Latest / The Kenny Report / The Kenny Report | 11 December

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The Kenny Report | 11 December · The Kenny Report

0:00
Speaker 1: Line from the Sky New Center.
0:03
Speaker 2: This is the Kenny Report.
0:06
Speaker 1: Thanks for joining me tonight.
0:08
Speaker 3: The expenses scandal continues as the Prime Minister washes his
0:11
Speaker 3: hands of the affair and tries to move on. The
0:14
Speaker 3: reckless renewables rollout continues too. Where will the flash points
0:19
Speaker 3: be in the year ahead and looking back on twenty
0:22
Speaker 3: twenty five? Is social cohesion the biggest casualty? Alex Ritchen
0:27
Speaker 3: joins me plus in Sport with Robbie will check in
0:30
Speaker 3: on the Pom's Beach cricket form and Tim Blair and
0:33
Speaker 3: James Bolt will help me check out the store that's
0:38
Speaker 3: actually downgraded Christmas?
0:40
Speaker 1: Can you believe let's get cracking.
0:46
Speaker 3: The parliamentary expenses scandal won't go away, even though the
0:50
Speaker 3: Prime Minister has attempted to dismiss it all as a
0:53
Speaker 3: lot of noise about nothing. In fact, he reckons because
0:56
Speaker 3: he inherited the rules. It's not really his problem.
1:00
Speaker 4: Well, these are rules that have been set for some
1:03
Speaker 4: period of time. The rules that are in place in
1:08
Speaker 4: terms of family reunion so that to enable people who
1:14
Speaker 4: actually engage with their partners. So they've been in place
1:20
Speaker 4: for some time and we haven't changed the rules. We
1:24
Speaker 4: haven't added to any entitlements. The rules have been there
1:30
Speaker 4: since they were put in place by the former government.
1:34
Speaker 3: Well, that's easy for him to say, but it's not
1:37
Speaker 3: easy to officially wash his hands of all this because
1:41
Speaker 3: he's in charge now and it's his ministers in the frame,
1:45
Speaker 3: primarily the one standing there with him today, the Communications Minister,
1:51
Speaker 3: Anika Wells. Wells has used family reunion flights to take
1:56
Speaker 3: a husband to three AFL Grand Finals, getting the kids
2:00
Speaker 3: along to one as well. Wells has also taken her
2:03
Speaker 3: husband a taxpayer expense to the Formula one Grand Prix,
2:07
Speaker 3: a Boxing day test, and even an Oasis concert in Sydney.
2:13
Speaker 1: The list goes on. But trying to.
2:15
Speaker 3: Justify his refusal to order a review of family reunion privileges,
2:21
Speaker 3: the Prime Minister invoked his own arrangements from twenty years ago.
2:26
Speaker 4: The distinction re when my son was above some of
2:32
Speaker 4: you would know him for all of that time. He
2:36
Speaker 4: turned twenty five on Monday. I should bring him down
2:40
Speaker 4: to Parliament when Parliament sat. That made it possible for
2:43
Speaker 4: me to do my job when he was above side.
2:47
Speaker 4: The travel included that to occur before he started school.
2:54
Speaker 3: Oh, come on, let's be real here we're talking about
2:59
Speaker 3: a ministering her family to the snow fields and sporting
3:03
Speaker 3: events and rock concerts, and another senior minister has booked
3:08
Speaker 3: even more flights. Factional power broker and Trade Minister Don
3:12
Speaker 3: Farrell has organized for his wife to accompany him all
3:15
Speaker 3: over the country. But the bloke in charge reckons he
3:19
Speaker 3: doesn't really have time to focus on this issue.
3:23
Speaker 4: I've answered, I've answered multiple questions on it today. I
3:28
Speaker 4: am focused. I am focused. What I have said very
3:33
Speaker 4: clearly is what I am focused on. I'm focused on
3:37
Speaker 4: one of the biggest reforms. When you look back and
3:42
Speaker 4: you know you're you'll be able to write a book
3:44
Speaker 4: maybe on you know, the period of the Labor government.
3:48
Speaker 4: When you look back and you look at what are
3:50
Speaker 4: the five biggest things that we did, I'll tell you
3:53
Speaker 4: what This will be one of them. And that's what
3:55
Speaker 4: makes me proud, Thanks very much.
4:01
Speaker 3: Yeah, his proud reform of course, referring to there as
4:04
Speaker 3: the social media band for teenagers. But Labour's key political allies,
4:09
Speaker 3: the Greens, well they're in the firing line too, with
4:12
Speaker 3: Sarah Hanson Young, as we mentioned on this program last night,
4:16
Speaker 3: revealed to have used taxpayers funds to fly around her husband,
4:21
Speaker 3: the former Green's staffer and now Canberra lobbyist, Ben Oaquist,
4:27
Speaker 3: and taxpayer funded flights or not. Hans and Young went
4:30
Speaker 3: missing this morning.
4:32
Speaker 1: Joining us Slave's Deputy Nationals leader Kevin Hogan. Kevin, let's
4:36
Speaker 1: start with Sarah Hanson Young.
4:37
Speaker 5: It's see your regular opponent on this panel on a
4:40
Speaker 5: Thursday morning.
4:41
Speaker 1: But curiously she's pulled out of her slot.
4:44
Speaker 3: Yeah, she pulled out of that slot. It turns out
4:47
Speaker 3: the Greens have quite the carbon footprint. Look, there's no
4:50
Speaker 3: doubt these rules need to be re examined. They're simply
4:53
Speaker 3: too loose or too.
4:55
Speaker 1: Generous or both.
4:57
Speaker 3: And while Albanezi refuses to do that, he's also rejected
5:01
Speaker 3: opposition calls to check his minister's behavior against his own
5:06
Speaker 3: ministerial code of conduct.
5:08
Speaker 6: When I look at this Prime minister and his dismissive
5:11
Speaker 6: and arrogant attitude to his minister, Annika Wells just sort
5:15
Speaker 6: of appearing to thumbhoe. No's at struggling Australians.
5:19
Speaker 7: But it's the prime minister.
5:20
Speaker 6: I want to focus on Mark because you know what,
5:23
Speaker 6: if you're a minister wasting money, he's got your back.
5:28
Speaker 6: If you're a struggling taxpayer, You're on your own.
5:31
Speaker 3: This issue is a gift for the opposition, even though
5:34
Speaker 3: Lee has an embarrassing history on travel entitlements herself, and
5:38
Speaker 3: no doubt many of her colleagues are checking what they've.
5:41
Speaker 1: Claimed over the years.
5:43
Speaker 3: But if you want to see hypocrisy for real, if
5:46
Speaker 3: you want to see a real case of hypocrisy, just
5:49
Speaker 3: consider Labor. They've loved prosecuting expenses scandals against the Coalition
5:56
Speaker 3: in the past, working closely with their mates in the media,
6:00
Speaker 3: but now they're downplaying the scandal, claiming it's all within
6:04
Speaker 3: the rules. If that's the case, then, apart from anything else,
6:09
Speaker 3: the rules suck, you know. I started writing my final
6:17
Speaker 3: Australian column for the year last night and I was
6:19
Speaker 3: focusing on a bit of a wrap up of the year,
6:23
Speaker 3: and I was thinking, it's one that, for a change,
6:26
Speaker 3: leaves me a lot more pessimistic, a lot more troubled,
6:31
Speaker 3: and a lot less hopeful than I've been for a
6:34
Speaker 3: long time. There's plenty to worry about, for sure, from
6:37
Speaker 3: our national energy self farmer, federal budget running out of control,
6:42
Speaker 3: government getting even bigger and more intrusive, and globally the
6:46
Speaker 3: ongoing strife in the Middle East, Eastern Europe, and of
6:49
Speaker 3: course in our own region with China pushing hard to
6:52
Speaker 3: dominate economically, militarily and diplomatically. But I think we'll work
6:58
Speaker 3: our way through those issues, take a crisis in some
7:01
Speaker 3: of them, but we will get on the right track eventually.
7:05
Speaker 3: And if we're looking for optimism, we can always be
7:08
Speaker 3: hopeful about this social media band for teenagers.
7:11
Speaker 1: It might just work.
7:13
Speaker 3: It should at least help to keep kids away from
7:16
Speaker 3: the worst excesses of social media, and it's something that's
7:20
Speaker 3: had bipartisan support and broad community support. So let's hope
7:24
Speaker 3: we'll look back on this week as a bit of
7:26
Speaker 3: a watershed in that regard.
7:29
Speaker 1: But the development that.
7:30
Speaker 3: Really worries me this year is one that's related to
7:34
Speaker 3: social media and other factors, but it's the way our
7:37
Speaker 3: social cohesion in this country seems to have fallen apart.
7:41
Speaker 3: We've become divided and tribalized. There's too much shouting and
7:46
Speaker 3: abuse and not enough reasoned debate. We've lost some of
7:50
Speaker 3: our national character, our Australian values of a fair go
7:54
Speaker 3: and matship and live and let live. The left in
7:58
Speaker 3: particular has lost the to respectfully disagree or even agree
8:03
Speaker 3: to disagree. They only want to denounce their opponents. Moral
8:07
Speaker 3: vanity has mutated into moral narcissism. But there's plenty of
8:12
Speaker 3: harshness on the right too, and we've even seen the
8:15
Speaker 3: rise of neo Nazis this year. Contemporary white supremacism in
8:20
Speaker 3: this country. It's just sickening. And while this new polarization
8:25
Speaker 3: of national debate runs through many issues such as climate
8:29
Speaker 3: and energy, and indigenous affairs, immigration and even economics, nowhere
8:35
Speaker 3: has it been uglier than in the debate over the
8:38
Speaker 3: Middle East and the way that's generated unprecedented levels of
8:43
Speaker 3: anti Semitism on our shores.
8:46
Speaker 1: To my mind, that harbor Bridge.
8:48
Speaker 3: Protest in August was a low point for the country,
8:51
Speaker 3: for our politics and for our media. Perhaps one hundred
8:55
Speaker 3: thousand people joining what was ostensibly a march to support
8:59
Speaker 3: the Palestinian peace people, especially those in Gaza, and no
9:03
Speaker 3: doubt there were many well intentioned but probably misinformed people
9:07
Speaker 3: there on the day, but at the heart of the
9:10
Speaker 3: rally was a strident anti Israeli streak and driving that
9:15
Speaker 3: was a hardline Islamist bent. We saw terrorist banners flown
9:21
Speaker 3: and there was at least one poster of the Supreme
9:24
Speaker 3: Leader of Iran, the Aotola, a figurehead for global terrorism
9:29
Speaker 3: and for virulent anti Semitism aimed at eliminating Israel. Shaikh
9:35
Speaker 3: Ibrahim de Doune was there, the man who, on our
9:38
Speaker 3: streets two years ago led celebrations of the October the
9:42
Speaker 3: seventh atrocities just hours after they happened, and while Israelis
9:47
Speaker 3: were still finding out who was dead and who'd been
9:50
Speaker 3: taken hostage.
9:52
Speaker 8: We're down on the Harbor Bridge, or like iconic day
9:55
Speaker 8: when we are protesting, we're marching for.
9:58
Speaker 3: Humanity, celebrating the slaughter of innocent Israeli's one minute marching
10:04
Speaker 3: for humanity, the next it was just sickening, and we
10:10
Speaker 3: heard aggressive chance for death directed at Israel. This was
10:27
Speaker 3: one of the most disturbing protests in our history. It's
10:30
Speaker 3: not often that protest chant for death. This was the
10:33
Speaker 3: targeting of a country and by extension, its supporters.
10:36
Speaker 1: Here At its core.
10:38
Speaker 3: However, others try to dress it up. At its core
10:41
Speaker 3: was an Islamist animosity towards Jews. Much of the media
10:46
Speaker 3: coverage edited out all the ugly signs and the chants,
10:49
Speaker 3: and they tried to make it look like some sort.
10:51
Speaker 1: Of mainstream movement for peace and all.
10:55
Speaker 3: This helped the Albaneze government make up its mind to
10:58
Speaker 3: recognize the non existence state of Palestine at the United
11:02
Speaker 3: Nations a month later, giving the hardliners what labor thinks
11:06
Speaker 3: they want. Yet today again, when talking about anti Semitism
11:11
Speaker 3: a scourge he's allowed to fester, a scourge he's done
11:15
Speaker 3: far too little to confront over the past two years,
11:18
Speaker 3: the Prime Minister couldn't mention anti semitism without the weasel
11:23
Speaker 3: words of false equivalence.
11:26
Speaker 4: There has been a rise in anti Semitism. We need
11:29
Speaker 4: to make sure that we address those issues, and my
11:32
Speaker 4: government will continue to do that. We need to continue
11:35
Speaker 4: to address Islamophobia wherever we see it, wherever we see
11:40
Speaker 4: any discrimination against any group.
11:43
Speaker 3: He's done nothing to combat the very real problem of antisemitism,
11:48
Speaker 3: and he makes that indolence worse by equating it with
11:51
Speaker 3: the largely confected issue of so called Islamophobia. And get this,
11:57
Speaker 3: the PM actually tried to make it sound as though
12:00
Speaker 3: just because he got wedding congratulations from Christian church leaders
12:05
Speaker 3: and from the other great faiths, it'll all be okay.
12:09
Speaker 4: From their du synagogue in Melbourne, of course, who went
12:14
Speaker 4: through that horrific attack on them. The world wishes that
12:20
Speaker 4: I've received from the Shaikh Shady, the chief of the
12:28
Speaker 4: mm's Council. It just said to me just how much
12:34
Speaker 4: this country really is such a privilege to live in.
12:39
Speaker 3: Yeah, we're lucky, all right, but just because we've been
12:43
Speaker 3: a great country doesn't mean it stays that way. Complacency
12:48
Speaker 3: is a cancer. Antisemitism remains a huge challenge for this country.
12:53
Speaker 3: Will need to fight it for years to come. And
12:56
Speaker 3: the lack of social cohesion, the polariah of viewpoints, the
13:01
Speaker 3: surrendering to ignorant social media memes. They present a real
13:06
Speaker 3: crisis for public debate in this country and the Albanezy
13:10
Speaker 3: government is either complicit.
13:12
Speaker 1: Or asleep at the wheel.
13:17
Speaker 3: Let's get back to the reckless renewables push, an ongoing
13:21
Speaker 3: controversy we've focused on for the past couple of years
13:24
Speaker 3: on this program. In one of the latest flashpoints, a
13:27
Speaker 3: vet in Mudgie in the central west of New South
13:29
Speaker 3: Wales has rescued dozens of baby birds left homeless after
13:33
Speaker 3: hundreds of trees were torn down to make way for
13:36
Speaker 3: transmission lines connecting wind and solar farms to the grid.
13:40
Speaker 3: Take a look at this report thanks to Channel ten News.
13:44
Speaker 9: These baby birds are too young to be without a
13:47
Speaker 9: next but they're displaced and orphaned.
13:50
Speaker 6: We've just had a steady flow of birds pretty regularly
13:54
Speaker 6: every day.
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Speaker 10: Every couple of days.
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Speaker 9: Over the past month, at least fifty have been brought
13:59
Speaker 9: in to the Mudgy Vet Hospital. They're just losing their
14:02
Speaker 9: homes at a time that they need to be there,
14:06
Speaker 9: So why is it happening? Hundreds of trees it being
14:10
Speaker 9: removed to make way for a major renewable power project
14:13
Speaker 9: in regional New South Wales, but vets say it's all
14:17
Speaker 9: taken place during nesting season. This is where the works
14:20
Speaker 9: are taking place. Morothery Road, north of Mudge. The dirt
14:24
Speaker 9: road will one day lead to an energy hub connecting
14:28
Speaker 9: power from nearby wind and solar projects inside the Central
14:31
Speaker 9: West Irana Renewable Energy Zone. In the process of widening
14:36
Speaker 9: the road, more than six hundred trees have been removed.
14:40
Speaker 1: Yeah, let's bring in Anne Webster.
14:42
Speaker 3: She's the Shadow Minister for Regional Development and the Member
14:45
Speaker 3: for Malley in Victoria.
14:46
Speaker 1: She joins us from Melbourne. Thanks for joining us again.
14:49
Speaker 3: And this is another flashboard in Mudgie you've had them
14:52
Speaker 3: in your neck of the woods in western Victoria. We've
14:54
Speaker 3: seen them up and down the coastline right around the country.
14:58
Speaker 3: Presumably this is an issue that you've got to focus
15:00
Speaker 3: on into the new year as well, because there are
15:03
Speaker 3: so many cute communities concerned about this rollout.
15:09
Speaker 11: Well, Chris, as we've discussed on many occasions, this is outrageous.
15:15
Speaker 11: How can you put a war into our environment, and
15:20
Speaker 11: whether that's our natural environment or whether it's farming land
15:24
Speaker 11: in order to save the planet. It makes no sense.
15:28
Speaker 11: And when you have birds, when you have all kinds
15:32
Speaker 11: of fauna and flora being destroyed to put up an
15:36
Speaker 11: industrial size Look, it's going to be a wasteland in
15:40
Speaker 11: the future, is my concern with our resus throughout New
15:44
Speaker 11: South Wales and Victoria. You know, farmers are feeling, as
15:49
Speaker 11: you know, absolutely confronted on a daily basis, and they're
15:56
Speaker 11: going into harvest as well.
15:58
Speaker 7: So we've got.
15:58
Speaker 11: Birds in nesting season who are losing their nests, and
16:02
Speaker 11: we've got farmers going into harvest who are being confronted
16:06
Speaker 11: by vic grid. I'm looking forward to standing with my
16:10
Speaker 11: farmers at their farm gate to say to the Victorian
16:14
Speaker 11: government this is not okay.
16:17
Speaker 1: Yeah, so that's one of the issues.
16:19
Speaker 3: State governments trying to forcibly get onto the land of
16:24
Speaker 3: farmers to scope out potential transmission lines and the like.
16:29
Speaker 3: We've got communities complaining about offshore wind projects that.
16:32
Speaker 1: Can damage their environment.
16:35
Speaker 3: We've got others fighting wind farms and solar factories. But
16:40
Speaker 3: there's always this talk of division in these communities. Some
16:44
Speaker 3: people support it, some don't. Is it as simple as
16:47
Speaker 3: those who support it are the ones who have the
16:50
Speaker 3: transmission lines or the poles on their land and get
16:52
Speaker 3: the money out of it, and everybody else just has
16:55
Speaker 3: to put up with the sight of them without getting
16:58
Speaker 3: any financial reward.
17:02
Speaker 11: Look, I think you're right the communities. Our communities are
17:06
Speaker 11: very divided. There are I would suggest to you a minority,
17:11
Speaker 11: given the survey results in my electorate, a minority who
17:16
Speaker 11: are in support of the renewable projects going ahead and
17:20
Speaker 11: also mining mineral sands mining. Let's not forget that. So
17:24
Speaker 11: farmland is being attacked on every by every angle and
17:29
Speaker 11: by every government. Local governments actually are trying to stand
17:34
Speaker 11: up for their communities, but it's really really difficult, and
17:39
Speaker 11: the railroading of our regional communities is simply, I've just
17:45
Speaker 11: never seen anything like it. And the communities, you know,
17:48
Speaker 11: we've got brothers not talking to brothers anymore, fathers not
17:51
Speaker 11: you know, having their kids who don't talk to them.
17:55
Speaker 11: It really is a war zone in so many ways,
17:58
Speaker 11: and it's the lack of social license is just appalling.
18:03
Speaker 1: Well, the issue is, though I don't doubt any of that.
18:06
Speaker 3: I've seen it, and I've spoken to many communities around
18:08
Speaker 3: the country about this sort of thing, but there's no
18:10
Speaker 3: alternative at the moment. Labor are just saying this is
18:13
Speaker 3: the only way that they know to get more energy
18:15
Speaker 3: into the system.
18:17
Speaker 1: They're not abiding any other approach.
18:19
Speaker 3: So we're locked into this process for many years to
18:22
Speaker 3: come up, and governments are going to win in the end,
18:24
Speaker 3: they're going to trample over the rights of landowners.
18:29
Speaker 11: Well, you know, we're facing a new era. I find
18:33
Speaker 11: it very interesting that aemo's latest report says, well, actually
18:37
Speaker 11: Cole is going to remain in the system until twenty
18:41
Speaker 11: forty nine. What comes next twenty to fifty net zero.
18:45
Speaker 11: I don't buy what the government and their agencies are
18:49
Speaker 11: telling us as Australians. I think there is a general
18:54
Speaker 11: sense amongst us as australaomers. You were talking about our
18:57
Speaker 11: culture before that we have a you know, she'll be right, mate,
19:02
Speaker 11: but it's not going to be okay. And regional communities,
19:05
Speaker 11: our food security, all of those things are at risk
19:09
Speaker 11: and we need to wake up to ourselves.
19:12
Speaker 1: We sure do, we sure do.
19:13
Speaker 3: Just before I let you go and your thoughts on
19:15
Speaker 3: this social media band. Overwhelming public support for this, even
19:19
Speaker 3: if people are worrying a little skeptical about how it's
19:21
Speaker 3: going to be implemented.
19:25
Speaker 11: Yeah, absolutely, And look the government have given us the
19:28
Speaker 11: list of so far of those banned big tech companies.
19:33
Speaker 11: But you know we've got TikTok apparently have developed lemonate,
19:37
Speaker 11: and we've got Yopa and others. How many more platforms
19:41
Speaker 11: will be actually banned? And what kind of implementation strategy
19:46
Speaker 11: has the government got? You know, if we look at
19:49
Speaker 11: the energy roll out, I have no faith whatsoever that
19:53
Speaker 11: this government can achieve what it wants to achieve. We
19:57
Speaker 11: know that in European countries, specific European countries, there are
20:01
Speaker 11: slightly different bands. My suspicion is that Australia, this labor
20:05
Speaker 11: government has really tried to just get out on the
20:08
Speaker 11: front foot and say oh, we're doing it really well
20:10
Speaker 11: for all under sixteens. And what is the actual implementation
20:16
Speaker 11: We don't know. And I can tell you right now
20:19
Speaker 11: that the Opposition has a very good eyesight on how
20:22
Speaker 11: it's being implemented.
20:24
Speaker 1: Well good, We've got to follow that.
20:25
Speaker 3: And I think everybody supports the aims of this. But
20:29
Speaker 3: whether this is the right way to do it or not,
20:31
Speaker 3: time will tell. Well know pretty soon.
20:33
Speaker 1: I think.
20:33
Speaker 3: Thanks for joining us and I appreciate it, and website
20:36
Speaker 3: they're joining us from Melbourne. I want to go to
20:37
Speaker 3: Canberra now and catch up with Liberal Senator Sarah Henderson
20:41
Speaker 3: again and Sarah, thanks for joining us. So I want
20:43
Speaker 3: to start off on the travel ruts, the expenses scandal,
20:46
Speaker 3: if you like.
20:47
Speaker 1: Do these rules need to be changed? Keep you in
20:50
Speaker 1: mind these are the.
20:51
Speaker 3: Rules that were in place when the Coalition was last
20:53
Speaker 3: in power. Do they need to be tightened and does
20:56
Speaker 3: that mean that, of course coalition MPs have been over
20:59
Speaker 3: using them as well as.
21:00
Speaker 7: Labor Well, Chris, good afternoon.
21:04
Speaker 12: And that's the very question that the Prime Minister must answer,
21:07
Speaker 12: because of course he is responsible, for instance, for approving
21:12
Speaker 12: international travel for every minister.
21:15
Speaker 7: And we know in the case of Anika Wells.
21:17
Speaker 12: He approved those airfares to New York, which cost nearly
21:21
Speaker 12: one hundred thousand dollars, So this is a real test
21:26
Speaker 12: of leadership for the Prime Minister. We have called for
21:30
Speaker 12: Anika Wells to stand down from her job as the
21:33
Speaker 12: Minister for Communications, but we've also called for a separate
21:36
Speaker 12: inquiry by the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet to
21:39
Speaker 12: determine whether she has breached any parts of the Code
21:43
Speaker 12: of Conduct. And I will just refer to that, Chris,
21:46
Speaker 12: because they include that ministers must observe standards of behavior
21:51
Speaker 12: worthy of the Australian people and act in a manner
21:54
Speaker 12: consistent with the highest ethical standards.
21:58
Speaker 7: And it may well be Minister.
22:00
Speaker 12: Welds has in fact breached the Ministerial Code of Conduct,
22:04
Speaker 12: and that's why an urgent inquiry is warranted.
22:08
Speaker 1: Yeah, he's got to have a look at it.
22:09
Speaker 3: I think that New York trip was completely unnecessary and
22:12
Speaker 3: obviously completely indulgent because of how expensive it was.
22:16
Speaker 1: If there was an event there involving social media.
22:18
Speaker 3: There were three other federal government ministers, including the Prime
22:21
Speaker 3: Minister in New York.
22:23
Speaker 1: They could have done it for her.
22:24
Speaker 3: An absolute joke, So we'll keep on that, but I
22:26
Speaker 3: do want to get onto another issue because it's something
22:29
Speaker 3: a lot of media is ignoring and they shouldn't. And
22:32
Speaker 3: this is the way Senator Linda Reynolds, the former Defense Minister.
22:35
Speaker 1: Was treated.
22:36
Speaker 3: The way she was attacked mercilessly by Labor, accused of
22:40
Speaker 3: covering up an alleged rape. Most of the media ran
22:43
Speaker 3: with that obviously false line as well, just as a reminder,
22:47
Speaker 3: I want to show people what Linda Reynolds told me
22:49
Speaker 3: when I interviewed her for Liberals in Power a couple
22:52
Speaker 3: of years ago.
22:54
Speaker 13: The whole world saw what it did to me. There
22:58
Speaker 13: is no worse thing that you can allege for any
23:00
Speaker 13: woman that she has covered up the rape of another woman.
23:06
Speaker 13: And that's what they did, day after day, and they
23:08
Speaker 13: knew it wasn't true.
23:10
Speaker 3: Yeah, Labor likes to say they're standing out for the
23:12
Speaker 3: rights of women. She is right, that's the worst thing
23:14
Speaker 3: you could accuse a woman of doing, covering up the
23:16
Speaker 3: rape of another woman. Yet Anthony Albanezi was asked about
23:19
Speaker 3: it again today, Still no apology.
23:22
Speaker 1: Whyon't address the issue.
23:27
Speaker 12: Well, Chris, I have to say I'm so proud of
23:30
Speaker 12: my very good friend Linda Reynolds and also Fiona Brown,
23:33
Speaker 12: her former chief of staff, who are continuing the fight
23:36
Speaker 12: for justice after Labor weaponized the rape of course, which
23:41
Speaker 12: happened in Parliament House, and that.
23:43
Speaker 7: Was obviously a terrible thing to happen here.
23:46
Speaker 12: But they ran a terrible campaign against Linda and Fiona
23:51
Speaker 12: and also Micalia Cash and the Prime Minister making false
23:55
Speaker 12: claims that they had covered up a rape here.
23:58
Speaker 7: In Parliament House. It is shocking what has happened.
24:01
Speaker 12: And that's why when the last court decision was handed down.
24:05
Speaker 12: You might recall we spoke within a day or so
24:08
Speaker 12: of that decision and I said very clearly that I
24:11
Speaker 12: felt the Minister for Women, Katie Gallagher, was not fit
24:15
Speaker 12: to do that job. She should stand down from that position,
24:18
Speaker 12: and both Minister Wong and Minister Gallagher, who led the
24:22
Speaker 12: charge in making false claims against Linda Reynolds, should apologize.
24:28
Speaker 12: We've now seen the Prime Minister ducking and weaving. This
24:32
Speaker 12: government has got to come to grips with the fact
24:34
Speaker 12: that they ran a shocking campaign, a terrible series of
24:39
Speaker 12: lies against Linda, against A Fiona and other members of
24:44
Speaker 12: the then government, weaponizing a terrible thing that happened in
24:49
Speaker 12: Parliament House, so there is still much to run on
24:53
Speaker 12: this particular issue.
24:54
Speaker 1: Just to refresh there, I had to say go on.
24:59
Speaker 12: Sarah, and I was just going to say, Chris, there
25:01
Speaker 12: was a brilliant interview by Sarah Ferguson on the seven
25:05
Speaker 12: to thirty port earlier this week, and I agree that
25:08
Speaker 12: the media in those very early years, except perhaps I
25:13
Speaker 12: think on Sky's under brilliant job. But there was a
25:16
Speaker 12: lot of disregarding of what actually happened. But Sarah Ferguson
25:22
Speaker 12: on the seven to thirty program earlier this week did
25:25
Speaker 12: a brilliant interview and I think it was tough but
25:28
Speaker 12: very fair.
25:29
Speaker 1: I'll come back.
25:30
Speaker 7: I very pleased to see that.
25:32
Speaker 1: Well, it was good that the ABC raised it.
25:33
Speaker 3: I mean Sarah Ferguson finally raised it a cover up
25:37
Speaker 3: claimed that obviously was not true even at the time
25:40
Speaker 3: it was made, and I was saying that here all
25:42
Speaker 3: the evidence was on the table. So it's taken the
25:44
Speaker 3: ABC and Sarah Ferguson about two years to actually get
25:48
Speaker 3: to the number of the issue. I should just point
25:50
Speaker 3: out to remind viewers that, of course the Supreme Court
25:53
Speaker 3: of Western Australia and an Australian Federal Court judge have
25:57
Speaker 3: both found that there was no cover up yet the.
25:59
Speaker 1: ABC and others were running that two years ago.
26:02
Speaker 3: But also, of course Linda Reynolds tried to get the
26:06
Speaker 3: National Anti Corruption Commission to look at the way Labor
26:10
Speaker 3: handled this issue in government and specifically handled the compensation
26:14
Speaker 3: payment to Brittney Higgins, and the way Linda Reynolds was
26:19
Speaker 3: kept out of that. Now I believe that was dismissed
26:22
Speaker 3: by the Anti Corruption Commission. I believe that some new
26:26
Speaker 3: life might have been breathed into that.
26:29
Speaker 1: Can you give us any update on.
26:31
Speaker 7: That, Chris, I can becan.
26:34
Speaker 12: I also just clarify that a Court on Appeal has
26:39
Speaker 12: also found that Brittney Higgins was raped in Parliament House.
26:43
Speaker 12: I just want to be very absolutely acsimilation to that
26:47
Speaker 12: matter as well. That decision was found to have been
26:51
Speaker 12: the case on the balance of probabilities, just to be
26:54
Speaker 12: very clear, not on the criminal standard of proof. But
26:59
Speaker 12: we just need to make that very clear as well.
27:01
Speaker 3: Indeed, what we're talking about here is not the rape allegation.
27:03
Speaker 3: We're talking about the allegations of a political cover up
27:06
Speaker 3: of that allegation.
27:08
Speaker 7: That's exactly right now they are two very separate issues.
27:13
Speaker 3: Indeed, now to this Anti Corruption Commission inquiry, well.
27:19
Speaker 12: Today I'm a member of the Parliamentary Joint Committee on
27:22
Speaker 12: the on the National Anti Corruption Commission, and I asked
27:27
Speaker 12: Commissioner Paul Breritton a range of questions today and I
27:31
Speaker 12: was focused on the determination made by the NAC in June.
27:35
Speaker 12: It was a preliminary investigation that there was no finding
27:41
Speaker 12: of corruption in malays to the two point four million
27:45
Speaker 12: dollar payment made by the Commonwealth in that settlement for
27:50
Speaker 12: two Britney Higgins. I'm being very careful with my words here,
27:53
Speaker 12: as you can imagine, Chris, there's no parliamentary privilege here
27:57
Speaker 12: in the Sky studio. But I did raise concerns because
28:02
Speaker 12: new facts have emerged in relation to that matter, both
28:06
Speaker 12: in the decision of Justice Tottle in the WA Supreme
28:10
Speaker 12: Court in relation to a range of documents which were
28:13
Speaker 12: discovered during those proceedings. And I also raise concerns about
28:18
Speaker 12: conflicts of interest in relation to a Department of Finance
28:23
Speaker 12: official who participated in the original settlement, if you like,
28:29
Speaker 12: settlement mediation concerning miss Higgins, and then this same official
28:35
Speaker 12: is also involved in running the Commonwealth's case against Linda
28:41
Speaker 12: Reynolds because she now has a separate action on foot
28:44
Speaker 12: in relation to workplace injury and other related matters. So
28:48
Speaker 12: as certainly, the Commissioner said today that it was open
28:52
Speaker 12: to Linda Reynolds to ask for her referral to be reopened,
28:58
Speaker 12: and so we'll see whether that occurs, of course, but
29:01
Speaker 12: the Commissioner just to be very clear, the Commissioner did
29:05
Speaker 12: make clear that he was not aware of any information
29:09
Speaker 12: which would justify the overturning of the determination made by
29:14
Speaker 12: the KNACK.
29:14
Speaker 7: In June, so the National need to be very clear
29:17
Speaker 7: about that.
29:17
Speaker 3: Also, the National Anti Corruption Commission Commissioner has said that
29:22
Speaker 3: Linda Reynolds could ask for the Commission to re examine
29:25
Speaker 3: the issue.
29:26
Speaker 1: We don't yet know whether or not Linda Reynolds will
29:28
Speaker 1: learn in fact take up.
29:29
Speaker 12: That offer, and then of course she can ask for
29:34
Speaker 12: the referral to be reopened, and then it is a
29:38
Speaker 12: matter for the KNACK as to whether they will make
29:40
Speaker 12: that decision. But certainly Commissioner Brereton did say that he
29:44
Speaker 12: was not aware of any information which would justify that determination.
29:49
Speaker 12: That was a preliminary determination being overturned. But look, clearly
29:54
Speaker 12: a mortar run on that issue.
29:55
Speaker 1: As well, more to run.
29:57
Speaker 3: It's an intriguing case because that settlement was expedited very
30:01
Speaker 3: quickly after labor One government. Thanks so much for joining us, Sarah.
30:04
Speaker 3: I appreciate it, Sarah Anderson walking us through.
30:07
Speaker 1: This particular legal mindfield.
30:09
Speaker 3: But some breaking news there on the possibility of the
30:13
Speaker 3: National Anti Corruption Commission re examining this issue.
30:16
Speaker 1: Now we've got to get to a break.
30:17
Speaker 3: After the break, I'm going to continue to look back
30:19
Speaker 3: at twenty twenty five and whether social cohesion has been
30:23
Speaker 3: our biggest casualty.
30:24
Speaker 1: Alex Ritchin will join me now.
30:30
Speaker 3: I want to get back to the issue I spoke
30:32
Speaker 3: about at the top of the program, anti Semitism and
30:35
Speaker 3: the undermining of social cohesion in this country. This has
30:38
Speaker 3: been a terrible year on that front and the challenges
30:42
Speaker 3: are clear for the future.
30:43
Speaker 1: So let me.
30:44
Speaker 3: Welcome again from the Executive Council of Australian Jury, Alex Rifchin.
30:48
Speaker 1: Good to talk to you again Alex too. Look, I
30:50
Speaker 1: know all this started more.
30:52
Speaker 3: Than two years ago, but this year I think the
30:55
Speaker 3: way that the anti Semitism has become embedded in our society.
31:00
Speaker 3: Some of the specific cases that we've seen, as well
31:03
Speaker 3: as that huge march across the Harbor Bridge.
31:06
Speaker 1: We're not getting a grip on this problem.
31:08
Speaker 2: I know.
31:09
Speaker 3: We started the year in February with you and Sharry
31:12
Speaker 3: Markson convening the Anti Terrorism Summit that Sky News put together.
31:18
Speaker 3: A lot of optimism, a lot of good ideas put
31:21
Speaker 3: forward then, but nothing's.
31:22
Speaker 1: Happened, not a lot of action.
31:24
Speaker 10: It's been an extraordinary year when you review the things
31:27
Speaker 10: that have happened on Australian soil to the austrange Jewish community,
31:30
Speaker 10: but wider as well. The fact that we had fire
31:32
Speaker 10: bombings targeting synagogues and individuals and vehicles and childcare centers,
31:37
Speaker 10: that we had the involvement of a hostile regime working
31:41
Speaker 10: together with organized crime to do these things. We had
31:44
Speaker 10: widespread marches in our capital cities, open support for terrorism.
31:48
Speaker 10: We have the notorious Bankstown nurses incident. All of these
31:52
Speaker 10: things chipped away and really detonated social cohesion this country.
31:57
Speaker 10: And what we're talking about really is the ability of
31:59
Speaker 10: different and communities to live together, work together, study together,
32:03
Speaker 10: and that has really been eroded so significantly, and I
32:06
Speaker 10: think ultimately it's a matter for government. The government holds
32:08
Speaker 10: the leavers a power of budget and that's where this
32:12
Speaker 10: has to be dealt with. And we presented a plan,
32:14
Speaker 10: as you said, Sharry and I at that summit hosted
32:16
Speaker 10: by Sky News, and nothing has been done.
32:19
Speaker 1: I'll come back to the government in a moment.
32:21
Speaker 3: But this gets to the central core of what this
32:24
Speaker 3: country is about, right Because people can dismiss this, oh
32:27
Speaker 3: anti Semitism, that's an issue for Jewish Australians, Well it's not, it.
32:32
Speaker 1: Is specifically, but it's for all of us.
32:33
Speaker 3: Right And to me, when you talk about that sort
32:36
Speaker 3: of division, that sort of lack of cohesion that in
32:39
Speaker 3: the tea between people within this country, that's the antithesis of.
32:43
Speaker 1: What Australia has been about.
32:45
Speaker 3: At our core, we've been about coming together and live
32:48
Speaker 3: and let live and not bringing these animosities to these shores.
32:52
Speaker 1: And I think if you'd asked most Australians.
32:54
Speaker 3: Three years ago whether we've been successful at that, we
32:57
Speaker 3: would have said yes, we're probably more successful than any
33:00
Speaker 3: one in the world. But now that seems torn asunder.
33:03
Speaker 10: And we're fundamentally a fair minded people. I think that's
33:06
Speaker 10: one of our defining characteristics. We have this sensibility as
33:09
Speaker 10: to what's fed income and whats not, And when people
33:12
Speaker 10: see things like again attacks on people's freedom to worship
33:16
Speaker 10: in the house of worship, ability to go to school
33:19
Speaker 10: wearing a school uniform without being harassed, ability to walk
33:22
Speaker 10: to and from synagogue on the Sabbath without being spat
33:25
Speaker 10: upon and abused in the most horrific ways. It's not
33:29
Speaker 10: something that goes towards being a Jewish austrailer. It goes
33:31
Speaker 10: towards a character of this country.
33:33
Speaker 3: Absolutely, I think the media has been culpable here. I
33:36
Speaker 3: referred at the top of the program. I showed the
33:38
Speaker 3: examples of hate on that Harbor Bridge march, people chanting
33:42
Speaker 3: death to the idea of people carrying a poster of
33:45
Speaker 3: the Aatola, basically the inspiration for global terrorism, people flying
33:51
Speaker 3: the banners of terrorist groups.
33:53
Speaker 1: This and some of the people their hate preachers.
33:55
Speaker 3: So yet the media portrayed this as some sort of
33:58
Speaker 3: mainstream protest for peace and love.
34:02
Speaker 1: So I make that observation in passing.
34:03
Speaker 3: Because I want to get your thoughts on the government,
34:05
Speaker 3: because Anthony Albanese, he keeps telling us, oh, yeah, anti
34:08
Speaker 3: Semitism is a problem, but don't forget about Islamophobia and
34:12
Speaker 3: we're all going to be okay.
34:13
Speaker 1: He does nothing.
34:14
Speaker 3: He hasn't stood up and really defended and expressed the
34:20
Speaker 3: outrage about what's happened to the Jewish community in this country.
34:24
Speaker 3: In fact, he always tries to find some false equivalence
34:26
Speaker 3: with the Muslim communities.
34:28
Speaker 10: Look, I believe the Prime Minister phause anti Semitism, and
34:31
Speaker 10: when we look to the sorts of things that are happening,
34:34
Speaker 10: it hurts him personally and as a leader as well,
34:36
Speaker 10: there's no question about that. But the government never understood
34:40
Speaker 10: the uniqueness of what was transpiring, the fact that this
34:43
Speaker 10: wasn't just an erosion in social capital. This was a
34:47
Speaker 10: deliberate series of attacks on the Jewish community, including organized crime,
34:52
Speaker 10: far left actors, far right actors, more recently, foreign regimes.
34:56
Speaker 10: And it was that lack of decisive leadership right from
34:59
Speaker 10: the outset to say this will not happen on my watch.
35:02
Speaker 10: When people chant were the Jews, the Prime misters should
35:05
Speaker 10: have stood up and said they are right here with
35:07
Speaker 10: me and we're all together as the strains. And the
35:09
Speaker 10: failure to do that at that seminal moment in our
35:12
Speaker 10: national history and our story as a people is what
35:16
Speaker 10: allowed everything to follow since and we've always been playing
35:19
Speaker 10: catch up and we've never been able to rest back
35:22
Speaker 10: the character of this country. It's fundamentally changed.
35:24
Speaker 1: It remains a big challenge for the country next year.
35:27
Speaker 10: It does indeed absolutely.
35:28
Speaker 3: Thanks Sev for joining us. Alex appreciate it, Appreciate your leadership.
35:32
Speaker 1: Throughout the year. We'll catch in the new year.
35:34
Speaker 3: Disappoint Alex rich and there from the Executive Council of
35:37
Speaker 3: Australian Jury.
35:37
Speaker 1: We're going to take a break.
35:38
Speaker 3: On the other side, we'll light things up a little
35:40
Speaker 3: bit on sport with Robbo. We'll check in on the
35:43
Speaker 3: Poms and see if they're any better at beach cricket.
35:51
Speaker 3: Let's get into some sport now with Mark Robinson, the
35:53
Speaker 3: former chief footy writer at the Herald Sun and Robbo.
35:57
Speaker 2: So far the.
35:57
Speaker 1: Ashes go up pretty well for Australia.
36:00
Speaker 3: I wish the matches went longer, but the cricket's been
36:03
Speaker 3: brilliant to watch.
36:05
Speaker 2: Yeah, it has. I mean it's twenty five day at
36:07
Speaker 2: the series and seems to be over after six days.
36:10
Speaker 2: It's just been such a disappointment from English front and
36:14
Speaker 2: part of the joy is watching all of England implode
36:17
Speaker 2: at the moment all the form. The captain's having to
36:19
Speaker 2: go with the cricket team, the cricket team's holidaying in nursa.
36:23
Speaker 2: Your mate Peas Morgan. God, what an ignorant fool is
36:27
Speaker 2: He's just making it. He's making an it of himself.
36:30
Speaker 2: There doesn't know a lot about cricket. He's just stirring
36:32
Speaker 2: the pot. He's saying some stupid stuff. But meanwhile the
36:36
Speaker 2: Australians are marching on and on.
36:39
Speaker 3: He says a lot of stupid stuff. I think he
36:41
Speaker 3: likes the attention, but you know, he's emblematic. I think
36:45
Speaker 3: of a lot of pain in England. I mean, adding
36:47
Speaker 3: four days on the beach at Noose and as a
36:51
Speaker 3: few wags have pointed out, that's more days than they've
36:53
Speaker 3: spent in the field in Test matches.
36:56
Speaker 2: Yeah. I mean, this was a discussion we had three
36:58
Speaker 2: weeks ago about the build up to the actual series.
37:01
Speaker 2: Have they done enough the English? And the English defended themselves,
37:05
Speaker 2: but clearly after two tests, I think the argument is
37:07
Speaker 2: that their preparation hasn't been great and this is just
37:11
Speaker 2: adding a little bit of fuel to that fire too.
37:15
Speaker 2: Eight wicket losses in the first two Tests and then
37:17
Speaker 2: they go on Gallivan's on the beautiful New South Wales coast.
37:22
Speaker 2: Should they be in Adelaide preparing. But yeah, it has
37:27
Speaker 2: been very, very disappointing from the English. So it makes me,
37:32
Speaker 2: I don't know about you, Chris, and a little be
37:33
Speaker 2: concerned about Test cricket at the moment. You know, the
37:37
Speaker 2: Indians got beaten by South Africa. The English come over
37:40
Speaker 2: here with one of their best test teams for the
37:42
Speaker 2: last fifteen years and they getting wiped off the park. Yeah,
37:46
Speaker 2: I'm a bit worried about where test cricket is heading.
37:49
Speaker 3: Yeah, I love the interest in it, but the product's
37:52
Speaker 3: got to be better. I think they should have come
37:54
Speaker 3: out earlier and acclimatized.
37:55
Speaker 1: You know.
37:56
Speaker 3: I can't believe they weren't here for a couple of
37:58
Speaker 3: weeks playing before they had the first Test.
37:59
Speaker 1: But seems very old fashioned.
38:01
Speaker 3: I want to show you a TV that was sent
38:03
Speaker 3: to me from the Telly in the UK. One of
38:06
Speaker 3: the London papers has got these two old codages in
38:09
Speaker 3: the long room in Lords and they're talking about the
38:11
Speaker 3: issue at the moment. The Australian social media band Australian
38:15
Speaker 3: under sixteens have been banned from social media says the
38:18
Speaker 3: old Godja. I fear they'll spend their time practicing cricket.
38:23
Speaker 3: Don't worry, we're going to make it worse.
38:27
Speaker 2: Would you play Kowaja starting next Wednesday?
38:31
Speaker 1: That's the big question, is that Pat comings back in
38:33
Speaker 1: straight away? Of course?
38:34
Speaker 3: But Kawaja, I don't think you would. I think your
38:36
Speaker 3: head's worked so well as an opener. And you've got
38:39
Speaker 3: to give Jake weather Ord another game. He was very,
38:41
Speaker 3: very good in Brisbane, so why bother? You got to
38:44
Speaker 3: look to the future.
38:46
Speaker 2: Yeah, Well, the discussion is does he come back in
38:48
Speaker 2: for josh English in the middle order ne agment. He's
38:52
Speaker 2: forty five and he's averaging forty five in test cricket.
38:54
Speaker 2: How do you leave a man like that app But
38:57
Speaker 2: I feel, and we discussed this last week, I feel
38:59
Speaker 2: there is there's no hatred towards Usban Khwaji.
39:04
Speaker 1: People love it.
39:05
Speaker 2: Ational, sensational, representative of Australia. Yeah. For at thirty nine
39:10
Speaker 2: do we just hanker for change? And josh in Less
39:13
Speaker 2: has come in and he made in the in the
39:16
Speaker 2: first year, only bad at once of course at the gap,
39:18
Speaker 2: but he made twenty five. Does he deserve another opportunity?
39:22
Speaker 1: I think so, But I just picked up that runout.
39:25
Speaker 2: Yeah that was brilliant, wasn't I mean, that was just fantastic.
39:29
Speaker 2: But I feel just listening to McDonald talked that they
39:33
Speaker 2: might want to get Kawaja back in the Test team.
39:36
Speaker 3: Yeah, yeah, we will see because there'll be a sad
39:38
Speaker 3: way for him to go out and as you point
39:40
Speaker 3: out his record, he's all class.
39:42
Speaker 1: So we'll see what happens. Let's for our British.
39:45
Speaker 3: Viewers, our Aussie Poms, let's go somewhere where where the
39:51
Speaker 3: Poms have beaten and Aussie they might be teammates. But
39:54
Speaker 3: Lando Norris picked out Oscar Piastre for the Formula One
39:58
Speaker 3: championship that went down to the wire. Doesn't seem to
40:01
Speaker 3: be a lot of love lost there, No.
40:03
Speaker 2: It doesn't, and perceptions reality in a lot of ways.
40:06
Speaker 2: I don't know how well these two get on, and
40:08
Speaker 2: I'm I'm rapped for Norrish to win his first world title.
40:14
Speaker 2: Is there is there tension between the two? I think so,
40:18
Speaker 2: but no one has been really able to tell us
40:21
Speaker 2: how or what depth of tension there is. I did
40:24
Speaker 2: read today the Piastri got a forty one million dollar
40:27
Speaker 2: bonus salary for McLaren winning the Constructors Championship, so if
40:32
Speaker 2: there was tension.
40:34
Speaker 1: Maybe that might be Yeah, a few million bucks cheap
40:39
Speaker 1: as creepers.
40:40
Speaker 3: Bam, mind you, those guys their lives on the hanging
40:43
Speaker 3: by a thread every time they're out there. Thanks for
40:46
Speaker 3: joining us, Robbie will catch up next time.
40:49
Speaker 1: Appreciate it.
40:49
Speaker 2: Their next death next week, fair buddy.
40:52
Speaker 1: I got to get to a break. After the break,
40:54
Speaker 1: Tim Blair and James Bolt join me. We'll get into
40:56
Speaker 1: this store is down greater Christmas? Can you believe?
41:05
Speaker 3: Let's get into the national cabinet. We've got Tim Blair
41:07
Speaker 3: joining us as ever, but Mark Nicholson's crook. We've got
41:10
Speaker 3: James Bolt jumping into the chair.
41:12
Speaker 1: We're like the Australian fast bowling attack.
41:14
Speaker 3: You lose quality fast balls, another one just jumps right
41:17
Speaker 3: in there.
41:18
Speaker 2: James.
41:18
Speaker 8: I'm very happy to be compared to Scott Boland. I
41:20
Speaker 8: can only hope that this is a six for seven
41:23
Speaker 8: style of appearance on this show, but we'll see.
41:25
Speaker 3: Now, tell us about your take on family reunion expenses
41:29
Speaker 3: in politics? Do we have family reunion flights in sky?
41:33
Speaker 3: Did we fly you down dev Christmas.
41:35
Speaker 1: With Dad in Melbourne?
41:37
Speaker 2: No?
41:37
Speaker 8: We haven't, but you know, maybe I can talk to
41:38
Speaker 8: my employees. It seems quite the pack, But I think
41:41
Speaker 8: it's just one of these situations where I don't think
41:44
Speaker 8: anything's going to come out that someone's actually broken the rules.
41:47
Speaker 8: The rules are written so vaguely, but it's about the
41:49
Speaker 8: pub test and it's just such a story that teaches
41:52
Speaker 8: you that Canberra is just one big Versai palace just
41:56
Speaker 8: before the French Revolution kind of thing. They're getting to
41:59
Speaker 8: fly people around. It's so nice to have these pairs
42:03
Speaker 8: and the rest of the US taxpayers get to watch
42:06
Speaker 8: all these stories break on the same week that they
42:07
Speaker 8: take away the energy rebates.
42:09
Speaker 2: So it's just such a.
42:10
Speaker 8: One rule, like one lifestyle for them, one lifestyle for
42:13
Speaker 8: the people they're supposedly representing.
42:15
Speaker 1: It is extraordinary.
42:17
Speaker 3: And you've seen this up close, Tim, and I suppose
42:19
Speaker 3: you everything's within the rules, because rule number one really
42:22
Speaker 3: is there are no rules.
42:25
Speaker 5: I like the apparently unwritten rule that you've got to
42:28
Speaker 5: hit the taxpayer up for every seed you can. Apparently
42:31
Speaker 5: there's a rule that if you can grasp every tiny
42:35
Speaker 5: bit of an airfare or a ticket allocation, or a
42:39
Speaker 5: relative or a close family member, whatever, any bit of
42:43
Speaker 5: money you can grab from the next player. The rule is,
42:46
Speaker 5: and they obey this one one hundred percent.
42:49
Speaker 2: Grabbed that coin.
42:50
Speaker 1: Grab what you can.
42:51
Speaker 11: Yeah.
42:52
Speaker 3: An Eki Wils gave that a why I picked her
42:53
Speaker 3: up the other night. She's saying, oh, it's all within
42:55
Speaker 3: the rules, and no, that's not it. The point is
42:57
Speaker 3: you going to look at is this reasonable?
42:59
Speaker 1: Is me doing all this on taxpayers expenses? This reasonable?
43:03
Speaker 1: That's the common sense test you got to apply, and
43:05
Speaker 1: they just don't do it. It's just a shocker.
43:07
Speaker 3: Let me go to something else that drives a lot
43:09
Speaker 3: of people nuts. A lot of people in Sydney used
43:10
Speaker 3: to go into the city at Christmas time the David
43:13
Speaker 3: Jones windows a treat, a special treat to see the
43:16
Speaker 3: Christmas windows at David Jones.
43:19
Speaker 1: No more that it's bitten the dust. This is a
43:22
Speaker 1: downgrading of Christmas, isn't it? James?
43:23
Speaker 8: What a example of the never ending march of capitalism
43:27
Speaker 8: through traditional society. I mean it's I don't think this
43:29
Speaker 8: is like a woke outrage thing. I don't think this
43:32
Speaker 8: is you know, if someone canceling Christmas, I think it's
43:34
Speaker 8: David Jones. They seem to be replacing Christmas with a
43:38
Speaker 8: loyalty program celebration. I see like there's a big dalmation
43:41
Speaker 8: that is being wheeled out to say well, thank you
43:44
Speaker 8: to our loyal David Jones customers. It's crazy to me,
43:48
Speaker 8: but just like you know, you just missed those things
43:50
Speaker 8: that made you feel that you were in a society
43:52
Speaker 8: where people cared and celebrated big holidays as a whole.
43:55
Speaker 3: Yeah, what's your take, Tim, You came all the way
43:59
Speaker 3: out the city, didn't you have this?
44:00
Speaker 1: See the windows?
44:01
Speaker 5: Yes, that's right, Dave Man a great window decoration finac
44:04
Speaker 5: By the way, just look at how crap that thing is.
44:06
Speaker 5: That's one of the things that release really is kind
44:09
Speaker 5: of annoying is if you're going to replace Christmas, replace
44:12
Speaker 5: it with something of an equal or higher standard, and
44:14
Speaker 5: instead they've got something that looks like it was weel
44:16
Speaker 5: out of an ABC drama series from nineteen eighty two.
44:20
Speaker 5: It's it's neutrosity. This is one thing we've seen before, though,
44:23
Speaker 5: with Woolworths a few years ago saying that they were
44:26
Speaker 5: going away from Australia Day. There's a great divide between
44:29
Speaker 5: the managerial class in Australia and average Australians. They really
44:33
Speaker 5: don't like average Australians and apparently they'll do anything to
44:36
Speaker 5: put them offside a great business model.
44:38
Speaker 2: Yeah.
44:39
Speaker 3: Yeah, they don't like the mainstream, they don't like tradition,
44:42
Speaker 3: but there are certain things they do like let's have
44:44
Speaker 3: a look at Donald Trump.
44:45
Speaker 1: I want to talk. He talked a lot about immigration.
44:47
Speaker 1: We know I've had a lot of people he's banning.
44:49
Speaker 1: Let's see about Donald Trump and the gold car. You
44:52
Speaker 1: can buy your way you do America. Check this out.
44:55
Speaker 2: We've just launched the Trump gold cord. It was yuh
45:01
Speaker 2: about thirty minutes from now. The SAT goes up and
45:06
Speaker 2: all funds go to the United States government. Could be
45:09
Speaker 2: a tremendous amount of money.
45:12
Speaker 3: Now, James, there's no surprise that companies when countries, when
45:16
Speaker 3: it comes to immigration programs, money talks. So we have
45:19
Speaker 3: people who can he can migrate to this country if
45:22
Speaker 3: they bring it on business and money and certain meat site,
45:24
Speaker 3: certain criteria. But but Trump, I mean calling it the
45:28
Speaker 3: Trump card the gold that makes it looks like some
45:30
Speaker 3: sort of some sort of platinum visa thing.
45:32
Speaker 8: It's just so trumpying exactly. It's a perfect Trump story.
45:35
Speaker 8: Because Chris, let me tell you about the slight change
45:38
Speaker 8: we're making to our visa program who encourage high end,
45:42
Speaker 8: boring snies.
45:43
Speaker 2: Everyone's out here.
45:44
Speaker 8: Yeah, Chris, let me introduce you to the Trumpet gold
45:47
Speaker 8: card that you, you, Chris Kenney, can buy for one
45:51
Speaker 8: million dollars Like this is this is that he gets into.
45:56
Speaker 3: The Next thing you'll do, Tim is he'll he'll produce
45:59
Speaker 3: a million chocolate bars and put three gold cards in
46:03
Speaker 3: three different packets.
46:05
Speaker 2: I do like that.
46:06
Speaker 5: It's gold. I mean, the guy just yeals in gold.
46:08
Speaker 5: You look at his Mara Lago, you look at all
46:10
Speaker 5: these various properties as on Gold's where he starts, and
46:13
Speaker 5: then he works up to the higher medals. You know,
46:16
Speaker 5: I'm just hanging out personally for the platinum. I'm not
46:18
Speaker 5: going for this gold rubbish.
46:19
Speaker 1: I want to be You're richer, You're richer than we thought. Now,
46:24
Speaker 1: this is my last catch up with you guys for
46:25
Speaker 1: the year.
46:26
Speaker 3: Tell us what your highlight of the year was, Tim.
46:30
Speaker 5: Boy, I'd have to give it to that lovely few
46:33
Speaker 5: weeks when Lando Norris wasn't winning and our boy, Oscar
46:36
Speaker 5: Piastri was in front of the World championship. I think
46:38
Speaker 5: he can do it next year. He has a lot
46:40
Speaker 5: of people forget he's only been three years in Formula
46:42
Speaker 5: one and to keep his cool for that long. Sure
46:47
Speaker 5: in the events in the end overwhelmed him, but that
46:49
Speaker 5: keyd is fast and I think he's got the level
46:50
Speaker 5: head that's going to serve him well in the future.
46:52
Speaker 1: Look Out, what about for you, James, here's the thing, Chris.
46:55
Speaker 8: My mind immediately went to Australia's victory over England and
46:59
Speaker 8: then went to defending Carlton around one, and then I've
47:02
Speaker 8: had to pull myself up before this answer. Reminded myself
47:04
Speaker 8: that I did get married this year, so probably probably watching.
47:12
Speaker 3: I'm often asked, you know, what's the greatest day of
47:14
Speaker 3: your life ninety seven?
47:15
Speaker 1: Grandfather, Well, that'd be the second greatest. We wouldn't have
47:20
Speaker 1: tipped the Richmond to Winter Game this year.
47:22
Speaker 8: So I'm glad we're talking about the Richmond culture thing. No,
47:25
Speaker 8: I thought we were going to go zero for twenty two.
47:27
Speaker 8: That it was the night but two nights before I
47:29
Speaker 8: got married, actually the night before I got married. So
47:32
Speaker 8: what a weekend that was for me.
47:33
Speaker 3: It's been It's been a brute of a year in
47:35
Speaker 3: the main for me and Tim. I've got to test
47:39
Speaker 3: my theory with you, and this happens. It hasn't happened
47:42
Speaker 3: just this year. It's been a gradual process. But to me,
47:46
Speaker 3: it's come to fruition this year, and that is that
47:48
Speaker 3: lack of social cohesion in this country, the lack.
47:50
Speaker 1: Of matship and fair go. We're losing it. We're losing
47:53
Speaker 1: some of the core values of this country. We need
47:56
Speaker 1: to get a act together.
47:58
Speaker 5: Genuinely are and you see it. You see those sort
48:00
Speaker 5: of fractures. We spoke about a little fracture before in
48:03
Speaker 5: terms of you know, the managerial class versus the average assi.
48:07
Speaker 5: But then we're seeing things like how Jewish Australians were
48:10
Speaker 5: treated throughout the year and have been treated in Australia
48:12
Speaker 5: since October seven. That for me is evidence of a
48:17
Speaker 5: failure that's far greater than just you know, people not
48:20
Speaker 5: getting along. That's hatred and it's a deadly loathing. And
48:25
Speaker 5: if that gets worse, we're in trouble, far worse and
48:28
Speaker 5: at this point than we can imagine.
48:29
Speaker 3: It's all sure. Tim Blair, thanks so much for joining us.
48:32
Speaker 3: Have a great Christmas and New Year. James Bolt, same
48:34
Speaker 3: to you, great thanks for jumping in. That's just about
48:37
Speaker 3: all the time we've got for We want to share
48:38
Speaker 3: some of your feedback to the under sixteen social media
48:41
Speaker 3: band Band that we talked about last night, and one
48:47
Speaker 3: viewer said that my eleven year old way around it
48:49
Speaker 3: hardly batter than I live. And another viewer says this
48:52
Speaker 3: is a task for parents absolutely, and also some feedback
48:56
Speaker 3: here saying I'm not against the band, but the less
48:58
Speaker 3: interferenced by the government in our lives the better.
49:02
Speaker 1: And also albo is saying it's already a success. Talk
49:05
Speaker 1: about setting the barlow.
49:07
Speaker 3: It's as if he already knows it won't work here
49:10
Speaker 3: spot On. Thank you so much for watching me this year.
49:13
Speaker 3: This is my last program for the year. I'll be back,
49:15
Speaker 3: don't worry about that. January the nineteenth. We're back on air,
49:18
Speaker 3: but I'm disappearing a week early this year. Danika de Giorgio.
49:21
Speaker 3: We'll be in the chair five o'clock tomorrow night and
49:24
Speaker 3: then all of next week.
49:25
Speaker 1: Thanks so much for watching, Thanks for all your feedback.
49:28
Speaker 3: Thanks especially to my team, Tom and Mel and Riley
49:32
Speaker 3: and Tim driving all the buttons behind the scenes leading
49:35
Speaker 3: that team. Thank you so much. Looking forward to a
49:37
Speaker 3: big year in twenty twenty six. It's going to be
49:39
Speaker 3: much better than twenty twenty five. I'll see you then,