CHRIS MINNS MP
NSW LABOR LEADER

DAVID MICKLEBURG
LABOR CANDIDATE FOR WARRINGAH

DAVID MICKLEBURGH: Hi guys, thanks for coming down. Just want to say it’s great to be in Manly or what I like to call God’s country. I’m living I live over a Neutral Bay. And I have the honour of being the Labor candidate for Warringah, at the upcoming election. I just want to say it’s great to have Chris Minns here. Hopefully the future leader of NSW Government next year. It’s great to have him down here so we can have a chat to have run about some of the issues that I think are really important to the people of Warringah. I’ve been getting out and about on the campaign trail for the last last few weeks. And look, people, people are really doing it tough. They’re, you know, they’re talking to me about things such as obviously the cost of living. That’s the hot button issue at the moment. And I am excited to get out and about and talk to the people of Warringah about Labor’s plan for how we can help people address those cost of living issues, whether it’s in our plan for childcare, whether it’s in our plan to lower energy prices through our powering Australia plan, or whether it’s in other things such as optimising Australian jobs and a future made in Australia. I’m really glad we’ve got Chris down here to speak a little bit more about that. Because it’s an issue that I care quite deeply about. I’m a lawyer. I’m a lawyer, but I did used to work in the Department of Defence in the contracting and procurement space. So I know firsthand how important it is to be able to optimise the Australian industry, content, Australian industry capability, how important that is for for jobs, secure jobs for Australian families and families in Warringah. We’re obviously down here at Manly at the ferry wharf, one of the things that I’m happy to talk about today is our plan to make sure that Australian jobs are prioritised in Australian procurement in the future. We have ferries at the moment that are made in China, that are made in Indonesia, and they’re just not fit for purpose. You know, they they can’t deal with the swell, and they can’t operate at night. Under an Albanese Labor Government we are going to prioritise as a first order issue, making sure that we have a future made in Australia, getting Australian hardware made in Australia for Australians. So if I could pass over to Chris to speak a little bit more about that.

CHRIS MINNS: Thanks, David. Yeah, no, it’s wonderful to be here with you in the middle of Manly a beautiful part of Sydney and Australia. Look, David’s absolutely right. We can have a future built in Australia, we can prioritise domestic manufacturing and ensure that we bring good well paid jobs into Australia in particular, into New South Wales. One of the things that’s important at every election state or federal is it’s often a choice between change and more of the same. Well, we’ve seen in New South Wales at least over the last decade, a commitment by the Liberal and National Government to build as much as they can, in other jurisdictions, developing a jobs plan for Korea, for China for Indonesia, but not right here in New South Wales, not well paid jobs where we need them in regional New South Wales and in Western Sydney. Labor believes in manufacturing, we believe in Australia know how, in the engineering spirit, the hard work, the determination, and the engineering capability of local firms right here in this state. We’ve seen the Victorian Government, the Queensland Government, and the WA Government all revive a manufacturing sector, right in their states providing good jobs, well paid jobs for young people deep into the future. Now, if you look at the record in recent times across New South Wales for these projects that have been built in other jurisdictions, the record has not been strong. In relation to trains you’ve got a situation where they haven’t been able to fit the tracks. You’ve got a situation where the light rail in the city CBD was $1.7 billion over budget, which was more than the original budget was for the entire project. You’ve got a situation in the Inner West, where the light rail has been knocked out of action for months and months inconveniencing tens of thousands of people. And right here in Manly you’re looking at the Emerald class ferry, which can operate in seas above four metres that’s routinely shut, that is broken down, it’s needed four tonnes of reinforced steel to make sure the hole doesn’t crack any longer. That has been routinely cancelled. Windows have been broken. And in some cases the motor has conked out. It’s been a comprehensive failure from the NSW Government. In addition to that it’s been over a year late from commissioning to operation on Sydney Harbour. Now, we were promised something better in relation to these domestic manufactured goods from the NSW Government. We were told repeatedly over the last decade that it was cheaper and more efficient, and there would be better products operating in New South Wales. But we now know that four of the six major infrastructure projects that have been procured from overseas have had budget blowouts of between 40 and 50 per cent. Many of them have been late, most of them have been over budget, all of them have negated the original savings that we were expected to see as a result of them being built in other jurisdictions. And of course, we don’t have the well paid jobs right here in New South Wales. Now, our point is, there is a better way. We believe that better way does require a change in strategy and policy from the state and federal government. And that’s what we’re highlighting here today with David.

Look quickly on the cost of living in NSW Government has said that the next budget will be about cost of living, that I’d say to the people of this state, why would you believe that this is such a massive change, when you consider for the last 10 years, they’re locked in tolls at four per cent or higher each year, every year for the life of the project. We’re now the highest taxing state of any jurisdiction in any part of the country and you’ve got fees, fines, charges, all going up at a rate of knots while the NSW Government is trying to hold down wages or the ability for families to meet their obligations. This is an urgent priority for the NSW Liberal National Government. I’d like to see action on it when the budgets handed down in a couple of weeks as soon as the federal election is over. And David and I are happy to take questions.

JOURNALIST: Chris, just on manufacturing you recently travelled to Victoria to look at rail manufacturing hub. Are you committing to something equivalent to ferries?

MINNS: Yeah, look, obviously we’ll be developing our policies in relation to domestic manufacturing. We hope to roll out several of them as soon as the federal election’s over in the run up to the budget reply speech and the budget handed down by the NSW Government. What’s obvious is we need a change in strategy in relation to domestic manufacturing. We do have boat building and ferry capabilities in New South Wales. In fact, Austrade is in the process of selling domestically manufactured ferries to other jurisdictions in other parts of the world. So while at the same time, as we’ve got the opportunity of building shipbuilding in New South Wales and trying to sell them to other jurisdictions, we are importing our ships to be used in the New South Wales public transport system. So changing strategy needs to take place, we realise that needs to be done in concert with the private sector. There is a model to follow that in Victoria and Queensland and we’re determined to do it.

JOURNALIST: It’s one thing to say you want to build [inaudible] another actually build them and fulfil a demand, where do you see the demand? I mean, we know that metros, the new Metro West and Southwest are already on order. So that was probably part of [inaudible]  do you see ferries of one areas, where we can order more. I mean, the government says they’re only building buses domestically, I guess what would a Minns Government be building?

MINNS: Yeah, part of that is examining the – well, there’s two parts of that, part of that is examining the pipeline of soon to be signed contracts in relation to the Tangara replacements, further enhancement to the inter city trains, as well as the Metro West project. So obviously, tunnelling on that project begins in the next six months, the contracts to be signed for the rolling stock will take place in the years following that. So that’s a big opportunity for domestic manufacturing. We want to make sure that we interrogate that pipeline of works, but it’s a very good point. The recently signed contracts from the NSW Government, inside the last six months provide for absolutely no local manufacturing component, nothing. There’s nothing in the contract for it. So if companies that win those bids decide to build anything, onshore, it’s completely incidental. And it’s because they’ve decided to do it. Now we would like to see the NSW Government put in provisions for domestically manufactured goods as well as domestic procurement in relation to steel, for example, as well as provisions for providing apprentices there. We’ve got half as many apprentices in New South Wales today, as we did when the government was elected in 2011. And most private industry, particularly in construction, manufacturing, civil engineering will say one thing, we can’t get apprentices, we can’t get skilled labour into the workforce. It’s too important to pass up but we are passing up that big opportunity for Australia.

JOURNALIST: David, if I could ask you opened by saying things that people are mentioning to you driving in here today, there was a bit of traffic. Has anyone mentioned the Northern Beaches link to you and the fact that Labor said they are not going to proceed with it? Has that come up as an issue at all?

MICKLEBURGH: To be honest, not really. I’m getting more I’m getting more sort of federal issues, cost of living. People are really hurting with interest rate rises, even people, even people that there might be on a reasonable salary, I think with these interest rate rises, coming up and we know that there’s more interest rate rises in the pipeline. I think people – They’re wanting to get these issues addressed first and foremost. And, you know, I’m pleased to speak to these people and communicate Labor’s plan to, you know, enhance productivity in our economy, but also lower just their day to day living costs.

JOURNALIST: Two weeks out from the election, David, how do you plan – the sort of we know from all side points to Zali having a very strong hold on the seat, but how do you plan to sort of make yourself more visible in these final weeks? And you know, what, what do you say to voters why would you be a better fit for the voters of Warringah than Zali Steggall?

MICKLEBURGH: Good question. And what I would say to that is, I’m communicating with people that only, you know, if you want to affect real outcomes, the only way on values that people in Warringah are passionate about – we know people in Warringah are passionate about climate change action, meaningful climate change, action, integrity in politics and ending some of the, you know, egregious, rorts and waste that this current government has been guilty of over the last, you know, three, five years, 10 years even. And, you know, taking taking action on our care economy, you know, people really do care about these things. And I’m communicating with them that if you want to affect real change, then only Labor can guarantee that and you need to vote Labor, if you care about these things.

JOURNALIST: You’ve put Zali Steggall number two on your how to vote, why she’s so high?

MICKLEBURGH: Look, she we obviously share a lot of the values that she does, you know, we we obviously, we think that our powering Australia plan, our plan for climate change action is is a superior plan for Australia. But we do we do obviously share the values that she espouses. You know, so we, you know, we’re comfortable putting putting her number two.

JOURNALIST: Let’s get back to the cost of living. When we talk about cost of living with the government, they point to the fact that about 70 plus cost of living measures available through Service NSW, many of them have major vouchers, if the Premier and the Treasurer say there is going to be cost of living measures increased in the budget, does it need to be more than vouchers?

MINNS: Well, I mean, it’s hard for me to comment on a hypothetical or a policy they haven’t released. But I will say this generally about vouchers, it does allow the government to have a headline figure for a media release with them knowing that there’ll be an under subscription in the number of vouchers that will be actually used by the people of New South Wales. Now that has two effects. The first one is you don’t get what should be – what should be a necessary part of government assistance. And that is the amount of money from Treasury circulating in the New South Wales economy. We’ve seen that with the Dine and Discover voucher, that wasn’t just about getting people out having a meal within their community. It was also about stimulating the economy, particularly for Western Sydney and South Western Sydney. So an undersubscription means the government can have a headline figure, knowing that maybe only 60 per cent of people – eligible people will apply for it. The second part of it is we saw over the weekend that there’s $200 million of energy rebates that are not being taken up by families. I think a big part of that is the complexity associated with applying for this, particularly with means tested grants, and a general lack of understanding within the broader community that they may be eligible for these grants. So the government if they’re going to have grant related cost of living relief, needs to communicate that clearly with the people of New South Wales so that families in particular know what they’re entitled to. At the end of the day, it’s their own money. It’s not free money being handed out by Dominic Perrottet, it’s taxpayer money being returned to the taxpayers of this state to deal with the rising cost of living. As we’ve said many times in Sydney, we’re on track for a 6.8 per cent increase in CPI, year on year. We haven’t seen that for decades. And it’s burning a hole in the back pocket of families right across the state.

JOURNALIST: Chris, the Premier today said that and yesterday said that minority governments can actually have a democratic process, rejecting some of the claims by the PM that it’s unruly deal by deal, where do you stand?

MINNS: I think stable government means majority government, and all sides of politics, particularly major political parties need to fight for majority government. That’s certainly our approach when it comes to the next state election. I would preface that by saying it’s in the hands of the voters, but we aren’t going for a minority style government in New South Wales. We need to I think both sides of politics would much prefer that you could implement the agenda that you take to the next election. It’s easier to comply with whatever promises you’ve made over the election campaign and that voters feel that you’ll be in charge of both your legislative agenda as well as the balance sheet. Now, in New South Wales unlike Queensland, we have the legislative councils so there’s a check and balance on whatever legislation will be implemented by a potential government but I think strong majority government is far better government across New South Wales and the country. And I know from our perspective, from the NSW Labor Party’s perspective, that’s what we’ll be fighting for in March 2023.

JOURNALIST: Did you watch the second debate last night?

MINNS: I did watch the debate.

JOURNALIST: What did you make of it?

MINNS: Well, look, I think first of all, it’s good that they’re having debates. And I think both political leaders deserve credit for I think putting time aside, but the preparation work and the actual debate taking place. It’s important, particularly for close elections for political leaders to have it out side by side, it gives voters particularly undecided voters an opportunity to see what the policies are. And I think they both deserve credit for that. I do believe and I think most people listening or watching would expect me to say this, that Anthony won the debate. And I think the reason for that is because he focused on the people of Australia, what their needs are, what the challenges and problems facing the country are. He was less political than the prime minister, and he seemed to have more of a, a focus on the future of the country.

JOURNALIST:  [inaudible]

MINNS: Well, I mean, I genuinely believe that Anthony took out the flag last night, but mainly for non political reasons. I think he’s, I think he’s empathy shown shone through, I think he’s plans for rebuilding the country are right. I think he’s got more of a sense of what families are going through when it comes to cost of living and the impact on the family budgets, and he deserves credit for that.

JOURNALIST: Do you think it’s productive to have the two potential leaders just on television yelling at each other for the most part? I mean, is that is that appealing to voters? Do you think? There’s a lot of commentary on that?

MINNS: Yeah, I don’t get to hand wringing about political leaders going hammer and tongs, particularly if it’s about policy, it means that they’re passionate about it. I mean, I think that, generally speaking, if the two political leaders get up there and agree on everything, it’s not going to make for great watching. And I think the issues at – the issues that are currently being debated between the Prime Minister and the Leader of the Opposition are high stakes, we are really talking about the future of the country, what kind of future we want to see over the next 10-20 years. And if they’re going to be passionate about that. I’m not necessarily down on that part of it. I think that the moderator asking questions is probably a better model to go for, but see what happens for the next debate.

JOURNALIST: On the moderator, Mark Latham – the moderators name is Sarah Abo on 60 minutes. Mark Latham tweeted last night, ‘never trust an Abo’ – A-B-O – ‘with something as important as that’ – a lot of people on Twitter picked up it was probably trying to make two pretty nasty tweet, what do you make of that?

MINNS: Well, if that’s the link, he was trying to make it shameful, and horrific and not part of our public dialogue. And hopefully, he clarifies what he’s talking about or apologises it for today. Unless you did an outstanding job in difficult circumstances, there wouldn’t be much more of a high pressure job than moderating a leaders debate two weeks before the federal election on Sunday night, and she did an extraordinary job. No one deserves that kind of ridicule, or abuse.

JOURNALIST: And sorry, Chris, just Janelle Saffin calling for a flood insurance scheme for victims of flooding [inaudible].

MINNS: Yeah, I’m due to meet Janelle to talk about that and learn more about the policy initiative. I mean, our approach to public policy, and the development of it is that we do listen to grassroots communities. We do want to make sure that the mayors, the local members are fully engaged in the development of policy. Janelle’s really led, I think, the policy response from the NSW Government and I have to give credit to the premier for listening to the Labor member for Lismore about what needs to be done within that community over the last few weeks. So if she’s got a plan in relation to that, I know that she would have thought deeply about it and, and done it in conjunction with local businesses and families. The insurance councils have shown a willingness to listen to policy changes and development particularly as we can expect more natural disasters over the coming years. So this might be an exciting policy initiative. Look forward to hearing more about it from her directly. Excellent. Thanks, David.