The Prime Minister, Anthony Albanese is on the line. PM, thanks for joining AM.
ANTHONY ALBANESE, PRIME MINISTER: Good morning, David.
LIPSON: It doesn't look like this ceasefire deal in the Middle East has cooled the temperature much here in Australia.
PRIME MINISTER: Well, this is an outrage. Another antisemitic attack that is against everything that we stand for. It is good that yesterday the Australian Federal Police charged a man with allegedly making death threats to members of a Jewish organisation. This is the first charges that have arisen from Special Operation Avalite that I established last month that continues to work to identify prolific antisemites causing high harm in the community. That is why we set it up and it is good that these charges have been laid.
LIPSON: Your Antisemitism Envoy this week told AM that the courts are letting people off too easily when it comes to some of these crimes. Do you agree?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, what I agree is that the laws need to be enforced -
LIPSON: Not hardened?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, they need to be enforced. These are largely state laws and what we want to see is crimes recognised just as that. This isn't just a game. It's not a matter of graffitiing, for example, some other slogan on a wall or something that causes just physical damage. This is causing harm for unity of the community. It's causing fear, which is what it is aimed at. And it needs to be stamped out. And in my view, very strong view, there needs to be the strongest possible action. And if courts have the opportunity to do that, they should be taking that opportunity to send that message that this is completely unacceptable and that crimes will result in appropriate penalties.
LIPSON: We're going to see pro Palestine protests this weekend in Sydney and Melbourne. What's your message to those taking part?
PRIME MINISTER: I think, I've seen the comments from one of the organisers who seems to be just a professional protester about a whole range of issues. What we need to do is to lower the temperature in the community. Australians want to see the conflict end. They want to see hostages released. They want to see people being able to live in peace and security - whether that be Israelis or Palestinians. And they don't want to see conflict brought here to Australia.
LIPSON: The Attorney-General, Mark Dreyfus is in Israel this week meeting with Israeli government officials. Has he made any progress smoothing out what appear to be some pretty serious creases in relations with Israel?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, he's had constructive discussions and of course Israel doesn't have a homogenous political system. It's a democracy, and there are differences, of course, within Israel that have been expressed very clearly both within the Netanyahu administration and within Israeli society. Mark Dreyfus is someone, as our Attorney-General, who is meeting constructively with people. I note that he met yesterday families of the people who have, hostages who have been incarcerated by this terrorist organization, Hamas, for such a long period of time. So, Mark Dreyfus, this was a visit that was due to happen in October. It couldn't happen because of the conflict there so it was delayed. And he goes with the government's goodwill and I'm sure that as he does in all of his political endeavours, engage constructively.
LIPSON: Meanwhile, Penny Wong and Kevin Rudd will attend Donald Trump's inauguration next week. Speaking to AM on Monday, Peter Dutton expressed some doubts about how that will go considering what both have said about Donald Trump in the past. Are you completely confident we have the right diplomatic representation in place to manage the relationship with this particular president?
PRIME MINISTER: I am confident. I'm focused on Australia's interests and so are Australia's diplomatic representatives, including our Ambassador to the United States. I had a great discussion with President Elect Trump immediately after his election. I'll continue to engage in Australia's national interest. I note that Penny Wong is one of the few representatives of foreign governments who will attend the inauguration along with other Foreign Ministers from Quad countries. I think that's a very good thing. In addition to that, Kevin Rudd has been very active developing links with the new administration. And I'm very confident that Australia is showing the importance we place in the United States relationship by having a former Prime Minister as our ambassador.
LIPSON: Has Kevin Rudd had any direct contact with Donald Trump yet?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, there certainly has been contact with the administration and that is how you do diplomacy and that has been very positive.
LIPSON: Anything further than that, though? Has he had direct dealings with Mr. Trump?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, there has been direct contact and that is a good thing that that has occurred. That is how -
LIPSON: When was that?
PRIME MINISTER: A number of weeks, well in recent times, and that has been very positive.
LIPSON: Okay, so where did that happen and what were the, sort of, conditions around that direct contact?
PRIME MINISTER: We engage diplomatically rather than go into those details. That's how we get things done. That's how you do diplomacy and that's how you get results. And Kevin Rudd has worked very hard to develop relationships with the incoming administration. He attended, of course, both of the conventions that were held last year and has continued to engage with the incoming administration.
LIPSON: Was it at Mar-a-Lago? Did he actually visit Mar-a-Lago?
PRIME MINISTER: Oh look, I'll leave that detail to go through to the keeper. What we'll do is, what we do is we engage diplomatically.
LIPSON: You've spent two weeks visiting many corners of this country, from Perth to Tasmania. Is the mood you're picking up from voters conducive to a Labor victory?
PRIME MINISTER: The mood that I pick is two things. One, that people want a government that is supportive of them during difficult economic times as we have been - providing that cost of living relief across the board. I note that the Opposition Leader on your program this week called cost of living relief a sugar hit. He refused to back support for families that we've provided. But secondly, they want an optimistic vision for the future and that is what Labor's Building Australia's Future agenda is about. Where do the new jobs come from? How do we take advantage of the shift to net zero? How do we build new industries, create jobs? And what my government has been able to achieve in taking inflation from having a six in front of it to having a two in front of it, while real wages have been growing for four quarters in a row. And whilst 1.1 million jobs have been created, is very positive. And specific policies that we've announced, whether it be the opening up of access of the new Port in Kununurra or in Wyndham, servicing that East Kimberley region. The Medicare Urgent Care Clinics that are providing that health care with people just needing their Medicare card, not their credit card. Or whether it be the fixing of the Bruce Highway after such a long period of time of delay. These are all important policies that help to build Australia's future whilst making a difference for job creation and importantly, doing economic activity in a way that continues to put that downward pressure on inflation.
LIPSON: PM, very briefly, any plans for a cuppa with the Governor-General this weekend?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, it wouldn't be an interview without being asked about it. I've said repeatedly that in my view, three years is too short a term. We can't get, in spite of Peter Dutton's previous statements of support for some reform in this area, it's clear that that is not going to happen. And so people need to chill a bit. I'm intent on governing -
LIPSON: Help us chill. Are you going to, can you rule out a cuppa?
PRIME MINISTER: I'm intent on governing. Well, the last time a Prime Minister, I make this point. The last time a Prime Minister in advance said when the election date would be, received enormous criticism from every commentator in the Federal Press Gallery, if not at the time, certainly in retrospect. So, I'll take the good advice that has been given and we'll call an election, is due on May 17 or beforehand. But it is a pity that we don't have four year terms in Australia.
LIPSON: I agree with you on that one. Prime Minister, Anthony Albanese, thank you so much for your time.
PRIME MINISTER: Thanks very much, David.
