Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is facing accusations from the Coalition of making "disrespectful" remarks about Japan's first female prime minister, Sanae Takaichi. The criticism stems from comments made during an appearance on Nova's Bush Deep podcast.
During the podcast, Albanese discussed the official gift of "royal melons" Takaichi presented during her visit to Australia. Takaichi had gifted two Shizuoka-grown melons to celebrate Australia's reopening of its market to Japanese melon imports. Host Nikki Osborne jokingly asked if Takaichi had "smuggled" the melons through customs, making a gesture. Albanese responded by saying, "Got a couple of melons," and also making a similar gesture.
Opposition communications spokeswoman Sarah Henderson urged Albanese to apologize to Takaichi and all women, stating that women had been dragged into his "crude locker room talk." Henderson's comments followed previous backlash over Albanese's participation in a "shag, marry, date" game on the same podcast.
In that segment, Albanese was asked to choose between celebrities Kylie Minogue, Nicole Kidman, and Rhonda Burchmore. He stated he had "just got married" but, when pressed on what he would do if his marriage "goes tits up," he replied, "Kylie, clearly," adding "All of the above. She's terrific."
Elsewhere in the interview, Osborne asked if Albanese and his wife, Jodie Haydon, were "bonking like rabbits." Albanese responded, "Well, when we have time," and added, "After the footy. It's always a good aphrodisiac, a Souths win," referencing his favorite NRL team.
Defence Minister Richard Marles and Social Services Minister Tanya Plibersek defended Albanese, highlighting his record of supporting women. However, Community Strong MP Zali Steggall called his responses "entirely inappropriate" and stated he needed to "lead by example and call it out as sexist." One Nation MP Barnaby Joyce described the remarks as "a bit below him" and suggested Albanese should have "avoided the question, like most people."
Albanese has since apologized for his comments.