PM scathing of Coalition request for Indonesia briefing, says he won’t promote ‘Russia’s propaganda message’
Albanese has been scathing of the Coalition’s request for a briefing for more detail on whether the Russians did make a request to Indonesia.
The government has consistently said they were told by the Indonesian government that no Russian aircraft would be based in their nation.
Over the weekend Murray Watt said there was “no proposal” from Russia, and Albanese is asked if he misspoke?
I tell you who misspoke – he [Dutton] didn’t misspeak, he just straight out said something that was completely wrong, which was to say that the president of Indonesia had made a statement. He has not.
They raised issues about briefings. I’m waiting for them to ask for a briefing on who faked the moon landing. The truth is that the Indonesian president made no statement. The alternative prime minister of Australia verballed the Indonesian president.
Albanese is pushed again on whether there was a request made by Russia, and whether Russia does want a stronger presence in the region. Albanese says:
I have no wish to help promote Russia’s propaganda messages and I would suggest that that is not in Australia’s national interest either.
Key events
Members of the crossbench have jumped on reports that the prime minister overrode his cabinet to shelve reform on online gambling advertising.
The reports from Nine newspapers say Anthony Albanese decided to put the reforms developed by communications minister Michelle Rowland on hold late last year.
The Greens have called the report “disturbing”, and senator Sarah Hanson-Young says the minor party will push Labor to act.
Today’s news that the Prime Minister personally intervened to protect the gambling lobby is disturbing. The Prime Minister may not have the guts to stand up to the gambling lobby – but the Greens will act.
The Albanese Government has failed to act on the scourge of gambling ads, despite the pleading of their own backbenchers and even their own Communications Minister.
Independent MP for Goldstein Zoe Daniel took to X (formerly Twitter) and said “we can finally fix this” under a “balanced parliament”.
Gambling ads are everywhere—even during the footy. It’s not normal, and it’s not okay. I’ve written the bill to ban them. It’s ready. The major parties stalled. In a balanced parliament, we can make it law. Independence works.
Early voting opens tomorrow – here’s what you need to know
The Australian Electoral Commission is opening some voting centres across the country tomorrow, and you can see where your nearest booth is on their website here. Voting centres won’t be open on Friday for the Anzac Day public holiday.
The electoral commission reckons around half of voters will vote early – including via in-person early votes, mobile and postal voting.
Mobile voting is where the commission will spend two weeks from tomorrow to set up temporary voting sites in some of Australia’s most remote areas.
The AEC says there will be 70 mobile teams that will use light aircraft, 4WDs, helicopters and boats to travel around 200,000 to get to nearly 500 different remote locations. Some hospitals and residential aged care centres are also visited by mobile teams.
The AEC says more than 1.8 million people have applied to put in postal votes, and for those overseas, more than 111 embassies, consulates and high commissions will also open their doors to early voting tomorrow.
There’s more info from the AEC here.
The Greens’ federal election fight
While there’s been plenty of focus on the major parties homing in on their pitches to voters, we know that primary votes have gone down for Labor and the Coalition, while support for minor parties and independents has gone up.
The Greens have been positioning themselves as the kingmakers in a potential minority government with Labor, but they need to win their own battles first come 3 May.
Dan Jervis-Bardy has taken a look what they’re fighting and who they’re fighting for.
Albanese says Dutton’s team MIA as he goes on defensive about Labor’s defence record
While the polls are looking increasingly favourable towards Labor, a reporter asks why the latest Newspoll shows voters trust Dutton more than Albanese to defend Australia.
Albanese says he’ll let people “make their own judgment” on issues such as the response to Russia and Indonesia, but plugs his own record, mentioning Australia’s standing among Asean nations, and bringing home Australians like Cheng Lei.
Asked as well whether he’s getting complacent or taking some of the polling for granted, Albanese says “elections in Australia are close” and are decided by “a handful of votes”.
He then goes on the attack, taking aim at Dutton’s senior leadership team.
I think one of the things that is emerging very clearly is that the other team aren’t so much a team, there is chaos on their side. They have senior shadow ministers who haven’t been sighted. I don’t know where Andrew Hastie has been. He’s the shadow defence minister. Angus Taylor – not quite sure what he’s doing as the shadow treasurer.
Albanese takes aim at Dutton over bringing back Mike Pezzullo
The Coalition has said that Mike Pezzullo, the sacked former public servant, should have a “role” to play under a Coalition government.
Albanese is asked to weigh in on whether he’s “concerned” about this. His answer is short:
Peter Dutton confirmed that he wants to sack 41,000 public servants but wants to bring one back. That’s what he’s confirmed.
PM scathing of Coalition request for Indonesia briefing, says he won’t promote ‘Russia’s propaganda message’
Albanese has been scathing of the Coalition’s request for a briefing for more detail on whether the Russians did make a request to Indonesia.
The government has consistently said they were told by the Indonesian government that no Russian aircraft would be based in their nation.
Over the weekend Murray Watt said there was “no proposal” from Russia, and Albanese is asked if he misspoke?
I tell you who misspoke – he [Dutton] didn’t misspeak, he just straight out said something that was completely wrong, which was to say that the president of Indonesia had made a statement. He has not.
They raised issues about briefings. I’m waiting for them to ask for a briefing on who faked the moon landing. The truth is that the Indonesian president made no statement. The alternative prime minister of Australia verballed the Indonesian president.
Albanese is pushed again on whether there was a request made by Russia, and whether Russia does want a stronger presence in the region. Albanese says:
I have no wish to help promote Russia’s propaganda messages and I would suggest that that is not in Australia’s national interest either.
Labor has ‘more to do’ to tackle gambling advertising, Albanese says
Turning to gambling, the PM is asked whether he’ll commit to doing more to bring down online gambling advertising on TV.
It’s an issue that has seen internal and external pressure piled on the PM to do more, since the late Labor MP Peta Murphy released her committee report making 31 recommendations, that was tabled back in June 2023.
Albanese has consistently said “my government has done more to tackle problem gambling than any other government”.
But he adds:
There’s more to do, I’ve said that. And we will do more.
The government still hasn’t provided an official response to Murphy’s 2023 report.
Albanese won’t outline exactly what more it will do to tackle gambling advertising.
PM asked about national sex offender disclosure scheme and Russian military request
To questions, Albanese is asked about whether he’d match the Coalition’s promise to establish a national sex offender disclosure scheme.
He says:
There is a national system right now that my government has put in place. He never put it in place. It’s in place now, that enables cooperation across-the-board between jurisdictions.
Asked whether the government needs to do more to crack down on crime, he says:
Of course, you’d be aware, of course, that those responsibilities primarily of the police, state police, jurisdictions. But my Government provides whatever support is required when it is requested.
Pushed again, separately, on what the deal is between Russia and Indonesia and whether Russia made a request to base military aircraft in Indonesia, Albanese is asked whether his government is underplaying the seriousness of the issue.
Over the weekend, Russia said it wanted to have a greater presence in the region.
Albanese turns the question back to Peter Dutton:
The Russians want propaganda to be promoted by Australians … I know that last week, the opposition leader verballed the prime minister of Indonesia by saying that he had made a statement that he had not.
PM says Oscar Piastri a ‘great ambassador’ for Australia
The PM starts marking the drownings over the Easter long weekend, and on a happier note gives a shoutout to Oscar Piastri.
Piastri is the dead set Australian legend who won the F1 Grand Prix in Saudi Arabia this weekend.
Albanese calls him a “great ambassador” for Australia.
He then goes to the Coalition’s nuclear plan, and the well-worn line from Labor that the Coalition still hasn’t revealed how they’ll pay for it:
When Peter Dutton cuts, Australians will pay. And we know because he can’t now, when polling booths open tomorrow, say where the money is coming from for this $600bn nuclear plant. And he also can’t explain why it is that he and others, senior members of his team, have said consistently that the money that has been invested in things like urgent care clinics is waste.
PM in electorate of Gilmore
The PM is in the seat of Gilmore this morning, where Labor is facing a tough battle to hold on to its seat on the NSW south coast.
Fiona Phillips is on a super slim margin of just 0.2%, and it’s former NSW Liberal minister Andrew Constance’s second go to win the seat off Labor.
No surprises here, the press conference is at a Medicare urgent care clinic in Bateman’s Bay, so cue the bright green Medicare background.
Sacked public servant Mike Pezzullo would provide ‘insight and value’ to any Coalition government, Paterson says
Paterson was also asked about a story in the Nine papers, that Peter Dutton would give sacked public servant Mike Pezzullo “a role to play” under a future Coalition government.
Pezzullo was sacked in 2023 for misconduct and later stripped of his Order of Australia honour.
Paterson told News Breakfast “no decisions” have been made about personnel issues, but said Pezzullo is “someone who’s given great service to our country”.
We’ll make sure anyone who’s got something to contribute including Michael Pezzullo a role which they can contribute.
Paterson wouldn’t confirm what that role would be, but said again when pushed by host James Glenday, that Pezzullo had “insight and value”.
[It] doesn’t make sense to me that someone of value like that is not being utilised adequately.
