Doorstop – Hobart

LINDA BURNEY, MINISTER FOR INDIGENOUS AUSTRALIANS: Good morning, everyone. And thank you so much for being here. In the last week, I’ve been from east to west, from the Top End to down here in the Apple Isle. I’ve seen the best of this country, and I’ve seen the worst. I have seen hope and I have seen despair. What’s happening in places like the Northern Territory shows that we have to do things differently. We need to listen to locals, we need to listen to the grassroots solutions. A genuine partnership, not politics as usual. Right across our country, I’ve seen and heard from Australians who want a better future. People who want to move this country forward for everyone. Now, I know that’s all very serious. And today, we’re here, we’ve seen Pat Farmer start his run. He’s started a run for recognition, a run for the referendum, and a run to a better place. And there’s a competition between states and territories, you won’t be surprised to hear. And I’ve been talking to Premier Rockliff this morning, and we think that Tasmania could turn in the highest vote. And yes is what we will see, I’m sure, in this wonderful state. Pat’s run is about starting conversations about what the Voice is and why it’s needed and how it will make a difference. And I invite all Australians to be part of that journey because I’ve seen firsthand from Nowra to Noongar country, from Darwin to the Derwent, that the more people learn about recognition through the Voice, the more people agree we need it, to make the practical differences to close the gap. The more people agree we need it to move Australia forward for everybody. Thank you.

ANTHONY ALBANESE, PRIME MINISTER: Well, thanks very much, Linda. And it’s great to be joined by you and Mark and Julie and Carol and Bridget here today from the Federal Parliament. And it’s great also to be here with Jeremy Rockliff and Rebecca White from the Tasmanian Parliament as well. Pat Farmer is doing something that those of us who are here could not do. It is symptomatic of the fact that this is an opportunity to change the nation for the better. This is an opportunity where every Australian can do their bit, to have their say and to advance reconciliation in the best way that they can. Now I couldn’t run 80 kilometres a day, to say the least, but what we can do as politicians is to get out there and make sure that we promote the work of so many in the community who, I know, over the next six months will come up with their own way of supporting a Voice and constitutional recognition. Of talking to people at their local school playground, of talking to people in the shops, be they small business owners, of talking to people in their local workplace. As well, sporting organisations that will participate and promote the Voice and reconciliation. And we see this weekend the commemoration of the courageous stance by Nicky Winmar, who was so inspirational some 30 years ago. Each of us, in our own way, has an opportunity to make a difference. A difference for progress, a difference for reconciliation, and a difference for a stronger, more united Australia. When we wake up after the referendum, there are only two options, yes or no. And a yes vote will mean that people will feel that Indigenous Australians have been given respect. That we are more confident and forward looking as a nation. And I believe this is an important task and a historic opportunity that Australians will be given. As Pat said outside on the steps, this is now over to the Australian people. This is something that won’t be determined by politicians, it’ll be determined by people who run into Pat and wonder why it is that this person is running 80 kilometres a day, every day, for six months and running over 14,000 kilometres. That’s the sort of commitment that is inspirational. And I think that it’s matched by the commitment of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people themselves. The people who gathered in 2017 to issue the Uluru Statement from the Heart. A clear call asking for Australians to join them on that journey towards reconciliation. And I’m very confident, as well as hopeful that Australians will take up that gracious invitation.

Here today as well, I’m announcing the work that we will do with the Tasmanian Government to deliver an additional urgent care clinic here in Tasmania, taking the total to four. Two here in Hobart, in addition to ones in Launceston and in Devonport. Now urgent care clinics are something that we committed to during the election campaign. It’s about taking pressure off the hospital system. It’s about making sure that people can front up if their kid falls off a skateboard or a bike, if they need that urgent care, but not life-threatening care that will still be provided, of course, through the hospital system, but that they can rock up, get the care that they need in a timely manner, and all they’ll need is their Medicare card, not their credit card. And that’s why this is important. And I want to thank Jeremy for the work that we’ve been able to do with the Tasmanian Government. This is another health announcement that we’re making here, trying to make a difference, recognising the link that’s there between primary health care and taking pressure off the hospital system. So we’re very pleased to be making this announcement here today, and for the cooperation that we’re having as part of making a better future. And I’ll ask Jeremy to make some comments, and then Mark Butler, and then we’re happy to take questions.

JEREMY ROCKLIFF, PREMIER OF TASMANIA: Well, thank you very much, Prime Minister. And before I begin, can I just say how proud I was to be standing alongside the Prime Minister and many others in kicking off Pat Farmer’s 14,000 kilometre journey. Some extraordinary effort. And when I became Premier of Tasmania just over twelve months ago, I said I wanted Tasmania to be a place where everyone feels supported, encouraged, included, to be the best they can be. And that very much aligns with what the Voice is all about. It’s about recognition of our First Nations people, Indigenous Australians in our Australian Constitution, and simply consulting on the matters that are important to them, to take them forward, and indeed our country forward with unity and purpose. So I congratulate Pat. I will be proudly voting yes at the referendum. I encourage all Tasmanians and indeed all Australians, to get a true understanding of what a Voice to Parliament truly is about, recognition and indeed, consultation.

Can I say again, with respect to our health system, a there are many challenges being experienced across the nation when it comes to our acute care health system. And in many respects, that means that we need to do better when it comes to affordable and accessible primary health care. And this is the second time that I’ll be standing alongside the Prime Minister, and indeed Minister Butler as well, and announcing a collaborative initiative when it comes to delivering better health care for Tasmanians. In this case, four urgent care centres. Fantastic that we are able to work together after the commitment of three urgent care centres were made at the last federal election, that in partnership, we can deliver four. That is about ensuring that Tasmanians have better access, affordable access to health care here in Tasmania. Indeed, over 40% of presentations to our emergency department in Tasmania are at that low acuity level. What that means is that the level that would be best seen, if you like, within the primary health care sector or indeed visiting a GP. And so what the initiative and the partnership that we’re announcing today will mean, is that less pressure on our acute care system, less pressure in our emergency departments, and that will benefit all Tasmanians when it comes to accessible and affordable health care. Thank you.

MARK BUTLER, MINISTER FOR HEALTH AND AGED CARE: Well thank you very much Premier, and also Health Minister Rockliff. One job was not enough for the Premier who decided to take on the other easy job as State Health Minister. And the cooperation that we’ve been able to develop between the Australian Government under Prime Minister Albanese and the Tasmanian Government here really is a model for the rest of the country. We’ve had a range of initiatives that we promised when we came to government to strengthen Medicare, a system that is in the worst shape it’s been in in its 40 year history. Only a little while ago, the Prime Minister and I were down here announcing with the Premier the first model around the country to allow hospital systems to employ GP registrars. So trainee general practitioners, who usually would have to work for maybe five or six different employers throughout their training. So they’re not accruing leave entitlements, they’re not accruing the sort of security of employment that would allow them to plan a family. We down here were able to announce with Premier Rockliff a state-wide system that would give that certainty and that attractiveness to general practice registrars and rural generalists, to come here to Tasmania and plan a career in general practice, the first in the country. And again today, we’ve shown that through cooperation between the Federal Government and the Tasmanian Government, Tasmania again is running ahead of the nation in being able to roll out not just the three urgent care centres we promised at the last election, but a fourth that the Tasmanian Government has identified as one of need here in Hobart. So there will be two urgent care centres in Hobart. It’s important to say these will operate seven days a week. They will be open extended hours, from 8AM to 10PM, and they will be fully bulk-billed. They will be staffed and equipped with equipment that will allow, as the Prime Minister said, to take your child who’s fallen off a skateboard and broken their wrist, or sprained their wrist, or sustained a very deep cut, and needs very urgent care, but not necessarily the once in a lifetime care that you get from a hospital emergency department. This will make things so much easier for families. They’ll be able to get care in their community when and where they need it, free of charge. But as the Premier said, it will also take pressure off our stressed hospital systems. Right across the country, our hospital systems, particularly in the wake of COVID, are dealing with unprecedented pressure. And being able to take some of that pressure off the front door of the emergency departments through being able to redirect these semi or non-urgent presentations that are currently really overwhelming all of our hospitals around the country, will really take pressure off the doctors, nurses and other staff who are working so hard in our hospital system. So I do want to thank Premier Rockliff, Health Minister Rockliff, for the cooperation, the collaborative approach he’s shown to our government to roll out some of these really important measures that will make things easier, make Medicare stronger and really is leading the country.

JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, on the urgent care centres, as we’ve heard. I’m not sure who actually is best placed to answer this, but is this an admission that the State Government has not properly resourced the state’s hospitals and that you have to step in?

PRIME MINISTER: Look, there are issues right around the country, post the pandemic in particular. And there is a recognition when we sit as the National Cabinet from every state and territory government that one of the things we need to do is to rescue Medicare. That Medicare is being left in a state whereby it wasn’t given genuine support. What this is about is making sure that we can take pressure off the hospital system by strengthening Medicare. Simple as that. The primary health care system is linked to what is happening in our hospitals, so that we know so many people turn up to hospital because they don’t have a choice. They can’t access a bulk-billing doctor, or they’re aged care residents who don’t have a nurse on site and can’t get that health care on site, or there’s mental health issues as well that they turn up at the emergency department of a hospital. So, what we’re doing is working through these issues in a way that strengthens Medicare. Urgent care clinics are a major focus of that, as is the other initiative that Mark outlined that we’re doing with the Tasmanian Government as well. I don’t know if Jeremy wants to add anything there.

PREMIER ROCKLIFF: Look, this is an example of a great partnership between state and federal governments. And as I’ve said, and the PM has said and as Mark has said, there are pressures in our health and hospital system right across the nation. And part of the reason for that, of course, is the disruption of the pandemic, and that delayed health care. What’s important is that state governments step up and take responsibility for the acute care sector. And we are very much as a Tasmanian Government, but also working in partnership with the Federal Government on their responsibilities in terms of primary health care. And that’s what this is about. That’s what the single employer model was about, and that Mark just spoke about that, more recently we announced that at the Mercy Hospital early on in the year. That’s what the urgent care centres are about, in terms of state governments, federal governments recognising the challenges and the increase in demand on our health system and how we can work, both in terms of acute care sector and indeed, primary care sector working together and dovetailing in far more those two sectors to ensure that people get the health care when they need it, and alleviate that pressure on our emergency departments.

JOURNALIST: Premier, will you be asking the Health Minister or the Prime Minister today, will you continue to ask them to increase the Federal Government share of hospital funding to 50 per cent?

PREMIER ROCKLIFF: All Premiers right across the nation of course will be asking the Prime Minister to increase health funding. That should not be surprising to you Laura, at all.

PRIME MINISTER: Only health?

PREMIER ROCKLIFF: Look, there are many areas of course where the Prime Minister and indeed Premiers get together, National Cabinet, of course, is the forum where we discuss these matters. What has been really good in the last year has been the willingness of the Prime Minister and the Premiers across the nation, irrespective of political colour, firstly to acknowledge the challenges within our health system, particularly as a result of the disruption, and the delayed health care as a result of the pandemic. But also, one of our key challenges at the moment is workforce and workforce development. And we have been engaged, and certainly I have with Minister Butler on increasing workforce capacity. And part of our announcement earlier this year, indeed, was about just that, and I look forward to those discussions more broadly as well.

JOURNALIST: Premier Rockliff, you’re the last remaining Liberal Premier in the country. Peter Dutton, the Federal Liberal Leader and many other Liberal Leaders around the country have either indicated they’ll vote no or they don’t have a position yet on the Voice. What’s your message to them, particularly Peter Dutton on his stance on the Voice?

PREMIER ROCKLIFF: Well, I have a message for all Australians on the Voice, and this is about moving forward together as a nation with unity and purpose. And listening to our Indigenous Australians on the best way forward for our nation and for Indigenous Australians to live their best life. And the PM mentioned a number of factors when it comes to educational attainment, incarceration, life expectancy, employment prospects. Whichever way you cut it, we have failed as a nation in many respects in these areas. And it’s high time we took responsibility and found another way, and another way that moves us forward as a nation. And a way that we can, firstly recognise Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in our national Constitution, but also simply sit down and work through the issues in a consultative way on how we can best move this country forward and ensure that we can close the gap on all those important areas. My vote, the PM’s vote, the Leader of the Opposition’s vote on the referendum is just like every other Australian’s, equal and one vote. And I’ve said how I’m going to vote, and that’ll be yes. And of course, that is the way that I believe in the best interests of this nation.

JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, Marion Scrymgour has called for serious intervention and income management for families that neglect children in the Northern Territory. Do you support her calls?

PRIME MINISTER: I note that, on the weekend, I always listen to Marion Scrymgour. She’s someone who’s on the ground as the Member for Lingiari, and I take all of her calls seriously whenever she makes them, and I’ll be having discussions with Marion. What we know is that some suggestions have been raised in the last week, including yesterday. If there are matters of child abuse occurs, then that’s a crime and it should be reported to the police.

JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, in terms of unity, you keep using the words unity, the Premier said purpose and reconciliation, but the reality is the Tasmanian community is not united on the Voice. Do you have any plans to meet with members of the Tasmanian Aboriginal Centre who oppose the Voice model while you’re in town?

PRIME MINISTER: Look, my visit here, I’m then travelling to Canberra. We have some budget deliberations to do. But I’m a regular visitor to Tasmania and I meet with groups all the time. But we should not think, somehow, that there is something unusual about a group of people, in this case Aboriginal Australians, having some difference of view. Any more so than people who are half-Italian won’t all vote the same way in the referendum later this year. It seems to me it’s rather strange that there’s this expectation there. So overwhelmingly, what’s clear is that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people do support constitutional recognition and do support the Voice.

JOURNALIST: Are you concerned, though, that those Tasmanian Aboriginals will have an influence on the wider Tasmanian community to vote against it?

PRIME MINISTER: Well, people are, of course, entitled to their view. And I respect that. People will look at the same issue and come to different conclusions. But I think overwhelmingly, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people gathered after the First Nations Constitutional Convention that was held, prior to Uluru. There were meetings from right across this land, under the Southern Sky, as the Uluru Statement so eloquently speaks about. They gathered there at Uluru in 2017, six years ago, after an extensive process of more than five years of consultation and came up with the Uluru Statement from the Heart, a gracious request. Since then, it’s been six years. And I would just say that there are some people who look back. I was around when the Republic referendum was held, and at that time, there were a lot of people who said, ‘I support a Republic, but not this model. I support change, but not this precise thing that’s being put forward. I’ll wait for the next one.’ It’s now a quarter of a century later. There’s not about to be another prospective republican referendum in, certainly not in the foreseeable future. And I think that people need to recognise that after such a long period of time and consultation, that this is the opportunity that Australians will have. The legislation will be carried in the Parliament in June. If not now, when? If not now, when? And the form of recognition that Indigenous Australians have overwhelmingly supported is through a Voice. Recognition through consultation, which is what this referendum is about. So, I think it is an enormous opportunity. There won’t be, if this isn’t successful, it’s not like a month later there’ll be another referendum around. This is the first one. There is no one in Australia under the age of 40 who has voted in a referendum in their lifetime. Just think about that. This is the first referendum that’s been held this century and we’re at 2023. So that’s why. I note that a number of people who say that this is not their perfect ideal are saying they will vote yes because they recognise that it is on now, from a century and a quarter post-Federation, it is time that we did recognise Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in our Constitution.

JOURNALIST: Have you confirmed the date yet?

PRIME MINISTER: No, but I outlined last year.

JOURNALIST: What’s holding you back on that?

PRIME MINISTER: Well, we haven’t had the legislation carried. So we don’t know, the date is linked to when the legislation is under the Referendum Act. The date of the referendum has to be between two months and 33 days, I’m not quite sure why it’s two months and 33 days, but it is, and six months. So, what that means is that if the referendum legislation is passed through the House of Reps and then through the Senate in June, then the earliest it could be held is late September, and the latest it could be held in reality is December. But if you take off the dates at either end, because it’s not going to be held in Christmas week, and it’s not going to be held on AFL Grand Final Day or the October long weekend, that narrows down the dates. But I, to be clear, last year I outlined an extensive process of including dates and timelines. I said the legislation would be introduced on the last sitting week in March. We did that. I said we’d set up a committee. We’ve done that. I said we’d have six weeks for the committee to deliberate. They’re doing that. The legislation will then hopefully pass the House of Representatives during the Budget session in May. There is no Senate sitting weeks then because they have estimates, so it will sit in June. So I have been so transparent. And one of the reasons why I did that was to give what I was hoping would be the space for non-partisan support for the Voice and for constitutional recognition. For the reasons that they have put, not all the political parties have come on board for that, but individuals, of course, have continued to put their views as well. And I’m hopeful of support.

JOURNALIST: Will there be funding for an AFL stadium in Hobart in the May Budget?

PRIME MINISTER: We have a budget. And the reason why we have a budget is so people watch on budget night, and that’s when you get budget announcements. That’s what we do. Thanks very much.