MATT SMITH, LABOR CANDIDATE FOR LEICHHARDT: Good afternoon. My name is Matt Smith. I'm the ALP candidate for the Federal seat of Leichhardt. With me, of course, is the Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, Minister Mark Butler, and Special Envoy to the Great Barrier Reef, Senator Nita Green. We're here for a very exciting announcement, something that's going to mean a lot to the community of both Cairns and the Tablelands, and that is the rebuild of the Barron River Bridge. This is on top of the already record $7.2 billion investment into the Bruce Highway, which is Queensland's main artery, and $93.7 million investment into the Kennedy Development Road to act as a second route for us in case we get cut off again. Only Labor delivers roads for Queensland. It is fitting, I guess, that the last time Anthony Albanese was Infrastructure and Roads Minister, he fixed up the Bruce Highway then. It's great that he's Prime Minister now, because now we get the Bruce Highway fixed again, we get the Barron River Bridge and we get the Kennedy Development Road. So, I thank you for that Prime Minister. That's going to mean quite a lot to the communities up here. It's also great that Mark Butler is here as well. He's done a lot of work. We're opening a second Urgent Care Clinic for the northern suburbs of Cairns, which means people from Kuranda will be able to drive just down the hill, it’s 15, 20 minutes, and get the care that they need. And only Labor can guarantee that Urgent Care Clinics will be bulk billed now and into the future. With that, I'd like to welcome Anthony Albanese to Kuranda and hand it over.
 
ANTHONY ALBANESE, PRIME MINISTER: Well, thanks very much, Matt. And it's great to be back here in the electorate of Leichhardt, where you are providing such extraordinary leadership and you're such a great candidate for this electorate, replacing Warren Entsch, of course, who is retiring, and we wish Warren well in his retirement. Today is a really important announcement. You only have to look at this bridge to see that it needs repair, and that is what we will do. We will provide $245 million for a new Barron River Bridge on the Kennedy Highway. This is good for locals, it's good for business, it's good for road safety, and it's good for tourists. It will be good for jobs when jobs are created through this major construction project here. This is a beautiful part of Australia, but we need to make sure that for local residents, roads are safe, they're upgraded. But we also need to make sure that the experience of tourists is the best it can possibly be. And here, Kuranda, is such a beautiful part of the experience to coming to tropical north Queensland as well. I will say that this does come on top of the other work that that we're putting in place here in Queensland. The $7.2 billion for the Bruce Highway was the first major announcement that I made of 2025.
 
And of course, the Kennedy Development Road, we'll get it fixed. It was the first funding that came from me as the Minister, and then it just stopped. We'll make sure that it's completed, because that is what we do. There'll be about 150 jobs created during the course of the project, which is very important. And in addition to that, we have $210 million to improve safety on the Kuranda Range Road. I believe that infrastructure is so important for boosting our productivity, for improving road safety, but also for improving the experience of all who live and who come and visit, not just this community, but right throughout Queensland as well. We expect that the Queensland Government will contribute the other 50% of funding for this project. It is a significant project. It will need a completely new bridge as a result of the fact that it is now some six decades old and is in a state of disrepair. It's been identified as an absolute priority for safety here, and it is fantastic that Matt Smith had been such a strong advocate, not just on this, but on a range of other issues as well, including getting the second Urgent Care Clinic opened here in the region. I'll ask Mark to make some comments as the Health Minister before we take questions. But can I also say that there is news from the United States that President Trump has made some comments about pharmaceuticals being subject to tariffs. I make this point unequivocally, Australia will stand up for our Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme. Our Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme is an essential part of who we are. We will never negotiate on it, we will never undermine it. That's why when Australia was negotiating the Free Trade Agreement with the United States, it was Labor that insisted as a condition of our support for that Free Trade Agreement, that the PBS not be on the agenda. That previously, of course, was agreed with the United States, it is still Australia's position, and it always will be Australia's position while I'm Prime Minister.
 
MARK BUTLER, MINISTER FOR HEALTH AND AGED CARE: Thank you, Prime Minister. Thank you, Matt and Nita, for hosting us here today. Our investments in health have made a really meaningful difference to the people of Cairns and the surrounding regions right into the Cape. Our bulk billing investments mean that there have been 50,000 additional free visits to the doctor since those investments took effect a little over 12 months ago. The first Urgent Care Clinic that we opened in Cairns South has already seen more than 20,000 people from this community, every single one of whom has been bulk billed, and the vast bulk of whom would otherwise have had to spend hours and hours in the crowded emergency department, particularly at the Cairns Base Hospital. Matt has made the case for a second Urgent Care Clinic in the north of the city, and if elected, we will deliver that Urgent Care Clinic, and it will also deliver free, high quality urgent care to the people, not only in Cairns, but of those communities to the north of Cairns, including here in Kuranda. As well, we've delivered an endometriosis and pelvic pain clinic providing specialised support to women in this community dealing with those conditions. About one in nine women across Australia experience those conditions. And I'm delighted that the James Cook University has started their end to end medical school program that we committed to fund at the last election, too. All of this is making a really meaningful difference to the health of Cairns and surrounding communities. Matt has made the case though, we need to do more, and if elected, we will do more. More on bulk billing, more on urgent care, even cheaper medicines and other things like that. So, I'm delighted to be here with Matt and Nita, such terrific advocates for good health policy in this community.
 
PRIME MINISTER: Thanks very much. I might just ask, if it's okay, if there are local journalists first, and then we'll go to others.
 
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, why not look at an alternative route through the Tablelands from Cairns given B-doubles come into this road?
 
PRIME MINISTER: Because the advice that we have is that this is the most effective way. We take advice from the Queensland Government. And the advice is that this is a safety project, that is an absolute priority.
 
JOURNALIST: Is there a recognition that after this work is done, though, that an alternative route should be looked at?
 
PRIME MINISTER: There's a recognition that we need to get this job done. This is a $490 million project. This is a very significant investment, indeed. There's a recognition that 9,000 vehicles travel on this road every day, around about 1,100 of those are heavy vehicles.
 
JOURNALIST: Does Cairns Airport’s strategic location warrant a similar intervention to the Port of Darwin, given it's also for sale, and would you intervene in the sale of Cairns Airport to make sure it stays Australian owned?
 
PRIME MINISTER: Well, Cairns Airport, of course, is an important asset. What has happened for most airports around Australia, including Darwin, is that superannuation funds have invested. So, we want to see, wherever possible, governments only intervene in terms of ownership if there is market failure. So, we'll await that process. If there is any bids, then there's a need to go through the Foreign Investment Review Board. I tell you what we're not doing, is doing what the Commonwealth Government did under the under the former Government, which is to provide a cash incentive to flog off assets. That's what occurred with Darwin Port, where $19.5 million was provided by Commonwealth taxpayers to the NT Government as an incentive for them to flog that asset.
 
JOURNALIST: How long will this specific stretch of road be out of action?
 
PRIME MINISTER: Look, we'll work with, of course, one of the things that the Commonwealth does is, we’re the funder, we’ll work with the Queensland Government. I've spoken directly with Premier Crisafulli about the project, and they will, of course, manage the project. That's the way that infrastructure rollout occurs.
 
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, we are in an area that has been LNP heartland for a long time. Does Labor intend to take it back? And also, do you have a message for Peter Dutton and his father tonight?
 
PRIME MINISTER: Well, firstly, on that, I spoke with Peter Dutton yesterday, before the debate. I sought him out when I heard the news. We had a private discussion. I wished him well. And of course, I wish, and I'm sure all Australians wish his father well, as well, at this difficult time. Peter is obviously very busy campaigning, and that's understandable. But of course, our health and the health of our family members always comes first.
 
JOURNALIST: We’re in an area that has been LNP heartland for a long time. Does Labor intend to take this back?
 
PRIME MINISTER: Well, I want to make this point. The only time the LNP have won this seat in the modern era is when Warren Entsch was the candidate. When he withdrew and wasn't the candidate, when he retired the first time, the Labor Party won the seat. He then recontested and won the seat. He's someone who has worked hard and is someone who's been welcome in my office a couple of times making representations, as any member of Parliament is. But his retirement and the replacement, frankly, with Jeremy Neal as the candidate, someone who wasn't supported in the preselection by Warren Entsch, is something that allows, I think, a greater opportunity for this bloke here, who is a local champion, who is a champion on the court for the Cairns Taipans, but importantly, as well, he's a champion off the court. He's already delivering, with $245 million for this project. He's delivering for roads, hospitals, every school in this electorate, a public school will get additional funding as a result of the deal that we've done. And his opponent, you know, is a shocker. His opponent is someone who, at the campaign launch, was handing out MAGA-inspired material. He's someone who has promoted anti-vax ideas during COVID. He's someone who's called for the complete defunding of the ABC, which is so vital in a community like this when there are floods and natural disasters, the ABC plays a particular role in regional communities. He has said, in an area that is dependent upon tourism, he has said that China is, to quote him, “a grub of a country.” Now, calling an entire country “a grub of a country,” direct quote is just extraordinary. The difference is that I'm sure Matt, like myself for a long period of time, we want to see more tourists come from China, as well as from Japan and from the region, from the United States, from the UK, from Europe, coming here, from India, with direct flights here and in and out of Cairns Airport. This bloke, it's hard to see how he'll attract economic activity for what is one of Australia's target markets. I mean, you know, there's a bit of talk today about gas from Peter Dutton. Well, you know, he doesn't need gas for his cookers. If he wants to find cookers, he can just look at his party room, because it's full of it. He got rid of the Whitlam candidate. Now he's got another one who's got problems. This guy here's a shocker, and people shouldn't vote for him. We need mainstream candidates. This bloke here will be a mainstream candidate for the Labor Party, and people of this electorate should vote for Matt Smith.
 
JOURNALIST: PM, since we last spoke, President Trump has also said that he's had world leaders on the phone to him, quote “kissing his ass.” You haven't been one of them. Are you now vindicated for your decision not to pick up the phone and call them as Peter Dutton has been requesting. And Matt Smith, do you think you've got Entschy’s vote, or do you think it's your opponent who's got Entschy’s vote on May 3?
 
PRIME MINISTER: Well, on the first term that you used, I haven't seen those comments from President Trump, but that's not the way that I deal with leaders. I deal as an equal with countries that I engage with. I had a discussion with Keir Starmer on Friday night. I deal, and I've dealt, the two conversations I've had with President Trump, ones in which I stand up for Australia's national interest, and I will always do that.
 
SMITH: I caught up briefly with Warren this morning after a debate. We had a very pleasant chat. I've always liked Warren and got along with him well. I'm not going to speak on who he's going to vote for. That's a private matter between Warren and the ballot box, as it should be for everybody.
 
JOURNALIST: Did you ask him, though?
 
SMITH: I did not.
 
JOURNALIST: PM, you bounced around answers on this question before. Can you just be really clear – can you rule out any changes to negative gearing and capital gains tax settings if re-elected?
 
PRIME MINISTER: Yes. How hard is it? For the 50th time.
 
JOURNALIST: And will you rule out negotiating with the Greens -
 
PRIME MINISTER: To form a Government?
 
JOURNALIST: No, in horse-trading votes and other matters. Would you rule out using them as negotiating tools?
 
PRIME MINISTER: What are you talking about? Sorry.
 
JOURNALIST: If the Greens come to you and you need their vote to pass legislation, will you rule out changing negative gearing settings and capital gains tax settings.
 
PRIME MINISTER: Yes. And you might have noticed, I mean, you're a state correspondent. But let me explain. There are 25 votes we have in the Senate in order to get legislation through. We're in that situation, have been in that situation for this entire term. We have stuck to our position. And our position, let me explain the difference of what tax policy is in this country. Labor, Matt Smith, if you vote for him and he's part of a government, then we will give income tax cuts to you and all 14 million Australians. If Peter Dutton wins, he will introduce legislation to increase the income tax of all Australians, all 14 million of them.
 
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, will you be watching the debate tonight between Jim Chalmers and Angus Taylor and given you won the debate last night, do you have any words of advice to the Treasurer on how to win?
 
PRIME MINISTER: Jim Chalmers doesn't need advice to debate Angus Taylor, with respect. Angus Taylor, I'm surprised he's making another appearance during the election campaign. One of the differences between the teams here, and I'm captain of our team, is I am proud that I don't have to play every position. This bloke’s a fantastic Health Minister. The work that Nita Green has done in being the special envoy for the Great Barrier Reef, I've got a fantastic team across the board. Angus Taylor, I saw the interview that Angus Taylor had with Billi FitzSimons. I did see that online during a flight, and my goodness, Billi FitzSimons really toweled him up, toweled up the facts that he got wrong. He said about inflation, that it was rising, and it's falling to 2.4%. He was wrong about wages. He was wrong about the surplus in the deficit. Just as Peter Dutton was wrong last night when he purported to say that the Budget was in balance at the time that the government changed. Let me remind everyone that under my Government, in the last three years, people have been going through cost-of-living pressures, like the rest of the world with global inflation, but inflation had a six in front of it. It's now down to 2.4. Employment has grown, with more than a million jobs. Unemployment is at 4.1%. Real wages have increased the last five quarters in a row. They went backwards five quarters in a row when they were in office. Interest rates have started to come down. They started to rise before the last election. And we turned a $78 billion deficit into a $22 billion surplus. Followed that up with a $15 billion surplus, and then this year, have halved the anticipated deficit that was projected. That's my Government's record. And I'm sure that Jim Chalmers will not only talk about that tonight, Jim Chalmers will also speak about our vision for future economic growth, for how we continue to take pressure off people through measures such as tax cuts.
 
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, [INDISTINCT]. Can you shed any light, is Australia talking to the UK or the EU, or any other jurisdictions about presenting some sort of united front in response to Donald Trump’s Liberation Day tariffs?
 
PRIME MINISTER: I think that around the world, you will have seen the comments that have been made. People understand that tariffs are an act of economic self-harm, that they impose a cost on the country that is imposing tariffs.
 
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, the Greens have been described –
 
PRIME MINISTER: You’re very obsessed with the Greens.
 
JOURNALIST: Yeah, no, I’ve got a question about it though.
 
PRIME MINISTER: You're a bit obsessed. Well, I'm the Labor leader, by the way.
 
JOURNALIST: But they’ve been described by members of your Cabinet as crazy, having thrown their lot in with thuggery, and lacking relevance… [INDISTINCT]. Given this, can you rule out that Labor would make a preference deal with the Greens?
 
PRIME MINISTER: Preference deals, I've been asked about it every day, very clearly, those things are a matter for the organisational wing. What I'm responsible for, what I'm responsible for is what the parliamentary party does. What we do, what we do, what we do is we will seek to be a majority government. We won't negotiate with the Greens, before, during, after the election, about those matters. I've been very clear about that. I've been clear about that for a decade, and I refer you to my previous 324 answers. Thanks very much.

ENDS