Prime Minister Anthony Albanese today met with Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF) Leaders in San Francisco to endorse a comprehensive package of IPEF agreements.

IPEF brings together large and dynamic regional economies, accounting for around 40 per cent of global GDP, and includes eight of Australia's top ten merchandise trading partners.

Australia is a founding member of IPEF, alongside Brunei Darussalam, Fiji, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, New Zealand, the Philippines, Republic of Korea, Singapore, Thailand, the United States and Vietnam.

PRIME MINISTER: Good afternoon. It's been a real pleasure and very important to be here at APEC. APEC and related meetings present an opportunity to strengthen the regional economic links that are absolutely vital to Australian trade to Australian industries and to Australian jobs. And today, in a number of meetings, I've been able to strengthen those.

PRIME MINISTER: Prime Minister, it is wonderful to meet with you again after we met on the sidelines of the G20 and to be able to continue to discuss our joint operational and security cooperation. The defence relationship is so strong and I was able to welcome the Chief of your Navy along with other people who were in Sydney Harbour at my residence during the Operation Malabar that took place earlier.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has concluded meetings with Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) economic and business leaders at the APEC Summit in San Francisco.

The forum’s theme, Creating a Resilient and Sustainable Future for All, is one Australia actively supports.

Leaders came together to discuss sustainable growth, trade and investment in the face of growing food insecurity, rising energy prices, inflation and cost of living pressures.

ANTHONY ALBANESE, PRIME MINISTER: I want to thank President Joe Biden for hosting this 30th anniversary APEC Summit here in San Francisco under the theme ‘Creating a Resilient and Sustainable Future for All’. I think quite clearly it was a very successful Summit. There was good dialogue in the collective forums, but also an opportunity to engage one on one with leaders who represent 75 per cent of Australia's trade and over half of the global economy.

On behalf of the Labor Party that he served and loved, I join with others in offering my condolences to all those mourning the passing of Gerry Hand.

Through 10 years in Parliament as Member for Melbourne, including six years in the Hawke and Keating ministries, Gerry Hand gave all he had to the Labor cause.

Having had their fair share of disagreements in their pre-Parliamentary lives, he and Bob Hawke became very close colleagues.

The Albanese Government’s Social Housing Accelerator will build around 4,000 homes for Australians who need them.

The Government is today releasing final implementation plans for the $2 billion Social Housing Accelerator that shows how many homes each state and territory government will deliver with funding from the Commonwealth.

The Commonwealth funding for these homes must be committed in full by state and territory governments by 30 June 2025.

This is another example of the Albanese Government working with states and territories to build more homes.

KIERAN GILBERT, HOST: Joining me live in his office is the Prime Minister, Anthony Albanese. Thank you very much for your time.

ANTHONY ALBANESE, PRIME MINISTER: Good to be with you, Kieran.

GILBERT: It's been a busy few weeks for you, but the last couple of days, the story that's dominated attention is this incident involving Australian naval personnel and a Chinese Destroyer, some of our personnel injured by sonar pulses from the Chinese ship. How concerned are you by that incident?

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’s wonderful to be at the Ethnic Business Awards tonight.

I’ve attended many of these galas over the decades — and, let me say, it always feels like coming home to a great extended family.

I look around this room and I see high achievers and people who inspire.

First among equals are Joseph and Angela Assaf, who worked so hard to get this event off the ground, and have kept it going ever since.

KAUSEA NATANO, PRIME MINISTER OF TUVALU: Thank you, Mr Prime Minister, the Honourable Anthony Albanese, and your Government for your tremendous work that has put in to finalise this first step of our Falepili Union.