SUBJECTS: Queensland coronavirus cases; vaccine rollout; Prime Minister for Women; women in politics; ALP Special Platform Conference; Labor’s National Reconstruction Fund; Labor policies.

KARL STEFANOVIC, HOST: Anthony Albanese is standing by and was listening to that. Anthony, this is devastating to those Queensland businesses, as you heard. What would you say about the approach from the Queensland Government?

ANTHONY ALBANESE, LEADER OF THE AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY: Look, this is really tough. Queensland, of course, is prioritising the health of Queenslanders. We know that's got to be the priority. But it is a reminder that we really need to roll out this vaccine. We were told there'd be four million vaccinations by the end of March. We're almost there and we haven't hit 500,000 yet. We have to get the health right because it has a devastating impact on the economy. I'm very sympathetic with the gentleman you were just speaking with from catering. They're doing it tough. The tourism sector is doing it tough. It is another reminder that the withdrawal of support through JobKeeper was premature. We're certainly not out of the woods yet.

ALLISON LANGDON, HOST: Let's move on. We just spoke to the Prime Minister for Women, Marise Payne. Do you think this is going to solve the Prime Minister's problem with women?

ALBANESE: Well, I think the title that you just used shows that maybe the Prime Minister doesn't quite get it yet. I want to be the Prime Minister for all Australians. That's what I'm running for. We need to address gender inequality in our society. That's why we put our childcare policy at the centre of our Budget Reply last year. That's why we need to address issues like domestic and family violence leave. That's why we need to address the issue of women's representation in our national Parliament. Today we have our ALP national conference. I was there back in 1994 when Labor adopted our affirmative action policies and targets. It's been successful. We're now on 47 per cent representation. Half of my Shadow Cabinet are women. Half of my leadership group are women in Penny Wong and Kristina Keneally. We do need to change the culture in Canberra. It is a good thing the new Home Affairs Minister, Karen Andrews, is a good appointment to that job, to a senior role. But we need to do much better.

LANGDON: It is not just the Liberal Party, is it? Former and current Labor staffers have come forward with stories of sexual abuse while at work, sexual harassment, with one saying that it is time that Labor Party men were held to account for their actions. Are you having a good look at yourselves as well?

ALBANESE: Absolutely. It's a society problem. The media organisations aren't immune from it neither, nor is any political party. Whilst we have inequality of power in our society, we'll have those issues, which is why strengthening the position of women in society, moving towards more equality, is good for all of us, not just for women.

STEFANOVIC: Albo, you do believe in due process though, don't you, and the rule of law?

ALBANESE: Yes, of course.

STEFANOVIC: Back in 2012 when Craig Thompson was under fire for the fiasco in health services, you said you believed in the due process. But in the last couple of weeks in regard to Christian Porter, we've seen you doubt that a little bit?

ALBANESE: No, not at all. He's entitled to due process. But it's also the case that as the first law officer of the land, there needs to be an inquiry. The problem here is there hasn't been any process. That's the problem here, Karl, because it hasn't been possible due to the woman at the centre of the allegations tragically taking her own life.

STEFANOVIC: Okay. Your national conference kicks off today. What are the key issues you'll be addressing? Obviously, the topic of consent and women's safety has been at the forefront of the public's mind.

ALBANESE: The big one we'll be addressing today is announcement of our National Reconstruction Fund. A $15 billion fund to drive jobs to support existing industries transition but also to support new and emerging industries. We need to identify where the jobs of the future will be, where the opportunities are for regional economic development, and provide that support to the private sector through superannuation funds and other co-investors. And this fund will be really about driving that future jobs growth, driving our economy, because we need to be far more resilient. The pandemic has exposed some of the weaknesses in our economy. And one of the things that we need to do is to make sure we grow back stronger, not just try to get back to where we were. And that means new jobs but more secure jobs.

STEFANOVIC: You feel you've got a sniff now, don’t you? A couple of months ago you weren't within the bull's roar. But Albo, you're back in the game.

ALBANESE: We've always been competitive, my friend. Even at the height of the pandemic, we were constructive. We played a role in advancing wage subsidies, advancing the need for mental health and the need to have proper leave. All of these measures we were constructive during that period, we put the national interest first before short-term political interests. I think the Government was struggling, as you know, this time last year with the bushfires and with the lack of an agenda. Now that the pandemic, hopefully we can see the end of the crisis we've been through, the Government's exposed a bit again as not having an agenda or a plan for the future. Labor has a plan. I have a plan. And we'll be further developing that over the next couple of days.

STEFANOVIC: Thank you.

LANGDON: Good on you.

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