SUBJECTS: A Future Made in Australia; National Reconstruction Fund; Powering Australia plan; Labor’s plan for a Better Future; National Press Club; NDIS; Labor’s Plan for Cheaper Child Care. 
 
TANIA LAWRENCE, LABOR CANDIDATE FOR HASLUCK: Hi, I'm Tania Lawrence. I'm the Federal Labor candidate for the seat of Hasluck, which is the area in which we are presently at this incredible facility. This railway manufacturing facility that the McGowan Labor Government has built and created 110 jobs for people within this area and the potential growth in the very near future for it to 170. This proves as an example that making local, making in Australia is absolutely on point. It is the vision that I'm behind as the Labor candidate to back in Albanese's Labor Government to make local. Working through that incredible National Reconstruction Fund creates opportunities and jobs which when I'm out and about is what people are talking to me is important to them, and to create pathways through training, and opportunities like this sets us up to being a high tech valuating nation that we absolutely should be. So it's my pleasure to be introducing the people with me today starting obviously with Anthony Albanese, and we’ve got Premier Mark McGowan, Minister for Transport Rita Saffioti, Shadow Minister Ed Husic and we've got Shadow Minister Mark Butler here as well. Thank you.
 
ANTHONY ALBANESE, LEADER OF THE AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY: Thanks very much, Tanya. It's been terrific to be back here in Western Australia. My friend, the Premier here, has shown what good Labor governments can do. He has kept Western Australians safe, understanding that you needed to get good health outcomes in order to get good economic outcomes. What we've seen is that the Western Australian economy has powered our national economy. Mark McGowan has a vision for WA that includes make, making things here, and this is a demonstration of it. Around Australia Liberal governments have privatised, have contracted out, have sought to make rail, light rail and ships overseas, imported them back. Invariably they haven't been fit for purpose. We've had trains that are too long for the stations, we've had trains that can't fit through tunnels, we've had the light rail line near me at the moment inoperable because you've got to get parts from Spain. So it shuts down for long periods of time. You have ferries down the Parramatta River, which are fine, except if people stand on the top deck, they're likely to be decapitated because of where the bridges are. It hasn't worked, we need to make more things here. The lesson of the pandemic is we need to be more resilient, we need to stand on our own two feet, we need to create the jobs and skills that are possible by making manufacturing here. That's what our National Reconstruction Fund is about. Whether it be the one and a half billion dollars that we've committed today for medical manufacturing. During the pandemic, we've learned that we're vulnerable because we didn't have enough ventilators. We didn't have enough PPE, let alone enough pharmaceuticals. We need to make more things here, whether it be medical manufacturing, defence industry, transport, whether it be in renewables. All of this is an opportunity for us to strengthen the Australian economy, to create jobs here, to skill up Australians while we are doing it. Here in WA is a great example at this facility, we will have a $15 billion National Reconstruction Fund, and it has a number of funds within it as well; the medical manufacturing fund, our resources fund of a billion dollars, looking at ways in which the resources sector can have value add here, our $3 billion that we'll have connected with our Powering Australia plan including green metals, half a billion dollars for agriculture, making sure that we can value add and make more things here, taking advantage of our science and innovation that we have in this country. Of course a billion dollars for critical technology and a billion dollars for advanced manufacturing together. This is my vision for the country, a vision in which we make more things here, a vision in which we skill up Australians, a vision in which we're less vulnerable at the end of this global supply chains. Because we know we've had a global pandemic and there may well be future pandemics down the track. We know as well--
 
JOURNALIST: [Inaudible].
 
ALBANESE: We had this yesterday. We went through this mate. We went through this. So in terms of going forward, I want to see a stronger national economy. I want to see more jobs created here, I want to see higher wages in those high skilled jobs. That's the key. And I'd ask the Premier to make some comments.
 
MARK MCGOWAN, PREMIER OF WESTERN AUSTRALIA: Thanks, Anthony. Welcome to this train manufacturing facility. I'm very pleased to see Federal Labor is investing in manufacturing, both here and around Australia. This facility we committed to in opposition back in 2016. Our opponents, the Liberal Party, said it couldn't be done and it was an old decrepit industry. As you can see it's modern, its state of the art, and we're manufacturing trains here in Western Australia for the first time in 30 years. The trains manufactured here will go on the metropolitan network, and also on the regional network. So we're manufacturing both electric trains, and also diesel rail cars to meet the needs of the regional network. It's created a great many jobs, but also there's 17 or so subcontracting industries that provide components for this train manufacturing facility. The minister and I had faith that we could do it here, and what you can see is that Western Australians and Australians more generally can produce quality products, state of the art manufacturing, create jobs and also save money. So this facility is a great example of what you can do if you actually have governments that are forthright, committed and determined to create local jobs in manufacturing. I note other states have done something different, particularly the New South Wales Government who bought their trains from somewhere else, and they didn't fit on the platforms. We've avoided that problem by just using Australian workers, Australian companies and Australian subcontractors to rebirth train manufacturing here in Western Australia for the first time in 30 years. Mr Albanese.
 
ALBANESE: Thanks mate. Hang on, you don't get the first question. I’ll come to you, I'll come to you. But can I make this point as well, that in my first Budget reply, we had a national rail manufacturing plan. It was worked through and supported by industry as well, including the Australasian Rail Association. You can build in efficiencies if the entire country work together, and I want to work with the McGowan Government and other governments to make sure that we deal with these issues.
 
JOURNALIST: Will your costings be higher or lower than the $2.3 billion that the Liberal Party has outlined?
 
ALBANESE: Our costings will be out on Thursday, they'll be released at the same time that the last time that there was a change of government occurred. I'll tell you what our costings won't include, what they included on that couple of days before the election was four and a half billion dollars of foreign aid cuts. We've seen how that damaged Australia's standing in the region. I'll come to you Greg, I promise. But he got the call first because he was quiet and you're getting the call next because you're quiet too, and then we'll go around.
 
JOURNALIST: Thank you. WA question on Activ, they're a disability employer here in Western Australia, they've announced that they're closing down their industrial work sites, as many as 700 disabled people may become unemployed. The Government, in their current NDIS plan, they've said that they're favouring mainstream employment for disabled people, as opposed to supported employment, more like the industrial work jobs. What's Labor's policy on that? Is your preference mainstream or supported? And how does your NDIS plan address the issue of employment for people with disabilities?
 
ALBANESE: Thanks very much. Look, this is a really serious issue. This is a serious issue that goes to the cuts that have occurred to the NDIS and goes to as well what has occurred in employment services. This decision has been devastating for the people involved in those employment services, but also their families. This is a company that had been active in Western Australia for 70 years. They've survived all sorts of pressures, but they couldn't survive the Morrison Government. We will do what we can to sit down and get advice about how these services can continue to operate. I know that last night, families of people involved were ringing in to a radio interview I was doing on WA ABC here expressing their real concern. This is about employment and engagement. It's also the social interaction that comes with these services and it is absolutely a real concern. I've said consistently that the NDIS has one key difference between us and the Government. That is, we understand that the NDIS is about people. It's about the people who are involved in the scheme. At the heart of it, what we want to do is in all ways encourage the fullest participation possible in society, including in employment of people with a disability. What we understand is that that's not only good for the people with disability, it's also good for our Australian economy and for our society as well to be inclusive. That's our bid. 
 
JOURNALIST: The Government has announced cumulative deficits over the next four years will be $223.5 billion. Can you be fair dinkum with us and confirm that your deficits over four years that you unveil on Thursday will be higher?
 
ALBANESE: We'll unveil our plans on Thursday, but—
 
JOURNALIST: [Inaudible].
 
ALBANESE: Hang on, Greg. What we, what we have done throughout this campaign, let's get real here. Let's get real. This Government made $70 billion of announcements with no offsets, not one dollar offset between December's MYEFO and the March budget that they brought forward--
 
JOURNALIST: [Inaudible].
 
ALBANESE: Hang on. You get a chance to ask a question, and then we have the answer, that's the way it works--
 
JOURNALIST: You're not answering the question.
 
ALBANESE: Everyone will be happier at home. In terms of what this Government have done is $70 billion they added. They will leave a legacy of a trillion dollars of debt. Now what we have done during this campaign is be responsible. We've been fiscally responsible in all of the statements that we've made, including today's announcements. There were two announcements today at the Leadership Matters forum. We said what dollars would go and we have done that throughout this campaign. We have a couple more announcements to go. We have until Saturday, but we will be releasing our costings announcement on Thursday.
 
JOURNALIST: Mr Albanese. Can you confirm that the Labor deficit will be higher than the one that was unveiled by the Coalition today? Given that you're running on bringing more transparency to the government, do you think it's fair for voters to go to the polls with less than 48 hours knowing what your detailed costings are just because that's the way it's always been done?
 
ALBANESE: It is the way that it has always been done, including by the Coalition in 2010--
 
JOURNALIST: [Inaudible]. 
 
ALBANESE: And 2013. We can do without the interjections, what you do is you get to ask a question, then I get to answer it--
 
JOURNALIST: [Inaudible].
 
ALBANESE: In 2010—
 
JOURNALIST: [Inaudible].
 
ALBANESE: If you want to talk to each other, you can or we can have a process whereby you ask a question, and then I get to answer--
 
JOURNALIST: Will you have a higher deficit?
 
ALBANESE: You've asked your question--
 
JOURNALIST: Will you have a higher deficit?
 
ALBANESE: You finished? When you’ve finished, I'll answer it. What we will do is outline all of our costings. All of our costings will be outlined on Thursday, we'll have more announcements to make, including a reference to some of these issues at the National Press Club tomorrow. But what I won't do, and you might like to consider this, is that we have a Prime Minister who isn't even giving you the respect as the national press gallery, of appearing at the National Press Club before an election. The first prime minister who has not done that, who is ducking that responsibility. I will have more to say tomorrow about these issues, and then our costings will be released on Thursday.
 
JOURNALIST: Mr. Albanese. Next week the World Health Organisation is meeting and on the agenda is clearly the formulation of what's called a pandemic treaty, which will give the WHO greater control in how they dictate other countries manage pandemics. Would you sign up for such a treaty?
 
ALBANESE: What we have said is that we need clearly to strengthen the WHO and the way that it operates. One of our three pillars of our foreign policy is our alliance with the United States, engagement in the region, and support for multilateral forums. Today, one of the things that we're about and today's announcement is about the response to the pandemic. That's why we're announcing today our support for medical manufacturing. Clearly one of the lessons of the pandemic is that we weren't self reliant enough.
 
JOURNALIST: You spoke admiringly of modern Labor economics. Doesn't the fact stand true that Keating cut manufacturing tariffs, exposing the industry to competition. What you're doing here is a complicated network of subsidies. Aren't you pre-modern Labor economics then? 
 
ALBANESE: Not at all. What we're doing here is providing a fund based upon, similar to the Clean Energy Finance Corporation model that has worked incredibly effectively backing Australian industry, backing Australian jobs. This here works and let me tell you what doesn't work. It's building a train that won't fit on a station.
 
JOURNALIST: [Inaudible] who answers questions. You've been asked this point about deficits, higher or lower, haven't answered it. Asked about the treaty, you haven’t answered when you would sign it. Aren't you doing exactly what you accuse the Prime Minister of and that's not being transparent?
 
ALBANESE 
Not at all, and I'll be at the National Press Club tomorrow--
 
JOURNALIST: [Inaudible].
 
ALBANESE: We will announce, our costings policy will be released on Thursday. We've been very clear about that. But we've also with every single announcement that we've made, we've attached dollars to it. Just a couple more.
 
JOURNALIST: Mr Albanese. This morning, you mentioned your childcare policy, you said that there would be a return to government in productivity increases. Could you please detail the productivity increases you expect, separate from participation, which is well understood.
 
ALBANESE: Thank you. Childcare does two things. One is it does workforce participation increases so that you remove the disincentive that is there structurally towards women working a fourth or a fifth day at work. What that means is that those women have greater career opportunities to advance, that means they earn more income, that means they pay more tax. That also means that the businesses, which is why our policy is supported so strongly by business, get productivity improvements, because when you have a greater input in terms of the capacity of the workforce, that is one of the ways in which productivity grows. So this is good for individuals. It's also good for businesses in terms of the growth, which is there. This provides considerable economic incentive and it is economic reform. That's why increased women's economic participation is a good thing. Last one.
 
JOURNALIST: Mr Albanese do you know whether your projected deficit is higher or lower than the Coalition’s?
 
ALBANESE: We will announce that on Thursday, there's no point announcing it now--
 
JOURNALIST: It's a yes or no question.
 
ALBANESE: Because I want you to be there on Thursday. I don't want to disappoint you. Last one.
 
JOURNALIST: Just on that though. Is it fair for voters to release it on Thursday [inaudible] and to give it enough time for us to scrutinise it?
 
ALBANESE: Let's be very clear here. You have an $80 billion deficit at the moment. You have a trillion dollars of debt, you had $70 billion expended by this Government. And our announcements between December and March, you have our announcements. Every single one of them we have put a costing on. We've been transparent throughout the election campaign about those issues. And the other thing that we have done in terms of fiscal responsibility is point out how fiscally irresponsible it is of the Government to be promoting a policy, which will lead to increased numbers of people potentially being reliant upon the pension, rather than their own superannuation savings. I'll conclude with this point. The costings and expenditures which we have made have been responsible, they pale into insignificance compared with the waste and the rorts that are riddled through this Budget. Five and a half billion dollars on French subs is more than any of the commitments that we have made during this election campaign, the largest of which is for childcare. Thanks very much.

ENDS