Interview with David Penberthy and Will Goodings - FiveAA

Transcript
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese
Prime Minister

HOST: But right now we're joined by the Prime Minister of Australia, Anthony Albanese. Prime Minister, good morning to you. No need to thank us for getting you there. You don't need to do that. I know that's what you wanted to do.

ANTHONY ALBANESE, PRIME MINISTER: Good morning. Well, Two Tribes, I think, was the key.

HOST: Well, that's what we've been saying all morning.

ANTHONY ALBANESE, PRIME MINISTER: One went up and one went out.

HOST: We were saying at the start of the show, Albo. That it's either—depending on people's politics—it's either to our eternal credit or our lasting shame that you became the Prime Minister.

ANTHONY ALBANESE, PRIME MINISTER: Oh mate, be proud. Own it. Own it.

HOST: Do we have to be sensible and statesmanlike now that you've got the top job?

ANTHONY ALBANESE, PRIME MINISTER: Well mate, that's beyond your paygrade. We'll all go okay. We've known each other too long, my friend.

HOST: Oh, that is true. Does it feel a bit, a bit, sort of, you know, do you have to pinch yourself? Two and a half weeks ago, you are the Leader of the Opposition and then here you are—talks in Pacific Island nations about regional security, being handed the Budget Papers, trying to wrap your head around what's going on with the state of the economy, at times of unprecedented uncertainty internationally. It must be quite daunting, in all honesty, mustn't it?

ANTHONY ALBANESE, PRIME MINISTER: Of course it is. And I hope it always feels that way. I don't want to ever take the responsibility that I've been given by the Australian people for granted. I'm talking to you now, about to fly out of Canberra, driving in C1 with the flag on the car. It is very daunting, and there are moments where I pinch myself. But I'm really looking forward to the challenge. I think we've begun. No one could say we didn't hit the ground running. We got sworn in quicker than any government in Australia's history on the Monday morning at 9:00 am and that was so that we could fly to Tokyo and go to the Quad Leaders' meeting. It was actually a really good way to start. We didn't have time to celebrate. We hit the ground running and put in our work program in place. And in today's uncertain world, part of that means our relationship with our allies, our most important ally, of course, the United States, but also India and Japan, important friends. And tomorrow I'll be in Adelaide with the new Member for Boothby, with Louise, and meeting with some of her supporters to say thank you. And then travelling to Perth, and on Sunday we're off to Jakarta to engage with President Widodo. Indonesia is, of course, a very important neighbour for Australia and that relationship is very important.

HOST: We've just had the Treasurer of South Australia on, Prime Minister, because the state handed down the Budget yesterday, and the round figures that interest us in the context of chatting with you were these—the surplus was in the somewhere in the order of $230 million and as of next year with the GST carve up, we'll lose $290 million worth of GST revenue. So you can quickly see how things can, can get into trouble quickly. You contrast that with the West Australian Government. They just recorded a surplus shy of, just shy of, $6 billion. Is there scope to tinker with the GST formula?

ANTHONY ALBANESE, PRIME MINISTER: No, we have the full intention of sticking to the commitments that we gave. These were changes that were made, of course, under the former government. But we've said that we won't be changing them. But what we will do, is sit down and work constructively with the Malinauskas Government. We had important announcements during the election campaign, including on capital funding for the hospital there and we'll continue to work with Mali and, and indeed with Stephen Mullighan and the rest of the South Australian Government. I will bring all the Premiers and Chief Ministers will come to Canberra the week after next. I want to work with all of the Premiers to work through some of the issues that face our federation. There's a lot of duplication, there's a lot of things that we can do much better and much smarter and much more efficiently. And I'll work those things through constructively, whether it's Labor Premiers or Liberal Premiers. I do want to bring the country together. I'm serious about that commitment that I made.

HOST: Prime Minister, can I ask you, obviously a huge weekend in Britain this weekend, and obviously for all Commonwealth nations, with the Queen celebrating her 70 years as Head of State. The Jubilee celebrations are already underway there in the, in the UK. I noticed when you announced your new ministerial line up, the appointment of an Assistant Minister for the Republic. Can I ask you, what is Labor's thinking around the timing of the Republic? Because it didn't strike me as something that was front and centre or even remotely an issue, frankly, during the campaign. And also, more importantly, shouldn't we concentrate on building a consensus around the Uluru Statement first and trying to get the voice up before we muddy the waters with the Republican push?

ANTHONY ALBANESE, PRIME MINISTER: Yes, look, that's exactly my position. And we will, I've said very clearly this term, our priority is absolutely the Uluru Statement from the Heart and working with business, working across the Parliament to make sure that we get that constitutional change. But the Republic, I am a Republican, as is the Labor Party platform, but that doesn't mean that you can't respect the extraordinary 70 years of service that Queen Elizabeth II has given to Australia and to the Commonwealth as our Head of State. And last night, around the world, there were flames lit in honour of Queen Elizabeth. I will be back in Canberra tomorrow—we're renaming where the Carillon is, the bell tower that goes out into Lake Burley Griffin, after Her Majesty tomorrow. And that is deserving. I think all Australians can have different views on our Head of State and I happen to believe that Australia should have our own Head of State, but that doesn't mean that you can't respect the extraordinary commitment and diligence and work and just extraordinary example that Queen Elizabeth is given the 70 years. That's quite an extraordinary achievement.

HOST: Just to be clear though, that it sounds like you're saying that there would be no push to hold a Republican referendum at the next election.

ANTHONY ALBANESE, PRIME MINISTER: Yeah, that's exactly right. And I made that clear during the election campaign what our priority was. We had a Shadow Minister, a Shadow Assistant Minister, for the Republic. I maintained that position, that's in the Labor Party platform and these are long term questions that that we'll need to consider over a long period of time. But it's now five years since the Uluru Statement from the Heart, a generous reaching out to non-Indigenous Australians, a hand of friendship that should be shaken in my view, and needs to be done this term. It's not a third chamber, it's just a matter of good manners that where an area affects Indigenous people, whether it's health or education or housing, then they should be consulted.

HOST: Prime Minister, your Government has begun a review into Australia's defence acquisitions, program and posture, wondering whether that includes a reassessment of the nuclear submarine program, including the model of a submarine that gets built, and parochially, where it gets built.

ANTHONY ALBANESE, PRIME MINISTER: No. Well, but the model of course is under consideration in terms of the UK option or the US option, and that's to report down the track—there was an 18 month timeframe of that. We want to maximise Australian input and we particularly know that South Australia wants to, and should, receive maximum benefit from that construction. The nuclear option is the right option for Australia. We want continuity there. I've already been briefed extensively. I had a couple of briefings with the Department of Defence, but also the National Security Committee of Cabinet have already met. And obviously defence procurement is one of the issues on the agenda. What we need to do more of is actually produce defence capability. There's been a lot of defence announcements but not much capability added to. Under the former government we want to make sure that we deal with the challenges that we face in our region. There are strategic challenges that that have emerged in recent years and we need to make sure that all of that, whether it's Defence Force posture, as in where it's located in terms of our assets and our personnel. But all of these matters are given proper consideration and that we deliver. But when it comes to manufacturing as well, we need to make sure that defence industry is understood to produce the multiplier that it can of having a benefit. We know that South Australia suffered when the former government told the car industry to leave and that's really hurt Australia. I think that the former government just didn't get that advanced manufacturing, it wasn't just about the automotive industry. It was about the skills and the technology that arose from that. So we've got a lot of catching up to do. I'm committed to increasing our manufacturing capacity to us being more self-reliant, to a standing on our own two feet and the defence industry as a part of that.

HOST: Well, Prime Minister Albo, thank you so much for joining us so swiftly after your election win for ...

ANTHONY ALBANESE, PRIME MINISTER: Do you notice that, Will? He's already, he's already tried to go high, and now it's Prime Minister Albo.

HOST: Yeah. At least I called you Prime Minister.

ANTHONY ALBANESE, PRIME MINISTER: That's a bonus. Thanks guys.

HOST: Thank you, PM.