E&OE….
Topics: Ebola, Green Army, Jacqui Lambie
MARK PARTON:
I’m not predicting that the Environment Minister wants to comment on the journey of Richard di Natale to Ebola-ravaged Africa, but I’ll ask him nevertheless. G’day Greg.
GREG HUNT:
And good morning Mark. I’m very happy to comment on that.
MARK PARTON:
Are you?
GREG HUNT:
I am. Look I think it’s dangerously self-indulgent because if something goes wrong and remembering that we have very strong travel advices about travelling to those countries, warning people not to be heading into harm’s way.
If something goes wrong then of course the Australian taxpayer, the Australian people, the Australian Government will be expected to pick up the bill, to move heaven and earth. And so if you are travelling to those areas, it’s because you are registered health worker, part of an international mission engaged in the most profoundly important activity.
MARK PARTON:
And so if he were indeed and, you know, he’s certainly qualified to do that, if he were indeed travelling for that reason you’d be all for it?
GREG HUNT:
Look, it’s – we are supportive of international actions and we’ve made two major contributions to what’s occurring within that region. Our other great task has been to help prepare the Pacific area, to ensure that their public health capacity is in place were Ebola to make the jump because we’ve seen that Ebola was transported back to America, but fortunately contained because of the extraordinary capacity through health workers.
If people are travelling to those areas you would hope and assume that it is entirely because they are engaged in health and aid work. The world has enough of a spotlight on this. What you don’t want is grandstanding and you don’t want people taking risks of spreading the disease in any way, shape or form.
MARK PARTON:
When’s his – is he at the back end of – is he up for re-election next time around, Richard?
GREG HUNT:
Oh look, I would have to check.
MARK PARTON:
Yeah, no. Let’s talk about the Green Army. There’s an interesting article from Jason Dowling in the Fairfax press about a – and he’s sort of going with a bit of a hypothetical.
He’s suggesting that the whole Green Army project is under threat because of the chaplaincy ruling by the High Court and that it means that if indeed the Green Army programmes were challenged in the court they would come unstuck.
GREG HUNT:
Well with respect, the Green Army is rolling out around the country. We have taken additional steps. Why would anybody oppose having young people in the field cleaning up riverbanks, cleaning up sand dunes and mangrove areas, rehabilitating degraded areas?
Firstly, I can’t see that occurring. Secondly, it’s been a tremendous success and thirdly, the constitutional risk that we now have is regarded as low, on the advice of the legal authorities and we’ve made sensible changes just to make sure that there is none. But this is a successful programme and the article is out of step with the reality.
MARK PARTON:
But Greg – ok you say it’s a successful programme – give me some nuts and bolts practical information on where it’s been successful at this stage.
GREG HUNT:
Sure. Well it’s only just started and just a couple of weeks ago I was out at The Entrance in the Central Coast in New South Wales. They have rehabilitated foreshore, they had cleaned out lantana, cleaned out a series of areas which had been affected by invasive weeds, they had turned a scrubby foreshore area into something which the young people themselves were proud of.
They were saying – these 20 young people – here we are, we’ve got work, some were previously unemployed, some were university graduates in the environment space who hadn’t been able to get work. They were immensely proud of what they were doing. I’ve seen the same things in the Dandenongs, I’ve seen the same things on the Mornington Peninsula.
Within a few short weeks we’ll have 100 teams, 1000 young people out in the field doing what they should be doing. Now this is the start of a programme which grows to 15,000. Frankly, the article was just wrong.
MARK PARTON:
Ok. You asked the question at the start there – who on earth would oppose it? I’ll tell you who would oppose it at the moment, is Jacqui Lambie, because she’s indicated she’s going to oppose everything that you guys do. It’s going to be an interesting week, I think, the whole Lambie-Clive Palmer scenario.
GREG HUNT:
Look, obviously as to their relationship I will leave that to them. They’re both big enough to take care of themselves. But we’ve put three major pieces of legislation through the Senate. Two of them which went through with the help of both Clive Palmer and Jacqui Lambie – the repeal of the carbon tax, the implementation of the Emissions Reduction Fund and we put the Green Army through with bipartisan support.
So, from my mind, or for my mind, we’ve been able to get a significant amount of our legislative agenda through the Senate and you just have to be patient and focussed and polite and work with each of the Senators and give them appropriate respect and you can achieve very, very significant things.
Of course, if the ALP chose to work in the national interest, any piece of legislation would go through with their support, as well as ours.
MARK PARTON:
I think, like most of us, they’re rather mesmerised by the pantomime which I’m sure will have another instalment later on today.
Greg, thanks for coming on this morning.
GREG HUNT:
Thanks Mark. Cheers.
MARK PARTON:
Greg Hunt who’s the Federal Environment Minister.
(ENDS)