We begin this morning with breaking news from New York overnight, where Australia has joined several nations in officially recognising Palestine ahead of the UN General Assembly.
JAMES GLENDAY, HOST: The Prime Minister, Anthony Albanese, is leading the Australian delegation to the UN and he joins us now live from New York. Prime Minister, welcome back to the program.
ANTHONY ALBANESE, PRIME MINISTER: Good morning, good to be with you.
GLENDAY: Now, you'd foreshadowed this decision back in August, of course, but this is still a big moment for Australian foreign policy. How does it feel to be the Australian Prime Minister that has recognised Palestine?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, of course, I'm here at the United Nations and when the State of Israel was given support back in 1948, it was envisaged that there'd be two states, the state of Israel and the State of Palestine, living side by side in peace and security. And ever since then, Australia has had a two state bipartisan position. What we've done now is realise that, and through the recognition of Palestine, is a step forward towards a more peaceful resolution towards what our vision is, which is Israelis and Palestinians living side by side in peace and security and advancing the prosperity of both peoples.
GLENDAY: You were planning to meet with Mahmoud Abbas, the leader of the Palestinian Authority, in New York, but he was declined a visa by the US. Are you still planning to speak with him, to chat through some of the changes to the Authority that your government wants to see?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, we had already had those discussions and have received those commitments. And similarly to our like-minded partners, today, of course, which is Sunday New York time, both the United Kingdom and Canada, as well as Australia, have recognised Palestine. We all understand that Hamas can play no role in a future Palestinian state. We want to see reform of the Palestinian Authority, democratic elections being held. We want to see those issues resolved as we go forward. And the Palestinian Authority, through Mahmoud Abbas, have certainly agreed to that. Importantly as well, I think the real turning point in this debate in recent times has been the decision of the Arab League to declare that Hamas can play no role in a future Palestinian state. To call for its disarmament and disbandment, to condemn unequivocally the actions that occurred on October 7th from Hamas, and to also recognise that Israel has a right to continue to exist in security as well. And that means it being recognised by the states around Israel in the Middle East.
GLENDAY: Well, to Israel. Unsurprisingly, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has continued to campaign against this push by Australia and other nations. He has released a video saying that a Palestinian state will not happen. Are you concerned by his response? And do you worry that Israel might try to do something like expand settlements in the West Bank to kill off the idea of a Palestinian state?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, they've been doing that. That is one of the things that has led for the world to act. We've seen an ongoing expansion of settlements in the West Bank. We have Israeli Ministers who completely reject any idea of Palestinians having any future homeland. And we've seen as well as the humanitarian catastrophe that's unfolding in Gaza. The loss of life, the failure to provide enough aid, essentials, food and water, the targeting of areas that certainly are not military, and the loss of life. We go back to the resolution that was carried by the Parliament with support from all of the government parties after October 7 that called for the protection of innocent life, that calls for the implementation, of course, and the compliance with international law. And we continue to be strong advocates. And what has happened is that the world is saying enough is enough. The cycle of violence must end.
GLENDAY: A UN Commission of Inquiries report last week found that Israel was committing genocide against Palestinians in Gaza. You'll be holding a series of meetings this week, including with like-minded nations. Will you be discussing further ways of joining together and pressuring Israel into some form of a ceasefire in Gaza?
PRIME MINISTER: We'll certainly be advocating for a ceasefire in Gaza. It's what is necessary. We want to see a ceasefire. We want to see the hostages released. We want to see as well not just an immediate pause to what has gone on there and is ongoing. We want to see as well a breakthrough in a longer term solution, an end to this cycle of violence. And something that we have consistently voted for, of course, here at the United Nations, along with most other nations, is for that ceasefire to occur.
GLENDAY: Just to an issue back home, Prime Minister. What do you think needs to happen at Optus to ensure that we don't see another triple zero outage?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, there will be a thorough investigation of this. Quite clearly, Optus' behaviour is completely unacceptable - we have made that very clear. There'll be a proper investigation by the authorities and the government has action at its disposal, but the immediate concern will be that investigation. Find out the facts, exactly how this happened. There have been suggestions, of course, that this occurred in part because of a phone centre or call centre offshore that didn't give the information through. But we'll await the proper facts and we'll take what action is necessary.
GLENDAY: This is not the first time this has happened at Optus. Four deaths have been linked to this episode. Should the Chief Executive consider his position?
PRIME MINISTER: I would have thought, I'd be surprised if that wasn't occurring. But that, of course, is something that, you know, we want to see the investigation take place. What we want is to ensure that something like this shouldn't happen. Optus has obligations as to other communications companies and quite clearly they haven't led up to, they haven't fulfilled the obligations that they have.
GLENDAY: So, do you think the Chief Executive should resign?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, I'm in New York and our Communications Minister there is dealing with these issues. She stayed on, Anika Wells, in order to deal with these issues. We want to see a proper investigation. When we know the facts, we'll respond to the facts when they are all made clear.
GLENDAY: That's very fair. Just finally, Prime Minister, talks with Türkiye about hosting the climate conference known as COP next year are continuing. Where are things headed? Can you see a breakthrough on this this week in New York? Will it be headed to Adelaide, do you think?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, we hope that there is a breakthrough. Our bid, of course, is a joint bid with the Pacific. If there is not a resolution, because it's by consensus, then the default is the conference is held in Bonn in Germany. So, what we're hoping is that there is a breakthrough and those discussions will take place this week.
GLENDAY: All right, Prime Minister, thanks for your time this morning.
PRIME MINISTER: Thanks very much, James.
