Good morning everyone. I'm Alicia Payne, the Member for Canberra, and it's my great pleasure this morning to be here with the Prime Minister, Minister Gallagher, Minister Giles, ACT Deputy Chief Minister Yvette Berry and Minister Pettersson here at CIT Bruce to meet with TAFE students and apprentices and hear about what our new incentive kicking off tomorrow will mean for them. We are a Government that is backing in TAFE and skills and allowing Australians to take up the opportunities to get the jobs of the future in the careers that they are so incredibly passionate about. Tomorrow is the 1st of July and we have so many cost of living measures kicking in that are going to make life easier for Australians, from extending paid parental leave, to the minimum wage increases, energy bill relief, and of course, this apprentice payment. And it's my great pleasure now to hand over to Prime Minister Albanese.
ANTHONY ALBANESE, PRIME MINISTER: Well, thanks very much, Alicia, and thanks everyone for coming out on this very frosty Canberra morning. Particular thanks to the teachers and the students here who are either embarking on a new career, or are helping to impart their skills to a new generation of students coming through. Having a roof over your head is so important, provides the security that you need to succeed in life. It makes a difference to your health, to your education, to everything going forward. And we know that increasing the supply of homes is critical for dealing with housing affordability going forward. That's why we have a comprehensive plan of $43 billion, our Homes for Australia plan. But part of that has to be how we have the skilled workforce. And this $10,000 incentive for apprentices in construction will do just that. We know from talking to students here, like Ella, who came from Griffith, is studying here, but also staying here on student accommodation and is really happy about what they're able to receive here at Bruce TAFE. This is being replicated around the country in partnership with state and territory governments. But this $10,000 incentive that begins tomorrow with $2,000 cash payments will make a difference going forward as well, in sending out that message that the Government values your decision if you choose to go into construction. And we know that it works, because our New Energy Apprenticeship incentive has already seen 11,000 people go into the new energy sector, making sure that they can help deliver the shift to renewables, making sure as well that they will have good, secure jobs going forward. Now, this incentive is just one of the measures that we put in place to begin on July 1, part of the commitments that saw us successful in the election, that we have a mandate to implement. And when I spoke at the National Press Club a couple of weeks ago, I spoke about our commitment to delivering on what we said we would do. And tomorrow we do just that. $10,000 incentives for construction apprentices, Free TAFE being extended with our 100,000 places each year, going forward as well. Making sure as well that we have the energy support, the $150 kicks in from tomorrow. In addition to that, 3 million Australian workers, including the people here, going into apprentices and people on award wages, will receive a 3.5 per cent increase in their wages. From next year as well, of course, our further tax cuts will kick in, providing support there. From tomorrow as well, our incentive of 30 per cent payment for batteries for solar to make sure that that storage can occur and to reduce people's energy bills kicks in as well, as well as a range of other support for small businesses. The extension of our instant asset write off of $20,000 kicks in. So, right across the board, we have considerable support kicking in tomorrow to provide that ongoing cost of living relief. We are a Government that has committed to getting inflation down whilst lifting living standards. And we're seeing that with the increase in wages, with the continued reduction in inflation down to 2.1 per cent, and the importantly, the maintenance of strong employment growth with 1.1 million jobs created, an unemployment rate of just 4.1 per cent. I'm really proud of the work that my Government has done. And as we work up to the return of Parliament on July 22, when the Cabinet meets this morning, continuing to work on how we need to further improve people's lives, but making a difference. These young people here, who we've met this morning, will make a difference for themselves, for their families to come, and for the country as well. Because one of the things that I find in common with people who are undertaking apprentices in areas like construction, is that they want to be able to be proud, and they should be, of being able to see, touch, feel the work that they've done. And these people, when they drive past homes being built around this region and around Australia in the future, will feel that sense of pride that they have got that done, that they have made a difference to getting that secure roof over the heads of families. And that is what my government's about, building Australia's future by investing in our Australian capacity and Australian skills.
ANDREW GILES, MINISTER FOR SKILLS AND TRAINING: Thanks very much, Prime Minister. From tomorrow, Australians will have 10,000 more reasons to pick up the tools and become a tradie in 59 occupations relevant to building the houses the Australians need. This builds on so much more. We know that when we came into government, we inherited the worst skills crisis in 50 years. It's had a huge impact across the economy, particularly in construction, but we've done much already to turn that around, particularly through Free TAFE. And it's wonderful to meet Free TAFE students doing pre-apprenticeships, knowing that they can now step into this $10,000 incentive to start an apprenticeship and through those five staggered payments, get the support they need to manage cost of living pressures to get to the end and turn it around. This is another step towards ensuring that every Australian gets every opportunity to get the skills they want, to do the jobs that we need.
PRIME MINISTER: Questions on this first, if there are any on this. If not, on others.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, so you talked about a raft of spending increases starting tomorrow, July 1. Will we need to wait until the National Defence Strategy in April next year to see spending increases in defence?
PRIME MINISTER: No.
JOURNALIST: Further to what's already budgeted?
PRIME MINISTER: No, because you're seeing it now with $57 billion that we have in the Budget.
JOURNALIST: So, nothing is needed in defence?
PRIME MINISTER: You have $57 billion. $57 billion isn't nothing. $10 billion over the forward estimates is what you will see. And you'll see, for example, around Williamtown by the end of this year, the actual production of missiles, which will make an enormous difference. What we want to do is to use defence procurement not just to assist in the defence of Australia, but also to be a facilitator of that advanced manufacturing.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, President Trump says that very soon countries will be getting letters telling them how much their tariff rate has been increased. Is it your expectation that Australia will still be subject to that 10 per cent reciprocal tariff, as he calls it, or could that number be higher?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, we'll continue to put our case forward that it shouldn't be 10, it should be zero. That is what a reciprocal tariff will be. We have a US Free Trade Agreement, of course, and we've put forward very clearly our arguments. We'll continue to do so.
JOURNALIST: So, off that, will you be adding a trip to the US in your travel plans if the tariff exemption can't be secured this week?
PRIME MINISTER: I have been to the US. I was there a little over a week ago, but I look forward to returning to the US. We continue to engage with our American friends and Penny Wong, the Foreign Minister, will be there this week.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, Republican Michael McCaul and Democrat Joe Courtney, obviously noting what you just said, but they have urged you to set up a meeting with the President at the White House, saying that would be sound advice and a great gesture. Is that anything you're working towards possibly this year?
PRIME MINISTER: Yes.
JOURNALIST: The US' 30-day AUKUS review is due to be finalised quite soon. Has Australia been involved in that review in terms of submissions or representations? Or?
PRIME MINISTER: Of course we make representations and our Defence Minister directly with Defence Minister Hegseth, but also at every opportunity, we, at every opportunity, Australia raises our points that we have. And AUKUS benefits three countries: Australia, the UK and the US. But it does something more than that as well. It benefits the world because it makes our region and the world more secure, because it is such an important agreement going forward and these are important relationships, we continue to put them forward. The Defence Minister has had direct discussions with his counterparts and indeed we'll have AUKMIN here very soon in coming weeks.
JOURNALIST: Have we engaged with Elbridge Colby, though?
JOURNALIST: We've seen the Chinese Ambassador Australian make comments about defence spending this morning. What can you tell the Australian people about the military threat posed by China, and do you remain concerned, remain concerned about the military build-up?
PRIME MINISTER: The Chinese Ambassador speaks for China. My job is to speak for Australia and it's in Australia's national interest for us to invest in our capability and to invest in our relationships and we're doing just that.
JOURNALIST: I think he's mentioning Australian politics by making those comments.
PRIME MINISTER: I don't know, your newspaper published the op ed. So, it's a matter for people from time to time will make comments. That's up to them. What my job is to do, is to speak for Australia and that's what I do.
JOURNALIST: Have you engaged? Has the Government engaged directly with Elbridge Colby in the last couple of months?
PRIME MINISTER: We engage with everyone in the United States.
JOURNALIST: But with Elbridge Colby?
PRIME MINISTER: We engage with everyone in the United States.
JOURNALIST: So, that's a yes?
PRIME MINISTER: We engage with everyone in the United States.
JOURNALIST: Just on the social media ban. Would you like to see YouTube included in that, given there might be some concerns?
PRIME MINISTER: Look, we're having the trial and we'll take on board all of the comments as part of that. That's why we set up a 12 month period. It was done in a bipartisan basis. We continue to work on a bipartisan basis. I note that there's widespread support for this and increasingly, I think amongst the public there is greater consciousness of the damage that social media can do on the mental health of young people. On issues such as the rise of misogyny. I refer to comments that members of the Government have made as well. Tanya Plibersek yesterday made some comments about tackling violence against women and children, and how we not only have to invest in providing support on issues like housing and providing income support so that women don't feel like they can't leave a relationship, we've got to also consider what is going on with young men and boys being exposed to graphic material which does not promote healthy relationships, can often promote a violent perception and misogynistic attitude towards women. And it is a scourge, the fact that more than one woman per week has lost their life on average this year, is something that is completely unacceptable. We have to tackle this as government, we have to tackle this as media, we have to tackle this as whole of society, needs to recognise that this is an issue we have to confront. So, in 2022, did I go to an election saying, 'We're going to have a social media ban for under 16s'? No, I didn't, because that wasn't on the agenda. Tell you what, it's on the agenda globally now, is the impact of social media and the impact it's having on our society. And that's why Government has a responsibility to act.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, the Home Affairs Minister has noted that the High Court's thresholds are very high to put someone in preventative detention, that threshold has not been met yet. Are you open to revisiting the laws? Are you open to potentially further legislation, if required, to address that problem?
PRIME MINISTER: Look, look, we do what we need to do to keep people safe. But we also have to obviously acknowledge the law and we need to act within the law. And my government does that. But we've taken, we'll continue to do what is necessary to keep people safe. Last one.
JOURNALIST: Operation Sovereign Borders is on track for the busiest year for boat interception since the operation began. What's behind that?
PRIME MINISTER: What we're seeing is a change in the people smuggling model. They continually try to change what they do. But importantly, Operation Sovereign Borders is still in place. It has received increased financial support from my Government. And not a single person who tries to come here by boat will be settled here. We have dealt with all of these issues appropriately, as we said we would. Thanks very much.
