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Our chat with PM Anthony Albanese
At the start of this election year, PM Anthony Albanese joins News Club
PM Anthony Albanese’s press secretary called last week and 36 hours later, we sat down for his first podcast interview of the 2025 election year. Our approach? A candid chat about his values and priorities. |  With Claire Kimball |
It all happened very quickly, but there had been a bit of a lead-up…
I’ve been talking to PM Anthony Albanese’s press secretary Katharine Murphy for a while about getting him on News Club to talk to us ahead of this year’s federal election.
Last year in a rare moment when Katharine had some breathing space while her boss was on a plane travelling overseas, we met for a coffee, and I showed her our podcast studio. She was interested because she’s an accomplished podcaster herself, having been at the helm of The Guardian Australia’s political podcast efforts before she went to the ‘dark side’ of politics.
I’ve known Katharine for years, so it was great to see her. But it was also encouraging to talk to someone who got the power of podcasts as a way for our national leaders to connect with people. Keep in mind this was well before the US presidential election when it really became a thing…
So when she called on Wednesday night last week and asked “Can you do Friday?” - the only answer was “yes”. And geez did we hustle…
First and foremost, we hope that you listen to the episode. We rarely push you as a newsletter reader to listen to a podcast, but it’s worthwhile to get all the nuance and tone. The way we’re approaching this year is we want to help you be informed, not overwhelmed - so if there’s one piece of content to engage with on what Albanese is about, this is it.
What you’ll get is a conversation that strips away the assumed knowledge and focuses on Albanese’s approach to politics and the basics of what he believes good government should be. There’s no long policy diatribes or slagging off about the other side, which is refreshing.
As per usual for this newsletter, some highlights from our edited transcript follow.
I should also note that we’ve asked Coalition leader Peter Dutton for a chat, too - he’s told us yes, so it’s just a matter of finding a time. And in the coming weeks, we’ll have some others looking to make a splash this election in small and big ways. Let’s go 2025…
A snippet of our conversation
Highlight 1: What is it to be a democratic socialist?
Kate Watson: You described yourself in your maiden speech as a democratic socialist. And more recently, I've heard you say a social democrat. But what is it? What is it to be a democratic socialist?
PM Anthony Albanese:…I say I was raised with three great faiths—the Labor Party, the Catholic Church, and the South Sydney Rugby League Football Club—by my mum… But it means, in general, that your starting point is you recognise that society is more than just individuals. That there is a collective responsibility… that you think that society is also judged by how it looks after the most vulnerable and provides that opportunity. And the government has a role in that.
…Sort of at an extreme on the left spectrum, government has a role to look after people. On the right spectrum, if government just gets out of the way and disappears, then people will be better off. Now, I tend towards government does have a role in looking after people and in looking after shaping the economy as well, where market failure occurs.
Watson: I'd love if you could give us sort of one example of a policy, something you're proud of that really demonstrates those social democrat values that you have?
Albanese: Action on climate change. If you just leave it up to the market—let the market rip—you won’t get the sort of interventions that we’ve seen, that transition that you need. But to do it in a pragmatic way as well, it’s not about public sector investment crowding out private sector engagement. It’s about how does the government policy, public sector engagement, facilitate that private capital to be used as well…
Highlight 2: What news do you consume?
Claire Kimball: This podcast is going out on a show that we call News Club, and we wanted to ask you about the news. What news do you consume? What are your sources?
Albanese: Oh gee, I get, the first thing we get early in the morning…
Watson: Do you still get the clips?
Albanese: We do get the clips in various forms, broken up… The front pages come through electronically. So, I look at the front pages of the newspaper. And then I look at, there’s a summary of the 6am news bulletins. So the first 2 things I probably look at…
Watson: From all the major networks?
Albanese: Yeah…so radio and TV. And then I’ll deep dive into things that strike my interest or things I’ve got to do. This morning, I did an interview on ABC AM. So I will get as well from my team, my hardworking team, who will send me what the issues of the day are and a bit of a summary of it.
Highlight 3: Building a relationship with President Donald Trump
Watson: Donald Trump, what do you think you have in common with him? If you were going up to him—which you will— you have to do the small talk first. How are you going to relate to him on a personal level?
Kimball: Are you a golfer? That’s the first question…
Albanese: As a golfer, I'm a terrific tennis player... But our first discussion was very warm and extensive. And one of the things we talked about was his coming back is pretty amazing.
In 2013, I ran for leader of the Labor Party. I wasn’t successful against, I won the rank-and-file vote, didn’t win the caucus component [against] Bill Shorten. I hung in there. And I came back…So we talked a little bit about that as well…
His resilience is extraordinary for him to come back. He clearly inspires loyalty from his supporters. I think I have that too. The fact that, since 2019, I’ve been leader of the Labor Party now for longer than Bill Shorten was—for heading up to 6 years... If you look at the recent history in Australia, that is significant…
The interview
In the full interview, we also cover:
🗳️ The waning support for the major parties and how he would appeal to those who vote for the Greens/independents
🌍 The politicisation of global conflicts in Australia and how we deal with rising hate speech
👚 We educate him on the phrase 'cossie livs' (AKA cost of living)
💍 His fiancée, Jodie, and his friendship with his son, Nathan
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