Anthony Albanese is being urged to log off his Instagram, with the opposition warning that it is not just comedian podcasters but spies who could also be potentially sliding into the Prime Minister’s DMs.
Mr Albanese has been plunged into a diplomatic and sexism row following his now-infamous podcast appearance which he agreed to do after the host approached him in a private message on the social media photo-sharing platform Instagram.
On the Bush Deep podcast, Mr Albanese said that he would shag Kylie Minogue, joked that he scheduled sex with his new wife after Rabbitohs games; then criticised the Japanese Prime Minister’s diplomatic melon gift as “pretty strange” and leaned into a comparison of the fruit and Pamela Anderson’s breasts.
Shadow Defence minister Jame Paterson told The Nightly that the Prime Minister could avoid more embarrassing podcast appearances, as well as be more mindful of the security implications of being publicly available via social media, if he signed out.
“It’s a bit of a worry that you can apparently book a podcast and a scotch at the Lodge direct with the PM by just sliding into his DMs,” he said.
“Our intelligence agencies have repeatedly warned us that social media is a major vector for cyber attacks, foreign interference and espionage. That risk is obviously heightened if the Prime Minister is personally responding to social media messages on his own device.
“There is no higher priority foreign intelligence target than a prime minister. Perhaps it’s time to log off and let the office manage it from now on.”
Nikki Osborne, the host of the Bush Deep podcast, has also expressed her surprise at how easy it was to access the Prime Minister and secure a visit to his official residence, The Lodge in Canberra.