Transcript - Press Conference

PATRICK GORMAN, ASSISTANT MINISTER TO THE PRIME MINISTER: Good morning, I’m Patrick Gorman, the Federal Member for Perth, and the Assistant Minister to the Prime Minister, and it is delightful to be here at the Resources Technology Showcase here at the Perth Convention Centre with the Prime Minister of Australia, the Resources Minister. And over the course of today, some 20,000 people are going to come through seeing the incredible opportunities and jobs, not just of now, but of the future. I want to thank Seven West Media and Mr Kerry Stokes for taking us around to see some of those very exciting projects and the opportunities that are available for the next generation. We've just met with young coders, young scientists, young engineers, and even young Niamh, who has aspirations for high office. She's told us that she'll invite us over, as the prime minister, to dinner at The Lodge if she ever gets there. But what this really shows is that in my electorate, some 9,000 people work in the resources industry. This shows that those opportunities are there now, but they're there for the future as well. And it's a big part of our transition to get to a sustainable energy future with aspirations towards net zero, but also that Australia and Western Australia can contribute so much to the world's economy and reap the benefits right here in WA. It is excellent to have the Prime Minister here at this important event, and I'll hand over to him.
 
ANTHONY ALBANESE, PRIME MINISTER: Well, thanks very much, Patrick, and it's great to be here with you and with Madeleine King, our Resources Minister, hosted by Seven West here and Kerry Stokes to engage with what is the powerhouse of our national economy, not just the WA economy. The resources sector are front and centre - they are so important. They’ve powered Australia in the 20th century, and as we transition, it's continuing to power Australia in the 21st Century. We want to see a more productive, a more vibrant, a more dynamic Australian economy, and WA is front and centre of that. It's one of the reasons why this is my 36th visit to Western Australia as Australia's Prime Minister. It's one of the reasons why I've taken my Cabinet after the election here in Perth, we went to Port Hedland during the last term, and we'll be back in Perth again before the end of the year for a full Cabinet meeting. Because we understand that the jobs and the economic activity that is created here in the West is so important. What we're also seeing with this showcase is the way the industries are being transformed. Transformed by new technology, by artificial intelligence, but at the front, up front and centre of all of it is, of course, our labour force. And the fact that young West Australians will come to this showcase over the coming days, learn about the industry, have some hands on activities and experiences as well. Looking at where they might work in the future and what contribution they will make. This is such an important area for the West, but also important for Australia. Now, the other thing that we did in our first term, of course, was to make sure we put policies in place to assist the resources sector. Policies such as Production Tax Credits that will make such an enormous difference in providing that reward for innovation and for investment as we go forward, and we've seen examples of that today. A couple of years ago, I was here and it struck me how many young people and families visit this showcase, and that's been reinforced today, and no doubt over the next couple of days you'll see school groups coming through this showcase, making an enormous difference. We'll host the economic roundtable in Canberra this week, and no doubt one of the focuses will be about productivity, about our economy, where it's headed, how we continue to grow, how we continue to lift living standards and boost productivity. And this sector will be front and centre of that. I'll ask the Minister to make some comments, and then happy to take questions.
 
MADELEINE KING, MINISTER FOR RESOURCES: Thanks very much, Prime Minister, and thanks for coming to Perth. And thanks to Patrick as well, the Member for Perth here in what is the heart of the resources sector of the whole country, Western Australia. Thanks very much to Mr Kerry Stokes for showing us through what is a remarkable showcase, and to Seven West Media for putting this on every couple of years. And as the Resources Minister, I'm really proud that the Australian Government is able to support this showcase, because it is really important to demonstrate to the wider community in Western Australia just how important resources is, and also how the resources sector of this state is at the forefront of developing technologies. This industry is much more complex, and it's much more than some people think it is. There is an extraordinary amount of science and logistics that sit at the highest level in the world to make sure that this is a very efficient business that employs many thousands of people, and really importantly, is very safe. And that is what is at forefront of this mining industry, is to be efficient and safe and contribute to the wealth of the nation. What's really important about the Resources Technology Showcase is, as the Prime Minister said, that young people can come and see the possibilities of a job in resources. Whether it be as a mining engineer, a geochemist, a geoscientist, an explorer, but also there is every job you can imagine in this industry. From health professionals to caterers, chefs, you name it, you can do it in this industry. And for those families that work in this industry, because it is in Western Australia, largely remotely operated, given that our resources are in the far north and remote areas, this is a great chance for mums and dads to bring their young children in to an exhibition hall like this to just get a flavour of what the mining industry is like and what mum and dad do when they are away from home on those sometimes really long swings and hard shifts and I really want to pay tribute to all those workers that are away from their family to make sure that this resources industry is the best in the world and is the powerhouse of our economy. And with that, I will open for questions.
 
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, just on the economic roundtable. How do you convince the average punter that this is genuine and not just another Canberra talkfest?
 
PRIME MINISTER: Because I think that Australians want two things. One, they want a government that leads, but secondly, they want a government that listens. We make no apologies for the fact that we're opening up to ideas. WA is of course an engine room of ideas. WA have had a very mature approach as well, I've got to say, to our economic development. and it's no accident that when I went to China recently, there wasn't criticism in WA about why is he going to China, because Rio Tinto, BHP, Fortescue and Hancock all came, sat down with their Chinese counterparts about how it is in our mutual interest to transition to green steel and the opportunities which are there. Now what will happen over the three days of the forum is that people will put forward ideas. They'll feed into government decision making. There'll be some measures that can be done immediately if the government adopts them. There'll be some that feed into budget processes. But there'll be some about the long term challenges in the global economy, the impact on Australia and how we deal with those issues. And that's a good thing.
 
JOURNALIST: After the election, Prime Minister, Treasury said government needs to increase taxes or reduce spending to save the budget. Which of those two options do you prefer?
 
PRIME MINISTER: Treasury come up with lots of advice - that's their job. Our job is to implement government policy, and government policy is to build a strong economy. One of which, I must say, in terms of the direction that the economy is going in, we have inflation at the bottom of the RBA range of under 2 per cent, sorry, just over 2 per cent - 2.1. We have as well interest rates now, three reductions in interest rates this year. We have unemployment that fell in the figures that were released this week down to 4.2 per cent, but at a historic low. And we have real wages increasing. So what we inherited was inflation going up, interest rates beginning to rise, real wages going backwards. What we've got now is inflation going down, interest rates falling and real wages rising with unemployment steady. That's our focus. Good economic policy, responsible fiscal policy, but delivering for people.
 
JOURNALIST: Can you tell us, did you come specifically here to Western Australia and only at the invitation of Mr Stokes? What else are you doing here? Are you meeting with the Premier? Are you going to meet with the Health Minister? What are your plans?
 
PRIME MINISTER: I'm here, this is important enough, let me say this, to come here. Not just to meet with Mr Stokes, but to meet all of the industry leaders that I've met here today. We discussed, I was with a range of the industry leaders, of course, in China, and I engage with them regularly. And just as they will be, many of them will be, of course, in Canberra this week. People like Geraldine Slattery from BHP will be there participating. In addition to that, it's important I come to Western Australia.
 
JOURNALIST: You're here in WA backing the oil and gas industry. How does that square with your governments promise to hit net zero by 2050?
 
PRIME MINISTER: Well it's net zero, that's the point. And what we need to do is to have sensible transition. And that is precisely what industry here and the resources sector here are committing to as well. We're working with industry on that transition because what that means is opportunities for jobs and growth. Jobs and growth here in Western Australia, but contributing to our national economy.
 
JOURNALIST: Can you tell us more about what's on the agenda for the roundtable later this week?
 
PRIME MINISTER: Well, what's on the agenda is the full suite of issues. What we're doing is inviting people to come in from business, from unions, from civil society to put forward their ideas about how we deal with the economic challenges of boosting productivity. How we deal with the transition with complex issues such as artificial intelligence, which has the opportunity, as we've seen here today with some of the showcase, to really boost productivity. But we need to make sure that it operates in the interests of people as well. So, how do we train Australians for the jobs of the future? And that is a priority for us. It will be, no doubt, it will be constructive and I'm really looking forward. I'll be speaking at the summit on Tuesday morning when it opens, first thing. I'll be hosting everyone at The Lodge on Wednesday afternoon, and it's a positive thing. My government is an inclusive government. We engage, we bring people to us as we're doing over three days, but we also go to them, which is why I'm here today.
 
JOURNALIST: Is tax reform on that agenda for the Roundtable and are you prepared to lead a government who, if it has to, reform taxes?
 
PRIME MINISTER: Well, the agenda is whatever people want to raise. We're not saying before you walk in the room, and given the breadth of people, we have Ted O'Brien, who is the Deputy Leader of the Opposition attending. We have a range of people with a range of views and they'll put those views and they're entitled to. Of course on tax, we're already doing an enormous amount. Production Tax Credits, opposed by the Coalition at the last election, will drive investment, particularly in new areas of rare earths and critical minerals. It will drive jobs and economic activity here for decades ahead. It will reward success. That's an example of using tax policy to drive investment and to drive the economy. In addition to that, of course, something else that was opposed by the Coalition was our tax cuts. Labor stands for lower taxes. We put that to the election and the Australian people voted for the lower taxes and lower deficits that we were offering compared with the Coalition. They went to an election saying they would legislate for higher taxes for all 14 million Australians and for higher deficits over two years as well.
 
JOURNALIST: Just on the Trump-Putin meeting, what are your reflections on that?
 
PRIME MINISTER: Well, I've seen the outcome, as have, I think people around the world who were watching. We want to see a ceasefire. We want to see the sovereignty of Ukraine protected. It is a good thing that President Trump is an advocate for peace. What we want to see is that the sovereignty of Ukraine be protected and that the illegal and immoral invasion conducted by Mr Putin and Russia are not rewarded.
 
JOURNALIST: But they literally rolled out the red carpet. I mean, how is that, the optics of that?
 
PRIME MINISTER: That's a matter for President Trump and the US administration. It's a good thing that people have dialogue. What we want to see is a ceasefire. What we want to see is an end to the illegal and immoral invasion of Ukraine, a sovereign state, because it's important as well for the international rule of law. It's also important because of the precedent that Russia's invasion sets of a powerful nation invading a much smaller nation and engaging in the brutality which we have seen at great cost to the Ukrainian people, but also at a great cost to Russian soldiers who've lost their lives as well.
 
JOURNALIST: And who’s idea was it hold an Economic Reform Roundtable? Was it your decision, the Treasury's decision, or a joint decision?
 
PRIME MINISTER: It's our government’s decision.
 
JOURNALIST: Can I just, on a lighter note, chance your thoughts on the Wallabies win in South Africa. First time in 62 years. You must be a proud Prime Minister today.
 
PRIME MINISTER: It's a cracker. I was born in 1963 and the last time the Wallabies won in Joburg was 1963. To trail by such a significant amount, I think three tries scored against them before they'd opened the scoring, and to score the last 38 points is an amazing effort. So, I congratulate the Wallabies. I look forward to the second test that's being held in South Africa next week. But a great victory and it all goes well for the lead up to the World Cup. And so particularly for James O'Connor to come back and to make, it was his first game in a number of years, it shows as well. I think it's very sensible to pick the best team to represent the Wallabies no matter where they're playing and I'm sure that’s a very proud moment, but good on them.
 
JOURNALIST: Just on a less light note, the state Health Minister and the Premier have continually said that the answer to easing pressures on WA's hospital system is the Feds stepping up on aged care. That we don't have enough aged care beds to move people in and out of the system. Are you doing enough and is the state government blame shifting?
 
PRIME MINISTER: Well, we've put in the biggest reform for aged care this century. It passed Parliament just at the end of last year. We, of course, are building Urgent Care Clinics and we work very closely with the Cook Government here. And in addition to that, we have an additional $1.7 billion we put into the hospital system this year nationally. We want to, of course, protect, as well, primary health care. We've tripled the bulk billing incentive so that people can get access, more people access to bulk billing and going to see their GP. The Urgent Care Clinics I've been to here in the West as well, what that's doing is taking pressure off the hospitals by providing an intermediate care sector so that if people need that urgent care, there's a broken arm, one third of people who have been to Urgent Care Clinics now, more than one and a half million Australians have been young people under the age of 16. And what that's doing is taking pressure off the hospitals.  
 
JOURNALIST: Despite that investment, we are still seeing that pressure on the hospitals and the state is putting the blame pretty squarely on your government. How do you feel about that?
 
PRIME MINISTER: I am responsible for what we do, which is record investment in health. $1.7 billion additional into the hospital system nationally this year. And Urgent Care Clinics that didn't exist, that the Coalition at the time said was a waste. The tripling of the bulk billing incentive, which will give more people access to bulk billing and more people access to their GPs. Thanks very much.