The Hon Catherine King MP
Transcript - Minister King interview on Tasmania Talks with Mike O'Loughlin
HOST, MIKE O'LOUGHLIN: Now there's two regional programs I'm very interested in with the Albanese government, the Growing Regions Program and the Precincts and Partnerships Program.
MINISTER FOR INFRASTRUCTURE, TRANSPORT, REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT, CATHERINE KING: Well, we've had a fair bit of mess to clean up when it comes to the regional programs. And so we've gone through and had a look at what the previous government has done. We'll clean that up and we'll in it we're announcing two new programs. The first is a grants program for local government and not-for-profit sector. That will be an annual grants program we're putting in place clear guidelines and transparent decision making for that and that will be for smaller scale, community infrastructure projects. And then we've also got a precincts program and largely I've based that on some of the fantastic work, frankly, that happened under the previous government through the City Deal in Launceston looking at the way in which University of Tasmania has really transformed Launceston in a really positive way. So trying to look at what are those precincts that you could actually develop in your regional towns, whether you're small or large, to really change the way in which your economy operates the way in which people will live in a town or live in a city. So those two programs will be announced in the budget, and they'll be replacing the Building Better Regions Fund and the Community Development Grants Programme, which wasn't really a grants program. It was a bit of a slush fund, the previous government used to fund projects in its own states. So we're trying to clean all that up.
O'LOUGHLIN: I know there's an additional $495.88 million over four years included in the Budget. I was reading for the university places which will be for students starting degrees next year and in 2024. But it's not just for university. We need more people getting back to TAFE.
KING: Yeah, absolutely. And I think that's why we've announced a number of free TAFE places, obviously, where those skills are absolutely clearly needed. But we've had a decade of neglect in this area, frankly, in training people in the trades. We've got to get more people in. It's not going to fix the problem in the short term. We've obviously got to deal with how we bring international backpackers back and tourism, some of the people from overseas who were doing that, but what we have learnt through COVID is we have got to train more Australians to do Australian jobs. And we've absolutely got to leave that legacy of young people, older people wanting to change or to come back into the workforce, women coming back into the workforce. We've actually got to train people for the jobs that we've got in our economy and you're right it's right the way across the board when you talk from mechanics to people doing your hair, to pharmacists: everywhere there are massive shortages and you know you've got to say, well how on earth has that happened? Some of it's about our borders being shut, but some of it is just not training people, not actually getting people into these jobs in the first place. So we've got a bit of work to do. We can't train people overnight, but we've started the process in the budget of providing, making sure that financial barrier to accessing TAFE is removed for many of those areas of skill shortage, creating more University places for people as well. But it's going to take a while and I think I guess the message pretty clearly to young people or people thinking of a new career is that really that training is going to be available to you and there's huge opportunities I guess, to get into the workforce. And to create a new career for yourself.
O'LOUGHLIN: Well, this skills crunch really is holding the nation back, isn't it? I mean, we are just desperate for people to get, front of house in restaurants and coffee, whatever. But the fact is, we just don't have the people so it's getting them in and yet skill them up. It's not going to be an immediate fix.
KING: No, that's exactly right. So it is a mix of short-term migration, resetting, and so we've increased the migration for next year to try and help with that in the short term, but we don't want that to be the long-term solution like it really does have to be making sure that migration plays its role, but really, there shouldn't be young people who want to get the job, want to get training should all have access to that and really it's about trying to remove the financial barriers to TAFE through our free TAFE programs that Brendan O'Connor and Jason Clare who've got the Education and Skills portfolios have been talking about.
O'LOUGHLIN: I know that Dr. Chalmers has warned yesterday. He said more hip pocket pain for workers with real wages expected to remain below inflation for another year. But the Treasurer said he remained confident this rally would avoid a recession but it really I'm starting to think the hang on this and we're very, very close to a recession.
KING: Well, clearly inflation is a significant problem across the world at the moment and that's been driven by a range of sectors in Australia is not immune by that really the task in this Budget and it's not just we can't just fix everything in one Budget. This is about starting the process of getting the Australian Federal Budget back onto a sustainable footing, making sure we're not adding to inflationary pressures, trying to provide cost of living easing where we can through childcare, pay, parental leave, cheaper medicines, those sorts of things that will be in the budget, but trying to get the budget back onto a more sustainable footing. And really, that's, that's what this Budget is about. And, you know, the budgets subsequently really do need to try and work through how we can help ease inflationary pressures and how we can start wages growth, but we can't fix it in five months. But this is the start of that process.
O'LOUGHLIN: And there's also was quite a few billion being cut isn't there. So we're through some grants some what we would probably call promises made for by now the opposition are leading into the election. Tell me about the $33 billion that's going towards the pension and other welfare payments in the Federal budget.
KING: Again, we know that funding the age pension funding, our pension system is incredibly important. So making sure that there is money available to do that so that we can continue to ensure income security for our older Australians who contributed so much throughout their lives to our tax system so very much that is making sure that the budget that's obviously those pensions are demand driven, so we have to find the money for those. So that's really, you know, part of the budget is trying to look at, where was there spending that really, you know, what we saw from the previous government, particularly in infrastructure is they would make a big splashy announcement, you then go and look and drill down into the detail and often the money announced was, you know, often even a third, if that, of what was actually needed to build a project. You've got state government saying, well, look, we've got no capacity in our pipeline to build that in the next three or four years. Trying to keep that money in the budget so it's available, but also making sure that it's actually deliverable. So that's been part of my task is to work very closely with state governments to try and work out. What's your infrastructure pipeline look like? How do we know when it's going to be delivered? And really trying to get that timing right, and that's created some headroom to be able to do some of those other things in the budget as well.
O'LOUGHLIN: Speaking with Catherine King, the Federal and Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Local Government Minister, due to inflation too, I mean, rising interest rates, global challenges as you can touch on but the budget is really going to show that real gross domestic product growth has been downgraded? I mean, and even you know, Dr. Chalmers has said Australians were aware the economy was facing problems. I mean, do you think we are really in a in strife?
KING: Well, I think that's, that's our job. I think that globally, you know, we're seeing those sort of pressures that are happening right the way across the world. And you know, we can see that playing out in the UK, you can see it playing out in the US at the moment. And our job as a responsible government is to try and do what we can to ease cost-of-living pressures, not contribute to inflation and try and ease that inflationary pressure. And to really keep that and put that budget on a sustainable basis and make sure that our economy is resilient. And really, that's the job of this budget is to really start that process of repair of where we're actually from, from where we are. We have got a lot of debt, a lot of debt to pay down. And that's the legacy that we've been given and that's probably the of the responsible Budget you'll see tomorrow night.
O'LOUGHLIN: And I know that the Albanese government's 2022-23 Budget will include what more than $21 billion in savings and, and decisions to redirect existing funding. That's what I was reading correct me if I'm wrong, including $6.5 billion from reprofiling infrastructure projects, $3.6 billion from reducing spending on external labour, advertising, travel and legal expenses. And the government trying to claw back $2 billion from grants programs. I mean, there are some other means there's going to be quite a few job losses.
KING: Well what that actually means is that we're putting the Budget on a sustainable footing. So what it means is, you know, if you look in my portfolio in particular, if you look across infrastructure investment, there's still significant amounts of money flowing through this significant amounts of money. There's some 45 infrastructure projects in Tasmania alone that have got Commonwealth state funding that will go in, but it's making sure that they can actually be delivered and we get that money out the door. We've had money sitting in the Budget often, no, sometimes for years and years. That just does not actually get spent productively because the delivery timeframe isn't consistent with what actually is going to happen on the ground. We've got, as you say, labour and skills constraints. So part of my job has been trying to get that the pipeline onto a sustainable footing, and equally at the same time, make sure that we honour our election commitments and again, you know, things like the Hobart Airport, things like the Launceston TransLink facility, RFDS facility at Launceston, sporting infrastructure across the North as well. Trying to make sure that we've got money for that so there'll be plenty of money and plenty of jobs and available for people as money goes through, particularly to local government and on roads and rail projects. But at the same time, we've had to look at how do we ensure that some of the excesses that we saw of the past decade of them sort of putting money into programs and projects where you know, often communities hadn't [inaudible] but how do we get the budget back onto a sustainable footing and that's what you'll see in the budget on Tuesday night.
O'LOUGHLIN: Also being sort of Infrastructure and Regional Development, etc. the Marinas Link has now been promised funding, but when will that actually kick in?
KING: So that's in Chris Bowen's portfolio, the Rewiring the Nation, so building those important transmission links to get renewable energy into the grid, both state-wide but also into the grid nationally. That money has been made available under the Rewiring the Nation project and I guess again, that's a matter for the state government and for the Commonwealth to work together to get that project underway, but that money is available and being announced now.
O'LOUGHLIN: Tell me, we're talking before about university places. When you read mainland newspapers it says about $176 million will go to creating 5,925 University places in New South Wales, $120 million for Victorian to create 4,283 places, $48 million for 1,645 extra places in South Australia, $80 million for 2,800 and live in places in Queensland, $29 million for 831 in the Northern Territory, and absolutely no listing there for Tasmania. So can you tell me what about Tassie?
KING: I haven't got that in front of me. This is part of our pledge for 20,000 university places and that's half a billion dollars over four years for those extra University places. I'm sure Brendan O'Connor and Jason Clare who run that have that portfolio will be happy to get back to you about the Tas numbers. But it's important that they are as you know, across the country, we've been particularly concerned about making sure that regional places are available for people as well, particularly wanting to make sure that we've got people who are first in their families to go to university have the best opportunity that they can do so through those extra places.
O'LOUGHLIN: And I guess your main concern now is the two new regional programs, Growing Regions Program that we started with and the Precincts and Partnerships Program. When do they kick in?
KING: Yep, they'll kick into obviously got the Budget on Tuesday night and we need to do some work to get the guidelines in place for those but they'll kick in at the start of next year. But at the same time we'll be delivering on our election commitments that we made across Tasmania, so there's a $570 million for two big road projects. Bass and Tasman highways, the Mornington roundabout, Hobart Airports will be in the budget as well, the 60 million for that. And then a range of other sports cars so there'll be lots of money flying from the budget into Tasmania, and then there'll be opportunities for application for those two new programs early next year.
O'LOUGHLIN: And I know that Michael Ferguson touched on the Port of Hobart and the Port of Burnie.
KING: I've written down the list that he's spoken to me at length that those are obviously things for upcoming May budgets, those regular budget cycles, where states come to us with their priorities for projects. And I look forward to talking to Michael about what those are going to be and working together to try and see what we can deliver [inaudible] but they are important projects that he has raised with been previously and I look forward to working with him as we move forward as a government.
O'LOUGHLIN: Catherine King it’s a pleasure speaking with you I do thank you for your time and thanks for being so patient and waiting on there.
KING: Always Michael, very lovely to talk to you as well.