Pauline Hanson, leader of the One Nation party, has strongly criticized Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese for his handling of comments made about a gift of two melons from Japan's Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi. Hanson accused Albanese of lying and demonstrating a lack of leadership.
Albanese had recounted receiving the "beautiful" Shizuoka-grown melons during Takaichi's visit to Australia in remarks made on a podcast. The Japanese government subsequently communicated to the Prime Minister's Department that the matter had been subject to "sensationalised reporting in the Australian media."
"It's disgusting what he's done, and he cannot apologise, and that is not leadership," Hanson stated on Wednesday. "If you get it wrong, you call it out and you say, 'I got it wrong.' He's continued with the lie, which has made it worse."
Hanson also questioned Albanese's statements regarding the value of the melons and whether they should have been declared in his register of interests. She asserted that Albanese had initially stated the gift was two melons, but later reports indicated it was four. "He's lied, lied and lied, and I'm sick and tired of this, and so are the people," Hanson said.
She further highlighted on social media that "Some of these melons can sell for tens of thousands of dollars" and noted that while Albanese declared an art vinyl record-storage cabinet from Takaichi, the Royal Crown melon was not listed on his parliamentary disclosure.
It is understood the melons were declared through appropriate internal government channels and, with an estimated value of about $400, fell below the threshold requiring disclosure on the parliamentary register of interests.
Meanwhile, the Australian Coalition has requested an investigation by the Australian Federal Police into the alleged leaking of a diplomatic note from Tokyo to Canberra. The note was sent after Albanese's comments generated media attention in both countries. In the correspondence, Japan conveyed that it did not believe there was any "ill intention" behind Albanese's "joke" and that "no action" would be taken to "allow the Australian media to move on."
Coalition foreign affairs spokesman Ted O'Brien and Senator James Paterson wrote to the Australian Federal Police commissioner, stating, "It is critically important that Australia's bilateral partners believe that their confidential correspondence will be handled appropriately by the Australian government." O'Brien emphasized that "Japan is a special strategic partner of Australia and this has to be taken seriously" and that "Trust is the currency of diplomacy."
Paterson drew a parallel to a past instance where Labor Senator Katy Gallagher referred leaked correspondence to the AFP. "Labor can't have it both ways," he stated. "It's either always wrong for confidential communications from our allies to find their way into the media, or it's wrong only when their political opponents do it."
However, Housing Minister Clare O'Neil dismissed the Coalition's calls for an investigation, stating that the Liberal party had "absolutely lost the plot." She added, "My personal view is that the Australian Federal Police should be allowed to focus on their job, which is keeping Australians safe and fighting crime for Australians."