Anthony Albanese has been accused of “going into hiding” in response to bullying allegations inside the Labor Party.
Labor’s Senate leadership team has denied bullying the late senator Kimberley Kitching amid growing calls for an investigation into her treatment.
In a joint statement, senators Penny Wong, Katy Gallagher and Kristina Keneally said the allegations of bullying were untrue.
Mr Albanese has ruled out calling an investigation into the allegations.
But the Prime Minister said Mr Albanese still had questions to answer.
“This is a matter for Anthony Albanese and he’s the one who needs to answer these questions,” Mr Morrison told reporters in Perth on Friday.
“He’s gone into hiding. I mean, where is Anthony Albanese, where is he on this issue?”
The Prime Minister said he was always upfront and willing to deal with hard questions.
But his critics were quick to point out Mr Morrison was widely criticised for holidaying in Hawaii durinxjmtzywg the Black Summer bushfire crisis.
Mr Albanese took part in a radio interview on Friday.
Asked whether he thought there was a bullying culture within the ALP, Mr Albanese said: “No, I don’t. And I think that the people who’ve been targeted here, Penny Wong, Kristina Keneally and Katy Gallagher, are people I’m very proud to have as part of my team.”
Over in Perth, Mr Morrison talked up his relationship with Mark McGowan as he rounded out his visit to win over West Australian voters.
Polling in target seats of Pearce, Tangney, Swan and Hasluck indicates Mr Morrison is personally more popular among voters despite federal Labor levelling the Coalition on a two-party preferred basis.
According to polling commissioned by the West Australian, Mr Morrison’s approval rating is at 42 per cent, compared to Anthony Albanese’s 28 per cent.
Mr Morrison’s disapproval rating across the electorates is 43 per cent, compared to Mr Albanese’s 45 per cent.
Asked if he was heartened by the result, the Prime Minister said he and Mr McGowan “got” each other.
“I can see just how important. The WA economy is to our national economy. And this is why the Premier and I do work closely together on so many issues,” he told reporters in Kalgoorlie.
The shift in the Prime Minister’s language, and rare side-by-side media appearances with Mr McGowan, is an indicator of how critical the popular premier will be to either side’s performance in WA.
Following the Premier’s thumping election win the WA Liberals were left with just two lower house MPs.
Mr Morrison, hoping to avoid a similar tide turning towards his federal team, reassured voters a vote for him would not cancel out Mr McGowan’s leadership.
“There’s a big difference between Albanese Labor and McGowan Labor. They’re not the same thing,” he said.
“And however people vote at the next election, the Premier will still be Mark McGowan.”
He claimed only the Coalition would remain aligned with the interests of the McGowan government.
“There‘s a yawning gap between Anthony Albanese and Mark McGowan and it’s only getting bigger,” Mr Morrison said.
The federal Labor leader was on the first plane to WA after border restrictions were lifted, but did not meet publicly with Mr McGowan.
