Paul Murray has slammed Anthony Albanese for fleeing flood-hit NSW to visit Western Australia and chase votes ahead of the federal election.
The Sky News host accused Mr Albanese of prioritising the election over his disaster-struck homestate as he unloaded on the Labor leader on Thursday night.
Mr Albanese had landed in Perth moments after the hard border came down earlier that day, seizing his opportunity to head west for the first time in almost a year.
He showed off his flashy blue suit as he worked his way around the key battleground state, targeting the Liberal-held seats of Pearce, Hasluck and Swan.
His visit came as NSW was battered by historic floods with one dead, more than 500,000 residents evacuated and premier Dominic Perrottet labelling the disaster a ‘one-in-a-1,000 year event’.
The same storms have battered Queensland forcing the closure of schools, cutting power to tens of thousands of homes and killing nine people.
‘As you know the cleanup operation is taking place all over NSW and there was a situation in Western Sydney – all of which serious and it should have the total focus of our national leadership,’ an outraged Murray said.
Paul Murray has slammed Anthony Albanese for fleeing flood-hit NSW to visit Western Australia and chase votes ahead of the federal election
The Sky News host accused Mr Albanese of prioritising the election over his disaster-struck homestate as he unloaded on the Labor leader on Thursday night
‘But of course there’s an election to win and somehow the rules don’t apply when it comes to “each way Albo”.’
Murray accused the Labor party of double standards and questioned why Mr Albanese should be allowed to get away with leaving NSW at such a critical time.
‘But what if Scott Morrison did it?’ Murray said. ‘What if Scott Morrison, the second the borders came down, was able to go to Western Australia? Could you imagine what the reaction would be?’
‘I thought that every single hand needed to be helping and unless you’re on the frontline of everything, somehow you don’t care – that’s the standard that “Each Way” and his mates have been screaming for, for the last couple of years.’
NSW Liberal senator Hollie Hughes took to Twitter to heap more criticism onto Mr Albanese.
‘While Albo’s electorate deals with these horrendous floods – rather than getting out there and assisting his local community – he has chosen to sandbag a few votes out in WA the first moment they open their border. Absolutely shameless,’ she wrote.
Mr Albanese has defended his decision to visit Western Australia saying that he had promised to visit the state as soon as the borders reopened.
‘I said a number of times over almost a year that I would be on the first plane if that was possible,’ he told The West Live on Thursday.
‘And so, I kept that commitment to Western Australians. I had made a commitment to visit the West ten times a year as a Labor Leader.’
His visit came as NSW was battered by historic floods with one dead, more than 500,000 residents evacuated and premier Dominic Perrottet labelling the disaster a ‘one-in-a-1,000 year event’ (pictured, Lismore in northeastern NSW)
WA looms as a key battleground in the upcoming federal election, with Labor targeting the Liberal-held seats of Pearce, Hasluck and Swan – all on margins of less than six per cent.
The incumbent MPs for Pearce and Swan, Christian Porter and Steve Irons, are retiring from politics at the election, while Hasluck is held by Indigenous Australians Minister Ken Wyatt.
Mr Albanese on Thursday made Pearce his first stop, visiting manufacturing firm Aries Rail in the industrial suburb of Wangara.
Flanked by Labor candidate Tracey Roberts, the opposition leader sought to remind voters that the federal government had – albeit briefly – intervened in support of Clive Palmer’s failed constitutional challenge of the WA border closures.
The same storms have battered Queensland forcing the closure of schools, cutting power to tens of thousands of homes and killing nine people (pictured, Lismore)
‘If we are successful in May, I want a federal Labor government that works with the Western Australian government and most importantly with the people of Western Australia,’ he told reporters.
‘The idea that the federal government joined that court case and supported it when Christian Porter, the local member here, was the attorney-general … just shows how out of touch the Morrison government is when it comes to the needs of looking after Western Australians.’
Mr Albanese later visited a Tesla community battery site in Ellenbrook alongside Hasluck candidate Tania Lawrence and local federal Labor MPs.
He claimed the exit of senior West Australian federal ministers Julie Bishop, Mathias Cormann and Michael Keenan had left the state ‘sidelined’ in Canberra.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison had hoped to also head west following the border opening but was forced into quarantine after contracting COVID-19.
Treasurer Josh Frydenberg denied the government had ignored funding for Western Australia.
‘That’s just a bald-faced lie, it’s bollocks, it’s political at its worst,’ he told Perth radio station 6PR on Thursday.
Anthony Albanese flew into Perth just after the hard border came down on Thursday morning
Anthony Albanese has hit the campaign trail in Western Australia where Labor hopes to snatch three seats, including Christian Porter’s electorate of Pearce.
‘We have dispensed more than $14 billion to the people of Western Australia since the start of COVID.’
Mr Albanese was also expected to meet privately with Premier Mark McGowan on Thursday and to engage with local business leaders during his three-day visit to WA.
But questions were raised about the curious timing of Mr McGowan holding his own press conference in Perth while Mr Albanese addressed local media.
The pair did not hold any media events together when Mr Albanese visited during the state election last year.
‘I always catch up with Mark McGowan when I’m here. I value his advice, I speak to him regularly and I look forward to working with him before the election,’ Mr Albanese said.
‘Unless the premier went missing and went on radio silence for three days, then it’s inevitable that we’ll be doing some things at the same time.’
A ‘responsible’ watch, ‘agile’ shoes… and a VERY dapper new look: Inside Albo’s clever makeover
Anthony Albanese looks forward thinking, fit and confident in his latest photo shoot alongside his girlfriend of two years Jodie Haydon, professional image experts say.
The Labor leader, 58, posed up in a fitted white shirt, skinny grey chinos with a black belt and $129 Country Road gum sole sneakers at his Marrickville home for the March edition of the Women’s Weekly.
Image consultant and personal stylist Imogen Lamport told FEMAIL the aspiring prime minister appeared ‘ready for action’ and prepared to take on a bigger role in the shoot, which saw him cosying up to a beaming Ms Haydon.
‘He looks happy. Especially because he’s a middle-aged white man… he looks much more forward thinking and it’s a modern look. He looks like he’s stepping into the future,’ she said.
Anthony Albanese looks forward thinking, fit and confident in his latest photo shoot alongside his girlfriend of two years Jodie Haydon, professional image experts say
Anthony Albanese is pictured at home in Sydney with his girlfriend Jodie Haydon and dog Toto
Anthony Albanese is pictured at home in Sydney with his girlfriend Jodie Haydon and dog Toto
Mr Albanese is hoping to become the next Prime Minister of Australia, with an election in May
Mr Albanese’s choice of shoes were clever, in Ms Lamport’s mind, because they show that he’s agile, ready to move and ‘not stuck in the past’.
‘His trousers are on trend which gives him a more youthful rather than middle aged appearance.’
Meanwhile the pattern on the inside of the collar stand on his blue shirt tells the public he’s modern, approachable and ‘there may be more to him than meets the eye’.
‘His belt and watch are still more classic and traditional which says he’s professional, responsible and successful,’ she continued.
Ms Lamport pointed to his posture as ‘relaxed’ and ‘friendly’, showcasing that he’s a man of the people as he’s not positioning himself as better than the reader.
‘His hands in the pockets but thumbs out says he’s comfortable and confident,’ she said.
Personal brand expert Suzie Lightfoot agrees, suggesting that the first thing she instantly noticed about the Labor leader was his confidence in the images.
‘I think he must have had a good rapport with the photographer to allow him to radiate his natural energy,’ she told FEMAIL.
‘Fashion and clothing choices can dress you up on the outside however, it’s your energy and presence that will elevate your brand and image to the next level. So I think he has nailed it in that department.
She describes his choice of a slim white shirt as tactical because it’s very fresh and ‘pure’ by nature.
‘His stylist may have made a wise decision to portray Mr Albanese subconsciously to voters as the right man to lead the way for new beginnings post-pandemic,’ she said.
The pair (pictured) met in early 2020 at a conference in Melbourne where Mr Albanese was speaking
