SUBJECTS: Fitness; failures of the Morrison Government during COVID-19; Labor’s policy agenda; rapid antigen tests; Federal election; Western Australia.
 
RECORDING: He’s a big music fan who has co-hosted an episode of Rage and once used his political power to save a Dolly Parton tour. He also happens to be the Leader of the Federal Opposition and the Leader of the Australian Labor Party. Please welcome the thorn in Scott Morrison’s side, Anthony Albanese.
 
HOST: Good morning, Anthony Albanese, Federal Opposition Leader. How are you, mate?
 
ANTHONY ALBANESE, LEADER OF THE AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY: Good morning. I am very well. Better for hearing Footloose. I haven’t heard that for a while. One of those songs you can't help but tap away to.
 
HOST: It makes everyone feel better, Footloose.
 
ALBANESE: It does.
 
HOST: Albo, if I may, first thing I'm going to just jump on and talk about with you. Because I've been sort of flicking through your tweets. And I do follow you on Twitter. And I must say, sir, and I have to ask, what are you doing? Because you are looking sharp. You are looking fit.
 
ALBANESE: Just doing my best. I have got to be match fit. I'm in a grand final this year. So, you've got to train for it. So, I'm just being careful. I think this time last year, well, January 8 last year to be precise, I think we talked afterwards, I had a major car accident and spent some time in Royal Prince Alfred Hospital experiencing our health system at close hand. That really makes you think about your health. And before then, I’d started to get a bit fit, but I kept going. And I'm quite pleased with how it's gone. I feel better for it.
 
HOST: Well, if you don't win the election, you can become an influencer.
 
ALBANESE: No, no. Nobody wants me to do that.
 
HOST: Now, Albo, did you know that being PM could be so easy? I mean, apparently, you don't have to hold the hose on fires, you can let it rip, you don't have to provide clear leadership. You're sitting pretty to have the easiest gig going around. Are you quietly confident right now?
 
ALBANESE: Well, Scott Morrison thinks it's easy because he doesn't do his job. He says that he doesn't hold a hose, when it comes to a pandemic, it's not a race to get people vaccinated. And now, it's just extraordinary that the same mistakes that were made in the rollout of the vaccine are being made in the rollout of the booster and rapid antigen tests. Not sure what it's like there in the West, but it's easier to get COVID in my local community than it is to find a RAT.
 
HOST: Mr Albanese, I'm noticing a lot of anger. I'm sure you see it on social media too. There are people out there who, of course, have felt over the pandemic and the rules, that have included vaccinations and changes to our behaviour, have been the Government going too far in interfering with our lives in a free society. And whether that feeling is misplaced or not, it's there. And those people seem to be getting pushed further and further into the corner. How would you go about healing that rift?
 
ALBANESE: Well, I would do the other side of the social contract. I think people feel like they've done the right thing. They've gone out there. They've stayed safe. They've socially distanced. They have worn masks. They've checked into venues. They've got themselves vaccinated. The vaccination rates are up over 90 per cent fully vaccinated. And they've got there, now they're going out there and doing the boosters. And they’ve got a Prime Minister who says at every opportunity, including yesterday, he had the chance to say 'Well, I got some things wrong', but he just couldn't bring himself to do it. It was all someone else's fault. And I think in part, what they expect is a government that will step up with them, that will be as resilient and as caring as they have been. I think Australians have been magnificent. We've had some natural advantages, of course, we're an island continent. We've been able to keep people safe. And on issues like the West, certainly, I know the people I speak to say that Mark McGowan has kept Western Australians safe and that you've had a much better quality of life because of the tough decisions that have been made. You've been able to go to restaurants and pubs and even go to things called concerts, I remember them vaguely. And here, we of course are getting festivals cancelled and we're getting real constraints. People now are in almost a self-imposed lockdown. They're not going out because they're worried about what's going on. When they go to their supermarket shelves, there's no food on the shelves, you know. It's almost impossible to find a chook on a supermarket shelf.
 
HOST: With that in mind, I mean, I know it's out of your jurisdiction, I suppose. But what do you think about Perth opening the borders or WA opening the borders on Feb 5? Do you think that that is something we should go ahead with?
 
ALBANESE: Yeah, I think it is. It is based upon health advice. And I think Western Australians have been fantastic and the Government have done well working with the community. And on February 5, I am on the first flight into Perth. I am very much looking forward to being in the West on the first opportunity. I miss coming over there. And I want to engage in the lead-up to the election but beyond as well. As you know, I've been there in the studio with you guys, and I always like visiting the West. I made a commitment of visiting 10 times a year, which is what I've done anyway previously. And of course, I haven't been able to fulfill that.
 
HOST: Bloody politicians never follow through with what they say.
 
HOST: Sorry, you’ve accidentally taken responsibility for that. Could you just shirk that to someone else and say it was someone else’s fault?
 
ALBANESE: That’s right. Maybe Clive Palmer and Scott Morrison's fault for not winning their legal case when they tried to tear down the border. But it's a good thing that the West has stayed safer. I've got one of my best mates, who is probably listening, Clayton, out there, who lives at Freo, I grew up with him in Camperdown and we talk regularly. He gives me a bit of ribbing about how well life has been in the West compared with here in Sydney.
 
HOST: We’re very lucky.
 
HOST: We have been very lucky. But there's a fair chance that, well, who how long that's going to last. But Mr Albanese, the Opposition Leader of the Federal Parliament, thank you very much for joining us this morning. Nice to chat to you. And, mate, looking forward to seeing you when the borders open.
 
ALBANESE: I look forward to being able to have a chat with you in the studio. And let's hope we can get back there. It's pretty bad here at the moment. We are at January 20 and there has been over 600 deaths.
 
HOST: Mate, you're not selling it to us. Are you?
 
ALBANESE: Well, the good thing is that you haven't opened the borders until you've got those vaccination rates up. And that's been a good thing. And it's been a good decision by Mark McGowan and the team there in the West.
 
HOST: Albo, no worries, mate. Thank you. Good to chat.
 
ALBANESE: Ciao.
 
ENDS