Albo vs press pack: it’s on like Donkey Kong

Campaign Confidential: Albo loses his cool with the press pack, the perfect birthday gift for Scott Morrison, and an interesting idea for a new event for veterans.

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Albo v press pack

Not impressed. Labor leader Anthony Albanese at Gladstone. Picture: Sam Ruttyn

It’s been a long hard campaign, and nerves are fraying. Labor leader Anthony Albanese was getting noticeably testy with journalists on Thursday, declaring at one point that the travelling media were “a bit rude sometimes”. Fronting a fractious press pack at an oil refinery in Gladstone, where machinery made it difficult to hear questions and answers, Albo said he had a new rule: “The loudest yeller doesn’t get the next question,” he announced, later calling on one particular journalist to ask a question, because he was “being very polite”. The tension threatened to boil over later on during a visit to the seat of Lilley, when Albo was hit in the head by a boom microphone. We don’t think it was intentional, but we do note this is the second time this has happened on the election trail. Campaign Confidential’s spies report Albo wasn’t too impressed, but he managed to keep himself composed, and if there was any swearing, he was using his inside voice.

Albanese was not happy being hit in the head with a sound boom mic. Picture: Sam Ruttyn

Mask, and you shall receive

Friday is Scott Morrison’s birthday, but he’s been a bit reluctant to talk about it. And we get it: turning 54 is challenging at the best of times, let alone when you’re on the campaign trail and the polls are not in your favour. But Campaign Confidential has got the perfect gift idea for him: a new cloth face mask. While the PM is famous for wearing Aussie flag face masks in the past, on Thursday in Launceston he resorted to a big black thing that looked like a hammock for his entire face. Just what this government doesn’t need: another cover-up.

Scott Morrison applies a hammock to his face in Launceston on Thursday. Picture: Jason Edwards

Age: just another numbers game in Canberra

Scott Morrison became Prime Minister at the age of 50 and a bit, which actually makes him one of the younger Lodgers we’ve ever had. (The youngest was Chris Watson, who was a mere anklebiter when he ascended to the prime ministership aged just 37.) Anthony Albanese turned 59 back in March, which would make him the sixth oldest PM ever, should he be victorious on May 21. Australia’s oldest PM to date was John McEwen, who was just getting started at 67 when he took office, and he was followed by McMahon (63), Turnbull (60), Chifley (59 and three-quarters), Reid (59 and a half) and then Albo. Interestingly, despite being a big fan of the Ramones, Albo is technically a Baby Boomer, while ScoMo is actually Australia’s first ever Gen X prime minister. Weird, huh?

Reef grief, in brief

As previously mentioned: it’s been a long hard campaign. It’s still no excuse for sloppy proof reading. Case in point: Labor’s funding announcement on Thursday evening. Party headquarters rushed out a press release promising $194.5 million in funding for the Great “Barrer” Reef. D’oh!

There’s nothing like a Games

Australian Values Party founder Heston Russell. Picture: Shae Beplate

Speaking of funding, the Australian Values Party has proposed all the big political parties to commit to a mere $10 million in funding for the staging of an Australian Veteran Games event on the Gold Coast in 2023. Having seen the transformative power of the Invictus Games, a local version would seem like an idea worthy of serious investigation. Values Party founder Heston Russell said the event could utilise existing Commonwealth Games facilities, and would boost both the mental health of veterans, but also Gold Coast tourism. (Gold Coast Mayor Tom Tate has given the idea his support.)

“This project has been in development since it was first decided that we would withdraw our troops from Afghanistan in 2021,” Russell said. “The Veteran Games will provide the opportunity for Veterans from all over Australia, regardless of their service or deployment history, to join together and put their skills to the test. Thank you to the Gold Coast Mayor Tom Tate for his forward leaning commitment to this initiative, and we call on all political parties to commit to the annual $10 million in Federal Funding required to achieve this.”

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Originally published as Albo vs press pack: it’s on like Donkey Kong