Latest / 360 with Katie Woolf / Prime Minister Scott Morrison is in the NT for the Darwin bombing anniversary, and chats with Katie about the NT's role in national security coming into the Federal election

Transcript

Prime Minister Scott Morrison is in the NT for the Darwin bombing anniversary, and chats with Katie about the NT's role in national security coming into the Federal election · 360 with Katie Woolf

0:00
Speaker 1: We do know that tomorrow morning is of course going
0:02
Speaker 1: to be the day where we do commemorate and remember
0:06
Speaker 1: those that we lost in the bombing of Darh and
0:08
Speaker 1: it's going to be a very momentous morning eighty years
0:12
Speaker 1: and joining me on the line right now, live from
0:15
Speaker 1: Alice Springs is the Prime Minister of Australia, Scott Morrison.
0:19
Speaker 2: Good morning, Good.
0:21
Speaker 3: Morning, Katie. Good to be joining you and looking forward
0:23
Speaker 3: to getting to dar and then particularly for the commemoration
0:27
Speaker 3: servizens tomorrow.
0:28
Speaker 2: Yeah, I will talk to you more about that in
0:30
Speaker 2: just a couple of moments.
0:31
Speaker 1: I know that there's obviously a significant announcement being made
0:34
Speaker 1: into defense as well before we get there, though, Prime Minister,
0:38
Speaker 1: the issue of crime in the Northern Territory, it's one
0:40
Speaker 1: which we've long covered on this show, and the issue
0:43
Speaker 1: of crime in Alice Springs is one which has really
0:46
Speaker 1: become increasingly concerning, so much so that the Mayor of
0:49
Speaker 1: Alice Springs recently wrote to you and a number of
0:52
Speaker 1: other prominent politicians around the country asking for help.
0:57
Speaker 2: Prime Minister. Have you met with the mayor and and
1:00
Speaker 2: what did he say?
1:02
Speaker 3: Yeah, I just met. I'm just literally come from the
1:04
Speaker 3: meeting with Matt now and a very impressive, very impressive mayor,
1:09
Speaker 3: I must say, and this is a very challenging problem,
1:13
Speaker 3: there's no doubt about that. And it's a serious problem.
1:16
Speaker 3: We can't have any suggestion this isn't real. It is.
1:18
Speaker 3: It's very real, and it's threatening the safety of people
1:21
Speaker 3: here and now the springs, and look, this has been
1:24
Speaker 3: a challenge for a very long time and it is
1:27
Speaker 3: clearly seeming to be getting worse. And I just want
1:29
Speaker 3: to commend Matt for his strength and leadership on this.
1:32
Speaker 3: He understands that the solutions of this are not simple.
1:35
Speaker 3: It's just not a matter of more police or things
1:37
Speaker 3: like this. There are law enforcement responses that are necessary here,
1:41
Speaker 3: but we're talking about individuals, kids, kids who are thirty
1:47
Speaker 3: and more offenses, and a big part of the solution
1:50
Speaker 3: is trying to get hope back into these young people's lives.
1:52
Speaker 3: And that's why Ken White was up here five days
1:56
Speaker 3: after Matt wrote to us and announced that additional funding
1:59
Speaker 3: to some of those programs. So that's just a start.
2:01
Speaker 3: We've already put over thirty million dollars into these types
2:03
Speaker 3: of programs and we've got to keep going. But it
2:05
Speaker 3: is a serious community problem, and I gave Matt a
2:09
Speaker 3: very strong commitment about working with him to do what
2:12
Speaker 3: we can to support what would be a community led effort.
2:15
Speaker 1: Yeah, and look, I think we all understand that when
2:17
Speaker 1: it comes to crime within the communities, it is something
2:20
Speaker 1: that does need to be managed in each state and
2:23
Speaker 1: territory individually. I think a lot of us can see
2:27
Speaker 1: though around the nation at the moment, all you've got
2:29
Speaker 1: to do is look to our.
2:30
Speaker 2: Springs or look to cans.
2:32
Speaker 1: Earlier this week when a fourteen year old was killed
2:35
Speaker 1: in a stolen vehicle. Last week here in the Northern
2:39
Speaker 1: Territory we had a ten year old allegedly in a
2:42
Speaker 1: stolen car in the early hours of the night.
2:44
Speaker 2: This is a problem right around Australia at the moment.
2:48
Speaker 3: Well, look, and it's not just these communities. I mean
2:50
Speaker 3: it's in my home down to Sydney as well. We've
2:53
Speaker 3: had things like this occur and we've got to try
2:56
Speaker 3: and turn these lives around and give people hope in
2:58
Speaker 3: a future. And that's why there are so many responses.
3:01
Speaker 3: There's the law and order response, there's a community response,
3:04
Speaker 3: there's the economic response. I mean I've just come from
3:07
Speaker 3: a business ben Shaver who was at Chava, who runs
3:10
Speaker 3: his own engineering business here welling business in Alice Springs.
3:14
Speaker 3: He was in prison and he said, I don't want
3:16
Speaker 3: to live like this. He got out of prison, got
3:18
Speaker 3: himself a job, knocked on a lot of doors and
3:21
Speaker 3: then insisted that they train him in a trade. And
3:23
Speaker 3: now he's running his own business and employing ten people.
3:25
Speaker 3: And I just met two young Indigenous boys who have
3:28
Speaker 3: just joined his business. And so there are a lot
3:30
Speaker 3: of responses here, but the volume of this problem here
3:33
Speaker 3: in Alice Springs, I think is very real. And you know,
3:36
Speaker 3: we can't just be making improvements at the edges here.
3:39
Speaker 3: We've got to find ways of trying to provide some
3:42
Speaker 3: direction and structure and future for these young Australians about
3:46
Speaker 3: where they're going, because at the moment they're drifting and
3:50
Speaker 3: they are causing harm to others and they're causing harm
3:52
Speaker 3: to themselves.
3:53
Speaker 2: It's quite heartbreaking, it really is.
3:56
Speaker 1: And it's an issue, like I said, that's not only
3:58
Speaker 1: happening in Alla Springs, that's happening here in Darwin right
4:01
Speaker 1: now as well. But by the sounds of it, it's
4:04
Speaker 1: something that you're hearing. I mean that commitment twenty one
4:07
Speaker 1: point nine million dollars into an Indigenous Leadership and Governance
4:11
Speaker 1: package to support that next generation of Indigenous leaders.
4:15
Speaker 2: It is a step in the right direction. Is it
4:17
Speaker 2: going to be enough though.
4:18
Speaker 1: To help to keep kids off the streets and not
4:20
Speaker 1: breaking into homes and stealing cars?
4:23
Speaker 3: Not on its own. No, That's why I'm saying. There
4:26
Speaker 3: are many more responses, and the territory and territory government's
4:29
Speaker 3: response has to be significant, and they have to acknowledge
4:32
Speaker 3: that there's a serious problem. As Matt just said to me,
4:35
Speaker 3: we can't fix this problem with people don't think there
4:37
Speaker 3: is one. And I'd certainly agree with him, there's a problem.
4:40
Speaker 3: And I've asked Damien, our ex seriable candidate here at
4:43
Speaker 3: the next federal election in Lingiari, to work with Matt
4:46
Speaker 3: and to bring bring to me some initiatives that we
4:50
Speaker 3: believe in addition to what we're doing, can exist. And
4:54
Speaker 3: that's important. I mean, these aren't new problems, but they
4:57
Speaker 3: are getting They are getting even more difficult to dress,
5:00
Speaker 3: and we're dealing with more and more kids who are
5:03
Speaker 3: finding themselves and making it softer and they're not being consequences.
5:06
Speaker 3: That's not an answer either. And turning the other way.
5:09
Speaker 3: We have to try and turn these lives around, and
5:11
Speaker 3: communities need to do that otherwise the community won't be safer.
5:15
Speaker 3: And this is a hard one. It's really difficult. I
5:18
Speaker 3: think people understand that there isn't a simple solution if
5:22
Speaker 3: there was someone who had already been doing it. That's
5:24
Speaker 3: what Matcha said to me. And we've got to look
5:26
Speaker 3: at some things that are out of the box and
5:27
Speaker 3: unorthodoxa to try and crack this because if we can
5:31
Speaker 3: achieve that in the Alis, there are many other communities
5:34
Speaker 3: around the country where I think the lessons will be
5:38
Speaker 3: well applied.
5:39
Speaker 1: Now, Prime Minister to the other issue which is having
5:41
Speaker 1: a really big impact in the Northern Territory right now,
5:43
Speaker 1: indeed all around the country is COVID and the health system. Now.
5:48
Speaker 1: Earlier this week, both the AMA here in the Northern
5:50
Speaker 1: Territory and also the Nurses Federation joined me on the
5:54
Speaker 1: show to say that the territory's hospitals had reached Christ's
5:57
Speaker 1: point with COVID rolling through the territory community. Both the
6:02
Speaker 1: AMA and also the Nurses Federation had questioned whether we
6:07
Speaker 1: need to call in the National Critical Care Team or
6:11
Speaker 1: Defense Force to assist in this situation. Has that been
6:15
Speaker 1: raised with you by the Northern Territory government or by
6:18
Speaker 1: either of these unions and is it something that could
6:21
Speaker 1: or would happen.
6:23
Speaker 3: Well. Look, I worked directly with Chief Minister Ganna with
6:26
Speaker 3: Michael on the COVID issues and we have worked close together.
6:29
Speaker 3: We just extended the biosecurity powers in the Northern Territory
6:34
Speaker 3: which is assisting in many remote communities. We pay fifty
6:38
Speaker 3: to fifty at all the costs we pay for the vaccines.
6:41
Speaker 3: We even pay the Northern Territory officials fifty to fifty
6:44
Speaker 3: that are actually delivering the vaccines, nurses and others. So
6:48
Speaker 3: there's a fifty to fifty commitment on all of those
6:50
Speaker 3: COVID related expenses. I think we have to be careful
6:52
Speaker 3: about what we think the defense forces can do. We
6:54
Speaker 3: are currently using Clinical Defense Force teams as a strike group,
6:59
Speaker 3: effectively going in h care facilities and dealing with acute
7:02
Speaker 3: issues there where federal government has particular responsibilities. But there
7:06
Speaker 3: isn't a whole nursing workforce in the defense forces that
7:09
Speaker 3: can just come and replace. I mean, COVID will put
7:11
Speaker 3: its pressure on the system, as we've seen in other
7:13
Speaker 3: parts of the country. We've seen New South Wales and
7:16
Speaker 3: Victoria coming through the worst of it now and they're
7:18
Speaker 3: coming out the other side. So we've got to get
7:20
Speaker 3: through these difficult months ahead and we're just going to
7:23
Speaker 3: have to work together to achieve that. A big part
7:26
Speaker 3: of the problem is that you have workforce that gets
7:29
Speaker 3: taken out of the system because they've got COVID, and
7:33
Speaker 3: we've changed the rules on close contacts and things like
7:35
Speaker 3: that to try and keep as much at the workforce
7:37
Speaker 3: there as possible. But you've just got to keep working
7:41
Speaker 3: the problem day and day out, and we're doing that
7:43
Speaker 3: with the Northern Territory government, and we've provided considerable financial
7:48
Speaker 3: resources support them doing that, which i know Chief Minutes
7:52
Speaker 3: the Gunner is appreciative of. And we're just going to
7:54
Speaker 3: keep working the problem and we'll get through it. I
7:56
Speaker 3: know we will. I'm seeing us get through that in
7:58
Speaker 3: other parts of the country. Remember we've got eighty eight
8:01
Speaker 3: percent double dose vaccinations in the Northern Territory. More than
8:04
Speaker 3: ninety percent have had their first days and so you
8:07
Speaker 3: know we are we are in a stronger position than
8:10
Speaker 3: almost any other country in the world, both economically and
8:13
Speaker 3: from a health point of view, and we just got
8:15
Speaker 3: to keep pushing through, working together.
8:17
Speaker 1: And what about though, I mean, when it comes to
8:19
Speaker 1: that funding for the health system, I know the AMA
8:22
Speaker 1: is certainly lobbying you from every stage, no doubt about that.
8:26
Speaker 1: But are we in a situation here in the Northern
8:28
Speaker 1: Territory where we need additional funding, you know post COVID
8:31
Speaker 1: when we're trying to snap back into action and get
8:34
Speaker 1: back into those elective surgery weight lists, get those patients seen.
8:38
Speaker 1: Are we in a situation here in the territory where
8:41
Speaker 1: we need more funding for our hospital?
8:44
Speaker 3: Well, yes, and you are getting it. I mean we've
8:46
Speaker 3: increased funding for health and hospitals in the Northern Territory
8:49
Speaker 3: by around one hundred and fifty percent over the time
8:52
Speaker 3: of our government. And that doesn't include you may recall,
8:57
Speaker 3: I'm sure we've discussed it before. What I was Treasurer,
9:00
Speaker 3: we increased the GST. We made a payment on top
9:04
Speaker 3: of the GST that Northern Territory was given in a
9:06
Speaker 3: direct request of two hundred and sixty two million I
9:10
Speaker 3: think it was at the time. So we've always kept
9:13
Speaker 3: stumping up to support the Northern Territory budget that they've
9:16
Speaker 3: got to do the job on the ground. We've been
9:18
Speaker 3: providing that financial support for the health system, for COVID,
9:21
Speaker 3: support for logistics issues and other workforce supports. We've been
9:27
Speaker 3: doing that now over the course of the pandemic. But
9:29
Speaker 3: I need them to do you know, everyone in a
9:33
Speaker 3: pandemic like this has to do their job and the
9:35
Speaker 3: things they're responsible for, and we've just got to keep
9:37
Speaker 3: working together to get that job done.
9:39
Speaker 1: So at this point in time, there won't be any
9:41
Speaker 1: sort of change when it comes to the Northern Territories
9:44
Speaker 1: health funding in the next budget.
9:45
Speaker 3: No, it's increasing, That's my point. Under the existing funding
9:49
Speaker 3: arrangements and the commitments that we've made, we are already
9:52
Speaker 3: increasing the funding for the hospitals in the Northern Territory.
9:55
Speaker 3: That's already in the budget going forward. It's already going up,
10:00
Speaker 3: you know. I mean we've already preempted this all right,
10:02
Speaker 3: understanding what the future needs will be. I mean, just
10:04
Speaker 3: at that one hundred and forty eight percent increase that
10:07
Speaker 3: I was mentioning, that's an increase of two hundred and
10:10
Speaker 3: thirteen million dollars.
10:12
Speaker 2: Prime Minister. We are going to move along.
10:13
Speaker 1: I know that you are pressed for time, as are
10:16
Speaker 1: we and of course you're going to be in Darwin
10:18
Speaker 1: tomorrow to join with the community in mark a day
10:20
Speaker 1: of national observance, remembering that day exactly eighty years ago
10:24
Speaker 1: when World War II forced itself onto Australia's mainland for
10:27
Speaker 1: the first time and indeed Darwen was bombed. Prime Minister,
10:32
Speaker 1: it's a day of remembrance. It is also a day
10:34
Speaker 1: which really demonstrates the vulnerability and the importance of the
10:38
Speaker 1: Northern Territory.
10:39
Speaker 2: Though it does not.
10:41
Speaker 3: Well, it does absolutely and that's why we've made such
10:43
Speaker 3: significant investments in our defense industries and defense forces up
10:49
Speaker 3: in the Northern Territory. We've invested and we're in that
10:52
Speaker 3: eight billion dollars is approximately being invested in facilities in
10:55
Speaker 3: the Northern Territory. And to go back to the point
10:58
Speaker 3: we're making before. You know, two point nine billion of
11:02
Speaker 3: the five point seven billion of Commonwealth contracts are awarded
11:05
Speaker 3: to Indigenous businesses. I mean that's a lot. I mean
11:08
Speaker 3: we've got seventeen hundred and seventy one contracts valued in
11:12
Speaker 3: the Northern Territory alone, over one hundred million dollars which
11:15
Speaker 3: have gone to Indigenous businesses in the Northern territory. So
11:18
Speaker 3: these two issues come together. But what we're announcing today
11:21
Speaker 3: and I'll be up in the Darwen are soon to
11:24
Speaker 3: be making that announcement, is we've got one hundred and
11:26
Speaker 3: twenty two million going in for thirty four defense projects
11:31
Speaker 3: across the Northern Territory as part of your State Works program.
11:34
Speaker 3: And in addition to that, there's one hundred and sixty
11:36
Speaker 3: million dollars going into a regional maintenance center in Darwen
11:40
Speaker 3: and that will create seventy jobs alone over the next
11:43
Speaker 3: five years and support work of more than fifteen hundred
11:46
Speaker 3: tradees from the Darwin region. So it is that is
11:49
Speaker 3: our Northern approach, and it's a very serious issue, and
11:53
Speaker 3: in our region it is getting more serious as we
11:56
Speaker 3: as we as we know very clearly, and our government
11:59
Speaker 3: has been investing in our defense capability in the Northern Territory,
12:02
Speaker 3: particularly a Darwin and tomorrow is a is a chilling
12:06
Speaker 3: reminder of why we need to do that. But tomorrow
12:09
Speaker 3: will also be a great opportunity to pay our respects
12:12
Speaker 3: for the courage and the compassion and the resolve of
12:17
Speaker 3: Territorians that lives on to this day.
12:19
Speaker 1: Yeah, most certainly will be I mean as our relationship
12:23
Speaker 1: with China does become more strained.
12:25
Speaker 2: What do you think that means for Darwin? You know,
12:28
Speaker 2: what does it mean for us and for the people
12:30
Speaker 2: that live here.
12:31
Speaker 3: Well, it means you need a government that knows how
12:33
Speaker 3: to stand up to coercion and won't take it backward step,
12:36
Speaker 3: that will keep investing in our defense forces. And that's
12:39
Speaker 3: what my government does. We've done it every single year.
12:42
Speaker 3: We've increased our defense force spending. We've increased our investment
12:45
Speaker 3: and our intelligence agencies and our border protection in particular.
12:49
Speaker 3: People in Darana need to remind them about that. So
12:53
Speaker 3: this is what you need. You need a government that
12:55
Speaker 3: takes national security seriously, not just talks about it. We've
12:58
Speaker 3: set a very high bar when it comes to national
13:01
Speaker 3: security and sadly, I don't think the Labor and the
13:03
Speaker 3: Greens come anywhere near us. And that's I think provides
13:06
Speaker 3: a real choice for people in the territory the next
13:07
Speaker 3: federal election.
13:08
Speaker 1: Well, Prime Minister, there is a lot being said this
13:10
Speaker 1: week about Australia's relationship with China, and in what some
13:14
Speaker 1: say is a growing sign that you are seeking to
13:17
Speaker 1: elevate national security is a key point of contrast.
13:20
Speaker 2: In the lead up to the election.
13:22
Speaker 1: I know that earlier in the week you had said
13:24
Speaker 1: that the opposition leader Anthony Albanesi was the Chinese government's
13:28
Speaker 1: pick at this election.
13:30
Speaker 2: Are you trying to scare Australians into voting for you.
13:34
Speaker 3: I'm telling them the truth. I mean, the Chinese government
13:38
Speaker 3: media outlets were the ones who are actually saying that.
13:41
Speaker 3: And look, it's clear they wouldn't want me as Prime
13:44
Speaker 3: minister because I've stood up to them and I've done
13:48
Speaker 3: that in the national interest and we have received great
13:52
Speaker 3: credit from our allies and partners who have admired Australia's courage.
13:57
Speaker 3: You know, we stand with countries like Lithuania over in
13:59
Speaker 3: Europe which also being targeted when we just can't have
14:02
Speaker 3: it that sovereign countries are bullied brand while I'm Prime minister,
14:07
Speaker 3: that won't happen.
14:08
Speaker 2: We did just hear from Brian Windspeed.
14:10
Speaker 1: Here's Windspear here is a one hundred and one year
14:13
Speaker 1: old veteran who was here when Darwin was bombed. He
14:17
Speaker 1: told me on the show a little bit earlier this
14:18
Speaker 1: morning that you know, at the time it was a
14:20
Speaker 1: little bit embarrassing for the police that they had egg
14:23
Speaker 1: on their faces, because we really weren't prepared here in
14:27
Speaker 1: Australia for what was coming for us. I mean, are
14:31
Speaker 1: we doing enough, in the likes of Darwin right now,
14:34
Speaker 1: given that strategic importance to make sure that we're prepared
14:37
Speaker 1: for anything.
14:39
Speaker 3: Well, I've just given two undred and eighty two million
14:41
Speaker 3: more reasons about how we are getting that prepared. And
14:44
Speaker 3: on the many visits I've made into the territory, it
14:46
Speaker 3: has been about whether it's been training businesses, maintenance centers
14:49
Speaker 3: out of Tyndall and the work we're doing there, fuel storage,
14:53
Speaker 3: all of these sorts of things, and working particularly with
14:56
Speaker 3: our partners in the United States and the marine training
14:59
Speaker 3: that occurs there. Our government has lifted our investments in
15:03
Speaker 3: our defense forces for capability, and we've taken up from
15:07
Speaker 3: a level which under labor fell to the level you're
15:09
Speaker 3: talking about what it was before the Second World War.
15:11
Speaker 3: That's what we inherited and now we've got that over
15:14
Speaker 3: two percent that continues to grow. The agreement that I
15:16
Speaker 3: was able to put together with the United States and
15:18
Speaker 3: the United Kingdom, the Orcus Agreement, is the most significant
15:22
Speaker 3: advance in our ally and partnership arrangements since the and
15:25
Speaker 3: dis agreement that was done many, many years ago. So
15:29
Speaker 3: we're certainly doing our bit. We've set the mark, I
15:31
Speaker 3: think and the bar very high on national security, and
15:34
Speaker 3: we've got a leader of the Labor Party who's the
15:36
Speaker 3: most left wing we've seen since Golf Whitlam and the
15:40
Speaker 3: socialist left. They just don't believe in this stuff in
15:42
Speaker 3: the same way that we do in the Liberal and
15:44
Speaker 3: National parties in the zeal P.
15:45
Speaker 1: Well, some listening this morning who've lived here for a
15:48
Speaker 1: while we'll be wondering then, why we're in a situation
15:51
Speaker 1: where the Darwin Port was leased to a Chinese company
15:54
Speaker 1: several years back. Of course under a COLP government with
15:58
Speaker 1: a liberal federal government.
15:59
Speaker 2: So I know people will be.
16:00
Speaker 3: Questioning, now I hang on a sick It was not
16:02
Speaker 3: done with the federal government, that's no.
16:04
Speaker 2: But you guys were in power then, no.
16:06
Speaker 3: But we had no ability to stop it, So there
16:09
Speaker 3: was no federal approval of the sale of leasing of
16:12
Speaker 3: the port of Darwin. That was done autonomously by the
16:15
Speaker 3: c or P government.
16:17
Speaker 1: Yeah, I think people were questioning how that could happen,
16:19
Speaker 1: how it could happen.
16:20
Speaker 3: And why, I tell you how it could happen. The
16:22
Speaker 3: Constitution and the laws of the land as they were
16:24
Speaker 3: at the time, there was no power for the federal
16:27
Speaker 3: government to prevent that sale and lease. There was none,
16:30
Speaker 3: And so what happened because of that became very apparent.
16:33
Speaker 3: As Treasurer I changed the law. I got all the
16:36
Speaker 3: states and territories to agree to the fact that we
16:38
Speaker 3: need to change the law that would not allow a
16:41
Speaker 3: territory government as it was back then, or a state
16:44
Speaker 3: government to sell such an asset or lease an asset again,
16:47
Speaker 3: So problem solved it And are you.
16:49
Speaker 1: Still happy with the fact that that port? Are you
16:52
Speaker 1: still happy with the fact that that port is least
16:54
Speaker 1: to a Chinese company? I know there has been a
16:56
Speaker 1: lot of work done in this space over the last
16:58
Speaker 1: over the last year or so.
17:01
Speaker 3: They were keeping a really close on it with our
17:02
Speaker 3: defense and intelligence agencies. And if they require the government
17:06
Speaker 3: to take further steps to protect our national security that
17:09
Speaker 3: I can assure you I will, and we're we're in
17:11
Speaker 3: process on those issues right now, have been for some
17:14
Speaker 3: time where we are watching this like a hawk. Now,
17:17
Speaker 3: the federal government didn't sell it. It was the territory
17:20
Speaker 3: government that sold it. With the federal government having no
17:22
Speaker 3: power to stop it. I know the Labor Party runs
17:24
Speaker 3: around saying we had no powers to stop that sale
17:28
Speaker 3: whatsoever and it wasn't done at the behest or of
17:33
Speaker 3: the encouragement or support of the Federal the book gupment.
17:36
Speaker 1: Well, Prime Minister Scott Morrison, we always appreciate your time.
17:40
Speaker 2: Thank you very much for chatting with us this morning.
17:42
Speaker 3: Good to be with you. Thank you in the chattery.
17:45
Speaker 2: Thank you