E&OE TRANSCRIPT
RADIO INTERVIEW
TRIPLE M FRASER COAST THE BIG BREAKFAST WITH BLANDY
TUESDAY, 9 FEBRUARY 2021
 

SUBJECTS: Visit to Queensland; Labor’s policy agenda; industrial relations; casualisation of the workforce; insecure work. 
 

ANDREW BLAND, HOST: Albo, good morning.
 

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

BLAND: Again. You are becoming a regular now. What are you doing in this neck of the woods?
 

ALBANESE: Well, I'll be doing Hervey Bay this morning. We are flying there and having a bit of a look at tourism issues. Then we head to Maryborough where we'll be going to the Downer EDI site looking at rail manufacturing. That was a major part of our Budget Reply last year. We want trains to be built in Australia. And they're being built there right in Queensland, providing quality jobs. And they are fixing up some of the mistakes that were made when they were ordered by the LNP to be built overseas. We want jobs and skills here in Australia and I'll be giving that message. And then we are going to Bundaberg to meet with people. Of course, there are a few good new Labor MPs at the state level in all three of those seats. Maryborough, of course, Bruce was re-elected. But I'll be engaging there and in the Fraser Coast. It's a beautiful part of the world. And I'm looking forward to being back there this morning and today.
 

BLAND: Okay. Now, what's top of mind at the moment for you, Anthony, as far as, I mean, obviously, you are looking forward towards the next election, what are you really trying to push?
 

ALBANESE: I'm trying to push the fact, and give the message to Queenslanders, that I'm on your side when it comes to jobs. I'm on your side when it comes to manufacturing. I'm on your side when it comes to looking after our environment. And I'm on your side when it comes to regional economic activity. We need to grow our regions. Queensland is the most regional of our states. And it'll be a great chance to talk with people on the ground. And we can do it. The Downer EDI site is an example of whereby a major employer has cooperated with unions, cooperated with the state government to get fantastic outcomes, to get growth. And Maryborough has grown. We see the timber industry there, we see other potential growth as well with major manufacturing coming in there providing those secure jobs. And that's a good thing. It means that pressure is off our capital cities. And one of the things that's happened with the pandemic is people are looking to move to the regions. But they want to know that they'll be able to get a good job, a secure job, a quality job. And that is what this visit is all about.
 

BLAND: Okay. Casualisation of the workforce too, I guess, has been an issue. It's a bit tough at the moment with COVID with the whole full-time thing, though, isn't it, with a lot of businesses struggling to even survive?
 

ALBANESE: Well, look, we need to come out of the pandemic stronger and look at what the weaknesses are there. And one of the weaknesses has been the growth in casual jobs. It's pretty hard to get a mortgage, to have the certainty to be able to plan a family, if you can't be certain of what your income will be. And the growth of casual jobs and insecure work is a major issue. And we'll be making a major policy announcement about that tomorrow here in Queensland as a result of talking those issues through. People really want that certainty that can come with a secure job, a permanent job. And issues like same job, same pay is one of the things I'll be talking about. When you have people working side by side but one person being paid 40 per cent less because they work for a labour hire company, that's not the Australian way. It's not fair and it undermines wages and conditions. And we know that wages aren't growing as much as they should be. And that's bad for individuals, but it's also bad for the economy.
 

BLAND: Anthony, thanks for your time. I know you're a busy, busy, busy man. I appreciate you dropping by this morning once again. And feel free to do so anytime you're in the region.
 

ALBANESE: Always great to talk with you.
 

ENDS