WEBVTT - Why Albanese killed a key environment bill

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<v Speaker 1>From Schwartz Media. I'm Daniel James. This is seven am.

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<v Speaker 1>Anthony Albernezi was triumphant on Friday as he talked up

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<v Speaker 1>the government's passing of dozens of bills through the Parliament,

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<v Speaker 1>but there was one key piece of environmental legislation set

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<v Speaker 1>to sail through that he personally stopped right at the

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<v Speaker 1>last minute, with no heads up for one of his

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<v Speaker 1>most senior ministers, the Minister for the Environment, Tanya Plever

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<v Speaker 1>sec The decision by the Prime Minister puts mining interests

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<v Speaker 1>and the hope of votes in Western Australia ahead of

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<v Speaker 1>a deal that source to say he had already approved. Today.

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<v Speaker 1>National correspondent for the Saturday paper Mirk Secam and why

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<v Speaker 1>Alberanezi did it and whether it's the green till end

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<v Speaker 1>up winning out. It's Tuesday, December three, Mike, thanks for

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<v Speaker 1>joining us. There was a rush of bills passed last week.

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<v Speaker 1>Can you tell me what went through?

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<v Speaker 2>Well, thirty one bills on Thursday and forty five over

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<v Speaker 2>the week. Among them some key pieces of Labour's housing legislation,

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<v Speaker 2>including its Bill to Rent bill. They're twenty two billion

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<v Speaker 2>dollar Future Made in Australia package.

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<v Speaker 3>What we're doing is getting things done.

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<v Speaker 2>And in a press conference on Friday, the Prime Minister

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<v Speaker 2>Anthony Albanez, he talked up the government's success in getting

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<v Speaker 2>the legislation through.

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<v Speaker 4>If we listened and we engaged, we had our amendments

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<v Speaker 4>ready to go to make a difference to people's lives,

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<v Speaker 4>so cracking down on supermarkets.

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<v Speaker 2>Watching the Parliament, actually, I was reminded of a quote

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<v Speaker 2>by the great Irish actor Richard Harris, you know, perhaps

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<v Speaker 2>most famous for playing Marcus Aurelius and in Gladiator, and

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<v Speaker 2>he once observed that the defining characteristic of a successful

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<v Speaker 2>politician was selective cowardice. And apart from all the stuff

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<v Speaker 2>that passed, there were also some startling examples in my

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<v Speaker 2>view of selective cowardice last week.

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<v Speaker 1>How so well.

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<v Speaker 2>For one, there was Labour's adoption of a suite of

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<v Speaker 2>draconian measures against immigrants.

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<v Speaker 4>Other things, they create powers for the Australian government to

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<v Speaker 4>pay third countries to receive non citizens and give new

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<v Speaker 4>powers to search for drugs and confiscate phones in detention.

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<v Speaker 4>Advocates say the laws are heartless and deplorable.

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<v Speaker 2>This was quite clearly put forward in an attempt to

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<v Speaker 2>prevent the Conservative parties from portraying them as weak on

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<v Speaker 2>the issue. And I might add that when he announced

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<v Speaker 2>the Coalition would support Labour's bills, the Shadow Immigration Minister

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<v Speaker 2>Dan Tien boasted that his side of politics was quite

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<v Speaker 2>basically running the immigration system from opposition, and I think

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<v Speaker 2>that he's pretty right. But perhaps the most clear cut

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<v Speaker 2>example is, in my view, related to environment policy. The

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<v Speaker 2>government had a chance to get its so called Nature

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<v Speaker 2>Positive package of environmental legislation, which was promised at the

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<v Speaker 2>last election and had long been subject of difficult negotiations

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<v Speaker 2>with the Greens and anothers on the Senate crossbench. The

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<v Speaker 2>Government had the chance to get that wave through the

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<v Speaker 2>Greens and Labour's Environment Minister Taniel Plubsecud reached a deal,

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<v Speaker 2>but the Prime Minister blew it up because he was

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<v Speaker 2>scared of the response from the mining industry, from the

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<v Speaker 2>logging industry, and above all from the West Australian Labor government.

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<v Speaker 1>Can you tell me about that, yeah?

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<v Speaker 2>Sure. The history of it goes back to before the

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<v Speaker 2>twenty twenty two election. Labour promised to fix Australia's environment laws,

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<v Speaker 2>which they said and which most people who know about

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<v Speaker 2>them said were inadequate. There was even a template to

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<v Speaker 2>work from. There'd been an independent expert review of the

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<v Speaker 2>Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act EPBC ACT presented to

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<v Speaker 2>the former Liberal Environment Minister Susan Lee in twenty twenty

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<v Speaker 2>and it painted a very bleak picture of the state

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<v Speaker 2>of Australia's natural environment and it recommended comprehensive reforms to

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<v Speaker 2>environmental law and regulation. Anyway, Lee sat on it for

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<v Speaker 2>three months before releasing it and then didn't follow it through.

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<v Speaker 2>So Labour promised to do better, and in December twenty

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<v Speaker 2>twenty two it formally responded with something called the Nature

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<v Speaker 2>Positive Plan, which picked up most of the changes that

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<v Speaker 2>had been recommended in that expert review, the so called

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<v Speaker 2>Samuel Review.

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<v Speaker 5>Our government is getting on with our goal of delivering

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<v Speaker 5>a nature positive Australia. A nature positive Australia which means

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<v Speaker 5>protecting more of our natural environment through our kids and

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<v Speaker 5>our grandkids to enjoy, protecting more of what's what's precious,

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<v Speaker 5>repairing more of what's damaged, and managing nature better for

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<v Speaker 5>the future.

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<v Speaker 2>So central to the plan was the establishment of an

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<v Speaker 2>independent environmental protection Agency, and when she introduced the bills

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<v Speaker 2>in May Plebisek called the new body the heart of

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<v Speaker 2>the reforms, a tough cop on the beat that would

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<v Speaker 2>be able to issue stop work orders to prevent serious

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<v Speaker 2>environmental damage.

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<v Speaker 5>This is an exciting Australia first and it delivers on

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<v Speaker 5>an important, an important promise that we made during the

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<v Speaker 5>election to have a strong independent APA, a tough pop

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<v Speaker 5>on the beat that is operating at arms stakes from government.

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<v Speaker 2>The proposed legislation included potential finds of up to seven

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<v Speaker 2>hundred and eighty million dollars or prison for up to

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<v Speaker 2>seven years for the most serious intentional breaches of environmental law,

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<v Speaker 2>but the Liberal National Parties wouldn't support it, and the

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<v Speaker 2>Greens insisted that they would neither unless they got into

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<v Speaker 2>it something called a climate trigger, whereby greenhouse gas emissions

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<v Speaker 2>of proposed projects would be factored into the Environment Minister's

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<v Speaker 2>final decision. And this, I must say was not a

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<v Speaker 2>particularly new idea. Alberzi himself had argued for this when

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<v Speaker 2>he was the shadow Environment Minister almost twenty years ago,

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<v Speaker 2>but nothing came of it. So anyway, if we fast

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<v Speaker 2>forward to this week, Albanese into our Prime Minister. He's

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<v Speaker 2>not only opposed to the climate trigger, but has spent

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<v Speaker 2>months public liberating the Greens for obstructionism, for advocating essentially

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<v Speaker 2>a policy that he used to champion. So anyway, there'd

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<v Speaker 2>been this long, long standoff between Labor and the Greens

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<v Speaker 2>over this package of bills which were reforming our environment

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<v Speaker 2>protection laws. Then the week before last we got a breakthrough.

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<v Speaker 2>Tanya Plibersek, the Minister, and the Green spokesperson Sarah Hanson

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<v Speaker 2>Young had finally reached an agreement that would have allowed

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<v Speaker 2>it to go through the Senate. The Greens dropped their

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<v Speaker 2>calls for a climate trigger and they said they would

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<v Speaker 2>support the government's legislation package if the government agreed to

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<v Speaker 2>act on native forest logging. Both sides were happy with it.

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<v Speaker 2>And what happened then, confirmed to me by people on

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<v Speaker 2>both sides of the negotiation, both Labor and the Greens,

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<v Speaker 2>is that the deal was struck Tuesday morning. It was

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<v Speaker 2>in writing. It went to Alberanizi, who, as I was told,

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<v Speaker 2>okayed it. Plibbersecond Hands and Young were preparing statements announcing

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<v Speaker 2>the breakthrough for release on Wednesday morning. Everything looked like,

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<v Speaker 2>you know, it was going and then late on Tuesday,

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<v Speaker 2>Alberanzi reversed his position and canned the whole agreement. What's more,

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<v Speaker 2>the Greens re informed the deal was off before plebisk was,

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<v Speaker 2>which was an extraordinary slap in the face for a

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<v Speaker 2>very senior labor minister.

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<v Speaker 1>Coming up after the break Alberese's cowardice on environmental reform

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<v Speaker 1>and what it means for ranker in the government's ranks.

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<v Speaker 1>Markey spoken to people on both sides of this deal.

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<v Speaker 1>Tell me what pussure you formed about why Albanzi killed it?

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<v Speaker 2>Well, there's no mystery about it. Frankly, the Labor Premier

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<v Speaker 2>of Western Australia, Roger Cook, actually claimed responsibility for it himself.

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<v Speaker 2>At a press conference last Wednesday, Cook said that he

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<v Speaker 2>had spoken at the quote highest level unquote to share

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<v Speaker 2>his view that the bills should not be progressed, so

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<v Speaker 2>pretty clearly his intervention had a lot to do with it.

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<v Speaker 2>Even before the Premier came out and said that. According

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<v Speaker 2>to West Australian media, his Minister for Mines and Petroleum

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<v Speaker 2>Dave Michael, told around two hundred mining industry figures that

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<v Speaker 2>the WA government had been assured there would be nodeal

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<v Speaker 2>so anyway to put it simply, this was a triumph

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<v Speaker 2>of electoral politics over policy, and the reason for that

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<v Speaker 2>is that Western Australia has not historically been a strong

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<v Speaker 2>state for federal labor, but in the twenty twenty two

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<v Speaker 2>election it picked up nine seats in the West, so

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<v Speaker 2>it was a very strong result and essentially the West

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<v Speaker 2>was the state that propelled labor in the government. So

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<v Speaker 2>labor doesn't want to upset people in the West. Powerful

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<v Speaker 2>mining interests own most of the West's media, and one

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<v Speaker 2>might say they effectively owned both major political parties too,

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<v Speaker 2>So really this was indeed an active, selective cowardice on

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<v Speaker 2>Albanese's part.

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<v Speaker 1>How did Tenya Plebasik respond to the way Alberanuzi handled this.

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<v Speaker 1>You can imagine she'd be quite annoyed by it all.

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<v Speaker 2>Well, want to imagine she was. But Plibisek is a

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<v Speaker 2>pro right, she's a stoic. She's not stuck her head

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<v Speaker 2>up and said that she was screwed over and she's angry.

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<v Speaker 2>But other people have been saying it for her, I

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<v Speaker 2>might add Sarah Hanson Young clearly is also furious about it.

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<v Speaker 2>She lays the blame squallion LB and easy I.

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<v Speaker 3>Walk out of the room, of course, and before we

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<v Speaker 3>know it. The front page of The Australian, the West

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<v Speaker 3>Australian and virtually every newspaper the next morning was saying

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<v Speaker 3>that the business lobby, the miners and the loggers had

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<v Speaker 3>convinced the Prime Minister to dump these laws. I mean,

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<v Speaker 3>you don't have to take my word for it. You

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<v Speaker 3>take the word of that crowing.

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<v Speaker 2>But the most concerning thing I think is the internal descent.

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<v Speaker 2>Felicity Wade, who's the co convener of the Labor Environment

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<v Speaker 2>Action Network, stressed that the EPA that Albanizi had killed

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<v Speaker 2>off was an election commitment and had been in the

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<v Speaker 2>national platform since twenty eighteen, and that was backed by

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<v Speaker 2>five hundred local ALP branches and that it was, as

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<v Speaker 2>she put, a core to their claim of caring for

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<v Speaker 2>the natural environment. So Felicity Wade was furious. I spoke

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<v Speaker 2>to her and she was really angry, and so are

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<v Speaker 2>a lot of other people in the party.

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<v Speaker 1>So how do you think this has going to player

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<v Speaker 1>for Alberdez given it sounds like it was merely an

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<v Speaker 1>electoral calculation.

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<v Speaker 2>Well, look that waits to be seen, you know, but

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<v Speaker 2>you'd have to think it will damage labor with environmentally

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<v Speaker 2>concerned voters and it will help the Greens, and everything

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<v Speaker 2>that helps the Greens increases the chances that Labor will

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<v Speaker 2>not command a majority after the next election. You know,

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<v Speaker 2>we keep hearing from the pundits and sophologists looking at

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<v Speaker 2>the state of things that we're probably heading towards a

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<v Speaker 2>hung parliament in which neither Labor nor the Coalition can

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<v Speaker 2>govern alone. And that makes the Labour Greens dynamic particularly interesting.

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<v Speaker 2>You know, for most of this term, Labour has sought

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<v Speaker 2>to portray the Greens as being obstructionist and being part

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<v Speaker 2>of a nolition with the Liberal and National parties, but

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<v Speaker 2>that's changed recently. The Greens have become much more accommodating

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<v Speaker 2>of the government's agenda. Some read this shift as evidence

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<v Speaker 2>that the Greens had realized there was a growing perception

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<v Speaker 2>that they were indeed obstructionist and were too often voting

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<v Speaker 2>with the Coalition arties against Labor, and that this was

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<v Speaker 2>hurting them. I spoke to Adam Band about this, though,

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<v Speaker 2>and he puts a pretty strong countercase. He points out

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<v Speaker 2>that the Greens have finished this year with more seats

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<v Speaker 2>in parliaments across Australia than they started the year sure,

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<v Speaker 2>they'd underperformed at a couple of recent elections, notably in

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<v Speaker 2>Queens and the Act, but not by much. And he

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<v Speaker 2>also points to the fact that they're still doing very

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<v Speaker 2>well in opinion polls. And it's true. There was an

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<v Speaker 2>analysis by Guardian Australia early this month which factored in

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<v Speaker 2>all the major polls and found the Greens were sitting

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<v Speaker 2>on thirteen point four percent of the first preference vote,

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<v Speaker 2>which was up from twelve point three percent at the

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<v Speaker 2>twenty twenty two election. By comparison, the same Guardian poll

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<v Speaker 2>found that Labor was down more than five points, the

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<v Speaker 2>Coalition was up two point two and the independents were

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<v Speaker 2>also up. So while the Greens aren't happy about this

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<v Speaker 2>move from Melbourne Easy and they think that ultimately fighting

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<v Speaker 2>between the Greens and Labor only benefits the coalition, it's

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<v Speaker 2>clear they're trying to pressure the government for outcomes they want,

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<v Speaker 2>but they ultimately believe that when push comes to shove,

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<v Speaker 2>it's time to work together because that's in their overall

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<v Speaker 2>best interest. What the Greens want is a minority Labor government,

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<v Speaker 2>in which case the balance of power will fall to

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<v Speaker 2>them and probably some minor party and independent people who

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<v Speaker 2>also are very environmentally concerned, you know, the so called

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<v Speaker 2>teals and things that there will be much more leverage

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<v Speaker 2>in the new parliament if that happens for them to

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<v Speaker 2>get their way. What he doesn't want is what he

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<v Speaker 2>calls the Trumpian Dutton opposition to win the election. So anyway,

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<v Speaker 2>it was a very interesting week in Parliament. The fact

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<v Speaker 2>that Labor managed to pass such a huge bunch of

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<v Speaker 2>legislation at the last minute shows what can happen when

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<v Speaker 2>it works together with the Greens and the minor players.

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<v Speaker 2>The embarrassment suffered by Labor and the environment stuff shows

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<v Speaker 2>how badly it can go when they don't work together.

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<v Speaker 1>Mark, thanks so much for your time.

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<v Speaker 2>Thanks Lodan.

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<v Speaker 1>Also in the years, today, Joe Biden has signed a

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<v Speaker 1>pardon for his son, Hunter Biden, in one of his

0:13:13.559 --> 0:13:16.800
<v Speaker 1>last acts as President of the United States. Hunter Biden

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<v Speaker 1>will be spared a prison sentence for federal felony, gun

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<v Speaker 1>and tax convictions. President Biden had previously ruled out intervening

0:13:23.679 --> 0:13:25.920
<v Speaker 1>in the case, but in a statement, he said he

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<v Speaker 1>believes politics had infected his son's treatment and that he

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<v Speaker 1>hopes Americans will understand why father and president would come

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<v Speaker 1>to this decision, a military personnel found guilty or sexual

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<v Speaker 1>offenses will be expelled. According to the government's response to

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<v Speaker 1>the Royal Commission in Defense and Veteran Suicide, there will

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<v Speaker 1>also be a new formal inquiry into military sexual violence

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<v Speaker 1>in the Australian Defense Force, with a scope and timing

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<v Speaker 1>still to be determined. The government has accepted most of

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<v Speaker 1>the Royal Commissions one hundred and twenty two findings, three

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<v Speaker 1>months since the report was released. I'm Daniel James. This

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<v Speaker 1>is seven am. See you tomorrow.