NARELDA JACOBS, HOST: Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, thanks for joining us at Midday. Now, opinion polls suggest –
ANTHONY ALBANESE, PRIME MINISTER: Good morning, good to be with you from Wynnum.
JACOBS: It’s the still undecided voters that could help deliver a Yes victory. What will you be telling voters as they line up today to try and sway them?
PRIME MINISTER: To have a look at the question that is before the Australian people in this referendum, which is two simple things. Firstly, recognising the fact that First Australians should be recognised in our Constitution. They've been, of course, here for 65,000 years. That should be a source of pride in our nation. And secondly, just the non-binding advisory committee, which is what the Voice is, the opportunity to listen to First Nations people, so that we can get better outcomes. And we know that a No vote is for more of the same. We have an eight-year life expectancy gap in this country. There's a greater chance of an Indigenous young male going to jail than going to university. So, Australians are generous people, I think if they look at what the question is that's before the Australian people in this referendum, then they'll vote Yes.
JACOBS:Prime Minister, earlier this morning you were in Sydney. You were meeting with faith leaders from a huge cross section of our population at a referendum roundtable. A lot of migrant communities say they're being targeted with myths and disinformation and conspiracy theories. Did you think you'd be spending most of your time combating that when you committed to the Uluru Statement?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, there has been a lot of misinformation out there and that's what many of the faith leaders indicated today. We had leaders of the faith groups. We had Christian groups, from the Primate of the Anglican Church, representatives of the Catholic Church, Baptist Church, a range of Christian religions, Sunni and Shiite Muslims, we had Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, all represented. As well as groups like Coptic Orthodox as well, Greek Orthodox, the Chaldean faith, were all represented there. And every faith community in this country, in terms of its leadership, have come together to ask for a Yes vote in the spirit of reconciliation that faith groups have been involved with for a long period of time. But they did report a lot of misinformation out there, a lot of fear campaigns. And what we know is that fear can be a powerful emotion, but no nation ever advanced by being promoted or motivated by fear. What advances a nation and brings us together is hope and optimism and support for our fellow Australians. And that's why, today I took great heart from the fact that all of these faith leaders, all gathering in unity, to call for a Yes vote in this referendum.
JACOBS: Prime Minister, we've seen today a threatening video sent from a Neo-Nazi to Senator Lidia Thorpe. We're choosing not to show it, but in the video he burns an Aboriginal flag. Have elements of the debate emboldened those right-wing groups?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, I have unfortunately seen that video. And once you see it, you can't unsee it. It is quite horrific that someone who is self-declared, by his actions and his words, a Neo-Nazi, out there showing such disrespect. I think overwhelmingly, Australians are generous people. What this referendum is about is bringing the nation together, just like the Apology to Stolen Generations did that as well. There was a lot of fear campaigns about that, all sorts of talk about nonsense, none of which eventuated. And that's why I sincerely hope that Australians open their heart. The Uluru Statement from the Heart is just that, it's from the heart. It's an open invitation by Indigenous Australians, to walk with them on the journey of reconciliation. I've got Steve Renouf, the Broncos great and Queensland Origin great, with us here in Wynnum, handing out for Yes today. Overwhelmingly, one of the more than 80 per cent of Indigenous Australians who are supporting a Yes vote in this referendum. This is a request that’s come from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people themselves. And I hope that Australians take up the opportunity of friendship, that hand outstretched, just asking to walk together as a nation.
JACOBS: Now, you are at an early voting centre. We've heard stories of No supporters abusing people as they go in to vote. Will there be a crackdown on that sort of behaviour?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, I certainly hope so. There's been all sorts of misinformation out there, as well. Overwhelmingly, there are more people, of course, handing out and supporting, volunteering for the Yes campaign than there is for No. Because No campaign is based upon, in its own words, it's speaking about, 'Don't find out information'. The Yes campaign wants people to find out exactly what the question is, which is very clear. Just that two-part process, recognition, and through the form that Indigenous people are asking for, is one of substance, is the opportunity to be listened to. Because we know that when we listen to Indigenous Australians, the programs that have been most successful are community health programs, Indigenous Rangers programs, programs to get young Indigenous people to school, have been ones that have been involved and have risen up from the grassroots, from Indigenous communities. And that's why, with only four out of 19 Closing the Gap targets being met, we need to do better. And this is a real opportunity for Australians to write the next chapter in Australia's story. We have a story that goes back some 65,000 years, but it's not over yet. It's not over. We, as Australians in 2023, have an opportunity to do what should have happened back in 1901, which is to recognise that this great nation that we share the continent with, with our first Australians here, has a history that goes back some 65,000 years.
JACOBS: Prime Minister, did you get the messaging right early on in the debate? Your Government has been accused of creating a mess with the groundwork for the referendum and your messaging during the campaign. Have those perceived weaknesses made it easier for fear and hate to cut through?
PRIME MINISTER: No, it's always easier to appear to be negative. And what the No campaign has done, assisted by some in the media, is to raise a whole lot of issues that have nothing to do with what this referendum is. It's unfortunate that that's the case. But people of goodwill, people like Julian Leeser and people in the Liberal Party, Ken Wyatt, the Morrison Government's former Indigenous Affairs Minister, out there campaigning each and every day for a Yes vote in this referendum. Together with faith groups, sporting organisations, with people in non-government organisations, people who have been involved in these issues for a long period of time. But most importantly, Indigenous people themselves. There's a wonderful photo that I put up on my social media this morning, of the 90 delegates to the Central Land Council based in Central Australia, all of whom are gathering at Uluru at the moment for a meeting, all of whom supporting a Yes in this referendum. This is something that's come up from Indigenous Australians, because this current system simply isn't working. And No is more of the same. No leads us nowhere.
JACOBS: Prime Minister, we've got a couple of other issues I'd like to turn to while we've got you. The protection visa overhaul announced yesterday, the Refugee Action Coalition says, ‘This does nothing to help some 10,000 fast tracked refugees on temporary visas, many of whom have no rights to work, study or access Medicare.’ Will they just remain in limbo?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, what we're focusing on is fixing the migration system. We inherited one that was broken, we inherited one that had more than a million people in the queue for visas to be processed. We inherited a system where people can stay here for many years, who aren't legitimate applicants for refugee status, but as a backdoor or side-door way of being able to stay in the country, for a long period of time. And what that does is undermine the capacity of the Government to deal with legitimate issues that need to be dealt with. That's why we've had to overhaul this system. The Nixon Review is an indictment of Peter Dutton's management of the migration system, that simply was not fit for purpose, because there was no focus on actually competency and on what was occurring.
JACOBS: Prime Minister, now, to aged care. Aged care homes are operating under capacity due to worker shortages, some as low as 50 per cent capacity. So, what will your Government do to bolster the workforce and meet the new mandated staffing levels?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, what we're doing is providing fee-free TAFE for training and additional 20,000 university places. As well as making sure we do have a migration system that's able to attract the workforce and workers that Australia needs in areas of skill shortage. We know this is an issue, but we know also that there's been massive improvements in aged care. And one of the things that we've done, a really concrete example, is to contribute over $11 billion to assist in the payment, proper payment of the aged care workforce. We said, and the Aged Care Royal Commission identified, the underpayment of people in aged care as being a real factor in people leaving the sector. What we've done is to make sure, with that largest ever increase in aged care pay for the aged care workforce, that we not only thank them for what they do, that we increase their wages and conditions as well.
JACOBS: Prime Minister, we've got to go to the break, but the Voice has got the backing of Penrith Panthers premiership star Nathan Cleary, who staged quite the comeback. So, how confident are you that the Yes vote can stage a comeback on October 14?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, Nathan Cleary shows that it can happen, and I certainly appreciate his very strong statement in support of Yes. And I believe we certainly can get a Yes majority in this referendum, and the enthusiasm of people who are here at Wynnum shows that as well.
JACOBS: Thank you very much, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, really appreciate your time on Midday.