GLENN STOLZENHEIN, HOST: Good morning, Prime Minister. How are you going?
ANTHONY ALBANESE, PRIME MINISTER: G'day, great to be talking with you again.
STOLZENHEIN: Great to have you in this beautiful part of the world, of course. What's on the agenda today?
PRIME MINISTER: What a stunning day it is here, I've got to say. It's just absolutely superb. So this morning, I'll be with Fiona Phillips, of course, the local member. We'll be at the Milton Rural Landcare Nursery there, which received a grant, basically in the wake of the bushfires. We know that we had to fix up the local bushfires and local plants, etcetera, that were really struggling. So the forest recovery project is a great example of how people in this local community work together to rejuvenate the bushland that was impacted by fire here. And so they supported the owners of these 15 properties in the Milton Ulladulla area here to control weeds and manage the regenerating bushland as it came back, whilst at the same time, of course, helping to reduce the fuel load, which is a good idea as well, of course. So, this is about supporting volunteers as well who've done such an incredible, incredible effort. I spoke to you many times during the bushfires, of course, here that devastated the local community. And this is a great example of where Fiona Phillips has been talking to me about it, she wanted me to come and have a look. And I'll be really pleased to be with the Landcare volunteers this morning.
STOLZENHEIN: That's great. And look just while we're on this, I mean, there's a lot of local talk at the moment, there is concern about our Jervis Bay Road intersection upgrade because of the federal infrastructure audit, saying that it'll go ahead. Fiona says it's going to go ahead, will it go ahead?
PRIME MINISTER: Of course it will, it's a vital project for safety. And what this is about, the audit is making sure that the right projects get the right funding, at the right time. We inherited a mess of an infrastructure program, but that's one I'm very familiar with. I stood on the corner there with Fiona Phillips and announced support for the funding way back in 2019. Nothing happened under the Coalition for that three years, but it's really important that it does occur. There's a short, sharp audit of all projects around the country to occur, but one of the things that will happen is that projects like that, that are so important, will certainly be going ahead. Just as, of course, we announced additional funding for the Nowra bypass planning as well, bringing that commitment to $105 million. We want to make sure that road safety is looked after, it's been a priority of mine in my entire time in politics, and I know it's a big priority for Fiona.
STOLZENHEIN: Yeah, for the local people that is top of mind, that is assured. Life as a Prime Minister of Australia, I mean you'd have to always be campaigning, you turn on the TV, there you are PM, doing a great job and the likes. Anything can be picked up and made a headline, whether it be a shirt that you wore at an Oils concert.
PRIME MINISTER: Who knew someone would wear a Midnight Oil t-shirt at a Midnight Oil concert?
STOLZENHEIN: Who would have thunk it?
PRIME MINISTER: I did see that and had a laugh, frankly it just shows the desperation of people. If you can't have a legitimate, sensible campaign against what is such a modest proposal, the Referendum that'll be held in the last quarter, of a chance to recognise Indigenous Australians in our Constitution and to produce better outcomes by listening to people - that's just common sense that you listen to people in the local community, that's one of the things that I do every day. I'll be listening to people, I'm sure this morning when we're at the at the Landcare Nursery, listening to their views. But on a big scale, we need to listen to Indigenous Australians in order to get better outcomes to close the gap and that's what it's about. Every day I see more furphies put up of why people shouldn't support this sensible proposal. But really, it's like the Apology to the Stolen Generations, it's like when Native Title happened, all the scare campaigns don't really have substance to them. This is a simple proposal, and I just urge your listeners to read the question that is there, have a look at the website which is there, the AEC website has the Yes and the No cases. The Yes case is positive, it's about hope. The No is all about fear, really, and raising issues that are designed to sow doubt. Well, this is very simple, the words are clear being put forward in the referendum.
STOLZENHEIN: Yeah, I mean, there are some people who are concerned that it will just add another layer of bureaucracy, but that's not the case.
PRIME MINISTER: No, it's not. It will be an elected body that will be able to make representations. And when we look at how much money has been spent over the years, with the best of intentions, doing things for Indigenous Australians rather than with them - that's the big distinction here. We need to need to talk with people to get better outcomes. You'll actually get more efficiency if you listen to people, because we know that's the case. And one of the cases that's relevant for this morning is the Indigenous Rangers Program. It's a great example, it's been really successful employing Indigenous Australians, looking at the way that they cared for country over, of course, so many thousands of years, has made a difference to produce positive outcomes. Just like Community Health programs have produced positive outcomes, justice reinvestment has produced positive outcomes and saved money, and that's why it is really important. We have nothing to lose here, and everything to gain. And if people just do the same thing, they should expect the same outcomes, and the same outcomes aren't good enough, which is why we need to make better decisions, get better results and deliver better value for money.
STOLZENHEIN: Prime Minister, last time we spoke I was doing a solo show on a different radio station here. It's now the Stolzy and Abby Breakfast Show. Now Abby is off today, she'll be absolutely spewing.
PRIME MINISTER: This just means I've got to come on again another day.
STOLZENHEIN: You will. And here's one for you, I've got to touch on sport, I'm a sports nut. The response from the UK press and also ex players in regards to losing the Ashes. We've retained them. What do you say to all those whingeing Poms?
PRIME MINISTER: Suck it up, basically. Australia won two-one, we won the first two tests playing some brilliant cricket. That partnership between Cummins and Lyon was extraordinary, into the early hours of the morning, that I along with so many other Australians stayed up and watched. It can happen, rain can happen, but you don't know what would have happened with the outcome of the Test. We had Mitch Marsh still in, he's presented tremendous form, he's hit a century and a fifty. And you had Cameron Green and we've batted really, really deep, with Mitch Starc still to come, and Cummins. They could have put on quite a few runs, you don't know what would have happened.
STOLZENHEIN: I agree, if it was all bright and sunny, we probably would have bowled them out for next to little. And you've got to be pretty happy that Latrell's back for your Bunnies?
PRIME MINISTER: And don't we need him. I thought that the Broncos were very impressive at the beginning of the second half last week, I've got to say. But we've got the Tigers in in Tamworth, of course all the games have been played in a whole lot of regional centres, that's a good thing while the FIFA Women's World Cup is going on. And I think that's something that as well can unite all Australians behind the Matildas. It is a wonderful, wonderful event, and I was very pleased to go to the opening game and see us have the win against Ireland. And I think this Thursday night they'll be playing Nigeria, so it's a chance to cheer, once again, the Matildas. And then we've got Canada and hopefully then the next rounds await us.
STOLZENHEIN: Yes. What we've got here, I know you've got a bit to do this morning. There's a Love Local campaign here urging everyone in the Shoalhaven to get on out there during the winter months and explore their own backyard, which is brilliant. I know probably every hour is accounted for in your schedule so it's pretty hard to break away, but if you do get a chance, there has been over 900 whales that have come through Jervis Bay area in the latest season, so any spot of whale watching perhaps? Maybe getting out there, maybe a beer down in Husky somewhere?
PRIME MINISTER: Look, it's certainly a beautiful area. I went for a bit of a bit of a walk around the lighthouse there at Ulladulla yesterday afternoon. There's a wonderful bush track that highlights as well the Indigenous culture in the area, it's such a superb part of the world. I always love visiting here, and I'm looking forward to this morning. Unfortunately, I've got a bunch of meetings back in Sydney later.
STOLZENHEIN: You're busy.
PRIME MINISTER: It's easy to zip across from Canberra here as well. It's such a beautiful part of the world, and I must say that the welcome, even this morning walking around, people here are so friendly and stopping to say g'day and have a quick chat, it's been a wonderful visit. I'm jealous of Fiona representing such a beautiful stunning electorate here, full of friendly people and great local small businesses as well.
STOLZENHEIN: Wonderful. Well said and very true as well. Prime Minister, I'll let you go, I know you're busy. I thank you so much for coming on and enjoy your day in the Shoalhaven.
PRIME MINISTER: How good is this for a day for July? It's just unbelievable out there so everyone, have a great day.