SUBJECTS: COVID recovery; ATAGI; Omicron variant; booster shots; Federal election.
 
PETER VAN ONSELEN, HOST: And Opposition Leader, Anthony Albanese, joins us now. Strong words there from Greg Hunt. Is it a bad look for an aspiring PM such as yourself to be questioning ATAGI in the middle of a pandemic?
 
ANTHONY ALBANESE, LEADER OF THE AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY: Well, Greg Hunt must have been beside himself with comments of Brad Hazzard, the New South Wales Health minister, who has called for exactly the same thing for many days now, as have a range of health experts, as is occurring overseas. What we need to do, of course, is to prepare for any changes that might occur. Of course, as always, I have followed ATAGI advice and will continue to do that. But the job of politicians is to prepare for it.
 
VAN ONSELEN: You mentioned the situation overseas. It is different abroad to what's happening here domestically. Don't we need to follow our own expert advice rather than to be too concerned about what's happening elsewhere?
 
ALBANESE: I tell you what our own experts haven't done. They haven't said that COVID controls are the same as putting on sunscreen. They've understood that the reason why people need to take action themselves isn't just to protect themselves, it's to protect others as well. This Government have been very reluctant to follow health advice. The health advice has been there for a long while that once borders were opened up, we would see an increase in the numbers and we needed to prepare for it. And this Government hasn't prepared for it. We're still way behind when it comes to the rolling out of booster shots. And we're still really struggling to keep up with the capacity that's required.
 
KATE LANGBROEK, HOST: Albo, it’s easy to criticise the management of the pandemic when you're not running it. Basically, you should hear what's said in our household. But what else would you be doing differently?
 
ALBANESE: Well, I would have got the vaccines earlier, which is what we were saying at the time. That you needed to have supply of vaccines. That you needed to have purpose-built quarantine. If we'd have done that, then people would have received their booster shots now rather than wait. And we're going to reach a period in January where a whole lot of people become eligible at the same time as children become eligible for their first shots as well prior to going back to school. That's the problem here. This Government haven't got ahead. It's always been too little and too late.
 
LANGBROEK: But you know, vaccines and hotel quarantine is still looking backward. Looking forward, what would you do differently?
 
ALBANESE: Looking forward, I'd put the plans in place that were appropriate. I would follow the advice, but the advice will come, as it's come, to shorten the gap that's there. You need to plan for it. We need to have purpose-built quarantine still. Scott Morrison waits until there's a crisis before he acts. It's a consistency that's there, whether it be over the pandemic or whether it be a couple of years ago with regard to the bushfires. Scott Morrison said it wasn't a race. We need to understand that action of governments is a race here in order to protect our people from this pandemic.
 
LISA WILKINSON, HOST: Now, we don't have an election yet, but we sure seem to have ourselves an election campaign going on. It's Christmas, Albo. Are we going to get at least a couple of weeks off? Or is this the way that it is all going to be for the next four or five or six months?
 
ALBANESE: Well, Scott Morrison gave up governing some time ago and said that he was in election mode. It's a fact that this Government weren't able to get through any legislation in the last fortnight in which they sat, which is why I fully expect them to potentially call an election in March just to put their hand up and say that this is all too hard.
 
LANGBROEK: Labor lost the so-called unlosable election last time. So, are you slightly haunted by that? Like the ghost of Christmases past? And for voters watching, how are you different from Bill Shorten?
 
ALBANESE: Well, what it proves, the last election, is that you can't take anything for granted. And you can't rely upon the polls. I've been determined to be ahead when it really counts, which is on election day. And then to put in place measures and policy offerings that will lead to a good Government in our first term and then a re-election in three years' time. We've been very constructive during the pandemic. We put the national interest first. We voted for all of the legislation which was put forward before the House even though we think that some of it was flawed. We advocated for measures like JobKeeper, wage subsidies, even though the Government said that it was a bad idea when we first put it forward. So, I make no apologies for that. But we can't take it for granted. I want to make sure that we have an offering that is clear and a narrative, an alternative to build back a better future, which will be the theme of the campaign. Because whilst this pandemic has shown how strong Australian society is, it's also shown some of the weaknesses and vulnerabilities in our economy. And that's why we need to do better in the future.
 
NAZEEM HUSSAIN, HOST: Albo, I'm here to ask the hard questions. We all noticed that you started rocking some stylish new glasses. You've updated your suit collection and stopped eating bread and carbs. What's going on? Are you running for PM or some Men's Health cover?
 
ALBANESE: Mate, I'm running to be match-fit. You've got to be fit in a campaign and I'm hungry to get into office.
 
HUSSAIN: Are you actually hungry, is that what's going on? Are you dieting?
 
ALBANESE: I am sometimes from time to time, I've got to tell you. I miss eating pasta, which was my favourite food. I still allow myself once every couple of weeks. It's a cultural thing for me, too.
 
HUSSAIN: But you just lost the Italian vote!
 
ALBANESE: No, no, all of the Italians out there, this is the once chance that they have in their lifetime of having a fellow Italian Australian Prime Minister.
 
LANGBROEK: Albanese.
 
VAN ONSELEN: Anthony Albanese, we appreciate your time. Thank you for joining us.
 
ALBANESE: (SPEAKS ITALIAN)
 
WILKINSON: I think that he just ordered dinner for you.
 
LANGBROEK: I love pasta too. Albanese!
 
ALBANESE: Ciao!
 
WILKINSON: And with that, he's off to dinner.
 
ENDS