Press conference - Henderson, WA

ANTHONY ALBANESE, PRIME MINISTER: It's fantastic to be back in Western Australia for my 45th visit as Prime Minister. And we're regularly here because WA is the engine room of the Australian economy, and importantly as well is playing such an absolutely critical role in AUKUS. I had a long conversation with President Trump just a week ago where I spoke about the work that's happening here in Western Australia and spoke about how AUKUS is, in both of our work, full steam ahead. So important. And today I'm here, accompanied by my Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles, by the Chief of the Defence Force, Admiral Mark Hammond, but also by Premier Cook and his team including his Deputy Premier. Today, we're thrilled to announce this site behind us will be the new Henderson Defence Precinct here in Western Australia. The selection of this site is a major step towards establishing a world-class sovereign shipbuilding and sustainment hub right here in Western Australia. This will support thousands of well-paid, highly skilled jobs and deliver continuous Naval shipbuilding and sustainment in WA for generations to come. AUKUS is full steam ahead and WA will be central to it. The site layout includes the preferred location for the Government's naval shipbuilding sustainment activities and for the sustainment of Australia's future conventionally-armed, nuclear-powered submarines, representing a really important milestone in the delivery of AUKUS. This defence precinct at Henderson will be where critical maritime capabilities for the ADF will be built, including Navy's future General Purpose Frigates and Army's landing craft. These capabilities will be vital to delivering a more integrated and a more capable defence force.

The selection of the site has been informed by technical analysis and thorough engagement between my government and the Cook Labor government here in WA, consultation with local industry and workers, traditional owners, as well as local community groups. And all of this is underpinned by the billions of dollars of investment in defence capabilities and infrastructure in the West being made by our government, including the initial $12 billion funding commitment to deliver the defence precinct that we announced right here in September last year. Alongside our record investments across shipbuilding in AUKUS, these commitments will support 10,000 direct jobs, but many times that when you look at the multiplier impact that it will have here in WA. The program to deliver the defence precinct will now progress to concept design phase, which will see further engagement between our governments, local industry, technical design and planning partners and other key stakeholders.

We're absolutely thrilled to be here to mark this important milestone today. This has been through all of our processes, many meetings and many hours making sure that we get this right. Because this is a once-in-many-generations investment, not just once in a generation. This will really drive the WA economy, but importantly as well, is absolutely central to the defence of our nation and to our national sovereignty as well, by lifting up our resilience and our capability to stand on our own two feet and to make an enormous difference through this capability.

ROGER COOK, PREMIER OF WESTERN AUSTRALIA: Thank you, Prime Minister, can I acknowledge you and the Deputy Prime Minister, Richard Marles. Also joining us today is the Deputy Premier and Minister for Major Infrastructure, Rita Saffioti, and Minister Sanderson, the Minister Assisting the Minister for Defence Industries. Along with David Michael, they are my defence industries team, part of my team which is about driving jobs, driving growth in the Western Australian economy. Also joining us today is David Scaife, the local member. And I'm delighted to be here to make this for today's announcement.

Today, we are firing the starting gun on the largest naval shipbuilding maintenance hub in the Southern hemisphere. This is a key part of my government's vision to drive jobs and economic growth and is really an exciting milestone as we finalise the design for the defence precinct and move to the next phase of seeing this important piece of economic infrastructure come to reality. It's a major milestone for Australia's defence future and a significant AUKUS milestone and enables the government and industry to now get on with the job of developing this infrastructure to drive jobs and growth of the Western Australian economy into the future.

We see this overtaking agriculture as our second biggest industry in Western Australia and as the Prime Minister says, it will provide generation after generation of jobs and activity. It reinforces Western Australia as a strategic pillar of the nation's defence capability and will support thousands of jobs over the next two decades. And both my government and the Albanese Government will continue to work closely together now with the industry, traditional owners and the community as we move forward towards the concept design phase. And we'll work with local businesses to ensure that they are the beneficiaries, as much as they can be, of the extraordinary amount of economic and construction activity that will start to take place at this site. And as I said before, today marks a significant milestone for Australia's defence future and Western Australia is proud to be at the centre of it.

RICHARD MARLES, DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER: Well, it's great to be here with both the Prime Minister, Premier Roger Cook and the Premier's defence industry team here at the Henderson Defence Precinct. And the decision that we are announcing today is the most significant decision that we will make in respect to the Henderson Defence Precinct: its precise location, in the centre of the Henderson Strip. We've wanted to take the time to get this decision right because a lot hangs off it. And so, getting to this point today is a product of extensive consultation with the companies that are up and down the Henderson Strip, with traditional owners, with workers, but of course most significantly with the Western Australian Government in itself.

And in making the decision that the Henderson Defence Precinct will be in the centre of the Henderson Strip, that obviously gives rise to a reconfiguration of the remainder of the Henderson Strip. It's really important to understand that this strip has a really significant role to play in the resources sector in Western Australia and it's very important that that is able to be maintained. And so, we're really grateful to all of the landowners along the strip for getting to this point, but we are really grateful for the cooperation, the collaboration really, that we've had from the Western Australian government from day one.

Now, the decision that we're taking today is consistent with the arrangements that we have already put in place which will see commencement of work on Army’s landing craft heavy and medium begin this year. It is also consistent with the key milestones which need to be achieved in relation to the Henderson Defence Precinct. And there are two of those coming up. The first is being in a position to commence building of the fourth Mogami, the fourth General Purpose Frigate for the Royal Australian Navy. The first three are being built in Japan. That's in the early 2030s, as well as putting in place a contingency dock for the beginnings of the maintenance of Virginia class submarines. And again, that is a milestone that we need to achieve in the early 2030s. The decision that we are making today is consistent with meeting all of those milestones.

This is a really significant development not only for the nation, for our national security, but of course for Western Australia here at the Henderson Defence Precinct. In time, there will be thousands of people engaged in shipbuilding and submarine maintenance, and they will form part of 10,000 people across the state working in defence. It is the biggest economic diversification of the Western Australian economy in decades. And I really want to thank the Western Australian government for their partnership in all that we're doing in respect to defence, but specifically in respect of today's announcement.

JOURNALIST: Has the budget blown out to $70 billion, as suggested, rather than the $25 billion that it was originally?

DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER: Look, I see the reports today. It's pretty easy to throw numbers around. Let me be clear about what we're doing in respect of the Budget. A year ago, the Prime Minister was here announcing a $12 billion commitment. That money takes us past all the milestones that I've just mentioned, the building of landing craft medium and heavy, but also getting to those milestones in the early 2030’s in respect of the Mogami, the General Purpose Frigate, and the beginnings of submarine sustainment here. When the Prime Minister made the announcement a year ago, we made it really clear that there would be further investments required, and we are very mindful of that. At that point, it was estimated that we're looking at a $25 billion project over the decade. But this is a project that will be developed over more than 10 years. And again, it's anticipated that there will be further investment beyond that 10-year period. Now, the sort of money that you're seeing in today's newspapers, I mean, we're not imagining any of that. But we are really clear that what we have committed in terms of the Budget gets us to the milestones in the medium term, and we're well aware that few future investments will need to be made, and we're preparing for that as well.

JOURNALIST: Who bears those extra costs and when will funding need to be fully accounted?

DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER: Well, again, we are doing this as planned, so I'm not quite comfortable with the term extra. We've made it clear that within the Federal Budget, we have the $12 billion commitment in respect of what we imagine to be a $25 billion commitment over the course of the decade. And that funding and beyond is something that we will work through in the Federal Budget.

JOURNALIST: Are you concerned about the weight of the Hunter frigates?

DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER: So, look, in respect to Hunter, I mean, there were issues in relation to Hunter before we came to government. But from the moment that we've come to government, firstly, the re-baseline schedule of Hunter has been maintained. Secondly, the size of the ship has essentially been consistent since we've come to government. It's just north of 10,000 tonnes in terms of displacement. So, that is what we've inherited and that is what we've worked with, and we've maintained that consistency. But the point I really want to make in relation to Hunter, it's happening too. Literally today, we have the keel laying of what will become HMAS Hunter. What right now is NUSHIP Hunter. You go to the Osborne Naval shipyard in Adelaide, and you can see it taking shape. We've just been shown the mast, which is being built here in WA. Hunter is providing jobs here in Western Australia, it's doing that in South Australia, and we are really confident that that build is going to be done on time and in accordance with the plan that we've inherited.

JOURNALIST: Has the US expressed any concern about there being no buffer zone between the nuclear zone here and the non-nuclear zone?

DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER: So, in all the consultation that we've done – it's a good question – in terms of all the consultation that we've done, we've obviously been talking with the US government as well and with the Pentagon – they have been really clear about their needs, but also what our needs are. And from the get-go, we've understood that what Henderson represents is both a submarine sustainment facility, but also the place of continuous naval shipbuilding here in Western Australia. And we've been really upfront with our AUKUS partners that that's how we see the Henderson defence precinct. And in terms of the siting of the precinct here in the central part of the strip, everyone is very comfortable with being able to accommodate both functions on what will be the Henderson defence precinct in this spot.

JOURNALIST: [inaudible].

DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER: Well, I don't know if the PM wants to say anything on this, but look, firstly, what's really important is that anyone engaging in that activity abides by the proper registries, the proper codes of conduct. And of course, that we, as Ministers, and that's what's really important in terms of decision making, engage in that as well. I mean, what AUKUS is, is an opportunity to engage in the single biggest leap in Australia's military capability since the establishment of the Navy more than a century ago, and the biggest industrial project in our nation's history. That's what it is. I mean, AUKUS is nation-building. And, you know, people can make those comments in that way, but frankly, it really belittles what is a major Australian project. And as the government, we are very focused on delivering that.

JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, can you please define a fair share of GST. And given your 2024 signature has washed away, do you perhaps need to sign the Premier’s arm today for WA to believe you again?

PRIME MINISTER: Well, where is Dylan these days? So, maybe I need to catch up with Dylan. I'll say a few things to make this very clear. This is my 45th visit to Western Australia, point one. No Prime Minister has visited WA as regularly as I have, and every time – not just here because it's a beautiful state, which it is, but here with announcements such as this. Creating jobs, building infrastructure, doing things like I did previously as a minister. WA is a major driver of our national economy, and they deserve their fair share of the GST.

JOURNALIST: [inaudible].

PRIME MINISTER: Well, if you want to listen, I'll tell you, Jeff. What I would like to remind people is that this is an interim report commissioned by the Liberal Party, commissioned by the Morrison government, not commissioned by us. And they commissioned the Productivity Commission. When you commission the Productivity Commission, you shouldn't be surprised that you get the sort of economic rationalist view of the world coming out.

JOURNALIST: You set the Terms of Reference, though.

PRIME MINISTER: No, this is a report commissioned by the Morrison government. It will produce a report at the end of the year. What I believe is, very clearly, there will be no change to WA GST arrangements whilst I'm Prime Minister. That is my view. That has consistently been my view. The floor of 75 per cent will absolutely stay. I think that WA deserves that, because WA contributes to the national economy and helps to drive that economy. I mean, during COVID when there was a major downturn in most of the eastern states, WA kept going because of its sector. I will always back WA. I am in sync with the Premier of WA, and I can't be clearer about that.

JOURNALIST: You can though.

PRIME MINISTER: No change to WA's share of the GST.

JOURNALIST: Are you going to take anything outside of the 70 per cent floor?

PRIME MINISTER: No. It's a 75 per cent floor. It's a 75 per cent floor and it stays in place. That's the basis of the agreement.

JOURNALIST: What about being pegged to the strongest economy, New South Wales and Victoria?

PRIME MINISTER: But that’s all academic as well, because that, as you know, has not applied.

JOURNALIST: It has. We are at 82 per cent this year because that's what New South Wales.

PRIME MINISTER: WA will – there will be no change to WA's arrangements whatsoever on the GST.

JOURNALIST: Have you told Chris Minns and Ben Carroll that?

PRIME MINISTER: Well, it's up to me to talk to Premiers.

JOURNALIST: Have you told them that?

PRIME MINISTER: If you've listened to what I've said on various visits here in WA and in Canberra, when I was asked about this and in discussions with the WA Premier, everyone's fully aware of what my position is. It hasn't changed.

JOURNALIST: What about the no worse off guarantee? Do you see a future for thator are you going to need to see some worse off?

PRIME MINISTER: Yes, I do see a future for that. The important thing that sometimes isn't understood from some of the critique of WA getting its fair share of the GST, is that those additional payments have not come from states and territories, they come from the Commonwealth. I'm comfortable with that. And what I say to premiers and chief ministers, though, is that you need to bear that in mind when you are discussing federal-state, financial relations.

JOURNALIST: Is it a good deal for the country, for the nation?

PRIME MINISTER: It is a good deal for the nation when you have an understanding and a clear and unequivocal position, being able to go forward with some certainty. I mean, WA, if you took one of the options which has been put forward by the Productivity Commission, it would see 30 per cent come to WA. Now, that just is not reasonable. The floor was put there for a reason. The floor had our support from opposition, and it has had my support in government. The proof is in the pudding. It is still there. It is there because I'm in my fifth year and second term as Prime Minister and it's still there.

JOURNALIST: Can you afford to extend the no worse off guarantee beyond 2030 to satisfy the other premiers?

PRIME MINISTER: Well, we'll talk to the other premiers, of course, but obviously, the system, when it's in place, I'd be very surprised if any Premier comes forward and says, ‘it's okay, we would like less money, please’. That's not what happens between the Commonwealth and the States, whether it's WA or New South Wales or Queensland or Victoria. And that's fair enough. I expect that to occur. And maybe Roger might want to?

PREMIER COOK: Yeah, please, please. Thank you, Prime Minister. Look, Prime Minister, can I just say, look, I think every Western Australian is both relieved and pleased to hear the words from the Prime Minister today that Western Australia's arrangements for the GST will remain. You don't come to Western Australia on 45 occasions without appreciating that the Western Australian economy is driving the national economy. And we are very pleased that the Prime Minister has backed WA. As I've said before, he gets WA, and that's why he's continuing to come here on time and time again to back the state and to back our economy, back Western Australian jobs. So, today's announcement is an important one because it underscores and underlines and finalises this debate. The Prime Minister has provided an assurance to Western Australians that Western Australia's arrangement for the GST will remain.

JOURNALIST: Is that final then? And if the Prime Minister’s word is his bond, then is your ongoing campaign against the other states a waste of time and money?

PREMIER COOK: Look, we know that we need to make sure that we can support the Prime Minister and the Treasurer because there is a lot of noise coming from the East Coast, and we understand that on the East Coast people look to Western Australia, they see that our economy is going forward, that jobs are being created and opportunities for people who live in this state abound. And so, we need to make sure that we continue to ensure that Western Australia's voice and is heard as part of this national debate. Now, obviously, the Productivity Commission provided the interim report which the Treasurer dismantled in the space of a short press conference. And we know that they've got a final report to make and we know that the debate is going to be ongoing. So, we're going to keep the pressure on, we're going to keep fighting and we're going to continue to support the Prime Minister and the Treasurer in backing Western Australia.

JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, why did you wait to come to WA to clear up what you meant about a fair share?

PRIME MINISTER: What?

JOURNALIST: This is the first time since the Productivity Commission’s report that you've been clear about not changing the GST –

PRIME MINISTER: No –

JOURNALIST: Previously you said WA would get a fair share. Why wait until you were here to say that?

PRIME MINISTER: I didn't wait. I thought it was very clear and I've said it multiple times.

JOURNALIST: The fair share –

PRIME MINISTER: Well, I've said it multiple times. I've signed people's body parts, for goodness sake. You know, I mean, seriously, you know.

JOURNALIST: Just on migration, Prime Minister. In relation to David Farley’s comments on Sunday and Barnaby Joyce today, what is your reaction to that dispute? Is Labor any closer to finalising its own position? And just one other matter. Do you think that the Exclusive Brethren allegations require any further investigation in relation to their involvement in the last election?

PRIME MINISTER: Well, two points – firstly, on migration, our numbers are in the Budget. We're working over two years down to 225,000. We've cut the net overseas migration by 45 per cent. What David Farley said on Sunday was that he believed the numbers that Labor have come up with are about right, is exactly where he would be positioned as well. And he does that from the perspective of understanding the importance for the agricultural sector of skilled workers and others. What it really has shown over the last couple of days is that One Nation, if there's one policy they've spoken about over the 30 years that Pauline Hanson has been active in politics, it's migration. They can't even get a policy on that. What we know is they have a policy to reduce wages, they have a policy to make it easier to sack people. They have a policy which is opposed to industry policy, such as we're seeing here, here in WA, driving the economy. They don't support Same Job, Same Pay. They want to undermine the issues affecting working people. And now on migration, the one thing you think they could be consistent on, they're certainly not. The truth is there is only one mainstream party in Australia, given that One Nation have all these views that would undermine wages and conditions, can't get their act together to have a serious policy on anything, and that Is the Australian Labor Party because the Liberal Party have just given up. I notice here in WA the Liberal Party seem to have just folded into just supporting One Nation. Now when it comes to Exclusive Brethren I think these reports are really concerning. I have said consistently we need to turn the temperature down. Now, during the last election campaign, on day one there was someone associated with the extreme right and those causes told, according to reports, where the location of the press conference would be and he stormed it and yelled out all sorts of aggressive behaviour at that press conference in Dickson on the Saturday morning. In my hotel there were people, were confronted including my press secretary, by someone with far right, the links with neo-Nazis and the links with people being paid to disrupt an election campaign, not to engage in policy debate, not to engage in respectful behaviour, but to undermine our democracy is a real concern. Now these people, when I was on a booth in Bennelong as well, there was aggressive behaviour from people wearing Liberal Party shirts who were engaging in abusive conduct and that happened right around the country. A well organised – people flying interstate to turn up at polling booths to harass workers including with links now are from the far right. The Liberal Party needs to explain why it is that these people were connected with the campaign in favour of Liberal candidates, wearing Liberal Party t-shirts, being paid to disrupt our democratic traditions. Democracy is a precious thing and election campaigns are important. But the sort of behaviour that we saw for Exclusive Brethren which has been exposed by The Herald and The Age, to the credit of the journalists involved, is a real concern and it's time the Liberal Party fronted up and answered how all this occurred, because it didn't just appear. People don't know where candidates are, just start turning up, and the involvement in these outside forces, who, many of whom have been involved in activity that is anathema to most Australians.

JOURNALIST: Are you concerned by the ACTU survey that [inaudible].

PRIME MINISTER: Sorry, I'm not aware of the issue.

JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, peaking of democracy, we're only half an hour away from the pre-poll booth at Port Kennedy for Secret Harbour. Why aren't you hitting the campaign trail while you're here? And how much responsibility do you bear if Labor loses that by-election?

PRIME MINISTER: There are, there are by-elections, when they're held, it's a state by-election.

JOURNALIST: But you're here now.

PRIME MINISTER: Yeah, I am here and I'm doing my job as Prime Minister of Australia, announcing jobs, announcing jobs and economic activity here –

JOURNALIST: So, you’re not going?

PRIME MINISTER: For something that is very important.

JOURNALIST: But you’re not going?

PRIME MINISTER: Well, I'm doing the same as I did in the Nepean By-election or the Kiama By-election or the one –

JOURNALIST: Not the Rockingham By-election –

PRIME MINSTER: No, I didn't. I went to an Urgent Care Clinic which we were opening.

JOURNALIST: Your name is being mentioned lot and Pauline Hanson's name at pre-poll, at doors. Labor MPs say they're hearing your name more often than Roger Cook. What does that tell you? What lesson will you learn out of this by-election?

PRIME MINISTER: I wish Roger Cook all the very best and his campaign, Georgia Tree is a good candidate. If the people of that electorate want a voice in government, they should vote Labor.

JOURNALIST: So, you don't think there's a message for you if Labor loses the by-election?

PRIME MINISTER: It’s a state by-election.

JOURNALIST: We've seen Jewish Royal Commission witnesses threatened and harassed and community leaders grilled on actions of the IDF during those hearings. Do you think domestic antisemitism has actually been curbed since the Royal Commission began?

PRIME MINISTER: There is – one act of antisemitism as one too many. I'll allow the Royal Commission to do its work. It's an important work that it's undertaking. And antisemitism has no place in Australian society. The rise of, to go to another issue, the presence of neo-Nazis in Australia I find just extraordinary in 2026. I mean, you've been around a while, in, 20 years ago where we discussing neo-Nazis? We are now. Whether it's on the steps of Macquarie Street, whether it be the presence that we've seen some neo-Nazis here in WA, marching through parks, in Adelaide, in Ballarat, Spring Street, you know, it is of real concern and antisemitism has no place. Thanks very much.

PM&C acknowledges the traditional owners and custodians of country throughout Australia and acknowledges their continuing connection to land, water and community. We pay our respects to the people, the cultures and the elders past, present and emerging.