Have Your Say

TRANSCRIPT: MACKAY PRESS CONFERENCE, 11 December 2019

12 December 2019

E&OE

WITH: GEORGE CHRISTENSEN MP, MEMBER FOR DAWSON, CR GREG WILLIAMSON, MAYOR OF MACKAY REGIONAL COUNCIL & JASON BORG, CEO OF MACKAY BASKETBALL

Subjects: Dawson Infrastructure, Superyachts, NSW Minister Kean, Julian Assange, climate change, and hospital waiting times.

JOURNALIST:

Wonderful George. Can you tell us what’s happening out here today?

GEORGE CHRISTENSEN:

Well Christmas is coming early because the Deputy Prime Minister has signed off on the election commitment that we made, over $290,000 to assist Mackay Basketball with new seating arrangements here at the ‘Crater. And so that’s fantastic news because basketball in Mackay is one of those great spectator sports where the crowds are there, they’re consistent, they’re big every game that happens and they’re deserving of quality seating. And also this is going to be incorporating corporate seating and so that’s going to help the club with financial stability in the future so that’s great news.

And it’s good that the Federal Government, the Morrison Liberal National Government, has been able to invest this $291,000 plus. It’s even greater that we’re- local government through Mackay City Council – and I note we’ve got the mayor and deputy mayor here – they kicked off the funding for this with a $100,000 commitment. So this has been a partnership really between the council, between the Federal Government and the community through the Mackay Basketball Association. So great news.

JOURNALIST:

And you mentioned there that there will be extra seating. Just how many extra people will be able to enjoy this facility now?

GEORGE CHRISTENSEN:

You know, I’ve forgotten that number but Jason can probably give it to you, but a few hundred as I understand is what we’re talking about. It- this is huge though, like we have up to a thousand or more spectators here at some of the bigger games, so consistently in the vicinity of seven or eight hundred. So it’s a huge spectator sport and this seating will certainly help, particularly with the corporate backers of basketball and it’s important to look after them because they keep the whole thing afloat.

JOURNALIST:

And will it also help sports tourism locally and really building ourselves up to represent that here as well?

GEORGE CHRISTENSEN:

Well look, again, I might get the basketball guys to talk more about that but what I understand is of course we’ve got the state team here. But with the National Basketball League apparently we’re going into the lower level of the comp there and that’s going to attract more visitors here to Mackay. I don’t know if there’s bigger games, perhaps charity games that might be on the national level that we might be able to attract here because incorporated with the seating is going to be a bit of a media box up there so that just allows better production quality if the games are going to be televised. Great news, it could potentially bring in those big games to the region that we attract more people here to actually watch them.

JOURNALIST:

How much is the project costing altogether and when is it expected to be finished?

GEORGE CHRISTENSEN:

Again, I might let the guys talk about that so I- we’ll get on to that but what I can say is that along with being a boom to Mackay basketball and all the spectators here, this is going to be a boom to the local economy. There is a local company that’s actually been engaged to do the work here and that’s going to mean local jobs and I’ll let the timeline be said by Jason.

Could I also just mention our other two announcements that we’re making today. One of them is really going down to Abell Point Marina, the Deputy Prime Minister and I will be there a bit later today and we’ll be talking to the owner of Abell Point Marina about the opportunity that we have just unlocked as the Morrison Liberal National Government for super yacht vessels to come into Mackay and the Whitsundays – that’s going to be a huge boost to the economy. The numbers are for every super yacht that we get into the region, they drop in the vicinity of $50-60,000 per week. They’re big spenders of course, they drop a lot of money, they’re very wealthy people that go and tour on these super yacht vessels.

We have an impost at the moment where basically if you bring a super yacht vessel into Australia to charter it you are charged GST. There’s very few other countries that do that so they bypass Australia in the main and head off to New Zealand or Noumea when they come to the South Pacific. So removing this GST impediment will bring a whole heap of these vessels into Australia and the Whitsundays is, of course, is known as the sailing capital of Australia, so we’re going to get a heap in here. Noumea gets 200 staying for a week each- every year. So when you times that by 50,000, you get a lot of money flowing into the local economy and a lot of jobs. So this could unlock a lot of potential for the Whitsunday’s of course, for Mackay where they may come to have servicing done or they may dock here – Mackay at the moment is a port of entry – so it’s going to be a big thing for our region.

Thirdly, during the election campaign we announced funding of $5 million dollars for the upgrade of the Proserpine Entertainment Centre. That was something that was damaged by Cyclone Debbie but when they went in to have a look to- for the insurance purposes and to work out what to fix, they worked out there were a lot of pre-existing defects with the building that need to be sorted out and basically the building needs to come down and be rebuilt, and as the Morrison Liberal National Government we’ve put in $5 million to that project. And just yesterday the Deputy Prime Minister signed off on that funding, so that’s been approved and the local government there, Whitsunday Regional Council can now get on with the job of rebuilding.

So really with all of this stuff as I said, the shirt shows that it’s Christmas come early for the region thanks to Santa Claus here, the Deputy Prime Minister.

MICHAEL MCCORMACK:

You’re the one with the beard.

[Laughter]

GEORGE CHRISTENSEN:

All right, I’ll let you do a bit of talking.

MICHAEL MCCORMACK:

This is an exciting day for Mackay Basketball, it’s an exciting day for the community. I know this is the sort of achievement and accomplishment you get when you have a local government through Greg Williamson, through Amanda Camm – the Mayor and Deputy Mayor of Mackay City Council – working in conjunction with the Commonwealth, working in conjunction with the Federal Liberal and Nationals Government. George Christensen has advocated, lobbied and fought for better services and facilities for Mackay ever since he got into Parliament in 2010 and so excited that today we’re looking at this stadium and how we can improve it: 260 new seats in a new development that is going to bring so much for basketball for this area, whether it’s regional championships, whether it’s indeed state championships, whether it’s the Mackay Meteors and Meteorettes whipping the tails of other regional centres throughout Queensland in the competition, the NBL1, this is exciting news.

But whether it’s just mums and dads coming down to watch little Johnny and Mary playing the local competition, Mackay basketball attracts participants, more than a thousand from age five right up to nearly 70 years old, so it’s a big participator sport. And why shouldn’t Mackay have services and amenities that are equal to if not better than those in capital cities? Well they’ve got it today. This $291,000 commitment by the government, in conjunction with $100,000 by the local city council, is good news for Mackay and good news for everybody who comes down to this stadium. Why wouldn’t you want to come down? It’s an all-round- all year round sport. It’s a great sport.

Basketball makes friends for life. Really excited to be here with George Christensen, but also Jason Borg, the local administrator CEO of the basketball competition here. He’s very excited about what we’re doing here today, about what we’re announcing here today. And so he should be. He’s fought for some time to get better services. The fact that they’ve had to have temporary scaffolding in, the fact that they had to at times hire chairs for when they had a big game here, or just the local competition, meant that they really needed to do something more permanent. Well today, that permanency has arrived. And so excited to be here with the local member George Christensen. No one fights for north Queensland harder than George Christensen, and today, he’s delivered again.

JOURNALIST:

And it’s not the only announcement. We’ve got stuff happening in the Whitsundays and in Proserpine as well, but the whole region benefiting today.

MICHAEL MCCORMACK:

Well the super yachts legislation was again something that George Christensen fought for, and we’ve passed through the Parliament. This is important legislation which is going to mean that those super yachts, recreational vessels, choose the Whitsundays, choose North Queensland, to perhaps dry dock or just to pull into port and offload their passengers for a day or two of shopping and tourism activities. They’re big spenders, and so this is great for the local economy. And as well, if they do dry dock, this is going to mean that they could potentially spend a lot of money fixing up their vessel ready for the next voyage. This is money that we’ve- in North Queensland here have lost to other places. And so the legislation has changed, thanks to George and to other LNP members, making sure that we get those red tape removals, making sure that we get the potential unlocked for this great area. And of course with Proserpine, the recreational centre there, a $5 million commitment by the government. Of course Cyclone Debbie created such devastation, and this has been a project that is absolutely necessary. We’re investing $5 million into the rebuild. It’s good, a good commitment, a good spend, and it’ll make such a difference to the local community.

JOURNALIST:

Wonderful. Jason, what does this money mean for the club here?

JASON BORG:

Oh, it’s fantastic for us to have a quality facility. We’ve had a lot of redevelopments here over the last five years, and this sort of tops it off. One of the things that hasn’t been discussed today which is a big issue for us, was storage space. And by having a permanent grandstand, we will have a lot of storage space underneath. And a lot of the stuff that we have lying around, which to me is a safety issue, and the fact that we have other sports that use equipment and we run out of storage space and, you know, the indoor soccer goals, and all the wheelchairs from the sporting wheelies and that, we’ll have a bigger space for that, which is massive for me personally, and I know it’s massive for those organisations as well. So it doesn’t just help Mackay Basketball, it helps under the multi-sport use of our venue which we think’s pretty exciting as well and will attract other multi-use users. We have disability expos and career expos and all those sorts of events here and by having a nice tidy environment and a place where they can do their speeches, yeah, we’re very excited.

JOURNALIST:

And it goes to show 200-plus seats. I mean, what will they do for the club here? I mean, will it be a case of bringing more people in, or being able to host bigger events?

JASON BORG:

Hosting bigger events is one of the big things. To host national championships here in the junior age groups and state championships, which brings a lot of money into our local community. I’ve spoken to the regional council about that in the past, about some modelling on how much money that could bring into our economy, which is fantastic. And we’ve been lucky enough to secure a state championship for next year, which is fantastic, bringing a lot of money into our local community. So we’re excited about that, we’re excited about the fact that we could host local championships. And we’re also looking at, in the future, to have the big boys, the NBL1 boys come here and play some maybe pre-season or exhibition matches. We’ve got some irons in the fire there so, yeah, it’s all looking upwards.

JOURNALIST:

So when will those state championships be held?

JASON BORG:

They will be here late June 2020, yeah.

JOURNALIST:

And what age group, sorry?

JASON BORG:

Under 14’s, yeah. And we’ve also secured 2021 QISSN, which is Queensland Independent Secondary Schools Netball, which is 64 teams that will be coming to Mackay in June-July of 2021, which is fan- in conjunction with [Indistinct] rugby league. So that’s a big boon for our area. We’re excited to play a part in that, and they came and viewed our venue. It’s all we’re doing and they were super excited to come here, which is great for us and great for the economy. We plan- well, we don’t plan, the actual facility itself is supposed to be completed mid-April this year. So that will be in time for our NBL1 season kick-off, which will be late April. And I’ve been told a thousand times over that it will be finished and ready. So yeah, we- super juiced, can’t wait for it to get [indistinct].

JOURNALIST:

And when will construction start?

JASON BORG:

Any day now. Yeah, we got rid of the temporary scaffold last week, as you can see. And Knights Construction, who’s a local Mackay company will- has got the job. And I was talking to him yesterday, and he’s really excited to get started. Because he’s a basketball guy, you know, and he’s been a supporter of ours over the years, and we’re excited to get- that he’s taking the job on.

UNIDENTIFIED SPEAKER:

And when will it be finished, Jason?

JASON BORG:

Mid-April, mid-April.

JOURNALIST:

And how much is the project costing altogether? And do you need any extra funding or is it all secured?

JASON BORG:

It’s all secured, thanks to these lovely people here. I think I’ve got to put in about $800.

GREG WILLIAMSON:

Alright.

UNIDENTIFIED SPEAKER:

Alright Greg.

JOURNALIST:

Wonderful. Greg, what does this mean for Mackay?

GREG WILLIAMSON:

This is great for Mackay, it’s great for Mackay Basketball. This has been on the agenda now for the association for a number of years, and it’s tremendous to see this finally happening. What it does, it just steps it up a level. The ‘Crater here has seen – probably in regional Queensland – more people attend more regional games than any other centre in Queensland.

So what this gives us an opportunity now to do of course is to step it up to the next level. As you’ve heard we’re going to have the- some state level championships being played here. It gives us an opportunity, through our events attraction fund, to be able to go out and market basketball around Australia as a place to come because we have the venue for it. So the ‘Crater’s a tremendous venue when we get the extra seating, the upgraded seating, the storage facilities. This just gives us another level now to promote sports tourism which is a very, very important adjunct to our regional economy.

So congratulations to Mackay Basketball Association. Can’t wait to see it happening in April. Can’t wait to be here for the first kick off game for the Meteors and the Meteorettes. It’s always a tremendous season. Thanks very much to the Deputy PM for being in Mackay again and delivering the money. We contributed to this through our Better Regions Building Fund. A couple of years ago now we put in $100,000. And that’s our level of confidence in this association and their ability to put on a very, very good sporting event time after time for this region which just builds on our ability as a region to have sports as an attraction for events- events facilities throughout the region.

And when you think the Olympic Games are coming up, when we have some of the best facilities, it gives us a better chance to attract training. So that’s why we’re contributing to it and it’s great to see it finally coming off the drawing board and into action. Great to see a Mackay local company actually doing the building here for it as well and I think it’s, as George has said, a great Christmas present.

JOURNALIST:

So $100,000 from council went to this infrastructure as well?

GREG WILLIAMSON:

Through our Building Better Regions Fund, we put in $100,000 because our investment, as I said, builds not just the local sports body, not just the local facility here, it builds an ability for sports tourism in Mackay and that’s also of great interest to us because as you’ve heard, the trickle-down effect for people coming to our region because we have the facilities, because we have the ability to stage events, the trickle-down effect for the regional economy is immense. Thanks guys.

JOURNALIST:

So Michael, I have a question. The New South Wales Minister for Energy has linked the bushfires to climate change. He says that this is not normal and doing nothing is not a solution. Why do people within your own party think the Coalition is doing nothing?

MICHAEL MCCORMACK:

Well indeed Matt Kean has made those comments. He’s not in my party; he’s a member of the Liberal Party, I’m a member of the National Party. In fact, I’m the leader of the National Party and we have and are doing important things to address climate change. We are more than meeting our Paris Agreements; making sure that our Kyoto protocols are not just met, but indeed more than met. And so we’re doing that and certainly climate change is a factor.

There’s no question but also it’s important to note that most of these fires have been caused by little Lucifers running around with matches and fire-starters and creating havoc. Now, anybody who sees somebody lighting a fire deliberately to cause mayhem, destruction and perhaps even tragic death, should ring Crimestoppers, 1-800-333-000. If they see a fire that’s not being managed, that is burning out of control and that they don’t see any first responders there, ring 000. I can’t stress that enough. Fact is, many of these fires we’ve seen in Queensland, many arrests been made particularly of young people. And I urge and encourage parents to make sure you know where your kids are, particularly of a weekend, when they’re not in school, to make sure you know where they are so that they’re not out causing mischief.

Now, in the main, 99.9 per cent of kids are doing the right thing. Indeed 99.9 per cent of people are doing the right thing, but it’s that small percentage who, for some absurd and stupid reason, think that it’s perhaps a good thing to go and create a fire that indeed could cause a death. It’s just beyond comprehension. So yes, there are a number of factors as to why these fires are starting and the fact that we’ve had a very prolonged dry spell, brought about for many reasons, but the fuel load is extensive. It’s gone up literally in smoke and there are first responders out there working around the clock to try to endeavour to put these fires out. And so we should be thinking of them.

We’re doing everything we can as a Federal Government in conjunction with state governments to make sure that we’ve got the right responses in place; to make sure that we’ve got the right personnel. Of course, our Defence personnel are on standby and if need be, we’ll certainly utilise them as well to help in the logistics of this firefighting exercise.

JOURNALIST:

You said that politics and ideology shouldn’t get in the way. Is politics stopping action on climate change?

MICHAEL MCCORMACK:

Absolutely not. I mean, as I said before, we’re doing what we’ve said we would do. We’re doing what we’re signed up to internationally as far as addressing climate change and- but what we’re not going to do and what some would have us do is make sure that we don’t- we’re not able to run our factories, not able to run our businesses, not able to run our air conditioning at home or indeed heating in winter by going down a path that the Greens would have us go down and not be able to use the sort of energy requirements that we absolutely need. And we’re in Mackay, an industrial heartland of Australia. Indeed, many of these North Queensland, Central Queensland locations, Gladstone, Rockhampton punch well above their weight when it comes to making sure that they deliver the sort of goods and services that our country needs. But to do that, they require power.

Now, I know there’s an anti-coal bent in this country. We’ve seen Anthony Albanese at the moment on a tour of Queensland. I noticed that he didn’t come to Mackay. That was a decision made by him but the fact is I know that Matt Canavan has put the challenge out there: I support Adani. Well I certainly do support Adani. I support jobs. I support an industry, that being coal, that provides for billions, tens of billions of dollars’ worth of exports, tens of thousands of jobs, and two-thirds of this country’s energy needs. I support that sort of industry and indeed many of the Greens who sit in their terrace houses in in far-off capital cities ought to know that that’s where their energy supplies come from too.

Now, it’s all well and good for them to snub their nose at the coal industry, to snub their nose at those people who go in and work every day in the mines and in indirect jobs through the mining industry. But they ought to know that that mining industry, providing $62 billion of exports, is helping to pay for many of the state schools and many of the state hospitals that they need and they want and they too deserve. So many of the services and amenities that are provided in other states in this country are being supported very much by our resource sector and I will always support them, and I do support Adani. It’s a shame that there’s few other political leaders who can’t utter those three words.

JOURNALIST:

Michael, in recent days, Anthony Albanese has thrown his support behind coal mining and exports. Why do you think this sudden change of heart?

MICHAEL MCCORMACK:

Well he obviously looked at the Queensland election results on May 18 and thought: oh my goodness, look at that, we’ve been wiped out in Queensland and so they should have. But don’t believe, ever, what Labor says it’s going to do believe actually what Labor does. So all well and good for Anthony Albanese to come out and say that he supports some sections of the resources sector. Does he do that unreservedly? Does he do that unequivocally? I’m not quite so sure but does the indeed the left of his party, does the right of his party have the same unqualified support? I doubt that. And let’s see at the next national conference; indeed let’s see at their next state conference how supportive they are of the resource sector then. They don’t support the resources sector. They didn’t prior to the election and they got smashed here in Queensland as they should have. The fact is the Liberals and Nationals know that the resources sector is providing jobs, providing export opportunities and providing a future for Australia.

JOURNALIST:

Do you acknowledge though that Australians are getting more and more worried about climate change?

MICHAEL MCCORMACK:

Of course they are. And as it gets drier, the fact is many Australians are worried but look. We don’t need catastrophise things either. And you know, we’ve seen all too often in the past people coming out, people who ought to know better saying it’s never going to rain again. Well let me tell you it will run again. 2016 was a particularly wet year from where I come from in south west New South Wales and yet here we are three years later. Some very learned people saying well it’s never going to rain again. I mean Lisa Neville, the Victorian Labor Water Minister doesn’t want to build more water infrastructure because she says it’s not going to rain again and it won’t fill up again. To me that’s just ridiculous. And I’m so glad that the Nationals through Peter Walsh and through Steph Ryan want to build water infrastructure at Big Buffalo. So they’re people who have a vision for the future. It will rain again and when it starts to rain again it’ll probably come down in such torrents we will be cursing the rain, that’s Australia. It is a land of droughts and flooding rains and it’s a cycle. Yes, we do need to address climate change and we’re doing that but we’re doing it in a practical, responsible way without smashing up the economy, without making electricity and power prices unaffordable for average everyday Australian families and households.

JOURNALIST:

Michael just a quick question on mining, so BHP has announced it’s introducing automation at a Bowen Basin mine site. Just wondering what your thoughts are on automation in the mining industry?

MICHAEL MCCORMACK:

Well there will always be jobs for Australians in mining sites and yes automation whether it’s mining or whatever sector is always going to be a factor. Look at our farms, look at how automated they are these days. And automation does help to ensure that the jobs get done and get done quicker and in a more affordable fashion for companies and for individuals running farms, running mines, running whatever. Fact is, so long as it’s done with the workers in mind we’re always going to need workers in mines. The resources sector particularly here in Queensland is going back to boom times and that is a good thing. And they’re going back to boom times not just because the resources are there but also because we’ve got a committed Federal Liberal and Nationals Government which wants to see progress. What we need to have is a Liberal Nationals Government in place in Queensland State Government to ensure that we unlock the potential, particularly right throughout Queensland. But of course we need to utilise the resources. They’re there, we need to explore them, we need to export them and we need to use them. That’s just- that just makes good common sense.

JOURNALIST:

In terms of hospital wait times which have been in the news today, Australia report from [indistinct] shows that waiting times in public hospitals for elective surgery and emergency department are blowing out, what is your Government doing to reduce that?

MICHAEL MCCORMACK:

Well we’re providing record amount of money for state public hospitals, we don’t run hospitals and we don’t employ. We don’t employ the staff members who work in those hospitals, those wonderful professionals. The fact is we’re providing record amounts of money. Greg Hunt, I know the Minister is talking with his state colleagues to address these problems and to address these issues. I’ve got every confidence that that he’ll do the right thing to make sure that waiting lists are reduced. But I say again it’s largely the remit of states. They are responsible for running state hospitals. We’ll do everything in our power of course to help the situation but it’s also a question that you should put to the Queensland Labor Government, what are they doing to address it? The fact is we’re a government which is back in the black thanks to the prudent financial management of Josh Frydenberg, Scott Morrison and the entire Liberal National Party’s team. We’re making sure that we meet our commitments like this today; a community development grant not possible, not possible under a Labor government. I mean Labor doesn’t care about the regions. We know that, we’ve seen that writ large when they were previously in government federally between 2007 and 2013. We’re paying down Labor’s debt, we’re making sure that the books are balanced again. We’re getting into surplus and we’re making sure that the regions are well looked after.

JOURNALIST:

George, can you give us an update at all about how things are going with the trip to the US for Julian Assange?

GEORGE CHRISTENSEN:

So in February, Andrew Wilkie and I are both going to be going to the UK in order to try and visit Julian Assange in Belmarsh Prison. Andrew and I are co-chairs of the Parliamentary Friends of Bringing Julian Assange Home. And under that remit, that’s why we’re going and visiting him. We’re paying our own way to go and see him. Hopefully the British authorities allow access. We’ve gotten advice that as just normal tourist entrance we can pay a social visit to Julian Assange in Belmarsh. But as I understand it, Julian Assange’s legal team are currently going through the process of trying to get us formal access to even get that approved in Belmarsh Prison.

I mean why the visit? Well there have been a lot of reports that we’ve been hearing second and third hand about the state of his health, about the state of his mental health, about the conditions that he’s suffering there in Belmarsh Prison, about the treatment that he received at the court, and all these things are quite concerning. We want to go and speak to Julian firsthand about those matters. So it is technically a social visit to go and see a fellow Aussie who is in jail, I think unjustly, because all he was, was a journalist or a publisher. He received information and for receiving that information he is being hauled through the courts in the UK and potentially then in the US to face a life sentence. This is death by time, that’s what the sentence will be if he’s found guilty, and I think that that’s not on.

JOURNALIST:

When you say social visit, just to clarify, will it still be taxpayer funded?

GEORGE CHRISTENSEN:

No, no, we’re paying our own way so there’s no taxpayer funding going in this. Both Andrew Wilkie and myself are paying our own way over to the UK – flights, accommodation, all the rest of it to go and see him.

JOURNALIST:

And the only hurdle is his lawyers are sort of organising the approvals and everything, otherwise it can go ahead?

GEORGE CHRISTENSEN:

Well just the only thing I’ll add to it is that we have received some legal advice that as visitors to the UK, we would be entitled to pay a social visit to Julian Assange in Belmarsh Prison. Now of course you need to get authorisation to go into these sort of prisons and so we’re going through the process of doing that. But as we understand it there really should be no impediment for us as tourists from Australia going to the UK to go pay that social visit to Julian Assange.

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