ANNOUNCER: This is Tanya and Steve. We hear our Prime Minister isn't the biggest fan of Phil Collins.
STEVE GRAHAM, HOST: Yeah, well, you know, he goes, all right, but there's a couple of songs we can’t stand.
TANYA WILKS, HOST: Prime Minister, good morning.
ANTHONY ALBANESE, PRIME MINISTER: Sorry about that, I've outed myself there.
GRAHAM: That's okay, mate. We're the same Albo. You know what I like, though, you realise that – no, we don't pick all the songs here on the show, Anthony.
PRIME MINISTER: So, you're with me is what you're saying.
ANNOUNCER: Yeah, we don't like him either.
WILKS: Yeah, we’re like him. We're just a bit over him.
GRAHAM: When we heard you were ringing PM, we thought, well, okay, he's not after a tip advice because Souths have got to bye.
PRIME MINISTER: Two points in the bag, third week in a row.
GRAHAM: True.
WILKS: We believe you're heading to our soaked region today. And yeah, it's horrendous, as you well know. What are you going to be doing when you arrive?
PRIME MINISTER: It sure is. No, it's pretty horrific, the conditions here. I'm just sort of about to hit, I guess, the, the Lower Hunter on the way up to Cessnock and then I'll be travelling with the Premier to Taree this morning to see firsthand what is happening there and to thank the extraordinary people of the SES and those people who are once again showing that at the worst of times we see the best of the Australian character. But these are horrific circumstances. We have a loss of life with three people confirmed losing their life. That is a tragedy for them, for their families and for the local communities. There is still – one man is missing and we're hopeful of good news there, but doubts are obviously there as well. The floodwaters are still rising in parts of the Mid North Coast and there’s more than 40 emergency warnings. The National Emergency Management Agency has activated a Crisis Coordination Team and that's working with state government and also local governments as well. We have activated disaster support, the Disaster Recovery Allowance in four local government areas that provides up to 13 weeks of wages at the Newstart rate if people aren't able to work in Kempsey, Port Macquarie, Mid Coast and Dungog. And there are 16 local government areas where disaster assistance has been triggered as well. So, this is a really serious situation and I would ask people to download, if they're in these regions, the Hazards Near Me app that can provide up to date advice because these circumstances are very fast moving.
GRAHAM: It’s interesting Prime Minister, that, you know, as we know, with our backyard here in the Hunter and everything, and that Mid North Coast is really getting bashed, as we know. But there's that psychological reprieve tomorrow of some sunshine. But again, this is, you know, not to be fooled, it's over because the floods continue and things like that. Can I ask you, and I don't expect you to know the detail but can I ask, you know, when you talk of the, you know, the reimbursements and the funding and everything, is it easy to get because we often get wrapped up in red tape and online things that people can't deal with.
PRIME MINISTER: No, it will be available. The Disaster Recovery Allowance will be available from Monday afternoon so people can just log on to the MyGov site to be able to get that support. And we have, also, we've opened evacuation centres and there'll be people on the ground there through Federal Government agencies, through Services Australia, making sure that people can get support. I mean tragically, there's so much experience in dealing with these events. Already this year I spent some time in South East Queensland and you know it – even on the roads I've been in on the Central Coast on the way up there are, you can just see that the impact this water is having. But it of course is much more severe on the Mid North Coast. So, you know, yeah, these are difficult circumstances but tragically there's a lot of experience now and we'll have people on the ground as well. My Minister McBain has been on the ground there. Stayed at Maitland last night and so we will make sure that that support's available as a matter of priority.
WILKS: Two things that I've noticed this week because we've been catching up with the SES every day, obviously. One of them being their annoyance because you know, they've got two and a half thousand personnel out there risking life and limb helping people that get into trouble, which is, you know, their absolute pleasure. That's what they say they're there for. Of course they are. But to their annoyance people continue to think that they know the water, that they know their area and continue to drive through flood waters. So, that's one message that we've been really annoyed on their behalf.
PRIME MINISTER: Absolutely.
WILKS: And the other thing, and that's this one's coming out of the Mid North Coast, which I'm sure you'll find is that people are saying the warnings didn't come through. But, Prime Minister, you know, we're living in times where even the people that are at the coal face, they were taken by surprise. Because, you know, the weather is the weather. It might – we might think it will do a certain thing, but often it turns around and gives us a whack.
PRIME MINISTER: That's right. Well, the advice that I had when I was briefed upon coming back to Australia, I was in Rome for the Pope's inauguration, and I returned on Wednesday and immediately was briefed was that the concern here, which was an unusual weather pattern, was that the rain didn't move. You would expect it to move through and it just stayed in one spot, this weather pattern. And that led to the dramatic rainfall which, you know, would have had an impact if it was for a day. But the fact that it was for day after day after day without moving is what has really had this devastating impact. We live in an era where, of course, not every weather event can be brought down to climate change, but we do need to recognise the fact that there are more extreme weather events, they are more intense, they're more frequent and it is occurring. Whether it's a tropical cyclone off the coast of South East Queensland and Northern New South Wales just a couple of months ago, or this event here that has devastated a very large area. And we're talking about from Grafton and that area around the Clarence right down to the Central Coast, and that is a very large area to be impacted by an extreme weather event such as this.
GRAHAM. So true and so good you're getting in there too, PM. And I know you don't need me to tell you, but it's, you know, we're in these sort of positions, just having the Prime Minister there, it's a good – it's just a good feeling, though. And even hearing you talk, you know what's going on there, you're not guessing or anything like that. And the best thing is you're not calling from Hawaii, so I think that's a promising thing, Albo.
PRIME MINISTER: Well, I'm on the road and I just pay tribute to those people in the SES and in our police and emergency services, our Rural Fire Service. I mean, these people are heroes. They help their neighbours, they help their local communities and importantly, at times like this, they travel into areas to assist. When I was in Northern New South Wales just a couple of months ago, I met the Marrickville SES Brigade were up there in the Tweed helping out. They'd driven for 12 hours to get there. They are incredible people and that's why their call for everyone to, you know, have a bit of common sense as well. If it's flooded, forget it. Do not drive through floodwaters and think that you know what is happening. Listen to the advice, make sure you log on to the relevant sites and keep informed if you're in these communities because we just don't want to see any further tragedies because, you know, it is just heartbreaking what has occurred.
WILKS: Well, we've been sort of saying if you don't have to go to work, stay home. If you can work from home, do that. Because our roads are clogged, there's water everywhere. So, you be safe, too. Drive carefully or fly carefully.
GRAHAM: No, I heard the PM could only hire a Toyota Yaris, so he's doing it tough at the moment. Things are tight there, Anthony.
PRIME MINISTER: Well, I'm in a car at the moment, but I will be on a chopper in a couple of hours because it's the only way to get there.
WILKS: Yeah, sure.
PRIME MINISTER: That's one of the things you want to be careful is that in visiting, you're helping and not taking away any resources. And so I'll be with Premier Minns in a couple of hours.
WILKS: All right, well, thanks for chatting and look after you and we'll talk to you soon.
PRIME MINISTER: Yeah, thanks very much. Stay safe, everyone.