Prime Minister, thanks for your time.
ANTHONY ALBANESE, PRIME MINISTER: Good to be with you, Andrew.
CLENNELL: I wanted to ask first about Andrew Mountbatten Windsor. What's your reaction to his arrest?
PRIME MINISTER: Quite a fall from grace, isn't it? These are very serious allegations. They will be pursued quite clearly. So, I'm not going to go into any of the legal matters, but it is extraordinary that someone who all of us have seen as part of the Royal Family has now been bustled off into a legal process and no doubt that it will not just focus on these documents, but will also go to some of the other allegations that have been made as part of the whole Epstein saga.
CLENNELL: You must feel for the King, you have a good relationship with the King, in this circumstance.
PRIME MINISTER: I do. His Majesty, I think, is a very decent man. He's someone who undertakes his duties with extraordinary diligence, even through the health issues that he's had to deal with. And this would be a difficult time, but he has responded appropriately, which is that no one is above the law. And Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, as he's now known, will have to face all of the consequences of whatever it is that is being investigated.
CLENNELL: Let me ask you straight up, are you considering altering the Capital Gains Tax discount in this country?
PRIME MINISTER: What we're considering doing is handing down a Budget, Andrew, on the second Tuesday in May. And what we are doing is tax cuts this July, another tax cut the following July, and when it comes to housing, we're doing our best to deal with the supply question. That's our focus.
CLENNELL: So, no CGT change?
PRIME MINISTER: Our focus, as I've said, is tax cuts this July and next July. Tax cuts that Angus Taylor, of course you might remember, said he not only would oppose, but that he would introduce legislation to increase the taxes of 14 million Australians.
CLENNELL: I assume you wouldn't take a change like CGT to a Budget not long after elected. If you're going to change something like that, you would feel you'd have to take it to an election, wouldn't you?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, we're focused on the tax cuts that will come in on July 1. A tax cut for you, and a tax cut for every single one of your listeners, Andrew.
CLENNELL: I wanted to ask about how you think the Bondi terror attacks have changed Australia?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, they shocked Australia because it brought a terrorist act to our shores at what was an iconic and is an iconic location. People associate Bondi Beach, as I do, with fun and joy and family activities. And indeed, the first night of Chanukah was one where the Chabad community there in Bondi have celebrated for a number of years. It should have been the celebration of joy and the victory of light over darkness. Instead, it was a horrific terrorist attack driven by antisemitism.
CLENNELL: Has it changed Australia, though?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, everything that happens changes Australia, Andrew, and this is a big event in Australian history and obviously big events do make changes to our nature. But Australia overwhelmingly will get through this because we're a resilient country. One of the terrorists was killed, the other will face the full force of the law, and that's entirely appropriate.
CLENNELL: How did you feel when you were booed on the way to Bondi, to that vigil? Did that hurt you personally?
PRIME MINISTER: It occurred from a small number of people who were there that evening. Overwhelmingly, what mattered to me was when I sat down in the lounge rooms of families who had loved ones killed on December 14. They were warm, they were generous, they were engaged. And that for me, was my focus. My focus wasn't about myself. I had a responsibility to ensure that, firstly, when it occurred, we had the National Security Committee meet on the Sunday night. We wanted to know what the circumstances were. Was this part of a cell, these individuals, the Akrams? Was it going to be the case that this would be the first in a series of events? When you look internationally, quite often there'll be an attack in one place and then another attack soon after. Were there any international links with ISIS or any other international terrorist organisation. So, our first priority was about keeping people safe.
CLENNELL: You apologised to Jewish people last month. Do you feel there's anything more you personally could have done or your government and your agencies could have done to prevent Bondi happening?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, we'll have a Royal Commission, Andrew. But what we know already is that this was a father and son acting in the equivalence of a lone wolf. In this case, people having a conversation over the kitchen table. They hired a place in Campsie so that they could engage separate from the community in which they lived. They went and hired a place down in the Southern Highlands where they trained themselves. They were radicalised online. It is very difficult, as ASIO have said, to intervene where there's no electronic trail, where there's no warning signs of meetings and engagements -
CLENNELL: They went to the Philippines, right. They went to the Philippines and he'd previously been on a watch list. Does any of that say to you ASIO might have failed here?
PRIME MINISTER: Listen, Andrew, what's appropriate is that the Royal Commission be allowed to do its job and they will do their job. And importantly as well, we have ensured that there will be a proper review by the person who is best placed of any Australian to do it in Dennis Richardson. He is already undertaking his work, it began immediately and let him do his job.
CLENNELL: Has he given you any interim reports or indications?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, if he has, I wouldn't be raising it with you on Sky News.
CLENNELL: Was the head of ASIO opposed to a Royal commission?
PRIME MINISTER: Oh look, Andrew, the idea that I'm going to talk about national security issues on Sky News, you know better than that.
CLENNELL: Of the laws that you brought Parliament back for, are they close to being used yet, do you think, in any capacity?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, not all of them got carried, of course, Andrew. There were people who argued Parliament should be brought back immediately to pass laws that they then opposed and then said were being rushed, including some of the media organisations that had two different positions over just a few weeks' time. What we did was we passed the strongest laws that the Senate was prepared to pass and that will make a difference and we'll allow the authorities to do their job. There's a separation here - politicians, we're responsible for putting laws in place. It's important that the authorities, who I have confidence in, be allowed to do their job.
CLENNELL: Pauline Hanson's recent comments on Muslims. Could they fall foul of the laws, do you think?
PRIME MINISTER: I'll allow, I'm not a lawyer, nor am I in charge of fulfilling those laws. I'll allow the appropriate authorities to engage. What we shouldn't do, Andrew, and what will not build social cohesion, is if people come out and have their different views based upon their thoughts. What's important here is that we actually respond in a responsible way. That's what I've done each and every day, in spite of some of the media commentary that have demanded immediacy rather than considered action. My government is an orderly government. We put things in place, we say what we're going to do and then we do them. That's what we did. When we said we would on January 5, have legislation out there on January 12 and bring Parliament back on January 19. We did that. There was a call for that to occur. And for reasons that I think became clear with the internals on the other side of politics and the refusal of The Greens political party also to support any of those laws, apart from gun laws in the Senate, we were faced with the situation of getting through the strongest legislation that was possible.
CLENNELL: How concerned are you that One Nation is 27 per cent in the polls at the moment?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, One Nation, are a political movement that focus on dividing Australia and pitting Australian against Australian. I don't think they come up with positive solutions. They amplify grievances rather than come up with solutions. And I think that hope and optimism and developing plans for a positive future is what Australia needs.
CLENNELL: It's hard to escape the conclusion that a lot of the rise in One Nation support is the belief of people there's been too much migration from Islamic countries to these shores. There are fears that people of that faith might want to bring their conflicts here. What do you think of that analysis?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, I've said consistently the Australian covenant is that if people have any prejudice or hatred, it's left at the Customs hall when they arrive in Australia. And overwhelmingly, Australians show respect to each other. Overwhelmingly Australians, regardless of what their faith is, who they are, what their background is, we overwhelmingly live in harmony in this country. It's important that people in positions of authority, including politicians, promote social cohesion rather than seek to gain political benefit through opportunistically trying to divide people and trying to raise fear. So, what we do as a government is we'll continue to work on social cohesion. That's one of the things that the Royal Commission will look at as well.
CLENNELL: Do you think there are some countries where we could take less people or consider tighter checks, as it appears the opposition's considering?
PRIME MINISTER: We have tight checks, Andrew. This is something that - politicians shouldn't be allowed to say things that they know isn't true. They know that we have -
CLENNELL: I agree with you on that.
PRIME MINISTER: Well, you need to hold them into account, Andrew, because they know full well that we have checks on migration in this country and that we have checks on visas. And for example, one of the things that was raised is people from Gaza who not only went through Australian checks, but went through Israeli cheques as well before they could leave Gaza.
CLENNELL: The ISIS brides. Now, a bit has been made, there's this section 14 which allows you to stop passports being granted. But as I understand it, you'd need advice from agencies telling you to do that. Is it the case you don't have that advice, so you can't take that step about this particular cohort?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, let's be very clear here, Andrew, this, again is something where people need to be held to account because people are saying things that they know is not true and is not possible. The laws that we are operating under are the laws that the former government, the Coalition, introduced. When it comes to the issue of citizenship, that has rights as well under our constitution, there are issues there. And the coalition know that that is the case and we're operating on the same basis. But bear this in mind - when the former government was in office, 40 people returned to Australia from either fighting, literally fighters, not just brides or wives of fighters, but fighters return to Australia during that period.
CLENNELL: Will you let some of these people through then, do you think? Or when I say let, will they be entitled to come to Australia? And will they come to Australia, this group of 34, or some of them?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, Australian law will be applied. Whether that, what occurs with them, I'm certainly not in contact with them, nor is anyone from the Australian Government. What we have is a situation whereby is Australia providing repatriation, which did occur in 2019 and 2022? No, is the answer to that. And providing no support for these people.
CLENNELL: But they could come here?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, Australian citizens have rights and they also have responsibilities, and those responsibilities mean that the Australian government, like with anyone else, will apply the full force of the law to anyone who has broken any Australian laws.
CLENNELL: I want to talk about your priorities for the year, because, of course, Bondi replaced this for a couple of months and I assume that budget repair and stopping inflation somehow must be at the top of the list?
PRIME MINISTER: Of course, the issue of cost of living will always be front and centre for my government, as it has been from the very beginning. But we haven't just stopped. We were, of course, focused on National Security Committee was meeting every single day in the wake of the Bondi terrorist attack. But we kept rolling out the reforms that we had. So on January 1, 1800 MEDICARE started, $25 medicines commenced. On the 6th of January, we had the three day Childcare Guarantee commence. We've continued to open Urgent Care Clinics. I was at TAFE talking to Free TAFE students who got the $10,000 apprenticeship bonus. When schools went back, the new funding, full and fair funding for every public school, commenced this year as well, just in the last couple of weeks as schools returned. So, we've continued to engage in those cost of living measures. We'll continue to focus on the Budget in the lead up to May. It is fair to say that there's probably less occurred in the first couple of weeks of January, but bear this in mind too - we did hand down MYEFO in December that had $20 billion of savings. That's $20 billion more than was in the last Morrison-Frydenberg budget.
CLENNELL: Are you concerned though that it seems whenever there's economic growth in this country at the moment there's inflation?
PRIME MINISTER: We need to continue to have economic growth and we need to, there's been a debate this week where the new Shadow Treasurer was out there suggesting that the Reserve Bank should just have a mandate about inflation, not worry about employment rather than both. We want to get inflation down but we don't want to leave people behind while that occurs. I want an economy that works for people, not people working for an economy. And that means that you need to get inflation down whilst making sure that employment is able to remain strong, that people aren't just discarded and the consequences aren't regarded as irrelevant that the Shadow Treasurer seemed to suggest just this week.
CLENNELL: I want to ask about the social media ban because I know that a lot of kids are just opening up, their accounts are closing, but they open up new ones, etc, and it goes on and on. I know you've had some success with other countries copying the model, but I think the key question here is do you expect this year any prosecution of any of these companies? Are they doing enough to enforce the ban?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, we hope not because what we want is for them to comply and the 10 companies that are involved in these 10 platforms have complied. But the eSafety Commissioner will continue to do her job and the eSafety Commission to hold them to account. Social media has a social responsibility and this is working. I sat with a parent last night who told me about their 14 year old son who was hostile at the beginning to withdrawing from social media but said to them in the last fortnight, 'gee, I feel much better about myself and I'm much happier now I'm off social media'. that's the objective we're trying to achieve here, to give kids back their childhood. And the fact that it's being replicated Spain, France, Denmark, the UK looking at it, New Zealand, Indonesia, Malaysia, and the reports that the United States is perhaps considering it as well shows that this is Australia leading the world. It should be a real source of pride. And this is something that didn't come from the government from the top down. It isn't an idea I had one night. It came from parents who'd lost their sons and daughters, took those tragedies and channelled that into making a difference for others.
CLENNELL: There's a lot of conjecture around Donald Trump will invade Iran. What's your view of that?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, I'm not going to speculate about a matter like that. I would say that the Iranian people have been courageous in standing up for the their human rights. There have been atrocities committed against people standing up for democratic values and standing up for human rights against what is an authoritarian, oppressive regime. We expelled the Iranian Ambassador, the only time an ambassador has been expelled from Australia since the Second World War because of the evidence of the involvement of the Iranian regime in actions here in Australia.
CLENNELL: Prime Minister, thanks so much for your time.
PRIME MINISTER: Thanks very much, Andrew.
