If you like this article, share it with your friends.
Anthony Albanese last night offered up just the right level of non-apology for the confected outrage that was melon-gate, admitting on 7.30 that he shouldn’t have gone on the Bush Deep podcast — a point obvious to many from day dot.
“If I had my time again, which you don’t, then I wouldn’t have done that podcast,” the prime minister said when asked what he had learned. “We have a view which is trying to talk to as many people as possible, but clearly that was an error.”
One presumes that will finally be the end of it, though Liberal deputy Jane Hume kept beating the dead horse on Sunrise this morning. One hopes Albanese and his team really have learned from this, as they should from all scandals, confected or otherwise, given the speed with which a prime minister’s brand can deteriorate.
Albanese has accrued a decent list of political boo-boos over his time in the Lodge, as leaders are wont to do. But it appears comedic word games are particularly troublesome for him. Just in case his team has forgotten, here is a growing list of forums Albanese should not attend if he wants to avoid adding to his roster of faux pas.
Albanese no doubt sees political advantage in “trying to talk to as many people as possible”. He clearly also aspires to a “cool PM” persona, chasing the validation of “celebrities” whose entire shtick is sounding a bit dumb. Unfortunately for “Albo”, in these bawdy chats, he comes off less funny or charismatic than a daggy dad trying to keep up.
Are there votes in these appearances? Maybe, among those who otherwise don’t follow politics. But they are not worth the risk or the debasement, with the prime minister behaving like a monkey dancing for votes.
Few of these hosts want to talk policy, and when they do, we should question what drives that interest, as Cam Wilson reported extensively for Crikey over the teen social media ban.
On a similar note, it’s time for Albanese to cut ties with Kyle Sandilands, with whom he shared a strange public friendship, regularly appearing on his now-cancelled radio show and even attending his ostentatious 2023 wedding (Albanese defended his attendance by arguing Sandilands, already known for his vile behaviour, was an “Australian success story”).
This should seem obvious, given Sandilands frequently flirts with alt-right political fringes on his new subscription-based online show, following his blow-up with longtime co-host Jackie O. And yet it wasn’t clear to NSW Labor Premier Chris Minns, who lent his credibility to Kyle Sandilands Live as its first-ever guest.
Let’s hope Albanese isn’t about to follow. Sandilands recently told the Daily Tele that he received a supportive call from him on budget day, implying he still has the PM in his pocket. The same should go for Karl Stefanovic’s increasingly right-wing channels, obviously, though I’m not holding my breath.
The outrage came from a different direction, but many recall Albanese’s callous description of Grace Tame as “difficult” in a word association game at a Herald Sun forum in February. Few bought his excuse that he was referring to her “difficult life”. Tame certainly didn’t, writing in Crikey that he was “performing for the same Tory crowd he had once sought to fight”.
It’s not clear what anyone gains from these word games. But he really should stop engaging with News Corp’s nonsense, having previously offended some voters via a “rapid-fire round” with the Tele, in which he described Captain Cook as a “world changer” and said men couldn’t have babies in order to prove he was “not woke”.
Note to Albanese: they’re not going to go easy on you just because you help them shit on their ideological enemies. The proof is in the melon.
The dust has settled on Albanese’s decision to attend an intimate Point Piper dinner organised by Felix Lee, the high-rolling son of a controversial Chinese billionaire, securing a reported $100,000 donation from Lee, as the AFR reported. But let’s hope he won’t soon forget the outrage that followed.
