I will accept responsibility; that’s what leaders do, says Australia’s opposition leader Anthony Albanese about forgetting the country’s unemployment rate in his campaign to oust conservative Prime Minister Scott Morrison. – pic, April 11, 2022.

AUSTRALIA’s opposition Labour Party leader, Anthony Albanese, said today he is “only human” after being unable to remember the country’s unemployment rate on the first full day of campaigning for the May 21 election. 

Albanese’s party is ahead in the polls as he seeks to oust Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s conservative coalition government.

The economy is a key issue for many of the country’s 17 million voters. 

Asked to give the national jobless rate by a reporter, Albanese stumbled, replying: “The national unemployment rate at the moment is, I think it is 5 point…4, sorry, I am not sure what it is.”

Australia’s unemployment rate is at a 13-year low of 4%, a level that Morrison has been touting as he warns voters not to trust Labour with the economy.

Albanese also skirted questions on the key interest that banks charge each other for overnight loans. Known as the bank rate, or the cash rate, it stands at 0.1%.

“Earlier today I made a mistake. I’m human,” Albanese said shortly afterwards. 

“But when I make a mistake I will ‘fess up to it and I will set about correcting that mistake. I won’t blame someone else. I will accept responsibility. That’s what leaders do.”

On a two-party basis, Labour leads the Liberal-National Party coalition by 53% to 47%, according to the latest Newspoll released this weekend. 

Multiple surveys show the cost of living, with gasoline prices soaring since the Russian invasion of Ukraine, is a key concern ahead of the election. – AFP, April 11, 2022.