ANTHONY ALBANESE, PRIME MINISTER: Well, good morning. It's fantastic to be here in Brisbane’s beautiful botanical gardens to announce Madonna Jarrett as our candidate for the federal election for Brisbane.
CROWD MEMBER: Go Madonna
PRIME MINISTER: Indeed. Indeed, absolutely. I've been here in Brisbane, this is day three of announcing candidates for electorates that we hope to win at the next federal election. We know that Brisbane and Queensland needs more Labor representation as part of a Federal Labor government. Many people, I think, at the last election, voted Green, thinking that that would make a positive difference. What they've found is that the Greens in the federal parliament have simply blocked Labor's progressive agenda. They're currently holding up the Net Zero Economy Authority legislation in the Senate. This is legislation to help the transition to net zero, to help communities adjust and to provide that support for new jobs and new infrastructure to make sure that communities can thrive, particularly here in Queensland. They're holding up our Help to Buy legislation. Now what that is a Shared Equity Scheme. It's actually part of their policy, but still, they're holding it up like they held up the Housing Australia Future Fund with increased funding for social housing. What Brisbane needs is a fighter for them - Madonna Jarrett will be just that. I've known Madonna for a long period of time, for thirty years and more. Madonna was an outstanding candidate for us at the last election, and the change of just a couple of thousand votes will see Madonna as a representative in government. It is far better to have someone who can have their say in government, rather than wait for decisions to be made and just protest or block in order to get some product differentiation which is what the Greens political party are doing. Quite frankly, the Federal member for Brisbane for the Greens, hasn't troubled the scores. No one's noticed he's there, and no one will notice if he's gone. But what they will notice is if Madonna Jarrett is elected, because she'll be a strong voice for this local community in this dynamic growing city of Brisbane, particularly in the lead up, of course, to the Olympic Games that will ensure Brisbane’s place as a part of the global community. So I'm very proud to introduce Madonna to you. In the last fortnight, we've seen the difference that a Labor government can make. When people receive their paychecks, they're receiving more money in them as a result of Labor's tax cuts. Labor's tax cuts that we put forward, the right decision done for the right reasons to make sure that all those earning under $45,000 got a tax cut. They would have got nothing under the Liberals plan. Those people who are average workers, are getting double what they would have got. And on top of that, they're earning more with the wage increase that happened as well on July 1. So we do want Australians to earn more and to keep more of what they earn. On top of that, $1300 in energy bill relief, $300 from the federal government and $1,000 from the Queensland Labor government. On top of that, Cheaper Child Care, fee free TAFE, all of these measures making a difference for pensioners and people on fixed incomes. Our freezing of Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme payments, making sure that medicines have actually decreased in costs, saving Australians over $400 million already. The opening of Urgent Care Clinics is making sure that if kids fall off a bike or a skateboard or someone cuts their hand, what they can do is they can get that care when they need it for free with just their Medicare card. We promised fifty we opened fifty-eight and there's twenty-nine more on the way. This is the difference that good government can make. And in addition to that, of course, planning for the future, our net zero commitments, our 82% renewables by 2030 that we are delivering. The cooperation that we have in rolling out renewables and making sure that we have a future made here in Queensland. We know that Queensland, as the most regional of our states can benefit, particularly from the transition to net zero, and yet it's only Labor that's putting forward those positive plans and implementing them as part of the government. What we have from the Coalition is their risky nuclear plan that will call for a stop to investment in renewables that we need. They can't say how much it will cost, they can't say how it will exist in conjunction with the sites, given that six of the seven sites said no to this plan. You have chaos within the LNP between David Crisafulli, who's pretending that none of that exists. But of course, he'll be rolled over by Peter Dutton who’s saying he'll roll over any state government, which is why it's important that Steven Miles be re-elected here in a few months’ time as well. But in Madonna Jarrett, we have a champion for this local community, she's someone who has the skills, has the integrity, has the intellect to be able to represent this community, to be such a strong advocate. And I'm very proud to introduce Madonna to you.
MADONNA JARRET, FEDERAL LABOR CANDIDATE FOR BRISBANE: Thank you, Prime Minister. Well, hello everybody, a little bit about myself first. I'm a local girl. I grew up in Paddington, not far from here. I’m one of six sisters and a brother, and we lived in a small workers cottage. I graduated from QUT, just next door here twice, and I now live in Ashgrove with my husband and my twin boys who are in their mid-twenties. My childhood house provided a home for a number of foster kids who had nowhere to go. I look around me today and I see young people facing cost of living pressures and have housing affordability concerns, including my two young sons. I've also been working in an organisation, volunteering in an organisation that supports people at risk of homelessness, so I'm seeing the impact of these issues firsthand on our community, and I believe we really have to have progressive change if we are to improve the lives of people in our community. I think about the future, the future for our kids, my kids, their kids. Climate change is real, and we only have one chance to fix it, and that's now. I really believe that the action and the approach needs to be considered. It needs to be achievable, it needs to be realistic, and it needs to be effective. As a local member for Brisbane, I will take those values because I believe that we need to fix these problems, I will take them to Canberra and represent the people of Queensland. It is the only way that we can really introduce progressive change into our community. I believe that what the Prime Minister and his team are doing is progressive, it's forward looking, and it is making an impact. He spoke just before about the cost of living measures, the investments in renewable energy, there have been wage increases for workers who haven't had a wage increase for a long period of time. These are all very progressive changes that can help people in our community. These changes need, from my perspective, our people in Brisbane need a voice who make progressive change [Inaudible] to address these conditions. I’m running because I believe I have values and the experience to contribute to the debates and really be a part of a progressive change, progressive improvements, and improve the lives of people here in Queensland.
PRIME MINISTER: Thanks Madonna. Happy to take questions.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, are ADF recruitment processes too relaxed?
PRIME MINISTER: No, they're certainly not, and I assume you're referring to the issue that became clear yesterday. That proves, from my perspective, that the authorities are doing their job. And I have every faith in our national security agencies, like I have every faith in our Australian Defence Force.
JOURNALIST: Does it impact our relationship with our allies, especially given the US is set to share highly sensitive information with us during the AUKUS deal?
PRIME MINISTER: Not at all. I think our allies that we work very closely with, particularly our Five Eyes partners, will take comfort in the fact that we have caught these people. They've been rounded up here in Brisbane, and they will be charged as appropriate.
JOURNALIST: ASIO and ADF aren't sure if the information stolen was given to Russian intelligence. Are you concerned about that? And are our Five Eyes partners worried that our sensitive information has been breached?
PRIME MINISTER: Our Five Eyes partners are very confident, and we work very closely with them. Our intelligence agencies do a fantastic job, and they ensure that they keep us safe from the various threats which are there. This is a reminder of the need for vigilance and a reminder of the need to provide that support.
JOURNALIST: Is defence or other agencies conducting a review of security vetting through set procedures for the military?
PRIME MINISTER: Defence are constantly monitoring their methods and constantly making improvements. The threats to us are nimble. They're constantly trying to find ways to engage and to damage our national interest, and that's why our agencies ensure that they are constantly monitoring their performance, constantly monitoring what they do, constantly adjusting to these new threats to ensure that we're kept safe.
JOURNALIST: Just on the Philippines murder. Do you know if AFP are assisting police and has that offer been made?
PRIME MINISTER: AFP always, we have a presence in the Philippines, and we have offered whatever assistance is required to the Filipino authorities. We work very closely with them.
JOURNALIST: Have you or Penny Wong spoken to local police about it, and what offers of help are we extending?
PRIME MINISTER: Those methods are done through police to police, and that is as appropriate.
JOURNALIST: Sorry, just back to the espionage case. The Russian Embassy has accused Australia of spreading anti-Russian paranoia. It's also seeking a written explanation of what's happened. Has Australia spoken to Moscow about this case and what's been said?
PRIME MINISTER: Russia can get the message, back off. Russia engages in espionage here and around the world. Russia has no credibility. And the message to Russia is, how about you get out of Ukraine and stop the illegal and immoral war that you're engaged in. And how about you try to stop interfering in domestic affairs of other sovereign nations. This is a country that has no respect for international law, and they should be regarded with contempt, which is what I have for them.
JOURNALIST: What's your reaction to the resignation of John Setka?
PRIME MINISTER: Good.
JOURNALIST: Any further reaction?
PRIME MINISTER: I expelled him from the Labor Party in my first few weeks as Labor leader. That was appropriate. John Setka has no legitimate place in the Labor movement. Trade Unions exist to look after workers, to look after their wages and conditions and health and safety. They don't exist to engage in the sort of conduct that John Setka has clearly been engaged with. It should be condemned. It should be isolated. It should be stamped out.
JOURNALIST: You successfully distanced yourself from Setka. Do you think Premier Steven Miles should do the same with Michael Ravbar?
PRIME MINISTER: That's a matter for, we're talking about John Setka here. We’re talking about very specific allegations that have come forward. John Sekta is someone who, it was clear to me, had no place in a party that I lead, which is why I took the action that I did.
JOURNALIST: Just regarding the announcement from Penny Wong today on the broadcasting in the Pacific. How does TV combat Chinese influence in the Pacific region?
PRIME MINISTER: What it does is make sure that our voice can be projected to the region, and what we are interested in is promoting democracy, promoting the Pacific looking after our own security needs. Just yesterday, here in Brisbane, I met with the Tuvalu Prime Minister, Prime Minister Teo. It was a really constructive meeting. We have a Falepili Union with Tuvalu that will go through both of our respective parliaments to come into force in coming months. It's an example of how we've reached out to the Pacific. Our priority is engaging in this region, and part of that engagement is making sure that communications can occur in an appropriate way, whether that be through broadcasting, whether that be through assisting, as we are in Tuvalu’s case, assisting their communications by the laying of undersea cables that are so important for communication.
JOURNALIST: Do you believe it will help combat Chinese influence in the region?
PRIME MINISTER: What we're about is putting forward our positive agenda. It's not aimed at anything other than providing assistance to those nations so that they can have appropriate communications, appropriate broadcasting. We have a lot to offer. One of the errors, I think, has been to withdraw some of our presence under the former government in the Pacific. That's meant that our voices aren't there. Australian news media has greater assets and capacity than a country like Tuvalu, has a population of 12,000, so they obviously are going to rely upon outside information coming in. Australian media, if we can have information going in and being accessible, then that's a good thing.
JOURNALIST: A question about social media, there's new concern data showing seventy per cent of people following young girls on Instagram are men. When will the trial of the age verification technology begin? Has there been a hold up or?
PRIME MINISTER: No, it's ready to go. We've allocated $6.5 million dollars for that trial. We want to make sure that it's got right. People know today, this morning, they'll be on the sidelines of netball and rugby league and AFL and every other sporting activity that occurs on a weekend, parents on the sideline will be talking about their kids and how they can get them off devices and more engaged with each other. Which is why team sport and community activity is so important. Parents are rightly worried about what information their children have access to. We know that issues like grooming occur. We know that it's a risk to, not just to physical health, but a risk to mental health as well, the sort of trolling that occurs online. So we want to make sure that any restrictions that are put in place are effective. What we don't want to do is to close off one road just to see it lead to another avenue. What we want to make sure is when it's closed off, we turn it into a cul de sac that goes nowhere, so that we keep our youngest Australians safe.
JOURNALIST: [Inaudible] A protest at the Greek Club where you were having dinner. What did you make of that?
PRIME MINISTER: I didn’t make anything of it. It was a fantastic dinner. I didn't see anyone there. There were six hundred people there, true believers at the dinner. It was a fantastic evening. And I think a highlight of the evening for me was the presentation of six life memberships to people. Like so many people in the party I'm very proud to lead, who’ve never asked for anything, who go out and sell raffle tickets, who staff the barbecue at the Christmas branch meeting, who pitch in to assist. And there were people from the Sunshine Coast, from the Gold Coast, from Brisbane, who received those life memberships last night, and it was a great honour for myself with the Premier to present them. There was a fantastic atmosphere I've got to say there last night. There were big cheers for all the life members. There were cheers for the candidates. I think the biggest cheer of the night went to Ali France, who's our candidate for Dickson, which I announced yesterday. I think people are pretty keen to get out there door knocking in Dickson over the coming over the coming months as well. Thank you very much.
JOURNALIST: When can we expect the election to be called? I know there's a lot of speculation about that.
PRIME MINISTER: Well, if you follow me around, there's a little car, it's got a flag on the front and one of these days it’ll drive off to Yarralumla, and we'll be off and running. But I've said constantly, I don't know how many times I've got to say it to the same question, I think government terms of three years are too short. So I know that there's some speculation about August 31 I read breathlessly on some, you know, some genius on some after dark show saying that they knew there was a booking that had been made for an election night function. I reckon that Peter Dutton is so worried about disunity in his ranks, about the chaos that's there over his nuclear thought bubble that's unfunded, uncosted, and people don't want all these members, frontbenchers, Dan Tehan and all these people putting their hand up, saying, ‘Yeah, we want nuclear but nowhere near me’, that between that and his policy to nationalise supermarkets, this sort of bizarre thing that is going to force Woolworths, he's gone from saying everyone should boycott Woolworths, which employs 200,000 Australians to saying that Woolworths should be sold off, or Coles. Who does he thinks going to buy it if they're forced to sell? There's so much chaos. So, it's a classic tactic from a leader that has failed to lead, frankly. David Littleproud’s having more influence on the LNP than this bloke is. And the way that he keeps the troops in line is to tell them there's going to be an election called next week. I'll give you the big tip - it won't be. Thanks.