Radio interview - 2SM

RICHARD KING, HOST: Good morning, Prime Minister.

ANTHONY ALBANESE, PRIME MINISTER: Good morning, good to be with you.

KING: Yep, likewise. Jacqui Lambie, the $300 power bill relief, obviously, you know, when we talk about what's in it for me, that's probably number one for everybody. But a lot of people are suggesting it shouldn't be for everybody, Prime Minister.

PRIME MINISTER: Well, this is a Budget for all Australians. And just as every Australian taxpayer will get a tax cut, every household will benefit from this energy bill relief. We know that people are, many people are doing it tough, and we want to make sure that along with what I said on election night, no one left behind. The most efficient, most effective way to provide relief is to provide it broadly and that's what we're doing. There is a range of other measures that are very targeted, including our Rent Assistance, the first time we've had back-to-back support and increases in rent assistance in many decades, if ever.

KING: Now ok, back to the $300. That's not a handout. That'll actually be automatically taken off people's bills?

PRIME MINISTER: That's exactly right. And the reason why it's designed that way is that that is how you put that downward pressure on costs, on the CPI, on inflation. And just as it was effective when we did the measure last time, it will be effective this time again. It's expected to reduce all of our cost of living policies and designed to directly reduce headline inflation by three quarters of a percentage point in the coming year.

KING: All right, now who works that figure out? Treasury or?

PRIME MINISTER: Treasury.

KING: Yeah, okay. But how can you guarantee that things like the $300 rebate won't, in fact, add to inflation?

PRIME MINISTER: Well, we know what happened before. This is an extension of a scheme that's been very effective, that had that impact of moderating inflation. We know that inflation is now down to an annual rate of 3.6 per cent. Now that is less than it was anticipated to be in the mid-year forecast of 3.75, was what it was expected to be by the end of this financial year, by the end of June. And that is half of what we inherited. Inflation peaked before the last election. In the March 2022 quarter, inflation rose by 2.1 per cent in just one quarter. We have now got it down to an annual rate of 3.6. There's more work to do. But one of the things that we had to do in this Budget was to provide that cost of living support, because we know that so many Australians are feeling under pressure, but do it in a way that didn't add to inflation. So responsible relief without adding to inflation, that was really important.

KING: Ok. As I mentioned, one of the criticisms about this $300 energy relief, it goes to everybody. Many argue it shouldn't go to anybody. Angus Taylor also arguing that your tax incentives for clean energy and manufacturing projects under this Future Made in Australia plan, he said, we cannot, and I'm quoting here, 'we cannot support billions in handouts to billionaires'.

PRIME MINISTER: Well, that just shows a complete ignorance of what is in the proposal. It's the first thing that they said no to was Australian jobs and a future made here in Australia. Now you're based there in the great Hunter Valley. The Hunter Valley used to make the trains, for example, here in NSW. That made an enormous difference of creating jobs. But guess what? The trains actually fitted the rail lines and could fit on the stations and they were effective. We can make things here in Australia and we have an enormous opportunity to do just that. To take advantage of what is a massive shift in the global economy, because Australia is well positioned. We have all the resources that will drive the global economy in this century, and we need to seize those opportunities to create high skilled jobs and to create a future which sees economic growth.

KING: Look, you mentioned making things here in Australia. Making houses is one of the big issues at the moment. We have a housing crisis, and in the five years from this July, you're aiming to build 1.2 million new homes. The Treasurer said our goal is ambitious but achievable. But everybody's saying it's not achievable, Prime Minister, the way we're heading at the moment.

PRIME MINISTER: Well, it is achievable, but you don't reach a target by not aiming for it. What we are doing in this Budget now brings our investment in housing to $32 billion. We have a new agreement for housing and homelessness across every state and territory government going forward over the next five years. We have our incentives that are there for the private sector, have Build to Rent Scheme. We have our Housing Australia Future Fund which will invest in social housing along with the Social Housing Accelerator. We have as well incentives for state and territory governments to get planning laws right to make sure that we do get appropriate development in our cities and in our regions so that we can deliver on what is necessary. We know that the key is supply and that's why we have a range of measures to boost supply in all of our budgets, including this one that provides substantial new money for homes in every single part of the country.

KING: Earlier in the year Chris Bowen, our Energy Minister, was saying that gas is not viewed by the Federal Government as a transition fuel as we head towards renewables. And yet last week your government's done a backflip on that and said, yes, gas is definitely the transition fuel as we head to renewables. And yet gas and coal aren't part of the Budget's vision for a Future Made in Australia, Prime Minister?

PRIME MINISTER: Well, that's not right, that characterisation. One of the things that we know is that the shift to renewables is happening. We have enormous investment, but what you need to do is to make sure that you have security of supply. So what gas does is enable that firming capacity to take place. For example, Rio Tinto have just done the biggest deal ever for renewable energy for their operations in Central Queensland. What they say is that they want gas to provide that firming capacity at this stage. They want to move towards the potential use of green hydrogen. But gas is what has enabled them, along with other companies, of course in manufacturing, to be able to make that shift.

KING: Now, there's also a very strong rumour that you're going to increase GST put that extra money towards the South Sydney Rabbitohs so they can buy a premiership. Is that true?

PRIME MINISTER: Well, we need something, mate.

KING: You do.

PRIME MINISTER: But that's not on the agenda. We need -

KING: Lots of luck.

PRIME MINISTER: We need a reset and, well, we need our players to stop being injured. I note that Alex Johnson's back this week. There were a few players, as you know, I'm a bit of a tragic -

KING: You are.

PRIME MINISTER: There were, a few players made their debut last week who were unknown to me, I've got to say. I'm not quite sure they got them from, but we, the truth is we are struggling a little bit. But the Knights finally had a breakthrough.

KING: Well yes, we have had a breakthrough. And you're happy about bringing back a Queenslander to coach the Rabbitohs in Wayne Bennett?

PRIME MINISTER: Wayne Bennett's not a Queenslander. Wayne Bennett is as close as you get to a football God in rugby league.

KING: All right, well, good luck on the weekend and thank you very much for your time this morning, Prime Minister.

PRIME MINISTER: Thanks very much, mate.

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