ANTHONY ALBANESE, PRIME MINISTER: Good afternoon, thanks for joining me. It's great to be here in Launceston, to announce that the Federal Labor Government in the Budget on May 9 will have $65 million to match the Tasmanian Government's contribution to upgrade UTAS here. This is about providing world class facilities for sport, but also to attract other events here in Launceston. This ground, I was here, way back, as the Infrastructure Minister more than a decade ago to announce federal funding for the stadium, the grandstands that we see around here. Since then, though, it's quite clear that we need an upgrade here. We need an upgrade so that we can attract the world-class events, including, of course, the AFL games that are held here, where the mighty Hawks have had not as successful a year as I would have liked in the coming year, but which is very important as well. UTAS Stadium will have a new entertainment precinct, dining options, player facilities and an enhanced Eastern Stand. This is about creating jobs and creating tourism. We know that people who come here to watch a game don't just come and leave. They tend to stay for days and it is a great attraction and a great advertisement every time there is a national event, particularly one that's televised, held here in Launceston in this beautiful city. So, I think this is a really positive announcement. I know that it's welcomed by the Tasmanian Premier and the Tasmanian Government, and it's welcomed by the local members who I'm joined with here today, including, of course, Brian Mitchell, the Member for Lyons, we have Catherine King, my Infrastructure Minister, and Julie Collins, the Housing Minister, as well as Senator Helen Polley, the duty Senator, who's here with us. The Premier is going to make some comments as well, and then Julie Collins, our Housing Minister, will make some comments about the National Cabinet decisions that we've made today in housing, about enhancing access to housing, affordable housing, investment in social and affordable housing, but also the tax incentives which we've announced today, that will be a part of the Budget to encourage investment in private housing, as well as increased funding for community housing. So a comprehensive plan, adding to the plans that we had previously announced. I'll ask the Premier to make some comments, and then Julie Collins to make some comments, and then we're happy to take questions.
JEREMY ROCKLIFF, PREMIER OF TASMANIA: Thanks very much, Prime Minister. And welcome everyone. And can I acknowledge all my parliamentary colleagues across federal and state sphere. Anthony's reeled off his team, I'll reel off mine if I can remember them by looking at them. But it's great to have, of course, our Deputy Premier here, Michael Ferguson, his colleagues in Bass, Lara Alexander and Simon Wood. Member for Windermere, Nick Duigan, and Member for Rosevears, Jo Palmer. And indeed our local mayor as well, Danny Gibson, and I hope I haven't forgotten anyone beside me, behind me. But look, it is a great day, and it's been a busy day when it comes to that real cooperation between state and federal governments. Sitting around the National Cabinet table today, focusing on the things that matter for Australians and indeed, Tasmanians. Health care, for example, greater access to primary health care services, housing. And today, here we are in Launceston, York Park, the home of footy for some 100 years, celebrating again a partnership, a collaboration, an investment of some $130 million, matching contribution from the Federal Government of $65 million. It wasn't long, a month or two ago, we were here with representatives of the Hawthorn Football Club, Stadiums Tasmania and others, celebrating our commitment and kicking off our $65 million as well. Upgrades to the Eastern Stand, amenities, of course, hospitality amenities, improvements and kicking off stage one, which we expect to be completed in 2025. And it's fantastic that we can now plan work with stakeholders on stage two with that $130 million commitment. And it's tremendous for our local tradies across northern Tasmania that will be employed on this $130 million project. It's fantastic for tourism, it's fantastic for local footy, and it's fantastic for our own Tassie AFL team, of course, that will be playing at this spectacular venue in the not too distant future we anticipate. And so I want to thank the Prime Minister very much. I thank very much, Minister King as well, Minister Collins and those around the Federal Cabinet table that have supported the Tasmanian Government, working in partnership, and what will be and continue to be a fantastic facility value added by some $130 million of investment. Thank you.
JULIE COLLINS, MINISTER FOR HOUSING: What we saw coming out of National Cabinet today was an improvement for renters. What we know in Australia is that the number of people renting is increasing. Around 35 per cent of Australians now rent, for quite some time. Some people never go on to purchase their own home. What we talked about in National Cabinet today was about renters' rights. This is about working with states and territories at the Housing Ministers meeting next week about how we can have some consistency to ensure that renters have more of a say in their tenancies and that renters are able to actually secure a home for the time that they are renting. What we also announced coming out of Federal Cabinet that will be in the Budget are improvements and incentives to get more rentals onto the market. We're talking about build to rent, about changing the withholding tax to get more investors, particularly those types of investors like overseas investment funds and pension funds, into build to rent in Australia. We have been told that this is a barrier, so we have listened and we are acting. We're also going to change the depreciation for build to rent. We're going to increase the depreciation from 2.5 per cent to 4 per cent for any new build to rents that come after Budget night. We are really serious about adding to and making sure that renters have more of a choice because we know that renters are doing it tough in Australia, as well as those of course that have their own mortgage. The other thing that we have announced today out of National Cabinet is an additional $2 billion dollars of extra financing for the National Housing Finance Investment Corporation. We anticipate that this will provide up to another 7,000 social and affordable homes. On top of, of course, everything that we are doing, including the Housing Australia Future Fund, which is 30,000 social and affordable rental homes from the fund in the first five years. Our $10 billion investment, the single biggest investment from a Federal Government in more than a decade in social and affordable housing. It comes on top of the National Accord, it comes on top of the $575 million that we've got available immediately, and we've already got homes on the ground from those announcements and those investments.
CATHERINE KING, MINISTER FOR INFRASTRUCTURE: It is terrific to be here at UTAS Stadium, but colloquially, everybody knows this as York Park. This is really the last piece in this fantastic precinct here through the city deal, the investments that have been made in UTAS and really activating this side of town. It is an excellent example of what the collaboration between levels of government can do to actually activate precincts. And this is really what this is all about. It's ensuring that you've had, people are using the UTAS site particularly for community recreation, the library over there is absolutely probably one of the most stunning buildings I've ever seen across the country, and a great example of terrific architecture that works for people. And this investment, the $65 million today, we've been asked for this for some time now, being able to find room in the Budget in May to actually deliver on this commitment, alongside with the local government here, the City of Launceston and the State Government, is terrific. And I do want to thank Premier Rockliff for working so collaboratively with making sure this is really about ensuring that last piece of the puzzle, fixing what is an incredibly important facility here as part of that incredible precinct, and thank them very much and my counterpart, Minister Ferguson, here in the state, for working so collaboratively with us.
PRIME MINISTER: Thanks very much, Catherine. Before we take questions, I might just pay my respects for all those, on behalf of all of us here, I think, on behalf of those for whom today will be a difficult day. It is 27 years since the Port Arthur massacre, and our heart goes out to all those who will be grieving again still. It isn't something where the distance of time makes a difference to the heartache that will be felt. So particularly, on behalf of the Commonwealth, to all those great Tasmanians who'll be doing it tough today, we're thinking of you.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, as a sports fan, what does it mean to you to play a role in clearing this final hurdle for a Tasmanian team?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, this is a great announcement, and the Australian Football League can be named, really, the Northern Island League, because the south island has been left out. So I have been a supporter for some time, when I've been asked about Tasmania getting an AFL team. I think it's a very positive thing and it's important that it be a team for the whole of Tasmania as well, which is why an upgrade to UTAS here is so important. I encourage the AFL to make a positive announcement and I think the important thing about this is that it's not just about economic activity, because it is about jobs and all of that as well, it's about the cultural life of a city and a state. And there is no reason whatsoever why the great state of Tasmania shouldn't have the same access and the same representation as states on the north island.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, there's a key member of your team here that's missing. Where's Rebecca White?
PRIME MINISTER: We are holding a press conference here between the Government of Australia and the Government of Tasmania. That's the announcement that we're making here. And I work with governments of all persuasions in the interests of Australians. And can I say this, that I welcome the fact that the governments I've had to deal with, whether it be Jeremy's or the former government in New South Wales, Dominic Perrottet's as well. What we do when we sit around the National Cabinet and we sit around deciding about infrastructure projects or about other projects as well, we only have one concern, which is what's in the national interest. And that is my concern here, so you have members of the Australian Government and members of the Tasmanian Government. There aren't members of the opposition at either level here. This is a government to government announcement.
JOURNALIST: Did you invite her to come here today?
PRIME MINISTER: I'm here...
JOURNALIST: Do you know what her concerns are about the stadium?
PRIME MINISTER: ...We were in Brisbane.
JOURNALIST: You're in Launceston.
PRIME MINISTER: We were in Brisbane two hours ago. We're now in Launceston, and we're here, and we're very pleased to be here.
JOURNALIST: The Minister has obviously announced this about the housing. Some will argue that an additional $65 million you're putting in here today should also go to that cause. What do you say to that?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, I'd say that we've made today not $65 million of announcements in housing, but if you add it all up, many, many times that, adding up to billions of dollars of additional investment making available for housing. But one of the things that a sporting precinct does, is it brings economic activity that generates revenue, that generates taxpayer dollars, that then goes back into and can be put into other services. So, it's not a matter of either or. It's a matter of, does this stack up economically? Does it stack up socially? Does it stack up environmentally? My answer to that is yes. That's why the Federal Government's backing this proposal. Just as when I was the Infrastructure Minister more than a decade ago, I backed the first upgrade, the initial upgrade of this ground here. That's made a very positive contribution.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, couldn't there be a housing element to this upgrade?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, we are providing, the Commonwealth doesn't have a housing program, as in, we don't build houses. What we do is we fund state governments, territory governments, and provide a framework for community housing, provide a framework for private sector investment as well. And that's precisely what we've done today, on top of the previous announcements. Can I say this, I'm very proud of Julie Collins' extraordinary delivery that she has had, through a national housing accord to build a million additional homes, a million in Australia is what has been delivered. That's been delivered with the support of every state and territory housing minister, with the support of the Master Builders Association, the Housing Industry Association. Our Housing Australia Future Fund is backed by all those organisations as well who want funding to flow through to the Tasmanian State Government and to other state governments for social housing. But it's being held up by the opposition parties in the Senate, for reasons beyond my comprehension. So, I'd say to those Senators who are not voting for, at this point, the Housing Australia Future Fund, you can't say you support additional investment in housing when you're saying no to a $10 billion housing fund that will support investment in social and affordable housing going forward.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, is this funding announcement just to placate the north in light of the Hobart announcement?
PRIME MINISTER: This is a project that stands on its own merits, just like it did more than ten years ago. It is important that everyone in Tasmania has access to world class facilities. Launceston is a great city in its own right. What it will be, the plan that I've discussed with the Tasmanian Premier and with the AFL, is about games being played with the Tasmanian team not just not just in Hobart, but also here in Launceston, and that's a very good thing.
JOURNALIST: How will this funding improve the fans' experience here at York Park?
PRIME MINISTER: Well better quality facilities improve the fans' experience. And it means it's more attractive, it's better for the players with better player facilities. But it also means that other activity can occur here as well. When you have a facility like this, you want to maximise its usage. So you want other events to be held right here as well, and this is a part of the attraction.
JOURNALIST: Hawthorn currently plays four games here, would you like that increased, or at least four games here to I guess justify the money?
PRIME MINISTER: I just want to see Hawthorn win more games here. Thanks very much