PM says referral of melons document leak to federal police is ‘political stunt’

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has described the Coalition’s referral of the potential leaking of a document to the Australian Federal Police as a political stunt as he faces scrutiny over how it landed in the hands of the media.

The Australian reported seeing a document from the Japanese government to the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet about media attention on a resurfaced clip of Albanese making a gesture when talking about royal melons gifted to him by Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi.

Shadow defence minister James Paterson and shadow foreign affairs minister Ted O’Brien have since referred the matter to the AFP for investigation, accusing the government of the suspected illegal leaking of a confidential document to the media.

“It was bad enough to make disrespectful comments about the Japanese prime minister,” Paterson said at a press conference on Wednesday morning.

“It is worse that now the government appears to be leaking confidential correspondence from the government of Japan to the media to try and exonerate the prime minister and downplay the seriousness of what he has done.”

O’Brien said the suspected leak means the country’s national interests are at stake.

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“Trust is the currency of diplomacy, and trust erodes between Australia and a partner as important as Japan,” he said.

“That reflects very poorly on our ability when it comes to diplomacy with other nations too.”

During question time in parliament later on Wednesday, Albanese said the referral was a political stunt.

“The AFP is, of course, completely independent of the government and they’ll undertake their work and I’m confident about that,” he said.

Albanese on Tuesday refused to apologise for the moment when asked to do so twice and instead rejected the assertion that he engaged in disrespectful behaviour.

“Prime Minister Takaichi is a friend of Australia and a friend of mine,” he said.

In their letter to the AFP, Paterson and O’Brien urged authorities to ask the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet whether Albanese’s media team requested the correspondence.

“Under Division 122 of the Criminal Code, it is an offence to disclose confidential information if you are a public servant,” Paterson said.

“That includes, for example, members of the prime minister’s office, including his media team.”

Nine.com.au understands the document in question was not a diplomatic cable.

The AFP has received the letter but has refused to comment further on whether it has begun an investigation.

Opposition Leader Angus Taylor moved a motion to suspend standing orders in parliament to pressure Albanese to apologise for the melon moment and explain how the correspondence was leaked.

Taylor said the remarks were “crass” and “unstatesmanlike”.

“Even if they were a gaffe, they were wrong and there are serious consequences from the unserious podcast that the prime minister hosted in the Lodge,” he said.

The motion was voted down in the House of Representatives, where Labor has the majority. 

One Nation Leader Pauline Hanson raised concerns about Albanese not publicly declaring the gift of melons, saying some can sell for tens of thousands of dollars.

Parliamentary rules state that politicians must declare any gift from an official government source over $750.

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Nine.com.au has seen documentation that shows Albanese received two melons worth a combined $400. He enjoyed the melons and was later gifted another two.

The four melons were not declared together as they were received separately.

In the document reported by The Australian, Tokyo noted the “sensationalised reporting in the Australian media” about the clip in which Albanese appeared to make a cupping gesture when talking about the melons gifted to him by Takaichi during her recent visit to Australia.

The Japanese government also noted that it did not believe there was any “ill intention” behind the moment.