Transcript

Sharri | 4 July · Sharri

0:03
Speaker 1: Line sharing.
0:07
Speaker 2: Tonight, we have new details on how four protesters managed
0:11
Speaker 2: to evade AFP detection and climb up the roof of
0:14
Speaker 2: Parliament House, and how they.
0:16
Speaker 3: Did it will shock you. But first, what occurred.
0:19
Speaker 2: Today was an assault on our democracy, an act of
0:23
Speaker 2: extremism on the nation's capital. Parliament House in Canberra has
0:27
Speaker 2: been compromised. Pro Hamas sympathizers have invaded the building in
0:32
Speaker 2: more ways than one, and our social cohesion is truly
0:35
Speaker 2: in tatters because of a war happening on the other
0:38
Speaker 2: side of the world. It all culminated in a major
0:42
Speaker 2: security breach this morning. These protesters climbed the roof, shouting
0:46
Speaker 2: anti Semitic insults and unfurling banners with pro Palestine slogans.
0:53
Speaker 4: The alban Easy Labour government's persistence of blots for this
0:56
Speaker 4: genocidal chetla colonial state.
0:58
Speaker 3: Comes as no Austrailia resignation founded among genocide.
1:04
Speaker 5: We will not begin, have we well continued to retin.
1:08
Speaker 3: For more than two hours.
1:09
Speaker 2: These racist banners were on full display for the world
1:13
Speaker 2: to see at Australia's home of democracy. And these weren't
1:17
Speaker 2: just ordinary slogans. They had sinister meanings.
1:22
Speaker 6: But that upside down red triangle is Hamas symbology that
1:26
Speaker 6: is supposed to indicate IDF targets and Israeli targets in
1:30
Speaker 6: the context of the war in Israel and Gaza, and
1:33
Speaker 6: for that to be appropriated on our parliament, hung from
1:35
Speaker 6: the front of our parliament is a disturbing And what we.
1:37
Speaker 7: Saw up there was support for Hamas. Hamas killed more
1:43
Speaker 7: than one thousand Jews, the biggest single loss of Israeli
1:46
Speaker 7: life since the Holocaust on October seventh last year. That
1:48
Speaker 7: is a fact. And so to see this here, it's
1:52
Speaker 7: really discussing.
1:54
Speaker 2: Yeah, they were pro Hamas slogans and this is meant
1:56
Speaker 2: to be a safe space, yet it's taling Jews.
1:59
Speaker 3: They're not welcome.
2:01
Speaker 2: What an appalling act and an even more frightening breach
2:04
Speaker 2: of security. It's now been revealed exactly how they did it.
2:09
Speaker 2: Australian Federal Police has confirmed the group used diversionary tactics
2:14
Speaker 2: like calling in false protests at other locations to throw
2:18
Speaker 2: off police.
2:19
Speaker 3: So they could invade the building.
2:22
Speaker 1: There are some some actual deliberate actions that these particular
2:30
Speaker 1: this particular group has taken I premeditated to use diversionary
2:35
Speaker 1: tactics and move very very quickly. But we did also
2:41
Speaker 1: have some false phone calls of other protests happening at
2:46
Speaker 1: nearby areas that did not occur. So there was not
2:49
Speaker 1: only was there diversionary efforts at Parliament House, but there
2:54
Speaker 1: was on diverting AFP resources to other areas. This is
3:00
Speaker 1: quite what I would call a criminal act, hence the
3:04
Speaker 1: four arrests and the charges.
3:06
Speaker 3: It was that easy.
3:08
Speaker 2: It is unacceptable that this group determined to intimidate Jews
3:11
Speaker 2: and inflict fear on Australians could get past security, let
3:15
Speaker 2: alone using diversionary tactics to throw off police and it worked.
3:21
Speaker 3: It is a complete and utter security failure.
3:24
Speaker 2: What would have happened if these people were armed or
3:27
Speaker 2: carrying explosives?
3:29
Speaker 3: What sort of a message does this center.
3:31
Speaker 2: Our enemies that our Parliament House is so easily accessible.
3:37
Speaker 5: There's some very.
3:38
Speaker 1: Bad people watching this and go now that's interesting.
3:43
Speaker 6: They're there, They got through.
3:46
Speaker 2: And while security will become or has become a major
3:49
Speaker 2: focal point of the investigation, I can't help but.
3:52
Speaker 3: Wonder what on earth is going on in Canberra.
3:55
Speaker 2: Because the political left actually agree with the anti submitted
4:00
Speaker 2: statements on display by protesters look no further than the Greens,
4:04
Speaker 2: the most UnAustralian party in our history.
4:07
Speaker 8: I do support and have participated in the change from
4:11
Speaker 8: the River to this sea. This is something that I
4:14
Speaker 8: think supporters of Palestine are very clear about.
4:19
Speaker 2: Even thinking solo the Greens, as we know support of
4:21
Speaker 2: the pro Palestine vandalism of our nation's war memorial.
4:25
Speaker 3: And then there's.
4:26
Speaker 2: Labors rat in the ranks, Fatima Payman, who today finally
4:29
Speaker 2: quit the party to sit on the cross bench.
4:33
Speaker 9: The ongoing genocide in Gaza is a tragedy of unimaginable proportions.
4:40
Speaker 9: We have all seen the bloodied images of young children
4:44
Speaker 9: losing limbs, being amputated with our anesthetics and starving. As
4:51
Speaker 9: Israel continues, It's onslaught live streamed across the world.
4:56
Speaker 2: No mention of the hostages or the slaughter of Jews
4:59
Speaker 2: on October set. It makes no sense how someone who
5:02
Speaker 2: fled the Taliban in Afghanistan is now criticizing Israel for
5:07
Speaker 2: defending itself against Hummas. And when asked about the phrase
5:11
Speaker 2: from the River to the Sea.
5:13
Speaker 10: Front of Parliament today there was a sign saying from
5:16
Speaker 10: the River to the sea, Palestine will be free.
5:19
Speaker 11: What does that phrase mean to you?
5:22
Speaker 12: So for me, that phrase is a call to freedom
5:25
Speaker 12: from injustice, freedom from occupation, freedom from inequality, and it's
5:30
Speaker 12: a call to be able to live harmoniously.
5:33
Speaker 3: It's a call for self.
5:36
Speaker 12: Determination, for liberation of the Palestinians.
5:40
Speaker 2: There's nothing harmonious about it. It calls for the destruction
5:44
Speaker 2: of Israel. And here was the alleged outfit on display
5:48
Speaker 2: by Greens turned independent Lydia Thorpe at last night's Midwinter Ball.
5:53
Speaker 3: I'll let the pictures speak for themselves now. The Prime Minister.
5:58
Speaker 2: Condemned today's protests, but he failed to identify the common theme.
6:04
Speaker 13: Peaceful protest has an important place in our society. But
6:07
Speaker 13: this was not a peaceful protest. These actions have done
6:11
Speaker 13: absolutely nothing to advance any cause. Indeed, they have hurt
6:16
Speaker 13: the cause that those engaged in this reckless activity believe
6:22
Speaker 13: they are advancing.
6:24
Speaker 3: Peter Dutton showed him how to do it.
6:27
Speaker 14: Rivets of the Sea is a statement about wiping out,
6:29
Speaker 14: eliminating a race of people. Let's be very clear about it.
6:33
Speaker 14: There's been a lot of debate in this place about
6:35
Speaker 14: how that might work and whether those words have a
6:37
Speaker 14: different form of meaning or perhaps they can be justified
6:41
Speaker 14: in some way or other. They can't be, and they
6:44
Speaker 14: never will be.
6:45
Speaker 2: The religious fractures that have been bubbling away in Australia
6:48
Speaker 2: since October seven have tipped over into Parliament House inside
6:52
Speaker 2: the walls and now on the outside. Not even our
6:56
Speaker 2: nation's capital is safe anymore, and it's dividing society more
7:00
Speaker 2: than ever. One thing's for sure. Hamas would be looking
7:04
Speaker 2: at Canberra right now and smiling. These protesters are emboldened
7:11
Speaker 2: by the Labor government. We have seen this with anti
7:14
Speaker 2: Semitism in the country being allowed to flourish.
7:17
Speaker 3: Once the horse has bolted, there's no.
7:19
Speaker 2: Going back because it has been allowed to go on
7:22
Speaker 2: for so long it's now impossible to crack down. And
7:26
Speaker 2: what sort of a message does it send pro Hamas
7:28
Speaker 2: protesters when the Albenzi government hauls in Israel's ambassador for
7:33
Speaker 2: a dressing down over his country's war in the Middle
7:36
Speaker 2: East and they send in a junior Burger minister to
7:39
Speaker 2: do it.
7:40
Speaker 3: More on that in a moment.
7:41
Speaker 2: Israeli ambassador Amir Mahmon was formally summoned to a meeting
7:45
Speaker 2: in Canberra ten days ago and warned that the Jewish
7:49
Speaker 2: state could not expect Australia's support if it goes to
7:53
Speaker 2: war against Hesbala in southern Lebanon.
7:56
Speaker 3: What an appalling move.
7:58
Speaker 2: As Israel desperately for its own survival and as it
8:02
Speaker 2: faces a conflict now on all fronts. There are fears
8:06
Speaker 2: of a tip for tat response by HESBLA, which Australia
8:09
Speaker 2: lists as a terror organization, and since the conflict began,
8:13
Speaker 2: sixty thousand Israelis have been forced to flee northern Israel
8:17
Speaker 2: due to attacks from the Iran Bat terror group. Yet
8:21
Speaker 2: in the event of Israel having to protect its citizens
8:24
Speaker 2: from yet another terror group, Australia has told the ambassador, well,
8:29
Speaker 2: don't expect our support. They want Israel to just down
8:32
Speaker 2: tools and just simply walk away. And let's not forget
8:36
Speaker 2: it was Harmas who started this war, not Israel. Now
8:40
Speaker 2: formally summoning an ambassador is considered considered a serious.
8:43
Speaker 3: Step in the diplomatic world.
8:46
Speaker 2: Given the gravity of such an important message that Labor
8:49
Speaker 2: chose to convey, well, you'd think they would send in
8:52
Speaker 2: the Foreign Minister Pennywong to deliver it personally, but in
8:55
Speaker 2: fact it was not delivered by Foreign Minister Pennywong was
9:00
Speaker 2: left to Miswong's underling, Assistant Minister Tim Watts, how appalling
9:06
Speaker 2: Israel's ambassador wasn't even given the courtesy of a visit
9:11
Speaker 2: by Penny Wong in person. It is a slap in
9:14
Speaker 2: the face to Jewish Australians and Israel, who has been
9:17
Speaker 2: an important ally from the Anzac kissin Besheba in nineteen
9:22
Speaker 2: seventeen which ultimately helped create the state of Israel to
9:25
Speaker 2: the present day. I mean Israel has supported Australia, not
9:29
Speaker 2: to mention the important contribution of Jewish Australians in this country,
9:33
Speaker 2: but that's all been ripped to shreds over the course
9:36
Speaker 2: of the last nine months by Labor. It's betrayed Israel
9:39
Speaker 2: and emboldened the anti Semitism like what we saw today
9:43
Speaker 2: at Parliament House.
9:45
Speaker 6: The Foreign Minister Pennywong needs to step up today and
9:48
Speaker 6: explain exactly what it was that her assistant Minister Tim
9:51
Speaker 6: Watts meant when he hauled in the Israeli ambassador and
9:54
Speaker 6: told him that if our friend and ally Israel found
9:58
Speaker 6: itself in a war with his Belah, a listed terroist organization,
10:02
Speaker 6: that they could not count on our support. That is
10:04
Speaker 6: a deeply disturbing revelation. Hezblah has been attacking northern Israel
10:09
Speaker 6: since the seventh of October every day. This is the
10:12
Speaker 6: world's best armed terrorist organization.
10:16
Speaker 2: The relationship between Australia and Israel, once cherished, is under
10:19
Speaker 2: more pressure than ever. It's so bad, sources have told
10:22
Speaker 2: The Daily Telegraph. Mister Mamm's relationship with Senator Wong has
10:26
Speaker 2: been in the freezer for several months. It started with
10:30
Speaker 2: a limp response to the burning of the Israeli flag
10:33
Speaker 2: on the steps of the Sydney Opera House. Labor rewarded
10:36
Speaker 2: Hermas by backing Palestinian statehood at the United Nations vote.
10:40
Speaker 2: It appointed a special advisor to monitor Israel's response to
10:44
Speaker 2: its air strikes which killed Australian Zomi frankem And now
10:47
Speaker 2: the summoning of the ambassador is a new low. The
10:51
Speaker 2: dressing down marks a bad flash point in the relationship.
10:55
Speaker 2: The horse is well and truly bolted, and I fear
10:58
Speaker 2: there is no going back. And I'll speak to Shadow
11:03
Speaker 2: Foreign Affairs Minister Simon Birmingham, who says this is all
11:07
Speaker 2: a mess entirely of the Prime Minister's own making. Also tonight,
11:11
Speaker 2: Democrats in denial standing by President Biden despite serious questions
11:16
Speaker 2: over his fitness.
11:17
Speaker 3: For the top job. But how long can they keep
11:20
Speaker 3: up this facade?
11:21
Speaker 2: And as BRIT's head to the polls, Kirstarmer stands on
11:24
Speaker 2: the cusp of one of the biggest UK election wins
11:27
Speaker 2: in history. We'll cross live to London for the latest.
11:31
Speaker 2: For now, though, let's bring in my panel, The Australian's
11:33
Speaker 2: National Affairs Editor Joe Kelly and One Nation Chief of
11:36
Speaker 2: Staff James Ashby. Hi to both of you, Thank you
11:38
Speaker 2: so much for joining us.
11:40
Speaker 3: James.
11:40
Speaker 2: The AFP has confirmed the protesters used diversionary tactics today
11:45
Speaker 2: to throw off police.
11:47
Speaker 3: How big of a security fail is this, Well, it's.
11:52
Speaker 15: Pretty clear that Parliament haven't learnt since Bill Heffernan tested
11:56
Speaker 15: the security of Parliament House all those years ago when
11:58
Speaker 15: he brought in a fake pipe bomb. And this is
12:02
Speaker 15: a real concern, not just for the safety of politicians
12:06
Speaker 15: who make decisions on our behalf every single day, but
12:09
Speaker 15: on any given day the public are in their drives
12:13
Speaker 15: and I see the first line of attack here affecting
12:17
Speaker 15: more so the public and so many school kids that
12:20
Speaker 15: thankfully do visit the Parliament. This should send shivers through
12:23
Speaker 15: the presiding offices. So Milton Dick here has a big
12:27
Speaker 15: task ahead of him as well as the President. Sue
12:31
Speaker 15: lyons this would be one of the greatest concerns. I
12:34
Speaker 15: was once in the Speaker's office, so I do know
12:37
Speaker 15: precisely how much security means to these presiding officers, and
12:42
Speaker 15: the money that has been spent on this parliament one
12:44
Speaker 15: hundred and twenty six million has just been wasted and
12:48
Speaker 15: proven to have been wasted in such a short period
12:51
Speaker 15: of time. If there's one thing I'll note, Danaki, You've
12:53
Speaker 15: been in that parliament enough. I have seen the change
12:56
Speaker 15: in the quality of security guards in that Parliament House.
13:00
Speaker 15: Upon a time we had strapping men that were securing
13:03
Speaker 15: the front doors, securing the entrances also to the Senate
13:08
Speaker 15: and to the House of Reps. I see all too
13:12
Speaker 15: often now more very lean women and men with painted
13:19
Speaker 15: fingernails and more lead and bolts through their faces than
13:24
Speaker 15: ever before. I don't think these people are up to
13:28
Speaker 15: the task of being able to defend our parliament House.
13:31
Speaker 15: And as for the lack of funding that has been
13:34
Speaker 15: provided to the AFP, they are the lowest paid police
13:38
Speaker 15: in our country, and it is a crying shame that
13:43
Speaker 15: our federal politicians and the act government have not done
13:47
Speaker 15: something to make sure that our federal police officers are
13:51
Speaker 15: paid appropriately in this country. They put their line, their
13:54
Speaker 15: bodies on the line for the sake of all politicians
13:57
Speaker 15: and the public.
13:58
Speaker 2: Well, this is a prime example, isn't it, of why
14:00
Speaker 2: there needs to be more funding to prevent something like
14:03
Speaker 2: this from ever happening again.
14:05
Speaker 3: Joe, Europe Parliament House at the.
14:07
Speaker 2: Moment you saw it all unfold today, were you surprised
14:11
Speaker 2: that this actually was able to happen?
14:17
Speaker 16: The sad reality is I was not surprised at all.
14:21
Speaker 16: And for people who aren't familiar with Parliament House who
14:25
Speaker 16: might not work here, I've worked here for nearly fifteen
14:29
Speaker 16: years and certainly there's a very casual feeling about most
14:33
Speaker 16: things that happen in Parliament House. So James referred to
14:37
Speaker 16: Bill Hefln's pipe bomb experiment. Well, I remember when I
14:43
Speaker 16: was covering the Gillard government, a press conference being conducted
14:47
Speaker 16: in Parliament House by the then Prime Minister as effectively
14:49
Speaker 16: gate crashed by someone who was able to just simply
14:52
Speaker 16: walk into the building and walk into the room where
14:55
Speaker 16: the press conference was being conducted. So I think today
15:00
Speaker 16: was a serious incident. It should be taken extremely seriously.
15:05
Speaker 16: These people just jumped over the fence, the security fence
15:09
Speaker 16: around Parliament and then marched up to the top of
15:12
Speaker 16: the building where they could display their banners and their signs.
15:16
Speaker 16: And as many people have said over the course of
15:19
Speaker 16: the day, we're simply fortunate that there were not even
15:23
Speaker 16: darker intentions at play. So I think its cause for
15:29
Speaker 16: thought to get more serious about how we treat things
15:33
Speaker 16: here at Parliament House.
15:34
Speaker 2: Most certainly absolutely a wake up call, I would say
15:37
Speaker 2: for many today. Now look, Fatima Payman has officially confirmed
15:41
Speaker 2: her departure from the Labor Party following her suspension over
15:44
Speaker 2: repeated defiance of her Palestinian vow. Now the embattled senator
15:49
Speaker 2: front at the press today saying.
15:50
Speaker 9: This, our actions must align with our principles. When history
15:56
Speaker 9: looks back, it must see that we stood on the
16:00
Speaker 9: right side of humanity.
16:02
Speaker 3: James.
16:03
Speaker 2: She made this announcement that she was quitting during question time,
16:07
Speaker 2: knowing that all eyes would be on her instead of
16:10
Speaker 2: on Parliament. I think she's gone about this very badly,
16:13
Speaker 2: and there are also reports that this has been months
16:15
Speaker 2: in the making. Why do you think it took her
16:17
Speaker 2: this long, though, to actually pull the pin.
16:22
Speaker 15: This has been so well orchestrated, and for the last
16:24
Speaker 15: two weeks she's acted as a distraction to the government
16:28
Speaker 15: who really have been blindsided by this woman. It's been
16:32
Speaker 15: too well orchestrated for my liking to think that this
16:34
Speaker 15: has just been a spur of the moment decision. She
16:37
Speaker 15: had a right to sort things out with a political party,
16:41
Speaker 15: and if she felt so strongly about leaving Labor, she
16:44
Speaker 15: should have left Parliament altogether. I really despise these people
16:47
Speaker 15: who take Senate positions that belong to the party and
16:50
Speaker 15: go and think they're beyond or they're bigger than the
16:53
Speaker 15: party itself. Something's got to change here. You can't legislate this.
16:57
Speaker 15: This would require a change to the constant. The problem
17:01
Speaker 15: with that is if you force somebody to stay within
17:04
Speaker 15: a party, they can become a bigger wrecker at the
17:07
Speaker 15: end of the day. So look, she's probably better outside
17:10
Speaker 15: of the Labor Party, but it has made things difficult,
17:13
Speaker 15: especially when trying to get your legislation through, particularly in
17:17
Speaker 15: the Senate, as we've seen this last two weeks.
17:20
Speaker 3: Joe, do you think that this could damage Labor.
17:25
Speaker 16: Oh well, it's already inflicted an enormous damage on the
17:29
Speaker 16: Albanese government and served as a distraction. But I think
17:34
Speaker 16: there was in some sense very little they could do.
17:37
Speaker 16: The real culprit in this saga has been Senat Fatimer
17:40
Speaker 16: Payment herself, and I think what she has done, as
17:44
Speaker 16: James said, is completely lacking integrity. She was elected to
17:49
Speaker 16: the Senate to represent the people of Western Australia on
17:51
Speaker 16: behalf of the Labor Party. That was the basis on
17:54
Speaker 16: which she was elected, not to represent them as an independent.
17:58
Speaker 16: And we have seen frankly this happen far too often,
18:00
Speaker 16: where people elected to the Senate with long six year
18:03
Speaker 16: parliamentary terms and then defect, sometimes quite early on into
18:07
Speaker 16: their term. Senator Payment's done it, but we've seen it
18:09
Speaker 16: recently with Senator Lydia Thorpe a phrase Running did it
18:13
Speaker 16: with One Nation, Jackie Lamby did it with the Palm
18:16
Speaker 16: of United Party. Corey Bernardi did it with the Liberal Party.
18:20
Speaker 16: And if they were setting the example for all, the
18:23
Speaker 16: Upper House simply wouldn't be workable. It wouldn't be workable,
18:27
Speaker 16: and it makes a mockery of our democratic system.
18:30
Speaker 2: Yeah, I completely agree with you, and it certainly is
18:33
Speaker 2: at that stage at the moment.
18:35
Speaker 4: Now.
18:35
Speaker 2: Look, housing industry experts are warning that the Albanese government's
18:38
Speaker 2: dream of building one point two million new homes within
18:41
Speaker 2: five years is beyond reach, James. The building industry has
18:45
Speaker 2: long been warning about this. Experts have been saying that
18:48
Speaker 2: we'll even be lucky to get one hundred thousand new
18:51
Speaker 2: builds this year alone, So that's way short of the
18:54
Speaker 2: annual target. Immigration is up, houses aren't being built, no
18:57
Speaker 2: wonder we have a housing crisis in this country.
19:02
Speaker 15: You bet. And they say we've got to build a
19:04
Speaker 15: house every two minutes to meet the target set by
19:07
Speaker 15: this Labor government. How disgraceful and how unachievable to even
19:11
Speaker 15: set that target in the first place. Was just you know,
19:14
Speaker 15: pulling the curtains over people's eyes here. This is just
19:17
Speaker 15: rubbish that Labor said about. All it will take is
19:20
Speaker 15: another national disaster of some sort. Queensland here is vulnerable
19:24
Speaker 15: every year every time you know, summer comes around and
19:27
Speaker 15: we get a cyclone warning. All it will take is
19:29
Speaker 15: a natural disaster to come through any of our states,
19:32
Speaker 15: wipe out a couple of thousand homes and all of
19:35
Speaker 15: a sudden, the building trade is then forced to go
19:37
Speaker 15: and work on repairs and rebuilding of that area as well.
19:41
Speaker 15: This is a disgrace, so I spoke the real estate agents. Today,
19:44
Speaker 15: property prices just continue to go through the roof. I
19:47
Speaker 15: couldn't afford to buy my house again, is the honest truth.
19:51
Speaker 15: If I had to go and buy it today, there
19:54
Speaker 15: is no way I'd get the money for it. The
19:55
Speaker 15: appreciation I've had on my property and every other person
19:58
Speaker 15: I know that's in the property market probably thankful that
20:01
Speaker 15: they've got that property and the increase. But for those
20:04
Speaker 15: trying to get into the market, it's getting tougher and tougher,
20:07
Speaker 15: and you're having to move to smaller houses or more
20:10
Speaker 15: regional areas to be able to buy.
20:12
Speaker 2: In Joe, it's really tough out there, and as James said,
20:16
Speaker 2: people are having to move far away from the cities
20:18
Speaker 2: just to be able to get into a property.
20:20
Speaker 3: But how do you think that we ended up here?
20:25
Speaker 16: Well, I think one of the ways we ended up
20:27
Speaker 16: here is because we have a debasement in our politics
20:31
Speaker 16: where we have aspirational targets and we don't have the
20:34
Speaker 16: policies to achieve them. So we see this in climate
20:38
Speaker 16: we have a net zero target by twenty fifty. We've
20:41
Speaker 16: got a forty three percent target by twenty thirty. Most
20:44
Speaker 16: people will tell you that we won't get there. And
20:48
Speaker 16: we now have a labor government that initially had a
20:51
Speaker 16: million homes target over a five year period, then they
20:54
Speaker 16: oup that to one point two million. Now there's no
20:58
Speaker 16: building group in this country that says the one point
21:00
Speaker 16: two million homes is achievable. So I think one of
21:04
Speaker 16: the problems with our politics is that we have aspirational targets.
21:09
Speaker 16: It's too much about the target setting and not enough
21:11
Speaker 16: about the policies to get there. And there's too many
21:15
Speaker 16: contradictions in labors. In Labour's policy, the reregulation of the
21:21
Speaker 16: labor market means that they're simply working against themselves in
21:27
Speaker 16: trying to achieve some of their economic objectives.
21:29
Speaker 3: Yeah. Absolutely, the policy has been out from the very beginning.
21:33
Speaker 2: James Ashby Joe Kelly, we have to leave it there.
21:35
Speaker 2: Thank you so much to both of you for your
21:36
Speaker 2: time this evening. Coming up after the break, Shadow Foreign
21:39
Speaker 2: Affairs Minister Simon Birmingham is up next. He'll have more
21:43
Speaker 2: to say about the diversionary tactics used by pro Palestinian
21:47
Speaker 2: activists at Parliament House today to throw off the AFP
21:52
Speaker 2: and as the Democrats stand by Joe Biden, the world
21:55
Speaker 2: continues to question his incompetence. That's next, returning now to
22:03
Speaker 2: our top story tonight on the pro Palestinian protesters that
22:07
Speaker 2: managed to climb up to the roof of Parliament House
22:10
Speaker 2: shouting anti Semitic insults and unfurling banners with pro Palestinian slogans. Now,
22:16
Speaker 2: as I mentioned at the start of the show, these
22:18
Speaker 2: protesters used diversionary tactics like calling in false protests at
22:24
Speaker 2: other locations to throw off police so they could invade
22:28
Speaker 2: the building.
22:30
Speaker 1: But we did also have some false phone calls of
22:36
Speaker 1: other protests happening at nearby areas that did not occur.
22:40
Speaker 1: So there was not only was there diversionary efforts at
22:44
Speaker 1: Parliament House, but there was on diverting AFP resources to
22:49
Speaker 1: other areas.
22:51
Speaker 2: The group have now been charged with Commonwealth trespass, but
22:55
Speaker 2: it's a criminal offense in itself to give false information
22:58
Speaker 2: to the AFP in the diversionary way that they did,
23:03
Speaker 2: so will they.
23:04
Speaker 3: Be messed with the full force of the law.
23:06
Speaker 2: Let's bring in shadow Foreign Affairs Minister Simon Birmingham, thank
23:10
Speaker 2: you so much for joining us this evening. What do
23:12
Speaker 2: you expect the favorite of these protesters will be, Will
23:15
Speaker 2: they indeed be met with the full force of the law.
23:20
Speaker 10: They should absolutely be met with the full force of
23:23
Speaker 10: the law. Whilst we have of course independence in our
23:26
Speaker 10: police force and in those who make decisions around prosecutions
23:29
Speaker 10: as in our courts, I would be urging those authorities
23:33
Speaker 10: to make sure that wherever offenses have been committed or
23:38
Speaker 10: appear to have been committed, they should be fully investigated
23:41
Speaker 10: and fully pursued to the full force of the law.
23:45
Speaker 10: What we saw today was appalling, was appalling on numerous levels.
23:49
Speaker 10: The security breach itself was appalling and needs thorough investigation,
23:54
Speaker 10: including investigation as to whether any assistance was provided from
23:57
Speaker 10: inside this building or elsewhere to individuals as to how
24:01
Speaker 10: to go about or the undertaking of their protest actions.
24:06
Speaker 10: It was appalling in that it put others in danger
24:09
Speaker 10: in the way in which they positioned themselves at very
24:13
Speaker 10: elevated parts of Parliament House, and of course then requiring
24:17
Speaker 10: security and other officials to remove them. And it was
24:21
Speaker 10: most appalling in terms of the sentiments the anti Semitic
24:26
Speaker 10: statements and slogans that were hung from the front of
24:31
Speaker 10: our nation's parliament, creating a stain on our nations parliament.
24:35
Speaker 10: Of course, there's a right to freedom of speech in
24:38
Speaker 10: this country, and indeed the very existence of this parliament
24:41
Speaker 10: is a testament to the right to freedom of speech.
24:44
Speaker 10: But how you go about exercising those freedoms matters, and
24:47
Speaker 10: what we saw today was reprehensible in the conduct and
24:51
Speaker 10: the content of the actions.
24:53
Speaker 2: Absolutely, it's just astounding that this happened in what should
24:57
Speaker 2: have been Australia's most secure building.
25:00
Speaker 3: It is an absolute assault on democracy. It's terrible.
25:03
Speaker 2: Now, look let's move on now, Simon Birmingham, because I
25:06
Speaker 2: was shocked to read this morning that the Israeli ambassador
25:09
Speaker 2: has been formally summoned by Canberra to be told not
25:13
Speaker 2: to go to war with Hesbela, a list of terror
25:16
Speaker 2: organization whose attacks have seen tens of thousands of Jews
25:20
Speaker 2: flee northern Israel. Who does this federal government think it
25:24
Speaker 2: is telling Israel to basically down tools.
25:29
Speaker 10: We weren't the only person who was shocked to reading
25:31
Speaker 10: those stories. And indeed, there are really two issues at
25:35
Speaker 10: play here. One is what was said, and the other
25:38
Speaker 10: is how it was said. Now In what was said,
25:41
Speaker 10: the idea that Australia would not be standing by a
25:45
Speaker 10: democratic partner and friend in Israel with its right to
25:50
Speaker 10: self defense against a terrorist organization seems to be an
25:55
Speaker 10: extraordinary concept and if that is truly the message that
25:59
Speaker 10: the Albanezy government delivered, then it is one that they
26:02
Speaker 10: clearly need to correct. The record on Israel has faced
26:07
Speaker 10: a constant barrage of rocket attacks from southern Lebanon, launched
26:14
Speaker 10: by Hesbelah, intended to kill and hurt Israelis, and that
26:18
Speaker 10: have caused the displacement of thousands of Israelis from their
26:22
Speaker 10: homes in northern Israel, fleeing to safety from those rocket
26:26
Speaker 10: attacks and the risk of other attacks from Hesbelah. So
26:29
Speaker 10: the consequences of this are real and invite all viewers
26:32
Speaker 10: think about this. If it were Australia and Australia were
26:37
Speaker 10: faced with a terrorist organization attacking our people, our homes, what.
26:43
Speaker 6: Would we expect.
26:44
Speaker 10: We would expect our government to respond, our government to
26:47
Speaker 10: defeat that organization, and our friends around the world to
26:51
Speaker 10: stand with us when we did that. In Israel is
26:53
Speaker 10: right to expect no less in terms of the way
26:57
Speaker 10: that Australia should respond in supporting Israe as it deals
27:01
Speaker 10: with this terrorist threat from Hezbolla, as it continues to
27:04
Speaker 10: face the threats from other Iranian sponsored proxies like Hamas
27:09
Speaker 10: and elsewhere. But it was also how this was delivered,
27:12
Speaker 10: which was pretty damn remarkable too, because it appears that
27:16
Speaker 10: the Israeli ambassador was summoned to a meeting to have
27:19
Speaker 10: this extraordinary statement given to him. But did the Prime
27:24
Speaker 10: Minister do it No, did the Foreign Minister do it No,
27:27
Speaker 10: it was delegated to the Assistant Foreign Minister, which is
27:31
Speaker 10: seemingly a fairly deliberate insult on the part.
27:34
Speaker 6: Of the government.
27:35
Speaker 3: Absolutely, it's completely offensive.
27:37
Speaker 2: I mean, you would be stunned if you were Israel
27:39
Speaker 2: in the first place to be told no, down your tools,
27:41
Speaker 2: but then to have been given this message by an
27:44
Speaker 2: assistant minister as just appalling. Now we're almost out of time,
27:47
Speaker 2: but I just want to get your thoughts on Fatima payment.
27:51
Speaker 2: Finally resigning from Labour today to sit on the cross bench.
27:54
Speaker 3: This is what she said.
27:57
Speaker 9: My family did not flee from a war torn country
28:01
Speaker 9: to come here as refugees for me to remain silent
28:05
Speaker 9: when I see atrocities inflicted on innocent people. Witnessing our
28:11
Speaker 9: government's indifference to the greatest injustice of our times makes
28:17
Speaker 9: me question the direction the party is taking.
28:20
Speaker 2: Yes, Simon, I'm not sure how folleing the Taliban in
28:23
Speaker 2: Afghanistan and then criticizing Israel for defending itself against Hamas
28:27
Speaker 2: makes any sense. But what do you make of her
28:30
Speaker 2: finally pulling the pin today.
28:33
Speaker 10: Well, I'm not sure it makes much sense either. But
28:36
Speaker 10: I also would note that the attempts at appeasement by
28:40
Speaker 10: the Albanese government in shifting Australia's position, as they have
28:44
Speaker 10: done on so many occasions since October seven, to vote
28:48
Speaker 10: in favor of ceasefire emotions, even those that don't call
28:52
Speaker 10: for the release of hostages, to vote for the recognition
28:55
Speaker 10: of the state of Palestine without what had been the
28:57
Speaker 10: bipartisan position around the need to see ed all borders,
29:01
Speaker 10: rights of return, security guarantees and other factors. All of
29:05
Speaker 10: these shifts haven't worked. From Anthony Alberansi, they haven't appeased
29:09
Speaker 10: people who just want to keep dragging the Labor Party
29:12
Speaker 10: to new and new and further more extreme positions in
29:15
Speaker 10: relation to this and Fatima Payment is the ultimate example
29:20
Speaker 10: of that in terms of his approach not working. It
29:23
Speaker 10: hasn't worked on the policy substance. It also hasn't worked
29:26
Speaker 10: on the internal politics of this where he's flipped and
29:29
Speaker 10: flopped for the last two weeks. And ultimately it wasn't
29:32
Speaker 10: Anthony Albanesi who made the decision to enforce Labor Party
29:36
Speaker 10: rules and have her expelled from the Labor Party. It
29:39
Speaker 10: was Fatima Payment who decided to walk away, which just
29:41
Speaker 10: shows the indecisiveness and weakness from the Prime Minister on
29:45
Speaker 10: these matters.
29:46
Speaker 2: Well, it's been a huge day in camera, Simon Birmingham.
29:50
Speaker 2: Really appreciate you joining us tonight. Thank you very much
29:52
Speaker 2: for your time.
29:53
Speaker 6: Thanks my pleasure.
29:55
Speaker 2: Well, the White House has today denied reports that Joe
29:58
Speaker 2: Biden is consulting allies about whether to continue in the
30:02
Speaker 2: US election race. It was a rumor backed in by
30:05
Speaker 2: Biden's favorite Republican rival.
30:09
Speaker 16: He just quit.
30:09
Speaker 3: You know, he's quitting the US?
30:11
Speaker 17: Is that right?
30:11
Speaker 13: Yeah?
30:12
Speaker 3: I got And that means we have Kamala.
30:15
Speaker 17: I think she's going to be better.
30:18
Speaker 5: She's now.
30:21
Speaker 2: It comes after that horrific performance from the President where
30:24
Speaker 2: he resembled a space cadets.
30:26
Speaker 3: You remember this one with the COVID.
30:29
Speaker 18: I could be with dealing with everything we have to
30:33
Speaker 18: do with. Look if we finally beat medicare.
30:41
Speaker 2: But the Democrats were out today still trying to pull
30:44
Speaker 2: the wall over our eyes.
30:47
Speaker 3: I'm here to tell you today President Joe Biden is
30:50
Speaker 3: in it to win it, and all of us sudden
30:53
Speaker 3: we pledged our support to him because the States could
30:56
Speaker 3: not be higher.
30:57
Speaker 2: Let's talk to former US studies, to Senior Stephen loosing
31:01
Speaker 2: out for more on this.
31:03
Speaker 3: Thank you so much for your times, Stephen.
31:05
Speaker 2: Look, the excuses the Democrats are coming up with for
31:08
Speaker 2: the President are just getting ridiculous. Yesterday the White House
31:11
Speaker 2: put his debate performance down to a bad day.
31:15
Speaker 3: Today was he had a bad day in a cold
31:18
Speaker 3: How much longer can they keep protecting him?
31:21
Speaker 17: Well, what tends to happen in a situation like this,
31:25
Speaker 17: but in the United States or Australia or other democracies,
31:28
Speaker 17: is you have a shift in terms of the broader party.
31:33
Speaker 17: Your donors stop contributing, Your candidates, particularly your incumbents in
31:40
Speaker 17: marginal seats, start getting a very edgy. Finally, the powerbrokers
31:47
Speaker 17: in the party understand there's a need to act, and
31:51
Speaker 17: the Democrats are moving through those stages at the moment now.
31:54
Speaker 17: Joe Biden has an extraordinarily loyal base, particularly around him
31:58
Speaker 17: in the White House, beginning with family and stretching out
32:02
Speaker 17: to senior staff. But the pressure will become overwhelming and
32:06
Speaker 17: the Democrats will need to look at another candidate well
32:09
Speaker 17: prior to the Democratic National Convention in Chicago in August.
32:14
Speaker 2: Well, that's not too far away then, And there have
32:16
Speaker 2: been suggestions that Karmala Harris would be the next in line,
32:20
Speaker 2: that she would step in.
32:21
Speaker 3: Do you think that she would? And is that really
32:23
Speaker 3: a smart move?
32:27
Speaker 17: The vice president is guaranteed the presidency if the president,
32:32
Speaker 17: of course dies or is incapacitated with the twenty fifth
32:35
Speaker 17: Amendment to the US Constitution. So clearly the vice president
32:41
Speaker 17: is under scrutiny here, and very senior figures in the
32:46
Speaker 17: party I'm thinking of Congress and James Blovern of South
32:50
Speaker 17: Carolina have made it clear I expect if there's a
32:53
Speaker 17: change of candidate and the vice president would be foremost
32:57
Speaker 17: in consideration. Her poles are not particularly strong. She has
33:03
Speaker 17: her critics well beyond the Democratic Party, and there are
33:07
Speaker 17: probably stronger candidates amongst governors, for example, upon whom the
33:12
Speaker 17: Democrats can draw. But it is a blessedly difficult situation
33:18
Speaker 17: in which the Democrats find themselves now, and it would
33:22
Speaker 17: be an extraordinarily difficult step to pass over a woman
33:26
Speaker 17: of color who's occupying the vice presidency and look elsewhere.
33:31
Speaker 17: The only comparable circumstance in our lifetime, certainly in my lifetime,
33:38
Speaker 17: has been Linda Johnson's withdrawal, completely unexpected except for his
33:43
Speaker 17: immediate family, particularly his wife, Ladybird, from the Democratic presidential
33:48
Speaker 17: contest in March of nineteen sixty eight, were announced at
33:51
Speaker 17: the end of a long statement on Vietnam. I'm paraphrasing here,
33:58
Speaker 17: but I think I've got the sense he said, I
34:01
Speaker 17: will not seek, nor will I accept the nomination of
34:04
Speaker 17: my party for a further term as your president. And
34:08
Speaker 17: that cleared the way to an extent for the Democrats
34:11
Speaker 17: to move. They moved to Hubert Humphrey, who ran a
34:15
Speaker 17: vigorous campaign, always behind, but ran Richard Nixon a reasonably
34:21
Speaker 17: tough race. So that was what happened when there was time.
34:25
Speaker 17: There's very little time now. But if Joe Biden is
34:29
Speaker 17: the candidate for the Democrats, in November, I think you
34:32
Speaker 17: can see the White House returned to Donald Trump the
34:36
Speaker 17: first time since Grover Cleveland, and the Democrats may well
34:39
Speaker 17: lose both houses of the Conference. So bose stakes.
34:42
Speaker 2: He made a good point there about time, because the
34:45
Speaker 2: polling is not in the President's favor either.
34:48
Speaker 3: A USA Today poll shows.
34:49
Speaker 2: Biden is trailing Trump, but according to a CNN poll,
34:54
Speaker 2: fifty six percent of Democratic voters say their party has
34:57
Speaker 2: a better shot at winning with a candidate other than
35:00
Speaker 2: Joe Biden. So, Stephen, you know, if these polls are
35:03
Speaker 2: indeed correct, no matter which way you look at it,
35:05
Speaker 2: Joe Biden is cooked.
35:07
Speaker 3: He's gone.
35:08
Speaker 17: Yes, So I think the President's future is determined and
35:14
Speaker 17: he should not be the candidate for the Democratic Party.
35:18
Speaker 17: In November. What happened in the debate Anaica, above everything else,
35:24
Speaker 17: was it a great Many Americans saw just how aged
35:30
Speaker 17: and how frail the president had become, and a lot
35:33
Speaker 17: of people were expecting another performance along the lines of
35:36
Speaker 17: the State of the Union address earlier this year, where
35:39
Speaker 17: he was fiery and feisty and answered his critics very directly.
35:45
Speaker 17: He performed extremely well, But I'm afraid that the years
35:49
Speaker 17: have not been kind overall, and it's time for President
35:55
Speaker 17: Biden to depart and hand them on to you. Is
35:59
Speaker 17: Jack Kenn oppression on to someone else?
36:02
Speaker 3: As simple as that, Absolutely, Stephen Loosely, good to speak
36:05
Speaker 3: with you. Thank you so much for joining us this evening.
36:08
Speaker 2: We're coming up Canberra's Night of Nights hijacked by senseless
36:11
Speaker 2: political activism. My panel will way in next.
36:19
Speaker 3: Welcome back.
36:20
Speaker 5: Well.
36:20
Speaker 2: Australia's political heavyweights and hype profile names have all gathered
36:24
Speaker 2: at the Midwinter Ball in Canberra.
36:27
Speaker 3: And what's a ball at Parliament House without a.
36:29
Speaker 2: Controversial political stance on display. Well, Independent Santa Lydia Thorpe
36:34
Speaker 2: rocked up dressed in a white gown with the anti
36:36
Speaker 2: Semitic phrase from the River to the Sea plasted all
36:40
Speaker 2: over it, amid many other social commentations last night at
36:45
Speaker 2: the event. Let's bring in my panel commentator Jason Morrison,
36:48
Speaker 2: a News Corp columnist.
36:49
Speaker 3: Age Lama Mollard.
36:50
Speaker 2: Hearted both of you, thank you so much for joining us.
36:52
Speaker 2: You know, Jason, we saw the same words plasted at
36:56
Speaker 2: the front of Parliament House today, the same ones.
36:58
Speaker 3: Plasted on her dress. I just think it's so inappropriate to.
37:03
Speaker 17: Rock up to a ball like that, what do you think,
37:05
Speaker 17: You're so wrong?
37:05
Speaker 4: She's just so on message.
37:07
Speaker 3: I mean, she's on brand.
37:09
Speaker 4: You know, there's this phrase and I wish I could
37:11
Speaker 4: remember who said it, but they said that, you know,
37:13
Speaker 4: politics showed biz.
37:14
Speaker 3: For ugly people.
37:16
Speaker 4: And there was a reminder of that last night with
37:18
Speaker 4: Senator look at me. You know, they're making sure everyone
37:21
Speaker 4: looked at her and got photographed. They're such shallow people.
37:25
Speaker 17: And you know, in the real world, in the real.
37:29
Speaker 4: World, outside of that big house with all those people
37:31
Speaker 4: who kind of treat these people like their rock stars.
37:34
Speaker 3: You look at some undressed like that, you'd say, you're
37:36
Speaker 3: just a dickhead.
37:37
Speaker 4: And I look at her and I think that. And
37:38
Speaker 4: I'd say most people think that, other than the very
37:40
Speaker 4: small percentage of people who think you go, girl, I
37:43
Speaker 4: look at that, and I just think, what a pathetic
37:45
Speaker 4: attention seeker.
37:47
Speaker 3: Yeah, I completely it is. Is it attention seeking thing
37:50
Speaker 3: to do?
37:51
Speaker 2: You know, Angela, why aren't these people just go to
37:54
Speaker 2: an event, go to a ball without making these grand
37:57
Speaker 2: political statements.
37:58
Speaker 5: She wanted to make a statement. Obviously to me, it
38:00
Speaker 5: looked like a year nine textiles.
38:02
Speaker 3: Project as bad.
38:05
Speaker 5: I mean, I haven't seen you know, tweens do better
38:08
Speaker 5: job in fashion than that, although I do know it
38:10
Speaker 5: is subjective, but presumably this is an invitation from the
38:13
Speaker 5: Prime Minister. I don't know how the whole thing most
38:15
Speaker 5: but presumably it is. He hosts the evening, so he's
38:18
Speaker 5: the host. So you know that he has condemned that phrase.
38:22
Speaker 5: He has openly condemned it. He has said, you know,
38:25
Speaker 5: it is a hate speech phrase. Well he hasn't said
38:27
Speaker 5: it's hat speech. He said it's violent speech. It could
38:30
Speaker 5: be interpreted it's hate speech. So you are just as
38:33
Speaker 5: well as ignorant.
38:34
Speaker 3: You're rude, and you know what being in.
38:37
Speaker 5: That position, as Jason said, you know, it is not
38:39
Speaker 5: a red carpet Hollywood event. It is politics. It is
38:42
Speaker 5: we vote for you people, So you know, just show
38:46
Speaker 5: some respects, show some respect to the people there that
38:48
Speaker 5: that message might hurt.
38:49
Speaker 2: Absolutely, it is just so disrespectful and I feel like
38:52
Speaker 2: it treats Australians with contempt at the same time to
38:55
Speaker 2: do that now, look Quantas shareholders are urging the board
38:58
Speaker 2: to take a hard step after executives at former chair
39:02
Speaker 2: Alan Joyce I yet to receive their lump of bonuses.
39:05
Speaker 3: The comments came.
39:05
Speaker 2: As the boarder waited their advice from a consulting group
39:09
Speaker 2: who has been asked by Quantas to advise if mister
39:12
Speaker 2: Joyce is worthy of a sixteen million dollar in long
39:16
Speaker 2: term and short term bonuses. Jason, you know, Alan Joyce
39:20
Speaker 2: spent a lot of time grants standing over the last
39:22
Speaker 2: few years before he left the company. In those dived
39:25
Speaker 2: it's done so bad and now he could be lining
39:28
Speaker 2: up for sixteen million dollars.
39:29
Speaker 3: Does he deserve it?
39:30
Speaker 4: And how amazing that you've got a shareholder's lobby the
39:34
Speaker 4: board to do the best thing for shareholders. And this
39:38
Speaker 4: a little insight into a few things the weakness of
39:41
Speaker 4: corporate Australia the board. When you look at the Contus board,
39:43
Speaker 4: there's some of the biggest names in business and Australia
39:46
Speaker 4: who should be able to look and say what's in
39:48
Speaker 4: the best interest of shareholders and this company. It's not
39:51
Speaker 4: rewarding the guy who's history and has almost driven the
39:55
Speaker 4: joint into history. And to kind of think that you've
39:58
Speaker 4: got people now who are frustrated that there's a chance
40:02
Speaker 4: they may actually pay him this dosh. They're having to
40:06
Speaker 4: sort of put on a song and a dance to
40:08
Speaker 4: get the board to realize not everyone agrees with this.
40:11
Speaker 4: It's a bad state. And you know, we kind of
40:14
Speaker 4: get the companies we deserve in this country because the
40:17
Speaker 4: very small pool we draw executives out to sit on boards.
40:21
Speaker 4: And if the quotest board thinks this is a legitimate
40:24
Speaker 4: way to spend the shareholders' money, then you know it's
40:27
Speaker 4: time for some resignations.
40:29
Speaker 2: I completely agree with you and Angela. You can see
40:31
Speaker 2: why these shareholders are up in arms.
40:33
Speaker 5: Absolutely, And he's already got a reportedly fourteen million, so
40:37
Speaker 5: there's only.
40:37
Speaker 3: A little bit more to go.
40:38
Speaker 5: Look, presumably he did meet those performance indicators, otherwise he
40:42
Speaker 5: wouldn't be getting the money. But also want to ask
40:45
Speaker 5: the question, you know on paper, I know in actuality autely.
40:49
Speaker 4: I'm laughing because he pulled off the most amazing corporate achievement.
40:53
Speaker 4: He sold flights services that didn't exist.
40:57
Speaker 3: I mean, that is miracle stuff, mystery flight.
41:00
Speaker 5: Now, how much are they spending on consultants looking at
41:03
Speaker 5: whether or not they should try and hold us back
41:05
Speaker 5: from him, which then can potentially lead to a legal
41:07
Speaker 5: battle with them, which could cost anymore. So draw a
41:09
Speaker 5: line on it, and I don't think short term bonuses
41:11
Speaker 5: are the thing. I think, long stretched out bonuses that
41:13
Speaker 5: you might get three years after, after you've looked at
41:16
Speaker 5: what's happened. You know, behind the scenes when someone's leaves.
41:18
Speaker 3: Absolutely don't make a haste decision, and you know, give
41:21
Speaker 3: the man sixteen million dollars. It's not a bad day
41:24
Speaker 3: out now. Look, there's a fresh push for a sugar
41:26
Speaker 3: tax to tackle obesity. It would be slapped on Australian's
41:29
Speaker 3: favorite fizzy drinks in a federal government bid to tackle
41:33
Speaker 3: diabetes as well. Look, I think we don't.
41:35
Speaker 2: Need governments to constantly decide what we can and what
41:38
Speaker 2: we can't do. Give us a tax, but we'll disguise
41:41
Speaker 2: it as we know what's best for you. But Jason,
41:43
Speaker 2: do you think we need this?
41:44
Speaker 4: I'm an expert on sugar. We already have a tax
41:50
Speaker 4: on sugar products. It's called the GST. Yeah, because fresh
41:54
Speaker 4: food doesn't have GST, processed food does. So we have
41:57
Speaker 4: a tax. It's not designed like that, that's turned out
42:00
Speaker 4: like that. Why do we need to pay more for this?
42:03
Speaker 4: But by the way, you know, they say, oh well,
42:05
Speaker 4: look it works with cigarettes. It works with cigarettes because
42:08
Speaker 4: the pack is sixty bucks right by increasing your Pepsi
42:12
Speaker 4: max or your coat fifty cents is not going to
42:16
Speaker 4: change behavior. It's just going to take money off people.
42:19
Speaker 4: And where does the mystery tax end up? Who gets what?
42:23
Speaker 3: I wonder? I wonder who gets that money? I wonder
42:27
Speaker 3: it who it is.
42:27
Speaker 5: I'm completely in opposition with you on this one. I
42:30
Speaker 5: believe that it's actually the beverage industry which will change,
42:34
Speaker 5: so that what's happened in the UK is that what
42:38
Speaker 5: happened was in twenty fifteen fifty two percent of products
42:40
Speaker 5: were above the tax threshold of five grams per one
42:44
Speaker 5: hundred mils. Four years later only fifteen percent. So actually
42:49
Speaker 5: the beverage manufacturers having been hit, you know, they lose
42:53
Speaker 5: sales because they charged more. So if you actually pull
42:56
Speaker 5: down the sugar quantity the manufacturers do, then you sell
42:58
Speaker 5: few of those products.
43:00
Speaker 3: It's healthier all round. Yes, you're right.
43:02
Speaker 5: It only goes up about fifteen cents on a two
43:04
Speaker 5: hundred and fifty MILI bottle, but you are encouraging better, better,
43:09
Speaker 5: you know, better health behaviors in people.
43:13
Speaker 3: Because if you've got a big.
43:14
Speaker 5: Bottle of coke there and you're sitting there on the soupermarket,
43:16
Speaker 5: shelf and it's super super cheap.
43:18
Speaker 3: Then that just totally normally you absolutely no, I can understand.
43:22
Speaker 3: So I think if you.
43:22
Speaker 5: Can teach the industry to think more carefully. Of course
43:25
Speaker 5: they're interested in profits, but you know your only ways
43:27
Speaker 5: to legislate it. One hundred countries are doing it, so
43:30
Speaker 5: you know it's not the.
43:31
Speaker 4: Largest in profits, but in market share. And the market
43:34
Speaker 4: share will go to the person who has the tastiest product.
43:37
Speaker 4: And I have a body to prove it the sweetest,
43:40
Speaker 4: the sweetest product.
43:41
Speaker 3: We all love people. We've got to go, but you
43:44
Speaker 3: know what, we all love our sugar. Let's be honest.
43:46
Speaker 3: It's not just you, Jason, we all do. Come on,
43:48
Speaker 3: Jason Morris and Angela. I'd good to have you both on.
43:50
Speaker 3: Thank you so much for joining me.
43:52
Speaker 2: The break will cross live to the UK, where the
43:55
Speaker 2: poles are officially open ahead of the nation's first general
43:58
Speaker 2: election since two thousand nineteen. To the UK now, where
44:06
Speaker 2: the nation has officially begun making their way to the polls,
44:09
Speaker 2: with the opposition Labour Party the heavy favorite to gain
44:12
Speaker 2: power and end fourteen years of Conservative rule. It's the
44:17
Speaker 2: first time since twenty nineteen that the nation will have
44:19
Speaker 2: their say. Since then the nation faced a pandemic, and
44:23
Speaker 2: of course now the war in Ukraine, but also the
44:26
Speaker 2: death of Queen Elizabeth, and the political landscape could not
44:29
Speaker 2: be more drastically different. For more, let's bring in an
44:33
Speaker 2: editor for Spiked Online, Tom Slater, live from London.
44:36
Speaker 3: Tom, great to have you on. Thank you so much
44:38
Speaker 3: for joining me. As I said, fourteen years of the Tories.
44:41
Speaker 2: Looking likely to be coming to an end, is there
44:44
Speaker 2: any chance of turning this around at the eleventh hour?
44:49
Speaker 11: Not if the polls are even slightly accurate. I mean,
44:51
Speaker 11: we political journalists are sometimes given to being a bit
44:55
Speaker 11: over dramatic, but currently the most optimistic scenario for them
44:59
Speaker 11: is that they're going to get oou one hundred.
45:00
Speaker 17: And fifty seats. That would be their worst.
45:02
Speaker 11: Ever result in the modern era. Some of these polls
45:05
Speaker 11: are suggesting they could go low as sixty seventy seats,
45:08
Speaker 11: which would mean they would be in a fight for
45:10
Speaker 11: third place with the Liberal Democrats. It's not an exaggeration,
45:14
Speaker 11: I think, if with that caveat, if the polls are correct,
45:17
Speaker 11: but the Tory Party could be being shut out of
45:20
Speaker 11: power for a generation and they only really have themselves
45:23
Speaker 11: to blame if you look at not just how this
45:25
Speaker 11: campaign has gone, about how the past fourteen years have
45:27
Speaker 11: gone as well, there's.
45:29
Speaker 2: Well when did it all go wrong? Particularly now for Rishi.
45:32
Speaker 2: Sunaki called this snap election, presumably thinking that he had
45:35
Speaker 2: a chance now facing electoral wipeout.
45:39
Speaker 3: What happened? Do you think.
45:42
Speaker 11: He had a bad hand going into it? There were
45:43
Speaker 11: twenty points behind in the polls. That hasn't really budged.
45:47
Speaker 11: I think he also had a bad inheritance. As far
45:49
Speaker 11: as the Tories had this great opportunity post Brexit to
45:51
Speaker 11: carve out this new coalition. They've got a lot of
45:54
Speaker 11: labor voters. Last time around, they were really picking up
45:57
Speaker 11: seats across the country, and I think they'd wondered that
46:00
Speaker 11: the combination of COVID and Ukraine not the stuffing out
46:04
Speaker 11: of them, but also they forgot the voters that they
46:05
Speaker 11: were there properly to be serving. And then Richie seen
46:08
Speaker 11: that inland of himself. I mean, he's supposedly very good
46:11
Speaker 11: of a spreadsheet, is a good technocrat, but he's got
46:13
Speaker 11: all the charisma of a breeze block to be perfectly frank,
46:16
Speaker 11: and he's taken a campaign that was always going to
46:17
Speaker 11: be difficult and made it a laughing stock. He started
46:20
Speaker 11: off calling the election out in the rain for some reason.
46:23
Speaker 11: There was the D Day snub where he left those
46:25
Speaker 11: World War Two commemorations early. It's been one thing after
46:29
Speaker 11: another and it's really it's not an exaggeration so that
46:32
Speaker 11: it's been one of the worst run campaigns for a
46:35
Speaker 11: sitting government that certainly I can.
46:37
Speaker 2: Remember, well looks like Kis Starmer's in the box sage.
46:40
Speaker 3: What would a Labor government mean now for Britain.
46:45
Speaker 11: I think that's such an important question, not least because
46:47
Speaker 11: Kis Starmer is an incredibly slippery character. He's tried not
46:50
Speaker 11: say very much during this campaign. Historically he's often said
46:53
Speaker 11: one thing and inn staid another, depending on what he's
46:55
Speaker 11: he's talking to. But it's very clear to me that
46:57
Speaker 11: if you're talking about reopening the question of Brexit, if
47:00
Speaker 11: you're talking about more hate speech codes, if you're talking
47:03
Speaker 11: about more Net zero's elotry, that's in the DNA of
47:06
Speaker 11: this Labor Party. It is now very much the kind
47:08
Speaker 11: of parliamentary wing of the metropolitan elite. And I think
47:11
Speaker 11: anyone expecting Keir Starmer to be as cautious in government
47:15
Speaker 11: as he has been over this campaign, may get a
47:17
Speaker 11: bit of a rude awakening in the days ahead.
47:19
Speaker 2: Nigel Faraja's Reform Party had climbed their way up in
47:23
Speaker 2: the polls, particularly over the last month, but they've had
47:26
Speaker 2: a bit of a setback.
47:27
Speaker 3: How do you think that they will fare in the polls?
47:31
Speaker 11: That is one of the big questions going into this.
47:34
Speaker 11: Some of the pulses at the last minute are starting
47:36
Speaker 11: to suggest that maybe the Reform vote has been slightly underestimated.
47:39
Speaker 11: They're seeing a lot of undecided beginning to break for
47:43
Speaker 11: the Reform Party. So I think the question of how
47:45
Speaker 11: high their votes shore overall it will be an interesting one.
47:47
Speaker 11: They're very unlikely to get more than one or a
47:50
Speaker 11: few seats because of just our electoral system and the
47:52
Speaker 11: fact that their vote is quite spread across the country.
47:54
Speaker 11: It's not concentrated in constituencies necessarily. But I think they're
47:58
Speaker 11: looking at, regardless, a significant incursion into British electoral politics,
48:04
Speaker 11: and even if that doesn't materialize into many seats in Westminster,
48:07
Speaker 11: it means they will have that more populars voice in Parliament,
48:10
Speaker 11: at least in the form of Nigel Feragencys like.
48:12
Speaker 2: We're almost out of time. But when will the first
48:14
Speaker 2: seats be announced in the UK? Do you think it
48:16
Speaker 2: will start happening quite quickly.
48:19
Speaker 11: Yeah, essentially from ten o'clock onwards. We've got the exit
48:22
Speaker 11: poll and then there'll be some seats in the Northeast
48:24
Speaker 11: which are always kind of rushing to the player first
48:26
Speaker 11: so they can get their moment in the spotlight. That
48:28
Speaker 11: would be very much the kind of bell weather for
48:30
Speaker 11: where things are going. But yes, they'll be rolling in
48:32
Speaker 11: pretty soon after that and throughout the night.
48:34
Speaker 5: All right.
48:34
Speaker 2: Well, we've actually got some live pictures on our screen
48:36
Speaker 2: of some of the polling booths there as they are
48:39
Speaker 2: getting ready for what I'm sure will be a very
48:41
Speaker 2: busy day ahead. That's live in London at the moment. Tom,
48:45
Speaker 2: Thank you so much for joining us this evening.
48:47
Speaker 3: Really appreciate it.
48:48
Speaker 2: And that's all we've got time for today. Thank you
48:50
Speaker 2: for your company, but stay tuned up. Next is Paul Murray.