Federal Election 2022: Anthony Albanese’s final pitch to Australian voters

Anthony Albanese has written to voters in his final pitch, asking them to use their opportunity at the polls to “vote for something better”.

When the cost of the necessities of life, like food and clothing, grows faster than the pay packets of Australians, there is something wrong with our nation.

Australians work hard. We look after each other, a feature of our national character that has come to the fore during the Covid pandemic.

Yet our Federal Liberal Government boasts is it deliberately keeping a lid on growth in wages.

It is led by a Prime Minister in Scott Morrison who believes our lowest-paid workers don’t deserve a pay rise that allows them to keep up with inflation. He can’t even agree with the concept that all workers, including delivery drivers in the gig economy, are entitled to the minimum wage.

Today Australians have a chance to vote for something better.

Anthony Albanese has pledged higher wages so Aussie families can get ahead.

The choice is between a tired Liberal Government that is out of puff and out of ideas, or a Labor Government with a clear plan for a better future for our nation.

Labor’s plan is about a stronger economy, more jobs, greater security of work and higher wages so Australian families can get ahead.

We’ll tackle Mr Morrison’s cost of living crisis with cheaper child care, cheaper electricity and cheaper medicines. We have a plan to boost economic productivity, thereby assisting employers and workers whilst putting downward pressure on inflation.

We will end the climate wars and seize the great job creation opportunities that will come with greater use of renewable energy.

Renewable energy is not only clean; it is also cheap. Using cheaper energy, Australia can be a nation that makes things again. We can revitalise Australian manufacturing, creating thousands of new jobs across the nation and giving birth to new export industries that will make Australia a renewable energy superpower.

Labor will end the climate wars and seize the great job creation opportunities.

Labor’s Powering Australia Plan, fully modelled by RepuTex and backed by business, will cut household power bills by $275 a year by 2025 and create 604,000 new jobs – five out of six of these jobs will be in regional Australia.

To ensure Australians have the skills needed to fill these new jobs, we will create 20,000 new university places and 465,000 fee-free TAFE places in areas like advanced manufacturing, the care industries like nursing and aged care, as well as the traditional trades.

The Royal Commission into aged care described the care of our oldest Australians as a national disgrace. Labor has a comprehensive plan to improve care standards and ensure every nursing home in the country has a registered nurse on duty 24/7.

Anthony Albanese revisited the council home he grew up in as part of a last ditch advertisement before the election.

And we will cut the maximum cost of medicines under the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme from $42.50 to $30 per script.

A Labor Government will also fix the National Broadband Network to give more Australians, including small businesses, access to state-of the art broadband.

We’ll boost teaching standards in schools and fix Mr Morrison’s National Disability Insurance Scheme mess.

Labor’s plans are sensible and affordable.

We aren’t proposing a revolution. But we are proposing renewal using the power of government to make our great nation even better.

NSW

We’ll strengthen Medicare, making it easier to see a doctor, including by creating 50 new Medicare Urgent Care Clinics where Australians can receive bulk-billed care for non-life-threatening medical emergencies. 13 of those centres will be in NSW.

We will partner with the NSW Government and councils across the state to deliver the projects that matter to local communities.

In Western Sydney, Labor will tackle congestion with an initial package of works that will deliver $300 million worth of investment, including:

Bringing forward funding to accelerate construction works on Dunheved Road.

$50 million for the Castlereagh Connection planning and preparatory works.

$37 million for Richmond Road planning.

$75 million to finalise planning and commence initial construction of Bandon Road in the North-West Growth Corridor.

In the regions, Labor will take the first steps towards High Speed Rail, starting with the line from Sydney to Newcastle, building Mandalong Road in Morriset, the Nowra Bypass, the Milton Ulladulla Bypass and upgrading the Pacific Highway in Wyong.

VICTORIA

A Labor Government will deliver the infrastructure that Victorians really need, investing an initial $2.2 billion in the Suburban Rail Loop over the next five years.

We’ll invest in an interchange at Cameron’s Lane in fast-growing Beveridge, the Wyndham West Link in southwest Melbourne and the Mickleham Road Upgrade in Greenvale. In regional Victoria, Labor will invest in the Barwon Heads Road Duplication Stage 2 project.

Labor’s plans are sensible and affordable.

We aren’t proposing a revolution. But we are proposing renewal using the power of government to make our great nation even better.

We’ll strengthen Medicare, making it easier to see a doctor, including by creating 50 new Medicare Urgent Care Clinics where Australians can receive bulk-billed care for non-life-threatening medical emergencies. Ten of those centres will be in Victoria.

One of these clinics will be built in the Geelong region to help take pressure off the hospital emergency department.

Anthony Albanese talks about his mother on the campaign trail.

QUEENSLAND

Earlier this year, when South East Queensland experienced a devastating flood, Scott Morrison abandoned Queenslanders.

He picked fights with the Premier over flood funding, didn’t call a national emergency, and even now, Queenslanders are getting a third of what flood victims in New South Wales are getting.

In times of emergency, we don’t need division. I want to be a Prime Minister for all of Australia, who works with the Premiers and their Governments, and I’ll always make sure Queenslanders get their fair share.

To ensure Far North Queenslanders have the skills needed to fill these new jobs, we will create 20,000 new university places and 465,000 fee-free TAFE places in areas like advanced manufacturing, the care industries like nursing and aged care, as well as the traditional trades.

Far North Queensland has had a tough couple of years. The pandemic has been hard on cornerstone industries like tourism, and it’s harder and more expensive than ever to see a GP.

Labor wants to build new industries in Cairns and fix the regional healthcare crisis.

We will invest in the Cairns Marine Precinct, creating secure manufacturing jobs for generations to come. We will build the new CQU university campus in the heart of Cairns, stage one of the Cairns Water Security Project and invest in desperately needed upgrades and maintenance in the Torres Strait.

We will commit to real action on climate change, as well as boosting investment in the Great Barrier Reef to $1.2 billion, protecting the reef and the tens of thousands of jobs it supports.

And we will fund a new Medicare Urgent Care Clinic in Cairns, as well as 20 new doctor placements at JCU, to train more local doctors, make bulk-billing more accessible and ease pressure on our emergency departments.

SOUTH AUSTRALIA

We’ll strengthen Medicare, making it easier to see a doctor, including by creating 50 new Medicare Urgent Care Clinics. Five of those centres will be in SA.

An Albanese Labor Government will partner with SA Premier Peter Malinauskas and the State Labor Government to deliver a major expansion of Flinders Medical Centre.

And only an Albanese Labor Government will protect South Australia’s most precious water resource and deliver the 450 gigalitres of water promised to SA.

Labor will strike the right balance between the needs of local communities, farmers and the environment while upholding the letter and the spirit of the Murray Darling Basin Plan.

TASMANIA

We’ll strengthen Medicare, making it easier to see a doctor, including by creating 50 new Medicare Urgent Care Clinics where Australians can receive bulk-billed care for non-life-threatening medical emergencies.

This includes three in Tasmania, including Burnie, Launceston and Greater Hobart.

After a decade of needless division under the Liberals, Australians have conflict fatigue. They are tired of politicians who don’t step up to their responsibilities and pick arguments rather than seek outcomes.

We’ll work with other levels of government, business, unions and other interest groups to explore on areas of shared interest like economic growth and job creation, creating a partnership in progress to advance the national interest.

Australians have been magnificent during the Covid pandemic. We have endured hardship and adversity together, looking after each other and caring for our community.

As we move away from the pandemic, we have a fantastic opportunity to build back stronger and to create a better future for ourselves and future generations.

Labor stands ready to lead that journey.

The choice today is between more of the same or a better future for all Australians.

Anthony Albanese is the Leader of the Australian Labor Party

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