ANTHONY ALBANESE, PRIME MINISTER: Good morning, thanks for joining us. And I'm joined by the Foreign Minister, Penny Wong. Can I firstly express my condolences to the family and friends of Maxwell Hobson who lost his life in the Victorian bushfires. That community will be grieving today. And I say to those people in Victoria, but also those in the flood affected areas of North Queensland, this is not over.
It is with deep appreciation for his tireless contribution to our national interests over the last three years in Washington that we today announce the Hon Dr Kevin Rudd AC will conclude his posting as Australia’s Ambassador to the United States at the end of March 2026.
Dr. Rudd has decided to accept the role of global President of leading international relations think tank, the Asia Society, which has recently become vacant and which Dr. Rudd headed between 2021-2023. Dr. Rudd will also head the Society’s Centre for China Analysis.
A State Funeral Service for the Honourable Ronald Boswell AO will be held at St Stephen’s Cathedral in Brisbane on Friday, 16 January 2026.
Ron Boswell was a stalwart of the National Party and a lifelong advocate for rural and regional Australia.
He was elected to Federal Parliament in 1983 as a Senator for Queensland, launching a career which spanned three decades.
From 1990 to 2007 Mr Boswell was the leader of the National Party in the Senate, and held the role of Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Transport and Regional Services from 1999 to 2003.
ANTHONY ALBANESE, PRIME MINISTER: Good afternoon. Firstly, can I say that following my visit to Victoria yesterday, to Bendigo, to Ravenswood and to Harcourt, we received the devastating news of a loss of life. Our thoughts go to the family, the friends and the community who are impacted by this. And our thoughts are also with all those who are still doing it incredibly tough, those people who have lost their homes - 47 in Harcourt alone. These are communities that are under real pressure.
Federal Parliament will be recalled to deal with important national security legislation in the wake of the Bondi terrorist attack.
The Prime Minister will write to the Speaker asking for the House of Representatives to sit on Monday 19 January and Tuesday 20 January. Senator Wong as Leader of the Government in the Senate will be writing in similar terms to the President.
The first order of business will be a condolence motion to remember those who lost their lives and those whose lives were forever changed by this antisemitic terrorist attack.
JACINTA ALLAN, PREMIER OF VICTORIA: Well, good morning. I'm really pleased to welcome everyone here to the Bendigo Incident Control Centre here in Epsom. And I'm pleased to welcome everyone here as both the local Member for Bendigo East and I'm joined by my other local member colleagues, the Member of Bendigo West, Maree Edwards, and the Federal Member for Bendigo, Lisa Chesters. And we're really proud local representatives of this great community. And we're really pleased to have the Prime Minister here today in Bendigo getting briefed at the Incident Control Centre.
The Albanese Government is activating financial assistance through the Australian Government Disaster Recovery Payment (AGDRP) for communities impacted by the recent bushfires in Victoria.
From 2pm local time on Wednesday 14 January 2026, the AGDRP will be available for eligible people in the following locations: Barkers Creek, Harcourt, Harcourt North, Longwood, Longwood East, Natimuk, Ravenswood South, Ruffy and Sutton Grange.
The Allan and Albanese Labor Governments are standing with Victorians who have been affected by the devastating fires that have torn through so much of the state.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Premier Jacinta Allan visited emergency services on the ground in Central Victoria today to announce an initial $19.5 million support package for bushfire affected Victorians - jointly funded under the Commonwealth-State Disaster Recovery Funding Arrangements (DRFA).
ANTHONY ALBANESE, PRIME MINISTER: Australians across the country are facing extreme and dangerous weather conditions, with bushfires burning in multiple states, but particularly Victoria and severe weather across Far North Queensland and the North West Queensland region. My thoughts are with Australians in these regional communities at this very difficult time. Once again, I remind people to follow the advice of authorities. This is a time where Australians are once again, showing that at the worst of times, we see the best of the Australian character.
ALISON PIOTROWSKI, HOST: Well, it's taken three weeks, but the Prime Minister has finally announced a Royal Commission into antisemitism following the Bondi terror attack.
JOEL DRY, HOST: It comes 26 days on from the deadliest mass shooting in Australia since Port Arthur. Prime Minister, Anthony Albanese, joins us now from Canberra. Prime Minister, why did you take so long to call the Royal Commission? Did you fold under pressure?