NATALIE BARR, HOST: Good morning to you, Prime Minister. This news will be very distressing for so many friends and families impacted by that 2002 Bali attack. Was our Government told that Umar Patek would be released from prison early?
PRIME MINISTER ANTHONY ALBANESE: Our Government has been notified. And of course, this will just add to the distress and trauma that the families of the 88 Australians who lost their lives in this terrorist attack feel, particularly on commemoration days and the 20th anniversary is coming up. I know that the Webster and the Borgia family in my electorate, Dulwich Hill Sporting Club, so many young people lost their lives in this bombing. We have a couple of sporting centres including a police boys club that is named in their honour of those who lost their lives. We have a commemoration every year at Petersham Town Hall. This is something that lives with people. And this further five month commute in the sentence adds to the previous decisions which had been made of an 18 month reduction. So it means a one year 11 month reduction in title in this person's sentence. He was responsible for death and destruction on a major scale. And this decision by the Indonesian Government will add to the trauma that families are feeling at this time.
BARR: Prime Minister, when were you told?
PRIME MINISTER: I’ve just been advised overnight of the decision through DFAT, the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, that this decision was being made.
BARR: So the Indonesian Government said he's been deradicalised. It sounds like they're using him as a bit of a beacon saying, look what we can do, we can de radicalise people. He's out 10 years early. What can you do?
PRIME MINISTER: We will certainly be making diplomatic representations, as we do, on these issues as well as on issues that we continue to raise about Australians who are currently in Indonesian jails, in Australia's national interest. My thoughts this morning are with the families of the victims of the Bali bombings. Because we're not talking about 88 people, 88 people lost their lives, we're talking about thousands of people who've been impacted with trauma, who've lost loved ones. They lost mothers and fathers and sons and daughters and brothers and sisters in this terrorist attack. And for Australians it's always a very difficult day.
BARR: Look on to domestic matters now. Legal advice on Scott Morrison's actions is set to come back to you on Monday. For now, he has apologised to the ministers involved. Is that enough?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, I think the issue here isn't the hurt feelings of ministers. It's the hurt that's been caused to our Westminster system of parliamentary democracy and the hurt that's been caused to Australians who are passionate about our democratic system of government. And the wrong isn't just against Josh Frydenberg for not telling him that he was the co-treasurer. The hurt is there for all Australians and for our democratic system of government, that we had a shadow government operating in the dark, operating in secret and that Australians weren't informed, including that they weren't informed when they cast their ballot in May this year.
BARR: Okay, we've got a story that everyone's covering this morning about hospitals at capacity and past capacity, staff shortages, burnout, lack of beds, forcing patients into corridors, out into tents. It's not just COVID, is it? We’ve got a teenage cancer patient forced to wait 27 hours for a bed, sleeping in chairs in a corridor, people out in tents. Is it time the Federal Government stepped in here?
PRIME MINISTER: The Federal Government is providing additional resources to the state hospital systems. And one of my first acts as Prime Minister was to convene a National Cabinet and to extend additional funding of some $900 million to make sure that that additional support was provided between now and when it was due to end in September, to extend that through to December. The Federal Government stands ready to work with state and territory governments on health issues. We want to strengthen Medicare. One of the things that is placing additional pressure on our emergency departments in our hospital system is the fact that people can't see a local GP. So we've got a plan about primary health care. We've also got a plan about urgent health care clinics for Medicare that will be bulk billed so that, 50 of those, people can go and get that care to take pressure off the hospital system. We'll continue to work through these issues because these circumstances shouldn't occur in a country like Australia in 2022.
BARR: Yeah, that we can agree on. A lot more work there. And look, you're in the Torres Strait to discuss plans with elders for a Voice to Parliament. There are some concerns, though, about a lack of detail in this plan. What do you say to that?
PRIME MINISTER: What I say is there’s a very clear question that we're putting forward and proposing to go to a referendum on of, do you support Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people being recognised in our Constitution with a Voice to Parliament? So we need to get back to what this actually is. There's two steps. One here recognising that Australia's history goes back some 60,000 years. That should be a source of pride, the fact that we share this continent with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, the oldest continuous civilisation on earth. And the second is simply that where matters affect Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, they should be consulted about those issues, so that we can close the gap on education, on health, on housing, on life expectancy. For 121 years we've made decisions in Canberra on behalf of people in remote areas, like where I'm speaking to you from here in the Torres Strait. You will get better outcomes. We know that when we consult people, when people have that sense of ownership over programs and over policies, you'll get better outcomes. So this is a clear proposition. It won't usurp the role of Parliament. It's not a third chamber, just an advisory body, just a matter of good manners really. If I was doing something that impacted your life, good manners would mean that I'd ask you about that and consult with you. And together we could work through and achieve a better outcome in the national interest.
BARR: Prime Minister we thank you for your time. Have a good trip up there.
PRIME MINISTER: Thank you very much.