Latest / The Kenny Report / The Kenny Report | 18 August

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The Kenny Report | 18 August · The Kenny Report

0:02
Speaker 1: This is the Kenny Report, well spoted just around the
0:07
Speaker 1: corner at Canvas. Thanks for joining me tonight. The Albanesi government,
0:11
Speaker 1: the Labor Governor Canberra shuns and insults our Vietnam vets
0:16
Speaker 1: on Vietnam Veterans Day. Former Deputy Prime Minister Michael McCormick
0:20
Speaker 1: will join me. A coalition moves to get the Bondai
0:23
Speaker 1: Royal Commission back on track fails. I'll speak with Liberal
0:26
Speaker 1: Senator and former Ambassador to Israel Dave Shama on that,
0:30
Speaker 1: and with a Japanese minister in Australia. The Japanese journalist
0:34
Speaker 1: who reignited the Melingate controversy two weeks ago tells us
0:38
Speaker 1: she would welcome an Albanezi apology.
0:42
Speaker 2: It would be very nice.
0:45
Speaker 1: The housing crisis escalates with increasing rents now in the
0:48
Speaker 1: firing line, all too predictable. Kristen Tate on the latest
0:52
Speaker 1: from the US and the Swans sexual assault scandal, and
0:55
Speaker 1: plenty more with Suzi O'Brien and Stephen Senna Tiempo. Let's
0:59
Speaker 1: get into it. This is a significant day for about
1:06
Speaker 1: thirty five thousand of this country's veterans, the Vietnam veterans,
1:10
Speaker 1: and it's been marred by a shockingly arrogant and disrespectful
1:14
Speaker 1: Labor minister. As I'll explain in a moment, our Vietnam
1:18
Speaker 1: personnel were, of course the veterans who were heroes, but
1:21
Speaker 1: did not return to a hero's welcome. Many were many
1:36
Speaker 1: were conscripts, most were young, and because the war was
1:39
Speaker 1: unpopular and politically contested, they were often treated like lepers
1:45
Speaker 1: when they returned, rather than the brave soldiers they actually were.
1:49
Speaker 1: So today Vietnam Veterans days especially important. This nation always
1:54
Speaker 1: needs to make it up to the Vietnam vets for
1:56
Speaker 1: the way many of them were treated at the time. Yet,
2:00
Speaker 1: and this is actually quite incredible, hard to believe, and
2:04
Speaker 1: yet the Albanezi Labor government's Minister for Veterans Affairs managed
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Speaker 1: to insult the Coalition of Veterans' voices. Yesterday, they traveled
2:13
Speaker 1: to Canberra to lobby the government about a budget cut
2:16
Speaker 1: a new five thousand dollars annual cap on Allied health services,
2:21
Speaker 1: and the Veterans Affairs Minister Matt Keo refused to meet
2:25
Speaker 1: with them, as.
2:26
Speaker 3: They were informed last week by my office, I was
2:29
Speaker 3: unable to meet with them today, but as I have
2:31
Speaker 3: continually said and engaged with many ex service organizations.
2:36
Speaker 1: The veterans understandably kicked up a fuss, and eventually they
2:40
Speaker 1: were called into a meeting with the minister about this
2:42
Speaker 1: time last.
2:43
Speaker 4: Night, Minister Keo was forced to have a meeting with
2:47
Speaker 4: us at five point thirty.
2:48
Speaker 1: It was obvious he did not want to be there.
2:51
Speaker 4: He even let us know that he was missing an
2:53
Speaker 4: appointment with the Governor General, which he was very upset about.
2:57
Speaker 4: He walked into the room to shake our hand, sat
3:02
Speaker 4: down with his arms crossed, and rolled his eyes when
3:05
Speaker 4: we started telling him about the effect that this cap
3:08
Speaker 4: already is having on veterans.
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Speaker 1: Just flabbergasting stuff. Isn't it such disrespect from a minister
3:15
Speaker 1: on the eve of Vietnam Veterans Day. This date was
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Speaker 1: chosen because it's the anniversary of the deadly and courageous
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Speaker 1: Battle of Long Tan, a battle that took place exactly
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Speaker 1: sixty years ago today.
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Speaker 5: Among one hundred and eight Ansacs ambushed by two thousand
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Speaker 5: and five hundred Viet Coom.
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Speaker 6: Running out of ammunition. They're going to send reinforcements and
3:42
Speaker 6: they haven't. There's no chance we're not going to survive here.
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Speaker 5: But as depicted in the movie Danger Close. They resisted
3:54
Speaker 5: onslaught after onslaught until the Viet Kong retreat.
4:00
Speaker 6: The perseverance, the resilience, the never say die attitude which
4:06
Speaker 6: came to us in spades of Long Town.
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Speaker 5: Eighteen Australians were killed, the Aussies returned to bury the
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Speaker 5: two hundred and forty five Fiet Kong dead.
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Speaker 1: Incredible battle and amazing sacrifice. Vietnam veterans deserve to be
4:24
Speaker 1: treated with respect. The Coalition of Veterans' Voices are now
4:28
Speaker 1: seeking a meeting with the Prime Minister, but today only
4:31
Speaker 1: got to meet with his staff. They remain desperately concerned
4:35
Speaker 1: about the budget cuts affecting veterans.
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Speaker 7: This cap, which the Minister says will only affect twenty
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Speaker 7: five thousand people, is going to affect the most vulnerable
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Speaker 7: twenty five thousand people, the people who are in acute
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Speaker 7: need of allied health, or the people who have chronic
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Speaker 7: health problems and need that long term care to keep
4:54
Speaker 7: their quality of life. This is going to cost lives.
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Speaker 7: People do not want to caught up and yet another bureaucrotic,
5:03
Speaker 7: bureaucratic delay in getting basic health care. It's just not
5:07
Speaker 7: good enough.
5:09
Speaker 1: That debate will continue, of course, and we'll keep you updated,
5:12
Speaker 1: but at least on the floor of Parliament today there
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Speaker 1: was proper respect as the Prime Minister and Opposition Leader
5:20
Speaker 1: duly marked the day.
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Speaker 8: Sixty years after the Battle of Long Ten, our bloodiest
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Speaker 8: battle of the entire conflict. We honor all who fell
5:30
Speaker 8: and all who came home, including the many who struggled
5:33
Speaker 8: to free themselves of war's long shadow. As we do,
5:38
Speaker 8: we also acknowledge that it took us too long as
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Speaker 8: a nation to come to terms with a fundamental truth
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Speaker 8: that we can disagree with the war without ever diminishing
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Speaker 8: the profound respect we feel for every single Australian who
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Speaker 8: puts on our uniform and serves in our name.
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Speaker 9: Between sixty two and seventy three, some sixty thousand Australians
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Speaker 9: served in Vietnam, fifteen thousand Nashos Men's conscripted who went
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Speaker 9: to war without complaint and served as wholeheartedly as the regulars.
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Speaker 9: The war saw three thousand Australians wounded and five hundred
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Speaker 9: and twenty three tragically killed, and as we just heard
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Speaker 9: from the Prime Minister, this country did take too long
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Speaker 9: to recognize the sacrifice of a Vietnam veterans to the
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Speaker 9: war fighters, freedom fighters and heroes of Vietnam. On your day,
6:35
Speaker 9: Vietnam Veterans Day, we remember you, we honor you, We
6:40
Speaker 9: thank you for your service, your suffering, your sacrifice.
6:46
Speaker 1: Lets we forget. I'll have the latest on all this
6:50
Speaker 1: with the former Deputy Prime Minister Michael McCormack later in
6:54
Speaker 1: the program. As you know, I am dismayed about the
7:01
Speaker 1: Royal Commission, called in response to the Bondai terror attack.
7:05
Speaker 1: Framed as an inquiry into anti Semitism and social cohesion,
7:10
Speaker 1: it has ignored key factors. That is, it's ignored how
7:15
Speaker 1: Islamist extremist hatred was unleashed publicly against Jewish Australians the
7:21
Speaker 1: day after October seventh and was never counted strongly enough
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Speaker 1: by governments or law enforcement authorities, despite endless warnings please
7:31
Speaker 1: and calls for action from other politicians, community leaders, commentators
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Speaker 1: and experts. Islamist extremism is the threat and the Royal
7:42
Speaker 1: Commission has all but ignored it. And government in action
7:46
Speaker 1: despite clear warnings was the inexcusable mistake, and the Commission
7:51
Speaker 1: has all but ignored this. The Coalition tried in Parliament
7:56
Speaker 1: today to refocus and extend the Royal Commission, but was
8:00
Speaker 1: voted down by Labor. Listen to the rational and clear
8:05
Speaker 1: argument from Jewish Liberal frontbencher Julian Lisa about how this
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Speaker 1: Royal Commission is failing.
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Speaker 10: If leaders and decision makers are not held to account
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Speaker 10: by the Royal Commission, the antisemitism that has run rampant
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Speaker 10: in our institutions will only continue because the risk is
8:21
Speaker 10: rather than rooting out antisemitism, we send a very different message.
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Speaker 10: Those who are not called, who are not asked to
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Speaker 10: answer for their decisions and actions. The message will be
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Speaker 10: that they are not responsible, but there is no consequence
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Speaker 10: for the failure to lead.
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Speaker 1: Wills said leadership has failed, our country has suffered. There
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Speaker 1: must be consequences rather than cover ups. And aside from
8:45
Speaker 1: the issue of Islam's extremism, consider who the Royal Commission
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Speaker 1: has not heard from.
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Speaker 10: The list of witnesses who has not appeared is long.
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Speaker 10: First in the arts institutions and the cultural sector, the
8:58
Speaker 10: sector that docks and deep platform Jews, Clementine Ford, Matt Chun,
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Speaker 10: John Menadue and so many others. Second, the universities and
9:06
Speaker 10: the House has heard me on the universities many times
9:09
Speaker 10: in the universities. Jewish students were targeted relentlessly over the years,
9:13
Speaker 10: spat on, harrised, targeted, excluded, occasionally assaulted. Jewish staff had
9:18
Speaker 10: their offices urinated on. Jews on campuses were targeted by
9:21
Speaker 10: protests and activism week after week of encampments. Why haven't
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Speaker 10: we heard from all the key vice chancellors who were
9:27
Speaker 10: in positions of power at the time.
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Speaker 1: Spot on all these people and organizations need to explain
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Speaker 1: their actions or more to the point, they're in action
9:37
Speaker 1: and failing to stamp out hatred, antisemitism and extremism in
9:43
Speaker 1: their fields. But even more importantly, even more inexcusable, what
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Speaker 1: about the people who have publicly led the protests that
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Speaker 1: have fueled the hatred.
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Speaker 10: Why weren't the protest organizers on the stand. The organizers
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Speaker 10: of the Land Forces protest where so many were attacked,
10:01
Speaker 10: the Neo Nazi protest in Melbourne, Wissam Hadad Sheaik Ibrahim Dadud,
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Speaker 10: who was elated by the murder, rape and torture of
10:09
Speaker 10: Jews on October seven and immediately said about whipping up
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Speaker 10: hatred of Jews here in Australia. The organizers of the
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Speaker 10: protest on the night of October who occupied the Opera
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Speaker 10: house chanting gas the Jews or f the Jews, people
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Speaker 10: like Josh Lee's and Bashi Basim Mashni, Jenny Leung, Senator Fariki.
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Speaker 1: What sort of a Royal Commission into anti Semitism fails
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Speaker 1: to even question the people who have publicly promoted the
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Speaker 1: very toxic animosity that we've seen on our streets for
10:40
Speaker 1: almost three years now. And then the Commission has also
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Speaker 1: shunned leaders who have been warned about this repeatedly.
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Speaker 10: Prominent Australians who have provided much needed moral leadership, people
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Speaker 10: like Nova Peris and Mike Kelly and Josh Frieden were
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Speaker 10: good people whose voices does to be heard. And finally,
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Speaker 10: government ministers and through you, mister Speaker, I say to
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Speaker 10: the Minister for Home Affairs and the Arts, to the
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Speaker 10: Minister for Education, to the Attorney General, to the Foreign
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Speaker 10: Minister and the Prime Minister, I say to you, keep
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Speaker 10: the faith with the Jewish community and with all Australians.
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Speaker 10: Show the courage and the commitment to front the Royal
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Speaker 10: Commission and be accountable answer questions. Explain your decisions and
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Speaker 10: actions in the two years leading up to Bondai. Let
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Speaker 10: the commission and the public be the judge. We know
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Speaker 10: where we ended up. Fifteen dead bodies on Bondai Beach.
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Speaker 1: Tragic. A royal commission that ignores the key players, ignores
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Speaker 1: those who need to face accountability. A royal commission that
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Speaker 1: ducks the challenge after the worst terror attack in the
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Speaker 1: nation's history. Instead of a proper, forensic, accountable inquiry, what
11:58
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12:07
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12:10
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12:12
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12:15
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12:18
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12:21
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12:24
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12:29
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12:33
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12:36
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12:44
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13:00
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13:26
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13:34
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13:52
Speaker 1: down to the nation's capitol now and catch up with
13:54
Speaker 1: a shadow Assistant Minister for Citizenship Dave Sharma, and Dave
13:58
Speaker 1: you probably get sick of people raising your former employment
14:00
Speaker 1: with you. But I need to mention too that you're
14:02
Speaker 1: the former Australian ambassador the Israel, a very prized position,
14:06
Speaker 1: because I do want to ask you about this move
14:08
Speaker 1: to extend and refocus the Royal Commission, the fact that
14:12
Speaker 1: hate preachers like shake Ibrahim d Doun have not been called,
14:16
Speaker 1: and the leaders of protests movements have not been called,
14:19
Speaker 1: and we haven't seen the Prime Minister or the Home
14:21
Speaker 1: Affairs Minister called. I mean, these are the people who
14:24
Speaker 1: need to explain their actions and their lack of action.
14:26
Speaker 14: Surely, I think there've been a number of emissions in
14:31
Speaker 14: who the Royal Commission has called today and that might
14:34
Speaker 14: not be so much of a concern if they had
14:36
Speaker 14: longer time to do their work.
14:38
Speaker 1: But the clock is ticking.
14:39
Speaker 14: We're in the last block of witnesses that they're hearing now,
14:43
Speaker 14: and I think you're right, there's a number of people
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Speaker 14: who should be at least called to explain an account
14:47
Speaker 14: for their actions in this and I don't think we
14:50
Speaker 14: can get to the hope to get to the bottom
14:52
Speaker 14: of some of the drivers of this huge rise in
14:55
Speaker 14: anti Semitism in Australia unless we hear from those people directly,
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Speaker 14: the Royal Commission is able to question them directly.
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Speaker 1: This is much more important than any political debate. This
15:07
Speaker 1: is about the social cohesion, the national security, the safety
15:10
Speaker 1: of this country after the worst terrorist attack in our
15:14
Speaker 1: history allegedly, So I just want to ask you about
15:17
Speaker 1: the repercussions of this, because the Royal Commission will be
15:22
Speaker 1: useless unless it helps us with recommendations to curb Islamist
15:27
Speaker 1: extremism and stamp out wider anti Semitism. Are you worried
15:31
Speaker 1: about how limited its recommendations and therefore its outcomes can be.
15:39
Speaker 14: Well, Look, we fought long and hard for this Royal
15:42
Speaker 14: Commission to happen. The initial instinct of the Alberanese government
15:45
Speaker 14: and Anthony Alberanzi was to pretend this was like a
15:48
Speaker 14: natural disaster, a terrible tragedy, but nothing really had to
15:51
Speaker 14: change as a result of this. We knew that was
15:53
Speaker 14: not the case. I mean, we had the worst ever
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Speaker 14: terrorist attack committed by allegedly by an Australian citizen and
16:00
Speaker 14: Australian resident against their fellow Australians on Australian soil. Of
16:04
Speaker 14: course that should demand a forensic examination. Of course that
16:07
Speaker 14: should demand that some lessons been learned, and the Royal
16:09
Speaker 14: Commission was intended to be the vehicle for that. Now
16:14
Speaker 14: I'm not going to pass judgment yet on the Royal
16:16
Speaker 14: Commission and its work, but it's incredibly important because I
16:19
Speaker 14: think everything hinges upon this. If the Royal Commission can
16:21
Speaker 14: do a good job, if it can highlight some of
16:24
Speaker 14: the grave deficiencies that led to that terrorist attack, then
16:27
Speaker 14: we can address them as a nation. But if the
16:30
Speaker 14: Royal Commission is not able to do that for whatever reason,
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Speaker 14: because the time is too short, because the right witnesses
16:35
Speaker 14: have not been heard, there really isn't another vehicle to
16:38
Speaker 14: deal with this, and that's why there is a lot
16:40
Speaker 14: riding on this, more than I think many other Royal
16:43
Speaker 14: Commissions in Australia's history. It's incredibly important it'd be allowed
16:47
Speaker 14: to do its job and it does its job well.
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Speaker 1: I would just finish with a plea to the Royal
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Speaker 1: Commission of Virginia Bell. She has enormous power, she carries
16:55
Speaker 1: enormous weight on these issues. If she was to either
16:58
Speaker 1: write a letter to the Prime Minister to asking for
17:00
Speaker 1: an extension and explaining she needs to investigate more here,
17:04
Speaker 1: or say something like that publicly, then that would have
17:07
Speaker 1: to happen. So if the government won't act, perhaps there
17:10
Speaker 1: is some hope that the Royal Commissioner herself might actually
17:13
Speaker 1: call for an extension and make sure that her mission
17:17
Speaker 1: actually does the power of good for this country that
17:20
Speaker 1: it could do. Dave, let me bring you back to
17:22
Speaker 1: the post budget debate, and there was a bit of
17:24
Speaker 1: a breakthrough today. Angus Taylor and the coalition held out
17:28
Speaker 1: against NDIS changes until you got rid of the so
17:31
Speaker 1: called widow's tax, and labor have rolled over. So that
17:35
Speaker 1: sounds like a pretty good outcome. Although it never should
17:39
Speaker 1: have been such a taxing place in the first place.
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Speaker 14: Of course, no, it should never have been there in
17:44
Speaker 14: the first place. And the government spent the first month
17:47
Speaker 14: after the budget denying it was even an issue, denying
17:50
Speaker 14: that this scenario existed. But you know what it meant
17:53
Speaker 14: was that, you know, people who'd been through a divorce
17:55
Speaker 14: or people who'd lost their partner through death and suddenly
17:58
Speaker 14: took the full share of a property when they've previously
18:00
Speaker 14: had half. They lost the negative gearing eligibility that property
18:04
Speaker 14: as a result, and it made in many instances the
18:07
Speaker 14: maintenance of these properties unaffordable. I'm glad we've got the
18:10
Speaker 14: government to change their position, but it should never have
18:12
Speaker 14: been so difficult and we had to engage in bricksmanship
18:15
Speaker 14: for them to fix something that was glaringly obvious to everyone.
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Speaker 1: We're about to get into the housing market with another gift,
18:22
Speaker 1: but in the post budget environment and all the focus
18:25
Speaker 1: on capital gains, tax and negative gearing changes which our
18:29
Speaker 1: grandfather they don't apply to purchases before the budget. But
18:34
Speaker 1: is it surprising that with these sorts of tax changes
18:38
Speaker 1: and restrictions on investment we are seeing rents rise.
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Speaker 14: It's not at all. I mean, you've got to remember, Chris.
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Speaker 14: The last time the government abolished negative gearing their properties
18:50
Speaker 14: was in nineteen eighty five in the Paul Kenning government,
18:52
Speaker 14: rents in Sydney went up by about thirty percent and
18:55
Speaker 14: they had to undo those changes eighteen months later because
18:58
Speaker 14: homes had become unaffordable. Seeing that movie play out in
19:01
Speaker 14: exactly the same way again, we heard from the NAD
19:04
Speaker 14: today that they expect National Australia Bank rents will have
19:07
Speaker 14: to rise by twenty five to thirty percent because of
19:09
Speaker 14: these tax changes. That is on the alban Easy government.
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Speaker 14: They're making life harder not only for our first time
19:15
Speaker 14: buy is harder for renters too.
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Speaker 1: Yeah, it's no surprise and really, as you say, repeating
19:20
Speaker 1: the mistakes of the keeping in the hawk keeping government
19:23
Speaker 1: back back in the eighties. Thanks for joining us, Dave,
19:26
Speaker 1: I appreciate it, Dave Shama the Live from camera. I
19:28
Speaker 1: do want to stick with this issue of the housing
19:31
Speaker 1: crisis because it has taken that other turn on rents.
19:35
Speaker 1: Just have a look at the front page of the
19:37
Speaker 1: Australian newspaper today. Brace for an extra thirty percent on
19:41
Speaker 1: your rent. That's according to the National Australia Bank. Because rents, yeah,
19:45
Speaker 1: they're already increasing. How far up they'll go is anybody's guess.
19:49
Speaker 1: But it was always going to happen, is what I
19:51
Speaker 1: said the day after the budget. At its core was
19:55
Speaker 1: the broken promise on negative gearing and capital gains tax.
20:00
Speaker 1: These changes do two things. First they destroy the integrity
20:05
Speaker 1: of the government and second they increase taxation on housing investment.
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Speaker 1: History and common sense tells us this will push rents
20:14
Speaker 1: up and exacerbate the housing crisis. Let's bring it right
20:19
Speaker 1: up to date now and bring in auctioneer and real
20:21
Speaker 1: estate expert Tom Panas. Good to talk to you again. Tom,
20:24
Speaker 1: tell us your take. I'll get to the real estate
20:27
Speaker 1: sales side of it in a moment, but you'll take
20:30
Speaker 1: on what's happening to rents, particularly in the capital cities.
20:34
Speaker 15: Chris, you're pretty smart, but I've got to say you
20:36
Speaker 15: didn't have to be Einstein to work out that was
20:39
Speaker 15: going to happen. Whatever your tax, you get less of it, Chris.
20:43
Speaker 15: And now we're seeing rents go up. They've already started
20:47
Speaker 15: going up. There shouldn't be any surprise. Less rentals, more
20:50
Speaker 15: demand for them. And think about this for a moment.
20:53
Speaker 15: He talks about intergenerational equality. How are these tenants going
20:56
Speaker 15: to save up the payer deposit to buy a first home.
20:58
Speaker 15: It's like impossible because you're going to end up paying
21:01
Speaker 15: more rent you can't save. And then if you're going
21:03
Speaker 15: to choose to actually use like shares or manage funds
21:06
Speaker 15: to try and save your deposit, you're being taxed there.
21:09
Speaker 15: So I really do feel for it. And you know, Chris,
21:11
Speaker 15: I'm really concerned because if that report is correct, and
21:16
Speaker 15: I don't dispute that it won't be correct, because I'm
21:18
Speaker 15: seeing what's been happening at the moment. I wouldn't be
21:21
Speaker 15: surprised if we're going to have to start looking at
21:23
Speaker 15: ways to actually stop rents going up, and God help us,
21:27
Speaker 15: hope we don't bring rent freezers in in a year
21:29
Speaker 15: or two years time. And that's happened in the past.
21:32
Speaker 15: But you're one hundred percent right. Nineteen eighty five they
21:34
Speaker 15: brought it in, they reverted it in nineteen eighty seven,
21:37
Speaker 15: and then New Zealand ran the same movie in twenty
21:40
Speaker 15: twenty one with Jacinta den and they reversed that in
21:46
Speaker 15: twenty twenty four. So yeah, no surprises at all.
21:51
Speaker 1: Chris Well, his royal smugness himself, the Treasurer Jim Chalmers,
21:55
Speaker 1: denies there's a problem here. He is today.
21:58
Speaker 16: The best way to assess the impact of those policies
22:01
Speaker 16: is over the next couple of years, not over the
22:02
Speaker 16: first couple of months, and certainly not just by over
22:06
Speaker 16: relying on a story in The Australian about a rule
22:09
Speaker 16: of thumb from one institution which doesn't take into consideration
22:13
Speaker 16: a whole range of factors.
22:14
Speaker 1: As I've said, well, but the point is Tom that
22:17
Speaker 1: over the coming years it'll get worse. As you say,
22:20
Speaker 1: the critical point here is that if you're trying to
22:23
Speaker 1: look after first home buyers, they're the ones who are
22:26
Speaker 1: renting now trying to save a deposit.
22:28
Speaker 15: Absolutely, and Chris, there was research that's come out in
22:31
Speaker 15: the last seven days it is harder to buy a
22:35
Speaker 15: property as a first home buyer. With everything that's happened.
22:37
Speaker 15: They haven't made it easier, They've made it harder. And
22:40
Speaker 15: I'm out there at a grassroots level on the weekends,
22:43
Speaker 15: that's what I do.
22:44
Speaker 1: On Saturdays.
22:45
Speaker 15: I'm there dealing with people, and I can tell you
22:47
Speaker 15: there's no first home buyers out there. The people that
22:50
Speaker 15: are benefited out of this, this is quite remarkable. The
22:52
Speaker 15: people that have benefited out of this, people that are upgrading,
22:56
Speaker 15: people that have had a five million dollar property that's
22:58
Speaker 15: dropped to four and a half making a loss. There
23:01
Speaker 15: it's a discount market, but they're buying homes that went
23:04
Speaker 15: for a from say ten million to eight million, so
23:07
Speaker 15: their changeover figure has actually decreased. So they're one of
23:11
Speaker 15: the winners out of this market. First home buyers are
23:13
Speaker 15: not winning. Young people are not winning. And I think
23:17
Speaker 15: that people are starting to get fed up with the
23:19
Speaker 15: story that was sold to them. And I wouldn't be
23:21
Speaker 15: surprised if we're going to have a look at what
23:23
Speaker 15: they're going to do to actually stop people having to
23:26
Speaker 15: pay exorbitant rents in the next two years.
23:28
Speaker 1: Tom, thanks so much for joining us. Appreciate it. Tom
23:31
Speaker 1: Panos is an auctioneer and real estate expert, and as
23:34
Speaker 1: you can hear, he's very worried about where the market's going,
23:37
Speaker 1: especially for young first home buyers. We've got to take
23:40
Speaker 1: a break. On the other side, I'm going to catch
23:42
Speaker 1: up with the Japanese journalists who reignited the Melingate controversy
23:46
Speaker 1: two weeks ago. She tells us she would welcome an
23:49
Speaker 1: Albanezi apology in the first post Melingate diplomatic encounter between
23:59
Speaker 1: Japan and Australia. Japan's Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi was in
24:03
Speaker 1: Australia today meeting with Deputy Prime Minister and Defense Minister
24:07
Speaker 1: Richard Miles. While they focused mainly on a frigate deal,
24:11
Speaker 1: the melon controversy and its aftermath raised its head, with
24:15
Speaker 1: Koizumi doing his diplomatic best to hose it down.
24:21
Speaker 12: No, there was not such a discussion today before I
24:26
Speaker 12: visited Australia.
24:27
Speaker 1: The Australia side.
24:28
Speaker 12: Had already sold the Japanese side that.
24:33
Speaker 2: Mister Albazisi actually said, I don't I don't think, I
24:36
Speaker 2: don't think. Actually, my explanation was that he did not
24:39
Speaker 2: really mean the minute that way.
24:42
Speaker 1: Earlier, I discussed this issue with Japanese journalist Waka Ikeda,
24:46
Speaker 1: whose brilliant article that we highlighted here reignited this controversy
24:51
Speaker 1: weeks after the Prime minister's podcast. I started by asking
24:55
Speaker 1: her about the reaction to her piece.
24:58
Speaker 2: Well, thank you for having me. It's a pleasure to
25:01
Speaker 2: be here. I originally wrote this article for a Japanese audience,
25:07
Speaker 2: so I didn't expect my article to travel this far.
25:12
Speaker 1: However, I'm aware of.
25:14
Speaker 2: What is happening in Australia, but surprisingly Japanese media has
25:20
Speaker 2: been pretty quiet. They only start reporting a few days ago,
25:26
Speaker 2: and so many Japanese people actually don't know about this.
25:31
Speaker 1: I think the key insight from your article was twofold.
25:34
Speaker 1: First was just how insulting the Prime minister's Our prime
25:38
Speaker 1: minister's remarks had been to your own female Prime Minister,
25:42
Speaker 1: Senai Takaichi, and to Japan as a whole. Because of
25:46
Speaker 1: the careful nature and delicate nature and prize nature of
25:50
Speaker 1: the gift. But secondly, how so many feminists in your country,
25:54
Speaker 1: in Japan and also in Australia fell silent about this.
25:58
Speaker 1: Explain your reaction and then why do you think that
26:01
Speaker 1: this is your a nerve.
26:04
Speaker 2: That's a good question. The main reason why I wanted
26:08
Speaker 2: to write this article was the science, especially in Japan.
26:14
Speaker 2: So the Japanese media are mostly left leaning and also academia,
26:20
Speaker 2: so they have been silent. They have not supported Takaiti
26:24
Speaker 2: for such a sexual sexualized joke. Second, the Japanese government
26:30
Speaker 2: has been also silent, both Looting Party and opposition parties.
26:36
Speaker 2: The Louting Party, the Louting Party LDP doesn't just want
26:40
Speaker 2: to have unnecessary frictions with allies Australia. Second, the liberal
26:50
Speaker 2: opposed opposition parties, they are also opposed to Takaiti on
26:57
Speaker 2: a number of issues, and that's why they have been silent.
27:02
Speaker 17: However, you know, I believe in gender equality, and I
27:08
Speaker 17: actually opposed to Takaiti on a number of issues, and
27:12
Speaker 17: I have criticized her.
27:15
Speaker 2: Policies openly in public. But I think it's really important
27:21
Speaker 2: that we should defend a woman's dignity despite the political differences.
27:28
Speaker 1: You have no trouble there saying that this was a
27:30
Speaker 1: sexualized joke. I think everybody who sees it knows that
27:33
Speaker 1: it's a sexualized joke. Are you surprised that the Australian
27:37
Speaker 1: Prime Minister Anthony Alberanesi still denies that and refuses to apologize.
27:45
Speaker 2: As a woman, Yes, I am. But I think whether
27:48
Speaker 2: he should apologize or not, it should be what Australians.
27:52
Speaker 2: I think it's for the Australian people to decide. And
27:55
Speaker 2: I don't think it's going to damage relationship betweena and Australia.
28:02
Speaker 1: Yeah.
28:03
Speaker 2: I mean if he apologized that public will were well received.
28:07
Speaker 2: But also a lot of people don't know about this.
28:10
Speaker 1: Interesting, isn't it silence in Japan?
28:12
Speaker 10: Still?
28:12
Speaker 1: What about you personally? Waka? Would you like to see
28:15
Speaker 1: our prime minister apologize to your prime minister?
28:20
Speaker 2: It'd be very nice, but it's not necessary. I just
28:25
Speaker 2: wanted to point out too, about the science. It's not
28:28
Speaker 2: my article. It's not really about him. It's about the
28:32
Speaker 2: science that we should be able to protect a woman's
28:37
Speaker 2: dignity despite all political differences. And yeah, that's what I
28:43
Speaker 2: wanted to write about.
28:45
Speaker 1: You sure did, Waka, and it certainly had an impact
28:49
Speaker 1: in Australia and thanks so much for joining us, Thank
28:52
Speaker 1: you very much. In fascinating stuff. She'd like to see
28:55
Speaker 1: an apology, of course, but that's up to Australia, and
28:58
Speaker 1: she's focused on the way the political opponents on the
29:02
Speaker 1: left in Japan and in Australia and in particular feminists
29:06
Speaker 1: just went silent, did nothing to defend the dignity of
29:10
Speaker 1: a female political leader, essentially because they don't like her politics.
29:15
Speaker 1: That's the left for you. We'll go to a break
29:17
Speaker 1: on the other side, we'll talk about how the alban
29:19
Speaker 1: Ezy labor government has been shunning and insulting our Vietnam
29:22
Speaker 1: vets on Vietnam Vets Day. The former Deputy Prime Minister
29:26
Speaker 1: Michael McCormick will join me Kristen Tate in the US
29:34
Speaker 1: in just a moment, because the sixty day negotiating period
29:38
Speaker 1: in the US Iran Memorandum of Understanding has now come
29:43
Speaker 1: to an end. Here's the latest from the American President,
29:46
Speaker 1: Donald Trump.
29:47
Speaker 18: But they're not going to make the kind of a
29:49
Speaker 18: deal that I feel as necessary. Look, we're in there
29:52
Speaker 18: for one reason. Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon. You
29:56
Speaker 18: understand that Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon.
30:00
Speaker 1: They won't have a nuclear weapon, and right now.
30:03
Speaker 18: Them building one after what we did previously with the
30:06
Speaker 18: B two bombers, It's gonna be a long time behalf,
30:09
Speaker 18: but a Ran cannot have It is very simple. They
30:12
Speaker 18: can't have a nuclear Weber.
30:14
Speaker 1: Now, as I put it to Christian, after months of
30:17
Speaker 1: on again and off again ceasefires and negotiations, this deadline
30:21
Speaker 1: passing must mean the time for talking is over.
30:25
Speaker 13: Well, one would certainly think so, Chris. But at this point,
30:29
Speaker 13: I just don't know how long this is going to
30:32
Speaker 13: continue and how long the Trump administration is going to
30:35
Speaker 13: continue trying to negotiate something and talking with the Iranians.
30:40
Speaker 13: I can tell you this. I know a lot of
30:42
Speaker 13: average Americans and my family, my friends. The war with
30:47
Speaker 13: Iran has just become so exhausting to them, and it's
30:51
Speaker 13: not one of their top concerns. People here in this
30:54
Speaker 13: country right now are very concerned about grocery prices, about
30:58
Speaker 13: the cost of living, and aron war is sucking up
31:02
Speaker 13: all the oxygen in the room. The administration is focusing
31:05
Speaker 13: on something that is not a top daily priority for Americans.
31:09
Speaker 13: They really want the focus shifted back to the domestic
31:13
Speaker 13: issues by this administration, and there's chatter in the political
31:16
Speaker 13: class that this is all really going to harm Republicans
31:19
Speaker 13: in the midterms, which will of course lead to just
31:22
Speaker 13: higher prices if we get a bunch of Democrats elected
31:25
Speaker 13: to various offices in November. So I would love to
31:29
Speaker 13: see the administration stop talking and get to action. You
31:33
Speaker 13: bold action if that's what needs to happen to end this.
31:37
Speaker 13: But something needs to change here.
31:39
Speaker 1: Yeah, he's not the first president to want to focus
31:42
Speaker 1: on domestic issues and getting distracted by global affairs. But
31:46
Speaker 1: Donald Trump was one of the ones who promised most
31:48
Speaker 1: st stridently not to do that. Yet, let's stay in
31:52
Speaker 1: the Middle East, because the American ally Aman, which is
31:56
Speaker 1: on the southern side of the Strait of Homers Is
32:00
Speaker 1: started to talk about getting involved in perhaps trying to
32:03
Speaker 1: control the navel, the Icean traffic, the shipping traffic through there. Well,
32:09
Speaker 1: Donald Trump is given that idea short shrift.
32:12
Speaker 19: Have a look the President speaking to tredy yankst and
32:15
Speaker 19: threatening to quote bomb the bleep out of Oman if
32:18
Speaker 19: they get in the way of US military operations to
32:20
Speaker 19: reopen the Straight of hord moves. He also said that
32:23
Speaker 19: Iran it should put up the white flag of surrender.
32:27
Speaker 1: Yeah, Iran's surrendering would be a good idea, But bombing
32:29
Speaker 1: your ally Aman seems a little over the top. Yeah.
32:34
Speaker 13: I mean, look, Trump has always used deliberately kind of
32:36
Speaker 13: outrageous threats as leverage, So I wouldn't treat one comment
32:41
Speaker 13: made on Fox it's proof that you know, American bombers
32:44
Speaker 13: are headed to Aman tomorrow. But presidential rhetoric obviously does matter,
32:50
Speaker 13: especially when you're already at war. And look, there's a
32:53
Speaker 13: big difference between maybe threatening tariffs string trade negotiations and
32:57
Speaker 13: threatening casually to uh, you know, pursue military action against
33:03
Speaker 13: a friendly country.
33:05
Speaker 9: Uh.
33:06
Speaker 13: So you know that's kind of a strange way to
33:08
Speaker 13: negotiate peace.
33:09
Speaker 1: I think bum the crap out of you is the
33:12
Speaker 1: expression you were looking for. Well, let's get back to
33:15
Speaker 1: Donald Trump and he's competitive approach with the media again.
33:19
Speaker 1: He's tackled a see an N report. I have a look,
33:23
Speaker 1: did he quiet?
33:28
Speaker 18: You're very disrespectful and for this young man, Okay, don't
33:32
Speaker 18: you find her disrespectful? He understands quiet.
33:35
Speaker 19: Who are you with?
33:36
Speaker 13: I'm a CNN. I just wanted to follow.
33:40
Speaker 6: Up on this.
33:42
Speaker 18: You're a loud, boisterous person.
33:43
Speaker 2: You're faked.
33:44
Speaker 11: I was trying to find out if you had been
33:46
Speaker 11: talking to if you had asked you.
33:53
Speaker 1: Now, there's a lot I look about Donald Trump calling
33:56
Speaker 1: out the biased media, but if that had our country, Christian,
34:01
Speaker 1: I just want to get your thoughts on they said,
34:02
Speaker 1: if this happened in our country, the president there would
34:06
Speaker 1: be declared a misogynist and the sexist bully for speaking
34:10
Speaker 1: to a female reporter like that. Not so for Donald Trump.
34:15
Speaker 13: Not so for Donald Trump. This is vintage Donald Trump,
34:18
Speaker 13: and I'm sorry, but.
34:19
Speaker 1: I love it.
34:20
Speaker 13: This is one of the reasons Trump remains so popular
34:24
Speaker 13: with this hardcore base. He refuses to participate in this
34:28
Speaker 13: bizarre Washington ritual where Republicans are just supposed to stand
34:32
Speaker 13: there politely while these hacks in the mainstream media treat
34:36
Speaker 13: them with contempt. Those days are done, and you know,
34:40
Speaker 13: Republicans spent decades being terrified of these media people. Trump
34:44
Speaker 13: just changed the whole game, and his.
34:46
Speaker 1: Base loves it now. Just to even the LEDGIA, I'll
34:50
Speaker 1: want to show you a feminist hero because we all
34:53
Speaker 1: are wondering what Kamala Harris is up to. Let's let
34:57
Speaker 1: her explain it. I've been traveling alone.
35:00
Speaker 12: Huh.
35:01
Speaker 15: You know, I am no longer in.
35:04
Speaker 12: Office, and I have decided I really want to just
35:08
Speaker 12: travel and listen to people, and so I've been traveling
35:13
Speaker 12: around and not with a bunch of press, and not
35:16
Speaker 12: with a bunch of elected leaders, but just traveling and
35:19
Speaker 12: meeting with people where they are and listening.
35:24
Speaker 1: To quote the great Cosmo Crime. She's just been doing
35:29
Speaker 1: what she's doing.
35:31
Speaker 13: Gosh, yeah, she's apparently thinking of running again in twenty
35:35
Speaker 13: twenty eight. And look, I don't want to tell the
35:37
Speaker 13: Democrats how to run their party, Chris, but Kamala twenty
35:41
Speaker 13: twenty eight has my complete, an enthusiastic endorsement. Please Kamala
35:46
Speaker 13: run again. Please. Republicans haven't been this excited about a
35:50
Speaker 13: Democrat since we were told that Joe Biden was perfectly fine.
35:54
Speaker 13: So let's hope Kamala throws her hat back in that ring.
35:58
Speaker 1: Kamala for twenty twenty eight. Want the baseball hats and
36:01
Speaker 1: the T shirts. Thanks for joining us.
36:03
Speaker 2: A thank you, chras.
36:07
Speaker 1: Comer always gives us a little bit of light relief,
36:10
Speaker 1: doesn't she. On the other side of the break, we
36:13
Speaker 1: might catch up with Michael McCormick. But we'll definitely catch
36:15
Speaker 1: up with Suzio O'Brien and Steven send Teampa lost to
36:18
Speaker 1: talk about, including the Swan's scandal on the eve of
36:21
Speaker 1: the finals. Do go Away. Let's get onto our Tuesday
36:28
Speaker 1: panel with Suso O'Brien in Melbourne and Stephen Senter Tampa
36:32
Speaker 1: in Canberra. I want to get each year to tell
36:35
Speaker 1: us about Chris Bowen and his cop chairmanship presidency. He's
36:40
Speaker 1: hosting this big meeting in the Pacific, Stephen, it's distracting
36:45
Speaker 1: him at least from destroying our electricity grid, but he
36:49
Speaker 1: can't get anyone to turn up. I mean, who wouldn't
36:52
Speaker 1: want to go to the Pacific for crying out loud?
36:54
Speaker 1: It's beautiful, but he still can't get anyone to turn up.
36:58
Speaker 20: I think it's extraordinary that he's now turned to a
37:00
Speaker 20: public circuit union. I mean, they'll all say, I'm sorry, mate,
37:03
Speaker 20: we work from home, we're not coming. It's just it's ludicrous,
37:07
Speaker 20: isn't it that you know we're not even hosting the
37:10
Speaker 20: cop Out summit. You know we tried to get it.
37:13
Speaker 20: We spent millions of dollars trying to bring cop out
37:15
Speaker 20: to Australia. We couldn't get it, So we're now somehow
37:17
Speaker 20: holding there's other pre party where what are they going
37:20
Speaker 20: to preload on drinks before they go to cop out
37:23
Speaker 20: one in Fiji? But nobody actually wants to turn up
37:25
Speaker 20: because let's face it, who would want to spend time
37:28
Speaker 20: with Chris Bowen.
37:29
Speaker 1: But a lovely a lovely few days in Fiji. Who
37:33
Speaker 1: wouldn't want to hang out in Fiji for a while.
37:35
Speaker 1: So the troubles is, of course, if they're all climate evangelists,
37:38
Speaker 1: they wouldn't want to fly there. And it's a bloody
37:41
Speaker 1: long way to.
37:41
Speaker 11: Row well, you know Fiji and public servants to the rescue.
37:48
Speaker 11: Really apparently they're going to be the ones filling the seats.
37:52
Speaker 1: Yeah, that don't work for me.
37:53
Speaker 11: This is a twenty million dollars This is a twenty
37:57
Speaker 11: million dollar event. At least they're going to say four
37:59
Speaker 11: million dollars on the accommodation. They're not going to need
38:02
Speaker 11: accommodation costs, they're not going to need Like, it's just
38:05
Speaker 11: a debarkle.
38:05
Speaker 5: The whole thing.
38:07
Speaker 1: Well, I reckon Sky News or to send me the
38:09
Speaker 1: government send me. We can go and report on it
38:12
Speaker 1: from FG if you like. Now, let's stay on energy, Susie,
38:15
Speaker 1: because in your home state, there's been a bit of
38:17
Speaker 1: a survey done of people who are living in the
38:20
Speaker 1: regions where most of the energy is generated and would
38:23
Speaker 1: they pay anymore to on their electricity bills to accelerate
38:28
Speaker 1: the transition, and they say no, thanks. Yeah.
38:33
Speaker 11: Funnily enough, the good people of Gippsland sort of seem
38:37
Speaker 11: to be the heart of the energy transition area. Two
38:41
Speaker 11: thirds say no, they do not want to pay more
38:44
Speaker 11: for the energy transition, and they say that they have priorities.
38:49
Speaker 11: First one is affordability, second is reliability, no surprise there,
38:55
Speaker 11: and number three is renewable emissions. So they're very firmly
39:00
Speaker 11: pretty much what everyone else around the country is saying. Yes,
39:04
Speaker 11: we want to have renewables, but not at any cost.
39:08
Speaker 6: Yeah.
39:09
Speaker 1: The thing that gets me about this, Stephen, is if
39:12
Speaker 1: it's speaking, is if this is an option, as if
39:16
Speaker 1: this is what could happen, when the reality is probably
39:19
Speaker 1: thirty percent at least of the electricity bills we're already
39:23
Speaker 1: paying are thanks to the renewable energy transition. Right, they've
39:28
Speaker 1: pushed everything up dramatically over the past decades, so we're
39:32
Speaker 1: paying for this transition, whether we know it or not.
39:35
Speaker 20: But I think that's the point when you look at
39:37
Speaker 20: these surveys, Even if you're a one hundred percent on
39:40
Speaker 20: with the whole climate change evangelism, why would you pay
39:43
Speaker 20: an extra dollar when you've been fed this steady diet
39:46
Speaker 20: of this is the cheapest form of electricity. We are
39:48
Speaker 20: going to bring your electricity prices down. Why would anybody say, yeah,
39:52
Speaker 20: I'll pay an extra dollar for the transition Because it's
39:55
Speaker 20: counterintuitive to what the government's message is, despite the fact
39:58
Speaker 20: that we all know the government's meta is a lie.
40:02
Speaker 1: It's the cheapest, most reliable, cleanest energy in the world.
40:06
Speaker 1: It's going to save the planet. But by the way,
40:09
Speaker 1: can you keep paying more for it and the planet's
40:12
Speaker 1: not being saved because emissions are going up. The whole
40:15
Speaker 1: thing is just so ridiculous. It does my head in.
40:18
Speaker 1: I want to go to something else from the program tonight,
40:21
Speaker 1: because it was great to catch up with Waka Ikeda,
40:24
Speaker 1: the journalist who really reinvigorated this Melingate story because Susie
40:29
Speaker 1: she wrote about how women in Japan and Australia were silent.
40:33
Speaker 1: They are enabled a Japanese female prime minister to be
40:38
Speaker 1: mocked and ridiculed in this way without actually speaking up,
40:40
Speaker 1: and she sort of blamed their political their political leanings
40:44
Speaker 1: in many ways. Here's a little bit of what she
40:46
Speaker 1: had to say to me earlier tonight.
40:48
Speaker 2: Yeah, I mean if he apologized that that public will
40:51
Speaker 2: were well received. But also a lot of people don't
40:54
Speaker 2: know about.
40:55
Speaker 1: This, Susie. It does surprise you in any way, shape
40:59
Speaker 1: or form. We know thats got. You know, he wrestles
41:03
Speaker 1: daily with a little thing called the truth. Well that's
41:05
Speaker 1: that much we've worked out over the past four years.
41:08
Speaker 1: But does he really think he can just ignore this
41:10
Speaker 1: and never apologize for it, pretend he didn't do and
41:14
Speaker 1: get involved in something that he clearly did.
41:19
Speaker 11: Yeah, and as we keep saying, it does not pass
41:22
Speaker 11: the pub test, and in fact, in the newspapers on
41:25
Speaker 11: the weekend, I actually did a pub test, like a
41:28
Speaker 11: ten point actual pub test. And this was one of
41:31
Speaker 11: the questions. You know, if you have a prime minister
41:34
Speaker 11: who's behaving like a Benny Hill, should they apologize, should
41:39
Speaker 11: they pretend it hasn't happened, or should they fess up
41:42
Speaker 11: and say, yeah, you know what, I got it wrong?
41:45
Speaker 1: Yeah, they sure should. Well, loved. What I loved what
41:48
Speaker 1: I loved about this story was when the ABC finally
41:52
Speaker 1: reported it. They said that the whole controversy that sort
41:55
Speaker 1: of bypassed most of the country. That is, in other words,
41:59
Speaker 1: the ABC had just not reported it, tried to bury
42:02
Speaker 1: it for the Prime Minister, and brought into it only
42:04
Speaker 1: when they had to thanks to really the writing of
42:07
Speaker 1: I Initially, I want to go on, what are your
42:11
Speaker 1: thoughts on this, Stephen? Can he be forced to apologize? Well?
42:15
Speaker 20: No, Look, I want to know what religion he ticked
42:18
Speaker 20: on the census the other night, because I think it's
42:20
Speaker 20: a Jedi mind trick. These are not the melons you're
42:22
Speaker 20: looking for. You did not see what you saw on TV.
42:25
Speaker 20: I'm not apologizing because it didn't really happen. I didn't
42:28
Speaker 20: fall off the stage. I mean, you know, look, I
42:30
Speaker 20: think I don't think he can afford to apologize now
42:33
Speaker 20: because you look even worse.
42:34
Speaker 1: Yeah, I'll tell you what, sometime, I'm going to have
42:36
Speaker 1: to watch Star Wars because these references that I reckon,
42:39
Speaker 1: they're probably spot on. I reckon. Everybody gets that analogy.
42:42
Speaker 1: But I'm like floundering a little bit related to this,
42:46
Speaker 1: as in it relates to the treatment of women and
42:48
Speaker 1: the rest of it. I've got to raise this Swan's scandal, Susie.
42:53
Speaker 1: It's terrible from a football perspective. It's terrible. If there
42:57
Speaker 1: are victims involved here, we have to be very careful.
42:59
Speaker 1: They are only police inquiries and interviews at the moment,
43:04
Speaker 1: there's no suggestion of any charges. But it just reminds
43:07
Speaker 1: us about the need for people to show respect and
43:10
Speaker 1: especially sports people to abide by their team rules.
43:18
Speaker 11: Look at this yet again, we are just disappointed by
43:23
Speaker 11: the actions of groups of men, and I was just
43:27
Speaker 11: astounded that Matthew Pavlich fronted the media and said he
43:31
Speaker 11: couldn't believe he was shocked and distressed at the situation
43:35
Speaker 11: these men found themselves in. We still don't know exactly
43:38
Speaker 11: what's happened. We know that the grilling has started on
43:41
Speaker 11: a number of levels and this group is apparently lawyered up.
43:45
Speaker 11: But they didn't just find themselves in this situation. They
43:48
Speaker 11: made decisions that had consequences, and that the core of
43:52
Speaker 11: this is at least one, maybe two, maybe more female victims,
43:57
Speaker 11: and we have to remember them and think about them
44:00
Speaker 11: more than the outcomes of what's going to happen to
44:03
Speaker 11: the Swans and their woeful Uh yeah, that's going to
44:09
Speaker 11: happen to the rest of their sci There is.
44:11
Speaker 1: No doubt about that. That's the key point the agency
44:14
Speaker 1: and poor decisions were made. At the very least, we
44:16
Speaker 1: can't talk about any relevant charges. No one's been accused
44:20
Speaker 1: by police of anything yet, but there's certainly been some
44:22
Speaker 1: poor decisions made there and a lot of people suffer,
44:27
Speaker 1: including any women involved, of course, but also the whole
44:30
Speaker 1: sport and a lot of young people who look up
44:33
Speaker 1: to sports people like that. We are at a time, guys,
44:36
Speaker 1: thanks for joining us to really appreciate Stephen Center, Tempo
44:38
Speaker 1: and Susio O'Brien there. Because the former Deputy Prime Minister
44:42
Speaker 1: Michael McCormick has been able to pop up from the
44:45
Speaker 1: chamber where he's called to some votes, I wanted to
44:47
Speaker 1: talk to him about what happened yesterday with the Veterans
44:50
Speaker 1: Affairs Minister Matt Keo. He's been under five because yesterday
44:53
Speaker 1: he refused to meet with the Vietnam veterans over concerns
44:57
Speaker 1: about this labor budget cap putting a cap on led
45:00
Speaker 1: health funding. And this is how Michael McCormick flushed at
45:03
Speaker 1: all that in Question Time yesterday.
45:05
Speaker 21: More than twenty veterans and family members are in Parliament
45:09
Speaker 21: House today. They're in the gallery as I speak to
45:11
Speaker 21: raise their concerns about your broken promise to impost a
45:15
Speaker 21: five thousand dollars cap on veterans Allied Health services.
45:19
Speaker 1: Minister.
45:19
Speaker 21: These veterans have traveled to Parliament to be heard. Why
45:24
Speaker 21: have you refused to meet them? What or who could
45:28
Speaker 21: possibly possibly be more important?
45:30
Speaker 3: As though were in falled last week by my office,
45:32
Speaker 3: I was unable to meet with them today. But as
45:35
Speaker 3: I have continually said and engaged with many ex service organizations,
45:39
Speaker 3: I just.
45:40
Speaker 21: Seek leave to table the minister's letter of refusal to
45:43
Speaker 21: meet with those heroes.
45:47
Speaker 1: Manager okay, So, as I told you earlier, because he
45:54
Speaker 1: was shamed so publicly. In the end, the Minister met
45:57
Speaker 1: with those Vietnam veterans in his office last night. They
46:01
Speaker 1: were very happy with the meeting and Michael McCormick followed
46:03
Speaker 1: it up the issue in Question Time today.
46:07
Speaker 21: Will it minister please apologize for disrespecting veterans by rolling
46:11
Speaker 21: his eyes at Australian heroes.
46:14
Speaker 3: And I think those veterans for meeting with me yesterday afternoon,
46:17
Speaker 3: and I acknowledged that I got it wrong in not
46:20
Speaker 3: agreeing to meet with them last week when that initial
46:22
Speaker 3: request came in. I owned that and I met with
46:24
Speaker 3: them and I heard them the last night when I
46:27
Speaker 3: came into that room and I met with them and
46:28
Speaker 3: they were sitting down, I said, relax, and I want
46:31
Speaker 3: to hear what you want to tell me. And I
46:32
Speaker 3: was very clear about listening to them. I don't agree
46:35
Speaker 3: with the characterization that you have just outlined. And I
46:37
Speaker 3: shook the hands of those people who attended that meeting
46:39
Speaker 3: as we finished that meeting to be clear, and I
46:42
Speaker 3: was grateful for the information that they imparted to me,
46:45
Speaker 3: given the diverse range of experience that they had, both
46:47
Speaker 3: medically and as veterans.
46:50
Speaker 1: Let's go to Michael McCormick. Now, thanks for joining us. Michael.
46:54
Speaker 1: I'm good on you for pursuing this. It meant that
46:56
Speaker 1: they got a meeting last night. It meant that the
46:59
Speaker 1: minister has had to apologize really and say you got
47:02
Speaker 1: it wrong today in Parliament. But has any progress been
47:05
Speaker 1: made on this five thousand dollars cap for allied health services?
47:11
Speaker 21: None whatsoever, Chris. But interestingly, doctor Tim Nelson, who was
47:16
Speaker 21: the first student of the super Hornet jet fighter. He
47:21
Speaker 21: flew that he flew for the RAAF for many many
47:25
Speaker 21: years and he's now a GP providing services in his
47:29
Speaker 21: front foot health clinic for veterans. He said that the
47:34
Speaker 21: Minister was very demeaning when they met the group last night,
47:39
Speaker 21: but more than that, they didn't get the answer that
47:42
Speaker 21: they sought over the Allied health cap. This needs to happen.
47:47
Speaker 21: The Prime Minister's senior staff at least have had a
47:50
Speaker 21: meeting with this group. The group are now going to
47:53
Speaker 21: provide some information about what this cap means to veterans.
47:57
Speaker 21: And I'm told by one of the members of the
48:00
Speaker 21: group that there's already been suicides such as the anxiety
48:03
Speaker 21: that has been caused by this cap, By this unnecessary, cruel,
48:07
Speaker 21: unjust cap, there have already been suicides. The government says that, well,
48:12
Speaker 21: it's out consulting. Well, it should have consulted before the
48:14
Speaker 21: budget before it brought it into play, and there's a
48:18
Speaker 21: saving there in the budget of seven hundred and forty
48:21
Speaker 21: eight million dollars. Well, that's out of veterans care. That's
48:25
Speaker 21: out of veterans physiotherapy and psychology sessions for their mental
48:29
Speaker 21: health issues. Simply not good enough.
48:31
Speaker 1: Chris. Well, look, there's a critical point here. As one
48:35
Speaker 1: of the representatives said today that the governor told them,
48:38
Speaker 1: don't worry, it's only twenty five thousand people being affected.
48:42
Speaker 1: Twenty five thousand is an incredible number of people veterans
48:46
Speaker 1: who have served this country to be disadvantaged in this way.
48:51
Speaker 21: There shouldn't be one veteran disadvantaged in any way, Chris,
48:55
Speaker 21: and the government has to go back to the drawing board,
48:57
Speaker 21: find the saving somewhere else, go into the into the
49:01
Speaker 21: climate policies that they've got and find seven hundred and
49:04
Speaker 21: fifty million dollars there. I'm sure they'll find it in
49:06
Speaker 21: the green metal energy they could do. They're putting out
49:12
Speaker 21: seven hundred and fifty million dollars there, so that could
49:14
Speaker 21: be that could be the first thing that they do,
49:16
Speaker 21: and that they could come into the Parliament tomorrow announce
49:18
Speaker 21: that they're not going to go ahead with it, scrap
49:20
Speaker 21: that green metal fantasy and give the veterans the care
49:24
Speaker 21: and the support and the respect.
49:26
Speaker 1: Good suggestions, Good suggestion, Michael, thanks for jumping up and
49:30
Speaker 1: joining us, so I'd appreciate a former definutly prime Minister
49:32
Speaker 1: Michael McCormack. There we are over time, so I better
49:35
Speaker 1: hand you over now to Peter Kredlin. I'll see you
49:37
Speaker 1: tomorrow