SUBJECTS: Newspoll; Federal election; vaccine rollout; national quarantine; financial support during lockdowns; Labor’s policy agenda; net zero by 2050.

TINA QUINN, HOST: The latest Newspoll has found a massive swing against the Coalition in every state except Victoria, with the biggest gains in Queensland and Western Australia. The analysis concluded that if an election were held now, the ALP would win a majority Government was 78 seats and would see Anthony Albanese as our next Prime Minister. This comes following months of criticism of the Morrison Government's handling of Australia's vaccine rollout. Now, more than 12 million Australians are in lockdown as the Delta variant spreads through both New South Wales and Victoria. So how would Labor handle all of this differently? Well, we thought it would be best to ask Mr Albanese himself. Mr Albanese, thanks so much for joining us on Breakfast.

ANTHONY ALBANESE, LEADER OF THE AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY: Good to be with you.

QUINN: Look, I want to start off with the relief package that was announced by Scott Morrison with the state of New South Wales this week. Given that New South Wales could be staring down the barrel of quite a protracted lockdown, do you think it's enough?

ALBANESE: Well, I think that it's a good start. And it's good that the Federal Government went from a week ago saying that people in New South Wales had a buffer of savings that they could draw on, which is what the Prime Minister referred to when talking about the national savings pool, that somehow people didn't need support. So it is a start. I think it is up to the Government, though, to explain why it is that they didn't go back to the same program of wage subsidies that have proved to be effective and kept people in employment.

QUINN: Is this what Labor would like to see?

ALBANESE: Well, what we'd like to see is an end to the confusion. I think previously that the system was understood. This is a more complex system relating to payroll. And we're concerned that people might fall through the cracks.

QUINN: Right. So look, let's turn now to the latest Newspoll surveys which indicated a swing to Labor that would see you elected Prime Minister at the next election, having a majority Government. Based on a comparison with the 2019 election result, the Newspoll analysis shows a two-party-preferred swing against the Coalition in all states except for Victoria. So clearly, the Government has been punished for its failures with the vaccine rollout. It probably shouldn't be mistaken as the Opposition really being rewarded. Do you think Labor should have pushed harder and will we see you pushing harder going forward?

ALBANESE: We'll continue to advance a strong alternative to the current Government. That survey went from April to June. So it wasn't during the current crisis when that survey took place. And what that indicates is that the Government doesn't have a plan for the future. They don't have a plan for future jobs. They don't have a plan for climate change. They don't have a plan for creating opportunity. And what we're seeing is more insecure work, more people concerned about their future. And I think that is feeding into a concern with the Government's direction, as well as, of course, its complete botching of the rollout of the vaccine and a failure to do national quarantine.

QUINN: But there's also the stranding of citizens overseas and the many numerous sexual misconduct scandals that have arisen. Your own ministers like Tanya Plibersek and Bill Shorten have been much more aggressive and much more scathing than you yourself have when it comes to criticising the Federal Government. So are we going to start to see a much more aggressive stance from you when it comes to calling out the Morrison Government on their performance?

ALBANESE: I think you'll continue to see, from myself, constructive criticism. Not just being critical for its own sake but putting forward alternatives. And that's what we've done throughout the pandemic. It was Labor that put forward wage subsidies. It was Labor that put forward the need to increase JobSeeker. It was Labor that put forward the need for more mental health support.

QUINN: Right. Okay. Well, moving on to climate change, what kind of targets should we see the Federal Government taking to Glasgow?

ALBANESE: Look, it would be a start if they said net zero by 2050. And they should be joining with the rest of the world in adopting that target and then have a path to get there.

QUINN: So is that what Labor's committing to? Net zero by 2050?

ALBANESE: We certainly have committed to net zero by 2050. It was one of my first announcements in January of 2020.

QUINN: Right. But there has been some mixed messaging and changes along the way. And I do understand there's been a fair bit of infighting within your own Party due to the faction led by Joel Fitzgibbon as well, which has made it at times more difficult for you. But the science is now clear that Australia needs to go further. So net zero by 2050 isn't really enough. And that's what the science says. Will Labor commit to even more ambitious targets?

ALBANESE: Well, that's what the international agreement is. And we'll have an ambitious plan for dealing with climate change. I was our Shadow Environment Minister who adopted, for example, a 20 per cent renewable energy target by 2020. When we did that in 2006, our target was two per cent. I developed our climate change blueprint that became the foundation of what we did in Government when we were elected in 2007.

QUINN: Okay, so you're saying that Labor will put forward a more aggressive plan? When can we expect that by?

ALBANESE: Look, obviously the next election will be after Glasgow. One of the things that I've said is that we need to take into account what is happening internationally and be a part of the global action.

QUINN: The UK and US are promising much more aggressive targets. So surely, Australia should as well?

ALBANESE: That is right. But what we need to do is take into account of what happens in Glasgow. Glasgow will happen before the election.

QUINN: But why can't Labor release their targets now? It's one thing to push the Government on their targets, but Labor certainly needs to be more forthcoming with their voters.

ALBANESE: The next election is the opportunity that people will have to cast a vote on whether the Labor or the Coalition has the best plan going forward. But our policies on climate change will be consistent with net zero by 2050. And already, we've put out a range of policies consistent with that.

QUINN: Mr Albanese, I appreciate what a busy week this is for you. Thank you so much for taking the time to speak with us on Breakfast.

ALBANESE: Thanks for having me on the program.

QUINN: Pleasure. That was Anthony Albanese, our Federal Opposition Leader.

ENDS