Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Climate Change Minister Chris Bowen were recorded joking about concerns that keeping a mobile phone in a trouser pocket could affect their penises.
The comments were captured on camera as the pair waited for a business and investment discussion on Friday at the COP31 headquarters in Antalya, Turkey.
As Albanese slipped his phone into his right breast pocket, he pointed to the left side of his chest, above his heart, and asked Bowen: ‘Do you keep your phone here?’
Bowen replied, ‘Generally, yeah,’ prompting Albanese to respond: ‘Don’t.’
‘I’m more conscious of… I stopped putting it in my pants pocket,’ Bowen said.
Albanese then interrupted: ‘Because of your d***?’
‘Because of my d***,’ Bowen replied. ‘That’s rather important… arguably more important than the heart.’
The two men laughed, apparently unaware that their exchange was being recorded by live microphones and cameras operated by the media pool.
Anthony Albanese and Chris Bowen were recorded joking about concerns that carrying a mobile phone in a trouser pocket could affect their penises
A spokesperson for Albanese said: ‘They were having a joke in between meetings’
The Daily Mail contacted the Prime Minister’s office for comment. An Albanese spokesperson told News Corp: ‘They were having a joke in between meetings.’
News Corp also asked COP31 president-designate Murat Kurum about the exchange.
‘We are late for a meeting to discuss the finance summit and the important decisions that must come out of today and talk about getting results,’ he said through an English-speaking translator.
When asked again about Bowen’s comments, he replied: ‘I have not witnessed what you are referring to, I have not heard anything unfortunately, I cannot make any comment at this moment.’
COP31 is the United Nations’ annual climate summit, bringing together leaders and representatives from more than 190 countries to negotiate international action on climate change.
Australia has a prominent role at the conference, with Bowen helping to broker an agreement on the next steps countries should take to address climate change.
About 192 Australian officials are attending the conference, while the Coalition has estimated the cost of accommodation and hospitality at $2.2 million.
The awkward exchange comes only months after the controversy dubbed ‘melon-gate’.
The awkward exchange comes months after the so-called ‘melon-gate’ controversy, when the Prime Minister faced outrage after discussing luxury Shizuoka crown melons given to him by Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi during a podcast appearance in July
Albanese first attracted criticism after discussing the gift of luxury Shizuoka crown melons from Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi on comedian Nikki Osborne’s Bush Deep podcast in July.
When Osborne joked that the Japanese leader had ‘come in looking like Pamela Anderson’ because she had brought ‘two melons’, Albanese gestured towards his chest and replied: ‘She brought two, and they are beautiful.’
The comment sparked a political backlash, with critics accusing the Prime Minister of making an inappropriate remark about the Japanese leader.
Albanese rejected demands for an apology, saying he had not insulted Takaichi and pointing out that the joke had been introduced by the podcast host.
His office also maintained that his hand gestures had been misunderstood. Tokyo, meanwhile, largely sought to play down the dispute.
Japan’s ambassador to Australia, Kazuhiro Suzuki, said Australian officials had assured his government that Albanese ‘did not make the comments in the way that has been reported’.
Any remaining tension appeared to have eased when Albanese and Takaichi met on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York in September. It was their first face-to-face meeting since the controversy erupted.