KEITH PITT, AMBASSADOR-DESIGNATE TO THE HOLY SEE: Well, good morning, and welcome, Australian press, to Rome. It is my absolute privilege and honour to introduce of course Prime Minister Anthony Albanese. And PM, congratulations for your election result and to your team. To be here at Domus Australia, which is uniquely Australian in Rome, I want to thank our hosts here very much for providing this opportunity, on a Saturday in Rome. Where things are usually a quiet start, and of course, we're here for the inauguration tomorrow. So, without further ado as the Ambassador-designate to the Holy See, on Australia's behalf, Prime Minister welcome to Rome.
ANTHONY ALBANESE, PRIME MINISTER: Well, thanks very much, Keith and can I also say what an incredible honour it is to be here at Domus Australia. And I thank the Archbishop of Sydney, His Grace, and also the Archbishop of Melbourne, Archbishop Comensoli, for the warm welcome and the tour here of what is a very important and holy place for Australians who live in Rome and who visit the Holy city here. Tomorrow will be a very special day. It will be a special day for the 5 million Australians of Catholic faith, but of the more than a billion world citizens who regard the inauguration tomorrow of Pope Leo as being so important for His Holiness, and it is a great honour for me to be here representing Australia. I want to acknowledge Senator Don Farrell and Michael McCormack, as well as the Ambassador-designate and Her Excellency the Governor-General who represented Australia at the funeral of the late Pope Francis, who was much loved in Australia.
In 2028, Australia will host the World Ecumenical Congress and as part of this visit, we will be inviting His Holiness, Pope Leo, to visit Australia at that time and give us that honour. One of my first memories is of Pope Paul VI visiting Pyrmont Bridge Road, Camperdown, across the road from my house, which was the Royal Alexandra Hospital for Children. And my mum took me across to get close to Pope Paul. It was one of the very important moments in my mum's life, I was just a little kid at the time. But it is of great significance that Australia is able to participate here. I'll also be engaging and taking the opportunity of a range of meetings tomorrow with world leaders who will be here for this important event.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, how does this experience make you reflect on the role of the Catholic faith in your life? And if you pray for Australia, what do you pray for?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, my prayers are a personal thing and I try to separate that from my role as Prime Minister, but part of who I am is my upbringing and my faith that I was raised with, as an important part of who I am. When Pope Leo gave his address after his election, he spoke about peace and justice in the world, and following on from what I think was an extraordinary role, that Pope Francis played, in sending out that message of justice and looking after the vulnerable and the poor, of being compassionate and kind, is important in today's world, where we have so much turbulence, and people are looking for some constancy, and they're looking for higher values and a belief, that is important.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister have you sought a meeting with the US Vice President while he's also in Rome this weekend?
PRIME MINISTER: No, but we will, I'm sure – tomorrow morning there will be leaders gathered together and I'll take the opportunity, if it arises, to introduce myself to the Vice President and along with other leaders. We have been – it’s been fairly rushed, obviously. The nature of this has been that some formal meetings are still trying to be bedded down in terms of times. We do have a formal meeting scheduled with Prime Minister Carney, and also with Ursula von der Leyen from the European Union, and there’s a potential for some others as well.
JOURNALIST: PM, a lot of Australians wouldn't be familiar with how the Inauguration Mass, what it’s about, it happens rarely. Are you going to get the chance in the formal procedures at all to talk to any leaders of the Catholic Church here? Because you may have an opportunity, I suppose, to put a personal message to the Catholic leaders here about the visit of Pope Leo to Australia. Can you do that in any way?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, I'll wait and see tomorrow. There is either a potential opportunity tomorrow afternoon immediately after the Mass, or on Monday morning, but those things are still being put in place.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, are you catching up with any of your family here? Because you obviously have a lot of family ties here with your Italian heritage.
PRIME MINISTER: I'm hopeful that some will be able to pop up to Rome. I'm unable to go to where my family are in Barletta because of the schedule at this time, but I'm hopeful that that will occur.
JOURNALIST: PM, what will be your message to Ursula von der Leyen around the EU free trade deal? Do you think you might be able to actually achieve anything given the speedy nature of this trip?
PRIME MINISTER: That we're up for a deal with the European Union. We support free and fair trade. We're up for a deal, but not any deal at any price. We’re up for a deal that's in Australia's national interest. The last time around, we weren't able to achieve breakthroughs on agriculture. I had a range of discussions with Ursula von der Leyen at that time, both in Europe, but also at other forums, including at the G20. So we remain – it's not like the negotiations have to start at the beginning, there's been years of negotiation, and I think the Europeans now know that unless there's a deal that's in Australia's national interest, then we won't sign up. And the blockage, it was very much agriculture.
JOURNALIST: Does it have a strategic element to it now? That trade agreement with Europe? Because it's not just about commerce, is there a greatest strategic imperative to closer relations with Europe?
PRIME MINISTER: The world understands that free and fair trade and global markets can't be taken for granted. There has been disruption, and we've seen that as a result of the decision of the Trump Administration, and that threatened global growth, and will have an impact. Far greater, it must be said, than any potential impact of any particular tariffs on Australia. There's a great deal of concern that following the global economic pressure arising from the biggest inflation spike since the 1980s, globally, which is what we have been going through in recent years. There's concern that disruption to trade will result in lower economic growth and less activity. So, this was part of the theme that I discussed with the Indonesian President in Jakarta. It's something that is of concern right around the world because the United States has the world's largest economy, has an impact when it engages in the positions that it has put forward.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, a deal that’s in Australia's national interest – what does a good deal look like for Australia with Europe?
PRIME MINISTER: A good deal looks like one that will create more jobs in Australia and more jobs in Europe. You're looking for a win-win from trade deals, and so we want more jobs, more economic activity, as well as, of course, protecting our national interest. So, issues such as biosecurity, are an issue, in relation to the United States. I don't think it's an issue with regard to the European arrangements.
But what we want, is something that ensures that we get more economic activity, and I'm sure Europe's starting point is the same. If you look at the Australia-UK free trade agreement, for example, that has resulted in wins for both nations. Particular wins for us in terms of sheep meat, lamb, and beef, wine. There've been a range of real increases in exports to the United Kingdom as a result of that agreement. So, we'd be looking for, similarly, wins for both Australia and Europe and I'm sure that we will task – I wouldn't expect any big announcements of rising out of tomorrow – but what we will be able to do is to renew that liaison at a leader level between myself and Ms. von der Leyen.
JOURNALIST: Just on Oscar Jenkins, Prime Minister, sentenced to 13 years in a Russian prison. Is there anything Australia can do now to try and get him out of that?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, we will continue to make representations and continue to advocate on behalf of Mr. Jenkins. Let's be very clear. This sentence by Russia is an outrage. It is a continuation of the way that they have behaved. Abrogating their international responsibilities. This conflict began with them choosing to invade a sovereign nation and to abrogate their responsibility to uphold international law. And so we'll continue to advocate very strongly on behalf of Mr. Jenkins, and we don't believe that this is a legitimate decision by a legal process in Russia, that is very politicised as we know.
JOURNALIST: Is one of your possible meetings when you're here with President Zelenskyy? And also just on trade, if I may, the luxury car tax and geographic indicators have been one of the big discussion points around trade – things like the naming of prosecco and feta. Can you just give us an update about where they are up to? Are they – luxury car tax on the table? GIs? Where are we at?
PRIME MINISTER: The Europeans, obviously, will forward what is – what they think is in their interest. We’ll put forward what we believe is in Australia's interests. One of the things about naming, though, is that for a range of the products, such as prosecco to give just one, that are produced in Australia, the naming rights of those products are related to migrants from Europe who've come to Australia and produced products that they continue to call feta or prosecco because they're based upon the heritage. That's something that the Europeans should be proud of, in my view. We are very proud, just here in this most beautiful church, it represented the different communities that make up the Catholic population in Australia. It’s something – we’re a multicultural nation, and so we will put forward sensible propositions on that. But I do think, as I've pointed out now publicly, what I've said previously to Ursula von der Leyen other European representatives, that is something that should be a source of pride, in my view, for them. And the idea that you still produce feta, but you call it something else, it doesn't change what it is. It's, in my view, not appropriate, so -
JOURNALIST: And on Zelenskyy, Prime Minister?
PRIME MINISTER: That is one of the potential meetings, but with travel and time zones and everything else we are trying to nut that down.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, you've secured your second term with a huge majority, and on the free trade deal, to hold that up for a couple of thousands of tons of beef, wouldn't that be an abrogation of what you have secured, which is the ability now to move beyond what you were limited to your turn your last term? Do you really want to see a strategic partnership with Europe, jettisoned over a couple of thousands of tons of beef? And if you have one outcome that’s geopolitical – aside from attending the inaugural Mass – when you go home from this, what is it that you would like to say you achieved, as of being here?
PRIME MINISTER: On the former, look, that is one of the things that we’ll assess. We’ll assess our national interest, and these things are always trade-offs. If we can secure more access, we think that is in Europe's interests as well. We have good products. That's why they're in demand, not because people particularly like the flag of the country they're from, it’s because of the quality of the products. So, Australia is in a position, I think, to secure an arrangement. I certainly hope that that's the case. And we'll continue to do that.
On outcomes – we've already achieved, I think, substantial outcomes from the visit to Indonesia. It was very constructive, it was warm, provided for a really concrete example of the next step in our friendship. Here in Europe, I think the fact that tomorrow I'm going to be able to have discussions with so many world leaders in one place. One of the issues of being an Australian is that unlike in Europe, with land borders, where people can meet regularly, it is harder, obviously, for us to travel and have those face to face meetings. This will be an opportunity. The prime purpose though, is tomorrow's inauguration, and nothing will overshadow that tomorrow.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, just a quick question. Ben Roberts-Smith lost his appeal over the civil finding against him, over his behaviour in war. Is it time for the Australian War Memorial in Canberra to remove references to him in its exhibits?
PRIME MINISTER: I have no comments on those matters. I know there's been legal matters taking place between various media organisations. I haven't commented before, and I won't comment after. Thanks.