Radio interview – 2GB Exodus Foundation Christmas Lunch
SUSIE ELELMAN, HOST: It’s always lovely to have your company. And if you are in Sydney and you’re anywhere near Ashfield, I really welcome you to come out and see the Christmas spirit that is being portrayed here at the Uniting Church at Ashfield. It is just quite extraordinary. People are tucking into a delicious Christmas meal. The volunteers are going around. The joy that’s here, having so many people that are dropping in to say hello. And of course, they don’t come much bigger than our Prime Minister himself, the 31st and current Prime Minister of Australia, Anthony Albanese. Welcome.
ANTHONY ALBANESE, PRIME MINISTER: Thanks very much, Susie. And isn’t it just an amazing day here? I’ve been coming here for many years now. And if anything can uplift your spirits, it is Bill Crews Foundation, the work they do on Christmas Day. It’s just wonderful.
ELELMAN: It’s just awesome, isn’t it? Now, I know you’ve mentioned many times that your three loves are the Catholic Church, the Labor Party, and the Rabbitohs.
PRIME MINISTER: Three great faiths that I was raised with.
ELELMAN: Absolutely.
PRIME MINISTER: And have you noticed, Susie, that South Sydney, red and green, are also the colours of Christmas, you see. Bringing joy. So, I can double up every year. In my Christmas message, I’m wearing my South Sydney tie as a Christmas tie.
ELELMAN: I love it. That’s fantastic. So, what does Christmas mean to you?
PRIME MINISTER: Christmas means a time of giving a time, of thinking about those who are doing it tough. Many of the people here are doing it tough. For some people though, it’s just they don’t have a big family or somewhere else to go. For me, it was myself and my mum growing up. But she would also welcome people into the household as I got older. When I had friends who didn’t have their own family, they were always welcome at our place. And that’s really the spirit of Christmas. And for people of faith, it’s a time for them to renew their faith in Jesus Christ. It’s an important Christian celebration as well, of course, we must remember that.
ELELMAN: Most definitely.
PRIME MINISTER: That’s the foundation. But to me, what we’re seeing here is Christianity in action. It’s helping people out, helping the vulnerable and bring some joy to people’s lives. And it’s been a terrific morning here helping out. They run a very efficient production line here at the Bill Crews Foundation. I was in charge of potatoes for a little while and then I got demoted to peas.
ELELMAN: I dare not ask what you did wrong, but they have a very high standard.
PRIME MINISTER: It’s a production line. You’re in charge of just one thing. Hopefully, one day, I will be promoted to ham. I got ham last year. And maybe I was putting too much ham on the plates.
ELELMAN: Or maybe you were slicing a bit too much off.
PRIME MINISTER: No, it’s all pre-done.
ELELMAN: That can’t happen.
PRIME MINISTER: No. It is incredibly efficient. And it’s just wonderful. I’m very proud of the Inner West community that I represent. Of course, we’re in my local community where I grew up. And there are so many volunteers here who I see every year as well.
ELELMAN: Absolutely.
PRIME MINISTER: And I renew my acquaintance with them every year. And it’s particularly special to come here as the Prime Minister rather than as the Member for Grayndler.
ELELMAN: What did Santa leave you under the tree this morning?
PRIME MINISTER: Santa was very good to me. My son, Nathan, gave me some records, some albums. Very good taste too.
ELELMAN: You have very eclectic musical tastes.
PRIME MINISTER: He’s done very well. I got Radiohead, OK Computer, one of my top 10 Albums of all time, which somewhere along the way, I lost the vinyl copy of that. I got King Stingray, an amazing Aboriginal band from many of whom are Yolngu People from Arnhem Land. And it’s been described as ‘Aboriginal surf music’. It’s pretty good. And I got some other lovely gifts. A lovely tie from Jodie. She managed to find a tie, my partner, that had happy bunnies on it, which is very, very, very nice.
ELELMAN: Very nice, indeed.
PRIME MINISTER: So, I was very, very lucky this morning Santa was very good to me. And Toto, my puppy, did very well as well. She seemed to get more presents than anyone.
ELELMAN: Is that right? I’m actually going to be chatting to Dr Rob Zammit, the vet from Vineyard Vets a little later, just to make sure that people feed their pets right. Because we all tend to sort of feed our pets the Christmas dinner under the table. So, we are going to make sure we find out the good and bad things.
PRIME MINISTER: I should probably listen to that. Because it is very hard to say no to a dog. You could ask him this – what is the science behind how a dog, when pleading for food, can make its eyes tell you, ‘I have not eaten for days or weeks or months’ and get that smile and that pleading look?
ELELMAN: And the downturn slightly of the mouth.
PRIME MINISTER: Look, if politicians could do that, everyone would vote for them. It is very hard to say no.
ELELMAN: You do have a cute dog as well.
PRIME MINISTER: I do. And she knows it. Unfortunately, she knows that she’s the First Dog. And she’s played that card very often.
ELELMAN: A little bit too often this year, do you think?
PRIME MINISTER: Indeed. She’s putting on a bit of weight, I’ve got to say. I’m keeping it off, but she’s putting it on.
ELELMAN: You are keeping it off.
PRIME MINISTER: She’s struggling.
ELELMAN: What do you like to eat at Christmas time?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, this morning, I had my usual, which was just eggs. I find that keeps me going until lunchtime, which is really good. And today, later this afternoon, I am here at lunchtime, so that helps, you see, if you’re volunteering or working, you can’t eat.
ELELMAN: Me too. I can’t eat while doing this.
PRIME MINISTER: So, that is part of the plan. But we do have some cold seafood, which I think is very much the Australian thing, I think, now. Growing up, you had to have a roast turkey and roast ham, which is what we’re serving here today at Ashfield, at Exodus. But I think a prawn and an oyster and a couple of cold beers will be very, very nice.
ELELMAN: That’s Christmas, isn’t it? If you’ve just joined us, we’re coming to you live from the Uniting Church at Ashfield. And my special guest sitting in the chair is our Prime Minister, Anthony Albanese. And we’ve just watched this amazing cake go past. I don’t know if you saw that, with the Bill Cruiser.
PRIME MINISTER: It’s enormous.
ELELMAN: It’s the van that he drives around and feeds all the people. Because when Reverend Bill finishes here, of course, he’ll go out with all the vans. It’s just extraordinary. Prime Minister, I’ve done this OB over the years. I’ve had Bob Hawke sitting exactly where you’re sitting now. And I know in ’87, he made the statement about children not being in poverty in the 90s. Yet we see now, in the 21st century, in 2022, that the demand is even higher.
PRIME MINISTER: We have a lot of inequality in Australia. It’s something that my Government endeavours to fix. We can’t fix it overnight. But what we can do is to work on solutions, both government solutions, but also providing support for people like Bill Crews, who are doing enormous work out there in the community. But I know that many of the people here are doing it really, really tough. And it is important that we acknowledge that and that we do what we can at different levels of government, but also, of course, civil society as well. The truth is, some people are doing very well and others, not so much. And it’s always important at Christmas time to remember what the Christian teaching is, about helping those people. And we spoke before about the faiths that I was raised with. And part of the faith I was raised with, the Catholic faith, was very much helping people out, thinking of others, not just here in Australia, of course, but also foreign aid and helping those people in developing countries as well. And at this time of the year, of course, there are others who have really suffered because of floods in recent times that have impacted New South Wales, Victoria, Tasmania and South Australia. I just signed off funding for the flood victims in the Riverlands, in South Australia where waters are expected to peak sometime between now and New Year’s. They’re doing it really tough. And of course, COVID-19 is still out there and having an impact on people. And that has had an ongoing impact, which, of course, affects people. And we need to bear that in mind as well. So, Christmas Day can be a day of celebration for people with family and friends. But it can also be a really tough time for those who have lost loved ones during the year. And it’s a time to think about them as well. And maybe reach out if there’s a neighbour. Where I lived before I got elected Prime Minister, there’s a wonderful event held on Christmas Eve every year, where one of the neighbours, they swap it around a little bit, this year was the house next to mine and the one next to that, hosting Christmas carols and a little barbecue and just bringing the community together. And that’s so nice.
ELELMAN: That’s fabulous. Before I let you go, what’s been the best thing about being PM, and the hardest thing about being Prime Minister?
PRIME MINISTER: Being able to make a difference. When you’re in Opposition, you can make representations. But as Prime Minister, you can make a decision that makes that has a real impact on people’s lives, whether it’s protecting jobs, like the measures we did on gas prices to try to keep manufacturing jobs going, or whether it be cheaper child care, we have cheaper medicines kick in from January 1. All of those measures is, I think, the best thing that you can do. And building relations with the world as well. We were in a bit of strife with some of our neighbours. That’s the truth. And rebuilding friendships in the Pacific and also with France and other partners in Asia is really important. The most difficult thing is you can’t fix everything you would want to in a short period of time. We’ve been in Government for seven months. We haven’t been able to do everything we would want to. You have to have a measured and steady approach, an ordered approach to Government, which is what we’re trying to do. I think people have seen a lot of chopping and changing. People want a bit of consistency out there. And that’s what we’re trying to show.
ELELMAN: Well, congratulations. And thank you so much for coming out here and for joining us on air and for really lifting the spirits. It’s interesting, when you watch politicians from a distance as I did, and as I said, I’ve sat in this chair and done this OB over a number of years, not every year. And I’ve never seen a reception like you were greeted today. So, I think you are a welcome change in this country. So, congratulations. And thanks for being you.
PRIME MINISTER: Thanks so much, Susie. And it is fantastic to be here. And Merry Christmas to all of the listeners out there on 2GB this morning.
ELELMAN: Awesome. And 4BC, of course, and all the networks around Australia.
PRIME MINISTER: All around, wherever you are, have a lovely Christmas. If you’re driving, make sure you drive safely as well.
ELELMAN: Most definitely. Thank you again.
PRIME MINISTER: Thanks, Susie.
ELELMAN: That’s the Prime Minister, Anthony Albanese.