LIZ TREVASKIS, HOST: You heard it flagged earlier this week at a press conference with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese that he might have something to announce throughout the election campaign in relation to the Port of Darwin, signalling that he might have something up his sleeve. It seems that he may. He has called in this afternoon, 1300 057 222. Anyone can get in touch on that number, and today the Prime Minister has, wanting to tell you something about the Port of Darwin. He's with us now. Prime Minister, good afternoon.
 
ANTHONY ALBANESE, PRIME MINISTER: Good afternoon. Good to be with you.
 
TREVASKIS: Prime Minister, we heard you signal at a press conference earlier this week that you'd have more to say about the Port of Darwin. Have you got more to tell us?
 
PRIME MINISTER: We've been working on this for some time, we said when the Port of Darwin was flogged off to a Chinese buyer, 10 years ago now, almost in 2016, we said that was a mistake. I was the Shadow Minister for Infrastructure at the time. The then Treasurer Scott Morrison signed an agreement awarding the NT $19.5 billion under an incentive scheme they set up in the 2014 Budget for the asset recycling initiative, as a bonus. And not only did the LNP government in Darwin in the NT flog off the lease, flog off the port with the 99-year lease, they actually put in place a financial incentive and the Commonwealth taxpayers – that is, every single Australian taxpayer – paid an incentive to sell it. That's a strategic asset –
 
TREVASKIS: I think Territorians are fairly familiar with what's happened. We've talked about it, there's been numerous inquiries over the past decade. Have you got a plan to do something about this?
 
PRIME MINISTER: We do, and we've been working for some time with the Treasury and with our Finance Department as well. We've been talking with superannuation funds about getting it back into Australian hands. I made that clear yesterday and tomorrow the Federal Leader, Peter Dutton, will pretend that this had nothing to do with the LNP federally and will just blame the former Northern Territory government, ignore the fact that they had this financial incentive and that was driven from Canberra for this privatisation to occur and say that they're going to now buy it back. Well, we've been in that process for some time. We have spoken as well to potential buyers as well. Landbridge are certainly aware of that, the existing owners. And we will have more to say about the Port’s future during the campaign as I flagged.
 
TREVASKIS: I've gotten a little bit lost here. You've flagged the Coalition making an announcement tomorrow that the Coalition are going to say that they'll buy the lease back. But you're not making that announcement today?
 
PRIME MINISTER: You bet we will. We've been working on this issue for some time. And trying to, as well, maximise the benefit for the Australian taxpayer. That is why we've been working it through in a constructive way, making sure that we're in the strongest possible position and that we protect the Australian taxpayers’ interest. What the Coalition have now done is pretending that it had nothing to do with them at all, and essentially following us, following the statement that I made yesterday.
 
TREVASKIS: So, I just need to be clear here. Are you announcing that the Labor government will buy back the Port of Darwin lease off Landbridge?
 
PRIME MINISTER: What we are doing is we will enter into negotiations to do that. That is what we've been doing informally through potential buyers up to this point already. And if it reaches a point where the Commonwealth needs to directly intervene, then we'd be prepared to do that.
 
TREVASKIS: So, are you buying back the lease of the Port of Darwin or not?
 
PRIME MINISTER: Well, what we're doing is trying to get to see if there's a private buyer through particularly superannuation funds that we've had discussions with. They have sounded out Landbridge as well. We want that to be the case, but we want it to be clear.
 
TREVASKIS: You're looking for a buyer? So, you're making sure you have a buyer first before you announce those plans?
 
PRIME MINISTER: Well, what we want it to be in Australian hands. We prefer that it be through superannuation funds or some other vehicle that doesn't mean direct taxpayers, but we're prepared to go down the road of taxpayer direct involvement as well.
 
TREVASKIS: So, when might you have a clearer idea about whether you have a buyer or not, and whether this is a plan that you are proceeding with? Will you have those details during this election campaign, prior to the 3rd of May? Will you be able to tell us we are buying back the Port and this is how we're going to do it?
 
PRIME MINISTER: We certainly will enter into those discussions and the Northern Territory government have had discussions with us as well. We'll have more to say over the coming period before the 3rd of May.
 
TREVASKIS: So how much sort of Federal money would you be willing to put up for buying back the Port, if it came to taxpayer money being required for this?
 
PRIME MINISTER: Well, that's the point. That's why we want commercial negotiations to take place. Landbridge have not had the investment into the Port that's required to bring it up to scratch. I have a lot of involvement as a former Infrastructure Minister, I was very conscious about the Port of Darwin. We funded the additional rail access to the Port. You then had a circumstance where the Coalition government, Tony Abbott, got elected, set up this asset recycling scheme and had long been bought.
 
TREVASKIS: Yeah, we have covered that. I'm just wondering what how much the Federal Government would be willing to contribute to buy back the Port of Darwin?
 
PRIME MINISTER: Well what you don't do is negotiate through a radio station how much finances would be available for that. It's obviously a commercial process and you would seek to minimise the exposure of the Commonwealth during that process because you would want value for taxpayers money, which is why the ideal would be to do what has occurred with ports like the Port of Botany and other ports around Australia, which is a majority of them, like airports are owned by superannuation funds, which means that they're owned by the Australian people and help to make contribution to their savings.
TREVASKIS: So just to clarify for us Prime Minister, would, are these two options on the table that the port could remain privately owned or that it could return to being a government asset? Are those two options in play?
 
PRIME MINISTER: Yes, they are. The key here is that they be in Australian hands.
 
TREVASKIS: When might you have more to tell us about this through the election campaign?
 
PRIME MINISTER: We will have more to say. I've flagged that yesterday. I'll be visiting Darwin, of course. Luke Gosling's on the ground there, campaigning very hard, and this is an issue that he has been had very strong views on for a long period of time and has advocated within the government and indeed within the community.
 
TREVASKIS: On ABC Radio Darwin and right across the territory at twenty seven to five. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is who you're hearing from, if for some reason you didn't recognise his voice, letting you know that the government is in negotiations, looking for a buyer to buy back the port of Darwin either through a privately owned, Australian-owned company, or potentially for the government to take on that asset. You have had three years Prime Minister, to deal with the port lease. What would you say to local voters who might see this as an election stunt?
 
PRIME MINISTER: That it’s something that we have had a consistent view on, not for three years, since 2016. We posted at the time it was short sighted for economic reasons, but also for national security reasons. You'd recall at the time it was criticised by President Obama as well, gave the Australian government a rebuke at the time, we've consistently raised it, we've had an inquiry about national security issues, and we referred that and had that examination. We're now talking about our economic security as well and making sure given what is occurring in the NT as well there in Darwin, which obviously we live in an uncertain world at the moment, the idea that you would have the major port in northern Australia owned by any foreign interest is not in Australia's national interest.
 
TREVASKIS: Has the perspective of the government changed on that, because there have been previous reviews that suggested that Landbridge’s leasing of the port, the government has looked into this extensively previously and found that it wasn't a national security risk. So what has changed?
 
PRIME MINISTER: We want to make sure that our economy is more economically resilient. We want to make sure as well that the assets that we have in northern Australia, where with the Defence Strategic Review you will have seen that we have moved many of our defence assets, further to our North. Whether it be our naval assets, our Air Force assets or the army and that in that context, one of the things that the Defence Strategic Review found was that we needed to very much focus on northern Australia and that context combined with the importance of it as an economic asset as well, we don't think that it is being utilised enough for Darwin. Darwin has an enormous potential to be a growth area of increasing our exports through the Port of Darwin. And that is part of the context that we're dealing with here.
 
TREVASKIS: You say that Darwin and the north is strategically important in the federal budget. The only new money for the territory was there was $50 million for one highway Carpentaria Highway, but only $200 million for the Stuart Highway. Surely the Stuart Highway is a critical piece of infrastructure that needs much more money than that. That will go towards duplicating just small sections of that road, and not necessarily future proofing the only road in and out of this place.
 
PRIME MINISTER: Let's be clear. I have been to the Northern Territory on a dozen occasions now as Prime Minister over the last three years to every part of the Northern Territory. We've announced not just infrastructure funding, road funding. We've announced record funding for remote housing. We've announced a record schools funding agreement worth almost a billion dollars to the Northern Territory as well –
 
TREVASKIS: But just on the Stuart Highway. Stuart Highway, critically important road for the territory when you talk about our strategic location and defence of the north. Do you think that $200 million is enough to future proof that road - the only one in and out of the territory?
 
PRIME MINISTER: That is, that is, that is this year. We have continued to in each and every budget provide additional infrastructure investment into the Northern Territory.
 
TREVASKIS: Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on 105.7 ABC Radio at Darwin and across the Northern Territory. When will we see you back here in the territory, Prime Minister?
 
PRIME MINISTER: You'll see me very soon. The way that these campaigns work is that we don't, we don't flag we're going, where we're going too far in advance. But you'll see me during the campaign very soon. I have been to all of the states now and we have a visiting tomorrow, some of the flood affected areas as well, and in my visits to the Northern Territory as well –
 
TREVASKIS: Oh. Just we just dropped out there. For a moment, Prime Minister.
 
PRIME MINISTER: Sorry, I'm on the road. One of the places I've been to is Lake Nash cattle station. Of course, the cattle stations in western Queensland have been particularly badly affected and one of the things that we'll be doing in the coming period is just having a look and providing support for those communities there.
 
TREVASKIS: Prime Minister, just on the port of Darwin, a few questions coming in from listeners. Have you been in negotiations with the northern – sorry, in discussions with the Northern Territory government about where these negotiations are up to?
 
PRIME MINISTER: Well, it's been raised with the NT government, not just this one but the previous NT government as well, over a period of time, but the Commonwealth has also had separate discussions as well.
 
TREVASKIS: Will they be surprised to hear you speaking about this today?
 
PRIME MINISTER: No, I don't think so. But it's a matter for them what commentary they make.
 
TREVASKIS: Alright, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, I don't think we got an answer about exactly when we'll see you here any kind of ballpark dates?
 
PRIME MINISTER: Pretty soon.
 
TREVASKIS: And before I let you go, just to be clear, could you write the headline for me on this announcement today?
 
PRIME MINISTER: Australia needs to own the port of Darwin.
 
TREVASKIS: Oh, I like that. And then what's the, what's the subheading to that?
 
PRIME MINISTER: Oh look I'm not a copywriter. The CLP should never have flogged it off.
 
TREVASKIS: OK, Australia needs to own the port of Darwin and when will we, when will we get it back by?
 
PRIME MINISTER: Well, we will work through those details of course in the coming period.
 
TREVASKIS: Alright, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, lovely to talk to you this afternoon.
 
PRIME MINISTER: Great to chat. Bye.

ENDS