Oliver Peterson: Australian correspondent on Prime Minister Anthony Albanese getting caught making fun of Pacific Policing Initiative with US official

Australia Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is being questioned about a private conversation where he joked with the US Deputy Secretary of State about splitting the cost of the Pacific Policing Initiative.

The initiative was announced in Tonga on Wednesday - and last night, a Kiwi journalist caught Albanese and Kurt Campbell jokingly discussing the plan.

Later, Albanese brushed off the exchange and claimed there were no plans for the US to help cover the initiative's costs.

Australian correspondent Oliver Peterson says Albanese later claimed the recording was 'unethical'. 

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Oliver Peterson six par Perth Life Presenters with us a
Oli get ahead, Ollie.

Speaker 2 (00:05):
Do you think Albow is in real trouble for this
or just faked trouble?

Speaker 3 (00:09):
Oh? Look, I think his excuse is absolutely ridiculous. So
you know, the announcement that's been made, the deal that's
been struck with Pacific Island leaders is a fantastic outcome.
It's going to cost Australian taxpayers four hundred million dollars
here to be able to sign up at the Pacific
Islands Forum here for a pack design to basically counter

(00:30):
China's growing security presence in the region. But as he's
making some comments on the sideline here to one of
the Biden administration's head officials when it comes to issues
in the Indo Pacific region, Kurt Campbell, he had this
to say, which was filmed and recorded by a New
Zealand journalist. Well, we had a crack today getting the

(00:53):
Pacific policing in issues. This is fantastic, is so important
for statistics.

Speaker 1 (01:01):
A tyke with Kevin about it there, So you know
we were going to do something in the ass.

Speaker 3 (01:05):
Ninety So we've did nothing.

Speaker 1 (01:06):
We're just having a chat given you a bawenen, I
like your Michigan farm.

Speaker 2 (01:12):
He's on the cost if you.

Speaker 3 (01:18):
Come on. So that come on, Lydia. That said by
Pat Conroy, the Defense Minister. And obviously Lydia Lewis is
a New Zealand journalist. I believe Heather working for Radio
New Zealands. Now why this hot mic incident is interesting
is because as you hear, Alberanizi has basically just said,
you want to pay half of this to the United
States government. You put in two hundred mil. Two things

(01:40):
about it. One is it's going to go to China
and they're going to say, see there you go. Australia
is the lap dog of the US. And two he's
now come out, the Prime Minister to say where are
your ethics to Lydia Lewis, why were you recording a
private conversation? What pm you go behind closed doors and
have those conversations. It's not as though you were a
newly minted politic. Shit, He's been doing this for decades.

(02:02):
That is the most ridiculous excuse from the Prime Minister
to say that this should not have been recorded by
Lydia Lewis. Absolutely it should have been done it's out
in the open. What a silly conversation for the PM
to have and then try and throw shade at the journo.
She's one hundred percent in the right here. Header he's
made a goose of himself too.

Speaker 2 (02:20):
Right, but he's only said what we all know that
we're doing. Right. This is not a surprise to any
of us, of course, and.

Speaker 3 (02:25):
That's why you just should just live with it and
say I said it, you picked it up, and you
know what, it would be good if the US would
pick up two hundred million bucks because they're an ally.
If he said that, everyone go, oh yeah, move on.

Speaker 1 (02:35):
It's a case of it's a case of actually it
not being that big deal. But he's making it worse
and worse by trying to blame everybody else.

Speaker 3 (02:41):
Spot on and trying to blame the journo's ethics. Like PM,
come on, like real.

Speaker 2 (02:46):
Enough, So what are these ghost training colleges? What is this?

Speaker 3 (02:49):
So they're going to crack down here the government on
the number of international students coming into Australia and there
are lots of documents now indicating that we have these
training colleges that have been set up to effective. You're
saying you might be coming to Australia to undertake a
degree or a course in becoming a nurse, or you
might be becoming a plumber or the like. Butt In fact,
you're not that. You know that there's no idea, there's

(03:09):
absolutely nothing at the end of the training, and instead
you're finding a way into Australia via that visa mechanism.

Speaker 2 (03:16):
So they reckon.

Speaker 3 (03:17):
There's about two hundred serious matters currently undervestigation in Australia,
the conduct of one hundred and sixty five providers and
one hundred concern providers. So look, there are a lot
of providers that sound like they could be doing the
dodgy here heather, and you know you crack down on them,
shut them down. They shouldn't be operating.

Speaker 2 (03:35):
Are you guys feeling a bit bummed out about the
Quantus result.

Speaker 3 (03:39):
Well we are because you know, our super funds are
all connected to Quantas and number two even though the
you know that profit's still pretty good at two billion
and down sixteen percent. They've also said they're going to
put air fares up, So come on, why need to
put air fares up when you've made a decent profit.
I mean Australians really feel is that they're being gouged
and there's next to no competition in this country at
the moment anyway. But because the pay rises that are

(04:01):
going to be going to cab and crew and to
pilots around the network, the airlines indicated that we as
customers are going to have to pay more to put
our bums on a seat to go and visit you
in Auckland's or Wellington.

Speaker 2 (04:10):
Well, it could be worse.

Speaker 1 (04:11):
It could be in New Zealand flying around your country.
They're not good, no way worse. You guys had a
quants had a profit drop of twenty eight percent. In
New Zealand had a profit drop of sixty five.

Speaker 2 (04:21):
Oh yeah, all right mate.

Speaker 1 (04:23):
We can do anything you can do. We can do better, Heyroy,
Thank you very much. Oliver Peterson six PR Perth Life
presenting again. It has been a tough all day for
a New Zealand. For more from Heather Duplessy Allen Drive,
listen live to news Talks the'd be from four pm weekdays,
or follow the podcast on iHeartRadio.