JOSH FRYDENBERG:
It’s great to be here in Ballarat for the Liberal Party’s State Council. As I made it very clear to the membership today, the election result on May 18th was not about us, it was about the Australian people and the Australian people voted for the Morrison Government because we are in favour of lower taxes, not Labor’s higher taxes. They voted for us because we are in favour of budget surpluses, not Labor’s budget deficits. They voted for us because they want to see increased funding on schools, hospitals, disability support, aged care, funding that we are now providing, not the Labor Party’s overpriced schools halls, Pink Batts fiasco. And they voted for us because we are investing in the infrastructure that will make Australia a more productive nation and enable Australians to get home sooner and safer. Projects in Victoria like a fast-rail between Melbourne and Geelong like the Airport Rail Link, which has been on the drawing board for half a century and also (inaudible) the Monash as well as $4 billion being available for the East West Link and it’s time Daniel Andrews took his Government out of the slow lane and (inaudible) projects.
Now this week, Anthony Albanese (inaudible)…$387 billion of higher taxes that he signed up to in the last election. Well, he’s failed to do that and that $387 billion of higher taxes are now Anthony Albanese’s $387 billion of higher taxes; higher taxes on retirees, higher taxes on renters, higher taxes on home owners, higher taxes on people who are saving on their superannuation, higher taxes on family businesses and higher taxes on hard-working Australians. The Labor Party will always be the Party of higher taxes because they will have higher taxes to chase their higher spending.
QUESTION:
You mentioned in your speech that the Liberal Party needs to develop a strategy in the north and the west of Melbourne to try and claw back votes. Isn't that what parties have already been doing? It just hasn't worked.
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
But it's very important that we recognise that it was nine elections ago in 1996 when the Liberal Party at the Federal level had won a majority of state seats here in Victoria, seats like Ballarat and Bendigo, McEwan, Indi, seats (inaudible). What is really important is to recognise we’ve won one out of the last six state elections. So strategies to win back these seats particularly in the growth corridors will take time, it will be over a series of electoral cycles. It’s about getting on the ground early with the right resources, with the right candidates and ensuring that Victoria can get more Coalition seats (inaudible) for better outcomes.
QUESTION:
What is it about Victoria that means the Liberal Party has struggled so much (inaudible)…Sydney, Western Sydney is contested territory compared to the Western suburbs of Melbourne are very safe Labor territory. Why is that?
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
Look, I think the message of the Morrison Government does resonate loudly with the people of Victoria. We’ve seen swings in seats that Labor was holding at the last election against the Labor Party. So the message is that we can (inaudible) about support for families, for small businesses, more infrastructure spending and cutting taxes. They are messages that resonate with Victoria. So we’ve got the right message, we’ve got the right people but we need to get out there and to promote it and be more effective in our grassroots campaign.
QUESTION:
Thinking about how badly your state colleagues did at the last state election, is it at all possible that they can win?
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
Absolutely and Michael O’Brien is a strong leader and Michael O’Brien is working to communicate the key messages that the Coalition stands for; that’s for more jobs, more infrastructure spending, guaranteed essential services. Messages that we have been communicating at the Federal level. I want to point out that at the Federal election on May 18th, we held onto the seats that were notionally (inaudible)…
QUESTION:
Just on your speech, you mentioned May 18, you spoke about the night before (inaudible) Scott Morrison trying to get those last votes, but then you also mentioned in your speech that Bill Shorten was having a celebratory drink with Daniel Andrews. Now, are you aware that that was actually for Bob Hawke at the John Curtin Hotel the night after he died?
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
The passing of Bob Hawke was very sad and I pay tribute to him as a great Australian. But the night before the election, Scott Morrison was out there trying to win every vote. Bill Shorten chose to have a drink when Scott Morrison was working hard. But the point is that every hour, every minute counts.
QUESTION:
Are you saying that he should have been campaigning on a very, very sad day for his Party and I guess the nation as well?
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
Well, we were campaigning right to the end and Bill wasn’t and the result was there for all to see.
QUESTION:
Are your comments insensitive?
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
No…
QUESTION:
Given that that celebratory drink was in honour of someone who had passed away, a very revered figure in Australian politics?
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
And we all pay great tribute and credit to Bob Hawke. In fact I spoke in the Parliament about his contribution and my own personal relationship with Bob because when I was a student in England, I recognized that there was no portrait of him up in the college even though he had become the Prime Minister. I worked hard to ensure that was the case. So I pay great credit to Bob Hawke and his contribution to the Labor Party and the country. But the night before the election, Bill Shorten was not campaigning and we all know the Labor Party thought they were going to win the election. That didn't happen. Scott Morrison was out there campaigning hard. That's the truth.
QUESTION:
You don’t regret these comments? People are entitled to have a drink to toast a mate or a person that has passed away, I would imagine.
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
The facts are these: Scott Morrison was campaigning to the last minute to win every vote to ensure that we retain Government. Bill Shorten didn’t.
QUESTION:
Robert Clark signalled quite strongly this morning that he still favours holding pre-selections for Federal seats pretty early, perhaps two years out from the Federal election. It’s been known that you oppose that. Would you warn him against doing that? What’s your position?
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
I’m going to catch up with Robert Clark, the position of the Federal colleagues is very clear on that. We will continue to have that discussion with Robert and members of the administrative committee.
QUESTION: Does it show that there are significant factional divisions still in the Victorian Liberal Party when you have a State President who is calling for one thing and going against all of his Federal colleagues and the state leader?
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
Look, there’s just difference in opinion about the timing of pre-selections and we’re committed to those pre-selections and ensuring as a grassroots Party that the members get to vote.
QUESTION:
What’s your view on this Chinese spy who has made public his concerns about China’s activities in Australia, Taiwan and Hong Kong?
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
These are very disturbing reports. The matter is now in the hands of the appropriate law enforcement agencies. So I’m not going to comment on the particulars of individual cases, but would I would say is that the Government makes no apologies for the strong measures that we have taken to ensure that we have foreign interference laws in place and that we are resourcing our law enforcement and intelligence agencies like never before. We will always stand up for our national interest, whether its on matters of foreign policy, foreign investment or other related issues.
QUESTION:
Do you think he is deserving of asylum in Australia?
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
I will leave that to the agencies who are handling that issue and to the relevant Minister.
QUESTION:
Is the Government though considering that request?
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
Look, I’m not going to go into the specifics of that case other than to say these are disturbing reports as you can imagine, they are very sensitive reports as well. And it’s being handled by the appropriate law enforcement agencies.
QUESTION:
What kind of bravery do you think it shows on this former spies behalf to go public like this?
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
Again, I’m not going to get into the details of the case other than to say that the reports as they’ve appeared today are disturbing. They concern the Government and they are being followed up by the relevant enforcement agencies.
QUESTION:
Can I ask you also about Westpac? Given what has come out in the last couple of days, should Brian Hartzer resign?
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
These are very serious allegations, they are very concerning. No organisation is above the law. Westpac has announced that they have begun a process and this matter is the before the courts. But the Government, from the Prime Minister down, have made it very clear that these are very serious allegations and very serious issues are now before the courts.
QUESTION:
The Hungarian Government said that you have no established claim to citizenship. Is that the same as not being entitled to citizenship? It seems to be very careful wording.
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
Well the letter speaks for itself. And as you know, I’ve always maintained that my citizenship is only Australian and that is the case. I wrote to the Hungarian Government to confirm that any other citizenship for me is not established and I received the response accordingly.
QUESTION:
Does the fact that you’ve had to go to the extent of writing to the Hungarian Government two years after, possibly even three years after, the Section 44 problems first arose. Is that concerning and why hadn’t you done that previously and if it’s necessary now, why didn’t you do it much earlier?
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
I sought legal advice, I received that legal advice and that legal advice to me has been very clear that my citizenship is Australian, not Hungarian. This matter, as you know, has been taken further by political opponents for whatever reasons, many have been very critical of the motivation of others to take this case forward, but now that I have received that letter, that letter speaks for itself.
QUESTION:
What do you think of the Defence Department’s decision to buy $55 billion worth of sea boats from Finland instead of Australian made?
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
We’re the only Party or Government that is building new naval vessels here in Australia. The Labor Party in their six years in office didn’t build one. We’re building many of them and it’s part of our $200 billion plus defence program where we’re seeing our spending on defence go from it’s lowest level since 1938 back to 2 per cent of GDP. So we are spending record amounts on defence, we’re developing and extending our domestic industry and that includes building naval vessels here in Australia. Thank you.