Good morning, Prime Minister.
ANTHONY ALBANESE, PRIME MINISTER: Good morning. Great to be with you on a beautiful Sydney day.
BRENDAN JONES, HOST: What a beautiful day.
KELLER: It's gorgeous.
JONES: We're looking out over the Harbour, it's just beautiful. Where would you live? You wouldn't go anywhere else in the world.
PRIME MINISTER: Absolutely. And I'm about to arrive at the new Western Sydney International Airport where Singapore Airlines is ready for takeoff. This is a big deal because Singapore Airlines, as we all know, is one of the world's great hubs. It will give direct access right throughout Asia, into Europe, into so many destinations, and it's a vote of confidence in Western Sydney and in this new airport.
JONES: Are they flying a plane out of there today or is this just you -
PRIME MINISTER: No -
KELLER: No, they announced today -
JONES: No, I know the announcement, but you just had me excited, Albo. I was going, what, there's a plane going to be taking off from there?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, we've got to build it up. But the runway is ready to go.
JONES: Is it?
PRIME MINISTER: Let me tell you, the runway is ready to go. Construction is 85 per cent complete, the terminal's done, it needs some fit outs. It's going to be one of the best airports in the world and certainly the most up to date and efficient airport in Australia. It's going to be quite extraordinary. It's already created 9000 jobs during construction, half a billion dollars in contracts for Western Sydney small and medium sized businesses. And it's leading as well to, there's $17 billion of transport infrastructure underway - roads and the railway line to the airport. It's going to be just a really dynamic piece of infrastructure that will drive investment throughout the whole region.
JONES: And will the trains sync up? Because I was just thinking, say Anthony for example, lands in Sydney, but he lives in Marrickville and he ends up at the Aerotropolis. He wants to get from there, Badgerys Creek to Marrickville. How's that all going to work?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, eventually it will all connect up. The rail line will go to Leppington and link up with the South West line that'll go through there. So, we need to extend it, in my view, down to Macarthur, and we're talking with the NSW Government about that. It will connect, essentially a North South line is well under construction, well underway. I was out there with Premier Minns about a month ago looking at construction with the big tunnel boring machines which are there. And it's just going to be so important to drive that, as you said, an Aerotropolis, which basically means that if you want to drive investment, having a freight hub and having transport connections to the world will encourage businesses to be located around the airport and that will be a huge driver of jobs. So, between that and the Moorebank Intermodal, that is Australia's best, an incredible facility there at Moorebank, with trains connecting up right around the East Coast and a real logistics hub. You have big facilities there, warehouses -
JONES: Can I just interrupt you?
PRIME MINISTER: It's going to make such a difference.
JONES: Amanda's eyes are glazing over because -
KELLER: No, not at all.
JONES: As soon as you mentioned infrastructure, guys like me, I can hear intermodal all day. I can hear about it -
KELLER: But you know what I find interesting about this? This will be a very modern airport in that it's open 24 hours a day. It'll be curfew free, which is how other places operate all around the world. That'll make quite a difference.
PRIME MINISTER: Well, it is going to make an incredible difference and it will mean more competition - It's just about jobs and the economy. And for too long, Sydney has always looked towards the CBD and towards the East. This will turn Sydney towards the West. It will make an incredible difference to the economy here in Western Sydney.
JONES: Yeah, and we're very proud of it. You know, I just love, the new metro is just fantastic.
KELLER: Yes, that's world class.
JONES: You know, call me old, but I'm just getting into, maybe cause I'm heading towards cheap travel on the trains, but it's just fantastic. It just all works.
KELLER: It is. And can I ask you, Prime Minister, I also was interviewed, as you were, for the TV show The Assembly, where 19 autistic journalism students grilled us. How did you find the experience?
PRIME MINISTER: I found it very daunting, let me say, because, look, it was just a lovely thing to do. My episode's on next week and I found it quite extraordinary. There's no holds barred, of course. Nothing was off limits, so you got all sorts of questions from left field. But they were just exciting people. I think it's a great initiative and really good viewing. I've had a sneak look at a couple of episodes on iView and it's just a great thing. Really good people, they put a lot of work into their questions, clearly.
KELLER: They really did.
PRIME MINISTER: And a lot of thought into it.
JONES: Is it true they asked you how many girls have you kissed?
PRIME MINISTER: No, they did ask me about whether I was getting enough kisses off Jodie, though.
JONES: Oh, well.
KELLER: And not Toto the dog?
PRIME MINISTER: Toto got a run, of course. Toto gets a run, and it was very personal. It was much more daunting than the normal interviews that you do because you didn't know what was going to be asked next. And they were intelligent, smart questions that were asked and it was a really good event.
KELLER: Yeah, it's amazing and very moving.
PRIME MINISTER: How did you find it, Amanda?
KELLER: Exactly the same in that every question is asked with an intensity that needs to be respected. And so the questions went from, 'Do you love your husband?' To, 'do you like houseplants?' It was kind of, you know, you never knew what was coming next.
JONES: Albo, though she did say to me, she's been working with me for some years now, so she was kind of -
KELLER: Are you the houseplant?
JONES: She was kind of used to the questioning. Well mate, it's great, this is a great day for us. You look after yourself with those boring machines. I'm not talking about parliament, I'm talking about the infrastructure boring machines. And thank you for joining us.
PRIME MINISTER: Fantastic. Have a great day, everyone.
KELLER: Thank you, you too.
