SUBJECTS: COVID outbreaks around Australia; lockdowns; vaccine rollout; need for national quarantine facilities; Labor’s $300 vaccination incentive; Labor’s policy agenda; Western Victorian Transmission Network project.

BRETT MACDONALD, HOST: Anthony, good morning. 

ANTHONY ALBANESE, LEADER OF THE AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY: Good morning to you. Thanks for having me on the program. 

MACDONALD: Nice to have you on the program too, from a locked down Canberra. How's the feeling? We know it well in Victoria. What does it feel like in the ACT? 

ALBANESE: Well, we've been locked down here for I think it's two weeks, coming up to two weeks. And we're getting on top of it in terms of Canberra, but it's a strange time to be in Parliament. There'll be less than half of the representatives and Senators here, many people being able to come in virtually, which is a good thing to increase participation. There were temperature checks this morning as we entered the building. And everyone's wearing masks around any of the common areas or anytime they're somewhere except, I guess, by themselves talking to you on the radio. 

MACDONALD: What do you think, Mr Albanese, as you look around this vast country of ours, and you see New South Wales locked down, Victoria, including the regions in Ballarat, locked down, the ACT locked down, do you just scratch your head and wonder what should have been? 

ALBANESE: Well, I just wonder how we got it so wrong in terms of the rollout of the vaccine and the failure to have purpose-built quarantine. They were the two big jobs that the Government had this year. And they failed on both. And on the vaccine, we were saying at this time last year, and indeed, before then, saying you need to do five or six deals with pharmaceutical companies, we need to make sure that we get access to supply, that we have a variety of vaccines here, and that we need to do it as soon as possible. And the Prime Minister, of course, said firstly that we were at the front of the queue and then said it wasn't a race. The truth is it was a race. And the consequences of running last in the race are being felt by Australians now. And the failure on quarantine is just diabolical - the fact that we still don't have a single purpose-built quarantine facility up and running around Australia. And I just scratched my head at that, I've got to say. 

MACDONALD: It's amazing looking at the shots from sporting events overseas. I think it was the soccer in London I saw on the TV news last night, Albo, and packed stands. When on earth are we going to get to life as we knew it?

ALBANESE: Well, we need to get our vaccine numbers up. And that has required supply to be improved. We have only just started using pharmacies, which of course, I get my flu shot every year from a local pharmacist, Australian are used to doing that. We didn't use them at all. And then we had, of course, a real problem with supply, including even the vulnerable people. It is remarkable that 50 per cent of those people who are in disability care, who are very vulnerable to this disease, still haven't been vaccinated. They were in category 1A. They were supposed to be done by Easter. We are now in late August. Aged care residents still haven't all been done. Aged care workers are massively under done as well. And the Government has that timeline for them to be able to continue to work in the sector. It has been really botched up, frankly, and we're paying the price. 

MACDONALD: Do you think we can get to 80 per cent of the population fully vaxxed by October? Is it possible? 

ALBANESE: Well, I hope that is the case. And I encourage any of your listeners to get vaccinated if they can. One of the reasons why we put forward the constructive suggestion of a $300 payment to reward those who have been vaccinated, to encourage those who haven't been vaccinated and to provide a stimulus to the economy, particularly local small businesses, was just that. I think we need to use every tool at our disposal to try and increase our vaccination rates. 

MACDONALD: Mr Albanese, if we can just move on to another topic that I'm sure will be discussed on the floors of Parliament House today, and that's the Afghan extraction, if you like, close to another 500 people evacuated. What do you think about a two-decade long war and then the Taliban swiftly back in control?

ALBANESE: Well, it has been quite devastating, I think, for those who served in Afghanistan, for those who assisted us in Afghanistan, for Australians of Afghan origin who have relatives back there, to have a look at what has been the return of an Islamic theocracy with barbaric history. And the concern of the scenes that we've seen around Kabul Airport don't give any confidence that the regime has changed from its very harsh ideological position that they had. I feel for, particularly, women and girls in Afghanistan who were provided with some hope going forward and opportunity. Australia, I think, did the right thing. I supported the engagement in 2001, after the September 11 attacks. Terrorism was being launched from Afghanistan. It had an impact there on Australians who were in New York on that tragic day, and of course, on Australians in Bali as well. We need to, I think, continue to be vigilant that we don't see a return to Afghanistan being a launching pad for terrorist activity. And we need, in the immediate sense, to get people out who provided us with assistance when we were there. This is not just a moral obligation, it's a national security obligation as well. To send a message that when Australian military personnel get assistance, then we will provide assistance in return. 

MACDONALD: I'm speaking to the Leader of the Federal Opposition this morning, Anthony Albanese, from Canberra. Anthony, if we can just talk about a couple of local issues if you don't mind. Catherine King, our Ballarat Federal Member, who you would know extremely well, do you believe she's almost doing her job too well? She's been in this Federal seat of Ballarat since 2002. Do we actually miss out on Canberra cash, if you like, because this seat is so safe?

ALBANESE: Not at all. It's safe because she has been such an outstanding representative. And she's delivered for the community. When I was the Infrastructure Minister, Catherine was, of course, always knocking on the door. And as Regional Development Ministers, she was a great supporter of the regions, including her own. I think the way that Catherine delivered road projects like Anthony's Cutting, the Western Highway duplication, the road upgrade in Bacchus Marsh, as well as the Regional Rail Link, which at the time, and I think it's certainly still is, the largest ever Commonwealth investment in a public transport project in our history. Catherine was very passionate about that. And as well, of course, as a former senior person, and she will hopefully be a revitalised senior person in the next Labor Government that I lead, she certainly has a key role to play in the Cabinet. She's an outstanding representative for Ballarat and whenever I've been there, I'm amazed by her comprehensive knowledge of every millimetre of that electorate.

MACDONALD: Albo, just before we let you go today, a topic that Catherine has been involved with, it's a hot one in our part of the world, and that's the Western Victorian Transmission Network project. There are loud calls for it to go underground. We know we need it. We need to be moving this renewable power around swiftly and safely. What's your view on this project? Should the lines go underground? 

ALBANESE: Well, we, of course, have a plan, a $20 billion plan, to fix transmission of our energy grid. We do need to modernise it for the 21st century so that renewables can play the role that they can play in stabilising the grid and in getting that modern access so that we get more efficient energy use. I certainly will be supportive of any proposition that Catherine puts forward in that area. She is on top of the issues confronting her local electorate. And she's a fine advocate and usually wins the argument. 

MACDONALD: The PM is delivering a press conference at the moment, Albo. Do you normally tune in and watch? 

ALBANESE: I do when I can. But often the diary intervenes, such as the appointment I have right now talking to you. But it is surprising that the Prime Minister is doing a press conference prior to the numbers being announced by the premiers. Of course, the current outbreak, including the outbreak in Victoria, all began with a single case in New South Wales from an unvaccinated limo driver without a mask, taking someone to hotel quarantine. And of course, that person, unbelievably, wasn't even breaking the rules. And then, of course, the Prime Minister cheering on the New South Wales Premier, saying it was the gold standard to not lock down and to keep everything open. Well, the consequences of that are that half of Australia is locked down today. And I think the Prime Minister, if he is up in a press conference right now, it'd be nice if he actually acknowledged how wrong that call was, and how inappropriate his criticism was of the Victorian Government this time last year.

MACDONALD: 71 new cases in Victoria today. Not sure about that New South Wales number just yet. Leader of the Federal Opposition, Anthony Albanese, thanks so much for your time today.

ALBANESE: Great to talk with you.

ENDS