Senator the Hon Mathias Cormann

MATHIAS CORMANN: Good morning everyone. It is great to be here for this exciting announcement. The WACA came to the Government with an exciting proposal to redevelop this site in a way that is not only exciting for cricket but also for the community at large. 

We are very pleased to be supporting this project with a $30 million contribution, which will part of our half yearly Budget update tomorrow. We are confident that the State Government will also ultimately come on board based on the initial conversations that we have had with them.

For us, this is part of our City Deal for Perth. It really is about helping to ensure that we have the most vibrant, the most exciting, most liveable city on earth, which it of course already is, but this will add to it. 

The WACA is a magnificent ground, with a great history. It is very pleasing that with this proposal the WACA has an exciting future, with cricket at its heart, but with opportunities for other sports and the broader community.

Thank you so much to the WACA for putting in the hard yards and putting this project together. It is great to have so many of the players here who have been responsible for some of the really exciting moments at this ground. 

I was here when Adam actually did a hundred in the shadows of Matthew Hayden, who went to 380 against Zimbabwe. It was a very exciting one hundred, but in the context of the 380. It really is an exciting ground.

It is an exciting ground for all West Australians. I am pleased that we are here today for this announcement.

TUCK WALDRON: Thanks Mathias. Good morning everyone. This is fantastic news for the WACA. It is fantastic news for cricket in Western Australia. It is also fantastic news for Western Australia and the public in Western Australia because this WACA Ground is an iconic part of Western Australia. It has such great heritage. It is known especially across the cricketing world. So it is fantastic that we can now go to the next level, ensure the future of the ground. But also it ensures this ground as the home of cricket in Western Australia.

I just want to quickly say a big thank you to you Mathias and to the Federal Government. We have worked hard with the Federal Government. They have been fantastic to work with. I would like to thank Mathias and Christian Porter in particular for his great work. To the Prime Minister Morrison, thank you very much. And to Minister Alan Tudge who has also been very much involved. We are very grateful. Now the hard work starts for us. But we are ready for the hard work. I will now hand over to our wonderful CEO Christina.

CHRISTINA MATTHEWS: Thank you very much everybody and thank you for coming along. I would just like to reiterate Tuck’s remarks and thank the Federal Government. Starting with Prime Minister Scott Morrison, but particularly thank Mathias Cormann and Christian Porter and all the WA Parliamentary representatives who have really encouraged us and supported us in this project.

It is not something that happens overnight. We have had a tremendous amount of support to develop this iconic ground. It is the oldest and most famous sporting infrastructure on WA and it is known worldwide. On the recent trip the Premier made to India with Adam Gilchrist, all the Indians wanted to talk about was the WACA Ground. It is a real indication of how it is loved across the world.

But I would also like to thank three of our iconic players, Justin Langer, Mike Hussey and Adam Gilchrist who have been a great support to us, have been willing to do anything we asked to support this project and also our captains Chloe Piparo and Mitchell Marsh. Our players and staff have been terrific in dropping everything to make sure this project is front of mind, so thanks. So many people have been a part of this, but Mathias, thank you so much. 

It is a great day, not only for cricketing WA, but for the community and the importance of WA on the Australian landscape. Thank you.

QUESTION: Justin, obviously this ground has a special place in your heart. What do you think of the news that it is going to get a second innings I guess?

JUSTIN LANGER: Very exciting. Mathias asked me yesterday what my favourite memory was and it was sitting over there on that bank when I was a six year old seeing Kim Hughes heading up [inaudible]. So he was my hero when I was a youngster, and I was sitting over there to [inaudible] spent most of my adult life here [inaudible]. 

QUESTION: [inaudible] … this could be a test ground going into the future because … [inaudible]?

JUSTIN LANGER: Of course. We have got an amazing stadium across the road. For us, our preparation this week, I wouldn’t have anywhere else in the world. We are able, because we are so close, we have the centre wicket here at the WACA, very similar wicket, and we just have the nets next door. So great opportunities, but not just for cricket but Australia internationally and also domestic cricket.

QUESTION: Christina, what will this do for the WACA in terms of more games, concerts, venues, opportunities and could you touch on the capacity as well for us?

CHRISTINA MATTHEWS: The plan is to reduce it to a permanent capacity of 10,000 with the ability to build it to 15,000 depending on the events that we have. We have already, since the stadium opened, been doing different sorts of events here. We’ve had obviously Manchester United, Chelsea Football Club, the Wallabies all based here for their training in the winter. This gives us a real opportunity to lengthen the ground for some more footy and start looking at the games we would like to have here. It’s a massive opportunity for our local community and the broader community with an open public space just on the north-west corner that we’ll be able to use for fringe and Perth festivals. It’s big enough for a speigel tent. So another site for the great festival season. But as Justin said, for our own cricketers, don’t forget this is at its heart a cricket ground, it’s a fantastic opportunity to catch up with the rest of the country and with what we’ve got planned, go past what others have got in terms of high performance facilities. The cricket community is already getting the advantage of the ground out in the middle with the amount of games we’re now playing here for our diverse program of activities. There really aren’t enough words to say how important it is.

QUESTION: How are conversations going with the McGowan Government? Obviously there’s been a few attempts about this in the past that haven’t quite got there. Are you confident you’ll be able to get the funding to complete this one?

CHRISTINA MATTHEWS: I’m reasonably confident. We’re very lucky that the Federal Government has engaged the State Government in the conversations about where they want to head. I think the real key point in what we’ve done here is we’ve been patient with both levels of government to allow them space to really consider the project. We’ll do that with the State Government as well.

QUESTION: With capacity going down to 10,000, what’s the implications there for possible Test matches here against smaller nations?

CHRISTINA MATTHEWS: It actually fits in with that. The State Government’s sports hierarchy has a hierarchy of stadiums. They wouldn’t fund this ground if it was going to be bigger than 15,000. We thought as a day to day need we didn’t need 15,000 permanently. But we have factored in the facilities we’ll need to take it to 15,000. So where those temporary stands would go, the power and electricity and food and beverage we would need. It’s absolutely in line with having Test matches for those new countries into Test cricket and the smaller countries.

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QUESTION: Minister, just to start, wage growth forecasts, it’s expected to be smaller again in tomorrow’s update. Has the Government failed to fix this problem for workers?

MATHIAS CORMANN: Wages in Australia continue to grow faster than inflation. In fact, if you look at the most recent quarter National Accounts data, what it shows is that disposable income across Australia has increased at the highest rate in more than a decade. 2.5 per cent over the quarter, more than five per cent over the year. Real wages growth, which is wages growth above inflation, is stronger than what it was when Labor lost government. Yes of course our economy is facing some global economic headwinds, we are facing some domestic challenges in the context of the drought in particular, but our economy continues to grow. Our wages continue to grow faster than inflation. The growth in disposable income across Australia is the fastest it has been in more than a decade.

QUESTION: How will this Budget meet the needs of the aged care sector?

MATHIAS CORMANN: We have already made a significant announcement in relation to additional support for the aged care sector. We have announced another $537 million investment in making sure that older Australians can have access to the aged care services they need.

QUESTION: Do you think the aged care sector will be happy with the outcome?

MATHIAS CORMANN: There is a Royal Commission into aged care underway. What we have said is that this is our initial response in this half-yearly budget update. Tomorrow, what we will be delivering is an update to the Budget. The next Budget will be on the second Tuesday in May. We will continue to work to ensure that we have the most appropriate response available.

QUESTION: Are wages stagnant under this Government and what’s the plan to get them moving again?

MATHIAS CORMANN: Wages are not stagnant. That is just inaccurate Labor party political rhetoric. Real wages are growing more strongly than when Labor lost government. Wages continue to grow faster than inflation. Over the last quarter according to the National Accounts data, the growth in disposable income for people across Australia was the highest in more than a decade. Two and a half per cent growth in disposable income this most recent quarter, more than five per cent growth in disposable income over this last year. That is not stagnant wages. This is continued growth.

QUESTION: What’s the Government doing to assist parents wrongly given a debt notice for childcare subsidy payments?

MATHIAS CORMANN: When it comes to childcare subsidies, there is a reconciliation at the end of the year to ensure that in particular those Australians who did not receive their full payment get a top-up payment. For those who received more than they should have, there is an adjustment accordingly. We have gone through that process. 87 per cent of families received either a top up payment or no change. There is about 13 per cent of families where because of inaccurate information or because of whatever other factors they received payments over and above what they should have. Then there is an adjustment. That is what Australians would expect us to do.

QUESTION: Is this a widespread issue and is it linked to the robodebt debacle?

MATHIAS CORMANN: Firstly, I do not accept the description you have just put on that. It is not a widespread issue. As I have said, 87 per cent of Australian families receiving childcare subsidies either received top-up payments at the end of the year through the reconciliation process or had no adjustment at all. If anyone receives more than they should have based on their circumstances, then there needs to be an adjustment and that’s what has taken place.

Thank you.