SUBJECTS: Visit to Tasmania; Vaccine rollout; Andrew Laming; Annastacia Palaszczuk’s calls for a women's summit; protecting Australian jobs; Christine Holgate; Tasmanian state election; Rebecca White and Tasmanian Labor. 

ROSS HART, FORMER MEMBER FOR BASS: I am Ross Hart. It is my great pleasure to welcome my good friend, Anthony Albanese, here to Launceston today. It is a fantastic day. The sun is shining. And we have Albo here in Tasmania for an event tonight. Welcome, Anthony, to Launceston and to Tasmania.

ANTHONY ALBANESE, LEADER OF THE AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY: Thanks very much, Ross. And it is great to be back in Launceston with yourself and Senator Helen Polley. Tonight, I will be with Michelle O’Byrne and Bec White and others for the Labor State campaign. And tomorrow, Bec White and I will be doing a press conference and various media events. 

I did want to make some comments today about the vaccine rollout, which is very clearly a shambles under the Morrison Government. Scott Morrison made some clear commitments to the Australian people. He said that we would have four million Australians vaccinated by the end of March. And of course, we know that the figure struggled to get past 600,000. Missed by that much. And the fact is that Scott Morrison must have run out of premiers to blame for things, because now he blamed, yesterday, the European Union. But as is the case so often with Scott Morrison, the story changes each and every day. Today, not only is he not blaming the European Union, he's saying that he didn't blame them yesterday. Whereas the comments from Scott Morrison can't have been clearer. What he said yesterday was this, ‘Some three million that we were relying upon, and we are all aware of the situation in Europe and other places, that has frustrated that supply’. Now once the European Union became aware of the comments, then of course, they made a statement repudiating that. And then in typical style of this Government, which had David Littleproud out, which had the Prime Minister himself being critical yesterday, they walk back and say, ‘Nothing to see here’.

Well, the bell is tolling for truth when it comes to Scott Morrison and the vaccine rollout. Because what we see from this Prime Minister is increasingly a lack of leadership, is also that he'll be known as Shifty Scotty, rather than Scotty from Marketing. Because it's all about the announcement, not about the delivery. And it's always about shifting blame to someone else, shifting blame to the state premiers, shifting blame to the European Union, making statements that ignore previous statements that he's made, sometimes just a day beforehand. Or, in this case, very clear statements that were made on January 7, further comments that were made at the beginning of March, in the middle of March, where the promises just don't stack up. 

Australians just want to know one thing. When they are going to be vaccinated. Because it is vaccinations that will solve these issues, not vaccines in abstract. And that's why the Government needs to get its act together, provide certainty for Australians, whether they be aged care residents, whether they be GPs trying to ready their surgeries to roll out the vaccine. The only thing that has successfully been rolled out by Scott Morrison is Malcolm Turnbull from the Prime Ministership. 

JOURNALIST: If the Prime Minister is saying the vaccine from Europe hasn't arrived, the EU says there are no block exports, who should we believe? 

ALBANESE: Well, Scott Morrison himself walked back from his comments yesterday. So you can believe the Scott Morrison of today, rather than yesterday, or you can wait for tomorrow where there'll be a different Scott Morrison. That's the problem here. We know that there was once shipment of a quarter of a million blocked from Europe. We know that occurred. But we also know that is the only shipment that was blocked because that has been confirmed today, not just by the Europeans but by the Australian Government itself.

JOURNALIST: Does Labor believe there needs to be more funding for women’s’ services beyond the current emergency funding dished out during the COVID-19 pandemic?

ALBANESE: Of course there does. This is a Government that has failed when it comes to delivering for 52 per cent of the population. It has failed when it comes to women's services, dealing with domestic and family violence. It has failed when it comes to women's access to workforce participation through childcare support. It has failed when it comes to the gender pay gap of more than 13 per cent that exist in this country. It has failed when it comes to women’s superannuation, who retire with far less than their male counterparts. All of these issues need to be dealt with by the Government. The Government completely ignored women in their last Budget at the end of last year. It has opposed Labor's practical childcare plan that is aimed at boosting women's workforce participation and that is an example of whereby good policy that supports women will also support everyone in Australia by boosting the economy, boosting productivity. And I note that Anastasia Palaszczuk has written to the Prime Minister saying that the National Cabinet should convene and host a summit on issues affecting women and the need to provide support to them. I would hope and I would ask now publicly that should any such summit occur, the Prime Minister break the habit of a lifetime and invite the Federal Opposition to participate fully in that summit. If we are going to move forward on these issues, it requires the support of federal, state and local government. It requires the whole of Australian society to recognise that these are issues that need addressing and to respond to them.

JOURNALIST: So you are looking to support that summit?

ALBANESE: I support that summit as long as it is not a controlled summit of Scott Morrison's friends being invited to not produce any great outcomes. As long as it is one of substance, not just of announcing the summit and then that is the end of the process. And with this Government, so often we see it. It is the announcement of a process that is the end in itself rather than outcomes. And in this case, women deserve outcomes. We do need to move to a more equal society. And I think it was very disappointing, yesterday was a great example whereby the meeting that was held in the cabinet room didn't produce any outcomes. And to say that the Government is now going to consider these issues, when I was a Cabinet Minister, cabinet submissions had within them an area that had to take into account what the impact on gender was of any policies coming forward. I would have thought that should have been just standard practice.

JOURNALIST: The AEC is now investigating Andrew Laming after The Guardian reported he is allegedly running Facebook pages and profiles to push LNP material without any political authorisations. Is his position in Parliament tenable?

ALBANESE: Andrew Laming should not be in the Parliament. And he should go today. And the Government should withdraw their support for him. I find it extraordinary that Scott Morrison says that he cares about issues relating to gender, and he has someone in his Liberal Party room, someone who he wrote to the pre- selectors of Bowman asking that they re-endorse him for the 2019 election. And Andrew Laming is someone who has harassed his own constituents, women, on Facebook and on social media. He has harassed a woman state member in Kim Richards and asked for people to basically report her whereabouts and what she is doing and offered a cash and support prizes for people reporting that. He is someone who took a photo upskirting a woman at work in her place of work and only when confronted, was forced to delete that from his mobile phone. He is someone who apologised in Parliament on the last sitting day with just minutes to go on that sitting Thursday. Then on the Friday, the day after, said he didn't know what he had apologised for. This is a guy who is not fit to be in the Parliament. And Labor will reserve all options to take action when Parliament resumes. But quite frankly, while he sits in at the Liberal Party room, Scott Morrison will have no credibility on these issues.

JOURNALIST: Do you believe Christine Holgate’s comments about being pushed out of Australia Post?

ALBANESE: Quite clearly, she has put forward a very strong statement to the Senate Committee, it is appropriate that they examine it. We have said that the Australia Post board, stacked as it is with Liberal Party hacks and friends of Scott Morrison, isn't up to scratch. The Australia Post is an important organisation. Australians quite rightly rely upon Australia Post. Christine Holgate says, and there is evidence attached to her submission, including the thank you cards that went with the watches, signed by the Chairman of the Australia Post board, that she was acting consistent with the response of the board and consistent with the rules that were in place there. Scott Morrison, of course, got rid of Christine Holgate on the floor of the House of Representatives in Question Time. And yet he stands by Andrew Laming. Ask yourself, whose actions were worse? Those of Christine Holgate, providing watches, in my view, inappropriately but in accordance with previous practices of the Australia Post board, an organisation, over a period of time. Or Andrew Laming. But Scott Morrison stands by Andrew Laming but dismissed Christine Holgate without an opportunity for her to put her case.

JOURNALIST: But do you believe Christine Holgate and the comments that she has made?

ALBANESE: Well, Christine Holgate has put forward those submissions. So they'll be examined before the Senate committee. And that's appropriate. I don't know Christine Holgate. I don't think we've met. We may well have at one stage, either with her position in Australia Post or previously in Blackmores. But she's someone who is a highly respected businesswoman. And I ask Australians to compare the actions of our Prime Minister with the response to a highly respected businesswoman in Christine Holgate and Andrew Laming, who is a disgrace and brings our Parliament into disrepute.

JOURNALIST: Should the Commonwealth be stepping in to promise protections for workers at the Whyalla Steelworks in a Tahmoor mine? (Inaudible).

ALBANESE: The Australian Government should always be about protecting Australian jobs. These workers have done nothing wrong. They are producing great Australian product. And the Whyalla Steelworks is a very important part of Australian manufacturing. So the knock-on effects if Whyalla Steelworks were to not be able to continue to produce would be devastating for our national economy. There's a national interest here. At Tahmoor, I met many of those miners at the Miners Union conference. They're hardworking Australians. They deserve our respect. And they also have done nothing wrong. These are workers who've just gone about their jobs. And we should be ensuring that they can continue to do that. 

JOURNALIST: You've come down to Tasmania in the middle of a state election campaign. Are you satisfied with how Tasmanian Labor have gone over the first week and a half of two weeks of that campaign? 

ALBANESE: Well, I think Bec White is showing herself to be a strong leader. She's been a friend of mine for a long period of time. I think she will make a great Premier of Tasmania. She has my support. I look forward to seeing her this evening. I look forward to standing up. I think we're going to Cataract Gorge tomorrow morning for a press conference. Rebecca White is experienced. And you've got to ask yourself, why is the Tasmanian Premier going to an early election a year early? Why is that happening? That to me is the Tasmanian Premier giving a vote of no confidence in his own leadership and in his capacity to take Tasmania forward. Bec White has capacity. She's shown leadership both in terms of how she's dealt with internal party issues, but importantly, the positive agenda she's rolling out for Tasmanians, her support for TAFE, of opposition to privatisation, of support for Tasmania going forward. Why is it that the Tasmanian Premier hasn't been prepared to stand up for Tasmanians as JobKeeper has been ripped away, as the Federal Government have failed to provide appropriate support for the Tasmanian tourism sector, and other parts of the Tasmanian economy? 

JOURNALIST: How concerning is it that they've had one candidate dropped out today due to some misogynistic accusations and another candidate who's going against the party line in two very visible issues of pokies and anti-protest laws?

ALBANESE: Candidates, from time to time, will withdraw. And that's not the first time it's happened. And the Labor Party isn't the only party that's happened to. The important thing is that you get on with the job. And Bec White has a fantastic team. I look forward to seeing Michelle O'Byrne tonight. I served with Michelle in the National Parliament. She's a fantastic local member here in Bass. And I note that the candidate who has stepped up is Sam Mitchell. That is a pretty handy name to be standing in the Tasmanian Parliament. And I'm sure he'll do very well.

JOURNALIST: Has Rebecca White acted appropriately given she took a week to make a decision?

ALBANESE: Rebecca White has actively strengthened as shown she's a strong leader. She's acted entirely appropriately. She's consulted and got a great outcome and has shown that she's in charge of the Labor Party here in Tasmania. And that's a position I'm very confident in. And I was very pleased to provide every support. As someone who's a member the ALP National Executive, when Rebecca White asks, people responded. And that is because of the respect that Rebecca White holds.

JOURNALIST: What's your message to the warring factions of the Party in Tasmania at the moment?

ALBANESE: The Labor Party will get on with the election. We've got an election to win. That's why I'm here. I'm here also to run on Federal issues. And that's why I've got Helen and Ross as our local Senator and the former House of Reps Member. I'll say this. When Ross was in Federal Parliament, Bass was always at the front of the queue.

JOURNALIST: Should the President of Tasmania Labor step down given that he's been disendorsed as a candidate for his own Party?

ALBANESE: Well, what we're concerned about now is maximising the Labor vote on May 1. If you want a Government that stands up for Tasmanians, that stands up to Canberra, vote for Rebecca White and her team. If you want a Government that's concerned about jobs here in Tasmania, vote for Rebecca White and her team. If you want a Government that's concerned about the interests of Tasmanians, whether they be here in the north, or in the northwest, or in the south, or indeed in the central areas in that beautiful part of this beautiful state, Rebecca White will stand up. The problem at the moment is you've got a state Government that essentially has been pretty quiet as they have ripped away JobKeeper, as they have whipped away support. And that will have an impact on Tasmanians. And guess what? The Premier has belled the cat by calling an early election. Because he knows that will have a devastating impact on the Tasmanian economy, which is why he's going to this rushed an early election, because he's in a state of panic. And quite frankly, given the failures that are there at the Federal level, I'm not surprised he's in a state of panic. But what Tasmania needs is considered Government with strong leadership. Rebecca White will give them that. Thanks very much.

ENDS