JUSTINE ELLIOT, MEMBER FOR RICHMOND: Good morning. I'm Justine Elliot, I'm the Member for Richmond. And I'm so excited to have the Prime Minister here today, back on the North Coast. He's been here many, many times. And, of course, he knows our region so well and knows the people here as well. So it is a very exciting day for us. Thank you Prime Minister. Of course, in our recent budget, we had our whole range of cost of living measures: cheaper childcare, lots more bulk billing, some power bill relief, so many plans that will really help local families and seniors in our region. And of course, when it comes to cheaper childcare, that's 5,600 families that are going to be better off because of our plans, it'll make such a big difference. And indeed, childcare is so important for children, for parents and for the economy as well. And so it is great to be here at Goodstart. And it was wonderful to meet all of the team in there and some of the children as well. We had a wonderful visit with them. Prime Minister, thank you so much for taking the time to come back to the North Coast.
ANTHONY ALBANESE, PRIME MINISTER: Thanks very much, Justine. And thank you so much to Goodstart Early Learning here at Tweed Heads for the very warm welcome from the staff, but also, from our youngest Australians who are here, enjoying the great benefit that comes from early learning. We know that over 90 per cent of human brain development occurs in the first five years and that's why early learning and education is so important. But this is an economic reform as well because it's about boosting productivity and it's about boosting workforce participation, as well as greater gender equality, allowing women to go back into the workforce earlier, allowing them to progress their careers and that benefit flowing right through to better retirement incomes as well. This policy will help families but it will help communities and help our national economy which is why it is important economic reform. Here in the Richmond electorate alone, 5,600 families will directly benefit from cheaper childcare from July 1. Across New South Wales, some 410,000 families will benefit. Across our nation, 1.2 million families directly benefiting. And that's just one of the measures that we put in place in the Budget. Nothing says middle Australia like providing support for childcare. Nothing says middle Australia like the benefit for those who will now get access to bulk billing because of our tripling of the bulk billing incentive and our strengthening of Medicare. Nothing says middle Australia like the 300,000 additional fee-free TAFE places added to the 180,000 that are under way now, making sure that Australians can get access to the skills that they need for good, secure, well-paid jobs in the future. It is so important. And nothing says middle Australia like providing support for aged care. All of us know, or have a relative of someone in aged care and the 15 per cent pay increase for aged care workers is so important. The cost of some $11.3 billion, but that's an investment and nothing says middle Australia like that support for aged care. So whether you're our youngest Australians here at the Early Learning Centre, whether you're a part of the workforce of today and tomorrow by being skilled up and provided those fee-free TAFE places, the additional university places, or whether you're an elderly Australian benefiting from our support for aged care, right through from the beginning of life to the last years of life. This is a government that is delivering and we're delivering on these cost-of-living pressures and delivering on economy boosting activities such as investing in early childhood learning while at the same time turning around what was anticipated to be a $78 billion deficit which, a year ago the Liberals said would happen this year. We've turned that around into a $4.2 billion surplus. So while we're taking pressure off families, we're not adding pressure to inflation because of our responsible budget. Mine is a government that is doing what we said we would do, what we were elected to do, with the support of important local members like Justine Elliot, who does such a fantastic job representing the far North Coast of New South Wales and I'm very proud to be here today with Justine.
JOURNALIST: Are you concerned about the disarray in the Queensland Labor government, Cabinet reshuffle, they're on the nose on issues like youth crime and (inaudible)?
PRIME MINISTER: I work very closely with Annastacia Palaszczuk and her state government as I work with other state premiers and Chief Ministers. We work cooperatively in the national interest and I look forward to continuing to work with Premier Palaszczuk. I'll be in Queensland in just a little while, in Fadden, and let me just say this - the chaos that I see is the chaos in the LNP. Peter Dutton has lost four Shadow Cabinet ministers this year. We're only five months into the year. And yesterday, he was out there saying that it is business as usual for Stuart Robert to be collecting his pay as a member of Parliament as a Shadow Minister. He said that he's resigning but he hasn't resigned, so no date can be set for the by-election, but he's not turning up to Parliament. That is not business as usual. Scott Morrison has foreshadowed leaving at some stage, but he turns up to Parliament most of the time. So this is completely unacceptable. And Peter Dutton seems to think anything goes with regard to members of his team. If you're a Member of Parliament, your basic duty - unless there's a good reason why you're not in Parliament, with other duties or ill health - you have to turn up. He continues to be paid as the representative of the people of Fadden and they deserve better. To give Alan Tudge credit, at least when he said he was resigning, he stood up in Parliament, gave a speech, and was off a week later. So I find it incomprehensible that Peter Dutton finds this behaviour acceptable, that he can continue to get the pay as a member for Fadden and not think that you have to turn up to work.
JOURNALIST: Are you still committed to funding stage 4 of the Gold Coast Light Rail project?
PRIME MINISTER: What we've got is a review of all of the projects that weren't commitments from us. We'll work with Queensland and New South Wales on this. But you would recall, because I recall, the $365 million we put forward to get Gold Coast Light Rail started. It was opposed by the LNP federally and it was opposed by the Queensland LNP. They were happy to turn up to the opening but they opposed the funding. That's the truth of the matter. They said it was a waste. You had demonstrations held against the project, saying that it would ruin businesses. The truth is that the Gold Coast Light Rail project has been an enormous success. It was vital for the holding of the Commonwealth Games here. When we were last in office, when I was the Infrastructure Minister, Gold Coast got $37 million for the new stadium where the Commonwealth Games opening occurred. We got the Gold Coast Light Rail project. We got upgrades to the Pacific Motorway. We got upgrades around the foreshore, including for bike lanes, and we worked with the Gold Coast City Council. The Gold Coast has been taken for granted by the LNP and the Coalition for a very long period of time. I note two of their members - one resigning straightaway - the other member at least has done the right thing. She's staying in Parliament. She turned up to Parliament, even asked a question in Question Time and that's the right thing to do. And I wish her well in her future career, whatever it is that Karen Andrews decides to do.
JOURNALIST: Can you update us on whether a Quad Summit will take place on the sidelines of the G7? Or will it proceed in Sydney with a senior representative?
PRIME MINISTER: I had a discussion with President Biden in the early hours of this morning. He expressed very much his disappointment at being unable to come to Sydney for the Quad Leaders' Meeting and address the Parliament that had been scheduled for Canberra next week. The blocking and the disruption that's occurring in domestic politics in the United States, with the debt ceiling issue, means that, because that has to be solved prior to 1 June - otherwise there are quite drastic consequences for the US economy, which will flow on to the global economy - he understandably has had to make that decision. President Biden, though, indicated that he was very much looking forward to coming down at a future date when it can be arranged and I will visit the United States for a state visit later this year. All four leaders - President Biden, Prime Minister Kishida, Prime Minister Modi and myself - will be at the G7, held in Hiroshima on Saturday and Sunday. We are attempting to get together over that period of time, as well as I'll have a bilateral discussion with President Biden. At this stage, we haven't got a time locked in for that arrangement. This is a decision that's been made overnight our time in the United States. The Quad Leaders' Meeting will not be going ahead in Sydney next week. We, though, will be having that discussion between Quad Leaders in Japan. I thank Prime Minister Kishida for his invitation for me to attend the G7 and it is appropriate that we talk. The Quad is an important body and we want to make sure that it occurs at leadership level and we'll be having that discussion over the weekend.
JOURNALIST: Will Prime Minister Modi still come to Sydney?
PRIME MINISTER: Prime Minister Modi had a bilateral meeting scheduled for Sydney as well. We are in discussions with the Quad leaders over today. We'll make further announcements about that, but Prime Minister Modi would certainly be a very welcome guest here next week. Prime Minister Kishida, of course, we had bilateral meetings last year, at the end of last year, just a few months ago in Perth that was very successful and the relationship with Japan is very important. And, of course, I received the warmest of welcomes by Prime Minister Modi in India in March. I'll be attending the G20 meeting that will be held in New Delhi later this year as well. Obviously, the decision by President Biden that he has been forced to make because of the holding-up of those budget issues in the United States means that the rescheduling of other arrangements is being made and those discussions are taking place respectfully over the course of today.
JOURNALIST: On Fadden, the LNP is looking at some high profile candidates. Can you pull off another Aston by-election upset?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, Aston was a 1-in-100-year event. It hadn't occurred since 1920, the last time the government won a seat off the Opposition in a by-election. And in those circumstances, it surprised most people. Mary Doyle, of course, was an outstanding candidate. She gave a great first speech in the Parliament last Thursday. And anyone who hadn't had the opportunity to listen to Mary Doyle, if they look at that speech, they'll see why it is that she pulled off an extraordinary result with almost 54 per cent of the two-party-preferred vote in a seat that had previously been a safe Liberal Party seat for a long period of time. Fadden is, of course, a very safe Liberal Party seat. So our expectations would be realistic there. We haven't made a decision about what we will do in Fadden and, indeed, Stuart Robert hasn't resigned yet. He's still the member for Fadden but he's not turning up for work and Peter Dutton thinks that's fine.
JOURNALIST: Is it still your view that wages should keep pace with inflation?
PRIME MINISTER: What we have said is that the Fair Work Commission determines wages independently of the government but we want to see those people who are the lowest-paid workers get the opportunity to not go backwards. If you look at aged care, last Friday I was in the electorate of Cook looking at the aged care workforce. I'm very proud of the 15 per cent wage increase that has been granted, again independently by the Fair Work Commission. But the Government made a submission which said that the Fair Work Commission should give consideration to what the Aged Care Royal Commission had said. And I'm very pleased that that decision will flow on to making a real difference to people. One of the things about the pandemic is that we spoke about people in the care sector being the heroes of the pandemic, including in aged care and that those people deserved more than our thanks. They deserved better wages and conditions and I'm please that under the government I'm proud to lead, that's occurring.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, on the stage 3 tax cuts, we heard from you before that you have no plans to change it, but what the policy itself? How do you justify the new $313 billion price tag?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, you've answered your question when you said you've heard from me before. And nothing's changed between yesterday and today. These are legislated tax cuts. We attempted to amend those tax cuts when they were introduced and were not successful and therefore they've been legislated.
JOURNALIST: Just following on from that, New South Wales has some of the poorest communities in the nation and the stage 3 tax cuts and the new analysis shows they would be hardest hit by them. What's your message to low income-earners living on the North Coast in justifying these cuts?
PRIME MINISTER: My message is if you're in the workforce, people will remember me standing up holding a $1 coin during the election campaign saying that I would absolutely support a decision by the Fair Work Commission if they decided to increase the minimum wage by just a dollar an hour. And they'll recall that Peter Dutton and his entire team said that the world would end and it would lead to economic armageddon if that occurred. People will remember that. They'll also note that last week, with the support that we put in the Budget, including our $14.6 billion cost-of-living relief plan, our energy price relief plan, with $3 billion between the Commonwealth and state governments, to reduce energy bills by taking that rebate off, the agreements we reached with state and territory governments, Peter Dutton and every single member of the LNP voted against that $3 billion plan. They now won't say that they support the $40-per-fortnight increase in JobSeeker. They won't say that they support the tripling of the Medicare bulk-billing incentive that we have put in place. Far from that, Peter Dutton wanted to introduce a compulsory fee every time someone visited a doctor, every time so that no-one would be effectively bulk billed. He also has failed to support our plan that will halve the cost of medicines for so many Australians, including here on the North Coast, which has a substantial elderly population of retirees. Those people will benefit from, instead of getting a script for 30 days and paying a fee every month, getting a script for 60 days. It will halve the costs. Halve the costs. And Peter Dutton and the LNP are saying they're opposed to that as well. They opposed our childcare relief plan that we put forward as well. So, I say to the people of this electorate and the people of the North Coast of New South Wales that the Labor Government has your back. The Labor Government is introducing measures that will make a real, practical difference. And the LNP, on all of those measures, just stands in the way.
JOURNALIST: What are your thoughts on the speed of the Northern NSW Flood Recovery? People are still living in their homes that are destroyed, and in their cars.
PRIME MINISTER: Yeah, look, I've said before, and I've visited the areas many times, including with Justine as the Member for Richmond, that we need to do better. I know that we provided $15 million already last year for our plan to provide better early warning through flood gauges and through such infrastructure, there was further funding in the Budget. But I know that people are doing it really tough.
JOURNALIST: Do you know if any of that $15 million has actually been spent?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, what we do is we provide funding for the state governments. That is how we do it. That funding has been provided to New South Wales. Can I make one further comment about the tragedy that we've seen in Victoria. My heart goes out to these young students going to school who have been involved in this tragic accident with a heavy vehicle, with the injuries that have been sustained. My heart goes out to them and to their families at what must be an extraordinarily difficult time. And once again, as well, we owe our thanks to the medical professionals, to the ambulance personnel, to the paramedics, to the doctors, the nurses, all those who have looked after these fine young people who are suffering as a result of this accident. Any accident is just horrific of this nature. The fact that it involves school students just breaks your heart, and my heart goes out to them and their families.