Prime Minister
MIKE O’LOUGHLIN: Prime Minister, good morning. Thanks for your time this morning. Welcome to Tassie.
PRIME MINISTER: Great to be here.
O’LOUGHLIN: You’re in today, in Tassie today, and what announcing the $86 million for forestry, and I had a look at that regional forestry hubs map and there's a fair bit on the mainland, but it includes all of Tasmania.
PRIME MINISTER: That, that's right, and what this is about 150 million trees all around the country. But this is just goes further to demonstrate our commitment, particularly to the Tasmanian forestry industry, to ensure that it has a sustainable future. We know how many jobs depend on that, and we're not a equivocal about it. We support the forestry industry here in Tasmania and always have and and will always will.
O’LOUGHLIN: It's all dependent, though, on whether the Morrison Government’s voted back in the federal election.
PRIME MINISTER: Well, of course, that's what, it's in the Budget, though. That’s my point. It’s it’s not a promise. It's in the Budget. It's actually in the books. And if Labor, God forbid, were able to form a government, they would have to cut that funding. So we’ve put that in the Budget and and that's why I'm pleased to announce it here today. As you know, some years ago, we we outlined further funding and that was, that has been well supported, and this would be done together with state governments and industry. So, for example, we put a $4 million subsidy in to support new plantings, combined with the support that would come from the state government and then matched by industry 50-50. That leverages up $20 million investment in new plantations. And that's a lot of jobs.
O’LOUGHLIN: It's also a massive shortage of timber. I mean, well, let's have what immediate benefit so can you really say to builders struggling to get timber product in Tasmania now?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, we've already put in significant resources, particularly after the bushfires, to try and ensure that we're dealing with some of these shortages, and we're seeing that sort of affect the house price construction right across the country. And so we've been sort of getting the logs from everywhere we possibly can. There’s been transport subsidies, a range of other programs that have been dealing with the immediate challenges. What we’re talking about here with new plantations, obviously, is the medium to long term future of the industry. So you’ve got to work across all three fronts if you’re serious about supporting the Tasmanian forestry industry, and we are.
O’LOUGHLIN: What about manufacturing in Australia, is there a big push? Of course, Anthony Albanese’s been pushing more manufacturing for Australia. How do you feel? I mean, we should be pushing and making it a stronger, stronger push for your Government?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, we've already been doing it. That's the thing. I mean, he talks about it. We've been doing it. The Modern Manufacturing Initiative was in two Budgets ago. We've highlighted a series of of critical parts of our manufacturing sector. But I tell you what a huge part of it is, it's about ensuring you've got reliable, affordable energy to support your manufacturing industries. It's about supporting our data and digital economy, which is so important to manufacturing businesses. It's about having lower taxes for these manufacturing businesses - all the things that we are doing. Sovereign manufacturing capability is essential to not only Australia's economic interests, but frankly, our security interests as well. And we've been pouring billions into that over the last, particularly since the last election. We made it a priority for my Government and we've been following through on that and we've got the investment through the Modern Manufacturing Initiative, which takes us well out into the future.
O’LOUGHLIN: Marinus Link - starter sooner than later, Prime Minister?
PRIME MINISTER: Look, we're very keen to see this happen. It's important not only just for Tasmania, it will be a real boom for Tasmania, not just in the works to establish it, but the opportunities for Tasmania's green energy industry and its hydro industry as part of that, and connecting it to, you know, the mainland and the customers that are there. It's also important for the mainland to keep electricity prices down. We've been successful in seeing electricity prices around the country fall by eight per cent in the last two years, five in the last year. I mean, under Labor they went up by over 100 per cent. And, so, reliable, affordable electricity is essential for families, but it's also essential for businesses. And Marinus Link and Battery to the Nation has a major role to play in our national economy, and we're still working through the details of that with Premier Gutwein. And and, you know, but we're making good progress on that. We both want to see this work. We both want to see it happen. We're both very, very committed to it.
O’LOUGHLIN: Can I ask and can you offer any insight on when you're going to call an election, Prime Minister. We know it has to happen in the first half of the year. So can you please just put us out of our misery?
PRIME MINISTER: Election has to be held by about the middle of May. That's what the constitutional requirements are and and, you know, the election will be held this year. I've never been terribly shy about this issue. I always said it was going to be in 2022. Everybody else was carrying on about an earlier date. I mean, look, my record is I, you know, I run the Government to term.
O’LOUGHLIN: There’s some recent Newspoll figures, and you’d love the Newspolls, they’ve shown Labor has a 55-45 two party preferred lead, but you remain the preferred Prime Minister over Anthony Albanese by around five per cent. How confident are you heading into the election?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, I'm I'm very confident about the wisdom of Australians who know that there is a choice to be made at this election and that those choices have consequences. Here in Tasmania, last time when Labor was in the Federal Government, the number of people unemployed was twice what it is now. So 20,000 people unemployed, there's 10,000 around that now. So our Government has been actually getting people into jobs. Our Government has been supporting our manufacturing industries and our rural and and agricultural industries. Our Government has been ensuring that we're keeping Australians safe, particularly when we look at what's happening in the world today. I mean, we've got Russians on, Russian troops on the border of Ukraine. We've got Chinese naval ships going through the Arafura Sea, pointing laser pointers at Australian surveillance aircraft. And we've got a very volatile Indo-Pacific. But our Government has been taking action to increase our Defence Force funding, increase our intelligence agencies funding, increase the funding for the Australian Federal Police. That’s what you do if you're serious about national security. When Labor was in Government, they cut all of those things - defence, intelligence, AFP, border protection. And so there is a choice to be made, and Australians when they get close to election weigh up these choices and understand the consequences of what electing one of the the most left wing leader of the Labor Party we've seen since Gough Whitlam, and what the implications of that are for our economy and national security.
O’LOUGHLIN: Well, you've launched some pretty extraordinary attacks on Labor in the last week or so with regard to China. The rhetoric’s been criticised by ASIO Director-General Mike Burgess and former top spy Dennis Richardson. Now, given there’s so much bipartisan support on China, low blow?
PRIME MINISTER: No, not at all. I mean, this is a serious issue, and it's it’s not an area where Australians should be unaware of the differences. I mean, we set a high bar for bipartisanship and Labor don't measure up to it, because what I just said, you can't say you've got a strong position on national security when last time you were in Government you cut funding to defence, intelligence, border protection and the Australian Federal Police. I mean, they can say all they like, but what I know is is what Labor's longer term record is and that that record has has implications and it has consequences. We've demonstrated in Government our strength on national security and our credentials are there to see, and so I think it's entirely reasonable for Australians to be fully informed of the differences between us and Labor and the Greens. Let's not forget, Tasmanians know better than anyone that Labor forms government with Greens, and the Greens’ policies on national security are even worse than Labor’s. And guess who’ll be pulling their chain if if Labor’s elected to government.
O’LOUGHLIN: It's interesting, though, it's such a difficult situation we are in internationally. You've got Russia and Ukraine. I mean, that's incredibly concerning. Ore-imminent Russia's invasion of Ukraine, we know that, but they signed that, I mean, Russia signed that incredible, strong agreement with China, which doesn't help our exports to China.
PRIME MINISTER: What is concerning us is the increasing cooperation between authoritarian regimes around the world, and that's why countries like Australia have been standing up and standing up to them. This is why we've taken such a strong stand. You remember, you know, I was the one who shut the borders to China at the start of the. Of the pandemic. I was the one who called for there to being a fair dinkum investigation as to how this pandemic started. Everybody attacked me for doing it. But, you know, Australia, under my leadership, is standing up for itself. And that's important. It takes strength to do that. You can't have weakness in this job. It's a, it's an increasingly dangerous world and Australians have to stand up for what they believe in and not go down the appeasement path.
O’LOUGHLIN: Well, you've mentioned that. I mean, it was incredibly well, as your quote, bullying, coercion with the ADF detected that Chinese navy ship using that laser on the Australian Defence aircraft. I mean, you've demanded answers from Xi Jinping in Beijing. What do you hope to achieve here?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, first step is they should be conducting an investigation there to see how they did this. I mean, this was dangerous, it was unprofessional and it was reckless for a professional Navy, and we want some answers as to why they did this. Could you imagine if that had been an Australian frigate going through the Taiwan Strait that pointed a laser at a Chinese surveillance aircraft, or indeed a British ship or a Japanese ship or or an American, US ship, could you imagine what the reaction would be? So we’re we're expecting answers. This was reckless. It was dangerous, and at worst, it was intimidating and bullying. And so they're the ones who need to explain, not just to Australia, but to think of all the countries in our region. I mean, this is not good that this would occur. It could occur to anyone else who is just simply doing the normal surveillance of their own Exclusive Economic Zone. And and to be confronted with that, I think, is just absolutely unacceptable. There's no excuse for it.
O’LOUGHLIN: Now, your Government’s been criticised for refusing to accept blame over supply shortages throughout the pandemic. What's your response there?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, we agreed back in November, when it comes to rapid antigen tests, the rapid antigen tests for the public in in the states was to be provided by the states, and we were doing it for aged care. But, you know, we've been able to overcome those challenges. We've been able to get those tests in. Omicron changed everything. Let's not forget that these tests weren’t even approved in Australia until November, and then Omicron came and changed everything about the virus. But we’ve pushed through the summer, we’ve got back those supplies, they're out there available now, they've been provided to school kids in Victoria and New South Wales and and and here also in Tasmania. So, you know, we've had our challenges. We always overcome them. We work together. We get the job done. But Omicron was a completely different virus. It was like we had to start all over again. But we moved quickly, got on top of it, and we were able to press ahead, and look at us now. It's one of the strongest economies in the world. Highest vaccination, one of the highest vaccination rates in the world, and one of the lowest death rates in the world, including for those who are elderly Australians, of anywhere in the world. That's what Australia is achieving. When you look at we're doing, internationally then this is the place you you want to be.
O’LOUGHLIN: And look, I know that Budget's coming next month and [inaudible] to be all carrot, no stick, I was reading. What major benefits will be, we be seeing here in Tasmania?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, look, it’s going to continue to invest obviously in the health system and in infrastructure, important projects. We're going to continue to invest in in projects that we’ve announced like hydrogen hubs and these sorts of things, which have great opportunities for Tasmania, continuing invest in the energy infrastructure. As I said, we're working through those details with the, with Premier Gutwein now in terms of Lyons Link, as we’ve, as it’s known, Marinus Link. And so there are many projects we're obviously very focused on. But all of that and and further details will be there when the Budget is handed down at the end of this month. The Treasurer is in Tasmania with me also today, we're here with Bridget Archer this morning, then over with Gav in Braddon later today, and then down in Lyons. So we're getting around today and I'm pleased, thrilled to be back. Jenny's with me today. And and we're looking forward to also welcoming back all the international tourists, which starts today, which is tremendous, and that's going to be a big boom for Tasmania to getting those international tourists back and and seeing those that money flow into the tourism economy, which I know the Tasmanian tourism industry has, you know, really pushed through, done it tough. And and so what they've waited for has finally arrived. So we're going to get those tourists back and and start getting the cash into the Tasmanian economy. So it's looking up.
O’LOUGHLIN: And the states want to, so on to health, Prime Minister, I mean, the premiers are demanding, what is it, $20 billion to tackle the extreme pressure that's been placed on the health system by the pandemic. And then again, you know, Tasmania needs to be a a benefit to that. We seem to get left out a fair bit, but the states want a costs split 50-50 with the Commonwealth. Is this something we'll see happen?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, we've increased funding here to Tasmanian hospital system by 75 per cent since we came to Government. Across the country, you know, we've doubled, more than doubled across all the states and territories their increased investment in hospitals. When you look at all the health expenditure in the country, you know, when you take into account Medicare, the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme, all of these sorts of things, the Commonwealth picks up more than 60 per cent of health expenditure in the country. And we also are increasingly picking up, we’re over 60 per cent of covering the costs of the National Disability Insurance Scheme. And that's only going north. So we do our fair share of the heavy lifting when it comes to social services expenditure, health expenditure, supporting hospitals. All of that, and particularly here in Tassie, we're still got $71 million that was provided to the Tasmanian Health Plan. So that included hospital and health services infrastructure of $35 million, new cancer infrastructure of $4.4 million, more MRI units, medical research of $12.4 million, more mental health support of $24.4 million, and improved alcohol and drug support at $7.4 million. So my Government is investing heavily in health services here of Tasmania, and we'll continue to do so. But I think it's important, remember Medicare doesn't pay for itself, and the states don't pay one cent of it. I'm not saying they should. I'm simply saying that we do our share of the heavy lifting. In fact, more than 60 per cent of health costs right across the country are paid for by the Federal Government.
O’LOUGHLIN: And Prime Minister, I've been given the word that you have to go. You’re keeping all the reporters. I'm I'm sorry about that, but I had a tonne more questions.
PRIME MINISTER: Not at all.
O’LOUGHLIN: But I do appreciate your time this morning. I thank you for that.
PRIME MINISTER: It’s great to be in Tassie and it's going to be a great year for Tassie.
O’LOUGHLIN: Please keep in touch.
PRIME MINISTER: I will. Thank you. Bye.
O’LOUGHLIN: Ok, thanks. Good to talk to you. Prime Minister Scott Morrison.