Australian PM Anthony Albanese caught on hot-mic making crude joke with minister at COP31

Australian prime minister Anthony Albanese has been caught making a crude joke about genitalia with his climate minister in a hot-mic exchange at the COP31 climate summit in Türkiye.

Mr Albanese was chatting with Chris Bowen, Australia’s minister for climate change and energy, before a business roundtable in Antalya on Friday when their conversation was picked up by a television microphone. The event was set to discuss investment opportunities in Australia’s renewable energy transition.

In the clip, Mr Albanese puts his phone in his jacket pocket and advises Mr Bowen not to keep his own near his heart, warning that it could interfere with his rhythm.

Mr Bowen jokes that he is more concerned about keeping his phone out of his trouser pocket.

“Because of your d**k?” Mr Albanese can be heard asking.

“Because of my d**k. That’s rather important, arguably more important than the heart,” Mr Bowen replies, as the pair laugh.

A spokesperson for Mr Albanese told AFP that the two men “were having a joke in between meetings”.

Environment Minister Murray Watt also played down the exchange when asked about it at a press conference in Brisbane on Saturday. “This is really just about people having a joke,” he told reporters, according to the Australian Associated Press.

Earlier this year, Mr Albanese faced criticism after appearing on the Deep Bush podcast, hosted by comedian Nikki Osborne. During the episode, Mr Albanese took part in a game of “shag, marry, date” and said he would “shag” Australian singer Kylie Minogue.

He later released a statement, saying he “apologise[d] unequivocally” to the singer for the remark.

At the same appearance, while talking about a gift of two melons that Japanese prime minister Sanae Takaichi had brought during an official visit to Australia in May, Mr Albanese mimicked a suggestive gesture made by Ms Osborne.

At the time, opposition leader Angus Taylor called the remarks “beneath the office of prime minister” and said they were insulting, demanding that Mr Albanese personally apologise to Ms Takaichi.

Former Japanese ambassador to Australia Shingo Yamagami also criticised Mr Albanese, accusing the prime minister of having “casually mocked” Ms Takaichi in an article he wrote for The Australian. Crown melons are highly prized in Japan and are traditionally given on special occasions as a mark of respect.

Mr Yamagami urged Mr Albanese to “please enjoy Japan's sweet and juicy melons without thinking about a woman's anatomy, and instead focus on what our two countries must do together”, according to ABC News.

In 2015, then prime minister Tony Abbott was recorded laughing at a remark by his immigration minister Peter Dutton, about Pacific island nations threatened by rising sea levels.

“Time does not mean anything when you are about to have water lapping at your door,” Mr Dutton said at the time.

The remarks prompted an angry response from Pacific leaders, particularly those representing low-lying island nations threatened by rising sea levels. Kiribati’s then president Anote Tong said the joke showed “a sense of moral irresponsibility quite unbecoming of leadership in any capacity”, while then foreign minister of the Marshall Islands Tony de Brum condemned the exchange, saying he was “dismayed” that Australian ministers were joking about the threat.

Australia is co-hosting COP31 with Türkiye, with Mr Bowen leading negotiations between participating countries. Its continued production and export of coal and gas have drawn criticism from climate campaigners, who argue that the country cannot claim to be a climate leader while remaining a major fossil fuel exporter.

The prime minister left Antalya shortly after Friday’s business roundtable to travel to the Philippines for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations summit. Mr Bowen remained in Türkiye to lead the COP31 negotiations, according to the Sydney Morning Herald.