Ben Fordham slams Anthony Albanese for overseas trips: ‘The Prime Minister needs to read the room’

Ben Fordham has continued the attacks on Anthony Albanese during the time he spent abroad following his recent trip to the US.

The Prime Minister has been called ‘Airbus Albo’ because of the frequency of his foreign trips with Fordham, and says the nickname is sticking.

Mr Albanese has come under increasing criticism for focusing too much on his travels and neglecting homegrown problems.

Rising mortgages, skyrocketing grocery and gasoline prices, and increasing immigration amid a lack of housing are among some of the biggest concerns in the country.

“These are issues that dominate discussions in Australia,” Fordham told 2GB on Monday.

“If you spend half your life on a plane, you might not hear them.”

Mr Albanese landed back in Australia on Saturday after a four-day trip to America and will depart again for China on November 4.

‘We know that perception is powerful in politics. Once voters form an opinion, it’s hard to change it,” Fordham said.

‘That is why I think the Prime Minister should read the audience straight away.

“There is a growing belief that Anthony Albanese is spending too much time abroad.”

Fordham pointed out that Albanese just returned from the U.S. after important talks with President Joe Biden and is flying to China later this week.

“The nickname ‘Airbus Albo’ has stuck,” he said, before reading out a long list of all the overseas destinations the prime minister has visited since coming to power in May 2022.

Jakarta, the United Arab Emirates, Madrid, Paris, Ukraine, Fiji, London, Cambodia, Bali, Thailand, Port Moresby, India, San Diego, Singapore, Vietnam and Germany are among the places the Prime Minister will visit.

Fordham pointed out that Mr. Albanese “calls his private plane Toto 1, after his little dog. Well, Toto 1 is going to have a pretty tough time.’

The Prime Minister has previously defended his extensive travel, saying it was all necessary.

“There have been no international visits, they are all based on hard work,” he said.

Fordham said: “I agree with Anthony Albanese to some extent. When he first became Prime Minister there was work to be done in the region to repair some relationships, and to his credit he has stepped up to the plate in the Pacific… there is no doubt about it that this is all in the national interest.

“But Australian voters are hard markers and they are now looking closely at Anthony Albanese. The perception is that he has taken his eyes off the biggest problem affecting ordinary families.”

The radio host said the Prime Minister had just spent a year talking about the Voice referendum “and it cost him a lot of money at the ballot box because voters felt the rising cost of living was being ignored.”

“According to the Australian National University, on average 28 percent of mortgage holders’ incomes are eaten up by loan repayments and other housing costs, such as interest rates,” Fordham said.

‘A record number of 34,000 new migrants arrived in August. It is the largest number for the month in 15 years.

“So these are issues that dominate discussions in Australia. And if you spend half your life on a plane, you might not hear them.”

Fordham softened his attacks by saying he was not suggesting the Prime Minister was using all these trips for holidays and acknowledged he was working.

“When he won the election, he was straight on a plane because he wanted to strengthen support in the Pacific because of China’s influence,” he said.

“He has done that and he has also been abroad for other reasons beyond his control, including the death of the queen and the coronation of the king, and the conflict in Ukraine.”

Anthony Albanese (pictured left) is criticized for flying to the US to meet President Joe Biden (right) rather than face the fallout from Indigenous Voice and the loss of the parliamentary referendum

But the 2GB shock jock said things need to change, that enough is enough.

“I think you’ll find that after his next trip to China he’ll have to put his feet up in Australia and stay here for a while,” he said.

‘Otherwise that perception of Airbus Albo will remain stuck.’

Reactions online were mixed, with some angrily agreeing while others said Mr Albanese was just doing his job.

A non-fan of the Prime Minister said the Labor Party is “hiding (Mr Albanese) from the public because he is embarrassing him.”

Another said he “left his carbon footprint very deep and ridiculed his CC (climate change) position.” The left are hypocrites!!”

On the other hand, one commenter said: ‘Compared to (Scott) Morrison’s holidays this is a non-issue’, while another said ‘it’s funny how Morrison was celebrated for representing us on the world stage while Albo was being crucified’ .