TRANSCRIPT Radio 2CC, Breakfast 17 January 2019

E&OE

Subjects:  Parkes Elvis Festival; Inland Rail; Bringing Pacific Island workers into rural Australia; national road toll; Election; water management; cutting red tape.

TIM SHAW:

Would you rather be Elvis for a day or be Prime Minister for a day? Prime Minister Scott Morrison is visiting the Pacific Islands, and that means that Michael McCormack is our Acting Prime Minister. He’s in the acting capital, the great city of Wagga Wagga this morning, where it’s 32 degrees and heading for a top of 43 today and 44 tomorrow.

Mr Acting Prime Minister, welcome back to 2CC Breakfast.

MICHAEL MCCORMACK:

Good morning, Tim. I love the intro. You can be both; you could be Elvis and the Acting Prime Minister all in one week.

TIM SHAW:

How good is that Elvis Festival in Parkes?

MICHAEL MCCORMACK:

If anybody hasn’t been there put it on your bucket list because it’s the happiest weekend of the year. Twenty-five-thousand Elvis fans: 25,000 people cannot be wrong. And even if you’re not an Elvis fan, everybody knows Return to Sender and Love Me Tender and all these songs. And it’s just a happy weekend.

TIM SHAW:

It is. And can you tell Mrs McCormack, she makes a very, very good looking Priscilla.

MICHAEL MCCORMACK:

She absolutely does. She dressed up, and a lot of people do get dressed up and they just enjoy the weekend for what it is. I appreciate that some people must have just looked at it and thought, oh my goodness, there’s the Deputy Prime Minister dressed as Elvis, that’s kind of strange. But you’ve got to get in the spirit of it. It is in my electorate, it’s a great community event. And Parkes is really suffering from the drought, and to tip $13 million into that local economy, as was the case on the weekend, well, that’s just got to be seen as a good thing. The festival has been going for 27 years. Tim, you should dress up as Elvis in your sequin suit and come next year too. There’s the challenge for you.

TIM SHAW:

There is the challenge. You took up my challenge, of course. You jumped into a cab and you went around Australia and it’s important because you’re the Minister for Transport, Infrastructure and Regional Development. How good was that news, this week, of the first delivery of Australian-made steel to get that Inland Rail underway?

MICHAEL MCCORMACK:

Look, fantastic, and of course it’s a $9.3 billion investment in the nation. It’s going to benefit not only the regions but it’s also going to benefit a lot of people in capital cities. I always say when our regions are strong, so too is our nation. But we’re getting on with the job, the build has started and Whyalla steel is being used. That’s fantastic - fantastic for South Australia, fantastic for the Inland Rail, and we’re getting on with the job of building a better future.

TIM SHAW:

Prime Minister Scott Morrison wants to bring workers from the Pacific Islands into rural Australia. Tell us why.

MICHAEL MCCORMACK:

Well, because there are many, many jobs that are not being filled out at the moment. We don’t want fruit rotting on the trees, we don’t want our meat processing plants shutting down early or turning stock away or just not filling their orders because we can’t find the workers. We need these people. And if you’re going to step up – as we’ve said we’re doing, as a Government, in the Pacific – then you’ve got to show up. And the Prime Minister is showing up, he’s there; Fiji, Vanuatu – first PM to visit for many, many years, since 1990 in fact. He’s committed, he’s determined to help the Pacific. It’s in our backyard, it’s right in our neighbourhood – and we should. There are mutual benefits. We can get these workers – and I tell you what, when you go around rural and regional Australia as I do every day of the week, and you see that there are labour shortages, we need to fill those and we can do it. They contribute to the community too. A lot of these people come across and they bring their families. It’s a good thing. They play rugby, they get involved in the communities and it’s a win-win for all concerned.

TIM SHAW:

Yes, really, really important. The national road toll fell to its lowest level in four years in 2018, according to new figures released today. But 1146 people still died on our roads. What do we do, Acting Prime Minister?

MICHAEL MCCORMACK:

If it was one death on our national roads for the entire year, it would be one too many, Tim. Yes, 78 fewer fatalities, that’s welcome but gee whiz, 1146 - not to mention the 30,000 or so people who were injured on our roads - is way too many. We’re working to further reduce road trauma. The $75 billion we’re spending on infrastructure: a lot of that’s going into roads. But the National Road Safety Governance Review, that’s been identified, it’s been backed by the Government; it’s a positive first step in following through on that National Road Safety Strategy Inquiry’s recommendations. They’re good recommendations. We’re following up on that, we need to do more but at the end of the day it comes down to driver behaviour as well. People should stop using their mobile phones, obey the speed limits and just drive to the conditions.

TIM SHAW:

I’ve got Deputy Premier John Barilaro on the program tomorrow. He’s made a commitment about upgrading regional roads in New South Wales. What are we doing federally? Are we doing enough to make regional roads in Australia safer?

MICHAEL MCCORMACK:

I won’t say we’re doing enough - we can always do more. And when you have a strong economy -  we are producing the first budget surplus on 2 April – when you’ve got a strong economy, you can put more money into infrastructure, you can put more money into roads and regional roads. Unfortunately regional road trauma is way over-represented in these statistics. We need to make sure that we continue to identify black spots but also upgrade other roads such as the Bruce Highway on which we’re spending $10 billion. That Section D Cooroy to Curra in Queensland is going to be a road that’s going to be very much a safer road thanks to the investment that we’re making. Of course, the Barton Highway: I know Sophie Wade, the Nationals candidate for Eden-Monaro, has led that Barton Highway Community Action Group. That’s the sort of investment that we need to make to duplicate that road. We’re getting on and doing it but it takes time and it takes money; and you can spend this sort of money when you’ve got a strong economy. That’s what we’re doing.

TIM SHAW:

I’m glad you mentioned Sophie Wade. She’s a pioneer. She works hard for her community and a is very, very good candidate for the Nationals. Rob Oakeshott is running as an independent in the seat of Cowper. We’re expecting three cornered contests in the seats like Indi, Eden-Monaro and, of course, Mallee. Is this year going to be a tough election for the Nationals?

MICHAEL MCCORMACK:

It is but look, I spent yesterday, all day yesterday at Port Macquarie with Pat Conaghan, the Nationals candidate. What a refreshing breath of fresh air he is. He is fantastic. He’s going to build on the strong work that Luke Hartsuyker has done for 17 yerars and, of course, by Leslie Williams and Andrew Fraser for The Nationals in the State Government. He is going to be such a good candidate; if he gets elected he’s going to be making such a difference. When you compare it to what he’s standing against, he’s going to be a breath of fresh air on the hustings, on the campaign trail, let me tell you. So, yes, look it’s going to be a difficult year but National Party people don’t focus on ourselves, we focus on the people we serve and we’ll be out there putting our best foot forward and telling about the vision and the plan that we’ve got to build a better future. That’s what we’re doing each and every day. I’m going up to Gladstone tomorrow with Kenny O’Dowd, I’m going down to Tasmania on Saturday with Senator Steve Martin. And today I’m going to my home town of Marrar to make a few little announcements; one for the school, one for the community hall where so many weddings and wakes are held, and another for the local skating rink. They’re the sorts of investments that can be done when you are running a good economy, when you are focusing on the things that matter - not just the big things but also the little ones. Those little community grants make such a difference to those wonderful little, highly spirited, highly energetic communities.

TIM SHAW:

Senator Bridget McKenzie, a great Deputy Leader of the Nationals, your college – should she run in the seat of Indi?

MICHAEL MCCORMACK:

That’s up to Bridget; and look, if she does, she’ll have my full support; she is an outstanding Member of Parliament doing such a great job in rural health and rural communications, sport, local government. She’s got a big portfolio area and she’s covering it very well. If she wants to put her hand up for the Lower House - she has another three years in the Senate which will be probably tempting to stay on and continue to do the fine work and outstanding job that she’s been doing – but if she wants to take that leap of faith and put her hand up for Indi, then she’ll have my full support.

TIM SHAW:

Reg from Hughes - one of my listeners, Acting Prime Minister – said that if we can turn the rivers around, we can save that water, we can- a million dead fish, this is just outrageous. What do we need to do for water management in regional Australia? Because what’s happening now isn’t working.

MICHAEL MCCORMACK:

 The Murray-Darling Basin Plan is a bipartisan agreement and it’s very much an environmental document. We’ve announced $5 million for a native fish management and recovery strategy. The temperatures have been very high and of course that’s sucked a lot of the oxygen out of the water system with these varying temperatures; and of course the levels are down because it hasn’t rained in the catchment for seven years. Now, fish kills have happened, not to this degree but have happened many, many times in the past. That’s a part of the Australian natural environment, sad to say. We haven’t had rain for many, many, many months and, indeed, years in some parts, and it does have an impact. Now when it rains, it will rain and it won’t stop and we’ll have floods there and it will flush the system out. We’ll be probably cursing that we’ve got too much water. That’s just the nature of Australia. Sadly, yes, we are in serious drought and the system just needs rain.

TIM SHAW:

Can I commend your department? Some fabulous work done between particularly your colleague in New South Wales, John Barilaro, but a federal approach to cutting the red tape between states and territories. Arthur from Weetangera, one of our listeners, Universal Trusses - very, very big business. He gets an order for a truss but he’s got to apply for a permit to take it from ACT to New South Wales, delays in those permits. Have you got more red tape to cut, Michael McCormack?

MICHAEL MCCORMACK:

We do indeed and that’s why our Cross Border Commissioner James McTavish does such a great job. When we have examples like that, we need to hear them, we need small businesses to put their hand up and let us know. I’m happy for anybody to send my office an email. I’m not the Small Business Minister any more but Michaelia Cash is doing an outstanding job in cutting through a lot of that red tape that does burden small business. I’ve run a small business. You understand business, Tim, every little bit helps.

TIM SHAW:

It always does.

MICHAEL MCCORMACK:

…Every little bit of red tape cutting, that is.

TIM SHAW:

Absolutely. Those small business tax cuts have made a big difference already. What do you say is the biggest threat if a Labor Government is elected in May 2019?

MICHAEL MCCORMACK:

We’re producing a surplus on 2 April. When you’ve got a strong economy, when you’ve got a Budget in surplus, you can build a better future. You can put more money into regional roads; you’re not whacking at retirees for higher taxes, taking away their franking credits which they use to pay off the repairs to a  fridge, for a little holiday, for their car rego. They’re the sorts of things that retirees are telling me they are very fearful about. When I was on the Mid North Coast yesterday, I don’t know how many people came up to me and said that very thing, that they’re very worried that a Bill Shorten Government is going to whack their retiree savings. They like the fact that they can live a good life and have those few little luxuries. But they’re all going to be taken away. The fact is Bill Shorten will come in and will tax Australia to the utmost degree. We don’t need that. We’re getting the economy back on track after six years of debt and deficit by Labor. We’re finally seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. We don’t want to see a Bill Shorten-led Government that’s going to take all that away, that’s going to strip away those benefits that we’ve worked so hard to put back into the economy.

TIM SHAW:

Acting Prime Minister, thanks for being there. Viva Wagga Wagga, the great city of Wagga Wagga. And you travel safe around the nation. Thanks for your time.

MICHAEL MCCORMACK:

Thanks, Tim. Talk soon.

TIM SHAW:

Thank you. Michael McCormack, Acting Prime Minister of Australia. He’s Minister for Transport, Infrastructure and Regional Development, Federal Leader of the National Party of Australia.

Shane Manning