Speaker 1: Showing and good evening. That was the Prime Minister Anthony
Speaker 1: Albanezi there, saying that tonight he has spoken to Julian
Speaker 1: Assange as he's arrived home. He's touchdown in Canberra. The
Speaker 1: Prime Minister said that Assiange spoke to him, told him
Speaker 1: he was happy. It was a surreal moment for him.
Speaker 1: He said that he was the first person Assiane had
Speaker 1: spoken to when he arrived back on Australian soil tonight.
Speaker 1: This is an historic moment. The Prime minister there holding
Speaker 1: a press conference in Canberra. He said the incarceration had
Speaker 1: gone on for too long. He was asked his opinion
Speaker 1: on the case repeatedly. He wouldn't comment other than to
Speaker 1: say that it was time for Sange to be released.
Speaker 1: He did take full credit for this move. He said
Speaker 1: he'd raised it directly and repeatedly with the United States
Speaker 1: President Joe Biden. He wouldn't confide whether he did plan
Speaker 1: to meet with Assige in the next few days, but
Speaker 1: as I said, he took full credit for this outcome.
Speaker 1: He said this was deplomacy at work. He said the
Speaker 1: diplomacy required patience and it was built on trust. He
Speaker 1: described himself there. Albanisi as an outcome based politician who
Speaker 1: was not there just to occupy the seat. He said
Speaker 1: he'd worked closely with Assange's legal team, which is led
Speaker 1: by Australian Jen Robertson, and with the US administration. So
Speaker 1: that is the prime minister there speaking on this breaking news,
Speaker 1: Julian Assange back on Australian soil, and Albanzi as prime
Speaker 1: Minister using this moment to boost his own credentials, taking
Speaker 1: full credit for it, saying that it was his diplomacy,
Speaker 1: his advocacy with no less than the United States President
Speaker 1: that had led to this outcome. So you're watching their
Speaker 1: live the pictures of Assige as he stepped off the plane,
Speaker 1: not life from about half an hour ago now as
Speaker 1: he's stepped off the plane on Australian soil. He arrived
Speaker 1: at Canberra Airport around half an hour ago. As I said,
Speaker 1: this is a major moment, Julian Assange back on home
Speaker 1: soil after a forteen year odal since he first broke
Speaker 1: American law by publishing classified national security documents on WikiLeaks.
Speaker 1: In doing so, he was accused of risking the lives
Speaker 1: of national security sources. But tonight he is being welcomed
Speaker 1: home by many as a hero and by the Albanese government, which,
Speaker 1: as the Prime Minister just said, fought so hard for
Speaker 1: his release. Now we are expecting to hear from Julian
Speaker 1: Assange himself this evening, if not his family. We're going
Speaker 1: to bring you that press conference live as it happens
Speaker 1: here on Sky News. We're going to keep you updated
Speaker 1: as the news unfolds. Let's go now to Canberra, as
Speaker 1: I said, where Signe has just landed and Sky News
Speaker 1: as senior potter Fiona Willin is there. Fiona, take us
Speaker 1: through what we can expect over the next hour or so.
Speaker 2: We'll try At the moment, Julian massandres in the building
Speaker 2: behind me. He's clearing customs. He's with his family. We
Speaker 2: saw him step off the plane just a short time ago.
Speaker 2: We saw him stopping. We saw him step off just
Speaker 2: a short time ago.
Speaker 1: He received a big cheer.
Speaker 2: From the crowd. Excuse me, sir, sorry, we received a
Speaker 2: big cheer. He received a really big cheer from his supporters.
Speaker 3: Look, why don't we we.
Speaker 1: Have people are clearly very excited and his arrival a Fiona,
Speaker 1: why don't we come back to you in a moment.
Speaker 1: We're just go now to Sky News host James McPherson. James,
Speaker 1: this is a major moment. Look, we've been very critical
Speaker 1: on my program, at least last night, of Julian Assange,
Speaker 1: of how he put lives at risk service men and
Speaker 1: women who who were risking their own lives to work
Speaker 1: in undercover roles in war zones, in high risk areas,
Speaker 1: and he risked exposing them. There was no redaction in
Speaker 1: the documents. This was not careful journalism as some have claimed.
Speaker 1: This was a careless document dump. Now we just heard
Speaker 1: that press conference from Albani, and the line that he's
Speaker 1: been running and other senior politicians is that they don't
Speaker 1: want to get into what Assiange did. They don't want
Speaker 1: to get into the criminality of it, even though he
Speaker 1: has just pled guilty. It was that guilty plea that
Speaker 1: has seen him walk free. But they don't want to
Speaker 1: get into that. They just want to take credit for
Speaker 1: the fact that he's released because they judge that the
Speaker 1: sentiment now in Australia is that this saga has gone
Speaker 1: on too long. After fourteen years. They judge that the
Speaker 1: sentiment is Assange has done his time.
Speaker 4: What do you think absolutely. I mean, Elbanze is a
Speaker 4: little disingenuous when he talks about how this is dragged
Speaker 4: on too long and we didn't see any value in
Speaker 4: the continued incarceration. Don't forget most of it has dragged
Speaker 4: on because Juliana Sange himself has been avoiding facing court.
Speaker 4: He spent was at seven years in the Ecuadorian embassy
Speaker 4: avoiding being tried for the crimes he was alleged to
Speaker 4: have committed. So for Anthony Albanesi to say it's dragged
Speaker 4: on too long, Julian Assange was the one who dragged
Speaker 4: this out. But as you point out, Anthony Alberanzi, who
Speaker 4: hasn't had a great twelve months, needs a win and
Speaker 4: so he was very keen to point out that Julian
Speaker 4: Assange called his team the diplomatic a team. Wow, that's amazing,
Speaker 4: high praise from Juliana Sange. He's a prime minister who
Speaker 4: gets things done. Well, how's your energy price going, how's
Speaker 4: the how's in crisis going, how's inflation going? This is
Speaker 4: a prime minister who is desperately looking for a win.
Speaker 4: So desperate for a win, he's grabbing onto the hotels
Speaker 4: of Julie Ma Sange trying to leak a bit of
Speaker 4: credibility from him. That's how desperate, Anthony Elbanez he is.
Speaker 1: Yeah, I'm just going to point out, James that we
Speaker 1: were just seeing a footage there of Assange hugging his
Speaker 1: wife Stella Siane, who's been in Australia waiting for him
Speaker 1: to arrive. And he was accompanied there as well by
Speaker 1: Jen Robinson, his lawyer. We've had her on the program.
Speaker 1: She's been his longest serving counsel. There is that emotional
Speaker 1: moment where Julian hugs his wife Stella. He does have
Speaker 1: two children, so shortly he'll be reunited with them. Look
Speaker 1: for Assange supporters, this is one of the most joyous
Speaker 1: nights for them. They will undoubtedly be celebrating and it
Speaker 1: is a closure of a long running period. But we
Speaker 1: can't forget what got him here in the first place.
Speaker 1: Let's bring in now our political panel in Cambre joining
Speaker 1: me now, National Senate leader Bridget mackenzie and Labor MP
Speaker 1: Andrew Charlton. Welcome to you both. Bridget, can I have
Speaker 1: your reaction to this. We just heard the Prime Minister
Speaker 1: there take full credit for this outcome for Juliana Sange's
Speaker 1: arrival back on Australian soil. The Prime Minister described himself
Speaker 1: as an outcome based politician. He said he wasn't just
Speaker 1: here to occupy the seat. He couldn't let this moment
Speaker 1: go without taking complete responsibility for it, he said. He
Speaker 1: said that he had raised the case with the US
Speaker 1: President Joe Brydon, and that this was diplomacy, patient diplomacy
Speaker 1: at work. What's your response tonight, Bridget McKenzie.
Speaker 5: I'll look obviously very happy for mister Assange and his
Speaker 5: family there, obviously over the moon. But let's not think
Speaker 5: that this guy's the public hero number one that the
Speaker 5: Prime Minister's trying to make him out to be.
Speaker 1: He is no journalist.
Speaker 6: In my view.
Speaker 5: Journalists have to check their facts, sources, and indeed this
Speaker 5: guy just dumped a whole lot of documents onto the internet,
Speaker 5: happened to be good at tech and put agents potentially
Speaker 5: at risk. That is not what a great journalist does.
Speaker 5: So I don't see him as a public hero. Obviously
Speaker 5: happy that he's home, safe and sound for him as
Speaker 5: a personal level, but I think this is another case
Speaker 5: on the day when we've seen inflation with a four
Speaker 5: in front of it making the Reserve Bank Governor's job
Speaker 5: harder on interest rates, that the Prime Ministry is once
Speaker 5: again tone deaf to what the real issues Australians are
Speaker 5: concerned about.
Speaker 1: Yeah, and we're going to get to that inflation rate
Speaker 1: in a moment. But what do you think, Andrew, Do
Speaker 1: you think this is a distraction from the Prime minister?
Speaker 1: Do you think Massange should be lauded as some kind
Speaker 1: of hero.
Speaker 3: I think a lot of people have different views about
Speaker 3: Juliana Sange, about who he is and what he did.
Speaker 3: But from the Australian Government's perspective, there is really only
Speaker 3: one fact that matters, and that is that he is
Speaker 3: an Australian citizen and he spent the best part of
Speaker 3: fifteen years in different forms of confined So the Australian
Speaker 3: Government did what we would do for any Australian citizen,
Speaker 3: which is advocate for their case. It has taken a
Speaker 3: lot of patience, diplomacy, a lot of hard work on
Speaker 3: the part of our embassies abroad, and I pay credit
Speaker 3: to our embassies in Washington and London, and it has
Speaker 3: been a difficult thing to achieve. And I do think
Speaker 3: that the government deserves credit for bringing an Australian citizen home.
Speaker 3: Whatever you think of that Australian citizen and what he did.
Speaker 1: All right, Look, let's have a look at some of
Speaker 1: the other topics today. We are standing by tonight to
Speaker 1: hear from Julian Assange himself. He is expected to speak
Speaker 1: to the media tonight and if not him, his family.
Speaker 1: So we'll bring you that live as it happens. As
Speaker 1: I said, we've just heard from the Prime Minister. If
Speaker 1: you're just tuning in now, Julian Assange is now back
Speaker 1: on Australian soil. Well, let's have a look at these
Speaker 1: inflation figures today. The ABS start is showing that inflation
Speaker 1: has searched four percent from three points six percent for
Speaker 1: the year to May. This is not good news again,
Speaker 1: it's a further sign that we could be looking at
Speaker 1: a rate rise this year. Here was Treasurer Jim Charmers
Speaker 1: speaking about this today.
Speaker 7: As I said before, as we've said many times, the
Speaker 7: monthly numbers bounce around. They don't compare the same goods
Speaker 7: and services.
Speaker 1: I mean, bridget the cost of living is the issue
Speaker 1: that most people, most Australians are interested in, are concerned
Speaker 1: by us struggling with you know, not Julian Assange's freedom.
Speaker 1: So are you worried about today's inflation data?
Speaker 5: Well, absolutely, I'm worried about it. The Australian public's worried
Speaker 5: about it, mortgage holders are worried about it. The only
Speaker 5: people that aren't worried about it the government. Jim Charmer's
Speaker 5: even casual disregard during question time and your click just
Speaker 5: earlier shows that he doesn't have an economic plan that's working.
Speaker 1: We're at the back of the back when it comes
Speaker 1: to the G ten.
Speaker 5: This homegrown inflation is going in the wrong direction, as
Speaker 5: I said earlier, is going to make the Reserve Bank
Speaker 5: Governor's role very difficult as she looks to interest rates.
Speaker 1: And households are struggling.
Speaker 5: Their electricity has gone up twenty one percent in the
Speaker 5: last two years, housing and rents fourteen percent. Australians are struggling,
Speaker 5: and what we've seen is a very weak government.
Speaker 1: They're not prepared to.
Speaker 5: Make the tough decisions on the budget. They're not prepared
Speaker 5: to cut spending in those really difficult structural areas, and
Speaker 5: they've been distracted. If it's not the Voice this week,
Speaker 5: it's Assange. A few months ago they couldn't find their detainees.
Speaker 5: So on every single measure there are distracted and weak
Speaker 5: government and the Australian public deserves better because right now
Speaker 5: they're going backwards.
Speaker 1: Andrew, it wasn't so long ago when the inflation forecasts
Speaker 1: were meant to come down. We were expecting potentially even
Speaker 1: a rate the rates to fall, a rate cut before Christmas. Look,
Speaker 1: it doesn't look like that's the case at all. What's
Speaker 1: gone wrong here? Why is inflation not falling as we
Speaker 1: expect it?
Speaker 3: Well, inflation has been persistent around the world. But I
Speaker 3: do take issue with what Bridget just said. But Jim
Speaker 3: chalmers economic plan is working and he has the runs
Speaker 3: on the board to show it. He has delivered two
Speaker 3: budget surpluses at the same time, he has brought down
Speaker 3: inflation by half and he has delivered the lowest unemployment
Speaker 3: of any first term government on record. Now, it is
Speaker 3: true that inflation still has further to come down and
Speaker 3: there is more hard work to do.
Speaker 1: But are you worried it's moving in the wrong direction? Now?
Speaker 1: Are you worried that inflation is now rising not falling?
Speaker 6: Well?
Speaker 3: Core inflation, the measure that the RBA looks at, has
Speaker 3: been steady for a couple of months. Jim Charmers is
Speaker 3: right that these are monthly numbers which are quite volatile
Speaker 3: and only contain part of the CPI, so we'll get
Speaker 3: a better read on it when the full quarterly numbers
Speaker 3: come out. But what we do know is this that
Speaker 3: when Bridget's Party was in office, they left us with
Speaker 3: inflation running at a quarterly rate was two point one percent.
Speaker 3: It's now half that, at one percent in the most
Speaker 3: recent quarterly numbers. And if we had left inflation running
Speaker 3: at the level that Bridget's Party left it, prices today
Speaker 3: would be seventeen percent higher than they were at the election.
Speaker 3: Average families will be paying two hundred dollars a week
Speaker 3: more for their expenses. So inflation has come down a lot.
Speaker 3: It's absolutely true that it has got further to go,
Speaker 3: and that's why the government's plan to deliver a prudent
Speaker 3: budget surplus to pursue fiscal discipline is the right path
Speaker 3: to help families, to help mortgage.
Speaker 1: It's going to be hard convincing Australians of that, especially
Speaker 1: if there is a rate rise, which is now clearly
Speaker 1: on the table. Just before we go to a break,
Speaker 1: let's look at the latest on Labor. Senator Fatima Payment.
Speaker 1: As you know, last night she crossed the floor to
Speaker 1: support a Green's motion on Gaza. Well, today the Prime
Speaker 1: Minister said during question time in Parliament that he had
Speaker 1: suspended her from Labor Calcus sessions for the rest of
Speaker 1: this parliamentary session. Bridget do you think this was a
Speaker 1: strong enough response from the PM.
Speaker 5: Look, I'm no fan of the solidarity principles within Labor,
Speaker 5: but it is fundamental to who they are. You sign up,
Speaker 5: you have the debate inside with the factions, and once
Speaker 5: you leave caucus, you're all in the fact that Penny Wong,
Speaker 5: because of solidarity, had to vote against same sex marriage,
Speaker 5: against her own principles and conscience I find appalling Josh
Speaker 5: Burns had to do the same on matters of Israel
Speaker 5: and Palestine. And yet because this senator, maybe because this
Speaker 5: senator senator isn't a Christian, maybe because this senator is
Speaker 5: a female, maybe because this Prime Minister is more concerned
Speaker 5: about votes in Western Sydney than he is about the
Speaker 5: principles of solidarity that his own party was built on.
Speaker 1: She's getting a leaf passed.
Speaker 5: It is very on brand for Anthony Albanizi to once
Speaker 5: again demonstrate how absolutely weak he is when he has
Speaker 5: to make tough decisions that labor leaders before him have
Speaker 5: had to make.
Speaker 1: He's squipped it again. It could simply be that he
Speaker 1: agrees with her. Andrew Charlton, go ahead.
Speaker 3: I think it's simple than that. I think Fatima payment
Speaker 3: is in an incredibly difficult situation. Obviously, she is very
Speaker 3: deeply personally impacted by the crisis in the Middle East.
Speaker 3: I think most Australians would feel a lot of sympathy
Speaker 3: for the position that she is in. I don't think
Speaker 3: that we should be politicizing it in the way that
Speaker 3: Bridget is politicizing it. She's in a very difficult situation.
Speaker 5: We all have to make difficult decision with her. I
Speaker 5: think the whole nature of politics and parliament, you are
Speaker 5: making difficult decisions and weighing up tensions around every single
Speaker 5: question that we have to debate in this place. Andrew
Speaker 5: and to somehow single out this senator as if she's
Speaker 5: the only one had any personal conflict in a decision
Speaker 5: they've had to make. I know you've only been here
Speaker 5: a short time, but that happens regularly, and that's why
Speaker 5: your party has the principles of solidarity, so you have
Speaker 5: the fight inside the fact that she's rejected it and
Speaker 5: ignored it like others who've done.
Speaker 6: That before her.
Speaker 5: She should be sacked from the party and go join
Speaker 5: the Greens.
Speaker 3: Firstly, ouch on the first term Burn Bridgide, but secondly, hey,
Speaker 3: you know.
Speaker 1: He has actually been around his can breath for a
Speaker 1: very long time. I mean it's not just the gray hairs,
Speaker 1: but he was running Kevin Rudd's economic plot felt I
Speaker 1: mean you I was going to say he was running
Speaker 1: heaven Rad's economic policy during the global financial crisis. So
Speaker 1: he's been in the nation's capital for much longer than
Speaker 1: just one term. Go ahead, Andrew.
Speaker 3: Charlton, Thank you, Shari. I appreciate that. Look. I think
Speaker 3: Fatima Payment has made a decision that comes from her conviction.
Speaker 3: I think that's precisely what you're saying you are looking
Speaker 3: for in politicians, bridget She has done that. I think
Speaker 3: most Australians would sympathize with her position, given her background
Speaker 3: and given how this issue has affected her so deeply
Speaker 3: and so personally, and frankly, I don't think we should
Speaker 3: politicize it beyond that.
Speaker 1: I'll just give the final word to myself over here,
Speaker 1: which is that I think she could have expressed some
Speaker 1: sympathy for the one hundred and twenty innocent Israelis, including
Speaker 1: babies and children, who are still being held hostage, and
Speaker 1: for the one thousand and two hundred innocent citizens who
Speaker 1: were murdered by her muss on the seventh of October.
Speaker 1: But in all of her recent commentary, including the opinion
Speaker 1: piece that she just wrote in our Jazeira, there was
Speaker 1: not one mention of hostages and what not, one mention
Speaker 1: of her mus And you know, you need to as
Speaker 1: any individual, doesn't matter whether you support Israel or not,
Speaker 1: but you need to be able to empathize and sympathize
Speaker 1: and you know, have a place in your heart for
Speaker 1: all innocent people suffering, and we haven't seen that from her.
Speaker 1: All right, Andrew Charlton Bridget mackenzie, thank you both very
Speaker 1: much for your time. Now, coming up after the break,
Speaker 1: we're on standby to hear from Julian Assan, who's just
Speaker 1: touched down in Canberra, and we will bring you the
Speaker 1: latest news on that. Also, we've got breaking news tonight.
Speaker 1: A teenager has been arrested after threatening a new South
Speaker 1: Wales Politician's office with knives. I've got that exclusive story
Speaker 1: coming up, plus a freed hostage will join me live
Speaker 1: from Israel. Stay tuned, Welcome back.
Speaker 5: Well.
Speaker 1: The breaking news tonight is that Julian Assange has touched
Speaker 1: down on Australian soil. We're waiting to hear from him
Speaker 1: this evening. We've also heard tonight from the Prime Minister
Speaker 1: who has said that he's spoken to Juliana Sange. He
Speaker 1: said Sanje said, this is a surreal moment and he's
Speaker 1: feeling very happy to be back in Australia. We're going
Speaker 1: to bring you that news as it unfolds. But let's
Speaker 1: go now to Israel, where it's been nearly nine months
Speaker 1: since the October seven attacks. There are still over one
Speaker 1: hundred and twenty Israeli's held hostage by Hermas, waiting to
Speaker 1: be rescued and returned to their families, whose lives remain
Speaker 1: in limbo. One of those still trapped in Gaza is
Speaker 1: Keith Siegel. He along with his wife Aviva, were abducted
Speaker 1: at gunpoint from their home in Keifar Azar that's a
Speaker 1: kibbutz near the Gaza border. For a while, the couple
Speaker 1: were together, but then they were separated in November when
Speaker 1: Aviva was released as part of a hostage deal, and
Speaker 1: she joins me now live from Israel. Aviva, thank you
Speaker 1: very much for your time. Look, can you take us
Speaker 1: back to the moment when you and your husband were captured?
Speaker 1: What happened that morning?
Speaker 6: First, I want to.
Speaker 8: Say good evening to everybody and thank you for having
Speaker 8: me and listening to me. It's important for me to
Speaker 8: tell everybody that it's true because I was there and
Speaker 8: that Kith, my husband is still there and I'm waiting
Speaker 8: for him to come back so badly.
Speaker 6: My whole body saw.
Speaker 8: I'm tired of talking and talking and telling people what
Speaker 8: I went through and thinking about kid being in the
Speaker 8: same place that I was. We were kidnapped on the
Speaker 8: seventh of October with our pajamas from a house. We
Speaker 8: felt that we were secured in her house on keyboots
Speaker 8: for Raza.
Speaker 6: Sixty four people were murdered on my keyboots. I know
Speaker 6: them all.
Speaker 8: They my friends, and it's very difficult for me to
Speaker 8: even think about all of that. But the most important
Speaker 8: thing is that I'm here for Keith. I'm not through
Speaker 8: what I went through. I'm here for Keith and all
Speaker 8: the hostages. We need them back soon, as soon as possible,
Speaker 8: because they're going through hell like I did.
Speaker 6: So we were taken on the seventh from our house.
Speaker 6: We were in a little room that we thought that was.
Speaker 8: Safe, and there were lots of missiles coming from Gaza,
Speaker 8: so we sat there and we felt that something else
Speaker 8: different was happening, and it felt like the end of
Speaker 8: the world.
Speaker 6: It was very noisy.
Speaker 8: There were bombs all over from Gaza sent to us,
Speaker 8: and we were scared. And in a short while there
Speaker 8: were fifteen people from Hamas that came into my house, walked,
Speaker 8: shot my hounds, shooting around Keith and I screaming at us,
Speaker 8: pushed us and they broke kiths ropes and shot Kit's hand.
Speaker 6: We arrived to Gaza, keep us bleeding.
Speaker 8: He was sore, in a complete We were in a
Speaker 8: complete and activite shock, and I.
Speaker 6: Was there for fifty one days.
Speaker 1: Aviva, thank you for having the courage to speak about this.
Speaker 1: We can all see how difficult, how traumatic this is
Speaker 1: for you. You know, you've described it as hell just
Speaker 1: then the period that you were held hostage, and you
Speaker 1: know how horrifying it is knowing that your husband Keith
Speaker 1: is still there without re traumatizing you can you tell
Speaker 1: us just how bad it was having to help be
Speaker 1: held captive by these terrorists in Gaza.
Speaker 8: They had no respect for us at all. They didn't
Speaker 8: even let us feel like we are human. We weren't
Speaker 8: allowed to talk. We were staffed while they're ate in
Speaker 8: front of us. We had to beg, beg for water.
Speaker 8: We had to lie down most of the time for
Speaker 8: more than seventeen hours of the day and not even move.
Speaker 8: We weren't allowed to talk. We had to whisper sometimes
Speaker 8: and sometimes just be quiet, completely quiet. And that was
Speaker 8: day after day, minute after minute. It was for a
Speaker 8: long time. I was there for seven weeks and two days.
Speaker 8: Kit is still there nearly for nine months. Going through that,
Speaker 8: lying on a mattress with no sheet, with the cushion,
Speaker 8: without the cover, without being able to have a shower,
Speaker 8: start lying with nothing to do, nothing at all. You
Speaker 8: just have to lie down or sit and wait for
Speaker 8: the time to go by. We were taken and moved
Speaker 8: thirteen times. I was down ground and I was nearly
Speaker 8: dead with Keith. They took us down the ground and
Speaker 8: there was no oxygen at all and we could not breathe.
Speaker 6: I want everybody that's.
Speaker 8: Listening to me just to think about what it could
Speaker 8: be and what feeling it would be to have no
Speaker 8: a just lie down and trying to figure out how
Speaker 8: you're going to take the next breath, and just hoping
Speaker 8: that Keith won't die before me, or if something what
Speaker 8: happened to him and I have to look after him,
Speaker 8: or just see him dead next to me, like so
Speaker 8: many people in Israel saw on the seventh they killed families,
Speaker 8: They burned them alive, they raped the mothers in front
Speaker 8: of their family. Everything is such a brutal way. They
Speaker 8: used to threaten us all the time. We were starved
Speaker 8: all the time. One of the times they took the
Speaker 8: key into the shower and they shaved his whole body
Speaker 8: and they told him that he needs to shave his
Speaker 8: intimate place.
Speaker 6: Just to make fun of him. After doing that, they
Speaker 6: just stood and laughed. Kid you sixty four years.
Speaker 1: Old, Aviva, It's just so horrifying for words, it is
Speaker 1: so traumatic. I can't thank you enough for having the
Speaker 1: courage to be on national television here in Australia and
Speaker 1: speak about that trauma so publicly. We all pray for
Speaker 1: you that Keith is returned home safely and soon. And
Speaker 1: we are so sorry for what you and all your
Speaker 1: fellow Israelis are going through. We talk about you on
Speaker 1: this program every single night. We fight for the hostages
Speaker 1: and remember them, and we won't forget. We will keep
Speaker 1: it in the public eye. Aviva Siegel, thank you very
Speaker 1: much for sharing your story this evening.
Speaker 6: I need and need and need your help.
Speaker 8: I need anybody's help that could bring you and past
Speaker 8: just as we are desperate.
Speaker 6: I'm begging anybody that can.
Speaker 1: We'll do everything we can to keep it in the
Speaker 1: new cycle in the public's mind. Thank you very much.
Speaker 1: It's so dramatic. It's so important to keep hearing those
Speaker 1: stories and not to forget that this is happening now,
Speaker 1: because we just hear from our politicians mostly criticism of Israel,
Speaker 1: not of Hermas, even though there are still innocent citizens,
Speaker 1: including baby Kafir, who are still being held there. All right,
Speaker 1: the impact of social media on teenagers is a major
Speaker 1: political issue right now. The evidence is mounting that there
Speaker 1: are serious dangers for teenagers online, from mental health to
Speaker 1: cyberbullying and sexual grooming. Even the United States Surgeon in
Speaker 1: general wants to have warning labels on social media apps,
Speaker 1: just like cigarette packaging. He says, this is the greatest
Speaker 1: public health issue of our time, Yet many parents inevitably
Speaker 1: to come to peer pressure and give their teenagers smartphones
Speaker 1: before they feel that they're ready. Well, I'm joined now
Speaker 1: by one mother who's trying to change this. Amy Friedlander,
Speaker 1: is the co founder of the new initiative weight Mate.
Speaker 1: It's a movement to empower parents to delay smartphones for
Speaker 1: their children until they're at least in high school. And Amy,
Speaker 1: a mum of three herself, joins me. Now, Amy, welcome
Speaker 1: to the program. Such a big news night tonight as well.
Speaker 1: Can you tell us a bit about the initiative, What
Speaker 1: is weight mate and how does it work?
Speaker 9: Thank you, Shary. Sure.
Speaker 10: So, Look, as you said, this is one of the
Speaker 10: biggest issues of our time. We're seeing terrible mental health
Speaker 10: outcomes for teens, and the truth is it can be
Speaker 10: really hard for parents to not give their kid a smartphone,
Speaker 10: especially if their child is the only one without. And
Speaker 10: so what we're trying to do with weight mate is
Speaker 10: kind of get communities to stand together because parents can
Speaker 10: have strength in numbers.
Speaker 9: We've designed a pledge.
Speaker 10: People can visit our website and they can pledge to
Speaker 10: delay giving a smartphone to their child until at least
Speaker 10: high school is seven or eight or year nine later
Speaker 10: the better, and in doing so can stand stronger with
Speaker 10: their cohort.
Speaker 9: Now this is significant because in being.
Speaker 10: Connected with other parents who do the same in your
Speaker 10: child's specific class, you really have the opportunity to hold
Speaker 10: off and not give in and stand strong in your boundary.
Speaker 10: We know this is not good for our kids, but
Speaker 10: the pull at the moment is really, you know, quite strong.
Speaker 10: We want kids to be kids for longer. We want
Speaker 10: to slow down this growing up and give children the nourishing,
Speaker 10: play based childhood that they deserve.
Speaker 1: So we're seeing politicians at the moment like Peter Dutton
Speaker 1: and the South Australian Premier Peter mallanaskus put on the
Speaker 1: table the concept of actually banning social media apps until
Speaker 1: children are say fourteen or sixteen years years old. But
Speaker 1: this is a slightly different concept because this puts it
Speaker 1: back in the hands of parents and it's not just
Speaker 1: social media, but it's the whole smartphone exactly.
Speaker 9: Shary.
Speaker 10: Now, it's wonderful to see these initiatives and the advocacy
Speaker 10: that's happening to delay social media.
Speaker 9: But the reality is that.
Speaker 10: Smartphones are the gateway to these apps, and we're seeing
Speaker 10: the harm that they're causing. So while we totally applaud
Speaker 10: and support all the work being done at a government level,
Speaker 10: and I am so relieved on a personal level, it's
Speaker 10: not enough. And we also can't wait for those things
Speaker 10: to pass and for the technology to get sorted to
Speaker 10: work out how do we actually verify that this person
Speaker 10: is sixteen and then they're just lying about their age
Speaker 10: when they sign up.
Speaker 9: So yeah, look, it's really important.
Speaker 10: To not just kind of have that coming from a
Speaker 10: legal standpoint, but to also ensure that children are not
Speaker 10: walking around with the Internet in their pockets. Smartphones are
Speaker 10: designed to be incredibly addictive. Some developers refer to this
Speaker 10: as brain hacking, because literally they've looked into the psychology
Speaker 10: of what gets people to keep coming back for more.
Speaker 10: And I'm sure many adults can relate to the fact
Speaker 10: that we know how addictive it is exactly. And so
Speaker 10: for a child whose brain is not fully developed, where
Speaker 10: the pre frontal cortex is still you know, in development,
Speaker 10: it's even more harmful to have that in their pocket.
Speaker 9: And really it's the opportunity cost.
Speaker 10: What else would this child be doing if they weren't
Speaker 10: continually checking a phone. And even without social media, the
Speaker 10: phone itself, there's internet, it's the internet.
Speaker 1: In their pocket.
Speaker 10: As I said, YouTube, etc. All of these things have
Speaker 10: no place in primary school.
Speaker 1: Just before you go a lot of parents want their
Speaker 1: kids to have a phone because they're worried about security
Speaker 1: concerns and when their kids in their early teens are
Speaker 1: starting to be a bit independent, it gives the parents
Speaker 1: comfort knowing that they can be contacted.
Speaker 10: You know what's the argument the look that's very valid
Speaker 10: and we are not against children being able to communicate
Speaker 10: with parents. We're against children having pokes in their pockets
Speaker 10: and a smartphone device.
Speaker 9: On our website we.
Speaker 10: Have resources to recommend for parents various other devices, dumb phones,
Speaker 10: smart watches, GPS trackers, there's so many other options that
Speaker 10: can still give your child independence.
Speaker 1: A dumb phone or a smart watch. That's a good answer.
Speaker 1: So if people want to find out more, they can
Speaker 1: head to wait mate dot org dot au. Parents can
Speaker 1: sign up to the pledge. This is now going to
Speaker 1: be a big movement. We're bringing the news here first,
Speaker 1: but it is going to be in the media in
Speaker 1: the coming days and weeks ahead.
Speaker 10: Absolutely, and parents will be connected when at least ten
Speaker 10: in their cohort pledge, they will have strength in numbers.
Speaker 10: They will be connected with those parents and able to
Speaker 10: hold off until at least high school.
Speaker 1: We hope. Well, congratulations on this am. I'm sure it's
Speaker 1: going to be very popular with a lot of parents
Speaker 1: because it does take the peer pressure off the table.
Speaker 1: Thank you very much for joining us.
Speaker 9: Thank you.
Speaker 1: Now let's get back to our breaking news tonight that
Speaker 1: Julian Assange has landed in Canberra. We heard from the
Speaker 1: Prime Minister a little earlier. He confirmed that he was
Speaker 1: the first person Julian Assange spoke to on his arrival
Speaker 1: in Camber tonight, Alberizi described it as a warm discussion.
Speaker 1: He said it was a surreal and happy moment for
Speaker 1: the newly freed Julian Assange. The PM couldn't help but
Speaker 1: take a bit of credit for the release, or full
Speaker 1: credit rather for the release. He said he'd raised the
Speaker 1: case personally with the United States President Joe Biden, and
Speaker 1: he gave his own government a pat on the back,
Speaker 1: but he wouldn't answer whether what Assange did was actually
Speaker 1: wrong or right. He was repeatedly asked the question about
Speaker 1: his view on Assinge's publication of national security documents a
Speaker 1: document dump. He wouldn't respond to that. He just said
Speaker 1: that there was no ongoing purpose for his continued incarceration.
Speaker 1: Let's bring in now Jeffrey Robinson, international human rights lawyer
Speaker 1: who has worked with and fought for Assandra's release for
Speaker 1: many years. Now, Jeffrey joins US Live. Thank you so
Speaker 1: much for your time.
Speaker 6: Good morning.
Speaker 1: How happy are you this evening? Jeffrey Robertson, Well, it's.
Speaker 11: Prett easy to see him safe and free from the
Speaker 11: illness that has plagued him in the top security prison
Speaker 11: where he's been for five years. And he's back, and
Speaker 11: I think he joins the group of Australian journalists who
Speaker 11: have prodded at power and have exposed military secrets. They
Speaker 11: begin with your proprietor, your Proprietor's father, Keith Murdoch, who
Speaker 11: exposed the British Army deliberately. And then of course we've
Speaker 11: had Phil Knightly and Murray's Sale and.
Speaker 6: Pilger.
Speaker 11: We may have Sherry Markson in that pantheon on of people, journalists,
Speaker 11: commentators and so on who expose truths about what is happening.
Speaker 11: So for that reason, I think it's good that he's back.
Speaker 11: I'd point out an answer or the answer that mister
Speaker 11: alban Easy might have given. Kevin Rudd gave it some
Speaker 11: years ago that the material that he published was never
Speaker 11: top secret. That's the classification that is required if lives
Speaker 11: are going to be a risk for disclosure. The material
Speaker 11: that he published was not in that category. So the idea,
Speaker 11: and indeed the judge said yesterday all this morning time
Speaker 11: is getting a little mixed. But the judge in sentencing
Speaker 11: him said that there was no physical harm resulting from
Speaker 11: his work.
Speaker 1: So that although of course they could have although of
Speaker 1: course there was no reduction of names, and there could
Speaker 1: have been physical harm downe lives were put at risk,
Speaker 1: there was concern that sources were exposed. But not to
Speaker 1: get back into that argument now, Jeffrey robertson what do
Speaker 1: you expect Julian Assange will do now that he's free
Speaker 1: in Australia. Does the intention work in a journalist.
Speaker 11: Speak, Cherry, He's going to make a speech at first
Speaker 11: microphone that's put in his direction. He will speak usually,
Speaker 11: as I recall for a long time, I recall looking
Speaker 11: at my watch as he went on. But I hope
Speaker 11: his minders have reminded him that the public's ability to
Speaker 11: take in what he says is limited, and I hope
Speaker 11: he'll confine himself to the important thing about his case,
Speaker 11: which was that the Obama people, and I knew, very
Speaker 11: high up Obama people, said we don't want him. We
Speaker 11: think he's covered by the First Amendment, which is the
Speaker 11: great security for Americans or for writing for American papers.
Speaker 11: But then the Trump lawyers, in bringing this case against him,
Speaker 11: developed a new theory that he didn't get his protection
Speaker 11: because he was an Australian, so he only protected Americans.
Speaker 11: And of course there are journalists around the world, many
Speaker 11: from Britain who write about the Pentagon, write about American
Speaker 11: military endeavors, not all of them satisfactory, And so met
Speaker 11: Jeffrey one about a scientists. But it would have taken years,
Speaker 11: what about his lett It would have gone to the
Speaker 11: Supreme Court. So he's really wise, I think, to take
Speaker 11: this clean bargain. As David Hicks, you remember.
Speaker 1: Yeah, I can hear, I can hear your phone is
Speaker 1: going off there everyone's trying to contact you because this
Speaker 1: is a big news day. Just before you go, Jeffrey Robertson,
Speaker 1: do you expect that Julina Sande will want to now
Speaker 1: work as a journalist? Does he intend to get a job.
Speaker 11: I don't know what Julian will do, but I think
Speaker 11: he needs some rest and recreation, maybe go back to
Speaker 11: where he was born on Magnetic Island, but.
Speaker 6: He will.
Speaker 11: I think he's a very pleasant and erudite man. And
Speaker 11: it may be that self taught or to that act.
Speaker 11: It may be that you'll write either an autobiography or
Speaker 11: get into philosophy of some kind. But his insight into
Speaker 11: international affairs was always considerable.
Speaker 1: And I think, well, you think he would have had
Speaker 1: it enough time by now to write an autobiography is
Speaker 1: if he hasn't written one over the past fourteen years,
Speaker 1: And I tell you what, he's just wasted his time.
Speaker 1: But Jeffrey Robertson, always a delight to have you on
Speaker 1: the program. Thank you very much, such a charmer. So
Speaker 1: coming up after the break, we're on standby to hear
Speaker 1: from the wikileagu's founder, Julian A. Sane, who has tonight
Speaker 1: touchdown in camera. Stay tuned Well, it's been a massive
Speaker 1: night of breaking news, and what I'm about to tell
Speaker 1: you was originally going to be at the start of
Speaker 1: my show tonight because it is big news. A nineteen
Speaker 1: year old has been arrested by New South Wales police
Speaker 1: with multiple knives outside a labor politician's office. We broke
Speaker 1: this story on skynews dot com this evening. The teenager
Speaker 1: was reading aloud a two hundred page manifesto where he
Speaker 1: vowed to commit a mass killing. He was also live
Speaker 1: streaming this as he stood outside the office of a
Speaker 1: state labor politician. The terrifying manifesto, which included some anti
Speaker 1: Semitic content, was sent to a number of high profile
Speaker 1: figures in the media and politics today. Police were immediately notified.
Speaker 1: I was one of those who received this manifesto and
Speaker 1: it was highly alarming. In it, the nineteen year old
Speaker 1: said he was involved in chat groups where terror threats
Speaker 1: had been made, and he described how to make a
Speaker 1: bomb and detailed in graphic terms his deathly intent. Counter
Speaker 1: Terrorism police are now investigating both the incident and the manifesto.
Speaker 1: The nineteen year old has been arrested his in custody.
Speaker 1: New Southwal's police confirmed he was arrested at twelve thirty today.
Speaker 1: The Daily Telegraph has reported that it wasn't just knives
Speaker 1: that he had on him, but also a bulletproof vest.
Speaker 1: Now we can confirm the politician was new Southeale's labor
Speaker 1: MP Tim Krackenthorpe, and he told us I understand that
Speaker 1: there was an incident in Newcastle today. I've spoken with
Speaker 1: police and they are managing the situation and have assured
Speaker 1: me that nobody was harmed. I've been advised that the
Speaker 1: individual briefly walked in and out of my office. So
Speaker 1: that is the story that unfolded today and we have
Speaker 1: to thank the police for their quick response. It was
Speaker 1: very reassuring to know that they got it under control.
Speaker 1: So quickly. Let's bring in now the director of Headline
Speaker 1: Advisory and Scott Morrison's former media advisor, Andrew Carswell. Andrew,
Speaker 1: I want to get your response first to the big
Speaker 1: news tonight, the Prime Minister's comments about Assane who is
Speaker 1: now back on Australian soil.
Speaker 7: Yeah, Charlie was pretty gripping viewing tonight. No matter what
Speaker 7: you think of Julian Massange, you couldn't take your eyes
Speaker 7: off the screen tonight. And it's been a long running
Speaker 7: saga which has finally ended. That's pretty tortuous chapter. And
Speaker 7: Julian is home. I'm pretty uncomfortable. I'm happy that he is.
Speaker 7: I think he's served his time, but I'm pretty uncomfortable
Speaker 7: with the fact that he has been given a heroes welcome.
Speaker 7: This is not a man that deserves the glorification that
Speaker 7: he is getting. This is a man, by his own account,
Speaker 7: by his own confession, even in the last twenty four hours,
Speaker 7: that he is a convicted traitor under the Espionage Act.
Speaker 7: This is a man of deeply flawed character. And remembering
Speaker 7: too that this is a man that's stood accused of
Speaker 7: a rape and a sexual assault in Sweden. He's not
Speaker 7: a man that deserves glorification.
Speaker 1: Now, I just want to ask your reaction to this incident. Today,
Speaker 1: a teenager sent a terrorism manifesto to people in the media,
Speaker 1: including myself. He was then arrested outside the office of
Speaker 1: a State Labor and p We're going to show you
Speaker 1: that vision right now while we speak. Andrew. This is
Speaker 1: concerning It does feel like there is a volatile climate
Speaker 1: at the moment. There was some anti Semitic content in
Speaker 1: that manifes Esto.
Speaker 7: We're seeing more and more of these incidents shari and
Speaker 7: it is troubling. And what is mostly troubling here is
Speaker 7: the age of the alleged perpetrators here. They're getting younger
Speaker 7: and younger, and it's clearly a case of senior people
Speaker 7: within their own community whispering in their ear is getting
Speaker 7: them to this stage where they will commit these acts.
Speaker 7: It is deeply troubling. But it's also you get the
Speaker 7: sense that the temperature is still hot in this debate
Speaker 7: and it's not being helped by politicians in both at
Speaker 7: both federal level and state level that are not taking
Speaker 7: the temperature down on these issues of race and religion,
Speaker 7: particularly when it comes to antisemitism, and not enough is
Speaker 7: being said to bring down that temperature, and we're seeing
Speaker 7: time and time again these instants crop up.
Speaker 1: I absolutely agree. I think the main message from the
Speaker 1: Prime Minister should be that whatever your view on this
Speaker 1: conflict is, we can't bring the hatred to Australia. That
Speaker 1: is clear nearly what the message should be, and there
Speaker 1: should have been tough law enforcement right from the start,
Speaker 1: right from those Opera House protests on October the ninth,
Speaker 1: that this is not on, that we can't see this
Speaker 1: sort of aggression on our streets. Andrew Carswell, I apologize
Speaker 1: it was so short tonight. It has been a big
Speaker 1: night of breaking news. We'll have you back on as
Speaker 1: always next week. Thank you everyone for your time tonight.
Speaker 1: I'll see you tomorrow at eight. And here's Paul Murray.