PRIME MINISTER: Pleased to be here in Cairns, mate.
MURRAY JONES: Excellent to have you here. And looking at we're when it comes to this election campaign. We're in a position where basically getting offers from both, particularly the LNP and Labor and of course where the winners in this part of the world. So it's a really good thing, particularly when it comes to infrastructure. The Cairns Marine Precinct, it's so important moving forward, particularly when it comes to widening our economic base. $150 million has been put forward by Labor. We're talking about $24 million this morning from the Coalition. But of course there's no solid plan. PM, tell me the difference between these two offers that are on the table between Labor and the LNP.
PRIME MINISTER: Well, that's pretty straightforward. We're doing the next phase of the Marina. Labor's is just a mirage. I mean, there's no land, other than a swamp which they don't own, and this is always the issue with Labor, they'll come up and they'll make all these promises, but they don't think through how you actually do them. And this is where I think Warren Entsch is so important as a local Member here because he doesn't fall for those tricks, he doesn't fall for those mirages. He knows what is actually needed. He knows what plans are that will actually get done and this is incredibly important. Another good example of that was when I was up here last and we put the $15 million into TTNQ. We sat down with the local tourism operators, with the reef operators and understood what was going to be needed to ensure we got TTNQ and Far North Queensland tourism back on its feet. And so we've funded that $15 million into the Budget. Yesterday I was at the aviation precinct, (inaudible) there to build new hangars to ensure that we're developing up that aviation industry here in North Queensland. But you know, we already had over $150 million we've put into HMAS Cairns, the work that's been done on maintenance, supporting the maintenance centre in North Eastern Cairns. So we do the things that will actually happen. Labor just comes up with mirage policy, throws money around, your money around by the way, to projects that just don't happen.
JONES: Now, just yesterday in the candidates' debate, Warren Entsch did talk about this well, not specifically the pledge, but shovel-ready projects. So you're talking about $24 million for shovel-ready projects, including lifts and of course, fairly important updates of infrastructure that will happen fairly quickly. Is that the pledge?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, that's right. And what this does is provide the infrastructure which will support the maritime industry and reinforce the maritime industry's role in the precinct in Far North Queensland. It's practical investments that actually get things happening here, not upon the never, never, which is often what happens. And the reason for it is they just don't think it through. And Warren Entsch is incredibly experienced. He understands this part of the world, I think as a Member of Parliament better than anyone I've ever seen, and I'm quite certain that likely people would accept that. And so this is the plan that Warren believes is going to have the biggest impact, get things done. He's not looking to make big hero commitments on things on the never, never. As I said, the difference between Labor and Liberal on this and the LNP is our plan is for a marina and the Labor plan is for a mirage.
JONES: Well, you know, there's no doubt when it comes to land and of course getting the State Government on board, it's a long way ahead. We've got to get that master plan set out. Now recently the Queensland Government has come up with some concerns about the business case for an alternative route basically over the range, the Kuranda Range. $210 million has been put forward at least to upgrades to make it reliable, which has been one of the key issues. What are your thoughts moving forward for the business case for Cairns to get an alternative route which could be in the billions of dollars to link the Tablelands and Cairns?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, what's very important, and again, and these are the points that Warren stresses, is you've got to get this right and you've got to ensure that what your plans are if you're going to invest further in this area and particularly in the Kuranda Range Road. I mean, this is an important issue. We understand that here locally and we've always been here to back in important investments in your local road infrastructure, which are which Warren has demonstrated time and time again over his, you know, his massive contribution as the local Member here. And so it is Warren's view, and I always listen carefully to Warren on these issues, that we need to ensure that we get the plan for that road right and what our investments will be. There are deficiencies in what the current outlook is in terms of what the possible investments are. And so your first things first, when you're dealing with these issues and that's what that's our approach. Labor, again, splashing money, there's no idea how it's going to be spent, what's going to do going for some sort of big hero statement, but how are they going to deliver it? Where's it going to go? How's it all going to work? It's the problem with Labor's plans. Once you start tapping on the surface, they start shattering and breaking up. We take a very responsible way to spending taxpayers money on these projects and doing the homework to get it right.
JONES: Do you think the National Highway (inaudible) safe from Cairns all the way out to, say, Mareeba is likely to come to fruition and that may assist us in the longer term as well?
PRIME MINISTER: Well again, all of these are about having clear and careful plans about the way forward and our priorities now. You know, with the roads we've already been investing in as you know, we've been delivering heavily across all of those fronts. And now we're going to be looking at new areas of challenge, particularly Kuranda Road. But whether it's on the roads or on issues of the maritime precinct or the aviation precinct or any of those types of issues, it's just a matter of just ensuring that we get our plans right. And people know here in Far North Queensland that, you know, when we say something, we do it, we get on and we build those roads, we get on and we provide that funding support. And I think probably one of, I mean $1 billion we've put into the reef, which means now we've got $3 billion investment. I mean, the reef is the lifeblood of Far North Queensland.
JONES: Sure.
PRIME MINISTER: So lifeblood not just for the health and welfare of the reef, which is an important responsibility that we all share. But it is also an important economic driver for the entire region. So whether it's our fishing industries, our tourism industries and the many other industries, our scientific community that depend on the health of the reef. No government has ever invested more to ensure both the health of the reef, but also to ensure that continues to be an important source of livelihoods for Far North Queenslanders. And we've backed that up with the most serious investment. So if you combine that with what we've done on the roads, what we've done in aviation, what we've done with HMAS Cairns, what we're doing in the aviation precinct, what we've done with the additional funding, $15 million when I was last here, specifically out of the $60 million package for the entire country, a quarter of it I personally directed to go into Far North Queensland for TTNQ, why? Because they are the premier, you are the premier, international tourism destination in the entire country. And if Cairns in Far North Queensland are successful in tourism then I believe the entire country is successful in tourism and that's why I made it my number one priority in the entire country.
JONES: Okay. Well, two questions before we wrap up this morning, because I know you're a busy man at the moment with the inflation figures last night. Obviously, cost of living is something that's biting hard. It's going to be one of the key issues for the election.
PRIME MINISTER: Absolutely. And this is why, as a government we prepared in the latest Budget, there were three things we did. Now, we understand that Australians are really struggling with cost of living pressures - happening all around the world. I mean our inflation rate is 5.1 per cent and you go across the ditch,. it's up close to 7 per cent, Canada the same -
JONES: Yeah.
PRIME MINISTER: ...UK the same, and in the United States well over 8 per cent. So we are dealing with those pressures better than other places. But that's why in this Budget, because our economic plan was working and turned the Budget around by over $100 billion in just the last 12 months, we cut the fuel tax in half, $250 payments going out as we speak to pensioners and others on those fixed income support payments. And on the 1st of July, people will, when they put their tax return in and when they earn up to about $120,000 odd, they'll be getting a $420 of their own money that they'll be able to keep because of a bigger tax cut. Now, the other point I'd make about this, Murray, this is the product of what we're seeing internationally, the war in Europe driving up fuel prices, impacting on inflation. The cut in the fuel tax hasn't factored into those figures yet. But I'd say this, this is the ongoing impact of what we've been dealing with as a country over the last three years. We've dealt with a global recession 30 times worse than what we saw during the Global Financial Crisis. But you've got employment falling to 4 per cent and likely to fall further and we've got our AAA credit rating, which means that we can put massive downward pressure on those rising pressures, on interest rates and on cost of living. And the team that have done that is my team. We're the ones who have been able to steer Australia through to ensure our economy is at the leading edge. Now you don't go and risk that all on an unproven, untested Labor who when they were last in power unemployment was higher, electricity prices were higher and unemployment and real wages were falling. So, you know, we cannot risk Labor at a time of great uncertainty. It'll just create further risk for people, homes, household budgets and their own economic futures. We've gotten Australia through one of the worst times we've ever seen, but it's not over yet. And this is the team that has got us there and we've got the plan to keep it going.
PRIME MINISTER: And certainly a lot of international pressures. But can I just say yesterday I was actually approached by a Liberal Party supporter who said that, you know, she had distaste in her mouth as a result of what's happened in New South Wales in the Liberal Party. Obviously the preselection process, if you had your time again, would you have done it differently or do you have any regrets in relation to how this has played out?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, I've stood up to the factions in New South Wales. They were trying to railroad out our Sussan Ley, who was, and is, one of my finest Ministers. And I said, no way. And I'm very serious when I say I wanted to see more female candidates selected. I was very serious when I said that I want to see people from different backgrounds. So the choices that we made together with the Premier and and the former Federal President, first ever female President of the Liberal Party nationally, is half of the candidates we selected were women and half of them were also from diverse multicultural backgrounds. That's where I'm taking the Liberal Party and if I have to need to stand up to factions and I will and I do. I mean what I say.
PRIME MINISTER: It certainly seems like there's been a bit of a fall out, but that's something that I guess you'll do with in due course. Thank you so much for your time this morning. Welcome to Cairns. Some important announcements and I guess at the end of the day we love the focus. Prime Minister Scott Morrison. Have a great day in Cairns.
PRIME MINISTER: Thanks, mate.
