Tet Festival

Chuc mung nam moi.

I’m delighted to be here and to share in these celebrations with you.

I am proud to be only the second prime minister to be here following the Labor Prime Minister, Julia Gillard,

And very pleased that my friend and our fantastic Labor candidate for Fowler, Tu Le, is joining me on stage and has offered to translate my remarks.

I acknowledge Chris Bowen, Anne Stanley, Dai Le and all the other federal and state parliamentarians who have the great privilege of representing this wonderful part of Sydney and Australia.

Ryde Lunar New Year Festival

Xian nian kuai le

Gong hei fat choy

Saehae bok mani badeusey

Chuc mung nam moi

Thank you so much for your kind invitation to be here with you today.

Thank you to the organisers and every volunteer and every member of this great community for making this festival reality.

This is what community is all about.

It also gives me great pleasure to acknowledge Premier Chris Minns, Mayor Trenton Brown, and of course your fantastic representative in Federal Parliament, Jerome Laxale.

Press conference - Alice Springs

MARION SCRYMGOUR, MEMBER FOR LINGIARI: I want to acknowledge and welcome, say thank you to the Arrernte people whose land we are standing on today. It's great to have the Prime Minister again in Alice Springs for the thirteenth time. I keep counting how many times the Prime Minister has come into Alice Springs. The Chief Minister of the Northern Territory, Lia Finocchiaro, Ebony and Dawn from Congress, but my important colleague from the member for Solomon from Darwin. So it is fantastic to have the Prime Minister here and the Chief Minister of the Northern Territory.

Partnership Agreement to build Australia's future and close the gap in the Northern Territory

The Albanese and Northern Territory Governments, together with the Aboriginal Peak Organisations Northern Territory (APO NT), have signed a landmark Partnership Agreement to strengthen service delivery in remote First Nations communities in the Northern Territory.

The Albanese Government will commit $842.6 million over 6 years to deliver the Northern Territory Remote Aboriginal Investment (NTRAI).

The funding will:

Press conference - Ollera Creek

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.

Flood recovery package delivers $8 million kick start for North Queensland clean-up

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.

Disaster recovery payment available for flood-impacted North Queenslanders

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.