SUBJECTS: Low- and middle-income tax offset; Federal election; Labor’s policy agenda; lack of trust in the Morrison Government; climate change; net zero by 2050.

DR MICHELLE ANANDA-RAJAH, LABOR CANDIDATE FOR HIGGINS: Hi, everyone. It's great to be here. A bit of a cold Saturday morning. But I just want to say hello. My name is Dr Michelle Ananda-Rajah. And I am Labor's candidate for Higgins. And I'm here with our Prime Minister in waiting, Anthony Albanese. And I'd like to introduce you all to him. Hi, Anthony.

ANTHONY ALBANESE, LEADER OF THE AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY: Well, thanks very much, Michelle. It's great to be here at Prahran Markets in the heart of the Higgins electorate with our fantastic candidate, Dr Michelle Ananda-Rajah. I'm very pleased that Michelle will be a strong representative for this area. The truth is that this Government has left Victorians behind. And it's leaving Australians behind. This is a Prime Minister who's focused on the 24-hour media cycle and has no plan or no vision for Australia's long-term future. And we've seen that again this week. There are two issues being raised this morning. One is the Prime Minister has said that he will consider not withdrawing the low- and middle-income tax offset that he himself has scheduled to be withdrawn in June of next year. So, this is a Prime Minister saying that he won't take away the $1,000 that he has scheduled to take away from low- and middle-income tax earners and expecting applause for it. Labor will support all of the legislated tax cuts which are in place now. But we've also made it very clear, as we have throughout our whole history, that we'll always do more for low- and middle-income earners. So, we would welcome any support for low- and middle-income earners, including any changes that are made to the income tax offset that is scheduled to be removed next June. The other issue, of course, is climate change. And you have a Prime Minister who released the modelling late on a Friday afternoon after the press conference. I'll give you the big tip. What politicians normally will do, if they're proud of their work, if there's rigor in the work, is release information to journalists and allow them to ask questions. What we had here was a series of press conferences from the Prime Minister and from Angus Taylor. And then after the press conferences were over, a release of the modelling without proper scrutiny. The fact is that this Government can't be trusted on climate change. And we've seen that this week with the Prime Minister's attitude towards electric vehicles. An attitude where he ridiculed the use of electric vehicles during the last campaign, like he ridiculed batteries to store renewable energy, like he ridiculed the renewable energy target. This is a Prime Minister who has no regard for what he said yesterday. So therefore, you shouldn't give any credence to what he says today. This is a Prime Minister who doesn't believe in accountability or scrutiny, but most importantly, isn't capable of taking advantage of the opportunity which is there from action on climate change. Yesterday, he was asked about the fact that so many people who know him so closely, like Malcolm Turnbull, have said that he lies. And once again, he turned into George Costanza saying, 'If you believe it, it's not a lie'. That is the Prime Minister we have. And it's appropriate that we have a Prime Minister channelling characters from Seinfeld, because this is a Government about nothing when it comes to planning for Australia's future. The truth is that what we need to plan for Australia's future is to take advantage of the opportunities that are there from the shift to clean energy, from a growth of renewables, from lowering energy prices, from being a country that, once again, is involved in high-value manufacturing. This is a Government that dared the car industry to leave Australia, so can't be given any credit for any manufacturing and consistency here in this country. What my vision for Australia is, is as a renewable energy superpower for the world. One in which we have high valued manufacturing driven by the lower energy prices. One in which we have the electrification of our homes and our industries through renewable energy with battery storage, so that you have that advantage, which we can have. We have these incredible resources, whether it be the agricultural produce that we see at these markets today, or our natural resources like nickel, like lithium, like copper. We need to value-add wherever it's possible. Whether it be in the agriculture sector, whether it be in the resource sector by turning our minerals and resources into high valued manufacturing, whether it be to new industries like hydrogen, that the Government, during the last campaign again, said was just a fantasy when Labor had our $1 billion hydrogen fund announcement. This Prime Minister isn't consistent. He doesn't have a plan for Australia. And quite frankly, he's just not up to the task of taking Australia forward. Which is why he contradicts himself every day from what he said yesterday, or last week, or last month. Labor will have a consistent approach. And Dr Michelle Ananda-Rajah will be an important part of changing the Government in this country. Because that is what we need. A Labor member for Higgins who's fair dinkum, who doesn't go to a Toyota plant that the Government that is in office right now told to leave Australia and pretend somehow that there's been this big shift when it comes to electric vehicles. And you'll see it proven by the fact that Scott Morrison will once again run a scare campaign when it comes to climate change. You wait, it's coming. Because all he has is fear. Well, what I have his hope and optimism for this country. A country that can be even greater than it is today.

ANANDA-RAJAH: So, good morning, everyone. That was a really inspiring speech from our Prime Minister in waiting, Anthony Albanese. I'd like to just take a moment to tell you a little bit about myself. I was born in the UK, but I am of Sri Lankan ancestry. And I spent my childhood up until the age of 11 in a small African country above Zimbabwe called Zambia. And I came to Australia when I was 11 years old. My parents were immigrants, and they have very humble beginnings. My father became a chartered accountant and my mum worked in various admin roles initially in the United Nations Institute of Namibia when we lived in Zambia, and then subsequently in the University of Sydney, where I attended medical school. So, I have been a doctor working in major public hospitals for the last 25 years, serving the Australian people all around the country. But over half of that period has been spent working in one of the biggest and busiest hospitals just down the road, The Alfred, serving the community of Higgins. I'm also a researcher. I've been an advocate for healthcare workers arguing for better work health and safety standards for them during this pandemic. And I'm also a parent, a mum of two children. My story, like that of many migrants, is one of intergenerational upward mobility, where aspiration was realised really through a stable home environment and a warm and welcoming country. And now, it is my turn to give back. So, I'm running because we are at a crossroads. We are emerging from one existential threat and straight into the mouth of another which is unprecedented in scale and disruption. It is clear, also, that the Morrison-Joyce Government is simply, as Anthony said, and we're using exactly the same language that we didn't check beforehand, but it's clear that this Government is not up to the task of navigating us through this crisis. They are unwilling to address climate change in any meaningful way. They seem to be absolutely incapable of seizing or even seeing the opportunities that lie ahead of us, that are ours for the taking. In doing so, it is clear to me that this Government will be unable to keep us safe. And for me, safety is the prerequisite for prosperity. Safety is the prerequisite for prosperity. And we've seen that over the last two years. COVID is a great example of what we're talking about. We cannot afford another three more years of a chaotic, reactive Government. The people of Higgins want a professional outfit that can pre-empt problems before they become a crisis. The people of Higgins are tired of the delays, the obfuscation, the spin, the unrelenting spin, the double speak. They're tired of the scandals and they're tired of the rorts. What I'm hearing from people desperately in Higgins is that they want solutions. They want actions. They don't want any more empty words and they certainly don't want any more empty promises. An Albanese Labor Government understands the challenges that lie ahead. And we have a plan. We understand that our future prosperity as we emerge from this pandemic is intimately linked to us becoming a clean energy superpower. And we also understand that in order to tilt this nation and drive it to net zero by 2050, it means full participation from every man and woman in this country. We intend to invest in our people because we understand that our people are our greatest resource. So, I'm very excited to be here representing this mighty electorate which really does need to be elevated and at the national level. So, that it has a say in determining the trajectory of our country as we emerge from this crisis. Thank you.

ENDS