Selfies, self-serve and signing beer cans — Prime Minister puts the Albo in Albany on whirlwind visit in WA

Anthony Albanese has revealed how a carefree holiday to Western Australia as a young Sydneysider not long out of school sparked his love affair with the state. The Prime Minister recalled the six-week trip to WA in 1983-84 when he was 20, which included a stay in Albany and spending Christmas on Rottnest Island, still stands out in his memory and opened his eyes to the delights of the west. His reminiscing came during a whirlwind visit to Albany on Thursday, during which he tried his hand at being a barista, was offered and knocked back a job, took selfies with locals and signed cans of beer named in his honour. “I have been here before, I spent a considerable period of time,” Mr Albanese said. “I spent six weeks in south-western Australia way back in 1983-84, when I was very young, and I came to Albany and we stayed here as part of that six-week visit over Christmas. “That year, I had Christmas Day on Rottnest Island and I fell in love with WA during that visit. “It was a fantastic time to get around and have a look at the whole region. “I’ve visited here since then, of course, but that was a much more relaxed visit than visits like today.” The Prime Minister’s official duty in Albany was to announce a $2.4 billion nationwide NBN upgrade, with funding to be confirmed in Tuesday’s Federal Budget. The funding injection will give 1.5 million premises access to full-fibre NBN, including 660,000 in regional Australia and 10,000 in Albany. Once the formal proceedings were over, the selfies began. On a visit to CBD cafe Espresso One, owner Cosi Trichilo was quick to get his special guest behind the counter to try his hand as a barista. In a city dealing with hospitality staff shortages, Mr Trichilo even made the Prime Minister a job offer. “But seriously, do you want to start tomorrow?” he said. Mr Albanese knocked back the offer, explaining that he had only just started in his current role. “I kind of am pretty happy with the job I’ve got,” he said. “I’ve only had it for five months.” Revealing his favourite caffeinated beverage was a flat white on almond, no sugar, he inquired if Premier Mark McGowan, who has previously visited Espresso One, also made his own coffee. “No, he just comes and gets a photo with us,” Mr Trichilo said. The cafe owner then presented the Prime Minister with a copy of Angelina’s Cucina, a cookbook featuring recipes and stories about his mother’s traditional Calabrese food. The Prime Minister was delighted by the Italian connection. “I’m Pugliese, of course — just across the other side,” Mr Albanese said. Local Labor staffer Guy Wroth, who Mr Albanese called “the random Souths guy” because of his South Sydney Rabbitohs hat, asked him to sign some cans of Albo Pale Ale. The beer, produced by NSW brewer Willie the Boatman, features a photo of the Prime Minister in his younger days on the can. As he signed the tinnies, he fessed up that he had little to do with the marketing idea. “Somebody said to me, ‘I’ve just had an Albo’, and I was like, ‘What is going on?’” Mr Albanese said. “They didn’t ask me, they just did it. “It’s now a very successful local business.” Asked if the Federal Government would lend its support to Albany’s 2026 bicentenary celebrations, Mr Albanese said he would be “very happy” to talk to the City of Albany council. “That will be an important event, and Albany has an important historical role to play that’s recognised, I know, in monuments around this great city,” he said. “My government would be prepared to have those discussions through our fantastic Local Government Minister Kristy McBain.”