WEBVTT - Sharri | 19 February 0:00:01.520 --> 0:00:03.559 Why on Sky News. 0:00:03.800 --> 0:00:10.960 This is Sharry, Thanks Andrew Good Evening. Tonight, serious questions 0:00:11.000 --> 0:00:14.920 emerge about the independence of the RBA after cameras were 0:00:14.920 --> 0:00:19.000 called in to capture the first rate cut in four years? 0:00:19.520 --> 0:00:23.680 Did the Treasury Secretary know about this in advance? Economists 0:00:23.840 --> 0:00:28.440 are scandalized. Michael Kroger will join me shortly plus James 0:00:28.480 --> 0:00:32.000 Packer on the show. In an exclusive interview. He reacts 0:00:32.000 --> 0:00:35.920 to the rise of antisemitism and why Donald Trump makes 0:00:35.960 --> 0:00:40.120 him more confident about the prospect for peace, and the 0:00:40.200 --> 0:00:43.920 heartbreaking news that the bodies of Shiri Ariel and Kafir 0:00:43.960 --> 0:00:48.080 Bibas will be coming home. This is not how they 0:00:48.120 --> 0:00:51.280 were meant to come home. I'm going to speak about 0:00:51.320 --> 0:00:55.959 that in a moment, but first tonight. The RBA's rate 0:00:56.040 --> 0:01:01.720 cut looks like it was economically reckless and apps politically motivated. 0:01:02.480 --> 0:01:06.800 Serious economists and former RBA officials have come out to 0:01:06.880 --> 0:01:10.880 criticize the decision, which could worsen inflation and the cost 0:01:10.880 --> 0:01:14.040 of living crisis. The RBA is meant to be a 0:01:14.080 --> 0:01:17.959 prudent institution, and the prudent call would have been to 0:01:18.120 --> 0:01:23.039 hold Yet under sustained political pressure, Michelle Bullet caved into 0:01:23.280 --> 0:01:27.120 a marginal cut while at the same time warning Australians 0:01:27.400 --> 0:01:30.520 that they shouldn't expect any more in the near future. 0:01:31.080 --> 0:01:34.959 It was a telling message. Former RBA board member Warwick 0:01:35.040 --> 0:01:38.200 McGibbon said there wasn't a strong argument to cut the 0:01:38.200 --> 0:01:40.960 cash rate. He sat on the board for a decade 0:01:41.400 --> 0:01:44.000 and he said, and I'm quoting, I wouldn't be cutting 0:01:44.080 --> 0:01:46.920 rates right now. We've seen the problem with doing that 0:01:46.959 --> 0:01:50.400 in the US when they cut rates prematurely and now 0:01:50.400 --> 0:01:54.440 they're having to backtrack. That causes a lot of uncertainty 0:01:54.560 --> 0:01:59.360 and problems for the economy. Assistant professor of economics at 0:01:59.400 --> 0:02:04.360 George washing University Stephen Hamilton describes the rate cut as 0:02:04.400 --> 0:02:10.120 an error of judgment and wild. He says, completely wild 0:02:10.160 --> 0:02:13.560 to me that the RBA decided to cut interest rates 0:02:13.760 --> 0:02:17.480 at a meeting where it also revised its core inflation 0:02:17.639 --> 0:02:21.280 forecast to no longer achieving its target by the end 0:02:21.280 --> 0:02:26.079 of the forecast horizon. Very difficult to discern their objective, 0:02:27.280 --> 0:02:29.960 and Hamilton says the cut would have been to relieve 0:02:30.040 --> 0:02:35.520 the pressure from the public, politicians and the media. 0:02:35.720 --> 0:02:39.360 There were MPs coming out yesterday smashing them. There was 0:02:39.800 --> 0:02:43.640 union bosses smashing them. You know, everyone in Australia has 0:02:43.680 --> 0:02:46.120 just about had an half of these high rates, and 0:02:46.200 --> 0:02:49.880 I suspect the RBA genuinely thought there's only so far 0:02:50.000 --> 0:02:50.880 we can push people. 0:02:51.240 --> 0:02:53.520 At some point we're going to have to offer some relief. 0:02:55.560 --> 0:02:59.280 Columnist and former editor in chief Michael Stutchbury wrote on 0:02:59.320 --> 0:03:02.000 the front page of The finn Today that it took 0:03:02.120 --> 0:03:05.799 a twist of reasoning to deliver a small rate cut. 0:03:06.480 --> 0:03:08.880 He said Michelle Bullock and the Reserve Bank Board have 0:03:08.960 --> 0:03:13.320 put their inflation fighting credibility on the line by delivering 0:03:13.320 --> 0:03:18.280 a politically convenient interest rate cut without providing a compelling 0:03:18.440 --> 0:03:22.320 economic case to do so, and he also accused Albin 0:03:22.400 --> 0:03:27.400 Easy and Charmers of roughing up the Central Bank. Another 0:03:27.520 --> 0:03:32.200 former RBA official, John Simon well Here, described the RBA 0:03:32.320 --> 0:03:36.560 decision as a head scratcher. Simon only left the RBA 0:03:36.640 --> 0:03:39.200 in the middle of last year. He was their former 0:03:39.240 --> 0:03:43.040 head of the Economic Research Department, and he said there 0:03:43.080 --> 0:03:47.160 was a gap in logic between the decision and the explanation. 0:03:48.280 --> 0:03:51.760 He said. The board statement said that these factors give 0:03:51.800 --> 0:03:56.160 the Board more confidence that inflation is moving sustainably toward 0:03:56.600 --> 0:04:00.120 the midpoint of the two to three percent target range, 0:04:00.240 --> 0:04:03.760 but the forecasts for inflation in the accompanying statement on 0:04:03.800 --> 0:04:09.240 Monetary Policy were revised up and for underlying inflation to 0:04:09.360 --> 0:04:16.720 flatline above the midpoint. These things appear contradictory. He speculated 0:04:16.760 --> 0:04:20.640 that perhaps there was a disagreement between the RBA staff 0:04:20.760 --> 0:04:24.120 and the board, but the issue is we just don't 0:04:24.160 --> 0:04:27.760 know because of a lack of transparency. There has been 0:04:27.800 --> 0:04:30.240 a push for the RBA to publish the votes of 0:04:30.320 --> 0:04:33.400 the board. This may happen in the future. We hope 0:04:33.440 --> 0:04:37.360 it will. It hasn't yet, so it's unclear just how 0:04:37.440 --> 0:04:40.960 much agreement there was at yesterday's board meeting for the 0:04:41.080 --> 0:04:45.159 rate cut. It's a point Wall Street Journal reporter James 0:04:45.240 --> 0:04:50.080 Glynn makes today. He writes, so tentative was the Reserve 0:04:50.200 --> 0:04:53.560 Bank of Australia's first reduction and official interest rates on 0:04:53.600 --> 0:04:57.520 Tuesday that it begs the question how much support did 0:04:57.600 --> 0:05:01.680 the cut actually get around the Senate Bank's board table. 0:05:02.720 --> 0:05:05.479 But when it came to explaining the rationale for the reduction, 0:05:05.960 --> 0:05:09.560 the Australian Central Bank was full of winnings about ongoing 0:05:09.600 --> 0:05:14.080 inflation risks, while Governor Michelle Bullock told money markets that 0:05:14.160 --> 0:05:16.960 bats on a few more cuts throughout the year needed 0:05:16.960 --> 0:05:21.760 to be rethought. Now, Bullock didn't say the Rake cut 0:05:22.040 --> 0:05:26.440 was unanimous. She said the board came to a consensus 0:05:26.520 --> 0:05:28.919 opinion after debate. 0:05:30.279 --> 0:05:33.440 It was a difficult decision in the sense that there 0:05:33.480 --> 0:05:36.560 were arguments on both sides, and what I would say 0:05:36.640 --> 0:05:39.479 is that the board had a very active debate of 0:05:39.520 --> 0:05:43.359 the arguments on both sides on this, but in the 0:05:43.480 --> 0:05:46.960 end came to the view that the better decision was 0:05:47.040 --> 0:05:50.400 to ease a little bit of the restrictiveness. Still maintain 0:05:50.520 --> 0:05:53.440 some restrictiveness, but ease a little bit of restrictiveness in 0:05:53.480 --> 0:05:56.760 recognition that we are making progress towards our goal. 0:05:58.080 --> 0:06:02.039 Sir James Glenn says her com vents implied there was 0:06:02.160 --> 0:06:05.280 dissent at the meeting and the outcome was indeed a 0:06:05.480 --> 0:06:10.320 tight rope walk. Now, there's obviously was robust debate. It 0:06:10.600 --> 0:06:15.839 wasn't a clear cut call. Stephen Kennedy, the Treasury Secretary 0:06:15.839 --> 0:06:19.279 who also sits on the RBA board, it's pretty obvious 0:06:19.279 --> 0:06:22.000 and my sources tell me he was pushing for a cut, 0:06:22.400 --> 0:06:24.479 and he has been pushing for a cut for a 0:06:24.480 --> 0:06:28.760 long time. Labor Lined IBA board members Ian Ross and 0:06:28.760 --> 0:06:33.240 Alana Reuben are also understood to have been arguing for 0:06:33.320 --> 0:06:38.240 a cut. And here's where it gets interesting. Former Treasury 0:06:38.360 --> 0:06:41.320 Assistant Secretary David pearl Well, he was on the show 0:06:41.400 --> 0:06:45.000 last night. He only left the Treasury in late twenty 0:06:45.040 --> 0:06:50.200 twenty three. He worked under Secretary Stephen Kennedy while Jim 0:06:50.320 --> 0:06:54.080 Chalmers was Treasurer. And he told us here last night 0:06:54.839 --> 0:06:57.640 that there wasn't a strong case and it wasn't even 0:06:57.960 --> 0:06:59.880 a line board decision for a rake. 0:07:01.520 --> 0:07:06.080 I was staggered because there's not a strong case at all. 0:07:06.360 --> 0:07:10.440 He felt the decision by Michelle Bullock was a political capitulation. 0:07:11.320 --> 0:07:14.680 He was also very critical of the fact a highly 0:07:14.720 --> 0:07:17.960 political figure like Stephen Kennedy would have a vote on 0:07:18.080 --> 0:07:21.400 rates at the RBA table. Again here he was last night. 0:07:22.480 --> 0:07:25.239 Stephen Kennedy, for example, is very close to Ross Garno. 0:07:25.320 --> 0:07:27.840 He's worked with him, his friends with him. They share 0:07:27.880 --> 0:07:32.720 the same views on inflation and Ross Guarano bullied Michelle 0:07:32.760 --> 0:07:35.880 Bullock late last year, and the Financial Reviewers you know 0:07:36.560 --> 0:07:41.520 revealed that Darno rang up their op ed editor to 0:07:41.600 --> 0:07:45.960 demand that his piece pretty much insisting on a rate 0:07:46.000 --> 0:07:48.880 cut last December be published, so to influenced Bullock. 0:07:50.520 --> 0:07:54.600 David Pearl also questioned the integrity of the RBA decision, 0:07:54.640 --> 0:07:57.200 and have a look at what he said about how 0:07:57.240 --> 0:07:58.880 it might have been politicized. 0:08:00.120 --> 0:08:02.080 Well, call me a cynic, but when I read in 0:08:02.120 --> 0:08:05.480 the paper yesterday that Jim Chalmers was telling the backbench 0:08:05.760 --> 0:08:10.280 to cool their horses, so I thought, well, that shows 0:08:10.320 --> 0:08:12.840 that he knows the fixers in. And then when I 0:08:12.920 --> 0:08:15.600 tuned on the television, I saw that the cameras were 0:08:16.120 --> 0:08:19.800 in the meeting room. I thought, well, Charmers or his 0:08:19.920 --> 0:08:22.560 media people wanted that because. 0:08:22.240 --> 0:08:24.800 They knew that there was going to be a favorable decision. 0:08:26.960 --> 0:08:29.280 Now, my understanding is that the treasure is that the 0:08:29.280 --> 0:08:32.360 Treasurer did not know there were going to be cameras 0:08:32.400 --> 0:08:35.320 in to capture the moment. But we just don't have 0:08:35.360 --> 0:08:39.120 an answer for what Treasury Secretary Stephen Kennedy knew. It 0:08:39.200 --> 0:08:42.720 is highly unusual for media to film an RBA board meeting, 0:08:43.440 --> 0:08:46.920 So if what David Pearl is alleging, well, it could 0:08:46.960 --> 0:08:51.400 amount to political interference and it's highly concerning and this 0:08:51.440 --> 0:08:55.200 would raise serious questions about the credibility and independence of 0:08:55.280 --> 0:08:59.480 the board meeting. I asked the RBA this evening, did 0:08:59.640 --> 0:09:02.880 the Tree Inasury Secretary requests the RBA allow cameras into 0:09:02.920 --> 0:09:05.760 the board meeting and does on this leave the RBA 0:09:05.920 --> 0:09:10.400 open to accusation, accusations that its independence is in question. 0:09:11.679 --> 0:09:14.160 The RBA said the answer to each question was no, 0:09:14.360 --> 0:09:18.240 and they said, all your allegations are untrue. Well, this 0:09:18.320 --> 0:09:21.800 is a subject we will continue investigating. You've heard all 0:09:21.840 --> 0:09:26.040 the economists here tonight disagree with the decision yesterday. So 0:09:26.120 --> 0:09:29.720 perhaps there should be an independent examination into how much 0:09:29.760 --> 0:09:33.920 political pressure was applied to the RBA board ahead of 0:09:34.120 --> 0:09:37.679 and during its meeting, and what Stephen Kennedy knew in 0:09:37.760 --> 0:09:41.400 advance of a decision that shouldn't have been made before 0:09:41.440 --> 0:09:46.760 debate at the table. So on the balance of probabilities, 0:09:47.040 --> 0:09:51.240 why was this rate cut the wrong decision? Well, the 0:09:51.280 --> 0:09:55.440 central forecast for underlying inflation has been revised up over 0:09:55.559 --> 0:10:00.000 twenty twenty six, labor market data has been unexpectedly strong, 0:10:00.880 --> 0:10:05.719 there's fresh global uncertainty, and productivity growth is still sluggish 0:10:05.760 --> 0:10:10.480 and hasn't picked up. The strongest argument against a rake 0:10:10.600 --> 0:10:15.640 cut lies in RBA's own reasoning. Governor Michelle Bullock set 0:10:15.640 --> 0:10:20.040 a cut would only come once inflation had sustainably returned 0:10:20.040 --> 0:10:24.959 to target. Not only has that not happened, but forecasts 0:10:25.000 --> 0:10:29.440 indicate inflation is set to rise slightly. Despite this, the 0:10:29.559 --> 0:10:34.959 RBA is effectively declaring mission accomplished when clearly there's still 0:10:35.000 --> 0:10:44.440 work to do. Okay, you know this beautiful family well 0:10:44.559 --> 0:10:49.040 by now. This is Shiri with her two sweet babies, 0:10:49.120 --> 0:10:55.520 Kafir and Ril. She was a loving mother like any mother, 0:10:56.000 --> 0:10:59.880 her boys bringing her so much joy. As they live 0:11:00.080 --> 0:11:04.160 and grew up on near Oz Kibbutz in Israel, they 0:11:04.200 --> 0:11:09.040 were cruelly and unforgivably kidnapped by Hamas barbarians on October seventh. 0:11:09.679 --> 0:11:16.319 Kifa was nine months old, just a baby, and Ariel 0:11:16.720 --> 0:11:22.240 was four. This is how they left Israel in the 0:11:22.280 --> 0:11:29.040 greatest of distress and fear and trauma and terror. But 0:11:29.120 --> 0:11:34.720 they were alive since that dreadful moment they were dragged 0:11:34.720 --> 0:11:38.320 across the border into Gaza. Not a day has passed 0:11:38.840 --> 0:11:41.959 when we haven't thought about the Bibas family and held 0:11:41.960 --> 0:11:46.520 them in our hearts. I spoke with Yeah Keshet, the 0:11:46.600 --> 0:11:49.000 uncle of yad In Bibas, when I was in Israel, 0:11:49.480 --> 0:11:53.000 and he was desperate for the world to pay attention 0:11:53.679 --> 0:12:00.360 to this horrendous war crime. Baby Kifa, the world's youngest stitch. 0:12:00.559 --> 0:12:01.320 Yeah, you can. 0:12:01.280 --> 0:12:01.960 See him here. 0:12:02.000 --> 0:12:04.160 He was I was the picture here. 0:12:04.480 --> 0:12:05.800 Baby is kidnapped. 0:12:05.880 --> 0:12:09.160 Baby is not a soldier, is not a pilot. It's 0:12:09.200 --> 0:12:11.200 not everything. He's a little baby. 0:12:12.280 --> 0:12:17.559 Look at him now. Dad Yadin came home in the 0:12:17.600 --> 0:12:22.160 first of this month without Shiri or their children, and 0:12:22.200 --> 0:12:25.640 his pain is about to get even worse. And we 0:12:25.880 --> 0:12:29.240 all are about to experience one of the most heartbreaking 0:12:29.320 --> 0:12:34.400 days since October seven. Hamas will return the bodies of 0:12:34.480 --> 0:12:38.920 mother Shiri Bibas and her two children on Thursday, Israel time. 0:12:40.480 --> 0:12:45.920 This is the true reality of Hamas, the governing body 0:12:46.000 --> 0:12:50.280 of Gaza, the place that Penny Wang wants to reward 0:12:50.640 --> 0:12:55.760 and recognize with statehood. There are truly no words that 0:12:56.120 --> 0:13:02.240 could possibly capture the depravity, the cruelty, the evil of 0:13:02.320 --> 0:13:06.600 these people who could take a mother and her babies, 0:13:07.240 --> 0:13:13.320 take them alive and return them in body bags. We 0:13:13.520 --> 0:13:17.040 love you, baby Kafir, We love you Ariel, and we 0:13:17.080 --> 0:13:22.080 will never ever forget you. May your memories be a blessing. 0:13:27.200 --> 0:13:29.400 And let's pick up on that now with former Victorian 0:13:29.400 --> 0:13:34.720 Liberal Party leader Michael Kroger and former Labor minister Graham Richardson, Michael, 0:13:34.800 --> 0:13:36.680 this is going to be one of the hardest days 0:13:36.760 --> 0:13:40.040 ever seeing those two tiny body bags come home. 0:13:40.800 --> 0:13:45.360 Well, Sharry, that was a beautiful editorial. And I remember 0:13:45.400 --> 0:13:49.520 watching you a month ago where you subtly mentioned to 0:13:49.600 --> 0:13:54.400 the audience that they were probably dead. And I visited 0:13:54.440 --> 0:13:57.040 their home in January last year, and you've been there. 0:13:57.080 --> 0:13:57.440 I know. 0:14:00.040 --> 0:14:04.480 What any father's worst nightmare, and we pray for him. 0:14:05.960 --> 0:14:09.440 But this is Hamas. These people are just human filth. 0:14:09.640 --> 0:14:13.200 These people are human scum. These people are inhuman. These 0:14:13.240 --> 0:14:17.560 people are idi Amin, they are Adolf Hitler. They are 0:14:17.600 --> 0:14:21.240 the worst, most atrocious humans living in the world today. 0:14:22.600 --> 0:14:25.960 The thought that they have supporters in our country here 0:14:26.280 --> 0:14:29.640 fills me with horror. Fills me with horror that people 0:14:29.680 --> 0:14:32.800 go on the internet, people receive government grants if you 0:14:32.880 --> 0:14:40.760 might who support sinhoar. You know, I think Jordan Peterson 0:14:40.800 --> 0:14:43.000 and Douglas Murray and these people are right and what 0:14:43.000 --> 0:14:47.480 they're saying, I mean, you know, Western nations have serious 0:14:47.520 --> 0:14:51.640 problems given the level of support that organizations like Hummas 0:14:51.680 --> 0:14:54.600 have in Western countries. It's an absolute and not to disgrace. 0:14:55.960 --> 0:15:01.520 It is indeed, Richo to think that they've been protesters 0:15:01.560 --> 0:15:06.120 in Australia, including medical professionals siding with Hamas. This is 0:15:06.160 --> 0:15:10.920 what Hamas has done, taken an innocent mother, an innocent baby, 0:15:10.960 --> 0:15:14.120 and innocent four year old. How can we begin to 0:15:14.200 --> 0:15:17.680 comprehend and deal with this in the coming days. 0:15:18.160 --> 0:15:25.160 I just don't understand people sometimes. I think depravity of 0:15:26.200 --> 0:15:31.920 Hamas is just so overwhelming sometimes that it staggers me 0:15:32.000 --> 0:15:35.360 that anyone can walk around the streets and support them. 0:15:35.960 --> 0:15:40.680 These people are mongrels. They deserve no support whatsoever, and 0:15:41.440 --> 0:15:43.760 it just distresses me that I share the planet with 0:15:43.840 --> 0:15:46.840 people who do in fact support them. 0:15:47.240 --> 0:15:50.120 The party, I might say, Rich, oh, there are even 0:15:50.160 --> 0:15:53.960 some people in your party and in the Greens as well, 0:15:54.800 --> 0:15:57.840 who for me to come down on the side of Yep. 0:15:58.560 --> 0:16:02.960 There are a few, And were I a little younger, 0:16:03.000 --> 0:16:04.960 I'd be working very hard to get rid of them. 0:16:05.600 --> 0:16:08.120 Yeah. Yeah, that is a pity. 0:16:08.240 --> 0:16:11.360 That is true. That is true, Graham, That is true. 0:16:11.400 --> 0:16:12.840 When I was a bit younger and you were a 0:16:12.840 --> 0:16:16.840 bit older than me, you're in your heyday, you you, 0:16:16.840 --> 0:16:20.160 you and the great Robert James Lee Hawk, you wouldn't 0:16:20.160 --> 0:16:22.480 have had a bar of these people, not a bar 0:16:22.640 --> 0:16:25.640 of them. And people like Michael East and Mary Alexander, 0:16:25.720 --> 0:16:31.120 Bill Shorten Conroy all the Hawk. You know that guy 0:16:31.200 --> 0:16:33.200 Tony Lupton who ran for the states that are pran 0:16:33.280 --> 0:16:37.640 in Victoria, the political descendants of Bob Hawk. You wouldn't 0:16:37.640 --> 0:16:39.400 have a bar of these people. And I pay credit 0:16:39.440 --> 0:16:41.560 to your rich o that you what you say. You 0:16:41.600 --> 0:16:42.680 speak the truth, my friend. 0:16:42.920 --> 0:16:45.160 All right, we'll have more coverage of the Bibass family 0:16:45.160 --> 0:16:48.360 on the show tomorrow night. Well, let's return to this 0:16:48.800 --> 0:16:52.440 disagreement and this concern by economists over the rate cut. 0:16:53.080 --> 0:16:56.120 Michael Horner asks you about your view of the RBA's 0:16:56.120 --> 0:16:58.440 decision to cut rates. I spoke to a lot of 0:16:58.480 --> 0:17:03.280 economists today, very senior ones, highly concerned about this decision. 0:17:04.320 --> 0:17:06.679 Willock Charry, there isn't any doubt in my mind that 0:17:06.720 --> 0:17:09.880 there was political pressure on the board. I mean, let's 0:17:09.880 --> 0:17:12.720 be frank here, Michelle Bullock, the governor did not vote 0:17:12.760 --> 0:17:16.040 for the rate increase. I mean, for goodness sake, let's 0:17:16.119 --> 0:17:19.200 just call a spade a spade here. As that fellow 0:17:19.400 --> 0:17:21.480 David Pearl said last night brilliantly on your show and 0:17:21.560 --> 0:17:23.680 is written you look at the language of the Reserve 0:17:23.720 --> 0:17:27.159 Bank Board over the last last few months, Look at 0:17:27.200 --> 0:17:31.679 the language of yesterday's statement. Look at Michel Bullet's body 0:17:31.760 --> 0:17:35.639 language yesterday. That was the press conference a defeated person. 0:17:35.680 --> 0:17:37.880 I've seen people before having to get up and give 0:17:38.280 --> 0:17:41.520 press conferences to pretend they support something they didn't vote for. 0:17:41.880 --> 0:17:44.160 She didn't vote for that decision. As you said earlier, 0:17:44.240 --> 0:17:47.280 you had Kennedy, you had Reuben, you had Ross, and 0:17:47.320 --> 0:17:49.480 of the other four members, I would think three went 0:17:49.520 --> 0:17:52.440 with the governor, two went with Kennedy. My guess is 0:17:52.480 --> 0:17:54.440 the votes five to four in favor of rating creuse. 0:17:54.440 --> 0:17:56.399 That'd be my guess. But she didn't vote for that. 0:17:57.640 --> 0:18:01.080 Someone did put to me today that she might have 0:18:01.160 --> 0:18:04.920 agreed to it with Stephen Kennedy before walking in to 0:18:05.080 --> 0:18:09.399 the board room meeting, So they might have agreed to present, 0:18:09.640 --> 0:18:13.280 you know, this is the consensus position we've arrived at, right, 0:18:13.480 --> 0:18:15.800 So she might have actually voted for it in the room, 0:18:16.040 --> 0:18:17.359 but had that conversation we would have. 0:18:17.359 --> 0:18:19.080 Spoken against it as the board meeting. If you've got 0:18:19.080 --> 0:18:21.560 the treaty secretary in the Reserve Bank Governor saying we 0:18:21.600 --> 0:18:23.840 strongly agree with this zero point two to five rate 0:18:23.920 --> 0:18:25.440 increase rate cut. 0:18:25.520 --> 0:18:27.359 Well, because the king, who was speaking well the case 0:18:27.440 --> 0:18:32.600 wasn't there, And clearly you know the RBA staff, the 0:18:32.760 --> 0:18:38.960 statement they released was more supportive of a hold. Graham Richardson, 0:18:39.080 --> 0:18:40.040 What do you think about this? 0:18:40.359 --> 0:18:43.880 Yeah, I don't think I can disagree with that. Look, 0:18:43.920 --> 0:18:47.800 there's always drama over over rates, you can't avoid it, 0:18:48.720 --> 0:18:53.480 and there's always going to be that temptation to accuse 0:18:54.320 --> 0:18:59.840 the RBA board of making decisions that are politically helpful 0:18:59.840 --> 0:19:04.199 to the government. That doesn't necessarily mean that that was 0:19:04.240 --> 0:19:08.080 the aim. Sometimes that's just the right economic decision to make. 0:19:08.560 --> 0:19:09.280 I mean, no. 0:19:10.960 --> 0:19:14.840 Impressions of the board that they are genuinely independent. I 0:19:14.840 --> 0:19:16.359 don't believe they just put their hand up. 0:19:17.960 --> 0:19:20.480 Yeah, but Steve Kennedy's on the board, he's not independent. 0:19:21.240 --> 0:19:23.800 He's a political animal. That's how he was described to 0:19:23.840 --> 0:19:24.320 me today. 0:19:25.680 --> 0:19:30.199 Well, I mean your definition of independent in mind may 0:19:30.240 --> 0:19:33.919 be different, but I don't believe that even he just 0:19:34.000 --> 0:19:35.800 takes his orders from charments. 0:19:36.320 --> 0:19:38.160 I know, I don't think he would be given orders 0:19:38.160 --> 0:19:41.320 from charmers. I think he would be giving the orders. Well, 0:19:41.359 --> 0:19:43.840 I don't know about that either, but I'm told he's 0:19:43.920 --> 0:19:47.159 highly political. Stephen Kennedy. All right, let's talk about today's 0:19:47.200 --> 0:19:50.200 major business news. The Whyala Steel Works has been foced 0:19:50.240 --> 0:19:54.000 into administration in South Australia. He was the South Australian Premier. 0:19:54.040 --> 0:19:56.680 Peter Malanowskas today, I. 0:19:56.640 --> 0:19:58.200 Look forward to being on the ground. In fact, I'd 0:19:58.200 --> 0:20:00.760 love to be there now, to be honest, to be 0:20:00.800 --> 0:20:02.479 our look in the eyes of people that work at 0:20:02.480 --> 0:20:05.560 the still works and assure them of their future and 0:20:05.600 --> 0:20:07.640 the fact that they're in a far better position right 0:20:07.680 --> 0:20:09.159 now than where they were this morning. 0:20:11.000 --> 0:20:14.240 Michael, Look, you'd be worried that tax payers are now 0:20:14.280 --> 0:20:17.000 going to spend more money. The Prime Minister's going there 0:20:17.000 --> 0:20:19.679 tomorrow with the Premiere. We'd invited the Prime Minister to 0:20:19.720 --> 0:20:21.920 our anti Semitism summit. He said he was going to 0:20:21.960 --> 0:20:25.160 be an adelaide. Presumably you can only assume he knew 0:20:25.160 --> 0:20:27.200 this was coming. That's why he's going to be an adelaide. 0:20:27.280 --> 0:20:30.640 But this is a hit to Labour's renewables agenda, isn't 0:20:30.680 --> 0:20:31.960 it another one? 0:20:32.080 --> 0:20:35.919 I mean green hydrogen hydrogen These sort of venture capital 0:20:36.000 --> 0:20:40.840 schemes that should be the foray of venture capital, private 0:20:40.840 --> 0:20:47.160 equity companies, debt providers, risk takers. Why Chris Bowen has 0:20:47.240 --> 0:20:50.879 to keep investing hundreds of millions into these schemes. I 0:20:50.880 --> 0:20:53.240 mean he's losing all of this money. I mean he 0:20:53.320 --> 0:20:56.080 reminds me of an amateur walking into a Las Vegas 0:20:56.600 --> 0:20:59.960 poker game full of professionals and they say a mug. 0:21:00.200 --> 0:21:02.719 I'm absolute muggs walked in an absolute mug. We can 0:21:02.760 --> 0:21:05.040 fleece him. Well, that's what Bowen looks like to me. 0:21:05.160 --> 0:21:07.879 He's given a million dollars to a billion dollars to 0:21:08.000 --> 0:21:12.880 build panels, solar panels. We're cheaper and better than the Chinese. 0:21:13.200 --> 0:21:15.600 I mean, this bloke just throws money away and there 0:21:15.640 --> 0:21:17.560 is nothing in his career which would tell you that 0:21:17.640 --> 0:21:20.120 this blake has any idea what he's doing. The worst 0:21:20.119 --> 0:21:23.840 immigration minister ever, a terrible shadow treasurer if Chris Bonon, 0:21:23.880 --> 0:21:26.040 fronted up for a job interview, and he said, I 0:21:26.560 --> 0:21:27.960 want billions to spend on something. 0:21:28.000 --> 0:21:28.840 Why would you give it to him? 0:21:28.840 --> 0:21:31.000 You say, Chris, everything else you've done failed, my friend. 0:21:31.960 --> 0:21:33.680 You hard to argue with that, Richo. 0:21:34.720 --> 0:21:37.600 No, I think he has a record of failing up, 0:21:38.119 --> 0:21:42.560 doesn't Bowan. He just keeps going out no matter what happens. 0:21:43.680 --> 0:21:46.280 Getting worse and worse. And Mike, I'm going to see 0:21:46.280 --> 0:21:49.639 you tomorrow. The anti Semitism, so that we're grateful that 0:21:49.680 --> 0:21:52.479 you're actually going to be there in person supporting it. 0:21:53.119 --> 0:21:57.119 Well, I'm very interested to ask the Attorney General a question. 0:21:58.640 --> 0:22:00.440 I'm happy to give him notice now because I don't 0:22:00.720 --> 0:22:03.320 think I've springed it on him. Why the Labor government 0:22:04.119 --> 0:22:08.040 refused to support a judicial inquiry to anti Semitism on 0:22:08.080 --> 0:22:11.240 campuses in Australia and why they won't call a Royal 0:22:11.240 --> 0:22:14.200 commission to anti Semitism around this country. I mean, given 0:22:14.240 --> 0:22:17.000 that the shocking state of this country, in the despair 0:22:17.400 --> 0:22:20.240 and fear felt by many Jewish Australians, why won't they 0:22:20.280 --> 0:22:23.359 do that? Is that a fair question? Am I being unreasonable? 0:22:24.160 --> 0:22:25.520 No, it's a it's a very good question. 0:22:25.720 --> 0:22:28.560 They support Israel and they support the Jews very very 0:22:28.840 --> 0:22:32.879 Penny Wong, big supporter, Tony Burke, you know Albo the 0:22:33.680 --> 0:22:37.760 big support and they do. And let me be clear, 0:22:38.280 --> 0:22:40.679 there's no place for andy Semits in Australia under an 0:22:40.720 --> 0:22:43.200 alban Ezy government. If you haven't heard that message, he's 0:22:43.240 --> 0:22:44.160 made that very clear. 0:22:44.680 --> 0:22:48.479 Yeah, exactly, we don't don't. We can recite his lines 0:22:48.640 --> 0:22:52.159 off by heart. We do not condain condone racism of 0:22:52.240 --> 0:22:52.840 any type. 0:22:53.640 --> 0:22:55.960 Talking about failing upwards. 0:22:56.200 --> 0:22:59.000 All right, Michael Kroger, Graham Richardson, great to see you both, 0:22:59.040 --> 0:22:59.880 Thanks you for your type. 0:23:00.040 --> 0:23:02.160 Thanks Cherry all right. 0:23:02.320 --> 0:23:05.240 On Monday I told you how more than two hundred 0:23:05.280 --> 0:23:08.520 and sixty Australian doctors had sent a letter to Federal 0:23:08.560 --> 0:23:12.040 Health Minister Mark Butler back in October twenty twenty three 0:23:12.359 --> 0:23:15.040 to talk about the level of anti Semitism in the 0:23:15.080 --> 0:23:20.639 health sector and how disappointingly but unsurprisingly, no action was 0:23:20.720 --> 0:23:23.919 taken since that letter was sent, and because of the 0:23:23.960 --> 0:23:29.000 inaction of the government and OPRAH, that anti semitism has continued. 0:23:29.680 --> 0:23:34.080 This week, we've covered such despicable cases as a doctor 0:23:34.560 --> 0:23:38.080 saying that they fear seeing Jewish names among their patients, 0:23:38.720 --> 0:23:42.120 while another doctor's social media post says live like sinoa 0:23:42.400 --> 0:23:46.200 or die trying now. The doctor who sent that letter 0:23:46.240 --> 0:23:49.439 to Mark Butler in twenty twenty three has now broken 0:23:49.480 --> 0:23:53.480 her silence on the lack of response. Doctor Jacqueline Rakov 0:23:54.320 --> 0:23:57.960 joins me. Now, doctor Rakov, I'm so pleased to have 0:23:58.000 --> 0:24:00.359 you on the program. Thank you very much for your time. 0:24:01.080 --> 0:24:04.520 Why have you decided, thanks for the invitation, Why have. 0:24:04.520 --> 0:24:07.639 You decided now to speak out publicly? 0:24:10.680 --> 0:24:11.200 Well? Sharry. 0:24:11.240 --> 0:24:13.440 I should probably say that I've not been hiding anywhere. 0:24:13.520 --> 0:24:16.640 The letter was signed clearly with my name. It went 0:24:16.680 --> 0:24:20.160 out to more than just one minister. Since then, we've 0:24:20.200 --> 0:24:23.080 met with Opera. I understand it was tabled in Senate, 0:24:23.160 --> 0:24:27.399 my name was available, and I've spoken with Health Services. 0:24:27.600 --> 0:24:30.879 I think that the climate or the tolerance for hate 0:24:30.960 --> 0:24:36.000 has allowed. That has been allowed has meant that it 0:24:36.040 --> 0:24:39.200 took such a disgusting and shocking incident that we saw 0:24:39.280 --> 0:24:42.359 last week with the Bankstown nurses for people to start 0:24:42.400 --> 0:24:43.600 finally asking questions. 0:24:44.720 --> 0:24:46.920 I mean, you sent that letter on the twenty sixth 0:24:46.960 --> 0:24:49.200 of October twenty twenty three. It was just a couple 0:24:49.200 --> 0:24:52.960 of weeks after October seven, and already you'd compiled this 0:24:53.119 --> 0:24:56.960 dossi era of offensive and anti Semitic comments. How do 0:24:57.000 --> 0:24:59.600