SUBJECTS: Visit to Cairns; Sydney lockdown; need to fix vaccine rollout and national quarantine; Queensland tourism; State of Origin.

MARK LITTLER, HOST: We do have the Leader of the Opposition, Anthony Albanese, in Cairns at the moment. He has dropped into the studio. Good morning. 

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

LITTLER: How are you enjoying Cairns so far?

ALBANESE: It's great. Although, it's a bit wet out there. But not to worry anyway. It's always good to be here in Cairns. I had a good event last night with Elida Faith at the Bungalow Hotel and got to meet lots of people there. And I am out and about today talking to the tourism sector about the problems that are ongoing due to the failure of rolling out the vaccine and fixing quarantine. And these shutdowns are having a real impact.

LITTLER: It's been a total mess, hasn't it? And to a certain extent, you can't blame some of the premiers, doesn't matter what side you're on, getting up in arms because it's just a total mess. No one knows what direction we are going in.

ALBANESE: The Federal Government's responsible for getting vaccines. They've done the deal. And, frankly, they just didn't get enough different vaccines, in enough quantity, soon enough. And that's why we're struggling. We have squandered the advantage that we had. Last year, Australians did so well. And now we're running last in the developed world when it comes to our vaccination rates. And that's leading to real issues as well as the failure to set up a national quarantine system.

LITTLER: What were your thoughts a couple of days ago now, it was a four-point plan to get us out. Do you think that can happen?

ALBANESE: We are 18 months into the pandemic. And the Prime Minister came out with a four-phase plan and we're at the beginning of phase one. The rest of the world's opening up, we are shutting down. And phase one, the new plan was a bit like the old plan, it was to get people vaccinated. That's the key. We know that's the key to opening up. And people see the Wimbledon crowds there, Europe and the United States and other places opening up more. And we're closing down. Under the plan, so-called, there won't be international visitors this year. And Cairns is so dependent upon international tourists, as well as interstate tourists, of course. I haven't been home for a long time because if I had of gone to Sydney, then I wouldn't have been able to travel to Queensland.

LITTLER: Exactly right. You would have had a chance to chat to a lot of locals and business leaders with Elida. What's the main concern? What needs to be done? With the next election coming up, you need to get that thought process going.

ALBANESE: Well, the main concern is that of the economy opening up, and the Government's failure on vaccinations in particular. So that's the big concern. And then the other concern is a failure to deliver on promises. We're told that the highway to the north around the airport would be fixed, that was promised at the last election. We're now leading up to the next election where they are going to promise it again, but not deliver it. And I think infrastructure continues to be a problem. Housing affordability is a problem here in Cairns and around regional Queensland. And access to services, there's still issues about the ongoing aftermath of Robodebt and problems with access to Centrelink services with some of the contracting out and cutting back. It means that people are having difficulty getting that support. Insurance, of course, has been an issue here for some time. So you get the full suite of issues. But overwhelmingly, the number one issue has been the pressure that's on the tourism sector and the failure to give enough support to it as well. And a lot of tourism operators, what they've said to me is that some of their staff, as well, have left town. And they are people who have skills, who have training. It's not easy to get that back, that experience.

LITTLER: No, it certainly isn't. And it could be a long time before the international borders open up. We rely heavily on international tourists. 

ALBANESE: That's right. But we could do better if we did have people vaccinated. On Monday, I was out at Toowoomba, at the Wellcamp Airport site. Annastacia Palaszczuk put that forward last October. It could have been up and running in 12 weeks from then. So we could have had people back here now. I have met people, as well, who have relatives who are still stranded overseas and can't get back. And that's a big problem.

LITTLER: Well, thanks for coming in and having a chat. We hope to see you a few more times over the next 12 months in Cairns, Far North Queensland.

ALBANESE: I hope to see you not just for next 12 months, but for a long time into the future. I look forward to coming back and hopefully with Elida as the local MP. I think she's a great candidate and really worthy of support.

LITTLER: And your tip on the State of Origin number three? Clean sweep?

ALBANESE: I think New South Wales are favourites. But I think losing the Penrith halves combination could give Queensland a chance. And you never write Queensland off. They won last year with a team that was written off. They, of course, had the super coach, Wayne Bennet, last year and they don't have him this year. But I just hope it is a good game.

ENDS