Radio interview – Nova 919 Adelaide
JODIE ODDY, HOST: Can you please say very good morning to our Prime Minister, Anthony Albanese, good morning.
ANTHONY ALBANESE, PRIME MINISTER: Good morning, good to be with you.
ODDY: Thank you so much for joining us, this is a real thrill for us.
PRIME MINISTER: My absolute pleasure.
ANDREW HAYES, HOST: Prime Minister, we know that there’s a lot of important things happening in the country and you’re in town to launch some very, very big things. But, can we get straight to the big thing that’s happening on Saturday, the footy. Are you like the rest of us and you either go for Collingwood or you don’t? Therefore, now the rest of Australia is going from Brisbane.
PRIME MINISTER: It’s a bit like that, isn’t it? Well, I’m actually a Hawthorn supporter. So, growing up as a kid when the VFL was around, before the Swans first came to Sydney. And I think it’ll be, it’ll be a great game. They were the best two teams all year. So, I just hope it’s a tight grand final. There’s been a lot of blowouts in recent years. But it will be I think, a great game on Saturday.
ODDY: A lot of Collingwood supporters complaining about not getting tickets. Did you have a bit more luck, Prime Minister? Do you get to go along?
PRIME MINISTER: I get to go along –
HAYES: Work perks.
PRIME MINISTER: And I’m looking forward to going.
HAYES: Obviously, 14th of October, Prime Minister, is a referendum. I think that, there probably is still a few people who may be even confused, a little bit, about the situation. To those particular people, what’s your message?
PRIME MINISTER: That this is a really simple request that’s been made by Indigenous Australians, more than 80 per cent of Indigenous Australians are asking for a Yes vote. And it’ll do just two things. One, recognise the first Australians in our nation’s birth certificate, our Constitution. And secondly, it will create a non-binding Advisory Committee to give advice to the government on matters that affect Indigenous Australians. So that we get better outcomes, because we still have such enormous gaps on health, and education, and housing, life expectancy even, an eight year life expectancy gap. So, we need to do things better. And like in other parts of life, if you talk with people who are directly affected, you’ll get better outcome. And that is all that this is doing. It won’t change the way that we’re governed. It doesn’t take away any of the power of Parliament. But it just is an Advisory Committee. So, it’s a very gracious and generous request from Indigenous Australians, which is why I sincerely hope that Australians vote Yes.
HAYES: Before we let you go mate, I’ve just got to ask you this. And I said in a chat we had before, I need to ask the Prime Minister something that we were speaking about a couple of days ago. It’s probably a little bit left field, but we were talking about this poll that’s come out about people wearing shorts to work. We just, we feel like, that Parliament House might be the most un-short-friendly workplace in Australia. Is it something, I mean, we’re always evolving, we’re always changing, do you think there could be a future where some of the boys at Parliament House could be rocking up to work in shorts?
ODDY: And he asks this question because he wears shorts each and every day to work, Prime Minister, rain, hail or shine.
PRIME MINISTER: Well, that’s the benefit of radio.
ODDY: Yes.
PRIME MINISTER: You can wear shorts and a T-shirt and no one knows.
HAYES: How’d you know what I was wearing?
PRIME MINISTER: I’m much more comfortable in shorts and a T-shirt myself, I’ve got to say. But we have a dress code, we’ve got to wear suit, collared shirt and tie is now not compulsory, but it was for a long period of time. I haven’t seen anyone try to get into the chamber in shorts, except for, if the bells ring and there’s a division and you’ve got to vote and you’re caught in the gym or swimming pool or going for a walk or run, you’re allowed in just for the vote.
ODDY: Right.
PRIME MINISTER: And then you have to leave straightaway.
HAYES: Right, there you go.
ODDY: I do feel like, Prime Minister, if Barnaby Joyce can rock that Akubra hat, then all bets are off.
HAYES: But also Barnaby, no shorts with Barnaby.
PRIME MINISTER: I don’t think anyone wants to see Barnaby Joyce in shorts. And I don’t think he is the guide for sartorial elegance anywhere, in Parliament, outside of Parliament, anywhere in the country. I think he would concede that himself.
ODDY: All right, well there you have it from the Prime Minister, no shorts for you, Andrew Hayes. Thank you so much for joining us this morning.
PRIME MINISTER: No, keep going on the shorts! I’m pro shorts. Keep going, I’m just jealous, that’s all.
HAYES: They’re so breezy. Prime Minister, thank you so much for having chat with us.
PRIME MINISTER: Thanks, guys.