Prime Minister Scott Morrison joins Groom by-election campaign from quarantine

Scott Morrison has personally spoken with thousands of Groom residents ahead of the by-election on Saturday, answering questions about dozens of issues facing the region. Here’s what he said.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison has reaffirmed the Federal Government’s support of the stage three expansion of the New Acland Coal Mine, the 2032 southeast Queensland Olympic Bid and said the original Inland Rail route through the region was the “best” option.

He made those comments during a telephone town hall meeting with Toowoomba residents on Tuesday night, ahead of the Groom by-election on Saturday.

The Prime Minister has not been able to physically travel to Toowoomba to campaign because he is in quarantine at The Lodge in Canberra after returning from an official trip to Japan last week.

LNP candidate Garth Hamilton, who is seeking to succeed former MP John McVeigh, was also on the call answering questions from residents.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison delivers a speech from isolation at The Lodge.

Inland Rail

Mr Morrison said it was now “just time to get on” and build the Inland Rail project.

“We’ve looked at the alternative (routes),” he said, referring to a recent review looking into a forestry route that would avoid the Condamine flood plain.

“The original route is the best route and that’s the one we now need to get on with and start things moving.

“There is consultation you always need to do with the communities … and the Australian Rail Track Corporation is doing that.”

New Acland Coal Mine

Mr Morrison said the government knew how important the resources industry was and that’s why the government supported the stage three expansion of the New Acland Coal Mine.

“We still absolutely want to see these jobs retained,” Mr Morrison said.

“We want to see the approval of stage three of the mine, but that’s ultimately a state government decision.

“As a Coalition Government at a federal level we know how important the resources industry is.

“We have our programs and our plans in place to ensure that we do the right thing when it comes to ensuring we reduce emissions and address the real problems of climate change, but there’s got to be balance and we have the right balance there.”

Groom LNP candidate Garth Hamilton speaks to media during a visit by Deputy Prime Minister Michael McCormack to Toowoomba business Paul Wiedman Electrical, Monday, November 23, 2020. Picture: Kevin Farmer

2032 Olympics Bid

Mr Morrison said he was “very serious” about supporting the bid for a 2032 southeast Queensland Olympic Games.

Under plans originally drawn up by the South East Queensland Council of Mayors, several events like mountain biking would be held in Toowoomba if the bid was successful.

The Wagner family have also incorporated Olympic-class facilities into its plan for the Wellcamp Entertainment Precinct.

“The Queensland Government does need to get its skates on a bit here,” Mr Morrison said.

“There is a window of opportunity and (the International Olympic Committee is) looking for us to get moving.

“If (the Queensland Government gets moving) I believe that we’ll be in a very good position to secure the pole position on this.

“We’ve put up $10 million to support to bid …. but it’ll only work if the Queensland Government totally owns it and drives it.”

Mr Morrison said he clearly remembered the 2000 Sydney Olympics and what happened when Australia won the hosting duty for those games.

“When we won (the 2000) Olympics, that was in the middle of the last recession we had,” he said.

“It really helped lift Sydney out of the pits and focus people forward on what the opportunities were.

“I believe that’s one of the great things about having the privilege of hosting an Olympics.”

Water Security

Mr Morrison reiterated comments made earlier this week by Deputy Prime Minister Michael McCormack about an ambitious plan for a water security study in the region.

The Toowoomba Regional Council has formed an alliance with neighbouring councils, as well as economic boards such as TSBE, to call for $5 million in funding assistance from the Federal Government to initiate planning of long-term water security through a broad based regional feasibility study.

Deputy Prime Minister Michael McCormack visits Toowoomba business Paul Wiedman Electrical in support of Groom LNP candidate Garth Hamilton, Monday, November 23, 2020. Picture: Kevin Farmer

“We know the alliance needs to put a bit more work into its structure,” the Prime Minister said about the idea.

“We’ll be looking very carefully at their proposal.

“We know that there’s a strong expectation for the government to get in and support these initiatives and I know Garth can play a key role with that.”

Mr Morrison said the government, through the National Water Grid, was investing in water infrastructure programs right across Australia.

Are we getting nothing?

When asked whether Toowoomba was “getting nothing” because it was considered a safe LNP seat, the Prime Minister pointed to the advocacy of former members Ian Macfarlane and John McVeigh on delivering large projects in the region.

“The Toowoomba Second Range Crossing is a result of that,” Mr Morrison said.

“I know Garth has the same capacity to do that.”

Queensland border restrictions

Mr Morrison also welcomed the announcement from the Queensland Government that it would fully reopen the state’s borders to New South Wales, and was considering reopening to Victoria.

“I’m thrilled about that,” he told the meeting.

“Queensland is open.

“I’ve been working hard to try and get the country open again by Christmas so everyone can come together again.

“We can achieve that by the end of the year and we’re well on track to that now.”

International travel

One Highfields resident asked the Prime Minister when international travel would resume and Australia would see more tourists coming in.

Mr Morrison said he knew parts of Queensland had been some of the most affected in the country from the downturn in tourism.

“The great difficulty is the pandemic is real and causing devastation around the world,” he said.

“In the UK, more people have died of the coronavirus than were killed in the blitz.

“That’s how significant the scale (of this pandemic) is.”

Mr Morrison said his government’s first goal when it came to international travel was to get 30,000 Australians home by Christmas.

“We’re on track for that,” he said.

“Once we get a vaccine administered around the world, that’s when we can start opening up.”

Mr Morrison said news of the Oxford University and AstraZeneca vaccine being 90 per cent effective was positive.

“We’ve already started producing that down in Melbourne,” he said.

“The more we get the vaccine out around the world, the more we can return things to normal.

“2021 is looking a lot better than 2020.”

Mr Morrison ended the call by pointing to what he believed was the government’s record in the region: increasing funding to 47 public schools in the electorate by 65 per cent per student of the next decade, having the bulk billing rate at 85 per cent, tripling funding for the local hospital network, providing 17,500 local pensions with additional payments, fixing mobile black spots and rolling out the NBN to 77,000 homes.

“We need good, stable government to bring us through COVID-19 and get the economy going again,” Mr Morrison said.

“I need (Garth Hamilton’s) help as part of the LNP team in Canberra representing you.”

Overall, about 12,000 people tuned in to listen to the call.

“It was great to have the Prime Minister’s support,” Mr Hamilton said after the town hall phone call.

“It’s excellent we had the opportunity to use this technology and it’s important that we listen to Groom’s concerns.

“It was great to have the PM go to the effort to be here and listen to the people of Groom.”

Mr Hamilton said the conversation was “part of the process of working hard for every vote”.

“To make sure Groom gets a strong voice inside the Morrison Government,” he said.