Albo Isn’t Having A Bar Of Critics Comparing His Ukraine Trip To ScoMo’s Hawaiian Holiday

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has slammed critics who compared his visit to Ukraine to Scott Morrison’s infamous 2019 Hawaiian vacation.

Since taking over the top job back in May, Albanese has been quite the jet-setter, taking trips to Japan, the US, India, Madrid, Paris, Jakarta and Ukraine in just a matter of weeks. But unlike the time Morrison went on a soul-searching side-trip to trace his ancestry, all of Albanese’s travels have been directly related to his job.

But, unsurprisingly, the media and the opposition have been quick to criticise Albanese’s travels, comparing them to Morrison’s Hawaii trip.

To jog your memory, Scott Morrison took personal leave amid the black summer bushfires in 2019 to put his feet up in Hawaii — on a trip that was only revealed to the Australian public after he was caught snapping pics with tourists.

Meanwhile, Albanese is in Ukraine — a war-torn country that is quite possibly the furthest thing from a Hawaiian holiday you can get right now.

In a press conference on Wednesday alongside NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet, Albanese slammed the comparison and stressed that he was unable to use electronic equipment while in Ukraine, which limited his ability to contact Australian politicians.

“That was a matter of keeping us safe, but also keeping safe [Ukraine] president Zelenskyy and the Ukrainian people that we were meeting with,” Albanese told reporters on Wednesday.

“There is a war going on, and apparently that should have been dismissed.”

“When I returned from there … I immediately spoke to Premier Perrottet, I spoke to Minister Watt, I spoke to the Acting Prime Minister, Richard Marles, and made sure that every support was being offered.”

“I was fulfilling a responsibility that I believe that I had, of travelling to Ukraine. And to compare that with a holiday, I just find beyond contempt, frankly.”

Although Albanese was personally out of the country when the floods kicked off in NSW, that didn’t stop the declaration of a natural disaster in the state, or the immediate support that was rolled out in the days following.

Perrottet was also quick to jump to Albanese’s defence, stressing that he contacted the Premier as soon as possible.

“I know in some quarters the prime minister has been criticised for being away,” said Perrottet.

“From my perspective, the federal government needs to balance international concerns and domestic concerns, but as soon as he could he picked up the phone to call me.”

“This is not about personalities. I’m not interested in personalities. I’m interested in outcomes. I’m interested in getting support on the ground for the people who need it.”

“I’ll call it as I see it, and I think from where we sit today, the response between the Commonwealth Government and the State Government has been pleasing.”