CHRIS SMITH, HOST: The Prime Minister of Australia is on the line. Anthony Albanese, welcome to the Super Radio Network.
ANTHONY ALBANESE, PRIME MINISTER: Good morning, Chris. Good to be with you.
SMITH: I reached out to your office last night because I knew how much respect you had for the great John Laws. He was an icon, wasn't he?
PRIME MINISTER: He was the best. We won't see any better in our lifetime or beyond us. That golden microphone with the golden tonsils. The voice was so powerful. He was trusted, he was respected, he was on top for such a long period of time. People followed him when he changed stations, which he did a number of times. And the way that he broke into radio was of course quite extraordinary. He wasn't someone who was trained. He went through various country stations. And he was just a delightful person to listen to, but also off air as well. I had the privilege of enjoying a number of lunches with him while he was at 2SM there and he was always worth listening to.
SMITH: I'm glad you mentioned how he started, because when you think about it, 1953 at 3BO in Bendigo and then he finishes in 2024. It is unheard of, incredible.
PRIME MINISTER: It is absolutely incredible. And he just kept going. When I would ring in there – occasionally, he'd make contact and ask me to come on the program, ‘haven't heard from you for a while’. So, on we come and inevitably I would say to him – sometimes, of course, it's a pretty busy life – he'd be given 10 minutes. And you'd inevitably be on air for half an hour. Or sometimes more, because he would have a conversation with you. He would let you speak. He would put his views, of course. But he was someone who was one of a kind, really. And he will be sadly missed by – for so many people, he was their voice. And going back not just to my mum, but my grandparents used to listen to John Laws as well.
SMITH: Yeah, same here. And then we've also lost a Labor icon, a mate of both of ours, in Graham Richardson. What a contribution he has made to this country.
PRIME MINISTER: Richo was an extraordinary person, he was a Labor loyalist but most importantly he, like John Laws, had in common that they were both patriots for Australia. They wanted the best for Australia and in John Laws’ case, that was interviewing people and being a voice of battlers. For Graham Richardson, it was his view of the world, which I share of course, that Australia is stronger when Labor is in government, but you need a strong government and a good government as well. They both had in common that they enjoyed a lunch.
SMITH: Yes, they were both lunch-a-lots.
PRIME MINISTER: They certainly were. The restaurants of Australia and Sydney in particular will be poorer for this loss, because they both had friends, they both gathered people around them as well. Richo, I will miss our lunches at The Malaya. You would turn up there and you'd never know who you were going to be with. I think the last time around there was Richard Wilkins and a couple of others as well.
SMITH: He dragged along these special guests, didn't he?
PRIME MINISTER: He did, he did. And you would just talk about everything, sport and what was going on in the world, or family. He's someone who I became much closer to in later years. We had our struggles and differences at times. Earlier on, I was Assistant Secretary of the NSW branch when he was Senior Vice President. And there was a time where they moved my office. And he rang me up and he said 'mate, I told him this will end badly.' So, he's someone who liked fighters, and he would always tell you where he was coming from. And he had a real insight into politics. He spoke to me privately, as he said publicly, before the election on 3 May. And he rang me up and he said 'mate, you're going to bolt it in'. He didn't use the word bolt, he used a different one. And he had that insight and he was respected. And for Amanda, I spoke to on Saturday, and Darcy, this is a huge loss for them. And my heart goes out to them, as it does to the Labor family, to the family that he had on Sky News as well, and all those friends who loved Richo. And to John Laws, for them to pass, two giants of Australia, really, over the weekend, is a tragic loss, but they both had very good lives well lived.
SMITH: And I don't know whether I'm speaking out of school. I understand that you have offered his widow, Amanda, a state funeral. Is that right?
PRIME MINISTER: I have, that's right. And we'll have a chat to Amanda. It was a bit early. I had a couple of conversations with her on Saturday, and they were still going through, of course, grieving process. As Amanda said, we thought he'd live forever. And that was the sort of projection that Graham had. If you had the illnesses and the organs removed – I mean, I'm not giving up private information here, it was very public, what Graham went through – I tell you what, most people would, you know, hang up their boots at that time. But he was determined to see Darcy finish his schooling. And Darcy did that, finished his HSC at the end of last week. So, Graham passed away in the early hours of the morning surrounded by his friends and family. So, I'm sure that Richo will get a very big farewell.
SMITH: A great tribute to both men and thank you very much for giving us that time. And I guess in some ways, you know, for your loss with Graham, as you say, Graham used to talk about, you know, when we went to these lunches, he would talk about how close you and he became in later years. So, thank you for that insight as well.
PRIME MINISTER: Thanks very much, Chris. And I think your legacy, following on from John Law, must give you a real sense of pride as well, on what was in his later years there at 2SM, he would hold court and still always be worth listening to, always be in touch. So, for your listeners who particularly will be feeling John Laws' loss today as well, my condolences. Because I'm sure that even people who listen to his program there in regional Queensland or regional New South Wales, who mightn't have ever met John Laws, they felt like they knew him and they felt like he was a friend.
SMITH: Yeah, well said. Thank you very much for those kind words too, Prime Minister. Thank you for your time.
PRIME MINISTER: Thanks, Chris.