SARAH FERGUSON, HOST: Prime Minister, welcome to 7.30.
ANTHONY ALBANESE, PRIME MINISTER: Good to be with you, Sarah.
FERGUSON: Have you spoken to Zomi's family?
PRIME MINISTER: I have spoken to Zomi's brother. They are, of course, devastated by this news. This is just an extraordinary tragedy, it's one that they certainly weren't expecting. Zomi knew the risks, but when you're there providing aid and support and doing such extraordinarily good work, you don't expect that to happen.
FERGUSON: Were you able to tell her family any more information about exactly what happened?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, we are awaiting further details to occur. We have, of course, contacted and spoken with the Israeli Government. And we expect full accountability for this tragedy. To have aid workers, not just from Australia, but other nations as well, going about the business of assisting, in the most humanitarian way, their fellow global citizens, in this case, the people of Gaza, who are suffering from incredible deprivation, to have them killed in this way is completely unacceptable. The targeting of these people is just a tragedy.
FERGUSON: Let me just ask you about the words you just used, which is targeting. Do you have any information that suggests the vehicle was targeted?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, what we know is that the vehicle was hit. And we know as well that governments are responsible for actions that take place. And this is completely unacceptable. We await the details and we await a full explanation. But we want, as the Australian Government, accountability for what has occurred to this Australian citizen.
FERGUSON: So, as we know as yet unconfirmed, but, of course, reported that the vehicle was struck by the Israeli Defense Force. Can you tell me what questions are you specifically asking the Israelis to answer?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, the Israeli Defense Force at this point have not confirmed that. So, we want an explanation and full accountability of what has occurred here. I think that is the least that can be expected from Zomi's family and, indeed, from Australia for this to have occurred.
FERGUSON: Now, from the beginning of the war, the Israeli Government and the IDF have maintained that they are very careful in the way that they arrive at targeting decisions. Does this mean that, as well as everything else that we've seen in the past few months, but in relation to this specific event, should we not believe that assertion?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, we await the explanation and I don't want to preempt that. But what we know as well, is that the whole world is responding to what is being witnessed in Gaza. The extraordinary number of casualties of civilians, quite clearly a majority of those people who've lost their lives in Gaza aren't Hamas fighters, they're innocent civilians. And that's why we saw the extraordinary action of the UN Security Council just last week. That's why myself and the Prime Minister of Canada and New Zealand have issued two statements. There's been the Melbourne Declaration from the ASEAN Summit. And increasingly, we have raised our concern about the humanitarian impact of what is occurring in Gaza. We raised that very explicitly about the declaration that Rafah would be attacked with the ground offensive, what the implications of that are for the civilian population. And we continue to make our views clear, because we are concerned that this conflict is seeing innocent lives lost. We declared, of course, our unequivocal opposition to what occurred in October 7 with Hamas. But all innocent lives matter whether they're Israeli or Palestinian.
FERGUSON: Let me just ask you this. If it turns out that the Israeli Defense Force did hit this vehicle, which according to the aid organisation was carrying identifying insignia, what actions will you take?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, I don't want to preempt that. Today's a day where we mourn this fine Australian who has a record of helping out her fellow citizens, whether it be internationally or whether it be through the support that she gave during the bushfires that occurred during that Black Summer. She is someone who clearly was concerned about her fellow humanity, and someone who put her principles into action. And this is such a tragic loss for her family, but a loss for our nation as well.
FERGUSON: If it is the Israelis, doesn't this underline the indiscriminate nature of the Israeli's bombing campaign?
PRIME MINISTER: We have made very clear, from the first resolution that was carried in this Parliament with the support of both the major parties, that international humanitarian law must be applied, that all innocent lives matter. We've also raised concern, not just our condemnation of the October 7 terrorist attacks, but our concern about justice for Palestinians. Both Israelis and Palestinians have a right to live in peace and security and to be able to prosper. And that's why we have consistently said, we want a political solution, and that requires two states in the region. One for Israelis and one for Palestinians.
FERGUSON: Just on this matter, what kind of response did you get from the Israelis? Do you expect them to be forthcoming with answers?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, we would hope that they are. Australia has, of course, a diplomatic relationship with Israel, and when an event like this happens, we expect -
FERGUSON: Sorry, did the Foreign Minister speak to the Israeli Ambassador today? And what did he say?
PRIME MINISTER: The Israeli Ambassador isn't well today. There have been calls put in by the Foreign Minister to her counterpart. And I have put in a request to Prime Minister Netanyahu as well to speak with him directly.
FERGUSON: But you haven't spoken to him yet?
PRIME MINISTER: No.
FERGUSON: Is it time for Australia to change its position on the war in Gaza? Are you calling now for an immediate ceasefire?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, we have called for a humanitarian ceasefire and a sustainable ceasefire. We welcomed the response of the UN Security Council just last week.
FERGUSON: If I may say, you said that a moment ago. I just want to know whether you're prepared to shift Australia's position, not describing the need for a ceasefire, but to actually calling for an immediate ceasefire.
PRIME MINISTER: We have called for ceasefires. We've voted that way in the United Nations. And we've put out statements, calling for that way. But it must be sustainable. You don't want a ceasefire and then it to recommence in just a short period of time. The hostages have to be released as well. And we need a path to a sustainable peace in the region.
FERGUSON: Let me ask you a question from the Australian end of the story, which is Greens Senator today, Mehreen Faruqi, says this attack is a direct result of the continued support provided by the Australian Government to Israel. Let me put the question like this, are there any limits to Australia's support for Israel's right to defend itself?
PRIME MINISTER: We have very clearly said Israel, like other states, have a right to defend itself. But how it defends itself matters. We've said that from the very beginning.
FERGUSON: But it isn't altering what's happening on the ground, which is the prolonged bombing campaign, and even at this moment, potentially a ground invasion of Rafah, where hundreds of thousands of civilians, more than a million civilians, are taking refuge.
PRIME MINISTER: But we've made clear our opposition to that. We are not responsible for all of the actions of the Netanyahu Government. And frankly, some of the Greens Party rhetoric during this debate has been aimed at trying to play politics with this. And I think that the comments that you just gave of Senator Faruqi do her no credit. This is a difficult issue. And one of the things that I have been concerned about is social cohesion here in Australia. And that requires an acknowledgement that for the Jewish community this has been a very difficult time. But it's also a difficult time for the Arabic and Islamic communities as well. These are communities that feel traumatised by what has occurred on October 7, and then what has occurred in Gaza. And the responsibility that politicians have is to try and bring people together, not to try to score political points. I'll make this point as well, that Senator Faruqi's comment somehow trying to draw blame towards the Australian Government, do, I think, do her no credit.
FERGUSON: But I want to quote your own statement. This is the joint statement you made with the Canadian and New Zealand Prime Ministers in February - you said Palestinian civilians cannot be made to pay the price of defeating Hamas. We've now added an innocent Australian civilian to that list. Isn't that exactly what's happening?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, that's why we made that statement, Sarah. And you quoting that statement is an indication of the consistency of our position. It is the case, and from the first debate that occurred in the House of Representatives after October 7 about these events, we made it very clear that every innocent life matters. And certainly, I stand by the statement that I made, not just one, but both of them with the Canadian and New Zealand Prime Ministers. It is the case that Palestinian civilians, innocent people, should not pay the price for the actions of the Hamas terrorist organisation.
FERGUSON: But you're not prepared to upgrade Australia's position to one where you call for a ceasefire, whether or not hostages are released.
PRIME MINISTER: But Sarah, we have voted for a ceasefire on the floor of the United Nations. We have issued statements calling for a sustainable ceasefire as well.
FERGUSON: Are there any limits to Australia's friendship, as you call it, with Israel?
PRIME MINISTER: Sarah, we believe that the solution here is a long-term political solution of engaging with Israelis, but engaging with Palestinians as well. And that's why I reached out and had discussions, not just with Prime Minister Netanyahu, but with Mahmoud Abbas as well of the Palestinian Authority. That's why I have engaged with other leaders such as Canada and New Zealand, but others as well, including all of the ASEAN leaders. Because I think that Australia can play a role. Not in partisanship, but in trying to help to craft a long-term solution. Because that's what's required here. Because we're seeing the consequences of this conflict are catastrophic. And it is not in the interest of either Israelis or Palestinians for this to continue.
FERGUSON: I think earlier today, you would have been expecting to talk about jobs today, so I want to return to Australia for a moment. I think the Treasurer has said today that analysis shows that 1,000 jobs have been created a day, since you were in government. Just wonder, though, at the same time, given the difficulty the Reserve Bank has in bringing inflation back, is there a tension between that successful jobs analysis and the Reserve Bank's task of calming inflation?
PRIME MINISTER: No, I don't believe there is, Sarah. Because what we want to do is to see inflation continuing to moderate. But we don't want people to pay a price for that. We want people to be brought along on that journey of economic reform. And we're seeing that. We're seeing inflation moderating. We're seeing unemployment down at 3.7 per cent. We're seeing real wages increasing. We've seen productivity increase in the last two quarters. And as well, we have had, of course, the first Budget surplus in 15 years. Now, that is getting monetary policy and fiscal policy working together, hand in hand, rather than working against each other. We inherited a $78 billion deficit, to turn that around -
FERGUSON: And benefited from some very high commodity prices.
PRIME MINISTER: But that's not where it all came from, which you'd be aware. It came from increased employment, it came from making sure that we've made appropriate savings. It made sure that we're managing the economy in a responsible way, so that Australians benefit from economic growth. We want an economy that works for people, not the other way around. And sometimes I think when people see those figures of, ‘well, we want higher unemployment, so that inflation comes down’, that to me, it just jars. What I want is inflation to continue to moderate. We're doing everything we can. Which is why we targeted our cost of living support in ways that would not have an upward pressure on inflation as well.
FERGUSON: Prime Minister, thank you for joining us on this day of a very specific tragedy. Thank you.
PRIME MINISTER: Thanks very much, Sarah.