RITA SAFFIOTI, WESTERN AUSTRALIA MINISTER FOR TRANSPORT, PLANNING & PORTS: Thank you very much for being here today, Prime Minister, Anthony Albanese, and Premier, Mark McGowan. They will be making some more comments about the opening of this new rail line. It is a very exciting and proud day here at Airport Central. You can see what a fantastic station this is. Can I just thank everyone involved in delivering this project today? It is a very proud day for the state and all the workers involved. This is a significant day for WA. A significant day for Australia.

KAMALA HARRIS, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I cannot thank you enough for your leadership on many levels. It was noted by all of us when you, right after being sworn in and inaugurated, I think immediately thereafter, probably with no time to celebrate, travelled to Tokyo to meet with the Quad, which we value as a very important partnership to address some of the most pressing issues facing the world. And so, we thank you for your leadership. You have been particularly, I say with full complement, ambitious, I say that with admiration, with your climate goals.

The first meetings of the Referendum Working Group and the Referendum Engagement Group will be held in Canberra today.

The groups will work with Government on the next steps to a referendum in this term of Parliament to enshrine an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice in the Constitution.

The Referendum Working Group, co-chaired by Minister Linda Burney and Special Envoy Patrick Dodson, includes a broad cross-section of representatives from First Nations communities across Australia.

We are pleased to announce that the Governor-General, His Excellency General the Honourable David Hurley AC DSC (Retd), has accepted the advice of the Government to appoint the Honourable Justice Jayne Jagot as a Justice of the High Court of Australia.

Justice Jagot will commence on 17 October 2022 upon the retirement of the Honourable Justice Patrick Keane AC.

Justice Jagot is the 56th Justice of the High Court and the seventh woman appointed to the Court. This is the first time since Federation that a majority of Justices on the High Court will be women.

LEON BYNER, HOST: Let's welcome the bloke who's the boss of Australia, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese. Prime Minister, thank you for coming on and welcome.

ANTHONY ALBANESE, PRIME MINISTER: Good morning, Leon. Good to be with you.

BYNER: Now, has the Government received any assurances from Optus that it will pay for new passports for customers affected by the cyber breach?

Can I begin by acknowledging the traditional owners of the land on which meet and pay my respects to elders past, present and emerging, and recommit, as I do now on behalf of the Australian Government, to the implementation of the Uluru Statement from the Heart in full.

Can I express my appreciation for all of you for being here, and for your leadership in this journey. And, as a non-Indigenous Australian, express my appreciation for the generosity of the offer which is embodied and enshrined in the Uluru Statement from the Heart.

National Cabinet met in Canberra today to discuss national priorities.

COVID-19

The Commonwealth Chief Medical Officer provided an update on the COVID-19 pandemic. First Ministers discussed a nationally consistent approach to transition Australia’s COVID-19 response on the basis of the following principles:

PRIME MINISTER ANTHONY ALBANESE: I do want to begin by briefly mentioning the devastating impact of Hurricane Ian in Florida, and extend my deepest sympathies on behalf of Australia to all of those who have been affected in the Florida Peninsula, the Cayman Islands and Cuba. The images of the destruction and suffering has sent a shock of grief and sympathy right around the world. Australia has stood together with the US in times of natural disaster.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese will welcome Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea the Honourable James Marape MP to Australia on Sunday 25 September for a Guest of Government visit.

Prime Minister Marape and Prime Minister Albanese will attend the Prime Minister’s XIII Rugby League matches on Sunday evening at Brisbane’s Suncorp Stadium.

Rugby league has formed a key part of the relationship between Papua New Guinea and Australia for decades.

The first PM’s XIII was played in 2005 at Lloyd Robson Oval, Port Moresby, with the match to return to PNG next year.

In September 2021, the leaders of Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States announced AUKUS, an enhanced trilateral security partnership. The need for this partnership is as clear today as it was a year ago. We stand together to support an international order that respects human rights, the rule of law, and the peaceful resolution of disputes free from coercion. AUKUS is a central element in our efforts to achieve these aims.