Anthony Albanese has flagged his support for a royal commission into Australia's handling of COVID-19, but has stopped short of committing to the move.
Speaking in his home suburb of Marrickville on Friday, the Labor leader said he "cannot envisage" a government which did not attempt to learn the lessons of the pandemic.
A Senate committee into COVID-19, chaired by Labor senator for the ACT Katy Gallagher, in April called for a royal commission into Australia's handling of the crisis.
Mr Albanese revealed he supported examining the response "through a measure like a royal commission", but said Labor had not settled on the best mechanism to do so.
"I cannot envisage a situation in which, whoever wins, [the] government wouldn't want to examine the once-in-a-century pandemic and the response," he said.
"You have to do so. We have to examine it, so we learn the lessons not as a political exercise, although some of it undoubtedly would be political."
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Prime Minister Scott Morrison on Friday stressed he had enacted the senate inquiry, but repeatedly refused to say whether he would implement a royal commission.
And with new Omicron sub-variants emanating out of South Africa, Mr Morrison warned the pandemic was not over.
"My focus is on continuing to manage Australia's response to the pandemic, and there'll be a time to address those issues once the pandemic has completed," he said.
Mr Albanese is recovering from his own bout of COVID-19, but shrugged off suggestions his campaign would be affected by lingering fatigue associated with the virus.
The Labor leader stressed he had completed numerous media commitments on Thursday morning, before a daytime speech, and an evening appearance on the ABC's Q&A.
"I think that's a pretty heavy program," he said.
Mr Albanese has described himself as a leader who would "fess up" to errors, after admitting an early campaign failure to name the cash and unemployment rates was a mistake.
But the Labor leader denied he had made another gaffe on Thursday, when he was unable to name the six pillars of his party's NDIS policy, hitting out at "gotcha" journalism.
Pressed on whether Labor could guarantee no cuts to the NDIS or education on Friday, he renewed his attack on the line of questioning.
"This is an example of what puts people off politics. You cannot have a clearer answer than that Labor is putting additional funding into health, education, and the NDIS," he said.
"You know what puts people off politics? That sort of word game."
In April, the senate committee recommended the federal government establish a centre for disease control to combat future pandemics, a key Labor health policy.
Finn McHugh
Finn McHugh has been federal political reporter for The Canberra Times since July 2021. He joined the Canberra Press Gallery in 2019 where he was executive producer of Sky News's AM Agenda, before joining NCA NewsWire as a federal political reporter. He has previously interned at the Kuwait Times.
Finn McHugh has been federal political reporter for The Canberra Times since July 2021. He joined the Canberra Press Gallery in 2019 where he was executive producer of Sky News's AM Agenda, before joining NCA NewsWire as a federal political reporter. He has previously interned at the Kuwait Times.
Dan Jervis-Bardy
Dan covers federal politics from Parliament House, with a special focus on climate policy and the NDIS. He has previously reported on ACT politics and urban affairs since joining the Canberra Times in 2018.
Dan covers federal politics from Parliament House, with a special focus on climate policy and the NDIS. He has previously reported on ACT politics and urban affairs since joining the Canberra Times in 2018.
