LAURA TINGLE, HOST: Prime Minister, welcome to 7:30.
ANTHONY ALBANESE, PRIME MINISTER: Good to be here, Laura.
TINGLE: 2023 began with you responding to floods in South Australia and finishes with the extraordinary flooding in Far North Queensland. Labor promised it was going to upgrade and improve Australia's emergency funding and management responses and not be so reliant on the defence forces. Where is that up to?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, one of the things we did was have the National Emergency Management Agency do a war game here in Canberra three months ago, in preparation for what could well be a very difficult summer. So we get much better coordination now with the agency headed by Brendan Moon, and coordination across the different police and emergency services, state departments, Rural Fire Services, SES, to make sure that the response can be as quick as possible and we have done that. In this case, there were unprecedented flooding in Far North Queensland, it is good that we were able to mobilise the Australian Defence Force very early on, including boats from HMAS Cairns to be able to rescue people over what was an unprecedented event.
TINGLE: The new Queensland Premier, Steven Miles, announced a huge step up in the state's emissions reduction target as his first step as Premier to seventy-five per cent by 2035. He told 7:30 on Monday night that the much higher targets by the states would make it much easier for you to lift the national targets. Will you be lifting the national target or should you?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, we'll make an announcement at an appropriate time based upon the science.
TINGLE: What's the appropriate time?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, the appropriate time is when you've actually done the work and know how you can reach a target. The trick here isn't to just come up with a number and then work it out afterwards. It’s to work out how you can transition the economy as quickly as possible, but whilst maintaining reliability and stability in the energy network. And that's what we did when we came up with the forty-three per cent by 2030 target. And that's what we'll be doing as well for our 2035 target.
TINGLE: You listed taking climate change seriously as one of the four challenges facing the Government at your first press conference this year. Two others were dealing with the impact of inflation and promoting fairness. Now, there have been a lot of measures to ease the cost of living, but is it time to do more for middle Australia? The economic and budgetary circumstances have completely changed since the stage three tax cuts were first announced. Inflation has now reduced the benefits of those cuts to middle Australia. Do they need to be redesigned to redistribute bigger cuts lower down the income scales?
PRIME MINISTER: Well the economic circumstances have changed, Laura. It wasn't envisaged when in 2018-19, that we'd be facing global inflation as we have. But we've taken action to take pressure off cost of living, whilst also not putting pressure on inflation. And that's why our measures have been calibrated so that our energy price relief plan, our childcare plan, have all been aimed at how do we reduce the costs of living for people who are doing it tough, whilst not putting that upward pressure on inflation? So that's why we haven't had cash handouts. That’s why things like the Fee Free TAFE as well have been aimed at how do we take action in the short term that creates the conditions that we want in the medium and long term. That's why we've been responsible and produced a budget surplus, the first in fifteen years by banking that in order to take those inflationary pressures off.
TINGLE: But inflation is falling, the economy is forecast to barely grow in 2024. Doesn't this actually give you some scope to provide more relief through the tax system to people on middle incomes by changes to those stage three tax cuts?
PRIME MINISTER: Well the economic conditions when we look at 2024, I'm hopeful and optimistic about the path ahead. We do have economic growth continuing. We've seen the creation of 700,000 jobs since we were elected, more than any government in previous history. We're seeing inflation falling not as fast as we would like, but it is falling. We're seeing real wages increase for the last two quarters. And when we speak about cost of living, you have to look at income as well as expenditure. And that increase in real wages is a very positive development. We'll continue to look at what we can do for cost of living relief going into the new year. It's something that we examined in the lead up to MYEFO and the lead up to the budget in 2024, we'll be giving proper consideration for how we assist, particularly low and middle income earners who we understand are under pressure.
TINGLE: Does that mean that you are ruling out a change to the stage three tax cuts? I mean, you need a circuit breaker don't you?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, we've made no decisions along those lines. We're not reconsidering that position. What we're looking at though, is how we can provide further support for low and middle income earners.
TINGLE: The electorate is grumpy though, Prime Minister. You were asked this week how you would regain your mojo which conjured up a certain Austin Powers image to the Prime Ministership. But it struck me you didn't actually dismiss the idea that you've momentum as a government. The polls aren't good, there are concerns inside the Government. They want to know what you're going to do to restore the Government standing. Have you got a plan?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, that's not right, Laura.
TINGLE: Which bit?
PRIME MINISTER: All of it. The whole assumptions which are there. I realise the media get bored and like to look towards a contest. But the truth is we end the year, unlike previous oppositions throughout history in a in a much, much stronger position as a government.
TINGLE: A stronger economic position.
PRIME MINISTER: A stronger economic position, and we're ahead. Polls come and go, Laura. But the last poll, Newspoll this week, had us ahead with the same vote that we received at the last election.
TINGLE: Your standing not so good.
PRIME MINISTER: Two thirds of the way into a term, we understand that people are under cost of living pressure. But what we are doing is making sure that we continue to focus on the needs of Australia. We have a plan, not for the twenty-four hour media cycle, we have a plan for the national interest to set Australia up for the decades ahead. That's my task and that's my focus, and the focus of my Government.
TINGLE: You haven't said a lot since the referendum about where the Indigenous affairs agenda goes, just that you've focusing on closing the gap. Do you have any plans for promoting treaties and truth telling between now and the next election or for that matter, any new agenda in Indigenous affairs?
PRIME MINISTER: Well we will continue to work and examine not just issues as they arise. But we have a comprehensive plan on areas like Indigenous housing, on areas like Indigenous rangers and employment, where we plan to change the CDEP to provide proper work opportunities, We'll continue to engage with the business community as well about how opportunities can be created for Indigenous Australians. We're also embedding in each of our policies, this is unconnected with the referendum, areas such as in higher education and TAFE. In the Skills Agreement for example, the National Skills Agreement with state and territory governments, there's a specific program aimed at giving Indigenous people those skills to get a trade to get into those employment areas as well to lift people up. So we'll continue to do that. States and territories are working on treaty issues in various forms in their own way. But we're very much focused on making a practical difference going forward, and being able to advance reconciliation through that.
TINGLE: We've seen Peter Dutton firmly locking into the political tactics of Tony Abbott in 2023, on everything from the referendum to migration to your wine tasting habits. How do you combat that? Is there actually scope for the Government to prosecute an ambitious agenda in the face of it?
PRIME MINISTER: There is, and we will continue to do so. Because Peter Dutton has nothing positive to offer Australia. What he has done is focused on day to day tactics and trying to get a headline in the media. Peter Dutton, when it comes to the next election, will have a platform of just saying no to everything, no to all the cost of living relief plans that we've put forward, saying no to legislation.
TINGLE: But what do you do about that?
PRIME MINISTER: That's a matter for him, while we continue to put forward our positive agenda. We in the last fortnight of Parliament sitting, we managed to get through legislation about the Murray Darling Basin, about our environmental plans as well, including the water trigger.
TINGLE: Those things with respect, we're all drowned out by his attack lines weren't they?
PRIME MINISTER: What matters Laura, is substance. And the substance of the National Security Agreement that we reached with Papua New Guinea. The industrial relations changes to promote fairness in the workplace. The agenda that we put forward of having a National Health Plan. We now have a funding agreement with the states and territories going out to 2035. We have an agreement about reform of the National Disability Insurance Scheme. We have National Firearms Agreement for our National Firearms Register. Those things are the things that make a difference. Our plans to strengthening Medicare, increase Urgent Care Clinics. All of that happened in a period of just a fortnight. Meanwhile, the Opposition were just being negative about everything and not putting forward any alternative.
TINGLE: Since the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, Australia has always maintained Israel's right to defend itself, but has urged it to do so in a manner consistent with international humanitarian law. Do you think Israel is heeding your calls?
PRIME MINISTER: We continue to express concern about the loss of innocent lives, we mourn every life that is innocent, whether it be Israeli or Palestinian. We condemn unequivocally, the actions of Hamas on October 7. We call for Hamas to release unconditionally hostages, we don't see that Hamas has any role to play in the future governance of Gaza. And we think the international community will have a role to play. And that's why I issued the joint statement with the Canadian and New Zealand Prime Ministers that outlined in a very clear way, the way that we saw this situation evolving. And it's also the point, Laura, that we need to make sure that here in Australia, we remain a society that is cohesive, and I'm very concerned about the rise of antisemitism. I'm also concerned about incidents of Islamophobia that we have seen.
TINGLE: Would you like to see the UN Security Council resolution on a ceasefire pass?
PRIME MINISTER: Well that's a matter for the UN Security Council.
TINGLE: We're part of the UN.
PRIME MINISTER: But we want to see, we want to see the global community work on a solution. A solution that is in the long term allows Israelis and Palestinians to live in peace and security, to enable prosperity in the region. We don't see that Hamas has a role to play in that. And that is an important part of, a sustainable ceasefire cannot be one sided. It must, it must involve Hamas not being able to continue to use Gaza as a platform for terrorism.
TINGLE: Your speech on foreign policy this week, said, quote, "foreign policy cannot merely be a catalogue of things that are happening to us, and the Australia's strategic policy must be anchored in Asia and the Pacific." So why do we hear from Washington rather than Canberra that the US Navy wants us to commit a navy vessel to the Red Sea? Haven't the Americans got the memo?
PRIME MINISTER: We have a great relationship with our friends in the United States. And I think the carriage of the AUKUS legislation, with bipartisan support through the Congress is an indication of that. We have made it very clear, there's been no political request from the United States to Australia at that level. We continue to cooperate and we contribute to the maritime operation, we have personnel in Bahrain at the headquarters, and we continue to make that contribution. But we also, of course, prioritise our region and the United States certainly understands that.
TINGLE: Why has the Government seemed then seemingly so coy about what it's said about this to date? I mean, is it because you're worried about offending the Americans or because it's a bit embarrassing to admit, you actually don't have that many ships to send?
PRIME MINISTER: No, when an issue is raised over a period of days, it's important that we give proper consideration, get the advice from the Australian Defence Force and behave in a responsible and mature way. And that's the way that we have responded and today we've made it clear, Australia's position going forward.
TINGLE: Prime Minister, we're out of time but thank you so much for yours. Merry Christmas.
PRIME MINISTER: Thanks very much, Laura, and Merry Christmas to yourself, but also importantly to all of your viewers. And please drive safely over this festive period.