ALI MOORE, HOST: Anthony Albanese, welcome to Drive.
ANTHONY ALBANESE, PRIME MINISTER: G'day Ali. Good to be with you.
MOORE: I'm hoping that you might stay with us over the newsbreak. I'm just going to put that up front because there's a lot to talk to you about today. Can I start with Cheng Lei. When did you find out that she was being released?
PRIME MINISTER: Some time ago. And we have obviously, this is something we've worked on for some time. The judicial processes were completed in China and we are just very pleased to have Cheng Lei home. It was wonderful to speak to her. She was, not surprisingly, ecstatic at being reunited with her children and her family.
MOORE: You say judicial processes. What exactly do you mean? She was officially pardoned or what was the process?
PRIME MINISTER: No, it was completed with time served in detention being taken into account. So, the important thing, and the government's objective was very much working with, of course, working with Cheng Lei to see her return and reunited with her children. And it is very good that that's been able to be achieved.
MOORE: And what does it mean for Australia China relations? And does it pave the way for you to go to Beijing before the end of the year?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, I certainly will be travelling to China before the end of the year. I announced that when I met with Premier Li in Jakarta as part of the sideline of the ASEAN Summit. I had another meeting, an informal meeting with Premier Li. We sat next to each other at dinner at the G20, it was a good opportunity to develop relations. One of the things I've said about China is that we will cooperate where we can, we'll disagree where we must, but we will engage in our national interest. And I'm very pleased that Cheng Lei has been returned here to Melbourne.
MOORE: Two assisted flights, two repatriation flights from Israel that you've now announced. Who will be able to take those flights and how much demand is there?
PRIME MINISTER: Australian citizens will take those flights. At the moment, we expect that there have been a limited number of people making inquiries, but what occurs once you make an announcement that flights are available those numbers quickly increase. We know there are a number of Australian citizens in Israel who will be looking to go to safety and to return home. I thank Qantas for making two flights available. They will occur, the first on Friday and then another on Sunday. We'll continue to monitor now the demand which is there. It is important these flights will travel from the airport next to Tel Aviv, Ben Gurion Airport to London, and then, of course, it will be relatively simple for people to be able to return from London.
MOORE: And will you be seeking any assurances from the Israelis that any Australians who are in Gaza can access those flights?
PRIME MINISTER: We are looking through the Australian DFAT officials. The demand is for people from Israel, has been the demand which has been there at this point in time, but will always, of course, stand up for Australian citizens. And we've put in place the phone numbers that people can ring in order to access these flights.
MOORE: Anthony Albanese, the Prime Minister is with us. We're just going to have a break for the news and the weather and we'll rejoin Anthony Albanese.
MOORE: You're listening to Drive, and just before the news we were speaking with the Prime Minister. The news, though, waits for no man. Prime Minister, thank you very much for staying with us. We've talked about the repatriation flights, two at the moment, is there anticipation that you might need more? I know that you're getting daily briefings on the situation. What's your assessment of what might happen next?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, we'll continue to monitor the situation. We as well are examining what facilities might be available with Defence Force flights as well. I've had discussions through appropriate forums, including with the CDF, the Chief of the Defence Force, so we're examining that. We're looking at all contingencies here. We've been working very hard, as you can imagine, since the weekend. This was not anticipated. The Hamas action -
MOORE: Are you anticipating things are going to dramatically disintegrate even further if you're making those sorts of contingency arrangements? What are your briefings telling you about what might happen next?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, what we know is that there is going to be conflict which is ongoing, that is made very clear. Israel, of course, will defend itself from what has occurred on the weekend. There's been ongoing action even in southern Israel as well. We're continuing to see rocket attacks. We're continuing to see, of course, the Israelis take action in Gaza. And there has also been some involvement from southern Lebanon. So, we are continuing to receive daily updates and briefings. What we do at times like this is to put in place as best as we can what contingencies, so that we are prepared for what might arise. And we'll continue to take the expert advice and continue to consult in order to do what is a prime responsibility of the Australian government to look after Australian citizens.
MOORE: And, Prime Minister, you've made it very clear, as have other members of the government, that we stand by Israel and its right to protect itself. I'm sure that you would have heard the Israeli Defence Minister, Yoav Gallant, and time is of the essence so I'm not going to play what he said. But to quote him, 'we will eliminate everything'. The Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, has promised to turn Gaza into, quote, 'a deserted island'. Do we stand shoulder to shoulder with Israel on the stated views of elimination?
PRIME MINISTER: Look, what our position is, I speak for myself and for Australia. And what we regard is the actions of Hamas in initiating this issue that we're dealing with is the responsibility of Hamas. Israel will defend itself. We, of course, always are concerned about any civilian casualties, of course, is a concern. And that is what drove the concern about what occurred on the weekend where you had the slaughter of people who were going about their daily life, including the hundreds who were murdered attending a music festival.
MOORE: So, is it an unlimited stand, shoulder to shoulder? I'm just trying to work out if there is a point at which you urge restraint.
PRIME MINISTER: I use my own language, Ali, and I've just used it.
MOORE: Prime Minister, we are out of time, but I thank you very much for joining us on Drive.
PRIME MINISTER: Thank you very much.