Anthony Albanese marks 100 days in government with National Press Club address — as it happened

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Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has reaffirmed his party's commitment to keep stage 3 tax cuts for high income earners, despite growing calls for them to be delayed or scrapped.

Speaking at the National Press Club in Canberra for the first time as Prime Minister, Mr Albanese urged voters to look at the history of the party's position on the tax cuts package.

You can continue reading this piece from political reporter Nicole Hegarty below.

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As political reporter Nicole Hegarty writes, the cuts have been legislated to come into effect on July 1, 2024 and mean everyone earning between $45,000 and $200,000 will pay 30 per cent in tax.

They also scrap the 37 per cent tax bracket for those earning over $120,000.

The Prime Minister also strongly indicated the government will look to increase Australia's permanent migration cap.

Boosting the current annual migration intake of 160,000 will be on the table at the federal government's jobs and skills summit this week.

Business groups have called for the increase as a way to help alleviate skills shortages across the country, particularly in critical sectors like health and aged care.

Anthony Albanese has told the National Press Club bringing more workers in from overseas can't come at the expense of domestic workers.

"We need to look at migration but we need to do it in a way that never looks beyond where that doesn't usurp the need for us to give first opportunity as well to Australians to be trained and skilled up for jobs as well," he said.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has reiterated the government will keep tax cuts for high income earners, despite growing calls from independents, unions and the Greens to reconsider.

The stage three tax cuts were initially introduced by the Coalition, then eventually adopted by Labor who took it to the election.

They are due to come in to effect in 2024 and cost the budget $243 billion.

But Anthony Albanese says the cuts have already been legislated and the government has no plans to change them.

"We actually tried to amend out the stage 3 of the tax cuts, we weren't successful at the time, we inherited it and I've said we haven't changed our position," Albanese said.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese says his government will legislate gender pay equity as part of the Fair Work Act "this year".

Here are Laura Tingle's thoughts on the PM's sentiment:

Well, we never know exactly how long it will last. But I think that that is one of the interesting things about what we've seen in the industrial relations debate, even in the last week.

You know, a week ago, everybody was saying 'oh, the multi-employer bargaining, that could never happen'. By today, there's signs of a breakthrough. It's more business. We've got the ACTU and the Business Council basically back in love on this issue.

We're starting to see more and more pressure on the government to cut the tax cuts, because we can't afford it and for various other reasons. And I think that the sorts of things that the PM is talking about here today are about allowing that community conversation to take place, and if you're a smart political operator, surfing in on the back of it.

Here's political editor Andrew Probyn with this analysis:

I think he's trying to suppress a grand belief in a huge bargain out of this. But he's contextualising the Jobs and Skills Summit in the context of the four Rs. We've all heard of the three Rs. But he says there's four Rs. There's response, recovery, reform and renewal.

The only news today was that the Prime Minister was firmly backing an increase to the permanent migration intake. This is something that the Business Council of Australia has been also backing.

The rest of stuff is all pretty broad. There were some answers that aren't entirely clear.

I actually think that there's still some wriggle room on stage 3 tax cuts. I don't know what the viewers think, but that was my view.

Here's political reporter James Glenday with a quick recap:

He used the speech to highlight some of Labor's achievements so far, and a couple of the election promises it has fulfilled as well.

But, a lot of the focus was, unsurprisingly, also on this week's Jobs and Skills Summit with key union and business figures already beginning to gather in Canberra, though a couple were in the audience there.

The Prime Minister again slightly played down expectations for the summit saying that nothing would be fixed overnight, but that progress on industrial relations and some of the big economic issues facing our nation was the main goal.

Stick around as we'll bring you some analysis.

This question is about transparency.

"We've told the public exactly what's happened at every national cabinet meeting," Albanese says.

"Exactly what's been discussed. This week, we'll be discussing health and we'll be discussing skills.

"I assure you, to give you the big tip- before the last national cabinet was meeting was called on a Saturday meeting before Friday night.

"We had a discussion about the issues that we were dealing with on paid pandemic leave. We had a discussion, we came to an outcome. It was announced."

This question comes from Dom Giannini from AAP.

Q: What do you make of the allegations that a Chinese slush fund was used to pay off MPs in Honiara? And are you concerned about their move towards Chinese values, where they seem to be shutting out the press that criticise China, they seem to be rejecting US boats docking, how do we fix that relationship without saying we'll offer them further respect? It doesn't seem to be working in the 100 days you have taken office?

"That Australia's international relations and global circumstances haven't been completely transformed in a hundred days. That's true," Albanese says.

"But what we have done is change the way that we're perceived.

"I particularly pay tribute to Penny Wong and Pat Conroy for the efforts that they have made, which are outstanding.

"So we'll continue to engage. I continue to have discussions, some of which are public. Some of which are private, with leaders in our region."

Alabanese has been asked about his 'ambitious' policies, rising expenditure and a trillion dollars of debt.

He's been asked what could be on the table when debates on how to pay for these issues happen.

"We'll continue to engage in economic, social, and environmental policy reform," Albanese says.

"I have said very clearly I want to be the lead - a government that has a crack, that has a go."

"We're up for the debate. We're up for ideas. And we'll continue to engage.

"So I see it as a continuous process not something that says, we'll have this on this date, something that after the October budget we'll have another process that leads into the May Budget, where we'll give consideration including to the changed circumstances which are there.

He says at the moment inflation is a global issue that countries are also facing.

Q: You spoke to about green manufacturing and your want to build the green manufacturing industry in Australia. But Australia is not alone in wanting to do this. The US, China, Canada, have all made this a major part of their economic platforms... Has Australia missed the boat in taking the lead? And what can make us competitive against all these other competitors?

"Getting on with it. That's the start. Ten years of delay and denial we're suffering from," Albanese says.

"The government that we replaced was a barrier.

"Australia has always been ahead of the game. We punch way above our weight in innovation, not the least in renewables.

"There wouldn't be a solar panel in the world that doesn't have any intellectual property that was invented by an Australian scientist, yet we haven't commercialised that opportunity.

"We need to be better at it. And we're determined to be better at it."

Peter Van Onselen has brought the topic of conversation back to stage three tax cuts.

Q: During the election campaign Labor promised it wouldn't repeal them. Is there an ironclad promise, or any circumstances you can envisage in this term of government doing anything at all that would resemble repealing the stage 3 tax cuts?

"We stand by the comments we made," Albanese says.

Albanese says he'll legislate to include gender pay equity this year as one of the objects of the act.

"A success would be a closing of the gap rather than expanding," he says.

"The recent figures were going the wrong way. We want it to go the right way."

Albanese says he hopes it does.

"Tasmania has produced some great champions in AFL over a long period of time," he says.

"They've had of course Hawthorn, the team that I support, have played — I'm not sure what it's called, it was Aurora Stadium at one stage in Lonnie (sic) and North have played at Hobart. But that's a decision for the AFL."

There's also a mention of the NRL too.

Albanese says his side, the South Sydney Rabbitohs, need to have their eye on the semi final.

Our next question comes from Anna Henderson from SBS and NITV. She's asked if the PM is concerned about national security concerns around some residents of Mer Island considering seeking investment from Chinese companies to upgrade critical infrastructure.

"We'll make decisions based upon Australia's national security interests, and that includes in areas of communications," Albanese says.

"But I travelled to the Torres Strait and met with the Torres Strait Regional Authority, including the elected representatives of all of the islands, as well as their people in the peninsula who are represented as well.

"I'm confident that Australia's national interest will be served."

"We'll have a discussion about that on Wednesday," Albanese says.

"But we're looking as well in the longer term about what the nature of restrictions are."

He says restrictions have been reduced over a period of time.

"And it is important that decisions are made which are right for the times."

Albanese says he's undertaking consultation with businesses and unions to address needs in the labour market.

"There's massive skills shortages. Every restaurant willtell you that that's the case," he says.

"We need more paths to permanent migration rather than just a temporary labour."

"There's areas and professions that we have, whether that be nurses, chefs, engineers, to name three separate professions that don't relate to each other - but there's many more - where we have had skills shortages not for a year, but for decades.

"The idea that you train someone and bring them out here for a couple of years and then go and try and find someone else to do the same job is in my view incredibly inefficient."