DAVID WOIWOD, HOST: Yesterday, the Federal Government announced it would open a Commonwealth Royal Commission into antisemitism, bowing to weeks of mounting pressure. And the Prime Minister joins us live now in Canberra. Good morning to you, Prime Minister.
ANTHONY ALBANESE, PRIME MINISTER: Good morning, good to be with you.
MICHAEL ROWLAND, HOST: Prime Minister, welcome to 7:30.
ANTHONY ALBANESE, PRIME MINISTER: Good to be with you, Michael.
ROWLAND: Why did it take you so long to read the national room on a federal royal commission?
ANTHONY ALBANESE, PRIME MINISTER: Good afternoon. I'm joined today by the Attorney General, the Minister for Home Affairs and the Special Envoy on Antisemitism. Just 25 days ago, two gunmen armed with high powered weapons went to Bondi Beach on the first night of Chanukah and they murdered 15 innocent people. They wounded dozens more - men, women and children. This was an antisemitic terrorist attack aimed at Jewish Australians inspired by ISIS, the deadliest that has ever occurred on Australian soil.
The Albanese Labor Government will establish a Royal Commission on Antisemitism and Social Cohesion in response to the Bondi terrorist attack.
The Government has asked Former High Court Justice the Hon Virginia Bell AC to serve as Commissioner.
Ms Bell has the deep experience and expertise to conduct her inquiry in such a way that meaningfully examines the impact of antisemitism on the daily life of Jewish Australians – and works to promote social cohesion.
GREG CAMPBELL, MAYOR OF CLONCURRY: Good afternoon and welcome to Cloncurry. I’d like introduce and welcome the Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to Cloncurry, as well as Treasurer Jim Chalmers and Minister for everything Local Government and Regional Australia, Kristy McBain. And to all of you. This is a fairly huge, significant event that’s been impacting the Cloncurry Shire and the Greater North West region at the moment. A weather event that has dropped over a year’s worth of rainfall in two or three days, and in places [INDISTINCT].
The Albanese and Crisafulli Governments have today committed an additional $38 million towards large-scale disaster recovery efforts for flood affected communities across north-west Queensland.
Targeted investments will be made across programs and projects that will assist the recovery of flood affected farmers and communities, including:
When the first platypus specimen arrived in England around 1799, the scientists at the British Museum thought it was a hoax. They spent hours looking for stitches and glue, trying to prove that this furry, duckbilled, web-footed animal sent from the other side of the world was nothing more than a clever forgery.
The platypus did not fit into any of the old categories that European scientists used to classify every other animal they'd come across.
EMMA MCBRIDE, ASSISTANT MINISTER FOR MENTAL HEALTH AND SUICIDE PREVENTION: Thank you everybody for coming here today to The Entrance on the Central Coast of New South Wales. I'm delighted to welcome back the Prime Minister and my good friend and colleague, Dr Gordon Reid, who's joining us after doing a shift in the local ED yesterday. Today is a really significant day when we, what comes into effect, one of our major election commitments.
The Albanese Labor Government is delivering cheaper medicines, 1800MEDICARE and more mental health support for Australians this New Year.
From today, general patients will now pay no more than $25 per PBS script. The last time PBS medicines cost no more than $25 was 2004 – more than 20 years ago.
This is a more than 20 per cent cut in the maximum cost of PBS medicines and will save Australians over $200 million each year.
ANTHONY ALBANESE, PRIME MINISTER: I am joined this morning by the AFP Commissioner and Minister Tony Burke. And firstly, I did want to make some comments about natural disasters that are occurring in two places around Australia. Firstly, Tropical Cyclone Hayley has intensified to Category 4, and is located around about 150kms northwest of Broome, with sustained winds of some 165 kilometres per hour. It is expected to potentially reach land this evening.