Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has revealed he is battling the flu and preparing to take his first break of the year after claiming he has not had a single day off in 2026.
Albanese disclosed his illness after ABC host Hamish Macdonald questioned him about his promise to attend the Garma Festival every year.
The Prime Minister will skip this year’s event, Australia’s largest Indigenous cultural gathering, when it is held in Arnhem Land later this month.
‘Is this a broken promise?’ Macdonald asked.
A fed up Albanese hit back, insisting he had worked non-stop all year and was entitled to take a holiday.
‘You know what, Hamish? I haven’t had a day off all year.
‘Garma isn’t the only festival that’s taken place. I’ve been to Garma. It’s a wonderful festival. I informed the people who operate Garma there, the wonderful people, the Gumatj people, some time ago that I wouldn’t go because I will be on leave at that time.
‘Sometimes, speaking to you now with the flu I’ve had, you keep going. My diary is full, and it’s been a fully engaged time,’ Albanese said.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has revealed he is battling the flu and preparing to take his first leave of the year after claiming he has not had a single day off in 2026
Macdonald also asked Albanese about a controversial podcast interview in which he played a game of ‘shag, marry or date’ and joked that he and Jodie bonk after the footy
Albanese’s most recent official leave was a five-day honeymoon with wife Jodie Haydon in Palau last December.
Before that, he took a seven-day break in October.
Macdonald also asked Albanese about a controversial podcast interview in which he played a game of ‘shag, marry or date’ and joked that he and Jodie bonk after the footy.
‘It’s always a good aphrodisiac, a Souths win,’ Albanese said.
Macdonald then asked: ‘Has Jodie had a word with you about not playing weird games with podcasters and interviewers?’
‘Look, I’ve dealt with that issue,’ Albanese replied. ‘There are two things that you need to do when you make a mistake. One is to apologise…’
He was cut off before he could finish his answer when the interview ended for the news bulletin.
The Garma Festival is Australia’s largest Indigenous cultural gathering, held each year in remote northeast Arnhem Land in the Northern Territory.
Anthony Albanese (pictured) has been attending the Garma festival as Labor leader since 2019
It brings together First Nations leaders, politicians, academics and business figures from across the country.
The festival was central to the Indigenous Voice to Parliament debate.
In 2022, Albanese, newly elected as Prime Minister, used Garma to announce plans for a referendum on the Voice.
The 2023 festival focused heavily on the proposal, drawing senior government ministers, opposition figures and Indigenous advocates for wide-ranging political and community discussions.
Albanese has attended the festival every year since becoming Labor leader in 2019.
