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.”
The Albanese Labor Government is building Australia’s future and strengthening Medicare, delivering an additional $1.7billion to fund public hospitals and health services next year.
This is in stark contrast to Peter Dutton, who was voted Australia’s worst Health Minister by Australia’s doctors and cut more than $50 billion from public hospitals.
I begin by acknowledging the traditional owners of the land on which we meet and I pay my respects to their elders past, present and emerging.
I’m delighted to be with you again, ahead of International Women’s Day.
This year’s call to “March Forward” is a chance to reflect on areas where Australia has come a long way and to be clear about where we still have a long way to go.
To look at the foundations we’ve laid – and to be ambitious for what we can build.
The Albanese Government is activating financial support for communities directly affected by the floods in North Queensland through the Disaster Recovery Allowance (DRA).
The DRA offers up to 13 weeks of income support for eligible workers and sole traders depending on their personal circumstances who have suffered a loss of income as a direct result of the flooding in the Local Government Areas (LGAs) of Burdekin, Cassowary Coast, Hinchinbrook, Palm Island and Townsville.
ANTHONY ALBANESE, PRIME MINISTER: I think the sermon that we've heard today – hope in an uncertain world – was appropriate. We do need hope, and we need optimism, and as we begin the parliamentary year, that's precisely what I have. Optimism for the year ahead, and optimism that we can create a better future for Australia if we seize the opportunities that are before us. We begin the parliamentary year with inflation falling, wages rising, and with unemployment low.