Visiting US Vice President Dick Cheney and Australian Prime Minister John Howard were Saturday gagged by a technical glitch that left reporters and TV viewers desperately trying to read their lips. The keen allies faced the media side-by-side after they met for talks in Sydney, but were forced to start the joint press conference twice after realising that their audio feed had been cut for several minutes.
"I had no sound. Why didn't you tell me?" Howard asked reporters when the silent press conference was finally interrupted. "That means you weren't listening," he joked.
Australian television viewers also got the silent treatment when the first film of the press conference was shown, while reporters at the back of the room shouted for an audio feed.
The prime minister was forced to repeat his unscripted remarks from the beginning once the glitch had been resolved, concluding with: "To the best I can remember, that's what I said." he said.
When he handed the floor to his friend Cheney, the vice president quipped: "It sounded better the second time."
