MICHAEL ‘MOFFEE’ MOFFETT:
Prime Minister, thank you so much for your time today.
PRIME MINISTER:
It’s good to see you Michael.
MICHAEL ‘MOFFEE’ MOFFETT:
Welcome to Coffs Harbour.
PRIME MINISTER:
Thank you.
MICHAEL ‘MOFFEE’ MOFFETT:
There is so much progress here on the Coffs Coast. You would’ve seen the stadium, the upgrades that are happening with the highway this morning. It must be great to be able to see all these kind of things for the local area?
PRIME MINISTER:
Yeah, it was great. It was great to see all the young soccer players too and their little sisters and their mums and dads here and knowing that this facility here is thanks to Luke’s advocacy is going to be even better than ever.
MICHAEL ‘MOFFEE’ MOFFETT:
A lot of people in the Coffs region and Luke would know about this, talking about the upgrades with the highway – a bypass is often something that is spoken about. Is that something that is on the agenda? Obviously, it is with work and testing at the moment.
PRIME MINISTER:
Well it is certainly on Luke Hartsuyker’s agenda and nobody fails to recognise that. He’s made a very powerful case for it.
As you know, we are waiting for the business case coming from the state government and they’re still doing a lot of geotechnical work.
As you know, the City of Coffs has grown up into the, up towards the steep country on the west, so the question is how do you bring the bypass through that country. Do you have cuttings which will be very big cuttings? Do you have tunnels and where do they go?
So it is important that that preliminary work be done and that business case be completed.
And when it gets to Canberra I’m sure it will, I’m sure I know it will have no stronger advocate for a very substantial federal participation than Luke Hartsuyker.
MICHAEL ‘MOFFEE’ MOFFETT:
With the upgrades to the stadium we have things like OZTAG, we’ve got World Rally Championship, we’ve just been awarded another great award for the City with our events. It is such an important thing isn’t it for the locals and for locals to be able to support the region to keep that cycle moving and that growth moving?
PRIME MINISTER:
Yes, well infrastructure is a lot more than roads and railways and you know water pipelines. It’s also stadiums, sporting facilities, community facilities because they bring the community together in every way and they also bring communities together.
So you look at the fact that Coffs Harbour can attract big national and international sporting events is an enormous boost to the region but of course it is also great to have all these kids today, look at all these girls playing soccer today from all over New South Wales and Queensland and you know, they’re all meeting each other and playing against each other, their parents are getting to know each other – it is, these are, this is infrastructure that binds communities closer together.
And of course, you all know that it’s a big part of our health agenda too to have more young people and indeed all of us playing more sport and being more active.
MICHAEL ‘MOFFEE’ MOFFETT:
So, there has been a lot of talk at the moment about the same-sex survey.
PRIME MINISTER:
Yeah.
MICHAEL ‘MOFFEE’ MOFFETT:
Should a ‘yes’ vote be successful what would the time-frame be for going forward?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well as soon as Parliament resumes, which is shortly after the result will be known, assuming there is a ‘yes’ majority then a Private Members Bill will be introduced to legalise same-sex marriage. And it will be a free vote. So you’ll Parliament at its best and you’ll see it debated through the House and the Senate.
In my view, it will be overwhelmingly carried. I don’t think anyone argues with that but I think you will see Parliament at its best when people who are really collaborating to ensure that the Bill is the best the Bill that it can be.
MICHAEL ‘MOFFEE’ MOFFETT:
And just finally, as the Prime Minister, so far what would you say you would think is your biggest achievement so far?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well, we’ve had a lot of achievements. I don’t want to rank them but we’ve got so much through the Parliament, so much more through the Parliament than anyone expected.
As I was saying at a press conference a minute ago, nobody has accused us of breaking election promises. And you know, even if you take the marriage postal survey - you know, Lucy and I will be voting ‘yes’ and encourage others to do so but we respect views of those who will be voting ‘no’, but above all, I want everyone to have their say and that is what we promised to deliver at the election.
It was the Labor Party that stopped us getting that through the Senate.
But you know we’ve got so much through the Senate. We’ve got a lot of big legislative reforms but do you know what the most fantastic news is?
MICHAEL ‘MOFFEE’ MOFFETT:
What’s that?
PRIME MINISTER:
That over the last two years half a million more Australians are in a job than there were two years ago and 80 per cent of those are full time jobs.
And you know, we went to the election and we talked about jobs and growth – people said that’s a slogan – well I tell you right now it’s an outcome and it is because of the economic leadership we are providing, the incentives we are giving for businesses to invest and to employ and it is starting to see the results in those jobs figures.
So more jobs, better jobs, higher wages, stronger growth, greater opportunities for those young girls who are out there playing soccer on the pitch today to build a nation with even bigger opportunities for them than their parents enjoyed.
MICHAEL ‘MOFFEE’ MOFFETT:
Prime Minister, thanks for your time.
PRIME MINISTER:
Thanks a lot.
[ENDS]