SUBJECTS: Day 1 of the election campaign; Labor’s plan for a better future for Australia; Labor’s aged care policy; the Morrison Government’s wasteful spending; Young people should enrol to vote.
 
TRISTAN MACMANUS, HOST: The battle to be Australia's 31st Prime Minister is on and its set to be a long, tough campaign for both Scott Morrison and Anthony Albanese.

NARELDA JACOBS, HOST: Joining us from Launceston, is the man whose sights are set on the prize of becoming just the fourth Labor leader since World War Two to win a federal election from opposition. Labor leader Anthony Albanese, Mr Albanese, thanks for joining us.

ANTHONY ALBANESE, LEADER OF THE AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY: Good morning.

JACOBS: You keep reintroducing yourself to the electorate. We know you were brought up by a hard-working single mum. But it doesn't seem to be connecting with many voters who say they simply just don't know you. And it's proving itself in the polls, with Scott Morrison ahead of you, nudging ahead of you as preferred prime minister, what are you going to be doing over the next six weeks to turn that around? Are you worried?

ALBANESE: Not at all. The fact is that Prime Ministers have traditionally been preferred Prime Ministers, that's just a fact. Just like yourself and Tristan there, are the preferred Studio 10 presenters, compared with people who haven't got that job. That's just the way it is. So, I'll continue to put forward myself as the alternative prime minister and our plan for a better future for Australia. Our plan to strengthen Medicare, our plan for more secure work and higher paid jobs, our plan to deal with cost-of-living pressures through cheaper childcare and cheaper electricity, our plan to make more things here in Australia. During the pandemic, we've learnt again, been reminded, day after day about the strength of Australian society, how we look after each other and make sacrifices for each other. But it's also shown up some vulnerabilities in our economy, and how we can't be complacent. We need to be stronger as a nation, make sure we can stand on our own two feet. And we can make more things here.

MACMANUS: A pivotal aspect of your flagship, aged care policy, is nurses in aged care homes 24/7. I think that's something we can all get behind, it's something we all want. Mark Dreyfus has admitted that there may not be enough trained nurses to implement this and more will need to be trained. So, with that being said, how are we going to get on? And how are we going to pay for it?

ALBANESE: We're going to get it done by making sure that we, one: have our 20,000 additional university places to train more people, including nurses in areas of skill shortage, our 465,000 fee free TAFE places to train aged care workers. We're going to make sure that we attract people back into the industry. One of the problems is, Tristan, that aged care workers, including nurses are leaving the industry because of the state that it's in, because of the aged care crisis that was summed up by the Royal Commission in one word, of ‘Neglect’. We’ll continue, of course, to look overseas as well, for aged care nurses to come here to Australia. We will have to have a plan to attract them. We know anyone who goes into a hospital will know that there's a few Irish accents in our hospitals amongst our nursing staff and others. We need to make sure that we deliver this. A nurse in every nursing home, I think most Australians would scratch their head and say, well, doesn't that happen already? But the truth is that it doesn't. The Royal Commission recommended that along with 215 minutes of care, along with better food and nutrition, and we'll partner with Maggie Beer and her foundation to make sure that we can deliver that and we need to pay our aged care workers more as well. And then we need proper transparency and accountability to make sure that every additional dollar, and we've said we'll provide two and a half billion dollars extra for aged care, goes to better care, better food, better nutrition, and looking after aged care residents.

JACOBS: You'll have no argument from people who are listening to you now. I think everyone is in agreement that this is what needs to happen in aged care. But the prime minister is campaigning on stability saying Labor has no track record. You're saying all the right things, but it’s the how, how are you going to fund it? What, how are we going to pay for it? You can deliver all of these amazing promises, but it's the how.

ALBANESE: Well, we've got, you say no one will disagree with the plan. Well, I'll tell you someone who doesn't agree with the plan, that’s Scott Morrison. The government had this Royal Commission. All these recommendations are they and they've ignored it. They're not saying they’ll implement them; indeed, they're being critical. Now this is a government that spent $5.5 billion dollars on subs that produce nothing but a torn-up contract. That's it, not anything. And if you waste that sort of $5.5 billion on that, but then say, you can't spend $2.5 billion dollars, giving our aged care residents better food, then that is what government’s about. It's about your priorities and making sure you're competent and making sure that every single dollar that you spend produces some outcome. This government have produced a trillion dollars of debt, they had doubled the debt before the pandemic even came along. And that's why this government don't really have a plan. And in the budget, they handed down a couple of weeks ago, they had these one-off payments that disappear as soon as the election is over, we actually need a plan for a better future. The problem with this government is that they're just occupying the space, and they're always too little too late when it comes to action. Whether it's responding to bushfire crisis, ordering enough vaccines for people, providing support for flood victims, or dealing with a response to the aged care Royal Commission, or indeed even calling this election. They're always just stagnant. They don't act, they don't accept responsibility, and they seek to blame someone else. Well, I want to step up to the plate, I will accept responsibility. And if I'm given the great honour of holding high office as prime minister of this country, I won't seek to blame anyone else. I'll accept the responsibility that goes with that job.

MACMANUS: That's great. That's what you want to hear. I'm worried that a heck of a lot of 18- to 25-year-olds couldn't care less about the election, which is disappointing, and they know zilch about the policies. How do you intend to engage the disengaged?

ALBANESE: Well, first, I'd say to them, get on the roll, get on the roll. You have, until Easter Monday to get on the roll. Look, people in some countries, you know, risked their lives to fight for the right to vote. It's an important thing in our democracy that everyone votes regardless of who you vote for, you should cast your vote. And the real choice that this election is between Scott Morrison and giving him a second decade in office, or a reinvigorated Labor Party led by me with a plan for a better future. So, I'd encourage people to vote, and particularly young people, because young people, by definition, have more at stake at this election. The actions of climate change - we've seen, just in recent times, floods that are worse than we've seen before, we saw bushfires that were worse, we've seen all of the science tell us that there'll be more extreme weather events, and they’ll be more intense. And we need to have a government that responds to that. We've got a real plan to deal with climate change, but to take the opportunities that will come with that as well. In addition, we have a plan for skilling up Australians. 20,000 additional university places, making TAFE fee free in areas of skill shortage, providing that opportunity. And even for our youngest Australians, those who need early learning in childcare, our plan for affordable childcare will assist families and we know that's good for our youngest Australians. Over 90% of human brain development occurs in the first five years. We need to be a smart nation, and we need to take up and seize the opportunities which are there. I believe if we do, I'm an optimist about our country, I think we are the greatest country on Earth. But we can be even better if we have a better government.

JACOBS: Anthony Albanese. It's going to be a long six weeks. Thanks for joining us on Studio 10.

ALBANESE: Thanks very much. Have a great day.

ENDS