TRISH COOK MP, MEMBER FOR BULLWINKEL: Good morning, everyone. Thank you for being here. Today we are honouring John Curtin on 80 years since his passing. John Curtin was one of Australia's best prime ministers, and we're here at his home here to see how he lived in those times. As you know, he led Australia through World War II. I'm Trish Cook. I'm the Federal Member for Bullwinkel, and I'm here today with Assistant Minister Patrick Gorman. The electorate of Bullwinkel is also named after, World War II great Australian, Vivian Bullwinkel. Vivian Bullwinkel was a nurse who survived a terrible massacre on the shores of Bangka Island in World War II, a terrible war crime and massacre. And she went on and testified at the war crimes tribunal thereafter. Nurses played a great role in World War II. And it's also 25 years, this week, since her passing. Vivian Bullwinkel did great things for nurses as well in her post-military career, and one of them was to raise the standard of nursing, from hospital-based training to the university profession that it is today. And indeed Labor is continuing to help nurses by offering paid prac for both nurses; enrolled nurses at TAFE and university nurses, for registered nurses as well. But today we're here for John Curtin and to celebrate his life and the 80 years since his death, and I'll ask Assistant Minister Gorman, to talk about that.
PATRICK GORMAN, ASSISTANT MINISTER TO THE PRIME MINISTER: Thank you so much, Trish. We are here at John Curtin's home, Jarrad Street, Cottesloe, Western Australia. This is where John Curtin and his wife, Elsie, raised their family. It is where he lived during his political career. This home effectively served as his political headquarters in the West. His constituents would literally come to the door, knock on the door and raise their issues with him. What we saw when John Curtin died, 80 years ago today, was just how much the Western Australian community respected him. That when he was being buried at Karrakatta Cemetery, some 20,000 people turned out for that burial. He was our greatest Prime Minister. He gave his everything for Australia in the darkest days of World War II. He led with his convictions and his commitment to his fellow Australians. Recognising that Australia should stand on our own two feet when it comes to our foreign policy and making some of the most difficult decisions that any government has to make. What we are doing today is opening up this home for the public to come in and see how John Curtin lived. To celebrate his life, celebrate his contribution to Australia, and celebrate the freedoms he protected for all of us who enjoy them here in Australia today. We will have about 100 people here, coming through and it will be wonderful to welcome people through to see a little glimpse into the life of this incredible Australian and the only Western Australian to serve as prime minister. Happy to take questions.
JOURNALIST: What kind of things are people going to see in there?
GORMAN: The house is beautifully preserved, thanks to the National Trust. It was purchased by the Commonwealth and State Governments in 1988 and it has been set up as it was when John Curtin was living here. When people would call the home, to raise their concerns. Even the visiting US Marines, when they were here in 1942. Got the town of Cottesloe come knock on the door and complain that they could not get any bathers to swim in Cottesloe Beach. And John Curtin, he was Prime Minister at the time, but he sorted it out. So you will see this working house, where they were raising their family, but also John Curtin was, at times, running the country from. So it is really amazing. And I also want to thank the neighbours here in Cottesloe, who have had to, 80 years ago, put up with living next to a prime minister. Now they have got to put up with history nerds like me, coming along and inviting a few people along.
JOURNALIST: Is this a rare thing? Like could people usually come here with booking or visits, or is this like a once, you know, I don't know how long -
GORMAN: This is a pretty unique opportunity to have people in the house. It is available through the National Trust for community events. Of course, we have to look after these very precious assets that the people of Australia now own. What can be done, though, is that the best way to preserve these assets is to also make them available to the public. People can stay here as a short term rental. It's available for people to stay and actually just see themselves, exactly what it was like when Prime Minister John Curtin was living here. And it is just wonderful that the work of the Commonwealth, State Government and the National Trust has been able to preserve this asset, so that we can tell those stories and see exactly what life was like back in the 1940s. Some of the most challenging times that Australia has ever faced.
JOURNALIST: I've just got some questions. Overnight, there was a Synagogue in Melbourne that was set alight. Twenry people inside I believe. Any comments on that?
GORMAN: Absolutely shocking what we have seen in Melbourne. I know that for the Jewish community across Australia, this would be a very devastating piece of news to see, and indeed, it is concerning for every Australian. This is not the Australia that we want to see. It is disgusting that people would seek to strike fear into people's hearts simply because of their faith. There is no place for this in Australia. There is absolutely no place for antisemitism in Australia. And I would encourage anyone with information about how to help police find those who have committed these crimes, anyone who has information should come forward, contact the police, pass that information on. I want to see the full force of the law on all those who were involved in these two incidents; both the attempted arson attack, and also some very, very disgusting activities at a family gathering in a restaurant. We should not see that happen anywhere in Australia, at any time. And I just call anyone who can help police in doing their job, to come forward.
JOURNALIST: There have been calls in the childcare sector to have male workers banned from that sector after the recent allegations over last week, what's your take on that?
GORMAN: I want to see every child, in every childcare centre, everywhere in Australia, to be able to go to those centres safely and come home safely. We have seen absolutley sickening findings in the last few days that I think every parent, and so many who work in the early childhood sector, will just be devastated with the news that we have seen. We need to make sure that we have got the workforce to deliver the early childhood services, that children benefit from and parents need. We will work with unions, with centre operators, to make sure that we have got that workforce. What we are really focused on, is child safety. I welcome, equally the work that Minister Clare and Minister Jess Walsh pronounced around ensuring we will introduce legislation where child centres aren't reaching those safety standards and they will take away their funding because we want to make sure there is no excuses in our childcare system for anything other than the safest environment for every child.
JOURNALIST: And new statistics have found that hundreds of childcare centres in Western Australia don't meet minimum quality standards or are yet to even be rated. What's your reaction to this?
GORMAN: My reaction is what we have announced, which is that we will introduce legislation into the Commonwealth Parliament to withdraw funding from centres that do not meet the standards which the government has required of them for many years. But many of these standards are not new, and it is deeply disappointing that parents are paying huge amounts of money to send their children to centres that cannot meet these basic standards. It has got to stop. That is exactly what we are going to legislate, to make happen. Equally, I want to welcome the action of the Western Australian State Government, where Western Australia has announced a snap review. That snap review will look at all the settings that are within the state's control to make sure that we have the absolute safety of every child at every centre at the core of all those legislative responses in all houses within the state. And we need to coordinate nationally. Just over a week ago, we had the Education Minister meeting with Commonwealth states and territories, working together to make sure that we have safety as the number one priority in our child care system. It was the number one item on the agenda at that meeting.
JOURNALIST: And will the federal government push for all centres to be rated as a bare minimum immediately?
GORMAN: What we have said is that we will introduce legislation to withdraw funding from centres that are not meeting the minimum standards. We will put that legislation to the Parliament when it convenes later this month. It is a really important priority. What we have also said is that we will be having spot checks starting on Monday. People checking those centres, making sure that not just at accreditation time, but every centre is now on notice. We will spot checks, without announcement from Monday.
JOURNALIST: So there are 103 long day service centres in WA with no quality rating. 110 rated as working towards the minimum standard. Could all of those, over 200, centres lose their funding completely and shut down?
GORMAN: I think that what we are saying to every child care centre operator, in the country, is this; get to standard. Get to standard. Now, we do not want to see services being withdrawn from communities who need them. But equally, it is not acceptable that parents and the Commonwealth are paying for services that are not up to standard. We have significant amounts invested in the Commonwealth budget. Parents pay significant amounts. Thousands of dollars, a year, for these services. They rightly expect that they are up to standard, and it is entirely reasonable that every centre meets those standards. Many of them have been there for some 15 years now, it's entirely reasonable that every one of them is meeting those standards We are going to force them to, with the legislation that we will introduce, to make sure that where they don't meet those standards, their business models will break.
JOURNALIST: Mr Gorman, on another topic, the Prime Minister says Australia must speak for ourselves as a sovereign nation. Does that mean standing up to Donald Trump and his tariffs?
GORMAN: We have continued to put Australia's position, when it comes to a range of matters of foreign and trade policy. The person who we are honouring today, John Curtin, took Australia into our present era of foreign policy, where Australia would stand on our own two feet and make decisions in Australia's national interest, no one else's. That is a legacy that I am proud of, as a Labor person, that I am proud of as an Australian. It is the legacy that continues throughout our government to this day. Looking at ways to make sure that every single challenge that we face, we say; what is the Australian national interest, and we put that front, end and centre. That is what John Curtin did in those very dark days of World War II. It is what we continue to do on a range of questions. When it comes specifically to tariffs, we have put our position clearly. We think that the national interests of both Australia and the United States, is to have zero tariffs. We see that it does not just harm Australian exporters. It makes things harder for those in the United States who are missing out or paying too much for great quality Australian products. We will continue to put that view. We had Foreign Minister Penny Wong in the United States this week continue to put that view where necessary. I want to advocate for great Australian products and also recognise that the Australia-United States Alliance and free and fair trade between our nations, is in both of our interests.
JOURNALIST: Just back on childcare. Western Australian regions have daycare deserts. Where there are very limited access to these services in the bush. How will your government balance access to this vital service in Country Western Australia with the safety of children.
GORMAN: Childcare is an essential service. It does not just facilitate economic activity by allowing parents to get back to work. It also gives children foundational skills that they need to be able to go through successful schooling, and then onto successful careers. What we did, and took to the last election, was a commitment to have a $1 billion fund to invest in fixing exactly this problem. Where the Commonwealth will come in to help with the building of new early childhood education care centres. Looking at ways to make sure that we identify where there is not enough services. We know from our demographic analysis, there is going to be more children requiring those services in the future. We will continue to invest in those services, but we did take to the election, a capital fund, to invest in fixing exactly this problem. So that we can have great quality early childhood education care services in our regions in WA, in regional Queensland, across Tassie and everywhere in between, as well.
JOURNALIST: Is universal childcare something that you are still considering? Are you also considering taking more responsibility over from the state - [inaudible].
GORMAN: What we want to do is to make sure that we do have a childcare system that services the needs of children and their safety first, for them all the other benefits will come to early childhood education and care. The Prime Minister has been really clear that we see there is a path towards a more universal system of early childhood education and care, having childcare easily accessible for every child and every family. We have taken significant steps in delivering cheaper childcare over just the last three years. We have got to that point where we now remove some of the unfair activity tests that were making it hard for families to get their children into care. We are continuing down that path. We continue to take advice from the sector, the parents, from educators and from the Productivity Commission, to continue to do that work. But our priority right now is squarely focused on child safety and making sure those centres that are not meeting minimum standards are lifted up to code immediatley.
JOURNALIST: But no plan to take over any extra expense - [inaudible].
GORMAN: We work collaboratively with the states, and we see that in different parts of the country. The State Government here are doing some really exciting trials around full time kindy in the school-setting. We want to see what are the best models going forward. We have focused in our first term on affordability and accessibility, and we have made some real breakthroughs there. And right now, our focus is on safety. But we will continue those discussions around, what a more universal system of early childhood education and care could look like. We know it is excellent for children, for families and for our whole community.
JOURNALIST: Mr Gorman over the [inaudible], leaders had a lot of different relationships, which ones called Howard 'the steel man'. How do you think Donald Trump perceives Albanese?
GORMAN: President Trump congratulated Anthony Albanese, and that was a very warm call. And he can speak for himself. He is the leader of the United States of America. I will not put words in his mouth, but I will refer you to the President's statements following that call.
JOURNALIST: Just a question for Trish Cook, if I may. Trish there's been another major sewerage pipe burst in the Swan River. In the upper Swan, I guess, close to the Bullwinkel seat. What's your reaction to this?
COOK: Look, that's a State issue, the sewerage. And I'm sure colleagues, some of our colleagues here today, could help you out with that one.
GORMAN: I might just add on that. It happened just near my former - I used to cover the bit of Bassendean. It has now, with the democratic decisions of the Australian Electoral Commission, been taken out of my electorate. But I stay in touch with what is happening there pretty closely. I will just reiterate the advice that has been given by the Water Corporation, which is; to avoid any forms of water activity in that area until they advise it is safe to do so. We are here at a house that has stood here for some 100 years. Some parts of our infrastructure in Western Australia, and including around Bassendean and that area are old. There are ongoing investments in replacing a range of those older pipes. I know that the State Government had more money in their budget to do that, and we will continue to do so.