PM Anthony Albanese's jab at The Project hosts: 'No one there'

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has taken a cheeky dig at the hosts of The Project during a slightly heated discussion about changes to superannuation.

Hamish Macdonald quizzed the Prime Minister on the topic after Treasurer Jim Chalmers said last week that “a national conversation” is needed about superannuation concessions.

“The Treasurer has been floating the idea of tightening tax breaks for those with more than $3 million in their super fund, why would you be talking about doing this when you promised before the election that you wouldn’t touch super?” Hamish said.

The Prime Minister hit back saying: “We promised no big changes and there won’t be major changes to super. What we’re doing is having a debate about the purpose of superannuation which is of course for people to save for their retirement.”

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Things started to get heated when The Project showed a clip from last year of the now Prime Minister on the campaign trail, where he said his party had no intention of making any changes to superannuation.

“That’s not just big changes not just major changes, you said there won’t be any changes,” Hamish said when the cameras flicked back to the studio.

“But we have no intention of making changes in superannuation, we will have the debate about the purpose and the definition of what it is and try to enshrine that in legislation so that people get what the purpose is much clearer.

“We saw in the last campaign a major proposal to allow people to use their super for housing and we saw also in the pandemic a whole lot of people reduced their superannuation balances down to zero, which will mean that they they do it tougher in retirement.”

“I wonder if it’s really a question of integrity for you, given you campaigned so hard on being integrous,” Hamish said.

The Project then showed a graph that detailed the amount of superannuation held in Australia, with one person appearing at the top who has more than half a billion dollars.

“Right at the top, you can see here, is one Australian who apparently has half a billion dollars in superannuation. Half a billion dollars in superannuation! Do you know who it is?” co-host Michael Hing asked the Prime Minister.

“No I don’t. Well, I can guarantee it’s no one there on the desk,” he said with a laugh.

The hosts took the jab in their stride, laughing with the Prime Minister.

Speaking about his appearance in the Mardi Gras parade in Sydney over the weekend, where the Prime Minister was spotted wearing a shirt, he said: "I’m just a pretty daggy bloke from Marrickville and the look reflected that".

When asked where his assless chaps were for Mardi Gras 2024 he said: “No one wants to see that. Least of all the viewers.”

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