ANTHONY ALBANESE, PRIME MINISTER: Happy New Year everyone. In 2024 I'm very positive as we enter the new year. And later this morning I will be attending briefly the beginning of David Warner's last test match at the SCG. And I do hope, if it hasn't happened already, whoever knows anything about the missing caps - David Warner has represented Australia on more than one hundred occasions. The baggy green caps belong to him. He has earnt them and they should be returned.
2024 will see us rolling out an additional 300,000 fee-free TAFE places. This is, of course, on top of the 300,000 commencements we had in 2023. We promised 180,000, and delivered 300,000. A great example of us providing cost of living relief through fee-free TAFE, whilst also addressing the longer term issues of labour market shortages and supply chain issues that Australia has to deal with in the order to continue to put that downward pressure on inflation. Our priority will be to provide cost of living relief whilst taking pressure off inflation. I have asked Treasury and Finance to come up with further propositions that we'll consider in the lead-up to the May budget this year, following the MYEFO that we released in December. We also want to help more Australians live in their own home. Already 26,000 people have been helped in the first six months of our expanded home guarantee scheme. We'll continue to strengthen Medicare, and all 58 urgent care clinics that we promised would be open by the end of the year are now up and running right around Australia. And part of the agreement with states and territories to strengthen Medicare and to strengthen primary healthcare was to have further support there. We want a future made in Australia as well. And we are looking at further measures in ways that the transition to a clean energy future can lead to additional jobs being created here as well. Through value adding, moving up to supply chain, making sure that we do make more things here, which is about Australian jobs here. And that's what our engagement with the world is about as well. Making sure that Australia's position is strengthened by our engagement in the international community, including with ASEAN, our Pacific neighbours, but also of course the enhancements we're making to improve our trade relationships. Including the removal of any impediments to any trade with China. We know those impediments led to some $20 billion reduction in our trade, and we've seen that step up and we'll see further advances in that this year, as we saw at the end of 2023, the removal of some of the impediments to some of the meat supplies going into China.
I do want to mention a couple of other things as well before I take questions. One is the plane crash in Japan. Our hearts go out to our friends in Japan, both for the impact of the earthquake that has seen a considerable loss of life, as well as of course, we know there are ongoing issues as a result of that major earthquake, including the potential for tsunamis and other activity there. And we will provide, and have offered, whatever support is requested by our friends in Japan. In addition to that, tragically, there was a plane crash at Haneda Airport in Tokyo soon after that earthquake that involved a plane that was providing support for the earthquake, with a Japan Airlines flight. We understand that there were twelve Australians on board that Japan Airlines flight. But all of those people are safe and accounted for. However, any Australians in need of emergency consular assistance should contact the Australian Government's 24-hour consular emergency centre on Australian number +61 2 6261 3305 - that's from outside Australia. Or within Australia, 1300 555 135. That's 1300 555 135.
I do want to make some comments about the release of documents that takes place every twenty years. The process there is that documents are provided to the National Archives of Australia three years in advance. So, the documents for what occurred in 2003 were provided in 2020 by the then Morrison Government to the National Archives of Australia. It's clear that there were some Cabinet records missing from that transfer from the Government. Some 78 Cabinet records were not transferred to the National Archives. The public service have now, within days of being notified of that, provided the remaining documents to the Archives, and the head of the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet has commenced an independent review that will be conducted by Dennis Richardson, as to how this failure in 2020 to provide all the appropriate documentation occurred. Let me make it very clear of what my Government's position is. Australians have a right to know the basis upon which Australia went to war in Iraq. Australians lost their lives during that conflict and we know that some of the stated reason for going to war was not correct in terms of the weapons of mass destruction that was alleged Iraq had at that time. Australians do have a right to know what the decision-making process was, and my Government believes that this mistake must be corrected, that the National Archives of Australia should release all the documentation that has been provided to them, having account for any national security issues, of course, upon the advice of the national security agencies. But there is no reason why these documentations should be, with the exception of putting people in danger, should be not released in a transparent way. So we will, we have asked that this occur, and if this doesn't occur we'll look at whether the Government needs to take further action to ensure that there's transparency here. Because Australians do deserve to know the basis upon which the decision was made to send Australia to war. We know at that time, this was an issue which did not have bipartisan support. Simon Crean made the courageous decision, and the tremendous speech, when he saw off our troops here in Sydney, of saying that we always support our troops, but we did not support the decision at that time. Happy to take questions.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, the cost-of-living proposals, or propositions you've requested. What price pressure points do you want those to cover?
PRIME MINISTER: What we want is to take pressure off people who are feeling pressure as a result of global inflation. This has had an impact. Australians, of course, were hit by the pandemic and then they were hit by global inflation, which was a result of two global impacts. One was the ongoing supply issues related to the pandemic, and the second of course, was the illegal Russian invasion of Ukraine that had an impact on prices here as they did right around the world. So we're very conscious about those cost-of-living pressures. That's why we have introduced a range of measures, including fee-free TAFE, but in addition to that, our energy price relief plan, our plan that has made an enormous difference in reducing the price of medicines. That's why we've also undertaken increases in rent relief, for example, the largest increase in rent assistance for 30 years, along with other measures that we took assisting single mums, assisting others.
JOURNALIST: Will the Government agree to Ukraine's request to send coal there? They are already a fair way through winter.
PRIME MINISTER: Look, we'll give consideration. I note the comments of the Ambassador from Ukraine who was talking about next October, next winter was what he was talking about in today's Australian Financial Review.
JOURNALIST: Just in terms of the documents, are you concerned that there's been a cover-up here?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, that's why we have asked Dennis Richardson to do the review. I'm not aware of the circumstances, obviously. I wasn't a member of the Cabinet or the NSC in 2003. Dennis Richardson is, there is no public servant in Australia who is more respected than Dennis Richardson. Former head of, senior person in defence, in foreign affairs, in national security agencies. And he will report within the next two weeks about these circumstances. But I say, that's one element but secondly as well we need transparency and there is a need for the release of these documents. The current head of PM&C was only notified of the failure to forward the seventy-eight documents just before Christmas.
JOURNALIST: Just on the cost of living propositions again. Have you requested specific help in particular areas like with power bills for example or insurance? Have you made specific requests?
PRIME MINISTER: We've asked Treasury and Finance, as we did in the lead-up to the last budget. We asked them to give consideration to what are the measures that can take pressure off families on cost-of-living without putting pressure on inflation. That’s the key issue here. If you were just to distribute additional cash to people, you potentially make inflation worse, and therefore don't help to solve the problem - that is the objective. And that's why, for example, in the energy price relief plan we designed, it has actually been more effective than what was predicted and anticipated. Because instead of giving cheques to people, it reduced their bills substantially and we worked that through with Treasury and Finance and it made a substantial difference in a reduction of wholesale prices.
JOURNALIST: Have you any information on Australians being on the plain in the plane crash in Tokyo?
PRIME MINISTER: Yes. There were twelve Australians on the Japan Airlines flight. All of them are safe and all of them have been accounted for.
JOURNALIST: The Nationals leader has said that changes to the PALM Scheme could see inflation in grocery prices. What's your response to that?
PRIME MINISTER: The Nationals and the Liberals, no matter what you are talking about, have just one response. They have negativity, they have a failure to put forward any practical solutions. They just say what they're against, never what they're for. The changes to the PALM Scheme were as a result of a request, in part by the participants in the scheme as well, allowing for them to be able to work for thirty hours. This is a practical scheme. You can't bring people to Australia on the basis of participating in a labour market program and then have them not paid. So this was a practical measure that was put forward. I met with the National Farmers' Federation about it and we continue to engage cooperatively with both the users of the scheme, but also importantly, the participants in the scheme as well.
JOURNALIST: Did you reflect over the break over any changes you would like to see in the way the Government operates in the New Year?
PRIME MINISTER: We continue to engage in a positive way. We'll continue to put forward our positive plans for the nation. Continue to point out that Peter Dutton has no solutions and nothing positive to offer the nation.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, we have two years until the Western Sydney Airport opens. Are you concerned about the lack of progress that's been made been the State Government's Western Parklands City Authority?
PRIME MINISTER: We'll work through those issues but inevitably, when you have planning, it goes slower at the first stages to put it in place and once those planning measures and approvals are in place, you will see very positive developments. I visited the site there at Western Sydney Airport. The runways are up and going, the terminals are well advanced in terms of being under construction and I do very much support the vision of an Aerotropolis for Sydney. An Aerotropolis has a critical role to play and what this will do for Sydney, is for the first time instead of everything looking inward towards the CBD, where we are now, it will look outward. And the prospects for economic activity there in south-west Sydney are enormous. Just like the Moorebank Intermodal Terminal has made an enormous difference and will continue to in the future. Those two economic incubators will make an enormous difference to jobs and economic activity and in the way Sydney operates and will bring considerable benefit for western Sydney. And I will work with the State Government and work with the private sector to make sure that all of the prospective activity is up and running as soon as possible.
JOURNALIST: As it stands though you’ve got forty businesses who have signed MOUs, who basically don't know when they can get shovels in the ground and you’ve got business leaders out there calling for yourself to become more involved in coordinating the delivery. Is that something you're prepared to do?
PRIME MINISTER: We'll continue to be engaged. We're a partner in the project. The New South Wales Government, under our Federation, has planning responsibility and we'll continue to work cooperatively with the New South Wales Government. What I know is that Chris Minns, since he's become premier, has been very supportive of the project, as is the deputy premier, Prue Carr. And I have every confidence that this will be an exciting project for Sydney and for western Sydney. I've been a long-term supporter, this has been part of my platform since I first ran for Parliament in 1996. I'm committed to the project.
JOURNALIST: 30,000 NBN customers were disconnected last year. Is it becoming unaffordable for households that are already struggling?
PRIME MINISTER: What we've had to deal with the National Broadband Network is the fact that the former government turned what was a fibre-based, twenty-first century infrastructure project into a, you know, tinpot operation with copper wire replacing fibre. They purchased enough copper to go round the Earth not once, but twice. They had a cost overrun of at least $27 billion for this project. And I don't know why it is that anyone would trust a Coalition Government with any new technology when they believed that copper was superior to fibre in the twenty-first century. As a result of that, of course, we've been dealing with cleaning up the mess that we inherited on the National Broadband Network, which is what we have had to do in so many areas.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, you said you want to go a full term. Will there be a federal election this year?
PRIME MINISTER: The federal election is due in May 2025. I think that our terms are too short with just three years. There’s been a couple of attempts to fix that in the past and it's very difficult to change -
JOURNALIST: Would you like to have a fixed four-year terms like in the States?
PRIME MINISTER: Our view, our long-term policy, and we've put it to the Australian people, is for four-year terms, but I don't anticipate that happening any time soon and I think that's unfortunate. Every single state has four years. If you go around the world, there are more elections, democratic elections, this year than at any time in global history. That's a good thing. Some of those are very important. In India in a few months' time, in Indonesia in February, as well as, of course, the focus will be on the United States at the end of the year. But I'd say that elections like Indonesia and India in our region are very important, as is the European Parliament elections that will take place in the middle of the year. As are the elections in the United Kingdom, which are likely to be held, even though they have 5-year terms, they're likely to be held this year rather than next. But we're focused on governing during the year. I'm here very early in the year doing my first press conference for 2024. I look forward to seeing your smiling faces on a regular basis during the year. Thanks very much.