Doorstop – Hobart | Prime Minister of Australia
JULIE COLLINS, MINISTER FOR HOUSING AND HOMELESSNESS: It is great to be here at the Clarence TAFE campus and to have the Prime Minister with us. And I want to thank the Tas-TAFE staff and students for coming in and showing us some of the work that they’re doing as they go into their nursing exams. We all know that nurses in our hospitals are critically needed. So, it was wonderful to hear today that some of the students will soon be taking up their practice in our hospitals in coming weeks. But it’s great to have the Prime Minister here in Clarence, on the Eastern Shore, talking with students about our fee-free TAFE and how important it is to them, and indeed, to the state and to our economy, to have more students enrolled, not just in nursing, but in those areas of shortages, right across the economy. Prime Minister, it’s great to have you.
ANTHONY ALBANESE, PRIME MINISTER: Well, thanks very much, Julie. It’s great to be back in Tasmania for my seventh visit this year, and to be in your electorate of Franklin and to be at this wonderful TAFE. And I do want to thank all the students as well as the staff at this TAFE here, for welcoming us here this morning and for sharing their experience. We know that fee-free TAFE is absolutely critical. And that’s why we promised 180,000 places this year. We’ve actually delivered in excess of 220,000 places this year. It’s been an enormous success, whether it be in some of the traditional trades such as in construction, jobs such as carpentry or fitters and turners, or whether it be in the services sector that we know will grow enormously, in aged care in nursing, in early learning education. All of those have created massive demand. And overwhelmingly it has been women taking up these positions as well. Not only people looking for their first job, but people retraining as well. And the attraction of fee-free TAFE has made an enormous difference, identified in areas of skill shortage. And that’s why this is so important. We’ve committed to 300,000 places from next year. And we’re current currently negotiating with states and territories for an ongoing skills agreement going forward. This fits together with the other positions and policies that we have, including 10,000 New Energy Apprenticeships, including the creation of Jobs and Skills Australia, a peak organisation bringing in private sector expertise as well as representatives of state and territory governments to make sure that we identify the jobs that Australia will need in one year, five years, ten years time. How do we train Australians for those jobs, whether it be through TAFE or through university? How do we make sure that we can have – what I’ve spoken about for many years now – a future made here in Australia by fitting up the skills that Australians need to get for the jobs that Australia needs to create in the future. Today Minister O’Connor is announcing an investment of $37.8 million for improving integrity in the training sector as part of the findings that we’ve had from the Nixon review. We want to make sure that any shonks in the system get weeded out, that every dollar goes to making a difference for training people appropriately, as well as to organisations that are providing that quality education and training. Our reputation internationally is very important, as well as making sure that dollars are well spent, as well as making sure that people are actually skilled up for those jobs that are needed. And from next year, as part of our Employment White Paper we released last week, we’ll create six new TAFE centres of excellence, working with the states and territories as well as educators to design world-leading skills courses here in Australia, so we can replicate best practice. This is all a part of my government’s vision to deal with cost-of-living pressures, that’s what fee-free TAFE does, whilst doing it in a way that both creates but also anticipates the future by making sure that there are medium and long term benefits from the short term measures that we are putting in place to take that pressure off cost of living.
JOURNALIST: How confident are you that those people that do go through TAFE will have jobs at the end if the unemployment rate is so low?
PRIME MINISTER: Because what we’ve done is identify the areas of skill shortage that fee-free TAFE is available for. One of the things that we know, for example, is that nurses have had shortages for a long period of time. There simply aren’t people around who say, ‘I’ve got a nursing degree and no one will give me a job’. What we know is that people who do nursing, who do early learning, who do jobs in construction are in demand. It’s not fee-free TAFE for all courses. It’s fee-free TAFE for courses where people are needed, where we have those skill shortages. This morning, talking to these young Australians who will make an enormous difference to their local community. In a few weeks time, they’re going to get training at Royal Hobart Hospital or at other facilities to do their prac. They’re really looking forward to making a difference. And the positive thing for them is that they know they are in demand. Since we were elected just last May, there have been more than 550,000 jobs created in Australia. Now that’s more than we’ve seen from any new government in Australia’s history. There have been 18 occasions in which unemployment in Australia has had a three in front of it, 3.7 at the moment, 15 of those have been under this Labor government. That’s an enormous achievement. But at the same time, we do have those skill shortages and we want to make sure that we match that up.
JOURNALIST: Earlier this year, some former TAFE teachers said that they felt that TAFE was a toxic environment and they worked with people who made their day-to-day work life a misery. The CEO of TAFE Tas has been said only 58 per cent of staff were satisfied with the workplace. Are you concerned by those allegations and that figure being that’s at least a third of people being unsatisfied?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, the comments that I’ve seen and my experience, whenever I’ve walked into a TAFE facility right around the country, has been extremely positive, has been TAFE making a difference. One of the fantastic things about TAFE that I’ve seen over the years is that when you go in often, you will have people, some of them will be retired and they want to help out the next generation of plumbers and gas fitters, or of carers. People in that economy give back. That’s been my experience in TAFE, and it has been extremely positive. And I must say as well, that in talking to students whenever I’ve been at a TAFE, and I’ve now been into TAFEs in every state and territory of the country has been extremely positive.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, will the government consider slashing the fuel excise now that petrol is above $2 a litre?
PRIME MINISTER: We don’t make tax policy on the run. We have proper budgets and proper procedures for determining our economic policy. We understand that there are pressures in terms of cost of living, and we also know that globally, there’s been a huge impact on fuel and energy costs because of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. That’s something that has impacted the entire world.
JOURNALIST: What’s your reaction to No campaigners telling early voters that a Yes vote would lead to reparations?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, there’s been so much misinformation from the No campaign. This referendum is about just two things: recognition of Indigenous Australians as the first Australians in our Constitution – that’s the first thing. The form of recognition is through a non-binding
advisory committee allowing governments to listen to what Indigenous Australians say about matters that affect them. Why do you want to do that? You want to do that because you get better results. That’s what this is about. And to me, the No campaign undermines its own position by the fact they want to talk about everything that this referendum isn’t about and nothing about what it is. If they had a confidence in their position, then they wouldn’t have to make things up. But the truth is, there is no downside in voting Yes. Voting Yes will just give 3 per cent of the population the opportunity to be heard. An opportunity to be heard because we know that when people are directly affected and they’re able to have a voice and be listened to, you’ll get better outcomes. And we know that from experience. We see it in Indigenous health with community health programmes. We see it with the Indigenous Rangers programs. We see it with education programs that involve local communities in order to get kids to school and to lift up that opportunity. And the other thing it will do is if you give Indigenous Australians agency and a say, you will also be giving them responsibility for the outcomes. So instead of decisions being made in Canberra without proper reference to people on the ground in local communities you’ll get more efficient outcomes as well. You’ll get better results. You’ll actually save money, not spend money. There hasn’t been a lack of money spent on Indigenous Affairs in recent years. There has been a lack of outcomes. No is what exists right now. A vote for No is saying that what exists right now is what will continue. That we can’t look for a better way. And the truth is that we have to do better. Only four of the 19 closing the gap targets are being met. We have an eight year life expectancy gap. We have a greater chance of an Indigenous young male going to jail than going to university. We have a greater chance of an Indigenous young woman dying in childbirth than a non-Indigenous woman. We have greater infant mortality rates. We have higher incarceration rates. We have worse outcomes on education, health and housing. We can do better. This is a very modest request. It’s a hand out from Indigenous Australians just asking for it to be joined in the spirit of reconciliation so we can walk forward together. And every time I see this sort of campaign from the No side, what it does is remind me that they don’t have a case to put forward on what this referendum is about, which is why they’re resorting to other things. So, my plea to voters, and I note that today there was a poll that showed an uplift in the Yes vote, my plea to voters is look at what the question is before the Australian people. It says very clearly: in recognition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people as the first peoples of Australia’. That’s the recognition bit. Then it just says: there shall be a body to be called the Aboriginal Torres Strait Islander Voice. It may make representations, representations, not decisions, representations to government about matters affecting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. And then the last clause is the primacy of the Parliament: the Parliament shall make laws about the functions and composition and procedures of the Voice. So, nothing to fear here. Everything to gain.
JOURNALIST: The youth vote has long been a stronghold for the Yes campaign. But in recent months lots of polls have shown it dropping off. Why do you think that might be? And do you think more could have been done to address disinformation on platforms like TikTok?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, there has been a lot of disinformation out there. I’ve seen the full suite of disinformation, some of which has been promoted in the Parliament during Question Time, with questions being asked of the government from Coalition members that they know the answers to. The idea that the Voice will have a say on the Reserve Bank determination of interest rates is quite frankly absurd. Just absurd. And they know that that this the case. But there is worse information in some social media as well about the world conspiracies of the United Nations will control all land in Australia. All land. Private ownership of everyone’s home will go with a yes vote. It’s just absurd. And to me I think that is countered by the goodwill that is there overwhelmingly from the Yes campaign. The patient, extraordinary leadership from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people themselves, people like Aunty Pat Anderson and so many others wherever I go who have spent a lifetime just asking for a fair go, asking for a crack. People like Linda Burney and Pat Dodson in our caucus who have, in their lifetime, they weren’t recognised and counted in the census when they were born. But no bitterness. Just a gentle request, appealing to our better angels. And you know what? If Australia votes Yes, it will show respect for the first Australians, but it will do something else as well. We’ll feel better about ourselves as a nation because when you come to terms with your history, when you reach out and you think about others, you feel better about yourself. That’s the way I was raised. That’s what Project Compassion at my primary school was about, thinking about others. One of the issues that we have to deal with in this, Noel Pearson spoke about it in his Boyer lectures when he spoke about the fact that on the marriage equality issue, so many Australians knew a brother, a sister, a son, a daughter, a neighbour who was in a same sex relationship so they could relate to it. The truth is that for many of Australians they don’t have a lot of contact with First Australians. But overwhelmingly First Australians, more than 80 per cent, are asking for this. And that’s why you’re seeing an incredible campaign. I was with campaigners here in Glenorchie, not far from here, yesterday afternoon, going out there and doorknocking, people like Rodney Dillon, but others as well, doorknocking, talking with people. And I believe that if we can have enough conversations over the next two weeks, and voting started yesterday, then Australians, when they look at this, will say, ‘yeah, that’s the fair thing to do’. There’s nothing to lose here. There’s no downside in this. Only upside.
JOURNALIST: The Yes campaign’s also been pulled up on having their advertising look like AEC signage. Is that fair?
PRIME MINISTER: The AEC run election campaigns. There are range of colours, apparently, in posters. People have seen that in T-shirts, et cetera. So, they have the full range of colours. They’ll comply, of course, with anything from the AEC.
JOURNALIST: What will your other Ministers be doing today? And will any be going to pre-polling centres?
PRIME MINISTER: They’re all out and about today. We have the full Cabinet meeting today in Hobart at one o’clock. There are a range of media events. I know that Linda Burney’s been meeting with Indigenous communities here this morning, but there are a range of other events. Jim Chalmers is meeting with businesses. There are a range of media events. Some people may well be pre-poll centres, as well throughout Tasmania, today, tomorrow, the next day and indeed beyond, there will be people out and about. And it is a good thing that my Cabinet now has met in places like Port Hedland, in Gladstone, in Adelaide, in Perth, in Melbourne and now in Hobart. I want to make sure that our Cabinet gets out and about with the people who we are elected to represent. And this morning and yesterday afternoon, I had really constructive discussions with people as well. I had a beer with an old mate, former Premier David Bartlett, yesterday afternoon down at Salamanca. Ran into a whole bunch of people, including a very large, I don’t know if there’s a politically correct term, for a hen’s afternoon, but that’s what it was. But they were very boisterous and were very welcoming indeed. The bride to be had a cardboard cutout of her fiancé, something I haven’t seen before. He had a bit of damage to his nose on the cardboard cutout because they’d been going for some time. But I was able to wish her and all her friends a fun time. And I’m sure, given only just after five o’clock and they’d been going for some time, it was going to be a good day for them. But it’s a chance to get out and about and talk with people. I was doing that this morning. I did multiple radio interviews on the ABC and FM stations this morning. You need to get out of Canberra. And that’s what I’ve been doing. But on the Voice issue, there’s been a voice from Canberra for 122 years. It’s time there was a voice to Canberra from Indigenous Australians. And that’s what this will do.
JOURNALIST: I’ve just come from the swearing in for the new Rockliff Ministry. If there was to hypothetically be an early election, would you like to see the David O’Byrne matter resolved or would you consider stepping in?
PRIME MINISTER: Those are matters for the organisational wing of the party.
JOURNALIST: Would you support a Labor government? They are in a shambles.
PRIME MINISTER: I always support the Labor Party. Hold the front page: Labor Prime Minister supports the Labor Party. And Rebecca White’s a very good friend of mine, I think she would make an outstanding Premier. But Jeremy Rockcliffe, I have a very good relationship with. We work constructively with him. I actually think in this state, here’s another showstopper, I think that Rebecca White and Jeremy Rockliff are both very nice people. I think you can have political differences with people but have respect for them. I think that is a good thing that this state has both the Premier and the alternative Premier, and I hope the next Premier of Tasmania, are both good, decent people.