Australian Government disaster payments will roll out from tomorrow to eligible residents in 23 local government areas (LGAs) affected by the severe storms and flooding that continue to impact large areas of Metropolitan Sydney and east coast of New South Wales.
MICHAEL ROWLAND, HOST: The Prime Minister joins us now. Mr Albanese, good morning.
PRIME MINISTER ANTHONY ALBANESE: Good morning Michael, thanks for having me on the program.
ROWLAND: I warn you, you're about to see some pretty confronting images when you come to the flood zone. What are you planning to do alongside the New South Wales Premier, Dominic Perrottet, when you do arrive?
ANTHONY ALBANESE, PRIME MINISTER: Thanks very much for joining us. Today we're being briefed by the authorities on the ongoing impact of flooding around New South Wales, particularly around the Greater Sydney area but also the Illawarra and increasingly parts of the Hunter and the mid-north coast. And the Premier will outline some of those details. But on behalf of the Commonwealth again, I reiterate the fact that people need to listen to the advice, need to not take risks, when asked to evacuate make sure they do exactly that.
PRIME MINISTER: Well, it's good to be here in Madrid for the NATO summit. This is an important meeting at a critical time for the world. The Russian invasion of Ukraine has broken international law. What we know is that this brutal invasion is having real consequences for the people of Ukraine. And the people of Ukraine are inspiring the world with struggling to defend their national sovereignty, struggling against this brutal invasion.
ANTHONY ALBANESE, PRIME MINISTER: Good morning. Australia condemns the Russian missile strike on the shopping centre in the Ukraine. What we've seen here is a tragic consequence of at least 18 people killed in a shopping mall where over a thousand people were present. This is a civilian target. This reinforces the atrocities being committed in this illegal war of aggression by Russia and why it must stop.
The President of the Government of Spain, HE Pedro Sánchez Pérez-Castejón, welcomed the Prime Minister of Australia, The Hon Anthony Albanese MP, for bilateral talks in Madrid on 28 June 2022, marking the first bilateral visit to the Kingdom of Spain by an Australian Prime Minister.
ANTHONY ALBANESE, PRIME MINISTER: This morning I attended and participated in the NATO Public Forum with the Belgian Prime Minister, with the Spanish Prime Minister, our hosts here at the NATO summit and also the Foreign Secretary from the United Kingdom. I then as well have had a number of successful bilateral meetings, including with the President of the European Commission and the President of the European Council.
ANTHONY ALBANESE, PRIME MINISTER: This morning I had a very successful meeting with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. Justin had rung me and congratulated me after the election and over the last couple of days we had a number of conversations. But this morning was an opportunity for us to further explore how we can cooperate with our common view when it comes to tackling climate change and the opportunities that it represents, but also having more social inclusion. We have very similar political perspectives and Prime Minister Trudeau has invited me to visit Canada.
ANTHONY ALBANESE, PRIME MINISTER: Well it’s been a terrific opportunity to speak to the OECD today and to then answer questions from OECD members. People who’ve heard a speech which was emphasising the importance of inclusive growth, the importance of acting on climate change and economic reform, but also commending the OECD for its work. The questions I received during the forum were from the United States about the importance of climate action as economic reform going forward.