Albo's worlds collide
The prime minister's appearance alongside a candidate in Western Sydney today shows why he may face a battle to keep the focus on his domestic agenda.
Anthony Albanese was on the hustings in Cabramatta on Friday, unveiling Tu Le as Labor's candidate for the seat of Fowler. But a press conference the prime minister held to discuss Le’s selection was completely dominated by events far from the Western Sydney electorate.
Capital Brief was in attendance and asked Albanese about the implications of our startling scoop this week that a locked bag containing cabinet documents was lost at Doha Airport last year. "I don't talk about national security at a press conference," was his swift response.
Every other question the PM fielded was about events unfolding in the Middle East. That's understandable, given the gravity of what is playing out in that region, with Iran launching missile attacks on Israel while Israeli troops are on the ground in Lebanon.
Albanese said the government was "very concerned about what is happening in Lebanon, and in particular we are doing our best to look after Australian citizens", including organising 500 seats on commercial flights headed to Cyprus on Saturday.
