HOST: Welcome, Prime Minister. And congratulations.
ANTHONY ALBANESE, PRIME MINISTER: Good morning. Thank you very, very much.
HOST: And Prime Minister, we spoke to you a number of times as Opposition Leader. And we did say just before the election, “Don't forget us when you become famous”. And to your complete credit, first week in the job, six days in, and here you are on Triple M Perth. So, thank you. We appreciate it very much.
PRIME MINISTER: Absolutely. I look forward to joining you in the studio there as soon as possible as well. It's always been a face-to-face, but it's been a whirlwind week. It seems like the election was a long time, I've got to say. It's only been a few days ago, of course. But we got sworn in Monday morning, headed off to Tokyo, and back again. It's good to have the certainty that's there. It is the quickest swearing-in ever of a new Government.
HOST: Prime Minister, congratulations, of course. Now, you did jump on the plane and head straight to Tokyo. I do need to ask, Joe Biden, you weren't referred to as the pal from down under, were you?
PRIME MINISTER: No. We got on really well. We have very similar values of support for working people, not leaving people behind, action on climate change and the importance of national security. So, we really enjoyed reacquainting ourselves. We'd met when Joe was the Vice President of the United States under President Obama. And it was a really warm greeting. But I must say as well, from Narendra Modi, the Prime Minister of India, was very warm and congratulatory. And Prime Minister Kishida of Japan, an important trading partner for Australia. They really appreciated the effort. As democratic leaders, they got the idea that less than 36 hours after an election, I was on a plane to Tokyo, it showed how important the Quad Leaders' meeting is for Australia.
HOST: Actually, on that, Prime Minister, I saw that you said that you're looking forward to hosting the leaders and the Quad next year here in Australia. Can I advocate for Perth as the host city? I mean, the natural temptation is probably to take it to Sydney or Melbourne. But what about Perth, Prime Minister? Might you put us on your potential host city list at least?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, Perth is always a good place to do things. It's a lucky charm. We had my campaign launch there. And we got an outstanding result in the West as well with four additional members of the Labor team from the House of Representatives. And all of them are outstanding.
HOST: A couple of quickies for you, if you don't mind, PM. Firstly, are you going to be able to get to number 76 to govern in your own right?
PRIME MINISTER: It looks that way. It looks like we will be on 76 or 77.
HOST: Okay.
PRIME MINISTER: Which is a very good thing for stability. But I've always been able to work with people across the spectrum, particularly the crossbenchers. I did that when I was the Government Leader in the House of Representatives, we only had 70 votes. And I didn't lose a vote in any legislation
HOST: Can we expect an announcement today, maybe even very soon, on Biloela and the family who have been living for four years in questionable circumstances?
PRIME MINISTER: You can. There will be an announcement today from Jim Chalmers, who's the interim Home Affairs Minister. We need to fix this. We're a good country. We treat people properly. And this family, these two young girls, one of whom had to be flown to Perth for medical treatment at a cost of literally tens of billions of dollars have been spent on this family who are wanted back in Biloela. They want to go there. The community wants them there. Nades, the dad, is a meat worker. And we actually import temporary labour because we can't get people to work in meatworks. Here is someone who wants to work there. His wife was a volunteer at St. Vincent De Paul, Priya, and their two lovely daughters. You know, we've got to treat people properly. You can have strong borders without being weak on humanity. And this family have suffered alone. The daughters were born here.
HOST: We'll be delighted to hear that. Two final quick ones from me PM.
HOST: Before I whack you across the chops.
HOST: Do we have a deal with our GST and 70 cents in the dollar that the previous Prime Minister spoke of? Can you commit to that being a forever deal for WA also?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, we will commit to exactly what was in place will stay in place.
HOST: That's all we need. That's all we need.
PRIME MINISTER: That's important.
HOST: Now, one final one. I mean, it's a bit cheeky from me, but Patrick Gorman, who is the Member for Perth, an outstanding local member, a very good friend of the City of Perth. We believe he deserves his place at the Cabinet table or at least as a Minister. Can we get some certainty around that, Prime Minister?
PRIME MINISTER: We will have certainty next Wednesday when I swear in the team. We have Caucus processes that I've had to pre-empt in order to attend the Quad Leaders' meeting. But we'll go through those processes. Caucus will meet on Tuesday. We'll have a swearing-in on Wednesday morning. At the moment, we have, of course, the first interim Ministry consists of five people. It is running very efficiently, I might say.
HOST: There's no room for Patrick if there's only five. We need more than that.
PRIME MINISTER: We will have more than that. But it's been a big start for the Government. And Penny Wong is representing us in Fiji. Jim and Katy are on top of the economic issues. Richard's been acting PM. So, it's been a very busy first week for the new Government. And I want to bring Australians together. And one of the reasons why I did the campaign launch in Perth is that I want to represent the whole country. I get that there's a real feeling that it's just about Sydney and Melbourne. And we need to do much better than that. And that's why I've committed to having two Cabinet meetings in the West. One in Perth and one in a regional area. We'll go to Karratha or Port Hedland or somewhere like that in the first year of my Government.
HOST: Well done, PM.
HOST: Prime Minister, enough with the politics stuff. Obviously, you have been really, really busy. Have you had a moment of time you get to spend with your family, your friends and those that have been alongside you through a long journey?
PRIME MINISTER: I haven't really had a chance much, I've got to say. I said to my partner that we're going to try, Jodie, we're going to try and have dinner tonight. My son, unfortunately, is in iso.
HOST: You can bend those rules, PM.
HOST: You are the boss now.
PRIME MINISTER: No, you can't. So, he is in iso at the moment. But Toto is pretty pleased with her newfound status, it's got to be said.
HOST: Unbelievable.
HOST: A bit of “Africa”.
HOST: What are the numbers up to, PM? I mean, you're big on Instagram or Twitter.
PRIME MINISTER: I don't even know who's done this. They have old photos of mine that I have posted over the years and put them up as if they are new. Everyone in my office swears it's not one of them.
HOST: It's been a lovely touch.
HOST: Prime Minister, before we do let you go, I just need to warn you, do not buy The West Australian today. Because the one and only Basil Zempilas has penned an article saying 10 things he would do to fix the Liberals.
HOST: No, it was advice only, as an observer, PM. Just as an observer.
HOST: He makes that clear.
PRIME MINISTER: I think the arrogance that they showed is part of the problem. I don't know if you mentioned that. But I think calling West Australians cave dwellers wasn't the smartest political move I've ever seen.
HOST: I did mention that siding with Clive was perhaps not the smartest move.
PRIME MINISTER: Clive Palmer or Mark McGowan. I didn't really have to think about that for very long.
HOST: An easy choice for you. Anthony Albanese, Prime Minister of Australia, congratulations. And in all sincerity, I mean, I absolutely love that many other Aussies will have loved this, the fact that when you arrived home from Japan, you went and made a beeline for the cemetery and visited your mum's grave.
HOST: Fantastic.
HOST: I think we can all imagine how proud your mum would have been. And that was very lovely and very special and a great sign of respect. And you deserve all of the congratulations. Well done.
PRIME MINISTER: Well, it was sobering. It was the 20th anniversary of her passing. And I wanted to make sure that I got back and paid her respect. Because without her, I certainly wouldn't have been here. She didn't have a lot in life, but she gave me unconditional love. And she's an example of a parent, as all parents do, who just sacrifice things for their children.
HOST: Well said. And well done and congratulations. Number 31. We are in Perth. We said the Prime Minister is coming up. And you're only on the phone and there's a crowd of 500 people out the front, PM. Unbelievable. You're a rock star.
PRIME MINISTER: Thanks guys.
HOST: Congratulations.
HOST: Well done.
HOST: Anthony Albanese, new Prime Minister of Australia. And wonderful of him to honour his commitment and come straight back on Triple M in Perth.