PREMIER DISCUSSES REBUILDING A SCHOOL

Wednesday, 23 July 2008
Summary: Victorian Premier John Brumby discusses the rebuilding of a school, and anti-pipeline protesters planning to occupy his rural property.
JOHN BRUMBY:    Just a couple of words about this school.  As you know, we’re investing a record amount in education, $1.8 billion in our building program, and this is part of the rebuilding of Victoria’s education system.  It’s a fantastic performing arts centre, it’s a great partnership, it builds on the new science facilities out here which we opened in 2006, and the new arts and IT facilities which we opened in 2002, and we’re very proud of the investment that we’re making in education.

REPORTER:    Premier, you obviously called into radio: you’re very concerned about the safety of your farm?

BRUMBY:    Well, I made some comments this morning.  I was advised late yesterday that protesters would be protesting at my wife’s and my property, that they intended to enter the property.  Needless to say, I was upset by that, and very disappointed that people would do that.  I, you know, in a long time in public life I can’t remember, there may have been occasions, but I can’t remember occasions where…a Premier or a Minister’s property has been entered in that way. 

And the point about the farm is, you know, I’ve got a pretty busy job; the farm is basically run by my wife, Rosemary; she gets up there a number of times a week.  When we have a spare weekend, we’re there, but it’s essentially her show and her property; she is often there alone by herself and she, needless to say, is very upset about this, and…she didn’t sleep last night.  And she went up early this morning; she left at six o’clock this morning to move sheep because she was concerned that they would be affected by protesters – a lot of lambs there and some older sheep – so she moved them. 

And she shouldn’t have to put up with that; she’s not elected, but nor should I.  This is private property, and people have a right to be heard, they have a right to express their views, but there are ways that you can do that without invading the private property of politicians.  And…if people get away with this, it’s just open game, henceforth, that any politician, any Minister, or any Member of Parliament who makes a decision someone doesn’t like, you just go and invade their property.

So, she’s very upset about it.  She’s lived in country Victoria for a long time, and it’s essentially her show and her property, and she feels violated.  If I said she was upset, that would be an understatement, and…this is her property, it’s our place – it’s not anybody else’s – and I think it’s just…it’s a new low, isn’t it, in political campaigning, when people think it’s alright to jump over a locked gate and invade your property.

REPORTER:    [Inaudible] concerns that you have about the welfare of the sheep: is there some suggestion they’re…?

BRUMBY:    Oh, no, they’re just…lambing ewes, and they’re there, and I don’t know how many people are gonna turn up, but the report we had from police was that people intend to enter the property, and the sheep will run, you know, the sheep will run...  So she’s just concerned to protect the welfare of the sheep so that they’re not disturbed and not affected.

REPORTER:    Ted Baillieu’s condemned it on radio…

REPORTER:    You said on radio this morning your wife had prepared a statement…

BRUMBY:    Sorry?

REPORTER:    You said on radio this morning…

BRUMBY:    Well look, Rosemary was very upset about this last night.  She put down a few paragraphs.  She’s not putting out a statement today; she’s not an elected person, but she’s, needless to say, she thinks this is completely unacceptable behaviour.  It’s a complete breach of all of the normal standards of campaigning and protest and political life, and she’s the victim of it. 

I’ve never been too precious about these things; we’ve had people outside our home, and media from time to time; generally the media is very mindful of these things.  But she is the one who fundamentally manages this property, and it’s a violation of her privacy and her rights.  And she is very uneasy about it.  Our place now will never be the same; you know, she feels quite violated by this.  But she’s not releasing a statement, she’s not gonna do media interviews, she’s not an elected official, but obviously she condemns this behaviour.  She’s…

I also understand this morning that Ken Pattison was interviewed on radio – I didn’t hear that – but [laughs] Rosemary grew up on a farm near Boort, and her father knew Ken Pattison’s parents, and her father used to often help out other farmers in the area.  And, so, she’s particularly disappointed in his behaviour.

REPORTER:    Some of the protesters have drawn parallels between going into your family’s property and the compulsory acquisition of land around some projects such as desalination.  Do you see them as fundamentally different?

BRUMBY:    Yeah, I mean, it’s just not true to say that.  There are thousands of kilometres of pipes across Victoria.  You know, governments, going back a hundred years, have put in place infrastructure across the state; whether they’re water pipelines or electricity pipelines or gas pipelines, there’s established processes for doing those things, same with electricity pylons and electricity poles.  You know, we recently had someone who, one of our neighbours, who wanted more electricity on, and applied for an easement to put the poles across our property, which we approved.  You know, there are always developments which occur; there are always pipelines and wires and networks which are put across the state. 

And what we try and do as a government, as every other government has always tried to do, is work by the book to make sure that there are proper processes.  But, at the end of the day, you know, the state’s got to develop, the state’s got to go ahead, there are long-established rules for how we deal with these things, and that’s what we’ve been doing.

And I think…the irony of this, the protesters, I understand, are meeting at the pub in Harcourt; you know, they’re not welcome in Harcourt.  The pipeline that we put into Bendigo, which was opposed by this group – you might recall when I became Premier, you know, they imprisoned me at Colbinabbin when we opened it – but if it wasn’t for that pipeline, Harcourt would be a ghost town.  You know, it’s that pipeline that provided water to Bendigo and water to the apple growers at Harcourt.  And, so, these people…have campaigned against the pipe to Bendigo, have campaigned against the pipe to Ballarat.  If we hadn’t built those things, Bendigo and Ballarat and the surrounding agricultural areas would have run out of water – full stop.

REPORTER:    Some of those involved in the protest [inaudible] campaign literature for the Coalition.  Do you think that Ted Baillieu can realistically distance himself from this protest?

BRUMBY:    Well, fact is these people get encouraged, you know, they’re given support.  And the people who run this campaign…the key person, Mike Dalmau, is a Liberal, you know, he’s a failed Liberal candidate.  One of the other gentlemen, Mr Northausen, who organised the rally in Melbourne recently – you can find him on the internet – he’s a former prominent member of the Young Nationals, pretty strong in his views about guns, and this is a political show.

REPORTER:    Would you like to see Ted Baillieu publicly come out and distance himself from these people?

BRUMBY:    Well, I think the point about this organisation is that they are given…support and encouragement, and…I have always respected the right of people to express their views.  You know, we live in a very democratic society, and that’s one of the great and healthy things about Victoria – you can express your views.  But it’s quite a different thing where you’ve got a group which…intends to break the law and which has been quite militant in their actions, and so obviously their behaviour should be condemned.

REPORTER:    Does this protest have any affect – other than obviously on you and your wife personally – but I mean, in terms of a policy decision about the pipe, does it affect you in any way to be thinking about going ahead with the project?

BRUMBY:    No, I’ve made it very clear: this is a project which Victoria needs, and I…made it very clear when I became Premier that we would take the right decisions and the tough decisions, if necessary, to secure Victoria’s long-term future, and that’s what people expect me to do.  So all of these projects, they’re always difficult, not everybody agrees with them, but we’ve tried to do everything by the book. 

And, as I say about this project, this is a project which came from the region.  It’s a project that came from the Food Bowl group; it’s strongly supported by major employers, by major industry groups, and by many of the major agriculturalists throughout the region.  So we’ve tried to do everything right, it’s a good project for the future, people have a right to protest, but at the end of the day, we’ve got to get on with the job and do it.

REPORTER:    Do you think this action will be damaging for the protesters’ campaign, the fact they’re prepared to go this far?

BRUMBY:    Oh, look…that’s matter for the public to make their judgements about; it’s not a matter for me.

REPORTER:    Jeff Kennett set his big dogs on the Save Albert Park protesters outside his house.  Have you got a dog up there or…do you think…?

BRUMBY:    [Laughs] We’ve got a couple of dogs, but they’re pretty tame, and – chase a ball if you throw it – but, no, no, it’s…  Rosemary, in particular, is the person who is…the victim of this, and it’s just completely unfair for them to invade private property and to intimidate her; you know, it’s just completely unfair.

REPORTER:    Have you spoken to police about any developments this morning?

BRUMBY:    No, I haven’t.

REPORTER:    What was your first reaction when you heard yesterday afternoon that people were gonna come onto the property?

BRUMBY:    Well, we…got a police report, police advice that this was occurring, and I was obviously very disappointed, a bit angry and a bit of despair, I guess.  I just…it’s not…fair political play.  You know?  People can protest, they can express their views, they can write letters to the editor, they can do whatever they like, but if every time…a government makes a decision people don’t like and they invade your property, that’s, sort of, third world chaos, and it’s…so I was very upset about that. 

I then had a phone call from a neighbour who said that there’d been people prowling around on the property, and the neighbour had seen them and intercepted them and told them to leave.  So I don’t like that, you know…but particularly Rosemary doesn’t like that, because…she is up there often, she is up there often by herself, she runs the place – you know, I’m a bit of cheap voluntary labour at the weekends, basically – and she’s very upset, and I think she’s entitled to be upset.

REPORTER:    So there already had been people on your property [inaudible]?

BRUMBY:    So I understand, yep.