‘Hopeless liar’: Anthony Albanese confronted by Alex Hawke
During a heated parliamentary session, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese was accused of being “a hopeless liar” in a tense exchange with opposition MP Alex Hawke. The confrontation took place during question time, escalating an already charged debate over climate targets, interest rates, and internal Liberal Party conflicts.
The dispute began after Treasurer Jim Chalmers accused the Opposition leader Sussan Ley of lying about interest rate decisions. Chalmers claimed the opposition was spreading misinformation about government spending.
“The Leader of the Opposition said completely untruthfully, dishonestly, that the Reserve Bank yesterday called out the government’s spending … That never happened,” Mr Chalmers said.
He further explained that the Reserve Bank Governor did not mention government spending in any statement or decision made at the board level.
Under parliamentary protocol, directly calling an MP a liar is considered unparliamentary language. This led Alex Hawke, the manager of opposition business, to intervene forcefully. As tensions rose, Mr Albanese reportedly mocked Hawke, calling him “hopeless.”
“No, you are hopeless and a liar,” Mr Hawke fired back, slamming his folder on the table.
What followed was a fiery exchange that captured the growing hostility between the government and opposition benches.
Author’s Summary
A fierce clash in parliament saw Anthony Albanese and Alex Hawke exchange insults over climate targets and fiscal honesty, exposing deep divisions in Australia’s political debate.