Speaker 1: From Schwartz Media. I'm Riby Jones. This is seven am.
Speaker 1: As Trump's radical reshaping of the US pulls into focus,
Speaker 1: so too has the list of those who have gained
Speaker 1: entry to his inner circle. And that list includes not
Speaker 1: only Australia's richest woman, but also Australia's largest private arms supplier.
Speaker 1: Robert Nayer might not be a household name yet, but
Speaker 1: the weapons mogul is a close confidant to Peter Dutton,
Speaker 1: married to a katta, as well as a fishing and
Speaker 1: hunting power to Donald Trump Junior. Today Special correspondent for
Speaker 1: the Saturday Paper, Jason Cottsugus on Robert Nya's arms empire
Speaker 1: and the impact he'll have on Australian defense policy. It's Wednesday,
Speaker 1: March twelfth. So Jason, you've recently discovered that you are
Speaker 1: now one it's removed from Donald Trump or can you
Speaker 1: tell me how that came to be?
Speaker 2: Ruby?
Speaker 3: It's a frightening thought, isn't it. But it came about
Speaker 3: because I was invited to a dinner recently at a
Speaker 3: favorite canber restaurant for the lobbying class, a Cantonese restaurant
Speaker 3: called Chairman and Yip. And this dinner was hosted by
Speaker 3: a guy called Robert Nyer. Robert is from Brisbane. He
Speaker 3: went to one of the prominent Anglican grammar schools up there,
Speaker 3: known as Churchy and after his father started selling sporting
Speaker 3: firearms at the back of their gas station in rural Queensland,
Speaker 3: Robert has managed to grow that business into an international
Speaker 3: defense company and his company is now Australia's largest private
Speaker 3: arms supplier. And during the course of this dinner, Robert
Speaker 3: and I I have started talking about his very warm
Speaker 3: and cozy relationship with Donald Trump Junior and how the
Speaker 3: two them have become quite close friends. So once I
Speaker 3: knew that I had a lot more questions to ask, I.
Speaker 1: Bet, so what did Robert Nya say to you about
Speaker 1: Trump Junior and his friendship with him?
Speaker 3: So it turns out that Donald Trump Junior and Robert
Speaker 3: Meyer they're close enough that they hang out in person
Speaker 3: every couple of months. And this friendship, of course goes
Speaker 3: back to early twenty twenty three when Robert Meya bought
Speaker 3: the US gun maker Barrett Firearms. Barrett Firearms are famous
Speaker 3: for making very high precision sniper rifles and these are
Speaker 3: apparently Donald Trump Junior's favorite, gun.
Speaker 1: Okay and Jason. We know that access to any of
Speaker 1: the Trump family is currency right now, and Trump's children
Speaker 1: especially have sway over Donald Trump. So how does this
Speaker 1: relationship factor into how Robert Nya is dealing with politicians
Speaker 1: here in Australia.
Speaker 3: Well, that's a really interesting in question because access to
Speaker 3: the Trump White House is so sought after as you
Speaker 3: can imagine. But Robert Nyer is also very well connected
Speaker 3: here in Australia. His Bobcatter's son in law. The board
Speaker 3: of his company, the Naya Group, is stacked with political insiders,
Speaker 3: including the former Defense Minister Christopher Pine, along with a
Speaker 3: very influential former Labor Parliamentary Secretary for Defense David Feeney,
Speaker 3: who's a very close friend of the current Defense Minister
Speaker 3: Richard Miles. But I think perhaps Robert Nyer's most important
Speaker 3: political contact in Australia is the leader of the Opposition,
Speaker 3: Peter Dutton. Back when Peter Dutton was Defense Minister in
Speaker 3: twenty twenty one, he opened Robert Nyer's eleven million dollar
Speaker 3: Brisbane headquarters. Less than six months later, in April twenty
Speaker 3: twenty two, Dutton awarded the Naya grouper five hundred and
Speaker 3: twenty seven million dollar contract to the Australian Defense Force.
Speaker 3: This is involving the supply of sniper systems, assault breaching gear,
Speaker 3: and various other small arms. Peter Nutton also opened the
Speaker 3: Naya Munitions Projectile Forging Plant, which also received a twenty
Speaker 3: eight million dollar grant from the federal government. Also that month,
Speaker 3: in May twenty twenty two, which was, of course, the
Speaker 3: month of the last federal election, Robert Eyre's company sponsored
Speaker 3: there an exclusive fundraiser for the Queensland LNP. This event
Speaker 3: gave guests who were paying five thousand dollars ahead, the
Speaker 3: opportunity to participate in a live shoot that was put
Speaker 3: on by the people from the Naya group.
Speaker 1: Okay, so, as you say, there is this relationship between
Speaker 1: Naya and Dunton that has been quite lucrative for Naya.
Speaker 1: He's also very well connected beyond that and has built
Speaker 1: his company into a major defense contractor So, what did
Speaker 1: you learn about just how big his empire actually is.
Speaker 3: So when Robertnya spoke at the National Press Club in
Speaker 3: December twenty twenty three, he laid out just how significant
Speaker 3: his company is for the Australian defense sector.
Speaker 4: It has now grown to be the largest Australian owned
Speaker 4: supplier of munitions to the Australian and New Zealand defense
Speaker 4: forces in Australia. We operate half of the Australian Government's
Speaker 4: Banilla Munitions facility in Victoria, where with partners like Ray
Speaker 4: Mattal and Northrop Grumman, we're privately invested in establishing medium caliber.
Speaker 3: With all those defense contracts has come a fair bit
Speaker 3: of business success, and perhaps that's why Robert Meyer has
Speaker 3: been able to afford a Matt Black Embreya Phenom three
Speaker 3: hundred private jet. This is a seven point six million
Speaker 3: dollar flying fortress with gold trim, leather upholstery and even
Speaker 3: personalized water bottles. And just like a lot of very
Speaker 3: well the people, he's also a fairly significant political donor.
Speaker 3: Over the three years to June twenty twenty two, Lesaya,
Speaker 3: Robert's wife and Bob Katter's daughter, gave three hundred thousand
Speaker 3: dollars to Bob Katter's Australian Party, some of which when
Speaker 3: undeclared for almost a year. In twenty twenty three, Lisa
Speaker 3: Andya contributed another one hundred thousand dollars to the Party,
Speaker 3: while the Naya Family Trust separately donated around sixty three
Speaker 3: and a half thousand dollars to the Liberal National Party
Speaker 3: since the Labor Party came to government in twenty twenty two.
Speaker 3: The Naya Family Trust has also donated around one hundred
Speaker 3: thousand dollars to the ALP for a weapons mogul. Like
Speaker 3: Robert Meyer, these aren't huge amounts of money, but it
Speaker 3: does underscore his deep connections to politics and the fact
Speaker 3: that this is a man with a significant amount of
Speaker 3: money in the bank, a lot of connections in Canberra,
Speaker 3: and now he's got a direct line to the American
Speaker 3: President via his son Don Junior.
Speaker 1: Coming up after the break, how Naya's relationship with Dutton
Speaker 1: could shape Australia's foreign policy agenda.
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Speaker 1: Jason, you've been profiling Robert Nayer, who is this weapons
Speaker 1: mogul who has close ties to many influential people, including
Speaker 1: Donald Trump Junior and Peter Dutton. But if his closest
Speaker 1: political relationship is as it seems with Peter Dutton, Dutton
Speaker 1: is obviously not the Prime Minister at this moment in time.
Speaker 1: So what has been close to the l and P
Speaker 1: What has that actually meant for Nia's defense contracts under
Speaker 1: this labor government.
Speaker 3: So I spoke to one defense industry executive about this
Speaker 3: and he said, look, there is a view that Robert
Speaker 3: Nya leans too heavily into his relationship with the LMP
Speaker 3: and that that has cost him when it comes to
Speaker 3: the awarding of big defense contracts under the current government.
Speaker 3: What specifically this person that I spoke to was referring
Speaker 3: to was a decision taken by the Albenze government in
Speaker 3: October last year where Naya's bid for a lucrative contract
Speaker 3: to produce the world's most in demand artillery shells went
Speaker 3: not to the Naya Group but to the French owned
Speaker 3: Talis Australia under a deal that's potentially worth hundreds of
Speaker 3: millions of dollars. So Robert I did and win that
Speaker 3: contract for the one five to five millimeter shell, and
Speaker 3: he was pretty annoyed about it. And he's now up
Speaker 3: against the same competitor again for a solid fuel rocket
Speaker 3: motor contract, so all eyes will be on whether he's
Speaker 3: snubbed again.
Speaker 1: Right, So there's a sense that he has failed to
Speaker 1: get contracts because he's too close to done.
Speaker 3: So Pat Conroy's the Minister for Defense Industry, and his
Speaker 3: office have been adamant about the fact that they have
Speaker 3: nothing to do with the actual decision making when it
Speaker 3: comes to contracts like the one that Rob and I
Speaker 3: is complaining that he missed out on. But what we
Speaker 3: do know is that when Robert and I have failed
Speaker 3: to get that project, his father in law, Bob Catter,
Speaker 3: didn't hesitate in picking up the phone and ringing the
Speaker 3: Prime Minister's office to complain and demand it that the
Speaker 3: government have another look at it. I think they surprised
Speaker 3: the Prime Minister's office because if, of course they did
Speaker 3: what Bob Catter asked of them, they would all be
Speaker 3: referred to the National Antique Eruption Commission. So it was
Speaker 3: a pretty extraordinary request from Bob cattap But I guess
Speaker 3: he was just thinking that he was doing the right
Speaker 3: thing and advocating on behalf of his.
Speaker 1: Son in law, and so someone like Robert Nia he
Speaker 1: must have thoughts on the best way to handle our
Speaker 1: relationship with the Trump administration. Did you ask him about that,
Speaker 1: about what he's observed firsthand about the Trumps and our
Speaker 1: position as a us LA well.
Speaker 3: A hot topic for the Trump administration is allies pulling
Speaker 3: their weight on defense expenditure. We've heard Donald Trump complain
Speaker 3: pretty loudly that America's European allies are not spending enough
Speaker 3: when it comes to defense, and he's calling on them
Speaker 3: to increase their defense spending from two percent of GDP
Speaker 3: to around five percent of GDP, and countries like the
Speaker 3: United Kingdom have already responded to that. The week before last,
Speaker 3: the British Prime min to Keirstarmer announced that the UK
Speaker 3: plan to increase its defense spending to three percent of
Speaker 3: GDP before the next election. Robneyer is certainly of the
Speaker 3: view that Australia needs to follow suit.
Speaker 1: Right, So, Jason, what we have is a defense contractor
Speaker 1: calling for an increase in defense spending, which is obviously
Speaker 1: not that surprising. But if he is someone with influence
Speaker 1: in the Trump administration, how significant do you think his
Speaker 1: perspective is when it comes to how Peter Dutton thinks
Speaker 1: about defense.
Speaker 3: Oh, I think it's quite significant. Peter Dutton clearly trusts Robneyer.
Speaker 3: I think if Peter Dutton was to become Prime Minister,
Speaker 3: he would definitely try to make use of Robneyer's connections
Speaker 3: to the Trump administration. And I think Robneyer himself is
Speaker 3: also someone who hasn't hidden the fact that he thinks
Speaker 3: Peter Dutton would be a better Prime minister for Australia
Speaker 3: when it comes to defense. It's pretty clear that these
Speaker 3: two have a pretty strong connection. And if Peter Dutton
Speaker 3: does win the election whenever it's called, I think we're
Speaker 3: going to see Rob now become a lot more influential
Speaker 3: when it comes to Australian defense policy making.
Speaker 1: So, Jason, if Peter Dutton wanted to lean in into
Speaker 1: his connections with Trump, he, I mean he very much could.
Speaker 1: He has this close relationship with Robert Naya, who's friends
Speaker 1: with the Trump's. Done's also close to Gina Reinhart, who
Speaker 1: has her own relationship with the Trump family, and Dutton
Speaker 1: has talked about his ability to get things done with
Speaker 1: this administration. But do you think that there is a
Speaker 1: risk here that if he does that, because Australians I
Speaker 1: think are turned off by Trump, that anything that Dutton
Speaker 1: does that aligns with him could backfire.
Speaker 3: I think Peter Dutton has to be very careful about
Speaker 3: how closely he aligns himself with Donald Trump. After Donald
Speaker 3: Trump won the election in November, Peter Dutton came out
Speaker 3: pretty quickly to congratulate Donald Trump, and in the first
Speaker 3: weeks following that election victory, Peter Dutton was also happy
Speaker 3: to align himself with a lot of the things that
Speaker 3: Donald Trump said he would do when he became president.
Speaker 3: The risk though, for Peter Dutton is that since Donald
Speaker 3: Trump was sworn in, he has disrupted the US government
Speaker 3: to such an extent that it's now starting to really
Speaker 3: concern voters here in Australia, and that's just getting worse
Speaker 3: and worse each week. From what I'm hearing, the Labor
Speaker 3: Party is of the view that Donald Trump is hurting
Speaker 3: Peter Dutton. It's coming up in their polling. They're saying
Speaker 3: that voters believe that Peter Dutton's election slogan Let's get
Speaker 3: Australia back on track, is a little bit similar to
Speaker 3: the make America Great against slogan that has been so
Speaker 3: successful for Donald Trump, and that it is backfiring a bit.
Speaker 1: Peter Dutton, Well, Jason, thank you so much for your time.
Speaker 3: Ruby great to talk with you as always.
Speaker 1: Also in the news today, the Australian Federal Police have
Speaker 1: confirmed that the caravan found in January filled with explosives
Speaker 1: and antisemitic material was all part of a fabricated terrorist plot.
Speaker 1: The AFP found that the caravan was planted by criminals
Speaker 1: from Australia and overseas, who then intentionally informed the police
Speaker 1: of the caravan's location in order to cause fear for
Speaker 1: personal benefit. At the time, New South Wales Premier Chris
Speaker 1: Mins described the incident as terrorism. Yesterday, he defended his response,
Speaker 1: saying it would have been negligent not to take this
Speaker 1: incredibly seriously. And former Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has
Speaker 1: doubled down on his criticism of President Trump, saying Australia
Speaker 1: should not muzzle ourselves for fear of offending mister Trump.
Speaker 1: The US president took to his Truth social platform to
Speaker 1: call Turnbull chaotic and abusive, believed to be in response
Speaker 1: to Turnbull's comments in a Bloomberg interview over the weekend
Speaker 1: where he criticized Trump's leadership style. The comments come at
Speaker 1: a crucial time for Australia US relations with tariffs against
Speaker 1: Australian's steel and aluminum currently due to comments on Thursday,
Speaker 1: I'm Ruby Jones. This is seven am. See tomorrow.