SUBJECTS: Federal election; Labor’s policy agenda.
 
ALLISON LANGDON, HOST: The Labor Leader joins us now live from Launceston in Tasmania. Albo, good morning.

ANTHONY ALBANESE, LEADER OF THE AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY: Good morning, Ally. Good to be with you, it's a bit chilly here. But it's a beautiful morning.

LANGDON: Well, lucky, you're tough then hey? We had the Prime Minister on the show a little while ago. So, he reckons you can't manage money and no one knows you or your team.

ALBANESE: He's a bloke who has led to a trillion dollars of debt. He said before the last election, remember those back in black mugs? Well, they're collectors items now because they'd already doubled the debt before the pandemic occurred. The truth is that productivity is weaker than it was under the former Labor Government, debt is so much higher. The idea that the Prime Minister would run on that issue, I give him credit for chutzpah, but nothing more than that because we know that with the trillion dollars of debt, there's not a real legacy to show for it. Where's the big infrastructure project? Where's the big nation building programs? We, whatever our weaknesses, when we're in government we built the National Broadband Network. We had paid parental leave. We put in place the National Disability Insurance Scheme. Policies that change the country. I want to change the country for the better again. I want to give us a better future with stronger Medicare, more secure work, cheaper childcare, cheaper energy prices, and I want to make sure that we can make more things here.

LANGDON: You know what, your answer there was pretty similar to what Scott Morrison’s first answer was to Karl and it's a great reminder that we're really in election campaign mode. It is a problem though, when you're having to release ads explaining who you are.

ALBANESE: Well, that's not right Ally. The Today Show listeners know who I am. I was there every Friday morning for five years, outlining whatever policies were thrown at me, by the compère there at the time. I've been in public life a long time. They know my backstory as well. I'm the son of a single mum who grew up in public housing. No one gave me a leg up in life. But my mother wanted a better life for me then she endured as an invalid pensioner. That's the great Australian story - an  aspiration to give our kids something better, to hand on a better standard of living. This government don't have an agenda for today, let alone a plan for tomorrow. We saw that in the Budget that they handed down a couple of weeks ago with these one-off payments that disappear as soon as the election is over. What we actually need to do is to put in place some structural reforms. Our structural reforms, like our climate change policy, that will reduce energy prices, create 604,000 new jobs, five out of every six of them in the regions, make sure that we work with business, a policy that's been welcomed by the Business Council, National Farmers Federation, Australian Industry Group and the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, those cheaper prices, energy prices, to use that to build manufacturing once again here in Australia. We need to learn the lessons of the pandemic we need to stand on our own two feet and be more resilient as a nation. This government don't have a plan for any of that, let alone a plan for things like cheaper childcare that's about women's workforce participation, that's about boosting productivity. They think it's about welfare. We say it's about gender equity, and making sure that working women get the same opportunities as working men.

LANGDON: Okay, look, Albo you and Labor have attacked Scott Morrison's character you want this election to be fought on character, yet Morrison has just pulled ahead of you as preferred PM. That's got to be a worry?

ALBANESE: Well, Scott Morrison's character attacks have come from his own side. He's running with a Deputy Prime Minister who has said he's a hypocrite and a liar. The Premier of New South Wales, at the height of the bushfire crisis, said he was more interested in politics than he was in people who are impacted by those bushfires –

LANGDON: So that's a big problem for you,that more people prefer him as Prime Minister than you.

ALBANESE: No, he's the Prime Minister, Ally, that's what happens. That's what happens. You do a survey of whether you want Ally and Karl as your preferred Today Show presenters versus people who aren't Today Show presenters and guess what, you and Karl win. Now I'd vote for that, I've got to say.That's what happens when you've got the job.

LANGDON: Hang on who are you talking to? And what are the bosses telling you that we don't know?

ALBANESE: No, you're both doing exceptionally well. That's just what happens. He's got the job. So, if you go back historically that's usually been the case.

LANGDON: Hey look Albo though, you've got to look at it, though, because the Coalition is closing the gap on Labor, you still have plenty of people still undecided? Do you need to offer more of an alternative?

ALBANESE: Well, we're offering a very clear alternative Ally. We have a plan for the future, this government aren't offering anything for the next term. They've been in government, now, for almost a decade. They’re shooting for a second decade in office. We have a trillion dollars of debt. We have no environmental policy going forward, we have no social policy reform. What I want to see is that no one is left behind, Labor will always look after the disadvantaged, our pensioners, and the people who need help. But also no one held back. Labor is the party of opportunity. The party that understands that education, for example, for us isn't just about helping an individual, it's about lifting up the whole society. Which is why Labor will always do more on education, and we'll have a lot more to say about health and aged care during the campaign. We've already put out a comprehensive response to deal with the aged care crisis in accordance with the Aged Care Royal Commission. It says everything about the way that this government operates. They had a Royal Commission hand down a series of recommendations, including better pay for aged care workers, 215 minutes of care, better food and nutrition, making sure that these issues are dealt with. A nurse in every nursing home. How hard is that as a policy? And yet, they were all rejected by this government. I don't know why they bother to have inquiries, if they're not going to respond to the recommendations.

LANGDON: I think they have said that they that they will implement a lot of those recommendations you're talking about there. But just very quickly –

ALBANESE: None of those. None of them.

LANGDON: Karl gave the Prime Minister a chance to send you a message. Would you like to send Scott Morrison a message this morning?

ALBANESE: You know, I wish him well in the campaign. It's a great thing that people are prepared to put themselves forward, and the Prime Minister has been Prime Minister now for a full term. He is putting himself forward in this campaign, and I wish him well. I hope that we stick to the policy agenda during the campaign. That's what I'll be doing, putting forward a positive agenda for Australia's future. I just send him that message and, and if he comes to Launceston, I send him the other message which is make sure you bring a big coat, it's a bit chilly.

LANGDON: You're so caring Albo aren't you. I mean, his message to you was good morning. I think on the desk we've decided that your message was better. It was kinder, nice to talk to you this morning.

ALBANESE: I’m from the Labor Party. We're the party that care about people. 

ENDS