Your Excellency, distinguished guests, parliamentary colleagues, fellow Australians.

We gather today - around our nation - to offer Australia’s thanks for an extraordinary life dedicated to service, faith, country and Commonwealth.

Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II was the longest-serving monarch in the history of a centuries-old institution.

Her reign spanned more than half the life of our modern Federation.

LEON BYNER, HOST: Let's welcome the Prime Minister of Australia with a very busy schedule, Anthony Albanese. Prime Minister, thanks for coming on this morning.

PRIME MINISTER ANTHONY ALBANESE: Good morning, Leon.

BYNER: Now, there's going to be a National Cabinet meeting today, but it's going to be a video conference. We don't expect that there will be a press conference. What sort of matters are going to be ticked off today?

DAN RIVERS, HOST: Prime Minister, thanks very much for joining us. You're about to fly to London. Just give us your thoughts ahead of this occasion.

OLIVER PETERSON, HOST: Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, good afternoon.

ANTHONY ALBANESE, PRIME MINISTER: Good afternoon Olly, good to be with you.

PETERSON: You're about to take off and head to the UK, has it registered and sunk in with you yet the significance of this event, the Queen's funeral, and in all the textbooks going forward, you will be there as the Australian Prime Minister?

JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, you’ve laid your tributes there today, your thoughts?

JOURNALIST: Acting Prime Minister, can I start by asking you what do you make of the meeting between President Xi and President Putin? And were you in any way surprised to hear that China has raised questions and concerns over the invasion of Ukraine?

ANTHONY ALBANESE, PRIME MINISTER:

KIERAN GILBERT, HOST: Prime Minister, it has been such an incredible show of respect and mourning there in the UK. Now that you've seen it firsthand, how would you describe it?

PRIME MINISTER ANTHONY ALBANESE: Good morning. I'm very pleased to be here in historic Macquarie Street this morning with the Premier of New South Wales, Dominic Perrottet, and the local state MP, Alex Greenwich. And we're here to announce that where we are standing, we will be Queen Elizabeth II place. The building behind us will be knocked over so that there's an appropriate thoroughfare from the CBD right through to the parks and gardens that makes Sydney such a magnificent Harbour City.

Today National Cabinet met virtually to discuss the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and receive an update from Chief Medical Officer Professor Paul Kelly.

First Ministers agreed to extend the Pandemic Leave Disaster Payment (PLDP) at current rates beyond 30 September 2022.

The payment will remain available for as long as mandatory isolation periods are applied by all States and Territories.

First Ministers agreed to cap the maximum number of PLDP claims an individual can make in a six month period to three.