Advertisement

Waleed Aly to Turnbull: ‘You can’t fob me off’

Aly and wife Susan Carland were guests of Malcolm Turnbull  last year.

Aly and wife Susan Carland were guests of Malcolm Turnbull last year. Photo: AAP

Waleed Aly has ambushed the Prime Minister with tricky questions about the NBN rollout, and attempted to strong-arm him into appearing on Aly’s TV show.

Speaking to Mr Turnbull live from Kirribilli House on Thursday night, Aly took his chance to dish out a few jibes about the PM’s Point Piper mansion – and pressure him to appear on The Project.

The interview was arranged to publicise the fact that Mr Turnbull was the first Australian PM to host Iftar, the traditional Islamic breaking of the Ramadan fast. But Aly chose a more controversial line of questioning.

Waleed takes on Turnbull, negative gearing
• Why Karl and Lisa owe Waleed Aly an apology
‘No words’: Waleed Aly responds to Logies furore

He first took a jab at one of Mr Turnbull’s weaknesses – his famously expensive harbour-side mansion.

“You do have another house which is kind of better than this one. Why couldn’t we go there?” Aly asked.

“This is the official resident of the PM in Sydney … it is great for a big function,” responded Mr Turnbull, clearly not keen on taking the bait.

aly turnbull the project

Aly asked the PM if Kirribilli house had the NBN yet. Photo: Network Ten

Tony Abbott’s former chief of staff, Peta Credlin, famously said on Sky News recently that Mr Turnbull must do more to break the “Mr Harbourside Mansion” stereotype.

The Project host also took a swipe at the delayed NBN rollout, another issue that’s plagued the PM, who formerly served under Mr Abbott as Communications Minister.

“Does Kirribilli – this wonderful place – is it hooked up to the NBN?” Aly asked.

“It is very well connected to broadband,” replied Mr Turnbull, who was unable to tell Aly if Kirribilli House was in line to be connected soon.

“I’m not sure where Kirribilli is on that roll-out schedule.”

Guests at the dinner hosted by Mr Turnbull included AFL player Bachar Houli, head of the Australian Multicultural Foundation Hass Dellal, Muslim community leader Dr Jamal Rifi, author and mechanical engineer Yassmin Abdel-Magied and Archbishop of Sydney, Reverend Glenn Davies.

Asked if he had fasted – as per tradition – before the feast or “simply turned up to enjoy the spoils”, the Prime Minister said he had eaten.

“That’s like just turning up to the election!” Aly exclaimed.

‘You can’t give me a polite no’

Aly also tried to pressure Mr Turnbull into agreeing to appear on The Project.

“Will you come and play with us before the election arrives?” he asked the nervous-looking PM.

“If we can fit in, we will … we will … we have a lot of commitments … but, Waleed, it’s been fantastic having you here tonight,” said Mr Turnbull, who constantly seemed on the lookout for a ‘gotcha’ moment.

But Aly persisted.

turnbull house

Mr Turnbull decided not to vacate his Point Piper mansion to live at Kirribilli House. Photo: ABC

“Hang on! You can’t give me a polite no and then fob me off like that,” he replied.

“Well, we will see. I can tell you I love The Project,” Mr Turnbull said.

“If we can fit it in, we will. It is wonderful to be with you tonight.”

If the move works, it won’t be the first time the PM has been pressured into taking part in a live interview, after lengthy discussions – and Bill Shorten’s own appearance this week – convinced the PM to do a solo Q&A appearance next week.

Adding some lightheartedness to the at-times awkward conversation, The Project panel member Pete Helliar jumped in, asking Mr Turnbull what his favourite dish from the feast had been.

Mr Turnbull said he enjoyed the tabouli. Aly joked that that was tantamount to saying his favourite dish was the salad.

Stay informed, daily
A FREE subscription to The New Daily arrives every morning and evening.
The New Daily is a trusted source of national news and information and is provided free for all Australians. Read our editorial charter
Copyright © 2024 The New Daily.
All rights reserved.