Anthony Albanese slams journalist for ‘unethical’ behaviour after he was caught in a hot mic moment

Anthony Albanese has hit back at a journalist who broadcast a ‘hot mic’ moment in which Australia’s Prime Minister was overheard in a candid conversation with a high-ranking US official.

The audio captured a conversation between Mr Albanese and U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell in which they discussed the Pacific Policing Initiative under which Australia will bankroll the $400million plan.

When Mr Campbell said the United States would step aside and let Australia run the policy, Mr Albanese joked that he would welcome American involvement if they ‘go halvies’ on the cost.

The Pacific Policing Initiative, to be rolled out over the next five years, was endorsed on Wednesday by leaders attending the 53rd Pacific Islands Forum.

The initiative will involve multi-country police units, four training centres across the region and a Brisbane-based coordination hub, as Australia and the US seek to bolster their regulatory role in the Pacific to head off China’s strategic interest in the region.

‘Well, we had a cracker today getting the Pacific Policing Initiative through,’ the Prime Minister was heard to say on the ‘hot mic’.

‘It’s so important. It will make such a difference.’

Mr Campbell praised the PPI, calling it ‘fantastic’ and ‘great’.

‘I talked with Kevin about it,’ he said, referring to Australia’s ambassador to the US, Kevin Rudd.

The Australian Prime Minister was casually chatting to US Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell (pictured) on the sidelines of the PIF when he made the comments, giving a rare behind-the-scenes look at international diplomacy 

The Pacific Policing Initiative (PPI), an Australia-funded policing scheme to be rolled out over the next five years, was endorsed on Wednesday by Pacific leaders attending the 53rd Pacific Islands Forum

‘So you know we were going to do something (but) he asked us not to, so we did not.

‘We’ve given you the lane. So take the lane.’

‘You can go us halvies on the cost if you like,’ Mr Albanese quipped back with laugh and a pat on the back prompting a chuckle from the US official.

‘It will only cost you… a bit,’ he added. 

The video was recorded by Radio New Zealand journalist Lydia Lewis and posted on social media.

At the end of the footage, Pacific Minister Pat Conroy chastised the journalist for filming the exchange, saying: ‘Oh! Come on, Lydia.’

On Thursday morning, Mr Albanese accused the journalist of behaving unethically and filming him without his consent.

‘It was a private conversation, a jovial conversation and a friendly one,’ Mr Albanese said, describing Mr Campbell as a ‘mate of mine’.

‘The video is what it is: it’s up to whoever did that to think about their own ethics when it comes to journalism.’

He added: ‘I myself, were I a journalist, would not do that and I know that most of you wouldn’t either.’

Mark Stevens, chief news officer at RNZ told Daily Mail Australia it ‘stands by its reporter and its reporting’. 

‘Having spoken to our reporter, there is nothing to suggest they acted unethically or outside of our rigorous editorial policies,’ Mr Stevens said.

Pacific leaders have hailed the PPI as a show of unity and shared responsibility, and is a major strategic win for Canberra as it navigates China’s increasing assertiveness in the region.