Prime Minister Scott Morrison has a crack at Anthony Albanese’s weight loss

The PM has been accused of bullying and acting “well beneath” his position over his dig at Anthony Albanese’s weight loss.

Scott Morrison has come under fire for his dig at Anthony Albanese’s drastic weight loss, with multiple people accusing the Prime Minister of bullying and acting “well beneath” his position.

Mr Morrison declared during an appearance on Sky’s Paul Murray Live, which is available to stream on Flash, that the Opposition Leader’s 18kg and restyled image were proof he doesn’t know who he is, after Mr Albanese made headlines for his stylish apparel in a recent photo shoot for Women’s Weekly.

Nine news political reporter Chris O’Keefe told the Today show on Tuesday morning that the comments were “a low go from the Prime Minister”.

“Albo has lost 14 kilograms because he went on a health kick. Good luck to him. It's called discipline. Isn’t that what you want in a prime minister?” O’Keefe said.

“If Scott Morrison wants to have a go at Albo, how about we ask what the hell is he going to do for us as Australians if we vote for him because I still have no idea.”

Labor frontbencher Bill Shorten suggested Mr Morrison’s hypocritical comments revealed that he was threatened by the Opposition Leader.

“As for makeovers, I remember Mr Morrison before the last federal election. You know what, he seemed to get a new pair of glasses and did his best at a makeover,” he told the Today show.

“I think the little green monster is sitting on Mr Morrison‘s shoulder and he is jealous of Albo.”

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Opposition Leader Anthony Albanese, pictured in 2013, has shed a whopping 18kg. Picture: AAP Image/Alan Porritt

Mr Morrison seemingly attempted to turn his opponent’s weight loss into a campaign issue.

“I’m not pretending to be anyone else. I’m still wearing the same sunglasses. Sadly, the same suits. I weigh about the same size and I don’t mind a bit of Italian cuisine … I’m not pretending to be anyone else,” the PM said.

“And when you’re prime minister, you can’t pretend to be anyone else. You’ve got to know who you are because if you don’t know who you are, then how are other people going to know?”

Mr Morrison also jumped on Mr Albanese’s recent attempts to compare himself to former Labor leader Bob Hawke and other popular prime ministers.

“You can’t all of a sudden turn up at an election and say, ‘Oh, I’m not that person I was for 20 years or 30 years’ and all of a sudden pretend you’re everybody from John Howard, Bob Hawke or Kevin Rudd,” he said.

Mr Albanese debuted a suave new look during an exclusive interview with The Australian Women’s Weekly. Picture: Alana Landsberry/Are Media via NCA NewsWire

Mr Albanese and his, partner of two years Jodie Haydon. Picture: Alana Landsberry/Are Media via NCA NewsWire

Mr Morrison said the election will come down to voters’ decision on economy and Defence in a live question and answer session on Monday night.

The Prime Minister fielded questions from a largely supportive audience on Sydney’s Central Coast on Sky News’ “Pub Test”.

He said the next election would come down to “keeping the economy strong and keeping Australians safe”.

Morrison opened questions on the next election by saying his government will manage the economy better than Labor.

“How strong our economy is will determine the country we live in,” Morrison said.

Mr Morrison acknowledged that not all his decisions during his prime-ministership were popular but said during that time he had not changed and was a reliable choice.

“I can say I can surf like Kelly Slater but that doesn’t mean I can,” Mr Morrison said.

“I’m happy in my own skin and I’m not pretending to be anyone else.”

Scott Morrison says he’s not pretending to be anyone else. Picture: Justin Lloyd.

Mr Morrison also said most Australians were not interested in politics outside of the election cycle.

“In Australia, we don’t have politics like they have in many other countries. In between elections Australians basically just get on with their lives … and I actually like that about Australia,” he said.

“They’re constantly not agonising and talking their country down. Yeah there’s plenty that do that, but they’re on other programs.”

He said the Liberal party was “rebuilding” the Defence Force from 1.57 per cent of GDP under Labor to 2.1 per cent over the past eight years.

Mr Morrison also referenced international agreements with “like-minded” countries such as the AUKUS and Quad alliances.

Morrison said the debt incurred during the pandemic was “significantly” less than comparable countries.

“The Labor Party would have spent $81bn more (than the Coalition during the pandemic],” he said.

He also defended JobKeeper and said the government knew when to cut additional funding to prevent overspending on stimulus.

The Prime Minister appeared to win over the audience with talk of a strong economy and increased Defence spending. Picture: Justin Lloyd.

He said getting the economy back on track following the pandemic would be a priority.

“That’s what enables us to get back to where we need to get back to where we want to be,” he said.

Mr Morrison said he still backed coal and would support coal for stabilising renewable energy in the grid.

“What you need in today’s energy economy is you need to continue to run your coal-fired power stations for as long as you possibly can. And that is our policy – we want them to run as long as they possibly can,” he said.

He added companies were “welcome” to build new coal fired power stations if they wanted.

“It will be difficult because of the state government planning powers they will never allow them to do it. But nevertheless, if they wish to, fine.”

He later added that Australia will see coal-fired power stations eventually become exempt, and that gas fired stations may be preferable as you can “turn them on and off”.

The PM said Australia’s emissions reduction plan remained one of ‘choice, not mandates’. Picture: Justin Lloyd

Mr Morrison said he would not force drivers to choose an electric vehicle, fielding off a question about energy supplies to power them.

“Under our policies, I’m not forcing anyone to drive anything,” he said.

“Our policy when it comes to emissions reduction is about choice, not mandates.”

Supporting domestic manufacturing is another priority according to the Prime Minister. He said the government was supporting local manufacturing with direct funding and reducing gas prices by securing the fossil fuel for local use.

One voter asked about raising the height of Warragamba Dam to increase water security.

Mr Morrison said he would love to see the NSW government raise the height of Warragamba Dam, adding $1.9bn of federal funding had been set aside to support state governments build dams.

He blamed environmental regulations and unwilling state governments for blocking the building of more dams.

He said dams were key to “unlocking” Australia’s agricultural industry.

He added that the national cabinet of state and territory leaders had succeeded in making decisions more efficiently, comparing the federation to a family that mostly gets along, but occasionally disagrees on things.