WEBVTT - The Bolt Report | 5 October 0:00:11.560 --> 0:00:13.680 This is The Vault Report. 0:00:15.900 --> 0:00:18.690 Yes, I'm back and I've got to thank James McPherson 0:00:18.710 --> 0:00:21.650 for filling in so brilliantly while I was away. That's 0:00:21.690 --> 0:00:25.570 a huge talent there, that man. And tonight, so much 0:00:25.610 --> 0:00:29.480 coming up, Pauline Hanson's strange policy launch in Victoria, talking 0:00:29.520 --> 0:00:33.419 up law and order while praising a cop killer. Plus 0:00:33.440 --> 0:00:36.110 the shocking riots in France, a new civil war with 0:00:36.130 --> 0:00:40.670 the enemies of the West. And Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor is taking 0:00:40.729 --> 0:00:42.710 legal action against the police who arrested him in the 0:00:42.790 --> 0:00:46.040 Epstein case. And speaking of handsome, by the way, isn't 0:00:46.060 --> 0:00:50.440 the new logo of the Brisbane Olympics revealed today, officially 0:00:50.479 --> 0:00:53.140 at least, really of a cockatoo or is it a 0:00:53.220 --> 0:00:59.470 tribute to another Queensland icon? But first... I spent the 0:00:59.510 --> 0:01:03.610 last month or more actually touring the ruins of past civilisations, 0:01:04.569 --> 0:01:08.790 the ruins of Minoans in Crete, the ruins of Greek empires, 0:01:08.910 --> 0:01:11.670 of the Ottoman Empire, even of what's left of the 0:01:11.750 --> 0:01:16.300 Austro-Hungarian Empire. Bit of a thing I have, schadenfreude or something. 0:01:16.340 --> 0:01:21.259 But so many of these civilisations collapsed in part because 0:01:21.280 --> 0:01:24.220 they simply forgot what it took to make them successful 0:01:24.260 --> 0:01:27.220 in the first place. Or they became complacent, or they 0:01:27.240 --> 0:01:31.330 lost the will or the discipline or adaptability to keep going. 0:01:32.780 --> 0:01:36.350 Then I come home to Australia and I think, uh-oh, 0:01:36.430 --> 0:01:41.130 is all that true here as well? And in fact, 0:01:41.270 --> 0:01:43.550 you know, something does seem to have snapped during my break. 0:01:43.990 --> 0:01:46.010 It seems they've got too much for a lot of people. 0:01:46.069 --> 0:01:48.610 We're getting poorer, we're getting more divided, and we have 0:01:48.650 --> 0:01:53.350 a government that spends and taxes enormous amounts, yet still 0:01:53.430 --> 0:01:54.720 racks up a trillion dollar debt. 0:01:55.830 --> 0:01:56.280 And for what? 0:01:57.100 --> 0:02:00.640 You know, life is just getting harder, people just getting angrier. 0:02:00.660 --> 0:02:04.980 A Redbridge poll in the Financial Review today shows the 0:02:05.020 --> 0:02:08.020 government now behind One Nation in popularity, with an astonishing 0:02:08.080 --> 0:02:12.590 low of just 28%. And no surprise, of course. I mean, 0:02:12.950 --> 0:02:18.230 this is a government that has completely and clearly forgotten 0:02:18.650 --> 0:02:22.210 what it took to build this country, let alone unite it. Now, 0:02:22.230 --> 0:02:25.330 I want to go through two astonishing examples of that 0:02:25.990 --> 0:02:29.810 just from today. One may seem small, but it's a 0:02:30.010 --> 0:02:32.370 perfect example of how this government lacks even the most 0:02:32.590 --> 0:02:36.970 basic business sense. And the other example is perhaps even 0:02:37.110 --> 0:02:43.150 more damning. So the The small example first. Anthony Albany 0:02:43.210 --> 0:02:45.630 knows things have gone to cuss, that the Prime Minister 0:02:46.030 --> 0:02:50.650 knows people are under pressure. But he still has not 0:02:50.770 --> 0:02:55.110 the foggiest idea of what to do about it. In 0:02:55.130 --> 0:02:59.570 this case, he thought, well, I know, I'll ban shops 0:02:59.630 --> 0:03:01.810 from charging you a surcharge if you pay with a 0:03:01.830 --> 0:03:07.010 credit card. In fact, Albanese promised this would make even 0:03:07.050 --> 0:03:08.609 your coffee cheaper. 0:03:09.800 --> 0:03:12.940 Every time you tap, those little surcharges add up. Right now, 0:03:13.030 --> 0:03:17.850 they're costing Aussies $ 1. 6 billion each and every year. But 0:03:17.889 --> 0:03:21.650 from today, they're banned, saving you money every time you tap. 0:03:21.669 --> 0:03:24.450 So whether you're at the supermarket paying bills or buying 0:03:24.470 --> 0:03:26.570 a cup of coffee, the price you see is the 0:03:26.610 --> 0:03:27.350 price you pay. 0:03:29.910 --> 0:03:32.480 And, of course, the exact opposite has happened because even 0:03:32.540 --> 0:03:37.820 an idiot could figure that Albanese's ban wouldn't and couldn't work. Because, 0:03:37.860 --> 0:03:40.500 of course, businesses... A lot of them would have to 0:03:40.580 --> 0:03:44.520 pass on the costs of credit card transactions to their customers, 0:03:45.060 --> 0:03:47.940 especially with all these other cost pressures on them these days. 0:03:48.680 --> 0:03:51.710 And sure enough, businesses around the country are now apologising 0:03:51.750 --> 0:03:53.890 on social media for having to jack up their prices, 0:03:54.530 --> 0:03:59.840 including the price of coffee and other food. Sydney chicken business. 0:04:00.670 --> 0:04:03.930 Charcoal Kingdom posted from October 1st, customers can no longer 0:04:03.950 --> 0:04:07.750 be charged a card surcharge, but as business owners, we 0:04:07.790 --> 0:04:10.630 still have to pay the card processing fees. At the 0:04:10.680 --> 0:04:13.500 same time, we're dealing with the inflation and fuel levies 0:04:13.560 --> 0:04:16.919 on every delivery, rising gas and electricity prices and price 0:04:16.960 --> 0:04:19.620 increases on almost every product we use. Unfortunately, in the 0:04:19.660 --> 0:04:22.500 next couple of weeks, we will have no choice but 0:04:22.560 --> 0:04:27.240 to increase some of our prices. How about this for 0:04:27.380 --> 0:04:30.660 R & E? Even the cafe that sells coffee to 0:04:30.720 --> 0:04:34.099 Treasurer Jim Chalmers tried to warn him to ease up. 0:04:35.160 --> 0:04:37.750 I said to him on multiple occasions, your government is 0:04:37.770 --> 0:04:40.330 screwing my business. It's going to cost the general public 0:04:40.370 --> 0:04:42.990 more because we've had to raise our prices from the 0:04:43.170 --> 0:04:45.430 1st of October to accommodate the fact that we have 0:04:45.450 --> 0:04:46.970 to absorb that surcharge. 0:04:49.630 --> 0:04:55.080 So how utterly clueless Albanese must be about what it 0:04:55.120 --> 0:04:58.830 takes to just run a business that he thought... banning 0:04:58.870 --> 0:05:03.470 the credit card surcharge would make coffee cheaper, would cut prices. 0:05:04.690 --> 0:05:08.920 She'll be right. I mean, it beggars belief. And I 0:05:08.920 --> 0:05:10.800 haven't even talked about all the other trouble this ban 0:05:10.839 --> 0:05:13.560 is causing. Like the tax office now telling business, oh, 0:05:14.140 --> 0:05:17.370 you can't actually accept payments now with credit cards, which 0:05:17.450 --> 0:05:19.190 is going to cause a lot of them big problems 0:05:19.250 --> 0:05:23.090 with cash flows for a start. You know, not being 0:05:23.130 --> 0:05:26.180 able to exploit the interest-free period of credit card repayments 0:05:26.200 --> 0:05:29.480 to pay tax bills over a few weeks. The whole 0:05:29.520 --> 0:05:32.679 thing's mad. And like I said, this is a small 0:05:32.779 --> 0:05:37.080 but perfect example of a government having no idea how 0:05:37.100 --> 0:05:42.880 to run a business, let alone an economy. So perhaps 0:05:42.920 --> 0:05:46.849 the even bigger example. So where is the Prime Minister 0:05:46.870 --> 0:05:51.350 today with costs of living through the roof? debt soaring. 0:05:51.670 --> 0:05:54.710 His popularity, by the way, taking another huge hit in 0:05:54.730 --> 0:05:59.310 that Redbridge poll, has never been more unpopular, with 27% 0:05:59.310 --> 0:06:04.700 unpopularity now. Where is Anthony Albanese? Well, he's not in 0:06:04.740 --> 0:06:08.940 his office trying to fix what he could fix. He's 0:06:09.040 --> 0:06:12.830 over in Fiji trying to fix what he can't, the climate. 0:06:12.850 --> 0:06:16.760 I mean, Albanese has flown to Fiji with climate change 0:06:16.779 --> 0:06:19.780 minister Chris Bone, a real global warming extremist, for a 0:06:20.000 --> 0:06:24.750 pre-conference conference on global warming. So this is a conference 0:06:24.810 --> 0:06:28.270 before the big UN climate conference in Turkey later this 0:06:28.330 --> 0:06:33.650 year to discuss plan of action. What a waste of time, 0:06:34.190 --> 0:06:39.580 effort and your money. Now, that Chris Bowen, he was 0:06:39.680 --> 0:06:42.920 made president of negotiations for that UN conference in Turkey 0:06:42.960 --> 0:06:45.640 and he thought, hmm, I'll call the world leaders to 0:06:45.660 --> 0:06:49.779 this pre-conference to agree on a plan of attack and, 0:06:49.800 --> 0:06:52.450 you know, save the planet from a climate catastrophe that I, 0:06:52.490 --> 0:06:58.450 for one, cannot see. But, you know, Chris Bowen, planet-saving hero, 0:06:58.470 --> 0:07:01.030 has gone to his head. Problem is almost no world 0:07:01.089 --> 0:07:06.830 leaders outside some Pacific islands want to come. Global warming 0:07:06.870 --> 0:07:10.640 is so Yesterday now. Not that Bowen today wanted to 0:07:10.700 --> 0:07:11.720 admit he'd been snubbed. 0:07:12.760 --> 0:07:19.110 We have 2,000 stakeholders, 133 stakeholder events. Again, I'm told 0:07:19.150 --> 0:07:21.370 that just doesn't normally happen at precocs. They're much more 0:07:21.430 --> 0:07:24.980 sedate affairs for ministers and negotiators to sit around. We've 0:07:25.060 --> 0:07:28.640 really brought more people to the Pacific for good conversations. 0:07:30.800 --> 0:07:32.640 Nor did Chris Bowen today want to admit in a 0:07:32.640 --> 0:07:35.820 long interview on the ABC radio that how much of 0:07:35.860 --> 0:07:38.620 your money is wasted on this frolic until finally forced 0:07:38.640 --> 0:07:43.500 to agree with the figure of north of $ 20 million, 0:07:43.500 --> 0:07:47.070 $ 20 million of your money. The whole thing's a farce. 0:07:48.210 --> 0:07:53.210 With almost no world leaders coming, Bowen and Albanese's pre-conference 0:07:53.270 --> 0:07:57.790 conferences reduced to picking third-rate guest speakers with no climate 0:07:57.810 --> 0:08:02.560 expertise at all. They're just cheerleaders, fellow Labor cheerleaders, former 0:08:02.580 --> 0:08:06.350 Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard and former New Zealand Prime 0:08:06.370 --> 0:08:10.870 Minister Jacinda Ardern. And again here, you know, there's the 0:08:11.250 --> 0:08:18.240 sheer ignorance and destructiveness of this Labor government. Because, as 0:08:18.270 --> 0:08:21.760 you know, I mean, nothing Australia does can change the climate. 0:08:21.840 --> 0:08:27.080 We're just too small. But trying to change the climate, 0:08:27.140 --> 0:08:29.620 that is what's really killing us. I mean, You know, 0:08:29.680 --> 0:08:33.660 getting rid of cheap coal, that's causing massive rises in 0:08:33.679 --> 0:08:37.500 power prices. That's just for a start. Add the billions 0:08:37.540 --> 0:08:43.110 that are being wasted on useless green schemes. And when 0:08:43.190 --> 0:08:45.489 Albanese or Bowen, they try to explain why they're even 0:08:45.570 --> 0:08:49.970 trying over there in Fiji to change the weather. We 0:08:49.990 --> 0:08:54.800 get spectacular nonsense like this from Chris Bowen today. This 0:08:54.840 --> 0:08:57.270 is Bowen explaining why he was trying to get world 0:08:57.309 --> 0:09:00.650 leaders to also fly on from Fiji to Tuvalu to 0:09:01.090 --> 0:09:03.719 go stare with him at the ocean. 0:09:04.740 --> 0:09:07.079 To focus on the sorts of things that are at 0:09:07.179 --> 0:09:11.000 stake in our region, including going to Tuvalu, where the 0:09:11.059 --> 0:09:14.120 sea levels have risen already by around 15 centimetres over 0:09:14.140 --> 0:09:17.800 the last three decades, and the capital, Funafuti, is likely 0:09:17.820 --> 0:09:21.940 to be submerged at high tide by 2035 unless serious 0:09:22.020 --> 0:09:22.820 action is taken. 0:09:23.020 --> 0:09:26.870 For many of the nations represented by leaders here, It 0:09:26.950 --> 0:09:29.770 is literally a threat to their very existence. 0:09:31.690 --> 0:09:38.120 I mean, simply pathetic. Tuvalu's capital soon to drown as if. 0:09:38.250 --> 0:09:42.260 I mean, the last big study of Tuvalu by top 0:09:42.280 --> 0:09:47.260 C-level experts at Auckland University in 2018 found it had 0:09:47.460 --> 0:09:51.380 actually grown in size, grown by 2.9% in the four 0:09:51.400 --> 0:09:57.890 decades to 2014. It is growing, it is not drowning. 0:10:00.220 --> 0:10:03.319 Is science also then dead under this government? That too? 0:10:03.480 --> 0:10:07.630 Is engineering dead? Because just building a levee around Tulu's capital, 0:10:08.270 --> 0:10:10.670 if high tide really does become a problem, that's just 0:10:10.690 --> 0:10:14.090 going to be so much more effective and cheaper than 0:10:15.420 --> 0:10:17.040 Or is this government really so mad that it thinks 0:10:17.059 --> 0:10:19.699 it can change the whole world's climate if it just 0:10:19.720 --> 0:10:24.719 spends even more billions of your money trying? Well, if 0:10:24.780 --> 0:10:28.559 it really is that crazy, there is no saving this country. 0:10:29.140 --> 0:10:32.970 Not while Labor is in power. And we too will 0:10:33.030 --> 0:10:41.829 live among ruins. Honestly, one... Other thing that I saw 0:10:41.850 --> 0:10:44.330 on my break, another example of how clueless this government 0:10:44.390 --> 0:10:47.980 is in managing an economy. As you know, it's run 0:10:48.020 --> 0:10:51.760 out of money. Despite a minerals boom and the biggest 0:10:51.820 --> 0:10:56.079 tax haul in 40 years outside the pandemic. So what's 0:10:56.140 --> 0:10:59.280 it rich for? Well, the one pot of money you 0:10:59.340 --> 0:11:01.980 still can see out there, which is your super savings. 0:11:02.260 --> 0:11:04.300 Trade Minister Don Farrell last week was in the US 0:11:04.330 --> 0:11:07.150 trying to make a trade deal on lamb and actually 0:11:07.190 --> 0:11:12.010 suggested sending some of that superannuation savings of Australians to 0:11:12.030 --> 0:11:14.150 the US to soften up the Trump administration. 0:11:15.290 --> 0:11:15.910 It's unbelievable. 0:11:16.130 --> 0:11:18.950 Just read it yourself. Farrell said, let's look at ways 0:11:18.990 --> 0:11:23.680 in which the Australian lamb industry, Australian superannuation and the 0:11:23.720 --> 0:11:26.370 Australian government can work together with the Americans to boost 0:11:26.410 --> 0:11:30.430 lamb sales in the United States. Australian superannuation funds have 0:11:30.480 --> 0:11:35.400 an obligation to the national interest. No, super funds do 0:11:35.580 --> 0:11:38.720 not have such an obligation to help the government in 0:11:38.760 --> 0:11:45.100 what Labor defines as the national interest of its passing fancy. 0:11:45.800 --> 0:11:49.800 These funds have just one obligation, to get the best 0:11:49.880 --> 0:11:55.590 returns for members for their retirement. Full stop. I mean, 0:11:55.770 --> 0:12:00.380 who are these people running this country? Joining me is 0:12:00.400 --> 0:12:03.280 the panel, Michael Kroger, former Victorian Liberal President, Steve Conroy, 0:12:03.300 --> 0:12:06.900 former Labor Senator and Cabinet Minister. Michael Kroger, let's start 0:12:06.920 --> 0:12:10.309 with the government's ban on credit and debit card surcharges. 0:12:10.350 --> 0:12:12.570 The Prime Minister claimed, oh, this is going to lower 0:12:12.590 --> 0:12:13.930 the price of even a coffee. 0:12:14.910 --> 0:12:15.209 False. 0:12:15.410 --> 0:12:17.550 And now you've got the ATO, the tax office, saying 0:12:17.600 --> 0:12:20.830 the ban means nothing. Well, businesses can't now pay tax 0:12:20.890 --> 0:12:25.270 liabilities by credit card, causing huge disruption. How could a 0:12:25.390 --> 0:12:28.590 government get something so simple so wrong? 0:12:30.250 --> 0:12:31.729 Well, Andrew, that in itself is simple. 0:12:32.130 --> 0:12:35.510 If you've never had any business experience, if you've never 0:12:35.570 --> 0:12:38.530 employed anyone, if you've never risked capital, how would you 0:12:38.570 --> 0:12:41.829 know about running a business? You know, I said to 0:12:41.850 --> 0:12:44.370 you a couple of months ago, of the 41 people 0:12:44.950 --> 0:12:49.760 who have been Prime Minister... Treasurer or Finance Minister since Federation, 0:12:49.780 --> 0:12:53.929 that's 125 years ago, not a single one of those 0:12:53.929 --> 0:12:57.329 41 has ever opened and operated their own business. In fact, 0:12:57.370 --> 0:13:00.959 I can only find three who've been In business, Whitlam 0:13:01.000 --> 0:13:04.620 was a self-employed barrister, Keating part-time manager of a rock band, 0:13:04.679 --> 0:13:08.920 and Ted Theodore was a mining prospector. And in the 0:13:08.960 --> 0:13:12.520 last 125 years, Andrew, for the party of the worker, 0:13:12.570 --> 0:13:14.910 the party of Labor, I can only find one person 0:13:14.929 --> 0:13:18.609 of those 41 in the last 125 years who's ever 0:13:18.670 --> 0:13:20.950 employed anybody with their own money. 0:13:21.650 --> 0:13:22.710 And that was between 1947 and 1952. 0:13:22.710 --> 0:13:26.790 Gough Whitlam had a part-time secretary when he was a barrister. 0:13:27.770 --> 0:13:28.750 So you want to know the answer? 0:13:29.550 --> 0:13:32.170 People have no idea about business works because they've never 0:13:32.230 --> 0:13:36.130 been in business, never run a business with their own money. 0:13:36.550 --> 0:13:38.920 Of course, they have no idea what they're doing. And 0:13:38.960 --> 0:13:42.179 we're seeing all of the evidence of that unfold before 0:13:42.240 --> 0:13:44.020 us in Australia today, Andrew. 0:13:46.140 --> 0:13:49.780 Sorry, I'm a bit distracted. Peter Costello is a part-time 0:13:50.740 --> 0:13:55.100 neighbour in the village next door, the town next door. 0:13:55.480 --> 0:13:58.260 I think I heard a scream from that direction. But anyway, 0:13:58.300 --> 0:14:05.530 leave that aside. Stephen, how do you explain something so 0:14:05.610 --> 0:14:10.770 simple being so wrong, this ban on credit cards, surcharges, 0:14:11.230 --> 0:14:13.960 that clearly is not going to lower prices? 0:14:16.300 --> 0:14:20.850 Well, I've enjoyed the general frothing at the mouth. I mean, 0:14:21.770 --> 0:14:22.670 I'll just double check. 0:14:22.690 --> 0:14:24.930 I think it was the Reserve. 0:14:24.630 --> 0:14:29.330 Bank that made this decision, which somehow apparently is now 0:14:29.350 --> 0:14:33.570 the government. So the Reserve Bank ran a process, whether 0:14:33.630 --> 0:14:35.820 we agree or disagree with the outcome. But last time 0:14:35.860 --> 0:14:38.740 I checked, it is widely touted, and I'm sure by you, 0:14:38.880 --> 0:14:43.910 as should be independent from the government. So let's just 0:14:44.110 --> 0:14:48.240 actually identify who's made the decision to go down this path. 0:14:48.960 --> 0:14:52.360 Why isn't the Prime Minister taking credit for it then? 0:14:52.400 --> 0:14:54.060 No, that's a different issue, Andrew. 0:14:54.400 --> 0:14:57.920 Don't divert away from that this is a decision the 0:14:57.960 --> 0:15:00.500 Reserve Bank made. Now, let me just take us, all 0:15:00.520 --> 0:15:02.560 three of us are old enough to know, remember when 0:15:02.580 --> 0:15:05.160 they tried to close all the bank branches and push 0:15:05.210 --> 0:15:07.090 us out and they said ATMs, there'll never be any 0:15:07.530 --> 0:15:09.710 fees on ATMs and the banks put fees on ATMs. 0:15:10.150 --> 0:15:11.850 And then a few years later they go, oh, we 0:15:11.890 --> 0:15:13.010 want everyone banking online. 0:15:13.480 --> 0:15:13.979 Don't worry. 0:15:14.400 --> 0:15:15.520 Don't worry. There'll be no fees. 0:15:16.240 --> 0:15:16.620 Okay. 0:15:16.920 --> 0:15:18.120 And now everyone's online. 0:15:18.540 --> 0:15:22.400 And what the banks have been doing is trousering all 0:15:22.480 --> 0:15:25.360 the money from charging these fees to small businesses and 0:15:25.400 --> 0:15:29.290 everybody else. So this is about bank greed. And Reserve 0:15:29.330 --> 0:15:32.470 Bank said enough is enough. And you're not allowed to 0:15:32.490 --> 0:15:34.970 charge them anymore. Now the banks are still charging in 0:15:34.990 --> 0:15:37.530 a direct sense to the small businesses. So they're the 0:15:37.630 --> 0:15:40.210 ones stuck in the middle here. What the banks should 0:15:40.230 --> 0:15:42.390 be doing and what you should be doing is. 0:15:42.450 --> 0:15:43.050 Having a crack. 0:15:43.910 --> 0:15:47.840 At the banks to stop them putting these extra charges on, which, remember, 0:15:47.860 --> 0:15:51.000 we're talking about a flick here. It doesn't cost anything 0:15:51.060 --> 0:15:51.620 other than once. 0:15:51.560 --> 0:15:53.440 You've created the infrastructure. What should the government be doing, Stephen? 0:15:54.840 --> 0:15:55.940 What should the government be doing? 0:15:55.960 --> 0:16:00.410 The government should be telling the banks as well to stop. Well, yes, 0:16:00.750 --> 0:16:03.930 those really profitable banks that are trousering all the money 0:16:04.030 --> 0:16:07.050 on small businesses, they're the ones actually charging the small businesses. 0:16:07.330 --> 0:16:09.170 What the small businesses have done is tried to pass 0:16:09.230 --> 0:16:12.170 it on. The Reserve Bank said no more. And what's happening, 0:16:12.220 --> 0:16:14.940 small business is being hit by, like everybody else, the 0:16:15.000 --> 0:16:18.200 economy being really, really, really tough at the moment. And 0:16:18.260 --> 0:16:21.080 consumers are being hit. So small business is being hit 0:16:21.380 --> 0:16:24.520 from both sides. But the people who have actually been 0:16:24.640 --> 0:16:27.270 causing the price increase, the banks. 0:16:27.310 --> 0:16:27.890 The banks, yeah. 0:16:27.930 --> 0:16:30.710 Should be the ones that actually should be dealt with. 0:16:31.110 --> 0:16:34.110 Michael Kroger, your response, your response. I actually played the 0:16:34.130 --> 0:16:37.070 clip of Albanese saying this is a great idea. 0:16:38.330 --> 0:16:38.550 Yeah. 0:16:38.690 --> 0:16:41.290 I actually played the clip of Albanese saying this was 0:16:41.330 --> 0:16:43.830 a great idea. Now we're told nothing to do with 0:16:43.850 --> 0:16:44.290 the government. 0:16:44.620 --> 0:16:45.720 No, nothing to do with it. What do you think? 0:16:45.780 --> 0:16:48.560 I'm just saying the banks. No, it's all the banks. 0:16:48.680 --> 0:16:52.960 It's completely the banks' fault. Actually, it is. Well, look, Andrew... 0:16:52.540 --> 0:16:53.700 Keep defending the banks, Michael. 0:16:53.740 --> 0:16:55.990 Yeah, no, it's all the banks' fault. Jim Chalmers has 0:16:56.030 --> 0:16:57.810 got a line for tomorrow. And by the way, Andrew, 0:16:57.830 --> 0:17:01.330 I wasn't quite sure about your Your quip about Peter Costello, 0:17:01.590 --> 0:17:02.210 what did that mean? 0:17:02.470 --> 0:17:06.130 Well, he was a treasurer that never actually employed anyone, 0:17:06.150 --> 0:17:06.830 I think was the point. 0:17:06.869 --> 0:17:09.550 Well, he did, and he spent a whole decade working 0:17:09.590 --> 0:17:12.530 for small businesses, Stephen, from dollar stores. 0:17:12.550 --> 0:17:13.350 I didn't say it. 0:17:13.790 --> 0:17:15.969 Well, if that's what Andrew means, then Andrew's wrong. I 0:17:16.020 --> 0:17:19.340 didn't say it either. Well, I don't know what you're 0:17:19.359 --> 0:17:19.840 talking about. 0:17:20.359 --> 0:17:23.100 Well, Michael, why are you defending Peter Costello? 0:17:23.119 --> 0:17:24.840 That's why I mentioned him. 0:17:25.040 --> 0:17:27.720 Because he wants to maintain the perfect friendship they have. 0:17:29.109 --> 0:17:29.330 Right. 0:17:29.670 --> 0:17:31.629 He also won the tax prize at Monash in 1977 0:17:31.630 --> 0:17:32.290 as the top tax. 0:17:32.330 --> 0:17:36.070 As a student. Anyway, moving right along, Andrew. The problem 0:17:36.090 --> 0:17:36.910 with Labor is this. 0:17:38.070 --> 0:17:42.260 They have no understanding of risk. If you've never worked 0:17:42.300 --> 0:17:44.700 in business or run a business, Albert was a bank 0:17:44.720 --> 0:17:47.640 teller for five minutes and Jim Chalmers has never worked 0:17:47.680 --> 0:17:49.780 in the private sector. So why would you think they 0:17:49.800 --> 0:17:51.520 would understand anything about small business? 0:17:51.560 --> 0:17:52.460 The answer is they don't. 0:17:52.840 --> 0:17:54.550 I've just given you the history. Well, maybe Albanese is 0:17:54.590 --> 0:17:55.310 a quick study. 0:17:55.369 --> 0:17:55.930 I don't know. 0:17:57.119 --> 0:18:00.890 Maybe he learned in six months a lifetime of financial management. Andrew, 0:18:00.910 --> 0:18:02.960 they have no idea what they're doing. The Prime Minister, 0:18:02.980 --> 0:18:06.620 by the way, Stephen... No, I got that bit. 0:18:06.800 --> 0:18:07.359 I know that. 0:18:08.200 --> 0:18:12.270 Stephen, the Prime Minister is at this climate pre-conference in Fiji. Now, 0:18:12.330 --> 0:18:14.109 I've got to say, to me, that looks like a 0:18:14.150 --> 0:18:17.730 government that's completely lost focus with all the problems back home. 0:18:18.090 --> 0:18:21.470 Let's talk about throwing more billions at the, you know, 0:18:21.650 --> 0:18:27.310 global warming, millions at these Pacific Island nations with their 0:18:27.350 --> 0:18:31.180 begging bowls out, you know, give us climate cash. I mean, seriously, 0:18:31.240 --> 0:18:31.940 what's he there for? 0:18:33.950 --> 0:18:36.790 Look, Andrew, firstly, I think happy birthday is due for 0:18:36.970 --> 0:18:41.230 your celebration, I understand. But we've known each other a 0:18:41.250 --> 0:18:45.410 very long time and I admire your consistency on climate issues. 0:18:46.070 --> 0:18:49.619 You have been opposed to the debate on your side. 0:18:50.450 --> 0:18:51.250 Oh, here we go. 0:18:51.350 --> 0:18:53.290 for the day... No, no, for the day. 0:18:53.330 --> 0:18:53.409 But. 0:18:53.730 --> 0:18:55.250 But... No, I'm just saying. 0:18:55.270 --> 0:18:57.109 No, I know what's happening. You're trying to paint me 0:18:57.190 --> 0:18:59.470 as an extremist when I'm against the extremists. 0:18:59.520 --> 0:19:00.520 No, no, let me finish my sentence. 0:19:00.540 --> 0:19:03.480 You know, like I'm ideologically committed. I'm not looking at 0:19:03.500 --> 0:19:05.080 the facts. I've presented the facts. 0:19:05.960 --> 0:19:07.640 Andrew, Andrew, you've jumped. 0:19:07.760 --> 0:19:08.720 I know. 0:19:08.640 --> 0:19:09.260 What you're doing. 0:19:09.320 --> 0:19:10.060 I know what you're doing. 0:19:10.119 --> 0:19:10.939 Just answer. 0:19:10.960 --> 0:19:11.920 What is he doing there? 0:19:11.960 --> 0:19:14.020 Andrew, I know you pepped up after a good holiday. No, 0:19:14.440 --> 0:19:17.570 I'm actually saying I admire your consistency. 0:19:18.119 --> 0:19:18.320 The. 0:19:18.280 --> 0:19:19.040 Issue here is. 0:19:19.340 --> 0:19:20.570 OK, you're not going to answer. 0:19:20.590 --> 0:19:25.590 whether they rowed the boat themselves to the islands, you 0:19:25.609 --> 0:19:28.250 would still criticise them for attending even if they rowed 0:19:28.270 --> 0:19:30.490 the boat. It wouldn't matter is the point I'm making. 0:19:31.070 --> 0:19:35.700 No, at least praise them for consistency. Michael, what do 0:19:35.720 --> 0:19:36.960 you think of it all? No, they are as consistent. 0:19:38.460 --> 0:19:41.320 Well, Andrew, in the Financial Review poll this morning, 73% 0:19:41.320 --> 0:19:43.660 of people said that cost of living was a major issue. 0:19:44.160 --> 0:19:48.490 And 13 one three, said global warming was an issue. 0:19:48.490 --> 0:19:49.220 13%. 0:19:49.220 --> 0:19:52.000 So is he going on the right track? No, he 0:19:52.020 --> 0:19:53.740 shouldn't be there. He should be back in Australia dealing 0:19:53.760 --> 0:19:55.920 with issues here. The other thing, by the way, Andrew, 0:19:55.940 --> 0:19:57.860 about the financial review poll, which no one has yet 0:19:58.060 --> 0:20:03.960 figured out, is there's a 9.2% two-party preferred swing against Labor. 0:20:04.000 --> 0:20:05.739 If an election was held tomorrow, and we know it's 0:20:05.820 --> 0:20:07.419 not and blah, blah, blah, we know all that, and 0:20:07.440 --> 0:20:09.209 we know Dutton was ahead in February, we know all that, 0:20:10.290 --> 0:20:12.060 But if there was an election held tomorrow, Labor would 0:20:12.080 --> 0:20:15.639 lose 35 seats. They'd be gone from 94 to 59. 0:20:15.640 --> 0:20:19.220 Taylor would be Prime Minister and Chris Bowen, Chris Bowen 0:20:19.240 --> 0:20:22.740 would lose his seat. The 35th seat is Bowen's seat 0:20:22.790 --> 0:20:27.240 on 9.8, 9.02%. And the swing at the minute against Labor, 0:20:27.320 --> 0:20:31.530 the two-party preferred, is 9.2%. So Albanese would get wiped 0:20:31.650 --> 0:20:34.050 out if an election was held tomorrow. And the one 0:20:34.090 --> 0:20:35.790 thing he can't do at the next election, which he 0:20:35.810 --> 0:20:37.950 could at the last election, he can't buy his. 0:20:37.890 --> 0:20:38.570 Way out of trouble. 0:20:39.230 --> 0:20:42.260 So he did that in 22 and 25. Labor did 0:20:42.300 --> 0:20:44.840 it here in Victoria in 18 and 22. One thing 0:20:44.880 --> 0:20:47.619 Ben Carroll can't do down here is spend billions and 0:20:47.640 --> 0:20:48.900 billions because the state's broke. 0:20:49.560 --> 0:20:51.800 God, I wish you were great. 0:20:52.240 --> 0:20:53.860 He will not be able to cut student debt. 0:20:53.880 --> 0:20:55.340 He will not be able to give all these free 0:20:55.560 --> 0:20:57.640 giveaways and he is in real trouble. 0:20:57.660 --> 0:21:01.590 Mate, they'll throw everything. They'll throw everything at it. 0:21:02.020 --> 0:21:03.300 No, they won't. They won't, Andrew. 0:21:03.320 --> 0:21:05.859 They won't. They can't. Michael Crow, this is Stephen Conroy. 0:21:05.940 --> 0:21:07.040 Lovely to talk to you again. 0:21:09.150 --> 0:21:09.770 Well, great. 0:21:09.850 --> 0:21:12.570 Look, guys, thank you so much. I enjoyed that very much. 0:21:12.630 --> 0:21:16.590 Thank you very much. After the break, a warning to 0:21:16.609 --> 0:21:21.250 the West. Those shocking riots in France as the hard 0:21:21.270 --> 0:21:24.330 left joins with thugs and the children of immigrants to 0:21:24.390 --> 0:21:31.909 attack their own state. I said at the top of 0:21:31.930 --> 0:21:34.200 the show I spent my holidays looking at the ruins 0:21:34.280 --> 0:21:37.179 of past civilisations and I I actually do wonder if 0:21:37.240 --> 0:21:40.470 that could one day include France's as well. France right 0:21:40.510 --> 0:21:43.889 now is looking at almost a civil war in its 0:21:43.990 --> 0:21:48.350 streets against people who seem determined to destroy it. You've 0:21:48.369 --> 0:21:53.560 got students, many seemingly from migrant families, Muslim families, or 0:21:53.600 --> 0:21:57.040 leftists whipped up, police say, by members of a hard-left 0:21:57.080 --> 0:22:02.060 political party, La France Insoumise, like this mayor of Saint-Denis, 0:22:02.660 --> 0:22:04.080 Bali Bagayoko. 0:22:05.220 --> 0:22:06.140 Money! Money! 0:22:06.180 --> 0:22:06.420