Anthony Albanese has apologised after a comment he made to another Government Minister about radiation and his penis was caught in an embarrassing hot mic moment during a global summit in Turkey.
The Prime Minister and Climate Change and Energy Minister Chris Bowen were on Friday waiting for a business roundtable on investment at the COP31 summit - which Australia is co-hosting - when Mr Albanese began asking Mr Bowen where he kept his mobile phone.
“Do you keep your phone here? Don’t,” Mr Albanese said while pointing to his breast pocket ahead of an event to pitch renewable energy investment opportunities in Australia.
“I’m more conscious ... I’ve stopped putting it in my pants pocket,” Mr Bowen began before Mr Albanese interrupted.
“Because of your dick,” the prime minister said.
“It’s rather important, arguably more important than the heart,” Mr Bowen replied, prompting laughter from the pair as the exchange was picked up by a live microphone.
Addressing the jestful exchange for the first time, the Prime Minister on Sunday conceded he should not have made the comment but insisted it was just “light-hearted banter.”
“I of course regret that and apologise,” Mr Albanese said from the Philippines, where he was visiting Manila to oversee the signing of a defence pact with the Pacific Ocean nation and celebrate an Australian expansion plan for Filipino fast food chain Jollibee.
“This was a private conversation, we thought, between two friends having a bit of light-hearted banter,” Mr Albanese continued.
“That happens and no one was hurt or harmed, we weren’t having private banter which criticised anyone.”
His apology came after the joking comments were criticised as hurting Australia’s standing on the world stage.
“That locker-room talk like that has a time and a place and it’s not at international summits when you’re the prime minister of Australia talking to your energy minister,” Opposition frontbencher James Paterson told News24.
“If you want to engage in that kind of banter, do it at a private barbecue, not before the assembled media at an international conference.
“I don’t think anyone thinks it enhances Australia’s international standing or respect for the office of the prime minister.”
It also follows a separate weeks-long saga sparked by his gaffe of comments on the Bush Deep podcast earlier this year.
During that appearance, he said he would “shag, marry (and) date” Australian pop princess Kylie Minogue, described a South Sydney Rabbitohs win as a “good aphrodisiac” and joked about the his Japanese counterpart’s gift of melons.
He has denied any lewd intention in his comments about Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s gift.
Senior Labor minister Amanda Rishworth dismissed the latest criticism of her leaders comments, describing it as “a private conversation in between meetings”.
“I know that a hot-mic incident is very exciting for people ... but really, there are bigger issues to tackle and discuss,” she said.
Asked if those sort of jokes were common in cabinet, she refused to say.
“I’m not going to go into the jokes I hear in my private life,” Ms Rishworth said, adding that she hears “a lot of interesting jokes out in the community”.
“It was a private conversation, a private joke, and I’m sure many Australians have used that word in private before.”
While the federal government attracted criticism from the opposition over the cost to taxpayers for Australia’s attendance at the event in Turkey, which continues until Friday, Ms Rishworth said the spend was worth it.
“What Australia has done, the Australian government has done, has made sure, in partnership with the Pacific, that we are at the table discussing action on climate change,” she said.
“It’s a time where we also can showcase Australian business, which is really critical, and attract investment here in Australia as well.”
Australia’s new defence pact with the Philippines comes while fresh fears bubble in the Pacific around China and Taiwan.
The agreement sets shared defence priorities, improves sea monitoring and intelligence sharing, and expands joint planning, training and military facility upgrades.
“Today’s announcement reflects the maturity of our defence relationship,” the Prime Minister told a press conference in the Philippines capital Manila.
“These activities will contribute to making our region more safe, more secure and more prosperous.”
He also highlighted Australia’s “deep military history” with the Philippines.
“Over 1000 Australians made the ultimate sacrifice in the Philippines and the waters near here during World War II,” Mr Albanese said.
“And indeed that history has continued.”
Mr Paterson welcomed the move, saying “any closer military relations with the Philippines is in Australia’s national interest”.
Also in Manila, Mr Albanese had an early taste of the latest fast food giant aiming to make its mark in Australia.
Filipino fast food chain Jollibee has clinched two franchise deals to open dozens of restaurants in NSW and Victoria.
Famous for its fried chicken and sweet spaghetti, it is the biggest food chain in the Philippines, outperforming global competitors such as McDonalds and KFC in its home country.
Mr Albanese declared Jollibee as a “symbol of the Philippines” and called the expansion a sign of deepening economic ties between the countries.
“Thirty-five stores, 900 direct jobs, tens of millions of dollars of investment, but as well … the flow-on impact because of the supply chain, will be literally thousands of jobs in Australia,” the Prime Minister said.
“And Jollibee also will be a source of pride for Australians of Filipino background.”
Speaking alongside Mr Albanese, Jollibee chief executive Ernesto Tammantiong said “we are proud and excited to mark another milestone in our global journey as we bring Jollibee to Australia”.
“In the Philippines, we have a beautiful word, ‘bayanihan’ — the spirit of the community comes together to help one another succeed,” he said.
“In Australia, you have a similar value that you call ‘mateship’.
“Today, bayanihan meets mateship, united by shared belief, we are stronger together.”
Jollibee already operates almost 2000 locations in 17 countries, with Vietnam hosting the second-most number of restaurants at 200 and the US coming in third at 72.
Among of the chain’s most famous fans was the late celebrity chef Anthony Bourdain.
He dubbed it “the wackiest, jolliest place on earth,” describing its sweet banana-ketchup spaghetti with sliced hotdogs as “deranged, yet strangely alluring” and its signature chicken gravy as “sinister brown sauce”.
Get the latest news from thewest.com.au in your inbox.
Sign up for our emails