'Get out of here, Albo': PM heckled at regional press conference

"It's a nice day here, holding off the rain ... I'll say g'day to all these people," Mr Albanese said before greeting locals at Lake Illawarra near Wollongong.

After being introduced by retiring Whitlam MP Stephen Jones - who was met with applause by the gathered crowd - and standing next to Labor candidate Carol Berry, Mr Albanese began speaking, only to be interrupted by shouting.

"Get out of here, Albo!" an angry-looking man called out. "You don't respect the regions."

"We don't want your wind farms," another yelled.

Mr Albanese continued his speech about the importance of the local steel industry ahead of his visit to Blue Scope Steel, while highlighting a $850,000 "Valentine's Day" announcement for a local child and family precinct, but there was no love from his interrupters.

"We support blue collar jobs ..."

" - another lie!"

"My message today is we've got your back ..."

" - "Albo, you're not wanted in the Illawarra!"

"Labor loves blue-collar workers, and that's why we're supporting jobs, and that's why we're supporting steel."

The outburst came after what many believe to be the last parliamentary sitting week before the federal election, and highlights the risk posed when stage-managed media events are held in public - where voters who have not been pre-vetted are liable to make their feelings heard.

Former Liberal prime minister Scott Morrison experienced this during his visit to bushfire-ravaged Cobargo on the south coast of NSW in January 2020 after returning from his controversial holiday to Hawaii.

Mr Morrison's awkward interaction with a local man who refused to shake his hand has served as a warning to political advisers ever since.

At Lake Illawarra on Friday, Mr Albanese seemed to suggest the hecklers were spouting similar anti-turbine lines to Opposition Leader Peter Dutton and billionaire Clive Palmer.

"Turbines are made from steel, by the way - and we want them to be made with Illawarra steel and domestic manufacturing as well," he said.

The Prime Minister defended his support for the regions.

"I'm someone who is a regular visitor to this region. I was in Nowra just a couple of weeks ago. This week, I was in Merimbula."

Asked if an offshore wind inquiry would report before the election, he said: "You do know we don't control the Senate?"

The hecklers were from Responsible Future Illawarra, a local activist group that opposes wind farms.

Member Alex O'Brien told the Illawarra Mercury the Senate inquiry, referred in July by Nationals Senator Ross Cadell, had "met five times and the committee can't even lock in a date."

"We want accountability," Mr O'Brien said.

"We want transparency, and that was our message to the Prime Minister today."

With Glen Humphries