WEBVTT - Credlin | 26 August 0:00:02.050 --> 0:00:07.650 Peter Credlin, live from News 24. 0:00:08.750 --> 0:00:11.070 Good evening. Welcome to the program. Here's what's coming up 0:00:11.090 --> 0:00:15.800 tonight on Credlin. White-hot deceit. That's how critics are describing 0:00:15.840 --> 0:00:20.119 Victorian Labor's treatment of taxpayers after a bombshell report today 0:00:20.160 --> 0:00:23.320 from the state's auditor general revealing there's been a secret 0:00:23.400 --> 0:00:27.420 levy on public transport users. You've been paying it in 0:00:27.440 --> 0:00:31.250 Victoria since January last year. It's a scandal. We'll speak 0:00:31.270 --> 0:00:34.830 to the opposition leader from the Victorian Parliament shortly. Plus 0:00:34.850 --> 0:00:37.669 a former Chief of Army, General Peter Lay, he'll join 0:00:37.690 --> 0:00:40.800 me tonight. He and along with a raft of other 0:00:41.040 --> 0:00:44.800 defence and security experts have gone public demanding that the 0:00:44.860 --> 0:00:48.580 Royal Commission needs to be extended and has not done 0:00:48.640 --> 0:00:53.990 enough to tackle radical Islam. 44,000, that's the number Labor 0:00:54.010 --> 0:00:56.810 said would be hit by their changes to private health 0:00:56.850 --> 0:01:00.100 insurance rebates for those over the age of 35. But 0:01:00.980 --> 0:01:02.520 that number's a long way off the mark. 0:01:02.520 --> 0:01:02.620 $ 1. 0:01:02.520 --> 0:01:02.940 2 million. 0:01:05.620 --> 0:01:09.100 As calls to scrap this hit grow louder. And the 0:01:09.120 --> 0:01:13.480 Prime Minister's man, his special envoy, Luke Gosling, falls on 0:01:13.580 --> 0:01:17.120 his sword after those new charges for an alleged breach 0:01:17.180 --> 0:01:20.339 of bail, but he remains a thorn in the side 0:01:20.700 --> 0:01:21.880 for his colleagues. 0:01:22.819 --> 0:01:25.440 I believe that the most important thing now is that 0:01:25.500 --> 0:01:31.950 the legal proceedings happen without a running commentary from his 0:01:32.010 --> 0:01:32.750 colleagues like me. 0:01:35.750 --> 0:01:38.130 But first, the first job of government is to keep 0:01:38.209 --> 0:01:41.610 its citizens safe. And when it fails, it should be 0:01:41.670 --> 0:01:45.190 held to account. The fact that the Prime Minister, New 0:01:45.230 --> 0:01:49.190 South Wales Premier, the Home Affairs Minister, Attorneys General, State 0:01:49.250 --> 0:01:52.810 and Federal, as well as relevant police ministers have not 0:01:52.970 --> 0:01:56.720 been called before the Bondi Royal Commission to give evidence 0:01:57.240 --> 0:02:00.930 is damning. Now, how can you have a credible inquiry 0:02:01.330 --> 0:02:04.850 into the massacre of 15 individuals on the sand at 0:02:04.970 --> 0:02:08.690 one of our most iconic Australian beaches and not hear 0:02:08.730 --> 0:02:12.329 from those in charge on that fateful day is beyond me. 0:02:13.150 --> 0:02:16.900 Australians deserve the truth. Australians deserve to know where the 0:02:16.960 --> 0:02:20.300 system has failed us. And Australians deserve a set of 0:02:20.340 --> 0:02:24.020 recommendations out of this inquiry that give us our best 0:02:24.139 --> 0:02:29.040 chance of ensuring it never happens again. Today, Commissioner Virginia 0:02:29.090 --> 0:02:34.270 Bell formally concluded public hearings into the coal-blooded killings at Bondi. 0:02:34.710 --> 0:02:38.570 As she did, she attempted to assure her critics that 0:02:38.650 --> 0:02:41.430 she had heard enough to complete her report. 0:02:43.050 --> 0:02:46.710 I am satisfied that I am currently in a position 0:02:47.330 --> 0:02:51.550 to give a full and fair account of the term 0:02:51.610 --> 0:02:56.790 of reference which asks whether, in relation to the Bondi-Harnaker attack, 0:02:57.730 --> 0:03:03.630 our intelligence and our law enforcement agencies operated or performed 0:03:04.110 --> 0:03:10.339 to maximum effectiveness. The Bondi-Harnaker attack came after more than 0:03:10.480 --> 0:03:16.920 two years of a marked increase in anti-Semitism throughout Australia. 0:03:19.020 --> 0:03:22.880 Now, she might be confident, others are not, and serious 0:03:22.919 --> 0:03:26.859 questions remain. Not only is this Royal Commission into one 0:03:26.900 --> 0:03:31.550 of our worst ever atrocities, the shortest in history, but 0:03:31.590 --> 0:03:34.730 the elephant in the room, radical Islam, well, it barely 0:03:34.770 --> 0:03:38.870 gets a look in. And this feels deliberate, indeed premeditated, 0:03:39.370 --> 0:03:42.470 given the Prime Minister's reluctance in and around the events 0:03:42.510 --> 0:03:47.310 of Bondi and since to even reference Islam in connection 0:03:47.330 --> 0:03:51.070 with these deaths. As recently as Monday in Perth, when 0:03:51.160 --> 0:03:53.780 asked by journalists, did he or did he not support 0:03:53.840 --> 0:03:57.910 an extension of time for the inquiry, Anthony Albanese offered 0:03:57.990 --> 0:04:01.810 up all the usual blather about Royal Commission independence, soft 0:04:01.880 --> 0:04:08.740 words as usual on anti-Semitism, but then bizarrely references to neo-Nazis, 0:04:09.160 --> 0:04:12.260 but no mention at all of radical Islam. 0:04:12.260 --> 0:04:16.720 20 years ago, were we discussing neo-Nazis? 0:04:17.800 --> 0:04:18.300 We are now. 0:04:18.920 --> 0:04:24.360 It is of real concern and anti-Semitism has no place. 0:04:24.520 --> 0:04:25.180 Thanks very much. 0:04:27.400 --> 0:04:29.950 Well, neo-Nazis didn't have a gun in their hand on 0:04:30.010 --> 0:04:34.770 Bondi in December. This is just not credible from any leader, 0:04:35.270 --> 0:04:38.750 when even a cursory understanding of the issue and global 0:04:38.810 --> 0:04:43.410 experience shows us that the greatest contributor to anti-Semitism, indeed 0:04:43.870 --> 0:04:47.300 loss of Jewish life and increasingly loss of Christian life, 0:04:48.100 --> 0:04:52.339 is radical Islam. The Royal Commission on Anti-Semitism and Social 0:04:52.400 --> 0:04:55.500 Cohesion was established on the 9th of January this year. 0:04:56.440 --> 0:04:59.600 Earlier today, Bell pushed out the delivery date of her 0:04:59.640 --> 0:05:03.660 report from the 14th of December to the 18th, rightly 0:05:03.740 --> 0:05:07.640 recognising that to deliver her report on the first anniversary 0:05:07.660 --> 0:05:12.060 of the Bondi massacre would detract attention from the proper 0:05:12.160 --> 0:05:15.740 commemoration of the date. But Bell's rejection of the need 0:05:15.760 --> 0:05:18.260 for an extension will make this one of the shortest 0:05:18.300 --> 0:05:22.219 Royal Commissions in our history. In recent years, most, as 0:05:22.300 --> 0:05:24.720 I showed you the other night, have run for two, 0:05:24.839 --> 0:05:28.179 two and a half years. Some, like the Disability Royal Commission, 0:05:28.220 --> 0:05:30.680 have run for four and a half years, the Royal 0:05:30.700 --> 0:05:34.480 Commission into Child Sexual Abuse five years, and there, there 0:05:34.520 --> 0:05:39.900 were six commissioners. This one has just one commissioner, meaning 0:05:39.940 --> 0:05:42.290 Bell just doesn't have the time to do the forensic 0:05:42.310 --> 0:05:46.290 work necessary to deliver government a blueprint to do better, 0:05:46.830 --> 0:05:50.830 not just on the issue of anti-Semitism and social cohesion, 0:05:51.490 --> 0:05:55.500 but all of the security and intelligence failings that so 0:05:55.720 --> 0:06:00.360 obviously contributed to the massacre last December. A point today 0:06:00.440 --> 0:06:04.460 underscored by a group of Australia's most eminent national security leaders, 0:06:04.920 --> 0:06:10.140 including former Defence Chief, the Governor, General David Hurley. He's 0:06:10.200 --> 0:06:13.620 demanded that the Bondi Royal Commission be urgently extended and 0:06:13.640 --> 0:06:17.200 he raised concerns that no cabinet ministers or political leaders 0:06:17.580 --> 0:06:21.529 had been called to give evidence. The other names joining Hurley, 0:06:21.850 --> 0:06:26.620 they warrant a mention given their experience and standing in 0:06:26.660 --> 0:06:30.099 the area of national security. Included are two former heads 0:06:30.140 --> 0:06:35.460 of ASIO, our domestic spy agency, ex-AFP boss Mick Kilty, 0:06:36.100 --> 0:06:42.200 former Air Force chiefs, former Navy admirals, and amongst others, 0:06:42.230 --> 0:06:48.070 ex-Army generals, including General Peter Lay, who joins me tonight. Now, 0:06:48.150 --> 0:06:52.420 as you know, All of these people are not called 0:06:52.560 --> 0:06:55.520 to give evidence. Well, that's long been one of my 0:06:55.600 --> 0:06:59.349 primary concerns with this Royal Commission. To date, there has 0:06:59.390 --> 0:07:04.190 been some 20,000 submissions to the Bondi Royal Commission, but 0:07:04.230 --> 0:07:10.740 it's only heard evidence from just over 300 witnesses. Incredibly, again, 0:07:10.800 --> 0:07:13.500 not one of those witnesses has been a political leader 0:07:13.960 --> 0:07:17.820 or a cabinet minister. This is not just a terrible oversight, 0:07:18.340 --> 0:07:22.000 but the derogation of the Royal Commissioner's duty to properly 0:07:22.040 --> 0:07:25.320 inquire into what happened on that fateful day and the 0:07:25.400 --> 0:07:30.330 circumstances over many months that led to it. Having been 0:07:30.570 --> 0:07:33.790 in the Prime Minister's office during the 2014 Lint Cafe 0:07:33.850 --> 0:07:38.110 siege in Sydney, it's right and proper that all the 0:07:38.170 --> 0:07:43.230 political officers here face scrutiny. In moments of great crisis, 0:07:43.730 --> 0:07:48.350 there are close interactions between the political class, with heads 0:07:48.390 --> 0:07:51.790 of organisations like the police and ASIO, and of course 0:07:51.830 --> 0:07:56.100 the officers on the front line. When this happens, the 0:07:56.120 --> 0:08:00.620 system comes under enormous pressure and that deserves close scrutiny. 0:08:00.640 --> 0:08:04.500 Now we run defence exercises almost every year in this 0:08:04.580 --> 0:08:08.900 country to pressure test and continually improve the way that 0:08:08.980 --> 0:08:14.470 complex military responsibilities interact in the time of operational conflict. 0:08:15.270 --> 0:08:20.310 And afterwards, there's rigorous post analysis to ensure continual improvement. 0:08:21.230 --> 0:08:24.190 So why is this not done in times of civilian crisis, 0:08:24.750 --> 0:08:29.110 as we saw in Bondi? That means, where are the politicians? 0:08:30.250 --> 0:08:34.670 The mere fact that concerns about gun licensing and border 0:08:34.720 --> 0:08:38.920 movements of flagged individuals were missed, that intelligence rigor was 0:08:39.000 --> 0:08:42.760 less than optimal, that the budgets of our key agencies 0:08:42.800 --> 0:08:46.770 were cut, These are all issues that should have been 0:08:46.890 --> 0:08:52.030 subject to serious examination by the Commission. Very relevant too 0:08:52.090 --> 0:08:56.250 from my experience with Lint is the blurring of responsibilities 0:08:56.290 --> 0:08:59.790 between the Commonwealth and states in times of terror attack. 0:09:00.610 --> 0:09:02.410 I mean, it's one thing for Bell to hear from 0:09:02.450 --> 0:09:05.230 those who wear the uniform and all of this, but 0:09:05.270 --> 0:09:08.760 to leave out the politicians who make the decisions and 0:09:08.820 --> 0:09:13.599 the laws that the uniforms must operate under, Well, that's 0:09:13.640 --> 0:09:16.959 a huge omission. And as a result, her report will 0:09:17.020 --> 0:09:21.980 lack credibility. But it's not just the risk of politician 0:09:22.120 --> 0:09:25.530 whitewashing that concerns me here. How is it that a 0:09:25.550 --> 0:09:30.250 Royal Commission into Australia's most serious terror event pays only 0:09:30.410 --> 0:09:35.209 cursory attention to what motivated it? Now, look, as a lawyer, 0:09:35.290 --> 0:09:40.119 I appreciate this inquiry runs parallel to the prosecution of 0:09:40.260 --> 0:09:43.270 one of the alleged terrorists, But where is the proper 0:09:43.350 --> 0:09:49.280 scrutiny on radical Islam? It took until August before any 0:09:49.420 --> 0:09:53.840 senior Islamic leaders were called to give evidence before the inquiry. 0:09:54.540 --> 0:09:59.970 Even then, it has been just two. Sheikh Shadi al-Sulam 0:10:00.330 --> 0:10:04.959 president of the Australian Imams Council, and Dr Ali al-Sumail, 0:10:05.429 --> 0:10:09.199 a director of the Shia Muslim Council of Australia. Why 0:10:09.420 --> 0:10:16.160 just two Islamic leaders? Surely, beyond the politicians, we deserve 0:10:16.200 --> 0:10:18.750 to hear from Australia's Islamic leaders and given they are 0:10:18.790 --> 0:10:23.310 too often silent, at best slow to condemn, acts of 0:10:23.429 --> 0:10:26.480 hate and terrorism that occur in the name of their faith. 0:10:27.540 --> 0:10:31.840 What also greatly concerns me is the lack of interrogation 0:10:31.900 --> 0:10:37.300 by the inquiry into the escalating problem of Islamic hate preachers. Again, 0:10:37.350 --> 0:10:40.189 I went through the witness list today. I can't even 0:10:40.250 --> 0:10:44.330 see one, one witness from any of those mosques of 0:10:44.429 --> 0:10:49.330 concern that appeared before the Commission. Nor have we had 0:10:49.370 --> 0:10:53.090 a proper review into these so-called de-radicalisation programs. You know, 0:10:53.130 --> 0:10:56.710 I raise these a lot. They are supposedly our frontline 0:10:56.730 --> 0:11:01.240 defence in stopping another terror attack in Australia. Right now, 0:11:01.340 --> 0:11:05.960 you as taxpayers via the federal government spend $ 120 million 0:11:06.480 --> 0:11:11.580 on programs to prevent radicalisation. So we deserve to know 0:11:12.080 --> 0:11:16.339 where the Islamic organisations that get this money to run 0:11:16.380 --> 0:11:21.069 the programs are actually spend it. Certainly the multitude of 0:11:21.150 --> 0:11:24.100 export reports out of the UK shows that the efficacy 0:11:24.840 --> 0:11:29.540 of these radicalised programs is mixed at best. And with 0:11:29.559 --> 0:11:34.079 the numbers in these programs and the ages of participants 0:11:34.220 --> 0:11:38.179 only getting younger, not to mention those convicted of serious 0:11:38.280 --> 0:11:42.280 terror offences coming out of our prisons soon, to say 0:11:42.340 --> 0:11:45.710 this should have been a bigger focus for Bell is 0:11:45.750 --> 0:11:49.560 an understatement. Now, critically, if this Royal Commission was serious, 0:11:50.440 --> 0:11:55.080 it would also have explored the growing relationship between Muslim 0:11:55.140 --> 0:12:01.260 organisations and the politics of the Australian Labor Party. I 0:12:01.300 --> 0:12:05.520 can't help feeling that this Bondi Royal Commission is little 0:12:05.570 --> 0:12:10.089 more than a Clayton's effort from Anthony Albanese. You know, 0:12:10.150 --> 0:12:13.550 the sort of inquiry you have when you really don't 0:12:13.670 --> 0:12:21.510 want to have an inquiry. We'll get to that breaking 0:12:21.550 --> 0:12:25.410 news today about that secret tax in Victoria. That's been 0:12:25.450 --> 0:12:28.770 unveiled by the Auditor-General. We'll go to Canberra now for 0:12:28.790 --> 0:12:31.010 the headlines with our political reporter, Cam Redden. 0:12:32.480 --> 0:12:32.900 Good evening. 0:12:33.320 --> 0:12:37.000 Labor MP Luke Gosling has stepped aside as a special envoy, 0:12:37.059 --> 0:12:39.740 having been charged with breaching his bail conditions. 0:12:40.059 --> 0:12:42.700 I believe that the most important thing now is that 0:12:42.760 --> 0:12:47.790 the legal proceedings happen without a running commentary. 0:12:47.990 --> 0:12:50.589 The member for Solomon will face court next month over 0:12:50.650 --> 0:12:53.770 an alleged assault on the Northern Territory Commissioner, a claim 0:12:53.809 --> 0:12:58.190 he categorically denies. Voters remain unconvinced any of the three 0:12:58.250 --> 0:13:01.910 most prominent parties are best placed to govern. Both Labor 0:13:01.990 --> 0:13:05.610 and One Nation rose slightly in the latest News24 Pulse poll, 0:13:05.890 --> 0:13:09.270 while the coalition lost ground, now sitting eight points adrift 0:13:09.429 --> 0:13:12.760 of the government. National Cabinet has broadly agreed on a 0:13:12.820 --> 0:13:15.959 series of country-wide artificial intelligence rules. 0:13:16.559 --> 0:13:19.400 I'm absolutely optimistic that our best days are ahead of 0:13:19.480 --> 0:13:20.679 us as a nation. 0:13:21.280 --> 0:13:23.500 And one way that we ensure that occurs is by 0:13:23.559 --> 0:13:24.260 working together. 0:13:24.660 --> 0:13:28.420 Leaders also agreed to progress policies to end domestic violence 0:13:28.580 --> 0:13:33.670 and pledged $ 125 million in response to the bird flu crisis. 0:13:34.309 --> 0:13:35.270 Cameron Redden, News 24, Canberra. 0:13:39.250 --> 0:13:42.250 Now to that bombshell report today from the Victorian Auditor-General, 0:13:42.730 --> 0:13:46.150 revealing that Victorians have been paying a secret levy every 0:13:46.200 --> 0:13:49.880 single time they've got on public transport for well over 0:13:49.920 --> 0:13:53.540 a year now. And controversially, the money's been diverted to 0:13:53.559 --> 0:13:57.490 the suburban rail loop, which Labor insider Stephen Conroy has 0:13:57.550 --> 0:14:00.630 called a dog of a project. Revealed today, the state's 0:14:00.650 --> 0:14:05.150 financial watchdog found a secret 1% fares levy on all 0:14:05.230 --> 0:14:09.730 metropolitan and regional fares, was decided back in 2021 and 0:14:09.770 --> 0:14:13.580 brought in last year by the Allen government. The Victorians, well, 0:14:13.600 --> 0:14:16.820 they were never told about it until now. Here to 0:14:16.860 --> 0:14:20.350 discuss the Victorian opposition leader, Jess Wilson. Well, Jess, the 0:14:20.370 --> 0:14:24.250 report suggests the cost of the SRL is more than 0:14:24.310 --> 0:14:28.710 likely to blow out to some $ 36 billion. The government 0:14:29.010 --> 0:14:33.710 originally said $ 11 billion added to the deceit about this 0:14:33.790 --> 0:14:37.220 levy being made public today. I think this is a 0:14:37.240 --> 0:14:39.260 government that's made deceit an art form. 0:14:41.650 --> 0:14:43.730 Well, that's right, Peter. It's great to be with you. 0:14:43.810 --> 0:14:47.420 But what we've seen today revealed by the Auditor-General is 0:14:47.480 --> 0:14:51.660 a fundamental breach of trust with the Victorian people. A 0:14:51.740 --> 0:14:55.450 levy that has been imposed on every single public transport 0:14:55.530 --> 0:15:00.770 fare since January last year. no decision that has been 0:15:00.810 --> 0:15:03.690 up front with the Victorian people. It was Ben Carroll, 0:15:03.850 --> 0:15:06.850 as the Minister for Public Transport, who signed off on 0:15:06.890 --> 0:15:10.990 this in 2021 and then has misled and lied to 0:15:11.030 --> 0:15:15.760 Victorians every single day since. Peter, as you know, it's 0:15:15.820 --> 0:15:19.160 the job of government to be transparent and honest with 0:15:19.180 --> 0:15:23.640 the voters. They took this to the 2022 election and 0:15:23.800 --> 0:15:27.770 did not tell Victorians about it. And Ben Carroll now says... 0:15:28.010 --> 0:15:32.000 that under a government he leads, integrity is no longer optional. Well, 0:15:32.010 --> 0:15:34.160 it certainly seems to have been optional when he signed 0:15:34.200 --> 0:15:36.900 off on this secret tax in 2021 and has lied 0:15:36.920 --> 0:15:38.160 about it every day since. 0:15:39.990 --> 0:15:41.970 Well, we know Parliament's sitting. That's where you're joining us 0:15:42.010 --> 0:15:44.170 from tonight. How has this played out for the Premier? 0:15:46.470 --> 0:15:48.430 Well, we haven't seen the Premier today. He has in 0:15:48.470 --> 0:15:49.350 front of cameras. 0:15:49.390 --> 0:15:52.570 He hasn't been answering questions about why he has hidden 0:15:52.610 --> 0:15:55.860 this from Victorians and why he has lied to Victorians. 0:15:56.300 --> 0:15:59.780 We put questions to the Deputy Premier in the Parliament today. 0:16:00.260 --> 0:16:02.920 But what we see, Peter, is this government continue to 0:16:03.040 --> 0:16:04.840 lie and lie and lie. 0:16:05.490 --> 0:16:08.050 And it comes back to who do you trust? Who 0:16:08.090 --> 0:16:11.030 do you trust to actually lead this state into the future? 0:16:11.430 --> 0:16:13.770 When we've got crippling amount of debt in this state, 0:16:13.820 --> 0:16:16.460 when we've got record levels of crime, when we've seen 0:16:16.550 --> 0:16:20.320 corruption run rife under this Labor government, and when they've 0:16:20.340 --> 0:16:24.020 been lying about a tax on every single public transport 0:16:24.100 --> 0:16:29.140 fare for five years, it just demonstrates that this government 0:16:29.360 --> 0:16:32.200 is rotten to its core. But the good news is, 0:16:32.700 --> 0:16:35.600 in 94 days, Victorians will have the opportunity to change 0:16:35.660 --> 0:16:38.620 the government, change the direction of this state, and my 0:16:38.660 --> 0:16:41.780 team has that plan for a fresh start. But most importantly, 0:16:42.240 --> 0:16:45.610 to be honest with Victorians, to be upfront, we'll legislate 0:16:45.650 --> 0:16:48.370 a charter of budget honesty, we'll bring in place a 0:16:48.470 --> 0:16:52.250 real-time expenditure tracker and actually respect taxpayer money. 0:16:53.910 --> 0:16:57.190 How did this levy get imposed? Was it a regulatory act? 0:16:57.530 --> 0:17:00.410 I presume it didn't go through the parliament, Jess. And 0:17:00.630 --> 0:17:03.210 a second part to that is Stephen Conroy, you'll know 0:17:03.230 --> 0:17:07.240 him well, is a Labor power broker, obviously former cabinet 0:17:07.260 --> 0:17:10.200 minister at a federal level. He's called the SRL a 0:17:10.320 --> 0:17:13.920 dog of a project. Surely now it has to be scrapped. 0:17:16.500 --> 0:17:18.810 Well, I thought it was very interesting that Stephen Conroy 0:17:18.880 --> 0:17:22.560 said that yesterday because He's Ben Carroll's mentor, someone who 0:17:22.619 --> 0:17:25.480 Ben Carroll looks up to. And when we saw Ben 0:17:25.520 --> 0:17:28.110 Carroll come out yesterday and say that he should be 0:17:28.900 --> 0:17:32.670 praised for finding $ 2 billion worth of savings in this project, well, 0:17:32.690 --> 0:17:35.210 what was clear, he'd only found $ 1 billion worth of 0:17:35.250 --> 0:17:38.830 savings and they're going to try to find another billion dollars. 0:17:39.310 --> 0:17:42.129 But how can a project that they claim. 0:17:41.869 --> 0:17:45.950 Costs $ 34 billion be not OK at that amount of 0:17:46.010 --> 0:17:49.929 money but then be OK at $ 33- odd billion? But it also, 0:17:50.030 --> 0:17:53.719 in the Auditor-General's report today, was demonstrated that that billion 0:17:53.760 --> 0:17:57.040 dollars in so-called savings was never actually put into the 0:17:57.119 --> 0:18:00.659 budget for the SRL, so continuing to lie to Victorians. 0:18:01.260 --> 0:18:03.379 But to your point about how did this come about 0:18:03.460 --> 0:18:06.180 in the first place, we don't know. This was a 0:18:06.220 --> 0:18:09.630 decision that was ticked off by Daniel Andrews, by Jacinta 0:18:09.730 --> 0:18:11.209 Allen and by Ben Carroll. 0:18:11.930 --> 0:18:15.290 It spans every single Premier over the past few years. 0:18:15.840 --> 0:18:18.680 Every day they have lied to Victorians about the existence 0:18:18.720 --> 0:18:21.860 of this tax and it just demonstrates why we need 0:18:21.900 --> 0:18:24.480 to change the government this year. You cannot trust them 0:18:24.820 --> 0:18:27.340 and only a Liberal government will ensure that we bring 0:18:27.380 --> 0:18:29.420 that financial integrity back to Victoria. 0:18:30.980 --> 0:18:32.280 I will leave it there, Jess. I know you've got 0:18:32.300 --> 0:18:33.800 to get back to the Parliament. Thank you for joining 0:18:33.820 --> 0:18:36.900 me tonight. Right, let's go now to the Federal announcement 0:18:36.920 --> 0:18:40.720 today from Luke Gosling, standing down following revelations you heard 0:18:40.760 --> 0:18:43.570 here last night that he has been charged with breach 0:18:43.770 --> 0:18:47.290 of bail as well obviously as those Two earlier counts 0:18:47.330 --> 0:18:50.730 of assault. Here to discuss this and more, News24 contributor 0:18:50.770 --> 0:18:56.570 Carolee Katzenbarnes and News24 reporter, presenter Carolyn Marcus. Welcome to 0:18:56.609 --> 0:19:00.790 you both. Gosling, this is interesting, Gosling has stepped aside. 0:19:01.369 --> 0:19:04.710 This isn't about the Prime Minister, Carolee, stepping him aside. 0:19:04.730 --> 0:19:08.070 It isn't the Prime Minister intervening. The Prime Minister's been weak. 0:19:08.570 --> 0:19:11.510 He didn't act. It fell to Gosling today to make 0:19:11.570 --> 0:19:14.669 the call. He says he will defend all the charges 0:19:14.930 --> 0:19:18.900 against him. But what does this say about the way 0:19:18.980 --> 0:19:23.020 he manages his team? Absolute weakness. 0:19:23.060 --> 0:19:25.490 And it was beautifully done, wasn't it, just before the 0:19:25.530 --> 0:19:27.050 last bit of question time. 0:19:27.170 --> 0:19:28.990 So, you know, Gosling took it upon. 0:19:28.830 --> 0:19:32.030 Himself to stand aside. The thing is, when Anthony Albanese 0:19:32.070 --> 0:19:35.610 was opposition leader, he called for everybody to stand aside. 0:19:35.970 --> 0:19:39.639 You might remember when former Attorney General Christian Porter faced 0:19:39.760 --> 0:19:43.100 allegations which ended up never being proven and there were 0:19:43.220 --> 0:19:47.110 no charges laid whatsoever. Anthony Albanese was calling for him 0:19:47.310 --> 0:19:51.220 to stand aside. Now, Luke Gosling has actually been charged. 0:19:51.580 --> 0:19:55.310 He faces two charges of assault and now we know 0:19:55.369 --> 0:19:57.630 that he has breached a condition of his bail. That's 0:19:57.670 --> 0:20:00.750 going to be done on September the 30th. But Anthony 0:20:00.790 --> 0:20:03.119 Albanese still hasn't asked for him to stand down. 0:20:03.390 --> 0:20:04.500 But you only need to look back. 0:20:04.580 --> 0:20:08.160 Look at the disgraceful performance of his Veterans Affairs Minister, 0:20:08.200 --> 0:20:11.280 Matt Keogh, right? He doesn't have that judgment. 0:20:11.440 --> 0:20:13.360 Matt Keogh, he didn't meet with the veterans. 0:20:13.400 --> 0:20:14.920 Then when he did, he rolled his eyes and it 0:20:14.940 --> 0:20:16.960 was all too hard and he's completely out of touch. 0:20:17.210 --> 0:20:18.370 Same with Annika Wells. 0:20:18.850 --> 0:20:23.490 She had to repay $ 10, 000 in incorrectly claimed family entitlements. 0:20:23.910 --> 0:20:27.050 She's Sports and Communications Minister. The right thing in that 0:20:27.109 --> 0:20:29.630 case would have been for her to also stand down 0:20:30.060 --> 0:20:32.909 until the matter is cleared up. And it's a pattern 0:20:32.950 --> 0:20:35.580 of the fact that he doesn't want to be bad cop. 0:20:35.859 --> 0:20:37.040 He doesn't want to be that. 0:20:36.960 --> 0:20:40.139 Because it shows he's got incorrect political judgment and he 0:20:40.180 --> 0:20:42.580 doesn't actually know what the right thing is to do. And, 0:20:42.600 --> 0:20:45.420 you know, it was disgraceful when Mark Butler said, oh, look, 0:20:45.440 --> 0:20:49.109 he's just an envoy. He's a backbencher. The title doesn't 0:20:49.140 --> 0:20:51.929 really mean anything. What's the point of having the title? 0:20:51.950 --> 0:20:55.050 And as I said, it's really weak. I mean, Luke 0:20:55.090 --> 0:20:57.810 Gosling should have had his own integrity to stand aside anyway. 0:20:58.090 --> 0:21:00.850 But a leader actually makes those hard calls and does it. 0:21:01.070 --> 0:21:03.919 What's Albanese worried about? More disgruntled backbenchers? 0:21:05.640 --> 0:21:07.520 You've got the title leader for a reason. You've got 0:21:07.540 --> 0:21:09.760 a lead. Let's go to that decision from Labor 2 0:21:09.760 --> 0:21:14.070 to scrap the age loading on private health insurance rebates 0:21:14.460 --> 0:21:17.830 for anyone over the age of 65. Now, originally, when pressed, 0:21:17.930 --> 0:21:21.290 the health minister, he really downplayed the number of people impacted. 0:21:21.310 --> 0:21:21.730 Have a listen. 0:21:23.080 --> 0:21:26.379 Our independent modelling done by our officials suggests that maybe 0:21:26.420 --> 0:21:30.879 at most 44,000 people out of several million would drop 0:21:30.960 --> 0:21:33.859 off private health insurance because of this measure. That's a 0:21:33.940 --> 0:21:38.340 very small percentage, not even 1%, not even half a 0:21:38.380 --> 0:21:39.200 percentage point. 0:21:40.740 --> 0:21:44.220 Well, Caro, his independent modelling from his so-called expert officials 0:21:44.540 --> 0:21:46.300 is not worth the paper it's printed on. We learned 0:21:46.320 --> 0:21:50.510 today it's $ 1. 2 million. That will be hit. And, of course, 0:21:50.550 --> 0:21:54.290 when they drop their private health insurance, they are automatically 0:21:54.369 --> 0:21:59.010 pushed onto an already struggling private health system. I am 0:21:59.210 --> 0:22:03.469 inundated with emails from viewers here, really angry, people on 0:22:03.570 --> 0:22:05.679 modest incomes. The last thing they want to do is 0:22:05.720 --> 0:22:08.340 drop their private health insurance and But for many of them, 0:22:08.380 --> 0:22:12.490 it's gone up by $ 1, 000 to $ 2, 000 per year. These 0:22:12.560 --> 0:22:13.960 guys don't know what they're doing. 0:22:15.330 --> 0:22:19.510 This is the government, this is the party, Labor, which 0:22:19.590 --> 0:22:22.790 says that they are the party for the public health system, 0:22:22.850 --> 0:22:25.429 that they are the party that voters can trust to 0:22:25.510 --> 0:22:29.580 protect the public health system. Albanese was out with his 0:22:29.660 --> 0:22:35.020 Medicare card at every opportunity during the election campaign. And 0:22:35.100 --> 0:22:39.660 now it seems that tens of thousands, if not hundreds 0:22:39.700 --> 0:22:42.940 of thousands of people could feel they have no choice 0:22:42.960 --> 0:22:46.080 but but to drop out of private health cover and 0:22:46.359 --> 0:22:50.639 join an already struggling public health system. And what the 0:22:50.700 --> 0:22:53.689 impact is, it is untold, really, Peter. It could be 0:22:53.730 --> 0:22:56.469 a lot more than that, because this will, of course, 0:22:56.590 --> 0:23:00.550 mean that the private health insurers have to raise their 0:23:00.630 --> 0:23:03.890 premiums for everybody else, people like you and me who 0:23:04.170 --> 0:23:09.139 are on... Private health insurance, because we think it's worth it, 0:23:09.240 --> 0:23:11.760 because we want the best level of care. We don't 0:23:11.780 --> 0:23:14.179 want to overload the public health system. But if our 0:23:14.260 --> 0:23:16.929 premiums go up, then we're going to have to reconsider 0:23:16.990 --> 0:23:19.050 our position as well. And then where does this leave 0:23:19.109 --> 0:23:21.090 the country? So the most. 0:23:23.950 --> 0:23:27.580 Unsurprising thing is that the government kept the real numbers 0:23:27.640 --> 0:23:33.909 of people who would be impacted under cover for so 0:23:34.010 --> 0:23:36.550 long because they didn't want to admit that this was 0:23:36.590 --> 0:23:37.930 going to have such a huge impact. 0:23:39.250 --> 0:23:41.710 Yeah, look, it's massive. It is absolutely massive. And, of course, 0:23:41.730 --> 0:23:44.230 these people have paid taxes all their lives. Many of 0:23:44.250 --> 0:23:47.530 them have had their PHI, the private health insurance, their 0:23:47.570 --> 0:23:50.109 entire lives. They're more likely than ever to need it 0:23:50.150 --> 0:23:53.629 when they're older and they're forced now to rely on 0:23:53.650 --> 0:23:56.260 a public system which we know is breaking. Let's go 0:23:56.300 --> 0:23:59.320 to another place that's breaking, Victoria, again. This is a 0:23:59.380 --> 0:24:03.359 shocking report, Carolee. A mum yesterday, and they were up 0:24:03.420 --> 0:24:06.439 in Melbourne for the day, they're not from Melbourne, she 0:24:06.460 --> 0:24:09.720 had a 10-year-old son with her The son was punched 0:24:09.920 --> 0:24:12.960 in the head on the streets of Melbourne by a 0:24:13.240 --> 0:24:16.459 random attacker. And as the mum went to try and 0:24:16.500 --> 0:24:21.830 protect her son, she was stabbed allegedly repeatedly over and 0:24:21.890 --> 0:24:26.250 over again with scissors. Now, this happened right out the front, Kerri-Lee, 0:24:26.790 --> 0:24:31.450 of the Victorian Police Headquarters in the Melbourne CBD. Can 0:24:31.490 --> 0:24:33.590 it get any worse in Melbourne? 0:24:35.160 --> 0:24:38.150 Well, it can because luckily some good Samaritans were there. 0:24:38.190 --> 0:24:40.449 They sprang into action. So did some police. But can 0:24:40.470 --> 0:24:43.750 I just say very late this afternoon, the first teenage 0:24:43.850 --> 0:24:48.130 carjacking 16 year old has been tried under the so-called 0:24:48.150 --> 0:24:51.540 adult crime for adult time laws. 16 years old, held 0:24:51.580 --> 0:24:54.000 a knife at the throat of a taxi driver. 0:24:54.359 --> 0:24:56.780 Surprise, surprise. This afternoon, she's. 0:24:56.600 --> 0:25:00.150 Walked free on an 18 month Super youth supervision order, 0:25:00.470 --> 0:25:03.470