Interview with Sarah Cumming, ABC Gold Coast and ABC Sunshine Coast

E&OE TRANSCRIPT
RADIO INTERVIEW
ABC GOLD COAST MORNINGS WITH SARAH CUMMING
FRIDAY, 14 JUNE 2024

SUBJECTS: Age limits for social media; Emissions targets; Egg supply; Gold Coast infrastructure.

SARAH CUMMING, HOST: Sarah Cumming with you this morning on ABC Gold Coast and ABC Sunshine Coast. I'm wondering if you let your children have social media, maybe you have teenagers at home? How old were they though when you first let them have a social media account?

There is now bipartisan federal support for a social media ban for under sixteens, with Opposition Leader Peter Dutton now also putting his support for this ban. The Federal Government has allocated six and a half million dollars for a trial into online age verification.

Queensland Senator Murray Watt joins you this morning to talk about it.

MINISTER FOR AGRICULTURE, FISHERIES AND FORESTRY, MURRAY WATT: Yeah, we've been saying for quite some time as a government that we share many parents’ concerns about the impact of social media on kids. I'm a father of teenagers myself, you know, it's something I think that worries all parents - the impact of social media. I guess the challenge has been to work out what is the right age, and how can we put in place the technology that will actually work.

There have been some people calling for sort of an immediate introduction of this, but what we already know is that if you don't get the technology right, there are ways people can get around those kinds of age limits. But I am pleased to see that we do have support across the Parliament to take action on this front.

In the Federal Budget recently we funded a trial of the technology that would be needed to enforce this kind of age restriction. And that's to make sure that we do get this right and we do have a system that works. I think this is something that's been long overdue and hopefully we can get it happening pretty soon.

SARAH CUMMING: Are you confident that that trial will, I guess, deliver some sort of positive results? The information you're getting that something like this - an age restriction - is possible? Can work?

MURRAY WATT: We certainly believe that the technology can be put in place that will work, that will prevent kids getting around that system if that's what they want to do. And of course, some of the social media companies have an interest in assisting people to be able to get around those kind of restrictions as well. And that's why, as I say, we have put in place that funding to do that technology trial. So that when we do introduce this, it actually works, they won't be able to get around it. We don't want to just have a headline for the day, we want to have a system that actually works to protect our kids from some of the terrible material that's available on social media these days.

SARAH CUMMING: Certainly is a concern for all parents, as you mentioned. Discussion this week on emissions reductions targets and the Coalition says your current policy settings mean the government's not on track to meet reductions targets by 2030. Should your government be doing more?

MURRAY WATT: I think any objective observer can see the amount of work that our government has been doing since coming to power to have genuine policies that will actually bring down our emissions reductions. The latest figures that we received from the Department of Climate Change and Energy federally, show that we are on track to get to 42% emissions reduction by 2030, which is only 1% short of that 43% target that we legislated after coming to office.

And that is before you take into account some of the more recent policies that we've announced as well. Some of the production credits, tax credits for manufacturing and low emissions manufacturing. We've now got vehicle emission standards in place as well that will come into force over coming years. So, we are making progress, but we recognise that this is a big job. And it's something that the entire Australian community has to be part of achieving. Not just for the environmental benefits that come from emissions reductions, but these days there are so many jobs, and so much investment that is hinging on delivering emissions reductions.

And I think what we learned this week is really that Peter Dutton and the Coalition actually don't even think that reducing our emissions matters. They're not prepared to say what their target will be before the next election. They're basically just saying: trust us, we'll come up with an emissions reduction target after the next election. And as I say, that not only puts our environment at risk, but it puts so many jobs and investment in our national economy at risk as well.

SARAH CUMMING: So that's in relation to the 2030 target, but the Coalition says it does remain committed to net zero by 2050, and the Paris Agreement. As, sort of, politicians argue over this, Queensland is ultimately concerned about the price of their power and the environment. They just really want those things looked after.

MURRAY WATT: Absolutely and I know that the Gold Coast is one of the places across the country that relies most heavily on a natural environment as a selling point to tourism. We don't want to be putting that kind of thing at risk. And as you say, power prices are such a big concern for Queenslanders, as all Australians, at the moment.

And again, every group from the CSIRO to every other energy expert assures us that the cheapest way to produce power in the future is renewable power. Not the kind of risky nuclear option that Peter Dutton is putting forward. He even admits that it wouldn't be available until 2040 at the earliest. And my impression is that Queenslanders want cheaper power prices now. They don't want to have to wait 15 years, and when we know that nuclear is the most expensive way that we can possibly be generating power in the future.

So, we are on track again to meet our renewable energy targets. We significantly lifted renewable energy production in this country since coming to power, even in just two years. And over time what we're going to see is that investment will, first of all, plateau power prices, and over time bring them down rather than that expensive nuclear option.

SARAH CUMMING: So, you're confident you will reach your 2030 target?

MURRAY WATT: We are at this stage. I mean, we know that there's still a lot more to be done. We're not there yet. But as I say, the policy changes that we put in place, like increasing our renewable energy production, like our vehicle emissions standards that are now part of law in Australia, opposed by the Coalition, unfortunately. As all of those things come into place, we're confident that we can get there.

SARAH CUMMING: Agriculture Minister, Senator Murray Watt, is your guest this morning. Sarah Cumming with you on ABC Gold Coast and ABC Sunshine Coast. Can we talk about eggs for a moment? Should we be concerned about egg supply issues following the ongoing bird flu outbreaks? What's the latest? What information can you give to us this morning about that?

MURRAY WATT: Yeah, it's obviously always worrying when our country experiences some kind of a biosecurity outbreak. And there's a huge amount of work being done led by the Victorian Government but backed by us as the Federal Government to get this outbreak under control. At this point in time it's only in Victoria. There's a handful of poultry and egg farms that are affected, and the Victorian Government is in the process at the moment of destroying and euthanising the chickens on site to ensure that the outbreak doesn't spread further.

I can assure your listeners that if they're enjoying their poached eggs, or whatever form of eggs they like, for breakfast this morning, there's no imminent risk to supply at the moment. I do know that Coles took a pre-emptive action to limit the number of eggs that people could buy. But many other retailers haven’t followed suit.

Every single day in Australia our chickens produce about 18 million eggs and the proportion that have been taken out of the market from these few farms is very small. From memory it's about 4% of the national supply. You know, of course, if this outbreak were to get a lot worse, then that may have some impacts. But the indications so far are that we are getting on top of the outbreak and that work will continue.

SARAH CUMMING: So, people will finish their sort of poached egg this morning and then they'll jump in their car on the Gold Coast and probably encounter a bit of a traffic jam on the way to work this morning. Let's talk about traffic and infrastructure in South East Queensland. What are your thoughts on the commitment to infrastructure spend in South East Queensland, in the State Budget in Queensland, for projects like light rail for instance on the Gold Coast?

MURRAY WATT: Yeah, look, I think what we saw this week in the State Budget was another really big investment from the State Labor Government in the infrastructure that the Gold Coast needs. And if you look at the Labor Government's record over the years, Gold Coast infrastructure has always been a really big priority for the State Government, and it is for us as a Federal Government as well.

Light Rail Stage 3 continued to attract more funding in this years’ State Budget. From memory it was about $300 million committed this coming financial year to keep extending the light rail to Burleigh. Of course, quite recently, we joined the State Government in committing more money for the second M1, the Coomera Connector, from Coomera to Nerang to try to take some traffic pressure off the M1.

So, all up this year what we've seen by both levels of government is another $864 million committed for the second M1. And of course, the work is continuing on expanding and widening the M1 to six lanes from Varsity to Tugun as well. So, I think they are very serious dollar figures that are going into the Gold Coast, and that's the way it should be because it's a growing city.

SARAH CUMMING: And speaking of it being a growing city, a lot of discussion this morning on the Gold Coast Airport Master Plan and just the sheer number of flights expected - the number of flights to Gold Coast Airport expected to double in the next 20 years. How do we maintain our way of life? The amenity of people living around the airport whilst also sort of accommodating that increase in the number of flights. What are your thoughts on that?

MURRAY WATT: Yeah, this is always a challenge with growing airports and making sure that we do maintain people's amenity. But I think there are very good federal regulations in place that aim to balance those sorts of issues. I think we all understand how important the tourism sector is for the Gold Coast economy and the jobs that rely on it.

But we do need to manage that in a way that doesn't destroy the lifestyle of people living around the airport. Certainly, in any of the meetings that I've ever had with the Gold Coast Airport Corporation, they're very conscious of that sort of social amenity, and needing to make sure that they respect neighbours of the airport. I'm confident based on past experience that we can get this balance right, and make sure that the Gold Coast continues to grow, and benefit from that tourism injection without destroying the way of life that we all love on the Gold Coast.