Speaker 1: Good evening will Australians see Peter Dutton as a more experienced,
Speaker 1: decisive and stronger leader than Anthony Albanesi, according to new
Speaker 1: polling out Today News poll, which is one of the
Speaker 1: country's most respected polling companies, also found that Dutton is
Speaker 1: just ahead of Albanesi when it comes to the question
Speaker 1: of which leader understands the major issues better and has
Speaker 1: a vision for the country. The danger for Labor is
Speaker 1: that the perception is now cementing of Peter Dutton as
Speaker 1: a stronger and more decisive leader and increasingly Albanesi is
Speaker 1: looking weak as PM. A rollout of coalition MPs made
Speaker 1: the point today that the Prime Minister is ignoring the
Speaker 1: major issues affecting Australians and this is reflected in the polls.
Speaker 2: Australians are saying no, we don't feel safer and we
Speaker 2: don't feel as though we're better off.
Speaker 1: I don't think it's surprising that in an environment when
Speaker 1: people are feeling feeling cost of living pressures, that we're
Speaker 1: seeing poles tighten.
Speaker 3: The reality is is that it's getting more and more
Speaker 3: difficult every single day for them.
Speaker 1: Well, Labor always relied on the premise that Dutton was
Speaker 1: unpopular and unelectable, and this week's news poll came as
Speaker 1: quite a shock to them. It showed that Peter Dutton
Speaker 1: is catching up to Albanezi. It turns out his leadership
Speaker 1: style is suiting the times. His perceived flaws are morphing
Speaker 1: into attributes. We're living in an age of unrest, economic uncertainty,
Speaker 1: eroding social cohesion, lawlessness and youth crime. The Prime Minister
Speaker 1: struggles to even acknowledge or vocalize the immense daily problems
Speaker 1: voters are facing, let alone sanctioned ministers whose policy failures
Speaker 1: exacerbate these major issues. In the past, Albanesi has crafted
Speaker 1: his image around being the likable bloke Ossie's would want
Speaker 1: to have a beer with, and Labour has celebrated that
Speaker 1: Peter Dutton is perceived by voters as less likable, more
Speaker 1: of a tough, hard politician. Even liberal strategists initially try
Speaker 1: to soften the opposition leader's image. Now that's mostly unnecessary.
Speaker 1: Voters just may be looking for someone to be tough
Speaker 1: on detainees, to deport the child rapists and murderers, to
Speaker 1: arrest the pro Palestinian activists vandalizing our streets, to stop
Speaker 1: the hate speech and to tackle the cost of living crisis.
Speaker 1: With Dutton's ascension in the polls comes concerns in labor
Speaker 1: ranks that Albanese doesn't recognize the task ahead of him
Speaker 1: before the next election, and there's a similarity here with
Speaker 1: the Voie. In the months leading up to the referendum,
Speaker 1: when the polls pointed to a sharp defeat, an upbeat
Speaker 1: and optimistic Albanesi remained convinced it would all come good
Speaker 1: in the end. He was convinced he would prevail and
Speaker 1: the Voice would win, Convinced, as he said repeatedly, that
Speaker 1: Australians would eventually do the right thing.
Speaker 4: I have faith in the Australian people and I have
Speaker 4: faith that we will put our case and I'll ask
Speaker 4: people to comment as well. But I've always had faith
Speaker 4: in the Australian people. Where's the downside here? What are
Speaker 4: purople risking here?
Speaker 1: In fact, Albanezi was so confident that the Voice would
Speaker 1: win he didn't even bother to find a model that
Speaker 1: would have bipartisan support because he didn't want to share
Speaker 1: the glory. Because for Albanesi, the Voice wasn't just for
Speaker 1: Indigenous Australians, but it was meant to be the defining
Speaker 1: feature of his own legacy.
Speaker 5: Well.
Speaker 1: Peter Dutton, at a press conference today asked what vision
Speaker 1: for Australia Albanese now had apart from the Voice.
Speaker 2: And this is a government that's two years old, frankly
Speaker 2: looks twenty two years old. He can talk big, but
Speaker 2: he never delivers. And apart from the Voice, what agenda
Speaker 2: does this government have?
Speaker 1: And you can see that Dutton is sharpening up his
Speaker 1: pre election messages. But it strikes me that we're now
Speaker 1: in a similar situation to that of the Voice ahead
Speaker 1: of the next election.
Speaker 5: The polls for weeks.
Speaker 1: Now have shown that Albanesi is headed into minority government
Speaker 1: at best. Yet he's got the blinkers on, convinced everything
Speaker 1: will be fine all the while his government is lurching
Speaker 1: from scandal to scandal, and most scandals are defined by
Speaker 1: his own weakness. The Prime Minister failed to even make
Speaker 1: a phone call to any Chinese minister after an aggressive
Speaker 1: near miss from a Chinese fighter jet. He's failed to
Speaker 1: sack his scoundal prone Immigration minister at the expense of
Speaker 1: community safety, as the Perth grandmother Ninette Simmons would attest,
Speaker 1: and during a cost of living crisis. There's been no
Speaker 1: apology from Albinizi or even an explanation for why his
Speaker 1: ten billion dollar housing fund has not delivered a.
Speaker 5: Single new house.
Speaker 1: The role of PM has shone a spotlight on Albanese's flaws,
Speaker 1: particularly his inability to crasp detail and his lack of
Speaker 1: authority over his ministry. You could say at heart he's
Speaker 1: actually ill suited to the role of Prime Minister and
Speaker 1: even inept at leading our country. There is now Syria
Speaker 1: anxiety within Labor about Albanese's chance of winning the next election,
Speaker 1: and the concern is that Albanzi doesn't recognize the extent
Speaker 1: of the problem. Only one third of voters support Albanesi,
Speaker 1: as we spoke about last night, the party's primary vote
Speaker 1: is now the same as it was at the last election,
Speaker 1: and these are historic lows for Labor. The challenges facing
Speaker 1: our nation are immense and historically significant.
Speaker 5: The very essence of what.
Speaker 1: Makes up our successful multicultural society is fracturing. We see
Speaker 1: it on a daily basis, and parts of our suburbs
Speaker 1: are gripped by extreme poverty, a cost of living crisis
Speaker 1: doubling up with an antisemitism crisis. Australians have no confidence
Speaker 1: that Albanzi has what it takes to lead and govern
Speaker 1: our kind during these fra times, and as if proving
Speaker 1: this very point, over the past two days, the Prime
Speaker 1: Minister has tried to shift the dial by using climate
Speaker 1: change as a distraction from the central issues gripping our nation.
Speaker 5: Just like with the Voice to Parliament.
Speaker 1: Voters marvel at how out of touch the boy who
Speaker 1: made it out of Housing Commission has now become. Also
Speaker 1: coming up on the show tonight, the climate was heat
Speaker 1: up with Albinizi launching an attack on Peter Dutton, claiming
Speaker 1: he's failed despite the fact the government is not on
Speaker 1: track to meet its own twenty thirty targets. Also tonight,
Speaker 1: the Albaneze government makes a point of saying that it
Speaker 1: won't supply Israel with any defense capabilities, and it hasn't
Speaker 1: done since October seven. Well, there's no more obvious sign
Speaker 1: that this government has abandoned Israel.
Speaker 5: In its hour of need.
Speaker 1: I'll discuss this with Bronin Bishop and Kayler Bond in
Speaker 1: a moment. Plus, a new scandal emerges at PwC, with
Speaker 1: a key figure casting doubt that women were raped on
Speaker 1: October seven. Caroline Marcus, who broke the story, would join
Speaker 1: me a bit later and Unrest at nine with Chief
Speaker 1: executive Mike Sneezeby under continued pressure. This is now mounting
Speaker 1: the Australians Media writers Sophie Ellsworth will be on the
Speaker 1: show with the latest developments. But first, now let's go
Speaker 1: to tonight's panel, former Speaker of the House Bronwin Bishop
Speaker 1: and Sky News host kayleb Bond.
Speaker 5: Welcome to you both, Bronwin.
Speaker 1: Let's start with the editorial the news poll figures that
Speaker 1: I just spoke about. It's now showing that Peter Dutton
Speaker 1: is catching up to Albanezi and the key MiG figures
Speaker 1: that we saw in Today's Australian in newspoll that Dutton
Speaker 1: is emerging as a more decisive, as stronger and a
Speaker 1: half a leader.
Speaker 5: Of course he is.
Speaker 6: I kept saying that more than twenty years I sat
Speaker 6: in that chamber with Albanezy and nobody ever said he
Speaker 6: was a leadership material and he's not. And I think
Speaker 6: the words that Peter Dutton used today that he is
Speaker 6: weak and rattled. He is starting to come through. He
Speaker 6: is searching to try and be liked, to try and
Speaker 6: be listened to. But every time he opens his mouth
Speaker 6: and wants to criticize the opposition, people remember that he's
Speaker 6: lied to us so often. Two hundred and seventy five
Speaker 6: dollars off your electricity bill. We won't change anything about
Speaker 6: the tax three Stage three tax cuts. If you go
Speaker 6: into every aspect of what policies they took. There was
Speaker 6: no mention ever of the industrial relations reforms that they
Speaker 6: brought in under the cover of the voice. So he
Speaker 6: is in a serious quandary, and Peter Dutton has gone
Speaker 6: back to the sort of things that people want to hear. Yes,
Speaker 6: climate change we've locked into twenty and fifty, but no,
Speaker 6: he won't sacrifice the economy or the people of Australia
Speaker 6: on the altar of climate change.
Speaker 1: I think the point you make, and I talk about
Speaker 1: it on this show often because it is just so
Speaker 1: astonishing that everyone, all the commentators wrote about how Albin
Speaker 1: Ezi was taking this small target agenda to the election,
Speaker 1: and in fact we have seen radical nation changing reform
Speaker 1: in almost every area, industrial relations one of them, and
Speaker 1: none of this was put to the voters. High immigration
Speaker 1: again another thing. But Caleb, I want to ask you
Speaker 1: about this point that I just spoke about at the
Speaker 1: start of the show about the idea, and Simon Benson
Speaker 1: first wrote about this the Political Editor that Peter Dutton's
Speaker 1: leadership style suits our times, and it was no secret
Speaker 1: of the fact that liberal strategists were trying to get
Speaker 1: him to soften his image. Now there's no need for
Speaker 1: that because voters in a cost of living crisis, when
Speaker 1: there's laws whilessness on our streets, whether it's youth crime
Speaker 1: or the pro Palestinian activists, they want a tough leader.
Speaker 5: His toughness is suiting the times correct.
Speaker 7: And when you talk about softening the image, fundamentally, what
Speaker 7: you're talking about his likability exactly. And Albaneze has had
Speaker 7: a certain level of likability because I don't know, they
Speaker 7: see the like modern sort of music and he downs
Speaker 7: a beer at the Marrickville Theater or whatever. Right, So
Speaker 7: he's tried to build an image that says I'm younger
Speaker 7: than what my years are. People have liked that. He's
Speaker 7: still marginally ahead of Dutton in terms of preferred PM,
Speaker 7: but when it comes down to brass tacks in times
Speaker 7: of crisis, people will look for a leader, and Darton,
Speaker 7: I think for a long time has looked like a leader.
Speaker 7: But it's now that it's really coming into the form because,
Speaker 7: as you say, you got cost of living and plenty
Speaker 7: of other things to worry about. And it's why, and
Speaker 7: I hate admitting this, but I've admitted it many times
Speaker 7: that Daniel Andrews is one of the best politicians this
Speaker 7: country has ever seen. And that is because at a
Speaker 7: time of crisis, everything that came out of his mouth
Speaker 7: was nonsense, but he looked like a strong leader, and
Speaker 7: people believe in a strong leader. And the great quality
Speaker 7: that Dutton has.
Speaker 1: I'm not just agreeing with you, but Daniel Andrews has
Speaker 1: not had any competition.
Speaker 5: The great position has a week for such a long time,
Speaker 5: and it still is correct.
Speaker 7: But the great thing that Darton has is that he
Speaker 7: has that appearance. He stands up. You believe what he says,
Speaker 7: you know, he says it with conviction. And he's now
Speaker 7: up against a man who looks increasingly more weak, and
Speaker 7: so people start to go, well, my power bill is
Speaker 7: going up, everything is going up. I need someone who
Speaker 7: can fix it, and Dalton has the conviction and seems
Speaker 7: convincing enough to be able to do it. That's where
Speaker 7: he pulls ahead. And there was another newspole I think
Speaker 7: it was just before Christmas that said a similar thing
Speaker 7: as well.
Speaker 1: Well, the climate was are now heating up again and
Speaker 1: Australians are rolling their eyes because there are so many
Speaker 1: pressing issues. Anthony Albanezi broke the public holiday yesterday to
Speaker 1: call a snap press conference to put climate change on
Speaker 1: the agenda, no doubt as a distraction away from the
Speaker 1: immigration scandal. Well, here was Peter Dutton today on whether
Speaker 1: he plans to commit to a new twenty thirty emissions
Speaker 1: reduction target.
Speaker 5: Will you adopt a.
Speaker 3: Lower climate target for twenty thirty then Labor?
Speaker 2: Well, as we've said, Labour has no chance of meeting
Speaker 2: their target by twenty thirty, and I'm going to have
Speaker 2: a responsible approach, but I'm not going to adopt an
Speaker 2: approach that sees power prices skyrocketing like they will under Labor.
Speaker 8: Does that mean you'll have a lower target.
Speaker 2: Later, Well, it means that we're committed to net zero
Speaker 2: by twenty fifty.
Speaker 1: And here was Anthony Alberanezi attacking Dutton over those comments.
Speaker 4: Peter Dutton is divisive. The coalition are divided, and there's
Speaker 4: no detail about what they would pursue. They are the
Speaker 4: three d's of the coalition device ship divided detail, which
Speaker 4: gives them a big f full fail when it climes
Speaker 4: to climate policy.
Speaker 1: I remember bron when, just like with the voice, you know,
Speaker 1: the cost of living crisis is what most Australians are
Speaker 1: really battling with, the interest rate rises, the extremely high
Speaker 1: cost of groceries.
Speaker 5: You know, do they want another election on climate.
Speaker 6: Well, it will be on cost of living. And that's
Speaker 6: why I've said all along it'll be an early election
Speaker 6: because those tax cuts won't last till next May. But
Speaker 6: if you look at the climate change question, the cost
Speaker 6: of energy, the cost of electricity feeds into the cost
Speaker 6: of everything else. It feeds into the cost of the
Speaker 6: vegemite in the supermarket. It feeds into the cost of
Speaker 6: shifting cattle from the pasture to the advertise. It feeds
Speaker 6: into the cost of bringing imports from the wharf to
Speaker 6: be dealt with. It feeds in at every point both
Speaker 6: to inflation and to the cost of life. And so
Speaker 6: it is part and parcel of that issue. But Peter
Speaker 6: Dutton has made a very sensible point that there's no
Speaker 6: way in the world that the target of the Labor
Speaker 6: party is going to be met. It's just another broken promise.
Speaker 6: Every time he opens his mouth, he breaks a promise.
Speaker 6: Mister Alban easy, Albert the trot and mister Duttner said
Speaker 6: very properly that after the election we'll talk about twenty thirty.
Speaker 6: We're locked into twenty fifty. That'll do. Let's get on
Speaker 6: with it.
Speaker 1: And no doubt Labor will come under pressure from the
Speaker 1: Teals and the Greens for failing for being on track,
Speaker 1: for failing to meet the twenty thirty targets.
Speaker 6: I think they're melding into the same lot.
Speaker 1: Teals, Greens, Labor all the same to us over here,
Speaker 1: I joke, but they're not far off. Defense Minister Richard
Speaker 1: Miles is scrutinizing any potential defense shipment to Israel. This
Speaker 1: story in the City Morning Herald today. He's apparently reportedly
Speaker 1: trying to make sure that own military equipment is being
Speaker 1: sent to Israel, and Defense Industry Minister Pat Conroy confirmed
Speaker 1: that contracts with Israeli companies are for Australian defense equipment.
Speaker 5: Have a look.
Speaker 8: Well, what I can say to you is, since the
Speaker 8: conflict has begun, we've been only approving export permits to
Speaker 8: Israel for equipment that is returning to Australia for the ADF.
Speaker 1: Now I find this absolutely extraordinary. You have to ask
Speaker 1: why would the government have any problem with supplying the
Speaker 1: democracy of Israel with the ability to defend itself after
Speaker 1: a terrorist attack. This Caleb is so clearly, this is
Speaker 1: the most blatant sign we've seen yet that Labor is
Speaker 1: anti Israel.
Speaker 5: It doesn't believe Australia should support Israel's efforts to defend itself.
Speaker 7: Because what they've done is changed the rules. Previously, you
Speaker 7: could have low level deals, they're not worth a huge
Speaker 7: amount of money that could be done at a bureaucratic level.
Speaker 7: Now the minister, mister Marles has decided that all those
Speaker 7: deals have to go directly to his desk.
Speaker 5: So he has the.
Speaker 7: Power of veto. And the only reason you ask for
Speaker 7: that power of veto is because you might want to
Speaker 7: exercise it. I mean, this government has had more flip
Speaker 7: flops on the issue of Israel and Palestine than Bondai Beach.
Speaker 7: To be perfectly frank, the last week you actually felt like, oh,
Speaker 7: maybe we're getting somewhere. They're taking on the Greens about
Speaker 7: what's been going on in front of officers, then we
Speaker 7: get this this week. It changes all the time because
Speaker 7: we know what they actually think. We know what the
Speaker 7: Prime Minister thinks. You've shown the clips many times going
Speaker 7: back into his history. We know what Penny Wong thinks.
Speaker 7: We know what many members of the labor left think.
Speaker 7: But they have to keep up something of a front
Speaker 7: to look like they actually care about the issue. They don't.
Speaker 7: If you scratch a little below the surface, as the
Speaker 7: Sydney Morning Herald did in this case, every turn they
Speaker 7: do not want to provide support to Israel. All talk,
Speaker 7: no action.
Speaker 5: What do you think about this?
Speaker 6: Bronwin spot on, And every time I look at mister Miles,
Speaker 6: having been myself Minister for Defense, Industry, Science and Personnel,
Speaker 6: I just absolutely cringe at the leadership or lack of
Speaker 6: leadership that's being given. Because just as he buried the
Speaker 6: helicopters that the Ukraine asked for or the coal we
Speaker 6: have refused to send them, here he is, as Caleb
Speaker 6: adequately and beautifully described, usurping a power so that he
Speaker 6: can deny Israel and his support. So all our ally
Speaker 6: is our ally, and we always support our allies. So
Speaker 6: mister Miles to me is an absolute pretender. He's the
Speaker 6: man who sent his speeches off to China to get
Speaker 6: them checked. He's the man who pretends to spend a
Speaker 6: lot of money on defense, but that's in ten years time.
Speaker 6: No money really flows until the end of the ford inestaments.
Speaker 6: He pretends to be concerned, but he isn't. And this
Speaker 6: is just another example of how he is not living
Speaker 6: up to our obligations for an ally the Parliament. The
Speaker 6: Parliament passed the motion that said Israel had the right
Speaker 6: to defend itself. That's what the Parliament said, Well, actually
Speaker 6: is not doing it, no.
Speaker 1: And by their actions they don't support that very statement.
Speaker 1: Because if Israel did want any defense equipment or supplies
Speaker 1: from US, we wouldn't be supplying it. And partly because
Speaker 1: of a political issue with the Greens and you know
Speaker 1: you raise China. Well, today the Prime Minister confirm that
Speaker 1: we would be having Australia would be having a visit
Speaker 1: from the Chinese premiere. We're going to come back to
Speaker 1: that later in the show, because he was asked about TikTok.
Speaker 1: You know, other countries around the world, based on intelligence,
Speaker 1: are taking action on TikTok well not alb and easy.
Speaker 1: He tried to criticize the journalists for even asking the question.
Speaker 1: Caylebon and Bishop, thank you both so much for joining me.
Speaker 5: Now coming up.
Speaker 1: With nine Chair Peter Costello gone, all eyes or on.
Speaker 1: Chief executive Mike Sneezeby. Media writer Sophie Ellsworth joins me. Next,
Speaker 1: plus Queensland Treasurer hands down its budget, blowing.
Speaker 5: Out the state's debt, all the while.
Speaker 1: Urging voters to forget the past decade. Well, the Queensland
Speaker 1: Shadow Treasurer David Jenetski would join me after the break.
Speaker 5: Welcome back.
Speaker 1: Well, let's now turn to the reaction we've seen to
Speaker 1: nine chair Peter Costello's a former chair, his resignation on
Speaker 1: Sunday night. With Costello gone, the heat is now on
Speaker 1: nine Chief Executive Mike Sneezeby. Sneezebe and the Nine board
Speaker 1: are still under pressure to explain what they knew about
Speaker 1: the numerous sexual harassment allegations and serious in nature that
Speaker 1: have been made against former newsboss Darren Wick, and why
Speaker 1: they didn't take any action until formal legal action commenced
Speaker 1: against the network earlier this year. Even the Cydney Morning
Speaker 1: Herald has called the allegations an open secret with the
Speaker 1: Australians media writers. Sophie Ellsworth joins me. Now, Sophie, thank
Speaker 1: you so much for your time. Look, how much pressure
Speaker 1: do you think, and you've been reporting on this extensively,
Speaker 1: how much pressure is Mike Sneezebee under right now.
Speaker 9: Shary, great to be with you. Look, he's under immense pressure.
Speaker 9: There is absolutely no doubt about that. The fact that
Speaker 9: Peter Costello has left nine does not mean that this
Speaker 9: saga is over.
Speaker 5: It's anything but over.
Speaker 9: And now the responsibility for the moment is firmly with
Speaker 9: Mike Sneezebe to try and turn this ship around.
Speaker 5: He has an.
Speaker 9: Awful challenge ahead, awfully tough challenge ahead, Chari because as
Speaker 9: we know, there's been many women who have come out
Speaker 9: and spoken of their alleged mistreatment sexual harassment at the network.
Speaker 9: This has been very damaging four to nine, particularly as
Speaker 9: they go into the Olympics next month. So they have
Speaker 9: a big challenge on their hands to try and totally
Speaker 9: you know, re you know, get their brand back as
Speaker 9: a good brand, because it's been very seriously damaged.
Speaker 5: Yeah, it has.
Speaker 1: Indeed, Look, it was just about a week ago that
Speaker 1: Peter Costello tried to shift the focus onto Mike Sneezebe by,
Speaker 1: you know, giving him up as the person who personally
Speaker 1: signed off on the one million dollar or near one
Speaker 1: million dollar reported payout to Darren Wick. When that happened,
Speaker 1: many expected Mike sneezebe would be the first to go,
Speaker 1: although both men have been under sustained pressure. But since then,
Speaker 1: of course, the events unfolded with Leam Mendes at the airport.
Speaker 1: You contacted nine senior managers that work un'der Sneezebee to
Speaker 1: see if any of them would publicly support him.
Speaker 9: What was the response, Well, yes, I had a report
Speaker 9: in the Australian Today, Sharry on this.
Speaker 5: I contacted all of the.
Speaker 9: Ten executives that sit directly under Mike Sneezeby and ask
Speaker 9: them do they support him? And will they say so publicly?
Speaker 5: Now?
Speaker 9: I gave them hours to respond yesterday and not one
Speaker 9: of them responded. It was absolute radio silence, Sharry, which
Speaker 9: says a lot that the managers at nine are not
Speaker 9: saying a single word about Mike Steesby because I think
Speaker 9: they know he is in trouble. Nine is in trouble.
Speaker 9: And if they do come out and support him. They're
Speaker 9: effectively putting themselves on the line too, because he may
Speaker 9: be the next one.
Speaker 5: To go, Sophie.
Speaker 1: In terms of Costello's resignation, we saw that director Catherine
Speaker 1: West will replace him. Most of the nine board was
Speaker 1: loyal to Costello and there weren't actually many options on
Speaker 1: the board to replace him.
Speaker 5: Well, that's right, Sharry.
Speaker 9: There was mister Costello and six other directors. Catherine West
Speaker 9: was his deputy on the board, so she's moved up
Speaker 9: to chair. And then there were five other directors, including
Speaker 9: Mike sneezeby Andrew Lancaster who represents the biggest shareholder in nine,
Speaker 9: Bruce Gordon and he is the manager of win TV.
Speaker 9: There's Samantha Lewis Mickey Rosen who's based in la and
Speaker 9: there's also Mandy Patterson who is new to the board,
Speaker 9: relatively new, so there wasn't a lot of choice. Catherine
Speaker 9: West was the obvious choice, very close to mister Costello.
Speaker 9: And now it is obviously a woman leading the charge
Speaker 9: here at nine. And you all so have a woman,
Speaker 9: Fiona Dia who replaced Darren Wick. So they are putting
Speaker 9: females in these very important roles and perhaps that is
Speaker 9: quite an important thing to note, Shary, given the circumstances.
Speaker 1: Yeah, although I do note that, and I quoted it
Speaker 1: just last night on the show that the Citney Morning
Speaker 1: Herald's editorial last night from the editor Bevnshields did say
Speaker 1: that there are questions that the nine Bold still has
Speaker 1: to answer about what complaints got to their level and
Speaker 1: what they knew, so there might still be pressure on
Speaker 1: the board to come. Even the City Morning Herald reporting
Speaker 1: on that, Sophie, just before you go, can you tell
Speaker 1: us where the nine share price was today and the
Speaker 1: state of the company at a corporate level, Yeah.
Speaker 5: Of course, Sharry.
Speaker 9: So today it closed at a dollar thirty eight. It's
Speaker 9: at its lowest point under Mike Sneezeby's tenure since he
Speaker 9: took over the company's CEO in two thousand and one.
Speaker 5: This is not a good result.
Speaker 9: Was obviously the first day the share market was open
Speaker 9: following Peter Costello's exit on Sunday, and we had the
Speaker 9: public holiday yesterday, and Bruce Gordon's also purchased more of
Speaker 9: a steak.
Speaker 5: In the company.
Speaker 9: He is the largest shareholder by far and has about
Speaker 9: a quarter of a steak there, so very interesting to
Speaker 9: see how that's playing out. But their share price is
Speaker 9: not looking good for shareholders, Shari. They must be incredibly concerned,
Speaker 9: particularly as they come up to their annual results in
Speaker 9: reporting season in August.
Speaker 1: And even before this scandal, of course, there were concerns
Speaker 1: about the nine share price, Sophie Elsworth, You're reporting on
Speaker 1: this matter has been excellent. We will keep reading your
Speaker 1: work in the Australian. Thanks for joining us this evening now.
Speaker 1: The Queensland Labor government gave out a record eleven billion
Speaker 1: dollars in cost of living relief measures and concessions in
Speaker 1: the budget handed down today. This ahead of a state
Speaker 1: election in October. The pre election cash splash will blow
Speaker 1: out the state's debts to two point six billion dollars.
Speaker 1: We here was Queensland Treasurer Cameron Dick making the announcement today.
Speaker 10: We make no apology for going into deficit so we
Speaker 10: can ensure Queensland families their family budget stays in balance.
Speaker 1: He also said his government shouldn't be judged on the
Speaker 1: last nine years in power.
Speaker 8: Queenslanders will be asked to make a choice about their future,
Speaker 8: not to express an opinion about the past.
Speaker 1: We're joining me now Queensland Shadow Treasurer David Jenetski, Welcome
Speaker 1: to the program. Look first up, what's your response to
Speaker 1: the budget and the cash splash handed down today?
Speaker 11: Well, sure, today's budget was a budget all about getting
Speaker 11: Stephen Miles to the election in four months and not
Speaker 11: about the future of Queenslanders for the four years ahead.
Speaker 11: We have seen an extraordinary spending of taxpayer money today
Speaker 11: without starting to address the longer term solutions that are
Speaker 11: required to get on top of this cost of living crisis.
Speaker 11: Never before have we seen a Queensland government spend more,
Speaker 11: tax more and borrow more and yet leave Queenslanders with
Speaker 11: less to show for it.
Speaker 1: So you've just said that never before have we seen
Speaker 1: a spending spree like this, But are you going to
Speaker 1: match the success of spending spree?
Speaker 11: So we've said quite clearly that the structural, long term
Speaker 11: cost of living relief has to be the focus. We're
Speaker 11: not going to stand in the way of short term
Speaker 11: measures because Queenslanders are struggling. We are ground zero for
Speaker 11: the cost of living crisis in Queensland and we've seen
Speaker 11: that right across a range of measures where anything.
Speaker 1: In the budget today we've seen eleven billion dollars in
Speaker 1: cost of living relief. Is there anything out of that
Speaker 1: eleven billion dollars that you won't be giving to voters.
Speaker 11: Well, we've been very clear about a particular project in
Speaker 11: North Queensland, Pioneer Burdican project, that is the foundational cornerstone
Speaker 11: of so much of this government's approach.
Speaker 5: I'm talking about that we sit a lot long. I'm
Speaker 5: talking about the cost of living relief.
Speaker 1: So this cash splash, you're saying you're going to give
Speaker 1: voters everything that Labour has promised today. How can you,
Speaker 1: on the one hand argue that we've never before seen
Speaker 1: a spending spree like this, but now say you're going
Speaker 1: to match it.
Speaker 11: Well, Harry, it's all about delivering long term structural relief.
Speaker 11: Queenslanders are struggling because this government has not attended to
Speaker 11: the crime crisis, which is driving up insurance premiums, has
Speaker 11: not built the flood mitigation which is driving up insurance premiums,
Speaker 11: hasn't released.
Speaker 1: In about the cost of relief their cash splash. How
Speaker 1: can you, on the one hand argue that this is
Speaker 1: an irresponsible cash splash and complain about the state's two
Speaker 1: point six billion dollars in debt and then say you'll match.
Speaker 4: It, Charry.
Speaker 11: The plan for Queensland must be about putting down long
Speaker 11: term down wood pressure on the cost of living here.
Speaker 11: We cannot allow Queenslanders who are struggling under the cost
Speaker 11: of living not to get the support that they need
Speaker 11: right now. And the truth about the Queensland debt, this
Speaker 11: debt bond that has landed today has been a long.
Speaker 5: Time before I'm matching the spending.
Speaker 11: Living crisis has been a long time.
Speaker 1: I'm matching the spending. Then you're going to contribute to
Speaker 1: the debt.
Speaker 5: Crisis, Charry.
Speaker 11: We've said very clearly for us that the way we
Speaker 11: put downward pressure on debt here in Queensland is to
Speaker 11: end the waste, to stop the wasteful spending, and to
Speaker 11: grow the economy. We have got projects here in Queensland
Speaker 11: that have blown out across the board. We've got.
Speaker 5: I'm just struggling to see that.
Speaker 1: I'm just struggling to see what your different what the
Speaker 1: difference will be in your approach to the economy. So
Speaker 1: Labor has done this as a vote grab because the
Speaker 1: polls show that they're going to lose the election in October.
Speaker 5: So what's your excuse for this economic irresponsibility.
Speaker 4: Chery.
Speaker 11: We're all focused about the long term solutions on cost
Speaker 11: of living. We will continue to go through and scrutinize
Speaker 11: the budget. We've been very clear about Pioneer Berdican as
Speaker 11: a project. We've talked about cutting spending on consultants and
Speaker 11: putting more money into a public service that needs to
Speaker 11: deliver the services that we need into the future. But
Speaker 11: more than anything, we need to end the wasteful spending
Speaker 11: we need to cut.
Speaker 1: But you're not.
Speaker 5: You say you're going to match it.
Speaker 1: You've said you're going to match the eleven billion dollars
Speaker 1: in spending that will put the debt at two point
Speaker 1: six billion dollars.
Speaker 5: So you're not you're matching it, Sharon. And the other
Speaker 5: question is inflation over time.
Speaker 1: The other question is inflation, your shadow treasurer, aren't you
Speaker 1: contributing to inflation here by putting all this cash back
Speaker 1: in people's pockets. Inflation isn't only a problem for the
Speaker 1: federal government. It's a problem for state governments too.
Speaker 11: Well.
Speaker 6: Chari.
Speaker 11: The discussion about inflation experts vary on what it means
Speaker 11: in terms of the spending that is on the table.
Speaker 11: But we will not back away from the needs of
Speaker 11: Queensland as to get long term cost of living relief.
Speaker 11: To make sure we put in the crime crisis. We've
Speaker 11: got seventeen percent more victims here in Queensland and those
Speaker 11: all those fifteen point nine percent increase in stolen cars
Speaker 11: is pushing up insurance premiums. A failure to invest in
Speaker 11: flood mitigation is pushing up insurance premiums. We need to
Speaker 11: release the lot of approvals and building approvals into the
Speaker 11: Queensland property market to put downward pressure on rents. We've
Speaker 11: had eight point four percent increase here in rents in Queensland.
Speaker 11: We need to be focusing on the long term cost
Speaker 11: of living solutions that will deliver long term cost of
Speaker 11: living relief. And it's only then, It's only then, after
Speaker 11: ten years where the debt has blown out from seventy
Speaker 11: two billion to one hundred and seventy two billion here
Speaker 11: in Queensland, interest payments are going to be twenty one
Speaker 11: million dollars a day here in Queensland by the end of.
Speaker 1: The FORTSKI looks like it looks like your team is
Speaker 1: going to win the election in October, and at some
Speaker 1: point you're going to have to start providing answers for Queenslanders,
Speaker 1: because at this point, despite you saying that this is unprecedented,
Speaker 1: you said never before seen spending spree, at this point
Speaker 1: you're matching every dollar of that. David Ganetski, thank you
Speaker 1: very much for your time this evening. Now coming up,
Speaker 1: PwC under fire after backing in an executive who peddled
Speaker 1: hamas propaganda. Caroline Marcus broke the story and she'll join
Speaker 1: me next.
Speaker 5: Welcome back. Well.
Speaker 1: Consulting firm PwC has been hit with another controversy.
Speaker 5: It's been revealed one of.
Speaker 1: Their senior leaders posted online terrorist propaganda and pedaled anti
Speaker 1: Israel conspiracies. PWC's banking and Capital Market Solutions and Capability
Speaker 1: leader allegedly tweeted and retweeted posts that suggests the reports
Speaker 1: of the mass rapes of Israeli women by hamas were
Speaker 1: invented by israel I'm joined now by Sky News senior
Speaker 1: reporter Caroline Marcus and The Daily Telegraph State political reporter
Speaker 1: James O. Doherty. Great to see you both. Caroline, you
Speaker 1: broke this big story today. Can you tell us about
Speaker 1: some of the more offensive tweets and also p wc's
Speaker 1: response to.
Speaker 12: This, I mean, where to start, Shari. It literally would
Speaker 12: take hours to go through this senior leader at PWC's
Speaker 12: Twitter feed and just read through the hundreds of tweets
Speaker 12: that he's posted about this conflict since October seven. I
Speaker 12: think it's fair to say posted obsessively about the conflict.
Speaker 12: You have to question how much time he's actually spending
Speaker 12: on his job rather than posting conspiracy theories and anti
Speaker 12: Israel propaganda. But some of the more offensive ones that
Speaker 12: I found on Jim Krista Dullis's Twitter account, which then
Speaker 12: was public he's now changed it to protected were posts
Speaker 12: that said told his followers to f yourself with your
Speaker 12: fake outrage over the International Criminal Courts chief prosecutor seeking
Speaker 12: arrest warrants for Benjamin Nettanna Who and other Israeli officials,
Speaker 12: as well as tweeting out videos propaganda videos that were
Speaker 12: made by the Al Kudz Brigade. Now, as many of
Speaker 12: your viewers would know, they are the military wing of
Speaker 12: a terror group Palisin in Islamic g Had. He's actually
Speaker 12: tweeted out their videos purporting to show Israeli soldiers being killed,
Speaker 12: as well as that he's posted, as you mentioned in
Speaker 12: your introduction, and reposted messages that suggest Israel had invented
Speaker 12: these claims of mass rape of women and girls in
Speaker 12: October seven, which we know that the United Nations has
Speaker 12: now said there's credible evidence for, as well as plenty
Speaker 12: of others in so many witnessing independence. Yes, so, I
Speaker 12: mean that was highly disturbing. But what a one Jewish
Speaker 12: rights group highlighted as the most disturbing factor, and I
Speaker 12: think his right is PWC's response to this. I mean,
Speaker 12: they are a big four accounting firm. They're already under
Speaker 12: so much scrutiny over the tax scandal, which the reporters
Speaker 12: do to come down tomorrow. I mean, this is a
Speaker 12: stressful time for them already. But their response to this
Speaker 12: was to come back and say through a spokesperson that
Speaker 12: they respect their individual's right to express themselves, but have
Speaker 12: reminded him of his responsibilities to do so in a
Speaker 12: respectful manner. And I understand that they accepted his explanation
Speaker 12: that he didn't find the tweets offensive and that he
Speaker 12: would take a little break from Twitter. So that was
Speaker 12: remarkable in itself, the fact that they could tolerate this
Speaker 12: level of I think it's fair to say I agree
Speaker 12: with the Jewish Rights group anti Semitism and James.
Speaker 5: That's the thing I mean.
Speaker 1: P WC is one of those corporate companies that is
Speaker 1: happy to get involved in promoting The Voice and other causes,
Speaker 1: but when it comes down to racism against Jews, well
Speaker 1: where are they?
Speaker 10: Well just goes to show when a company like PwC
Speaker 10: takes a stand on something like the Voice, it really
Speaker 10: brings their stance on all of these other social issues
Speaker 10: into question. And as Caroline points out, p WC is
Speaker 10: having a terrible time at the moment. Perhaps they should
Speaker 10: focus more on their core business. But I think one
Speaker 10: of the most important points that Caroline raised in her
Speaker 10: story was PWC's response when they were linked with the
Speaker 10: Adelaide Writers Festival and there were revelations of anti Semitism
Speaker 10: from some people linked with the Adelaide Writers Festival, and
Speaker 10: they said we condem in the strongest terms any anti
Speaker 10: Semitic comments and sought to remove themselves from that event.
Speaker 10: When it comes down to in one of their own
Speaker 10: senior staff, they have not shown the same response.
Speaker 1: Ship And this isn't a case of shutting down freedom
Speaker 1: of speech. Everyone can have their own opinion, but the
Speaker 1: denial of the fact that women were raped is something else. Now,
Speaker 1: Liberal front benure Liberal Senator Holly Hughes came on this
Speaker 1: program last night and she launched a scathing attack on
Speaker 1: Shadow treasurer Angus Taylor.
Speaker 5: Here's what she had to say.
Speaker 3: Well, he's gone against Peter Dutton here. Peter Dutton had
Speaker 3: given a reference to Andrew Bragg and myself that he
Speaker 3: wanted to keep his shadow ministerial team together. And I think,
Speaker 3: you know, really, Dennis Shanahan probably summed it up in
Speaker 3: The Australian Best earlier when he said that Angus Taylor
Speaker 3: has to get serious about detail and present a more
Speaker 3: mature alternative in Parliament. And I don't think anyone could
Speaker 3: say it better than Dennis there. It's interesting that he's
Speaker 3: spending more time on factional politics in New South Wales.
Speaker 3: I think that perhaps his portfolio.
Speaker 1: More time on factional politics in New South Wales than
Speaker 1: his portfolio. That's Liberal Senator Holly Hughes about the Shadow
Speaker 1: Treasurer Angus Taylor. Then she then gave a similar interview
Speaker 1: today that was last night on My show. She's then
Speaker 1: spoken tonight to the Cidney Morning Herald and made similar
Speaker 1: comments Caroline, This is because Angus Taylor was, according to Holly,
Speaker 1: behind the push to ousked her from a winnable position
Speaker 1: on the Liberal Party Senate ticket.
Speaker 12: Look, I mean, from just a late person's point of view,
Speaker 12: it seems remarkable that instead of having a sitting senator
Speaker 12: being backed by members of your own party, you have
Speaker 12: this person, Jessica Collins, who many people haven't heard before.
Speaker 5: She's from the Low.
Speaker 12: Institute, suddenly parachuted in on a winnable spot ahead of
Speaker 12: someone like Holly Hughes, who's so well known, who's done
Speaker 12: a lot for the community and really passionate about a
Speaker 12: lot of her care issues, ino her shadow assistant portfolios.
Speaker 12: But I think what Holly's suggesting is that Angus Taylor
Speaker 12: is obviously more interested in shoring up his own numbers
Speaker 12: for any sort of future leadership tilt. That was among
Speaker 12: the claims that she's made today following on from your
Speaker 12: interview with her, And I mean, I think she's obviously
Speaker 12: been blindsided by this and deeply upset, so she's now
Speaker 12: lashing back. I guess at the forces within the party
Speaker 12: are more interested in factional politics than keeping good people James.
Speaker 1: Many people who follow politics closely have observed that Peter
Speaker 1: Darton is doing remarkably well in terms of holding alban
Speaker 1: easy to account, but they comment that Angus Taylor is
Speaker 1: the weak link, that the shadow treasurer hasn't taken the
Speaker 1: fight up to Jim Chalmers.
Speaker 10: Yeah, that's right, and Holly Hughes points out that this
Speaker 10: is not the first time Angus Taylor has been accused
Speaker 10: of this. Denis Shanahan, she references, has made this criticism before,
Speaker 10: and she's right. Everyone in Peter Duttan's team should focus
Speaker 10: more on their day job, particularly Angus Taylor, instead of
Speaker 10: focusing on factional issues. The insiders that I've spoken to
Speaker 10: in the party about this Holy Hughes issue say that
Speaker 10: it is all about factions. Holy Hughes from the center
Speaker 10: right and Angus Taylor is from the right. The right
Speaker 10: now have more control in the party room and the
Speaker 10: broader party base than the center right, and this was
Speaker 10: the right wing of the party trying to flex its
Speaker 10: muscles and boot out someone from an opposing faction. So
Speaker 10: at the end of the day, it's all factional. But
Speaker 10: it does seem to be a messy look when you
Speaker 10: have a sitting senator who is quite high profile booted
Speaker 10: for someone that not many of the voters would know.
Speaker 1: Indeed, and Holly Hughes is a regular fixture on Sky
Speaker 1: News here at nighttime at least, and has been very
Speaker 1: strong in her support for the Jewish community, and she is,
Speaker 1: as you say, a well known face. Just before you go,
Speaker 1: very quickly, Caroline, because we're just about out of time.
Speaker 1: Green's leader Adam Bout today demanded that Israel release all
Speaker 1: hostages and political prisoners. Somehow comparing the hostages taken by
Speaker 1: Hermas with the criminals and terrorists that Israel holds in
Speaker 1: its jails.
Speaker 12: Disgusting, not surprising at all, and why I have absolutely
Speaker 12: no hesitation to call this party that he leads an
Speaker 12: anti symbitic cult. The Greens are comparing a one year
Speaker 12: old baby Kafir, who was taken youngest hostage in the world,
Speaker 12: with prisoners in Israeli jails who have been convicted of
Speaker 12: blowing up or trying to blow up buses, of stabbing
Speaker 12: Israeli's those levels of crimes, and he's trying to draw
Speaker 12: an equivalence between the two. That is shameful and Antisthmitic.
Speaker 1: Absolutely, Caroline Marcus, well done again on your story today,
Speaker 1: James Adahity great to have you with us now after
Speaker 1: the break, we're here from Israeli MP Sharon Haskell and
Speaker 1: her reaction to the wonderful news of four hostages returning home.
Speaker 1: Welcome back. Well, let's bring in now, Israeli MP Sharon Haskell. Sharon,
Speaker 1: thank you very much for your time. Once again. Look,
Speaker 1: we saw the heartwarming news on Saturday night, our time
Speaker 1: that four hostages had been amazingly, extraordinarily almost miraculously rescued.
Speaker 1: Not everyone, though, has celebrated that decision. There are those
Speaker 1: saying that too many civilians were killed. But it wasn't
Speaker 1: civilians who were holding three of these hostages captive, was it?
Speaker 13: So a few things. First of all, you know, the
Speaker 13: release of the four hostages ought such a great joy
Speaker 13: to Israeli people, knowing that Noah's mother will be able
Speaker 13: to see her before she passed. She has level four
Speaker 13: brain cancer and she was holding just to see Noah
Speaker 13: for the last time, and knowing that they are reunited
Speaker 13: and she's capable of seeing her. You know, there were
Speaker 13: teases of joys from in every Israeli house here they
Speaker 13: were held Actually, Noah Alkamani was held by a former
Speaker 13: Al Jazeera journalist. Okay, his dad is a doctor. So
Speaker 13: you might say there are civilians, but they're actually fully compromised.
Speaker 13: They are part of Hamas. They've been holding hostages in
Speaker 13: her house. Some of the hostages have been circulating in
Speaker 13: between a few families. And you know what Hamas is
Speaker 13: doing that on purpose. It plays them in a home
Speaker 13: so that they can bring out propaganda as if Israel
Speaker 13: is harming innocent civilians, but there's no innocence and it's
Speaker 13: not civilians. More so, Sharry, this operation, this is like
Speaker 13: taken out of a Hollywood movie, very accurate, very direct,
Speaker 13: going in, going in, there wasn't much of the fighting
Speaker 13: or battling. But the problem was on their way out.
Speaker 13: And when Ramas is placing hostages in busy markets and
Speaker 13: then open fire in highly populated area when they are
Speaker 13: trying to escape, what hostages back to Israel?
Speaker 9: What would you do?
Speaker 13: I mean, you have no other choice but to defend
Speaker 13: them and to defend yourself. So regardless of the point
Speaker 13: that probably many of those people who died are probably
Speaker 13: directly being shot by Ramas, this is the entire situation
Speaker 13: is on their heads. Don't hold hostages in busy areas,
Speaker 13: don't open fire after they've been taken also to be
Speaker 13: taken back into Israel. You don't shoot in a highly
Speaker 13: populated area because you know well, Sharon.
Speaker 1: Not to mention that actually where they were held was
Speaker 1: even in a refugee camp as well, supposedly run by
Speaker 1: ANRA just appalling. Now I want to ask you about
Speaker 1: the political situation in Israel. We've seen Benny Gantz effectively
Speaker 1: resign from the war cabinet. Where does this leave Netan Yahoo?
Speaker 1: Do you think there will be elections anytime soon?
Speaker 13: So it doesn't look like there's going to be elections soon,
Speaker 13: and now still hold a coalition of sixty four And
Speaker 13: to be honest me, as part of the opposition, our
Speaker 13: party as well, we know that if we go into elections,
Speaker 13: it means that the war is stopping, which means that
Speaker 13: we cannot defend our people. Okay, that we haven't achieved
Speaker 13: our calalls, that our family members who are being held
Speaker 13: in the dungeons of Hamas are going to be kept
Speaker 13: there for quite a lot more months, if not a
Speaker 13: few years later. And so it's not in our interest
Speaker 13: to go straight into elections. If NATANIAO start creating the
Speaker 13: right moves in this war towards a real victory over Hamas,
Speaker 13: towards bringing back our family members us from the opposition,
Speaker 13: will support him and we'll give him a safety net
Speaker 13: to make sure that we do whin this war.
Speaker 1: Do you think there is hope that many of the
Speaker 1: other one hundred and twenty hostages will be brought home?
Speaker 13: Well, Schary, To be honest, we have no other choice.
Speaker 13: I mean, think about it, and I hope your viewers
Speaker 13: maybe can imagine that as well. Try and imagine your child,
Speaker 13: your baby, or your father, or your brother or your
Speaker 13: grandfather being held in a dungeon, being beaten every day,
Speaker 13: being abused, being sexually abused, psychologically abused, being start have
Speaker 13: no medication. What would you do? You would do probably
Speaker 13: everything in your capability to bring them back home. And
Speaker 13: this is our mission, this is what we will do.
Speaker 13: We will not rest until all of them are back home,
Speaker 13: the babies and the grandparents, and the brothers and the sister.
Speaker 13: It is our greatest mission. Afterwards, we will have to
Speaker 13: see how we build Israel's de terrence and security so
Speaker 13: that we make sure that we can live here safely
Speaker 13: in the middle.
Speaker 7: Of the East.
Speaker 1: Absolutely, Sharon Haskell, really appreciate your time once again.
Speaker 5: And you know, Sharon is right.
Speaker 1: If anyone's family members were being held by terrorists, there
Speaker 1: are no lengths we wouldn't go to to bring them home.
Speaker 1: And like I said last night, we wouldn't leave anyone
Speaker 1: in concentration camps. So we can't give up on these hostages.
Speaker 13: Now.
Speaker 1: That's all we've got time for tonight. I'll see you
Speaker 1: tomorrow at eight. And here's Paul Murray.