Anthony Albanese speech LIVE updates: PM addresses National Press Club as federal election looms

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has concluded his National Press Club address with a final promotion of his government’s policies.

Asked if he would have done anything differently since becoming prime minister, Albanese said he receives plenty of criticism in the media.

“I have a view that, if you look at the media every morning, I don’t feel the need to give myself a character assessment on a daily basis,” he said as the crowd chuckled.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.Credit: Alex Ellinghausen

Albanese continued: “Global inflation came at us [the government] – that’s just a fact.

“We have avoided – unlike so many of our competitors in the industrialised world – we have avoided recession and haven’t had a single quarter of negative growth. And we’ve done all of that while producing two budget surpluses and making sure that we’ve continued to have our focus, our eye on that horizon,” he said.

“My job is to get on with building a better Australia. That’s what I intend to do.”

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has ruled out holding a second referendum on an Indigenous Voice to parliament.

Albanese said he respected the referendum outcome and noted Opposition Leader Peter Dutton previously promised he would commit to another referendum if he won government.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.Credit: Alex Ellinghausen

“He committed to a referendum in the next term. That’s his commitment that he made during the referendum. And I’m sure that there are some people who thought, ‘I can vote No because I’ll get another crack at a different option during the next term if Peter Dutton is prime minister’.

“What we are concentrating on is closing the gap.”

Asked if he would seek to enshrine constitutional recognition for Indigenous Australians in his second term, Albanese ruled it out.

“We will not be holding a referendum in our second term on any issues … referendums are hard to win in this country.”

Entering into a coalition government with the Greens is not an option for Labor, says Albanese.

Asked if he believed his experience as a minister in Julia Gillard’s minority government would help, Albanese said he would not be forming a coalition government.

“We won’t be entering into any coalitions. The only coalition that exists is the Liberal Party and the National Party,” he said.

“My government intends to be a majority government. That’s what we’re working towards … I’ve said it before at the last election and, indeed, in 2013 when I became deputy prime minister – we refused to do arrangements. We just continued to govern on the floor of the parliament.

“As far as agreements are done, the only coalition sits on the other side.”

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.Credit: Alex Ellinghausen

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has backed Foreign Minister Penny Wong to attend a commemoration ceremony at Auschwitz, after calls that she should not attend.

Wong is set to lead Australia’s delegation in Poland to mark 80 years since prisoners were freed from the Nazi camp in 1945. An online petition, first reported by Sky News, received more than 9000 signatures calling for Wong not to represent the government at the event.

Asked about the government’s handling of the Middle East crisis and the rise in antisemitic attacks in Australia, Albanese unequivocally backed Wong.

Foreign Minister Penny Wong and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.Credit: Alex Ellinghausen

“Foreign Minister Penny Wong is someone who understands racism and discrimination. And anyone who knows Penny Wong and her life story understands that. Penny Wong is going, as is appropriate,” he said.

“Penny Wong is our foreign minister. She has stood up against antisemitism at each and every opportunity and will always continue to do so. She’s someone for whom a core belief in the dignity of every human being is just a part of her character, as much as any person I have met in my entire life.”

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has poked fun at Opposition Leader Peter Dutton for having a fight with an imaginary friend when it comes to the Australia Day debate.

Albanese was responding to a question about polling from this masthead that showed the majority of Australians do not support changing the date of Australia Day, saying he was focused on the fullness and richness of the country’s history.

“The first thing that I will do on Sunday morning is a private ceremony that happens every year here with the prime minister of the day and the governor-general with Indigenous leaders on the banks of Lake Burley Griffin,” he said.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.Credit: Alex Ellinghausen

“I acknowledge, as well, it’s a hurtful day, a difficult day, for many First Nations people. But it’s one in which we can celebrate what we are today – whether it be our great history going back 65,000 years, or whether it is the arrival of Europeans here.”

Asked later if Albanese supports Dutton’s call to boycott pubs that refuse to celebrate Australia Day, the prime minister poked fun at the opposition leader.

“I sometimes think that Peter Dutton every year has a fight with an imaginary friend over something that most Australians are just getting on with, Australia Day,” he said.

“And one of the things that Australia Day celebrates is the fact that we’re not a Soviet-style command system. You know, like, just chill out! Get on with life.”

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has left the door open for future tax reform in a second term, saying his government will always examine responsible economic management.

Finishing his speech, Albanese said: “There’s a reason why our opponent [Peter Dutton] hasn’t fronted up here his whole time as opposition leader. He doesn’t like questions because he doesn’t have any real answers. He’s obsessed with talking Australia down to try and build himself up.”

Asked how his government will fund future policies without major tax reform and whether that will be considered in a second term, Albanese spruiked the reforms his government made to the Morrison government’s stage 3 tax cuts.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.Credit: Alex Ellinghausen

“Effectively, we had to take some off the top end in order to make sure that people weren’t left behind. That was a tough decision that we made,” he said.

“That was an important decision that we made as well. We will, of course, continue to examine responsible economic management.

“We’ll outline a range of policies that we will take to the election. Ours will be costed as the policies that I announced when I was the opposition leader were costed.

“The only costing that we’ve seen from the Coalition is the sort of flimsy costing that took place on the nuclear plan.”

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese says his latest announcement is about making sure every child in government schools gets the support they need to thrive.

“Today is about a principle that has driven me my whole life. No one held back, and no one left behind. Making sure that every child in government schools gets the support they need to thrive,” Albanese said.

“Because this agreement is not about dividing up the same amount of dollars in a different way. Instead, both levels of government are stepping up our commitment to schools over the decade.

“Importantly, this new agreement means accounting practices – like capital depreciation – can no longer be counted as education investment. Instead, every dollar of funding will go into helping children learn.

“This will mean more money than ever for public schools – but it’s not a blank cheque. Our new funding is for real reform, and it will deliver real results.”

Albanese then shifted his speech to attack Opposition Leader Peter Dutton, arguing a government under the Coalition would lead to poor economic management.

“Dutton’s economic surgery won’t be done with a scalpel – it will be carried out with an axe, hacking away at jobs and wages and Medicare, childcare and housing,” he said.

“And let’s be clear. When it comes to paying for their nuclear reactors, all these Liberal cuts won’t even touch the sides. All that money they want [will be] ripped out of Medicare and childcare and TAFE. All those new jobs and opportunities in manufacturing and technology forsaken.”

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Opposition Leader Peter Dutton.Credit: Alex Ellinghausen

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has announced a new schools’ funding agreement with Victoria and South Australia as he launched an attack on the Coalition for not mentioning education in their 12 listed priorities.

Albanese told the National Press Club his government’s previous promise of reducing HECS debt repayments by 20 per cent, fee-free TAFE and the 15 per cent pay rise for early educators has been mocked by the Coalition.

“Two weeks ago, the leader of the opposition [Peter Dutton] published a list of his 12 priorities for government. Education and skills didn’t even rate a mention. For Labor, nothing is more important to building Australia’s future than education,” Albanese said.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.Credit: Alex Ellinghausen

Albanese then said that 12 years after David Gonski outlined the national Schooling Resource Standard, the government had finally met the level of funding needed per student.

“We’ve never met that standard that was outlined so clearly. Today, we take a big step forward to making it happen,” Albanese said.

“Today, I announce we’ve secured new schools funding agreements with South Australia and with Victoria. They join the ACT, Northern Territory, Tasmania and Western Australia – meaning six of the states and territories are now signed up to better and fairer schools to meet the standards in education that Australian children deserve.”

Apprentices will be given an extra $10,000 to learn their trades in a federal bid to attract more workers to the construction industry and fix a chronic labour shortage that is being blamed for driving up the cost of housing.

The incentive payment will be offered to all apprentices in construction trades so they receive the money at five stages through their courses, adding to an existing scheme that offers the same amount to apprentices in renewable energy jobs.

As mentioned in an earlier post, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has announced his government’s latest policy to help boost trades in a bid to tackle the housing crisis.

Albanese told the National Press Club:

This means that apprentices in residential construction will now get the same training incentives as we’ve already provided for those in the energy sector.

More new homes, more new energy. And more support for the tradies who will build both. My colleagues and I know that there is more that we have to do. To keep building an economy that works for people, not the other way around.

To bring more good jobs and stronger Medicare and new housing and better education to suburbs and communities that have been overlooked for too long.

To help more Australians make up the ground they’ve lost over years of global uncertainty and a wasted decade of Liberal neglect.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese during an address to the National Press Club.Credit: Alex Ellinghausen

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has begun his National Press Club speech spruiking his government’s policies, leading with his election catchphrase, federal Labor is “building Australia’s future”.

Over the summer, Albanese said he and members of his party have been announcing and promoting major policies such as a $7.2 billion investment to make Brisbane’s Bruce Highway safer, fee-free TAFE and 87 new urgent-care clinics.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese arriving at the National Press Club.Credit: Alex Ellinghausen

“Building Australia’s future is about all of us – every one of us, in every part of our country. Tradies and farmers, small business owners, teachers and nurses,” he said.

“Building Australia’s future is about your future. Because it’s your effort and sacrifice and aspiration that powers our economy and nourishes our society. And that effort should bring you fair reward.

The hard work you do enhances and shapes our country, and it should add up to a better life for you and your family.”