Budget 2020: Anthony Albanese to reply with policy pitch for power

Anthony Albanese will use his first budget reply speech to roll out major economic and social policies.

Opposition Leader Anthony Albanese in Canberra on Wednesday. Picture: Gary Ramage

Anthony Albanese will use his first budget reply speech to roll out major economic and social policies, including productivity reforms aimed at repairing skills shortages, and to deliver a pre-­election pitch to women, young families, blue-collar workers and older Australians.

The Opposition Leader, who is preparing to fight an election at the back end of next year, is ­expected to push an alternative jobs and training strategy and the use of local products, labour and research to drive a modern manufacturing sector and support nation-building defence industry and infrastructure projects.

In his Thursday night speech, Mr Albanese will outline Labor’s “vision” to lead Australia’s post-pandemic recovery and shift the party to a more policy-focused agenda ahead of the ALP national platform being finalised next year.

The Australian understands there will be a major announcement on childcare.

Attempting to frame Labor as a credible economic manager, Mr Albanese will position the Opposition’s priorities as childcare, aged care, the better delivery of infrastructure, defence industry and manufacturing, social housing, a more generous welfare safety net, renewable energy, research and science.

Mr Albanese on Wednesday announced a Labor government would spend $500m to fast-track urgent repairs to social housing and “provide work for tradies”.

“We know that there is a maintenance backlog in this country for about 100,000 social housing dwellings. We know also that maintenance backlog could be filled. It’s a job plan that’s ready to go,” Mr Albanese said.

“Within a couple of weeks, you could have sparkies, plumbers, other tradies, in people’s homes, making a difference to people’s lives. There are so many Australians who live in social housing who have leaky roofs, who have problems with their dunny, problems with their kitchen. We are missing an opportunity.” Mr Albanese, who will fight the next election with a smaller agenda than Bill Shorten’s, has announced four policies since last year’s May 18 poll: a commitment to increase the dole, net-zero emissions by 2050, a national driver’s licence system and more money for the ABC.

Labor MPs ramped up attacks on the government on Wednesday, accusing it of failing to support female workers and provide adequate childcare relief in the budget.

Mr Albanese said while he wasn’t pursuing free childcare for low-income earners, the ALP was focused on “good policy on childcare that encourages women’s participation in the workforce”.

He said Tuesday night’s budget “offered absolutely nothing in terms of participation in the workforce for women”, adding: “There are three ways you can get economic growth. The three Ps — population, participation, productivity.”

Opposition Treasury spokesman Jim Chalmers said the government had “managed to spend a trillion dollars without doing anything about childcare”.

In a pre-budget address to caucus on Monday, Mr Albanese flagged Labor would begin outlining more of its policies and take up the political fight to the ­Coalition.

“This week, we will start to change tack,” Mr Albanese told Labor MPs.

“We will continue to hold the government to account but we will start to provide the beginnings of our plan for Australia. People have wanted us to be constructive during the pandemic. Increasingly, we will now provide our alternative.”

Mr Albanese said when he replaced Mr Shorten last year he had pledged to not make “announcements on new policies every week”.