SARAH FERGUSON, HOST: Prime Minister, welcome to 7.30.
ANTHONY ALBANESE, PRIME MINISTER: Good evening Sarah.
FERGUSON: Governments learnt stark lessons from previous disasters, including Lismore in 2022. Have you done everything you can to prepare communities for the impact of the cyclone?
PRIME MINISTER: We certainly have, and it's been seamlessly worked through with three levels of government. Queensland, New South Wales, working with the Commonwealth, but also working with local government. The other thing that's very clear, unfortunately, is that people in South East Queensland and Northern New South Wales have experience with natural disasters as well, and so people are following the advice of the SES, of police and emergency services, of the ADF personnel if they knock on the door. And that, of course, is a key to ensuring that their area is as prepared as it could possibly be.
FERGUSON: Now, as Prime Minister, you've deployed more ADF personnel. The defence review said the ADF should only be deployed in extreme circumstances. Are these extreme circumstances?
PRIME MINISTER: They certainly are very serious circumstances, Sarah. When you speak about a tropical cyclone crossing over and hitting land where over 4 million Australians live, then that's pretty serious, and that's why we're doing everything possible and mobilising every level of support that we can, both civil and military.
FERGUSON: And beyond that which has already been deployed, what further Commonwealth assistance are you planning?
PRIME MINISTER: We have already mobilised local government support, but I was at Services Australia headquarters this morning, and we'll mobilise individual support that will be required for hardship payments and other payments that go when there is a natural disaster having an impact on people's capacity to just get by. And that will be triggered at an appropriate time. We also are reaching out through the National Coordination Mechanism to ensure that the private sector is also mobilised. So that's meeting daily with supermarkets, with insurance companies, with telcos across the board, to make sure that everything is being done that is possible to provide assistance to people. In addition to that, a shout out to our friends across the ditch. Prime Minister Luxon has today approved a disaster team to come to Australia of 66 personnel that also have experience. It's a great example of what families, and Australia and New Zealand are I think family, do for each other. But there are also incredible stories about not just families helping each other and neighbours helping each other, but of course, people reaching out for people who they don't know, strangers, and showing, once again, that at the worst of times we do see the best of the Australian character.
FERGUSON: Now a federal parliamentary inquiry into flood insurance that reported in October last year found that companies had failed too many people. What specifically do you expect insurance companies to do this time?
PRIME MINISTER: I absolutely expect them to fulfil their social license, which is to make payments to eligible people expeditiously. People expect insurance companies to do the right thing, and we will certainly be holding them to account. They've been a part of the national coordination meetings that are taking place. So we expect them to do the right thing, which is what Australians would expect of them as well.
FERGUSON: What could you, what kind of measures could you take if an insurance company breaches its social license?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, we want them to do the right thing. That's the point here, Sarah. I won't go into hypotheticals. What we want them to do is to do the right thing, and therefore those questions become not relevant.
FERGUSON: Has the cyclone, Prime Minister, caused you to categorically rule out calling an election on Sunday or Monday?
PRIME MINISTER: Sarah, I have very clearly said for a long period of time that, we announced last year we'd produce a budget on March 25. That certainly is my clear intention, and has been. That's the work that we've done preparing, leading up to this week's events. Certainly that work had all been done. And I can clearly say that my focus is certainly not on votes, it's on people, and it's on Australians at this difficult time, and I won't be doing anything to distract from that.
FERGUSON: Well, why can't you simply declare that you won't be calling an election while the cyclone unfolds?
PRIME MINISTER: I think I just did Sarah, as I've done every day when I've been asked. It is our intention to serve full term. I've made that very clear, Sarah, repeatedly. And I read various commentary, I don't know where that comes from, but it's always been our intention to serve a full term. And certainly my sole focus is not calling an election. My sole focus is on the needs of Australians. That is my concern at this difficult time.
FERGUSON: Just to avoid any confusion, you are categorically ruling out an election being called Sunday or Monday?
PRIME MINISTER: That's correct Sarah. I have no intention of doing anything that distracts from what we need to do. And what we need to do is to look after each other at this difficult time. This is not a time for looking at politics. And one of the things that's working very effectively, Sarah, can I say this. Is that David Crisafulli’s government, the government of Chris Minns and mine, there's no party politics involved, nor is there with any of the local governments involved as well. We're working together in a seamless way, and that is really important,
FERGUSON: Prime Minister, thank you very much indeed for joining us today especially. Thank you.
PRIME MINISTER: Thanks very much Sarah.