I thought we'd catch up with Mr Albanese, who's on the line from Canberra. Prime Minister, good morning to you.
ANTHONY ALBANESE, PRIME MINISTER: Good morning, Mark. Good to be with you, but sorry about the circumstances.
LEVY: Yeah, it's an extremely sad day, isn't it? We've lost a radio legend.
PRIME MINISTER: We certainly have. And John Laws was an iconic voice, but so much more than that. He's someone who, when you were on his program, would allow you to speak, would put his views, and he's someone who was so in touch with Australians for such a long period of time. It's an extraordinary career that I don't think will ever be matched. And he had the respect of everyone again across the political spectrum. I don't think anyone knew what way he voted. He, of course, was loved by his listeners and for many of them, it will be a part of their life that they will be reflecting on today as having passed.
LEVY: Is it fair, Prime Minister, to say he helped shape the decisions that the government of the day made in Canberra?
PRIME MINISTER: No question about that. He had the ear of Prime Ministers, of Leaders of the Opposition, of Ministers. I've spoke to John Laws for more than 30 years. I was on his program on various stations before I was a Member of Parliament as a Labor Party Official, and then as a candidate for Parliament, as a Minister, as Leader of the Opposition, and as Prime Minister. And he's someone who, when he got in touch with you, which he would occasionally in later years, my office would come in and say, John Law's program have asked you to come on next week. He just wants to have a chat. You would always say yes. Quite often in later years, it must be said, you'd put 10 minutes aside and half an hour later you'd still be having a chat to him. But he was listened to as well in the cities and in the bush. He was loved, of course. He famously was a friend of truck drivers. I remember when we were doing road safety issues, there was a bipartisan report many years ago, before I was Transport Minister, Burning the Midnight Oil it was called about some of the hardships that truckies were being forced, essentially, to really run risks by the way that the system was operating - and that's just one of the issues that he championed. He was a patriot. He loved Australia and Australia loved him.
LEVY: They certainly did. And we're getting so many messages this morning, Mr Albanese, from our listeners, just, you know, who adored him and it feels like we've lost a member of our family. While I've got you, Prime Minister, we're also mourning the passing of a Labor Party kingmaker in Graham Richardson. And gee, he built a formidable career in Australian politics, didn't he?
PRIME MINISTER: Graham sure did. He was also one of a kind. It's remarkable that these two great patriots have passed on the one weekend. Richo was someone who, in common with John Laws as well, though a great company off air or outside of politics as well. They both liked a lunch and a chat over lunch, and in Graham's case, often a very long lunch. And he was fantastic company as well. He's someone who was always worth listening to. He's someone who had an insight into Australians and the way that they were thinking. So, I spoke to him before the election on May 3 and some people were saying that it might be close and he was never in doubt. He used a different term other than that they'd romp it in. Of course, he was not immune to some colourful language, and that was his view. He quite liked Peter Dutton. He had friends across the political spectrum, but he was a Labor loyalist, of course, at heart as well.
LEVY: Well, Prime Minister, I know you're a busy man. Next time we get you on, we can probably touch on a few political issues and some of the issues facing everyday Australians. But I think on a day like today, let's just focus on the two men we've just paid tribute to in John Laws and Graham Richardson. Thanks for sparing us a couple of minutes on this Monday morning.
PRIME MINISTER: Thanks very much, Mark. And for those mates of Richo, my condolences. I was able to speak to Amanda on Saturday morning, She rang me pretty early. And for those of your listeners, of course, many of them would have listened to John Laws for not years, for decades. My condolences to them as well. They'll be feeling that a bit of them has passed, you know, something that they related to each and every day.
LEVY: Absolutely. Thanks, Prime Minister. Anthony Albanese joining us from Canberra on what is a sombre day, but also a day where we celebrate the lives of two giants.
