But we just got a bit of a call from the recently married, and we're a bit dirty about the lack of invitation, Anthony Albanese. Good morning.
JOEL CREASEY, HOST: Morning, Prime Minister.
ANTHONY ALBANESE, PRIME MINISTER: Good morning.
LOCKE: Congrats on the marriage by the way. Congrats on the wedding. It looked gorgeous.
PRIME MINISTER: Thank you so much. It was an absolutely lovely day in front of family and friends and people have been so nice with their well wishes. And I can report that, now, what are we? 11 days and the marriage is going strong.
SHAUN MCMANUS, HOST: Because that's the first thing, Albo, because everyone goes, 'oh, how's things changed?' Oh my God.
LOCKE: It's exactly the same, isn't it?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, no, no, it's a bit different. We actually had four days off for a honeymoon. That's a big thing, to have four days off.
MCMANUS: Yeah, that's huge.
PRIME MINISTER: So, it was lovely and people were very generous.
CREASEY: Were you expecting, in that time, for Pauline Hanson and Barnaby Joyce to have dinner?
LOCKE: Be the next great romance.
CREASEY: Yeah, be the next great romance. Did you expect Pauline to cook a steak in a sandwich press for Barnaby and then for them to join teams?
PRIME MINISTER: What was going on with the steak in the sandwich press? I mean, seriously, you know?
MCMANUS: It wasn't a George Foreman grill, which we've all seen before.
LOCKE: Just a good old-fashioned sandwich press.
PRIME MINISTER: If I had done that or Jodie did that, that would've been the end of the relationship, at such an early stage. But Pauline Hanson and One Nation have over the years attracted a whole lot of MPs. Not many of them have stayed. They've got a pretty bad record. And we'll wait and see how this works out. They've got two very big egos and we'll wait and see. But I think for Barnaby, I just am somewhat disappointed for the people of New England, I've got to say. They elected someone who was a National Party MP for year after year after year. And for those volunteers who have kept him there like my Labor Party members in Grayndler, you'd feel pretty let down, wouldn't you? Disappointed. And it's up to him to justify that, frankly.
MCMANUS: I agree with you. The social media ban comes into effect today, mate. We did get your Snapchat earlier on, so that was good. But some people have got to - my daughter's in a position, Albo, I've mentioned this a few times, where she's 15 and all her friends are 16. She's one of those early -
LOCKE: She's 15 and a half and a lot of her friends are 16 already.
MCMANUS: So, she'll be feeling it.
LOCKE: So, she hates you right now, just so you know.
MCMANUS: What do you think, Albo?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, the truth is that social media is causing social harm. And this is a change that has come from parents who have taken personal tragedies of losing their son or daughter and channelled that into a campaign saying enough is enough. Technology can have a big plus, but it also can cause real harm for young, developing minds. And we want kids to be able to have a childhood and we want parents to have peace of mind. And this has been a show-stopping discussion for a long period of time and it is so important. Australia's leading the way. I'm really proud that we are getting this done. It's been done on a bipartisan basis. Credit where credit is due, Peter Dutton backed in this reform and we put through the legislation a year ago and now we're getting it done.
CREASEY: And really the teens are just the tip of the iceberg, because many years ago I was good friends with the beautiful Charlotte Dawson who was a regular on our TV. And she was one of the first to really sort of cop that online trolling and very sadly took her life. And so, this is really, there is so much anger online. Are these accounts, though, that previously - are they being frozen? What's the go? When you turn 16, can you then reactivate your account?
PRIME MINISTER: You can. They essentially get paused until people do turn 16. So, this will make a big difference. Then the contrast, of course - social media can cause social harm for adults as well. We have bullying, we have trolling going on. I mean, I don't look at the comments in mine.
LOCKE: No, don't.
CREASEY: I got told, Prime Minister, I got told 'go away old hag' the other day. Old hag, me!
PRIME MINISTER: A very young man.
CREASEY: Thank you, Albo. I wasn't fishing, like what I caught.
PRIME MINISTER: It can be pretty unhealthy. But for a young person without the skills to deal with that or the experience, it can be particularly traumatic. And that's why we're calling time on it. We're saying, as a society, enough is enough. Mental health issues are just escalating amongst young people. And when we look at the cause, we know that this is a major cause and we want people to as well be able to learn to communicate those social skills that you get from actually communicating with each other, talking with each other, listening to the radio.
LOCKE: Albo, you say that, but I was down the dog park last night. There were a bunch of teenagers on e-scooters just riding around, just causing a bit of havoc, and everyone went, oh, go home and get on -
MCMANUS: Get back on a Snapchat!
PRIME MINISTER: No, no. It's a good thing if they were in the park engaging with each other. It's what we want more of.
LOCKE: Go outside and climb a tree, kids, come on.
PRIME MINISTER: Exactly. Learn an instrument, play sport, engage with each other. There's so much that people can do. What we know from neurologists and from the specialists as well is that the scrolling feature on some of these social media apps as well can have a chemical impact on the brain. It's like an addiction and it causes people to get a buzz from it. And that's why it is really important that we address this and we're the first country to do so. It won't be perfect. We know that.
LOCKE: Yeah. And there'll be teething problems. It's going to be rough for the first few years, probably. But then after that, just in 10 years' time we're going, 'I can't believe all you let under 16s ever on this stuff.' It will become normal fast.
PRIME MINISTER: Exactly. And other countries are following. And we should be really proud as Australians that this is Australia leading the world here and having the guts to take this on as a country. And already, I got asked a couple of times earlier this morning, what does success look like? Success looks like us having this conversation, parents being able to talk to their children about this, which is what's going on today and in past weeks and months. Teachers will be talking about it at school today with their students. It's a success already. The fact that we're raising this awareness.
MCMANUS: I reckon it's a good time for all of us to reflect too. Not just the kids on this, because we all get the thing that pops up on, I don't know if it's a Monday, that says -
CREASEY: Screen time.
LOCKE: Screen time. Nine o'clock Monday morning.
MCMANUS: Each day, and your weekly thing. I mean it blows you away. There's so much time we are losing.
LOCKE: If we had this taken away from us, we would be angry and mad and reaching for it. Just like our 15-year-old kids are going to be in the next week or two. They're going to be antsy about it. It is going to be a painful process but ultimately it is for the right reasons.
PRIME MINISTER: Yes, and people will have discussions as well about the impact on sleep. People, when they're lying in bed at night looking at their phones, and that has an impact. You're looking at light going into your -
LOCKE: Looking at pictures of your wedding.
PRIME MINISTER: Well, exactly. But that will lighten up, you'll go to sleep with a smile on your face. See happy people.
LOCKE: Toto in a dress was something to behold.
PRIME MINISTER: She did look lovely and it matched Ella's dress, Jodie's little 5-year-old niece, so they looked very good.
CREASEY: I thought we all just wait until mum and dad go to bed and put on SBS after 10:00 PM. I mean, that is the good old days.
LOCKE: So true. It's always an option. Albo, thank you so much for calling through this morning. You're our favourite call of the day so far.
CREASEY: Congratulations, Albo.
PRIME MINISTER: Thank you guys, and have a lovely day.
LOCKE: Yes. Well we won't speak to you again before the end of the year, so you and Jodie have a wonderful Christmas, okay?
PRIME MINISTER: Thanks so much. Our first Christmas together as a married couple. There you go. And we'll see you over in Canberra in the New Year.
MCMANUS: Absolutely. I love Sydney. I want to keep my options open. I'm just throwing that out there.
PRIME MINISTER: See you guys.
LOCKE: See you later now. Thanks much Albo.
