Prime Minister, thanks for your time.
ANTHONY ALBANESE, PRIME MINISTER: Hey, good to be with you.
NORMAN: Let's get straight to the Budget. You've said this is one of the toughest that you'll be handing down. Just how much has it had to change just in the past couple of months?
PRIME MINISTER: We live in an extraordinarily challenging time and the circumstances around the war in the Middle East are having an impact here, and how it ends is still uncertain. So, that of course has meant that we've had to frame the Budget later than usual and that there's an element of uncertainty there going forward. But that's politics. You have to deal with immediate challenges when they're thrown at you, but do so in a way which looks towards the future, which doesn't take you off course.
NORMAN: Well, we're widely expecting changes to housing tax breaks this Budget. Your government hasn't really dampened expectations. You're sort of framing it in the context of tackling intergenerational inequality. But how important, or I guess how much of a risk is there in tackling generational inequality if you break an election commitment, particularly negative gearing?
PRIME MINISTER: The really core principle of my Government is no one held back, no one left behind. I want Australia to be a land of opportunity for the future. And the truth is that young people feel like they're not getting a fair crack at the moment. So, any changes that we put in the Budget, or indeed while we're in government, will be very much focused on those principles. So, we'll see on 12 May and people will be able to judge whether that is in the national interest. I think it will be a Budget of which I'm very proud and the Government can be proud as well.
NORMAN: You broke an election commitment on stage three tax cuts and you've said that voters ultimately were on board with that. Do you think voters now are on board with changes to the capital gains tax discount and negative gearing?
PRIME MINISTER: Voters will make their decisions. My job and the job of the Government is to put in place measures that are in the interest of the Australian public. Not necessarily to just make easy decisions, to do the hard decisions that are in the national interest. And my Government has shown a preparedness to do that.
NORMAN: Would you give any assurances to existing investors? Is the Government looking to quarantine existing property investments?
PRIME MINISTER: Everything that we do is focused on those immediate needs. We understand that people are under financial pressure. And what we want to do is to hand down a Budget that assists with those immediate issues, but also looks towards those long-term frameworks of how we set Australia up for the future.
NORMAN: So, you would look to quarantine or grandfather some existing properties?
PRIME MINISTER: People will see the Budget on 12 May, and that's when we'll make our announcements, but we've worked really hard to make sure that people are looked after. We want to make sure that people who are under financial pressures are better off in the short term, but that we continue to build resilience into the economy, whether that's making more things in Australia, the economic transition that's occurring, giving financial support for people. That's why we've done measures already that will be coming through, like the halving of the fuel tax, like the tax cuts for every Australian that will come in on 1 July, and the thousand dollar automatic tax deduction as well that will really assist low and middle income earners.
NORMAN: I wanted to ask you about a really shocking story from this week, of course, the alleged murder of Kumanjayi Little Baby. Obviously, we have a community grieving right now, and there is a very complex set of circumstances, but I'm just wondering, it's shone a spotlight on living conditions in town camps. Do you think there would be value to hold an inquiry into town camps, the funding, the livings standards, ultimately to make sure that kids are kept safe?
PRIME MINISTER: I think we know what the solutions are, and that's why we're contributing around about $4 billion for housing in remote areas.
NORMAN: Is that improving living standards though, in these town camps?
PRIME MINISTER: Absolutely. People are in town camps because they don't have access to enough housing in remote communities, and that will make an enormous difference. It's by far the largest ever investment in housing in the Northern Territory, just like the investment that we have, record, in education. Or recently, the record investment in hospitals as well that we put in place.
NORMAN: So, you don't think there's value in holding an inquiry into these town camps?
PRIME MINISTER: Look, people will, at the moment, people are still grieving in that community, but we know that conditions aren't up to scratch. We know that governments of all persuasions need to do much, much better. We know that we need the full suite of measures to make a difference, whether that be housing, of course, is essential, the security that comes with having a roof over your head, or whether it's the way that we abolished the work program that essentially was pretty meaningless. And we've got now real wages with real training for Indigenous people, whether it be the increased healthcare that we've put in place as well that's so important.
NORMAN: And PM, just to finish off, today's the first anniversary of your second election win. Do you think you have a third election win in you?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, that will be a matter for the Australian people, but I'm certainly motivated. I'm captain of a very strong team, and I'm fortunate to have the privilege of representing Australia. We're the best country on earth. There's nowhere that you'd rather be than Australia, and I think if we get things right, we can really set ourselves up for a very prosperous future. We have everything that will power the global economy this century right here, and that will make an enormous difference.
NORMAN: And you'll be leading Labor to the next election, won't you?
PRIME MINISTER: Absolutely. And so subject, of course, to ongoing support from my colleagues, but as well, every election is tough. And a year ago, we fought a tough election. We received a very strong support from the Australian people, but we certainly don't take that for granted. We'll work hard each and every day.
NORMAN: All right. Thanks, Prime Minister.
PRIME MINISTER: Thanks very much.
