Latest / The Kenny Report / The Kenny Report | 29 September

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The Kenny Report | 29 September · The Kenny Report

0:02
Speaker 1: This is The Kenny Report.
0:05
Speaker 2: Welcome to the show. Steve Price filling in for Chris
0:07
Speaker 2: Kenny this week with the Raids decision from the RBA
0:11
Speaker 2: and the Governor's explanation at a media conference dominating the conversation.
0:15
Speaker 2: Coming up on Kenny tonight, Zoe McKenzie, Shadow Cabinet Secretary
0:19
Speaker 2: and federal member for Flinders in Victoria, will join us
0:22
Speaker 2: first up. Also ask her about that bizarre comment from
0:26
Speaker 2: the Defence Minister, Richard Marles, here on News 24 at
0:30
Speaker 2: the weekend. around defence sell-offs. Also tonight, conflicting polls on
0:35
Speaker 2: the state of the Victorian election, now just 60 days away,
0:39
Speaker 2: with one poll suggesting Labor, can you believe it, is
0:41
Speaker 2: making a mini comeback, and the other saying Labor is
0:45
Speaker 2: the most hated state government in Australia. Carly Douglas, the
0:48
Speaker 2: Herald Sun political reporter, will be on the desk with me.
0:51
Speaker 2: Tim Blair, in his regular spot on Kenny, will try
0:54
Speaker 2: and explain the bizarre Victorian state government plan to offer
0:58
Speaker 2: free electricity for three hours a day in the middle
1:02
Speaker 2: of the day for everyone. How the hell can that work?
1:05
Speaker 2: plus Kristen Tate out of the United States with the
1:08
Speaker 2: latest on the midterm elections and an update on that
1:11
Speaker 2: potential terrorist attack on a UK Air Force base as
1:15
Speaker 2: the accused are let out on bail. Now, just before
1:18
Speaker 2: I get to my editorial, I must say One Nation
1:21
Speaker 2: today was quickly out of the blocks after that rate rise.
1:25
Speaker 2: Pauline Hanson's slick media team obviously prepared this slap at
1:30
Speaker 2: Jim Chalmers and dropped it within minutes of the interest
1:34
Speaker 2: rate rise announcement.
1:36
Speaker 3: Labor has failed to get inflation under control. Jim Chalmers
1:41
Speaker 3: said rates were coming down. But today, Australians have been
1:45
Speaker 3: hit with another interest rate rise. Another Labor lie. And
1:52
Speaker 3: yet again, Jim Chalmers blames everyone but himself. Labor has
1:56
Speaker 3: wrecked our economy and it needs to be fixed. Until then,
2:01
Speaker 3: people need help. One Nation's super pay boost would allow
2:05
Speaker 3: Australians to take a quarter of their future super contributions
2:09
Speaker 3: as take-home pay for up to three years for their
2:12
Speaker 3: mortgage or rent. It won't fix Labor's mess, but it
2:17
Speaker 3: could give a working family about $ 82 more a week
2:21
Speaker 3: after tax. Labor is running this country into the ground.
2:26
Speaker 3: The best thing Jim Chalmers could do today is implement
2:29
Speaker 3: One Nation's super pay boost. then he should resign.
2:35
Speaker 2: Impressive and slick. And believe me, that'll play well out
2:38
Speaker 2: in the suburbs. OK, to Zoe and Rach News in
2:41
Speaker 2: a moment. But first, those conflicting polls in the last
2:45
Speaker 2: 24 hours on the state of the mood in Victoria,
2:48
Speaker 2: 60 days out from the November 28 election, to decide
2:52
Speaker 2: if Labor, under the new Premier, Ben Carroll, can win
2:55
Speaker 2: a record fourth term. Now, to most Victorians, that would
2:58
Speaker 2: seem like torture. But the change from the despised dissenter Alan,
3:03
Speaker 2: who took over from the hated Daniel Andrews, to Ben
3:06
Speaker 2: Carroll might just have a faint pulse for Labor, according
3:10
Speaker 2: to the Demos AU Premier National Poll released yesterday. Now,
3:16
Speaker 2: presumably that poll was what sparked the bizarre comparison yesterday,
3:21
Speaker 2: or Monday, from Premier Carroll about Labor pulling off a
3:25
Speaker 2: wharf-y time election win.
3:28
Speaker 1: Do you think that your government can have a last-minute
3:30
Speaker 1: comeback like the Lions? Look, it's Wharfie time.
3:35
Speaker 4: It's very clear that the Liberals and One Nation think
3:39
Speaker 4: they've got this election in the bag.
3:42
Speaker 2: Well, no-one could actually work out really what he was saying,
3:45
Speaker 2: but I reckon that Wharfie line was off the back
3:49
Speaker 2: of this poll. But it seems he was alluding to
3:52
Speaker 2: that last-minute comeback from the Brisbane Lions in the AFL
3:55
Speaker 2: Grand Final. They kick four goals in four minutes to
3:58
Speaker 2: win an unlikely third grand final in a row. So
4:01
Speaker 2: is the Labor comeback really possible? A demo shows, and
4:05
Speaker 2: I'll get to the conflicting Essie Newgate poll in a second,
4:09
Speaker 2: demo shows Labor's primary vote climbing by two points to 25%,
4:14
Speaker 2: with the Jess Wilson-led coalition dipping by two points to 30%.
4:18
Speaker 2: One Nation also dropped by two points to 20%, with
4:21
Speaker 2: the Greens up 1% to 14%. Now, the poll was
4:24
Speaker 2: taken between September 10 and 20, polling 1,020 Victorians. And
4:29
Speaker 2: on those numbers, on a two-party preferred vote, the coalition
4:32
Speaker 2: would actually still lead Labor 52 to 48. But as
4:36
Speaker 2: I said, the pulse for Labor is still there. And
4:40
Speaker 2: with that, 60 days to go, Carol, with the advantage
4:43
Speaker 2: of incumbency and the resources of government, has plenty more
4:47
Speaker 2: time to drag out a bunch of electoral bribes. Now,
4:50
Speaker 2: under Dan Andrews, Labor were geniuses. at convincing Victorians to
4:54
Speaker 2: vote for them, even winning in 2022 after the longest
4:58
Speaker 2: COVID lockdowns in the world, with a whopping majority picking
5:01
Speaker 2: up 56 seats. So it would be crazy to write
5:04
Speaker 2: Labor off. At the same time, though, the SEC Newgate
5:08
Speaker 2: poll out today, looking at the same election, showed 60%
5:12
Speaker 2: of Victorians rated the Labor government as doing a poor
5:17
Speaker 2: to very poor job running the state. Now, I'm surprised
5:20
Speaker 2: that figure's not higher, to be honest, given the debt.
5:22
Speaker 2: the corruption and the crime and crumbling roads. But 60%
5:26
Speaker 2: is still high and pointing to a savage loss for Labor. Now,
5:31
Speaker 2: this poll was fewer numbers, 746 Victorians only, telling the
5:35
Speaker 2: pollster three in four of them believe the state is
5:38
Speaker 2: heading in the wrong direction on crime, cost of living
5:42
Speaker 2: and health care. The wrong direction number has jumped from 49%
5:46
Speaker 2: at that 2022 election I mentioned to a whopping 74% now. Now,
5:52
Speaker 2: neither poll really, I don't believe, reflects the rural and
5:55
Speaker 2: regional anger at both, or I should say all three
5:59
Speaker 2: major parties, Labor, the Liberals and the Nationals. And it
6:02
Speaker 2: doesn't accurately reflect the One Nation vote. Victoria, but specifically
6:07
Speaker 2: suburban Melbourne, is probably one of One Nation's national weak points.
6:11
Speaker 2: But the outer suburbs, big regional towns, think Geelong, Bendigo, Ballarat, Shepparton,
6:17
Speaker 2: are hot for Pauline Hanson. 60 days to go. Predictions
6:20
Speaker 2: are tricky. I'll talk to Zoe McKenzie and Carly Douglas
6:23
Speaker 2: about this shortly. But right now, I'd be suggesting a
6:27
Speaker 2: minority coalition government needing One Nation to govern is the
6:31
Speaker 2: most likely outcome. No wharfie time for Ben. OK, rates
6:39
Speaker 2: up are suspected that the verbal gymnastics from the Treasurer
6:42
Speaker 2: Jim Chalmers today and the media conference with Michelle Bullock
6:46
Speaker 2: of the RBA. A lot of Australians at home tonight
6:50
Speaker 2: will be going through the family budget. This is how
6:52
Speaker 2: it unfolded.
6:54
Speaker 5: The fact that inflation and interest rates are going up
6:57
Speaker 5: right around the world doesn't take the sting out of
6:59
Speaker 5: this for Australians who are already doing it tough. The
7:03
Speaker 5: Reserve Bank statement makes it really clear that that we
7:07
Speaker 5: have an inflation challenge in our economy which is made
7:09
Speaker 5: worse by the war in the Middle East.
7:12
Speaker 6: Unlike some of our peer economies, for example, New Zealand
7:15
Speaker 6: and Canada, when they raised interest rates, they raised them
7:18
Speaker 6: a lot higher and they've now got unemployment rates which
7:21
Speaker 6: are much higher than ours. The bottom line is that
7:24
Speaker 6: productivity is doing nothing. And I know we talk about
7:27
Speaker 6: productivity a lot, but it's so important if we want
7:31
Speaker 6: the economy to be able to grow and create jobs.
7:34
Speaker 6: So I think... Again, it seems there's nothing we can
7:38
Speaker 6: do about productivity.
7:39
Speaker 7: This is a dark day, a tough day for hard-working
7:42
Speaker 7: Australian families with a mortgage. 16 interest rate increases. The
7:46
Speaker 7: current interest rates are a result of Labor's actions.
7:53
Speaker 2: Let's be clear.
7:54
Speaker 7: And we know that this is a government that is
7:56
Speaker 7: spending too much.
7:59
Speaker 2: Well, that was today. Let's bring in Zoe McKenzie, Shadow
8:01
Speaker 2: Cabinet Secretary and the federal member for Flinders. Good to
8:04
Speaker 2: see you again. What stood out for me in particular
8:07
Speaker 2: with Michelle Bullock there, where she says productivity is doing
8:11
Speaker 2: nothing and there's nothing we can do about it. I mean,
8:14
Speaker 2: that's the RBA can't, but surely the government should be
8:17
Speaker 2: trying to do something. They're not doing anything either.
8:20
Speaker 8: But Steve, do you remember they had that productivity roundtable
8:24
Speaker 8: a couple of years ago now? And I think they
8:27
Speaker 8: banned any discussion of either industrial relations reform or AI
8:33
Speaker 8: at the time. Now, they've picked up their game on AI,
8:36
Speaker 8: but in the IR area, for which I am responsible,
8:40
Speaker 8: all they have done is add layer upon layer of
8:42
Speaker 8: red tape and impossible-to-navigate laws. The Fair Work Act now
8:48
Speaker 8: is about this thick. When I was a senior associate
8:50
Speaker 8: practising in this area, the laws were about this thick.
8:54
Speaker 8: No one can comply, not even the Department of Employment themselves.
8:59
Speaker 8: So many small businesses I meet down here, and you
9:01
Speaker 8: live down here too, you'd know they say, oh, no,
9:03
Speaker 8: I can't employ anyone. I'm just a sole operator because
9:05
Speaker 8: it's just too hard to navigate the laws and to
9:08
Speaker 8: know that I'm doing the right thing and I'm ticking
9:10
Speaker 8: all the boxes. So people are not growing. They're not investing.
9:14
Speaker 8: They're getting smashed by interest rates, smashed by state taxes. Therefore,
9:19
Speaker 8: as the RBA governor said today, productivity growth is low.
9:23
Speaker 8: Growth is low across the board. But productivity is the
9:26
Speaker 8: one they need to focus on. It's not her job.
9:29
Speaker 8: It's Jim Chalmers' job and he's not doing it.
9:33
Speaker 2: I want to talk about your electorate in a second,
9:35
Speaker 2: but just before we get to that, why do we
9:39
Speaker 2: never hear when we talk about government spending, everyone points
9:44
Speaker 2: their finger at Jim Chalmers, why have we not got
9:47
Speaker 2: a national debate about how state Labor governments are flushing
9:50
Speaker 2: money around like it's no tomorrow, particularly Victoria?
9:53
Speaker 8: I know, particularly this state, which has such enormously high
9:56
Speaker 8: levels of public debt. I think in Victoria now we
9:58
Speaker 8: have more debt than most of the eastern coast combined.
10:02
Speaker 8: So absolutely. And you've got, of course, the current leader
10:06
Speaker 8: of the Labor Party throwing money, throwing promises, doing his absolute,
10:10
Speaker 8: I mean, I'm surprised he's not turning up dressed like Jess.
10:12
Speaker 8: He's literally doing everything to pretend he is Jess Wilson
10:15
Speaker 8: at the moment. in the hope that that will save
10:17
Speaker 8: him in November. But again, no budgetary constraint, no serious
10:23
Speaker 8: responsible economic management. Jim Chalmers says it all right. The
10:27
Speaker 8: liberal light narrative out of that man's mouth blows my mind.
10:30
Speaker 8: I think he's sat there and studied Peter Costello's speeches
10:33
Speaker 8: of days gone by and highlighted all the big words
10:35
Speaker 8: that he should be saying to make people feel reassured
10:38
Speaker 8: while spending like his golf Whitlam. Like it's an outrage
10:42
Speaker 8: how much this guy can keep a straight face while
10:45
Speaker 8: trying to tell Australia he's doing the right thing. The
10:48
Speaker 8: RBA governor made it quite clear today, aggregate demand is
10:52
Speaker 8: going up. And when you look at the divisions between
10:54
Speaker 8: household spending and government spending, it's the government that's now
10:58
Speaker 8: taking up the lion's share in terms of the growth.
11:01
Speaker 8: They're still spending, they're subsidising left, right and centre. They're
11:06
Speaker 8: investing in mates projects all over the country. There's no
11:10
Speaker 8: real restraint. And any additional money they do get, from
11:15
Speaker 8: unexpected commodity windfalls, they go out and spend that as
11:17
Speaker 8: well rather than retiring.
11:19
Speaker 2: Well, I talked last night about the amount of electorate
11:24
Speaker 2: funding all into those Labor electorates, millions and millions of dollars,
11:28
Speaker 2: even $ 25 million into Watson for, you know, Tony Burke's seat.
11:33
Speaker 2: It's just extraordinary. Your electorate, speaking of which, and, yes,
11:37
Speaker 2: I live there so I know it really well, it's
11:38
Speaker 2: a very varied electorate. It's very unique in a sense.
11:42
Speaker 2: But there will be plenty of pain tonight. There are
11:45
Speaker 2: locals in parts of your electorate who are right on
11:50
Speaker 2: the borderline when it comes to being able to afford
11:53
Speaker 2: another rate rise. This is really a blunt instrument. And
11:57
Speaker 2: I think we're going to start to see, and we
12:00
Speaker 2: just saw an expert on business today say, look, people
12:07
Speaker 2: are on the edge. People are going to start defaulting
12:09
Speaker 2: on their mortgages.
12:11
Speaker 8: Steve, you know this really well, right? Because you live
12:13
Speaker 8: down here too. The great fallacy about Flinders is that
12:17
Speaker 8: it is a wealthy electorate. Our average weekly earnings are
12:21
Speaker 8: less than the rest of Victoria. Areas around Rosebud and
12:26
Speaker 8: Crib Point are some of the lowest SES in the country.
12:30
Speaker 8: People get a bit distracted by our weekend and summer
12:35
Speaker 8: visitors and we love them coming down and spending their
12:38
Speaker 8: money here and keeping our economy afloat. but my residents
12:41
Speaker 8: are not wealthy Victorians. They are largely small business owners. 98%
12:46
Speaker 8: of the businesses down here are small. Invariably, the business
12:49
Speaker 8: is backed by the home mortgage. Somehow by this point,
12:53
Speaker 8: people have to find more than $ 30, 000 a year extra
12:57
Speaker 8: after tax to pay the average mortgage's interest. That's not
13:01
Speaker 8: even touching the principle at a time when equity is
13:05
Speaker 8: going backwards. I had a presentation last night from a
13:08
Speaker 8: local property lawyer who explained that we are about 10%
13:12
Speaker 8: off just since May in terms of the values of
13:14
Speaker 8: property and went through the changes in property prices up
13:18
Speaker 8: and down the peninsula, which means that a significant number
13:21
Speaker 8: of our fellow residents are now sitting in negative equity environment.
13:24
Speaker 8: That is devastating in a part of Australia where 70%
13:27
Speaker 8: of people own their homes either outright or with a mortgage.
13:31
Speaker 8: So these are deeply concerning changes here. In addition, of course,
13:35
Speaker 8: as you know, every other state tax that applies down here. And,
13:38
Speaker 8: of course, we bizarrely pay metropolitan rates of tax, whether
13:43
Speaker 8: it's payroll tax or land tax or any other tax
13:45
Speaker 8: that the Labor government wants to throw on us. It's
13:48
Speaker 8: like we're in Bourke Street, not that we're 90 kilometres
13:51
Speaker 8: from the city.
13:53
Speaker 2: Let's talk, Zoe, before we go, about those polls I mentioned.
13:56
Speaker 2: You are doing, I know, a lot of work to
13:59
Speaker 2: help Jess Wilson get elected. What one of those polls
14:04
Speaker 2: reflects the reality? The one that says Labor is the
14:06
Speaker 2: most hated government in history or the one that says
14:10
Speaker 2: Ben Carroll has a, you know, a false, faint pulse
14:15
Speaker 2: and he may, in fact, have some chance of a comeback?
14:19
Speaker 8: Well, as I said before, I'm sure he's only two
14:21
Speaker 8: days away from being Ben in a jest risk. He's
14:24
Speaker 8: literally throwing everything at it, and so he should. But
14:27
Speaker 8: the Victorian people need to remember, this man has sat
14:31
Speaker 8: at the Cabinet table for the entirety of this government, right?
14:35
Speaker 8: My people here need to remember as well, we still
14:38
Speaker 8: do not have a Labor candidate in Nepean. We still
14:41
Speaker 8: do not have a Labor candidate in Mornington. You know
14:45
Speaker 8: as well as I do, this seat was held, my
14:48
Speaker 8: seat where I'm in, the Southern Mornington potential, was held
14:50
Speaker 8: by Labor in the previous parliament. The fact that they
14:54
Speaker 8: don't even have the dignity to offer us a candidate
14:58
Speaker 8: to debate what the value proposition might be down here.
15:02
Speaker 8: They've said nothing on Rosebud Hospital. It's literally falling into
15:05
Speaker 8: the ground. One of the best service standards you'll ever
15:07
Speaker 8: get in a building from the 1980s. And I think
15:11
Speaker 8: that turned up and gave them $ 4 million for air
15:12
Speaker 8: conditioning that frankly wasn't even that bung. They stopped building
15:16
Speaker 8: Flinders Pier midway.
15:18
Speaker 9: Through the build.
15:18
Speaker 8: They just packed up all the wood. They took away
15:21
Speaker 8: the barges. They put the wood in storage and left.
15:23
Speaker 8: I mean, they are so ignorant of what matters down here.
15:27
Speaker 8: And so Ben may be doing all the kind of
15:29
Speaker 8: backflips he can hope for in Springsteen, but let me
15:32
Speaker 8: tell you, my people down here in the southern Mornington Peninsula,
15:35
Speaker 8: They see that government for what it's worth. I noticed
15:37
Speaker 8: today on Pointerpin Road, someone's taken out their own hot
15:39
Speaker 8: pink spray paint can and covered in all the potholes.
15:43
Speaker 8: Ben's running around saying, oh, fix the potholes, I'll fix
15:45
Speaker 8: the potholes. Well, not here.
15:46
Speaker 1: He hasn't, right?
15:47
Speaker 8: Every day you hear about somebody else who's had to
15:49
Speaker 8: spend $ 1, 600 fixing wheels and axles of their cars because
15:52
Speaker 8: they've literally disappeared into a baby bath.
15:55
Speaker 2: I know. I had to put a picture of one
15:57
Speaker 2: up on Twitter. my column on the Herald Sun to
15:59
Speaker 2: get it fixed. They've patched it up, but it'll be
16:01
Speaker 2: back before you know it. Zoe, great to catch up
16:03
Speaker 2: with you.
16:03
Speaker 8: See, I put them up all the time, but no
16:04
Speaker 8: one fixes mine. But anyway, I might do that tomorrow.
16:06
Speaker 2: Well, I got it fixed. Thanks, Zoe. Zoe McKenzie there.
16:10
Speaker 2: I mean, it's just extraordinary. Now, as I spoke about
16:12
Speaker 2: at the start of the program, the Reserve Bank has
16:14
Speaker 2: decided to lift interest rates to 4.6%. That means rates
16:18
Speaker 2: are now at a 15-year high, with the threat, of course,
16:21
Speaker 2: of another rate rise that would probably happen on Melbourne
16:24
Speaker 2: Cup Day, according to some economists and banks. Let's bring
16:27
Speaker 2: in Dimitri Berstein from Eminence Advisory. Dimitri, I mean, obviously,
16:32
Speaker 2: just talking there with Zoe, bad news for mortgage holders.
16:35
Speaker 2: I mean, not enough people have such a buffer these
16:39
Speaker 2: days in their mortgage. That is now disappearing. We've got
16:44
Speaker 2: four in a row, maybe another one to come. How
16:46
Speaker 2: bad is it going to get?
16:47
Speaker 1: I suspect it'll get worse. I mean, as you noted,
16:53
Speaker 1: it's a 15-year high. for interest rates. There are two
16:56
Speaker 1: more Reserve Bank Monetary Board meetings before the end of
16:59
Speaker 1: the year. Many commentators are predicting one more raise. A
17:05
Speaker 1: few more are predicting two more raises before the end
17:08
Speaker 1: of the year. That'll take official cash rates over 6%
17:12
Speaker 1: and take mortgage rates to around 7%. So it's not
17:17
Speaker 1: looking great out there. I mean, I, you know, I'm
17:20
Speaker 1: old enough to remember that when Ronald Reagan was running
17:24
Speaker 1: for president in 1980, he said that America didn't have
17:27
Speaker 1: an inflation problem because the people are living too well.
17:29
Speaker 1: America had an inflation problem because the government is living
17:32
Speaker 1: too well. And that's what's happening in Australia.
17:36
Speaker 2: I can remember interest rates because I bought a house
17:39
Speaker 2: at the time was sitting at 17 percent.
17:43
Speaker 1: Yeah, that's true. But it's unlikely to get that high.
17:48
Speaker 1: That would be a catastrophe, but it's not beyond the
17:51
Speaker 1: realms of possibility. Australia has amongst the highest indebted households
17:57
Speaker 1: in the world. They're either the highest or second highest.
18:00
Speaker 1: And most of our mortgages are linked to variable rates,
18:04
Speaker 1: unlike in the United States and many other countries, which
18:07
Speaker 1: are on fixed rates. So it could get bad. And
18:12
Speaker 1: You know, as you noted, I mean, these rates are,
18:15
Speaker 1: you know, 15 at 15 year highs. 15 years ago
18:19
Speaker 1: in 2011, Wayne Swan was the treasurer and Jim Chalmers
18:24
Speaker 1: was running around as his media secretary and gopher. So,
18:28
Speaker 1: you know, the circle of fiscal ineptitude continues.
18:34
Speaker 2: Speaking of charmers, how long is he going to be
18:36
Speaker 2: able to wheel out this argument that, no, no, it's
18:38
Speaker 2: not about federal government spending, it's all about, you know,
18:43
Speaker 2: public spending, we've reined in spending? I mean, people are
18:47
Speaker 2: not buying that argument anymore. I mean, everybody who's qualified
18:50
Speaker 2: to speak like you says, hang on, federal government is
18:54
Speaker 2: spending too much money and we should also, by the way,
18:57
Speaker 2: be told state governments are spending too much as well,
19:00
Speaker 2: particularly in places like Victoria.
19:02
Speaker 10: Yeah.
19:03
Speaker 1: You're right, Steve, and he'll keep saying it for as
19:08
Speaker 1: long as people allow him to keep saying it. Just
19:12
Speaker 1: I'd like to bring to your attention that Australia has
19:14
Speaker 1: the second highest official rates in the world behind Iceland,
19:20
Speaker 1: above those paragons of fiscal rectitude, the United States, the
19:24
Speaker 1: United Kingdom and Europe.
19:25
Speaker 11: I mean.
19:27
Speaker 1: You know, interest rates, inflation in Australia was rising before
19:30
Speaker 1: the Middle East war. And they were rising before the,
19:34
Speaker 1: you know, RBA started lifting rates earlier this year. Now,
19:38
Speaker 1: I will also say that, you know, the RBA does
19:41
Speaker 1: not have clean hands in this either. The RBA should
19:44
Speaker 1: not have cut rates in February, started cutting rates last
19:47
Speaker 1: year in February, conveniently just before an election. cycle. Their
19:52
Speaker 1: narrow path strategy has been ridiculous from the beginning to
19:58
Speaker 1: think that they can micromanage the 12th largest economy in
20:01
Speaker 1: the world to perfectly balance interest rates and unemployment. It
20:06
Speaker 1: was just ludicrous. They should have never done it. And
20:09
Speaker 1: we're all paying the price for both the RBAs and
20:12
Speaker 1: the Commonwealth Government's failures.
20:15
Speaker 2: When they were dropping, the Kiwis, weren't they, Dimitri, going
20:17
Speaker 2: the other way? They were going up.
20:19
Speaker 1: Correct. And, yes, their rates are much lower than Australia's. And,
20:25
Speaker 1: you know, it is true what the Governor has said,
20:29
Speaker 1: that their unemployment rates are higher. But inflation hurts everyone.
20:34
Speaker 1: It is the worst tax policy.
20:36
Speaker 12: Of all.
20:37
Speaker 1: It punishes the poor and the unemployed the hardest. It
20:41
Speaker 1: is a necessary bit of medicine to take to fix
20:46
Speaker 1: the fiscal problems and the economic problems of a nation.
20:50
Speaker 2: Dimitri, it was good to catch up. Appreciate your time tonight.
20:53
Speaker 2: Thank you very much. Coming up after the break, we'll
20:55
Speaker 2: have more on Ben Carroll's poll gain, including how he's
20:58
Speaker 2: managed to do it despite the Labor government being ranked,
21:02
Speaker 2: and I agree with the ranking, by the way, the
21:03
Speaker 2: worst state government in Australia. That's with Herald Sun political
21:07
Speaker 2: reporter Carly Douglas up next. Welcome back. Steve Price in
21:14
Speaker 2: for Chris Kenny. I want to go back to the
21:17
Speaker 2: politics of Victoria for a moment. If you missed my
21:19
Speaker 2: editorial at the top of the program, a fresh poll
21:21
Speaker 2: has Labor gaining ground on the coalition, albeit it's a
21:25
Speaker 2: small tick-up. Jess Wilson's still in a winning position with
21:29
Speaker 2: the two-party preferred vote at 52 to 48, but crucially...
21:33
Speaker 2: It's tighter than it was in August when it was
21:35
Speaker 2: 55 to 45. Let's bring in someone who reads the
21:39
Speaker 2: tea leaves in the numbers, Herald Sun state political reporter
21:42
Speaker 2: Carly Douglas. Two polls in the space of 24 hours
21:46
Speaker 2: saying completely the opposite things.
21:49
Speaker 9: Absolutely.
21:50
Speaker 12: So this poll you're talking about, Obviously, it's given Ben
21:53
Speaker 12: Carroll a bit of pep in his step. He's gained
21:56
Speaker 12: a little bit of ground on Jess Wilson, but the
21:58
Speaker 12: primary vote is still sitting at 25 compared to 30.
22:02
Speaker 8: But this maybe might be a.
22:03
Speaker 12: Bit of a kind of new leader appeal.
22:05
Speaker 9: He's not just in Torellon.
22:07
Speaker 12: There might be some traditional Labor voters who know she's
22:09
Speaker 12: gone and might have, you know, decided that Labor might
22:12
Speaker 12: be for them once again.
22:14
Speaker 2: Might be a whole bunch of people who own dogs
22:16
Speaker 2: and go to pubs.
22:17
Speaker 9: It might be.
22:18
Speaker 12: It might be. Obviously, he's come out of the gate
22:20
Speaker 12: pretty strong with a lot of new policies, also copying
22:22
Speaker 12: a lot of the Coalition's policies. So, you know, he
22:26
Speaker 12: is making some moves, but there is definitely still that
22:28
Speaker 12: mood for change in Victoria.
22:29
Speaker 2: A line for you tomorrow where we just had Zoe McKenzie,
22:32
Speaker 2: the member for Flinders, saying Ben Carroll is Jess Wilson
22:35
Speaker 2: in a dress. I mean, he is copying policy after
22:40
Speaker 2: policy after policy. He is.
22:42
Speaker 1: He absolutely is.
22:42
Speaker 12: First, you know, there was... At the start, obviously, the
22:45
Speaker 12: Royal Commission, then there was Jack's Law, the new knife
22:47
Speaker 12: powers as well. He just seems to keep copying exactly
22:51
Speaker 12: what they're doing. Obviously, some new things like dogs in pubs,
22:54
Speaker 12: which seems to be popular with one section of society,
22:56
Speaker 12: but other people hate the idea of it. So we'll
22:59
Speaker 12: see what the election campaign brings. Labor usually turns it
23:03
Speaker 12: on big time during the election campaign, so I'm sure.
23:06
Speaker 2: There's more to come. I mentioned that in 2022, which
23:08
Speaker 2: is not that long ago, Dan Andrews won 56 seats
23:11
Speaker 2: off the back of locking Victorians down for the longest time.
23:14
Speaker 2: anywhere in the world. So the Labor Party are very
23:17
Speaker 2: clever campaigners and they know where to target. They know
23:20
Speaker 2: which seats to put money into. You suspect that's what's
23:23
Speaker 2: going on right now.
23:24
Speaker 9: Yeah, they certainly do.
23:25
Speaker 12: And this is exactly what they've done with this dogs
23:28
Speaker 12: in pubs policy, opening pubs at 3am. They know that
23:30
Speaker 12: they need to win those green seats. Places like Northcote,
23:34
Speaker 12: which is on a knife's edge, Labor holds it by such.
23:36
Speaker 9: A small minority.
23:38
Speaker 12: And also areas like Pasco Vale, these seats, they really
23:41
Speaker 12: need to make sure that they hold on to. So it's,
23:44
Speaker 12: you know, not just fighting off One Nation, the Coalition
23:46
Speaker 12: is fighting off the Greens as well.
23:47
Speaker 2: Because we could also have a minority Labor government reliant
23:50
Speaker 2: on the Greens and other independents, I guess. It's not really...
23:53
Speaker 2: Animal Justice, Marijuana Party, those sorts of people.
23:56
Speaker 12: It's not something we've really spoken about all that much,
23:58
Speaker 12: because obviously the attention has been on the Coalition and
24:00
Speaker 12: One Nation. But, yes, certainly the case that, you know,
24:03
Speaker 12: we could be seeing a Labor-Greens minority government if that,
24:08
Speaker 12: you know, goes on.
24:09
Speaker 2: This other poll says... No, no... The Victorian Labor Government
24:12
Speaker 2: is the worst state government in Australia. That was a
24:16
Speaker 2: smaller sample. I think it was 700 odd. So they're
24:20
Speaker 2: small numbers. But, you know, I could go out into
24:23
Speaker 2: any street in Melbourne and if you ask who's the
24:26
Speaker 2: worst government in Australia, most people would say to you
24:29
Speaker 2: the Victorian Labor Government.
24:31
Speaker 12: Yeah, this is a completely different poll. It said that,
24:34
Speaker 12: as you say, 60% of people were rating the government's
24:37
Speaker 12: performance poor or very poor. Three in four had lacked
24:40
Speaker 12: confidence in the direction that the government was going in.
24:42
Speaker 12: This is despite, obviously, Ben Carroll saying that he's going
24:45
Speaker 12: in this new direction. Also results, confidence in the Labor
24:48
Speaker 12: government has fallen since he actually became Premier to a
24:51
Speaker 12: record low that was only matched by Jacinta Allen in May.
24:54
Speaker 12: So one poll saying, you know, that Labor is gaining ground,
24:57
Speaker 12: another poll saying that they don't like Ben Carroll's direction yet.
25:00
Speaker 2: You and Grace Frost at the Herald Sun have uncovered
25:03
Speaker 2: more evidence of incompetence from the Labor government. Potholes. So
25:07
Speaker 2: we're in the middle of a pothole crisis. They're everywhere.
25:10
Speaker 2: You've discovered that the data being used to respond to
25:13
Speaker 2: whether potholes are deadly or not is based on a
25:16
Speaker 2: study from 10 years ago.
25:19
Speaker 12: We went back and forth with the government over days
25:22
Speaker 12: to try and uncover newer research, but it seems like
25:25
Speaker 12: this is the point, this is the data that they are.
25:27
Speaker 2: They came back with 10-year-old data. After the tragic death
25:30
Speaker 2: of that man who hit a pothole and died.
25:32
Speaker 9: Well, we originally actually.
25:33
Speaker 12: Tom Humphries, I should say, he was the one who
25:35
Speaker 12: uncovered this data under FOI. It was a briefing to
25:39
Speaker 12: the minister from the TAC saying that potholes weren't really
25:42
Speaker 12: a safety hazard on our roads, but it was using
25:44
Speaker 12: this data from 2014 to 2016, which said that potholes
25:48
Speaker 12: only contributed to 6.3% of serious road accidents. I'm sure now,
25:52
Speaker 12: if we redid the data, it would be a bit higher.
25:54
Speaker 2: If you and I went back to 2014-16... and I'm
25:57
Speaker 2: just trying to remember, I was living here then, I'm
25:59
Speaker 2: pretty sure, pot holes were never talked about. They weren't
26:02
Speaker 2: a big issue back then at all.
26:04
Speaker 12: This is the thing, and we've asked the government whether
26:06
Speaker 12: they're going to commit to new data, which they haven't
26:08
Speaker 12: done yet. The Coalition have said that they would at
26:11
Speaker 12: least commit to actually presenting data that they have with
26:15
Speaker 12: the Victorian public. Right now it seems to be private.
26:17
Speaker 2: So you can't get your hands on the latest data.
26:20
Speaker 2: You can't even go back to 20, 23, 4 or 24, 25.
26:25
Speaker 12: Well, this data was super comprehensive and it was a
26:27
Speaker 12: specific study done by, funded by the TAC, by Monash University, sorry,
26:32
Speaker 12: Monash University, and these researchers actually went into hospitals and
26:36
Speaker 12: spoke to people who had been in these crashes.
26:37
Speaker 2: So surprise, surprise, a government that doesn't want to have
26:40
Speaker 2: an election about potholes doesn't want to commission any research
26:43
Speaker 2: into how many people are dying in potholes.
26:45
Speaker 8: They're not ready to do that yet.
26:46
Speaker 12: No, they're not.
26:48
Speaker 2: Great to see you, Carly. Thank you very much for
26:49
Speaker 2: coming in. Carly Douglas there from the Herald Sun. Well,
26:52
Speaker 2: Anthony Albanese back in the country after strutting around the
26:55
Speaker 2: world stage. Didn't he love that in New York? He
26:57
Speaker 2: got that tin badge I mentioned in a column last
27:00
Speaker 2: week for being a global citizen. No one actually knows
27:02
Speaker 2: what he's done to deserve that. Let's see if the
27:05
Speaker 2: Daily Telegraph's Tim Blair has any ideas. Tim, you wrote today,
27:10
Speaker 2: and I wrote about the Prime Minister, Anthony Albanese, in
27:14
Speaker 2: the Herald Sun last week, making mistake after mistake after mistake.
27:19
Speaker 2: Why has he got a tin badge?
27:21
Speaker 13: Yeah, he's got a tin badge for being a global citizen,
27:23
Speaker 13: a good global citizen, which is exactly the wrong message
27:26
Speaker 13: to send at the moment when globalisation is regarded as
27:30
Speaker 13: electoral poison, and rightfully so from many perspectives. It's... an
27:34
Speaker 13: incredibly tin-eared kind of move from the Prime Minister who's
27:38
Speaker 13: becoming known for his unforced errors. This guy probably has
27:43
Speaker 13: more advisers than any Prime Minister in Australian history. He
27:48
Speaker 13: might look at maybe shifting them around a little bit
27:50
Speaker 13: because if he's listening to them, he's allowing them to
27:53
Speaker 13: get it very wrong.
27:56
Speaker 2: Well, it takes us back to the mistake ongoing in
27:58
Speaker 2: a couple of podcasts where he ended up obviously wanting
28:01
Speaker 2: to shag Kylie and you know, the melon problem that
28:04
Speaker 2: created the fact that he couldn't even go to the
28:07
Speaker 2: grand final last weekend even though he was in the
28:09
Speaker 2: country because Kylie would have been on the same table
28:12
Speaker 2: as him. So you're right. What advisor said it was
28:16
Speaker 2: a good idea to go on a podcast called, I think,
28:19
Speaker 2: Deep in the Bush with Nikki Osbourne.
28:22
Speaker 13: Yeah, it is extraordinary. But no one, this is the thing,
28:25
Speaker 13: no one is forcing him to make these mistakes. No
28:27
Speaker 13: one told him, you'd assume, no one told him, Let's
28:32
Speaker 13: stonewall for a few weeks after the atrocity at Bondi Beach.
28:36
Speaker 13: No one told me to play tennis after a synagogue
28:40
Speaker 13: was firebombed in Melbourne. No one is telling him to
28:42
Speaker 13: do the dumbest things, the most inhumane things, the most
28:46
Speaker 13: politically poisonous things, yet he keeps on doing them. And
28:49
Speaker 13: now you've got him being applauded. There he goes. Now
28:52
Speaker 13: you've got him being applauded as a globalist when everyone
28:56
Speaker 13: is raging against globalisation. the man is not getting it
29:00
Speaker 13: right and it's all his fault.
29:03
Speaker 2: People I know that have known him for a long
29:05
Speaker 2: time and talk anonymously clearly say, what are you surprised about?
29:10
Speaker 2: He's always been like this.
29:12
Speaker 1: That's interesting, isn't it?
29:13
Speaker 13: Well, his great political skill, and it shouldn't be underrated,
29:17
Speaker 13: his great political skill is working through various factions in
29:21
Speaker 13: the ALP. Now, that is significant. If you can do that,
29:26
Speaker 13: you're a powerhouse within the Labor Party, as he has
29:29
Speaker 13: proven to be. There's no visible threats, no emerging challenges.
29:33
Speaker 13: And it's obviously putting him in a stronger position than
29:36
Speaker 13: any of his Labor predecessors. At the same time, that's
29:40
Speaker 13: his only skill mate that's all he can do he
29:42
Speaker 13: can negotiate the factions that's nothing to do with helping
29:45
Speaker 13: Australia that's to do with helping the Labor Party and
29:48
Speaker 13: helping himself it's a it's not an overall benefit to
29:51
Speaker 13: the people.
29:53
Speaker 2: Doesn't help that he's got a bad treasurer as well.
29:55
Speaker 2: Speaking of that, we city-centric folk tend to talk about
29:59
Speaker 2: mortgage rises, 15-year high. You're in regional Victoria. We've got
30:04
Speaker 2: to all remember that every farm is a small business,
30:07
Speaker 2: so every time interest rates go up, the farming community
30:10
Speaker 2: around where you are have then got to find another
30:12
Speaker 2: pot of money to try and keep themselves on the land.
30:16
Speaker 13: Absolutely. Around here it's diesel prices, potholes. farm invasions by
30:22
Speaker 13: wind turbines and such. There's a lot of issues that
30:27
Speaker 13: are going to result in an even bigger vote against
30:29
Speaker 13: Labor in November than there usually is here. And I'm
30:31
Speaker 13: speaking from an electorate that's never been out of National
30:34
Speaker 13: Party hands. So, yeah, out here, they talk about the
30:39
Speaker 13: rivalry between one nation and the Nationals. That's about it. Labor,
30:43
Speaker 13: not even on the map.
30:45
Speaker 2: But Jim can say, oh, Iceland's interest rates are higher
30:49
Speaker 2: than ours.
30:50
Speaker 11: Yes.
30:51
Speaker 2: There's only one country, though.
30:54
Speaker 13: Well, let's convert to the economic economy and start eating
30:59
Speaker 13: fermented shark. You know, like I'm not sure how we're
31:02
Speaker 13: going to go compared to that. But, yeah, Jim Chalmers,
31:06
Speaker 13: his endless confidence is jarring, isn't it? I mean, I
31:08
Speaker 13: think a lot of News24' s viewers might.
31:11
Speaker 2: Share this point of view.
31:12
Speaker 13: It's bad enough that we're copying interest rate rise after
31:15
Speaker 13: interest rate rise without Jim Chalmers saying that he's nothing
31:18
Speaker 13: to do with it. It's agonising. I mean, what's the
31:21
Speaker 13: point of being in government unless you're something to do
31:24
Speaker 13: as a treasurer with a little thing called the interest rate?
31:28
Speaker 13: It's absurd.
31:31
Speaker 2: You're going to be my electricity expert. I want you
31:34
Speaker 2: to explain this for me. The Victorian government is rolling out,
31:37
Speaker 2: this will start on October 1, free, nothing's ever free, free.
31:41
Speaker 10: Yep.
31:42
Speaker 2: Power, free electricity. This will happen Thursday. And what it
31:48
Speaker 2: means is between 11am and 2pm, if you've got a
31:51
Speaker 2: smart meter attached to your house, then your electricity will
31:55
Speaker 2: be free. The only problem with that is the people
31:59
Speaker 2: who are the retailers sending you electricity might be giving
32:02
Speaker 2: that away free. That'll mean the electricity you use when
32:05
Speaker 2: you're actually home at breakfast time and dinner time is
32:09
Speaker 2: going to cost more.
32:11
Speaker 13: Yeah, so you rush home during an extended lunch break,
32:15
Speaker 13: whack on the washing, program your VCR or whatever, if
32:19
Speaker 13: people still do that with VCRs. Make sure you.
32:22
Speaker 2: Get as much electricity.
32:22
Speaker 13: You put your dishwasher on, get everything going in the
32:25
Speaker 13: middle of the day.
32:25
Speaker 2: Cool the house down.
32:28
Speaker 13: To save a marginal amount of money during the day
32:30
Speaker 13: between 11 and 2. And then at night you put
32:32
Speaker 13: the air con on for half an hour and you
32:34
Speaker 13: obliterate your savings straight away. Yeah, great move. And as
32:36
Speaker 13: you pointed out as well, when you hear the government
32:39
Speaker 13: saying that something's free... They're lying straight away because nothing
32:42
Speaker 13: ever is.
32:44
Speaker 2: Yeah, the Greens down here today decided they wanted to
32:46
Speaker 2: make all public transport free and they kept using the
32:49
Speaker 2: word free. Who do they think pays the bills to
32:51
Speaker 2: run the bloody trains and trams and buses?
32:55
Speaker 13: I think the Greens should make it free, but on
32:57
Speaker 13: the proviso that the Greens supply the drivers and the
33:00
Speaker 13: mechanics and the people who operate and maintain public transport
33:03
Speaker 13: because they don't have a single person who's ever had
33:05
Speaker 13: a spanner in their hand.
33:07
Speaker 2: That's guaranteed. There's no such thing as a green mechanic. Tim,
33:12
Speaker 2: great to catch up with you, mate. I'll talk to
33:13
Speaker 2: you soon. Tim Blair there talking sense as usual. After
33:16
Speaker 2: the break, we'll hear from our voice in the UK,
33:19
Speaker 2: Kristen Tate, on the midterm elections. Plus, I want to
33:22
Speaker 2: get an update from her on what was described yesterday
33:25
Speaker 2: as a potential terror attack on a UK Air Force base.
33:28
Speaker 2: All the accused now are somehow out on bail. Welcome back. Now,
33:37
Speaker 2: if you watched the program yesterday, you might remember that
33:39
Speaker 2: suspected bomb plot at a UK airbase that was stopped
33:44
Speaker 2: by the authorities with help, it must be said, of
33:46
Speaker 2: a local farmer on her way home from a night out.
33:48
Speaker 2: It is completely bizarre, this. Now, overnight, the five suspects,
33:52
Speaker 2: they were arrested in connection with this, the three white vans.
33:56
Speaker 2: They were then released on bail, which seems very odd.
33:59
Speaker 2: There's a suspicion that the alleged plot could be linked
34:02
Speaker 2: to Iran as the US has used that base for
34:05
Speaker 2: airstrikes in the Middle East. And overnight, President Trump expressed
34:10
Speaker 2: his bemusement at the decision to let these five men go.
34:13
Speaker 2: I would have said, don't let them have bail, cashless bail.
34:19
Speaker 3: I wonder, is it cashless bail, I guess?
34:21
Speaker 1: I'm surprised that they released them. I wouldn't have done that.
34:24
Speaker 2: Look, they've been very good.
34:25
Speaker 1: They worked with us very closely.
34:27
Speaker 8: We know everything about them. We would not have released them.
34:33
Speaker 2: See if we can get some more information. Kenny Regula
34:35
Speaker 2: joins us from the United States. Kristen Tate. Kristen, this
34:40
Speaker 2: seems very strange. I mean, if there were vans and
34:43
Speaker 2: apparently there were no explosives found in them, it would
34:46
Speaker 2: be a reason to let these blokes out on bail.
34:48
Speaker 2: But the president seems as bemused as the rest of us.
34:53
Speaker 10: Yeah, I think President Trump's reaction is the same reaction
34:56
Speaker 10: of most normal people. There are five men arrested near
35:00
Speaker 10: a base housing American forces on suspicion of terrorism and
35:04
Speaker 10: explosive offenses. And we're being told this may involve a
35:08
Speaker 10: foreign actor potentially. And then they're released on bail. I mean,
35:12
Speaker 10: Trump's responsibility is obviously protecting Americans. And he has every
35:16
Speaker 10: right to demand that our allies take threats against Americans.
35:19
Speaker 10: american personnel just as seriously as we do and i'll
35:22
Speaker 10: add steve that britain has developed a real serious law
35:26
Speaker 10: and order problem and this seems like just another example
35:29
Speaker 10: of that just letting people go letting criminals free and
35:32
Speaker 10: we've seen that happen in london and throughout britain and
35:36
Speaker 10: this has become a real problem there so i think
35:38
Speaker 10: trump is he's in line with most normal people who
35:41
Speaker 10: hear about this very bizarre story.
35:44
Speaker 2: Yeah, there's probably one or two ways you can go here.
35:46
Speaker 2: If it was the IRGC, and they've been known to
35:49
Speaker 2: even here in Australia be paying local criminals to carry
35:53
Speaker 2: out fire bombings on synagogues, all sorts of activities that
35:57
Speaker 2: our authorities have found out, or could it be a
36:02
Speaker 2: bunch of people who were intending to protest about the
36:05
Speaker 2: fact that US aircraft used for military bombing missions in
36:09
Speaker 2: the Middle East were housed at that base. Either way,
36:14
Speaker 2: you'd reckon they would have spent more than a night
36:16
Speaker 2: in jail.
36:18
Speaker 1: Yeah, you would think. And look, you're right.
36:21
Speaker 10: We don't know all the facts here. It's a very
36:22
Speaker 10: bizarre situation. But you would think that we'd at least
36:25
Speaker 10: hold these people until we do know the facts. I mean,
36:28
Speaker 10: in either of those scenarios that you laid out are
36:31
Speaker 10: extremely worrisome. So why are these people being freed? There
36:34
Speaker 10: are a lot of questions here. The people demand answers
36:37
Speaker 10: and they deserve those answers.
36:40
Speaker 2: In that same media conference, the President spoke about that incident.
36:44
Speaker 2: He also announced a new $ 15 billion steel plant. Now,
36:48
Speaker 2: this is to be built in Iowa. I presume this
36:52
Speaker 2: is aimed squarely at the midterms and trying to get
36:55
Speaker 2: a result in that state.
37:00
Speaker 10: Yes, that's exactly right. And this is exactly the kind
37:02
Speaker 10: of economic nationalism that President Trump ran on.
37:05
Speaker 1: This is a $ 15.
37:06
Speaker 10: Billion investment in a very important state here in the U.S.
37:11
Speaker 10: when it comes to elections, Iowa. So, yes, this is
37:14
Speaker 10: something that we should celebrate. However, I would caution Republicans
37:19
Speaker 10: against looking at this announcement and convincing themselves.
37:23
Speaker 1: That this is going to save Republicans in November.
37:26
Speaker 10: I've got to be honest with you, Steve. I think
37:28
Speaker 10: Republicans are going to get crushed in November. And it
37:31
Speaker 10: pains me to say that because I'm a conservative, a
37:33
Speaker 10: strong supporter of Donald Trump. But if you look at
37:36
Speaker 10: the polls, they are not looking good for Republicans. Republican
37:41
Speaker 10: voters don't vote based on macroeconomics, on big stories about
37:46
Speaker 10: $ 15 billion investments. They are voting based on microeconomics, how
37:51
Speaker 10: much they're paying for groceries, what it costs to put
37:54
Speaker 10: gas in their car. I mean, I filled up my
37:55
Speaker 10: car this morning. It costs over $ 100 US to fill
38:00
Speaker 10: my tank of gas. That's a lot of money for
38:02
Speaker 10: us here in America. These are the kitchen table issues
38:06
Speaker 10: that voters are making decisions based on. And the unfortunate
38:10
Speaker 10: fact is that we are dealing with crippling inflation in
38:13
Speaker 10: this country still. And the administration hasn't been able to
38:16
Speaker 10: get a handle on that. And I believe they've been
38:18
Speaker 10: distracted by a lot of these adventures overseas where American
38:22
Speaker 10: citizens want these issues at home taken care of. So
38:25
Speaker 10: this is great news about Iowa. Don't get me wrong.
38:27
Speaker 10: We should celebrate it. But I don't think we should
38:30
Speaker 10: convince ourselves that this means Republicans are going to win
38:33
Speaker 10: in Iowa or elsewhere in November. It's going to be
38:36
Speaker 10: an uphill battle for Republicans.
38:39
Speaker 2: Well, all those issues you mentioned, gas, cost of living
38:43
Speaker 2: and upset over the fact that this Middle East war
38:46
Speaker 2: has gone on for so long, exactly the same sort
38:48
Speaker 2: of issues here in Australia. But are you saying that
38:52
Speaker 2: Republicans who voted in massive numbers for Donald Trump for
38:56
Speaker 2: a second term would actually turn away from Trump and
38:59
Speaker 2: vote Democrat or will they just not turn out? How
39:03
Speaker 2: will that anger manifest itself?
39:06
Speaker 10: I know a lot of these voters personally, and I
39:09
Speaker 10: can tell you, Steve, they're not about to go and
39:11
Speaker 10: vote for Democrats. That's not what we're talking about here.
39:14
Speaker 10: What we're talking about is voters who are disillusioned and
39:17
Speaker 10: disappointed and just won't go to the polls. Remember, Donald
39:20
Speaker 10: Trump got a lot of voters to the polls who
39:22
Speaker 10: had never voted before. These sort of unusual voter blocks,
39:26
Speaker 10: people like, young men and even some minority groups that
39:30
Speaker 10: typically do vote for Democrats turned out for Trump because
39:33
Speaker 10: they wanted something new. These people are disappointed now, and
39:37
Speaker 10: they just won't vote. They're kind of disgusted, to be
39:39
Speaker 10: honest with you, with the state of American politics. But,
39:42
Speaker 10: you know, you do have solid Republicans who just vote
39:45
Speaker 10: Republican in every election. Those people will still turn out
39:48
Speaker 10: for Republicans this November. It's those sort of more unusual
39:52
Speaker 10: voting blocs who typically don't vote but did perhaps for
39:56
Speaker 10: the first time for Trump in the last election. Those
39:59
Speaker 10: are the people who are most likely to stay home.
40:02
Speaker 2: Well, the president is a miracle man. We'll see what
40:04
Speaker 2: comes of November. Kristen Tate, as usual, thanks a lot.
40:09
Speaker 10: Thank you very much, Steve.
40:12
Speaker 2: OK, let's bring in our panel tonight, News Corp National
40:15
Speaker 2: Education Editor Susie O'Brien and Michelle Stevenson from Nova Radio.
40:19
Speaker 2: She's also, of course, Liberal Councillor with Waverley Council in Sydney.
40:23
Speaker 2: Let's start, if we can, on the bad news of
40:26
Speaker 2: the day. I hate to talk about bad news, but
40:28
Speaker 2: interest rates, they're up again. I guess no surprises there, Susie,
40:31
Speaker 2: but this is now getting to the point where people
40:33
Speaker 2: go home tonight and go, what other fat can we
40:37
Speaker 2: cut out of our budget? Because we're right on the borderline.
40:40
Speaker 9: Oh, it's absolutely horrific.
40:42
Speaker 11: And people at a time when petrol and diesel prices.
40:48
Speaker 9: I just.
40:48
Speaker 11: Spent $ 200 not filling up my tank.
40:51
Speaker 2: Meat, groceries? That was about three quarters.
40:53
Speaker 10: All of it?
40:53
Speaker 9: Yeah, everything. And I think families are really feeling the crunch.
40:57
Speaker 9: And at the moment.
40:58
Speaker 11: We've had 16 consecutive interest rate rises, adding $ 30, 000 to
41:03
Speaker 11: the average loan over the course of their loan. People
41:07
Speaker 11: have had enough and they're sick of these promises, these excuses.
41:11
Speaker 11: They actually want cost of living relief.
41:13
Speaker 2: And, Michelle, I mean, you know, we're not talking here
41:16
Speaker 2: about an economy where a lot of people are getting
41:20
Speaker 2: pay rises. I mean, I don't know many people who've
41:22
Speaker 2: had a substantial pay rise in the last couple of years.
41:25
Speaker 4: No, neither do I. And the RBA governor actually flagged that.
41:29
Speaker 4: She said pay packets are not keeping up with inflation.
41:31
Speaker 4: And we're seeing that time and time again. I mean,
41:34
Speaker 4: I can't tell you who's getting a pay rise. I mean,
41:36
Speaker 4: people who are working for the government apparently are getting
41:38
Speaker 4: pay rises. They pretty much are the only people getting
41:41
Speaker 4: pay rises at this point. But inflation at the moment,
41:44
Speaker 4: we'll find out tomorrow, I guess, if it's going to
41:46
Speaker 4: curb or not. But it doesn't look likely. like we'll
41:50
Speaker 4: get any reprieve anytime soon i mean michelle bullock even
41:53
Speaker 4: said we're going to get more rate rises look out
41:56
Speaker 4: for it we've already had four this year and the
41:58
Speaker 4: good news just keeps on coming doesn't it oh yeah.
42:02
Speaker 2: It's probably going to be on melbourne cup day which
42:04
Speaker 2: won't impress too many people let's stick on housing now
42:06
Speaker 2: though uh these figures i i shouldn't be surprised suzy
42:10
Speaker 2: and michelle but sydney melbourne brisbane and adelaide have all
42:13
Speaker 2: made the list of the world's 10 least affordable markets.
42:17
Speaker 2: Sydney came in second only to Hong Kong. I mean, Susie,
42:23
Speaker 2: we know that, but why are we in the top
42:25
Speaker 2: 10 of the most expensive cities in the world?
42:27
Speaker 11: Oh, it's just extraordinary. Melbourne is more expensive than London.
42:31
Speaker 11: And you think, you know what? That is why I've
42:33
Speaker 11: got 22-year-olds still living at home. My friends have got
42:37
Speaker 11: 30-year-olds still living at home. People going back and forth
42:40
Speaker 11: because the young people are saying, we can't afford to
42:43
Speaker 11: buy anything. People my age can barely afford to pay
42:46
Speaker 11: off our mortgages. I mean, it's absolutely dire. What is
42:49
Speaker 11: the government doing about it?
42:50
Speaker 2: Michelle, I mean, the demographic that you talk to, a
42:53
Speaker 2: lot of them are now, as Susie just said, staying
42:55
Speaker 2: at home. They can't afford to move out. Rents are
42:57
Speaker 2: going through the roof as well. And a lot of people,
42:59
Speaker 2: a lot of older people in my demographic, they're actually
43:02
Speaker 2: packing up and moving to places like Thailand and Bali.
43:06
Speaker 4: Yeah, look, it's pretty dire at the moment. I have
43:08
Speaker 4: to say, it's not just the younger people that can't
43:10
Speaker 4: get into the rent, into the property market. I mean, myself,
43:13
Speaker 4: I'm an older person. But if you miss that boat,
43:16
Speaker 4: like a lot of people did 10, 20 years ago,
43:19
Speaker 4: then you are locked out as well. I am a renter.
43:22
Speaker 4: So I've turned into rent vesting, which is becoming the
43:25
Speaker 4: new thing where you rent, but then you invest because
43:27
Speaker 4: that's the only way we can make money. Property is
43:30
Speaker 4: locked out forever for people like myself. and let alone
43:33
Speaker 4: I'm going to be stuck with my 14-year-old living with
43:35
Speaker 4: me for the next 20 years. We all know this
43:36
Speaker 4: is true.
43:38
Speaker 2: That's true. Talking about property, we've got a property developer
43:41
Speaker 2: in Sydney, Michelle. Goodman, they've scrapped their plans to build
43:45
Speaker 2: a billion-dollar data centre on Sydney's lower North Shore after
43:50
Speaker 2: a backlash from local residents. Now, I'm sure the Waverley
43:53
Speaker 2: Council area around Bondi is not in the market for
43:56
Speaker 2: data centres, but how hard is it going to be
43:58
Speaker 2: for local councils where these things are planned and they're
44:03
Speaker 2: not appropriate for your area?
44:05
Speaker 4: And this is going to be the tricky thing here
44:08
Speaker 4: when we look at stuff like data centres. Who controls
44:10
Speaker 4: the narrative around this? I mean, this one was potentially
44:13
Speaker 4: going to be so close to people's houses. It was also,
44:16
Speaker 4: I think, 150 metres from a primary school. I mean,
44:20
Speaker 4: we're talking big centres that take.
44:22
Speaker 9: A lot of electricity, a lot of water.
44:25
Speaker 4: We don't know what they're going to be like to
44:28
Speaker 4: live around or live near. At the end of the day,
44:30
Speaker 4: local people, local councils need to have a say in
44:34
Speaker 4: where these things go. and whether they end up in
44:37
Speaker 4: their backyard or not. But, look, I understand they will
44:41
Speaker 4: provide extra things like jobs and all that kind of
44:44
Speaker 4: fun stuff that we want to supply, but we've got
44:47
Speaker 4: to put them in places where it absolutely makes sense.
44:51
Speaker 2: Susie, I mean, it's not just a Sydney problem. We've
44:53
Speaker 2: had that issue here in Victoria. The Herald Sun ran
44:56
Speaker 2: those extraordinary pictures of the data centre at night with
44:59
Speaker 2: all this steam coming off it because they're having to
45:01
Speaker 2: cool it down. And, of course, the poor old residents
45:04
Speaker 2: in the outer western suburbs of Melbourne, they're the ones
45:06
Speaker 2: that cop it.
45:07
Speaker 11: Oh, and there are residents who are saying that they
45:10
Speaker 11: can't sleep at night, that the vibrations are so loud,
45:14
Speaker 11: that the noise is so loud, it's draining their power,
45:16
Speaker 11: their lights are going on and off. And there does
45:19
Speaker 11: need to be a proper rollout of these centres. Yes,
45:22
Speaker 11: of course we want them, but it shouldn't be making
45:25
Speaker 11: people's windows vibrate at night.
45:28
Speaker 9: It's absolutely absurd.
45:29
Speaker 2: I feel really sorry for people. The Greens today, by
45:31
Speaker 2: the way, I haven't heard them saying a lot about
45:33
Speaker 2: data centres, but they should. They've come up with this
45:36
Speaker 2: idea that all public transport in Victoria should be free.
45:41
Speaker 2: Do they understand that free means the taxpayers are now
45:44
Speaker 2: going to be paying for the operation of trams, trains
45:47
Speaker 2: and buses?
45:49
Speaker 9: Oh, look, I mean, it's absolutely absurd.
45:52
Speaker 11: And not only does it put a huge impost on
45:54
Speaker 11: the taxpayers, like our good selves, but it puts a
45:58
Speaker 11: huge impost on the system.
46:00
Speaker 9: You have free public transport.
46:03
Speaker 11: Where are they going to get all the extra services
46:05
Speaker 11: from and who's going to pay for it?
46:06
Speaker 2: Michelle, sad news overnight in the rock and roll world.
46:10
Speaker 2: Legend Rod Stewart's retiring. No more on the road for Rod.
46:14
Speaker 2: Six decades he's been touring for. And, in fact, I
46:18
Speaker 2: have a quick story for you. In my younger years,
46:21
Speaker 2: Rod was in Adelaide for the 1977 tour, played in Adelaide.
46:26
Speaker 2: A photographer and I trailed Rod to a southern suburb.
46:30
Speaker 2: I stood on the bonnet of the car. We popped
46:33
Speaker 2: a camera over the fence. And what did we catch?
46:36
Speaker 2: We caught Rod warmly embracing the current Miss World, Belinda Green. Gee,
46:43
Speaker 2: that was a great scoop. The good old days, Michelle.
46:48
Speaker 2: I know, the good old days.
46:49
Speaker 4: I mean, what a legacy too that he is leaving.
46:52
Speaker 4: But I mean, look, the man had to have oxygen
46:55
Speaker 4: at the side of the stage when he performed last.
46:58
Speaker 4: So I do think maybe it is time to hang
47:00
Speaker 4: up the boots or the microphone, so to speak.
47:05
Speaker 2: Oh, I think it's sad that he's not going to
47:06
Speaker 2: keep going. I mean, how many great hits does he have?
47:08
Speaker 2: I mean, I don't want to kill him on stage,
47:11
Speaker 2: but Susie, have you ever seen him live? He's unbelievable.
47:14
Speaker 9: I've never seen him live. He would be amazing.
47:15
Speaker 11: But, you know, do I think he's sexy so much nowadays?
47:18
Speaker 9: Maybe not at 81.
47:19
Speaker 11: I think, you know, he could spend a bit more
47:21
Speaker 11: time sailing.
47:22
Speaker 9: That would probably be good.
47:24
Speaker 2: I reckon I'd get away with... popping my head over
47:27
Speaker 2: a fence off the bonnet of a car to take
47:29
Speaker 2: his picture these days.
47:30
Speaker 11: I'm not happy, Steve. Where's that photo? I want to
47:33
Speaker 11: see that photo.
47:33
Speaker 2: Well, I trawled today. We have a photo of her
47:36
Speaker 2: and him in Adelaide, but I tried to find the
47:39
Speaker 2: photograph today. I mean, AI is supposed to provide us...
47:42
Speaker 2: with everything and it's all supposed to be kept. There
47:45
Speaker 2: we go. Look at those two. What good-looking roosters they are.
47:48
Speaker 2: Belinda on the left and Rod on the right. And
47:52
Speaker 2: after we ran that photograph, Rod's wife quickly decided she'd
47:56
Speaker 2: come and join the tour. There was no more to
47:59
Speaker 2: keep away from her. Susie, Michelle, thank you very much
48:02
Speaker 2: for that. Appreciate your time. That's it for me tonight.
48:06
Speaker 2: Coming up on the program tomorrow, we'll have more fallout,
48:09
Speaker 2: I'd imagine, from that rate rise. A lot of debate's
48:12
Speaker 2: now going to go into the fact that people are
48:14
Speaker 2: going to be negative in their mortgage payments. So the
48:19
Speaker 2: debate will continue, and I'm sure Peter Credlin will be
48:21
Speaker 2: right across it.