CANBERRA, ACT, March 18 -- The Prime Minister of Australia issued the following media release:
ANNE URQUHART, MEMBER FOR BRADDON: Thanks for being here. It's fantastic to be in Burnie, at Burnie TAFE with the Prime Minister this morning. It's always a pleasure to have him in Braddon. I love having you here to show off what we've got in this beautiful part of the country. We're here at Burnie TAFE to talk to a number of students and people around the Free TAFE, and I'm really excited that we have a number of Free TAFE students right across the coast at both campuses, both here in Burnie, but also in Devonport, in a number of different learning experiences that they're doing. And for the 25-26 year, so up to about February, I think it was this year, February, March, we had around 961 students for 25, and the little bit of 26 that we've had, enrolled in our Free TAFE courses across the two campuses.
That is an amazing number of people for this part of our beautiful community, but it's also, I think, very exciting for the young people and sometimes more mature people who are coming to do these courses. And many of them have told me that they would not have been able to do it had it not been for the Free TAFE that Albanese Labor Government has introduced into TAFE. So, I'm very excited. I'm really excited the Prime Minister has come here to talk to some of the students and understand what we're doing here in this neck of the woods and how we do punch above our weight and really get Braddon moving again. So, I'm really excited. So, welcome Prime Minister.
ANTHONY ALBANESE, PRIME MINISTER:Thanks very much, Anne. And it's wonderful to be back here in Burnie and back in Tasmania. This is my second visit in the last month to this beautiful part of Australia. And there's nowhere better to go than to a TAFE. Because at a TAFE, what you're looking at is opportunity. And Free TAFE has widened those doors of opportunity to people who were assessing what they do with their life. The young people that we've met here today doing either construction or electrical have taken up the opportunity of Free TAFE to create a better career for themselves. They're undertaking these Free TAFE courses in Cert II, hoping to get an apprenticeship, and then to move on to Cert III and IV qualifications. The Cert II courses that they're doing will of course count as well.
So, this is valuable investment in young Australians, but also in people who might be reassessing where they're going and want a new career in life. There's over 10,000 Tasmanians have benefited from Free TAFE already. In construction, in electrical, in those areas, they also will get, as apprentices, a $10,000 cash incentive to go into areas of skill shortage so we can build more homes and more infrastructure as we go forward as a nation. In addition to that, I've met TAFE students here in Tasmania who are in the care sector, in aged care, in childcare, in all of these areas of service delivery. That is really important as well. Free TAFE is changing lives. Over 750,000 Australians have enrolled in Free TAFE, over 10,000 here in Tasmania. And I want to give a shout out as well to the teachers. In construction, one of the teachers who we met here was talking about how they want to pass on the skills that they have to the next generation. And that is such a worthy objective. Investing in our people is so important as we go forward, and it's wonderful to be here at the TAFE in Burnie, back here in Tasmania as well.
Can I make comments about a couple of other things as well, one of which will be breaking news. I will convene the National Security -- we convene the National Security Committee of Cabinet on a daily basis at this point in time. But tomorrow I will be convening the National Cabinet virtually, I'll be from Hobart, tomorrow. And that will be about making sure that we deal with the issues that Australia and indeed the world is confronting, with the issue of fuel security, making sure that states and territories coordinate with the Commonwealth, making sure as well that we spread best practise and that we identify any issues which are there. And so, it will be an opportunity as well. I'll be asking state premiers and chief ministers to appoint someone, a point person, so that the Commonwealth can collaborate in a way to make sure we deal with the challenges which are there. We know that we do have fuel security. All of our ships have arrived at this point in time, but we've had a surge in demand, which is leading to some shortages in some areas, particularly of diesel.
We're very conscious of that, and that's why we continue to work each and every day to make a difference. That's why we changed the fuel standards to allow for more fuel that would have been exported to be used here domestically. That's why we released 20 per cent of our National Reserve. And bear in mind that we have the largest reserves that Australia's had in 15 years, and they're kept here onshore, not in Texas, which is what the former government under the now Liberal Party leader wanted to do and did. We've been working each and every day as well with industry, but we want to make sure that states and territories, that we have that coordination. Hence the National Cabinet meeting tomorrow morning, which is just the next practical step going forward.
Can I also report that at 9:15 this morning at the Al Minhad base that Australia has in the United Arab Emirates, there was an Iranian projectile that hit near that base. I can confirm that no Australian personnel were injured and everyone is absolutely safe at this point in time. There was minor damage to an accommodation block and a medical facility due to a small fire that was created as a result of that projectile hitting on a road leading up to that base. I have been to that base and spoken to our Australian Defence Force personnel on more than one occasion. They do a great job for Australia, as do every one of the men and women who proudly wear a uniform. And this is important, the first available opportunity, we're informing the Australian public in a transparent way. But I can assure everyone that every person there is safe. I've spoken with the Defence Minister about this and it's important that we recognise that the Iranian regime is continuing to engage in, frankly, random attacks right across the Gulf region. Australia has, of course, as a result of that, we have an E-7 Wedgetail aircraft providing assistance for defence, particularly in the UAE, as well as our AMRAAMs that we are sending to the region. Happy to take questions.
JOURNALIST:Just on that, so, that was an Australian base that a projectile hit?
PRIME MINISTER:Yes, the Al Minhad base, which is an Australian base located in the UAE.
JOURNALIST:How many Australians do we have at that base, do you know the figures?
PRIME MINISTER:We have a range of Australians. That varies from time to time. They come in and out. But at the time there was no Australian personnel were injured and there was no impact on Australian personnel. They are safe.
JOURNALIST:Do we know yet if that base was deliberately targeted by Iran, then?
PRIME MINISTER:We don't have the Iranian intelligence, no -
JOURNALIST:Is that a fair assumption to make?
PRIME MINISTER:What we know -- hang on, hang on, hang on, hang on. If you ask a question, wait for the answer. The Iranian regime is engaging in random attacks right across the region. We know that that is the case.
JOURNALIST:Will you be reevaluating now how many people we have over there?
PRIME MINISTER:Everyone was kept absolutely safe. And we've had a presence in the region for some period of time. There's over 20,000 Australians who are located in the UAE. It's one of the reasons why when we made the decision to allocate some defensive military hardware to the region, including the E-7 aircraft, we said it was about defending Gulf states against these random attacks, but also about defending Australians who are in the region.
JOURNALIST:So, this is a big escalation for the Australian Defence Force over there and an example of Australia being drawn more into war. Is Australia at war?
PRIME MINISTER:No.
JOURNALIST:Can you elaborate?
PRIME MINISTER:Well, I don't need to elaborate. There's no need. What we need is proper assessments and statements. That's what we've done. We've informed people all of the detail at the earliest possible opportunity. This happened, just a matter of hours ago.
JOURNALIST:What are you hoping to achieve from your fuel summit tomorrow? And do you have a message for servos who are overcharging?
PRIME MINISTER:Well, my message to service stations which are overcharging is that the ACCC will take action against any inappropriate behaviour. My message to Australians as well is to not take more fuel than you need. That is how you can help. Think of others. Be a good neighbour, a good community member, and a good Australian. It's not the Australian way. And it's also, some of the fuel storage that we've seen can be quite dangerous as well. Just take what you need, be sensible. There has been, in some places, a doubling of demand. That shouldn't occur. We do have fuel security here in this nation, but we need to be sensible about these issues. And that's my message, but there's no place for any company to try to take advantage of this, to increase their profits at the expense of Australians.
JOURNALIST:Does the ACCC need some stronger powers in this respect, to limit price or anything like this? When servos are essentially just performing their role in the free market.
PRIME MINISTER:Well, we've doubled the potential fines, and we've empowered the ACCC to do that, to make sure that consumers' interests are looked after, and we'll continue to do so.
JOURNALIST:Would the Government consider buying more fuel directly from the international market to shore-up fuel security in the short term?
PRIME MINISTER:Well, the fuel is arriving as expected at this point in time. We're continuing to monitor all of what is going on in global markets as well, but we continue to see ships arriving as has been scheduled. And that is a good thing. Of course, we're preparing for every contingency, and we'll continue to do so.
JOURNALIST:How long can we guarantee fuel will keep arriving?
PRIME MINISTER:Well, the fuel is arriving as expected. We know that there's uncertainty in the world at the moment as a result of the Middle East war, but Australia remains well positioned because of the measures that were put in place, the role of the ACCC, the fuel reserves are the largest in 15 years. The fact that we have secure supplies coming through when it comes to diesel, for example, which has caused a lot of concern in regional areas, that comes from Korea, and we've been talking with our Korean friends as well about ensuring that supply continues.
JOURNALIST:Is Australia at risk of recession?
PRIME MINISTER:Look, Australia is well positioned. Our National Accounts, the last time around, showed the strongest growth in three years. So, we're well positioned. We have low unemployment at just 4.1 per cent. We're investing in our people, including here, at this TAFE. And the latest figures as well showed an increase in business investment, showed an increase in housing construction as well.
JOURNALIST:Do you agree with Andrew Hastie's characterisation of Donald Trump as petulant?
PRIME MINISTER:Andrew Hastie can speak for himself. What I do is engage diplomatically with leaders right across the world, including President Trump. And I had a very constructive discussion with him just last week.
JOURNALIST:Are you excited to greet the Royals down in Hobart tomorrow?
PRIME MINISTER:I am very excited. Jodie and I hosted King Frederik and Queen Mary on Monday night at the Lodge. They are delightful. They're very humble. They are very engaging and they are very interested, obviously, in Australia. And Mary's particularly interested, Queen Mary, Her Majesty, in Tasmania. She's very proud of her heritage, and I think every Tasmanian should be proud of Her Majesty, Queen Mary, and the fact that she and His Majesty, King Frederick, are able to spend some time here, both at formal engagements over the next couple of days, tomorrow and Friday, and then having a little bit of well-deserved time off. It is extraordinary, the whole story, and I think it's one that appeals at a time where there is a lot of negativity in the world. Isn't it wonderful that we have this relationship and story, which we should celebrate. And I certainly look forward to meeting with them tomorrow. And I know I had a chat with the Premier just a little while ago as well, and I know that both King Frederik and Queen Mary will be very welcome here tomorrow.
Thanks very much.
Disclaimer: Curated by HT Syndication.
