Radio Interview – Triple M Adelaide
ROO, HOST: Prime Minister, welcome to Triple M.
ANTHONY ALBANESE, PRIME MINISTER: Who doesn’t want a bit of Eagles, just to wake you up.
ROO: Dowe call you Prime Minister, do we call you Mr Albanese, or do we call you Albo?
PRIME MINISTER: Whatever you like, mate. I answer to all of the above.
LOZ, HOST: Fantastic.
ROO: All right, Albo. You were over in Port Lincoln the other day, and I know you’re trying to encourage everyone to vote Yes, but you gave the big no to the big oyster over there the other day. Why didn’t you eat the big oyster that they offered you over in Port Lincoln?
PRIME MINISTER: Mate, it was the biggest oyster I’ve ever seen in my life. It looked like a sirloin steak, not an oyster. And the best oysters are those little ones, they’re tasty and fantastic. So, why have one big one, when you can have six little ones?
DITTS, HOST: That sounds good.
LOZ: Yeah.
ROO: Well, I’ve seen some people nearly choke on those big ones, Albo. So, I think you made the right decision.
PRIME MINISTER: It was fantastic, the hospitality, I’ve got to say. I rocked in there to Port Lincoln and I expected the community reception –
ROO: He’s just dropped out.
PRIME MINISTER: People from agriculture and seafood and the port and local Indigenous leaders and all of the Councillors. It was a fantastic reception and it’s great city, I’ve got to say. I hadn’t been there before, I’m back in Adelaide now, where I’ve been many times, but it’s a fantastic place. And seeing the export terminal there, we went to the top of the silo and you get this incredible view. And a fun fact, Boston Bay is three times the size of Sydney Harbour.
DITTS: There you go.
LOZ: There you go.
DITTS: It’s a beautiful spot. All right, let’s talk about the Voice. Referendum day tomorrow. You would know the polls, you would have read all of the articles. It’s not looking good at the moment.
PRIME MINISTER: Well, I’m hoping that people do vote Yes. I heard your preamble, talking about all the information that’s been bombarded to people, and it’s really just about two things. It’s really simple and clear. Whether people vote Yes or No to this proposition is up to them. But it is just about two things. Recognising first Australians in our founding document. It’s just a fact that there were people here before 1788. That should be recognised, in my view. And secondly, just a non-binding advisory committee, so we can listen to Indigenous Australians about matters that affect Indigenous Australians. It won’t change the Parliament’s decision-making. It’s not a right of veto. Just the opportunity to listen, so that we can get better outcomes. We know that when you talk to people who are directly affected by an issue, you’ll get better results.
DITTS: Why are 22 out of the 151 federal electorates voting, only voting Yes, at the moment? What’s gone wrong for you?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, they’re not, what an absolute nonsense that survey was. I’m amazed anyone, well, it wasn’t a survey. If you looked at the detail, it some computer generated thing by some geek in the UK. Didn’t talk to a single person. One of the things that we know is that every person, you and me, get exactly the same vote. Every one of your listeners gets one vote. Go into the ballot box, make up your own mind, look at what the question is and make your own decision. It won’t impact, some, there was another survey today, front page of the Tiser, that was a real one, saying what people’s priorities were. And that is exactly what I’ve been saying. This won’t impact the lives of 97 per cent of Australians, won’t have any impact whatsoever. Life goes on. But for the three per cent of Australians, who happen to be the descendants of the original inhabitants of this great land that we share with them, it just might make life a bit better for them. So, it is an act for someone else, that won’t be impacted, in this case, the first Australians. In my view, it is just the fair go. It’s the right thing to do and that’s why I’m hoping that Australians will vote Yes.
LOZ: Now, it’s not over, obviously, until the votes are in. And polling isn’t always accurate, we’ve seen that in the past. But if it is a No, what’s the next step? I mean, this has been a very, and I don’t know if anyone intended it to be divisive, but it has been divisive, in my opinion. There are a lot of people who will be wanting still for change to happen. What will be the next steps after this, if it is a No?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, No is where we are now. That’s what we’re living in. There won’t be a change. That’s why I hope people vote Yes. Eight-year life expectancy gap. Greater chance of an Indigenous young man going to jail than the university. Twice the suicide rate. Twice the chance of an Indigenous young woman dying in childbirth. Diseases that impact Indigenous people, in places like the APY Lands and other parts of remote Australia, that have been eradicated in most places of the world. So, we do need, in my view, to do something better. This is an opportunity, it’s a request. This hasn’t come from me or politicians. This has come from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people themselves, who spent years working up this proposal leading up to 2017 at the meeting that was held at Uluru. And I just hope that people do vote Yes because I want things to get better.
DITTS: Prime Minister, having heard everything you just said, I agree with it 100 per cent. We look at education, health, employment in the Indigenous communities, it’s at an all-time low. We know all the issues and the problems. And I’m not pointing my finger at you when I say this, but past governments and past generations of people in charge. But we know that at the moment, we spend just short of about $40 billion on Indigenous programs and people in this country, and they say that about $6 billion of it gets to the source. Why don’t perhaps you, be the first Prime Minister and the first Government, to change all of that? Because all of us would be behind it. I want to see all of our Indigenous people do well and infiltrate into community and go to university and have jobs. And let’s talk about their life expectancy.
PRIME MINISTER: That’s right.
DITTS: So, rather than this referendum, how about all of us –
ROO: Spend the money better?
DITTS: How about we spend the money better and how about we actually put programs in place that, first of all, work and the money actually reaches the source, the sources, and gets spent in those areas that it’s actually meant for?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, that’s exactly what we’re trying to do.
DITTS: Well this won’tdo it. A referendum won’t do that. That won’t do it.
PRIME MINISTER: Well, it will do it. The figure you use, by the way, isn’t right. That’s been completely discredited.
DITTS: Well, it’s widely reported in a lot of surveys and university reports that you read.
PRIME MINISTER: I realised it’s been reported, but it’s not right.
DITTS: Well, we’ve done this for too long. We’ve made these mistakes for too long.
PRIME MINISTER: We have.
DITTS: We know that we throw bad money after bad money and we waste it. And we’re just not getting the right outcomes, are we?
PRIME MINISTER: That’s exactly right. And you know how you get better outcomes? By instead of bureaucrats in Canberra saying, ‘Okay, this is what we’re going to do, for example, we’re going to send fridges to everyone in a communit’y –
DITTS: Yep.
PRIME MINISTER: Without talking to the people in the community who will let you know, by the way, we haven’t got enough electricity to plug in the fridges to be able to deal with things. If you talk with people on the ground, if we get that input, that voice from people locally, what you’ll do is you’ll get better efficiency, you’ll get better outcomes. And we know that the programs that have really worked are community health programs that involve Indigenous people, are Indigenous Rangers programs, have been effective, Justice Reinvestment has been really effective. For example, during the pandemic, at the beginning, I remember being briefed that Indigenous Australians were facing catastrophic results, consequences, because they were not getting vaccinated. It was impossible for them to separate, to socially distance, because they were all in overcrowded places. There were real concerns. It was only when the bureaucrats actually got out, spoke to people, Indigenous people got some ownership over the way that the programs were run and also got some responsibility. That’s the other things about efficiency. If we give Indigenous Australians a Voice, then they’ll have responsibility for the outcomes. At the moment, there’s a disconnect there and that’s what Indigenous Australians are saying. That’s why they’ve made this request to us, to say, just listen to us about matters that affect them. It’ll be like any other group, it’d be like never talking to people in South Australia about matters that affect South Australians. People on the ground will have more idea about what is needed, and out of that you’ll get better efficiency. No one’s saying you need more money to be spent. This is about doing things better. And I think it will actually save money, if you get some of that waste out of the system.
ROO: Well, good luck tomorrow. I hope everyone gets a choice. Well, they do get a choice to go and vote and vote for what they believe in. And I think everyone, as Ditt said, wants Indigenous Australians to have a better, more successful life. And hopefully, whether the Yes or No vote goes through, that can happen anyway. But you’ve got your hands full with the housing crisis, electricity prices, fuel prices, youth, crime, paedophilia, you name it. You got that many things on your agenda, mate, you’re going to be a busy man. So, good luck.
PRIME MINISTER: Thanks, very much. That’s why we’ve been out there doing things. I opened an Urgent Care Clinic here in Adelaide, just last week. We’ve got a tripling of the bulk billing incentive on Medicare, comes in for next month. Cheaper child care started in July. Fee-Free TAFE is out there and running with 200,000 places dealing with the skills crisis. We had an Employment White Paper just last week. We’ve created over 500,000 jobs. So, we’re doing all of this, all of this, but at the same time, we hope that Australians do the right thing and vote Yes. Of course, it’s up to every Australian to make up their own mind, but I sincerely hope we get a positive outcome tomorrow. Thanks very much for having me on the program.
ROO: Good on you, Prime Minister.
DITTS: Enjoy Adelaide.
LOZ: Thank you.