One Nation leader Pauline Hanson has reignited the controversy surrounding Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s comments about Japanese melons, asking: “Prime Minister, where’s the melon?”
In a post on X, Hanson labelled the controversy “MelonGate” and questioned why the Japanese melons discussed by Albanese during a satirical podcast appearance did not appear to be listed in his parliamentary disclosure.
“Something’s missing,” Hanson wrote.
Hanson also questioned why the Bush Deep podcast episode, in which Albanese discussed the gift, appeared to be the only recent podcast interview without a transcript on the Prime Minister’s official media page.
The controversy centres on comments Albanese made during the comedy podcast in July while discussing Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi giving him Japanese melons.
During the interview, Albanese made gestures in front of his chest while saying, “she brought two, as you do”, prompting the podcast host to make a joke about Pamela Anderson.
Opposition Leader Angus Taylor has called on Albanese to apologise to Takaichi and publicly acknowledge what he described as a serious lapse of judgement.
“A Prime Minister needs to be firm, but a Prime Minister should also show grace and humility when they make a mistake,” Taylor said.
“Anthony Albanese has made a mistake with his ill-considered comments on the Bush Deep podcast, filmed at The Lodge.”
Taylor described the remarks as “offensive, unstatesmanlike, and not befitting the office he holds”.
“The Prime Minister needs to swap hubris for humility, call and apologise to Japanese Prime Minister Takaichi, and issue a public apology to demonstrate he is a leader of maturity and decency,” he said.
“He should put our great relationship with Japan and Australia’s reputation above his own pride.”
Taylor also said he would raise the matter in Parliament and seek an explanation over what he described as the disclosure of “confidential and sensitive correspondence”.
Albanese has rejected calls to apologise.
Asked in Parliament whether he would apologise, Albanese said: “I reject the assertion in the question.”
He instead pointed to the strength of Australia-Japan relations.
“Australia and Japan have never been closer or more strategically aligned,” Albanese said, highlighting cooperation between the two countries on economic, strategic and security issues.
Government ministers have defended the Prime Minister.
Assistant Minister Pat Gorman said there was “no need” for an apology, while Resources Minister Madeleine King described reporting of the comments as “sensationalised”.
Environment Minister Murray Watt said some media interpretations of the podcast had been “misinterpreted”.
The issue has also prompted debate over whether the remarks caused offence in Japan. Shiro Armstrong, director of the Australia-Japan Research Centre at the Australian National University, previously described the controversy as a “non-issue” in Japan, saying there had been no discussion of Albanese’s comments there until weeks later.
Hanson has now revived the controversy by questioning both the disclosure of the melon gift and the absence of a podcast transcript.
“Some of these melons can sell for tens of thousands of dollars,” Hanson wrote.
“For a government elected on a promise of transparency, only one question remains:
Prime Minister, where’s the melon?”
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