Radio interview - 2DAYFM with Hughesy, Ed & Erin

HOST: Yes, the Prime Minister of Australia, the very popular Anthony Albanese joins the show. Hello, Prime Minister. Happy New Year.

ANTHONY ALBANESE, PRIME MINISTER: Good morning. Happy New Year to you both.

HOST: We are so happy that you have wanted to come on our show. So, how long have you been Prime Minister now? Can you remember?

PRIME MINISTER: I can, indeed. Since May 21 last year. And so, it's been a very, very busy seven months.

HOST: You know, I remember as well. Because that's the night I started vaping.

PRIME MINISTER: I'm not responsible for that. That is a bad idea.

HOST: Hang on, that was one of your major platforms, wasn't it, Prime Minister?

HOST: I was celebrating your victory, Anthony. And I started vaping. But I had no idea I was going to get hooked. But I only tell that story because I have quit vaping about four months ago. So, I'm off it.

PRIME MINISTER: Good on you. You should have had a beer on May 21.

HOST: I did have a zero beer. I don't drink, Anthony. But I did have a zero beer. But I'm off vaping. So, you would recommend that people get off vaping if they're vaping? Is that right?

PRIME MINISTER: Absolutely. Don't smoke and don't vape. There's a bit of evidence that people can get hooked on vaping as well.

HOST: It's terrible, Prime Minister. They end up lying on the floor of the radio studios to avoid the boss.

HOST: Now, Prime Minister, what is your New Year's resolution?

PRIME MINISTER: Well, I'm not sure I can tell you because I'm not sure that if you say it, that it comes true. But my New Year's resolution is just to continue to deal with cost of living pressures and continue to try to do my best governing the country.

HOST: I was hoping you'd say, 'Get abs'.

HOST: Get abs?

HOST: Well, I don't think Anthony needs abs. Can I call you Anthony? What should I call you? Sorry, sorry.

PRIME MINISTER: You can call me whatever you like. But Anthony is absolutely fine. One of the difficulties, you might recall us talking about me getting fit before the election campaign. Let me tell you, as Prime Minister, it's a lot harder because there's a lot more function to go to and hard to make time to exercise and all that. I'm trying to be disciplined about that. I'm finding it more difficult.

HOST: It feels like, Anthony, it feels like you get fit to get married. And once you get married, you let yourself go. And you becoming Prime Minister is like, you know, you've achieved your life's goal now. So, you're able to let yourself go.

PRIME MINISTER: Able to just pack it on after that, you reckon?

HOST: Mate, you have met all the big, big names around the world. What's Prince Charles like? He's the King. What's the King? What's he like?

PRIME MINISTER: I thought he was terrific. We had a good discussion, an audience as they say, with King Charles on the Saturday just a couple of days before his mum, Queen Elizabeth's, funeral. And we had a discussion that went over time. You will have seen in those shows that they're supposed to ring the bell or press the button. That didn't happen because we are both urban policy nerds. We were talking about cities policy and we were talking about a whole range of things. It was very, very positive.

HOST: Who did you keep waiting?

PRIME MINISTER: I found him charming. I'm not going to disclose that.

HOST: What about Harry or William? Whose side are you on? William or Harry?

PRIME MINISTER: I'm staying out of family disputes. I think that's a good idea for me to stay way, way away from that.

HOST: Who is your best international leader friend? If you were going to take someone to say, 'How about them bears', or just to have a chat, who's your best international leader friend?

PRIME MINISTER: I've got a few besties. A couple of them are not surprising, of course. So, Jacinda Ardern just across the ditch. And Joe Biden and I have a lot in common.

HOST: Just on Joe, for a second. I mean, he's obviously still popular over there. But people say he's too old. What do you say to people who say that Joe Biden's too old and is losing it mentally?

PRIME MINISTER: He's doing the job. He's doing the job. And he had an outstanding result in the midterm elections.

HOST: He did, no doubt.

PRIME MINISTER: But the couple who have really surprised me because of cultural differences, Joko Widodo and I, the Indonesian President, we got on so well.

HOST: We do need to be friends with Indonesia.

HOST: They went on a bike ride. Did you go on a bike ride in Bali, in Nusa Dua? Is that where you rode the bike?

PRIME MINISTER: We did that in Jakarta.

HOST: You went on a bike ride?

PRIME MINISTER: It was fantastic.

HOST: Did you pedal faster than him? Or were you about the same sort of fitness?

PRIME MINISTER: Well, I did say at one stage, it had been a little while since I've been on a bike, and I did ask him, for those of you who when you think about it, sometimes you can ride a bike too slow. We were going really slowly and were being filmed by this drone.

HOST: You were going to fall off Joe Biden style.

PRIME MINISTER: I said, 'Can we go a bit faster?'

HOST: You were losing your balance.

PRIME MINISTER: It was a bamboo bike. Him and Prime Minister Kishida of Japan. We've got on exceptionally well as well.

HOST: These are big names.

HOST: Excellent. Anything else before the Prime Minister has to go and do some actual work, Hughesy?

HOST: Obviously, you're a proud new South Welshman. Dom Perrottet obviously got in trouble over a uniform he wore when he had his 21st. Have you got anything to say about that?

PRIME MINISTER: I'm staying clear of that. I think people will make up their own mind about those issues. That, obviously, isn't the wisest thing.

HOST: Do you think it's a sackable offence?

PRIME MINISTER: Well, I think there's an election in March and people will make their mind up about a whole range of issues. But primarily, they'll make their mind up about who is best to lead the state on policy issues.

HOST: Very diplomatic. Are there any photos of you as a child or a young person that you think, 'I hope that doesn't surface', that you can remember?

PRIME MINISTER: Well, I hope so. I would have led a pretty boring life if there wasn't.

HOST: Well, send them to us.

PRIME MINISTER: So, 'I hope so' is the answer to that.

HOST: Fair enough.

PRIME MINISTER: But I assure you that there's nothing like that. Nothing whatsoever like that. But I do think that I am lucky that I'm a bit older than Dom. And these days, I think people with cameras around and photos of everything, I'm sure there's a few young people who will regret the invention of cameras on phones in a few years.

HOST: Absolutely right.

HOST: Put the phone away and enjoy yourself, but do it respectfully.

PRIME MINISTER: Exactly. Enjoy the moment. There's nothing more annoying than people in front of you at a gig trying to film the entire concert. It's like, 'Hello, people, you can just look at something on YouTube. Why do you think you're going to film something better than the professionals?' Enjoy the concert.

HOST: What about you and selfies? Do you always say yes to selfies? As Prime Minister, it must be happening all the time.

PRIME MINISTER: It sure does. But people are polite. And people who are polite and all of that, it's just a part of modern life and it's a nice thing to do. And the only thing worse, I reckon, for a politician having to do lots of selfies a day is no one wanting to get a selfie with you at all.

HOST: That is right. Thank you Member for Marrickville, the Prime Minister. We will speak to you to soon.

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