SUBJECTS: COVID outbreaks around Australia; lockdowns; vaccine rollout; need for national quarantine facilities; vaccine supply; Telstra’s $200 vaccine cash payment; situation in Afghanistan; parliamentary sitting weeks affected by ACT lockdown; Australia’s humanitarian refugee intake; vaccination of young people; need to support not-for-profits during the pandemic; Mark McGowan keeping WA safe.

ANTHONY ALBANESE, LEADER OF THE AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY: Today is very much a heartbreaking day. Eight tragic deaths since the updated report in New South Wales yesterday. Record numbers in New South Wales. Darwin and Katherine joining the lockdown that now has most of Australia in lockdown. Record numbers here in the ACT as well with the lockdown extended for two weeks.

Firstly, can I say my condolences to the families who've lost loved ones. I've lost at least three people in my electorate now to the current outbreak. And I spoke about two of them in the Ibrahim family last week in Parliament. But in addition, there's a resident, at least one, of the aged care home in Summer Hill. These are really tough times as well for Australians who are making sacrifices in order to protect the health of their families and their communities. So my thoughts are with all those doing it tough. But please stay at home. If you can get vaccinated, do so. The best vaccine is the one in your arm. We need to make sure that that occurs.

I do want to comment on the announcement yesterday of additional Pfizer vaccines that have been secured. That certainly is welcome. But one million additional vaccines is a week's supply. Imagine the circumstances we would be in if we'd have got supply of vaccines right from the very beginning, if the Prime Minister had acknowledged that it was indeed a race. It's a race we have been losing. And there are real consequences for losing that race, as there are real consequences for not fixing the issue of appropriate quarantine, whereby you didn't have shared ventilation systems that have been the source of so many of these outbreaks.

Can I say that also, on this issue, congratulate Telstra on coming up with the idea of a $200 cash payment for their workforce to encourage their workforce to be vaccinated. It is a pity that it takes private companies to step up where the Prime Minister has ridiculed this idea. I don't think that Telstra regard it as an insult to their workforce to offer this $200. It's an incentive that will assist to encourage that supply and to encourage their workforce to get vaccinated.

I did want to make some comments as well about the tragedy that is unfolding in Afghanistan. My heart goes out to the people of Afghanistan. It goes out to the Australian Afghanistan community who will be doing it really tough today. My heart goes out to the veterans of those who served in Afghanistan and their families, particularly those who lost loved ones. My heart goes out to the general veterans’ community as well. I have spoken to some this morning. I know that people who served in Vietnam and other theatres of war will also be doing it tough today. But my heart also goes out particularly to the women and girls of Afghanistan, who now will be exposed to a cruel and brutal and inhumane regime, who have a record of atrocities, who are barbaric in their attitude towards women and girls in particular, but who have complete disregard for human rights. This will be very tough. Our defence personnel served us in Afghanistan with courage and distinction. And we thank them for their service. We thank, also, all those in Afghanistan who assisted our personnel. We have a moral obligation to support them and get them here to Australia to safety. There is no question that they remain in great danger. And the Government should have acted before now to resolve these issues, as Labor has been calling for for many months, but as also, Prime Minister Rudd, Prime Minister Howard and others have been calling for. Can I say also that we have an obligation on the basis of our national security interests. It is in the interests of Australia's national security to send a message to the world that those who assist us, we will assist them. They need that support and that assistance. And they need it right now. It has been too long in order to be delivered. But also we have an obligation to the families, the husbands, the wives, the daughters, the sons of those Australians who've come from Afghanistan to make Australia their home. So to those relatives that are Australian citizens and permanent residents, I say that we should be opening our hearts and opening our country to them. We have a massive shortfall in our humanitarian intake because of COVID. There are plenty of places available. And those places should be filled with people who need our support at this time. Happy to take questions.

JOURNALIST: Mr Albanese, the ACT Chief Minister, Andrew Barr, in the last little while has issued a plea to the Federal Parliament not to go ahead with the sitting fortnight (inaudible). What is your answer to him?

ALBANESE: My answer to him is that is a decision for the Prime Minister. I'm surprised I haven't had any contact from the Government. Common sense will prevail here.

JOURNALIST: What is common sense in regard to that?

ALBANESE: It will be very difficult to get people here in order for Parliament to sit. I am of the view that Parliament should sit wherever possible. Our democratic processes are important. But where it's not possible, we've always been cooperative, as we were last year, in terms of rescheduling any parliamentary sittings that are required. We've been cooperative with regard to flexible arrangements with Parliament. And we will continue to be so. 

JOURNALIST: Mr Albanese, on the Afghanistan disaster playing out there, what should be the approach? Should Joe Biden have done what he did with that quick, some say indecently fast, withdrawal?

ALBANESE: In coming days, there'll be a lot of analysis of what's occurred. What's important right now is that people are in danger. And we need to do everything we can to focus on ensuring that they are brought to safety. That's my focus at the moment. And it is also the case, of course, that we should honour the sacrifice that people have made over what is a long period of time. But of course, the sacrifice of the people of Afghanistan is front and centre as well. 

JOURNALIST: Let me ask you a different way. Joe Biden and Scott Morrison both said that the mission in Afghanistan was one, to hunt down Osama bin Laden and secondly, to stop Afghanistan being a launching pad for terrorist attacks. Now, in truth, it's actually developed well beyond that. Osama bin Laden died over a decade ago. So is that just a convenient way of looking at the past 20 years?

ALBANESE: Look, the tasks were a number. One was to hunt out Osama bin Laden. And that was a successful mission. Secondly, it was as well to stop, in the wake of September 11, Afghanistan being used as a haven for terrorists. But also, it was about bringing some security and human rights to Afghanistan. As a result of Australia and American and other allied efforts, girls were able to go to school, women were able to go to university. We saw considerable improvements. And I believe that we should honour each and every one of our Australian defence personnel who contributed there in Afghanistan. There'll be a time to assess the current circumstances and the historical position that's occurred over the last two decades. For me now, the priority is the urgent response that's required right now.

JOURNALIST: (Inaudible) should try to fill out humanitarian refugee intake by taking people out of Afghanistan. Is there scope to actually increase the number that would be brought in, given just the humanitarian crisis that's taking place?

ALBANESE: I'd be open to any discussion or proposals from the Government on that. But we must remember that there are a substantial, many thousands of places, available right now in terms of the humanitarian intake that Australia makes available each year. So those positions are available right now. There are questions, of course, over the capacity of how many people you can bring just logistically, given the circumstances of what we've seen with the collapse in Afghanistan and even in Kabul, which is much faster than was predicted even just days ago. But we have seen this crisis coming. And we needed to act with a sense of urgency. That urgency is beyond any time frame right now. It is absolutely immediate. And that needs to be the concern.

Can I make one more comment about having spoken with my electorate over the weekend about concerns that families have got, which is that many families who are now doing home-schooling are really concerned about their young ones. The TGA has approved Pfizer for 12- to 15-year olds. We are awaiting the ATAGI approval of that advice. And we think that this is something that is really concerning now. Many families out there in lockdown who are home-schooling are really concerned about their students. And with the prospect of students returning to school at some stage, we hope as soon as possible, then I think this is something that really requires real Government consideration.

JOURNALIST: (Inaudible).

ALBANESE: Those not-for-profits need to be given support. These are organisations that are providing support for families at this time of absolutely dire need. And the idea that they would be standing down staff, with consequences not just for them, but for the people for whom they provide services, is just extraordinary. The problem with the structures in the way this Government has set up support is that many people are falling through the gaps. It's time those gaps were closed. It's time those gaps were closed and the support was given to every family.

JOURNALIST: (Inaudible). He says even if the country receives 70-80 per cent vaccination, he’d still close the border and he’d still use lockdowns. Does this undermine the vaccine rollout?

ALBANESE: Mark McGowan has done one thing during this pandemic, which is to keep West Australians safe. He has done that despite of the fact that Scott Morrison backed in Clive Palmer against Mark McGowan. I am on Mark McGowan's side. Scott Morrison has been on the side of Clive Palmer. I will continue to be on Mark McGowan's side and support any action that he takes after, of course, the appropriate health advice. Thanks very much.

ENDS