The PM arrived early in the morning to a warm reception from Il Globo and Rete Italia staff, alongside Federal MP Peter Khalil, Federal Senator Raff Ciccone and State MP Anthony Cianflone – all Labor colleagues.
When pressed by Schirru on the economy, the prime minister was positive, saying that living standards are being lifted by growth in real wages coupled with a reduction in inflation.
“And on July the first we will deliver a tax cut for every Australian taxpayer to deal with cost-of-living pressures,” said the PM.
“So, I think the fundamentals of the economy are in good shape going forward.
“Unemployment is relatively low, still at 4.1 per cent. And I think last year we’ve seen productivity increase as well.”
When speaking about specific issues facing the Italian community in Australia, the PM was quick to describe Co.As.It as “an example of an organisation that provides extraordinary support for the Italian community”.
“One of the things that we know is that often people who … [speak] English as a second language, as they get older, they will go back to using the language of their birth and they lose some of the capacity to communicate in English,” Albanese explained.
“So that is why it’s particularly important that we have aged care facilities that provide support for the community, such as the Italian community.
“We want to make sure that we continue to attract the right migrants, the right people, so that we can fill the jobs [required, such as Italian speakers] in aged care, but in other areas as well.
“It’s so important, something we’re very conscious of.
“We provided a 15 per cent wage increase for aged care workers funded by the government at a cost of some $11 billion, because we believe that our older Australians, including those from the Italian Australian community, deserve dignity and respect in their later years.
“And that’s a very important part of culture, of course, this respect for our elderly.”
The prime minister also reaffirmed calls for a ceasefire in Gaza and said that citizens from both Israel and Gaza have been given temporary Australian visas.
“We recognise that people in Gaza are really suffering, and we have called for a humanitarian ceasefire,” said Albanese.
“We’ve called for increased humanitarian assistance to be able to be provided to those people.
“Some people have been able to come to Australia on temporary visas from both the Gaza Strip, but also from Israel. We think that is appropriate.”
When asked what a second Donald Trump presidency could mean for Australia – US relations, Albanese was predictably diplomatic.
“The relationship with the United States is a relationship between nations, not just between individuals,” he said.
“I have a very good relationship with President Biden. I’ve known him since he was the vice president, and his administration and my government have very close relations at a ministerial level as well.
“If the American people choose a different president, that is a matter for them. It’s important that we don’t interfere in the democratic processes of other countries.
“But I’m confident that our relationship, because it is a relationship between nations rather than individuals, would continue to be strong.”
Schirru brought up the New Vehicle Efficiency Standard, which would have vehicle suppliers send more fuel-efficient cars to Australia in a policy that has been met with criticism from the opposition.
“The opposition in Australia unfortunately have gone from being an alternative government to just a series of fear campaigns. They don’t put forward alternatives,” asserted the PM.
“When the former government proposed fuel standards when they were in government but didn’t proceed with them at the time, they said that it would not lead to any increase in prices, because everywhere in the world that has emission standards [hasn’t seen an increase].
“Every country in the world has fuel emissions standards, every industrialised country. Except for two, Australia and Russia.
“Now, I don’t want to be on the same page as Vladimir Putin’s Russia on anything, frankly. And so that’s why this is a sensible position.
“I do think that the fear campaigns which are being run really don’t have a basis in any reality.”
The PM also labelled the debate around nuclear power plants in Australia a “distraction” when asked about the opposition’s call for Australia to adopt nuclear energy.
“Every ten years, people who don’t want to actually do something come up with this plan,” he stated.
“The Howard government did it. The Abbott government floated it at one stage as well.
“The truth is that the cheapest form of new energy in Australia is renewables.
“And the most expensive and the longest-form plan in Australia is nuclear energy.
“Nuclear energy works very well in a range of countries, and that’s fine. That’s a decision for them.
“But it would take decades to get a nuclear energy reactor up in Australia.
“The opposition need to say where those nuclear reactors will be. They need to say who will fund them, because it would require massive government subsidies.”
After the interview, Prime Minister Albanese, together with Il Globo’s editor, Dario Nelli, took a photo in front of the old printing press with Il Globo’s first ever newspaper edition from 1959.
To watch Riccardo Schirru’s full interview with the prime minister, click here.
