SUBJECTS: Anthony Albanese COVID diagnosis; Labor’s Plan for a Better Future; Rising Costs of Living.

AMANDA KELLAR, HOST: Well, you'd think that the Federal Election on May 21 is probably the most important date in Anthony Albanese’s calendar. But he's also looking forward to tomorrow. That's when he is free from isolation after contracting Coronavirus in the midst of an election campaign. We're going live to his COVID headquarters, now, i.e. his home. Anthony Albanese, hello.

ANTHONY ALBANESE, LEADER OF THE AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY: Good morning. Greetings from Marrickville.

BRENDAN (JONESY) JONES, HOST: Right. And you’re okay?

ALBANESE: Yeah, I am. It’s been a difficult week, but my symptoms have been much milder than many other people have had, so I am looking forward to getting out. My doctor tells me I have to take things easy, particularly in the first few days to not do the 16 and 20 hour days that I was doing. But it will be good to be out and about and the first thing I'm doing is heading to Western Australia where we have our campaign launch this Sunday.

KELLAR: There's never a great time to get COVID. But how did you feel when you saw those two lines come up in the midst of a campaign?

ALBANESE: I was pretty shocked. It was a PCR so I got a text message from the health authorities and it was it was a shock because I was feeling fine. It was the day after the debate and I’d had a win in the first debate with Scott Morrison and I'd been busy. I'd flown from Brisbane down to Nowra and Bomaderry and spent time there at the Manildra Plant and then I'd flown back up to Sydney and I'd been at Top Ryde Shopping Centre with Jerome Laxale, in your local community there, not far from where you are. And I felt fine. I got a routine test because I was traveling to Perth the next day and I tested positive and then the symptoms started to appear the next day.

KELLAR: Look, I've heard some people say that the Labor Government and the Coalition are pretty similar. What would you say to them? What are your big points of difference?

ALBANESE: I'd say there are big points of difference at this election. We want to strengthen Medicare, the government has undermined Medicare. We want cheaper child care, they say we can afford it. We think that investing in women's workforce participation and productivity and working families is a worthwhile investment that produces a return. We want to take action on climate change. This government have had 22 policies and haven't landed one. And we want to learn the lessons of the pandemic and build back stronger. The lessons are we need to be more resilient. We need to make more things in Australia. But the big thing is cost of living. This government is the closest we've ever come to a government that can be defined by ‘the dog ate my homework’. Yesterday, we had that massive inflation figure which just confirmed what people are feeling out there. The cost of everything is going up but people’s wages aren’t.

KELLAR: And what would you do to counter – yeah, the wages aren’t, but you can't control people's wages. That's a business decision. So how would your government combat the cost of living rises?

ALBANESE: What you can do is invest in things that boost productivity. So, if you invest in clean energy, which is our plan, it will boost business it will boost the economy. If you invest in the National Broadband Network and go back to fibre, what it was supposed to be, you will boost the economy. You can take pressure off costs of living by having cheaper electricity and cheaper childcare. You can have all of these measures that will make a difference to people. You can invest in people’s skills and education so that they can get the better jobs that are available. At the moment, the problem for this government is that they've taxed more, they’ve borrowed more and they’ve spent more than the last Labor Government but they've actually delivered less. There is less tangible things to show for it. And we can do better. We can do better. I mean, this government aren't even prepared to make a submission to the Fair Work Commission saying that aged care workers need a wage increase. Now we know from the Royal Commission, that unless that happens, people will continue to leave the sector. This is a sector that is in crisis with real consequences for older, vulnerable Australians and this government has ignored the recommendations of its own Royal Commission.

JONESY: And with the CPI, the Consumer Price Index, so it's 5.1 at the moment. Back in 2008, that's when it was 5 and that's when your government was in control. But having said that, that was during the Global Financial Crisis. So, it would be fair to say, we've had a world pandemic, we've got a war, so the CPI is going to be high.

ALBANESE: Well, that's the highest it has been for 20 years. For two decades. And the problem is that not just that prices are higher, it's a combination. Prices are high, and real wages are going backwards, and real wages have been flat under this government. And this government actually says that design feature of its economic architecture. This isn't because of bad luck, this is bad policy that is producing these low wages.

KELLAR: Well, as we see - as we hurtle towards May 21, and a lot of people are sort of - we asked our listeners, have you already made up your mind before the campaign began? Some Yes, some no. So, these weeks really matter.

JONESY: It’s going to be a ding dong battle. And I must say do you, whenever you go out on the hustings, you have to look around for signs like behind you saying ‘if you mess up, fess up’ and all that sort of stuff. Do you, do your people go there and go right, don't stand in front of that sign, stand over here. 

KELLAR: Don't stand near the graffiti of the D’n’B.

JONESY: Don’t go and stand near that. There's so much to process.

ALBANESE: There is but it's a real opportunity to meet people right around the country. People are more engaged during an election campaign than they are otherwise but I've been on the road essentially since January 2. So, I'm into my fourth month of heavy campaigning and I'm just passionate about giving Australia a better government. You know, we're a great country, but I think we can be better if we if we have a better government.

KELLAR: Just don't go and eat your earwax or eat a sausage roll sideways or anything crazy. 

JONESY: Just be normal, Albo! Can you just be normal?

ALBANESE: I know how to eat a sausage roll. 

JONESY: Just don't do anything abnormal. Anthony Albanese, thank you for joining us.

ALBANESE: Thanks very much guys. Have a great day.

ENDS