Health News at Your Fingertips

Reporter: Marise Payne has met with her counterpart in the Solomon Islands and Brisbane. Are you pleased about this? And are you concerned that Labor did have a seat on the table?

Albanese:

I think it would have been appropriate. I don’t know the circumstances of whether Marise Payne invited the Shadow Foreign Minister, given we are in caretaker mode. They would have been appropriate.

Reporter: I know costings will be released, but will the deficit be bigger than that of the Coalition?

Albanese:

All of our costings will be released. But can I say that report, that report that I did see in the paper, I don’t know what it is based on, it certainly ISN based upon comments from the finance Shadow Minister or the Shadow Treasurer.

Reporter: Studies suggest up to 50% of women or more, after giving birth experience incontinence. It is a major issue amongst women. How is it appropriate for your Member for Lyons, Brian Mitchell, to tweet about ‘if this debate not wrapping up soon, we will need mops, women can’t hold on’.

Albanese:

Where is that tweet from?

Reporter: A few years ago. 2011, But still not appropriate, right?

Albanese:

Of course it is inappropriate, but that is at a time well before he was a Member of Parliament. I’m sure that Mr Mitchell regrets saying that and it isn’t appropriate.

Reporter: There are reports that there will be increased deficits over the next four years with Labor. Is that the plan, and how can you speak about responsible economic management when you want to blow out the already strained budget?

Albanese:

That is in the plan. We will release all of our costings, in the usual way that oppositions have done for a long time.

And now we are onto questions – it was a short statement because Albanese is also about to address a rally.

First up, he ask asked if he becomes PM if RATs would be free, an initiative he has publically supported in the past:

The times have hanged and what we would do is consider the health advice at the time. At the time there was an urgent need to get RATs out to people.

People were struggling and one of the things that happened at that time as well was that the government said go to your local pharmacy and you can get a free RAT if you are a concession cardholder, but when they went to their local pharmacies, they were told they were not everyone you’ve got to pay – everyone is unavailable.

Now, of course, with supply, it is like the supply, as well, vaccines. The government was too slow. The government was too slow to order vaccines, and it was too slow to organise rapid antigen tests.

Albanese says Labor will also support a feasibility study and early development costs for the proposed west coast renewable energy park.

This has the potential for hundreds of jobs to be created. Tasmania, of course, understands the importance of renewables. And this will be important.

And I know that this week as well we announced funding to support Waverley Mills textiles here in Tasmania.

All of these measures are consistent with our plan to shape the future because if you don’t shape the future, the future will shape you.

Albanese says is announcing key commitments to the area:

The fact that Australia ranks last in the OECD for manufacturing and self-sufficiency. When we look at the Harvard index of economic complexity, Australia ranks 86, in between Paraguay and Uzbekistan. We need to do better.

And the commitments are:

Firstly to kickstart the hydrogen project using colocated solar panels to produce green hydrogen to replace diesel in Tasmania’s trucks and buses. The intended thought of this as well is this would have benefits for the whole of Tasmania, as you have at least five delivery spots here in Tasmania down the track.

Secondly, support for expanding the Devonport distribution centre. This can support as many as 140 jobs year round – a practical program reminiscent of some of the measures we put in place when I was regional development minister to support salmon and other industries. Tasmania is known for its produce. We need to commercialise it and take advantage of it for domestic and exports.

Thirdly, we will partner with Inghams to implement a carbon-zero certified business model. This will provide a great example for how businesses can transition to carbon zero, protecting more than 120 local jobs, but pioneering sustainable manufacturing throughout Australia.

The Labor leader, Anthony Albanese, is speaking in Launceston, Tasmania, in the seat of Bass:

Can I say that building a future starts here in Launceston. It starts here in Tasmania but it goes throughout the whole country.

We have put forward a constructive plan for a better future, which stands in stark contrast to the government’s approach, another three years of more of the same.

This morning I will be making some specific commitments here in Tasmania. Commitments consistent with the need to have a future made right here in Australia.

Bill Shorten has tested positive for Covid:

The NT has recorded one new death, a woman in her 60s, and 298 new cases. It brings the total number of cases in the state to 2,312 known active cases.

There are 36 cases in hospital, and three of them are on ventilators.

Leanne Jorari

Tapa, a tattooed fabric, has been worn in Papua New Guinea for centuries but there are concerns it has been commercialised, Leanne Jorari writes.

Tasmania has recorded two more deaths and 903 new Covid-19 cases in the last 24 hours.

It brings the state’s total to 6,197 active cases.

There are 48 cases in hospital, with 16 patients being treated specifically for the virus, and one person in ICU.