Prime Minister
KARL STEFANOVIC: I'm pleased to say the Prime Minister joins us now. PM good morning to you. Thank you for your time. Do you have faith in the Victorian government to handle this crisis from here, given the magnitude and results and fall out from the hotel breaches?
PRIME MINISTER SCOTT MORRISON: Well, the Victorian situation is very serious. It will continue to be serious for some time. But it's my job to support them, Karl. That’s my job and to rally the support of all the other premiers and chief ministers to give them all they need. More than 1,000 Australian Defence Force personnel there are on their way supporting every task to supporting the lockdown, to the tracing which is so critical to getting on top of this. Even supporting paramedics out there in the field. So I’m talking to the Premier quite regularly. We're giving him every support to get on top of this that we can and all of our government ministers doing the same and all the other premiers and chief ministers there to help them. It's a time to help not for me to run a commentary.
STEFANOVIC: You had to have found out what happened in the hotels, in terms of hotel security and also poor contract tracing protocols, the Victorian Government has done thus far. You must know what went wrong?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, the quarantine breach obviously is very, been very significant. It's a reminder that with where this has occurred it's got out through that method. If those who are proposing an eradication strategy – well, if you get a breach in quarantine that doesn't matter. It will just seep out into the community. It's a reminder of the need to keep on with the social distancing. To keep on with all those other protections. Keep the tracing capacity up to scratch. All of these things. Because that is your effective defence against a break out like what we've seen in Victoria. We've seen similar things in NSW, the situation there is going much better. But right now, all my focus on is supporting people in Victoria. Supporting Melburnians in particular and ensuring that we are giving them all the support they need for the Victorian Government and Premier Andrews to get on top of this and he has our full support to do that.
STEFANOVIC: You are a straight shooter. You must have been filthy.
PRIME MINISTER: It's not about how I feel. It's about what I do. And what I do is give Victoria support to get this job done. That's the only thing that matters, Karl. The only thing that matters is getting on top of this and I will give Dan Andrews every support he needs to be able to achieve that. Because that's what Melburnians and Victorians need. If Victoria isn't successful Australia isn't successful. And that’s why we need Melburnians and Victorians to win here.
STEFANOVIC: It does matter how you feel.
PRIME MINISTER: No not for me it doesn't mate, I'm sorry. Prime Ministers don't get that indulgence. We just got a job to do and get on with it.
STEFANOVIC: OK, Senator Matthew Canavan on our show three days ago, he was feeling it. He called it a ‘Dan-Made disaster’. PM, I know you like Daniel Andrews. I also think he's done incredible jobs in parts. Great leaders own their mistakes. You did. Otherwise, how do we know they're not going to make it again.
PRIME MINISTER: Of course we're all accountable for our own decisions and nothing changes that. But it's not about who we like or who we don't like. It's about what is needed now on the ground and the task that need to be done. We've got our Commodore down there. Our one star down there supporting the effort in Victoria. I think that will provide a lot of direction. A lot of leadership support there. That's about getting the job done. That's all that matters now.
STEFANOVIC: You helped lead this country into a great position to tackle this virus. The stakes were high and still are. Victorians, I can't help but feel this, were let down no matter what way you look at it. Badly let down and now people are dying. It wasn’t even their fault. Can they with any certainty feel like their leadership isn't going to let them down again?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, we're putting the support into ensure that they do get the things they need to get on top of this and there is a very big collaborative effort and that support has been received and Victoria has been very grateful for that and it's not just the Commonwealth government. In NSW, they're doing tracing for the Victorian government. There's the cooperation that's occurring along the Victorian NSW border. There's testing being done in South Australia, Tasmania and there’s support also coming out of Queensland and WA. So this a national effort and that's what I think Victorians can have confidence in that the whole country is working together to help them and to help their government in this time of their crisis.
STEFANOVIC: PM there's an 80-year-old man in Glendale Aged Care facility. His name is Graeme Smith. He is scared, he is upset. He spoke to Ally earlier in the week about losing his friend to the virus. Have a look.
GRAEME SMITH: A little scared, it brings it very close to home. [inaudible] not far from where I am and it was a bit of shock.
STEFANOVIC: Breaks my heart watching that. Prime Minister can you explain to Graham and thousands of others, why they shouldn't feel that fear?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, there is uncertainty and I know people are anxious. There is a reason to be anxious. The coronavirus spreads very, very rapidly. For all those who want to seek to dismiss it and think we can treat it lightly, you have got to remember that on the broad figures, the fatality rate on the coronavirus is more than five times what it is for the flu each year so it is serious, particularly for the most vulnerable and people like Graham fall into that category. But what we've been doing there are about 45 cases we had in facilities yesterday. There are masks being worn across all aged care facilities across Victoria. Some 5 million masks have been put into support that out of the national stockpile. So I'd say to Graham 'I understand you're worried' and I know his family would be worried too. We learn a lot of lessons from up in Newmarch and that's been put in place in the Victoria situation in the facilities that are affected there. The Communication with the families I believe is much improved. People have been moved out of those most affected facilities. Both into hospitals and also the private hospitals that we freed up through the agreement we had with the private hospitals to make that happen. So everything is being done to keep Graham and everyone else in those facilities as safe as is possible. But what it is a reminder to everyone else, who thinks that this thing doesn't affect people think of Graham, think of the most vulnerable in the community. Other people, younger people, are far more resistant to this. But they're super-spreaders of it and how they conduct themselves can affect people like Graham very significantly. But as well as people who are on cancer treatments and things like that. So we've got to be mindful of everyone in how we conduct ourselves, so that means 1. 5 metres, wash your hands. Download the COVIDSafe app. Follow the rules, and we get through this.
STEFANOVIC: OK well said. Just finally, I know with interest I know there is going to be some big announcements next week on Jobkeeper, Jobseeker and all that and that will be reassuring for businesses we hope. I note with interest too you're investing in some big Hollywood productions coming to Australia and local productions. 400 million dollars you're putting into it just for the Today Show, how generous.
PRIME MINISTER: 8,000 jobs that is what this about. It's about caterers, it’s about sparkies it’s about cleaners. They're the jobs that come from these productions and it runs out over 7 years. This isn't about just about one-offs. This is about getting repeat productions and getting those jobs and basis of jobs across our production facilities all around the country. That comes on top of the significant entertainment package we did for the performing arts and other arts a few weeks ago. Yesterday Karl, we had 210,000 jobs that came back into the economy in June. That’s the biggest increase in jobs we've ever seen in a month and it shows that there is hope that we can get on top of the virus when we do open up our economy, the jobs came back. More than 50% of those jobs were for young Australians, and the effective rate of unemployment fell from just over 13%, because we know the effective rate is much higher than the head loan rate, that came down to just over 11%. So we're making progress. We've got a long way to go. We have to hang together and support each other. Particularly everyone down there in Melbourne and across Victoria, we're with you.
STEFANOVIC: OK. Well done, PM. Thank you for your time.