Karl asks question we all wanted answered about Albo’s ‘personal’ decision

Channel 9 star Karl Stefanovic didn’t hold back about Anthony Albanese’s “hare-brained idea” that may have swung the election.

Anthony Albanese has declared he “won’t die wondering” as he prepares for the fight of his political life, and now he’s rolled out his secret weapon Jodie Haydon on 60 Minutes to dish the dirt on what Karl Stefanovic described as his “harebrained” purchase of the Copacabana holiday home.

But tellingly, he’s conceded that the purchase of the $4.1 million house is all about his life post politics and settling down with his wife-to-be.

As the Prime Minister prepares to call an election as early as next Sunday for April 12, Mr Albanese and his partner have sat down with 60 Minutes for an extended interview. But rather than put his fiancee under the bus as Scott Morrison did when he suggested the Hawaii family trip was her idea, Mr Albanese gallantly fielded the questions on Copacabana himself.

Veteran TV journalist Karl Stefanovic cut to the chase when he sat down with the PM.

Anthony Albanese with Karl Stefanovic. Picture: 60 Minutes

“Whose harebrained idea was Copacabana?” Stefanovic asked.

Mr Albanese, who is notoriously sensitive about the purchase amid claims it was tone-deaf during a cost-of-living crisis, could be seen laughing at the question.

“Look, Jodie and I are getting married,” he replied.

“What you don’t do is move into the family home where Carmel and I raised Nathan together as a family. And guess what, Karl? At some stage … I won’t be Prime Minister into my 80s and therefore we have bought a place close to where Jodie grew up … where her family are all based.”

In the program, Stefanovic observed that, “I’ve spent some time with her these last couple of days and I get the feeling the girl from the Central Coast would sooner rather than later have her feet up at Copacabana, whether you are there or not!”

The PM sat down with fiancee Jodie Haydon. Picture: 60 Minutes

“No — well, she’s a Coastie and a proud one,” Mr Albanese replied. “And it was very much a personal decision, not a political one. And I think Australians get that.”

“Did it sting you at all the criticism around that, the perception being during a cost-of-living crisis, the PM shouldn’t be seen as being, you know, so lavish?” Stefanovic asked.

“I’m pretty resilient, Karl, and if you’re worried about every bit of criticism that was out there, then life would be much more difficult than it is,” the PM said.

Ms Haydon said she tried to avoid negative coverage.

“At the end of the day, I know Anthony, and he’s strong, he genuinely cares about people and his values are very much centred around fairness,” she said.

“So I tune out to a lot of the negativity.”

Ms Haydon, who started dating Mr Albanese in 2020, said she never could have imagined she would end up being engaged to the PM.

“No, and I wasn’t looking for a relationship,” Mr Albanese said.

“Jodie yelled out, ‘Up the Rabbitohs!’, is how we met, when I went round the tables.”

The pair began dating 2020. Picture: 60 Minutes

“That’s how easy you were!” Stefanovic joked.

“Yeah, you had me at, ‘Up the Rabbitohs,’” Mr Albanese said.

After the pair ran into each other again a week later, Stefanovic said Ms Haydon “decided to make a bold, and very modern, move”.

“She sent Albo, who was then the Opposition Leader and her local member, a private message on social media,” he said.

“I was a single woman for a long time before I met Anthony,” Ms Haydon said.

“When you say you met him, don’t you mean you stalked him?” Stefanovic said.

“That’s a bit harsh, Karl!” she replied. “Come on. I mean, to all the single, independent ladies out there, why can’t we make the first move?”

Mr Albanese said the message that Jodie sent me was “that we had a lot in common — South Sydney, support for the Labor Party”.

“And I sent a message back saying, ‘Yep, but what’s your position on craft beer?’ So we met up at Young Henry’s in Newtown for a beer on a Friday afternoon, and we just got on,” he said.

The couple’s new $4.3 million luxury beach home. Picture: Supplied

“The rest is history,” Ms Haydon said.

The 46-year-old still works full time in the banking industry, but she’s also been at the PM’s side, watching history unfold at the Queen’s funeral, King’s coronation, and important meetings with foreign leaders.

“Did I see my life panning out this way? Absolutely not,” Ms Haydon said.

“I think many of my other single girlfriends and I thought we would end up like the Golden Girls one day, we’d all live together up the coast and, and that would be life.

“So on these trips that we do, I actually take them quite seriously, because you know that you are also representing Australia in those moments.”

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is now 62 after celebrating a birthday over the weekend. Picture: NewsWire/ Tim Pascoe

Mr Albanese turned 62 on Sunday but hopes he’s a long way off retirement.

“I do wake up every day and just feel incredibly privileged to be in this job,” Mr Albanese said.

Stefanovic asked, “What if the Australian public just go, ‘We’ve had enough, cost of living, cost of living, cost of living,’ and it could cost you your job. What happens if you lose the election?”

“I’m determined to win,” the PM replied.

“But down the track, it is absolutely delightful to meet someone who you want to spend the rest of your life with. We’re best friends as well.”

Originally published as Karl asks question we all wanted answered about Albo’s ‘personal’ decision