Australia’s PM Anthony Albanese met with New Zealand PM Jacinda Ardern and did the Gen X equivalent of sharing Spotify playlists — they exchanged vinyls. Very alt, very edgy, we love to see it.
Ardern gave Albanese a fucking stellar range of vinyls by New Zealand artists.
Aldous Harding‘s self-titled album was in the mix, as was The Clean’s Boodle Boodle Boodle EP, Reb Fountain’s Iris and a collation of punk-rock bangers called AK79.
Literally could not fault that lineup if I tried.
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But what did Anthony Albanese give her in return? What earworms did he think would aptly capture the Australia psyche? What wide array of bangers from Australia’s impossibly diverse music scene did he decide to share?
Fucking Midnight Oil, Spiderbait and Powderfinger.
All bangers, I know. But come on Anthony. Let’s have something from the last, I don’t know, decade please?
She gave you Aldous Harding!!! Step up!!!
And now Jacinda Ardern’s fiancé Clarke Gayfordhas shaded the choices in an Instagram comment. Look, if I was forced to listen to a Powderfinger vinyl in the name of diplomacy, I too would be a little salty. “Sunsets” be damned.
“Midnight Oil, Spiderbait and The Finger???!!!! What is this, 2004???” he commented on Jacinda Ardern’s Instagram post. An honestly valid quantity of question marks.
Despite the truly disappointing selection of vinyls, the Prime Ministers still apparently had successful meetings.
One of the biggest takeaways of the meetings was Albanese indicating a potential shift in Australia’s stance on deporting New Zealanders with criminal records. New Zealand has traditionally taken a really negative stance against the policy.
“If people look at some of the cases that have been held, it’s not surprising that the Prime Minister would make the strong representations that she had, because I would be, if I was in the same position,” Albanese said, per the ABC.
They also discussed policies like climate change and working with other Pacific nations.
“We are very eager to work alongside our Pacific partners on the significant threat [of climate change], the number one threat in the eye of our Pacific neighbours in your region,” Ardern said.
And look, she even posed with Anthony Albanese’s crusty white dog Toto. A true symbol of allyship.
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Let’s hope Anthony Albanese works on his record collection before the next big international meeting. Maybe toss the duds off to Boris Johnson.
