ALLY LANGDON, HOST: Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is in the Torres Strait speaking to remote communities about an Indigenous Voice to Parliament. But the focus this morning is Bali. Prime Minister, good morning.
PRIME MINISTER ANTHONY ALBANESE: Good morning Ally.
LANGDON: We appreciate your time this morning. Can I ask for your reaction to Bali Bombing terrorist Umar Patek walking free from prison just weeks from the twentieth anniversary. Did you know about it?
PRIME MINISTER: We had been advised by the Indonesian government of this further reduction. It brings the reduced sentence now to a year and eleven months. This is a further five months from the previous eighteen month reduction that had been granted by the government. This will cause further distress to Australians who were the families of victims of the Bali Bombings. We lost 88 Australian lives in those bombings, including families like the Websters and Borgias in my own electorate. They were part of a Dulwich Hill sporting club that were up there in Bali and young people lost their lives in this terrorist attack. Every year we commemorate the loss of Australian lives in my local electorate at the Petersham Town Hall, but I’m sure those ceremonies take place around the country. I feel a great deal of common distress, along with all Australians, at this time.
LANGDON: Yeah, this is an absolute kick in the teeth to those families. You mentioned the Webster family there: I know it would have been her birthday this Sunday, so feeling particularly for that family particularly this morning. This is a man who made the bombs and he has served half of his twenty year sentence. Prime Minister, is there anything you can do? Will you be calling the Indonesian President?
PRIME MINISTER: We will continue to make diplomatic representations in Australia’s national interests about a range of these issues, including Australians who are currently being held in Indonesian jails. We will continue to make those representations diplomatically in order to serve Australia’s national interest. I know that this continues representations have been made by the former government when the initial reductions in the sentence were given to this person who, I think, is abhorrent. His actions were the actions of a terrorist. They did have such dreadful results for Australian families that are ongoing, the trauma which is there.
LANGDON: It will add to the trauma when the 20th anniversary comes around early next month.
PRIME MINISTER: Absolutely.
LANGDON: A few other issues here too, Prime Minister. Scott Morrison and the secret Ministries: will you call a Royal Commission into how all levels of government handled the pandemic?
PRIME MINISTER: I can’t conceive of a circumstance whereby after we get through the pandemic – of course, there are still issues to be raised and we are still dealing with the health implications and still dealing with them. We will need to have an examination in some form of what we got right, what we got wrong, how we can do better, if there is such a global incident in the future – a future pandemic, a cyber-security issue – how we respond. We are responding to some of the obvious: we need to be more self-reliant, we need to be more resilient, we need to make more things here. But we do need to have an examination and that will occur in some form, but we will make that decision at some time in the future.
LANGDON: Okay, you have been very vocal about Scott Morrison all week, and fair enough. But John Howard says that you need to be less of an Opposition Leader.
PRIME MINISTER: As a loyal Liberal, John Howard obviously doesn’t want people talking about the undermining of Parliamentary Democracy that Scott Morrison’s actions represent. I get asked a question, I’ll give an answer. Just as John Howard distanced himself from Scott Morrison and his actions this week, John Howard himself said that he wouldn’t have undertaken such action, the usurping of power. And I’m not surprised by that, because I can’t imagine this having occurred. It is quite extraordinary. And there has been no proper explanation of why Scott Morrison made the decision that being Prime Minister wasn’t enough. He also wanted to be Treasurer, Finance Minister, Resources Minister, Health Minister, Energy Minister. These actions undermine our system of checks and balances in our democracy.
LANGDON: But is the bloke that you beat the top priority now when you are facing energy crises, families sleeping in tents and cars because they can’t find somewhere to live?
PRIME MINISTER: You just asked me the question, Ally, and I gave you the answer. If you ask me a question about inflation or about the economy, I’ll give you an answer about that as well. This isn’t an issue that I chose to raise. This is an issue that was created by Scott Morrison’s actions and by those in the Morrison government who sat back and watched this undermining of democracy. It began, of course, with actions like appointing Scott Morrison as a single member – the only member – of a Cabinet Committee in order to avoid scrutiny. It is important how our democracy functions. It is important that we reaffirm our support for our Westminster System of government. And that’s what I’ve done this week and that’s what I’ve done this week and that’s what I’ll continue to do.
LANGDON: How do you feel about sharing the Rugby League Grand Final in years to come? Because I reckon you might be torn on this one: you are a diehard South Sydney fan but you are also the PM for Queenslanders too.
PRIME MINISTER: I think that my priority is who is playing in the Grand Final, I’ve got to say Ally. I watched the game here at a pub on Horne Island last night. It was a cracker of a game. My beloved South Sydney team didn’t quite get there but it was a fantastic contest between two great Rugby League teams.
LANGDON: I thought they had it right to the very end, but you are dodging my question. Do you think at some stage the Grand Final to Queensland – share it?
PRIME MINISTER: Look, I think that’s a matter for the NRL. I’m pointing out what my absolute priorities are, which is who is playing in the Grand Final, not where it is played. Frankly, I think a Grand Final where South Sydney played at Henson Park would do me.
LANGDON: Well, you have got a bit of sway, maybe you could pick up the phone and talk to Peter V’landys. If you open your chequebook he might be open to it.
PRIME MINISTER: It’s a great ground on a Saturday afternoon to watch footy on the hill.
LANGDON: It is indeed. Thanks for your time this morning, Prime Minister.
