Well thank you. It’s been great, with Craig, to visit the enterprising small businesses here in Reid. These men and women many of them family businesses of decades, standing here in this area. They know how important the support is that we are providing with our economic plan. We are providing enterprise tax cuts which will benefit all of these businesses and encourage them to grow and to develop their businesses, to invest, everything we are doing is calculated, designed to drive economic growth and more jobs. We have an economic plan.
As far for our opponents as we know, all they propose is more spending. It’s the same old Labor. They can’t be trusted on economic security. They want to spend more, borrow more, tax more, more debt, more deficit, more economic mismanagement, as we have seen before. Nothing has changed. The same old Labor. They can’t be trusted with economic security any more than they can be trusted with national security. You’ve seen the way they are tearing themselves apart about border protection.
Now remember, just remember Kevin Rudd. In 2007 he said he was an economic conservative, he was on a unity ticket with John Howard on economic conservatism. Well, John Howard left Kevin Rudd cash at the bank. No net debt at all. The Labor Government when Kevin Rudd left in 2013 left us a mountain of debt and a structural deficit that we are slowly bringing down back in to balance. Shorten will be back to the same old tricks.
Kevin also promised that he would be strong on border protection. He said he’d turn back the boats. He said he was just like John Howard on border protection. What did he do? He abandoned John Howard’s policies, 50,000 unauthorized arrivals 1200 deaths at sea.
We can see for all of Mr Shorten’s protests, for all of his assurances, of a commitment to strong border protection, his party’s candidates, his members, they don’t believe in it. He will disappoint in exactly the same way Kevin Rudd did.
It’s the same old Labor. They can’t be trusted on the economy. They can’t be trusted on the border.
JOURNALIST:
Prime Minister, Serge who you met on the streets earlier, asked you a question about MH17’s victims funding, and whether it was in the most recent budget, or whether there was a plan to keep rolling out support or compensation for the families. What is the plan for MH17 victim’s funding?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well can I just say you can only imagine how – the grief that Serge feels after losing his son Victor in that shocking murderous attack. There is no other way to describe it. There is compensation, as you know for in Australia for the victims of terrorism overseas. Craig is going to sit down with Serge and make sure that he understands how we can help with that. But that won’t bring Victor back. You know. This is a dad grieving for his son. And the best thing we can do is give him a hug.
JOURNALIST:
I think his question was though whether it was being rolled back? Or whether it was continuing?
PRIME MINISTER:
It is a continuing commitment of the Government. It’s accounted for. It’s a commitment that is drawn on when there are tragedies of this kind.
JOURNALIST:
Prime Minister, analysis from Rice Warner has found a multi-millionaire couple can use family trusts to pay less tax than the average wage earner. Along with giving them a tax break in the budget doesn’t this show your budget won’t hit the very rich?
PRIME MINISTER:
Let me just say to you that our enterprise tax plan and all of our tax reforms are designed to make our tax system fairer and more sustainable. We have scaled back considerably the very generous tax concessions to wealthy Australians in superannuation. That’s why you have heard quite a few of them complaining, loudly. That is, look we have done that to make the super system fairer and the benefits have gone to people on lower incomes. They’ve gone to people whose work is interrupted, mostly women, who can come back into workforce and can catch up. And it has also gone to older Australians who keep working after 65 and are now able, will now be able, to contribute to super. So we have reformed super. I know some wealthy people are disappointed by that but we believe we have made the super system fairer and more flexible and that is our commitment. Now as far as the point you have made about cutting the tax for millionaires in the budget, that is absolutely untrue. The only changes to personal income tax in the budget is increasing the $80,000 threshold to $87,000.
JOURNALIST:
Prime Minister the Australian Medical Association said your announcement during the debate last night with regard to pathologists was misleading. In fact all that the Minister has managed to achieve in negotiations is to stall the effect of what was going to happen for a couple months, conveniently, after the election or a bit beyond. What is your response to the AMA’s view?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well Pathology Australia have announced that they will continue bulk billing in the way they have before. So their patients will continue to be bulk billed and won’t pay anymore.
JOURNALIST:
Prime Minister how long will that go on for? And what is the overall cost to the bottom line of the delay?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well the saving will continue as Sussan Ley has described is changing the regulations to ensure that rents are set at market rates I should say, appropriate in the various localities where they are. This is something the pathologists have been seeking and that is something that Sussan has negotiated with them. But the important thing is that the patients will not pay any more, bulk billing will continue.
JOURNALIST:
That release also says this rebate cut is going to be delayed until the other element is in place, in terms of the rent protection, what’s the timeline then?
PRIME MINISTER:
The Minister expects the period of delay to be in the order of three months.
JOURNALIST:
Prime Minister are you going to delay the backpacker tax?
PRIME MINISTER:
We’ve been listening very carefully to the concerns raised in regional communities about that change which of course comes in to effect on the 1st of July and we’ll have more to say about that in the future.
JOURNALIST:
Prime Minister you are in an area where there will be council amalgamations. Just talking to people here they do expect it to negatively affect Liberal candidates. Have you talked to Mike Baird about it?
PRIME MINISTER:
I’m not going to comment on matters that are entirely within the jurisdiction of the State Government.
JOURNALIST:
Just back to the pathologists, the AMA came out quite hard against this. Do you expect a whole campaign-long rallying cry from the AMA given this is now a number of issues that you are going head to head with them with?
PRIME MINISTER:
Look the important thing is the patients. Let’s focus on the real interest here. That is the patients. And they will not be paying any more because the pathologists will continue to bulk bill as they have said in their release yesterday.
JOURNALIST:
You were photographed with a Sun Mackay I think, with a security guard back in January in the Middle East who is now being held with regard for the shooting. Can you give us your recollection of him and what role he had in your security, and how much you know about his position now?
PRIME MINISTER:
We are all very saddened by the death of the Australian security contractor in Baghdad. Our sympathy, our condolences our prayers are with his family. The matter is being investigated and you would understand that I am not about to make any further comments on the matter until the investigation is complete.
JOURNALIST:
Prime Minister after the debate last night there was some commentary that Bill Shorten was much more in touch with the concerns of the everyday undecided voters in the room. Are you worried that your personal wealth has given people the impression that you are out of touch with those concerns?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well let me just say to you as I said in the Parliament, Lucy and I have been very lucky in our lives, we know that, we know there are many people that have worked harder, that have not been so fortunate. We count our blessings, and that’s something that we recognise, it’s why we believe in public service both of us, and always have done. I can understand why Mr Shorten wants to make an issue of this, but I think that most Australians understand, that our nation was built on opportunity and aspiration, and that all of us are entitled to aspire to achieve great things for our families, and those of us that are fortunate to do so, should count our blessings as I said, and always recognise the importance of giving back to the community, like we have always done.
JOURNALIST
Prime Minister, regarding Nauru, a 22 year old woman had a caesarean at Nauru. She’s been emergency evacuation to Brisbane. She and the baby are in critical condition. Is Nauru an appropriate place for a woman to give birth?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well I can’t comment on individual cases as you know. Can I just say to you that every support in terms of health including medical support and mental health, is provided to the people who are currently living in Nauru. Can I just say to you though that the real - that the balance that we have to find here, is simply this; and this is what the Labor Party is tearing themselves apart about, let’s be frank. We do not theorise about border protection. This is not something where there is speculation and debates between experts. We know what happens when the strong border protection policies of the Howard Government, of which I was a Cabinet Minister, we know what happens when those policies were abandoned. We know - 1200 people drowned at sea at least, those are the ones we know about. 50,000 unauthorised arrivals. It was a catastrophe and I argued day after day in the Parliament with Kevin Rudd and begged him not to change our border protection regime, because we said that if you did that, Mr Rudd, then the boats will start again, he said no, Labor said no, they were in denial, and you can see. Well we know what happened, it’s all very well for Mr Shorten to say, just as Mr Rudd did in 2007 that he is going to be strong and will turn back the boats, well Kevin Rudd buckled and abandoned the policy after he became Prime Minister. Bill Shorten will do the same. It is the same old Labor. They are completely divided on this issue, they don’t have their heart in it. They don’t have the strength to keep our borders secure. Only the Coalition has the strength, the conviction to ensure that our borders are secure.
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