SUBJECTS: Victorian COVID-19 outbreak; Morrison Government failures; NSW Labor.

ANTHONY ALBANESE, LEADER OF THE AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY: Good morning,  Victorians are going through a very tough time this weekend, and at least for the early part of next week.
 
This is the 17th breakout as a direct result of failures in hotel quarantine. Scott Morrison said that this wasn't a race. But the fact is that there are real consequences for real people as a result of this failure that occurred in hotel quarantine in Adelaide.
 
The Business Council of Australia chief, Jennifer Westacott, Innes Willox from the Australian Industry Group and many others have all called this a direct failure of hotel quarantine system. And the Government has had more than a year to get its act together. And yet Scott Morrison has taken another outbreak for him to say that, yes, we need to do something, perhaps, on other appropriate quarantine facilities.
 
Scott Morrison said that Howard Springs would be increased from 800 to 2000 people by April-May. Well, I've got news for him. It's almost the end of May. And there's been nothing happened in terms of the increase that he foreshadowed in capacity at Howard Springs. There's also been no response, in terms of actual action in Victoria or for their proposals in Queensland. I met with John Wagner this week. Wellcamp, he says, can be up and running with at least 600 purpose-built cabin facilities within 12 weeks, but they just need the go ahead. They need support from the Federal Government. He's not even asking for any money to build such a facility. And of course, we know Wellcamp is right next to the airport and very close to Toowoomba Base Hospital.
 
This government have been complacent. Scott Morrison, just like he said during the bushfires when the crisis was elevated day on day, week on week, "I don't hold a hose mate". On this occasion, he has said, "this isn't a race". Well, it is a race against time for us to get the vaccine rollout right. And for us to get quarantine right. They're the two jobs that Scott Morrison had this year, and he has failed dismally on both.
 
JOURNALIST:  Should we be building more quarantine facilities outside of the two you have identified?
 
ALBANESE: Well, Labor has been arguing for a long period of time for a four-part solution to deal with the COVID crisis. One we need to get the rollout of the vaccine, right. And the government, when it comes to issues like aged care, where just a couple of days ago, there were 29 facilities in Victoria hadn't received a single dose, and many more than that hadn't had their vaccine process completed with two doses. That's in spite of the fact they were in Category 1A and we know that a short time ago, less than 1000 of those people with disabilities, in care, out of the 26,000, had actually been vaccinated. So the government has been complacent there.
 
The second thing we've said is that there needs to be appropriate quarantine facilities around the nation. We said that very clearly. It was a part of my budget reply, but it's also something that we've been saying since last year. And the government has ignored that.
 
The third element is that we need to have an appropriate public information campaign to encourage vaccinations. And we've seen nothing. We've seen more ads for Harvey Norman in a day than we see for the rollout of the vaccine and the people to get vaccinated than we've seen in a year.
 
And when it comes to the fourth element, which is we should be manufacturing mRNA vaccines here, we should have put in place a process from the middle of last year to make sure that we negotiated with the appropriate companies to bring that manufacturing capacity here. And what Labor has said for some time is that our priority would be to use the National Reconstruction Fund that we've established to boost manufacturing here.
 
So four elements are important. boosting vaccination rates, making sure we get appropriate quarantine facilities, and appropriate public information campaign to encourage people to be vaccinated, and the production of mRNA vaccine here, there are four elements that this government should have acted on, should have been acting on for the last year. It's been complacent. And indeed, Scott Morrison has said that it's not a race. And we've seen the mixed messages out there from Greg Hunt, and Scott Morrison, part of which the mixed messages are the equation of people being fully vaccinated with just getting one dose. Now, Greg Hunt knows that that's not the case. But they've used those figures to try and spin their way out of this mess. This is a government that's addicted to spin rather than substance. And there are real consequences for it.
 
JOURNALIST: How long do you think that the quarantine regime will be part of our lives?
 
ALBANESE: Well, what we know is that COVID is likely to be around for some period of time yet. We know also that COVID has managed to change as a virus and become more contagious with some of the streams which are out there. So we need to not be complacent about it. That's why we should be producing mRNA vaccines here because they are able to be adapted just as the virus is adapting. So that's why we need to have a plan that recognises that indeed, this is a race, that every time there is a lockdown, there are real consequences. And there have been 17 failures in hotel quarantine. Scott Morrison speaks about the success rate. What he doesn't say is that with every failure, there are very serious consequences for health, for our economy, and for people being able to go about their lives. And I really feel for our Victorian friends, at this time. It would be extremely difficult for them. There are mental health consequences, there are consequences for jobs in the economy. This is the first lockdown that's occurred since the government removed wage subsidies. And so they need to come up with a plan of federal government support for those businesses. Because this outbreak occurred in Adelaide. This outbreak was very preventable, if we had got the issue of hotel quarantine, and its inadequacies and responded to it. And the government had a report from Jane Halton now more than six months ago, and it hasn't acted on it.
 
JOURNALIST: At this stage do you think there's a case at all to change the vaccine rollout say rolling out to under 40's sooner, or even reconsidering that AstraZeneca?
 
ALBANESE: The truth is that the government haven't got a serious public information campaign about the rollout. The truth is that in areas of the rollout for people who are eligible, who were supposed to be at the front of the queue, like people in aged care, people with disabilities, essential workers, such as workers in aged care homes, haven't received the vaccine yet. They haven't been rolled out to Category 1A. The Prime Minister said that there would be 4 million Australians vaccinated by the end of March. We'll be at June in a very short period of time and they still haven't reached that figure.
 
JOURNALIST: Some questions on New South Wales Labor. What did you make of Jodi McKay stepping down yesterday?
 
ALBANESE: I pay tribute to Jodi McKay. She's a constituent of mine and a friend of mine. And it was a difficult day for Jodi yesterday. I think she's a person of great integrity. And she showed great courage yesterday. She's done what, as she explained, was in her view in the best interests of the Labor Party, and I wish her well.
 
JOURNALIST: Beyond best interest. She did blame essentially internal destabilisation. What do you make ofsta those statements?
 
ALBANESE: Look, I don't wish to comment on the internal affairs of New South Wales Labor. They'll sort these issues through. I've said very clearly that there was, in terms of the framing of the Upper Hunter byelection, how a seat that hasn't been held by the Labor Party for more than 90 years, even when we're winning seats like Manly, and Wakehurst and Willoughby and a host of other seats right around the state during the Wran-slide and during some of the era in which Bob Carr was Premier, were very successful, we’ve never been successful in Upper Hunter. It should have come as no surprise that Upper Hunter voted the way that it has for more than nine decades.
 
JOURNALIST: Is it fair just to say Upper Hunter, given that she was pointing at people perhaps not even accepting her own leadership over the last few years?
 
ALBANESE: I have no comment on those matters. Jodi McKay, I wish her well. I've rung her this morning, I had a good chat with Yasmin Catley this morning, who was of course, the Deputy Leader, she remains a friend of mine as well. She used to work in my office. And I think that they  will make an ongoing contribution to the cause of labour. I say this, New South Wales Labor can win the next election. This is a government, in New South Wales, that have been complacent. This is an arrogant government that have used taxpayers' money as if it is their own. This is an arrogant government that in this area right here have taken away money that was allocated for local government. Ripped money out of this community and communities right around the state, in order to channel it on a political basis. This is a government that's mired in scandals. This is a government that, just down the road here, not far, John Sidoti has had to step aside and is sitting on the cross benches, whilst the Independent Commission Against Corruption deals with this government. This is a government when it comes to leadership, have changed leaders, three times. Premiers in office, two of them resigning in terms of Barry O'Farrell and Mike Baird. This is a government that have changed deputy premiers during their period in office. And I'm confident that Labor will come through this period and will be competitive at the next election, which I think is very winnable for them.
 
JOURNALIST: When you think of who will be winnable, will that be Michael Daly or Chris Minns?
 
ALBANESE: That's a matter for the New South Wales Labour Party. Thanks very much.

ENDS