Transcript

Sharri | 11 December · Sharri

0:01
Speaker 1: Why On Sky News This is Sharry.
0:07
Speaker 2: Good Evening tonight, Albanezi refuses to act on the exorbitant
0:11
Speaker 2: expenses of MPs from Don Farrell to Sarah Hanson Young. Well,
0:16
Speaker 2: how long can he shirk accountability for this largess And
0:20
Speaker 2: while this extravagance goes on, a new report shows five
0:25
Speaker 2: percent of Australian parents are skipping Christmas because they can't
0:29
Speaker 2: afford it. I'll tell you what you can do to help.
0:33
Speaker 2: Also tonight, I've got hold of Murray Schwartz's frustrated emails
0:38
Speaker 2: imploring a board to act on anti Israel hate. The
0:42
Speaker 2: silence of this board speaks volumes plus a trigger warning
0:47
Speaker 2: added to Harry Potter novels.
0:49
Speaker 3: We'll cross to London.
0:51
Speaker 2: On this madness, but first tonight. Anthony Albanzi appears to
0:56
Speaker 2: have no issue with the growing sense of extravaghiggins and
1:00
Speaker 2: liarests surrounding politicians taxpayer funded travel because he's ruled out
1:06
Speaker 2: changing the rules despite enormous public outrage over the expenses
1:11
Speaker 2: of Anaka Wells and others. Well, here was the Prime
1:15
Speaker 2: Minister today saying that the current system and the current
1:19
Speaker 2: body that oversees it was all fine.
1:23
Speaker 4: Well, of course, these issues are of genuine concern to
1:28
Speaker 4: the tax paying public. But we have an independent authority.
1:33
Speaker 4: I'm going to allow them to do their job.
1:37
Speaker 2: But this isn't quite the full story. Albanize can't claim
1:41
Speaker 2: this is all arms length from the government as he did,
1:45
Speaker 2: because it's legislation that governs travel rules. Now Albanize could
1:50
Speaker 2: easily change the law to have tougher rules. He doesn't
1:54
Speaker 2: want to do this, though, so he pretends his arm's
1:58
Speaker 2: length from it all when he's not.
2:00
Speaker 5: Now.
2:01
Speaker 2: Journalist Rob Harris writes in the Sydney Morning Herald that
2:04
Speaker 2: this saga is dangerously close to becoming Albanese's own. I
2:09
Speaker 2: don't hold a hose moment, a semantic escape hatch that
2:13
Speaker 2: sounds clever in the moment and foolish in every moment thereafter.
2:18
Speaker 2: And Shadow Finance Minister James Patterson points out that it
2:22
Speaker 2: is firmly in the Prime Minister's remit to act, so
2:27
Speaker 2: if the.
2:27
Speaker 6: Prime Minister want to change the rules, he can do so.
2:30
Speaker 6: But at his preps conference today he was full of
2:32
Speaker 6: excuses about how he wasn't the Finance minister, just as
2:35
Speaker 6: has been full of excuses all week that he didn't
2:38
Speaker 6: personally book the minister's flight with the flight agency and
2:42
Speaker 6: therefore he couldn't be responsible even though he is responsible
2:45
Speaker 6: for approving all international ministerial travel.
2:50
Speaker 2: It reflects a familiar pattern. I mean, it reminds me
2:53
Speaker 2: of when Albanize claimed his government had nothing to do
2:56
Speaker 2: with the return of Isis Bride's or we saw the document,
3:00
Speaker 2: we saw the truth. But the truth is that Albinizi
3:03
Speaker 2: shirks responsibility at every turn and refuses to acknowledge that
3:07
Speaker 2: he's actually the Prime Minister and he does have the
3:10
Speaker 2: authority to change the rules. That is, if he thinks
3:14
Speaker 2: politicians are taking advantage of the system, which clearly they are.
3:20
Speaker 2: And how could Albanesi not see that there's an egregious
3:23
Speaker 2: problem after the shocking expenses scandals of the past week
3:29
Speaker 2: and today's further revelations involving figures like Don Farrell, Sarah
3:34
Speaker 2: Hanson Young and even the Prime Minister himself reportedly booking
3:39
Speaker 2: labor fundraising events alongside ministerial meetings.
3:44
Speaker 7: In August, Anthony Albanesi held a minister's meeting an hour
3:47
Speaker 7: before another labor fundraising event at the Fullerton Hotel. Ministers
3:52
Speaker 7: Build tax Payers almost fourteen thousand dollars in flights to
3:55
Speaker 7: attend the two events that according to the AFAR this morning,
3:59
Speaker 7: Trade Ministerjon Farrell is specifically under scrutiny after flying his
4:03
Speaker 7: family using ninety thousand dollars worth of taxpayer funds, and
4:06
Speaker 7: the Communications Minister Anika Wells is also facing continued criticism
4:11
Speaker 7: over her one hundred thousand dollars New York trip paid
4:15
Speaker 7: by the taxpayer.
4:17
Speaker 2: This all only reinforces the perception that taxpayer funded travel
4:22
Speaker 2: is being exploited and this entire expense of SAGA has become,
4:27
Speaker 2: in the eyes of most voters, utterly unacceptable, and the
4:31
Speaker 2: Prime Minister isn't doing anything about it. And at the
4:35
Speaker 2: same time, Opposition Leader Susan Lee isn't putting any pressure
4:40
Speaker 2: on Albanisi over this. In fact, she hasn't fronted the
4:43
Speaker 2: media once this week, leaving it up to her colleagues.
4:48
Speaker 8: On the face of it, if those facts cannot be disputed,
4:51
Speaker 8: then there is a problem. And I don't think it
4:54
Speaker 8: is not just a bad look for anyone, including Senator
4:57
Speaker 8: Hanson Young, but anyone who would adopt the view that
5:01
Speaker 8: using the resources in the way that's been reported is okay.
5:04
Speaker 9: That is not what the community want, and.
5:06
Speaker 8: Despite the vagueness of the rules, I don't think that's
5:08
Speaker 8: what was envisaged.
5:09
Speaker 6: Really, if you can't trust a minister like Anika Wells
5:13
Speaker 6: or Don Farrell to make good decisions about how they
5:16
Speaker 6: spend taxpayers money within the rules, then how on earth
5:19
Speaker 6: can you trust them to be ministers to make decisions
5:22
Speaker 6: in the national interest.
5:23
Speaker 10: But the opposition is asking Anika Wells to stand down,
5:26
Speaker 10: stand aside from her responsibilities as Communications Minister.
5:32
Speaker 2: So Susan Lee has not been anywhere near the attack
5:35
Speaker 2: on this and it's because she's vulnerable on this issue
5:39
Speaker 2: after she lost her job in twenty seventeen when she
5:42
Speaker 2: was caught buying an investment property on the Gold Coast
5:45
Speaker 2: while on a taxpayer funded trip. Now there was a
5:49
Speaker 2: level of accountability back then, but under Albanezi there is none.
5:54
Speaker 2: Politicians enjoy a life of privilege, constant free travel, hotel, accommodate,
6:00
Speaker 2: chairman's lounge access, chauffeurs, and controversially, taxpayer funded travel for
6:06
Speaker 2: their spouses to attend concerts, rallies and other events. I mean,
6:12
Speaker 2: the political class lives by an entirely different standard from
6:17
Speaker 2: the people who fund their lifestyle all of us, and
6:21
Speaker 2: this despicable conduct corrodes public trust and fuels cynicism about politicians.
6:28
Speaker 2: In fact, it simply turns voters off the whole political establishment,
6:35
Speaker 2: and Albanizi's refusal to consider any change sends a clear
6:38
Speaker 2: message that he doesn't see a problem worth fixing. As
6:42
Speaker 2: the saying goes, the standard you walk past is the
6:46
Speaker 2: standard you accept. And right now Albanezi isn't giving this
6:51
Speaker 2: reckless and wasteful conduct.
6:53
Speaker 3: A second glance.
6:58
Speaker 2: Now, I'll come back to that topic during the show.
7:01
Speaker 2: I've got Matt Canavan and Basil Zempliss coming up. But
7:04
Speaker 2: now to a shocking story. The board of the Bienali
7:08
Speaker 2: of Sydney is refusing to act on its official ambassador
7:13
Speaker 2: who's promoting offensive anti Israel hate speech.
7:17
Speaker 5: Now.
7:17
Speaker 2: The Bienali is an international art festival that runs for
7:20
Speaker 2: a couple of weeks and attracts visitors and performers from
7:24
Speaker 2: around the world. It's official ambassador, Benji Rah, has social
7:29
Speaker 2: media accounts filled with highly offensive hate posts, calling for
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Speaker 2: death to the IDF and signs that say never to
7:39
Speaker 2: disarming now. Benji Rah is a transgender woman born biologically male.
7:46
Speaker 2: She's a performance artist.
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Speaker 11: And to describe my practice, I would say that it
7:54
Speaker 11: probably works within this framework of motherhood right now and dancer.
8:01
Speaker 11: I work with the video community events. I think they're
8:09
Speaker 11: quite effected. There's a lot of joy that goes on.
8:16
Speaker 3: Our media.
8:16
Speaker 2: Publisher Murray Schwartz was on the board of the Bernali
8:19
Speaker 2: of Sydney for about four and a half years. He
8:22
Speaker 2: left last year. Now he saw this repost that was
8:26
Speaker 2: shared by the official ambassador Benji Rah. It's of a rabbi,
8:31
Speaker 2: bloodstained and wrapped in an Israeli flag, holding an automatic weapon.
8:37
Speaker 2: The rabbis, you might be able to see on your screen,
8:39
Speaker 2: has his foot on the neck of a baby doll. Now,
8:43
Speaker 2: Murray Schwartz wrote to the chair of the Bernali, Kate Mills,
8:47
Speaker 2: along with other board members and backers in August and
8:51
Speaker 2: he said that he and other community members and I'm
8:54
Speaker 2: quoting now from his email, are particularly shocked and bewildered
8:58
Speaker 2: the Benji Rah continue to be an ambassador of the
9:01
Speaker 2: b Andali. He said, she has posted some horrible posts,
9:05
Speaker 2: including this one, which is as bad as the worst
9:09
Speaker 2: Nazi caricatures of baby eating Jews. There is no walking
9:14
Speaker 2: this sickness back the level of concern will not abate
9:19
Speaker 2: until the Benali of Sydney cuts its ties with the perpetrator.
9:24
Speaker 2: And Schwartz said in the email that he'd been assured
9:27
Speaker 2: by the chief Executive that the twenty twenty six Biinali
9:31
Speaker 2: would not be a hate fest towards Israel.
9:34
Speaker 5: Well.
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Speaker 2: He received a reply the next day from the Chair,
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Speaker 2: Kate Mills, saying that Benji Rah had been spoken to
9:42
Speaker 2: about posting content that didn't align with the Binali's values
9:47
Speaker 2: and a contrary to its code of conduct. Will Schwartz
9:51
Speaker 2: then sent a second email sharing another of Benji Ra's
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Speaker 2: social media posts, which is about Zionists. Now it's too
10:00
Speaker 2: graphic for me to say on air, but perhaps you
10:04
Speaker 2: can see it on your screen. It's about Zionists. And
10:09
Speaker 2: he said to the chair in another email, how can
10:12
Speaker 2: you accept this person as an ambassador of the Biinali
10:16
Speaker 2: of Sydney. It is time for decisiveness, not for wishful thinking.
10:22
Speaker 2: I do hope that the board has the judgment and
10:24
Speaker 2: the will to do the right thing, to show moral
10:27
Speaker 2: courage and disengage from this perpetrator of this extreme hate.
10:34
Speaker 2: The chair responded to say that the ambassador had been
10:37
Speaker 2: cautioned and had committed to comply with the code of conduct.
10:41
Speaker 2: Well Schwartz then emailed members of the board and he wrote,
10:45
Speaker 2: an ambassador is a person who, through their qualities, represents
10:48
Speaker 2: the values of an organization to the wider community. I
10:52
Speaker 2: would find it unfathomable should the board retain Benji Rah
10:56
Speaker 2: as its diplomatic representative. A person who needs to be
11:00
Speaker 2: disciplined and forbidden to make anti Semitic and ugly, puerile
11:04
Speaker 2: public pronouncements is not fit for the role, and that's
11:07
Speaker 2: an understatement. Well Murray Schwartz didn't receive a reply to
11:12
Speaker 2: this email, and in total he sent five emails with
11:16
Speaker 2: other examples of Benjiar's posts, including this image. As you
11:22
Speaker 2: can see on the left, it says never to disarmament,
11:25
Speaker 2: never to humiliation. Will Schwartz said in an email of
11:30
Speaker 2: this sign that she can only be referring to her
11:34
Speaker 2: muss as no one else is being asked to disarm
11:39
Speaker 2: a public AMUS supporter as the ambassador for the Bienali
11:42
Speaker 2: of Sydney, really, and he urged them to act correctly
11:48
Speaker 2: and wisely. He didn't receive a reply nothing. The board
11:53
Speaker 2: stopped communicating with him now. The board is led by
11:58
Speaker 2: Chair Kate Mills. The deputy chair is Matt Crocker, also
12:03
Speaker 2: on the board, and Flanagan others too. Four months on,
12:07
Speaker 2: Benji Rah remains an ambassador. She has still not been sacked.
12:14
Speaker 2: Journalist Joanni Bashan in The Australian writes that our cultural
12:17
Speaker 2: institutions maintain the charat of a commitment to anti discrimination,
12:23
Speaker 2: but he says it's all garbage, and he's right. The
12:28
Speaker 2: silence from the board which suggests the acceptance of this
12:33
Speaker 2: hatred is institutionalized anti semitism. For me, it's not the
12:39
Speaker 2: activists themselves that worry me the most. It's the silence
12:44
Speaker 2: from those in mainstream leadership positions that I find the
12:47
Speaker 2: most disturbing. People in positions of authority who should know
12:52
Speaker 2: better just seemingly turn a blind eye to pure hatred.
12:58
Speaker 2: And it's this indifference that so bickable. The board of
13:01
Speaker 2: the Bienali should be ashamed and anyone who funds this
13:07
Speaker 2: artistic institution should withdraw their sponsorship. We're big news from
13:17
Speaker 2: President Trump today. Tourists from forty two countries, including Australia
13:23
Speaker 2: will have to disclose five years of their social media
13:26
Speaker 2: history to enter the US, and any visitors trying to
13:30
Speaker 2: apply for what's known as the esther would need to
13:33
Speaker 2: be upfront about their posts. There's even a suggestion DNA
13:38
Speaker 2: might be required in some instances as well.
13:41
Speaker 3: Well, let's discuss.
13:43
Speaker 2: This now and joining me tonight National Senator Matt Canavan
13:46
Speaker 2: and WA opposition leader Basil Zemplus. Great to see you
13:49
Speaker 2: back the original Thursday panel and best Matt, how would
13:56
Speaker 2: you feel about giving your DNA to go to America
14:01
Speaker 2: and would you be worried about who's collecting it where
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Speaker 2: the information is ending up?
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Speaker 9: Well, of course it would be concerned. Shari.
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Speaker 12: I'd make the point though the US is a sovereign nation,
14:13
Speaker 12: they can decide how they want to police their borders.
14:17
Speaker 12: What I say is not going to change much, but
14:19
Speaker 12: I don't think it's something i'd like to see for
14:21
Speaker 12: this country this stage. The United States have had a
14:24
Speaker 12: number of violent incidents involving migrants or refugees, so there's
14:29
Speaker 12: obviously heightened concern about who is coming into their country.
14:33
Speaker 12: As I say, they have the right to decide those things.
14:35
Speaker 12: I think it is also important to note that this
14:37
Speaker 12: is a proposal. I believe at this stage it's won't
14:41
Speaker 12: be implemented for several months after feedback is provided, so
14:45
Speaker 12: I would imagine the Australian government will have something to
14:48
Speaker 12: say on this, and I think a lot of the
14:50
Speaker 12: details seem a bit murky at the moment, So I'm
14:55
Speaker 12: not just going to have a knee jerk reaction just yet.
14:58
Speaker 2: I mean it's interesting because because look, I wish Australia
15:01
Speaker 2: would do this for new migrants, particularly from riskier parts
15:06
Speaker 2: of the world. But a visitor, a tourist from Australia,
15:11
Speaker 2: I don't know, giving your DNA, I mean you might
15:14
Speaker 2: be you'd think you'd be reluctant to do that.
15:16
Speaker 5: What do you think, Basil, Well, yes, of course you
15:19
Speaker 5: would with your DNA.
15:20
Speaker 13: I'm sure in terms of the social media history, I
15:24
Speaker 13: would have thought that the platforms can easily give that
15:27
Speaker 13: to any nation that might request them, especially if they
15:30
Speaker 13: happen to be based there, and especially if they still
15:32
Speaker 13: enjoy a good relationship with a proprietor if that is
15:35
Speaker 13: the case with Elon Musk and Donald Trump. Still, so
15:38
Speaker 13: that part that bit actually sounds a bit far fetched.
15:41
Speaker 13: I mean, if they want to know what you've posted previously,
15:43
Speaker 13: then they can go up and look at it otherwise,
15:46
Speaker 13: I'm not sure how you're supposed to declare it. But
15:49
Speaker 13: the DNA, well, that's a step too far, and people
15:52
Speaker 13: will rethink their destination of holidays if that's what they're
15:55
Speaker 13: expected to do by going to the United States.
15:57
Speaker 2: Yeah, I think that's true. The only issue with social
16:01
Speaker 2: media is I don't know if you recall, but about
16:04
Speaker 2: a year or so ago, I got a list of
16:07
Speaker 2: one hundred or so of the Gazans who were given
16:11
Speaker 2: temporary visas to come to Australia, and so I of
16:14
Speaker 2: course went investigating and researching and going through their social
16:19
Speaker 2: media and many had deleted recent posts, controversial posts, and
16:27
Speaker 2: in fact, you know, their entire accounts. And it was
16:29
Speaker 2: only when I dug a bit further into the Twitter
16:33
Speaker 2: likes folder.
16:34
Speaker 3: That I saw a lot of action.
16:36
Speaker 2: And I reported on one young male who had liked
16:40
Speaker 2: a lot of the posts around October seven, but then
16:42
Speaker 2: he deleted his main comment. So I think you know,
16:45
Speaker 2: people can get around this. But Matt, do you think
16:48
Speaker 2: you'd be reluctant, as Basil just said, to actually go
16:50
Speaker 2: to the States if it did mean handing over your
16:54
Speaker 2: and your children and your wife's DNA.
16:58
Speaker 12: Yeah, look, it would make you twice. I don't really know, though,
17:02
Speaker 12: I suppose I'm not. I haven't got something I thought
17:04
Speaker 12: of very much. I'm very happy here though. Show I
17:06
Speaker 12: don't need to go to any other countries. We've got
17:08
Speaker 12: everything we need right here in Australia. As I say,
17:11
Speaker 12: I'm not that worked up about it, because it's up
17:12
Speaker 12: to them. I don't need it. I'm very very happy.
17:15
Speaker 12: I'd love to go to the US for holiday, would
17:16
Speaker 12: love to be great, but hey, there are plenty of
17:19
Speaker 12: good places in Australia. I'm stuck here. COVID was pretty good.
17:21
Speaker 12: We had great time here in Australia.
17:23
Speaker 3: Oh you might.
17:25
Speaker 5: You'd love it over here, very nice over here, man.
17:27
Speaker 12: I'm there next week, Basil, I'm there next week, beautiful.
17:30
Speaker 5: I'm going to come to the airport.
17:31
Speaker 12: I'll pick you up. You locked us out for a
17:33
Speaker 12: long time. You didn't like us there for a long time.
17:35
Speaker 12: But you're welcome now anytime you like you two Shoreff, Thank.
17:38
Speaker 2: You very much. Now let's turn to problems in your
17:42
Speaker 2: own party, Matt. The prominent National Party figure Ron Buzzwell
17:46
Speaker 2: came out today in The Australian. He slammed Barnaby driyce
17:49
Speaker 2: over his defection to One Nation, and he actually said
17:52
Speaker 2: he hopes he fails in his next political task.
17:55
Speaker 3: That here's what he told the OS.
17:56
Speaker 2: He said, let Barnaby chase whatever he thinks he'll find.
18:00
Speaker 2: And when Barnaby's wonderings run their coss as wonderings always do,
18:04
Speaker 2: the Nationals will still be here, united, serving regional Australia,
18:09
Speaker 2: still home. Matt, what do you think of what Boswell
18:12
Speaker 2: has to say? Do you agree with him? Do you
18:13
Speaker 2: hope Barnaby fails?
18:16
Speaker 12: Well, look, there's a tinge of sadness for me, Shari,
18:19
Speaker 12: because I saw the pitches alongside the article of Barnaby
18:21
Speaker 12: and Ron hugging. They've been through many battles before. Ron
18:26
Speaker 12: famously helped Barnaby be elected and but it did a
18:29
Speaker 12: lot of work too, and as the sort of a ticket,
18:31
Speaker 12: they've got four senators up in Queensland. Gave John Howard
18:34
Speaker 12: power in the Senate in twos and four. So yeah,
18:37
Speaker 12: after twenty years of fighting on the front lines together,
18:39
Speaker 12: it's pretty sad to see this split. It's reflective though,
18:43
Speaker 12: of the sadness of a lot of Nationals Party members
18:45
Speaker 12: that have helped Barnaby over the years, and like Royan,
18:48
Speaker 12: I'm not so sure this is going to work out
18:50
Speaker 12: because there's one thing about Barnaby, and knowing pretty well
18:54
Speaker 12: he doesn't like working for the man. He doesn't like
18:57
Speaker 12: working for a boss. And in Pauline's party, she is
19:00
Speaker 12: the boss. In our party, the Nationals Party, there is
19:03
Speaker 12: really no boss, and there's a figurehead in Canberra and
19:05
Speaker 12: David Little Proud right now, But the bosses are the
19:08
Speaker 12: thousands of members who put you there. You can criticize
19:12
Speaker 12: the parliamentary leader and not be kicked out of the party.
19:15
Speaker 12: He can't do that because the party organization is run
19:17
Speaker 12: by the members. The powers dispersed, and that gives the
19:21
Speaker 12: elected members a degree of freedom, as Barnaby has exercised
19:24
Speaker 12: many times as a member of the National's Party. They'll
19:27
Speaker 12: get that freedom in the One Nation Party and that
19:29
Speaker 12: might cause some issues.
19:31
Speaker 2: I'm going to get to the expenses psych which is
19:32
Speaker 2: very quickly. Matt. Would you still be catching up with
19:35
Speaker 2: Barnaby as you would usually do as close friends in
19:37
Speaker 2: the holidays?
19:38
Speaker 9: So are you going to keep your I get this
19:40
Speaker 9: I turn up. He saw me. I turn up at
19:42
Speaker 9: Riche's funeral. I got there a bit early.
19:44
Speaker 12: First com car arrives, who gets out Barnaby Joyce and
19:48
Speaker 12: a chat. I can't repeat exactly what I said, but
19:51
Speaker 12: I said I can't get away from you. And we
19:54
Speaker 12: went had breakfast. So yeah, we had a good chat
19:57
Speaker 12: catch up.
19:58
Speaker 2: All right, there you go.
19:58
Speaker 7: Well it eggs and coffee of course, and it was friendly.
20:06
Speaker 5: Yeah.
20:06
Speaker 9: Yeah.
20:06
Speaker 12: Look, look he's on a different football team now, so
20:09
Speaker 12: every now and again I'm going to have to tackle him.
20:11
Speaker 12: And my experience when you play footy against your mates,
20:13
Speaker 12: you tackle him even harder.
20:15
Speaker 2: Yeah, all right, let's get to the expense of Saga.
20:17
Speaker 3: Basil.
20:18
Speaker 2: Sarah Hanson Young you know, didn't turn up to her
20:21
Speaker 2: weekly Sky News panel this morning. This after the massive
20:25
Speaker 2: news that she charged taxpayers nearly fifty thousand dollars.
20:30
Speaker 3: For her husband to travel back and forth to Canbra.
20:33
Speaker 2: Her husband, who's a lobbyist, who has to be there
20:35
Speaker 2: for what work, Basil, this is outrageous.
20:38
Speaker 9: Yeah.
20:38
Speaker 13: There are entitlements, and I think many MPs taking titlements
20:42
Speaker 13: to also mean what is available to them or allowable.
20:46
Speaker 5: Within the rules.
20:47
Speaker 13: And then there is this very separate category of public
20:51
Speaker 13: expectation and clearly a number of what we have seen
20:54
Speaker 13: reported from a range of MPs over the last few
20:57
Speaker 13: days and certainly over the last week or so. With that,
21:00
Speaker 13: Wells does not meet that very important measure of public
21:03
Speaker 13: expectation or otherwise the pub test. And just because you're
21:07
Speaker 13: allowed to do it, or just because the rules say
21:09
Speaker 13: you can do it, doesn't mean it is the right
21:12
Speaker 13: thing to do. My hunch sends out of all of
21:15
Speaker 13: this is that eventually the rules will get changed, they
21:18
Speaker 13: will get tightened up because the public will demand a
21:21
Speaker 13: tightening up. And I'll just say this, I live in
21:24
Speaker 13: Perth and I'm an MP here in Perth, so I
21:27
Speaker 13: don't have to go through the hardships that federal MPs do, especially.
21:31
Speaker 5: The ones from WA. It's a big, big commute.
21:33
Speaker 13: And they should have the right to reunite their families
21:36
Speaker 13: from time to time. But I think people have a
21:38
Speaker 13: problem and that reunion happens at the AFL Grand Final
21:42
Speaker 13: or the NRL Grand Final or something like that, and
21:45
Speaker 13: they would have a problem also with it happening too often,
21:48
Speaker 13: and in particular if that reunion enables their partner to
21:51
Speaker 13: go off and do other work that has nothing to
21:53
Speaker 13: do with the reunion.
21:54
Speaker 5: And I think people in Australia will speak.
21:57
Speaker 2: Very clearly on this, well said Basil, and I think
22:00
Speaker 2: it's outrageous that Albinizi isn't coming out strongly on this.
22:04
Speaker 2: As I said at the start of the show, Matt,
22:06
Speaker 2: do you think the rules should be tightened, I.
22:10
Speaker 9: Do, Sharhi. I think the Australian people expect it.
22:13
Speaker 12: Like Basil, I think there's an appropriate amount of family
22:18
Speaker 12: reunion that can be supported. But I think the obvious
22:21
Speaker 12: thing to do here is to restrict that to the
22:23
Speaker 12: parliamentary trips to Canberra, because too often we've seen this
22:26
Speaker 12: situation where people seem to organize trips around other events,
22:30
Speaker 12: which is just not meeting community expectations. So it's a
22:32
Speaker 12: test for the Prime Minister.
22:33
Speaker 9: Now.
22:35
Speaker 12: It's really up to him, despite he's I don't hold
22:38
Speaker 12: a hose Act today saying he's not the finance minister.
22:42
Speaker 12: You're the Prime minister, geez I, Anthony Abernezi, you're the
22:46
Speaker 12: Prime minister.
22:47
Speaker 9: You get to set the standards here.
22:50
Speaker 12: He's walking past these examples and staying there's nothing to
22:52
Speaker 12: see here. I was just in a pub in Brisbane
22:54
Speaker 12: for lunch today and that's everyone wanted to talk about.
22:57
Speaker 12: Was all this stuff, and he's got to show some
22:59
Speaker 12: leadership here and clamp down this. Anaka Wells, And one
23:02
Speaker 12: extra thing than what Basil said, you did speak well,
23:05
Speaker 12: But Anaka Wells, I don't think she's done everything within
23:08
Speaker 12: the rules, because the rules also say you've got to
23:09
Speaker 12: spend money at a value for money approach, and I
23:12
Speaker 12: think on many occasions she's failed that test.
23:15
Speaker 2: Yeah. Absolutely. Just finally, Matt, I noticed that you've been
23:21
Speaker 2: on a bit of a national campaign to dump net zero.
23:23
Speaker 2: You're out there trying to sell this message. Last night
23:27
Speaker 2: you were into Wombah, and as you just mentioned before,
23:29
Speaker 2: you're going to be in Wa next week on another
23:34
Speaker 2: dumping net zero campaign.
23:38
Speaker 12: Well, I'm on the war path here, Sharhi. This agenda
23:42
Speaker 12: is putting down the cost of living for Austrains. It's
23:45
Speaker 12: costing us our jobs, deindustrializing as a nation, but not
23:47
Speaker 12: even protecting the environment anymore.
23:49
Speaker 9: That's being destroyed as well. And I think a lot
23:51
Speaker 9: of people.
23:52
Speaker 12: Don't really know what need zero is. Ultimately, it's about
23:55
Speaker 12: the government controlling your life and making us all poor.
23:59
Speaker 12: So Basil, if you want to join me, come along.
24:01
Speaker 12: I'll try my best to convince you why this is
24:03
Speaker 12: a failing agenda and we need to get our country back.
24:07
Speaker 13: I noticed your banner, your poster there was in Liberal blue.
24:11
Speaker 13: That was impressive and we're about to see more because
24:13
Speaker 13: I'm with Liberals.
24:16
Speaker 12: Than me now Basil, they want to zero two. But
24:20
Speaker 12: even so, it was lovely to see.
24:22
Speaker 3: Basil, you still support net zero? Is that right?
24:26
Speaker 9: Well?
24:26
Speaker 13: What I support is reliable energy, affordable energy, and they
24:33
Speaker 13: have to be the priorities. And I do also believe
24:36
Speaker 13: that many Australians, particularly in a city and particularly female voters,
24:40
Speaker 13: want significant ambition to reduce emissions and that should always
24:45
Speaker 13: be a part of our agenda, but not at any cost.
24:48
Speaker 5: I've always been very clear on that.
24:50
Speaker 13: I think to walk away from it completely would have
24:52
Speaker 13: been a mistake. From my federal colleagues. They didn't walk
24:55
Speaker 13: away from it completely. They still have emissions reduction ambition
24:59
Speaker 13: in their agenda.
25:00
Speaker 5: That was most important for me.
25:02
Speaker 13: I think there is a compromise possible and available, and
25:05
Speaker 13: I think it's there.
25:06
Speaker 2: It sounds like you're not on I mean, not exactly
25:09
Speaker 2: the same page, but not too far apart.
25:11
Speaker 3: So maybe you can go to match.
25:12
Speaker 9: I'll catch up with you.
25:14
Speaker 12: I'll call you after this, Basil, Let's catch up next Wednesday.
25:17
Speaker 5: And I'd like to walk around inner city Perth. Matt.
25:20
Speaker 12: I think that'd be good for you to have a
25:21
Speaker 12: look around here. Let's go to Fremantle, Let's go to
25:23
Speaker 12: the belly of the Beast.
25:25
Speaker 3: Sounds like you should have a.
25:26
Speaker 2: Date next week, all right, Basil, Matt, thank you so much. Now,
25:31
Speaker 2: we're expecting the Coalition to reveal its immigration policy next week.
25:35
Speaker 2: As I revealed exclusively on the show last night, a
25:38
Speaker 2: values test is central to the Coalition's new policy. Joining
25:44
Speaker 2: me now to discuss is Shadow Minister for Energy and
25:46
Speaker 2: Emissions Reduction down teyn Dan.
25:49
Speaker 3: Great to see you.
25:50
Speaker 2: Thank you very much for your time. So you know
25:53
Speaker 2: I spoke about this values test a bit on the
25:55
Speaker 2: show last night with Angus Taylor. How would this work
25:59
Speaker 2: and why is it so important?
26:04
Speaker 14: Well, it's important, Chari, because we want to make sure
26:07
Speaker 14: that the people who come to our country know and
26:11
Speaker 14: understand the values that have made us such a great country.
26:15
Speaker 14: And if you are going to participate, you need to
26:18
Speaker 14: participate supporting those valumes. Value, supporting liberty, supporting the concept
26:25
Speaker 14: of liberal democracy, ensuring that you understand and respect freedom
26:31
Speaker 14: of speech, that you understand and respect freedom of religion.
26:34
Speaker 14: These are all absolutely essential to who we are as
26:38
Speaker 14: a nation, and that's why it's incredibly important that those
26:42
Speaker 14: people who come to our nation no one understand those
26:46
Speaker 14: values and how intrinsic they are to everything that we
26:51
Speaker 14: do as a nation, especially in making sure that we've
26:55
Speaker 14: got communities that have proper social cohesion and an understanding
27:02
Speaker 14: of everything that has made and growed this nation into
27:07
Speaker 14: what I think is the leading liberal democracy in the world.
27:13
Speaker 2: Yeah. Well, although many have said that multiculturalism has been
27:16
Speaker 2: failing in recent times, do you think that's right? Do
27:20
Speaker 2: you think that's why you do need this values test?
27:24
Speaker 14: Well, I think absolutely.
27:26
Speaker 1: What we've got to do to.
27:27
Speaker 14: Make sure that we can continue to be a great
27:31
Speaker 14: multicultural country is to ensure that people know and understand
27:36
Speaker 14: the values that ensure that multiculturalism works. And that's knowing
27:42
Speaker 14: and understanding the importance of freedom of liberty, of freedom
27:46
Speaker 14: of religion, of respecting each other's values, of unknowing and
27:52
Speaker 14: understanding that respect underpins nearly everything that you need to
28:00
Speaker 14: do as a society and make sure that you can
28:02
Speaker 14: continue to function. And if you're coming here to impose
28:07
Speaker 14: the way of life of the country that you've come from.
28:11
Speaker 14: That is not the approach that we want. We want
28:14
Speaker 14: you to know and understand the values that underpin our
28:18
Speaker 14: great country and adhere to those values so that we
28:22
Speaker 14: can continue to grow and develop our nation and make
28:26
Speaker 14: sure it's the place that we love so dearly because
28:30
Speaker 14: of those values.
28:31
Speaker 2: Right. So we're going to be hearing more about that
28:33
Speaker 2: next week when Susan Lee comes out of self imposed hiding.
28:38
Speaker 2: I suppose turning to the economy now, Dan, our inflation
28:43
Speaker 2: rate is surging past other major economies. We've seen the
28:47
Speaker 2: comments from the RBA governor this week. In the US
28:51
Speaker 2: though their interest rate is actually falling. And Donald Trump
28:54
Speaker 2: told voters today that he's crushing inflation, and he said
28:58
Speaker 2: affordability is a top priority.
29:00
Speaker 1: A look, and I have no higher priority than making
29:04
Speaker 1: America affordable. Again, that's what we're going to do.
29:06
Speaker 15: Getting inflation, We're crushing it. And you're getting much higher wages.
29:11
Speaker 15: I mean, the only thing that used it's really going
29:14
Speaker 15: up big. It's called the stock market.
29:16
Speaker 2: And so Dantean, what do you think, you know, why
29:20
Speaker 2: do you think inflation is still rising in Australia. We're
29:23
Speaker 2: looking at rate hikes next year. In the US, we're
29:26
Speaker 2: seeing the reverse.
29:30
Speaker 14: Well here, we're seeing uncontrolled spending from the government. We've
29:35
Speaker 14: seen uncontrolled spending from many of the labor state governments
29:40
Speaker 14: and that's driving pressure on inflation. We're also seeing Labour's
29:45
Speaker 14: reckless pursuit of their net zero targets, including their eighty
29:50
Speaker 14: two percent renewables by twenty thirty, which is driving energy
29:55
Speaker 14: prices higher in this nation, which is also driving inflation.
30:00
Speaker 14: So everything this government is doing when it comes to
30:03
Speaker 14: its settings to putting downward pressure on inflation are completely
30:08
Speaker 14: the reverse.
30:09
Speaker 16: And what we.
30:10
Speaker 14: Need to see from the Prime Minister is for him
30:14
Speaker 14: to start focusing on this incredibly, incredibly important economic issue
30:19
Speaker 14: because if he doesn't, cost of living is going to
30:22
Speaker 14: continue to rise in this country. More and more pressure
30:26
Speaker 14: is going to be placed on families and on individuals,
30:30
Speaker 14: and we've already seen the percentage of people living behind
30:34
Speaker 14: the poverty line increase under Anthony Albanese, and sadly, we're
30:39
Speaker 14: going to see that increase even further. And it's not
30:42
Speaker 14: the Christmas present that Australians are looking.
30:45
Speaker 2: For, yeah, exactly, And even Michelle Bullock's message this week
30:48
Speaker 2: could have an impact on whether people decide to spend
30:53
Speaker 2: for Christmas or not. They'd be worried about rates going up.
30:55
Speaker 2: They'd already be factoring that in Dantean, thank you very
30:58
Speaker 2: much for your time. Now still to car Alberan easy
31:02
Speaker 2: is asked today about anti semitism, Annie raises islamophobia, still
31:08
Speaker 2: refusing to take action on Jillian Sieguel's report. Plus is
31:12
Speaker 2: the social media band for teens working or talk about
31:15
Speaker 2: that after the break.
31:19
Speaker 3: Welcome back?
31:20
Speaker 2: Well, under sixteen's have just survived two days without social media,
31:25
Speaker 2: or at least they should have. But as these kids
31:27
Speaker 2: put it, the ban hasn't exactly worked for everyone.
31:32
Speaker 4: So jealous about what you think of the impact that
31:38
Speaker 4: it's having.
31:39
Speaker 16: My friends have it and they some of them are
31:42
Speaker 16: getting locked out, but some of them aren't.
31:44
Speaker 2: I know my friends Instagram has been like signed out
31:46
Speaker 2: and she can't access it, but like my friends are
31:49
Speaker 2: still on.
31:51
Speaker 14: We are expecting it to take probably weeks, maybe a
31:54
Speaker 14: couple of months for them to sip through.
31:56
Speaker 2: Everybody's last night, the Sydney Harbor Bridge was lit up
32:02
Speaker 2: in green and gold to celebrate the success of the
32:05
Speaker 2: social media about I mean that is a bit over
32:08
Speaker 2: the top. In my opinion, it might have been a
32:11
Speaker 2: little premature as well. We're joining me now to discuss
32:14
Speaker 2: is former Labor State Secretary Cameron Milner.
32:18
Speaker 3: Cameron, good to see you.
32:19
Speaker 2: Now. Clearly there are a lot of teenagers getting around this,
32:22
Speaker 2: and one of my friends who's a mum of a
32:24
Speaker 2: teenager told me today that actually, maybe I shouldn't be
32:27
Speaker 2: giving away tips. I don't know how many teenagers are
32:29
Speaker 2: watching this show under sixteens anyway, but if apparently if
32:33
Speaker 2: they sign out of TikTok, they can still access the app.
32:37
Speaker 2: So there are many loopholes like this.
32:41
Speaker 16: Oh look, I think there are shari and that's the problem.
32:43
Speaker 10: I mean, the problem with the Albany's government fundamentally is
32:45
Speaker 10: they're all announcement and no action, and that's why I
32:47
Speaker 10: fear about this. What I'm going to say though, is
32:49
Speaker 10: news limiteds should be congratulated. I mean, they ran a
32:51
Speaker 10: fantastic campaign to raise awareness and actually pressure the government
32:54
Speaker 10: to real action. I mean, saving our kids from the
32:57
Speaker 10: sewer of social media is such a great thing. So
32:59
Speaker 10: I congratulate news limited for that fully, but unfortunately it's
33:03
Speaker 10: gone through the hands of the Albanese government and as
33:05
Speaker 10: you say, I mean, it's about as secure as as
33:09
Speaker 10: a string bag or a sieve, unfortunately, and the kids
33:11
Speaker 10: are probably going to work out a way to get
33:13
Speaker 10: around Albanese and that's a real worry because they shouldn't
33:15
Speaker 10: be getting access to this stuff.
33:18
Speaker 2: Like I said last night, it's probably a transition period
33:22
Speaker 2: where the teenagers who are ready on it and they
33:24
Speaker 2: use it to communicate with their friends. Snapchat apparently is
33:28
Speaker 2: how teens talk to each other message each other. So
33:31
Speaker 2: they're going to be very difficult for those teens to
33:33
Speaker 2: suddenly be off social media. But you know, the kids
33:35
Speaker 2: who are now thirteen and twelve, even fourteen, hopefully it'll
33:40
Speaker 2: be one of those things that takes a couple of
33:42
Speaker 2: years to change, and then they'll just be told this
33:45
Speaker 2: is the law, it's banned, you can't go on social media.
33:48
Speaker 3: Do you think that's how it'll be.
33:51
Speaker 10: Exactly, Shari, And look, you know, big tech is like
33:54
Speaker 10: big tobacco. They want the kids young and get them
33:56
Speaker 10: hooked early. And that's what social media was doing to
33:59
Speaker 10: eleven and twelve, you and children even as young as nine.
34:01
Speaker 10: I mean, it's sickening what they were trying to do
34:03
Speaker 10: in terms of targeting young people with their algorithms and
34:06
Speaker 10: trying to get them in before they had enough consciousness
34:08
Speaker 10: to to make decisions of their own, informed decisions as sixteen, seventeen,
34:12
Speaker 10: eighteen year olds can do so. No, I think hopefully
34:14
Speaker 10: the band will take a real effect for younger people.
34:18
Speaker 10: Those in transition might heat with ruel symptoms, but hopefully
34:21
Speaker 10: they see the benefit as well. But unfortunately, as we said,
34:24
Speaker 10: lots of kids are going to get around this because
34:26
Speaker 10: it's an Albanese plan rather than a real plan.
34:30
Speaker 2: Well, the Prime Minister did in an interview with Kieran
34:32
Speaker 2: Gilbert here on Sky this morning. Kieran Gilbert actually asked
34:35
Speaker 2: him about anti semitism and unsurprisingly alban Easy couldn't just
34:40
Speaker 2: answer about anti semitism.
34:41
Speaker 17: Have a look, there's been fears about the issue of
34:45
Speaker 17: social cohesion and the anti Semitism that's erupted in the
34:48
Speaker 17: last few years. Is this a big focus for you
34:51
Speaker 17: heading into twenty twenty six.
34:53
Speaker 4: People who live side by side, whether they be Christian, Jewish, Muslim,
34:57
Speaker 4: Buddhist or of no faith, is really important. It lifts
35:02
Speaker 4: us up as a nation. Now we need to cherish
35:06
Speaker 4: that there has been a rise in anti semitism We
35:09
Speaker 4: need to make sure that we address those issues and
35:12
Speaker 4: my government will continue to do that. We need to
35:14
Speaker 4: continue to address Islamophobia wherever we see it, wherever we
35:19
Speaker 4: see any discrimination against any group, and particularly a targeting
35:24
Speaker 4: of groups.
35:26
Speaker 2: Mean Cameron, he can't answer properly. He hasn't implemented Jillian
35:29
Speaker 2: Siegul's report, he hasn't interviewed our recommendations from our summit.
35:34
Speaker 14: No.
35:35
Speaker 10: Look, that's right, and it's an abject failure, abject failure
35:37
Speaker 10: of leadership on Albane's apart when it comes to anti
35:39
Speaker 10: Semitism and to compare it to Islamophobia, well, I'm sorry,
35:43
Speaker 10: thank goodness, but mosques aren't being firebombed. People's houses aren't
35:46
Speaker 10: being grafeited and their cars firebomb And it's not the
35:49
Speaker 10: harassment seeing of Jewish students at schools amongst Muslim students.
35:53
Speaker 10: That's a good thing, but let's face up to it.
35:55
Speaker 10: We're actually racked by anti Semitism in our country. And
35:58
Speaker 10: when the Jewish community asked for Leadershi, they got a jellyback,
36:01
Speaker 10: an absolute jellyback.
36:02
Speaker 16: In Albanese.
36:03
Speaker 10: When the Abbess Synagogue was still smoldering, he stayed at
36:06
Speaker 10: Cottislow and played tennis for two hours with a lobbyist.
36:09
Speaker 10: That's what he thought, the Prime Minister of Australia do.
36:12
Speaker 10: This guy has failed. I think the Jewish community and
36:15
Speaker 10: the rest of us as well, who all consider about
36:17
Speaker 10: anti Semitism and as say, an absolute abject failure of
36:22
Speaker 10: leadership from Albanese on anti Semitism.
36:25
Speaker 2: Yeah, it has. He's been terrible and he can't even
36:27
Speaker 2: give an answer without mentioning Islamophobia either. New research today
36:32
Speaker 2: from the E sixty one Institute says that universal style
36:36
Speaker 2: payments have increased from one point four percent to three
36:40
Speaker 2: point seven percent of GDP in the past two decades,
36:44
Speaker 2: and then Cameron means tested income support cash payments like
36:47
Speaker 2: job Seeker and the Family Tax Benefit have actually fallen
36:51
Speaker 2: from seven point eight percent to five point three percent
36:54
Speaker 2: of GDP.
36:55
Speaker 3: So what does this say to you.
36:57
Speaker 2: About how as a nation are politicians as well have
37:03
Speaker 2: become addicted to this welfare state, this obsession with handouts.
37:10
Speaker 10: Well, it's a spray it everywhere movement, isn't it. I mean,
37:13
Speaker 10: you know, labor used to be about means testing. Labor
37:15
Speaker 10: used to be about helping, you know, people who are struggling,
37:18
Speaker 10: people who are working poor to get a better life.
37:21
Speaker 10: But no, it's like millionaires get discounts on their houses
37:24
Speaker 10: now thanks to Albanese. I mean, so this is lazy policy,
37:27
Speaker 10: lazy social policy, lazy economic policy from labor and as
37:30
Speaker 10: a spray and prayer approach to buy as many votes
37:33
Speaker 10: as possible.
37:33
Speaker 1: So you're right.
37:34
Speaker 16: I mean the difficulty is we should be.
37:36
Speaker 10: A labor government with real labor policies targeting working people
37:39
Speaker 10: and struggling people in our community. But wor got under
37:42
Speaker 10: Albanize is cash and confetti being thrown everywhere.
37:45
Speaker 2: Look, I'm still on air next week, and I hope
37:48
Speaker 2: you'll still be here to join me for one more week.
37:50
Speaker 2: But just a couple of quick fire questions. Do you
37:53
Speaker 2: think Susan Lee will survive another year?
37:56
Speaker 3: Just quick answer?
37:59
Speaker 16: Look, I think she'll struggle, genuinely struggle.
38:02
Speaker 3: The Victorian state election next year November.
38:05
Speaker 16: I think any addiction, Look.
38:08
Speaker 10: It's going to be really tight. I mean, Jess Wilson's
38:10
Speaker 10: challenge is sixteen seats. It's a big ask, even with
38:12
Speaker 10: the polls going her way.
38:14
Speaker 2: Do you think Justinta Allen might hold on?
38:18
Speaker 10: I do, Actually, I think she's actually an outside chance
38:20
Speaker 10: of holding on, absolutely.
38:21
Speaker 3: To worry and inflation.
38:23
Speaker 2: Do you think we're going to see rate hikes as
38:24
Speaker 2: well next year?
38:27
Speaker 16: Well, I think that's the great fear.
38:28
Speaker 10: I mean, you know, rising unemployment, rising inflation and interest
38:31
Speaker 10: rates going up.
38:31
Speaker 16: It could be a toxic trifecta for labor.
38:36
Speaker 2: Right, Camra Milner, thank you as always bear time.
38:40
Speaker 3: Still to come.
38:40
Speaker 2: Classic books that have captured hearts and minds are now
38:44
Speaker 2: accompanied by trigger warnings. Tom Slater will join me soon.
38:48
Speaker 2: And how you can help families who aren't able to
38:51
Speaker 2: afford Christmas for their children?
38:54
Speaker 3: That's next, welcome back.
38:59
Speaker 2: Well, it's apposed to be the happiest time of the year,
39:02
Speaker 2: but for many Australian families, Christmas will be really hard,
39:06
Speaker 2: especially for the parents. A new report by the Salvation
39:10
Speaker 2: Army has found that twenty one percent of Australians are
39:12
Speaker 2: worried their kids won't have any presence under the tree
39:16
Speaker 2: this year, one in ten or worried their kids will
39:18
Speaker 2: miss out on food, and sadly five percent of parents
39:23
Speaker 2: won't even bring up Christmas at all because they can't
39:27
Speaker 2: afford it. Well, joining me now is the Salvation Army's
39:30
Speaker 2: Commanding Officer, Major Brendan not Or Brendan, thank you for
39:33
Speaker 2: your time. Can you tell us a bit about what
39:37
Speaker 2: your report this year found and why it's particularly tough
39:41
Speaker 2: for families this year.
39:45
Speaker 18: Well, it's an extensive national report, Sharie, and what it
39:49
Speaker 18: finds is results which are actually devastating. There's no other
39:52
Speaker 18: word that you can use here. So what we found
39:55
Speaker 18: this twenty percent of Australians actually making a conscious decision
40:00
Speaker 18: where they and even more concerningly, their children when sick,
40:04
Speaker 18: will not get to the doctor because they simply can't
40:06
Speaker 18: afford the appointment. And they're making conscious decisions now, Shari,
40:10
Speaker 18: where they're saying, we've got all of these basics that
40:13
Speaker 18: we need to pay for, so it could be medical,
40:15
Speaker 18: it could be rent, utilities including food, and they're saying
40:19
Speaker 18: Christmas is one of those things that should drop off
40:21
Speaker 18: the agenda because we can't pay for all of those
40:24
Speaker 18: things and they're struggling. And I think the really concerning
40:27
Speaker 18: thing for us is we're actually seeing people come to
40:30
Speaker 18: our services where our partner's looking after young children, the
40:33
Speaker 18: other partners off working trying to make ends meet, and
40:36
Speaker 18: they just simply can't and so they're having to come
40:38
Speaker 18: to organizations like ours just to simply survive.
40:42
Speaker 2: It's particularly sad at this time of year from what
40:45
Speaker 2: you're seeing on the ground.
40:47
Speaker 1: Is it worse this year, Ah, there's no question, Shari.
40:52
Speaker 18: So I think in previous years when the Salvation Army
40:55
Speaker 18: has conducted this research, it's actually found there are certain
40:58
Speaker 18: groups of people that are the ones that are really struggling.
41:02
Speaker 18: But I think some of the concerning data that's come
41:04
Speaker 18: out of this report indicate that this cost of living
41:07
Speaker 18: crisis that we're still in is impacting ordinary Australians right
41:12
Speaker 18: across the board. Forty nine percent of Australians are saying
41:15
Speaker 18: they're really concerned about how they.
41:18
Speaker 1: Will afford Christmas this year.
41:19
Speaker 18: Forty nine percent These are just ordinary Australians saying this
41:23
Speaker 18: is really tough now, we're finding it hard to make
41:25
Speaker 18: ends meet. And then the other stat that was startling
41:29
Speaker 18: for me, Sharhi, was one point one million Australians are
41:33
Speaker 18: actually making a conscious decision to cancel Christmas.
41:37
Speaker 1: So they're saying to themselves.
41:38
Speaker 18: We're not going to mention the word Christmas to our
41:40
Speaker 18: children because we're concerned that they'll have expectations and we
41:44
Speaker 18: simply can't afford them. So that's some of the real
41:47
Speaker 18: concerns that have come out of the report for us.
41:49
Speaker 3: It's so devastating to hear that.
41:51
Speaker 2: And are you seeing as well more families turn up
41:55
Speaker 2: to Salvation Army outfits across the country.
42:01
Speaker 1: Oh, absolutely, Shari.
42:02
Speaker 18: So we've see new faces, and it's really concerning because
42:07
Speaker 18: we're seeing little children coming into centers that perhaps aren't
42:10
Speaker 18: the most appropriate places for some of those children to be.
42:13
Speaker 18: They could be homeless shelters and they're coming in because
42:16
Speaker 18: they've got nowhere else to go with the parent that's
42:18
Speaker 18: bringing them in. And so we're definitely seeing new faces.
42:22
Speaker 18: We're absolutely seeing the rise of the working port, so
42:25
Speaker 18: those people that are really working hard and trying to
42:28
Speaker 18: make it meet and simply can't.
42:30
Speaker 1: They just can't.
42:31
Speaker 18: Afford to live, and so they're coming to services like ours,
42:35
Speaker 18: and so we're certainly seeing increased demand on the services
42:39
Speaker 18: that we currently run, no question about that.
42:41
Speaker 2: So there's everyone who's at home watching this would be
42:44
Speaker 2: feeling so sad to hear this. I mean, it's truly
42:47
Speaker 2: it's devastating what so many Australians are dealing with. I mean,
42:51
Speaker 2: you mentioned and I know you aren't going to get
42:53
Speaker 2: political at on you shouldn't, but you know, you mentioned
42:56
Speaker 2: the number of people that can't afford healthcare. Twenty percent
42:59
Speaker 2: of Australian families. You can't even afford to take their
43:01
Speaker 2: children to the doctor when they need it. I mean,
43:03
Speaker 2: the Prime Minister's entire pitch was that you won't need
43:07
Speaker 2: a credit card to go to the GP. You know,
43:09
Speaker 2: like I said, I'm not asking you about that because
43:11
Speaker 2: you are not political, but I'm saying that as a comment.
43:13
Speaker 2: So it's really sad that this is what families are
43:16
Speaker 2: grappling with. Everyone at home is going to want to
43:19
Speaker 2: know what they can do to help. Is there a
43:21
Speaker 2: way to give actual Christmas presents for children?
43:25
Speaker 3: Would you prefer financial donations?
43:27
Speaker 2: What do you need?
43:31
Speaker 1: Well, Shari?
43:32
Speaker 18: Last year at Christmas, the Salvation Nami handed out three
43:35
Speaker 18: hundred and fifty thousand toys and gifts across the nation.
43:39
Speaker 18: We provide one hundred and seventy seven thousand meals for
43:42
Speaker 18: those that were struggling to eet We provided eighty nine
43:45
Speaker 18: thousand nights of accommodation for families, and so the demand
43:49
Speaker 18: for the service this year is far greater than what
43:52
Speaker 18: we saw last year, and so we just asked Australians
43:55
Speaker 18: to do a couple of things. One is we just
43:58
Speaker 18: asked them to look out for around them. If someone's
44:01
Speaker 18: doing it tough, just reach out and show a caring hand.
44:05
Speaker 1: That's who we are as Australians.
44:07
Speaker 18: I think secondly, if people are able to donate cash
44:10
Speaker 18: for an organization like Savation Army, please be assured we
44:13
Speaker 18: will absolutely direct that money to where it's needed and
44:17
Speaker 18: people can go to Savation Army dot org dot au
44:19
Speaker 18: or thirteen Salvos to make that donation and any size
44:22
Speaker 18: donation is.
44:24
Speaker 1: Deeply, deeply appreciated.
44:26
Speaker 18: I think the other thing too is toys are certainly
44:28
Speaker 18: in demand at this time of the year, so if
44:30
Speaker 18: people have toys, or if they have nonperishable food, they
44:34
Speaker 18: can drop that off to the local Salvos and again
44:36
Speaker 18: we will deeply appreciate that support.
44:39
Speaker 1: Australians, Shari, have been.
44:41
Speaker 18: This incredible invisible army that supported the Salvation Army. And
44:45
Speaker 18: without Australians being so kind and so generous, and may
44:50
Speaker 18: I say it, being Australian and who.
44:52
Speaker 1: We're meant to be, we couldn't do the work that we.
44:54
Speaker 2: Do and it's so important what you do. Brandon, thank
44:57
Speaker 2: you very much for joining us. I'm sure everyone would
45:01
Speaker 2: do what they can to help. All Right, Still to
45:04
Speaker 2: come the latest country to boycott Eurovision because of Israel's participation,
45:08
Speaker 2: and the children's book that now comes with trigger warnings.
45:12
Speaker 2: That's next. Well, the beloved and best selling Harry Potter
45:20
Speaker 2: series is apparently now triggering students. The University of Glasgow
45:25
Speaker 2: is issuing a warning to its students about the dangerous,
45:28
Speaker 2: toxic and confronting content they might encounter if they choose
45:32
Speaker 2: to read Harry Potter and Let's Cross Live to London
45:36
Speaker 2: now where I'm joined by Spiked Online editor Tom Slater. Tom,
45:40
Speaker 2: thanks for your time. So why is the university doing this?
45:44
Speaker 2: And has this got to do with JK. Rowling.
45:47
Speaker 19: I don't know if I've got a good answer to that, Sharry.
45:49
Speaker 19: It seems like this is one in a number of
45:51
Speaker 19: children's books that have been slapped with these warnings. In
45:54
Speaker 19: the case of Harry Potter and the Philosopher start and
45:56
Speaker 19: apparently explores outdated attitudes, abuse and language. There's also Lewis
46:01
Speaker 19: Carroll's Alice in Wonderland of various other books that have
46:03
Speaker 19: been swept up in this. So I don't necessarily think
46:05
Speaker 19: it's a backlash to JK. Rowling's very public views on
46:08
Speaker 19: the gender issue. But I think it's just part of
46:10
Speaker 19: that broader trend that we can't just seem to shake
46:12
Speaker 19: in this country and across the West, which is treating
46:15
Speaker 19: students like children effectively. I mean, when Harry Potter first
46:18
Speaker 19: came out for children, it didn't have these warnings on it.
46:20
Speaker 19: Yet apparently people north of the age of eighteen going
46:23
Speaker 19: to one of the country's most esteemed universities require this
46:27
Speaker 19: kind of advisory morning. So it's a sad state of affairs,
46:30
Speaker 19: but something we've become quite accustomed to.
46:31
Speaker 2: I dare say, yeah, just gone too far, that's for sure.
46:35
Speaker 2: Now it looks like Iceland has become the fifth country
46:39
Speaker 2: to pull out of Eurovision next year. This is in
46:41
Speaker 2: protest that Israel's participation.
46:43
Speaker 3: So it's now.
46:44
Speaker 2: Spain, Ireland, Slovenia and the Netherlands.
46:47
Speaker 3: I mean, Tom, you know this.
46:50
Speaker 2: Thousands of Israelis were murdered on October seven, yet somehow
46:55
Speaker 2: Israel is to blame in Israel is the enemy and
46:57
Speaker 2: it can't participate in a song and Dan's contest.
47:02
Speaker 19: That's exactly right, Sharry. I mean, in the wake of
47:04
Speaker 19: October seventh, in any reasonable moral universe, everyone would have responded,
47:10
Speaker 19: whether they're in the arts world or not, in solidarity
47:13
Speaker 19: with standing by the Jewish state as it was attacked
47:16
Speaker 19: by these genocidal terrorists. The fact that the exact opposite
47:18
Speaker 19: has happened, that you have had the great and good
47:22
Speaker 19: not just within Eurovision but across the kind of art
47:24
Speaker 19: sector and politics, paint Israel as the villain, side with
47:28
Speaker 19: their enemies and launched what was in effect a deeply,
47:31
Speaker 19: let's face it, not just anti Israel, but kind of
47:33
Speaker 19: an anti Semitic campaign. And it's worth saying that where Eurovision
47:36
Speaker 19: is concerned, the protests and the course to kick Israel
47:39
Speaker 19: out of the competition long preceded the war in Gaza.
47:43
Speaker 19: I mean when they actually hosted the competition a few
47:45
Speaker 19: years ago, there was widespread condemnation, There was course for boycotts,
47:49
Speaker 19: there was protests and all the rest of it. So
47:51
Speaker 19: anyone who thinks this is purely about how the IDF
47:54
Speaker 19: may or may not have conducted itself over the course
47:56
Speaker 19: of the past couple of years is lying to themselves.
47:58
Speaker 19: This has always been about that fundamental double standard, that
48:01
Speaker 19: bigoted double standard, where Israel was concerned, and it's just
48:04
Speaker 19: depressing that so many people are mindlessly going along with it.
48:07
Speaker 2: I actually didn't realize that that campaign started before October seven,
48:11
Speaker 2: because it's just gained so much momentum that now all
48:13
Speaker 2: these countries are saying they will boycott Eurovisional together. I
48:18
Speaker 2: want to ask you about this move by the US. Today,
48:21
Speaker 2: the US seized an oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela.
48:24
Speaker 2: The Attorney General said that the vessel was used to
48:27
Speaker 2: transport sanctioned oil from Venezuela and Iran, and Donald Trump
48:32
Speaker 2: spoke about it.
48:33
Speaker 15: Have a look, you see the result, and I guess
48:36
Speaker 15: they probably have released the pictures by now pretty soon.
48:41
Speaker 15: You'll discuss that with the appropriate people later on. But no,
48:45
Speaker 15: it received for a very good reason.
48:48
Speaker 2: In tom This seems like major action on drug cartels
48:51
Speaker 2: as well.
48:54
Speaker 19: Exactly that seems to be the story that the Trump
48:56
Speaker 19: administration is telling is that they are putting pressure on
48:59
Speaker 19: Nicholas Maduro's dictatorial regime in Venezuela because they've become a
49:03
Speaker 19: key player in funneling narcotics and drugs into the United States.
49:07
Speaker 19: The argument from the Venezuelan side is that this is
49:10
Speaker 19: basically about oil and regime change, and I dare say
49:13
Speaker 19: this probably this particular kind of seizure will help service
49:16
Speaker 19: that narrative to a certain extent. It's not entirely clear
49:19
Speaker 19: whether the chips are going to fall here.
49:20
Speaker 9: It's also not.
49:21
Speaker 19: Entirely clear how far the Trump administration is willing to
49:24
Speaker 19: go in order to secure its aims. But it's one
49:26
Speaker 19: of those things where, given all of our attention has
49:28
Speaker 19: been on Ukraine and to a lesser extent in recent weeks, Israel,
49:31
Speaker 19: this key kind of part of American foreign policy in
49:34
Speaker 19: relation to its near neighbors is something that a lot
49:36
Speaker 19: of us are going to have to start paying a
49:37
Speaker 19: lot more attention to because it's really only going in
49:40
Speaker 19: one direction towards a lot more escalation, it seems like
49:42
Speaker 19: in terms of these attentions.
49:44
Speaker 2: Just back to the UK, there's been a massive issue
49:47
Speaker 2: of the erosion of free speech, police cracking down on
49:52
Speaker 2: free speech, outrageous cases. You've written a new article about this.
49:57
Speaker 2: You know, you're saying that it's enough with a punishment
50:00
Speaker 2: of people for no other crime than speaking their mind.
50:03
Speaker 3: What are some of the newer cases that you've uncovered?
50:07
Speaker 19: So one of the really striking stories in the news
50:09
Speaker 19: in the UK this week is it's a general called
50:11
Speaker 19: Jamie Michael.
50:12
Speaker 9: He was a former Royal Marine.
50:13
Speaker 19: He was arrested in the wake of the Southport riots
50:16
Speaker 19: last year for posting a video onto Facebook in which
50:19
Speaker 19: he railed against illegal migration.
50:21
Speaker 9: This avowed violence, but.
50:22
Speaker 19: Called for the issue to be gotten a hold of.
50:25
Speaker 19: He infamously was held on remand for seventeen days and
50:28
Speaker 19: then acquitted by a jury of his peers in seventeen minutes.
50:31
Speaker 19: It became too many people's mind's come of one of
50:33
Speaker 19: those key cases of overreach in relation to speech crime
50:37
Speaker 19: in the wake of the Southport attacks and the riots
50:39
Speaker 19: that followed, and it's just picking up on the fact
50:42
Speaker 19: that he continues to be punished for it. So the
50:44
Speaker 19: new development is that he's been banned from coaching his
50:46
Speaker 19: daughter's football team. In his youth he was a very
50:49
Speaker 19: good footballer and apprentice at Manchester United, because the local
50:52
Speaker 19: safeguarding board so called decided that he's not suitable to
50:56
Speaker 19: work with children. This is despite the fact that he's
50:58
Speaker 19: cleared on all charges. So the punishment contain news even
51:00
Speaker 19: after the acquittal takes place.
51:02
Speaker 2: Now very concerning trendon and good on you for taking
51:05
Speaker 2: it up. Tom Slater, thank you very much for your time.
51:08
Speaker 2: As always, all right, I will be back on Monday
51:11
Speaker 2: at eight o'clock. Have a lovely weekend everyone, and here's
51:14
Speaker 2: for Murray.