‘I did some exercise’: Albanese returns serve over tennis photos

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has defended his decision to play tennis on Saturday afternoon in Perth, a day after a Melbourne synagogue was firebombed before dawn by masked invaders as people prayed inside.

While the attack on the Adass Israel synagogue in the Melbourne suburb of Ripponlea had not yet been formally declared a terror attack on Saturday, there was growing pressure for such a call to be made.

The attack was formally declared a terrorism attack by police agencies on Monday.

Albanese was in Perth for three days to discuss the federal government’s critical minerals strategy and announce $21 million in funding for five companies, while opening the new METRONET train line.

The Australian newspaper on Monday reported that Albanese, an avid tennis player, was seen at Perth’s Cottesloe Tennis Club at 2.30pm on Saturday, the same day he visited a local synagogue to express solidarity with the Jewish community.

Asked if it had been an error of judgment to play tennis on Saturday afternoon when the Jewish community in Melbourne was in shock, Albanese said he had had “six appointments on Saturday. After they had concluded late in the afternoon, I did some exercise. That’s what people do”.

“On Saturday morning, I was in a synagogue. I’ve seen some comments in the media about why there wasn’t media coverage there. That was because it was Shabbat and, as people can confirm, photos and electronic information wasn’t available then,” he said.

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“Indeed, I attended the bar mitzvah of a young boy there, and I was very much welcomed there.”