E&OE TRANSCRIPT
Doorstop interview, Adelaide
Topics: National Space Agency; health funding; Israel; Craig Kelly
10/12/2018
9:00AM
Steven Marshall: Good morning. Honestly, it doesn’t get any better than this for South Australia, to have the Prime Minister here, having Minister Karen Andrews here to announce that the National Space Agency will be coming to Adelaide, will be coming to South Australia. This is just fantastic news. I want to thank the Prime Minister very much for this great opportunity for our state. I particularly want to thank and acknowledge the work of the Minister, Megan Clarke, who is the first head of the National Space Agency for Australia and of course everybody who has been involved in this incredible bid, this very compelling bid.
Because it is fair to say every other state in Australia has got a capability in space, every other state would like to have had a national space agency headquartered in their state. But South Australia has won it, we put in a very compelling bid. We will make Australia proud with a fantastic facility here on lot 14. Just a year ago, this was a functioning hospital, our major hospital in SA. Now it is being transformed into Australia’s most exciting innovation precinct and having the innovation associated with a space agency here will just give it a massive boost. This place will absolutely go through the roof. I want to acknowledge, in particular, the work of Andy Thomas, Australia’s first NASA astronaut for his great advocacy to set up a National Space Agency. He and Andrea Boyd, Michael Davis, fantastic support for this. It has been incredible.
Of course, we have just also signed an MOU. This is something that Minister Tudge and the South Australian Government have been working on for some time. It is all centred around this incredible precinct. We couldn’t be happier. Ladies and gentlemen, the Prime Minister of Australia, Scott Morrison.
Scott Morrison: Thank you Steven. This is what vision looks like. What we’re doing right here. A vision that saw this site, not as a block of flats for the future, but a vision from a Premier that wanted to transform this site into a job magnet and for some of the most exciting visionary jobs you can think of. Working in high technology, working in the space agency, working in the future of Australian science and technology. This is what vision looks like. When we first started discussing this and we were putting out all of the states, Steven Marshall had one message when it came to the Space Agency which was “Beam me up Scotty”. That is what he wanted to see and that’s what we’ve done.
So as a Premier and Prime Minister, we will go where no Premier or Prime Minister has gone before when it comes to the Space Agency here in South Australia. But I want to commend South Australia on their bid and I want to commend all the other parts of the supply chain of the space industry in Australia. This is a $4 billion industry in Australia and by 2030 we’re taking this to a $12 billion industry. And at the heart of driving that change is the $41 million investment right here in the National Space Agency here in Adelaide. This is the turnaround state, it’s been turned around by Premier Marshall and we are backing in the plans that he has to ensure a stronger economy here in South Australia.
You know, in the last 12 months, 86,000 manufacturing jobs have been created in Australia. The future for manufacturing in Australia is a bright one, and one in eight jobs under the previous Labor Government at a federal level in manufacturing went. They vanished. And our Government in the last 12 months – 86,000 manufacturing jobs. And the way you keep that success going is by making these types of investments. By supporting, of course, new technology industries, but also continuing to support traditional industries. Just this week, the Premier and I were in Whyalla and we were talking about there, with Sanjeev Gupta, about transforming older industries into steel manufacturing plants there and that means you can have both. You can have your new technology industries, which we’re investing in here in this space agency, and you can be bringing along your traditional sectors. Here, talking to the businesses located already here, looking at ways that they can improve the production capacity of our agricultural sector using space technology.
So it is about agriculture, it is about resources, it is about manufacturing, and it also is about new technology. So I think it’s a very exciting day for Australia, as Karen will outline in just a few moments, about how this space agency fits in with the future prosperity of Australia. Unless you have a strong economy, you cannot invest in the things that really deliver for Australians.
Today I’m also announcing that we’re putting $1.23 billion extra into community health and hospitals right across the country. That $1.25 billion is going into cancer treatment, it’s going into drug rehabilitation, it’s going into access to clinical trials, it’s going into mental health right across Australia. So this is a significant investment over and above the existing massive investment, around $30 billion over the next five years, that we’re putting in Australia’s hospitals. The reason we can do that, the reason we can turn up here today, is because we have been running a strong economy. Because the Budget that we’ve been managing and repairing over the last five years will be back in balance, will be back in surplus on the 2nd of April of next year when we down the first Budget surplus in twelve years. That’s what strong economic management delivers, that’s what good Budget management delivers. You don’t want to put any of that at risk by going off on any other tangent. We’ve got the plan to deliver a stronger economy, which means strong industries and it means the services, the essential services like health, that Australians can rely on. So from here, I think we’re handing over to Megan? Sorry, Karen is going to tell us more about how the Space Agency fits into the overall plan and well done Karen for bringing this to fruition with the Premier.
Karen Andrews: Thank you, Prime Minister, I’m delighted to announce that the Australian Space Agency will be headquartered here in Adelaide. And I’m actually so excited that I very nearly lost my voice so just bear with me. There’s some very compelling reasons for the Agency to be headquartered here in Adelaide. South Australia was in fact the start of the space journey here in Australia. About 50 or so years ago the first satellite was launched from Woomera and since that time there has been a number of advances in the space sector, culminating to date with where we are standing here now which is Lot Fourteen where the Space Agency will be headquartered, along with other space-related businesses. There’s already as strong presence with space-related businesses here in South Australia. There’s about 60 companies currently working in space-related industries, employing about 800 people. We’re planning to grow the space industry, not just in South Australia but right across Australia.
So the Coalition Government invested $41 million to establish the Australian Space Agency. The sector is worth globally about $345 billion US. The Australian slice of that currently stands at $3.9 billion and there are about 10,000 people nationally employed in space-related industries. Our plan is to grow that by 2030 to a $12 billion industry employing an additional 20,000 people. So the Space Agency being headquartered here amongst other space industries is an opportunity for the ecosystem that is already being developed here to grow and mature and puts us in a very, very good place to get an even larger slice of the global market for space-related industries. So I’d like to invite the head of the Australian Space Agency Megan Clarke to maybe say a couple of words and add to that, but congratulations to South Australia.
Megan Clarke: Thank you very much Minister and thank you very much Prime Minister and Premier. Today we’ve got lift off of the Australian Space Agency in Adelaide. Fantastic. This is going to be a wonderful home. We’re here to transform and grow the Australian space industry across the nation. This will be a door for us for our international partnerships, national coordination and international partnerships are absolutely key to our success. I was explaining to the Prime Minister, we’re already getting the support from around the world and from industry. We’ve got a pipeline over the next three years of over a billion of capital being invested into the space industry. Half a billion of that is inbound capital coming in from industry and from other space agencies around the world. It is a fantastic day, we’re looking forward to our new home in a really exciting precinct. This is going to be a hotbed of creativity and thank you so much for your support Prime Minister and for your investment, we really appreciate it.
Scott Morrison: Thank you Megan, and to Karen. Now, all of this is happening at a very exciting part of South Australia which the Minister for Cities, Alan Tudge, has been working closely with the South Australian Government for some time. As we’ve just said, we’ve just signed an MOU around that city deal here in Adelaide and I know that. I’ve got all the SA members here with me this morning from our Federal team right across the state. That’s how… this isn’t just about Adelaide. What’s happening here is good for the whole state and that’s why I’m joined by so many of my South Australian colleagues here today. But I’m going to hand it over to Alan to talk a bit more about the City Deal of which the Space Agency now forms a central part.
Alan Tudge: Thank you Prime Minister and Premier and colleagues. We’ve signed the MOU today for the City Deal and this deal will be one of the best in the nation because it’s centered on this precinct which will become one of the greatest hubs of innovation in Australia. And what that means is it will drive the jobs of the future so there’s opportunities for more South Australians to work here, to live here, more opportunities for young people so they can stay here rather than having to go to the east coast for other opportunities. It’s also going to help overall with population growth into South Australia, which of course is one of the ambitions of the South Australian Government here.
We want to support that. So there’s three elements to the MOU which the two leaders have just signed. The first is around this precinct, and it’s around innovation and job creation. The second is actually outlining a framework for how we can support population growth in South Australia. As I mentioned, this is one of the strong aspirations of Premier Marshall and we want to back him in. This is also going to be discussed by leaders at the COAG agenda today. And then the third theme of the MOU is around culture and the arts. Again, part of that will be based right here, but we also want to support other initiatives in Adelaide and South Australia in order to build on already the fantastic reputation which South Australia has. Again, that can be a jobs booster because it brings in tourists into this state.
Together, through this city deal, it will be one of the best in the nation. And I think it’ll be a real driver for growth, for liveability, for culture in this state, support the aspirations to growth the population, support the aspirations to grow the economy and make Adelaide an even better place to live.
Scott Morrison: Thank you very much Alan. Ok, we’re happy to take some questions. Why don’t we focus first as usual on the order of the day, then happy to take other questions.
Journalist: Prime Minister, what gave South Australia the edge? Was it the Andy Thomas’s, the Jim Wally’s, the Pam Melroy’s, the Steven Marshall’s, or was it just because we’re here?
Prime Minister: Steven Marshall. I’m not kidding, it’s Steven Marshall. It’s all of the others, as you say, but Steven’s vision for this site and for South Australia and for how the Space Agency just power charged that vision was central. We got it, we understand what he’s trying to do and I talk about ‘you have a go, you get a go’. Well that’s what’s happening for South Australia, that’s what we’re doing here. Steven Marshall is having a go for South Australia and he’s getting a go from us by backing his plans and his visions in. I started out with my comments today, “This is what vision looks like.” When people talk about vision, this is it. When you have a Premier and Prime Minister coming together to see a place transformed and to ensure you’re putting in investments and the capabilities that bring that to reality. So it is very exciting today, but it is a great win for vision today and a Premier with a big vision.
Journalist: Are you going to have a lot of other miffed Premiers by this announcement?
Scott Morrison: No, the good news is that around the country… take the defence industry. Take the other city deals we have going on. We’re backing in states plans all around the country and it really is a matter of horses for courses. And that space industry has a supply chain that spans the entire country and so the headquarters of the space agency is here but its reach is beyond South Australia. So you know we’ll create that conglomeration of leadership for this sector. But like we see in the defence industry and the procurements that we’re seeing in place there, the biggest in generations, since before the Second World War. I mean, that is transforming our manufacturing industry. It’s no accident that we have 86,000 manufacturing jobs created in Australia last year. Anyone who thinks manufacturing doesn’t have a future in Australia – there are 86,000 reasons why that’s not true under our Government. And that’s just in the last 12 months. Because we have a vision for how manufacturing will be successful in the future. I mean, we were just in there recently and looking at how Boeing was investing in one of the key projects here. Now Boeing’s biggest presence outside the United States is in Australia. And the reason… I was at Boeing earlier in the year. The reason that is true is because of our people and our capability and our ability to adapt technology and get things right. And that’s why the Space Agency here will also be successful in Adelaide.
Journalist: Prime Minister, initially there was talk about a headquarters and then nodes throughout the country, is that still… are there going to be nodes?
Prime Minister: No, the Space Agency will be here.
Journalist: Everyone else misses out?
Prime Minister: No, because as I just said, the reach and leadership that will come from the Space Agency here in South Australia will impact right across the country. I mean, this gives a real focus, this gives it a real critical mass. We didn’t want to diffuse the potential here in South Australia. We wanted to maximise the potential and the better South Australia and Adelaide Space Agency does here, the better all the other states and territories do.
Journalist: It’s fair to say that people think of space agencies, they think of rockets going into space. Obviously that’s not going to happen here, but what is the core role of the Agency? What is it actually going to do?
Prime Minister: Look I’m probably going to ask Karen to address that, because…
Karen Andrews: Well you can’t rule anything out at this point in time and there are already satellite launches that are happening in Australia as well. So the opportunity to grow the sector here is immense. So one of the key roles of the Australian Space Agency is to develop opportunities for the industry. $345 billion US is in the space sector and we want a significant share of that here in Australia. So with the Australian Space Agency headquartered in Lot Fourteen, surrounded by other space-related industries, we’re actually giving it the best chance to maximise the opportunities to grow the sector. So certainly launch is part of our capability, we’re already setting up strategic alliances with other nations as well. We will continue to build and grow the sector and who knows where that might take us.
Prime Minister And Birmo, Simon Birmingham is here. Now as you know, Simon is not just a passionate South Australian, he’s also our Trade Minister. And Simon just might want to comment on how this capability will be able to showcase Australia’s broader capabilities when it comes to selling Australia overseas and how important this is for that.
Simon Birmingham: Sure PM. This is such an exciting proposition in terms of Australia’s ability to stand tall on the world stage, generate the type of investment in Australia that Dr Megan Clarke was talking about before. We’re seeing already more than half a billion dollars’ worth of investment coming into the space businesses of Australia. Yes, we’re putting a space agency here in Adelaide. But surrounding that, here in SA and right around the country are hundreds of other business, ultimately thousands of other businesses, that are going to be part of the global supply chain space industry, and from that they will spin off and they will be doing more in the defence industry, they’ll be doing more in agriculture and other traditional sectors which become ever more reliant on new technologies to make sure their productivity is at the top of the world class. And what’s really exciting here is that we see from this small investment, and it is a relatively small investment, government is able to leverage hundreds of millions of dollars of additional private sector investment that’s going to sustain jobs here in SA, right around the country and help us sell our wares to the world.
Journalist: Can we hear more about this city deal, about who is going to be involved, how long it’ll run for and…I don’t mean to be selfish but how much money are we going to get?
Alan Tudge: So today is the next step in the city deal, which is signing the MOU. And in that MOU it outlines the broad principles and the broad themes upon which the final document will be built. And in that final document, which we hope to sign early next year, again between the Prime Minister and the Premier. It will also outline our federal funding financial contributions as well as the state. There will be federal contributions toward that city deal and it will support those three themes that I was articulating before. Now in terms of the longevity of it, that will be determined, but all of these city deals are long-term plans, at least a decade, sometimes more.
Prime Minister: But obviously $45 million straight up here today with the Space Agency. Any other questions?
JOURNALIST: Premier [inaudible] jobs for the agency?
Prime Minister: Because it’s growing the entire industry around the country. That’s the point that Simon was just making. To lead this industry forward, to take it from $4 billion in turnover to $12 billion requires integration, collaboration and centralisation at times where capital is being focused to develop new innovations to realise the opportunities that other companies want to bring from all around the world. This is a leverage point, this is a catalyst, that’s what this does, that’s its whole point. It’s to be able to infuse the rest of the Space Agency to centre on Australia, to realise the potential that’s here. And the potential is limited only by the imaginations and the efforts of those that are in the industry. This is not the… the Chief Executive of the Space Agency is not the Chief Executive of every single company who is actually involved in the space industry. They’re the ones who will be investing the capital, they’re the ones who will be realising this and the Government is playing its role by coordinating and providing the leadership to grow the industry.
Journalist: Just one for the Premier. Premier, now that the Space Agency is going to be based here, what else will a South Australian Government be doing to try and foster the growth in this industry?
Steven Marshall: This is a critical industry for us in South Australia. I’d like South Australia to be known as the defence and space state. We’ve got plenty of other industries that do well but this is a real point of difference with other states around Australia now and just as Federal Government investment in the defence sector has created many, many South Australian businesses, we’ll be doing everything we can within the state government to do precisely the same here with the space sector. So the Federal Government is putting in money, we’ll be working to develop that ecosystem of smaller and medium sized businesses around the great opportunities. And look, just since stories went up online last night, I’ve been contact by people from right across the world, excited about the potential for right here in Australia, in Adelaide, on Lot Fourteen.
Journalist: How big a role has Andy Thomas played in developing all that?
Steven Marshall: Andy Thomas was involved right from the get-go. He sat down with the Federal Government and he talked about the need to have a national space agency. The importance of how this would drive innovation right across the Australian economy. Because there’s this enormous technology transfer from the space sector to virtually every other sector of our economy. He was great, he explained it in a logical, calm way. He did sort of needle us a bit because he said, “You know, we’re the only OECD country in the world that doesn’t have a space agency, get on with it.” And he continued to advocate. But as I said, so many other people were involved in that. Jim Walley, Pam Melroy, Andrea Boyd, Michael Davis, Nicola Sasanelli, so many people from right across this state, right across our nation, all getting on board to make sure that we have a national space agency in Australia as the first sort of priority and then of course we’re putting in our very, very best bid to bring that space agency here to Adelaide.
Journalist: Prime Minister, can I ask you a few questions about your health announcement.
Prime Minister: Sure.
Journalist: Is today’s health announcement [inaudible] restore funding [inaudible]?
Prime Minister: Well we’ve never accepted that lie by Labor, and I know Labor Premiers will make that point. But the truth is, over the next four years, we’re offering an additional $1.25 billion… well not offering, we’re putting in place, the reality happening. An extra $1.25 billion into community health and hospitals. That’s actually $500 million more than the Labor opposition have pledged over the next four years. So what is means is because of our strong economy, our fiscal management, we are investing more in health and hospitals than at any other time. And this is the best set of funding that any set of Premiers have ever seen.
Journalist: And how many projects will be chosen?
Prime Minister: Well we’ll work together with the states and territories about how we pursue these projects. But the money is there. As I said, it’s focusing on cancer treatment, drug rehabilitation, access to clinical trials and importantly, focusing on mental health which is wherever I go in the country, there is an increasing awareness of the need to do more and be more places when it comes to supporting mental health. Now the Premier and I, the last time I was down here in South Australia with Nick, was we were announcing the extra $50 million just over that for HeadSpace. So we’re a Government that is committed to better mental health for Australians. Over the weekend, I was able to announce $110 million which is going to ensure Medicare supported treatments for eating disorders. Now that is a ground-breaking decision by our Government and I know it’s been welcomed by those who have got the lived experience of living with eating disorders and their families, as well as frankly every parent in the country, me included, for whom this is a source of constant anguish and concern. So these are the investments that you can make when you’re serious about health, and you can only make them if you’re serious about a stronger economy.
Journalist: What decision has the Government made in relation to Israel’s capital?
Prime Minister: When I’m in a position to make that announcement, I will.
Journalist: Do you know about talks involving getting Craig Kelly to run for the Nationals before you [inaudible]?
Prime Minister: No, that’s irrelevant.
Journalist: Is there going to be any announcement of delivery between the states and territories [inaudible]?
Prime Minister: Yes there will be.
JOURNALIST: Can you elaborate on that?
Prime Minister: I will once we’ve had COAG today. But I send my best wishes to the Canberra press gallery for their questions this morning. And we’re about to go off to COAG, it’s great to have COAG here in the turnaround state, the action state, the space state, with Steven today and he’s hosting his colleagues here today. Today’s COAG meeting is going to be important. A big part of today’s COAG meeting is focusing on national security today and the Premiers and I and Chief Ministers had dinner last night and we are all very much in agreement about the need to reassure all Australians than when it comes to national security, and that national security just doesn’t involve counter-terrorism and dealing with organised crime, it involves dealing with all those things. But it also involves keeping Australians safe as we move into what could be one of the most difficult bushfire seasons we have seen in a long time and there are items on the agenda today around the national security agenda which is focusing on emergency management and how states and territories work together on that. And I’ve got to say that whether it was dealing with the Bourke Street attack, whether it was dealing with the Queensland bushfires, the relationship that exists between the states and the Commonwealth in dealing with national security has been very, very strong. We are going to reinforce that today. There is no greater responsibility I have as Prime Minister than to keep Australians safe.
Today’s agenda is very heavily focused on that agenda and we are looking forward to confirming further actions in that space today. And on top of that, dealing with the other matters which deal with health and education but, as Alan was pointing out, another important issue we’re dealing with today is population management across Australia. In a state like South Australia, you want more people. In Adelaide you want more people. In states like New South Wales and Victoria, we need to manage that growth because the congestion impacts in Melbourne and in Sydney are affecting the quality of life for our citizens and residents in those cities. And so what I’m calling on the states and territories to do is to work closely with the Commonwealth to ensure we better manage how population is growing in Australia, that it is going to the places we need it to go, where there are the jobs and opportunities and where things are we’re hitting our head on the ceiling, that we can temper our population growth in those parts of the country to protect the quality of life of our residents in those major cities. That will be a big arrangement.
The other one is great news for small business today. The Commonwealth is already taking our payment terms down to 20 days for small businesses. I called on all the States and Territories to move in that direction and I’m looking forward to their support for that today on their timetables. The New South Wales Government is moving already on that issue and I welcome that. So I think whether it is on drought, whether it is on payment terms for small business, managing population growth, keeping Australians safe and of course the $1.25 billion extra we’re putting into health and hospitals in this country as a Government, means that we’re a Government getting on with it and we’re certainly getting on with it in South Australia. Thank you.