Labor’s plan to deliver more jobs in Townsville

CATHTY O'TOOLE, MEMBER FOR HERBERT: This is a really fantastic day for Townsville and I welcome the Opposition Leader, Bill Shorten, and the Shadow Minister for Northern Australia, Jason Clare to the Port. The announcement that our Opposition Leader is going to make today is immense for this area. The expansion of the Port is not new for Townsville, we've been talking about this for over 10 years, and the jobs that it will create for our local workers will be very much welcomed. So I'd just like to hand over to Bill to fill in the details for you.

BILL SHORTEN, LEADER OF THE OPPOSITION: Thanks Cathy, and good afternoon everybody. I'm here with Cathy O'Toole, our hard working Member for Herbert, and of course Jason Clare my spokesperson for Northern Australia and Resources amongst other portfolios. I'm really pleased to be here with Cathy O'Toole and Jason Clare to announce that if I'm elected Prime Minister I will find the necessary funds, $75 million, to widen the access to the Port of Townsville.

This is a remarkable port. We see nine million tonnes travel through the port, we see billions of dollars generated by the activities of this port. In a diverse economy, which is Townsville's future, the Port of Townsville is absolutely the key to the success of Townsville as an economic hub of North Queensland.

So I'm announcing today, that along with the money, the $43 million that the Port of Townsville wants to put forward, the $75 million from the Queensland Government, I would match it with another $75 million. And what we would do there, is we will make sure that Townsville and North Queensland gets its fair share of the economic activity that a bigger port can generate.

This project has been in the wings for 10 years, it's been spoken about for 10 years. It's got all the environmental tick off, no problems there. It has been analysed by Infrastructure Australia as having a really great cost-benefit ratio. What that means in plain English is that for every dollar spent here there is going to be a lot more coming back in the region in economic gain.

The $75 million and the port access widening, what that would deliver is 120 jobs during the construction phase and it would generate another 60 ongoing jobs. But of course even more than that, this would be a multiplier of additional jobs. Imagine the positive impact on North Queensland roads if 150,000 containers are not being taken to down south but, instead, could come shorter distances, import and export through the Port of Townsville.

And of course, it is good news for tourism too. Townsville can't afford to let the world go by and not upgrade its resources and upgrade its infrastructure. The reality is these days ships are getting longer and wider. What the channel widening would do, is it would extend the width from its narrowest point of just over 90m to 180m wide. That's really important because as ships get longer, we need to have more ability for ships to turn around and utilise the berths. This proposal by Labor is all part of our grander plan for regional Queensland. Labor has a plan for real jobs for regional Queensland.

Townsville's strength is its diverse economy, there's a lot of good news here, a lot of good things happening in Townsville. What they need is a government in Canberra not worrying about its own petty arguments and internal squabbles. Forget the soap opera in Canberra and instead what we need is real assistance, where it’s needed on the ground in Townsville, and with Cathy O'Toole and myself and Jason, we are determined to make the Townsville Port a  really world-class national port. Let's give it the size and scope so that it can share in the benefits which are going to help all of North Queensland.

I am happy to just hand over to Jason Clare for a moment and then I'm happy to take questions.

JASON CLARE, SHADOW MINISTER FOR TRADE AND INVESTMENT SHADOW MINISTER FOR RESOURCES AND NORTHERN AUSTRALIA: Thanks, Bill, it's great to be here at Townsville Port with Bill and Cathy. This is the biggest container port in Northern Australia, but it's not big enough. Ships, container ships, are getting bigger, and as a result a lot of ships can't get into this port, and as a result, they bypass Townsville and head to Brisbane or to Sydney. And this announcement we're making today will fix that. It will mean more ships coming in to Townsville, it will mean more jobs for Townsville, and it will mean more containers going in and out of Townsville, particularly going out of Townsville full of things that are made and grown here in North Queensland. It's all part, as Bill said, of our plan to create real jobs and more jobs here in North Queensland.

 

At the moment, there are 30,000 people in central and north Queensland who are unemployed. No one project is going to fix that. We need projects like this to employ more central and north Queenslanders, and you will see more announcements like this in the weeks and months ahead. You can trust that with the Liberal Party and the National Party at the moment in Canberra, you have Malcolm Turnbull and Barnaby Joyce just focused on their jobs, at war with each other. You've got the National Party cracking apart at the seams. 

 

The best example of that is the Northern Australia Infrastructure Fund. It was announced 1,014 days ago and they still haven't funded one project in North Queensland. The Northern Australia Fund announced 1,000 days ago, and they still haven't done anything here in North Queensland. No wonder the people of North Queensland are angry and disappointed in this bad, divided Turnbull/Joyce Government.

 

SHORTEN: Any questions?

 

JOURNALIST: Bill, the Federal Government have done the environmental approval on the Port. Is that a sign that the Federal Government is moving forward with the project or does more need to be done?

 

SHORTEN: You don't have to have lived in Townsville for the last 10 years to know that expanding the capacity of the port has been talked about a lot, but nothing's happened. I'll tell you how politics is working in 2018 - Labor is leading with the policy ideas and I hope the LNP don't need an election to work out that what we've done is a very good idea. And just to reinforce this sense of Labor leading when it comes to the real issues which affect every day north Queenslanders; we came out and said the Townsville Stadium should be built. It was only two weeks before the actual election day, that Mr Turnbull and his Canberra gang agree to back that proposal. We're the ones who have said we should have hydro schemes on the Burdekin, I see that's gaining traction. Labor leads, we don't think you need an election to come up with a good idea. 

 

What people want out of politicians in 2018 is not to talk about themselves, not to be in this business for themselves but to be in it for ordinary people. Let's widen the port, it makes sense. Why should North Queensland send its products south and pay the shipping and the transport and the road fees? Why should North Queensland have to pay more for the containers and the imports which come into Australia because we don't have a larger container facility in North Queensland. This idea ticks all the boxes, good for jobs; good for tourism; good for construction workers. We all know the resources construction sector is coming off. The last big job in Australia, Inpex is coming to a close. We know that we need to start generating jobs now, real blue-collar jobs. I also want to see us do more manufacturing in Townsville, and one of the ingredients to having a stronger blue-collar manufacturing and engineering base is to have a port which can take the capacity to import and export.

 

JOURNALIST: Bill,65 per cent of people in the Newspoll says Barnaby Joyce should step down as the Nationals leader, one-third said he should quit politics altogether. Does your position on Barnaby Joyce remain the same?

 

SHORTEN: I didn't need a poll to tell me that Barnaby should go. If I was Prime Minister, Barnaby Joyce would have already been sacked as Deputy Prime Minister. What we are seeing is Barnaby Joyce, in my opinion, breaching the Ministerial Code of Conduct. But what's even worse than that, is we have a Prime Minister, Malcolm Turnbull, who is too weak to actually sack him. Malcolm Turnbull has now become a figure of some derision. He says, I'm the Prime Minister but don't expect me to do anything about my cabinet ministers. He said today on radio that, maybe the National Party will get rid of him, maybe they won't. We don't need Malcolm MIA Turnbull, missing in action, he needs to step here. People think that politicians all too often, are in it for themselves but the real scandal here is that the Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Minister are only worried about their own jobs, not about Australian jobs.

 

JOURNALIST: Does that mean Labor's going to sign up to the changes the PM's outlined to the Ministerial Code of Conduct?

 

SHORTEN: Thanks for that question. We saw last week, Mr Turnbull blow his stack at Barnaby Joyce but it is very clear Mr Turnbull had a fair idea what has been going on for months. But now, Mr Turnbull is feeling a bit of electoral pressure, then he has decided that what he knew before, now becomes is a scandal. What I  want to just say Mr Turnbull's changes to the Code of Conduct is if we get elected, we're not going to overturn it, but it's not the main game, is it. The real issue here is not the relationship, it's the conflict of interest. It's the very poor decisions made. It's the conflict of interest. I mean this might surprise you but I actually thought that Julie Bishop from London made some sense this morning. She said there is a role for private lives, for politicians to have a private life. She said she will make a go at this Code of Conduct, so will Labor.

 

JOURNALIST: You mentioned yesterday you were consulting experts about this. What have they said about the code of conduct?

 

SHORTEN: What we know, and speaking to colleagues and people is that you should guarantee safe work places. Work places where respectful relationships are maintained. The issue here is that Mr Turnbull has ignored the conflict of interest and focused on one aspect. We're not going to make that a giant issue. If that's the Code of Conduct he wants to introduce, well we won't overturn it if we form a government. But the reality is, the problem isn't the Code of Conduct, the Code of Conduct already, I think, covers will Joyce's behaviour. The problem is that Mr Turnbull won't enforce the code of conduct. The problem is our Prime Minister is too weak to take on Barnaby Joyce and he is leaving it to everyone else to get rid of him.

 

JOURNALIST: Bill, Michael McCormack has been touted as the next Nationals leader. Do you think that's a matter of time now?

 

SHORTEN: That's a matter for the National Party, but it does go to show that the Government's divided. The National Party is divided in itself. The Liberal Party is divided with the National Party. You've got the Prime Minister pouring scorn and shame on Barnaby Joyce on Thursday. You've got Barnaby Joyce calling the Prime Minister inept on Friday. Then on Saturday they try and pretend to the nation, treat the nation like mugs that there's nothing to see here. I mean, this is a government obsessed about their own jobs. By contrast, I lead a united Labor team. And it's the practical things that matter. That's why we are here announcing this port expansion, because this will deliver real jobs, will decrease transport costs, it'll ultimately help with the cost of living because if things cost less to transport, then that helps the consumer. It is also about regional Australia and regional Queensland and North Queensland. Townsville is a diverse economy. What we've got to do is play to regional Queensland's strengths and diversifying the Townsville economy is a really good idea.

 

JOURNALIST: Are you visiting Adani's offices here, aren't you wrong to say the jobs there are fake?

 

SHORTEN: No, I'm not going to be visiting Adani's office. I acknowledge that there are some people working for Adani. But what I don't accept is the 10,000 jobs which have been promised since 2011 have materialised. Listen, let's also go to the heart of this matter. There is a role for mining in Australia. There is a role for coal in Australia. Adani is another mining project. What we have said about it is it has to stack up commercially and environmentally. The fact of the matter is that the banks have expressed question marks over it, the financing is questionable. This company has missed more deadlines than most people have, so I think it is an issue.  What we're doing today though is we recognise that the resources construction sector is coming off the boil. As I mentioned I think in my opening about the Inpex project, that's employing 8,000 people. A lot of them are actually flying in and out from regional Queensland, but that project's coming to an end. What's the next pipeline of work? As Jason Clare said, there's 30,000 people unemployed. We've got to do a lot more than just hope and wait and wish for something miraculously to turn up out of the skies. Australia and Queensland is about making our own luck. What we are doing here by enabling the port is we are making our own luck right here and we are not relying on someone, somewhere else overseas to make our luck for us.

 

JOURNALIST: Should George Christensen be sacked over his social media post?

 

SHORTEN: Listen, I know George Christensen's brand is to be colourful but that was just another level altogether. He's a Member of Parliament, not some galah down in the front bar carrying on with a few jokes. I think that was absolutely ridiculous. If you are going to represent an electorate, you don't have to go to the lowest common denominator and make the cheapest gags. Instead  what you've got to do is, I think, demonstrate what people want out of their politicians, sensible leadership. Again, it's up to our friends in the National Party, I mean let's not ask Malcolm to discipline George Christensen. He's given up on the National’s altogether, he can't control them, and we don't know who's running the National Party at the moment, do we? Who knows, George?

 

JOURNALIST: Will you also fund the Eastern Access Rail Corridor here? Labor, I mean.

 

SHORTEN: The rail corridor from Adani?

 

JOURNALIST: No from Cluden into the port, the Townsville Eastern Rail Access Corridor.

 

SHORTEN: I might get Cathy  to supplement this answer. We are looking at a range of other projects for the port because we think moving traffic and moving cargo beyond Townsville into Townsville makes a fair bit of sense. But we are looking  at that at the moment. But I might get Cathy -

 

JOURNALIST: Before you get Cathy to speak, we'll just finish with federal questions if you don't mind. Just with George, do you think he has broken any laws?

 

SHORTEN: I don't know if George has broken any laws but when you're a Member of Parliament, it's not your job to be the chief galah in the pet shop, is it. Maybe it's funny to get a few laughs and put something up on Facebook but I actually think that when you're proposing - an MP says he is going to shoot someone he disagrees with, like that is so stupid it's breathtaking.

 

JOURNALIST: What do you think of him refusing to apologise about the comments?

 

SHORTEN: Listen, George Christensen's career is littered with him saying stupid things and not working that out, I don't expect that to change. The real issue here though, is yet again, is the National Party's focus in life is to talk about themselves and their funny Facebook or is it to get jobs? How does that change whether or not we widen the port? Labor's here because we're committed to real jobs, blue-collar jobs, engineering jobs. We are here because we want to tackle cost of living. We're the only ones in town who want to take on the big private health insurance companies. We're the only ones genuinely fighting to lift people's penalty rates, we're the only ones who want to make sure hospitals are funded properly. We're the only ones standing up for keeping the cost of Medicare down. There are real issues out there and once politicians engage in side shows, no wonder Australians are turning off politics in bigger numbers than ever. 

JOURNALIST: Bill, yourself and Jason have criticised the Federal Government for not dishing out any NAIF funding in Queensland. The State Government vetoed NAIF for Adani. Where does the line get drawn on who gets NAIF funding and who doesn't?

 

SHORTEN: It's what commercially stacks up. But we all know, and I'll ask Jason to supplement this in a moment, for instance, when NAIF was originally opened up, it was going to be all things to all people. Jason is right, 1,000 days later, the fact there has been a small amount of money expended in Perth and North-Western Australia, it just goes to show that this government is all hot air, doesn't it? So some of the rigidities in the system is that the amounts of money which you could apply to borrow were too high - it was a mining play and little else. That's why for instance, we have said we are interested in how we reform NAIF, how we make sure that tourism operators who aren't necessarily seeking giants licks of money can access some cheaper capital. But I might get Jason to answer that and then Cathy to go to the other issue.

 

JOURNALIST: Bill, you're meetingwith the community tonight, what are you hoping to get out of that?

 

SHORTEN: Why don't I let them answer those and then I will finish up on that.

 

CLARE: The real tragedy with the NAIF is there are bucket loads of great projects that could be funded right here in northern Queensland right now and they are missing out. The Genex project not far from here in terms of the size of Australia, is just one example. It is a great project which we've said should be funded. The Government were making noises about funding this a year ago and they still haven't. It is a great example of a project that should be funded. We're hearing more and more information every day from NAIF about how they're only moments, steps, days away from announcing projects but still nothing. In over 1,000 days, they've only funded one project and that's on the other side of the country. Nothing for North Queensland and I think that just shows you that so far, the Northern Australia Fund has been an abject failure.

 

SHORTEN: Just to go back to the Eastern Access Railway Line, obviously that's something - much of rail is a state responsibility but we are talking to the proponents. I think there is some merit to help open up some of the areas further north-west. Last question.

 

JOURNALIST: Yeah, just with the community meeting, what are you hoping to get out of it?

 

SHORTEN: I think that politics is 99 per cent not in Canberra. I like getting out and listening to people. So what I want to hear from people is what's concerning them? I've done 50 or 60 of these town hall meetings all over Australia. I have to say with a little bit of pride, unlike Mr Turnbull, they are not invitation-only events where everyone is vetted. I've come here to listen to people, what is bugging them, what are their concerns? What I want to do is understand what is really worrying people in Townsville and surrounding areas. What are the pensioners saying about the deal they're getting? What are the people using health services; what are the problems they're encountering? What do the small businesses have in mind for improving the region? For me, it is about listening to people, it's about testing our ideas for people. 

 

Politics needs to be returned to the Australian people. I think when you watch the soap opera we've seen in Canberra in the last two weeks, people must shake their head. I think they thought that with the citizenship debates last year, that was a pretty low point but this year, I think people were even more disillusioned than they finished last year. 

 

For example, that's why at the start of this year I said to Mr Turnbull, if we want to improve the confidence Australians have in politics, we need a National Integrity Commission, a national anti-corruption commission. Mr Turnbull is looking at his Prime Ministerial Code of Conduct which is not worth the paper it's written on but the real issue is how do we restore people's faith in the system? We do that by demonstrating to people we are not just in it for ourselves. For me, to propose us setting up a National Integrity Commission says that I understand that Australians want to make sure that we are operating to the best standards. So I say to Mr Turnbull, who is currently giving Mr Joyce lectures on ethics and everyone else, if you are fair dinkum on ethics in government, have a national anti-corruption commission. Join with Labor, let's design it together, let's at least improve the tone of 2018 from the soap opera and division of the last couple of weeks. 

 

Thanks everybody, see you tonight perhaps.