SUBJECTS: COVID-19 pandemic across Australia; vaccine rollout; lockdowns; Government failure in securing vaccines in meetings with Pfizer in 2020; vaccine passports; Federal election; climate change; Afghanistan.

ANTHONY ALBANESE, LEADER OF THE AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY: The documents released under Freedom of Information about the vaccines show that this Government knocked back a proposal from Pfizer to have meetings about the rollout of the vaccine and about supply to Australians last year. The fact that Pfizer wrote to the Government in June, it wrote twice, saying the Health Minister should meet with global executives from this pharmacy company to discuss how Australia can benefit from receiving these vaccines, shows that this Government has been too slow. The reason why we're in lockdown today is because of the failure of the Government on the vaccine rollout. And it's remarkable that the Government's complacency is underlined by the fact that it had overtures from Pfizer wanting to sit down and discuss the supply of vaccines. And in those emails, Pfizer indicated to the Government that other countries were stepping forward. Other countries understood that it was a race to vaccinate their populations so as to avoid the lockdowns which half of Australia are enduring today. 

It's also the case that Scott Morrison has produced a video message to Australians overseas who haven't been able to get home. The fact is that this Prime Minister produced a video last year saying that all Australians would be home by last Christmas. It's now September 2021 and he's now saying you'll be home sometime in the future. The fact is that this Prime Minister had two big jobs this year. The rollout of the vaccine and effective, safe national quarantine. And he failed on both. And he had notice of what was required and he failed to step up. He said we were at the front of the queue and the truth is we were way, way down at the back, which is why we're running last in the developed world when it comes to the rollout of the vaccine and when it comes to the restrictions that are on our population. Happy to take questions.

JOURNALIST: On the Pfizer correspondence, do you believe the Government when it says this correspondence that's been released under FOI is just a snapshot of its negotiations with Pfizer and that there is more to their discussions with the company?

ALBANESE: Well, they should release all the documentation. We'd be happy with that. The only reason why this was released was as a result of a Freedom of Information request. And what we have here in black and white is emails from the company to the Australian Government last June, requesting a meeting with the Health Minister, and they didn't get it. The emails explicitly say that millions of vaccines would be available in 2020. And we didn't get them. They said explicitly that other countries were moving quickly. And we stayed still. As a result, we're in lockdown today. 

JOURNALIST: Pfizer itself has said that its references to being able to supply millions of doses by the end of 2020 related to global production, not an offer to Australia. Are you suggesting they're not being honest here? 

ALBANESE: I'm suggesting that Pfizer have commercial relations with the Government and they're being very diplomatic. But Pfizer's words are there in black and white. A black and white request for the Health Minister to meet with global chiefs of this company. And instead, what we got was a junior burger going along to a meeting and nothing settled until November. It's there in black and white that Pfizer was offering to do deals in June. Other countries were stepping up at that stage. And more than 30 companies had deals before Australia signed up in November. This is a Government who said that we were at the front of the queue and we were at the back of the queue. It was a Government that then, in order to excuse its complacency and incompetence, said it wasn't a race. And as a result of Australia running last in that race, half of Australians are currently enduring lockdown today. 

JOURNALIST: Given the relevant deaths Australia has had and avoiding deaths from COVID, is it the case that Australia would always be behind other countries in getting access to the Pfizer vaccine doses? That the priority was on saving lives where the virus was running rampant?

ALBANESE: These were commercial arrangements. It was Pfizer reaching out to the Australian Government, saying that millions of doses would be available in 2020 and the Australian Government being complacent about it, not bothering to have a meeting, the Health Minister handing it off to some junior bureaucrat, not even the head of the Australian Health Department. This is a remarkable revelation. And the Government can't argue with this. It's black and white and at this very time, remember, this time last year, the Prime Minister was saying we were at the front of the queue. They were his words. He wasn't saying that we were last, because other countries have had a different impact of COVID. He was saying we were first. And the truth is, you can't say that and at the same time, say that it's okay that we were last because of our geography and a range of other factors and the sacrifices that were made by Australians who've been magnificent during this pandemic. I think the real contrast here is between the Australian people who've made sacrifices, who've looked after each other and showed magnificent resilience during this pandemic, and a Government that always blamed someone else, always has excuses, is always full of hubris in the beginning, and when it all goes wrong, says that has nothing to do with them. Well, they were responsible for the supply of vaccines. And the truth is that we've been last in the developed world when it comes to making sure that our vaccination rates were at a point whereby we weren't suffering from the lockdown that Australians are currently enduring. What these emails show is that this is Scott Morrison's lockdown. It is a direct consequence of a failure to secure supply. And that would be bad enough except for the fact that here you have in black and white companies offering supply and the Government ignoring those offers.

JOURNALIST: Just on vaccination passports, is Labor comfortable with the use of proof of vaccination determining what Australians are allowed to do and where they can travel?

ALBANESE: We think that businesses should be allowed to look after their commercial interests and look after both their employees and their customers by ensuring that people are vaccinated. This will be a fact of life for people to undertake activities such as international travel. And there's nothing new in that. Many Australians have had to show their typhoid certificates, cholera. We all have those little yellow books that show what our vaccinations are. And that is because for a long time countries have required that in order to gain entry.

JOURNALIST: Do you support Kristina Keneally being pre-selected for the seat of Fowler?

ALBANESE: Those matters are a matter for the New South Wales branch of the Labor Party. But can I say this about Kristina Keneally; she's a fantastic and valued member of my team. I think she makes an enormous contribution as both a Senator and as a frontbencher. And I look forward to Kristina continuing to make a contribution well into the future.

JOURNALIST: Does it put your leadership under threat if she switches to the lower house?

ALBANESE: The fact is that Kristina is a friend of mine. She is a strong supporter of mine and I've always had a very good relationship with Kristina. She's a valued member of the team. What the team is focused on is removing this Government. This Government that is incompetent. This Government that can't deliver on the essential tasks that it had, such as the rollout of the vaccine and effective national quarantine. This Government that doesn't have a plan to build back stronger, doesn't have a plan for reconstruction post the pandemic. That is our sole focus.

JOURNALIST: What message does it send that a local lawyer from the Vietnamese community who had the backing of the current member will be pushed aside for Kristina Keneally? 

ALBANESE: My sole focus is in removing this Government. And my Labor team are focused on that and just that.

JOURNALIST: On climate, is it appropriate for Australia to demand target references being removed from the Free Trade Agreement with the UK?

ALBANESE: Well, what this shows is that even Tony Abbott's targets, where Tony Abbott signed up to the Paris Accord, that Scott Morrison is using up his diplomatic capital to have it removed from the agreement. That shows that Scott Morrison is worse on climate than Tony Abbott was. Scott Morrison is holding Australia back. And we have an opportunity to be a renewable energy superpower for the world. We have an opportunity for climate change action to be good for jobs, good for lowering energy prices and good for lowering our emissions. 

JOURNALIST: Do you think that on that final bill it should have included (inaudible)?

ALBANESE: The Free Trade Agreement, what we've had here is evidence that the Australian Government asked for the Paris commitments to be removed. That's what we had here. And the Paris commitments are about keeping the world in a safe place. The Paris commitments are something that Australia has signed up to, but which Australia continues to sit in the naughty corner with the rest of the world. The whole world has signed up to net zero emissions by 2050. Scott Morrison continues to be a recalcitrance when it comes to climate change action. We should be a part of the world. We should be working in partnership with the US administration under Joe Biden and with like-minded countries to ensure that we keep climate change as a priority and action on it. But what we have instead is a Government that undermines global action. And in this negotiation with the UK Government, this is a UK Conservative Government, the rest of the world, regardless of their ideological position, acknowledges that climate change threat is real. It's a threat to our economy. It's a threat to our environment. It's a threat to our way of life. What you have is Scott Morrison and his Government who refuse to acknowledge that and aren't a part of global action, they're handbrake on it. And this is just the latest example. Thanks very much.

JOURNALIST: Taliban representatives have responded to questions about Australia's poor effort there in Afghanistan by saying Australian soldiers deserve to die. What do you make a document?

ALBANESE: Well, the Taliban continue to show that not much has changed from the last time they were in office, where they engaged in barbaric acts, where they undermined the rights of women and girls in particular, where their rhetorical position is one that has no credibility. So I don't take any notice of any comments that this regime have with regard to Australia. And the Taliban regime is one that engages in cruel acts against its own population the last time it was in office. And we won't be taking any notice of what the Taliban has to say about Australia.

JOURNALIST: The Taliban has called on Australians specifically to recognise it as a legitimate government of Afghanistan. What's Labor's position on that?

ALBANESE: Well, they haven't shown that they've changed. And comments like that show that they remain a cruel regime that engages - not just their rhetoric doesn't matter, it is their actions. And the Taliban say that they've changed, but there's little evidence of that up to this point. Thanks.

ENDS