Prime Minister
SARAH MAREE CAMERON: We’ve just had a mighty big announcement for our region.
TOM LEWIS: That’s right, Scott Morrison joins us on the line, good morning.
PRIME MINISTER: Hey guys, how are you doing?
TOM: Really good.
SARAH MAREE: Wonderful.
TOM: You’re in Geelong today?
PRIME MINISTER: Yeah we’re coming down your way. We’re announcing the Geelong City Deal which is a very big deal. We’ve got significant investments going into the Convention and Exhibition Centre, the Deakin University Future Economy Precinct, the Revitalizing Central Geelong plan. All of this. I mean I used to be in tourism and I know that if you invest in the infrastructure, then the people will come and they enjoy the city. Then the jobs come and that’s what it’s all about, all about jobs.
SARAH MAREE: Well people have definitely been coming down to Geelong, we had the latest Census figures come out not too long ago, just talking about how much the population has grown here and how many people within that age bracket moving down, workers. They’re contributing to the economy so we really do need that infrastructure here. So this announcement is much-needed.
PRIME MINISTER: Yeah well it’s also about supporting the population growth you’re seeing in Victoria, that’s making places like Geelong a continually better choice, by ensuring that the services and facilities are there. We’re doing up the waterfront, we’re doing up the laneways, we’re making the city an even better place to live and be about in. So I think that’s all about addressing what those key needs are.
But the jobs that will come from this and the infrastructure that’ll be there for the future, I think is just great for the city of Geelong and also going all the way down the coast. We’re investing a lot down there, all down at the Twelve Apostles and all along the Shipwreck Coast. So it’s a great package for jobs in Victoria, particularly in the south.
TOM: Prime Minister, this timing of this announcement, it doesn’t do any damage to our mate Matthew Guy either, with the state election coming up. Have you timed it to help him a little bit there?
PRIME MINISTER: Well this will be a joint project with the state government doing all of these things. But I think the person who has really championed this more than any is Sarah Henderson. Sarah has been an absolute (inaudible) on this and ensuring Geelong and the whole region gets the economic attention it deserves from the national Government to make sure that those jobs are there and the opportunities are there. Because it’s a growing area that needs the infrastructure. We’re backing that in, we’re backing Sarah in with her plan.
SARAH MAREE: Well we found out a couple of months ago that there was a $150 million pledged for the region, but everybody remained very tight-lipped on what the money was going to be spent on. We made numerous phone calls and we even had Sarah Henderson in here just days before that money was announced and no one could tell us what was happening. Why now?
PRIME MINISTER: Well you work these plans through and you work them through with state governments as well. You work them through to work out what the most important priorities are. But you know, everything from doing up the waterfront through to what I’m particularly excited about which is the Deakin University Future Economy project. Because this is about future jobs, technology, it’s about making the link between business and what is a great asset in the university. I mean this is where more and more jobs are going to come from. So I think it’s a smart plan as well as being a big plan. That’s why we’re coming down today, to encourage people and say: “You guys are on the right track, you’ve got great plans for your city and your area.” My Government’s plan is to back you in and just keep backing you in.
TOM: Waking up this morning though, not the best morning to be rolling out of bed. You’ve been Prime Minister for a couple of months now and for the first time ever, Newspoll have your disapproval rating is higher than your approval rating. How do you feel about that? Did you see it coming? How are you going to turn it around?
PRIME MINISTER: Well you just get up and you hit it every day, I mean you do the things that you believe are important for the country every day. These things will bounce around and that’s the case for all politicians, but it just doesn’t distract me from the job I have. When you become Prime Minister in the way that I did, I wasn’t sort of planning for that to occur at that time, but when you have to step up into leadership as I did, then you just get on with the job and you focus on the people you’re trying to help. Don’t frankly have the time to get distracted by those sorts of things. I’ve only got the time to really focus on getting decision like this made and getting the projects moving.
TOM: Good answer. I enjoyed that.
SARAH MAREE: Tom is very pleased. You’re a good Prime Minister, well done. So, you’re coming down. When are you actually going to hit Geelong?
PRIME MINISTER: We’ll be there today and we’ll be making these announcements. We’ll also be along the Shipwreck Coast where we’re making some big announcements there as well. Which I think is really going to support the whole region and last time I was down that way, it was opening our investment in the Avalon Airport as well. So we’ve been putting a lot. I mean every time we’ve been down there I can just see where all the new projects are going and why it’s so important to get that new infrastructure in. So we’re getting ahead of it with Alan Tudge, who is basically the Minister for busting congestion. Geelong has a big role to play for that in Victoria. I mean it is a city, a big city and a future city as well – or it always has been frankly, going back a very long way – but it’s really coming into it’s own. Last time I was there I had a good look around that waterfront area and I’m pleased to see how we’re going to make that a really, even more vibrant place. I think it’s just one of those great spots.
TOM: Prime Minister, you’re coming to Geelong, you’re going down the Great Ocean Road, you’re going to be racking up the K’s and you’re going to be burning a lot of petrol. I know that there are a lot of people that live in Geelong and they commute to Melbourne for work. Petrol is a massive issue for them, prices have been awful for a long time now. Were getting less and less of the downward pricing in the cycle and lot more of this peak $1.60 plus gear. What do you have in store for us, how are you going to fix it?
PRIME MINISTER: Well this one is a really tough problem because we’ve got a lot of issues pushing the prices up which are outside Australia which are things outside our control. But the variations and the things that have frustrated us forever – and I want some answers out of the ACCC, I mean they are the cop on the beat, they’re the ones we fund to go out there and monitor why prices are moving up and down and how they’re timed. That’s their job and that’s Rod Sim’s job, to make sure that all these petrol companies, fuel companies do the right thing by customers. So if they’re not, he has the powers, he has the resources, to investigate them and I expect him to get on and apply the pressure. That’s why we have an ACCC it’s to actually deal with that precise issue. There are some things we can’t control; what’s happening with international oil prices and things like that. I mean they’re outside of what any government can do, but we can ensure that the people who are selling it here behave. When I was Treasurer, I gave him more powers actually, to go back behind the pump all the way to how they’re setting prices in the boardroom. So I’m expecting some action.
SARAH MAREE: Well we would like to see that action as well.
TOM: Yes.
SARAH MAREE: So fingers crossed that happens ASAP. Speaking of applying pressure Prime Minister, if you could just maybe pop in a couple of phone calls and make our trains run a little bit more reliably and on time? That also might help as well.
PRIME MINISTER: Well I could look at that. As you know, in the Budget before last, we announced money for the Waurn Ponds line down that way. So you know, our rolling investing in Geelong and all the districts around Geelong has been happening for some time and again, that’s because of Sarah. If it wasn’t for Sarah you wouldn’t be seeing this.
SARAH MAREE: Oh, I thought you were thanking me there. I was like: “You’re right, I have done a lot of work. I have been working very hard.”
[Laughter]
PRIME MINISTER: I’m sure you’ve been helpful. I’m sure you’ve been very helpful to Sarah Henderson as well as her campaign.
TOM: Okay Prime Minister Scott Morrison I have one last thing to ask you before we let you go and get in the car and come down to Geelong – and look I hope you have a wonderful day – we have a situation, it’s a dire here at the station. We have the Christmas Party coming up and it was set for a certain date which we then blocked out in our diaries and unfortunately they then changed the date. Now I am unable to attend our work Christmas party and so we – Sarah Maree and I – decided that we are going to run a rebel Christmas party.
SARAH MAREE: And we very much need our bosses to foot the bill for this, because there is their fault because this is a scheduling issue. We thought that maybe if we had the backing of the Prime Minister then we could take that to our boss, then surely they will foot the bill for our very own rebel Christmas party?
PRIME MINISTER: Do you wear different coloured shirts or something at the “rebel Christmas party?
TOM: Not red ones, that’s for sure.
[Laughter]
PRIME MINISTER: Where are you planning to have it?
TOM: Ah, we’re not … we’ve got to –
PRIME MINISTER: Do I get an invite?
SARAH MAREE: Yes!
TOM: Oh my god, yes, you can come to the party for sure. We’ll work out all those details later, we need to know we’re going to get budget obviously and what we’re working with but I feel like it will get us over the line if we can just get you Prime Minister Scott Morrison to say: “Hey Prime Minister Scott Morrison here and I support Tom and Sarah Maree’s rebel Christmas Party”
PRIME MINISTER: “The rebel Christmas Party has the strong backing of the nation”. There you go, on board.
SARAH MAREE: Oh no, we need -
PRIME MINISTER: I’m on board, ScoMo is on board.
SARAH MAREE: We need you to say, like; “Hey, this is the Prime Minister,” we’ll back off the mike –
TOM: Like, official.
SARAH MAREE: Very official like you were doing one of those big, like, Australian announcements.
PRIME MINISTER: Oh, okay. “This is the Prime Minister speaking and I’m here to advise that our government is 100 per cent behind the rebel Christmas party for 2018.”
SARAH MAREE: Yes!
[Laughter]
TOM: Thank you Scott Morrison! Hope you enjoy your time in Geelong today, really appreciate your time.
PRIME MINISTER: Good on you guys, take care.