Joint Press Conference - Broome, Western Australia

MADELEINE KING: Good morning, everyone. Thanks for coming here to Broome. And I just want to thank my friends and colleagues here who've gathered today for the Northern Australia Ministerial Forum: Don Punch, the WA State Government Minister for Regional Development; and also Gerard Maley, the incoming Deputy Chief Minister of the Northern Territory, and I thank Gerard for coming so soon after his election. We look forward to working with the new NT Government to progress our work in the north, which has been a bipartisan matter with the outgoing Labor Government in the NT led by Eva Lawler. Also, to acknowledge the local member, Divina D'Anna, the Member for the Kimberley, here with us today, who does great work representing the people of the Kimberley here in Broome and right around what is a vast part of the country and our most beautiful part of the country as well. 

To my federal colleagues, the Special Envoy for the North, Luke Gosling the Member for Solomon from the NT, always fighting for the north, now here, joining us at the Northern Australia Ministerial Forum. And he will continue his very good work advocating for Northern Australia right across the three jurisdictions. Also, Assistant Minister Matt Thistlethwaite here to discuss immigration matters and has also been a participant in relation to defence issues; and Assistant Minister Tim Ayres, the Assistant Minister for Trade and also for Future Made in Australia. The north of Australia will be a very active participant and will be a lynchpin of the Future Made in Australia agenda for the Albanese Labor Government. It has been in the past and it will be even more so into the future.

The Northern Australia Ministerial Forum today is concentrating on trade and immigration issues, and we'll also be discussing the future work of the forum; issues around housing in the north, which is a significant challenge given the seasonal changes and also workforce requirements. But we are committed to making sure there is affordable and accessible housing right across the north. We have a full agenda. I know Minister Punch does have to leave soon to get back to Perth and then onward to Bunbury, I understand. So, if he has to go, please do excuse Minister Punch.

With that, happy to answer any questions.

JOURNALIST: Minister, I'll start off by asking you, could you explain to us some of those key issues here in the Kimberley that were discussed in the forum?

MADELEINE KING: Well, we're halfway through the meeting, so I've got a bit to go, but we've had a good discussion early this morning about housing but it's far from the end of the discussion. We are going to move into doing a deep dive into the housing issues facing the north, that's across Northern Queensland, the whole of the Northern Territory, and north Western Australia. So, we appreciate how challenging it can be to get housing, well, just for one built because of the seasonal challenges here, the workforce challenges, but nonetheless, the people of the north deserve exactly what the people of the south have.

JOURNALIST: So with the defence industry being discussed a lot at this forum, on August 6 we had the interception of four illegal vessels. I did an interview with Peter Tucker, who was part of that original interception, last Sunday and he reported that the Navy called off, or aborted a mission rather, because of the weather and that there's been an influx of illegal fishermen in Kuri Bay in the Kimberley coast. What's your reaction to people who are critical of the Defence Force and their action in patrolling the Kimberley coast?

MADELEINE KING: I want to be very clear. Our border protection policies are the same as were under the former government. We believe in a strong border, and we use all the resources we have to make sure that our border remains strong, for many reasons. One, of course, is illegal arrivals, but also for biosecurity. It's a really important part of keeping Australians safe and keeping Northern Australia and its agricultural produce safe as well. To the matter at hand, I am not aware of the details. I have seen the reporting. But what I do know is that we will continue to make sure the Royal Australian Navy, as well as Australian Border Force, carry out the policies we have to keep this border secure.

JOURNALIST: Do you think there should be an increased presence, though, given that there has been a rise in illegal fishermen and asylum seekers across the Kimberley coast?

MADELEINE KING: Yeah. I have no doubt we can keep- we will just make sure we keep enforcing the policies we have. But I will ask Matt Thistlethwaite, the relevant minister, to supplement the answer, if that's okay.

MATT THISTLETHWAITE: Thanks, Madeleine. The Albanese Government is increasing Australia's civil maritime security capabilities with an additional $124 million investment in improving that capability, particularly here in the north. And, yesterday, myself and the Australian Border Force Commissioner, Michael Outram, visited the port here in Broome to speak to the Australian Border Force personnel who are doing that important reconnaissance and surveillance work and deterrence work on our coastline. And the Border Force Commissioner launched, yesterday, a new rotary wing capacity that will be based here out of Broome to perform that reconnaissance and surveillance and deter that illegal fishing. There are severe penalties for people who are arrested and convicted of illegal fishing in Australian waters, and the Government is boosting our capacity here in the north to make sure that we keep our borders as safe as possible.

JOURNALIST: And in terms of what was discussed at the forum this week about biosecurity, and especially in relation to illegal fishing, what were the key issues raised in the forum about this?

MATT THISTLETHWAITE: So obviously, illegal fishing has been a huge issue and something of a focus for the Government, and that's why we've made those additional investments, $124 million, particularly targeting illegal fishing. And this new rotary wing capacity, the investments that we're making in uncrewed reconnaissance and surveillance vessels, as well as the normal patrols that are operated not only by Border Force and the Navy, are crucial to that as well.

Yesterday, the Commissioner and I also went down to the Broome Airport to see the customs process undertaken for newly arrived tourists coming from Singapore on an international flight. And it's wonderful to see international tourism recommence here in the north of Australia. It was shut down during COVID, but it's going to be important for the growth of the economy moving forward. And there's a number of investments that we're making in ensuring that we're strengthening our borders in that customs capacity as well, particularly in airports throughout the country and the north.

JOURNALIST: Could I ask Minister King another question, if that's okay? The Labor Government's changing position on gas. Is that reflective that the switch to green energy has been more complicated than the Government originally thought?

MADELEINE KING: We haven't changed our position on gas. In opposition and then coming to government, we were always very clear that gas would support renewable energy. There is a transformation going on in the energy needs of the whole country and how we power our homes and our manufacturing industry. Here in Western Australia, every coal-fired power generator is, you know, they're due to close. In fact, every coal-fired power generator around the country has a closing date now. And that's why it's all the more important that we invest in renewables, to have that alternative green source of energy. But equally, we know we will need a gas to support renewables into the long term. And also, gas will be very important for the transition of our regional energy partners.

JOURNALIST: So, around 50 per cent of WA mining workers are on contracts. We have heard that contracts can breed mental health issues and be difficult with job insecurity. With some unions pushing to unionise the miner- mining work, sorry, what is your reaction to that push?

MADELEINE KING: Yeah. Well, the point I've made consistently is that the work of miners onshore or offshore, whether it's in iron ore and coal on the east coast or in LNG in the west coast, this is really hard work. These women and men work long hours, long shifts, in pretty hot weather, doing pretty remarkable things for the economy of this country. They spend a long time away from home, some of them are four weeks on, four weeks off. And it's hard work and not work that many people want to do because of its challenges. So, in my opinion, they deserve to be paid well for the time they spend away from their families from the dangerous work that they do. So, I am always concerned about reports about mental health challenges for those who do work in that environment, because that time away from family can be very difficult. 

The federal parliamentarians among us know what it’s like to live a fly-in, fly-out lifestyle, but we only live a limited fly-in, fly-out lifestyle compared to mine workers in this state, in the NT and in Queensland as well. So, I- my view is that employees in these big companies that are the foundation of the prosperity of the nation need to work productively and collaboratively with workers, because they are also part of the story of the great success of the resources sector, and we would be nowhere without those workers.

JOURNALIST: Sorry, Minister, I just wanted to ask you, the First Nations leaders in the Kimberley are calling for economic empowerment in light of the Prime Minister’s recent comments at Garma this year. And they say that the Federal Government must consider making traditional owners shareholders in development proposals that will occur on their land here in the Kimberley. Is this something that you’ll consider, especially as we move forward with renewable projects to meet our net zero target? 

MADELEINE KING: Yeah. Economic empowerment of our First Nations sisters and brothers is very important. Important to me personally, important to all of the ministers here, and of course to the Albanese Labor Government and all governments around this country. For my part, in the Northern Australia portfolio, we work- we have an Indigenous Reference Group that works on precisely these issues. Looking at how we ensure economic empowerment is part of the backbone of any project. On the Northern Australia Infrastructure Facility, every project has to have a very active Indigenous engagement strategy. And that includes Indigenous engagement through employment, and that economic empowerment. So we’ve been working on this, I’ve been working on this for two years since becoming the Minister. I guess it’s quiet work sometimes, but it is important work that makes sure local communities are empowered. And we heard today, at this forum, from Minister Don Punch who took us through how the Western Australian Government, in its rebuild of the Fitzroy River Crossing Bridge that was destroyed after an enormous flood event, made sure it prioritised the First Nations engagement. And that's been an enormous success. And it's our role as elected representatives to make sure that continues right across the country in all the projects. 

JOURNALIST: How are the Federal Government's immigration policies helping to fill skilled worker shortages in WA's north? 

MADELEINE KING: Well, I'm going to hand that over to- luckily we've got the Assistant Minister, Matt. So thanks, Matt. 

JOURNALIST: [Talks over] Great.

MATT THISTLETHWAITE: Thank you. The Albanese Government recently launched our migration strategy, and there's a big focus on regional migration and supporting skills in communities such as Broome and across the Top End. So what we're doing is we're tripling the number of regional skilled visas. We're taking it from about 11,000 per year, up to 33,000 per year. We're speeding up the processing time for regional skilled visas. We're giving priority to regional skilled visas, and we're making it easier for the states and territories to negotiate agreements that cover industries so that employers can bring in skilled migrants where there's a skills gap and a skills need, and have them employed as quickly as possible. So a huge focus of the Albanese government to ensure that we do more to support regional skilled migration and ensure that beautiful tourist destinations such as Broome, the employers that rely on that skilled migration get the skills that they need as quickly as possible. 

JOURNALIST: And can I just also ask, going back to the illegal fishing vessels, we have a lot of WA farmers which are very concerned about biosecurity threats. What's your reaction to that? 

MATT THISTLETHWAITE: Yeah, and that's an issue that the Government is taking very, very seriously. And that's why we're making those additional investments, in ensuring that we're strengthening our civil maritime capabilities and the security. Not only on the water, but in terms of biosecurity as well. Australia as a nation takes biosecurity very, very seriously because we know how important our agricultural and fishing industries are to our regional communities, and we're making those investments with those additional dollars to ensure that we strengthen that biosecurity capacity on our borders. 

UNIDENTIFIED SPEAKER: Just conscious they all have to get back into the meeting, so-

JOURNALIST: [Interrupts] Oh, could I just ask a couple of more questions Minister King…

MADELEINE KING: [Talks over] Yeah, sure.

JOURNALIST: Just about Wyndham. We've heard recently from the CEO of the Cambridge Gulf Limited that both he and the president of the Shire of Wyndham-East Kimberley had made a trip to Canberra to specifically request a reconsideration of the Federal Government granting first point of entry status to Wyndham to allow for the export of cotton out of the Ord Valley. Does your government have any plans to grant this status to Wyndham Port? 

MADELEINE KING: Well, we're working on this issue, and- I’m sorry, Don Punch has had to leave, but he's raised it already today, quite rightly. That is- as the State Minister for Regional Development, it's only right that he raised the first port of entry issue around Wyndham. And I've met with the people you've mentioned and many others in relation to this. We know it's a matter of great concern and an opportunity as well. So I'll be working with my colleague, Minister Catherine King – sometimes we get confused, so I want to make sure it's all clear in the transcript – to work on this. She's- and her office and the Department of Infrastructure are well aware of the concerns that have been spoken about in relation to the first port of entry. It is a complex problem. I wouldn't want to oversimplify it in terms of having the right people and the right place. Because of the things that we've spoken about earlier around biosecurity and customs and making sure we have the right people in the right place to be able to make Wyndham a first port of entry call. But I'm aware of the issue, and I'll be following it up. 

JOURNALIST: And just one last question on that, Minister.

MADELEINE KING: Sure.

JOURNALIST: The state government has told the ABC that they're awaiting Federal first point of entry status before committing funding for the necessary infrastructure. Is the Federal Government in discussion with the state government regarding this kind of stalemate? 

MADELEINE KING: Look, to be honest, I'm not certain of the detail, certainly around the infrastructure spending. But I'm happy to make sure we follow that up straight away. Thank you. 

JOURNALIST: And sorry, can I just ask one last question about Pilbara union? So just to be clear, you are- I know you've had to speak about this last week, but you don't think a union movement would be beneficial to WA miners? You're-

MADELEINE KING: [Interrupts] No, no. I do think it will be beneficial. So the union movement is important to the workers of this country. So, what has been in- reported about some talk of union unrest that we saw in the 70s and 80s in the Pilbara returning. I have- I don't think that is the case, because what I know is that workers know they're part of the story of the success of the resources sector of Western Australia. So they want it to be successful, because if the resources sector is successful, clearly the workers are successful in terms of what they can provide to their families. So I think – and I've said this publicly before, and people have reacted in different ways, unfortunately – that it simply should be a focus on how these big companies that are very important to our economy, have driven the development of the resources sector in Western Australia, work together with employees, but also union representatives to make sure we have safe workplaces and that people receive what they are entitled to in terms of their wage packages. Given that the nature of the work is so difficult, and it's really hard work. And I think we should respect the workers as well as the employers.

JOURNALIST: And just- I promise, one last question. 

UNIDENTIFIED SPEAKER: I'm just also conscious the boss is getting eaten by ants.

JOURNALIST: Can you share with us any positive outcomes of the industrial relations laws that your government has been responsible for? 

MADELEINE KING: Yeah. absolutely. Well, for one, there are a number of workers in particular parts of the country that are now getting paid the same pay and conditions as those people they work alongside. We went to the election saying we would ensure that people working alongside doing the same job with the same experience get the same salary and conditions, and that is happening. And wages are increasing for those workers that are a part of that. And I think that is an entirely good thing. More than good, it's fair, it's the right thing to do. And I think most Australians would agree that if you are working, doing the same job, you should get- and the same experience, you should get the same pay.

JOURNALIST: Thank you.