Hypocrisy: How will Albo endure King’s coronation with his support for The Voice?

King Charles comes from a long line of royal colonisers despised as invaders by some — before attending his coronation, Albo must confess his support for The Voice.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese these days lives on Sydney Harbor at Kirribilli House.

The PM was pictured there this week, on the back lawn that runs down to the water, with former U.S. President Barack Obama.

The former U.S. commander in chief was in Sydney before heading to Melbourne, lining his pockets with cash while Australian taxpayers footed the bill for his security.

Make sense of that if you can, but PM Albanese’s life – like all PMs before him – has changed dramatically from being Opposition leader to being PM.

And it’s clearly gone to his head.

Albo, as he loves being called, has gone from the son of a single mum in council housing to globe trotting international statesman, and he can’t handle the change.

I guess standing on the deck of a U.S. warship with President Biden and British PM Sunak does that to you. Next, he’s off to King Charles coronation in London which must be odd for a teenage rebel, hard left warrior and one-time Communist sympathiser and Republican.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese with former U.S. President Barack Obama in Sydney.

Of course, he needs to be there while Australia is still a member of the Commonwealth, but you wonder as he sits through the pomp and ceremony in one of those hard-to-come-by seats, how that sits with his teary commitment to The Voice?

King Charles is at the end of a long line of royal colonisers despised as the invaders of Australia by the vocal proponents of various national apologies Australians have been urged to make to Indigenous groups.

At the very least the PM should, before attending, make it clear to us all he has passed on his passion for The Voice to the new King. Otherwise he could be accused of being a hypocrite.

I’ve got no doubt PM Albanese is genuine in his passion for this referendum to succeed — his political CV as a member of the hard left of the Labor Party makes that obvious.

Recently though I’m more concerned that the PM has started to show the sort of arrogance we’ve become used to from ex-PMs like Paul Keating, Kevin Rudd and Scott Morrison.

It’s an ugly trait arrogance, and Albo should realise the Australian public don’t like it.

For example, take the media conference fronted this week by the PM and his climate change Minister, theveryarrogant Chris Bowen.

The climate change minister had to leave the media briefing to return to parliament, and that’s where things went downhill for the PM.

King Charles and Camilla, ahead of the coronation. Picture: Arthur Edwards

He was asked by one of the reporters if he thought the Voice would be asked to provide advice to the government and the Greens on his updated safeguard mechanism legislation.

It was a perfectly legitimate question supported by concerns from some Greens about that very thing.

Dorinda Cox the Greens resources and First Nations spokeswoman called the PM’s response “deeply disappointing”.

The Senator said that having visited various coal and gas projects and talking to traditional owners she was convinced those projects were affecting First Nations’ people.

So, what was the PM’s answer to that legitimate question – one the Australian public would indeed be pondering? Albanese replied: “Of all the very strange questions I have been asked about the Voice, that’s up there.”

Seriously why? Things got worse from there with the PM treating the query with arrogant contempt, calling it a distraction and flippantly suggesting the voice might somehow get involved in player selection for his rugby league team the South Sydney Rabbitohs.

He’s on dangerous ground here and I’d urge the PM not to become the latest in a long line of arrogant politicians who start to believe they are smartest people in the room and the only person able to provide the correct answer.

It’s a formidable list and one I don’t think Albo should join.

Thinking of former PM’s, let’s start with Paul Keating, who showed just last week at the national press club that he’s lost none of his arrogance with age.

There’s no doubt Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is genuine in his passion for The Voice referendum to succeed. Picture: Gary Ramage

He labelled various reporters asking questions as being “dumb” urged others to “hang their head in shame” and advised them to “drum themselves out of journalism”.

Keating made a career out of verbal abuse – usually not face-to-face – of his opponents and media critics and the public eventually got sick of it and replaced him with John Howard.

Australia’s new ambassador to the U.S. Kevin Rudd was famous for his arrogant temper and until his recent appointment would rush to abuse anyone critical of his time as PM.

As a victim I can attest the abuse was steady, and rude, and arrogant.

On the other side you have a pair of arrogant know-it-alls in Malcolm Turnbull and Scott Morrison. The Liberals are today paying the price of the Morrison arrogance with his secret appointments of himself to various ministries the low point of his political career.

State politics is just as bad. At the end of his stint as Victorian Premier Jeff Kennett became so arrogantly confident in his own ability, he thought he could control the media.

It was his downfall as regional voters decided to throw him out.

Then of course we have the king of arrogance himself Premier Daniel Andrews.

His re-election by Victorians late last year has made his arrogance intolerable. Andrews believes he can do and say anything and get away with it.

He treats the media with contempt, refuses to be interviewed by his critics and intimidates journalists at his media conferences.

Ex Prime Minister Paul Keating made a career out of verbal abuse. Picture: Martin Ollman

Premier Andrews is a bully and like a schoolyard bully enjoys being feared.

His secret media free trip to China is just the latest example.

Let’s hope Anthony Albanese of Marrickville realises quickly that Aussies don’t like arrogant bullies and changes back to good old Albo.

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