00:02Prime Minister, thanks for your time.
00:03Hey, good to be with you.
00:04Let's get straight to the budget.
00:06You've said this is one of the toughest that you'll be handing down.
00:08Just how much has it had to change just in the past couple of months?
00:11We live in an extraordinarily challenging time
00:15and the circumstances around the war in the Middle East
00:19is having an impact here and how it ends is still uncertain.
00:23So that, of course, has meant that we've had to frame the budget later than usual
00:28and that there's an element of uncertainty there going forward.
00:33But that's politics.
00:35You have to deal with immediate challenges when they're thrown at you,
00:38but do so in a way which looks towards the future,
00:42which doesn't take you off course.
00:44All right, well, we're widely expecting changes to housing tax breaks in this budget.
00:49Your government hasn't really dampened expectations.
00:51You're sort of framing it in the context of tackling intergenerational inequality.
00:56But how important, I guess, how much of a risk is there
01:00in tackling intergenerational inequality
01:03if you break an election commitment, particularly negative gearing?
01:06The really core principle of my government is no-one held back, no-one left behind.
01:12I want Australia to be a land of opportunity for the future.
01:16And the truth is that young people feel like they're not getting a fair crack at the moment.
01:21So any changes that we put in the budget or, indeed, while we're in government
01:26will be very much focused on those principles.
01:30So we'll see on May 12 and people will be able to judge
01:34whether that is in the national interest.
01:36I think it will be a budget of which I'm very proud.
01:40And the government can be proud as well.
01:43You broke an election commitment on Stage 3 tax cuts
01:45and you've said that voters ultimately were on board with that.
01:48Do you think voters now are on board with changes
01:50to capital gains, tax discount and negative gearing?
01:53Voters will make their decisions.
01:56My job and the job of the government
01:58is to put in place measures that are in the interest of the Australian public.
02:03Not necessarily to just make easy decisions,
02:07to do the hard decisions that are in the national interest.
02:10And my government has shown a preparedness to do that.
02:13Would you give any assurances to existing investors?
02:17Is the government looking to quarantine existing property investments?
02:22Well, we certainly...
02:23Everything that we do is focused on those immediate needs.
02:27We understand that people are under financial pressure.
02:30And what we want to do is to hand down a budget
02:33that assists with those immediate issues
02:36but also looks towards those long-term framework
02:41of how we set Australia up for the future.
02:43So you would look to quarantine or grandfather some existing properties?
02:47People will see the budget on May the 12th
02:49and that's when we'll make our announcements.
02:53But we've worked really hard
02:55to make sure that people are looked after.
02:58We want to make sure that people who are under financial pressures
03:03are better off in the short term
03:06but that we continue to build resilience into the economy,
03:09whether that's making more things in Australia,
03:12the economic transition that's occurring,
03:14giving financial support for people.
03:17That's why we've done measures already
03:19that will be coming through,
03:21like the halving of the fuel tax,
03:23like the tax cuts for every Australian
03:27that will come in on July 1
03:28and the $1,000 automatic tax deduction as well
03:32that will really assist low- and middle-income earners.
03:35I wanted to ask you about a really shocking story
03:37from this week, of course,
03:38the alleged murder of Kumijai little baby.
03:42Obviously, we have a community grieving right now
03:44and there was a very complex set of circumstances.
03:46But I'm just wondering,
03:47it's shone a spotlight on living conditions in town camps.
03:50Do you think there would be value to hold an inquiry
03:54into town camps, the funding, the living standards,
03:58ultimately to make sure that kids are kept safe?
04:00I think we know what the solutions are
04:03and that's why we're contributing around about $4 billion
04:07for housing in remote areas.
04:10Is that improving living standards, though, in these town camps?
04:13Absolutely.
04:14People are in town camps
04:15because they don't have access to enough housing
04:18in remote communities
04:20and that will make an enormous difference.
04:23It's by far the largest ever investment
04:25in housing in the Northern Territory,
04:28just like the investment that we have record in education
04:32or recently the record investment in hospitals as well
04:36that we've put in place.
04:37So you don't think there's value
04:38in holding an inquiry into these town camps?
04:41Look, people will...
04:42At the moment, people are still grieving in that community.
04:46But we know that conditions aren't up to scratch.
04:49We know that governments of all persuasions
04:51need to do much, much better.
04:54We know that we need the full suite of measures
04:57to make a difference,
04:58whether that be housing, of course, is essential,
05:01the security that comes with having a roof over your head,
05:03or whether it's the way that we abolished
05:08the work program that essentially was pretty meaningless
05:13and we've got now real wages
05:16with real training for Indigenous people,
05:19whether it be the increased health care
05:21that we've put in place as well that's so important.
05:24And, PM, just to finish off,
05:27today is the first anniversary of your second election win.
05:29Do you think you have a third election win in you?
05:31Well, that will be a matter for the Australian people,
05:35but I'm certainly motivated.
05:37I'm captain of a very strong team
05:39and I'm fortunate to have the privilege
05:43of representing Australia.
05:46We're the best country on earth.
05:48There's nowhere that you'd rather be than Australia.
05:52And I think if we get things right,
05:54we can really set ourselves up for a very prosperous future.
05:58We have everything that will power the global economy
06:01this century right here
06:02and that will make an enormous difference.
06:05And you'll be leading Labor to the next election, won't you?
06:07Oh, absolutely.
06:08And so, subject, of course, to ongoing support from my colleagues,
06:14but as well, every election is tough.
06:17And a year ago, we fought a tough election.
06:20We received a very strong support from the Australian people,
06:25but we certainly don't take that for granted.
06:27We'll work hard each and every day.
06:30All right, thanks, Prime Minister.
06:31Thanks very much.
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