SUBJECTS: 2022 Federal Budget; election; Labor’s policy agenda; Solomon Islands.
 
PETER STEFANOVIC, HOST: Joining us is the Labor Leader, Anthony Albanese, for his reaction to last night's Budget which was handed down. Anthony Albanese, good morning to you. So, some $8.6 million with handouts, would you call them bribes?
 
ANTHONY ALBANESE, LEADER OF THE AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY: Good morning, Peter. Well, it clearly is a cynical ploy for an election, not a plan for a better future for Australia. What we have is a fall in real wages of some $1,355 this year. What we have is these one-off payments. They may as well staple cash to how-to-votes on polling day. I mean, how cynical is this Government that's been in office for almost a decade, has been dismissing cost of living pressures, and now, just days before they call an election, they have those one-off payments? Australians will see through this. We need a plan to grow the economy. A plan for a better future. A plan for cheaper child care. A plan for new industries. A plan to deal with climate change. We got nothing last night except a cynical ploy from a cynical Government that really doesn't look to the needs of Australia, they just look to their own self interests.
 
STEFANOVIC: Okay, you call it a cynical ploy, but will you oppose any of it?
 
ALBANESE: Well, we won't oppose payments to people who are under pressure. But what we would do, in addition to this, is put forward measures like cheaper child care, like dealing with the skills crisis in a real way through fee-free TAFE and additional university places, like having new industries through our National Reconstruction Fund, like dealing with lowering electricity prices on a permanent basis, through our Powering Australia Plan. There's nothing in the Budget last night that will really help people, because you'll continue to see wages not hit the targets. They've had 55 targets and missed 52 of them in the past with predictions. And what's actually happening on the ground is a cut of $1,355 this year, following a decline in real wages that we've seen in recent years. This is a Government that only ever focus on their own interests, not the interests of the Australian people. And people know that this Budget has all the sincerity of a fake tan.
 
STEFANOVIC: But if you call these bribes, if it's insincere, you're going to support them anyway?
 
ALBANESE: Well, we won't oppose people getting support who need it. But what should have happened last night is structural change as well to provide that permanent support. And the problem with a fake tan, which is what this Budget essentially reflects, is that it fades pretty quickly. And all of these handouts are gone. And you'll see an increase coming down the track. And at the same time, all of the measures like the infrastructure detail, they had these big announcements put on page one of various newspapers. And when you look at the detail, the money doesn't flow, not before this election, not before the next election, but way, way, way, years down the track. It was a very disappointing Budget from a disappointing Government that's out of puff, out of ideas and out of time. And they should spend time in opposition to just have a good look at themselves, frankly. The self-indulgence of this Government and the cynicism that characterises this Government to hand out money just before an election, having dismissed all the concerns which are there.
 
STEFANOVIC: If you are Prime Minister by the end of May, will you restore the fuel excise to where it is in six months' time?
 
ALBANESE: Peter, you can't fix all of the problems that have been created by this Government overnight. So, we're not promising to do that. Because this Government had racked up a trillion dollars of debt. A trillion dollars. With so little to show for it.
 
STEFANOVIC: Just on that point, you are not promising to restore the excise in six months?
 
Well, this Government's measure, I expect that we will support this Government's measure. And it ends in six months. That's what this Government says.
 
STEFANOVIC: Okay. So, you will have to wear the political flack for that by restoring it. You'd be prepared for that?
 
ALBANESE: We're not getting ahead of us. It's not us that are restoring it. It's this Government that are putting forward this proposition. And what we have said, consistently, since I've been in Labor Leader, Peter, including throughout the pandemic, we have never let the perfect be the enemy of the good. We have been constructive. And wherever possible, we've offered support. What we have from this Government, though, is that it's always about the politics, it's always about themselves. And that's why you have such a short-term approach. Because they never put in place structural change. Take the one-off payments that are going to some workers in aged care, pro rata, that was supposed to go in March, and then again in the lead-up to the election, again, cynical, in this case, two-off payments, but they won't even put a submission to increase aged care workers pay to the Fair Work Commission. It says it all about this Government. And they've taken that approach, that short-term, political, cynical approach to everything in this Budget, which is why this Budget is just a short-term election fix, not what Australia needs coming out of the pandemic.
 
STEFANOVIC: You may well be facing a mountain of debt that you'll have to pay down. Are you going to have to increase taxes to do that?
 
ALBANESE: Well, this Government have put in place in this Budget $3 billion dollars of hidden cuts, where they won't say what those cuts are for. Its decisions taken but not announced. How cynical is it? 'Vote for us in May. And we'll give you these one-off payments in cash with the how-to-votes'. But once the election is over, the cuts are coming. We know that's the case, because they're baked into their Budget.
 
STEFANOVIC: So, these are dirty bombs for the Labor Party?
 
ALBANESE: Well, this is a cynical Government that sits around, doesn't look at what's good for the economy, what's good for jobs, what's good for the Australian people, how do we grow the economy in a sustainable way, how do we lift wages, how do we address climate change in a way that creates jobs and puts downward pressure on power prices, how do we deal with housing affordability, how do we deal with the rising costs of child care. There's no plan for this Government. It's just always about short-term politics.
 
STEFANOVIC: Just a final one here. How alarmed are you that the Solomon Islands Government appears to be pressing ahead with a security deal with China? And also, would you promise to increase aid?
 
ALBANESE: Well, we'll make our promises at the appropriate time, Peter, which, with due respect, isn't the morning after the Budget. But Labor has always recognised that aid is not only about helping those people in less developed countries, such as Pacific Island neighbours, it's also about Australia's national interest. And the problem here isn't just a question of money as well. It's a question of values. And our Pacific Island neighbours have been alienated from this Government by its failure to take action on climate change. Anytime there's been a meeting of the Pacific Island Forum, or our Pacific Island neighbours have attended United Nations conferences, they have been quite concerned about a Government that continues to fail to act on climate change. We saw no serious response yesterday in the Budget when it comes to climate change. We have a plan that would also give us credibility when we're talking with our neighbours for whom climate change is an existential threat.
 
STEFANOVIC: Okay, Anthony Albanese. Appreciate your time this morning. Thanks for joining us. We will talk to you soon.
 
ENDS