Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has highlighted Australia’s deepening ties with India and the Pacific, while outlining Labor’s legislative priorities for the second half of 2026 as Parliament resumes in Canberra.
Addressing Labor’s parliamentary caucus on Monday, Mr Albanese reflected on recent developments during the parliamentary break, including the signing of a new alliance with Fiji, the entry into force of Australia’s alliance with Papua New Guinea and the visit of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Melbourne.
Mr Albanese described the Melbourne event with Mr Modi as “quite extraordinary”, pointing to the enthusiastic response from Australia’s Indian community.
“I don’t think anyone who saw that footage could doubt that,” Mr Albanese said.
“It was a very excited Australian Indian community who were there on that evening.”
The comments come as Australia and India continue to deepen their strategic, economic and people-to-people relationship, with both governments seeking to expand cooperation across trade, education, technology, defence and critical minerals.
Mr Albanese also highlighted the Government’s growing engagement with Pacific island nations.
“During the break as well, we signed our new alliance with Fiji and our alliance with PNG came into force,” he said.
He noted that Australia had historically had only two formal alliances for its first 125 years, but had established two new alliances in the past 12 months.
Foreign Minister Senator Penny Wong is expected to make statements in Parliament this week on the new arrangements.
Mr Albanese said the Government had also engaged with leaders from Solomon Islands, Samoa and Tonga during the parliamentary break.
AI, healthcare and gambling reforms
The Prime Minister used his address to outline a broad legislative agenda for the remainder of the year.
He highlighted the Government’s plans to establish Australian standards for artificial intelligence, saying Australia would seek to build on the initiative internationally.
Mr Albanese said he would use his visit to the United Nations in September to advance Australia’s position on AI.
“We’ll build on that to lead the world, just like we have led the world in our social media policies,” he said.
The Government is also preparing legislation covering gambling advertising and inducements, with Mr Albanese describing the proposed reforms as the strongest anti-gambling legislation Australia has seen.
He said the measures would target gambling advertising, reduce children’s exposure and address inducements while maintaining a balance for Australians who participate in recreational gambling.
The reforms are expected to be considered by the House of Representatives later this week.
On healthcare, Mr Albanese said national bulk-billing rates had risen to more than 84 per cent, describing the figure as evidence that Labor was on track to achieve its target of 90 per cent bulk billing by 2030.
He also highlighted the expansion of Free TAFE, saying enrolments had reached about 800,000, including 32,000 construction apprentices.
The Government’s first-home buyer measures were also cited as part of its broader domestic agenda.
Support for Australian journalism
Mr Albanese also flagged the Government’s proposed News Bargaining Incentive, which is designed to encourage agreements between digital platforms and Australian media organisations.
He said the measure was about ensuring media organisations were paid for the journalism they produce.
“This is about media being paid for the work that journalists do,” Mr Albanese said.
The Government has argued that the initiative will help support Australia’s news media sector and the production of public-interest journalism.
NDIS and worker protections
Mr Albanese said he had met with Opposition Leader to discuss proposed changes to the National Disability Insurance Scheme and expected the legislation to pass during the current parliamentary sitting fortnight.
He also highlighted Labor’s proposed Fair Work Court, which would provide a faster pathway for workers seeking to recover unpaid wages and other workplace entitlements.
The Government has argued that the new system would benefit both workers and employers by reducing lengthy legal processes.
Mr Albanese also pointed to the expansion of paid placements in the health sector, saying the initiative had already made a significant difference.
Energy security and foreign policy
The Prime Minister said the Government was investigating the possibility of a new oil refinery in Western Australia as part of its efforts to strengthen domestic fuel security.
He said Australia currently had more fuel supply than it did when the conflict in the Middle East began on 28 February.
Mr Albanese credited Resources Minister Chris Bowen and Agriculture Minister Julie Collins with work on fuel security and other policy challenges, including the management of avian influenza.
Looking ahead, Mr Albanese framed the return to Parliament as an opportunity for Labor to strengthen its policy agenda ahead of 2027.
He contrasted the Government’s approach with what he described as opposition from the Liberals, Nationals and One Nation.
“We choose progress over protest. We choose purpose over chaos. We choose unity over division,” he said.
“How we bring the country together. And importantly, we choose outcomes over outrage.”
Mr Albanese said the legislation expected to pass during the second half of 2026 would help position the Government for the year ahead.
“The legislation that we will be having in this second half of the year will set us up to go into 2027, even stronger as we go forward,” he said.
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