SUBJECTS: Labor’s strategic fleet announcement; Labor’s policy agenda; COVID cases increasing; rapid antigen testing; Fast rail from Sydney to Newcastle; Federal election.

SHARON CLAYDON, MEMBER FOR NEWCASTLE: Good morning. Thanks, everyone, for being here. I couldn't be more excited than to welcome Anthony Albanese, our Federal Labor Leader, to the Port of Newcastle. We've had a stunning morning this morning. And I'm going to hand straight across to the CEO of the Port, Craig Carmody, because we've got some important announcements to make for the Port of Newcastle and the nation. Over to you, Craig.

CRAIG CARMODY, CEO OF PORT OF NEWCASTLE: Thank you, Sharon. Good morning. Welcome Anthony Albanese, Federal Leader of the Opposition, and VIPs. We've had the opportunity this morning to show Anthony around the Port both, by air and land, and the amazing opportunities that are presented at this Port. And quite honestly, we welcome all the attention that can be given to the Port of Newcastle, because the region of the Hunter relies on it. The history is that when we do well, the region does well. And our job is to make sure that continues. So, over to you, Anthony.

ANTHONY ALBANESE, LEADER OF THE AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY: Well, thanks very much, Craig. And it's great to be here with yourself and the other executives from the Port of Newcastle, with some of the workers who do the hard yakka here, members of the MUA, here at the Port, but also with my parliamentary colleagues, Sharon Claydon and, of course, Catherine King, the Shadow Minister for Infrastructure and transport. I'm spending three days in this region. And this is day two. And this morning, we've had the opportunity to get to see the Port from the air in a chopper tour, looking at the opportunity which is here. This port helps to drive the economy, not just of Newcastle and the Hunter, but indeed of the entire nation. And it has a capacity, of course, to grow and to be even more important into the future. And we've heard a solid briefing from the Port of Newcastle today about that.

Today, we have an important announcement as well about a strategic fleet for Australia. We know that during COVID, it has shown the strength of Australian society, the fact that people have made sacrifices, people are looking after each other. But it's also shown some of the vulnerabilities in our economy, in particular the vulnerabilities in the supply chain. We know that COVID has meant that some of those international linkages have been broken, both in terms of trade, but also, obviously, in terms of movement of people. And we know that in the future we need to prepare Australia for a future made in Australia so that we can stand on our own two feet, so that we're less vulnerable to shocks in global events.

And we know that one of the ways that we can do that is by having the Australian flag on the back of Australian ships with Australian seafarers doing the work. It is a fact that countries such as the United States, in Europe, in Japan and other nations recognise the importance of having a domestic shipping industry, important for the economy and jobs, but also important for national security reasons. We know that supply chains are vulnerable if we don't have our own capacity, our own economic sovereignty by having an Australian strategic fleet. And a Labor Government that I lead will create just that. We'll establish a process with the shipping industry, with business, with unions, to make sure that Australia has a domestic shipping fleet engaged in areas like fuel security. To make sure that we're not vulnerable to international shocks. This is good for the Australian economy, it's good for jobs, and it makes economic sense, as well as is a necessary component of a serious approach to national security. We're an island continent, whereby 99 per cent of our trade by value goes by ship. It is a fact, though, that in recent decades, what we have seen as a decline in the Australian shipping industry. And that has been something that's been cheered on by the Coalition. But it's something that is not in Australia's national interests. The announcement I made today will be important for ensuring our national security interests, our economic interests are looked after into the future. I look forward to having the opportunity to pursue this. And I know that many people in the Coalition, including the National Party Leader, Barnaby Joyce, have spoken about the importance of having a domestic shipping industry here in Australia as well. So, I'd be hopeful that it receives a positive response.

This is the second major announcement I've made. We're only on January 3. Expect more and more policy announcements as we're in the fourth quarter, leading up to the election in 2022. It's an example of the fact that we have an agenda to create a better future for Australia, a stronger Australia, an Australia in which we have a future made right here, in which our economy is stronger because we're self-reliant, in which we have faith in Australian workers and Australian business to advance our national interest.

CATHERINE KING, SHADOW MINISTER FOR INFRASTRUCTURE, TRANSPORT AND REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT: Thanks, Anthony. I'm Catherine King, the Shadow Infrastructure spokesperson. And I'm really pleased to be here with my colleague, Sharon Claydon, at the Port of Newcastle. And I thank Anthony for the announcement that we've made today. The strategic fleet makes sense here in Australia. We are a proud trading nation. The fact that we used to have a significant Merchant Navy that has been in demise for a long period of time, but under the Morrison Government we now see less than 20 vessels that are Australian flagged or crewed by Australians. What we've seen in this country is 99 per cent of our imports and exports are reliant on shipping, yet only one per cent are actually carried on Australian flagged vessels and crewed by Australians. The strategic plan is necessary. What COVID has taught us is that our supply chains are vulnerable. In the event of a crisis, they are vulnerable. And a strategic fleet makes sense. Not just from our supply chains, but also from crucial fuel security. This is an idea that has been backed by business. It's been backed by former Defence personnel. And it's certainly been backed by unions. We know this announcement will mean more jobs for Australian seafarers, more Australians trained in seafaring here in this country, and us keeping them here in this country rather than losing them to overseas. We have a proud history in maritime. And this strategic fleet is incredibly important to making sure we could secure our fuel supplies, but also secure a future made here in Australia. Thanks, Anthony.

ALBANESE: Thanks very much. Happy to take questions.

JOURNALIST: Is the special fleet going to be based in Newcastle or somewhere else?

ALBANESE: It'll be based right around our coast and hopefully trading internationally as well. But here as a great port. And the strategic Port of Newcastle is, of course, so important. This would be one of the places that really benefit from this. But this is about our entire national interest. One of the things that we need to do to stop the abuse of the coastal trading system that's occurred at the moment under this Government, to make sure that where an Australian ship is available, that ship is used, that we use is Australian-based crews and Australian ships around our coasts wherever possible. Now, foreign ships will continue to play an important role. But the fact is, unless we address this now, we're reaching the point whereby we won't have such a thing as an Australian flag on the back of an Australian ship. And what that does is it loses the skills base, it leaves us so vulnerable to shocks in the supply chain. And it is not in our national interest.

JOURNALIST: How large of a fleet would you like? (Inaudible)?

ALBANESE: Well, we'll certainly have representations from our ports industry. And Newcastle Port is an important part of that. We'll have a workable committee, which I'm sure that Ports Australia will participate in that process. And Newcastle Port, of course, will continue to have access as well to that process. We think that this is something that will receive the support of business, will receive the support of our ports, because they know that the vulnerability which is there is so obvious. We're an island continent, we depend upon ships to take our trade to and from Australia. And the idea that we would have no Australian industry, no Australian skills is one that leaves us very vulnerable. One of the things about training, in terms of the shipping industry as well, is that those skills are transferable. One of the things that you find is that people who work on ships, there is a relationship between that and the people who run the port, the people who run our export and import industries. And that's why it is so important that we have this strategic flight. This is important. It is in Australia's national interest. It is something that should be a bipartisan commitment. But this Government seem to have sat back and watched while foreign crews have been marched onto ships, as Australian workers have been sacked, and the Australian flag has been replaced. There are other issues as well, of course. I make this point. That all of the incidents around Australia's coasts that have involved, potentially, environmental disasters, including on the reef, have all involved foreign flagships. Australian seafarers, with those skills and that local knowledge, understand the coast. They understand our ports. They understand how to work around the activity in order to ensure protection of the natural environment here as well. And that, of course, is obviously very important for Australia's future as well.

JOURNALIST: Would establishing a strategic fleet inevitably involve a large government subsidy?

ALBANESE: We believe that with proper policies, these can certainly be commercially viable. What we need to do is to stop the use of foreign labour on foreign ships that are not paid decently. And we've seen a whole range of examples of that. Now, the current legislation provides for that to occur. But there are abuses occurring. And we know that's the case. We've had examples such as when the ship hit the coast off Gladstone while I was a Minister a few years ago. We know that was a major issue in terms of the crew and their pay and the treatment and conditions. We know that exploitation in the international shipping industry, through flags of convenience, is a major issue. We want to make sure that we have good jobs, good paid jobs for Australians, with Australian businesses being backed. And that's why this policy is certainly supported by the Australian shipping industry. The peak body, Maritime Industry Australia Limited has done a lot of work over the years on these issues.

JOURNALIST: What power would a Federal Labor Government have in intervening in the containers (inaudible)?

ALBANESE: Well, this is, of course, a legal dispute at the moment. So, I'm not in a position to comment specifically on it. But I would say that when you have an asset such as the Port of Newcastle here, that isn't being utilised fully for the economic benefit, then common sense has to kick in here. The New South Wales Government made some decisions a few years ago. That is the subject at the moment of dispute. We will await those outcomes. But common sense should apply. And we should make sure that with all of our infrastructure assets, that we maximise jobs, that we maximise economic activity, that we maximise efficiency. This port here has a potential to really expand into the future.

JOURNALIST: What do you mean by common sense in that situation?

ALBANESE: Well, there's legal matters before us. So, I'm not going to comment on the specific legal matters which are before the courts that have been involved the ACCC and other ports as well. But you know that here in the Port of Newcastle, there is a substantial potential for an expansion and for use of the facilities that are here. You have a rail line, you have land, you could use, rather than the intermodals that have to be built from some other ports, you could use the potential that is here because of the land, because of the rail infrastructure, which is here, because of the port infrastructure which is here. It has the potential to considerably add to the economic growth of this region and indeed of the country.

JOURNALIST: Do you think that rapid aging tests should be free?

ALBANESE: No one should be excluded from getting a rapid antigen test because of their income. And the truth is that here in Australia, we have an important principle when it comes to health. That's one of the great divides in Australian politics. Labor believes in Medicare. Labor believes that when you need healthcare, you should receive it. And the fact is, at the moment, you've had rapid antigen test turn to, away from PCR tests, because the Government didn't put in place appropriate capacity in order for people to receive those tests. That's why here in Newcastle, and indeed the Central Coast, it has been impossible for people to get tested. Now, they're being told, 'Go get a rapid antigen test'. But there aren't enough rapid antigen tests available for sale. And for those people who could find one, of course, we have some price gouging going on and it being simply unaffordable for many people. This has been an example of something that has characterised Scott Morrison's Prime Ministership. He identifies a problem only after it becomes a crisis. And then he doesn't act, he just seeks to blame someone else. We have known through the national plan, for some period of time, that when the system started to open up, there would be an increase in the number of cases, there would need to be an increase in the number of testing. The national plan identified testing, tracing, isolation, and quarantine, as well as vaccination as being the five measures that you needed to restrict the impact of this pandemic on people. And yet, what we had is no preparation for vaccinations, no supply of vaccinations from this Government. This time last year, on the first week of January, this Prime Minister essentially said that there was no rush when it came to rolling out the vaccine, it wasn't urgent. Well, the truth is, it was a race. And we fell behind. We fell behind on vaccinations. We didn't even get on the field when it came to purpose-built quarantine. And with months and months to prepare for a pandemic that has been going for two years, it is unbelievable that the Government has told people to not go and get tested, but to test themselves with a rapid antigen tests that isn't available and that isn't affordable. This is a public policy failure, the likes of which we haven't seen in this country before. It's on Scott Morrison's watch. And Scott Morrison just always blames someone else.

JOURNALIST: (Inaudible). Is that something the Government should be congratulated on?

ALBANESE: We had a wind down. The economy was shut down in New South Wales and Victoria because of the failure of the New South Wales Government firstly to take action soon enough, when what began as a single driver of a hire car, taking someone to hotel quarantine unvaccinated and without a mask saw failure spread around the country with these lockdowns that we didn't have to have, that were as a direct result of a failure to take action early enough, and a Prime Minister who urged Gladys Berejiklian to not lock down. We then had vaccines taken away from this local community here in the Hunter and Central Coast, sent to Sydney, even though we had outbreaks here in the Hunter and the Central Coast. We then have rapid antigen tests that people in this region are finding difficulty getting. And we know that, overwhelmingly, as well, one of the things we see with the jobs figures is it hides the fact that two million Australians are either unemployed or want more hours. They want a full-time permanent job. And one of the things we're seeing in Australia with insecure work is more casual jobs, less permanent jobs, and therefore less security for people.

JOURNALIST: Will the election be a referendum on the nation's economy?

ALBANESE: The referendum will be about a range of issues. They'll be about the failure of this Government to secure Australia's future, their failure on rolling out the vaccine, their failure on purpose-built quarantine, their failure in terms of the vaccinations, including the booster shot failures that we see now. Why is it that the Government says they want a four month gap at the moment in between your second shot and your booster, but that reduces to three months at the end of the month? The reason why they are doing that is because they don't have the capacity to move to three months right now. They haven't planned in terms of the supply of the booster shots. They haven't learned the lessons from the failure of supply of vaccines that they should have learned well before now. And it will be a referendum on that. It will also be about Australia's future, whether we have secure work, whether we have a future made in Australia, through the sort of plans that I have announced today with the strategic fleet, or with rail manufacturing and with fast rail being progressed here in Newcastle and on the Central Coast, which I announced yesterday. It will be about whether we improve living standards, whether we have cheaper childcare, whether we strengthen Medicare rather than undermine it. And it'll be about whether Australia gets a National Anti-corruption Commission, whether we end the rorts and the waste that defines this Government. The fact is that this Government have presided over a period whereby they're just treading water. There's no plan for the future. They're asking for a second decade in office when they don't have a plan for today, let alone a plan for tomorrow. Labor is putting forward a comprehensive suite of policies to lift living standards, to increase wages, to support permanent jobs, to make sure that we have a feature made in Australia, to deal with the challenge of climate change, which ends the climate wars and creates over 600,000 jobs while reducing energy prices by $275 for the average household. Labor has a plan for the future, for a better future. This Government act like an opposition in exile sitting on the government benches. We see that again from Josh Frydenberg today, not having anything to say about the future. I want a future for this young girl who is just here. I want a future so that she has a permanent job here in Australia, a permanent well-paid job here in Australia. I want to look after the workers behind me and the people are the Hunter Valley. You can only do that by having secure work, one that values contribution and one that has an economy that works for people, not the other way around. Thanks.

ENDS