PRIME MINISTER: Well, good morning, everyone, it’s great to be here on the South Coast of New South Wales, and great to be here with Andrew Constance, my Liberal candidate here for Gilmore. His record precedes him as an outstanding local member here on the South Coast, a great member of the New South Wales State Government. No-one understands the roads of the South Coast better than Andrew Constance and the needs of this local community. So I’m really thrilled that Andrew has chosen to be a part of our team going forward this Federal Election, here on the South Coast in the seat of Gilmore. This election, on the 21st of May, is all about a choice. Elections are always about choices, and it’s a choice between the strong economic management and the strong financial management that has ensured that Australia has been able to come through this pandemic with lower unemployment. More people, obviously in jobs, an economy that’s growing faster than the advanced economies of the world, coming out of this pandemic, and ensuring that we can continue to guarantee the record investments that we’re making in essential services. Unemployment down to 4 per cent. The biggest Budget turnaround in 70 years that we’re able to announce just recently in the Budget of over $100 billion, delivering real cost of living relief right here and now. But the economic plan, backed up by a AAA credit rating that we’ve been able to retain during this global crisis, when it comes to our economy, to ensure Australia is well set up with a strong economic plan for the future. That contrasts the Labor Opposition who Australians know can’t be trusted to manage money. They know that they’re unproven. They’ve had three years to set out an economic plan and haven’t set out their economic plan. And you know, if you haven’t got an economic plan, then you cannot back-in the commitments that you make. We’ve been able to back in the commitments we’ve made – Medicare bulk billing rates are now up to 89 per cent. They started at 82 per cent when we first came to Government. Investing in those essential services back then by a strong economy and strong financial management. Now, down here on the South Coast, there are many important issues, but continuing to drive unemployment down, and particularly youth unemployment, has always been a big priority here on the South Coast of New South Wales. And to be here at East Coast Cannery, a great local business, creating jobs, making things here in Australia. We’re able to invest a million dollars in partnership with East Coast Canning here, to ensure that they can take advantage of the opportunities that they know are ahead. To employ more Australians, and to see Australia move ahead in advanced manufacturing in the food and beverage sector. But the other reason you want to run businesses here on the South Coast, is because you love living on the South Coast. And the quality of life people are able to enjoy here, whether it’s down in Basin View or out there at Shoalhaven Heads, or indeed in the Nowra township, or elsewhere throughout the beautiful South Coast, that quality of life, depends so much on the investment we put into infrastructure. And today, we’re announcing a commitment of $40 million on the strong advocacy of Andrew Constance who knows those roads better on the South Coast than anyone else. $40 million to invest in the safety of local roads. Key interchanges, key stretches of road, that means that people can move around the South Coast, walk more safely and more quickly, getting home sooner and safer and ensuring they can continue to enjoy the great quality of life that’s available here on the South Coast. Now I’ll ask Andrew to make a few remarks to spell out those commitments.
MR ANDREW CONSTANCE, LIBERAL CANDIDATE FOR GILMORE: Thanks, PM. Well, this election campaign is going to be a positive one for the people of Gilmore. And I’ve said this all along. We’re not interested in negative politics, we want to deliver great outcomes. And starting day one of this campaign, we’re here with the PM to announce $40 million for local roads, which have done it terribly tough through the natural disasters we’ve had. Like the community, we’re very keen to make sure that we invest in the local infrastructure that matters to the local community. From Culburra Beach to Basin View. This $40 million announcement is about rebuilding the regions’ roads. We have seen some terrible, terrible designs, roads, which are past their use by date. And disappointing local government, with jobs on the ground is something which is something really, really important. You can’t do it, unless you manage your economy, you manage your books, and make sure that we can deliver. And for our region, after all the hardship from fires to floods to pandemic. It’s vitally important that we now continue our recovery with this type of job creation program. Everyone’s fed up to the back teeth at the state of the roads, between all the potholes and all the challenges with the weather. This is the best way forward for our community and there’s more to come throughout this election campaign.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, can you nominate the cash rate and the employment rate, your opponent couldn’t confirm this morning?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, 0.1 is the cash rate. It’s been there for some time. In addition to that, the unemployment rate I’m happy to tell you, is 4 per cent and it’s falling to a 50-year low. And it’s come down from 5.7 per cent when we were first elected. But more importantly than that, as we went into the pandemic, we were facing unemployment rates up around 15 per cent and now it’s 4 per cent. And we’ve got more people in work today – some 375,000 more people into work today – than we had before the pandemic hit. Now the reason that has been able to be achieved, which puts us ahead of all the advanced economies in the world, not just on growth, our [inaudible] year growth at the end of December was 4.2 per cent, but also on jobs. We are ahead of all of those major advanced economies. Now that doesn’t mean we’re not facing tough conditions now, particularly the impact on fuel prices. Now those fuel prices we know have been forced up, principally because of what we’ve seen with the war in Ukraine. And that’s why we knew that we had to deliver that cost of living relief right now. Now, down here on the South Coast, that’s really important. People are travelling long distances to get to and from work, to get access to services. And so those fuel prices dropping delivers real relief now. But it wouldn’t have been possible, if we’d not built for the strong economic recovery that we’re now seeing. And East Coast Cannery is a good example of that. What we did during the pandemic, if we supercharged tax incentives and support for manufacturing, which means that East Coast Cannery here, can put that machine in, which has only been running for about six weeks. Small businesses have been backing themselves through the pandemic. Employing and keeping apprentices, investing in new plant and equipment. That is why our economy is coming back strongly and we put the policies in place to ensure that could occur. So I know our economic plan is working and will continue to work in the future, because Australians and small businesses are working right now.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, on the 4th March you said, Mr Tudge is not seeking to return to the Frontbench, but today you said you look forward to him returning. So what’s changed? And can you explain if he’s still in Cabinet? What’s he doing there?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, nothing has changed. Mr Tudge, elected to stand aside. He’s still a Minister. He is not resigned his position and nor has he been dismissed. We had a full independent Inquiry into the matters, serious matters that were raised, and he’s, he was found that there was nothing that would prevent him from continuing to serve as a Minister. He elected to continue to stand aside. And so we had an Acting Education Minister in place since then. No-one else has been sworn in as Education Minister. No-one has gone to the Governor-General. There have been no resignations. We’ve always been very clear about that. And should Mr Tudge wish to return, I certainly, I know he will. And I look forward to him doing that, because it’s Alan Tudge who’s ensuring that he’s standing up for what our kids are taught in school. Now I know why the Labor Party wouldn’t want to see him come back. I don’t believe they support these same strong positions that Alan has taken on our curriculum. Making sure that our kids are taught the right things about Australia in our schools and that our education curriculum is not sold out to that left wing agenda. Alan has been standing up for that and I look forward to his return. Because there, as well as in our university sector, where he’s looking to get our universities on the front foot with our our university package that is encouraging trailblazing universities to go out and work closely with businesses. We heard here at East Coast Cannery, how their technology is increasingly working with the team up at the University of Wollongong. I see regions going ahead in a big way in manufacturing, because of not only the innovation and investment that is being made by those small and medium sized business owners themselves, but because of the partnerships they’re forming with local and in particular, regional universities. That’s what we’re seeing here. That’s how you grow our economy. That’s why Australians can plan for their future … backed by our strong economic plan.
JOURNALIST: This region was obviously very heavily hit by the coronavirus and bushfires. What is your Government doing to mediate potential bush fires [inaudible]?
PRIME MINISTER: Yeah, and I’ll ask Andrew also to speak on this. You raise a really important point. Not only, of course, do we have to take action to reduce carbon emissions, and we are doing that. Australia’s emissions have fallen by around 20 per cent, that’s many times over what has been achieved in Canada, and New Zealand, and the United States, much higher than there. And, of course, in Japan and other countries. But the other things to deal with the impact of climate change, must continue to focus on resilience and adaptation. Now, there is no more important resilience activity than ensuring that we manage fuel loads. And that’s why I have been very keen to see in our partnership with state governments that they are transparent about the management of fuel loads for bushfires right across not just Crown estates, but in forestry states and in all of those areas. If you want to take action on climate change, you need to be upfront and you need to be transparent about the management of fuel loads in these areas. We’ve had incredible rain, too much rain one could argue, I’m sure, particularly those up in the North Coast, particularly out in Kangaroo Valley at the moment, where I know that they’ve had some very, very severe flooding events. But that is going to produce a lot of growth in the bush again, and that’s welcome, but at the same time, that will see fuel loads rise again and so managing fuel loads is incredibly important and we need to be very transparent. Communities that live on the South Coast and other parts of the state right around the country should know how that’s being managed to prevent the build-up of those fuel loads in the future. But Andrew, do you want to make a comment?
MR ANDREW CONSTANCE, LIBERAL CANDIDATE FOR GILMORE: Yeah, look our community as well, you never ever get over the Black Summer. We will always remember that, a lot of trauma. Now what I would say is that one of the reasons I’m running is so I never ever seen the wild firestorms that we saw ever again. It wouldn’t matter how we tackle it, wouldn’t matter if it’s dealing with climate, dealing with land use management at the local level or partly side of the fact that we’ve got thousands of Australians still feeling the trauma after that event. And that’s one of the reasons why I’m running. I want to see them supported as an individual. The strength of our community comes from within and we’re going to take this on. We’re going to take it on hard. Great thing for me, having been a Transport Minister, I’ve started the conversion of diesel buses to electric buses, and I got manufacturing happening in Western Sydney elsewhere around New South Wales. And that’s a good thing, but to the PM’s point, it’s a very challenging process. You’ve got to be honest about it. When you’ve got people who are struggling every day. Builders who haven’t built their homes again or insurance companies are still making payouts, but we’re going to be there every day. We’re need to support them for a very, very long period of time.
JOURNALIST: You said that the Prime Minister got the welcome he deserved when he went to Cobargo. Is it a positive or a negative for you now that you’re standing here as a candidate for the Prime Minister, alongside you in this election?
MR ANDREW CONSTANCE, LIBERAL CANDIDATE FOR GILMORE: Yeah, I mean look, this community, they’re our number one priority. I know that for the PM and myself – the discussions we’ve had. We’ve got to make this election a positive experience for the community that has gone through so much. That’s our focus. Even today’s announcement is about that. So we will stay the course. We’re not going to be distracted. We’ve got a job to do to make sure the community is our number one priority. I’m going to run a positive campaign.
JOURNALIST: … in the room here though, is that comment that Mark just raised that he said you got the welcome you deserve in Cobargo. This is running ads against you by Labor. Two years on, standing in the electorate, are you willing to apologise for how that day was handled?
PRIME MINISTER: Oh, I already have. And that was a difficult day, as I went through that community, it was in trauma. It was shellshock. And there were those exchanges that day, but there were many other exchanges that day which were very different, as you know. There were many other exchanges that day. And Andrew and I have known each other, mate, how long? 20 –
MR ANDREW CONSTANCE, LIBERAL CANDIDATE FOR GILMORE: 20 –
PRIME MINISTER: 20, 25 years, thereabouts. And Andrew, I love that he’s on my team, because he calls it. And he calls it straight. And he did on that day. And what did we do after that? We got together. We worked out what the challenges where we had to overcome. He as a Minister and Local Member, me a Prime Minister. We put together a completely revised small business package and we continue to work together since then. So, you know, I have people on my team who are upfront with me, and I’m not afraid of that. I’m happy for them to actually say, we need this going on right now. And my Members do that and my candidates do that right across the country, and that is one of the strengths of my team. My team comes from all different works of, walks of life. They come, they’re police officers, they’re small business people, they’re from our defence forces, they’ve worked in the in the energy industry. They’ve worked in so many different areas. They’re school teachers, they’re all of these things, and they’ve come together and make a really strong community-based team. And that’s why I urge people at this election of the 21st of May, by voting for your local Liberal and Nationals’ candidate, yes you’re voting for a strong economy, which means a stronger future, particularly as Andrew was an outstanding example, you’re voting for a local candidate who understands their community, who has a strong local plan, which is backed up by the strong economy that can deliver on the ground.
JOURNALIST: [Inaudible] Mr Constance, do you stand by those remarks of two years ago that the Prime Minister got the welcome he deserved? And do you believe that seeing as you were a Liberal speaking out at the time, that that carried weight given it started a decline in the trust and faith of people in the Prime Minister?
MR ANDREW CONSTANCE, LIBERAL CANDIDATE FOR GILMORE: Mate, the community is crying out for some positive stuff here. Right? In terms of history and to your question, look, we can’t reverse history here. But the reality is, to the PM’s point, I am going to be fierce in my representation of the people of Gilmore. I’m not going to sit there as a wallflower. I’ll call it how it is, and I care about the community that I’ve lived in for most of my life. Our people deserve the best, and you know, life is continuing to move on in a very tough way. You know we’ve just seen floods happen here, Kangaroo Valley is now cut off to the north. These are the issues that matter, right? And you know what? I’m proud of the representation I’ve given over the years for the community and I’m going to keep doing it ‘cos I’m not going to sit here quietly. I’m going to deliver everything that I commit to, and I’m going to work damn hard to make sure the people of Gilmore have a positive campaign.
JOURNALIST: Out of any other Federal electorate in Australia, Gilmore’s median, median housing prices have increased the most in the last 12 months. There are around 800 people in the Shoalhaven sleeping rough. We’ve got people waiting up to 5 to 10 years on waitlists. We’ve got aged care workers sleeping in the backs of their cars because they cannot afford rentals. These are people who are having a go in our electorate. Why is this okay? And what are you going to do to fix it?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, that’s not okay. And that’s why we continue to make investments that we do. Let me start with housing, on housing in particular. When I was Treasurer, I set up a new agency in the Government. And its job, working with the Treasurers of all the other states and territories, because public housing, state housing, is a state responsibility. What we did was, is we borrowed money at incredibly low rates so we could loan that money to local community housing associations to help them develop affordable accommodation run by local community housing associations. And we’ve put $2 billion extra into that loan fund to ensure that could be done, supporting the investments which are made by state governments, by the New South Wales Government here. In addition to that, you’re right, in regional areas, house prices have been rising. People in our major metropolitan areas, particularly in Sydney and Melbourne, have been used to that for a very long time. It’s always hard to buy. Always. And so, we at the last election said we need to make that just a bit easier for people, despite rising house prices. We put in place the Home Guarantee Scheme. We put in place the HomeBuilder Scheme. We put in place the HomeBuilder Scheme. And on my way out here, I saw the housing estates with homes being built. That’s the best thing you can do to reduce pressure on housing prices. But we have got 300,000 Australians into their own homes, directly because of those things I talked about. 300,000 because we’ve been able to take the deposit that they would otherwise have to of saved more – 20 per cent, down to 5 per cent and if you’re a single parent, down to 2 per cent. Now that’d save people 8 years of having to save before getting into their own homes. So these are practical policies that address the very issue that you’ve raised. On aged care, we called the Royal Commission into Aged Care, and we announced, and including the most recent Budget, we’ve got a $19.1 billion plan to address the issues raised in that Royal Commission. They’re not easy issues to solve. As the Royal Commission themselves said, it’s dealing with 30 years of a system with problems. And we stumped up $19.1 billion, dealing with everything from getting the workforce that we need, the nutrition in meals, $10 extra per resident per day – over $3 billion directly to address nutrition and direct their support for people in aged care. It’s not an easy issue to fix. You can’t just stand up and all of a sudden make mercers miraculously appear. The Fair Work Commission will determine the wage outcome, and of course, that will be respected by the Government and the industry. So they’re not easy issues, they’re very hard issues and I think that demonstrates why having a strong economy is so important. Because you can’t address housing issues, you can’t address aged care, unless you know how to manage money and run a strong economy, which we’ve demonstrated.
JOURNALIST: This morning on 2GB, you endorsed the campaign from your Warringah candidate, which is opposing trans women competing in female sports.
PRIME MINISTER: Yes.
JOURNALIST: You said something similar about Claire Chandler’s Bill.
PRIME MINISTER: I did.
JOURNALIST: So, is this your position? And if so, will you put in legislation in the next term of Parliament to effectively ban trans people or trans women from competing in female sports?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, I think I’ve already conveyed my own personal view on these matters and I welcome Katherine Deves selection and I’m very pleased to play a role in that. I think she raises very important issues, and I think Claire Chandler has also been very outspoken and brave on these issues. And I share their views, and I’ll have more to say about that at another time.
JOURNALIST: Will there be any legislation? Will you do anything about it?
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, on the roads funding announcement.
PRIME MINISTER: Yeah.
JOURNALIST: You’ve given credit to Andrew Constance.
PRIME MINISTER: Yes.
JOURNALIST: Over the past three years, Gilmore has received $47 million in discretionary grants, just to the north, that’s 12 times more than what’s been given in Whitlam, 3 times more than what’s been given in Eden-Monaro. Fiona Phillips must be a really great local Member?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, ultimately that will be decided by the electors of Gilmore. But what I know is the $40 million that we are announcing today, is based on a plan that Andrew has been able to bring together because he understands right on the South Coast better than anyone else, and he understands the needs of this community, and he knows how to get roads built too. That’s the other thing about, Andrew – he knows how to get it done. And at the end, you know, in politics, at the end of the day, that’s what it’s all about. Can you deliver? I’ve got the economic plan that has been tested by the most significant economic crisis this country has seen since the Great Depression and the Second World War. My team has been proven and tested in that environment, which I think all Australians would acknowledge – has been one of the most testing times for any Government. You know, the Global Financial Crisis, which Labor had to face last time. During that time, they saw unemployment go from 4.2 per cent to 5.7 percent. The crisis that we have faced has been 30 times worse. 30 times worse. And the employment outcomes we’ve achieved have been 50 per cent better, while retaining our AAA credit rating, ensuring that unemployment fell to 4 per cent. That is the demonstration of the strong economic plan and the strong financial management that would be put at risk by voting for a Labor candidate here in Gilmore and it will be secured – our stronger economy for a stronger future by supporting Andrew Constance as our great Liberal candidate for Gilmore. Thank you very much.
