I want to thank James and Lou and young Rommie for welcoming me into their home this morning here in Dulwich Hill in my electorate of Grayndler. They bought here in 2021 so yesterday is the first time that they've seen a rate cut, and that will make an enormous difference to them. They get some relief by the fact that interest rates are now going down. So, my Government has worked with Australians to bring down inflation, to see wages increasing, to see interest rates now falling, a tax cut for every single Australian, and jobs being maintained as well. Some 1.1 million jobs since we're elected have been created in this country more than during any term of any government in history, and indeed, our unemployment rate is at an average lower than any government in the last 50 years. So these have been difficult times. Australians had to endure COVID and then the impact of global inflation. But what we are seeing is that we're heading in the right direction. We have laid important foundations during our first term, and we want to continue to put that downward pressure on inflation, which, when we came to office, had a 6 in front of it, now is at 2.4. Employment has been maintained during that period as well. And importantly, wages are now increasing, four quarters in a row. When we came to office, wages were in decline, inflation was on the way up, interest rates had started to rise. Now we see wages rising, inflation falling, interest rates falling and employment being maintained while tax cuts have been delivered. Happy to take questions.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, are you disappointed that the RBA Governor has given no impression of further rate relief in the near future?
PRIME MINISTER: The RBA Governor has done her job, and the RBA Governor has made some comments that aren't surprising, but importantly as well, if you look at the statement that was made, the first headline in her statement was about inflation falling, and that's important. Down to 2.4 per cent, it's about a third of where it peaked, and much, much lower than when we came to government, where it had a 6 in front of it and was rising at the same time as wages were falling, in real terms, as a deliberate design feature of the former Government's policies.
JOURNALIST: Do you think this cut will be enough to be a political saviour for your Government?
PRIME MINISTER: People will make their own comments. Our job has been to get inflation down. That's been our objective, helping Australians, working with Australians to get inflation down, to get wages up, so that we improve costs of living. We know that Australians have been under significant financial pressure. We know that we continue to work each and every day, the job certainly is not done, we'll continue to do that. But we've put in place the right mechanisms. When we came into government, we inherited a $78 billion Liberal deficit, we turned that into a $22 billion Labor surplus, and then followed that up with another surplus. And the only people that I've seen disappointed by the Reserve Bank Governor is, well, I don't know what Peter Dutton thinks, because no one's seen him since the announcement, but Angus Taylor looked like someone had run over his cat in the driveway yesterday. He looked so disappointed. And they continue to talk Australia down. I'll continue to talk Australia up, because it's the interests of families like James and Lou and young Rommie here that we have that positive approach towards Australia's future.
JOURNALIST: For the average Australian household, it's about $100 a month they'll be saving. What do you think that means to them? Is it actually enough to make a difference in their day to day lives?
PRIME MINISTER: Well the important thing about what James and Lou have said to us here this morning is, for them, it'll make a difference of about $115 a month. That's $115 additional in their pocket, as well as the tax cuts, which is additional cash in people's pockets being delivered for every worker from last July, every pay packet. In addition to that, you see the rise in wages as well. All of these measures come together to make a difference to people. We know that people are still under financial pressure, but Australians have worked hard for this outcome, and Australians deserve praise and support for what they have done.
JOURNALIST: Clive Palmer has announced he's making a political return today. I'm curious, do you think there's a place for him in Australian politics?
PRIME MINISTER: A bloke who spends over $100 million to deliver one Senate seat with a bloke who sits in the corner and just engages in conspiracy theories, I don't think represents value for money.
JOURNALIST: (Inaudible).
PRIME MINISTER: Well, people are entitled to run, but it's a distortion of democracy when you have an individual spending $100 million on a campaign right around the country. I've seen these strange ads have been appearing for months now. I'm not sure what the objective of them is. But, people are entitled to put themselves forward in an election, but if you're a serious political party, then you have to have serious policies. At the moment, there's only one political party in Australia that has serious policies. We've got a serious economic policy. We have a serious health policy of strengthening Medicare, through Medicare Urgent Care Clinics, through the tripling of the bulk billing incentive, through the support for extra GPS that were put in place. We have a serious education policy, from early learning, the increase in wages of child care workers of 15 per cent. Our schools policy, our free TAFE, our Universities Accord. We have a serious environmental policy with a target of 43 per cent by 2030 but with a plan to get there through safeguard mechanism and the capacity investment scheme. And we have a serious policy of engaging in the world. We've restored our relations with Pacific neighbours. We have improved our relations with ASEAN. We've restored trade with our major trading partner in China that's benefited more than $20 billion of exports going to China, have been restored. That has been our approach. The alternative government in this country is not Clive Palmer. The alternative government is a mob that have, after three years, produced three policies. A $600 billion nuclear energy plan, which is not supported by any of the state or territory governments, including David Crisafulli or the Northern Territory Government, with bans in place for nuclear energy, one that will produce a minuscule amount of Australia's energy needs, one that relies upon a 40 per cent less energy use than what the Australian Energy Market Operator says will be necessary and will cost $600 billion that taxpayers have to pay for. And we know that those cuts will be added to their second policy, which is that they'll make cuts. We know last time around, Peter Dutton tried to introduce a GP tax, a tax every time people would visit the doctor, a pharmaceutical tax and cut tens of billion dollars out of the health system, as well as the cuts that were made to education and other essential services. So that's the second part of their policy. The third part is free lunch for some that everyone has to pay for. They're the only three policies they've come up with. Labor is the only political party that has a coherent economic, social and environmental policy in 2025.
JOURNALIST: Figures like Usman Khawaja have said that your Government was too slow to respond to and Islamophobic attack in Melbourne last week, and that it would have been different if it had been an antisemitic incident. Is there any truth in that?
PRIME MINISTER: I have every respect for Usman Khawaja. He's a great Australian, a good cricketer, but a great Australian as well. And so my view is that any attack on people on the basis of their faith or who they are, is reprehensible. And I certainly hope that the perpetrators get tracked down and face the full force of the law. People should be allowed to go about their business in a peaceful and harmonious way. That's overwhelmingly what occurs. Where we are, here in Dulwich Hill, in my electorate, I know that my neighbours and the community that I've been a part of my whole life respect each other, revel in the diversity and celebrate our diversity, and there's no place for these attacks.
JOURNALIST: What do you make of Muslim community leaders saying that you don't take Islamophobia seriously?
PRIME MINISTER: I take all attacks on people on their basis of their faith seriously, and they should all face the full force of the law. We've appointed a Special Envoy on Islamophobia. That's an important step forward. And I'm someone who celebrates our diversity and who respects people, regardless of their faith.
JOURNALIST: Have you been briefed any further on the North West Sydney bomb caravan? And are you confident police will make arrests?
PRIME MINISTER: I'll leave the police to do their job. There have been statements made in the media that make it clear that all is not what it seems from the first reporting of that. But the police have to be allowed to do their job. We know that there are criminal elements have been involved in some of these antisemitic attacks, and that is why some of the preempting of this is not appropriate. I support all of the law enforcement authorities, whether that be the AFP or the New South Wales Police, going about their job.
JOURNALIST: Commuters in New South Wales have had enough, Prime Minister. Is it time for your Government to step in to end this wave of chaos?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, it's time that the rail unions settled this dispute with the Premier of New South Wales, Chris Minns.
JOURNALIST: With an election looming though, will Chris Minns have to move fast if he does want to request federal intervention?
PRIME MINISTER: This is a dispute that is there between the rail union and the New South Wales Government. They were very close to an agreement, and some thought there was an agreement reached on the weekend, I call upon the union to recognise that they will not have public support if they are disrupting people going about their business, going to work, engaging in rail activity that they need to get about this vast city.
JOURNALIST: It's been many, many months of negotiations already, no solution. Can your Government step in? Will your Government step in?
PRIME MINISTER: We want this dispute to be settled, and we've called for all parties to make sure they act responsibly and to settle this dispute. And the rail union needs to recognise that they need to engage in a way that common sense applies.
JOURNALIST: What's your reaction to more unverified pictures of Oscar Jenkins released online in the last few days?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, there has been two videos released in recent days, we seek verification of them, but we continue to say to Russia that Mr Jenkins, as a prisoner of war, is entitled to the law being observed, and we will hold them to account for that. But we've also called for Russia to release Mr Jenkins so that he may return home to his family. I raised this issue as well directly with President Zelenskyy when I spoke to him a fortnight ago.
JOURNALIST: The National Anti-Corruption Commission has announced it will investigate Robodebt. Is that the right call, and would you like to see the sealed section of the Royal Commission report made public?
PRIME MINISTER: The National Anti-Corruption Commission engages in its activities at arm's length from politics and at arm's length from the Government. It was one of the core commitments that we made at the election. Was an independent anti-corruption commission. We've delivered it, and that stands in stark contrast to the former Government that used to promise a lot and never deliver. Scott Morrison presided over commitments at the 2019 election that they would deal with an anti-corruption commission, and indeed, there was legislation that was never even moved in the parliament about that. At the last election, a range of people walked away from the Coalition because they hadn't delivered on climate change, they regarded gender equality as something that was something to talk about but not actually do, and they didn't act on the anti-corruption commission. We've delivered that they should be allowed to do their work at arm's length from the Government. Thanks very much.
