MURRAY JONES, HOST: Anthony Albanese. Good morning. Nice to see you.
ANTHONY ALBANESE, PRIME MINISTER: Good to be here, I’ve brought beautiful weather here.
JONES: Oh, look, it is just gorgeous, there's no doubt about it.
PRIME MINISTER: Waking up here this morning, it was just stunning. And it was a nice night last night. I had a good meal here in Cairns.
JONES: Good on you.
PRIME MINISTER: Tribute to the local economy here.
JONES: And did you get some Kilpatrick, one of your favourites?
PRIME MINISTER: No, no, I didn't. I went to – not sure if I can give them a free ad – I went to Piccolo Cucina.
JONES: When it comes to Italian, it's just fantastic.
PRIME MINISTER: Just an old school, family style Italian restaurant. Got a warm welcome there. It was lovely.
JONES: Great. Well, look, thank you so much for coming in to see us. You know, there are some important things to talk about. Great to hear, a really well-known local, he's actually been here in the radio station working on air at 4CA. Matty Smith, the Federal Candidate for Labor for the Federal seat of Leichhardt. That's a great thing for Labor.
PRIME MINISTER: Look, he's a legend in this local community and is, of course, so well known, not just for his skills on the court, but for what he's done off the court as well. He's helped to provide support for young people across the entire North Queensland region in terms of basketball skills and getting out there and talking to people about life skills as well. He works currently helping out public sector workers here and he's going to make an enormous contribution. I pay tribute to Warren Entsch, who's announced, of course, his retirement. And he has been a long term representative. We were elected at the same time in 1996. But Warren's moving on and I think that Matt Smith is ideally placed to win the seat for Labor. I can't wait to see him and Dan Repacholi, who I don't know it your listeners are aware of Dan, he's an Olympic and Commonwealth Games shooter and he's a very big bloke as well.
JONES: Is that right?
PRIME MINISTER. So, the two of them, in terms of height, we might need to sit them next to each other if we can get Matty across the line. Cause they'll certainly be the two tallest blokes in the Federal Parliament.
JONES: Well, when Matty comes into the radio station, the doors here, he's actually got to duck his head. But the funniest thing, I thought he was joking one day – he told me he had Chihuahuas – and I was walking my dog, the toy poodle, at Trinity Beach one day and there was Matty with two tiny Chihuahuas. So, ask him about those.
PRIME MINISTER: I will. I might meet them this morning. I'll be with him at the Show.
JONES: Good.
PRIME MINISTER: And maybe we should shed a few hoops.
JONES: See how you go.
PRIME MINISTER: It'll be good fun. I've been to the Cairn Show before, so it's a great time to be here.
JONES: Largest regional Show.
PRIME MINISTER: No, it's fantastic.
JONES: It's amazing.
PRIME MINISTER: It's a great event and it brings a lot of people to the region. And it was good, I've got to say, walking around last night, I was quite heartened by how many people there were out and about, which is a good thing. The tourism industry is so important here, and I talked with lots of people who were visitors, lots of Victorians up here seeking some sun.
JONES: And bringing their flu with them as well.
PRIME MINISTER: Well, that's a bit of everywhere, I've got to say. I've had a touch of the colds in the last couple of weeks, I've got to say.
JONES: Well, look, in some ways, it's a shame that Matty Smith's not here, because – I mean, this is predominantly an issue, I guess, for the State Government – but we're going to need Federal funding. You know, long term, we need to have – well, actually, in the short term – we need to have something in place for a replacement road for the Kuranda Range. I mean, that's an ongoing issue.
PRIME MINISTER: Well, we've got $210 million on the table, fully funded. It's in our Budget for us to make that Federal contribution. We know that the road, of course, there was a lot of damage during the floods, those extreme weather events. I spent a couple of visits up here during those floods and went to Holloways and looked at the incredible work that was done. You know, you come here now, there's no sign of it.
JONES: It's amazing the recovery we've seen.
PRIME MINISTER: And I pay tribute to the SES and the Emergency Services, to the energy workers who I met here, who were putting power back on to households really quickly, an advantage of having a publicly owned energy sector here. And I just think it's remarkable how quickly the region was able to recover.
JONES: Some locals are still suffering, I think we need to acknowledge that, just because to get builders in is one of the real challenges. Look, you know, not only have we got the issue, certainly with B-Doubles and big trucks on the Kuranda Range, we've also got the bridges over the Barron River there at Kuranda. The State Government, as part of their election pitch have actually put about $450 million on the table. I believe the LNP has matched it. But, I mean, seven years lead time. I just don't know how we can basically last the next seven years without a bridge. I mean, with a limited use bridge, it's a real issue. And so we are going to be calling on Federal funding for that as well.
PRIME MINISTER: Well, we'll always look at any proposals. As you know, I've got a really proud record. I increased the funding for the whole Bruce Highway massively. And we opened bridges to the southern approach of here in Cairns, as well as right up and down the Bruce Highway, as well as other roads between here and the West as well. So, we'll look at any proposal through our Budget processes.
JONES: Look, you know, as you might have even seen this morning early, sadly, we saw another homeless person. We're seeing so many homeless people around the radio station early in the morning. The cost of living, it continues to bite hard right across the nation, as I'm sure you're well aware of.
PRIME MINISTER: It does. And that's why we're have taken such strong action. Every single taxpayer, including yourself and myself, got a tax cut on July 1st, and we doubled the tax cuts for average income earners. And we made sure as well, that those people earning $45,000 or less a year – so, a lot of part time hospitality workers, a lot of people in this community – would have benefited. They weren't going to get a single dollar under the previous system. So, Labor's tax cuts have made a difference. In addition to that, our award wage increase of 3.75 per cent kicked in as well on July 1. So, we want people to earn more and keep more of what they earn. On top of that, there's the $1,300 between the Federal and the Miles Government’s energy rebates. So, that's a substantial contribution over the next year. And we, of course, have got Fee Free TAFE rolling out here in Cairns, as well as Cheaper Child Care, that's reduced the cost of childcare by 11 per cent. All of these measures have been designed to give support to people whilst putting that downward pressure on inflation.
JONES: And look, you know, it's not a simple fix because I know there's issues worldwide and a lot of external factors as well, which makes it very difficult. But I know it's biting hard. And I guess for you in the position as Prime Minister, unfortunately, the impact of the cost of living, you know, does impact on your numbers as well.
PRIME MINISTER: Oh, absolutely. And we know that so many people are doing it tough. So that's why we've designed, there's no point doing a cash splash and everyone going, oh, that's good, and seeing inflation go up and then seeing further pressure on monetary policy, on the Reserve Bank. So, we've done all of those measures whilst we've produced two Budget surpluses in a row. Now, why is that important? That's important because it puts that downward pressure on inflation and it means that the Budget’s policy is working in conjunction with monetary policy, with the decisions of the Reserve Bank. If it's working against, then there's more inclination for them – they're independent, of course – to increase interest rates, which is not what we want to see. We want to see that downward pressure on inflation. And we've just about halved inflation since we came to Office. It was 2.1 per cent for just one quarter in that March 2022 quarter before we came to Government. So we've made a major difference, whilst there have been more jobs created since we've come to Government, than during any term of any Government in Australia's history, since Federation. 930,000 new jobs created. And that's really important because that's the key to giving people an opportunity of lifting up their living standards. So, more jobs, higher wages, lower taxes and lower power bills is a combination that we are working on delivering. And that will make a difference. As I said, there's no magic bullet that you can do in a minute or a day, or a week, because this is a global issue. Global inflation, of course, hit places like the UK in double digits, it peaked much earlier than it did here. But we're responding to the economic need and we're doing it in a way that doesn't leave people behind. I mean, there are some economists who'd say – what they want to see is a downturn, is an increase in unemployment. I always get pretty cross when I read those out of touch academic type pieces. You know, the job of the economy is to work for people, not people working for an economy. And that's a really important distinction.
JONES: And I think that's one of the things that seems to be lost, particularly in the United States. We won't go there at the moment. But look, as we wrap up, because I know you do have to get on down to the Show and we're heading into the news. But just quickly, from a personal perspective, I read something about a survey last night about politicians. The negativity, the absolute venom, that we saw on a social media post against politicians. I get a chance to deal with politicians from both sides of the fence on a regular basis. I find them genuine, hardworking people. But just the negativity towards politicians as a result of social media, and that's what I'm getting at. It's been one of my bugbears for many years. More controls on social media and the absolute toxicity. And it's playing directly into the hands of the extreme Right. It's a real concern for this country and countries worldwide.
PRIME MINISTER: Oh, it is. And we see some of the venom that's there is pretty extraordinary. Warren Entsch, for example. I mean, he is someone who I have political differences with. I have campaigned for Labor candidates against him, but I have respect for him and we can get on, we can catch up when I'm here, he's respectful towards me and I'm respectful towards him. And he's a good person. And most people who go into public life, go into it for all the right reasons. I mean, it's one of the reasons why I'm so pleased – I met Matty on one of my visits up here and I talked with him about being a candidate. Now, he's someone who's got not a bad life up here. He's someone who will give up a bit. He's got two young children and a family, and a couple of Chihuahuas. You know, it's a distance getting to Canberra and getting down to the cold weather from up in this beautiful part of the country. He's prepared to put himself forward and to make what is a considerable sacrifice, because he wants something better for this community. He wants that strong representation, and he'll bring it. Now, that should be honoured rather than dismissed. It's the sort of thing that I'm sure – Warren Entsch, of course, gave up being an MP and then decided to go back. You know, people make sacrifices. I was in Townsville yesterday launching our candidate there, Edwina Andrew. Phil Thompson's a good bloke. I get on well with him. I hope Edwina wins the seat, but it's not personal. But he's a good person.
JONES: Yeah. And that toxicity is just so negative, and it's bringing the country down and unfortunately, bringing us in a similar type of path and trajectory of the United States.
PRIME MINISTER: It does. And we see the polarisation that's there in the United States is not healthy, and it is not something that is lifting up the United States’ standing in the world. And we are the best country on earth. We should cherish that and we should just be kinder to each other. I find it rather bizarre that if you speak about kindness, somehow that's seen as a weakness. It's strength.
JONES: Of course it is.
PRIME MINISTER: It's strength.
JONES: A real man knows that strength.
PRIME MINISTER: Absolutely. And people do have conflict fatigue and we need to be kinder and gentler. Have our views, by all means, but put those views forward respectfully.
JONES: Anthony Albanese, great to see you. Thank you so much for coming in, Albo. Enjoy the Cairns Show.
PRIME MINISTER: I'm looking forward to it. I've been before. Years ago I went to the Cairns Show.
JONES: It's always great. It's the largest regional show in the country and it's just fantastic. So, you enjoy. The minders are giving me the wrap up. So, wonderful to see you. Thank you so much for your time and make sure you drop in next time you're in town.
PRIME MINISTER: Will do. See you soon, bye.