SUBJECTS: Australian innovation; Labor’s Buy Australia plan; Future Made in Australia; rapid antigen tests; Morrison Government’s failures during the COVID-19 pandemic; Australian Open; Federal election; Labor’s policy agenda; Australia’s relationship with France.
 
CARINA GARLAND, LABOR CANDIDATE FOR CHISHOLM: Good morning. And it's my pleasure to welcome everyone here to Chisholm. And we're at Planet Innovation, a terrific facility in Box Hill. And I'd love to thank the workers and management for having us here today. And it's my pleasure as well to welcome the Leader of the Labor Party, Anthony Albanese, here for his third visit to Chisholm, and to talk about a subject that is really close to my heart, of the electorate's heart, which is the future of manufacturing and of skills in Australia. Thanks, Anthony.
 
ANTHONY ALBANESE, LEADER OF THE AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY: Well, thanks very much. It's great to be here at Planet Innovation, a great Australian company. The medical technology industry is worth $5 billion to our national economy. Most importantly though, medical innovation is how we can make people healthier. It's how we can use new technology to give better information to patients, get better service delivery from doctors, make sure that we reduce costs by using innovation, and make sure during this pandemic, to do what we should be doing, which is to maximise Australian innovation and Australian input into Australian solutions. And here in Box Hill, Planet Innovation are doing just that. There are, of course, rapid antigen tests here that they would want to produce and manufacture here at facilities like this. And yet, at the moment, because the Government doesn't have a Buy Australian plan and they don't have a plan of a future made in Australia, that's not happening. The truth is that this company here has expanded enormously from just four people, literally, into many hundreds over a short period of time, a little over a decade, Australia has always been good at science. We've always been good at innovation. What we haven't sometimes been good at is commercialising the opportunities which are there. And so, we should be using this pandemic to maximise the opportunities that are here in Australia. Instead, we have a circumstance whereby even though we do have rapid antigen tests being produced in Australia, they're being exported overseas rather than support being given to Australian companies to create Australian jobs and support Australian science and innovation. That's what this company here is doing. But it's not just about the pandemic. It's about using these technologies to make sure we deliver better service in the future and make sure that we deliver more jobs and more economic activity here. We know that for the products that are here produced by this company, including the ventilators behind us, there's enormous opportunity. This little device here will enable a doctor or an individual to determine whether an infection is bacterial or viral. What that will do, of course, is immediately ensure whether they need an antibiotic treatment or an antiviral treatment. And we know that the use of antibiotics over a period of time has other issues whereby you don't want antibiotics to be used unless it's necessary, unless it's appropriate. This is an example of whereby in a GP's practice, in a remote location, the first place this was sold was to Australians going to the Australian Antarctic Territory, the most remote of all of our locations. The truth is that this technology can cut down on costs, can make sure there is better diagnoses given for patients, and to make sure that treatment is quicker, rather than having people needing to get further tests and to use hospital facilities. We need a future made in Australia. And a Government that I lead will be committed to doing just that. And one way we will do it as well is to have our Buy Australian plan so that when the Australian Government uses taxpayers' money to make purchases, we unashamedly use, through the Future Made in Australia office, use Australian businesses, and we back Australian business. Australian businesses are innovative. Australians have been fantastic at research and science over a long period of time. We need a Government that backs it. Happy to take questions.
 
JOURNALIST: How quickly can you buy bulk rapid antigen tests made in Australia? Or will that ship sail given millions of tests will be coming before then?
 
ALBANESE: Well, we need to act right now. That's the first point. We need to act right now. And that means, at the moment, to ramp up the purchase of rapid antigen tests overseas. But also, right now, we could be backing Australian businesses to make these products here. What we've seen is an Australian Government that has just refused to engage. And we saw the first orders from the Australian Government for rapid antigen tests placed in January this month. It's extraordinary that three years is a pandemic, in spite of the fact that Scott Morrison, some five months ago, as well as Greg Hunt, was saying that this would be an important part of the process of dealing with COVID, we saw no action from this Government. And that's why businesses like this one, and businesses across this sector, are just incredibly frustrated. Because they could have been making things here, just like we could have been, by now, making mRNA vaccines here. The Industry Minister said some 18 months ago that we'd be making mRNA vaccines within nine to 12 months. And yet, we still don't have it. This Government's failure on the big Grand Slam of failures during this pandemic of tracing, testing, quarantine facilities and vaccinations is there for all to see. And the pattern of behaviour is that the Government's complacent. The Government sits back and says, 'She'll be right, mate', and doesn't put in place the mechanisms and the planning that would ensure that economic restrictions weren't ramped up because of the consequences for people's health.
 
JOURNALIST: (Inaudible). Is that a ballpark figure of what it looks like?
 
ALBANESE: That is the Coalition making things up. What we know is this Coalition, if they want to do a costing on something, tell us what's in their $16 billion, secretly squirreled away, of taxpayers' funds for decisions taken that they won't tell taxpayers what it's for. They should be dealing with rapid antigen tests right now. And the Government should also, if they want to do a costing, what they should do is a costing on what the cost is to the economy, what the cost is to people's health, what the cost is to small businesses that are shutting down, what the cost is to jobs being lost. We know that the history of this pandemic is that if you don't get the health outcomes right, the economic costs is more. Each and every time. Each failure from this Government, whether it be the slow rollout of the vaccine, which led to the slow rollout of booster shots being undertaken now, whether it be the failure to have rapid antigen tests being available, leads to more costs. We know that rapid antigen tests can be made available, and they are around the world by governments purchasing en masse at a relatively small cost compared with the cost of people losing their jobs, the costs to the national economy, of not acting. We know that's the case. And we see it. We've seen it played out. We saw it played out in the cost of not having purpose-built quarantine and not getting people vaccinated because they thought it wasn't a race.
 
JOURNALIST: Will you give us the cost of your rapid antigen test policy before the election? Will we know by then how much it would cost?
 
ALBANESE: All of our policies will be costed before the election. And we're very transparent about it. What's extraordinary is that we have a Government that is in office, that has a Treasury Department, has a Finance Department, and won't come out with costings of what their failures are costing the national economy. We know that their failings to properly put in place guidelines that were appropriate around JobKeeper cost taxpayers $20 billion in funds that went to businesses that were increasing their profits. But I say this to the Government. If they're saying to Australians that they're not worth a few dollars to get a rapid antigen test, then they are kidding themselves. Because what that means is that businesses are really struggling. And I note that the New South Wales Liberal Government have had to step up. They've had to step up. And they will be providing, through a rebate system, rapid antigen tests, effectively provided by New South Wales taxpayers to small businesses, because this Federal Government hasn't stepped up.
 
JOURNALIST: We have got hundreds of thousands of students going back to school today. How confident do you feel that kids will be safe in the classroom?
 
ALBANESE: Well, I certainly would hope that all governments are putting in place measures to keep students safe. But there's a lot of anxiety out there from parents. And part of that anxiety is because of the failure of the Federal Government to ensure that there was enough supply of juvenile vaccines for kids going back to school. There are still parents who I know who are having difficulty securing an appointment for their son or daughter. And that shouldn't be the case. People have known what the timeframe has been of school going back. But it's another example of the Federal Government not acting when they should have. And as a result, causing increased anxiety, more anxiety than they should have. The school experience is very important for our young people, not just in terms of their education, but in terms of the mental health, in terms of their well-being. And engaging in that social interaction that occurs at school is vital. And that's why it is important that school go back, and measures be in place, though, for it to go back in a way that is safe. And I am certainly confident that parents will be working with teachers and with schools to make sure that happens.
 
JOURNALIST: (Inaudible).
 
ALBANESE: Well, we'll wait and see. But I wish the Australian Foreign Minister well whenever she is representing Australia in international forums. What I do know is that this Government have an issue in terms of dealing with our friends. The relationship with France is an important one. And it needs to be repaired. And I wish the Foreign Minister well.
 
JOURNALIST: (Inaudible). Would you let Novak Djokovic back to challenge Rafa next year?
 
ALBANESE: We have rules in this country about migration. They are rules that should be enforced by the Government that issues visas. And the rules are that visas don't get issued to people who aren't vaccinated. That's what the rules are. And the debacle that we saw in the lead up to the Australian Open, with a Government that completely tried to pretend that a sporting body was issuing visas on behalf of Australia somehow and then dragged it on for days and days was just extraordinary. I don't think it brought any great credit to Australia. People knew that Novak Djokovic, his position on vaccination was well known. For many months, it was the major sporting story in the world for months. This Government once again didn't act. There's a pattern here. But I do want to take the opportunity to congratulate all Victorians on hosting what is a remarkable event. I think Craig Tiley and the team did an extraordinary job hosting it. And Melbourne is, I say this as a Sydney-sider, is the sporting capital of Australia. It does events across the board with the precinct that's been established there, as good as any in the world. In my view, better than any in the world. And I congratulate everyone associated with the event. But I particularly congratulate Victorians and the Victorian Government for what they were able to achieve in the last fortnight. It brings great credit to Australia. Events like this get showcased around the world and they help attract tourists and they help attract people to Australia, which means jobs and economic activity.
 
JOURNALIST: (Inaudible). What would your one sentence be to voters here (inaudible)?
 
ALBANESE: If you elect Carina Garland as the Member for Chisholm, she will be a part of a Government that prioritises secure work, that prioritises of making things here in Australia and being more self-reliant, and that lifts living standards by offering cheaper childcare, dealing with affordable housing, lifting wages, and by looking after people from childcare, their earliest years, right through to aged care. Thanks.
 
CARINA GARLAND, LABOR CANDIDATE FOR CHISHOLM: Good morning. And it's my pleasure to welcome everyone here to Chisholm. And we're at Planet Innovation, a terrific facility in Box Hill. And I'd love to thank the workers and management for having us here today. And it's my pleasure as well to welcome the Leader of the Labor Party, Anthony Albanese, here for his third visit to Chisholm, and to talk about a subject that is really close to my heart, of the electorate's heart, which is the future of manufacturing and of skills in Australia. Thanks, Anthony.
 
ANTHONY ALBANESE, LEADER OF THE AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY: Well, thanks very much. It's great to be here at Planet Innovation, a great Australian company. The medical technology industry is worth $5 billion to our national economy. Most importantly though, medical innovation is how we can make people healthier. It's how we can use new technology to give better information to patients, get better service delivery from doctors, make sure that we reduce costs by using innovation, and make sure during this pandemic, to do what we should be doing, which is to maximise Australian innovation and Australian input into Australian solutions. And here in Box Hill, Planet Innovation are doing just that. There are, of course, rapid antigen tests here that they would want to produce and manufacture here at facilities like this. And yet, at the moment, because the Government doesn't have a Buy Australian plan and they don't have a plan of a future made in Australia, that's not happening. The truth is that this company here has expanded enormously from just four people, literally, into many hundreds over a short period of time, a little over a decade, Australia has always been good at science. We've always been good at innovation. What we haven't sometimes been good at is commercialising the opportunities which are there. And so, we should be using this pandemic to maximise the opportunities that are here in Australia. Instead, we have a circumstance whereby even though we do have rapid antigen tests being produced in Australia, they're being exported overseas rather than support being given to Australian companies to create Australian jobs and support Australian science and innovation. That's what this company here is doing. But it's not just about the pandemic. It's about using these technologies to make sure we deliver better service in the future and make sure that we deliver more jobs and more economic activity here. We know that for the products that are here produced by this company, including the ventilators behind us, there's enormous opportunity. This little device here will enable a doctor or an individual to determine whether an infection is bacterial or viral. What that will do, of course, is immediately ensure whether they need an antibiotic treatment or an antiviral treatment. And we know that the use of antibiotics over a period of time has other issues whereby you don't want antibiotics to be used unless it's necessary, unless it's appropriate. This is an example of whereby in a GP's practice, in a remote location, the first place this was sold was to Australians going to the Australian Antarctic Territory, the most remote of all of our locations. The truth is that this technology can cut down on costs, can make sure there is better diagnoses given for patients, and to make sure that treatment is quicker, rather than having people needing to get further tests and to use hospital facilities. We need a future made in Australia. And a Government that I lead will be committed to doing just that. And one way we will do it as well is to have our Buy Australian plan so that when the Australian Government uses taxpayers' money to make purchases, we unashamedly use, through the Future Made in Australia office, use Australian businesses, and we back Australian business. Australian businesses are innovative. Australians have been fantastic at research and science over a long period of time. We need a Government that backs it. Happy to take questions.
 
JOURNALIST: How quickly can you buy bulk rapid antigen tests made in Australia? Or will that ship sail given millions of tests will be coming before then?
 
ALBANESE: Well, we need to act right now. That's the first point. We need to act right now. And that means, at the moment, to ramp up the purchase of rapid antigen tests overseas. But also, right now, we could be backing Australian businesses to make these products here. What we've seen is an Australian Government that has just refused to engage. And we saw the first orders from the Australian Government for rapid antigen tests placed in January this month. It's extraordinary that three years is a pandemic, in spite of the fact that Scott Morrison, some five months ago, as well as Greg Hunt, was saying that this would be an important part of the process of dealing with COVID, we saw no action from this Government. And that's why businesses like this one, and businesses across this sector, are just incredibly frustrated. Because they could have been making things here, just like we could have been, by now, making mRNA vaccines here. The Industry Minister said some 18 months ago that we'd be making mRNA vaccines within nine to 12 months. And yet, we still don't have it. This Government's failure on the big Grand Slam of failures during this pandemic of tracing, testing, quarantine facilities and vaccinations is there for all to see. And the pattern of behaviour is that the Government's complacent. The Government sits back and says, 'She'll be right, mate', and doesn't put in place the mechanisms and the planning that would ensure that economic restrictions weren't ramped up because of the consequences for people's health.
 
JOURNALIST: (Inaudible). Is that a ballpark figure of what it looks like?
 
ALBANESE: That is the Coalition making things up. What we know is this Coalition, if they want to do a costing on something, tell us what's in their $16 billion, secretly squirreled away, of taxpayers' funds for decisions taken that they won't tell taxpayers what it's for. They should be dealing with rapid antigen tests right now. And the Government should also, if they want to do a costing, what they should do is a costing on what the cost is to the economy, what the cost is to people's health, what the cost is to small businesses that are shutting down, what the cost is to jobs being lost. We know that the history of this pandemic is that if you don't get the health outcomes right, the economic costs is more. Each and every time. Each failure from this Government, whether it be the slow rollout of the vaccine, which led to the slow rollout of booster shots being undertaken now, whether it be the failure to have rapid antigen tests being available, leads to more costs. We know that rapid antigen tests can be made available, and they are around the world by governments purchasing en masse at a relatively small cost compared with the cost of people losing their jobs, the costs to the national economy, of not acting. We know that's the case. And we see it. We've seen it played out. We saw it played out in the cost of not having purpose-built quarantine and not getting people vaccinated because they thought it wasn't a race.
 
JOURNALIST: Will you give us the cost of your rapid antigen test policy before the election? Will we know by then how much it would cost?
 
ALBANESE: All of our policies will be costed before the election. And we're very transparent about it. What's extraordinary is that we have a Government that is in office, that has a Treasury Department, has a Finance Department, and won't come out with costings of what their failures are costing the national economy. We know that their failings to properly put in place guidelines that were appropriate around JobKeeper cost taxpayers $20 billion in funds that went to businesses that were increasing their profits. But I say this to the Government. If they're saying to Australians that they're not worth a few dollars to get a rapid antigen test, then they are kidding themselves. Because what that means is that businesses are really struggling. And I note that the New South Wales Liberal Government have had to step up. They've had to step up. And they will be providing, through a rebate system, rapid antigen tests, effectively provided by New South Wales taxpayers to small businesses, because this Federal Government hasn't stepped up.
 
JOURNALIST: We have got hundreds of thousands of students going back to school today. How confident do you feel that kids will be safe in the classroom?
 
ALBANESE: Well, I certainly would hope that all governments are putting in place measures to keep students safe. But there's a lot of anxiety out there from parents. And part of that anxiety is because of the failure of the Federal Government to ensure that there was enough supply of juvenile vaccines for kids going back to school. There are still parents who I know who are having difficulty securing an appointment for their son or daughter. And that shouldn't be the case. People have known what the timeframe has been of school going back. But it's another example of the Federal Government not acting when they should have. And as a result, causing increased anxiety, more anxiety than they should have. The school experience is very important for our young people, not just in terms of their education, but in terms of the mental health, in terms of their well-being. And engaging in that social interaction that occurs at school is vital. And that's why it is important that school go back, and measures be in place, though, for it to go back in a way that is safe. And I am certainly confident that parents will be working with teachers and with schools to make sure that happens.
 
JOURNALIST: (Inaudible).
 
ALBANESE: Well, we'll wait and see. But I wish the Australian Foreign Minister well whenever she is representing Australia in international forums. What I do know is that this Government have an issue in terms of dealing with our friends. The relationship with France is an important one. And it needs to be repaired. And I wish the Foreign Minister well.
 
JOURNALIST: (Inaudible). Would you let Novak Djokovic back to challenge Rafa next year?
 
ALBANESE: We have rules in this country about migration. They are rules that should be enforced by the Government that issues visas. And the rules are that visas don't get issued to people who aren't vaccinated. That's what the rules are. And the debacle that we saw in the lead up to the Australian Open, with a Government that completely tried to pretend that a sporting body was issuing visas on behalf of Australia somehow and then dragged it on for days and days was just extraordinary. I don't think it brought any great credit to Australia. People knew that Novak Djokovic, his position on vaccination was well known. For many months, it was the major sporting story in the world for months. This Government once again didn't act. There's a pattern here. But I do want to take the opportunity to congratulate all Victorians on hosting what is a remarkable event. I think Craig Tiley and the team did an extraordinary job hosting it. And Melbourne is, I say this as a Sydney-sider, is the sporting capital of Australia. It does events across the board with the precinct that's been established there, as good as any in the world. In my view, better than any in the world. And I congratulate everyone associated with the event. But I particularly congratulate Victorians and the Victorian Government for what they were able to achieve in the last fortnight. It brings great credit to Australia. Events like this get showcased around the world and they help attract tourists and they help attract people to Australia, which means jobs and economic activity.
 
JOURNALIST: (Inaudible). What would your one sentence be to voters here (inaudible)?
 
ALBANESE: If you elect Carina Garland as the Member for Chisholm, she will be a part of a Government that prioritises secure work, that prioritises of making things here in Australia and being more self-reliant, and that lifts living standards by offering cheaper childcare, dealing with affordable housing, lifting wages, and by looking after people from childcare, their earliest years, right through to aged care. Thanks.
 
ENDS