: Hello, everybody, and a big welcome to Team Global Express. We’re exceptionally proud to have our Prime Minister here with us today. And of course, the Honourable Minister Chris Bowen. Today is all about starting that journey to net zero, transport is 19 per cent of emissions and if we’re going to create a safer and cleaner Australia, people like ours would need to embrace the change. So, on that note, I may pass to Minister Bowen and he may follow. Thank you.
CHRIS BOWEN, MINISTER FOR CLIMATE CHANGE AND ENERGY: Thanks very much, Christine. It’s great to join and welcome the Prime Minister here, not only to my own local community, but here, of course, to a great Western Sydney company that’s doing its bit to reduce emissions and to improve the quality of life of its delivery professionals, its drivers, with better to drive, cleaner, cheaper to run trucks. And 16 months ago, I came here and announced the Government’s support for Team Global Express’s work and it’s great to be back here today to deliver. These trucks will reduce emissions and our transport sector is a big emitter, but it’ll also reduce the running costs of Team Global Express, which is good for their business and good for their customers and clients as well, and, of course, good for their drivers. So, it’s a great day. As a Local Member, I’m very proud. As the Minister for Climate Change and Energy, I’m very proud. We are working on all sorts of plans in the transport sector, but big trucks are a very important part of that plan. It’s great to partner with Team Global Express, and to provide a better working environment for so many of my local residents and so many Western Sydney residents as well. It’s great to have you here in Western Sydney today, Prime Minister.
ANTHONY ALBANESE, PRIME MINISTER: Well, thanks very much, Chris, and thank you to Christine for hosting us here at what is Team Global Express, an important company for delivering. And today they’re delivering progress, not just parcels and goods, around Sydney and around NSW and around Australia. Because this is a great day. This is a game changer. One third of the heavy vehicles operating out of this very big facility in Western Sydney will be all electric. That’s good for this company because it drives down emissions, it drives down their costs. These vehicles are being powered through the solar panels that are on the roof of this building with batteries, making sure that that storage occurs, and then being fully charged here in order to deliver goods throughout Sydney in a way that’s efficient, in a way that boosts productivity, and reduces costs. So, good for the environment in reducing our emissions, good for health, because it’s reducing air pollution, good for our economy because it’s driving productivity. This is a win-win-win-win proposition and that’s why it’s so exciting to be here. We know that around about over 20 per cent of Australia’s emissions are due to the transport sector, and one in four of those emissions is due to buses and heavy vehicles. This transformation, together with, of course, the partnership with Arena, the partnership with Volvo, is a great example of my Government working with the private sector, with the business community, to assist the economy, to assist them, but also to assist our objective of heading towards net zero. Happy to take some questions.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, the NSW Treasurer has said that the system for distributing GST revenue is absurd and should be reformed. What’s your view?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, the Commonwealth Grants Commission operates at arm’s length from the Government. It’s not something that my Government has direct involvement in or any other government. It’s done independently. And I understand that state budgets are under pressure. That’s why we’ve increased health funding. That’s why we’re trying to reach agreements for increased education funding, for needs based funding. That’s why we’re providing record funding for housing to every State and Territory as well.
JOURNALIST: [Question inaudible].
PRIME MINISTER: The Commonwealth Grants Commission is an independent process. It’s been a process that has been in place for a long period of time. It’s not something that’s been altered by my Government.
JOURNALIST: Will you accept the Commission’s recommendations that NSW should receive less GST revenue this year?
PRIME MINISTER: It’s not a government process. This is an independent process of government.
JOURNALIST: But you can intervene.
JOURNALIST: Is it fair, given that NSW accounts for 31 per cent of the population, to receive just 27 per cent of the national GST?
PRIME MINISTER: Commonwealth Grants Commission is an independent process. It’s not something that my Government operates. And the Commonwealth Grants Commission has, for a long period of time, made assessments about States and Territories, about their capacity to raise revenue, and for a long period of time, for example, a territory like the Northern Territory has received more than its per capita share of the population, as have states such as Tasmania. One of the things that my Government has ensured through extending the no worse off guarantee is something that we put through National Cabinet last December to extend that, to make sure that no State was worse off as a result of the arrangements that were put in place by the former government.
JOURNALIST: [Question inaudible].
PRIME MINISTER: That arrangement was put in place to ensure that there’s a floor in the GST for States and Territories, to reflect the fact that for some States that had been driven down and that States shouldn’t be punished for being successful. WA makes a major contribution to our national economy. But we made sure by extending that no worse off guarantee that no state was worse off as a result of that agreement, and that was extended in December.
JOURNALIST: But your government is able to not accept the recommendations of the Commission, is that correct?
PRIME MINISTER: The Commission is an independent body. We have independent bodies that are established. I can say it the same way to a half a dozen questions, if you like, but it’s an independent body and what we don’t have and what I don’t think any State would want, is for the Federal Government to be able to make decisions on a political basis. That’s why we have a Commonwealth Grants Commission that makes these decisions, just like they make decisions about local government funding, at arm’s length from the Federal Government.
JOURNALIST: Chris Minns says he’d like you to personally answer whether NSW getting shortchanged in the GST carve up is accidental or deliberate. Which is it?
PRIME MINISTER: It’s the Commonwealth Grants Commission makes the decision. That’s a question for the Commonwealth Grants Commission, which operates independently and in an apolitical basis.
JOURNALIST: Is it fair in your view?
PRIME MINISTER: You’ve asked the same question a number of times. I can keep giving you the same answer if you like. The Commonwealth Grants Commission is an independent body. It’s not a political decision by my Government. These measures have been in place for a long period of time.
JOURNALIST: Can I ask about the fleet and the importance of it?
PRIME MINISTER: Yes, please do. It’s a fairly significant announcement here today.
JOURNALIST: You mentioned the fleet projects currently underway, over the next 12 months, 24 months, 5 years, how long before you think this will accelerate?
PRIME MINISTER: Look, it’s accelerating right now because there are a range of companies like Patrick’s, Origin, that have received grants to support this transition. What we’re seeing today is that Team Global Express got ahead of the curve and that’s why they’ve been so successful here. I might see if Chris wants to add anything.
MINISTER FOR CLIMATE CHANGE AND ENERGY: Prime Minister covered it, I think, we are working with a range of large companies right across the country from Western Australia to New South Wales, helping them transform their fleets. And I think the sort of timing that you’re seeing is this, from 16 months ago, here me announcing it, 16 months later, the Prime Minister here announcing or delivering 60 trucks, which is a not small contribution to the fleet in Western Sydney.
JOURNALIST: Can I ask about smaller operators? Transport industry is made up of smaller operators. What support programs or plans do you have to help the smaller operator?
MINISTER FOR CLIMATE CHANGE AND ENERGY: And we work with them too. I mean, not every company we’re partnering with or working on plans with that will be announced soon is large, you’re right. There’s plenty of smaller trucking companies and indeed, they need support as much as the large trucking companies, if not more. And we are working with them and we’ll have further announcements.
JOURNALIST: Sorry, Prime Minister, just one more on GST. Are you saying that the Federal Government has no control over the GST carve up?
PRIME MINISTER: I’m saying the same answer I gave before, which is that the Commonwealth Grants Commission is independent of the Federal Government.
JOURNALIST: But the Federal Government can make decisions on this.
PRIME MINISTER: If you keep asking the same question, you’ll get the same answer.
JOURNALIST: [Question inaudible].
PRIME MINISTER: The system’s been there a long time. I recognise the NSW Treasurer is new to his job, but the system has been there for a very long time. We have not changed the system. Every year there is a debate about this, every year. This is not anything new. The Commonwealth Grants Commission is there. People can go and look it up, the way that it operates. We have not changed any of the operations.
JOURNALIST: Should it be changed?
PRIME MINISTER: We have not changed any of the operations.
JOURNALIST: On the electric car discount – a lot of fleet managers have started, more vehicles coming into the market, so they’re starting to transition. But there’s concern under the plug-in hybrids, their plans expire at the end of the FBT year. The cars not arriving in time. A lot of people are concerned about that.
MINISTER FOR CLIMATE CHANGE AND ENERGY: Well, can I firstly, thank you for recognising how successful our electric car tax discount is. It is really driving behaviour, driving the take-up of electric vehicles, particularly novated leases, where the figures are extraordinarily strong, and fleets more broadly. And that’s important not only for those fleets and those novated leases, but because fleets turn over after two or three years, that’s really going to drive second-hand take-up, second-hand market for electric vehicles, which we don’t really have in Australia at the moment. We don’t have a second-hand market for EVs in any meaningful way. And that’s the ultimate answer for affordability. First, car buyers, families, are much more likely to buy a second-hand car than a new car. And the advantage of getting fleets converted and novated leases converted to electric, is that after two or three years, like the Commonwealth fleet – sold after three years, will hit the second-hand market. On hybrids, it’s no secret that was an arrangement to get it through the Parliament. That was the arrangement entered into with the crossbenchers. We proposed that the tax cut apply to all electric vehicle and all hybrids. To get it through the parliament, we agreed for a separate arrangement on hybrids. Obviously, I’m happy to talk to crossbenchers going forward about whether we need to do more on hybrids, because I understand, we understand, the Government understands, people are on a journey. Not everyone’s ready to buy an EV, a full EV. Some people are looking to buy hybrids first as part of their journey, depending on their own circumstances. It’s about choice for us and all our policies, whether it is standards or tax cuts, it’s about providing better choices for people. That’s where we’ve come from all the way through and continue to. But the law, as it’s passed, applies for hybrids in the way you described, because, as I said at the time, this is the arrangement necessary to get it through the Parliament.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, on another topic, why have some Palestinians had visas granted and then cancelled?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, I won’t talk about individual cases. These assessments are made, but I cannot talk about individuals.
JOURNALIST: What confidence can other visa holders have that they will be able to get into Australia?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, this has been a difficult situation for people. I understand that it’s a very difficult circumstance for families. These decisions are made upon advice, based upon individuals.
JOURNALIST: Does Australia have any plans to follow the US in banning TikTok?
PRIME MINISTER: Look, we have made decisions based upon our own security assessments. We’re independent. We don’t follow other countries. What we do is we make decisions based on our security assessments. Our security assessments means that on phones that have sensitive material, such as government phones, we do not have TikTok.
JOURNALIST: China’s Foreign Minister will visit Canberra next week. How do you assess the state of the relationship?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, I think it’s a good thing that Wang Yi is visiting. It’s a good thing to have dialogue. We have had some significant progress when it comes to removing impediments that were in place to trade between our two nations. There was a good interim decision when it comes to wine just this week – that is a positive development. The wine exports to China were worth in excess of $1.1 billion per annum. That means that that is a significant benefit for Australia, if that can be lifted, and I’ve said that I’m confident that it will be. I look forward to meeting Wang Yi during his visit to Canberra next week. Thank you.
