Peter Dutton defends Anthony Albanese for playing tennis the day after the Melbourne Synagogue fore

The Opposition Leader said he didn’t “begrudge” the Prime Minister for playing tennis after a Melbourne synagogue was firebombed in a likely terrorist act.

Peter Dutton has come out in defence of Anthony Albanese for playing tennis after a series of engagements over the weekend instead of rushing to the Melbourne synagogue firebombed in a likely terrorist act.

The Prime Minister was spotted at the Cottesloe Tennis Club on Saturday afternoon towards the end of a three-day official trip, which coincided with the shocking attack on the Adass Israel synagogue.

Asked for his reaction, the Opposition Leader did not criticise Mr Albanese for playing tennis.

“I think the Prime Minister deserves some downtime; he’s got a busy job and deserves some time with his family and friends,” Mr Dutton told 2GB on Tuesday.

“I don’t begrudge him that.”

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese was photographed playing tennis at the Cottesloe Tennis Club on Saturday, the day after the firebombing. Picture: Supplied

However he reiterated that Mr Albanese “was slow” to call the firebombing “a terrorist attack”.

Mr Albanese didn’t label Friday’s events as a potential act of terror until Sunday, however he said he was waiting for the AFP, ASIO and Victoria Police to make a formal assessment.

“I think the Prime Minister has been trying to win Green votes in inner-city Melbourne and Sydney and I think he's taken a decision, a very deliberate decision to hedge his bets when it comes to the Israel and Jewish community and again I think it’s divided our country,” said Mr Dutton.

“I think the Prime Minister should have shown solidarity and attended a synagogue very early on, and he should have been honest and called out what was obvious to all of us, that it was a terrorist attack.”

Opposition Leader Peter Dutton said while he didn’t ‘begrudge’ Mr Albanese for playing tennis, the Prime Minister should have been quicker to call out the firebombing as a terrorist attack. Picture: NewsWire/ Brendan Beckett

On Monday, Mr Albanese said he was playing tennis following six appointments earlier in the day, which included attending a synagogue in Perth and opening a peri-natal mental health clinic.

“I had six appointments on Saturday, after they had concluded, late in the afternoon, I did some exercise. That’s what people do,” he said, during a media appearance announcing the creation of an AFP-task force to combat threats and violence against the Jewish community.

While the fire is being treated as a terrorism investigation, Victoria Police Chief Commissioner Shane Patton has not shared any details for fears it could “jeopardise the investigation”.

However he confirmed there had been “no prior intelligence” foreshadowing the attack.

Mr Albanese is also set to visit the Melbourne synagogue later this week.