SUBJECTS: NSW floods; vaccination rollout; sexual assault allegations in Parliament House, workplace culture in Parliament House; Albo Ale.

ANTHONY ALBANESE, LEADER OF THE AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY: Good morning. Good to be with you.

AMANDA KELLER, HOST: Well, look, a number of things. There hasn't been a quiet day in Parliament House this year it seems. Vaccination delays, assault accusations, recent floods. Let's start with the floods. What are you hearing and what are you seeing?

ALBANESE: Look, it has been devastating, certainly, in New South Wales in particular, but also parts of Queensland and particularly the Mid North Coast. One, our hearts go out to those people, including the poor family who just on their wedding day saw their home wash away. But also, it is a reminder of the incredible work that our SES do, largely volunteers, out there in the wind and the rain helping people out. And just a big message today is to keep safe. If you're asked to be evacuated, make sure that you follow the directives of emergency service workers.

KELLER: I heard rumours that the floods will delay the vaccine rollout.

ALBANESE: Well, the vaccine rollout was delayed, that's the truth. We need people to get vaccinated. But the truth is that we were at the back of the queue to start rolling out the vaccine. And we need to make sure that we fulfill the deadline. The Prime Minister said four million people would be vaccinated by the end of March. Well, we're at March 22 now. The Government needs to make sure it gets this right. 

BRENDAN JONES, HOST: And have you had the vaccine?

ALBANESE: I have indeed. Yes, I had the Pfizer vaccine here. The Government approached us, myself and the Leader of the Greens, to join with other leaders, including the Health Minister and the PM, of course, to send a message that if we are asking other people to get vaccinated, we needed to do it ourselves. 

JONES: So you'd appreciate that we're not in Russia. Imagine that, if the Opposition came and said, 'Take needle, comrade'. ‘Why don't you take first and we'll see how it pans out?’

ALBANESE: It might be a bit different. But fortunately, I made sure that it was given by a very good nurse here in Canberra rather than given by Scott Morrison. 

JONES: 'ScoMo, take this first. You go first'. 'No, I insist, you go first'. 

KELLER: But should we have confidence in the AstraZeneca which seems that we'll be getting, a different one to you guys. And this seems to be where there might be some controversy.

ALBANESE: What we should have confidence in is our Therapeutic Goods Administration. It's the best in the world, and they've given it the tick. We should have confidence in our health professionals. They really are very good, they're very stringent, they get it right. And I'm certain that they get it right every time. And they're checking all the batches as well. So I think we can have absolute confidence in that. And it's something we should be proud of, frankly.

JONES: It's a good thing.

KELLER: The whole of the nation has been horrified by allegations of sexual abuse in Canberra. And it seems that it's on both sides of politics. I know that Labor is not immune to this. How are you reacting to this?

ALBANESE: Well, society isn't immune from it. We have the technical term or academic term, if you'd like, is patriarchy. But what it means is there's power imbalances in society and some men seek to abuse the power relationship that they have. And no one is immune from it. Media organisations, political parties, businesses. Which is why we need to put in place proper mechanisms. But I was, quite frankly shocked that a reported sexual assault could occur just metres from the Prime Minister's office and it take two years for that to be revealed. And according to the Prime Minister, him not be told for two years even though members of his own staff knew, and ministers knew and other people in the building knew about it. We really need some transparency here. But we also need to make sure that the review that's been established under the Sex Discrimination Commissioner is able to do its work. Today we will pass legislation which will mean people can come forward in the confidence that their evidence or submissions will be treated confidentially and won't be subject to Freedom of Information laws. That is really important to encourage people to be able to come forward.

JONES: It is about changing their culture, isn't it? Will you be able to send us a carton of your Albo Corn Ale? Because I think we should need to test that out. 

ALBANESE: Well, I could. I am sure that Willie the Boatman would oblige. I'm sure that Pat and the team down there at St Peters are listening to this program. And I would expect it to be on its way by nine o'clock.

KELLER: Is it made from corn?

ALBANESE: What it has is during the prohibition in the US, because they were out there looking at who was making barley and other products that go into beer, they produced a type of corn. So it's just a little bit added flavour. If you want a sort of comparison, it tastes a little bit like Little Creatures Pale Ale. 

JONES: As long as it is not fruity. All the beers now are fruity.

ALBANESE: No, it is not fruity. If I'm Prime Minister, I will ban fruit being put into beer. 

JONES: That's a strong platform. 

ALBANESE: Like seriously, what is wrong with strawberry and plum and stuff going into beer? It is just wrong, that is what it is.

KELLER: When your beer comes up, you can see corn in it and say that was there in the beginning.

ALBANESE: Absolutely. 

JONES: That's quite the process. Well, I'd like a case of that at nine o'clock. Anthony, it's great to talk to you. Thank you for joining us.

ENDS