Well, you are a mighty Queenslander, Billy Moore. Billy Moore, we've just had the Prime Minister walk into the studio and I'm sure -
BILLY MOORE, FORMER NRL PLAYER: Ah -
RYAN: Yes, he is a Blues supporter. And he was at the stadium last night, Prime Minister.
ANTHONY ALBANESE, PRIME MINISTER: I was, and I've got to tell you Billy, that the ABC presenters here are both wearing blue.
CRAIG ZONCA, HOST: Don't give too much away, Prime Minister.
PRIME MINISTER: Well, there are camera's in here. As is their producer, so there's something going on, Billy.
MOORE: Mr Prime Minister, I want an inquiry into that. That can't be allowed.
PRIME MINISTER: Mate, I admire and love your passion and I will remember seeing you in the tunnel there shouting out 'Queenslander'. And that was a great sporting moment and that series was amazing given what had happened with the -
ZONCA: Super League -
PRIME MINISTER: Super League. You know, I'm a South Sydney man of course, so I was very hostile to Super League and so it was a big deal. And indeed a good friend of mine, a bit of trivia for you, Billy, that their cat was named Billy and she was a North Sydney Bears fanatic. So the Bears are back.
MOORE: The Bears are back, baby. Thank you, Mr Prime Minister. Look, I enjoy your passion too for Rugby league, for South Sydney. I can't say I go down the same road with your passion for NSW. But that's okay. That's State of Origin.
PRIME MINISTER: That's what makes it great - the rivalry but played in great spirit. And both sides last night went hard at it. And I'm sure that game two and three will be pretty exciting.
ZONCA: Very hard fought indeed. Hey, Billy Moore, we'll catch up again soon. Thanks so much.
MOORE: Yeah, and just make sure the Prime Minister's looking at you in the eyes at you Queenslanders. Queenslander. Thank you, Prime Minister.
PRIME MINISTER: Mate, they're trying to give me a Queensland scarf here. You've got to be loyal. Queenslanders understand that and respect it.
ZONCA: Don't we ever. Billy Moore, rugby league great. The Prime Minister, Anthony Albanese, as you have heard in studio. So he's had that chance to talk up the NSW victory of last night. On the other side of traffic, it's to some of the big political questions affecting you in South East Queensland.
ABC Radio Brisbane and joined by Prime Minister of Australia, Anthony Albanese, who yes has the same grin that he had after winning the election on this morning after NSW victory last night. Prime Minister, good to see you back in Brisbane.
PRIME MINISTER: Good to be here.
ZONCA: I guess, you know, you were at Lang Park last night, that's going to be one of the stadiums used for the 2032 Games. Have you sorted out this funding deal with the Queensland government over their new venue delivery plan?
PRIME MINISTER: Look, I had a good chat with the Premier last night and with the Deputy Premier. And I also had a chat and a meeting with Andrew Liveris, of course is responsible as the Chair of the Organising Committee. And look, we'll work those issues through. I think that Brisbane 2032 will be a great moment for this state, but a great moment for the country as well. Anika Wells I've reappointed as the Minister for Sport with very good reason - a very proud Queenslander. And Catherine King has already met with Jared in the last week, they got another meeting lined up. We've been waiting for the details, they've now come through to us. We've got a capped level of funding, but importantly it is record funding. It is many times more than what was offered for the Sydney Games from the Commonwealth Government. And we want to just make sure that we get it right. There's a range of, there's 19, of course, different venues require funding. There's the major venues we want to make sure as well, that there's a legacy there. That's why we supported the arena. Now there's a private sector proposal re funding - we'll have a look at that. We, of course, want to make sure that there's value for money, but we also want to make sure that in 2040 people are looking back and saying, isn't it great that we're getting to see, by then an older Dua Lipa perhaps, performing at a centre here in Brisbane that is fit for purpose and that encourages the big acts to come here.
RYAN: So, while you're looking at that, you can give us a guarantee that, yes, all funding is on the table, that we will get it?
PRIME MINISTER: We have a capped level of funding, we've said that. It's a matter of where is allocated. It's not us that have changed that position, the State Government have changed their position, working these issues through. But we will continue to support the Games. We think that it's important that there be a legacy from it. A legacy both in concrete terms, literally in terms of infrastructure. But also the legacy that, I think is guaranteed, is it will lift what is this great global city of Brisbane even higher up the scale, because it certainly did that for Sydney in 2000. I know from firsthand experience that that showing around the world lifted Sydney's tourism in the very longer term. So, that's part of the lasting legacy as well.
ZONCA: So, when you say you're working through this, can you give us a timeline? Is it months away to sign the new deal? Because time is ticking. We heard from the International Paralympic Committee boss just earlier this morning who says it's a great opportunity -
PRIME MINISTER: And I met up with him last night as well. And one of the things that he's looking at, of course, is making sure that the facilities also leave, that's part of the legacy -
ZONCA: Exactly.
PRIME MINISTER: So that people of, all Australians, and indeed people who have visitors this country can participate in sport at a bigger level.
ZONCA: But just on that timeline, would you expect to have that finalised within the next month, for instance?
PRIME MINISTER: Look, I don't want to put a concrete timeline on it. We want to make sure that we get it right. But we're not dilly dallying here. We know that there is a timeframe and the sooner the better.
ZONCA: Anthony Albanese, the Prime Minister of Australia, with you this morning here on 612 ABC Brisbane. Just speaking of federal funds, to something else that is going to need more than a lick of paint, and that is Brisbane's Story Bridge. Quite iconic. The Federal Government has already put funding towards a business case for restoration work at the Story Bridge. Are you prepared to pay a bit more to keep it the icon that it is?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, let's be clear, this is the responsibility of the Brisbane City Council. So, we have kicked in a couple of million dollars for doing a study to make sure that it's gotten right, but the primary responsibility for this is the Brisbane City Council. And my Government will of course always look at submissions, but it is important, this is a local road. We have $7.2 billion for the Bruce Highway that is part of the National Highway. And so with regard to the Story Bridge, the Commonwealth Government's responsibility isn't to fix everything and fund everything.
RYAN: But we don't want to lose a bridge like the Story Bridge.
PRIME MINISTER: No, we don't, which is why the Brisbane City Council shouldn't have allowed the maintenance to go into disrepair over a period of time. So, I'm not pointing the finger at anyone here, just to say that it is a local road, a local bridge, and local infrastructure does need that constant monitoring and maintenance. If you do it right, if you're fixing things as time goes on, then you're not faced with a big bill down the road. So, that is something that all local governments, particularly large ones like the Brisbane City Council, need to bear in mind.
ZONCA: A couple of other questions we want to get through before we get to news at 8:00 and a bit of a shift of focus here, Prime Minister. Obviously you're in a city with a pretty huge defence presence, from Gallipoli Barracks at Enoggera through to Amberley, of course, the Air Force base. A new report by the Australian Strategic Policy Institute, I read part of which this morning, is questioning our readiness for conflict. How would you respond?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, that's what they do, isn't it? ASPI. I mean seriously, they need to, I think, have a look at themselves as well and the way that they conduct themselves in debates. We've had a Defence Strategic Review. We've got considerable additional investment going into defence - $10 billion. We're lifting up our defence expenditure up to 2.4 per cent of GDP. We're investing in assets and our capability. We're also investing in our relationships in the region that's very important as well. ASPI regularly produce these sort of reports, you know, run by people who've been in a position to make a difference in the past as part of former governments. You know, like, I think it's predictable, frankly. What we're doing is getting on with the defence assets and providing the investment for those assets to be upgraded.
RYAN: Prime Minister, Anthony Albanese in the studio. Prime Minister, I want to shift to hospitals. In September, the Royal Commission into Defence and Veterans Suicide made 122 recommendations to better support and protect both serving personnel and veterans. Here in Brisbane, the Toowong Private Hospital plays a critical role in doing that. But yesterday it was confirmed the psychiatric hospital will close in two weeks. Within an hour, we had one serving member confirm a long awaited assessment appointment had been cancelled. Is the Federal Government poised to step in there?
PRIME MINISTER: What we've done through Mark Butler, our Health Minister, is looking at the whole funding of private hospitals. Making sure as well that the relationship between the money that's paid from the health insurers to the private hospitals is fit for purpose. You've seen the issue with Healthscope, so Mark Butler is looking at that whole issue. We're playing a role in that. Quite clearly the health insurers need to pay additional money for the private health care that's provided, and that is creating an issue across the board. So Toowong is one of the issues that is being dealt with. But this is a challenge across the board. The government is very conscious of it. The private hospital sector play an important role in delivering our healthcare.
ZONCA: Particularly for serving personnel, though, and veterans who rely on that mental health support. And we know that there is such extreme pressure for mental health beds right now, Prime Minister?
PRIME MINISTER: Absolutely. And we have put in considerable additional money for mental health, including the establishment of Medicare Mental Health Clinics. During the election campaign we announced additional money for more mental health clinics to be opened, available to people right around our regions as well as our cities and our suburbs.
ZONCA: Another story that is making headlines today is of course, that decision from Queenslander, Murray Watt, who has made his first move as environmental Minister, giving preliminary approval to extend Woodside Energy's North West Shelf operations by 40 years. This is on the other side of the country, but some questions being asked on the text line around the implications for climate change and the role your Government has to play here. What do you say to the Indigenous custodians and environmentalists who are said to be devastated by this decision?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, I've met with the Indigenous traditional owners there around Dampier, around that region, and there are different views, let me say, on that issue. We have made a preliminary finding. Murray Watt, the Minister, according with the Act, it was approved by the State Government. Murray Watt as the Federal Minister had to look at some of the issues which are there. He has made a preliminary determination out there for comment that is based upon very strict conditions as well being provided. When we look at the overall issue, if you take a step back, we are already more than halfway to delivering on our commitment of 82 per cent renewables by 2030, being the energy grid. We're up to 46 per cent as we're speaking here now. In order to get that investment in renewables you do need firming capacity, whether it be batteries, hydro or gas, and that is what will encourage that investment and the transition to occur. In Western Australia they are closing their last coal fired power station at Collie in 2027. They are moving to renewables backed by gas, and that will be a really important part of the transition that will occur.
ZONCA: The Prime Minister, Anthony Albanese, in studio this morning. It's a Thursday, the 29th of May. Really appreciate your time, Anthony Albanese.
PRIME MINISTER: Fantastic, great to be in here.
ZONCA: And particularly smiling after a NSW victory at Lang Park last night.
