EDDIE MCGUIRE: Also today, a big blitz in the west, it is the Western Bulldogs Club's Win the West Blitz. They're going to be out at 24 different schools right across Melbourne's west today, pumping up support - not only for the Bulldogs but getting kids engaged in football.
MICK MOLLOY: And it's all about the players, volunteers, members, fans, staff, everyone's hitting the streets and just trying to make sure we get a big a base as we possibly can.
And who else would you want to front the campaign than the Prime Minister herself, Julia Gillard, who is on the line.
Morning to you Prime Minister, thanks for your time and you've got my vote so long as you keep hitting the streets on behalf of the Bulldogs. Congratulations!
PM: Well, thank you very much. And this is a great initiative by the Bulldogs. I spoke to Simon yesterday and they were already out and about street-stalling, and a lot more is going to happen over the course of the next few days.
So the Dogs have always been the team in the west, but that's going to be reinforced by everybody being out in the west saying ‘come and join the Bulldogs'.
MCGUIRE: And a nice little segue into the front page of The Age today Prime Minister, where Victoria is expected to receive a quarter of the additional $6.5 billion yet to be spent on schools.
How is that going to filter through to Victoria - and tell us some good news on the campaign trail - this is great.
PM: It is great. I've been working on school change, school reform, school improvement since we first came to Government in 2007 and it's so important for the kids because every kid should get a great education.
But it's actually so important for our nation too. Even if you don't have children or school-age children, I think it's a pretty common-sense proposition that we can't have a strong, high-wage, high-skill economy in the future if our kids are coming out of school and what they have learned is less than kids in the countries we compete against.
So we're very focused on school improvement, and better funding for schools. I'm trying to work out cooperative arrangements with states and territories to do just that.
Inevitably when you are trying to do something as big as the biggest change in school funding in 40 years there's plenty of criticism and commentary on the sidelines. But I'm very determined we'll get this done.
MCGUIRE: Prime Minister, how do you cut through this? Because while - and we're not going to get into opinion polls and things like that other than obviously you've got some challenges there.
But at the same time how do you put the point across to people that in Australia at the moment we have got low inflation, low unemployment, low interest rates, we've got through the GFC, the share market is coming good. Every indicator would suggest we're actually in Shangri-La at the moment, yet people still think we're going around in a third world country?
PM: Eddie I think when you live through the biggest economic shock since the great depression, it's no wonder that it leaves people a bit anxious and cautious for quite a number of years afterwards.
You're right, by the standards of the world our economy is in good shape and there's some good news around.
For example, in Melbourne we've seen the property market starting to come back and clearance rates at auctions be very good - so that's a sign people have got a bit more confidence to get out and about and buy a house or an apartment.
But at the same time, our economy is undergoing a big transformation because of the high Aussie dollar and that's putting a lot of pressure on businesses, particularly in Victoria, because we're such a great manufacturing state.
And we've got to work with that transformation and make sure we're doing everything now to ensure we've got the jobs in the future. And that's what things like our plan for Australian jobs is about; rolling out the National Broadband Network, really focusing on infrastructure, and really focusing on schools and skills.
MCGUIRE: Do you think there is a future in manufacturing though? Or is that just something that was, right okay, China's best position, the Australian dollar not showing any real signs - although I suppose a lot of people would hope that it maybe drop down to mid-80s to give than manufacturing sector a bit of a kick.
Is it something that we should be concentrating on or should we be looking elsewhere - what's your thoughts on this?
PM: We can still be a country that manufactures things. But we're going to have to do it differently.
The dollar is likely to stay high for some period of time. We've lived through a 50 per cent rise in our currency.
So if you put yourself in the shoes of someone overseas, a European who used to buy something Australian for €500 is now having to shell out €750.
So I think the competitive disadvantage of the high Aussie dollar is obvious, but we can still manufacture things provided we're at the forefront of innovation and quality.
And when you go to some of the manufacturing establishments in Victoria - Boeing for example, they're working on part of the Dreamliner aircraft. They're able to do that in Australia because we were at the front of coming up with the new material that the wing flaps would be made from.
It's lighter, lighter is always good for an aircraft, less fuel to get it to fly, and because we are the owners of that innovation we are now the owners of that work.
That's going to be the future of Australian manufacturing.
MOLLOY: Great news. Prime Minister, we like to keep our eye on international politics here a lot as well on Triple M's Hot Breakfast and there's a bit happening in Italy at the moment.
Silvio Berlusconi - he's been a favourite of ours for a long period of time. I'm interested if he does get up, and it's looking more likely that the miracle could happen, he gets back into power.
Can I get an insight into the conversation you have when you pick up the phone and congratulate Mr Berlusconi? What do you say to him Prime Minister?
PM: I had the opportunity to sit next to Mr Berlusconi at a G20 meeting. I was actually a little bit bemused as to why I was sitting next to him because the cable was all done in alphabetical order, which wouldn't tend to suggest you put Australia next to Italy, but you know.
MCGUIRE: He changed the tags!
MOLLOY: He's requested!
PM: I got the pleasure of sitting there and having a conversation through an interpreter in Italian, and sometimes in a bit of English - Mr Berlusconi doesn't speak much English and I don't speak any Italian, so interpreters in use.
He's an interesting character; can I put it like that? And if I end up placing a congratulations call to him I'm sure it will be one I'll remember for a long period of time to come.
MOLLOY: Prime Minister, we haven't seen a lot of Tim lately. He seems to have gone missing in action, how's he going?
PM: He's fine.
MOLLOY: Is he?
PM: Tim's absolutely fine, still a mad Richmond supporter.
MOLLOY: He's a good Richmond man; I look forward to seeing him around one. By the way, if he's in town there's a comedy festival on. Might get on the same card as him - me, Tim and Ricky Nixon.
PM: I'm worried Mick that he's taken too much inspiration from you and so-
MOLLOY: He is, he's doing my material!
PM: Yeah, we're cutting out the comedy routine.
MOLLOY: That was a killer look you gave him.
PM: The words afterwards; stop pretending to be Mick Malloy.
MOLLOY: A lot of people have said that.
MCGUIRE: Did you look back on that shot where you gave him the stare - fantastic, we love it, laser, right through the back of his head. We've all felt it one stage in our lives when we say something stupid, it's pretty funny.
MOLLOY: I thought that's got to be a quiet trip home in the car for Tim.
PM: Well we were at home so there was no car trip required.
MCGUIRE: Just a point out to the kennel.
MOLLOY: He is a good Richmond man and above all that it's a great cause he represents there too for men's health, so good on him.
MCGUIRE: Prime Minister, thanks for joining us this morning. We'll talk to you as we get a bit further into the campaign on some of the other issues.
But today it's all about the Bulldogs out in the western suburbs. A great initiative, well done to Simon Garlick and Peter Gordon and all the team out there.
That is called the Win the West Blitz, and the Prime Minister obviously right behind her beloved Bulldogs. Thanks very much for joining us this morning.
PM: Thanks very much.