SUBJECTS: More reliable and affordable power; Malcolm Turnbull

PRIME MINISTER: Well good morning everyone. Angus and I are very pleased to be here at Pure Gelato with Zoltan and with Joe, Mariana and the kids, they’re out here. It's always great to be at family small businesses. Our Government is backing in small and family businesses every day. That's why we come to work, because they go to work. They're people who get up early in the morning and they're out here. Small businesses are all around the country today turning on sites. They're already there, already hard at work and we're hard at work for them. And we've already been acting to get their taxes down and we need to act more to get their electricity prices down. Angus and I yesterday, Angus Taylor and I announced further action to put downward pressure on electricity prices by making sure that we keep the big electricity companies in line. The announcements we made yesterday are all about getting electricity prices down and under our Government, under a Liberal-National Government, electricity prices are always going to be lower than under a Labor Government, because Labor are going to push those prices up just like they did to Zoltan many years ago when they put the carbon tax on and that put his electricity prices up. He's been taking every action he can to get his bills under control. But what he needs us to do is to put the pressure on those electricity companies, to give him the best deal. To make sure that his prices go down. And that the savings that are there are being passed on to companies like Zoltan's to ensure that they can get a fair go, because he is having a go every single day. So yesterday, we were talking to a Defence Force pensioner family. Today we're talking to a small and family business. They both need their electricity prices down and that's what we're doing by taking the big electricity companies to task and ensuring that they play fair with their customers and that they provide their customers with the best deal and we keep them in line with greater powers, the default price safety net price mechanism. But also getting more reliable fair dinkum power into the system to ensure that the lights stay on and that we get the prices down. Happy to take questions.

JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, what is your relationship like with your predecessor at the moment. Are you done with Malcolm?

PRIME MINISTER: Happy to talk about electricity prices first as usual, and then we can talk about politics and the Canberra bubble all you like.

JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, would you consider indemnifying new coal fired power plants from the risk of a future carbon price, for example, to bring more generation online?

PRIME MINISTER: Well, our Government is not going to introduce a carbon tax. Only the Labor Party is looking at introducing policies that would force the price of electricity up and the best indemnity against higher prices is don't vote Labor. Don’t vote Labor if you don't want higher electricity prices. Our Government will be acting consistent with getting electricity prices down to support and encourage and facilitate new investment in reliable energy generation around the country. The consultation paper was released yesterday by Angus and he can make further comments on that. We want to see that new investment go in and that also goes into the issues which will be discussed further with COAG on Friday which ensuring that we're forcing the companies to contract for more reliable power going into the system further ahead so we can get the reliability and the lights stay on. But Angus, did you want to talk about that for a second?

MINISTER FOR ENERGY, ANGUS TAYLOR: We need to have the supply in place well ahead of time to keep prices down and to keep the lights on. And with that in mind, we’re looking to have a shortlist of projects together by early next year and they are projects that must supply fair dinkum reliable generation. Fair dinkum reliable electricity that can supply electricity when customers need it. Let’s face it - what this is about is customers getting a fair deal, and that’s what we’re absolutely focused on.

JOURNALIST: Prime Minister on the energy issue, how can you force electricity companies though, private companies, to drive down their prices?

PRIME MINISTER: Well there’s two things. First of all, there’s moving to the default offer from the standard offer and what that does is if you are doing nothing other than remaining loyal to your electricity company, then the price that you’ll be on after the initial deals fold won’t be worse. Because at the moment, once that deal runs out, you go onto a worse price. And so everyone else who is coming on, they get a better price than you and that’s not right. And that’s what this default price mechanism does. It makes sure that you do not get penalised simply because you’re too busy getting the kids off to school, you’re too busy running the family budget, running your family business. This enables you to be protected from those big companies just basically jacking your prices up simply because you haven’t sat down and re-negotiated with them. So this is protecting, which is the majority of customers, ultimately from ensuring they can continue to get a fair deal. But under the big stick legislation we’ll be introducing, where companies are not doing the right thing and doing so egregiously, we’ll be legislating a divestment power. Now that is serious. Other countries like the United Kingdom, United States, they have divestment powers under their competition laws and this gives a real big stick to our regulators to ensure that where companies don’t do the right thing then ultimately there will be the power to deal with that. And that provides the right regulatory environment for companies to know they need to do the right thing. They can’t keep just stashing the returns they’re getting from customers who are paying higher prices and they’re just putting more and more away and putting it in their own pockets. Now that’s not right, and we’re evening up the balance here. It’s stacked against the customer at the moment, it’s all stacked against the customer, and we’re fixing that by putting the right regulatory system in place, the right big stick powers there to even it up so the customer, whether that’s a small business customer, a family business or whether it’s like pensioners we met yesterday, are getting a fair deal.

JOURNALIST: What is the right thing, Prime Minister, can you explain when the big stick comes into play?

PRIME MINISTER: We’ll be introducing legislation before the end of the year and in January, Angus Taylor has made it clear that we want to see action. We want to see action from the electricity companies by January 1.

JOURNALIST: What action?

PRIME MINISTER: Taking their prices down.

JOURNALIST: By how much?

PRIME MINISTER: This is… the ball is in their court. The ball is in their court.

JOURNALIST: Is Malcolm Turnbull going to Bali to represent Australia?

PRIME MINISTER: Yeah he is. Let me address this. Eight weeks ago, when I met with President Widodo, he advised me, and I was aware, that the former Prime Minister had committed to go to the Oceans Conference in Bali. Now, this is a very important conference to President Widodo and the Indonesian Government. Now, I am unable to make that commitment and we discussed the opportunities to see if Mr Turnbull would continue to represent Australia on that occasion. That was very warmly received by the President of Indonesia. So we made arrangements to ask Mr Turnbull to represent us there at that event and he will obviously be supported by Government officials and officials from DFAT will obviously be operating within the gambit of what Australia’s policy is. But this decision was taken weeks and weeks and weeks ago and it was done particularly out of a direct conversation between myself and President Widodo. So this is Australia’s national interest, it’s no different to former Prime Ministers representing Australia at other events. Former Prime Minister Abbott has represented our Government overseas and of course Prime Minister Howard has represented, former Prime Minister Howard has represented governments overseas as well. Former Prime Ministers continue to have a role to play to serve our country and where they are able to do that, I know they’re only too willing to do it. And so this is why we have these arrangements in place. But the decision was taken weeks ago and I believe he will make a positive contribution and continue to support the positive relationship we have with Indonesia and for me, national interest comes first.

JOURNALIST: It’s Mr Turnbull’s birthday today, does the Government still need him?

PRIME MINISTER: Well happy birthday.

JOURNALIST: Does the Government still need his support publicly?

PRIME MINISTER: Well they’re matters for Mr Turnbull. He said he's departed from partisan politics, but where he is in a position to support the national interest and where he's in a position to serve his country, he always will. And so of course we welcome that, and where we take a decision where he thinks he can do that and where we think we can, we'll extend such an invitation. I also should stress, I know some have made comments about travel and things like that. I don't think Malcolm is hanging out looking for a trip to Bali, by the way. The reason he's going is because he's been in a position because of his previous relationship with President Widodo to assist our national interest in attending this event. It’s a very important event and to have a former Prime Minister attend is a significant recognition of the status of that event and of the status of our relationship. Now I understand that some people out there may be disappointed by that, or might be angry about it. Others might think it’s a terribly good idea. Frankly, what matters is national interest and ensuring that we’re acting in a positive way managing well our relationships with our neighbours.

JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, can you clarify, has your relationship with Malcolm Turnbull soured after he refused to help campaign for Wentworth?

PRIME MINISTER: No.

JOURNALIST: There is a quote today that you are ‘done’ with Malcolm Turnbull?

PRIME MINISTER: Well it's wrong.

JOURNALIST: So you are on good terms with him still?

PRIME MINISTER: Yes.

JOURNALIST: And he won’t be going to any future conferences after this?

PRIME MINISTER: I didn’t say that.

JOURNALIST: So will he be going?

PRIME MINISTER: Well where there is an opportunity and we think it is in Australia’s national interest, whether that’s former Prime Minister Turnbull, former Prime Minister Howard, former Prime Minister Abbott, former Prime Minister Gillard. I mean, I was very happy to acknowledge former Prime Minister Gillard’s attendance and participation in this week’s National Apology. I mean, former Prime Ministers continue to have a role to play. I think they should be treated with respect, I think they should be offered the honour to them for the service that they’ve provided to their country and can continue to serve. And I think sometimes, you know, we’ve got to get above the ruck of personality politics and just focus on what the national interest in. That’s what I will do as Prime Minister. I’ll get above that ruck. I’m not going to get down there in the gutter of this personality politics. I don’t think that’s in the national interest and I don’t think that’s befitting of the Prime Minister. I should be, as all Prime Ministers have in the past, I think sought to treat their predecessors with respect.

JOURNALIST: Is it difficult though, given the circumstances around Malcolm’s removal to move on from that? Barnaby Joyce has made criticisms overnight, do you share those criticisms?

PRIME MINISTER: No I don’t think it is.

JOURNALIST: Can I ask you, Peter Dutton has fresh problems with his relationship with childcare centres. There is one about to be built in Townsville. Does he need to be referred over section 44 of the constitution?

PRIME MINISTER: The Government has no plans to do that.

JOURNALIST: Should they? Are you worried Labor might get the numbers with Wentworth going to...

PRIME MINISTER: I don’t get the Government’s agenda based on what the Labor Party and Bill Shorten is going to do. If I was going to set the Government's agenda based on what the Labor Party wanted to do then Labor’s agenda is to increase electricity prices for Australians, increase taxes. I mean, today you’ll see clearly out there the impact of Labor’s housing tax. They’re abolishing negative gearing as we know it, putting up capital gains tax. What that is going to do is mean less jobs in the construction industry, in the residential construction industry. So to all those tradies out there, understand this: Labor’s policy to put up taxes on housing will cost jobs in the residential construction sector. It will mean fewer homes are getting built, it means that the value of people’s own home already, which has been flat particularly now in Sydney and Melbourne, all of that comes under risk. Labor’s higher tax policies of more than $200 billion in higher taxes will slow our economy, it will mean fewer jobs and it’ll punish Australians. The other thing on Labor’s negative gearing policy to abolish it as we know it and to put up capital gains tax will put our Triple-A credit rating at risk. I know this for a fact as Treasurer, the risk of a hard landing in the housing sector was one of the key risks to Australia’s Triple-A credit rating. The fact that our Government was able to put in a set of controls and policies that achieved a soft landing and recognised that soft landing in the housing market was one of the key reasons we kept our Triple-A credit rating in addition, obviously, to ensure that we got the Budget back on track and coming back into surplus a year ahead of projections. So what Labor is doing with higher taxes means they will slow the economy, there will be fewer jobs and prices will be higher. Whether it’s on your electricity or on your annual tax bill, which means you won’t get to keep more of what you earn under Labor. Under our Government, we’re about a fair go for those having a go, like small and family businesses, and people out there earning a wage for a living. We want them to keep more of what they earn. Labor just wants to tax, and tax, and tax, and tax. And that will slow the economy, that will hurt Australian families’’ economic prospects in the future.

JOURNALIST: Another question on energy policy for yourself Prime Minister, and Angus Taylor. Do you think energy companies have a right to feel a little bit confused? Last week you were saying you wanted to work with them constructively, now they’re the bogeyman and you’re going to take a big stick if they don’t bring their prices down. Which is it, are you working with them constructively or...

PRIME MINISTER: Well they know where we stand and the regulation in the energy sector too often has been used to bewilder customers and for the complexity to be taken advantage of by big energy companies which see their profits go up while people’s prices go up. It’s got to stop, and so we’re ruling a very clear line, not bluffing. I want them to bring the prices down and give their customers a fair go. Work constructively with them to achieve that, but I don’t want them to be in any confusion about where our Government stands. Angus?

MINISTER FOR ENERGY, ANGUS TAYLOR: Well they have to do the right thing by their customers. Get rid of the loyalty tax, get rid of the dodgy practices that we’ve seen in the past and then the relationship can be always constructive.

PRIME MINISTER: Great, thanks a lot guys.