MARK GIBSON, HOST: That is Dr Hawke. Yes, Dr Hawke with Walk Right In on 720 ABC Perth. And kind of appropriate, because walking right into the studio is the Prime Minister, Anthony Albanese, who had a little spring in his step listening to that.
ANTHONY ALBANESE, PRIME MINISTER: Good morning Mark. Yeah, I haven't heard that for many a year, but they were a fun band, weren't they?
GIBSON: We're bringing them back. Hey, it's been a big week in Canberra. Parliament was recalled for an emergency sitting to pass new laws related to firearms and hate crimes. The Coalition self-combusted over a split in the ranks related to the hate crime legislation, and yesterday was a National Day of Mourning for the victims of the Bondi terror attack. Now overnight, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has flown to Perth and come into the ABC studios to talk to you. So, PM I need to ask you, you're at that service last night. You've flown across the country, you've come in here. When do you sleep?
PRIME MINISTER: Not enough, probably is the answer there, Mark. But it's a big country, and one of the commitments that I made, as you might recall, when I was running for Prime Minister, was to be in Western Australia at least 10 times a year. I've more than exceeded that and it's important that the Prime Minister represent the entire nation. I think quite often there's been Prime Ministers on the East Coast who've forgotten that the economic powerhouse of this country is right here in WA.
GIBSON: Sure is.
PRIME MINISTER: And of course today, I mean, sadly I'm here also to attend the memorial service for Tim Picton. Tragically left us far too early. Tim was brilliant. He was the architect of Mark McGowan's landslide, well, massive, almost one-party state victory, and then was the architect of a very clear WA-specific campaign we ran in 2022, which saw us win four additional seats. And of course, we followed on from that because in part, I think because of the quality of the candidates, the people who were elected in 2022 and showed that they could represent WA strongly, we won an additional two seats more and Bullwinkel at the last election.
GIBSON: And to think of Tim's passing though, allegedly after a one-punch attack in Northbridge, just so senseless.
PRIME MINISTER: The circumstances are just horrible. And I have a letter today that I'll give to Priya, Tim's wife, for Charlotte, so that when she grows up she has what are some of my personal reflections on her dad. For Tim, Charlotte was the apple of his eye. And it is just so senseless that – I think it's been well documented what the allegations are against the alleged perpetrator here. Just tragic, and senseless violence is just beyond comprehension.
GIBSON: 36 years old, too. That memorial service in Perth a little later this morning. Prime Minister, at the memorial service last night, there's a fair bit of grief around, isn't there?
PRIME MINISTER: There is, there is.
GIBSON: It's a tough, sombre time at the moment. And look, I'm sure you chose your words carefully. You said sorry to the Jewish community. What are you sorry for?
PRIME MINISTER: I've said sorry many a time. I'm sorry that this occurred. I'm sorry that they weren't kept safe. I'm sorry that this happened on my watch. That's something I've said many times, both directly to grieving families. People were attending the first night of Chanukah, that celebrates the festival, the victory of light over darkness. It's a really positive thing. They're at Bondi Beach, that community have been doing it for a long time. The Chabad community are really open and welcoming. They are delightful in the way that they engage. They have a little farm area for the kids to pat little animals. They had balloons and music and all of that, and it should have been a joyous occasion. That's what it was about. And for it to be the source of an attack that directly targeted Jewish Australians is something that is a stain on our soul. Antisemitism is evil. All racism, of course, is hate-fuelled and we need to do better as a society. Governments need to do better. We need to stamp this out. And that's why we brought Parliament back, because these perpetrators had hatred in their hearts, but they had guns in their hands and we needed to deal with both. WA has been ahead of the country in dealing with the guns issues, but the rest of the country need to catch up.
GIBSON: Over these past six weeks, you have copped some horrible criticism. Some of the media commentary has been vile, hasn't it? It's been horrible.
PRIME MINISTER: In a word, yes.
GIBSON: And I just wonder though, have you ever doubted yourself? Have you been awake at night going, what could I have done? Could I have done more?
PRIME MINISTER: I know that our first priority when this occurred was, okay, how do we keep people safe? We had National Security Committee meet on of the 14th. We met again on the 15th, the 16th, the 17th. The first thing that we had to do was to make sure, are these people part of a cell? Will there be a replication of that in Perth, in Melbourne, somewhere else? Who are they connected with? Are they part of an international organisation? Given that we know that the Iranians interfered in Australian domestic affairs to sow division by being the source of funding for events such as the firebombing of the Adass synagogue in Melbourne, which is why we expelled the Iranian ambassador –
GIBSON: But you've done all that since.
PRIME MINISTER: That was our priority.
GIBSON: But I guess my question was, have you laid awake thinking leading up to it, could I have done more? Not could I have done more since.
PRIME MINISTER: Well, we know that the truth is that as the ASIO Director-General warned, it's very hard to deal with essentially a lone wolf who's not engaged. There's no electronic trail, there's no paper trail and a father and son is like a lone wolf in this case, lone wolves, if you like. So, discussing over the kitchen table, all of that. Look, what we have to do is just do our best. I think that it is unfortunate that unlike after the Lindt Cafe siege, the Port Arthur massacre, the Bali bombings, events overseas, there was, the truth is, an attempt very early on, within 24 hours people trying to politicise this issue. This should be a moment of the nation coming together. That is what I have sought to do. Yesterday was a moment of national unity. That was a good thing for the grieving community because this impacted not just that local community, but I think Jewish Australians, including here in Perth, were impacted because of the targeting that occurred.
GIBSON: Of course.
PRIME MINISTER: Now, I know that my whole life, one of the things that I hope when I'm out of here and at some stage people are writing biographies or what have you, if that occurs, that one of the things that you can trace through me and my political engagement from the time I was a student is anti-racism. Any discrimination, standing up. I stood up against the Boycotts, Divestment and Sanctions campaign 20 years ago. Worked with people like Peter Wertheim because I saw that, if you target a business because happens to be owned by people who are Jewish, what does it lead to? We put the Star of David above shops? We know where that leads. So, I have been consistent my whole life. I've engaged constructively. And I must say that the media commentary was very different from the engagement that I had with – the spiritual leader of the Bondi community is Rabbi Ulman and other members. I've visited people in hospitals, in homes. I've had them in my residence there at Kirribilli, the Sydney residence as well as in Canberra. And I must say that they have been generous, have been welcoming. I've done that without taking TV cameras and radio crews. I've done that in a respectful way, but it has been a very difficult period.
GIBSON: Can I just take you back to that comment you made about how difficult it is to prevent these sort of lone wolves and their actions? So, I guess I've got to ask you, the legislative have then that's been pushed through this week. Will it make any difference?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, I'll tell you what, these people wouldn't have had access to guns for a start and that would have made a difference. They're really practical, the changes that we've made. So, for example, at the moment if people go for a gun licence in any of the states, the states will do a police check, but there weren't intelligence checks being done. So, allowing for that cooperation, allowing as well for the strengthening of the rights of the minister to refuse visas on the basis of someone who will disrupt social cohesion in this country is really important as well. The listing of hate groups, Hizb ut-Tahrir have been fuelling hate in this country with hate preachers, extremist versions of Islam that don't represent the overwhelming majority of people who practise whatever faith in peace and harmony. We need to be able to take action there. The Nazi party, essentially, the National Socialists disbanded on Sunday as a direct result. Hizb ut-Tahrir have already taken down their website as a result of the legislation that we put through.
GIBSON: The hate crimes legislation, though, you wanted it to go further. So, are you comfortable with where it's at?
PRIME MINISTER: We did, but it is what it is. I have a Senate that I have to deal with. We got through the guns legislation with the support of The Greens and we got through the hate legislation with the support of some members of what used to be the Coalition. Now, I'm not quite sure.
GIBSON: We'll get to that.
PRIME MINISTER: We'll wait and see.
GIBSON: Well, that was my next question actually. I do need to just move on to that little topic. I was standing here yesterday as David Littleproud was popping up on those TVs behind you announcing that they were leaving the Coalition. I mean, what's your take on all this? They're going to kiss and make up at some point, aren't they?
PRIME MINISTER: Look, who knows. They certainly don't like each other, but they also don't like each other within their parties. The Liberals don't like other Liberals and the Nats don't like other Nats. Some are leaving.
GIBSON: Come on. There'd be some in Labor as well.
PRIME MINISTER: We are an extraordinarily united party. If you look at the focus that we have, there has, as you've said, Mark, there's been a lot of pressure put on by people who demanded that the Parliament be resumed and then complained that it was being resumed too early, demanded we implement the Antisemitism Envoy's report then said that was something they couldn't support. We've had to deal with all of this. And the discipline that our team have shown, focusing on outcomes, making a difference. That's why I'm in a party of government, because I want to be in a position to make a difference in this country. The Coalition are just focused on themselves. It's all about their internals. And Sussan Ley has been undermined. The first woman leader of the Liberal party, undermined from day one and the alternative leaders are worse.
GIBSON: Do you think she'll be the leader when Parliament resumes?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, I've given up worrying about what happens with the chaos over there. You've got One Nation getting recruits. I predict here Mark, there'll be at least one more defection to One Nation over coming weeks.
GIBSON: Who will it be?
PRIME MINISTER: I'll let them announce that. But I think it's pretty obvious from the behaviour that occurred in Parliament this week, at least one more will go. And they, simply, their performance – they made a decision to politicise this issue to make the most – not just Sussan Ley, but David Littleproud, James Paterson, all these people were demanding that Parliament be resumed in December and pass immediately, 'we can pass these laws today'. When they had the opportunity to do it, they baulked. They played politics, and now they've essentially played politics on themselves. And I think Australians will look back and know that they're certainly not fit to be an alternative government. They essentially are a bunch of disruptors and people who will identify what grievances are there and try and maximise grievances in the community over the economy or over social policy or over the environment. But they don't have an alternative and that's why they weren't successful. That's why they're down to 42 members in the House of Representatives because at the last election, when people focused, on what are the alternatives? A Labor government continuing to deal with climate change, grow the economy, grow jobs, grow wages, deal with equity issues, including the rights and position of women in society. And the alternative was just slash and burn, higher taxes, more cuts at the same time. Just really negative.
GIBSON: Prime Minister, it's three minutes to eight o'clock. I've just made the executive decision, the sports segment's not happening. I'm keeping you for two more minutes until we end the show, because I just kind of want to give you the opportunity to do this. It's Australia Day on Monday. It's been a tough time, I'm sure not just for you but for the nation, through these sorts of events. Bondi happening, it's been, you know, yesterday really just brought that into sharp focus. What's your message to Australians on this Australia Day?
PRIME MINISTER: My message is that this is the greatest country on earth. There's nowhere you'd rather be. We have to seize the opportunities that are before us. And here in this great state of Western Australia, you can see that, the transformation of our economy with the growth of renewables, what we have under the earth with rare earths and critical minerals that will drive the economy in the 21st century. The application of AI, which could go either way, but if we seize those opportunities, there can be enormous growth in productivity and living standards if we get that right. And the opportunity that we have as well, positioned with our great multiculturalism, the three phases of Australia, the fact we have the oldest continuous culture on earth in Indigenous Australians, but the new, first, of the arrival of the British, but then multicultural Australia and what we've seen in this country. And I think we have a task not just nationally, but a time of international turbulence and turmoil that we see. Our task is to be a microcosm for the entire world to show that harmony and diversity, that is our strength.
GIBSON: I'm sorry, I'm winding up the Prime Minister, but the news doesn't wait, so that news theme will go at eight o'clock. Thank you so much for coming in. Probably the next time I see you, in a few weeks, February. It's the 23rd today, isn't it? February 23 we're moving to the FM band, so you're going to sound even better.
PRIME MINISTER: You're going to FM? What is going on!
GIBSON: Oh, it's all happening. You're going to sound even better in FM.
PRIME MINISTER: I should know about that.
GIBSON: You should. Did you authorise that?
PRIME MINISTER: I dunno. I hope my Communications Minister knows about that. I will let her know.
GIBSON: Prime Minister, thank you for coming in. See you next time.
PRIME MINISTER: Thanks very much, Mark.
GIBSON: Prime Minister Anthony Albanese. It is eight o'clock. Have a great long weekend, although I'll be back on Monday. I'll chat to you then.