WEBVTT - Credlin | 26 October 0:00:07.580 --> 0:00:10.120 Thank you, Chris. Good evening. Welcome to the program. Here's 0:00:10.160 --> 0:00:13.610 what's coming up tonight on Credlin. The latest polling out 0:00:13.630 --> 0:00:16.370 of Victoria. News polls got the coalition on track for 0:00:16.410 --> 0:00:20.660 power in its own right. Labor's primary vote is crashing. 0:00:21.160 --> 0:00:23.710 But be careful, a good poll can be a danger 0:00:23.770 --> 0:00:26.750 zone test for a party with still four weeks to 0:00:26.770 --> 0:00:30.060 go now until Election Day. We'll catch up with Liberal 0:00:30.080 --> 0:00:33.700 leader Jess Wilson as Labor licks against its own man. 0:00:34.270 --> 0:00:37.410 saying that the Premier needs an afternoon nap just to 0:00:37.450 --> 0:00:41.910 get by. The AFP whistleblower who first raised the alarm 0:00:41.970 --> 0:00:46.820 about lack of counter terrorism resources before Bondi overlooked it 0:00:46.940 --> 0:00:50.600 yet again. He's not been called to give evidence despite 0:00:50.640 --> 0:00:55.710 those extra hearings for the Royal Commission. Plus protests re-erupt 0:00:55.750 --> 0:01:00.310 across Europe. Radical groups now planning the unthinkable in Australia, 0:01:00.910 --> 0:01:05.230 hijacking Remembrance Day. And a Victorian MP, the latest to 0:01:05.270 --> 0:01:08.470 receive a threat from the public after an engraved bullet 0:01:08.490 --> 0:01:11.360 was left on the roof of his car, prompting this 0:01:11.500 --> 0:01:14.620 blast from the former leader of the Nationals. 0:01:15.540 --> 0:01:16.860 I mean, that's just bullshit. 0:01:17.600 --> 0:01:20.020 I mean, for Christ's sakes, everyone's just got to take 0:01:20.060 --> 0:01:21.880 a deep breath. I mean, I get we've all got 0:01:21.900 --> 0:01:23.500 to be angry these days. We've all got to have 0:01:23.520 --> 0:01:26.000 a cause. We've all got to show it somehow. But, 0:01:26.580 --> 0:01:29.050 you know, it's just some civility. I mean, our country's 0:01:29.060 --> 0:01:32.010 better than this. This is not what our country is 0:01:32.050 --> 0:01:32.670 being built on. 0:01:34.190 --> 0:01:37.830 But first, today in the Parliament, rightly, we heard a 0:01:37.870 --> 0:01:41.550 lot of fine words about injured MP Helen Haynes as 0:01:41.590 --> 0:01:45.690 she continues to recover from a horrific incident outside her 0:01:45.709 --> 0:01:50.740 Wengereta office this time last week. But the commentary from 0:01:50.800 --> 0:01:55.480 Anthony Albanese remained jarring, given it was his office that 0:01:55.530 --> 0:01:59.510 had circulated a dirt sheet about Haynes just weeks before 0:01:59.590 --> 0:02:00.810 her alleged assault. 0:02:01.070 --> 0:02:04.150 The shock from what happened last Monday is like a 0:02:04.230 --> 0:02:08.430 stone in our hearts. We look across to the member 0:02:08.450 --> 0:02:11.590 for Indi's place and despite ourselves, half expect to see 0:02:11.630 --> 0:02:14.990 her face. Like a trick that the heart plays on 0:02:15.030 --> 0:02:17.790 the mind, if only to grant us a moment's respite 0:02:18.550 --> 0:02:19.169 from the truth. 0:02:20.910 --> 0:02:25.100 Thank you, Prime Minister, but no one has forgotten what happened. 0:02:25.460 --> 0:02:28.600 The dirt file that the Labor people put on many 0:02:28.680 --> 0:02:34.880 politicians who may go against the Albanese Labor government, what 0:02:34.930 --> 0:02:36.370 they're doing, is wrong. 0:02:36.389 --> 0:02:38.989 Well, I think it goes to the character of the 0:02:39.030 --> 0:02:44.709 Prime Minister and his office that they seek to denigrate 0:02:44.990 --> 0:02:49.630 the reputation of Helen Haynes. with the media to get 0:02:49.669 --> 0:02:53.900 a bad story up simply because she was asking legitimate 0:02:53.940 --> 0:03:00.880 questions about why he was awarding $ 6. 05 million to the 0:03:00.900 --> 0:03:01.860 Marrickville Golf Club. 0:03:02.480 --> 0:03:04.860 That that was their first response. 0:03:04.980 --> 0:03:07.830 I also think it's a bit odd to have the 0:03:07.850 --> 0:03:12.430 Prime Minister calling for a lower temperature of debate when 0:03:12.730 --> 0:03:17.590 his own office was distributing a shit sheet about Helen 0:03:17.620 --> 0:03:18.960 Haynes just a few weeks ago. 0:03:20.620 --> 0:03:25.040 That's Albanese's problem, isn't it? He lacks the grace to apologise, 0:03:25.440 --> 0:03:28.760 the humility to admit when he's got it wrong, despite 0:03:28.880 --> 0:03:32.120 ample opportunities to show the sort of leadership that Australians 0:03:32.580 --> 0:03:33.799 are desperate for. 0:03:34.990 --> 0:03:37.290 Were you aware or give approval to your office to 0:03:37.330 --> 0:03:43.050 distribute to the press gallery information about Helen Haynes? about 0:03:43.090 --> 0:03:46.190 grants that she'd sought after she criticised you over the 0:03:46.190 --> 0:03:48.690 $ 6 million Marrickville grant? 0:03:49.810 --> 0:03:53.530 Helen Haynes is a good local member. She put forward 0:03:53.840 --> 0:03:59.340 applications like other members do for grants and that's what 0:03:59.380 --> 0:04:00.540 good local members do. 0:04:00.640 --> 0:04:03.280 So did the office send that out? Do you regret 0:04:03.320 --> 0:04:05.370 that in hindsight given the events of recent days? 0:04:05.380 --> 0:04:08.930 Well, Helen Haynes is a strong advocate for her community. 0:04:10.100 --> 0:04:15.650 Now, let's not forget either why the mild-mannered Haynes had 0:04:15.730 --> 0:04:19.570 so got under the Prime Minister's skin, because she had 0:04:19.610 --> 0:04:24.850 the temerity to question the probity about his community grants program, 0:04:25.630 --> 0:04:30.510 as she should. as every decent MP should, given just 0:04:30.570 --> 0:04:34.490 how rotten this pork barrel grant scheme is proving itself 0:04:34.570 --> 0:04:39.039 to be, following more revelations about the $ 6 million the 0:04:39.390 --> 0:04:42.240 Prime Minister gave to his mates at the Marrickville Golf 0:04:42.279 --> 0:04:46.540 Club just days out from last year's federal election. And 0:04:46.580 --> 0:04:50.700 they were his mates. They were his mates. Even if 0:04:50.740 --> 0:04:53.070 he told the Parliament, they were not. 0:04:54.089 --> 0:04:56.730 I do not have a card as a member of 0:04:56.790 --> 0:04:57.830 Marrickville Golf Club. 0:04:58.300 --> 0:05:01.440 I haven't spoken. And I've been coming here for decades 0:05:01.600 --> 0:05:05.099 and using this club. I don't know who the executive 0:05:05.180 --> 0:05:06.960 of Marrickville Golf Club are. 0:05:07.100 --> 0:05:08.160 I don't know. 0:05:07.960 --> 0:05:11.620 Who the executive of Marrickville Golf Club are. I don't 0:05:11.740 --> 0:05:14.900 use the facilities. And I've been coming here for decades 0:05:15.080 --> 0:05:16.200 and using this club. 0:05:16.580 --> 0:05:18.530 I don't do anything whatsoever for it. 0:05:18.550 --> 0:05:19.730 Today I want to announce. 0:05:20.600 --> 0:05:25.490 that a federal Labor government is committing. 0:05:24.370 --> 0:05:26.770 $ 350, 000. 0:05:24.970 --> 0:05:29.810 To make sure that this club can host more events. 0:05:30.110 --> 0:05:32.790 I don't play golf, Mr Speaker. 0:05:32.810 --> 0:05:37.060 For them to draw this extraordinarily long bow. 0:05:38.520 --> 0:05:42.560 Okay, so all of that we know, but here's what's new. 0:05:43.480 --> 0:05:48.109 Last week at the Senate inquiry that's investigating the Marrickville millions, 0:05:48.790 --> 0:05:51.870 there was a long discussion about the purpose of the 0:05:51.930 --> 0:05:57.630 taxpayer grant. Remember when pushed on the $ 6 million issue 0:05:57.690 --> 0:06:01.460 during question time last month, on the 9th of September, 0:06:01.920 --> 0:06:04.860 the Prime Minister told the House that the grant was 0:06:05.000 --> 0:06:10.200 necessary to fix raw sewerage flowing into the nearby Cooks River. 0:06:11.220 --> 0:06:14.700 It's existed for a long period of time, almost 100 years, 0:06:15.380 --> 0:06:19.169 and they have a septic tank which, because when it 0:06:19.260 --> 0:06:23.409 is on the floodplain, when it floods in Marrickville, raw 0:06:23.470 --> 0:06:28.370 sewerage flows into the Cooks River. That is what the 0:06:28.450 --> 0:06:29.529 funding is for. 0:06:31.029 --> 0:06:35.480 OK, that is September this year. Now, in question time, 0:06:35.690 --> 0:06:39.260 the next day, Albanese doubled down. 0:06:39.750 --> 0:06:43.330 And one for the upgrade of the Inner West Council-owned 0:06:43.510 --> 0:06:47.729 Marrickville Golf Club. Included in that was funding to fix 0:06:47.810 --> 0:06:52.920 the sewerage because it goes into the river and causes 0:06:53.000 --> 0:06:55.020 a problem when it floods. 0:06:57.180 --> 0:07:00.580 Well, how is that right? Given a media release I 0:07:00.620 --> 0:07:03.490 showed you a couple of weeks ago, from the Crown 0:07:03.560 --> 0:07:08.200 Works Department in New South Wales, announcing last year that 0:07:08.279 --> 0:07:11.180 they were funding the sewerage works at a cost of 0:07:11.180 --> 0:07:17.280 $ 270, 000 to state taxpayers. I put this all out on 0:07:17.580 --> 0:07:20.320 air at the time as well, but not that the 0:07:20.400 --> 0:07:24.400 facts stop the lies from the Prime Minister, but maybe 0:07:24.480 --> 0:07:29.220 these comments will. Here's Jacinta MacDonald, a senior official in 0:07:29.260 --> 0:07:33.230 the Federal Government Department of Infrastructure, giving evidence to the 0:07:33.290 --> 0:07:39.070 Senate Inquiry. on the Marrickville Millions on Thursday, confirming that 0:07:39.090 --> 0:07:43.550 the $ 6 million golf club grant had nothing at all 0:07:43.630 --> 0:07:46.880 to do with sewerage, despite the Prime Minister telling the 0:07:46.940 --> 0:07:49.340 Parliament twice that it did. 0:07:49.740 --> 0:07:52.640 The grantee must deliver the design and upgrade of the 0:07:52.680 --> 0:07:58.750 Marrickville Golf Club, including the following deliverables. The club precinct refurbishment, 0:08:00.630 --> 0:08:06.040 which includes a range of installation of a stormwater harvesting system, 0:08:06.140 --> 0:08:10.680 including storage tanks and pump, creation of a botanical garden 0:08:10.900 --> 0:08:15.100 and biodiversity area, and an upgrade of the existing electrical 0:08:15.160 --> 0:08:20.440 capacity to 200 amps. The sewerage works are not in 0:08:20.460 --> 0:08:21.410 the scope of this grant. 0:08:21.430 --> 0:08:23.110 This grant focuses on the stormwater. 0:08:24.130 --> 0:08:28.010 There you go. Now, what's also telling and appears to 0:08:28.070 --> 0:08:31.420 confirm the evidence of McDonald's is the fact that on 0:08:31.440 --> 0:08:36.140 the government's own Grant Connect website, there's no mention of 0:08:36.280 --> 0:08:41.179 sewerage in the funding description. So either the public servant 0:08:41.420 --> 0:08:44.990 and the government's own website are making it up, or 0:08:45.030 --> 0:08:49.170 the Prime Minister misled the House, pure and simple. 0:08:49.490 --> 0:08:51.490 Reducing power prices by $ 275. 0:08:51.190 --> 0:08:53.110 Can you rule. 0:08:53.010 --> 0:08:56.470 Out any changes to negative gearing and capital gains tax? 0:08:56.510 --> 0:08:56.590 Yes. 0:08:57.210 --> 0:09:08.819 How hard is it for the 50th time? You know, 0:09:09.020 --> 0:09:12.480 I stepped off the stage. I didn't fall over on 0:09:13.120 --> 0:09:13.920 my backside. 0:09:15.280 --> 0:09:15.939 I stumbled. 0:09:16.220 --> 0:09:16.959 That's what happened. 0:09:16.980 --> 0:09:19.420 The Japanese Prime Minister brought a melon. 0:09:19.640 --> 0:09:19.840 She? 0:09:19.860 --> 0:09:20.740 Did she smuggle it? 0:09:21.020 --> 0:09:21.420 I don't know. 0:09:21.679 --> 0:09:23.240 Oh, I'm expecting. 0:09:23.300 --> 0:09:24.220 Got a couple of melons. 0:09:24.460 --> 0:09:27.189 She brought two. She brought two, as you do. 0:09:27.490 --> 0:09:30.809 Certainly, as the interpretation that some have put on this 0:09:31.070 --> 0:09:32.490 is simply not correct. 0:09:35.010 --> 0:09:38.130 This bloke is making lying an art form. You can 0:09:38.210 --> 0:09:41.580 see it there. It's a pattern of behaviour. What was 0:09:41.660 --> 0:09:44.840 also uncovered in the Senate inquiry was just how involved 0:09:45.330 --> 0:09:50.660 Labor Party head office was in this whole grants program, 0:09:51.220 --> 0:09:54.620 with party operatives calling the shots on where and how 0:09:55.040 --> 0:10:00.620 taxpayer money was spent. And this was confirmed yesterday. by 0:10:00.660 --> 0:10:02.940 the infrastructure minister, Catherine King. 0:10:02.960 --> 0:10:05.939 It's a pork barrel, isn't it? You administered a pork barrel. 0:10:09.020 --> 0:10:12.740 Well, there are election commitments and obviously the party that 0:10:12.780 --> 0:10:15.920 wins government then gets to deliver its election commitments and 0:10:15.960 --> 0:10:16.740 that's what they are. 0:10:17.000 --> 0:10:19.340 Labor's head office involved in that. 0:10:20.710 --> 0:10:22.980 Yeah, absolutely. 0:10:23.080 --> 0:10:24.360 Like, yeah, absolutely. 0:10:24.420 --> 0:10:27.720 Because it's an election commitment process. It's a political process. So, 0:10:28.280 --> 0:10:31.980 of course, you know, that is done through the party machinery, 0:10:32.020 --> 0:10:33.800 not through government machinery. 0:10:36.370 --> 0:10:39.189 Remember, this was not an open grants program where any 0:10:39.270 --> 0:10:42.849 community organisation could put up their hand for help. It 0:10:42.890 --> 0:10:47.430 was invite only. Organisations only got a go if they 0:10:47.470 --> 0:10:50.410 were tapped on the shoulder by a Labor MP mate 0:10:50.470 --> 0:10:54.610 and told to apply after, and she confirms it there, 0:10:55.150 --> 0:10:58.960 head office, the politicos, made the call on how much 0:10:59.020 --> 0:11:03.000 of your money they needed to spend in the seat 0:11:03.400 --> 0:11:06.260 to win it. In the case of the golf club, 0:11:06.300 --> 0:11:09.460 they didn't even have to apply given their number one 0:11:09.600 --> 0:11:14.219 patron's home, the Prime Minister, was a mere 200 metres 0:11:14.340 --> 0:11:15.240 from their back fence. 0:11:16.420 --> 0:11:19.400 And thanks to the federal Labor government and to Prime 0:11:19.420 --> 0:11:22.339 Minister Albo for the $ 6 million grant that they committed 0:11:22.380 --> 0:11:23.460 to during the campaign. 0:11:23.480 --> 0:11:25.559 So what are you guys thinking about how this will 0:11:25.580 --> 0:11:26.220 improve the club? 0:11:26.490 --> 0:11:27.709 Oh, look, it's going to be fantastic. 0:11:27.750 --> 0:11:29.250 This will be the start of a whole new era 0:11:29.270 --> 0:11:29.750 for the club. 0:11:29.790 --> 0:11:31.610 We'll be able to turn this place into such a 0:11:31.710 --> 0:11:33.089 wonderful community area. 0:11:33.390 --> 0:11:35.550 This is going to be able to bring forward all 0:11:35.590 --> 0:11:37.750 the projects that we've had planned for years and years 0:11:37.770 --> 0:11:40.670 and years. And we've always been after grant funding for this. 0:11:40.710 --> 0:11:42.290 Now we've got a big kick of money and we'll 0:11:42.330 --> 0:11:43.000 be able to do it all. 0:11:45.690 --> 0:11:49.150 Big bucket of your money. If Albanese does this with 0:11:49.150 --> 0:11:53.740 $ 6 million, what does it say about every other grant 0:11:54.179 --> 0:11:57.890 in this half a billion dollar program? Law professor Anne 0:11:57.950 --> 0:12:01.670 Toomey has called it grey corruption and it is. Just 0:12:01.710 --> 0:12:05.920 like the $ 15 billion allegedly siphoned off in Victoria with 0:12:05.940 --> 0:12:08.880 the big build and handed over to corrupt union thugs 0:12:08.940 --> 0:12:12.820 and organised crime, taxpayers are being ripped off by Labor 0:12:12.920 --> 0:12:16.500 on a grand scale, state and federal. And this is 0:12:16.520 --> 0:12:20.480 just the tip of the iceberg. But misleading the Parliament, 0:12:21.260 --> 0:12:24.750 that's all there for you tonight. Well, that's a new low, 0:12:25.330 --> 0:12:32.830 even for this Prime Minister. All right, let's get our 0:12:32.850 --> 0:12:35.990 headlines now with our political reporter, Ruben Sparco. 0:12:37.350 --> 0:12:37.849 Good evening. 0:12:38.070 --> 0:12:41.290 Parliament is rallying around Helen Haynes as the member for 0:12:41.390 --> 0:12:45.010 Indi recovers from an alleged deliberate attack. It was a 0:12:45.050 --> 0:12:47.590 moment of solidarity inside the lower house. 0:12:47.910 --> 0:12:51.000 The shock from what happened last Monday is like a 0:12:51.080 --> 0:12:52.620 stone in our hearts. 0:12:53.320 --> 0:12:56.380 The Prime Minister also warned of what he described as 0:12:56.500 --> 0:12:58.520 growing anger in political debate. 0:12:58.679 --> 0:13:02.620 We're seeing a normalisation of the language of grievance and violence. 0:13:02.940 --> 0:13:09.570 Robust, rigorous debate has long been the substitute for Violence. 0:13:09.850 --> 0:13:11.970 This is getting rid of violence. 0:13:12.350 --> 0:13:15.690 Question time went ahead as planned today and parliamentary business 0:13:15.730 --> 0:13:19.530 will resume as normal tomorrow. The Treasurer is conceding he 0:13:19.580 --> 0:13:22.660 needs to spend more time listening to colleagues concerned about 0:13:22.679 --> 0:13:26.420 the government's tax changes. Jim Chalmers acknowledges Labor has lost 0:13:26.500 --> 0:13:27.900 ground since the May budget. 0:13:28.220 --> 0:13:30.319 I should make more time for my colleagues. I see 0:13:30.340 --> 0:13:30.800 a lot of them. 0:13:30.960 --> 0:13:32.620 But if the message is that I need to do 0:13:32.679 --> 0:13:35.660 more of that, then I take that message seriously. 0:13:35.760 --> 0:13:38.320 He says it's up to the Prime Minister and other 0:13:38.340 --> 0:13:42.080 ministers to explain their own roles in the government's decisions. 0:13:44.260 --> 0:13:45.480 All right, let's get into a whole lot of the 0:13:45.540 --> 0:13:49.180 issues out there today with our political contributor, Chris Ullman, 0:13:49.220 --> 0:13:53.840 who joins me now from Canberra. Chris, we saw at 0:13:53.880 --> 0:13:57.110 the start of the day today all those tributes to 0:13:57.190 --> 0:14:00.990 Helen Haynes, but still a cloud around the Prime Minister, 0:14:01.050 --> 0:14:04.530 the dirt unit. sheet that was issued by his office 0:14:04.740 --> 0:14:11.240 against the independent MP. He's all tea and sympathy today, 0:14:11.740 --> 0:14:16.470 but there's absolutely nothing in his character which allows him 0:14:16.570 --> 0:14:20.470 to admit where he's made a mistake or even apologise. 0:14:21.070 --> 0:14:24.030 And I have to say, this is what hurts him 0:14:24.110 --> 0:14:25.330 so much with people. 0:14:27.440 --> 0:14:29.160 Yeah, Peter, let me start by saying that I don't 0:14:29.200 --> 0:14:31.620 doubt the sincerity of anyone in Parliament today is talking 0:14:31.640 --> 0:14:32.460 about Helena Haynes. 0:14:32.500 --> 0:14:34.000 This strikes very close to home. 0:14:34.020 --> 0:14:36.380 They were close to the woman and, of course, they 0:14:36.400 --> 0:14:38.260 worry about their own safety and what this means for 0:14:38.280 --> 0:14:40.870 politics in Australia. And if it had not been for 0:14:40.880 --> 0:14:43.330 that horrible assault on Helena Haynes, we would not now 0:14:43.390 --> 0:14:45.210 be talking about this because I've seen these kind of 0:14:45.290 --> 0:14:47.810 background documents go out for at least the last two 0:14:47.870 --> 0:14:50.770 decades from ministers and prime ministers' office when they essentially 0:14:51.210 --> 0:14:53.210 get peeved by something that's said against them and try 0:14:53.230 --> 0:14:56.170 to impugn the character of others. I think that document 0:14:56.230 --> 0:14:59.390 is there for people to read. It jars with the way. 0:14:59.320 --> 0:15:01.130 That Anthony Albanese is interpreting it. 0:15:01.540 --> 0:15:03.140 And in the long run, he has to think about 0:15:03.180 --> 0:15:06.020 how these things add up over time and how it 0:15:06.200 --> 0:15:09.700 is that that does damage his standing in the community 0:15:09.880 --> 0:15:13.170 when his words seem to be at odds to the 0:15:13.270 --> 0:15:16.470 things that they can see and judge for themselves. So, 0:15:16.930 --> 0:15:18.650 you know, it is, I think, a tragedy that this 0:15:18.670 --> 0:15:21.190 gets dragged into what's happened to Helen Haynes and we 0:15:21.210 --> 0:15:23.510 should all be thinking about her rather than how. 0:15:23.930 --> 0:15:25.450 Legal officers have dealt with each other. 0:15:25.490 --> 0:15:27.840 But, yes, I do think this sort of thing is 0:15:27.880 --> 0:15:30.680 an accumulation, I think, which you showed at the top 0:15:30.720 --> 0:15:34.760 of the show, an accumulation of damage to character that 0:15:34.780 --> 0:15:35.400 we are seeing. 0:15:37.580 --> 0:15:40.580 You're right to say, Chris, that almost every side of 0:15:40.640 --> 0:15:45.570 politics does it. They do, I guess, an aggregation of 0:15:45.630 --> 0:15:48.930 things that their opponent has got wrong or said against 0:15:48.990 --> 0:15:52.210 them in the past. It's not always personal. You know, 0:15:52.250 --> 0:15:55.550 sometimes it can be sort of ineptitude in delivering a 0:15:55.610 --> 0:15:58.950 government program or something to do with the portfolio. But 0:15:59.050 --> 0:16:02.610 what is different here is I've seen other politicians called 0:16:02.670 --> 0:16:04.750 out like this, Chris, and they admit they've got it wrong. 0:16:05.080 --> 0:16:08.060 They apologise. They just go, well, you know, that's not 0:16:08.140 --> 0:16:10.180 aged well. Yeah, it looks pretty terrible now. I wish 0:16:10.220 --> 0:16:12.880 I hadn't done it. He never does any of that. 0:16:13.440 --> 0:16:16.760 On every single time, at every single point he's pulled up, 0:16:17.360 --> 0:16:20.980 It's denial, it's deflection, it's, you know, black is white 0:16:21.020 --> 0:16:24.220 or white is black. He will never admit to getting 0:16:24.240 --> 0:16:26.040 things wrong. That's the problem. 0:16:27.180 --> 0:16:29.500 Yeah, and I think you'll find that the research of 0:16:29.590 --> 0:16:32.520 both major political parties does show at the moment that 0:16:32.570 --> 0:16:37.030 the word that people associate with Anthony Albanese now, the 0:16:37.110 --> 0:16:40.270 most common word that comes up in focus groups, is liar. 0:16:41.450 --> 0:16:43.550 And the Labor Party must be aware of that. 0:16:43.430 --> 0:16:45.870 Because I doubt that their internal polling is any different 0:16:45.890 --> 0:16:47.890 from the polling that I've seen elsewhere. 0:16:47.910 --> 0:16:51.430 And that is a worry for the Prime Minister. 0:16:51.450 --> 0:16:54.710 That is a word that has now stuck to his character. 0:16:54.730 --> 0:16:56.290 And as you know, you get a certain amount of 0:16:56.350 --> 0:16:58.730 time to try and form your character in public. 0:16:58.790 --> 0:17:00.630 Anthony Albanese has had a long time. 0:17:01.110 --> 0:17:03.310 Once that kind of thought gets stuck in the mind 0:17:03.370 --> 0:17:07.230 of voters, that's a very difficult thing to shake. And unfortunately, 0:17:07.310 --> 0:17:09.960 not just with some of the things that Anthony Albanese 0:17:10.000 --> 0:17:12.100 has said and done, but the things that his government 0:17:12.140 --> 0:17:16.140 continues to say and do that jar so dreadfully with 0:17:16.200 --> 0:17:18.660 the public record. Like, just give you one more example. 0:17:19.520 --> 0:17:21.919 Chris Bowen led people to believe that the cost of 0:17:21.980 --> 0:17:26.310 the pre-COP event in Fiji was about $ 20 million. What 0:17:26.330 --> 0:17:29.430 does it turn out today? It's $ 34 million. Now, there's 0:17:29.450 --> 0:17:32.010 a long way between 20 and 34, and he would 0:17:32.030 --> 0:17:34.889 have had access to those figures. So Again, why do 0:17:34.950 --> 0:17:38.030 you allow that to be believed by people when eventually 0:17:38.070 --> 0:17:39.250 the truth will out? 0:17:39.330 --> 0:17:40.910 It doesn't even make any sense to me. 0:17:43.210 --> 0:17:45.130 At the same time, of course, that you're cutting money 0:17:45.210 --> 0:17:48.310 to veterans, you're cutting money to those with private health 0:17:48.350 --> 0:17:52.150 insurance over the age of 65. This is where the government, again, 0:17:52.190 --> 0:17:54.730 has got a problem. And cost of living is huge. 0:17:55.020 --> 0:17:58.100 We know it's a massive issue for anyone on a 0:17:58.130 --> 0:18:01.100 fixed income or with a mortgage. We've got inflation data 0:18:01.140 --> 0:18:03.490 out tomorrow. I mean, no one's going to take a 0:18:03.530 --> 0:18:05.500 bet to say there will not be a rate hike 0:18:06.070 --> 0:18:08.929 on Melbourne Cup Day. That's coming. We've got the property 0:18:08.970 --> 0:18:12.290 market in free fall. Reports today that fewer than half 0:18:12.350 --> 0:18:14.430 the homes that were listed for auction on the weekend 0:18:14.710 --> 0:18:19.200 have sold. And now we've got the Treasurer basically apologising 0:18:19.260 --> 0:18:23.300 to colleagues that his budget's blowing up their chances of 0:18:23.380 --> 0:18:28.740 holding their seats. That's not about anything other than here's 0:18:28.770 --> 0:18:32.030 the votes in that room, in the caucus room, should 0:18:32.050 --> 0:18:35.150 he ever want to run as leader. It's not about you, Chris. 0:18:35.730 --> 0:18:38.170 It's not about anyone with a mortgage. It's about his 0:18:38.270 --> 0:18:40.189 votes in that room for leader. 0:18:42.310 --> 0:18:44.510 Well, if Jim Chalmers should apologise to anyone, he should 0:18:44.570 --> 0:18:47.340 apologise to the Australian people for the budget he's brought 0:18:47.380 --> 0:18:50.840 down and the cumulative things that the government has done 0:18:50.980 --> 0:18:53.879 to tank the housing market in Australia, which is the 0:18:53.940 --> 0:18:57.800 wealth creation engine for ordinary Australians in this country, and 0:18:57.820 --> 0:19:00.100 they are now seeing that being shredded. 0:19:00.119 --> 0:19:02.159 I was talking to a very, very good. 0:19:02.080 --> 0:19:05.570 Judge of these things today, who believes that in the 0:19:05.650 --> 0:19:08.129 long term this will have an effect on helping to 0:19:08.170 --> 0:19:11.150 destroy parts of the construction industry in Australia, which means 0:19:11.190 --> 0:19:13.949 that there won't be as many new houses that we 0:19:13.990 --> 0:19:16.840 hope might be being built and that all of the 0:19:16.890 --> 0:19:19.230 effects of what the government has done will lead to 0:19:19.300 --> 0:19:22.119 a tanking of the economy because people will feel poorer 0:19:22.160 --> 0:19:25.180 and they won't spend as much. So I think that 0:19:25.220 --> 0:19:27.899 Jim Chalmers does have an enormous amount of apologising to 0:19:27.940 --> 0:19:30.200 do and at some point he may have to make 0:19:30.240 --> 0:19:34.350 a very embarrassing retreat from the policies. He's already done some, 0:19:34.390 --> 0:19:36.820 but a big retreat from the policies brought. 0:19:36.619 --> 0:19:37.340 Down in the budget. 0:19:37.400 --> 0:19:39.480 And if that's the case, I can't see how the 0:19:39.560 --> 0:19:42.439 Treasurer hangs on to his own job, let alone covets 0:19:42.760 --> 0:19:43.560 the Prime Minister's. 0:19:45.650 --> 0:19:48.790 OK, Chris Bowen, how does he survive? I mean, Snowy 0:19:48.790 --> 0:19:51.840 2.0 has gone from... 2 to 12. He's changed the 0:19:51.920 --> 0:19:56.230 contract rules. No longer fixed price. Basically, it's whatever you want. 0:19:56.270 --> 0:19:58.399 You write it on the cheque, he'll just sign it. 0:19:59.070 --> 0:20:03.070 It's upwards of $ 25 billion. I don't think it'll end 0:20:03.130 --> 0:20:06.320 at $ 25 billion. Is it time we walk away? 0:20:08.570 --> 0:20:09.570 Yes, I think it is, Peter. 0:20:09.590 --> 0:20:11.990 And by the way, on your program last week at 0:20:12.030 --> 0:20:15.670 around about this time, I said that it would be about. 0:20:14.830 --> 0:20:18.670 $ 22 billion. Well, $ 22. 0:20:17.190 --> 0:20:21.380 2 billion was the cost that the contractor has been telling. 0:20:21.390 --> 0:20:24.959 It's now $ 2. 0. But they so doubt that now they 0:20:25.000 --> 0:20:28.560 put in a contingency of another $ 3 billion. Now, we're 0:20:28.619 --> 0:20:32.280 about halfway through the digging of this particular project. 0:20:32.320 --> 0:20:36.290 We've spent nearly half the money. What are we doing 0:20:36.350 --> 0:20:37.270 this for? 0:20:37.490 --> 0:20:40.470 If we're going to spend $ 25 billion to apparently get 0:20:40.510 --> 0:20:44.379 an electricity saving over 45 years of $ 7 billion, in 0:20:44.420 --> 0:20:48.040 no universe does any of this stuff add up. And so, again, 0:20:48.420 --> 0:20:50.900 everything that we have seen has been. 0:20:50.700 --> 0:20:53.699 A vast underestimate of where we land. 0:20:54.040 --> 0:20:57.030 Almost every single thing that Chris Bowen says is a 0:20:57.119 --> 0:21:00.910 million miles from where the truth actually lies. 0:21:01.290 --> 0:21:01.490 Again. 0:21:02.210 --> 0:21:05.110 In the private sector, how anyone would hang on to 0:21:05.170 --> 0:21:08.770 a job with a performance that's been put in by 0:21:08.810 --> 0:21:12.790 some of these ministers would beggar belief, and yet they 0:21:12.950 --> 0:21:13.970 fail upwards. 0:21:16.780 --> 0:21:20.180 Yep, if it was a performance pay, poor old taxpayers 0:21:20.560 --> 0:21:22.719 would be saving money with these clowns, but that's not 0:21:22.780 --> 0:21:25.590 what it is, unfortunately. Chris, we'll leave it there. Let's 0:21:25.609 --> 0:21:28.730 go now to the EU trade deal that the Albanese 0:21:28.770 --> 0:21:32.869 government is so desperate to sign off. Plenty of scrutiny here. 0:21:33.250 --> 0:21:38.250 Claims that secret legally binding climate targets are included and 0:21:38.310 --> 0:21:42.730 could leave Australian producers exposed to crippling penalties. And that's 0:21:42.750 --> 0:21:45.359 before we get into the fact that EU farmers are 0:21:45.460 --> 0:21:50.100 subsidised by the governments there in a way no Australian 0:21:50.180 --> 0:21:53.010 farmer is. Let's bring in the Shadow Trade Minister, Ted O'Brien, 0:21:53.450 --> 0:21:58.330 who's been raising the alarm over this agreement. I have 0:21:58.369 --> 0:22:01.590 to say, Ted, I was always dubious. We started the 0:22:01.750 --> 0:22:04.990 FTA for the EU in the Abbott era. I remember 0:22:05.030 --> 0:22:07.949 the early negotiations, of course. And a lot of the 0:22:08.030 --> 0:22:10.689 time back then, they wanted to load it up with 0:22:10.800 --> 0:22:14.280 all of these climate commitments. Labor walked away from the 0:22:14.320 --> 0:22:18.720 deal in 2023 because they said the offer wasn't good enough. 0:22:19.440 --> 0:22:22.160