JESS TEESDALE, FEDERAL MEMBER FOR BASS: Thank you so much everyone for being here today. I look around and see so many people who have worked tirelessly for months and months for this day to get here. Do you know what? Uncertainty is a terrible thing. For 18 months, the 550 workers here at Bell Bay Aluminium have faced that uncertainty. They've been putting decisions about their future on hold, whether to buy a house, get another dog, or maybe even to start a family. They then had to go through watching Liberty go through the toughest of times.

The Albanese and Rockliff Governments are securing the future of Bell Bay Aluminium smelter, supporting the facility’s 550 workers, their families and the 1,000 workers indirectly employed across Northern Tasmania. 

We want to see Australia make more things here.

This investment will boost jobs in the region while strengthening our national sovereignty.

The Bell Bay smelter is a major contributor to Tasmania's industrial and manufacturing sectors and is vital to the Northern Tasmanian regional economy.

I begin by acknowledging the traditional owners of the land on which we meet, and I pay my respects to elders past, present and emerging.

It is such a pleasure to be here tonight for the launch of Three Shocks – Who We Are Becoming in the 21st Century.

In this age of shrinking attention spans, George Megalogenis stands out as a rarity.

With his eye for detail and his capacity for joining the dots, George makes a valuable contribution to the national discourse every time he hits the keyboard.

DANIEL MULINO, ASSISTANT TREASURER: Hi, I'm Daniel Mulino. It's great to be here in Melbourne's west in my electorate for an announcement in relation to a very significant transport and infrastructure project. The Melbourne Airport Rail Link is going to transform transport in the West and also be a major economic contributor to Victoria. This is a project that is long overdue, so it's wonderful to be here today for this announcement.

The Albanese and Carroll Labor Governments are getting on with building Melbourne Airport Rail Stage 2, with work set to begin in the coming weeks.

It will include a new 7.4-kilometre rail line from Albion toward the Airport precinct via a brand-new Keilor East station, as part of the $12 billion joint commitment from the Albanese and Carroll Labor Governments.

The line will connect directly to the Metro Tunnel and feature the same high-capacity signalling to enable frequent services.

CLAIRE CLUTTERHAM, MEMBER FOR STURT: Good morning everyone, my name is Claire Clutterham and I’m the federal Member for Sturt in the Australian Parliament and it is a pleasure to be here this morning at Hampstead Barracks. I’m joined by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, Assistant Minister for Defence Peter Khalil, and our South Australian Premier, Peter Malinauskas. And this morning we are talking about an issue that is at the heart of the Federal Government’s agenda and at the heart of the State Government’s agenda, and that is housing supply. PM, welcome to Adelaide.

The Albanese and Malinauskas Governments are working together to fast-track more housing for South Australians, through the redevelopment of two key Defence sites near the Adelaide CBD.

Hampstead Barracks was recently identified as a property for divestment, as part of the Australian Government’s response to the independent Defence Estate Audit. The Audit identified sites surplus to Defence’s need, with no clear or ongoing link to capabilities or keeping Australians safe.

DAN TAYLOR, HOST: My first guest this afternoon, it's a bit of a late booking. He joins us, he's the 31st Prime Minister of Australia, Anthony Albanese. Good afternoon.

ANTHONY ALBANESE, PRIME MINISTER: G’day Dan. What a stunning day it is here today.

TAYLOR: Oh, isn't it just. And you did a little bit of an update on that $130 million redevelopment of UTAS today. You did a bit of a press conference. How's it looking down there?

JESS TEESDALE, MEMBER FOR BASS: Welcome everybody to the ground here at UTAS Stadium. We're so excited once again to have our amazing PM back in Launceston. I'm joined by Premier Jeremy Rockliff, and also our Minister for Infrastructure who is critical to what has been happening here at UTAS Stadium over the past 12 months. Now, we can see behind us the stand which will have so many thousands of loving, cheering fans coming out as often as possible, particularly when the Tasmanian Devils do get started very soon.

Work on the new Western Stand at Launceston’s UTAS stadium is now complete. It’s another major milestone on the $130 million development of the facility, funded by the Albanese and Rockliff Governments.

The new Western Stand repurposes previously unused space between the stand and the pitch, with the new infill seating giving an extra 1,500 fans a front row seat to the action.

Spectators will now enjoy modern facilities with wider concourse areas, improving patron circulation and better match-day experiences.