WEBVTT - Paul Murray Live | 6 September 0:00:02.670 --> 0:00:08.590 This is Paul Murray Live. Thank you, James. G'day, everyone. 0:00:08.750 --> 0:00:11.869 Happy Father's Day. If like me you were spoiled, it 0:00:11.930 --> 0:00:15.390 is a wonderful pleasure. I'm so proud of my beautiful girls. 0:00:15.450 --> 0:00:16.989 I love them oh so much and to spend the 0:00:17.030 --> 0:00:20.000 day with them and their wonderful mum. Just amazing. All 0:00:20.020 --> 0:00:22.639 the best to all the dads out there. Mine, Kenny Dog, 0:00:22.720 --> 0:00:26.320 you know how much I love you. To Wayne, to 0:00:26.420 --> 0:00:28.479 Tim and to all the other big fellas in our lives, 0:00:28.560 --> 0:00:30.220 we love you, we love you, we love you. My 0:00:30.320 --> 0:00:32.640 little brother as well, Jason. We could be here all night. 0:00:33.600 --> 0:00:35.100 But I hope you've had the chance to hug Dad, 0:00:35.120 --> 0:00:37.600 and if you need to forgive Dad, forgive Dad as well. 0:00:37.700 --> 0:00:39.640 And obviously a reminder that there's lots of people whose 0:00:39.659 --> 0:00:41.340 dads are no longer here. We know you love them, 0:00:41.560 --> 0:00:43.480 and we know that they were always proud of you. 0:00:43.860 --> 0:00:46.339 All right, let's get to today. There is about to 0:00:46.380 --> 0:00:49.089 be a return to Parliament this week, so we'll be 0:00:49.380 --> 0:00:53.570 focused a lot on the nonsense of the halls of power, 0:00:53.610 --> 0:00:58.030 the idiocy of question time, the occasional moment of, that 0:00:58.070 --> 0:01:01.620 was interesting, that'll happen out of the Senate. But we've 0:01:01.630 --> 0:01:04.179 sort of got an insight into the next little running 0:01:04.200 --> 0:01:07.120 of Parliament about what is going to be their priorities. 0:01:07.840 --> 0:01:10.060 Is it going to be cost of living, the number 0:01:10.140 --> 0:01:15.880 one issue, according to the News 24 polls, for Australians? Nope. Immigration? Well, no, 0:01:15.940 --> 0:01:18.179 we still haven't even had a speech from the government, 0:01:18.480 --> 0:01:22.199 let alone a plan. Housing affordability? Well, I've got plenty 0:01:22.220 --> 0:01:23.959 to say about that in a moment or two's time. 0:01:24.020 --> 0:01:28.899 The economy? Whatever. And climate change? Well, again, not the 0:01:28.940 --> 0:01:36.020 top of the list for Australians. the majority of Australians. Now, therefore, 0:01:36.319 --> 0:01:38.480 we're in a little bit of a holding pattern going 0:01:38.520 --> 0:01:41.160 into this week. Now, something may pop up, something may 0:01:41.180 --> 0:01:43.760 quickly change the subject, there might be a little rabbit 0:01:43.819 --> 0:01:45.800 out of the hat, but what you're going to see 0:01:46.459 --> 0:01:50.680 is the four main sides of Australian politics trying to 0:01:50.940 --> 0:01:55.550 pull the conversation in their directions. The same opinion poll 0:01:55.570 --> 0:01:58.490 that tells us cost of living, number one issue. Well, 0:01:58.530 --> 0:02:01.530 it's nothing the government wants to talk about because according 0:02:01.590 --> 0:02:07.720 to the News 24 polls, workers' rights, Medicare and pensions 0:02:08.580 --> 0:02:12.540 are the top-ranking issues in opinion polls where people think 0:02:12.580 --> 0:02:15.500 Labor is the best to handle it. For the Coalition, 0:02:16.440 --> 0:02:19.660 they want the conversation to be about economy and debt, 0:02:20.570 --> 0:02:27.769 national security and trade. For the Greens, no giant surprise here, 0:02:27.810 --> 0:02:31.820 that climate change, climate change, number one for them, then 0:02:31.940 --> 0:02:38.880 inequality and housing. For One Nation, number one, unsurprisingly, immigration, 0:02:39.980 --> 0:02:43.700 the cost of living. and inequality so only one of 0:02:43.760 --> 0:02:47.000 all of those has constantly the number one issue in 0:02:47.090 --> 0:02:50.970 the country as one that they are happy to talk 0:02:51.010 --> 0:02:53.070 about one that the Australian people think they are in 0:02:53.090 --> 0:02:57.390 a position to do something about so I frame all 0:02:57.430 --> 0:02:59.350 of that because again as we sit here getting ready 0:02:59.389 --> 0:03:02.230 for another week where we will watch every little minute 0:03:02.450 --> 0:03:05.089 for you when it is about any one of those 0:03:05.150 --> 0:03:09.040 issues it is about governments oppositions alternative parties trying to 0:03:09.100 --> 0:03:13.460 pull things in their directions But then there's one issue 0:03:13.480 --> 0:03:16.260 that the Labor Party seems obsessed with discussing because they 0:03:16.280 --> 0:03:18.900 think it's overall good for them, and it's the world 0:03:19.040 --> 0:03:25.340 of social media. Now, there is a new set of 0:03:25.480 --> 0:03:27.299 laws that are on their way when it comes to 0:03:27.400 --> 0:03:30.639 social media, and they tried to dominate the weekend with 0:03:30.680 --> 0:03:32.579 this today, with a leak here and a leak there, 0:03:32.620 --> 0:03:37.530 but not an awful lot of detail around. The pervasiveness 0:03:37.590 --> 0:03:41.550 of violence on social media and the normalisation of sexual 0:03:41.610 --> 0:03:42.960 violence amongst young men. 0:03:43.140 --> 0:03:46.180 We have a problem, and that problem is very much 0:03:46.240 --> 0:03:47.810 driven by social media. 0:03:49.000 --> 0:03:52.680 So apparently the latest idea is to go after the 0:03:52.740 --> 0:03:57.670 big tech companies claiming a $ 100 million fine potentially if 0:03:58.030 --> 0:04:02.690 the social media algorithms push people towards harmful content. Now, 0:04:02.710 --> 0:04:04.800 let's be very clear. There isn't a person amongst us 0:04:04.840 --> 0:04:08.620 who does not want people not to be radicalised by 0:04:08.760 --> 0:04:14.240 the worst of social media, OK? But what is defined 0:04:14.320 --> 0:04:16.930 as harmful, well, of course, is in the eye of 0:04:17.050 --> 0:04:21.170 the beholder. Now, remember, this is a government who previously 0:04:21.750 --> 0:04:25.480 has tried to introduce a ministry for truth, essentially, that 0:04:25.560 --> 0:04:28.580 anything other than the official line of the government is misinformation. 0:04:29.650 --> 0:04:33.790 Let's pay very close attention today about whether this new 0:04:34.029 --> 0:04:36.730 form of laws is just a rebadging of the old 0:04:36.830 --> 0:04:40.190 form of laws. We'll all find out together. But the 0:04:40.230 --> 0:04:43.970 reports that we get here at News 24 suggest that 0:04:43.990 --> 0:04:47.030 the government will propose a $ 100 million penalty for social 0:04:47.050 --> 0:04:49.730 media companies that allow people to come to harm by 0:04:49.770 --> 0:04:56.320 directing them towards harmful content through algorithmic recommendation systems. The 0:04:56.360 --> 0:05:00.210 proposal forms part of the long-awaited digital duty of care, 0:05:00.730 --> 0:05:03.030 which is due to become the next big focus of 0:05:03.050 --> 0:05:09.570 the Albanese government when Parliament resumes. Now, the Albanese government 0:05:09.710 --> 0:05:12.860 would suggest, and I think most people would agree, that 0:05:13.000 --> 0:05:16.159 one of their big achievements since coming to office was 0:05:16.200 --> 0:05:19.120 the social media ban. Not a perfect one, but still, 0:05:19.160 --> 0:05:21.480 a social media ban that at least at its heart 0:05:21.500 --> 0:05:23.780 had the idea of trying to keep as many teenagers 0:05:23.920 --> 0:05:26.820 away from social media as possible... As a parent, who 0:05:26.839 --> 0:05:29.940 could possibly disagree with this? Now, of course, technically speaking, 0:05:29.980 --> 0:05:32.820 it was a Peter Dutton idea, but let's pretend that 0:05:32.880 --> 0:05:35.810 never happened is the idea of the government. And essentially, 0:05:35.820 --> 0:05:38.490 whenever they get themselves into political trouble, it seems one 0:05:38.510 --> 0:05:40.510 of the areas that they try to go back to 0:05:41.089 --> 0:05:44.550 is let's fix social media. Let's have an Australian solution 0:05:44.610 --> 0:05:48.050 to the global problem. Does that mean they shouldn't try? No. 0:05:48.990 --> 0:05:52.800 But please pay attention this week to the devil in 0:05:52.830 --> 0:05:55.220 the details. Now, of course, to vote against it or 0:05:55.240 --> 0:05:58.800 to discuss against it, of course, means somehow you don't 0:05:58.900 --> 0:06:01.260 want to protect our kids. But as best as we 0:06:01.279 --> 0:06:03.960 could get any information out of somebody today, Matt Thistle-Thwaite, 0:06:03.980 --> 0:06:06.640 of course, was talking with Andrew Clunell, and here's the 0:06:06.680 --> 0:06:08.740 spin rather than the details. 0:06:09.740 --> 0:06:14.109 We know that young people are being exposed to violent material, 0:06:14.630 --> 0:06:18.670 misogynistic material online, particularly young men, and we think that 0:06:18.690 --> 0:06:21.430 that's a problem. And many Australian parents have said that 0:06:21.450 --> 0:06:25.240 they're concerned about their children being exposed to this material. 0:06:25.260 --> 0:06:29.380 And we think that the platforms have a responsibility to 0:06:29.420 --> 0:06:32.000 try and keep young Australian kids safe. 0:06:32.020 --> 0:06:32.560 So we are. 0:06:32.500 --> 0:06:36.580 Looking at a digital duty of care to ensure that 0:06:36.600 --> 0:06:41.420 the platforms have responsibility for keeping the users of their 0:06:41.440 --> 0:06:45.380 platforms safe, particularly younger Australians. And we're not afraid to 0:06:45.420 --> 0:06:46.780 take action against these platforms. 0:06:47.940 --> 0:06:50.890 Now, again, Be very clear to those that are half 0:06:50.930 --> 0:06:53.310 listening up the back going, oh, he's running defence for 0:06:53.350 --> 0:06:55.630 big tech. No, no, no, no, no. Who gets to 0:06:55.670 --> 0:06:58.409 decide what the line of harmful is? Now, it's pretty obvious. 0:06:58.890 --> 0:07:01.510 There's some really nasty stuff on the internet of which 0:07:01.550 --> 0:07:04.430 I'd have no problem. Australians finding it as hard as 0:07:04.510 --> 0:07:07.229 possible to get to it. But, of course, there would 0:07:07.270 --> 0:07:10.730 be a whole collection of other people who would find, 0:07:10.750 --> 0:07:13.830 I don't know, old TV shows from the 1970s that 0:07:13.850 --> 0:07:17.140 were a little bit insensitive. as being something that is 0:07:17.160 --> 0:07:19.300 the gateway drug. Remember, we're not talking about the end 0:07:19.320 --> 0:07:22.430 of the line, but the gateway drug. Previously, there have 0:07:22.470 --> 0:07:25.110 been universities which have turned around and said things like 0:07:25.490 --> 0:07:28.930 adherences to national days like Australia Day and Anzac Day 0:07:28.990 --> 0:07:34.730 is a gateway drug towards radicalisation and nationalism. Now, again, 0:07:34.750 --> 0:07:37.630 I'm not suggesting the government shouldn't draw a line, but 0:07:37.710 --> 0:07:41.980 where it draws the line is worth debating. Now, again, 0:07:42.000 --> 0:07:43.760 if you end up on the wrong side of wherever 0:07:43.780 --> 0:07:45.750 the government draws the line, you know the treatment that 0:07:45.770 --> 0:07:48.810 you're in for, the reinforcement that comes from the media. 0:07:49.350 --> 0:07:52.110 But here was a bloke who has been around for 0:07:52.150 --> 0:07:54.890 long enough to know that this could be a rebadging 0:07:55.390 --> 0:07:57.800 of what the government has had rejected in the past 0:07:57.920 --> 0:08:01.420 as the opposition leader. Again, talking with Andrew this morning. 0:08:02.480 --> 0:08:06.960 I fear, given Labor and the minister's past biases, that 0:08:06.980 --> 0:08:09.500 this would just be an attempt to censor the internet. 0:08:09.840 --> 0:08:12.240 And that's not what we should be doing. What we 0:08:12.280 --> 0:08:15.430 should be doing is making sure young Australians are protected 0:08:15.450 --> 0:08:16.070 from content. 0:08:17.050 --> 0:08:19.950 Now, again, let's have a look at the form. Remember, 0:08:20.250 --> 0:08:25.270 this government wanted to, again, have massive fines on social 0:08:25.290 --> 0:08:30.480 media companies if they were peddling misinformation. Now, again, what 0:08:30.520 --> 0:08:34.140 does that mean? We're seeing the Climate Change Authority trying 0:08:34.179 --> 0:08:37.620 to pretend that anyone who says that part of the 0:08:37.679 --> 0:08:44.359 transition is problems with price, infrastructure, regional... You know the 0:08:44.400 --> 0:08:47.449 rest of it. Well, that is, of course, misinformation. We've 0:08:47.490 --> 0:08:51.530 heard how many times the government say anything that disagrees 0:08:51.570 --> 0:08:58.689 with their narrative is someone pushing misinformation. Misinformation. Misinformation. 0:08:58.830 --> 0:08:59.710 Misinformation. 0:08:59.809 --> 0:09:05.290 Misinformation. And again, they tried to put a law in 0:09:05.490 --> 0:09:10.439 on this specific topic. It was rejected because everyone, bar 0:09:10.460 --> 0:09:12.980 the Labor Party, didn't want it to happen. Have they 0:09:13.020 --> 0:09:16.360 found a new way through? Remember, in order to get 0:09:16.460 --> 0:09:19.060 people like the Greens and parts of the crossbench on 0:09:19.120 --> 0:09:22.459 board with some issues, maybe they've agreed to back the 0:09:22.520 --> 0:09:26.120 government on this issue. We'll all wait, we'll all watch, 0:09:26.150 --> 0:09:29.840 we'll all see. Now, that is not prejudging tonight that 0:09:29.900 --> 0:09:32.579 any action trying to fix up the internet is a 0:09:32.660 --> 0:09:36.800 bad thing. It's not. But who do you want in charge? 0:09:37.360 --> 0:09:41.370 Who do you want to be declaring truth, not truth, harmful, offensive? 0:09:43.110 --> 0:09:46.250 Because we all know when it is part of the 0:09:46.350 --> 0:09:51.200 collective left or the instrumentalities of the unelected left, the 0:09:51.240 --> 0:09:55.000 line is always just a little weirder than you thought 0:09:55.040 --> 0:10:00.600 it was to start with. As you've heard all day, today, 0:10:00.960 --> 0:10:04.420 the opposition has come out very hard against anyone who 0:10:04.480 --> 0:10:08.190 wants to desecrate a war memorial, anyone who wants to 0:10:08.250 --> 0:10:12.250 desecrate an important national building, an important national symbol, but 0:10:12.290 --> 0:10:16.030 specific focus, jail time for anyone who wants to burn 0:10:16.370 --> 0:10:25.140 the Australian flag. The Coalition wants burning the Australian flag 0:10:25.160 --> 0:10:28.720 to cost you your freedom. Angus Taylor wants those who 0:10:28.820 --> 0:10:33.560 burn the flag sent to jail for 12 months. Now, 0:10:34.440 --> 0:10:36.720 that doesn't seem to be a bad idea, right? Now, 0:10:37.280 --> 0:10:40.320 let me be rather crazy here, or at least put 0:10:40.360 --> 0:10:42.760 out a crazy idea here, I should say. I apologise. 0:10:44.140 --> 0:10:46.150 The burning of our national flag, yes, I think it 0:10:46.170 --> 0:10:47.770 should be a crime. I don't think that it's about 0:10:47.809 --> 0:10:52.670 your political free expression. Equally... Important national symbols such as 0:10:52.710 --> 0:10:55.809 the Indigenous flag, the Torres Strait Islander flag, well, they 0:10:55.850 --> 0:10:59.670 too shouldn't be burnt in the streets, right? I'll explain 0:10:59.770 --> 0:11:01.870 why in a moment or two's time, but first again, 0:11:02.170 --> 0:11:05.490 Angus Taylor explaining the idea this morning. 0:11:06.570 --> 0:11:12.220 It'll be up to one year imprisonment and that is, 0:11:12.360 --> 0:11:16.660 I think, an appropriate penalty for someone who is undermining 0:11:16.720 --> 0:11:17.860 our history, our heritage. 0:11:21.650 --> 0:11:24.020 And as to why he thinks that should be the case? 0:11:25.100 --> 0:11:27.739 On recent Australia days and ANZAC days, there's burning of 0:11:27.780 --> 0:11:34.260 the Australian flag, graffiti on monuments, war memorial monuments around Australia. 0:11:34.380 --> 0:11:39.950 It's completely unacceptable. Completely unacceptable. And so it's time to 0:11:39.990 --> 0:11:42.530 stand up for Australia, our heritage, our history. 0:11:43.400 --> 0:11:45.610 Now, of course, it's amazing that any such law would 0:11:45.660 --> 0:11:48.450 be needed because you would think that almost every citizen, 0:11:48.570 --> 0:11:51.850 including the ones who dislike the government of the day, 0:11:52.090 --> 0:11:54.610 would know to keep away from national symbols, to keep 0:11:54.670 --> 0:11:58.620 away from monuments to the dead, who, of course, fought 0:11:58.640 --> 0:12:00.440 and died for the opportunity for us to be as 0:12:00.500 --> 0:12:02.920 free as we are, to agree and disagree on as 0:12:02.980 --> 0:12:06.670 much as we do. But no, no, no, apparently all 0:12:06.710 --> 0:12:10.219 this is just some far right-wing fever dream. If you 0:12:10.270 --> 0:12:11.959 think there should be a penalty for the burning of 0:12:12.000 --> 0:12:14.780 the national flag, you're the one with the problem, not 0:12:14.820 --> 0:12:18.080 the people who are lighting the flag on fire, according 0:12:18.160 --> 0:12:19.180 to the Greens. 0:12:20.200 --> 0:12:24.179 Trying to chase Pauline Hanson and One Nation into another 0:12:24.260 --> 0:12:26.720 culture war, he'll only lose. 0:12:27.900 --> 0:12:35.330 Rubbish. Rubbish. Again, this idea that when you decide... To 0:12:35.390 --> 0:12:38.250 defend what has been the status quo, you're the one 0:12:38.320 --> 0:12:41.680 fighting the culture war. And then what about the pushback 0:12:41.700 --> 0:12:45.500 from the Labor Party? This little talking point I think 0:12:45.559 --> 0:12:48.620 is worth actually taking a couple of seconds to dissect. Again, 0:12:48.679 --> 0:12:50.860 Matt Thistlethwaite, he had to answer the question when it 0:12:50.900 --> 0:12:52.400 was put to him this morning by Andrew. 0:12:54.100 --> 0:12:59.370 It may impinge on Australians' freedom of expression and their 0:12:59.410 --> 0:13:02.950 freedom of speech. It's been tried on several occasions over many, 0:13:02.970 --> 0:13:06.979 many years. The Parliament's generally always rejected it because of 0:13:07.020 --> 0:13:10.170 the notion of upholding freedom of speech for Australians and 0:13:10.190 --> 0:13:11.610 that freedom of political expression. 0:13:12.570 --> 0:13:16.209 So let's take a couple of seconds here. I would 0:13:16.250 --> 0:13:20.820 like to see some senator somewhere put a one line 0:13:21.240 --> 0:13:23.800 piece of legislation into the parliament and see what happens, 0:13:23.860 --> 0:13:27.910 which is Australians have a right to free speech. and 0:13:27.970 --> 0:13:31.110 see exactly what happens, how many Labor, how many Coalition, 0:13:31.170 --> 0:13:35.790 how many Green will agree with that fundamental principle. Australians 0:13:36.170 --> 0:13:40.270 have a right to free speech. Now, I doubt that 0:13:40.290 --> 0:13:43.120 that would pass the parliament with the ease that it should, 0:13:44.179 --> 0:13:47.680 because the horrible truth about Australia is that while, yes, 0:13:47.740 --> 0:13:50.360 we are very free and we're very free to disagree, 0:13:51.300 --> 0:13:54.800 by an American standard, we don't have the freedom of speech. 0:13:55.309 --> 0:13:57.929 There's a whole bunch of laws on top of laws 0:13:58.050 --> 0:14:00.309 on top of laws on top of laws that have 0:14:00.390 --> 0:14:04.600 hemmed in what is believed to be appropriate things to 0:14:04.679 --> 0:14:09.040 say in public. Now, that makes sense when it comes 0:14:09.100 --> 0:14:11.960 to things like defamation laws. You can't make things up 0:14:12.040 --> 0:14:15.500 about people. I think it's pretty reasonable when it comes 0:14:15.600 --> 0:14:21.190 to vilification laws. But also, don't forget, the very parliament 0:14:22.290 --> 0:14:28.270 run by the current government... got universal support earlier this 0:14:28.330 --> 0:14:34.750 year to very much impinge on the implied political freedoms, 0:14:34.790 --> 0:14:38.330 the implied free speech that the government is now saying 0:14:39.100 --> 0:14:43.680 people who burn the flag should have. Meaning Australia has 0:14:43.760 --> 0:14:46.400 already decided to draw a line here and draw a 0:14:46.440 --> 0:14:48.300 line there and draw a line here and draw a 0:14:48.340 --> 0:14:51.680 line there and box in the concept of free speech. 0:14:52.520 --> 0:14:55.340 Hence why, as I said, if you entered a one-line 0:14:55.400 --> 0:15:00.320 piece of legislation tomorrow in Parliament, Australians have a right 0:15:00.460 --> 0:15:06.070 to free speech. Watch the cockroaches run as far away 0:15:06.590 --> 0:15:11.670 as possible. Now, earlier this year, hate speech legislation was 0:15:12.090 --> 0:15:17.030 updated as a result of the significant issues in and 0:15:17.050 --> 0:15:21.030 around anti-Semitism and, of course, in the immediate weeks after 0:15:21.510 --> 0:15:27.280 what happened in Bondi. Back then, the Attorney-General was invoking 0:15:27.320 --> 0:15:31.220 this as a reason to start to heme in what 0:15:31.280 --> 0:15:35.040 can and can't be said. Let me be clear. 0:15:35.460 --> 0:15:38.560 Once these laws are passed, they will be the toughest 0:15:38.820 --> 0:15:43.220 hate laws Australia has ever seen. They will specifically target 0:15:43.280 --> 0:15:46.590 those who seek to spread hatred... and disrupt social cohesion 0:15:46.690 --> 0:15:47.410 in our community. 0:15:48.810 --> 0:15:50.970 And that's the bit that's really worth talking about here. 0:15:52.070 --> 0:15:54.790 Whoever burns this national symbol, where do they sit on 0:15:54.830 --> 0:16:00.260 the social cohesion spectrum? Supposedly, social cohesion is the absolute 0:16:00.300 --> 0:16:02.890 heart of this government. It's the new way of saying 0:16:02.930 --> 0:16:06.070 Australian values without getting caught on that evil right-wing stuff 0:16:06.110 --> 0:16:10.870 like Australian values. So social cohesion, the ability for two 0:16:10.930 --> 0:16:15.960 people of different faiths, different beliefs, different genders, different sexualities, 0:16:16.420 --> 0:16:20.080 different politics to be able to sit side by side 0:16:20.120 --> 0:16:22.920 and to have the same rights as each other and 0:16:22.960 --> 0:16:28.360 the same protections at times from each other. I don't 0:16:28.380 --> 0:16:30.740 have a problem with that. One of the many failings 0:16:30.860 --> 0:16:34.920 of this government has been to quote social cohesion while 0:16:34.970 --> 0:16:37.990 not doing enough to actually enforce it. And it was 0:16:38.050 --> 0:16:42.930 only after the horrific acts in Bondi that had the 0:16:42.950 --> 0:16:46.330 hate speech laws put in place. So in the same 0:16:46.390 --> 0:16:51.750 way that to call somebody something because of their race, 0:16:52.960 --> 0:16:58.510 their ethnicity, their sexuality, their gender... Why not apply the 0:16:58.610 --> 0:17:02.489 same logic to the symbol that theoretically unites all of 0:17:02.530 --> 0:17:08.070 those things? The symbol that unites everyone of every political stripe, 0:17:08.130 --> 0:17:11.119 of every sexuality, of every gender, of ability, of disability, 0:17:11.390 --> 0:17:15.820 all of it. This is the symbol for 28 million people. Now, historically, 0:17:16.400 --> 0:17:19.560 do we all know that for 60,000 years prior? Absolutely. 0:17:21.220 --> 0:17:25.409 But that is the national symbol. Surely, to desecrate it... 0:17:26.560 --> 0:17:31.660 is an absolute affront to social cohesion. But the government says, well, 0:17:31.780 --> 0:17:34.880 if we play with that, we're playing with political freedoms. What? 0:17:36.540 --> 0:17:40.990 So when you decide that for the hope of social cohesion, 0:17:41.230 --> 0:17:44.290 you can pass whatever damn law you want, but for 0:17:44.330 --> 0:17:48.750 some reason you won't pass an obvious law for something 0:17:48.869 --> 0:17:51.300 that is setting fire to the national symbol that in 0:17:51.380 --> 0:17:53.760 turn sets fire to social cohesion. 0:17:54.300 --> 0:17:54.560 Why? 0:17:54.580 --> 0:17:58.230 Why? Is it because somehow this is a lesser symbol? 0:17:58.760 --> 0:18:02.000 I would hope not. Is it because somehow this is 0:18:02.060 --> 0:18:04.780 a lesser symbol of a lesser culture, of a lesser 0:18:04.880 --> 0:18:10.330 peoples than everything else that is understandably protected? I hope not. 0:18:12.770 --> 0:18:15.730 But let's see where this goes this week. Do Australians 0:18:15.770 --> 0:18:18.150 have a right to free speech? No, that won't pass 0:18:18.170 --> 0:18:22.040 the parliament. Should we suggest that for social cohesion that 0:18:22.060 --> 0:18:27.159 you shouldn't be able to graffiti A war memorial? Or 0:18:27.200 --> 0:18:30.920 to set the Australian flag on fire? Oh, freedom of speech. 0:18:30.980 --> 0:18:34.110 Come on, guys. Come on. So why didn't you vote 0:18:34.150 --> 0:18:38.869 for it before? Sadly, another bad weekend if you were 0:18:38.910 --> 0:18:41.350 trying to sell your house. Lots of people have to 0:18:41.390 --> 0:18:46.230 do it because, unlike the majority of Australians, the reality 0:18:46.790 --> 0:18:48.669 is that people have to sell their house because they 0:18:48.690 --> 0:18:52.460 might get divorced. because their partner has passed away, because 0:18:52.480 --> 0:18:55.340 all the kids have moved out, because the mortgage can't 0:18:55.359 --> 0:18:57.820 be paid for anymore, because there's been 15 rate rises 0:18:57.880 --> 0:19:02.100 under this government. But, you know, who cares, right? As 0:19:02.119 --> 0:19:04.140 long as I'm OK, that seems to be the bet 0:19:04.180 --> 0:19:08.530 of the government. And from Western Australia across east, the 0:19:08.550 --> 0:19:14.270 national picture remains the same. Clearance rates not fantastic this 0:19:14.330 --> 0:19:18.390 weekend again. In fact, the number of people bidding is down. Now, 0:19:18.430 --> 0:19:20.200 the government will tell us that that's a wonderful thing 0:19:20.240 --> 0:19:22.699 because it's not property investors. Yeah, but that doesn't mean 0:19:22.740 --> 0:19:29.560 the only people bidding were the first homebuyers. And remember, 0:19:29.580 --> 0:19:31.760 there's that one central thing the Prime Minister has banged 0:19:31.980 --> 0:19:33.609 on and on and on about as a way of 0:19:34.810 --> 0:19:38.290 distracting you from the real reason they changed all of 0:19:38.690 --> 0:19:43.369 that taxation, all the lies before the election that have 0:19:43.390 --> 0:19:47.940 now become law. post the election. And supposedly all of 0:19:47.980 --> 0:19:52.280 that was about housing affordability. when the reality was it 0:19:52.300 --> 0:19:55.290 was just about the government being able to start to 0:19:55.770 --> 0:19:58.770 get billions of dollars extra because they're spending billions more 0:19:58.890 --> 0:20:01.389 over here, which is why we're going to be in 0:20:01.430 --> 0:20:04.490 deficit till the 2060s it's why the debt is already 0:20:04.650 --> 0:20:09.129 one trillion dollars on its way to 1.2 1.5 trillion 0:20:09.590 --> 0:20:12.820 dollars but what is the whole reason why the market 0:20:12.859 --> 0:20:15.180 has been wobbled the way that it currently is again 0:20:15.220 --> 0:20:17.859 pro-minister what is it that you've been saying over and 0:20:18.080 --> 0:20:21.700 over again Social and affordable homes. 0:20:21.760 --> 0:20:24.620 The answer ultimately to affordability in our country is we've 0:20:24.640 --> 0:20:25.640 got to build more housing. 0:20:25.720 --> 0:20:31.480 Housing supply, affordability. Social and affordable housing. New affordable housing. Well, 0:20:31.520 --> 0:20:34.209 how's that going? Let's check in with the far right-wing media, 0:20:34.250 --> 0:20:38.830 otherwise known as the Channel 9 newspapers. The Age, the 0:20:38.930 --> 0:20:43.050 Sydney Morning Herald. Housing affordability, crevice to the record low. 0:20:44.960 --> 0:20:48.100 Housing affordability has slumped to its lowest level on record. 0:20:48.140 --> 0:20:52.160 Two separate measures have revealed, with falling house prices not 0:20:52.260 --> 0:20:55.850 enough to offset the financial hit being delivered by the 0:20:55.880 --> 0:21:02.190 Reserve Bank's three interest rate rises. Both realestate.com.au and the 0:21:02.310 --> 0:21:06.450 Housing Industry Association's affordability indicators slipped in the June quarter, 0:21:06.510 --> 0:21:09.880 so post-budget. Some of the biggest hits to people hoping 0:21:09.890 --> 0:21:13.460 to buy in smaller capitals, while Sydney remains the nation's 0:21:13.520 --> 0:21:19.970 least affordable city Melbourne is going sideways. What a surprise 0:21:20.030 --> 0:21:24.230 here that the very problem with the Australian housing market 0:21:25.250 --> 0:21:27.750 is that if you're paying off a house, on this 0:21:27.810 --> 0:21:32.430 government's watch, it is 15 times that rates have gone 0:21:32.490 --> 0:21:38.190 up by the Reserve Bank of Australia. 15 times. They've 0:21:38.210 --> 0:21:41.430 gone up three times this year. Two of those were 0:21:41.470 --> 0:21:45.240 before the Iran war. Why was that? Well, that's right, 0:21:45.280 --> 0:21:50.260 because the government hadn't done enough to fight inflation. Who 0:21:50.300 --> 0:21:54.889 told us that? Again, the far right-wing Reserve Bank of Australia. 0:21:56.190 --> 0:21:58.650 So the whole reason why the tax system got upended, 0:21:59.290 --> 0:22:01.590 which really was just to make them billions of dollars 0:22:01.609 --> 0:22:03.990 so they could spend billions more somewhere else, was about 0:22:04.030 --> 0:22:07.940 housing affordability. That has not turned up. Why? Because you 0:22:08.119 --> 0:22:12.970 still need 10%. to be able to buy a house. 0:22:13.230 --> 0:22:16.450 If you're lucky enough to qualify for the 5%, that's 0:22:16.580 --> 0:22:19.600 still tens of thousands of dollars that young people do 0:22:19.660 --> 0:22:23.919 not have because the overall cost of living has continued 0:22:23.960 --> 0:22:26.560 to go up since this bloke became Prime Minister and 0:22:26.600 --> 0:22:32.070 Chums became Treasurer. Meaning... If you had $ 500 to save, 0:22:32.390 --> 0:22:38.010 that became $ 400, $ 300, $ 200. Now, nothing that you've been 0:22:38.030 --> 0:22:38.750 able to put aside. 0:22:38.970 --> 0:22:39.230 Why? 0:22:39.630 --> 0:22:44.229 Because everything from petrol to your rent has gone up 0:22:45.010 --> 0:22:48.070 since this mob became the government. Some of that global, 0:22:49.109 --> 0:22:51.250 some of that because the government hasn't been able to 0:22:51.290 --> 0:22:54.750 deal with inflation. So what happens even if you are 0:22:54.830 --> 0:22:57.990 eventually able to somehow get the $ 50, 000, $ 100, 000? Well, of course, then... 0:22:59.710 --> 0:23:02.500 It's interest rate time, and that has gone up, up, up, up, 0:23:02.650 --> 0:23:07.590 up 15 times. No wonder they're so desperate to say, 0:23:07.609 --> 0:23:12.640 look over there, social media. Now, I want to talk 0:23:12.680 --> 0:23:14.840 about electric vehicles for a moment or two's time, and 0:23:14.859 --> 0:23:17.219 I want to be very clear about what my worldview 0:23:17.840 --> 0:23:21.590 is of electric vehicles, right? I've got no problem with them. Yes, 0:23:21.990 --> 0:23:25.210 I am a petrol car man. It is the generation 0:23:25.230 --> 0:23:27.190 of which I am from. It is the generation of 0:23:27.230 --> 0:23:29.450 which I feel most happy with. And as you know, 0:23:29.490 --> 0:23:31.409 whenever I get the chance to get behind something that 0:23:31.430 --> 0:23:35.790 goes brum brum, it's unlikely to be electric. It doesn't 0:23:35.810 --> 0:23:38.670 matter whether it's a classic car. It doesn't matter whether 0:23:38.690 --> 0:23:42.030 we're talking about a motorbike. I like petrol vehicles. That's 0:23:42.130 --> 0:23:48.260 just me. So there seems to be a tinge, dare 0:23:48.320 --> 0:23:53.000 I say, a wankiness around to the current conversation about 0:23:53.119 --> 0:23:58.680 electric vehicles. All because, you may remember, in the 2019 election, 0:23:59.220 --> 0:24:01.189 Scott Morrison said, of course, the electric vehicles will end 0:24:01.250 --> 0:24:03.010 up ruining your weekend, they won't be able to tow this, 0:24:03.030 --> 0:24:04.550 they won't be able to tow that, all of which 0:24:04.590 --> 0:24:10.590 was actually true in 2019, and bugger all people actually 0:24:10.630 --> 0:24:14.629 had an electric vehicle back then. In fact, in 2018, 0:24:14.630 --> 0:24:17.659 I checked this today, only 1,300 electric vehicles have been 0:24:17.700 --> 0:24:21.530 sold in Australia. Now, Best part of 10 years later, 0:24:21.530 --> 0:24:26.909 103,000 had been sold, including the plug-in hybrids. Why? Because 0:24:27.170 --> 0:24:33.330 unlike in 2019, there are more brands. Unlike in 2019, 0:24:33.330 --> 0:24:38.670 there are cheaper versions of those cars. And as people 0:24:38.730 --> 0:24:40.850 move out of the life cycle of one car before 0:24:40.869 --> 0:24:42.970 double downing on another petrol car, the cost of petrol 0:24:43.590 --> 0:24:44.830 has been in part, they've gone, you know what, I'm 0:24:44.869 --> 0:24:45.449