A conversation between Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Minister for Climate Change and Energy Chris Bowen about phone radiation and “dicks” has been caught on camera on the sidelines of a UN conference.
Mr Albanese’s office said the pair was sharing a “joke” between meetings when the exchange was recorded by Australian media at the COP31 climate summit in Antalya, Türkiye.
The comments were captured shortly before a business roundtable spruiking renewable energy transition investment opportunities in Australia began overnight on Friday.
Anthony Albanese left Türkiye shortly after a business roundtable. (AAP)
Cameras were rolling ahead of the event during which time Mr Albanese and Mr Bowen were privately chatting to each other.
Mr Albanese put his phone in his jacket pocket and — as he did so — told Mr Bowen he had heard it was better to store the device away from the heart because “it can interfere with your rhythm”.
Mr Bowen responded in a joking tone if it was because the phone was “a little bit radioactive”.
The prime minister laughed, saying the idea “makes absolute sense”.
Mr Bowen then responded he was more conscious about putting his phone in his pants pocket.
Mr Albanese asked, “Because of your dick?”
The pair laughed and Mr Bowen agreed, adding it was “arguably more important than the heart”.
Hot-mic gaffe came ahead of roundtable
The exchange, which did not appear to be overheard by anyone in the room but was captured by a news camera microphone preparing to record the opening remarks at the event, was later broadcast by Channel 7 after it was noticed in production.
A spokesperson for Mr Albanese’s office said, “They were having a joke in between meetings.”
Labor frontbencher Murray Watt agreed that the comments were made in jest.
“This is really just about people having a joke,” he said.
While Mr Watt laughed off a question about where he keeps his own phone, and defended Australia’s presence and performance at COP31.
“I know there’s been a lot of criticism from some quarters about every aspect of this COP, but the reality is participating in and in fact leading the discussions at COP is in Australia’s national interest,” he said.
During the official proceedings of the business roundtable, the prime minister made a pitch to international investors to back Australia’s clean energy transition.
“If you’re an investor, there’s nowhere you’d rather be than Australia,” he said.
Mr Albanese said having abundant renewable resources, critical minerals and a stable investment environment meant Australia was well placed to capitalise on the multi-trillion-dollar industry.
The prime minister left Türkiye shortly after the roundtable to travel to the Philippines for the ASEAN summit in Manila.
Mr Bowen has remained in Antalya, where he is playing a critical role as the co-president of negotiations for COP31.
Source: www.abc.net.au
