Updated ,first published
Anthony Albanese has warned the media of political violence following cries of Jacinta Allan’s “witch” posters, urging voters to stick to her economic agenda while Pauline Hanson told Allan to “suck it up, honey”.
The Prime Minister used the controversies over the poster that he labeled as sexist to make a serious argument for maintaining civilization and faith in the future of the country while the anger of the people hit the major parties.
Acknowledging that the economic crisis was fueling anger and fanaticism, Albanians turned out to be “patriotic” Australia as he promised to reduce immigration in an apparent response to Hanson’s party locking in its position as the most popular in Australia.
“What I don’t want to do is have a press conference in this courtyard after the tragedy,” Albanese told reporters on Monday.
“There are many people, including others who are still in custody for threats at our level, at my level, at the moment. There was one in court again on Friday, one in court the Friday before.”
“Some of the personal ways that the mainstream media, as well, have introduced people into public life have to stop… Turn the temperature down, or accept responsibility for the consequences.”
Albanese did not specify which media outlets or specific examples of news he was referring to. The Prime Minister, whose personal ratings have plummeted since last month’s budget, was speaking in general and not just about Allan’s posters.
The poll published on Monday was the third major poll in a row, after surveys from YouGov and Redbridge last week, showing One Nation narrowly ahead of Labor on first preference votes. Support for Hanson’s party has continued to rise in the election after Labour’s budget, in which it broke election promises to keep negative gearing and big profits tax cuts untouched.
Hanson responded to Allan’s posters on Monday, telling Sky News that the Victorian Premier should “suck it up, honey” and hinting at the prospect that All of Allan’s colleagues can bring him down on his unpopularity.
“If you’ve seen what happened to me over the years, I remember years ago Tim Fischer called me a witch and (said) I should be burned.”
Hanson originally claimed in 1998 that Fischer said he should be fired, but the late Nationals leader said at the time this was “absolute rubbish” – although he publicly described One National as “dumb, divisive and wrong”.
“So I’ve been introduced long before you… Besides, Jacinta, I’ll tell you something, I heard it on the grapevine, you won’t be there in a couple of weeks.”
Victorian Opposition Leader Jess Wilson said the billboard was sexual. “Such talk should never be used in politics and we should not see this happening in our streets,” he said.
Albanese used the King’s Birthday press conference in Canberra to highlight the last patriotic message of Australian of the Year Richard Scolyersaying he represented the best of Australia.
Directly addressing conservative concerns over Australia’s immigration rate as he addressed Australia’s new mass immigration mania, Albanese insisted his government was working to reduce the numbers from those seen when borders reopened after the pandemic.
“I want an Australia that is united, that has social cohesion at our core, that respects people for who they are, but is patriotic about us all being Australians,” he said. “We’re going to reduce overseas migration over the next few years to 225,000 and we think that’s the right number.”
Economic instability fueled voter anger, he said, citing the Bill Clinton-era line that economic conditions are the main factor behind political progress. Some economists have accused the Albanians of running an economic model with low productivity, which in the long run can lead to low living standards.
“It’s the economy, stupid,” Albanese said, claiming that the broken housing market justified his budget U-turn.
“It is always the economy that sets the parameters of the debate … The argument that says that after presenting our promises in our first year of our second term, we should sit back and coast for the next two years. There is one that I was not ready to support.”
“The difficult decisions that we made in the budget that we want to make sure that we put in place the systems that will bring about change, are not easy political decisions, but the right decisions, and that if governments do not respond to that, there will be an increase in partisanship, whether on the right or on the left.”
Social Services Minister Tanya Plibersek said Sunrise: “We see the polls and we get the message, which is that we need a big change in this country, and that’s what Labor is delivering.”
One Nation’s Barnaby Joyce said the government’s response to the recent vote was “scratching”.
“One nation is a reflection of people’s feelings … (They) are above Labor and above the Union,” he said, appearing on the same program as Pliberek.
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Paul Sakkal is a Senior Political Writer. He previously covered Victorian politics and won the Walkley Award and the 2025 Press Gallery Journalist of the Year. Contact him safely on Signal @paulsakkal.14.Connect through X or email address.
