STEPHEN JONES:
Well, the Albanese government has delivered its third Budget and it’s a Budget for all of Australia. It’s dealing with the here and now, providing cost‑of‑living relief for Australians through tax cuts, through energy bill relief and through cheaper medicines and a stronger Medicare. We’re doing all of this while delivering our second budget surplus and ensuring that the majority of new revenue is banked to pay down Coalition debt. We’re also investing in the capacity and the innovation and the skills that are going to drive our economy forward and ensure that Australia has a place in the manufacturing processes of this century.
Tonight, Peter Dutton, a man who spent 2 years saying no to everything, has his opportunity to set out what his alternative plan for Australia is. Now Captain Yellowcake – the bloke who wants to replace solar farms with nuclear farms – has to set out his detailed plan of where he’s going to place his nuclear reactors, who’s going to pay for them, how much taxpayer money is going to go into subsidising his plan for nuclear energy and how Australians are going to ensure that we’re going to have secure energy into the future. He’s also going to have to lay out what he’s going to cut. He’s made it quite clear that he thinks that our Budget is spending too much. So, is it pension indexation? Is it Medicare? Is it going to be Peter Dutton 2.0? Are we going to see a repeat of the bloke who introduced a GP tax, slashed hospital funding, and jacked up the price of medicines? That’s his track record. Tonight’s an opportunity for Peter Dutton to lay out how he’s going to have an alternative plan and an alternative Budget for the country.
JOURNALIST:
Do you think Labor will be on an equal footing with the opposition when it comes to getting migration under control given the pressure it’s putting on the housing system?
JONES:
As a result of the plans that the government has put in place, we’ll see migration, the net migration outcomes, halve over the course of the next 9 months and we’re doing this by focusing on those areas in the migration system that aren’t going to harm the underlying economy. So, pressure on the universities by capping foreign student numbers and ensuring that we put an obligation on universities to build more houses if they want to bring in more students.
JOURNALIST:
How should the Prime Minister respond to Fatima Payman accusing Israel of genocide?
JONES:
Well look, you know, Fatima’s a great senator and a great representative for Western Australia, and a really passionate person. The government’s position is really clear on this. Unequivocal condemnation of Hamas’ attack on Israel. Very clear on our position in relation to a two‑state solution. Very clear on our position of wanting the war in Israel and Palestine to stop, for peace negotiations to commence and for there to be a two‑state solution so the people of Palestine and the people of Israel can live in peace and security side-by-side.
JOURNALIST:
Is this commentary helpful?
JONES:
Like I said, the government’s position is crystal clear on this. We want the war to stop, we want peace negotiations to commence, we want a two‑state solution. That is the only enduring solution for what’s going on in the Middle East at the moment.