Speaker 1: Why. On Sky News This is Sharry.
Speaker 2: Good Evening tonight, a major exclusive, Penny Wong rejected the
Speaker 2: recommendation of Australia's diplomats and instead she supported the United
Speaker 2: Nations resolution recognizing Palestinian sovereignty. The Foreign Minister now in
Speaker 2: hot water over why she went against the advice of
Speaker 2: Australia's mission to the UN that full scoop in a moment.
Speaker 2: Also tonight, Chris Bowen and Anthony Albanezi think they know
Speaker 2: better than the rest of the world as they refuse
Speaker 2: to sign up to a nuclear pact with our greatest
Speaker 2: allies and orcast partners. And my exclusive interview with Deepak Chopra,
Speaker 2: he unloads on RFK Junior and even Donald Trump with
Speaker 2: the world famous spiritual guru explaining why he'll no longer
Speaker 2: follow politics.
Speaker 3: He doesn't look like the perfect example of you know,
Speaker 3: somebody who could tackle OBISTI.
Speaker 2: Himself, and that's a rare rebuke from DPAK on RFK
Speaker 2: that's coming up a bit later, and he also gives
Speaker 2: advice on how to find more time to spend with
Speaker 2: the people you love. But first tonight I can exclusively
Speaker 2: reveal that Foreign Minister Penniwong's decision to support the UN
Speaker 2: resolution recognizing Palestinian sovereignty went against the recommendation and submission
Speaker 2: from Australia's Mission to the United Nations. Our diplomats over
Speaker 2: at the UN recommended that Australia should, like our allies America,
Speaker 2: Canada and Israel, abstain from this resolution and not support it,
Speaker 2: in keeping with Australia's position over the past decade, but
Speaker 2: Pennywog overruled them, making effectively a captain's call. I also
Speaker 2: understand this decision didn't go to either Cabinet all the
Speaker 2: National Security Committee of Cabinet. Again, this was a decision
Speaker 2: from Pennywog and her pro Palestinian partner in crime, Anthony Albanesi.
Speaker 2: I do understand that Senator Wong consulted with some Cabinet colleagues,
Speaker 2: but not all on the decision. This decision blindsided the
Speaker 2: Canadian mission, which had been under the impression that Australia
Speaker 2: would continue to abstain now after this change in position.
Speaker 2: Australia's Mission to the UN was then instructed by the
Speaker 2: Albanese government to inform partner countries of the government's decision,
Speaker 2: but it wasn't just Canada that was horrified. There was
Speaker 2: shocked reaction to this here in Australia as well. It
Speaker 2: was widely reported that this was Pennywog caving into and
Speaker 2: even rewarding the terrorism of October seven by recognizing Palestinian's
Speaker 2: sovereignty despite no answers over exactly who would lead a
Speaker 2: Palestinian state, I mean surely not Hermus, and no demands
Speaker 2: that they accept Israel's right to exist. As you know,
Speaker 2: the Nightly Round a cover saying Pennywong rewards Hermus terrorists
Speaker 2: by shifting government's un stance on palestine sovereign status and
Speaker 2: that image there of course harkening back to the Gates
Speaker 2: of Auschwitz. Chris Kenny, in a sensational editorial, said that
Speaker 2: this was a capitulation to extremists and terrorism, and also
Speaker 2: a surrender to base electoral politics. He said that Albinizi
Speaker 2: and Wang should think about whether Humas even once piece
Speaker 2: before trying to reward it with what he described as
Speaker 2: a make believe state still under terrorist control.
Speaker 4: This is not only grotesque, it's absurd, because neither Hamas,
Speaker 4: nor Isbelah, nor Islamic g Hard nor Iran will ever
Speaker 4: accept and implement the establishment of a Palestinian state that
Speaker 4: requires recognition and security for the state of Israel.
Speaker 1: This is idiotic.
Speaker 4: Because there has never been a Palestinian state, and every
Speaker 4: time one has been on offer, it's the Palestinians who
Speaker 4: have rejected it, preferring to back Islam's terra outfits like
Speaker 4: Hummas who want to kill Jews and eliminate Israel.
Speaker 2: Yeah, and that's the point that Bill Clinton made on
Speaker 2: the campaign trail, and he should know his efforts at
Speaker 2: the Camp David summit were stymied by the Palestinians.
Speaker 5: All this was offered, they said no. And I think
Speaker 5: part of it is that Hamas did not care about
Speaker 5: a homeland for the Palestinians. They wanted to kill Israelis
Speaker 5: and make Israel uninhabitable.
Speaker 2: And his whole speech which was brilliant, and Penny Wong
Speaker 2: should listen to it. But Alexander Downa had some of
Speaker 2: his own advice for Penny Wong, from one former foreign
Speaker 2: minister to the current one.
Speaker 6: If I were in government today, therefore, I could give
Speaker 6: a bit of advice to Penny Wong and the Labor government.
Speaker 6: I would think about drafting a resolution which demanded that
Speaker 6: Hamas hand over the one hundred or so hostages that
Speaker 6: they're still holding and cease attax on Israel.
Speaker 2: How about that suggestion. The Australian also reported that this
Speaker 2: decision by the government was deepening Australia's rift with the
Speaker 2: United States on Israel. The Biden administration was unequivocal in
Speaker 2: condemning this one sided UN resolution, and their diplomat Nicholas
Speaker 2: Kovell said that the resolution would actually undermine hopes for
Speaker 2: an end to the war.
Speaker 7: One sided resolutions will not help advance peace, not when
Speaker 7: they ignore the facts on the ground. One sided resolutions
Speaker 7: are purely rhetorical documents that seek to divide us at
Speaker 7: a time when we should be coming together.
Speaker 2: And he also spoke about the persistent bias at the
Speaker 2: United Nations against Israel, and that's from the Biden administration.
Speaker 2: We know how much stronger Donald Trump's team is going
Speaker 2: to be. So tonight right now, I'm reporting that this
Speaker 2: decision by Australia to vote with this one sided resolution
Speaker 2: was done against the advice of our own bureaucrats and diplomats.
Speaker 2: And this is the first time Australia has supported this
Speaker 2: resolution against Israel. No explanation has been offered for what's
Speaker 2: changed to mean that Australia would now support this resolution.
Speaker 7: Well.
Speaker 2: I asked Pennywong today for comment on this, and her
Speaker 2: spokesperson said, and I quote, while Australia does not agree
Speaker 2: with everything in the resolution, this vote reflects international concern
Speaker 2: about Israeli actions that impede access to natural resources and
Speaker 2: ongoing settlement activity, land dispossession, demolitions and settler violence against Palestinians.
Speaker 2: She said, We've been clear that such acts undermine stability
Speaker 2: and prospects for a true state solution. This vote is
Speaker 2: consistent with the priority we place on building momentum towards
Speaker 2: a true state solution. Well, I would have thought that
Speaker 2: the terrorist attacks on October seven and ever since do
Speaker 2: much more to undermine a true state solution. Now the
Speaker 2: only explanation I can see is that the Albanesi government
Speaker 2: is once again putting domestic politics first. They've never been
Speaker 2: strong supporters of Israel, to say the least. As you know,
Speaker 2: Albanesi was a pro Palestinian activist yelling into a megaphone
Speaker 2: at a rally where American and Israeli flags were burned.
Speaker 2: I lament every day that this is the government we've
Speaker 2: been dealt with at this single point in time when
Speaker 2: anti Semitism is the worst it's been since the Holocaust,
Speaker 2: A weak, ineffective anti Israel government and we need better
Speaker 2: than this. Plenty is still to come on tonight's show.
Speaker 2: My interview with world renowned guru Deepak Chopra coming up.
Speaker 2: Plus lawyer Justin quill would join me to discuss Labour's
Speaker 2: all but dead Misinformation Bill. But now let's bring in
Speaker 2: former Victorian Liberal Party president Michael Kroger and former Labor
Speaker 2: Minister Graham Richardson. Welcome to you both. Michael, I'm going
Speaker 2: to get your reaction to this breaking news. My revelation
Speaker 2: now that Penny Wang rejected the advice of Australian diplomats
Speaker 2: and instead supported this one sided resolution against Israel.
Speaker 8: Well, as you've reported, she discussed it with Elbow, a
Speaker 8: handful of others, but in the end she's decided. Pennywong
Speaker 8: on the Middle East, Pennywong is an extremist. You look
Speaker 8: at her record, it's disgraceful from October seven onwards. The
Speaker 8: things she has done are not done which are well known,
Speaker 8: show that this is a hard left political figure who
Speaker 8: is Auntie Israel and who is pandering to the Muslim
Speaker 8: vote in New South Wales to try and hang on
Speaker 8: to those three seats. I mean, this is a race
Speaker 8: to the bottom by Penny Wong. It's a disgrace. Bob
Speaker 8: Hawk would be turning in his grave to hear and
Speaker 8: see what she has done as Foreign Minister in relation
Speaker 8: to the Middle East, and she and Albanezi will go
Speaker 8: down in Australian history as the two people that were
Speaker 8: in charge of this country when he said Semitism Jewish
Speaker 8: hatred reached appalling and disgraceful levels. And just like vegetables
Speaker 8: sitting in the garden, they did nothing. They did nothing.
Speaker 8: They let this happen. He's a weakened, p athetic Prime
Speaker 8: Minister and Penny Wong is a disgrace to this nation.
Speaker 2: Quite frankly well said Michael Kroger. Now, rich O, look
Speaker 2: there's no cover for Penny one here because there's been
Speaker 2: no explanation given for why Australia changed its position. Canada didn't,
Speaker 2: the US didn't, and yet Australia did. It was against
Speaker 2: the advice I've just revealed of Australia's mission to the
Speaker 2: United Nation. This didn't go to cabinet or the National
Speaker 2: Security Committee of Cabinet. So you know what can possibly
Speaker 2: be the reason what's changed. It is rewarding terrorism, isn't it.
Speaker 9: I can't see anything that's changed, but I can see
Speaker 9: a very bad decision has been made. Penny's a friend
Speaker 9: of mine, but she got this wrong. I think, very wrong,
Speaker 9: and I don't think it does Australia any credit whatsoever.
Speaker 2: Well, Richard, clearly these decisions are because of concerns about
Speaker 2: marginal seats in Western Sydney, also concerns about votes moving
Speaker 2: towards the Greens. Do you think this is how Labour
Speaker 2: should be reacting by compromising our national security and compromising
Speaker 2: proper values.
Speaker 9: Whenever you compromise your own principles, you cannot possibly be
Speaker 9: doing any good. People see through you in a minute,
Speaker 9: in a second, and I think in a nanosecond, as
Speaker 9: far as I'm concerned, this is just a very bad decision.
Speaker 9: I hope that some people in the cabinet raise the
Speaker 9: issue and get a proper cabinet discussion going, because I
Speaker 9: have a feeling you get a different decision out of
Speaker 9: the cabinet if it was properly debated.
Speaker 2: Yeah, we'll see. But clearly not all cabinet ministers are
Speaker 2: happy about that decision, that's for sure. Are you hearing
Speaker 2: that as well, rich O, yes, I am. So you've
Speaker 2: spoken to cabinet ministers who are disappointed with this decision?
Speaker 1: I have, indeed, do you.
Speaker 2: Want to name names?
Speaker 1: No?
Speaker 9: No, I don't think that'll be exactly Yeah, I wouldn't
Speaker 9: be good from my future that alone, there is, but.
Speaker 2: That is significant. So Graham Richardson has just revealed live
Speaker 2: on air that he has spoken to cabinet ministers in
Speaker 2: the Albanezy government who are not happy with the decision
Speaker 2: that I've reported tonight was a captain's call by Penny Wong.
Speaker 2: I think that is significant. So we'll see how that
Speaker 2: plays out in the Labor Party. Let's have a look
Speaker 2: at nuclear energy now, and of course the Energy Minister
Speaker 2: Chris Bowen has many have said, humiliated our country on
Speaker 2: the global stage. Australia has refused to sign the nuclear
Speaker 2: agreement from our Orchist partners and our other allies at
Speaker 2: the COP twenty nine climate change talks. Now we are
Speaker 2: clearly seeing this play out. This was a big issue
Speaker 2: in Question Time today, Let's have a look at what
Speaker 2: Peter Dutton had to.
Speaker 10: Say at COP twenty nine and additional six nations endorsed
Speaker 10: the declaration to triple nuclear energy.
Speaker 1: By twenty fifty.
Speaker 10: Why is it the old Nisy government signing up to
Speaker 10: the same agreement.
Speaker 4: Why is the Albanezi Labor government out of step with
Speaker 4: the rest of the world which is increasingly taking up
Speaker 4: civil nuclear energy. Why does the Albanesi government remain so
Speaker 4: stubbornly opposed to.
Speaker 11: Exploring this proven zero emissions energy source.
Speaker 2: So michae I mean, the question is what does Chris
Speaker 2: Bowen think He knows that the other thirty or so
Speaker 2: world leaders who are pursuing nuclear energy as part of
Speaker 2: their energy mix, you know that they don't know.
Speaker 8: What he knows is that the Labor Party since the
Speaker 8: nineteen seventies have opposed the mining industry, the uranium industry,
Speaker 8: the coal industry, the gas industry, anything coming out of
Speaker 8: the ground. They opposed variety of logical reasons. It was
Speaker 8: student political stuff when I was at Monitor in the
Speaker 8: nineteen seventies. They haven't grown up. They're still run by
Speaker 8: student political activists to sort of ban uranium mining.
Speaker 1: Blah blah, blah.
Speaker 8: They can't grow out of this, this fifty year old
Speaker 8: trauma that they're suffering from, that anything coming out of
Speaker 8: the ground is bad. They dislike the mining companies.
Speaker 1: They always have.
Speaker 8: This is all ideological, it's fifty years old. It's another
Speaker 8: reason why this government is just an embarrassment on the
Speaker 8: international stage. We see Graham Lloyd wrote in The Australia Today.
Speaker 8: We're part of this group called Generation four Forum, which
Speaker 8: is an international forum of countries looking to develop nuclear energy,
Speaker 8: and we're a member of it. We've been a member
Speaker 8: for the whole two years of Alberanisi's government. He hasn't
Speaker 8: seemed to notice. And there's an Australian I know whose
Speaker 8: chairman are one of the most important subcommittees. So we're
Speaker 8: heavily involved internationally in the development of nuclear technology. Elbows
Speaker 8: just worked it out. Bowen's over there embarrassing in the country.
Speaker 8: This is a losing argument for labor. This is a
Speaker 8: really losing argument. They look like you know yesterday, yesterday's
Speaker 8: government quite frankly, Well, Richard, do.
Speaker 2: You think Australia should be energy agnostic when it comes
Speaker 2: to this and do you think the opposition from federal
Speaker 2: labor is purely ideological.
Speaker 9: I'm going to say I would prefer to not rule
Speaker 9: out nuclear options for the future. We don't know whether
Speaker 9: technology will eventually go and to say no at this
Speaker 9: point seems to me to be ridiculous. So now I
Speaker 9: am opposed to my own party on this.
Speaker 2: And do you think the opposition that we are seeing
Speaker 2: is just ideological rather than based on any sound principles.
Speaker 9: Well, it's certainly not based on science, that's for sure.
Speaker 9: So as far as I'm concerned, we ought to be
Speaker 9: standing up to that kind of negatism negativism, and we
Speaker 9: ought to be saying this is a technology that's worth pursuing.
Speaker 2: All right, I want to get your thoughts on Kevin Rud.
Speaker 2: Michael Kroger. You've got as hard as anyone on Kevin
Speaker 2: Rud's ability to work with Trump as the new ambassador.
Speaker 2: We know we reported at first here that he called
Speaker 2: Trump a village idiot. Will now he says he's finally
Speaker 2: ready to work with a president elect. Have a look.
Speaker 1: Here at the embassy.
Speaker 11: We've been working hard through the course of the last
Speaker 11: year to ensure that we were well prepared for this moment,
Speaker 11: and the bottom line is We're ready. The team here
Speaker 11: at the embassy and the Government of Australia are ready
Speaker 11: to work closely with the new Trump administration to continue
Speaker 11: to realize the benefits of what is a very strong
Speaker 11: economic and security partnership.
Speaker 2: And I should mention that Andrew bolt On edges before me.
Speaker 2: He reported that perhaps Team Trump isn't taking Rudd's phone calls. So,
Speaker 2: Michael Kroger, do you still have concerns about whether right
Speaker 2: is the right man for the job of our ambassador
Speaker 2: in Washington.
Speaker 1: Well, on the.
Speaker 8: Basis of what Andrew bolt revealed tonight, that those reservations
Speaker 8: are confirmed. I mean the people, let's say Trump forgives
Speaker 8: people criticize him. I've got to remember this the two
Speaker 8: example sided JD. Vance and Marca Rubio. These are ranking
Speaker 8: US senators. These aren't a lowly ambassador. I mean, these
Speaker 8: guys are serious American political figures now one vice president,
Speaker 8: one in the cabinet. Now r is not their equivalent.
Speaker 8: So for this ambassador from Australia to be saying these
Speaker 8: things about Trump and old Trump's going to forgive him
Speaker 8: because he's forgiven Vance and Rubio, No, I don't think so.
Speaker 8: This guy is damaging Australia's credibility. He will damage our
Speaker 8: trade interest for as long as he's in the embassy
Speaker 8: in Washington. The good news is for him that he'll
Speaker 8: be relieved of his job from May onwards. I hope
Speaker 8: despite what the Liberal parties say federally, they know Dunton
Speaker 8: and others know how damaging this Blake is and for
Speaker 8: him to be ringing Marri lagu and I'm sure Andrew
Speaker 8: Bolt's sources are accurate. By the way, I think I
Speaker 8: probably know where it's coming from. I think we might
Speaker 8: all all know.
Speaker 2: Well, let's protect themselves.
Speaker 8: That to be Rud, that'd be Rudd, that'd be right
Speaker 8: ingratiating himself ringing. There nothing to see here, mate, I'm
Speaker 8: Kevin Rudd, you know from Queensland.
Speaker 2: No thank you, I'm Kevin and I'm here to help
Speaker 2: or not help as the case maybe, Richo, what do
Speaker 2: you think was behind this video message from Kevin Rudd
Speaker 2: that's made the news today?
Speaker 9: Ego, that's always what it's behind anything that he does.
Speaker 1: He I have never known.
Speaker 9: A supreme egotist like this bloke with us with so
Speaker 9: little to be egotistical about.
Speaker 2: You always have great lines, rich O. Look, I think
Speaker 2: the Coalition has played a very straight bat on this
Speaker 2: because they don't want to be accused of jeopardizing Australia's
Speaker 2: national interest. So you know, they've left all the criticism
Speaker 2: up to the media I suppose and commentators. But you know,
Speaker 2: we will see if Darton wins, surely there'd be a
Speaker 2: new ambassador in the US, unquestionable, without question.
Speaker 1: Let's hope.
Speaker 2: Let's hope again. Abas Albo, as he's starting to be known,
Speaker 2: is again getting scrutiny over his overseas trips. The accusation
Speaker 2: is that he's spending too much time abroad, too little
Speaker 2: time worrying about the cost of living in Australia. There's
Speaker 2: a new report showing that nearly half of Australians say
Speaker 2: that they were in dire straits economically skipping meals, unable
Speaker 2: to make their rent. Michael, do you think this is
Speaker 2: a problem for him, this perception that he's spending too
Speaker 2: much time away.
Speaker 8: I don't and never have criticized Australian Prime Minister's elbow
Speaker 8: Rudd whoever, for going overseas representing our national interest. I mean,
Speaker 8: he's been at very important meetings, he's met the Chinese President,
Speaker 8: he's met the British Prime minister. He's been in a
Speaker 8: series of very important meetings with allies. I mean, I
Speaker 8: think it's important for the Australian prime ministers to be represented,
Speaker 8: for Australia to be represented overseas by their prime minister.
Speaker 8: So no, I'm not a critical of his trips on
Speaker 8: the domestic front. Yes, he's got serious problems here. As
Speaker 8: I've said to you many times, I think his government's
Speaker 8: going to lose, and you know it doesn't helped by
Speaker 8: him being away domestically because I think he's got a
Speaker 8: weak team behind him and he's probably the most influential
Speaker 8: of the labor cabinet ministers and when he's not here
Speaker 8: it doesn't help them.
Speaker 2: Richard, you always say, as much as we disagree with you,
Speaker 2: that you know people on the street you think have
Speaker 2: the view that Albo is a good guy and that
Speaker 2: you think he's going to win no problem at the
Speaker 2: next election. Do you still have that view or do
Speaker 2: you think given what the polls are showing that it
Speaker 2: is looking shaky now for Alvin Ezy and that Dutton
Speaker 2: could win.
Speaker 9: Well that stays the political cycle. You wouldn't expect him
Speaker 9: to be doing too well. He's got to start turning
Speaker 9: those numbers around in the next sage three or four months,
Speaker 9: and I'm confident he'll do that. He knows how to
Speaker 9: do it. He's done it before and I think he'll
Speaker 9: be able to do it again. Albo's still a boyfriend.
Speaker 9: Maryple grew up in the single bedroom flat with an
Speaker 9: impoverished mother. As far as I'm concerned, I don't think
Speaker 9: I'll ever forget listening to him talk about some of
Speaker 9: those days. He understands what it is to struggle, He
Speaker 9: really does.
Speaker 2: He said he's done it before, But when when's he
Speaker 2: done it before? Because not when he was fighting Scott Morrison.
Speaker 2: Scott Morrison's polling numbers were shocking.
Speaker 9: Yeah, I mean all you can do when you're an
Speaker 9: opposition leaders did better than your opposing figure, and I
Speaker 9: think it was genuinely agreed that by the end of
Speaker 9: the Morrison rain Alba was getting on top of him,
Speaker 9: and I think he was. I think the history shows it.
Speaker 2: No, I'm disagreeing that he's never made a comeback like this.
Speaker 2: I don't think he can. What do you think, Michael, Well.
Speaker 8: Look at it this way, Malcolm Fraser turned it around
Speaker 8: in nine and eighty, but couldn't in eighty three. John
Speaker 8: Howard turned it round in two o four, but couldn't
Speaker 8: in two o seven. Kidding turned it around in ninety three,
Speaker 8: we couldn't in ninety six. Morrison turned it around in
Speaker 8: nine and with coodnin in twenty two. Albet didn't turn
Speaker 8: it around in twenty two, and I don't think he'll
Speaker 8: turn it around in twenty five.
Speaker 2: All Right, Green Richards and Michael Kroger, thank you both
Speaker 2: very much for your time. We'll see you next Wednesday. Now,
Speaker 2: this is a big story we've been pursuing on the
Speaker 2: show over and over again. These are the questions, the
Speaker 2: serious concerns over Labor spending a billion dollars of taxpayer
Speaker 2: money to allegedly help its mates under the guise of
Speaker 2: the future Made in Australia policy. There are new revelations
Speaker 2: in the media that the Alberti's government engaged external probity
Speaker 2: advisors only after they received PSI Quantum's unsolicited proposal for
Speaker 2: taxpayer funded investment. The opposition is claiming that PSI Quantum
Speaker 2: was given a head start and that the deal was
Speaker 2: done under a cloak of secrecy. This is based on
Speaker 2: new freedom of information documents and I'm joined now for
Speaker 2: more on this by the Shadow Science Minister, Paul Fletcher. Paul,
Speaker 2: thanks again for your time. Now, what is new that
Speaker 2: we now know thanks to these new freedom of information documents?
Speaker 12: Well, Shari, as you pointed out in your introduction, what
Speaker 12: we now know is that ed Husick has been telling
Speaker 12: us in his defense of what happened, that there was
Speaker 12: independent probity advice. But we now have the timeline. The
Speaker 12: independent probity advisor was appointed in January of twenty twenty three.
Speaker 12: Now the significance of that is that it was in
Speaker 12: November twenty twenty three when the Albanese labor government agreed
Speaker 12: to consider an unsolicit proposal from the American company PSI
Speaker 12: Quantum for an investment in the company. We know that
Speaker 12: ed Husick personally met the company at least twice before well,
Speaker 12: including in January in California, and so it very much
Speaker 12: looks like the probity advisor was appointed after the preferred
Speaker 12: access had been provided to PSI Quantum, and it raises
Speaker 12: an obvious question why did Ssiquonum get preferred access. One
Speaker 12: of the other things we know is that Blackbird, an
Speaker 12: Australian venture capital company, was an earlier investor in SI Quantum,
Speaker 12: and therefore of course stood to benefit should the Australian
Speaker 12: government make a subsequent.
Speaker 1: Investment in PSI Quantum.
Speaker 12: We know that there is a close personal friendship between
Speaker 12: Ellen Broad who is a senior advisor to Ed Husick,
Speaker 12: and Kate Glazebrook, who's a senior executive at Blackbird. In fact,
Speaker 12: we know that Kate Glaisbrook was one of two Blackbird
Speaker 12: executives appointed by Ed Husick to senior government to government
Speaker 12: boards and advisory committees in late twenty twenty two. And
Speaker 12: so when mister Husick is saying, oh, well there was
Speaker 12: probity advice, we've now discovered and it is I think
Speaker 12: a significant discovery through this freedom of information process that
Speaker 12: actually the independent probity advisor didn't start providing advice until
Speaker 12: well after there had been this preferred access given to
Speaker 12: SIGH Quantum to speak directly to Minister Husick.
Speaker 2: We've covered previously on the show the extent of the
Speaker 2: labor connections involved at the various arms of this deal,
Speaker 2: this process, this investment, a billion dollars of taxpayer funds
Speaker 2: into a company that should just rely on VC investment
Speaker 2: and doesn't need taxpayer funding. Now we know that the
Speaker 2: order to you and always considering a formal inquiry, but
Speaker 2: you've now moved a motion in the House of Representatives
Speaker 2: to also have a parliamentary inquiry. What do you want
Speaker 2: to examine under the parliamentary inquiry? And you're not going
Speaker 2: to get it up, are you? Or do you think
Speaker 2: the tills, I mean, they've promised transparency. Are they going
Speaker 2: to support you on this?
Speaker 1: We'll Sharry you're right.
Speaker 12: This week we moved a motion to establish a select
Speaker 12: committee of the House of Representatives to have a look
Speaker 12: at all aspects of the Si Quantum deal and how
Speaker 12: it was that the alban Easy Labor government together with
Speaker 12: the now gone Miles Labor government in Queensland, agreed to
Speaker 12: commit almost a billion dollars of taxpayers money to this
Speaker 12: American company. Now we'll be continuing to press for that
Speaker 12: to be brought to a vote and voted on now.
Speaker 12: Ed Husick has said that he welcomes scrutiny of the
Speaker 12: Si Quantum deal because he says there's nothing to hide. Well,
Speaker 12: if he's serious about scrutiny, he will cause the Labor
Speaker 12: Party to agree to this committee, and certainly we would
Speaker 12: welcome having cross benches on it, and indeed the motion
Speaker 12: that we've moved proposers that there would be cross benches
Speaker 12: on this committee as well as Government and opposition in peace.
Speaker 2: You haven't heard at this point whether the Tills will
Speaker 2: support your motion for an inquiry if it goes to
Speaker 2: a vote or when it goes to a vote.
Speaker 12: Not as yet, but we will be seeking at some
Speaker 12: time to see if we can bring it on for
Speaker 12: a vote, and will certainly then in that instance be
Speaker 12: seeking the support of the Tills, and of course we'll
Speaker 12: be seeking the support of the Government consistent with Minister
Speaker 12: Hugh Six's words that he welcomes transparency. And now, of
Speaker 12: course what we've also been doing is using the estimates process.
Speaker 12: We learned some interesting things in that in recent weeks,
Speaker 12: including that the Australian Government investment is in three components.
Speaker 12: One of those has already been paid, it's one hundred
Speaker 12: and twenty five million dollars and that presently is a
Speaker 12: convertible loan, but if certain conditions are met, that will
Speaker 12: turn into an equity investment. Now one of those conditions
Speaker 12: is that cy Quantum has to raise additional money from
Speaker 12: private investors. Departmental officials told estimates that as yet that
Speaker 12: had not happened.
Speaker 2: M All right, a long way to go in that
Speaker 2: story really is. Look, it's a big story, you've got
Speaker 2: to say, and there are a lot of conflicts of
Speaker 2: interest involved. Pop Fletcher, appreciate your time now still to come.
Speaker 2: Peter Darton has called for a national plan to deal
Speaker 2: with youth suicide and bullying to help save young lives
Speaker 2: with a Sunday Telegraph editor and a Caldwell would join
Speaker 2: me next and later might sit down interview with spiritual
Speaker 2: guru Deepak Chopra where he says he's done with following
Speaker 2: politics after Donald Trump's when it could be his most
Speaker 2: controversial interview yet. That's all coming up, welcome back. Well,
Speaker 2: we've seen lately a spate of absolutely devastating bullying stories
Speaker 2: where young people, boys and girls have taken their own
Speaker 2: lives because of extreme bullying that schools knew about, that
Speaker 2: parents told schools about, but that just nothing was done,
Speaker 2: no proper action was taken. Well, this is all come.
Speaker 2: This is all part of a very powerful documentary. That's
Speaker 2: the responsibility or that's a credit to The Sunday Telegraph
Speaker 2: editor Anna Caldwell. The documentary is called Charlotte's Wish. It
Speaker 2: was made in the name of the twelve year old
Speaker 2: girl Charlotte O'Brien, who took her own life after horrific bullying.
Speaker 2: Here's an excerpt from that documentary. They had made group
Speaker 2: chats and they were calling her fat and ugly and
Speaker 2: told her to go kill herself.
Speaker 3: There's been another case since it continues to happen today
Speaker 3: with social.
Speaker 1: Media that they give no rest.
Speaker 2: This issue is worse than twelve years ago. One of
Speaker 2: the toxic friends said he didn't take enough pills, he
Speaker 2: didn't try hard enough. How's that for a friend. Persistent
Speaker 2: targeting of an individual so is that their life becomes unbearable.
Speaker 2: It's beyond devastating that bullying is taking young Australian lives
Speaker 2: and leaving too many grieving parents wondering what on earth
Speaker 2: they could have done to protect their poor child, even
Speaker 2: though they continually raised it with the school principle. If
Speaker 2: you haven't seen that documentary yet, it's about twenty minutes long.
Speaker 2: Please go to the Daily Telegraph website, Google it, find
Speaker 2: the documentary and watch it. It's so important for every
Speaker 2: parent to know what issues, what signs to look out for,
Speaker 2: and to help put the pressure on the governments federally
Speaker 2: and at a state level to take action or to
Speaker 2: discuss this more. I'm joined now by the editor of
Speaker 2: the Sunday and Saturday Telegraph, Anna Quadwell. Anna, I mean
Speaker 2: that documentary was so emotional, it's so confronting. It's really
Speaker 2: difficult to watch. But you have put this issue into
Speaker 2: the national spotlight. Tell us what action you want to happen.
Speaker 13: Thanks, Sharry, thanks so much for that. You're right, it
Speaker 13: is a really harrowing watch. I think you can see
Speaker 13: that from that trailer.
Speaker 2: There.
Speaker 13: The reason we pursued this documentary, and the reason we
Speaker 13: pursued this difficult topic I think so thoroughly, is because
Speaker 13: it was the dying wish of Charlotte O'Brien. You know,
Speaker 13: when she ended her life, she left a note for
Speaker 13: her parents asking them to raise awareness about bullying. So
Speaker 13: in investigating this, what we found is that for parents
Speaker 13: sending their school their kids to school, it's basically a
Speaker 13: luck of the draw as to whether the schools are
Speaker 13: going to be equipped to dealing with bullying. Bullying policy
Speaker 13: has barely evolved over the years. It is a cruel
Speaker 13: lottery for parents based on whether the schools have their
Speaker 13: also to deal with it, whether they're trained to deal
Speaker 13: with it, and how they deal with any given circumstance
Speaker 13: at any given time. So, what we think needs to
Speaker 13: happen and what these parents who we've interviewed want to
Speaker 13: happen is a nationally consistent standard. And when I say
Speaker 13: nationally consistent, I don't mean coming together on the lowest
Speaker 13: common denominator. We think experts need to come together to
Speaker 13: find very high measures, very high standards that schools need
Speaker 13: to live up to.
Speaker 2: In the documentary, you report that youth suicides have nearly
Speaker 2: doubled since the iPhone was introduced. Do you think this
Speaker 2: rise in bullying, you know, is solely because of the
Speaker 2: rise of social media or is this just one of
Speaker 2: the many factors it's a factor.
Speaker 13: I mean, we know bullying has been around for deca forever, right,
Speaker 13: Bullying is just an age old problem. But I think
Speaker 13: what's happened as time has evolved is that you cannot
Speaker 13: escape it. So, you know, schools do put measures into place,
Speaker 13: like some schools banned phones. There's been a consistent approach
Speaker 13: on that across New South Wales, for example. But it
Speaker 13: means that when kids go home, whereas traditionally they could
Speaker 13: leave their bullies at school, their bullies follow them home,
Speaker 13: They followed them into their bedroom, they follow them late
Speaker 13: at night, and so I think there is just this
Speaker 13: relentlessness that hasn't always existed.
Speaker 2: I also think the rise of.
Speaker 13: Social media gives rise to a viciousness that comes in
Speaker 13: text form. You know, we see these keyboard warriors in
Speaker 13: adult life. I think it's on a dissimilar thing for kids.
Speaker 13: You know, I think in some ways the insults and
Speaker 13: the attacks can become more vile.
Speaker 2: So you're on our saying there should be a consistent
Speaker 2: approach to bullying nationally. Is that this is what you're
Speaker 2: campaigning for at the Saturday and Sunday Telegraph. Yes, yes,
Speaker 2: that's right.
Speaker 13: The great thing was when we raised this issue, many
Speaker 13: of the premiers were very quick to come to the
Speaker 13: table and to say that they think there needs to
Speaker 13: be a national standard. In fact, many shockingly were surprised
Speaker 13: that they weren't. You know, within a day of us
Speaker 13: releasing this this documentary pro card, the New South Wales
Speaker 13: Education Minister announced that she wanted to bring all of
Speaker 13: the sectors to the table in New South Wales to
Speaker 13: create a state based bullying policy.
Speaker 2: But we think it needs to go further. All right,
Speaker 2: Well Anna Cordwell, thank you for coming on. This is
Speaker 2: such a powerful campaign. We're going to stick on it
Speaker 2: and let's hope that it saves some young lives. Thanks Sherry,
Speaker 2: Thanks so much. And if you or anyone you know
Speaker 2: is struggling to cope, you can call Lifeline on thirteen
Speaker 2: eleven fourteen. Lifeline on thirteen eleven fourteen. Now coming up
Speaker 2: Labour's or WELLI and Misinformation Bill looks like it's dead
Speaker 2: in the water. Well, what does this mean for our
Speaker 2: free speech? I'm going to talk about that with media
Speaker 2: lawyer Justin Quill later. Plus, Depak Chopper explains why he's
Speaker 2: quitting politics, quitting following politics after Donald Trump's election. That's
Speaker 2: after this quick break, welcome back. Well, a few months ago,
Speaker 2: you might remember I spoke to Depak Chopper. He was
Speaker 2: in the States to discuss the social unrest that has
Speaker 2: spread across the globe after October seven. Since then, a
Speaker 2: lot has changed the US election. We're in a time
Speaker 2: of uncertainty, and war, and I caught up with Deepak
Speaker 2: Chapra this afternoon. He's in Sydney at the moment, and
Speaker 2: I asked his take on the current political climate. His
Speaker 2: controversial answers came as a surprise. Here's that interview. Deepact,
Speaker 2: Thank you so much for your time. So wonderful to
Speaker 2: see you here in Australia.
Speaker 1: Thank you, it's great to be with you again.
Speaker 2: Well, since we last spoke in September, the US election
Speaker 2: took place. You're passionate about not just spiritual wellbeing but
Speaker 2: health as well. We've seen Donald Trump announce RFK as
Speaker 2: his health secretary. Obesity is a major problem in America.
Speaker 2: Do you have confidence that RFK will make a change
Speaker 2: and we'll be able to tackle this?
Speaker 3: I find RK full of contradiction and paradox. He is
Speaker 3: views on nutrition, health and well being are actually quite good. However,
Speaker 3: you seem gorging on McDonald's on the jet, on.
Speaker 1: The private jet.
Speaker 3: He doesn't look like the perfect example of you know,
Speaker 3: somebody who could tackle abiste himself. And he has other
Speaker 3: views which of course also controversial, like you know, the
Speaker 3: whole vaccine conspiracy and the fact that vaccines cause autism
Speaker 3: for which there's no proof. I know that a lot
Speaker 3: of people have very strong opinions about these matter, especially vaccines,
Speaker 3: and yes, vaccines could have certain side effects, so does everything.
Speaker 3: And for a person who grew up in India, where
Speaker 3: I saw people dying of ado, of smallpox, even measles, tuberculosis,
Speaker 3: I saw people on respirators, friends and relatives who lost
Speaker 3: their lives. It's very difficult for anyone to convince me
Speaker 3: that vaccines don't prevent some kinds of very devastating diseases.
Speaker 3: So having said that, you know, America elected mister Trump,
Speaker 3: and America basically was quite honest in the fact that
Speaker 3: they want to miss their leader.
Speaker 1: And if he chooses a cabinet with the likes.
Speaker 3: Of RFK and what's his name, Matt Gates, who's been
Speaker 3: accused of all kinds of things, including sex trafficking, then
Speaker 3: that's what apparently is the face of.
Speaker 1: America right now.
Speaker 3: And I'm sure everyone who's been you know, who's been
Speaker 3: guilty of things like this. First we'll start with mister
Speaker 3: Trump pardoning himself and then his colleagues, but why not,
Speaker 3: why not pardon all the other people in prison right now?
Speaker 3: It just seems very strange to me, and I have
Speaker 3: decided personally to totally disengage from politics.
Speaker 1: It's not that you.
Speaker 2: Just in America, just in America globally in.
Speaker 3: General, because you know, the politics by itself, the more
Speaker 3: I look at it is all about parmongering, influence, speddling, cronyism,
Speaker 3: corruption followed the money trail and very mail dominated across
Speaker 3: the board and so but just what it is. So
Speaker 3: you know, we have to accept these facts that whoever
Speaker 3: the president is and lawfully legally elected, must reflect the
Speaker 3: values of the country. And if these are the values
Speaker 3: of America, so beet well.
Speaker 2: I think it reflects this result in America, this disillusionment
Speaker 2: with the working class, with the political and media elite.
Speaker 2: You know, Trump represents the opposite to that. So, you know,
Speaker 2: do you think we are seeing a movement or an
Speaker 2: uprising by the working class against the values the ideology
Speaker 2: that is being foisted on them.
Speaker 1: I see that that the working classes.
Speaker 3: Is disenchanted, and I feel very strong that seified, you know,
Speaker 3: because they're marginalized. The working people are marginalized. But I
Speaker 3: don't see this administration as being their champion, because, if anything,
Speaker 3: the rich are going to get richer with all their
Speaker 3: tax cuts, and the very people that have hope in
Speaker 3: this new administration are going to be left out. And
Speaker 3: I'm not saying that the other side could have been better. Yeah,
Speaker 3: you know, it's just that it's the nature of bipartisan
Speaker 3: politics for politicians.
Speaker 1: To look out for themselves. Period.
Speaker 2: In Australia, like in many other global cities, we've seen
Speaker 2: a lot of social unrest. We've seen aggressive protesters, violence,
Speaker 2: anti semitism, hatred. A lot of my viewers in particular,
Speaker 2: have been very distressed over the past year because of
Speaker 2: the anti semitism, this increase in racism that we're seeing.
Speaker 2: What's your advice for us when we're trying to cope
Speaker 2: in this tumultuous time.
Speaker 3: Be peaceful yourself, don't be racist, and hang out with
Speaker 3: people like that. And then create your own communities. You know,
Speaker 3: there are three things you can do. One is create
Speaker 3: your own ecosystem, community of service, community, and of.
Speaker 1: A spiritual bond. You know.
Speaker 3: Social scientists say that if we have shared vision, maximum diversity,
Speaker 3: complement everybody's strengths, and create a spiritual and emotional bond,
Speaker 3: then you can create a community which is peaceful and just.
Speaker 2: On an individual level, you hear most people say they
Speaker 2: feel busier than they ever have been. They don't have
Speaker 2: enough time for their loved ones. What do you suggest
Speaker 2: when people come to you with this problem.
Speaker 3: Yeah, I think only busy people have time. People who
Speaker 3: say I don't have time, they're just distracted. If you're
Speaker 3: totally focused on what you're doing in the moment and
Speaker 3: you're present, there's no fatigue. Fatiguers when you think about
Speaker 3: the future, anticipate the future, or you regret the past,
Speaker 3: but when you bring presents to any experience, there's absolutely
Speaker 3: no fatigue.
Speaker 2: So on an individual level, staying present, be present, Be present.
Speaker 1: This is the only moment you have.
Speaker 2: Just finally, what's your best advice for staying healthy both
Speaker 2: mentally and physically.
Speaker 1: Don't resist existence. Be go with the flow that you
Speaker 1: have no choice.
Speaker 3: The moment you resist existence, in this moment, you're distressed.
Speaker 3: I recognize and recognize the impermanence of your existence. I
Speaker 3: once saw a grieve saye to where there was a saying.
Speaker 1: It said.
Speaker 3: There was a saying on the grief sade and said,
Speaker 3: where you are I once was, and where I am
Speaker 3: you will soon be. So accept that impermanence. Once you
Speaker 3: accept impermanence, every moment is precious.
Speaker 2: It is indeed, well, thank you for spending your precious
Speaker 2: moments with me here back really appreciate, thank you, Thank you.
Speaker 2: And the full interview with Deepak Chopper, where he also
Speaker 2: spoke about how he thinks humans are going to evolve
Speaker 2: into a meta species thanks to AI that'll be online
Speaker 2: at skynews dot com dot au. Shortly right after this
Speaker 2: shot break, Veteran media lawyer Justin Quill will talk us
Speaker 2: through Labors Misinformation Bill, which hopefully looks like it's dead,
Speaker 2: buried and cremated. What this means for our free speed
Speaker 2: each an for censorship Next, well, good news now that
Speaker 2: it looks like Anthony Albaneze's mission to introduce totalitarian style
Speaker 2: misinformation laws are set to fail. This after cross bench
Speaker 2: senators have basically all come out to say that they
Speaker 2: are going to oppose the laws when it goes to
Speaker 2: a vote in the Senate next week. Now the desperate
Speaker 2: Albanize government is basically out of cross benj allies. Now
Speaker 2: they're left scrambling to discuss this more. I'm joined by
Speaker 2: media lawyer and partner at major law firm at Thompson
Speaker 2: Gear justin Quill, justin great to see you. Look, these
Speaker 2: were always dangerous, o'wellian laws. You and I have been
Speaker 2: speaking about this for a year and a half now,
Speaker 2: and yet the Albaneze government never backed down on them.
Speaker 2: The only reason it looks like they're going to fail
Speaker 2: is because of the cross bench in the Senate.
Speaker 14: Yeah, extraordinary that it was even contemblided, extraordinary that it
Speaker 14: was put forward seriously, and then just bewildering.
Speaker 15: That here we are months and months later, even after
Speaker 15: everyone pointed out all the problems with this proposed exercition,
Speaker 15: but absolutely bewildering that we are still here and that
Speaker 15: they haven't completely abandoned it.
Speaker 16: So look, I guess it's a case of when you're
Speaker 16: in government, you're trying to control the narrative. And that's
Speaker 16: exactly what they're trying to do. They're trying to control
Speaker 16: what people are saying and what people are thinking.
Speaker 15: So concerning.
Speaker 16: I know that sounds bisire and saying it, but that's
Speaker 16: what that's what this bill was attempting to do.
Speaker 2: I mean, what is this obsession with And I actually
Speaker 2: think it's an obsession by the Prime Minister because we
Speaker 2: heard during the Voice debate that he kept saying in
Speaker 2: Parliament he kept accusing no campaigners of misinformation and disinformation.
Speaker 2: Linda Berney used it in misinformation line as well. I mean,
Speaker 2: what's their obsession with controlling information on the internet. Why
Speaker 2: not just people have free speech and have different points
Speaker 2: of view. Not everyone has to agree with him on
Speaker 2: topics like the vice.
Speaker 16: Yeah, well, I think it comes down to confidence, confidence
Speaker 16: in yourself. If you're not confident in what you're doing,
Speaker 16: then you don't want to expose yourself to transparency and
Speaker 16: expose yourself to people's opinions because you probably did down
Speaker 16: know that those opinions are going to win out against him.
Speaker 16: The concerning thing about this bill, of course, was that
Speaker 16: it was designed to capture a government Authorities actmo Alboy.
Speaker 16: Some people say it's independent, but it's ultimately a government
Speaker 16: body appointed by the government what they considered to be
Speaker 16: reasonably verifiable as false, misleading or deceptive information. And then
Speaker 16: it was to control and move and potentially investigat or
Speaker 16: even jail people in relation to that what they consider false,
Speaker 16: misleading or deceptive. I mean that's extraordinary stuff what might
Speaker 16: be considered false today, Like later after discussion we found
Speaker 16: me be true. I think about Sharon, you almost as
Speaker 16: a lone voice in fact, on the question of whether
Speaker 16: the COVID came from Wupan lab, and people cry that
Speaker 16: you're saying, OK, that is absolutely false, of misleading, its
Speaker 16: and deceptive. Now here we are today and I don't
Speaker 16: think anyone can say that with anything, neither the gusto.
Speaker 2: They did exactly. And there have been so many other issues,
Speaker 2: not just that you just said then even jail I
Speaker 2: spoke about this on Monday night. But I think that's
Speaker 2: something that wasn't well understood that even jail time could
Speaker 2: have been. And I say it could have been. I
Speaker 2: mean it hasn't gone to the vote in the Senate yet,
Speaker 2: we're expecting it's going to be voted down, but justin
Speaker 2: people could have even been jailed for misinformation. You've got
Speaker 2: about thirty seconds here.
Speaker 16: Yeah, well, what we're talking about there, that's just be clear.
Speaker 16: Is it not for the publication of misinformation? But the
Speaker 16: government through the minister, could conduct an investigation and if
Speaker 16: you don't comply with that investigation, provide information, provide documents,
Speaker 16: answer questions, then you could be jailed and serious style
Speaker 16: term it's not just a day of here or a day.
Speaker 16: We're talking up to a year after not complying with
Speaker 16: handing over a documents, or another year if you don't
Speaker 16: answer question. So it was in the context of not
Speaker 16: complying with an investigation. Still very concerned.
Speaker 2: Yeah, it's absolutely insanity. Is the sort of stuff we
Speaker 2: see in Russia and China. We shouldn't have even been
Speaker 2: fighting this cause in Australia. Justin quil Thank you so
Speaker 2: much for joining me tonight. That's all we've got time.
Speaker 2: Thanks for watching. I'll see you tomorrow at eight o'clock.
Speaker 2: Here's Paul Murray.