Albanese criticises Grace Tame for her ‘F— Murdoch’ T-shirt

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has criticised former Australian of the year Grace Tame for attending an Australia Day eve function at the Lodge wearing a T-shirt that said “F— Murdoch”, saying her protest took focus away from honouring the event.
Pressed by ABC Radio Perth about his response to the abuse activist’s choice to wear an obscenity on her top to a function honouring past and present Australians of the year, Albanese said: “I held a function. It is something that, in my view, took away from the people who were there and my focus was simply on that.”
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Jodie Haydon greet former Australian of the year Grace Tame at the lodge on Saturday.Credit: Alex Ellinghausen
Asked again at a press conference in Perth why he didn’t respond to the T-shirt, Albanese added: “There was a queue of more than – how many people were in the queue? Around about at least 60. There was all of the Australia Day nominees. There was all of the past Australians of the year. There was the Australia Day Council. People were just there, one by one, rolling through, being welcomed. And [Tame’s T-shirt] was clearly designed to get attention. I don’t intend to add to that attention, because I do think that it takes away from what the day should be about, which is the amazing people who were nominated as Australians of the Year.“
He paid tribute to the newly announced Australian of the Year, former champion AFL player and coach Neale Daniher, who was awarded for her work championing research for a cure for motor neurone disease after he as diagnosed with the degenerative condition a decade ago.
Tame, who was awarded 2021 Australian of the Year at the age of 26 for her advocacy for survivors of sexual assault, came to the lodge in a grey checked suit with the words “F— Murdoch” emblazed on a white T-shirt in capital letters.
The prime minister and his fiancee Jodie Heydon made no mention of the T-shirt when Tame lined up to shake his hand alongside 15 other former Australians of the year and current state honourees, although the ABC reported that Albanese asked Tame: “Reliving memories?”
“Yeah, reliving some trauma, maybe,” Tame was heard to respond, promoting polite laughter from Albanese and Heydon.
Asked on ABC Perth why Tame was allowed to wear the T-shirt, Albanese said: “You’re suggesting that this was within my power. When someone walked in wearing that.”
Told he should have thrown her out, he continued, “people were invited, and my focus was on the people who were receiving the awards”.