WEBVTT - Execution TV: Is this a turning point for Trump’s America? 0:00:02.340 --> 0:00:06.120 Execution by firing squad. Army major betrays his country. Radical 0:00:06.160 --> 0:00:08.920 Islamist kills a bunch of Americans at Fort Hood. Of 0:00:08.960 --> 0:00:10.520 course we're going to do it at Fort Hood. We're 0:00:10.539 --> 0:00:11.719 going to do it on a Thursday. We're going to 0:00:11.760 --> 0:00:13.240 do it at one o'clock, which is when he did it. 0:00:13.240 --> 0:00:16.360 And it's going to be soldiers with rifles executing the 0:00:16.400 --> 0:00:17.000 firing squad. 0:00:17.739 --> 0:00:22.340 In 2009, U.S. Army psychiatrist Nadal Hassan opened fire on 0:00:22.400 --> 0:00:25.580 fellow soldiers and civilians at the Fort Hood military base 0:00:25.660 --> 0:00:31.040 in Texas, killing 13 people and wounding 32. He was 0:00:31.100 --> 0:00:34.120 sentenced to death in 2013 for the attack, which he 0:00:34.159 --> 0:00:38.790 described as an act of jihad. Now, the Trump administration 0:00:38.850 --> 0:00:42.540 has scheduled his execution by firing squad for December 3rd. 0:00:43.570 --> 0:00:46.510 And Secretary of War Pete Hegzeth says he wants the 0:00:46.550 --> 0:00:48.890 public to watch via livestream. 0:00:49.010 --> 0:00:50.530 We know what it is. It was a radical Islamist 0:00:50.570 --> 0:00:53.160 attack in uniform inside the ranks. And so he's going 0:00:53.180 --> 0:00:55.680 to get a firing squad of soldiers, as it should be. 0:00:55.880 --> 0:00:58.390 And we'll make sure that people are able to watch it, 0:00:58.420 --> 0:01:02.510 that it's public, because people need to understand that there's 0:01:02.980 --> 0:01:04.190 serious consequences for these. 0:01:04.090 --> 0:01:04.530 Types of things. 0:01:05.030 --> 0:01:08.350 It's the latest example of an administration willing to put 0:01:08.470 --> 0:01:12.110 its use of deadly force on display, from sharing videos 0:01:12.160 --> 0:01:14.660 of boats being blown up in the Caribbean to turning 0:01:14.700 --> 0:01:19.000 military strikes on Iran into social media content. So why 0:01:19.100 --> 0:01:22.620 is the US so determined to show off its military muscle? 0:01:23.900 --> 0:01:26.920 I'm Tina Quinn, filling in for Ruby Jones, and you're 0:01:26.959 --> 0:01:31.620 listening to 7am. Today, journalist and filmmaker Abby Martin on 0:01:31.660 --> 0:01:35.470 the growing spectacle of American state violence... And what happens 0:01:35.510 --> 0:01:43.350 when killing becomes something to watch and celebrate? It's Wednesday, 0:01:43.569 --> 0:01:51.460 October 14. So, Abby, this is the first Death by 0:01:51.520 --> 0:01:55.100 Firing Squad since World War II, the first to be live-streamed. 0:01:55.720 --> 0:01:58.840 Even for a country more comfortable with the death penalty 0:01:58.880 --> 0:02:00.160 than Australia is, it's a lot. 0:02:00.260 --> 0:02:00.460 So.... 0:02:02.850 --> 0:02:06.870 How are Americans reacting to this idea, particularly in the 0:02:06.910 --> 0:02:10.010 wake of the botched execution of Krista Pike in Tennessee 0:02:10.050 --> 0:02:10.710 just days ago? 0:02:11.250 --> 0:02:13.010 I mean, you know, as you mentioned, this was a 0:02:13.130 --> 0:02:17.810 botched execution. This was supposedly the humane clinical way to 0:02:17.910 --> 0:02:20.760 execute someone. And I think Americans are seeing that the 0:02:20.800 --> 0:02:24.220 state isn't even capable of doing that. So while Americans 0:02:24.280 --> 0:02:27.240 are reckoning with something really grotesque and horrifying that happened 0:02:27.260 --> 0:02:30.700 mere weeks ago, the Pentagon responds by basically saying, we 0:02:30.740 --> 0:02:34.049 want to make America medieval again. And just go straight 0:02:34.110 --> 0:02:38.049 to a firing squad akin to, you know, the days 0:02:38.110 --> 0:02:40.790 of like the Roman Empire. I mean, it's really insane. 0:02:40.810 --> 0:02:42.780 I mean, I think there's a contingent of Trump cultists 0:02:42.880 --> 0:02:46.840 who obviously revel in this kind of fascistic mentality. And 0:02:46.900 --> 0:02:51.260 that's very apparent how common that kind of rhetoric and 0:02:51.310 --> 0:02:56.120 mentality is. But I think the broad... scope of American society. 0:02:56.160 --> 0:03:00.200 I think the vast majority of people are absolutely repulsed 0:03:00.400 --> 0:03:03.940 by this. There's a reason why almost every single country 0:03:03.960 --> 0:03:06.580 in the world has banned public executions, and the ones 0:03:06.620 --> 0:03:10.169 that still allow it obviously ban video coverage of it. 0:03:10.200 --> 0:03:13.100 So there's something really sadistic and depraved about taking it 0:03:13.139 --> 0:03:14.480 to this level. 0:03:15.260 --> 0:03:17.919 What do you think they're trying to achieve by making 0:03:17.940 --> 0:03:20.580 this a public event? I mean, Pete Hegseth, he doesn't 0:03:20.700 --> 0:03:23.940 simply want Nadal Hassan executed. He wants soldiers to do it. 0:03:24.410 --> 0:03:27.169 at the very same military base where Hassan carried out 0:03:27.210 --> 0:03:32.339 the attack. And this wanting the public to watch, I mean, 0:03:32.639 --> 0:03:34.740 what are they trying to achieve here by making this 0:03:34.780 --> 0:03:36.680 so public and live streaming this, do you think? 0:03:37.040 --> 0:03:39.320 I mean, I think it's the nature of the spectacle itself. 0:03:39.400 --> 0:03:43.990 It's maximizing the impact of it being a sensational event 0:03:44.050 --> 0:03:47.730 that is essentially entertainment, wanting to pull people into the 0:03:47.830 --> 0:03:51.950 darkness that he himself revels in. clearly sending a message 0:03:51.990 --> 0:03:54.630 to his political enemies, you know, that he's basically deemed 0:03:54.790 --> 0:03:58.430 anyone who's a leftist, a socialist, an immigrant. I mean, 0:03:58.450 --> 0:04:00.810 the list goes on and on that this is your warning. 0:04:01.210 --> 0:04:03.790 This is a threat against you if you don't just 0:04:03.850 --> 0:04:06.850 bow to the dictates of the Pentagon and these maniacs. 0:04:07.690 --> 0:04:10.890 Trump is still deciding whether to backheg Zeth and make 0:04:10.930 --> 0:04:14.030 this execution public. But the U.S. does have quite a 0:04:14.030 --> 0:04:17.170 long history of showing the public images of its enemies 0:04:17.210 --> 0:04:20.610 being killed, particularly during the war on terror. We saw 0:04:20.630 --> 0:04:23.539 the Pentagon display the body of al-Qaeda leader Abu Musab 0:04:23.570 --> 0:04:29.040 al-Sakawi in 2006. And more recently, Donald Trump graphically described 0:04:29.140 --> 0:04:31.540 the death of ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. 0:04:31.580 --> 0:04:35.080 And he died in a vicious and violent way, running 0:04:35.440 --> 0:04:35.980 and crying. 0:04:36.540 --> 0:04:39.920 He died like a dog. He died like a coward. 0:04:40.160 --> 0:04:43.320 Does it feel like the U.S. has been moving towards 0:04:43.380 --> 0:04:45.400 something like this for quite a long time now? 0:04:45.920 --> 0:04:48.540 Yes, I mean, you know, under the war on terror, 0:04:48.560 --> 0:04:52.560 I feel like this kind of anesthetization of death and 0:04:52.620 --> 0:04:56.190 brutality has been commonplace. I mean, we've seen it from afar, right? 0:04:56.230 --> 0:04:59.650 These drone strikes that are published on CENTCOM, essentially snuff 0:04:59.670 --> 0:05:02.170 videos of people being killed via drone, but there's always 0:05:02.210 --> 0:05:05.909 this kind of, you know, removal from seeing someone be 0:05:05.950 --> 0:05:09.810 blown up, from seeing someone be publicly murdered in front 0:05:09.830 --> 0:05:12.780 of you. There's always this kind of night vision, this 0:05:12.920 --> 0:05:15.790 realm of, you know, you don't actually see the emotions 0:05:15.830 --> 0:05:19.010 on someone's face. This is completely different. This is such 0:05:19.050 --> 0:05:23.500 an insane escalation. We've been watching genocide with Gaza and 0:05:23.540 --> 0:05:26.560 beyond and this kind of level of impunity around this 0:05:26.640 --> 0:05:29.260 livestream genocide, that this does seem like some sort of 0:05:29.380 --> 0:05:34.309 natural culmination once we've allowed the U.S. empire and its collaborator, Israel, 0:05:34.350 --> 0:05:36.710 to get away with these kind of rapidity and scale 0:05:36.750 --> 0:05:39.210 and scope of the atrocities that it has been. So 0:05:39.290 --> 0:05:40.650 why not a public execution? 0:05:41.890 --> 0:05:44.490 It does seem to have changed under Trump, though. I mean, 0:05:44.790 --> 0:05:47.599 we've seen the White House release footage of its attacks 0:05:47.660 --> 0:05:50.279 on Iran, mixed with scenes from video games and Hollywood 0:05:50.300 --> 0:05:53.920 movies and even SpongeBob SquarePants. I mean, what's the effect 0:05:53.980 --> 0:05:57.120 of presenting real military violence in that way, do you think? 0:05:57.779 --> 0:06:01.330 Completely desensitizing and making it into a spectacle. I mean, 0:06:01.370 --> 0:06:05.470 completely blurring the lines of reality and entertainment. It's a 0:06:05.529 --> 0:06:08.110 reality show for these people. Look at Donald Trump. He's 0:06:08.150 --> 0:06:11.970 a reality star. And then you have Pete Hegseth, who's 0:06:11.990 --> 0:06:16.300 essentially a Fox News TV host. I mean, this is 0:06:16.360 --> 0:06:19.120 what these people do. This is the only thing that 0:06:19.140 --> 0:06:22.820 they actually know is entertainment. The spectacle is part of 0:06:22.880 --> 0:06:27.150 the political virtue. And entertainment for them folds into the 0:06:27.210 --> 0:06:29.479 political power. So it's really, you know, this is someone 0:06:29.500 --> 0:06:33.080 who's on a holy crusade, who's using his official position 0:06:33.120 --> 0:06:36.020 to just do the most sadistic, depraved things possible. Trump's 0:06:36.160 --> 0:06:39.400 first term, don't forget that when he left office the 0:06:39.440 --> 0:06:42.640 first time, he pardoned the worst of the worst of 0:06:42.680 --> 0:06:43.359 the war criminals. 0:06:43.540 --> 0:06:47.040 President Trump's decision to pardon four American security guards involved in. 0:06:47.000 --> 0:06:48.680 The infamous Blackwater massacre. 0:06:49.110 --> 0:06:52.410 Has horrified survivors of this 2007 incident. 0:06:52.450 --> 0:06:56.029 Sending a very clear message to every American that this 0:06:56.089 --> 0:06:57.349 is what is going to be condoned. 0:06:57.690 --> 0:07:03.330 Seventeen unarmed Iraqi civilians were shot to death in 2007 0:07:03.330 --> 0:07:08.170 in a Baghdad traffic circle, including nine and 11-year-old boys. 0:07:08.350 --> 0:07:10.130 You are free to commit war crimes, you're free to 0:07:10.170 --> 0:07:12.490 massacre civilians, and we will protect you. 0:07:14.060 --> 0:07:16.190 In your eyes, I mean, it's, you know, it's about 0:07:16.250 --> 0:07:20.390 public spectacle. It's about presenting this sort of gladiatorial, you know, 0:07:21.330 --> 0:07:25.050 knights in the Colosseum of Rome kind of culmination of 0:07:25.670 --> 0:07:27.980 what the last three and a half years has led to. 0:07:28.000 --> 0:07:30.040 Yeah, I mean, there's, you know, of course, it goes 0:07:30.120 --> 0:07:33.620 back to time immemorial with Romans, you know, the public gladiators, 0:07:33.660 --> 0:07:36.000 all these things. But yes, in the year 2026, there's 0:07:36.040 --> 0:07:41.730 something particularly horrifying. The dark embrace of this full-throated fascistic 0:07:41.870 --> 0:07:45.290 perversion of human psychology just reveling in the worst impulses 0:07:45.350 --> 0:07:48.890 that human beings can operate under. It's the complete opposite 0:07:48.910 --> 0:07:51.650 of what we should be doing as a civilized society. 0:07:52.900 --> 0:07:58.020 You know, this is succumbing to the darkness. This is horrific. 0:07:58.060 --> 0:08:00.400 This is a death cult. This is drinking from the 0:08:00.460 --> 0:08:04.780 blood goblet. I mean, this is a bloodthirsty, ritualistic performance 0:08:05.740 --> 0:08:11.850 designed to terrorize people, to paralyze people, And to frighten 0:08:11.870 --> 0:08:15.290 the masses, which again, it's just the complete perversion of 0:08:15.370 --> 0:08:18.390 what it is at the core to be a human being, 0:08:18.950 --> 0:08:27.340 to be empathetic, to have humanity. Still to come, America's 0:08:27.400 --> 0:08:29.620 efforts to dodge accountability and the. 0:08:29.520 --> 0:08:30.280 Rules of war. 0:08:40.990 --> 0:08:44.010 Abby, this comes at the same time as Pete Hegzeth 0:08:44.210 --> 0:08:47.910 has criticized what he calls stupid rules of engagement. And 0:08:47.970 --> 0:08:51.880 he's argued for giving American soldiers greater freedom to use 0:08:52.320 --> 0:08:56.000 lethal force at the same time as the U.S. administration 0:08:56.080 --> 0:08:59.140 is sanctioning the International Criminal Court, essentially trying to kill 0:08:59.179 --> 0:08:59.540 it off. 0:08:59.660 --> 0:09:02.800 Either the ICC will end its threats. where we will 0:09:02.960 --> 0:09:04.120 end the ICC. 0:09:04.320 --> 0:09:06.340 What do you think this tells us about the direction 0:09:06.360 --> 0:09:09.880 that the U.S. military is heading? Since Trump's first term 0:09:10.020 --> 0:09:13.939 after pardoning war criminals and the firing of JAG lawyers, 0:09:14.020 --> 0:09:16.559 I mean, every single step that he's taken has made 0:09:16.660 --> 0:09:19.860 very clear in the political messaging that they are embracing 0:09:19.920 --> 0:09:21.880 war crimes and war criminals and there will be no 0:09:21.940 --> 0:09:26.210 repercussions for them. So this is a top-down messaging. from 0:09:26.450 --> 0:09:30.530 the highest office in the land, that this is the 0:09:30.570 --> 0:09:34.360 law of the jungle. It's essentially just barbarism and savagery. 0:09:34.860 --> 0:09:37.040 And I think what's so shocking about it is just 0:09:37.080 --> 0:09:39.480 the collapse of all the fragility of these institutions that 0:09:39.500 --> 0:09:42.820 were supposed to protect some sort of semblance of international law, 0:09:42.880 --> 0:09:45.840 some sort of rules-based order, and it's just completely thrown 0:09:45.880 --> 0:09:49.350 out the window, and essentially all gloves are off. This 0:09:49.390 --> 0:09:52.490 is a very clear signaling of a very dark world 0:09:52.850 --> 0:09:55.660 dark future ahead if we let these people continue to 0:09:55.820 --> 0:09:59.210 hold power. We're also seeing the White House produce videos 0:09:59.250 --> 0:10:03.360 of immigration arrests and deportations, something, sometimes it's set to 0:10:03.400 --> 0:10:05.840 popular music, and they share them on social media. 0:10:06.380 --> 0:10:09.540 Sabrina Carpenter is at war with the Trump White House. 0:10:09.720 --> 0:10:12.780 The pop megastar is fuming after they used one of 0:10:12.820 --> 0:10:15.880 her songs in a video of ICE agents in action. 0:10:15.960 --> 0:10:18.750 Do you see a connection between the way this administration 0:10:18.800 --> 0:10:22.809 presents violence overseas and the way it presents the use 0:10:22.850 --> 0:10:24.030 of violence at home? 0:10:24.490 --> 0:10:26.850 Yes, and I think Americans are waking up to that 0:10:26.950 --> 0:10:29.690 fascistic presence in their streets. I mean, ICE is seen 0:10:29.730 --> 0:10:33.360 as an extension of the U.S. military. Of course, the boomerang, 0:10:33.380 --> 0:10:36.920 the imperial boomerang, it always started with indigenous brown and 0:10:36.960 --> 0:10:40.100 black people here with the tactics of repression being practiced 0:10:40.240 --> 0:10:43.360 on these communities here, then being exported abroad to maintain 0:10:43.400 --> 0:10:46.339 this global military empire. And of course, it's just a 0:10:46.420 --> 0:10:49.710 natural extension of that. The consequences of that come back 0:10:49.790 --> 0:10:53.230 home to roost when we see the further militarization of police, 0:10:53.530 --> 0:10:56.550 the surplus military equipment that's fed into the hands of 0:10:56.690 --> 0:11:00.989 local police jurisdictions. And that repression is escalated and the 0:11:01.110 --> 0:11:05.510 violence is escalated against communities here. This morning, new images 0:11:05.690 --> 0:11:09.429 after a deadly ice involved shooting in Maine. It's always 0:11:09.510 --> 0:11:13.400 been part and parcel with the imperial core, how it's 0:11:13.480 --> 0:11:17.280 waged wars abroad and at home. Again, going back to 0:11:17.320 --> 0:11:20.540 that reality show nature of the spectacle. I mean, this 0:11:20.600 --> 0:11:23.839 is Squid Game. This is the Hunger Games. This is 0:11:24.960 --> 0:11:28.480 sanitizing violence in a way that is signaling to young 0:11:28.700 --> 0:11:33.730 people who consume social media and these small algorithmic digestive, 0:11:33.809 --> 0:11:37.770 you know, 10 second clips that it all folds together 0:11:38.190 --> 0:11:41.170 when they're seeing SpongeBob SquarePants and then they see someone 0:11:41.210 --> 0:11:46.340 being executed. How does that flatten their sense of morality 0:11:46.800 --> 0:11:51.220 and humanity in general? It's such a dark and disturbing trend. 0:11:51.520 --> 0:11:54.209 The horror gets basically metabolized as a spectacle. 0:11:54.950 --> 0:11:58.010 I'd be interested as well in your thoughts on how 0:11:58.050 --> 0:12:00.470 much of a line this draws between the United States 0:12:01.270 --> 0:12:04.170 and its allies in Europe and the United Kingdom. I mean, 0:12:04.190 --> 0:12:07.469 it's becoming harder, I'm sure, for those allies and the 0:12:07.530 --> 0:12:11.610 international community to continue to swallow this. 0:12:12.150 --> 0:12:15.310 How much more are these collaborators going to take? How 0:12:15.330 --> 0:12:17.130 much more are they going to bend over and become 0:12:17.270 --> 0:12:21.270 doormats for these crimes and atrocities being done in their name? 0:12:21.770 --> 0:12:24.630 I mean, this is all being folded into the architecture 0:12:24.730 --> 0:12:28.650 of U.S. empire. And I'm sorry, but Australia is complicit 0:12:28.670 --> 0:12:29.020 in this. 0:12:29.080 --> 0:12:32.920 Foreign Affairs Minister Wong. Minister, we know that Pine Gap 0:12:33.179 --> 0:12:37.440 is a critical part of U.S. global war making, including 0:12:38.160 --> 0:12:41.180 its attacks on Iranian schools and hospitals in the last 0:12:41.179 --> 0:12:42.120 48 hours. 0:12:42.320 --> 0:12:44.400 I mean, we see Pine Gap. We see the targeting 0:12:44.890 --> 0:12:47.929 of children in Iran, children in Gaza. This is all 0:12:47.990 --> 0:12:52.570 happening from Iran. the intelligence community within Australia. This is 0:12:52.630 --> 0:12:56.350 directly correlated to what's going on. So how long is 0:12:56.370 --> 0:13:00.200 the Australian community going to say this is acceptable? How 0:13:00.220 --> 0:13:02.740 long are Australian leaders going to say this is acceptable 0:13:02.780 --> 0:13:05.560 to be folded into the crimes of U.S. empire? And 0:13:05.580 --> 0:13:09.220 I think it's just the naked barbaric face that's always 0:13:09.300 --> 0:13:12.300 presented itself to most of the global South that's rearing 0:13:12.340 --> 0:13:15.890 its ugly head, unmasking and really showing the Western world 0:13:15.929 --> 0:13:18.390 for what it is. And the choice needs to be made. 0:13:19.110 --> 0:13:20.510 a line has to be drawn in the sand. How 0:13:20.550 --> 0:13:23.880 much longer are we going to accept this? And especially 0:13:23.900 --> 0:13:26.500 when the line becomes so blurred between the so-called enemies 0:13:26.540 --> 0:13:29.760 that were waging war against Iran, right? I mean, if 0:13:29.860 --> 0:13:32.900 public execution is one of the justifications to invade and 0:13:32.940 --> 0:13:36.199 impose our dictates on another country, what does that say 0:13:36.220 --> 0:13:38.420 about us? What does that say about Australia? And what 0:13:38.440 --> 0:13:39.980 does that say about the leaders in Europe? 0:13:40.420 --> 0:13:45.110 It's interesting because, as you've mentioned, we've spent three years 0:13:45.150 --> 0:13:48.290 watching the devastation in Gaza. We've seen ICE agents killing 0:13:48.330 --> 0:13:52.410 people on American streets, videos of boats being blown up 0:13:52.450 --> 0:13:55.850 in the Caribbean. And now Hegzeth wants Americans to watch 0:13:55.890 --> 0:13:59.840 another execution. What do you think happens to a society 0:14:00.530 --> 0:14:04.520 when the government starts treating its ability to kill people 0:14:04.760 --> 0:14:06.520 as something to take pride in? 0:14:07.020 --> 0:14:09.420 It's no measure of sickness to be well-adjusted to a 0:14:09.460 --> 0:14:13.460 profoundly sick society is the most incredible quote and very apt. 0:14:13.580 --> 0:14:16.080 I think what it shows is that we are spiritually 0:14:16.140 --> 0:14:22.300 doomed and dying. as a species. It is completely contrary 0:14:22.380 --> 0:14:26.560 to what we should be embracing. Life, the sustenance of 0:14:26.840 --> 0:14:29.620 how we can sustain this beautiful planet, how we can 0:14:29.710 --> 0:14:32.770 collaborate and confront these environmental crises that we face, and 0:14:32.810 --> 0:14:37.570 instead we're reveling in death and destruction and slapping impunity 0:14:37.630 --> 0:14:40.670 for the perpetrators of this horror show that we continue 0:14:40.690 --> 0:14:46.800 to witness forcibly and now forcibly watching public executions of people. 0:14:48.040 --> 0:14:50.740 We need to stop normalizing this. We need to stand 0:14:50.800 --> 0:14:55.020 up and say we do not accept this dark, disturbing trend. 0:14:55.060 --> 0:14:57.000 We don't want to revel in the darkness that Pete 0:14:57.040 --> 0:15:00.440 Hegseth revels himself in. This has to stop and it 0:15:00.520 --> 0:15:01.320 has to stop now. 0:15:04.120 --> 0:15:05.980 Abby Martin, it's been great to speak with you. Thanks 0:15:06.020 --> 0:15:06.870 so much for joining us. 0:15:07.210 --> 0:15:07.470 Thank you. 0:15:22.810 --> 0:15:26.850 Also in the news, Australia faces the biggest unemployment jump 0:15:27.010 --> 0:15:29.920 in the developed world next year. That's according to new 0:15:29.940 --> 0:15:33.870 modelling from the International Monetary Fund. The IMF predicts that 0:15:33.930 --> 0:15:37.750 the US-Israel war against Iran will start to take a toll, 0:15:37.810 --> 0:15:42.520 with unemployment tipped to hit 4.7%. The conflict could also 0:15:42.580 --> 0:15:47.120 see Australian petrol prices rise by another 30 cents a litre, 0:15:47.680 --> 0:15:50.440 which economists say would heap pressure on the Reserve Bank 0:15:50.460 --> 0:15:55.470 to hike interest rates again. And the competition watchdog is 0:15:55.550 --> 0:15:59.609 suing Sunny Queen Eggs and 11 other egg producers... over 0:15:59.650 --> 0:16:03.470 claims they manipulated the market through what it called cartel conduct. 0:16:04.090 --> 0:16:08.650 The ACCC says the businesses have been substantially reducing competition 0:16:08.690 --> 0:16:14.650 since 2020 by coordinating on production volumes, distribution and expansion plans, 0:16:15.200 --> 0:16:19.020 which has been driving up prices for consumers. I'm Tina Quinn. 0:16:19.040 --> 0:16:21.860 Thanks so much for listening to 7am. We'll be back tomorrow. 0:16:24.590 --> 0:16:27.050 Thank you.