WEBVTT - Credlin | 4 November 0:00:02.690 --> 0:00:07.910 Peter Credlin, live from News 24. 0:00:08.550 --> 0:00:08.960 Good evening. 0:00:08.980 --> 0:00:11.180 Welcome to the show. Steve Price in for Peter tonight 0:00:11.240 --> 0:00:14.480 on a historic day in the US politics as Americans 0:00:14.600 --> 0:00:17.830 turn on Donald Trump in a devastating result for him. 0:00:18.350 --> 0:00:21.910 Full coverage to come right through Credlin tonight. On that, 0:00:22.250 --> 0:00:25.729 Democrats back in control in the US with the midterms 0:00:25.850 --> 0:00:29.380 pulling the rug from under President Trump. Americans, just like 0:00:29.420 --> 0:00:32.979 here in Australia, frustrated over the cost of living and 0:00:33.060 --> 0:00:36.520 skyrocketing fuel prices. We'll get more on what this all 0:00:36.540 --> 0:00:40.910 means for the second half of the Trump presidency shortly. Plus, 0:00:40.920 --> 0:00:44.409 the latest on the Victorian election campaign with Labor using 0:00:44.450 --> 0:00:48.440 the cover of caretaker mode to rush through planning approvals 0:00:48.740 --> 0:00:53.309 for a string of projects, including controversial battery farms that 0:00:53.409 --> 0:00:57.260 many communities simply don't want. The Victorian Nationals leader will 0:00:57.300 --> 0:01:00.380 be with us this evening. And the fallout continues over 0:01:00.420 --> 0:01:03.600 the Reserve Bank's decision yesterday to lift rates to levels 0:01:03.640 --> 0:01:08.280 not seen in 18 years amid deepening concerns we are 0:01:08.340 --> 0:01:12.610 about to tilt into a recession. And what about this? 0:01:12.650 --> 0:01:17.110 A Victorian council is set to install pothole cameras fixed 0:01:17.150 --> 0:01:21.330 to council vehicles like street sweepers to detect holes in 0:01:21.350 --> 0:01:24.650 the road. and send the information direct to repair crews. 0:01:25.069 --> 0:01:28.509 We'll get into that with our Wednesday panel shortly. But 0:01:28.569 --> 0:01:31.660 first up tonight, as we have been watching unfold today 0:01:31.950 --> 0:01:35.500 with the outstanding News 24 coverage of the midterm elections 0:01:35.540 --> 0:01:39.020 in the US, alarm bells will be ringing for every 0:01:39.140 --> 0:01:44.100 sitting government in Australia, including two state premiers facing polls 0:01:44.200 --> 0:01:48.010 over the next five months and even the Albanese government 0:01:48.010 --> 0:01:51.610 18 months away from their own electoral test. The thumping 0:01:51.670 --> 0:01:54.790 results for the Democrats might be built around some of 0:01:54.830 --> 0:02:00.140 Donald Trump's erratic second-term behaviour and the disastrous war against Iran, 0:02:00.520 --> 0:02:03.440 but at the heart of the protest vote, as we've 0:02:03.480 --> 0:02:07.110 heard all day, is the cost of living, inflation, hiking 0:02:07.140 --> 0:02:10.210 the price of everything from food to energy bills, let 0:02:10.230 --> 0:02:13.970 alone the never-ending spike in in fuel prices. Sound familiar? 0:02:14.530 --> 0:02:17.639 People are hurting. They're hurting in the US, even with 0:02:17.660 --> 0:02:21.280 the booming economy and healthy share market, driven, of course, 0:02:21.320 --> 0:02:25.120 by tech stocks and AI. So when you shine that 0:02:25.260 --> 0:02:28.829 same light on Australia... Well, you get a very ugly picture. 0:02:29.190 --> 0:02:32.790 Yesterday's Melbourne Cup Day fifth interest rate rise in a row, 0:02:33.250 --> 0:02:36.290 adding this year alone to a million dollar home loan, 0:02:36.470 --> 0:02:41.440 extra payments of nearly $ 800 a month after tax, could 0:02:41.500 --> 0:02:45.660 be the rise that breaks the camel's back. But here 0:02:45.700 --> 0:02:49.820 he was again, the Treasurer, yesterday blaming everybody but himself. 0:02:50.760 --> 0:02:53.090 The war in the Middle East is pushing up inflation 0:02:53.230 --> 0:02:56.190 and interest rates around the world and markets are expecting 0:02:56.490 --> 0:03:00.610 interest rate rises now in every major advanced economy. The 0:03:00.630 --> 0:03:03.530 war is in its ninth month and its re-escalation is 0:03:03.590 --> 0:03:07.090 putting sustained upward pressure on inflation. It's weighing on growth 0:03:07.770 --> 0:03:10.370 and its end can't come soon enough for the global 0:03:10.410 --> 0:03:14.450 economy or for Australians facing cost of living pressures. 0:03:16.550 --> 0:03:19.030 I mean, goodness sake, can someone senior inside the Labor 0:03:19.070 --> 0:03:21.590 Party have the guts to tap this bloke on the 0:03:21.650 --> 0:03:24.889 shoulder and quietly show him the door? Now, our very 0:03:24.990 --> 0:03:28.130 own Cam Redden was doing their job for them yesterday 0:03:28.530 --> 0:03:31.010 and deserves a massive pat on the back for this 0:03:31.110 --> 0:03:32.090 zinger of a question. 0:03:32.970 --> 0:03:34.770 You would have seen polling this week that has you 0:03:34.850 --> 0:03:37.990 rated as the lowest performing member of the government. I'm 0:03:38.010 --> 0:03:40.430 wondering if that frustrates you, given that the Prime Minister 0:03:40.470 --> 0:03:42.610 and other ministers are responsible as well. 0:03:42.690 --> 0:03:43.290 And on that note. 0:03:43.800 --> 0:03:46.340 I'm wondering whether you've given any thought to stepping aside 0:03:46.380 --> 0:03:47.450 and giving someone else a go. 0:03:47.470 --> 0:03:52.010 I was watching that live and Jim didn't blink, but 0:03:52.050 --> 0:03:52.880 he wouldn't have liked it. 0:03:53.850 --> 0:03:57.010 Obviously, I'm aware of the contents of the first part 0:03:57.230 --> 0:04:01.420 of your question. I think, as other ministers have pointed out, 0:04:01.580 --> 0:04:04.080 when you're doing difficult things, you see that reflected in 0:04:04.100 --> 0:04:08.820 the opinion polls. I think any Treasurer taking on difficult reforms, 0:04:08.880 --> 0:04:12.300 which have been neglected for too long, in our tax system, 0:04:12.340 --> 0:04:17.589 in our housing market and elsewhere. No reforming Treasurer expects 0:04:17.630 --> 0:04:22.210 there to be some kind of unanimously positive reaction to that. 0:04:22.350 --> 0:04:25.409 We see that play out in the polls. I've acknowledged 0:04:25.470 --> 0:04:28.810 on other occasions in response to some of your colleagues 0:04:28.850 --> 0:04:32.770 and counterparts in the room today, I take responsibility for 0:04:32.790 --> 0:04:35.280 the difficult reforms that I'm pushing through the Parliament and 0:04:35.300 --> 0:04:37.779 I'm not surprised to see that reflected in opinion polls. 0:04:39.250 --> 0:04:42.830 Deflection and gaslighting, he's very good at it, Jim. Now, 0:04:42.870 --> 0:04:45.060 the Victorian government, of course, they go to the polls 0:04:45.300 --> 0:04:48.420 in three Saturdays' time. And that's going to deliver three 0:04:48.480 --> 0:04:52.799 weeks of ugly claim and counterclaim, dirty campaign ads, including 0:04:52.960 --> 0:04:56.980 one run during the cup coverage from Labor, making the 0:04:57.040 --> 0:05:01.320 claim that a Liberal coalition One Nation government will cut 0:05:01.400 --> 0:05:04.580 billions of dollars out of health spending. I mean, that 0:05:04.640 --> 0:05:07.810 was gaslighting at its best. I mean, it's certainly false 0:05:07.890 --> 0:05:11.570 advertising in anybody's language, given that Liberal leader Jess Wilson 0:05:11.589 --> 0:05:15.590 has consistently ruled out forming a coalition with One Nation. 0:05:16.410 --> 0:05:17.190 There is no deal. 0:05:17.550 --> 0:05:20.140 There will be no deal. The only way to change 0:05:20.180 --> 0:05:22.700 the direction of Victoria is with a majority Liberals and 0:05:22.720 --> 0:05:25.530 Nationals government. My team will be on the ground listening 0:05:25.550 --> 0:05:28.229 to Victorians, earning their trust every single day. 0:05:29.310 --> 0:05:31.610 How does Labor get away with running false advertising? I'd 0:05:31.630 --> 0:05:33.850 love to know that. We need to have legislation in 0:05:33.890 --> 0:05:37.150 this country that actually punishes people who run ads like that. 0:05:37.410 --> 0:05:40.450 It happens to retailers. Why shouldn't it happen to politicians? 0:05:40.810 --> 0:05:43.420 And there's more evidence today of dirty tricks, with an 0:05:43.640 --> 0:05:48.980 AI-generated deepfake ad depicting opposition leader Jess Wilson and One 0:05:49.040 --> 0:05:53.000 Nation leader Warren Pickering in a Halloween skit, suggesting they 0:05:53.060 --> 0:05:56.940 are going to Americanise the health system. I mean, personally, 0:05:57.000 --> 0:06:00.289 I think everyone in Victoria, bar the Greens and Labor voters, 0:06:00.330 --> 0:06:03.230 would just want to see the back of Labor. However, 0:06:03.290 --> 0:06:06.130 it might be done, and don't rule it out, a 0:06:06.210 --> 0:06:09.630 better one than expected One Nation result. And if that happens, 0:06:09.750 --> 0:06:12.520 it might have to be some sort of joint operation. 0:06:12.900 --> 0:06:16.339 And a desperate Labor government will also throw plenty of 0:06:16.400 --> 0:06:19.920 Victorian taxpayers' money around. You watch over the next three weeks. 0:06:20.360 --> 0:06:23.200 Borrowed money, by the way. to try and bribe their 0:06:23.240 --> 0:06:26.350 way back to a fourth term. Now, today, the Premier, 0:06:26.390 --> 0:06:29.289 Ben Carroll, claimed he was going to, and these are 0:06:29.330 --> 0:06:34.760 his words, create 5,000 jobs with some nebulous scheme called 0:06:35.320 --> 0:06:39.000 Make It Here Fund. I mean, this is, of course, 0:06:39.380 --> 0:06:42.640 a direct copy of the failed Labor federal campaign promised 0:06:42.690 --> 0:06:47.130 to turbocharged the Australian manufacturing industry. Of course, the reverse 0:06:47.150 --> 0:06:51.250 has happened, with the RBA last month revealing productivity growth 0:06:51.290 --> 0:06:54.349 was stuck at zero. Albo chirped on back then about 0:06:54.410 --> 0:06:58.370 Australian-made solar panels and other green schemes that have simply 0:06:58.450 --> 0:07:03.150 not materialised. For Carroll to think any sensibly run business 0:07:03.470 --> 0:07:06.950 would invest in this state, Victoria, then he's more delusional 0:07:06.970 --> 0:07:09.690 than I thought he was. Victoria has taxed itself out 0:07:09.730 --> 0:07:14.100 of relevance. But here was Ben Carroll bragging about a 0:07:14.100 --> 0:07:18.940 $ 200 million government scheme to co-invest with, get this, the 0:07:19.000 --> 0:07:23.750 state government, chipping in $ 1 for every $ 2 spent by business. 0:07:23.870 --> 0:07:27.550 Just watch that get rorted. And just where is the 0:07:27.550 --> 0:07:30.530 $ 200 million coming from, given the state's interest rate payments 0:07:30.610 --> 0:07:34.640 alone have hit $ 900, 000 an hour and counting? But here 0:07:34.700 --> 0:07:35.850 was the Premier.... 0:07:36.730 --> 0:07:39.410 As a Premier and a Labor Premier, I'm going to 0:07:39.570 --> 0:07:43.160 back our manufacturing sector. I'm going to make sure we 0:07:43.200 --> 0:07:48.400 have more ego pharmaceuticals right throughout our state. That's why 0:07:48.420 --> 0:07:53.670 I am pleased to announce a $ 350 million commitment to 0:07:53.710 --> 0:07:59.530 create 5,000 jobs in our manufacturing industry right across our state. 0:07:59.530 --> 0:08:03.580 $ 200 million will be a co-investment contribution with the Victorian Government. 0:08:04.050 --> 0:08:06.990 and $ 150 million will be a grants program. 0:08:08.910 --> 0:08:12.050 The state's broke, mate. I mean, add up. So like 0:08:12.090 --> 0:08:15.480 the US and the anger Americans showed today over cost 0:08:15.510 --> 0:08:18.960 of living, can you believe the brand that you saw 0:08:19.000 --> 0:08:23.780 there on Carol's high-vis vest, Ego? Well, that's appropriate. Now, 0:08:23.800 --> 0:08:26.460 that is definitely the one thing voters do not want 0:08:26.480 --> 0:08:34.340 to see in this campaign. OK, from one election campaign 0:08:34.380 --> 0:08:37.780 or potential campaign to another and the US midterm elections, 0:08:38.140 --> 0:08:40.059 they've dominated, of course, the news cycle today. 0:08:40.080 --> 0:08:40.700 Great coverage. 0:08:41.160 --> 0:08:44.540 On News 24, with the Democrats now taking both houses 0:08:44.640 --> 0:08:47.590 in a swing that many say has served as a 0:08:47.660 --> 0:08:52.069 referendum on the second Trump presidency. News 24 chief election 0:08:52.170 --> 0:08:56.429 analyst Tom Connell has been crunching the numbers all day long. Tom, 0:08:56.470 --> 0:08:58.930 great effort today. You had all the latest numbers. You 0:08:58.970 --> 0:09:02.570 told us where these votes were going. They were saying 0:09:02.610 --> 0:09:04.770 it was going to be a bloodbath for the Republicans. 0:09:05.610 --> 0:09:07.850 Do we take it to the next level and maybe 0:09:07.890 --> 0:09:08.770 call it a massacre? 0:09:09.780 --> 0:09:11.300 I'm going to put it in context for you at 0:09:11.320 --> 0:09:14.900 the start. It's not far off a massacre, in particular seats-wise. 0:09:14.940 --> 0:09:16.550 So let's look at a couple of different angles on this. 0:09:17.010 --> 0:09:21.510 This is how the Senate looked beforehand, and this is after. Remember, 0:09:21.830 --> 0:09:25.020 only 35 Senate seats are up. What's astonishing about this is... 0:09:25.370 --> 0:09:28.030 the number of seats here that you just don't see 0:09:28.250 --> 0:09:33.810 go blue. Texas, for example, North Carolina, Kansas, and even 0:09:33.870 --> 0:09:36.959 the risk, believe it or not, of Mississippi right now 0:09:37.059 --> 0:09:40.679 at 97% counted, there is a margin to the Democrats 0:09:40.740 --> 0:09:43.300 of 28 votes. So you don't get much closer than that. 0:09:43.720 --> 0:09:46.450 So the fact that these are states normally that have 0:09:46.490 --> 0:09:50.110 been in many cases for decades, In one case, 1932, 0:09:50.110 --> 0:09:53.179 when it comes to Kansas, has been Republican, have gone blue, 0:09:53.240 --> 0:09:56.040 has been telling. When we look at the overall flip 0:09:56.080 --> 0:09:58.770 situation as well, so you see all the flipped on 0:09:58.790 --> 0:10:01.240 the Democrat side. that's why they're up to 54 already, 0:10:01.630 --> 0:10:04.800 and control of the Senate. The House, a similar story. 0:10:05.140 --> 0:10:08.780 Bigger numbers, of course. You've got 435 seats overall. We're 0:10:08.820 --> 0:10:11.860 up to 34 that have been flipped now. So the 0:10:11.880 --> 0:10:15.480 Democrats on track right now to get 248 seats, only 0:10:15.679 --> 0:10:18.880 one flipped the other way. And that's despite redistricting that 0:10:18.900 --> 0:10:22.800 was supposed to help, in particular, the Republican Party win 0:10:22.860 --> 0:10:27.220 these seats. See, these wouldn't be vulnerable in Florida and Texas. Instead, 0:10:27.540 --> 0:10:29.619 they've all stayed blue, the ones that were blue at 0:10:29.640 --> 0:10:31.500 the start of the night. You mentioned as well, you know, 0:10:31.520 --> 0:10:33.059 what's the context of the... I think it's a fair 0:10:33.140 --> 0:10:36.059 question to ask. Let's have a look at the swing 0:10:36.880 --> 0:10:40.730 as it looks right now compared to other midterm elections specifically. 0:10:41.300 --> 0:10:44.120 So this is what you'd call a normal midterm swing. 0:10:44.160 --> 0:10:46.500 There is normally, Steve, a swing, as you know, against 0:10:46.520 --> 0:10:50.910 the government today, 3%, 4%, 3.5%. This is looking like 8% 0:10:50.910 --> 0:10:53.130 right now. Maybe it gets a bit worse, which is 0:10:53.170 --> 0:10:56.910 basically on track with Barack Obama in 2010. Now, back then, 0:10:56.990 --> 0:10:59.050 there was a lot of unrest. They were at the GFC, 0:10:59.500 --> 0:11:03.400 a difficult economic time. and unhappiness with how Barack Obama 0:11:03.440 --> 0:11:07.219 had handled those bailouts. So this is not unprecedented in 0:11:07.280 --> 0:11:09.770 terms of the swing number, but it is beyond any 0:11:09.809 --> 0:11:12.590 sort of normal check you get in a midterm election. 0:11:14.290 --> 0:11:17.310 The anger's palpable. I mean, take us to a place 0:11:17.350 --> 0:11:21.340 like Alaska, where I presume in Alaska the fuel issue 0:11:21.390 --> 0:11:23.400 is something that would be quite pivotal. 0:11:24.200 --> 0:11:25.939 Yeah, I'll take you to Alaska right now. This is 0:11:26.100 --> 0:11:28.600 one of the positions that's still up for grabs. 0:11:29.179 --> 0:11:30.319 It's an interesting contest. 0:11:30.400 --> 0:11:34.160 They have the same system as us, as in preferential voting. 0:11:34.179 --> 0:11:39.310 They call it ranked choice voting. So where are we at? 54% counted, 48% each. Now, 0:11:39.350 --> 0:11:42.089 the two things to come in this contest, there's about 4% 0:11:42.090 --> 0:11:45.350 that have gone to independents. That will favour Dan Sullivan 0:11:45.390 --> 0:11:49.090 because one of those is Republican-backed. But the vote to come, 0:11:49.110 --> 0:11:53.010 I've delved into this, it's mainly around Anchorage. So I'm 0:11:53.070 --> 0:11:55.929 expecting at this stage, I'm not quite willing to forecast it, 0:11:56.300 --> 0:11:58.960 I'm expecting the Democrats to pick up Alaska as well. 0:11:58.980 --> 0:12:01.660 And look what that's from, a 12.7 per cent margin. 0:12:02.100 --> 0:12:04.220 So that would get them yet another win. And when 0:12:04.240 --> 0:12:06.400 you talk about some of the other areas where they've, 0:12:06.679 --> 0:12:10.090 you know, lost support and where that palpable anger is, 0:12:10.429 --> 0:12:13.370 I mentioned Mississippi, which is incredible. I think that's even 0:12:13.390 --> 0:12:13.969 on the map there. 0:12:14.390 --> 0:12:15.309 Even Florida. 0:12:15.650 --> 0:12:18.410 Now, this is a win in the end for the Republicans, 0:12:18.490 --> 0:12:21.230 but they've gone from a 16 per cent margin. It's 0:12:21.290 --> 0:12:23.470 been a very good state for the Republicans for the 0:12:23.510 --> 0:12:27.730 past couple of decades. And yet look at the margin here, 2.9% 0:12:27.730 --> 0:12:30.010 in the end. This was in doubt at one point. 0:12:30.070 --> 0:12:31.910 So I think when you look at these sorts of 0:12:31.970 --> 0:12:35.510 states turning on the Republican Party, you're getting an idea 0:12:35.590 --> 0:12:39.360 for how much unrest there was. And Donald Trump, it's 0:12:39.380 --> 0:12:41.140 going to be a fascinating next two years, isn't it? 0:12:42.730 --> 0:12:43.310 It is, Tom. 0:12:43.429 --> 0:12:46.830 And, you know, Michigan, we've seen Abdul El-Sayed. He has 0:12:46.910 --> 0:12:50.900 been victorious. His opponent, Mike Rogers, though, yet to concede, 0:12:50.960 --> 0:12:53.700 still thinking he may be able to get over the line. 0:12:53.740 --> 0:12:54.520 How do you call that? 0:12:55.240 --> 0:12:57.410 I did call this last hour. I can see why 0:12:57.450 --> 0:12:59.370 it's close and he might think that. But have a 0:12:59.390 --> 0:13:04.300 look where we're at. 5.6%. 81.9% counted. That's a pretty 0:13:04.320 --> 0:13:06.699 significant lead at this point, and it goes beyond that. 0:13:06.800 --> 0:13:09.040 This is what we look at, votes over time. You 0:13:09.059 --> 0:13:11.660 can see the trend here is towards the Democratic Party 0:13:11.710 --> 0:13:14.270 if we compare this time to last time. And I've 0:13:14.309 --> 0:13:18.229 looked specifically at what voters to come. The biggest outstanding 0:13:18.290 --> 0:13:22.270 vote here is in Wayne County. So that's around Detroit, 0:13:22.610 --> 0:13:25.610 and that's going at about 70-30 to Abdul Syed. So 0:13:25.650 --> 0:13:27.860 when you look at the outstanding vote, I don't see 0:13:27.980 --> 0:13:31.179 any path back here for Mike Rogers. So, look, I'm 0:13:31.240 --> 0:13:34.140 not one in my role to comment on whether people 0:13:34.179 --> 0:13:36.359 concede or not. I leave that up to people like 0:13:36.400 --> 0:13:38.559 you and others. But there's no path back I can 0:13:38.600 --> 0:13:41.840 see for Mike Rogers. Abdul Osir will win that Michigan 0:13:41.900 --> 0:13:44.380 spot with the vote to come back. And as you 0:13:44.400 --> 0:13:46.630 can see, it's still ticking along. It'll come in. It'll 0:13:46.650 --> 0:13:49.510 become clear soon enough, I think, to Mike Rogers. But, yeah, 0:13:49.570 --> 0:13:53.350 it's a very high-profile contest in the end that's going 0:13:53.370 --> 0:13:55.370 to be won by Abdul Osir. 0:13:57.460 --> 0:13:59.700 I'll back your call, Tom. Again, great work today. Good 0:13:59.740 --> 0:14:02.309 on you, mate. Thanks for that. Now, the political analysis 0:14:02.410 --> 0:14:04.219 and the host of the US report, who better to 0:14:04.260 --> 0:14:07.990 go to than James Morrow. James, welcome. There's no disguising it. 0:14:08.059 --> 0:14:10.460 This looks like a very tough night for Donald Trump, 0:14:10.820 --> 0:14:13.870 although he did pop up on various media outlets today, 0:14:13.910 --> 0:14:16.110 including in The New York Times, and then he jumped 0:14:16.190 --> 0:14:20.830 on our affiliate Fox. Typically, he's trying to sort of 0:14:20.870 --> 0:14:24.510 bluff his way through what must be a nightmare. Well, yeah, 0:14:24.550 --> 0:14:24.880 he is. 0:14:24.930 --> 0:14:27.840 It's interesting listening to some of his tone. You know, 0:14:27.860 --> 0:14:28.560 I listened to him before. 0:14:28.620 --> 0:14:28.790 He was. 0:14:29.270 --> 0:14:31.210 talking on the phone to our friends at Fox. He 0:14:31.230 --> 0:14:33.550 was going on about this, that, talking about how the 0:14:33.590 --> 0:14:36.470 Democrats had a lot of formidable people. If he had 0:14:36.530 --> 0:14:38.960 been on the ballot, things would have been better, all 0:14:38.980 --> 0:14:41.160 of this sort of thing. What's interesting to me, though, 0:14:41.280 --> 0:14:43.240 I had a couple of reactions from people who were 0:14:43.280 --> 0:14:46.360 texting me during all of this. One person said, well, 0:14:46.840 --> 0:14:48.540 you know, I mean, so much for being a fascist. 0:14:48.580 --> 0:14:52.060 The guy is clearly, you know, accepting the results of 0:14:52.080 --> 0:14:53.760 the election, which, of course, we had been hearing for 0:14:53.800 --> 0:14:56.230 weeks and months and years. Oh, he'll never accept the 0:14:56.270 --> 0:14:57.950 results of the election. It's going to be a civil war. 0:14:58.370 --> 0:15:00.670 And then others saying, well, quite cynically, you know, it 0:15:00.690 --> 0:15:03.250 sounds almost the way he's praising the Democrats, like he's 0:15:03.310 --> 0:15:04.770 about to change his affiliation. 0:15:06.680 --> 0:15:09.860 Yeah, I mean, in those interviews, he said, in particular 0:15:09.900 --> 0:15:13.160 on the Fox interview, which we played at some length, that, 0:15:13.360 --> 0:15:15.580 you know, I've got friends in the Democrats, a couple 0:15:15.600 --> 0:15:18.140 of them already texted and called me, I've got a 0:15:18.160 --> 0:15:20.780 few more wanting to talk to me, you know, we 0:15:20.820 --> 0:15:24.860 can do some deals. He's back in his deal-making mode. 0:15:25.620 --> 0:15:29.300 Is that to protect his ego, given how bad this 0:15:29.350 --> 0:15:30.030 result's been? 0:15:30.370 --> 0:15:33.150 Well, it's partially to protect his ego, although, I mean, 0:15:33.450 --> 0:15:36.770 when we talk about bad results, you know... like, let's 0:15:36.830 --> 0:15:40.470 not get into a year zero situation here. The Democrats 0:15:40.490 --> 0:15:43.790 and Republicans have traded these things back and forth, particularly 0:15:44.110 --> 0:15:48.570 in the second term, midterms of presidencies throughout the last, 0:15:48.730 --> 0:15:52.010 you know, well, the entire history of the American Republic, practically. 0:15:52.360 --> 0:15:55.720 You know, back in 1988, the Republicans had a big 0:15:55.780 --> 0:15:58.280 loss in the Senate. They lost 10 seats and they 0:15:58.320 --> 0:16:00.920 were back in the Senate in eight years. So it's 0:16:01.000 --> 0:16:03.920 not like a total repudiation of the entire party. It's 0:16:03.970 --> 0:16:07.650 not catastrophic. It's not existential. It's a big loss. Let's 0:16:07.690 --> 0:16:10.770 not try and sugarcoat it. But you do have to 0:16:10.850 --> 0:16:13.170 think about it just in terms of where we are 0:16:13.610 --> 0:16:15.550 in the electoral cycle with that. But in terms of 0:16:15.570 --> 0:16:18.390 the dealmaking, it's really interesting because there's a few theories 0:16:18.410 --> 0:16:20.070 to that. Yeah, part of it could be to try 0:16:20.090 --> 0:16:22.870 to stab his ego. Another bit of it, though, is 0:16:22.910 --> 0:16:25.850 that he wants to, A, not be a lame duck 0:16:25.970 --> 0:16:27.210 for the last two years. So he's going to have 0:16:27.230 --> 0:16:29.050 to talk to these people to try and get something 0:16:29.110 --> 0:16:32.480 done and accomplish something you know, to secure a legacy 0:16:32.500 --> 0:16:34.780 and agenda and also to keep his agenda from being 0:16:34.820 --> 0:16:37.400 completely turned around. But also, you know, because there's a 0:16:37.440 --> 0:16:39.040 lot of people on Capitol Hill, this would be a 0:16:39.040 --> 0:16:40.680 big mistake, but they're going to do it anyway. A 0:16:40.760 --> 0:16:42.840 lot of Democrats, all they want to do is just 0:16:42.980 --> 0:16:46.460 get up there and investigate and impeach and indict and 0:16:46.480 --> 0:16:48.960 all of this sort of thing, which, of course, you know, 0:16:49.100 --> 0:16:51.160 for an electorate that just gave the Democrats a big 0:16:51.210 --> 0:16:53.830 win because they wanted lower petrol prices would be the 0:16:53.990 --> 0:16:57.610 stupidest thing they could do. But watch this space. 0:16:59.320 --> 0:17:01.780 Yeah, Trump's hardly likely to sit in a dark room 0:17:01.800 --> 0:17:03.950 for the next two years. I mean, we'll get on 0:17:03.990 --> 0:17:06.270 to petrol cost of living in a moment. You and 0:17:06.350 --> 0:17:09.210 I like to always compete, you know. see that Australia 0:17:09.250 --> 0:17:12.090 looks to what happens in American politics and what impact 0:17:12.150 --> 0:17:14.210 it's going to have on our own politics. But let's 0:17:14.270 --> 0:17:17.990 talk about the Iran war and the foreign policy, the 0:17:18.070 --> 0:17:21.830 decision to go in there. He again today tried to 0:17:21.990 --> 0:17:25.870 make the explanation forcefully that, you know, the Iranians were 0:17:25.990 --> 0:17:28.669 two weeks away, he said, from getting a nuclear weapon. 0:17:29.010 --> 0:17:32.410 But he did go to the last election saying, I'm 0:17:32.450 --> 0:17:34.120 not the sort of guy that's going to get you 0:17:34.180 --> 0:17:37.080 into these forever wars. He obviously misread Iran. 0:17:37.420 --> 0:17:39.859 He misread Iran. He came out of Venezuela on a 0:17:39.920 --> 0:17:42.280 high and then said, hey, we can do this. This 0:17:42.300 --> 0:17:43.740 is actually this regime change stuff. 0:17:44.180 --> 0:17:44.689 We can do it. 0:17:44.720 --> 0:17:46.390 It's a bit of a snack and turned out not 0:17:46.410 --> 0:17:49.930 to be in Iran, two very different countries. The bigger problem, though, 0:17:50.050 --> 0:17:52.810 is not the going into Iran over the nukes. We 0:17:52.850 --> 0:17:55.139 can debate that one way or the other. But it 0:17:55.190 --> 0:17:58.300 has been the stalemate that he's gotten into after that, 0:17:58.320 --> 0:18:01.699 you know, the endless cycles of. We're going to bomb them. 0:18:01.720 --> 0:18:03.080 We're going to bomb the hell out of them. We're 0:18:03.100 --> 0:18:04.660 going to bomb the crap out of them. And then 0:18:04.700 --> 0:18:07.080 two days later, well, we had a chat to them 0:18:07.140 --> 0:18:08.860 and they're fine. And, you know, there's some pretty good 0:18:08.900 --> 0:18:10.700 people over there. We're not going to bomb them. We're 0:18:10.720 --> 0:18:13.930 going to talk. And so it's like, you know, that 0:18:13.990 --> 0:18:17.310 backing and forthing while the Hormuz situation remained unresolved. Yeah, 0:18:17.710 --> 0:18:18.409 the huge problem. 0:18:20.220 --> 0:18:22.840 Yeah, I heard him say today that there's more oil 0:18:22.900 --> 0:18:25.720 coming out of the Straits of Hormuz than before the 0:18:25.760 --> 0:18:29.649 war started. Well, why then are US diesel and petrol 0:18:29.690 --> 0:18:32.429 prices gone through the roof, which has probably cost him 0:18:32.450 --> 0:18:34.990 a major number of those seats that he's lost? 0:18:35.150 --> 0:18:36.820 Well, no doubt that the cost of living and the 0:18:36.859 --> 0:18:40.119 petrol prices has cost him a lot of votes and 0:18:40.140 --> 0:18:42.760 cost the Republicans a lot of votes. And, you know, 0:18:42.800 --> 0:18:45.060 means that you've got a lot of people going into 0:18:45.100 --> 0:18:47.790 the Senate now, particularly not just the House, but in 0:18:47.810 --> 0:18:51.570 the Senate, you know, who are really hard left nutcase radicals, 0:18:51.850 --> 0:18:53.590 you know, and people you don't want anywhere near the 0:18:53.630 --> 0:18:56.770 levers of power. So, yeah, that's a huge problem. There 0:18:56.810 --> 0:19:01.129 is still there is petrol or oil flowing through Hormuz, 0:19:01.170 --> 0:19:04.379 but it's choppy and it's inconsistent. And that's what's causing 0:19:04.400 --> 0:19:05.260 the problems in the markets. 0:19:07.200 --> 0:19:09.400 He was talking, I mean, you and I watched this 0:19:09.420 --> 0:19:13.500 very closely. The viewers watching us who don't quite understand how, 0:19:13.820 --> 0:19:16.139 you know, the president on the top works with the 0:19:16.160 --> 0:19:18.810 House and the Senate, he still has the power of veto. 0:19:18.869 --> 0:19:22.170 Here he was talking about that veto power earlier on Fox, 0:19:22.210 --> 0:19:22.710 I think it was. 0:19:23.690 --> 0:19:25.990 You're now going to have to work in the last 0:19:26.070 --> 0:19:29.190 two years with a Democratic House and a Democratic Senate. 0:19:29.650 --> 0:19:33.020 How do you approach that and how do you look 0:19:33.060 --> 0:19:33.340 at that? 0:19:33.740 --> 0:19:36.920 They'll send over things that are... insane and I'll veto 0:19:36.940 --> 0:19:39.640 them and after a couple of months of vetoes they'll 0:19:39.660 --> 0:19:42.590 call and they'll say how do we get this stuff 0:19:42.630 --> 0:19:44.490 done and we'll work together. 0:19:45.609 --> 0:19:47.770 We've been talking a lot today about whether he might, James, 0:19:47.850 --> 0:19:50.540 make some changes to his cabinet. He was pretty blunt 0:19:50.580 --> 0:19:51.000 about that. 0:19:51.020 --> 0:19:51.380 Have a look. 0:19:52.340 --> 0:19:52.980 Do you think, Mr. 0:19:53.020 --> 0:19:55.240 President, that you're going to make changes in your cabinet 0:19:55.300 --> 0:19:57.020 as a result of this election? 0:19:57.060 --> 0:19:59.320 No, I don't think so. It had nothing to do 0:19:59.359 --> 0:20:02.630 with my cabinet. It was just a point. Honestly, look, 0:20:02.770 --> 0:20:05.170 I've been doing a lot of great things for a 0:20:05.210 --> 0:20:07.940 long time, and It's just a point in time, Brett, 0:20:08.140 --> 0:20:09.980 just a point in time. It's the way it is. 0:20:12.240 --> 0:20:16.639 Would you be feeling confident and looking after your superannuation 0:20:16.680 --> 0:20:18.030 if you were Pete Hesketh tonight? 0:20:18.619 --> 0:20:21.050 Yeah, look, I think I probably would. I don't think 0:20:21.070 --> 0:20:24.690 he's going to be making any major changes, no major reshuffles. 0:20:24.810 --> 0:20:26.850 This is all, you know, this comes down to him. 0:20:27.130 --> 0:20:28.930 You know, it comes down to him and his decision 0:20:28.990 --> 0:20:32.450 to go into Iran and then the way he's conducted 0:20:32.490 --> 0:20:34.890 it and the way he kind of ran that whole 0:20:34.930 --> 0:20:38.129 sort of lap of rallies around the country in the 0:20:38.170 --> 0:20:40.300 last month. you know, which felt more like an aging 0:20:40.359 --> 0:20:43.840 rocker's greatest hits tour than did a, you know, here's 0:20:43.880 --> 0:20:45.300 the things we're going to do in the next two 0:20:45.340 --> 0:20:48.700 years to make things better and make things work. And 0:20:49.080 --> 0:20:52.500 all of the things that were really good in this presidency, 0:20:52.800 --> 0:20:55.480 you know, he forgot about talking about, you know, the borders, 0:20:55.780 --> 0:20:59.040 putting a knife through the heart of DEI. The economy 0:20:59.160 --> 0:21:03.500 did actually has been growing hugely, low unemployment, record share market. 0:21:03.520 --> 0:21:06.970 I mean, all these things are really good. But they've 0:21:07.050 --> 0:21:09.600 all been overshadowed by the Iran problem. 0:21:11.600 --> 0:21:15.090 Just finally, what's it say about 2028 presidential campaign? Because, 0:21:15.130 --> 0:21:17.850 as you know, once these things are over, people then 0:21:17.910 --> 0:21:23.209 start fundraising and looking toward the next presidential election. What 0:21:23.230 --> 0:21:24.930 does it mean on the Democrat side? What does it 0:21:24.970 --> 0:21:26.070 mean on the Republican side? 0:21:26.310 --> 0:21:30.090 Well, Republicans first. I mean, I think that this is 0:21:30.210 --> 0:21:33.490 pretty bad for J.D. Vance because he is the most 0:21:33.650 --> 0:21:38.300 avowedly Trumpian MAGA figure out there who would be in contention. 0:21:38.320 --> 0:21:40.680 So I think he will be tarred with some of this, 0:21:41.160 --> 0:21:45.080 fairly or unfairly. Marco Rubio, I think he is the 0:21:45.100 --> 0:21:47.020 guy to watch. I've been saying this on this network 0:21:47.040 --> 0:21:49.179 for quite some time. He is a guy who is 0:21:49.270 --> 0:21:55.590 building up a real intellectual framework, a skeleton of his 0:21:55.710 --> 0:21:59.189 vision for America, American leadership abroad, what America looks like 0:21:59.230 --> 0:22:02.220 at home. watch him, listen to him. He's building up 0:22:02.240 --> 0:22:06.679 a very credible case. On the left, however, they've got 0:22:06.720 --> 0:22:09.919 a huge problem now. They have taken power, right, in 0:22:09.940 --> 0:22:13.260 the Congress with big majorities here, and they got to 0:22:13.300 --> 0:22:14.640 figure out what they're going to do with it. So 0:22:14.660 --> 0:22:16.800 are they going to do all these investigations or are 0:22:16.820 --> 0:22:18.900 they going to try and come up with something positive? 0:22:18.920 --> 0:22:22.220 And then they have another problem. In 2028, they don't 0:22:22.260 --> 0:22:25.380 have Trump to run against. Running against Trump has been 0:22:25.400 --> 0:22:28.040 the best thing for their brand. We just saw it tonight. 0:22:28.300 --> 0:22:30.859 They've just hit their peak on that. And now they 0:22:30.880 --> 0:22:33.610 don't have that. They're going to actually have to come 0:22:33.670 --> 0:22:36.650 up with this and get ideas and policies out there 0:22:36.930 --> 0:22:40.530 that aren't crazy, that aren't socialist, that are pro-market, that 0:22:40.550 --> 0:22:45.899 are pro-America and American. And that runs counter to the 0:22:45.980 --> 0:22:50.959 DNA of all of these radical leftist Democrat socialists and 0:22:50.980 --> 0:22:54.160 the El Sayeds and everybody else who've just had big 0:22:54.200 --> 0:22:54.780 wins tonight. 0:22:56.510 --> 0:22:58.710 Great analysis, James. Thank you very much for that, mate. 0:22:58.850 --> 0:23:01.850 And for a deeper dive into the fallout from those midterms, 0:23:02.230 --> 0:23:04.530 you can catch the US report, of course, this Friday 0:23:04.630 --> 0:23:09.660 from 8.30 Eastern Daylight Time. James Morrow, thank you very much. 0:23:10.570 --> 0:23:15.790 Coming up after the break tonight, we will take another 0:23:15.830 --> 0:23:18.670 look at the Victorian government. It's now in caretaker mode, 0:23:18.730 --> 0:23:21.600 but not before Labor has pushed through a bunch of 0:23:21.690 --> 0:23:26.320 planning approvals on a string of controversial battery farms. Locals 0:23:26.380 --> 0:23:28.540 affected are not happy. We'll talk to the leader of 0:23:28.560 --> 0:23:35.159 the Victorian Nationals up next. Welcome back. Steve Price in 0:23:35.180 --> 0:23:36.980 for Peter Credlin. Just before we get an update on 0:23:37.000 --> 0:23:40.030 the Victorian election, I have some breaking news for you, 0:23:40.200 --> 0:23:44.500 sports news out of Sydney. The Sydney Swans have announced 0:23:44.619 --> 0:23:48.230 publicly that one of their star players, Tom Papley, has 0:23:48.310 --> 0:23:52.850 been charged after being pulled over by New South Wales police. Now, 0:23:53.250 --> 0:23:56.850 the Swans, the embattled Swans, say Papley was stopped for 0:23:56.970 --> 0:24:00.320 a roadside licence check on Monday and was found to 0:24:00.380 --> 0:24:04.140 have been driving on a suspended licence. And a random 0:24:04.220 --> 0:24:08.570 drug test also returned a positive preliminary result. with a 0:24:08.609 --> 0:24:11.909 second sample now having been sent for further testing. It 0:24:11.950 --> 0:24:15.540 was also found Papley had failed to pay a parking fine. 0:24:15.940 --> 0:24:18.859 The Swans say he immediately informed the club and the 0:24:18.920 --> 0:24:23.260 AFL has also been informed. OK, it's officially second day 0:24:23.300 --> 0:24:26.379 of the Victorian election campaign. The writs were issued yesterday 0:24:26.480 --> 0:24:29.300 and the leaders, all of them from all parties, are 0:24:29.340 --> 0:24:31.740 right in the middle of it now. Both parties on 0:24:31.780 --> 0:24:35.620 the hustings today, Labor and the Coalition. 24 days now 0:24:35.680 --> 0:24:38.780 until voters go to the polls. News 24 reporter Georgie 0:24:38.820 --> 0:24:41.850 Dickinson has the latest from on the campaign trail. 0:24:42.890 --> 0:24:45.550 Victoria's major parties are putting jobs and cost of living 0:24:45.630 --> 0:24:49.449 pressures front and centre today as the election campaign heats up. 0:24:50.480 --> 0:24:54.550 The opposition is pledging $ 2 million towards food relief charities, 0:24:54.970 --> 0:24:59.850 organisations that help to feed struggling Victorian families. The Coalition 0:24:59.890 --> 0:25:02.970 says the funding will help the organisation meet growing demand 0:25:03.320 --> 0:25:06.520 as more Victorians turn to food relief to make ends meet. 0:25:07.080 --> 0:25:11.419 One in three households in Victoria are in need of 0:25:11.460 --> 0:25:14.449 food relief. And when it comes to regional Victoria, it's 0:25:14.630 --> 0:25:18.169 one in four in need of real food relief. Now, 0:25:18.210 --> 0:25:20.209 while this is a modest commitment, it will go to 0:25:20.230 --> 0:25:21.510 that urgent need now. 0:25:21.890 --> 0:25:25.090 Meanwhile, Premier Ben Carroll is focusing on jobs, promising to 0:25:25.130 --> 0:25:29.690 create 5,000 new manufacturing positions across Victoria through a new 0:25:29.800 --> 0:25:32.879 Make It Here fund. Labor says the initiative will boost 0:25:32.940 --> 0:25:35.180 local industry and strengthen the state's economy. 0:25:35.609 --> 0:25:39.090 When Joe Hockey gave the auto industry and encouraged them 0:25:39.109 --> 0:25:41.649 to leave, it was our government that stepped in to 0:25:41.690 --> 0:25:44.990 make sure all of those workers went on to businesses 0:25:45.290 --> 0:25:46.870 like Ego, like Beverage. 0:25:47.010 --> 0:25:47.649 Like Defence. 0:25:48.320 --> 0:25:52.820 Our creation of 5,000 jobs has been very thoroughly tested. 0:25:53.140 --> 0:25:55.760 But the announcement comes as another major union turns its 0:25:55.820 --> 0:25:59.080 back on the government. The Community and Public Sector Union 0:25:59.119 --> 0:26:02.419 has withdrawn its support for Labor, accusing the government of 0:26:02.540 --> 0:26:07.379 cutting around 1,000 public service jobs. while spending $ 1. 2 billion 0:26:07.500 --> 0:26:11.960 on consultants since 2017. It's the latest in a growing 0:26:12.020 --> 0:26:15.160 list of unions refusing to campaign for Labor, with some 0:26:15.300 --> 0:26:19.040 actively urging voters to put the government last. And with 0:26:19.060 --> 0:26:22.770 the election several weeks away, the growing union backlash is 0:26:22.830 --> 0:26:25.410 becoming another headache for Premier Ben Carroll. 0:26:27.990 --> 0:26:30.310 Certainly the campaign's hotting up. Thank you for that, Georgie. 0:26:30.350 --> 0:26:33.450 And a reminder, of course, Victorian opposition leader Jess Wilson 0:26:33.490 --> 0:26:36.790 will join Paul Murray live in Melbourne... for his very 0:26:36.869 --> 0:26:40.450 famous pub test this Monday, the 9th of November from 0:26:40.770 --> 0:26:44.820 9pm Australian Eastern Daylight Time. The alternative Premier will take questions, 0:26:44.859 --> 0:26:48.699 of course, from voters in the audience on crime, state debt, potholes. 0:26:49.350 --> 0:26:52.370 and many more key pressing election issues. You won't want 0:26:52.390 --> 0:26:55.490 to miss that, the pub test Monday night. And speaking 0:26:55.550 --> 0:26:58.570 of state politics and the rushed approvals we found out 0:26:58.609 --> 0:27:02.270 about from the Carroll Labor Government in Victoria, signing off 0:27:02.330 --> 0:27:06.340 on two massive, and I mean massive, battery farm projects 0:27:06.680 --> 0:27:10.060 worth more than $ 240 million. Now, they're in the west 0:27:10.100 --> 0:27:13.840 of the state, Camperdown, just days before the government entered 0:27:13.960 --> 0:27:17.919 caretaker mode. Now, the project, among others, has been fast-tracked. 0:27:18.320 --> 0:27:22.619 through the planning rules, of course, raising serious questions about transparency, 0:27:23.070 --> 0:27:27.270 community consultation and Labor's determination to push ahead with its 0:27:27.330 --> 0:27:30.730 renewables energy agenda. Here to take us through it, leader 0:27:30.750 --> 0:27:35.110 of the Victorian Nationals, Danny O'Brien. Now, should this have 0:27:35.170 --> 0:27:38.150 happened so close to the Ritz being issued and going 0:27:38.210 --> 0:27:39.720 into caretaker mode, Danny? 0:27:40.600 --> 0:27:41.740 Oh, I don't think so, Steve. 0:27:41.760 --> 0:27:44.560 I think it highlights that this government is all about 0:27:44.619 --> 0:27:47.810 trying to push things through that it wants. particularly for 0:27:47.890 --> 0:27:50.429 votes in the city at the expense of regional Victorians. 0:27:50.550 --> 0:27:53.450 And not just this project, but the Mearing West Wind 0:27:53.470 --> 0:27:55.810 Farm project as well in the northwest of the state. 0:27:56.190 --> 0:27:58.070 This is what the government has been doing for some 0:27:58.130 --> 0:28:01.270 time now, and that is bulldozing through and over the 0:28:01.310 --> 0:28:04.750 views of regional Victorians and particularly farmers. This appears to 0:28:04.790 --> 0:28:06.830 be the latest in the long string of those. And 0:28:07.190 --> 0:28:10.930 to do it right on the knock of caretaker mode 0:28:10.970 --> 0:28:13.800 yesterday just shows that this government has no respect for 0:28:13.859 --> 0:28:14.620 regional Victorians. 0:28:16.020 --> 0:28:19.300 You mentioned the Mearing West wind farm. How big is 0:28:19.359 --> 0:28:22.720 that wind farm and what has been the opposition to 0:28:22.760 --> 0:28:23.700 that from locals? 0:28:24.460 --> 0:28:27.700 Yeah, I believe there's been literally 100 formal objections made 0:28:27.740 --> 0:28:30.630 to that. I think it's about 150 turbines over some 0:28:30.630 --> 0:28:31.830 20,000 hectares. 0:28:31.910 --> 0:28:33.949 It's a big, big project and. 0:28:34.710 --> 0:28:37.770 One, again, that's not got a social licence from the 0:28:37.810 --> 0:28:41.430 local community, one that has caused issues within the local community. 0:28:41.510 --> 0:28:44.220 And for the government to approve it just on the 0:28:44.260 --> 0:28:46.400 eve of an election just shows a lack of respect 0:28:46.440 --> 0:28:49.540 for farmers, a lack of respect for regional Victorians and 0:28:49.860 --> 0:28:53.310 highlights everything that's been wrong about this government's transition to 0:28:53.350 --> 0:28:56.340 renewable energy. It's been doing it at the expense of 0:28:56.400 --> 0:28:59.940 regional communities and it's all about winning political votes in 0:28:59.960 --> 0:29:03.450 the city and not actually respecting our regions and working 0:29:03.490 --> 0:29:07.170 with them to do this transition, but actually actively legislating 0:29:07.230 --> 0:29:09.390 to force through its own agenda. 0:29:10.910 --> 0:29:13.310 It sort of feels like, and we've seen this before, 0:29:13.350 --> 0:29:16.760 this ramming through of projects just before an election, but 0:29:16.800 --> 0:29:20.720 it seems like those running the Labor campaign have given 0:29:20.800 --> 0:29:23.890 up on regional Victoria. I mean... The state government under 0:29:24.470 --> 0:29:28.300 Jacinda Allen most recently has not taken the bush seriously. 0:29:28.360 --> 0:29:33.060 We saw the regional communities just absolutely conned before the 0:29:33.100 --> 0:29:37.010 last Daniel Andrews election victory when he promised to hold 0:29:37.470 --> 0:29:39.850 a Commonwealth Games in regional Victoria. And the moment he 0:29:39.890 --> 0:29:41.400 got back in, he just cancelled it all. 0:29:42.260 --> 0:29:43.580 Yeah, I think that's right, Steve. 0:29:43.640 --> 0:29:45.870 Everything that you see from the Labor government in this 0:29:45.920 --> 0:29:49.060 election campaign, has to be taken with a massive grain 0:29:49.100 --> 0:29:52.680 of salt after the Commonwealth Games, after making commitments like 0:29:52.740 --> 0:29:55.790 building a new West Gippsland hospital that never happened in 0:29:55.850 --> 0:29:58.690 four years after Daniel Andrews committed to it. And we 0:29:58.730 --> 0:30:01.730 can repeat that time and time again, a whole lot 0:30:01.750 --> 0:30:06.590 of different scenarios. But we actually had the Bush summit 0:30:06.650 --> 0:30:10.410 in Ballarat last year, both Anthony Albanese and Jacinta Allen say. 0:30:10.450 --> 0:30:12.040 We've got to do better on the transition. 0:30:12.080 --> 0:30:15.209 And It was literally the night, the day after, the 0:30:15.470 --> 0:30:19.490 state government had pushed through new compulsory acquisition powers for 0:30:19.990 --> 0:30:24.210 transmission lines and renewable projects that allowed companies to, or 0:30:24.250 --> 0:30:27.520 the government, to make compulsory acquisition even before an EES 0:30:27.540 --> 0:30:28.880 had been approved for a project. 0:30:29.220 --> 0:30:29.940 We opposed that. 0:30:30.080 --> 0:30:32.180 The Nationals and Liberals opposed it, and we'll repeal it 0:30:32.220 --> 0:30:34.040 if we're in government, along with a whole lot of 0:30:34.080 --> 0:30:37.510 other things that the government has done just to steamroll 0:30:37.550 --> 0:30:38.610 through regional communities. 0:30:40.190 --> 0:30:44.110 So something like this battery farm at Camperdown, I'll get 0:30:44.130 --> 0:30:46.170 you to explain exactly how big that is and what 0:30:46.210 --> 0:30:49.280 it is, but if you were to win in three 0:30:49.300 --> 0:30:52.860 and a half weeks' time, are you saying that there 0:30:52.890 --> 0:30:58.320 are contracts written and unable to be cancelled in a 0:30:58.380 --> 0:31:01.900 project like this, or will your audit of what their 0:31:01.960 --> 0:31:06.460 spending has been on renewable projects and where they're going, 0:31:06.940 --> 0:31:09.060 will you be able to put a halt on this stuff? 0:31:10.280 --> 0:31:13.100 Well, that's the $ 64 question. We don't know the answer 0:31:13.120 --> 0:31:16.060 to that at this point, Steve, because there's no transparency 0:31:16.080 --> 0:31:19.340 around the contracts that the government has apparently signed up 0:31:19.400 --> 0:31:20.960 to or has approved. 0:31:21.400 --> 0:31:22.800 Certainly, if there are. 0:31:22.720 --> 0:31:27.990 Any legal issues or process issues that these projects have 0:31:28.030 --> 0:31:30.870 been signed up or have been approved under that are 0:31:30.950 --> 0:31:34.150 incorrect or illegal, then obviously we would review those and 0:31:34.170 --> 0:31:39.030 make decisions on them. This project, the battery projects, two 0:31:39.090 --> 0:31:42.110 of them actually, they are among others. And there's heaps 0:31:42.150 --> 0:31:44.410 of them right around regional Victoria. There's some in Mynecola 0:31:44.450 --> 0:31:47.340 Woods in Gippsland. There's some in the northeast, all of 0:31:47.420 --> 0:31:50.640 which have got significant concerns raised by local communities. And 0:31:50.680 --> 0:31:53.860 the government hasn't been transparent on them. We have said 0:31:54.040 --> 0:31:57.650 that we will review the entire Victorian transmission plan as well. 0:31:58.010 --> 0:32:00.310 As you know, we've committed to cancel the VNI West 0:32:00.350 --> 0:32:03.700 project because it's blown out. to a ridiculous amount of cost, 0:32:03.740 --> 0:32:06.270 and that cost would be passed on to every single 0:32:06.310 --> 0:32:10.150 Victorian energy consumer. So we do need a shake-up of this. 0:32:10.230 --> 0:32:13.350 We need to make sure that we're protecting regional Victorians. 0:32:13.410 --> 0:32:16.800 As I said, we'll repeal Labor's compulsory acquisition powers. We'll 0:32:16.820 --> 0:32:19.180 repeal the fines they brought in for farmers who had 0:32:19.200 --> 0:32:22.480 the temerity to stop people coming onto their land to 0:32:23.200 --> 0:32:26.610 progress these projects. We'll give Victorians their rights back. These 0:32:26.670 --> 0:32:30.010 projects like the Camperdown Battery and the Mirroring West Wind Farm, 0:32:30.590 --> 0:32:34.050 they're being steamrolled because farmers and local residents don't even 0:32:34.090 --> 0:32:36.680 have the ability to take these to VCAT anymore because 0:32:36.760 --> 0:32:38.680 Labor is trying to push them through. We'll give them 0:32:38.700 --> 0:32:41.400 that right back and make sure that property rights are respected. 0:32:43.210 --> 0:32:45.570 I presume a battery farm like that, what they do 0:32:45.670 --> 0:32:50.760 is they store the renewable energy that would be delivered 0:32:51.260 --> 0:32:55.440 in daylight from solar farms and wind farms at night 0:32:55.460 --> 0:32:58.100 if the wind's blowing. And it's almost like a dam 0:32:58.160 --> 0:33:02.880 and the electricity sits in these battery farms. Are they noisy? 0:33:03.000 --> 0:33:06.940 Do they make noise if they're near a property like 0:33:06.980 --> 0:33:11.770 a farm? Are they environmentally safe and friendly? 0:33:12.790 --> 0:33:15.370 Well, there's certainly concerns about them and they can be noisy. 0:33:15.430 --> 0:33:17.970 And one of these particular wind farms is within a 0:33:18.010 --> 0:33:21.810 kilometre of the township of Camperdown. And there's been significant 0:33:21.830 --> 0:33:26.360 opposition to it in that respect. You're exactly right. They're 0:33:26.380 --> 0:33:30.460 designed to store the energy produced by wind and solar 0:33:30.500 --> 0:33:33.500 farms and probably more wind farms in the southwest of 0:33:33.520 --> 0:33:36.980 Victoria there. But we don't have an issue with them 0:33:37.040 --> 0:33:39.420 per se, but it's where they're located. It's whether they're 0:33:39.440 --> 0:33:41.640 in the right spot. It's whether they've got the the 0:33:41.680 --> 0:33:44.880 safety and the fire ratings in particular. There are significant concerns. 0:33:44.920 --> 0:33:47.940 We know that Melbourne's first big battery caught on fire 0:33:48.000 --> 0:33:51.600 last year. And there are certainly concerns of farmers in 0:33:51.640 --> 0:33:55.000 those areas as to whether these are safe and whether 0:33:55.020 --> 0:33:57.560 they're in the right place and whether the environmental approvals 0:33:57.720 --> 0:33:58.840 are all ticked off. 0:34:00.400 --> 0:34:04.960 Yes, I heard Peter Marshall from the Melbourne Fire Brigade 0:34:05.030 --> 0:34:10.230 and CFA officers are most concerned about lithium batteries and 0:34:10.250 --> 0:34:12.070 the potential for these things to catch fire. 0:34:13.200 --> 0:34:14.589 Yeah, it certainly is a concern. 0:34:14.610 --> 0:34:17.880 And that's one of the issues that has generated opposition 0:34:17.940 --> 0:34:21.859 for these battery farms throughout our regions. As I said, 0:34:21.880 --> 0:34:24.560 there's one in West Gippsland, there's proposed ones in the northeast, 0:34:25.719 --> 0:34:29.520 all in high fire danger areas. And look, sometimes those 0:34:29.560 --> 0:34:32.279 things can be mitigated. And we understand that. But we 0:34:32.320 --> 0:34:35.569 need some assurance that it has been mitigated properly, that 0:34:35.590 --> 0:34:38.730 there will be protection for local communities and farmers. And 0:34:38.910 --> 0:34:41.470 the government rushing these through on the eve of an election, 0:34:41.489 --> 0:34:44.569 on the eve of caretaker, doesn't engender confidence in that 0:34:44.610 --> 0:34:45.940 the government's got everything right. 0:34:46.560 --> 0:34:48.240 It really does make people wonder. 0:34:48.280 --> 0:34:51.220 And I think they should be right in actually questioning 0:34:51.719 --> 0:34:53.700 these approvals right on the eve of caretaker mode. 0:34:55.090 --> 0:34:56.719 Good on you, Danny. Good to catch up. Thank you 0:34:56.739 --> 0:34:58.960 very much, mate. After the break, plenty of reaction to 0:34:58.980 --> 0:35:01.980 the Reserve Bank's decision that was yesterday on Melbourne Cup 0:35:02.000 --> 0:35:05.690 Day to hike rates to an 18-year high. So could 0:35:05.730 --> 0:35:09.730 it push Australia into an actual recession? Our Wednesday night 0:35:09.750 --> 0:35:16.170 panel up next. Welcome back, Steve Price with you. Coming up, 0:35:16.230 --> 0:35:19.430 Peter's favourite, Kel Richards on Word. She'll be upset she's 0:35:19.469 --> 0:35:22.089 missing that. Let's bring in the panel now. Senior Fellow 0:35:22.130 --> 0:35:25.440 at the Menzies Research Centre, Nick Cater and Deputy Executive 0:35:25.460 --> 0:35:28.700 Director at the IPA, Daniel Wild. Welcome to you both. 0:35:29.120 --> 0:35:34.660 I mentioned interest rates yesterday hit an 18-year high, 4.85%. 0:35:34.660 --> 0:35:37.870 Banks have already whacked them up. That on a million-dollar 0:35:38.090 --> 0:35:41.569 mortgage would mean that so far this year after those 0:35:41.650 --> 0:35:47.270 five rises, you're looking at somewhere around $ 800 after tax 0:35:47.290 --> 0:35:49.890 that you've got to find each month. Here was the 0:35:49.930 --> 0:35:54.060 Reserve Bank Governor Michelle Bullock saying, well, it might get worse. 0:35:54.080 --> 0:35:56.520 It might end up being a recession. 0:35:58.320 --> 0:36:00.600 It is going to make people feel like it's a 0:36:00.640 --> 0:36:06.310 recession because they feel poorer. Their spending can't grow very 0:36:06.370 --> 0:36:08.870 quickly because their incomes aren't growing very quickly. And this 0:36:08.930 --> 0:36:12.010 is a manifestation of the lack of productivity growth. 0:36:13.340 --> 0:36:18.460 Dan, hello. We're not going to feel like it's a recession. 0:36:18.500 --> 0:36:19.620 We already feel that. 0:36:21.460 --> 0:36:23.799 Yeah, Australians are already in a recession when you look 0:36:23.820 --> 0:36:27.069 at it on a per capita basis. People are getting poorer. And, 0:36:27.130 --> 0:36:28.790 you know, the government says, oh, it's all to do 0:36:28.830 --> 0:36:30.870 with international factors. It's all to do with the war 0:36:30.910 --> 0:36:32.910 in Iran. Well, you know, if that's the case, then 0:36:32.930 --> 0:36:35.250 how come our economy is doing worse than others? You know, 0:36:35.290 --> 0:36:38.029 everybody's got to deal with these international factors. No one 0:36:38.090 --> 0:36:41.130 is suggesting that the war in Iran doesn't affect Australia's economy, 0:36:41.250 --> 0:36:44.219 our fuel, our energy and so forth. But our inflation 0:36:44.260 --> 0:36:46.700 rate is the second highest in the developed world, behind 0:36:46.760 --> 0:36:50.160 only Belgium. Our cash rate is the highest. As you 0:36:50.200 --> 0:36:53.260 point out, we've got this massive growth in government debt 0:36:53.300 --> 0:36:55.170 sitting on top of all of this as well. And 0:36:55.190 --> 0:36:57.670 the key driver of this is you've got massive government spending. 0:36:57.750 --> 0:37:01.690 I mean, this is obvious. If you take one year alone, 2026, 0:37:01.690 --> 0:37:04.980 government spending increased by 5% in real terms. The economy 0:37:05.020 --> 0:37:06.600 only went up by two and a quarter percent in 0:37:06.620 --> 0:37:09.320 real terms. So government spending is double that of the economy. 0:37:09.660 --> 0:37:12.570 When you're pumping that much money into an economy that's moribund, 0:37:12.840 --> 0:37:14.630 you know, as the Reserve Bank governor says, there's no 0:37:14.690 --> 0:37:17.390 productivity growth. So you're cranking up demand. You're not getting 0:37:17.410 --> 0:37:21.069 the supply. You've got inflation. It's clear the government must 0:37:21.110 --> 0:37:22.370 cut back on its spending. 0:37:24.160 --> 0:37:26.320 Nick, I mean, I appear on radio in New Zealand 0:37:26.380 --> 0:37:28.480 a couple of times a week and their interest rate 0:37:28.520 --> 0:37:31.980 currently is around two and a half percent, something like that. 0:37:32.040 --> 0:37:34.859 They go to an election on Saturday. I mean, not 0:37:34.940 --> 0:37:38.960 a completely similar economy to ours, but not that much different. 0:37:39.280 --> 0:37:43.040 I mean, what happened? The RBA simply made a mistake 0:37:43.400 --> 0:37:45.960 when they should have acted earlier and they refused to 0:37:46.000 --> 0:37:47.440 do so, unlike the Kiwis. 0:37:50.020 --> 0:37:54.160 Yeah, what we have here is the fairy tale collapsing. 0:37:54.510 --> 0:37:57.350 The whole Jim Chalmers, you know, it's all to do 0:37:57.390 --> 0:38:00.910 with Tehran and Washington. That's fallen apart very quickly. I 0:38:00.930 --> 0:38:03.850 don't think people buy that anymore. I think Michelle Bullock 0:38:03.969 --> 0:38:06.790 used the strongest language I think she could possibly use. 0:38:06.830 --> 0:38:09.590 She's not as free to speak her mind quite as 0:38:09.690 --> 0:38:11.450 openly as you and I on News 24, Steve. 0:38:11.469 --> 0:38:11.540 But. 0:38:13.660 --> 0:38:16.009 You know, she was clearly saying, no, you're wrong. This 0:38:16.090 --> 0:38:20.029 is a homegrown problem. And yes, it does feel like 0:38:20.070 --> 0:38:22.390 a recession right now. A recession is when the whole 0:38:22.450 --> 0:38:26.350 economy goes backwards. Most Australians I speak to, those in 0:38:26.390 --> 0:38:29.469 small business or those just in jobs, feel like they're 0:38:29.489 --> 0:38:32.210 going backwards and are fighting very hard not to. That's 0:38:32.250 --> 0:38:36.290 what all their effort's going into. And, you know, her 0:38:36.350 --> 0:38:38.629 warning that this is going to worsen over the next year, 0:38:39.330 --> 0:38:42.160 I find that really troubling when you see how hard 0:38:42.200 --> 0:38:43.180 people are doing it already. 0:38:44.580 --> 0:38:46.419 Yeah, she talks about the vibe. I get the vibe 0:38:46.480 --> 0:38:48.960 every time I go to a supermarket or a petrol station. 0:38:49.000 --> 0:38:51.219 I mean, I don't need Michelle Bullock to be telling 0:38:51.239 --> 0:38:53.910 me that. I know exactly how I feel and my 0:38:54.190 --> 0:38:56.069 salary is not buying as much as what it could. 0:38:56.670 --> 0:38:58.790 I nearly fell over, Nick, when I read this today. 0:38:58.850 --> 0:39:01.870 The President of the Australian Human Rights Commission has claimed 0:39:01.890 --> 0:39:08.150 that de-radicalisation efforts should not be focusing as much on 0:39:08.350 --> 0:39:13.070 beliefs and ideology such as radical Islam and should instead 0:39:13.110 --> 0:39:18.419 be cracking down on The so-called online manosphere. I mean, please, Nick, 0:39:18.460 --> 0:39:19.240 save my life. 0:39:21.800 --> 0:39:25.230 It's a bizarre fetish they have over this manosphere, which 0:39:25.270 --> 0:39:28.230 I don't know much about. But, you know, look at 0:39:28.270 --> 0:39:31.189 the terrible events of December 14. 14 last year. But yes, 0:39:31.270 --> 0:39:34.350 both of the accused, and we have to say they're accused, 0:39:34.370 --> 0:39:37.910 they're not, we've got a court case pending, presumably. They 0:39:37.930 --> 0:39:42.050 were both men, sure. But they're also both radical Muslims 0:39:42.140 --> 0:39:44.239 from what we gather, at least the two people that 0:39:44.300 --> 0:39:47.350 we know about. So, I'll wait to see that court case, 0:39:47.370 --> 0:39:50.219 whether it comes out they were motivated by being toxic 0:39:50.320 --> 0:39:54.259 males or whether it was because they believed in some 0:39:54.860 --> 0:39:59.479 horrible millennialist cult of Islam that believes in shooting people. 0:39:59.820 --> 0:40:02.050 I also feel, Steve, I should say this, I feel 0:40:02.120 --> 0:40:05.570 some sympathy for what a lot of Muslims feel in 0:40:05.610 --> 0:40:08.700 this country today. that they are all being tarnished with 0:40:08.739 --> 0:40:11.160 this same brush because the vast majority of Muslims are 0:40:11.180 --> 0:40:14.399 just ordinary, decent people, much more concerned about the cost 0:40:14.440 --> 0:40:18.580 of living now than anything that's happening in Palestine. But 0:40:18.620 --> 0:40:21.480 if it's OK, you know, we're not going to slur 0:40:21.520 --> 0:40:25.180 the entire Muslim population by calling these radical Islam, but 0:40:25.219 --> 0:40:29.310 we are prepared to slur, what, 48, 49% of the 0:40:29.350 --> 0:40:32.689 country who are men. We're all under that brush, I guess. So, 0:40:33.330 --> 0:40:35.410 as usual on the left, of course, this makes absolutely 0:40:35.450 --> 0:40:35.910 no sense. 0:40:37.680 --> 0:40:40.339 Let's get back to finance, Daniel. Interest rates, as we said, 0:40:40.360 --> 0:40:44.020 18-year high. Analysis by The Australian has shown that households 0:40:44.060 --> 0:40:46.560 are actually worse off now than they were during the 0:40:46.600 --> 0:40:51.160 global financial crisis, which this three here would remember well 0:40:51.239 --> 0:40:54.370 because our wages have not kept pace with the surging 0:40:54.450 --> 0:40:56.730 home loan debt. In November 2008, the cash rate was 5.25%, 0:40:56.730 --> 0:40:59.810 but the average owner-occupied mortgage is now 188% more expensive 0:40:59.850 --> 0:41:10.049 than than it was back then. I mean, this has 0:41:10.110 --> 0:41:12.870 forced hundreds of people to actually put their homes up 0:41:12.910 --> 0:41:16.290 for sale. People are going to have to rent. Retirees 0:41:16.310 --> 0:41:18.569 are going to end up renting. I mean, this is 0:41:18.880 --> 0:41:22.120 just a failure, this housing policy that Labor have put 0:41:22.160 --> 0:41:24.320 in place. It does not work. 0:41:26.360 --> 0:41:28.980 Well, you're right, Steve, it doesn't work. And, you know, 0:41:29.000 --> 0:41:31.259 you can notice this driving around your local suburbs. And 0:41:31.300 --> 0:41:34.680 I've noticed that the number of for sale signs up 0:41:35.100 --> 0:41:36.860 much higher than they were just a year ago. You 0:41:37.700 --> 0:41:40.250 look at the prices, you know, the people asking a 0:41:40.250 --> 0:41:42.350 million bucks, you go back two weeks later, they're asking 0:41:42.390 --> 0:41:45.170 for 950. People say, well, we might wait another two 0:41:45.210 --> 0:41:47.250 weeks and it'll be down to 900. So, you know, 0:41:47.290 --> 0:41:49.170 this is what happens in a market. People wait for 0:41:49.190 --> 0:41:51.670 the bottom line. to, you know, they'll wait for the 0:41:51.989 --> 0:41:54.040 market to bottom out. But if everyone's waiting, then it's 0:41:54.060 --> 0:41:55.919 going to take a long time for it to bottom out. So, 0:41:55.940 --> 0:41:57.900 you know, eventually people will say, well, it's cheaper to 0:41:57.940 --> 0:41:59.620 buy them rent, so we'll start buying them. But I 0:41:59.640 --> 0:42:01.569 think that's got a way to go. You've seen the 0:42:01.670 --> 0:42:03.930 eastern capital cities go through this. 0:42:03.989 --> 0:42:04.649 Now it's also. 0:42:05.190 --> 0:42:06.989 Where I am in Adelaide and in Perth, it's starting 0:42:07.010 --> 0:42:09.060 to happen as well. So it's biting very hard. And 0:42:09.440 --> 0:42:11.180 like I think you say, a lot of people now 0:42:11.239 --> 0:42:13.219 feel rushed into having to do this. They feel rushed 0:42:13.260 --> 0:42:15.640 into having to sell their home. They're dumping their properties 0:42:15.719 --> 0:42:18.230 onto the market. So there's a lot more people trying 0:42:18.250 --> 0:42:20.469 to sell their property than there are trying to buy 0:42:20.510 --> 0:42:22.910 their property. And what does that mean for prices? Well, 0:42:22.930 --> 0:42:23.850 they're going to have to go down. 0:42:25.680 --> 0:42:28.420 Yeah, it's a tragic situation and I think the country 0:42:28.460 --> 0:42:31.660 is really suffering under it. Nick, I'm a bit of 0:42:31.680 --> 0:42:34.160 an expert on potholes because I live in the pothole 0:42:34.200 --> 0:42:36.660 capital of the world. I mean, it's worse here than 0:42:36.719 --> 0:42:40.610 in some of the war-torn countries of Iran because you 0:42:40.630 --> 0:42:43.650 have a pothole on every road, including on major highways. 0:42:44.010 --> 0:42:46.629 So what has the Geelong Council done? Well, they've become 0:42:46.650 --> 0:42:50.450 the first council to install AI cameras on council trucks 0:42:50.850 --> 0:42:55.840 to detect potholes... That's how bad it's become. But clearly 0:42:56.120 --> 0:42:58.500 the potholes need to be fixed by the council. What's 0:42:58.520 --> 0:43:00.339 the point of just taking pictures of them? 0:43:02.660 --> 0:43:05.530 Pothole TV, Steve. I wonder how it's going to rate. 0:43:05.570 --> 0:43:07.770 You've got to sit and watch developing potholes. 0:43:08.270 --> 0:43:09.050 No, it's a nonsense. 0:43:09.070 --> 0:43:11.029 They should be out there fixing it. But at the 0:43:11.070 --> 0:43:12.890 same time, I think that they should be out there 0:43:12.910 --> 0:43:15.669 telling people where they are so they know to slow down. 0:43:15.730 --> 0:43:18.390 I mean, I caught a massive one on the Hume Highway, 0:43:19.030 --> 0:43:22.890 you know, just north of Wangaratta when I came through. 0:43:23.810 --> 0:43:25.969 A month or two back. They're all over the place. 0:43:26.010 --> 0:43:29.390 And you do, even if you're driving a marvellous Prado 0:43:29.430 --> 0:43:32.020 like mine, you know, you still need some warning. So 0:43:32.860 --> 0:43:34.520 if they can't fix them, at least tell people where 0:43:34.540 --> 0:43:36.460 they are. But look, I mean, just get out and 0:43:36.520 --> 0:43:38.620 do it. What else are councils supposed to do except 0:43:38.700 --> 0:43:40.189 fix roads and empty the bins? 0:43:40.450 --> 0:43:40.830 I don't know. 0:43:42.530 --> 0:43:45.250 Daniel, I've got an app in my car which says 0:43:45.350 --> 0:43:48.670 pothole ahead, pothole ahead. So I start swerving. I mean, 0:43:48.690 --> 0:43:50.810 you're on a road with a double white line in 0:43:50.830 --> 0:43:53.210 the middle. You can't swerve out of the way. You've 0:43:53.250 --> 0:43:55.410 got to sort of try and avoid it. The bloke 0:43:55.430 --> 0:43:58.650 behind you thinks you're crazy. I mean, it's really dangerous. 0:44:00.430 --> 0:44:02.330 Well, you'd probably be better off with an app telling 0:44:02.370 --> 0:44:04.370 you when there's not a pothole. You know, that'd probably 0:44:04.410 --> 0:44:06.450 be a bit easier, sort of getting to that point now. 0:44:06.489 --> 0:44:10.350 So you'd never have the thing off, would you? So, no, look, 0:44:10.390 --> 0:44:14.690 I think that this is a practical manifestation of what 0:44:14.760 --> 0:44:16.799 happens when governments run out of money. So you look 0:44:16.840 --> 0:44:20.799 at Victoria, this issue with debt has been very hypothetical 0:44:20.840 --> 0:44:22.359 for a long time. I mean, we've been talking about 0:44:22.400 --> 0:44:24.339 it here for years and years and years, but the 0:44:24.380 --> 0:44:28.100 punter on the street doesn't really feel it until the 0:44:28.140 --> 0:44:31.100 services are cut. until the roads aren't fixed, until the 0:44:31.140 --> 0:44:33.719 rubbish bins aren't getting picked up on time. This is 0:44:33.780 --> 0:44:36.009 what happens when the government runs out of money. First 0:44:36.050 --> 0:44:38.509 it's potholes, then it's the school can't open, then it's 0:44:38.530 --> 0:44:41.190 the hospital is understaffed. So this is the slow march 0:44:41.230 --> 0:44:42.649 of an economy that's not doing well. 0:44:43.969 --> 0:44:46.509 Thousand percent correct. Good on you, chaps. Thank you very 0:44:46.530 --> 0:44:49.660 much for that. After the break, Peter's favourite, Kel Richards 0:44:49.719 --> 0:44:56.660 with words. Welcome back. Great to be with you. And 0:44:56.760 --> 0:44:59.760 let's bring in wordsmith and one of my favourite people, 0:44:59.780 --> 0:45:02.879 broadcaster Kel Richards. Kel, I'm lucky to be here. Good 0:45:02.920 --> 0:45:05.640 to see you again, my friend. I've heard the word 0:45:05.880 --> 0:45:09.620 lame duck used a lot today, used in regard to 0:45:09.680 --> 0:45:14.060 probably one President Trump and those election results that he's 0:45:14.160 --> 0:45:19.399 gone through. Where does the term lame duck actually come from? 0:45:19.780 --> 0:45:21.840 It's an odd one, isn't it? It was the Americans 0:45:22.200 --> 0:45:25.969 in 1860 who first applied lame duck to a politician 0:45:26.010 --> 0:45:29.270 who'd lost control of the legislature. But they borrowed the 0:45:29.330 --> 0:45:33.569 expression from the British because the London Stock Exchange was 0:45:33.630 --> 0:45:37.339 talking about lame ducks back in the 1700s. And they 0:45:37.420 --> 0:45:40.940 described as a lame duck any speculator who could not 0:45:41.020 --> 0:45:44.960 meet their financial obligations. Now, where did the expression come from? Well, 0:45:45.000 --> 0:45:47.650 the lame part's not puzzling. I mean, someone who is 0:45:47.690 --> 0:45:50.830 hobbled by the fact that he can't make his debt payments, 0:45:51.530 --> 0:45:54.850 he's lame. But the duck part has puzzled a lot 0:45:54.890 --> 0:45:57.930 of people. None of the experts are certain. Here's my suggestion. 0:45:58.250 --> 0:46:00.810 If you think about a duck, it is a little fowl, 0:46:01.050 --> 0:46:04.450 which is elegant and beautiful on the water or in 0:46:04.469 --> 0:46:08.600 the air, but it waddles uncomfortably on the land. So 0:46:08.620 --> 0:46:11.640 you imagine that, and it was lame, it'd be even worse. 0:46:11.960 --> 0:46:14.779 And in fact, some of the early citations talk about 0:46:15.120 --> 0:46:18.360 a speculator waddling out of the stock exchange. So I 0:46:18.420 --> 0:46:20.080 think that's the image they had in mind. 0:46:21.420 --> 0:46:24.839 This is not meant as an insult. Mark would have 0:46:24.900 --> 0:46:28.730 referred to what you just said as a load of poppycock. 0:46:29.350 --> 0:46:31.670 Where's that come from? Oh, this is interesting. 0:46:32.730 --> 0:46:35.540 It comes from a very similar sounding Dutch word which 0:46:35.580 --> 0:46:40.360 was anglicised as And it means nonsense, rubbish, absolutely untrue. 0:46:40.739 --> 0:46:42.980 And in fact, we might, if we were being really crude, 0:46:43.260 --> 0:46:45.480 say that's a load of old and use a four-letter 0:46:45.520 --> 0:46:48.350 word starting with SH, which is what the Dutch original 0:46:48.450 --> 0:46:52.750 actually means. The Dutch original word was popperkak. And the 0:46:52.790 --> 0:46:59.270 Dutch popperkak word means doll's excrement. And I can't put 0:46:59.310 --> 0:47:02.460 it any more politely than that. So that's what poppycock 0:47:02.540 --> 0:47:03.439 originally meant. 0:47:05.090 --> 0:47:07.460 I've been writing for newspapers for a long time to 0:47:07.480 --> 0:47:11.660 get sewage and sewerage mixed up. Pamela wants to know 0:47:11.680 --> 0:47:15.480 which ones are coming out of the Marrickville Golf Club 0:47:15.820 --> 0:47:19.080 that our friend Anthony Albanese talks about. Right. 0:47:19.180 --> 0:47:23.040 Both coined in the same year, 1834, in England. And 0:47:23.239 --> 0:47:26.620 the key is this. The sewerage, with the extra syllable, 0:47:27.120 --> 0:47:31.140 is the plumbing that carries the waste. The sewage is 0:47:31.219 --> 0:47:35.290 the waste that it carries. So it's simple when you 0:47:35.330 --> 0:47:38.980 know it. The sewerage is the pipes and the sewage 0:47:39.060 --> 0:47:41.700 is the stuff inside the pipes, which we won't refer to. 0:47:43.460 --> 0:47:46.720 And Margaret wanted to know, this is a really interesting question, 0:47:46.739 --> 0:47:48.440 when did we drop the idea that we had to 0:47:48.500 --> 0:47:49.919 talk about our Christian name? 0:47:50.719 --> 0:47:53.320 Oh, it's very hard to nail down a date. Probably 0:47:54.140 --> 0:47:57.279 it started in 1972 when Al Grasby became Minister for 0:47:57.320 --> 0:48:03.710 Immigration under Gough Whitlam and started the multiculturalism. push that 0:48:03.770 --> 0:48:07.180 did this. It's hard to nail down the date when 0:48:07.219 --> 0:48:10.540 official forms switch from Christian name to first name or 0:48:10.560 --> 0:48:14.219 given name. The argument was it was, although most people 0:48:14.260 --> 0:48:17.620 were at least nominally Christian, it would offend minorities. So 0:48:17.640 --> 0:48:20.609 you had to protect minorities. And I suspect the one 0:48:20.690 --> 0:48:23.310 minority that had to be protected the most was the 0:48:23.350 --> 0:48:26.290 minority that Gough Whitlam himself belonged to, the atheists. 0:48:26.410 --> 0:48:28.839 I get it. I get it now. Good on you, Kel. 0:48:28.900 --> 0:48:32.080 Always a pleasure to catch up with you. That's it 0:48:32.100 --> 0:48:35.330 for me tonight. James McPherson is in the chair tonight 0:48:35.350 --> 0:48:38.270 for Andrew Bolt. There'll be a big fallout tomorrow from 0:48:38.310 --> 0:48:41.910 those midterm elections in the United States, so brilliantly covered 0:48:41.950 --> 0:48:43.190 today on News 24. Here's James.