SUBJECTS: Labor's National Reconstruction Fund; Biloela Family; Liberal's attacks on Medicare; electric vehicles; G7; climate change. 
 
FIONA PHILLIPS, MEMBER FOR GILMORE: Hello everyone. It's great to be here at Manildra today of course with Anthony Albanese, the Leader of the Opposition. I invited Anthony here today to take a look at this wonderful organisation Manildra, the Shoalhaven Starches plant here at Bomaderry, which employs 350 locals. It's such an icon, such an important business in our local community. We've seen so much growth here over the decades, and I really wanted Anthony to take a look at that and to see how important this local manufacturing plant is for people here, so I'll hand over to Anthony.
 
ANTHONY ALBANESE, LEADER OF THE AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY: Well, thanks very much Fiona. Labor has a plan for revitalising manufacturing in this country. We will have a National Reconstruction Fund, a fund of some $15 billion to support existing industry, to create new industries and new jobs. Here, at Manildra, is a great example of value adding, they take a product, wheat, and they use every single bit of it, to produce products here in Australia, food products, ethanol, but also to export to Asia, to North America, to the world. Creating 350 direct jobs here, but many more jobs than that indirectly throughout the country. 
 
And today, one day after we commemorate the 70th anniversary of the passing of the great Ben Chifley, one of the things that Ben Chifley did during World War Two, with his national reconstruction initiative, along with John Curtin, was to imagine a better Australia. An Australia that was stronger coming out of World War Two, and the crisis that we faced to our way of life. 
 
We've had a different crisis during 2020 and into 2021 with the pandemic. What we need to do is not just try to go back to what was there, but how do we come back stronger? How do we build more jobs? How do we create more security for Australians, and in particular, in our regions. This plant here, Manildra, here in the Shoalhaven is a great example of what we can do if we get it right. This plant is also looking at how they become more efficient, how they use cleaner energy for production, how they reduce their emissions and their environmental impact here, just like other businesses are. Business is leading the way, the Australian Government continues to fall behind. But with our National Reconstruction Fund, creating jobs in regional Australia, we will make a difference and ensure that we emerge stronger from the pandemic. Happy to take questions.
 
JOURNALIST: Mr Albanese there's a growing push towards electric cars and vehicles. What future does ethanol have given we are pushing towards electrics?
 
ALBANESE: Well, ethanol will of course, continue to have a future, there are a range of uses for ethanol, including as fuel, but also of course, alcohol in terms of other products that ethanol goes into. So one of the things about this plant is that it's been able to use every bit of the product that comes in, the natural product, and convert that into sustainable uses. That's a good thing. And when we speak about driving down emissions of course, using ethanol rather than normal petrol, has made a difference in that as well in producing cleaner fuels that will remain in use, whilst we transition towards more use of electric vehicles.
 
JOURNALIST: The G7 labelled climate change an existential threat and recommitted the G7 nations to net zero by 2050. Is Australia increasingly exposed on this issue?
 
ALBANESE: Australia is increasingly falling behind. Here we have all the world's major powers, the G7, all committing to net zero emissions by 2050 and Australia being isolated in our opposition to that. Scott Morrison is trying to crab walk around, saying that he wants an ambition to head towards, as soon as possible, using different language that simply doesn't stack up. What we see with the G7 is leadership from the United States, leadership from the United Kingdom, leadership from all of the world's major democratic powers, and Australia simply falling behind. Our major companies, our major banks, our major industries, and our major peak organisations, like the Business Council of Australia, the National Farmers Federation, the Australian Industry Group, as well as every state and territory government have committed to net zero by 2050. Scott Morrison keeps Australia back and is increasingly isolated.
 
JOURNALIST: Sorry, just to follow on from that, it also committed the G7 to immediately end new unabated coal fired power projects, and it suggests the rapid transition away from unabated coal fired power. Does this shift mean anything for Australia?
 
ALBANESE: What it means is Scott Morrison has to explain how he's funding of a study into a new coal fired power plant in Collinsville fits in with this. The fact is that he says one thing when he's at an international forum, and a different thing here in North Queensland. The truth is, there hasn't been a new coal fired power station built in Australia for a very long period of time. And I've said very clearly they won't be a new coal fired power station built in Australia. That's consistent with what the leaders at the G7 are saying. Scott Morrison has to explain how that fits with giving to the proponents of a new coal fired power plant in North Queensland taxpayers money in order to have the feasibility study for a plant that he knows is not going to go ahead.
 
JOURNALIST: Greg Hunt has indicated that part of the Shoalhaven is being considered a different distribution priority area for medical practitioners, what what would you do to fix regional health? 
 
PHILLIPS: I think what we've seen is the biggest attack by the Government on Medicare and not supporting our regional areas. And we're seeing that play out in the Bay and Basin area. I think there's some serious questions there around how they determine the priority areas. It doesn't take into account the demographics or the elderly population that we have. So we'll be going back to the Minister to try and get that changed and to make sure that he actually takes into account the genuine and real need in our area.
 
ALBANESE: The truth is that this Government have launched the largest attack on Medicare that we've seen in decades. From July 1, Australians are going to be hit with increased bills for essential surgery, such as hip replacements and other services. This has been happening without proper notice without proper consultation with doctors with the private health insurance industries. And we know this will have a particular impact in the regions. The regions are already struggling to get access to a GP. Regions that have suffered from increased costs as a result of the increase in the gap that's there for basic services such as visiting the GP. The first thing that this Government did when they came to office was try and put a new tax on people visiting their local GP with a Medicare co-payment. This is a Coalition Government that will undermine Medicare every chance they have. It is only Labor that will always stand up for Medicare as the heart of our health system.
 
JOURNALIST: <Inaudible>
 
ALBANESE: Well, one of the things that we would do is actually have proper planning, proper planning for health care services that includes GPs, but also includes access to services, including essential operations through the Medicare system. What we wouldn't do is undermine that system, which is what the changes that will come into effect on July 1 will do.
 
JOURNALIST: <Inaudible>
 
ALBANESE: It's not good enough, we need to make sure that there's proper planning of medical services, including in our regions. Labor will always do better on Medicare and health services. Because we believe in Medicare, and we believe that the provision of health care should be based upon your Medicare card, not on the size of your wallet.
 
JOURNALIST: <Inaudible>
 
ALBANESE: Fiona will always be knocking on my door standing up for the Shoalhaven. Standing up for healthcare services in her local region. And Labor will always deliver better on healthcare as we did when we were last in Government with the better health services, the better hospital services, the better facilities with Medicare at its heart.
 
JOURNALIST: The Prime Minister says options are being considered for the Biloela family. Are you pleased for these signs the Government is shifting its position?
 
ALBANESE: How long does it take? I visited Biloela in 2019, I met with the local community leaders. And in 2019, after I became Leader of the Labor Party, I said that this family should be settled home to Bilo. That is what the local community want. You have a local dad who works at the meat factory, you have a local mum, who's a volunteer in local charities and is a part of the local community. And these two beautiful little girls who have spent almost all of their life now in detention. A family that was rounded up in the middle of the night, and taken off to Victoria and then sent to Christmas Island at an enormous cost to the Australian taxpayer. Enough is enough. This family needs to be settled. We're a better country than this. And this family are not a threat to Australian sovereignty, or Australian borders. They are Australian citizens these two little girls or so they should be and they should be looked after here. 
 
JOURNALIST: Is your position on this issue to make an exception for this family or is this a broader shift in Labor's policy towards asylum seekers?
 
ALBANESE: This is about a minister being able to use his ministerial discretion or hers in order to settle this family. This should have happened in 2019. And there is ministerial intervention in hundreds and hundreds of cases every year based upon the particular facts which are there. The particular facts here are that this mum and dad are wanted as valued members of this regional community in Biloela. These two girls were born here, they should be allowed to stay and they should be able to go home to Bilo where they are valued members of their community.
 
JOURNALIST: <Inaudible>
 
ALBANESE: This is about a family who are here. This is not a threat to our national sovereignty. This will not restart the people smuggler trade any more than when ministers have intervened for nannies and for people who have connections with the Liberal and National parties. That didn't start the trade either. LNP ministers have intervened on hundreds of occasions over the last eight years. Every single year. There has been many, many interventions. This intervention on compassionate grounds for a family that a part of the Bilo community should be, should happen. And it should also happen because we know that the sort of circumstances whereby a little girl has a health crisis, that it's allowed to stay for day after day after day until she has to be medically evacuated to Perth at great cost to the taxpayer. Enough is enough. Thanks. 
  
ENDS