Senator Gallagher Speaks on ABC Northern Tasmania

STEVEN WHITE, HOST: Well, guess what, it's an election year for Australians this year. Just in case you didn't know. And the path to the voting booths is starting to heat up already, and it's happening this morning right here in Northern Tasmania, the Prime Minister is visiting the North today and the Minister for Finance, Katy Gallagher, is here with me now to answer any questions you have and to talk about some of the announcements they have coming up. Good morning and welcome to the program.

SENATOR THE HON KATY GALLAGHER, MINISTER FOR THE PUBLIC SERVICE: Good morning, Steven, thanks for having me on.

WHITE: Welcome to Tasmania.

GALLAGHER: Love it, I'm a regular visitor here, love coming here. Love Devonport.

WHITE: I'm going to try this question, Minister - any news on when the election will be?

GALLAGHER: Above my pay grade, I'm afraid. I have no idea. That is one of those decisions that is totally up to the PM. So, we just keep going. We're planning for a budget in March and we're doing all the work around that.

WHITE: So, what has brought you to the North today?

GALLAGHER: I'm doing a couple of days in Tassie, really using my Minister for Public Service hat on, talking about some of the job cuts that have been threatened under the Leader of the Opposition, who's saying we've got too many public servants and I think in places like Devonport and I was in Hobart yesterday, I was really talking about the investments we've made to improve services for people through the public service, whether it be Services Australia or Veterans' Affairs or some of those other services people rely on - talking to people about that, because it's really important.

WHITE: And I believe that Labor is saying that a lot of these public service jobs actually are outside of Canberra?

GALLAGHER: Yeah, that's right. I think Mr Dutton likes to say that they're all in Canberra, but two thirds of the extra jobs that we've put on - and when we came to government, really the public service was really struggling and under-resourced - but about two thirds of the new jobs are in places like Devonport and Hobart and Launceston and you know, these are the ones that they're saying now are not needed. And we know they are and we know that we've been improving services. There's always more to do, definitely, but we know they've made a difference. And I was in Sorell yesterday, where they've opened a new Services Australia hub, where it was very busy. I could tell you. People moving in and out, great car parking, which probably helped. And yeah, those services people are already using and relying on.

WHITE: So, you claim that the Opposition are threatening to slash public service jobs and that's very important here in Northern Tasmania, but do we have any idea of what public service jobs may be on the cards to go?

GALLAGHER: Well, the figure they're using is 36,000 public servants will go. And that's about a 20 per cent cut to the public service. As I said, two thirds of those jobs are outside the ACT. So, if you're looking at what jobs there are in, say, Tassie, you'd be looking at a 20 per cent cut. So, that could be up to 900 jobs. That's a lot of jobs to be cut and a lot of services to be reduced, because there's no way you can continue to deliver services if you have hundreds of people not there doing the work that's needed.

WHITE: Now, another subject I know is very important to a lot of Tasmanians, and that is the NBN internet service. I know myself, coming from the mainland, I've come from fibre-to-the-premises to fibre-to-the-node. Labor's promised a $3 billion upgrade to complete this. When can we expect this, because it's been going on for quite some time, and how is this going to affect Tasmanians?

GALLAGHER: So, look, this has been a really important announcement this week, and I know that again the Opposition have said that it's a joke, but it's not a joke when you're relying on a copper network. And so, the investment we're going to make in NBN really finishes off the network into getting rid of copper and making sure it's based on fibre. So, fixed fibre to the home. And there's about 622,000 premises that are on the old network, I think they call it fibre-to-the-node, and that's basically the copper network and we'll be upgrading that to fibre. Now, there's work been underway already that has upgraded a number of premises, that finishes in December this year. And then the next stage will start straight away. So, that will continue. It'll take about five years I think to finish the full rollout, but people will see it incrementally happen and NBN Co will make announcements about that, but I know that in Tassie - and it's the same in my home town, I live in Canberra, where we have relied on the old network, it's not reliable, it's degrading and it needs to be fixed. And we know more and more people either work from home or run their small business from home, so it's really important that we get people the speeds at the affordable price through a national asset like NBN Co.

WHITE: So, by 2030, can we expect all Australians to have fibre-to-the-premises?

GALLAGHER: Well, I think it upgrades to over 90 per cent, like maybe 94 per cent. There's some premises that for different reasons - and you know, we're in a very big country with a lot of people living in different places - so, it'll be a final mix of technology, but where we can put that fixed fibre in, it will be done and then there may be a very small proportion of people, depending on where they live, that rely on other technology to get them that access. But essentially, our view is people have a right, a right to go to a hospital or go to a school. This is now part of those universal rights. We need people to be able to access reliable, high-speed broadband. We know every household now has about 20 devices linked to the internet, and we know that's going to increase hugely as people rely on more data coming in and doing more work online. We know that's only going to increase, and we need to be offering people those choices and fixed fibre is part of that answer.

WHITE: For those that can't get access to these high-speed internet services - will there be any options for Australians that might have to rely on satellite, for example?

GALLAGHER: Yes, so that's what I'm saying and that's sort of the very small proportion where we can't get the fixed fibre in place, those sorts of technologies, so satellite technology, would be part of the mix. And that would be part of this package as well. We're not saying, just because we can't do it, you don't get access. It's just saying we would look for a different technology mix to be able to provide that service.

WHITE: The autism strategy was announced yesterday, but we currently have no peak body, as mentioned by a charity. How confident are you that they will deliver valuable outcomes for Tasmanians with autism?

GALLAGHER: Well, we're really hopeful about this. I'm a parent of a child - I keep saying child, but she's a young person - with autism. So, this is an issue close to home for me and I get how hard it is both for the person with autism and parents who are struggling to you know, look for support and answers. I think what we're hoping for with the National Autism Strategy, it's the first time we've had one, is really to drive acceptance and inclusion and opportunity for people with autism. So, it's not about - many people with autism have support services maybe through the NDIS or other support services. This is really about, I think, educating and trying to gain a better understanding of how autistic people navigate our non-autistic world and some of the challenges that are faced and looking at removing some of those, particularly around inclusion and economic independence.

WHITE: I'd like to talk to you about salmon, now, because it's looking like it will be a key issue in the North West seat of Braddon. Is your colleague Tanya Plibersek likely to reach a decision before then?

GALLAGHER: Look, as I understand it, there is more work being done. I haven't had a conversation with Tanya recently, but I have visited Macquarie Harbour and met with the workers down there and I know the PM did towards the end of last year. So, it's really important as part of our jobs that we fully understand, you know, everyone's view on this and particularly how important the salmon industry is to Tassie. And so that was really useful for me, to speak directly with the workers, to look at what's going on down there and the steps that are being made to make it a more sustainable industry. So, whilst I guess the final decisionmaker is the Minister for Environment, I think rest assured for everybody there that from the PM down, we are very - we've certainly educated ourselves and we're very interested in supporting the salmon industry in Tasmania. I work very closely with Anne Urquhart, I think she's been named a salmon champion, and she keeps us very well briefed on what's been happening there.

WHITE: Just finally, obviously you're touring North West Tasmania today, is there any opportunity for people to see you, meet you, ask you any questions or concerns they might have leading into the election?

GALLAGHER: For sure. I mean, I had a couple of conversations yesterday, I had to go and nip into Woollies and get something and met with some people. People are pretty forward-leaning. They always come up and give you a bit of feedback, sometimes it's good, sometimes it's a bit frank, but yeah, no, love being here and yeah of course people are more than welcome to come and have a chat.

WHITE: So just basically, look for the Minister, look for the Minister at your local supermarket. I do appreciate your time though, I know you are very busy, so thank you for sharing some with ABC Northern Tasmania.

GALLAGHER: Thanks for having me on, Steve.