Speaker 1: Live on Sky News.
Speaker 2: This is Sharry.
Speaker 3: Good evening and yes, As Andrew said, let's start with
Speaker 3: the major breaking news. An Air India flight to London
Speaker 3: has crashed with at least two hundred and forty four
Speaker 3: people on board and a warning. This footage is distressing.
Speaker 3: The plane came down in a built up residential area
Speaker 3: up of ah Medabat, a city in western India. The
Speaker 3: airline has tonight confirmed just minutes ago there were one
Speaker 3: hundred and sixty nine Indian nationals, fifty three British citizens,
Speaker 3: one Canadian and seven Portuguese nationals on board. The aircraft
Speaker 3: reportedly gave a may day call indicating an emergency just
Speaker 3: moments after takeoff, but after that there was no response
Speaker 3: from the pilots.
Speaker 4: These are chilling.
Speaker 3: Pictures of the aircraft coming down, this tragedy unfolding just
Speaker 3: in the last hour. There are believed to be two
Speaker 3: hundred and thirty two passengers and twelve crew on board.
Speaker 3: As Andrew said, it would be a miracle if there
Speaker 3: were any survivors. And you can see in this footage
Speaker 3: the thick smoke from the crash site. It's reportedly an
Speaker 3: Air India Boeing seven eight seven Dreamliner that was bound
Speaker 3: for London's Gatwick Airport and it's understood to have crashed
Speaker 3: not long after it departed. Sada vallibu Ptu International Airport,
Speaker 3: India released this statement just minutes ago.
Speaker 4: Confirming this tragic news.
Speaker 3: They said, India confirms that flight A one seven to
Speaker 3: one from Ahmadabad to London Gatwik was involved in an
Speaker 3: accident today after takeoff, so they're calling it an accident.
Speaker 3: The flight, which departed at thirteen thirty eight hours, was
Speaker 3: carrying two hundred and forty two passengers and crew members
Speaker 3: on board the Boeing seven eight seven to eight aircraft.
Speaker 4: Of these, one.
Speaker 3: Hundred and sixty nine are Indian nationals, fifty three are
Speaker 3: British nationals, one Canadian national and seven Portuguese nationals. The
Speaker 3: injured are being taken to the nearest hospitals now. This
Speaker 3: is absolutely tragic news. Two hundred and forty people on board.
Speaker 3: India have said they will be of course cooperating with
Speaker 3: authorities as they investigate what went on just moments after takeoff,
Speaker 3: when that mayday call came through just seconds after they
Speaker 3: took off, and after that there was no contact at
Speaker 3: all with the air carrier before it crashed. Now we're
Speaker 3: going to keep you updated as we hear more throughout
Speaker 3: the hour. But right now I'm joined by Skynese contributor
Speaker 3: Emily car By. Emily, thanks for your time. What more
Speaker 3: do we know?
Speaker 4: What are we learning about this tragic accident?
Speaker 5: Well, absolutely shocking and as you see, an absolute tragedy.
Speaker 5: It is hard to imagine that anyone has been able
Speaker 5: to survive this, This plane that was headed to London
Speaker 5: Gatwick one of our major airports here in London, just
Speaker 5: a standard flight. There are so many of these flies
Speaker 5: that leave from India to arrive in London. And we
Speaker 5: find out that fifty three British nationals more on board,
Speaker 5: one hundred and sixty nine Indians, one Canadian and seven
Speaker 5: Portuguese as well. Devastating news for Britain's this morning to
Speaker 5: hear a lot of people here will be checking whether
Speaker 5: they have relatives on board. As you may know, there
Speaker 5: are a huge number of British Indians in this country
Speaker 5: and Indian nationals as well, who may well have been
Speaker 5: coming to Britain after visiting relatives in India, or had
Speaker 5: been traveling for example, or for many reasons would have
Speaker 5: been flying back to London, and for this devastating incident
Speaker 5: to have taken place is truly truly shocking.
Speaker 2: Air India has a pretty.
Speaker 5: High record when it comes to safety, this particular this
Speaker 5: particular plane as well, a Boeing seven eight seven Dreamliner,
Speaker 5: relatively new model.
Speaker 2: We're hearing also.
Speaker 5: From the India Aviation Regulator that the captain who was
Speaker 5: on board, who was in charge of this flight, he
Speaker 5: had two hundred hours of flying experience. The co pilot
Speaker 5: had over one thousand hours of flying experience. These weren't
Speaker 5: inexperienced pilots flying this plane, which begs the question what
Speaker 5: on earth happened? And we're finding out slowly more and
Speaker 5: more detail. It appears that this plane was in the
Speaker 5: air for such a short amount of time before it
Speaker 5: then crashed to the ground. And we've all seen the
Speaker 5: images here that you're playing, those huge black smoke clouds.
Speaker 5: We've also seen fireballs as well. This is a truly
Speaker 5: shocking event and to hear fifty three British on board
Speaker 5: as well is devastating news for us here in London.
Speaker 3: And we can show you the footage of the moment
Speaker 3: the plane crashed and just a warning to everyone at home.
Speaker 3: This is distressing footage. We are only going to play
Speaker 3: it once. So here is the moment the plane crashed,
Speaker 3: The moment the plane carrying two one hundred and forty
Speaker 3: two passengers including crew, went down. That is truly heartbreaking,
Speaker 3: devastating to watch. To think of all the families on board,
Speaker 3: and you know, we don't know for sure, of course,
Speaker 3: but it's hard to imagine anyone survived that. Emily, in
Speaker 3: that statement from India, they are calling this an accident
Speaker 3: of costs.
Speaker 4: This happened in the past hour. We can't possibly know.
Speaker 3: The investigations haven't taken place yet, but they are calling
Speaker 3: it an accident.
Speaker 4: And there was that may Day.
Speaker 3: Call from the pilots not long after takeoff, so it
Speaker 3: does indicate at this early stage it was likely some
Speaker 3: sort of technical failure and as you've pointed out, the
Speaker 3: pilots just had so much experience.
Speaker 4: Yeah, very unusual.
Speaker 5: Speaking to experts in aviation this morning, it does sound
Speaker 5: as though there are huge question marks when something like
Speaker 5: this happens. Of course, people that perhaps there is terrorism involved.
Speaker 5: We in western Indian not far from Pakistan, so the
Speaker 5: mind goes in that direction. But it does appear from
Speaker 5: what we have been told so far that yes, it
Speaker 5: does appear to have been some kind of freak accident,
Speaker 5: but I'm sure more information will come very soon this
Speaker 5: morning here in Britain and of course in India. But yes,
Speaker 5: signal appears to have been lost. This according to flight
Speaker 5: Radar and also Air India. Seconds after takeoff, the plane
Speaker 5: had reached about six hundred or so feet in the
Speaker 5: air before then appearing to try and land the plane
Speaker 5: perhaps but then crashing down and in a residential area
Speaker 5: reportedly or just outside of the airport. So potentially more
Speaker 5: deaths as well we could see, although we've had no
Speaker 5: confirmation on any fatalities so far, but I'm sure we'll
Speaker 5: heal more from the Indian authorities very soon when it
Speaker 5: comes to that. Of course, immediate rescue operations in place.
Speaker 5: In talking about being on a war footing when it
Speaker 5: comes to this type of incident. The airport has stopped
Speaker 5: all scheduled flights for the rest of the day. We're
Speaker 5: also hearing from authorities over there. But yes, just to reiterate, really,
Speaker 5: two hundred and forty two passengers on board this play
Speaker 5: in two hundred and forty two total, that includes twelve
Speaker 5: crew as well, devastating for those families, devastating for the
Speaker 5: fifty three British nationals who were on board as well,
Speaker 5: and their families who'll be scrambling to try and get
Speaker 5: in touch to try and find out if their loved
Speaker 5: one was on board. This particular fight a true horror
Speaker 5: show beyond imagination.
Speaker 6: Really.
Speaker 5: That footage that you've just shown and more that's coming
Speaker 5: up to social media as people take to their phones
Speaker 5: and take to social media to.
Speaker 2: Share what they've seen.
Speaker 5: But as yet unclear what caused this disaster, but I'm
Speaker 5: sure we'll hear more from the authorities as the day
Speaker 5: goes on.
Speaker 3: Indeed, and minute by minute we are getting more information
Speaker 3: on this, so we will keep everyone updated. Emily Carva,
Speaker 3: appreciate your time, thank you very much, and we will
Speaker 3: keep bringing you updates throughout the hour as they come
Speaker 3: to light. The details are coming in thick and fast.
Speaker 3: But i'd to have a look at some of the
Speaker 3: other news around today and coming up in the show tonight,
Speaker 3: our exclusive on the real reason why the Trump administration
Speaker 3: has ordered a review of Orcas I'll tell you what
Speaker 3: President Trump is frustrated with Albanezi about that scoop in
Speaker 3: a minute, Plus are.
Speaker 4: We on the brink of war with Iran?
Speaker 3: Defense expert Peter Jennings will give his view on whether
Speaker 3: America and Israel are poised.
Speaker 4: To strike t RAN's nuclear sites.
Speaker 3: Plus Outrage after the corruption watchdog cleared the two point
Speaker 3: four million dollar payout to Britney Higgins Michaylia.
Speaker 4: Cash will be on the show tonight.
Speaker 3: But first I can reveal the Trump administration is using
Speaker 3: a review of the Orcas submarine deal as leverage to
Speaker 3: force Albernese's.
Speaker 4: Hand on defense spending.
Speaker 3: The United States President and his officials are frustrated firstly
Speaker 3: with Albanize his refusal to increase defense spending, Secondly his
Speaker 3: flippant attitude that defense is an issue of sovereignty. And
Speaker 3: they're also concerned about his commitment to the Alliance and
Speaker 3: his refusal to robustly call out China's aggressions in our region.
Speaker 3: The Pentagon announced today a review of the Orcas submarine deal,
Speaker 3: in a dramatic move that puts into doubt our defense future.
Speaker 1: Now.
Speaker 3: Senior national security sources told me today that Australia should
Speaker 3: have been proactive on the defense budget, particularly after Europe
Speaker 3: signed up to a three point five percent target, Yet
Speaker 3: Australia's position was to keep spending at just under two percent,
Speaker 3: and this was never going to be sustainable.
Speaker 4: It's considered a joke.
Speaker 3: In the current strategic environment, which even the Prime Minister
Speaker 3: acknowledges is the most volatile in recent history. The Trump
Speaker 3: administration gave Australia time and space on the issue of
Speaker 3: defense spending so as not to interfere with our federal
Speaker 3: election cycle. They were also waiting to see the outcome.
Speaker 3: But confidential sources told me today the Trump administration is
Speaker 3: extremely serious about needing Australia to lift its game on
Speaker 3: defense spending, and this is irrespective of Jim Chalmers' budget constraints.
Speaker 3: US Defense Secretary Pete Haigseth made the point directly to
Speaker 3: our Defense Minister Richard Miles at the Shangri La Dialogue
Speaker 3: in Singapore, and Miles then audaciously shied away from publicly
Speaker 3: revealing the figure that the United States was pushing Australia
Speaker 3: to spend. So hag Seth then put it out there
Speaker 3: publicly that in his view, Australia should be spending three
Speaker 3: and a half percent of our GDP on defense.
Speaker 7: NATLE members are pledging to spend five percent of their
Speaker 7: GDP on defense, even Germany, So it doesn't make sense
Speaker 7: for countries in Europe to do that, while key allies
Speaker 7: in Asia spend less on defense in the face of
Speaker 7: an even more formidable threat.
Speaker 3: But this issue escalated further when Albanezi said that defense
Speaker 3: spending was an issue of sovereignty.
Speaker 8: Well, I think that Australia should decide what we spend
Speaker 8: on Australia's defense, simple as that. Look, what you should
Speaker 8: do in defense is decide what you need, your capability
Speaker 8: and then provide for it. That's what my government's doing.
Speaker 8: We determine our defense policy here.
Speaker 3: I can reveal that the United States views that response
Speaker 3: from Albanezi as unseerious and staggering, the idea that Australia
Speaker 3: believes it should get a free pass from increasing our
Speaker 3: defense spend for no good reason when the rest of
Speaker 3: the world is prepared to play its part. The Native
Speaker 3: partners and others have clearly seen the threat and are
Speaker 3: prepared to step up. Australia has made a point of
Speaker 3: sticking with the Paris Agreement, not wanting to be out
Speaker 3: of step with the international community when it comes to
Speaker 3: climate action, and yet they're not taking the same attitude
Speaker 3: to defense spending. And this is Australia embarrassing itself.
Speaker 4: Albanizi is showing that he's not a serious player. Now.
Speaker 3: Australian defense officials were in Washington just a few weeks
Speaker 3: ago and they know very well the expectation from the
Speaker 3: United States. The Albanzi government was on notice.
Speaker 4: Now. The third part to this orchestra review is that the.
Speaker 3: Trump administration is looking for Albanesi to reinforce his commitment
Speaker 3: to the US Alliance. More broadly, the view is that
Speaker 3: he should be prepared to call out China, something he's
Speaker 3: refused to do, even when China takes egregious action against Australia.
Speaker 3: While Albanesi insists defense spending is a matter of sovereignty,
Speaker 3: as you just heard, well, he wasn't so strong on
Speaker 3: sovereignty when it came into a Chinese warship circumnavigating our coast.
Speaker 3: The People's Liberation Army Task Group one oh seven launched
Speaker 3: live fire exercises west of Hobart, yet there was barely
Speaker 3: a peep from our Prime minister, and this astounded the
Speaker 3: United States government.
Speaker 4: Their view is Australia's.
Speaker 3: Response should be more robust and we should at least
Speaker 3: call out this provocative behavior from China. Instead, Albanesi defended it.
Speaker 3: The United States has also already publicly expressed its disappointment
Speaker 3: with the Alberanzi government's hostile position on Israel, and Albanesi
Speaker 3: is also moving against America's interests at the United Nations
Speaker 3: and in other foreign policy areas with respect to Israel.
Speaker 3: So Pentagon's review of ORCUS is entirely self inflicted and
Speaker 3: owing to Albanesi's juvenile conduct and weak foreign policy that's
Speaker 3: out of step with the United States. I'm a Prime
Speaker 3: Minister Scott Morrison did the hard work getting ORCUS over.
Speaker 4: The line, and now and now Albanesi could lose the deal.
Speaker 3: Morrison today said the Albanese government needed to keep making
Speaker 3: the case for ORCUS. His impression is that Trump had
Speaker 3: always been committed to it. But he also expressed the
Speaker 3: point that Australia needs to make it clear that we
Speaker 3: are aligned on the threat that China poses.
Speaker 9: And the second thing is, you know, we have to
Speaker 9: be very clear that we share the strategic content, which
Speaker 9: is the deterrence to aggresses in the Indo Pacific. That
Speaker 9: was a point we'd made strongly at the time, which
Speaker 9: was well understood and well appreciated, and I don't believe
Speaker 9: that there's been any fundamental.
Speaker 6: Change to that.
Speaker 9: I think the tone of that has changed, but I
Speaker 9: think the I think what I've heard from, particularly Minister
Speaker 9: Miles on this demonstrates that that intent is still weare.
Speaker 3: So that was Morrison speaking to Kieran Gilbert and he
Speaker 3: was very diplomatic there, as you heard when he said
Speaker 3: there'd been a change of tone from the Albanizi government
Speaker 3: on China.
Speaker 4: I mean, that's for sure, there's been a change of tone.
Speaker 3: Now many commentators and media outlets were today urging alban
Speaker 3: Easy to renegotiate ORCAS as the Pentagon reviews whether to
Speaker 3: dump or change the deal. But as I said, this
Speaker 3: isn't particularly about ORCUS. It's about defense spending and our
Speaker 3: attitude to the Alliance. Former Australian Ambassador to Washington, Joe
Speaker 3: Hockey realizes that defense spending was the major sticking point.
Speaker 1: We've learned from Ukraine. If you don't make your own weapons,
Speaker 1: if you don't build your own military, then you can't
Speaker 1: necessarily rely on foreigners. To pick up the tabs when
Speaker 1: you really need it. We partner with them, we need
Speaker 1: them as a partner, but we have to have our
Speaker 1: own industrial base.
Speaker 3: Unless albin Easy changes his tune in the next few days,
Speaker 3: he won't have an easy meeting with Trump on the
Speaker 3: sidelines of the G seven. Now ALBINIZI may not personally
Speaker 3: care about that Trump is out of favor politically in Australia,
Speaker 3: but he should care. Trump controls the US commitment to Orcus,
Speaker 3: which is critical for the protection.
Speaker 4: Of our nation.
Speaker 3: Now, primarily the orcust review is leverage over alban EASi
Speaker 3: for an increased defense commitment. Trump has got Alban Easy
Speaker 3: over a barrel, and if he loses Ucus under his watch,
Speaker 3: it would be disastrous, particularly if he loses it because
Speaker 3: of his stubborn refusal to commit to a higher defense
Speaker 3: spending target. Now we know the Prime Minister isn't the
Speaker 3: smartest tool in the shed, but surely even he realizes
Speaker 3: it wouldn't be great for his own legacy if he
Speaker 3: destroyed Orcus and left Australia vulnerable to attack.
Speaker 4: Now are we on.
Speaker 3: The verge of war with Iran? There is speculation that
Speaker 3: a strike on Iran is imminent. This was partly sparked
Speaker 3: by America withdrawing officials and their families across the Middle East. Now,
Speaker 3: destroying Iran's nuclear capability has been for a long time
Speaker 3: a strategic goal of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. He
Speaker 3: wants to eliminate the nuclear threat Iran poses, not just
Speaker 3: to Israel, but the world. This move would either be
Speaker 3: a joint operation between the US and Israel, or Israel
Speaker 3: could take military action with the.
Speaker 4: Backing of the United States.
Speaker 3: Now it's reported that Trump had asked Nedinyah who not
Speaker 3: to launch military strikes against Iran to avoid death and destruction,
Speaker 3: and that he preferred a path of negotiation. But Iran
Speaker 3: has now walked away from some five rounds of negotiation,
Speaker 3: And the bottom line is Tehran is on the brink
Speaker 3: of developing a nuclear weapon. The US and Israel can't
Speaker 3: stand idly by and watch Iran build and potentially deploy
Speaker 3: nuclear weapons. So if there is a strike, and I think,
Speaker 3: if executed well, that it's the right thing to do.
Speaker 3: But if there is a strike, there is the risk
Speaker 3: that Iran would then launch thousands of ballistic missiles towards
Speaker 3: Israel in response. The Iron Dome can handle an onslaught,
Speaker 3: but there's a point where there's concern it may not
Speaker 3: be able to intercept all Iranian missiles.
Speaker 4: Depending on the volume launched.
Speaker 3: So we're going to watch this space closely over the
Speaker 3: coming days and to discuss this, let's bring in strategic
Speaker 3: analysis Australia Director Peter Jennings.
Speaker 4: Peter, thanks so much for your time.
Speaker 3: Now, what's your assessment on whether Israel and America are
Speaker 3: poised to strike Iran? Do you think this move to
Speaker 3: remove American officials is grand standing to get a deal
Speaker 3: done with Iran or do you think it's set to
Speaker 3: happen with Israel now giving American staff time to get
Speaker 3: out of the region.
Speaker 10: I don't think it's grandstanding. I think we are getting
Speaker 10: pretty close to a time when a strike is going
Speaker 10: to happen, and withdrawing non essential embassy staff is pretty
Speaker 10: much the last thing that the Americans need to do.
Speaker 10: Trump's style here is to give him credit. He attempted
Speaker 10: to have a negotiation with the Iranians. There were five
Speaker 10: rounds of negotiations, but I think Trump will realize that
Speaker 10: that was getting nowhere and we'll very quickly move back
Speaker 10: to what Israel has wanted to do pretty much since December,
Speaker 10: and that strike while they still can before Iran does
Speaker 10: get nuclear weapons and before they're able to rebuild a
Speaker 10: significant part of their air defense capabilities which were destroyed
Speaker 10: in a previous strike. So I think we are now
Speaker 10: getting pretty close to a strike that the final piece
Speaker 10: being that America has to decide that they want to
Speaker 10: support Israel for the purpose, and I think by looking
Speaker 10: at the withdrawal of staff, we're now seeing that that's
Speaker 10: the decision that the US has come to.
Speaker 3: Does Israel have the capability militarily to launch this strike
Speaker 3: on its own or would it need US weaponry as well.
Speaker 10: It can launch a strike on its own in the
Speaker 10: sense of being able to go after the target set
Speaker 10: that it wants to hit, it needs the Americans to
Speaker 10: help them identify the targets to then do space based
Speaker 10: battle damage assessment to work out where they have to
Speaker 10: go back to hit a second time. They probably need
Speaker 10: a bunker busting weapons from the Americans, and they certainly
Speaker 10: need American air defense capability in the form of a
Speaker 10: carrier's strike group or two in the Mediterranean to help
Speaker 10: shoot down drones and missiles coming from Iran because Irondome
Speaker 10: and the other Israeli air defense systems won't be able
Speaker 10: to do all of that themselves. So they can do
Speaker 10: a lot in terms of undertaking waves of strikes against targets,
Speaker 10: but they do need the Americans to assist them, and
Speaker 10: a whole bunch of factors that makes that Israeli sharp
Speaker 10: end of the sphere possible.
Speaker 3: I mean, it's without question that Israel would need America's
Speaker 3: backing cooperation agreement to launch this, and it's obviously been
Speaker 3: the subject of numerous rounds of discussions between NAT and
Speaker 3: Yahoo and Trump probably over many years. But it's the
Speaker 3: level of US involvement that we don't know where yet
Speaker 3: to see. I mean, obviously it wouldn't go ahead without
Speaker 3: US agreement, But you know, I think that's what's going to.
Speaker 4: Be fascinating to watch.
Speaker 3: When you say you expect it to go ahead in
Speaker 3: the near future, are you prepared to put any time
Speaker 3: frame on that. Are you hearing anything definitive at all?
Speaker 10: Well, if I'm hearing anything, then that would not be good.
Speaker 10: It won't be it won't take long because you don't
Speaker 10: want to give the Uranians any more time than they've
Speaker 10: already got to get themselves ready for this. This has
Speaker 10: been delayed for some months, probably since the beginning of
Speaker 10: the year. I think that was because Trump was wanting
Speaker 10: to see if he couldn't find a diplomatic solution, and
Speaker 10: he should get some credit for trying that.
Speaker 2: But once.
Speaker 10: The US and Israel have decided that this is what
Speaker 10: they need to do, they have to move fast, so
Speaker 10: I would expect it pretty soon.
Speaker 3: I think his change of attitude Trump has been surprising
Speaker 3: because when he first got into offics, he kind of
Speaker 3: said he will give Israel full backing to do whatever
Speaker 3: at once in Gaza after Hermas refused to release the hostages,
Speaker 3: and now he seemed to change tune and become this
Speaker 3: pacifist who wants to avoid death and destruction. I mean,
Speaker 3: the inconsistency in his approach has been unusual. But nevertheless,
Speaker 3: Peter Jennings really appreciate your time.
Speaker 9: Thank you.
Speaker 3: Let's bring in our Thursday panel, our WA opposition leader
Speaker 3: Basil Zamplus and National Senator Matt.
Speaker 4: Canavan, and good to have you back.
Speaker 3: Basil, the Vans back together on I just want to
Speaker 3: get to start off with return to this plane crash
Speaker 3: that we've just seen happen in the past our Air
Speaker 3: India flight heading for London.
Speaker 4: Matt. You know, again, we don't know, We don't have the.
Speaker 3: Full details yet. We know the pilot issued a may
Speaker 3: day call. There was then no contact at all with
Speaker 3: the aircraft and it crashed just not long after takeoff.
Speaker 3: Looks like it's a technical incident. We don't know for sure,
Speaker 3: but absolutely devastating to think that two hundred and forty
Speaker 3: two people have lost their lives tonight.
Speaker 11: Look, Charrie, I'm just hearing about that now. Sorry, I
Speaker 11: haven't seen the news, but that is absolutely shocking. It's
Speaker 11: fortunately not something that happens well, that often doesn't, but
Speaker 11: obviously something's going horribly wrong and your heart just goes
Speaker 11: out to those people. Are families affected. There, there's going
Speaker 11: to be people from all around the world, i'd say,
Speaker 11: on a flight from India to London that's impacted. So look, yeah,
Speaker 11: hopefully we'll get to the bottom of it. There's nothing
Speaker 11: more nefaris here but a technical problem, which is I say,
Speaker 11: unfortunately is quite rare.
Speaker 3: Yeah, Basil, Yeah, we do know the breakdown. One Canadian,
Speaker 3: seven Portuguese, fifty three British nationals and the rest Indian families.
Speaker 3: I mean, this is sort of the fear that everybody
Speaker 3: has every time they get on a plane. But to
Speaker 3: watch it crash like that not long after take off,
Speaker 3: go up in flames, hard to think anyone would have survived.
Speaker 6: It, unfortunately, shrry that certainly from the images and from
Speaker 6: the vision that we have seen, which are quite right,
Speaker 6: is difficult to watch. Those countries that you've just listed
Speaker 6: that the passengers are from, they are countries in mourning tonight.
Speaker 6: But I think the whole world mourns when a tragedy
Speaker 6: like this plays out before our eyes. And so obviously
Speaker 6: significant condolences to those nations and to all of those
Speaker 6: families involved. Just a terrible tragedy. And as we know,
Speaker 6: that could have been any of us. All of us
Speaker 6: catch planes from time to time, could have been any
Speaker 6: family from anywhere on a family holiday, and they'll never
Speaker 6: get to where they were going.
Speaker 4: It's very, very sad, it's absolutely heartbreaking.
Speaker 3: Madam, want to turn to the Orcus announcement today that
Speaker 3: the Pentagon will review the partnership, they say, to make
Speaker 3: sure that it's aligned with the President's America First Agenda. Madam, mean,
Speaker 3: you can't separate the fact, as I spoke about earlier
Speaker 3: in the show, that this happened after Albin Easy refused
Speaker 3: to lift our defense spending.
Speaker 11: Look, I think you're reporting his spot on there, Shahi.
Speaker 11: It's not just that the Prime Minister has not decided
Speaker 11: to increase defense spending. It's also probably the way he
Speaker 11: did respond. Secretary Hegseth gave a very considered speech at
Speaker 11: the Changrila Dialogue in Singapore a couple of weeks ago.
Speaker 11: He obviously put in a very director request for Australia
Speaker 11: to increase spending, and the Prime Minister Je've outlined in response,
Speaker 11: said well, we're a sovereign nation, and he also said
Speaker 11: we don't respond to every comment that is put out there.
Speaker 11: And to dismiss Secretary said speech as a mere comment
Speaker 11: was an insult, I think to our friend and ally
Speaker 11: in the United States in that speech that he made
Speaker 11: that hasn't got a lot of reporting in the Australian press.
Speaker 11: In the speech he made, he actually mentioned Australia more
Speaker 11: times than any other country except for China. Most of
Speaker 11: the speech did focus on the aggression we're seeing from
Speaker 11: China in the region, but the next country he mentioned
Speaker 11: the most was Australia, and he mentioned Australia in very
Speaker 11: positive terms about wanting to work with Australia to help
Speaker 11: us produce one hundred and fifty five millimeters artillery shells,
Speaker 11: to upgrade rad repair facilities, and to build a guided
Speaker 11: weapons making facility here in Australia. And so the Prime
Speaker 11: Minister runs around and says that he wants a future
Speaker 11: made in Australia. Yet he rejected as a mere comments
Speaker 11: than olive branch from a most important ally to work
Speaker 11: with us to build industrial supply chains here in our
Speaker 11: own country. And quite reasonably, if the Americans are going
Speaker 11: to do that with us, they'd like to see us
Speaker 11: left spending too, And so that's something shortly we should
Speaker 11: give some deep consideration too. I realized it's a lot
Speaker 11: of money. I realize our budget is tight, but I
Speaker 11: think there's a clear need here for us to lift
Speaker 11: defense spending. We have an American administration that wants to
Speaker 11: work with us to do that. This is very shortsighted
Speaker 11: from the Albanzi government to dismiss this suggestion such a
Speaker 11: quick way. Hopefully, for all our sakes, the Primis will
Speaker 11: reflect on this and take a different approach, and he's
Speaker 11: meeting with President Trump next week. Hopefully meeting hasn't set
Speaker 11: one up yet as he but hopefully he does get
Speaker 11: to talk to him.
Speaker 3: Yeah, it's expected that he were really solid points there, Matt,
Speaker 3: really solid points, and it would be in here. I mean,
Speaker 3: he has to change his true and it's only in
Speaker 3: our national interest surely. Bazila also made the point earlier
Speaker 3: in the show that Australia, you know, all, particularly the
Speaker 3: Albanzi government, always speaks about meeting our commitments on the
Speaker 3: international stage when it comes to claim action. What about
Speaker 3: our commitments on the international stage when it comes to
Speaker 3: defense preparedness.
Speaker 6: Well, absolutely, and I think that's been the message, hasn't
Speaker 6: it from the Americans that they want their allies to
Speaker 6: lift their game and pull their weight a little more,
Speaker 6: and that there is a feeling that perhaps there's too
Speaker 6: much reliance on the Americans when it comes to defense capability.
Speaker 6: I want to take a slightly different tac though, and
Speaker 6: say Shari that from a Western Australian point of view,
Speaker 6: this is potentially catastrophic. This is a multi billion dollar
Speaker 6: investment in Western Australian industry and in particular Western Australian jobs.
Speaker 6: And if this falls over because of some dithering or
Speaker 6: because of some complacency on behalf of the Albanesi government,
Speaker 6: the government of Western Australia should be mortified that they
Speaker 6: will have let that happen on their watch. And Roger
Speaker 6: Cook has got to bear some responsibility. He's got a
Speaker 6: very close relationship with the Prime Minister. They are long
Speaker 6: long standing colleagues from the same faction of the Labor Party.
Speaker 6: And if this falls over, this is on Roger Cook
Speaker 6: as much as it is on Anthony Albanesi. This is
Speaker 6: a very significant investment in Western Australia that right now
Speaker 6: is just floating in the breeze. And I hope Anthony
Speaker 6: Albanese can work it out at the G seven summit.
Speaker 3: I'm sure as wa Liberal leader, you'll be continuing to
Speaker 3: put pressure pressure on Roger Cook over that in the
Speaker 3: coming days and weeks. Now, just finally, I'm going to
Speaker 3: turn to the National Anti Corruption Watchdog which has given
Speaker 3: the all clear to the two point four million dollar
Speaker 3: compensation payout to Britney Higgins. They said there was no
Speaker 3: inappropriate intervention by the Albanese government, but former Liberal Minister
Speaker 3: Linda Reynolds has told The Australian Today that she was
Speaker 3: bitterly disappointed, saying that her primary concern has always been
Speaker 3: how the Commonwealth could possibly settle unsubstantiated and statute barred
Speaker 3: claims made again her alleging egregious conduct on her part
Speaker 3: without taking a single statement from her or even speaking
Speaker 3: to her at all.
Speaker 4: I mean, Matt.
Speaker 3: It should also be noted that Justice Michael Lee didn't
Speaker 3: find that there had been any cover up or gross
Speaker 3: mishandling by Linda Reynolds as well, So what was the
Speaker 3: compensation even.
Speaker 11: For Well, Look, there's still a lot of unanswered questions here,
Speaker 11: and one of the problems with an inquiry by the
Speaker 11: KNACK is it's all of their processes are secret. There's
Speaker 11: good reasons for that, but there's questions that go beyond
Speaker 11: just I suppose a legal definition of corruption here and
Speaker 11: obviously they've made findings on that in the NAK. But
Speaker 11: there are a whole lot of questions you astrain in
Speaker 11: public deserve to know about the process by which this
Speaker 11: was decided upon, Like the spending of any taxpayer's money,
Speaker 11: is that would normally be subject to significant parliamentary scrutiny
Speaker 11: and I worry here sometimes now that we when things
Speaker 11: get referred off to the neck, they're actually uses a
Speaker 11: cover then to say well, we can't investigate these things
Speaker 11: through the normal way in a public parliamentary process because
Speaker 11: you've got this other process online. And so now that
Speaker 11: this has been concluded, maybe we should have a parliamentary inquirer.
Speaker 11: It'll be a test for the new Senate. Not hopeful,
Speaker 11: I'm not going to hold my breath. But if the
Speaker 11: Greens were interested in public scrutiny of proper scrutiny, parliamentary
Speaker 11: scrutiny of government decisions, major goup decisions, why shouldn't there
Speaker 11: be a proper parliamentary inquiry here and what happened here?
Speaker 11: Paul the minister's in and get them to explain to
Speaker 11: the austral people how they did make a decision to
Speaker 11: spend so much money when, as you say, there was
Speaker 11: no real finding of misconduct by an Australian minister to
Speaker 11: seemingly justify.
Speaker 4: That money exactly.
Speaker 3: I mean, this government continually promise transparency and accountability and
Speaker 3: there's been no public reckoning over this. There's been no
Speaker 3: accountability to the public basilin and people are bothered by
Speaker 3: the fact there was this large payout when Linda Reynolds
Speaker 3: was not even asked her version of events.
Speaker 6: Well, that part in particular does seem very incongruous, doesn't it.
Speaker 2: It doesn't seem as.
Speaker 6: Though all of the work required to reach the conclusion
Speaker 6: that was reached was necessarily done. What we do know
Speaker 6: is this was a very large sum of taxpayers money
Speaker 6: and I think taxpayers has matter set. Taxpayers of Australia
Speaker 6: have a right to understand that that money is being
Speaker 6: paid out for not so much legitimate reasons, but that
Speaker 6: all of the work has been done to identify that
Speaker 6: the money being paid out is okay to be paid out.
Speaker 6: The other thing I would say is this has been
Speaker 6: It's been a very untidy affair, all of it, and
Speaker 6: I think Australians have felt largely uncomfortable with all of it.
Speaker 6: And it won't be a bad thing once it is
Speaker 6: done and dusted and put to bed. But that has
Speaker 6: to be done with integrity and financial responsibility and I
Speaker 6: think Australians deserve that indeed.
Speaker 3: All right, Basil zamplus Matt Canavan, thank you very much
Speaker 3: for your time. Now still to come the latest details
Speaker 3: from that horror Air India plane crash. Brendan O'Neil will
Speaker 3: join me live from London shortly.
Speaker 4: Welcome back.
Speaker 3: Well, let's return to tonight's devastating news that an Air
Speaker 3: India flight to London has crashed with at least two
Speaker 3: hundred and forty two people on board, including fifty three
Speaker 3: British nationals. According to flight radar, the plane reached six
Speaker 3: hundred and twenty five feet before crashing. The last signal
Speaker 3: was received just after takeoff. The pilot sent a mayday
Speaker 3: call and after then they lost contact. It was a
Speaker 3: Boeing seven eight seven eight Dreamliner. The flight was due
Speaker 3: to arrive in London Gatwick Airport at six twenty five
Speaker 3: pm local time. It took off at about one thirty
Speaker 3: eight pm. In India, All flights out of Ahmedamabad.
Speaker 4: Have now been suspended.
Speaker 3: The UK Prime Minister Kiir Starmer has described the crash
Speaker 3: tonight as devastating. Blackman Palace says King Charles is being
Speaker 3: briefed on the tragic incident. Now this is all unfolding
Speaker 3: as we speak. We've been showing you the footage tonight.
Speaker 3: It's absolutely devastating to see the plane go down. Carrying
Speaker 3: two hundred and forty two passengers. The majority were passengers traveling.
Speaker 3: There were also twelve crew as you can see in
Speaker 3: the footage just before, people are now being taken away
Speaker 3: in stretches to the local hospital. It's not known yet
Speaker 3: whether there are any survivors. It would be a miracle
Speaker 3: to survive that crash in a residential area that took
Speaker 3: place at six thirty eight pm our time tonight. Well,
Speaker 3: let's bring it now for her reaction to this and
Speaker 3: the other news of the day. Shadow Foreign Affairs Minister
Speaker 3: Mikhaylia Cash. Mikhaylia, thank you for your time and look,
Speaker 3: we're starting off with this devastating news tonight that two
Speaker 3: hundred and forty people were on board.
Speaker 4: That plane when it crashed.
Speaker 3: It reached six hundred and twenty five feet before crashing.
Speaker 3: The pilot's lost contact just moments after take off. Mikhaelia,
Speaker 3: what's your reaction to this tonight?
Speaker 12: It puts everything into perspective, Sharhi. There are hundreds of
Speaker 12: families tonight who do not know the status of their
Speaker 12: loved one, but just looking at that footage, I am
Speaker 12: sure they are thinking the worse as someone who is
Speaker 12: a frequent flyer, this is your worst possible nightmare it
Speaker 12: come true.
Speaker 2: So certainly on behalf of the opposition.
Speaker 12: Our hearts, our thoughts and our prayers go out to
Speaker 12: all of those families, but also to the governments tonight
Speaker 12: who are going to have the job of ensuring that
Speaker 12: the families of those who are on the plane are
Speaker 12: given all the support that they need. But as I said,
Speaker 12: this is just a tragedy. It just puts everything into
Speaker 12: for you, given that there is a very high probability
Speaker 12: of loss of life.
Speaker 3: Absolutely, and there'll be a lot of pressure on the
Speaker 3: airline as well to explain what happened as what manufacturer. Indeed,
Speaker 3: I mean that's the question everyone's asking. And as I
Speaker 3: said before, I mean, every time you bought an international flight,
Speaker 3: you know, of course it crosses your mind.
Speaker 12: You just pray you're going to be safer, and you
Speaker 12: never think it'll happen to you.
Speaker 2: Yep.
Speaker 3: Indeed, now let's return to the big story of the
Speaker 3: day that the Pentagon has ordered this review of Orcus.
Speaker 4: The submarine deal.
Speaker 3: I mean, I've been reporting this evening that it's leverage
Speaker 3: to force Albanese's hand on defense spending. I've been reporting
Speaker 3: that the Trump administration is frustrated with the attitude Albanize
Speaker 3: has taken that he's refused to increase spending, the flippant
Speaker 3: remarks he's been making, as well as his attitude towards
Speaker 3: the Alliance.
Speaker 4: More broadly, what's your view on this? Do you think
Speaker 4: he is putting at risk the orcust agreement.
Speaker 2: Well, let's look at the increase in defense spending.
Speaker 4: First.
Speaker 12: Our clear commitment prior to the election, and our commitment
Speaker 12: reaffirmed today by Angus Taylor, the Shadow Minister for Defense,
Speaker 12: is that we must make an increase in our defense
Speaker 12: spending and we have said over the next decade it
Speaker 12: needs to go to three percent of GDP. I am
Speaker 12: at a loss to understand why mister Alberanzi himself does
Speaker 12: not understand that it is an Australia's best sovereign interest
Speaker 12: to do just this, I mean, Shari doesn't mister Albanesi
Speaker 12: ask himself what does investing in our military actually give us?
Speaker 12: It gives us influence abroad, but more than that, it
Speaker 12: contributes to regional stability. So I am concerned mister Albanese's
Speaker 12: lackluster approach to defense spending. But I also want to
Speaker 12: be clear on behalf of the opposition that our commitment
Speaker 12: is very very clear. We believe in investing in Australia's
Speaker 12: sovereign capability, in investing in Australia's military capability, and yes
Speaker 12: we would increase our defense spending. But I think more
Speaker 12: broadly on the issue of UCAS and the announcement of
Speaker 12: the review, the review will now take place that it
Speaker 12: happens to be a fact. So it is now the
Speaker 12: outcomes of the review that are important, and mister Albanesi
Speaker 12: has a key message that he needs to deliver up
Speaker 12: to mister Trump in terms of our commitment to UCAS.
Speaker 12: Any delay, any downgrade in relation to the ORCUS agreement
Speaker 12: would be absolutely detrimental, not just to Australia but more
Speaker 12: broadly to the UK as well, given this is a
Speaker 12: trilateral agreement.
Speaker 2: So my greatest concern is this Shari, has.
Speaker 12: Mister Albaneze secured a meeting with President Trump and the
Speaker 12: G seven. We are now one of the only major
Speaker 12: countries that has not had a sit down meeting with
Speaker 12: President Trump and that is of real concern to me.
Speaker 12: So mister Albanesi has a huge drop ahead of himself,
Speaker 12: but it is now the outcome of the review that
Speaker 12: is most important, and Australia cannot afford any.
Speaker 2: Delay or downgrade in the orchest commitment.
Speaker 3: Looking part of the reason why he hasn't had a
Speaker 3: meeting yet with President Trump is that Alberanese is rhetoric.
Speaker 3: Pennywong's two is often more critical of our allies like
Speaker 3: American Israel than it is of our adversaries like China.
Speaker 3: And just yesterday we saw the Foreign Minister in post
Speaker 3: sanctions on two Yes, highly controversial Israeli ministers, but in
Speaker 3: a free democracy where there's the rule of law, where
Speaker 3: they face elections, and this has of course angered the
Speaker 3: United States. We saw the statement from Marco Rubio Mikhaelia,
Speaker 3: what's your reaction to these sanctions?
Speaker 4: Do you think they're wrong?
Speaker 2: Yes? I do.
Speaker 12: Penny Wong, in one signature in issuing the regulations, has
Speaker 12: also had a fundamental shift in foreign policy in Australia,
Speaker 12: and Australians need to be asking themselves why Australia's position
Speaker 12: in relation to sanctions, because of the actions of Penny
Speaker 12: Wong is now that we will sanction democratically elected ministers
Speaker 12: in a friendly allied government of Israel. Now Pennywong has
Speaker 12: a lot of explaining to do. The first is why
Speaker 12: did she do this? This is not what Magninsky sanctions
Speaker 12: were designed to do, but were designed to go after
Speaker 12: people who were from authoritarian regimes, the unaccountable, basically who
Speaker 12: could never be held to account by domestic regime. But Shari,
Speaker 12: the bigger question for Pennywong is now this because you
Speaker 12: have shifted Australia's position in foreign policy. It's the consistency argument.
Speaker 12: All because you don't like what a minister has said,
Speaker 12: and I can tell you right now I condemn what
Speaker 12: those two ministers have said. You now have a problem, Penny, because,
Speaker 12: as Greg Sheridan, Chris Yorman and others have pointed out,
Speaker 12: there are now other regimes in which ministers have said
Speaker 12: utterly atrocious things that you now need to seriously question sanctioning.
Speaker 12: So I think Penny Wong has a huge problem here.
Speaker 12: But more than that, the question of why what was
Speaker 12: the outcome the labor wanted.
Speaker 2: To achieve here?
Speaker 12: Because Marco Rubio has been pretty clear the United States
Speaker 12: Shari is working with Israel to achieve a cease fire
Speaker 12: to ensure the return of the hostages.
Speaker 2: And then to end the war. That is what we
Speaker 2: should all be committed to.
Speaker 12: And they've been pretty clear what penny Wog has done
Speaker 12: along with the other nations, it has not helped this process.
Speaker 2: So I think Penny Wog has.
Speaker 12: A lot of questions that now need to be answered
Speaker 12: in relation to and you know now I shift in
Speaker 12: foreign policy and I.
Speaker 3: Look forward to you in your new role as Shadow
Speaker 3: Foreign Affairs spokesman hounding her over those questions in the
Speaker 3: Senate Mikhalia.
Speaker 2: And she has questions to answer.
Speaker 4: On many topics. Thank you so much for your time,
Speaker 4: really appreciate it.
Speaker 2: Great to be with you.
Speaker 5: Now.
Speaker 3: Still to come, we'll bring you more details from the
Speaker 3: tragic plane crash from India to London. Brendan O'Neil will
Speaker 3: give us those details after the break. Welcome back, and
Speaker 3: if you're just joining us, there's been a devastating plane
Speaker 3: crash this evening in India and Air India flight with
Speaker 3: two hundred and forty two people on board has crashed
Speaker 3: in the city of Ahmedabad, shot after takeoff. Indian Prime
Speaker 3: Minister or Andrew Modi has posted online commenting saying the
Speaker 3: tragedy has stunned and saddened us. It is heartbreaking beyond words,
Speaker 3: he says, in this sad hour, my thoughts are with
Speaker 3: everyone affected by it. Have been in touch with ministers
Speaker 3: and authorities who are working to assist those affected.
Speaker 4: You can see on the.
Speaker 3: Screen the plane going down. India's Health ministry have said
Speaker 3: that many have been killed. There are no figures yet
Speaker 3: on whether there are any survivors. It crashed into a
Speaker 3: doctor's hostel. According to reports on Reuter's It was a
Speaker 3: long haul flight heading from India to London's Gatwick Airport
Speaker 3: and crossing life from London now is Spiked online chief
Speaker 3: political reporter Brendan O'Neil. Brendan, thank you for your time.
Speaker 3: Now the details are all still coming through. We don't
Speaker 3: know the cause of the accident, but this is a
Speaker 3: terrible tragedy and we know fifty three British cities on
Speaker 3: board as well.
Speaker 13: And as you say, we don't know yet the casualty figures,
Speaker 13: but it looks terrible from the footage that many of
Speaker 13: us will have seen online and as you also say,
Speaker 13: fifty three British nationals on board, So this looks like
Speaker 13: it's a very dark day, not only for India, but
Speaker 13: also for Britain and Kirs Starmer. Our Prime Minister has
Speaker 13: said that it looks devastating. He's keeping a close eye
Speaker 13: on it. I think obviously more details will come out
Speaker 13: in the next few hours, but it looks like there's
Speaker 13: going to be a period of mourning in both India
Speaker 13: and the UK after this.
Speaker 3: Yeah, one Canadian as well as seven Portuguese nationals. So
Speaker 3: what we know about what happened is that seconds after
Speaker 3: takeoff there was this may day call from the pilots,
Speaker 3: but then there was no other contact with the aircraft
Speaker 3: after that. The reports are that it finally crashed five
Speaker 3: minutes after takeoff in a nearby residential area and crashed
Speaker 3: into reportedly these doctors hostel, perhaps in a canteen area.
Speaker 4: That's what some of the vision is showing.
Speaker 3: There have been bodies taken on carriers to ambulances. It
Speaker 3: would be a miracle if anyone survived. We can only pray.
Speaker 3: But Brendan, I mean, as I've been saying this evening,
Speaker 3: you just think of all the families on board two
Speaker 3: hundred and forty two people including twelve crew, and you
Speaker 3: just wonder how something like this can happen in this
Speaker 3: day and age, what were the safety checks done? There's
Speaker 3: going to be so many questions now the need to
Speaker 3: be answered.
Speaker 13: Oh absolutely, And you know, plane crashes are mercifully rare,
Speaker 13: but when they happen they raise all sorts of questions.
Speaker 13: How can this still happen? How why did it fail
Speaker 13: so soon into the flight, just moments after taking off?
Speaker 13: The fact that it crashed into a residential area, seemingly
Speaker 13: into a doctor's hostel, is also incredibly worrying because that
Speaker 13: raises the possibility that there will be casualties on the
Speaker 13: ground as well as on the flight, you know, not
Speaker 13: dissimilar to Lockerby, I guess where many people died on
Speaker 13: the ground as well as in the plane. So a
Speaker 13: terrible tragedy, a global tragedy really, And as you say
Speaker 13: we think about the families, I'm thinking about all the
Speaker 13: people who will have been driving to Gatwick Airport this
Speaker 13: evening in the UK to pick up their loved ones.
Speaker 13: They must just be devastated. And I'm sure we're going
Speaker 13: to see some very distressing scenes in Gatwik and on
Speaker 13: the news over the next few hours. It's really really
Speaker 13: a tragic situation.
Speaker 4: Indeed, indeed it is now Brendan.
Speaker 3: I originally organized for you to come on the show
Speaker 3: to speak about Greta Thunberg, which you've been reporting on
Speaker 3: so brilliantly over the past week.
Speaker 4: We assume she would have made it home to Sweden
Speaker 4: by now.
Speaker 3: One thing you wrote about that I spoke about earlier
Speaker 3: in the week is how this points to the broad
Speaker 3: issue where hatred of Israel has become a fashionable cause
Speaker 3: of the left.
Speaker 13: Absolutely, it's really I find it incredibly worrying. The fashionable
Speaker 13: thing to do now in the Western activist class is
Speaker 13: to hate Israel, and we really saw that with Greta's stunt.
Speaker 13: You know, I think this was a stunt designed to
Speaker 13: raise awareness about Greta rather than to raise awareness about
Speaker 13: what's happening in Gaza. But it was just we just
Speaker 13: saw a complete inversion of the truth, a complete inversion
Speaker 13: of reality, because in the seven days that Greta and
Speaker 13: her friends were on that stupid boat, Israel handed out
Speaker 13: millions of meals to hungry people in Gaza. And yet
Speaker 13: Greta is cheered to the rafters by the media classes
Speaker 13: as some kind of heroic savior of the people of Gaza,
Speaker 13: whereas Israel, which is feeding the people of Gaza is
Speaker 13: denounced as genocidal and psychotic, a complete travesty of truth.
Speaker 13: They're just lying to us, and it really does demonstrate
Speaker 13: that Israel can't do right for doing wrong in the
Speaker 13: eyes of these hateful activists like.
Speaker 3: Greta and you put it so well and your articles
Speaker 3: are a complete mass reedom. Sorry we didn't have more
Speaker 3: time to speak about this tonight, Brendan, but of course
Speaker 3: there's been full coverage of this unfolding disaster.
Speaker 4: Thank you for joining us. We'll catch up with you again,
Speaker 4: hopefully soon.
Speaker 3: Now still to come, we'll get more details from the
Speaker 3: tragic plane crash after this quick break