Well, thanks very much for joining us at my second press conference today here in beautiful Tasmania, and indeed, it is a lovely day for what is a fantastic announcement. Now, Rebecca White is a person of conviction, she’s a person of substance and she’s a person who fights for what she believes in. That’s why I’ve asked her to stand in the seat of Lyons. I believe very clearly that Rebecca is a future cabinet Minister from Tasmania. She’s someone who, in the words of Brian Mitchell is a once in a generation politician. When it comes to Brian Mitchell, I want to thank him for the commitment that he’s shown as a local member over eight years. But I’m absolutely determined to make sure that that we have the strongest team possible from here in Tasmania. I also want to talk about the Greater South Irrigation Scheme today. We’re backing this project and we’ll fund it with $150 million over five years. This will be a boost for Tasmanian growers, a boost for Tasmanian jobs and a boost for the Tasmanian economy. We received a revised business case from the Tasmanian Government just in recent weeks. We’ve gone through our budget process and this has been approved and will be a part of the mid-year economic forecast update that we’ll be producing prior to Christmas. This is about jobs, this is about economic activity here and will be matched of course by $75 million from the Tasmanian government as well as $75 million from Tasmanian Irrigation. This is a part of our commitment to water, here in Tasmania. It includes funding for the Northern Midlands Irrigation Scheme, the Sassafras Wesley Vale Irrigation Scheme Augmentation, and the Don Irrigation Scheme. All of these measures are absolutely critical for Tasmania and I’m very pleased to be able to make this announcement today. I thank Brian Mitchell who’s worked to achieve this outcome, but Rebecca White as well has lobbied very strongly for it. Rebecca White will be such a strong member. She’s represented this same electorate, this is the same boundaries, of course the state boundaries of Lyons as the federal seat, and she will be a welcome addition to the Labor team. So I’ll ask Rebecca to make some comments and then Julie.
REBECCA WHITE, LABOR CANDIDATE FOR LYONS: Thank you very much, PM. It’s been the honour of my life to represent this electorate. I grew up here, I’m raising my family here and I’m very much looking to representing this community in Canberra. I know that I can bring the experience that I have and the skills that I have to make a real difference in delivering outcomes for our community. This is a community that’s made up of people who are my neighbours, they’re my friends, they’re my family and I care very deeply about making sure that regional Tasmanians have a strong voice in Canberra, and that’s what I intend to deliver on. I’ve been very, very grateful for the support that’s been given to me both by Brian Mitchell and also by the Prime Minister. And I look forward to campaigning hard and working hard and not taking a day for granted as we look to return a Labor government, to make sure that we can continue to deliver on all the improvements we’ve seen occur across the country over the last four years.
JOURNALIST: Should I ask some questions now? You were called the best premier that we never had. Will it be somewhat sad to depart from state politics?
WHITE: I’ve always given my all to this job and I look forward to keeping doing that if I’m elected to represent this electorate in Canberra. There’s no doubt that I see enormous opportunities for our state and I would have loved to have lead our party into government here in Tasmania. But this is an opportunity that I’m looking forward to taking on because I can see the important work that a Labor government does already and will continue to be able to do if we hold this seat and win more seats to make sure that we can keep improving people’s lives. The reason I’m a member of the Labor Party is because I fundamentally believe in the values of fairness and decency and equality. These are things that I see have unfortunately been overlooked by the Liberal government here in Tasmania. That’s why I want to go to Canberra. I want to be a part of a Labor government that can improve people’s lives and deliver services and infrastructure that grows our economy.
JOURNALIST: How much of Brian Mitchell’s blood do you have on your hands?
WHITE: I want to be really clear that I wouldn’t be standing here accepting the support of the Prime Minister if I didn’t also have the support of Brian Mitchell. He has been a dear friend of mine for many, many years. And I would not have done this if I didn’t have his full support, and I thank him very much for that. I acknowledge the work that he’s done in this electorate over successive terms, holding this seat, representing Labor and being a part of a Labor government. And I’m looking forward to building on that.
JOURNALIST: You would know that he’s been put under enormous pressure to come to the view that he has. Inaudible.
WHITE: I don’t agree with that actually, Matt.
JOURNALIST: Inaudible.
WHITE: No, not at all. I don’t agree with that at all, and I’m being very genuine. I would not have taken on this opportunity if I didn’t have Brian’s full support. And I’m very grateful to him for that.
JOURNALIST: You said before the state election if you lost you wouldn’t run in the federal election. What made you change your mind?
WHITE: To be honest, when that question was put to me, it wasn’t something I had considered. My sole focus was on contesting to win the election for a Labor government here in Tasmania. And that was what I was working toward every single day. There have been conversations that have happened since then. I know I have an enormous amount to contribute, I know that my understanding of how politics works, my experience, my connection to my community, my belief that a Labor government does the best for our community is what’s going to drive me every single day. And so I’m putting my hand up because I know I can make a difference.
JOURNALIST: Will you be resigning from state Parliament now or when the federal election is called?
WHITE: I’ll keep working on behalf of my community which is the same electorate as I seek to represent at a federal level until the federal election is called. And my office remains open, working hard on behalf of our community and that’s my job. That’s why I love doing this job. I want to keep working to support our community, building a stronger community so that we can continue to provide decent quality of life for those who are living here.
JOURNALIST: But it’s taking a job interview on company time, isn’t it? If you are auditioning to be the federal member while still receiving the paycheque to be a state member.
WHITE: This is not uncommon. I’ve noticed across the country there are people from the other side of politics who are doing exactly the same thing. I think it’s important to note that my commitment is to my community. I’m continuing to represent them now as a state Labor member, I’m seeking to represent them in Canberra as the federal Labor member. I’ll always put them first and I’m working hard to make sure that we deliver outcomes for them. Just like today where the Prime Minister has made an announcement that we’re funding the South East Irrigation Scheme expansion which is a critically important project that’s going to drive economic prosperity for this region for decades to come.
JOURNALIST: Who made the first move in this process? Did you approach the ³Ô¹ÏÍøÕ¾ Executive or did they approach you about making the switch?
WHITE: No, this wasn’t something I thought about. As I mentioned earlier, I’ve been focused on contesting the state election, hoping to win government there and I’m very pleased to have received support from my colleagues who’ve asked me to put my hand up.
JOURNALIST: Well you must have, I mean you obviously thought about it at some stage. So who made the first move?
WHITE: Well, it’s been about eight months since the last state election, so there’s been a lot of conversations that have taken place and a lot of thinking, both from myself about whether or not this is what I want to do, but also other people who have asked me to consider it. It is something I want to do and I’m very proud to stand before you now to say that I look forward to representing our electorate in Canberra. I know that I can work hard and I can deliver outcomes for our community, prioritising their needs, just like I’ve done for the last 14 years as a state member.
JOURNALIST: When did you inform Dean Winter about this? And do you think that he’ll be able to fill your spot with someone with as much talent and experience as you have?
WHITE: Dean and I have been friends for a number of years and I’ve always supported him, and I supported him when he first put his hand up to stand for politics here in our state. I told him some weeks ago that this was something that I’d come to a decision about. So he’s well aware of that. And I have no concern about who will step in to fill my role once I resign because we had a number of very talented candidates who put their hand up to stand for Labor at the last state election. The recount process will deliver one of those people into the state parliament to support Dean in his ambition to win government.
JOURNALIST: How confident are you of winning the seat? It’s one of the more marginal ones in Australia. And what do you think are the main issues among voters in this electorate?
WHITE: There’s no doubt this is going to be a tight contest, but I believe that my experience and my connection to the community that I represent now and seek to represent in Canberra stands me in good stead. But I don’t take anything for granted. This campaign will be won by the margin of our effort. We’ll have to work incredibly hard every single day to make sure that we get the support needed so that we can hold this seat and help deliver a Labor government federally.
JOURNALIST: Can we ask the Prime Minister some questions about –
JOURNALIST: Can I ask one more question. Bec, one more question though –
PRIME MINISTER: Julie’s going to make some comments as well first as Ag Minister.
JULIE COLLINS, MINISTER FOR AGRICULTURE, FISHERIES AND FORESTRY: Can I say as Agriculture Minister and as a proud Tasmanian Federal Member, I’m really pleased with this announcement to expand the South East Irrigation Scheme today. This $150 million investment will return over 400 direct and indirect jobs for Tasmanians. But crucially, of course, it provides our farmers with the water they need to continue to grow some of Tasmania’s great produce that Australia is exporting around the world. This will help the Tasmanian economy but importantly it will create value for farmers and for those regional communities that are relying on this water. It will also of course take pressure off our drinking water supply through Bryn Estyn. So this is a really important scheme and what you’ve seen from our government is we have received the up to date business case just weeks ago in the second half of September. We’ve put it through our most recent budget process and as the Prime Minister has said, this will be part of our MYEFO update. This shows that we’re taking it seriously, that we’ve done due diligence, and this is about returning to the Tasmanian economy. Since Labor has been in government what you’ve seen from us is investments in Tasmania that will make a real difference to the Tasmanian economy, that will keep Tasmanians employed and will ensure that we have the funds and the investments we need in crucial areas, like our, of course, announcement into the LGH just weeks ago. We continue to invest and support Tasmanians because we know Tasmanians are doing it tough with cost of living, which is why of course we’ve delivered our tax cut, our cheaper medicines policies that we know so many Tasmanians are benefiting from.
JOURNALIST: So you’re funding the whole thing and it’s not an election commitment?
MINISTER COLLINS: So we’re funding the $150 million and the other 50 per cent comes half from the state government and half from Tasmanian farmers through Tas Irrigation. This is the way we have funded other irrigation schemes here in Tasmania. Federal governments have invested hundreds of millions of dollars in the Tasmanian Irrigation Scheme that has allowed Tasmanian agriculture to thrive on the international stage because of these investments. It is significant the amount of money being invested in these irrigation schemes. We’re investing more in Tasmania than we are anywhere else in Australia because our schemes are well designed and because the business cases have been robust and because our farmers are co-investing with state government.
JOURNALIST: Peter Dutton’s also made a promise around irrigation. Have you rushed through looking at the business case so you can make this announcement today?
MINISTER COLLINS: We’ve gone through our usual processes as you would expect us to do because this is taxpayers money that’s being invested for a return for Tasmanians and for Australians. This produce is world leading. Some of our cherries going off into international markets because they’re produced right here in Tasmania, we’re getting a premium price for that and that is because of the investments that are being made into irrigation around the state. We have seen our agriculture sector in Tasmania continue to grow and thrive because of the investments in irrigation schemes in Tasmania.
JOURNALIST: There are upgrades that have been called for, for some while. Did the Opposition Leader get the jump on Labor when he announced his funding package for this scheme just days ago? And why didn’t we see this from the government sooner?
MINISTER COLLINS: Well, we’re a responsible government going through due processes, as you would expect us to, as we do all the time. As I said earlier, we have made record investments here in Tasmania over the last two years and indeed just in recent weeks, because we are listening to Tasmanians, because we understand Tasmanians are doing it tough and because we want to invest in the returns for Tasmanians for jobs in Tasmania and for returns for the Tasmanian economy.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, when will you end uncertainty for the people of Strahan –
PRIME MINISTER: Just on that issue, the big distinction is this isn’t a promise, this is government funding.
JOURNALIST: Yes, sorry. In relation to the salmon industry, obviously there’s still ongoing uncertainty, despite your announcement today. When will you or Tanya Plibersek put those people out of their misery -?
PRIME MINISTER: There’s two issues, of course, as you’re aware. One is the threatened species issue and designation, and that’s been as a result of the independent committee that’s been deferred until October of next year. So that process is underway. The second process is the EPBC Act, which is also as you’re aware, the responsibility of the Environment Minister to consider, based upon the department’s assessment of the science and all of the evidence which is there. And that process is with the Minister.
JOURNALIST: The process seems to be never ending. I mean, isn’t there some leadership required here to give some certainty to regional committees?
PRIME MINISTER: Well the decision is, of course, up to the Minister. And it’s important that the way that the EPBC Act works is that that is the Minister’s decision. It’s not a decision of myself or the Cabinet, it’s a decision based upon the evidence which is being put forward. And of course, that evidence comes from a range of sources, including from the Tasmanian government.
JOURNALIST: Can you understand the frustration? And would you like to see a speedy decision?
PRIME MINISTER: I’d like to see environmental reforms that are before the Parliament actually carried through the Parliament. I want to see a position where we have sustainability front and centre, and protection of the environment across the board with assessments, but also more certainty for business. The EPBC Act is not, has been around for a long period of time. That’s why we have legislation that’s before the Senate at the moment and I do want to see that dealt with.
JOURNALIST: Are you not trying to walk both sides of the street on this issue, though? There’s obviously such strong support and the government is putting money into some measures, but also not delivering any certainty.
PRIME MINISTER: No, they are important measures to make sure that you improve oxygenation in Macquarie Harbour. We think that wherever human activity occurs, it has an impact on the environment. The task of government is to make sure that industry can operate, jobs are created, but that we have protection of the environment and a sustainable industry. Now I support the industry, I support the jobs that come from economic activity here in Tasmania. I’ve made that very clear. But we need to make sure that the industry operates in a sustainable way. They’re the discussions that I’ve certainly had with the industry as well.
JOURNALIST: At a Senate Estimates hearing last week, the department said they would be finalising their science and the recommendations to the Minister in the following months. How soon after receiving that department advice should Minister Plibersek make her decision?
PRIME MINISTER: What the Minister can’t do is take instructions from myself. That will be a matter for the Minister.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, two press conferences in the space of just this morning –
PRIME MINISTER: I love Tassie.
JOURNALIST: It feels like we’re in an election campaign.
PRIME MINISTER: I love Tassie. And here to announce two amazing candidates in Rebecca White and in Anne Urquhart in Braddon. And I don’t mind saying that I’ve encouraged both of them to run because I want the strongest possible team and we have a great team from Tasmania, but we want more. And so Braddon, I think, is very much on our target list, as of course will Bass be. Both those northern seats have been, have changed hands a number of times. Anne Urquhart has been the de facto member for Braddon for a long period of time. Whenever I’ve been on the West Coast or in Devonport or in Burnie, she seems to know everyone, Ulverstone, right around that electorate. And Rebecca White is a politician and a person, importantly, of incredible integrity. I’ve known Rebecca longer than you’ve been in Parliament, showing my age rather than yours, it must be said and she has an incredible future ahead of her. I have no doubt. And my job, I’ve spoken about a long term Labor Government. My job is to make sure that you have that regeneration, that you get a better and better team. I’m very proud of the Cabinet that I have and am proud to lead. We have that mix of experience but people coming in and I want to see more electorates held by Labor members.
JOURNALIST: Can you confirm you have not had discussion with WA Premier Roger Cook about the WA election?
PRIME MINISTER: No, I’m focused – we know when the WA election is, it’s on March 8 and I have had a discussion about the WA election obviously with him and I’ll be campaigning for him, it must be said, and I’ll be there next month with Roger there at the opening of a new rail line. Look, the speculation around elections is something that has been – I’ve read in the august pages of our national tabloid the date was going to be August 30 and then it was September, then it’s December 7. What I’ve been focused on is governing. I’ve been focused on my Government’s objectives which have been, when we came to office we had inflation with a 6 in front of it and was rising. Inflation now has a 2 in front of it and is falling. We’ve done that while providing cost of living support, including a tax cut for every taxpayer. That was opposed by the Coalition. Energy Bill Relief, Cheaper Medicines, Fee Free TAFE, all of which were opposed by the Coalition. We’ve done that as well, while 1 million jobs have been created during this term of office, more jobs than any Government in Australian history since Federation and real wages are increasing. So, we’ve been dealing with those immediate pressures whilst setting Australia up for the brighter future that we can have through measures, including the investments that we have here in Tasmania, the investments we’re announcing today in agriculture and irrigation, the investments in renewable energy that we have as well, taking projects that were talked about for a long period of time but we’re actually getting done like Marinus Link.
JOURNALIST: Peter Dutton has said this morning in Queensland if there is a secret discussion or deal going on with the WA Premier, you need to be upfront about it. What is your response?
PRIME MINISTER: Peter Dutton needs to be upfront with the Australian people about anything at all. Anything will do! Can we have a single costed policy? He said months ago, now at the beginning of the year, he said, “we’re going to have this nuclear plan in the 2040s and we’re going to tell you how much it’ll cost.” Nothing. Silence. Peter Dutton only has a plan to oppose things and you can’t govern for the country if you’re just defined by what you’re against. Peter Dutton is an arrogant leader who thinks he can sail through an election without being fair dinkum with the Australian people about how much his plan for nuclear energy will cost. And he doesn’t have anything else except for what he’s against. And the latest thing that he’s against is the policy that we announced just a couple of weeks ago in Adelaide which will see three million graduates get five and a half thousand dollars, on average, off their student debt. Which will see 100,000 Fee Free TAFE places every single year. Which will see the threshold for paying back student debt increase. He’s against that, and they came out against that before we’d even announced the policy. Just like they came out against our tax policy and our tax cuts for every taxpayer before they saw the detail. And when they did, he said there should be an election on it. I look forward to seeing the detail of what Peter Dutton’s tax plan is. Because he was opposed to tax cuts for low and middle income earners. Will he reimpose or take those tax cuts away?
JOURNALIST: We haven’t had an interest rate cut. Are you worried about that? How it could affect the upcoming election, especially given the election result in the US?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, what we’ve done is to take inflation, which had a 6 in front of it and was rising, and turn that into inflation with a two in front of it and is falling. And we’ve done that whilst providing cost of living relief, whilst providing two Budget services. We inherited a $78 billion deficit, turned that into a $22 billion surplus and then last year delivered another $15 billion surplus. So, we’ve been making sure that we understand, for people doing it tough, we’ve been providing them with support and relief. Every single one of the measures across medicine, energy, Fee Free TAFE and education – across all of those measures have all been opposed by the Coalition
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, on the Solomon Islands, should Australian officials be meeting Daniel Suidani?
PRIME MINISTER: Look, I refer those comments to the Foreign Minister. We have discussions between Australian officials and a range of people across the Pacific. Those things aren’t always best done through a media conference.
JOURNALIST: Just in relation to cost of living. You’ve rolled out a lot of cost of living help, but you’re not getting any credit for it in the polls. Why do you think that is? And secondly, Prime Minister, a new ACCC report shows domestic air fares continue to go up as competition has reduced. How will your Government make the sector more competitive?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, what we’ve done is introduce through the Aviation White Paper, a series of measures to support consumers to make sure that they can be properly compensated if airlines aren’t doing the right thing. Secondly, with regard to our cost of living measures, we’ve done that because we know people are doing it tough. It wasn’t an easy decision to turn around the tax cuts and make sure that all 13.6 million taxpayers got a benefit, not just some. We did that because it was the right decision, done for the right reasons. We’re determined to continue to provide cost of living relief. We had another announcement on education that will assist three million graduates. And we’ll continue to provide policies that put that downward pressure on inflation, whilst making sure that we provide that support. Cheaper child care is another one as well. So, what we’ve done is design it so that it’s consistent with putting that downward pressure on inflation, but consistent as well with how we build and invest for the future. So, things like Fee Free TAFE are good for the hip pocket, but they’re also good for giving Australian workers the skills that they need for the jobs of the future.
JOURNALIST: How secure is the deal with Queensland to jointly fund the PsiQuantum supercomputer? There’s reports the new Premier is running the ruler over the deal.
PRIME MINISTER: Well, this makes sense. This is about positioning Australia for the future. There’s first mover advantage in areas such as this and Australia can’t afford to sit back and watch other countries get ahead of us in an area where we have this enormous opportunity. We went through an extraordinary amount of diligence before we made this announcement and it is a good announcement that sets up Australia, but Queensland in particular, to have an enormous advantage going forward.
JOURNALIST: Yeah, Rebecca did cop some heat for backing in the Kamala Harris campaign in the US. Is that of any concern to you, if she enters Federal Parliament, that she did back the opponents in the US election?
PRIME MINISTER: Democracies are ones that are contested. I’ve congratulated, on behalf of the Australian Labor Party, the President-elect, Donald Trump. We had a terrific discussion last week. Good beginning to our relationship. He described the relationship, that we would have a perfect friendship. And I’m very confident that the relationship between Australia and the United States will continue to be very strong. Thanks very much.
