Small business; backing our veterans; Australia’s embassy in Israel; Nauru; petrol prices; Cricket Australia
Prime Minister
Photo: AAP Image/Lukas Coch
PRIME MINISTER: Well good morning everyone, it’s great to be here in Canberra. It’s great to be here with On the Go Mick, and can I congratulate you on the tremendous success of your business. This is another great small business in Australia, ten-fold growth, just really innovating, employing people. They're benefitting obviously from the changes we've made to reduce taxes and to support small businesses become larger businesses and they have been growing the number of employees they have had here. That is why the number of people employed in Australia has been growing so strongly. That is why we have had record employment growth amongst young people, over 100,000 last financial year. The strongest year last year of calendar employment growth on record in Australia. Employment growth, people getting into jobs, people getting off welfare and into work is being driven by small businesses, family businesses, all around the country and it's tremendous to see On the Go really achieving that here in Canberra and also in other cities and expanding their business with a very dynamic business model.
But the other thing that's great about Nick’s business here is they honour and support our veterans. On the weekend you’ll know I made an announcement pursuant to the compact that the Government is releasing for veterans. It is an opportunity, an opportunity for businesses large and small, to show their honour to veterans, to say their thank you to veterans. On behalf of all their customers, on behalf of them and their families, by offering veterans a discount on the services and the goods that they provide. And we've had a tremendous response to this over the last couple of days. Businesses large and small, as I said on the weekend, businesses as large as Bunnings and Coles are those getting involved. NRMA and On the Go here, a small business here in Canberra, who also want to give veterans a go. But they are not just giving veterans a go in signing up and wanting to be part of the veterans card and veterans lapel pin initiative to honour their sacrifice and service. Mick is also here employing veterans as well. I'm joined by Chris, who served our country, and we thank you for your service, Chris. And what Chris has been able to bring to this business has been something very special. The cultural champion of the business they call him. His skills, his innovative skills, his adaptive skills, everything he picked up in the Defence Force has been a real value-add to this business.
In this year's budget, I announced $8 million support veterans get jobs. I’m all about jobs, our Government is all about jobs. Whether it is jobs for young people, whether it's jobs for mums coming back into the workforce, whether it’s jobs for dads. Whoever the job's for, particularly for our veterans, we want to support their transition when they leave service and go back into the workforce and that $8 million has been investing in supporting them with how they put their CVs together working with Jobactive. We have got thousands of jobs now that are being advertised specifically for veterans and so, you know, we've got to nurture this culture of respect for our veterans. We can't take it for granted. It was on display during the Invictus Games, it is on display every time we get to Armistice Day, or to Anzac Day, or the Battle of Australia Day, or the many days of memorial that we have in this country. But what we are doing with this new veterans' compact is providing the opportunity every day, every day, to honour our veterans and say thank you for your service and to provide them with practical support. Whether it is through the position of discounts, or it's through the practical support of what we've been doing in the Department of Veterans’ Affairs where we have reduced the time to process veterans' claims from 120 days down to just over 30. With the big investments we've put in our systems or whether it's ensuring that every single veteran in Australia, whether they have served one day or decades, all get access to free mental healthcare. That is the absolute least we can do as a country.
So good on you, Mick, for your success in your business. Good on you, Chris, for your service and that service continues here with On the Go and we are looking for more companies to engage with us over this program. It will be starting in the New Year, and we are putting it altogether now, consulting with veterans' communities. I want to thank all those businesses who have registered their interest but I also want to thank all the veterans' organisations. Whether it is Soldier On, or all the others… which is one of your clients. Or any of those organisations for the great support that they want to show to this program as well. It is great to have you here as well Zed and supporting this initiative. I know you’re pleased to see the great work of small businesses here in Canberra, them succeeding, but also their ability to actually engage our ex-service men and women, of whom there are a large number here in the ACT. So happy to take questions on the program of getting veterans into jobs and honouring their service through the program.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, can you update us on the level of interest from the small business sector after your announcement on Saturday?
PRIME MINISTER: Well there has been literally hundreds and hundreds of calls coming into my office, coming into Darren Chester’s office. We’ve been registering all of those and that’s obviously a great reservoir of initial support that we’ll be able to plough into the program and provide immediate contact. There is also a website that people can go to which can support this initiative as well and this all assists our veterans get immediate access when we have this system up and running. I think it’ll very quickly get to critical mass. Whether you’re buying a uniform or kit for your local netball team or whether you’re out there looking for discounts on any number of other items around the country.
JOURNALIST: What prompted this initiative? Do you think our veterans were doing it tough or do you think there was a lack of respect for our veterans? What prompted this?
PRIME MINISTER: It came from veterans organisations themselves and it was raised with us some time ago and we’ve been working up that model, also talking to the states and territories. And we’re now in the position to take it to that next level and work with those organisations to put the practical scheme in place. Eligibility, all of those sort of practical things, getting access to the card, the pin. We’ve also, when you work with the businesses, particularly with the larger ones, they need to get a good understanding on how many people potentially would be eligible for these discounts so they can work that into their business plans and they can give the best possible deal to our veterans.
JOURNALIST: How will it work, will it just go to the veterans themselves, will their immediate families be able to access it, wider families? How does it work?
PRIME MINISTER: Well the plan is for veterans themselves to have the card. But you know, if there’s two kids in the back and well they’re all buying the same stuff. So it is there for use by the veteran, that is the plan, and the lapel pin obviously is just there to let people know and it is a card which has an eligibility criteria around it. That means that the business themselves which has some authenticity to that card. So we’ve got to make sure that it can’t be taken advantage of or abused. That would be a disrespect to veterans but it would also be I think, a disrespect to the businesses who are showing good faith and want to support this programme.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister just on small businesses, now that those accelerated tax cuts are locked in, what other measures can we expect to see from the Coalition to support small business?
PRIME MINISTER: I’ll be having a bit more to say about that between now and the next election. We are 100 per cent committed to small businesses and family businesses. We’ve demonstrated that over the last five years. We cut their taxes. We’ve reduced their paperwork. We’ve ensured that they can access more of the incentives that are in place for small businesses. I mean five years ago, a business in this country was only called a small business if it had a turnover of up to $2 million. We changed that to $10 million and that gave those businesses access, just like On the Go have access here, to things like doing GST on a cash basis, accessed to pooled depreciation, all of these things make a big difference to the cash flow of small business. So every single day we constantly look at ways we can better support small and family businesses in this country. Cutting their taxes has been a big deal and we got that legislated on our last change in just one week. We’ll continue to do things to support small and family businesses and I’ll have a lot more to say about that between now and the next election.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, Malcolm Turnbull says if you do move Australia’s embassy in Israel that there will be a very negative reaction in Indonesia. Are you still considering it and are you willing to damage the relationship, the diplomatic relationship with a key partner?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, Australia will always make our decisions on our foreign policy based on our interests. We’ll do that as a sovereign nation. We’ll consult and we’ll listen to others, but at the end of the day Australia will always make decisions about our foreign policy on our terms and in our interests. I have always put our interests first and that’s how decisions will be made.
JOURNALIST: Senior diplomats today are quoted as saying the reaction has been so strong [inaudible]? Are you willing to do that?
PRIME MINISTER: I will always act in Australia’s national interests. My views haven't changed. We will follow a proper process before making any decision on this matter. I stress a decision has not been made on this matter. We will follow a proper process. But let me stress, Australia decides what our foreign policy is and only Australia.
JOURNALIST: Do you think the comments have undermined you?
PRIME MINISTER: No.
JOURNALIST: Do you regret raising the issue?
PRIME MINISTER: No.
JOURNALIST: How is this review actually being carried out? Is it something that will be discussed tonight in Cabinet?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, I don’t go into what’s discussed in Cabinet, as you know Airlie. What we have already initiated is the without-prejudice review on the Iran nuclear deal, that commenced last week. So that is underway. When I'm in a position to be announcing further how we are proceeding on the other matter, I will make those comments at that time.
JOURNALIST: Can I ask you on Huawei, are you concerned that it could damage relations, banning them from doing work with our 5G network?
PRIME MINISTER: No.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister a poll shows that the majority of Australians want children off Nauru. If the New Zealand option isn't on the table, are you still considering third party options, third country options?
PRIME MINISTER: We are exercising third country options now. The United States arrangement was put in place and in the last nine weeks, the number of children on Nauru has halved. So we've been getting about this quietly. We haven't been showboating about it, we haven't been doing any of those things. We have just been getting on and dealing with these issues in the appropriate way in accordance with our policies. Policies that not only have reduced the number of children on Nauru, but has ensured that no children are going to Nauru. That’s what our Government always does. We have been acting, we will continue to act, we will continue to do it in accordance with our policies. The numbers have been coming down. Remember it was our Government that closed 17 detention centres and got all the children out of detention in Australia. There are no children in Nauru living in detention, they live in the community like Nauruan children do. Nauruan children live on Nauru, children live on Nauru and I think it’s important that when we consider this debate - as I said yesterday - that we show respect to our Pacific neighbours. That is the home of Nauruans, their children live there, their families live there. They go to school there, they run businesses there, they work there. Their life is there and I think we should be tempered in our discussion about the nation of Nauru and I think we should treat them with respect.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister do you need to take a big stick to petrol companies?
PRIME MINISTER: Well as you know, last year the ACCC acted to prevent one of the big mergers with BP and that was done in the interests of ensuring that there wasn’t too much market power being concentrated in the petrol companies and with fuel prices in the fuel industry. I know it’s tremendously frustrating for Australians, it’s tremendous frustrating to me and I want to see some more transparency. I think what the ACCC does in ensuring that people have a better understanding of where they can get the best deal, I think is really important. But I get it that it’s very, very frustrating when Australians see the petrol prices move as they do. So the Government will always be considering ways that we can put more pressure on petrol companies to do the right thing by customers just like we are doing with electricity prices.
Now in the electricity sector, I think there’s no question, there’s no issue when it comes to we need to put much greater pressure on the electricity companies to ensure that they bring electricity prices down. We’ll be bringing forward a big stick legislation package into the Parliament which will be doing just that. That’s how we’re going to get electricity prices down. We’re not going to cop electricity companies charging what they have been charging and pocketing what they’ve been pocketing when they’ve been ramping up prices on families and businesses all around the country.
Just yesterday I was down in Warrnambool and I was at one of the big dairy processing areas. I was talking to the dairy farmers yesterday and their electricity prices have been suffering the same thing. So that’s why I’m taking action with the big electricity companies so we have the big stick which can force those prices down. I expect them to respond. Now, I expect fuel companies to respond too and the Government will consider any number of measures but it’s in the hands of the fuel companies to do the right thing by their customers and the ACCC and I will be watching very closely.
JOURNALIST: Just quickly on Cricket Australia?
PRIME MINISTER: Yes?
JOURNALIST: What do you make of this review which found that our national cricketing team is “arrogant” and that there are bullying allegations? Has this organisation lost its way?
PRIME MINISTER: I think the report is very sobering reading. I think for cricket fans all across Australia, I think they’ll be very disappointed, I mean it’s one of our nation’s great loves, our cricket. Young boys and girls look up to their cricket heroes and they aspire as a result of what they see out there on the field. It’s been that way in this nation for generations and that imposes a very heavy responsibility on Cricket Australia, to ensure that they’re upholding the values of the great game and that they’re ensuring that they work across the game on every pitch around the country. Now it’s not for me to tell them how to do their job but as an Australian, a fellow Australian, I think we all know what our expectations are of their need to restore trust, to restore credibility, to restore faith in our great game. The PM’s XI this week will be another opportunity for that and I’m looking forward to that. The PM’s XIII did pretty well the other day in PNG and I’m looking forward to a good outing by the PMs XI this week in Canberra.
Thanks very much.