Grace Tame claimed she is not friends with Anthony Albanese as she shared the text she sent to Australia’s new leader just hours after his victory.
The 2021 Australian of the Year said on Monday she is not necessarily a Labor Party supporter but was glad the Coalition and its “deception” were no longer in control.
Studio 10 host Sarah Harris asked the defender if he had spoken to Mr Albanese since his victory, noting that the pair seemed to share a “nice friendship”.
‘I wouldn’t say it’s a friendship, these people are politicians. I sent him a message just to echo what I said publicly,” Ms Tame responded.
‘That the nation is crying with you. I think it was a great relief, even more so to be free of the deception that we were exposed to, that we were at the hands of the previous government, of which I had first-hand experience.’
Her comments come after the 27-year-old spoke to Albanese for an article in InStyle Australia.
The couple has also snuggled up while posing for photos at several high-profile events.
Tame (pictured) said on Monday she was not necessarily a supporter of Anthony Albanese, but wanted a government that echoed Australia’s diversity.
On Monday, Tame also said he texted Albanese just hours after his triumphant victory over Scott Morrison’s Coalition and told him: “The nation is crying with you.”
He followed a similar message he tweeted shortly after midnight on Saturday when he wrote: ‘A grateful nation is crying with you. And who said I didn’t smile at the Prime Minister? along with a photo of her with Australia’s new leader.
Tame later said he would like to see a move away from the two-party system in Australia and applauded the crowd of newly elected independents.
“It’s not necessarily him (Mr Albanese) who was my preferred Prime Minister… what Anthony Albanese does in terms of action remains to be seen,” he explained.
‘The hope is that these commitments (the implementation of the full Respect@Work report and action on climate change) will be carried out with the cooperation of these independents.
“It’s not just about the Labor Party, about Anthony Albanese, it’s about a very different system of government, of leadership where we have diversity, because I think that’s what Australia best echoes: diversity.”
She told Channel 10 she felt “humiliated” by former Foreign Minister Julie Bishop’s comments that she played a role in Morrison’s defeat at the polls.
“(Liberal women) did not see their concerns and interests reflected in a party led by Scott Morrison in coalition with Barnaby Joyce,” Ms Bishop previously said.
Independent “teal” candidates, who ran on a platform of equality, climate policy and a federal corruption watchdog, snatched seats in Liberal strongholds such as Wentworth.
Ms Bishop said seeing independent female candidates claim victory in previously strong Liberal seats sent a powerful message.
“The impact of Grace Tame and Brittany Higgins changed the narrative… That resonated with women,” she said.
Grace Tame said she texted Anthony Albanese (pictured together) after her election victory telling him “the nation is crying with you” after tweeting shortly after midnight on Saturday.
Former Conservative MP Julie Bishop said Morrison and the Coalition lost the election largely because they failed to resonate with female voters (pictured: MR Morrison with daughters Lily and Abbey on Saturday).
The fierce advocate for sexual assault survivors also rejected a suggestion from the hosts that she might run politically herself.
‘I have no interest in it. I have always maintained my independence and have been a long-time undecided voter. “I believe in agitation from outside,” he stated.
‘Politics… people come in with a lot of ambition and a lot of good intentions but it’s a slow process from what I can see.
‘Many comings and goings, two steps forward and one step back. And in many cases they have to make concessions to get things done.
‘You have to work with people you don’t necessarily agree with, that’s what makes a democracy solid and healthy.
But I believe in agitation from outside. I’d rather be outside and work and cooperate with these people.’
Grace Tame came under fire earlier this year for her frosty exchange with the Prime Minister at an Australian of the Year function at The Lodge (pictured).
About a month ago, Tame interviewed Albanese for InStyle Australia.
Albanese candidly shared the difficult decision her mother had to make when she became pregnant out of wedlock in the 1960s, as it was “the fashion of the day” for neither parent to keep the babies.
“The biggest role model I had was my mother,” he said.
“They were going to adopt me… in 1963, when I was born, it was acceptable to be a widow but it was not acceptable to be a single mother.”
Albanese said that despite the challenges ahead, his mother made the decision to raise him alone and give him his father’s last name.
His father had told his mother that he planned to marry a woman from his Italian hometown.
About a month ago, Tame spoke to Albanese (pictured together) for InStyle Australia in an interview in which she and her fiancé Max Heerey cried.
“She was a strong woman who made the decision to have me and raise me on her own,” Mr. Albanese said.
“She originally worked when I was a rookie, cleaning office buildings at night, taking care of me during the day, then she got rheumatoid arthritis and was really crippled.”
She said her family of two, “just me and her,” was “particularly close.”
“It’s one of the things that has focused me and it’s part of who I am,” he explained.
‘She always respected everyone and I grew up with the confidence of having a mother who lived many of her aspirations through me. She couldn’t work. That is why she is the most important role model in my life and she remains part of who I am today.”
Her response left Tame and her fiancé Max Heerey in tears.
Tame (pictured) said she herself would not consider running for politics and would prefer to “agitate from the outside”.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to bother you,” Mr. Albanese told her.
Tame said she started crying because she respected his response “so much.”
Max is crying! Oh, I want to give you a hug,’ she said.
Albanese said his experience contradicted a common argument used against legalizing same-sex marriage.
“So when, for example, the marriage equality debate developed, and one of the things that some of the opponents said was, you know, you need a mom, a dad and two kids, that’s a family,” he said . saying.
“I hear that message and I say, well, wait, you know, families are diverse and made up of all kinds of different groups.”
