Radio interview – SEN 1170 Breakfast with Vossy and Brandy
GREG ALEXANDER, HOST: Good morning Prime Minister.
ANTHONY ALBANESE, PRIME MINISTER: Good morning from Brisbane.
ALEXANDER: Now we were talking tennis and Djokovic got hit by the the English player Cam Norrie who gave up on a shot. Norrie smashed it and hit Djokovic and then we were talking about how you play tennis and I described you as a bit of a net prowler. I said you’re a serve-volley man, especially on the grass. Did I get that right?
PRIME MINISTER: I play at what we affectionately call Royal Marrickville. It’s my local court which are lawn courts but are council owned and may or may not have variable bounce. So you’ve got to volley, because you don’t know what will happen when the ball bounces
ALEXANDER: Good point.
PRIME MINISTER: A simple principle: no one ever got a bad bounce from a volley.
ALEXANDER: Correct. Are you off to the G7 tomorrow? I know your schedule’s tight, so we do appreciate your time. Are you on a plane tomorrow?
PRIME MINISTER: This morning I’m going to farewell the great Indigenous leader Yunupingu in Arnhem Land and then I will stay overnight in Darwin. I’m off to Hiroshima, to the G7 in Japan tomorrow. And it’s now become the G7 with a side meeting of the Quad leaders as a result of the issues that are there in US domestic politics which have prevented President Biden coming down to Australia, which is unfortunate. But we’ve put in place arrangements there to make sure that we can have our meeting there in Hiroshima.
ALEXANDER: Good stuff. Now Indigenous Round gets underway tonight. Broncos-Panthers up at Suncorp Stadium. It’s great to celebrate some of the Indigenous players in our game and throughout the history of the game. Anthony, have you got a favourite Indigenous player, maybe from the past and and present?
PRIME MINISTER: From the past, when I was a little boy I had my South Sydney jumper and I had number one on the back for Eric Simms, who was an amazing goalkicker and a great player. He’s a very humble fellow, a few years ago I did a walking tour around Marrickville looking at the history of Marrickville and noticed this this gentleman just walking with us and I went up to him and I said ‘you’re Eric Simms’. And he said ‘yes’. Just an amazing guy, perhaps Australia’s greatest ever, ever goalkicker, I never saw it any better. He used to do the toe poke when before the ’round the corner’ style came and he was just an extraordinary football. And of course in in later years but the great GI – it’s pretty hard to go past him. Just a beautiful runner with the ball and that try versus a Broncos, I reckon I’ve watched it 50 times on replay and every time I get a thrill from it.
ANDREW VOSS, HOST: What a couple of great players. Eric Simms, by the way, kicked five field goals one day against Penrith at Penrith. I’ve read Prime Minister, he kicked five field goals, this is when there were two points, he kicked him in the space of 19 minutes. That’s never going to be done again. Eric Simms could pop the field goal over, not just the goalkicking. The field goal he was just the expert at, it forced the rule change.
PRIME MINISTER: They changed the rules to one point because of the great Eric Simms. But Souths, of course, have an extraordinary Indigenous culture. They’ve had it for a long period of time. I’ve no doubt that’s one of the reasons why Jack Wighton has signed on to play alongside with Latrell and with Cody and Alex Johnson and Blake Taaffe, and all the extraordinary Indigenous players who are there as part of Souths culture. And of course, this year it’s particularly significant because the NRL have endorsed the constitutional recognition of Aboriginal Australians and the Voice to Parliament, they have endorsed the Yes campaign for the referendum. And today I note that Australian Rugby Union have put out quite a beautiful statement about why the Voice and constitutional change is about union not division and the ARU deserve I think a great deal of congratulations for doing that as well recognising how important Indigenous players and Indigenous culture has been for that code as well.
ALEXANDER: Vossy’s got a couple of quick ones for you, Albo re: Origin. I’ll stay out of this, I’ll let Vossy throw the questions at you. They’re quick answer question.
VOSS: That’s right. You’re the most important decision maker in the country, Mr. Prime Minister. So we’ve got some pretty important business to attend to this weekend.
PRIME MINISTER: I’ve got to pick the Prime Minister’s XIII in a little while.
VOSS: Well there you go.
PRIME MINISTER: They’re versing PNG, but that’ll be a little way down the track.
VOSS: Mr. Prime Minister, we call for a casting vote here. Tommy Turbo: anything less than 100 per cent fit, does he play Origin?
PRIME MINISTER: He could play on one leg. And if he is at all ready to play, I’d have Trbojevic and Mitchell in the centres and Campbell Graham on one of the wings.
ALEXANDER: Okay, I’m gonna ask you a Queensland question. Kalyn Ponga or Reece Walsh at fullback.
PRIME MINISTER: Kalyn Ponga, a proven big game player. Reece Walsh will be a future Origin player and he’ll be a great player. But Kalyn Ponga just adds that bit of class to the Queensland team and I’d be picking him so as a New South Welshman I hope they don’t.
VOSS: Now I will pin you on the five-eighth to number six. I’ll give you three names: Jerome Luai the incumbent, Nico Hynes, Cody Walker. Who’s your five-eighth for New South Wales?
PRIME MINISTER: You know what I’m going to say but it I’m torn here, because I worry that South Sydney players will get hurt when they play Origin.
ALEXANDER: Thinking of your club, understandable.
PRIME MINISTER: Cam Murray will be there. Of course Latrell Mitchell will be there. I think Campbell Graham is certain. So I wish Cody well, he’s a great bloke and a great footballer, very creative. And I, of course, would would pick him. But the three of them are great. I mean, any one of them will do their state proud. It’s extraordinary that you have such three talented five-eighths. They’re all different players too, their styles are very different. They’re all creative, and they’re leaders.
VOSS: This is fantastic. We could talk rugby league all day, there’s probably part of you wish you could. But you do have other things to do. We appreciate you coming on the program. You tried your best radio voice last time you’re on. Do you think you can get that voice up again? Anthony Albanese here, the Prime Minister. You’re listening to SEN, Sydney’s home of sport. Do you think that could work?
PRIME MINISTER: Well it’s Anthony Albanese here and you’re listening to SEN, Sydney’s home of sport, with Brandy and Vossy.
VOSS: That’s so good. Prime Minister all the best with your travels. There’s some pretty important business and by the way, also, we never got around to talking about PNG, but there’s some still some solid work happening there in and around rugby league and expansion as well, which ties in with other issues.
PRIME MINISTER: It is so important, absolutely. And the people of PNG, I’m a big fan and I think they deserve a team. They are so passionate about their footy.
VOSS: Yeah, I’m on board. I’m on the rickshaw, on the ‘PNG rickshaw’ as well, which is a saying here at Breakfast with Vossy and Brandy.
PRIME MINISTER: It’s a bandwagon where there’s always room for one more.
VOSS: Okay, you’re fine with the ‘net prowler’ tag. That’s good. Prime Minister, thank you for coming on talking about one of the loves of your life, rugby league.
ALEXANDER: Thanks Albo.
PRIME MINISTER: I’ve got to say, Brandy the way he plays tennis, he should be a Rabbits supporter because he plays like a rabbit. He’s so quick.
ALEXANDER: Around the court.
VOSS: I thought it was actually going to be derogatory.
ALEXANDER: Great to chat, Prime Minister.
PRIME MINISTER: Thanks, guys.