The Albanese government’s acting Minister for Women is refusing to condemn the Prime Minister’s lewd and sexual comments about high profile females despite a growing backlash to his controversial podcast appearance last week.
News of Anthony Albanese’s “unequivocal apology” to Kylie Minogue for declaring he wanted to “shag” the Australian pop icon has gone global, with articles appearing across the United States and Europe.
On Tuesday the Opposition stepped up its criticism of his “slow and inadequate” response to the controversy, and rebuked Mr Albanese’s “crude” comments about Japan’s first female leader Sanae Takaichi involving innuendo about her body.
During his appearance on the Deep Bush podcast Mr Albanese turned an official diplomatic gift from his Japanese guest into sexual innuendo, describing how she was a woman “with a couple of melons”.
The Shizuoka-grown Crown Melons Mr Albanese referenced were formal presents given by the Japanese Prime Minister during her visit to Australia in May and are considered a high-end food as some sell for over $200 AUD each.
Liberal Senator Sarah Henderson described Mr Albanese’s “one line apology” this week as “wholly inadequate” given his “crude” comments about a world leader, while frontbench colleague James Paterson was also scathing of his handling of the matter.
“I thought it was slow and inadequate, and this is exactly why I’ve been warning parliamentarians against diminishing themselves and their offices by engaging in stunts like this,” Senator Paterson told ABC.
“The Prime Minister shouldn’t be participating in comedy podcasts, certainly not if he can’t control himself and prevent himself from making sexual observations about prominent Australian women, and the least he can do is apologise for it.
“He should remember he is not a social media influencer, he is not a celebrity, he’s a Prime Minister, and his position is more important than just his own personal reputation.
“It’s the office of the Prime Minister that he holds, and I think, frankly, the defence that was given of him by people like Tanya Plibersek and Jacinta Allan yesterday was absolutely extraordinary and unwarranted.”
The Japanese embassy in Canberra declined to comment on the matter although The Nightly has confirmed official figures in Tokyo have noted Mr Albanese’s controversial comments.
In a speech to the Labor aligned McKell Institute on Tuesday, the Albanese government’s Acting Women’s Minister celebrated “Women’s participation in the workforce and public life” but declined requests to comment on her Prime Minister’s conduct.
“Women’s empowerment matters because no country can realise its full potential while half its population continues to face barriers to participation, leadership and opportunity,” Dr Anne Aly said in Sydney, while refusing to condemn Mr Albanese’s conduct.
During a visit to the Northern Territory on Tuesday, Opposition leader Angus Taylor also criticised the PM’s comments on the Bush Deep podcast.
“The hypocrisy of his comments on that podcast is extraordinary,” Mr Taylor said.
Standing alongside her leader, Liberal Senator Jacinta Nampijinpa Price also described Mr Albanese’s language as “extremely misogynistic”.
“What a shameful Prime Minister we have with his recent comments that he made on a podcast which were extremely misogynistic,” Ms Price said.
“Not just about an iconic Australian pop singer such as Kylie Minogue, but also in relation to the Japanese Prime Minister.
“This Prime Minister should stand before the Australian people, stand before women right around our country and apologise unreservedly himself.
“Not through a statement, but for the sake of every single woman in this country and girl child in this country that his behaviour is unacceptable.”
Independent teal MP Monique Ryan also weighed into the controversy on Tuesday, telling Channel Nine it was just an “embarrassing” situation.
“I think in the past when Scott Morrison has come out with equally embarrassing commentary, people have leapt on him and in a way that they perhaps haven’t done with the PM in the last 48 hours,” she said.
“We really do, I think, have the right to expect more from our leaders.
“This sort of embarrassing, really cringey sort of engagement with social media commentators doesn’t reflect well on the Prime Minister, it doesn’t reflect well on our administration.
“And I would really like to see better from leaders on both sides in the future.”
Nova Entertainment and Nikki Osborne have been contacted by The Nightly for comment but have not responded.
Australian entertainer Rhonda Burchmore, who was mentioned in the podcast alongside fellow stars Nicole Kidman and Kylie Minogue, told The Herald Sun that clearly the PM is “intimidated by tall redheads”, because he didn’t select her to “shag”.
Burchmore said she was “flattered to be in that bunch of women” presented to Mr Albanese, but added: “Albo must be intimidated by tall redheads since Kylie is the only one that could fit into his pocket”.
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