: It was no coincidence that Anthony Albanese started his New Year in Regional Queensland in Gympie and now in Cairns. And this time instead of bringing his boardies and thongs, the PM, well, he has been all business. As you've been hearing in our local news, he's announced a multi-million dollar boost to social housing for some of the most remote and disadvantaged Indigenous communities in the country. And also an unprecedented injection to fix the Bruce Highway. Prime Minister Albanese, thank you very much for being with us on ABC Far North. I can think of a few places that perhaps you'd rather be in your first week of January than doing this interview.
ANTHONY ALBANESE, PRIME MINISTER: Good morning Charlie. Not at all. On a previous January I drove the Bruce from Cairns all the way down to Brisbane, joined by Senator Anthony Chisholm and Senator Nita Green for various parts of it. And it certainly got me very familiar with every bit of the road there. And I did three road trips during COVID when I was locked out of out of New South Wales. And it's always good to be back in Queensland. I've got to say, it's better than last year when I was here, of course visiting places like Wujal Wujal and Holloways that were impacted by the aftermath of the cyclone with the landslides and flooding and the devastation that was there for those communities. But they're resilient communities, of course, and it's fantastic that part of our announcement yesterday was of course for community infrastructure at Wujal Wujal, but also important housing infrastructure to allow more housing to be built in these communities. It's the second round of our housing infrastructure program and today we've got, in addition to the funding that's coming to Far North Queensland, an announcement right throughout Queensland of over $210 million for community and housing infrastructure.
MCKILLOP: Prime Minister, what we didn't know one year ago that we do know now is that the repair bill after Cyclone Jasper, well it exceeded something like $3 billion. What do you say to the many, many residents across Far North Queensland who are still not back in their homes, still faced with dislocation, roads that haven't been repaired and infrastructure that hasn't been replaced?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, we have provided significant funding of course, whether it be for individuals who are impacted either directly by having their homes impacted or their jobs and employment impacted. But in addition to that we provided funding for councils that were impacted to fix up and repair some of the work that was done. I understand that the impact of such an event is ongoing and certainly my Government remains committed to doing what we can to work with other levels of government to provide support for people on that basis. The impact of these extreme weather events is having an effect right throughout the country. Just a week or so ago, I was in Melbourne flying over the Grampians for the bushfires that were impacted there, and we are seeing, of course, over a period of time, more extreme weather events and they've become more intense. So, that's one of the reasons why we need to make sure, when we build infrastructure as well, that we do it in a way that is resilient. And that's just one of the funds that my Government has created, is to support communities, to make sure that the impact of these events is minimised.
MCKILLOP: Prime Minister Anthony Albanese with you on ABC Far North on his way from Cairns to Mount Isa today, but speaking with you first. And I did mention earlier that you've come with the cheque book. Monica, just reminding me - Charlie, that it's not the Prime Minister's cheque book, it's our cheque book. We're the taxpayers and we're the ones that are spending for these commitments. But what you have announced in the past 24 hours or so is more than $7 billion for the Bruce Highway, nearly $50 million for housing support across some of our most remote Indigenous communities, and also some of those community infrastructure projects that you alluded to, including for the PCYC here in Cairns, the Redlynch Community Sporting Precinct, a cultural knowledge centre on Dixie Station for the Olkola people, and some shared cycle and pedestrian paths in Mapoon, just to name a couple of the seven. Just to be clear, these things are only going to happen if you're elected, is that right?
PRIME MINISTER: No, this is part of a government program on an ongoing basis. What surprised me last year was that Peter Dutton said he was going to have a housing policy and he came up with something that's already in place to support housing infrastructure. So, what this is about is the infrastructure that will enable housing to be built, whether it's social housing or private housing as well. Too often there's been a delay because of a lack of things like sewerage and energy connections, making sure that projects can proceed and we can have increased housing supply. When it comes to community infrastructure, they've been through an extensive process of our regional program and all of those projects have been through intense scrutiny and they will go ahead. I was very pleased to be at the PCYC yesterday with Matt Smith. We had a little game of pickleball with some of the local kids from the local schools. The PCYC does a fantastic job there and providing increased support for that facility that was funded the last time - when I was the Regional Development Minister more than 10 years ago, will allow for an upgrade of those facilities, but that funding will be available.
MCKILLOP: Well, I'm not sure how Matt Smith goes on the pickleball arena, but we do know that he cuts an imposing figure on the basketball court, Prime Minister, at 210 centimetres, no less. Has your press office thought of bringing along a step ladder when you two try to stand shoulder to shoulder?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, I've got to say that a friend of mine sent me a photo of his TV screen while I was speaking at yesterday's press conference.
MCKILLOP: Yes, I was watching the same screen.
PRIME MINISTER: And all you can see is Matt Smith's chest. But he did inform me last night we had an event for supporters, just a gathering there at Brothers Club here in Cairns. And he informed me that that's why he puts his name tag on his chest, so at least you can see the name tag of this man who is very big in stature, but he's big in ideas as well. And he'll be big on delivery for the people of Cairns and Far North Queensland. He's an awesome candidate and of course he's very passionate. And I think when it comes to sport, I think pickleball is probably quite a good one because if you hit the ball low to him, he's got a long way down and you don't have to do that as much in basketball.
MCKILLOP: Indeed, indeed. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese in Cairns and with you on ABC Far North Breakfast. And I know you've got many other engagements to get to, Prime Minister, but I just wondered, did Matt Smith give you a bit of an elbow in the ribs? You spent quite a bit of time in that press conference yesterday extolling the virtues of the outgoing Member for Leichhardt, Warren Entsch, not the bloke you've endorsed to replace him?
PRIME MINISTER: No, Warren Entsch is a good bloke and I have good relationships with people across the Parliament. I was Leader of the House in the Parliament for six years and my door is always open to Members of Parliament. As Prime Minister, I want to represent the whole country and I wish Warren Entsch well in his retirement. But Matt Smith will be an amazing new Member. I think that Cairns in this region can have a look at Matt, have a look at his record. Not just, of course, on the basketball court. He obviously was a champion, but he's been a champion advocate for this area as well. He went to work at the Council for a while, doing the sort of community work, connecting up. He is someone who is interested in making sure that workers get paid and remunerated properly. He's someone who's passionate about climate change and the need to act. And we know that Peter Dutton would just be a return to denial and delay and all of the cost of living measures that were put in place. Whether it be Cheaper Medicines, whether it be the support for aged care and childcare reforms, our support for a tax cut for every taxpayer rather than just some. All of those have been strongly supported by Matt Smith and I think he'll be a great representative for this community if he receives support, and I certainly hope that he does.
MCKILLOP: Prime Minister, I've been asking our listeners this morning, what is the promise, what are they hoping to hear from you during your visit? Brian asks what you're doing to attract and retain medical doctors to our regions, particularly our hospitals. Tully, Innisfail, Babinda, Mossman. What are you doing about this? Because we are losing doctors at a rate of knots and it is biting hard in those smaller communities outside of Cairns.
PRIME MINISTER: Yeah, we're doing increased training is really important to make sure that we train more Australian doctors, but of course also we're attracting doctors from overseas to supplement that. In addition to that, our Medicare Urgent Care Clinics are making an enormous difference. We promised 50 of them, we've delivered 87 are open as we speak. I visited one in Rockhampton just a couple of days ago and there, there were five new doctors. Five. Commencing on the Monday. Really proud to be working, backing up Medicare. All that people need, of course, in an Urgent Care Clinic is to bring their Medicare card. And more than a million Australians have benefited from that direct care. And what that has also done is to take pressure off emergency departments of hospitals. So, supporting that primary health care is really important. We've tripled the bulk billing incentive for Medicare as well -
MCKILLOP: If you can get to see a doctor, that's the thing, if they're not there, bulk billing isn't going to do you much good. I just have - I know you've got to go and I have got the news around the corner.
PRIME MINISTER: I understand that, which is why we are addressing supply.
MCKILLOP: If, well, as you say, Warren Entsch is a great bloke, you would be very well aware that he's staked the end of his political career on one specific commitment, and that is to achieve power, renewable energy, in the form of a micro grid for residents who have lived without access to mains power for decades north of the Daintree River. Now, your Minister withdrew an $18 million contract that was awarded by the previous Morrison Government to build that micro grid a couple of months ago. The Minister, Chris Bowen, offered no explanation at the time except to say that your Government remained committed to real renewable energy solutions. Prime Minister, what is that supposed to mean to residents who are not able to take for granted, like every other Australian, the ability to flick a switch?
PRIME MINISTER: That we'll make sure that projects stack up before they receive support. Taxpayers' dollars, as one of your listeners indicated, is precious. It is taxpayers' money. And we want to make sure that every allocation of every dollar is appropriate and that it delivers on what it said the intention is. So, I understand Mr. Entsch's position. He has raised this issue with me directly. But of course, the former government was there for a very long period of time and never delivered this. Like they didn't deliver so much, like they sat on their hands, essentially, when it came to upgrading the Bruce Highway. We're getting things done, whether it be the transition to net-zero and support for renewable energy or support for road infrastructure like the Bruce Highway, which will save lives.
MCKILLOP: Prime Minister, I better let you hit the road. You've got a big day ahead of you.
PRIME MINISTER: We sure do. Then on to the Northern Territory and then on to Kununurra. So, it's a very big day.
MCKILLOP: Right. Well, good luck and thank you very much for being with our listeners on ABC Far North.
PRIME MINISTER: Thanks so much, Charlie.
