Interview on ABC AM with Sabra Lane

EO&E…………………………………………………………

SABRA LANE:  

Senator welcome back to AM. What can you tell us about reports that Turkish nationals will be banned from attending Australian Anzac services on the Gallipoli Peninsula, apparently because of security concerns for example?

SIMON BIRMINGHAM:

Well good morning Sabra. My understanding is that there have, for a number of years now, been some restrictions in relation to Turkish nationals registering for the Anzac services that these restrictions have been applied over the years at the request of Turkish authorities and so this is not an unusual occurrence.

SABRA LANE: 

The Turkish leader Eric Erdogan vowed a month ago to send Australians home in coffins in response to the Christchurch attack. How worried his government about reprisal attacks and I also note that ISIS now is claiming responsibility for the horrific Sri Lankan attacks on the weekend.

SIMON BIRMINGHAM:

Well we urge all Australians to always follow closely the travel advisories. Clearly they have been updated in relation to Sri Lanka following the tragic events that occurred there. Australians who may be traveling to Turkey could be travelling elsewhere within the region and we would urge people again to make sure they look at all of the travel advisories for those factors, when it comes to the remarks the President made, they were dealt with at the time and of course the Prime Minister made very strong representations to the Turkish Ambassador in Australia in relation to those remarks. But ultimately we will work as closely as we can with Turkish officials to ensure that Australians who travel to the Gallipoli Peninsula who make that pilgrimage as such, get the type of security safety support and also commemorate the event that they can enjoy and participate in.

SABRA LANE: 

To today’s announcement, how many veterans a year will this help with counselling, welfare support and finding work?

SIMON BIRMINGHAM:

Well, this is going to help thousands of veterans across a range of different areas, it’s a $63 million dollar investment that we’ll see six new wellbeing centres established around the country, as well as $16 million dollars of investment in relation to employment related activities to support veterans through the RSL and other activity, other entities like Soldier On.

It will support TPIs, temporary and permanently incapacitated veterans in relation to their access to physiotherapy. It goes into access to housing as well, so it’s quite a comprehensive suite of packages and also very much designed to reflect the new world we face in working with veterans. We as a nation have long thought of our World War I firstly, and then World War II veterans, but of course we now face a veteran community with aging Vietnam and Korean veterans and new waves of veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan and they come with different challenges and in particular wellbeing…

SABRA LANE: 

Minister sorry, I guess though, that many people might wonder why does it take an election campaign to get governments delivering services for veterans that should happen outside campaign season.

SIMON BIRMINGHAM:

Well we do already invest around $11 billion dollars in support, for 280,000 veterans that we have in Australia.

SABRA LANE:  

Sure, but some of these welfare centres just happened to be located in key marginal seats in Indi, Solomon, Gilmore. What are voters to make of that?

SIMON BIRMINGHAM:

Sabra, we’ve look closely at where we think there are gaps in relation to services and importantly here, these are services that are going to tackle problems and issues such as mental health concerns and it comes on the back of announcements that we made in the Budget of more than $400 million dollars in other mental health services more generally for Australians, the establishment of new Headspace Clinics around the country, support in relation to mental health services for Indigenous Australians. And this an area in which Scott Morrison is particularly passionate. And so we’re seeing that integrated and comprehensive approach in providing additional support for Australians in those mental health welfare sectors as well as ensuring that more generally with our veterans we tackle issues of employment, of housing and other particular areas around access to physiotherapy services.

SABRA LANE: 

Alright, onto the water buy-back controversy, the government’s ordered the auditor general to look at deals done back through to 2008. You were once responsible for water. Labor only wants inquiries into deals done under Barnaby Joyce as Water Minister not you. How much of a mistake was it to give the water portfolio to Mr Joyce when Mr Turnbull became the Liberal Party leader?

SIMON BIRMINGHAM:

Well Sabra, I think what we’ve seen is that consistently regardless of who the Water Minister has been, whether it was Penny Wong or Tony Burke ,whether it was me or Barnaby Joyce or David Littleproud. We have continued to see implementation of the Murray Darling Basin Plan. The Basin Plan is a bipartisan policy that at its heart, seeks to get water licenses back for environmental purposes. You only get those water licenses back by either purchasing them from irrigators or by entering into a contract where you upgrade infrastructure and get them back from irrigators as part of that contract…

SABRA LANE:   

Labor doesn’t want your record analysed, it just wants Mr Joyce’s analysed because the way he operated he believes it was problematic.

SIMON BIRMINGHAM:

This is a smear from the Labor Party and let’s be very clear here. Every water minister has gone out and acquired water licences, either through infrastructure upgrades or through direct purchase contracts, they’ve done that on the advice of their department. In the case of Barnaby Joyce and the water licence that’s in question here, that’s being debated. It’s very clear that this was done on departmental advice, departmental advice that would provide definite environmental benefits to the Narran Lakes, that it would meet the objectives of the Murray Darling Basin plan. That it would have lower socio-economic impact in relation to that particular region relative to other contracts.

SABRA LANE: 

As Minister, do you though, have involvement at every stage of a buy-back? Do you ask to be kept in the loop at every stage?

SIMON BIRMINGHAM:

No, you expect that the department will undertake negotiations appropriately. As minister your job is to put in place policy settings. The number one policy setting, to meet and implement the Murray Darling Basin plan. Then underneath that, how will you achieve that recovery of water licences, do you do it by buyback, which the Labor Party says they prefer, or do you do it by investing in the infrastructure upgrades that makes irrigators and farmers more efficient and still get water licences back so you reduce the licences they hold. You do so through investment in those communities which are Liberal and National Ministers have preferred. They’re the types of policy settings you set. Then you have to turn to your bureaucracy to actually apply those and do so effectively and I think our water bureaucrats generally speaking have done a good job in very challenging circumstances getting those licenses.

SABRA LANE: 

Minister, thanks for your time this morning.

SIMON BIRMINGHAM:

Thank you Sabra.