LUCY BREADEN, HOST: Let's say hello to the Prime Minister of Australia right now in the studio. Good afternoon.
PRIME MINISTER: G'day. Great to be here, even if it's a bit miserable outside, I've got to say.
BREADEN: You brought the weather with you.
PRIME MINISTER: Well, yeah, well I was in Canberra on the weekend and let me tell you, there was a new pool formed at the front of the Lodge. It was pretty shocking. And I await the weather details in five minutes, as you've indicated. But I would say to people, remind them they should follow the advice, which is there because it can be really dangerous on our roads in particular when you have a lot of rain and torrential rain.
BREADEN: Some very good tips there. Now when a Prime Minister comes to the state, comes to Hobart or anywhere in the state really, there's an announcement going on. I mean, what brings you to Tasmania?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, I'm here because I love Tasmania and I've just been down talking to people at the Tassal facility there down in the Huon. We actually funded, when I was the water and infrastructure shadow minister, we promised funding way back in 2007 for the Huon Valley Water Project that was about expanding the access to clean water there. That made a difference and it was interesting as well, we also went on one of the roads heading south here that was funded as well when I was the Infrastructure Minister. So, I was with Julie Collins and with Senator Urquhart and Brian Mitchell there today. But I want to make sure that I get around all the states and territories before Parliament goes back. I did plan to come to Tasmania a bit earlier on but I've been dealing with floods in Far North Queensland and South East Queensland and Victoria. It's a difficult time, but it is great to be back here in Tasmania. I've got some more meetings with people this afternoon and it's always great to be on the southern island.
BREADEN: Well, I can't argue with you there. Some may speculate it could be a bit of a public relations tour. I mean, the polls aren't looking awfully good for yourself, for the Labor Government. What would you say to that?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, have a look at where they are for one. Some of the speculation doesn't actually add up to an examination of what they're saying. But polls come and go, but the last one was 52-48, which was the same result as the election was, the last Newspoll. But they will go up and down. What my focus on is on delivering on our commitments and delivering on the challenges which are there. We know there's cost of living pressures and you can't determine these things by sitting in your office in Parliament House. It's good to get out and talk with people - one of the reasons why I'm here in the studio. And earlier today I was in Adelaide at a TAFE that's made an enormous difference. 300,000 fee free TAFE places, talking to people who've taken up electrical and construction apprenticeships for free. And it's made an enormous difference. Filling the skills crisis, putting downward pressure on their cost of living whilst dealing with supply chain issues. We know we have skill shortages here in this country and that's one way we're addressing it.
BREADEN: But you mentioned cost of living. Cost of living is a huge issue right now. You say you're all about delivering your promises, so when will relief come for people, particularly in Tasmania?
PRIME MINISTER: Yeah, well, we're delivering. The last time I was here, I was at the Urgent Care Clinic there in Hobart. Now it's seen some, the Urgent Care Clinics, there's four of them here that have seen 12,000 people already. And when we were there, there were families, particularly with kids, looking after a couple of fractures and issues they were dealing with. And all they needed was their Medicare card, not their credit card. Making an enormous difference, taking pressure off the hospital system at the same time.
BREADEN: But it's not all bulk billed, though.
PRIME MINISTER: Yes it is, absolutely. The Medicare Urgent Care Clinics are all bulk billed. All you need is your Medicare card, absolutely free.
BREADEN: What about general practice, though? I mean, that is one reason that people do go to the Royal Hobart Hospital and are waiting there trying to get in and see someone for free.
PRIME MINISTER: It is, and that's why we came up with quite an innovative program together with the Tasmanian Government. We announced that a year ago there in Devonport with the Tasmanian Premier. And what that's doing is allowing the government essentially to employ doctors so they get that support while they're being trained in the medical profession. But the deal is they'll then go into regional and rural Tasmania and work there for a period of time, a guarantee that they'll be GPs there. So, that's making a difference. In addition to that we tripled the bulk billing incentive in the budget last year. It was our major initiative, the largest injection to support the strengthening of Medicare since Medicare was created. And that is making a difference as well. We know we have a decade of neglect we have to make up for, but we are doing all of those measures and there's more to do. In December, the National Cabinet came up with a health and hospitals agreement for the next two five year periods to take it right up to 2035, and that will make a difference as well.
BREADEN: The Health Minister, as a matter of fact, Guy Barnett, Minister for Health, has just put out a statement regarding the Devonport Urgent Care Clinic, or just general practice in particular, saying it's disappointing that there continues to be no federal support given GP clinics are becoming financially unviable and this lies at the feet of the federal government. What's being done? He said that just a matter of minutes ago.
PRIME MINISTER: Well, he might be saying that. The fact is there are four Urgent Care Clinics up and operating right now that are making a difference. It's disappointing, what I want to do is to work constructively with the Tasmanian government and that is what I've been doing with the Premier of Tasmania, who, of course, was the Health Minister as well.
BREADEN: And how are you working constructively?
PRIME MINISTER: We work constructively by coming up with, for example on the health plans, the deal that we did for the four year model that we have, the single employer model, is an innovative program. It came from the Tasmanian Health Minister and Premier at the time, Jeremy Rockcliff, to give him credit for the proposal he put to the federal government. We said, you bet we will be in that. And we provided support and funding for it. In addition to that to the Urgent Care Clinics, which are designed to be clear, not only to provide people with that access for urgent care when they need it, not acute care, not if you're in danger of losing your life, then you go to the emergency centre. But if little Johnny or Mary falls off the bike and has got a broken arm or something to deal with, or there's some other cut, someone cuts themselves trying to cook the dinner, then they can go get that care when they need it and they can do it for free. What that does is to take pressure off the public hospital system at the same time.
BREADEN: Lucy Breaden with you on Drive. That is, of course the voice of the Prime Minister of Australia, Anthony Albanese. He is in the state, he's visited Tassal this morning, earlier today in fact, taking a look at what's going on there. And speaking of salmon farming, let's take a little look at what's going on when it comes to the Maugean skate. The endangered Maugean skate is in a world of hurt right now. As I mentioned earlier, new evidence shows that finfish farming in Macquarie Harbour is having an impact on the numbers of this skate and salmon farming research is showing salmon farming needs to be eliminated or significantly reduced to save the state, will your government do that?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, primarily responsibility, of course, for those issues lies with the state government. But what the Federal Government is doing through the EPBC Act, the Environment Minister has a responsibility to examine the science and get best advice as to, we want to make sure, as the quote from Minister Plibersek correctly says, we don't want to see extinctions of any species. And that's why we need to work with industry, work with the science to make sure we can have a win-win here. I don't want to see jobs disappear, but I also want to see the Maugean skate protected.
BREADEN: Can both be done?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, yeah, I think they can be. We need to work with the science, work on ways in which we can ensure that the Maugean skate can continue to survive, but without losing the sort of jobs and economic activity. And that's something that I know in the discussions I've had with the Tasmanian Premier, he's committed to, and it's something I'm committed to as well.
BREADEN: The science tells us, though, that one heat wave this summer could completely wipe out the whole Maugean skate species in Macquarie Harbour. Are you willing to wear that?
PRIME MINISTER: No. Well, if that's the science, then that's not about salmon fishing. If one heat wave is going to wipe out an existing species, then that shows some of the de linking which is there. What we need to do is to work through, in a considered way, the environmental protection and sustainability that's required. And I know that if you look at the salmon industry, there has been significant change, just as there is with other industries as well. No matter what you are producing, whether it's vegetables, whether it's nuts, for example, can have an impact on water. Cows and sheep have an impact on the land. We need to work through ways in which human activity, including getting us access to food and access to jobs and economic activity, can work in an environmentally sustainable way. And I think that with science, we can do that, with a bit of goodwill as well. And certainly the salmon operators I was speaking with today are determined to make sure that they operate in a sustainable way. So, we'll do that. The Minister has a responsibility to examine these issues at arm's length. She needs to consider the science and the advice independent of it's not a government decision, it's her decision under the way the Act works. And Minister Plibersek, I'm sure, will do that.
BREADEN: Do you see a future for finfish farming in Macquarie Harbour, then?
PRIME MINISTER: I see a future for the salmon industry in Macquarie Harbour and other places. Obviously that needs to be, as always, like everything else, subject to proper sustainability assessments and that will take place. But my starting point isn't to just say, stop all industry. We need to work through these issues in a really constructive way and I'm sure that we can.
BREADEN: And what do you say to workers who are on the west coast right now working in the salmon industry who may be a bit worried about what's going on?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, I support you maintaining your jobs and us using science and making sure that we work in a way that protects an industry that's vital. There's 5000 direct jobs, but there's many more jobs connected than that as well. This is a major employer on the west coast and indeed just south of here where I was. Certainly the water project, for example, that we funded way back in the Rudd Government in 2007-08 made a difference for sustainability there. And there are various practices that you can have to make sure this is about the quality of the water. We need to make sure in terms of the science that we use every avenue at our disposal to make sure that these things are done sustainably.
BREADEN: Okay. The quality of the water, that's a topic for another day. We're hearing though, from scientists as well that finfish farming does have that impact on the quality of water. But let's move on because I know I only have another couple of minutes with you. It's 04:21. My guest, of course, is the Prime Minister, Anthony Albanese, in the state today. He's in the studio doing a bit of a tour. He's already been in three states today. Where to next?
PRIME MINISTER: Victoria.
BREADEN: But while you're driving around, I don't know if you've noticed this. I do want to talk about the stadium. Of course, it's so hard for you to come to the state and not talk about the stadium earmarked promised, at least for Macquarie Point. Do you see any of the bumper stickers on the back of cars that are saying 'No stadium, we don't want it'?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, you see both. You see yes and you see no. And it's not unusual that before an infrastructure project is done that there's opposition to it. I was in Queensland, South East Queensland, a week ago and I saw bumper stickers opposing the Olympic Games being held in Brisbane. I'm from Sydney, there were those stickers there prior to the 2000 Sydney Olympics. I tell you what, the Sydney Olympics was fantastic for Sydney as a global city, great for Australia. We still benefit from it today from the assets and infrastructure that was built from as well, the reputation that we got as well. I want Tassie to have a footy team. It's not a truly national competition when you have two teams from my state in Sydney and none from Tasmania when we're primarily a rugby league state, and similarly in Queensland with Gold Coast and Brisbane. So, there are enormous benefits potentially for this, not just for AFL, but for tourism, for jobs, for other activities, concerts and other activities that will be held there. It needs to be done as well, in a sustainable way. I was here in 2012, we put in the budget money to fix up Macquarie Point. That's twelve years ago and frankly, not much has happened over that twelve years. We gave $50 million of the Federal Government money for the cleaning up of the site, for the planning to do something with that site that would create jobs, create housing, and that's why this project needs to be seen as an urban redevelopment project as well.
BREADEN: Does it frustrate you nothing has been done during that whole time?
PRIME MINISTER: It's incredibly frustrating because I look at waterfronts, be it in Melbourne, the Docklands, in Sydney with Barangaroo, South Bank in Brisbane, here in Hobart, where we're located here, close to the city. This is a pristine, gorgeous city. And you go down to the waterfront there at Mackpoint. It's an ideal site for housing, for recreational activity, for people to go and enjoy, and for the city to flow down from down the hill from where a lot of the CBD is, to the harbour. And at the moment that site hasn't been used appropriately and that's a bit of an indictment on previous governments.
BREADEN: You want it done? Do you have an update on the GST carve up and the grant you are likely to provide? You've been committed to providing it. Will it be exempt from GST?
PRIME MINISTER: This is a really weird question that I only get in Tasmania, it will be treated the same as every other infrastructure project everywhere in the country.
BREADEN: So, how is that? How will it be treated?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, it just gets treated as part of the GST carve up that John Howard did. That legislation applies. That legislation hasn't changed.
BREADEN: So it won't be exempt?
PRIME MINISTER: The GST provides. It's a very strange thing that has come up. I've had this discussion with Jeremy Rockcliff because the way that the carve up happens is that each and every state gets funding for various infrastructure projects and that has an impact. But if every state gets its share, then it's a neutral outcome. If you take out one state, Tasmania, then do you take out Queensland's three and a half billion dollars we've committed to the Olympic Games infrastructure projects. Do you take out everything else?
BREADEN: The reason I ask is because just a month ago, the deputy Premier, Michael Ferguson, has come out saying it's really frustrating that the Commonwealth has not given us an answer yet. We need an answer. We want to get this moving.
PRIME MINISTER: Well, these things operate in the normal way. I know there's an application there, but they're at arm's length. The Commonwealth Grants Commission does these things. The GST revenue has been there a long time. I'm not sure if Michael Ferguson was a member of the Howard Government. I think he was. He probably voted for the legislation that is there for the GST. So, it's a strange thing, really, the fact that it's asked. As I said, it operates in a neutral way, and if you take out one state, then you end up taking out all the states and you'll end up in the same position with the same carve up.
BREADEN: Just finally, before I let you go, this will cost quite a bit of money. We know that we're building a stadium. We have heard this three quarters of a million dollar price tag, but people are saying it's going to blow out. Will your government, are you prepared to shell out whatever it takes to get this stadium?
PRIME MINISTER: No, we have made a very specific commitment and that's our commitment. We're not building the stadium. It is a Tasmanian government project and the Tasmanian government are very confident about what they have said they can do. We received submissions, we have funding for Lonnie as well, for the upgrade there that will enable the completion of that ground.
BREADEN: Prime Minister Anthony Albanese. Thanks for your time.
PRIME MINISTER: Glad to be with you.