
A for Albanese during uproarious school visit
The prime minister has made the grade as he passed through a public school with flying colours.
Anthony Albanese was greeted like a rockstar on Thursday when he addressed the students of Winthrop Primary School, in Perth's south.
Sensing his imminent arrival, kids began jumping and craning their heads around cameramen, and as he turned into view, a roar erupted from the handball court.
Parting the sea of kids, Mr Albanese was generous with his high-fives, offering them to any desperate hands within arms reach, before heading an assembly.
As 11-year-old James stepped up for a question, Mr Albanese opined on his age.
"I feel really old at the moment, I feel like I've been campaigning for 11 years," he said on Thursday.
Prior to the prime minister's arrival, deputy principal Simon Dufall impressed on his students the importance of "regulated" behaviour and outlined a vision for the event.
"You can be cheery - regulated - a bit loud and clappy - and regulated - and they want people to be excited," he said.
"I know I can trust 99 per cent of you.
"If you can't do that, go and grab a quiet reading pack."
The students were also subject to a trial run, with the educator briefly pretending to be the prime minister and walking through the crowd of kids so they would know how to position themselves, and asking the crowd to practice their ovation.
"If you're on the side, do you think you're going to get a high-five? No," Mr Dufall said.
"Let's try that again: clap and a cheer and another cheer."
The students were also quizzed on the prime minister's name and though most got it right, there was a lone shout of "Trump".
But the rehearsal paid off.
"That was the most wonderful welcome and when you're beginning to feel a bit tired, that is so uplifting," Mr Albanese said.
The deputy principal later congratulated the kids for their "super fabulous, super respectful" behaviour.
The school was located in the Labor electorate of Tangney, won by former dolphin trainer Sam Lim as part of Labor's 2022 WA sweep.
WA premier Roger Cook, Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles, Mr Lim, state MP Kim Giddens and Mr Albanese's fiancee Jodie Haydon were also swamped by kids as they accompanied the prime minister.
Ms Giddens identified herself as a mother to one of the assembled kids, prompting the boy's friends to point in his direction - to his chagrin.
Labor used the visit to spruik the Commonwealth's commitment to partner with state governments and fully fund all Australian public schools by 2034.
But not everyone was pleased with the prime minister's arrival, with one adult yelling, "Where's Albanese? Get out of the Canberra bubble, he's an arsehole."

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Canberra Times
an hour ago
- Canberra Times
Tassie stadium plan is a lot of bread for a circus
Allan, who lived in Los Angeles for six years in the 1980s, writes: "We've visited the USA numerous times since, but never again. Our initial concerns as we've grown older were with their health system, where serious illness could literally cost millions. Now the political situation is what worries us. I wouldn't rule out something akin to civil war the way things are escalating. But no, I don't think Albanese should raise the Tomasi shooting with Trump personally, it would achieve nothing and detract from other more important discussions."

ABC News
2 hours ago
- ABC News
Albanese-Trump G7 meeting in limbo as Israeli cabinet sanctions trigger US rebuke
Anthony Albanese may not meet with Donald Trump next week in Canada as relations with the US administration sour over Australia's decision to sanction two Israeli cabinet members, plus recent disagreement over defence spending. While a potential in-person meeting on the sidelines of the Group of Seven leaders gathering in Alberta is still anticipated, senior sources told the ABC it was too soon to be "definitive" and that there were "lots of moving parts". The prime minister departs for North America on Friday morning for the June 15-17 summit amid expectations he will sit down with Mr Trump to discuss US trade tariffs on Australian steel and other goods, and defence cooperation. But there is also an awareness inside the Australian and US governments that Australia's decision to slap sanctions on two hard-right Israeli ministers — Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich — could trigger the "mercurial" Trump's ire. The sanctions, which were mirrored by the UK, Canada, Norway and New Zealand, triggered an exchange of words on Wednesday between US Secretary of State Marco Rubio — who described them as counterproductive to peace in the region — and Mr Albanese, who dismissed the US charge as "predictable, frankly". While Mr Albanese downplayed potential fallout from the sanctions, saying the matter wasn't a priority, he insisted the Israeli government "does need to uphold its obligations under international law". The clash with the US over the sanctions comes hot on the heels of disagreement with the Trump administration over defence spending levels. Mr Albanese this month rebuffed US Defense Secretary Peter Hegseth's call on Australia to increase "as soon as possible" its military spending to 3.5 per cent of GDP from the current level of just over 2 per cent. While there is uncertainty about Mr Trump's willingness to meet with Mr Albanese, there is also a sense the US president is enduring his own disagreements with Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over Gaza. Labor's decision to impose sanctions on the Israeli cabinet members was criticised by the Greens as "extremely late" while the opposition warned the government had "made a mistake". Liberal senator Andrew Bragg said the use of "Magnitsky-style" sanctions on democratically elected ministers of state was inappropriate. The Australia/Israel & Jewish Affairs Council (AIJAC) slammed the government's "unprecedented" sanctions as a major escalation, while acknowledging the two ministers were controversial. "AIJAC finds many statements by Smotrich and especially Ben-Gvir insupportable and we share the government's concern about settler violence against West Bank Palestinians and call on Israeli authorities to do more to stop them," said the group's executive director, Colin Rubenstein. "However, there are many leaders of the Palestinian Authority, Iran, Turkey, and Qatar who are saying things at least as inflammatory, if not more so. "Yet, there is no discussion of sanctioning any of them."

AU Financial Review
2 hours ago
- AU Financial Review
NDIS delays threaten $9b budget blowout
The Albanese government is facing the prospect of a budget blowout as almost $9 billion worth of savings earmarked from the National Disability Insurance Scheme are delayed or at risk. The March budget factored in $19 billion of savings related to the NDIS over the next four financial years, $8.8 billion of which now look uncertain. The savings hinge on the government overhauling how participant budgets are set and the states striking a funding deal with their federal counterparts within months, both of which are unlikely to happen.