‘Not a memory test’: Plibersek hits back at Albanese gaffe

Tanya Plibersek went on The Project after a difficult first day for Labor on the campaign trail.

Tanya Plibersek has defended opposition leader Anthony Albanese’s difficult first day on the campaign trail after he failed to remember the cash and unemployment rates.

Appearing on Channel 10’s The Project, the shadow minister for education and women said that the focus should instead be on the plan to deal with unemployment.

“Election campaigns are a test of leadership, not a test of memory,” Ms Plibersek said.

“We've got right now about a million Australians who want more hours of work. They don’t show up in the unemployment rate.”

Project host Barrie Cassidy grilled Tanya Plibersek on the opposition leader's mistake today. Picture: Channel 10

The comments come after Mr Albanese conceded he made a mistake in not knowing the statistics and acknowledged he should have remembered them.

“Earlier today I made a mistake. I’m human. But when I make a mistake, I’ll fess up to it, and I’ll set about correcting that mistake,” he said from Devonport, Tasmania.

The Project host Barrie Cassidy asked if Mr Albanese did not know the answer to the simple questions, how could he respond to more substantial issues.

“What if he had been asked to comment on, ‘where would you like the unemployment rate to be a year from now?’. If he didn’t know the starting point, how could he give a reasonable answer?”

Opposition leader Anthony Albanese failed to remember the cash and unemployment rates at a press conference in Tasmania today. Picture: Alex Treacy

Mr Cassidy went on to say that not knowing the key economic indicators was worse than not knowing the price of bread and milk.

“Milk and bread is trivial. This is important.”

This was a reference to the time Scott Morrison admitted he did not know the price of bread and petrol.

Despite his terrible first day on the campaign trail, Mr Albanese found an unlikely ally in former Liberal prime minister John Howard.

When asked if it was bad that Mr Albanese didn’t know the numbers today, Mr Howard looked annoyed.

“Is that a serious question? … Anthony Albanese didn’t know the unemployment rate. Well alright. So what?”.

It’s not the first time a leader has fumbled on interest rates in the heat of an election campaign. John Howard was caught out on A Current Affair in 2007. #ausvotespic.twitter.com/uIfPRGii6o

— Naveen Razik (@naveenjrazik) April 11, 2022

Mr Howard had previously forgotten interest rates while on the campaign trail in 2007.

Originally published as ‘Not a memory test’: Plibersek hits back at Albanese gaffe