Australian PM Albanese Caught on Hot Mic Making Crude Joke With Climate Minister at COP31
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese was caught on a television microphone on November 13 making a crude joke with Climate Change and Energy Minister Chris Bowen on the sidelines of the COP31 climate summit in Antalya, Turkiye; the footage was later broadcast by Australia's Channel 7.
According to AFP and other outlets, the two men were chatting before a business roundtable on investment opportunities in Australia's renewable energy transition. Albanese put his phone in his jacket pocket and advised Bowen not to keep his own near his heart, warning that it could interfere with his rhythm. Bowen joked that he was more concerned about keeping his phone in his trouser pocket. Albanese asked, smiling, "Because of your d—k?" Bowen replied: "Because of my d—k. That's rather important, arguably more important than the heart." The pair then laughed, apparently unaware the microphone was live.
A spokesperson for Albanese told AFP the two men were having a joke in between meetings. Environment Minister Murray Watt also played the exchange down when asked about it in Brisbane on November 14, saying it was really just people having a joke. Liberal deputy leader Jane Hume criticised the pair for acting like 14-year-old schoolboys.
It is not the first joke to land Albanese in trouble this year. Earlier this year, on a comedy podcast, he mimicked a suggestive gesture by the host while talking about two melons that Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi had brought during an official visit to Australia in May; opposition figures called the remarks beneath the office of prime minister, and he later apologised. The hot-mic incident and the melons episode are separate events.
Related: COP31 enters its second week: UN climate chief Stiell urges faster talks
(Source: AFP)
Source: AFP
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：澳大利亚总理阿尔巴尼斯官方肖像（资料图）。照片：David Foote 摄（AUSPIC／澳大利亚议会服务部），CC BY 4.0，经 Wikimedia Commons。 / Photo: Official portrait of Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese (file photo). Photo by David Foote (AUSPIC/Department of Parliamentary Services), CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
