Federal Election 2025: Prime Minister Anthony Albanese denies he fell of a stage at a union event in the Hunter
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has tried to claim he did not fall of the stage during an event in the Hunter, instead suggesting he “stepped back one step”.
Anthony Albanese has denied falling off the stage during a campaign event in coal country.
Mr Albanese was campaigning in the Hunter seat of Paterson where he invoked another of Labor’s scare campaigns on nuclear, claiming the New South Wales region was the “last place” that a nuclear reactor should be built.
But after his address, Mr Albanese attempted to handshake a local union representative before he stumbled and tripped backwards off the stage.
Attendants at the event helped Mr Albanese back to his feet before he waved to the crowd that he was okay.
The mishap was beamed in and out of newsrooms across the country, but later that day the Prime Minister attempted to correct the record.
Asked on ABC Newcastle if he was okay after he “fell from the stage” in Cessnock, Mr Albanese said: “No I stepped back one step. I didn’t fall of the stage.”
“It looked like you went down. I'm glad to hear you're okay, though,” the radio host replied.
But Mr Albanese doubled down.
“Just one leg went down, but I was sweet,” he said.
Mr Albanese used his address to members of the Mining and Energy Union to skewer the opposition’s nuclear proposal.
Peter Dutton and shadow energy minister Ted O’Brien have flagged the NSW Hunter region as a possible site for one of their seven nuclear reactors.
Labor has employed numerous nuclear-based scare tactics, including pictures of three-eyed fish and raising concerns over health.
But on Thursday, Mr Albanese used the 1989 Newcastle earthquakes to argue the regional areas outside of the city were not suitable for a reactor.
“Our opponents need to find $600 billion to pay for their nuclear reactors,” Mr Albanese said, despite Frontier Economics modelling showing it would cost an estimated $331 billion.
“I was in Young Labor at the time when that earthquake devastated this community.
“This is the last place where you put a nuclear reactor.”
The incident comes after Mr Albanese was heckled by two climate protesters while visiting a nearby hospital.
Two climate protesters were dragged out of Maitland Hospital on Thursday after crashing a visit by the Prime Minister.
Climate activist group Rising Tide took responsibility for the interruption in a social media post boasting about the protest.
The fanatical group has interrupted six political events in recent weeks, including conferences held by leaders of both major parties.
Mr Albanese suffered another mishap earlier this week when he misspoke while being pressed on whether he would strike a deal with the Greens.
In an attempt to distance the government from the minor party, Mr Albanese tried to suggest he would not negotiate with the Greens but instead did the exact opposite.
“In spite of the 385 times that I have said... if you ask me 'Do you rule out governing in coalition with the Greens?', the answer to that is no,” he said.
Despite the incidents, public support for the Albanese government has surged in recent weeks as three major opinion polls showed Labor leading the Coalition.
Newspoll, the Resolve Political Monitor, and YouGov all recorded increases in Labor’s primary vote, although neither major party has been able to achieve a majority lead.
Mr Albanese was ahead of Opposition Leader Peter Dutton as preferred prime minister, 49 to 38 per cent.
The federal election will be held on May 3.