WEBVTT - Sharri | 31 March 0:00:01.520 --> 0:00:03.199 Live on Sky News. 0:00:03.760 --> 0:00:09.600 This is Sharry, Thanks Andrew and good evening. Yep, it's 0:00:09.640 --> 0:00:13.240 a massive show tonight. Kevin Rudd begs the Trump administration 0:00:13.360 --> 0:00:16.600 to cut a secret deal on Tariff's. My sources say 0:00:16.680 --> 0:00:21.200 he's citing the election. Our exclusive in a moment, plus 0:00:21.280 --> 0:00:25.000 my revelation today that a Chinese spy ship is circumnavigating 0:00:25.040 --> 0:00:30.080 Australia's south coast. Well Albanese's weak response as the coalition 0:00:30.200 --> 0:00:32.760 questions want intelligence. 0:00:32.280 --> 0:00:35.040 It's collecting this group has made big news. 0:00:35.320 --> 0:00:36.760 More on that coming up. 0:00:37.600 --> 0:00:40.760 Nine hold into court today over the secret recordings where 0:00:40.840 --> 0:00:45.400 journalist Nick McKenzie admits to breaching his own ethics in 0:00:45.440 --> 0:00:49.000 the war crimes case against Ben Robert Smith. The Victoria 0:00:49.040 --> 0:00:54.400 Cross recipient's parents make an emotional plea, and Albanze finally 0:00:54.480 --> 0:00:58.640 responds to the outcomes from our Sky News Anti Semitism summit, 0:00:59.000 --> 0:01:02.720 but his letter firms he's not going to implement a 0:01:02.760 --> 0:01:06.200 single one. Alex Driftin will be on the show a 0:01:06.240 --> 0:01:11.480 bit later to respond to this disappointing but not unsurprising news. 0:01:12.080 --> 0:01:13.080 Plus who will. 0:01:12.880 --> 0:01:15.319 Dial Lee back in a hung Parliament? Well, she'll tell 0:01:15.400 --> 0:01:18.440 us live tonight now. As I said this is a 0:01:18.440 --> 0:01:21.360 big show. It's the first official day of the election 0:01:21.520 --> 0:01:26.479 campaign and these exclusive stories from day one are exactly 0:01:26.520 --> 0:01:30.480 what you can expect from our journalism every night of 0:01:30.520 --> 0:01:33.760 the campaign. You won't get them on the ABC or 0:01:33.800 --> 0:01:37.480 any other network, so make sure you're watching here at 0:01:37.560 --> 0:01:41.679 eight o'clock every night and first tonight, Yes, the election 0:01:41.760 --> 0:01:45.440 campaign is on with Peter Dutton kicking off in Queensland, 0:01:45.760 --> 0:01:48.840 then Western Sydney on the weekend and to Margo in 0:01:48.960 --> 0:01:52.360 the Newcastle region and tonight back in Brisbane with my 0:01:52.480 --> 0:01:56.680 mate Paul Murray. The Prime Minister started in Dutton's seat 0:01:56.720 --> 0:01:59.960 of Dixon in an aggressive sign he was coming after 0:02:00.240 --> 0:02:03.920 the opposition leader. Over the weekend, Albinizi also went to 0:02:04.080 --> 0:02:07.400 Bundenberg the Bell where the seat of Eden Monaro, and 0:02:07.640 --> 0:02:11.600 he was in Perth today. Now Peter Dutton enters this 0:02:11.720 --> 0:02:15.760 contest from behind and against the grain of history. The 0:02:15.840 --> 0:02:19.000 last time a government lost after one term was in 0:02:19.040 --> 0:02:21.960 the nineteen thirties, nearly a century ago. 0:02:22.560 --> 0:02:25.000 Buddies in with a chance a good chance. 0:02:25.440 --> 0:02:29.760 Although the polls have tightened, with Albenizi now ahead in 0:02:29.880 --> 0:02:32.800 news poll, but it's only a one point lead and 0:02:32.880 --> 0:02:36.560 ahead as preferred prime Minister in the Herald's Resolved Political Monitor, 0:02:37.240 --> 0:02:40.800 but Freshwater's poll in the finn Review still had the 0:02:40.840 --> 0:02:45.080 Coalition ahead just at fifty one forty nine two pp. 0:02:46.040 --> 0:02:47.840 Now there's a long way to go. 0:02:48.280 --> 0:02:52.440 It's still just under five weeks until polling day, and 0:02:52.520 --> 0:02:58.320 the scrutiny of Albanesi's monumental broken promises and lies is 0:02:58.400 --> 0:03:03.480 only just beginning. The Australian reports today that Albanezi promised 0:03:03.680 --> 0:03:06.880 before the last election that there'd be two seventy five 0:03:06.960 --> 0:03:10.000 dollars off your power bills, and of course it's a 0:03:10.000 --> 0:03:12.320 promise no one can forget. 0:03:13.639 --> 0:03:16.840 Deducing power prices by two hundred and seventy five dollars 0:03:16.960 --> 0:03:20.080 one hundred and seventy five dollars a year. There'll be 0:03:20.160 --> 0:03:24.280 reduction for households of two hundred and seventy five dollars. 0:03:25.120 --> 0:03:25.760 At the time. 0:03:26.000 --> 0:03:29.280 The Prime Minister or Albanizi then said that this promise 0:03:29.400 --> 0:03:34.359 was based on the most comprehensive modeling ever undertaken. 0:03:35.840 --> 0:03:39.880 This as good policy, but we made sure we could 0:03:39.880 --> 0:03:45.240 back it up with the most extensive independent modeling ever 0:03:45.360 --> 0:03:50.800 carried out for any policy by any opposition ever since federation. 0:03:52.880 --> 0:03:56.680 And he repeated that promise again at a press conference. 0:03:57.360 --> 0:03:59.800 Prices will be loud, the modelings out there for all this, 0:04:00.800 --> 0:04:05.920 we need independent modeling by reputex the most extensive modeling 0:04:06.240 --> 0:04:10.120 for any policy by any opposition since federation. 0:04:11.400 --> 0:04:14.480 Well that was a total lie, because now Albin Ezi 0:04:14.680 --> 0:04:18.800 is walking away from this modeling, claiming, no, it couldn't 0:04:18.800 --> 0:04:22.040 be trusted, it was undertaken by someone else. 0:04:24.120 --> 0:04:25.520 It's reputexas modeling. 0:04:26.920 --> 0:04:30.680 Excuse me, you took that was what you base your 0:04:30.720 --> 0:04:34.440 policies on. It's Reputex's model ownership of that modeling. It's 0:04:34.480 --> 0:04:37.800 reputexas modeling. From that time, you don't support the modeling anymore. 0:04:37.800 --> 0:04:39.479 This is you walking away from that modeling. 0:04:39.600 --> 0:04:43.080 It's reputexas modeling based upon the circumstances at that time. 0:04:44.360 --> 0:04:49.799 Well, this is simply a true reflection of Albanese's own character, 0:04:50.320 --> 0:04:56.480 his disregard for the truth or accountability. Another example today, 0:04:56.560 --> 0:04:59.560 he stood in front of a Medicare sign and claimed 0:04:59.560 --> 0:05:03.360 that medica would only be safe under his government, but 0:05:03.440 --> 0:05:04.520 not under Peter Dutton. 0:05:06.040 --> 0:05:09.880 This is a choice this election. It's a choice between labor, 0:05:09.960 --> 0:05:15.360 building Australia's future and strengthening Medicare and a coalition led 0:05:15.360 --> 0:05:19.000 by Peter Dutton that wants to cut everything except for 0:05:19.040 --> 0:05:23.440 your taxes, a coalition that will cut medicare as sure 0:05:23.480 --> 0:05:23.800 as not. 0:05:23.960 --> 0:05:28.400 Follows day now our Monday panelist who's going to be 0:05:28.400 --> 0:05:30.000 on the show tonight, Cameron Milner. 0:05:30.400 --> 0:05:32.360 He writes this evening. 0:05:32.000 --> 0:05:35.760 In The Nightly that he was personally in the labor 0:05:35.800 --> 0:05:39.520 back room when they first, in his words, cooked up 0:05:39.960 --> 0:05:44.000 Maddie Scare in twenty sixteen, and he's going to speak 0:05:44.000 --> 0:05:46.120 about that on the show tonight. But he notes that 0:05:46.160 --> 0:05:48.520 Alban Easy is now in a brilliant mood. 0:05:48.600 --> 0:05:49.480 He's flying. 0:05:49.560 --> 0:05:52.359 He thinks he's going to win this election easily. 0:05:53.440 --> 0:05:56.680 But the poll's show this is what Cameron Milner writes, 0:05:57.160 --> 0:06:00.880 These poles show Albo might be suffering from a case 0:06:01.240 --> 0:06:06.400 of premature election, peaking too early, with so long yet 0:06:06.440 --> 0:06:10.240 to go in this campaign. He says, it's still early days. 0:06:10.240 --> 0:06:13.400 And let's not forget Albo's best campaign week in twenty 0:06:13.520 --> 0:06:17.200 twenty two was when he had COVID, only the company 0:06:17.200 --> 0:06:20.159 of Toto and an excuse not to be a nightly 0:06:20.200 --> 0:06:25.960 reminder of why voters detest his presence, and Biona then 0:06:26.040 --> 0:06:28.159 goes on to say that he really hopes for the 0:06:28.240 --> 0:06:31.960 Labor Party's sake that Albanesi doesn't condemn the party to 0:06:32.040 --> 0:06:36.320 being a one term wonder through his self harming actions 0:06:36.760 --> 0:06:41.520 yes to the Albow Voice, Copacabana retirement purchase, Quantus upgrades 0:06:41.800 --> 0:06:46.640 and Nathan's Chairman's lounge membership or mark Labour down due 0:06:46.640 --> 0:06:50.440 to his insipid weakness in government from everything from Beijing 0:06:50.440 --> 0:06:53.880 to Trump and actually fighting the cost of living crisis. 0:06:54.800 --> 0:06:56.120 Well, indeed, but. 0:06:56.160 --> 0:07:01.599 Albanzi has repeated the many Scan lie several times since Friday. 0:07:01.960 --> 0:07:05.440 He stood at press conferences, He's waived the Medicare card around, 0:07:05.760 --> 0:07:09.159 claimed this was under threat. Yet as far as I've seen, 0:07:09.600 --> 0:07:13.120 no one has properly called him out in this. No 0:07:13.120 --> 0:07:15.520 one has pulled him up and said, actually, Prime Minister, 0:07:15.960 --> 0:07:19.880 where is the evidence that the coalition will cut Medicare? 0:07:20.520 --> 0:07:25.160 Albaneze's claim is knowingly unethical and untruthful. 0:07:25.800 --> 0:07:28.000 It's simply a lie Dutton. 0:07:28.000 --> 0:07:32.360 Everyone knows that Dutton has no plans to scrap Medicare now. 0:07:32.400 --> 0:07:35.400 The tactic was still successful in the past. 0:07:35.800 --> 0:07:39.200 It reduced their loss in twenty sixteen, and we just 0:07:39.360 --> 0:07:42.640 have to hope that surely voters can't fall. 0:07:42.360 --> 0:07:44.160 For the same lies yet again. 0:07:48.640 --> 0:07:51.960 Okay, let's turn to some of our exclusive stories tonight, 0:07:52.080 --> 0:07:56.040 Kevin Rudd's secret push for tariff exemptions plus a Chinese 0:07:56.040 --> 0:08:00.160 spy ship circling our coast. Like in tonight reveal that 0:08:00.320 --> 0:08:04.080 Kevin Right has been begging the Trump administration to give 0:08:04.120 --> 0:08:09.440 Australia a reprieve on aluminium and steeled tariffs, arguing specifically 0:08:09.760 --> 0:08:12.440 that this needs to happen before the election. 0:08:13.160 --> 0:08:13.880 He's also been. 0:08:13.800 --> 0:08:17.480 Seeking to have Australia exempt from the Liberation Day tariffs 0:08:17.720 --> 0:08:21.440 by offering a deal that involves giving America a guaranteed 0:08:21.520 --> 0:08:25.680 stake in Australia's critical minerals. Now, Trump has said that 0:08:25.760 --> 0:08:29.080 April the second is Liberation Day, when he plans tougher 0:08:29.160 --> 0:08:33.560 trade tariffs that are hit America's largest trading partners. 0:08:34.880 --> 0:08:37.960 We are we have Liberation Day, as you know, on 0:08:38.360 --> 0:08:41.880 April second, because and I'm not referring to Canada, but 0:08:42.160 --> 0:08:45.240 many countries have taken advantage of us the likes of 0:08:45.280 --> 0:08:48.240 which nobody even thought it was possible for many, many decades, 0:08:48.240 --> 0:08:48.920 for decades. 0:08:50.200 --> 0:08:53.720 The renewed push for tariff exemptions comes amid the Albanzy 0:08:53.800 --> 0:08:58.520 government's panic about the election outcome and It follows out 0:08:58.720 --> 0:09:04.640 downing revelations that Trump wouldn't take Albanese's phone call. Now 0:09:04.760 --> 0:09:08.280 Kevin rad Australia's Washington ambassador, is understood to have been 0:09:08.320 --> 0:09:12.080 actively trying to get tariff exemptions over the line before 0:09:12.120 --> 0:09:16.240 the May third election. There's no love for Rudd among 0:09:16.280 --> 0:09:20.200 the Trump administration. His past comments calling the President a 0:09:20.280 --> 0:09:21.840 village idiot, among. 0:09:21.679 --> 0:09:23.760 Other insults a well known. 0:09:24.600 --> 0:09:28.679 But Trump has also rebuffed Albanese's repeated requests for a 0:09:28.720 --> 0:09:32.360 phone call, and this was highly embarrassing for Albanesi. 0:09:32.800 --> 0:09:34.959 He tried to deny. 0:09:34.679 --> 0:09:38.839 This completely when I first broke the story, but then 0:09:38.960 --> 0:09:42.520 was forced to reluctantly confirm that he couldn't get another 0:09:42.559 --> 0:09:44.960 call with Trump when he was asked about it a 0:09:45.000 --> 0:09:50.319 week later. The Prime Minister Anthony Albanesi has not managed 0:09:50.640 --> 0:09:55.079 to schedule another call with President Donald Trump, despite trade 0:09:55.120 --> 0:09:58.080 tariff's due to take effect in just eight days. 0:09:58.520 --> 0:10:03.679 We have continued to put in a request for another 0:10:03.720 --> 0:10:05.120 discussion with President Trump. 0:10:05.480 --> 0:10:09.280 Are you disappointed that requests to have second phone calls 0:10:09.320 --> 0:10:10.920 with Trump couldn't be fulfilled? 0:10:10.920 --> 0:10:11.920 Friends should pick. 0:10:11.840 --> 0:10:16.400 Up the phone, shouldn't They? Web engaged Web engaged, including 0:10:16.840 --> 0:10:20.319 through writing, including at senior levels. 0:10:20.000 --> 0:10:20.720 Of the government. 0:10:22.400 --> 0:10:25.559 And again when I asked the Albanezi government about this 0:10:25.640 --> 0:10:30.120 story today, once again a denial. A spokeswoman for Penny 0:10:30.120 --> 0:10:33.520 Wong said it was not true that Rudd has cited 0:10:33.679 --> 0:10:37.959 the upcoming election during negotiations. They said, the claims from 0:10:38.000 --> 0:10:45.000 your unidentified source are fabricated and untrue. Well, we can 0:10:45.040 --> 0:10:47.240 take that with a grain of salt. Perhaps Kevin Right 0:10:47.440 --> 0:10:50.120 is right and he never said that, But Peter Dutton 0:10:50.120 --> 0:10:53.080 at least believes he'd have a better working relationship with 0:10:53.120 --> 0:10:55.600 Trump if he were elected Prime minister. 0:10:56.760 --> 0:10:59.480 It's obvious that Anthony Aubernezi and Kevin Wright have had 0:10:59.480 --> 0:11:02.880 a shocker. The Prime minister can't secure a phone call 0:11:02.920 --> 0:11:05.080 a little at a meeting with the President of the 0:11:05.160 --> 0:11:09.200 United States, and how on earth can an outcome be 0:11:09.280 --> 0:11:12.240 negotiated if the President won't even take the prime minister's call. 0:11:14.040 --> 0:11:16.559 I've mentioned this before that sources close to the United 0:11:16.559 --> 0:11:20.480 States president say Alban Easy is viewed as an anti Trump, 0:11:20.840 --> 0:11:26.760 left wing globalist. But despite the rocky relationship between Trump 0:11:27.240 --> 0:11:30.559 and the alban Easy team, I'm told that a tariff 0:11:30.559 --> 0:11:35.040 exemption could happen this week, and this could be the 0:11:35.520 --> 0:11:39.319 liberation day tariffs or an exemption on steel and aluminium. 0:11:39.920 --> 0:11:42.560 As I mentioned, it's understood that the alben Ezy government 0:11:42.679 --> 0:11:46.040 has been working on a deal to have Australia exempt 0:11:46.200 --> 0:11:50.680 from Trump's tariffs in exchange for access to critical minerals. 0:11:51.320 --> 0:11:54.840 If this is granted, it would be in spite of 0:11:54.960 --> 0:11:57.920 Rudd and not because of him. It would be a 0:11:57.920 --> 0:12:02.559 reflection on the enduring Australia American alliance and not because 0:12:02.559 --> 0:12:06.120 of any work done by the Albanese government. In fact, 0:12:06.400 --> 0:12:10.720 the United States under both the Biden administration and now Trumps, 0:12:11.160 --> 0:12:15.720 have been disappointed, to say the least, with Australia's foreign 0:12:15.760 --> 0:12:20.840 policy positions. This includes Albanesi CosIng up to China and 0:12:20.920 --> 0:12:24.560 also Australia's voting record at the United Nations, which has 0:12:24.600 --> 0:12:29.160 been against United States interests, particularly on Israel and the 0:12:29.160 --> 0:12:33.760 Middle East. Now, the US was already growing agitated with 0:12:33.840 --> 0:12:36.520 the Albanese government on both China. 0:12:36.280 --> 0:12:38.760 And Israel, and that was under Joe Biden. 0:12:39.320 --> 0:12:43.360 Relations are now even more out of step under Trump, 0:12:44.280 --> 0:12:49.520 and China is reasserting its dominance in our region. Earlier today, 0:12:49.559 --> 0:12:52.719 I exclusively revealed on the Sky News website that a 0:12:52.840 --> 0:12:57.320 Chinese government sponsored deep sea research vessel is circumnavigating the 0:12:57.400 --> 0:13:01.480 southern coast of Australia. It's a path that's tracking a 0:13:01.559 --> 0:13:06.520 similar route to our deep sea submarine cables. Now, this 0:13:06.640 --> 0:13:10.200 Chinese vessel is understood to have a dual purpose. It's 0:13:10.200 --> 0:13:16.240 got legitimate scientific research while it's collecting intelligence. It's therefore 0:13:16.280 --> 0:13:20.640 considered by national security experts to be a spy ship. 0:13:21.280 --> 0:13:24.880 Now Here was Dave Shama and Chris Kenny Show and 0:13:25.040 --> 0:13:30.400 Asby's Michael Schubridge speaking to Kieran Gilbert about this question earlier. 0:13:31.960 --> 0:13:34.840 This is not an innocuous research vessel. 0:13:34.880 --> 0:13:38.800 This is undoubtedly doing hydrographic research that's an exercise in 0:13:39.640 --> 0:13:41.719 intelligence gathering. 0:13:41.920 --> 0:13:47.280 There is no distinction between civilian and military research from 0:13:47.320 --> 0:13:51.160 these Chinese vessels, so everything that it collects will be 0:13:51.240 --> 0:13:53.160 passed to the People's Liberation only. 0:13:56.320 --> 0:14:00.520 The Chinese ship called Tanso Yihow is currently the coast 0:14:00.520 --> 0:14:04.880 of South Australia and it is with it Australia's. 0:14:04.240 --> 0:14:06.360 Exclusive economic zone. 0:14:06.640 --> 0:14:10.240 Now this follows a similar route to Australia's submarine cables, 0:14:10.280 --> 0:14:13.640 which it could be mapping, or it could even be 0:14:13.720 --> 0:14:17.520 signaling that it has the capability to cut the cables. 0:14:17.880 --> 0:14:18.040 Now. 0:14:18.160 --> 0:14:21.560 Journalists asked the Prime Minister about this after my story 0:14:21.600 --> 0:14:25.040 went online at his press conference in Perth earlier today, 0:14:25.480 --> 0:14:28.240 and he tried to brush it away and just move 0:14:28.320 --> 0:14:28.960 on quickly. 0:14:30.440 --> 0:14:35.080 It's been in New Zealand on a joint research operation 0:14:35.840 --> 0:14:39.160 and this isn't the first time that a similar vessel 0:14:39.240 --> 0:14:43.440 has been around the Australian coast. It occurred in twenty 0:14:43.560 --> 0:14:47.680 twenty for example, just to give one example. Australia, as 0:14:47.720 --> 0:14:49.440 you would expect, is monitoring this. 0:14:51.080 --> 0:14:54.640 But it's the Chinese ship's ability to drop a mini 0:14:54.680 --> 0:14:58.720 submersible that can reach up to ten thousand meters below 0:14:58.800 --> 0:14:59.720 sea level. 0:15:00.040 --> 0:15:01.200 It's the route of concern. 0:15:01.280 --> 0:15:04.160 I mean picture that ten thousand meters below sea level. 0:15:04.600 --> 0:15:08.160 Now again, Albanezi was asked about this point today. 0:15:09.200 --> 0:15:10.760 On this research vessel. 0:15:10.640 --> 0:15:13.160 It's come back for a second time. Do you know 0:15:13.200 --> 0:15:13.920 it's different? 0:15:14.320 --> 0:15:16.680 So do you know what it is researching? 0:15:17.360 --> 0:15:20.000 What have you done to protect our undersea cables from 0:15:20.000 --> 0:15:24.120 any monitoring or sabotage and have you communicated anything to 0:15:24.200 --> 0:15:25.560 the Chinese government about this? 0:15:26.160 --> 0:15:28.880 What we have done is we continuing to monitor it. 0:15:29.200 --> 0:15:34.560 We won't for obvious reasons, broadcast everything that we're doing 0:15:34.600 --> 0:15:36.920 but we're keeping an eye on this as we do 0:15:38.080 --> 0:15:39.560 as we do well avents. 0:15:39.760 --> 0:15:41.080 What does monitoring actually mean? 0:15:41.240 --> 0:15:43.680 What it means is that the Australian Defense Force are 0:15:43.800 --> 0:15:47.840 monitoring what is happening. It's going from New Zealand, we 0:15:47.880 --> 0:15:51.800 expect it to go around to China around that way. 0:15:53.640 --> 0:15:56.680 So the ship was in Wellington on a legitimate joint 0:15:56.720 --> 0:15:59.800 exploration exercise with New Zealand, but instead of taking the 0:15:59.800 --> 0:16:03.160 most direct route to China to return, it is instead 0:16:03.320 --> 0:16:06.240 going around the Australian coast and maps show it has 0:16:06.240 --> 0:16:09.440 traveled through the Tasman Sea between New Zealand and Australia, 0:16:09.840 --> 0:16:12.560 then the bas Strait and is now off the coast 0:16:12.640 --> 0:16:15.880 of South Australia, a similar route to the one taken 0:16:15.920 --> 0:16:19.720 by the Chinese warship last month after its live fire 0:16:19.800 --> 0:16:23.760 exercises off the coast of the Tasman Sea. Now Shadow 0:16:23.760 --> 0:16:27.200 Home Affairs Minister James Patterson told Peter Kredline earlier that 0:16:27.320 --> 0:16:31.960 what this Chinese ship is doing is nothing like Australian 0:16:32.000 --> 0:16:37.360 ships in Chinese waters, as Albanese claimed, now. 0:16:37.280 --> 0:16:41.760 Non Australian vessel is engaging in deep seabed examination in 0:16:41.840 --> 0:16:44.960 the territorial waters off the coast of China. We don't 0:16:44.960 --> 0:16:47.000 even have these sorts of vessels, so to compare the 0:16:47.040 --> 0:16:49.800 two was a false moral equivalence and the slur on 0:16:50.040 --> 0:16:51.600 men and women of the ADF. 0:16:52.560 --> 0:16:56.920 And the comparison or the excuse that Albanezi gave is absurd. 0:16:57.560 --> 0:17:03.080 Australia is helping to enforce freedom of navigation exercises. 0:17:02.320 --> 0:17:04.560 In international waters. 0:17:04.600 --> 0:17:09.520 While the Chinese ship is in Australia's territorial waters. It's 0:17:09.560 --> 0:17:14.240 a distinction that Albanese just isn't smart enough to understand. 0:17:14.840 --> 0:17:17.720 First the Chinese warship and now about a month later, 0:17:18.119 --> 0:17:22.760 a possible Chinese spy ship is circling our nation. No 0:17:22.760 --> 0:17:26.159 matter how Albanezy tries to downplay this, it's a highly 0:17:26.160 --> 0:17:30.160 concerning sign of aggression from the communist dictatorship and once 0:17:30.200 --> 0:17:34.320 again it highlights the Prime Minister's limp response and weakness 0:17:34.760 --> 0:17:41.920 in the face of hostile nations. Now a week ago 0:17:41.960 --> 0:17:45.359 today I played you this explosive recording of nine Star 0:17:45.480 --> 0:17:50.120 reporter Nick mackenzie claiming he'd engaged in unethical behavior during 0:17:50.119 --> 0:17:53.920 the Ben Roberts Smith War crimes case. He claimed he'd 0:17:53.920 --> 0:17:56.920 breached his ethics by obtaining part of the Victoria Cross 0:17:56.920 --> 0:18:01.159 recipient's legal strategy from his ex wife and her friend. 0:18:01.800 --> 0:18:04.560 Here were those devastating comments, again. 0:18:06.160 --> 0:18:10.600 Breaking us on his leadership to you respected you, No, 0:18:10.720 --> 0:18:11.439 I shouldn't tell you. 0:18:11.480 --> 0:18:12.280 I've just preached my. 0:18:12.440 --> 0:18:13.359 Ethics in doing that. 0:18:13.520 --> 0:18:15.960 Like this is where like this is to really se positioned. 0:18:16.040 --> 0:18:19.199 Now if they knew that and pet to. 0:18:19.240 --> 0:18:19.760 You that I can. 0:18:22.960 --> 0:18:26.080 And this related to Nine's defamation case against Robert Smith, 0:18:26.119 --> 0:18:28.960 where the allegations of war crimes were found to be 0:18:29.080 --> 0:18:34.119 substantially true. Now after our revelations, Robert Smith's lawyers launched 0:18:34.119 --> 0:18:37.200 a bid to have those findings overturned and for there 0:18:37.240 --> 0:18:40.399 to be a retrial. Well, there was an initial hearing 0:18:40.520 --> 0:18:43.359 on this in court today. 0:18:44.080 --> 0:18:47.560 The decision in mister Roberts Smith's appeal was yet to 0:18:47.600 --> 0:18:50.199 be handed down. Now it's up to the court to 0:18:50.240 --> 0:18:54.080 decide whether everyone will be dragged back inside to be 0:18:54.240 --> 0:18:56.280 questioned on this fresh recording. 0:18:57.560 --> 0:19:00.679 Ben Robert Smith's parents Len and Sue, who were in 0:19:00.720 --> 0:19:04.040 court to show their support. 0:19:03.760 --> 0:19:06.560 I was very concerned, as I said, that's about all 0:19:06.560 --> 0:19:08.400 we can say at the stays given the court because 0:19:08.400 --> 0:19:09.359 now has to deal with it. 0:19:10.640 --> 0:19:12.840 And they also told Sky News in a statement that 0:19:12.920 --> 0:19:16.320 their son had been the subject of vilification by Nick 0:19:16.400 --> 0:19:20.480 mackenzie and nine. They said the audio recordings were extremely 0:19:20.640 --> 0:19:24.560 concerning on a number of levels. These include questions about 0:19:24.560 --> 0:19:28.439 what legal strategies of Ben's was mackenzie referring to, and 0:19:28.480 --> 0:19:31.320 how did knowledge of them affect the conduct of the 0:19:31.320 --> 0:19:33.879 case before Justice Bisanko. 0:19:33.920 --> 0:19:35.240 Worryingly, that might. 0:19:35.160 --> 0:19:37.879 Be impossible to know. The issue is whether or not 0:19:38.040 --> 0:19:42.399 it resulted in an unfair trial. Now, Lenn Robert Smith, 0:19:42.480 --> 0:19:45.399 Ben's father, is a former Justice of the Supreme Court 0:19:45.520 --> 0:19:49.040 of Western Australia. He said there were questions too about 0:19:49.080 --> 0:19:53.080 what privileged information or material Ben's ex wife, Emma and 0:19:53.119 --> 0:19:54.359 her friend Dannielle. 0:19:54.000 --> 0:19:56.720 Scott told mackenzie or gave to him. 0:19:57.280 --> 0:20:00.680 Further, if mackenzie was prepared to speak to Person seventeen 0:20:00.760 --> 0:20:03.760 as he did on the recording, did he have similar 0:20:03.760 --> 0:20:08.240 conversations with other witnesses, If so, who and what did 0:20:08.280 --> 0:20:12.360 he say to them? Now McKenzie won major journalism awards 0:20:12.400 --> 0:20:16.119 for the reports accusing Robert Smith of war crimes. The 0:20:16.160 --> 0:20:19.879 Walkley Board has released a statement saying they'll discuss questions 0:20:19.920 --> 0:20:23.840 about whether or not this affects Mackenzie's Walkley award at 0:20:23.840 --> 0:20:27.200 the next board meeting. They said a question about reporting 0:20:27.200 --> 0:20:30.439 by Nick mackenzie relating to a defamation trial would be 0:20:30.520 --> 0:20:33.359 referred to the next board meeting in mid April, in 0:20:33.520 --> 0:20:39.080 line with standard operating procedure. It's devastating for the Nine 0:20:39.080 --> 0:20:43.800 network that this recording of their most celebrated journalist is public, 0:20:44.160 --> 0:20:46.440 where he's openly confessing to. 0:20:46.480 --> 0:20:47.840 A breach of ethics. 0:20:48.400 --> 0:20:51.879 The network still hasn't properly answered questions about this, beyond 0:20:52.000 --> 0:20:56.480 saying they defend their journalism. But now this will likely 0:20:56.520 --> 0:21:00.720 come under intense scrutiny at the federal court when mackenzie 0:21:00.840 --> 0:21:08.159 himself could be called to give evidence. All right, a 0:21:08.280 --> 0:21:10.639 busy show tonight to discuss. Let's bring in form a 0:21:10.680 --> 0:21:13.080 Speaker of the House, Bronwin Bishop and Sky News host 0:21:13.240 --> 0:21:14.080 Joe Hildebrand. 0:21:14.240 --> 0:21:14.560 Welcome. 0:21:16.280 --> 0:21:19.440 Now let's start with the story about the Chinese spyeship. 0:21:19.640 --> 0:21:22.560 How weak do you think Albaneze looked in his comments 0:21:22.560 --> 0:21:23.480 there tonight. 0:21:23.160 --> 0:21:25.200 Bromin pathetically weakened. 0:21:25.240 --> 0:21:28.679 Indeed, as I watched him pick up a baby and 0:21:28.760 --> 0:21:32.920 cuddle it, trying to get I guess some sympathetic reaction, 0:21:34.240 --> 0:21:38.080 it just screamed to me that Albanizey had no care 0:21:38.200 --> 0:21:42.080 in the world about that future of safety of that child. 0:21:42.920 --> 0:21:45.960 To say that he'd prefer that the that that ship 0:21:46.080 --> 0:21:50.760 wasn't there was just to me asking the question, what 0:21:50.920 --> 0:21:55.399 sort of deal did China's handsome boy do with the 0:21:55.480 --> 0:22:01.240 Chinese Communist Party in order to again sell why and lobsters. 0:22:01.800 --> 0:22:05.520 What other deals have been done to ensure that whatever 0:22:05.600 --> 0:22:09.679 messages come out of China on their version of we 0:22:09.880 --> 0:22:12.920 Chat or whatever it is they have to the Chinese 0:22:12.960 --> 0:22:17.200 diaspora in Australia. What sort of deals have secretly been done. 0:22:17.800 --> 0:22:21.399 I watched him cuddle that baby and I thought, what 0:22:21.480 --> 0:22:24.840 a hypocrite. You have no care at all for the 0:22:24.880 --> 0:22:27.840 future of that baby's safety. 0:22:28.440 --> 0:22:29.480 I did not say that connection. 0:22:29.680 --> 0:22:30.520 No, there was a lot of. 0:22:33.240 --> 0:22:36.000 Sounds like they steal the baby and sell it to 0:22:36.040 --> 0:22:37.359 the Chinese Communist Party. 0:22:37.880 --> 0:22:40.200 Know, Joe, that was not the point. If you cared 0:22:40.240 --> 0:22:43.119 about the future of that child, you would care about 0:22:43.160 --> 0:22:44.280 the future of this nation. 0:22:44.640 --> 0:22:46.800 You would start buying drones. 0:22:46.480 --> 0:22:48.840 And use them so you could properly track. When he 0:22:48.880 --> 0:22:51.679 said the idea of his tracking track it because we 0:22:51.800 --> 0:22:55.280 haven't bought them, that's why. So if he said they're 0:22:55.320 --> 0:22:58.359 monitoring how are they monitoring them. There are all sorts 0:22:58.400 --> 0:23:01.240 of things that are so wrong with the defense policies 0:23:01.280 --> 0:23:04.399 of this government that I am quite justified in saying 0:23:04.640 --> 0:23:07.159 that he has no care for the future safety of 0:23:07.160 --> 0:23:07.679 that child. 0:23:07.800 --> 0:23:10.200 So you would like to buy drones and one of 0:23:10.240 --> 0:23:11.439 the ship. What else is he meant to do? Is 0:23:11.440 --> 0:23:12.440 he meant to jump up and down? 0:23:12.480 --> 0:23:13.240 He's meant to. 0:23:13.160 --> 0:23:18.640 Have a proper defense policy. You're not to say. 0:23:18.440 --> 0:23:19.960 It's okay baby. 0:23:19.880 --> 0:23:22.520 Not to say that he's doing the same thing as 0:23:22.720 --> 0:23:26.359 was carefully laid out those earlier interviews, that in fact 0:23:26.880 --> 0:23:29.000 there's some sort of moral equivalence with us being in 0:23:29.040 --> 0:23:30.080 the South China. 0:23:29.880 --> 0:23:32.240 See moral equivalents. 0:23:32.359 --> 0:23:35.360 Well, you're Prime Minister, I think so, and you're going 0:23:35.400 --> 0:23:38.280 to try and stick up and you've got you've got 0:23:38.560 --> 0:23:40.000 a very difficult case. 0:23:40.200 --> 0:23:41.639 Let's see's response here or. 0:23:41.600 --> 0:23:43.600 Different the fact that matter? I mean again, I don't know. 0:23:43.880 --> 0:23:46.280 Obviously I would rather this ship wasn't there, as well, 0:23:46.359 --> 0:23:49.800 I would rather the Chinese warship wasn't doing Li Fi. 0:23:51.440 --> 0:23:53.960