Latest / The Kenny Report / The Kenny Report | 12 June

Transcript

The Kenny Report | 12 June · The Kenny Report

• 0:01
  Speaker 1: Lone from the Skoing New Center. This is the Kenny Report.
• 0:06
  Speaker 1: Thanks for joining me tonight.
• 0:07
  Speaker 2: Another twist in the Britney Higgins Parliament House rape saga.
• 0:11
  Speaker 2: The Orcust defense deal under review in the US, but
• 0:15
  Speaker 2: is it under threat? The La riots. I'll cross to
• 0:18
  Speaker 2: Pete Stefanovic live in the City of Angels Social cohesion
• 0:22
  Speaker 2: in this country?
• 0:23
  Speaker 1: Why have we lost it? And how do we build
• 0:25
  Speaker 1: it back?
• 0:26
  Speaker 2: And with Tim Blair and Mark Nicholson, plenty to talk about,
• 0:29
  Speaker 2: including the great Ossie Crocodile saga, let's get started. The
• 0:37
  Speaker 2: Brittney Higgins saga is back in the news with the
• 0:40
  Speaker 2: National Anti Corruption Commission delivering a ruling that validates the
• 0:44
  Speaker 2: former Liberal Party staffer's multimillion dollar payout under the Albanese
• 0:49
  Speaker 2: Labor government. In early twenty twenty one, Higgins went public
• 0:53
  Speaker 2: with claims she was raped in the Parliament House office
• 0:57
  Speaker 2: of her employer, Defense Minister Linda Renolds, claiming it happened
• 1:01
  Speaker 2: in the dead of night two years earlier at the
• 1:04
  Speaker 2: hands of fellow staffer Bruce Lherman. The case became a
• 1:09
  Speaker 2: political and legal sensation, figuring prominently in partisan debate, leading
• 1:14
  Speaker 2: to an aborted criminal prosecution of Lherman before he sued
• 1:18
  Speaker 2: Channel ten for defamation, losing that case in a dramatic
• 1:23
  Speaker 2: judgment in which Federal Court Judge Michael Lee found the
• 1:26
  Speaker 2: assault had occurred.
• 1:29
  Speaker 3: My conclusion on rape Miss Higgins rape mister Lherman raped
• 1:35
  Speaker 3: Miss Higgins. I hasten to stress this is a finding
• 1:38
  Speaker 3: on the balance of probabilities.
• 1:41
  Speaker 2: In the meantime, Higgins had received a two point four
• 1:44
  Speaker 2: million dollar compensation payment from the Commonwealth after alleging the
• 1:48
  Speaker 2: government had breached its duty of care to her. More
• 1:52
  Speaker 2: than half that payment was for loss of earnings on
• 1:55
  Speaker 2: the basis Higgins might not work again. The former Minister
• 1:59
  Speaker 2: Linda Reynolds referred the matter to the National Anti Corruption Commission,
• 2:03
  Speaker 2: arguing she was prevented from contesting Higgins's allegations about how
• 2:07
  Speaker 2: she was treated. But today the NAAC issued a statement
• 2:12
  Speaker 2: after a preliminary investigation, there is no evidence that the
• 2:16
  Speaker 2: settlement process, including the legal advice provided, who was present
• 2:21
  Speaker 2: at the mediation or the amount, was subject to any
• 2:25
  Speaker 2: improper influence by any Commonwealth public official. It said, to
• 2:30
  Speaker 2: the contrary, the evidence obtained reflected a process that was
• 2:33
  Speaker 2: based on independent external legal advice. Without any inappropriate intervention
• 2:39
  Speaker 2: by any minister of either government. There is therefore no
• 2:43
  Speaker 2: corruption issue. This comes despite the Luhman defamation judgment punching
• 2:49
  Speaker 2: major holes in Higgins's claims about poor treatment at the
• 2:54
  Speaker 2: hands of her employer. You might think that this would
• 2:57
  Speaker 2: be the end of the matter, but Reynolds told The
• 3:00
  Speaker 2: Australian Today she was bitterly disappointed that the NAAC would
• 3:04
  Speaker 2: not pursue the matter. My primary concern was always how
• 3:09
  Speaker 2: the Commonwealth could possibly settle unsubstantiated and statute barred claims
• 3:15
  Speaker 2: made against me alleging egregious conduct on my part without
• 3:19
  Speaker 2: taking a single statement from me or speaking to me
• 3:23
  Speaker 2: at all, Senator Reynolds said. Reynold says she will continue
• 3:28
  Speaker 2: with legal actions suing the Commonwealth for how she's been treated. Meanwhile,
• 3:33
  Speaker 2: Higgins reportedly has sold her house in France and moved
• 3:37
  Speaker 2: back to Sydney with her husband, David Scheraz, and their
• 3:40
  Speaker 2: first child, with the couple now both working at a
• 3:43
  Speaker 2: public relations agency.
• 3:46
  Speaker 1: What sorry, Sagan, I dare say?
• 3:48
  Speaker 2: There will be even more to come in this political
• 3:51
  Speaker 2: legal drama in the future, and whatever happens, it'll be
• 3:55
  Speaker 2: taxpayers picking up the Bill. When it comes to the
• 4:01
  Speaker 2: horrible war in the Middle East. I've shown you many
• 4:04
  Speaker 2: times how you just can't trust most of the information
• 4:07
  Speaker 2: you're fed by much of the media, many politicians, and
• 4:11
  Speaker 2: of course the United Nations.
• 4:13
  Speaker 1: You know the patrial here.
• 4:15
  Speaker 2: We've had Israel accused of bombing hospitals that it never bombed,
• 4:20
  Speaker 2: falsely accused of deliberately targeting aid workers. It's been accused
• 4:25
  Speaker 2: of putting thousands of babies on the brink of death
• 4:28
  Speaker 2: in what was a un promulgated fiction. Israel's even been
• 4:32
  Speaker 2: accused of blocking aid, then massacre, massacring the very people
• 4:37
  Speaker 2: it's been delivering aid too. And then there are the
• 4:41
  Speaker 2: endless and patently absurd claims of genocide.
• 4:45
  Speaker 1: It goes on and on.
• 4:47
  Speaker 2: The demonization of Israel and the lies told about this
• 4:50
  Speaker 2: war are endless. And our taxpayer funded ABC is a
• 4:55
  Speaker 2: serial offender. So when I saw one of their stories
• 4:58
  Speaker 2: out of the Middle East on the weekend, I thought
• 5:00
  Speaker 2: I'd ask them a few questions. Their coverage started with this.
• 5:05
  Speaker 4: Israel has pounded Galza with air strikes, killing fifty five
• 5:09
  Speaker 4: Palestinians according to Palestinian health officials.
• 5:13
  Speaker 2: Well as I hope You'll know by now when they
• 5:15
  Speaker 2: say Palestinian health officials they mean Hummus. They are quoting
• 5:20
  Speaker 2: numbers provided by, or at least approved by, Hummus, one
• 5:25
  Speaker 2: of the world's most bloodthirsty Islamist extremist terrorist organizations. So
• 5:31
  Speaker 2: trust those numbers at your peril. I wouldn't repeat anything
• 5:36
  Speaker 2: that Hummus offers. In fact, the ABC went on to
• 5:39
  Speaker 2: say that eighty percent of all the deaths in this
• 5:42
  Speaker 2: war are likely to be civilians. Again, this would be
• 5:46
  Speaker 2: Hummus propaganda, impossible to verify and certain not to be true,
• 5:52
  Speaker 2: given that Hummas terrorists operate against the rules of war
• 5:56
  Speaker 2: in civilian clothes among civilian populations. The ABC then proceeded
• 6:02
  Speaker 2: to a story about education in Gaza.
• 6:06
  Speaker 5: Most Gars and children have been displaced multiple times by
• 6:10
  Speaker 5: Israel's bombardment and ground invasion, and the schools that remain
• 6:14
  Speaker 5: standing have been turned into shelters, but they've also become targets.
• 6:22
  Speaker 5: Israel has bombed many of them, saying it's targeting members
• 6:26
  Speaker 5: of the Hamas militant group. The UN estimates nearly ninety
• 6:30
  Speaker 5: percent of Gaza's schools have been damaged or destroyed.
• 6:35
  Speaker 2: Yeah, again, the ABC parrots this stuff as fact, but
• 6:39
  Speaker 2: crucially doesn't seek to report.
• 6:41
  Speaker 1: Why that might be the case.
• 6:43
  Speaker 2: I mean, do you think all of this might just
• 6:45
  Speaker 2: have something to do with Hummas building its network of
• 6:49
  Speaker 2: terrorist tunnels under schools and hiding weapons and operatives inside
• 6:54
  Speaker 2: or underneath school buildings. But that's not worth mentioning On
• 6:58
  Speaker 2: the ABC, It's all about Israel hitting schools, apparently demonizing Israel.
• 7:04
  Speaker 2: Never mind that Israel warns where it will hit and
• 7:07
  Speaker 2: when so that civilians can escape. And note how the
• 7:11
  Speaker 2: ABC refers to the Hummas militant group, which makes them
• 7:14
  Speaker 2: sound like some call sort of a legitimate army rather
• 7:18
  Speaker 2: than the Islamist terrorists that they are.
• 7:21
  Speaker 1: Anyway, the story went.
• 7:22
  Speaker 6: On, education is a basic right for any child. Despite
• 7:27
  Speaker 6: the dire situation and the Israeli attack on Gaza, it's
• 7:30
  Speaker 6: our duty to resume education for children. We are asking
• 7:34
  Speaker 6: for education for everybody, but schools are being destroyed and targeted.
• 7:41
  Speaker 5: These educators have lost all of their teaching resources and facilities,
• 7:45
  Speaker 5: but they're defying the conditions to keep working.
• 7:49
  Speaker 6: It's like our duty to save the legitimation and teach
• 7:53
  Speaker 6: the children.
• 7:54
  Speaker 1: As much as.
• 7:55
  Speaker 5: Became, it's becoming a near impossible task with frequent Israeli
• 8:00
  Speaker 5: bombardment and military orders forcing people to leave their homes.
• 8:05
  Speaker 5: There's also little to no food, with the UN warning
• 8:08
  Speaker 5: the entire territory is facing potential famine.
• 8:13
  Speaker 1: So there you go.
• 8:14
  Speaker 2: Interviews presented references to Israeli bombardments forty forcing people out
• 8:19
  Speaker 2: of homes, nothing about how Hummas triggering this war might
• 8:23
  Speaker 2: have contributed, how Hummus's refusal to surrender or handback hostages
• 8:29
  Speaker 2: might be playing a role in this. And then the
• 8:31
  Speaker 2: mention of famine, a famine that never happens, of course,
• 8:34
  Speaker 2: because Israel, Yes, Israel, and the US constantly supply aid
• 8:39
  Speaker 2: to the gardens, the same gardens the ABC pretends that
• 8:43
  Speaker 2: Israel is trying to starve. Now, none of this is
• 8:47
  Speaker 2: to deny the horrors afflicting civilians and children in Gaza.
• 8:51
  Speaker 2: The situation is horrific. The point is why, why is
• 8:56
  Speaker 2: this so? So you can see why, I sent some
• 8:59
  Speaker 2: questions to the ABC see about this report.
• 9:01
  Speaker 1: I asked them where.
• 9:02
  Speaker 2: They obtained the footage and the interviews, because it seemed
• 9:05
  Speaker 2: clear the ABC reporter hadn't done them himself. I also
• 9:09
  Speaker 2: asked what input the ABC had into selecting who was interviewed,
• 9:13
  Speaker 2: what they were asked and whether their claims could be verified.
• 9:16
  Speaker 1: And I asked why the ABC.
• 9:18
  Speaker 2: Didn't mention that Hamas had used schools and hospitals and
• 9:21
  Speaker 2: tunnels beneath them for their operations. Finally, I asked why
• 9:26
  Speaker 2: they called Hummas terrorists militants when Humas is a listed
• 9:30
  Speaker 2: terror group around the world, including in Australia. I send
• 9:34
  Speaker 2: that query on Sunday night, and despite a bit of
• 9:36
  Speaker 2: toing and throwing, there's still no response. I also asked
• 9:41
  Speaker 2: if this was just a United Nations video release that
• 9:44
  Speaker 2: the ABC had packaged up, as appears likely, but again
• 9:48
  Speaker 2: no response.
• 9:49
  Speaker 1: Here's how the report finished. This school might not be
• 9:53
  Speaker 1: here for long.
• 9:55
  Speaker 5: Israeli troops have reoccupied large areas of Gaza and ordered
• 9:59
  Speaker 5: hundreds of thounds of people to move again, sending these
• 10:02
  Speaker 5: students out of class and back onto the streets.
• 10:06
  Speaker 1: Eric Torceek ABC News.
• 10:10
  Speaker 2: Yeah, it's all those horrible Israelis, apparently, the terrorist government
• 10:14
  Speaker 2: of Gaza, humm Us, the terrorists that started the war,
• 10:17
  Speaker 2: that perpetuate the war, that built terror tunnels under the
• 10:21
  Speaker 2: schools and hospitals, the terrorist outfit that still runs Gaza
• 10:25
  Speaker 2: and condemns Its people to this horror. They apparently are blameless.
• 10:31
  Speaker 2: That's what passes for news coverage on the ABC, funded
• 10:35
  Speaker 2: with your tax dollars to pump out propaganda rather than
• 10:40
  Speaker 2: factual reporting. It's the same story across the world, tragically,
• 10:44
  Speaker 2: truth being the first casualty of war, especially if it
• 10:49
  Speaker 2: involves Israel. I got to share with you one of
• 10:55
  Speaker 2: the most Australian stories ever. It's got showbiz, politics and crocodiles.
• 11:02
  Speaker 2: We're talking about a good old fashioned Queensland family feud
• 11:06
  Speaker 2: doing battle other world famous Irwins of crocodile hunter fame
• 11:11
  Speaker 2: and the nationally renowned Catters, the father and son political
• 11:15
  Speaker 2: dynasty of far North Queensland. The Katters want a cull
• 11:19
  Speaker 2: Saltwater crocs and the Irwins, including Terry, the widow of
• 11:23
  Speaker 2: the late Great Steve Irwin, well they want to save them.
• 11:26
  Speaker 2: Here's the argument, starting with the Irwins and Steve's dad Bob.
• 11:31
  Speaker 7: What would Bob Katter know about crocodile Terry knows what
• 11:35
  Speaker 7: she's talking.
• 11:36
  Speaker 8: About it, she knows all about it.
• 11:38
  Speaker 3: Well, I've how would you know about crocodiles if you
• 11:40
  Speaker 3: live in Brisbane.
• 11:41
  Speaker 7: She's been dealing with crocodiles in a while, and you're
• 11:44
  Speaker 7: a zoo situation.
• 11:46
  Speaker 1: Oh that's right, she's got them all locked up in.
• 11:50
  Speaker 8: A cage.
• 11:51
  Speaker 1: He doesn't understand.
• 11:52
  Speaker 7: So if you take the apex predator out of a
• 11:55
  Speaker 7: river system, you're older the whole bliodiversity of that system.
• 11:59
  Speaker 9: You make money out of crocodiles by keeping them in cages.
• 12:02
  Speaker 9: I don't know what qualifies you to give advice on
• 12:04
  Speaker 9: the way we live up north.
• 12:07
  Speaker 2: Yeah, it's a great argument, isn't it. You reckon wrestling
• 12:10
  Speaker 2: a croc is hard. Try wrestling the Catters. I mean,
• 12:13
  Speaker 2: remember when Bob Catter weighed in on the gay marriage debate.
• 12:17
  Speaker 8: I mean, you know, people are entitled to their sexual proclimities.
• 12:23
  Speaker 8: I mean, let there be a thousand blossoms bloom off it.
• 12:28
  Speaker 10: So but I ain't spending any time warrant because in
• 12:32
  Speaker 10: the meantime, every three months a person is torn to
• 12:36
  Speaker 10: pieces by a crocodile in North Queensland.
• 12:39
  Speaker 2: It's the greatest grab of all time, isn't it. Let
• 12:42
  Speaker 2: a thousand crocodiles bloom or something. Queensland. Hay Irwin's one day,
• 12:47
  Speaker 2: Catter is the next. Now it's just past midnight again
• 12:54
  Speaker 2: in Los Angeles, a curfew is again in force for
• 12:57
  Speaker 2: the second night.
• 12:57
  Speaker 1: Now, my colleague Pete Stepanovik is over there.
• 13:00
  Speaker 2: And he joins us. Now, great to catch up with you, Steve. Pete,
• 13:03
  Speaker 2: you've been flat out all day. Tell us what's unfolded,
• 13:06
  Speaker 2: and then how the situation is looking at the moment.
• 13:11
  Speaker 11: Chris, it's hard to be It's hard to be serious
• 13:13
  Speaker 11: when you follow that classic from bobcat up.
• 13:16
  Speaker 1: But I should have remembered you're a quen later again
• 13:21
  Speaker 1: from family.
• 13:25
  Speaker 12: That's right. Yeah, it just makes me laugh every time
• 13:27
  Speaker 12: I hear it.
• 13:27
  Speaker 11: But anyway, look, it's past midnight now, the the curfew
• 13:31
  Speaker 11: has been in place for four hours. Things are pretty calm.
• 13:36
  Speaker 11: I mean, there was a bit of activity last night
• 13:38
  Speaker 11: during the curfew night one night too. I think all
• 13:40
  Speaker 11: of the action happened a little earlier, to be frank,
• 13:42
  Speaker 11: and we were there in the middle of it, so earlier.
• 13:45
  Speaker 11: Today we were with the protesters as they were keeping
• 13:49
  Speaker 11: things fairly peaceful. It was almost a celebrated, celebratory mood
• 13:54
  Speaker 11: at that detention set early which has been the focal
• 13:57
  Speaker 11: point for the past few days. They were cheering and
• 14:00
  Speaker 11: they were getting a lot of car horns and you know,
• 14:03
  Speaker 11: just being in supportive of the migrants here in California.
• 14:07
  Speaker 1: And then that turned.
• 14:08
  Speaker 11: Into a huge march involving several hundred, if not a
• 14:12
  Speaker 11: thousand people as it snaked its way through the streets
• 14:15
  Speaker 11: of downtown Los Angeles, and then which caused all kinds
• 14:20
  Speaker 11: of traffic drama, as you would expect, because cars had
• 14:23
  Speaker 11: know it a move, and that's what I presume kicked
• 14:27
  Speaker 11: things off. For the LAPD, they'd had enough of that.
• 14:30
  Speaker 11: The curfew hadn't been put in place yet, and they
• 14:32
  Speaker 11: came out with the horses. They had the rubber bullets
• 14:35
  Speaker 11: they were firing those. They had the flash grenades, which
• 14:37
  Speaker 11: they've been using as well to great effect here in
• 14:39
  Speaker 11: the last couple of days, because it surely does disperse
• 14:42
  Speaker 11: the crowds. They tend to come back, though, but it
• 14:45
  Speaker 11: worked a great effect today because you know, if there
• 14:48
  Speaker 11: was a thousand people there, they scattered pretty quickly, and
• 14:51
  Speaker 11: it got to the point where there was roughly twenty
• 14:53
  Speaker 11: or thirty protesters left by the end, after the LAPD
• 14:56
  Speaker 11: had kettled them and they were arrested and it was gone.
• 14:59
  Speaker 11: And this all happened in the space of an hour
• 15:01
  Speaker 11: or two, so it was quite an extraordinary end of
• 15:03
  Speaker 11: the day. And since then, since that high drama, it's
• 15:07
  Speaker 11: gone pretty quiet.
• 15:08
  Speaker 2: Of God to say, Chris, Yeah, well two days, and
• 15:10
  Speaker 2: I suppose that suggests that maybe the curfew move has worked.
• 15:15
  Speaker 1: I'm just wondering while all this goes on, and.
• 15:16
  Speaker 2: Of course there've been protests in other parts of the
• 15:18
  Speaker 2: country today as well. But while this goes on, have
• 15:21
  Speaker 2: the immigration arrests subsided?
• 15:24
  Speaker 1: Has the federal government.
• 15:25
  Speaker 2: Slowed down in its pursuit of illegal immigrants because they've
• 15:29
  Speaker 2: been preoccupied with the protest?
• 15:31
  Speaker 1: No, that continues.
• 15:34
  Speaker 11: I mean, they do have a lot of resources at
• 15:36
  Speaker 11: their disposal at the moment. You've got the ICE agents
• 15:39
  Speaker 11: and you occasionally see videos pop up and social media
• 15:42
  Speaker 11: of witnesses who are describing what they're seeing as well,
• 15:46
  Speaker 11: so that continues. But like I said, you've got the
• 15:50
  Speaker 11: LAPD who are actually running the show here at the moment,
• 15:53
  Speaker 11: at least from what I can see. You've got the
• 15:55
  Speaker 11: National Guard who are outside that detention facility as well.
• 16:00
  Speaker 11: You've got those numbers that the LAPD can call on
• 16:04
  Speaker 11: or can use his back up. Then you've got the
• 16:05
  Speaker 11: Marines on standby as well here Chris, who haven't been
• 16:09
  Speaker 11: officially dispatched yet because they're still in some form of training.
• 16:12
  Speaker 11: So there are a lot of resources still available here
• 16:18
  Speaker 11: to be used in Los Angeles, which is allowing those
• 16:20
  Speaker 11: ICE agents, those immigration agents to go out and pick
• 16:24
  Speaker 11: people up. I suspect the numbers have dropped a bit
• 16:27
  Speaker 11: since since the high over the weekend when they were
• 16:30
  Speaker 11: going through various places car washers, home depots, which is
• 16:36
  Speaker 11: where a lot of Mexican migrants, illegal migrants tend to
• 16:40
  Speaker 11: gather because they're hunting for work. That's not a new thing.
• 16:44
  Speaker 11: Even when I was living here fifteen years ago, that's
• 16:46
  Speaker 11: what they were doing. They would be assembling at a
• 16:48
  Speaker 11: home depot outside and if you needed some help some
• 16:51
  Speaker 11: day labor, yep, you could just you could ask them.
• 16:54
  Speaker 11: And that's just how it functions. So people are being
• 16:59
  Speaker 11: picked up. I think perhaps a lot of people have
• 17:01
  Speaker 11: been scared off too, perhaps the illegal migrants who are
• 17:06
  Speaker 11: looking for work or had been looking for work. Perhaps
• 17:08
  Speaker 11: they're in hiding for a few days to see how
• 17:11
  Speaker 11: this all plays out. But yes, the short answer to
• 17:14
  Speaker 11: your question is that those ice raids are continuing.
• 17:17
  Speaker 2: Great stuff, Pete, Well, it's good to see that it's
• 17:19
  Speaker 2: calm down now. We'll see whether that holds in coming days.
• 17:22
  Speaker 2: Thanks so much for staying up for us, sure, Pete Stefanovic,
• 17:26
  Speaker 2: they're alive from la just after midnight. There the curfew
• 17:29
  Speaker 2: in place for the second night. We may have seen
• 17:32
  Speaker 2: the worst of the protests, but you never can tell.
• 17:35
  Speaker 2: Of course, we've got the weekend looming as well. Let's
• 17:38
  Speaker 2: bring it back to Australia now and head up to
• 17:39
  Speaker 2: queens Don't and catch up with One Nation leader Pauline
• 17:42
  Speaker 2: Hands and it joins us from Scenic Grim. Good to
• 17:43
  Speaker 2: talk to you, Pauline. I've got to ask you the
• 17:45
  Speaker 2: obvious one. I haven't caught up for a while, but
• 17:48
  Speaker 2: the polls have just copped another pay rise.
• 17:50
  Speaker 1: Is that a bit too much?
• 17:51
  Speaker 2: Is that a bit insensitive given how tough people are
• 17:54
  Speaker 2: doing around the country.
• 17:58
  Speaker 4: Well, Chris, my understanding is CHIP for Meion welfare recipients
• 18:01
  Speaker 4: and also receiving that pay royal rise. Also people one
• 18:05
  Speaker 4: tax benefits A and B are receiving that pay rise.
• 18:09
  Speaker 4: So and there's been other pay rises right across the
• 18:12
  Speaker 4: board for other people, low income workers. So everyone's received
• 18:16
  Speaker 4: pay rise. So I'm not going to comment on other
• 18:19
  Speaker 4: than that.
• 18:20
  Speaker 1: It's it's just all those so anyway, it's just.
• 18:23
  Speaker 2: All those middle income people who areut on welfare who
• 18:27
  Speaker 2: cop it.
• 18:28
  Speaker 1: Hopefully they'll get a pay rise as well. We'll see
• 18:30
  Speaker 1: how we go.
• 18:31
  Speaker 4: What I would say, what I've got on what I
• 18:34
  Speaker 4: what I do have a beef about is what some
• 18:36
  Speaker 4: of these public servants are paid. And I think they're
• 18:38
  Speaker 4: ridiculously paid on six seven hundred thousand dollars a year.
• 18:42
  Speaker 4: That needs to be reviewed. Look at the post Master General,
• 18:45
  Speaker 4: they're on one point three million plus end up with
• 18:47
  Speaker 4: nearly three million dollars.
• 18:48
  Speaker 2: Look at those people, well, there's plenty on them, plenty
• 18:51
  Speaker 2: of them on more than a million dollars. And in
• 18:53
  Speaker 2: fact it's it's standard that most of the heads of
• 18:56
  Speaker 2: department are paid way more than their ministers paid, and
• 19:00
  Speaker 2: they have permanency, and they get fifteen percent super and they.
• 19:04
  Speaker 1: Get all sorts of perks.
• 19:05
  Speaker 2: You're right, our public servants at the top level at least,
• 19:08
  Speaker 2: are massively overpaid compared to the rest of the world.
• 19:11
  Speaker 2: I want to get your thoughts on the Liberal Party's
• 19:13
  Speaker 2: review of the election.
• 19:14
  Speaker 1: They're going to look.
• 19:15
  Speaker 2: At their structures, their state organizations as well. This would
• 19:20
  Speaker 2: seem sensible, wouldn't it said they've got issues around the country.
• 19:27
  Speaker 4: They haven't got issues around the country. We hear it
• 19:29
  Speaker 4: constantly with that whatever state it is, whether it's Victoria,
• 19:32
  Speaker 4: New South Wales, even in Tasmania, all across the country.
• 19:36
  Speaker 4: So they do in your review what I see that's
• 19:39
  Speaker 4: happened with the Liberal Party of a period of time.
• 19:40
  Speaker 4: They've been taken over by the moderates within the party,
• 19:43
  Speaker 4: destroying the conservative values of the party. And therefore those
• 19:47
  Speaker 4: staunch Liberal supporters are fed up with it, and I
• 19:51
  Speaker 4: think they do need a complete review into it. Where
• 19:54
  Speaker 4: do they want to go? What's their values? What are
• 19:55
  Speaker 4: they standing for?
• 19:57
  Speaker 1: Yeah, we will see.
• 19:58
  Speaker 2: We'll follow that and that debate close. So I want
• 20:00
  Speaker 2: to get you on the government though. It seems to
• 20:03
  Speaker 2: me extraordinary, as I said the other night, that you've
• 20:05
  Speaker 2: got the Albany easy Labor government fresh from an election
• 20:08
  Speaker 2: campaign after their first term in power, and their first
• 20:11
  Speaker 2: announcement is they're going to have a round table to
• 20:14
  Speaker 2: try and come up with some economic policies. I mean,
• 20:17
  Speaker 2: the the rest of ideas Already.
• 20:23
  Speaker 4: It's an absolute joke. Economic policies. The whole fact is
• 20:26
  Speaker 4: they are destroying the economy with their climate change policies
• 20:29
  Speaker 4: that they've introduced, and if they had down the path,
• 20:32
  Speaker 4: they destroyed the live sheep export in Western Australia. They're
• 20:35
  Speaker 4: actually if they're bringing the Nature Positive Plan which is
• 20:37
  Speaker 4: going to have a big impact on a lot of
• 20:39
  Speaker 4: businesses and the mining sector in Australia as well. And
• 20:43
  Speaker 4: industrial relations. They destroyed the small business with their industrial
• 20:46
  Speaker 4: relations policy. So this has created the productivity which we're
• 20:51
  Speaker 4: down on productivity. You don't have the Australia investment in
• 20:55
  Speaker 4: Australia anymore. That's down as well. So he needs to
• 20:58
  Speaker 4: look in his own backyard and he wants call in
• 21:00
  Speaker 4: the unions for the roundtable discussion looking at have increased
• 21:03
  Speaker 4: the price of building construction in this country by thirty percent.
• 21:07
  Speaker 4: So what a joke, an absolute joke. He needs to
• 21:10
  Speaker 4: have a look in his own backyard.
• 21:11
  Speaker 2: Absolutely absolutely, if it's on all the key points there. Pauline,
• 21:15
  Speaker 2: thanks for joining us. Pauline Hanson for one nation, she
• 21:17
  Speaker 2: is so right. I mean, the big problem is the
• 21:19
  Speaker 2: labor market that's overregulated because of labor and the unions,
• 21:22
  Speaker 2: so they ain't going to fix that. The other huge
• 21:24
  Speaker 2: problem is massive costs in energy and that's because of
• 21:28
  Speaker 2: their policies as well. So the two big issues we
• 21:30
  Speaker 2: know what they should address, they won't touch them. Got
• 21:33
  Speaker 2: to take a break now, coming up social cohesion in
• 21:36
  Speaker 2: this country, why have we lost it and how do
• 21:38
  Speaker 2: we build it back? Plus will cross the Hobart with
• 21:41
  Speaker 2: Tasmanians off.
• 21:42
  Speaker 1: To the poles again.
• 21:43
  Speaker 2: Lucky Tassy's ape now the governor of Tasmania kept everybody
• 21:52
  Speaker 2: waiting for about twenty four hours, but just soon after
• 21:55
  Speaker 2: we went off here last night it became clear that
• 21:57
  Speaker 2: Tasmanians are off to the poles again.
• 22:00
  Speaker 1: The election will be on July the nineteenth, the second.
• 22:02
  Speaker 2: Time they've been to the polls in just sixteen months.
• 22:05
  Speaker 2: Of course, after that no confidence motion against the Liberal
• 22:08
  Speaker 2: Premier Jeremy Rockcliffe, who was all smiles this morning giving
• 22:12
  Speaker 2: everyone the thumbs up. Labour's campaign is focusing on state debt,
• 22:16
  Speaker 2: although they've thrown their support behind that billion dollar stadium
• 22:20
  Speaker 2: at a quarry Point for the Tazzy Devil's AFL team.
• 22:23
  Speaker 1: Here's the opposition leader.
• 22:25
  Speaker 13: It has been eleven years of Liberals. They've taken Tasmania
• 22:28
  Speaker 13: from having no net debt to eleven billion dollars worth
• 22:32
  Speaker 13: of net debt and if you think about it, that's
• 22:34
  Speaker 13: around fifty thousand dollars per Tasmanian household in terms of
• 22:38
  Speaker 13: net debt. It is shocking what they've done to our
• 22:40
  Speaker 13: state and it's going to take a lot of change
• 22:42
  Speaker 13: and a labor governor to fix it.
• 22:45
  Speaker 2: Let's go to a familiar face in Tasmania, former Liberal
• 22:48
  Speaker 2: senator for that great state, Ericabetz, who's now Tasmania's Business
• 22:51
  Speaker 2: and transportman.
• 22:52
  Speaker 1: It's so good to talk to you again, Eric. Looking
• 22:54
  Speaker 1: forward to another election.
• 22:57
  Speaker 14: Chris, great to be on the program again. I've got
• 23:00
  Speaker 14: they are not looking forward to another election, but that
• 23:04
  Speaker 14: as a result of Dean Winter and the Greens blowing
• 23:07
  Speaker 14: up the State Parliament in a very nasty personal vote
• 23:11
  Speaker 14: of no confidence against the premier as opposed to the budget.
• 23:15
  Speaker 14: And there's a fundamental principle here and that is a
• 23:19
  Speaker 14: Dean Winter and the Greens don't choose the leader of
• 23:22
  Speaker 14: the Liberal Party. We determine that if they don't like
• 23:26
  Speaker 14: the leader, have a vote of no confidence in the government,
• 23:29
  Speaker 14: but don't try and pick us off one by one.
• 23:32
  Speaker 14: We're a united team and we fight together.
• 23:35
  Speaker 2: Yeah, it's a pretty dramatic political turn of events and
• 23:38
  Speaker 2: maybe a tactic that Winter ended up with something he
• 23:42
  Speaker 2: wasn't expecting. But give us a sense of Tasmanias. Are
• 23:45
  Speaker 2: they angry about having to go to the polls again
• 23:48
  Speaker 2: because of this stunt? Or are people relishing the chance
• 23:50
  Speaker 2: to perhaps settle the divide?
• 23:55
  Speaker 14: People are red hot angry with Dean Winter. A media
• 23:59
  Speaker 14: out let undertook a poll of Tasmanians. Ensure these are
• 24:04
  Speaker 14: never exact, but with over five thousand respondents, Jeremy Rockliffe
• 24:09
  Speaker 14: got four thousand, eight hundred likes Dean Winter only two
• 24:14
  Speaker 14: hundred Labor voters everywhere, as I've been out on the
• 24:17
  Speaker 14: streets are coming up and saying, Eric, never thought we'd
• 24:20
  Speaker 14: be voting liberal, but what Dean Winter has done is
• 24:24
  Speaker 14: just so immature, so irresponsible. We've got to give you
• 24:28
  Speaker 14: guys a go, and we are now fighting for majority government.
• 24:33
  Speaker 14: All we need is another four seats Labor to achieve
• 24:36
  Speaker 14: that knee twice as much eight seats. They're not going
• 24:40
  Speaker 14: to get there. So our appeal to our fellow Tasmanians
• 24:43
  Speaker 14: is the minority Parliament regrettably has not worked despite our
• 24:48
  Speaker 14: best endeavors, they've blown it up. We've got to get
• 24:51
  Speaker 14: the mature adults back in the room with a majority
• 24:54
  Speaker 14: liberal government under Jeremy Rockcliffe, and that's what we'll be
• 24:57
  Speaker 14: fighting for right up until six pm on July the nineteenth.
• 25:02
  Speaker 2: We'll see, of course, with five weeks to go, but
• 25:04
  Speaker 2: it wouldn't surprise me that people will be a bit
• 25:06
  Speaker 2: upset about being forced to the polls because it wasn't
• 25:09
  Speaker 2: brought about by a major issue or a crisis in
• 25:12
  Speaker 2: the government. It was just brought about by this no
• 25:14
  Speaker 2: confidence motion. So we'll see how things panned out on
• 25:18
  Speaker 2: July the nineteenth. The big issue, of course, both in
• 25:22
  Speaker 2: Tasmania and the one of national interest is the footy stadium.
• 25:26
  Speaker 2: Is whether or not it's a precondition from the AFL.
• 25:29
  Speaker 2: You don't get the team in Tasmania unless this stadium
• 25:32
  Speaker 2: is built. Both sides, both your government and the Labor
• 25:37
  Speaker 2: oppositions say they'll back the current plan. Is that expected
• 25:41
  Speaker 2: to hold in place throughout the campaign?
• 25:43
  Speaker 1: Is that rock solid?
• 25:46
  Speaker 15: Yeah?
• 25:46
  Speaker 14: Look, we are committed to the stadium, there's no doubt
• 25:49
  Speaker 14: about that. And let's be clear. Back in twenty nineteen,
• 25:53
  Speaker 14: the organically grown Tasmanian Task Force for an AFL team
• 25:58
  Speaker 14: recommended a stadium in the CBD at the current location
• 26:03
  Speaker 14: with a roof, and so that's been part of the
• 26:06
  Speaker 14: Tasmanian plan for about six years. What's happened in recent
• 26:11
  Speaker 14: times is that the Labor Party they were against it,
• 26:14
  Speaker 14: now they're for it. And now there's a very real
• 26:17
  Speaker 14: suspicion that Dean Winter blew up the Parliament for the
• 26:21
  Speaker 14: sake of his mate Paul Lenin, who has another scheme
• 26:24
  Speaker 14: and another proposal for this particular industrial wasteland. And so
• 26:30
  Speaker 14: people are very cynical because, as you said, Chris, there
• 26:34
  Speaker 14: was no real reason to have this vote of no confidence.
• 26:38
  Speaker 14: This was disruption, negativity, wreck large and possibly with a
• 26:42
  Speaker 14: subtitle of trying to do a deal for Paul Lenin,
• 26:46
  Speaker 14: and that just won't be accepted by the people of Tasmania,
• 26:50
  Speaker 14: irrespective of their view on the stadium.
• 26:52
  Speaker 2: There we'll see Dean Winter at the moment saying that
• 26:54
  Speaker 2: Labor are backing that stadium as well.
• 26:56
  Speaker 1: So we shall see.
• 26:57
  Speaker 2: We'll keep in touch, Eric happy campaigning in the meantime.
• 27:05
  Speaker 2: Eric Abetz, the former Liberal Senator for Tasmania, now a
• 27:08
  Speaker 2: minister in the state government, doesn't want to go to
• 27:11
  Speaker 2: politics loves it runs strongly through his veins. I want
• 27:15
  Speaker 2: to go to another issue here that's been raised by
• 27:17
  Speaker 2: the Center of Independent Studies, Peter Curdie, He joins me
• 27:21
  Speaker 2: live from Sydney.
• 27:22
  Speaker 1: Peter, thanks for joining me.
• 27:24
  Speaker 2: I had to talk to you after reading your column
• 27:26
  Speaker 2: in the Daily Telegraph today about social cohesion in this
• 27:32
  Speaker 2: country because this is something I've talked about a lot
• 27:34
  Speaker 2: over the past eighteen months. In particular, we've seen the
• 27:37
  Speaker 2: horrible divisions, the anti Semitism, the protests in the street.
• 27:41
  Speaker 2: I've never seen social cohesion tested so badly in this country.
• 27:46
  Speaker 2: You reckon it's broken, right, it's about how we can
• 27:48
  Speaker 2: put it back together again.
• 27:52
  Speaker 16: Well, I certainly think it's under strain. I wouldn't go
• 27:54
  Speaker 16: so far as to say that we're a broken society.
• 27:58
  Speaker 16: But the seventh of October to that and twenty three
• 28:00
  Speaker 16: and the response that we saw to that on the
• 28:03
  Speaker 16: streets of our cities showed that in fact, there can
• 28:07
  Speaker 16: be one set of Australians who denounce and condemn another
• 28:11
  Speaker 16: set of Australians quite openly. And I think that shows
• 28:13
  Speaker 16: that a willingness to tolerate difference is eroding. And as
• 28:18
  Speaker 16: that happens, so I think our society becomes understrained. So
• 28:23
  Speaker 16: I would say that we need a new model of
• 28:25
  Speaker 16: engagement and new model of agreement, not that we agree,
• 28:29
  Speaker 16: we'll agree about everything, but that we agree to live
• 28:32
  Speaker 16: with difference. I think that's the key point. There are
• 28:34
  Speaker 16: these there are fundamental differences between between us that in
• 28:38
  Speaker 16: many ways are unbridgeable.
• 28:40
  Speaker 1: What do we do about that?
• 28:41
  Speaker 16: How do we live with that difference in a way
• 28:43
  Speaker 16: that maintains a peaceful and cohesive society. That's been my concern.
• 28:48
  Speaker 2: Yeah, I'm going to say I want to go back
• 28:49
  Speaker 2: to October the eighth and show everyone again. I've shown
• 28:51
  Speaker 2: this many times as something was said and done at
• 28:54
  Speaker 2: Lakember in Sydney on October the eighth, twenty twenty three.
• 28:58
  Speaker 17: Here it is, it's a day of courage.
• 29:19
  Speaker 2: Now that reveling in the slaughter of innocence, I think
• 29:21
  Speaker 2: is the worst thing I've seen on the streets of
• 29:23
  Speaker 2: this country when it comes to anything, anything said, certainly
• 29:27
  Speaker 2: anything short of violence, or it's reveling in violence. The
• 29:31
  Speaker 2: issue here is how do we find commonality? How do
• 29:35
  Speaker 2: we find things to unite behind when you have that
• 29:38
  Speaker 2: sort of hatred that's directed a group of people, some
• 29:41
  Speaker 2: of them Jewish Australians, are living in the same city.
• 29:47
  Speaker 1: Well, that's right.
• 29:48
  Speaker 16: I think there are two principal things that can be
• 29:50
  Speaker 16: done to enforce and reinforce what it means to be
• 29:54
  Speaker 16: an Australian, what it means to be an Australian citizen.
• 29:57
  Speaker 16: The first is to is to strengthen the city Ship Test.
• 30:00
  Speaker 16: Our citizenship test focuses on matters of culture and history
• 30:06
  Speaker 16: and things like common dates and you know, barbecue etiquette
• 30:10
  Speaker 16: for want of a better phrase. What we need to
• 30:13
  Speaker 16: do is have a citizenship test that emphasizes for those
• 30:16
  Speaker 16: who come to this country to become and become citizens,
• 30:20
  Speaker 16: that they need a commitment to legal equality, that they
• 30:23
  Speaker 16: need to respect for the rule of law and for
• 30:25
  Speaker 16: our democratic institutions. They have to commit to our democratic
• 30:29
  Speaker 16: way of life. The other thing is for people who
• 30:31
  Speaker 16: already here, you know, Australians who are born and go
• 30:33
  Speaker 16: to school, we need to add a component of civic
• 30:36
  Speaker 16: education to our school curricula so that young children are
• 30:40
  Speaker 16: brought up to understand what it is to be an
• 30:42
  Speaker 16: Australian living in a plural society. I mean, pluralism is
• 30:46
  Speaker 16: the reality that we face in this country, and we're
• 30:49
  Speaker 16: a country that's built on that pluralism. What we have
• 30:51
  Speaker 16: to do is ensure that children understand what it is
• 30:55
  Speaker 16: that what is required of them if they are to
• 30:57
  Speaker 16: grow to be mature and responsible citizens.
• 31:00
  Speaker 1: There's such a good point.
• 31:02
  Speaker 2: I really like that in your column, because education is critical.
• 31:05
  Speaker 1: I think a lot of this is driven by ignorance.
• 31:07
  Speaker 2: How do we get people to defend the democracy, rule
• 31:11
  Speaker 2: of law and plurality we have in this country unless
• 31:15
  Speaker 2: they understand its genesis, unless they understand where it's come
• 31:18
  Speaker 2: from and how important it is, how integral it is
• 31:21
  Speaker 2: to our society.
• 31:24
  Speaker 1: That's right.
• 31:25
  Speaker 16: I think that's absolutely the point we have to People
• 31:27
  Speaker 16: have to understand that there are responsibilities that come with
• 31:30
  Speaker 16: being an Australian citizen, whether you come to this country
• 31:33
  Speaker 16: as a migrant as I did over thirty years ago,
• 31:36
  Speaker 16: or whether you're born and brought up here and grow
• 31:39
  Speaker 16: up to become an Australian citizen. These are fundamental issues
• 31:43
  Speaker 16: that we need to face as a society because as
• 31:45
  Speaker 16: we're seeing, there are tensions erupting on our streets and
• 31:50
  Speaker 16: frankly on our university campuses now that we have not
• 31:52
  Speaker 16: seen in living memory and we need to be aware
• 31:55
  Speaker 16: of that.
• 31:56
  Speaker 1: I don't.
• 31:56
  Speaker 16: It's not a Council of despair, it's a Council of warning.
• 32:00
  Speaker 2: Spot on, Peter, thanks so much for joining us. Peter
• 32:01
  Speaker 2: Curdie there from the Center for Independent Studies. You can
• 32:04
  Speaker 2: read that piece on the Daily Telegraph website if you
• 32:07
  Speaker 2: get the chance. Got to get to a break on
• 32:08
  Speaker 2: the other side, I'll catch up with Tim Blair and
• 32:10
  Speaker 2: Mark Picholson. We'll also catch up with former Foreign Minister
• 32:13
  Speaker 2: Alexander Downer ask him whether this Orchest deal is actually.
• 32:17
  Speaker 1: Under threat now.
• 32:22
  Speaker 2: As you would have heard, the Pentagon has launched a
• 32:24
  Speaker 2: review of the Orcast Defense Pack to make sure it's
• 32:26
  Speaker 2: aligned with President Trump's America First agenda. The Orchest Deal,
• 32:31
  Speaker 2: of course, was struck under Scott Morrison's Prime ministership, his
• 32:34
  Speaker 2: greatest accomplishment. Scomo was still close to Donald Trump, and
• 32:38
  Speaker 2: he was asked today whether the US President was locked
• 32:41
  Speaker 2: in behind the agreement.
• 32:44
  Speaker 1: Yeah.
• 32:44
  Speaker 18: I've always had that impression that he's always been very supportive.
• 32:47
  Speaker 18: This is a Department of Defence review. This hasn't been
• 32:49
  Speaker 18: initiated out of the White House. I'm in the White
• 32:51
  Speaker 18: House obviously very happy for it to proceed, and you
• 32:56
  Speaker 18: would expect them to do that, just like occurred in
• 32:59
  Speaker 18: the UK.
• 33:00
  Speaker 1: Scomo's pretty confident, as you saw.
• 33:02
  Speaker 2: So I asked former Foreign Minister Alexander Downer whether Australians
• 33:06
  Speaker 2: should be concerned.
• 33:08
  Speaker 19: I don't think there's any reason to be particularly concerned.
• 33:12
  Speaker 20: No.
• 33:13
  Speaker 19: I think the Americans will stick with the Orcus agreement
• 33:17
  Speaker 19: under President Trump, and I think there is going to
• 33:24
  Speaker 19: be a debate within the American system about selling to
• 33:29
  Speaker 19: Australia Virginia class submarines, not because of the technology of
• 33:34
  Speaker 19: the submarines, but because the American administration will argue that
• 33:40
  Speaker 19: they haven't got enough submarines and they can't build them
• 33:43
  Speaker 19: fast enough, and so selling A two or even three
• 33:48
  Speaker 19: to Australia will disrupt their production schedules. But I think
• 33:55
  Speaker 19: it'll go ahead pretty much as it's been designed.
• 34:00
  Speaker 2: That confidence is certainly in keeping with the Defense Minister
• 34:04
  Speaker 2: and Deputy Prime Minister Richard Miles.
• 34:06
  Speaker 1: Here's what he had to say today.
• 34:09
  Speaker 20: We've known about the review for some time. We welcome
• 34:14
  Speaker 20: it and we will engage with it. It's a very
• 34:16
  Speaker 20: natural step for the incoming administration to take. So I
• 34:22
  Speaker 20: do have a sense of confidence about the way in
• 34:24
  Speaker 20: which UCAS is playing out under the Trump administration and
• 34:27
  Speaker 20: that we will meet the pathway that we have committed
• 34:30
  Speaker 20: to it.
• 34:32
  Speaker 2: Alexander, though, if everything's so hunky dory, why do the review?
• 34:36
  Speaker 2: Could the Americans be concerned about our low levels of
• 34:40
  Speaker 2: defense expenditure and this is a way of shaking us
• 34:42
  Speaker 2: down if you like, Well.
• 34:44
  Speaker 1: There might be.
• 34:46
  Speaker 19: I mean, I think they would be concerned about our
• 34:48
  Speaker 19: low level of defense expenditure and the way the Australian
• 34:53
  Speaker 19: Defense Force has become increasingly depleted. But I don't think
• 34:59
  Speaker 19: in the and the Americans are going to cancel the
• 35:03
  Speaker 19: Orcust program.
• 35:05
  Speaker 1: You have to.
• 35:06
  Speaker 19: Remember this is a trilateral program, not a bilateral program.
• 35:11
  Speaker 19: And Britain is the, if you like, second player in
• 35:15
  Speaker 19: its certainly the second most important player in it. They've
• 35:19
  Speaker 19: announced in the last week or so they're going to
• 35:22
  Speaker 19: build two a twelve nuclear powered Orcust class submarines in
• 35:29
  Speaker 19: the UK, So it won't be just about Australia. It
• 35:34
  Speaker 19: will partly be about the UK. But I think they
• 35:37
  Speaker 19: just want to as a new government, review things and
• 35:41
  Speaker 19: have a look at how it's all going.
• 35:43
  Speaker 2: Yeah, that's a crucial point, The fact that it's a
• 35:45
  Speaker 2: trilateral agreement. Look, the architect of Aucust from Australia's point
• 35:50
  Speaker 2: of view was the former Coalition Prime Minister Scott Morrison.
• 35:53
  Speaker 1: Here's what he's had to say.
• 35:55
  Speaker 20: Are you concerned by this Pentagon review into August.
• 35:59
  Speaker 1: No, I'm not.
• 36:00
  Speaker 18: It's totally within their remit As I've said that the
• 36:04
  Speaker 18: incoming governments do reviews. Kissed Armas kiss Armer did a
• 36:08
  Speaker 18: review and that resulted in the UK government being even
• 36:11
  Speaker 18: more committed to aucas as a result of that. The
• 36:14
  Speaker 18: issues being raised are actually very well known.
• 36:18
  Speaker 1: So there we go lots of soothing noises.
• 36:21
  Speaker 2: But to this key point you mentioned, Alexander, that is
• 36:23
  Speaker 2: the pressure on the production schedule of Virginia class submarines
• 36:27
  Speaker 2: for the Americans. Can they actually, in their time frame
• 36:31
  Speaker 2: manage to sell one to us? What's the solution there,
• 36:34
  Speaker 2: because you're very skeptical about our ability to build nuclear
• 36:38
  Speaker 2: submarines in Adelaide. Is a UK submarine an option here
• 36:43
  Speaker 2: or we're just going to have to make sure we
• 36:46
  Speaker 2: don't lose our spot in the American production schedule.
• 36:50
  Speaker 19: So I think there are two things here. First of all,
• 36:53
  Speaker 19: there's the American production schedule, and that isn't running as
• 36:58
  Speaker 19: fast as Thestraution would like. They're producing one point two
• 37:03
  Speaker 19: submarines a year and they need to increase that to
• 37:08
  Speaker 19: two or three submarines a year. But nevertheless they're very
• 37:12
  Speaker 19: committed to increasing the schedule, so that may not turn
• 37:16
  Speaker 19: out to be a problem. There is this logic that
• 37:20
  Speaker 19: people need to think through, and that is the Americans say,
• 37:25
  Speaker 19: if there are thirty submarines and two of them are Australian,
• 37:30
  Speaker 19: then we the Americans, have a control of twenty eight
• 37:33
  Speaker 19: and Australia of two, and so we don't have control
• 37:37
  Speaker 19: of as many submarines as might otherwise be the case.
• 37:41
  Speaker 19: On the other hand, counter to that argument is the argument, well,
• 37:45
  Speaker 19: the Americans will be better off with an ally working
• 37:49
  Speaker 19: with them and having Australian submarines work working in with them.
• 37:57
  Speaker 19: I mean, above all the greatest terrance. It's not just
• 38:01
  Speaker 19: having a strong defense course, but having a strong alliance.
• 38:05
  Speaker 2: Now I've got to get your thoughts on another issue,
• 38:07
  Speaker 2: and that is the extraordinary move of Australia to sanction
• 38:10
  Speaker 2: two Israeli government ministers. The Foreign Minister Penny Wong, when
• 38:16
  Speaker 2: she announced this yesterday, had this to say.
• 38:20
  Speaker 21: We believe a two state solution is the only way
• 38:22
  Speaker 21: to end the cycle of violence, and regrettably, it is
• 38:26
  Speaker 21: also clear that the Netanyahu government rejects it.
• 38:30
  Speaker 2: Alexander Danna, how would you characterize this decision and its
• 38:34
  Speaker 2: likely ramifications.
• 38:36
  Speaker 1: Well, it's glib.
• 38:39
  Speaker 19: It's glib to say a two state solution will solve
• 38:42
  Speaker 19: the problem. There have been various offers of two state
• 38:46
  Speaker 19: solutions to the Palestinians from nineteen forty eight onwards, and
• 38:50
  Speaker 19: they have always rejected those offers. So the day that
• 38:55
  Speaker 19: they turn up and agree to negotiations for a two
• 39:01
  Speaker 19: state solution will be a big day, I can tell
• 39:05
  Speaker 19: you that. Secondly, I think this idea of sanctioning individual
• 39:09
  Speaker 19: ministers in a liberal democracy where cabinet operates on the
• 39:15
  Speaker 19: basis of collective responsibility in Israel as it does in Australia,
• 39:20
  Speaker 19: I think it's an extraordinary decision. I mean, it sets
• 39:23
  Speaker 19: a whole set of new presidents. Why it begs the
• 39:31
  Speaker 19: question why not sanctioned politicians from other countries who you
• 39:36
  Speaker 19: don't agree with and who you think express views that
• 39:39
  Speaker 19: are a bit too extreme? What about sanctioning some of
• 39:43
  Speaker 19: the Chinese ministers responsible for the maltreatment of the wigas.
• 39:50
  Speaker 19: What about sanctioning politicians in Germany who you think are
• 39:54
  Speaker 19: too right wing and dangerous? Like politicians an alternative? I mean,
• 40:01
  Speaker 19: where does it end? And it begs another question, why Israel?
• 40:07
  Speaker 19: Why a liberal democracy like Israel has its ministers singled
• 40:13
  Speaker 19: out by the Australian government. You can only wonder why that,
• 40:19
  Speaker 19: Why Israel is picked on in this way?
• 40:23
  Speaker 2: You can only wonder, indeed, a different standard applied to Israel.
• 40:27
  Speaker 1: Always. Thanks so much for joining us, Alexander. It's a pleasure.
• 40:32
  Speaker 2: Let's go to our Thursday National Cabinet now with Tim
• 40:35
  Speaker 2: Blair from the Daily Telegraph joining us live from the
• 40:37
  Speaker 2: Wimra and Mark Nicholson from step Mate Studios joining us
• 40:41
  Speaker 2: live from Melbourne.
• 40:41
  Speaker 1: Good to see both of you.
• 40:43
  Speaker 2: I want to start with Melbourne though, and some pictures
• 40:46
  Speaker 2: that have come to us.
• 40:47
  Speaker 1: I think you got to see the Herald Son.
• 40:49
  Speaker 2: But there was a lunch on this week before Albow
• 40:53
  Speaker 2: headed off overseas, he had lunch in Melbourne with none
• 40:56
  Speaker 2: other than Daniel Andrews. So this would have been some
• 41:00
  Speaker 2: sort of a lunch mark and no social distancing.
• 41:04
  Speaker 1: There no masks on. They were sitting there.
• 41:07
  Speaker 2: Breathing all over each other and tell us what your
• 41:10
  Speaker 2: ackton might have transpired over this one.
• 41:13
  Speaker 1: Yeah, what a shock this is. I'm actually I'm mostly shot.
• 41:16
  Speaker 21: I'm not shocked at the fact that they're sitting there
• 41:19
  Speaker 21: that al but Easy's, you know, guzzling wine on a
• 41:21
  Speaker 21: Wednesday afternoon, having a big old wet lunch. I'm actually
• 41:23
  Speaker 21: surprised that Dan Andrews is welcome in any restaurant in.
• 41:27
  Speaker 1: Melbourne at all.
• 41:28
  Speaker 21: I had no idea after what he did to all
• 41:31
  Speaker 21: of the hospitality industry how he went. In fact, I
• 41:33
  Speaker 21: think there might be the only reason Elbow's there is
• 41:35
  Speaker 21: to test the food for poison. He might have just
• 41:37
  Speaker 21: been asking him, is there spit in the mashed potatoes?
• 41:41
  Speaker 1: That's whay.
• 41:42
  Speaker 21: The only reason he'd be able to go is if
• 41:43
  Speaker 21: he's got someone there to test the food for him,
• 41:45
  Speaker 21: because I don't think Dan to be welcome anywhere.
• 41:47
  Speaker 2: Well, he's got to go for a long lunch to him,
• 41:49
  Speaker 2: because he can't get on a golf course.
• 41:51
  Speaker 12: Anywhere exactly, no such thing as a nineteenth hole in
• 41:55
  Speaker 12: his will. But you know, you hear about or you
• 42:01
  Speaker 12: might even be invited to or participate in one of
• 42:04
  Speaker 12: those sort of celebrity auction things where one of the
• 42:06
  Speaker 12: prizes is that you get to dine with a certain celebrity.
• 42:09
  Speaker 12: Imagine how much in pain not to be dining with
• 42:12
  Speaker 12: that pair. I reckon i'd be in probably the low
• 42:16
  Speaker 12: six figures, high fives. I'm not sure, but it'd be
• 42:19
  Speaker 12: a substantial amount. The other thing is, you know, and
• 42:22
  Speaker 12: it maybe to what you're saying about the popularity of
• 42:25
  Speaker 12: a certain form of Victorian premier. They I think left
• 42:29
  Speaker 12: separately rather be associated with each other. I think they
• 42:32
  Speaker 12: kind of divbied up that little thing just so they
• 42:35
  Speaker 12: they weren't hard but the same bruk.
• 42:37
  Speaker 2: It's like they're having an affair slip out in the
• 42:39
  Speaker 2: back door. I did notice a little, a little line
• 42:43
  Speaker 2: they're telling us that Dan Andrews actually picked up the bill.
• 42:46
  Speaker 1: There you go, Dan actually picked up the bill. And
• 42:48
  Speaker 1: I don't think you'd have any way of claiming it
• 42:50
  Speaker 1: these days.
• 42:53
  Speaker 12: Well, you know, like you could be pretty sure it's
• 42:55
  Speaker 12: going to find its way back to the back to
• 42:57
  Speaker 12: the Victorian public. Can't you maybe say it's still going
• 43:02
  Speaker 12: to there's pathways now.
• 43:05
  Speaker 1: I want to go to the net zero authority.
• 43:06
  Speaker 2: I love these government authorities right there, So there's a
• 43:09
  Speaker 2: net zero authority that's formed late last year. Apparently, what's
• 43:13
  Speaker 2: the first thing you reckon? It would do, like maybe
• 43:15
  Speaker 2: get rid of some carbon emissions, maybe plant some trees. No,
• 43:19
  Speaker 2: the first thing it did was commission a new logo.
• 43:22
  Speaker 2: And yeah, taxpayers have been hit nearly nearly two hundred
• 43:25
  Speaker 2: grand mark to come up with a new logo.
• 43:28
  Speaker 1: That'll do it, that'll that'll fix the planet.
• 43:32
  Speaker 21: And yeah, just just some fiddling around we did. We
• 43:35
  Speaker 21: did a whole bunch of research and we thought agency
• 43:37
  Speaker 21: didn't sit well, so we need to put it as authority.
• 43:40
  Speaker 21: Here's a bill for one hundred and eighty thousand dollars
• 43:42
  Speaker 21: courtesy of all that, you can see the branding guide
• 43:44
  Speaker 21: will just be like let's just use a whole bunch
• 43:46
  Speaker 21: of green. And you know what's scary, mate, is this
• 43:49
  Speaker 21: is a one hundred and ninety million dollar budget that
• 43:51
  Speaker 21: they've got. This is only one hundred and eighty grand
• 43:53
  Speaker 21: that they spent on this. Just imagine what else they've
• 43:56
  Speaker 21: spent on, Like, what now else they're wasting money on.
• 43:59
  Speaker 21: That's the thing, that's what it's really scary.
• 44:01
  Speaker 1: This is just a small.
• 44:02
  Speaker 20: Part of it.
• 44:02
  Speaker 1: This is just the logo.
• 44:04
  Speaker 21: Where else are they throwing our money at like putting
• 44:06
  Speaker 21: one hundred and ninety million dollars in a furnace.
• 44:09
  Speaker 1: It's scary.
• 44:10
  Speaker 2: Yeah, that's why I like to highlight it because having
• 44:13
  Speaker 2: dealt with some of these government agencies over many, many years,
• 44:16
  Speaker 2: they just spend money hand over fish.
• 44:18
  Speaker 1: So this is the first thing. We've got to have
• 44:20
  Speaker 1: a logo. You've got to outsource it.
• 44:21
  Speaker 2: You've got to throw money at someone for the logo,
• 44:24
  Speaker 2: and then they'll be throwing money at everybody else for everything.
• 44:26
  Speaker 2: In the last thing they'll ever get around to tim
• 44:29
  Speaker 2: it's actually reducing emissions.
• 44:31
  Speaker 1: Maybe that's a good thing.
• 44:34
  Speaker 21: Yeah, it's just.
• 44:36
  Speaker 12: Every softom these stories happening.
• 44:38
  Speaker 7: You know.
• 44:39
  Speaker 12: I remember twenty odd years ago the Comonworth Bank changed
• 44:41
  Speaker 12: their logan with a similar deal, you know, half a
• 44:43
  Speaker 12: million bucks spin on the logo. But these days this
• 44:47
  Speaker 12: thing called AI it's it's pretty popular with the kids apparently,
• 44:50
  Speaker 12: and you can just dial in what you want and
• 44:53
  Speaker 12: something happens. Instead. They've given one hundred and eighty grand
• 44:55
  Speaker 12: to squares are us to come up with all their
• 44:58
  Speaker 12: pattern with colors and as I point out, and that's
• 45:04
  Speaker 12: shouldn't zero now be shouldn't nit zero gang be done
• 45:07
  Speaker 12: for false advertising because it's one hundred and eighty grand.
• 45:09
  Speaker 12: It's not zero at all. Negatives.
• 45:12
  Speaker 2: Yeah, and you talk about the Commonwealth Bank logo, it's
• 45:15
  Speaker 2: pretty that pretty much pinched it. That just turned it
• 45:17
  Speaker 2: around and that in a square change the colors. Now,
• 45:21
  Speaker 2: I don't know whether you saw the top of the program.
• 45:23
  Speaker 2: This is the wonderful story out of Coinsland. It's the
• 45:25
  Speaker 2: most Australian story ever because it's got the catters, it's
• 45:28
  Speaker 2: got the Irwins, it's got crocodiles.
• 45:30
  Speaker 1: Here's a little bit of what's going on. What would
• 45:33
  Speaker 1: Bob Kata know about crocodile Terry? Terry knows what she's
• 45:37
  Speaker 1: talking about it. She knows all about it.
• 45:40
  Speaker 10: Well, I've trust how would you know about crocodiles if
• 45:42
  Speaker 10: you live in Brisbane.
• 45:43
  Speaker 7: She's been dealing with crocodiles in a while, and you're
• 45:46
  Speaker 7: a zoo situation.
• 45:48
  Speaker 9: That's right.
• 45:49
  Speaker 1: She's got them all locked up and in a cage.
• 45:53
  Speaker 1: He doesn't understand.
• 45:54
  Speaker 7: So if you take the apex predator out of the
• 45:57
  Speaker 7: river system, you're older the whole blode of that system.
• 46:01
  Speaker 9: You make money out of crocodiles by keeping them in cages.
• 46:04
  Speaker 9: I don't know what qualifies you to give advice on
• 46:06
  Speaker 9: the way we live up north.
• 46:09
  Speaker 1: Oh, Tim, this is beautiful.
• 46:10
  Speaker 2: Don't talk to me about crocodiles. I know crocodiles. There's
• 46:13
  Speaker 2: only one way to sort this out. They're going to
• 46:15
  Speaker 2: have to get in an arena and wrestle them.
• 46:18
  Speaker 18: Oh.
• 46:18
  Speaker 12: Absolutely, I don't think any of us ever expected to
• 46:22
  Speaker 12: hear the question what does Bob Katta know about crocodiles? Yeah,
• 46:26
  Speaker 12: it's a bit out there, but I mean, maybe it's
• 46:29
  Speaker 12: just the involvement of a Vista Kata. But it does
• 46:31
  Speaker 12: seem like it looks like one of Mark's cartoons, except
• 46:35
  Speaker 12: minus perhaps the fine animation has It's got all the
• 46:37
  Speaker 12: voices and all the incredible bizarre plotline and the pointless
• 46:41
  Speaker 12: hostility that Toila's reflected in camera. But it's over crocodiles.
• 46:46
  Speaker 12: I'm not sure. I'm not sure i'm qualified. Just to
• 46:48
  Speaker 12: get back to the about qualifications on crocodiles, I'm not
• 46:51
  Speaker 12: sure to take a stand either way on this one.
• 46:53
  Speaker 1: Boys exactly.
• 46:54
  Speaker 2: Yeah, of course, Mark, you do a wonderful Bob Catter
• 46:58
  Speaker 2: in your in your cartoons, and please explain cartoons.
• 47:01
  Speaker 1: But I've got to run this grab again. I showed
• 47:03
  Speaker 1: at the top of the show.
• 47:04
  Speaker 2: It's the greatest grab in Australian politics of all time.
• 47:07
  Speaker 2: There's no cuts in this, there's no cuts. It's one
• 47:11
  Speaker 2: train of thought from Bob Catter and it's a thing
• 47:13
  Speaker 2: of great beauty.
• 47:13
  Speaker 1: Have a look again.
• 47:15
  Speaker 8: I mean, you know, people are entitled to their sexual proclimities,
• 47:21
  Speaker 8: you know. I mean, let there be a thousand blossoms
• 47:25
  Speaker 8: blooten Off concern.
• 47:27
  Speaker 10: But I ain't spending any time lawrant because in the meantime,
• 47:31
  Speaker 10: every three months a person is torn to pieces by
• 47:35
  Speaker 10: crocodile in North Queensland.
• 47:38
  Speaker 2: It's beautiful. Mark he didn't have his hat on for
• 47:40
  Speaker 2: that one, but it's a ripper.
• 47:43
  Speaker 21: He's the best mate and that's why we very rarely
• 47:46
  Speaker 21: picked on him, which is, you know, a mistake that
• 47:48
  Speaker 21: Irwin has made. It you don't pick on Bob because
• 47:51
  Speaker 21: he's too much of a legend. You don't talk about
• 47:53
  Speaker 21: North Queensland at any point. And to be honest, I've
• 47:55
  Speaker 21: got family up there. My uncle Scotty kill me if
• 47:57
  Speaker 21: I talked about anything about North Queensland. That's one of
• 48:00
  Speaker 21: the rules of are city slickers. We're not allowed to
• 48:02
  Speaker 21: talk about North Queensland. That's the that's the key, and
• 48:06
  Speaker 21: all the Irwins, the city slickers up there in the
• 48:07
  Speaker 21: Sunshine Coast.
• 48:08
  Speaker 1: But now Bob's an absolute legend.
• 48:10
  Speaker 21: And he was once asked about my impression of him
• 48:13
  Speaker 21: and what he thought of it, and he just went.
• 48:15
  Speaker 22: Well, you know, everyone can have been a fun.
• 48:19
  Speaker 1: Have a laugh, brilliant. It was my favorite thing, a
• 48:22
  Speaker 1: highlight of my life. That's brilliant.
• 48:24
  Speaker 2: You're doing an impression of his reaction to your impression.
• 48:27
  Speaker 1: I love it. We've got to mention before we go.
• 48:30
  Speaker 1: We've got to mention Brian Wilson.
• 48:31
  Speaker 2: What a fantastic musician and songwriter he was. Remember their
• 48:36
  Speaker 2: first hit, The Beach Boys. Listen out of this one
• 48:38
  Speaker 2: for Australia's Narraw been.
• 48:42
  Speaker 15: The Inside Outside, Inside Outside.
• 48:56
  Speaker 1: Tim a great figure in popular music leaving us today.
• 49:00
  Speaker 19: Clearly I was.
• 49:01
  Speaker 12: I was very fortunate to see Brian Wilson in conference
• 49:03
  Speaker 12: in Sydney twenty five years ago. An extraordinary night and
• 49:08
  Speaker 12: I still remember his passionate sign off to the audience
• 49:11
  Speaker 12: drive safely, yeah, he's a little bit more how we
• 49:14
  Speaker 12: signed off. He was a brilliant, eccentric and the music
• 49:18
  Speaker 12: will last forever.
• 49:19
  Speaker 1: He was indeed ex centric. Here's a bit of Sloop
• 49:21
  Speaker 1: John B.
• 49:25
  Speaker 22: Joe sat Shi, great stuff there.
• 49:38
  Speaker 2: Of course, Mark, you're too young to even remember the
• 49:41
  Speaker 2: beach boys, he said, who are these guys talking about?
• 49:44
  Speaker 2: Thanks for joining us at Tim Blair, Mark Nicholson, we're
• 49:47
  Speaker 2: right out of time.
• 49:48
  Speaker 1: Appreciate your company. We'll catch up with you next week.
• 49:51
  Speaker 2: Now we're going to have a short advertisement, a short
• 49:53
  Speaker 2: commercial break. After that, James Macpherson will be back filling
• 49:56
  Speaker 2: in for Peter Quentlin. I'll see you next week.