WEBVTT - Sharri | 12 November 0:00:01.320 --> 0:00:02.960 Live on Sky News. 0:00:03.640 --> 0:00:04.920 This is Sharry. 0:00:06.800 --> 0:00:10.719 Thanks Andrew, Good evening, Welcome to the show. Tonight exclusive 0:00:10.800 --> 0:00:14.360 details of how Kevin Rudd has tried to draft Scott 0:00:14.400 --> 0:00:17.720 Morrison in to help him shore up support within the 0:00:17.720 --> 0:00:22.360 Trump administration. I'll also reveal that Chris Bowen has called 0:00:22.520 --> 0:00:27.040 Donald Trump the worst president in United States history. Well, 0:00:27.080 --> 0:00:30.000 Michael Kroger and Dave Sharma are fired up about this 0:00:30.160 --> 0:00:33.000 and they'll join me on the show. Also tonight, my 0:00:33.080 --> 0:00:37.120 exclusive interview with one of India's top government ministers. In 0:00:37.200 --> 0:00:40.800 the wake of Trump's win, he predicts global supply chains 0:00:40.840 --> 0:00:44.720 and trade will change forever. He also reveals the role 0:00:44.800 --> 0:00:49.519 India is playing in ending the Russia Ukraine War. On 0:00:49.600 --> 0:00:53.560 the show, the journalist who expose Tamasa's mistreatment of Palestinians 0:00:53.880 --> 0:00:57.160 destroying the left wing narrative, he'll join me live. 0:00:57.840 --> 0:00:59.840 And the Trump dance. 0:00:59.760 --> 0:01:03.680 That's taking hold across America, Well, we'll see if our 0:01:03.720 --> 0:01:07.120 panel Brodwin Bishop and Nick Cata can do the moves 0:01:07.280 --> 0:01:11.319 a little later. But first I can exclusively reveal that 0:01:11.440 --> 0:01:14.760 Kevin Rudd has tried to draft Scott Morrison in to 0:01:14.800 --> 0:01:19.319 help forge relationships with the Trump administration. There's even been 0:01:19.400 --> 0:01:24.640 discussion of an informal special Special Envoy roll. This comes 0:01:24.680 --> 0:01:29.000 as pressure mounts on Anthony Albanezi over his captain's call 0:01:29.360 --> 0:01:32.920 to appoint Rudd to the critical role of ambassador in 0:01:33.120 --> 0:01:37.280 Washington in a recognition that Rudd will struggle to build 0:01:37.319 --> 0:01:41.560 bridges with President Trump. He's been cultivating his own relationship 0:01:41.800 --> 0:01:44.040 with Scott Morrison over many months. 0:01:44.440 --> 0:01:47.600 He even launched his book in the US back in May. 0:01:48.520 --> 0:01:52.000 Multiple sources have told me that Rudd has been asking 0:01:52.120 --> 0:01:56.800 Morrison's assistance in dealing with the Trump team. My understanding 0:01:56.840 --> 0:01:59.680 is that Morrison won't give up his new business ventures. 0:02:00.040 --> 0:02:04.000 He's unlikely to accept any formal role as a special 0:02:04.120 --> 0:02:08.800 envoy that would mean representing the Albanese government, but he 0:02:08.880 --> 0:02:13.120 will help Rudd informally with ties to the Trump administration, 0:02:13.720 --> 0:02:19.320 particularly when it relates to Orcus and Australia's national interest. 0:02:19.840 --> 0:02:24.560 Clara O'Neill's former media advisor, Jason Katsukus, wrote an article 0:02:24.600 --> 0:02:27.880 in the left wing Saturday paper Back in June that said, 0:02:27.880 --> 0:02:31.080 and I quote. As the Albaneze government prepares for the 0:02:31.120 --> 0:02:35.120 possibility of a second term for Donald Trump, Scott Morrison 0:02:35.200 --> 0:02:40.360 is being considered as an informal envoy. But as I said, 0:02:40.400 --> 0:02:44.600 Morrison is unlikely to take on any formal role. He'll 0:02:44.639 --> 0:02:49.520 step in if it's in Australia's national interest. The Albaneze 0:02:49.639 --> 0:02:53.240 government has already relied on Morrison to help Rudd and 0:02:53.320 --> 0:02:58.280 Defense Minister Richard Miles seek assurances around Orcus with Trump 0:02:58.360 --> 0:03:02.320 and his core group, and Morrison has already acted as 0:03:02.360 --> 0:03:03.639 an informal ambassador. 0:03:04.040 --> 0:03:05.920 He's got a good relationship with Trump. 0:03:06.360 --> 0:03:09.080 He's one of the only Australians to have met with 0:03:09.120 --> 0:03:13.239 the President in the past year. But Peter Dutton today 0:03:13.360 --> 0:03:18.399 questioned whether Rudd's position as our ambassador was tenable. 0:03:19.840 --> 0:03:22.600 The ambassador has to have a functional, working relationship with 0:03:23.360 --> 0:03:26.760 the administration, whether that's a Democrat or Republican administration. Of course, 0:03:26.760 --> 0:03:28.600 it's not just mister Rudd. I mean, we're talking about 0:03:28.960 --> 0:03:33.079 mister Albanisi and Senator Wong and others in the Labor 0:03:33.080 --> 0:03:37.040 Party who have seen fit to criticize, to criticize President 0:03:37.080 --> 0:03:37.640 elect Trump. 0:03:38.960 --> 0:03:42.240 Our former ambassador to Israel, Dave Sharma, he's on my 0:03:42.320 --> 0:03:47.200 show tonight and he also questions whether Rudd's job as 0:03:47.320 --> 0:03:49.280 Washington ambassador is sustainable. 0:03:50.640 --> 0:03:53.440 More and more public commentary is emerging of him not 0:03:53.520 --> 0:03:55.960 just being mildly critical of Trump in his administration, but 0:03:56.080 --> 0:03:59.280 quite personally nasty and vindictive. And this is the person 0:03:59.280 --> 0:04:03.080 who'll be the president of the most important security strategic 0:04:03.120 --> 0:04:04.560 alliance partner of Australia. 0:04:05.600 --> 0:04:09.200 And that full interview coming up shortly. But given his 0:04:09.320 --> 0:04:12.840 past comments, Rudd should be the last person to be 0:04:12.960 --> 0:04:18.680 representing Australia's interests. Rudd described Trump as a village idiot 0:04:18.920 --> 0:04:21.839 in twenty twenty one. 0:04:21.320 --> 0:04:25.440 So as that changes in China's favor, and as the 0:04:25.520 --> 0:04:28.599 United States in the last four years has been run 0:04:28.640 --> 0:04:29.960 by a village idiot. 0:04:31.000 --> 0:04:33.560 We revealed that on the show last night. It's been 0:04:33.560 --> 0:04:37.119 in the news everywhere today. In the past, Rudd also 0:04:37.200 --> 0:04:40.719 said that Trump was not a leading intellectual. 0:04:40.120 --> 0:04:43.080 Force, and Donald as we know, is not. 0:04:45.240 --> 0:04:46.680 A leading intellectual force. 0:04:47.839 --> 0:04:47.919 Now. 0:04:48.040 --> 0:04:50.200 He looked at a Trump rally and how many angry 0:04:50.440 --> 0:04:52.920 white men there are in those rallies. 0:04:54.279 --> 0:04:56.880 There were so many comments you wouldn't have enough time 0:04:56.960 --> 0:04:59.760 to play them all. And so this is what quite 0:05:00.160 --> 0:05:03.640 standably Donald Trump and his daughter in law Lara have 0:05:03.720 --> 0:05:05.160 said about Rudd so far. 0:05:06.600 --> 0:05:09.159 I don't know much about him. I heard he was 0:05:09.200 --> 0:05:12.640 a little bit nasty. I hear he's not the brightest bulb, 0:05:13.440 --> 0:05:16.160 but I don't know much about him. But if he's 0:05:16.520 --> 0:05:18.560 at all hostile, he will not be there long. 0:05:19.600 --> 0:05:22.839 It's a pretty tough comment to say, and I think 0:05:22.880 --> 0:05:26.120 that the problem oftentimes is when people say those things 0:05:26.680 --> 0:05:29.240 and don't have a change of heart. It's kind of 0:05:29.279 --> 0:05:31.600 hard to have a position like that where you'd want 0:05:31.600 --> 0:05:34.120 to keep someone who said such such nasty things about 0:05:34.160 --> 0:05:34.600 a person. 0:05:36.200 --> 0:05:38.799 And those Trump comments, of course, were from his interview 0:05:38.800 --> 0:05:42.080 with Nigel Farage back in March. And Trump's in a 0:05:42.160 --> 0:05:44.960 circle aren't going to be inclined to do rud any 0:05:45.080 --> 0:05:46.000 favors either. 0:05:47.520 --> 0:05:49.760 Ambassador Rudd should know that we got his number. 0:05:49.880 --> 0:05:51.480 He is trying to worm his way back into the 0:05:51.520 --> 0:05:51.960 good grace. 0:05:51.960 --> 0:05:53.720 Has been very critical President Trump in. 0:05:53.640 --> 0:05:57.680 The past, and that was an interview I did with 0:05:57.720 --> 0:06:01.160 Steve Bannon in February. There are claims that there have 0:06:01.240 --> 0:06:05.320 been discussions in labor circles about whether to shift Rudd 0:06:05.400 --> 0:06:09.280 to the role of Ambassador to the United Nations. Rudd 0:06:09.279 --> 0:06:12.799 would strongly resist such a move. It would be seen 0:06:12.920 --> 0:06:16.960 as a major demotion. Now, despite the crisis talks behind 0:06:17.000 --> 0:06:21.920 the scenes, Anthony Alberinezi and Penny Wong have publicly doubled down. 0:06:22.120 --> 0:06:24.480 They say they'll keep Rudd in the role. 0:06:25.760 --> 0:06:26.640 If hen Udd the. 0:06:26.560 --> 0:06:28.360 Writer in the US ambassador. 0:06:28.640 --> 0:06:33.159 Yes, he is a former prime minister, a former foreign minister. 0:06:34.040 --> 0:06:36.360 His experience and skills mean he will be able to 0:06:36.400 --> 0:06:37.839 work closely with whomever. 0:06:39.320 --> 0:06:43.320 But the truth is that Foreign Minister Pennywong never wanted 0:06:43.320 --> 0:06:47.960 to apport Rudd to this role. She never wanted him 0:06:47.960 --> 0:06:51.719 to be our ambassador in Washington. The Thin Review reported 0:06:51.760 --> 0:06:55.359 in March that mister Rudd was Alberizi's captain's pick for 0:06:55.400 --> 0:06:59.200 the Washington job, even though there were deep misgivings inside 0:06:59.279 --> 0:07:03.520 labor over the appointment. It's understood that Senator Wong, one 0:07:03.520 --> 0:07:09.200 of Albanese's closest confidants, was among those opposed. And now 0:07:09.320 --> 0:07:13.040 Pennywong has to publicly stand up and defend Kevin Rudd. 0:07:13.760 --> 0:07:15.840 And Rudd is now so out of touch with the 0:07:15.880 --> 0:07:20.200 Trump administration that he took Penny Wong and Richard Miles 0:07:20.240 --> 0:07:24.120 to see former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo thinking he 0:07:24.280 --> 0:07:28.280 was in Trump's inner group. But yesterday Trump went out 0:07:28.320 --> 0:07:33.880 of his way to publicly state that Pompeo wouldn't be part. 0:07:33.640 --> 0:07:34.680 Of his administration. 0:07:35.880 --> 0:07:40.480 But many in the Albernezer government probably agree with Rudd's 0:07:40.560 --> 0:07:44.680 views on Trump, and Chris Bowen is one of them. 0:07:45.280 --> 0:07:47.880 He wrote a book, well, you can't really call it 0:07:47.920 --> 0:07:48.200 a book. 0:07:48.240 --> 0:07:51.080 It's only forty pages long, so it's more like a 0:07:51.120 --> 0:07:54.480 pamphlet or a long pamphlet. He wrote this in twenty 0:07:54.520 --> 0:07:58.120 twenty one. It's called On Charlatan's and in it he 0:07:58.240 --> 0:08:01.520 writes Donald Trump was the worst. 0:08:01.200 --> 0:08:04.240 President in United States history. 0:08:04.400 --> 0:08:07.960 His incoherent response to the COVID pandemic has cost hundreds 0:08:07.960 --> 0:08:13.000 of thousands of lives. He clearly put narcissistic self interest 0:08:13.440 --> 0:08:18.920 ahead of his country. That's Chris Bowen saying Donald Trump 0:08:19.160 --> 0:08:23.600 was the worst president in US history. And he also 0:08:23.920 --> 0:08:27.320 writes in this long pamphlet that he knew how to 0:08:27.360 --> 0:08:31.400 beat the likes of Donald Trump. Chris Bowen he even 0:08:31.480 --> 0:08:35.360 compared him with the Nazi known as German Fox. 0:08:36.240 --> 0:08:37.959 This is from Chris Bowen's book. 0:08:38.240 --> 0:08:41.520 He wrote that Bernard Montgomery famously kept a picture of 0:08:41.760 --> 0:08:46.720 Erwin Rummel on his caravan wall as he fought at Alamaine, 0:08:47.000 --> 0:08:49.440 so he had a constant reminder that he had a 0:08:49.480 --> 0:08:52.960 formidable foe and to help him meditate on what the 0:08:53.000 --> 0:08:54.240 opponent would do next. 0:08:54.960 --> 0:08:56.600 Chris Bowen writes, we don't need. 0:08:56.480 --> 0:09:01.079 Pictures of Scott Morrison or Trump or John on our wall, 0:09:01.600 --> 0:09:03.920 but we do need to be able to war game 0:09:04.000 --> 0:09:07.920 their moves. He says, I have distilled their approach down 0:09:07.960 --> 0:09:11.040 to four principal tactics that sum up the key to 0:09:11.080 --> 0:09:16.320 their success at being Charlatan's. These are dishonesty is the 0:09:16.360 --> 0:09:23.480 best policy, identity politics on steroids, hyperpartisanship, and constant. 0:09:23.000 --> 0:09:26.640 Fear and loathing of climate change. 0:09:27.360 --> 0:09:30.360 I've approached both Kevin Rudd and Chris Vohln for comment, 0:09:30.640 --> 0:09:35.240 no response so far, but clearly that's how some senior 0:09:35.280 --> 0:09:38.960 ministers in the Albanese government feel about the new president 0:09:39.320 --> 0:09:44.480 of the United States. Now, Albanesi's first test will be 0:09:44.600 --> 0:09:48.320 ensuring that in Australia we're exempt from the ten percent 0:09:48.440 --> 0:09:52.360 tariffs that Trump has said is imposing on countries around 0:09:52.360 --> 0:09:55.560 the world. But the issue is that Australia has no 0:09:55.720 --> 0:09:59.760 negotiating power With Rudd in the job, Rud is in 0:09:59.840 --> 0:10:05.120 no position to extract concessions for US. So Kevin Rudd 0:10:05.840 --> 0:10:10.920 is again putting himself above Australia's best interests and. 0:10:10.880 --> 0:10:12.239 That's the bottom line. 0:10:12.559 --> 0:10:16.760 Rudd is putting his own personal ambition, his ego, and 0:10:16.840 --> 0:10:20.959 his desire to live the ambassador's high life above Australia's 0:10:21.040 --> 0:10:28.080 national interest and the best interests of farmers, businesses and families. 0:10:32.240 --> 0:10:34.960 Well to discuss this, let's bring in now Victorian Liberal 0:10:34.960 --> 0:10:38.880 Party president, former Victoria Liberal Party President Michael Kroger and 0:10:39.000 --> 0:10:43.680 former Labor Minister Graham Richardson. Are welcome to you both. Well, Michael, 0:10:43.760 --> 0:10:47.320 you've been the strongest voice on this for over a week. Now, 0:10:47.679 --> 0:10:51.400 why do you think Rudd should either resign or be 0:10:51.520 --> 0:10:53.800 recalled by Anthony Albinezi. 0:10:55.280 --> 0:10:57.000 Well, you might say I'm the strongest voice, but I 0:10:57.040 --> 0:10:59.240 represent the views of nine to nine percent of people 0:10:59.280 --> 0:11:01.920 on the center in Australian politics. I think who completely 0:11:02.000 --> 0:11:06.880 agree Rudd must resign forthwith he's going to do a 0:11:06.880 --> 0:11:09.320 men's damage to Australia. Look at it this way, Shari. 0:11:10.080 --> 0:11:13.400 Donald Trump is going to appoint a new US ambassador 0:11:13.480 --> 0:11:17.360 to Australia in due course. If that ambassador was on 0:11:17.400 --> 0:11:22.040 the record saying that Anthony Albanesi, amongst all these other things, 0:11:22.120 --> 0:11:26.400 he said, Anthony Albanizi is a village idiot that ambassador. 0:11:26.400 --> 0:11:30.360 American ambassador comes to Australia. Albanize wouldn't see him. The 0:11:30.400 --> 0:11:33.360 Cabinet wouldn't see him, No one in the parliamentry Labor 0:11:33.400 --> 0:11:35.400 Party would see him, and no one in the opposition 0:11:35.440 --> 0:11:37.360 would see him. He would be a pariah and an 0:11:37.400 --> 0:11:40.520 outcasted last five minutes and the Americans would take him back. 0:11:40.800 --> 0:11:43.520 We're now stuck with the situation where everyone in America, 0:11:43.559 --> 0:11:45.800 because it's been on the front page your stories that 0:11:45.880 --> 0:11:47.240 others has been on the front page of the New 0:11:47.320 --> 0:11:52.320 York Times. Every politician America, every American Republican senator, member, 0:11:52.360 --> 0:11:54.640 the House of Reps, the White House, the business community, 0:11:54.800 --> 0:11:58.240 every governor, everyone in the political sphere in America knows 0:11:58.280 --> 0:12:01.160 about Rudd. He will be a harriah in America. He 0:12:01.200 --> 0:12:04.080 will be immensely damaging to Australia's interest. He will not 0:12:04.160 --> 0:12:07.000 get through the front door anywhere. And you'd look go 0:12:07.080 --> 0:12:10.600 back to two am Joe Hockey when Trump was trying 0:12:10.600 --> 0:12:12.640 to put steel tariffs around the world twenty fives and 0:12:12.679 --> 0:12:16.480 steel tariffs. Hockey and the team at the time moved 0:12:16.640 --> 0:12:19.959 heaven and Earth. And because of Australia's great relationships with 0:12:20.000 --> 0:12:22.839 the Americans and with Trump, they are able to stop 0:12:22.880 --> 0:12:26.640 those tariffs. Fast forward to today, Kevin Rudd won't get 0:12:26.679 --> 0:12:28.880 through the front entrance of the White House, nor the 0:12:28.920 --> 0:12:30.120 front entrance of Congress. 0:12:30.920 --> 0:12:34.840 And why should Trump, as United States President, be expected 0:12:34.880 --> 0:12:38.080 to deal with someone who's called him a village idiot. 0:12:38.160 --> 0:12:40.120 It wasn't just a one off comment. This is a 0:12:40.160 --> 0:12:42.200 pattern of behavior over several years. 0:12:42.760 --> 0:12:43.040 Richo. 0:12:43.160 --> 0:12:46.200 Do you agree that his position is ultimately untenable? 0:12:46.800 --> 0:12:51.160 Absolutely. I think it's ridiculous having him in the job, 0:12:51.840 --> 0:12:54.400 and I think he's got to if he can't realize 0:12:54.440 --> 0:12:57.360 it himself, and my sense of him always is he'll 0:12:57.360 --> 0:13:00.520 never realize it himself, then you've got a saki. You 0:13:00.640 --> 0:13:01.559 have no choice. 0:13:01.760 --> 0:13:01.960 Now. 0:13:02.000 --> 0:13:05.080 Elbow likes him, He's been a friend of Elbow's. I 0:13:05.080 --> 0:13:07.440 think Elbow's about his only friend, but he is a 0:13:07.480 --> 0:13:10.480 pretty important one. But I think Alba is just going 0:13:10.520 --> 0:13:12.360 to have to make the big decision and get rid. 0:13:12.200 --> 0:13:15.160 Of him, I mean, Richard, very quickly. It must be 0:13:15.200 --> 0:13:18.520 so frustrating for the likes of Penny Wong. She's Foreign Minister, 0:13:18.600 --> 0:13:21.040 she never wanted him as ambassador, and she's having to 0:13:21.040 --> 0:13:22.960 be out there every day defending right. 0:13:23.679 --> 0:13:25.520 Oh, it must be awful for her because we all 0:13:25.559 --> 0:13:27.760 know what she really thinks of him, which is what 0:13:27.800 --> 0:13:30.440 the rest of us think of him, and that's not 0:13:30.559 --> 0:13:30.960 very good. 0:13:31.760 --> 0:13:34.120 Yeah, all right, Well, it was bad news for Green's 0:13:34.160 --> 0:13:37.559 leader Adam Bannt this morning, and support for the Greens 0:13:37.840 --> 0:13:41.560 is plummeting. It's dropped to its lowest level since February. 0:13:41.880 --> 0:13:44.880 This is a survey from Resolve Political Monitoring and it 0:13:44.920 --> 0:13:47.800 shows that Michael not surprising to any of us, but 0:13:47.880 --> 0:13:51.680 voters disagree with the Greens on negative gearing, on capital 0:13:51.720 --> 0:13:57.160 gains tax and on Palestinian recognition. So, Michael, we still 0:13:57.200 --> 0:14:00.199 have the issue of preferences with Labor. They haven't come 0:14:00.200 --> 0:14:02.160 out and said they're not going to preference the Greens. 0:14:02.440 --> 0:14:05.240 Doesn't there need to be more pressure on Albanizi over this? 0:14:07.280 --> 0:14:09.319 Well, of course Albanzi needs to say he's not going 0:14:09.320 --> 0:14:11.240 to preference the Greens in every seat in this country. 0:14:11.280 --> 0:14:13.720 I mean, you know, let's be clear about this. This 0:14:13.760 --> 0:14:16.280 is Albanese's decision. There are twenty one members of the 0:14:16.280 --> 0:14:18.960 Federal Executive, the Labor Party, ten right, ten left in him. 0:14:19.280 --> 0:14:22.240 He has the casting vote. He can direct the federal 0:14:22.280 --> 0:14:25.440 director of the Labor Party to not preference the Greens 0:14:25.720 --> 0:14:28.280 or not preference the Greens in every seat. Surely there 0:14:28.280 --> 0:14:30.400 are some seats where he's going to preference the Liberals 0:14:30.520 --> 0:14:33.280 over some of the more extremist Greens. But what we've 0:14:33.320 --> 0:14:36.520 seen on the congratulations, the age, on their revelation on 0:14:36.560 --> 0:14:39.320 this this morning, you know what's happened in this country. 0:14:39.480 --> 0:14:42.600 I think the Greens vote has topped out because it's 0:14:42.680 --> 0:14:45.880 no longer fashionable for young people to support the Greens. 0:14:45.920 --> 0:14:48.640 And the reason is young people being told all their 0:14:48.680 --> 0:14:51.240 lives that racism is one of the worst things you 0:14:51.280 --> 0:14:55.120 can be accused of. And all of the Jewish hatred 0:14:55.360 --> 0:14:58.000 around the Green movement and their allies and hangers on 0:14:58.720 --> 0:15:02.520 as proof Palestinian move which is not anti Jewish, well, 0:15:02.640 --> 0:15:05.920 there's too much Jewish hatred emanating from these circles around 0:15:05.960 --> 0:15:08.560 the Green movements, and this has meant a lot of 0:15:08.600 --> 0:15:10.120 young people don't want have anything to do with the 0:15:10.120 --> 0:15:13.280 Greens anymore. It is no longer fashionable for young people 0:15:13.560 --> 0:15:16.240 to be involved with a movement that is full of 0:15:16.320 --> 0:15:18.920 Jewish hatred. And that's why I think the Greens have 0:15:19.040 --> 0:15:21.920 topped out. People think They're not an environmental party. They're 0:15:21.920 --> 0:15:22.960 an extremist bunch. 0:15:23.400 --> 0:15:26.280 I mean, the party has changed so much rito from 0:15:26.320 --> 0:15:29.080 when it did used to be an environmental party, as 0:15:29.080 --> 0:15:30.400 Michael just said, under. 0:15:30.200 --> 0:15:33.920 Bob Brown, well, under Brown, they used to care about trees. 0:15:34.560 --> 0:15:38.600 They never mentioned trees in this modern era ever. You 0:15:38.680 --> 0:15:41.760 never hear them talk about the environment. They have certainly 0:15:41.880 --> 0:15:45.520 become the far left of Australia and they're a pretty 0:15:45.640 --> 0:15:46.520 ugly looking bunch. 0:15:47.560 --> 0:15:50.720 We've been speaking a lot about on this show about 0:15:50.760 --> 0:15:53.800 the Albanese government's decision to put a billion dollars of 0:15:53.880 --> 0:15:58.480 tax pay funds in the PSI Quantum supercomputed deal. Now 0:15:58.680 --> 0:16:01.440 big news today in This Astralian that the Chris of 0:16:01.480 --> 0:16:04.320 Foley government in Queensland is going to review their stake 0:16:04.400 --> 0:16:07.080 in this. They could even revoke their four hundred and 0:16:07.120 --> 0:16:08.640 seventy million dollar investment. 0:16:09.560 --> 0:16:10.080 Michael. 0:16:10.520 --> 0:16:14.120 Their conflict of interest in this, the involvement of labor 0:16:14.200 --> 0:16:18.600 mates is immense. And again there's the question of why 0:16:18.600 --> 0:16:22.080 should a billion dollars of Australian taxpayer funds go into 0:16:22.120 --> 0:16:25.720 a startup when there are plenty of private equity firms arount. 0:16:27.560 --> 0:16:29.880 You know it shouldn't, nor should they be investing up 0:16:29.880 --> 0:16:32.960 to a billion dollars in solar panels, Sharry to compete 0:16:33.000 --> 0:16:35.720 against the Chinese. I mean, good luck with that. I mean, 0:16:35.760 --> 0:16:38.320 as you say, this is the job of the private sector. 0:16:38.400 --> 0:16:40.480 This is the job of venture capital firms and private 0:16:40.480 --> 0:16:43.720 equity firms here and overseas. I mean, if you try 0:16:43.760 --> 0:16:45.600 to ask any of those terms, would they invest in 0:16:45.640 --> 0:16:48.120 these proposals, the answer would be no. If you asked 0:16:48.120 --> 0:16:50.720 any Australia whether they'd lend money provide the debt facility 0:16:50.840 --> 0:16:53.920 to these firms, the answer would be no. This is 0:16:54.040 --> 0:16:57.440 this is very risky investments. The government shouldn't be making it, 0:16:57.440 --> 0:17:01.000 particularly at a time when the budget and the Australian 0:17:01.040 --> 0:17:05.480 debt is at record levels. And of course what they 0:17:05.480 --> 0:17:07.679 do is it's off balance sheet, so it doesn't appear 0:17:07.680 --> 0:17:09.880 in the in the you know, in the annual profit 0:17:09.920 --> 0:17:11.480 and loss. That's how they get away with these things. 0:17:11.520 --> 0:17:13.720 But the government shouldn't be doing this. This is not 0:17:13.800 --> 0:17:16.360 the job of the government to be a venture capitalist. 0:17:16.359 --> 0:17:17.840 They're not evel on Musk after all. 0:17:19.200 --> 0:17:20.200 I couldn't agree more. 0:17:20.240 --> 0:17:23.679 Look, the Auditor General has said that he'd consider an 0:17:23.720 --> 0:17:27.199 investigation that hasn't launched one yet. But rich O, you 0:17:27.240 --> 0:17:30.680 know the links have started to come out, the spider 0:17:31.119 --> 0:17:32.800 network of Labor. 0:17:32.560 --> 0:17:33.560 Connections to this. 0:17:34.240 --> 0:17:37.560 The process is so flawed the way this company had 0:17:37.600 --> 0:17:42.200 already met with Ed Hughesick well before any others got 0:17:42.200 --> 0:17:44.639 that sort of access. So you know, it is a 0:17:44.680 --> 0:17:46.879 good decision, isn't it That the Queensland l and P 0:17:47.040 --> 0:17:49.000 is now going to review their own funding. 0:17:50.040 --> 0:17:52.760 Yeah, this is this is a crook. Look, it's not 0:17:52.920 --> 0:17:55.600 about that. No matter which way you look at it. 0:17:55.600 --> 0:17:59.360 It's ugly and I don't know how Labor ever got 0:17:59.359 --> 0:18:02.720 this far down track. But if everything was a time 0:18:02.760 --> 0:18:05.520 to turn around and go back right now, is that time? 0:18:06.320 --> 0:18:08.480 Yeah, it's going to be messy to even get out 0:18:08.480 --> 0:18:12.560 of given you know what that company, the side Quantum 0:18:12.560 --> 0:18:15.000 company would have told that are the shareholders, the. 0:18:15.000 --> 0:18:16.240 Decisions they would have made. 0:18:17.040 --> 0:18:19.520 It's going to be a very messy process from here 0:18:19.600 --> 0:18:22.520 on all right, Michael Kroger, Graham Richardson, So great to 0:18:22.560 --> 0:18:24.600 have you as always, Thank. 0:18:24.480 --> 0:18:26.119 You, Thanks Sherry. 0:18:26.520 --> 0:18:30.000 Now there is growing concern inside the Coalition, as we've 0:18:30.040 --> 0:18:33.040 been speaking about about Kevin Rudd remaining in the role 0:18:33.080 --> 0:18:36.760 as US ambassador after Donald Trump's win. Well, I spoke 0:18:36.800 --> 0:18:39.600 with Liberal Senator Dave Sharma about this. As you know, 0:18:39.800 --> 0:18:42.960 he was our ambassador to Israel and he knows well 0:18:43.400 --> 0:18:47.120 just how crucial diplomacy is to your host nation. Here's 0:18:47.119 --> 0:18:50.359 what he had to say, Dave Sharma, thank you very 0:18:50.440 --> 0:18:51.240 much for your time. 0:18:52.160 --> 0:18:53.560 Thank you good even nice to join you. 0:18:54.200 --> 0:18:57.120 Do you think at this point Kevin Rudd's position as 0:18:57.200 --> 0:18:59.719 our ambassador in Washington is untenable? 0:19:00.600 --> 0:19:04.000 Well, I think they're the right to be asking that question. 0:19:04.080 --> 0:19:06.800 I mean, he is more and more public commentary is 0:19:06.840 --> 0:19:09.840 emerging of him not just being mildly critical of Trump 0:19:09.840 --> 0:19:13.439 and his administration, but quite personally nasty and vidictive. And 0:19:13.480 --> 0:19:15.639 this is the person who will be the president of 0:19:15.680 --> 0:19:19.720 the most important security strategic alliance partner of Australia and 0:19:19.800 --> 0:19:21.760 administration he will have to work with for the next 0:19:21.840 --> 0:19:24.280 four years. And he's on the public record. And presumably 0:19:24.280 --> 0:19:28.280 there's more that will resurface in a way that Trump 0:19:28.320 --> 0:19:32.280 and his advisors cannot but help notice. And I don't 0:19:32.320 --> 0:19:35.000 think it's getting the new relationship off to a good 0:19:35.000 --> 0:19:37.800 footing that we've got an ambassador there who has been 0:19:37.840 --> 0:19:41.000 so critical, I mean Kevin Rud and his job, his 0:19:41.119 --> 0:19:43.760 most important customer, if you like, is the United States. 0:19:43.880 --> 0:19:45.800 His client is the government Australia. His customer is the 0:19:45.880 --> 0:19:49.080 United States government. And he's been going around bad mouthing 0:19:49.119 --> 0:19:51.840 the customer to all and Sundry, Uphill and down Dale. 0:19:52.080 --> 0:19:54.560 It's not a good place to start this relationship. 0:19:54.800 --> 0:19:57.640 So do you think this was an unwise decision by 0:19:57.840 --> 0:20:01.240 Anthony Albinezi because it has been described as a captain's pick. 0:20:01.920 --> 0:20:05.119 Well, I think at the time, Anthony ALBERIZI you know, 0:20:05.200 --> 0:20:08.600 he knew about not only Rudd's difficulties in working with 0:20:08.640 --> 0:20:11.600 other people, which is well documented in his downfall, but 0:20:11.680 --> 0:20:13.800 also these things he said about Trump. And there were 0:20:13.920 --> 0:20:16.960 many people who counseled against this choice, given the volume 0:20:17.000 --> 0:20:21.240 and the vitriol of Rudd's public commentary. But Anthony Alberanzi 0:20:21.320 --> 0:20:23.600 took that decision eyes wide open, and even at the 0:20:23.600 --> 0:20:26.600 time he was appointed. I mean, Trump was always and 0:20:26.720 --> 0:20:30.440 has always been a likely candidate for the Republican nomination 0:20:30.600 --> 0:20:33.280 and a presidential candidate. And the fact that he did 0:20:33.280 --> 0:20:36.200 this knowing that, you know, it raises serious questions about 0:20:36.200 --> 0:20:38.440 the judgment he exercised in making this appointment. 0:20:38.720 --> 0:20:42.199 I mean, Joe Hockey famously had an excellent relationship with 0:20:42.240 --> 0:20:45.399 Donald Trump. We know they played golf together, but Kevin 0:20:45.480 --> 0:20:49.359 Rudd has never met Donald Trump. Is this unusual for 0:20:49.440 --> 0:20:52.560 an ambassador in such a crucial posting with one of 0:20:52.600 --> 0:20:54.080 our closest allies. 0:20:54.400 --> 0:20:56.440 I find it remarkable. I mean, the job of any 0:20:56.480 --> 0:20:59.399 ambassador is to get to know all the political leaders, 0:20:59.440 --> 0:21:02.199 current and future in a country. When I was in Israel, 0:21:02.720 --> 0:21:04.639 I knew the opposition leaders, the leaders of all the 0:21:04.680 --> 0:21:07.320 political parties, the past prime ministers and all the future 0:21:07.320 --> 0:21:10.520 prime ministers. Now, why Kevin Rudd has not been able 0:21:10.560 --> 0:21:12.359 to or has not thought it worth his time to 0:21:12.400 --> 0:21:14.919 secure a meeting with Donald Trump. Why he did not 0:21:15.000 --> 0:21:17.919 take Penny Wong and Anthony Albanisi and Richard Marles to 0:21:18.000 --> 0:21:21.720 see Donald Trump? Just biggas belief. I mean, before George W. 0:21:21.800 --> 0:21:25.520 Bush became the president in two thousand, many senior Australian 0:21:25.560 --> 0:21:28.840 political figures had met him, and Andrew Peacock, our ambassador 0:21:28.840 --> 0:21:31.000 at the time, had a personal relationship with him. 0:21:31.480 --> 0:21:35.320 Now, back in February this year, you asked Penny Wong 0:21:35.440 --> 0:21:40.800 in Senate Estimates why Kevin Rudd's criticisms of Donald Trump 0:21:40.960 --> 0:21:44.560 still remained on his social media accounts. You pushed Penny 0:21:44.600 --> 0:21:48.120 Wong on this, they didn't remove them. Instead, they waited 0:21:48.440 --> 0:21:52.520 nine months before Kevin Rudd deleted his tweets. It's now 0:21:52.560 --> 0:21:54.880 become a big story. It's in the New York Times, 0:21:55.640 --> 0:21:58.359