TARLA LAMBERT, HOST: Prime Minister, Anthony Albanese, thank you so much for joining the Women’s Agenda podcast today. We’re really excited to have you.
ANTHONY ALBANESE, PRIME MINISTER: Wonderful to be with you and thanks for having me on as a part of the podcast.
LAMBERT: Prime Minister, there's been significant announcement from your government overnight with the news that early childhood educators are set to receive a much-deserved pay increase of 15 per ent. I personally feel like it should be 50 per cent, but this is a very good first step. How will this policy work and how will you ensure that largely privatised centres comply with a fee cap framework?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, this is a really exciting announcement. It will work through 10 per cent, so bit over $100 being passed through in December of this year, then a further 5 per cent in December next year. So a total wage increase on top of normal increases of $150. That will cost $3.6 billion over the next two years. That will - it’s important because we're working through the Fair Work Commission having a work value case, that's what occurred for aged care workers. And it's in the context of what we did, the Secure Jobs, Better Pay legislation that changed the provisions of the Fair Work Act to make gender pay equity, one of the objectives, effectively of the Act. That was one of the things that the Fair Work Commission should take into account because as your listeners full well know, all too well through their personal experience, the gender pay gap in Australia has remained really sticky. Now it's at a record low of 13 per cent but it's just a fact that it's feminised industries that were really underpaid. Whether it be aged care workers, child care workers or early educators. People in those sectors where the industrial power wasn't the same as people in mining or construction or industries that have traditionally been male dominated. So this is a part of my Government's commitment to gender equity, but it will also be so good for families because we'll make sure in order to be eligible and be across the board, so not-for-profit sector, for-profit sector, but they will have to comply with not increasing fees by more than 4.4 per cent over the coming 12 months, in order to be eligible, to satisfy the criteria. We want to make sure that its workers who benefit without families getting any increased costs. We want to drive down costs of childcare as well. And it will be as well, good for the economy, as we know for workforce participation and productivity and other measures.
LAMBERT: Absolutely. Prime Minister, as a mum of two children who are currently in child care, I am someone who relies heavily on educators, phenomenal educators, every day to run my business. However, I live in regional New South Wales and services here are getting scarce, are scarce, and they're getting scarcer by the second it seems. How will this policy address the reality of limited childcare availability in regional areas?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, this is part of addressing that and it'll do it in, in two ways. One, it will make the sector more attractive. We know that our early learning educators aren’t just people who mind children. They care for them, and they educate them. We know all the research tells us that the first five years of life are so important for brain development. And young people as well, of course our youngest Australians learn how to interact with each other - they learn so much. Now what this will do is change the relative attractiveness of working in that sector as opposed to other jobs. So many people have told us as part of the process of consultation that we went through, that people were leaving the sector because they couldn't afford to stay in it. Now if you increase wages on top of normal increases by $150, or or more than that over the next little bit over a year, then you're changing the attractiveness of working in the sector and having a skilled workforce is one of the issues so it's one thing we're doing. The second is fee-free TAFE - it’s meaning that so many Australians are able to, both young people or people looking for a new career change, something that is rewarding for them in terms of satisfaction of the work of being able to help with the development of children is something though that needs to be matched by wages and conditions being decent. So fee-free TAFE is having an impact there as well. The other thing that it will do is to lift up the attractiveness of people living in regional communities as well. We know that during the pandemic many Australians, particularly younger Australians, young families, found moving to regional communities, smaller communities really attractive. It's a great lifestyle to live in regional Australia. Now all of those factors combined will, I think, make a significant difference as we go forward. We want to make sure that early education is accessible wherever people live, and this is all a part of our commitment. It comes on top of, of course, the increase in Childcare Subsidy that seen an average decrease in costs of 11 per cent, that since we introduced that change, which came to effect just last year, so it's a part of our whole drive in this area is an absolute priority. It was one of the big issues that I ran on in the lead up to the 2022 election.
LAMBERT: It does seem like your Government has made a series of really good steps. And I just want to ask how many more steps will there be before child care is made truly universal? Is that still something that's on your bingo card?
PRIME MINISTER: It certainly is. Look, we see this as important for our commitment to gender equity, which, you know, I hope is defined as one of the characteristics of my Government when people look back at the achievements that we're doing, it's very much front and centre of everything we do. So every single Cabinet submission that comes forward has to have the impact on gender, which is important. So this is one of the measures that we're doing, we have a Productivity Commission Report. There are a range of ways in which you can go forward that the Government's considering in further making early education accessible to all and universal. We made, in the Labor Party, healthcare through Medicare - it was its universality that was so important. We had the universal superannuation that was so important. I want universal access to child care and early education to be a legacy that we leave. We are putting in place these steps. We've done a range of other issues as well that we have introduced to deal with gender equity going forward.
LAMBERT: Under your leadership, this Government has made solid strides, and I mentioned that before. You know, we've included increases in Paid Parental Leave, placing superannuation on top of Paid Parental Leave, increases in the Childcare Subsidy. Why are these issues so critical to the Government new lead and perhaps to you personally?
PRIME MINISTER: They're important to the government that I lead. I think it's no accident that I lead the first Government in Australian history that has a majority of government members being women - 53 per cent of our Caucus members. The recent reshuffle that I did, just days ago now, has meant that the most number of women ever in the Ministry, and the second place is the one that was in place before the announcement. So we continue to see women playing a very prominent role in the Government. But it also, I think is, to be frank a part of my own experience. I grew up with a single mum, there were just two of us in in my family. It was something that my mother felt very dearly about equity and the need for women to be not just respected but to have equality and equal opportunity in life. It's a part of Australia moving forward. So one of the other measures that we did was to change Single Parenting Payment, that was so important as well, so that now it's when the youngest child reaches the age of 14. That for me was a very personal thing. That's impacted 70,000, largely single mums, can be some single dads as well, but overwhelmingly it's single mums. The work that we're doing on domestic violence as well - whether it is increased community workers, whether it's the increased funding for shelters and for emergency housing. But also a part of our Homes for Australia Plan, including a prioritisation through the Housing Australia Future Fund on women and children escaping domestic violence. All of these measures are important for who we are. I think that you judge a country, in part, by not how wealthy just the top end is, but how much opportunity is shared regardless of people's gender, or for that matter, other issues as well. Every Australian deserves an equal chance in life, and the truth is that in so many areas we don't have equity. So we need to be continually striving for it. And gender equality is very much a focus of my Government. It's something I'm really proud about and it's something that from the top down were committed to. And senior people like Katy Gallagher has done an amazing job, I've got to say, as the Minister for the Status of Women as well. Making sure that I made a conscious decision to have the Finance Minister, the person who's in charge of the money and spending to be also the Minister for the Status of Women. That makes sure that that's driven right throughout the bureaucracy, right through departments, right through Ministers as well. And I think that's been a factor in making sure that it's not an afterthought. It's something that's right at the forefront of our policy development process.
LAMBERT: It's a really strong point. Despite this work that you are doing, Prime Minister, your approval rating, as well as Peter Dutton's seems to be shrinking. With more voters, including thousands of Australian women are switching their support from major parties to independents and teal candidates. Why do you think that's happening? And will you win them back before the next election?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, people - of course our democracy is diverse, and it's more fragmented. I think the nature of society is changing. When I was born my mum was in the Labor Party, my grandfather was in the Labor Party, there was that cultural issue where people tended to be in either of the major political forces at various times, that's changed it's name on the conservative side, but the Labor Party has been around since 1891. I think the big thing that we can put our case for the Australian people and particularly for Australian women at the next election is that my Government has been one that has delivered on the commitments that we've made. We said we’d put women front and centre as part of our economic agenda, but also part of our commitment to social policy, that we are a governmenr that represents, as I've said before, has a majority of women as members of the Government caucus. And the difference from my perspective about being in a party of government as opposed to being a crossbencher, I have respect for so many of the crossbenchers - we engage collaboratively, but the truth is that government decisions are made around the Cabinet table. And there are two potential government parties after the next election - my government that's committed to gender equity, and a government that would be led by Peter Dutton, someone who's opposed so many of the measures that we’ve put in place including having gender equity as part of the Fair Work changes that we introduced as part of our Secure Jobs, Better Pay. Someone who’s been critical of all of the increases that we have done that have made a difference. Whether it was the changes to the Parenting Payment, increased payments to workers in aged care and childcare, someone who didn't do anything about Paid Parental Leave or superannuation in Paid Parental Leave. I think people know as well that the Queensland LNP are struggling to pre-select any any women for any of the electorates including ones that are held. They have gone backwards in recent years, and they're likely to go further backwards. Karen Andrews has been replaced by a bloke running in the electorate of Forrest in WA. Nola Marino, retiring, being replaced by a bloke as a candidate again. It seems they just don't get the message. And my Government, people will make their own decisions about how they vote, but we want to see it and I want to lead a majority Government that is progressive when it comes to gender issues and gender equity, and does this as a core part of government policy. Not something that's negotiated after the event, which is the role that independents and crossbenchers can play. As I said we meet, you know, I meet with all of the crossbenchers regularly and I certainly respect the role that they play and the genuine advocacy that they make across a range of issues. But on the three main issues, I think, where people campaigned as independents at the last election - on climate change, we're acting. We're moving to Net Zero. We've legislated what we said we would do on gender issues. I think you've seen us implement all of the Jenkins Report and a whole range of issues were spoken about today. And on integrity, we've introduced the National Anti-Corruption Commission we're acting on those issues as well.
LAMBERT: Prime Minister, you mentioned before universal childcare will be part of your legacy and what you want your legacy to be. But I want to ask about your legacy more broadly, and how you want to be remembered as a leader?
PRIME MINISTER: I want to be remembered as someone who delivered a strong economy, because you need a strong economy with jobs and opportunity in order to do the social and environmental reforms that are needed. Someone who dealt with immediate challenges such as cost of living and the inflationary pressures which have come on through because of global conditions that's occurred around the world. But someone who always had their eye on the medium and long term. On the bigger picture on how we transform Australia into being a stronger economy and being a fairer society. In being one that left a legacy for future generations enacting on climate change. And someone who believed in equity and promoted it throughout government policy. I think that my values are strong. I want to not waste a day in government as well. And that's something that my Government has worked very hard on and to also, I think, on election night I used a word that really has got a big response from people I've run into around Australia's since, which is kindness. You know, we live in a society that’s really harsh sometimes, even the role of social media in changing political discourse in a way that's much more aggressive. I want to recognise that empathy and kindness towards each other is something that I do want to promote, as well. I don't see that as a weakness, I see it as a strength. The fact that I want people to not be left behind, and that means looking after people who are vulnerable, but also not be held back. That means looking after people's genuine aspirations for a better society and a better life, a better standard of living for themselves and their families as well. You said you've got a couple of little ones, I think most Australians, what we want overwhelmingly is for our children to have a better life than we had. It’s something my mother wanted for me, and you would have got pretty good odds about me being Prime Minister when I was growing up. And that was something that my mother encouraged me to stay at school, I was the first person in my family to finish school, let alone go to university. And that sacrifice that we make for others is really important. And I think we need to also foster that caring for each other as a society as well.
LAMBERT: Prime Minister, Anthony Albanese, thank you so much for joining us on the podcast today.
PRIME MINISTER: Thanks so much Tarla, and thanks for having me on.