Asked about the remark during a blitz on breakfast TV on Thursday morning after arriving home in Australia from the QUAD security talks in Japan, Albanese said it “shouldn’t have been said”.
“Tanya Plibersek did the right thing by apologising. I do want to change the way that politics functions in this country. People do have conflict fatigue,” he told ABC Breakfast.
Pressed on whether his ambition to change politics was off to a bad start, given the sledge on Dutton’s appearance, Albanese said Plibersek had made a mistake. He confirmed that she would be on the Labor frontbench, which will be formally endorsed by the caucus next week, with the new ministry to be sworn in on Wednesday.
“Tanya Plibersek will certainly be on my frontbench. There is no question about that. She apologised. It was a mistake. It shouldn’t have been said. We all make mistakes from time to time,” he said.