WEBVTT - Sharri | 5 June 0:00:04.480 --> 0:00:10.400 Shari, It's good evening well tonight to our continuing expose 0:00:10.760 --> 0:00:15.760 of Anthony Albanesi's history as a pro Palestinian activist. I 0:00:15.800 --> 0:00:19.919 can reveal Albanzi met with the late Palestinian President Yasser 0:00:20.000 --> 0:00:26.119 Arafat two years before he Albanzi protested against Israel during 0:00:26.160 --> 0:00:29.840 the Second into Fada, and that was the violent Palestinian 0:00:29.920 --> 0:00:35.200 uprising that included terror attacks. Our now prime minister took 0:00:35.280 --> 0:00:40.159 part in Iralian Sydney, where Israeli and American flags were burned. 0:00:40.840 --> 0:00:45.199 Albanzi also met with Arafat, the terrorist turned president of 0:00:45.240 --> 0:00:49.880 the PLO, in Ramala two years earlier in nineteen ninety eight. 0:00:50.720 --> 0:00:54.840 Unlike other politicians who met with Arafat, Albanzi did not 0:00:55.280 --> 0:00:58.120 meet the Israeli Prime minister at the time. It was 0:00:58.120 --> 0:01:03.600 Benjamin Nettanyahu the Israeli President Aza Weizman. On his trip 0:01:03.680 --> 0:01:07.680 to the Middle East. Albinizi was on a trip sponsored 0:01:08.080 --> 0:01:13.760 by the Palestine Liberation Organization and it was all expenses paid, 0:01:14.120 --> 0:01:18.840 including flights and accommodation. Saurcers who knew Albanesi at the 0:01:18.880 --> 0:01:23.319 time told me he was starry eyed and fawning at 0:01:23.319 --> 0:01:28.000 the prospect of meeting Yasser Arafat. Here is a photograph 0:01:28.360 --> 0:01:32.960 that captured that moment. You can see Albanesi sitting on 0:01:33.040 --> 0:01:36.319 the far left of the screen. Next to him is 0:01:36.319 --> 0:01:41.520 a farmer labor MP Leo McLay who was strongly anti Israel. 0:01:42.040 --> 0:01:45.039 Then in the center there's Arafat. To the right of 0:01:45.120 --> 0:01:49.000 Arafat is one of his advisors, who then sits next 0:01:49.000 --> 0:01:53.360 to the former Palestinian delegate or ambassador in inverted commas, 0:01:53.760 --> 0:01:56.760 Ali Kazakh. And then on the far right of your 0:01:56.800 --> 0:01:59.880 screen is Joe Hockey, who was also on the tri 0:02:01.160 --> 0:02:04.600 Joe Hockey's father was born in the Palestinian territories, and 0:02:04.640 --> 0:02:08.680 he and Alberizi set up the Australian Parliamentary Friends of 0:02:08.760 --> 0:02:14.520 Palestine Group together. National Party MP Peter mc Peter mcgarren, 0:02:14.919 --> 0:02:17.640 who'd worked on a kibbutz in Israel and had visited 0:02:17.680 --> 0:02:22.640 Israel on many occasions, was also present. I asked the 0:02:22.639 --> 0:02:26.200 Prime Minister's office about the meeting, and a spokeswoman said 0:02:26.760 --> 0:02:31.880 it was a widely reported cross parliamentary trip to Egypt, Jordan, Gaza, 0:02:32.080 --> 0:02:35.280 West Bank and Israel. The majority of people on the 0:02:35.320 --> 0:02:40.720 trip were Liberal and National MPs were During the Palestinian 0:02:40.960 --> 0:02:44.720 sponsored trip. Albanesi and the group also went to a 0:02:44.760 --> 0:02:48.600 dinner in Gaza, which I'm told was attended by about 0:02:48.680 --> 0:02:53.280 sixty PLO officials or men. As I mentioned, the group 0:02:53.360 --> 0:02:57.520 did not meet with the then Israeli Prime Minister or 0:02:57.840 --> 0:03:03.080 Israeli president. At the time, Albanzi was an activist for 0:03:03.120 --> 0:03:08.079 the Palestinian cause. Two years later, while Arafat was president, 0:03:08.600 --> 0:03:13.040 the Second Into Farda rocked Israel. More than a thousand 0:03:13.160 --> 0:03:17.680 Israelis were killed in the violent uprising, which included Palestinian 0:03:17.840 --> 0:03:23.480 terror attacks where suicide bombers killed innocent families, including a 0:03:23.520 --> 0:03:27.840 busload of people. There was also violence and threats against 0:03:27.919 --> 0:03:33.600 Jewish institutions here in Australia. But during the Second Into Farda, 0:03:33.960 --> 0:03:38.880 according to left wing news website Criche, Albanizi joined pro 0:03:39.000 --> 0:03:46.840 Palestinian protests against Israel, where American and Israeli flags were burned. 0:03:50.280 --> 0:03:55.680 Israel. Trum Oh Well. 0:03:58.520 --> 0:04:06.040 Projects now that vision we first obtained here on this show, 0:04:06.160 --> 0:04:09.560 but Kriikee placed it to during the Second inter Farta, 0:04:09.960 --> 0:04:12.640 and as you saw, that was Albanesi yelling into the 0:04:12.680 --> 0:04:16.760 megaphone at the protest when Israelis at the time, during 0:04:16.760 --> 0:04:21.200 the second into Farta, Israelis were being killed in suicide bombings. 0:04:22.040 --> 0:04:26.680 In a speech Albenzi gave that same month again during 0:04:26.680 --> 0:04:31.840 the second inter Farta, Alberzi in parliament spoke about Israeli aggression. 0:04:33.880 --> 0:04:35.800 Palestinians lived with restrictions. 0:04:35.839 --> 0:04:36.440 Every day. 0:04:37.000 --> 0:04:40.400 Gaza in the West Bink are regularly closed, preventing Palestinians 0:04:40.440 --> 0:04:45.320 from going to work and creating a subsequent resentment. Roadblocks 0:04:45.320 --> 0:04:50.040 occur at regular intervals. The hotel in Ramala, the city 0:04:50.080 --> 0:04:54.159 Inn where I stayed with Peter Nugent, who's present here 0:04:54.160 --> 0:04:57.200 in the house, and also Joe Hockey, Peter McGowan and 0:04:57.279 --> 0:05:01.239 Liah McLay has been occupied by the Israeli Defense Force 0:05:01.600 --> 0:05:05.920 and used by snipers on the West Bank. Palestinians did 0:05:05.920 --> 0:05:08.159 not have equal rights in the Middle East. 0:05:09.360 --> 0:05:12.359 So as you saw there. In that parliamentary speech in 0:05:12.400 --> 0:05:17.120 October two thousand, Albanzi referred to his trip two years earlier, 0:05:17.520 --> 0:05:19.960 but as far as we can see, he's not in 0:05:20.040 --> 0:05:24.240 recent years referred to his meeting with Arafat. But in 0:05:24.279 --> 0:05:28.920 the wake of October seven, the former Palestinian delegate Ali Kazakh, 0:05:29.000 --> 0:05:32.159 who took alber Easy to meet Arafat and was featured 0:05:32.160 --> 0:05:36.000 in that photograph were he made the picture public. He 0:05:36.040 --> 0:05:39.360 published the photograph taken of the meeting and wrote under 0:05:39.360 --> 0:05:43.040 the image, and he wrote this on October the twenty first, 0:05:43.240 --> 0:05:47.279 twenty twenty three, and I quote in Gaza's Hour of need? 0:05:47.760 --> 0:05:52.400 What would President Arafat today make of Albanesi's one sided 0:05:52.440 --> 0:05:56.560 support for Israel's right to defend itself a denied to 0:05:56.600 --> 0:06:03.160 Palestinians in decades of Israeli occupation Gaza's hour of need? Well, 0:06:03.560 --> 0:06:07.720 that was October the twenty first, twenty twenty three, just 0:06:08.000 --> 0:06:11.680 weeks after the brutal and barbaric Hamas attacks of October 0:06:11.720 --> 0:06:16.120 the seventh. Albanese's views at the time were out of 0:06:16.160 --> 0:06:19.479 step with many of his labor colleagues. Just a year 0:06:19.520 --> 0:06:23.560 before Alberize, he met with Arafat. The former Deputy Prime 0:06:23.560 --> 0:06:28.919 Minister Tim Fisher had invited Arafat to visit Australia, but 0:06:29.000 --> 0:06:32.360 then he was forced to rescind the invitation, and the 0:06:32.400 --> 0:06:37.799 invitation was described by Labor MP Laurie Brereton as an embarrassment. 0:06:38.279 --> 0:06:44.240 Have a look at this footage from nineteen ninety seven. 0:06:42.560 --> 0:06:46.480 Acting Prime Minister. Would you agree that consistency is an 0:06:46.520 --> 0:06:50.159 important element in the conduct of the nation's foreign relations. 0:06:51.400 --> 0:06:54.600 Why did you invite the Palestinian president, mister Yasser Arafat 0:06:54.960 --> 0:06:57.240 to visit Australia as a guest of government when you 0:06:57.279 --> 0:06:59.760 met with him in Bethlehem on the thirteenth of March. 0:07:00.600 --> 0:07:03.520 Did you obtain the agreement of the Prime Minister before 0:07:03.560 --> 0:07:06.800 you extended the invitation to mister Arafat? Is it not 0:07:06.880 --> 0:07:10.480 a fact that last Thursday the government withdrew that invitation? 0:07:11.600 --> 0:07:15.080 Acting Prime Minister, what has changed since you met mister 0:07:15.120 --> 0:07:17.440 Arafat on the thirteenth of March, and how do you 0:07:17.480 --> 0:07:21.440 explain this latest embarrassment to our international relations. 0:07:21.200 --> 0:07:26.440 With regard to Yes Arafat? Yes, I extended invitation is 0:07:26.880 --> 0:07:31.360 not convenient or suitable to process or progress that at 0:07:31.400 --> 0:07:34.520 this time, and there's no inconsistency whatsoever. 0:07:35.880 --> 0:07:39.200 As you heard there that invitation was referred to as 0:07:39.200 --> 0:07:44.680 an embarrassment of international relations by a labor politician, Laurie Breton, 0:07:45.000 --> 0:07:50.760 an embarrassment. Well. Just today in Parliament, Albanezi admitted that 0:07:50.840 --> 0:07:54.960 he had been an advocate for the Palestinian cause his 0:07:55.120 --> 0:07:59.440 whole life. He was angry that protesters had been outside 0:07:59.440 --> 0:08:03.160 the office of MPs and that they were undermining that 0:08:03.480 --> 0:08:07.080 very cause, the cause of the Palestinians. That's what he 0:08:07.160 --> 0:08:10.000 seemed most angry about today. Have a look. 0:08:10.720 --> 0:08:14.720 I've supported justice for Palestinians my whole life and still do. 0:08:15.800 --> 0:08:19.840 It is tragic that the legitimate aspirations of the Palestinian 0:08:19.880 --> 0:08:25.040 people are undermined by some people engaging activity that completely 0:08:25.080 --> 0:08:29.080 alienates the Australian public due to the nature of that. 0:08:30.280 --> 0:08:33.440 No one should be targeted for who they are. The 0:08:33.559 --> 0:08:38.040 targeting of people because they are Jewish because people disagree 0:08:38.080 --> 0:08:40.240 with some of the actions of the net and Yahoo 0:08:40.280 --> 0:08:46.600 government are completely unacceptable. Political debate must be respectful. 0:08:47.520 --> 0:08:52.720 Again. Albanezi can't seem to mention antisemitism without also speaking 0:08:52.840 --> 0:08:57.160 about Islamophobia and justice for Palestinians. Have a look again 0:08:57.280 --> 0:08:58.200 at this from today. 0:09:00.440 --> 0:09:06.920 There's no place for any Semitism, prejudice of any sort, Islamophobia. 0:09:09.160 --> 0:09:09.360 Well. 0:09:09.480 --> 0:09:13.960 By contrast, Peter Dutton responded to the anti Semitism that's 0:09:13.960 --> 0:09:19.000 gripped Australia in a very powerful way today. He gave 0:09:19.280 --> 0:09:23.960 a remarkable and moving speech that expressed utter dismay for 0:09:24.000 --> 0:09:27.880 what Jewish Australians are dealing with, and he also referred 0:09:27.880 --> 0:09:31.280 to the event that we it Sky News held and 0:09:31.440 --> 0:09:34.240 took part in on Sunday evening. It was to fight 0:09:34.400 --> 0:09:38.559 anti Semitism. It was held at a Jewish school. Peter 0:09:38.640 --> 0:09:41.719 Dutton came and I interviewed him at that event, and 0:09:42.000 --> 0:09:44.360 that was part of his speech in Parliament today. 0:09:46.080 --> 0:09:49.840 Last week I was at a school in Sydney where 0:09:50.520 --> 0:09:55.040 armed guards have a permanent presence to protect young children 0:09:55.160 --> 0:09:59.839 going to school, to protect young kids going to day 0:10:00.000 --> 0:10:04.000 care centers. Not because they've done anything wrong, not because 0:10:04.040 --> 0:10:08.480 they're families have done anything wrong or stand for any 0:10:08.520 --> 0:10:13.000 bad cause, but because they are Jewish. That's why. And 0:10:13.040 --> 0:10:16.760 that has no place in our country whatsoever. It's not 0:10:16.840 --> 0:10:19.920 with any precedent in any other part of the country 0:10:21.200 --> 0:10:23.200 and it needs to be condemned. And what the Prime 0:10:23.200 --> 0:10:27.880 Minister does today in condemning the actions of those who seek, 0:10:27.920 --> 0:10:32.959 for their own political purposes and their own political advancement, 0:10:34.559 --> 0:10:37.720 to pour fuel on this fire, deserve condemnation of this chamber. 0:10:39.520 --> 0:10:43.880 That speech was very powerful, went for five minutes. That 0:10:44.200 --> 0:10:48.000 is leadership on anti Semitism, and that is the leadership 0:10:48.040 --> 0:10:50.959 we should have seen on this scourge from the Prime 0:10:51.000 --> 0:10:56.760 Minister since October seven instead, we have a pro Palestinian 0:10:56.800 --> 0:11:01.959 activist himself as Prime Minister, someone so radical that he 0:11:02.080 --> 0:11:06.000 protested on the side of Palestinians during the Second into 0:11:06.080 --> 0:11:10.199 Fata and is now leading our country down a dangerous 0:11:10.200 --> 0:11:20.240 path where social cohesion is eroding fast. Now tonight I'm 0:11:20.240 --> 0:11:23.440 going to hear from Shadow Home Affairs Minister James Patterson 0:11:23.559 --> 0:11:25.800 about this topic. We're going to bring him on live 0:11:25.960 --> 0:11:29.839 later in the show and heal express his view about 0:11:29.880 --> 0:11:33.760 Albanese's past as a pro Palestinian protester. That's going to 0:11:33.760 --> 0:11:36.240 be a very strong interview coming up in the show. 0:11:36.920 --> 0:11:41.600 Also tonight, Australia's GDP hits, COVID lows, confirming that we're 0:11:41.600 --> 0:11:45.280 in for a long per capita recession, and the woke 0:11:45.360 --> 0:11:50.040 e Safety Commissioner finally drops the absurd court battle against 0:11:50.160 --> 0:11:53.440 Elon Musk. This is a win for free speech. We'll 0:11:53.440 --> 0:11:56.959 have more on that coming up. Well, let's go now 0:11:57.040 --> 0:12:00.640 to the economic data we saw today, the weakest economic 0:12:00.640 --> 0:12:04.559 growth rate apart from COVID since the nineteen ninety one recession. 0:12:04.960 --> 0:12:08.040 The latest figures show GDP only grew by zero point 0:12:08.120 --> 0:12:11.520 one percent in the first quarter of the year. Joining 0:12:11.559 --> 0:12:15.120 me now Tonight's political Panel Labor MP Andrew Charlton, a 0:12:15.240 --> 0:12:19.560 National Senate leader, Bridget Mackenzie Andrew Bridget, welcome to you both. 0:12:20.040 --> 0:12:23.600 Look Andrew, we've avoided a technical recession so far, but 0:12:23.800 --> 0:12:28.319 there is a per capita recession for ordinary Australians. How 0:12:28.320 --> 0:12:30.760 tough is it at the moment? And what else does 0:12:30.800 --> 0:12:31.760 this data tell us? 0:12:34.120 --> 0:12:38.000 Well, you're right, Shari, per capita GDP growth has been 0:12:38.080 --> 0:12:41.360 low in Australia and it was low again this quarter. 0:12:41.840 --> 0:12:44.199 But I think it's important to remember about per capita 0:12:44.440 --> 0:12:47.600 GDP that it is quite a volatile series and countries 0:12:47.679 --> 0:12:50.720 right around the world have been struggling with low per 0:12:50.760 --> 0:12:55.359 capita GDP growth since before COVID. If you compare Australia 0:12:55.400 --> 0:12:59.439 to other peer countries over that timeframe, Australia actually does 0:12:59.520 --> 0:13:02.880 much better on a per capita GDP basis than Britain, 0:13:03.080 --> 0:13:07.559 than Japan, then New Zealand, than Canada, than the Euro Area. 0:13:08.240 --> 0:13:11.400 So I think those per capita numbers do speak to 0:13:11.440 --> 0:13:14.199 the struggle that many families are experiencing at the moment, 0:13:14.480 --> 0:13:17.040 but it's certainly not a problem unique to Australia or 0:13:17.120 --> 0:13:21.520 unique to this time. More broadly, on the economic numbers. 0:13:21.640 --> 0:13:24.480 I think it shows that the government has its fiscal 0:13:24.520 --> 0:13:27.760 settings right. You know, we received a lot of criticism 0:13:27.800 --> 0:13:30.000 around the budget that we hadn't cut enough, that the 0:13:30.000 --> 0:13:35.120 budget surplus wasn't big enough that we should have gone further. Well, 0:13:35.120 --> 0:13:37.679 now we can see that since the economy is as 0:13:37.760 --> 0:13:39.640 weak as it is, it actually would have been a 0:13:39.720 --> 0:13:43.559 terrible mistake to take that advice, and instead the government 0:13:43.600 --> 0:13:47.880 with a modest, prudes prudent surplus, got the balance right 0:13:48.120 --> 0:13:52.000 between bringing down inflation and making sure that we didn't 0:13:52.200 --> 0:13:53.680 push the economy under. 0:13:54.400 --> 0:13:56.640 Bridget What do you think do you think the economic 0:13:56.760 --> 0:14:00.440 data today shows that the government did get the settings 0:14:00.520 --> 0:14:01.880 right in the budget. 0:14:03.000 --> 0:14:05.319 Well, I think we've got anemic growth at the moment. 0:14:05.360 --> 0:14:08.840 We heard from the Reserve Bank governor today in Senate 0:14:09.000 --> 0:14:12.280 Estimates who made it very very clear that she. 0:14:12.360 --> 0:14:14.680 Wasn't looking at bringing it interesst rates down. 0:14:14.559 --> 0:14:18.600 Anytime soon, which means for way journers and mortgage holders 0:14:18.600 --> 0:14:22.080 in Australia, they're still going to feel the pinch for 0:14:22.120 --> 0:14:25.240 a long long time to come. And the reason is 0:14:25.240 --> 0:14:29.160 because we know inflation is now homegrown by this government's 0:14:29.720 --> 0:14:34.120 record spending twenty seven point six percent of GDP, highest 0:14:34.160 --> 0:14:37.920 on record, even the peaks through COVID, which means there 0:14:37.960 --> 0:14:41.840 is no incentive for the Reserve Bank governor governor to 0:14:41.880 --> 0:14:46.080 actually put downward pressure on interest rates. And that's the 0:14:46.160 --> 0:14:49.920 thing that's really killing everyday Australians in our suburbs and 0:14:49.960 --> 0:14:50.760 regional capitals. 0:14:50.800 --> 0:14:53.600 And if you like everything else is index. 0:14:53.320 --> 0:14:56.920 Your pension's index, youth allowances index, et cetera. All these 0:14:56.960 --> 0:15:00.680 other government payments are indexed. The only people that aren't 0:15:00.680 --> 0:15:05.160 getting index relief here in the face of inflation our 0:15:05.160 --> 0:15:06.720 way journals and mortgage holders. 0:15:06.720 --> 0:15:09.040 And the government needs to get it spending under. 0:15:08.840 --> 0:15:12.280 Control instead of flooding the economy with money. 0:15:12.000 --> 0:15:13.520 Which is exactly what they've been doing. 0:15:13.520 --> 0:15:16.640 And I did note that there were Labor senators today 0:15:17.360 --> 0:15:21.760 seeking to shame and blame shift the woes of our 0:15:21.800 --> 0:15:25.360 economy onto the shoulders of Michelle Bullock from the Reserve Bank. 0:15:25.640 --> 0:15:26.880 She wasn't having any of it. 0:15:26.920 --> 0:15:29.720 She's not going to be making political decisions on interest 0:15:29.800 --> 0:15:30.480 rates to suit. 0:15:30.520 --> 0:15:33.400 Jim Chalmers, sure if I could just jump in there. 0:15:33.400 --> 0:15:34.800 You know, it's great to be back on the show 0:15:34.800 --> 0:15:37.480 with Bridget, but what she just said is really confused. 0:15:37.840 --> 0:15:40.080 On the one hand, she's saying that the economy is 0:15:40.160 --> 0:15:43.520 really weak, that we've got anemic growth was the words 0:15:43.560 --> 0:15:45.600 that she uses point But on the other hand, she's 0:15:45.640 --> 0:15:48.320 saying that labor has got a big spending budget and 0:15:48.360 --> 0:15:51.320 can't control the spending. So she's suggesting that we should 0:15:51.360 --> 0:15:54.240 be spending less and is she willing to cop the 0:15:54.240 --> 0:15:56.840 consequences of what that would mean for a country in 0:15:57.040 --> 0:15:57.840 anemic growth? 0:15:59.160 --> 0:16:01.000 For your she's trying to say. 0:16:02.480 --> 0:16:06.600 Patronizing, Yeah, that's true, let's get bridgie, let's get only leavers. 0:16:07.920 --> 0:16:11.240 The only lever that is actually left is to see 0:16:11.280 --> 0:16:12.440 a rise in unemployment. 0:16:12.840 --> 0:16:15.880 So the strategy actually underlying the Labor Party at the 0:16:15.880 --> 0:16:19.680 moment is that they're hoping and their policies will actually 0:16:19.880 --> 0:16:24.400 result in people losing their jobs to actually ensure that 0:16:24.440 --> 0:16:27.880 the fiscal settings work in a way that will bring 0:16:27.960 --> 0:16:31.440 interest rates down quicker than I think Michelle Bullip would. 0:16:31.240 --> 0:16:33.560 Be planning to do so. And it's not me, it's 0:16:33.600 --> 0:16:34.360 the economists. 0:16:34.680 --> 0:16:38.240 All right, let's move on to another topic. Defense ministers 0:16:38.320 --> 0:16:42.240 Richard Miles and his junior Matt Keo seem to be 0:16:42.600 --> 0:16:45.040 have some struggles today. Put it that way, keeping their 0:16:45.080 --> 0:16:49.120 stories straight. There were mixed messages on which foreign residents 0:16:49.360 --> 0:16:51.960 would soon be able to join the Australian Defense FOSS. 0:16:52.040 --> 0:16:52.720 Let's have a look. 0:16:53.920 --> 0:16:57.600 Well, in terms of who we're focusing on, we've really 0:16:57.680 --> 0:17:03.280 articulated that New Zealand, Five Eyes the Pacific. But what 0:17:03.280 --> 0:17:08.120 we're focusing on is New Zealand, five Eyes and the Pacific. 0:17:08.040 --> 0:17:09.760 The first of January twenty twenty five. 0:17:09.800 --> 0:17:12.920 It'll apply to other five ized countries and permanent residents 0:17:12.920 --> 0:17:13.639 from any other. 0:17:13.520 --> 0:17:19.040 Countries, many other countries. Andrew Charlton, instead of allowing foreigners 0:17:19.040 --> 0:17:21.880 to join the ADF, why not do a better job 0:17:21.920 --> 0:17:26.280 at improving the organization so that it appeals to young Australians. 0:17:28.160 --> 0:17:30.359 Well, I think we have to do that as well, Jari. 0:17:30.520 --> 0:17:34.560 You know, for the last nine years, the recruitment into 0:17:34.600 --> 0:17:36.840 the ADF has not been where it needs to be 0:17:37.640 --> 0:17:40.600 and that has left us with some capability gaps that 0:17:40.640 --> 0:17:43.680 we need to be acting to fill. And that means 0:17:43.800 --> 0:17:47.080 making sure that joining the armed forces is an attractive 0:17:47.080 --> 0:17:51.919 proposition for young Australians, that they are supported, trained and 0:17:51.960 --> 0:17:55.560 given career pathways through the armed forces. That means that 0:17:55.560 --> 0:17:58.000 we can attract the best young people in to defend 0:17:58.040 --> 0:18:02.000 this country. And what the Defense Minister is saying is 0:18:02.040 --> 0:18:04.960 now we're also looking at options to use people who 0:18:04.960 --> 0:18:07.439 have been in Australia for a long time from New Zealand, 0:18:07.440 --> 0:18:10.679 from other like minded countries and not preventing those people 0:18:10.720 --> 0:18:13.399 from joining the armed forces if they meet the criteria 0:18:13.440 --> 0:18:14.360 that are set out for them. 0:18:14.800 --> 0:18:17.439 Bridget, do you agree with the proposal to allow like 0:18:17.480 --> 0:18:21.520 minded countries America, New Zealand, Canada, other Five Eyes nations 0:18:21.800 --> 0:18:23.440 to join our adf. 0:18:24.640 --> 0:18:27.680 Well, I think the Australian citizenry is the most precious 0:18:27.720 --> 0:18:30.920 gift that you can give somebody. We should all be 0:18:31.040 --> 0:18:34.560 prepared to do everything in our power to defend our 0:18:34.640 --> 0:18:37.360 country and we need to make sure the Defense Force. 0:18:37.400 --> 0:18:38.880 To Andrew's point, and I agree. 0:18:38.680 --> 0:18:42.040 With him on this, is that the selection criteria needs 0:18:42.080 --> 0:18:44.760 to be broad enough to make sure that more young 0:18:44.800 --> 0:18:47.679 Australians not only seated as an attractive. 0:18:47.440 --> 0:18:49.560 Career, but also you can get in. 0:18:49.640 --> 0:18:52.880 We got evidence in Senate estimates an hour or two 0:18:52.880 --> 0:18:57.119 ago where finally you're going to let people who have braces, 0:18:57.440 --> 0:18:59.639 have had braces into the Defense Force, et cetera. So 0:18:59.680 --> 0:19:02.000 remove some of those barriers I think is could. But 0:19:02.040 --> 0:19:03.879 at the end of the day Shari. We're not the 0:19:03.920 --> 0:19:07.119 foreign legion. I don't think we need to be bringing 0:19:07.160 --> 0:19:12.400 in non Australians to help us defend our own. We 0:19:12.440 --> 0:19:15.440 need to make sure the ADF is fit for purpose 0:19:15.880 --> 0:19:18.240 and employing Australian citizens. 0:19:19.000 --> 0:19:23.560 Now, just before we go, we've seen elections in India. Look, 0:19:23.640 --> 0:19:26.359 this is an area a foreign policy that you follow 0:19:26.440 --> 0:19:31.680 particularly closely, Andrew Charlton. Prime Minister ner Andre Modi will 0:19:31.680 --> 0:19:35.000 now have to rely on coalition partners, it's been reported 0:19:35.320 --> 0:19:39.360 to form government. Are you surprised, Andrew by this result? 0:19:41.280 --> 0:19:43.879 Look, I think the results certainly defied the exit polls, 0:19:43.920 --> 0:19:47.639 and they defied many people's predictions. You've got to remember 0:19:47.720 --> 0:19:50.920 that an Indian election is really a marvel of logistics. 0:19:51.000 --> 0:19:54.000 It takes many weeks. There are nearly a billion people 0:19:54.080 --> 0:19:57.800 who are eligible voters. And I think, for me, one 0:19:57.840 --> 0:20:00.800 thing that this result shows, which was much closer than 0:20:00.840 --> 0:20:04.280 people predicted. It certainly wasn't the walkover by a Prime 0:20:04.280 --> 0:20:07.600 Minister Modi that had been expected in some quarters. It 0:20:07.720 --> 0:20:11.800 shows that Indian democracy is alive and well. They have 0:20:11.880 --> 0:20:17.280 a strongly contested democracy, vigorous political parties and an election 0:20:17.440 --> 0:20:21.480 process which was free of claims of fraud or interference, 0:20:21.880 --> 0:20:24.520 and has delivered a return of the Modi government, albeit 0:20:24.680 --> 0:20:25.720 with a smaller majority. 0:20:26.520 --> 0:20:29.919 Apart from an economic textbook, You've actually written in a 0:20:29.960 --> 0:20:31.600 book on India, Andrew, haven't you. 0:20:33.720 --> 0:20:34.080 That's right. 0:20:34.119 --> 0:20:36.920 Yeah, I wrote a book about Australia's engagement with India 0:20:36.920 --> 0:20:39.920 and the importance of that relationship to Australia in the future. 0:20:40.520 --> 0:20:42.640 The point of the book is that I don't think 0:20:42.680 --> 0:20:45.440 there are many other nations in the world that will 0:20:45.440 --> 0:20:48.679 shape Australia's future as much as India. It is the 0:20:48.840 --> 0:20:52.160 largest country in the world by population, It is about 0:20:52.200 --> 0:20:54.560 to become the third largest economy in the world. It 0:20:54.600 --> 0:20:57.640 has the fastest growing military capability, and it's on track 0:20:57.720 --> 0:21:01.080 to become a full blown superpower that will shape our 0:21:01.119 --> 0:21:02.560 region and Australia within it. 0:21:02.720 --> 0:21:06.399 And unlike other superpowers, it's actually a democracy, which I 0:21:06.440 --> 0:21:09.840 think is super exciting. And I think Modi's whole vision 0:21:10.040 --> 0:21:15.199 to make India a developed country by its independence centenary 0:21:15.480 --> 0:21:18.399 in twenty forty seven, I think is something the Indian 0:21:18.440 --> 0:21:20.080 public want to see achieved. 0:21:20.640 --> 0:21:21.960 Bridget and I agree. 0:21:23.520 --> 0:21:27.040 Tonight. For once, Andrew Charlton Bridget Mackenzie, thank you both 0:21:27.200 --> 0:21:30.160 so much. For your time now. As we've been talking about, 0:21:30.200 --> 0:21:32.879 our economy is at a stound steel growth, falling to 0:21:33.000 --> 0:21:36.200 zero point one percent in the March Quieter, the weakest 0:21:36.200 --> 0:21:39.960 growth in decades here was treasurer at Jim Chalmers today. 0:21:41.280 --> 0:21:44.239 The primary cause of this very weak growth in our 0:21:44.280 --> 0:21:49.360 economy was higher interest rates, but in combination with moderating 0:21:49.440 --> 0:21:55.200 but persistent inflation and global economic uncertainty. Over the past year, 0:21:55.440 --> 0:22:00.199 something like three quarters of OECD economies have recorded a 0:22:00.240 --> 0:22:04.000 negative quarter, while Australia has avoided one to date. 0:22:05.440 --> 0:22:08.679 And IRBA Governor Michelle Bullock wand and Senate estimates that 0:22:08.840 --> 0:22:12.120 any decision to raise interest rates would be driven by 0:22:12.160 --> 0:22:15.720 the data. Here, she was if it. 0:22:15.280 --> 0:22:19.359 Turns out, for example, that inflation starts to go up again, 0:22:19.480 --> 0:22:21.639 or it's much sticky than we think, we're not getting 0:22:21.640 --> 0:22:24.320 it down, then we won't hesitate to move and raise 0:22:24.320 --> 0:22:27.960 interest rates again. In contrast, if it turns out that 0:22:28.040 --> 0:22:30.840 the economy is much weaker than expected and that puts 0:22:30.840 --> 0:22:34.200 more downward pressure on inflation, then we'll be looking to ease. 0:22:35.240 --> 0:22:39.480 All right, Harold Sign's business legend Terry mccron joins me now, Terry, 0:22:39.640 --> 0:22:42.840 great to see you again. What's your analysis of this 0:22:43.119 --> 0:22:45.199 data today? And I'm sure you would have heard the 0:22:45.280 --> 0:22:48.800 views of Andrew Charlton and Bridget mackenzie just a minute ago. 0:22:51.119 --> 0:22:53.479 Well, Chie, I think that Michelle, I'm is glad that 0:22:53.520 --> 0:22:56.439 you showed the full quote because the meda is turnded 0:22:56.440 --> 0:22:58.720 only focus on the first part of what she said 0:22:59.080 --> 0:23:02.400 that she wouldn't hesitate take to raise interest rates if 0:23:02.440 --> 0:23:06.600 inflation proved sticky or went up. But she also said 0:23:06.680 --> 0:23:10.520 that she wouldn't hesitate to cut interest rates if the 0:23:10.600 --> 0:23:14.240 economy was sicker than she believed it was. So that's 0:23:14.320 --> 0:23:16.159 very important to bear in mind because we have a 0:23:16.320 --> 0:23:20.280 very messy economy. We have an economy which is very sick. 0:23:21.040 --> 0:23:25.040 It's not performing, it's not growing, as you've indicated, it's 0:23:25.080 --> 0:23:29.080 basically standing still despite this massive inflow of migrants, which 0:23:29.640 --> 0:23:33.520 dramatically add to demand or should be boosting the economy, 0:23:34.800 --> 0:23:38.080 but it's also got this persistent inflation problem. This is 0:23:38.160 --> 0:23:41.840 not a conventional situation showing where the economy is either 0:23:42.160 --> 0:23:46.080 in recession and inflation is low, so you cut interest 0:23:46.119 --> 0:23:49.840 rates to boost the economy, or the opposite, where inflation 0:23:50.040 --> 0:23:52.480 is up but the economy is booming, so you try 0:23:52.480 --> 0:23:55.760 to slow things down. This is a very messy situation, 0:23:56.240 --> 0:23:59.720 and it's not caused as charmers were suggesting by the 0:23:59.680 --> 0:24:03.800 result they put out interest rates. Certainly that's been a negative, 0:24:04.240 --> 0:24:07.920 But the real problems are what the government has been doing, 0:24:08.400 --> 0:24:10.480 what has been doing to energy, what has been doing 0:24:10.480 --> 0:24:14.760 to costs, what has been doing so damagingly to employers 0:24:14.800 --> 0:24:17.840 in business, not just small business, but business across the board. 0:24:17.960 --> 0:24:22.440 You're talking about productivity here, you're talking about the slow productivity. 0:24:22.480 --> 0:24:25.480 All of that charity, all of that charity exactly the 0:24:25.560 --> 0:24:30.000 sort of things that are anti productivity, anti growth, anti 0:24:30.119 --> 0:24:34.600 encouragement to business to actually make investments and to employ people, 0:24:35.000 --> 0:24:37.040 and to really think that the only thing that counts 0:24:37.040 --> 0:24:39.600 in this economy is building more and more roads and 0:24:39.680 --> 0:24:44.600 rail and infrastructure to house all those migrants. And also 0:24:45.880 --> 0:24:49.120 you know the mad rush to renewable energy. 0:24:49.600 --> 0:24:52.760 I mean, we weren't expecting this, were we. There was 0:24:52.800 --> 0:24:54.920 a lot of discussion that we'd be even seeing rate 0:24:55.000 --> 0:24:58.440 cuts later this year. That seems to be disappearing fast. 0:25:00.119 --> 0:25:00.320 Well. 0:25:00.359 --> 0:25:03.960 As Michelle Bullet made very clear, the reserve bankers trying 0:25:04.000 --> 0:25:08.400 to balance and sit on this very narrow path gently 0:25:08.600 --> 0:25:12.440 putting pressure on inflation. She's prepared to have inflation take 0:25:12.520 --> 0:25:14.440 till the end of next year to get back into 0:25:14.440 --> 0:25:18.360 its target because she doesn't want to sound unemployment rocketing 0:25:18.520 --> 0:25:22.639 up very sharply, and by and large she's managed to 0:25:22.680 --> 0:25:25.720