JACOB GREBER, HOST: Prime Minister, thanks so much for joining us. What an extraordinary setting. We're here in Alpurrurulam, a station, a cattle station at Lake Nash, real cattle country. Big sky country. Like a movie set, I guess. What are you doing here?
ANTHONY ALBANESE, PRIME MINISTER: Well, Peter came to see me in Sydney actually, last year, just a couple of months ago, and he was talking about the industry it was before we had seen the final lifting of any impediments to trade of boxed meat into China. And I committed then, I said, “I'll come and have a look at your station.” And here we are today. This is an extraordinary property. Goes back generations, goes back to the 1800s. You have up to 60,000 head of cattle on this property. And I think as Prime Minister, I have a responsibility to not just represent all of Australia, but to see all of Australia as well and engage with all of Australia. And the meat, beef industry is so important, whether it be live cattle or whether it be boxed meat. It's an important industry to creating jobs and creating economic activity as well as a mighty fine state.
GREBER: Campaigning in the north, though, in the middle of the summer, the heat, that's pretty unorthodox. Is it maybe a little desperate? Are you trying to claw something back here or make a bigger point?
PRIME MINISTER: I was here last year. Last year I was in the North dealing with floods and the impact of the landslides that occurred around Wujal Wujal and around Far North Queensland. And the year before, I was in Northern Australia as well. And when the pandemic was on, I drove the length of the Bruce Highway. We did three road trips including two from Cairns headed south. I work hard and it's my job to get out there and to listen to people where they are, where they live, where they work. And that's how you get an understanding of what this nation needs.
GREBER: Well, I have to say you do look pretty rested and in good shape for the campaign ahead. It'll be a tough one, especially after a difficult year last year where your poll numbers have gone down. Do you really think Australians will kill your majority after one term?
PRIME MINISTER: We'll be seeking a majority government at the next election and Australians will have a choice between a Government that has provided cost of living relief, that has built the foundations of future growth for a future made in Australia, and an Opposition that hasn't put forward an alternative plan, that's just said ‘no’ to all of our cost of living measures and that doesn't have a plan for Australia's future, that will take Australia backwards. So, I'll be putting forward my optimistic vision for this nation. I think if we get this decade right, we can set Australia up for the many decades ahead.
GREBER: Politics is a pretty tough business and I don't know, in this country we've got used to parties changing leaders. Is there anything, you know, that threatens you like that before the election? Will you be leading the Labor Party to the next campaign?
PRIME MINISTER: Not at all. I've been in the Parliament for a while now. I have never seen a political party as united, as cohesive and as determined as the Australian Labor Party is going into 2025.
GREBER: The inflation data was out a couple of hours ago. I know you love saying inflation has a 2 in front of it. That's not how Australians really feel, is it? Prices are up 20 or 30 per cent. Do you sort of diminish their concerns when you use that, you know, reference the term about two in front of inflation?
PRIME MINISTER: Not at all. We understand that Australians have been under financial pressure. We understand that global inflation has had an impact. But the truth of the matter is that inflation did have a six in front of it when we came to government and was rising, and today it has a two in front of it and it's falling. The truth of the matter is we've created, on our watch, over a million new jobs, and we've provided cost of living relief. Including a tax cut for every Australian taxpayer, Cheaper Medicines, Cheaper Child Care, Free TAFE. All of these measures have made a difference. And importantly as well, real wages have increased for four quarters in a row and that makes a difference for Australians who are under financial pressure.
GREBER: Might seem a long way from here, but Parliament resumes in a couple of weeks, really, unless, of course, you change your mind. But what do you want to get done in those two weeks in February, given it might be the last chance to move legislation this term?
PRIME MINISTER: We want to get, firstly, our legislation for Production Tax Credits through the Senate. It got carried as the last item of business in the House of Reps when we sat in December. That's about supporting new industries, particularly in the resources sector. We have, under the ground, every resource that will power the global economy in this century. Cobalt, lithium, copper, vanadium, all of these products. We have rare earths and critical minerals, and this will be important in setting Australia up for the future. And importantly, tax credits, of course, reward success. So, we want to encourage that investment because we think that we need to seize the opportunities which are there.
GREBER. So, that's a priority. Do you have a deal with the Coalition on Electoral Reform? Changing the caps, changing the amount of money that's in politics?
PRIME MINISTER: No, we don't at this point in time. And we have 25 votes out of 76 in the Senate. There's a range of legislation that we didn't get through in the last sitting of Parliament, but we did carry, of course, 45 pieces of legislation in a single week.
GREBER: That bill, though, I understand you were very close to getting that over the line. Is it worth another shot?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, you can be very close and not get there, but what we won't do is compromise our values on any of the legislation which has been put forward. We want to make sure that there's accountability. People should be transparent about who's donating money during election campaigns. And we think that as an integrity measure is really important. It's one of the things that we've committed to. Just like we committed to the creation of a NACC, an anti-corruption commission at the national level. That was promised by previous Oppositions that stayed, then in Government, under the Coalition. They never delivered it. We have delivered it, but we also want to deliver greater transparency and integrity in our electoral system.
GREBER. So, that sounds like it's still alive. What about Environmental Protection Agency reform, approvals for the mining industry while protecting some of these things like native forests? Greens have said they'll pass your bill.
PRIME MINISTER: No, only if they get what they want. And what we won't do is compromise on the values that we've put forward. And importantly as well, in the Senate, Labor plus the Greens is not a majority. And so at this stage, there's not a majority for a range of legislation that we tried to progress at the end of last year. But we were successful across so many areas, including 11 Treasury bills, including the ban on social media for under 16s, including migration legislation, social policy legislation, the reform of the Reserve Bank. We had a very good last week of Parliament and I'm confident that when we come back as well, for the sitting period that we have ahead of us, we will continue to pursue our agenda. But it's hard when you have a Coalition that's committed to saying ‘no’ to everything and you've had a Greens political party that have combined with them to form a No-alition blocking housing investment, for example.
GREBER: With the election sort of around the corner, obviously, as we've been saying, how's the universal childcare package looking? Is that something Australians could sort of expect something on?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, we made our major announcement, of course, just a little over a month ago, I did in Brisbane where we said we'd give a three day guarantee for child care assistance. And we also there announced $1 billion for infrastructure to make sure that child care is available in remote communities, regional communities, outer suburbs, where it's not available at this point in time. And importantly as well, our 15 per cent increase in the pay of child care workers – just like our aged care pay increases – is about making sure that there's a workforce there, as well as when you combine that with Free TAFE, training more people to go into child care and aged care. That's an example of my Government's commitment to look after all Australians, from the very youngest to certainly the oldest, so that older Australians can have the dignity and respect that they deserve in their later years.
GREBER: Can you confirm also that you're considering changes to bulk billing, as was reported in the Sydney Morning Herald not so long ago?
PRIME MINISTER: We'll make all of our health announcements at the appropriate time, but we've already tripled the bulk billing incentive. And during this week, I was in Rockhampton just a couple of days ago at an Urgent Care Clinic. That's one of the 87 Urgent Care Clinics that we've opened. We promised 50, we've delivered 87. That's delivering free care. All people need is their Medicare card, not their credit card. And that has been a great success. So, what we understand is that in order to take pressure off emergency departments of hospitals, we need to improve primary health care. That's been our focus and it stands in contrast with Peter Dutton, who the last time government changed, he became the Health Minister, cut $50 billion from the health budget, tried to introduce a tax on every single time people visited the GP and froze the Medicare Rebate, which led to a steep decline in bulk billing.
GREBER: Prime Minister, I'll wrap it up with one more. Elon Musk obviously likes to throw his weight around. He's attacked progressive leaders in the United States and the UK – Keir Starmer, Kamala Harris, for instance. How worried are you that he's now got you personally in his sights? And what does that mean for the election? Like, how damaging is that for someone who has such a big influence on social media?
PRIME MINISTER: I'll stand up for Australia's national interest and won't be intimidated by anyone, particularly not an area of foreign interference. So, Mr. Musk has his views. What I will do is represent Australia's national interests without fear or favour. And part of that is making sure that social media is held to account, because social media has a social responsibility.
GREBER: Prime Minister, thanks for your time.
PRIME MINISTER: Thanks very much.