Anthony Albanese refuses to apologise for a controversial comment about live exports that left farmers fuming, instead claiming he was backing in the Australian beef industry in all its forms. WA Premier Roger Cook said multiple times on Thursday the Prime Minister should apologise for the unscripted comment he made during a speech to a rural women's awards night in Canberra this week. Mr Albanese told the event that it was his second dinner of the night after he had eaten with Indonesian president-elect Prabowo Subianto, saying they had served "beautiful Australian beef — not the live export, we made sure it was dead".
The comment fell flat with farmers who are at odds with the Federal Government after it legislated to ban live sheep exports, disproportionately hitting the WA agricultural sector. The Nationals widely condemned the comments, with leader David Littleproud saying they mocked the industry and showed Mr Albanese was..
. Katina Curtis.