MARK LEVY, HOST: Great to have you with us. Mark Levy in the chair for Summer Breakfast. Thank you to all these donations that continue to pour in for the Vinnies Christmas radio appeal here on 2GB. And you wouldn't believe it, the Prime Minister has phoned through. Anthony Albanese, Prime Minister, good morning to you.
ANTHONY ALBANESE, PRIME MINISTER: G'day, Mark. Greetings from Western Australia.
LEVY: And Merry Christmas, I should say too, Prime Minister.
PRIME MINISTER: Absolutely. And to you and to all of your listeners. It is a time which people get to spend with their family and their friends hopefully. It can be a difficult time for many as well, of course, people who don't have loved ones or people who've had a difficult time during the year. So, it is a time though of reaching out. And Vinnies do such an amazing job every day of the year, but particularly around this time for kids who need a hand to get them a present at Christmas time or for families who are in need. They just do an amazing job.
LEVY: Yeah. Well said, Prime Minister. Well said. Now, I know you supported our radiothon last year and I thank you for that. I've actually upped the ante this year. I'm offering everybody that calls in the opportunity to spend a morning in the studio with Ben Fordham. Is that the reason for your call, Prime Minister?
PRIME MINISTER: I do that for free, so that's a bonus. He should pay Vinnies to have people in every day.
LEVY: Can we rely on you for a donation again this year PM?
PRIME MINISTER: Absolutely you can, yeah. I'll kick in a couple of hundred dollars to assist Vinnies. They do an incredible job. I used to as a kid go down, our school, used to go and help out Vinnies every year around this time. And it was a wonderful way to get kids used to the idea of giving as well. Christmas is a time to think of others and certainly to everyone at St. Vincent de Paul, thank you for what you do. Not just, of course, the full timers but importantly those many thousands of volunteers who give up their time to help others.
LEVY: Yeah, they pitch in and help the community, don't they? Look, I don't want to get too heavy this morning, Prime Minister, but while I've got you on the line, if I can ask you about a couple of things, I know it's going to be a sad day. You'll be attending the funeral service for Peta Murphy. And I know her passing has really been felt across the political divide.
PRIME MINISTER: It really has. It will be a very difficult day. Peta was just 50 years of age and she fought cancer and fought it off and then got herself elected to parliament. And tragically, just a couple of weeks before her first speech in 2019, she got the news that the cancer had returned. But she fought hard over that four year period. And just a week before she passed away, she was back in Parliament because she wanted to promote action and support for those people who are suffering from cancer. There was a forum in the Parliament and she struggled to make her way up to Canberra, but she did it. She was really courageous too. She chose not to hide the treatment that she was getting. Appearing there in parliament and around public with the impact of chemotherapy meant that she lost her hair. But she wanted to signify that cancer can affect anyone, members of parliament, in whatever job you have. And she was just a strong advocate, a courageous, brilliant young woman who passed far too soon. And I'm sure that members from across the political spectrum will be there at the MCG this afternoon, where I'm headed across to Melbourne this morning.
LEVY: It'll be an emotional day, PM, that's for sure. And we obviously send our deepest sympathies and heartfelt condolences to her family and her friends. News through this morning, the US Senate has voted in favour of the AUKUS deal. Can I get a reaction from you on that please, PM?
PRIME MINISTER: This is an extraordinary achievement. And I pay tribute to all those who've worked hard to lobby members of Congress and Senate to achieve this. We got through the two pieces of legislation that were required. Our ambassador, Kevin Rudd, worked incredibly hard. I myself spoke to over 100 members of Congress face to face or on the phone, either here or in the United States. And to get this legislation passed means that AUKUS can go ahead, means that Australia will have access to those Virginia-class submarines which are nuclear propelled and that will be so important for Australia's national security.
LEVY: What have you made of the reaction to the decision from the Australian Government, your Government, to support calls for a ceasefire in the Middle East? I note there were reports yesterday that your Labor colleagues didn't know what you were doing. Some of your colleagues are unhappy by what you've done. Your response?
PRIME MINISTER: It was the right call to do. We joined with almost every country in the world to say that our position, which I outlined very much in detail with the Prime Ministers of Canada and New Zealand, is to seek to have all of the hostages released, which should occur. We need to plan as well for what occurs after the conflict. Hamas can have no role in the future governance of Gaza and we need to work towards a political solution. We respect Israel's right to defend itself. But the range of, the numbers of casualties, are just quite terrible there in Gaza. And every innocent life counts, whether it be Israeli or Palestinian.
LEVY: Can you understand what people are saying, though, Prime Minister, just briefly here, that by calling for a ceasefire in the region, you're effectively giving Hamas an opportunity to weaponise and start committing more atrocities on the people of Israel? Do you understand why people are saying that?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, that's not right. We've called for a humanitarian ceasefire and I've made it very clear that we want Hamas to be disarmed. We condemn unequivocally the atrocities that occurred on October 7. We've been very consistent and that is why we have called for a humanitarian ceasefire, a humanitarian pause, which is what has occurred in the past and was only resumed because of Hamas' actions.
LEVY: All right, well, I've run out of time, Prime Minister. I'll finish up by saying wishing you a very merry Christmas to your family. Being the Prime Minister is a tough job. We obviously don't agree on a lot of things, but we respect the office that you hold. And I think we've probably both asked Santa for the same thing, you and I. A much better year for our beloved South Sydney Rabbitohs next year. Thank you for your donation and have a great Christmas if we don't speak beforehand.
PRIME MINISTER: Absolutely. And I think it will be a great year. And you see lots of red and green around, of course, at Christmas time as well.
LEVY: Good on you, PM. Thanks for calling in.
PRIME MINISTER: Bye bye.
LEVY: That's Anthony Albanese, the Prime Minister of Australia, pledging some money towards our radiothon on this Friday morning. Fantastic.