Election 2022 live: Anthony Albanese speaks from isolation, Scott Morrison under renewed attack over Solomon Islands
While Anthony Albanese has spoken for the first time about being in isolation, Scott Morrison has clammed up on when he last talked to his Solomon Islands counterpart.
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Anthony Albanese has confirmed his deputy Richard Marles will travel to Darwin to represent him at Anzac Day commemorations.
The Labor leader, speaking from his Marrickville home while in isolation with Covid-19, said he was “really looking forward” to travelling up north.
“It’s always a special day to pay tribute to the men and women who defended us and continue to do so,” he told ABC.
“I was really looking forward to it ... (but) we’ll get through it. This is Australia and indeed the world in 2022 unfortunately.”
Mr Albanese said he was keen to rejoin the campaign physically from next week.
“I’ve had better days, but a lot of people have had it a lot worse,” he said.
“I’m one of the many millions of Australians who have gone through this and I’m just taking the health advice.
“I will get lots of rest, (have) lots of fluids and take everything else that my doctor has told me to do. I’ll certainly take that advice.”
Mr Albanese continued his attack on the Coalition over the Solomon Islands deal.
But he defended Labor’s criticism towards Scott Morrison, despite comments from Mr Marles surfacing where he appeared to suggest countries in the Pacific should be free to link up with China.
Mr Albanese said those comments didn’t undercut his criticism of what he has dubbed the “worst foreign policy failure”.
“It doesn’t. It’s indicative of similar comments that Scott Morrison has made, which have been quoted today as well in the past,” he said.
“China has changed its position ... We need to recognise that there is that strategic competition in the region - that China is trying to extend its influence.
“If we are to maintain our influence, we need to respond, be forward-leaning, make sure that we’re engaged on the policy issues that are of concern to the Solomons, but also be engaged with issues like foreign aid.
“Be partners of choice - that historically is the role that we have played in the Pacific.
MORRISON STAYS MUM ON SOLOMON ISLANDS
Scott Morrison has refused to reveal when he last spoke to his Solomon Islands counterpart, after conceding the pair hadn’t spoken since Manasseh Sogavar signed a deal with China.
Mr Morrison, speaking from an aerospace manufacturing factory in the marginal Labor held seat of Blair, announced a $438m investment into Australia’s air force, as well as $70m for veteran wellbeing.
Both the Prime Minister and his Defence Minister Peter Dutton were bombarded with questions about the deal between the Solomon Islands and China, but did not disclose whether they had been in contact with their neighbour since the deal was signed.
“I have spoken to Prime Minister Sogavare on several occasions this year, and about this issue, and on many occasions last year as well,” Mr Morrison said.
“(The last time) was within the last month or so.”
“I can’t go into any more details about that … We have been very careful to listen to those within our agencies about how is the best way to get Australia’s message across.”
When asked whether or not he had been advised not to call Mr Sogavare, Mr Morrison told reporters: “You can’t take from that any implication one way or the other”.
Mr Morrison added he had been in contact with a number of other Pacific Island leaders as well, in conjunction with New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern “to ensure there is a collective view that is being communicated”.
“I remain concerned as I have for years and years and years about the Chinese government’s intentions within our region,” Mr Morrison said. “There is constant pressure in other parts of the region.
It comes as Mr Morrison and Defence Minister Peter Dutton double down on their attack on Labor’s national security and defence credentials.
In a fiery tirade, Mr Dutton accused deputy leader Richard Marles and Greens leader Adam Bandt of being in cahoots.
“I think most Australians were pretty shocked when Adam Bandt spoke about there being no problem in our region, stripping money from the defence force,” he said.
“But it seems when you look now at what Richard Marles has written just in the last year or so, there's not much difference.”
The Prime Minister also declined to deny reports Australia played a role in the leaking of the draft security arrangement last month.
Nine Newspapers cited sources claiming intelligence agencies had played a role in the leak in an effort to put pressure on Solomon Islands and China.
“I would never comment on intelligence matters of that nature,” he told reporters.
“No one should take from that any meaning whatsoever. I mean, these are highly sensitive matters.”
The comments came as US and Chinese diplomats fought for the affections of the Solomon Islands on Friday.
A White House delegation landed in Honiara and was ferried into town in a white minibus ahead of planned meetings with the government.
China’s ambassador to the Solomon Islands was not far away, attending a ceremony with Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare to hand over an elite, blue-coloured running track.
The US diplomatic team – led by the National Security Council’s Indo-Pacific coordinator Kurt Campbell and assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific affairs Daniel Kritenbrink – arrived just three days after the security pact with China was announced.
“We are concerned by the lack of transparency and unspecified nature of this agreement, which follows a pattern of offering shadowy, vague deals with little regional consultation in fishing, resource management, development assistance, and now security practices,” a State Department officialsaid in Washington this week.
“The agreement has been moving forward for some time. The reported signing does not change our concerns.”
TV HOSTS IN BLOW-UPS WITH PM
Mr Morrison has rejected suggestions he didn’t do enough to stop the Solomon Islands from signing a security pact with China during fiery exchanges.
The Prime Minister also downplayed the likelihood of Beijing establishing a naval base in the Pacific nation despite warnings from senior cabinet ministers.
Mr Morrison faced a breakfast television grilling on Friday after criticism of junior minister Zed Seselja being dispatched to the country instead of Foreign Minister Marise Payne.
He said he did not believe Solomon Islands Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare would have shifted his position if a more senior minister visited the nation.
“There was no opportunity, I think, for him to change his mind on this,” Mr Morrison told Nine, before adding he had not spoken to Mr Sogavare since the deal was formally inked.
That answer piqued the interest of host Karl Stefanovic, who slammed the Prime Minister for not acting sooner.
“You undercooked this big time, didn't you? It’s embarrassing,” Stefanovic said.
Mr Morrison rejected the Today Show host’s version of events. “That’s not how this has played out,” he said.
“The very issue you’re talking about is what Prime Minister Sogavare and I spoke about when I was in Honiara three years ago.
“They’re a sovereign government, they make their own decisions. They’re not an extension of Australia, not a colony.”
But speaking to Seven’s Sunrise, the Prime Minister again shot down that suggestion.
“There‘s no credible information that would suggest that outcome,” Mr Morrison said.
But host Nat Barr wasn’t buying it.
“Are you seriously sitting here saying you do not believe that China is going to put a base on the Solomon Islands?”
“No, what I said is, I know that would be their wish, and I know that would be their intent,” Mr Morrison responded.
“That is why we have been very proactive over many, many years … seeking to counter this influence with every single thing we‘ve got.”
LABOR BLASTS PACIFIC SECURITY FAIL
Federal Labor frontbencher Jason Clare said the Australian government can’t “sit on the deck chair” and let things happen in the Pacific, as he defended the party’s messaging on the controversial Solomon Islands security deal with China.
Labor has come under fire on Friday after it was revealed Deputy Leader Richard Marles last August argued that island nations should be free to hook up in any way they liked with Beijing while dismissing fears China would set up military bases in places such as the Solomons.
Mr Morrison seized on Mr Marles’ declaration that the Pacific Island should be free to deal with China, describing his comments as "chilling'' and "incredibly concerning.
But Mr Clare brushed off accusations of Labor hypocrisy, instead defending Mr Marles’ comments as “hard headed” and was about understanding what “China was up to, expect that they're going to be in there trying to assert influence and make sure that we respond”.
“You can't sit back on the deck chair in the Pacific and just assume that everything's gonna be okay,” he said.
Mr Clare also seized on reports the federal government had known about the Solomon Islands pact with China months before the draft agreement was leaked late last year.
“They'll always try and blame somebody else,” he said.
“But the fact is they had the intel and they didn't act.”
Mr Dutton and Barnaby Joyce have claimed the landmark security pact between Beijing and Honiara could lead to a military presence in the Pacific Island nation.
WHY SEND A JUNIOR MINISTER?
The government has been under pressure to explain why it chose to send junior Pacific Minister Zed Seselja to Solomon Islands instead of Foreign Minister Marise Payne in a last-minute attempt to try and fend off the deal.
Asked again on Friday, Mr Morrison repeated the claim Senator Payne was “not the right person to send at that time”.
“We communicated a very clear message to the Prime Minister.”
However, Mr Morrison refused to expand on suggestions China had bribed ministers of the Solomon Islands government.
“I think what is the best thing for me to say is they don‘t play by the same rules as transparent liberal democracies.”
Mr Morrison also launched a fresh attack on Labor deputy Richard Marles, accusing him of advocating for China.
The Prime Minister seized on reports in The Australian that Mr Marles said Pacific Island Nations should be free to deal with China.
“The Pacific needs help and Australia needs to welcome any country willing to provide it,” Mr Marles said in 2019, addressing the need for further development assistance in the region.
He also said: “The idea the Pacific nations would adhere to a call from Australia to not engage with China is silly.”
Mr Morrison said the comments, paired with Mr Marles’ book, exposed Labor’s hypocrisy on the issue.
“He actually advocated for the Chinese government to be doing exactly what they are doing,” he told Sky News. “And (it’s) arguing that countries like Australia shouldn’t be warning against that type of activity and should be letting it occur.”
On the defensive, Mr Marles said he was just stating the obvious.
“We are in a strategic contest with China. We win in the Pacific and we win that by earning the right to be the natural partner of choice,” the deputy leader told Nine.
“Clearly, under this government, they have failed to do that. I mean, when we were in government, we were the natural partner of choice.”
Mr Marles called it a “watershed” moment for Australia.
“I would not have imagined that this government could have stuffed it up so badly that on their watch that you would see this agreement being signed between China and Solomon Islands,” he said.
“It is definitely a watershed which absolutely raises the threat, and certainly raises my anxiety about Chinese military presence in the region.”
‘WE NEED MORE GUNS’: KATTER BLOWS UP ON CHINA
Political veteran Bob Katter has blown up on live television over the government's failure to build more guns and missiles.
Mr Katter launched into an impassioned spray while taking part on the ABC’s Q&A panel on Thursday night.
Responding to questions about a security pact between China and the Solomon Islands, Mr Katter launched into an unrestrained tirade for which he has become well known.
He slammed the government for failing to develop arms to defend against perceived threats from China.
“In four and a half years you haven‘t built a rifle, a machine gun, you’ve stupidly built patrol boats that have got one machine gun on ’em,” he said.
“Jeez, that’ll terrify the Chinese, having that machine gun on those patrol boats. $60 million for a patrol boat that has a machine gun on it. It should have had 40 missiles on it.”
“That‘s a hell of a patrol boat,” Liberal MP Keith Pitt interjected.
Mr Katter said he strongly believed Solomon Islands would become a “base for China” as a result of the treaty and called those that didn’t “naive”.
A Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman said this week the purpose of the treaty was to “promote social stability and long-term peace and security in Solomon Islands”.
PM DEFENDS STAND ON FEDERAL ICAC
Mr Morrison has renewed his assault on calls for a NSW-style anti-corruption commission, pointing to the “sickening” process that brought down Gladys Berejiklian.
The Prime Minister continues to be pressed for not holding up a promise he made to legislate an anti-corruption commission in this term of Parliament.
He has repeatedly laid the blame at Labor’s feet – sensationally claiming it was their fault for not agreeing to the Coalition’s model, which has been lashed by legal experts as weak.
But on Sky News, Mr Morrison denied his proposal, which did not include public hearings or search warrants, was a protection racket.
“It focuses on issues of criminal behaviour. It isn’t a process of trying people, frankly, in the media that we’ve seen through the ICAC process,” Mr Morrison said.
He claimed the fallout of Ms Berejiklian’s resignation proved the Labor backed model would “destroy lives”.
“The way that, I think, quite disgracefully, matters of her own public life were aired in public,” Mr Morrison said.
“These matters should be done in a proper legal process … that’s the sort of serious model that I want.
“I don’t want to show trial. I don’t want a kangaroo court. I want a real integrity commission that’s properly funded.”
Ms Berejiklian resigned as Premier last year after the state’s ICAC revealed she was under investigation over whether she breached public trust over grants in the seat of then-secret boyfriend Daryl Maguire.
WAR VETS GET NEW WELLNESS CENTRES
War veterans will get 14 new “wellness centres” around the country and a re-elected Coalition government will spend $1.9m on a spiritual health and wellbeing program, the Prime Minister has revealed.
Mr Morrison and Mr Dutton visited an engine maintenance facility in Bundamba, Brisbane where he announced the new initiatives to support veterans.
The centres, costing $70m from the federal budget, will be a “one-stop shop” to connect veterans to support and advocacy resources and five of the 14 centres will be in NSW.
The almost $2m election pledge will fund a Chaplaincy Support Program to help at-risk veterans transition out of the Australian Defence Force and will focus on treatment of “moral” injuries.
“We must look after our vets and their families and provide support for the men and women who have served in our Australia Defence Force and put their lives on the line for our nation,” Mr Morrison said.
Mr Dutton added: “Investment in these new centres, and new models of operation, offers an opportunity for local communities to work together and tailor their support services to support veterans, serving ADF members and their families.
ALBO CAMPAIGN THROWN INTO COVID CHAOS
The Labor party will not promote a “de facto” leader in Anthony Albanese's absence, instead planning to keep the campaign running with shadow Ministers filling the void.
The leader will spend the next seven days in isolation at his Sydney home after testing positive to Covid-19 on Thursday evening, but it’s still unclear whether he will front the cameras remotely.
Campaign spokesman Jason Clare, who has been touted as strong leadership potential, said it would be the role of the shadow cabinet to spruik the party’s “positive” agenda over the next week.
"Well the boss has got the bug so you've got me," Mr Clare told reporters on Friday morning.
"It means that Albo will be in isolation for the next week, and it means some changes to the campaign. It means that you're going to see more of Albo’s team, right across the country, talking about our positive plans for a better future for Australia.”
The party was on Thursday night scrambling to implement its Covid contingency plan, but decided to not elevate deputy leader Richard Marles – who would become deputy Prime Minister if Labor is to win government – to become the centre point of the campaign.
Mr Clare labelled the diagnosis “almost inevitable” but said it wasn’t all doom and gloom, adding that he saw it as an “opportunity”.
But it has prompted questions as to the long-term impact for Mr Albanese’s future, not just as to whether Scott Morrison will capitalise on the absence, but also if his own time will treat the week as an unofficial audition for the top job.
It also comes after damning polls revealing that Australians were still undecided on Anthony Albanese, however Mr Clare said Scott Morrison campaigning hard in marginal seats wasn’t necessarily a bad thing.
‘HONEST ALBO V SMIRKING SCOTT’
"I think the real problem is Australians know Scott Morrison too well," he said. "They've got a choice here between honest Albo and smirking Scott.
"If Scott Morrison is saying this is as good as it gets, I reckon Aussies will be saying 'no way mate, you are so out of touch'.
“This government doesn't deserve to be re-elected. They don't deserve to be rewarded with your vote after all the failures over the last decade.
“Voting for this government again, after they’ve been in power now for almost a decade, would be like staying in a taxi that’s run out of petrol. It’s not going to take you where you need to go."
Mr Clare said he spoke to Mr Albanese on Friday morning who was feeling well despite having a “croaky throat”.
“He wanted me to say thank you, not just the people in this room, but to people around Australia,” he said. It’s not yet known whether he will hold virtual daily press conferences.
"We live in the age of the iPad and more. It really depends on how Albo's health is," Mr Clare said. "Health comes first. I've told him to rest up. “This is a long campaign. He'll be back at the halfway mark. He'll be back when the second half starts in a week's time."
The media pack was scheduled to fly to Perth on Friday morning but will instead remain in Sydney for the night.
It’s still unclear where the campaign will go next but Labor HQ has insisted the show will still go on.
"It's going to be a nailbiter. It'll go down to the wire. We are going to need to fight for every vote," Mr Clare added. "(But) We are not a one-man band. We are a strong, united team and we'll show that over the next few days."
The Labor party's official campaign launch will still be held in Perth.
Mr Albanese on Thursday confirmed a PCR test taken in the afternoon ahead of his scheduled flight to Western Australia on Friday had come back positive.
Despite the diagnosis, Mr Albanese said he was "feeling fine” and would be isolating at his Sydney home.
“While at home I will continue my responsibilities as alternative Prime Minister and will be fighting for a better future for all Australians,” he said.
“I am feeling fine so far – and thank everyone for their well wishes”.
It is the first time Mr Albanese has contracted Covid, which had already struck down several members of his inner-circle in the lead up to the campaign.
Earlier, party sources were last night scrambling to rearrange Labor’s campaign schedule – including who would step in for him on the hustings.
His positive result comes just hours after the Opposition Leader visited an aged care facility in the NSW seat of Gilmore on the state’s south coast.
At the facility, called Symons House, he spoke to residents including Robyn Stokes who expressed fears about Covid-19 and mentioned she had recently booked in for a second booster shot.
Mr Albanese was wearing a mask throughout the visit.
Mr Morrison and Mr Albanese met for the Leaders Debate on Wednesday night but the Prime Minister is not considered a close contact under the current guidelines.
WA PREMIER ALSO HIT WITH COVID
West Australian Premier Mark McGowan has tested positive for Covid-19.
In a statement, Mr McGowan said the result was “not surprising” given he is already in isolation after a member of his family tested positive earlier in the week.
“Yesterday I undertook another PCR test and the result came back positive,” he wrote.
“In accordance with the protocols, this will extend my quarantine period until I am hopefully cleared to leave home next Thursday afternoon, at the earliest. “I will continue to quarantine and work from home over this period."
PM SHARED COVID TIPS WITH ALBO
The PM revealed on Friday he had shared tips with Mr Albanese on how to deal with Covid in a text exchange overnight.
“I wish Anthony all the best,” he said.
Mr Morrison tested positive to the virus last month.
“So I gave him a few tips. some of the things I did when I had it.”
Mr Albanese’s deputy Richard Marles said the campaign set back “is what it is”.
“We knew that this was a possibility and there had been a contingency that we had been working on in the event that this happened and we've just actioned it,” Mr Marles said.
“So, you know, for us … It's business as usual. You'll be seeing more of Anthony's team.”
The prime minister started Friday in the reasonably safe liberal seat of Forde, touring a coffee factory.
Mr Morrison, who’s not slowing down while opposition leader Anthony Albanese is stuck inside with Covid-19, got behind the tools at the Kiwanda cafe at Zarraffa’s coffee roaster in Stapylton.
He was shown how to get the perfect shot, but couldn’t quite master how to texturise the milk. Later today he’ll head to an aerospace company before making his way to Amberley to announce $480m to upgrade four key air bases.
Mr Morrison tested positive for Covid-19 in March and experienced “flu-like symptoms”.
He is not considered a close contact of Mr Albanese as, in Queensland where the debate was held, a close contact is someone a postivie or active case has spent more than four hours with in close proximity.
People are also not considered a contact if they have had Covid in the last four months, which again excludes Mr Morrison.
Mr Albanese’s positive test comes as Covid infections have surged in recent weeks and more than 50,000 cases were reported around the country on Thursday. They were expected to increase substantially following family get-togethers over Easter.
ANU infectious diseases expert Professor Peter Collignon said it was possible for the Prime Minister to become infected again.
“Yes, you can” (get Covid a second time). But generally, if you get it a second time, it’s much, much milder than the first time you’ve got it,” Prof Collignon said.
Deakin University epidemiologist Professor Catherine Bennett said the PM had his Covid infection at the start of March, so it was most likely to be either the circulating B. A. 1 or B. A. 2 Omicron subvariant.
Kristina Keneally, Jason Clare, Chris Bowen and Mark Butler are among the senior Labor MPs who have recently contracted Covid.
Mr Albanese’s campaign team imposed a much tougher approach to infection control on the campaign trail, with all journalists on the bus accompanying Mr Albanese having to show proof they have been tripled vaccinated.
They also have to wear a P2 mask on the bus, do a rapid antigen test every three days and show the results to Labor staffers.
Before the election was called Labor campaign headquarters was struck by a major Covid outbreak, with ALP campaign director and National Secretary Paul Erickson along with a swag of people in the Labor campaign media unit caught the virus.
Labor’s industrial relations spokesman Tony Burke also fought off the infection and an Albanese staff member in charge of scoping out the campaign venues is reported to have come down with Covid.
The task of winning over voters will now likely pass to Labor’s deputy leader Richard Marles, shadow treasurer Jim Chalmers and Senate Leader Penny Wong.
Under a Covid contingency plan it is possible Mr Albanese may still participate in the campaign remotely using digital platforms if he is up to it.
Mr Albanese spent the past week in Brisbane where he mingled with locals and toured workplaces across a range of industries.
He arrived in Brisbane on Sunday night after a surprise visit to the Bluesfest in Byron Bay where he shared the stage with Jimmy Barnes.
The Labor leader started the new week in sunny Queensland, first meeting flood affected victims.
On Tuesday, he visited veterans at a local bowls club where he pledged funding for a disaster relief charity before being shown around Tritium, an electrical equipment supplier in Brisbane’s east.
Mr Albanese began Wednesday with an early morning visit to Toll’s national office.
He spent the rest of the day preparing for the first leader’s debate at The Gabba that night.
On Thursday, his bus left the Sunshine state and headed south to New South Wales.
He began the day meeting workers at a large ethanol distillery in Bomaderry before visiting a retirement village in Nowra for a photo opportunity.
The campaign then headed to Sydney, where Mr Albanese shared a coffee and a selfie with some locals in Ryde.
LABOR BRANCH’S SHOCKING FACEBOOK MEMES
The official Facebook page of a Labor branch in the heart of Anthony Albanese’s electorate of Grayndler has been caught out posting anti-Semitic, misogynist, and offensive memes about prominent Liberal party figures, a day after the Labor leader attacked Prime Minister Scott Morrison for trying to “divide” people.
The page, Balmain Labor, describes itself as “the official page of the Australian Labor Party Balmain Branch” and links to the website of the NSW Labor Party.
In one post, dated March 4, Treasurer Josh Frydenberg is seen photoshopped into a Nazi uniform under the caption “Bogan’s Heroes”.
Mr Frydenberg’s mother was a Holocaust survivor and a number of his relatives died in Hitler’s death camps.
In another post, dated April 3, Tony Abbott’s former chief of staff is attacked as a witch with the caption “Peta Credlin’s garage” placed under a photo of a row of old stick brooms leaning up against a brick wall.
DAWN FRASER WEIGHS IN ON TRANSGENDER DEBATE
Dawn Fraser has weighed into the transgender sporting debate, calling for separate competitions to ensure fairness.
The swimming legend said our greatest Olympian Emma McKeon was correct in saying this week it would be unfair for women be to forced to swim against a “biological” male.
“I don’t think it’s fair to have transgender men competing against women,” Fraser, who won gold at the 1956, 1960 and 1964 Olympics, said.
“Why don’t transgender people compete against each other. That would solve all the problems?”
Transgender athlete Hannah Mouncey, who was banned from playing AFLW, said the debate — brought into focus through the election campaign and controversial comments by Liberal candidate for Warringah Katherine Deves — was misguided.
Mouncey, 32, said transgender athletes lost significant strength after transition.
“I used to be able to bench press 150kg but that went down to 50kg within 12 months, that’s the effect of the loss of testosterone,” she said.
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Originally published as Election 2022 live: Anthony Albanese speaks from isolation, Scott Morrison under renewed attack over Solomon Islands
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