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Anthony Albanese says he hasn’t ‘had a day off long time’ following ‘Airbus Albo’ criticism

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has hit back at criticism over his globetrotting overseas travel insisting he hasn’t “had a day off in a very long period of time.”

Albanese hits back at criticisms over international travel

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has hit back at criticism over his globetrotting overseas travel insisting he hasn’t “had a day off in a very long period of time.”

Stung by social media users dubbing him ‘Airbus Albo’ and ‘Anthony Over-seasy’, the Prime Minister returned to Australia today insisting his overseas travel was in the national interest.

After landing in Perth, he was hit by questions from the travelling media over whether his overseas travel was starting to grate with voters.

“I have attended the QUAD leaders meeting, the day after the election. It was not a decision of mine to hold the election on May 21, that was a decision of the former Prime Minister,’’ Mr Ablanese said.

“I attended that and I attended the NATO summit, which was important. It was important that Australia be represented there. It was important that we deal with the relationship with France and Europe, and I believe that my visit to Ukraine was important. To show solidarity with the people of Ukraine.

“I have not had a day off in a very long period of time,’’ he said.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky (R) and Australia's Prime Minister Anthony Albanese. Picture: AFP
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky (R) and Australia's Prime Minister Anthony Albanese. Picture: AFP

Asked if he had made a “rod for his own back” by criticising the former Prime Minister over his Hawaii holiday during the summer bushfires, he shot back that he wasn’t on a holiday.

“If people want to argue that I’m not working hard, they can argue their case,’’ Mr Ablanese said.

Liberal frontbencher Dan Tehan told Sky News this week that the new Prime Minister was paying too much time to international matters at the expense of problems at home.

“It is concerning because what he seems to be doing is focusing completely on the international front and good prime ministers can do both,” Mr Tehan said.

“They understand that ultimately the domestic front is the most important place and that is where you have to have the majority of your focus, and then you’ve got to be able to deal with international events.

“What we’re seeing from Mr Albanese is very much a focus on everything international and we’re starting to see serious drift when it comes to incredibly important domestic issues, like energy, like skills shortages, like these floods we’re now confronting on the eastern seaboard.”

But NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet defended the Prime Minister insisting he had no issue with the Prime Minister’s travel.

“I don’t think so at all,” Mr Perrottet told reporters on Tuesday.

“He was in Ukraine, he called me yesterday.

NSW has been smashed by floods. Picture John Grainger
NSW has been smashed by floods. Picture John Grainger

“I won’t go into where he was, from an operational perspective, but he called me yesterday and as soon as he could.

“He’s overseas on work that’s important for Australia.”

Treasurer Jim Chalmers said the PM was “working around the clock” to ensure federal assistance was provided to those areas in need.

“We would prefer that if we inherited relationships which were in perfect nick in our region, in the Pacific, with the French and around the world. But unfortunately that’s not what we inherited,” he said.

“What we got instead were a series of relationships which are very important to Australians which had been run down over time. We would prefer that work wasn’t necessary.”

Since the election, Mr Albanese has headed to Tokyo for the Quad leaders’ summit where he was joined by US President Joe Biden, India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Japan’s Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, before travelling to Indonesia and the NATO summit in Madrid last week.

Originally published as Anthony Albanese says he hasn’t ‘had a day off long time’ following ‘Airbus Albo’ criticism

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Original URL: https://www.heraldsun.com.au/business/work/anthony-albanese-says-he-hasnt-had-a-day-off-long-time-following-airbus-albo-criticism/news-story/7eff39b2a020adc6efc09b6a106173c3