MATT ACTON, HOST: Good morning, Prime Minister.
ANTHONY ALBANESE, PRIME MINISTER: Good morning. Thank you for that lovely intro.
ACTON: You're welcome.
ABBY COLEMAN, HOST: Nice of you to be up in Queensland. We've got a new Premier since you came up. I mean, you've always been, I guess, close to Steven Miles. You would have worked with him. But are you his boss or would you just say colleague?
PRIME MINISTER: No, colleague.
MARTO, HOST: (Booing)
DAN, HOST: Excuse me. Have some respect. The Prime Minister of the country's in. Albo good morning.
ANTHONY ALBANESE, PRIME MINISTER: Good morning, mate. He'd have more credibility if his socks matched.
DAN: Could you not have put some effort in? Albo's in a wonderful suit.
MARTO: I didn’t know he was coming in.
PRIME MINISTER: Have a good look at yourself, son.
KELLY HIGGINS-DEVINE, HOST: My guest this afternoon is Prime Minister Anthony Albanese. Welcome to what is usually sunny Queensland, but not this summer. It has been wet, wet, wet.
ANTHONY ALBANESE, PRIME MINISTER: It's fantastic to be back here in Rocky today with the Premier of Queensland Steven Miles, with my Minister, Catherine King, with Minister Bart Mellish and with the local State Members Brittany Lauga and of course Barry O'Rourke as well. And it is a terrific day to be here and to witness the progress that is taking place on this vital project. When Kirsten Livermore was the Member, some time ago, we did the planning work on this project, it was something she was very passionate about.
ANTHONY ALBANESE, PRIME MINISTER: It's been good for myself and the Premier to take the opportunity to be properly briefed on what is occurring in Queensland with these weather events. It's also an opportunity for us to thank those frontline workers who are doing such an extraordinary job, whether they be people from the SES who are engaged in rescues, whether it be people from fire and emergency services or police and, of course, the Australian Defence Force present here today as well.
ANTHONY ALBANESE, PRIME MINISTER: Look it is fantastic to be back in Townsville, for my first visit for 2024. But certainly not my first visit to this wonderful city of Townsville, and here for this announcement, and it's also a bit of a relief that prior to this, we were able to meet the SES workers, the energy workers, the people who've been doing so much in working in partnership with the Council, with the Queensland Government, but also all those volunteers who are doing their bit to make a difference for the recovery from the cyclone.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Premier Steven Miles today celebrated construction progress on the $1.73 billion Rockhampton Ring Road - a project that is now fully funded by both levels of government.
The Albanese Government is investing up to $70 million to develop the Townsville Region Hydrogen Hub in north Queensland, creating regional jobs and supporting Australia’s future as a renewable energy powerhouse.
The project delivers on the Government’s election commitment to establish a hydrogen hub in North Queensland.
It will create at least 200 direct job opportunities for local electricians, plumbers, fitters and concreters during construction, as well ongoing jobs in technical and engineering roles.
AARON STEVENS, HOST: The pressure is on for the Prime Minister and the Government. The Prime Minister will be in Rockhampton today. We'll hear more about that in just a moment. But at a time when there's been a change in direction on tax cuts. Australia Day, the pressure is on with Australia Day and we had that conversation yesterday, let’s see what the Prime Minister thinks about your stance to leave everything exactly where it is. And we've also got a forum happening in Rockhampton today that will address renewable energy.
DAVID MARCHESE, HOST: Prime Minister, welcome back to Hack.
ANTHONY ALBANESE, PRIME MINISTER: Good afternoon, Dave. I'm very proud to be your first guest for the year.
MARCHESE: It's always good to start off with a big name talent like yourself. I want to ask, on this tax proposal that you've put forward, do you think that the plan changes that you've outlined are actually enough to help young Australians especially, who have been devastated by cost of living over the past couple of years?