COVER FEATURE

By Jamie Apps

SA little over a year ago Australia elected Inner West local Anthony Albanese as our country’s 31st Prime Minister. In that time a lot has changed politically and economically, so it certainly hasn’t been easy for the man we affectionately call ‘Albo’. Despite these challenges, Albanese remains a humble man who epitomises the rags-to-riches story.

SPEAKING to Neighbourhood Media Prime Minister

Albanese reflected on how becoming Prime Minister has impacted his day-to-day life as Anthony Albanese the Marrickville local. We also spoke about his past year in Australia’s top job and, the biggest challenges he and Australia have to conquer.

How has becoming Prime Minister changed Anthony Albanese?

Raised by a single mother, who received a disability pension while living in public housing, Anthony’s childhood was far from luxurious. This upbringing played a major part in moulding him into the man he is today as a Prime Minister doing his best to look out for those of us doing it tough, in ever increasingly difficult times.

Given his background, Albanese emphasised that “being Prime Minister is such an honour”. An honour that he “will never take for granted.”

When asked how life has changed since election night 2022 Albanese said, “Some normal day-to-day things are a bit more difficult now that I am Prime Minister.

“It’s hard to pop into the local shops or go for a drink at the Henson… I still need to get used to the fact that people call me ‘Prime Minister’ when I go for a walk with Toto… But I still do my best to do the sort of activities that help me feel grounded and keep things real. And my son Nathan is pretty good at keeping me down to earth.”

Reflecting On The First Year As Pm

“Last year, Australia voted for change. On election night, I promised to lead a government worthy of the people of Australia. A government as courageous and hardworking and caring as the Australian people are themselves. My team and I have worked every day since to keep that promise,” said Prime Minister Albanese. “We’ve set about delivering on the commitments we took to the election, including cheaper medicines and cheaper child care, which I know will make a big difference to inner west families.”

While plans are currently underway to deliver on these promises the PM understands that year one is only just the beginning.

“In our first year, we’ve set a strong foundation for a better future, and we’re focused on the work ahead –and on building to last.”

Biggest Challenges Facing Australia

Looking around at the economic environment he is faced with Albanese understands just how difficult the past 12-18 months have been for everybody.

As a government, Albanese told Neighbourhood Media, “Our biggest challenge has been dealing with the immediate issues we inherited, the biggest being global inflation… So we’ve been focused on cleaning up that mess while working hard to take pressure off families.”

Vision For The Future

As we closed out our interview we discussed the Prime Minister’s vision for the future of the country. A vision that had to quickly circle back to the issue of inflation, which has been impacting everybody. As such Albanese explained that inflation was a key factor in forming the core of his government’s 2023 budget as we look ahead.

“I know a lot of people in Grayndler, and around the country, are feeling under pressure from rising costs. That’s why my Government is focused on taking pressure off people, while making sure that we don’t put more pressure on inflation.

“The centrepiece of our recent Budget was our biggest ever investment in bulk-billing, tripling the bulk billing incentive, which would help 11 million Australians, and many from the Grayndler community, to see a GP for free.

“We’ve implemented our cheaper medicines policy – which we expanded in our recent budget - and cheaper child care kicks in on July 1. And we’re increasing Jobseeker and Rent Assistance, and expanding the Single Parent Payment to help some of the most vulnerable people in our community.

“We’ve passed our Energy Price Relief Plan and soon eligible households and small businesses will start seeing rebates on their energy bills.”

To execute on this vision Prime Minister Albanese understands that he will need to work with his State & Local

“Given his background, Albanese emphasised that “being Prime Minister is such an honour”. An honour that he “will never take for granted!” counterparts.

“I want to provide Australians with stability in an uncertain time. But I also know we must build for the future,” said Albanese. “I’ve said before the election that Australians had ‘conflict fatigue’. What they want is a government that gets on with the job. That’s what I am committed to: being a responsible, mature government that gets things done.”

At the State level, a lot has changed since the Federal election in 2022 with NSW switching from a Liberal to a Labor-led government. So, we asked Prime Minister Albanese how he feels about the prospect of working with New South Wales’ new Premier, Chris Minns.

“Chris Minns will be an outstanding Premier of New South Wales. We’ve had great discussions so far and I look forward to a productive relationship. But I want to be clear: I work constructively with Premiers from both sides of the political spectrum. I look for solutions rather than divisions.

Finally, as a resident of Marrickville changes to the Local government, particularly the proposed deamalgamation of the Inner West Council, could have a bearing on Albanese’s life both politically & personally.

“I will always work with my local government –whichever form it ends up taking – to provide essential services to the people of Grayndler and the Inner West. I value the work that they do, and Darcy Byrne has been a great Mayor.”