Press conference – Darwin | Prime Minister of Australia
LUKE GOSLING, FEDERAL MEMBER FOR SOLOMON: Good morning everyone and welcome out to Charles Darwin University, and it’s been great to spend some time with SPEE3D this morning. We’re very proud of the advanced manufacturing research that’s happening right here in Darwin. As the federal member for Solomon I’m really proud of all the expert minds that come together here to produce world class products. And it was with great pride that the team hear from SPED3D and Charles Darwin University showed our Prime Minister this morning some of their stuff. Not new news to the Prime Minister, and not a rare visit either to Darwin. The PM has been here I think at least eight times since becoming Prime Minister and we always love having him here. So boss, thanks very much for yet another visit and all the best with your onward travels.
ANTHONY ALBANESE, PRIME MINISTER: Well, thanks very much Luke. Yeah, I had a really constructive meeting with Natasha, the Chief Minister yesterday and we were talking about my visits to the Northern Territory. We worked out we’ve been together at least eight times since I’ve been Prime Minister. And it’s always fantastic to be here in Darwin, with Luke Gosling, who does such an extraordinary job along with Marion Scrymgour and Malarndirri McCarthy in representing the Northern Territory in our national parliament. And the Northern Territory has such an enormous future. I am really excited about the prospect that’s here for economic growth, for growth in jobs, for growth in exports, for continuing to make an even greater contribution to our national economy. And here at Charles Darwin University, with SPEE3D, we see a great example of that Australian innovation, leading to Australian jobs, leading to Australian wealth. Making a difference for the people here in the territory, but also making a contribution to our nation. It’s been great to be here with Steve today, but last week I was with Chris Harris in Washington at our Innovation Showcase. And there as part of the $20 million additional commitment that we made to Ukraine, we had a look at the examples, this was one of four innovative products and companies engaged in making a difference on the ground in Ukraine, to the struggle of the Ukrainian people to defend their national sovereignty and to defend the international rule of law. And today, I’ve had a demonstration of what 3D printing does in a practical way here. Developed here at Charles Darwin University, but commercialised as well. And that is part of the lesson of what Australia needs to do. We need to be a country that makes more things. I want to see a future made right here in Australia and the key to that is taking our innovation, making sure that we value add, making sure that we’re creating those jobs here for domestic purposes, but also to export to the world. And just this week, I’ve been across states, in Queensland, in Victoria, in New South Wales, and now in the Northern Territory, all with the same theme. Whether it be SunDrive solar panels in New South Wales, in Kurnell. Whether it be Bundaberg and what they’re doing in exporting those wonderful soft drinks, namely ginger beer, but many other products as well, to the world base, of course in Bundaberg in Queensland. Or whether it be the Darrell Lea factory in southwest Sydney, that’s making a difference as well. What we can do is to value add in manufacturing and that is one of the lessons of the pandemic, is that we need to be a country that is able to make more things and to be more resilient going forward. One in four Australian jobs are in exports which is why good relationships abroad also make a difference. And I know that defence industry is a central part of the Chief Minister’s plan for the territory to become a $40 billion dollar economy by 2030. And I’m convinced that the vision that the Chief Minister has is the right one for Northern Territory. We spoke yesterday about defence industry, about space industry, about critical minerals, all of which will make an enormous difference, all of which the Northern Territory is particularly well positioned. When we think about our north, we have the fastest growing region of the world in human history. And here in Darwin is obviously the Australian city that is closest to our northern neighbours. It is in a strong position to lead a renaissance of exports and value adding and contribution to the Australian economy to our north and that will be really important. Here as well, of course, I want to add that the prospects of a green hydrogen industry, Northern Territory is also really well positioned to take advantage of. You have, of course, those critical minerals that are so important in the shift that’s happening to clean energy. I was speaking while I’ve been here, about vanadium, and about export of these products, it will make an enormous difference. I do want to finish before I turn to the Chief by talking about my visit today where I will go to Shanghai, and then on to Beijing. This will be the first visit by an Australian Prime Minister to China since 2016. China is by far our largest trading partner. The value of exports to China, which is over 25 per cent of our total, is more than the sum of the next three countries – Japan, South Korea and the United States. That underlines how important the relationship is for Australia. And what I say is we should cooperate with China where we can, disagree where we must, and engage in our national interest. I’ll be attending a dinner tonight in Shanghai for the conference on trade that’s taking place today and tomorrow. And then I’ll be traveling to Beijing for further meetings with President Xi and Premier Li. I will always advance Australia’s interests, it is in Australia’s national interest to make sure that we have that engagement and dialogue which is always positive, which is always good. And we can already see the benefit of the stabilisation of relationships where we have now our timber, our barley, our hay, our wine is coming. And we want to make sure that any impediments between our trade are removed, that they’re done in a constructive way. My approach towards this relationship has been patient, deliberate and measured. Making sure that both of our interests are put forward, because that is the way that good diplomacy works. That’s the way that good relationships work between Australia and China. And it’s the approach we take to our international relations across the board.
NATASHA FYLES, CHIEF MINISTER OF THE NORTHERN TERRITORY: Thanks, Prime Minister, and it’s terrific to have the Prime Minister here at Charles Darwin University. And we have so many success stories in the Northern Territory, and we’re breaking the stereotypes that the east coast have of us. And SPEE3D, Northern Territory Exporter of the Year and Steve Camilleri, a great success story. A student from Darwin high school who has gone on to develop technology that is world leading. That is ensuring that we have advanced manufacturing here in Australia. So not only building our sovereign capability but also providing us with the opportunities to export and to provide uniqueness, which is particularly vital across a number of industries, but particularly defence. So I’ll keep my comments short and ask Steve to make a couple of comments and then we’re all happy to take questions. Thank you very much.
STEVE CAMILLERI, SPEE3D: Good morning, Steve Camilleri from SPEE3D. So yeah, it’s a wonderful experience to hear that your company has been talked about on the White House lawn. So I’ll admit that I burst into tears when I heard that was going to happen. Just amazing, so thank you. Thank you so much for doing that. So, you know, we’ve had a lot of great support here in Australia and not just from the government here, but also from the university here and the federal government as well. We support our innovative companies very well here in Australia. So Australia’s a great place to be doing innovation. Now advanced manufacturing, the type that we do and the type that others do is something that stands to benefit Australia very, very strongly. So the future of manufacturing is about good design and good people, and about low-cost materials. Australia could stand to be the best in the world in terms of manufacturing over the next ten, twenty years and we’d like to be part of that journey. Thank you.
PRIME MINISTER: Thanks very much, Steve, and congratulations on what you’re doing. What you’re doing is making Australia proud. And I was proud to mention this company and others when I was visiting the White House on what was a very successful visit last week. We’re happy to take questions, difficult ones we might give to Steve.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, Santos’s Barossa gas pipeline passes about 10 kilometres offshore from the Tiwi Islands. They were anticipating they’d be able to start laying that pipeline in the next few days. A last minute and eleventh hour injunction on cultural grounds has scuppered that plan. Do you have any empathy for Santos on this one? And going forward, is there anything that can be done to sort of streamline these projects, from a Northern Territory perspective, by way of Commonwealth regulation?
PRIME MINISTER: We of course, are undertaking at the moment a review of the way that the EPBC Act works. That’s taking place, so Tanya Plibersek the Environment Minister has undertaken that. And there’s been an extensive process which began under the former government. We will continue to proceed. Now, I won’t comment on any specific case because that could raise, by definition, legal issues. And we have in this country a separation of the legal system from the political system. But we are going through that process. We need to make sure that we protect our natural environment and our assets. We need to make sure as well that our First Nations people in those processes that native title is respected. We also need to make sure that businesses can operate in a reasonable way that we don’t have bureaucracy for bureaucracy sake. We need to make sure that those issues are all examined. And I’m sure they will be through these processes.
JOURNALIST: In terms of domestic violence facing First Nations women. We’ve got a coroner right now examining the deaths of four women. Over and over again we hear about DV being an epidemic. Over and over again these agencies call for needs based funding. While this inquiry has gone on to the deaths of four women, another three women have been killed in suspected or alleged domestic incidents in the NT. So I suppose to that question, Prime Minister, when will the federal government actually commit to needs based funding for the Northern Territory as the Chief Minister has called for?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, what we do is to provide funding for domestic violence, but I’ll make this point to take a step back. Domestic violence is a scourge. It’s not something that is confined to one community. And I note when it comes to Peter Dutton’s position, having run during a referendum campaign a rhetorical position of saying we don’t want special provisions based upon race or any group in this country. He immediately then the week after called for special provisions aimed at just one group in our society. So he can’t have it both ways. Domestic violence is a scourge, and it’s a scourge everywhere. Tragically, it is occurring in a range of, every state and territory. We have had in recent times, in recent days, just in the last fortnight, multiple women murdered at the hands of people that they know. So this is a scourge that we have to deal with. Amanda Rishworth is responsible for dealing with these issues, including funding issues, and we’re examining all of the positions that have been put forward respectively. But can I say this, this is a responsibility of governments but it’s also a responsibility of all of us, particularly men to speak out on these issues. Because it is, we know that the figures show, you know, on average it’s one woman a week being killed at the hands of someone they know. It goes across income groups, it goes across ethnicities, faiths, everywhere. It is too prevalent in our society, and it should be wiped out. We need though as a whole of society mobilisation on these issues.
JOURNALIST: The federal government could stand up on needs based funding on that issue, Prime Minister. And that’s what agencies, regardless of whether they represent First Nations –
PRIME MINISTER: We provide, with respect, we provide substantial funding for domestic violence, substantial funding and have provided substantial additional funding. And the federal government is standing up. For example, we did work through with the Chief Minister on our Central Australian Package. The funding for family violence programs was due to run out in Central Australia on June 30. That’s what we inherited from the former government. My government has stood up, we’ll continue to stand up, we’ll continue to work with every state and territory government on these issues.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, what will you be saying to the Chinese President in relation to the detention of Yang Hengjun?
PRIME MINISTER: I’ll be saying that Dr Yang’s case needs to be resolved. And I’ll be speaking about his human rights, the nature of the detention and the failure to have transparent processes. Just as we stood up, I’ve raised this issue before, we will always raise the issues of Australian citizens when we meet with international leaders. That is something that we do consistently, and I will do it again in a way that is aimed at achieving an outcome in the interests of Dr Yang and his family. So that’s a position that we have. We welcome very much the fact that Cheng Lei is now with her daughters and her family in Melbourne. That was a very good outcome. It’s something that the Australian Government pursued, and it’s something that we were pleased to see resolved.
JOURNALIST: But do you think the release of Cheng Lei will be a positive sign?
PRIME MINISTER: We welcome Cheng Lei’s returned to Melbourne to be able to get back with her family.
JOURNALIST: (INAUDIBLE) had criticised the Port of Darwin lease for 99 years (INAUDIBLE) highlighting the fact that defence had secured access. However, that secured access only lasts for 25 years of the 99-year lease. Given that, do you have plans to create a second base, defence port in Darwin to compensate for that compromised security risk?
PRIME MINISTER: No, we’ve had an examination of that issue. I make this point that I wouldn’t have, and a government I lead wouldn’t have leased the Port of Darwin to any foreign interests. I think that that was the wrong decision at the time. But it was the decision that we opposed at the time. There was a decision by the CLP government up here in the Northern Territory, but importantly, the national government actually gave a $20 million incentive payment to the Northern Territory Government to privatise that port. I find it extraordinary. I have the same position now that I did when that occurred when I was the shadow infrastructure minister. That having been done though, there is a lease and we examined, through independently at arm’s length, I sought advice as to when a whether any measures were required at this point in time. And that advice came back saying that there weren’t so we stand by that. The Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet made that declaration in consultation with the security agencies.
JOURNALIST: What plans are being made for the remaining 74 years –
PRIME MINISTER: Well, if I’m Prime Minister in 25 years, you can come and ask me.
JOURNALIST: Given the rate –
PRIME MINISTER: You can come and ask me in 25 years. With respect, that is, the world is a very different place now from what it was 25 years ago. With respect I suggest to you that it is likely that the world is a different place in 25 years’ time than what it is now. What we did was examine the lease appropriately, and we released the findings of it transparently so that we can have that certainty going forward that’s important. So that with any infrastructure asset you need that certainty so you can have investment and that is what we’ve done.
JOURNALIST: I would suspect you have had the Chief Minister in your ear about places for the Charles Darwin University Medical School. What can you tell us about that? When’s the decision due to be made? And will it be favourable for the NT?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, I have had the Chief Minister in my ear about the medical school here at CDU. I have the Chief Minister in my ear, whether one on one or whether it be on the phone, regularly standing up for the interests of the Northern Territory. She does a fantastic job at doing that, as do Premiers and the one other Chief Minister – that’s not surprising. We want to see more doctors in Australia. We want to see more doctors trained in Australia. We want to make sure that there’s more GPs coming out of that process as well. We want to make sure that more nurses and aged care workers are trained as well. That’s why our fee free TAFE is making an enormous difference here already. That’s why we have 20,000 additional University places. We’ll work through those issues in an orderly way. My government’s one that is orderly, that makes decisions appropriately through the processes. And I’m sure that between Jason Clare as the Education Minister, and Mark Butler, the Health Minister, they’ll continue to work those issues through.
JOURNALIST: What’s your response to the Four Corner’s report on Monday night? And what accountability does the federal government have regarding the use of private security and their conduct in the Northern Territory, particularly given there is some federal money in the documents the ABC has obtained?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, we have a federal system in Australia. That’s the responsibility of the Northern Territory Government.
JOURNALIST: You can’t just abdicate your opinion because there’s another government that looks after it.
PRIME MINISTER: I can say that I have a big job –
JOURNALIST: So you don’t care about the conduct of security guards –
PRIME MINISTER: Well, that’s an offensive comment, frankly.
JOURNALIST: I’m asking the question.
PRIME MINISTER: No, that wasn’t a question. That was an offensive comment, and it shouldn’t have been made.
JOURNALIST: Okay, well what do you think about the conduct of private security guards in Darwin then?
PRIME MINISTER: That’s a matter for the Northern Territory Government.
JOURNALIST: Could I step back to the domestic violence funding. The expert panel has an estimate of how much is needed to properly fund domestic violence services in the territory, that’s been considered a baseline level. It’s $180 million over five years. So far the territory government has paid for $20 million over two. Is there any consideration for federal government to step up that $160 million, given the disproportionate rates of domestic violence in the territory.
PRIME MINISTER: We are constantly looking at funding measures. What we do though, is we have these things every May, they are called budgets and that’s where we announce funding proposals, and that’s when we examine all of the priorities that come forward. We examine it appropriately, we make announcements in partnership with state and territory government in an appropriate way. Thanks very much.
JOURNALIST: What’s your number one priority you hope to gain in the talks with Premier Li?
PRIME MINISTER: I think that the visit in itself is a very positive thing. It’s a result of the patient, calibrated and deliberate approach that we have to the relationship with China. And the fact that it’s the first visit in seven years to our major trading partner is a very positive step and I look forward to constructive discussions and dialogue with President Xi and Premier Li during my visit to Shanghai and Beijing. Thanks very much.
ENDS