‘This is a joke’: Locals fume at Anthony Albanese in Tasmania

Annoyed locals blasted Anthony Albanese in Tasmania today as the Labor leader showed up at a market for a campaign event.

Locals in Launceston were fuming at Anthony Albanese and his entourage this morning as the Labor leader dipped in to hold a press conference – where he only took four questions – in the middle of a bustling weekend market.

Mr Albanese pottered around several stalls at an indoor marketplace in the northern Tasmanian city, picking up a print of some flowers and a pot of blackberry jam.

Stallholders were smiling as he walked around and made small talk. One seller said she had short-changed the opposition leader who gave her too much cash at a cashless stand and she had no change to give him.

Labor leader Anthony Albanese visited a few of the stalls at the Mother's Day markets at the Tramsheds in Launceston. Picture: Liam Kidston

However, there was a mood shift when Mr Albanese held a press conference in the middle of the crowded market.

After coming under sustained pressure in recent days, he only took four questions from reporters – and used the event to announce a number of new policies to boost employment in Tasmania.

The media was cramped around a lectern that was placed slap-bang in the middle of the small market, and it became clear that some locals were not happy.

“This is a joke,” one woman called out as she walked away in disgust as she couldn’t get to the stalls. “So much for supporting local businesses.”

Another woman who had travelled to the market with her elderly mother was standing by the entrance, and eventually gave up and left.

“This was supposed to be a nice day out before mother’s day,” she called out. “I guess we’ll just have to go somewhere else.”

A Labor staffer was seen trying to reassure her that the disruption would only be temporary, but the local was having none of it.

During the press conference, Mr Albanese was asked about free RAT tests and the extremely questionable tweets of a Labor MP in Tasmania.

On RATs he appeared to walk back the promise for free tests, saying that “times have changed”.

Albo was peppered with questions about free rapid antigen tests and the questionable tweets of a Labor MP in Tasmania. Picture: Liam Kidston

“What we would do is consider the health advice at the time,” he said. “At the time there was an urgent need to get RATs out to people.

“People were struggling and one of the things that happened at that time as well was that the government said go to your local pharmacy and you can get a free RAT if you are a concession cardholder, but when they went to their local pharmacies, they were told they were not everyone you’ve got to pay – every one is unavailable.

“The government was too slow to order vaccines, and it was too slow to organise rapid antigen tests.”

He also took a question on the Member for Lyons, Brian Mitchell who, on his Twitter account, suggested the ALP would need “a mop” to clean up if women couldn’t hold their bladders.

Mr Mitchell has deleted his Twitter account after news.com.au revealed a long list of posts on Twitter and Facebook.

The Member for Lyons, Brian Mitchell, tweeted that the ALP would need “a mop” to clean up if women couldn’t hold their bladders. Picture: Chris Kidd

Mr Albanese was asked for his response on the “mop” comment, and he asked the reporter when the tweet was posted.

She told him it was from 2011, and Mr Albanese appeared to scoff at the reporter, as if to brush the question off.

“But still not appropriate, right?” the reporter responded.

“Of course it is inappropriate, but that is at a time well before he was a Member of Parliament,” Mr Albanese. “I’m sure that Mr Mitchell regrets saying that and it isn’t appropriate.”

He took only two other quick questions before walking off to speak at a local Labor rally.

He announced new partnerships with Tasmanian industry to secure existing jobs and support new jobs and opportunities.

Labor pledges:

• $5 million to help kickstart LINE Hydrogen’s George Town Project – using co-located solar panels to produce green hydrogen to replace diesel in Tasmanian trucks and buses.

• $2 million to help expand Costa’s East Davenport Berry Distribution Centre – supporting as many as 140 jobs year-round.

• $11 million to partner with Ingham’s to implement a carbon zero certified business model – protecting more than 120 local jobs and pioneering sustainable manufacturing in the poultry sector, which can be scaled up across Australia.