Prime Minister Anthony Albanese now admits he shouldn’t have taken part in the Bush Deep interview with Nikki Osborne. Photo: Screenshot.
Anthony Albanese has publicly admitted what the rest of the country has known for more than a month – that he shouldn’t have appeared on the Bush Deep podcast and been interviewed by comedian Nikki Osborne.
The Prime Minister attracted sustained criticism over a number of the elements in the July interview, which at times strayed into sexual innuendo and discussion about his love life.
He unreservedly apologised soon after the interview for saying he would shag Kylie Minogue when the comedian, in character as Bush Barbie, put him on the spot with a “shag, marry, date” question.
The PM also confessed during the interview that a South Sydney Rugby League team win was a good aphrodisiac for him and his wife Jodie Haydon.
More recently, the outrage swelled over his description – complete with a squeezing hands gesture in front of his chest – of a “couple of melons” presented to him as official gifts from Japanese Prime Minister Takaichi Sanae.
Ms Osborne made the most of it by suggesting that the Japanese PM came in carrying the melons and looking like Pamela Anderson.
The Coalition went hard last week attacking the Prime Minister for acting disrespectfully, but the Opposition’s assault soon fizzled out.
Mr Albanese has strongly denied he was talking or acting suggestively when describing the crown melons.
But during a more serious interview Thursday night (20 August), on the ABC’s 7.30 program, the Prime Minister acknowledged that his mistake was taking part in the interview in the first place.
Ms Osborne, as Bush Barbie, is well-known for hilariously trading on politically incorrect jokes, double entendres and sexual innuendo.
Getting Australia’s Prime Minister to appear on her podcast was a coup for the comedian, but a disaster for Mr Albanese.
“You always need to do better. And that’s why initially I made a very clear and unequivocal apology,” the PM told 7.30 when asked about it.
“You always learn. My mentor was Tom Uren [the late icon of the Labor left and former deputy leader], and he used to say to me two things: you’ve got to learn something new every day, but also you’ve got to grow as a person every day.
“I continue to do that, and I continue to learn new things every day, and to do better each and every day … I learned that I need to do better every day.
“And, of course, if I had my time again, which you don’t, then I wouldn’t have done that podcast.
“We have a view which is trying to talk to as many people as possible, but clearly that was an error.”
The confession came at the end of a successful week for the Albanese government, which secured the passage of a string of controversial bills through Federal Parliament.
These included legislation on the NDIS overhaul and the contentious gambling advertising reform.
Late on Thursday, the News Bargaining Incentive bill also passed parliament, forcing global tech giants to pay millions of dollars in extra taxes if they fail to strike commercial deals with local media outlets for news they put on their platforms.
Mr Albanese acknowledged in the 730 interview that Opposition Leader Angus Taylor had worked cooperatively with him on the more divisive legislation such as gambling ads and the NDIS.
“I think Angus Taylor has been prepared to sit down. Last week in particular, we met three times,” the PM said.
“It’s a good thing that parliament is able to get outcomes and get results.
“He’s got a difficult issue with his own party room, and both of us went through our party rooms, but he was constructive, and that’s a good thing.”
What wasn’t a good look for Labor at the end of the political week, though, was the fact that Commonwealth debt has reached $1 trillion for the first time in Australia’s history.
Shadow treasurer Tim Wilson tried to suspend parliament’s standing orders on Thursday to condemn the government over the debt level.
Describing it as “one of the saddest days in our nation’s history”, Mr Wilson said the record debt proved Labor’s spending was too far out of control.
“This is a disaster for our country,” he said.
“We know that the legacy of $1 trillion of Commonwealth debt is a disaster for the Australian people and for the legacy it is going to hand future generations.”
His motion failed because Labor has the numbers in the House of Representatives.
The government also maintains that much of the debt was inherited from the previous Coalition government.
Original Article published by Chris Johnson on Region Canberra.
