The Prime Minister joins me now. Prime Minister, welcome back to Radio National Breakfast.
ANTHONY ALBANESE, PRIME MINISTER: Good morning, Sally. Good to be with you.
SARA: Are you going to sign this economic and security deal with Vanuatu today? Will it go through?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, I'll be meeting with Prime Minister Napat today and we have committed to working towards upgrading our relationship. There's still some work to do, but we're making good progress and I look forward to progressing that face to face, which is why I'm travelling to Vanuatu this morning.
SARA: Are you confident that it can be signed today or it sounds like there's still some issues to be sorted out?
PRIME MINISTER: Yeah, I wouldn't expect that it will be signed today, but what we will do is to progress it today to have that conversation. I look forward to doing it.
SARA: The ABC is reporting this morning that some members of Vanuatu's Council of Ministers are worried that the agreement could make it harder for the nation to strike infrastructure agreements with other countries, such as China. What will you say to them about those kinds of concerns?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, what I'll say is what's in the draft agreement, which is a protection of sovereignty, but also a recognition of, as we will be arguing at the Pacific Islands Forum as well, that the security of our Pacific family needs to be undertaken within the Pacific family.
SARA: The signing of this agreement with Vanuatu, if it's not going to happen today, do you think that it's something that's weeks away, months away? Are you close, do you think?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, I await the good faith discussions that take place today, but we have a good relationship. I have a good relationship with the Prime Minister. Vanuatu politics can be very complex, as I'm sure you're aware, Sally. So, I look forward to a constructive discussion and then travelling on to the Solomon Islands for the Pacific Islands Forum. And I'll take Prime Minister Napat with me.
SARA: PM, is there a risk, in your view, that it could end up like the 2022 security pact with Vanuatu, which was signed by the Foreign Minister and then not ratified?
PRIME MINISTER: No, we're very confident that we'll be able to progress that. But we want to enter in a good faith discussion. And one way that you do that of course isn't just by talking on the phone, it's by having a face to face discussion. I'll be meeting not just with the Prime Minister, but other members of the Ministry as well today, and I very much look forward to what will be my first visit to Vanuatu as Prime Minister.
SARA: There'll be quite a lot of taxpayer money going into this pact if it's signed off. What commitments is Australia likely to get in return?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, what we're looking for is to build on the relationship to be able to both benefit from shared prosperity. One of the things that is in the draft is of course access to things such as PALM, the Pacific Island Labour Mobility Scheme. Economic development, of course, is in our interests in our own region. We've already established - at the last Pacific Islands Forum, we announced a policing agreement across the Pacific which all of the nations signed onto where we are training police officers, effectively, in Brisbane and at centres through the Pacific as well. And what that does is it means there's a common experience between those engaged in law enforcement across the Pacific that obviously is in Australia's national interest, but it's also in the interests of our Pacific Island family.
SARA: After Vanuatu, you're headed for the Pacific Islands Forum which will be held in Honiara. The New Zealand Foreign Minister has suggested that China is to blame for Solomon Islands' decision to block dialogue partners from attending this meeting, implying that Beijing pressed Solomon Islands to stop Taiwan attending. Is that Australia's assessment as well? Does Australia share that view?
PRIME MINISTER: The Solomon Islands is a sovereign nation itself. Of course they have on this occasion determined that the partners, that is those countries that aren't actually members but are partners and have participated only in observer level, have sent people along to previous Pacific Islands Forum meetings that that won't occur this year. That's not something that Australia has supported. We think that the presence of partners to observe events, whether that be the United States or Taiwan or other or other countries, is something that adds to the Forum. But that is a decision that's being made by the Solomons. Next year Palau will be the host and Palau have indicated that it will return to the previous system and that's something that Australia supports.
SARA: Australia is looking to work with the Pacific on this bid for Australia to host COP31 next year in Adelaide. Is it correct that you've lined up a meeting, a conversation with the President of Türkiye to try and reach a resolution? Because, of course, Türkiye also wants to host this event next year.
PRIME MINISTER: Well, I've already had discussions with the President, President Erdoğan of Türkiye, and we hope to meet on the sidelines. We haven't had that confirmed yet, but clearly we need to have a discussion to sort through the issues. The difficulty here is there's no real mechanism to resolve the issue when there are two bidders. Indeed, if there is not agreement, there's a default position, which is that the conference goes to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change Headquarters, which is in Bonn in Germany. So, that's why it's in the interest to try to just sort these issues through. We've put forward a bid in partnership with the Pacific. We're hopeful that that is successful. Türkiye argues that they were going to host the meeting that ended up being held in Glasgow and they withdrew then. So, they've got a pretty determined bid. But we'll talk those issues through constructively.
SARA: When will Australia announce its 2035 emissions target?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, after we received the advice from the Climate Change Authority, which is world's best practice, and that is indeed what the legislation requires, is that we give consideration to that. So, we'll receive the advice. We'll have a Cabinet deliberation, as you would expect. Upon receiving that advice, we will announce our target and we will release the advice as well, as the legislation provides for.
SARA: So, that will be in the weeks ahead?
PRIME MINISTER: Oh, certainly it's in the period ahead. I don't want to put a timeline on it, because the Climate Change Authority are independent of Government and they will provide that independent advice.
SARA: On a separate issue, it's been a week since we heard of the $408 million deal with Nauru to resettle hundreds of non-citizens caught up in the NZYQ decision. But in a Senate Committee hearing late last week, we heard the deal could balloon to $2.5 billion over 30 years. Why do you think this is money well spent?
PRIME MINISTER: If you don't have a right to a visa in Australia, then you should leave. That's a basic principle of a migration system that is properly functioning. Now, we have said that the best option for this cohort is that they leave the country. This is another step towards that. Some of the, the figures banded around aren't necessarily correct, but -
SARA: The figures at Estimates, were they correct?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, we have - I wasn't at estimates.
SARA: But you know what was said?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, no, I don't attend Estimates and I don't follow all of Estimates. What I know is that the Minister signed an MOU. We published a full statement about this. The deal was discussed in the Nauruan Parliament endorsed by a National Security Committee and it is in Australia's interest. The big issue here is how do we resolve this issue in Australia's interest? These people - to be clear, some of the advocates would suggest that somehow this relates to a cohort who are having their rights denied. That's not right. These are people who have been found to have no legal right to be here in Australia.
SARA: You're listening to Radio National Breakfast. My guest this morning is the Prime Minister, Anthony Albanese. Prime Minister, you've attended in the past few days the funerals of two police officers killed by alleged gunman Dezi Freeman in Victoria. How do you reflect on social cohesion and law and order in Australia right now?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, the first thing to say is that this was an incredible tragedy and it was so sad. A police officer just aged 34, and yesterday a police officer about to retire, taken from their families, taken from their community and taken from the blue family as well. So, my condolences go to the family of the victims here, but also to the police family who are really, really hurting. They were both incredibly sad events. And quite clearly the social cohesion issue is something that causes me a great deal of distress. The fact that some people think that the Government isn't legitimate, these so-called sovereign citizens engaged therefore in lawlessness and because they don't accept the law. And the danger which is there has also reminded us that those people who serve us in police forces around Australia take a risk every time they don that uniform to protect their local communities. It is a fact that we need to continue to nurture social cohesion in this country. And this isn't the only threat, of course. We've seen far right groups, neo-Nazis, openly speaking from the steps of the Victorian Parliament was a shocking event. We need to cherish what we've built in this country. Overwhelmingly, we can be so proud that people live side by side, in harmony, irrespective of their faith, their background, where they've come from, what their heritage is. And we're enriched by the diversity which is here in this country.
SARA: I must ask you as well about a separate incident. Two boys, one aged 12 and one aged 15, died after being the victims of an alleged stabbing attack in north west of Melbourne over the weekend. And when we look at the incidents, particularly around knife and machete related deaths in Victoria, the vast majority of those victims are boys or young men, many from migrant backgrounds. As Prime Minister, when you hear that kind of news, what do you think?
PRIME MINISTER: This is shocking for their families and for their schoolmates and for their local communities. And I did have a discussion with the Victorian Police Commissioner Bush yesterday about the circumstances. People need to be brought to justice, the perpetrators of what is a horrific crime.
SARA: And these boys, as we know, were just walking home on their way home from a basketball match.
PRIME MINISTER: Yeah, it's incredibly sad and a tragedy that shouldn't have occurred. And my heart goes out to those who will be grieving today and for a long period of time.
SARA: You're listening to the Prime Minister on Radio National Breakfast. Prime Minister, Liberal Senator Jacinta Nampijinpa Price has walked back comments about Indian migrants, but hasn't apologised. Should she apologise, in your view?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, people in the Indian community are hurting. And it is important to make clear my position, which is that the Indian Australian community has made our nation stronger. They contribute to our economy, our communities. They're a vital part of modern Australia. And I just say to the Indian community: you're valued, you're welcome here, you make our country stronger by being here. And thank you for everything that you do to make Australia a better place. We're focused on delivering for people. The Coalition seem to be just focused on themselves. The comments are not true that the Senator made and of course she should apologise for the hurt that has been caused and her own colleagues are saying that. But even more importantly, leaders in the community are asking for that as well.
SARA: Should the Leader of the Opposition, Sussan Ley, apologise on behalf of Jacinta Nampijinpa Price?
PRIME MINISTER: Oh, look, that's a decision for Sussan Ley. My job is to be Prime Minister of the country, to try and bring people together, to promote social cohesion, to reject division and people who seek to divide the country do it a disservice. The job of people in public office is to bring people together and that is what I'll be focused on. And I'll be fighting for Australia's national interests. I'll leave the Coalition to fight themselves.
SARA: Prime Minister, thank you for joining me as you get ready to head to the Pacific. Thank you.
PRIME MINISTER: Thanks, Sally.
