New footage has surfaced of Anthony Albanese asking to speak at an anti-violence protest in Canberra, stirring up a heated debate amongst Aussies after the organiser accused him of lying.
Thousands attended the protest organised by woman’s violence charity What Were You Wearing to demand concrete action to break the cycle of violence which has claimed the lives of at least 26 women so far in 2024.
Mr Albanese initially told the crowd he’d been asked not to speak, prompting rally organiser Sarah Williams to say that was ‘a flat-out lie’ as she started weeping.
But in a longer video of the incident that was taken before Mr Albanese addressed the crowd, Ms Williams can be heard explaining her reasons for not wanting politicians, including the Prime Minister to address the crowd.
‘I actually to be honest – don’t really want anyone to speak – because I don’t think they should be given the microphone,’ she is heard saying, as Mr Albanese stood nearby.
‘I do think it’s going to be the s*** Sarah show … and I’m going to become the next Brittany Higgins!’ she declares.
She then said was ‘happy’ for members of her team to hear what the Prime Minister had to say.
‘I’m happy for my What Were You Wearing team to talk with the ministers, hear what they have to say and then we’ll consider the decision of them speaking about ten minutes.’
Aussies are divided over Anthony Albanese’s widely criticised rally intervention after new footage shows the organiser initially saying she doesn’t want him to speak
It was at this moment Mr Albanese declares: ‘Do you want me to speak or not? I am the Prime Minister.’
Ms Williams, looking directly at Mr Albanese replies: ‘But I’m not having any attacks towards myself or the organisation.’
‘Speaking or not speaking,’ she asks the crowd, who appear to respond overwhelmingly in favour of Mr Albanese speaking.
After he appeared to utter the terse words, he started speaking to the crowd after Ms Williams handed him the microphone.
The longer footage has divided Aussies, with many taking the prime minister’s side.
‘I’m no big Albo fan but from this video, to me, it seems really apparent that Albo was there under the expectation he would NOT be speaking,’ they wrote.
‘To me, implies he had been told organisers didn’t want him to speak, and then when asked he seemed confused.’
Another said ‘Albo is guilty of nothing but a poorly phrased confirmation that the organiser wants him to speak’.
Many were critical of Ms Williams and the other organisers, accusing them of ‘handling it badly’.
Ms Williams (pictured) who is an advocate against domestic and sexual violence, burst into tears while the Prime Minister spoke to the crowd
Many observers on social media were critical of Ms Williams (pictured left) and the other organisers, accusing them of ‘handling it badly’
Anthony Albanese (third from left) was captured saying, ‘I’m the Prime Minister,’ in a tense exchange with domestic violence rally organiser Sarah Williams (far right, in hi-vis) on Sunday
‘The focus, instead of being what should be done to fix the issue of men’s violence against women, is now on figuring out the shitstorm of where they accuse the PM of lying (he did not),’ wrote one.
However, not everyone was convinced Mr Albanese was in the clear.
‘He still spoke over her from a position of power and pretended she wasn’t there while trying to make a point.’
Ms Williams doubled down on her comments on Sunday.
‘The Prime Minister of this country lied to his country today,’ she wrote.
‘Albanese’s office made it clear he was just walking and was not interested in speaking. Myself and WWYW never denied him from speaking. He never asked to speak’.
Ms Williams also claimed she overheard Mr Albanese say, ‘I’m the prime minister. I run this country.’
Ms Williams said she is yet to receive an apology from Mr Albanese for causing her distress at the rally.
She wants to to see more consultation between the government and activist groups on what was needed to address domestic violence.
‘If he does think I’ve done a good job, why hasn’t he reached out, why aren’t we meeting soon, why am I not meeting with an advisor?’ Ms Williams said.
‘It would be nice to have a response from him to actually figure out what happened, to see if we could make change, because the priority is to resolve violence against women.’
Daily Mail Australia previously contacted Mr Albanese for further comment.
Mr Albanese (pictured) has been labelled a liar over the comments he made at the rally on the weekend and refused to answer questions about them when asked on breakfast TV on Monday