: Well, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has been back in WA this week on his way to the G20 Leaders' Summit in Johannesburg. More of a stopover than any major announcements, but there's always plenty to talk about. Prime Minister, welcome back.
ANTHONY ALBANESE, PRIME MINISTER: Great to be here, Mark.
GIBSON: You must be the only person flying out of WA. You do realise the Ashes start tomorrow?
PRIME MINISTER: That's right. I've got to say, all of my team couldn't stay at the hotel where I was last night because Perth is full.
GIBSON: Yeah.
PRIME MINISTER: All with English supporters. So, to the Australians out there, be extra vocal and people can cheer on my behalf as well. I've been here since Monday. I am probably the only person who's come to Perth on Monday to Thursday -
GIBSON: Yeah.
PRIME MINISTER: And left -
GIBSON: Yeah.
PRIME MINISTER: Before day one, but -
GIBSON: We're going to beat the at the Poms though, don't we?
PRIME MINISTER: Oh, I hope so. 5-0 is, is for the hope. And, and the PM's 11 is on -
GIBSON: Yeah.
PRIME MINISTER: Next weekend for two days at beautiful Manuka Oval in Canberra, and that'll be terrific too. We've got young guns like -
GIBSON: Who'd you pick? You picked Konstas, didn't you?
PRIME MINISTER: Sam Konstas. He got his big break last year. Him and Renshaw both got amongst the runs. But we've also got some experienced people, like Peter Siddle is playing as well. Peter Handscomb, of course, has been very good for Victoria, and so a real mix. We had the phone hookup with George Bailey and the selectors.
GIBSON: Yep.
PRIME MINISTER: And it's one of the privileges that you get as Prime Minister is to pick a PM's XI in cricket and a PM's XIII in rugby league.
GIBSON: I'd probably rather talk to you about the cricket all day, but I better not. The COP Climate Conference, it's wrapping up in Brazil. There's been all this talk about Australia, Türkiye, who will have it. Have we pulled out of the race?
PRIME MINISTER: What we've got, I think, is pretty close to a settlement. We are hoping for it. Now, the rules of the climate conferences are that they've got to be done by consensus. If it wasn't a consensus, then it would have gone to Bonn in Germany.
GIBSON: Yeah.
PRIME MINISTER: Türkiye put in a bid last time round and said they wouldn't consider pulling out because they say they conceded to Glasgow. So, we're in a situation where it would not have advantaged multilateral action on climate change if we couldn't even agree on where a conference was, would have been a real setback. So, what we've come up with is a big win for both Australia and Türkiye.
GIBSON: Is it a big win for Australia?
PRIME MINISTER: It is, because our priority, our bid was Australia and the Pacific co-hosting. So, what has been agreed is that Chris Bowen, Australia, will be COP President for Negotiations. The conference and the COP Presidency will go to Türkiye, and there'll be a pre-COP meeting, particularly focusing on climate financing in the Pacific, the Pacific Resilience Facility, in the lead up to COP next year, held in the Pacific. Australia will of course assist with that as well. So, we needed to work it through with our Pacific partners and it was either Bonn or Türkiye. That is the situation that we, we were facing. And it's really important when you have a two horse race where if, if either doesn't, if there's not an agreement, it would have gone to Bonn and that would not have been a good outcome.
GIBSON: How much have we spent though on the bid? Federal money, and then South Australia spent money on it. Will they be reimbursed for what they've spent?
PRIME MINISTER: Oh, look, a small amount, but that has been, there has been promoting Adelaide, of course to the world and it's been engaging with our priority about climate policy. So, it has -
GIBSON: Will you tell us what's been spent?
PRIME MINISTER: It has fed into a - a relatively small amount.
GIBSON: In the millions?
PRIME MINISTER: A relatively small amount. But what we have done, is of course, we will be the negotiator on climate policy globally over the next year and during the conference. That is a very worthwhile investment. And had we not put in a bid for the COP, that certainly wouldn't have occurred. And that will enable us to prioritise the issues that are confronting the Pacific. The very existence of countries like Tuvalu and Kiribati, the issue of our oceans, the issue of other impacts that we see the heating of the world having, including of course, in part of their issues they're dealing with is the algal bloom. That's directly related to changes in the weather events and changes in the temperature there off the South Australian coast.
GIBSON: Prime Minister, interestingly, it was at the COP Conference four years ago in Glasgow when Scott Morrison, as the Prime Minister, committed to net zero targets by 2050. As you well know, the Coalition has reversed that policy. Here's a little bit of what Sussan Ley, the Opposition Leader, told our Drive program yesterday.
[AUDIO GRAB]
SUSSAN LEY, OPPOSITION LEADER: You've got a government that has, as its policy, worked backwards from a target that's unachievable at a cost that's unaffordable.
GIBSON: 'A target that's unachievable at a cost that's unaffordable'. Is there any truth to that?
PRIME MINISTER: Wow, complete nonsense. I tell you what the cost will be, the cost that Australians are paying as a result of the Coalition being in government for almost a decade, when 24 out of 28 coal fired power stations either announced their closure or brought forward the dates of their closure. They did nothing to have investment to replace their energy supply. Australians are paying the price of that. And were the Coalition, with their chaotic positions - I mean Sussan Ley within her party was arguing for net zero just weeks ago, and now she pretends that none of that occurred. They are all over the shop. And we've got Barnaby Joyce essentially having a huge win. And I don't want to see climate policy in this country and energy policy run by people who created the chaos over that time. They had 23 energy policies announced. They didn't land one of them. We have one policy. We have a plan. They have a pamphlet that doesn't even make sense. And they're walking away from a plan - the net zero target was set in government by Scott Morrison with Angus Taylor as the Energy Minister, and Tony Abbott signed up to Paris and they've walked away from that as well.
GIBSON: Their catch cry is they will bring power prices down.
PRIME MINISTER: How?
GIBSON: That's why they say -
PRIME MINISTER: And they have no idea of how. They will lead to - less investment in energy means higher prices. And all of the business community, the Business Council of Australia, the Australian Industry Group, the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the Australian Energy Council are all saying the cheapest form of new energy is renewables backed by gas, backed by battery and backed by hydro. And I was of course in Busso this week.
GIBSON: Busso. You're a local?
PRIME MINISTER: Absolutely. I was there for two days. All over it. And Bunbury and what is happening down there is that Collie is going to close, the coal fired power station. There is already that investment in batteries which will enable storage of the energy that will be produced, feeding onto the transmission lines that has powered that region of southwestern Australia for a long period of time. And I went there - the first time, you saw on the ground what was happening. The second time the batteries are in place. I went there during the election campaign. And the clown show opposite us that can't agree with each other, that don't like each other, were saying that that would be the site of a nuclear power station. What happened to that policy? Do you know?
GIBSON: Well, they haven't ruled nuclear out. They still think it's on the table.
PRIME MINISTER: But when and where? Like, they can't say whether coal fired power stations will be subsidised by taxpayers going forward, or whether, as Sussan Ley said in some interviews, depending upon where she's talking, if she's talking to the ABC and talking to Sky, there's different messages. On one, coal doesn't stack up. On the other, 'oh yes, we're all open and we'll leave it to the market'. Like, it is just a debacle.
GIBSON: Anthony Albanese, the Prime Minister in the studio with me. The next policy we're waiting for then, we can move from climate to migration, and over the next few weeks we'll get a Coalition policy.
PRIME MINISTER: Doesn't that say it all, Mark? I'll make this point -
GIBSON: I haven't got the question out yet.
PRIME MINISTER: But if they had any faith at all in their energy policy, why is it that within days they're saying 'let's talk about something else'?
GIBSON: Well, can our infrastructure, this is my question for you, keep up with our migration levels. That's the big claim, that it cannot.
PRIME MINISTER: We've reduced migration -
GIBSON: It's still high.
PRIME MINISTER: We've reduced it by 40 per cent.
GIBSON: It's still pre-COVID levels.
PRIME MINISTER: I'll give you the big tip, Mark. WA, you might have noticed, the borders were shut. Not just internationally but domestically as well. So, what happened has happened right around the world, was there wasn't any migration. So, of course post-COVID there was going to be a spike in levels. That is all that has happened here.
GIBSON: You've got it under control?
PRIME MINISTER: And the idea - absolutely. What we're doing is making sure that we get the right skills. I've met with businesses here in WA, and you could at random get businesses into this studio and they will tell you that the idea that we just don't need any skilled workers in particular industries, that we could just shut them down. Or get the hospitality industry in here, in particularly in the regions. Get people in Broome, or down at Busselton, or Margaret River and tell them we're going to completely shut down any backpackers coming here, and, or let alone the Wheat Belt or the agricultural sector. I mean, this is all just rhetoric, because their energy policy is a complete mess. So, they've decided now, 'oh, let's just look at something else. What's Pauline Hanson doing? That's where we'll follow'.
GIBSON: Let's move on to your relationship with the states on a couple of issues. How's the public hospital funding deal coming along? Because the States want more than you're prepared to give them.
PRIME MINISTER: States want more, hold the front page.
GIBSON: Well, including Western Australia. Let's focus on that.
PRIME MINISTER: States want more, hold the front page.
GIBSON: Our Premier, our Health Minister have said, you're not doing enough.
PRIME MINISTER: I was with the Premier. You know what will be an earth shattering day, is when a Premier comes out and says 'we've got too much money from the Commonwealth'. That is what will hold the front pages. The truth is we have additional money on the table for public hospitals. We'll talk that through respectfully, as I've had a chat to the Premier here. Roger Cook's a mate of mine. We had a chat both in front of the cameras and behind about these issues. But the other thing we're doing, we put $8.5 billion of additional money into the system, just over the forward estimates, for tripling the bulk billing incentive. Now, what that means, it'll be easier to see a GP for free. Already, already more than a thousand, even before it had come in, GPs had said they would shift to be fully bulk billed. We're opening Urgent Care Clinics, ten in WA, more to come. We're opening another 50 around the country, which will mean 147. There are more than 200,000 West Australians have seen a doctor at a Medicare Urgent Care Clinic for themselves or their kids. They've got the care they need, when they need it, for free with their Medicare card. And that is taking pressure off emergency departments.
GIBSON: You say Roger Cook's a mate. What is going on? I should ask you this question for the 50,000th time. Do you intend to change WA's share of the GST?
PRIME MINISTER: No.
GIBSON: Right. You've said it a million times. So, why did they go and spend a million dollars on an advertising campaign in the east to tell people that our share of the GST is in doubt? And here's why Western Australia should be getting more. What's going on?
PRIME MINISTER: I think that was probably them pitching up to their state Premiers on the east coast, I assume. That's a matter for them. But -
GIBSON: We were all a bit mystified over here as to what was going on with that.
PRIME MINISTER: That is very clear. Well, that's question for the Premier, but -
GIBSON: All right.
PRIME MINISTER: But we're being very clear about that. And importantly for the east coast Premiers, they don't miss out on anything. The only loser in this system in terms of financially, has been the Commonwealth. We've taken that on board, because we have a no worse off clause for the other states and territories. And that's what we've been implementing. So, when you look at our contribution to the states, whether it's the GST and putting that in place, whether it be the schools funding - properly, fully funded public schools for the first time ever. The pressure that we're taking off emergency departments in hospitals, the aged care reforms that also kicked in on November 1st. The Fee Free TAFE. More than 100,000 students have gone through Fee Free TAFE. Not just - I've met them here at TAFEs in Perth. Not just young people looking for their first job, but people retraining as well. All of that, you could argue, is a state responsibility. We have stepped up on issue after issue and will continue to do so, including, of course, investing in housing, where WA is doing very well at approaching, they're just below the target, which is there. And we're very confident that WA will get there.
GIBSON: You've got a plane to catch. One more from overnight. I don't expect you can keep up with everything. Did you see any of the ARIAs? Are you across who won the ARIAs?
PRIME MINISTER: I saw this morning on ABC Breakfast TV, I saw Amy from Amyl and the Sniffers.
GIBSON: Have you seen her speech?
PRIME MINISTER: Oh, yeah.
GIBSON: I've got a clip for you. She wants to be Prime Minister. You ready for this?
PRIME MINISTER: She does.
[AUDIO GRAB]
AMY TAYLOR, MUSICIAN: As the new Prime Minister of Australia, I would like to say, all immigrants welcome. Say land back. The dole's going up, and every pub gets a million dollars.
GIBSON: That's quite a speech.
PRIME MINISTER: There's been a coup. There's been a coup.
GIBSON: Amy from Amyl and the Sniffers.
PRIME MINISTER: Amy has been into my office in Parliament House.
GIBSON: Has she?
PRIME MINISTER: Yeah. She's a cracking young woman and they are a great band and who knows? Imagine what would happen if I wore an Amyl and the Sniffers t-shirt.
GIBSON: Well, we've had, we've seen what happened with Joy Division, which gets us to next Thursday. Aus Music T-Shirt Day. One more up your sleeve for us?
PRIME MINISTER: I've got lots of t-shirts.
GIBSON: But you know, Aus music.
PRIME MINISTER: I have lots of t-shirts.
GIBSON: What will you be wearing next Thursday? You've got to plan this.
PRIME MINISTER: The Saints, I've been, maybe. I've got to give some thought to it. And I'll be in Canberra next Thursday, Parliament's sitting.
GIBSON: All right.
PRIME MINISTER: And we always do a bit of a shot with the Caucus. There is so much great Australian music at the moment, including Amyl and the Sniffers, but so many great women as well. Angie McMahon and a whole bunch of women who've really leading the charge. Sarah Blasko's new album, a bit more suited to ABC AM. I think her last album was just absolutely awesome.
GIBSON: Well, whatever you wear, Prime Minister, you know, you'll be criticised. There'll be front pages, you'll be all over social media. You can never win. Thank you for stopping by our studio again. And all the best for the G20.
PRIME MINISTER: Thanks so much. But I think that Amy did miss out on an opportunity that she had there. Forget a million dollars for every pub, she should have promised free beer, surely.
GIBSON: Of course, of course.
PRIME MINISTER: We have frozen the excise as well. Just one of the -
GIBSON: Oh, that's enough, that's enough.
PRIME MINISTER: One of the things that we have done on cost of living. Very popular.
GIBSON: That's enough, that's enough. Nadia Mitsopoulos is with me. She does Morning. She's up at 8:30.
NADIA MITSOPOULOS, HOST: Yeah, but you don't come on my show. Prime Minister, how are you? You know what -
PRIME MINISTER: I'm up really early in Perth. You know, it's -
GIBSON: Don't come in here -
MITSOPOULOS: The Prime Minister says, 'oh, Nadia, I stay on Sydney time and that's why I can't come on'.
PRIME MINISTER: I do. I was up at 4:00am this morning -
GIBSON: Listening to 720 Breakfast.
PRIME MINISTER: Talking to Chris Bowen. I watched 720 Breakfast, all of that. So, I did yesterday, I did, I think four radios, all breakfast. So -
GIBSON: So, what are we the leftovers the next day?
PRIME MINISTER: No.
MITSOPOULOS: Well at least you got -
PRIME MINISTER: You're the priority. You have the exclusive today.
GIBSON: We did with COP, hey.
PRIME MINISTER: Hey, I take it, I take it seriously, the ABC.
MITSOPOULOS: But just on the big issue, I'd actually rather the million dollars than the free beer.
PRIME MINISTER: No, a million dollars for every pub. Not for you, Nadia.
MITSOPOULOS: Oh no, I'd rather that.
GIBSON: Nadia, let him go. He's got a plane to catch.
MITSOPOULOS: He's got to catch a plane. Okay, bye, bye. Bye, Prime Minister.
GIBSON: Thank you.
PRIME MINISTER: Ciao, ciao.
