SUBJECTS: Morrison’s response to Queensland flood disaster; Anne Ruston’s plan to cut Medicare; Latest polling; Urgent Care Centres policy; Housing affordability; Alan Tudge saga; Bluesfest; The Liberals plans to expand the Cashless Debit Card; PM’s visit to WA.
 
MADONNA JARRETT, LABOR CANDIDATE FOR BRISBANE: Good morning, everybody. I'm Madonna Jarrett, Labor’s candidate for the upcoming Federal Election for the seat of Brisbane. I’m here today, obviously with Anthony Albanese, Murray Watt, Jim Chalmers, Jonty Bush, our local state member. We've just done a walkthrough Torwood Street. This street was very, very badly affected by the floods. The water was over two metres high, people have lost their homes. We've just done a walkthrough. I mean, I was out here helping our community carry water-soaked mattresses down these stairs, you know, throwing old loved toys that were full of mud over balconies because houses have to be cleared. There was help, help did come, it was too little too late. If you ask the residents, they will tell you that. They were very, very disappointed in Morrison being very, very late to act. So with that, I'd like to hand over to Anthony.

ANTHONY ALBANESE, LEADER OF THE AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY: Thanks very much, Madonna. And it's been an honour to talk with the residents of this street today who've had devastation. Families, we've heard about little babies put on boats to be rescued. We heard about a woman who was 35 weeks pregnant with twins having to be evacuated in order to ensure that she was safe because there was no chance of her swimming out in that condition given the two and a half metres of water that impacted on this community. I've been to flood affected communities here in Brisbane on a number of occasions. And it is just quite shocking to see the devastation that was there. The residents of this street are of course unable to continue to occupy their homes. There'll be a lot of work needed to be done in the future. But what we saw from the Federal Government, whether it be bushfires, floods, or the pandemic is a real pattern of behaviour. Scott Morrison, when after the election, in 2019-20 bushfires went missing. And he failed to act soon enough. And he only acted when the political pressure was really put on. On the pandemic he said it wasn't a race and didn't order enough vaccines. And we know that not only we were not at the front of the queue, which Mr. Morrison said, we were way, way, way at the back of the queue. And on floods, we saw again a political response, rather than a human response, rather than looking at people who were going through a really tough time and saying, what can we do to help? 

There's something that defines Australians, they make sacrifices for each other, they look after each other. Neighbour looking after neighbour, stranger looking after stranger. That's what happened here in the floods with people in tinnies rescuing families. That's what happened during the bushfire crisis and that's what happened during the pandemic as well with people going out there and getting vaccinated so that not just for their own health but for the health of everyone they came into contact with. What we need is a government that is as good and strong and committed as the Australian people are themselves to helping each other. A government that steps up, that doesn't have to be pressured into stepping up. And on the floods, of course we've seen a politicisation. We've seen members like Catherine Cusack from the Liberal Party, Geoff Provest from the National Party, state MPs saying that they couldn't see themselves continuing to support the Morison Government because of the way that the Scott Morrison Government made political decisions based upon what electorate you were in, in New South Wales or what state you're in, whether you're in New South Wales, or Queensland. We need to do much better. The Queensland Government wrote Scott Morrison and asked for support and then Scott Morrison wrote back and said ‘No, it's not available’, for the share of the $700 million plus package that they wanted to help people get back on their feet. It was only after a few days pressure that Scott Morrison changed his mind. It should be a partnership. Not just a partnership between governments, a partnership between people and government. A government that people should be able to rely upon to step up. 

And it's similar in terms of people being left behind when it comes to the government's decision that they've made to make Anne Ruston the Health Minister. This is a Health Minister now, designate, if they're successful in the election, who we know will undermine Medicare. Who has said that the current model is not sustainable. Who has said that Medicare funding is just putting things on the credit card, and that it needs to change. This is another example of what we can expect if Scott Morrison is reelected. If Scott Morrison is reelected, we can expect cuts to health cuts to education, cuts to other essential services. Because this is a Prime Minister who only defines action by what's in the short-term political interest of himself. And I'd asked Jim if he wants to make some comments as well.

JIM CHALMERS, SHADOW TREASURER:Thanks very much, Anthony. The Prime Minister's hand-picked Health Minister was given multiple opportunities this morning to rule out further cuts to Medicare and she couldn't do it. Medicare is not safe under Scott Morrison and Anne Ruston, that much is clear. The appointment of Anne Ruston, to be Scott Morrison's hand-picked Health Minister will send a shiver down the spine of every Australian who needs affordable health care, based on Medicare. Universal Access to Medicare is at risk if Scott Morrison and Anne Ruston are given another three years to undermine Medicare. One of the key differences between Labor and Liberal in this election is we will always look to strengthen Medicare, the Liberals and Nationals will always look to undermine it. That's what this appointment is all about. Australians can't afford rising health care costs. And that means they can't risk another three years of Scott Morrison, the Liberals and the Nationals.

MURRAY WATT, SHADOW MINISTER FOR DISASTER AND EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT: Just before we take some questions, it's great to join you here again, Madonna. I remember being here with you in Torwood Street just after the floods, only a few weeks ago. And the reason we are here today is to show these residents that in Anthony Albanese, they would get a Prime Minister who's there for the floods and there for the recovery as well. I don't know why it is that Scott Morrison, whenever Queenslanders need him the most he turns his back. At the height of COVID, he was demanding that Queensland's borders be opened no matter what the health consequences for Queensland. And he's done it again now in the floods. As Anthony said, what we saw from Scott Morrison recently was when the Queensland Government asked for support to help homeowners like the people we've met today to rebuild and to reappraise their homes, he said: ‘No’, even though he is prepared to give similar support to New South Wales. Right now, flood victims in New South Wales are getting three times the payment that the people in Torwood Street and Auchenflower and everywhere else in Queensland are getting. And of course, he declared a national emergency in New South Wales after the floods, but he wouldn't do that in Queensland as well. Why is it that whenever Queenslanders need Scott Morrison the most, he always turns his back, whether it's COVID, whether it's floods, whether it's infrastructure, or anything else. It's about time Queenslanders and all Australians had a Prime Minister who's prepared to work with the whole country, bring the whole country together, not pit state against state and mate against mate. We need someone who's going to work for the whole country and that person is Anthony Albanese.

JOURNALIST: The latest Resolve poll. I'm sure you've seen it. How do you grapple with such a damning assessment of your performance in the first week of the campaign, as we enter a second week?

ALBANESE: I said when the campaign opened that we were the underdogs in this campaign. I've consistently said that it's a mountain that Labor seeks to climb because we've only done it three times since the Second World War. So, it's always tough for Labor to win from opposition. So, we know how tough it's going to be. But we also know our obligation to get there. To climb that mountain. Because if we're going to defend Medicare, if we're going to defend secure work, if we're going to take action on climate change, if we're going to look after people in disasters, we need a Labor Government. Remember this, the Government had a $4 billion Emergency Response Fund that they treated like an ATM and just added up to $4.8 billion, as if there wasn't a need to invest and to take action. Under the announcement that Murray and I made in January, we'll have a Disaster Ready Fund - $200 million a year, every year, working with local communities, working with state governments to make sure that we address these issues.

JOURNALIST: I asked you a question yesterday about one of your key health policies and you didn't answer it. So, I'm going to ask you again. Mark Butler, yesterday said that all 50 of your urgent care clinics will be up and running by mid next year, how many additional nurses and GP’s do you need to staff these facilities? And where are they going to come from?

ALBANESE: Well, we're going to need additional nurses and doctors.

JOURNALIST: How many?

ALBANESE: We're going to need additional. But as it goes, you don't actually train doctors and nurses just for one thing. What we know is with the ageing of the population, with the increased numbers of people who will need assistance in terms of aged care, we're going to have to invest in education and training. And that's why we've announced 20,000 additional university places. That's why we've announced 465,000 fee free TAFE places. This is critical that we train. We know that it's a challenge. But we know also that we have an obligation, regardless of who's in government to train more nurses, to train more doctors. We also need to make sure that we shape - and we'll have more to say about this as we go down the track of this campaign as well, about GP’s going forward?

JOURNALIST: Can we have a number, Mr Albanese, on how many nurses you need. You've got three signature policies now. You've got your health policy to roll out 50 clinics, which involves doctors and nurses. You've got nurses for aged care. And two days ago, you also announced more nurses for Melanoma clinics. Do you not know how many nurses you need? 

ALBANESE: These won't be run by the government. These won't be run centrally. These will come through, these will be determined by the people who run the centres, which is existing GP clinics and community health centres.

JOURNALIST: The charge is, Mr Albanese, that you’re not across the detail. 

ALBANESE: We are… 

JOURNALIST: …that you're not giving the finer details as to what's behind them. So, do you know how many nurses you will need for what are now three health policies? 

ALBANESE: Each place is different. We know for example, that the Melanoma Institute, in terms of the funding that you raised on Saturday, the Melanoma Institute will use that funding of $14 million to employ additional nurses. They say that that will allow them to employ 35 additional nurses.

JOURNALIST: Mr Albanese, Labor is now saying that Alan Tudge urging Rachelle Miller not to disclose their affair may have been a criminal offence. What's your message for Australian voters regarding this saga that doesn’t seem to go away?

ALBANESE: Well, the Alan Tudge saga is one that I struggle to get my head around, let alone average Australians. I mean, is Alan Tudge still a minister? Is he still in the Cabinet? Is he still Education Minister? How is it that there's been a half a million dollar payout using taxpayer funds? And yet, the Prime Minister says it has nothing to do with Mr. Tudge. So, these are questions that need to be answered they need to be answered by the government.

JOURNALIST: On coal, Adani has confirmed its fielding inquiries about the use of the Galilee Basin Rail Line from potential third party operators. What is Labor's position on the expansion of the Galilee Coal Mine and would Labor approve new coal mines but won government considering some are already going through the approval system?

ALBANESE: Labor's position on this is very clear, that you have appropriate environmental approvals and if coal mines stack up environmentally, and then commercially, which is the decision for the companies, then they get approved, and then Labor would welcome any jobs that would be created from that. It's important, because of the way that the Act works, that we don't preempt the environmental approvals process, and that that is able to take place independently of government intervention, because that's what the Act requires.

JOURNALIST: The government gives federal approvals. 

ALBANESE: I think I answered it pretty clearly, that yes, if it goes through the environmental approval process that's established under the Federal Act, under the federal legislation, then it would be, it would be approved.

JOURNALIST: How did you costs your policies without assuming levels of nursing and GPs that would be required. How do you know that to set up 50 clinics would cost $135 million but you haven't assumed a certain number of GP’s and nurses will be required. So, which is it? Do you not know exactly how many nurses and GPs are needed or that figure is based on an unknown number? 

ALBANESE: No. It varies. These are 50 clinics that won’t be run by the government…

JOURNALIST: …inaudible.

ALBANESE: These are 50 clinics that won’t be run by the government. They will be run by either GP clinics – yes, either by GP clinics – what, what we pay for, as well as to provide some investment, so that these projects become viable.

JOURNALIST: Mr. Albanese on housing. The Coalition announced today the increase in the amount of money under its policy. I'm wondering do you support it, and isn't it that this is a chicken and egg, the policy is enabling people to bid up the price of houses, which makes them more expensive, which means the Federal Government and state governments are pumping more money into them, into the housing system, which is pushing up prices, leaving a generation unable to afford a house? 

ALBANESE: I'll ask Jim to add to this. But we have said for some time that the caps weren't high enough for people to be able to buy a home in some areas because of the considerable increase in housing that's occurred, particularly in some of the regions as well. 

CHALMERS: Obviously, as you know, Shane, it's a perennial challenge in the housing market. House prices have been going through the roof and that's before you get to renters and all the rest of it. We've been very supportive of the government's plan for first home deposit savers. And we've said for some time that we don't think the caps are appropriate. So, to the extent that the caps are being changed today, we welcome that. This is obviously not the only part of a good, broad housing policy. We've also got our policy around social and affordable housing. And we'll have more to say on housing between now and the election. 

JOURNALIST: Can’t you see that this actually enables house prices to keep going up?

CHALMERS: Well, you can't address every challenge in the housing market simultaneously with one policy. And that's the point that I'm making. The issue that this is about is helping people get a toehold in the housing market, which we think is absolutely important, crucial that that happened. But it's not the only step you need to take in housing. Social and affordable housing as well and other steps which we'll make clear between now and the election.

JOURNALIST: Mr Chalmers, in preparing the costings with the PBO for your GPs in urgent care clinics, how many nurses and doctors was assumed to be needed to make that work? 

CHALMERS: So, our policy for Urgent Care Centres is about taking pressure off emergency departments. It's based on work done by the Parliamentary Budget Office and those costings will be finalised and released in the usual way at the usual time. But, if you just let me finish, Clare. So the point that Anthony has been making and Mark and we have all been making, is that these are existing centres, being asked to stay open for longer to take the pressure off emergency departments. Our responsibility as a federal government is to make sure that we are training enough doctors and nurses, that's why one of our most important policies is around TAFE and university, because there is a skill shortage in this economy. The responsibility of the centres is to find people to work out whether people will be working longer or more people will be on shifts. Our responsibility is to provide the incentive for the Urgent Care Centres to stay open longer, to take the pressure off the emergency departments. They will find the doctors and nurses; our responsibility is to train them.

JOURNALIST: There was a fair chorus of booing at the Bluesfest last night, your polling down sharply today. Are you concerned that by stumbling so frequently on policy in this campaign, you're losing votes?

ALBANESE: Well, it was a terrific night last night, and I thank Barnsey for the invite, I've got to say, to Bluesfest. And he gave a great set. And it's fantastic that the arts and entertainment sector that were left behind during the pandemic, they didn't get enough support at getting back on their feet. I interacted with a whole lot of artists yesterday, as well as a lot of people. And the artists, uniformly, we're just grateful that they are able to perform. Some of them told stories about not being able to perform for two years. They've been doing it really tough. And it's good that Bluesfest, a great festival was able to go ahead.

JOURNALIST: How would you rate your performance over the last week, with all those stumbles that Mark was saying? 

ALBANESE: Well, I'm not a commentator. What I know is that Australia needs a new government. Australia needs a better future. And the feedback that I get around the country, whether it's in Cairns, whether it was in Bangalow, whether it be in in Byron yesterday, and indeed right around the country, where I've been to every state in the last couple of weeks, is that Australians really know that this government's tired, it's out of puff, it's out of time, it doesn't have an agenda for this term, let alone a plan for the next one. We have a plan for a better future. We'll continue to put our case to defend Medicare and strengthen it. To take pressure off of living standards by having cheaper child care and to have cheaper electricity through our climate action policy. We've got a plan for jobs and  for the economy. Just as we've seen in the past, economic reforms leading to greater social equity. In this case, the economic reform of this decade will be very much driven by our Powering Australia Plan. That transition will create 604,000 new jobs. Five out of every six in regional Australia. $52 billion of private sector investment will reduce emissions by 43 per cent by 2030. We can be a renewable energy superpower for the world and we can use that cheap, clean energy to power high value manufacturing to make more things here, and then we can train Australians to our plan for Jobs and Skills Australia, fee free TAFE, additional university places for those jobs. It's a coherent strategy that fits together of how we use the opportunity that is there, from dealing with climate change, to drive manufacturing, to drive jobs, and to skill up Australians to fill those jobs.

JOURNALIST: Information has been distributed by Labor in some marginal seats about the Cashless Debit Card. Are you going to be pulling that from the campaign?

CHALMERS: Absolutely not. This is a key issue. Wherever you go in Australia, pensioners are worried about Scott Morrison and Anne Ruston’s comments about the expansion of this scheme nationwide. We make absolutely no apology whatsoever for standing up for the pensioners of this country who are petrified that this Cashless Debit Card will be extended to them. There are comments on the record, from Scott Morrison, from Anne Ruston, talking about expanding the scheme, talking about it being a national platform. There's a very clear difference here and people on pensions right around Australia need to understand it. Scott Morrison and Anne Ruston have thought aloud and raised the prospect of expanding this scheme. Labor will abolish the Cashless Debit Card. We couldn't be any clearer than that. The Prime Minister and his now hand-picked Health Minister have been given multiple opportunities, in recent times, to rule out this expansion. And if they do it now, in the teeth of an election, you know that you can't believe them. It's the same with Medicare. They've said before elections before no cuts to Medicare. And after the election, they've gone and attacked Medicare and this is in the same boat. So, we will not be stepping back from raising this important issue on behalf of the pensioners of this country who know that Scott Morrison and Anne Ruston, if given the opportunity, will expand this scheme, because they’ve said so. 

JOURNALIST: The PM’s in WA today. He made some comments yesterday accusing Labor of hubris saying that you're going to win three seats? What's your response to that? Are you going to win three seats in WA?

ALBANESE: My objective, of course, when you start off in an election campaign is to campaign in every seat. But what we know I haven't commented on that. He's probably commenting on the West Australian’s polls. But we are working to win majority government. And we make no apologies for saying that we're very hopeful of a positive result in Western Australia. And there's a couple of reasons for that. One is the Prime Minister called Western Australians “cave dwellers” and rejected their government's efforts to keep them safe. And secondly, that when Scott Morrison had a choice between Mark McGowan - he likes to talk about choice. Well, here's the choice that Scott Morrison had. He had a choice between Mark McGowan and Clive Palmer and he chose Clive Palmer. And he used taxpayers’ money to fund a submission so that the Commonwealth joined in on that case in the West on the side of Clive Palmer. Clive Palmer, who was trying to take tens of billions of dollars off WA taxpayers through separate legal action. Clive Palmer, who continues to take legal action against Mark McGowan. Well, I know what side I'm on. I'm on the side of Mark McGowan. 

Thanks very much.

ENDS