TRISH COOK, LABOR CANDIDATE FOR BULLWINKEL: Good morning everyone. Thank you for being here on this unusual weather outside. Glad we all got here safely on the roads, they're very slippery. It's my great pleasure today to be here at the Mundaring GP Super Clinic with Dr. Kiran, who is the practice owner, to welcome Anthony Albanese, our Prime Minister. Mundaring is right in the heart of Bullwinkel, which is the new electorate named after a nurse. And as a nurse myself, I'm so pleased for what Labor is doing for nursing, medicine and general practice. So with that, we thank you, and I'd like to hear more. Thank you.
ANTHONY ALBANESE, PRIME MINISTER: Well, thanks very much, Trish, this is the second Cook I've been with in the last hour after the meeting I just had with the Premier, and then we'll hear from Dr. Kiran. Look, we are building Australia's future with the largest investment that any government has made in Medicare in 40 years. In last year's Budget, we tripled the bulk billing incentive for concession card holders. What we know is that as a direct result of that, 90 per cent of patients who are eligible have been bulk billed. That has made an enormous difference. We've taken that principle and extended it with an $8.5 billion commitment to ensure that bulk billing is available for all Australians. We want to make sure that the only card that you need when you visit a doctor is this little green card here – your Medicare card. That is at the centre of our health system. Labor created Medicare, and only Labor will strengthen Medicare. We're doing that by the tripling of the bulk billing incentive – but not just that. We also are promising more – 50 more – Urgent Care Clinics. We promised 50 during the last campaign, we delivered 87 are now open, including eight right here in Western Australia. If we are re-elected, there will be another six, including one here at Mundaring. And what that means is providing that mid-tier, taking the pressure off emergency departments, making sure that people get the care they need when they need it, and all they need is their Medicare card. In addition to that, we're training more GPs, more nurses, more health professionals, making sure that we make a difference there as well to improve the capacity of the health workforce. Nothing is more important for government than prioritising healthcare. And under a Labor Government, we will always prioritise Medicare and making a difference. It stands in stark contrast with our opponents, who, of course, the last time they were in office, they ripped $50 billion out of the health system. And Peter Dutton tried, as Health Minister, to introduce a GP tax every time people visited a doctor, introduce a new tax every time people visited an emergency department of a hospital. And also wanted to increase the costs of medicines rather than decrease the costs of medicines. Delivering on healthcare and putting prices down as part of our cost of living relief, as well. Together with our tax cuts for all Australians, together with our Cheaper Medicines, Cheaper Child Care, Free TAFE and rising wages. All of these measures are making a difference to people's living standards. This is my 29th visit to Western Australia as Prime Minister. Earlier today, I was able to congratulate Roger Cook, the Premier of Western Australia, on his resounding victory in the election. What that shows is that West Australians trust Labor to deliver. Trust Labor to deliver on jobs, on healthcare, on education, on all the things that make a difference to their standard of living and their quality of life. And I look forward to continuing to work with the Cook Labor Government here. And what I want is this Cook here – Trish Cook – as the Labor Member for Bullwinkel, to be able to work as part of the WA team, both in Canberra, but also to work with the WA Labor team. We'll hear from Dr Kiran, and then I'm happy to take some questions, but thank you very much for having us at this amazing facility that’s looking after people here in the hills in Mundaring, here in Perth.
DOCTOR KIRAN PUTTAPPA: Thank you, Prime Minister. Urgent Care Clinics, obviously, so that's a good part of health reforms, and the Government is putting more funding to the general practice, we really appreciate, and more into the general practice training. So I think that's where, basically, we need we are the gatekeepers. We are hopeful that, I think we are very well supported from the Government. Thank you.
PRIME MINISTER: Thanks very much, Doctor. Happy to take questions.
JOURNALIST: On Medicare, Roger Cook sheeted home a fair bit of blame for the state hospitals – their block on lack of bulk billing, aged care, NDIS, long term patients and areas of Commonwealth responsibility. Were you an easy scapegoat for him during the state election? And what do you think voters make of that now that you're side by side on the federal election campaign trail?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, we know that the former Government ripped $50 billion out of the healthcare system. They ripped $30 billion out of education. When they came to office, promising no cuts, that was the first thing that they did in their 2014 Budget, and they never replaced it. When they couldn't get their tax on visiting the GP through, the co-payment that Peter Dutton wanted, what he did was he froze the rebate for Medicare for six long years. That resulted in bulk billing going into free fall. That put pressure on the emergency departments of hospitals. What we have done is to fix bulk billing by having the tripling of the bulk billing incentive, firstly for concession card holders, and then the measures that will be fully accounted for in the Budget that we'll hand down in a couple of weeks, to extend that bulk billing. We also introduced, of course, Urgent Care Clinics. Now, Peter Dutton has described that as wasteful spending. There's no premier – Labor or Liberal – that says that it's wasteful spending because it is taking pressure off the emergency departments of hospitals. So, we continue to invest to make a difference. But it's not surprising that all of the state premiers, when we came to office, were disappointed with the role of the Commonwealth. We, in addition to that, have extended our hospital funding with an additional $1.7 billion that I announced last month in a deal with every state premier and chief minister, just before WA went into caretaker.
JOURNALIST: Just on spending, having seen the national energy regulator’s advice on what price increases should be in the next year – some upwards of 9 per cent, are you more determined off the back of that to offer energy subsidies, more of them?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, I'm determined to provide cost of living relief wherever we can. We've provided two lots of cost of living relief. We have also, of course, put a cap on gas and coal prices. All of those measures have been opposed by the Coalition. We understand that people are doing it tough, and that's why we've provided cost of living measures. Every single one of those cost of living measures has been opposed by Peter Dutton and the Coalition.
JOURNALIST: There’s been a call for some tapering in terms of that cost of living assistance over the next few years. How could your Government still kind of provide for people most in need, but begin to wean the general public off that sort of assistance?
PRIME MINISTER: By responsible economic management. And what we have done is we managed to introduce cost of living measures that have contributed to putting that downward pressure on inflation. When we came to office, inflation had a six in front now it's a 2.4 per cent and going down. When we came to office, interest rates had started to rise, now they've started to fall. It's a direct result, and we've done that whilst having every household benefiting from Energy Price Relief, families benefiting from Cheaper Child Care to the tune on average of $2,700 across Australia. Free TAFE here in WA has been so important, and WA has been at the forefront of that support, as well. The increased housing supply through our Housing Australia Future Fund and other measures that we've done. The 45 per cent increase in Rental Assistance. We have provided for that support, whilst we've delivered two Budget surpluses. The first time there's been back to back Budget surpluses in two decades. We've done all of that whilst the global economy has been through a really difficult period. But quite clearly, when you look at the growth figures that came out from the last quarter, we've turned the corner. So, the economy growing, wages increasing, inflation falling, jobs being created – 1.15 million of them – tax cuts for every taxpayer. We're delivering on the fundamentals. There's more work to do, but that's why we can't afford to go back to what was there, and that's what Peter Dutton is promising – going backwards.
JOURNALIST: Can you acknowledge, though, that your promise to households to have $275 worth of energy cost relief is just not going to happen?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, Australia is not separate from world movements, and what we've seen is substantial world movements in energy prices as a direct result of the long tail of COVID and supply chain issues, but also of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. That has seen enormous spikes that has led to global inflation, which in some countries – here, it peaked above with a seven in front. It was a six in front when we came to office, and was rising. In some countries, it hit double digits, and so did unemployment in some advanced economies. Now, what we've managed to do is get inflation down without throwing people on the scrap heap of unemployment. What we've managed to do is to keep people in jobs whilst getting inflation down, whilst getting wages up. Now that is a troika that I'm very proud of, and at the same time, we've delivered tax cuts for every taxpayer.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, are you a fan of Leonardo DiCaprio?
PRIME MINISTER: Depends on the movie, mate.
JOURNALIST: He’s used his profile to complain about your Government approving a bauxite mine in –
PRIME MINISTER: If Leonardo DiCaprio knows where a bauxite mine is in Western Australia, I'd be very surprised.
JOURNALIST: He does know where it is, Prime Minister –
JOURNALIST: He’s got 60 million followers though, a lot of people watching that.
PRIME MINISTER: I'd be very surprised. I'd be very surprised.
JOURNALIST: Does he have a point, or not?
PRIME MINISTER: I haven't seen – I don't follow Leonardo DiCaprio. He is of Italian heritage, and that's to his benefit.
JOURNALIST: There's a question mark hanging over the US’ ability to build these Virginia Class submarines that Australian plans to purchase. Should Australia have a Plan B for AUKUS?
PRIME MINISTER: We support AUKUS –
JOURNALIST: This question is about the US –
PRIME MINISTER: We support AUKUS, and so does the United States. And that's been confirmed in discussions that I've had with President Trump, and it's also confirmed across the Congress and across the Senate in a bipartisan way by Democrats and Republicans, and it's supported here in a bipartisan way.
JOURNALIST: So, you are confident we will get those submarines?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, obviously, I just answered that question.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, the influencer who stole a wombat temporarily, is she welcome in Australia?
PRIME MINISTER: I’ve got to say I've seen that footage of a baby wombat being taken from its mum. Now, wombats are amazing creatures. I did a walk not so long ago around Cradle Mountain in Tasmania, and you come across these amazing creatures. They're not kangaroos. They don't run fast. They are gentle, lovely creatures. To take a baby wombat from its mother, and clearly causing distress from the mother is just an outrage. And, you know, I suggest to this so called influencer, maybe she might try some other Australian animals. Take a baby crocodile from its mother and see how you go there. Take another animal that can actually fight back rather than stealing a baby wombat from its mother. See how you go there.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, you're in Perth, Don Farrell's in Perth today as well. Should one of you be on a plane to Washington?
PRIME MINISTER: We’re in Perth – I thought you liked us coming to Perth. We're coming to Perth, doing our job. That's what we're doing.
JOURNALIST: Isn’t the most important place for you to be right now Washington trying to get a meeting with Donald Trump?
PRIME MINISTER: The most important place for me to be is doing my job as the Australian Prime Minister.
JOURNALIST: Have you been able to get a phone call?
PRIME MINISTER: That's the most important thing that I am doing. And you know what the most important thing I was doing last week was? Dealing with the impact of the cyclone on Australians in South East Queensland and Northern New South Wales. Now, one of the political leaders in this country had to be present during that period. That's what I was doing. And I note, you know, when it comes to Peter Dutton’s response to the actions of the American Government under the Trump Administration – who have been very clear that they want these tariffs to apply across the board to every country. This is not Australia being singled out. Every country, regardless of who has spoken to who has these tariffs imposed. Peter Dutton has, at every opportunity, when he has to choose between Australia's national interests and standing up for Australia and playing politics, he chooses politics. This is a time where, like we did when the Trump Administration imposed tariffs before – and it was many months before they were exempted – we were on Team Australia's side.G Not on the side of the Trump Administration, who have chosen to do this to every country.
JOURNALIST: On Peter Dutton's movements, it's been well reported that he was a political fundraiser in Sydney on March 4. Did you also attend a fundraising event on that day?
PRIME MINISTER: Look, that's a matter for him.
JOURNALIST: That's a matter for you, Prime Minister. It's a matter of whether you attended a fundraising event or not.
PRIME MINISTER: That’s a matter for him. I'm not sure what day you're talking about.
JOURNALIST: When China imposed tariffs in 2020 you were very critical of the Prime Minister of the day, not being able to get China on the phone. Have you been able to secure a phone call with Donald Trump? And if not, are you a prime observer as you called the Prime Minister of the day back then?
PRIME MINISTER: No, be very clear – when it comes to China and the relationship, there were no phone calls between the Morrison Government, any Minister and any Chinese Government Minister during all of that time. I have had two very constructive discussions with the US President. They've been constructive and we’ll continue to engage
JOURNALIST: Are you concerned that beef and pharmaceutical industries are to be the next hit by tariffs, and what are you doing to protect them?
PRIME MINISTER: Look these issues where the US Administration are choosing to go down this road. I have said very clearly, from Australia's perspective, when it comes to tariffs, they penalise the country that's imposing this increases costs for Americans, and that's why it's not in their interests. Thanks very much.