FIONA PHILLIPS, MEMBER FOR GILMORE: The official opening here of the Jervis Bay flyover is just the most magnificent thing I think we can think of. It is extraordinary. I think around five years ago I stood at the intersection there of the Princes Highway and Jervis Bay Road with Anthony Albanese, and to see this here today is just phenomenal. I want to thank Liza Butler, the state member for the South Coast, Katelin McInerney, our wonderful member for Kiama and of course having the Prime Minister here today is just fabulous. I want to thank the entire community that has worked so hard – first of all, Vincentia Matters – to advocate for this flyover. I proudly walked the streets with Vincentia Matters, with those petitions, and just to be here through all those years and to see this eventuate today is – I can't say how great enough it is. It's just truly wonderful.
I want to say thank you to Anthony and the Government for backing this project, both the Albanese and the Minns Labor governments. This will make it so much safer for people not just here locally, but right across our region. This is the busiest intersection from here to the Victorian border. It is just wonderful. I think that's all I need to say, except thank you to the community. Thank you to the very patient residents around here. Thank you to the workers, SRG and all the workers have been just working day and night to get this done. I know that we're going to see traffic, hopefully if the rain doesn't interfere, but we'll see the southbound traffic come through on Monday the 1st of June and by Thursday that week the traffic from the other direction as well. I know there's a lot of interest in this project in the community and rightly so. I think everyone in the community should be very proud of this.
ANTHONY ALBANESE, PRIME MINISTER: Thank you. Well, thanks so much. Well, it's great to be here on the South Coast for what is a big milestone. This is a project that was talked about for many years, now delivered. On the 1st of June, it'll be carrying traffic and that is such a victory for this local community. I know that the community here campaigned so strongly for this project. And I want to thank the joint funding as well from the Minns Government. We're joined by Liza and Katelin here from the Minns State Labor Government, together with Fiona who campaigned so strongly for this. I stood here at this very spot a number of times with Fiona, making sure that this road went ahead. This is vital for productivity. Most importantly, it's vital for safety. I've had the privilege of staying there at the beautiful Jervis Bay, and what you know is that every time you're trying to get out and around onto the highway, it is a very dangerous spot. What this has done is improved rate safety, improved travel times, good for tourists, good for locals, good for everyone. And it's also been good for those people who've been employed, over a hundred on this site making a difference for them. And I want to thank them. They can be so proud of not just today, but every time they go past here, most of them are locals, every time they'll think 'I helped build that'. And that's a fantastic thing.
Could I just add on one more solemn note. I do want to take a moment to talk about Warrant Officer Lachlan Muddle. Later, I'll be joining some of his colleagues to express firsthand my condolences. Of course, that will be a private occasion. The death of Warrant Officer Lachlan Muddle is indeed a deep tragedy and the community, his family, will be mourning his passing in such an untimely way, but also the family that is the Australian Defence Force are mourning as well. The tragic accident is a stark reminder that the men and women who wear our uniform to defend our nation take risks each and every day on our behalf, and it's a reminder that we need to thank them every day for their service and not take it for granted. So, to Warrant Officer Muddle's family, friends and colleagues, my heart goes out to you. My sincere condolences.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, why should vulnerable people and NDIS participants have to suffer and face major cuts when Labor's Budget blows out?
PRIME MINISTER: We're delivering for the NDIS. Labor proudly created the NDIS, we'll continue to deliver it. One of the things we want to make sure is that those people who need the NDIS are getting those services. Unless we fix the system, that when we came into government was growing at 22 per cent annually, then simply the system would not be sustainable. What we're seeking to do is not reduce the cost of the NDIS, but to reduce the growth in the cost of the NDIS. That's in the interests of the people who really need it to make a difference to fully participate in society, and that is what we're doing.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, have you spoken to ASIO about it increasing funding to combat terror following the Bondi terror attack?
PRIME MINISTER: We've increased funding for ASIO, as we have for all the national security agencies.
JOURNALIST: Does making carve outs from the CGT risk negotiations with the Greens to pass changes?
PRIME MINISTER: No, look, we're working through those issues. We'll introduce legislation in a couple of weeks' time. I'm very confident that this is in the interest, particularly of young Australians. I don't want the dream of home ownership to be just that, a dream. I want it to be a reality that's part of who we are as a nation. I want people to be able to aspire to the confidence and security that comes with having your own roof over your head. I don't want that to be something that we speak about past generations as having. I want future generations to be able to aspire to that as well, which is why we're putting in place these changes.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, when you talk about reducing the cost of housing and making it more affordable, I was speaking to some builders recently who say up to 45 per cent for the cost of a new build comes in fees and taxes and various other things. Is there a way of reducing that?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, we want to make sure that young people have the opportunity to aspire to get into a home. The changes that we're making will mean that, just as, for many people, if they want to build their assets and their future wealth, they can invest and negatively gear a property at the moment across the board. What we're doing by making that confined to just new builds, is meaning that not only will they be building assets and wealth for themselves, they'll be building assets and wealth for the nation, which is why this is a sensible change going forward.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, have you had a chance to speak to the new Prime Minister of the Solomon Islands yet?
PRIME MINISTER: I have, and I've congratulated him and I look forward to hosting him in Australia. I've invited him to visit. He's a good friend of Australia and I've congratulated him on his election.
JOURNALIST: Yesterday, we saw Pauline Hanson make some pretty vulgar comments towards another journalist, followed with her staff telling them to shut up, basically. Is that behaviour appropriate within Parliament?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, it's not appropriate. We all do a range of media events. This is my second press conference this morning. The first being at the opening of the magnificent St George Illawarra Dragons' new Centre of Excellence in Wollongong. And people need to be accountable. Labor is now the only mainstream political party in Australia. We have three right wing parties all competing against each other and their allies cheering them on. Labor, whether it's federal Labor or the Minns Labor Government in New South Wales, are in the mainstream, we're engaged in the mainstream, we're a government that wants to take Australia forward. And parties of grievance could only achieve so much, because they don't put forward a positive agenda. And they need to be held to account as well for their actions and for their policies or lack thereof. Thanks very much.