Good morning, everyone. And welcome to the Boyne Smelter. It's a great morning that we have here this morning in town, and it's great to have all of you with us. My name is Helen Mandell, I'm the Labor Candidate for Flynn. I'm a mother, wife, veteran, small business owner, and Queenslander who has lived here in this region for over 20 years, and I've worked entirely through my time and will continue with the high intention to practice integrity. And it's those values of integrity and honesty and the fair go that I uphold, and I feel the Labor Party - that we're closely aligned, and I see it time and time again with the Labor Party, and that's why I'm proud to say I'm standing with the Labor Party as the Candidate for Flynn. And now I'll hand over to the Prime Minister, Anthony Albanese.
ANTHONY ALBANESE, PRIME MINISTER: Thanks so much, Helen, and it's great to be with you here today and with Senator Anthony Chisholm, who does such a fantastic job, particularly in regional Queensland. I want to thank Rio Tinto for hosting us here today, and for Kellie Parker for showing us around this facility. It's my third visit to this facility, so I'm very familiar with what the important role Rio Tinto and the aluminium industry play here in Gladstone and Central Queensland, in employing Queenslanders and creating value for Australia. What we have here, of course, is the bauxite mined there in Cape York, brought around here, value adding here in Australia. And this is what we want to see. I want a Future Made in Australia and I want more jobs created in value adding right here in Queensland and right throughout Australia. We are going to make Australian steel and aluminium the best in the world. And we're doing that by working with companies like Rio Tinto and BlueScope to make sure that they can decarbonise so that they're in a competitive position, which means their goods and their products will be in demand right throughout the world. Of course, most of the product here that's produced is for Australia for domestic use. But in addition to that, it's a great export industry for Australia. Everyone will value this product because of its high quality. And I want Australian workers to make more things here in Australia. In next week's Budget, we will have a bit more to say as well about buying Australian, about making sure that Australian consumers can also play their role in assisting the creation and maintenance of Australian jobs and Australian economic activity. But this is so important and it's great to be here with Helen, our Labor Candidate for Flynn. I think she's an outstanding candidate. She's someone who's lived in this area for decades here in Central Queensland. She's raising a family here with two children. She is someone who's a small business owner here in Central Queensland as well. Someone who's a veteran and served in the Australian Army and now wants to take that career of service into a new realm, into the House of Representatives. This seat needs someone who will stand up for Central Queensland, stand up for jobs and stand up for a Future Made in Australia. And I'm very confident that Helen will be an outstanding Member. We'll be campaigning really hard in the lead up to the election in May - not long to go now. And the contrast can't be starker between my Government that stands up for Australian interests and Peter Dutton, who last week had an opportunity to actually stand up for Australia, and instead chose to back in the Trump Administration with their tariffs rather than standing up for Australian jobs and Australian industry. Well, we'll continue to make our case, not just to the United States, but around the world, backing our jobs and backing Australian industry, because that's what my Government's committed to do. Happy to take questions.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, I've just got some questions in regards to the systematic failures and serious breaches in child care revealed on Four Corners last night. Does the Federal Government need to take the regulation back from the states to ensure things are safe?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, we of course expect every child who goes into an early learning centre to be treated properly, with respect. Overwhelmingly, it's important to recognise that our children are well looked after by educators and carers in child care centres right around Australia. But last night's revelations on Four Corners are, of course, of deep concern. There needs to be, certainly, investigations and action taken wherever those standards are not met. State governments look after the regulation. That's correct. But, certainly, I'm sure that state governments, including the one here, will have a look at what has been revealed last night - will be really concerned, as anyone who saw that program would be. We love our kids and kids deserve proper care and attention and respect. And that is what everyone should try to deliver.
JOURNALIST: The Greens have already called for a Royal Commission. Will you follow suit, Prime Minister?
PRIME MINISTER: People call for royal commissions whenever anything comes out, immediately. They take years. They cost a lot of money. You don't need a Royal Commission to show that what was on TV last night is wrong.
JOURNALIST: Anthony, thanks for your time today. Will you support Peter Dutton's plans for a referendum to give the Government constitutional powers to deport dual citizens who commit crimes like terror offences?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, this is another thought bubble from Peter Dutton that hasn't made it to lunchtime. This morning you had Peter Dutton on one TV channel calling for a referendum and Michaelia Cash on another TV channel ruling it out. This has not been thought through. It is not clear where this has come from. Peter Dutton wants to talk about anything but cost of living. What my Government has been concerned about is getting inflation down, getting wages up, addressing cost of living pressures. Peter Dutton, one week before the Budget, has no plans - just thought bubbles. Thought bubbles aimed at taking some things that might have occurred in other countries, aimed at dividing people. You know, no one wants criminals to be anything other than being rid of. But this is just a thought bubble from Peter Dutton. It's the second referendum that he's called for. At the same time as he criticises referendums that he voted for, he's gone out there and is now saying we should have two, because he did say we should have a constitutional recognition of First Nations people referendum. And now this idea as well. Well, if he wants a referendum, Parliament is sitting this week, he can float it in the Parliament. But I suspect it'll be like other things, like zonal taxation. Remember that in Queensland? Where he came to Mount Isa and said people in different areas should pay different rates of tax or different referendums. All these thought bubbles are not an excuse to not come up with coherent policies. But the truth is that we've seen this week Coalition Members and members of the public say that they're not ready for government. No wonder members of his own team and his own frontbench are saying that they're not ready for government, that they haven't put enough policy out there. I mean, Angus Taylor this week - on the week before the fourth Budget of my Government, presented by Jim Chalmers next Tuesday - is on a listening tour. I mean, for goodness' sake, when are they going to come up with some serious policy alternatives?
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, the Productivity Commission made a series of recommendations in September, including the need for an overhaul of national quality standards and a federal Child Care Commission. The Government hasn't acted on these and any other recommendations, why is that? And also the Minister responsible, Anne Aly, told the ABC today she couldn't do an interview today because she was travelling. Is that good enough for parents who are worried about the child care system?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, she lives in Perth, so there's these things called planes and it's a big continent, you know, so it is very possible that is the case. But I'm here as Prime Minister answering questions and as Prime Minister, I say that we value child care. No government has put more additional funding into child care than my Government. As a direct result of my Government's actions, we have every family benefiting by $2,700 a year as a result of our Cheaper Child Care plan. As a result of our paying early educators properly, there's a 15 per cent wage increase so that there are actually people in child care centres to look after our youngest Australians. My Government has also abolished the activity test, so that we're guaranteeing three days of early education for every family. My Government will continue to act on child care as we have, compared with the former Government, which made it just harder. We also have a billion dollars for child care infrastructure in outer suburban areas and in regional communities that don't have access to child care.
JOURNALIST: The OECD says central banks should be cautious in cutting rates and are predicting higher inflation. How will your Government ensure the economy remains strong?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, we have brought inflation down from having a six in front of it to 2.4 per cent, in the lower half of the band. We've done that by making sure that we've produced two budget surpluses in a row. We've cut debt figures and interest payments by around about $200 billion as a result of the sensible savings that we've made. Around about $90 billion of savings that we've made in our previous budgets. And we'll continue to put in place responsible economic policy. We have created 1.15 million jobs, while real wages have increased five quarters in a row and inflation is going down. And we have - interest rates have begun to fall. They began to rise before we were elected.
JOURNALIST: Treasury modelling suggests US tariffs will have a negligible impact on Australia's economy. But there are real concerns about the broader implications of a trade war with China and Europe. Is it wrong to suggest the Australian economy is at turning point and can Australians expect cost of living pressures to ease in the weeks and month coming?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, the figures are out there for all to see. Which is, a turning point, is when you have inflation going from having a 6 in front of it to having 2 in front of it at 2.4 per cent, where you have unemployment with a 4 in front of it, relatively low, with 1.15 million jobs being created. You have real wages increasing, you have interest rates have started to fall. All of those indicators are positive. In addition to that, we've delivered tax cuts for every Australian taxpayer, Free TAFE, Cheaper Child Care, Cheaper Medicines. All of these have had an impact on people's living standards. We understand that over the past five years, with COVID and then the long tail of COVID and global inflation, it has been difficult times. That is why we have taken action. And it stands in stark contrast with Peter Dutton, who has opposed every single one of our cost of living measures and has - once again, we've seen today with this latest thought bubble about a second referendum being held if he's elected to Office. We don't have practical plans on cost of living measures, we just have opposition from Peter Dutton. Last one.
JOURNALIST: Hydrogen projects have fallen over in (inaudible) and other locations. Is it still feasible to bank on hydrogen, or is the Government looking at alternatives?
PRIME MINISTER: Green hydrogen, we believe, has a role to play in Australia's future and indeed that's recognised around the globe. When the solar industry was starting off decades ago, there were many who said, 'oh, it doesn't stack up.' We know today that solar energy is the cheapest form of new energy. Green hydrogen - Australia is in a unique position of having the best solar resources in the world, amongst the best wind resources in the world. We have everything that can go into the creation of green hydrogen to create green metals, is very important going forward. And that's why as well, you will see first mover advantage around the world. We are the envy of countries like Japan and South Korea who simply aren't in a position to have the space to be able to have this investment. And that's why companies like Rio Tinto are backing renewables. Are backed by, of course, gas, in order to be a part of the transition to a clean energy economy. Australia needs to be ambitious. We must be optimistic. We can create more jobs here. We can be a renewable energy superpower for the world. And working with the private sector is what we are doing. Working with companies here like Rio Tinto, here in Gladstone and in the Hunter Valley and at Bell Bay, to make sure that we can make that positive difference, create jobs and create wealth for Australia. Thanks very much.
