BRIDGET BRENNAN, HOST: Good morning to you, Prime Minister. It's been a while since we've had you on the show.
ANTHONY ALBANESE, PRIME MINISTER: Good morning, good to be with you.
BRENNAN: Perhaps a commitment, a weekly commitment to join us on News Breakfast might be in order.
PRIME MINISTER: Well, you know, why haven't you made the offer beforehand?
BRENNAN: There you go - there it is. No, you're a busy person. Look, a pay rise for many Australians this morning. This is welcome news for those on low incomes, particularly. But with time so tough, Prime Minister, will this make a dent?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, the combination of measures which start today will make an enormous difference to so many of your listeners. There's 3 million Australians will get a 3.5 per cent pay increase. And they're people on the minimum wage or on award wages - they're some of the lowest paid people. So that will make difference because we know people are doing it tough. But in addition to that, for people either starting a family or thinking about starting a family, the additional two weeks Paid Parental Leave, lifting it up to 24 weeks, 26 weeks will begin, the full six months next year, will make a difference. In addition to that, we're paying superannuation for the first time on Paid Parental Leave. For people studying teaching or nursing, paid prac comes in today - making a difference. For people with solar panels on their roofs, the 30 per cent rebate on batteries will enable them to permanently reduce their power bills, on top of the $150 rebate that starts today across the board for every household making a difference. And of course for every worker, superannuation now is up to 12 per cent, the super guarantee that will make a difference. For small businesses, the $20,000 instant asset write off kicks in today, making sure that they can invest in their local business. S, this is good news for the start of the financial year and it comes on top of the latest inflation figures, down to just 2.1 per cent. Whilst unemployment is staying low, real wages continue to rise. And so we are, I think, I said during the election campaign we're turning the corner. We're still turning that corner of making a difference to Australians lives.
BRENNAN: We hear on this program continually still of families living in their cars, of kids going to school without having had breakfast, of Australian families unable to turn the heating on. Are you hearing these stories, Prime Minister, as you travel around the country? And why do you think it is that there continues to be such a gulf between richer Australians and those on poorer incomes?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, we know that many Australians are doing it tough and that's why we have delivered now, increase after increase after increase in the minimum wage, making a difference. That's why we've prioritised so strongly making sure that we got inflation down without leaving people behind, without having that big increase in unemployment that we saw in other countries. And there's nowhere that has got through the economic problems that were global - inflation was right around the world, in some places it hit double digit, but with double digit unemployment as well. Now we've managed to get inflation down whilst keeping employment strong - 1.1 million jobs. The biggest thing you can do, of course, to help families is to make sure that people do have jobs and then you want to make sure that their wages are increasing. Which is why we, unlike the Coalition, that has never ever put in a submission to the Fair Work Commission calling for an increase in people's wages. That's why we did that. And the Fair Work Commission found this 3.5 per cent increase that will make a difference. But we recognise that there's more work to be done. In addition to that, yesterday I was in a TAFE, we've got $10,000 incentives for apprentices in construction that begin today as well. That's a part of building more homes, making sure we address housing supply that's the key to improving housing affordability, because that's been a major challenge. It's not something that's developed over a year or two, it's something that's developed over decades and something my Government's determined to address with our $43 billion Homes for Australia Plan.
BRENNAN: You mentioned earlier adding superannuation to Paid Parental Leave. That'll be welcome news for a lot of women who lose that retirement saving as they age after taking some time out, particularly to look after their babies. How much better off will you be now that super superannuation is being added to Paid Parental Leave?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, it will make an enormous difference to the retirement incomes of women particularly. We know that women retire with much less in their superannuation accounts. And this is one of the reasons, and this is why it's a productivity measure as well, Bridget. It doesn't just help those individuals, it helps the economy because we do want to encourage women's workforce participation. We have reached record highs, and this is just one of the measures, along with cheaper child care, along with the other measures we have of addressing feminised work practices, such as nursing and child care and other workers in aged care in particular, to try to address that wage gap that's been there, particularly in feminised industries.
BRENNAN: Have you got a date in mind for when you might be able to sit down face to face with the President, the US President, Donald Trump, to work through some of the difficult issues, particularly around trade and tariffs?
PRIME MINISTER: Look, we'll work through those issues and we're working on a date to have a face to face meeting. But of course our officials continue to engage. There's no country in the world that has a lower tariff than Australia - it's important to point that out. This is 10 per cent across the board as a minimum, many countries have higher rates, of course. And what that means is that the comparative advantage, if you like, of Australian industries compared with exports, compared with exports from other countries into the United States, we aren't having a disadvantage. And indeed, in areas like beef, we've seen an actual increase in our export values to the United States over recent months. But we'll continue to put forward our case that our Free Trade Agreement means that US imports into Australia don't attract a tariff. It's important to recognise that a tariff is an increase in costs, not for Australia, an increase in costs for US purchases of Australian goods and services. That's leading to some inflationary impacts in the United States and of course is leading to, many economists are warning about global reduced growth as a result of tariffs being imposed and then some of the responses that have occurred in countries. So that is our concern. Australia remains a strong supporter of free and fair trade because we think that is in the interests of Australia and the United States and indeed the global economy.
BRENNAN: Just briefly, Prime Minister, before I let you go. Will you convene a National Cabinet on deaths in custody as has been requested by so many Indigenous leaders around the country?
PRIME MINISTER: Look, to be frank, a National Cabinet is what is called for for every single issue and we think that -
BRENNAN: This is a pretty tragic one though, Prime Minister, isn't it?
PRIME MINISTER: Yes. Yes, of course it is. It is an incredible tragedy and we have had inquiries and commissions, of course. We need to work together all state and territory governments, as well as the Commonwealth Government to reduce the incidence of these issues. And of course, state and territory governments run our legal system and the judicial system by –
BRENNAN: Wouldn't it be prudent to get them around the table, Prime Minister, to have a look at what's happening? Wouldn't that be a concrete step that you could take and some immediate action at least to get everyone around the table to see why this is still happening?
PRIME MINISTER: Well that's a meeting, a meeting doesn't result in concrete action necessarily. What we need is concrete action. And I talk to Premiers and Chief Ministers all the time about issues which are raised -
BRENNAN: Are they listening, Prime Minister? Are they listening? Because Indigenous incarceration is up 20 per cent since 2019.
PRIME MINISTER: Quite clearly, all governments have not done well enough when it comes to Indigenous affairs. And just one of the areas where there is a gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous outcomes for Australians is in this area. But right across the board, we need to do better. It's something that I'm very conscious of, and every time I meet with the National Cabinet members, Premiers and Chief Ministers, these are issues that are raised. And indeed, just last week of course, Malarndirri McCarthy, our Minister, convened an important meeting, including with Indigenous leaders, including with state and territory representatives.
BRENNAN: Prime Minister, thanks very much for your time this morning on News Breakfast.
PRIME MINISTER: Thank you.