Prime Minister
HAMMO: Hello, Prime Minister.
PRIME MINISTER: G’day Hammo. Good to be with you, it was great to be in Gladstone yesterday.
HAMMO: Yes. Just before we talk about that, there's one thing I've got to have a crack at you about. You're the only Prime Minister that's ever been younger than me. It's finally happened.
PRIME MINISTER: Well, I'm catching up. I had a birthday last week, so I …
HAMMO: I know you did, turned 53, so you've got me by a couple of years. Yesterday, your visit around Gladstone. What was it for?
PRIME MINISTER: We went and saw Xtreme Engineering and we saw Oceans Tyres and we popped down to Auckland House. The reason for all that was that, in the Budget, what’s called instant expensing, the instant asset write off. This is really helping these businesses. I mean, Xtreme Engineering, they’ve just invested $1.8 million in this huge crane, which they've got to do the new BOM towers, Bureau of Meteorology towers. Now, that means more work, they’ve got 8 apprentices down there, they’ve got trainees on. And this is really serious work. It's all been fabricated up there in Gladstone, it's all Australian steel, all the work is being done here in Australia. It's one of the things that I think has come out of COVID-19, firms like Xtreme Engineering are getting a better go. And so that's a huge contract for them. So they're investing. They could write all that off on their tax. Then I went down to Ocean Tyres and people in Gladstone know that and looking after the trucking industry all across central Queensland, they're doing really well too. They're investing in their equipment. And, of course, Auckland House, which is a great new establishment, the microbrewery down there. They've got the additional support coming through, the tax incentives. So the point about all this is the measures that we're putting in the Budget are supporting local, small and medium sized businesses right across central Queensland to go and get the job done. And then the work we're doing on biosecurity and $370 million there, which obviously supports the agricultural producers. I was at Beef Week just the other week before Parliament came back. That was so well received by the livestock industry, because we all know what happens if there was any biosecurity break in our livestock industry. It would be devastating. So borders aren’t just about COVID, it's not about national security, it's also about our livestock industry and protecting its future. So that's exciting to be supporting local producers in that way. So businesses helping themselves are getting backed in by my government.
HAMMO: Which is good and you're damned if you do, damned if you don't with budgets. Last week, though, a little bit of flak from our Mayor Matt Burnett and our state member for Gladstone, Minister Glenn Butcher. The Federal Government's forgotten about health in Gladstone, roads, infrastructure and they want answers. What do you have to say about that, Prime Minister?
PRIME MINISTER: This is all politics.
HAMMO: Yep
PRIME MINISTER: Of course, the local mayor up there, he’s the Labor candidate at the next election. Of course he’s going to say that. I mean, everything he says from here on in, I think people have got to sort of just know where he's coming from. He's representing Anthony Albanese up there in Gladstone. He's Anthony Albanese’s candidate. Truth is, up in Queensland, they’re getting a higher share of infrastructure funding than the size of their population. And in health, for example, out at Biloela Hospital, funding has gone up 142 per cent since we came to government. There's record funding for health. There is $10 billion that's going into the Bruce Highway, major projects more broadly across the region, whether it's at Rookwood Weir or the various upgrades going into Rockhampton, the ring road there and those projects, all of that is supporting central Queensland. Of course, everyone up there knows just how much we support the resources industry as a government. No one has to wonder about the Coalition when it comes to our support for the resources industry. And we've been backing that in for many, many years to secure the success of the region. And I'm very grateful to the fantastic work done by our resources sector, quite a few of the workers that I met at Auckland House last night and we were having a good chat about that. Because the shutdown is on at the moment and a lot of people were in town. That was one of the reasons why I backed Ken O’Dowd in when Annastacia Palaszczuk wanted to put the quarantine facility up there in Gladstone. Now, the Mayor was backwards and forwards on this. She told me he was 100 per cent for it when I met with her the next day after being up there in January. But one of the reasons we thought it was a really bad idea, because you had the big shutdown coming, you had people coming in who needed the accommodation. And I thought Ken was just spot on in saying that wasn't a good idea. I opposed it. And as a result, it hasn't happened.
HAMMO: And Prime Minister, look, do you know who the candidate is going to be for the LNP? Because we know Kenny is stepping down.
PRIME MINISTER: We're going through those selection processes now. And nominations closed just the other day. And we've got a good field of candidates from across the electorate. So there's lots of experience, small business experience in particular, which is great to see. Ken, as the LNP candidate there and we'll be working very hard right across the Flynn electorate. And just like Michelle Landry does down there in Capricornia. I mean, she's amazing. She's doing a terrific job. I was with Michelle in Rocky as I said for Beef Week and the Budget is delivering there for her as well.
HAMMO: Just going back, though, when will we know who will be running for the federal seat of Flynn?
PRIME MINISTER: Probably about six weeks away or thereabouts. I mean, the LNP sets those timetables, not me, but I'm told it's about that timeframe, they’re just settling the dates now.
HAMMO: Prime Minister, thank you very much for joining us this morning. It's much appreciated. How’s the Sharks going in the NRL? Just let me have a look, because I know you're an avid Cronulla supporter.
PRIME MINISTER: Yeah.
HAMMO: Oh, 14th out of 16, gee at least they're not coming last.
PRIME MINISTER: Well, I hope they don’t keep falling down the table, but, you know, good seasons, bad seasons, you always back your team. And I thought they showed a lot of heart against the Bunnies at Magic Round on the weekend. They came back hard in that second half and they made a real game of it. In fact, it was probably the best game of the Magic Round, actually, but it's always good to go to the footy.
HAMMO: Prime Minister, thank you very much for joining us again.
PRIME MINISTER: Thanks so much.