits the economy. It benefits business. It benefits the provision of decent health information, right around the country, benefits education and a whole lot of areas we haven't even thought of yet.
JOURNALIST: Are you disappointed that you weren't able to get it further along the line in your first term?
PM: Ah, the National Broadband Network? We always recognised that this was a long term project, but can I explain to you what's now happening in Tasmania? In three locations in Tasmania we're already rolling out the network. So, we're already up and running. Very soon there will be further announcements to this effect as well across the country. We will not be deterred, despite the opposition from some of the largest Australian companies, from this occurring because we believe it is in the national interest for this important piece of national infrastructure to get out there. It is fundamental to this economy's needs for the 21st century.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, how concerned are you by the situation in Greece?
PM: I saw those reports late last night just after I arrived here in Melbourne from Perth and they are disturbing. I've spoken before to the Greek Government, since the election of the current government, about the challenges it faces. It is a sober reminder of the fact that the financial crisis in Greece has a capacity to affect wider Europe, and the health of the wider European financial system has a capacity to affect what's going on more broadly across the world. I've said it before and I'll say it again - we've done well in Australia to navigate this economy through the global financial crisis. But looking globally, the global financial crisis ain't over yet and we're not out of the woods yet either. Greece is a reminder of that.
JOURNALIST: [inaudible]
PM: I'll just take, did you have a follow up over here and then I'll head over here.
JOURNALIST: [inaudible]
PM: The Department of Foreign Affairs looks at these very carefully, all the time. We have many Australians of Greek origin. Here we are in Victoria, in Melbourne, not too far down the road, there's a huge Greek community here and in other cities in Australia as well.
The Department of Foreign Affairs will be analysing the situation carefully and issuing any appropriate revisions to travel advice. The experts do this without political interference from anybody and they take advice from the relevant police and security authorities around the world.
JOURNALIST: Are you concerned by reports that the mining companies will use their large coffers to campaign against your super profits tax and your Government at the next election?
PM: We have taken our decision on the future of the tax system based on the national interest. And so, we've looked at one core fact which is, about a decade or so ago, for every three dollars in mining profits about a dollar went to the Australian people through taxes. Now, for every seven dollars earned in profits by the Australian mining industry, one dollar comes to the Australian people in taxes. We believe the time has come for the Australian people, for small business and for workers and their super to get a fair share of the natural resources of this country which are owned by the Australian people. So, we believe this is the right policy for the national interest.
The second thing I'd say is it's also the right policy for the future of the mining industry. The petroleum rent resource tax has operated on a similar basis on the North-West Shelf for the last 20 years and it's given rise to massive new projects like the Gorgon Development announced in the last 12 months worth nearly $50 billion. Obviously there's going to be a scare campaign by some because they fear that some of their super profits will in fact come back to the Australian community to fund better tax for small business, better super for working Australians, better infrastructure for entire nation.
I just note what Bernie Fraser, the former head of the Reserve Bank had to say on this in the last 24 hours. "Inevitably," he said, "there's going to be some crying wolf in all of this". And Mr Fraser, the former head of the Reserve Bank, has been very explicit about the fact that this is very much in the national interest.
So, I imagine that some within the mining industry will dig deep within their very deep pockets and seek to run a political campaign. We will not be deterred one bit. This is a decision in the long term national interest, good for the economy, good in the long term in broadening the base of the mining industry as well, according to the detail of the tax. But you know something? Important in terms of giving a fair share for working families and their super, a fair share for small business with big tax breaks and a fair share to fund the infrastructure that Australia needs for the future.
JOURNALIST: How seriously are you taking threats from mining companies about halting projects in light of these proposed changes?
PM: Well, I notice that a number of statements have been made by various mining companies. As I said on the day that we released our new policy on Sunday, there will inevitably be threats and warnings of project closures. That's the way in which these negotiations with mining companies usually happen. I say again, however, the Government will not be deterred. The Government believes this is the right tax for Australia's future because the Australian community deserve a fair share from the resources, the natural resources which the Australian people themselves own. That is what we're standing up for and we will not be deterred from that course of action.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister there's a lot of, going back to today - thank you for the scone by the way.
PM: How was it by the way?
JOURNALIST: It was delicious.
PM: Did anyone have one of my scones by the way?
JOURNALIST: [inaudible]
PM: What was mine like?
JOURNALIST: [inaudible]
PM: No, no, the ones that I made.
JOURNALIST: [inaudible]
PM: Okay, alright, you go.
JOURNALIST: There's obviously lots of awareness of women's health through very high profile campaigns such as, you know, breast cancer foundations, the pink campaign. Do you think men should be doing something similar, maybe we should be doing something blue for instance, about men's health?
PM: You mean, it's like a blue singlet day? What do you think guys? We can call it Jackie Howe Day? I think there's something in that, you know. There's something about our, frankly, our gender which, we don't tend to talk about these things. That's what's got to change because if you don't talk about them, you're never going to find out that there's something wrong with you and you won't find out what you could do to stop it getting worse or stop it happening in the first place. So I'll leave it to Warren and the creative arts department to come up with a specific proposal on that, but maybe it's time we thought about something like that.
For example, I've been very much caught up with Glenn McGrath and the McGrath Foundation and the excellent work they do for breast cancer. We're now funding breast cancer nurses with the McGrath Foundation in 40 or 50 locations around Australia. Now they do a terrific day. Everyone who watches the cricket over summer knows that it's very pink on a certain day and actually causes people to think about breast cancer because it's such a scourge for women in Australia. So let's think about how we bundle together the concerns about blokes' health. What do you think, Blokes' Health Day?
SNOWDON: I reckon a blokes' day would be good.
PM: Okay, let's just think about how we up the profile.
JOURNALIST: Mr Prime Minister, the Men's Shed you're in today, it came about from support from the community, a government grant, partnershipping of the Agriculture Society and the Whittlesea Community Building Initiative. And we've got a great model here. Would your program envisage this being a model for future Men's Sheds around Australia?
PM: Let me say one or two things in general about that and then I'll turn to Warren for a more detailed answer. I actually talked to Phil before about how this one got up and running. It's a pretty good story. As I'm advised, the first meetings a couple of years ago, I think you got this shed up last September/ October. Have I got it right? The local show society pitched in because, I presume, they're used to putting up pavilions and things. That's just my assumption. Most of the equipment that you see has been donated from the local community and by local supporting business. I'm told that the revenues generated out here - I don't think I'm giving anything away as a national secret - about $4,000 a year in selling the products which are made here. I know all of you journalists will be putting your three bucks in the coffee jar out the back there before you go. I'll be watching and counting. What we're seeking to do with this $3 million investment, is to actually expand our partnership with Men's Sheds around the country.
You know what I find often works best is when you've got community organisations which actually grow things from the ground up. We then come in and partner, without ever trying to take them over. Because that's when I think you lose your local spirit and your local sense of control. That's what we want to do. So what we've got to find is a way in which we keep your local enterprise, initiative and enthusiasm alive but that additional helping hand on the way through. Warren.
SNOWDON: Just very briefly, I think the Men's Shed Association is the organisation to which we refer and defer in a sense to provide us with this advice. There are different models around the country. This is obviously a very good one and we need to work with people wherever they are because one size won't fit all, to work with people from where ever they are to help facilitate a process of getting Men's Shed's around the county.
PM: Okay folks, well having said all that I might zip.
One final thing, by the way, on the question of the super profits tax, I notice there's a debate today again on whether Mr Abbott will oppose or support this. From his current statements that he's opposed. Can I just say that if Mr Abbott blocks these reforms, he's standing in the way of and blocking better super for working Australians for their retirement, and decent tax breaks for 2.4 million Australian businesses. I would call on him to think very carefully about blocking this basic reform which delivers a fair share for working families, their retirement and a fair share for more than two million Australian small businesses. Thanks folks.