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Bowen dismisses summit hot-mic exchange with Albanese as private banter
Climate Change Minister Chris Bowen has played down a hot-mic exchange with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese at COP31, describing it as a private, joking conversation between friends. Bowen said the language was unusual for ministers in public, but stressed that climate change remained his focus at the conference.
The exchange happened when Albanese asked why Bowen no longer carried his phone in his trouser pocket; their crude reply prompted laughter while delegates were nearby. Environment Minister Murray Watt and NSW Premier Chris Minns also dismissed the furore. The incident adds to distractions from the summit, including criticism of a $32,100 taxpayer-funded coffee service at Australia’s pavilion, where about 1,800 coffees had reportedly been served since Monday.
In short
- Bowen calls the hot-mic exchange a private joke.
- The conversation was recorded at COP31.
- Australia’s $32,100 coffee bill has also drawn criticism.
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Originally published by Daily Mail as “Chris Bowen brushes off crude hot mic ‘d***’ exchange with Anthony Albanese – insisting it was just a ‘blokey, jokey conversation’”.