Press Conference - Charlemont, Victoria

MS STEPHANIE ASHER, LIBERAL CANDIDATE FOR CORANGAMITE: Welcome, everybody. I'm Stephanie Asher, the Liberal Candidate for Corangamite. Absolutely delighted to welcome our Prime Minister Scott Morrison today to Charlemont, and also our Minister for Housing and Assistant Treasurer Michael Sukkar, and of course Senator Sarah Henderson. So I will, very exciting day for us. We've got some fantastic announcements to make here and fantastic opportunities for young people and new homes.

PRIME MINISTER: Thank you. Well, thanks very much, Steph. It's great to be here with you. It's great to have you as part of our team, our Liberal National team, as we go forward into next year's election. And I want to commend you for the great work you've done before you've even stepped forward to be part of our team, particularly here in Corangamite. But especially your work as a Mayor. You're someone who gets things done. That's what I was so impressed about when you stepped forward. My team are people who get things done, and whether it is here or anywhere else around the country, and they're demonstrating that week in, week out, working incredibly hard for their local communities, which I know you will, you will see this as a great opportunity to continue that work that you've been doing for so long now already in the, in the local community.

It's also great to be here with Michael Sukkar and Sarah Henderson, but it's particularly good to be here with those who are owning their first home. This is so exciting, so exciting. You know, at the end of the day, this is what it's all about. This is why people work hard. This is why people go and get trained. This is why people start businesses. This is people forming families and communities. And at the end of the day, the crowning achievement of that is being able to go and buy your own home.

And under the initiatives that we have introduced as a Government, in particular since the last election when I was elected, we said this was a big issue. It's always hard to buy your first home and it's still hard to buy your first time. Everybody understands that. But what we have done as a Government has been able to make that more achievable for more and more Australians. Since the last election, we have put over 300,000 Australians into a home - 300,000. It's an extraordinary achievement. What we've done is we've taken first home owners each year, when I made that commitment before the last election, from just under 100,000 a year, and to this year we're now at 177,000 a year. That is the result of having the right mix of policies that are dealing with the challenges that people trying to get into a home are facing.

We learnt today that one of those who was doing the First Home Loan Deposit Scheme, it was first announced, the Home Guarantee Scheme, saved seven years on when they'd be able to buy their first home. That is extraordinary. If you now had to save an extra seven years to get in your first home, our Scheme ensured they could do it right now, right now, and that's happening as we speak.

And we have Matt and Bonnie who are going, who are going through the HomeBuilder program. This is a program that has saved the residential construction industry. As we stood there several years ago and we announced this Scheme - it was bucketed by Labor - but we said, 'No, this is the right thing to do.' The residential construction industry was looking at going off the edge of a cliff. And we said, 'We're going to commit to this,' and we've seen tens of thousands of Australians taking this up. We've seen $30 billion worth of residential construction activity flow from these commitments.

The average time that we've been able to save people on our First Home Loan Deposit Scheme, now known as the Home Guarantee Scheme, is four years. That's four years of saving they didn't have to do. That's four years of price increases they would have had to pay for that would have gone on top of their mortgage. And this is an extraordinary outcome. This is one of the most important objectives of our Government. We want to see people get in their homes. We want to see people get into jobs. We want to see people ensure that they can get the training they need.

Right now, we've got 217,000 Australians in trade apprentice training in this country. That's the highest level since records began in 1963. And, so, we're not just building homes here. We're building an industry with a workforce with the skills that we've seen on display here and on sites like this all around the country. It is tremendously exciting about what we can see ahead going into 2022 - as people get into their homes, as people get back into jobs, as people see their businesses opening and flourishing again.

And that's why it's great news today that both in Queensland and the Northern Territory, they've gone past the 80 per cent double dose vaccination rate. Well done Queensland, well done Northern Territory. It's a terrific result and we look forward to that continuing on, because it's very important now that people continue to go and get their boosters, and I want to encourage people to do that. I've had my booster, well over 600,000 Australians have already had their boosters, and we want to keep encouraging people to go and get your boosters because that means we are opening safely and that means we stay open. We're not going back. We're only going forward. We're looking out the front windscreen into 2022. We're not looking in the rear vision mirror.

Now I'm going to ask Michael Sukkar to take us through some of the more specific elements of what we're doing today in extending out the Home Guarantee Scheme, which has been so critical to helping people get into their first home sooner. Michael.

THE HON. MICHAEL SUKKAR MP, ASSISTANT TREASURER AND MINISTER FOR HOUSING: Well, thanks very much, Prime Minister, and can I acknowledge Stephanie Asher, our outstanding candidate here in Corangamite, and Senator Sarah Henderson, who's got a great passion for this region.

As the Prime Minister said, since the last election we have directly supported more than 300,000 Australians into their own home. Two primary programs that we've achieved that with: Firstly the HomeBuilder program, of which the PM has spoken about a great case study - Matt and Bonnie - who have built a house locally, but also the Home Guarantee Scheme, which encompasses three programs - the First Home Loan Deposit Scheme, the New Home Guarantee, and more recently, the Family Home Guarantee, which enables single parents to purchase a home with a two per cent deposit.

Today we're announcing that an additional just over 4,600 places will be rolled over and made available for the remainder of this financial year under the First Home Loan Deposit Scheme. So an additional 4,600 individuals or couples will be able to purchase their first home, either an established home or building a new home, with a deposit of as little as five per cent. That program, since we announced it at the election and put it in place at the beginning of last year, has seen some 60,000 Australians get into their first home with a deposit of as little as five per cent. Why did we put the program in place? Well, particularly in a record low interest rate environment, as we are today, the biggest challenge, the biggest hurdle to getting into your first time is getting that deposit together. And as the Prime Minister rightly pointed out, the longer that you have to save, often, the more that you're chasing inevitable house price rises, and therefore the deposit gets bigger. So the First Home Loan Deposit Scheme has been a phenomenal success. More than 60,000 Australians into their first time with a deposit of as little as five per cent.

A program that we announced in the Budget, the Family Home Guarantee, which supports single parents - 84 per cent of which are single mothers - into a home with a deposit of as little as two per cent, has exceeded all of our wildest expectations and has seen more than 2,000 people just in the last few months purchase their first home for them and their families.

Finally, I'd remark on the HomeBuilder program. Of the more than 300,000 Australians that have been able to purchase a home with the direct support of the Morrison Government, just over 200,000 of those are people who utilised the HomeBuilder program. As the PM said earlier, we announced HomeBuilder on a pretty cold winter's morning in the middle of the pandemic, when the residential construction industry was falling off a cliff, and more than half a million jobs were at risk. It was criticised quite heavily by the Labor Party. It was not supported by the Labor Party. So it's wonderful to see case studies like Matt and Bonnie today, two school teachers, who say that the HomeBuilder program was the catalyst for them to get into their first home. And of course, more than 200,000 Australians are in the same boat. And it not only helped those people get into a home, but it supported the men and women working on the building sites, like the one we're at today.

I want to commend Stephanie Asher, our candidate in Corangamite, who's had, who's, you know, had so much to do with the growth and the support for new homes in this region, in particular. But the Morrison Government, in the end, is a Government for first home buyers, we're a Government for home ownership. We've delivered more than 300,000 over the last couple of years, and there's so much more that we'd like to do. Thank you.

PRIME MINISTER: Sarah.

SENATOR THE HON. SARAH HENDERSON, SENATOR FOR VICTORIA: Thanks, Prime Minister. Well, good morning, everyone. I, too, would like to welcome the Prime Minister to Corangamite, Michael Sukkar, and of course our wonderful candidate, Stephanie Asher. I just want to make a few comments about Stephanie. As the Mayor of Geelong, Stephanie is a trusted and positive force to be reckoned with. She is an incredible local representative. She's a wonderful representative for Corangamite, for the Liberal Party, and she has an incredible track record of getting things done. And that's what our Government is all about - getting things done, as the Prime Minister has said. You can see throughout this entire region the programs that we are delivering to drive home ownership, to drive that investment confidence, you can see right here on the ground in Geelong. More and more people are moving to regional Victoria. And as a regional Senator, I'm so proud to see the confidence in our region, the enthusiasm, and particularly the support that we are providing to so many younger Australians right here in our region.

I just want to add also that over a long period of time, the Morrison Government has had an incredible commitment to supporting our growth with infrastructure. So, for instance, we're providing $292 million to Stage One of the Barwon Heads Road Duplication - 80 per cent of that funding is coming from the Morrison Government. And of course, we're also funding 80 per cent of an incredible rail project. The Duplication of the Rail between Waurn Ponds and South Geelong, with great aspirations, of course, to Duplicate the Rail right through to Geelong. So we have an incredible commitment to investing in infrastructure to support the wonderful growth in our region. Thank you. Prime Minister.

PRIME MINISTER: Thank you, Sarah. Happy happy to take some questions.

JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, have you spoken to Barnaby Joyce since he was diagnosed with COVID-19?

PRIME MINISTER: Yeah, we we were able to text each other this morning. I woke up to that news this morning and I enquired how he was, and he had those two tests in the UK which came back negative, and he had his third test in in the United States. So he said he's experiencing some mild illness, from what he said to me this morning, so look forward to his recovery. And, of course, we're following all the usual protocols that you would follow in these circumstances.

JOURNALIST: He said he wasn't sure if his vaccination status was up to date. Are you concerned the [inaudible] US or UK Government may have been infected as well?

PRIME MINISTER: Well, we'll just follow all the same rules and procedures as they will, and we made sure we made the necessary checks on all of our teams and those that have had contact, and there was a travelling team with the Deputy Prime Minister. I know Barnaby was really looking forward to what he was going to be doing over there. I mean, Barnaby has been, together with myself and so many members of my team, so focused on this issue of keeping particularly young people and women safe online, and he's been a real champion of this cause. I was with Penshurst Girls High School yesterday talking to young women about these issue with Erin Molan, and I know Barnaby was looking forward to taking up that case in the United States and pressing these issues to ensure that we are holding these big digital and social media companies to account. So I know he's naturally disappointed that he now won't be able to do that because he of contracting COVID. But he tells me, you know, he's he's feeling alright, apart from, you know, a mild, the mild illness, and and he has been vaccinated, and what we do know already is that the vaccinations do do have an impact on the seriousness of the disease. And that's why it's so important to get vaccinated. It's another important reminder and why the booster is also so important, and I encourage everybody to get their boosters.

JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, Geelong Council's put a feasibility study into a Big Ute for the region.

PRIME MINISTER: A Big, sorry?

JOURNALIST: A Big Ute, a ute on a pole as a bit of a tourist attraction.

PRIME MINISTER: Right.

JOURNALIST: It's got the support of Daniel Andrews. It's got the support of Anthony Albanese.

PRIME MINISTER: Right.

JOURNALIST: Do you support a Big Ute for Geelong as a tourist attraction?

PRIME MINISTER: Well, I love utes. How good are utes? And how good would a Big Ute be? That's what I'd say. Look, it's, I think that's one of the sort of iconic nature of Australian tourist attractions or, anywhere in the country. I remember driving up the, you know, the Pacific Highway in New South Wales, and there was a Big Oyster and the Big Prawn and the Big Banana, and all of these things. I think it's one of the the amusing elements of these things, and I think it's done with tongue in cheek as well, which is, I think, very consistent with the Australian, with the Australian sense of humour. But what's more important than Big Utes is real utes working at sites like this. And that's what we're here to talk about today. I mean, you can have a Big Ute on a stick, what I want to see is tradies in utes on worksites building homes for first time buyers. And that's what we're celebrating today.

JOURNALIST: Just on Victorian tourism, Prime Minister. There's a debate as to whether the, where the Pink Test should be.

PRIME MINISTER: Yeah.

JOURNALIST: Victoria's pushing really hard to get it. It would mean that the Test overlaps with the Australian Open.

PRIME MINISTER: Yeah.

JOURNALIST: It would be one of the most important sporting locations in the world for that period. Would you like to see it in Victoria?

PRIME MINISTER: No, look, I made a comment on this yesterday. I mean, there's there's a test in Brisbane - and how good was Mitchell Starc's first ball yesterday, I think we're all going to remember that one for a long time, as much as Warnie's first bowl to Mike Gatting all those years ago - tremendously excited. And so, you know, everyone's pumped up there in Brisbane, there'll be a great test in Adelaide, there'll be a great test down here in Melbourne, there'll be a great test in Sydney. And, so, I just think it's great that if, you know, obviously the Test can't go ahead in Perth, that more Australians get to have the experience of those Ashes. And that's why I think Tasmania have got a very strong case, and it'd be great to see Tasmanians share in that. I mean, there'll be one here in Victoria, that's fantastic, the Boxing Day Test. It's an absolute legend international sporting sporting event, and I think it's good to share it around, and Tasmanians, I know, are absolutely keen. So, on this one, I'm with Tassie.

JOURNALIST: Just on booster shots, Prime Minister.

PRIME MINISTER: Yep.

JOURNALIST: Pfizer has flagged three doses are required for Omicron. The United Kingdom has accelerated its booster program. Why aren't we?

PRIME MINISTER: Well, first of all, Australia is one of the first countries to introduce a whole of population booster program, and we did that before Omicron. And I think the events only show the wisdom of that decision. We have ample booster shots that are available. We put it to ATAGI, the technical advisers, medical technical advisers on these immunisations, about about whether the six month rule that they put in place - that wasn't put in place by the Government, that was put in place by the medical experts - about whether that should be brought forward. And now, you know, we will constantly, I was in touch with the Health Minister this morning and the Secretary of Health and the Chief Medical Officer, and they will continue to keep that under close watch as to whether that can be brought forward with with this new information. And, of course, we would strongly support that, and we're ready to go if that's what they would like to do. We already have an important communications campaign about getting those booster shots. That's already in, that's already in the can and ready to go to encourage Australians to get their booster shots. But what this shows is that the proactive decision that we took as a Government to go to a whole of population booster program was the right decision. It's a decision that many other countries hadn't made, and and I think it showed the wisdom of that decision, listening to the medical advice, and that's available now. So, please, go and get your booster.

JOURNALIST: Should Novak Djokovic be able to play in the Australian Open?

PRIME MINISTER: I'm sorry, I couldn't hear you.

JOURNALIST: Is it being considered at all that three shots might become the mandatory fully vaccinated status?

PRIME MINISTER: Well, we'll continue to listen to the medical advice on that.

JOURNALIST: Have there been any conversations with ATAGI?

PRIME MINISTER: Well, we've already talked to ATAGI about what the the period should be of an interval between the second dose and and a booster shot. And, so, we will just continue to take our counsel from them on those issues. They're the right people to be advising on these things. And for then myself and the Chief Medical Officer with his advice, and then Health Minister, to be making determinations on those things. All the way through this pandemic, we've, you know, remained sensible, calm, balanced and ensuring we're making good decisions for the health of Australians. And what has that resulted in? We have one of the lowest death rates of COVID anywhere in the world. We have one of the strongest economies springing back now, as we've coming out of these lockdowns, of advanced economies anywhere in the world. And we now have also one of the highest vaccination rates of anywhere in the world. And that sets Australia up well to ensure that as we come out of 2021, we're springing forward. We're not turning back. We're looking forward with great confidence and optimism.

JOURNALIST: If that's the case, should we be letting Novak Djokovic in, and what criteria would he have to meet to actually be able to play in the Australian Open?

PRIME MINISTER: Well, he would have to meet any of the same rules that anyone else would be seeking to come to Australia in in these circumstances. And those decisions will be made by by medical officials and and other officials. They're not made by politicians, and I don't think they should be made by politicians. And he'll face the same rules that anyone else would, as he should. There's no special rules for tennis players or anyone else, for Members of Parliament or anyone else. They play by the same rules. And and then there are, of course, the rules that are in place for the Victorian Government and, of course, the the Open itself, and they have their rules. So, everyone, just follow the rules.

JOURNALIST: PM, on jobs. We've got tourism and hospitality sectors unable to fill roles at the moment.

PRIME MINISTER: Yeah.

JOURNALIST: We've had the Australian Chamber of Commerce say that the [inaudible] income threshold should be lifted to get more elderly people back into work. Also, local councils are extending the time that people can camp on private land, to get, to encourage young people down to, you know, to holiday spots.

PRIME MINISTER: Yeah, sure.

JOURNALIST: Do you support both of those, and what can we do to get people into these jobs?

PRIME MINISTER: Well, what I'm really pleased about is that since the lockdowns have lifted, we've seen 350,000 Australians come back into jobs in in five weeks that has occurred, and that's because of the strength of our economy, and and that's great news for those Australians getting back into jobs, businesses opening up again. And, of course, we we do face serious skill shortages. That's why it's so great that we have 217,000 Australians in trade training apprenticeships right now - the highest level since 1963. We've got more than a million Australians - on the most recent figures that we have - working in manufacturing in this country. We're making things and more Australians are making things than have for some time, and that's also good news. We need to get skilled migration back into the country. That's what we're focused on very much right now and, as well as bringing working holiday makers back into the country, bringing students back into the country. I think this will significantly assist with those issues. I was meeting yesterday with the, with the Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea James Marape, in our our regular dialogue, and the Pacific Labour Scheme and all of those programs, which particularly support in our regional areas and our rural areas. They're very important programs, and they will continue. Of course, we have the Agricultural Visa as well. So this is really about starting it all up again as we come out of the COVID pandemic and look into 2022 right through that front windscreen, not out the rear vision mirror. Thanks very much, everyone.

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