SUBJECTS: COVID recovery; Omicron variant; booster shots; masks; QR codes; COVID tests.

ANTHONY ALBANESE, LEADER OF THE AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY: Thanks for joining me. In the lead up to Christmas, we're seeing the ramifications of the ongoing public policy failure of the Morrison Government. This has been a failure that began by Scott Morrison thinking that it wasn't a race. As a direct result of that, what we saw was a failure to roll out the vaccine and us running behind the rest of the world. As a direct result of that, people now aren't eligible for their boosters, even though we know that the gap between the second dose and the booster will need to be brought forward, as it already has been. We know also, that at a time when more Australians are eligible for their booster will be precisely the time that children become eligible for their first shot, meaning there's more pressure on supply, more pressure on the capacity to deliver the vaccines, which is so necessary to keep people safe. The Prime Minister's response in talking about sunscreens just shows that he doesn't understand the responsibility that comes with high office. This isn't just about the individuals and keeping an individual safe themselves. Because fact is that if I don't put sunscreen on, you're not the one who gets sunburnt. If I don't put sunscreen on, you're not the one who gets sunburnt. That's the difference here. Whereas this sunscreen analogy, of course, we've heard before. The Prime Minister rolled out that analogy when talking about the COVIDSafe app. And we know how useful that's been. Millions of dollars spent, no one that I know looks at it or has used it. That's why states had to step up into the void that was created by a Prime Minister who hasn't done the essential tasks that a Prime Minister needs to do, of doing whatever is necessary to keep the population safe. It is state apps that had to step into the void because of the failure of the Federal Government system.

The fact is that here in New South Wales, as someone who came back to New South Wales yesterday from Queensland, it is a tale of two states. In Queensland around the Bundaberg region, people were checking in with their QR codes, people were wearing masks indoors, people were checked in, every place I went into over the five days I spent in Central Queensland, they asked to see the tick on my phone to show that I've been vaccinated. And everyone was getting on with life as normal. Here in Sydney, in my electorate, in Stanmore, in Tempe, at Prince Alfred Hospital, and other places right around this great city, people are queuing as we speak now. People are queuing who've been in queue since early this morning. Some people have been turned away already today, because there simply isn't the capacity. And it should have been planned for at the very time when all the evidence and the warnings were there that there would be more infections as we opened up, that there would be more need for people to get boosters, that there would be more need for people to get tested, what we saw was cutbacks in GPs and pharmacies, the closing down of testing centres, at the very time when the planning should have been put in place to make sure that didn't eventuate. This Prime Minister is characterised by always being too little, too late, and always blaming someone else. And yesterday as well, we've seen put out there in the media, that somehow it is the Queensland Government's fault because people who visit Queensland, as I have twice in the last fortnight, need to show that they've had a COVID test in the 72 hours beforehand. I had to do that. I had to do that in Tasmania as well. And I have to do that next week before I travel to South Australia. But once again, the Prime Minister just singles out Queensland as if it's different from Tasmania and South Australia, whereas the rules have been pretty much the same the whole way through this pandemic. That just shows a Prime Minister who's been prepared to play politics, as he is during this period whereby, he's too frightened of upsetting some of the hard right, who are so obsessed by not having any rules in place, that he tells everyone, 'You must wear a mask', but he's not going to actually make it a rule or suggests that the states or territories make it a rule as well. No wonder people are confused. People in this city of Sydney, in the time that I've been back since yesterday afternoon, driving into the city today, I've never seen such an easy traffic flow. Because people are voting with their feet by staying home. Because they're confused. Because there are counter factual rules out there. And because people are wanting to stay safe. What they're looking for, as well, is leadership from the Federal Government. And at yesterday's National Cabinet, they didn't get it. Happy to take questions.

JOURNALIST: How confident are you that the kids’ vaccination rollout will be on time?

ALBANESE: Well, I certainly hope that it's the case. But this Government has failed on supply in the past, and they've failed to put in place appropriate preparations in the past. So, this is an important part of keeping our youngest Australian safe. I hope that it's successful. We have a short period of time to put in place those measures, to make sure that the capacity is there to deliver the vaccines that are so important prior to children going back to school.

JOURNALIST: Should the booster interval be reduced to four months?

ALBANESE: I think that ATAGI are looking at that. But I would predict that's going to be the case. If you look at overseas, one of the advantages we've had in this country is that because of our location, as an island continent where we are in the globe, we've seen what was coming to Australia in advance. So, we've been able to adjust. We should learn those lessons. That's why one of the lessons is to reduce the time between the second dose and the booster. Because part of the lesson is that the booster is necessary to protect people from Omicron. And that's why it is important that we anticipate ATAGI making that recommendation. 

JOURNALIST: But they haven't so far. And this advice is set by the medical experts. And you've always said that you follow the advice of the medical experts. So, why are you now not following that advice?

ALBANESE: I'm doing precisely that. 

JOURNALIST: But you are saying it should be shortened.

ALBANESE: They're examining it now. They've already shortened it. That has already happened. They've gone from a six-month period to five months. Whether they go to four months or not is a matter for them. But if you look at what's happening overseas, that is what is happening, a shortening of the period. Because we know that the booster shot is very important to protect people. The problem that we have at the moment, if you look at the number of people who are eligible and the number of boosters that are being put into people's arms, there's a growing gap there. And that's because of the capacity of people to get access to that booster.

JOURNALIST: One of your MPs, Josh Burns, has questioned on social media whether ATAGI is being compromised by the Government, that the Government needs to at least rule out that they're not forcing ATAGI to delay this decision. Do you agree with that? 

ALBANESE: Look, ATAGI have done a good job during this process. I have every confidence in ATAGI. What ATAGI are saying, for example, at the moment, is they've made clear recommendations about masks. Their recommendation has not been backed in by the Prime Minister.

JOURNALIST: Do you support mask mandates? 

ALBANESE: I support the ATAGI advice. The health advice is that it's a very small price to pay for wearing masks where appropriate. The Prime Minister has said that it's appropriate. People need confidence in that.

JOURNALIST: But do you think people should be fined for not wearing them? 

ALBANESE: People need confidence in that. The truth is that when the rules are in place, as they are now in Queensland, what we're not seeing is mass fines being issued. What we're seeing overwhelmingly is people complying with the health orders, as they have. Australians have been magnificent during this period. They have complied with the advice of the health authorities in order to keep themselves, their families and their communities safe. And that shows that the best of the Australian spirit. What I want to see is a Government that is as good and confident and as resilient as the Australian people themselves have shown themselves to be.

JOURNALIST: Lots of people will be gathering this weekend. Is it enough to just tell people to do the right thing rather than implementing a mask mandate?

ALBANESE: Well, I think that we should be following the health advice and that people should be staying safe and following the advice of the health authorities. No one wants there to be any restriction in place for one day more than is necessary. People don't want this disease to exist. But they have to deal with things as they are, rather than as we would want them to be. Everyone would want life to go back to normal. But the trick to getting life back to normal isn't guesswork, it is a matter of following the science. And the science has benefited us by producing the vaccine, by making a difference to make people safe. That's the key. And in between as well, in order to keep people safe, the various measures which have been described as common sense have been implemented, and they do make a difference.

JOURNALIST: Do you think rapid antigen tests should be free?

ALBANESE: I don't think that anyone should be excluded from getting a rapid antigen test because of their income. And I think equity is really important in the Australian health system. And that needs to be thought about by the Federal Government in terms of antigen tests. 

JOURNALIST: The Prime Minister says he is looking at it. But do you believe it should be? 

ALBANESE: Well, I think that what we need to do is to make sure that no one doesn't have access to antigen tests because they don't have enough income. It's as simple as that.

JOURNALIST: If we return momentarily to the timeframe between second and third doses, if that is shortened further, realistically, will clinics be able to keep up with another surge in demand if that happens?

ALBANESE: Well, at the moment, the problem is that at the very time when the demand for vaccinations was going to increase, the capacity was decreased by the Federal Government. So, quite clearly, they need to put in place measures to increase the capacity to get the jabs into people's arms. That's about supply. But it's also about making sure that there are enough sites, doctors, nurses and others, pharmacists, who can make sure that people can get access to those vaccines.

JOURNALIST: In just one sentence, what would living with COVID look like to you?

ALBANESE: Living with COVID means that we continue to do what is necessary to keep ourselves and our families and our communities safe whilst going about our way of life in as normal way as possible.

JOURNALIST: You said that the Commonwealth has been shutting down testing centres. Do you know how many they've shut down?

ALBANESE: No, but what we see is that there's been a withdrawal. We had vaccinations from GPs and pharmacists withdrawn. We saw a $10 increase in that yesterday in response to the demands of doctors and pharmacists. With regard to the big vaccination hubs that were in place, many of them run by the Commonwealth, the Commonwealth has had a gradual withdraw from those hubs. And quite clearly, at the moment, they could be operating both to distribute vaccines as well as testing centres.

JOURNALIST: Do you think the states should reopen, once they have shut them, their mass vaccination centres, like Qudos Bank Arena here in Sydney for boosters?

ALBANESE: Well, I think that every practical measure should be put in place. It was very successful following the delay. What we had with this period is the long period of delay whereby there just wasn't enough supply. When supply eventually came online, people were able to get access to those vaccines through hubs, like at Qudos Arena at Homebush, but other hubs right around the country. I visited many of them that were made available, that were efficiently rolling out the vaccine. At the moment, of course, they could be used not just for that, but also for testing centres. We have, I know in my area, for example, that hubs at Tempe snaking out onto the Princes Highway. At Stanmore there is a queue there that is creating major traffic hazard. That is happening in Rozelle. It's happening right around the state. And we need to do much better. We know the demand is there. And the idea that the demand is there just because of testing to go interstate is just not true. That is an element. But it's just not true. It's another example of looking to blame someone else, in this case, once again, the Prime Minister's favourite target, the Palaszczuk Government. Well, I'll say this. Having been in Queensland in recent days, Queensland and its activity looks far more normal, to use that term, in terms of people getting about everyday life than Sydney does at the moment.

JOURNALIST: There were 5,000 cases overnight. Firstly, your response to that. And secondly, do we need to start moving away from reporting the daily cases?

ALBANESE: I think people will need to know what the daily cases are. The idea that we will keep it secret will create just more concern. We need more transparency, not less. And I'd be very concerned. It is, of course, just one element. And it is true that hospital admissions and the number of people in ICU is also important information. But people need to see the whole picture. Otherwise, I think it will create more anxiety, particularly as the number of cases today has risen sharply to 5,700. That's a very sharp increase. Over the last week, we've seen the exponential growth go up, which is what the science and the health experts told us would happen, which is why the lack of preparation is beyond my comprehension how that could be allowed to occur. 

Just one final thing about the suggestion that people should be denied access to the public health system if they haven't been vaccinated. Can I make this point? That is a sort of libertarian position I think gone too far. The idea that people in Australia could be denied access to our public health system, regardless of what decisions that they've made about whether they be vaccinated or not, to me is not the Australian way. We have a universal health care system. We provide health care for whoever needs it, at whatever time, regardless of their circumstances. And we should continue to do that. And I reject, absolutely, the suggestion that somehow, we could create a two-tier system with regard to access to our public hospital system. Thanks very much. Have a great Christmas.

ENDS