Speaker 1: From Schwartz Media. I'm Ruby Jones. This is seven AM.
Speaker 1: Last week, news Court tabloids ran front page stories all
Speaker 1: around the country saying a similar thing that Australia needed
Speaker 1: to step on the gas or else we'll face blackouts
Speaker 1: and soaring electricity prices. But you had to turn the
Speaker 1: page to find out that the coverage, labeled as an
Speaker 1: exclusive special report was in fact sponsored by major gas companies.
Speaker 1: The Greens are now planning to call Murdock Media executives
Speaker 1: before a Senate inquiry into greenwashing, saying the reporting was
Speaker 1: no more than propaganda masquerading as news. Today. Green spokesperson
Speaker 1: for Communications and chair of the Senate inquiry into greenwashing,
Speaker 1: Sarah Hanson Young on gas warfare and the power of
Speaker 1: the fossil fuel lobby. It's Wednesday eleven, so Senator Hanson Young,
Speaker 1: welcome to seven Am. It's great to have you on
Speaker 1: the show. Thanks for having me. So I thought we
Speaker 1: could start with the reports we saw recently in multiple
Speaker 1: news Court papers about the importance of the gas industry.
Speaker 1: What did you think when you first saw those front pages.
Speaker 2: Well, it was pretty extraordinary, wasn't it. The idea that
Speaker 2: big gas lobby groups industry can take over front pages
Speaker 2: of daily newspapers and have such sway inside I was
Speaker 2: obviously dressed up as news even though it wasn't, and
Speaker 2: frankly and it looked pretty much like propaganda to me.
Speaker 1: So if you looked past the front page inside the papers,
Speaker 1: there was this note that what was running was actually
Speaker 1: it was an advertorial so sponsored by APA Group, which
Speaker 1: is this gas infrastructure business and several gas companies as well.
Speaker 1: Do you think that enough was done to disclose that
Speaker 1: the fact that this was a paid advertisement rather than
Speaker 1: a straight news report as it might have seemed on
Speaker 1: first class No.
Speaker 2: Not enough was done at all, And that was how
Speaker 2: it was designed. It was designed to look like news
Speaker 2: even though it was just propaganda. You have to kind
Speaker 2: of go and find the small print. And this is
Speaker 2: a really concerning element. I mean, this really shows the
Speaker 2: power of the fossil fuel industry in Australia, the relationship
Speaker 2: they have with the media, particularly the Murdock Press. And
Speaker 2: you know, in other countries, you know, you might call
Speaker 2: what's going on here reminiscent of a petro state, but
Speaker 2: of course what might be seen as corruption elsewhere here
Speaker 2: in Australia seems like it's you know, doing business.
Speaker 1: You've said that you plan to call Murdock executives for
Speaker 1: the Senate to answer questions from this committee investigation into greenwashing,
Speaker 1: of which you are the chair. Tell me what you
Speaker 1: are trying to achieve here.
Speaker 2: Well, we've been running this green washing inquiry for over
Speaker 2: a year now and it's been extraordinary actually to really
Speaker 2: be able to drill down to the level of green
Speaker 2: washing that we see in everyday media and advertising in Australia,
Speaker 2: and a lot of it is coming from the fossil
Speaker 2: fuel industry as they're desperate to kind of generate and
Speaker 2: keep hold of a social license. You know, this is
Speaker 2: just the latest example, frankly, we've seen in recent months
Speaker 2: the expose of the gas industry taking out sponsorship of
Speaker 2: Master Chef. We've looked at that through our green washing inquiry,
Speaker 2: and this is an industry that's not trying to sell
Speaker 2: a product. They're selling and promoting the idea of fossil
Speaker 2: fuels being good and gas being good. They're trying to
Speaker 2: purchase a social license.
Speaker 1: Have you had any response at all from anyone in
Speaker 1: News Corp?
Speaker 2: Not as yet, and I think you know we will
Speaker 2: press go on this in the new year when the
Speaker 2: committee can reconvene and we can run this hearing. But
Speaker 2: it's it's pretty blatant, and I guess that's why I
Speaker 2: said it at the beginning. In other countries, I think
Speaker 2: this would be called out as corruption, the power of
Speaker 2: this industry in the media, the power in politics, and
Speaker 2: the influence they have over our parliament and politicians. But
Speaker 2: in Australia, this isn't corruption. In Australia, this is just
Speaker 2: doing business for the gas industry.
Speaker 1: Would you compel them to attend if they refuse to come?
Speaker 2: Well, the Senate inquiry and under the normal Senate Committee rules,
Speaker 2: we actually have very powerful rules around compelling and subpoenaing witnesses.
Speaker 2: And you know, I hope news corps don't have to
Speaker 2: be subpoenaed and they can just compared to stand by
Speaker 2: it and come and ask answer questions.
Speaker 1: That we ask.
Speaker 2: But we'll see if we need to compel them.
Speaker 1: We will coming up after the break. How the Greens
Speaker 1: say the fossil fuel lobby influenced environmental reform. So let's
Speaker 1: talk about the negotiations that the Greens or involved in
Speaker 1: very recently on the nature positive legislation. Just how close
Speaker 1: did you come to striking a deal with the Environment
Speaker 1: minister with Tania Plibasac.
Speaker 2: Well, this is a really good example of the power
Speaker 2: that the fossil fuel industry have, not just through the media,
Speaker 2: but then how they use that influence in the media
Speaker 2: to get to politicians. And I spent months negotiating with
Speaker 2: Tania Plipasek as the Environment Minister. The government, of course
Speaker 2: had already weakened their environmental policies earlier this year. They
Speaker 2: promised the electorate that they were going to fix Australia's
Speaker 2: environment laws, that environment was back on the agenda.
Speaker 1: But instead of doing all.
Speaker 2: That, in April, under huge pressure from the fossil fuel
Speaker 2: industry and the mining lobby, particularly in Wa, the Labor
Speaker 2: government dumped all the hard stuff and just kind of
Speaker 2: were left with the shell of a bureaucracy and that's
Speaker 2: the Environment Protection Agency, and that was the piece of
Speaker 2: legislation that we were left to kind of negotiate and
Speaker 2: see what we could get through the Parliament. I was
Speaker 2: back and forth with Tanni Plibersek many times, but of
Speaker 2: course even that watered down version was seen as a
Speaker 2: threat by the fossil fuel industry and the big miners
Speaker 2: and the big loggers, and they swung into action. Well,
Speaker 2: you know, a minute to midnight when the Government and
Speaker 2: I were seeing what could be done, what could pass
Speaker 2: the parliament. Before you know it, fossil fuel industries on
Speaker 2: the phone to the prime ministers, of these editorials being
Speaker 2: written in newspapers, and lo and behold the fossil fuel
Speaker 2: industry crow only hours after the Prime Minister had told
Speaker 2: us there was no deal.
Speaker 1: So your claim is that the industry had the ear
Speaker 1: of the prime minister. Why do you think that he
Speaker 1: killed the bill?
Speaker 2: Look, I think the industries had the ear of many
Speaker 2: politicians in Canberra. And you know, you see them walking
Speaker 2: around the building on any individual given sitting day. You
Speaker 2: see them hanging out at the coffee shop, You see
Speaker 2: them walk their lobbyists walking the corridors. They have had
Speaker 2: the ear of the Prime minister, yes, but they've had
Speaker 2: the ear of Peter Dutton. And I think you know,
Speaker 2: one of the scariest things about all of this, and
Speaker 2: you look at the propaganda in the Murdoch Press last week.
Speaker 2: You look at how they crowed after these environmental reforms
Speaker 2: were dumped. The fossil fuel industry don't want the Greens
Speaker 2: in balance of power, but they probably want Peter Dutton
Speaker 2: more than even the Labor Party, because Peter Dutton will
Speaker 2: bend over backwards even further the legislation.
Speaker 1: It hasn't been withdrawn though it is still listed in
Speaker 1: the Senate. Do you think it'll be revisited next year?
Speaker 2: Well, look, it is the unfinished business of this parliament.
Speaker 1: It was promised to be done.
Speaker 2: What is on the table is a minuscule amount of
Speaker 2: what was promised. I'll work hard to get some real
Speaker 2: law reform through before Parliament ends and the elections on.
Speaker 2: But the government's got to have the guts to do that.
Speaker 2: And whether it's bowing to the pressures of the fossil
Speaker 2: fuel industry, the Murdock Press, the Nightly, which I might
Speaker 2: say backed by Gina rein Hart, this new newspaper. You
Speaker 2: want to think about the power that the fossil fuel
Speaker 2: industry and the mining lobby have in Australia.
Speaker 1: It is extraordinary.
Speaker 2: Their claws reach into all of these different parts of
Speaker 2: media and politics, and the Greens won't be.
Speaker 1: Bullied by them.
Speaker 2: But I'm not convinced that either the Labor Party or
Speaker 2: the Liberal Party will stare them down.
Speaker 1: To speak a bit more broadly, a lot of legislation
Speaker 1: did go through during the last week of Parliament on
Speaker 1: the back of deals made by the Greens. There was
Speaker 1: the Helped Buy scheme. You know in the past have
Speaker 1: also seen the Safeguard mechanism, Housing Affordability Fund. So it
Speaker 1: does seem like in general at this point in time
Speaker 1: there is this willingness on the part of the Greens
Speaker 1: to work with the government to pass laws. Is there
Speaker 1: also a risk here that if you do that that
Speaker 1: the Greens will not have enough of a point of
Speaker 1: difference with this government that does seem to be increasingly unpopular.
Speaker 1: How much of a concern is that to you as
Speaker 1: we get closer to the election.
Speaker 2: Look, our job is to push labor to be better,
Speaker 2: hold their feet to the fire and get outcomes that
Speaker 2: are good for the community and are good for the environment.
Speaker 2: And I know people well they're disappointed, deeply disappointed in
Speaker 2: labor and you know want them to be better. They're
Speaker 2: terrified of Peter Dutton and what a Liberal coalition government
Speaker 2: could do. Backed by the likes of Gina ryan Hart
Speaker 2: the Murdock Press and following in the footsteps and taking
Speaker 2: their cues from Donald Trump. I might say the hard
Speaker 2: right have a license like I've never seen before under
Speaker 2: the leadership of Peter Dutton, and that's terrifying to a
Speaker 2: lot of people.
Speaker 1: So, you know, our job is to hold labor.
Speaker 2: To account, to get outcomes for the environment, to work
Speaker 2: hard to get outcomes for the community. You know, I
Speaker 2: think people see the difference. You know, the Greens are
Speaker 2: trusted on the environment. We're trusted to call it out
Speaker 2: when it needs to be called out, and we're trusted
Speaker 2: to stand up for people over profit.
Speaker 1: We're trusted to do that and we're expected to do that.
Speaker 1: The next selection seems likely to Liberal minority government. Adam
Speaker 1: Bann has said that he is pushing for some sort
Speaker 1: of power sharing deal with Labor. That's what he will
Speaker 1: be doing. Do you think that Labor is likely to
Speaker 1: agree to any kind of formal arrangement.
Speaker 2: I think minority government and a Parliament that has to
Speaker 2: work together to negotiate, to hear a diversity of voices
Speaker 2: to make sure the community and our environment is represented
Speaker 2: is a good parliament for Australia.
Speaker 1: And we're going to be realistic.
Speaker 2: Look at the look at how the community votes. You know,
Speaker 2: the last election, Labor got their lowest result that they've
Speaker 2: had since World War Two. In less than a third
Speaker 2: of the country voted for the Labor Party, around a
Speaker 2: third voted for the coalition, and a third voted for
Speaker 2: Greens and Independent.
Speaker 1: So other parties and voices.
Speaker 2: Australians want more than just this duopoly of Labor and
Speaker 2: Liberal and I think the minority parliament, a minority government,
Speaker 2: a parliament that has to negotiate, that has to work together,
Speaker 2: will be one that delivers better outcomes for people.
Speaker 1: But if you have the Prime Minister pulling out of
Speaker 1: negotiations like he did over these environmental laws at the
Speaker 1: very last minute, it is a little hard to see
Speaker 1: how there would be enough goodwill for there to be
Speaker 1: a kind of formal working relationship with the Greens in
Speaker 1: the next parliament.
Speaker 2: The Greens are up for it. We actually are pretty
Speaker 2: good at negotiating. We don't get everything we want, but
Speaker 2: we do get a lot, and it'll take some maturity
Speaker 2: and some humbleness from Labor, absolutely, but this is what
Speaker 2: the if, this is what the community votes for, this
Speaker 2: is what we need to deliver, and a stronger Green
Speaker 2: voice both in the House of Representatives and in the Senate.
Speaker 1: Gives the community.
Speaker 2: The insurance that we will be in there to fight
Speaker 2: for them and to fight for a sustainable and green future,
Speaker 2: not just doing the bidding of the vested interest. I mean,
Speaker 2: I know we've talked a lot about the fossil fuel
Speaker 2: lobby here, but you know, you could have exactly the
Speaker 2: same conversation with me about what's going on in terms
Speaker 2: of a gambling reform. There was a big promise to
Speaker 2: crack down on the harms of gambling, to stop the
Speaker 2: advertising of gambling, which is so insidious in our community.
Speaker 2: You know, just like years ago we bouned tobacco advertising
Speaker 2: because smoking and tobacco is harmful to people. Didn't say
Speaker 2: you didn't you couldn't smoke, just we don't allow these
Speaker 2: dangerous and harmful products to be promoted and advertised. Despite promising,
Speaker 2: Labor and Liberal have gone weak at the knees because
Speaker 2: of the vested interest in the gambling lobby. And the
Speaker 2: only people standing up and calling this out are the
Speaker 2: grands and independents. And it's because we can't be bought
Speaker 2: in the same way as the two major parties.
Speaker 1: Senator, thank you so much for your time. Thank you.
Speaker 1: Also in the news today, twenty six year old Luigi
Speaker 1: Nicholas Mangioni has been charged with the murder of United
Speaker 1: Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson. Mangioni was arrested after being spotted
Speaker 1: in a McDonald's in Pennsylvania, where police claim he was
Speaker 1: in possession of a gun, silencer, fake IDs, and a
Speaker 1: handwritten document saying quote, I do apologize for any strife
Speaker 1: and trauma, but it had to be done. And fifteen
Speaker 1: bodies have been found in the notorious Sednaya prison in Syria.
Speaker 1: According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, tens of
Speaker 1: thousands of people had been locked up in what Amnesty
Speaker 1: called a human slaughter house, charged with political crimes under
Speaker 1: the Assad regime. The prisons were thrown open after the
Speaker 1: rebels forced Assad to flee the country, prompting ordinary Syrians
Speaker 1: to rush the prisons in search of family and friends.
Speaker 1: I'm Ruby Jones. This is seven am. See tomorrow