Press conference - Sydney

ANTHONY ALBANESE, PRIME MINISTER: Good morning. Yesterday I hosted the President of Indonesia, my friend President Prabowo, and we announced a historic agreement that will help make Australia and our region stronger, more secure and more peaceful. The Treaty that we will sign in January and which was initialled yesterday, will commit Australia and Indonesia to consult at a leader and Ministerial level on a regular basis on security matters, to identify and undertake mutually beneficial security activities, and if either or both countries' security is threatened, to consult and consider what measures may be taken either individually or jointly to deal with those threats. It is a significant extension of existing security and defence cooperation between Australia and Indonesia. A critical relationship for Australia's defence and security, a growing economic relationship, and of course at its heart, a people to people relationship as well in our region. I'm looking forward very much to travelling to Indonesia in January to sign the treaty. And while I was with President Prabowo, of course, focused on delivering for Australians and delivering on our national interest, the Liberals were conducting the first of four meetings in Canberra focused on themselves and each other. The Coalition are choosing to take Australia backwards. They're walking away from jobs for Australians and investment certainty for business that is so important. And what business has been saying, not just since we came to office in 2022, when they backed us legislating for net zero and a 2030 target is that certainty for business is critical for investment if we are going to deal with what we inherited. When 24 out of 28 coal fired power stations announced their closure on the Coalition government's watch and there was no replacement of supply because of the Coalition's engagement in climate wars. They're walking away from climate action because they fundamentally do not believe in the science in climate change. They're also walking away from reliable and affordable energy - renewables backed by storage and backed by gas for firming capacity. Australians cannot afford to keep paying the price of Coalition infighting when it comes to climate policy and energy policy. We're delivering our energy plan. Have no doubt the Coalition approach would hurt Australians. It would lead to less investment, less reliability, less jobs, less economic growth. It would also damage our relationships in the region, including relationships on security. President Prabowo last night over dinner spoke about the actions that Indonesia is taking because of rising sea levels in Indonesia, including the work they're doing with the Netherlands about protecting Jakarta from rising sea levels. The work that is taking place in the Pacific, the work that we've done with our ASEAN neighbours. All of that will be undermined if there is a view that Australia doesn't believe in what they regard very much as an existential challenge, a challenge for their environment, but also a challenge, of course, for their economy as we go forward. So there's a stark contrast in Australian politics today. My government trusts the science. We're focused on the needs and aspirations of the Australian people. We're focused on making sure that we can deliver reliable energy. We're focused on cost of living pressures that are on Australians as well and doing what we can to alleviate those cost of living pressures. The Liberals, as we saw with that remarkable gathering of rebels who walked into their party room together in a sign. If anyone was in any doubt that they are a divided rabble, then that was it depicted for all to see yesterday. Happy to take questions.

JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, on that note, I'm sure you've seen the footage of them all walking together. Some called it a show of solidarity.

PRIME MINISTER: Well, it's was show of division, was what it was. These were people who, many of whom have either challenged or resigned from the frontbench. You had Angus Taylor walking with his counterparts. This was a sign of opposition to Sussan Ley's leadership and it was a rather extraordinary moment. And the pictures was very deliberate for people to gather beforehand, in formation, in order to send that message. And that message was surely received, not so much by the party room, because that's a matter for them, their clown show that they've become. It was a sign for the Australian people of how divided they are.

JOURNALIST: Are you concerned that neo Nazis who rallied outside New South Wales Parliament are now attempting to register a political party? And will your government consider any measures, maybe changes to the electoral laws, to prevent neo Nazi groups from participating as an official political party?

PRIME MINISTER: Yeah, I am concerned about the gathering that was there. I condemn it unequivocally. There's no place in Australia for the anti Semitic display that we saw outside New South Wales Parliament House. My understanding is that they're considering trying to register in New South Wales and that the New South Wales government is responding.

JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, why did your government keep their meetings with Nauru's President so under wraps yesterday?

PRIME MINISTER: Well, we didn't. We didn't. There was a Pacific Security College Leadership Program. It was attended by Nauru, Marshall Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia, Kiribati and Palau. We have regular meetings that take place, nothing secret about it.

JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, can I ask you again about energy. So you've spoken about the Coalition. What about Australians power bills? Experts have said that renewals are cheaper. When will Australians see that in their power bills? And that's without subsidies.

PRIME MINISTER: What we're dealing with here is the result of 10 years of Coalition denial and delay. Because of that, we had 24 out of 28 coal fired power stations announce their closure or bring them forward. We had during that period as well a failure to invest in new energy. And we know that the cheapest form of new energy is renewables. So that has created pressure on the grid. And there's been problems with outages of coal fired power stations because they have reached the end of their life. Companies which run coal fired power stations don't make a decision to just close out of convenience, they close because they've reached the end of their life. In spite of the rhetoric of those opposite and some of the people marching into the Liberal Party Room in order to deny the existence of climate change, the fact is that there haven't been new coal fired power stations built because of the economics of that. But the failure to have a certain climate policy and to provide that investment environment meant that you haven't had the replacement. What we know is that renewables are the cheapest form of energy. We're making sure that we back that up with batteries and with gas as well for firming capacity. And that is the way to deliver the path that Australia needs.

JOURNALIST: Do you think the Liberals would, it would be hard for them to win back the inner city seats if they do push to dump net zero?

PRIME MINISTER: Look, I think that this isn't primarily about the politics for me, this is about the policy. The politics will look after itself if good policy happens. Good policy is moving towards the cheapest form of new energy. Good policy is delivering investment certainty for business. Good policy is making sure that we deliver on jobs and economic growth. It's not going backwards. What we know is that the pace of change in society is fast. If you stand still, the world moves past you. If you actually go backwards, which is what they're suggesting, bear in mind, net zero by 2050 is a policy that was put in place as a government by Scott Morrison. The idea that the lesson that the Liberals have learnt from their defeat at the last two elections, and the last election where they had their worst result since 1943, is that they need to be more right wing, more sceptical, more in denial about climate change and continue to engage in those climate wars. Australia needs to move on. I think Australians want Australia to move forward.

JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, one of these neo Nazis has been identified as a South African national. Can he expect his visa will be under review? I mean, does the government have the power to review visas of those who come here to spread hate like these neo Nazis?

PRIME MINISTER: I'm not commenting on individuals, because I don't know what the status of individuals are -

JOURNALIST: Prime Minister -

PRIME MINISTER: Hang on, hang on. We're polite. So we, obviously that's a matter for the Minister, but I do note that people who come to Australia and then say that they're anti migrants coming to Australia, I think that speaks for itself.

JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, Australia's put in a bid to co-host COP 2026. That's hit some roadblocks with Turkey refusing to pull its bid. Are you concerned that Australia won't be able to host COP? And are you worried that the Liberal position may harm Australia's standing as we make that bid?

PRIME MINISTER: I think people will certainly look at the Liberal Party policy as quite contradictory to what our Pacific neighbours want, to what Indonesia and our ASEAN neighbours are calling for as well. But the Australian government's position is very clear. We want to host, in partnership with the Pacific, the COP. President Erdoğan has written to me in the last 24 hours. He is maintaining his position in response to Australia maintaining our position. There has never been a Conference of the Parties held in the Pacific. Our neighbours, as well as Australia, think it is time that it was held in this region. There have been COPs held in Azerbaijan, in the UAE and in Egypt. So in that part of the world, but never one in this part of the world where Pacific countries like Tuvalu and Kiribati are literally under threat - their very existence. We have put forward our bid, we'll continue to argue our case for that bid. I've spoken with Pacific neighbours in the last 24 hours, including Prime Minister Marape and President Whipps of Palau. We will continue to advocate for Australia to host the COP in partnership with the Pacific. And I believe it has the overwhelming support of the Western Europe Group, of which we are apart under the UN rules. Unfortunately, the UN rules also give any country at the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change Conference, the current COP meeting being held in Belém, they give any country the right of veto, effectively. And if that occurs, if a country chooses to do that, then the default position is that the copy is held in Bonn in Germany, the home of the UNFCCC. So we don't want to see that happen. We want to see Australia host in partnership with the Pacific, and that has the strong support of our neighbours.

JOURNALIST: So, Prime Minister, coming back to the energy grid, you've spoken of the massive transformation of the electricity grid in Australia. Can you explain, please, the cost to the household bill and to business bills?

PRIME MINISTER: What we know is that the investment in renewables is the cheapest form of new energy. We know that that's the case. Business says that that's the case. And we know there will be a massive cost of inaction because Australians are paying it now. Australians are paying the price of the inaction and the climate wars that were conducted over a decade by the Coalition. What we need is investment certainty for the business community. They say as well that that is what they need, which is why we've had the very strong position, not of the Australian Labor Party's traditional allies, but of groups such as the Australian Industry Group, which run manufacturing, and the Business Council of Australia. Thanks very much.