CHAIRMAN ZHAO LEJI, CHAIRMAN OF THE NATIONAL PEOPLE'S CONGRESS STANDING COMMITTEE: The Honourable Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, it's a great pleasure to meet with you.

On behalf of the National People's Congress of the People's Republic of China, I wish to extend a warm welcome to you.

During your first term, as senator, you visited China twice.

After you took office as Prime Minister, you're dedicated to stabilising and developing China Australia relations. I do appreciate that.

What happens in the world matters at home.

Global dynamics impact our security and our economy, but as we’ve seen through times of Covid and conflict, we also feel the effects in our household bills and jobs.

We feel it every time we visit the shops or the petrol pump. Everything is interlinked.

Never has this been more evident than during my visit to Washington last week.

My meetings there came at a time when our world faces a set of profound challenges.

The Albanese Government is making it easier to see a bulk billing doctor for more than 11 million Australians, with the largest investment in bulk billing in the 40-year history of Medicare.

From today, the incentive that general practitioners receive to bulk bill children under 16, pensioners and other Commonwealth concession cardholders will be tripled for most common GP consults.

It will be easier to find a bulk billing doctor for around 5 million children and their families and 7 million pensioners and other concession cardholders.

I begin by acknowledging the traditional owners of the land on which we meet and I pay my respects to elders past, present and emerging.

It is such a pleasure to celebrate the upgrade of this extraordinary facility with you today. To quote the great Annie Lennox, sweet dreams are made of this.

Speaking as someone who grew up across the street from a factory that made chocolate biscuits, the aromas here almost have a touch of home.

A touch of home is something that the name Darrell Lea has for Australians.

HENRY BATEMAN, CEO CORNERSTONE HEALTH: I’d like to welcome the Prime Minister and Mike Freelander today. It is a privilege to have you here at this fantastic centre on a very great day for Medicare bulk billing and for access for patients.

I begin by acknowledging the traditional owners of the land on which we meet and I pay my respects to elders past, present and emerging.

I am so pleased to be here today, to celebrate a world-leading example of Australian innovation.

The most efficient commercial-sized solar cell, in the world.

The global race for affordable and reliable renewable energy has never been more intense, or more important.

And leading on efficiency is a tremendous source of competitive advantage.

It means lowering costs - and reducing emissions.

After a long illness, Deborah Chemke passed away last night. 

Our first thoughts today are with Mark Dreyfus, her beloved husband of 44 years, their children Joe, Tom and Laura, and their grandchildren. 

Everyone who knows Mark knows he adored Deborah. She was his most trusted source of advice and his constant inspiration. Above all, she was Mark’s great love.

From a chance encounter on a Sydney beach grew an enduring relationship built on love, respect, admiration and profound devotion.

During my visit to Washington DC, President Biden and I spoke about our shared commitment to building an alliance for the future.

Our alliance has been tried, tested, and has thrived over eight decades.

We’ve stood side by side in the most difficult times.

And just a few blocks from the White House and Capitol Hill, I witnessed for myself how Australians and Americans continue to strengthen these bonds.

I was honoured to become the first Head of Government to visit the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Headquarters.

I begin by acknowledging the traditional owners of the land on which we meet and I pay my respects to elders past, present and emerging.

It’s great to be here in Melbourne again and to be back at a conference that has always grappled with the big challenges and this year looks ahead to a ‘defining decade’.

More and more, this means looking beyond Australia’s borders.

State funeral for the Honourable Bill Hayden AC

It is an honour to stand here as Labor Leader, and as Prime Minister, and pay respect to all that Bill Hayden did – for his party, and for the country he loved.

Bill gave the Australian Labor Party the chance of a future. Patiently, humbly, courageously, he gave Labor fresh relevance and new focus.

He made it possible for Labor to return to its core mission of governing in the national interest and lifting the lives of Australians.