Tributes have poured in for country music legend Dolly Parton, who died aged 80 early on Wednesday Australian time, with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese recalling how he personally helped save her 2011 tour after her tour buses fell foul of local transport regulations. As transport minister at the time, Albanese intervened when customs and New South Wales roads officials ruled Parton's two American-built buses too long, too wide and overweight for Australian roads, threatening to derail a tour reportedly worth more than $30 million.

Parton, who disliked flying, had brought her 14.5-metre tour buses to Australia, but officials found them nearly two metres too long, five centimetres too wide, and problematic because their doors opened onto traffic on the wrong side for local conditions. Her US management reportedly threatened to cancel the three-week tour, which was due to visit Perth, Adelaide, Sydney, the Hunter Valley, Melbourne and Brisbane, before Albanese stepped in to resolve the issue. Parton later thanked him warmly, both publicly and backstage, with the flirtatious exchange being fondly recalled by Albanese in tributes marking her death, in which he praised her talent, humour and philanthropy.