Doorstop interview
E&OE
MINISTER MORRISON:
Today I am here to announce what is known as the HIPPY programme which is a programme to support Indigenous families around the country with the schooling and preparing for school of young children in their preschool years supporting the parents in home to ensure that young Indigenous children get the best possible start in life, that they get the skills they need to go into school and do the best possible they possibly can, and to realise all of their opportunities from an educational perspective. It is an exciting programme that has been running for many years now under the guidance and stewardship of the Brotherhood of St Laurence. They have done an outstanding job. We are extending the number of locations in this programme, from 75 to 100 locations all around the country in places like Goonellabah, Kempsey, and places like this around the country, and those details are provided in the statement. It is another example of how we are trying to have early intervention strategies to ensure young people can get the best possible start in life, they can work through their schooling with the best possible support they can get at home and to invest in the families, to invest in their future. So we are very pleased to make that announcement today with Minister Scullion and looking forward to continuing to work with the Brotherhood of St Laurence who do an outstanding job well beyond this initiative and where we are working with them on many other areas such as transitioning young people into employment and the like, so very pleased to be making this announcement today.
JOURNALIST:
Minister, as the former Immigration Minister…
MINISTER MORRISON:
Why don’t we stay with the HIPPY programme before we get to all the other issues, I am sure that is why you have all come.
JOURNALIST:
An Indigenous question – the Healthy Welfare Card, Minister, is that going to be rolled out in more regions? The Aboriginal Land Council says it is only going to escalate social problems there.
MINISTER MORRISON:
There have been no decisions made on where the trial sites will be for the Healthy Welfare Card, there have been some consultations that have been taking place in various locations and the government has not made any firm decision on this as yet.
JOURNALIST:
How is this going to tie into income management? You have got the Bill before House today?
MINISTER MORRISON:
Income management is a separate programme and that has been running now for some years and this will enable that programme, the Bill before the House, to continue. The Healthy Welfare Card is another approach to addressing issues in not just Indigenous communities but non-Indigenous communities where there is some serious disadvantage and it is a proposal that comes out of the Forrest Review which we want to see trialled before considering it more broadly. We have got to look at a lot of innovation in each of these areas; the programme that we are extending today, the HIPPY programme supporting young Indigenous children to get the best possible start in life in school, that has been a success. It starts out as a trial, it starts out as a niche programme and I think it demonstrate its real value. So whether it is in income management, whether it is with the Healthy Welfare Card, whether it is with the HIPPY programme or the many other initiatives the government is pursuing, it is about getting innovation and getting successful models up and running.
JOURNALIST:
With the Healthy Welfare Card, could it be completely cashless for some?
MINISTER MORRISON:
That is an option but it is not one that the government has under consideration. We would look to try and maximise what is reasonable to make the card cashless, that is clearly the intent but these are trial programmes and one of the things that I think was a key lesson from the previous government is you have got to get the implementation right. You have got to get the implementation right, the previous government even when they had the odd good idea they invariably massacred it in its implementation; pink batts, school halls, all the rest of it, it is all well documented and we are not making those mistakes.
JOURNALIST:
Minister Morrison on the child care measure is it fair to be spending $22,000 a day on advertisement before it is even [inaudible].
MINISTER MORRISON:
Well I don’t know where you are pulling that figure from and as yet no Bill has even been put to the Parliament and we are still working through issues in the Senate in relation to Family Tax Benefits so I think those things are a bit premature.
JOURNALIST:
Does the Australian government pay people smugglers to turn boats back to Indonesia?
MINISTER MORRISON:
On these issues they are matters for the Prime Minister and Minister for Immigration and the Foreign Minister, each of which have some involvement with these things, they are best placed to comment. What I do know is that the boats have stopped under this government. That is exactly what we promised the Australian people we would do, that is exactly the outcome that we have delivered, there was widespread scepticism in fact I’d even say there was disbelief even maybe from some people at this press conference, that this could be achieved and many of the assertions that were put forward about what could and couldn’t work and what was legal and what was not I think have now been quite proven. The government is committed to keeping faith with the Australian people on border protection and we have delivered on that.
JOURNALIST:
Do the ends justify the means, Minister?
MINISTER MORRISON:
That is your comment, Mark. All I am simply saying is that we have delivered on what we said we would do for the Australian people. Others can speculate on speculation and on allegations and things of that nature. The simple truth is if a boat leaves Indonesia it is going back, that is how this government operates.
JOURNALIST:
Minister, when you were Minister were people smugglers ever paid?
MINISTER MORRISON:
I will give you the same response I would have given you at the time, Phil…
JOURNALIST:
Sure.
MINISTER MORRISON:
That is operational matters are not things that we canvas for very good reason and they were arrangements that were put in place when I became Minister in terms of commenting on operational issues and that was done on the advice of the then Commander of Operation Sovereign Borders General Campbell. That has proved to be a successful practice and it has been a key reason why this government has been successful in stopping the boats.
JOURNALIST:
Minister Morrison there was money put aside by the Coalition for stopping the boats, $20 million for a boat buy-back programme; it also targeted some villages in Indonesia. Was that money actually shelled out, or is that $20 million still there?
MINISTER MORRISON:
I understand those matters were dealt with at Senate Estimates some years ago so I will refer you to those transcripts.
JOURNALIST:
I am asking you, did it happen under your watch?
MINISTER MORRISON:
All – the funds that were available to the government to deploy as part of Operation Sovereign Borders were done exactly…
JOURNALIST:
So how many boats did you buy?
MINISTER MORRISON:
I just didn’t comment on that and I am not about to.
JOURNALIST:
Some of the listeners on Ray Hadley [inaudible] like they don’t care about people smugglers [inaudible]. Do you think it is a problem if we pay people smugglers as part of the solution?
MINISTER MORRISON:
Again, you are asking for opinions and commentary, I know opinions and commentary are rife amongst the media on these things but governments actually have responsibility for things and this government had a responsibility for stopping the boats and that is what we have done. Now what I notice is that the opposition and particularly Mr Marles and Mr Shorten have demonstrated that they are quite happy to subcontract out the nation’s border protection policy to another country. One of the reasons why we have been so successful on this issue is because we took the initiative to ensure that those boats didn’t get to Australia and we continue to do that and I commend Minister Dutton for following through and doing an outstanding job since coming into the portfolio. This government is serious about this issue, we have demonstrated our credentials on these issues over a long period of time and the Australian people trust us to get it right on these issues and we are getting it right and I have every confidence in the officers that sit under the operational command – the Commander of Operational Sovereign Borders both under the predecessor and the current operational Commander to have been doing things lawfully and consistent with government policy.
JOURNALIST:
Is it a crime under Australian law to pay people smugglers?
MINISTER MORRISON:
I will refer you to the Attorney General.
JOURNALIST:
This is an issue because you have got Ministers who actually aren’t getting their lines right. You have got…
MINISTER MORRISON:
I am not going to commentate on your commentary.
JOURNALIST:
Have you lied?
MINISTER MORRISON:
I am not going to commentate on your commentary or on opinions that you might hold or others in this press conference may hold, they are your opinions, you are entitled to them but I don’t think you can expect me to commentate on your own opinions.
JOURNALIST:
Why can’t you comment on some of the commentary that we see out there by the asylum seeker advocates?
MINISTER MORRISON:
Again, I do not commentate on commentary. What the government does…
JOURNALIST:
It is commentary from people out there in the community who don’t like the idea of the federal government paying people smugglers…
MINISTER MORRISON:
It is not my job….
JOURNALIST:
Do you have any concerns about that?
MINISTER MORRISON:
It is not my job or the government’s job to commentate on commentators. It is our job to hold faith with the Australian people with the pledge that we gave them that we would stop the boats and that is exactly what we have done. Now I know there may be some out there who resent the fact that this government was so successful in this area because it exposed as foolishness, those who said this couldn’t be done and I can understand that they would feel uncomfortable about that. But the truth is this government got it right.
JOURNALIST:
Minister your policy was to not speak on on-water matters, obviously the current Immigration Minister hasn’t abided by that policy in the past, was he wrong?
MINISTER MORRISON:
No, I wouldn’t agree with your assessment.
JOURNALIST:
He said that this hasn’t happened.
MINISTER MORRISON:
I wouldn’t agree with your assessment. Are there any other questions on things that relate to Social Services?
JOURNALIST:
What is your assessment? What does no mean if not…
MINISTER MORRISON:
I have already answered the question.
JOURNALIST:
On gay marriage, there is a Bill, obviously Bill Shorten’s Bill is coming up for debate, is there a cross-party effort to defeat that Bill from getting to that vote and also what do you think of the Canberra couple that [inaudible].
MINISTER MORRISON:
The government’s focus is on passing the Budget, that is what the government is focussed on and that is what I am focussed on and that is what my colleagues are focussed on. I want to see the measures, the pension Bill will be debated in the House this week, and hopefully it can go forward to the Senate. That is where I am focussing my attention. Minister Dutton is focussing his attention on ensuring our borders remain secure and the Prime Minister is focussing on all of these issues. So that is where the government’s focus is.
JOURNALIST:
Minister Morrison would you have expected a better Budget bounce out of today’s Ipsos poll which shows the government is behind and the PM is also behind?
MINISTER MORRISON:
I am very pleased with the response we have had to the Budget. I think the Budget has demonstrated very clearly the government’s belief in the Australian people, in Australian small business, and Australian families who want to get out there and have a go and take responsibility for the things that they wish to take responsibility for. We are backing their choices, we are backing their judgements with the measures in this Budget and I think that has had a very strong response from the Australian people and I look forward to that continuing.
JOURNALIST:
Why do you think that hasn’t been reflected though in today’s poll?
MINISTER MORRISON:
I will leave you to speculate on that.
JOURNALIST:
At this forum a couple of weeks ago you mentioned your own idea on citizenship [inaudible]. The Prime Minister and Education Minister are both saying there could be constitutional problems with what is going to Cabinet. Do you think you as a government can get this right before you put it to the Parliament to head-off a constitutional challenge and go back and rethink this from the start?
MINISTER MORRISON:
I have every confidence that we will in terms of what we put forward in the Parliament and let’s not forget why we are doing this…
JOURNALIST:
We know why you are doing it. Does that make it all the more important?
MINISTER MORRISON:
That is what I just said. We will be getting it right and we will be getting it right because what we are seeking to do is to prevent terrorists coming back to the country having taken up arms and supporting and being involved in the fight with Daesh, the death cult. We want to stop those people coming back to this country where we have an opportunity to do that. We want to look at every option that enables us to do just that. The Australian people expect that of us and I’d say they even demand that of us and we are meeting that demand by putting forward the types of measures that we have been discussing now over some period of time. That is our responsibility, that is our job and that is the job we are doing.
JOURNALIST:
Will that include the ability of the Minister to revoke the citizenship without a conviction after [inaudible].
MINISTER MORRISON:
Again, those are matters better addressed to the Attorney-General and the Minister responsible. What I am saying is the process that we will follow and the legislation I am confident we will put to the Parliament will mitigate any potential risks that may exist but at the same time I think it would be very forthright about what we need to achieve; that is to stop the terrorists coming back to Australia. That is what this debate is about. It is about stopping terrorists coming back to Australia.
JOURNALIST:
Minister Morrison, would people have a right to know if Customs for instance had paid drug smugglers not to smuggle drugs into Australia?
MINISTER MORRISON:
I have every confidence that officers working as part of Operation Sovereign Borders, based on my own experience of them, have always and will always operate lawfully.
Thank you.