Today Show

KARL STAFANOVIC: He is Labor's most experienced politician but the big question this morning, has Albo been gagged? A new report reveals he has only been allowed to ask six of Labor's 511 questions in Parliament, that's just 1.2%. Christopher Pyne joins us now from Adelaide, the man himself, Anthony Albanese is in the studio. Albo and Christopher, good morning to you.

CHRISTOPHER PYNE: Good morning Karl.

ANTHONY ALBANESE: Good to be with you.

KARL STAFANOVIC: But to you first of all Albo, have you been muzzled?

ANTHONY ALBANESE: I'm here on national TV, Karl, and I had the matter of public importance this week on infrastructure and the budget. I think it's pretty hard to argue that I don't get to say much.

KARL STAFANOVIC: You have been muzzled completely.

CHRISTOPHER PYNE: He’s like the man in the iron mask Karl.

KARL STAFANOVIC: Yeah.

ANTHONY ALBANESE: Not at all, I gave six speeches in the Parliament this week, I sit on the tactics committee.

KARL STAFANOVIC: But you are actually very good at asking questions in Parliament, you've only asked, what five or six?

ANTHONY ALBANESE: I sit on the tactics committee that determines who gets to ask the questions, so I'm part of that decision.

CHRISTOPHER PYNE: It’s been deciding that when you leave the room brother, as soon as you are out of the room they are taking the questions off you and giving them to Jim Chalmers. Who is Jim Chalmers?

KARL STAFANOVIC: Who is Jim Chalmers?

CHRISTOPHER PYNE: He has had 16 questions.

ANTHONY ALBANESE: He is a good fellow in spite of the fact he supports Queensland.

KARL STAFANOVIC: Okay, now listen, does Bill Shorten have a drama with you?

ANTHONY ALBANESE: Not at all.

KARL STAFANOVIC: You sure?

ANTHONY ALBANESE: Yep.

KARL STAFANOVIC: You are not after his job?

ANTHONY ALBANESE: Not at all.

KARL STAFANOVIC: Why not?

ANTHONY ALBANESE: Because I'm happy with the job that I've got, and I'm a team player, I've always been a team player. I'm making a contribution holding the Government to account on infrastructure and being part of the team.

KARL STAFANOVIC: His popularity is woeful, why wouldn't you just muscle up and grab his job?

ANTHONY ALBANESE: We are on 53% of the two party preferred vote.

KARL STAFANOVIC: He is not.

ANTHONY ALBANESE: We are in the countdown to the 30 Newspolls where Malcolm Turnbull rolled Tony Abbott. The only division in the national Parliament is on Christopher's side, where we have an ongoing war between Malcolm Turnbull and Tony Abbott. This week we saw a breakout over climate change policy where the head of their climate caucus committee, Craig Kelly, tweeting out saying "Pop the champagne corks if Donald Trump and the US pull out of the Paris accord", and of course they have.

CHRISTOPHER PYNE: How can Anthony be holding us to account when he never gets a question? Six questions out of 511.

ANTHONY ALBANESE: You never answer them.

CHRISTOPHER PYNE: You said you’re holding us to account on infrastructure, but you never get to ask anybody a question. You are like the man in the iron mask, Anthony.

ANTHONY ALBANESE: I certainly am, I'm out there giving speeches in parliament and right around the country.

CHRISTOPHER PYNE: You are hidden away.

KARL STAFANOVIC: We do support more questions for Anthony Albanese, though, in Parliament, you’re very good at it. Let's move on, horse whispering…

CHRISTOPHER PYNE: We should do a poll. Ask the viewers whether they support more questions for Anthony Albanese. I'd answer yes, straight away.

ANTHONY ALBANESE: Only if they weren't coming to you mate.

CHRISTOPHER PYNE: You don't worry me.

KARL STAFANOVIC: Let's move on quickly. Horse whispering, yoga and energy healing, just some of the activities being funded by taxpayers as part of the $22 billion National Disability Insurance Scheme. Christopher, some dramas here, aren't there?

CHRISTOPHER PYNE: No, not at all Karl, the National Disability Insurance Scheme, which we want to fund fully by the way and Bill Shorten doesn't, Anthony does, he is one of the shadow cabinet ministers who says Labor should support the increase of the Medicare levy to fund the NDIS, Bill Shorten playing cheap jack populism again…

ANTHONY ALBANESE: No, we’ve funded it through a different way.

KARL STAFANOVIC: Okay, but horse whispering, energy healing, yoga, spiritual counselling, are they all acceptable?

CHRISTOPHER PYNE: Well, some of those things might well be Karl, I mean I'm not going to casting judgment about whether yoga is good or bad for people with disabilities, it might well be good for particular people with disabilities, so I'm not going to jump on that band wagon, not doubt Bill Shorten will.

KARL STAFANOVIC: There might be some teething problems though, do you concede that there might be some teething problems with it?

CHRISTOPHER PYNE: No look, it's a very big project, there is no doubt about that, and we want to fund it properly, unlike the Labor Party. Of course there’s always things along the way you've got to smooth out, whether it's a new program or an older program. But I'm not going to make value judgments about whether yoga is good or bad for people with disabilities. I'm not qualified to do that, but in some cases it might well be.

KARL STAFANOVIC: Anthony?

ANTHONY ALBANESE: Well, the National Disability Insurance Scheme is a proud Labor creation...

CHRISTOPHER PYNE: But you won’t fund it.

ANTHONY ALBANESE: We support it, we’ve dragged the Coalition towards supporting our position on the NDIS, it's a good thing. You can always find, in a massive program such as this, I'm sure that there will be the odd issue or two. The issue is, fundamentally, this is making a huge difference to people's lives who, due to accidents of history, have created circumstances for them and their carers and their families, it's a great program.

KARL STAFANOVIC: You muscle up yourself in Parliament because we would like to hear questions from you Albo, our viewers to do too.

ANTHONY ALBANESE: I think it's very hard to say that I don't have a say in politics…

CHRISTOPHER PYNE: You’ve been hidden away.

ANTHONY ALBANESE: Here I am on the most popular breakfast television program.

CHRISTOPHER PYNE: You are in the bunker.

ANTHONY ALBANESE: Just got that in for the ad mate.

KARL STAFANOVIC: You'll be back next week, you can talk as much as you’d like.

ANTHONY ALBANESE: Yeah, Christopher mightn't be.

CHRISTOPHER PYNE: We’ll see about that. If you go down brother I'm going down too, we go down together, we rise or fall together.

(LAUGHTER)

KARL STAFANOVIC: That’s funny.

LISA WILKINSON: It is, thank you very much.

ANTHONY ALBANESE: I'm worried now.

LISA WILKINSON: Oh shoosh, you’ve had your time.