SUBJECTS: Remembrance Day; Federal election campaign; climate change; Labor’s policy agenda; lack of trust in the Morrison Government; foreign policy; commuter car park rorts.
 
ANTHONY ALBANESE, LEADER OF THE AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY: Firstly, on this Remembrance Day, I want to join with those other Australians who are paying tribute to those who've fallen defending our nation and defending our values, but also to give my respect and support to those people who continue to serve our nation and wear our uniform. We are reminded that since the last Remembrance Day, we've now had called the royal commission into veteran suicide. This is far too prevalent. And I really hope that out of this royal commission comes more support for our veterans’ community. Happy to take questions.
 
JOURNALIST: Some countries have been given a year to set more ambitious carbon reduction emission goals. You could be Prime Minister in a year. What kind of targets would you set?
 
ALBANESE: Well, what we know is that the current Government took Tony Abbott's targets to Glasgow. And we know that the Paris Accord calls for an update of targets right now, which is what other countries did. Indeed, it was only Australia, Mexico, Saudi Arabia, and Brazil, of the advanced economies, that refused to update the target. And that was because of the chaos within the Coalition. We see chaos within the Liberal Party, chaos within the National Party and a divided Coalition between Liberals and Nats that is meaning that the Government can't move beyond Tony Abbott's targets that were established way back in 2015, even though the Government itself says it will reach higher than 26 to 28 per cent. So we'll await the final outcome of Glasgow. There’s been reports of the draft. But that's just an indication that the world does expect more from Australia. Australia's saying that they're going to deliver more but won't commit to it, which doesn't make sense. So we will await the final outcome of Glasgow. But we'll also wait the Government's modelling. This Government brought down a climate policy but, at the time, they said there was no new policy in it. Then this week, we've seen announcements that have been contradicted from day to day. Three days ago, we saw an announcement saying that they were going to provide more funds for businesses to support climate policy. And then in today's papers, we have a statement that the Government should withdraw and just get out of the way. Well, which is it? Bigger government or smaller government? It depends on which day it is under Scott Morrison. And what we know is that for Scott Morrison, his word and what he says yesterday doesn't matter to him today. Well, if Scott Morrison's words don't count for anything on issues like electric vehicles and climate policy, then why should Australians trust him or listen to him on what he says today?
 
JOURNALIST: It looks like the Government is on its way to a 35 per cent reduction by 2030. Would you be comfortable if this was our emissions target? And do you think it meets international demand?
 
ALBANESE: Well, their target, of course, was 26 to 28. That's their target. They say that they'll get to 30 to 35. If that's the case, why don't they get serious about it? What you have from the Government isn't a policy, it is a vibe. And what we need is more serious policy. And we need some consistency. This is a Government that speaks about technology, but it ridiculed renewable energy. It ridiculed batteries for renewables. It ridiculed renewable energy targets. And now Scott Morrison wants to rub all that from history. He wants to pretend that what he said yesterday doesn't matter. Well, if he doesn't give any credit or any regard to what he said yesterday, Australian shouldn't have regard for what he says today, because it's all about the 24-hour news cycle. If you're going to challenge the major issues confronting Australia and take up the opportunities, you need a Government that can have consistency of policy, that can look at what the future will look like, implement policies to shape that future in the interests of people. If you don't do that, the future will shape you. What we need is a Government that shapes the future in the interest of the Australian people. A Labor Government will do just that.
 
JOURNALIST: Do you support accelerating the phasing out of coal?
 
ALBANESE: There hasn't been, in Australia, a new coal-fired power station built on this Government's watch in nine years. And that's because the market is saying that the cheapest form of new energy is renewables. That's the reality of the market. And the market is speaking to ensure that that's the case. This Government likes to pretend, with its rhetorical position, that change isn't happening. But in the 21st century, it is. And it is economics that is driving that change.
 
JOURNALIST: Mr Albanese, Mr Keating yesterday obviously had some stern words about Labor's foreign policy stance. Do you agree with him that it should be some sort of overhaul of that policy? Or is Mr Keating not cognisant of the current geopolitical environment that we are in?
 
ALBANESE: Well, the Labor Party foreign policies determined by our Party, by the Party conferences that were broadcast live on air. We don't have secret conferences like the Liberal Party. And we, unlike the Greens, don't have leadership ballots without telling anyone until a year afterwards. We've had our processes. We have very clear foreign policy principles. And that's built on three principles. One, our alliance with the United States. Second, our regional engagement. And third, support for multilateral forums, including the United Nations. We have a consistent approach to Australia's place in the world.
 
JOURNALIST: Is Keating not correct in saying that Labor's stance is the same as the Government's in terms of its foreign policy?
 
ALBANESE: Well, Labor has a strong policy based upon those three principles of our alliance with the United States, engagement in our region and support for multilateral forums. One of the reasons why I think that regional engagement is so important and climate change action so important, is that is a part of our national security relationships. The first visit I made overseas as Labor Leader was to Indonesia, because it is such a critical relationship that we have. I then, of course, made a visit to the United States to talk about defence and foreign policy, because that relationship is very important as well. I, historically, have developed close relations in the region. And it's important that Australia punch above our weight. Historically, we've been able to do that. I attended the first G20. That was an initiative of the Rudd Labor Government pushing, with Kevin Rudd's leadership, for the G20 to happen. When Paul Keating was the leader of this country, he led landmark changes, including what was happening particularly in Southeast Asia, in the region. It's important we are prepared to engage. I always listen to Paul Keating. He’s a respected former leader. But the Labor Party determines our policy going forward. And that's a policy based upon principle but also based upon recognising where we are in 2021. And we live in an era of strategic competition between the United States and China. But I agree with the Biden administration that what we need is competition without catastrophe. That requires diplomacy. That requires engagement. But it also requires acknowledging that China's posture has changed in recent times. And that's had an economic impact. And that is the responsibility of China, changing its position as they have in recent years.
 
JOURNALIST: On an economic question, I understand that you probably haven't seen the latest labour force data because you've been here. But it went up to 5.2 per cent and an increase in participation. I just wanted to see if you're concerned around any issues in Australians trying to find meaningful employment given the COVID recovery and being able to find adequate jobs?
 
ALBANESE: There are under two million Australians who are either unemployed or underemployed. And for so many of those Australians who are in the workforce, they don't have wages that are keeping up with the cost of living. That's the real crisis that's out there is insecure work. And that's why Labor has a plan for secure work, for making sure that we have proper regard to permanent work. The sort of jobs where you can pay for a mortgage. The sort of jobs where you can plan for a family. That's why we want to address issues like the cost of child care. So many people out there look at the figures from time to time in the announcements that are made on the national level and say to themselves, 'That's not what my life feels like, my life is just getting tougher and tougher, my wages aren't keeping up with the cost of living, I'm struggling to pay a mortgage or to pay my rent, I'm struggling to pay for school fees, I'm struggling, as well, in working, like many Australians are, in two, three or four jobs'. We're seeing a rise in employment through the gig economy. The gig economy, where people aren't guaranteed minimum wages even. There are so many Australians out there in terms of the rise of the gig economy, which is a great example. Now that produces a whole lot of convenience for people. There are real positives in being able to get food delivered or being able to get an Uber to take you from A to B, or ordering services in your home through a handy person through Airtasker. But there's a cost to that as well, which is insecure work. We need to make sure that our industrial relations system keeps up with that. That people aren't being left behind. A Government that I lead is committed to making sure no one's left behind and no one is held back. A Government that's on your side. That is the policy of Labor. That's what we'll take across the economic, social and environmental policies that we will take to the next election whenever it's called. I know the Prime Minister says he's in pre-caretaker mode. Well, if he's in that and wants to have an election, he should just call one.
 
JOURNALIST: The National Audit Office is this afternoon in front of the Senate committee regarding commuter car parks. What are you interested to see come out of that?
 
ALBANESE: Well, the commuter car parks is just a rort. Like so many other programs, they got out the colour-coded spreadsheets and provided taxpayers' money as if it was Liberal Party money for marginal seats. It's a disgrace. And the fact is that's why we need a National Anti-Corruption Commission to stamp out this sort of abuse of taxpayer funds. And with commuter car parks, you have a range of them that they've now abandoned that can't be built because there's no space for them. You have also, commuter car parks being promised where there's not going to be a rail station. So, you can't commute from your car into your train, because there's no train going to be there. It just shows how absurd it is. And it's just another example of a Government whereby all that matters is the announcement, never the follow up, never the delivery. We need a Government that makes commitments and then actually delivers them. Thanks very much.
 
ENDS