Prime Minister
Ron Jorgensen, Plant Manager, ALCOA: I'd like to introduce Dan Tehan, our local member for Wannon and one of our strongest ambassadors for Portland Aluminium.
The Hon. Dan Tehan MP, Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment: Thanks Ron, and can I say what a pleasure it is to be here with you today, and to hear the passion in your voice when you made the announcement to the workers about this five-year deal and you could hear and see and feel what to meant to you and meant to everyone it was wonderful to see that passion for jobs in manufacturing here in Australia. Can I thank you and Michael, for all the work you've done over the last couple of years to get us to this day. Today, which is secured 500 jobs here in south west Victoria, two thousand jobs right across the south west. And when I said to the PM, PM we need to play our part in protecting and supporting these jobs, there was no greater supporter than the Prime Minister for us being here today and making sure that the Federal Government has played its role. So, PM on behalf of the South West community, can I can thank you. This is, this is a great day for everyone and you know how important manufacturing heavy industry is to regional Australia, how important it is for jobs, for communities, and how those jobs support the sporting clubs, the volunteer organisations, the restaurants, the cafes. And it's just a terrific day to be here when we're able to say five more years of the smelter in operation providing incredible export income to the state of Victoria. And Treasurer Tim Pallas, wonderful that you can be here, too, because this is a huge exporter in Victoria and it's a really, really important day. Can I conclude before I introduce the Prime Minister by saying it is so important to regional Australia, that we continue to provide the affordable energy that enables operations, like this here behind us, to be able to provide those jobs. And can I thank Angus Taylor for the job that he's played in working with me and with Portland Aluminium, so that we can play our role in ensuring that this smelter continues for the next five years. This smelter operates like a giant battery for the electricity grid in Victoria, and it's able to power up and down according to the needs, the power needs, of the Victorian electricity grid. And without it playing its role, then businesses right across the state of Victoria are threatened. So this is not only about jobs here today in South West Victoria and Portland in particular, but jobs right across the state of Victoria. Great day, this is why we work so hard to have outcomes like this. And PM, once again, on behalf of South West Victoria can I thank you, and can I ask you to say a few words?
Prime Minister: Thank you very much, Dan. It's great to here in South Western Victoria. I'm also pleased to be joined by my former Treasury colleague, Tim Pallas, who is here from the Victorian Government. And they were a key part of what we've been able to achieve today, and all the team here at Portland Aluminium. This has been an important day, it's a very important day here in South Western Victoria. It's an even bigger day for Victoria more broadly, because of the impacts this has ensuring that we keep the lights on here in Victoria. But it's an even bigger day for regional Australia, because of what's being demonstrated here in our commitment to seeing heavy industries, whether it's here in Portland or up in Gladstone or in the Hunter in New South Wales or any other parts of the country, we're absolutely committed to ensuring that we keep the jobs, and we grow the jobs in these regions, and that we ensure that heavy industry has a big future in Australia and will continue to carry the heavy load. What we've done here today is part of an energy partnership, some $76 million over the next four years. That comes on top of the $30 million we put in back in 2016 when I was Treasurer, to ensure that we have a viable, competitive world-class aluminium smelting operation here in Portland. That is a goal and a vision and objective that we shared with the Victorian Government and I appreciate the role the Victorian Government has also played here to ensure this has been a reality. But I particularly also want to thank the team here at Portland Aluminium. They have been able to do their share of the heavy lifting. They just haven't put their hand out here to governments to come and save jobs. They have done it themselves. They have been generating themselves by going over every single inch of this place, and ensuring that they're delivering efficiencies to the tune of some $30 million a year on their processes to produce aluminium at a much more competitive rate. So everyone has come together, this is how you secure heavy industries in regional Australia. Governments working together with the industries themselves on the ground, and of course, the energy companies who have made their contribution through the agreements they've entered into here as well. So it is a very important day. But as Dan has suggested, this also keeps the lights on in Victoria, and I also want to pay great credit to Angus Taylor, who has been an architect of our involvement and engagement with both energy companies and, of course the smelters here as we are doing in other parts of the country. This is a smart deal. This is a smart deal, which is using energy in a smart way, which is ensuring that Victoria can have the reliable energy that it needs to keep the lights on across Victoria. Now, there are many more challenges - the Treasurer and I discussed some of them privately today as we constantly do. The reform for the National Energy Market, which we're working on together through the National Cabinet processes. All of this is designed to ensure that our heavy industries have a future here in Australia. We're committed to getting to net zero as soon as possible, preferably by 2050. But the way you get there is by technological advancement and the sort of things we're seeing right here and what's being achieved in this arrangement. You know, it was before the last election and I was up at the Gladstone smelter and they told me very clearly if there's a tax on energy, then these places can't operate. And I know that's the case here too. I know it's the case here that if we seek to achieve what are important goals for the broader global challenge by taxing industries and heavy industries across Australia on their energy, then they won't be competitive and they won't come through the other side. So we are absolutely committed to our technology, not taxes approach to keeping the lights and to supporting heavy industries right across the country. So I'm very pleased that we're doing our bit. I'm pleased that we're doing our bit with the Victorian Government. We work on many issues together. We may not agree on everything, but, I, we agree that we need to work together for the benefit of Victorians. And whether it's on infrastructure, as we've been working together on, or energy or important plants like this, then you know, the politics goes aside, just like we've worked together during the course of the pandemic, and we get focussed on what needs to be done to keep people in jobs. Finally, I said yesterday, Australia now has more people in work today than there was when we went into recession from the COVID-19 pandemic. That is an extraordinary achievement by Australians. It's been achieved here in Portland and in communities right across the country. Australia is leading the world out of the COVID-19 pandemic and the recession that it caused. That's true with the jobs bounce back here in Victoria, as it is right across the country. And we want to see those jobs keep increasing. We want to see those jobs continuing to be on the up, and that's what arrangements like today provide the opportunity for. And a young woman today, single mum, four kids, she has been working here three and a half years this job is her life, this job ensures that she can support her family here at what is an amazing place to raise a young family. And the smile on her face was worth every one of those $76 million and underwriting we put in to support this arrangement. And I have no doubt that Tim feels very much the same as we greeted the same happy faces here. And on that note, I'm very pleased to welcome to Tim Pallas, Treasurer of Victoria.
The Hon. Tim Pallas MP, Treasurer, Victorian Government: Thanks very much Prime Minister. It is a great day and I'm really proud to be part of a partnership. There's no doubt what's occurred here in large measure, the credit has to go to Alcoa, their management, their workforce. But I also want to give a shout out to the, the unions involved here. They've believed in the idea of a partnership. They've done great work together with the State and Federal Government, with the company. Five years ago, four years ago, we stood with this company, with the workforce, we found $200 million dollars, up to 200 million dollars, to support the continued operation of this facility, of course, the Federal Government stepped in too and helped with frontline repair. And that was vitally important because it really was a demonstration that governments would stand with companies and great things come out of great partnerships. And this is a great partnership and this is something of incredible worth for this community and something the community has built and something that provides, I think, ultimately, a demonstration that there is a place for industry, export industry that creates wealth and creates jobs. So, to the workforce, the management, Ron, I choked up a little bit listening to your speech today because there was a lot of emotion in your voice, and really what that tells us is that this is not just bricks and mortar we're talking about. This is people's lives, their livelihoods, and a sense of pride in their communities and I'm really thrilled that we've been able to get to this place. If you'd have asked me a couple of years ago, I'd have probably tell you I didn't think that this could be done. I didn't think that we'd be able to get to the point where the generators would be able to find a price that would create sufficient value in the arrangements being put in place. I didn't think that the Commonwealth, or indeed the state, would be prepared to do what they have. And in effect, this is a true partnership, we have effectively put in place the same value, up to the same value as a Commonwealth have put in place, through different funding mechanisms, pricing mechanisms. But I really do appreciate the fact that the Commonwealth has been prepared to work with us so cooperatively. And increasingly, we're seeing that happen, this is not about politics, it's about people, it's about their industries, their communities and their welfare. So once again, Prime Minister, thank you very much. And to Dan Tehan, the local member, thank you. To the management here, a few years ago we did have this challenge and I said, I want you to give it a red hot crack and you surprised me. It was more than a red hot crack - it was an outstanding achievement due to your vision and your commitment to this community and to this company, so thank you very much. And I'm really pleased that the Victorian Government could play its part in this wonderful partnership.
Prime Minister: Thanks Tim. And thank you also Dan, and for bringing us together today. Look, happy to take questions on this initiative, and then there are other matters people would like to raise with me and Dan, that's fine, we'll get to those, and we'll excuse our great friends from Portland Aluminium and Tim. If you need to talk particularly about state issues I'm sure Tim will be happy to do that.
Journalist:: Prime Minister, while this is a very good outcome for Portland, just about a kilometre down the road is a place called Keppel Prince, which is the only onshore manufacturer of wind towers in mainland Australia. There is a big wind tower operation being built nearby in Port Fairy and all of that will be built using Vietnamese manufactured, we believe, wind towers and using Chinese steel. Is it time for, to be a new policy, a social procurement policy, in Australia that ensures that for a large and important projects, Australian labour and Australian goods are used.
Prime Minister: Well, I’ll ask Dan to comment on the specifics of it more generally, but I understand –
Journalist:: There were 42 people who lost their jobs yesterday because of that and another hundred are waiting to find out their fate.
Prime Minister: I understand, and it's a very serious issue and so I'll ask Dan to speak to it specifically as it impacts here on the ground. And it's a reminder, I think it's a very good reminder, of the fact that even in an economy like Australia's, that is coming back better than almost any other advanced economy in the world, we still have our great challenges with the very issues that you're saying, there's no doubt about it. And that's why we need to find practical solutions to those while working within the broader global rules that we all operate on and frankly, we all benefit form. And as the Trade Minister I'm sure Dan can make comments on as well, so I'll ask him to do just that.
The Hon. Dan Tehan MP, Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment: Thanks PM. And it is a really important issue, and it's why I've been working with Keppel Prince over the last few months to see whether we can get a resolution to the issue. The issue here is these are commercial arrangements between a company called GBG Investors and Keppel Prince. I've spoken to GPG Investors and appealed to them to ensure that they do use local content. There are still some commercial discussions going on at the moment, but I would once again say that it would be fantastic if they supported local jobs here in South West Victoria. We've seen that happen before, the Ararat Wind Farm, which was built. They used local content there, investors were the proponent there and they used local content there. So I call on them, quite openly today, please think about the jobs here in Portland. Think about the local community, think about the responsibility that you have as companies in building these renewable energy projects to also support renewable energy jobs here in Portland.
Journalist:: It's one thing for you to call out to them and ask them to consider things, it's quite another to have a policy, a social procurement policy, for instance, that would actually force their hand. Is there any chance that your Government would consider such a thing?
The Hon. Dan Tehan MP, Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment: Well, we've seen through the Victorian renewable energy target, there has been some local content requirements and one of the things that I've done with regards to these arrangements is I've spoken to the ACT Environment Minister because some of the power that's been generated from this windfarm is a result of the renewable energy scheme that they have in the ACT where there isn't any local content requirements and he said that this is something he would consider going forward. But when it comes more broadly, one of the things that Australia has to be very conscious about is that about over 60 per cent of what we produce we export. So it's very, very, very, we have to be very, very careful that we get the balance right, because if countries put local content requirements in everything that's done, then ultimately in the end, that will hurt us as a exporting nation. So we've got to just make sure we do it. Within the proper rules, which don't harm out exporters, but there is no reason why the ACT Government couldn't follow a process like that that's been followed by the Victorian State Government.
Prime Minister: One of the biggest issues we were dealing with the previous US Administration, you’ll remember Tony is the aluminium exports from Australia. And the tariffs and other trade sanction measures that were being looked to be put on Australia's aluminium exports by the Trump Administration. One of the reasons I and my predecessor, were so successful in preventing that coming on, was because Australia had a very good record when it came to being an export orientated, trade orientated industry. And were it not for that, then this smelter here would have suffered as a result of those trade sanctions that could have come. And so, at the end of the day, we've got to make sure that we balance up all of these interests and I look forward to Dan making that progress with the relevant ministers. More broadly on this issue, not on that issue specifically as difficult as that one is?
Journalist:: One last one on that issue, if I may? The majority of the power that’s coming from the Ryan Corner Wind Farm, I understand, is going to Snowy Hyrdo. Wouldn't the Commonwealth be in a position to have mandated that, as a majority owner and having two people on the Board there, that local manufacturers are used, and what's the message to those local workers who have now lost out on their jobs knowing that they are the only Victorian based, and the largest Victorian based wind turbine manufacturer, that the Government's taking the power, but not the infrastructure that they make?
The Hon. Dan Tehan MP, Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment: So one, one important thing to note about today's announcement is that Keppel Prince provide over a hundred, I think it's nearly 150 contractors here to Portland Aluminium. So without this announcement today, the situation at Keppel Prince would be dire. So this is a big day not only for the workers here at Portland Aluminium but also for the workers at Keppel Prince, because of the contract labour they provide here. Now, Snowy operates as a separate entity to the Commonwealth Government. It has an off-take agreement with, to get the power from, from Ryan's Corner. But it is GPG Investors that are the proponents of the wind farm and they are the ones who have the direct contractual negotiations as to whether they will use local content or not. And so we'll continue to keep talking to investors and GPG to see what sort of outcome we can get, but as the Prime Minister knows, if you look at Snowy Hydro’s record for the work that they're doing with Snowy 2.0, they have an incredible commitment to using local labour and local content there and have gone beyond their way to do that. So their record stands alone, they've led by example.
Prime Minister: And for Indigenous employment too I should stress.
The Hon. Dan Tehan MP, Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment: What we're hoping to see now is that GPG Investors, we can get a change of heart.
Journalist:: On today's announcement, was there any idea of having a certain amount of renewable energy being part of this deal that goes towards making up the total bulk of power going to Alcoa?
Prime Minister: Well, any aluminium smelter operator will tell you is that you can't make aluminium want wind and solar. You can't, you just can't do it. You need reliable power to generate the sort of energy that plants like this need. That's true here, it's true in the Hunter Valley, it's true up in Gladstone. And so we can't kid ourselves about this. There is a massive transformation going on in our energy market. There is a pouring in of renewable energy coming into the grid. And what that is doing is creating viability issues that would be seen in places like Yallourn. And that's why the Government is already responding, and whether the Victorian Government on things like VNI West and other things like this to do with the transmission challenges to go to support the grid. But there's no substitute for baseload power generation, when it comes to ensuring the onward viability of plants like this, and that's why going forward, particularly as a transition over the next 20 or 30 years, that gas fired plants and getting access to the gas, whether it's from under our feet or pipelining it in or bringing it in on import terminals or any of this, is so critical to the ongoing viability of industry here in Victoria. But not just here in Victoria, but right across regional Australia. And that's why it's such an important part of our energy plan, and that's what Angus Taylor has been crafting together. And the Chair of the Energy Security Board was just making exactly the same point in the last 24 hours. You've got to get the gas. That's how we will ensure a positive transition to a new energy economy. And the great thing about a lot of these new gas plants that have been done, and terminals and other things that are being done, is that they are ready to convert it to hydrogen when we're in that place. The Treasurer and I were speaking about the hydrogen projects here already underway. A big part of the Energy Alliance is the deals we're doing with places like Japan. So it is a no risk, no regret pathway. Plants of heavy industry in regional Australia need reliable power. And they don't need their power taxed, otherwise the jobs go.
Journalist:: Safe job security for five years , that's what you've announced today, what happens in five years? Is it just going to be another announcement? More funding on into the future?
Prime Minister: Well, this takes us through to the reforms of the National Energy Markets that are due to kick in at that next phase, which we believe that the goal is that they themselves will pick up where these arrangements leave off. But we'll be watching those very closely. And that's quite a genuine process that the states and territories are working through with the Commonwealth now. It's one of the core priorities of the National Cabinet in fact resolving those issues. And Minister Taylor is working with his colleagues across the country to achieve that. Just like the last package which the Victorian Government and the Commonwealth Government put together to get us here to this day, this is an even better deal than that one, because it is not only keeping people in jobs, it's keeping the lights on in Victoria. And the next phase I think, leads to an even more competitive and more efficient energy market for the entire eastern seaboard. And that's good for industry right over the country, but particularly here in places like Portland.
Journalist:: What role, you've spoken about the $76 million over four years, but did the Federal Government have a role in the power deal itself? And what was that?
Prime Minister: Well, I might leave it to Alcoa if they want to comment on this. This is an integrated arrangement. The fact that the Commonwealth is involved in underwriting the arrangements here for Portland, so they're in a position to stand and sit at the table and do what they're doing with the energy supplies and with the confidence of the arrangements the Victorian Government put in place. I mean, this is a, this is an integrated arrangement and it all helps each other. And I stress, again, and I agree with Tim, one of the biggest, one of the biggest things I think that has happened here is Alcoa was asking the energy companies to step up. But they stepped up too. They stepped up too, $30 million in efficiencies and improvements in how they aluminium a year, going over every inch of the line. That is an extraordinary achievement. Everybody did the heavy lifting here, and that's what's so exciting about this partnership.
Journalist:: Can I direct a question to both yourself Prime Minister and to Mr Tehan on a matter of trade. Right here in this region, you'd be aware Mr Tehan particularly, that the southwest region is suffering from Chinese bans really on timber, crayfish, wines, various cultural products. Have either of you been able to make any progress on persuading China to ease its restrictions or otherwise?
Prime Minister: Well the first principle is we want a long-term trading relationship with China, of course we do. And across the entirety of our trading relationship with China, the values and volumes have particularly driven out of the resources sector, they've never been greater. But equally, I think Australians appreciate the support of regions like South West Victoria that understand that while we are a trading nation, we never trade our sovereignty and we never trade our values. And this is important for the country, but it's also important for the region. At the recent quad meeting, joining together with President Biden and Prime Minister Suga and Prime Minster Modi there was a very strong resolve to ensure that there is a free and open trade that moves across the Indo-Pacific and that happens free of coercion from anybody. This is important not just for our four nations, particularly Australia, but it's important for Vietnam, it's important for Indonesia, it's important for Malaysia. And so Australia, you would expect and we will and I assure you, under my Government, we will stand firm when it comes to Australia's national interests, wherever any challenge of those interests may come from. But we also work closely with industries about how the impacts of those play out on the ground and in producing communities around the country. We have seen in recent years and largely over the last six years, some significant increase in both prices and volumes for a lot of produced commodities out of Australia into China. But we've also been seeing success that when the risk of that relationship presents itself that we've seen a lot of flexibility and adaptation coming from a lot of producers around the country, and that's a good thing. You deal with the shocks that come, you deal with the realities of the markets you face. But one thing you never do is you never trade away your values and your sovereignty as a country. But Dan may want to add to that.
The Hon. Dan Tehan MP, Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment: Thanks PM and one of the great things about today is that we're here in Portland and this smelter here is a joint venture between Alcoa from the U.S., a Chinese investment partner and a Japanese investment partner. This is Governments from across the world, working, investing in this smelter here and providing local Australian jobs and given the complementarity of our trading relationship with China, we want to make sure that we're constructively engaging in making sure that our exports are helping to lift the Chinese people out of poverty and they're helping in producing jobs here in Australia. And so we'll continue to engage with them. Obviously there are current trade disputes which are disappointing and we've made representations to the Chinese Government at official’s level when it comes to barley exports. We made the decision last week to take that dispute to the next level and we've asked for a dispute panel at the World Trade Organisation to be established, that's the independent umpire. And we're continuing to engage and work with those exporters who have been hurt by these actions and will continue to provide what support we can to them and in particular to help them to diversify their markets, and we are seeing good outcomes in that regard. As a matter of fact, the latest trade data we had for January showed a record trade surplus of ten billion dollars, which is promising, but we've still got a lot of hard work to do in making sure that we're diversifying and providing opportunities for our exporters right across the country.
Journalist: Are there any plans to take things like cray fisherman and loggers and winemakers to that next level that you have taken barley?
The Hon. Dan Tehan MP, Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment: So we're in discussions with those industries at the moment. I met with the wine industry over the last fortnight. I had a discussion with the Australian seafood industry last week. There's another group coming to see me this week. So we're in conversations with them. We're having discussions as to how we proceed with these disputes. With barley, we've gone to the WTO with the others, we've obviously been dealing with the Chinese Government directly at the official’s level and we'll continue to work with the industry to see what steps we take, if we can't get any resolution with those bilateral discussions we're having at the official’s level.
Journalist: Prime Minister, just for the jobless figures that came out.
Prime Minister: If you want to move to some more general issues that's fine. I’m very happy to do so.
Journalist: I have a question on when JobKeeper is finishing.
Prime Minister: Sorry we are still on the issue of today.
Journalist: If we may just pull you over, was the priority of the deal today to support aluminium’s future or more secure the energy stability that the Victorian grid needs? And when Alcoa is asked to power down, what is the benefit that comes back to Portland and to Alcoa?
Prime Minister: Jobs, that what it means. This is all about jobs, and aluminium smelting creates jobs. Keeping the lights on creates jobs, keeps jobs. We're all about jobs. Yesterday when we got the news of the fact that Australia had got back to the position of having more jobs than we did before this pandemic started. This was a striking outcome, incredibly encouraging I'm sure for all Australians. But you can't rest on that, you move to the next phase, and that's exactly what we're doing, and that phase means that, you know, you need to ensure that you've got longer term viability for smelters just like this. And the smelters play actually a key role in supporting the stability of the electricity grid. So it's all of the above. I don't have to choose between the two because they're both great outcomes and they both support each other. A more reliable energy grid means more jobs. And so these are working together, and that's why I'm so pleased with the partnership that's come together here and the smartness of bringing these objectives together. So they actually support one another and we're doing this in many other parts of the country. So this is why you see the collection that you see before you. We're excited about this because we're excited about what we've achieved together.
Journalist: But how can we celebrate jobs when so many people are up to lose jobs when JobKeeper ends?
Prime Minister: Every single time as we've gone through the last year, when we said that JobKeeper would be a temporary program, even the Labor party agreed with that. That it should be temporary program, they don't agree within practice when it comes to actually doing that. But it's a temporary program, it was a targeted program. And it saved lives and saved livelihoods all around the country. You cannot run the Australian economy on taxpayers money forever, Australians understand that. They know a program of this scale, the greatest scale of any economic policy ever implemented in this country, they know that can't go on forever. And when you've got your economy back to the point where you have more jobs now than you did at the start of the pandemic and when it went into recession, then that indicates that that policy has been highly successful. So as one set of policies scales down, other policies continue to gear up, the Home Builder program, last time was in Melbourne I think, the time before last, I was out near Berrick and we see young people getting into their first homes, and a two year supply now, a two year supply pipeline of new construction activity in the residential building sector. On top of that, we've got the instant expensing tax incentive for new investment and that we're already starting to see coming through the most recent national accounts. And that is driving jobs, there is not a shop floor or a plant I walk into now where they will not proudly show me the new piece of equipment that they have bought as a result of the tax incentive that we have put in place. On top of that, you've got the tax cuts for over 11 million Australians, which is putting money in their pockets. The two thousand dollars that we put it in the pockets of people through the welfare system that has been boosting our economy. I mean, the support for the aviation sector, and the travel and tourism sectors, the 50 percent discounted flights as the Tourism Minister says, take that trip to the country, but importantly, the securing of jobs in the International Aviation sector, Qantas just recently announced that yesterday. So we're securing jobs every day with new initiatives. But the economy, we're on a strong run up into this last change. And as each test has been put up, we've been able to meet, the economy's been able to meet that test and we will move through this next change. And I look forward to see the economy continuing to go from strength to strength. And I'm sure that will be the case here in Victoria as well. It's important we keep the country open, there's no doubt about that. That will only ensure that more people stay in jobs, get in jobs.
Journalist: Before we move off this topic can we just ask Ron about his experience and what it means for you to have the secure future of this smelter going forward and what it means to you personally?
Ron Jorgensen: It's enormous for me, this is my family. This smelter is an enormous contributor to the community, to Australia, to Australian manufacturing, it’s the lifeblood. I've spent 34 years in aluminium smelting, here, overseas and in Queensland, so, it means a lot to me.
Journalist: Can I just ask Minister Pallas a similar question to what I asked the Minister, can you outline what the State Government’s support for this deal is?
The Hon. Tim Pallas MP, Treasurer, Victorian Government: It’s effectively the same financial weight as the Commonwealth have put in place. It's structured slightly differently, it's around the fluctuation in aluminium pricing. But the same length of time but our expectation is up to the same amount.
Journalist: So is that guaranteed pricing or as you said fluctuating pricing?
The Hon. Dan Tehan MP, Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment: Well, honestly, I probably would need to take that on notice, really. Essentially, what we've got structured here is an agreement that looks at the weight and price of aluminium in the international market and that of course, goes very much to the trade ability of the commodity and therefore the capacity of the company to make money.
Prime Minister: Michael was going to speak from his point of view on the deal as well in relation to your last question.
Michael Gollschewskir: Sure, thanks Prime Minister, thanks Treasurer. The way this deal works, it's got essentially three or four key ingredients. The first one of those is a well-run facility that can compete just on the basis of the way it's operated, and we certainly had that here on every metric that occurs, from safety through to efficiency, productivity, the whole lot. You know, the real issue we had here is an energy price that wasn't competitive in the market, which we can feed into, which is a global market. So that's where we need governments who understand, as you clearly heard today, how smelters work and the role they can play in a national energy market. You know, we're a big baseload, we need stability, we need reliability, but we're also a very flexible baseload. So when you come home in summer and the air conditioners go on and the power goes up and the wind isn't blowing, or the clouds go over the solar panels is we can modulate, you know, 400 plus megawatts of power to let the grid catch up with things. So that's the role we can play, the Government and the generators actually understand that and put a value on that, which has allowed us to negotiate competitive power prices with our generators, and they've certainly stepped up as well. The Federal Government, you know, they're not giving us a handout. They're giving us a guarantee around what we can expect to receive for playing our role when the grid is in trouble and they ask us to drop 400 megawatts, you know some years, that that can be, you know, quite a handsome revenue stream for us. In other years it can be very, very, very lean. And the deal that's been put together is to average that out so we can do our long term planning and so forth. And similarly with the state, they've given us some underpinning that when times are tough, that they'll be there for us to ensure that, you know, that we don't fall too far or to heavily and we can get ourselves back up again and reimburse the state and get on with business. It goes back to 2017, is what that deal gave, I think it recognised that we weren't quite there yet with a national energy market was competitive but instead of seeing this place as close and die, they gave us a chance. They gave us a chance over a number of years to work on that collectively and that’s what I think we have achieved so we're eternally grateful for that and we’re eternally grateful to the people like Ron and the workforce here who never gave up and continue to run, what is one of the best run smelters in the world.
Journalist: Prime Minister, has the President of the European Commission received your letter about the need for vaccinations. Have you received a response?
Prime Minister: No, I haven't as yet, and we will be following this up, I can assure you, we're also working closely with our quad partners on accessing vaccines for Papua New Guinea. We're working with our quad partners, we made a big commitment as the leaders of each those nations to particularly address the COVID needs of the Indo-Pacific and Papua New Guinea certainly. It fits fairly and squarely in the middle of our vision for realising that commitment that we have made, so we will be taking this up very strongly. It's not right for advanced countries in Europe to deny the supply of vaccines to developing countries who need it desperately like Papua New Guinea. We'll do our bit, we'll pay the freight, as we are and for the product. So they won't be out of pocket, but they will be helping a country that is in desperate need of receiving those vaccines. And we also look forward to gaining further support from our quad partners to deliver on the commitment we recently made.
Journalist: Can you still guarantee that all Australians will be vaccinated by October?
Prime Minister: They'll receive their first dose by the end of October. That's definitely one what our commitment is and that is subject to production coming off the line here in Melbourne. I know that Park Hill in Melbourne, they are filling and finishing those AstraZeneca vaccines right now, they’re loading them up and they're ready to go. And that's, you know, I cannot stress this enough, the domestic production of the AstraZeneca vaccine here in Australia is the most significant decision that has been made to ensure that Australia has a vaccination program. Without our Government's decision to ensure that those vaccines were produced here in Australia. That was no simple thing. A completely different production process had to be established, we had to invest in that, we had to get the right people, the right processes to enable us to be one of the few countries in the world that could say to their people, we'll get this done here in Australia. They’ll be running off the line, we understand it around a million a week, and that's going to mean that we are in a position like few countries in the world, to be able to meet our commitments. So we'll continue to roll that out, we've had a quarter of a million that have rolled out already. There's ample supplies that are out there in all the states and territories now, more than, in fact, more than half in most states and territories. What they've already put out there, they are still have in doses available right now. And we look forward to getting on with that. We'll get on with the jobs that we have to do. But here today, I'm just extremely pleased that we've been getting on with the job of creating jobs. And whether you're a State Government, whether you're a Federal Government, or you're in management, whether out there in the workforce. What's been achieved down here today is absolutely tremendous. And I've actually got to get back to Melbourne for some meetings today, I could possible take one more.
Journalist: Qantas is going to be paying five hundred dollars a week to its international crew once JobKeeper ends. That money comes from the 1.2 billion dollar tourism package, I understand. Are you comfortable with that money being spent in that way or did you have other designs for it?
Prime Minister: What we what we entered into, in an agreement, not just with Qantas but with other airlines, including Virgin, was to ensure that we could maintain our international aviation capacity. Now, people have got to be in simulators, people got to continue their training and planes need to be maintained. These are all the things that are needed to be done and you've got to maintain a highly skilled workforce. The international borders will open again, Qantas planes are still flying internationally now, the support we've given them through the domestic aviation network support and the international freight support and the international assistance we put in place means we can maintain a sovereign international airline here in Australia, but not just one, but two. Now, there are over 20 airlines around the world that have gone bust. We haven't just ensured we've kept one airline, where I was talking to Richard Goyder last night, it was great to be at the AFL here in Melbourne last night, I'm sure Victorians are thrilled to bits as people are around the country that the footy is back on. That's another great sign of Australia's comeback. But I digress, I digress I was sitting next to a Tigers fan on one side and a Carlton fan with Josh Frydenberg on the other. It was great to see 50,000 people at the G last night, but I'm distracted by that event. But what's most important here is that we ensure, we maintain that international aviation capacity here in Australia because the international borders will open up again. And we cannot be kept flat footed on that, we want to be ready to go, we want to be ready to take off and go wheels up as soon as the international aviation industry is able to go again. But I thank you all for your attention here today. And thank you in particular to the Alcoa team. Well done Ron. Thanks a lot Tim, it's a great partnership with Victoria on this and so many other projects. And to the local member, Tigers fan and supporter and a bigger fan of Portland, Dan Tehan thank you very much.