We have a very special guest in the studio with us right now. Let's welcome the Prime Minister of Australia, Anthony Albanese. Albo, how are we?
ANTHONY ALBANESE, PRIME MINISTER: Listen to the clapping and cheering.
VON: We brought everyone in for you, mate.
PRIME MINISTER: Slim's cheering just outside.
VON: What a clashing of worlds. We've got Fat Boy Slim in the studio next to us and you've walked in at the exact same time. Did you ever go to a Big Day Out back in the day and see Fat Boy?
PRIME MINISTER: I went to the first ever Big Day Out that was held -
VON: Nirvana.
PRIME MINISTER: You probably weren't born.
VON: I was, Carly barely was.
CARLY PORTCH, HOST: Barely.
PRIME MINISTER: It was awesome. And so I went to a few of the Big Day Outs when they held at the Sydney Showground. Saw Chilli Peppers, headlined one year. Nirvana weren't even the headline.
VON: Crazy.
PRIME MINISTER: Nirvana played in the Hordern Pavilion, and everyone there was this buzz about Nirvana at the time, not surprisingly. You know, Nevermind, I think it just come out - the second album. And everyone tried to pile into the Hordern, like 30,000 people or so. It was just nuts.
VON: This is great from you. A real sweat box in there, was it?
PRIME MINISTER: It was fantastic. It was great. It was so good.
VON: That's music history, though, that you were a part of. So that is very cool.
PRIME MINISTER: It was very, very good. And they were a great band and I got to see them.
VON: So jealous.
PRIME MINISTER: They, I think they only toured here that one time.
VON: That was it?
PRIME MINISTER: They did some side gigs. They did a gig at Selina's at that time at Coogee. But they essentially were here for the Big Day Out. I think they were, you know, the third or fourth rung act.
VON: It's crazy, hey. It's absolutely unbelievable. That's music history for me - I love that.
PORTCH: We also have Rhi and Jeff from Married at First Sight going around the building as well. I don't know if you've seen them since you've just stepped in here. Do you watch MAFS?
PRIME MINISTER: Look, not voluntarily.
PORTCH: You're a MAFS watcher. You're doing what my husband does and acts like I force him.
PRIME MINISTER: Well, Jodie is completely addicted to it.
PORTCH: Really? So you do watch it, then?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, it's just on sometimes when I get home.
PORTCH: Do you have a question for Rhi and Jeff?
PRIME MINISTER: No, I don't.
PORTCH: You do. We all have questions, Albo. Come on.
PRIME MINISTER: No, I really don't.
PORTCH: What do you think Dave did?
VON: If it was Dave -
PORTCH: Yeah, what do you think about Dave?
PRIME MINISTER: Oh look, I just find them all interesting.
PORTCH: That was the most politically correct answer I've ever heard.
PRIME MINISTER: I'm being polite here. No, Jodie really likes It.
PORTCH: I think everyone's hooked at this point, whether we want to be or not.
PRIME MINISTER: See, I think what you've got to do, though, I do think you've got to watch it all the way through to get the characters and the way that it changes and the plots. I was concerned, I did watch the episode where the guy, you know, engaged in behaviour that's pretty unacceptable.
PORTCH: Oh yes, Paul.
PRIME MINISTER: I think he should have been kicked off.
PORTCH: I agree.
PRIME MINISTER: That's my view.
VON: Breaking right there.
PRIME MINISTER: You've got to send a message about these things and the behaviour is quite clearly unacceptable.
VON: And speaking about sending a message, Carly -
PORTCH: Well yeah, let's talk about Sam Jones this influencer yesterday, I don't know if you saw Albo, you were going viral on TikTok for your strong message to her after she picked up a baby wombat. It's now come out that she's also picked up an echidna as well. So, are you shocked by this? And she is an American tourist, I believe. There is talk of kicking her out of the country.
PRIME MINISTER: Well, I can tell you this - she's gone.
VON: Is she gone already?
PORTCH: Good riddance.
PRIME MINISTER: She's gone.
VON: Well done. Well done.
PRIME MINISTER: Now a baby wombat and indeed the mother wombat as well, who was clearly distressed. I mean, what on earth was this person thinking? I made the comment yesterday, you know, try it with a croc or we've got lots of animals that can fight back. Crocs and blue ringed octopuses or jellyfish or sharks or -
VON: Baby brown snakes, I had one in my donga over the weekend.
PRIME MINISTER: Or even go up to a big red kangaroo and see how you go getting a joey out of a pouch, see how you go. I know who'll win that argument. It'll be the roo.
PORTCH: Yeah, so she's gone. Is that you exercising your power and kicking her out?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, we were exercising an inquiry about the nature of her visa, but she's gone is what I'm told.
PORTCH: Good. Good riddance.
VON: That's great.
PRIME MINISTER: And I make this point - baby wombats and mother wombats might be slow, but they've been fast enough to chase her out of the country. And that is a good thing.
PORTCH: Absolutely.
VON: That's good from you. Hey, speaking of sending a message and maybe even setting big red roos onto people. Leo DiCaprio, what do we think at the moment? He made those comments the other day.
PRIME MINISTER: Oh look, I don't think Leo, great actor, but I'm not sure he's aware of all the details of the way the EPBC Act works.
VON: Yeah, yeah.
PRIME MINISTER: So people, have a look at the law. There's strict environmental conditions imposed as part of that process. But, you know, he's entitled to put his view, of course.
PORTCH: Well, he is an environmentalist. And I think a lot of people, especially with, you know, like the black cockatoos -
PRIME MINISTER: Yeah there's no doubt that he's a genuine environmentalist. I had a bit of a look at his feeds and, you know, he's been committed to environmental causes for a long period of time. So good on him.
PORTCH: Yeah.
PRIME MINISTER: You know, but we have to make decisions based upon the law and based upon making sure that environmental protection occurs whilst we also support jobs and economic activity.
PORTCH: Now let's talk about Trump for a second. Whether you want to or not, he's just everywhere at the moment.
PRIME MINISTER: He is.
PORTCH: I saw Bill Shorten has come out this morning saying you need to send a strong message to him with these tariffs. But I can also understand that he's not always the most reasonable person to deal with, so I can understand exercising a level of caution when it comes to him. How are you feeling with your dealings with him at the moment? Are you guys building a relationship in the background where you feel like you can find some common ground?
PRIME MINISTER: We do, and I've had two really constructive discussions with him. And three of my Ministers, the Foreign Minister, the Defence Minister and the Treasurer have all been to the United States and met their counterparts. But this has been a decision they've made to impose tariffs across the board. Every single country has been hit with these tariffs. And the last time around there were a range of exemptions, not just for Australia. We put our case for Australia and I'll always stand up for Australia's interest.
PORTCH: Yeah.
PRIME MINISTER: It has been disappointing that Peter Dutton has chosen to not back Australia, but to somehow back this decision by the Trump administration. But tariffs are a cost on the country that's imposing them. So Americans will pay more for the products that they are buying, which will lift their inflation. So I'm not about to engage in economic self-harm by reciprocating as somehow to pay back - because that would hurt consumers here. But what we will do is continue to put forward our case. And certainly the impact it's having on the global economy, we can see the share market responding both in the United States, but everywhere around the world because of these decisions.
VON: Can I make an assumption that you're not on Trump's social media platform, Truth?
PRIME MINISTER: That's a fair assumption. I think social media sometimes can be a good thing, but sometimes it can be a pretty negative thing as well.
VON: Fair, fair.
PORTCH: I think one of the things we can do to counteract some of Trump's tariffs and erratic behaviour is kind of bring it back home and start supporting Australian businesses, which is always a positive.
PRIME MINISTER: That's exactly right.
PORTCH: You did mention Bundaberg's ginger beer yesterday. Is there any other Aussie brands that you would like to see flourish in this time? Like, what are some of your Aussie faves?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, Haigh's Chocolates. There's one.
PORTCH: I didn't even know they are Australian.
PRIME MINISTER: South Australian.
VON: They are Aussie as.
PORTCH: I did not know that.
PRIME MINISTER: They are awesome, and they're the best in the world. We have the best products in the world. Of course you can drink, Australian whiskey rather than bourbon and stuff that's made in the US.
VON: Big tick.
PRIME MINISTER: You can make decisions when you go to the supermarket to buy Australian made products because they are the best in the world. Australian honey, it's better than the syrup and stuff that comes out of the US anyway.
PORTCH: That is true.
PRIME MINISTER: You know, we have great products and as part of the budget in a couple of weeks' time, you'll see a spiced up Made in Australia Plan. We want to make more things here. And today in Perth I'll be with Ed Husic, the Industry Minister - we've got a $750 million dollar announcement for green metals. We want to produce the best steel and the best aluminium in the world that will be in demand around the world. And one way we can do that is to make more things here in Australia. Just like Roger Cook's agenda was Made in WA, our agenda is very much made in Australia.
VON: Mate, I have to ask you a really quick question because you have to go on to the next interview. But I was on the Fortescue Mine sites over the week and they're going green by 2040.
PRIME MINISTER: Yep.
VON: Going up there, I learned about it and it was amazing. What's your thoughts on that? And sorry we have to ask you really quick.
PRIME MINISTER: It's a great thing.
VON: Yeah.
PRIME MINISTER: And what will happen around the world is people will look at the carbon footprint, how much emissions are produced and you'll have a comparative advantage if you have clean, green products. That is a part of the future and it's one that we must seize.
VON: Anthony Albanese, thank you so much for chatting with us today. We really appreciate your time and good luck with the election.
PRIME MINISTER: Great to be back in WA.
