Anthony Albanese says he thought Grace Tame wearing a T-shirt with a slogan saying “F— Murdoch” to Sunday’s Australia Day event was “disrespectful”.

Tame was photographed in the T-shirt with Albanese and his fiancee, Jodie Haydon, at his Canberra residence. Albanese admitted he saw the message written on her shirt before he posed for the photo.

When asked if he agreed or disagreed with the message on the T-shirt at a press conference in Western Australia, Albanese said, “I clearly disagree.”

“I want debate to be respectful … and that’s a choice that she made. People are allowed to express themselves, but I thought it was disrespectful of the event and of the people who that event was primarily for.”

Albanese defended his decision to pose for the photo.

“People came through. There was a queue of more than – I don’t know how many people were in the queue, around about at least 60, there was all of the Australia Day nominees, there was all of the past Australians of the Year, there was the Australia Day Council, people were just there. One by one, rolling through being welcomed.

“It was clearly designed to get attention. I don’t intend to add to that attention because I do think that it takes away from what the day should be about – which is the amazing people who were nominated as Australians of the Year.”