Well, it's fantastic to be back in Victoria, and particularly good to be in the electorate of Menzies with Gabriel. The first time I've been back here since the 3rd of May, when I stood and handed out how to votes for what was a very successful campaign. And I do want to take the opportunity to thank Victorians for keeping their faith and trust in the government I'm proud to lead. In Victoria, of course, we won not just every seat that we held prior to the election, but also added Menzies, Deakin and the electorate of Melbourne to that tally as well. In addition to that, we elected three senators from Victoria, including Michelle Ananda-Rajah, who of course, had the misfortune to firstly win a seat, which was good fortune, the seat of Higgins - first time Labor had won that electorate, and it got abolished. She showed her tenacity by then putting herself forward towards the Senate and has been re-elected to the Senate chamber. And I wish Michelle all the very best.
But I do want to express my gratitude to Victorians. We will continue to work with the Victorian government, led by Jacinta Allan to deliver infrastructure here in Victoria, but also work on the Better and Fairer Schools Agreement that we announced funding for earlier this year in the electorate of Aston. To work on health funding, the NDIS, the reform projects that we needed to work, as well on the transition to renewable energy. The Marinus Link Project will also provide important energy security for Victoria. We will continue to work constructively, as I do, with governments right around the country, to deliver in the national interest. And yesterday we had confirmation that our economy continues to grow, not as fast as we would like, but it has continued to grow each and every quarter, unlike other economies around the world who are impacted by global inflation. So my Government leads at a time where we have economic growth occurring, inflation going down, interest rates beginning to fall, that started to increase before we came to office, and unemployment low. We need to address the productivity challenge, and that is in part is what this project is about. With an enormous investment by the Victorian Government, backed up by $5 billion from the Federal Government to make sure that people can get around this wonderful, growing city. This will cut travel times by 35 minutes. It will allow commuters to skip 18 sets of traffic lights and take 15,000 trucks off local roads. This is what productivity benefits look like, right here and now. In addition to that, of course, there's 8000 people currently working on this project. It will grow to even more in the future, and there are more than 1000 people working just on these tunnels here, making an enormous difference. This is about breaking down traffic congestion, making it easier for people to get around this great city of Melbourne - whether that be for work, whether it be recreational activities, or whether it be associated with business activity as well, hence the growth that will occur. It also, of course, improves road safety when you take out all those traffic lights, when you take out that congestion, and reduces emissions as well, because people aren't idling at traffic lights and stuck in traffic, people are able to get around this great city even faster. This is marking today the milestone of two massive tunnel boring machines breaking 30 metres into the earth to create what will be an important interchange location for the project here. I'm very pleased that my Government has turned around what was an infrastructure deficit from the Commonwealth to the Victorian Government. At one stage, the Commonwealth was contributing about 8 per cent of their national infrastructure budget to Victoria. That's not my government's approach. We're proud to be investing, major infrastructure investment here, not just in this project, but right around Victoria. I look forward to continuing to work constructively with the Victorian Government.
JACINTA ALLAN, PREMIER OF VICTORIA: Thank you, Prime Minister. It's terrific to join the Prime Minister and our colleagues here, ministerial and local member colleagues. A very clear demonstration of the great partnership in action between the federal and state Labor governments investing in the vital infrastructure projects our growing city and the state needs. And if you look here at the North East Link Project, there is no better example of the sort of project that Victorians have had to wait a little while to realise, but it is absolutely underway as we can see today. The North East Link has long been talked about. It's been a dotted line on the Melways Map for longer than I've been alive. Today you can see as a result of the partnership in action, it is not just underway, it is well and truly geared up, getting ready for that completion date of 2028. And today's milestone, marking a big breakthrough of here at the Lower Plenty interchange by our two tunnel boring machines represents an important milestone, yes. But it's also important to emphasise that this project is more than just a tunnelling project. As important as the twin six and a half kilometre tunnels are as the heart of this project, the North East property project also involves a big upgrade to additional lanes on the Eastern Freeway, completing the M80 Ring Road, bringing to Melbourne the first dedicated bus way to improve public transport services to this part of the growing northern suburbs of Melbourne. And then there's also those important walking and cycling connections - 34 kilometres of walking and cycling connections. And 50 MCGs worth of open space that is being created because of the work that is being done by our teams to build this North East Link underground, which means you keep that important open space above ground. The Prime Minister touched on those really important benefits, the productive benefits that will come from investing in a project like this. The 15,000 trucks that this will take off local roads, means the local roads gets returned back to local communities. The travel time savings is incredibly important for busy families and working people, getting them home safer and sooner. And then there's also those other benefits, productive benefits, that support our freight and logistics industry. We're the freight and logistics hub in Melbourne and Victoria, the North East Link filling in that missing link with our road network, means that product can get to the airport and to the Melbourne markets so much more quickly and efficiently.
So, this is a project that brings so many important benefits to the future of our growing city and state. And right now supporting 8000 jobs, 8000 workers who can rely on the partnership between federal and state Labor governments to support them, to support their families, and because we've got a pipeline of projects here in Victoria, thanks to having that partner in Canberra, these workers know that they can look to the future with that confidence that they've got federal and state Labor governments who are backing them, backing their work and backing their family with those pay packets that come home at the end of every week. And they get the important satisfaction of working on projects that are literally building the future of our city and state. So, it's great to have the Prime Minister here for this milestone moment. There's going to be many, many more to come on this project, and also to the other big and important projects, the road and rail projects that bring our city, Melbourne is the fastest growing city in the nation. We need the projects that we're investing in now, and we've got a federal Labor government that backs the projects that Victorians want and need now and into the future.
PRIME MINISTER: Happy to take some questions.
JOURNALIST: Will you be tipping any more money into the Suburban Rail Loop?
PRIME MINISTER: We've got our investment here in Victoria, which adds up to more than $20 billion of investment here in Victoria. We'll continue to engage constructively as we do about projects. And we'll always back Victoria because we understand that the national government has a responsibility to boost infrastructure because that's one of the ways, one of the measures that you boost productivity and boost our national economy.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, just on the new superannuation tax that your Government is proposing. Is it fair that some farmers may have to pay such additional costs for their taxes and may end up having to sell their farms due to these new taxes as some of their farms are self-managed super funds? Is it fair that you able to defer those payments and they can't?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, there's not anything new here. This has been before the Parliament for about two years.
JOURNALIST: But it hasn't been passed yet, so what about those farmers?
PRIME MINISTER: Yeah, this is about, this has been before the Parliament for about two years.
JOURNALIST: Is it fair though for those farmers?
PRIME MINISTER: What we need to do is to make sure that our superannuation system is fair. That is what we are setting about to do.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, what would be different in renewed negotiations for free trade, a free trade deal with the EU? What does Australia want?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, we're engaging constructively. I met with Ursula von der Leyen on the sidelines of, at the recent meetings that were held with the Papal Inauguration in Rome. And my Minister, Don Farrell, is in Europe, he's negotiating in good faith. I think the context of global trade is perhaps what is new. The context of global trade which has been the subject of disruption. Now Labor, my Government and the Australian Government on a bipartisan position, it must be said, have supported free and fair trade, as have the Europeans. I think that the last time around there wasn't a good enough deal for Australia. We will seek a deal that is good enough for Australia. If it benefits us, we'll be in it. If it doesn't, we'll continue to not sign up to something that is not in our national interest. So we've had discussions as well with farming groups in the agricultural sector as well. If you look at the benefit from the UK Free Trade Agreement, that has led to an increase in meat products as well as wine and other products going into the UK. Why is that the case? Because our products are damn fine and they are in demand right around the world.
JOURNALIST: On the matter of Senator Dorinda Cox, she described Labor as patronising to women and people of colour. Is that a fair assessment? And given her views about the party, why do you want her on the team?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, Dorinda Cox has decided that the way that she wants to go forward is as a Member of the Labor team because she wants to make a difference and the Greens political party have lost their way. I must say as well that the Liberal Party have lost their way. If you look at what is going on with the internals - no disrespect here to anyone in Victoria. But there are two Victorians have been sent up to New South Wales to run the New South Wales branch out of the committee of three that's been put in charge as a result of Tony Abbott and the hard right of the Liberal Party wanting to get rid of what has been historically a more moderate leadership of the New South Wales branch. And the statements by Mr Stockdale to the Liberal Women's Group, of all people to make those statements to, that somehow you might need to actually have discrimination in favour of men because women were too assertive in the Liberal Party has been met with derision by members of the Liberal Party, particularly the Liberal Women's Group that he was addressing. But I think people will just shake their heads. There are more women in the Labor Caucus in the House of Representatives whose first name begins in A, literally, then there are Liberals and National women on the floor of the House of Representatives. More women with names beginning in A. Starting with Anika Wells, Cabinet Minister, Anne Aly, another new Cabinet Minister. Some of the new members who've joined like Ash Ambihaipahar in Barton. But there are more women with the name beginning with A - that says it all. I think that, you know, the Liberal Party need to have a good look at themselves and their structures. And it'll be interesting to watch what goes on with this restructuring of the New South Wales branch with two out of three of them being Victorians.
JOURNALIST: On Senator Cox, Prime Minister. Did you or anyone from Labor speak to any of her former staff members who had raised allegations about her behaviour before you recruited her?
PRIME MINISTER: We have an independent system - that's appropriate. It's an independent system that was established for these issues to avoid exactly that. To avoid political interference so that those issues are dealt with appropriately.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, just on your superannuation tax. Is your Government willing to change any parts of the policy so that the Greens will side with your Government when this comes to a vote?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, we have a policy, it's out there for all to see. We have a Senate. The Labor Party has 29 votes in the Senate.
JOURNALIST: On that, the Greens superannuation tax proposal for $2 million balances not indexed, do the Greens have a point?
PRIME MINISTER: The Greens usually don't have good points and I'll allow them to put forward whatever they want to do as the Liberal Party will, as will other Senators no doubt will be. We've put forward our position that's been, was before the Senate for some time. It didn't receive support prior to the election. But then again the Greens and the Liberals joined to form the No-alition and to vote against public housing, to vote against a whole range of projects. We'll wait and see.
JOURNALIST: On Senator Cox again, Prime Minister. She's a Senator who has these allegations hanging over her head, she comes with baggage. Why would you welcome her into your party when it doesn't materially change the mathematics of the Senate?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, I've answered those questions, but they were, they were dealt with. There's an independent process for those things to be dealt with. It's not surprising that the Greens political party will put forward some opposition to what has occurred. But Senator Cox has made a decision and she has decided that the way that she will advance her values is through a party of government.
JOURNALIST: But you made a decision to welcome her in as well.
PRIME MINISTER: Yes, very perceptive.
JOURNALIST: Why did you, given she comes with baggage -
PRIME MINISTER: Well, no. No, no, well, you're making suggestions, with respect. I've explained why we've made that decision. She made an application that was received. You know what? I think that the Labor Party is the natural party of government. It should be where people who are serious about progressive change are a part of. Not part of waiting for decisions to be made and to go to other questions which have been put forward, and then they decide whether to oppose it or support it or amend it, but to be part of processes of government. I joined the Labor Party as a party of government at a very young age.
JOURNALIST: On EU trade negotiations. How soon do you expect, though, a deal could be signed, and is the US tariff situation adding a sense of urgency there?
PRIME MINISTER: We want to see these negotiations progress, but it's not at any cost. We want to see it progress on the basis that it will be in our national interest. We'll wait and see how they go. Don Farrell is meeting with the European Ministers this week, that's a good thing.
JOURNALIST: Would the Commonwealth be willing to help build a new Tassie stadium?
PRIME MINISTER: We are building, contributing to urban redevelopment of the Macquarie Point site. That's something that we contributed in 2012, we contributed $50 million for planning of what would happen to that site. Frankly, it's pristine land. If you look at what's happened in the great cities of Australia, whether it be South Bank and the projects that have transformed that waterfront area around Melbourne. Or whether it be in Sydney, Barangaroo, or Elizabeth Quay in Perth, or projects around the Brisbane River. For a long period of time industry was located around rivers, around waterways, because they were seen as that's where the rubbish went. We got smarter in this century. The Derwent is a magnificent river frontage there in Tasmania. And the Macquarie Point site is one of the great sites around Australia that can unite the Hobart CBD right down to the waterfront. This is a project that's about not just a sporting precinct, but business, residential, hospitality. It is a great site and we have provided some support for that. And the Tasmanian Government are, of course, the proponents of that project. I understand that Tasmania is going through an interesting position today. We'll wait and see what happens. Thanks very much.
