Anthony Albanese reveals he would ban social media and abolish the state if he ever became dictator
Anthony Albanese has revealed that he would ban social media and abolish the states if he ever became a dictator.
The tongue-in-cheek revelations stemmed from a lengthy interview the prime minister conducted with radio talkback king Neil Mitchell in Melbourne on Tuesday.
During the lengthy conversation, Mr Albanese said he would not have sold the Commonwealth Bank if he had been in charge when it was floated in the 1990s and lashed out at his predecessor Scott Morrison, who he said was “not a decent guy’.
He also warned Australia is facing a ‘perfect storm’ of bushfire threat and slammed China for its human rights record.
Responding to Mitchell’s hypothetical question of what he would do if he led Australia as a dictator, Mr Albanese said banning social media ‘would be useful’.
Anthony Albanese (pictured with his girlfriend Jodie Haydon) revealed his wish list if he were ever given dictatorial powers during an interview with 3AW radio host Neil Mitchell
Mr Albanese said banning social media would be at the top of his list
‘Keyboard warriors who can say anything anonymously and without any fear; the kind of things they would never say to you in person, they can just state as fact and that worries me,” he said.
“What that does, coupled with the pressure on modern journalists, is to really obsess over the short-term cycle.”
Mr. Albanese was quick to declare that he was not really a ‘supporter of dictatorships’.
“It’s true that in a democracy you have to account for more than your own views, and there goes your question, I guess, I suppose,” he told Mitchell.
It comes as the Albanian government is proposing laws to prevent the spread of “disinformation” and “disinformation” through social media platforms.
The laws would allow the watchdog agency the Australian Communications and Media Authority to fine digital platform service providers millions of dollars for spreading what it deems “misinformation” or “misinformation” that is “harmful”.
At another point in the interview, Mitchell asked Mr. Albanese how he would use his imaginary dictatorial powers to change the tax system.
“You’d abolish the states to begin with,” he said without missing a beat.
“You would have a two-tier system of government in Australia, with a Commonwealth government and a series of regional governments, and of course that would necessitate a different tax regime. It would be a more efficient way.
Mitchell pressed the Prime Minister whether to call himself a socialist or say he has a ‘socialist heart’.
Despite being Australia’s first Prime Minister from Labour’s socialist left-wing faction, Mr Albanese did not embrace the label, admitting instead that he thought the Hawke Labor government had made a mistake in selling the Commonwealth Bank.
The bank was sold out of state ownership by then-treasurer Paul Keating over a period of five years from 1991, and was the first of several major privatizations to be made during that time.
“I wouldn’t have sold the Commonwealth Bank,” Mr. Albanese said flatly.
Mr Albanese accused his predecessor Scott Morrison (pictured right) of being disrespectful but says he has a better relationship with Peter Dutton (pictured left)
Mr Albanese revealed that he has offered Australian aid to the US following the devastating fire in Hawaii, but warned Australia is heading into its own potentially catastrophic fire season (photo of a fire-damaged vehicle on the Hawaiian island of Maui)
He argued that there would have been “better behavior from the big banks” if there was a public tool to compete with them and keep the private sector “a little fair.”
Albanese also revealed that he has a much better working relationship with opposition leader Peter Dutton than he does with Scott Morrison.
He accused the former prime minister of not being “respectful” and inviting him to a face-to-face meeting only once during Mr Albanese’s time as opposition leader.
“I had one meeting in his office and that was on the first day of parliament meeting in 2019,” he said.
When asked if Mr Morrison was a ‘decent fellow’, Mr Albanese said ‘no’ but admitted that Mr Dutton was.
“Peter Dutton and I can have conversations leaders need to have with each other from time to time,” he said.
After revealing that he had written to US President Joe Biden expressing his condolences and offering Australian aid following the devastating fires in Hawaii, Mr Albanese issued a sobering warning about the upcoming summer in Australia.
Mr Albanese said the first way to make the tax system more efficient would be to abolish the states (pictured Victorian Labor Prime Minister Dan Andrews)
Mr Albanese believes the Hawke Labor government made a mistake in selling the then state-owned Commonwealth Bank
“We’ve got a little bit of a perfect storm, we’ve got all this rain…so you’ve got the undergrowth and then there’s potentially a very dry and hot season coming up,” he said.
“It’s never too early to be prepared.”
During last year’s federal election in May, Mr. Albanese made a disastrous start to the campaign when he was unable to name the Reserve Bank spot rate that sets retail interest rates.
When asked about China’s human rights record, Mr Albanian was bot.
“Well, they certainly haven’t improved,” he said.
“When you look at the Uyghurs, when you look at what happened in Hong Kong, when you look at the treatment of other minorities, it remains a big problem.
“It’s a fundamental difference we have with China when it comes to human rights.”
However, he praised Australia’s improving relationship with China, leading Beijing to lift an import ban on Australian barley last week and giving Chinese tour groups the green light to visit Down Under again.
Asked about the forthcoming national Labor conference, Mr Albanese revealed that if backrooms are closed he would not attend.
“I’m above everything,” he said happily.
“One of the benefits of being a Labor leader is that you never have to go to another party meeting.”