The Prime Minister, Anthony Albanese, joins us from Parliament House. Prime Minister, thanks for joining us.
ANTHONY ALBANESE, PRIME MINISTER: G'day, Emma. Good to be with you. It's very chilly, I must say, here in Canberra this morning.
REBELLATO: Yes, Nate has been telling us. Absolutely. Prime Minister, we saw yesterday a fairly welcome dip in inflation, but we know it's still too high, still higher than what the RBA would like. Why are you getting rid of the cut to the fuel excise when Treasury is warning that fuel prices will only get worse?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, we made the decision to cut the fuel excise and then to halve the cut so that there was a step down, and what we've moved to is permanent cost-of-living support. So, the tax cuts that came in on July 1, the increase in the minimum wage, the move of Paid Parental Leave to six months, all of these measures are making a difference on cost-of-living. We know as well, that what we've moved to more and more is ensuring fuel supply, and we have more fuel in Australia today than we had in February 28, which is remarkable. That's a result of a dividend from the relationships that were built around the world, but also the work that we've done with the private sector.
REBELLATO: And would you revisit a cut to the fuel excise though, if the war in the Middle East drags on?
PRIME MINISTER: We of course will always examine cost-of-living issues, but we made this decision, we gave a lot of notice about this decision when, back in June, we determined to step down in partnership, of course, with state and territory governments as well.
REBELLATO: Prime Minister, we have the new Productivity Commission report on Closing the Gap. You campaigned on Closing the Gap, but the report shows that just one target has now been met. Why hasn't more been achieved here?
PRIME MINISTER: Look, we have got record investment in areas such as health, education, with proper schools funding, the Remote Housing Program, remote jobs and training that we're rolling out across remote Australia, including that area that we doubled in our last budget. We'll continue to work. There are some positive signs, including in early education, which is critical, we want all Australians to have access to opportunity, and we're working closely with state and territory governments. The targets are due to be met, of course, by 2031, but we have intergenerational issues, that's the truth of the matter. And we are dealing with them in a practical way, measure by measure, including a really practical initiative we've done of ensuring that the price of essential items, including fruit and veg and toothpaste and things that people rely upon in supermarkets in these remote areas is costed in a way that keeps a cap on those costs. That's just an example of the practical measures we've put forward to make a difference to people's lives.
REBELLATO: Prime Minister, we've had news overnight that a 20-year-old Gold Coast man, Patrick Stevenson, is detained in Syria, facing a possible death penalty for the alleged murder of another Australian man, Abdullah Glen Burgess. What representations has the Australian Government made to Syria on behalf of both Australian families?
PRIME MINISTER: We're giving support to both of those families. Legal processes will take their course overseas, of course, and that is appropriate, I feel for the families of the person who's lost their life and we're connected with them and providing support for them. We're also providing support for the family of the person who's been charged.
REBELLATO: One Nation Leader Pauline Hanson has reportedly, she wants to put forward a bill to effectively ban Islamic State linked fighters from returning to the country by doing things like denying passports, creating a new foreign terrorist exclusion order. Are they good ideas? Will you look into those ideas?
PRIME MINISTER: Look, no one has any sympathy for people who've gone and fought for ISIS overseas. These are people who've made a choice to back a terrorist organisation rather than back Australia's national interests. One of the things -
REBELLATO: But will you look at the idea that Pauline Hanson's put forward?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, one of the things that defines us as a country is we support the rule of law. 45 men who fought with ISIS returned before we came to government to Australia. And that's because citizenship does bring certain rights under the constitution and we will do everything we can, we of course, within the law though. And we'll also of course provide no support for any of these people to return to Australia.
REBELLATO: Australian doctor turned ISIS fighter Tareq Kamleh was found alive in an Iraqi jail last week, Australia does have an extradition deal with Iraq. Why not bring him home to Australia to face justice?
PRIME MINISTER: Look, we have, don't comment on individual cases. Here, again, this is someone who we have no sympathy for whatsoever. And I refer to your previous question, which is about people returning home and whether they should be stopped from it. We provide no support for people to return home. You know, frankly, these are people who've made choices and they're bad choices and they're not choices in line with Australian values.
REBELLATO: Prime Minister, I want to bring you to an issue back home now, particularly in Victoria. There is a new Labor Premier in Victoria, in Ben Carroll. There are also questions over the future of the Suburban Rail Loop in Melbourne, which the Federal Government is promising billions for. Would you be glad to see it go?
PRIME MINISTER: I spoke with Ben Carroll yesterday and I welcome his election as Premier. I look forward to working with him constructively. We spoke about the next meeting of the National Cabinet, where we'll be talking about artificial intelligence, where we'll be talking about a national strategy as well, as we go forward on domestic violence. And I look forward to working with Ben when it comes to infrastructure, of course, the former government reduced spending on Victorian infrastructure to around about 8 per cent. They weren't getting their fair share. We'll work constructively with the Victorian Government to make sure that the interests of Victorians are looked after.
REBELLATO: Prime Minister, you have been in Melbourne a fair bit. You were standing alongside the former Premier, Jacinta Allan, throwing your support behind her, in the lead up to the November election. Do you think Labor has made the right decision here? Do you think this will be enough to stave off One Nation votes?
PRIME MINISTER: What I know is this, Victorians will have a choice between Ben Carroll and a Labor Government and chaos and a One Nation Liberal Coalition. That's the choice that they will have. And a chaotic Victorian Government with people involved in One Nation, they don't even know who their candidates are at this point in time, would be chaotic. I want to see a Victorian Government that looks after the interests of Victorians, that continues to invest in health and education. I've worked closely with Ben as the Education Minister and I spoke with him about that yesterday, we'll have further announcements to make about education. They were just about ready to go and we'll finalise those over coming days and weeks and I look forward to working with Ben Carroll and I will continue to advocate for him to remain Premier of Victoria beyond November, because I think that is very much in the interests of Victorians.
REBELLATO: Prime Minister, before we let you go, because we're almost out of time, we've been asking our viewers today about grandparents.
PRIME MINISTER: Sure.
REBELLATO: What did you learn from your grandparents? We've been asking people about the lessons they learned, either practical or some life advice.
PRIME MINISTER: I was pretty young when my grandparents passed away, unfortunately. But one of the things that they encouraged me to do, I know, was they bought lots of books for me and encouraged me to read. And I think there's no greater skill that you can, and passion that you can pass on to your grandchildren than that. It's something that stays with me as well. But there was largely for most of my life, there was just growing up, there was just me and my mother. But grandparents are precious and I see the work that they do. Jodie's parents have a beautiful young granddaughter, Ella, who they are just, they dote on. And before she started school, they used to come down from the Central Coast to look after her, on at least one day a week and that relationship is so important.
REBELLATO: And so many other people have such a lovely relationship with theirs. Prime Minister, thanks for your time this morning.
PRIME MINISTER: Can I add one thing, please, Emma, which is today something really important when it comes to people, grandparents and elderly Australians. Today, Mark Butler, our Health Minister, will be opening the Asia Pacific Centre for Excellence on Alzheimer's. This could be a massive breakthrough, essentially a blood test for early detection. We know, I lost, a good friend of mine passed away on Monday, Chris Raper, who was a union official in the Miscellaneous Workers Union and a dear friend. He was severely affected, as so many Australians are by dementia. This is a tragedy that can hit so many families. And this breakthrough today, is really important and provides hope at a time where, I think the world needs more hope and less fear as we go forward. So, I think that event in Sydney is really important today.
REBELLATO: Prime Minister, thank you very much for your time.
PRIME MINISTER: Thanks, Emma.
