Doorstop Interview, Melbourne

SUBJECTS: Urgent Care Clinics; Oscar Jenkins; Superannuation Arrangements; Middle East Conflict; Support for Ukraine; RBA Rates Decision; Social Cohesion

SARAH WITTY, MEMBER FOR MELBOURNE: I'm Sarah Witty, I'm the new Member for Melbourne. I'm here in our federal seat at the urgent care clinic with the Acting Prime Minister Richard Marles and Josh Burns, and we're here to talk about some of the urgent care clinics around Australia and Victoria. Thank you.

JOSH BURNS, MEMBER FOR MACNAMARA: Well, thanks, Sarah, and it is wonderful to be here at the urgent care clinic at the Alfred. It's one of the very, very best services that we've got here in Macnamara, because it means people can go and see a GP for free, and it works hand in glove with this incredible hospital. People are either triaged from the emergency department into the urgent care clinic, or they obviously get the emergency department care that they need. And it shows that this model of care not only is really important for our community, where people can go and see a doctor for free, but also the Alfred and all of their amazing staff are able to access the urgent care clinic in a way that potentially takes a lot of pressure off those hard working emergency department staff as well. So this model here that Sarah and I share, on the corners of our electorate, is one where it's really working, people are coming to use the service and people are getting high quality medical care for free, which is really what it's all about. We're also very happy to have the Acting Prime Minister here, Richard Marles coming to see the amazing services that we've got here in our community. I'll hand over to Richard.

RICHARD MARLES, ACTING PRIME MINISTER: Well, it's wonderful to be here today with our new Member for Melbourne, Sarah Witty, and congratulate her on her election victory, but also to be here with the re-elected member for Macnamara, Josh Burns who is our new Envoy for social housing and homelessness, and we're here at the Prahran urgent care clinic. And as Josh has said, this is a really fantastic example of how this model is working so well being integrated into the broader Alfred Hospital footprint and is seeing referrals come directly here from the emergency department of the Alfred. About half of those coming from this urgent care clinic are coming from the ED at the Alfred, which is really taking pressure off the ED, which is exactly what the purpose of the urgent care clinics were. And for those patients, what that means is that they are coming here, being treated mostly within the hour versus staying at an ED and waiting hours and hours in order to be treated. We've seen that 23,000 people since this urgent care clinic has opened have received the benefit of medical attention at this urgent care clinic, all being bulk billed, coming here just with a Medicare card, there being no gap fees. It's a fantastic service which is being provided to this community. This is one of 17 urgent care clinics which have been established across Victoria, one of 87 across the country and of course, during the election we announced that there will be a further 50 urgent care clinics around Australia. Another [12] of those will be here in Victoria. Expanding this model and expanding this kind of care, this is one of the key priorities for the Albanese Government as we go into our second term. Already by the end of last year, a million Australians had taken up the benefit of visiting an urgent care clinic. 200,000 Victorians had taken up that opportunity. We're really excited about expanding the network of urgent care clinics as we go forward. And as I say, this will be one of the very key priorities of the Albanese Government going forward as we provide much greater access to healthcare and in the process make our contribution to tackling the challenges of cost of living.

JOURNALIST: Does the government know where prisoner Oscar Jenkins is currently held and what his condition is?

MARLES: Well, firstly, what I would say in relation to Oscar Jenkins is we are obviously very concerned for his welfare. We are deeply opposed to the sentence that has been implemented by Russia in what was a sham trial in respect of Oskar Jenkins. He should be treated as a prisoner of war with obviously all the protections that go along with that under international humanitarian law. That's what we expect Russia to apply here and we stand utterly opposed to the sentence that Russia have put in place and we expect them to maintain their obligations towards Oscar Jenkins as a prisoner of war.

JOURNALIST: Is the government willing to make any changes to the proposed super tax?

MARLES: We've seen a smear campaign in relation to the superannuation arrangements, arrangements which were announced two years ago. So, there's nothing new in relation to these. And I would just further add that we're talking about very modest changes which apply to about 0.5% of superannuants where they will still receive a tax break. They just won't receive the extent of the tax break that they did before. But this is about making our tax system fairer and the superannuation system fair.

JOURNALIST: Just following up on the tax there, Productivity Commission Chair Danielle Wood says cutting company tax could help boost investment and productivity. Will you consider cutting the rate?

MARLES: Well, in terms of productivity, productivity is a major agenda for the government moving forward. The tax arrangements that we will implement are those that we took to the election. But the Productivity Commission is doing really important work, noting that what we saw under the former coalition government was really a flatlining in respect of productivity. We need to boost the productivity of our economy. That's why we have invested in ensuring that there is greater competition throughout our economy, why we're investing in skills which obviously boosts productivity. We welcome the Productivity Commission's work in relation to looking at areas in which we can boost our productivity of our economy. But it will be a major feature of our economic policy going forward in this term.

JOURNALIST: Just back to Oscar Jenkins, you didn’t answer my question, does the government know where he is being held?

MARLES: And, well, I'm not going to go into the details any further, both out of respect to Oscar Jenkins’ family, but also, I think it is important that we are careful of what we are putting into the public domain. What I would say in relation to Oscar Jenkins is what I have we condemn Russia for the sentence that it's put in place in which came out of a sham trial, and we expect Russia to be treating Oscar Jenkins as any prison war would be treated with all the appropriate protections afforded to him under international humanitarian law.

JOURNALIST: What's your reaction to the latest ground offensive by Israel in Gaza, and what do you think this means for any progress into a potential ceasefire?

MARLES: Well, we are very concerned about the humanitarian situation in Gaza, as we have been really since the outset of this conflict. We are concerned about the loss of innocent lives in Gaza, it is obviously imperative that humanitarian law be complied with in terms of all that is done in respect of this conflict, we want to see a return to the ceasefire that had been negotiated previously, which will enable humanitarian assistance to flow into Gaza, but importantly, we'll also see the return of hostages to Israel.

JOURNALIST: Have US officials raised any concerns about the transferal of Australia's retired Abrams tanks, and are you confident that the appropriate support will be available for Ukrainians to operate and maintain these vehicles?

MARLES: We are confident about the performance of these vehicles and their utility for Ukraine going forward. It's why we were really pleased to be able to make this contribution to Ukraine in their ongoing war with Russia, we worked closely with both Ukraine and the United States to see the transfer of these tanks to Ukraine. The first tranche of those tanks are now on their way to Ukraine, and in fact, have been on their way for some time. I'm not going to go into further details about that, for obvious reasons, but we are really excited that we are able to provide this support to Ukraine, and that forms part of a much broader suite of assistance that we've been providing to Ukraine since the beginning of this conflict.

JOURNALIST: Why did it take over six months to begin the shipping process?

MARLES: Well, again, we've been working very closely with Ukraine, very closely with the United States, to see this shipment occur and to see the tanks be on their way. As I say, the first tranche has been on their way now for some time, but I'm not going to go into the specific details of that, for obvious reasons, but this is a really important contribution that we are making to Ukraine, and it does form part of our broader suite of assistance to Ukraine.

JOURNALIST: Victorian Police are investigating whether an anti-Israel sign at a pro-Palestinian protest on the weekend is in breach of the state's ban on displaying Nazi symbols. It depicted a swastika drawn over the Star of David. What's your reaction to these displays, and do you think these kind of signs, should the display of these signs be prosecuted?

MARLES: Well that the law should be applied to its fullest extent. Let me be clear about that. And signs of this kind are disgraceful and really have no place within the discourse within our community, and I would expect the law to be applied to the fullest extent.

JOURNALIST: Josh, do you have any further comments?

BURNS: Well, first of all, the prosecution is a matter for police, and they'll determine who and what action is taken. Beyond that, I think it's really important that we have respectful discourse, and we have an ability to put forward our arguments and our positions on difficult conversations respectfully, and that doesn't mean using the worst form of history as some sort of an argument tool, it always denigrates the argument. So, yeah, I think it's a real shame that people are resorting to that. But hopefully one thing this election, this previous election, has shown is that having respectful conversations with each other, especially on difficult issues, is the way we need to move forward. And I would hope that that's the way. I think that's what majority of people want, and I think that's what
majority of people do you expect to be rate cut tomorrow?

JOURNALIST: Do you expect there to be a rate cut tomorrow, and if rates do come down, will the government wind back its cost of living help in the next budget?

MARLES: Well, look, I'm not going to speculate about a rate decision. That's obviously a matter for the Reserve Bank, and the cost of living measures that we took from the last election will be implemented.

JOURNALIST: There's predictions home prices will surge more than 10% by 2026 off the back of incoming interest rate cuts. How do you plan on supporting (inaudible)?

MARLES: Well, again, we have put in place extensive measures in relation to the last election to support home buyers. At the heart of that is about building our housing stock in Australia and making sure that there are more and more homes. And we've put extensive funds towards that. We are looking at having a specific component of new houses built, especially for first home buyers, the first home buyers guarantee. We've also extended in the commitments that we made during the last election. So there are a suite of policies that we will continue to implement, which both ensure that there are more houses in the housing market, but make it easier, particularly for new home buyers to enter that market.

JOURNALIST: Just on the role of the social cohesion Envoy which was removed from the Ministry. What kind of message does this send? Are you saying that the job on social cohesion is done?

MARLES: Social cohesion remains a really important part of what the government is focused on, but what all Australians need to be about, I think we've seen real challenges in relation to our social cohesion over the last 18 months or more and it really matters that we are looking at that in a way where we are seeking to make social cohesion front and center in terms of what our society is about, and that is certainly the case on the part of the federal government. But I would perhaps reiterate what, what Josh just very eloquently said before, I think what the last election shows is that respectful debate is what Australians want to see, and a respect for each other and the opinions which every Australian has is at the heart of social cohesion. Social cohesion will continue to be front and center of the agenda of this government.

JOURNALIST: So why is it no longer in the ministry?

MARLES: Social cohesion is a matter that is there for all of us in the government to pursue, and so it is. It is a front and center part of the agenda of every minister, and very much central of what this government is about. Thank you.

ENDS