Albanese, Karvelas clash over her ‘not terribly clever’ questions

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has given a snarky interview over tax reform and interest rates, accusing the media of focusing on “not terribly clever questions” as the government’s agenda stalls in the Senate against opposition from the Coalition and Greens.

During a 20-minute interview on Thursday, the prime minister criticised ABC host Patricia Karvelas’ questioning, the latest in a series of moments where Albanese has grown tetchy when pressed on hard topics.

ABC radio presenter Patricia Karvelas and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese had a tense interview.Credit: ABC Screengrab, Alex Ellinghausen

Albanese told reporters to “chill out” in August after he was filmed in a hot-mic-style incident at the Pacific Islands Forum, snapped at 2GB host Ben Fordham over the Voice and clashed with the organiser of an April anti-domestic violence rally in Canberra, saying: “I am the prime minister”.

Thursday’s interview became tense when Karvelas asked the prime minister whether he was ruling out changes to capital gains and negative gearing tax rules.

“Well Patricia, I don’t answer … those sorts of questions,” Albanese said. Karvelas interrupted: “You mean good ones? That’s a good question. Are you going to say no to those things or not?”

Snapping back, Albanese said: “They’re not clever, they’re things that journalists … the next question is, when will the election be?”

“That’s not my next question,” Karvelas said.

Albanese said they were “not terribly clever questions”. He added: “You ask all of that. We’re interested in the tax policy that we are implementing, not the ones that we’re not.”

Albanese had a poor relationship with the press during his 2022 election campaign but relations have improved since then. He leans heavily on soft-focus FM radio interviews.

The government’s policy agenda has stagnated this week, despite the Senate sitting in Canberra, as opposition and crossbench senators deferred debate for two months on Labor’s Help to Buy policy, which would allow the government to help poorer Australians buy 40,000 homes.

Karvelas later asked about whether the government could use the stymied bills to trigger a double dissolution election, which is a vote for both houses of parliament triggered by the senate rejecting the same government proposal twice. “See you have got to the next question!” Albanese said, laughing.

In August, at the Pacific Islands Forum in Tonga, Albanese blamed a young reporter for filming him speaking with US diplomat Kurt Campbell.

Pressed on the matter, Albanese told reporters to “chill out” and disputed that Campbell had said the US had pulled out of a similar Pacific policing initiative to let Australia take the lead.

During the Voice to Parliament referendum campaign, Albanese got into tense exchanges with journalists, notably in July 2023 during a 38-minute interview with 2GB radio host Ben Fordham. Albanese accused Fordham of “reading from the No pamphlet”.

Beyond reporters, Albanese’s temper flared during Canberra’s anti-domestic violence rally in April this year. He asked the protest organiser whether she wanted him to speak, saying “I am the prime minister” before stepping up to take the microphone.

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