SUBJECTS: Labor’s jobs plan for Townsville, water buyback scandal, Adani, GetUp, WeChat, Gallipoli dawn service, gas pipeline
 
CATHY O'TOOLE, MEMBER FOR HERBERT: I am really proud and excited to be here as a member of the Labor Party and the MP representing this electorate of Herbert. One of the announcements that is going to be made today, for the rail corridor between Mount Isa and Townsville is the best news the west and the northern region of Queensland can have. This is the economic driver, this rail line, for our community. It was severely compromised and devastated during our recent flood, which has made it really important that we invest in rejuvenating that particular rail line. For us, that means jobs, that means economic stimulus for small businesses. The number one issue when I talk to people in my electorate is jobs. That is what they talk about. 
 
I am really proud to be a member of a party, led by Bill Shorten, that actually has a regional jobs plan and people in my community are seeing that every day. Just to be clear, Bill is very aware of this region. He has been here, since July 2015, 27 times. He has met with people in my community, he has listened and I have been able to work with him and the leadership team on the needs of this community in terms of infrastructure builds that will give us economic stimulus, jobs, and particularly for our young people. Understand that unemployment here is almost double the national average. Our youth unemployment is around 17 per cent. That is completely unacceptable in a country like Australia in 2019. The Labor Party is the only party that actually gets this, it is the only party, under the leadership of Bill Shorten, that has developed a jobs plan that will meet the needs of this community and in this case, the west as well. We couldn’t have had better news than this announcement today. On top of yesterday, having our $30 million announced for ReefHQ, an international standard research, innovation, education facility, desperately in need of a face lift. It is 40 years old, it is the only infrastructure facility of that nature in the Southern Hemisphere. The only Government that has ever put any money into ReefHQ has been Labor. I can say to you from this community, Labor is leading the way, the LNP is playing catch up politics and that is all that has happened in this electorate since I have been in this seat. I would just like to hand over to Bill now to make more comments. 
 
BILL SHORTEN, LEADER OF THE OPPOSITION: Thanks Cathy. Today, we are focused on local workers, better wages and better jobs for Queenslanders and for Australians. My message to the Australian wage earners, to millions of middle class and working class Australians is that May 18th, and the vote on May 18th, is the last chance for three years to get wages moving, to reverse the cuts to penalty rates, to do something about reforming long term permanent casuals, to make sure that we clamp down on rorts in 457 visas, to reform labour hire. My message is that on May 18th it is your last chance for three years. Because if the current mob are returned, the divided, dysfunctional anti-worker government mob we currently have in Canberra are returned, they are going to take an election victory as a green light to continue for the next three years in the same ramshackle, pro top end of town manner, which they have been doing for the last six years and that hasn’t helped Australian workers. We want to stand up for Australian workers. We want to make sure they get better pay and better quality of work. This Government just wants to cut schools and hospitals, cut penalty rates, so they can give tax cuts to the top end of town. What I would like to do is ask Jason Clare to talk about our exciting infrastructure announcements and talk about a few of the issues we have just gone through. 
 
JASON CLARE, SHADOW MINISTER FOR TRADE, INVESTMENT,
RESOURCES AND NORTHERN AUSTRALIA: Thanks very much Bill. I was here in Townsville last Wednesday with Cathy where we got to announce $12 million to build a brand new Townsville motor sport precinct. I said at the time, Cathy you'll remember, that this is a project that would help to make the roads safer here in Townsville by training local young people how to drive safely but it would also create jobs and bring more people to town. What we're announcing today, in funding for road and funding for rail, will do more of the same but on a bigger scale. It will help to make the roads safer up north but it will also create more jobs. What we're announcing is a quarter of a billion dollars in road and rail projects. One hundred and forty-four million dollars for the for the fifth and final part of the Townsville Ring Road and $100 million to invest in upgrading the rail line between Mount Isa and Townsville. That will help to ensure that we get even more out of the Mount Isa north-west mineral province and get more of what's extracted there onto rail. If you've ever driven the Barkly or the Flinders, you'll know there’s a lot of awfully big trucks on that road. Lots of people I speak to in Mount Isa and Townsville will tell me they want to see more of the product that comes out of the ground in Mount Isa onto rail. That will help to make that happen, help to make our roads safer, but also creating more jobs at the Mount Isa end, and more jobs here in Townsville, and more jobs in the construction work that's needed to build that road and build that rail. It's all part of our Townsville jobs plan.  

Whether it's the expansion of the port, whether it's the water pipeline projects for water security here in Townsville, that Brad Webb, the owner of this facility designed and developed and we should pay credit to him, for the work he did, and that we'll fund if we win government. But also the investment in road, the investment in rail, creating jobs here - one in ten workers on these projects to be apprentices, and making sure as part of our local market testing that before a contractor looks for workers or subcontractors interstate or from Brisbane that they first have to test the market here and give the jobs to local subcontractors and local workers and creating more jobs for the people of Townsville who need it. Jobs, jobs, jobs. That's what this is all about. Thanks.
 
JOURNALIST: Mr Shorten, your candidate for McPherson, has said during the campaign that Labor is committed to reviewing the Adani - the federal approvals for Adani. Belinda Hassan, the candidate for Dawson, has said that twice now, that Labor may review it. Why are your candidates under the impression that you're committed to a review?
 
SHORTEN: I have made it clear that we have no plans to review it. Our position is that the deals have to stack up commercially. We'll be guided by the best science. I'm going to implement the law of the land. No more, no less and of course, we're not going to engage in sovereign risk. 
 
JOURNALIST: Mr Shorten, the worker who approached you yesterday in Gladstone, earning $250,000 –
 
SHORTEN: Good money.
 
JOURNALIST: Good money. 
 
SHORTEN: Union - union contract, just saying. 
 
JOURNALIST: Yeah. Well wouldn't it have been straightforward and honest of you to say to him, you're going to deny him a tax cut that the Government is offering, and increase his taxes by 2 per cent. 
 
SHORTEN: No Mark, that isn't the conversation. What I said is that I understood his point of view. He's frustrated, he does a lot of overtime, and he wants to make sure that he's making ends meet. What I have made very clear, on many occasions, is that in 2022-2023, we will remove the Budget repair levy. So that's when the Budget will be in a proper surplus, and sustainable. So absolutely, I can say to people, that we get that everybody feels they're paying too much income tax in this country, but it's a matter of priorities. I have said, and I don't often do this, but you know they publish me correctly - but in The Australian - six months ago they reported me as saying exactly what I was saying yesterday. That in fact, we would like to lower income taxes for everybody, but you have got to do it when it's sustainable. The other point I made to that worker is that this government's tax cuts are on the never-never. Like, why is Mr Morrison ducking and weaving and not saying how much he's going to give away to the top two or three percent? I understand the number is $77 billion. But that - no one in the government is willing to own up to the fact that they want to give an $11,000 - an annual tax cut, to millionaires, and $11 a week to most people. And what this government won't do, is not only have they been caught out shovelling truck loads of money to the top end, but they won't say how they're going to pay for it. What I won't say to workers, is that I'll give you a tax cut and then cut your hospitals and your schools at the same time. Labor has got a sensible plan, well funded. The big problem in this country is that capital in this country is taxed lightly, and income is taxed heavily. You know, on your capital gains tax, you get half of that tax free. If you own the shares, and the dividends, you get a 30 per cent gift from the government. Capital is taxed lightly, but income earners, top right down to the bottom, and there's many more at the bottom in this country, they don't get a fair deal from this Government. 
 
JOURNALIST: To be fair, what you said to him yesterday was that you would look at it. As somebody who is weeks away from the election and your shadow minister this morning told us that you were just being courteous to this worker by saying that. Is it more than being courteous, is it being misleading given we're this close to election?
 
SHORTEN: Sorry I’m just going to, we have said on the record in The Australian newspaper that we would like to do more on tax. I don't blame you if you missed it but the point is we’ve also said on the Budget repair levy, that 2 per cent, that we would like to remove it in 2022-23. I've been up front, up front six months ago, up front yesterday, up front today. But where is Mr Morrison? Why won't he be up front?) No, let's get to this. I'm not going to let him run around the country taking his happy pills and having his little photos and getting away with serious scrutiny. You know, the Prime Minister's job isn't to be the court jester, it’s to be the man with the plan with the answers. I’ve got the plan and I’ve got the answers.
 
JOURNALIST: On water buybacks, Labor's position is for a Commission of Inquiry?
 
SHORTEN: Yep.
 
JOURNALIST: Why not a Royal Commission? Is it an acknowledgement that there have been too many Royal Commissions, there's some creep going on in that space?
 
SHORTEN: This is an acknowledgement that there's something very suspicious about the water buybacks conducted under this government. This is an acknowledgement that there are questions to answer. We have taken a methodical approach to this unfolding scandal. We contacted the Department of Agriculture, we asked them to provide us with documents, a series of documents. Guess what? Time came for the documents to be provided, time went, no documents. We think a Commission of Inquiry has the powers of a Royal Commission. It's set up under the Royal Commission Act 1902. But we don't think this should be an inordinately long inquiry or an inordinately expensive inquiry but the people are owed the truth. This is one of the many reasons why I'm also backing a national Anti-Corruption Commission because under this government there is too much dodgy behaviour when it comes to money and the Government and the Ministers. For example, you have the Paladin contract. We all know that's been desperately swept under the carpet. We know that you’ve got the ongoing saga which is Hello World. And now you’ve got Eastern Agricultural Services. There is a pattern of events with this government which goes to a very fundamental question about their honesty in administering money and a Commission of Inquiry is exactly the right way to go.
 
JOURNALIST: At a recent WeChat Q&A, you avoided answering questions about Huawei, Chinese interference and negative views of the Chinese Communist Party in Australia. Was that a case of self-censoring to meet the WeChat and Communist Party rules? 
 
SHORTEN: No, not at all. First of all, the questions which came in came in on a range of matters and I answered the questions that were put to me by the interpreters in the room. But let me make my view clear. On Huawei, and I have said it plenty of times, I'll take the national security advice. When it comes to taking foreign donations, we led and the Government followed. So our view’s very clear. What I’ve also said though about our relations with China is they shouldn't be viewed through the strategic prism of disaster. In other words, you've got to reach out and deal with the Chinese Government not just in the sort of worst case scenario strategic threat, but as economic opportunity and as a country we've had so many exchanges between people to people, business to business. Sorry, hang on. Sorry Dan I’m going to share the questions. Do you know I haven't given a single question yet to a woman journalist? And I'm going to do that.
 
JOURNALIST: You’ve said that there'll be no review of the Adani project. Could you be precise? What are you talking about? There’ll be no review of the recent groundwater decision, there’ll be no review of the project, there’ll be no review of any environmental approval that's already been undertaken, what do you mean by that?
 
SHORTEN: The question which I answered, the question which I was asked was do you have any plans to review Adani. I say I have no plans to review Adani, full stop.
 
JOURNALIST: But do you have a plan to review the recent groundwater management decision which Tony Burke and many of your spokespeople have indicated that, have built the case basically for a review by saying that Melissa Price was bullied into that decision. Do you mean you will not review that decision?
 
SHORTEN: Melissa Price, there’s a name you don't often hear in federal politics. She’s the Environment Minister. Let's get her out of witness protection to explain was she was bullied or not, but I go back to your other question, we have no plans to review the Adani approvals.
 
JOURNALIST: You’ve got one candidate saying that there will be a review of Adani, another saying hand on heart there won't be, and you say there are no plans to. Do you concede that your messaging on this issue is inconsistent?
 
SHORTEN: No I concede my messaging on it is entirely consistent. If we want to talk about candidates, have you guys met this number three LNP candidate in Queensland, the guy who thinks that three year old child care is a Labor conspiracy? Or have you met their candidate in Melbourne Ports who just clearly says, much prefers private schools to government schools? If you want to look at erratic candidates, why on earth is Mr Morrison not accounting - does he agree with candidate X or candidate Y? In terms of my own candidate, I have good candidates, they're working very hard, I couldn't be happier. 
 
JOURNALIST: What do you think of the ad by GetUp that showed Tony Abbott as a lifeguard allowing people to drown and what do you think of GetUp itself as an organisation you helped set up?
 
SHORTEN: I think it's a really stupid ad. I think it’s grossly disrespectful to 150,000 surf lifesavers. In terms of GetUp they're independent from us. Some of the stuff they say I haven't agreed with, some of the stuff in the past I have. But this ad – well out of line. You can have your disagreements with Tony Abbott but I respect the fact that he's a surf lifesaver. 
 
JOURNALIST: You say your position is consistent but Labor's message as a party isn't consistent, don't voters deserve to know what you actually... (inaudible)
SHORTEN: My backbenchers have got plenty of views, that's life. We don't run a dictatorship. Cathy O'Toole is a north Queenslander first and foremost, she's got a very clear position. But at the end of the day, the Labor Cabinet will make the decisions and we have no plans to review Adani. 
 
JOURNALIST: Why were they under that impression Mr Shorten surely that would indicate that they are getting that messaging from campaign headquarters or out of your office if they're saying Labor is committed to reviewing these latest approvals by Melissa Price. 
 
JOURNALIST: Greg that dog's not going to hunt mate. Let me just answer the question. That dog's not going to hunt. A scare campaign. I’ll be saying that we are not going to review Adani, full stop. We have no plans. 
 
JOURNALIST: You're saying your position is consistent but on the consistency of your position in the past year you've said you're against Adani. 

SHORTEN: No I haven't. 

JOURNALIST: Well I can give you the quote if you like?

SHORTEN: Go ahead. 

JOURNALIST: You said that you were … sceptical …
 
SHORTEN: I’ve said I was sceptical of it and I was ...
 
JOURNALIST: … of the commercial pace for Adani …
 
SHORTEN: I’ve said that I was sceptical of it …
 
JOURNALIST: … and you said that you don't like it, so do you remain sceptical of the commercial pace? Do you like it now? What is your position just for consistency’s sake? 
 
SHORTEN: I have said that I was sceptical of it because they missed so many deadlines. Now they have filled some of those deadlines. When I said I was sceptical of it, that’s because they've had more false starts than a horse race. Hang on, the reality is they seem to have found their commercial finance so that’s that. But in terms of the science, the law, sovereign risk - we will be governed by the law. That has been our position.
JOURNALIST: Mr Shorten you made a virtue throughout this campaign of saying let's be honest, let's be upfront with people. When the man asked you yesterday for a tax cut, why weren't you honest with him and simply said we are going to tax you more? 
 
SHORTEN: Because we are actually going to reduce... 
 
JOURNALIST: But you're not, you're going to tax him two per cent more, debt levy.
 
SHORTEN: Sorry, just go back to that. I was very clear that I understand why people who are income earners in this country think they are paying too much tax. We have got a plan to take the Budget repair surplus of the Budget repair levy off when the Budget gets to 1 per cent surplus under a Labor Government, which is 2022- 2023. But I also concluded my conversation by saying that the current fellow is promising you a tax cut but he is not explaining how he pays for it. You and I both know, in fact we all here know, Mr Morrison hasn't owned up that he is going to give $77 billion to the top 2 or 3 per cent and he hasn't said how he is going to pay for it. The Australia Institute belled the cat when it said that it would be up to $40 billion worth of cuts. The only way this fellow can sustain any promises is he has to get re-elected twice and then he has to do so by cutting services like schools and hospitals. That is not the way we will do tax reform. What we will do on tax reform is look after the vast bulk of people and as you all know, for those of you who heard what I said in 2018 in our Budget reply, we had bigger, better, fairer tax cuts. Now the Government has caught up and so we have matched them there. But when it comes to tax reform we will do it but we will not do it on the basis of cutting schools and hospitals. 
 
JOURNALIST: Mr Shorten when you were in Darwin you were asked a story around that, Labor ruling out tax cuts and tax relief for people earning over $90,000 in preference of that going to essential services like schools and hospitals. This gentleman was asking about people on $250,000, so very much up there in terms of income earning. If this man goes into the election on May 18 voting for Labor because you've told him you will look at tax cuts for people like him, like his colleagues on similar earnings, has he been misled and is he voting for a different Labor Party than he thinks he is? 
 
SHORTEN: No we've actually said previously, and you can go to The Australian newspaper six months ago, we said quite a bit that we will take off the Budget repair levy in 22-23. Beyond that, we said that when we can afford to lower income taxes in this country we will. But what we won't do is rob Peter to pay Paul. What we won't do is deny three and four-year-olds universal kindergarten because of unfunded tax cuts to the top end. 
 
JOURNALIST: How did you not you say this to the gentleman yesterday? 
 
SHORTEN: We had a brief interchange. 
 
JOURNALIST: Do you believe that nationalising coal fired power stations and energy generators generally is a good idea? 
 
SHORTEN: I have seen the latest government comment. This is a Coalition in complete climate chaos. They are completely divided. The only chance of real action on climate change, the only chance of lower energy prices sustainably in the long run is voting Labor on May 18. 
 
JOURNALIST: Bill Shorten, inflation has come out today at zero per cent, below expectations. What does that mean for the economy?
 
SHORTEN: That just shows you this is an economy with - zero per cent is a problem. It's actually below what the Reserve Bank forecasts is good. If there's no inflation in this quarter, that tells you this is an economy running on empty. It shows you that people have stopped spending money and do you know why they have stopped spending money? Because wages aren't moving. That is not a healthy number. What that means is that we are going down and down and down. Do not be fooled. When an economy is shrinking or when it has that sort of number, that's not what the Reserve Bank thinks is good monetary outcomes or good monetary policy for the nation. What it tells me is this nation's growth is very fragile. What it shows me is that this Government's budget is already in disarray. What it shows me is that people are closing their wallets and purses because they are spending household savings just to make ends meet.
 
JOURNALIST: Just on WeChat, why is your account registered to an unidentified man in Shandong province and are you comfortable with subjecting yourself to the political censorship that goes with that platform? 
 
SHORTEN: I'm not fussed at all. I do not feel censored by the Chinese Government. I left the setting up of my WeChat account to the Labor Party. So you'll have to ask them how they set it up. But I don't feel censored. I don't feel censored by either the Government, the Greens, One Nation or indeed the Chinese Government.
 
JOURNALIST: What do you make of Turkish locals being banned from attending those Gallipoli services?
 
SHORTEN: I didn't know about that. But I'll be guided by the Australian Government on this matter. I'll be guided by whatever the security views are. Be guided by whatever the Turkish Government says here.
 
JOURNALIST: What is your gut reaction to it though, banning locals from attending the local service? 
 
SHORTEN: I don't know what all the circumstances. So my gut reaction is don't comment until you know what is happening.
 
JOURNALIST: Just on your climate change policy how is it congruent to open up the Betaloo Basin and Labor’s 45 per cent emissions reduction target?
 
SHORTEN: Because gas is going to be a transition baseload energy source of the future. What we also need to do as we move towards 45 per cent is we’ve still got to make sure we got an Australian manufacturing sector. Therefore, opening up the gas reserves will ensure cheap domestic gas for Australia, so we can keep tens of thousands of people in their jobs in the south-east and indeed in Darwin and Brisbane. I did say last question, guys. But I'll see you at the next gig. Thank you very much.