Queensland infrastructure; regional jobs; the Australian economy
Prime Minister
MARK BRAYBROOK: The Prime Minister is in town and he’s on a bus tour from the Gold Coast to Townsville. He joins me on the line, giving up a few minutes of his valuable time. Prime Minister good afternoon.
PRIME MINISTER: G’day Mark how are you mate?
BRAYBROOK: I’m well thank you. Welcome to Queensland.
PRIME MINISTER: Well it’s great to be here, great to have such a great welcome.
BRAYBROOK: What is the purpose of the visit?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, we’re up here listening and hearing and we’re doing as well. On the doing, we announced down at the Gold Coast today that we’re putting an extra $112 million into the third stage of the light rail project that has been so successful down there in the Gold Coast. We’ve announced up at Townsville yesterday a very big project on securing their water future with the pipeline. As we move up and down the coast, we’ll be having a bit more to say about where we’re investing and what we’re doing. But it’s also a good opportunity for me to get out and talk to our supporters here in Queensland. And to connect with them and you know, I think that’s a very big task. But it’s part of what I’ve taken on as being the leader of the Party and of course, as Prime Minister, to rally our people and our supporters around what is a very important cause at the next election. That is to ensure that we can continue to have a strong economy. Because that’s what pays for the essential services that Australians rely on.
We’ve got unemployment coming down. We’ve got people getting off the unemployment ques. We’ve got our AAA credit rating restored and secure and we’re moving into a Budget balance next year, which means we can be investing in these important services and infrastructure that deals with population growth all across the state.
BRAYBROOK: Yeah, you do have some great messages to sell but do you have a sense of frustration that you’re not getting that cut-through to get that message out to the people? Or do you believe you are?
PRIME MINISTER: I believe we are and I think that’ll continue to be the case. I mean to come out of the events of several months ago, I mean of course that’s going to acquire a fair bit of static. But you know, people are focused of their own futures and what’s going on in their lives, in their towns and their communities and with the jobs that they have and the small businesses that they work for. That’s what matters to them and that’s what I’m here to reassure them about. That’s where my is too. We’re just totally focused on the things that will make our economy stronger, so we can guarantee those essential services. Keeping Australians safe and ensuring that we’re keeping Australians together. We don’t want to see employees being set against employers and parents of kids who go to state schools, being set against parents with kids who go to non-state schools. I mean today we had the Labor Party saying they want to have a throwback policy on industrial relations, back to the 70s for goodness sake. I mean that’ll smash our economy, that’s no way to run a strong economy. It’s very dangerous. Bill Shorten’s economic agenda is very dangerous for people’s jobs and livelihoods.
BRAYBROOK: Prime Minister, from the Gold Coast through Brisbane and parts of the north coast, you’ve got to go on that M1. You’re on your bus, how is the traffic and have you looked at the peak hour traffic coming the other way? Because you speak of infrastructure and people want infrastructure. They wasn’t our roads to flow. We’ve got a booming population. You’re on one of the most congested roads in south east Queensland, what can you do to ease those people you see on that road, trying to get home?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, that’s why we put $1 billion for upgrades between Eight Miles Plain to Daily Hill and Varsity Lakes and Tugun, $110 million for the Mungeribar to Varsity Lakes section, and up to $115 million for the M1 Gateway Motorway rebuild. We’re got $10 billion dollars we’re putting into the Bruce Highway. We’ve got the Brisbane Metro project, we put $300 million in and later this year we will finish the Gateway Motorway North where we put $914 million in that. That’s created up to 1,000 jobs. Now we’re looking at, you know the Beerburrum to Nambour Rail Line, that’s just under $400 million. That’s taking things further north. So you know, we’re investing in the infrastructure that Brisbane, that south east Queensland needs to grow. We’ll continue to do that and that’s why when I say; “We don’t just listen, I don’t just listen, I hear.” I hear and those infrastructure projects are vital to improving and maintaining the standards of living here in south east Queensland.
BRAYBROOK: Well how important or how vital is Queensland for your Government to be reelected next year? Is that part of the reason why you’re here? That this is, Queensland is one of the key states, if not the big state for you?
PRIME MINISTER: Look, I’ll tell you why Queensland is important. Queensland is important because we need the Queensland economy strong for the Australian economy to be strong. The truth is in recent times, the Queensland economy has not been preforming as well as the rest of the national economy. You know, we’re seeking to do something about that. We want to see the Queensland economy being stronger than it is today and the unemployment rate is high here. We want to get it down to where it is in other states like in New South Wales where it’s much less. They’ve had a great infrastructure programme led by the State Government down there in New South Wales. So that’s why I’m keen for the State Government to join us in these big projects and put the money into the things that is going to make Queensland’s economy stronger.
BRAYBROOK: Is there one particular issue that in the times you’ve been listening to people as Prime Minister, that concerns them the most heading into next year’s election?
PRIME MINISTER: Oh look, there is a range of issues and it all affects different families differently. I mean if you’re talking to drought-affected communities, which is the first place I went after becoming Prime Minister up in Quilpie up in western Queensland, their issues are different to those being faced by people sitting on motorways south and north of Brisbane. But what it really all is about is that people’s standard of living, people’s cost of living and their ability to deal with rising costs of living, that they feel they’re in a stronger position to deal with that. The way you deliver that is by ensuring you run an economy which is strong. You know, you can’t deal with rising costs of living, if you’re in an economy that’s weaker.
Now Labor wants to put $200 billion worth of higher taxes on our economy over the next ten years. I mean they are economy–suffocating taxes on everything from abolishing negative gearing as we know it, increasing capital gains tax and the worst, the worst I would say, particularly in the short term is they want to rip $5 billion out of the pockets of retirees, by taking away their tax refunds on their imputation credits. I mean this is just mad policy, which is going to take money out of the economy and put it in Bill Shorten’s election war chest. I mean that’s not how you run a strong economy. That’s how you suffocate one.
BRAYBROOK: Prime Minister do you believe that all the dramas of the last few months are behind now, and that the ship has steadied, you’re heading towards that election in good shape?
PRIME MINISTER: Yes I do and that work will continue. One of the other reasons I’m here in Queensland Mark is to say to our supporters, who are coming back to us in strong numbers here in Queensland in the LNP – and I really welcome that, I was at several functions today with our party members throughout south east Queensland – you know, they’re coming back. People are saying to me: “We want to come back, we want to be involved. We like where you’re heading and this is where we want to go and we certainly don’t want what Bill Shorten is going to do to the country.” So there’s a very strong negative reaction to Bill Shorten, but I’m getting a great reception from our Liberal Party base members and supportive members here, who I really am thrilled to see coming back to the Party.
BRAYBROOK: Prime Minister just before I let you go, Bob Katter has been back in the news again this afternoon, warning you as the Prime Minister he’s considering supporting a referral of Liberal MP Chris Crewther to the High Court. Your response to that?
PRIME MINISTER: Look, we’re talking to Bob all the time, we talk to crossbenchers all the time. They all have their various issues that they’re raising with us. I’ve been talking to Bob about quite a number of projects ever since I became Prime Minister. I’ll continue to do that. I mean in relation to Mr Crewther, Chris, there is no issue there. So look, we’ll just keep talking to Bob about things that he’s looking to pursue as a member up there in North Queensland. I’ll be up there later this week and I’m sure we’ll be able to manage all of that.
I mean the truth is after the Wentworth by-election which has now been declared, we were already out a member since Mr Turnbull left the Parliament. So I still always needed one extra vote to get 75 and that was the case from pretty much the time I became Prime Minister. In fact that time exactly or soon after, so that’s the same case now. The crossbenchers have made it very clear, they don’t want the Government to go to an early election, they don’t want to put the public through that. The Government will serve out its’ term, we’ll go to an election next year. And there will be a clear choice, between a stronger economy with more jobs and a secure future under our Government, or a weaker economy under Bill Shorten and a party that can’t manage Australia’s finances. You can’t guarantee services like Medicare if you don’t run a strong economy. That’s why we can be trusted on Medicare.
BRAYBROOK: Thanks very much for your time, I appreciate it.
PRIME MINISTER: Thanks a lot Mark, great to be with you.