SUBJECTS: ALP Special Platform Conference; women in politics; workplace culture at Parliament House; Electric Car Discount; Labor’s policy agenda; vaccine rollout; Andrew Laming.

PETER STEFANOVIC, HOST: Well, Labor's contentious climate and energy policy will be centre stage on day two of the Party's virtual conference. Joining me live now is Opposition Leader, Anthony Albanese. Albo, good to see you. Labor and electric vehicles didn't go so well last time around. What's the difference this time?

ANTHONY ALBANESE, LEADER OF THE AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY: Look, the Government has been exposed for its ridiculous scare campaign during the last election campaign. What we are proposing here is something that will make electric vehicles cheaper for consumers. The vehicle behind me, the LEAF, here at the Nissan dealership at Liverpool, will be $2,000 cheaper as a result of removing the tariff. But also, in terms of removing fringe benefits tax which will encourage the take-up by corporate leases of electric vehicles. We need to transition. The fact is our take-up is lagging way behind the rest of the world. And that's why we need a strategy and a policy in place to drive that change.

STEFANOVIC: So just to confirm, you're not ending the weekend?

ALBANESE: Certainly not. And never would. People will have absolute choice as to what they want to drive. But what we need to do is for those people who wants to take up electric vehicles, I've got a hybrid vehicle and I know that in terms of filling up, it costs you far less to run and it's far more convenient because they can go for a long period of time. A fully electric vehicle, you don't need to put petrol in at all. It will obviously save a lot of money and will also be very efficient to run. And that's why the world is transitioning. There's no auto manufacturer in the world that's currently doing research into a new internal combustion engine vehicle. They're all moving towards EVs, whether it be the Japanese, the North Americans or the European car makers.

STEFANOVIC: The problem is, though, that electric vehicles are still so expensive, even with those tax deductions. 

ALBANESE: We need to drive down the costs.

STEFANOVIC: But even with those tax deduction deductions, they're still going to be way more expensive than any other vehicle.

ALBANESE: Well, we expect that there'll be price parity within five years for electric vehicles and petrol vehicles. That's what's happening around the world. It is a bit like solar panels that were originally were more expensive. Over a period of time, as you have volume, costs come down. And that's what's happening with electric vehicles. Costs are coming down. They are becoming more affordable. And this change will help with that process.

STEFANOVIC: What percentage of new cars would you like to be electric by 2030 if you get elected next time around?

ALBANESE: We're not putting a target out.

STEFANOVIC: Not falling into that trap again? 

ALBANESE: We're not doing that. What we are doing is saying we'll make it cheaper. That's a common-sense policy. We shouldn't penalise people for wanting to do the right thing. There will be a role for Government, as well, in assisting the rollout of charging stations, in making sure that people can drive an electric vehicle with comfort. But again, the technology is getting better and better and better. When I was the Transport Minister, I drove an electric vehicle, a test vehicle, for a couple of weeks. That vehicle had a limited range. The range is getting longer and longer. They're getting more efficient. They're getting cheaper. And this is the future. The role of governments is to shape the future in the interests of people. What this policy does is just that.

STEFANOVIC: A couple of other issues, Albo, what is your message to states who are hoarding COVID vaccines?

ALBANESE: Well, my message to the Commonwealth Government is, for goodness sake, you set a target of four million and there's only been 600,000 rolled out. It is the end of March. Today is the day in which Scott Morrison said, no ifs, no buts, there would be four million people vaccinated. And we know that they've fallen way short of that, some 3.4 million short of that. So what I say is that vaccinations save lives, vaccines don't. So we do need to make sure that it's rolled out.

STEFANOVIC: But vaccines have been provided to the states. They have not even given half yet.

ALBANESE: Four million have not been provided to the states, Pete, as you know.

STEFANOVIC: Not four million, but a fraction of that. But there's still an amount that states were provided that they haven't used.

ALBANESE: A very small fraction of what was promised has been provided. We need to make sure that it's rolled out. Vaccinations save lives. It will make a difference. It will make a difference to our economy as well. We've always known that we need to get the health outcomes right because there's an economic cost as well as the health costs if we don't. And that's why we need to make sure this rollout occurs. 

STEFANOVIC: Okay. Reports this morning that a former staffer of Karen Andrews says she was bullied. Grace Tame also has some big questions against Amanda Stoker. That's not a good start to this reshuffle.

ALBANESE: Look, I think the thing about the so-called reset is that you can't reset on gender issues while Andrew Laming who's accused of, and comes up with a pretty poor explanation, of up-skirting a woman at work, taking a photo which, of course, we know is illegal. And he's allowed to go off and get some empathy training. We know that hasn't worked for other members of the Coalition. And then he continues to sit in the Party room as well as sitting in the Parliament. He needs to go from the Parliament. I think Scott Morrison's weakness stands in stark contrast to the very strong statements of Coalition state leaders, including John Barilaro, saying that the Member for Upper Hunter should go from the Parliament.

STEFANOVIC: Now you've obviously pushed hard for Laming to be removed from Parliament. Is that the standard now from Labor? And do you have any concerns about any of your own having accusations brought against them?

ALBANESE: Look, the fact is that what Andrew Laming has done over a long period of time is not just the up-skirting incident, but that's a part of a whole pattern of behaviour. Stalking one of these constituents, hiding in bushes to take photographs, trolling them online over a period of years to the point whereby one woman was thinking of ending her own life. What do you have to actually do to lose your job under Scott Morrison?

STEFANOVIC: Anthony Albanese, we are out of time. But we appreciate your time this morning. Thanks for joining us.

ALBANESE: Thanks very much, Pete.

ENDS