OLIVER PETERSON, HOST: In just five days, the Federal Government will hand down its first budget since coming into office in May. Since then, interest rates have increased on five occasions, they're tipped to go up again next month, and inflation is soaring. The nation is in the midst of a cost of living crisis. Unemployment numbers today sit at 3.5%. Just 900 jobs were added last month. The Prime Minister, Anthony Albanese joins me live here in the 6PR studios today. Welcome back to Perth.
ANTHONY ALBANESE, PRIME MINISTER: Good afternoon, Ollie. Always good to be here in the studio.
PETERSON: It's always good to have you in Western Australia, Prime Minister. But with just 900 jobs being added over the last month, is this a sign the economy is slowing? Are Australians worried about spending their money?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, the unemployment rate, of course, stayed at the same level which is good news. It's a level that is a lot lower, 3.5%, than it's been historically. So the job though of next week's budget is to make sure that we provide support for cost of living without putting further inflationary pressure on. So it is a difficult balance. We have had the fastest uniform tightening of monetary policy by central banks around the world that we've seen in many decades. And it's important that fiscal policy, the budget policy, work with that context which is there, rather than work against it.
PETERSON: Diesel in Perth today, we have set a new record price. It's over $2.30 a litre. So how are you going to address this in Tuesday's budget?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, we know that energy prices across the board have been impacted by the Russian invasion of Ukraine and that that had an impact on global prices. So we're not immune from that. We're part of the global economy and that's placed pressures which are on there. But what we'll be doing next week is making sure that the investments that we make are in areas that are productive. So cheaper childcare, cheaper medicines, the support that we'll provide for fee-free TAFE to help with the skills crisis that we're dealing with as well. Our investments need to be targeted in that way so that they boost productivity in the economy, and you'll see that next week. Today's announcement that we've made – $2.4 billion into the National Broadband Network, making a difference to some one and a half million additional premises, getting access to high-speed broadband through fiber technology, 21st century technology, not the old copper stuff. 660,000 of those premises will be in the regions. So I was in Albany just a few hours ago, helping with the rollout of the NBN there. 10,000 premises in Albany will benefit and that's a way in which you're boosting the economy in a way that boosts productivity and doesn't put further pressure on inflation.
PETERSON: Sure, but how can you help West Australians today? How can you make their lives better? What are we going to hear from you in direct interest into the cost of living pressures on Tuesday night.
PRIME MINISTER: Well, what you won't have, Ollie, is cash handouts next week, for example, because what that would do, that would just work counter to what the Reserve Bank are doing, independently of government, in tightening monetary policy. And that would likely lead to a further tightening beyond what the Reserve Bank is anticipating. So that's why we need to be cautious in the budget, why we need to make sure that the cost of living relief that we do offer things like cheaper medicines – the first decrease in the cost of medicines in 75 years since the former Labor Government, of course, under the great John Curtin, a great West Australian, introduced the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme.
PETERSON: Without Western Australia, you wouldn't be in The Lodge today, though. Prime Minister, can't you give us something?
PRIME MINISTER: Oh, you'll get good news for Western Australia in the budget. There will be good infrastructure projects. There will be good support for the health sector, cheaper childcare, cheaper medicines. There’ll be good news for Western Australia in the budget. Our announcements, well, I'm here till Sunday. There'll be further announcements tomorrow, including how we give support to the resources sector so that we value add. We need to make more things here. And I want a future made in Australia, and in particular, I want a future made in Western Australia.
PETERSON: It's been going back and forth, back and forth. Can you tell us today, will you follow through with your promise of all income tax cuts?
PRIME MINISTER: We've made no change in our policy. None. And we've made that clear. And there won't be any change in the budget next Tuesday.
PETERSON: Could you see a change, perhaps in the budget next year?
PRIME MINISTER: Look, we've said there's no change in our policy and that's our position, and that's the one that we have consistently stuck to.
PETERSON: How can Greens Senator Lidia Thorpe still sit in the Australian Parliament? Surely she should go.
PRIME MINISTER: Well, these are pretty extraordinary revelations, aren't they? I was surprised by them. It would appear from the statements that Adam Bandt made, and I take them at face value, that he wasn't aware – even though his office was made aware by Senator Thorpe's own staff expressing concern about the perception at least of a conflict of interest, given that Senator Thorpe sat on the committee that oversees legal matters
PETERSON: And she's dating an ex-bikie. So she's on this parliamentary committee dealing with law enforcement issues.
PRIME MINISTER: It's pretty extraordinary.
PETERSON: Would you sack her?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, she has been sacked from her position as deputy leader and I think that is certainly…
PETERSON: Is that enough, though? Should she quit politics altogether?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, you can't actually force someone to leave.
PETERSON: If she was in the Labor Party, would you do that?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, I'm not aware of all of the circumstances, but I find it astonishing that the leader's office was told and Adam Bandt has said that he wasn't informed. Quite clearly this is a bit more than, as Senator Thorpe has said, a lack of judgement. This is far more serious than that.
PETERSON: Will the government reject the support of the Greens while she's still a parliamentarian?
PRIME MINISTER: Those statements are always nonsense. People who are elected get to vote, and whenever that occurs, members and senators have a right to vote. They're elected. That's the democracy we live in.
PETERSON: Can you believe another big company has been hacked? How is it that Medibank customers now have to be worried about their details? It's not good enough. What's the government doing now?
PRIME MINISTER: It's certainly not good enough and it's a real wakeup call. I happen to be a Medibank customer myself and it is astonishing that this has occurred. We're looking at all of the details, of course, and we will make them as transparent as possible, whilst of course, we don't want to be saying things that assist those who have engaged in what is clearly inappropriate conduct. But it is a wakeup call, along with the Optus breach that occurred, that we live in a world now where cybersecurity and cyber-attacks, including ransom attacks are regular. Once every few minutes, every hour, there will be attacks on companies, on organisations, attempting to access data. And so, quite clearly, we will respond with any appropriate regulatory measures. But we also are ensuring we deal with the immediate crisis which is there, that the Australian Signals Directorate and all of our authorities are taking appropriate action.
PETERSON: Regarding Jerusalem, do you admit now this was a blunder from Labor?
PRIME MINISTER: No, it's a policy that happened in 2018. Now, let's be clear about what happened here, Ollie. There was a by-election in Wentworth and under Coalition governments and Labor governments and governments around the world prior to 2017, when Donald Trump made the decision that he was going to move the US Embassy to Jerusalem, this was a bipartisan position here in Australia. Not controversial, no campaign to do it. They did it just days before the Wentworth by-election, and guess what? They never moved it, the Australian Embassy remains in Tel Aviv. They never moved the Embassy to Jerusalem. It was a cynical move in the lead up to a by-election. We said that was an error of judgement at that time and we made it clear that that wasn't a move that we supported.
PETERSON: But did you communicate that with the Embassy and the Jewish community?
PRIME MINISTER: We did in 2018. And every time we've been asked since, Ollie, this is not a surprise. It's in line with our policy and indeed what has been largely international consensus, that the status of Jerusalem remains an issue for the peace settlement that I want to see.
PETERSON: The US isn't following our lead, though, have we overreached here?
PRIME MINISTER: No, not at all. Australia makes our policy and this was a policy that indeed Australia backed off. Let's be clear here. The policy that was announced never eventuated. The Australian Embassy remains in Tel Aviv - now embassies go in capitals. The Australian Government has kept the embassy in Tel Aviv under the former government and under the current government, that's the case. I want to see, I'm a supporter of Israel. I'm a supporter also of a just two-state solution as a peace settlement. And you need to, I think Australia wants to play a responsible role. We remain a great friend of Israel. And indeed, when you look at the creation of the state of Israel, the role of the Labor Party and Doc Evatt was central to it.
PETERSON: Obviously, you were not the Prime Minister during COVID, but have you learned anything from this damning independent review which has been released today? The measures were politically motivated, they lack compassion, and your brother in arms, Mark McGowan, had some of the toughest measures in the world.
PRIME MINISTER: Well, one of the things that the report has said is that many of these measures occurred because of the failure of the Federal Government to have appropriate quarantine, to secure enough vaccines and the rollout. We know now, Ollie, that’s the reason why I'm here in the studio and I've been in Western Australia six times since I've been elected Prime Minister less than five months ago. It's because people went out there and they got vaccinated. That's what keeps people safe. Now, it doesn't mean that COVID is not around, it still is. But for people, for the people in the vulnerable community, we need to continue to take action there, and we are. We need to continue as well to encourage people to get vaccinated.
PETERSON: Sure. But during those two years of COVID in particular, if you had money or you could kick a football, you basically were given an open door policy. Everybody else, too bad, so sad, bad luck.
PRIME MINISTER: I don't think that's a fair assessment at all
PETERSON: Will you still commit to a Royal Commission into COVID and the response of governments?
PRIME MINISTER: We absolutely will have a full inquiry into the COVID response. We've said that there'll be a need to go back and have a look at what went well, what didn't. The report today speaks about the wastage as well. It points to companies getting, almost $20 billion went to companies that were increasing their profits. Not only were they not going backwards they were actually going forwards, and that is a major problem that the report points towards. It also talks about the National Cabinet, how there wasn't consistency, how states weren't operating as one. One of the things that I've done since the election in May is we've now got the lifting of restrictions from seven days down to five in terms of isolation requirements, and then the further loosening that occurred that came into effect last weekend, is that the country is now moving as one. And that's a really good thing. And I must say that Mark McGowan has played a really important role in that.
PETERSON: Prime Minister, we appreciate you coming to the studios today and enjoy your visit to Western Australia.
PRIME MINISTER: Thanks very much. It's going to be a good few days here and I'm looking forward to hosting the Japanese Prime Minister Kishida here on Saturday. I think it's very important that I as Prime Minister bring leaders and have these important events here in Western Australia. For too long they've occurred just in Sydney, Melbourne, Canberra. I'm determined to make sure I represent the whole nation.
PETERSON: Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, thank you very much.
PRIME MINISTER: Thanks, mate.