SUBJECTS: WA state borders; Federal election campaign; Government’s low emissions technology fund; climate change; Labor’s policy agenda; lack of trust in the Morrison Government; foreign policy.
 
OLIVER PETERSON, HOST: Joining me on the line is the Australian Labor Leader, Anthony Albanese. Good afternoon.
 
ANTHONY ALBANESE, LEADER OF THE AUSTRALIAN PARTY: Good to be with you, Oly.
 
PETERSON: We are aiming for a 90 per cent vaccination rate before reopening borders here in WA. Do you think that is too high? Are we ever going to see you in Western Australia ever again?
 
ALBANESE: I'm sure you will see me in the West. And I'll be there as soon as I can be. Mark McGowan has been doing a great job. He's got to listen to the health authorities. I don't want to see any restrictions there for a day longer than necessary. At the moment, there's a range of states I can't get into. WA, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania, and Northern Territory. So, I'm traveling to Victoria later today where I'm able to visit. And I will be over in the West as soon as I'm allowed to get there.
 
PETERSON: By Christmas, you'll be able to go everywhere except Western Australia. You want to obviously be the Prime Minister of a united country. This is not the country, though, that you'd want to be the Prime Minister of if you can't go everywhere by Christmas, Anthony Albanese.
 
ALBANESE: Look, I want to get there as soon as possible. But I do respect the fact that states have made decisions based upon health advice and based upon looking after their respective states. One of the things about talking to you from Sydney is just a month ago, kids weren't at school, people weren't able to go to work, in parts of my electorate, some of them were under curfew, weren't allowed to leave their home at night. You couldn't have anyone at home, you couldn't visit anyone's place. In WA, fortunately, in part because of the work that the Mark McGowan Government has done, but also of course, because of the sacrifices and the hard work of West Australians themselves, you've been able to have students in school and university, have had people at work, and you've been able to visit people and you even got the AFL Grand Final.
 
PETERSON: It looks as though you're in the box seat when it comes to this $1 billion low emissions technology fund. The Prime Minister wants the legislation dealt with when the Parliament resumes in a little over a week and a bit. Two National Senators have already said they won't back it, claiming it's a waste of money. So, Scott Morrison is going to need Labor to help them get it over the line. The question is, will you?
 
ALBANESE: Well, we haven't even seen the legislation. This is classic Scott Morrison, yet again, an announcement with no follow-up. No one has seen the legislation. I note that his own Party has members, both Liberals and Nationals, saying they're going to vote against it. So, maybe they know something I don't. But it doesn't sound very good if he can't carry his own Party room. And this is more expenditure of taxpayers' funds. And the day after, he is out there saying on the front page that he wants smaller government and less involvement. So, the issue with Scott Morrison is he has a different announcement every day. It's all about the announcement, never about the delivery. Always about the photo op, never about the follow-up.
 
PETERSON: Well, it looks as though this fake election campaign has already started. The Prime Minister running around New South Wales and Victoria. You just said as well that you're off to Victoria tomorrow, probably more hardhats in high vis. You're ready to go.
 
ALBANESE: I've been ready to go for some time, Oly. I think that this Government, which is searching for a second decade in office, that's what they'll be asking the Australian people to give them, I think they're out of time. They're certainly out of ideas. All we have is announcements. We don't have issues delivered. We don't have any vision for where the country's going in terms of the transition to a clean energy economy. We have a Prime Minister who says himself that it doesn't matter what he says a week ago. And if he doesn't have regard for what he says about issues yesterday, why should people listen to what he says today? And the biggest backflip, of course, has been the extraordinary change in rhetoric about electric vehicles where he said they'd end the weekend, and now he's pretending that he never ridiculed it. Everyone knows what he had to say just two years ago. And it's consistent with the change in rhetoric around batteries for renewables, that he said were as useful as the Big Banana or the Big Prawn. And he said that renewable energy targets were nuts. There's just no consistency. We actually need to have a plan to shape the future in the interest of the Australian people. Because if you don't have that, if you just ignore that, the future will shape you.
 
PETERSON: Paul Keating's comments yesterday at the National Press Club, basically saying the two major parties are too close on foreign policies and that Labor should be taking a different stance on a couple of issues. Do you think you should be countering the Government on China rather than falling into line?
 
ALBANESE: Well, we think that China's posture on international relations has changed. That's just something that has occurred in recent years. And Australia must always stand up for Australian values. We want good relations with the region. But we also value our alliance with the United States. And we value our engagement in multilateral forums such as the United Nations. So, Labor's values on this are universal. China has changed its position on some issues and has got more forward-leaning when it comes to economic sanctions against Australia. And I hold China to account for that. I hope that Australia can engage more diplomatically, as we have in the past under governments like Howard and Rudd and Gillard, and indeed, Tony Abbott's Government as well. I want to see Australia benefit from the economic relationship with China. But I want, at the same time, to always stand up for Australian values.
 
PETERSON: Anthony Albanese, I appreciate your time. You have a good afternoon. And we might see you in Western Australia sometime in 2022.
 
ALBANESE: I'm sure you will. And as soon as I can get there, I assure you, Oly, I will be there. I always enjoy my talks in the studio there. It is a big incentive to come and talk directly with your listeners.
 
ENDS