Telethon 2022: Prime Minister Anthony Albanese meets the Telethon kids in Perth and vows support for cause

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has vowed to throw himself into the deep end when he attends his first ever Telethon later this month — even promising to answer the phones in a bid to break another fundraising record.

During his flying visit to Perth last weekend, the PM faced some of the toughest questioning of his premiership so far — but it wasn’t from journalists, opposition politicians or even a grumpy voter.

Superstar Telethon kids Ari Phillips and Emily Siew teamed up to grill the PM when they met him during his latest trip west.

And seven year-old Ari — complete with a fresh Seven logo shaved into his slick new haircut — was not afraid to pose the question no-one else was willing to ask.

“Are you going to wear the pyjamas?”

Those would be the new multi-coloured Telethon pyjamas, designed ready for the main event on kicking off on Saturday October 22.

Mr Albanese was gifted a pair during his unique question time with Ari and Emily.

And in true politician style, Mr Albanese tried to dodge the question, saying he would see what happened on his return to Perth in a fortnight.

But Mr Albanese was unequivocal in his support for the cause.

“I wouldn’t miss it. This will be my first opportunity to be here for Telethon — It’s such an important day in the Western Australian calendar. I’m really looking forward to it,” the PM said.

“I’m expecting the whole West Australian community to come together in common interests. That’s a unifying thing.”

The coming together of the PM, Emily and Ari was Mr Albanese’s first taste of what to expect when he returns in just under two weeks.

Just like during her young life Emily – who was born with bilateral hearing loss and diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia at just three – showed no fear in quizzing Australia’s most powerful politician.

She asked Mr Albanese if he could grant her wish of a hamster. Instead, the PM showed her exclusive pictures of his famous dog Toto.

During their lunchtime meeting, Ari — who was diagnosed with congenital muscular dystrophy a just 22 months old — also put the PM on the spot about how exactly he was going to help raise “money, money, money”

Mr Albanese recounted that as a younger man, he lived opposite the Children’s Hospital in Camperdown, and the young patients and the treatment they were receiving had stuck with him.

“It’s just great to be able to provide support for young kids who are looking for more support from the general community. It’s just a really worthy cause. And I’ll be very proud to provide support,” he said.

“I’m very excited. And I want to make sure that I was here. It’s just a couple of days before our federal budget, but this is an absolute priority for me to be here.”

Telethon organisers and volunteers are aiming for another record breaking year, having created an amazing record of more than $62 million raised for sick children.

That staggering figure cemented Telethon’s position as the biggest charity fundraiser in the world per capita.

And it enabled Telethon to support 97 beneficiaries and children’s charities, who look out for our most sick, vulnerable and disadvantaged children.

Mr Albanese was also coy about the level of the federal government money that would be donated this year. He said that would be also revealed on the weekend.

But he did say it was unlikely he would be revealing much else — when asked about a tradition of pledges for celebrities to bare their chests during the marathon weekend.

“We might get more donations for me to not take my top off,” the Prime Minister joked.

The state government have already announced that West Aussies will be able to catch free public transport during Telethon weekend, with all fares across the network waived on October 23 to allow easier access for those attending

This year marks the first time Telethon will move to RAC Arena.