MIKE O'LOUGHLIN: Now it’s a very good morning to Federal Opposition Leader, Mr Anthony Albanese. Good morning.

ALBANESE: Good morning Mark. Good to be chatting with you again.

O'LOUGHLIN: Well, it's like you're a regular now. This is good news. We’ll have to put you up for a regular spot.

ALBANESE: I am indeed. I love Tasmania and it's great to be here. Just always fantastic people, I've got to say. I always get a warm welcome here and it's been good. I flew indirectly in directly to Hobart from Canberra yesterday and then headed to Devonport. I’m in Launceston now, about to head to Deloraine. And it's been good to catch up with our candidates here Chris Lynch yesterday and Ross Hart this morning. We were at the GP clinic there in the northern suburbs with Dr Jackson and his team. And pretty soon I'll be catching up with Brian Mitchell at the Deloraine Community Centre. So it's a busy time but it’s always good to be in Tassie.

O'LOUGHLIN: Well, it sounds like a promotional tool for your new two federal candidates, as you said Bass candidate Ross Hart, Federal Braddon candidate Chris Lynch. If I can ask, though, because it's important to me. I mean, I lived on the West Coast for some time and I know Braddon candidate, federal Braddon candidate is Chris Lynch. What has he said to you in regard, I'm sure he would have spoken to you, in regard to MMG and Rosebery and, of course, the tailings dam, because I know, I've got great friends that live there in Rosebery - there's 500 families involved. And MMG is a great contributor to the community. What are his thoughts? He would have spoken to you.

ALBANESE: He has. We discussed it yesterday. He knows that the jobs are really important and that's a priority for him. We know that the sector has contributed a lot to the Tasmanian economy and has a lot to offer and of course it has to go through environmental approvals and that's important, those processes. That of course is matter for a decision by Sussan Ley in the Government, but I know that Chris knows that the West Coast and indeed the North-West as well needs jobs.

O'LOUGHLIN: Look, I've got to say that you do, you've got to look really put your head up and say and proudly support people that are really in the West Coast because it's an area that has done it tough and MMG needs the support. But also I guess you've been door-stopping, I mean, with Tasmanian Senator Urquhart as well. What are some of the comments from some of those people that you've spoken to?

ALBANESE: Well, they're worried about secure work is a big issue here in Tasmania. We’ve seen an increased number of casual jobs rather than permanent jobs being created. They're worried about the wage stagnation that we've seen over the last years, eight years of the Government and the fact that wages are expected to go backwards the next four years. They're worried about, of course, COVID - dominates people’s experience at the moment. And the fact is the lockdowns in New South Wales and Victoria, of course, have an impact here. We're seeing less cars on the Spirit of Tasmania. That means less economic activity and less jobs being generated here in the north.

O'LOUGHLIN: Is that on your radar, I mean, tourism, because with the lockdowns in Vic and New South Wales. We have been blessed in Tasmania, and I do think the State Government's got a lot to do with that. So on that side of it, I think we were in a really good position. But you look at, and I’ve said, probably I shouldn't have been too much brevity about it, but Danistan and Gladystan I mean, that does affect us. Obviously, as you said, the money that is not coming into our state.

ALBANESE: Well, it does have a huge impact of course, and Tasmania has so much to offer. And even I discussed it with the hotel when I arrived here in Launceston and it's had an impact. People have had to cancel trips and people have had to curtail where they can go. I, in order to sit in the Parliament when it resumes in two weeks’ time, I'll be sitting in the Parliament in Canberra, and because of that, if I went to Sydney, my home, I wouldn't be able to do that. So I was fortunate to be able to fly directly from Canberra here to Tassie and experience a few days in this beautiful state.

O'LOUGHLIN: Well, being at the top of the rung of the Labor Party, you surely must have a comment in regard to the very rocky start for State Labor - O'Byrne, especially after I mean, the Labor Party chased down the Liberal Party with Brooks. I mean, to me, it seems like a little calmer, perhaps.

ALBANESE: It certainly is and I had a chat with Rebecca, yesterday, and she's a good friend of mine. I think she ran a very effective and good campaign against the odds just a few months ago. Of course, that was an early election called by the Tasmanian Premier, in order, I think, to get away from some of the issues that he will have to deal with coming down the track. But Rebecca, I think, leads now a united team, putting some of the issues that were clearly there, the division, behind her and I think she has an enormous capacity. I have enormous respect for her.

O'LOUGHLIN: I guess, if we go back to COVID, I mean, it's the big news - it's not going anywhere and vaccines. I think, hesitancy and perhaps you can correct me, but I think hesitancy seems to be on the backburner now, with people mainly struggling to get the Pfizer vaccine. I mean, even with announcements of more that have landed, etc, etc. And of course, Kevin Rudd's jolly little letter about more Pfizer vaccines in the press. Is he a great help or is he just looking for publicity and oxygen?

ALBANESE: He was trying to help. He was asked to help by Australian businesses and he picked up the phone to the head of Pfizer, something that our Prime Minister has not done until two weeks after that. He informed the Prime Minister he was going to do that. He asked if there were any messages that the Prime Minister wanted to send. I man someone had to do the job of showing leadership and Kevin did that.

The truth is that this Prime Minister had two jobs this year - the effective rollout of the vaccine and to fix national quarantine -and both of them we have botched. As a result we have these lockdowns. Remember that the current lockdowns that are occurring happened because a driver in Sydney, took a foreign air crew to quarantine without being vaccinated, without wearing a mask and that there have been 28 breaches of hotel quarantine.

Hotels were built for tourists. They weren't built as quasi medical facilities, which is why you need purpose-built quarantine. We've been saying that for a long period of time. And we're also saying that you needed to do more deals with more pharmaceutical companies to get more vaccines more quickly. This government said we're at the front of the queue. And the truth is we are last.

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O'LOUGHLIN: These things can happen. If I could turn, I totally agree with you and a matter of fact that I think it's been shambolic, the delivery from the Federal Government in regard to the vaccine delivery. Should the Commonwealth now reinstate JobKeeper especially due to the lockdowns in New South Wales? I mean, we are aware they've got the $600 a week Coalition payments. Part time employees can access $375. But this is this is just making some businesses go under.

ALBANESE: We need more support. I don't care what they call it. The truth is that wage subsidies through JobKeeper we called for last year, they were effective in keeping people in employment and keeping people connected between their employers and their employees. And this is a direct result of the Prime Minister saying it wasn't a race, the rollout of the vaccine. It was a race and now half of Australia is locked down and the Prime Minister needs to step up here. We have suburbs in Sydney where people can't leave their suburbs. They can't get to work. They can't earn an income, including some suburbs in my electorate. And these people are crying out for more support.

O'LOUGHLIN: Can I then ask you a question? I guess then you will have these thoughts and probably a plan in place because we're thinking next March is for an election. What plans do the Labor government have for a post-COVID society? I mean, surely you would have thought beyond that? Is there a plan in place?

There is indeed and I spoke at the National Press Club a couple of weeks ago and outlined our plan. Our plan for more secure work, recognizing permanent work in the Fair Work Act, dealing with issues of gig economy workers, closing the gender pay gap, making sure that people who do the same job get the same pay.

But as well, a plan for new industries and job creation by our National Reconstruction Fund that would support industries - $15 billion to deal with that. And in addition to make sure that Australians are trained for those jobs, through the creation of Jobs and Skills, Australia. That is so important. Just as when I was the Infrastructure Minister, we created Infrastructure Australia to provide advice to the Government about where infrastructure investment should happen. That's been undermined with programs like the pork and ride program that have been exposed in recent days with the Federal Government. But we need to identify where the jobs will be of the future and make sure that we train up Australians for them.

O'LOUGHLIN: Can I then ask you, how is the Morrison Government's jobs budget compared with your Labor plan?

ALBANESE: Well, the Morrison Government don't have a plan for the future. And the problem with this Government is that they have a 24-hour focus on managing issues politically. They don't have a vision for Australia. They don't recognise, for example, the opportunities that are there of making Australia a renewable energy superpower, to create new jobs. They don't have a plan for new jobs in high-value manufacturing. They don't have a plan to make sure that Australians have opportunities. They've undermined TAFE. They've undermined tertiary education. And they walked away from the Gonski reforms in high school education.

What's more, only Labor has a plan for cheaper childcare. Now, we know that 90 per cent of human brain development occurs in the first five years. It makes sense to invest in early learning, and we will do that.

O'LOUGHLIN: I've got a question just come through from a listener Steve in Burnie, he's gone back to COVID. He's asked the question, Freedom Day in the UK a dangerous act, yes or no? And how will it affect our economy?

ALBANESE: Well, we'll see how it how it plays out. It won't have a direct impact on our economy, of course. But the thing is in the UK, that they have much higher vaccination rates. And that's the key to opening up again. I was at the Northern Suburbs GP clinic there in Launceston just this morning with Ross Hart and talking to Dr Jackson, and his team there of doctors and nurses. And you know, the key is rolling out the vaccine so that we can get a more return to normal. But we've had a stroll out rather than a rollout here in Australia.

O'LOUGHLIN: Totally.

ALBANESE: In the UK, well over half the population have been fully vaccinated. Here in Australia we have struggled to hit double figures. And, you know, the front page of The Mercurytoday reports a gentleman who's worried about his brother. Gerard Castle is worried about his brother Paul who's got Down Syndrome. He qualified for the vaccine under the first phase of the rollout. We were told they'd all be vaccinated, those vulnerable people, by Easter and he still hasn't been vaccinated, still hasn't had one vaccine, and nor has anyone else at the care centre where Paul lives. It's just a tragedy and it's a terrible worry for the families, just like the families of people in aged care are worried, those who haven't been vaccinated yet. And aged care workers as of a week ago, one in six had been vaccinated. We need to have done much better than this. But Scott Morrison's idea that it wasn't a race has undermined the rollout of the vaccine. 

O'LOUGHLIN: Well, actually, according to the latest Newspoll and obviously you read that in the Australian, the Federal Coalition has slumped to its lowest electoral position this term amid the COVID lockdowns and growing community frustration over the vaccine rollout. Voters losing confidence in Scott Morrison's management of the pandemic. It shows popular support for the Coalition and Labor now deadlocked at 39 per cent, respectively, as the Prime Minister's net approval rating slid to its lowest level since the 2019/20 summer bushfire crisis. Is Scott Morrison as well the target of a coordinated political campaign by yourself and the Labor premiers? I mean, the Australian newspaper tends to believe so?

ALBANESE: Well, look, I think that Australians aren't silly. And Australians who have tried to get a vaccine, have logged on, listened to the advice, want to get vaccinated but can't even get an appointment, that's the frustration that they see. Those Australians who know people who are stranded overseas, more than 30,000 of them, who all have relatives here, they know that this Government gave a visa to a right wing nut job to appear on Big Brother, and brought them here in order to run the divisive lines that she runs, historically, from the UK. And she got the red carpet to come in while relatives can't come home. Australians know that the quarantine facilities in hotels – common sense tells you that that's a wrong decision. I think Australians are making up their own mind and they are frustrated and they know the threat that COVID represents. They want to be safe, they want to do the right thing. And the Government hasn't put in place mechanisms to do so. And they listened to the Prime Minister say last year 'We're at the front of the queue'. And we certainly haven't been. And then of course, they get reminded that during the bushfires, this Prime Minister also failed. So when there's a crisis, when you need leadership, this Government goes missing. And this Prime Minister goes missing. 

O'LOUGHLIN: Let's talk National Cabinet. I know what your thoughts are. But you can help me out here, Tony Abbott has called the National Cabinet a dog's breakfast. He says a cabinet makes decisions that bind all its members. And the National Cabinet is not a cabinet in that sense. That's a marketing ploy he said calling it a cabinet. The National Cabinet is a coordinating committee at best. So let's call it that he said. Do you agree?

ALBANESE: Tony Abbott is right. And it's something that I've said from the very beginning, that the so-called National Cabinet is basically a phone hook-up whereby premiers tell each other what they're doing, Scott Morrison announces it. You know, there has been, I think, not a genuine enough coordination. And Scott Morrison at times, as well, has said things that have been totally inconsistent. He, of course, praised Gladys Berejiklian for not having lockdowns in New South Wales. And we've seen where that has led. You know, day after day, it changes. Whereas if there had have been moves earlier, I don't think we would have seen the constraints that are there now, with even the construction sector shut down that hasn't happened anywhere else before.

So Scott Morrison, I think his criticism of - he went to Annastacia Palaszczuk's state of Queensland and criticised the borders for being closed. You would know, of course, that Tasmania closed its borders effectively, for a long period of time. And one of the things that I've done as Labor Leader is not be critical of any of the state premiers or the decisions that they've made. 

O'LOUGHLIN: You've actually also been a critic not only of the National Cabinet since it began, as you said just then, but also you believe because it doesn't include the opposition leaders?

ALBANESE: No, I haven't said that ever. It’s something that appears from time to time with people in a particular newspaper. No, that was a decision for the Government to do that. And I respect the right of governments to make that decision. Scott Morrison made that decision. I think, though, that the National Cabinet very early on, there was a weekend, way back last year where Gladys Berejiklian and Daniel Andrews both wanted to have restrictions on schools. And from that point on, state premiers essentially have done their own thing and the Prime Minister has abrogated responsibilities on issues like quarantine, on immigration, that are clearly national responsibilities. He's in charge of immigration, he is in charge of customs. He's in charge of quarantine. And yet we have absurdities, like this so-called celebrity divider who was brought in to appear on TV. Thrown out because she boasted about breaching quarantine and breaching our rules. Why was he here in the first place when Australian citizens can't come in? Once again, you saw the Minister for Home Affairs yesterday. Say 'Oh well, the state government wanted her in'. For goodness sake. If the Federal Government is not in charge of immigration, what is it in charge of?

O'LOUGHLIN: Oh, well, I think we can guarantee the PM will not be going to an early election – it won’t be due next year. Although so much can change in that time. The Greens have also taken a belly flop in the polls, which gives helps give Labor that little kick up. But going back, should the states, I mean, in your opinion, should the states be looking after the rollout?

ALBANESE: Well, I think that the states in terms of service provision would have done a better job. The problem though, is that the states couldn't deal with supply. And that's where the problem comes down here. So I'm not critical of any of the state governments for the vaccination numbers. Because if you don't have the vaccines, you can't put them in people’s arms. And we didn't have the vaccine.

The Government put all his eggs in the AstraZeneca basket, and then the chickens came home to roost. Other countries were doing five or six deals, including with Pfizer, including with Moderna, and others and we were too busy under Scott Morrison boasting about first in the queue. We should have been using pharmacies, we should have been using the facilities at our disposal, and state governments run health systems and are good at rolling out those issues. Everything that the Federal Government has taken charge of - the app, remember that the COVID-Safe app that no one uses and everyone's forgotten exists, that cost a lot of money, including advertising money. The aged care facilities that are a Federal Government responsibility that are regulated, funded by the Federal Government, and the supply of vaccines. All of them and quarantine, all of them have been issues where the Federal Government simply hasn't delivered.

O'LOUGHLIN: Can I move into Olympics? Let's talk the Olympics, because of time constraints. What are your thoughts now? They've got athletes in the village in Japan and a raging pandemic. I mean, you've got COVID-19 cases there. They say that more than 50 athletes and officials. Fifty-eight cases linked to the Olympic Games, just by Monday night, four days out from the opening ceremony. I mean, it is a worry. I mean, we need the athletes there, but in a raging pandemic?

ALBANESE: Well, that's a decision that's being taken now. I certainly hope that all the Australian athletes stay safe. There are procedures in place to make sure that that occurs. And you know, I wish the Australian team well. And tomorrow of course, we'll hear whether Brisbane and South-east Queensland receive the Olympic Games. It would be a great honour for Australia to get the Olympic Games for a third time. I think it would be very good for Queensland and I will be cheering on that result if we're successful tomorrow night.

O'LOUGHLIN: Just one last question. It's actually a question without a notice. John says, a former member of the RBTU, said that, what are you doing to help members in the transportation industry? There's a question that's just logged on my screen from John from Launceston.

ALBANESE: Well, I think they are people who should be vaccinated. Of course, that's one of the areas that we have raised concerns, that frontline workers who have a lot of contact with the public, bus or tram drivers, they need to be vaccinated. That will be important. The other thing is that in terms of my attitude towards public transport, when I was the Federal Minister for Infrastructure and Transport, there was more investment in public transport than all previous years combined for 107 years. In just those six years, I invested in that. We also invested heavily in freight rail, including the Tasmanian route revitalisation plan. And indeed in tourism rail with the West Coast Railway. We saved the West Coast railway with that funding. It was going to shut down. And that was so important for jobs and economic activity on the West Coast.

O'LOUGHLIN: Well, I appreciate your time this morning, certainly you're a busy man and I wish you to enjoy your rest of your time in Tasmania. Anthony Albanese, the Federal Opposition Leader. I thank you again and don't forget when you're next in town we'll have another chat. 

ALBANESE: Thanks very much, Mike. Great to talk with you. 

ENDS