PRODUCER: Please welcome the Prime Minister of Australia, Anthony Albanese.
MICHELLE, HOST: Welcome.
ANTHONY ALBANESE, PRIME MINISTER: Nice intro.
XAVIER, HOST: Always, the Big Day Out, you were mentioning.
PRIME MINISTER: First one.
XAVIER: First one, off the bat. And there was a little band that you were interested in seeing.
PRIME MINISTER: Little band called Nirvana. They weren't even the headliners. They didn't play on the main stage.
MICHELLE: Violent Femmes were the headliners I'm seeing.
PRIME MINISTER: They played in the Hordern Pavilion, which was, I guess, the second biggest stage inside. But it meant that everyone had heard there was this buzz about Nirvana at the time. I think they did a little pub gig at Selina's, I think they played in Coogee Beach. And they played the Big Day Out and it was just awesome. It just completely went off. And they were at their peak at that time, with Dave Grohl on drums.
XAVIER: And it would have been like security at Taylor Swift at the moment. They would have made sure there was enough space for everyone in the mosh and stuff.
PRIME MINISTER: Well, they tried to stop people getting in block one entrance and people had just go into another one. They just squeezed in. It was sardines.
MICHELLE: Were you a front row man? Were you a mosh pit man?
PRIME MINISTER: I could get nowhere near the front, let me tell you. You could not move. I got in there, which was fantastic, but we didn't move much so the entire crowd danced as one. Because when one person moved, it had this ripple effect and everyone moved, but it was fantastic.
XAVIER: Need to say congratulations too, from everyone here at Triple M. A great little milestone in your own life.
PRIME MINISTER: Thank you very much. Yeah, got engaged on Valentine's Day.
XAVIER: Beautiful.
PRIME MINISTER: To the beautiful Jodie. And we're very happy. It's been a whirlwind since then. I haven't stopped smiling. I talked with her this morning, early here time I was awake and so far, so good. Six days into the engagement, it's all good.
MICHELLE: Excellent. Tell me, is it surreal? Because I saw the day after you had proposed and live morning television and we're crossing live, this is the very table that Anthony Albanese proposed.
PRIME MINISTER: That was all a bit weird because I didn't propose at the table. So, we had dinner at an Italian restaurant in Canberra, Italian and Sons and it was a nice dinner. We had a couple of courses and then we went back to The Lodge and I proposed there. I figured it probably wasn't a good idea for me to propose in a restaurant. And I sort of lined it up on one of the balconies that are there at The Lodge. And then the next day, because what we did was we put out just an Instagram post. I figured people would find out. We rang, or we facetimed her Mum and Dad that night, woke them up, they were quite happy to be woken up. And then the next morning I told the team and we put a post up just a bit before nine, I think, and all hell broke loose. And in the end, we succumbed to pressure from the media and did a little walk together in the afternoon after Question Time. But in the morning, I think they were looking to fill the space. So, there were all these interviews done with the guy who served us at Italian and Sons in great detail.
XAVIER: Well, and of course, what comes with an engagement is a wedding and they're pretty expensive, Albo. And West Australians love their money and they're going through the same stuff. What's the news around the tax cuts and the stage three?
PRIME MINISTER: Every single one of your listeners will get a tax cut.
XAVIER: Right.
PRIME MINISTER. So, we wanted to make sure no one missed out. All 13.6 million taxpayers. People who were earning 45 grand or under were going to get absolutely nothing. They're going to get a tax cut. And importantly, average workers will get double the tax cut they were going to get.
MICHELLE: I think that's important for people that are in the bracket that are not earning like the minimum wage or they're hanging around there. That is a really important sector.
PRIME MINISTER: Absolutely, just aimed at middle Australia who are doing it difficult. They're people who have mortgages, they've had to deal with interest rate increases due to global inflation. And it wasn't an easy decision because we changed our mind. But the whole of the Parliament changed its mind last week because it went through unanimously. So, that is evidence to me that we've done absolutely the right thing.
MICHELLE: Yeah, and other pressing issues that have captured me politically. Drinking at work. I've been pushing for it here for a long time and we're not allowed to. What's going on with that? Did it go through? How much can you do, can you not do? Are you allowed to go in? Should people be put on the bag before they head in and go to do their job?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, I reckon people are accountable every three years and I find people need to take responsibility for their own actions. And certainly I think people will make judgements about the behaviour that we've seen, because quite clearly, it doesn't meet standards out there that people expect. We need to show respect for people who put us there. It's such a great privilege to be a Member of Parliament and it's something I never take for granted.
XAVIER: We had a producer we found in the car park like that once we finished him up pretty quick. No, he's a good man. We are doing a noughties period this week. What are some of your fond memories from the noughties? Can you remember where you were living? Who your favourite artists were? What was the sports team? You're a Hawks man. We won a flag in that period.
PRIME MINISTER: We did indeed. And I was with the Hawks last week for their new centre that got, they're building down there in the southeastern suburbs of Melbourne. It's going to be fantastic. But it was a great time for live music. I think the period a little bit beforehand was even better for pub music. My first trip to this great city of Perth was in 1983. I had a mate who was from Perth, was working in Sydney, and he said, “I'm going across, can you come with us, I'm driving.” I drove across with my then girlfriend and his girlfriend. So, four of us in the car drove across and we were here for six weeks. So, it's where I really got to know and really love this part of the world. We went down to Albany and we looked at the big trees and went to Margaret River. I saw the Triffids at a pub in Freo here during that period, and lots of other bands. It was just a great period for live music. And I had Christmas Day 1983 on Rottnest Island.
XAVIER: Did you really?
PRIME MINISTER: Which was fantastic. We were there for about four days. Just stayed in a little cabin. It was really basic but wonderful. I haven't been there for a while. I assume you still can't drive cars.
XAVIER: We go every year on a family holiday for a week and I find it difficult. So, if you want to sub in, you’re welcome to sub in.
PRIME MINISTER: I’m there. How old are the kids?
XAVIER: Three and five.
PRIME MINISTER: I can look after them.
XAVIER: I never see my wife, so she might not be there either. So, you might be a stand alone stepdad.
PRIME MINISTER: Me and the kids, done.
PRODUCER: Tax cuts, babysitting, he is doing it all. The Prime Minister of this country, Anthony Albanese. Enjoy your time in Perth. Thanks for coming in this morning.
PRIME MINISTER: Thank you so much. Thanks for the well wishes.