ACTING PRIME MINISTER MARLES & FIONA PHILLIPS MP – TRANSCRIPT – PRESS CONFEREENCE – NOWRA, NSW

E&OE TRANSCRIPT

SUBJECTS: Nowra Urgent Care Clinic; ISIS brides; AUKUS review; Support for Ukraine; Reports of Chinese nationals in WA; Social media minimum age; ‘Chopper On A Stick’

FIONA PHILLIPS MP, MEMBER FOR GILMORE: Hello everyone. Fiona Phillips, the Federal Member for Gilmore, and of course, I am here with Richard Marles, the Acting Prime Minister, and also Prue from COORDINARE, the Primary Health Network, and Jenny from Grand Pacific Health. We’ve got some very exciting news today. Of course, we’re here at Grand Pacific Health, but this is going to be the location of the brand new federally funded Medicare Urgent Care Clinic here at Nowra. So Grand Pacific Health will be the provider, and it will be located within this building, but a new separate Medicare Urgent Care Clinic, and I can say I am so excited about this. We’ve also met with representatives from Shoalhaven Hospital. We know that this is going to take pressure off the emergency department at the hospital. We know that just over half of semi-urgent presentations could be treated here at the Urgent Care Clinic. So it’s going to take a real burden off our hospital. It’s going to support families and people of all ages in the community, and it’s also going to support our wonderful doctors and nurses and health professionals as well. The exciting thing about this Urgent Care Clinic as well is it is going to have, a little bit further down the track after it opens, but it’s going to have its own radiology as well, which is absolutely fantastic. So I just want to tell you a story. A little while ago, you know, I’m a mum myself, and obviously utilise the hospital, and I ran into a parent, a mum with a young child in the car park of the hospital, and she said, “Oh, you know, we’ve got a over five-hour wait at the hospital,” but it was something that could have been treated — it was non-urgent. It was urgent, but not an emergency. So it could have been treated in a Medicare Urgent Care Clinic. And while I’ve been out door knocking, people have told me how much they wanted this Medicare Urgent Care Clinic in Nowra. I vividly remember talking to an elderly woman not far from here, and her son who was caring for her, and they were both excited about having a Medicare Urgent Care Clinic in Nowra. So, super excited that we now know the location and the provider, you know, and we’re expecting in January, later, I think, mid to the 19th of January, that it will open to the public — so ahead of schedule, I might add, as well. So, very excited. I think it’s an exciting day. Lots of people have been asking me, “Where’s it going to be? When is it going to open?” So now we know, and I’ll just hand over to Richard. Thank you.

RICHARD MARLES, ACTING PRIME MINISTER: Well, thank you, Fiona. And it’s great to be here with Fiona Phillips, our wonderful Member for Gilmore. And thank you for being here as well, Prue and Jenny. And today is an exciting day, because the Grand Pacific Health Centre has been chosen as the site for the next federally funded Medicare Urgent Care Clinic, and it will be opening from the 19th of January, in just over a month’s time, and that’s going to make a real difference for the people of Nowra. Because right now, the closest Urgent Care Clinic on this day is about an hour’s journey, be it north or south. So it really fills a need. Just down the road, we’ve got the Shoalhaven Memorial Hospital, where in its emergency department, 55% of presentations are either semi-urgent or non-urgent, and that speaks to the way in which a Medicare Urgent Care Clinic can really relieve the burden which is currently faced by the Shoalhaven Memorial Hospital’s emergency department. This will be the 24th Medicare Urgent Care Clinic in New South Wales. There are now more than 90 across Australia, and since this program began in the last term of the Albanese Government, there have been 2.2 million presentations across Australia. So, this is making a real difference in terms of allowing Australians with non-life-threatening urgent care needs to be able to receive that treatment much more quickly — and completely bulk billed. It is a great day for Nowra. Congratulations to everyone at the Grand Pacific Health Centre. They’ve done a great job in putting in place their case to become the Medicare Urgent Care Clinic, and we could not be more proud to make this announcement today.

JOURNALIST: A letter from Save the Children to the Government, provided to Senate Estimates, reveals details about the American military’s offering to assist bringing the Australian women and children of the Islamic State back home from Syria. Why didn’t Australia accept that offer?

MARLES: We’ve been really clear and very consistent. There’s been no repatriation of these people to Australia. Minister Burke has made that very clear in all the statements that he’s made, and, in fact, what’s come out of Senate Estimates only confirms that beyond what is legally required to be done in respect of any Australian citizen, the Government has not engaged in any repatriation here, and that is made clear by the information that’s been revealed through Senate Estimates.

JOURNALIST: So why, though?

MARLES: Well, because we were not going to engage in a repatriation of these people to Australia beyond the legal obligations that are due to any Australian citizen. The Government is not going to engage in a repatriation.

JOURNALIST: With more than two dozen Australian women and children stuck in refugee camps, can we expect that, including those ISIS brides, they will be returning to Australia?

MARLES: We’re not engaging in a repatriation. And Minister Burke has been utterly clear about this, and what we’ve seen come out of Senate Estimates this week—

JOURNALIST: Have you recently been advised by the US Government when it will release its AUKUS review, and are you expecting it to be handed down ahead of AUSMIN next week?

MARLES: Look, we are in receipt of the AUKUS review now. We’re working through the AUKUS review, and we very much thank the United States for providing it to us. What’s really important here is the United States is completely supportive of AUKUS, as the President of the United States made clear, and all of us moving ahead in his words, full steam ahead. And so this is a program that we are doing, meeting all of our milestones. It’s fundamentally important in terms of Australia’s national interest, but this really is very central to the United States’ national interest as well.

JOURNALIST: Sorry, will it be released before next week?

MARLES: Well, we are in receipt of it. We are working through it. But, as I say, what is completely clear is that the United States is supportive — 100% supportive — as the President of the United States makes clear, we are all full steam ahead in this program, and that is our focus.

JOURNALIST: Lots of funding announced for Ukraine. Can you explain that decision?

MARLES: Today, we’ve announced a $95 million package in support of Ukraine. This is our latest package of support, and it takes our overall support to Ukraine to $1.7 billion since this war commenced. Fifty million of this is going to the NATO PURL initiative, which is about allowing Ukraine to access new American kit. Australia and New Zealand are the first non-NATO countries to participate in this initiative, and we’re very pleased to be able to do that. In addition to that $50 million, we are going through a process, as we always do, looking at what materiel we have that we can supply to Ukraine. In this instance, munitions, tactical radars, combat engineering equipment — that all forms part of what we are providing, along with a smaller contribution to the drone coalition.

JOURNALIST: Do you intend on developing a defence industry package that assists Ukraine and assists manufacturing in Australia?

MARLES: Look, we continue to work with the Government of Ukraine in relation to how we can coordinate on defence industry. There’s a lot of Australian defence industry right now which is supplying into Ukraine. In the area of drones, for example, there have been a number of companies that have done work there, and we’re looking with Ukraine at how we can work together in terms of expanding our defence industry cooperation. Certainly, what we have seen in Ukraine itself is a remarkable emergence of its own defence industry since this war has begun, and we can continue to work very closely with them.

JOURNALIST: There are reports six Chinese nationals have been detained in a remote coastal community in north-west Western Australia. Can you confirm these people have been detained?

MARLES: Look, I’m not aware of the detail of that, but let me just say that since we’ve come into Government, there has not been a successful venture to Australia in terms of an unlawful arrival. We will go through all of the processes which we always do in respect of any incident of this kind.

JOURNALIST: The under-16 social media ban is right around the corner. Is the Government prepared to enforce legislation on other apps that we’ve seen popping up, like Yubo and Lemon8?

MARLES: Yeah, look, I mean, this is going to be an evolving situation, and we will work very closely with the eSafety Commissioner about new social media platforms that arise in respect of this. The 10th of December is a really significant day, because it’s not only the day in which our social media laws come into place; it is the day where we’ve seen social media laws, for the first time, apply anywhere in the world. Not everything is going to be resolved on that day, but this is a really important step forward. It is a dynamic situation in terms of potentially new social media platforms, and we’ll work with the eSafety Commissioner in respect of that. But we are expecting every social media platform to adhere to the law as it will apply on the 10th of December, and this is a really important step forward in terms of ensuring that Australian children have their youth returned to them. Right now, we are really seeing people having massive adverse effects as a result of their engagement in social media. Australian kids deserve to be kids, and that’s what the social media ban is all about.

JOURNALIST: Yesterday, YouTube claimed children will be less safe online under the law. Do you accept this criticism?

MARLES: No. I mean, what we are seeing right now is significant negative impacts on children engaging in social media, and we are really confident that what we are putting in place is going to make a huge difference to the young people of our country. Australian kids deserve to have their childhood, and that’s what this social media ban is all about. Now, this is a first-in-the-world piece of legislation. It’s going to take some time to have it properly operate, and we understand that, but we are determined to ensure that Australian kids get their childhood. The 10th of December next week is going to be a very important step down that path.

JOURNALIST: Back to today’s announcement. This centre was opened in 2015 under funding from the Federal Government under the GP Super Clinic Program. The understanding was that it would operate for extended hours and bulk bill all customers. It soon became just another medical centre, only bulk billing a small percentage, operating the same hours — operating normal hours, nine to five. How are we going to ensure that doesn’t happen again under your program?

MARLES: Well, part of the terms on which Medicare Urgent Care Clinics operate is that they do operate on the basis of extended hours, seven days a week. And that’s exactly what is going to happen here at the Grand Pacific Health Centre in terms of the operation of what will become the Nowra Medicare Urgent Care Clinic. It will have extended hours, and it will operate seven days a week.

JOURNALIST: So can we say what hours? Just “extended hours” is a bit vague.

MARLES: So, the Medicare Urgent Care Clinic will be open from eight to 10 in the evening, seven days a week. So from 8am till 10 in the evening, seven days a week.

JOURNALIST: And there’ll be bulk billing—

MARLES: So, to be absolutely clear, Medicare Urgent Care Clinics are bulk billed entirely.

JOURNALIST: Fiona, is it alright if I ask you a question?

PHILLIPS: Sure.

JOURNALIST: I was just curious how the tender process went. Why was Grand Pacific Health the chosen one?

PRUE BRUIST, SOUTH EASTERN NSW PHN CEO: Hi, I am Prue, the CEO of Coordinare, so South Eastern New South Wales Primary Health Care Network. We’re funded on behalf of the Australian Government to run the tender process. I must say, it was a really competitive process. There were a number of tenders that were submitted, and Grand Pacific Health had the highest scores at the end of the day. It’s an independent panel. There were five panel members on the panel on that day, and Grand Pacific Health were the winners.

JOURNALIST: Can you tell us about the requirements for X-ray and radiology? Fiona mentioned there was a separate thing happening with radiology. I know that was a big part of the tender process.

BUIST: So, one of the really great things about the Grand Pacific Health tender was that they have on-site radiology and pathology. Now, that’s going to be a work in progress. We’ve only just awarded the contract to Grand Pacific Health, and so in the early parts of next year, an X-ray machine will be ordered, and then it will be fitted, hopefully in the middle of the year, which will be a great move for a hospital which is definitely keen to see another facility open to support people after hours.

JOURNALIST: And was the location a factor as well?

BUIST: Yeah, absolutely. So, I mean, the location, having good parking, having, you know, bus services and people being able to access them readily is really, you know, important.

JOURNALIST: And proximity to the hospital – was that an issue as well?

PRUE: Not an issue. So that’s one of the things, obviously, we look at, but it was not one of the criteria, is my understanding, in the tender. But it is a requirement that we have close radiology and pathology, which this will have.

JOURNALIST: Will the Urgent Care run completely separate to what’s currently here?

BUIST: Yeah, absolutely. So, part of the requirement for Urgent Care is they’ve got separate, you know, waiting rooms, and they’re fully bulk billed, where the other practices may not be fully bulk billed. I can confirm that GPH have actually moved to a fully bulk-billed service, and that will be, obviously, complemented by the after-hours Medicare Urgent Care Clinic.

JOURNALIST: Are the GP positions already filled, ready to go for January?

BUIST: So, the advertisements are about to go out. I think the push or the send button has just been alerted. And we’re looking for, you know, people, obviously, to work in the Urgent Care Clinic, you know, 14 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year.

JOURNALIST: And how many roles are there?

BUIST: So what we have in the Urgent Care Clinics is we have a GP and a nurse and a receptionist.

JOURNALIST: Do you expect it to be hard to fill those roles? We know staffing is an issue. We’ve got 600 people coming for the new hospital next year.

BUIST: Yeah, look, staffing can be hard, but we are also allowed to have in paramedics, and there have been a number of paramedics who have now started in the Urgent Care Clinics that have supported the nursing workforce. This will be something, I think, that everybody will want to work in, in Nowra. It’s a first for the region.

JOURNALIST: What have you heard from the health district about how significant this is in terms of alleviating their pressures?

BUIST: Oh, look, you know, make no mistake that, you know, Margot and Frank, who is actually here today, is incredibly keen for the service to open, and that’s why they’re here today.

JOURNALIST: Fiona, could I ask you, if that’s okay? I spoke with some residents this morning. The main thing on their mind was those ED wait times. Is this just another box to tick in taking that pressure off that department down there?

PHILLIPS: Oh, look, this was an election commitment that I made. And, look, it was so popular. People — it’s a real strain on people going to the ED and, don’t get me wrong, like we’ve got fantastic doctors and nurses and health professionals, but this is a way, federally, we can help take pressure off the ED and provide that free, bulk-billed service for people, for urgent care. So I know people keep contacting me about what, like I said — when’s it going to open? Where’s it going to be? So this is a significant announcement today, and I can’t wait until it’s open for people to utilise.

JOURNALIST: How are we going to attract and retain those healthcare staff to our region?

PHILLIPS: Yeah, look, I think it’s an issue that we’re facing across this region, and we’re not alone. But we have been putting, as the Federal Government, a lot of measures in to help attract and retain and incentivise doctors across our region. At the University of Wollongong Shoalhaven campus, we’ve brought in rural end-to-end training, because we know the more doctors we train locally, they’re more likely to stay. We’ve just announced additional places for the University of Wollongong to train doctors as well. So I think there’s a lot happening in that space in terms of incentivising to grow GP numbers as well.

JOURNALIST: Minister, sorry, I think we’re expecting to have a chopper on the sign by in about four months’ time — a replica. But no one’s been asked to vote on what they want. What’s happening?

PHILLIPS: So, there is definitely a project plan around that. So, currently, Navy is working on the voting process around that. So we’re just ironing that out, but the actual project plan is there and ready to be put in place. So I don’t expect it’ll be too much further, but there’s been a lot of work going on behind the scenes to get that ready. So, watch this space on that one.

JOURNALIST: So, it’s due to be back on a stick by April next year?

PHILLIPS: I think more like the end of the year or something. Yeah. I think once we get the voting, I think it’ll be — obviously, there’s a tender process — but I expect it not to take too long.

JOURNALIST: It’s obviously not at the top of your priority list, Minister?

PHILLIPS: It’s important, very important.

MARLES: Well, look, we get the connection that this community has with HMAS Albatross and with naval aviation, and we also get the iconic nature of the former Iroquois helicopter which was there at the entrance to Nowra. So we actually do see this as something which is really important, but we want to involve the community. So, in the very near future, there will be the opportunity for members of the community to have a vote. They will be choosing between a Seahawk or an Iroquois in terms of what the model will be — the life-size model that will be on the stick, the same stick at the entrance to Nowra. And as soon as we get that done, in terms of that choice made, that will be built in quick time. But we’re really keen to get the community involved in that, and it won’t be long before people are making their decision. So people should put their thinking caps on about what it is that they actually want to be on that stick.

JOURNALIST: So, can I ask about the new choppers coming into Albatross? So, there was meant to be some coming, I think, next year, early next year, but I believe there’s been a delay.

MARLES: Look, I’m not in a position to comment on that.

JOURNALIST: Fiona, just lastly from me — $100 million was announced this morning for crisis and transitional accommodation. Do we know if Shoalhaven is receiving any of that funding?

PHILLIPS: I’d have to get back to you on that one.

JOURNALIST: How important would funding like that be?

PHILLIPS: Look, any funding around homelessness and housing and transitional housing is absolutely crucial.

JOURNALIST: Yeah, you’ve been working on this GP Urgent Care Clinic. How exciting is it to actually get this over the line and get it done and ahead of schedule?

PHILLIPS: I think that’s an important point — it is ahead of schedule. We said we’d deliver them, all of the new ones, by the end of this financial year, so this will actually happen ahead of time. But I think, you know, one of the legacy issues is improving health services in this region. We know that health is number one for people. If you don’t have your health, how do you get by? So, it is definitely a major issue. And I think, as I said, taking pressure off the emergency department is really critical, and it will help people, help people of all ages.

ENDS