Hi everyone, my name is Louise Miller-Frost, I'm the member for Boothby, and it's my absolute honour to be here today to welcome the Prime Minister. Of course, we have also the Premier, Tom Koutsantonis - the Minister for Infrastructure, and my friends Jayne Stinson with baby Quinn and Nadia Clancy, who are also local members. And my federal colleague, somewhere, Steve Georganas. This is a really exciting project for South Australia. It's a really exciting project for Adelaide, and it's really, really important for Boothby and for my friends here, for Adelaide, and also Badcoe and Elder. Anyone who drives along South Road knows that at any time of the day when you're driving through, particularly Edwardstown, it's like a parking lot. If you do 25 kilometres an hour, you're doing well. So it's taken an Albanese Labor Government and a Malinauskas Labor Government to actually get this project underway. So it's my absolute honour to hand over to the Prime Minister.
ANTHONY ALBANESE, PRIME MINISTER: Well, thanks very much, Louise. And it's great to be back here in South Australia, and great to be back here with a fantastic announcement of the signing of the deal to deliver what will be the largest road project underway anywhere in Australia. I was the Infrastructure Minister for a while with Tom Koutsantonis, quite a while ago, when we did the South Road Superway when we did a range of projects along this corridor. But this is getting it done, getting the final deal done to deliver a project that will take out 21 sets of traffic lights - gone. 40 minutes of travel - gone. Making an enormous difference for South Australians, but as well for everyone who gets to visit this wonderful state. This will create thousands of jobs while it's under construction with the multiplier effect that will be there. But in the long run as well, this is about productivity boosting infrastructure. Taking time off in order to boost our economy as well as improving road safety. So this project will tick all the boxes. Three tunnel boring machines operating at once. The planning has been got right, and I congratulate the South Australian Government on the work that they've done under Premier Malinauskas to make sure that we've reached this point where we can make this announcement today. A project that will be on budget and in timelines, so we're hopeful of achieving the best timeline possible. So what we're doing today is another step forward for this great state of South Australia. I note that Premier Malinauskas, I'll pre-empt you, he'll talk up how well Adelaide has been spoken up around the world. And it's not surprising because this state has so much to offer. But what this road project will do is transform this city and this state even further. It is so important, great project and a great day, and I'm so pleased to be a part of it. And South Australia as well, I can announce has been the first state to sign up to the Federal-State Land Transport Agreement. Other states will follow, but once again it's South Australia leading the way first in getting things done, making a difference for the people of this great state. Happy to hand to the Premier.
PETER MALINAUSKAS, PREMIER OF SOUTH AUSTRALIA: Well thank you so much, Prime Minister, in a number of ways. Firstly, for your long term commitment to this project. People, or many of you, will recall that it was Prime Minister Albanese, as the Transport and Infrastructure Minister, that really started to get a North South Corridor going from a would be dream to an actual beginning of a reality. So it is more than appropriate that the Prime Minister is here in Adelaide today as we announce the final stage of the project. As the Prime Minister said, we're finally getting this done. It has been a long time coming, but today to be able to announce that the contracts are getting signed, the builder has been picked, and more than that, we're actually going to do this in an accelerated way - I think will excite the hearts of many South Australians in only a positive way. I just want to also acknowledge that this is, the Prime Minister, Prime Minister Albanese, has made a habit of coming to South Australia on a frequent basis. I've actually genuinely lost count about how many times you've been here now, because we know that you are genuinely committed to your government working with the one I'm fortunate enough to lead to actually advance the future of this state. There is so much potential in South Australia, but we're only able to unlock that if governments are working together. And I'm so grateful for Prime Minister Albanese's partnership in that regard, and this is yet another example of it. I want to say from the outset some words of thanks. Minister Koutsantonis and Jon Whelan and his team in the Department of Infrastructure and Transport have been working their guts out to be able to get to this point today. We foreshadowed that we would be announcing the awarding of the contract at this particular point in time that we are at now. We announced that publicly, we did that to set ambition on the Department to make sure that the procurement was done in a timely way. That has happened, but it hasn't been at the expense of exquisitely detailed planning that, in turn, has actually resulted in today's announcement realising a particular ambition about meeting the timeline of getting this finalised and the tunnels opened. Today we announced that the consortia that has won the contract to build Australia's largest infrastructure project is led by John Holland and a team of others. As a result of the procurement exercise, we have now, in a way that is within the Budget, been able to see to the acquisition of a third tunnel boring machine. That means that the construction of the Northern Tunnel will be able to occur simultaneously with the Southern Tunnel. That means that the project timelines are assured, and more than that, we actually hope we might be able to get it finished ahead of schedule. Now that is that is exciting because there is a, I think, within the South Australian community, there is a sense of impatience to just get this project done. But that's what the Albanese Government and my government are now doing - getting it done. Getting the tunnel boring machines, which we anticipate the first will be here at the summer of next year, summer of 25-26 we will have that first TBM, and that will be a critical milestone to realising our ambition of potentially bringing forward the completion timeline. It is not easy to get one TBM. It's not easy to get three TBMs, yet that's what we're doing, and we've now got it all locked away. The simultaneous construction of the Northern Tunnel with the Southern Tunnel gives us the hope that we'll essentially be opening them simultaneously, which means that it's not that far away now that South Australians will get, be the beneficiaries of, 21 traffic lights being removed and 40 minutes of travel being saved. Now when you save 40 minutes of travel in a 20 minute city, it's a big deal. It will only contribute to South Australia's standard of living being maintained at the level that we've become well accustomed to. We've got a growing economy, we've got more people living here, and we know that the task industrially in South Australia, when it comes to the submarines, is going to require people being transported in a highly productive way. This corridor allows us to achieve that ambition. It means that someone who lives in the southern suburbs who wants to be able to work down at Osborne on the submarine project can do it in an easy commute. Unlocking that potential and that paradigm is a step change in the way that our city operates economically, which unlocks growth, which is entirely consistent with the Prime Minister's agenda. This isn't just about convenience, this is about improving productivity. Labour productivity, which means better standards of living and a stronger economy, which is everything that infrastructure should be about, but to be able to do it in a timely way, in a way that we now have a confidence will be on budget is an exceptional achievement that quite frankly, a lot of hard working bureaucrats under the leadership of Tom Koutsantonis should be credited for. A couple of other elements that I have to touch on. First thing is, under the contract that we have delivered 90 per cent of all labour hours worked will be done by South Australians. There will be some people who come here from interstate, they'll probably end up staying. But the other 90 per cent are all done by South Australians, and within that 20 per cent of the work will be conducted or performed by young apprentices and trainees or people from Indigenous communities or an unemployment background. So we're not just using this project to build productive infrastructure, we're using it to change lives. Lives of young people, setting them up for life with skills,which is something that Civil Contractors Federation have been very keen to make sure that we're able to achieve out of this project, given the pipeline and infrastructure work coming our state's way. So the legacy of this program and this project won't just be a set of tunnels and 40 minutes of travel time saved. The legacy will also be young South Australians getting skills and knowledge that sets them up for life. And of course, we know that as a state we desperately need to see that training occur with all the other work that is going to be going on into 2030s, much of it is being delivered by the Albanese Government. So this is a win, win, win in terms of budget, in terms of timing, in terms of hours worked. But then critically of course, the 40 minutes saved for thousands upon thousands of commuters every single day in South Australia. So we're very excited about this. To be able to reach this milestone at this point speaks to the fact that we are on time, and we can't wait to see that first TBM, tunnel boring machine, arrive during the course of next summer. So I want to thank everybody for their hard work, particularly Tom and Jon and their teams again. Along with the local MPs that I stand with here today. You know, going through this exercise of an extraordinary amount of public consultation, compulsory acquisition, 70 per cent of which is largely completed, doesn't happen without a degree of angst. But for Nadia, Jayne, Louise and Steve, I think they've been at the front line of serving their community's interest during the course of that period. I want to throw to Rebecca to say a few words, and then we'll open it up to questions.
REBECCA PICKERING, CIVIL CONTRACTORS FEDERATION SA: Thank you. To say that Civil Contractors Federation South Australia is excited is an understatement. This is an absolutely amazing day to see John Holland being awarded this contract. It's absolutely fantastic. Civil contractors here in South Australia are ready to start construction here and now. For a long time we've had this project in our sights and today is a remarkable day where now finally we can start. From micro businesses right up to large businesses here that are that are based in South Australia, that employ South Australians, we can't wait to get started. Me personally as an employer of civil apprentices, and of which one is tunnel construction. This is an incredible opportunity we won't see again here in South Australia to employ young people, I think, to the tune of 600 civil apprentices and others on a project like this for 10 years. It is absolutely brilliant. As a not profit charity, where we seek to engage school kids and long term unemployed and many others across this project as best we can and as early as we can. Thank you.
PRIME MINISTER: Thank you. We're happy to take questions
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, what can you tell us about the Federal-State Land Transport Agreement? And how would that work in practicality?
PRIME MINISTER: How that works is an agreement between the Commonwealth and the South Australian Government that's been agreed based upon a series of infrastructure projects, this being by far the largest, but a series of other projects as well that we'll announce over a period of time. This about getting proper planning done and making sure, with 50/50 funding, that the Commonwealth is doing our share of the heavy lifting in partnership with the South Australian Government. Land Transport Agreements ensure as well, that in terms of planning for a workforce and the roll out of infrastructure around the country, you can maximise the efficiency and productivity benefits.
JOURNALIST: You were saying that South Australia is the first one to sign up to that, Prime Minister. What's your message to the other states to get on board with this agreement, and are any states delaying in joining?
PRIME MINISTER: We're having constructive engagement, and we expect there'll be another announcement by another state just this week. We have a range of Commonwealth-State Agreements. We have a very good chair of the Council on Australian Federation in Premier Malinauskas, who's presiding over some of these agreements that we're cooperating. One of the things that I said prior to the federal election was that Australians had conflict fatigue. They want the Commonwealth and State to get on with doing things, with making a difference for their people. And we're doing that in areas, including the challenge of dealing with domestic violence, on the Commonwealth State Housing Agreement that has been signed and agreed to going forward. We have a 10 year National Skills Agreement. That's an example where the former government didn't have one, like - it just didn't happen for nine years. We're prioritising that. And what that's doing is delivering outcomes - 500,000 fee free TAFE places. That works in concert, it helps the work and is consistent with the work that the Malinauskas Government has done here with their VET linking with schools, with high schools. So working in that cooperative way, we'll have another National Cabinet meeting coming up next month where we'll hear report backs about the work that we're doing. We have Commonwealth State Health Agreement coming up that we're having discussions over, constructive discussions as well about the NDIS. Making sure that it can deliver on the commitments and the reasoning that was there for the NDIS. So it's all about cooperation and recognising our common interest here. I think for too long and too often what you see is sniping between different levels of government. What the population wants, whether they're South Australians or in any other state or territory around the country, is for leaders - Premiers, Chief Ministers and myself as Prime Minister, to get on with delivering.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, Louise and I think Mark said this project was really, really important for her electorate. Is Boothby really, really important to your re-election hopes?
PRIME MINISTER: They're all they're all important. We've got 78 seats, and Boothby is one of them that's important. Adelaide is important. They're all important. The magic number, of course, is 76. I've got to say this as well, in Claire Clutterham, our candidate for Sturt, she's a cracker. We seek to not just hold every seat that we've won in South Australia, but we're a real show in Sturt and in the electorate of Grey, you have a long term member not re contesting there as well. I think people look at the previous regimes in our respective state and nationally, they talked a lot about North South Corridor. Have a look at what was actually promised, funded and built. There's a period, 2007 to 2013 where stuff happened, a lot, and then you had a bit of a gap. And that gap happens to have coincided with the governments of well, Abbott, Turnbull and Morrison. I reckon I've probably been to South Australia as often as those three combined.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, one of the problems, one of the issues that the country is facing at the moment is a labour shortage and inflation pressures. This project is going to be using a lot of labour, a lot of which is coming from the state. What guarantees or what hope can you have that this project will be able to be finished on time despite these shortages? And is there any inflationary impact? We've got a huge amount of money that's being spent.
PRIME MINISTER: On the inflationary issue that you raise I'll say this - this is about boosting productivity, this is about boosting the economy. That's one of the ways in which you not only have economic growth, but you put that downward pressure on as well. Because people spending less time in their car means good for cost of living. 40 minutes extra in the car means extra petrol, in most cases of motor vehicles. In heavy vehicles it means a real impediment and a cost to doing business in this state. And with the fantastic projects, including the subs that will be taking place here as well, that will make an enormous difference. So this is good for productivity. And one of the things that the RBA Governor spoke about this week was the fact that the RBA is responsible for inflation. We as a government are responsible for getting that downward pressure on inflation, but we're also responsible for people's living standards and infrastructure. And this is an example of building nation building infrastructure. And when it comes to labour, one of the things that has been built in to this project, and I know in the past, including the Superway and Northern Expressway and other projects South Australia has been particularly good at this. This will train long term unemployed, will provide opportunities for apprentices, for people to participate in the labour market who might have found it difficult to break into that market in the past. The fact that 20 per cent is going to be from those categories will make an enormous difference as well. So this is about, as the Premier said, this is good economic policy, but it's also good social policy. It's about inclusion and making people feel a part of this growth. We want an economy that works for people, not the other way around. That's the big difference, I think, in Australian politics at the moment. We support measures on cost of living. I'll be back here, no doubt. I've been in a Early Learning Centre with the Member for Boothby in recent times. You know, we had an announcement last week about a 15 per cent wage increase for early educators, and you would think that there was one thing that the opposition, our opposition, could actually just come on board with and not complain or whinge or snipe, button up. They're against that as well. They've been out there making some rather extraordinary comments, I've got to say, about about child care. Including from comments from one of the favourite people in their team, from the good Senator Rennick, who's made extraordinary comments about child care and what it does. Somehow that's part of, you know, controlling minds. You know, these people are the alternative government of this country. And we all know, everyone knows, the Productivity Commission has said, unless we pay our child care workers, like our aged care workers, more, then that's those sectors will be in crisis. And guess what happens then? Then the whole economy gets impacted because people can't go to work. You have less workforce participation. The Coalition don't seem to get it, but we are busy making sure that that we deliver, and this is part of it.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, just on the Land Transport Agreement. Is this an example of the federal government prioritising cities like, or states like South Australia, and bringing infrastructure up to the same level as those on the eastern side of the country?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, I've got to say that, whether it was, we now have I think, when I go down south, when this is all done, to Noarlunga, there's a railway line there that was promised, funded, built and opened to Seaford while I was the Minister. We got this project, when you look at what we're doing as well in the regions, the work that the Premier is leading to transform Whyalla, and to transform those regions, is really important as well.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, the head of ASIO has come out today and said at least three countries have been caught interfering in our domestic affairs. What's being done about that?
PRIME MINISTER: What we do is we work with our security agencies to ensure that Australia's national security is front and centre. It's our first priority is to keep Australians safe. My government is working with those agencies and with the Director General of ASIO. We upgraded the assessment after advice from the ASIO Director General, we did that and clearly explained why we were doing it. The Director General, I think it's good that, I've certainly encouraged him to do some media interviews in order to explain to Australians what the threats are to us. We know that on cyber security as well, I've given the Member for Parramatta, Andrew Charlton, the responsibility to be a Special Envoy as well on cyber security, to give support to Tony Burke as the Cabinet Minister, looking at the longer term issues. There's a range of issues related to cyber. We know that if you talk to Australian businesses they know that we need to do better in being vigilant on these issues. We know there are regular cyber-attacks that happens every day. It can happen from state actors, it can happen from criminal organisations, and of course, it can happen domestically as well, so we're working very closely on that.
JOURNALIST: Can I just ask, Mr. Burgess has said the threat level was raised the day after he briefed you last week. So why did it take the government months to react after it was advised that the terror level should be brought back in 2022?
PRIME MINISTER: I leave the details of national security to the Director General. It's important that these issues don't get politicised. But my government has acted responsibly in consultation with the national security agencies.
JOURNALIST: Can you say what three countries are in question that the ASIO boss has flagged?
PRIME MINISTER: No, in a word. It's important, our priority here isn't to get a headline. Our priority here is to keep Australians safe. First, second and third priority. Gold, Silver and Bronze, in the spirit of the Olympics. They are our priorities, and so we are careful about, I'm careful about information that I give out being consistent with the advice that I receive from the agencies.
JOURNALIST: Apparently, there's some concerns about the upcoming federal election. How concerned are you about that in terms of the terror level?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, we know that there's been, the Director General and AFP informed Senate Estimates of the considerable increase in threats to, and harassment and targeting of Members of Parliament. And that, they've also said something, and I repeat it today - We need to lower the temperature of political debate. You can have an agreement, or sometimes a disagreement, and have it respectfully. Respect each other's views. And I think that's something that, I haven't seen the Director General's appearance on Insiders this morning, but I'd be surprised if he didn't mention that again, because that is something that is causing concern. We need to be able to have respectful debate in this country. That's an important part of our democracy.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, in keeping with the Olympics theme, can I ask you about Raygun and the criticisms of her, of her performance in the breakdancing. And I was just wondering if you wanted to offer any words of wisdom or support for her?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, the Olympics is about people participating in sport - that's a good thing. And Raygun had a crack, good on her, and a big shout out to her. That is in the Australian tradition of people having a go. She's had a go representing our country, and that's a good thing. One of the things that I hope happens as a result of our magnificent performance of these athletes, the best performance in any Olympics ever, is that these young people watching, and maybe a couple of the ones here, Tom? Tom's got a two daughters here. That they're watching like other young people and thinking, 'You know what? Brisbane 2032 - I could have a go there'. But I'll say this about our athletes as well. I had the privilege of doing a FaceTime with them the other day, and whether they've won Gold medals or just done their best, that's all we asked for. It's the participating that is really important. Because we need to get, and I know the Premier's had some things to say about this as well, we need to get people off these things [holds phone] and onto the netball courts, into the swimming pool, around the athletics tracks, on the hockey fields. Doesn't matter what people are doing, it's a good thing that they're participating in sport. It's good for their physical health, but also so important for their mental health as well. And I think that is the message of the Olympic spirit.
JOURNALIST: Any special plans for the return of the athletes?
PRIME MINISTER: They'll get home at 7am on Wednesday. I'll be there to welcome them home to Sydney, and that will be a good thing. I know that various states and territories are planning some ceremonies or events where people can go and express their appreciation. They've given Australians joy, excitement and pride over the last two weeks.
JOURNALIST: Do you think this has re-lit any sort of fire to host the Commonwealth Games back here in Australia?
PRIME MINISTER: Sorry?
JOURNALIST: Do you think the Olympic success has re-lit any fire of hosting the Comm Games back here in Australia?
PRIME MINISTER: I'll leave that to states and territories to put their hand up if anyone is wanting to do that. I think it has been good for sport here. We're a great sporting nation, and certainly, you know, here in this great state of South Australia, one of this bloke's legacies already, has been the Gather Round, which is an awesome event here in South Australia. As well as we'll have, you know, the cycling in January next year. So many important events here in in Adelaide and throughout South Australia - that's a good thing. You know, there's a reason why sometimes we get criticised, 'you know what? Why are you funding sport?' We're putting quarter of a billion, $250 million into fixing the Australian Institute of Sport. If you went into there and had a look at some of those facilities, it was just appalling that it was left to get to the state that it was. So for our Olympians, and coming up as well, a shout out to the Paralympians. If our Olympians give us pride, the Paralympians give us at least as much pride, and we'll be watching them. It is always fantastic.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, just one last question -
PRIME MINISTER: Last one, okay. Mali is getting off easy. He's just been quiet at the back there -
JOURNALIST: A nice segue, Premier, after this one actually. The Social Media Summit was just announced in Sydney. Just from your perspective, what is the Federal Government doing to combat violent extremism online and hold social media companies to account?
PRIME MINISTER: Well firstly, we've essentially doubled the funding for the eSafety Commissioner and given her the power and them the power to take stuff down and to take action. Secondly is we've approved and funded the trial of age verification technology to make sure that whatever it is that we do works. And we call out consistently, social media comes with a social responsibility. Something that these giants, which are largely based overseas, need to recognise. Social media can do enormous harm. It can be good for interaction and communication between us, but it can do harm, and we need to recognise that.
And when it comes to social media, before I hand over as well, the quote from Gerard Rennick, which was on social media. He said this, this is the alternative government, 'Institutionalised child care helps destroy the family unit and brainwash children early with the woke mind virus'. I mean, this isn't someone who's a local councillor for the LNP. This is the bloke who Peter Dutton said, and I quote, 'Senator Rennick has demonstrated he's not afraid to take up the fight in order to defend the values of the LNP, I ask you to support Gerard as part of my team'. I think the shift to the right that we've seen from the LNP over a period of time and over Peter Dutton's leadership, where you have, you know, cookers like Senator Rennick, being able to express views that are completely out of touch with modern Australian society need to be called out. This isn't a fringe dweller. This is someone who will be sitting in the Senate this week and voting on legislation, no doubt voting to try to block all the cost of living agenda that Labor has put forward in government, and we need to take it seriously. And Peter Dutton needs to explain how it is that whether it's that, or Barnaby Joyce will still be on the frontbench after making comments referencing bullets and magazines and guns and people disappearing. How that contributes to sensible debate is beyond me, But apparently it's all fair game under Peter Dutton leadership, or lack thereof.
PREMIER MALINAUSKAS: That quote is a humdinger right there.
PRIME MINISTER: There's many of them.
JOURNALIST: Premier, as I asked the Prime Minister, one of the issues that we are facing in this country is labour shortages. You're saying that, I think, 90 per cent was your quote -
PREMIER MALINAUSKAS: That's right.
JOURNALIST: Was local labour. Where are you going to find the workers?
PREMIER MALINAUSKAS: Look, it is true that the South Australian labour market is in the strongest position, it's been largely in its history, that represents challenges. But one of the things that has been front and centre of all of the engagement we've had with the contractors and the alliances throughout the procurement process is making sure that they can meet the targets when they need to meet them, in terms of that labour build up. In fact, as the team within DIT will attest to, some of the most recent meetings before making the final decision, Tom and I wanted to satisfy ourselves that they had a serious labour force, workforce plan to be able to accommodate where we're at. But we've come at this in a relatively good time within the market, which has actually allowed them the capacity to have very clear plans about how they're going to deliver the workforce that we are going to require when we require it. Bearing in mind, of course, that this is a project that is going to last six to seven years. So we're very confident that the alliance team that have won the contract are able to meet those targets, and now we just want to get on with the jobs.
JOURNALIST: Just to pick up Harvey's point, though, there Premier. How do you stage this project relative to the work that's going to be going on out at Osborne, relative to the Women's and Children's Hospital? I mean, they are all huge projects -
PREMIER MALINAUSKAS: The Commonwealth has already allocated over $2 billion worth of infrastructure build up down at Osborne. So that's been factored in by the market, as has the Women's and Kids. Those three efforts do represent the big structural piece in terms of major project that are happening at the moment. And it's fair to say that the consortia had to take that into account and prove to us their capacity to be able to deliver it. But understand this, they're all very different in nature, requiring different skills. I mean, the Women's and Kids is a high rise program, that is construction in a form that, you know, isn't civil construction. These are different skills, different contractors, that are being deployed largely. There is some cross pollination, but not to the extent that we don't believe we can do them in the time frames that we're pursuing.
JOURNALIST: What's the, you said that, and the Prime Minister, yourself, and Minister Koutsantonis, said that the projects coming in on budget. What's the current cost to taxpayers for this project?
PREMIER MALINAUSKAS: The allocation is $15.4 billion, and the consortia have demonstrated to us that that is able to be achieved, and there is a contingency that sits within that, and we're very comfortable about where the procurement process has got us. Let me say this, the team had to work hard to make sure that the procurement process was contested. We had to put a bit of effort into that, and that has undoubtedly led to a really stronger result than what would otherwise have been the case.
JOURNALIST: Can you please explain what you mean by contested?
PREMIER MALINAUSKAS: Well, when we when you do a procurement exercise, when you go out to tender, it is far better if it is, the more contested it is, the more competition there is for the work, and the better the outcome is for the proponent or the deliverer of the project - namely the Commonwealth and the State government. So we're very happy with that, has allowed the third TBM to be realised within budget. Now that wasn't initially where we thought we'd end up, so it's a highly advantageous position for the taxpayer, but most importantly for the people who are going to be the beneficiaries of this
Project.
JOURNALIST: Your political opponents will be meeting tomorrow to select a new leader. Do you have any reflections on that process or where it's got to?
PREMIER MALINAUSKAS: When the announcement was made, is it Thursday? Friday? Thursday. When the announcement was made on Thursday, I was at a big forum with SACOSS, a whole range of, you know, community-led organisations working with the government in a forum, you know, talking pretty serious policy matters about how we take the economic opportunity, including around the State Prosperity Project, and translate that to a reduced volume of disadvantage in our state. So we're up there focused on that, walked off, got told about David Speirs quitting, and then you go straight into the next meeting. Like, we are a busy government with a big agenda. And it's fair to say we're not sitting around dissecting what our opponents are doing and in terms of the way they're tearing themselves apart at the moment. I mean, a top line what I'd say is this, like I said on Friday, you know, I wish David Speirs all the very best. We've enjoyed really professional and cordial relations, which I think is a good thing that people would expect that. Of course, there's disagreements, but it's been professional and civil. So I thank him for his, and acknowledge his contribution, and I wish him all the very best in his endeavours. There'll be a new Leader of the Opposition. I hope that that relationship can continue. They're not going to go out of their way in way to do the government political favours, but that's part of a good, healthy liberal democracy. It'll be up to them who they elect and look forward to hearing what the outcome is. But the key thing is this, we're just getting on with the job. We got a big program, a big agenda, and today we're announcing that the biggest infrastructure project in Australia is now going to get done. That's what I'm focused on.
JOURNALIST: Do we have a date on when there will be wheels on the road for this project?
PREMIER MALINAUSKAS: Well, it's already happening. I mean, 70 per cent of the compulsory acquisition has already been done.
JOURNALIST: But when it's complete?
PREMIER MALINAUSKAS: Oh right, yeah. Well, at the moment, it's 2031. But we would love to bring that forward.
JOURNALIST: And what would bring it forward? How could that happen?
PREMIER MALINAUSKAS: Well, the acquisition, the delivery of a third tunnel boring machine to be able to accelerate the timeline of the Northern Tunnel to be done simultaneously with the Southern Tunnel, really puts us in a strong position to be able to achieve that. But getting, as I said earlier, getting tunnel boring machines is not an easy task. There, you can't just buy them off the shelf, so we want to see those TBMs arriving in Australia, and then that will give us a heightened degree of confidence about where those timelines are at.
JOURNALIST: Can I just ask you about the 70 per cent compulsory acquisition? Another way of looking at that would say you've still got 30 per cent of properties that you need to acquire -
PREMIER MALINAUSKAS: Yeah but it's all going according to schedule.
JOURNALIST: Is it? Well then, how can, what guarantees can you give if you haven't got 100 per cent compulsory acquisition before the project's even started. Is there any reason these acquisitions will delay the project?
PREMIER MALINAUSKAS: No. I mean, it's compulsory acquisition, right? So we are acquiring property using, you know, really significant powers and authorities that governments have. They're not the sort of powers and authorities you want to throw out willy nilly. You want to do it in a considerate and compassionate way, which is what the team has been doing, you know? And it hasn't been without some angst, but I don't mind saying I think it's been without a lot of the angst that we've seen in the past.
JOURNALIST: Why's that?
PREMIER MALINAUSKAS: Because there's been a huge amount of effort within the team to engage as best as possible. Now, no one's perfect when it comes to compulsory acquisition, but the level of community engagement that has been shown by the team has probably been more substantial than any other compulsory acquisition project that has ever gone before in the state's history.
JOURNALIST: Premier, you've been briefed on the circumstances surrounding the death of an aged care patient last month who waited five hours for an ambulance to arrive.
PREMIER MALINAUSKAS: Yes. Well, there are details that, there are details that should only probably be furnished through the appropriate processes given that there is now a coronial inquiry under way. What I can say is that, I think, and this part is largely on the public record, but it affirms the need why we have to ensure that ambulances do roll up on time at the site of a person falling ill. And like I said the other week, people say to me often, 'Oh, well, what's the point of the ambulance rolling up on time if they end up getting ramped?'. Well, it means absolutely everything to saving that person's life. And that's why we've been able to put so much effort into ambulance response times and seen a dramatic improvement. You know, it's the ambulance response on time performance from the ambulance service is now almost twice as good as what it was at the last state election. That's not an accident. It's because of the massive investment we've made. But it also shows -
JOURNALIST: Inaudible question.
PREMIER MALINAUSKAS: That's right, but therein lies the point. It demonstrates why the effort has to be ongoing. So the extraordinary volume of resources that we've invested into the system, including to the ambulance service, where we've now got hundreds more ambos on the road all the time, over and above attrition, shows that we can improve ambulance response times, but that effort has to be maintained to get them to even better level of performance than what we're currently experiencing. And ramping is a part of that equation.
JOURNALIST: And just on the ramping issue. Obviously, last month was the highest ramping levels on record. Given the fact that we're about 18 months away from the next state election. Do you still believe that you can fulfil your previous election promise of fixing the ramping crisis?
PREMIER MALINAUSKAS: Well, I'm firmly of the view that we are doing everything we possibly can. And, I mean, no one, not even our political opponents, are able to level any criticism at the government for not throwing everything at this task and this challenge in terms of resources, infrastructure, clinicians on the ground, every metric is up. We have got some results in other areas, but they remain an ongoing challenge. Just during the course of this week, Minister Picton met with Minister Butler in the Prime Minister's Government to talk about the volume of aged care patients that we're seeing in the hospital system that don't need to be there. These are the sorts of structural challenges that exist that we said we must confront, and we're not going to die wandering doing that.
JOURNALIST: And so despite your efforts, and I don't think anyone can criticise your efforts, you still went to the previous election saying that you will fix the ramping crisis. With 18 months to go, do you think that you will achieve that outcome before the next election?
PREMIER MALINAUSKAS: I think there's no two ways about it, that there's a lot more work to do. I mean, that's the honest truth about it. We've done an enormous amount, and we've got a lot more to go, and there are a lot of beds being opened up between now and the end of next year, which we're excited about that making a big difference. But no one's naive to the fact that there is a lot more work to do.
JOURNALIST: Is that a no? You don't think you will?
PREMIER MALINAUSKAS: No, that's not what I'm saying at all. What I'm saying is that we know how much work needs to be done, and I also know the program and the volume of resources that is coming into the system, and the number of beds that is opening between now and the end of next year, it's 300 and that's a lot. But there are other challenges that we've got to confront as well, I mentioned the aged care one, that's been an important example. But we're working with our federal colleagues in that regard, very grateful for Minister Butler's interest in the matter. He gets it. I mean, Mark is a student of the aged care system, he wrote a book about it. So we're using that knowledge and that collaborative relationship, to try and make some step change here.
JOURNALIST: Premier, just on the Social Media Summit with NSW. What's the focus of the Adelaide day of the Summit?
PREMIER MALINAUSKAS: So we have, so the first days in Sydney, the second day is in Adelaide. We're saving the best to last. But no, the partnership that we've got with the New South Wales Government in this endeavour is really appreciated. There are a couple of things that we're focusing our efforts on. Firstly is, I think there is a value in sharing the volume of peer-led research or peer-reviewed, sorry, research that has been undertaken around social media and then turning that into solutions. Solutions that, you know, aren't just about governments delivering them either. You know, we've obviously committed to walk to a piece of legislation that we would love to see passed in the South Australian Parliament. And that's a big tool, that's a big weapon. But we also need a nuanced, community led response in a whole range of other areas as well. That Summit that we're having across the two days is being done in collaboration with the Commonwealth, I might add. And because the Prime Minister and I have done more than spoke about this issue on a number of occasions, I know how committed the Albanese Government is to actually seeing some change here as well. So there's a there's a range of information that will be shared across the two days, not just problem identification, but also how we can have practical solutions to get kids off screens and out in the community learning the lessons of life. We know that social media is doing young people harm. You know, that's not a question anymore - it's an established fact. And in every other area of public health policy where we see something doing kids harm, we seek to diminish it, mitigate it, stop it, and that's what we're doing.
JOURNALIST: Do you think we realistically need to see social media companies cooperate?
PREMIER MALINAUSKAS: Well, that would be ideal. That would be ideal. And we said the day that we announced the review being led by former High Court Chief Justice, Robert French. That day we said we would rather work with these companies than against them. They haven't been particularly forthcoming in respect to the South Australian exercise thus far, but we still have an open door to working with them to get the right outcome here. Thanks very much.
