BEN HARVEY: PM answered questions about The Voice, climate change with more passion than query about Bondi
It was a set-up question, but with the cameras rolling Anthony Albanese had no choice but to take the bait.
“We could always have done more,” he said when a journalist threw a sharp jab about the Government’s lacklustre response to anti-Semitism.
The follow-up question was a crisp right cross: “But why haven’t you done more?”
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By continuing you agree to our Terms and Privacy Policy.The Prime Minister’s army of advisers must have known this would be asked at Thursday’s press conference.
They would have role-played potential responses, tested different sound bites and war-gamed body language.
With all that preparation, the best Mr Albanese could do was, “well, I have done, ahhh, my best to respond”.
Australians have come to appreciate the fact their Prime Minister is no Winston Churchill. They know he’s not going to bust out a “we shall fight them on the beaches” line when he addresses the microphone.
But even with low expectations, “well, I have done, ahhh, my best to respond” was disappointing.
The man answered questions about The Voice and climate change with more passion than a query about the worst terror attack on Australian soil.
He looks like someone whose heart isn’t in this fight. That’s worrying because we’re not talking about pub punch-up here; this is a fight for the country’s soul.
Outside of a war zone, Sunday’s atrocity was the worst attack on Jewish people since October 7.
The eyes of the world are on Australia. And the best our leader could do was say he did his best, even though he knew his best was wanting.
The Q&A was a bit of a trainwreck but the PM’s set five-minute address was forceful and considered, as was the blueprint to fight anti-Semitism fleshed out by subsequent speakers — special envoy Jillian Segal, AFP boss Krissy Barrett, Home Affairs Minister Tony Bourke and Education Minister Jason Clare.
If only the speech and the plan had been delivered on October 9 on the steps of the Sydney Opera House in front of the protestors who had gathered to celebrate the hatred of Jews.
