SUBJECTS: Electric Car Discount; Power to the People Plan; climate change; manufacturing in Australia; Labor’s National Reconstruction Plan; ALP Special Platform Conference; vaccine rollout; women in politics; workplace culture at Parliament House; Labor’s policy agenda; vaccine rollout; Andrew Laming; RAAF.

ANTHONY ALBANESE, LEADER OF THE AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY: Well, good morning. Thanks for joining us here at Nissan Liverpool. And I want to thank Paul for the welcome and for the faith in me being able to do a test drive this morning in a Nissan LEAF. The future is here, right now. There will be over 200 new electric vehicles rolled out around the world in the coming year. We know that there are no auto manufacturers that are currently looking at new internal combustion engine vehicles. We know that this will occur across passenger vehicles, commercial vehicles, it is happening with buses, it is about the future. And we know that Australia is falling behind. What we also know is that this will be good, not just for consumers over a period of time, but also for our environment. One of the things that Labor wants to do is to cut the costs of electric vehicles because we know that it's a real barrier to take up. Which is why we will remove both the tariff on electric vehicles, but also the fringe benefits tax, making vehicles like the Nissan LEAF here, if it's subject to FBT, for a fleet up to $9000 cheaper. This will make an enormous difference and will encourage a take-up of electric vehicles. 

Today, also, we're announcing our Power to the People Plan. This is a plan for community batteries. We know that Australia has the highest take-up in the world of putting solar panels on roofs. Australians are literally voting with their own roofs when it comes to taking action, which reduces the costs of energy for families, but also is, of course, good for our environment. But we know also that a constraint is being able to afford to put a battery on individual homes. We know also that batteries will make an enormous difference in terms of dealing with the issues that the take-up of renewables have had for reliability of the grid. By having community batteries, that will be a big step to overcoming that and to improving the functionality of the grid, as well as making it affordable for people to participate and to ensure that, at the time that they're getting their energy through the solar panels, that it's stored and used when it's needed. So this is a practical plan. A practical plan for both community batteries and a practical plan for electric vehicles. It's just our first step when it comes to these strategies. And I'd ask Chris Bowen to make some further comments before Ed Husic and then we'll hear from someone from the EV sector.

CHRIS BOWEN, SHADOW MINISTER FOR CLIMATE CHANGE AND ENERGY: Thanks very much, Albo. Well, we know that the world's climate emergency is Australia's jobs opportunity. And we also know that good climate policy is policy which provides cost of living relief to Australians who want to reduce their emissions. And that's exactly what Anthony and I are announcing today. Two practical measures to provide cost of living relief to Australians as we reduce our emissions. 

Firstly, electric vehicles. We know that under Scott Morrison, Australia is last in the queue when it comes to EVs. There's a revolution going on around the world. And under Scott Morrison we are bystanders. We are not participating in that revolution. At the million car sales last year, just 7000 were electric vehicles, an appalling result for Australia and for Australians. We want to give more Australians the choice of buying electric vehicles by making them cheaper, to give real freedom of choice to Australians, including Australians who are doing their sums, their budgets, working out what car they can afford. We want to make electric vehicles more affordable. And, of course, if you have an electric vehicle, you also can then reduce your running costs. Now, what we're announcing today is, as Albo said, a tax cut. The Government says, ‘Technology, not taxes’. We say, ‘Technology and tax cuts’ when it comes to electric vehicles. 

Firstly, the fringe benefits tax. Half our car sales in Australia are for fleet. We need to give those fleet purchases the incentive to transition to electric vehicles and that's exactly what these tax cuts will do. Currently, you can get a fringe benefits tax exemption if you buy a ute or some sort of very work-related vehicle. We will extend that to electric vehicles below the luxury car tax threshold of around $77,000. Certainly, our consultations, including with Electric Vehicles Council, have told us that is the most powerful thing you could do to drive electric vehicle take-up in Australia's massive fleets. And the Nissan LEAF that Albo drove this morning, we took for a drive, that would become $8700 cheaper for a firm buying that for their fleet. 

Secondly, we want to make electric vehicles cheaper for Australians purchasing their own car. At the moment, we have a car tariff for countries for which we don't have a free trade agreement. We would take that tariff off for electric vehicles again below the luxury car tax threshold. That will make that Nissan LEAF around $2000 cheaper for families and for people deciding what car to purchase. So, again, we want to give Australians more choice. All Scott Morrison gives them is a slogan about the weekend. A dishonest slogan. We will give Australians the choice. An Albanese Labor Government will give Australians more choice and make EVs more affordable, driving down emissions and driving down the cost of living. 

Secondly, as Albo said, we lead the world in solar take-up in Australia. Almost one in four Australian households have a solar panel. But one in 60 has a battery because they're very expensive. Now, that's bad for the families because they have to draw on the grid at night in particular or when the sun's not shining, and pay electricity bills for that. And it's also providing a lot of pressure on the grid as solar feeds in during the day, really pumping the system of electricity, but we need those power stations at night. So those who care about grid reliability know that we have to get many more batteries. Now, there's a role for batteries of the household, there's a role for grid-wide batteries like the one in South Australia. But more and more, there's a role for community batteries. Neighbourhoods coming together to share their power, feeding in from their solar panels to the battery during the day and drawing off it at night. So we will fund 400 batteries around the country where communities can come together, pay a very small fee of a few dollars a week to participate in that community battery, which will lower their energy costs and also reduce their emissions. And importantly, it will also be possible for people who can't have solar panels for whatever reason. They might be renters and the landlord hasn't put solar panels on, they might live in apartments and not be able to put solar panels on, they'll also be able to participate in the scheme. And while they won't feed in during the day, they'll be able to draw out at night, providing the opportunity of renewable energy to more Australians. So these are the practical measures that we're announcing today. Important cost of living measures which will drive investment by Australians, provide that incentive and bring Australia closer to the world's best practice which we are so lagging in Australia under Scott Morrison's hopeless leadership. That vision which is implemented in a practical reason. And of course, these are the first steps. We will also develop a further electric vehicle strategy. We'll look at other things that need to be done. But the first step is to make them cheaper and more affordable. And that'll drive investment. And I know our colleague Ed Husic will say something about the opportunities for investment. And then we'll have BJ to respond on behalf of Electric Vehicle Council.

ED HUSIC, SHADOW MINISTER FOR INDUSTRY AND INNOVATION: Thanks, Chris and Albo. It's great to be part of this announcement today because a lot of the people in this country want to be able to access EVs. They recognise the value of these vehicles. And as part of the announcement today, and what I'm particularly keen to reference, is the National Electric Vehicle Strategy that we're flagging, which will focus on a number of things. But the big thing and the theme that we've been pushing this week around manufacturing, being able to bring together so many components that exist in this country right now when you look at all the rare earths that are here that we have the jump on the rest of the world on. When you look at the muscle memory in terms of manufacturing, particularly in auto in this country, the finance capability through the fourth largest saving pool in the world via our superannuation system, the smarts, the technology and the smarts that are out there, combining this, finding ways to mobilise this to make a meaningful difference in terms of manufacturing here. And particularly focused at the beginning on battery manufacturing as well, because a lot of people here have been dedicating themselves to that issue about how do we actually bring all of that together, manufacture the batteries and build from that moving forward? So it's really big in that respect.

The other element of manufacturing, the reason why we focus on it so much, not just because of the jobs opportunity that's provided, it's also a signal of faith in this nation's capability to get things done, to problem solve, to be able to make things. We've had a proud heritage of that. And it's taken a massive dent under a Coalition whose heart is not truly in manufacturing. They can talk about it now, but their heart is not in it. What we are trying to do is flag that we can back the smarts, we can back the know-how, we can create the jobs, we can have better outcomes for the community. And the other element too, in terms of EVs that I want to point out as a Western Sydney rep, both Chris Bowen and I know this, when you're stuck on motorways for long periods of time wondering about what is coming out of those vehicles and the impact it is having on our neighbourhoods in a part of the country where asthma rates are amongst the worst, for the people we care about being able to get over time to lower the NOx and SOx, as they call them, in terms of the nitrous and sulphur impact and the emissions that are coming out of there, to improve the quality of life in neighbourhoods, very important as well. Now the other group that has been championed in this country is the Electric Vehicle Council. Behyad Jafari is here to talk. And I'd love to invite him up now to talk about the opportunities that exist in this nation if we get this right.

BEHYAD JAFARI, ELECTRIC VEHICLE COUNCIL: Thanks a lot, Ed. And thanks for Albo and Chris. I'd particularly like to thank you guys for speaking to the sector and then coming up with a smart plan that will drive electric vehicle uptake. Australia has for too long being a global laggard in the take-up of electric vehicles, which is a real shame, because for years we've heard from Australians that they would like their next car to be an electric vehicle. But, because of a lack of Federal Government policy, they've been locked out of the market. So coming up with smart plans that look a few of the taxes that apply to the sale of a new car, removing them from electric vehicles will make them not only more affordable for customers to buy them and for companies to buy them, but really importantly, from an industry perspective, will let us invest more. That means bringing more affordable vehicles to the market to be made available to Australians, invest more in providing more charging stations around the country, and starting to look at those future plans around how we can build batteries, build vehicles, cars, vans, buses, trucks, right here in Australia and create the jobs of the future. Thank you.

ALBANESE: Thanks very much. Happy to take questions.

JOURNALIST: Don't you need one of those fast chargers installed at your home to buy one of these cars? And would you subsidise that or would you potentially look at helping hybrid cars which are what more people are looking at these days?

ALBANESE: On the first part of the question, no, you don't. This car behind us can plug into an ordinary socket in every home and can charge overnight. That's just an example of how fast the technology is moving. And Australia is just falling way, way behind. If you want to charge fast, there's superfast charging stations, of course, that are available. And one of the things that I point out, as well, when it comes to innovation, just last month, I visited Tritium in South East Queensland. It's producing electric vehicle charging stations that are the best in the world. Australian innovation. They're being exported to Europe and North America. We need to take up the examples of manufacturing, not just importing new technology. And that's an example of where Australia can lead. At the moment, we're just falling behind, because the Government is too interested in rhetoric, like the absurd rhetoric that we saw before the last election which came after Josh Frydenberg was writing op-eds lauding the importance of the transition to electric vehicles. The fact is that in a decade's time, you'll struggle to walk into a car yard like this and find something that's not an EV. Technology is moving. Australia needs to shape that in the interests of Australian consumers. And that's what we're about here. Good action on climate is about lowering emissions, but it's also about lowering energy prices, helping families and creating jobs.

JOURNALIST: (Inaudible).

ALBANESE: What does the future look like? And the future in many ways can be here right now, be very clear, is solar panels on the roof, charging your vehicle for free overnight. That's what it looks like. And that will make an enormous difference, let alone the convenience that comes from not having to pull into a petrol station and not having to worry about those issues as well.

JOURNALIST: What is wrong with the electric vehicle policy that Labor took to the last election?

ALBANESE: We didn't win the election. What we're doing, very clearly, as I've said across the board, what we're doing is coming up with policies for the next election. Embracing the future, accepting that, in the past, we weren't successful. And having policies framed towards the next election which will win support, which will make a difference. And this policy is a very practical one going forward.

JOURNALIST: The Coalition ran quite a successful scare campaign on your policy during the last election. How do you intend to combat that?

ALBANESE: Well, the last scare campaign was a nonsense. And they should be embarrassed by it. They should be embarrassed. And indeed, it's of some irony that this Government has, of course, provided some minor support for charging of electric vehicles. And they've been caught by reality. The fact is that unless we have a policy to shape the future, then we're captured by events beyond our control. And the fact is, as I said, more than 200 new electric vehicles are being rolled out around the world. We need to make sure that, in a country like Australia, that we deal with issues like charging of electric vehicles. The Government knows that. They acknowledge that. It's just that they're prepared to engage in opportunism. What we do is put forward policies that are sensible, are practical, that will make a difference.

JOURNALIST: On the affordability argument that you're making, how is a $2000 discount on a $50,000 car actually realistic for a lot of people who are not actually in at that price bracket?

ALBANESE: We're not making people buy a particular vehicle. What we're doing, though, is putting practical measures in place that will drive change. And, as Chris Bowen said, and consultation with the EV Council, the biggest way that you can change behaviour is by changing the fleet make-up. And that's why the changes to fringe benefits tax here are so important. But it also does make a difference, anything that makes a difference in terms of lowering costs. And that's on top of, of course, vehicles are coming down. When I was Transport Minister, I drove a vehicle that was a lot smaller than this one. It was a Mitsubishi vehicle that we purchased through the Department of Infrastructure and Transport. That vehicle was around about $100,000. This vehicle here is half that price more than a decade after. I attended a conference as Transport Minister in Tokyo and one in Europe. Two conferences more than a decade ago where the transport ministers from around the world were looking at energy and emissions in transport and where technology was taking us and where industry was going. All of the auto manufacturers were participating in that process. It's as if this Government has just ignored the reality of what is happening. And any of the auto manufacturers from Europe, North America, Japan, Korea, they will all say the same thing about where the technology is going.

JOURNALIST: On the vaccine rollout, it's something that many people are keeping a close eye on. And Dan Tehan this morning has said that some of the states are unnecessarily stockpiling supplies of the vaccine, and in some cases 50 per cent of the doses that they have been supplied. Is that an appropriate approach from the states and territories?

ALBANESE: Well, will this Federal Government take responsibility for anything at all? Here they have said very clearly, they are responsible for the vaccine rollout. Yes, that is in consultation and with coordination, of course, of the states, as well as GPs, as well as through other sectors. But Scott Morrison said there'd be four million people vaccinated by the end of March. That's today. And the figure is 600,000. They are 3.4 million short. They should just put their hand up and say, 'We haven't achieved what we thought we would'. Once again, there's a gap between announcement and delivery from this Government.

JOURNALIST: Should the states and territories be using those stockpiles?

ALBANESE: It would be good if the Federal Government took responsibility for something. And the Federal Government is responsible here for the rollout of the vaccine. Vaccinations save lives, not vaccines. And that's why we need to ensure that they're rolled out as quickly as possible. But it's the Government, the Federal Government, that said they would achieve this target. They said that it wasn't dependent upon what occurred overseas. The Prime Minister made this clear commitment, like he said that Australians would be all brought home by Christmas, like he said that we were at the front of the queue when we weren't at the front of the queue. It would just be good if there was an issue in which the Federal Government didn't blame someone else.

JOURNALIST: Would you set an emissions reduction targets or a renewable energy target for 2030?

ALBANESE: Look, what we're doing is rolling out practical policies consistent with our aim of net zero emissions by 2050. When it comes to issues relating to targets, one of the things we're going to see at the end of this year, as I've said repeatedly, and now I think people accept that it is unlikely there'll be an election before the Glasgow Conference, that's going to change the international framework that is taking place. So when we announce a policy, what I've been determined to do is to announce one policy during a term of Opposition, a policy for Government. And that's the policy we take forward and that we implement in Government. Not announce a policy when I became Leader in 2019 and then change it in 2020 and then change it again. What we know is that action on climate change is good for jobs, good for lowering emissions, and good for consumers. This is an example today we're talking about. If we think about the costs, think about solar panels. And, a question that I don't get asked anymore, I did get asked originally as Opposition Leader about whether you needed price signals. You don't need a price signal for renewables because renewables are the cheapest form of new energy, whether it be major rollout of renewables or whether it be individuals putting solar panels on their roofs. Solar panels used to be much more expensive than they are now. What you have with technology is increase in volume and therefore decrease in price. That's the way that markets work. And that's the way that the market has worked when it comes to renewable energy. That's the way it'll work with regard to electric vehicles. And that's why I'm very confident that we can have good outcomes when it comes to climate change. That's why we need to embrace the future, not be scared of it. Make sure that we shape it to the benefit of Australians as individuals, as consumers, as families, but also to the benefit of the Australian economy. Because we have an opportunity to be a renewable energy superpower for the world. We produce everything, for example, that goes into a battery, that goes into this vehicle. Copper, nickel, lithium. These products we all produce. How do we have a strategy to maximise job creation in this country while dealing with the challenge of climate change? It's an opportunity for us. This Government isn't up to embracing that opportunity. But Labor is, which is why we say that when it comes to the Australian people, Labor is on your side. And we say the Government is just on its own. Thanks very much. 

JOURNALIST: There is a claim made by a staff member of Karen Andrews, the new Home Affairs Minister. Do you think Karen Andrews has questions to answer? Should she still be in the ministry?

ALBANESE: That is a matter for Karen Andrews to respond. What I would say about culture in Parliament, as well, Andrew Laming is sitting on the benches of the Government. This Government has a credibility problem when it comes to addressing these issues. And the actions of Scott Morrison in saying that it's okay for Andrew Laming to just go off and get some empathy training. Empathy training that hasn't worked for him. What we say is, the idea that it's okay for him to just come back and sit on the Government benches, given the trolling of his constituents online, given he's hiding in bushes to take photos of people who are his constituents, his trolling and harassment of a woman state MP, including putting things on Facebook, asking people about her whereabouts and who she was with at any particular time, the up-skirting photo of a woman in a workplace going about her work, taking a photo of her which showed parts of her underwear, is just extraordinary behaviour and is in fact a crime. And what Scott Morrison has said is that it's okay for him to continue to sit in the Party room. And I think we've seen a real contrast between what Scott Morrison does of excusing Andrew Laming, and John Barilaro and his statement that the Member for Upper Hunter should resign from Parliament today. John Barilaro has shown leadership on that issue. And perhaps he should call Scott Morrison and tell him what leadership looks like. Because it doesn't look like the actions of Scott Morrison at the moment. Thanks very much.

JOURNALIST: One hundred years of the RAAF is being marked today. The future of the air force is quite reliant on the Joint Strike Fighter program. Does the JSF program have the full support of Labor? And given what the Prime Minister's announcing today about space and space assets, has enough been done to secure satellites in the surrounding space assets?

ALBANESE: What I'd say about that is to congratulate the RAAF on its anniversary and to say that, when it comes to defence issues, our spokesperson Brendan O'Connor will have more to say about that later today. Defence should not be a partisan issue. And Labor always seeks to ensure that it is as bipartisan as possible. What we need to do is to make sure that in any purchases that Australia participates in, in terms of programs to ensure our resilience and our capacity to defend ourselves and our sovereignty, we maximise Australian content. And that's why yesterday one of the programs that was identified in our National Reconstruction Fund is the area of defence. Because we have a significant pipeline of investment coming online. We need to make sure that we maximise Australian content and we maximise Australian jobs. Thanks.

ENDS