Press conference - Auburn

JASON CLARE, MINISTER FOR EDUCATION: Ready to rock and roll? Okay, thanks for coming along to Auburn. Some good news, it's been a year now since we banned phones in schools across the country and we're seeing the results. Kids are more focused in the classroom and they're having more fun in the playground. What a lot of teachers have told me is the playgrounds are a lot noisier now than they used to be. Kids are doing what we used to do when we were kids and that's playing with their mates in the playground rather than looking down at their phone. That's a really good thing. A survey of principals has shown that 80 per cent of principals are telling us that we're seeing better behaviour and better learners as a result of banning phones in our schools. So, that's the first thing.

The second thing is, last year we made some major changes to ban vapes. We know that vapes are a major issue for our kids, that nine out of ten vape stores are within walking distance of our schools. And we've now got new data that's shown that in South Australia there's been a 50 per cent reduction in suspensions from school resulting from vapes. Now that's a good sign. A 50 per cent reduction in suspensions because of vapes. Suspensions cut in half because of the action that we're taking to ban vapes.

Now, as we know, when school finishes, kids get their phones back and if you drive past a bus stop at 3:30 in the afternoon, you'll see a lot of young people with their heads back down, scrolling through their phones back into that cesspit of social media. And that's why the next important step is the action that we've taken to ban social media for young people under the age of 16. And that comes into effect at the end of this year. Ask any mum and dad and they'll tell you how important this is. They'll tell you the impact that social media has had on their children. And to be frank, if you ask a lot of young people about this, they'll probably tell you the same thing. In my job, I get to speak to a lot of young adults, at high schools I'll talk to people that are 16 or 17. They often tell me that this is a bloody good thing that we're doing, that it'll help the mental health of a lot of young people. It's often been pointed out to me that social media is different today than it was even two or three years ago, that the algorithm is smarter than it ever used to be and that it can force people to go down this tunnel that they can never get out of. So, that's a big and important change that's going to happen this year. Social media, apart from everything else that it does, is a place that can lead to a lot of bullying and belittling of young Australians, and we'll have more to say about bullying very, very soon. So, over to you.

JOURNALIST: What do you say to parents who are still concerned that they're not able to get in touch with kids if there's an emergency during the day?

CLARE: There's still plenty of ways to do that. The best thing to do is to pick up the phone and ring the school. And schools have different ways of managing phones at the moment. Either the phone gets put in one of those locked up magnetic pockets or students get asked to put the phone in their bag. There's usually special conditions for children that have special needs as well. So, schools are adopting a really commonsense approach here to make sure that kids are focused in the classroom but mums and dads can get in contact with their kids if they need to.

JOURNALIST: Minister, can we just get an update on your investigation? You asked the ARC board to investigate the grants given to Randa Abdel-Fattah. Has there been any updates on that investigation?

CLARE: The point I would make on that is that it’s very, very important that where there is a grant using taxpayers’ money for things like research at the ARC that we comply with the rules of that grant. And that's what I've asked the ARC to investigate.

JOURNALIST: Do you think anything more needs to be done to make sure that grants are complying with their rules?

CLARE: That's a matter for the ARC. The ARC makes those decisions, not me as the Minister. It's important that whether it's the decision on a grant for an ARC research project or the revocation of that grant that that is done by the ARC, not by politicians.

JOURNALIST: Does the RBA have a good reason to cut rates on Tuesday?

CLARE: I'm not going to enter into that debate. The RBA acts independently of government. Our job is to make sure that we get inflation down to make the job of the RBA easier to cut rates. The RBA have got a band of between two and three per cent. We've got inflation down now into that band. That's the job of government to get inflation down into that band to make it easier for the RBA to cut rates.

JOURNALIST: Do you think those efforts would be validated in voters’ minds if we did see a rate cut? Especially with Labor's success in the upcoming election?

CLARE: I'm not going to pre-empt what the RBA might do. Our job is to make sure that we're cutting inflation and we're doing that. We've cut inflation in half in just over two years. We know that a lot of Australians are doing it really, really tough and that's why tax cuts and pay rises are really important. That's what we've done as a government as well as getting inflation down. You know, the whole world has been hit by this tsunami of inflation over the last two years or so and it's hit people hard right across the world. What Anthony Albanese has done is reached out and helped people with tax cuts and with pay rises and we're getting inflation down. If Peter Dutton had been the Prime Minister of Australia, Aussies would be worse off because his whole approach is sink or swim. He opposed the tax cuts for all Australians. He's opposed the legislation that we’ve passed to lift wages for all Australians. And not only that, I don't know if you've seen the papers today. Peter Dutton's acting like he's already won the election. He's already drawing up the curtains at the lodge. He just hasn't drawn up any policies to help Australians out. The only policy that he's got at the moment is to use taxpayers’ dollars to pay for free lunches for their bosses. Now I can't think of anything guaranteed to make Australians more angry than a policy that says we're going to use your money to pay for your boss's lunch.

JOURNALIST: Speaking of the election, any indication on when your boss might be calling that? Do we expect it this Sunday?

CLARE: No idea. That's a decision that Anthony Albanese will make.

JOURNALIST: Minister, it's Claudia Vrdoljak from Nine News. Cost of living is still the top concern for voters. How concerned are you that next week's interest rate decision could make or break Labor in the minds of voters? And secondly, on Labor siding with the coalition on donation laws earlier this week, it's been seen as an attempt to block the Independents. How concerned are you about another rise in the independent movement?

CLARE: Look, on the second question, I think Australia is the best country in the world. One of the things that makes us such a great country is that anybody can put their hand up to run for Parliament and to participate in our democracy. What we don't want is a situation that you find in other countries where billionaires can buy seats in Parliament. And the legislation that we've now passed through the Parliament is about making sure that we keep our democracy as strong as it is and don't let people buy seats in Parliament. So, that's the first thing.

In terms of the cost of living. We know that Aussies are doing it tough. I just made that point a moment ago that Australians are doing it tough right across the country. That's why the actions that we are taking as a Labor government are so important, through tax cuts and pay rises, through creating more than a million jobs in the last two years. No government has ever done that before. Think about what would happen if Peter Dutton had been the Prime Minister over the last two years. The answer to that is Aussies would be worse off. Aussies would be worse off because he was against tax cuts for everyone. He's been against pay rises for Australians. He's been against cheaper childcare laws and cutting the cost of medicine. All of those things add up to thousands and thousands of dollars. It would have meant that a lot of Australians would be worse off. And not just that. If he wins the election, he's promising to build nuclear reactors that won't start for 20 years, but will cost Australians an extra thousand bucks a year from now. So that would make Australians worse off. You know, he's only got three policies as far as I can tell. Number one is to use Australia's taxpayer dollars to pay for lunch for bosses. Number two is this golden ticket visa that's going to let criminals and shonks and Liberal Party donors get into the country. And number three is to build these nuclear reactors that are going to cost $600 billion and cost Australians an extra thousand bucks a year to pay for them. Now, that's a pretty toxic bunch of election policies that I think Australians will look at and say, no, thank you.

JOURNALIST: Minister, Isobel Roe from the ABC. Just a follow-up on that question about the independents. Have you taken a bit of a risk by working together with the Coalition? Should you be in minority government you're going to need the independence on your side but they're pretty angry about those electoral reforms.

CLARE: We want to form a majority Labor government because by forming a majority government, we can continue to implement the big reforms that are going to help to build a better future for all Australians, to build Australia's future. And when Albo talks about building Australia's future, he's not just talking about building roads and building broadband, he's talking about Medicare and he's talking about education. You know, this card here, the Medicare card, I can't think of anything more Australian than this. This is the thing in your pocket, on your phone, in your wallet, in your purse that makes sure that if you get sick, you don't go broke. And we want to make sure that Medicare is stronger for all Australians, to look after Australians when they're crook. Peter Dutton, his view on this is that there's too much free Medicare, that people should have to pay more when they get sick. You know, if you ever want to upset Peter Dutton, wave this in his face. It's like garlic at a vampire. Because he hates Medicare, he thinks that people should pay more to go to the doctor. I think most Australians disagree with that. Most Australians think this is about as Aussie as it gets. And part of building Australia's future is making sure that when Australians get crook that they've got this card to help them out.

And the other thing is education. You know, if we're going to build Australia's future, we've got to make sure that we build the skills that we need for the future. Make sure that more children don't start school behind. That's what the legislation we passed through the Parliament this week is all about. Making sure that all kids, whether they come from a wealthy family or a poor family, can get into early education and care when they're young so that they start school ready to learn. Fixing the funding of our schools so more kids finish school and then making sure that more kids can go to TAFE or go to uni and get the skills that they need. That's what free TAFE's about and that's what cutting the cost of HECS debt by 20 per cent is about. That'll make a massive difference for 3 million Aussies right across the country cutting their HECS debt by 20 per cent. The average HECS debt today is 27 grand. If we win the election, that means that we'll cut that average HECS debt by five grand. So, there's the choice. If Labor wins, we'll cut your student debt. If Peter Dutton wins, he'll make you pay for your boss's lunch.

JOURNALIST: Ok, but just back to the question. The Teals. You may need to do a deal with the Teals. What would you negotiate on electoral reforms if they are able to relook at them in the next Parliament?

CLARE: I'm not going to go into that. That's not my portfolio. I just say that we work constructively with all members of Parliament. We work constructively with the independent members of Parliament. I think Helen Haines made the point at the press club yesterday that one of the things that we do to make sure that we treat all members of Parliament with respect is we brief them on legislation before it's introduced into the Parliament. I have responsibility for chairing that meeting and making sure that members of Parliament are properly briefed on all legislation that we bring forward before the Parliament. I've got a very good, strong, productive relationship with members of the crossbench on the reforms that I implement as Education Minister, and I thank them for their support for the legislation we passed through the Parliament this week to make sure that all kids get a great start in life and that more kids are ready to start school, ready to learn.

JOURNALIST: Minister, it's Josh Martin from Seven News. A rate cut on Tuesday would take a while to flow through to households, in terms of banks passing that on and repayments. How important is it that Labor rolls out more cost-of-living help, and will we expect to hear those announcements on the campaign trail or in a budget in March?

CLARE: Josh, I'd make the point I made a moment ago, which is that we know Australians are doing it tough. That's why the tax cuts we've provided for all Aussies are so important. That's why the pay rises that the legislation we've passed has enabled is so important. That's why all of the cost-of-living measures that we've implemented are so important. You know, whether it's cheaper childcare or cheaper medicines, it all adds up to help Aussies doing it tough. You know, you've got a choice as a government about whether you reach out your hand and help people or whether you turn your back on them. And Anthony Albanese’s reached out his hand and helped people with tax cuts and with real pay rises. Peter Dutton's view is sink or swim; it always has been. He wants to make you pay to go to the doctor and he voted, he basically said no tax cuts for people on lower incomes. As I said a moment ago, the whole world's been hit by this tsunami of inflation. We've reached out to help people. Peter Dutton's view is sink or swim. Now, Australians are going to have a choice. Do you want a Prime Minister like Anthony Albanese who reaches out his hand to help people with tax cuts and pay rises, or somebody like Peter Dutton who says, you're on your own and turns his back on you.

JOURNALIST: There are some cost-of-living measures that Australians aren't tapping into, like unpaid Medicare benefits. How much would you encourage people to utilise those things?

CLARE: Absolutely. I encourage all Aussies who haven't done that to make sure that they get in touch with Services Australia and take advantage of that. As I said a moment ago, what makes Australia different from almost any other country in the world is that green card in your pocket that makes sure that when you're sick you don't go broke. You know, in Australia if you get crook, it's the Medicare card that helps you, not your credit card.

JOURNALIST: Minister, can I just ask what your reaction is to claims that Australia's largest taxi company has ripped off dozens of clients in the NDIS hospital and aged care sectors?

CLARE: Yeah, if this is true, this is absolutely rotten. You know when you get into a taxi you expect to go from A to B. You don't expect to be taken for a ride. And if this has happened then this is absolutely rotten.

Thanks guys.