SUBJECTS: Visit to the Sorell; SERDA Jobs Hub; skill shortage in Tasmania; A Future Made in Australia; Russia-Ukraine tensions; national security; housing affordability; Labor’s policy agenda; Federal election.
 
BRIAN MITCHELL, MEMBER FOR LYONS: Good afternoon. And welcome to Sorell, in beautiful Tasmania. And I'm very pleased to be joined here today by Anthony Albanese, the Labor Leader and Kerry Vincent, the Mayor, and also the Chair of the Southeast Regional Development Association. We're here today to make a great announcement under an Albanese Labor Government. A million dollars will go towards the Southeast Regional Development Association to build a Regional Jobs Hub. This is just so important for this growing region. And it feeds directly into Labor's program to connect people with work, getting young people into trades. I'm so proud of this announcement. I think it's going to do a lot for Sorell, which is a fast growing region here in Tasmania. And I'll just hand you over now to Anthony Albanese.
 
ANTHONY ALBANESE, LEADER OF THE AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY: Well, thanks very much, Brian. And it's great to be back in Tasmania for my second visit this week. I'm a regular visitor to this beautiful state. And today, we have an exciting announcement. An announcement that is about jobs and skills and economic activity in this growing region of southern Tasmania. Here in Sorell, we have a community that is growing. And what's important is that we grow with that, at the same time, grow the opportunity grow the infrastructure. And that's what today's announcement is about. A $1 million commitment to having the Skills and Jobs Hub here in Sorell. Something that will work with local industry and local employers. Providing an appropriate facility. Now, the trades training centre here has outgrown its use. The growth in this community means that we need a purpose-built facility that will be able to deliver for the people of this region and, in particular, deliver opportunity for young people wanting to start work through an apprenticeship. But also, older workers wanting to retrain and provide a new direction in life. The truth is that under the current Government, there is at least 70,000 less apprentices and trainees than there were in 2013. At the same time, we have massive skill shortages throughout Tasmania and indeed throughout the entire nation. What we need to do is to concentrate on providing Australians with opportunity. I'm determined to give Australia a better future. A better future where no one is left behind and no one is held back. No one held back from the opportunity that comes with a career through an apprenticeship. And that's why, as well, we'll provide 465,000 free TAFE places, making an enormous difference. We understand that's good for the Australian economy, but it's also good for individuals. It's also good for people to be able to plan those careers. And we'll plan the careers through the creation of Jobs and Skills Australia, a peak national body to make sure that we plan for where the jobs will be in a years' time, in five years' time, in ten years' time. This infrastructure will service this community for decades to come. It is in partnership with the Council. And the Mayor is here with us today. And I also welcome the State Labor Leader who's here today as well, Rebecca White, for this announcement.
 
Before I take questions, I do want to make some comments about the escalation of the conflict that we've seen overnight with the aggression from Russia against the sovereign state of Ukraine. Australia condemns and is united in condemning this action. This action is resulting in the deaths and destruction of people in Ukraine. Innocent civilians are being hurt as we speak for an action that is solely the responsibility of Russia. Russia is the aggressor here. Ukraine is a sovereign state. It's a democratic state going about conducting its business. And this intervention by Vladimir Putin is a break with international law. It is a breach of international security. There certainly is nothing going on to do with peacekeeping here. This is peace-breaking. And Australia must stand with our allies. We support the actions that the Federal Government have done in concert with our allies in NATO, in the United States, in the United Kingdom. It's important that the entire world act against this aggression and say that it is completely unacceptable. And to do that, we need punitive action against Russia. This isn't just an attack on Ukraine. It is also an attack on the principles that have undermined peace and prosperity since the end of the Second World War. Our thoughts are also with the Ukrainian people, and, particularly, Australians of Ukrainian descent, who today are very concerned about their relatives and their friends back in Ukraine. It's also important that the international community unite against Russian aggression. And that's why China should demonstrate it is serious about global peace and security. And China is doing the exact opposite by actually lifting some of the restrictions that are there on the wheat trade with Russia. It's doing the opposite of what it should be doing. And this is an opportunity for China. They should be joining with the rest of the world in condemning this action. Because this action is solely the responsibility of Russia. Happy to take questions.
 
JOURNALIST: Just on Ukraine - what do you think China's refusal to denounce Russia says about the country?
 
ALBANESE: Well, it says about the country that it is also not a democratic country that doesn't respect international law. This is an extraordinary action by Russia to have the action by one nation state, an act of aggression, against another nation state, its neighbouring state, which hasn't threatened Russia, isn't taking any action which damages Russia. This is a unilateral decision by Vladimir Putin to be the aggressor against a sovereign state with tragic consequences. And that's why all countries should condemn it.
 
JOURNALIST: Do you expect Australia to have interference and send troops over in the following weeks? How do you expect that to progress?
 
ALBANESE: Look, we'll continue to be briefed, as I was just a short time ago, a couple of days ago. We'll get ongoing briefings about this. Australia's a long way from Russia. At the moment, what we're doing is taking action, which is consistent with global action. And that's important. Australia can't undertake any action that would damage Russia by itself. What we can do and should do is act in accordance with what our allies are doing, and continue to speak out on these issues, but also to provide humanitarian assistance and whatever other assistance we can do.
 
JOURNALIST: Mr Albanese, you mentioned that the current Sorell Centre is currently not fit-for-purpose. What kind of problems does it have at the moment and what kind of things need fixing?
 
ALBANESE: Well, overcrowding. What we're having is that people who are wanting to have an interview, an employer wanting to interview an apprentice is currently doing it in a local club or off-site in circumstances which simply aren't conducive to starting off a relationship between an employer and an employee, an apprentice, on the right foot. One of the great things about an apprenticeship is that it's not something that's just for a couple of months, it's a relationship that goes for a number of years, three or four years, sometimes longer, hopefully, in terms of the ongoing employment. And that needs to start on the right foot. There needs to be an opportunity to have proper training for both the employer, about how to conduct an interview, what they're looking for, but also the employer as well. And at the moment, the facilities aren't fit-for-purpose. What this will do is acknowledge that this is a growing community. We want more people to be employed here. And it is a community in which you can see the houses here weren't here when I started coming to Sorell. When I was a Minister and came here to support other infrastructure in this community with the Mayor, including when we were talking about roads and other issues, a lot of these houses simply weren't here. So, what we need to do is to have an appropriate location as well. And right here, next to a childcare centre, next to emergency services, which are being built here, it is an appropriate site. This will be a real hub of activity. And this employment and training hub will be a great asset for the community.
 
JOURNALIST: You mentioned the importance of getting young people into this hub. I'm interested in how important the vote of a young person is for Federal Labor?
 
ALBANESE: Well, the vote of a young person is very important. But I'll give you the big tip. The vote of every person is important in a Federal election. And we want to reach out to all Australians. I'm very determined to unite Australia, to end some of the division that we've seen under the current Prime Minister. And to make sure we unite with our common objectives. I want more unity between employers and employees working together. I spoke on Monday night to the Business Council of Australia. Yesterday, I spoke to the Queensland and Northern Territory branch of the Australian Manufacturing Workers' Union, about a common interest that they have. A common interest in training Australians for the jobs of the future, making sure we have the industries of the future through our National Reconstruction Fund. And it is very important that young people have opportunities. I want a country that is forward-looking, that's optimistic about our future, that provides opportunity for young people to be the best that they can be. And here in Tasmania, we can have a very bright future. But you can't have one if you're, like this Government, scared of the present but terrified of the future. This is a Government that said that electric vehicles would end the weekend. This is a Government that said that hydrogen was snake oil at the last election. What we actually need is a Government in Australia that's prepared to imagine a better future and then set about creating. And that's a future in which young people, by definition, have more of an interest than those of us who've moved on, a fair while ago, from being classified as a young person. That's part of my vision. And young people inspire me. I think that young women, in particular, who are coming through, including, there's a great young Tasmanian who was Australian of the Year last year, an inspirational young woman, Grace Tame, who has been prepared to speak out. And I think Tasmanians are right to be very proud of her. But she has characteristics that I see in young Australians wherever I go, that they're forward-looking, they want an inclusive Australia, they want an Australia that creates opportunities. And that's exactly what I want.
 
JOURNALIST: What lessons did you learn, from Bill Shorten's past election campaign and how do you look change them?
 
ALBANESE: Well, what I've done is to have a review that we had in 2019 into the three election losses that we've had in a row, and to learn the lessons. We have a much stronger narrative at this election. A narrative about a better future. With three key themes of more secure work, of lifting living standards by lifting wages, by addressing childcare and making it more affordable, making sure we make a difference to women's workforce participation and productivity, not as an end in itself as an economic thing. That's a bonus. But also, we want to make the lives of women and young women much better going forward. Because women have to drop out of the workforce, they miss out on super, their retirement incomes are worse all the way through. And they don't get the promotions that they would get if you had an appropriate childcare system that acknowledged that was an economic reform, not a welfare reform. And of course, a Future Made in Australia, which is very important that we make more things here. We have a comprehensive plan going forward. We've also held the Government to account. This is a Government that continues to act like it's an opposition in exile sitting on the Government benches. What agenda do they have for the second decade in office? Because I haven't seen one. They've had 22 energy policies and haven't landed one yet. We've got one policy that we will land that will make a difference and make energy cheaper, which will assist households but also assist businesses to engage in high-value manufacturing.
 
JOURNALIST: We've seen the cost of living rise quite sharply in Tasmania over the last couple of months and real wages falling corresponding. What do you think needs to be done about that?
 
ALBANESE: Well, real wages continue to fall across the country, and particularly here in Tasmania. And that is, according to the Government's former Finance Minister, Mathias Cormann, a very conscious design part of their system. This is Government policy to have real wages in decline. And in the Budget that was brought down just a short while ago by Josh Frydenberg, it again predicted real wages to fall over the next four years. And that's in spite of the fact that we have a circumstance whereby the Reserve Bank Governor has said that's a handbrake on the economy. We need to lift wages. We need to value secure work and include that in the Fair Work Act. We need to make sure that people have same job, same pay. We need to properly define casualisation. We need to close the gender pay gap. We need to make sure that we look after the interests of working people, that we provide them with the opportunity for an apprenticeship or a traineeship. We need to value that going forward. And we need to also look at other areas of living standards, including more affordable childcare. That will be a game-changer. How is it that at the moment, for too many working families, if mum, or dad for that matter, but it's usually the mother, chooses to work an extra day at work, it can actually cost them money. They can end up with less money in their pocket. That's a system that makes no sense. Labor will address that by moving towards universal provision of affordable childcare. We also have a policy to address affordable housing issues through our Housing Australia Future Fund. We will address these cost of living issues by seeing real wages lift, by making sure that we have more secure work and by addressing hip-pocket issues, including on childcare and housing. Thanks.
 
ENDS