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‘Do you want me to speak or not? I am the prime minister’: Albanese caught on film

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u/ButtPlugForPM avatar

Wow the organiser is backtracking hard in the media now.

u/Throwawaydeathgrips avatar

Where?

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u/Spades67 avatar

Well, there's the Scomo handshake moment for him.

They're every bit as bad as eachother. Out of touch, morally bankrupt, arrogant wastes of space that don't deserve to be anywhere near power.

u/ButtPlugForPM avatar
Cake icon Edited

One didn't happen though./

There is no proof what the article say's he said.

The only part he said is i am the prime minister,the rest is made up media bashing

There is no video proof,or eye witness statements saying he ran the country

They aren't the same

u/Spades67 avatar

Oh, the ALP having literally any issues or criticism is a conspiracy theory, again. Shocker.

Nice attempt to turn this into a partisan political issue. You're a winner.

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u/Dangerman1967 avatar

Props to Albo for turning up. Everyone comparing this to Scomo’s refused handshake after the fires is off the mark. The time he refused to go to the March 4 Justice rally and only offered a closed door meeting was more on point. I commented at the time it was fair enough, because a lot of rallies just want a hate figure as Albo has proved. And a women’s rally just want the highest ranking make politician they can find. So Albo genuinely did not too bad a job in the lions den.

And for those ready to downvote or reply. Answer me how Jacinta Allen was easily able to march with the Victorian rally without incident. Not only is this issue more State based as it’s essentially a law and order issue and judicial process issue, but she’s also been a long serving senior member of Government vs Albo’s 2 years in the job. And her Government has also had a RC into the issue. And a lot of the current movement stems from the 3 women killed in … Ballarat, Victoria, Australia.

So how does Jacinta get a free pass? A progressive government that’s raising the age of criminal responsibility to 14, abolished pubic drunkenness, and recently changed bail laws with some significant racial divides in them.

IMO the biggest thing Albo did wrong was put a price tag on it. Money ain’t fixing the issue. Victoria threw money at the issue and it doesn’t seem to have worked.

Lastly, I have been highly critical of Albo’s diary. Matilda’s, cricket, tennis, DJ Albo, celebrity weddings, flying visits to Alice Springs …. But this isn’t one. I reckon he has balls and insane naivety turning up.

The host was a self serving grub and tried to make it a publicity stunt in her favor. Sorry love but that's going to fly here. Albo #1

u/WongsAngryAnus avatar

Ya know, that's exactly how I felt about that rude grub who refused to shake the pms hand.

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u/Throwawaydeathgrips avatar

Seconds before Albo got the mic she literally said she didnt want him to speak. I dont understand why shes upset Albo said she said something everyone heard her say 20 seconds beforehand.

u/aladdydeen avatar

A womens rights activist getting emotional and crying when she doesn't get her way is....not going to send the message they're probably trying to send. Despite every media outlet trying to full send it in their favour.

This is only going to outrage people that were already permanently outraged.

I think on substance she’s wrong and he hasn’t done anything that bad.

But this looks very bad and will be very damaging.

u/paulybaggins avatar

Full video is all over Reddit, give it a look and see what you think.

I’m not saying I think he did anything wrong, my point is that the popular perception of this will be based on the snippets played on the news and headlines. All of which are super damaging.

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u/Throwawaydeathgrips avatar

No it wont, not now the videos are out.

The claims she made in her statement about what Albo have said to her were lies, he never said that. Shes also been shown to have straight up said she didnt want him to talk, and then claimed she didnt.

The only people that will be yapping about this are people that already hated Albo, its a total nothing event now the footage is out.

It’s been the main story on most news programs and across the Age and The Oz and other outlets all day. The damage has been done.

Thankfully for albo, the average attention span of the Australian public is remarkably brief.

I mean, even Morrison eventually went back into favour after the bushfire debacle. And if he didn’t continue fucking up literally all the time, he probably would have been forgiven. 

u/Throwawaydeathgrips avatar

You remember when that council dude from WA was accused of making sexist comments about womens sport and the media ran with it, including a social media shitstorm, but then the full video was released and nobody cared because it was out of context?

This is that.

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A bit unfortunate for an important movement that they ended up with such a low quality individual as Sarah Williams as a representative. There is clearly something not quite right with her and hopefully it won't tarnish their efforts moving forwards.

Edited

Photo opportunity gone wrong for the PM. Very dangerous for politicians when they haven’t got their speech prepared by their spin doctors.

u/paulybaggins avatar

lol damned if he goes damned he doesn't it seems.

u/WongsAngryAnus avatar

Finally realising what being in power is eh? It's only going to get worse from here

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I would have been irritated too if she put me on the spot like that. I find it funny that people are comparing a less-than-perfect response to an incredibly obnoxious person to Morrison’s pattern of blunders.

u/WongsAngryAnus avatar

You are not the prime minister of Australia though mate. He is in the highest position of power in the country. He could of handled it with grace as befits his position. Instead he looks weak and small.

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u/WongsAngryAnus avatar
Edited

Wonder what old Grace tame would be thinking about now?

u/47737373 avatar

What about, what about, Scott Morrison and his track record on women’s rights? Why don’t we talk about that and how appalling it was?

It's doubtful he would have spoken of he was asked not to. Smells like a stunt to me.

u/MachenO avatar

I've been wondering all week whether this was a stitch up or a blunder, and it seems to have been a bit of both!

Albo etc seem to have been expecting a more accommodating audience. what they got was put on the spot by the organisers, who weren't willing to give them time to speak unless they committed to policy in the moment (not the Labor way). Albo had to turn up, otherwise he'd be slammed just like Morrison was last time. But unfortunately the organisers and the crowd weren't going to give them credit just for showing up. Surprised their staffers didn't pick that up beforehand.

u/Throwawaydeathgrips avatar

The audience was very accommodating, they cjeered when Albo took the mic and yelled YES when the organiser asked whether she should let him speak or not (after saying she didnt want him to).

The main organiser became flustered because the crowd were jeering her to let Albo speak. She failed to read the room.

Albo navigated the initial heckling and on the spot demands quite well. But he should've taken the ego hit and not made that line about originally wanting to speak. Our PM's tend to forget the utility of disarming their audience.

u/MachenO avatar

Yeah that seems to be Albo's real blunder. Weirdly out of character for him to make that kind of mistake, I think. The victory was in winning the mic, there wasn't any reason to rub it in further, especially if the organisers were hostile.

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100% beat up - I mean really, is this reporting at its best?

u/The21stPM avatar

Ohh an article from the Brisbane times hey? They definitely wouldn’t take things out of context! This is such a non story!

u/WongsAngryAnus avatar

What's worse, berating a woman in front of thousands in a march for women......or........shaking the hand of a bushfire victims who didn't want to shake your hand?

They are probably both ordinary, but one was a major contributing factor in a government being ousted and is still being talked about 5 years later. I can guarantee the same scrutiny will not be applied to Albo and it will be forgotten by next week. Maybe he will do another shoot for a magazine and can talk about his dog.

my dude you are entirely too invested in this

u/aladdydeen avatar

Albo took someone to task that earned it. Morrison walked into an active operations zone where he wasn't welcome, and interrupted proceedings. Vast difference.

u/MachenO avatar

I struggle to see Albo berating anyone here

u/teco2 avatar

Berate? Did we watch the same video?

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u/ButtPlugForPM avatar
Cake icon Edited

Look's like per the ABC albo's been found to have been correct,they provided all the comms logs with the group,seems was told they didn't want him to speak

For them then to complain he didn't speak,cause u asked him not to is stupid.

So this womens clearly using a smear campaign to pump up the message,which isn't a good look

“I’m the prime minister. I run this country.”

i know a lot of ppl who work with albo,and he spends every free sunday he has volunteering at a food bank,since before he was a politician..

he would never say i run this country,that's not in his character,the fact even the daily mail has been unable to corroberate this in their attack today shows it's prob a lie

I mean at least he fucking turned up,scomo didn't even attend the last womens rally as pm and instead made a comment they lucky they don't get shot.

He can't fix a cultural problem here,this is cultural,albo can't just snap his fingers

u/Throwawaydeathgrips avatar

Do you have a link?

u/Popular-Fuel-2716 avatar
u/Throwawaydeathgrips avatar

Ta!

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u/ModsPlzBanMeAgain avatar

At least he turned up? Based on the organisers behaviour it was probably in scomos best interests. They would have used him as a political punching bag

u/ButtPlugForPM avatar
Cake icon Edited

See im on the fence

They are angry these girls are dying weekly,nothings being done i get it..

The govt will bend over spend 300 billion on a submarine program,but not the 160 million needed for women's shelters

But i also have to take gripe with them

Let the person speaking,you know speak..then harangue them if what u said pissed u off,all they did was try to scream over him

But he showed up,scomo literally couldnt even walk 50 metres outside his office regarding the womens rally with the rapes

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u/CommonwealthGrant avatar

From the video, he clearly said this

“I’m the prime minister.

He clearly did not say this

I run this country.”

u/ButtPlugForPM avatar

exactly,yet this same womens who made up the lie of the PM being asked to attend,seems to be pushing a new lie

This lady is not a good spokesperson for the cause if she can't make her point making shit up in the press

u/WongsAngryAnus avatar

Imagine you are at work, assuming you have a job, you are doing a presentation in front of the company, and your boss says:

"I am the chief executive. Do you want me to speak or not?"

How would you be feeling champ?

u/aladdydeen avatar

If you had actively tried to stop him talking, you'd probably be feeling like your arse is on the line. As you should.

u/Throwawaydeathgrips avatar

When the entire room is asking for the chief executive to talk Id probably let them talk hey

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u/CommonwealthGrant avatar

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese was caught on camera at Sunday’s Canberra domestic violence rally asking the organiser whether she wanted him to speak or not, saying “I am the prime minister” before stepping up to take the microphone.

The ABC footage shows the scene moments before the prime minister told the crowd he’d been initially asked not to speak, prompting rally organiser Sarah Williams to start weeping as she cried out that this was “a flat-out lie”.

The rancorous debate over the prime minister’s words at the rally spilled over into Monday, as Williams doubled down on her criticisms of the prime minister, appearing on several national television programs and using her Instagram account to claim she overheard Albanese say: “I’m the prime minister. I run this country.”

While the prime minister refused to discuss Williams’ claims in his morning interviews, the recording first aired on ABC’s Afternoon Briefing shows the prime minister become irritated as Williams said the organisers of the What Were You Wearing rally would consider if the government ministers attending the rally could speak.

Standing on the side, he shrugged and said: “Do you want me to speak or not? I’m the prime minister,” before he stands up and takes the microphone handed to him by Williams.

Minister for Women Katy Gallagher on Monday morning told ABC the confusion over who would speak came from discussions about the five reforms the organisers wanted the government to back if they were going to speak alongside the organisers at the rally.

Williams used part of her 40-minute speech on Sunday to ask Albanese and Gallagher to signal thumbs up or down if they would agree to the organisation’s demands: to declare a domestic violence national emergency; to block the media from publishing images of victims for 48 hours; mandatory victim-blaming prevention training; alternative reporting options for victims; and increased funding.

Albanese and Gallagher were heckled when they did not respond to this request, but the prime minister rose to speak after Williams told the crowd: “We gave the opportunity to Anthony Albanese to make comments today and we didn’t get any.”

Albanese then addressed the crowd, saying “[We] were told that wasn’t possible and that’s fine. I respect the organisers’ right to do that,” as the crowd booed him and Williams said that was a lie.

Gallagher told ABC’s Radio National Breakfast that she had wished to speak but decided to come in support after they could not agree on the terms.

“I had wanted to speak, it was a rally in my hometown and I thought that was appropriate, but you know, there was some concern about ... the five key asks that were being sought at the rally and you know, a commitment that they were seeking from us, and we weren’t able to reach agreement on how to proceed,” she said.

“In the end, we decided to just walk and attend the rally … as a sign of respect and it’s a sign of solidarity with women around the country.”

The Prime Minister has dismissed claims from organisers of a violence against women rally that he lied about speaking arrangements at the protest in Canberra.

Williams told this masthead: “I said at the event, any chance I can convince you guys to set up something with us or to commit to one of the demands, and they said ‘no’,” she said.

“So I made it clear I was going to say all the demands and ask them there – the PM didn’t respond to the five demands, the audience started getting upset.

“He never asked to speak, I asked if he would consider speaking and I was told there wasn’t enough time because the march was so soon.”

Asked on Seven’s Sunrise if he had said “I’m the prime minister, I run the country”, Albanese would not comment.

“I’m not going to get into that sort of debate,” he said. “People, including Seven*,* were there for the recording of everything that went on.”

u/CommonwealthGrant avatar

This masthead spoke to several witnesses at the rally but was unable to independently verify the claim he said “I run the country”, and he does not say this in the latest video footage.

Albanese also made a point of congratulating Williams for organising the event.

“The organisers throughout the country deserve credit for organising these rallies. I was happy not to speak, I was happy to speak. It was about raising awareness of the issue [and] a call to action [to] all governments. Quite clearly, we need to do more,” he told Nine’s Today program.

“It was an emotional day for people and I get that [it] is an emotional issue because women were saying yesterday, enough is enough.”

Opposition frontbencher Jane Hume said women were hurting and wanted action, not words.

“They want actions, not platitudes,” Hume told Sky News.

“Quite frankly, the fact that the prime minister couldn’t read that room speaks volumes in itself.”

Williams said she had not heard anything from Albanese or Gallagher to apologise for causing her distress and she hoped to see more consultation between the government and activist groups on what was needed to address domestic violence.

“If he does think I’ve done a good job, why hasn’t he reached out, why aren’t we meeting soon, why am I not meeting with an adviser?” she said.

“It would be nice to have a response from him to actually figure out what happened, to see if we could make change, because the priority is to resolve violence against women.”

Former Liberal staffer Brittany Higgins, who was raped in Parliament House on a minister’s couch, posted a comment to Williams’ Instagram sending her love.

u/CommonwealthGrant avatar

“I’m so sorry. This is unacceptable and I am heartbroken you were made to feel so small on a day you accomplished something so incredible. Sending love always,” Higgins wrote.

In 2023, Williams led a nightlife safety campaign, during which she collected more than 20,000 signatures on a petition to the NSW government that resulted in mandated drink-spiking education for venue and bar staff in the state. She also developed Australia’s first sexual assault service for music festivals, which is in place at more than 30 festivals a year.Prime Minister Anthony Albanese was caught on camera at Sunday’s Canberra domestic violence rally asking the organiser whether she wanted him to speak or not, saying “I am the prime minister” before stepping up to take the microphone.

The ABC footage shows the scene moments before the prime minister told the crowd he’d been initially asked not to speak, prompting rally organiser Sarah Williams to start weeping as she cried out that this was “a flat-out lie”.

The rancorous debate over the prime minister’s words at the rally spilled over into Monday, as Williams doubled down on her criticisms of the prime minister, appearing on several national television programs and using her Instagram account to claim she overheard Albanese say: “I’m the prime minister. I run this country.”

While the prime minister refused to discuss Williams’ claims in his morning interviews, the recording first aired on ABC’s Afternoon Briefing shows the prime minister become irritated as Williams said the organisers of the What Were You Wearing rally would consider if the government ministers attending the rally could speak.

Standing on the side, he shrugged and said: “Do you want me to speak or not? I’m the prime minister,” before he stands up and takes the microphone handed to him by Williams.

Minister for Women Katy Gallagher on Monday morning told ABC the confusion over who would speak came from discussions about the five reforms the organisers wanted the government to back if they were going to speak alongside the organisers at the rally.

Williams used part of her 40-minute speech on Sunday to ask Albanese and Gallagher to signal thumbs up or down if they would agree to the organisation’s demands: to declare a domestic violence national emergency; to block the media from publishing images of victims for 48 hours; mandatory victim-blaming prevention training; alternative reporting options for victims; and increased funding.

Albanese and Gallagher were heckled when they did not respond to this request, but the prime minister rose to speak after Williams told the crowd: “We gave the opportunity to Anthony Albanese to make comments today and we didn’t get any.”

Albanese then addressed the crowd, saying “[We] were told that wasn’t possible and that’s fine. I respect the organisers’ right to do that,” as the crowd booed him and Williams said that was a lie.

Gallagher told ABC’s Radio National Breakfast that she had wished to speak but decided to come in support after they could not agree on the terms.

“I had wanted to speak, it was a rally in my hometown and I thought that was appropriate, but you know, there was some concern about ... the five key asks that were being sought at the rally and you know, a commitment that they were seeking from us, and we weren’t able to reach agreement on how to proceed,” she said.

“In the end, we decided to just walk and attend the rally … as a sign of respect and it’s a sign of solidarity with women around the country.”

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