ANTHONY ALBANESE, PRIME MINISTER: Today, our Parliament has said 'Yes' to holding a referendum. Now, the Australian people will have a chance to say 'Yes' to reconciliation and 'Yes' to constitutional recognition of First Nations people. The Uluru Statement from the Heart begins: "We, gathered at the 2017 National Constitutional Convention coming from all points of the southern sky, make this statement from the heart."
Prime Minister Albanese and His Majesty Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah of Brunei Darussalam met in Canberra today to elevate the Australia-Brunei Darussalam relationship to a Comprehensive Partnership.
The elevation of our bilateral relationship demonstrates the practical steps that Australia is taking to strengthen ties with our Southeast Asian neighbours.
The Comprehensive Partnership articulates our shared aspirations for a peaceful and prosperous region, and our respect for international law, sovereignty, open markets and ASEAN Centrality.
Thank you, Premier, for that introduction, for your leadership and your many decades of friendship.
We are a long way from sharing a really dodgy flat in Queanbeyan.
Colleagues, delegates, true believers.
It's great to be back at Victorian Labor Conference, my first as Australia's Prime Minister.
And it's great that the Victorian Labor Conference is back.
***
I begin by acknowledging the traditional owners of the land on which we meet and I pay my respects to their elders past, present and emerging.
Daniel Andrews, Premier of Victoria: Look, thanks for being here and can I welcome Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Minister Julie Collins here today. For a very long time the national government, the Liberal National Federal Government, ripped off Victoria in so many different ways. Housing was one of those important areas that should be a priority in order to build more social and affordable housing. And we never had a partnership with the Commonwealth Government.
The Albanese Government is delivering $50 million to Tasmania to immediately begin boosting social housing stock.
Part of the $2 billion Social Housing Fund Accelerator payment, the funding will be provided to States and Territories within the next two weeks, and will deliver thousands of new social homes across Australia.
Funding has been allocated on a per capita basis with a minimum of $50 million allocated to each State and Territory.
This investment will build more housing, for more Australians, in more parts of our nation.
The Albanese Government is delivering more than $398 million to Queensland to immediately begin boosting social housing stock.
Part of the $2 billion Social Housing Fund Accelerator payment, the funding will be provided to States and Territories within the next two weeks, and will deliver thousands of new social homes across Australia.
Funding has been allocated on a per capita basis with a minimum of $50 million allocated to each State and Territory.
This investment will build more housing, for more Australians, in more parts of our nation.
The Albanese Government is delivering more than $610 million to New South Wales to immediately begin boosting social housing stock.
Part of the $2 billion Social Housing Fund Accelerator payment, the funding will be provided to States and Territories within the next two weeks, and will deliver thousands of new social homes across Australia.
Funding has been allocated on a per capita basis with a minimum of $50 million allocated to each State and Territory.
This investment will build more housing, for more Australians, in more parts of our nation.
The Albanese Government is delivering $50 million to the Australian Capital Territory to immediately begin boosting social housing stock.
Part of the $2 billion Social Housing Fund Accelerator payment, the funding will be provided to States and Territories within the next two weeks, and will deliver thousands of new social homes across Australia.
Funding has been allocated on a per capita basis with a minimum of $50 million allocated to each State and Territory.
This investment will build more housing, for more Australians, in more parts of our nation.
I begin by acknowledging the Traditional Owners of the land on which we meet, and I pay my respects to their elders past, present, and emerging, and I thank you for the Welcome to Country.
Can I acknowledge Peter Dutton, the Leader of the Opposition, Paul Fletcher, the Shadow Minister, but importantly as well, can I acknowledge Walter Mikac and his partner for being here, for honouring us with your presence here today.
You are the most important person in this room by far today, there is no question about that.
RICHARD GLOVER, HOST: The Prime Minister, Anthony Albanese, is here on Drive. Good afternoon, Prime Minister.
ANTHONY ALBANESE, PRIME MINISTER: Good afternoon, Richard. Good to be with you.
GLOVER: Can I start asking first about the unemployment figures. They're again very low and I understand that's good news, but it does strengthen the chance of more rate rises ahead. Why do you think the rate rises are failing to slow the economy in the way the Reserve Bank obviously hopes they will?