SUBJECTS: Tasmania; Lockdowns; Vaccine rollout; Katie Hopkins; Tasmanian conservation; Carpark rorts; Tasmanian Labor.

SENATOR ANNE URQUHART, SENATOR FOR TASMANIA: Thank you very much. My name is Senator Anne Urquhart I am the Labor Party Senator and I am based here in Devonport. We're here at the East Devonport Community House. And I'm very happy to have Anthony Albanese, the Labor leader here with us today and also Chris Lynch, who is the Braddon candidate for the upcoming election. We're here today to have a look at the great work that the Community House does for the residents and the community here at East Devonport. They have a lot of activities that people undertake here. And also we've been out there making some sandwiches too, that they freeze and provide to kids that go to school and don't have the opportunity to have lunch at school. So they come and present them down at the school. So it's fantastic. I'm now going to hand over to Anthony. Welcome very much here, Anthony, it's great to have you in the northwest of Tassie.

ANTHONY ALBANESE, LEADER OF THE AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY: Well, thanks very much Anne and it's great to be here with Chris Lynch our candidate for Braddon. And the first time I've had the opportunity since his pre selection. Chris is someone who is a community activist. He is someone who has come through community services professionally, someone who's helped to train people, someone who has served in local government, and someone who will be a great representative for the northwest of Tasmania in our national Parliament. And I'm very pleased to be here with him today and I look forward to many visits back to the northwest of Tassie. Can I say also thank you to the the people who run the Community House here in Devonport. It is a great opportunity to see firsthand the work that they do. Of course the northwest of Tasmania and indeed the whole of Tasmania is suffering at the moment because of the lockdown on the North Island in New South Wales and Victoria. This means that it's more difficult for tourists to come here. It has meant that the traffic on the Spirit of Tasmania has been constrained and it makes a real difference to jobs and economic activity right throughout Australia, not just where directly, where the lockdowns have occurred. It is the case that this lockdown is Scott Morrison's lockdown. It's a direct result of a failure to vaccinate enough Australians quickly enough, and a failure to have a national quarantine system that is fit for purpose.

And Scott Morrison had two jobs this year quarantine and vaccination rollout. And he failed on both of them, it's important now that there are additional Pfizer vaccines here that they be got into people's arms as soon as possible, and the Government fixes up their botched rollout of the vaccine. We know that this is the key to opening up. This is the key to jobs. This is the key to a return to life as normal. And can I say that today, parts of my electorate in Canterbury, are unable to move from their suburb. And I say stay safe. This is a difficult time. But you will get through this. Follow the orders which have been given and the sacrifices that have been made, I think are quite extraordinary. In particular, I'm hearing from parents in the lockdown areas who have to deal with, with their kids with students. And it is a difficult time. But once again, the community is showing how resilient it is whether in Victoria, or in the Greater Sydney region and showing that they are looking after each other. And I thank everyone involved, particularly the frontline workers in the health sector, the people who are keeping that care going. for the work that they're doing. To the contact tracers, this is a difficult task. But we know if we don't get the health outcomes right, we'll continue to have problems with the economy. I might ask Chris to make some comments and then happy to take questions.

CHRIS LYNCH, CANDIDATE FOR BRADDON: Thank you Anthony. Thank you, Anne. It's great to be here today at the East Devonport Community House. And I'd like to thank Lisa and Tracy for the invite, and the chance to show my culinary skills. I'm quite familiar with the East Devonport Neighbourhood House, I've operated a Cert III in community services out of here a few years back for some people that that live around this area. So it's great to visit again today. So as Anthony said, I'm standing as the Federal Labor candidate in the seat of Braddon. And I very much look forward to working with Anne. And also working with Anthony to progress solid policies, and to bring my experience of working in the community to the fore, you know, in a wider area.

JOURNALIST: How important are organisations like this in East Devonport and all of Braddon because it's obviously a lower socio economic area?

LYNCH: They're vital, but they're not only for, for providing emergency assistance or crisis assistance or whatever, but they also become the hub of an area. I'm quite involved in the Burney Community House as well. And the various programs and service organizations that can move through a place like this. Also value adds to, to life in the in the suburb of where the Neighborhood House is. So they're very important conduits for people to have their voice heard. And certainly they are high on my agenda for places to to meet with the community and to progress policy.

JOURNALIST: Your opponent in this election obviously has a background in agriculture and veterans affairs issues, which are obviously key to this kind of world. Do you see issues that the Community House would face as your wheelhouse in that respect?

LYNCH: I definitely do. There's no doubt that we can always be looking to do, support to those people that are under resourced. Can I say whether that's financially or emotionally under resourced. We can always be looking to do that better. I don't believe that, that should come from a policy office. That needs to actually come from hearing from the people themselves and looking for solutions that they feel is going to help them progress forward, remove barriers to live their best life. So I feel that there are a lot of areas that Braddon and voters are perhaps missing out on at the moment with a bit of a concentration on only a couple of little niche areas. I believe I can bring to that a much broader focus. And I believe I can bring to that a much broader listening and learning across a wide range of areas, cultural areas with the arts, literacy and numeracy programs in schools and retention in schools. While these, are state responsibilities, I believe the Federal Government also plays an area in that, childcare, disability support, and how those things work. I think there's a broad gamut of things that need to be addressed. And I feel that I could do that better in Braddon.

JOURNALIST: The industry issues in Braddon, particularly at the moment, are quite significant with the fight on between the Rosebery mine and the Bob Brown Foundation and conservationists generally. What's your stance on that issue?

LYNCH: I think that's interesting, the language you use 'the fight' that's ongoing. I think that up until now, it's been a very divisive position that's been taken. The mining industry is very important, and it's very important for jobs, and jobs are vital in an area. By the same token, there are environmental concerns that needs to be taken into account. I don't like to use the term 'I'm going to fight for one or the other'. I think we need to see the science, I think we need to gather the evidence and make the best decision possible. It's a tricky question there. Both of those things in Tasmania are vital. The protection of the environment but also the protection of jobs especially in mining and in heavy industry. So it's not going to be an easy answer. I'm not prepared to come out on the record today and put a position in place. I do intend to consult widely and and read the science and hopefully we can get an outcome that brings people together as well. And  just remove this 'it's one or the other'. I think there's a better way around that.

JOURNALIST: Controversial British commentator Katie Hopkins is leaving Australia after having had her visa cancelled. Should Australia allow celebrities into the country given their 10,000s of Australians stranded overseas,

ALBANESE: Australia should never have let this right wing nut job into Australia. And I think that Australians that have been stranded overseas for more than a year will be scratching their head at how this person could be allowed into Australia, given a special visa in, the red carpet rolled out for this person, while Australians who are overseas are stuck there, unable to get home. It is a disgrace. And the fact that the Federal Government gave this, this woman a visa is I think outrageous and an insult to all those stranded Australians overseas. 

JOURNALIST: Generally speaking, should should celebrities be able to come into the country? 

ALBANESE: I think there has to be a very high criteria in terms of the contribution that they would make. Obviously, if someone's going to come into Australia and result in the creation of many, many jobs, such as there are some people in the film sector, for example, who there may be a case to bring them in. But we need to get Australians home. This Prime Minister said that stranded Australians would be home by last Christmas. It's now July. So many Australians are stranded overseas, their families are distressed. They can't get home to see their loved ones. That's causing distress from them, as well as their families back here

JOURNALIST: On the commuter car park program. What are your concerns with the program given we've heard from the Auditor General?

ALBANESE: I'm concerned that it's a rort. And it's the sort of thing that should be examined if we had a corruption commission at a national level. And that is what I would put in place. The fact is, we've heard evidence today that the staff member in the Prime Minister's office who presided over the sports rorts fiasco, also presided over this rort. We have commuter car parks, 47 of them, 10 of which are actually near railway stations. This wasn't park and ride, this was pork and ride run out of the Prime Minister's office with colour coded sheets. 

Based upon the evidence today from the National Audit Office is that the Government selected the 20 most marginal seats, and that was the basis of going to their MPs and candidates who weren't even Members of Parliament and asking them for ideas about how to spend taxpayers money as if it was the Liberal Party money. This is just an absolute red hot rort. This is sports rots on steroids and run out of the Prime Minister's office by the same staff member being in charge. And we know that multiple ministers were involved in this, the Prime Minister, Minister Tudge, Minister Frydenberg, Minister Taylor - all involved in this This is an utter scandal. And this Government has been in office now for almost a decade. They're seeking sometime in the next year, they'll seek a term, a fourth term, which will take them up to 12 years in government. 

If this is the sort of arrogance and abuse of taxpayer funds that we've seen this term, imagine how hot it will be if they get a fourth term in office. And here in Tasmania, whether it is the funding for the Bass Highway, that construction of the area that I've just traveled on, that won't commence - won't go out to contract until 2023. This is work that was promised a while ago, up in Hobart as part of the city deal, they announced $25 million, not only has not $1 been spent, they haven't even allocated it to projects of issues to deal with congestion. Now this was promised before the last election. This Government used big figures about infrastructure, that's all off in the never-never. If you have to elect them three times before you actually see a dollar being spent. And then they set up all those little funds, using taxpayers money, as if it's Liberal Party money. It's a rort, it should be stopped. And it is an abuse of taxpayers funds.

JOURNALIST: How would Labor handle it differently than in the future?

ALBANESE: Well, we would not have is this sort of idea, we would have any funding for infrastructure and for community activity needs to be based upon need. Simple as that, with proper advice. Here, there were no guidelines, there was no advice from departments. This was candidates speaking to people, including in the Prime Minister's office, and just allocating. Bear in mind this is $660 million. Imagine what could be done in this facility here, whereby volunteers are making sandwiches for kids who don't have food at lunchtime. And yet, we have $660 million as if it's just confetti money. It is it is an offence to all those people out there in the community, who struggle to get by, and those community organisations and those volunteers who beg for government funding so that they can help some of the most vulnerable people in our community. 

JOURNALIST: You didn't know you had a candidate in Mr. Lynch who is not willing to say he is prepared to fight for jobs in the region?

ALBANESE: He'll fight for jobs in the region. Don't worry about that. He'll fight for jobs and Labor will fight for jobs. That's our priority, good quality jobs. One of the problems with jobs in the region that's being hit at the moment, particularly in the tourism sector, is the fact that because of Scott Morrison's failure on vaccinations and lockdowns what we're doing is seeing a decline and real pressure on the tourism sector here in Tasmania.

JOURNALIST: Can you provide an update on the investigation in the former Tasmanian Labor Leader David O'Byrne and State President Ben McGregor? 

ALBANESE: No. 

JOURNALIST: Can you elaborate on why not?

ALBANESE: No, because any, any of the processes that are established by Labor, respect confidentiality, and that's the basis of the system just like the system established under Kate Jenkins is very similar. That's an important part of the process. I don't intend to make any comment whatsoever.

JOURNALIST: Are you here to distract from state Labor's woes? 

ALBANESE: I'm here to campaign for Federal Labor with a new candidate in Braddon. Because of the constraints, which have been there, this is the first opportunity I've had to come down here. I'll be standing up with Ross Hart tomorrow. And as you know, I'm a regular visitor to Tasmania, and I will be a regular returner to Tasmania as well.

JOURNALIST: When will that investigation finish? 

ALBANESE: I'm not commenting on something that's an independent investigation. 

JOURNALIST: Do you can condone David O'Byrne -, 

ALBANESE: It's an independent investigation. I have no comment to make. That's the whole point of having an investigation which is independent at arm's length. The Labor Party has those processes in place. And part of that process is confidentiality, which is something that is recommended as best practice across the board. And I note it's exactly the same process that Kate Jenkins is undertaking. 

JOURNALIST: A second complainant has alleged Tasmanian Labor has a serious problem with sexual harassment, and has provided you with examples of alleged behavior, do you believe this woman?

ALBANESE: I have no comment to make on on any of those matters. It's appropriate that they be dealt with at arm's length. And that is the system that we have established. 

JOURNALIST: So you're in campaign mode. Is there any indication when the election might be? 

ALBANESE: Well, Scott Morrison, of course, is in campaign mode every day. That's the problem. He doesn't govern. He doesn't act like the leader that this country needs. And I've had the great honour of being acting Prime Minister on two occasions when I served as Deputy Prime Minister, Scott Morrison has been acting Prime Minister since 2018. Acting rather than leading, not showing the leadership that's required. Thanks very much.

ENDS