LAURA TINGLE, HOST: Prime Minister, welcome back to 730.
ANTHONY ALBANESE, PRIME MINISTER: Good evening, Laura.
TINGLE: Prime Minister, we've all seen the images of the release of Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners today. Many commentators have said this is a very fragile ceasefire. Has the Government assessed whether there is anything that Australia can do, say, in the way of extra aid to help build on that in the short term?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, we certainly welcome the release of hostages and we want to see more aid into Gaza as quickly as possible to relieve some of the issues which are there. We welcome the ceasefire. It's something we've called for for some time. This is a fragile situation, but it is a step forward. We want to see Palestinians and Israelis be able to live in peace and security. And this deal is a step forward, but we need to recognise it is a fragile one.
TINGLE: Well, you've said we need to lower the temperature here in Australia as well. What have the national security agencies been able to tell you about the escalation of antisemitism? Are the attacks coordinated, for example? Is it only attacks on property? What is happening online?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, the national security agencies have given us regular briefings and through Operation Avalite, importantly, the Commonwealth and state agencies are in contact every single day. We are particularly concerned about the rise in antisemitism. We've seen attacks on property, but we've also seen serious attacks, the fire that was deliberately lit at the Adass Synagogue in Melbourne, the potential fire or attempted firing at the synagogue in Newtown as well. We are concerned about escalation. They are continuing to monitor the situation, to engage, to share intelligence, and some of that is, of course, online. It is good that Operation Avalite announced the first arrest last Thursday evening, and we look forward to anyone who has committed a crime, which is what we're talking about here, being prosecuted to the full force of the law.
TINGLE: You convened a meeting with the New South Wales and Victorian Premiers last week. Are there no problems in other states? Why haven't you convened a National Cabinet meeting on this?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, the important discussions that are taking place are the ones between the security and police agencies every day. And we're also speaking with the Premiers and Chief Ministers right around the country. We had a coordinated report through with the New South Wales Acting Premier and the Victorian Premier, along with the AFP Commissioner, because that is where the events, these incidents of violence and of criminal activity have been concentrated. But we continue to engage with states and territories across the board. I think what people want to see, as well, is action taken and that is something that we're coordinating between the Commonwealth and state and territory governments.
TINGLE: Peter Dutton has today proposed tougher anti-terror laws in response to all of this. Why isn't mandatory jail time of six years for anyone who attacks a place of worship a worthwhile idea?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, Peter Dutton, of course, was the Minister in charge of these issues in Home Affairs for a period of time and that didn't occur under his watch. There are issues of mandatory sentencing, of course, is something that can lead to issues which are counterproductive. We know that that's the case. Look, we'll continue to take whatever action is necessary. We have introduced the first legislation to outlaw symbols like Nazi symbols and others, hate symbols. We did that and put that through the Parliament. And last year we passed legislation outlawing doxxing. That's something that the Coalition opposed at the time. I still don’t quite understand what their reasoning was there.
TINGLE: An opinion poll today shows law and order has overtaken environment and climate change as an issue of concern for voters. That suggests Peter Dutton's attacks on you are working. How do you address that?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, overwhelmingly, what Australians remain concerned about is cost of living. And it's cost of living where the Federal Government has most responsibility for doing what we can to address the issues. And that's what we've been doing, Laura. That is the number one issue facing Australians. That is a Commonwealth responsibility. Of course, law and order issues are primarily the responsibility of state and territory governments, but we engage as well through federal authorities on those issues.
TINGLE: You've announced a $2 billion production credit for the aluminium industry today. The company you visited, which runs Australia's largest aluminium smelter, said four years ago it would be 100 per cent renewable by 2029. What would they now additionally need to do to get that production credit? And what does it provide for a company that's already committed like that?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, their energy contract that they have in place now is there until 2028. That's why these production credits will come in from then. There will be individual negotiations with the four smelters involved in Gladstone, Portland, Tomago and down at Bell Bay. It will provide for a production credit per tonne of aluminium produced with clean energy. What this does is provide certainty for investment going forward and that is why it has been welcomed so strongly. We need to continue to be a country that makes things here. One of the lessons of the pandemic is that if Australia just remains at the end of the supply chain, we are vulnerable as a national economy as well. So, it's not just the regional jobs at Tomago – direct and indirect – around about 5,000 jobs depend upon that facility. It's also our capacity to be able to make things here and to be a resilient economy. That's so important. And that's at the heart of our Future Made in Australia agenda.
TINGLE: Well, your Government has established several big investment funds, including the Future Made in Australia Fund and the Reconstruction Fund. There have been criticisms that it's taken a long while for you to start having funds committed and announced. Should we presume we may see a lot more announcements between now and polling day?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, we will continue to roll out projects under the National Reconstruction Fund. Today's announcement is an important one. We want to see Australia benefit from the transition to net zero. It is a challenge, but it's also an opportunity. There's nowhere you'd rather be than Australia with the resources that we have, whether it be the best solar resources in the sky or the resources that will power the global economy in the 21st Century, under the ground. We also have the skills and the intellectual capacity as well. But we often don't commercialise the opportunities that are created through these scientific and technological breakthroughs. Now, we need to make sure that Australia is not just a quarry, exporting resources, seeing value added, seeing jobs created somewhere else before we import final products back.
TINGLE: Given that there have been a few hiccups, shall we say, in the green hydrogen process, have you been thinking about diverting some of the funds that you might have earmarked for those projects into other areas, like this aluminium scheme?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, green hydrogen remains important. The former Government used to think that as well. With the adoption of any new technology, the path towards it isn't always smooth. But one of the things about green hydrogen is that its use needs to be closer to where it's produced. There are issues with it being transported and that presents an enormous opportunity for Australia. In places like South Australia, the Upper Spencer Gulf and around Whyalla, in places like the Pilbara, in places like the Hunter Valley as well, there are huge opportunities there. Rio Tinto, who – I was with Kellie Parker today – they see huge opportunities around the Gladstone region as well. So, yes, it is true that it hasn't gone in a completely smooth path, but that is the way that new technology occurs and is rolled out. And globally, there is enormous investment going into green hydrogen because people also see, of course, first mover advantage and there is a global race on. Australia can't afford to be left behind when we are in such an advantageous position.
TINGLE: The US Presidential Inauguration is tomorrow. Have you received any explicit assurances from President-elect Trump that Australia will not suffer any adverse tariff actions?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, I had a very constructive discussion with the incoming President when I wished him well on his election. I made the point to President Trump that the United States has enjoyed a trade surplus with Australia since the Truman Presidency. It's been there for a long time and the United States is, of course, a major investor here in Australia and the relationship between our two economies is so important. So, I'm very confident that we will work these issues through because they're in the interests of both Australia and the United States.
TINGLE: But no explicit assurance at this stage, by the sounds of things?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, to be fair, he hasn't been through the Inauguration yet, but very clearly it was a positive discussion that we had. He said that we will have a ‘perfect’ relationship and I expect that the relationship between Australia and the United States will remain strong.
TINGLE: Most first term governments have traditionally been assisted by voters saying they deserve a chance to implement their agenda. Pollsters say voters remain unsure what you stand for. Do you need to outline a braver agenda for your second term?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, in our first term, of course, some of the issues we've had to deal with are global inflation. But we've laid the foundations for what our objective is. I said I didn't want people to be left behind and that's precisely why we've taken the action on cost of living that we have to get inflation down whilst having employment of 1.1 million additional jobs created. Now, some of the economists would go out there and say, in order to get inflation down, you should have an increase in unemployment. Well, that's not our view. And we've managed to navigate what are very turbulent seas, but always with our eye on the horizon as well. How do we set up Australia's future? And that's what we have been doing, whether it be fixing aged care, fixing child care, fixing the National Disability Insurance Scheme, or industry policy like we announced today. How does Australia take advantage of the shift to net zero to create the jobs and industries of the future? And as well, how do we train Australians for those jobs? And that's what our Universities Accord, our Free TAFE, our schools program of increased funding for public schools, as well as down to our youngest Australians through our early childhood education is, as well.
TINGLE: What will happen to your environmental reform agenda in the next term? In a piece critical of your approach to various industries, the writer Richard Flanagan wrote over the weekend that, quote, “even a spineless environmental measure like Tanya Plibersek's Nature Positive bill is axed by Albanese at the behest of the West Australian mining industry.” Why did you do that and what do you do about the perception that you seem to take some pleasure in cutting down Tanya Plibersek?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, the Greens political party, of course, and supporters will always be critical of Labor's agenda. But have a look at what we've actually done in terms of – including the strong action by Tanya Plibersek as Minister – the work that she's done in the Murray-Darling, the work that's been done on our oceans, the work that's been done in ensuring that our species, our wonderful natural wildlife is protected. In addition to that, of course, the work that we've done on climate change. We have taken what was 10 years of denial and delay, and we have put in place not just a mechanism, a target of 43 per cent by 2030 reduction, but we've actually got a plan to get there through the safeguard mechanism, through the Capacity Investment Scheme –
TINGLE: But, Prime Minister, the big reform of the EPBC, the major environmental legislation has basically been sort of shelved for this term. Is it coming back in the second term of an Albanese Government?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, Laura, we'll continue to work on environmental reform. We've said the EPBC Act needs to be brought up to date. It was done by the Howard Government. But we need, Laura – we've got 25 votes in the Senate, and we need not just Labor plus the Greens, we need other votes as well, and they simply weren't there in the last week of December.
TINGLE: Prime Minister, we're out of time, but thanks so much for speaking to us tonight.
PRIME MINISTER: Thanks very much, Laura.