SUBJECTS: Aged Care crisis in Australia; Federal Government’s tourism package; regional tourism; workplace culture in Parliament House; vaccine rollout; international borders; Aussies stranded overseas; aviation and tourism sectors impacted by COVID-19. 

LIBBY COKER, MEMBER FOR CORANGAMITE: Hello, everyone. It is great to be here today. I would like to begin by acknowledging the traditional owners of the land where we meet today, the Wathaurung, and pay respects to elders past, present and emerging. I'm Libby Coker, the Member for Corangamite. And it is a great pleasure to have our Leader here today, Albo. It is fantastic to have Albo here to walk through on the beach, around the shop, through the cafes, to have a chat to people about the issues that matter in Corangamite. I also would like to acknowledge and welcome Clare. Clare is our Aged Care Shadow Minister, and it is great to have you with us today. We're here at the Sandstone Cafe. And it's great to have been talking to some of the young women, young, I say, you're very young at heart, who are from a local aged care facility. And we have the owners of that facility here too. And I must say that through Corangamite, we have not had the incidents that other parts of the country have had in aged care. I'm really pleased for that. But there is so much more work to do in aged care. Before handing over to Clare, I would just like to briefly mention the package that's been announced by the Morrison Government today, the tourism package. Tourism is very, very important to the region of Corangamite. We had the Bellarine, we have the Great Ocean Road, and we have the Surf Coast. And in our region, we have 13,000 people who, pre-COVID, were employed in the industry. We also had $1.6 billion pumped into our local economy. This is a substantial amount of money. And I want to see the Federal Government step up for this region. At the moment, what we see is a package, a one-size-fits-all package, for the nation. But what is good for Cairns is not good for the Surf Coast. For people in my region, Albo and I are talking to the travel agents in the tourism sector in our region this afternoon. I've been speaking to these mainly women in this sector, who are really concerned that their doors will close without JobKeeper. And for them, I urge this Federal Government, the Morrison Government, to step up and not have a one-size-fits-all package. What we need is packages that are designed for specific regions. People are hurting along the Great Ocean Road. Jobs are being lost and doors are being closed. So on that note, I just like to say, let's change the focus not just for air flights, great for Avalon, but look at what we need on an individual region by region basis. So I'll leave that with you. And I'd now like to hand over to Clare. 

CLARE O’NEIL, SHADOW MINISTER FOR SENIOR AUSTRALIANS AND AGED CARE SERVICES: Thank you so much. And it's so wonderful to be here today with you. First thing I want to say is just how lucky this region is to have the amazing Libby Coker representing them. Libby is the first person in my ear, the first person in the room, when there is a discussion to be had about the plight of older Australians. She is an incredibly powerful voice for the many older people who live in her community around the Surf Coast and coming into the region of Geelong here. And so Libby, thank you for having us today. And it's been wonderful to meet some of those people that you so devotedly represent in Canberra. We're about 10 days on from the release of the Royal Commission document. And it's an important moment for us to stop and have an assessment about the debate that we're having about aged care in Australia. I find the way that the Morrison Government has treated this issue since the release of the Royal Commission Report, frankly, insulting. When the Royal Commission report was released, journalists were not given the opportunity to read the report. So we have still not had a chance to properly interrogate Scott Morrison as Prime Minister about his role in bringing this aged care crisis to bear across Australia. Now, Scott Morrison has also come forward in his press conferences and said, 'Not my fault, nothing to see here. This is the result of many decisions over many years’. Well, that is wrong. It is about time that the Prime Minister take responsibility for something that is going on in this country. The Government has been in power now for eight years. Aged Care is in crisis in this country. He must take responsibility for this problem if he says that he's going to solve it. Now, Scott Morrison talked to us about saying this aged care issue for him was personal. Well, too right it's personal. Because when Scott Morrison was Treasurer, he cut $1.7 billion out of this system and then has turned around and said, 'Oh, what a shock, what a surprise, standards in aged care has slipped'. Of course, they've slipped. We've had 22 reports just while this current Government has been in power. And they have sat on people's desks and gathered dust. I do not want this Royal Commission to be the same. There is strong commitment here from Labor to work on solutions to this urgent national problem, a crisis that affects just about every person who lives in this country today. So we've had a wonderful time here today talking to some older Australians. People deserve to live a dignified life in their retirement and their later years. And that's what Labor is here today advocating for. So I want to introduce Anthony Albanese who's been pushing for this issue for a long time now to say a few words. 

ANTHONY ALBANESE, LEADER OF THE AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY: Well, thanks very much, Clare. And thanks to Libby for welcoming us to this wonderful part of Australia here on the Surf Coast. And Libby is certainly a very strong and passionate advocate for the people of this region. And that includes, of course, senior Australians. And today, we've had the opportunity to sit down and talk to aged care residents about their concerns, about how they are going, about their experiences. Now many aged care facilities, including the one that has brought these residents here, function well. They have good food, they have good experience, including making sure they get appropriate leisure activities. But the truth is the Royal Commission outlined a period in which they called themselves in the interim report 'Neglect' was the title. The fact that up to half of aged care residents suffer from nutrition issues, literally they are starving. The fact that up to 20 per cent of aged care residents can point towards either physical or sexual abuse as being part of their experience should be a cause of national shame. And yet, as Clare said, what we had was a Royal Commission report that was handed down without any scrutiny by the media or the opportunity for people to go through it and to then examine what the Government's response was. And up to this point, the Government's response has been clearly inadequate. We need to look at a comprehensive plan that values and respects older Australians. One that keeps older Australians in their home for as long as possible. And to do that we need to address the fact that just last year 11,000 Australians who had had home care packages approved died waiting to actually get those home care packages delivered to them. And secondly, people enter into aged care residences, they need to be properly looked after. We know there are great examples around the country, so we know it is possible to look after and respect our older Australians. What we want is the experiences of the home that we've been with here today to be replicated across the country. When you have examples of best practice, you should multiply it across the board. We need to identify the structural problems which are there. Scott Morrison cut $1.7 billion from the aged care budget. What that has done is have a devastating impact and then they have been playing catch-up ever since. Aged care is a critical portfolio. When I appointed Clare to the job I did so because I wanted someone who was an articulate, committed person, with genuine empathy being able to go out there and engage and to develop our response to the Royal Commission. Because this is one of the priorities that I have identified that we will take to the next election for reform. I have been meeting with people for a long period of time now about the problems that are there in the system. And we need a systematic response and a generous response from the Federal Government to this report. Can I say on the announcement that the Prime Minister has made today, this isn't a tourism package, it is a selective aviation package. There is nothing in this package for hotel operators. There is nothing in this package for those people, for example, who are tourism operators who will take people out on day trips, who will examine the benefit that is here in this region, whether it be the Surf Coast, the Great Ocean Road, the Otways, there is nothing in this package for tourism operators. What there is, is a subsidy for airlines. And that is welcome that there's been some action on aviation, particularly I welcome the international aviation package because it is important that we keep those structures in place. But what there is, if you are a tourism operator anywhere in Australia, including the Surf Coast, who's been relying upon JobKeeper to keep your doors open, and to keep your businesses going and to keep people employed, is that you are about to lose that support. So today's announcement, what it does is magnify the fact that in just a couple of weeks the rug is about to be pulled from under those businesses. I think it is very disappointing that for tourism operators around the country there is not a single extra dollar in today's announcement. Happy to take questions. 

JOURNALIST: The list of destinations for the Government's subsidised flights only include Avalon in Victoria. Is this startling Victorian and New South Wales operators by not including other regional airports? 

ALBANESE: What this Government did, what they do with Sports Rorts, what they do with Community Safety Grants, what they do with today's announcement, is they always look at one thing. And it's not who needs support the most. It's not regional economic development and priorities and how we go forward. It is the electoral map. It's the electoral map. It's quite extraordinary that whether it be here in terms of Avalon, of course, is a great airport. I'm a big fan of Avalon. It is a vital industry, and it is important that it be included. But a lot of people can't fly into Avalon. The truth is that there aren't destinations from right around Australia flying into that airport, but it has been identified. In Tasmania, northern Tasmania gets support. Southern Tasmania does not. I wonder what the distinction is between the two. It is called the two marginal seats are in northern Tasmania. In the Northern Territory, Darwin nothing, but of course Alice Springs and Uluru in the seat of Lingiari, a marginal seat, it gets support. If you are in Cairns, the marginal seat of Leichhardt, then it is included in the package. But if you are in Gladstone or some other areas of Queensland that also rely on tourism then you get excluded as well. So this is a package that is a very narrow package. It has been, with everything this Government does, it is political management first and then substance second. I think the fact that Broome, they had to include somewhere in Western Australia, but Broome is the only place that's included. In South Australia, of course, Kangaroo Island in the seat of Mayo, that is targeted by the Downer family who think they have a right to that seat. It is included but Adelaide and other parts of South Australia that also are important in terms of tourism destinations like Port Lincoln and others, they are excluded. This is a Government that is very predictable in how it responds to every issue. 

JOURNALIST: Do you think that capital cities should be included where the bulk of things are like hotel rooms? 

ALBANESE: I think this is a very narrow package. That it's not just a matter of looking at aviation as well. As I said, there's no real support here for the tourism sector beyond aviation. And part of spending a tourism dollar is getting to a destination. That's important. But it's also important what happens when you are there. So we'll be meeting with tourism operators here today on the Surf Coast. And what's important is whether people are spending money going on tours, engaging in activities. And certainly, when I was in Cairns, we had a roundtable there as well, it is the operators of the boats and the cruisers, the dive boats, there's nothing in it for them at all. Of course, what we know is that airfares are a factor and I welcome any support for the aviation sector. But they're just one factor in terms of what occurs in tourism on the ground. What occurs on the ground in terms of the multiplier effect, we have already seen 8,500 jobs lost from Qantas. We have seen Virgin go into a situation whereby they had to change ownership and they stopped flying completely. And we've been saying for a long time that the aviation sector needed support. It's good that they've got some support. But the tourism sector, as a whole, needs support as well. Here in Victoria, of course, the tourism sector has done it really tough. It is pretty hard to conduct tours when people aren't allowed to travel due to the health concerns that were associated with it. So I think it is a very disappointing response, the fact that it is so narrow and the fact that it doesn't apply across the board. 

JOURNALIST: Do you have any concerns airlines might push up prices as a result of the scheme? 

ALBANESE: Well, that is going to have to be looked at, of course. We all know that airfares can vary with the market. If all we see here is an increase in air costs from the discounted fares that were already available and then the taxpayer picking up half of that bill, then it won't actually result in achieving increased activity. So there is a need for there to be ongoing examination of those issues. It will be difficult because discount airfares are so markedly different. You can pay triple the cost sometimes of the discounts and cheap offers that are available from other times. So it will be difficult to manage. And the Government does have to outline how it is that they will ensure that it is consumers who benefit from these proposals. 

JOURNALIST: Just on the vaccine, roughly 100,000 Australians have been vaccinated and the Government's goal is 4 million people to be vaccinated by March, do you think that is an achievable goal? 

ALBANESE: This is a Government that always has a big gap between what it says will happen and what it delivers. They need to make sure that doesn't apply to these issues. It's too important. This Government needs to get the vaccination rollout right. Because it is vaccinations that save lives, not vaccines. They actually have to be given to people. And the fact that they're on 100,000, it is now March 11. They have just a few weeks to deliver 3.9 million vaccinations. Now this isn't a target that was set by anyone other than this Government. But this Government is defined by the fact that for them it's the announcement that matters, not the delivery. Whether you look at the range of programs that they roll out on infrastructure, whether you look at the bushfire recovery programs, whether you look at community infrastructure, commuter car parks, a whole range of programs, they're defined by them thinking they have made the announcement and then they don't have to do anything else. And this is a Federal Government responsibility. And the other thing that defines this Government more and more is a lack of accountability and a lack of taking responsibility. So whether it is the fact that a reported sexual assault happened just metres from the Prime Minister's office or other issues, what the Prime Minister constantly wants Australians to do, he is the Sonny Jim of Australian politics, ‘It'll be right. She’ll be right, mate. Don't worry about that. Don't worry about the detail. Don't worry about whether it is rolled out’. That is his approach to everything, ‘Look over there’. The fact is it is a failure to deliver that is defining this Government. We will be holding the Government to account for its commitment of 4 million vaccinations by the end of March. But then again this is the Government that said they'd have every Australian home by Christmas and there's still 40,000 Australians stranded overseas. 

JOURNALIST: You mentioned the sexual harassment allegations in the Liberal Party. Are you aware of any Labor MPs, Senators or staffers with claims of sexual harassment against them? Has Labor been transparent about any allegations? 

ALBANESE: Labor has been very transparent. And we've established a process that was adopted by the National Executive that was an upgraded process of one that was put in place in 2018, a sexual harassment and bullying policy. We have a Code of Conduct and it applies not just to the Parliament, but to any ALP activity, a branch meeting, a function, anywhere where Labor is present. As an organisation, we take these issues seriously, and will continue to do so. At no stage have we argued that the Labor Party is perfect. We know that these issues are issues that are a scourge on our whole society. But what we need to do is to have leadership and to make sure that we do what we can to constantly improve the situation. And Labor's adoption of four different positions on sexual harassment, on bullying, on a Code of Conduct, on how to deal with any complaints that are made, are a step along that road. Just as it was Labor who called for the inquiry that's now being overseen by the Sex Discrimination Commissioner, to make sure that we improve the circumstances for everyone who works in Parliament House. 

JOURNALIST: Can I just clarify on that question? Are you saying you are not aware of any allegation? 

ALBANESE: Well, if you're aware of something, I'm happy for you to raise it. 

JOURNALIST: Do you think Australia is on track to reopen its international borders by October? 

ALBANESE: Well, I certainly hope that that's the case. Of course in part that will depend upon what happens in terms of overseas. Obviously, there are some border restrictions because of the extent to which COVID is present in overseas countries. But I'll say this, we should have done much, much better in bringing Australians home. If we had of done that, we could have now been talking about how we get overseas students here as well, to participate in what is our largest service export. The fact is that just in the last fortnight the Government has said they'll expand the Howard Springs facility to 2,000 people outside of Darwin, we were calling for that in the middle of last year. This is a Government that has been complacent. This is a Government that's in charge of our international borders, is in charge of quarantine, and hasn't had a plan to deliver. Thanks very much. 

ENDS