Speaker 1: Peter Kredlin live on Sky News Australia.
Speaker 2: Well, good evening and welcome to the show. I'm Jamie
Speaker 2: Rodgers filling in for Peter Kredlin. He is coming up
Speaker 2: on the program. Australia Skilled Migration program has been described
Speaker 2: as a con job. So what does the data say?
Speaker 2: We dig into that in just a moment. One of
Speaker 2: Australia's most successful businessmen has launched a radical new plan
Speaker 2: to help franchisees, claiming the Prime Minister doesn't understand the
Speaker 2: harsh realities of small business. And volunteer firefighters in Victoria
Speaker 2: are demanding answers after a reported cancer cluster, including three
Speaker 2: deaths they believe is linked to years of exposure on
Speaker 2: the job. But first, China sent a message to our
Speaker 2: region with a nuclear capable missile test in the South Pacific,
Speaker 2: and Australia should pay close attention because this was not
Speaker 2: just another military exercise. It came at the same time
Speaker 2: Australia and Fiji signed a security alliance, and then came
Speaker 2: Beijing's response, a missile fired right into our region. Mike
Speaker 2: Bozulo questioned the timing on am agenda.
Speaker 1: Is it possible that they had such advanced notice of
Speaker 1: when the Prime Minister would be on the ground in Suva.
Speaker 1: That they also orchestrated a secondary effect which was to disrupt,
Speaker 1: embarrass put a scratch across the signing of the FIGI
Speaker 1: Defense Agreement. That would be deeply concerning.
Speaker 2: This show of force is a reminder that Pacific is
Speaker 2: no longer immune from global power politics. It is now
Speaker 2: one of the most contested regions. Here was Defense Minister
Speaker 2: Richard Miles this morning.
Speaker 3: The message that's being sent to all that the test
Speaker 3: which is being done here is a display of an
Speaker 3: extended range that China now has in terms of deploying
Speaker 3: a nuclear weapon, and that's obviously very concerning. We have
Speaker 3: expressed the concern at a direct government to government level,
Speaker 3: both in Canberra and Beijing.
Speaker 2: The United States State Department said this at a time
Speaker 2: when the United States is working harder than ever to
Speaker 2: prevent nuclear proliferation, China is doing the opposite. Beijing's rapid
Speaker 2: and opaque nuclear weapons build up is one of great
Speaker 2: concern to the region and the world. This should shake
Speaker 2: Canber out of complacency for too long. The Albanesi government
Speaker 2: has talked about stabilizing the relationship with China as though
Speaker 2: warm words can change hard power. Defense expert Michael Schubridge
Speaker 2: said the Prime Minister needed to change tact.
Speaker 4: They don't care who's signs what pieces of paper. Their
Speaker 4: military reach and power is growing and they're aggressive. The
Speaker 4: only person that seems to think this missile firing and
Speaker 4: the Australia Fiji agreement are not linked is Richard Miles.
Speaker 4: Australia and China are not in a staple relationship because
Speaker 4: China is on an aggressive push into our region with
Speaker 4: its naked military power. So getting some honesty from the
Speaker 4: government about the state of the relationship would be a
Speaker 4: good starting point.
Speaker 2: And mister Shubridge's right, Stabilization is not a defense strategy,
Speaker 2: it's not a deterrent and it does not stop Beijing
Speaker 2: from expanding its military reach into our neighborhood. And that
Speaker 2: is the reality Australia now faces. The message to small
Speaker 2: island nations is clear, you can science security deals with
Speaker 2: Australia and deep in ties with the West, but Beijing
Speaker 2: wants you to know it has the power to put
Speaker 2: nuclear capable weapons right into your area. That is not
Speaker 2: a partnership. That is intimidation. And Solomon Island's Prime minister
Speaker 2: said this behavior isn't welcome.
Speaker 5: China is a good friend of Solomon Islands, but this
Speaker 5: is not something a friend does. This is not good
Speaker 5: in our region. And Na's chair of Pacific Islands Forum.
Speaker 5: I've expressed my strong registered my strong protest yesterday with
Speaker 5: the ambassador. We don't want to see any more countries, China, America, anybody.
Speaker 5: We don't want anybody testing the ICBMs in the Pacific
Speaker 5: Islands region. That's that's the bottom line. Be our friend,
Speaker 5: but don't threaten us.
Speaker 2: At the same press conference, Anthony Albanesi condemned to China's actions.
Speaker 6: There is no doubt that this is a provocative act
Speaker 6: by China which does destabilize the region. We have said
Speaker 6: consistently that we want to cooperate with China where we can.
Speaker 6: We'll disagree where we must.
Speaker 2: But this should force a serious conversation about whether we
Speaker 2: are taking national security seriously enough. United States Studies Centre's
Speaker 2: Chief executive Michael Green referred to the situation as pretty
Speaker 2: damn intimidating and warned China could use the Pacific to
Speaker 2: isolate Australia from its allies like Japan. Tried to during
Speaker 2: World War II. Because while China expands its reach, Australia
Speaker 2: is still arguing over defense spending. We are still selling
Speaker 2: off defense land, We are moving too slowly on capability.
Speaker 2: We are still acting as though geography will protect us.
Speaker 2: It will not. The Pacific is our front yard and
Speaker 2: if Beijing is prepared to fire missiles into that area,
Speaker 2: then Australia needs to wake up. National security cannot be
Speaker 2: something we talk about only when there is a crisis.
Speaker 2: It must shape our decisions now. We need to be proactive,
Speaker 2: not reactive. Our defense budget, our alliances, our ports, our
Speaker 2: fuel security, our critical minerals and our sovereign capability. If
Speaker 2: Australia is serious about defending itself, these can't just be
Speaker 2: talking points. Opposition leader Angus Taylor says Australia must do more.
Speaker 3: We need to see those people supported with the appropriate funding,
Speaker 3: the appropriate capability behind them, and that is not happening
Speaker 3: with the current level of spend by this government. They
Speaker 3: need to get it right and they haven't got it right.
Speaker 3: They need to spend it on the right things. They
Speaker 3: need to be agile. They need to have the sovereign
Speaker 3: capability necessary for us to be able to defend ourselves
Speaker 3: and most of all, to work with our allies to
Speaker 3: demonstrate strength.
Speaker 2: Yesterday's missile test showed one thing very clearly. China is
Speaker 2: preparing for a more dangerous world. Is Australia. Well, Australia
Speaker 2: has been told for years that high migration is required
Speaker 2: as we need skilled workers doctors, engineers, tradees, nurses, people
Speaker 2: who can feel genuine shortages and help grow our economy.
Speaker 2: Well that's been the sales pitch. But today The Daily
Speaker 2: Telegraph uncovered figures that raises a question is this really
Speaker 2: a skilled migration program at all? Department of Home Affairs
Speaker 2: data shows Australi granted more than one hundred and eighty
Speaker 2: five thousand permanent visas over the past year. On paper,
Speaker 2: more than one hundred and thirty two thousand of those
Speaker 2: were classified as skilled. That sounds reasonable until you dig
Speaker 2: a little deeper. According to analysis by doctor Kevin Yu
Speaker 2: at the Institute of Public Affairs, only around sixty thousand visas,
Speaker 2: so just one third of the total migration program went
Speaker 2: to someone approved as a skilled worker. What about the others, Well,
Speaker 2: they went to family members. Now no one is suggesting
Speaker 2: Australia should split families apart, but Australians deserve honesty. Macro
Speaker 2: Business Chief economist Leith Van Nosolin has regularly insisted this
Speaker 2: The government is being deliberately misleading about the situation with
Speaker 2: skilled migration. One Nation, New South Wales Senator Sean Bell
Speaker 2: said Australia is drowning in unskilled migrants and described the
Speaker 2: program as a con job. Senator Bell joins me shortly.
Speaker 2: This is important as Australia is currently debating migration during
Speaker 2: a housing crisis. Every extra person needs somewhere to live.
Speaker 2: Infrastructure is struggling to keep up, Hospitals are under pressure,
Speaker 2: schools are bursting at the seams. The other issue is
Speaker 2: what Australia now considers to be skilled. The occupation list
Speaker 2: has ballooned to more than four hundred and fifty different professions,
Speaker 2: not just doctors, nurses, engineers and electricians, but graphic designers,
Speaker 2: advertising managers, interior designers, public relations actors. Are these occupations
Speaker 2: facing critical national shortages? Surely someone in the department looks
Speaker 2: at that list and questions whether we need more actors
Speaker 2: or has the definition of skilled migration become so broad
Speaker 2: that it's lost its meaning? Is this now a larger
Speaker 2: migration program with a more attractive label. Senator John o'dunneam
Speaker 2: says labor needs to explain this is another example of
Speaker 2: labour running a migration program with the numbers too high
Speaker 2: and the standards too low. Australia needs a migration program
Speaker 2: that is smaller, better managed, and genuinely targeted to the
Speaker 2: skills of our community, not one patted out by categories
Speaker 2: that labor then markets as skilled. And here's the irony.
Speaker 2: While the government argues migration helps solve Australia's problems, many
Speaker 2: businesses still can't get the workers that they need. The
Speaker 2: owner of a Sydney plumbing business told The Daily Telegraph
Speaker 2: that finding qualified tradees remains a constant struggle. He says
Speaker 2: sponsoring genuine skilled workers is expensive, slow and wrapped in bureaucracy,
Speaker 2: so even businesses crying out for tradespeople say the system
Speaker 2: isn't working. This shows we need smarter migration. Australians have
Speaker 2: always supported migration when it's planned, when it's genuinely in
Speaker 2: the national interest. What people don't support is being told
Speaker 2: one thing while the numbers tell a different story. This
Speaker 2: comes after Australia's net permanent and long term arrivals hit
Speaker 2: more than four hundred and eighty thousand people last year.
Speaker 2: That's the highest calendar year figure on record, higher than
Speaker 2: the previous record by seven percent, and that was set
Speaker 2: in two twenty twenty three. The Daily Telegraph asked Home
Speaker 2: Affairs Minister Tony Burke for a comment. A spokesman said
Speaker 2: Australia's policy is not to split up families when skilled
Speaker 2: migrants are awarded visas. Although mister Burke has previously said
Speaker 2: infrastructure and services need to keep up with migration.
Speaker 7: It is true that you need to make sure you
Speaker 7: are building enough houses for the people to deal with
Speaker 7: the housing shortage that we have. Getting the right immigrants
Speaker 7: is actually part of the solution, not just not necessarily
Speaker 7: part of the problem.
Speaker 2: If only one in three permanent migrants is a skilled worker,
Speaker 2: then perhaps it's time the government stopped calling it a
Speaker 2: skilled migration program and started having an honest conversation with
Speaker 2: Australians about what this really is. Well, let's head to
Speaker 2: Camber now for tonight's political headlines. Visky News political reporter
Speaker 2: rubnspar Day.
Speaker 8: Good evening the Prime Minister is condemning China's test of
Speaker 8: an intercontinental ballistic missile as a provocative act. Reports suggest
Speaker 8: that landed near Nahru, a few hundred kilometers north of
Speaker 8: where Anthony Alberzi is visiting in the Solomon Islands.
Speaker 6: No doubt that this is a provocative act by China
Speaker 6: which does destabilize the region.
Speaker 8: He was in Fiji at the time of the splashdown,
Speaker 8: signing a new alliance. China insists the launch was a
Speaker 8: routine military exercise.
Speaker 9: Relevant lunch activities are professional and regulated and well hope
Speaker 9: that you want interpret too much from that.
Speaker 8: The United States warns China is undermining nuclear non proliferation.
Speaker 3: Efforts, best pathway to pieces strengths, and that is why
Speaker 3: we need to see an increase in defense spinning in
Speaker 3: this country. Working closely with our alliances, our allies across
Speaker 3: the globe.
Speaker 8: The federal government has lodged formal concerns with the Chinese
Speaker 8: embassy in Canberra and through diplomatic channels in Beijing. China's
Speaker 8: shell force is casting a sho I know over Anthony
Speaker 8: Alberesi's Pacific mission. The Prime Minister held a bilateral meeting
Speaker 8: with this Solomon Island's counterpart. The two leaders working towards
Speaker 8: a comprehensive treaty to strengthen cooperation.
Speaker 6: We know we're stronger when we stand together, and I
Speaker 6: look forward to the many decades of closer cooperation to come.
Speaker 8: Anthony Alberzi is now returning home where he'll host the
Speaker 8: leaders of Papua New Guinea and Tonga at the State
Speaker 8: of Origin.
Speaker 2: Well, let's tell further now into the news today about
Speaker 2: Australia's skilled migration program. It has been described as a
Speaker 2: conjob with fresh claims the skilled migration program is overwhelmingly
Speaker 2: driven by family migration. Analysis of Department of Home Affairs
Speaker 2: data from twenty four to twenty five by the Institute
Speaker 2: of Public Affairs found that one hundred and eighty five
Speaker 2: thousand permanent visas granted over this twelve month period, seventy
Speaker 2: one percent were classified as skilled visas, but of those
Speaker 2: only third twenty three percent actually went to someone approved
Speaker 2: as skilled. So joining us now to help us pull
Speaker 2: this all apart is Institute of Public Affairs Research fellow Saxon.
Speaker 2: Davidson Saxon, welcome. Your analysis shows only one in three
Speaker 2: places in Australia's migration program actually go to the skilled worker,
Speaker 2: with the rest going to the family. Has the government
Speaker 2: been misleading Australians about what a skilled migration program really is?
Speaker 10: I believe so, yes, and they've been doing it for
Speaker 10: quite a long time. As you just said, there are
Speaker 10: one hundred and eighty five permanent visas granted, and of
Speaker 10: that about seventy one percent are given under the skilled
Speaker 10: visa program, but only sixty thousand of the total one
Speaker 10: hundred and eighty five thousand total permanent visas are actually
Speaker 10: skilled migrants. Now, no one is suggesting that we have
Speaker 10: a family separation policy when it comes to our migration policy.
Speaker 1: That's absurd.
Speaker 10: But the government should at least be honest about what
Speaker 10: our skilled migration program actually is, particularly when we're having
Speaker 10: a record net overseas migration program under this Albanese government.
Speaker 2: We definitely don't want to split families. But does this
Speaker 2: build a stronger case for the government to tighten eligibility
Speaker 2: for second applicants or as a way to overall reduce
Speaker 2: the migrant intake.
Speaker 10: I certainly do think so on both of those accounts,
Speaker 10: particularly on the reduction of migration, because we're having large
Speaker 10: stress on the economy when it comes to construction of
Speaker 10: homes a housing shortage crisis, a rental shortage crisis, and
Speaker 10: the migration program isn't fixing the problem that this Albanese
Speaker 10: government specifically said that it would back In twenty two
Speaker 10: to twenty three, the Albanese government stated that we needed
Speaker 10: a refix of our migration program, which actually just meant
Speaker 10: to increase it in order to fix our worker shortage
Speaker 10: problem that arose from the pandemic. But that worker shortage
Speaker 10: crisis has only continued and has now become the norm,
Speaker 10: and migration numbers remain elevated. So absolutely we need a
Speaker 10: reduction in immigration and we need to read think about
Speaker 10: how we actually go about and solving our worker shortage crisis.
Speaker 2: One thing that I found really interesting in this Daily
Speaker 2: Telegraph analysis was the skilled occupation list, now including more
Speaker 2: than four hundred and fifty different roles. Now, obviously you
Speaker 2: would expect to see things like doctors and engineers, but
Speaker 2: now there's things like actors and interior designers. In your opinion,
Speaker 2: has the definition of skills shortage become just so broad
Speaker 2: that the program is no longer serving Australia's economic interests.
Speaker 10: Without a doubt, People commonly think as skilled migrants with
Speaker 10: skills isn't always aligned with what the government considers to
Speaker 10: be a skill, and that obviously reflects in what occurs
Speaker 10: with our skilled migration program. Everyone thinks that being a doctor,
Speaker 10: or being a nurse, or having an engineering degree is
Speaker 10: clearly a skill, but clearly that this migration program, this
Speaker 10: skilled migration program, is not designed for the needs of
Speaker 10: the economy. Because if the government's argument is that we
Speaker 10: need workers to help fix our housing shortage, and that's
Speaker 10: why we have a migration program, then you would expect
Speaker 10: the vast majority of those migrants to come with skills
Speaker 10: in things such as manufacturing or construction, but simply not
Speaker 10: the case, and so you're actually having the added demand
Speaker 10: stress of housing and rentals being applied with the excuse
Speaker 10: that this is going to improve supply and it's simply
Speaker 10: not true.
Speaker 2: Saxon, I want to go back to the job vacancy
Speaker 2: level that you were just talking about, because you did
Speaker 2: some research around this, but more so about the high
Speaker 2: level that we're seeing where we're around that forty five
Speaker 2: percent higher than pre pandemic levels. But what does that
Speaker 2: tell you about the government when they're constantly talking about
Speaker 2: migration but it's not actually feeling these worker shortages and
Speaker 2: what's the way that you think we should be approaching
Speaker 2: this instead.
Speaker 10: So the IPA does regular analysis on job vacancies and
Speaker 10: it's found that worker shortages have been above around three
Speaker 10: hundred and twenty five thousand job vacancies for the last
Speaker 10: five years and this costs the taxpayer in terms of
Speaker 10: lost income and lost income tax to the government as well.
Speaker 10: But in terms of what we should be doing instead,
Speaker 10: the IPA has long held the position that we really
Speaker 10: need to look at the tax code that we apply
Speaker 10: to Australian veterans, Australian students on the Youth Allowance, as
Speaker 10: well as Australian pensioners who face tax rates as high
Speaker 10: as sixty six percent due to lost benefits and to
Speaker 10: regular income tax brackets when they work about a day
Speaker 10: and a half on minimum wage for a week. Our
Speaker 10: research has found that this will increase the labor market
Speaker 10: by about five hundred and twenty thousand workers. And also
Speaker 10: these are skilled workers that live in Australia, particularly our
Speaker 10: veterans and our pensioners, who also shouldn't be taxed at
Speaker 10: such a high rate for wanting to stay a part
Speaker 10: of their community and then also this help. This help
Speaker 10: fixes job vacancies in unskilled areas of the economy when
Speaker 10: it comes to students who desperately need that experience in
Speaker 10: order to put forward in life once their studies are done.
Speaker 10: These are easy tax changes that we can make that
Speaker 10: are cost effective and add output into the economy and
Speaker 10: puts more workers into the economy while also increasing the
Speaker 10: amount of people paying income tax for the federal government.
Speaker 10: But instead the government have continued with this failed migration
Speaker 10: program that has simply been unable to fix the worker
Speaker 10: shortage crisis, as shown with the elevated levels that we
Speaker 10: have seen.
Speaker 2: Well, Saxon, thank you for your time tonight. Alright, it
Speaker 2: is now time to bring in my panel One Nation,
Speaker 2: New South Wales Senator Sean Bell and political commentator Rode Knox.
Speaker 2: Welcome to you both. Sean, I will start with you
Speaker 2: because we've been talking about this skilled migration program, which
Speaker 2: you refer to as a con job. Why do you
Speaker 2: believe Australians have been misled?
Speaker 9: I mean conjob, Ponzi scheme, fast, there are other words
Speaker 9: I could have used to describe it, and I think
Speaker 9: Australians can understand after listening to your last guest a
Speaker 9: very good explanation of this process, just why they've been conned.
Speaker 9: For people my age, our entire lives. We've been told
Speaker 9: that there's a skills crisis and immigration will solve it. Well,
Speaker 9: if mass immigrations solved the skills crisis, there would not
Speaker 9: be a skills crisis. And instead what we've seen is
Speaker 9: it's just another lever the government can pull to flood
Speaker 9: the country with migrants and to the point where we're
Speaker 9: drowning in unskilled labor. I mean, and that point that
Speaker 9: was made to as to there are other alternative methods
Speaker 9: to solve this problem is correct. A one nation has
Speaker 9: a policy of making sure that the tax burden on
Speaker 9: pensioners or veterans if they wish to go back to work,
Speaker 9: is removed so that we have the skills in the
Speaker 9: country that can be utilized. We don't have to rely
Speaker 9: on bringing in more people, putting further pressure on homes,
Speaker 9: further pressure on hospitals, further pressure on our infrastructure. So, yes,
Speaker 9: this is a con job, but it's one that the
Speaker 9: Australian people are.
Speaker 11: Awake to roll.
Speaker 2: I want to look at a new book that is
Speaker 2: launching on Friday and now. Poor Kelly was on Chris
Speaker 2: Kenny's program just earlier and he talks about the Liberal
Speaker 2: era between twenty thirteen and twenty twenty two. But within
Speaker 2: the book, former Prime to John Howard has spoken about
Speaker 2: the Liberal Party's problems during the Abbot, Turnbull and Morrison
Speaker 2: years and he really feels that it comes down to
Speaker 2: leadership failures and ultimately that's led to the political decline
Speaker 2: of the party. What do you think, well.
Speaker 12: I think, Jamie, part of the issue is we had
Speaker 12: the Rudd Guillard Rudd fiasco before we had Abbot, Turnbull Morrison,
Speaker 12: so in some ways the Liberals then mirrored that behavior
Speaker 12: from the Labor Party and I have no doubt that
Speaker 12: that was part of the instability in the two major
Speaker 12: parties that drove the Till movement in twenty twenty two.
Speaker 12: And we've also seen a splintering of the Australian political
Speaker 12: landscape as a result of that mirroring of the two
Speaker 12: sets of the major parties. I think it is important
Speaker 12: to note though, Jamie, obviously Tony Abbot's had significant wins
Speaker 12: around fair trade in the Pacific. Turnbulls government was able
Speaker 12: to lower the tax rate for small and medium sized
Speaker 12: businesses which helps us supercharge the economy. And Morrison I
Speaker 12: mean partly from the COVID stimulus package. But they did
Speaker 12: have the lowest unemployment rate in forty eight years. So
Speaker 12: those three governments did still build on the prosperity of
Speaker 12: the Howard Costello years, but without doubt it was disruptive
Speaker 12: for the two major parties.
Speaker 2: Well, Sean, let's head over now to wa where the
Speaker 2: by election. It's been described as the biggest test yet
Speaker 2: for one nation's political momentum. What is the feeling like
Speaker 2: on the ground, what's the response and the feedback that
Speaker 2: you're hearing.
Speaker 9: Huge enthusiasm for one nation delivering the change that people
Speaker 9: can trust. But let me be that this is a
Speaker 9: very very safe labor seat. I think it pulled over
Speaker 9: forty five percent for labor at the last state elections.
Speaker 9: So one Nation are the underdogs here, but that's never
Speaker 9: stopped us before. We know that bad labor governments, be
Speaker 9: it the current State Cook government or the Albanese government,
Speaker 9: they need strong opposition, and the existing liberal opposition have
Speaker 9: just failed. They have failed. So it's up to one
Speaker 9: nation to provide that strong alternative, to provide strong alternatives
Speaker 9: on energy policy because we need to end net zero
Speaker 9: to bring down the price of electricity. That will feed
Speaker 9: through to the economy, which means cheaper food at your
Speaker 9: kitchen table, it means better prices for businesses. You know,
Speaker 9: there is a huge enthusiasm for this and when when
Speaker 9: one nation is up for the challenge. We showed that
Speaker 9: we can get across the line in Farah, and so
Speaker 9: while we are with the underdogs, I think we're ready
Speaker 9: to give it a red hot go.
Speaker 2: Now ro The Prime minister's podcast comments are still in
Speaker 2: the headlines, but more so today it's around the s
Speaker 2: silence from Labor women. They would have been the first
Speaker 2: to condemn a Liberal Party male, but silenced when it
Speaker 2: comes to Albo and even just into Allen, who took
Speaker 2: such offense to the ditch the witch campaign has come
Speaker 2: out saying the comments were just lighthearted. Is it becoming
Speaker 2: hard to ignore the hypocrisy here?
Speaker 12: I mean, Jamie, it's extraordinary hypocrisy, isn't it that? A
Speaker 12: different standard for a labor prime minister than any man
Speaker 12: in the Liberal or National Party. And from my standpoint,
Speaker 12: I thought it was extraordinarily disrespectful to his wife Jody,
Speaker 12: to women generally, I don't know, Jbie, if you were
Speaker 12: short of had a chance to have a look at
Speaker 12: the Kylie documentary, but part of her early career was
Speaker 12: around being so objectified and minimized as a female in
Speaker 12: the entertainment industry. So I think it was an absolutely
Speaker 12: appalling remark and appalling interview in general and completely it
Speaker 12: had no hint of being a Prime minister in that interview.
Speaker 12: But Jamie, as you said earlier in the show, there
Speaker 12: are so many huge issues that are facing the country
Speaker 12: at the moment, and we heard about that nuclear test
Speaker 12: that China conducted in the Pacific. We've obviously talked about
Speaker 12: the purported skill migration tonight, and it shows that the
Speaker 12: Prime Minister is once again taking this populist stance. He's
Speaker 12: going to people where they live. But unfortunately that's we're
Speaker 12: losing the really substantive issues that we need to be
Speaker 12: talking about as a country now.
Speaker 2: Sean, just very quickly, President Donald Trump has admitted calling
Speaker 2: FIFA president to ask him to review a red card
Speaker 2: and this was handed to a star striker, which FIFA
Speaker 2: ended up overturning. And it is just worth noting that
Speaker 2: America did lose today for one to Belgium. I would
Speaker 2: have imagine there'd be absolute outcry off the US had won.
Speaker 2: But what did you make of the controversy?
Speaker 9: We look, I mean sort of a bit of calma
Speaker 9: there for America. After knocking us out, they've now been
Speaker 9: knocked out themselves. And look, I suppose it shows the
Speaker 9: power of a phone call. The president picked up the
Speaker 9: phone and gave FIFA ring. Now the president of FIFA
Speaker 9: have said that he speaks to a lot of world
Speaker 9: leaders about a lot of different topics, and he speaks
Speaker 9: to Donald Trump regularly about the World Cup. So I
Speaker 9: suppose you know, we're having a trust FIFA having a
Speaker 9: clean sheet there. But it's an interesting outcome, and unfortunately
Speaker 9: for America it was not one that gotten across the line.
Speaker 2: No, it certainly wasn't. And I know that. I think
Speaker 2: Belgium was planning to go and sue FIFA if things
Speaker 2: didn't get overturned. So anyway, the lawsuit will probably end
Speaker 2: Rowan Sean, thank you so much for your time tonights.
Speaker 2: Well after the break, concerns from volunteer firefighters over a
Speaker 2: cancer cluster and plea to government they say was overlooked,
Speaker 2: plus a warning for one of Australia's most successful businessmen
Speaker 2: that is coming up. Welcome back. It's great to have
Speaker 2: your company, Anthony Alvinzi with the target of a scathing
Speaker 2: attack from small business. That's soon. But now to the
Speaker 2: legitimate health concerns from volunteer firefighters at a CFA brigade
Speaker 2: in Victoria's East. Crew members blame a long running cluster
Speaker 2: of cancers, including three reported deaths, on exposure to toxins
Speaker 2: linked to their life saving work and ultimately underfunding. Members
Speaker 2: say it comes despite repeated warnings. They say, we're ignored
Speaker 2: by the state government. They now seek the same workplace
Speaker 2: protections as any other frontline emergency workers and accountability before
Speaker 2: more lives are lost. Brad Marzan is the CFA captain
Speaker 2: and vice president of the CFA Volunteers Group, and he
Speaker 2: joins me now, Brad, welcome. Five years ago, you say
Speaker 2: the brigade detailed fourteen cancer cases amongst long serving members
Speaker 2: in a letter to then Emergency Services MP Jacqueline Simes
Speaker 2: and then other current ministers Vicky Ward Harriet Sing That
Speaker 2: number now sits at twenty one. What response have you received, Yeah,
Speaker 2: thanks for thanks.
Speaker 13: For your time. The question they've not received any response
Speaker 13: from Jacqueline Simes when she was the state's Emergency Services Minister.
Speaker 13: Harriet sing also didn't even respond to the brigade they've had.
Speaker 13: Around six months ago. Vicky Ward came for a visit
Speaker 13: for even that visit has become fruitless. She didn't want
Speaker 13: to have a photo in front of the station because
Speaker 13: of the state of it. So they really have been
Speaker 13: or by by the government and by the leaders, which is.
Speaker 2: Just so disappointing. Now, if the CFA and the Victorian
Speaker 2: government insist that the station is safe, who do you
Speaker 2: believe has failed these volunteers and should someone be held
Speaker 2: personally accountable for this?
Speaker 13: Look, I think all the questions with CFA stations, she'll
Speaker 13: never find that any CFA management or the Victorian government
Speaker 13: will say that they are where they should be. They
Speaker 13: know they're not up to scratch as far as who's accountable.
Speaker 13: We've had the same government for three terms now, and
Speaker 13: over the past decade the CFA has gone downhill. It's
Speaker 13: still going downhill. We have a thousand on average, we
Speaker 13: have a thousand volunteers less each year since this government
Speaker 13: came to power, and we've just been ignored. The CFA
Speaker 13: it's the largest frontline emergency service in the state, and
Speaker 13: it is consistently getting kicked down the road by a government.
Speaker 13: Unfortunately for the CFA.
Speaker 2: You know, Brad, volunteer firefighters are risking their lives for free.
Speaker 2: Does this expose a broader problem where governments are relying
Speaker 2: on volunteers while failing to properly invest in their safety.
Speaker 14: Yeah.
Speaker 13: Look, and I think we probably saw that last year
Speaker 13: in May with the new emergency service and volunteers from
Speaker 13: tax that when it came out, directly targeted volunteers. Every
Speaker 13: Victorian's paying it, but it's not coming to the services.
Speaker 11: You can see.
Speaker 13: Jacqueline Simes I believe quoted over five hundred million dollars
Speaker 13: it'll raise this year. We're not going to see a
Speaker 13: five hundred million dollar increase to our funding. And everyone's
Speaker 13: paying it. Every Victorian's paying this new tax in a
Speaker 13: cost of living crisis. The Greens supported it, legalized cand
Speaker 13: of Be supported it, the Animal Justice Party supported it.
Speaker 13: But Victoria's emergency services we're not going to see five
Speaker 13: one hundred million dollar increase and we want to know
Speaker 13: why where's our money going.
Speaker 2: And I think the other concerning element of your story
Speaker 2: is there's twenty one cancer cases in your brigade. I
Speaker 2: just would hate to think what the numbers are across
Speaker 2: not just Victoria, but across the country that might not
Speaker 2: be being reported as much. Are you in touch with
Speaker 2: any other brigades to see if the cancer clusters are
Speaker 2: popping up anywhere else?
Speaker 13: So the case is in Nanagoon Brigade, Yeah, like you say,
Speaker 13: they're twenty one, it is. It's sad and also shocking
Speaker 13: the amount of phone calls the CFA volunteers group have
Speaker 13: got over the last week or ten days now that
Speaker 13: this has been brought to light. Ninagoon is only a
Speaker 13: tip of the iceberg we believe in, and that's being
Speaker 13: backed up over the past ten days with the phone
Speaker 13: calls we've been receiving. So we just don't know the extent.
Speaker 13: And that's what's really worrying because we have no we
Speaker 13: have no end in sight of funding that we need
Speaker 13: and it's it's it's really it's sad and really disappointed.
Speaker 2: It's sad, and I think the frustrating element of this
Speaker 2: is one the lack of response that you've received from
Speaker 2: the government. But is this, in your mind an example
Speaker 2: of a government waiting until it becomes a bigger crisis
Speaker 2: before they then take action in solving the problem it is.
Speaker 13: It's it's a shame. It seems like that you have
Speaker 13: to bring them kicking and screaming to the table before
Speaker 13: they'll listen or in this case it is going to
Speaker 13: be CFA fire fighters lives before they sit up and
Speaker 13: start taking notice. We just hope that the minor parties
Speaker 13: around them, like the Greens and the legalized cannabis, sit
Speaker 13: up and help bring them to the table and listen
Speaker 13: to us and help us.
Speaker 2: Well, Brad, I really appreciate your time tonight. We will
Speaker 2: can continue to follow this and we'll get you on
Speaker 2: again soon. Thank you all. Right after the break, the
Speaker 2: warning to Anthony Albanesi on small business pressure from one
Speaker 2: of the country's most successful businessman. Welcome back. Coming up,
Speaker 2: we will cross life to London to discuss Prince Harry's
Speaker 2: return to the UK. But now to the scathing attack
Speaker 2: on Prime Minister Anthony Alberanesi from one of the nation's
Speaker 2: most successful businessmen. Franchise King Jim Penman of Jim's Mowing fame,
Speaker 2: has launched a new radical plan to remake the lives
Speaker 2: of thousands of battered franchisees across the country, claiming the
Speaker 2: Prime Minister doesn't understand the harsh realities of small business life.
Speaker 2: He says, you don't know what you're doing, you don't
Speaker 2: know the effects of what you're doing. You don't understand
Speaker 2: what a small franchisee actually is. You don't know how
Speaker 2: they think, You don't know much money they've got, and
Speaker 2: you don't know anything about them. Well, I'm pleased to say,
Speaker 2: Jim Penman joins me. Now, Jim, welcome. You've invited the
Speaker 2: PM to spend a day working as a franchise e.
Speaker 2: Why was that because I'd like it and.
Speaker 15: Have some idea of what it really means to be
Speaker 15: in more business. The trouble is, Dear Anthony, dear Prime
Speaker 15: Minister hasn't got a clue. He's never actually had a
Speaker 15: proper job. He's always been in and out of politics,
Speaker 15: and he just doesn't know when he makes these regulations
Speaker 15: and these rules and these principles what effect it has
Speaker 15: on this.
Speaker 2: Jim, have you heard anything from the Prime Minister? Did
Speaker 2: he like this sort of I know it was a
Speaker 2: jovial invitation, but what was his response? Have you heard anything.
Speaker 15: Raw total zero. Of course I don't infect him the response.
Speaker 15: It'd be great if he did, and if you had
Speaker 15: some idea of what went on. Look, you got to
Speaker 15: keep it. Even in myself. I haven't been in my
Speaker 15: own contact for some time now, but still talk on
Speaker 15: a daily basis with my franchisees and my and my
Speaker 15: franchise all so I know what they're thinking. He doesn't
Speaker 15: have a he doesn't have a clue. He really doesn't know.
Speaker 2: And that is the trouble with a lot of the
Speaker 2: labor front benches is that they haven't really had careers
Speaker 2: outside of the world of politics. So just spell it
Speaker 2: out for us some of the pressures that business operators
Speaker 2: are really facing at the moment, because we are seeing
Speaker 2: record insolvencies at the moment in this country.
Speaker 15: Well, I think one thing the government can and should
Speaker 15: do something about is the rising tide of red tape.
Speaker 15: It's it's just gone beyond belief the kind of stuff
Speaker 15: that we're throwing at us all the time, and it
Speaker 15: just gets worse almost by the week. I mean, it's
Speaker 15: not just in the service industry, it's in building, it's
Speaker 15: in hospitality, it's everywhere. They just throw more and more
Speaker 15: regulations at us and don't understand you've got to spend
Speaker 15: time actually dealing with these things and costs. Franchising is
Speaker 15: a perfect example. You've got these two and a half,
Speaker 15: you've cut these thousands and thousands of dollars that you've
Speaker 15: got to spend appearing contracts with disclosure documents that nobody
Speaker 15: ever reads. They're full of legalistic jargon. Even lawyers can't
Speaker 15: understand them. I've only ever known two franchises to ever
Speaker 15: read our disclosure document, and yet we have to spend
Speaker 15: so much time and get all this. Oh, it's just
Speaker 15: beyond belief that it gets worse and worse. We're actually
Speaker 15: not so bad enough because we signed twelve hundred franchises
Speaker 15: a year, so we automate the whole process. But it
Speaker 15: cost a typical franchise you thousands of dollars just to
Speaker 15: get a contract and get it checked out because they're
Speaker 15: so obscenely complicated.
Speaker 2: Well, one of the things that you do want to
Speaker 2: abolish is the a triple C franchise code. What impact
Speaker 2: will this have for businesses?
Speaker 15: Look what we need having regulations that say that franchise
Speaker 15: also god do the right things? Is good? Like this
Speaker 15: business with seven eleven where they take away their business
Speaker 15: after ten years with no chance to sell. That is
Speaker 15: absolutely obscene. How on earth can any government with any
Speaker 15: ounce of conscience think that the benefits of these international
Speaker 15: greedy I don't even have words to describe them, matter
Speaker 15: more than the welfare of ordinary Australians. It's just terrible.
Speaker 15: Nobody should be able to do a thing like that.
Speaker 15: So there should be clear laws holding franchise ors responsible
Speaker 15: for treating people decently. But what we really need is
Speaker 15: what we do within Gym's Group. What we do is
Speaker 15: we survey our franchises every year anonymously, confidentially, nobody knows
Speaker 15: their franchise or doesn't know what the answer is, and
Speaker 15: then we publicly post these and franchisors who do badly
Speaker 15: get under a lot of pressure, and those who do
Speaker 15: well get you recognized, We give them awards. Now, why
Speaker 15: couldn't the government do the same thing. Get an independent
Speaker 15: marketing agency to poll franchisees, every franchisee once a year,
Speaker 15: franchise all's expense, cost the government nothing, and post all
Speaker 15: the results on our website and everybody who wants to
Speaker 15: buy a franchise can look at that website and then
Speaker 15: they can see all the garbage things that the poor
Speaker 15: franchise also done. They would put so much pressure on
Speaker 15: them because if they treat people badly, they wouldn't be
Speaker 15: able to get a franchise. Now I have said this
Speaker 15: every time they've had an acquiry. I've said the same thing.
Speaker 15: This legalistic stuff you're doing will not work, will not
Speaker 15: protect anybody. You need to cast the light of people
Speaker 15: looking at what you're doing and then you'll get ethical franchising.
Speaker 2: Now, Jim, before I let you go, I need to
Speaker 2: talk to you about what your new career is. You're
Speaker 2: running as a Libertarian candidate and the upcoming Victorian state
Speaker 2: election for the seat of northcot tell us. Have you
Speaker 2: been hitting the pavement? You're doing door knocking? I mean
Speaker 2: people probably get a pleasant surprise when you're at their
Speaker 2: front door.
Speaker 15: Huh No, not much, not much, unlucky. Mostly social media.
Speaker 15: I'm pretty active. My big thing is zoning. Zoning is
Speaker 15: just a horror. We've got these zoning regulations which fought
Speaker 15: up the price of housing. But a reasonable estimate houses
Speaker 15: should cost about half what they do in capit cities,
Speaker 15: and you can build houses much more cost effectively. If
Speaker 15: you take away some of the stupid regulations and you
Speaker 15: allow proper subdivision of land, the people can build what
Speaker 15: they want where they want and live where they want to.
Speaker 15: So in the inner city you have more dense, more
Speaker 15: like terrace houses and so forth. May people build what
Speaker 15: they want and let the rents come down and the
Speaker 15: prices come down. At the moment, we've got a system
Speaker 15: where the government artificially restricts building, forces up the price
Speaker 15: of housing, which is great for the multi millionaires who
Speaker 15: have multiple properties, but it's pretty bad for the poor
Speaker 15: sods who are trying to rent or we're trying to
Speaker 15: buy into the market.
Speaker 2: And before I let you go, what has the feedback
Speaker 2: been like for you on the ground. Because you are
Speaker 2: running in a strong labor seat, can you see yourself
Speaker 2: causing an upset win.
Speaker 15: I don't think i'll win.
Speaker 2: Seriously, Well, I'm glad you're out there giving it a try, though, Jim.
Speaker 15: Yes, I'll do my best and at least push the
Speaker 15: idea for what it Maybe if they give me a
Speaker 15: few votes, will look at it and say, well, this
Speaker 15: is idiot, this gym who goes for this radical change
Speaker 15: of zoning. He got a few votes maybe we should
Speaker 15: listen to him.
Speaker 2: Well, I love it, full of great ideas. Jim Penman,
Speaker 2: thank you for joining me Tonight. After the break we'll
Speaker 2: head to London for the latest in royal news and
Speaker 2: what to make of Prince Harry's return to London. That's next, Oh,
Speaker 2: welcome back. Well, let's cross to the UK now, where
Speaker 2: all the attention is centered on Prince Harry's visit to
Speaker 2: London and the royal family rift, which shows no signs
Speaker 2: of being repaired based on a disagreement over his accommodation
Speaker 2: booking at Buckingham Palace. Here to tell us more is
Speaker 2: Sky News contributor and News Corp Australia's European correspondent, Sophie Ellsworth. Sophie,
Speaker 2: great to see you. What is the latest on Prince Harry.
Speaker 2: He needs to book to be able to say at
Speaker 2: Buckingham Palace.
Speaker 16: Well, this has just been an absolute debarcle before he
Speaker 16: even touched down here in the US. Okay, he was
Speaker 16: offered accommodation behind me here at Buckingham Palace. He armed
Speaker 16: and ard and then he finally said yes he would
Speaker 16: stay there. But it was too short a notice for
Speaker 16: Buckingham Palace staff to be prepared for him to stay
Speaker 16: here because Buckingham Palace, reminding you, is under extensive renovation.
Speaker 16: So Prince Harry touched down here in London last night.
Speaker 16: But the headlines here today are pretty telling. The front
Speaker 16: of the London Sun today is King snaps at URII,
Speaker 16: so the rift in the family is continuing now. We
Speaker 16: are yet to also know if his wife, Mega Mikael,
Speaker 16: and their two children are coming to London with him.
Speaker 14: It looks like they won't be.
Speaker 16: He will be in Birmingham on Friday for the twelvemonth
Speaker 16: out launch from the Invictor's Game. So this has been
Speaker 16: incredibly tumultuous. Bad headlines yet again, and Prince Harry just
Speaker 16: seems to always create a circus and a drama around
Speaker 16: him whenever he does come here to the UK.
Speaker 2: Yeah he really does. It's so sad watching all of
Speaker 2: that family dynamic unfold. But let's head to another member
Speaker 2: within that family. What can you tell us about the
Speaker 2: inquiry conducted by of all places, Pizza Express and what
Speaker 2: it has to do with Andrew mount Batton Windsor.
Speaker 16: So we know that Andrew mount Baton Windsor did that
Speaker 16: infamous damaging interview with the BBC News Night program some
Speaker 16: years ago now saying that he was at Pizza Express
Speaker 16: in Woking, south of London, on the night he allegedly
Speaker 16: had sexual relations with Virginia Giffrey. But we have since
Speaker 16: learned that the Pizza Express has I had done an
Speaker 16: internal investigation to find out if they could determine that
Speaker 16: Prince Andrew or now Andrew mount Baton Windsor was in
Speaker 16: Pizza Express that night he said he was there. They
Speaker 16: interviewed many staff back in twenty twenty one about this
Speaker 16: and couldn't come to any conclusion that he was at
Speaker 16: the Pizza Express. So again another damaging story for Andrew
Speaker 16: mount Batton Windsor, who we rarely see now in public,
Speaker 16: is in hiding really at Sandringham Estate, and he's very
Speaker 16: much persona non grada within the royal family. So together
Speaker 16: with him and Prince Harry, they're definitely not in favor
Speaker 16: with the Royals.
Speaker 2: I want to have a look now at a heated
Speaker 2: exchange between Nigel Farage and a journalist. Let's take a
Speaker 2: quick listen. Was it a mistake not to declare the
Speaker 2: gifts from George Kottrelza?
Speaker 11: You tell your bosses you harrass my family anymore. I'll
Speaker 11: thank you the serious consequence. That's what your organization has
Speaker 11: done this morning. Go away. Was it a mistake not
Speaker 11: to declare the gifts? Sir? Do you not hear me?
Speaker 11: You have broken all the rules Levison and everything else.
Speaker 6: Cut.
Speaker 2: So Sophie, what can you tell tell us about this
Speaker 2: background and the altercation that happened here at the airport.
Speaker 16: So there's been a series of stories here in the
Speaker 16: media in recent days that Nigel Farrage, one of his
Speaker 16: closest allies, is a convicted criminal, the son of an aristocrat.
Speaker 16: He's known here in the UK as Posh George George Kottrell,
Speaker 16: and his associations with Nigel Frage have now come into questioning,
Speaker 16: including that he allowed Nigel Frage to stay at one
Speaker 16: of his luxury properties in central London, just here near
Speaker 16: Buckingham Palace, and that he also gave funds to Nigel Farrage.
Speaker 14: Now Nigel Farrage has been.
Speaker 16: Under scruting here in the UK over these relations and
Speaker 16: that heated exchange with a Sky News UK reporter in
Speaker 16: at the airport when he returned from the US. He's
Speaker 16: saying that he's under intense scrutiny in un fair scrutiny
Speaker 16: here by the establishment. But there are many questions being
Speaker 16: asked of Nigel Farage. But there's no doubt he's certainly
Speaker 16: shaking up the political landscape here because he is leading
Speaker 16: in many of the political polls here.
Speaker 2: I was going to ask that to see if any
Speaker 2: of these allegations have impacted his popularity at the moment.
Speaker 2: But from what you said, is still dominating in the polls.
Speaker 16: He is still very popular here in the UK. Reform
Speaker 16: UK are doing very well in the polls. Obviously, polls
Speaker 16: come out all the time. There are some there is
Speaker 16: some commentary that he's taken a hit recently.
Speaker 14: His ratings are not as high as they once were.
Speaker 16: But he is pinned to be the country's next prime
Speaker 16: minister when there is a general election, which is scheduled
Speaker 16: to be by twenty twenty nine. But as we know,
Speaker 16: we're about to get a new prime minister here within weeks,
Speaker 16: which is likely.
Speaker 14: To be Andy Burnham.
Speaker 16: So there's a lot of termoil within the British political
Speaker 16: landscape here right now.
Speaker 2: Yeah, there certainly is is the feeling on the ground
Speaker 2: positive towards Andy Burnham. I read mixed reviews and mixed
Speaker 2: reports of what's coming out of the UK and the
Speaker 2: sentiment towards him. It seems as though people don't want
Speaker 2: him just to waltz straight in and start bringing out policies.
Speaker 2: But what are you hearing?
Speaker 14: So there's a mixed response.
Speaker 16: There's some who say, yes, good riddance to Keir Starmer.
Speaker 16: We now have a new prime minister coming in. This
Speaker 16: will be a chance for Britain to reset well. Andy
Speaker 16: Burnham's critics are like, well, how on earth can this
Speaker 16: man who was Manchester mayor just walked straight into ten
Speaker 16: Downing Street without being elected to that position. We know
Speaker 16: that he won the by election up in Makerfield. He's
Speaker 16: now in the House of Commons. He is tipped to
Speaker 16: be the next Prime minister. But there was definitely a
Speaker 16: real worry within Labor that if there was a general
Speaker 16: election and Kirs Starmer was in charge, they would lose.
Speaker 14: They're very worried about reform UK.
Speaker 16: So I can assure you and the viewers it's certainly
Speaker 16: a very interesting time here in British politics right now.
Speaker 2: And one thing that Andy Burnham has done that I
Speaker 2: think is probably going to get him some popularity is
Speaker 2: that he has vowed to bring back drinking alcohol in
Speaker 2: the stands at the football something that was outlawed back
Speaker 2: in nineteen eighty five. But so if you thank you
Speaker 2: for your time tonight, we'll chat to you again soon. Well,
Speaker 2: thank you for your company this evening. You'll see me
Speaker 2: again right here tomorrow night at six o'clock. The Bolt
Speaker 2: Report is up. Next