Doorstop interview – Melbourne | Prime Minister of Australia
ANTHONY ALBANESE, PRIME MINISTER: I am a Hawthorn fan. But today, I am very pleased to be a part of this magnificent event here at Collingwood. And the most significant change in sport, which reflects some of the changes in society, has been the shift to gender equity. And this facility for the AFLW team in particular will make an enormous difference. And it’s been great to be here today with the players, with the club as well, celebrating the great history of this fantastic club. And I certainly hope that tomorrow is a very tight game in the Grand Final. I’m looking forward to going along and watching.
JOURNALIST: (Inaudible).
PRIME MINISTER: We made clear when the incident occurred tragically earlier this year that we would ground the fleet while the investigation is occurring. That investigation is ongoing. These aircraft were due to be retired at the end of next year. We have Black Hawks coming. And we will deal with it appropriately, the investigation is ongoing. This week, I had the tremendous honour of attending a memorial service at Holsworthy base with the families of the four brave Australians who lost their lives. Australians in our Defence Force deserve our thanks each and every day, and so too their families. They know that they undertake risks on behalf of us to defend our way of life, to defend our freedom, to defend our democracy. And it was a great honour for myself and the Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister to attend the memorial service in Holsworthy this week.
JOURNALIST: Do you think Daniel Andrews will make a good diplomat for Australia overseas?
PRIME MINISTER: I think Dan Andrews is going to make a good golfer in the immediate sense. When I spoke to Dan, that is his intention, to take a bit of a break. Look, Daniel Andrews has enormous capacity and he will be successful in whatever endeavour he now embarks on in his future life. I am looking forward to meeting Jacinta Allan in a couple of hours as Premier. I have known Jacinta for 25 years. She will make an extraordinary Premier of Victoria and that will be a fantastic thing.
JOURNALIST: Are you happy that the Labor Party got that sorted in one day? It looked like it could have been a contest for a while there.
PRIME MINISTER: It was good that it was worked through in such a smooth way. I think that Jacinta Allan as Premier, Ben Carroll as Deputy, is a very good outcome. Vicky Ward, the new minister, I have known for a long period of time as well. This is a very good Government here in Victoria. It is a Government that makes a difference to the lives of Victorians, that is building record infrastructure. The precinct close to here, it is probably one of the world’s best medical research precincts. They are developing good policies to increase housing supply. They have led on so many social policy issues and I look forward to continuing to work with the Victorian Government and Jacinta Allan as Premier.
JOURNALIST: A tip for tomorrow?
PRIME MINISTER: I hope it is a very tight game. I will be making my formal tip at the brekky tomorrow morning. I just hope it is a great game. Too many grand finals in recent years have been blow outs. I was there to see the Pies-Saints game that was a draw and that was incredibly exciting. The real winner that day was Andrew Demetriou, who was quite happy about the replay being done. I am not sure the players were as happy. They have changed the rules since then. I was at that grand final and I also saw the Pies win, I think it was in 1990 when they broke a considerable drought, a long time ago. My first grand final was 1989, where I saw my team, Hawthorn beat Geelong. Gary Ablett kicked nine goals, got the Norm Smith but in a losing side. When you come from Sydney people assume that you have never seen an AFL game in your life. My son played for the Newtown Swans in the Sydney comp and it is a fantastic sport. It is particularly a great sport to watch live. It is an even better sport now that we have these magnificent women along with magnificent men playing it. It is a transformation that will make such a difference to women and girls for generations to come. Just as the transformation in other sports, be it cricket or rugby league or what we saw with the Matildas. It is a major game.
Can I finish off by just saying a big shout out to the Pies for being the first AFL club to endorse Yes in the referendum on October 14. It says something about the nature and culture in this club and the fact that they have recognised in these facilities as well the cultural heritage of First Nations people and players. It is a great thing.