News and politics live updates: Minister demands Wong act over Albanese’s Japanese PM ‘melons’ gaffe

Japanese officials have expressed surprise after correspondence between their Prime Minister’s office and Anthony Albanese about his controversial podcast comments was leaked in Australia.

Mr Albanese is facing growing calls to apologise to his Japanese counterpart Sanae Takaichi following jokes he made about the female leader’s melons, a reference to an official gift she brought to Australia earlier this year.

During his now infamous appearance on the Deep Bush podcast, the Prime Minister said he would “shag” popstar Kylie Minogue and joined in on jokes about Ms Takaichi “smuggling” two prized Crown melons into the country.

On Monday evening reports emerged of a diplomatic cable dated July 13, sent by the Japanese government, which “noted” the “sensationalised reporting in the Australian media” about Mr Albanese’s comments in an interview with podcaster Nikki Osborne.

The diplomatic note, reportedly sent to the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet in Canberra, stated that Tokyo’s belief was that there was no “ill intention” in Mr Albanese’s appearance on the podcast.

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Negotiations around Labor’s gambling reforms are expected to continue throughout the week while key stakeholders await a report from a two-day inquiry which is due next Monday.

Damning evidence of inducements offered to keep people betting was among the fiery testimonies at the Senate inquiry held across August 4-5 into the proposed legislation.

Labor has been locked in negotiations with Greens and Coalition, with Anthony Albanese and Angus Taylor personnel meeting to thrash out a deal.

While Greens spokesperson Sarah Hanson-Young has been meeting with Communications Minister Anika Wells over the gambling reforms.

The reforms and its pathway through the Parliament was a key talking point at the Greens partyroom on Tuesday, with the minor party pushing Labor for stronger amendments which align better with the 2023 Peta Murphy report “You win some, you lose more”.

While the Greens and anti-gambling advocates had urged the government to adopt all recommendations from the Murphy report, the Prime Minister offered a watered-down response during his National Press Club address in April.

The Greens remain confident they’re still in the negotiations game and are privately insisting that Labor is shifting positions in places it previously said it wouldn’t.

The party, however, has accused Labor of still taking advice from the gambling industry in the shaping of its reforms and its approach to negotiated amendments.

It has privately suggested that Labor may be gauging what the industry is willing to accept before drafting amendments.

As of mid-Tuesday morning, the Greens hadn’t yet been presented with any revisions.

It comes as wagering lobbyists are noticeably in Parliament House as all politicians have returned from their five-week winter break.

Anthony Albanese’s frontbenchers have been forced to defend their Labor leader over his comments about the female Japanese Prime Minister’s “melons” on a podcast.

After answering extensive questions about the spread of bird flu in Australia during their Canberra press conference on Tuesday morning, Julie Collins and Murray Watt had to trudge through a string of questions about the Mr Albanese’s appearance on the Bush Deep podcast.

On at least six occasions the ministers were questioned about his joke about two prized Japanese Crown melons which Sanae Takaichi gifted him during an official visit.

Both brushed off the assertion that the Prime Minister’s remarks and actions, which included a cupped hand gesture in front of his chest, were sexual in nature.

“I know the Prime Minister very well, and the Prime Minister’s been very clear that the type of inference that you’re applying there is not what he was (intending),” Ms Collins said.

To which Senator Watt supplemented with: “The Prime Minister has been clear that some media interpretations of that episode of that podcast have been misinterpreted”.

“I do note that the cable that apparently has been sent referred to some of the sensationalised media coverage regarding this, and that’s probably something we should all take into account.”

Minister Watt was then pressed by journalists on why the Prime Minister didn’t defend the female foreign leader against podcast host Nikki Osborne’s crude joke - which compared her gifted edible melons to Pamela Anderson’s breasts.

“Is it appropriate, though, for a man to let a crude joke like that go by without saying anything, without standing up to the woman involved?” one reporter asked.

Senator Watt again said: “We’ve been clear that any statements or the Prime Minister’s participation in that part of that episode has been misinterpreted”.

Mr Albanese hasn’t answered questions about the podcast appearance at a press conference in front of the Canberra press gallery in Parliament House since it aired in early July.

Both Vietnam President Tô Lâm and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese have stressed the need for peace within the Indo-Pacific.

“Australia and Vietnam both want an Indo-Pacific that is peaceful, stable and prosperous,” Mr Albanese said.

Mr Lâm said Vietnam appreciated Australia’s help in “bolstering unity” in South-east Asia, presumably referencing China’s dispute with Vietnam over the South China Sea.

“Regarding regional and international issues, we agree the rapid and complicated developments around the world,” he said.

“Countries need to bolster dialogue, enhance trust, ensure security and safety and freedom of navigation and overflight, and address disputes via peaceful means, in accordance with international law.”

Mr Lâm said he believed the two countries would continue to support each other.

“I am confident that given our shared resolve, our bilateral ties will continue to thrive, fulfilling the interests of the two peoples and contributing to peace, cooperation and development in the region and the world.”

During the Prime Minister’s meeting with Vietnam President Tô Lâm, the pair covered many topics.

Speaking to reporters, Anthony Albanese said they spoke about trade, education, and travel, among other topics.

He said that Vietnam has agreed to provide market access for Australian kangaroo and deer meat.

“This will open up avenues for up $500,000 in trade for Australian exporters,” he said.

Mr Albanese said that he welcomed Vietnam’s investment licence agreement for RMIT University, which would allow the establishment of a new campus based in Hanoi.

It was announced yesterday that Vietjet Air would fly into Western Sydney International Airport from January next year.

“These are practical steps that will bring our countries even closer together,” the Australian Prime Minister said.

Anthony Albanese said he believed Australia and Vietnam’s trade relationship was “stronger than ever”.

Vietnam President Tô Lâm is on his first official visit to Australia.

After their meeting on Tuesday morning, Mr Albanese said the trade relationship between the two countries was important.

“His Excellency and I agreed to deepen cooperation under our comprehensive strategic partnership that we established just last year,” the Prime Minister said.

“We have agreed to a new joint statement on economic resilience.

“At a time when the world is becoming more uncertain, resilient supply chains matter more than ever.

“Whether it is food, energy or critical goods, both our countries have an interest in keeping trade open and reliable.”

Victorian Premier Ben Carroll has delayed the state’s work-from-home reforms until July next year.

In a press conference on Tuesday morning, Mr Carroll confirmed the working from home reforms “would not proceed” on September 1 as expected, and would instead be pushed out until July 1, 2027.

The proposed changes would give eligible workers the right to work from home two days a week if it is reasonable to do so.

Mr Carroll said while he still supported working from home, he wanted to continue working with the business community to ensure the policy was right.

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Environment Minister Murray Watt has announced Australia will expand vaccinations for priority native bird species as the H5 bird flu outbreak escalates, warning the country faces a “very difficult journey” as more mass bird deaths are expected.

“As Julie has indicated, we will see more mass mortalities of birds, that will be a very distressing thing for Australians and as a government we are determined not only to protect our birds as best we can, also to support Australians through what is going to be a very difficult journey,” Mr Watt said.

The Federal Government will support states and territories to vaccinate priority species, with captive birds in zoos and other institutions the initial focus because wild birds can be difficult to vaccinate.

“We are taking this step now because of course the situation regarding bird flu in Australia is escalating,” Mr Watt said.

The Federal Government has warned Australians to expect more dead birds and mass mortality events as H5 bird flu continues to spread across the country.

Agriculture Minister Julie Collins said authorities had been “abundantly clear” that Australians should expect “more spread and larger numbers, particularly of dead birds and mass mortalities around the country”.

However, she stressed there had been no detections in poultry or the wider agricultural industry and the risk to human health remained low.

Australians who encounter sick or dead birds or other animals are being urged not to touch them and instead report sightings through the Government’s bird flu website.

The ANZ bank is now forecasting that Sydney will suffer the sharpest fall in house prices since the early 1980s even if the Reserve Bank stops raising interest rates.

The big four bank has updated its forecasts to have a peak-to-trough fall of 14.5 per cent in Sydney, which would be more severe than the 13 per cent plunge from 2017 to 2019 following a banking regulator crackdown on interest-only loans.

Median house prices in Australia’s most expensive market peaked at $1.6 million in January and a more severe drop than the period before COVID would mark the most dramatic downturn since 1983 when the economy had been in the grip of a high-year recession.

Melbourne, another market where prices have been going backwards since February, was forecast to see a peak-to-trough decline of 12.8 per cent.

The strongest-performing markets since the pandemic were also tipped to suffer with ANZ forecasting a 7.9 per cent peak-to-trough decline in Brisbane and an equivalent 9.8 per cent plunge in Adelaide as Perth values fell 5.2 per cent from this year’s peak.

Capital city prices were forecast to fall by 4.3 per cent this year alone, followed by a 3.4 per cent drop next year when the Reserve Bank is expected to cut interest rates again.