WEBVTT - Credlin | 28 October 0:00:02.250 --> 0:00:07.910 Peter Credlin, live from News 24. 0:00:08.420 --> 0:00:10.600 Good evening. Welcome to the program. Here's what's coming up 0:00:10.640 --> 0:00:15.200 tonight on the program. It's official. Victoria's an economic basket case. 0:00:15.260 --> 0:00:18.239 A new report out today paints a bleak picture for 0:00:18.300 --> 0:00:20.960 business in the troubled state. And it comes as the 0:00:20.980 --> 0:00:24.350 state's interest bill on the debt hits almost $ 25 million 0:00:24.370 --> 0:00:29.820 a day. More tonight on the Golf Grant saga with 0:00:29.910 --> 0:00:33.630 Anthony Albanese and ministers tying themselves in knots over the 0:00:33.630 --> 0:00:37.130 $ 6 million deal for his mates at Marrickville. Not only 0:00:37.150 --> 0:00:40.530 has the Prime Minister misled the House, but so too 0:00:40.630 --> 0:00:45.640 his minister today, Catherine King. Plus, almost a decade since 0:00:45.680 --> 0:00:50.120 the infamous bike boy car crash involving Daniel Andrews and 0:00:50.140 --> 0:00:53.400 his wife Catherine, well now the heat's on the former Premier. 0:00:54.020 --> 0:00:58.220 Victoria's current police commissioner now referring the case to IBAC 0:00:58.760 --> 0:01:02.660 for investigation. And the latest inflation data's in, another hit 0:01:02.700 --> 0:01:06.780 for everyday Australians and small business. More pain on the way, 0:01:07.220 --> 0:01:11.209 but from the government, it's just platitudes and excuses. 0:01:12.050 --> 0:01:15.729 These are tough economic times right around the world. And 0:01:15.770 --> 0:01:18.850 they're far from over. We have a plan to get 0:01:18.890 --> 0:01:21.460 through it. and the government that I lead will continue 0:01:21.480 --> 0:01:24.680 to do everything we can to shield Australia from the 0:01:24.720 --> 0:01:26.160 worst of the impact. 0:01:28.459 --> 0:01:30.660 But first, it's not the crime that gets you, it's 0:01:30.720 --> 0:01:33.839 the cover-up. And that's the problem for the Prime Minister 0:01:33.900 --> 0:01:37.919 with the continuing scandal of his $ 6 million grant to 0:01:37.940 --> 0:01:42.690 the Marrickville Golf Club. Last month, when Anthony Albanese's 14 0:01:42.690 --> 0:01:47.150 years of undeclared honorary membership at the club was exposed, well, 0:01:47.190 --> 0:01:51.770 he scrambled to explain... why a simple clubhouse upgrade could 0:01:51.810 --> 0:01:56.290 warrant a multi-million dollar spend. Questions were also asked about 0:01:56.330 --> 0:01:59.550 his personal links to the club, 200 metres from his 0:01:59.670 --> 0:02:04.430 own Marrickville investment property, and the probity around a closed 0:02:04.630 --> 0:02:08.970 grants process that was invite-only. Now, at the time, analysis 0:02:08.990 --> 0:02:11.370 from the Centre for Public Integrity found that 73% of 0:02:12.210 --> 0:02:16.290 the funding was allocated to Labor-held or key marginal seats. 0:02:16.870 --> 0:02:21.500 And when pushed in the Parliament... Albanese made two admissions 0:02:21.960 --> 0:02:25.040 that have come back to haunt him. Firstly, he said 0:02:25.100 --> 0:02:30.100 that he was not the decision maker for the $ 560 0:02:29.060 --> 0:02:34.040 million local and community grants program. That was the Minister 0:02:34.090 --> 0:02:38.730 for Infrastructure, Catherine King, he said. And secondly, that the 0:02:38.770 --> 0:02:42.090 grant to the Marrickville Golf Club was costly because it 0:02:42.150 --> 0:02:46.840 included long overdue sewerage works to prevent runoff from the 0:02:46.880 --> 0:02:51.060 club's septic system and into the nearby Cooks River, telling 0:02:51.070 --> 0:02:54.280 the House this on 9 September. 0:02:55.080 --> 0:02:58.540 It's existed for a long period of time, almost 100 years, 0:02:59.240 --> 0:03:03.000 and they have a septic tank which, because when it 0:03:03.100 --> 0:03:07.250 is on the floodplain, when it floods in Marrickville, raw 0:03:07.330 --> 0:03:10.390 sewage flows into the Cooks River. 0:03:10.990 --> 0:03:13.370 That is what the funding is for. 0:03:15.090 --> 0:03:18.639 That is what the funding is for, he said. I mean, 0:03:18.660 --> 0:03:21.540 the problem for Albanese is that the first time he 0:03:21.600 --> 0:03:26.880 connected that grant to Sewerage Works was just one month ago, 0:03:27.400 --> 0:03:31.500 back then in September. At no earlier time from the 0:03:31.540 --> 0:03:34.940 first instance when he announced the $ 6 million back on 0:03:34.980 --> 0:03:39.280 the 27th of April last year, until last month in 0:03:39.300 --> 0:03:43.920 the House, did the word Sewerage ever appear. It's not 0:03:44.020 --> 0:03:49.960 in any of the Prime Minister's media releases, transcripts, podcasts, newsletters, 0:03:50.020 --> 0:03:55.190 websites or interviews. He's never mentioned it once before last 0:03:55.250 --> 0:03:57.810 month in the House. Nor was it ever on the 0:03:57.890 --> 0:04:00.850 table with the Marrickville Golf Club or the Inner West 0:04:01.030 --> 0:04:05.130 Council that's now led by former Albanese staffer, the Mayor, 0:04:05.550 --> 0:04:06.460 Darcy Byrne. 0:04:07.250 --> 0:04:09.650 Because we've just found out that the Prime Minister of Australia, 0:04:09.750 --> 0:04:13.860 Anthony Albanese, has committed that if re-elected, an Australian Labor 0:04:13.900 --> 0:04:17.620 government will commit $ 6 million to the full renovation of the. 0:04:17.580 --> 0:04:18.659 Marrickville Golf Club. 0:04:19.100 --> 0:04:21.560 We've got here Andrew Tai, the president of the club, 0:04:21.960 --> 0:04:24.200 Matt Howard, your local councillor, who helped to fight to 0:04:24.220 --> 0:04:26.910 keep it as an 18-hole course, and Juliette Barr, a 0:04:27.029 --> 0:04:30.380 long-time champion of saving Marrickville Golf Course. Andrew, I want 0:04:30.400 --> 0:04:32.090 to ask you, what will this mean for the club? 0:04:32.330 --> 0:04:33.930 Oh, this is a fantastic day for the club. 0:04:33.970 --> 0:04:35.990 We are going to be able to bring all these 0:04:36.029 --> 0:04:37.850 wonderful community events to the club now. 0:04:37.870 --> 0:04:40.510 We'll be able to refurbish the clubhouse and welcome everybody 0:04:40.550 --> 0:04:43.430 down here. And you're already going gangbusters. There's so many 0:04:43.490 --> 0:04:46.529 events and live music and cultural events taking place here. 0:04:46.810 --> 0:04:47.770 Now we're going to see even more. 0:04:47.890 --> 0:04:49.740 Yeah, it's great. The community has really embraced the club. 0:04:49.770 --> 0:04:50.719 We really appreciate it. 0:04:50.740 --> 0:04:53.300 We've been an open club for years and years and years, 0:04:53.320 --> 0:04:54.540 and this is going to bring everybody down. 0:04:54.560 --> 0:04:55.140 It's going to be great. 0:04:56.930 --> 0:04:59.470 I mean, there are dozens of social media posts like 0:04:59.529 --> 0:05:04.150 that and not one mention of sewerage. So clearly it's 0:05:04.190 --> 0:05:06.359 a cut and dried case of a Prime Minister misleading 0:05:06.380 --> 0:05:10.520 the House. Or is it? This week, again under pressure 0:05:10.540 --> 0:05:15.620 in the Parliament, Albanese has tried to retrofit that claim 0:05:15.660 --> 0:05:18.990 of sewerage works to say he wasn't aware that the 0:05:19.110 --> 0:05:22.250 scope of the grant had changed from what he told 0:05:22.290 --> 0:05:24.190 the House last month. 0:05:25.790 --> 0:05:29.090 Will the Prime Minister give Australians a straight answer, admit 0:05:29.130 --> 0:05:33.650 he misled the House and correct the record? Now, Mr Speaker, 0:05:33.690 --> 0:05:38.599 during election campaigns, people make commitments. I have said that 0:05:38.620 --> 0:05:39.420 was not correct. 0:05:40.220 --> 0:05:41.060 It was not correct. 0:05:41.160 --> 0:05:44.280 The state government have moved in and are funding the project. 0:05:45.900 --> 0:05:50.000 OK, well, that doesn't stack up either. Even before New 0:05:50.020 --> 0:05:54.640 South Wales announced last September, September 25, that it would undertake... 0:05:54.630 --> 0:05:58.250 the necessary sewerage and septic tank works at a cost 0:05:58.290 --> 0:06:04.779 of some $ 270, 000, neither Albanese, the golf club or the 0:06:04.839 --> 0:06:09.640 Inner West Council had ever included sewerage works in any 0:06:10.120 --> 0:06:13.940 upgrade plans, meaning that Albanese can't claim that the plans 0:06:13.980 --> 0:06:17.430 have changed, that the scope of works had been varied 0:06:17.890 --> 0:06:21.750 when sewerage works were never involved in the first place. 0:06:22.580 --> 0:06:27.060 A review of the Inner West Council minutes from 2025 0:06:27.060 --> 0:06:32.740 and 2026, that confirms it also. So too, as I said, 0:06:32.800 --> 0:06:36.580 multiple social media posts involving the Mayor, Byrne and Club 0:06:36.620 --> 0:06:39.600 President Andrew Tai. A lot of crowing about the big 0:06:39.680 --> 0:06:43.810 win of $ 6 million from their number one patron, Anthony Albanese, 0:06:43.850 --> 0:06:48.630 but not one word, not mentioning at all, sewerage. Until 0:06:48.650 --> 0:06:51.550 that is, of course, the Prime Minister clutched at the 0:06:51.589 --> 0:06:55.920 words under pressure in the House last month. And those 0:06:55.940 --> 0:07:00.679 sewerage claims were then backed in by Minister Catherine King 0:07:01.120 --> 0:07:04.690 in a News24 interview on Sunday where she said this. 0:07:05.589 --> 0:07:08.050 Did the money end up going to sewerage works, as 0:07:08.089 --> 0:07:09.680 the PM has said in the Parliament? 0:07:12.420 --> 0:07:15.440 Well, I have to go back. Yes, that is the works. 0:07:15.480 --> 0:07:18.690 There's two levels of works. So both of it is 0:07:18.770 --> 0:07:22.510 to look at the water outflow from the golf club 0:07:22.610 --> 0:07:25.350 itself and to deal with the sewerage issue. And there's 0:07:25.410 --> 0:07:28.620 also some facilities. The scope of works is still being developed, 0:07:28.680 --> 0:07:31.540 but that is my understanding very clearly that it is 0:07:31.620 --> 0:07:34.820 both for the sewerage works and some of the facilities 0:07:34.880 --> 0:07:35.940 development out there. 0:07:37.740 --> 0:07:43.160 Okay. But again, that's not the truth. Three days earlier, 0:07:43.180 --> 0:07:48.300 so last Thursday, the 22nd of October, a senior official 0:07:48.400 --> 0:07:52.230 in her own department gave evidence to a Senate inquiry 0:07:52.250 --> 0:07:55.570 that's probing the integrity of the whole program. This is 0:07:55.650 --> 0:07:59.850 Jacinta McDonald. She's the Assistant Secretary in the Department of Infrastructure, 0:07:59.870 --> 0:08:02.450 and she told the hearing this. 0:08:03.370 --> 0:08:06.290 The grantee must deliver the design and upgrade of the 0:08:06.310 --> 0:08:12.360 Merrickville Golf Club. including the following deliverables. The club precinct refurbishment, 0:08:14.240 --> 0:08:18.620 which includes a range of elements, installation of a stormwater 0:08:18.660 --> 0:08:23.110 harvesting system, including storage tanks and pump, creation of a 0:08:23.150 --> 0:08:27.550 botanical garden and biodiversity area, and an upgrade of the 0:08:27.590 --> 0:08:33.350 existing electrical capacity to 200 amps. The sewerage works are 0:08:33.410 --> 0:08:35.170 not in the scope of this grant. 0:08:35.190 --> 0:08:36.730 This grant focuses on the stormwater. 0:08:38.210 --> 0:08:40.410 Look, I almost feel sorry for Catherine King. I mean, 0:08:40.429 --> 0:08:43.370 what's a minister to do? Tell the truth and throw 0:08:43.429 --> 0:08:47.290 a boss under the bus or fudge it and hope 0:08:47.390 --> 0:08:51.600 no one bothers following up? Well, unfortunately for her, Senate 0:08:51.670 --> 0:08:55.500 estimates was the next day and a lie was exposed 0:08:55.940 --> 0:08:59.060 when the Assistant Secretary again was back under oath and 0:08:59.580 --> 0:09:04.000 once more confirmed that sewage works were never included at 0:09:04.220 --> 0:09:07.260 any time in the golf club project. 0:09:08.010 --> 0:09:10.110 So as part of the approval brief that was provided 0:09:10.150 --> 0:09:13.620 to Minister King, we outlined the scope of the project. 0:09:14.440 --> 0:09:16.340 And the scope of the project. 0:09:17.059 --> 0:09:21.260 Did it include sewerage works or not sewerage works, which 0:09:21.320 --> 0:09:25.260 is why I wanted to confirm your evidence from last week? 0:09:25.840 --> 0:09:27.640 It does not include sewerage works. 0:09:27.720 --> 0:09:28.230 Righto. 0:09:30.410 --> 0:09:33.429 But it gets worse for the Minister. Macdonald went on 0:09:33.490 --> 0:09:37.210 to admit under questioning that the Department had provided their Minister... 0:09:37.290 --> 0:09:42.150 with an approvals brief to duly sign off the $ 6 0:09:41.590 --> 0:09:46.300 million Marrickville grant and that sewerage works were not in it. 0:09:46.320 --> 0:09:50.520 Has Minister King's office ever requested advice from the department 0:09:50.559 --> 0:09:53.220 as to whether the $ 6 million grant is or is 0:09:53.340 --> 0:09:55.250 not funding the sewerage problem? 0:09:57.270 --> 0:09:59.650 So the department provided the minister with the approval brief 0:09:59.670 --> 0:09:59.970 for the project. 0:10:00.400 --> 0:10:01.640 Which outlined the scope. 0:10:02.300 --> 0:10:04.540 And the scope that the Department. 0:10:05.400 --> 0:10:08.800 Sees is being funded doesn't include sewerage work. 0:10:09.640 --> 0:10:10.380 Does or it doesn't? 0:10:11.660 --> 0:10:15.890 It does not include sewerage work. I mean, you've got 0:10:15.910 --> 0:10:20.180 to wonder what other documents these Ministers sign that spending 0:10:20.240 --> 0:10:25.570 millions and billions that seemingly they don't comprehend. Or how 0:10:25.750 --> 0:10:30.329 hard King's willing to lie to protect the Prime Minister. 0:10:30.990 --> 0:10:33.170 Here she is today in Question Time. 0:10:34.840 --> 0:10:38.579 Last Thursday, the minister's own department confirmed to a Senate 0:10:38.620 --> 0:10:43.140 inquiry that Labor's $ 6 million grant to the Marrickville Golf 0:10:43.179 --> 0:10:48.640 Club was not to fix sewerage flows. Then, on Sunday, 0:10:48.870 --> 0:10:53.250 the minister told Andrew Clennell on News 24 the $ 6 0:10:52.850 --> 0:10:57.530 million grant was to fix sewerage flows. Can the minister 0:10:57.590 --> 0:11:00.610 explain why her department said one thing to the Senate 0:11:01.210 --> 0:11:04.950 and she said something completely different to the Australian people. 0:11:05.370 --> 0:11:07.790 And as I said multiple times during that interview, I 0:11:07.809 --> 0:11:10.450 would have to check exactly what was being delivered through 0:11:10.470 --> 0:11:12.550 that grant. So if you actually had have listened to 0:11:12.600 --> 0:11:16.240 the interview, I understand that the Prime Minister addressed this 0:11:16.340 --> 0:11:23.219 issue in question time yesterday. But to repeat, but to repeat, 0:11:23.400 --> 0:11:27.380 when this funding commitment was made in April 2025, part 0:11:28.220 --> 0:11:29.760 of the commitment included. 0:11:32.880 --> 0:11:34.800 Well, calm down, Catherine. I can assure you I've listened 0:11:34.830 --> 0:11:37.640 to the interview, and as I've shown you, here's the 0:11:37.710 --> 0:11:40.949 announcement again from April last year. April, she mentions April, 0:11:41.470 --> 0:11:44.370 from the Prime Minister, and there's no mention of Sirij. 0:11:44.910 --> 0:11:48.810 The word does not appear in his press release. So 0:11:48.850 --> 0:11:52.710 not only has Albanese misled the House, but his minister 0:11:52.750 --> 0:11:57.450 today has also misled the Parliament. But it doesn't end there. 0:11:57.470 --> 0:12:01.650 Back to Albanese's assertion last month that Catherine King was 0:12:01.690 --> 0:12:06.420 the decision-maker. Well, again, serious questions arise here with another 0:12:06.600 --> 0:12:10.900 of her answers on Sunday. When asked who was involved 0:12:10.940 --> 0:12:15.420 in the process of awarding these grants, King admitted that 0:12:15.480 --> 0:12:18.710 Labor Party head office was involved in deciding where the 0:12:18.770 --> 0:12:19.410 money went. 0:12:20.290 --> 0:12:24.550 Was Labor's head office involved in that process? 0:12:25.670 --> 0:12:26.530 Yeah, absolutely. 0:12:26.550 --> 0:12:29.829 Yeah, absolutely, because it's an election commitment process. 0:12:29.870 --> 0:12:31.030 It's a political process. 0:12:31.070 --> 0:12:32.290 So, of course. 0:12:33.600 --> 0:12:36.060 you know, that is done through the party machinery, not 0:12:36.320 --> 0:12:37.360 through government machinery. 0:12:37.720 --> 0:12:41.220 So you've got this MPs go to the party machinery, 0:12:41.260 --> 0:12:45.610 give their wish list. The party machinery decides it's all right, 0:12:46.210 --> 0:12:49.330 as opposed to you, the infrastructure minister, and then post-election 0:12:49.350 --> 0:12:51.010 you put it through the formal process. 0:12:52.110 --> 0:12:52.570 Is that right? 0:12:53.950 --> 0:13:02.569 Yeah, we have to. There's a process for administration. Yeah, absolutely. So, yeah, absolutely. Now, 0:13:03.059 --> 0:13:07.960 Understand this. What King confirms in that exchange is that 0:13:08.160 --> 0:13:12.040 unelected Labor Party operatives, well, they make the call regarding 0:13:12.070 --> 0:13:15.370 the allocation of half a billion dollars of taxpayer funding 0:13:15.929 --> 0:13:18.130 with the department just brought in at the back end 0:13:18.510 --> 0:13:21.410 to get the money out the door. That's all they did. Remember, 0:13:21.429 --> 0:13:26.160 this was an invite-only grants program. It's not as if 0:13:26.200 --> 0:13:30.079 they even had to assess grant applications or measure them 0:13:30.160 --> 0:13:34.540 against a transparent set of guidelines. Labor HQ had already 0:13:34.580 --> 0:13:37.700 decided who was going to get what, what seats were 0:13:37.720 --> 0:13:40.240 going to get the money, with Labor MPs like the 0:13:40.280 --> 0:13:44.420 Prime Minister rushing out those press releases in the last 0:13:44.650 --> 0:13:48.530 days of the election campaign. The Department... Well, they were 0:13:48.570 --> 0:13:53.130 just window dressing a process that a highly respected constitutional 0:13:53.170 --> 0:13:58.410 expert in Antumi has already labelled as grey corruption. Now, 0:13:58.460 --> 0:14:01.840 you can see now why this whole sordid mess needs 0:14:01.880 --> 0:14:06.179 to be urgently referred to the National Anti-Corruption Commission, don't you? 0:14:06.920 --> 0:14:12.199 After all, Albanese can hardly object having declared this to 0:14:12.220 --> 0:14:15.750 the Parliament in October 2020. 0:14:15.750 --> 0:14:19.170 Is the reason why the Morrison Government hasn't introduced legislation 0:14:19.220 --> 0:14:22.960 for a National Integrity Commission because of the corrupt sports 0:14:23.020 --> 0:14:28.140 rort scheme, the Leppington Triangle land scandal, stacking the AAT 0:14:28.180 --> 0:14:30.780 with Liberal mates, the Liberal mate that paid more than 0:14:30.800 --> 0:14:35.800 a million dollars for market research, wasting $ 20, 000 on Cartier watches, 0:14:36.220 --> 0:14:39.860 and the Minister of Energy's involvement in countless scandals. Too 0:14:39.880 --> 0:14:40.660 many to mention. 0:14:43.820 --> 0:14:46.960 He's got the hide. to circulate a dirt sheet questioning 0:14:47.000 --> 0:14:52.090 the integrity of Helen Haynes. Talk about pot calling kettle black. 0:14:56.730 --> 0:14:59.480 More on that. We'll speak to Senator Bridget McKenzie, who's 0:14:59.500 --> 0:15:01.400 been in the fight in the Estimates hearings over all 0:15:01.420 --> 0:15:03.860 the detail. But let's get the camera now for the headlines. 0:15:03.980 --> 0:15:07.400 Our political reporter, Rym Spargo. Good evening. 0:15:07.580 --> 0:15:10.430 Pressure is mounting on the Reserve Bank to raise interest 0:15:10.510 --> 0:15:13.750 rates on Melbourne Cup Day as inflation moves in the 0:15:13.770 --> 0:15:17.290 wrong direction. The headline rate jumped to 4.3% in the 0:15:17.340 --> 0:15:22.020 year to September, underlying inflation edged up to 3.6%. 0:15:22.020 --> 0:15:25.580 Increasing more in other countries than here. but we know 0:15:25.620 --> 0:15:27.350 that this doesn't make it any easier. 0:15:27.420 --> 0:15:29.970 They know they're the ones who are paying the price 0:15:30.270 --> 0:15:33.710 for his active inflation agenda and his spending addiction. 0:15:33.750 --> 0:15:36.810 The Treasurer is refusing to commit to net savings in 0:15:36.870 --> 0:15:39.970 next month's mid-year budget update. The Speaker of the House 0:15:39.990 --> 0:15:43.320 has issued a scathing rebuke after a coalition MP swore 0:15:43.360 --> 0:15:46.500 at the Prime Minister in Parliament. Anthony Albanese was being 0:15:46.640 --> 0:15:50.720 pressed to justify $ 8. 7 billion in spending on the climate 0:15:50.760 --> 0:15:51.680 change department. 0:15:51.880 --> 0:15:58.110 Increasing numbers and frequencies and intensity of extreme weather events. 0:15:59.330 --> 0:16:00.690 Now those. 0:16:00.850 --> 0:16:01.830 Order, order. 0:16:02.290 --> 0:16:07.630 Swearing in the parliament is completely unacceptable. I won't accept it. 0:16:08.110 --> 0:16:09.250 Australia won't accept it. 0:16:09.700 --> 0:16:12.520 Milton Dick later delivered a warning to both the Prime 0:16:12.540 --> 0:16:14.080 Minister and opposition leader. 0:16:14.360 --> 0:16:15.340 You're going to stop yelling at me. 0:16:16.400 --> 0:16:16.640 Order. 0:16:17.060 --> 0:16:18.680 No leader of the opposition has behaved like that. 0:16:19.200 --> 0:16:21.500 The Prime Minister can assist by lowering the temperature as 0:16:21.540 --> 0:16:23.420 well with the language being used. 0:16:23.960 --> 0:16:24.200 Order. 0:16:24.490 --> 0:16:28.470 MPs have been asked to show greater respect in political debate. 0:16:30.450 --> 0:16:32.390 Fair play to the Speaker too. All right, let's get 0:16:32.410 --> 0:16:35.690 into the inflation data out today. A bleak picture painted 0:16:35.710 --> 0:16:38.950 for the Australian economy. Here was the opposition leader's opening 0:16:39.050 --> 0:16:40.550 salvo to the Parliament. 0:16:41.370 --> 0:16:45.290 Last year, your Treasurer boasted... The worst of the inflation 0:16:45.330 --> 0:16:50.670 challenge is now well and truly behind us. Today, inflation 0:16:50.750 --> 0:16:56.800 went up again to 4.3% as Australians brace for a 0:16:57.460 --> 0:17:02.440 17th interest rate increase under Labor. Will the Prime Minister 0:17:02.540 --> 0:17:07.389 acknowledge reality, accept his Treasurer was wrong and admit Labor's 0:17:07.590 --> 0:17:12.090 out-of-control spending is forcing families and small businesses to pay 0:17:12.150 --> 0:17:13.730 more for everything. 0:17:15.390 --> 0:17:19.520 Let's bring in our News 24 business editor, Ross Greenwood. Well, 0:17:20.080 --> 0:17:22.060 fair enough with all of the commentary there, of course, 0:17:22.100 --> 0:17:25.760 from the opposition leader. I know there was a debate 0:17:25.800 --> 0:17:28.740 that this has been driven, and it is, by high 0:17:28.900 --> 0:17:31.919 fuel prices. Of course, the concern is if you look 0:17:31.960 --> 0:17:37.160 around the world, Ross, everybody's impacted by these high fuel costs. 0:17:37.640 --> 0:17:39.840 No one's got numbers looking as bad as ours do. 0:17:39.920 --> 0:17:44.270 No one's had 17 rate hikes before. or 16, likely 17, 0:17:44.270 --> 0:17:47.090 like Australia has. And our cash rate, well, it's one 0:17:47.109 --> 0:17:50.830 of the highest in the developed world. So when is 0:17:50.869 --> 0:17:54.930 the Treasury, the government, going to take some responsibility here. 0:17:55.340 --> 0:17:58.859 Well, you'd have to say never, right? That's the issue. 0:17:58.920 --> 0:18:02.160 You'd understand that they won't. And effectively, they will continue 0:18:02.220 --> 0:18:06.010 to deflect that this is basically something that's been inherited 0:18:06.050 --> 0:18:09.190 from overseas. Now, the Treasurer does say we have an 0:18:09.250 --> 0:18:11.750 inflation issue of our own. Now, too right we do, 0:18:12.350 --> 0:18:15.739 because it's not only caused by the fact that the 0:18:16.320 --> 0:18:19.240 the government itself has clearly spent a lot more money 0:18:19.260 --> 0:18:21.899 and continues to spend, not just in terms of its 0:18:22.140 --> 0:18:25.800 own expenditure, but in the indirect handouts that it makes. 0:18:25.960 --> 0:18:28.480 And so, therefore, if it gives money to you and 0:18:28.500 --> 0:18:32.300 you spend that money, that is private spending, not government spending. 0:18:32.340 --> 0:18:34.959 And so it all gets blurred. But here is the 0:18:35.000 --> 0:18:38.439 bottom line of this. If every nation on Earth is 0:18:38.600 --> 0:18:43.040 also undergoing the same inflationary pressures caused by the Middle East, 0:18:43.460 --> 0:18:46.489 and by the Ukraine wars, then they should all be 0:18:46.550 --> 0:18:48.690 raising interest rates the same as we are. And as 0:18:48.730 --> 0:18:51.450 you make the observation, if we go to, I don't know, 0:18:51.710 --> 0:18:54.650 we go to the UK, they have zero interest rate 0:18:54.710 --> 0:18:57.720 rises this year. Go to the United States, one interest 0:18:57.740 --> 0:19:01.340 rate rise this year. Canada, Zero interest rate rises this year. 0:19:01.700 --> 0:19:06.610 New Zealand, two. Europe, two. Australia, about to be five. 0:19:06.960 --> 0:19:10.149 And that says that something is not equal in the 0:19:10.210 --> 0:19:13.810 world in the way in which different nations have absorbed 0:19:13.850 --> 0:19:17.830 the inflation that's come as a result of these increases 0:19:17.890 --> 0:19:21.010 in fuel prices. So, therefore, it actually suggests that there 0:19:21.070 --> 0:19:25.120 is something different happening in Australia's economy, which is really 0:19:25.200 --> 0:19:29.239 that the government has allowed wages... and prices to get 0:19:29.300 --> 0:19:31.480 out of control. This is the government, after all, it 0:19:31.580 --> 0:19:35.560 celebrates when wage rises occur, when the Fair Work Commission 0:19:35.600 --> 0:19:39.510 hands out above inflation rate wage rises. But those things 0:19:39.619 --> 0:19:43.570 actually lead to a slowing of our economy, an increase 0:19:43.590 --> 0:19:47.990 in our unemployment rate, and ultimately, therefore, really the demise 0:19:48.109 --> 0:19:49.850 and a Reserve Bank that's got nowhere else to go. 0:19:49.980 --> 0:19:52.740 simply because the government hasn't pulled the leaves it could 0:19:52.780 --> 0:19:55.619 have done to basically make the Reserve Bank's job easier. 0:19:55.640 --> 0:19:59.909 OK, and when we've got an inflation rate running as 0:19:59.950 --> 0:20:03.290 it is now at 4.3%, how do we get wage 0:20:03.369 --> 0:20:08.500 rises coming through the public servants of 25% 35, there 0:20:08.640 --> 0:20:12.400 was a push yesterday for a 35% wage hike. You've 0:20:12.420 --> 0:20:16.080 got small businesses, John Howard makes a point yesterday, barely 0:20:16.540 --> 0:20:19.390 able to survive. They're not giving themselves a wage rise 0:20:19.730 --> 0:20:23.590 at all, let alone 35%. He spoke about a bloated 0:20:23.650 --> 0:20:27.710 public service. He spoke about a productivity across the economy 0:20:27.750 --> 0:20:31.930 that's near non-existent. I mean, we are really struggling. Yeah. 0:20:32.130 --> 0:20:34.429 Now, if you look at the various estimates, there are, 0:20:34.510 --> 0:20:38.270 since this government was appointed, an extra between 38,000 and 0:20:38.270 --> 0:20:42.660 40,000 additional public servants. I've done a rough calculation on that. 0:20:42.680 --> 0:20:44.139 I'd say $ 120, 000 a year. I know that's lowballing it, 0:20:44.200 --> 0:20:44.780 but that's $ 4. 0:20:44.619 --> 0:20:45.100 6 billion a year. 0:20:49.160 --> 0:20:52.170 In extra expenditure on those wages and salaries. And so 0:20:52.210 --> 0:20:54.630 when the Treasurer says, well, tell me ways in which 0:20:54.670 --> 0:20:58.050 we can cut expenditure, well, there's 40,000 people who didn't 0:20:58.090 --> 0:21:01.429 have a job previously, give or take, who clearly the 0:21:01.470 --> 0:21:03.770 public service, is it more efficient? Is it working more? 0:21:04.570 --> 0:21:06.510 better for you? Well, I'm not sure it is, but 0:21:06.770 --> 0:21:09.950 the reality is there's clearly trimming that can be made. 0:21:10.340 --> 0:21:13.260 The second factor also is when it comes to productivity. Well, 0:21:13.560 --> 0:21:18.580 if the government had made really our country more competitive 0:21:18.940 --> 0:21:22.760 and really allowed other businesses to invest significant amounts of money... 0:21:23.000 --> 0:21:25.820 in this nation, well, guess what? Our productivity would improve. 0:21:25.880 --> 0:21:28.550 If our productivity were better, the Reserve Bank would not 0:21:28.590 --> 0:21:31.310 be pressured to put the interest rates up as it 0:21:31.390 --> 0:21:34.210 is now. And the real problem here is not only 0:21:34.250 --> 0:21:37.350 will it be a per capita recession, but chances are, 0:21:37.450 --> 0:21:40.609 as time goes on, if these interest rate rises continue 0:21:40.650 --> 0:21:43.590 to smash our economy, that there ultimately could be a 0:21:43.750 --> 0:21:46.270 real recession as well. And the chances of that are 0:21:46.310 --> 0:21:48.530 now starting to rise. Most economists don't have it as 0:21:48.550 --> 0:21:51.560 their central case, but the reality is that this government 0:21:51.650 --> 0:21:56.100 now could face a recession and higher interest rates and 0:21:56.200 --> 0:21:59.020 higher unemployment at the very time that they go into 0:21:59.040 --> 0:22:00.340 the polls in 18 months' time. 0:22:01.880 --> 0:22:03.439 Hey, I'm out of time, Ross, but I reckon the 0:22:03.500 --> 0:22:06.610 only bet we've got that is a sure back on 0:22:06.650 --> 0:22:10.609 Cup Day is that we will have our 17th rate hike. 0:22:11.030 --> 0:22:13.830 I think that's pretty much the odds on favourite that day. 0:22:15.320 --> 0:22:16.880 I don't think anyone would give you odds for anything 0:22:16.920 --> 0:22:19.720 other than an increase. Thank you, Ross. All right, let's 0:22:19.760 --> 0:22:22.119 go now to the panel. Lots of other stories around. 0:22:22.140 --> 0:22:26.160 News24 host James Morrow, senior reporter Carolyn Marcus. Welcome to 0:22:26.200 --> 0:22:29.010 you both. Okay, the politics on this, James. Let's go 0:22:29.030 --> 0:22:31.369 to the politics. Put the economics to one side, the 0:22:31.630 --> 0:22:36.609 budget pressures, et cetera. 17 rate hikes all on Labor's watch, 0:22:37.030 --> 0:22:40.970 you know, foregone conclusion come next Tuesday. You've got the 0:22:41.010 --> 0:22:45.429 blame being sheeted home by the government to absolutely everybody. 0:22:45.450 --> 0:22:49.580 This is not going to wash anymore. Everybody out there 0:22:49.660 --> 0:22:52.899 knows that the government's got a big part of the 0:22:52.940 --> 0:22:56.479 blame here and they want to see someone take responsibility. 0:22:56.990 --> 0:22:59.750 Yeah, you know, Peter, it's really fascinating here because there's 0:22:59.810 --> 0:23:02.470 something that links this story to, of course, the other 0:23:02.530 --> 0:23:05.290 big story, which is the story about the golf course grant. 0:23:05.730 --> 0:23:09.840 And in both of these cases, they illustrate this government's 0:23:10.220 --> 0:23:14.940 major character flaw, which is that it is preternaturally unable 0:23:15.180 --> 0:23:18.940 to take responsibility when things go wrong on their watch 0:23:19.100 --> 0:23:22.200 and it's their fault. And people are not falling for 0:23:22.270 --> 0:23:24.649 this now. You know, I think Ross Greenwood did a 0:23:24.650 --> 0:23:27.670 very good job saying, Other countries aren't raising their interest 0:23:27.690 --> 0:23:29.709 rates anywhere near as much, even though they all have 0:23:29.730 --> 0:23:33.250 the same fuel pressures. People here are cottoning on to 0:23:33.290 --> 0:23:38.780 the fact that spending, government spending, the bloated size of government, 0:23:38.950 --> 0:23:44.240 the so-called care economy, is driving the private sector to 0:23:44.300 --> 0:23:46.740 the wall and it is driving prices through the roof. 0:23:47.119 --> 0:23:48.940 You know, you're starting to see this come through in 0:23:48.980 --> 0:23:51.220 a lot of the polls. The most recent are News 0:23:51.290 --> 0:23:54.230 poll from maybe two weeks ago said 55 percent of 0:23:54.310 --> 0:23:57.590 Australians said cut government spending. There was a Roy Morgan 0:23:57.630 --> 0:24:00.670 a couple of weeks ago. It had put government spending 0:24:00.850 --> 0:24:03.790