ANTHONY ALBANESE, PRIME MINISTER: Good afternoon. It's been a very busy day here in London. It began with a meeting with my friend Tony Blair and a catch up here at Stoke Lodge. I then spoke at a conference with the Prime Ministers of Iceland, Canada, the UK, and who was your fourth? Me. And then - it's been a long day. And then I've had bilaterals with the Prime Minister of Spain, the Prime Minister of Canada and the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. Australia and the United Kingdom have a shared history. We have a strong relationship, and we, of course, have similar values as well that we share. And the relationship has been cemented with the AUKUS relations on defence and security. It was an opportunity to discuss with Prime Minister Starmer, the support that is there strongly building, the fact that we have Australians who are being trained here in the UK. On a previous visit, I went up to Barrow to look at the facility which is there, and indeed to talk to people who are being trained there, as well as we move forward. We also talked and have agreed to further advance our relationship through critical minerals by sharing cooperation as well. That will be important, particularly in the defence area. But the free trade agreement has been a great success as well, and we're seeing exports to the United Kingdom increase across a range of products, particularly in food areas and agriculture as well. I also had a meeting with Kemi Badenoch, the Leader of the Opposition here, and members of her team, the Shadow Education Secretary, and other members of her front bench team here as well, and that was a constructive opportunity. We've always had bipartisan relations between Australia and the UK. It was a good opportunity to meet Mrs. Badenoch for the first time, but also to engage with members of her team. Happy to take questions.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, would you support Tony Blair running a provisional authority in Gaza? And can you tell us a bit more about what you've discussed today?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, we did discuss the Middle East, was one of the issues that we discussed. Tony Blair, of course, has played a role in that. There was an opportunity to be briefed by Mr. Blair on some of what he has undertaken and the discussions that he's had. I don't want to preempt those processes, but it was an important opportunity to be informed.
JOURNALIST: Would it be a good idea for him to have a role like that?
PRIME MINISTER: It would be a good idea for a two state solution to be advanced, and a good idea for there to be an immediate ceasefire. And certainly, there are a range of people are working hard, and Australia has participated. Of course, we, on Sunday, recognise Palestine, in conjunction with, three of the five eyes countries, the United Kingdom and Canada, and that was as a result of the extensive discussion and cooperation which has taken place. The world wants to see this conflict end, and the world wants to see the violence end,
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, is there anything that you can learn from Mr. Starmer in terms of how he might deal as a left or progressive leader with Donald Trump when you have differences on issues like climate change?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, I think that you just deal with these issues in a straightforward manner. I've had constructive discussions with President Trump on the phone and then in person this week in New York, I look forward to the discussion with President Trump on October 20.
JOURNALIST: In the panel this morning, you spoke about the disciplined approach to legislating all your promises and earning the trust of the voters. And then you said, only then that'll give you the sort of currency, I think you said, address the broader issues like equity. Is that, is that still your intention, you may look at tax issues later in your term? Is that where you're getting at there?
PRIME MINISTER: I look at - it wasn't about specifics. It was about general approach to government. And our approach to government has been to make commitments. We have a big agenda. If you look at when you go through what we have done that began on July 1, or what we've done this week, let alone since May the 3rd, it's a very big agenda. Going forward, there's more to do. We will have further international issues to finalise. We have a social media ban, which will come in on December 10. We have further legislation to do. So it's a matter of having an orderly approach to government, is what we have had. And to explain why we are doing things. So one of the contexts of that today was about stage three of the tax cuts. I went to National Press Club, announced what we were doing and why we were doing it. And that went from being controversial to being a policy that went through the parliament, both houses, unanimously.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, it's clear from both of what Keir Starmer was saying and then Mark Carney that you need real wage growth and you need controlled migration to ensure that the far right don't get a hold. What lesson is there for Australia on that front, acknowledging that we have real wage growth in Australia?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, we have unashamedly put forward, before the Fair Work Commission, on each and every occasion, at least a maintenance of real wages. And indeed, we've seen an increase in real wages. We're seeing wages increase as a share of GDP, and we're seeing real wages increase now six or seven quarters in a row. That's a plus. You need to make sure that working people understand they have a stake in the system, and we want an economy that works for people, not the other way around. You do that by making sure that wages and conditions are protected. And one of the things we've done since the election is to legislate, as we said we would, the protection of penalty rates that matters a difference to people. And that's a commitment that we made, just as we have a strong commitment, before 2022 we said what we would do on Operation Sovereign Borders. We have kept Operation Sovereign Borders. We've continued to maintain a strong control of our borders. We have turned back boats. We've done things that we said we would do, and that's been important to ensure that you can have that faith from people that you're prepared to undertake an orderly system.
JOURNALIST: Does it keep the far right in check, though?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, you know, I'm not here to comment on everyone else's views, other countries. What I'd say is that in Australia, we have a strong position, and that's been important. People are concerned about elements of the far right rising in various countries. What our job is to do is to make sure that people continue to have faith in the system. That's something that my Government's very focused on.
JOURNALIST: There was quite a discussion this morning, Prime Minister, about your side of politics reclaiming the title of patriots. Can you tell us what progressive patriotism means in the Australian context?
PRIME MINISTER: What it means is being proud of who we are, and in Australia we are, whether it's the First Nations people that we should be proud of the fact we share our continent with the oldest continuous culture on Earth, we should be proud of the fact that we on gender issues, were one of the first places in the world to have women not just vote but stand for parliament and get elected to parliaments. We should be proud of the fact that we've built a multicultural society, one where people are respected regardless of their faith, regardless of their background as well. We're building a society that can be, in my view, a microcosm for what we want to see around the world, which is respect for each other. Respect for each other, regardless of people's background as well, and respect as well for our fair go principles. One of the things about Australia is the language that we use, you know, 'fair dinkum', 'fair go'. What does that mean? Fair dinkum, that people are straight with each other, straight talking. Fair go is something that's in our DNA. We should be proud of that as Australians, we punch above our weight when it comes to sporting contests around the world. For a country with 27 million people, you look at where we are on everything from the Olympic tables to where we are in various codes of sports, but we also punch above our weight in terms of our standing in the world. As the Australian Prime Minister, it always strikes me that people have respect for us and who we are and our values, and we shouldn't underestimate that. And quite often, sometimes we think that we aren't quite as significant as we are. We're a middle power. We say what we think. To go back to some of the other questions, we are prepared to stand up for our values, and that is what progressive patriotism looks like, not adopting someone else's views because they're bigger or because of where they're located in the world, but being proud of what we have done as Australians.
JOURNALIST: PM did you advise Sir Keir to muscle up on borders? Given the lessons your Labor movement learned when you were in a world of trouble, did you sort of give them a note saying, 'mate, there's only one way to do this'?
PRIME MINISTER: I have private discussions with people, and they stay private, but my job is to advocate for Australia, and that's what I do.
JOURNALIST: The rise of the, rise of the Reform UK party has been quite extraordinary here in the UK, we've seen that polling trajectory for Labour here. Keir Starmer talked a lot this morning about grievance politics, and we've seen that rise through the pandemic. And you know that fragmentation we get through social media and such. Are you worried back home about grievance politics? In terms of when we look at the two major parties and that primary vote slide, how do you define grievance politics? I mean, is that something where people have a legitimate concern about something that shouldn't be dismissed?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, grievance politics, I think, have seen an example of it without being too partisan. I think one of the reasons why the last election campaign saw one side of politics speak about grievance without putting up any solutions over that period. It's something that I've said publicly, and something that you would have heard me say before. I felt that there wasn't the alternative policy work or constructive discussion, and I think they paid a price for that on the 3rd of May, frankly. It's always easy to just try and tear things down. What's hard is building things up. Serious people in politics want to build things up, and they want to leave, make a difference, not just occupy the space, not just identify, 'oh, there's this problem'.
JOURNALIST: So that's the job ahead for Keir Starmer?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, the job ahead for people in politics, in my view, for serious people in politics, is always to come up with solutions and to come up with programs that take countries forward, not just to identify where issues are. We know there are big challenges going ahead. Some of those require really complex solutions that I don't think anyone, for example, I haven't seen anyone say, 'okay, here's how we're going to deal with artificial intelligence that will see us benefit, take all the benefits and remove all of the problems'. That's something that we've got to talk through as a society. It's something that we've got to examine. It's going to change the way that our society works. It'll change the way that all of you work in the media. We need to have that debate, have those serious discussions as well. Not just say, 'oh, well, it's all bad, we know there's a problem, so we should just dismiss it'. That takes you nowhere. That's a cul de sac. What you need is roads that take you forward.
JOURNALIST: But back to his question. You didn't quite get to his question.
PRIME MINISTER: Well, I did. You might not have liked the answer.
JOURNALIST: It's about the rise of Reform. Are you anxious, as a prominent Western leader, one who's been feted today, that we could have this party, a far right party, rise to such prominence in Britain?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, I don't want to see the rise of populist organisations such as that. I met with the mainstream Opposition party here. And you know, I'm involved in - parties of governance have to come up with solutions, not seek to divide people.
JOURNALIST: Have you ever met Nigel Farage, Prime Minister?
PRIME MINISTER: No.
JOURNALIST: PM, Australia and the United States have very different positions on Palestine. Is the presence of someone like Tony Blair a potential bridge between the governments on this big problem in the Middle East?
PRIME MINISTER: Well Tony Blair is someone who's always played a constructive role. He's someone who does look for solutions. He's someone who has been involved in the Middle East issues for some period of time, and I'm sure that he will always play a constructive role, because that's the nature of Tony Blair.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister Starmer has met with President Trump a number of times. Did you share notes? Or did he give you any insights about where he is at with the AUKUS submarine deal?
PRIME MINISTER: He affirmed, not so much, we don't share notes about private conversations, and we certainly don't talk about them at press conferences. But if you have a look at the public comments that have been made recently here in the UK, including by His Majesty King Charles, raised AUKUS very clearly in the presence of President Trump and Prime Minister Starmer, during the visit.
JOURNALIST: But President Trump didn't say anything back. He's actually never acknowledged AUKUS.
PRIME MINISTER: Well, there is no indication that I've seen of anything other than support for AUKUS going forward. It is in the interests of all three nations. It's in the interests of Australia, in the interest of the United States and in the interest of the United Kingdom.
JOURNALIST: PM, the US President says he won't allow the Netanyahu Government to annex the West Bank. Do you take a lot of comfort from that about the role the US could now play? And do you see Australia as potentially being able to play a role financially at some point in the future, in the rebuilding of Gaza?
PRIME MINISTER: Look Australia are not big players in the Middle East. The United States is a major player in the Middle East. The United States obviously will have a role, and we await that. But President Trump, as I have said, is someone who's an advocate for peace, not an advocate for conflict, and I think that President Trump's comments were very consistent with that.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, you've had a couple of questions about AUKUS. I think just to cut to the chase, did your conversations with Keir Starmer here, and also what you've heard from Washington, do they give you any increased confidence in AUKUS going ahead, after the meetings you've had this week?
PRIME MINISTER: I have always been confident about AUKUS going ahead, and every meeting I've had and discussions I've had with people in the US Administration have always been positive about AUKUS and about the role that it plays. And the fact that it is going, things are happening. There's more than 150 Australians at the moment at Indo Pac there in Hawaii. People here. It is happening. It is progressing. And it is progressing because it's a good idea, and it's progressing because it's in the interests of all three nations, including the United States, the United Kingdom, and of course, Australia.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, thank you. You were very firm before when you were asked if you had met Nigel Farage, you said, 'no'.
PRIME MINISTER: Well, it's a clear question, clear answer.
JOURNALIST: Of course. But he's actually leading in the polls and has been for a substantial amount of time here in Britain. Is there on an opportunity? Would you seek an audience with him? Do you have any opposition to meeting him? Because your friend Keir Starmer actually treats Nigel Farage as the opposition leader and not Kemi Badenoch who you saw.
PRIME MINISTER: I met the leader of the Conservative Party, as you would expect, as previously, I've met the other leaders of the Conservative Party at one stage, in quick succession, as Prime Minister, I met Boris Johnson, Liz Truss and then Rishi Sunak. I continue to have a positive relationship with Rishi Sunak sent me a very warm message after the election campaign. We enjoyed a good relationship, and met a number of times. I have no plans to meet Mr. Farage.
JOURNALIST: But one of the issues is that with Donald Trump's second election, some might say even your ambassador in Washington made this mistake. Many thought he might not be re-elected because he's a populist. At what point do we have to acknowledge that populists are, for better or worse, having a role in politics, they're viable, and they may be endorsed by the people?
PRIME MINISTER: I've given you the answer. I've met the Prime Minister and the Leader of the Opposition here.
JOURNALIST: You talk about, thanks PM, you talk about progressive patriotism. Tomorrow, you're meeting the foreign Head of State for Australia, King Charles. Do you ever think we'll have a republic in your lifetime?
PRIME MINISTER: That's a matter for the Australian people, but I respect his majesty. Protocol means that we're not supposed to talk about these meetings before they happen, and our High Commissioner here will ensure that that occurs by halting the press conference if I talk about those details. So I'll observe the protocols which are there.
JOURNALIST: But if it's up to the Australian people, you have to put the question.
PRIME MINISTER: Well, I've said very clearly, I have no plans to have a referendum during this term.
JOURNALIST: What about the next term?
PRIME MINISTER: I've made it very clear, my priorities. I have a range of priorities. They're the ones that I've outlined. Thanks very much.