None of the press conferences were held in Canberra where he faced questions from political reporters.The government had been running the line that the prime minister's gesturing in front of his chest, while he discussed the two melons gifted to him by his Japanese counterpart, had been misinterpreted.So, the press conference was the first chance to ask the prime minister: so what DID you mean?Albanese began answering the question (he uses his hands all the time and the relationship with Japan is great), before NSW Premier Chris Minns intervened to demand the topic return to the smelter.A carefully timed cut off by a staffer ensured journalists not from the local area had no further opportunity.The prime minister's decision to appear on the Bush Deep podcast last month has become a game of whack-a-mole for the government Albanese told the caucus he expected the NDIS overhaul to pass with the Coalition's support.He was also projecting confidence that the government's planned changes to gambling advertising would pass once an agreement was reached on winding back inducements to entice people to punt.A targeted crackdown on inducements offered to high rollers and a simplified option to curb ads on streaming services may be where this lands, as Clare Armstrong reported this week.Crossbench MPs conceded they had "lost the battle" on tougher gambling advertising restrictions, as some within the Coalition began calling for an automatic review to be baked into the legislation.Meanwhile, a curious appearance at the National Press Club by Liberal moderate Andrew Bragg also ruffled some feathers within the opposition.The NSW frontbencher was there to outline the plan to slash the National Construction Code to just 80 pages