Sussan Ley has defended her criticism of Prime Minister Anthony Albanese for wearing a Joy Division T-shirt, claiming the band's name has antisemitic connotations. The attack has divided the Coalition, with some Liberal MPs privately questioning their leader's judgment and Nationals MPs publicly disagreeing with her.
Ms Ley used a speech in parliament to accuse Mr Albanese of displaying the wrong values by wearing a shirt depicting the album cover of Unknown Pleasures. She cited the term 'Joy Division' originating from a term used to describe women kept as sexual slaves in concentration camps during World War II. Ms Ley insisted the prime minister was aware of the band's dark history after being informed on a podcast in 2022.
Shadow Infrastructure Minister Bridget McKenzie, a self-described fan of Joy Division and New Order, criticised Ms Ley's decision. 'There's a lot to legitimately criticise the prime minister about... wearing a T-shirt isn't one of them,' she said. Nationals senator Matt Canavan echoed this sentiment, stating he did not care what T-shirt the PM wore.
One Liberal backbench MP likened Ms Ley's attack to her call for the sacking of Australia's US ambassador Kevin Rudd, calling her leadership style 'troubling'. However, a Liberal MP supportive of Ms Ley said internal detractors were simply trying to stir up trouble. Shadow Defence Minister Angus Taylor agreed the shirt was 'tone-deaf' but ruled out any leadership challenge this year.
Mr Albanese defended his decision, saying he was merely a fan of the band and had not expected to be photographed in the shirt.
