Queensland infrastructure; regional jobs; the Australian economy
Prime Minister
PRIME MINISTER: Hey Mark and Caroline, how are you guys going?
CAROLINE HUTCHINSON: Yeah really well thank you. We’ve got so much to get to. First things first, who’s your tip for the Cup?
PRIME MINISTER: Youngstar. Youngstar, I think she’ll be a real favourite sentimentally out there today and I think she’s got a shot. But particularly, she’s named after Olivia Inglis who was lost in a terrible equestrian accident many years ago and I think that’d be really special to see Youngstar come home for Olivia, I reckon. I think Australians can really get behind that and cheer her on.
CAROLINE: Well I’ve got good news, our newsreader’s dad who is quite the punter, he agrees with you.
PRIME MINISTER: There you go.
CAROLINE: So you’re in good company.
MARK DARIN: I mean, I’m leaning towards the English billionaire that’s going to wear a g-string if he wins, but hey that’s a good story too.
[Laughter]
PRIME MINISTER: That’s a scary story.
CAROLINE: Very scary.
PRIME MINISTER: I’m not making that pledge, by the way.
MARK: Yeah, good.
PRIME MINISTER: You’ll be pleased to know.
CAROLINE: Hey, on the subject of pledges and you being in the bus and the ‘Scomobile’ and you being ScoMo – have you seen Steve Price getting into you on The Project? He does not get around ScoMo, does he?
PRIME MINISTER: Oh he’s just an old nark on that sort of stuff, he’s just a bit of a grumpy old man.
MARK: Ok.
PRIME MINISTER: I think he needs to cheer up a bit.
[Laughter]
CAROLINE: So you’re sticking with ScoMo?
PRIME MINISTER: Well I mean, it’s been with me for years, so it’s not new. It was actually a journalist who once called me that many years ago and it just sort of stuck. So you know, that’s where these things always come from.
MARK: Caroline and I were just having a chuckle, because we know you’ve got the bus, the bus is in town today. You’re going to be on the Sunshine Coast…
PRIME MINISTER: Yes, for the Cup, yeah.
MARK: But the bus, you’re not going to be on the bus for the whole 1,500 kilometre trip from here to Cairns.
PRIME MINISTER: Well we’re not going to Cairns. The bus was only ever going as far as Rockhampton, which is where the bus stops and then we’ll do the leap up to Townsville by plane because, you know, it’s a big state.
MARK: I know, I wouldn’t want 1,500 kms on the bus either.
PRIME MINISTER: I mean, you’ve got to be practical about these things.
MARK: I know, it’s going to take you four or five days.
PRIME MINISTER: I know, again, some other narks have been carrying on about that this morning. They’ve got to get over themselves.
CAROLINE: That’s right, you’re not a muso.
PRIME MINISTER: The Canberra bubble, they like to go into gotcha rubbish. The bus will go to Rockhampton, I’ll be up there and then we’ll hop up to Townsville, I’m looking forward to that, particularly seeing all the guys and girls up there at Lavarack.
CAROLINE: Alright, most importantly of all, you’re here on the Sunshine Coast today. We are definitely warming up for an election. What do we get, what are you going to announce today?
MARK: Pork-barrel us, Mr Prime Minister.
PRIME MINISTER: Well frankly, we’ve already been acting and already doing things up and right along up to the Sunshine Coast. The Caloundra Road, the Sunshine Motorway, there’s $813 million that we’re putting in there and that’s an important six-lane divided highway along 7 kilometres. We’ve got the Maroochydore Road Interchange Stage 1, that’s $187 million, the Pine River to Coloundra section, that’s a huge project, $1.4 billion we’ve been putting into that. So we’ve been putting a lot into the Bruce Highway, where we are boosting the Bruce, and when you look at what we’re doing with the rail link too, the Beerburrum rail link, all of these things are very important to the Sunshine Coast. Because I know there are a lot of people moving into the Sunshine Coast and we need to build the infrastructure to support people going into the Sunshine Coast and that’s exactly what we’re doing as a Government and we’re going to continue to back that in.
CAROLINE: Ok, and what about…
PRIME MINISTER: Ted O’Brien and Andrew Wallace, those guys have been all over this so that’s why we’re doing those investments.
CAROLINE: And what about the fight they are having with our Mayor at the moment? Those two men are locking horns with our Mayor, who used to be a paid-up member of the Liberal Party but he’s over you right now and he thinks you need to come up with some more money with our airport. Are you going to meet with Mark Jamieson?
PRIME MINISTER: That’s not in my schedule today but I’m happy to meet with mayors. I meet with mayors all the time and I know that Ted and Andrew do as well, so look we’ll work through all those…
CAROLINE: Not this one.
[Laughter]
PRIME MINISTER: Oh look, you know, I’m happy to meet with whoever it we’re talking about trying to get the right sort of stuff on the ground. But you know, there are a lot of airports around the country and we provide support for some of those and others the private sector has invested in as well. So everyone can do some lifting on these things.
CAROLINE: So no more money for us?
PRIME MINISTER: Well I’ve just talked about billions on road and rail, that’s where we’re putting our effort. I mean, the state government is also responsible for all of these things. In fact, they’re the primary responsibility for all of these services and all these roads. But we’re going over and above the Sunshine Coast in terms of what we’re investing in roads and rail, in the billions, and we’re going to keep doing that because I know the Sunshine Coast is growing and we’ve got to get that infrastructure in there ahead of it.
MARK: Alright, Scott Morrison, look we’re going to leave it there. We know everyone wants to talk to you, we have tried to tell our audience today to keep it tidy as Corbould Park in front of the Prime Minister so hopefully they keep their socks up there.
PRIME MINISTER: I’m looking forward to that, I’m looking forward to getting out to Corbould Park this afternoon and meeting a lot of the people and enjoying the race.
MARK: There you go, Scott Morrison.