MEL BUSH, HOST: The Prime Minister, Anthony Albanese, has just touched down in Tasmania. He's visiting flood-affected areas in the North and coming to the South to announce a funding deal for the Marinus Interconnector across Bass Strait. Prime Minister, good morning.
ANTHONY ALBANESE, PRIME MINISTER: Good morning, Mel. Good to be with you.
BUSH: Prime Minister, the $3.5 billion Marinus Project is being 80 per cent funded through a concessional loan. Who's going to be repaying that loan?
PRIME MINISTER: The income that is generated will repay the loan. This is the largest ever federal investment in energy, an $8 billion commitment totally, but $6.7 billion from the Federal Government in Tasmania and Victoria, the largest investment since the Snowy Mountain Scheme was done by Ben Chifley’s Government all those years ago.
BUSH: So will there be an impost on taxpayers when it comes to repaying that concessional loan?
PRIME MINISTER: Not at all. This is a project that will generate income. So it's good for jobs: 1400 jobs in construction alone here in Tasmania, some 1120 further jobs because of the low-cost financing that we're providing for the Battery of the Nation project. This is an exciting project for Tasmania. It will create jobs, it will produce income, it will lower our emissions, and of course, will be part of the transition that's occurring in our national economy, that indeed is occurring in the global economy as we move towards net zero.
BUSH: Prime Minister, there's been some raised eyebrows around that number: 1400 jobs in Tasmania. The unions are saying that those projections are pretty fanciful. How do you get to that number? And can you expand a little on exactly what those jobs will look like on the ground?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, the modelling has occurred for this construction activity. This is a major project with two connectors between the South Island here and the North Island. And that presents major jobs, not just in terms of the construction, of course, but in manufacturing for the infrastructure that will be required for this project. This project has been studied to death. What hasn't happened, though, is governments comping together to work through the issues that require an agreement between the Commonwealth and the Tasmanian and the Victorian Government. I've been speaking with Premier Rockliff as well as Premier Andrews over recent months, since I became Prime Minister. It required the Federal Government to establish the financing vehicle that we have through our Rewiring the Nation project. And that's what really made sure that a good idea, which has been through all of the business cases, will now become a reality. It's a very exciting announcement for Tasmania, but indeed, it's a nation building project as well.
BUSH: Prime Minister, by the time it's finished, how much will Marinus Link cost? Estimates have been put at up to $3.8 billion.
PRIME MINISTER: Yes, that's the estimated cost. But this is an investment. It's important to recognise that this project will be owned by the three governments of the Commonwealth Tasmania and Victoria. This will remain an asset for the people of Tasmania and, indeed, the people of Victoria and the Commonwealth will all have an equal share in this equity investment. But the financing has been made possible through the Rewiring the Nation project, which will be repaid as income comes through at the low-cost financing that's been made available. And we know that this model is what works. The Clean Energy Finance Corporation that was established by the former Labor Government has produced revenue to taxpayers. The Coalition government, when they came to office under Tony Abbott, tried to get rid of it on a number of occasions. Eventually they themselves realised that this is an asset that's producing environmental outcomes that are good for Australia as well as being good economics.
BUSH: Prime Minister, $3.8 billion, that is the estimated cost of Marinus Link. Have you allowed any economic wriggle room? The global economy at the moment is a moveable feast, difficult to predict. Is there a possibility that this $3.8 billion will blow out?
PRIME MINISTER: No, we stand by the modelling that has been undertaken. It has been examined by the three governments and all that has been wanting is a financing vehicle to make sure that it goes ahead and the political will. And I'm very pleased to lead a government that could cooperate between the Victorian Labor Government and the Tasmanian Liberal Government to produce such a positive outcome. It will be a proud day, today, when I stand up with Jeremy Rockliff, the Tasmanian Premier and make this formal announcement early this afternoon, just as Premier Andrews is very proud of the difference it will make in Victoria as well.
BUSH: Prime Minister will you guarantee Tasmanians won't be paying more in their power bills to fund cheaper energy on the mainland?
PRIME MINISTER: This will result in cheaper energy for Tasmanians. And that's why the Tasmanian Government are backing this project.
BUSH: If Victoria is building up its renewables, Prime Minister, and its storage capacity as well, Tasmania already has enough energy for its own needs, what's the point of Marinus?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, Tasmania now has 100 per cent renewable clean energy. They want to move to 200 per cent so that they're exporting clean energy, producing income and benefit for Tasmania whilst creating jobs here. That's what the Battery of the Nation project is about.
BUSH: Those jobs will be fairly short-lived though, Prime Minister, won’t they?
PRIME MINISTER: That's not right. There's ongoing jobs with renewables. So one of the things about renewables is that they require an upfront capital cost. It’s the same as if people think about their own homes. The reason why people have put solar panels on their roofs might be to help the environment. But what has really driven it is that once that capital cost of having them up there on the roofs is put in, then over a period of time that gets repaid reasonably quickly, and from then on the consumer is better off. It's the same principle that is driving the shift to clean energy and renewables right around Australia from businesses, but also from individual households. And that's what's driving the shift in the economy as well.
BUSH: Prime Minister, you're in Tasmania to visit those flood affected areas in the North and North West of the state. Are they eligible for Federal Government assistance?
PRIME MINISTER: They are indeed. We announced yesterday that three additional local government areas – Devonport, Launceston and Latrobe – would be eligible for the Disaster Recovery Payment, that's $1,000 for adults and $400 for children who are impacted by the flood events in those Local Government Areas. In addition to that, there is the Disaster Recovery Allowance. There are 17 council areas here in Tasmania that are eligible. If people have lost income, their small business has closed or because the business is closed, people can't get to work and are without an income, then they are eligible for a 13 week payment at the JobSeeker rate. There are 17 local government areas here who are eligible for those payments. So we are providing substantial resources here in Tasmania. And today I will be in Deloraine and also at Latrobe talking with farmers, talking with other local communities, that have been impacted by this flood event and of course we know that there is a real risk of further flooding in coming days.
BUSH: And on that, will you be investing more in future proofing, Prime Minister, in terms of more money for better flood levees, for example?
PRIME MINISTER: We've established a fund. People would be aware that the former government had a fund of $4 billion and all it did was get invested and create interest for the Federal Government and grew by $800 million. That fund was not expended. That made no sense whatsoever. We will be expending money for flood and other disaster preparedness. That investment makes economic sense as well. If you have investments to avoid disaster impact, then it ends up costing you less, as well as the human impact of these natural disasters.
BUSH: And finally, Prime Minister, another issue that many Tasmanians are talking about and that is the potential for a Tasmanian AFL team, and also an AFL stadium to be built at Macquarie Point on Hobart's waterfront. Will your government be helping to fund that stadium?
PRIME MINISTER: I think it would be a terrific thing if Tasmania had an AFL team. But my government won't be doing allocations of taxpayers funds in the way the former government did, without business cases, without examining the detail.
BUSH: In the short term, that’s a no?
PRIME MINISTER: We're up for receiving business cases and giving proper examination to proposals for infrastructure investment. I will always be cooperative with state and territory governments in working these issues through. But what we saw from the former government was a whole lot of commitments, sometimes for projects that were made many, many years ago, that haven't actually occurred because the planning, the business case and the details simply weren't there. We need to depoliticise these issues, and that's what my government will do.
BUSH: Prime Minister thanks for your time. Welcome to Tasmania.
PRIME MINISTER: Thanks very much.