MICHELLE ANANDA-RAJAH, MEMBER FOR HIGGINS: Well, good morning, everyone. It's wonderful to be here to see brick and mortar. This is the great Australian dream and we are making it a reality. It's wonderful to have PM here along with the Premier, Dan Andrews, and the Minister, Julie Collins, you won't find three greater champions for social and affordable housing in this country. And the fact that they're all here is a testament to the need for all tiers of government to work together. And to have this in my own electorate in Higgins is fantastic.

Annie Gaffney, Host: Prime Minister Good afternoon. Great to have you with us.

Anthony Albanese, Prime Minister: Good afternoon. It's a beautiful day here in Mount Isa.

Gaffney: Now I'm sure you're going to be soaking up all there is to offer at the rodeo today. Kennedy MP Bob Katter has invited you along. Mr. Albanese, does that mean you've had to find a bigger hat than his?

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese will travel to Indonesia, the Philippines and India in September to meet with regional leaders to discuss global challenges and advance Australia’s economic, security and climate agenda.

The Prime Minister will attend the 3rd Annual ASEAN-Australia Summit and the 18th East Asia Summit in Jakarta from 6–7 September. Australia’s close partnership with ASEAN and its members is critical to achieving mutual prosperity, security and peace in our region.

Sam Strohmayr, Glencore: Good morning, my name is Sam Strohmayr, I'm the head of Glencore, zinc and copper operations here in Australia. Glencore is one of Australia's largest producers of metals and minerals and our Mount Isa operations is one of Australia's most iconic zinc and copper operations. And over our almost 100 years of history, we've been mining and processing copper, silver, lead and zinc, metals that are part of everyday Australian life and certainly a part of our exciting future. To make a ton of copper or a ton of zinc takes a lot of effort.

Good afternoon, everyone.

It’s great to welcome you to Kirribilli.

This is a fitting location for today’s reception — overlooking Sydney Harbour, as it flows into the Pacific Ocean.

Because it’s there that Australian, Indian, Japanese and United States forces are participating in Exercise Malabar.

As I said in Mumbai in March, standing aboard INS Vikrant, it’s a privilege for Australia to host Exercise Malabar for the first time.

And, of course, I’m grateful to Prime Minister Modi for passing the baton to Australia.

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 proud to lead a government that will give all Australians the opportunity to vote for constitutional recognition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in a referendum later this year.

Thank you all for inviting me to join you in celebrating this anniversary of truly national significance.

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

It is such a pleasure to be back in Tamworth.

When it comes to bringing Australians together, this city has done some heavy lifting. For more than half a century now, you have been bringing Australians together from all over the continent.

The Tamworth Country Music Festival is recognised as one of the world’s great music festivals – and it’s your enduring gift to all of us.

Australian farmers and regional communities will benefit from a major, long-term investment into drought preparedness, with $38 million in federal innovation grants announced today.

Through the Future Drought Fund, the Albanese Government will invest in six research projects undertaking long-term trials of new and emerging agriculture practices around cropping, grazing and mixed farming, to help farmers be more drought-resilient.

The Albanese Government is delivering on its commitment to Tamworth residents to help strengthen Medicare.

Following an Expression of Interest process, Northwest Health will be established as a Medicare Urgent Care Clinic, treating patients from October 2023.

The Tamworth Medicare UCC will deliver on the Australian Government's commitment to make it easier for people in New South Wales to get the urgent treatment they need – from highly qualified doctors and nurses – while taking pressure off Tamworth Hospital.

REBECCA REARDON, GRAINS AUSTRALIA: Thank you very much for coming today, everybody. And thank you very much Kevin Tongue for lending us his barley field today. Kevin's actually away. The barley announcement is absolutely fantastic for growers. It means more money in our pockets with a $20 freight differential advantage that we've got to China. And it means that we're able to get a premium for our quality barley that we actually grow and put out into the world market. So we're really excited. We want to thank the Government.