ANTHONY ALBANESE, PRIME MINISTER: Well, Mr President and your delegation, can I say what a privilege it is to host you here in my home city of Sydney and show the dynamism of modern Australia. And it is particularly nice to host you in this wonderful venue. I apologise that the weather isn't perfect today, but we have done our best. My first bilateral visit as Prime Minister was to Indonesia, and that is because there is no more important relationship than the relationship between our two great nations.

1. The Prime Minister of Australia, The Honourable Anthony Albanese MP, welcomed the President of the Republic of Indonesia, His Excellency Joko Widodo, to Sydney for the Australia-Indonesia Annual Leaders’ Meeting on 4 July 2023, on the eve of the third anniversary of the entry into force of the Indonesia-Australia Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (IA-CEPA), and during the 70th anniversary of Australia’s scholarships for Indonesian students.
2. Leaders welcomed deepening links between Australia and Indonesia towards ensuring stability and prosperity in the Indo-Pacif

ANTHONY ALBANESE, PRIME MINISTER: Well, it's indeed an absolute pleasure to welcome my friend, President Widodo, here to Australia. It is good to return the incredibly warm hospitality, Mr President, that I received during my first visit to Indonesia just two weeks after my election as Prime Minister. We didn’t give you a ride on a bicycle today but we did have a very nice and pleasant ride on this beautiful harbour here in Sydney.

MICHAEL ROWLAND, HOST: PM, a very good morning to you.

ANTHONY ALBANESE, PRIME MINISTER: Good morning, Michael. Good to be with you.

ROWLAND: Great to have you on. So the board at the RBA has decided on that pause. A great relief to everybody. But do you agree with the board that inflation is still too high in Australia? And therefore, that is going to result more likely than not in further rate rises in the months ahead?

NATALIE BARR, HOST: Now, the Reserve Bank has left rates on hold. While that sparked hope we've hit the peak of the cost of living crisis, there could still be tough times ahead with expectations the country is heading for at least a shallow recession.

KARL STEFANOVIC, HOST: Prime Minister Anthony Albanese joins us now from Sydney. PM, good morning to you.

ANTHONY ALBANESE, PRIME MINISTER: Good morning, good to be with you. I am one of millions of Australians who welcomed the decision of the Reserve Bank yesterday.

STEFANOVIC: Look, it’s nothing to celebrate though it is? It’s more of a stay of mortgage execution isn’t it?

PETER STEFANOVIC, HOST: PM, good morning to you. Thank you for your time as always.

ANTHONY ALBANESE, PRIME MINISTER: Good morning, Pete.

STEFANOVIC: So, as you know, people are bleeding cash. Are we now at, or close to the peak of financial pain?

JACQUELINE MALEY, HOST: PM, are you ready?

ANTHONY ALBANESE, PRIME MINISTER: Hang on one tick, are we ready?

Well, thanks so much, John, for that introduction, of which I think two things sprung to mind.

One is I now know why I'm so tired.

And secondly, I think I'll take you around the country to introduce me every time I speak, because that was very, very generous.

I do want to also acknowledge here my Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus, who is doing an extraordinary job.

I want to acknowledge a former Deputy Prime Minister, we're in the former Deputy Prime Minister's club, Mark Vaile and former Speaker Tony Smith.

LEON KEMPLER AM, CHAIR OF THE AUSTRALIA ISRAEL CHAMBER OF COMMERCE: The Prime Minister has agreed to take questions from the floor, which is a great honour for us. And we're going to now move on to a more pedestrian but very important area, and that's about housing affordability. And the question is, it's about supply and demand, and when there's a lack of supply, the price just goes up. We need to build, build and build more housing. In Victoria we get 150,000 new people coming to Victoria, probably need 50,000 more accommodation.