Anthony Albanese has opened up about his so-called "glow up", his private life, ambitions to be prime minister and why he thinks the man currently in the job has "an issue with the truth".

Three years after he saw former leader Bill Shorten stumble to a shock election defeat that has shaped much of Labor's careful approach to this year's campaign, the Member for Grayndler suggested voters are more "cynical" about Mr Morrison this time around.

"They know what Scott Morrison's form is and therefore they'll be more sceptical about what the government's saying," Mr Albanese told Karl Stefanovic on 60 Minutes, claiming his opponent has "an issue with the truth".

"You look at even the photo ops this time, whether it's shampooing hair, or whether it's, dare I say it, the ukulele playing — I've seen it and heard it and now it can't be unseen."

Pushed on whether he was calling the Prime Minister a liar, he didn't use the word but pointed to Mr Morrison's infamous trip to Hawaii and later that he had texted Mr Albanese saying where he was going.

"He has said things to me that are simply untrue. He's stood up in Parliament — why he did it, is beyond me — and said that he texted me about where he was going when he went to Hawaii," Mr Albanese said.

According to Mr Albanese, the text said said he was going on leave, but not where to.

Mr Morrison has his own criticisms about Mr Albanese's integrity.

"I'm not pretending to be someone else. I'm not pretending to ride on someone else's coat tails," the Prime Minister told Weekend Today on Sunday.

"Australians know me and they know that I'm pretty resilient."

Mr Albanese denied he was hiding behind anyone, saying "what you see is what you get".

The sprawling 60 Minutes interview wasn't all politics. Mr Albanese spent plenty of time discussing his history, personal life and even what Stefanovic described as a "glow up", which has seen him lose 15kg.

"I'm hungry. I want to be match fit," he said.

"And the other thing that happened of course is almost dying last year in a car accident."

"It was an extraordinary moment where it was just factual, this is how it ends," he said.

"It made me absolutely determined to make a contribution to the country."

It's the second time a car accident, or at least the story of one, has had a radical impact on the Labor leader's life.

Mr Albanese grew up in Sydney thinking his Italian father, Carlos, had been killed in a car accident when he was a baby. 

But it was all a lie, built to protect his unwed Catholic mother in a more conservative time, which he wouldn't discover until he was 14. It was another three decades before Mr Albanese travelled to Italy, to meet his father for the first time.

"He put out his arms and we embraced. It was quite extraordinary."

The Opposition Leader is reluctant to reveal much about his private life, but did open up about his relationship with new partner Jodie Haydon.

"It's something I'm protective of," he said.

"I'm the one running for public office. Jodie has to put up with, if we're out having dinner, put up with people coming up and photos and all that.

"But it's part of the deal. It's part of who I am."