TRANSCRIPT: Interview with Tom Connell, Sky News Live, 8 October 2018

E&OE

Subjects: New IPCC report recommending revised emissions targets; inquiry into road user charges; Nationals’ proposed new visa.

TOM CONNELL:

Let’s get some more on the political news of the day now. Joining me live is the Deputy Prime Minister, Michael McCormack, live from Cairns.

Minister, thanks very much for your time today. This IPCC report is going to get a lot of headlines again, of course, it recommends that we aim for the more ambitious 1.5 degree warming – limit it too that – and in doing so, stop using coal by the year 2050. What do you make of that ambition? 

[Live cross]

MICHAEL MCCORMACK:

Well I’m sure Bill Shorten will fall in line with whatever it takes to get him a headline, but the fact is I am in Queensland – you are right – and for those people who work in coal mines in Queensland, coal mining is very, very important. It still provides 60 per cent of the energy needs right across our nation and indeed, 50,000 jobs as our largest export. So, I’m very much supportive of the coal industry, very much supportive of what those workers in high-vis vests do, whether they’re in Queensland or New South Wales or wherever they might happen to be in Australia. Understand the concerns, understand the IPCC report – haven’t read it as yet. It’s only just hit the desk. But the fact is, I’ll have a look at it – I’ll certainly consider what it has to say. But the fact is, coal mining does play – and coal-fired power stations – do play an important part of our energy mix in Australia and will do so going forward.

TOM CONNELL:

Yeah, they will do so going forward for at least a number of decades, but would you be open – you spoke about you support for the coal industry – would you be open to looking at a phase-out by 2050 if that commitment is needed, according to this report?

MICHAEL MCCORMACK:

Well I haven’t seen anything that’s going to replace coal in the near future – and you say 10 years – I think we need to be a little bit more realistic than that. I think it’s going to take a lot longer than that. Certainly, we’ve got the coal there to provide power for Australia and other nations beside for many, many years other than just 10 years. And certainly, there’s an industry there that is supporting 50,000 workers. What Bill Shorten needs to do is explain how he’s going to provide the base-load power without using coal-fired power stations, and certainly the people of Newcastle, Hunter, Shortland and Paterson electorates also need to ask their local members how they’re going to address this report and how they’re going to see a potential phase-out of coal. I know that coal is going to be an important part of the mix going forward for more than just 10 years and I’ll be supporting that initiative as well.

TOM CONNELL:

We’ve got, of course, Scott Morrison saying we’ll meet our existing commitment at Paris in a canter, but we’ve also had the last quarter – the emissions increase – the biggest one in about eight years. So that statement doesn’t seem to marry with the facts at the moment.

MICHAEL MCCORMACK:

Well, the facts are too we met our first Kyoto target by 128 million tonnes. The fact is we are meeting our targets; the fact is we are responsible; and the fact is also, we’re responsible for 1.8 per cent of global emissions. Now, obviously this is a global challenge and we need to address it in a global sense. But the fact is, we also are supportive – the Liberals and Nationals in government – are supportive of small business, of industry, of farms, and of coal mining. The fact is we don’t want to have to turn away workers and stop producing things in this nation, just because somebody might suggest that some sort of report is the way we need to follow and everything that we should do. The fact is, we are a nation which produces the very best food and fibre and that requires a lot of energy. The fact is, we are a manufacturing nation as well and we should be more of a manufacturing nation. And the fact is, we’ve got coal reserves to last us many, many decades and that’s a great export earner for Australia. It also provides 60 per cent of power needs for this nation. Why wouldn’t we exploit and use that?

TOM CONNELL:

So many, many decades of coal reserves – you think we should use them regardless of what a report says? That’s your position?

MICHAEL MCCORMACK:

Absolutely.

TOM CONNELL:

That means going many, many I’m assuming that’s more than-

MICHAEL MCCORMACK:

[Talks over] I can’t put it any more bluntly than that, Tom.

TOM CONNELL:

Alright, fair enough. So, just to clarify, though, that’s going beyond 2050…

MICHAEL MCCORMACK:

[Talks over] Well, until…

TOM CONNELL:

…in terms of exports, for example?

MICHAEL MCCORMACK:

Well, we need an energy mix and we’re doing just that. We’re investing in solar farms; we’re investing in other renewable technology as well. But until the technology catches up and is able to provide and produce the base-load power that coal does at the moment, then coal is part of the future and it has to be and will be.

TOM CONNELL:

Alright, we’ll get a more full response, of course, from the Prime Minister and-

MICHAEL MCCORMACK:

[Talks over] Were also investing, I should say-

TOM CONNELL:

… and Minister, I’m just going to move on to another topic if I can, because reports of a promised inquiry into road user charges has been ditched. Can you confirm if that report is going ahead or not?

MICHAEL MCCORMACK:

Well, it hasn’t been ditched. What I did last week was, on behalf of the Government, announce $9.7 million of investment in an Office of Future Transport Technologies, and so that Office will be working to see what we can do as far as road pricing, as far as automated vehicles, as far as future technologies are concerned. We want to make sure that we’ve got the right plans and preparations for the future and that office will do just that.

TOM CONNELL:

So, just to clarify on that point, are you saying that there still is going to be an inquiry that would look into, for example, road user charging for ordinary light vehicles?

MICHAEL MCCORMACK:

Well, what I’ve done today here in Cairns is address the Bus Industry Confederation and I said to them, as I’m saying to your Sky viewers now, that the Office of Future Transport Technologies will be looking at the overall mix of automated vehicles, of road pricing, and taking into account what we’ve said in the past and what we intend to do now and what we’ll do in the future. So, it’s an exciting innovation. It’s going to make sure that, within the Department that I oversee, ensure that the future technologies – automated vehicles, light vehicles – are using the roads and all the like, that’s all taken into consideration, and that going forward, we have the right plans, we have the right vision and do we make sure that everything is taken into consideration.

TOM CONNELL:

Just finally, the Nationals have been pushing for a new visa for farmers, essentially, to get workers from overseas where there are shortages here. Is that definitely going to happen and be announced before summer?

MICHAEL MCCORMACK:

Well, what we are being told by the National Farmers’ Federation is that we’ve got a shortfall of 100,000 workers. The South Pacific Islanders provide a little more than 6000 of the working needs to pick the fruit, to harvest the crops, to work in the various meat processing plants etc. etc. and so what we need to do is address those problems. We’ve always got a shortfall of labour, and even despite the drought, even despite the downturn in some rural, agricultural areas because of the drought, and there’s not as much food and fibre needing to be processed, we still have that shortfall of labour. We’ll be addressing that as a Government. We’ll be coming up with a plan to solve the problem and we’ll be doing that very soon.

TOM CONNELL:

So something announced before summer?

MICHAEL MCCORMACK:

Well, let’s hope so – absolutely – because we need to work on it. Scott Morrison is fully cognisant of the fact that we’ve got a shortfall of workers. We need those overseas workers as we’ve relied on them in the past, we’re relying on them now and we’ll rely on them in the future as well.

TOM CONNELL:

Deputy Prime Minister Michael McCormack, thanks for your time today.

MICHAEL MCCORMACK:

Always a pleasure, Tom. Thank you.

Shane Manning