On the last day of Parliament for 2023, Australia and Papua New Guinea signed an historic security agreement and our Government passed new laws to ensure more Australians get a fair go at work.

From now on, wage theft and industrial manslaughter will be criminal offences.

This will help make workplaces safer and it will make it clear that businesses can’t get away with stealing from their employees.

We’re also closing the loopholes in labour hire. Labour hire laws were designed to help employers bring in people with specialist skills or deal with temporary shortages.

Annastacia Palaszczuk contacted me this morning to inform me of her decision to resign as Premier of Queensland. 

She retires as a Labor hero, a three time election winner, Australia's longest-serving female Premier and - above all else - a champion for Queenslanders. 

From the moment she made history with her extraordinary 2015 election victory, Annastacia Palaszczuk has served Queensland with fierce pride in her state and a powerful determination to deliver for people. 

The Prime Minister will be on leave from Sunday 10 December to Thursday 14 December 2023.

During this time, the Deputy Prime Minister will be Acting Prime Minister.

ANTHONY ALBANESE, PRIME MINISTER: Good morning. This week was a very busy week last week in Parliament. We of course responded to the High Court decision with the comprehensive response to ensure Australians can be safe. We responded as well through the National Cabinet process with an immediate plan to strengthen Medicare, with our plan now for health and hospital funding, and an agreement for the next two five-year agreements, going right up to 2035. We produced the agreement on national firearms registry.

ANTHONY ALBANESE, PRIME MINISTER: My friend, it is a real honour to welcome you and your considerable delegation, all of your senior members here in Canberra. And I know you've already enjoyed dinner with the Foreign Minister, discussion with the Treasurer, the Deputy Prime Minister and of course, our Minister for the Pacific who loves PNG. Between him and our Deputy Prime Minister, I think there’s a competition for how much, I think they might be applying for visas. They are almost honorary PNG citizens. But we are, our relationship is so important.

ANTHONY ALBANESE, PRIME MINISTER OF AUSTRALIA: Good morning. Look it is a great honour to be with my very good friend Prime Minister Marape here today and return the hospitality that I received when I visited Port Moresby and Wewak earlier this year and had the great honour of being the first person from outside Papua New Guinea to address the Parliament in Port Moresby. Australia and Papua New Guinea share a very special relationship. It is 50 years since the decision was made in December 1973 by the Whitlam Labor Government to grant independence to Papua New Guinea.

Today we signed a Bilateral Security Agreement.

The Agreement is a legally-binding framework to deepen our security cooperation – in traditional areas of defence, policing, border and maritime security, and also non-traditional areas of cyber security, climate change, gender-based violence and critical infrastructure.

It will elevate our security relationship to advance shared security interests while contributing to our region’s security.

ANTHONY ALBANESE, PRIME MINISTER: Well, thanks very much for joining us. And I do want to acknowledge that the debate is ongoing in the House of Representatives on the condolence motion for Peta Murphy. And so it is a very difficult day for the Labor family in particular, but I think, across this Parliament. Peta Murphy is someone who was very broadly respected as a woman of courage, intellect, integrity and character. And so, there is a sadness across this Parliament.

National Cabinet met in Canberra today and made important progress on key reforms that will strengthen our health system, secure the future of the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) and keep Australians safe.

Today we see the Commonwealth acting with common purpose, in the common interests of all Australians. The Federation is working for Australia.

ANTHONY ALBANESE, PRIME MINISTER: I want to thank you all for gathering for our final National Cabinet meeting for 2023. I do want to acknowledge that for members of my team in particular, today's a difficult day. We've just had the condolence motion moved for Peta Murphy, who is very much a beloved colleague lost to cancer at the very young age of 50. So it's been quite a difficult day.