Transcript - Canberra Airport Doorstop Interview
20th January, 2016
Topics: Singapore Airlines flying via Canberra, National leadership, Queensland Nickel, Tony Abbott’s future, Liberal pre-selections, Nationals frontbench positions, Media ownership and ABC local content.WARREN TRUSS: Well certainly, it’s a great pleasure to be here today, the day in which Canberra International Airport genuinely becomes an international airport. The announcement that Singapore Airlines will run a capital to capital to capital service between Singapore, Canberra and Wellington is I think an enormous breakthrough for the city of Canberra, our national capital, but also to the regional community that this airport services. Unquestionably, Canberra Airport offers one of the best airport experiences in our country, regarded by many as the best small airport in the world. And I think there'll be many passengers who will want to choose Canberra as their arrival and departure point on an international journey.
In addition to that of course we have the situation where a journey via Singapore connects the people of Canberra, our national capital, to most of the world with just a single stop, and I think this is a very significant development. I'd like to particularly compliment Singapore Airlines, the airport, the ACT Government and all of those who pursued this over the years. The airport development here has been a shining example of the success of privatisation. The investment has delivered a facility that the whole nation can be proud of, and the arrival now of international services is I guess the final piece of the jigsaw to make this airport project the success it deserves to be.
QUESTION: Mr Truss, are you committed to spending another full term in the Federal Government?
WARREN TRUSS: Look, I've made a number of comments on that over the past few days and I have nothing further to add. I've answered all these questions yesterday, nothing different has happened since yesterday. I have been endorsed as the candidate for Wide Bay by my party, and I am enjoying the work that I'm doing. The challenge I have at the present time is to put in place the infrastructure program that our government committed to. There's a lot of exciting projects happening and I would love to see all of those through to fruition. Now one day I'll retire that's just simply inevitable, and some of those projects won't be finished. But I certainly am fully occupied at the present time, doing the work that I want to do.
QUESTION: So does that mean you'll run at the next election, Mr Truss?
WARREN TRUSS: I am endorsed by the party to run, I am committed to working hard in the portfolio, but I've got nothing further to add.
QUESTION: What factors are you weighing up when you're deciding whether to stay or go?
WARREN TRUSS: Well I know there's always going to be a lot of exciting things to do, and the important thing is to do what's best for the country, and what is, indeed, the best thing to do to make sure these projects come through to fruition. I guess, weigh up my own personal circumstances, the interest of the Government, the interest of my electorate, and those are the sorts of decisions and issues that all members of Parliament deal with every day of their lives.
QUESTION: Is it fair to say you're weighing it up, I mean you are actively considering your future in this regard?
WARREN TRUSS: Well I'm getting older every year, and so I suppose we consider what the future will be more intensely as the time goes by. But I am committed to the work that I am doing now, and as long as I am able to do that, well that'll be my priority.
QUESTION: Is the Federal Government going to step in to help workers of Queensland Nickel?
WARREN TRUSS: Well we have already in place significant new initiatives for Northern Australia, and they will benefit Townsville, but they will also benefit communities like Mackay and Rockhampton and Moranbah and Emerald, that have sort of suffered from the downturn in the mining sector over recent months and the last couple of years. You know, there are thousands of people who have lost their jobs as a result of the end of the mining construction period. There are many thousands of people who are being laid off in Gladstone because the LNG plants are now completed and moving into a production phase. And because no new projects have begun, there are no new jobs for these people to follow through and therefore maintain their skills in the sector.
That is one of the reasons why we launched our $50 billion infrastructure program. We knew that around 2015-16, unless there were new projects commenced, there would be significant people with skills, significant numbers in Western Australia and Queensland in particular who would not have a new construction project to go to. So we wanted to be building roads and railway lines and major infrastructure, and I'm a bit disappointed that some of the projects that we had hoped would be underway and employing these people have not yet come to fruition.
So we need to work constructively with the states to find these new jobs, and the events in the nickel plant north of Townsville, those events just make this all the more critical, that we get these road construction projects underway. Our Northern Australia package provides new initiative, it provides significant financing facilities for new projects in the north, and that is especially timely in view of the loss of jobs because of the downturn in the nickel sector.
QUESTION: Would you support Tony Abbott recontesting the next election, and does he have any hope of ever reclaiming the Prime Ministership?
WARREN TRUSS: Well, Tony Abbott has made a significant contribution to our country as the infrastructure Prime Minister. He wanted to be remembered for his contribution in that regard, and indeed it has been very noteworthy, and he can take a great deal of pride in what's already been achieved and what we've committed to in the years ahead. So he has a substantial legacy and I think he deserves to be honoured and respected for what he's achieved as prime minister. But Malcolm Turnbull is the Prime Minister now. He is the Leader of the Liberal Party therefore the Leader of the Government and he's also entitled to the support of his party and everyone needs to respect that he is the Leader.
QUESTION: But looking forward, Mr Truss, should he recontest the next election, have you discussed his future?
WARREN TRUSS: Well that's a decision entirely for Tony, whether he wishes to contest the next selection or not, I think he's made a great contribution to public life. There's more obviously he can achieve here in the Parliament or for that matter in other sectors. He has great skills and talents and I think they need to be used constructively and therefore preserve his legacy and respect that he has in the community.
QUESTION: Could he lead again? Could he lead again, Mr Truss?
WARREN TRUSS: Well, I know that there have been occasions where leaders have come back but what we all need to be doing now is to be backing Malcolm Turnbull. He's done well as a new prime minister. He's achieved things and is beginning to develop his own list of achievements. He's entitled to the support of his party and the enthusiastic backing of the Australian people for the work that he's doing as our prime minister. I had a very good working relationship with Tony Abbott and I respected him and we worked well together but I have also a very good relationship with Malcolm Turnbull and I'm wanting to make sure that we build on that and that the achievements of the Government extend into this new period.
QUESTION: Mr Truss, Barnaby Joyce is your deputy, why won't you endorse him as your successor whenever you do choose to step down?
WARREN TRUSS: Well I did an interview on this yesterday and I have to admit I was amazed at some of the responses and the commentary by journalists out of exactly the same media conference. What I said on that occasion, I repeat again, is that Barnaby Joyce has enormous skills and enormous ability. He will be a different kind of leader than me but that's true of every leader that follows their predecessor and he is Deputy Leader of the Nationals. There is a very strong record of deputy leaders becoming the leader. Now, that is not something that I anoint. The party room will elect a new leader and there is a lot of talent in our room and I'm very pleased with that. We've got almost double the numbers that we had when I became leader and so there's a lot of people who have the skills to be leaders of our party and they're entitled to stand when a vacancy occurs and so I don't think it's appropriate for one leader to anoint another. I have a great respect for Barnaby and I'm sure he could do a very good job but it'll be a matter in the end for the party room to make that choice.
QUESTION: Could Michael McCormack be a leader more in your style?
WARREN TRUSS: Well, Michael McCormack has a great deal of talent but so do many of our other leadership team and I don't think it's right to speculate about one person or another. I am sure that many of those people have the capability to be very, very good leaders and the party is in a fortunate position to be able to have that quality of talent and therefore that leadership potential for the future.
QUESTION: Mr Truss, [indistinct] pre-selection battles Mr Truss, do you worry that your coalition partners are- might be losing some good parliamentarians and engaging in some pretty nasty public battles over pre-selection or do you- are you not concerned about that?
WARREN TRUSS: Well, in New South Wales there's been a redistribution that has resulted in one seat being abolished. It has also meant that a number of seats that were previously securely held by the Government parties are now going to be more difficult to hold and so it's natural if there's going to be a contest to choose the candidates right across New South Wales in the weeks and months ahead. Now, that's one of the privileges of being a member of the Liberal Party or the National Party, you get a say in who your candidate will be. We're not like the Labor Party where the union officials get together and decide which puppet will be placed in parliament with the backing of particular unions, we have a democratic process, it's rigorous and I am certain that it will be resolved in the appropriate democratic way over the weeks ahead.
QUESTION: Does Bronwyn Bishop deserve to recontest the next election or should she make room for new blood?
WARREN TRUSS: Well, Bronwyn Bishop has made a great contribution to the Parliament and she's been one of the outstanding figures of the Australian political scene for a long time. I have no doubt that she has a lot here to contribute. The decision about whether or not she wants to run is entirely Bronwyn's and her divisional council. They will choose a candidate and Bronwyn, if she chooses to run, I'm sure will be a very, very strong contender.
QUESTION: One last question, have the Nationals been promised a frontbench position by the Prime Minister?
WARREN TRUSS: Well, the Prime Minister has said publicly that as a result in the increase in size of the Inner Ministry, that the Nationals are entitled to another position and one would expect that that issue would be resolved next time there's a reshuffle. And that's our position as well.
QUESTION: On media ownership. Are you going to push for the policy put forward by the working group around new requirements for presences in local communities, TV broadcasters?
WARREN TRUSS: Well, the Nationals are very keen to ensure that there is a local presence and that privilege of having access to spectrum, carries with it an obligation to serve the whole of the country or to serve, in particular, the licence area and that obviously does involve local new services and indeed a capacity to serve the local community with emergency times and in other instances. So we don't care particularly who owns the stations, we just want there to be a commitment to deliver local services, and to deliver them in an effective way. And if there's to be any changes to the legislation, that will be the kind of objective we'll be looking to secure.
It does seem a bit odd to me that the ABC, which is of course charged with delivering services to the whole of the country, is not obliged to provide television news services in regional communities. I think it should be. And I think the ABC should have a presence in regional communities that is capable of delivering not just radio news services but also television news services. And that would certainly enrich the variety and the capacity of local communities to be well informed about what's happening in their areas.
QUESTION: What do you think about Senator Canavan's idea to split the ABC into urban and rural divisions to ensure that they actually produce some news for the regions?
WARREN TRUSS: Well I think it's appropriate to debate those sort of issues in these circumstances. I don't personally favour a split in the ABC, I would just like their culture to change so that it is a bit less Sydney-centric and capital city-centric, and makes a genuine and real commitment to regional communities. But I think that to divide it is unlikely to build a stronger ABC; if in fact it's not adequately resourced in regional communities it won't be an improved performance. What we want is a culture change. I strongly support elements of the proposed private members bill from Bridget McKenzie, which looks at making sure that there are people from regional communities on the board of the ABC, making sure that there is a real commitment to the regional communities and a presence that can capture the culture and the spirit of regional communities. It's all very well to say you're living in Sydney and you've got access to a phone and all sorts of modern technology and so therefore you understand life in the country, but in reality that doesn't happen. And it is my great fear that the divide between country and city, instead of narrowing, is actually growing; that so much of our nation now is urbanised, so many people live in the capital cities, that it is just natural that resources are being devoted heavily to that capital city environment.
And the country areas are not just a novelty, they're not just a part of our history and a part of what we like to think about our country and its heroism and its stoicism. It's actually the part of our country that contributes enormously to our nation's national wealth, it produces a lot of- most of our export income, and needs to be respected as a part of our industry, and our commerce, and our lifestyle.
QUESTION: Does the charter need to change maybe to give the politicians more leverage over ensuring these objectives?
WARREN TRUSS: No, the ABC needs to be independent, and everyone accepts that. But I think the ABC will earn a greater respect in the community if it demonstrates that it takes its responsibilities in that regard seriously, and that its culture can embrace people who live in regional communities just as strongly as those who live in the capital cities, that it can recognise that there's a broad spectrum of views. Not everybody is a radical liberal moving forward, some people believe in the old values and the things that our country has prized in the past; that needs to be respected as a part of our culture too.
QUESTION: Should they focus less on online, when there's plenty of private companies publishing various titles and more on the regions? I mean, is that somewhere where they can save some money, if they were to pull back from that presence?
WARREN TRUSS: Well I think that they will have to be embracing new technology, and country people might embrace new technology as well, and there's no doubt in my mind that the future of news will be very different than what it is now. We're already seeing the struggles that newspapers are having to be commercially viable - that is particularly true in regional communities. The local newspaper is no longer very local, you're lucky to have one or two pages in your provincial daily that deals with local news. Most of the news is being fed on the line by Canberra bureaus and out of network news services. Now that's a part of the loss of local news that I regret, and that's why having television stations and radio stations that also have a commitment to local areas is going to be so important in the future.
So I recognise the changes there, the costs are different and they don't sell as many newspapers, and therefore the budgets are not as high as they would wish to be, and that it does result in a considerable reduction of service. So I think it will be different; we've got to be innovative, we've got to be prepared to do things differently, and we just want country communities to have access to the same technology and the same services and capabilities that people in the cities take for granted.
[ENDS]
