WEBVTT - Credlin | 15 September 0:00:02.690 --> 0:00:08.390 Peter Credlin, live from News 24. 0:00:08.890 --> 0:00:11.230 Good evening. Welcome to the program. Here's what's coming up 0:00:11.350 --> 0:00:16.360 tonight on Credlin. 16 potential terror attacks disrupted since Bondi. 0:00:16.860 --> 0:00:21.220 So why has our terror threat level remained unchanged? Former 0:00:21.260 --> 0:00:24.380 Home Affairs boss Mike Pizzulo joins me on the growing 0:00:24.480 --> 0:00:29.320 threat of terrorism. The battle over biological sex, gender identity 0:00:29.340 --> 0:00:32.300 and women's rights... And the laws that critics say are 0:00:32.420 --> 0:00:35.270 silencing debate. We'll speak to the author of a new 0:00:35.310 --> 0:00:38.220 book which sounds the alarm for Australia at a time 0:00:38.229 --> 0:00:42.200 when the rest of the world is changing course. And 0:00:42.270 --> 0:00:45.710 as anti-Semitism takes hold across the West, one of Britain's 0:00:45.750 --> 0:00:49.510 leading historians has a warning for Australia and a message 0:00:49.530 --> 0:00:54.720 about how we defend free speech while confronting extremism. Lord 0:00:54.880 --> 0:01:00.240 Andrew Roberts joins me later. And Pauline Hanson today returning 0:01:00.400 --> 0:01:02.180 serve to her critics. 0:01:03.080 --> 0:01:04.680 I've always put my foot in my mouth and why 0:01:04.700 --> 0:01:06.300 I come out and say things. I'm not the most 0:01:06.400 --> 0:01:09.020 eloquent speaker in how I deliver something, what I say. 0:01:09.540 --> 0:01:12.560 That upsets a lot of Indigenous Australians. 0:01:13.420 --> 0:01:17.070 I don't... Well, then I regret saying that because I 0:01:17.130 --> 0:01:19.150 don't want to upset people. 0:01:21.130 --> 0:01:23.750 But first, last night while I was here on air, 0:01:24.170 --> 0:01:27.630 the Senate voted to establish an inquiry into the Albanese 0:01:27.650 --> 0:01:32.949 government's controversial community grants program... labelled by critics as nothing 0:01:33.050 --> 0:01:36.750 more than a pork barrel fund. Analysis by the Centre 0:01:36.770 --> 0:01:41.490 for Public Integrity has found that 73% of projects approved 0:01:41.750 --> 0:01:45.840 under this taxpayer-funded scheme were in Labor-held seats or key 0:01:45.940 --> 0:01:49.900 marginals that the government was campaigning to win at last 0:01:49.940 --> 0:01:55.480 year's election. An invitation-only scheme, this is where the $ 6 0:01:55.000 --> 0:01:59.440 million grant paid to the Marrickville Golf Club came from. 0:02:00.140 --> 0:02:03.820 a grant that we now know has many close links 0:02:04.300 --> 0:02:07.580 to the Prime Minister, although it seemed he didn't want 0:02:07.660 --> 0:02:11.029 voters to know about that connection, did he? 0:02:12.270 --> 0:02:17.730 In 2012, I've been advised that I got honorary membership. 0:02:17.750 --> 0:02:21.390 Someone made a decision. I don't have a card. I 0:02:21.430 --> 0:02:23.089 don't go to the club. 0:02:23.090 --> 0:02:24.650 14 years ago. 0:02:26.520 --> 0:02:30.600 But I make this point, Mr Speaker. If anyone wants 0:02:30.660 --> 0:02:34.810 to join what is affectionately known as Royal Marigold, what 0:02:34.850 --> 0:02:38.989 they need for two years' membership is $ 5. We'll get 0:02:39.010 --> 0:02:40.329 them two years' membership. 0:02:41.030 --> 0:02:41.910 For two years! 0:02:44.680 --> 0:02:49.019 And then there's the multi-million dollar homes he's owned close by. 0:02:49.760 --> 0:02:53.630 One property that he still owns today, rented out now 0:02:53.690 --> 0:02:57.290 while he's living in the lodge, worth around $ 3 million, 0:02:57.710 --> 0:03:02.130 is just 200 metres from the club. Yesterday, the Prime 0:03:02.150 --> 0:03:05.210 Minister was pushed hard about what role he had in 0:03:05.250 --> 0:03:08.250 the allocation of $ 6 million to a golf club where 0:03:08.290 --> 0:03:11.330 he's described by the local mayor, Darcy Byrne, as the 0:03:11.410 --> 0:03:13.389 club's most famous patrons. 0:03:14.120 --> 0:03:16.920 The Prime Minister sits in the Expenditure Review Committee of 0:03:16.980 --> 0:03:21.480 Cabinet— that' s the Budget Committee— and he chairs Cabinet. When this funding 0:03:21.540 --> 0:03:25.840 allocation for the Marrickville golf course came into either meeting 0:03:25.880 --> 0:03:29.080 for sign-off, did the Prime Minister declare he was, in 0:03:29.120 --> 0:03:32.190 the words of the local mayor, the golf club's most 0:03:32.270 --> 0:03:36.270 famous patron and neighbour? Did the Prime Minister declare a 0:03:36.310 --> 0:03:40.050 conflict of interest and recuse himself from the funding decision? 0:03:41.600 --> 0:03:44.380 Now, the PM's response to that question was this. 0:03:45.250 --> 0:03:48.010 The question goes to cabinet processes. 0:03:48.090 --> 0:03:49.170 I'm the decision maker. 0:03:49.230 --> 0:03:51.910 The decision maker is the Minister for Infrastructure. 0:03:51.970 --> 0:03:53.790 I'm not even the decision maker. 0:03:55.850 --> 0:03:57.490 On the face of it, that might be true. But 0:03:58.210 --> 0:04:02.010 the PM was not the decision maker, as he says, 0:04:02.710 --> 0:04:05.010 if the decision to fund the Marrickville Golf Club was 0:04:05.060 --> 0:04:09.820 taken during this term of parliament. But that's not what happened. 0:04:10.460 --> 0:04:13.740 Because it was the Prime Minister himself during the election 0:04:13.800 --> 0:04:17.839 campaign who announced that his government would make this $ 6 0:04:17.580 --> 0:04:22.690 million grant if re-elected. That's right, he's now being called 0:04:22.750 --> 0:04:27.109 out red-handed here. Here's the Prime Minister's own press release 0:04:27.490 --> 0:04:33.010 dated April 27, 2025, confirming what I have just uncovered. 0:04:33.650 --> 0:04:37.200 And there's nothing in the entire press release that even 0:04:37.480 --> 0:04:41.440 once references the Minister, Catherine King. Well, she doesn't get 0:04:41.460 --> 0:04:46.529 a look in. It's just Anthony Albanese alone announcing $ 6 0:04:46.029 --> 0:04:50.570 million to the Marrickville Golf Club, the golf club, his 0:04:50.610 --> 0:04:54.330 local neighbours. And look at that date, April 27. Well, 0:04:54.350 --> 0:04:58.920 that's just seven days out from polling day. Now, how 0:04:58.940 --> 0:05:03.020 does Albanese reconcile the reality of his own press relief 0:05:04.120 --> 0:05:07.719 with what he said in the parliament? Listen to the 0:05:07.800 --> 0:05:08.979 parliament again. 0:05:10.350 --> 0:05:13.029 The decision-maker is the Minister for Infrastructure. 0:05:13.089 --> 0:05:14.950 I'm not even the decision-maker. 0:05:16.029 --> 0:05:19.480 Okay, so who's telling the truth here? Albanese there in 0:05:20.020 --> 0:05:24.880 the House or Albanese in writing via that press release 0:05:25.180 --> 0:05:29.120 during last year's election campaign? Because they both can't be right, 0:05:29.140 --> 0:05:33.600 can they? The other complicating factor here, of course... is 0:05:33.620 --> 0:05:35.800 the fact that the Prime Minister can't try and explain 0:05:35.820 --> 0:05:39.419 this away as a decision by a faceless bureaucrat either. 0:05:40.080 --> 0:05:43.860 Because in April last year, when he personally made this 0:05:44.020 --> 0:05:50.130 multi-million dollar promise to his local golf club, caretaker conventions, well, 0:05:50.150 --> 0:05:53.310 they were in operation. Meaning this was not a public 0:05:53.370 --> 0:05:57.410 service decision. This was a political decision to fund the 0:05:57.450 --> 0:06:02.320 golf course and a very political decision at that. But 0:06:02.360 --> 0:06:06.679 there's more, because a bit more digging confirms that Minister 0:06:06.740 --> 0:06:11.020 King didn't even open grants from this half a billion 0:06:11.040 --> 0:06:16.120 dollar fund until the 1st of September last year. That's 0:06:16.250 --> 0:06:20.609 six months after Albanese had already promised his golf club 0:06:20.710 --> 0:06:25.089 mates a $ 6 million check. Here it is, it says 0:06:25.170 --> 0:06:30.150 via the Department of Infrastructure website, the major and local 0:06:30.230 --> 0:06:37.600 community infrastructure program opened on 1 September 2025. And as 0:06:37.640 --> 0:06:41.700 we know now, critically, access to the taxpayer millions was 0:06:41.740 --> 0:06:46.270 by invitation only. So who invited the golf club to 0:06:46.330 --> 0:06:51.030 pick up this $ 6 million windfall and when? You've got 0:06:51.050 --> 0:06:54.130 to assume it was Albanese or his office, don't you, 0:06:54.170 --> 0:06:57.740 given it's his name and his name only on that 0:06:57.880 --> 0:07:02.690 press release announcement. But here's the kicker. Here is where 0:07:02.770 --> 0:07:06.870 Anthony Albanese's got serious questions to answer now about integrity 0:07:06.970 --> 0:07:10.850 and probity when it comes to this golf club grant. 0:07:11.510 --> 0:07:15.970 And it centres on these admissions last week from the Minister, 0:07:16.010 --> 0:07:20.560 Catherine King. Admissions that I don't think she even realised 0:07:20.740 --> 0:07:25.060 she had made. On ABC Radio, King explained that Labor 0:07:25.120 --> 0:07:30.730 first had an internal process for determining election commitments. And 0:07:30.750 --> 0:07:34.070 it was only after the election, when the program was 0:07:34.130 --> 0:07:37.990 set up, that she then became the person who signed 0:07:38.170 --> 0:07:42.190 off the funding. So months and months and months after 0:07:42.230 --> 0:07:47.120 the decision was made and then announced. Here's the minister. 0:07:47.840 --> 0:07:51.020 There is a process internally within the Labor Party to 0:07:51.060 --> 0:07:52.580 determine election commitments. 0:07:54.380 --> 0:08:00.400 Internally inside the Labor Party, not the government, the Labor Party. 0:08:01.500 --> 0:08:04.500 In this interview, the ABC asked King directly whether she 0:08:04.560 --> 0:08:08.910 knew that Albanese was an honorary member of the Marrickville 0:08:08.930 --> 0:08:13.830 Golf Club, to which she failed to give a straight answer. Indeed, 0:08:13.910 --> 0:08:17.390 rather than a yes or no, King said this. 0:08:18.270 --> 0:08:20.890 First thing is the Prime Minister is not the decision 0:08:20.950 --> 0:08:23.510 maker of this program. I am the decision maker of 0:08:23.550 --> 0:08:26.190 the programs. The only person who would need to declare 0:08:26.250 --> 0:08:28.790 something who would have a conflict would be me as 0:08:28.830 --> 0:08:29.670 the decision maker. 0:08:31.310 --> 0:08:33.810 Well, hang on, I've just revealed to you that the 0:08:33.850 --> 0:08:37.309 decision to grant the golf club millions of dollars was 0:08:37.370 --> 0:08:42.450 made and announced by Albanese and Albanese alone six months 0:08:42.490 --> 0:08:47.790 before King was even involved. As King herself admitted, quote, 0:08:48.340 --> 0:08:51.479 there's a process internally within the Labor Party to determine 0:08:51.500 --> 0:08:56.560 election commitments. So to the important issue of conflict now, 0:08:56.620 --> 0:09:00.400 because that's the crux of the issue. How can Albanese 0:09:00.440 --> 0:09:03.840 deal with conflicts here, the fact that he's a member 0:09:03.860 --> 0:09:06.010 of the club, the fact that he owns a multi-million 0:09:06.050 --> 0:09:09.770 dollar home some 200 metres from the golf course, if 0:09:09.809 --> 0:09:14.110 he's the only name on the announcement? Where's the probity here? 0:09:15.090 --> 0:09:18.240 Who would he have declared any conflict of interest to 0:09:18.820 --> 0:09:23.420 if he's the only one making the announcement? This whole 0:09:23.480 --> 0:09:27.420 Marrickville Golf Club grant sticks to high heaven. This was 0:09:27.460 --> 0:09:32.000 an invite-only slush fund worth a whopping half a billion dollars, 0:09:32.480 --> 0:09:36.850 with 73% of projects approved in Labor-held seats or key 0:09:36.910 --> 0:09:41.090 marginals that Labor was desperate to win at last year's election. 0:09:42.200 --> 0:09:46.480 What's clear now from all the evidence publicly available that 0:09:46.520 --> 0:09:50.089 I've put out here again tonight is that Albanese owned 0:09:50.150 --> 0:09:53.510 homes in a street across from the Marrickville Golf Club, 0:09:54.030 --> 0:09:57.250 that they got a $ 6 million grant announced by him 0:09:57.290 --> 0:10:00.640 and him alone during last year's election campaign, some six 0:10:00.740 --> 0:10:03.540 months before there was even a fund set up and 0:10:03.580 --> 0:10:07.819 administered to pay out the money. And now neither Albanese 0:10:07.980 --> 0:10:11.400 or King can explain why the Marrickville Golf Club was 0:10:11.420 --> 0:10:15.330 selected in the first place. This is a joke. And 0:10:15.350 --> 0:10:19.420 the joke's on the taxpayer. Any wonder voters don't trust 0:10:19.470 --> 0:10:23.410 the Prime Minister? Let's hope this new Senate inquiry gets 0:10:23.450 --> 0:10:31.330 to the bottom of the racket. Now, look, I want 0:10:31.350 --> 0:10:35.650 to say something about this man, Rhys Muldoon, a former 0:10:35.730 --> 0:10:40.370 children's TV presenter on the ABC, turned fellow kids' book 0:10:40.590 --> 0:10:45.770 author with Kevin Rudd, turned general Labor hanger-on, turned Labor 0:10:46.170 --> 0:10:50.740 taxpayer-funded staffer, at least until this morning, when he was 0:10:50.820 --> 0:10:55.420 finally sacked for racist comments said about Jacinda Nampajimpa Price, 0:10:55.920 --> 0:10:58.900 for anti-Semitic comments said about a whole host of others, 0:10:59.540 --> 0:11:02.920 and for vile, highly sexual comments said about me. I 0:11:04.179 --> 0:11:06.520 think I've demonstrated more than most, so I've got a 0:11:06.580 --> 0:11:10.939 pretty thick skin, but honestly, when is this going to end? 0:11:12.020 --> 0:11:13.880 I wasn't sure I was even going to say something 0:11:13.920 --> 0:11:17.620 about Muldoon tonight, but I'm sick of this. I've copped 0:11:17.640 --> 0:11:19.780 it for years, going back to the time when Clive 0:11:19.820 --> 0:11:24.310 Palmer attacked me publicly over IVF. And on and on 0:11:24.350 --> 0:11:27.030 and on it went back then. It even followed me 0:11:27.090 --> 0:11:29.910 to Victoria when I took on Daniel Andrews during the lockdowns, 0:11:30.250 --> 0:11:33.880 and then I copped death threats as a result. This 0:11:33.920 --> 0:11:37.860 has never stopped. What is it about weak men and 0:11:37.940 --> 0:11:41.740 strong women? What is it about conservative women like me 0:11:42.179 --> 0:11:46.920 and Jacinta that we're considered fair game when others get defended? 0:11:46.950 --> 0:11:51.630 I mean, Muldoon isn't just a garden variety labour idiot 0:11:51.990 --> 0:11:54.309 who thinks she beat opponents in the battle of ideas 0:11:54.690 --> 0:11:58.840 by going after them personally. He's a close friend of 0:11:58.890 --> 0:12:02.440 the Prime Minister. I mean, so close in fact that 0:12:02.460 --> 0:12:05.220 when Almanese invited just 70 people to his wedding on 0:12:05.240 --> 0:12:08.420 the lawns at the Lodge last year, Muldoon, well, he 0:12:08.480 --> 0:12:12.180 was one of them. And his comments about me, Jacinta, 0:12:12.220 --> 0:12:14.920 Dave Sharma and others, well, they were all out there 0:12:15.240 --> 0:12:18.579 on his social media feed. And I don't for a 0:12:18.660 --> 0:12:22.059 minute believe that this was missed when he was vetted 0:12:22.080 --> 0:12:23.940 for his job as a Labor staffer. 0:12:24.960 --> 0:12:25.360 I don't. 0:12:25.700 --> 0:12:28.940 I don't. Because I know that Labor vet people thoroughly. 0:12:29.920 --> 0:12:33.140 So it's my view that someone saw these comments and 0:12:33.179 --> 0:12:36.030 thought they could get away with them. That the target 0:12:36.070 --> 0:12:39.860 was a conservative woman, so who cares? that giving a 0:12:39.940 --> 0:12:44.840 cosy job to the PM's best mate was worth it. Now, 0:12:45.080 --> 0:12:48.280 I'm all up for anyone wanting to take me on intellectually, 0:12:48.940 --> 0:12:52.160 to disagree with me about policy, to argue and debate 0:12:52.179 --> 0:12:54.650 the direction in which our country should go and who 0:12:54.710 --> 0:12:58.949 should lead it. But time and time again, opponents on 0:12:58.970 --> 0:13:03.150 the left have made it personal. That says everything about them. 0:13:03.850 --> 0:13:08.120 They're small minds and weak character. Now, if the left 0:13:08.160 --> 0:13:10.600 think they can make me cower or that I'll give 0:13:10.700 --> 0:13:14.690 up and walk away, well, think again. What's that saying 0:13:14.790 --> 0:13:17.790 up where I was born and raised? As strong as 0:13:17.830 --> 0:13:21.170 a mallee bull? Well, you bet I am. I am 0:13:21.250 --> 0:13:24.150 not going anywhere. This only makes me want to dig 0:13:24.250 --> 0:13:33.200 in and go harder. Enough said. Right, well, let's go 0:13:33.220 --> 0:13:36.420 to the cesspit of Canberra tonight for the headlines. Our reporter, 0:13:36.640 --> 0:13:37.380 Trudy McIntosh. 0:13:38.350 --> 0:13:40.990 The Albanese government insists it won't bow to pressure from 0:13:41.130 --> 0:13:45.339 AI giants to water down copyright laws. Companies like OpenAI 0:13:45.380 --> 0:13:48.400 want to set up shop in Australia, promising big investment 0:13:48.520 --> 0:13:52.220 in return for the government retreating on copyright protections for creatives. 0:13:52.700 --> 0:13:56.620 It's not new that there are challenges in respect of copyright. 0:13:56.960 --> 0:13:59.940 I don't think friends or allies make these kinds of threats. 0:14:00.400 --> 0:14:03.640 And a rare retreat from Pauline Hanson today. Apologising for 0:14:03.700 --> 0:14:06.620 comments calling Indigenous Australians the most primitive race. 0:14:07.500 --> 0:14:10.489 If I've offended people by using that, yes, I will apologise. 0:14:10.750 --> 0:14:13.849 And an apology of sorts for comments about Anthony Albanese's 0:14:13.929 --> 0:14:15.650 mother's social housing background. 0:14:16.130 --> 0:14:19.530 I don't think my comments were derogatory towards his mother 0:14:19.750 --> 0:14:21.750 at all. If he's taking offence to it, well, I'm 0:14:21.790 --> 0:14:22.410 sorry for that. 0:14:22.790 --> 0:14:26.060 The One Nation leader also defended her sweeping cuts to migration. 0:14:26.460 --> 0:14:28.860 She concedes her plan could trigger a recession. 0:14:29.400 --> 0:14:31.000 So if it's going to hit the bottom line for 0:14:31.020 --> 0:14:33.180 a couple of months, but I think then it will improve. 0:14:33.640 --> 0:14:37.050 People's quality of life will improve. Isn't that what it's about? 0:14:37.070 --> 0:14:38.970 It would take the economy. 0:14:39.190 --> 0:14:42.450 Yes, it's important to bring numbers down, absolutely, but you 0:14:42.530 --> 0:14:44.440 have to do it in a way that doesn't destroy 0:14:44.460 --> 0:14:45.100 the economy. 0:14:45.480 --> 0:14:46.580 Trudy McIntosh, News 24, Canberra. 0:14:48.980 --> 0:14:52.320 Let's jump into it all now with my colleague, News24 0:14:52.340 --> 0:14:56.820 political editor, Andrew Clennell. Welcome, Andrew. Immigration today, front and 0:14:56.880 --> 0:15:00.300 centre again. Talks breaking down between Labor and the Coalition 0:15:00.340 --> 0:15:02.680 on what they might be able to agree on when 0:15:02.700 --> 0:15:06.869 it comes to fundamental principles. But here we are, One Nation, 0:15:06.880 --> 0:15:10.410 the only party still with an actual policy out there 0:15:10.450 --> 0:15:13.550 on the table publicly. Where is this up to? We 0:15:13.590 --> 0:15:16.390 were promised that speech from Tony Burke, this big reform speech, 0:15:16.830 --> 0:15:20.870 almost about two months ago now. What are insiders telling you? 0:15:20.890 --> 0:15:24.350 Well, I think it's just bizarre. I mean, I've heard, 0:15:24.370 --> 0:15:26.510 and it's been denied to me, but I've heard from 0:15:26.530 --> 0:15:29.330 a pretty reputable source that Tony Burke and Jim Chalmers 0:15:29.350 --> 0:15:31.740 were at loggerheads because, of course, all the measures affect 0:15:31.770 --> 0:15:35.000 the budget and the economy. And we know treasurers from 0:15:35.050 --> 0:15:37.520 Scott Morrison on have relied on the immigration numbers to 0:15:37.560 --> 0:15:42.540 prop up their budgets. But then it became a story of, oh, 0:15:42.560 --> 0:15:44.480 we've got to reach agreement with the opposition. But that's 0:15:44.520 --> 0:15:47.260 only part of the measures. That's measures like getting rid 0:15:47.280 --> 0:15:50.530 of appeal rights and in the Administrative Review Tribunal, and 0:15:50.550 --> 0:15:53.410 that requires legislation. Not all of this requires legislation. So 0:15:53.430 --> 0:15:56.000 whether some of it's being quietly done behind the scenes anyway, 0:15:56.030 --> 0:15:58.400 as I suspect, to get the net migration numbers down, 0:15:59.340 --> 0:16:02.500 that could be the case. But to not have that announcement, 0:16:02.620 --> 0:16:05.540 it looks like inertia, it looks like division, it looks 0:16:05.580 --> 0:16:11.350 like incompetence. especially because Tony Burke jumped the gun and, 0:16:11.770 --> 0:16:14.270 you know, presumably with the permission of PMO and announced 0:16:14.290 --> 0:16:16.850 that press club speech. That's the worst look. If it 0:16:16.890 --> 0:16:19.310 wasn't for that, maybe you could kind of get away 0:16:19.330 --> 0:16:21.510 with it for a little bit, but it looks like 0:16:21.550 --> 0:16:27.950 they just can't get their you-know-what together. So I think 0:16:27.990 --> 0:16:30.830 they need to hurry up and do it. Now, Albanese's 0:16:30.870 --> 0:16:32.590 going to hunger. I wonder whether it's one of those 0:16:32.630 --> 0:16:35.010 things they do when he's gone. How's that feel about it? 0:16:35.010 --> 0:16:37.130 You know, they take out the trash a bit with 0:16:37.170 --> 0:16:41.900 these things. controversial proposal, but it'll have to go to caucus. 0:16:42.720 --> 0:16:44.620 So don't you need Albanese at the head of that 0:16:44.700 --> 0:16:47.950 caucus to get the changes through? What has to go 0:16:48.490 --> 0:16:51.550 through caucus, by the way, is legislation. So you could 0:16:51.590 --> 0:16:54.090 announce it all, our intention of the legislation, and then 0:16:54.110 --> 0:16:56.350 I guess you're saying to caucus, well, here it is. 0:16:57.130 --> 0:16:59.360 But I think some Labor MPs will arc up because 0:16:59.380 --> 0:17:01.860 they'll be worried about the family reunion changes and that 0:17:01.920 --> 0:17:05.020 kind of thing. So I think whenever it happens, it'll 0:17:05.040 --> 0:17:08.700 be an issue. It'll be a problem. Now, I guess 0:17:08.720 --> 0:17:10.960 they feel they have to do legislation on the appeal rights, 0:17:11.000 --> 0:17:13.439 so they had to do an announcement. Otherwise, you can 0:17:13.480 --> 0:17:15.550 do a lot of these things without an announcement, Peter. 0:17:15.690 --> 0:17:19.330 Tony Burke could have just quietly gone away issuing ministerial directions. 0:17:20.330 --> 0:17:21.889 I wonder if that would have been a better. 0:17:21.650 --> 0:17:25.260 Approach in a lot of respects. I think that's the 0:17:25.300 --> 0:17:27.580 problem for them. They need him to make an announcement 0:17:27.600 --> 0:17:29.419 to claw back the vote that they're losing to One 0:17:29.460 --> 0:17:31.860 Nation or or have been losing to One Nation. That's 0:17:31.900 --> 0:17:34.540 why he was selling it in as this big speech. And, look, 0:17:34.560 --> 0:17:36.720 you're right to point to the summit season at the 0:17:36.760 --> 0:17:38.739 end of the year because that will be a big 0:17:38.780 --> 0:17:42.340 distraction with the Prime Minister out of the country. What 0:17:42.359 --> 0:17:44.340 are their messaging on a lot of these issues? They're 0:17:44.359 --> 0:17:48.090 fighting fires almost every week in relation to One Nation. 0:17:48.109 --> 0:17:51.490 And I think on something like migration, they do need 0:17:51.510 --> 0:17:54.380 it to go through caucus, at least in principle. even 0:17:54.420 --> 0:17:56.600 without the leech, because you've got to hold sort of, 0:17:56.790 --> 0:17:58.909 you know, all the frogs in the wheelbarrow and a 0:17:58.950 --> 0:18:00.750 lot of them will be a bit antsy, those in 0:18:00.810 --> 0:18:04.590 green seats, those with high migrant populations, about how Labor's 0:18:04.670 --> 0:18:07.909 changes will be read amongst the Labor faithful. But that 0:18:07.950 --> 0:18:10.710 gets harder because, what, he's got five or six trips 0:18:10.770 --> 0:18:11.520 before Christmas. 0:18:13.920 --> 0:18:16.500 Yeah, how's that going to affect the polls? You know, 0:18:16.540 --> 0:18:18.560 they're already, I mean, I know it's a long time 0:18:18.580 --> 0:18:21.700 until an election, Peter, but you get a rate rise 0:18:21.760 --> 0:18:26.179 next week. He takes off to about five summits. You 0:18:26.200 --> 0:18:27.810 think that's going to be good news for the Labor 0:18:27.830 --> 0:18:30.810 Party in the polls against One Nation as well as 0:18:30.850 --> 0:18:34.689 the Libs? So we're in for an interesting period down here. 0:18:36.070 --> 0:18:37.890 All right, talk to me about Pauline Hanson. Not many 0:18:37.930 --> 0:18:40.689 politicians ever apologise, but she's better than the PM. I'll 0:18:40.730 --> 0:18:43.260 give her that. She's admitted she got this wrong today. 0:18:43.280 --> 0:18:46.669 She says, I'm not always great at articulating my points, 0:18:46.750 --> 0:18:48.750 but she certainly cuts through. The polls will tell you 0:18:49.210 --> 0:18:52.690 she mightn't be articulate, but the punters understand exactly what 0:18:52.770 --> 0:18:56.230 she's saying. This won't impact her, I don't suspect, at all. 0:18:58.730 --> 0:19:01.900 No, I don't think so. But, I mean, I do 0:19:01.920 --> 0:19:04.280 think what is interesting is the apology because I reckon... 0:19:05.180 --> 0:19:06.690 You'd be able to count on one hand the amount 0:19:06.710 --> 0:19:09.630 of apologies Pauline Hanson's given since she won the seat 0:19:09.670 --> 0:19:11.510 of Loxley here in 1996. 0:19:11.510 --> 0:19:14.350 Or any politician, Andrew, any politician. 0:19:14.810 --> 0:19:16.550 Well, I'll tell you what, a lot more of them 0:19:16.590 --> 0:19:18.730 are doing it these days, Peter, because they think it'll 0:19:18.780 --> 0:19:20.980 work for them. But I think. 0:19:21.060 --> 0:19:25.440 The bloke in the top job hasn't. He's never apologised. Yeah, yeah. 0:19:25.680 --> 0:19:26.630 I think.... 0:19:28.180 --> 0:19:30.980 There might have been one time he apologised, wasn't there? 0:19:31.020 --> 0:19:33.240 I'll have to look that up for our next cross. 0:19:33.869 --> 0:19:34.590 I think that.... 0:19:36.940 --> 0:19:39.350 I think it's more a sign of a bit of 0:19:39.420 --> 0:19:42.840 political astuteness from her team that they're just trying to 0:19:42.840 --> 0:19:45.360 kill off issues, you know, just, oh, let's get rid 0:19:45.359 --> 0:19:46.620 of this, do the apology. 0:19:46.619 --> 0:19:47.320 Deny oxygen. 0:19:47.320 --> 0:19:48.000 I think they're doing it. 0:19:48.000 --> 0:19:48.719 It's about denying oxygen. 0:19:48.780 --> 0:19:51.939 They're doing a lot of very astute things. You know, 0:19:52.040 --> 0:19:55.560 where's the Liberal Party? Because every Monday of a sitting week, 0:19:55.660 --> 0:19:57.850 past few weeks, One Nation have an announcement, a front 0:19:57.869 --> 0:20:00.770 page announcement. They grab the agenda on that Monday, which 0:20:00.830 --> 0:20:03.570 is always a bit of a soft news day. And 0:20:04.190 --> 0:20:06.449 I think they're playing things pretty smart politically at the 0:20:06.470 --> 0:20:07.540 moment and media-wise. 0:20:09.260 --> 0:20:11.180 I think the thing is they're nimble, right, and you're 0:20:11.300 --> 0:20:13.240 right to point out that Monday because Monday is when 0:20:13.260 --> 0:20:15.180 the Cabinet is on for the government but it's also 0:20:15.200 --> 0:20:17.710 when Shadow Cabinet is there for the Libs and they're 0:20:17.750 --> 0:20:20.970 both constrained about what they drop out on the Monday. 0:20:20.990 --> 0:20:22.750 They drop more of their stuff on the Tuesday once 0:20:22.770 --> 0:20:25.590 they've got everyone to agree. Well, One Nation could do 0:20:25.630 --> 0:20:27.629 their Cabinet meetings over the phone. I mean, they could 0:20:27.650 --> 0:20:30.090 do them on the Sunday night around a barbecue. They're 0:20:30.109 --> 0:20:33.690 clearly doing some internal discussion. Do they have cabinet meetings? Well, 0:20:33.750 --> 0:20:35.360 you never know. They look like they've got the rack 0:20:35.380 --> 0:20:38.300 together more than in years past, Andrew. So they're dropping 0:20:38.340 --> 0:20:42.100 stuff out. I read their papers. I'm sure you do too. 0:20:42.180 --> 0:20:45.220 There's a level of detail in their documents that hasn't 0:20:45.240 --> 0:20:47.570 been there in the past. So I think they're taking 0:20:47.609 --> 0:20:49.190 it up a gear and I think they are setting 0:20:49.210 --> 0:20:51.490 the agenda at the start of sitting weeks. Hey, I've 0:20:51.530 --> 0:20:54.650 got to ask you about these golf club grants, that 0:20:54.770 --> 0:20:57.850 golf club grant, but there's a half a billion dollars 0:20:58.109 --> 0:21:01.649 of Labor grants there elsewhere. It's now going to a 0:21:01.869 --> 0:21:05.340 Senate inquiry. I just revealed then, the Prime Minister says 0:21:05.380 --> 0:21:08.600 in the Chamber yesterday that he wasn't the decision-maker. Well, 0:21:08.640 --> 0:21:10.800 I can prove, in fact, that he put the announcement 0:21:10.880 --> 0:21:13.360 out on the 27th of April, a week out from 0:21:13.420 --> 0:21:17.020 polling day, and that Minister King did not establish her 0:21:17.140 --> 0:21:20.389 process for until another six months down the track on 0:21:20.430 --> 0:21:23.310 the 1st of September. And then she called for those 0:21:23.350 --> 0:21:27.379 that were invited to put their paperwork in. So, you know, 0:21:27.470 --> 0:21:31.320 he announced exactly the same sum that she basically signed 0:21:31.380 --> 0:21:33.760 off six months later. You can't tell me that he 0:21:33.800 --> 0:21:34.639 didn't make the decision. 0:21:34.660 --> 0:21:38.939 Minister King is very close to Anthony Albanese. That's all 0:21:38.960 --> 0:21:39.400 I'll say. 0:21:41.880 --> 0:21:43.000 Yeah, she's covering up. 0:21:43.040 --> 0:21:46.260 She's one of his closest... She's one of his closest... 0:21:46.580 --> 0:21:48.520 people in the parliament. So I don't know if that's 0:21:48.540 --> 0:21:50.350 how it occurred or how it occurred, but what I 0:21:50.380 --> 0:21:53.830 do know, and I think Albanese claims it was previously 0:21:53.890 --> 0:21:55.750 in Linda Burnie's seat or something, but it was down 0:21:55.770 --> 0:21:58.750 the road from him, it was his old place. Now, 0:21:59.390 --> 0:22:00.429 he put the press release out. 0:22:00.470 --> 0:22:02.030 I don't care where it was. He put the press 0:22:02.050 --> 0:22:02.350 release out. 0:22:02.390 --> 0:22:03.010 Yeah, well, exactly. 0:22:03.050 --> 0:22:03.850 Only his letterhead. 0:22:03.970 --> 0:22:04.250 Okay. 0:22:04.450 --> 0:22:05.380 Only his letterhead. 0:22:06.020 --> 0:22:08.379 But, look, the point I'm trying to make is we 0:22:08.420 --> 0:22:10.580 all know that there was a lot of talk about 0:22:10.780 --> 0:22:14.800 in the Qantas... issue, favours for Qantas. King was the 0:22:14.840 --> 0:22:19.570 minister and Albanese was the PM. And it's his former portfolio, 0:22:19.630 --> 0:22:21.810 transport and infrastructure, so he knows it back the front. 0:22:22.470 --> 0:22:25.450 And there's a perception in this place that he guides 0:22:25.510 --> 0:22:29.430 Catherine King pretty closely in that portfolio, just as there's 0:22:29.470 --> 0:22:32.710 a perception that he guides Annika Wells pretty closely in communications. 0:22:33.490 --> 0:22:36.389 And they are two ministers who will do what the 0:22:36.680 --> 0:22:38.480 Prime Minister wants to happen. I mean, I'm sure a 0:22:38.520 --> 0:22:40.100 lot of them do. But what I'm saying is there 0:22:40.160 --> 0:22:44.940 is a particular relationship between Catherine King and Anthony Albanese, 0:22:45.119 --> 0:22:48.960