E&OE TRANSCRIPT

DOORSTOP INTERVIEW

CANBERRA

TUESDAY, 2 FEBRUARY 2021
 
SUBJECTS: Government needing to Australian innovation; WA coronavirus lockdown; Craig Kelly.
 

JOURNALIST: Good news today for an Aussie company in Brisbane with the US Government announcing that they are going to scale up production for this quick COVID test. What do you make of that? Do you think our Government should be backing them in as well?
 

ANTHONY ALBANESE, LEADER OF THE AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY: Well, Australia punches above our weight. And what we need to do is back Australian innovation. That's one of the reasons why we made changes last week to make sure in terms of Australian science and employment, putting those things together in Richard Marles' portfolio. I say about some of the papers today, I got up and I read, 'Net zero emissions by 2050'. And I thought to myself, 'There's an idea. Why didn't the whole world think of that?' Well, it appears that they have actually. And Scott Morrison needs to explain, and perhaps he did just then, how it is that his rhetoric that when Labor adopted net zero by 2050, he said it would have catastrophic economic consequences. Angus Taylor has repeatedly said there'll be a massive cost of it. And of course, all of that is nonsense. Moving to net zero emissions by 2050 will actually create jobs as well as lowering emissions and lowering energy prices.
 

JOURNALIST: Polling in the West Australian today showed that more than 70 per cent of WA people still have faith in the state's handling of COVID-19 and its quarantine system. Do you share that confidence? Or are you concerned about some of the reports today regarding delays?
 

ALBANESE: I think Mark McGowan has done an outstanding job. And I look forward to continuing to work with him both before and after the next election.
 

JOURNALIST: Mr Albanese, Craig Kelly has appeared in a podcast with Pete Evans overnight. Obviously, Pete Evans is a well-known anti-vaxxer and various other health related things. What's your response to that? Do you think that it's appropriate for a Federal MP to be appearing on a show like that?
 

ALBANESE: Craig Kelly's actions are dangerous. And what worries me isn't just that his comments are dangerous, that they endanger people's health, that those mixed messages will undermine our response to COVID. And in terms of vaccinations, if you have members of the Government saying different things, I find it quite extraordinary. But yesterday at the National Press Club, the Prime Minister was asked a very clear question to distance himself from Craig Kelly, and he said he was doing a fantastic job as the Member for Hughes. Craig Kelly is not doing a fantastic job. Craig Kelly is doing a dangerous job. Craig Kelly is a problem. And it's a problem for the Government and it's a problem for the country. And leadership requires you to make tough decisions, including tough decisions with regard to the way that you run your political organisation. I've made tough decisions in intervening into the New South Wales branch and the Victorian branch to make them stronger. I've made tough decisions in removing people from the Labor Party who are bringing it into disrepute. Scott Morrison has a member of his caucus who is undermining the health response to this pandemic. And yet, he won't even say anything to distance himself from Craig Kelly. Thank you.
 
ENDS