Latest / The Bolt Report / The Bolt Report | 18 December

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The Bolt Report | 18 December · The Bolt Report

• 0:10
  Speaker 1: Goodness, he's the Bolt Report.
• 0:15
  Speaker 2: Well, good evening and welcome to the Bolt Report. I'm
• 0:17
  Speaker 2: James Macpherson coming up tonight. Treasurer Jim Chalmers has handed
• 0:20
  Speaker 2: down his budget update and well it's not good news.
• 0:24
  Speaker 2: We'll break down the numbers for you. Foreign Minister Penny
• 0:27
  Speaker 2: Wong has been called out in a heated phone call
• 0:29
  Speaker 2: with her Israeli counterpart. She's accused Israel of not doing
• 0:33
  Speaker 2: enough to help Gaza. I'll tell you why I'm fed
• 0:36
  Speaker 2: up with Pennywong in just a moment. Climate protesters are
• 0:39
  Speaker 2: worried they'll no longer be able to glue themselves to
• 0:41
  Speaker 2: Rhodes or chain themselves to coal trans under Victoria's protest crackdown.
• 0:46
  Speaker 1: How terrible for them.
• 0:48
  Speaker 2: And the war on Christmas continues with a Melbourne council
• 0:51
  Speaker 2: refusing to use the word Christmas. They don't have a
• 0:54
  Speaker 2: problem with the word Ramadan though. I'll talk to my
• 0:57
  Speaker 2: panel about that a little later. First, terrorist group Hamas
• 1:02
  Speaker 2: continue to hold ninety six Israeli's hostage. That's pretty much
• 1:07
  Speaker 2: all you need to know about the Gaza conflict. It's
• 1:10
  Speaker 2: not complicated, it doesn't require the intellectual mte of Pennywong,
• 1:14
  Speaker 2: or the political cunning of Antony Albanezi, or the deaf
• 1:17
  Speaker 2: touch of Tony Burke.
• 1:19
  Speaker 1: It's pretty simple.
• 1:21
  Speaker 2: When the terrorists release all the hostages and surrender, the
• 1:24
  Speaker 2: conflict ends. But what about negotiations is say, well, you
• 1:29
  Speaker 2: don't negotiate with terrorists, I mean, unless you want more terrorism.
• 1:33
  Speaker 2: The way I see it, Hamas forfeited the right to
• 1:36
  Speaker 2: be spoken to his equals when they raped and slaughtered
• 1:39
  Speaker 2: twelve hundred Israelis before boasting about it on social media.
• 1:43
  Speaker 2: Am I missing something? What about the civilian casualties? Well,
• 1:47
  Speaker 2: no one wants civilian casualties, but the tragedy of women
• 1:52
  Speaker 2: and children caught in the crossfire is entirely a matter
• 1:55
  Speaker 2: for Hamas. They're the ones, after all, putting women and
• 1:58
  Speaker 2: children in harm's way. And like I said, the moment
• 2:01
  Speaker 2: Hamas released the hostages, will the civilian casualties stop?
• 2:05
  Speaker 1: Now? Can you see the common denominator here? It's Hamas.
• 2:10
  Speaker 2: Our government should have a single simple message on the
• 2:13
  Speaker 2: Gazan conflict, not for our ally Israel, but for the terrorists.
• 2:18
  Speaker 1: Release the hostages.
• 2:19
  Speaker 2: Until you do that, there's nothing to talk about. Our
• 2:23
  Speaker 2: Foreign minister Penny Wong talks about everything else, with the
• 2:26
  Speaker 2: hostages as an afterthought. She was in Brussels last night
• 2:30
  Speaker 2: promising that Australian taxpayers would help to finance the rebuilding
• 2:34
  Speaker 2: of Gaza as soon as a ceasefire was agreed. She
• 2:38
  Speaker 2: told journalists and I quote, a ceasefire would also enable
• 2:42
  Speaker 2: the return of the hostages who were still being held
• 2:44
  Speaker 2: by Hamas a year after the horrific attacks. Does Pennywong
• 2:49
  Speaker 2: even listen to herself? How has her moral compass gone
• 2:52
  Speaker 2: so far? Askew the failure to release hostages is the
• 2:57
  Speaker 2: greatest impediment to a cease fire, not vice versa. When
• 3:01
  Speaker 2: Wong says a ceasefire would also enable the return of
• 3:04
  Speaker 2: Israeli hostages, she makes it clear that the Australian government
• 3:08
  Speaker 2: sees the release of hostages as a bonus rather than.
• 3:12
  Speaker 1: The primary objective.
• 3:14
  Speaker 2: As usual, the Albanezy government has everything completely backwards. It
• 3:20
  Speaker 2: should be the return of the hostages that enables a ceasefire,
• 3:23
  Speaker 2: not the other way around. And before I get to
• 3:26
  Speaker 2: the obscene suggestion that Australian taxpayers should be putting up
• 3:29
  Speaker 2: money for a Gaza rebuild, one more word about the ceasefire.
• 3:33
  Speaker 2: Wong and other technocrats are proposing, from the comfort of
• 3:36
  Speaker 2: their boardrooms in Brussels. Their proposed ceasefire would come into
• 3:40
  Speaker 2: effect after her mass release half the hostages, and it
• 3:44
  Speaker 2: would require Israel to release hundreds of imprisoned Palestinian terrorists
• 3:48
  Speaker 2: back into Gaza. Tell me how that assists peace? Is
• 3:53
  Speaker 2: Pennyone really that ignorant? And maybe she is that she
• 3:57
  Speaker 2: doesn't remember or know that the architect of the October
• 4:00
  Speaker 2: seven attacks, Yaya Sinhwa, was himself one of one thousand
• 4:05
  Speaker 2: and forty seven terrorists released in exchange for a single
• 4:09
  Speaker 2: Jewish hostage back in twenty eleven. Now here's something you
• 4:13
  Speaker 2: need to understand. Released Jewish hostages go back to their families.
• 4:17
  Speaker 2: Release terrorists go back to killing Jews. That's not conjecture.
• 4:21
  Speaker 2: That's how we arrived at October seven. And Penny Wong
• 4:25
  Speaker 2: is all, well, let's rinse and repeat. But her latest
• 4:29
  Speaker 2: big idea, announced last night, was for you and I
• 4:32
  Speaker 2: to stump up money to rebuild Gaza.
• 4:34
  Speaker 1: You couldn't make this up.
• 4:37
  Speaker 2: There's a housing crisis in Australia and Penny Wong's big
• 4:40
  Speaker 2: idea is money for hamas homes.
• 4:43
  Speaker 1: Gaza was destroyed because.
• 4:44
  Speaker 2: Hamas attacked Israel under the command of Iran, so let
• 4:49
  Speaker 2: Iran pick up the tab. Well, how about Australia provide
• 4:52
  Speaker 2: some aid to Israel, our ally and the only liberal
• 4:55
  Speaker 2: democracy in the Middle East, who have spent the past
• 4:57
  Speaker 2: fifteen months fighting terrorists on every side. Why is Penny
• 5:02
  Speaker 2: Wong contemplating money for terrorists on the other side of
• 5:05
  Speaker 2: the world when Vanuatu has just suffered a devastating earthquake
• 5:09
  Speaker 2: and as a bonus when considering aid for Vanuatu, they're
• 5:12
  Speaker 2: not holding Jews as hostages, although that doesn't seem to
• 5:16
  Speaker 2: be a disqualifier these days. Does it to even contemplate
• 5:21
  Speaker 2: money for Gaza while her must hold even one Israeli
• 5:24
  Speaker 2: hostage is completely obscene And of course there's a direct
• 5:28
  Speaker 2: link between Penny Wong's international grand standing and the rise
• 5:32
  Speaker 2: of anti Semitism here in Australia. Our government has zero
• 5:37
  Speaker 2: moral authority tut tutting protesters waving terroist flags outside Jewish
• 5:42
  Speaker 2: synagogues when they themselves are publicly fantasizing about funding the
• 5:47
  Speaker 2: rebuild of what is essentially a terrorist camp and will
• 5:50
  Speaker 2: be until her Musks completely surrender. If the obenezy government
• 5:55
  Speaker 2: doesn't understand that, and evidently they don't, then they're worse
• 5:59
  Speaker 2: than they're just plain dangerous. Release the hostages, then we'll talk.
• 6:05
  Speaker 2: Until then there's nothing to talk about, and Israel should
• 6:08
  Speaker 2: enjoy our full support. Sure there'd be a huge outcry
• 6:12
  Speaker 2: from the usual suspects, but within short time a fully
• 6:15
  Speaker 2: isolated Hamas would realize and come to heal all be
• 6:21
  Speaker 2: obliterated by the IDF that's their choice, and the rebel
• 6:24
  Speaker 2: rousers here would also get the message loud and clear.
• 6:27
  Speaker 1: We don't muck around with.
• 6:28
  Speaker 2: Terrorist sympathizers and we don't put up with anti Semitism.
• 6:32
  Speaker 2: This is Australia where we call spade a bloody shovel
• 6:35
  Speaker 2: and we don't tolerate fools. And if you don't like it,
• 6:38
  Speaker 2: you'll find people more to your liking in Brussels, which
• 6:41
  Speaker 2: I guess is why Pennywong is pontificating over there, because
• 6:44
  Speaker 2: her words sure as hell make no sense here. Now,
• 6:48
  Speaker 2: compare Penny Wong's moral confusion with the moral clarity of
• 6:52
  Speaker 2: Canada's next Prime Minister, Pierre Poliev, who was asked to
• 6:56
  Speaker 2: agree that Israel should sit idle in the face of
• 6:59
  Speaker 2: its enemies, including Iran.
• 7:00
  Speaker 1: And here's what he said.
• 7:03
  Speaker 3: I think the idea of allowing a genocidal, theocratic, unstable
• 7:12
  Speaker 3: dictatorship that is desperate to avoid being overthrown by its
• 7:16
  Speaker 3: own people to develop nuclear weapons is about the most
• 7:21
  Speaker 3: dangerous and irresponsible thing that.
• 7:24
  Speaker 1: The world could ever allow.
• 7:26
  Speaker 3: And if Israel were to stop that genocidal, theocratic, unstable
• 7:32
  Speaker 3: government from acquiring nuclear weapons, it would be a gift
• 7:38
  Speaker 3: by the Jewish state to humanity.
• 7:44
  Speaker 2: Well, joining me now is liberal MP Andrew Wallace. Andrew,
• 7:47
  Speaker 2: thanks for your time. I'm not the only person fit
• 7:50
  Speaker 2: up with Penny Wong. Is Raelp's foreign minister has had
• 7:53
  Speaker 2: enough of her too, the pair of being involved in
• 7:56
  Speaker 2: a quote sharp verbal clash during a phone call yesterday.
• 8:00
  Speaker 2: According to Israeli's Foreign minister, Penny Wong accused Israel of
• 8:03
  Speaker 2: not doing enough humanitarian work for the Arabs of Gaza. Andrew,
• 8:09
  Speaker 2: I thought the Arabs of Gaza were holding Israeli's hostage.
• 8:14
  Speaker 4: Well, James, thanks for having me on the program. And
• 8:17
  Speaker 4: of course your editorial was just absolutely spot on. I
• 8:21
  Speaker 4: don't know where Penny Wong's moral compasses. You are absolutely
• 8:26
  Speaker 4: right there. She is so far left of center on
• 8:30
  Speaker 4: the issue of Israel and its importance to the West.
• 8:35
  Speaker 4: I just look, there are very few people that I
• 8:38
  Speaker 4: speak to, certainly in Queensland that understand where she is
• 8:44
  Speaker 4: coming from or that agree with her. You know, by
• 8:47
  Speaker 4: all accounts, the Penny Wong received a real dressing down
• 8:52
  Speaker 4: from the Israeli Foreign Minister on Tuesday, and so he
• 8:57
  Speaker 4: should give her a dressing down because she has overseen,
• 9:02
  Speaker 4: she has been the main architect as our foreign minister.
• 9:07
  Speaker 4: She has been the main architect of an almost total
• 9:11
  Speaker 4: breakdown in diplomatic relations between two very strong allies. Now
• 9:17
  Speaker 4: can you imagine? And I wanted you to hark back
• 9:21
  Speaker 4: your memory, your viewers, to hark back memories of the
• 9:24
  Speaker 4: absolute shellacking that the Labor Party gave us for our
• 9:28
  Speaker 4: strong stance that we took in the coalition on China.
• 9:33
  Speaker 4: And you know, look very very different circumstances. But Penny
• 9:39
  Speaker 4: Wog and Anthony Alberanzi held themselves out to be the
• 9:42
  Speaker 4: big persons on the diplomatic world stage. But Penny Wong
• 9:48
  Speaker 4: has overseen and caused not just a huge breakdown diplomatic
• 9:53
  Speaker 4: relations between our two important countries, but more importantly, perhaps
• 9:59
  Speaker 4: the almost total disintegration of trust in Jewish Australians and
• 10:05
  Speaker 4: the Labor Party and the Australian government. You know, look,
• 10:09
  Speaker 4: it's no secret but the Jewish community have been strong
• 10:13
  Speaker 4: supporters of the Labor Party and the left side of
• 10:16
  Speaker 4: politics for decades. I could not tell you. I could
• 10:20
  Speaker 4: not tell you a person, a member of the Jewish
• 10:23
  Speaker 4: community who has not expressed to me after I've had
• 10:27
  Speaker 4: discussions with them about their immense distrust of Anthony Albanesi
• 10:32
  Speaker 4: and particularly Penny Wong and this entire Labor government. They
• 10:36
  Speaker 4: feel as though they have been absolutely sold out by
• 10:40
  Speaker 4: this government, and for very good reason. They have literally
• 10:44
  Speaker 4: demonized the state of Israel and they've overseen by their
• 10:51
  Speaker 4: total in action, they've overseen a rise in anti Semitism
• 10:56
  Speaker 4: in Australia which has led to things like the Haddas
• 11:01
  Speaker 4: Synagogue fire bombing and the fire bombing of vehicles in Sydney.
• 11:06
  Speaker 4: This know, mis state charge, This was on the head
• 11:10
  Speaker 4: of Penniwong and Anthony Albanese.
• 11:14
  Speaker 1: Yeah.
• 11:14
  Speaker 2: I was going to ask you, but you've just answered
• 11:16
  Speaker 2: the next question I was going to ask, which is
• 11:17
  Speaker 2: about the link between Pennywong's retoric and voting in the
• 11:22
  Speaker 2: United Nations and the anti semitism we're seeing here in Australia,
• 11:25
  Speaker 2: and it beggars belief that people can't see a direct
• 11:28
  Speaker 2: link between those two things. As I said, it's very
• 11:31
  Speaker 2: difficult to tut tut protesters and their anti semitism when
• 11:35
  Speaker 2: you've got the language coming out from Pennywong, for instance,
• 11:38
  Speaker 2: where she put Israel in the same basket of deplorables
• 11:41
  Speaker 2: as China and Russia.
• 11:43
  Speaker 1: So the sooner Pennywong.
• 11:45
  Speaker 2: Disappears from the scene, the better off the Middle East
• 11:48
  Speaker 2: will be, and certainly the better off social cohesion here
• 11:51
  Speaker 2: will be. Let's move on to another subject, and obviously
• 11:53
  Speaker 2: the topic of the day really, which was the budget update.
• 11:58
  Speaker 2: I'll be speaking to an economist in a moment, but
• 12:00
  Speaker 2: I wanted to get your reaction to that update. A
• 12:03
  Speaker 2: budget deficit over the next four years that will be
• 12:05
  Speaker 2: twenty two billion dollars worse than forecast in May, just
• 12:09
  Speaker 2: six months ago. Government spending up by fifty eight billion
• 12:12
  Speaker 2: dollars this financial year, Andrew, these are pretty bleak numbers
• 12:16
  Speaker 2: announced today with a smile from Jim Charmers.
• 12:20
  Speaker 4: Well, Jim Charmers has got nothing other than spin and
• 12:23
  Speaker 4: his smile. The reality is we have now got budget
• 12:29
  Speaker 4: deficits for as long as the eye can see. We
• 12:33
  Speaker 4: have got budget deficits over the forward estimates of one
• 12:36
  Speaker 4: hundred and thirty nine point five billion dollars estimated projected.
• 12:42
  Speaker 4: So you know this, my EFO report released today is
• 12:49
  Speaker 4: the national credit card statement that's arrived in everybody's ladder box.
• 12:54
  Speaker 4: This demonstrates unequivocally that labor, if you didn't already know
• 13:01
  Speaker 4: that labor have lost control of our economy, you know
• 13:05
  Speaker 4: they are spending like drunken sailors. We've heard economist after
• 13:11
  Speaker 4: economist talking about the importance of the need for a restraint.
• 13:17
  Speaker 4: We've got a situation, of course where ASK has identified
• 13:22
  Speaker 4: that twenty six thousand small businesses have gone under, they've
• 13:27
  Speaker 4: gone into insolvency under this Prime minister. It's the largest
• 13:32
  Speaker 4: number of insolvencies in Australian history and the largest number
• 13:37
  Speaker 4: of those were just in the month of November. So,
• 13:41
  Speaker 4: you know, we talk a lot about the cost of
• 13:43
  Speaker 4: living for households, and rightly so. But what people don't
• 13:47
  Speaker 4: seem to recognize, particularly those who've never worked in small business.
• 13:51
  Speaker 4: And I've been in small business for thirty years. Before
• 13:54
  Speaker 4: we endo politics. When you're in small business and you've
• 13:57
  Speaker 4: got a cost of living crisis you are having to
• 14:00
  Speaker 4: deal with, it's a double whammy because not only are
• 14:04
  Speaker 4: your energy prices and everything going through the roof at home,
• 14:07
  Speaker 4: but you're faced with the same situation on the office
• 14:11
  Speaker 4: at work, or in the warehouse at work, whatever it
• 14:14
  Speaker 4: might be. It's a double whammy. And that's why we're
• 14:17
  Speaker 4: seeing because of this government's absolute reckless economic and particularly
• 14:23
  Speaker 4: its energy policies, we're seeing unprecedented numbers of businesses going
• 14:30
  Speaker 4: to the wall. And that breaks my heart because I
• 14:33
  Speaker 4: know how much mums and dads have put blood, sweat
• 14:38
  Speaker 4: and tears into those businesses. Twenty six thousand businesses gone
• 14:43
  Speaker 4: under as a result of Anthony Alberanezi. That is an
• 14:46
  Speaker 4: albatross that Australians should hang around his neck come the
• 14:51
  Speaker 4: next election.
• 14:54
  Speaker 2: Andrew, just before we finish, I want to ask you
• 14:56
  Speaker 2: quickly about nuclear power. Yesterday I explained how there was
• 14:59
  Speaker 2: a war of war words between Charmers and Dunton over
• 15:02
  Speaker 2: the coalition's nuclear energy plan. Today the Treasurer went further.
• 15:06
  Speaker 5: Have listened to this, Queenslanders don't want to be anywhere
• 15:10
  Speaker 5: near Peter Dutton's nuclear meltdown. The LMP and Queensland have
• 15:14
  Speaker 5: said no way to nuclear in Queensland. That's the first,
• 15:18
  Speaker 5: that's the most recent thing. And before that, Peter Dutton
• 15:21
  Speaker 5: either deliberately lied or he had absolutely no idea about
• 15:26
  Speaker 5: his own modeling of his only policy. He said yesterday
• 15:30
  Speaker 5: that in the frontier modeling, prices for electricity will go
• 15:34
  Speaker 5: down by forty four percent. That is a complete lie,
• 15:37
  Speaker 5: or it's an absolutely humiliating mistake.
• 15:42
  Speaker 2: First of all, I got to say, I'm really sick
• 15:44
  Speaker 2: of these clever puns. You know, voters don't want to
• 15:47
  Speaker 2: be part of Dutton's nuclear meltdown. Just give us a
• 15:50
  Speaker 2: break and talk to us like we're adults rather than children.
• 15:53
  Speaker 2: But the frontier modeling he's referring to, of course, it
• 15:56
  Speaker 2: doesn't show household power prices will go down by forty
• 15:59
  Speaker 2: four percent. Dutton, when he announced the policy never claimed
• 16:02
  Speaker 2: that it did. He said the modeling shows the overall
• 16:05
  Speaker 2: cost of the coalition's nuclear plan is forty four percent
• 16:08
  Speaker 2: cheaper than labels renewables only plan.
• 16:11
  Speaker 1: Is that correct?
• 16:13
  Speaker 4: That is absolutely spot on, James, And you know, look
• 16:16
  Speaker 4: it's really disingenuous for Jim Charmers to have said what
• 16:20
  Speaker 4: he said, because Peter Dutton never has never, and he's
• 16:26
  Speaker 4: been at great pains to say that, you know, this
• 16:31
  Speaker 4: is not going to reduce power prices by a particular figure.
• 16:36
  Speaker 4: But what he has been very clear about is that
• 16:39
  Speaker 4: the cost of our energy policy in relation to renewables,
• 16:46
  Speaker 4: gas and nuclear all in the mix, according to Frontier Economics,
• 16:51
  Speaker 4: is forty four percent cheaper two hundred and sixty three
• 16:56
  Speaker 4: billion dollars cheaper than than Chris Bowen is putting forward.
• 17:02
  Speaker 4: You know, it is totally disingenuous for Jim Chalmers to
• 17:06
  Speaker 4: have said what he said, and you know, but anyway,
• 17:10
  Speaker 4: look that's Jim Chalmers. It is very very clear listening
• 17:13
  Speaker 4: to Jim Charmers today and Kay Gallagher in the last
• 17:17
  Speaker 4: couple of days, they are shrill. They are starting to
• 17:22
  Speaker 4: hit the panic stations because they realize that Peter Dutton
• 17:27
  Speaker 4: is getting a lot more traction as opposition leader than
• 17:30
  Speaker 4: what they expected. And Peter Dutton is someone who has
• 17:34
  Speaker 4: been very very clear he's effectively leading government policy from opposition.
• 17:40
  Speaker 4: We have dragged them kicking and screaming on very important
• 17:45
  Speaker 4: policies like energy, like industrial relations, like the care and
• 17:50
  Speaker 4: safety and security of our Jewish community, the care and
• 17:54
  Speaker 4: safety of our young people online, any number of issues
• 17:58
  Speaker 4: that Peter Dutton has led from the front in opposition.
• 18:01
  Speaker 4: And I think finally the Labor Party is starting to
• 18:04
  Speaker 4: realize maybe we've got a bit of a problem here.
• 18:11
  Speaker 2: Andrew Wallace, I reckon you might be right about that.
• 18:12
  Speaker 2: Thanks for joining me tonight. Appreciate your time in the
• 18:15
  Speaker 2: Sunshine Coast, beautiful, beautiful part of the country.
• 18:18
  Speaker 1: Well.
• 18:19
  Speaker 2: Treasurer Doctor Jim Chalmers and his Finance Minister Katie Gallagher
• 18:22
  Speaker 2: gave their mid year budget report today and it was
• 18:25
  Speaker 2: exactly as you expect when the country's finances are being
• 18:29
  Speaker 2: run by an academic, an ex union official, splashing money
• 18:33
  Speaker 2: in a bid to lower inflation, complaining that fifty eight
• 18:36
  Speaker 2: point three billion dollars in extra spending this financial year
• 18:39
  Speaker 2: was unavoidable, and smiling while announcing that four years of
• 18:43
  Speaker 2: back to back budget deficits will plunge US one hundred
• 18:47
  Speaker 2: and forty three billion dollars further into the red. Joining
• 18:50
  Speaker 2: me is Leith van Nonslan, co founder of Macro Business
• 18:53
  Speaker 2: and a formal format federal Treasury official. Leith, let me
• 18:58
  Speaker 2: start with the Treasurer's fifty eight point three billion dollars
• 19:01
  Speaker 2: in extra spending this financial year. Chalmers is stoking the
• 19:06
  Speaker 2: economy at the very time the RBA is trying to
• 19:09
  Speaker 2: damp and demand.
• 19:10
  Speaker 6: Is he not, absolutely, James, We've got to burn out
• 19:13
  Speaker 6: economy at present. So the RBA has his foot plants
• 19:16
  Speaker 6: on the break. It's trying to slow the economy with
• 19:19
  Speaker 6: high interest rates. Meanwhile, the federal government is pumping demand
• 19:23
  Speaker 6: vias record spending, and as a result of its record spending,
• 19:27
  Speaker 6: that's preventing the Reserve Bank from cutting interest rates. So yeah,
• 19:30
  Speaker 6: it's a bit of a strange situation we've got at
• 19:33
  Speaker 6: the moment.
• 19:35
  Speaker 2: Now, government spending comprises a whopping twenty seven point two
• 19:39
  Speaker 2: percent of GDP, and I think outside of the pandemic,
• 19:43
  Speaker 2: we haven't seen government prop up that much of the
• 19:45
  Speaker 2: economy since.
• 19:47
  Speaker 1: The recession in the early eighties. This is not a
• 19:49
  Speaker 1: good thing.
• 19:50
  Speaker 6: Yeah, absolutely, These numbers are off the chart. So public
• 19:53
  Speaker 6: spending is increased from an average of around twenty two
• 19:55
  Speaker 6: and a half percent of GDP in the decade before
• 19:57
  Speaker 6: the pandemic, and as of the Q three, national accountcils
• 20:01
  Speaker 6: tracking a record high twenty seven and a half percent
• 20:03
  Speaker 6: of GDP. And it's not just that, James, it's also
• 20:08
  Speaker 6: on the job side of the equation. So the non
• 20:10
  Speaker 6: market economies, those are your government funded jobs. Their share
• 20:14
  Speaker 6: of total hours worked across the economy's increased to a
• 20:16
  Speaker 6: record high nearly twenty eight percent, and that's up from
• 20:19
  Speaker 6: a decade average of twenty two percent. So in fact,
• 20:22
  Speaker 6: over the last two years, virtually all of the Australia's
• 20:24
  Speaker 6: jobs growth has been in this non market, government aligned sector.
• 20:29
  Speaker 6: By contrast, the market sector or the private sector of
• 20:32
  Speaker 6: the economy is in recession. It's experienced near zero jobs
• 20:35
  Speaker 6: growth and near zero activity of jobs. And again it's
• 20:38
  Speaker 6: this blowout in public spending and government government funded jobs
• 20:43
  Speaker 6: that is preventing the Reserve Bank of Australia from cutting
• 20:45
  Speaker 6: interest rates.
• 20:48
  Speaker 2: So there's a sea of read as far as the
• 20:51
  Speaker 2: I can see. With Charms and Gallagher projecting four years
• 20:54
  Speaker 2: of back to back budget deficits, we're seeing this all
• 20:58
  Speaker 2: around the western world. What point does the government say,
• 21:02
  Speaker 2: you know what, we need to get back into surplus
• 21:05
  Speaker 2: or are those days gone? What's the plan here?
• 21:07
  Speaker 6: Yeah, it's certainly a worry. So the headline budget deficits
• 21:11
  Speaker 6: and the headline is the better figure. So the underlying
• 21:13
  Speaker 6: deficits the one they usually quote, but the headline is
• 21:15
  Speaker 6: basically underlying deficit plus the off budget items which are
• 21:19
  Speaker 6: still expenditures, and that's cumulatively going to hit two hundred
• 21:23
  Speaker 6: and thirty three billion dollars of deficits over the next
• 21:26
  Speaker 6: four years. And that's a thirty four billion dollar deterioration
• 21:30
  Speaker 6: on the May budget.
• 21:30
  Speaker 1: So it's gotten worse.
• 21:32
  Speaker 6: And also the budget's projected to being deficit for the
• 21:35
  Speaker 6: next decade James. So this is an ugly set of numbers,
• 21:37
  Speaker 6: and what it basically highlights is that in Australia we
• 21:39
  Speaker 6: need fundamental tax reform, so basically broaden the tax base
• 21:43
  Speaker 6: away from just slugging workers and corporations. We need to
• 21:46
  Speaker 6: have higher consumption taxes and I'd argue also taxi mineral
• 21:50
  Speaker 6: resources better. But also we need to we need the
• 21:53
  Speaker 6: government to more strongly control the expenditure side of the
• 21:56
  Speaker 6: equation because at the moment we've got a structurally broken budget.
• 22:02
  Speaker 1: Leath one more question I wanted to ask you.
• 22:04
  Speaker 2: I'm sure many of our viewers would have heard the
• 22:06
  Speaker 2: Treasurer talk continually today about the fact that these numbers
• 22:10
  Speaker 2: are two hundred billion dollars better than they had been forecast.
• 22:14
  Speaker 1: That was his big boast.
• 22:16
  Speaker 2: Just tell us what he's talking about there, And is
• 22:19
  Speaker 2: that anything to boast about.
• 22:21
  Speaker 6: Yeah, look, he's right, but it's not for anything the
• 22:23
  Speaker 6: government's done. So basically the government was kissed on the
• 22:26
  Speaker 6: backside when it came into office for three main factors.
• 22:29
  Speaker 6: So Russia invaded Ukraine and what happened was that spiked
• 22:33
  Speaker 6: commodity prices and everything Australia sells the rest of the
• 22:35
  Speaker 6: world went up in price, and that showered massive amounts
• 22:38
  Speaker 6: of money on the federal government. It also brought in
• 22:42
  Speaker 6: record numbers of migrants, way more than was forecast. And
• 22:45
  Speaker 6: what they did was that increased personal income tax re
• 22:47
  Speaker 6: seats because most of those migrants worked, but all the
• 22:51
  Speaker 6: costs of those migrants were deferred on to the state budgets.
• 22:54
  Speaker 6: And then obviously we had higher inflation and higher nominal
• 22:57
  Speaker 6: wage growth, even though our actual real wal ages after
• 23:00
  Speaker 6: inflation went backwards. And what that did is that gave
• 23:03
  Speaker 6: more money to the taxman because it pushed us into
• 23:05
  Speaker 6: higher tax brackets. So it was really just luck that
• 23:08
  Speaker 6: basically showered the federal The Alberte's government with about three
• 23:11
  Speaker 6: hundred billion dollars in windfall revenue, and it's gone and
• 23:16
  Speaker 6: spent a lot of that money and obviously pushed up
• 23:18
  Speaker 6: demand and pushed up in inflation across the economy. So
• 23:21
  Speaker 6: it was more a case of good luck rather than
• 23:23
  Speaker 6: good management. But those good times are now over because
• 23:27
  Speaker 6: the forces that drove gave us that budget windfall in
• 23:31
  Speaker 6: our reversing.
• 23:34
  Speaker 2: And the Treasurer has the hide to boast about it
• 23:36
  Speaker 2: as if it was his achievement in order to disguise what,
• 23:39
  Speaker 2: as I said, is a pretty bleak set of figures.
• 23:42
  Speaker 2: Leef fan onsoln appreciate you explaining that for us tonight. Well,
• 23:46
  Speaker 2: after the break, it's clear that government's attention has now
• 23:49
  Speaker 2: well and truly turned to an election.
• 23:51
  Speaker 1: I'll talk about that with the panel in just a moment.
• 23:58
  Speaker 1: Welcome back.
• 23:58
  Speaker 2: Well, an election hasn't yet been called, but the government
• 24:01
  Speaker 2: is well and truly in electioneering mode, and the fact
• 24:04
  Speaker 2: is they have been for some time. Education Minister Jason
• 24:07
  Speaker 2: Claire was yesterday advertising Labour's decision to wipe three billion
• 24:11
  Speaker 2: dollars of hex debt, and by wipe, of course, he
• 24:14
  Speaker 2: means use your money to pay it off. But he
• 24:17
  Speaker 2: had this little note quote and if we win the
• 24:20
  Speaker 2: next election, Labor will wipe a further twenty percent off
• 24:23
  Speaker 2: every student debt. Wow, it must be great to have
• 24:27
  Speaker 2: money to burn in a cost of living crisis. Well,
• 24:30
  Speaker 2: I mean they have our money to burn, it seems.
• 24:33
  Speaker 2: And the budget update today showed that Charmers has set
• 24:35
  Speaker 2: aside five and a half billion dollars to spend in
• 24:39
  Speaker 2: the lead up to the next election, not allocated yet,
• 24:41
  Speaker 2: but just sitting there as a pretty handy war chest.
• 24:45
  Speaker 2: Even if Chalmers insists it's nothing to worry about, that's.
• 24:50
  Speaker 5: A relatively small number by historical comparisons, particularly in the
• 24:55
  Speaker 5: lead up to an election. It doesn't, as I said
• 24:57
  Speaker 5: to Claire yesterday, it doesn't stand out because decisions taken
• 25:01
  Speaker 5: but not yet announced are regular feature of budgets under
• 25:05
  Speaker 5: governments of both political persuasion, and that's not an especially
• 25:08
  Speaker 5: big number.
• 25:10
  Speaker 1: Well, there you go.
• 25:11
  Speaker 2: Joining me on the panel is former Speaker of the
• 25:13
  Speaker 2: House Bromwin Bishop and The Australians Associate editor Graham.
• 25:17
  Speaker 1: Lloyd Graham. Let me go to you first.
• 25:19
  Speaker 2: There's a budget scheduled for March, but this war chest
• 25:22
  Speaker 2: could mean Alban easy goes to the polls early.
• 25:25
  Speaker 7: What do you think, Well, that certainly could, James. I
• 25:29
  Speaker 7: think what you would say from the numbers that were
• 25:32
  Speaker 7: there in the Midi review today was that it's probably
• 25:36
  Speaker 7: unlikely there will be another budget, that this is it
• 25:39
  Speaker 7: before the government goes to an election. Jim Chalmers, you know,
• 25:44
  Speaker 7: I must blush. Five billion is not a great bill
• 25:47
  Speaker 7: of money to have put in the kitty for election.
• 25:50
  Speaker 1: Large esse.
• 25:51
  Speaker 7: But the bigger problem here is things like the forgiving
• 25:56
  Speaker 7: of student debt and other things are all off budget measures,
• 26:00
  Speaker 7: and as we've heard earlier, it's those off budgets spending
• 26:03
  Speaker 7: that are pushing the deficit out to extraordinary levels in
• 26:07
  Speaker 7: the forward estimates. It's something that is sort of mudded
• 26:11
  Speaker 7: the way the budget is compiled, and spending that's great
• 26:17
  Speaker 7: largess is not being properly reflected as it otherwise has been.
• 26:24
  Speaker 2: Yeah, that off budget spending creates an overly optimistic account
• 26:28
  Speaker 2: of the figures. When you dig down, it's worse than presented.
• 26:32
  Speaker 2: But went back to that lazy you know, five and
• 26:34
  Speaker 2: a half billion dollars just waiting.
• 26:36
  Speaker 1: For somewhere to call home. What are the chances elbow.
• 26:39
  Speaker 2: Is going to go on a cash splash with bill
• 26:41
  Speaker 2: relief just as we head for the polls.
• 26:43
  Speaker 8: Well, of course he is. That's what it's therefore not
• 26:48
  Speaker 8: yet disclosed. It'll be disclosed. And there was nowhere in
• 26:51
  Speaker 8: the world that the snake charm is going to bring
• 26:53
  Speaker 8: down another budget.
• 26:54
  Speaker 1: No way in the world.
• 26:57
  Speaker 8: He was there today with his own version of dishonesty.
• 27:04
  Speaker 8: I think I honestly have to use the word. He
• 27:08
  Speaker 8: was saying, Look, we've all done a wonderful job. Look
• 27:11
  Speaker 8: at it. We had two surpluses. Yeah, Well he was
• 27:14
  Speaker 8: a lucky duck, wasn't he. But the truth of the
• 27:16
  Speaker 8: matter is we will now be plunged into debt until
• 27:19
  Speaker 8: two thousand and thirty four. And that's a pretty good,
• 27:23
  Speaker 8: pretty good effort on behalf of the treasurer. You know,
• 27:26
  Speaker 8: per Josh Frodenberg would have had a surplus if it
• 27:29
  Speaker 8: weren't for COVID. So there's luck in politics, and he
• 27:33
  Speaker 8: was a lucky duck to get too. But he's done nothing,
• 27:37
  Speaker 8: nothing to rain in expenditure, to push down inflation, to
• 27:41
  Speaker 8: make life better, and that indeed by using taxpayers money
• 27:45
  Speaker 8: to push up wages of certain sectors, feeding the wage
• 27:52
  Speaker 8: inflation spiral where you've got more money in your pocket,
• 27:56
  Speaker 8: paying more tax than you buy less means that people
• 27:59
  Speaker 8: stand of living has just gone down and down, as
• 28:02
  Speaker 8: we all know. But he is telling everybody, look, we've
• 28:05
  Speaker 8: done a wonderful job. You should all be grateful. There's
• 28:08
  Speaker 8: no way he's going to a budget and telling them
• 28:11
  Speaker 8: that really is all about debt. In fact, I think
• 28:14
  Speaker 8: he's regretting very well, Jim, if they didn't hold their
• 28:17
  Speaker 8: nerve and go on the seventh of December when they
• 28:19
  Speaker 8: were ready.
• 28:20
  Speaker 2: Believe me, well, Jim Chalmers may be a lucky duck,
• 28:25
  Speaker 2: but it doesn't feel like you and I are very
• 28:27
  Speaker 2: lucky at the moment. Let's talk about Penny Wong Graham.
• 28:30
  Speaker 2: At the same time as Jim Chalmers is announcing budget deficits,
• 28:34
  Speaker 2: as far as the eye can see, we've got his
• 28:37
  Speaker 2: colleague Penny Wong saying Australian taxpayers should be funding the
• 28:40
  Speaker 2: rebuild of Gaza while hostages are still held captive.
• 28:44
  Speaker 1: How do you.
• 28:45
  Speaker 2: Imagine that message goes down with most Aussies struggling to
• 28:48
  Speaker 2: pay their power bills.
• 28:51
  Speaker 7: Well, I think it's a bad look, both for the
• 28:54
  Speaker 7: cost to Australians, but more particularly Australia's engagement in the
• 28:59
  Speaker 7: Middle East at a time when there's a fundamental realignment
• 29:03
  Speaker 7: of interest there that are bad news for Iran at
• 29:07
  Speaker 7: this stage, and we should be supporting those But instead
• 29:10
  Speaker 7: the message that's being sent is one we're hostile to
• 29:14
  Speaker 7: our great ally in the region, in Israel, at a
• 29:18
  Speaker 7: time where Israel is starting to call out the fair
• 29:21
  Speaker 7: weather friends if you like. It's withdrawn its embassy from
• 29:25
  Speaker 7: Ireland and it's come on the front foot with Australia
• 29:28
  Speaker 7: and said, look, you're abandoning us at our time of need. Now.
• 29:33
  Speaker 7: The unfortunate thing is that the Foreign Minister will probably
• 29:36
  Speaker 7: wear that as a badge of honor. It's hard to
• 29:39
  Speaker 7: see that the Penny Wog is sympathetic in any way
• 29:44
  Speaker 7: to the Israeli government, and that's an unfortunate position for
• 29:49
  Speaker 7: the nation to commit to.
• 29:51
  Speaker 1: A rebuild of Gaza.
• 29:53
  Speaker 9: At this point in time.
• 29:55
  Speaker 7: It's just too early. There will come a time when
• 29:58
  Speaker 7: rebuilding is necess but we're not there yet.
• 30:04
  Speaker 2: Indeed, I'm not sure we've had a worse foreign Minister
• 30:06
  Speaker 2: than Penny Wong. Look, before I let either of you go,
• 30:10
  Speaker 2: I want to talk about Christmas, because it's only a
• 30:12
  Speaker 2: week away, but the Christmas Grinch is.
• 30:14
  Speaker 1: Well and truly alive.
• 30:16
  Speaker 2: Get this, A Melbourne council is refusing to use the
• 30:19
  Speaker 2: word Christmas. Daribin Council is apparently decided, you know what,
• 30:24
  Speaker 2: We're going to use this slogan Daribin celebrates. And if
• 30:27
  Speaker 2: that wasn't enough, this council have also reduced the height
• 30:30
  Speaker 2: over their Christmas tree to save on plastic. But here's
• 30:33
  Speaker 2: what I find strange Daribin Council, Bromwin.
• 30:36
  Speaker 1: They don't want to use the word Christmas.
• 30:38
  Speaker 2: But check out this same council's Facebook post during Ramadan
• 30:43
  Speaker 2: last year Ramadan Karam. They wrote a peaceful and happy
• 30:47
  Speaker 2: Ramadan to all in our community who observed this special
• 30:50
  Speaker 2: month of reflection, prayer and connection. You might like to
• 30:54
  Speaker 2: visit the Islamic Museum of Australia for a special school
• 30:57
  Speaker 2: holiday activity where children can learn about the five Pillars
• 31:00
  Speaker 2: of Islam and create their own home five Pillars cube.
• 31:05
  Speaker 2: The Darribin Council say they're celebrating Christmas, but they've been
• 31:09
  Speaker 2: unfairly criticized. They're going to talk about Darbin celebrates and
• 31:13
  Speaker 2: festive season, just not using the word Christmas. Bronwen what
• 31:17
  Speaker 2: on earth is going on in our country?
• 31:20
  Speaker 8: Well, James, I took a look at what other councils
• 31:22
  Speaker 8: are doing down in Melbourne, and they're doing the right
• 31:25
  Speaker 8: thing and celebrating Christmas, which is our culture. I took
• 31:29
  Speaker 8: a look at what the voting pattern was at the
• 31:33
  Speaker 8: last election for the mayor of this council, and she
• 31:37
  Speaker 8: only got twenty seven percent of the primary vote. She
• 31:44
  Speaker 8: is only representing twenty seven percent of people thought she
• 31:48
  Speaker 8: was worth electing, and then the council made a mayor,
• 31:52
  Speaker 8: so she's right out of step. She's not supported by
• 31:56
  Speaker 8: the majority in her ward. She is a person who
• 32:00
  Speaker 8: who is not seeing that the wokeism that had infected
• 32:04
  Speaker 8: this country like a disease is starting to get a
• 32:07
  Speaker 8: cure and starting to disappear.
• 32:09
  Speaker 1: And I think she should be.
• 32:10
  Speaker 8: Given no attention at all. Just feel sorry for the
• 32:15
  Speaker 8: people who elected her, even on twenty seven percent, and
• 32:18
  Speaker 8: then the preferences flowed, and celebrate with those councils who
• 32:22
  Speaker 8: are doing the right thing and having Christmas well and
• 32:25
  Speaker 8: truly celebrated as it should be as the birth of Christ.
• 32:32
  Speaker 2: Graham, as I pointed out, I mean, they've got a
• 32:34
  Speaker 2: problem with Christmas. But they're very proud of Ramadan and
• 32:37
  Speaker 2: this is the thing that Jack's most Australians. I mean,
• 32:41
  Speaker 2: you know, we're all for celebrating whatever goes, but our
• 32:44
  Speaker 2: own culture as well should be celebrated and typically it's not,
• 32:48
  Speaker 2: as this illustrates.
• 32:51
  Speaker 7: Yeah. Look, it's a pretty grinchy thing, is that to
• 32:54
  Speaker 7: be ashamed if you like, of your own culture and
• 32:56
  Speaker 7: we see far too much of it.
• 32:58
  Speaker 1: And this I think there's also a bigger.
• 33:00
  Speaker 7: Thing, like how much do we want our councils to
• 33:03
  Speaker 7: be spending on celebrating festivals of any sort. Surely that
• 33:08
  Speaker 7: they can be a bit of a thing there, but
• 33:10
  Speaker 7: they should concentrate on picking up the rubbish quite frankly.
• 33:15
  Speaker 2: Hey, there's a novel idea. Imagine if they did that.
• 33:18
  Speaker 2: What an interesting proposal. Bromin and Graham, thanks for joining
• 33:23
  Speaker 2: me tonight. Stick around because thanks guys, stick around because
• 33:28
  Speaker 2: after the break, despite Labour's election war chest, the Coalition
• 33:32
  Speaker 2: have some firepower of their own. Warren Mundine joins me
• 33:35
  Speaker 2: in a moment to explain why he is throwing himself
• 33:38
  Speaker 2: right back into the fight that's coming up in a moment, Well,
• 33:45
  Speaker 2: welcome back. I want to turn to the election next
• 33:47
  Speaker 2: year now, and it seems the coalition will have some
• 33:49
  Speaker 2: extra firepower in its arsenal. Indigenous leader, Anti Voice campaigner
• 33:54
  Speaker 2: and great friend of the program, Warren Mundine is throwing
• 33:57
  Speaker 2: his hat into the ring. He wants to stand for
• 33:59
  Speaker 2: the Liberals in the marginal seat of Bradfield on Sydney's
• 34:03
  Speaker 2: North Shore, vacated by Paul Fletcher. Joining me now is
• 34:06
  Speaker 2: Warren Mundine. Warren, thanks for your time tonight.
• 34:10
  Speaker 1: I want to ask.
• 34:11
  Speaker 2: You about your visit to Israel in just a moment.
• 34:13
  Speaker 2: You've just gotten back. But first why return to the
• 34:16
  Speaker 2: political fray? I mean, you're doing well in business. Why
• 34:19
  Speaker 2: would you want to get back into the cut and
• 34:21
  Speaker 2: thrust of politics.
• 34:23
  Speaker 9: Well, that's a very simple answer. It's been five years.
• 34:26
  Speaker 10: I've been out there in the private sector and working away.
• 34:29
  Speaker 9: And that through you know, the mining and the and
• 34:32
  Speaker 9: the energy.
• 34:33
  Speaker 10: Sector as well as you know, my commitment to Indigenous
• 34:37
  Speaker 10: people and that you know, through my businesses. You know,
• 34:39
  Speaker 10: got you know, something like five thousand Aboriginal people into
• 34:42
  Speaker 10: jobs and you know, and I'm enjoying it and it's
• 34:45
  Speaker 10: great fun.
• 34:46
  Speaker 9: But you know, this government.
• 34:47
  Speaker 10: You know we've got currently now has got to be
• 34:50
  Speaker 10: the worst government we've had probably in my lifetime, and
• 34:55
  Speaker 10: and we've got we've got to really get amount of power.
• 34:57
  Speaker 10: We've got to actually start getting you know, getting back
• 35:00
  Speaker 10: to the focus of our energy, getting it correct, getting
• 35:03
  Speaker 10: our economy back, getting it correct, and all the diverse
• 35:07
  Speaker 10: diversity and division that's happening at the moment, you know,
• 35:12
  Speaker 10: this racial hatred and indecent medicins that's going on. It's
• 35:16
  Speaker 10: this government has just a total disgrace and we need
• 35:20
  Speaker 10: to get them out. And that's what's motivated me to
• 35:22
  Speaker 10: come back.
• 35:25
  Speaker 2: Well, the seat of Bradfield where you're seeking pre selection,
• 35:27
  Speaker 2: it's held by the Coalition but on a tight margin,
• 35:30
  Speaker 2: and the Teals candidate, Nicolett Bolli, is viewed by many
• 35:34
  Speaker 2: as being in the box seats. So it's not going
• 35:36
  Speaker 2: to be an especially easy task for you.
• 35:39
  Speaker 10: Oh look, before we even get that far, you know,
• 35:42
  Speaker 10: let's be honest, I have not been pre selected that
• 35:45
  Speaker 10: when I'm going through the pre selection process at the moment,
• 35:47
  Speaker 10: and we'll work through that and we'll see what happens
• 35:50
  Speaker 10: through that process and whether I get to be the
• 35:53
  Speaker 10: candidate or not.
• 35:54
  Speaker 9: But you know, you know, it is a tough seat.
• 35:58
  Speaker 10: You know, and it's going to be and it's a
• 36:00
  Speaker 10: tough pre selection as well to get through.
• 36:03
  Speaker 9: But you know, I live in the area and I've
• 36:05
  Speaker 9: lived in the area for a number of.
• 36:06
  Speaker 10: Years, you know, something like twelve twelve years, twelve to
• 36:09
  Speaker 10: fourteen years, and it's it's an area I love and
• 36:13
  Speaker 10: I'm committed to the people of the of the electorate
• 36:16
  Speaker 10: and I'm very committed to Australia and these are the
• 36:18
  Speaker 10: things that I want to drive forward. I think, you know,
• 36:21
  Speaker 10: we need to have a very strong government that's going
• 36:25
  Speaker 10: to be focusing back on the real issues of Bradfield
• 36:30
  Speaker 10: and the Australian Australia as a whole, and the Teals
• 36:34
  Speaker 10: aren't doing that. We've seen their record in government, I
• 36:37
  Speaker 10: mean in opposition I should say government, actually Freudian slipped
• 36:40
  Speaker 10: there is that they've they've been you know, they've been
• 36:44
  Speaker 10: working with the great They've had more time for the
• 36:46
  Speaker 10: Greens than you can focus stick at. And we've seen
• 36:49
  Speaker 10: how dreadful the Greens are in regard to the division
• 36:53
  Speaker 10: that's been caused in Australia over the last two and
• 36:57
  Speaker 10: a half years. And this is and these are the
• 36:59
  Speaker 10: people we've got to fight against and you look, I
• 37:03
  Speaker 10: know it's a tough job. I know it's going to
• 37:05
  Speaker 10: be a tough pre selection, but I've put my hand
• 37:08
  Speaker 10: up and I'm going to give it a go to
• 37:10
  Speaker 10: fight these people.
• 37:13
  Speaker 2: Well, Bradfield was the only Liberal held seat that voted
• 37:16
  Speaker 2: in favor of the Voice, so you know there's going
• 37:19
  Speaker 2: to be a bit of an uphill battle for you.
• 37:20
  Speaker 1: You mentioned pre selection.
• 37:22
  Speaker 2: I'm wondering have you had any encouragement from Peter Dutton.
• 37:25
  Speaker 1: Has he been in touch.
• 37:27
  Speaker 10: Oh, look, I've spoken to a number of people across
• 37:29
  Speaker 10: the board. I'm not going to devour the conversations I've
• 37:33
  Speaker 10: had so far.
• 37:34
  Speaker 9: I was a bit caught on.
• 37:35
  Speaker 10: The hop, you know, with Paul Fletcher's resignation, I mean
• 37:40
  Speaker 10: his retirement. He's retiring at the next selection. I was
• 37:44
  Speaker 10: overseas when it all happened in his island, which we're.
• 37:47
  Speaker 9: Going to talk about later.
• 37:49
  Speaker 10: But you know, I've got to say I like to
• 37:52
  Speaker 10: thank Paul Fletcher for his commitment to the Liberal Party
• 37:56
  Speaker 10: and also his job that he's done in government.
• 37:59
  Speaker 9: And also the work is done for a long time
• 38:02
  Speaker 9: in the electorate.
• 38:04
  Speaker 10: So with he's going, I thought, well, he's an opportunity
• 38:07
  Speaker 10: in an area where I live, and I want to
• 38:11
  Speaker 10: go out there and campaign.
• 38:13
  Speaker 9: For those people.
• 38:13
  Speaker 10: So and look, I've had lots of conversations you can imagine,
• 38:18
  Speaker 10: over the last twenty four hours.
• 38:20
  Speaker 1: But.
• 38:22
  Speaker 9: I'm out there. I'm up for the fight. I'm going
• 38:26
  Speaker 9: to take it on and I'm going.
• 38:28
  Speaker 10: To deliver for the people of Bradfield and the Liberal
• 38:30
  Speaker 10: Party and for Australia as a whole.
• 38:33
  Speaker 9: And look, even though it.
• 38:34
  Speaker 10: Was a yes place, at least it shows that you
• 38:38
  Speaker 10: know they were they are saying that they're committed to
• 38:42
  Speaker 10: Aboriginal representation. Well let's give it a go and let's
• 38:46
  Speaker 10: fight for it. And I've got a track record of
• 38:49
  Speaker 10: success within the indigenous space in regard to employment, in
• 38:54
  Speaker 10: regard to economic development and starting businesses and getting people
• 38:58
  Speaker 10: into education schemes. You know, I've ran the Australian Bidness
• 39:04
  Speaker 10: Education Foundation. Fifteen hundred people have gone through that program
• 39:08
  Speaker 10: and become doctors and lawyers and engineers and accountants and
• 39:11
  Speaker 10: teachers and so on.
• 39:12
  Speaker 9: So that was a huge success.
• 39:14
  Speaker 10: I also, as I said, I've got a labor higher
• 39:18
  Speaker 10: company which is employed over five thousand Aboriginal people. I
• 39:21
  Speaker 10: worked for Twiggy Forrest in his program, twelve thousand Aboriginal
• 39:25
  Speaker 10: people there. So I've got the track record of success
• 39:29
  Speaker 10: and working hard for Aboriginal people. But I'm here for
• 39:32
  Speaker 10: that seat for all the people of Bradfield. It's a
• 39:35
  Speaker 10: very multicultural, very diverse seat, and it's and also for Australia.
• 39:41
  Speaker 10: I want to bring Australians back together. You know, this
• 39:44
  Speaker 10: division of the Labor government is just disgraceful.
• 39:49
  Speaker 2: Warren, I wish you every success in your pre selection.
• 39:53
  Speaker 2: I've got to go so just very quickly. You've come
• 39:56
  Speaker 2: back from Israel just in a few seconds. What has
• 39:59
  Speaker 2: been the reaction from israelis to you as an Australian
• 40:03
  Speaker 2: being over there, especially in light of what our government's
• 40:05
  Speaker 2: been up to.
• 40:06
  Speaker 10: Ah, Look, it's been a great trip for me. It's
• 40:08
  Speaker 10: been a very educational trip. It's been a very challenging
• 40:11
  Speaker 10: trip in regard to I met the families of the
• 40:15
  Speaker 10: victims of the massacre on the seventh October and the
• 40:19
  Speaker 10: hostages who were taken. I met the President, I met
• 40:23
  Speaker 10: the Cabinet and ministers and that look, they are a
• 40:26
  Speaker 10: bit devastated over there about how Australia is acting towards them.
• 40:30
  Speaker 9: They always saw Australia as one of their friends.
• 40:34
  Speaker 10: And quite frankly, what we've seen coming out of Penny
• 40:36
  Speaker 10: Wong as the Foreign Minister here is tried disgraceful. It
• 40:42
  Speaker 10: has added to the division and then Semiticism and everything
• 40:46
  Speaker 10: else that's happening in our country. Look and we heard
• 40:49
  Speaker 10: what the foreign Foreign Affairs Minister from Israel has said recently.
• 40:53
  Speaker 10: You know, we got this is one of the reasons
• 40:56
  Speaker 10: why we've got to get tossed this government out, besides
• 40:59
  Speaker 10: the many cost to live in the issues that and
• 41:02
  Speaker 10: energy issues that this government has caused. And so they're
• 41:06
  Speaker 10: you know, I hold them, don't worry the most. The
• 41:10
  Speaker 10: majority of Australians are still the Israeli's friend as well
• 41:14
  Speaker 10: as the Jewish community. Follow Australians the Jewish community that
• 41:18
  Speaker 10: we've got to stand.
• 41:19
  Speaker 9: Up for them.
• 41:21
  Speaker 2: Yeah, Warren, you're absolutely right. I appreciate you joining me tonight.
• 41:24
  Speaker 2: All the best with that pre selection. Thanks for your time. Well,
• 41:27
  Speaker 2: let's turn our attention to Victoria. Many people are happy
• 41:31
  Speaker 2: with Premiers Into Allen's crackdown on protests, albeit that it
• 41:35
  Speaker 2: should have been done months ago. But you know there's
• 41:37
  Speaker 2: one group that are not happy.
• 41:39
  Speaker 1: Climate change. Protesters.
• 41:41
  Speaker 2: You see, under the proposed laws, it will be illegal
• 41:43
  Speaker 2: to glue yourself to the road or to chain yourself
• 41:46
  Speaker 2: to public infrastructure.
• 41:47
  Speaker 1: It'll be illegal to disrupt.
• 41:49
  Speaker 2: The rest of society, which means climate chicken littles will
• 41:52
  Speaker 2: have to use argument rather than tantrums to make their point.
• 41:56
  Speaker 2: Thoughts and prayers for our brothers and sisters in the
• 41:58
  Speaker 2: climate movement.
• 42:00
  Speaker 1: Him A.
• 42:00
  Speaker 2: Sky and his contributed Tina McQueen and PR Councils Christy McSweeney.
• 42:05
  Speaker 2: Christy the Human Rights Law Center has basically accused Premier
• 42:09
  Speaker 2: Center Alan of using these laws as a smoke screen
• 42:12
  Speaker 2: to crack down on climate protesters. Well, I think most
• 42:15
  Speaker 2: of us would like climate protesters to be cracked down on.
• 42:18
  Speaker 1: Wouldn't we?
• 42:19
  Speaker 11: James shut the front door.
• 42:20
  Speaker 12: The You and Human Rights Commission has come out again us.
• 42:23
  Speaker 11: The Victorian government.
• 42:25
  Speaker 12: If they were counting on one supporter in Australia, it
• 42:28
  Speaker 12: would have been named the Victorian government. I think the
• 42:30
  Speaker 12: Premier has realized the cities in gridlock, the big build
• 42:35
  Speaker 12: that is just gonna cape staying as it is because
• 42:38
  Speaker 12: we don't have the budgets to fix it, has really
• 42:41
  Speaker 12: angered Victorians.
• 42:42
  Speaker 11: There is so much debt.
• 42:43
  Speaker 12: They can't see results for it, and thank goodness, because
• 42:47
  Speaker 12: they don't need something else clogging up their city. I
• 42:50
  Speaker 12: think the government knows that Victorians are pretty upset about
• 42:53
  Speaker 12: protesters and about not being able to get in and
• 42:56
  Speaker 12: out of our gridlock city.
• 42:58
  Speaker 2: Yeah, well, Tina, I mean we're sick of people shouting
• 43:01
  Speaker 2: anti Semitic slogans and clogging up our CBDs with marches.
• 43:05
  Speaker 2: But I mean the shenanigans we've seen from groups like
• 43:08
  Speaker 2: Rising tied at the Port of Newcastle last month, disrupting
• 43:12
  Speaker 2: coal ships. I mean we're over that as well. So
• 43:14
  Speaker 2: let's deal with all of these people and let's get
• 43:17
  Speaker 2: back to some normalcy in our country. I don't see
• 43:19
  Speaker 2: why anyone would have a problem with this.
• 43:21
  Speaker 13: Oh look, everybody, it should have been done a long
• 43:23
  Speaker 13: time ago. Everybody's sick of these protests of all genres.
• 43:27
  Speaker 13: You know, it's ridiculous and the law should come down
• 43:30
  Speaker 13: hard and or if any future attempts, it's just ridiculous.
• 43:33
  Speaker 13: About time and good on the premiere, the only decent
• 43:36
  Speaker 13: thing she's done so far.
• 43:38
  Speaker 1: But I don't think.
• 43:39
  Speaker 13: She's had a choice. As I said, everybody's had enough.
• 43:44
  Speaker 2: Yeah, well, it's any of the other thing that people
• 43:46
  Speaker 2: have had enough on, and that's youth gang crime, especially
• 43:50
  Speaker 2: here in Melbourne.
• 43:51
  Speaker 1: And I know this is a major issue.
• 43:52
  Speaker 2: I'm here in Melbourne at the moment doing the Bolt
• 43:54
  Speaker 2: Report and talking to locals. I mean, so many people
• 43:57
  Speaker 2: are just fed up with it. Christy the Herald's has
• 44:01
  Speaker 2: released some really confronting footage.
• 44:02
  Speaker 1: Take a look at this.
• 44:04
  Speaker 2: This is the moment a gang of masked youths armed
• 44:08
  Speaker 2: with machetes raid a police station for cigarettes. You can
• 44:12
  Speaker 2: see in the footage how trays and trays of cigarettes
• 44:15
  Speaker 2: are taken and they get dumped in the boot of
• 44:18
  Speaker 2: a car.
• 44:20
  Speaker 1: And as I said, I'm here in Melbourne.
• 44:22
  Speaker 2: Christy and hearing multiple stories of crimes like this and
• 44:26
  Speaker 2: nothing's being done about it.
• 44:28
  Speaker 11: James Zero entirely correct.
• 44:29
  Speaker 12: And let's unpack this about how the organized crime, which
• 44:34
  Speaker 12: is a vehicle to bring in organized tobacco to illegal
• 44:38
  Speaker 12: tobacco and illegal vapes.
• 44:39
  Speaker 11: We don't see a difference.
• 44:41
  Speaker 12: One in four tobacco products in Australia sold today is
• 44:44
  Speaker 12: now illegal one in four. So is it any wonder
• 44:49
  Speaker 12: that vulnerable kits are being targeted by organized crime groups,
• 44:54
  Speaker 12: by bikey gangs who are making a fortune bringing this
• 44:58
  Speaker 12: illegal contrab into Australia, taking an income away from small businesses.
• 45:04
  Speaker 12: Now you might say, oh, well that's a big BP
• 45:06
  Speaker 12: service station who gets h BP loses money. But there
• 45:09
  Speaker 12: are hundreds of thousands of smaller stores, your corner shops,
• 45:14
  Speaker 12: your high street newsagents, people who sell you lotto and
• 45:18
  Speaker 12: your tobacco. They are losing incomes and business as well
• 45:21
  Speaker 12: as your IGAs.
• 45:23
  Speaker 11: And no wonder.
• 45:24
  Speaker 12: These gangs are targeting kids in Melbourne and putting them
• 45:28
  Speaker 12: to work doing what we've seen in that footage.
• 45:30
  Speaker 2: I go to take issue with you a little bit.
• 45:32
  Speaker 2: I didn't think those kids look that vulnerable. And beyond
• 45:35
  Speaker 2: the cigarette issue, there's just a general breakdown of law
• 45:39
  Speaker 2: and order in Victoria, isn't there.
• 45:40
  Speaker 11: Yeah, of course there is the youth crime.
• 45:42
  Speaker 12: We spoke about it in Queensland because they had an
• 45:45
  Speaker 12: opposition leader who was gutsy enough to come out and
• 45:48
  Speaker 12: make it an issue and say what people were thinking.
• 45:51
  Speaker 12: And that's been his first one of his first pieces
• 45:54
  Speaker 12: of business since he's come into parliament since the election.
• 45:58
  Speaker 12: Our government ignores it here in Victoria, and quite frankly,
• 46:02
  Speaker 12: so does our opposition.
• 46:03
  Speaker 2: All Right, now, I can't do a show without talking
• 46:06
  Speaker 2: about another brilliant word sellar from Kamala Harrison.
• 46:08
  Speaker 1: When I used the word brilliant, you know what I mean,
• 46:12
  Speaker 1: And I ask you to remember the context in which
• 46:17
  Speaker 1: you exist. Yeah, I did that, Tina.
• 46:26
  Speaker 2: Kamala suddenly had some self awareness. Of course, we weren't
• 46:30
  Speaker 2: very aware of her ages ago. What on earth is
• 46:33
  Speaker 2: with this lady?
• 46:34
  Speaker 13: Oh how anyone in the US of A thought that
• 46:38
  Speaker 13: Kamala attract any votes is beyond me. And every time
• 46:43
  Speaker 13: I see these clips of her, James, it reminds me
• 46:46
  Speaker 13: how lucky we have President Trump. I mean, what a
• 46:49
  Speaker 13: disaster it would have been had Kamala, you know, somehow
• 46:53
  Speaker 13: fallen over the line. But each clip I see, I
• 46:56
  Speaker 13: realize now why she lost a lot of votes and
• 46:59
  Speaker 13: she had no hope of beating President LEC. Trump in
• 47:03
  Speaker 13: the last election.
• 47:06
  Speaker 1: Yeah, you're absolutely right.
• 47:07
  Speaker 2: But Christy, what amazes me about President Biden and Vice
• 47:11
  Speaker 2: President Kamala Harris is they're still in office, but they
• 47:14
  Speaker 2: seem to have pretty much given up governing.
• 47:16
  Speaker 11: Well.
• 47:16
  Speaker 12: They talk about the lame duck president in the United States,
• 47:20
  Speaker 12: and this is the lamous duck we have ever seen
• 47:23
  Speaker 12: in the White House.
• 47:24
  Speaker 11: President Biden. Isn't he the footage.
• 47:27
  Speaker 12: That comes up with him in his leisure time and
• 47:30
  Speaker 12: at work, it is very very clear that that guy
• 47:32
  Speaker 12: hasn't made a decision for several months.
• 47:36
  Speaker 11: It is unbelievable.
• 47:37
  Speaker 12: And I think, Kamala, she must be going for some
• 47:40
  Speaker 12: esoteric theory hand of government at the Harvard Kennedy School,
• 47:44
  Speaker 12: I think, or one of these elite liberal East Coast
• 47:47
  Speaker 12: universities who like listening to that sort of thing from
• 47:50
  Speaker 12: eminent honorary professors.
• 47:53
  Speaker 1: Tina, we've only got about thirty seconds left, But.
• 47:57
  Speaker 13: No, you to say, I was only going to say,
• 47:59
  Speaker 13: the only decision Bidener's may is to let criminals off.
• 48:03
  Speaker 13: You know, his son included, isn't she's made recently?
• 48:09
  Speaker 1: You're absolutely right.
• 48:10
  Speaker 2: And remember all the doom and gloom about you know,
• 48:12
  Speaker 2: Trump being a dictator and it's the end of democracy.
• 48:15
  Speaker 2: And there was just a new poll that's come out
• 48:17
  Speaker 2: overnight showing the majority of Americans are actually optimistic about the.
• 48:22
  Speaker 1: Next four years.
• 48:22
  Speaker 2: Fifty three percent of Americans in fact, say they're looking
• 48:26
  Speaker 2: forward to this next season, mostly because they believe that
• 48:30
  Speaker 2: economically America is going.
• 48:32
  Speaker 1: To be a lot better off.
• 48:34
  Speaker 2: Fascinatingly, those that are pessimistic, reckon that they're worried about
• 48:38
  Speaker 2: bigotry that's going to be stirred up by Trump.
• 48:40
  Speaker 1: So there you go.
• 48:41
  Speaker 2: But the majority of Americans, they're looking forward to the
• 48:44
  Speaker 2: Trump presidency.
• 48:45
  Speaker 1: So there you have it. Tina McQueen, Chris McSweeney.
• 48:48
  Speaker 2: Great to have you on the desk tonight, appreciate your
• 48:51
  Speaker 2: joining me. That's all I've got time for, but stick around.
• 48:53
  Speaker 2: Coming up right now is the Late Debate