RYAN FITZGERALD, HOST: We’re only a few weeks away from Saturday 3rd of May when we will go to the polls. It's a Federal Election and the man, 31st Prime Minister of Australia, joins us right now, Anthony Albanese.
 
ANTHONY ALBANESE, PRIME MINISTER: Oh, what a nice welcome.
 
MICHAEL WIPFLI, HOST: Prime Minister, where are you this morning?
 
PRIME MINISTER: I'm in a beautiful Melbourne today that's a bit overcast, but it's not too cold.
 
WIPFLI: OK, OK. Gotcha. Well, we can look after things here as things are heating up now, there was a little bit of panic – we need to touch on this – last Thursday we saw a slight slip of the foot on stage. How has the body pulled up?
 
PRIME MINISTER: It was all good. It was all good. I fell for Newcastle a long time ago. And it was no, it was all good.
 
FITZGERALD: You were straight back up Prime Minister. You did quite well. I don't know Albo, did you see years and years ago there was a very funny, there was a guy who was doodling in the newspaper. It was John Howard, he was in parliament and there was three different photos of him, he was quite animated in Parliament, and the guy put drew headphones on John Howard and said ‘Howard DJ's like a madman’. I had to change a word at the end there –
 
PRIME MINISTER: Yeah, I'm aware of that.
 
FITZGERALD: You've seen that. Well, someone did that with you over the weekend as you were getting up, it looked like you were DJing. You had your fingers out, Prime Minister, and it looked like someone had had done it with you.
 
PRIME MINISTER: Well, the good thing about being a tennis player, I reckon, was that I went back and that was the end of the stage, so I my foot went down, but I didn't go down and I reckon it was the strong, strong legs from playing tennis.
 
WIPFLI: Yeah, yeah, that's what it is. Straight back up.
 
PRIME MINISTER: Straight back up.
 
CHRISSIE SWAN, HOST: I've got a question, and I always thought I've never spoken to you before, so I'm thrilled to do it. I thought if I ever get in front of Anthony Albanese, I would ask this question.
 
PRIME MINISTER: You have got to have me on your program, Chrissie.
 
SWAN: I know, I know, Albo. I did see you one morning. My God, you travel with a posse – it's about eight, you're rolling eight deep, you’re bigger than Drake with your entourage. But I just would ask you, we’re right in, we're facing school holidays, right? And they happen four  times a year. It seems like kids are always on holidays. When will a government – not saying yours – but a government, address the fact that parents get four weeks of holiday a year and kids get 12? It is fresh hell Albo, four times a year. You just don't know what to do with them. It's impossible.
 
PRIME MINISTER: Yeah, no, it is hard. I remember it very well. And that's one of the reasons why we've done issues like working from home, put that in the industrial relations legislation – and I'm not quite sure where they are at the moment – but the Coalition certainly said they'd stop working from home. They didn't want to support it. Today they've gone from defending to pretending that they won't. But that's one of the things. We need, where possible, and for some places that's not the case obviously, if you're in construction and you're building something, or in my job I have to work, I wouldn't mind four days annual leave at the moment I’ve got to say, let alone four weeks –
 
SWAN: Yeah, but your kids are grown up.
 
PRIME MINISTER: Flexible workplaces are important - I was a Member of Parliament when my son was born, so I'm certainly aware of the juggling exercise. And my son's mum worked full time as well, she was the Deputy Premier of NSW. We both had a pretty busy life, and juggling kids is a real issue, which is why, where it's possible, flexible workplaces are a good thing, not a drain on the economy. They actually help people to be able to work, and that's why we've regarded this as really important, and how out of touch I think the Coalition have been by saying that they'd get rid of it.
 
WIPFLI: Prime Minister, can I ask too? I mean things have really swung your way. I mean, the recent polls have shown you're sitting in a great position heading into the election. What do you reckon has been the swing? Why the swing? Why are we seeing the uplift in interest in the two-party preferred and also your leadership?
 
PRIME MINISTER: Well, there's a long way to go. That's the first thing to be said, and I'm certainly not measuring up curtains, my opponent's doing that at Kirribilli House. I think that elections are tough to win. They're always close. They always close up at the end as well. But I do think that the Coalition haven't done the hard work on policy over three years. They've just been against everything, all the cost-of-living measures that were put in place. These have been really difficult economic times to govern through right around the world. We've had the biggest global inflation issues since the 1980s. The biggest energy crisis since the 1970s, and we're now turning the corner. We have got inflation down, we've got wages up, interest rates have started to fall, we've given tax cuts for every Australian and I think the issue of us giving further tax cuts and the Coalition saying that they will actually legislate to increase income tax for all 14 million taxpayers is jarring with the Australian people. But we'll continue to put forward our really positive agenda and I think people are worried about the cuts that will come in to pay for their $600 billion nuclear plan as well. And they know that last time cuts to education, $30 billion, cuts to health, $50 billion, is what the Abbott government did after they said there wouldn't be any cuts.
 
FITZGERALD: Albo, Albo, can I tell you why I think you've the popularity's gone up? Because you're not kicking footballs into cameramen’s heads, which has happened over Peter Dutton over the weekend. You're making runs at the Kirribilli House backyard cricket game. I just want to congratulate yourself, and also Wippa, while we're on the show as well, because you both made Time Magazine over the weekend, and this is global recognition, for your stance on kids with social media and upping the age to 16 years of age. That must have been, I mean, Time Magazine is obviously a very well-respected magazine, but it's good to know that that that you know that everybody else around the world is taking notice with that Albo.
 
PRIME MINISTER: Absolutely Fitzy. And you know, kudos to Wippa for the 36-month campaign, and News Corp, for the Let Them Be Kids campaign. Importantly as well, the mums and dads who have turned what are personal tragedies into not wanting that to happen to any other parent. To lose a young one – they've shown courage and dignity, and it's been quite extraordinary. I want kids off their phones and out onto the sports field. Social media companies have a social responsibility, and we need to just recognise that this is causing social harm and I'm really proud of what my government has done. Australia can lead the world. We led the world in giving women not just the vote but the right to stand for Parliament. We've led the world in Medicare, the best healthcare system in the world, and we're going to make it even stronger. We've led the world in superannuation, giving proper retirement income for Australians. We have led the world in the National Disability Insurance Scheme, and here we're leading the world, I have no doubt that other countries will follow.
 
WIPFLI: Yeah, well done, Albo.
 
FITZGERALD: Well done, mate. Well done. We're less than a month away now from the Federal Election and we will talk to you closer to the date. We appreciate your time. We know how busy you are, Prime Minister.
 
PRIME MINISTER: Thanks so much, team and all the best, I hope it’s a great day in Sydney.

ENDS