SUBJECTS: Russell Crowe and South Sydney; Being a Prime Minister for all of Australia; Pronunciation of Albanese.
 
JASE HAWKINS, HOST: Good morning everyone. It is just gone 8:13. You're on the air with Jase and Lauren here on KIIS and we're about to catch up with Albo. Have you heard who's voicing his latest campaign? Big Rusty. 

RUSSELL CROWE VOICEOVER: Australia. We can do better. All it takes is a better government with better plans. 

HAWKINS: Anthony Albanese, give us your best Russell Crowe. 

ANTHONY ALBANESE, LEADER OF THE AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY: I can't do Rusty. That's why we got him. If I could do that, we wouldn't have needed him.

LAUREN PHILLIPS, HOST: Hey, good morning. How did that one come about Albo? You were just a big fan of Gladiator and you sent him a message on his fanpage? 

ALBANESE: Well, there's all of that. But I was on the board of South Sydney Rugby League Football Club, when we got kicked out of the comp and we ran a major campaign, had a couple of big marches with 100,000 people plus through the streets of Sydney to defend our footy club. And Russell, of course, as a South Sydney fan at the time was involved in that campaign. I got to know him then and we've been mates for quite a long time. I was at the Souths-St George game before the election was called, and I said, ‘mate, do you reckon you could lend us your voice at some stage during the campaign?’ And he's over outside London, shooting a film so he couldn't be there in person, but it was a very, it's such a distinctive, great voice. 

HAWKINS: Oh, yeah. 

ALBANESE: I wish I had it.

PHILLIPS: A quintessential Aussie voice. 

HAWKINS: Would you say Russell Crowe is the most famous number you've got in your phone Albo?

ALBANESE: Oh, there's a few in there mate. There's a few in there.

HAWKINS: Who else you got?

ALBANESE: I can't let that all out. You'll have to wait for the rest of the campaign.  

HAWKINS: You're like Taylor Swift, you're going to roll out.

PHILLIPS: All your celebrity mates. Now Albo, just talking about politics and less about rugby for a sec. There's been a bit of chat about Scomo being a Prime Minister for New South Wales and for Sydney in particular. But down here in Melbourne, we're feeling a little left out. What are you going to do for us here in Melbourne if you do become the Prime Minister? 

ALBANESE: What I did when I was last in government as a minister, we built Regional Rail Link and upgraded the M80 Ring Road. We did major projects there in Victoria, and I'll work with the Victorian Government to advance the interests of Victorians. I know that in places like Tarneit, got the new railway station there as part of Regional Rail Link. We did the Geelong Ring Road, we did Princes Highway, East and West.  We had major projects. And Victoria is of course a magnificent state, and I look forward to working with the Victorian Government down there in a cooperative way as well. 

HAWKINS: Yep.  Hey, Albo before we let you go this morning, I want to clear something up. I was watching 60 minutes the other week and I saw you pop up, going out to the Italian restaurant with Karl. And he introduced you, and it sort of threw me for six, he said this. 

VOICEOVER: Anthony Albanese, Anthony Albanese, Anthony Albanese, Anthony Albanese.

HAWKINS: Was Karl pissed, or have we been getting your name wrong all these years?

PHILLIPS: This whole time? 

ALBANESE: No, it's pretty close. In Italian, if you're pronouncing it in Italian, you'd say Albanese.

PHILLIPS: Oh, Albanese. 

HAWKINS: So I've got to do the voice. I've got to do the accent.

ALBANESE: You've got to do the ‘Ese’. 

HAWKINS: Right.

ALBANESE: Yeah that's right. So Albanese is sort of a bit of an Anglicisation of it. 

HAWKINS: Right, Anthony Albanese.

ALBANESE: And so is Albanese, I get called too sometimes. 

PHILLIPS: Albanese.

ALBANESE: But no one says spaghetti bolognese, do they?

PHILLIPS: That's what we would say.

ALBANESE: So, you know.

PHILLIPS: I might start though, if it makes me sounds a little more cultured.

HAWKINS: You know what? I'm sticking with Albo, if that's alright with you? 

ALBANESE: Yeah, well, that's exactly why we have nicknames in this country, to avoid these dilemmas.

HAWKINS: Alright, we're going to have to leave it there. Albo joining us on the air this morning. Always fun mate. Cheers for checking in. I'm glad you're out of iso. 

ALBANESE: Thanks very much, guys. And let me tell you, I look forward to being in Melbourne. What's the day like? 

PHILLIPS: Not ideal. You're actually coming down for pretty chilly week down here in Melbourne, Albo. 

HAWKINS: What time you land? Do you want us to park at the airport and go in and pick you up? 

ALBANESE: It's okay, I think I've got that covered mate. 

HAWKINS: Okay, alright, just checking. Alright, see ya mate.

ALBANESE: But thanks for the offer.

PHILLIPS: See ya Albo, bye. 

ALBANESE: Bye. 

HAWKINS: Anthony Albanese, Albanese, Albo joining us on the air there.

ENDS