Presented without comment, your Prime Ministerial response to historic global threats, from his own website:
PRIME MINISTER:
Ok, do we have any questions?
QUESTION:
Prime Minister, how concerned are you about the problems in China and Greece, those economic problems spreading to Australia and especially the plunge in the Chinese stock prices?
PRIME MINISTER:
Michael, look, the important thing is to do whatever we can to build a strong and prosperous economy locally, and again I get back to the Grocery Code of Conduct. This is about ensuring that we have the strongest possible local businesses to supply the strongest possible local businesses. We have a great supermarket system. That rests on the shoulders of great local suppliers and this is about ensuring that we continue to have very strong local suppliers, best possible product at the best possible price so that we get the best possible deal for consumers – and if we do that we will avoid the problems that we see overseas.
QUESTION:
Prime Minister, will you allow Malcolm Turnbull to appear on Q&A?
PRIME MINISTER:
What we saw a couple of weeks back on Q&A was simply unacceptable and indefensible. It was unacceptable, it was indefensible, and Malcolm quite properly has been engaged in ongoing discussions with the ABC about exactly what they’re going to do to ensure that something like this never happens again. Now, there is an internal ABC process underway at the moment. It wasn’t appropriate for a Minister to go on there on Monday night and I want that process to be concluded as quickly as possible.
QUESTION:
So will you allow him to appear in a week?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well, what I’m not going to do is give further advertisement to a programme which was, frankly, right over the top. The ABC itself said that it was an error of judgment. They then went on to rebroadcast it and, as I said, I’m just not going to give further advertisement to this particular matter.
QUESTION:
The ABC has apologised. Do you think community sentiment has not moved on?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well, as I said, I’m not going to further advertise this matter.
QUESTION:
PM, are you concerned that the Chinese Government potentially has intervened in their stock market to try and prop it up given the losses that have been experienced over the last two weeks?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well, again, look, I’m not going to offer a running commentary on what other governments do. My business today and every day is to ensure our country is in the best possible position to deal with whatever comes. Whether it be challenges to our economic security, whether it be challenges to our national security, the job of this Government is to make our country as strong as it possibly can be and that’s why the small business budget boost was so important with the instant asset write-off which has done so much to boost confidence, and that’s why today’s Grocery Code of Conduct is so important. It’s all about producing stronger local businesses and if we’ve got stronger local businesses, we’ll have a stronger economy and we’ll be very well placed to deal with whatever the future throws at us.
QUESTION:
Prime Minister, there are reports coming out of South Australia that some MPs are concerned of a voter backlash if the contract for building submarines goes to Japan. Can you reassure them the majority of subs will be built locally?
PRIME MINISTER:
What I can say is that there is a process in place – a competitive evaluation process. It involves working with the French, the Germans and the Japanese to get the best possible submarines for our country at a fair and reasonable price and maximising the local element in the build and whatever happens – whatever happens – I can give an absolute guarantee that in the future, there will be more submarine jobs in South Australia. Whatever happens, I can give an absolute, categorical guarantee there will be more subs jobs in South Australia and I think that’s what South Australians understandably want: they want a good deal for our country, they want a good deal for their state, they want the best possible submarines and that’s what we are determined to deliver.
QUESTION:
PM, what do you want to hear from Bill Shorten in tomorrow’s Royal Commission hearing?
PRIME MINISTER:
Look, I certainly don’t want to offer a running commentary on a Royal Commission. The Royal Commissioner is a judge of the highest quality and distinction and he’s more than capable of running an effective Royal Commission without commentary from Ministers. I think that it’s really a matter for the Leader of the Opposition to explain and, plainly, there is some explaining that’s needed. There are a lot of questions that have been raised by the testimony that’s already been given in the Royal Commission. In the end, what we want to come out of this is honest unions that do the right thing by their members and, plainly, it seems that there have been a lot of ghosts on the rolls of some of the unions, there have been some deals that have been done to help the unions but to dud the workers, and let’s see what light can be cast on all of that in the next day or so.
