WILL GOODINGS, HOST: It is the Prime Minister of Australia, Anthony Albanese. Prime Minister, good morning to you.
ANTHONY ALBANESE, PRIME MINISTER: Good morning. Good to be with you.
DAVID PENBERTHY, HOST: Great to have you PM. We can say it for you if you want, the only poll that matters is the one on polling day.
PRIME MINISTER: That's the phrase that's usually used, isn't it?
PENBERTHY: You're welcome to comment on it if you like, but…
PRIME MINISTER: Look, the truth is that people do look at polls, of course, and it is better to have positive ones than negative ones. But it is also true that that doesn't count for much two and a half years out from an election.
PENBERTHY: You haven’t peaked too early, have you?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, I hope not. There was a slogan in in New South Wales a few years ago that, believe it or not, was successful, but Morris Iemma's was 'more to do, but heading in the right direction'.
PENBERTHY: I remember that well, and he beat the Libs with it, too.
PRIME MINISTER: He did. I think we might come up with something a bit snappier in 2025 myself.
PENBERTHY: That's right. Hey, it was good to see you here in South Australia over the weekend visiting the Riverland. It's obviously a significant concern for people living along the downstream towns here in South Australia. What was your message to the people of the Riverland, Prime Minister, in terms of what the Commonwealth can do to assist?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, that the Government stands with those communities who are proving to be so resilient, as we see right around the country. I unfortunately have been to too many of these sites. I've been to Northern Tasmania, Rochester, and Bendigo in Victoria, to Lismore, Forbes, Eugowra and Parkes in New South Wales. And on Saturday morning as we flew along the length of the Murray, you could just see the flooding that is occurring. And the flooding, of course, you're seeing the rising water levels around the Riverland. It's expected to peak around December the 14th. But it was just a real opportunity to let people know that disaster recovery payments and assistance are available now, eight local government areas have been declared already, and that there's also accommodation support available, personal hardship grants. The Commonwealth stands with Peter Malinauskas, who travelled with us, and the SA Government, as well as local government, of course, in providing support for people. It was also an opportunity just to say thank you. The extraordinary work that local government has done, the police, SES, volunteers, contractors putting aside their normal competition to help each other to build the levees, either have them reconstructed, or in some cases around the Big Four caravan park there in Renmark, it's a new levee that's been built. And just to say thank you to them and to encourage the resilience that they've shown. No one was showing anything other than optimism about the future, but it's going to be a difficult few weeks ahead.
GOODINGS: Did your briefings give you cause for optimism in so far as the preparations that have been made here, to give our communities here in South Australia some time that wasn't afforded to those in New South Wales? So were you told about the scale of what's likely to come and how the preparations are likely to mitigate the worst of it?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, that’s right. It's very different from a place like Eugowra that I went to, that we witnessed literally houses that had moved eight, nine hundred metres, just been picked up and taken away. There was a bridge there that was concrete, steel, like really heavy, that was nowhere near where the water was, so just been taken a few hundred metres away. But the weight of it, you see the power of water and what it can do. But you also see there in the Riverlands the preparation which has been done. We know that not everything can be mitigated against, there will be homes and properties that are inundated, and that is going to happen. The important thing, of course, the most important thing is always to preserve life and to provide as much preparation as possible. From what I saw there firsthand, everything that can be done is being done. Services Australia is in Berri this morning providing that support and information for people. And can I give a number to your listeners of 1800 302 787 for anyone who is looking for what level of support can be given. That's the number to ring that's been set up there in South Australia. But Mali was quite rightly proud of the effort of the police and emergency services workers, just doing an extraordinary job. And the local council, of course, was pretty proud of their efforts. And the community, I've got to say, are just remarkable. We got in pretty early Saturday morning and went to a coffee shop there, Arrosto Coffee, I've given them a bit of a free plug, but it was just remarkable. People just coming up and saying, 'Yep, we know we've got some tough times ahead, but we're doing what we can to prepare and we're confident that we'll get through it'. And when we were at the caravan park also, they want people to continue to visit. It is safe to visit and the tourism sector are doing it tough. So if people can spend a few days there over the coming period, then you will receive a very, very warm welcome.
PENBERTHY: What was the name of the coffee shop again, PM?
PRIME MINISTER: Arrosto.
PENBERTHY: Arrosto. Okay. What do you have? What are you, a flat white guy? Macchiato? What's your go?
PRIME MINISTER: I'm a flat white guy. But I'm going to say, though, they were making breakfast burgers that looked pretty awesome. And there's a little outdoor area. So it was a gathering of the community there. It was packed, clearly the regulars, people who had already done their early morning exercise. I was there with Peter and with the State Minister, Joe, and with Tony Pasin, the local Federal Member. I always make sure that they're informed when I'm heading to an area. And there were people there with their dogs and their kids. It was just really, really positive and I know they're doing it tough.
PENBERTHY: You mentioned our Premier, Prime Minister, he's made some interesting comments in today's Tiser about nuclear power, where he says he hopes that the AUKUS deal, and the fact that we are going to be helping to manufacture nuclear-powered subs here in Australia, will sort of challenge the left of politics to abandon what he sees as its knee-jerk opposition to nuclear power, which he says is a carbon neutral fuel. He also says that, obviously there's some concerns that conservatives aren't addressing about the fact that it's still too expensive. But to his point about the left of politics, do you agree with his call that we need to actually abandon some of the old sort of hippie-inspired ‘70s thinking about the apparent dangers of nuclear power?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, it just doesn't add up. That's essentially the problem. Every five years or so we have this economic analysis of whether nuclear power stacks up and every time it's rejected.
GOODINGS: So if it did stack up you'd have no opposition to it?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, no one will invest in it.
GOODINGS: But if it did stack up, because technology's always changing, if it did stack up, would you have any opposition to it?
PRIME MINISTER: I think you've got the issue of waste, and you've got where it goes. So I think it's a distraction from what we need to do. That's my position. And it hasn't changed. I have a great deal of respect for Mali, but everyone's entitled to get one or two things wrong. I haven't changed my view that it's a huge distraction from what we need to do.
PENBERTHY: You're just worried the Greens will beat you in Marrickville.
PRIME MINISTER: No, I'm not. No one will do it.
GOODINGS: What, beat you in Marrickville?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, no one will do that either. I won on primaries last time. So, that's the least of my worries.
GOODINGS: Power is very much on the agenda, Prime Minister, this week. You've got National Cabinet on Wednesday to discuss this concept of a cap on coal and gas prices. Have you guys got a handle yet on what that would cost the taxpayer in terms of compensating producers, and specific to South Australia, whether you'd countenance compensating the South Australian Government for lost royalties?
PRIME MINISTER: Look, we'll work through all of those issues. What we know, and the Premiers know this as well, is that unless we act there will be a considerable increase in the cost of power for both individuals, for households, but also for businesses. And I don't want manufacturers to go out of business. Now they rely upon gas and it's important that the price of gas is reasonable, that people can make a profit. But the idea that you have super profits being made at the same time as businesses are going out of business that provide long-term jobs in the manufacturing sector is, quite frankly, just not tenable.
GOODINGS: Are you sensitive though to the impact then on state bottom lines with the loss of royalties?
PRIME MINISTER: We will talk all of these issues through. And what we aren't sympathetic for, though, is the idea that you have this massive windfall gain and that somehow that's occurring at the same time as businesses and people are doing it tough. And we'll talk through cooperatively with the state and territory governments. I obviously had a chat with Mali on Saturday. I had a chat over the weekend with the Premiers of New South Wales and Queensland. I'll continue to have a chat, we'll have a dinner tomorrow night and then we'll have a meeting on Wednesday. We've said that we will act and we will act before Christmas. And I don't think that there is a Premier or Chief Minister who will sit back and say, 'Yep, this is all okay', for prices to continue to rise and projections which are there. I just think that what you'll see is some common positions come out over coming weeks because we need to act on this.
PENBERTHY: Just finally Prime Minister, before we let you go, I thought it was hugely admirable that you managed to get up at 1:30am Friday morning to watch the Socceroos even though it was a parliamentary sitting day. How'd you go watching the game yesterday? And how do you think the national team conducted itself throughout the tournament?
PRIME MINISTER: They were just awesome. They were inspirational. And it is, of course, the global game. I love rugby league and I love AFL. But it's a reminder for Australians that the round ball game is the global game. It's watched by more people than any event on Earth and the Australian team, if you put them dollar for dollar, I don't know if anyone did the assessment of how many times more the Argentinian team are paid, I reckon the entire Australian team wouldn't add up to Lionel Messi's salary. It was just a fantastic effort and they did Australia proud in the way that they conducted themselves. And I've seen a bit of commentary too about Graham Arnold who drinks at the Sackville Hotel in my electorate.
PENBERTHY: In Rozelle.
PRIME MINISTER: He's a great fellow and I think it was fantastic that we had an Australian coach who stuck with us, and I think that his tactical nous, the way that the other night he went to our back five when we got a goal ahead was awesome. And the way that he, two nil down, they could have given up, could have been four or five nil. They didn't do that, they kept coming and those last couple of charges, you know, they were unlucky, they could very easily have scored an equaliser.
PENBERTHY: Yeah absolutely. We thank you for your time on FiveAA Breakfast not just today but this year PM and we wish you a Merry Christmas. We'll catch up again in the new year.
PRIME MINISTER: Thanks very much. Well Lucy's already lobbying for me to come on while you blokes are off.
GOODINGS: Be wary of Lucy, she's pretty cluey Prime Minister. She'll give you a good going over.
PENBERTHY: He's already on the record advocating Lucy as a potential replacement for me, Will, so…
GOODINGS: Right. I see something's happening here.
PENBERTHY: Okay, with the history of doing the numbers as well, we're in real strife.
PRIME MINISTER: You're lucky there's no ratings over the summer period.
GOODINGS: And that's all we've got time for with the Prime Minister this morning.
PRIME MINISTER: Thanks very much guys. Can I say thank you for giving me the opportunity to talk to the good people of Adelaide over the year as Prime Minister, but before then for a long period of time as a member of the Opposition. I'll be in Adelaide again on Friday afternoon. So, you will find me a regular visitor, as I've always been.
PENBERTHY: Good stuff. Thanks for that PM. The Prime Minister of Australia, Anthony Albanese.