: My special guest this morning, we'll go straight to him. He joins me, the Prime Minister. Good morning, Anthony Albanese. How are you today?
ANTHONY ALBANESE, PRIME MINISTER: Good to be with you Murray.
JONES: Interesting to hear some of the, you know, some of the things that have come out in the last 24 hours. Obviously cost of living through tax cuts, dealing with the interest rates and of course inflation, the key things for the Albanese Government. But this drop in interest rates is certainly welcomed by a lot of Australians I'd say, Albo?
PRIME MINISTER: It certainly is welcomed by all Australians, I think, except for Angus Taylor. The fact is that under Labor inflation is down, wages are up, unemployment is low and now interest rates have started to come down too. And that gives us confidence that the worst of the inflation challenge is behind us. But we can't be complacent. We know that people have been doing it tough. That's why we've instituted such a wide range of cost of living measures to assist people whilst we've been getting inflation down so that the Reserve Bank could make the decision that they've made yesterday.
JONES: It looks like no further rate cuts are on the horizon. Obviously with the election looming, I'm sure you'd like to see a further cut in these interest rates, though?
PRIME MINISTER: Look, we'll wait and see what happens. The Reserve Bank Governor, I think, has a role in expectations and it's not surprising her comments yesterday. But the fact that they cut interest rates indicates what their view is. Inflation is now down to a headline rate of 2.4 per cent and that's been achieved with the hard work of Australians and Australia deserves credit for that. We know that these have been difficult times. We had COVID and then we had a global inflationary environment, in part arising from that. What we've done is deal with those challenges, get inflation down whilst providing cost of living relief, whilst putting in place the system that could have tax cuts for every taxpayer as well as wages going up and that means that people can earn more and keep more of what they earn.
JONES: Now look, speaking of cost of living, obviously one of the key platforms of the Opposition is going nuclear here in Australia. What's your position with respect to the reality of moving forward? If we do end up with nuclear here in Australia, is it likely to actually assist in the bottom line when it comes to the cost of living?
PRIME MINISTER: I'll tell you what it'll do. It'll push power prices up. It's the most expensive form of new energy. David Crisafulli, the LNP Premier of Queensland won't have a bar of it, nor will any other state leader, who all have these bans in place. This is a proposal that says 'just stop what you're doing until the 2040s.' I don't know what would happen to energy security in the meantime because it's impossible for coal-fired power stations to just keep going forever, those that are reaching the end of their life. And this nuclear fantasy, $600 billion of taxpayers' funds for a government-owned energy sector that will provide under 4 per cent of the grid. And their modelling relies upon there being 40 per cent less energy use than what the Australian Energy Market Operator says will be needed by 2050. That's less jobs, less economic activity. That's manufacturing heading offshore. Now, that's not the road that Australia needs to go on. Australia needs to take advantage of where we are. You have there in North Queensland opportunities through projects like CopperString to connect up renewables to the grid. You have there as well a range of opportunities for storage. And with projects like Big Kennedy, Little Kennedy, Kidston that I visited with Bob Katter, we know that there are real opportunities.
JONES: Look, we've had a fairly serious discussion so far. Can I tell you what I cooked for dinner last night, Albo?
PRIME MINISTER: You can mate. I await with bated breath.
JONES: I'll tell you, I donned the apron. One of my favourite dishes. I mean it wasn't just the garlic bread and the stir-fried vegetables I made. I also cooked up some wonderful, wonderful salmon, Australian salmon, one of my favourite dishes. Obviously, you know I love my salmon but do have deep concerns with respect to Macquarie Harbour and some of the pollution there. I know you've given a guarantee to the industry there in Tasmania that you know that the industry will continue. How are we going to take a sustainable approach that, you know, ensures the survival of the industry but also puts a stop to the pollution, and serious pollution, that is occurring there at Macquarie Harbour?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, the new environmental research has been done from the Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies. It shows the population is consistent with where it was in 2014, more than a decade ago, and that the oxygenation efforts are showing positive results. And this is about making sure, as we do with everything that goes on our plate - whether it's cattle or sheep or vegetables - we need to make sure that there is sustainability built in. And that's what my Government's determined to do. So, you can eat your salmon with a very clear conscience. And Australia is an important provider of food, not just here, but for the world as well. And I'm very confident. We've been working with industry to make sure that sustainability gets a tick, but at the same time, we protect those jobs that are so important.
JONES: Yeah, I think finding that balance, because as I've just admitted to you, I do love my salmon, but, you know, some deep concerns moving forward with respect to the pollution. So much we could talk about - the water security project, we've got the additional funding here in the tropical north. Obviously a tough time -
PRIME MINISTER: Sure do.
JONES: Yeah, we've had a tough time too, with the supply chains. I was lucky to get my salmon in the last 24 hours or so, but things are starting to improve. Great to talk to you this morning. I'm sure we'll talk again a lot over the next couple of months as we lead up to the federal election. Prime Minister of Australia, Anthony Albanese, thank you so much for your time. Have a great day and we'll talk soon. Cheers.
PRIME MINISTER: Have a lovely day there in beautiful Cairns.
