: The Prime Minister's just called in to 702 ABC Radio Sydney Drive, and far be it from me to knock back a call from the Prime Minister. Good afternoon, Prime Minister. Thanks for calling.
PRIME MINISTER: Good afternoon, Chris. Good to be with you. Although, very difficult circumstances for the communities dealing with these devastating floods in the Mid North Coast and in the Hunter region.
BATH: Have you been briefed on the situation by the Premier? I know Chris Minns has been warning everyone that they need to prepare for a really uncomfortable couple of days.
PRIME MINISTER: I have. I've spoken with the Premier and also our Minister Kristy McBain, who's with the Premier at the moment. They've just been at Raymond Terrace, and they'll then be at Maitland and are visiting communities. Of course, many of the areas that are impacted, they can't get to because those communities are isolated. Indeed, some 48,000 people are isolated. But we also have the devastating news that a second man has lost his life, a man in his 30s. And our hearts go out to the friends and family and the community where he is from. This follows the loss of life of David Knowles near Taree. So, this is a really dangerous situation. The SES have responded to over a thousand incidents, now. There have been over 300 people rescued and indeed the Australian Defence Force that we activated, a chopper has made eight rescues last night and further rescues today. So, we know this is a really dangerous circumstance. Communities are doing it tough. We've activated the Disaster Recovery Allowance that pays wages up to 13 weeks for people who can't work and need that support in four local government areas in Kempsey, Port Macquarie, Mid North Coast and Dungog. And that follows yesterday's activation of 16 areas of local government for disaster assistance. It's a joint payment made for emergency funding, for food and for accommodation through the Federal and state governments.
BATH: Prime Minister, this has evolved into the worst flood in living memory in parts of the Mid North Coast. Apart from those support payments, are you going to activate any sort of federal support in terms of infrastructure on the ground?
PRIME MINISTER: We have. NEMA - the National Emergency Management Agency - has established a Crisis Coordination Team. So, they're looking at what other support can be given. The Australian Defence Force remain ready to provide assistance and we are continuing to work across the three levels of government. But also, at a time like this, once again, we see at the worst of times the best of the Australian character. And just a shout out to those volunteers in the SES and other organisations, the Rural Fire Service, who are out there helping their neighbours, helping their community and indeed travelling into the area as well to provide further assistance. I would say to your listeners that they should check hazardwatch.gov.au(link is external) for information and they can also download - there's an app - Hazards Near Me app, that they can download, that will make sure that it will provide assistance in order to keep people safe. That's the main thing that we want to achieve here. Of course, properties will be damaged, there'll be infrastructure damage. That can be repaired, but we don't want to see any further loss of life. There are three further people are missing at this point and floodwaters are still rising in the Mid North Coast. We are hoping that conditions ease over coming days, but this is a weather event that has hung around in the one spot for a long period of time, for many days, rather than move through. And that's what's created this extraordinary amount of rainfall that is unprecedented in the Mid North Coast.
BATH: Prime Minister, are you planning to visit the Mid North Coast and see it for yourself?
PRIME MINISTER: Yes, I will and we'll put those arrangements in place. And certainly, it is a terrible situation. It's always a balance, of course, you don't want to get in the way of rescues as well and that's why the Premier and Minister McBain are where they are today as well. Many of the areas that have been worst affected simply can't be reached at this point in time.
BATH: Prime Minister, just on another topic, it would be remiss of me not to ask you. The Coalition's been going through quite a bit since you've been out of Australia. Someone on our text line suggested you were last seen cartwheeling across the Vatican. Your thoughts on their breakup and potential makeup?
PRIME MINISTER: Look, my job is to be focused on being a good government and providing that leadership there. It's up to the Liberal Party and the National Party to engage in whatever internals within the Liberal Party, internals within the National Party and then between them. Clearly, I think that really is a matter for them. My task is to put in place good government. We have formed a Government. We have Ministers out there. Kristy McBain is the new Minister for Emergency Management, following on from Jenny McAllister, who did a fantastic job and is now looking after the National Disability Insurance Scheme. So, Kristy McBain, as a former Mayor of Bega, of course rose to prominence during those terrible bushfires of 2019-2020 in her local community and she certainly is - I can't think of anyone better to deal with these local events.
BATH: Yes, she's very experienced in emergencies, that's for sure. It's lovely that you're diverting me away from this line of questioning. Would you prefer a strong or a split Opposition, Prime Minister?
PRIME MINISTER: We'll deal with whatever we are left with. I think one of the issues with the Opposition last time around was that, you know, they became the no-alition, just saying 'no' to everything. I hope that - my hope is that people are more constructive. I think that was one of the issues they had during the election campaign. So, in whatever form it takes, we have a clear mandate at the election, and I'm concerned with implementing our agenda rather than worrying about what noise is created on the other side of Parliament.
BATH: Prime Minister, thank you very much for calling into the program.
PRIME MINISTER: Thanks very much, Chris.
