SUBJECTS: WA election; Newspoll; March 4 Justice; historic rape allegations against a Cabinet Minister; workplace culture in Parliament House; NRL. 

OLIVER PETERSON, HOST: Good afternoon. 

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

PETERSON: Were you buoyed by the results in Western Australia on Saturday night? 

ALBANESE: Of course I was. It was an extraordinary result for Mark McGowan and the WA Labor team. I've been friends with Mark for a long period of time. And I go back a long time, as well, with people like Roger. And I think watching it, though, was quite extraordinary. For the Liberals to be down to two or three seats is a remarkable result. Everyone thought that Labor was in a strong position. But you always think it'll come back to a more even position come polling day and it just didn't. And that's to the great credit of Mark McGowan and the discipline of the campaign. I was buoyed by the message. I was in the campaign office the day after we spoke, about 10 days ago, on the Friday morning. And they were a good campaign team and I'm looking forward to that same team working to change the Government at the national level. 

PETERSON: So when the Federal election rolls around, is a vote for Anthony Albanese a vote for Mark McGowan? 

ALBANESE: There is a distinction between the two levels of government. But certainly, we have very similar values, similar politics. And we both stand for a strong economy and jobs. We both also stand for fairness and a strong position on climate change and the environment. And there are a range of Federal issues, of course, the Federal Government continue to do this ridiculous position of saying that there's money in the Budget for Roe 8 and Roe 9 that is not going to be spent and keep a billion dollars that should be being contributed to WA for infrastructure and create real jobs with real projects, not a road to nowhere, which is what that proposal was. 

PETERSON: The Prime Minister took credit for the victory in Western Australia for the Labor Party on Saturday night, saying that it was all about the JobKeeper program, that he helped Mark McGowan. Is he batting on the same team as Mark McGowan? 

ALBANESE: You have got to say he's batting on Team Delusional if he thinks that's a good result for him and the Liberal Party. Scott Morrison, we know, will try to spin anything at all. But one of the problems with Scott Morrison's Government is that increasingly people realise that it's all about the marketing, it's all about the spin. And they are too busy worrying about that than to get on with the substance of the business of government. And we saw that with the quite bizarre tourism announcement done just a couple of days before the poll last Thursday, which included Broome where no one can actually book accommodation because it's full, because Western Australians have been travelling there, and nothing else throughout the entire state of Western Australia, including Perth. 

PETERSON: And that's an issue at the moment because we need to encourage east coasters to holiday here in Perth. So you're happy with the results, obviously, on Saturday night. You're going to be happy with today's Newspoll as well, 52-48 to the Labor Party. 

ALBANESE: The poll that counts is on election day. We know that. So polls will go up and they'll go down. What I'm interested in is making sure that we hold the Government to account every day and that we are putting forward clear alternatives, alternatives for job creation, alternatives for cheaper child care. I was in a child care centre with Matt Keogh on the Friday and was there with Madeleine King looking at job creation and how renewables are driving the nickel refinery there in her electorate at Kwinana. So I think that Western Australia will continue to be a critical state for the nation. You do deliver enormous growth and jobs and make a contribution above your weight. And I am looking forward to continuing to work with WA Labor in the future. I hope that that's in government. But I certainly don't take anything for granted. I'm not worried about one poll either way, frankly. What it shows is that we're competitive. And we've been competitive for some time. 

PETERSON: There have been big rallies across the country today. The Prime Minister has been criticised for not attending these marches. He did offer the organisers a private meeting. Why don't you reckon they took it? 

ALBANESE: Because they had a view that they had come to Parliament in their many thousands. They've organised these rallies around the country. They invited every Member of Parliament to go out and to listen. And I think it would have been good if the Prime Minister had been prepared to do that. And they want the doors to be open and for people to be listened to. And it was quite an extraordinary rally. The contribution of Brittany Higgins, a brave young woman who showed incredible courage in her speech, and I thought it was a very significant moment indeed. And the Prime Minister missed, completely, that moment, not just by refusing to go out, but when he did make a contribution in the Parliament, having a reference about how good it was that people could have a demonstration in Australia without being shot. It was a rather bizarre contribution to say the least. 

PETERSON: There are allegations of misconduct now in the Labor ranks. Are you sure things are squeaky clean in your Caucus? 

ALBANESE: I have always said that power relationships and disproportionate power exists within society. And I've never said that nothing wrong has ever occurred in the Labor Party. But one of the things that we have done is set up proper processes so that complaints can be dealt with. And there was an issue last year, a complaint was made about a staff member by someone who didn't work in Parliament House, wasn't working for the Federal ALP. And that was dealt with to the satisfaction of the woman involved. 

PETERSON: What would you do differently to the Prime Minister if allegations of sexual harassment emerge, though, within the Labor ranks? 

ALBANESE: Well, we have complaints procedures. We have a bullying policy. We have a sexual harassment policy. And we also have a code of conduct that has been adopted across the board, which applies not just to parliamentarians and staff, it applies to any ALP event. It's a very comprehensive policy, just like so many businesses and corporations have done the same thing. And I think that is what, hopefully, out of Kate Jenkins' review that she's undertaking, there'll be some strong recommendations arise out of that. That should apply, certainly, across the Parliament. 

PETERSON: Christian Porter said he will come back to work on the 31st of March. Is that the right call? 

ALBANESE: Well, I today have said again that the idea that the allegations against Christian Porter, which the Prime Minister has not read, Christian Porter said that he hadn't read them either, the statements made by the woman at the centre of this who tragically took her own life. I don't think you can just unsee and unhear the debate that remains going on without a proper examination of this. And, of course, we had the Macquarie executive come forward and say that he can recall conversations that he had at the time with the woman and also conversations he had around that time, or the early 1990s, that he had with Christian Porter. At the moment, what we're seeing is revelations being brought forward but no examination of it, primarily because the New South Wales Police said that because the woman had taken her own life, they weren't in a position to proceed with any examination. And we now know that the NSW Police weren't forwarded the documentation that was provided to the Prime Minister that he forwarded to the Australian Federal Police. 

PETERSON: So you still would like to see an independent inquiry. What do you make of his decision to launch legal action against the ABC over the allegations? 

ALBANESE: Well, that, of course, is a decision for him and one that he is entitled to do. But it seems to me that is likely to result in further examinations as well. So it is, I think, just a triumph of hope over what is actually happening, the reality to suggest that this issue is just going to go away. And Christian Porter taking legal action, of course, adds another dimension to that. 

PETERSON: Wish you luck against the Sea Eagles on the weekend as you lost to the Storm last week. 

ALBANESE: Thanks very much, Oly. That's very kind of you. Who have St George got this week? 

PETERSON: We're building for 2023. But we’ve got the Cowboys. 

ALBANESE: Well, the Cowboys, of course, struggled last year. But they've bought well. We will wait and see what happens. But it's good that Rugby League is back. And it's good that they've been able to have some crowds. 

PETERSON: And footy returns as well, AFL this weekend. That's Anthony Albanese, the Australian Labor Leader, joining me live on the line from Parliament House in Canberra. Thanks for your time. 

ENDS