SUBJECTS: Labor’s Urban Rivers and Catchment Program; Government’s electric vehicle strategy; Labor’s cheaper electric vehicles policy; climate change.
 
BELINDA KING, HOST: It is the season for pre-election promises. Now, we may not be in official campaign mode yet, but that doesn't stop the major parties from hopping out with ideas of what they're going to be spending their major dollars on for the next election if elected. Federal Labor today is making a big announcement, a $200 million plan to help fix up local waterways. A Labor Government would work with community groups to improve water quality, restore precious habitat, and create better open spaces for families to enjoy. Federal Labor Leader, Anthony Albanese, joins us this morning. Anthony Albanese, good morning.
 
ANTHONY ALBANESE, LEADER OF THE AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY: Good morning. Good to be with you again.
 
KING: Why the focus on urban rivers?
 
ALBANESE: Because they're so important to our quality of life of humans, but they're also very important for our flora and fauna. We know that there's a real issue with threatened species around our urban waterways. And we know that this is an issue that needs addressing. Something like 46 per cent of the nationally listed threatened animals around Australia exist primarily around our urban waterways in our cities and towns. And we also know that during the pandemic, people have been reminded of how important these spaces are, as increasingly we have medium density living and people might live in units or places without big backyards. The need to gather as a community to spend time with family and friends around these urban spaces are just so important.
 
KING: So, the price tag is $200 million. So, how will you spend that? How will you work with local organisations to deliver that funding?
 
ALBANESE: We will work with local government but also with community non-government organisations. What we see around our waterways right around the country is local groups that are community based that look after the rivers, that are about cleaning up the water that goes into them, that are about addressing issues like stormwater runoff, that are about improving the quality of the landscape, that are about replacing the concrete that sometimes exists around urban waterways with wetlands and restoring that back to more of its natural state. And what we saw, particularly last century, but also early on, after European arrival here in Australia, is that often industry was located along the waterways and they were used essentially as drains. And we need to restore the quality of the water there. We need to make sure that we fix up these waterways. And communities will really benefit. So, one of the benefits of a program like this is that for every dollar that's invested, it will lead to much more than just that dollar figure. Because community groups, volunteers, local government are passionate about fixing up their urban waterways. And I know that that will be the case around the Tamar and other waterways in beautiful Tasmania.
 
KING: So, the Tamar is indeed a waterway that could benefit from this program?
 
ALBANESE: Absolutely. And when we were last in government, the Tamar benefited from some of the work that I did as the Regional Development Minister, fixing up infrastructure, making sure that we deal with some of the issues that have impacted that particular beautiful river, but also some of the smaller waterways and tributaries that run off our major rivers like the Tamar. And the amount of time that people have spent around these waterways during COVID, I think it's really been a wakeup call of how important these spaces are.
 
KING: There's no end of ideas that people have about what it would take to clean up a river like the Tamar. What sort of checks and balances can be put in place to ensure the money is being spent on the most effective plans?
 
ALBANESE: Well, that's why we'll make sure that we do it in a scientific way and do it through local government as well as partners, rather than people sitting in in Canberra and deciding what's best for local communities. A program like this, which a similar program ran the last time we were in government, made an enormous difference to our waterways. And what you had there was the restoration of wetland. So, you had scientific projects as well, which engaged even school aged people. You had removing of walls and returning them to natural riverbanks. You had revegetation and tree planting. And you had, as well, a kick in of facilities to encourage people to use these spaces. And we saw an enormous improvement in the quality of the water. But we also saw a return of native animals and fish to some waterways as well that hadn't seen them for some time. And frogs and other natural species are so important for the ecosystem that exists around our urban waterways. Our city shouldn't be just a concrete jungle, so they should be placed as a recreational activity and enjoyment.
 
KING: Moving to a different topic, the Morrison Government is today announcing its electric vehicle strategy and will partner with private companies to install some 50,000 at-home charging stations. What do you make of that plan?
 
ALBANESE: It is a pamphlet rather than a plan. There's no plan to make electric vehicles cheaper. We announced a year ago our policy to remove the taxes from electric vehicles when it comes to excise and when it comes also the fringe benefits tax to encourage the uptake of electric vehicles in fleets. This is a Government that said that electric vehicles would end the weekend. And once again, we see Scott Morrison not leading, always following. The job of Government, and the job particularly of the Prime Minister, is to lead change in the interests of people, to shape change. Not to resist change, which he did violently in terms of the language that was used against electric vehicles was just absurd. The Prime Minister's just back from an international conference where he gave an empty speech to an empty room. And he would have been told there what's happening around the world. The uptake of electric vehicles in Australia is some two per cent. In Norway, it's 70. In the United Kingdom, it's 15. Around the world, it's in double digits right around Europe. Car manufacturers, there are big ads certainly in major papers today from Volvo saying that they've gone fully electric. That is something that is happening. Way back, I attended a conference in 2009 in Japan as the nation's Transport Minister. Then, every auto manufacturer was saying that there was no research being done into internal combustion engines, that it was all about electric vehicles and about clean energy. And this Government has been not just asleep at the wheel, they've been in denial about what's happening. And now, they're trying, in the lead-up to an election where they're in the pre-election mode, they're trying to, once again, wipe out history and what they've said and what they haven't done for nine long years. We need a Government in this country that acknowledges that change is happening, that shapes it, in the interest of people so people aren't left behind. And this Government just isn't up to the task. And today's pamphlet is another reminder of that.
 
KING: Do you own an electric vehicle?
 
ALBANESE: Yes. I drive a hybrid Camry. And it's my second one this year. You might recall.
 
KING: Yes, that's right.
 
ALBANESE: I had one. And it was reasonably new. But it got crushed in a head-on crash. I can say that one of the things about newer vehicles as well, it's not just the fuel used in terms of electricity rather than petrol. They also have pretty good safety features. And that's why I'm able to talk to you today. But I got another one exactly the same, given I survived a head-on car crash in one. And I drive it. And it's quite good being able to only have to fill up every thousand kilometres. And in terms of savings as well over a period of time, of course, they will save money. And importantly as well, when you think about the shift, like a lot of the shift in terms of clean energy, it's also about taking particulates out of the atmosphere. Like, even if you thought that climate change didn't exist, if you're one of the Coalition members who are in complete denial, as Scott Morrison has been for most of his political career, then it's a good thing to have less pollution in the atmosphere as well. And we know that particulates from motor vehicles can cause all sorts of health issues. And it's a good thing that we're shifting to cleaner technology.
 
KING: Anthony Albanese, we'll have to leave it there. But thank you very much for your time this morning.
 
ALBANESE: Thanks very much. Always great to talk to you.
 
KING: Leader of the Opposition, Anthony Albanese there with us. Onto his second electric vehicle this year.
 
ENDS