1 00:00:05,120 --> 00:00:08,160 Speaker 1: From The Australian. Here's what's on the front. I'm Claire Harvey. 2 00:00:08,320 --> 00:00:14,480 Speaker 1: It's Tuesday, November twenty five, twenty twenty five. Former Senator 3 00:00:14,560 --> 00:00:17,600 Speaker 1: Linda Reynolds and her former chief of staff Fiona Brown 4 00:00:17,760 --> 00:00:21,960 Speaker 1: want compensation from the Commonwealth for false allegations leveled by 5 00:00:21,960 --> 00:00:26,320 Speaker 1: Brittany Higgins, they say ruined their careers, but the Greens 6 00:00:26,400 --> 00:00:30,720 Speaker 1: think Reynolds should donate any payout to charity and TEARMP 7 00:00:30,960 --> 00:00:34,360 Speaker 1: Zalie Stegel says anyone who questions the handling of Higgins's 8 00:00:34,360 --> 00:00:40,880 Speaker 1: claim is guilty of continued harassment of a rape victim. 9 00:00:41,200 --> 00:00:44,440 Speaker 1: Energy giant AGL must try a lot harder to help 10 00:00:44,479 --> 00:00:48,400 Speaker 1: workers affected by the clean energy transition to get new jobs. 11 00:00:48,880 --> 00:00:51,320 Speaker 1: That's a ruling by the Fair Work Commission in a 12 00:00:51,360 --> 00:00:55,000 Speaker 1: case brought by the government's Net zero authority. The Commission 13 00:00:55,040 --> 00:00:58,480 Speaker 1: agreed agl's promise of a five thousand dollars assistance package 14 00:00:58,480 --> 00:01:03,200 Speaker 1: for each employee was enough. Those stories alive right now 15 00:01:03,240 --> 00:01:09,679 Speaker 1: at the Australian dot com dot au. He's the most 16 00:01:09,760 --> 00:01:13,360 Speaker 1: unpopular minister in the federal government, but Chris Bowen has 17 00:01:13,440 --> 00:01:17,680 Speaker 1: the giant job of selling labour's progas anti fossil energy 18 00:01:17,680 --> 00:01:22,480 Speaker 1: policy and explaining why power bills are still sky high. 19 00:01:22,800 --> 00:01:26,680 Speaker 1: He might have inadvertently also just handled embattled Opposition leader 20 00:01:26,720 --> 00:01:31,080 Speaker 1: Susan Lee a lifeline today the man who cuts through 21 00:01:31,080 --> 00:01:33,480 Speaker 1: the noise of politics to make it all clear and 22 00:01:33,560 --> 00:01:50,400 Speaker 1: give us a laugh. Dennis Shanahan Order, Order, Order. The 23 00:01:50,480 --> 00:01:52,840 Speaker 1: last week of Parliament is a bit like the last 24 00:01:52,880 --> 00:01:58,480 Speaker 1: week of school. Look, I know it's order. Everyone's hot 25 00:01:58,520 --> 00:01:59,240 Speaker 1: and cranky. 26 00:02:00,000 --> 00:02:05,240 Speaker 2: We're not going anywhere until everyone remember for Bruce. 27 00:02:06,280 --> 00:02:09,919 Speaker 1: It is ward Speaker Milton Dick is on the edge 28 00:02:09,960 --> 00:02:12,919 Speaker 1: of canceling the class picnic and putting a complete ban 29 00:02:13,040 --> 00:02:13,960 Speaker 1: on water fights. 30 00:02:14,800 --> 00:02:17,239 Speaker 2: I know it's the last week. I'm just going to 31 00:02:17,280 --> 00:02:20,480 Speaker 2: ask the Deputy Prime Minister to temporary his language. 32 00:02:21,160 --> 00:02:25,120 Speaker 1: And he has eight seconds left. One kid in the 33 00:02:25,120 --> 00:02:27,440 Speaker 1: front row has already stopped showing up. 34 00:02:29,200 --> 00:02:31,400 Speaker 3: I'm from the House that the Minister for Climate Change 35 00:02:31,400 --> 00:02:35,680 Speaker 3: and Energy will be absolent from question time today. What 36 00:02:35,800 --> 00:02:39,440 Speaker 3: a treasure will answer questions on his behalf would answer 37 00:02:39,520 --> 00:02:41,680 Speaker 3: for emergency management. 38 00:02:44,680 --> 00:02:47,959 Speaker 1: Dennis Shanahan is The Australian's National editor. Dennis, the Minister 39 00:02:48,000 --> 00:02:50,840 Speaker 1: for Climate Change and Energy, wasn't in question time to 40 00:02:50,919 --> 00:02:52,919 Speaker 1: kick off the last week of Parliament for the year. 41 00:02:53,080 --> 00:02:56,040 Speaker 4: Where was he, Well, we think he was somewhere in 42 00:02:56,120 --> 00:02:58,960 Speaker 4: the air or on the ground in South America. It 43 00:02:59,400 --> 00:03:02,840 Speaker 4: was a very bad look for the government. Here was 44 00:03:02,960 --> 00:03:07,360 Speaker 4: Chris Bowen just appointed as the COP President, who's going 45 00:03:07,400 --> 00:03:09,920 Speaker 4: to be handling the negotiations for all of the climate 46 00:03:10,000 --> 00:03:13,720 Speaker 4: change over the next twelve months. The argument is that 47 00:03:13,960 --> 00:03:16,440 Speaker 4: there's no need for him to give up his job 48 00:03:16,520 --> 00:03:20,000 Speaker 4: as a minister. He can do both and it won't 49 00:03:20,240 --> 00:03:24,080 Speaker 4: interfere with his attention because he is the Minister for 50 00:03:24,280 --> 00:03:29,280 Speaker 4: Energy as to trying to keep down prices for Australian voters. 51 00:03:29,480 --> 00:03:32,200 Speaker 4: And what happened, he wasn't there and he's not going 52 00:03:32,240 --> 00:03:34,000 Speaker 4: to be there on Wednesday either. 53 00:03:34,400 --> 00:03:34,600 Speaker 1: Now. 54 00:03:34,639 --> 00:03:37,839 Speaker 4: The Minister's tried to shift and shuffle along to try 55 00:03:37,840 --> 00:03:40,600 Speaker 4: and hide that gap on the front bench, but the 56 00:03:40,640 --> 00:03:44,800 Speaker 4: Opposition didn't miss it and plenty of questions went to 57 00:03:44,880 --> 00:03:47,800 Speaker 4: that empty space marked Chris Bowen. 58 00:03:49,520 --> 00:03:52,160 Speaker 2: The Prime Minister has said the Minister for Energy will 59 00:03:52,160 --> 00:03:57,880 Speaker 2: have quote unprecedented influence in global climate negotiations as the 60 00:03:58,000 --> 00:04:02,640 Speaker 2: president of COP thirty one negotiations. Why isn't this part 61 00:04:02,680 --> 00:04:08,960 Speaker 2: time minister full time president? Using this unprecedented influence to 62 00:04:09,120 --> 00:04:14,160 Speaker 2: lower energy bills for Australians. And Prime Minister, by what 63 00:04:14,280 --> 00:04:18,080 Speaker 2: date will the average household power bill be lower than 64 00:04:18,080 --> 00:04:22,680 Speaker 2: it is today? Call to the Prime Minister. 65 00:04:23,440 --> 00:04:27,480 Speaker 3: I think the Leader of the Opposition for the question 66 00:04:27,640 --> 00:04:32,279 Speaker 3: and I can imagine question time tactics this morning, because 67 00:04:32,279 --> 00:04:34,520 Speaker 3: there's about five different questions. 68 00:04:34,160 --> 00:04:34,400 Speaker 2: In what. 69 00:04:36,400 --> 00:04:39,800 Speaker 1: You've been very harsh on the coalition's parliamentary tactics and 70 00:04:39,839 --> 00:04:42,520 Speaker 1: the standard of their questions. What did you think on Monday? 71 00:04:43,279 --> 00:04:47,520 Speaker 4: Well, I thought that while the performance by the coalition team, 72 00:04:47,560 --> 00:04:52,039 Speaker 4: particularly by Susan Lee, they weren't the best performance of 73 00:04:52,080 --> 00:04:55,880 Speaker 4: twenty twenty five, they weren't the worst performance of twenty 74 00:04:55,920 --> 00:04:59,240 Speaker 4: twenty five, but I think they'll be the most important, 75 00:04:59,520 --> 00:05:02,800 Speaker 4: particular for the Leader of the Opposition. It was on 76 00:05:02,920 --> 00:05:06,720 Speaker 4: the day, on the sitting day, when the Government had 77 00:05:06,880 --> 00:05:10,440 Speaker 4: hoped that this would be its big culmination to the 78 00:05:10,520 --> 00:05:14,600 Speaker 4: year and six months of division within the coalition over 79 00:05:14,680 --> 00:05:17,640 Speaker 4: its dumping of the net zero for twenty fifty target, 80 00:05:18,120 --> 00:05:22,800 Speaker 4: and instead it turned back on the government because Bowen 81 00:05:22,960 --> 00:05:25,000 Speaker 4: liked a man on the stair, wasn't there? 82 00:05:30,120 --> 00:05:33,720 Speaker 1: How much of Chris Bowen's personality is relevant here? Dennis. 83 00:05:33,720 --> 00:05:36,440 Speaker 1: He's got cot a sharp tongue. He famously said a 84 00:05:36,440 --> 00:05:38,839 Speaker 1: couple of elections ago, if you don't like Labour's policies, 85 00:05:38,960 --> 00:05:42,960 Speaker 1: don't vote for us, and voters didn't. He perhaps is 86 00:05:43,440 --> 00:05:46,560 Speaker 1: not the best person to explain a complex policy to 87 00:05:46,680 --> 00:05:49,960 Speaker 1: people who are annoyed about their power bills. Is there 88 00:05:49,960 --> 00:05:52,560 Speaker 1: something good for the government about him not necessarily being 89 00:05:52,560 --> 00:05:53,279 Speaker 1: there all the time? 90 00:05:54,000 --> 00:05:57,000 Speaker 4: Well, for a start, he is the most unpopular minister 91 00:05:57,560 --> 00:06:00,880 Speaker 4: in the Labor government, no doubt about that, and that's 92 00:06:00,960 --> 00:06:05,120 Speaker 4: partly because he does have a brusk approach. He doesn't 93 00:06:05,200 --> 00:06:08,320 Speaker 4: consult at ground level. We've seen even one of his 94 00:06:08,400 --> 00:06:14,479 Speaker 4: fellow ministers complaining that in her electorate he didn't consult 95 00:06:14,560 --> 00:06:20,080 Speaker 4: her as the local member all the constituents about a 96 00:06:20,120 --> 00:06:25,520 Speaker 4: big renewable plan in her electorate. So what we've seen 97 00:06:26,040 --> 00:06:29,360 Speaker 4: is he has a crash or crashed through approach, very 98 00:06:29,400 --> 00:06:33,880 Speaker 4: whitlam esque. He is brusque and this does not work 99 00:06:33,960 --> 00:06:38,040 Speaker 4: well on the ground. We've seen revolts on the north 100 00:06:38,080 --> 00:06:41,760 Speaker 4: coast of New South Wales southern Victoria where people have 101 00:06:41,880 --> 00:06:47,240 Speaker 4: complained he didn't consult them about wind turbines and programs 102 00:06:47,240 --> 00:06:51,040 Speaker 4: for renewable energy and so this all plays into it, 103 00:06:51,360 --> 00:06:54,359 Speaker 4: and the fact that he is also the Minister for 104 00:06:54,640 --> 00:06:58,359 Speaker 4: Energy as well as climate change, that he has to 105 00:06:58,480 --> 00:07:02,120 Speaker 4: then try and tell people and explain to people that 106 00:07:02,520 --> 00:07:05,560 Speaker 4: their energy bills are meant to be going down, and 107 00:07:05,600 --> 00:07:09,159 Speaker 4: keeps saying it's cheaper, it's cheaper. You know you've got cheaper. 108 00:07:09,440 --> 00:07:11,960 Speaker 4: No one reading their power bill believes that. 109 00:07:12,760 --> 00:07:15,720 Speaker 1: What are the complicated ideas that Labor now needs to 110 00:07:16,000 --> 00:07:19,720 Speaker 1: explain to Australians who are annoyed about power prices is 111 00:07:19,760 --> 00:07:21,840 Speaker 1: that gas is kind of the fossil fuel, that's not 112 00:07:21,880 --> 00:07:23,880 Speaker 1: really a fossil fuel. You know that it's emissions are 113 00:07:23,920 --> 00:07:27,120 Speaker 1: much much lower, that it's very important to the transition 114 00:07:27,200 --> 00:07:29,680 Speaker 1: to a clean energy future. As they would say, how 115 00:07:29,680 --> 00:07:31,320 Speaker 1: do you think they're going explaining that. 116 00:07:32,480 --> 00:07:35,680 Speaker 4: Well, this is the crux of their problem because on 117 00:07:35,720 --> 00:07:40,160 Speaker 4: the same weekend when Chris Bowen was signing up as 118 00:07:40,200 --> 00:07:43,119 Speaker 4: the new COP president, a new cop on the beat 119 00:07:43,640 --> 00:07:48,560 Speaker 4: saying yes, we are going to have a fossil fuel 120 00:07:48,800 --> 00:07:53,560 Speaker 4: free future that's four FS and that it's going to 121 00:07:53,680 --> 00:07:58,640 Speaker 4: come really at the cost of consumers. Now, that's what 122 00:07:58,760 --> 00:08:03,000 Speaker 4: he was saying in South America, while in South Africa, 123 00:08:03,640 --> 00:08:06,920 Speaker 4: the Prime Minister was saying, oh, no, we need gas, 124 00:08:07,360 --> 00:08:12,320 Speaker 4: and he's taken steps to extend gas production in Australia 125 00:08:12,640 --> 00:08:16,720 Speaker 4: through to twenty seventy. He also, when asked or was 126 00:08:16,720 --> 00:08:19,440 Speaker 4: there going to be a change to Australia's coal exports 127 00:08:19,520 --> 00:08:24,320 Speaker 4: or production, one word answer no. So on the one hand, 128 00:08:24,680 --> 00:08:29,000 Speaker 4: we have the new president of kop and the Energy 129 00:08:29,480 --> 00:08:33,679 Speaker 4: Minister in Australia saying we are going to have a 130 00:08:33,760 --> 00:08:39,280 Speaker 4: fossil free future, no coal, no gas. Now, no one 131 00:08:39,520 --> 00:08:43,280 Speaker 4: thinks anyone can move, no matter where they are, can 132 00:08:43,360 --> 00:08:48,760 Speaker 4: move immediately to a fossil free future. So here is 133 00:08:48,800 --> 00:08:53,280 Speaker 4: a problem. The Prime Minister, though, is now using a 134 00:08:53,280 --> 00:08:59,080 Speaker 4: different language. He's talking about the cheapest new energy. He 135 00:08:59,120 --> 00:09:02,680 Speaker 4: doesn't say it's the cheapest energy, he says the cheapest 136 00:09:02,760 --> 00:09:07,439 Speaker 4: new energy. We have a real difference in approach from 137 00:09:08,040 --> 00:09:12,240 Speaker 4: the Minister for Energy and the Prime Minister. And what 138 00:09:12,320 --> 00:09:17,160 Speaker 4: we are seeing is for once the coalition actually getting 139 00:09:17,200 --> 00:09:21,800 Speaker 4: over its division, getting over its policy fight, and exploiting 140 00:09:22,520 --> 00:09:27,480 Speaker 4: that conflict of a position between the Prime Minister and 141 00:09:27,559 --> 00:09:33,760 Speaker 4: the Energy Minister and the Energy's internal conflict about where 142 00:09:33,800 --> 00:09:37,480 Speaker 4: does he concentrate, where does he put his focus? 143 00:09:40,880 --> 00:09:44,120 Speaker 1: Coming up Anthony Albanese is a groom to be, so 144 00:09:44,360 --> 00:09:58,000 Speaker 1: what will the Coalition be giving him as a wedding gift? Well, 145 00:09:58,000 --> 00:10:00,440 Speaker 1: the rest of us are getting ready for the Christmas season, 146 00:10:00,480 --> 00:10:02,959 Speaker 1: eating a lot of mince pies. The Prime Minister presumably 147 00:10:03,000 --> 00:10:05,720 Speaker 1: will be shredding for his wedding. Dennis, he's got a 148 00:10:05,800 --> 00:10:10,040 Speaker 1: summer wedding ceremony coming up to his partner Jodie. What's 149 00:10:10,080 --> 00:10:12,800 Speaker 1: the best gift do you think Susan Lee can give 150 00:10:12,840 --> 00:10:14,920 Speaker 1: the Prime Minister and what will he be hoping for? 151 00:10:15,080 --> 00:10:17,480 Speaker 1: Is it that Susan Lee hangs on or that someone 152 00:10:17,640 --> 00:10:18,240 Speaker 1: rumbles her? 153 00:10:20,760 --> 00:10:25,760 Speaker 4: Well, I think that the Prime Minister has the view that, 154 00:10:26,000 --> 00:10:29,959 Speaker 4: as Jeff Chambers wrote in The Australian, that if Susan 155 00:10:30,280 --> 00:10:34,640 Speaker 4: Lee was a Labor leader, she would have already been removed, 156 00:10:35,320 --> 00:10:38,960 Speaker 4: that Labor wouldn't have tolerated her. I think that the 157 00:10:39,559 --> 00:10:43,480 Speaker 4: sitting so far this week has ensured that she'll get 158 00:10:43,480 --> 00:10:46,920 Speaker 4: through to Christmas. But as far as what does he 159 00:10:47,000 --> 00:10:49,760 Speaker 4: want from the Liberal leadership, I think his view is 160 00:10:50,120 --> 00:10:52,560 Speaker 4: he's quite happy with Susan Lee to stay there, but 161 00:10:52,679 --> 00:10:56,360 Speaker 4: he also thinks that if there was a change to 162 00:10:56,600 --> 00:11:01,240 Speaker 4: Angus Taylor or to Andrew hasty. It would actually be 163 00:11:01,360 --> 00:11:05,960 Speaker 4: worse for the coalition and better for Anthony Alberenese and 164 00:11:06,040 --> 00:11:10,920 Speaker 4: the Labor Government. I don't think the options, or certainly 165 00:11:11,240 --> 00:11:14,680 Speaker 4: Anthony Alberenese doesn't think the options out there at the moment, 166 00:11:14,960 --> 00:11:18,840 Speaker 4: are going to make any great difference to the difficulties 167 00:11:18,880 --> 00:11:23,479 Speaker 4: the coalition faces. And I think that the sitting, improvement 168 00:11:23,600 --> 00:11:27,960 Speaker 4: in the parliamentary tactics, improvement in the asking of questions, 169 00:11:28,320 --> 00:11:31,680 Speaker 4: and the continued tolerance of the Speaker has allowed them 170 00:11:31,720 --> 00:11:34,480 Speaker 4: to get back or at least to stop the sink. 171 00:11:35,160 --> 00:11:38,800 Speaker 4: They have stopped that sinking into the mire and the 172 00:11:38,840 --> 00:11:43,400 Speaker 4: shifting sand. That's the best the Coalition has done in 173 00:11:43,559 --> 00:11:44,880 Speaker 4: Parliament for months. 174 00:11:46,400 --> 00:11:53,600 Speaker 1: Dennis Shanahan is The Australian's National editor. Learning about politics 175 00:11:53,640 --> 00:11:57,800 Speaker 1: through Dennis's eyes is always enlightening and usually really funny. 176 00:11:58,160 --> 00:12:00,720 Speaker 1: You can check out his analysis all the work by 177 00:12:00,800 --> 00:12:04,920 Speaker 1: our incredible team of political journalists anytime at The Australian 178 00:12:05,040 --> 00:12:06,200 Speaker 1: dot com dot au