Prime Minister
PETER BARRY, JIM BARRY WINES: Welcome everybody, and I certainly welcome Prime Minister Scott Morrison and Steven Marshall, a great friend of tourism and a great ambassador for South Australia to my family winery here in Clare. It’s a special day to have all these dignitaries. I’m surrounded by my family and I’m surrounded by dignitaries and friends. So, thank you very much. And South Australia’s in good state and we’re in good strength, and we’re lucky to have these great ambassadors promoting our wonderful industry, especially Anne Ruston over there who’s a great friend of the Australian wine industry. It’s lovely to see you Anne. I’ll hand you over now. On behalf of my family, thank you very much.
ROWAN RAMSEY MP, MEMBER FOR GREY: Well, thanks very much Peter and thanks very much to the Barry family for opening up the winery and turning on the sound system for us … Anyway so it’s a great pleasure to be here this morning. Particularly thank you to the Barry family for opening up their winery so we can have special visitors here. Of note, the Prime Minister, the Premier, the Minister for Energy and Emissions Reduction Angus Taylor, and we’ve got Dan van Holst Pellekaan here as well, who is the State Minister for Energy. And as far as, you know, the Clare Valley’s only come into my electorate at the last election and I’m very pleased that it has. So I’m still familiarising myself with the leaders in the wine industry, but it is such an important part of South Australia, not just for wine production but the Clare Valley itself is a very important tourist attraction, and at the moment everything, I can tell you, in regional South Australia tourism is just jumping off the page. And it’s come about because other policies that the Federal Government’s had, the State Government, but largely the JobKeeper program, which is winding up now. But it’s so good, it’s always good to have any Minister on your patch. It’s even better to have the Prime Minister and the Premier on your patch. So I’m going to hand over to the PM now, and thank you very much.
PRIME MINISTER: Thank you very much Rowan, and it’s great to be here with you and everybody who’s joined us here today, particularly Premier Marshall, it’s wonderful to be standing here. He’s been a tremendous partner for the Federal Government in everything we’re doing, and we’re so pleased to see the positive impact it’s having here in South Australia. But to you Peter and your wonderful family, this past week I’ve met some great pioneers who I’ve known well and it’s been a great privilege to come and meet you and your family. The Barry name is synonymous with Australian wine, it’s synonymous with quality, it’s synonymous with South Australia, in particular, and the great pioneering spirit of South Australia. It was great to be able to take the opportunity to sign one of the big vats in there, and simply say thank you for the contribution the Barry family has made to Australia. So it’s a great privilege for us to be with you here today.
But I’m joined by my Energy Minister and Emissions Reduction Minister Angus Taylor for a very important reason, with his counterpart here in South Australia, to announce the third energy deal that we have put together with the states and territories. Following New South Wales and Tasmania, the Premier and I and our Ministers have agreed this important energy deal, which is about something pretty straightforward - more affordable, lower costs, more affordable energy for South Australian’s. Lower prices, reliable energy. It’s about having the gas that is needed to drive manufacturing and support industry and to support the transition that we are making to the new energy economy into the future. This deal is a billion-dollar deal and it’s a billion-dollar deal which brings both of the parties to the table to ensure we are doing everything we can to ensure that South Australian’s get lower cost, more affordable, more reliable energy, to support lower costs for their households and their family, to support more jobs and the businesses that they run, but importantly also, lower emissions for the future, both here in South Australia and more broadly, by backing in the incredible technology that Australia is and will continue to lead the world in. Hydrogen in particular. Hydrogen, that fuel, Australia is being known as the hydrogen nation. Australia is being looked to, to transform how hydrogen is developed and used, particularly in business and in heavy industry. The big gains that will be made towards getting towards net zero are going to be made because of the innovations and technologies, and particularly in the area of hydrogen, because that is what can drive large-scale achievements, large-scale industries, large-scale heavy industries, by both lowering the cost, lowering the emissions profile, and ensuring greater reliability. So that is our pathway, and this deal today with the South Australian Government ensures that we achieve that.
There’s a component, and I’ll let Angus go into the detail, interconnectors, Strzelecki Highway, investing in new technologies out of the various funds that we’ve established at a federal level and dedicating that towards the important projects, whether it’s on carbon capture, use of storage and the other many important technologies that will see Australia get ahead, but keep our industries industrious, to keep our businesses in business. And this will be demonstrated here in South Australia. This is a smart state, and it’s great to be here. We’re usually at Lot Fourteen talking about cyber and space and the other wonderful partnerships, but this is an important partnership which drives all of the others, because without lower cost, affordable, reliable energy, with lower emissions then, that is what is necessary to drive this state forward and Australia forward. So I want to thank the Premier for his great partnership on this and so many other issues. The Australian Government and the South Australian Government is working together like we haven’t done, I think, for decades. And I think the approach of the Premier here in South Australia to work with the Australian Government, rather than the alternative, I think is delivering real dividends for South Australia, and I thank him for his leadership on that and I’m happy for him to now speak to the South Australian component of the deal.
THE HON. STEVEN MARSHALL MP, PREMIER OF SOUTH AUSTRALIA: Well thanks very much PM, and it’s great to have you here in the Clare Valley, a very beautiful part of our state, but also a very productive part of our state. And you’re quite right, energy is absolutely critical. When we came to Government we had the highest priced, least reliable grid in the entire country. We have been working very hard. We’ve cut out all the fake fights, this is the crucial thing. We’ve cut out all those fake fights, those ideological fights, and we put the people of South Australia first. Energy prices are coming down. This new agreement for energy and emissions reductions is going to take us to the next level. It is all about lower cost energy, it’s about lower emissions, and importantly it’s about creating jobs in the renewable sector here in our state. And there are a range of projects that we will be looking at, federal and state together - projects like hydrogen export, projects like carbon capture and storage, and of course this MoU underpins our ambition for an interconnector between South Australia and the most populated state of Australia, New South Wales. Lots of gains have been made. In fact, in many ways South Australia leads the nation. We’ve got 60 per cent of our energy which is now coming from renewable sources. This is going to increase in the future, but we've got to do it in a way which is going to ensure that we keep our prices affordable so that we can maximise the number of jobs in our state. I really want to say a massive thank you to Angus Taylor, to Dan van Holst Pellekaan, and their departments - the energy departments, federal and state - working together, putting the people of South Australia, the people of Australia first, putting the people first, cheap, reliable, affordable energy here in Australia. It is going to be absolutely crucial to making sure that we can continue to roll out from this coronavirus that has affected not just Australia but the entire world. So more affordable, more reliable energy, lower emissions, and more jobs in the sector is the focus of this. We’re very grateful to be working with the Federal Government once again and now I’ll pass over to Angus Taylor.
THE HON. ANGUS TAYLOR MP, MINISTER FOR ENERGY AND EMISSIONS REDUCTION: Thanks, Steven. PM, colleagues, fantastic to be here to announce what is a terrific deal for South Australia, for the Commonwealth, but most importantly, the more affordable, reliable energy for South Australia as we bring down our emissions in South Australia, and as Steven said, South Australia is delivering. We've seen sharp reductions in prices across Australia - nine per cent in the last 12 months - and South Australia is leading the pack on that from a starting position, when Steven came into Government, which was very different. We are seeing extraordinary gains. We have seen a 19 per cent reduction in emissions across Australia since 2005, and South Australia is pulling its weight on that one, and we’re doing that through practical plans, through technology, not taxation. And this billion-dollar deal is a step forward to further reducing electricity prices, making sure they’re reliable, and of course bringing down emissions at the same time.
Now let me point to a few features of this deal. The first is a $400 million commitment from the Commonwealth to emissions reduction by investing in practical technologies that will bring down emissions. Hydrogen of course is one of those, the Prime Minister’s talked about, carbon capture and storage, energy efficiency. We’re here on a, at a vineyard where we have seen very significant energy efficiency gains in recent times and we are seeing this right across Australia, a major contributor to how we are bringing down emissions across the country. A $50 million commitment from the Commonwealth Government into the interconnect between South Australia and the eastern states. There’s a commitment here from the South Australian Government to get more gas into our network - 50 petajoules of gas by 2023 and up to 80 by 2030. And this is all about making sure we’ve got the gas we need to firm up our grid and support manufacturing in this country, which is so reliant on gas, which over time will include hydrogen, of course, an enormous opportunity for South Australia. Included in the deal is over $100 million committed to energy storage and solar thermal, and this is an important part of our commitment to making sure we've got that backup and storage that’s needed to keep the lights on and drive down prices. A big thank you to the South Australian Government, a big thank you to Dan who has been, of course, instrumental on the South Australian side in achieving these outcomes and most of all, this is a great day for reliable, affordable energy as we bring down our emissions.
THE HON. DAN VAN HOLST PELLEKAAN MP, SOUTH AUSTRALIAN MINISTER FOR ENERGY AND MINING: Well thank you, Angus, and thank you very much to the Barry family for hosting us here today for this important announcement. Wonderful to have the Prime Minister and the Premier here and my friend and colleague Minister Angus Taylor as well. South Australia is leading the nation and in many ways leading the world in our transition to cleaner and cheaper energy. This is not just about emissions reduction. It is actually about emissions reduction while also bringing down the cost of electricity and making the supply of electricity more reliable. So we really welcome this partnership with the Federal Government to allow us to work collaboratively together for the benefit of our state and for the benefit of our nation. $660 million from the Federal Government, $422 million from the State Government to work towards this transition, things like interconnection, electric vehicles, hydrogen, carbon storage, building efficiency and much, much more to make sure that we transition in a responsible way that works for energy consumers. We know that gas will be with us in South Australia and Australia for a long time to come, but we also know that we’re well down this path of transition. Right now in South Australia we use 40 per cent gas for electricity generation. In 2025, four short years away, we only expect to use 22 per cent gas for electricity generation in South Australia. What that means is while we remain and intend to remain a key gas producer by national standards [inaudible] in South Australia, we will be able to free up significant amounts of gas for the eastern states which are following us in this transition. We are leading and they will, with our help and the Federal Government’s help, also be able to do the things that we are doing in South Australia. Cheaper electricity, more reliable electricity and cleaner electricity. Thank you.
PRIME MINISTER: I can assure you that this [inaudible] had nothing to do with the [inaudible] negotiations, purely unrelated incident I can assure you. Happy to take questions. Please focus questions at first on the announcement today and then obviously happy to deal with any other matters.
JOURNALIST: Certainly. Prime Minister, do you expect that energy prices could be an election defining issue over the next 12 months?
PRIME MINISTER: It’s a defining issue for Australians and Australian businesses and that’s what matters. That’s why this deal was put in place, that’s why we’re so focused on it. Australia, I believe, will lead the world in transformational technologies, particularly those serving heavy industries and large industrial operations, including ones like this. I mean, what Peter was telling us when we’re here is that when he started out many, many years ago, and it is still very much the industry practice, wine is kept at about 18 to 20 degrees. Here it’s kept at four. Now that doesn’t happen by accident. That happens by a company, a family company, business, deciding that they want to embrace new technology, take on that science, invest it into their business. You can see the significant capital investment which the Barry family has put in. Now that investment pays off because of deals like this because it drives down the cost, creates more opportunities, it builds the quality of the product and it makes Australia more competitive. So the issue is one of lower prices for the families and households for their electricity bills, but it is also unleashing the opportunities amongst our entrepreneurs and our business pioneers and guaranteeing and underwriting for the future the heavy industry in Australia.
JOURNALIST: And you’re here today because of this investment making announcement in the Clare Valley, you’ve chosen to Jim Barry Wines for the work they’ve done?
PRIME MINISTER: Yeah, that’s right. The reason we came here today is they are transforming their business by electrifying it. I mean, there are few older industries or businesses in the world than winemaking and it has gone through many generations. Particularly in the Barry family, as we can see the young girls here are going, heading on to a new generation as well. But this is a business that is highly science-led and highly technology-led to maintain Australia’s edge. Australia’s wines aren’t just the best in the world because of what we grow out of the ground here, it’s what happens in the laboratories here and the work they’ve done to put in the new equipment, the new kit and that is so dependent on the technology that is used to drive energy in Australia. You’ve got the new ammonia cooling system which is over here, you’ve got an electrification to the system in the refrigeration you can see right through all these tanks, and so on. So this is a practical demonstration of why lower cost, more affordable and reliable energy is so important because it underwrites the jobs here. Now the jobs here and so many other parts of South Australia were underwritten by JobKeeper over the past 12 months and I really appreciate what Peter had to say about that. But that’s to deal with the crisis. To deal with the challenges ahead, you need deals like this in place to underwrite the jobs that are here and back in the pioneering spirit the Barry family has always exemplified.
JOURNALIST: Further to jobs in regional South Australia Prime Minister, another energy intensive industry is the steelworks in Whyalla. How prepared is your Government to step in if needed to rescue that facility?
PRIME MINISTER: Well I’ll let the Premier give you an update on that. We’re working very closely together. When you work on projects like this you have to do it as a team with one plan and we all understand our roles in that plan. We’ve played a major role as Rowan will know. We’ve been working on this for five years now Rowan, we’ve been through a few of these. And our procurement policies with the major rail investments has been a lifesaver to Whyalla. We’ve been working closely with the South Australian Government, dealing directly, also, as they have been, working to the one plan and working together to get the right outcome because we are committed to ensuring that Australia makes steel. We’re committed to that, and I know the Premier’s committed to that as well. So I’ll let Steven give you an update on where that’s at.
THE HON. STEVEN MARSHALL MP, PREMIER OF SOUTH AUSTRALIA: Thanks Prime Minister. Well obviously the GFG business is very important to us here in South Australia, but more importantly it’s a critical capability that we need continuing here in Australia for our nation. Steel manufacturing is absolutely crucial to our ambitions as a nation. Now obviously with the situation with green steel going into administration, that’s put a huge pressure onto the GFG businesses here in Australia and right around the world. I think I am feeling cautiously optimistic at the moment because I think the fundamentals for the Whyalla business are right. If you look at the iron ore price at the moment it’s through the roof. You look at the production rates of that plant, they are almost best ever. We know that they have a very full order book, courtesy of the Federal Government, with some massive, massive contracts and we’re seeing their creditor payments come down, not blowout. So I think the fundamentals for this business are right. We obviously are working with Sanjeev Gupta and his GFG team in Australia. It’s a real collaboration between the Federal Government, the State Government and obviously the GFG team. We hope that we will be able to hear some good news ahead of that May 6 deadline when the NSW Supreme Court will be hearing that application for administration. But I'm quietly confident. When I spoke to Sanjeev Gupta this time last week he was increasingly confident that he will be able to get that credit arrangement in place.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, a question for you if you don’t mind about vaccines. National Cabinet is obviously meeting tomorrow. When will you outline the Government’s new vaccine strategy and when will Australians know which phase of the rollout they’re going to be a part of?
PRIME MINISTER: Well which phase everyone’s part of is already known. That’s set out in the vaccine strategy that was released earlier in the year, the 1A, 1B, 2A, 2B, that is, that all remains. There are no changes to that. And what those priorities demonstrate, is where we must focus our efforts, particularly now. Right now, the focus is on vaccinating frontline health workers, those working in aged care and disability care, vaccinating our vulnerable populations, particularly our elderly over 70. I think Mum’s due to get hers this week. And those who are in aged care facilities, we’re making great progress on all of that. The AstraZeneca vaccine is safe and recommended for use for those aged over 50. There’s no change to that. That’s confirmed again by the TGA advice that has come through. And so it’s very important that we vaccinate our elderly and vulnerable populations and it’s also important that we do that through our general practitioner network. There are over 4,000 GP sites now that are out there and they have the doses to administer those doses to those most vulnerable populations. What we’ll be discussing tomorrow is how we will be dealing with the under 50 population in particular and we’ll be looking at the rollout that we’re seeing consistently come through from Pfizer and that’s been welcomed. The Pfizer rollout has been meeting expectations, as we’ve understood them, over the last couple of months and we need to keep monitoring those suppliers. The GPs are principally responsible and they’re doing more than, well over half, in fact they’re the dominant vaccination outlet now across Australia, as was designed to be.
We will talk about the 50 to 70 population tomorrow, and we are working those issues through together. We have plenty of doses of Astrazeneca to be able to focus on the 1A and 1B priority populations and that’s where we’re focused right now. None of that rollout changes, we just keep going and doing that and encouraging people, particularly the vulnerable and the elderly, to get those vaccinations because otherwise you are at risk. If there is a COVID breakout in Australia, in any state or territory, then those who are most at risk are over the age of 70. We saw that in Victoria. When the breakout occurred in Victoria it was the elderly, where we saw the terrible fatalities, and that’s why it’s so important that if you are in that age group, then please make that booking, go and see your GP or a GP that’s administering the vaccine in your area, your local MP can help you with that if you need that help and ensure that you book in. There’s plenty of time to get that done, there’s plenty of doctors to get that done. We’ll be looking at the rollout over the back part of the year, the second half of the year, and that’s where the Pfizer doses will come in greater quantities. We secured those extra 20 million doses on top of the 20 million we already had, which are already flowing through, supporting the vaccination both in aged care facilities and within frontline health workers, which is being done by the states and territories. And in the back part of the year, particularly in quarter four, if we have sufficient stocks of those vaccines in quarter four with the Novavax vaccine, then that will lend itself to other vaccination models, particularly mass vaccinations. Now I know some states are very interested in supporting larger vaccination programs now for people aged 50 to 70 and we are very open to discussing that with the states and we’re looking forward to that discussion tomorrow. But what I’d stress is, is that process would be to supplement, would be in addition to what the GPs are doing. It’s not a matter of moving doses from GPs to states and territory distribution. It’s a matter of using those additional state and territory opportunities that are there to add to the capacity for those populations. So there’s a lot for us to work through. We’re bringing, you know, we went into this together in COVID-19, we’re coming out of it together and we’ll continue to rollout this program together. And so I welcome the great support I’ve had from the premiers and chief ministers to get us back on the operational tempo of meeting to resolve some of these issues and get those plans. I’m going to ask the Premier to also comment on this because he’ll obviously be joining me tomorrow for that meeting.
But on a couple of other issues just while we're on vaccines, and I know it’s something that I’m sure others might want to talk about, Australia is in no hurry to open those borders, can I assure you. There are three million people now who have died from COVID. The COVID pandemic is raging around the world. And you know when we can fill stadiums here, whether it’s at Adelaide Oval or where I was at Optus on Friday night over in Perth, or back at the G a few weeks ago, where the G now is full, and that’s happening all around Australia. We can gather together like this. The Barry family can come together in their great numbers and we can live like this in Australia and that’s fantastic, and I can assure Australians that I will not be putting at risk the way we are living in this country, which is so different to the rest of the world today. The issues of borders and how they’re managed will be done very, very carefully. And must be done in partnership with the states and territories. In terms of how the quarantine program works, public health orders control what is done with quarantine of returning Australians and residents. And so we will do that in partnership with them. We can take small steps, I think. Not ready to take those steps now for Australians to be able to travel and return without hotel quarantine. We’re not in that position yet. We’re simply doing the planning work, understanding what the health risks are, understanding how that can be successfully done and in a few months from now, well we’ll see where we’re at. But we’re going to proceed very, very cautiously on those borders. But Steven, did you want to ...
THE HON. STEVEN MARSHALL MP, PREMIER OF SOUTH AUSTRALIA: Thanks very much, Prime Minister. You’re 100 percent right. I think Australia is now the envy of the entire world. We’ve seen that our economy has bounced back much stronger than anybody was predicting a year ago. A big part of that is our strong international borders and our quarantine hotel arrangements. Of course now we’re embarking upon that next phase, we need a safe and effective rollout of the vaccination program. It’s fair to say we had a curveball a couple of weeks ago when ATAGI, the Australian Technical Advisory Group, the experts, if you like, said that the AstraZeneca vaccine remains perfectly safe and effective for those over the age of 50, but in abundance of caution, because we have the Pfizer available in Australia we’ve switched to the Pfizer vaccine for those under 50, and the Prime Minister quite rightly said, let's pause, let’s recalibrate. It is a big logistical exercise. Professor Brendan Murphy has repeatedly said it’s the largest peacetime logistical exercise in the history of the nation. We’ve got to get this right. Now the workhorse for the vaccination program has been and will remain the GPs. They’re the right ones to be doing that, but we stand ready as part of this overall recalibration that we will be doing at National Cabinet this week to put those mass vaccination clinics in place, particularly towards the end of the year when we get those additional Pfizer doses coming into the country. We’ve already said that we will have our first of these available, which will do about 3,000 per week at the Wayville Showgrounds. That will be ready and in place by the end of this month but it is a real partnership between the Federal Government and the state governments. It is a real partnership between GPs who are, if you like, the workhorse, on the frontline, our primary health carers here in Australia, working together with the Commonwealth and the state for this overall, very important vaccination program.
JOURNALIST: Premier, just with regards to borders. It’s clear from what the Prime Minister’s just said that they’re going to remain shut for a while to come. When would you like to see them reopen?
THE HON. STEVEN MARSHALL MP, PREMIER OF SOUTH AUSTRALIA: Look we would like to listen to the expert advice. I think we’re very fortunate in Australia to have a group of people, whether they be the health minister’s or the AHPPC, advising National Cabinet. They’ve kept us safe, they’ve kept our economy strong to date. We’ll continue to listen to them. We don't want to lift those international borders a bit too soon and then have a big second wave, so we’ve got to through that vaccination program before we even consider massively easing those international border restrictions. Now, we've made some initial steps and I think the initial step with New Zealand is very much welcome by people. There could be some other opportunities but we've got to be prudent, we’ve got to be cautious. We are the envy of the world at the moment and we don't want to do anything that’s going to put that in jeopardy.
JOURNALIST: Just on that, Prime Minister, if I can ask you a follow-up. Does that mean South, or Australians rather, are going to have to prepare to do quarantine potentially for years to come as they come and leave the country?
PRIME MINISTER: Well I don't think it’s helpful to speculate years out in advance. I mean, with COVID, you know, you’ve got to expect the unexpected, and that makes those sort of issues, I think, very hard to forecast. That’s why I say we just take it one step at a time. I mean, here in South Australia we're working together on a very, very small pilot arrangement with some students. I mean, if we can get ourselves in a position perhaps in the second half of the year where Australians for essential purposes can travel and return to the country without going into hotel quarantine, if they have been vaccinated, good incentive to get vaccinated too, I’d stress. The other issue is then that would potentially open the door later for returning Australian residents to have a successful home isolation quarantine, but we have to make sure that that will work and that will be as effective as the hotel quarantine. Now, we’ve got to do a lot of work together with states and territories and the Commonwealth to make sure that works. Now, if that works, then that means you’ve freed up your hotel quarantine, and that means essential workers can start to come in. Potentially we can do more with other populations in a very controlled and very safe way. But the idea on one day that everything just opens, that’s not how this is going to happen. It will happen cautiously and carefully, working very hard on the medical and health protections in place because I'm not going to put at risk the way that Australians are living today. We can see all around the rest of the world. I say about going overseas for essential reasons, you know it could be compassionate reasons. There are many of these things in place now. Why anyone else would want to go anywhere else at the moment, when there’s so many great things to do in Australia. Australians are embracing their own country now like they haven't in a long time and I tell you what, they’re not disappointed. As we've been talking to the Barry family this morning, they’ve certainly been rocking up here, particularly over the course of these last few months. So I think Australians are really taking it up. The response of the 800,000 discount flights has been extraordinary and that’s going to be a real shot in the arm for the tourism industry as well.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, this morning there are reports that the Federal Budget will feature an extra $10 million for the aged care sector. Will that include extra cash for in-home care?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, the Budget’s in May and I’m not about to announce the Budget here at the Barry winery in South Australia. The Treasurer will do that in May. But I made it very clear that our substantive response to the Royal Commission would be made in the Budget and that’s where it will occur. I stress again that $450 million we’d already committed to those, that initial response to the Royal Commission in a lot of urgent areas so that was, that was important. That comes on top of the massive increases we’ve been putting into in-home aged care places. I mean, we’ve gone from 60,000 when we came to Government to 190,000, much of that in the last couple of years. So we have at every single opportunity, back from when I was Treasurer, whether it was a half-year statement, a Budget, we have always just been putting more and more and more into in-home aged care because we know that is the increasing choice of Australians. We have to deal with substantial quality control and delivery issues in residential aged care, which is where we’ve seen the bulk of the very concerning reports that came through the Royal Commission. It is a very big task, it can't all be done, I think, in one go. Working with the industry, it will take some time, and the Royal Commission I think set that out, that there they were talking about over a five-year plan, at the very least, that we’d needed to be able to do that. So there will be a, of course, the response in the Budget, that I’d already flagged. Lots of people will speculate about that, as they do every year in pre-Budget season. But it will be an important part of what we’re seeking to do. Australians rely, and I think it rightly, have been able to rely on our Government to deliver the jobs that Australians need. More people in work today than there was before the pandemic began, and that is a great achievement for Australia. But they also rely on us for the services. Jobs and services are things that our Government has I think demonstrated a great commitment to, not only in terms of achieving them but delivering them.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, are you considering paying superannuation on the Government’s Paid Parental Leave scheme?
PRIME MINISTER: Again, Budget’s in May. I’m not going to go into speculation about the Budget. But whether it’s on important issues of women's safety, and I acknowledge Anne who’s been doing a great job, Anne Ruston, in working together with the states and territories on women's safety, protecting women against violence, and that is an enormously important agenda for our Government, and together with I know with the state governments. We’ve announced that our National Cabinet meeting in July, we’ll be getting a process to have a national plan on women's economic security. We already had one, Julia Gillard set up the first national plan on the protection of women against violence. We have invested over $1 billion in that plan ourselves, supporting that. So I'm looking for a bipartisan path on women's safety and women's economic security and that path with the states and territories, which are crucial to delivering on this, we will sit down in July and start working through that. We will be doing that up in the Northern Territory.
But just before I depart, can I just say, this is the first opportunity I’ve been in front of you to pass on my sincere condolences to the Peacock family for the passing of Andrew Peacock. He is a great, was a great Australian. He made a great contribution to this country. He also made a great contribution to our region. He was instrumental in the Independence of Papua New Guinea and post-Independence period, and that is something that I know he is held in great esteem for across the region. He was an extremely compassionate man, he was an extremely charismatic individual. He could charm the birds out of the trees. He was such a charismatic and engaging fellow. You never left a conversation or a time with Andrew Peacock not leaving cheered, in my experience. That was the sort of guy he was and I know he’ll be sadly missed by Australians, by his wife Penne. I spoke to her this morning in the United States and we’ve offered to the Peacock family a state funeral, of course, for Andrew Peacock. There will be a private funeral for Andrew in the United States this week and that will be followed up by a state memorial service in Australia in his beloved Victoria, no doubt, and at a time that is convenient and will be arranged with the family. So we send our love and we send our thoughts and prayers to you at this time as you come together as a family and mourn the loss of one of the towering members of your own family, and I know for Penne, a wonderful husband, and she was just telling me of their wonderful shared life together and she said it with such joy in her heart. So we send our best to you and all of the Peacock family and all of Andrew's children and their broader families, and in the meantime, Australia will mourn his loss and look forward to having the opportunity to do that as a nation at an appropriate state funeral. Thank you all very much. It’s great to be here with the Barry’s.