GREG ‘BRANDY’ ALEXANDER, HOST: Vossy, we could talk to our next guest about a range of issues, interest rates, price of living, Chinese weather balloons, but I'm pleased to say our special guest is Australia's Prime Minister and he's on the line. Good morning, Prime Minister.
ANTHONY ALBANESE, PRIME MINISTER: Good morning Brandy. How are you?
BRANDY: I'm good. Now, where are you hosting the Super Bowl party? Is it Kirribilli House or The Lodge today?
PRIME MINISTER: Parliament is sitting, so it will be on in my Parliament House office. I had a get together with Caroline Kennedy, the US Ambassador, last week and we had a chat over the phone with Jordan Malaita, who of course is a former Bunny. And he is a star in US football. I think he signed a contract worth something like $45 million for four years. So the fact he didn't make it in the NRL, I don't think he's weeping about, he's pretty happy. And he's just such a lovely, gentle giant of a man. But I wish him and the Philadelphia team all the best today.
BRANDY: Yeah, we're on the Eagles bus too, because of that reason, Jordan Malaita.
PRIME MINISTER: Yeah, there's always one more on that wagon.
BRANDY: Yes, I did meet him a few years ago, and in real life, he's a huge boy, like you can, he's enormous. Now we just spoke about the start of the Rugby League season, the preseason challenge is on. Very exciting always at this time of the year. Anthony, I know you love the Bunnies. The Bunnies did go down up there on the Central Coast, but it doesn't matter. But it's good to have the footy back, isn't it?
PRIME MINISTER: It's fantastic. Every year, the great thing about being a rugby league fan is that you always think your team are a real chance at this stage of the year. Even when we weren't very good I thought we were a chance. So it's a great time anticipating the NRL season, you look at new recruits, and the players who've changed teams. Interestingly, Souths really have gone with no new major recruits at all this year. There's usually at least one but they were very satisfied with how they finished last year, they've got some good juniors coming through. So I'm very hopeful of a very positive season.
ANDREW ‘VOSSY’ VOSS, HOST: Prime Minister, Vossy here. Now, while Brandy said we're not going to ask about Chinese weather balloons, I'm actually quite interested, but we will leave that for another time. You've established before on this program, I mean, your love for rugby league, and everyone knows, is absolutely genuine, it's lifelong. And we could just talk rugby league for an hour with you, but because you are now arguably busiest man in the country, we do have a rugby league schedule. Have you actually circled, 'I will be able to make this match,' do you factor it into your life, your Prime Ministerial life, you'll say 'I can't attend X amount of games this year, I have to do it.'
PRIME MINISTER: It is unbelievable that my person who looks after my diary has put in, of course, every game, so I at least know it's happening. Now if I get to three or four I'll be doing pretty well. I do, of course, always factor in Souths versus the Roosters, which is usually round one quite often, but we've got the Sharkies this year down at Shark Park on 4 March on the Saturday night. So I'm hoping to make it to round one, that would be a good thing.
BRANDY: Now you made a trip, and I gave a clue out as to who we were speaking to in the first hour of the program, and I said Big Man Number One. You went to PNG late last year, and the 18th franchise, you're very bullish on PNG being that 18th club, aren't you?
PRIME MINISTER: I'm real keen on it. And I've spoken with Andrew Abdo and Peter V'landys about this, and to go to Papua New Guinea, and to see the passion that they have for the game of rugby league is like nothing I've seen, except maybe at State of Origin night in either Brisbane or Sydney. It is just phenomenal. You go around there, and we went to Port Moresby, and to Wewak which is right up in the north, so you're in a remote part of PNG, and there's little kids wearing their largely Broncos or Cowboys jumpers, but you see every team represented, and they just love their rugby league. And it's a rugby league nursery where everyone plays, and I think having a team there, what you would see very quickly, just because of the size of their population, which the estimates of which vary markedly by the way, they're not quite sure how many people they've got, but they've got more than the rest of Pasifika combined just about. And we know that Tonga and Samoa, I mean Samoa made the Final of the World Cup, they've done so well, but PNG would do exceptionally well if they had a team, for the whole of Pasifika, but based with PNG, based perhaps in North Queensland, playing games in Port Moresby, and perhaps some around the region as well, a game in Fiji or Tonga or Samoa would just lift the whole region, and I think it would be a great thing if it can happen. It's ambitious, but it has the backing of Prime Minister Marape. We had the PM's XIII and the PNG XIII, both men's and women's games, at Suncorp last year, and there were plane loads of PNG residents coming down to watch the game, and of course, a lot of people from PNG live in Australia, you've got the PNG Hunters team. And I just think it would be a great thing for the sport.
VOSSY: Very, very interesting thoughts. In fact, one of your favourites at South Sydney, Alex Johnston, is a PNG international and loves representing the country, as he did at the World Cup. Now Prime Minister, I'm here to do the hard-hitting, see good cop, bad cop. I'm gonna do the Ray Martin, I'm gonna ask the direct questions. So who wins the Grand Final, and South Sydney, and who do they play, Prime Minister? What is your prediction of the 2023 Premiership?
PRIME MINISTER: South Sydney to, of course, win. Of course, I would predict that. And to beat either the Doggies as the big bolters this year, or the Chooks, in the Grand Final.
VOSSY: The Prime Minister has spoken. Wow, what about a Souths-Roosters Grand Final, Prime Minister, just quietly, how good would that be?
PRIME MINISTER: Well how good was the Semi Final? I watched that here at The Lodge in Canberra, and it was a brutal game of rugby league, but it was outstanding. They just have so much passion, and that would be really something.
VOSSY: Who do you think will finish down the bottom, the spoon? Who comes last?
PRIME MINISTER: Oh well, you've got to think that the Dolphins are gonna do it pretty tough. I hope they do well, I hope they win some games this year. But it it's going to be a development, I think there'll be a success in the long-term. And of course, they have the super coach Wayne Bennett, so you can't write them off. And I think over the season, there'll be a few teams get a bit complacent with them and Wayne will sort them out.
VOSSY: Well Prime Minister, we've moved on from your predecessor, who had also been on this program actually. Did you find any Sharks paraphernalia around The Lodge or something you've had to throw out in garbage night or things like that? Did he leaving anything behind, an old Sharks flag or anything like that that you had to get rid of?
PRIME MINISTER: Nah, not a thing, not a thing.
VOSSY: Not a thing, OK. So as you said, Souths playing Sharks the first game. I mean, you could run into him, he could be there. Now I just want to play you a grab of our former Prime Minister on this program, and see if you can do a better job. This was Scott Morrison a couple of years ago.
SCOTT MORRISON: Oh, g'day Vossy, and how good's SEN.
VOSSY: Now he said that, now this was the first time he was on, that was our first day that we were on air. This is our first day back on air. Do you think you'd be able to say the Breakfast Show with Vossy and Brandy on SEN?
PRIME MINISTER: I'm not gonna use that that precise wording, because that's kind of associated with him. But I would say, I would say, you're listening to SE, sorry I've stuffed that up. You're listening to SEN with Vossy and Brandy.
VOSSY: That's very good. That's good.
BRANDY: Now Albo, I saw you down at the tennis.
VOSSY: No Brandy, I want one more line. Prime Minister, can you say 'Brandy, are you serious?'
BRANDY: Oh come on.
VOSSY: Come on, can we have that from you, Prime Minister?
PRIME MINISTER: Brandy, are you serious?
BRANDY: That's good. That's good again. Very good.
PRIME MINISTER: He's my sometimes tennis partner, though, I've got to be nice to him.
BRANDY: Sometimes tennis partner, but often on the other side of the net. And I've said to the boys, I said, Albo is a very good player. Like everyone's interested in how you play tennis, and you are a tennis player. Is there anyone in Parliament that you can have a hit with, that can hit the ball over the net? Is there anyone with any sort of talent that you can have a hit with?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, he was on the other side of politics, of course, but John Alexander is a great bloke. And he helped my game enormously. So it's now a Labor seat, but I was disappointed that he left the Parliament. And of course, Josh Frydenberg was a very handy junior, and he got knocked out of Parliament. He went on the US Circuit, I think, for a couple of years trying to make it as a pro, he was a very handy player. And Peter Khalil, who's the Member for Wills, he has a real crack. He played Mark Philippoussis in the Australian Open Juniors. So quite a few people have a hit at Parliament House. And it's really tough to get exercise when Parliament's on, but quite often we'll have a hit at 6:30 in the morning, so it gets a bit cold in June in Canberra though, let me tell you, there's ice on the court. So there tends to be less takers, the colder it gets.
VOSSY: Well, this will be the most enjoyable interview you do all day, if not all week, and we haven't gone anywhere near the P word, politics. We're just talking sport. Prime Minister, thank you so much for affording us your time. You've come on here on the home of sport, I mean, you don't want to say, 'you're listening to SEN, Sydney's home of sport?' You could throw to the break.
PRIME MINISTER: You're listening to SEN, Sydney's home of sport, with Brandy and Vossy.
VOSSY: Brilliant, Albo.