Definitions of ‘woman’ given by Scott Morrison and Anthony Albanese during the second leaders’ debate

Deborah Knight asked Anthony Albanese and Scott Morrison to define a woman before both leaders shut down the journalist with blunt responses.

Mr Morrison and Mr Albanese went head-to-head in the second leaders’ debate on Channel Nine’s 60 Minutes on Sunday night.

Knight was sitting on the panel with Chris Uhlmann and David Crowe before she asked the Liberal and Labor leaders for their definition of a woman.

Deborah Knight asked Anthony Albanese and Scott Morrison to define a woman before both leaders shut down the journalist with blunt responses

Mr Morrison and Mr Albanese went head-to-head in the second leaders’ debate on Channel Nine’s 60 Minutes on Sunday night

‘In a sentence, how do you define a woman?’ she asked.

Mr Albanese answered first with a very short and matter-of-fact response.

‘An adult female,’ he said.

Mr Morrison followed: ‘A member of the female sex’.

Knight nodded her head at the responses before trying to justify the reason for asking the unexpected question.

‘There’s been a degree of confusion around that issue, so good to get your clarity on that,’ she said.

Mr Morrison jumped in to insist he did not doubt the definition of a woman.

‘Not confused at all,’ Mr Morrison responded.

Mr Albanese added, ‘I don’t think it’s confusing.’  

Both Mr. Morrison and the opposition leader faced tough questions from a panel of journalists covering a range of important issues including cost of living pressures, interest rates, climate policies, affordable housing, and the overall state of the economy.

When asked whether he had seen corruption in the Liberal party, Mr Morrison replied: ‘No I haven’t.’

Mr Morrison followed Mr Albanese with his definition of a woman: ‘A member of the female sex’

During the session, Mr. Albanese expressed his concern by stating that ‘there is a stench around Canberra at the moment’ and reiterated his commitment to establishing a national anti-corruption watchdog through legislation if he is successful in the upcoming election.

Mr. Morrison, in response, challenged his opponent by questioning how Australians can trust that he is genuinely looking out for their best interests, especially considering his previous policy shifts on issues such as negative gearing and boat turnbacks.

When questioning turned to the independent candidates, the panel asked the prime minister if he would resign to allow the coalition to form government. He said: ‘No’.

Mr Albanese said he would not negotiate on any of the policies Labor took to the election in the event of a hung parliament.

‘I am campaigning very hard to form government in my own right,’ he said.

Asked who won the often feisty and shouty debate, viewers were evenly split 50-50 between the men vying for the nation’s top job.