Scott Morrison and Anthony Albanese have been slammed for their unruly behaviour toward the host of the second political debate.
The Prime Minister and Opposition Leader butted heads in the fiery debate that was broadcast on Channel 9 on Sunday evening and hosted by Sarah Abo.
The pair were not only speaking over each other, but completely disregarded Abo’s moderating as she asked them again and again to stop as there was another question.
“I think we are getting more questions … Excuse me. I think we’re getting more questions between the two of you than from our panel,” Abo struggled to say.
The leaders, however, completely ignored Abo and continued firing comments at one another – forcing her to butt in once again.
“Mr Morrison and Mr Albanese, this is enough, we do need to move on.”
However, it seemed that both party leaders wanted to get the last word in and continued to speak over Abo, who finally snapped.
“You all agreed to the rules this evening. Chris Uhlmann has a question, and we will move on to his question,” she said.
"That is NOT right."
Moderator Sarah Abo had to step in after the #LeadersDebate heated up over energy policy.
Stream LIVE on @9Now. #60Mins pic.twitter.com/gIRAYcOxzG
— 60 Minutes Australia (@60Mins) May 8, 2022
After the question was asked and both Morrison and Albanese were given time to respond, Abo once again had to interject and inform the Opposition Leader it was time to move on.
“Something that – Mr Albanese, we have a question. Mr Albanese, we have given you more than enough time,” she said.
“The pair of you have had more than enough time. You agreed … You agreed to these rules before coming on the program tonight.”
Abo concluded the evening by summing up what many viewers must have been feeling: “The truth is, the voters are feeling disenchanted. Neither of them are thrilled with either of you as a choice for prime ministers.”
Viewers slammed the leaders for ignoring Abo, who made every effort to keep the debate running as smooth as possible.
“Nine’s Sarah Abo could have done with a whistle at this point as both leaders spar on national security,” someone wrote.
“OMG…did Morrison just dismiss a female speaking waving his hand at her to shut her up? how embarrassing for poor Sarah Abo,” another commented.
“Royal Commission into the moderation of the debate,” another added.
Others, however, called out Abo for not moderating the debate efficiently, while also calling out her bias.
“Sarah Abo as moderator was supposed to hold the debate together! Instead Sarah Abo allowed the debate to fall apart and descend into chaos!” a comment read.
“Sarah Abo is a terrible moderator. Allowing these two men to yell and talk over each other for over an hour is not a debate,” another added.
“Top notch moderating by Sarah Abo. Let Morrison talk all over Albanese then cut Albanese’s time in response,” someone else commented.
Image: Channel 9
This article first appeared on OverSixty.