Mr Speaker

Honourable Prime Minister, Honourable Leader of the Opposition, Honourable Members, Friends.

Gudpela monin olgeta
[Good morning to you all]

Thank you for your warm and generous welcome.

I am delighted to be the first Australian Prime Minister to visit Papua New Guinea since 2018.

And I am deeply, deeply honoured to be the first foreign Head of Government to address your Parliament.

And what a magnificent Parliament this is.

RICHARD MARLES, DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER:

Victoria Daly regional communities in the Northern Territory affected by severe weather and heavy rainfall brought on by ex-Tropical Cyclone Ellie have access to disaster assistance to support emergency relief and recovery efforts.

The assistance, jointly funded under the Commonwealth-State Disaster Recovery Funding Arrangements (DRFA), may include:

Disaster recovery assistance has been made available to flood-affected communities in Western Australia’s Kimberley region after heavy rainfall associated with Ex-Tropical Cyclone Ellie has caused significant impacts to the area.

The shires of Derby West Kimberley, Broome, Wyndham East Kimberley and Halls Creek are eligible for assistance measures through the jointly funded Commonwealth-State Disaster Recovery Funding Arrangements (DRFA).

GARY ADSHEAD, HOST: The Prime Minister is in Broome about to get on a plane. He joins me now. Thanks very much for your time, Prime Minister.

PRIME MINISTER, ANTHONY ALBANESE: Thanks for joining us. Can I say that as a result of today, it has been terrific to be able to talk with people on the ground at Fitzroy Crossing. Communities who have been doing it extremely tough. But communities that are resilient, communities that are determined to fight back and to rebuild their communities. We've seen massive infrastructure damage. We've seen people who have lost just about everything as a result of this one-in-one hundred year flood.

DAVID SPEERS, HOST: Welcome to the program, Prime Minister.
 
ANTHONY ALBANESE, PRIME MINISTER: Good evening, David.
 
SPEERS: The scale of this flooding is creating some enormous logistical difficulties. Are you satisfied the emergency needs - food, clothing, medical supplies - are getting through to the communities who need them, particularly some of those remote communities?
 

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

I also want to reaffirm – proudly and clearly – my Government's determination to enshrine in the Australian Constitution an Indigenous Voice to our national Parliament.

We will heed the patient and generous call of the Uluru Statement from the Heart.

We will come together as a nation and take the hand that First Nations people have extended to us in an act of profound grace.

CHRISTINE AHERN, HOST: Emma Lovell was a mother of two, a wife and a much-loved member of her North Lakes community. She was tragically killed on Boxing Day, stabbed to death allegedly at the hands of two teens who were out on bail. Queenslanders are now demanding action, outraged that nothing is being done to curb the youth crime wave gripping the state. Prime Minister, Anthony Albanese, joins us from Woodford in Queensland. Prime Minister, thank you for your time. You have a loving mother, we've got this loving mother killed in her own home.

STEPHANIE FERRIER, HOST: The Government has been under pressure to provide more detail on the Voice but says it wants Australians to agree to the principle before Parliament irons out the finer points. Prime Minister, Anthony Albanese, joins me now from Woodford in Queensland. First of all, Anthony Albanese, Merry Christmas and happy new year to you.

ANTHONY ALBANESE, PRIME MINISTER: Thanks, very much. And to you and all your listeners.