ANTHONY ALBANESE, PRIME MINISTER: Well, this is one of the occasions where I won't begin by saying that I'm glad to be here, because I wish this wasn't happening. But at the worst of times, what we see is the best of the Australian character. And here what we see is Queenslanders, whether they be emergency services personnel, whether it be our police and fire services, the volunteers through the SES, and of course our Australian Defence Force personnel – particularly those based at the barracks here in Townsville – but right throughout Australia.

An $8 million Community Relief Fund, jointly funded by the Albanese and Crisafulli Governments, is now available to councils impacted by flooding and severe weather, to allow them to kick off essential and immediate recovery activities.

Funding of up to $1 million per Local Government Area is available for Burdekin, Cassowary Coast, Charters Towers, Hinchinbrook, Palm Island, Townsville, Whitsunday and Yarrabah Councils.

The Albanese Government is activating additional financial support for communities directly affected by the recent floods in North Queensland through the Australian Government Disaster Recovery Payment (AGDRP).

The AGDRP offers residents $1,000 per eligible adult and $400 per eligible child for people who suffered serious damage or injury as a result of the floods, to help with the costs of recovery.

MICHAEL CLARKE, HOST: Now, of course, we've seen a lot of people coming to the region in the recent days to help out. We've had the Premier on the ground in both Townsville and Ingham. And this morning the Prime Minister, Anthony Albanese, is in the region as well and is with us now. Prime Minister, thank you for your time and thanks for coming to North Queensland.

PETER STEFANOVIC, HOST: We'll stay in Townsville because the Prime Minister, Anthony Albanese, he's there and he joins us live now. PM, I've got a thousand questions to ask you but you are on the ground there. Help has been announced as we just heard from Lauren. But as you know with natural disasters, more problems emerge weeks, months later. So firstly, how would you describe things?

MATT SHIRVINGTON, HOST: Let's bring in Prime Minister Anthony Albanese live in Townsville. Thanks for joining us, PM. So we're expecting more rain. We can hear it behind you. Actually what's being done to help Queenslanders?

JAMES GLENDAY, HOST: I'm happy to say the Prime Minister, Anthony Albanese, joins us now from Townsville. Prime Minister, good morning.

ANTHONY ALBANESE, PRIME MINISTER: G'day James. Congrats on the new gig.

KARL STEFANOVIC, HOST: We're joined now by the PM, Anthony Albanese, from Townsville. PM, thanks for your time, appreciate it. The floods in a moment. Look, your Government has backflipped on imposing mandatory sentences for hate crimes. What took you so long?

ANTHONY ALBANESE, PRIME MINISTER: Can I first just make some comments on the Queensland floods. Sincere condolences for the family and friends of a woman who was found outside Ingham. 82 years of age. This is the second loss of life that we've seen in the Queensland floods. The Australian Government continues to provide every support possible. Jenny McAllister remains on the ground there working closely with the Premier, David Crisafulli. I'm in regular contact with David Crisafulli and will be personally engaging there as well.

The Albanese Labor Government’s Free TAFE bill is one step closer after passing the House of Representatives this afternoon.

The legislation will lock in an ongoing, coordinated approach with states and territories, to address local and national skills shortages, while delivering cost of living relief to those who need it most.

Peter Dutton, Sussan Ley and the Liberals and Nationals shamefully tried to block the bill in the House declaring that a key tenet of the Liberal Party is “if you don’t pay for something, you don’t value it.”