SUBJECTS: Labor’s $300 vaccine incentive proposal; vaccine rollout; need for national quarantine facilities.

HOST: Every Australian will receive a cash payment of $300 if they are fully vaccinated by December under a new plan for the Federal Opposition to boost the jab rate. It's a carrot already being used in some countries to combat mixing hesitancy. And Labor Leader, Anthony Albanese, joins us now to tell us more.

HOST: Hello sir, good morning.

ANTHONY ALBANESE, LEADER OF THE AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY: Good morning, good to be with you.

HOST: Thanks for talking to us today. It seems to me like one of the major problems with the vaccination rates is a supply. How will a cash incentive help that?

ALBANESE: We know the problem has been supply, there have not been enough vaccines available. And quarantine has been the other big problem. We have seen breaches of hotel quarantine. But we are getting additional supply, it will be coming in coming months. So what we need to do is use every incentive at our disposal. This is a practical idea. It's constructive, it's put forward in that spirit. We need to encourage Australians to be vaccinated, and this is just one way to do it, with this $300 payment. And also, it would be good for our economy. Because we know that workers and small businesses are really struggling at the moment.

HOST: You could argue, Albo, that supply really isn't an issue, there is plenty of AstraZeneca being manufactured right here in Australia, so do you think then $300 is enough to convince people to take a jab when they are convinced it might kill them, given the conflicting health advice we have seen over the past few months?

ALBANESE: What it could do is to encourage discussions within communities, within families. I want people to be out there at the local bowling club some time in coming weeks to be saying, ‘Have you got your $300 yet?’ ‘Have you got your jab yet?’ This is just one method. That is why it has been used overseas. It is something that President Biden is an advocate of. It is something that US states are doing, countries in Europe are doing. It is something that the Chief Medical Officer, Dr Paul Kelly, said earlier this year we need to look at every incentive possible to encourage the take-up of our vaccination rate. We know that supply has been the big problem, and we know that Australia is running pretty close to last in the developed world. The Prime Minister said it wasn't a race to get vaccinated. Guess what? It is a race. We are running last at the moment. We really need to step up the speed between now and the end of the year. And there is no downside here. People will spend the money, creating jobs, supporting jobs, when it is needed. Because since lockdowns, they have had a massive impact on our economy.

HOST: Albo, one of the real downsides of COVID-19 has been watching our country fragment. We have six states around the country running their own show. We have never been less of a cohesive nation in our existence. What would you do if you were Prime Minister? How would you bring Australia together again as one?

ALBANESE: Well, I wouldn't have a different message in meetings and different messages outside of meetings. I would not have put states against each other. I think that when Scott Morrison was critical of Victoria for locking down and praising New South Wales for not locking down, saying that was a good thing that they are staying open, we know the consequences of the failure to act, and we are seeing that in Greater Sydney still many weeks later. I think it's important that the Prime Minister not play politics and try and put states against each other, that we are all in this together. The state premiers across the board have tried to do the right thing, have tried to keep their respective states safe. And we need to make sure that we get more national cohesion. I think after this there will be a need for a discussion about how the Federation works. We are one country. And we need to recognise that. So we need, for example, we need national quarantine facilities right around the country. I noticed your report that our sporting teams are going back to quarantine at Howard Springs near Darwin. There aren't any other facilities like that, where people can be kept safe around the country. Hotel quarantine has been the source of so many of these outbreaks, 28 at last count. And we do need that national leadership. And if you have that national leadership, I think that the state premiers across the board would go with that. The state premiers have had to step up because you haven't had that leadership from the Commonwealth.

HOST: Just before you go, your son must be 19 or 20, I guess? Would you be happy for him to get the AstraZeneca vaccine?

ALBANESE: Absolutely. I think that subject to advice from the doctor, that's what we need to do. If vaccines are available, people need to get it. They need to talk to their doctor, they shouldn't get medical advice off politicians or broadcasters, even fantastic TV hosts like yourselves. They should get it from a doctor.

HOST: I'm just looking at you get your jab, what a big brave boy. Well done. Did you get a lollipop?

ALBANESE: I did get a lollipop, I have to say. I got mine here in Canberra. And I can confirm that lollipops are issued. What I want is for lollipops and $300 to be issued. That's what we want.

HOST: That's a big lollipop.

HOST: You could buy $300 worth of lollipops. Anthony Albanese, thank you so much for your time. We appreciate it.

ALBANESE: Thanks very much. Have a great day.

HOST: Take care. Stay safe.

ENDS