Press conference - Parliament House, Canberra

ANTHONY ALBANESE, PRIME MINISTER: Good morning. Late last night, I had a very productive, constructive and lengthy and substantial phone call with President Trump of the United States. The President and I exchanged views on a number of global and regional issues, including the conflict in the Middle East and recent developments in the Pacific. This included briefing the President on the recent alliances that we have established, the coming into force of the alliance with Papua New Guinea, the signing of the alliance with Fiji, and the other arrangements that we have made right across the Pacific and South East Asia, all of which are contributing to a more peaceful, stable and prosperous region. We discussed the strength of our alliance, which is 75 years old this year and continues to go from strength to strength. I said to the President, we have had two alliances in our first 125 years with the United States and with New Zealand and then two alliances in the last 12 months. That says something about the work that we are doing in our own region.

We reviewed the significant progress that has been made under AUKUS, which remains full steam ahead. We agreed it was a project that is and will continue to deliver benefits for the United States, for Australia and for the United Kingdom. We discussed the progress on Pillar 2 of AUKUS, where we have agreed our first signature project focused on joint development of cutting edge payloads and enabling systems for uncrewed undersea vehicles. I was able to brief the President on pioneering Australian defence technology, including uncrewed military systems - Ghost Bat and Ghost Shark.

We were able to review progress of our agreement on critical minerals, which is making real progress under which we are delivering more than $3.5 billion worth of critical minerals projects. This includes the Alcoa Gallium project which will be able to supply around 10 per cent of the global demand for gallium. We both welcomed the recent investment of $400 million USD in Sunrise Energy Metals project near Dubbo. This is a project which is critical for the production of high heat aluminium alloys used in fighter jets and spacecraft.

We also discussed developments in technology including artificial intelligence and agreed to continue to work closely on these issues. We also discussed our economic relationship and noted the significant investments being made in each of our countries which are building our respective sovereign capabilities.

The President expressed his appreciation for the more than 180 firefighters that are currently in the United States to support with wildfires and which builds on our long history of helping each other in times of crisis.

I informed the President that I very much look forward to meeting with the incoming United States Ambassador to Australia, Dr. David Brat. He expressed his appreciation of the relationship with our new Ambassador to the United States, Greg Moriarty as well.

It was a very productive and wide ranging call. It went into a few personal issues and one which demonstrated the strength of the relationship between Australia and the United States. It was very warm and productive. And the President did ask me today, I told the President I would be talking about this this morning and he wanted to pass on his best wishes to the people of Australia who he feels a great warmth towards. I was able to pass on my best wishes to the United States on their 250th birthday as well as my personal best for the President's 80th birthday.

JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, was there any discussion of tariffs at all and did you ask the President for an exemption?

PRIME MINISTER: I did raise this issue. I always put forward Australia's national interest during these discussions. And the ask that I made of the President is that he consider a full exemption, or at the very least no increase, which is there. We've been subject to the 12.5 per cent tariff. I informed him about our record when it comes to dealing with issues such as modern slavery, the strengthening that we have put forward as well to look and hold companies accountable for the supply chain process as well. I was able to say to the President, of course, that we have a Free Trade Agreement with the United States. That all goods and services are exempt from tariffs to Australia. And that over 20 years Australia has had, or the United States has had, a trade surplus with Australia of $442 billion USD. There has been $3.6 billion Australian investment in the US since we last met across a range of issues including defence, critical minerals, rare earths, manufacturing. And I put the argument very much to the President, as a friend of the United States, we would request that to be considered. We have a different position when it comes to tariffs and of course our position as a government is that tariffs are an economic imposition and a cost on the countries that are imposing them and we support free and fair trade. The President of course, has a different position that he's expressed on many times. But I did ask that Australia's position as a friend of the United States be considered and the President agreed that he would give consideration to my request. And we of course will have further engagement on at least two visits to the United States this year to New York, to the United Nations, where we will have contact there. And of course, the G20 is being hosted in Florida in December.

JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, Australian motorists paying well over $2 a litre for petrol, we've had three rate hikes this year due to inflation. What pressure did you put on the President to end the Iran war and what update did he give you on that situation?

PRIME MINISTER: We had an extensive update from the President and I appreciated his perspective. Some of that, you will understand, is classified, so I won't be going into the level of detail. It's up to the President to outline the US's strategy when it comes to military. I expressed our view that we wanted to see an end to the conflict there. We did, and continue to say, that Iran shouldn't be allowed to have nuclear weapons. That represents a huge risk for the region. We've seen with Iran's behaviour during this war where they have not just engaged with the United States and Israel, but have launched attacks on a range of countries in the region, including the UAE. I was able to outline to the President as well Australia's contribution, including the E-7A aircraft and the other assistance that we've given to the UAE. It is having an impact on Australia and indeed on the global economy. The President expressed his confidence going forward.

JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, just back on trade. If we do have such a special relationship with the United States, why are they treating a friend like Australia like they are when it comes to these tariffs?

PRIME MINISTER: The President has a different position on tariffs that he has expressed on a number of occasions over a number of years. We believe very much that tariffs are not in the interests of either the country that is having them imposed on them or the country imposing them. We have a different view, a different perspective. What I was able to do was to put the case to the President, not in ideological terms, because the position is what it is. But I was able to put to the President that Australia has a position, not just the $442 billion trade surplus which is occurring, but was also able to talk about our superannuation funds, which the President has, since our meeting in the White House, you will have seen on a number of occasions the President, I think publicly, but certainly as well as privately, has expressed his support, if you like, or acknowledgement of the significance of Australia's superannuation funds, many of which have a big presence as well. Australian Super, for example, our biggest industry fund, has a presence and an office in the United States. It's no accident that we chose Heather Ridout as our Consul-General in New York and that the President knows, and I repeated last night, that our funds will grow to $5.5 trillion over this coming decade. That represents a very significant fund. They make decisions, of course, in the interest of their superannuates, in the interests of retirees, but that also represents an investment vehicle from Australia, including into the United States. And so I put the case as strongly as I could. It was a constructive discussion about why Australia should get, at least, the best treatment. I note that we did have as good a deal as any country in the world with the original tariffs that were announced.

JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, on several occasions you've given guarantees that Western Australia's GST deal would remain in place. There's a Productivity Commission Report coming out later today. Economists outside of that have long said that that deal is disproportionately benefiting West Australia at huge cost to the Commonwealth. Pending that final report later in the year, are you open to revisiting that commitment you made to Western Australia?

PRIME MINISTER: Western Australia deserves a fair deal and they contribute to our national economy. They're a driver of our national economy. This interim report, that I think went to the States and Territories yesterday, and is being released soon is just that, an interim report. There'll be a final report before the end of the year. This is a report that was commissioned by the Morrison Government, not by our government. And it will be, we'll wait and see what they say at the end of the year. But I assure Western Australians of this - you will get your fair share because your work and what you contribute to the national economy really counts. And importantly, I make this point as well, in your question you framed it absolutely right. The Commonwealth picks up the additional costs to the States and Territories. The no Worse Off Guarantee to the States and Territories ensures the WA has got additional funding, but not at the expense of other States and Territories.

JOURNALIST: PM, gambling looks like it will be one of the things that gets over the line next week if you can get a deal with the Coalition. What's your personal view on inducements as a tool for the gambling industry to keep people betting?

PRIME MINISTER: That they're over the top and they need to be wound back. That in particular some of the inducements that will encourage people into the system are just not on. They need to be wound back. We're going to wind them back. And we have a position that we took to our ALP National Conference in Adelaide along those lines. We're working constructively across the Parliament to put in place these reforms. They are important. They are important that - people will draw an analogy with a range of other activities - the problem is addiction. And when someone has an addiction, if there are inducements that they're encouraging that addiction, that's a bad thing. Just as, you know, there's nothing wrong with people having a punt on a Saturday, there's nothing wrong with people having a beer after work. The problem is, if it's an addiction, it becomes whether it's gambling, whether it's alcoholism, whether it's drug addiction, that is where problems arise. And it can cause massive issues for people. The Government's conscious about that. And that's why we have already, before this legislation, put in place more reforms and restrictions on gambling than any government in the previous 122 years since Federation, the most important of which I think is BetStop. That has been a huge success. But we'll also look in the amendments that we're considering and we'll go through our process respectfully in our Caucus, as will other parties here. But can I say I welcome the constructive discussions which have taken place.

JOURNALIST: What assurances did you secure from the President regarding dropping modern slavery tariffs?

PRIME MINISTER: I raised those issues and I pointed to the fact that Australia has already strong laws, but that we'd be strengthening them even further by looking at holding companies accountable across supply chains.

JOURNALIST: Given that issues in the Pacific, and you were mentioning the recent alliance with Fiji, was any discussion had of the recent Chinese missile test in the Pacific? Was President Trump concerned by that? Is there any further action that the US and Australia could do together to kind of bring that down?

PRIME MINISTER: I raised the concern that we had, and reiterated or informed the President, made the statement that I think is absolutely right, that this caused a great deal of concern right across the Pacific, which is true. The statements that were made, of course, including the statements that were made in a press conference I had with the Solomon Islands’ leader as well. So, we continue to engage constructively, but I raised that issue.

JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, you say you apologise for your comments regarding Kylie Minogue. What is the difference between your comments about shagging Ms. Minogue and gesturing at your chest when you were discussing Ms. Takaichi’s melons?

PRIME MINISTER: I have apologised for elements of the podcast. I gave an unequivocal apology. One of the things that I've said, though, is that, as the Japanese Ambassador has said, the visit of the Japanese Prime Minister was a constructive one, was very warm. We were able to have dinner. When I give interviews, anyone who has sat down with me, and there's a bit of footage of me doing interviews, sitting on chairs, will say that I don't do them with my arms crossed. And so certainly, as the interpretation that some have put on this is simply not correct. And the Japanese Ambassador has made that clear as well.

JOURNALIST: Can you explain why you didn't intervene when Ms. Osborne brought up the Japanese Prime Minister's body in that podcast? Is it okay to let that language go unchecked?

PRIME MINISTER: If you have a look at the discussion that was occurring at some stages, you know, two people are talking at once in a podcast with the comedian. I reiterate the fact that the interpretation that some have put on it was not correct. If you look at any of the interviews that I've done, I mean, I'm responsible for my words. And I note that of all the words that have been written on this, no words have been, none of my words have been, have been criticised. None.

JOURNALIST: Do you think in hindsight, given, you know, the criticism you've received and upon reflection now, that perhaps it is not appropriate for you to appear on a podcast titled Bush Deep when it was full of sexual innuendo, or do you think it is still appropriate?

PRIME MINISTER: I do a range of interviews. I've done across a range of, you know, you can look at these things in hindsight, but I do a range of interviews, including one with Ozzy Man Reviews who puts words into his videos for animals that are engaging with each other. In modern media I talk to a range of people, many of whom I don't agree with everything that they say. The point here that I reiterate is that this has obviously been raised particularly this week. The podcast was done on June 9, more than two months ago. And I apologise unequivocally for elements of that. The issue of the relationship with Japan though, as the Japanese Ambassador has confirmed, the relationship has never been stronger. The relationship that I have with Prime Minister Takaichi, just like the relationship that I had with Prime Minister Kishida, is incredibly strong, incredibly strong. And the relationship during that visit was about the economic upgrade of our relationship, our trade, our defence relationship, including what we're doing with the frigates that we're purchasing in Japan. These are all positive steps forward.

JOURNALIST: I think today’s the day you go past Paul Keating as the longest serving, as the next longest serving Labor Prime Minister. Do you ascribe any significance to that, given the volatility of the last 10, 15 years?

PRIME MINISTER: I noticed Paul Kelly making some comments about the different phases that had occurred in Australian politics in recent times, with the Hawke and Keating Governments and then followed by the Howard Government. Long periods of consistency, periods that had people in place for a period of time. And then we went through a period of the revolving door where four people who had won elections as Prime Minister were replaced by their own party. I don't think that is constructive. If you look around the world, I've engaged now with three Prime Ministers of Japan, five Prime Ministers of the United Kingdom, multiple leaders in other nations as well. I think that there is a significance in the fact that we have been able to be an orderly government. I lead a government that is a proper cabinet government. We don't just respond to the 24 hour media cycle. We respond to immediate issues that are before us, including the fuel security issue, where we've managed to secure more fuel in Australia today than were there in February 28. We put in place those measures with Export Finance Australia, with our relationships in the region with Singapore, Brunei, Malaysia, securing Australia's national interest, the work that we're doing on fuel security going forward as well. You're able to do that if you are focused on the needs of Australians, not focused on internal issues. And that has been a strength of the Government.

I'm proud to lead Australia each and every day. And each and every day I stand up and think about how I can make a positive difference. As Prime Minister, I have a bit of a test of wanting to make a decision every day, which we have to do. A lot of what goes on, people don't see. I mean, last night, I came back here, late at night to have this interview. I'm up early this morning. I'll go to Sydney too, giving a speech at the Lysicrates Prize at the University of Western Sydney. I have an event with Minister Bowen about the half a million batteries that we've implemented. It's a busy time and I don't want to waste a day. So, milestones are really not what I'm focused on. I'm focused on making a difference each and every day. And Paul Keating is a friend of mine, as you know. I talked to Paul a couple of days ago, as I do regularly as well. He is an extraordinary individual. When I think about Paul, I think about, you know, a guy who was a sparky, left school in Year 10, got the apprenticeship there, and someone who went on to be a great Treasurer and Prime Minister. And he's someone who, from time to time on AUKUS, we have a different view, but he's always worth listening to.

JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, should your government seek to crack down on visa overstayers as part of your migration plan, what assurances can you give to multicultural communities that they won't face ICE-style raids? What will that look like? And when can we expect to hear from Tony Burke or to hear the new version of the Government's migration plan?

PRIME MINISTER: We continue to implement our migration policy. And I note that we've brought the numbers down by 45 per cent, and we've done that from its peak. We've done that without vilifying people, without trying to divide the community, but bringing people together in the national interest. That's what our policy does. That's what we’ll continue to work on, making sure that we do what is necessary to make sure that there is a fair system in place, that the sort of abuses that were identified in the reviews that took place into the migration system are removed. That's the way my Government works. And my Government, it supports multiculturalism. We don't find it difficult to say that. It's who we are. We are a multicultural nation here. And not only is that, I think, economically a plus, because it gives us connections with the whole world through our diaspora, it is also a social plus –                                                                           JOURNALIST: On visa overstayers, are you going to be doing –

PRIME MINISTER: And I say that beyond the narrow sense. I think when there is so much turbulence in the world, the fact that we can be a microcosm where in my old ‘hood of Marrickville, you can have people of Christian, of every variety, including Orthodox Christians, Muslims, Jews, Buddhists, Hindus and people of no faith living side by side, people of different backgrounds, overwhelmingly in harmony. Overwhelmingly in harmony. And my Government will not do anything that breaches harmony. What we want is for Australia to be more united. It is other forces that seek to divide people for political ends. That's not something my Government will do. Thanks very much.

PM&C acknowledges the traditional owners and custodians of country throughout Australia and acknowledges their continuing connection to land, water and community. We pay our respects to the people, the cultures and the elders past, present and emerging.