Albanese admits podcast appearance was ‘an error’

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese says his appearance on a podcast in which he joked about sex with Kylie Minogue, laughingly floated the idea of taking over New Zealand, and was accused of making an inappropriate joke about Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, was a mistake.

Albanese’s interview with comedian Nikki Osborne on the Bush Deep podcast in early July has provoked a storm of political criticism since it aired.

“If I had my time again, which you don’t, then I wouldn’t have done that podcast,” Albanese told ABC’s 7.30 last night.

“You know, we have a view, which is trying to talk to as many people as possible. But clearly that was an error.”

During the episode, Albanese nominated pop star Kylie Minogue for “all of the above” in a game of “shag, marry, date”, after protesting that he was recently married.

He also joked that an Australian takeover of New Zealand was “in our Constitution” (New Zealand is listed among the states that could make up the federation, and both New Zealand and Fiji were approached about being part of the new country).

But the most controversial moment came after Albanese spoke to Osborne about being gifted with a melon by Takaichi.

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The prime minister gestured with his hands as he said to Osborne he’d been given “a couple of melons”.

The exchange sparked a heated accusation from former Japanese ambassador Shingo Yamagami, who wrote in The Australian that Albanese had insulted his fellow leader.

The opposition and One Nation leader Pauline Hanson joined the criticism, though the Japanese government, including current ambassador Kazuhiro Suzuki, have dismissed the idea that the moment damaged the relationship between the two countries.

Albanese has denied repeatedly that he intended his gesture as derogatory, and has not apologised - though he did apologise “unequivocally” for his Minogue comments.

Shizuoka Crown melons are culturally important high-end gifts in Japan, signalling great respect, goodwill, and friendship for the recipient.

Independent MP Dai Le told Today this morning that she stood by her previous statement that Albanese’s conduct had been “unbecoming of a gentleman”, but that she was focused on delivering for her community.

“I think that really, in western, south-western Sydney, nobody really listened to that podcast anyway,” Le said.

“But I think they just judge the government on what they’re delivering around, you know, support for people struggling with cost of living, energy, small business, struggling, you know, with everything increasing.”