1 00:00:00,200 --> 00:00:02,360 Speaker 1: Good morning, and welcome to the Daily OS. It is Tuesday, 2 00:00:02,400 --> 00:00:04,280 Speaker 1: the twelfth of July. I hope everyone's had a good 3 00:00:04,280 --> 00:00:06,280 Speaker 1: start to the week. On today's podcast, we're going to 4 00:00:06,280 --> 00:00:08,600 Speaker 1: be bringing you up to speed on the latest developments 5 00:00:08,640 --> 00:00:11,799 Speaker 1: from Sri Lanka, where there has been massive amounts of 6 00:00:11,800 --> 00:00:14,360 Speaker 1: political unrest in what Tom Crowley, who we're going to 7 00:00:14,360 --> 00:00:16,680 Speaker 1: speak to later on in the podcast, calls the most 8 00:00:16,720 --> 00:00:20,360 Speaker 1: polite invasion of a palace he's ever seen. Plenty more 9 00:00:20,440 --> 00:00:23,720 Speaker 1: to be discussed at the end of the pod, but first, Billy, 10 00:00:23,800 --> 00:00:25,520 Speaker 1: what is making headlines this morning? 11 00:00:26,960 --> 00:00:29,600 Speaker 2: More than one hundred thousand League documents have revealed the 12 00:00:29,680 --> 00:00:34,040 Speaker 2: extent of Uber's tactics, lobbying and attitude towards authorities between 13 00:00:34,080 --> 00:00:38,280 Speaker 2: twenty thirteen and twenty seventeen, which was the period of 14 00:00:38,320 --> 00:00:42,120 Speaker 2: the company's rapid expansion. The document's show Uber had something 15 00:00:42,320 --> 00:00:45,919 Speaker 2: called a kill switch to quickly hide sensitive information on 16 00:00:45,960 --> 00:00:48,360 Speaker 2: company computers during police raids. 17 00:00:49,320 --> 00:00:52,720 Speaker 1: Meanwhile, to domestic politics now and the Victorian government has 18 00:00:52,760 --> 00:00:55,800 Speaker 1: announced its plan to restrict the use of non disclosure 19 00:00:55,840 --> 00:01:01,320 Speaker 1: agreements or NDAs for workplace sexual harassment cases, legal documents 20 00:01:01,360 --> 00:01:03,840 Speaker 1: which prevent those who sign them from sharing sense of 21 00:01:03,880 --> 00:01:07,640 Speaker 1: information with a third party. The government says NDA's quote 22 00:01:07,680 --> 00:01:12,120 Speaker 1: are often misused to silence victim survivors, protect employer reputations, 23 00:01:12,360 --> 00:01:15,240 Speaker 1: avoid full liability and hide serial offending. 24 00:01:15,800 --> 00:01:18,000 Speaker 2: And there is a COVID nineteen outbreak on a cruise 25 00:01:18,000 --> 00:01:21,120 Speaker 2: ship that is currently docked in Brisbane, the Queensland Health 26 00:01:21,160 --> 00:01:23,920 Speaker 2: Minister said, quote. The virus is everywhere and there's no 27 00:01:24,120 --> 00:01:26,399 Speaker 2: escaping that. But I do want to acknowledge that the 28 00:01:26,400 --> 00:01:29,240 Speaker 2: public health units, along with the cruise line are doing 29 00:01:29,319 --> 00:01:32,199 Speaker 2: all the right things and following the protocols in place. 30 00:01:32,840 --> 00:01:35,360 Speaker 1: And today's good news comes to you from the Netherlands, 31 00:01:35,360 --> 00:01:39,240 Speaker 1: where the Dutch Parliament has approved legislation to establish working 32 00:01:39,240 --> 00:01:42,440 Speaker 1: from home as a legal right. It still needs to 33 00:01:42,480 --> 00:01:45,160 Speaker 1: be approved by the Senate, but if the bill passes, 34 00:01:45,280 --> 00:01:48,160 Speaker 1: it will put the onus on employers to reject a 35 00:01:48,200 --> 00:01:56,200 Speaker 1: working from home request with a valid reason. Joined on 36 00:01:56,240 --> 00:01:59,360 Speaker 1: today's podcast by political journalists from The Daily Os Tom 37 00:01:59,480 --> 00:02:01,800 Speaker 1: Crowley to welcome back to the Post. It's been a 38 00:02:01,800 --> 00:02:03,520 Speaker 1: little while since you've been on the podcast, but it's 39 00:02:03,520 --> 00:02:05,240 Speaker 1: good to have you back. Not talking about the election, 40 00:02:05,320 --> 00:02:07,840 Speaker 1: We're going to talk about global affairs today. How has 41 00:02:07,880 --> 00:02:09,120 Speaker 1: your week been thanks that. It's good. 42 00:02:09,120 --> 00:02:10,400 Speaker 3: Good to be I think it's been a couple of 43 00:02:10,400 --> 00:02:12,320 Speaker 3: weeks since as I've been on and I actually started 44 00:02:12,320 --> 00:02:15,200 Speaker 3: getting messages from friends asking me if something horrible had 45 00:02:15,200 --> 00:02:17,600 Speaker 3: happened to me. Obviously they're regular listeners of the podcast, 46 00:02:17,600 --> 00:02:19,240 Speaker 3: so hello to them. If you are listening, I'm here. 47 00:02:19,280 --> 00:02:21,000 Speaker 3: I have not gone anywhere. I just for some reason 48 00:02:21,040 --> 00:02:22,959 Speaker 3: haven't been on the podcast for two weeks. But good 49 00:02:22,960 --> 00:02:25,040 Speaker 3: to be here, Sam, and good to be talking to 50 00:02:25,080 --> 00:02:26,640 Speaker 3: you about Sri Lanka. 51 00:02:26,800 --> 00:02:30,360 Speaker 1: Hundreds of thousands of people have been protesting in Colombo 52 00:02:30,520 --> 00:02:33,120 Speaker 1: and it kind of culminated a couple of days ago 53 00:02:33,280 --> 00:02:37,200 Speaker 1: in a you call it a storming of the presidential palace. 54 00:02:37,520 --> 00:02:39,960 Speaker 1: Take me back a few steps, though, where is this 55 00:02:40,040 --> 00:02:40,720 Speaker 1: all coming from? 56 00:02:40,960 --> 00:02:43,920 Speaker 3: Yeah, it was a storming of the presidential palace, probably 57 00:02:44,080 --> 00:02:46,280 Speaker 3: one of the most good natured stormings of a palace 58 00:02:46,320 --> 00:02:48,360 Speaker 3: that I think we can recall in recent global history. 59 00:02:48,360 --> 00:02:49,840 Speaker 3: We'll come back to that in a moment. But Sri 60 00:02:49,960 --> 00:02:53,320 Speaker 3: Lanka is in a very very severe economic and by 61 00:02:53,360 --> 00:02:57,400 Speaker 3: extension sort of social and humanitarian crisis. It's been talked 62 00:02:57,400 --> 00:02:59,679 Speaker 3: about as the worst crisis in its history since in 63 00:03:00,440 --> 00:03:04,160 Speaker 3: from Britain and the origin of it really is that 64 00:03:04,240 --> 00:03:06,560 Speaker 3: you know, stril Anker is a small island nation. Its 65 00:03:06,600 --> 00:03:09,919 Speaker 3: population is about the same size as Australia. It relies 66 00:03:10,040 --> 00:03:12,519 Speaker 3: on the rest of the world for a lot of essentials. 67 00:03:12,560 --> 00:03:15,600 Speaker 3: It needs to import essentials. It has found itself in 68 00:03:15,639 --> 00:03:19,079 Speaker 3: a position where it has very little access to foreign currency. 69 00:03:19,280 --> 00:03:21,480 Speaker 3: Its government has found itself in a position where it 70 00:03:21,480 --> 00:03:23,600 Speaker 3: can't pay its debts back and so then it can't 71 00:03:23,639 --> 00:03:25,920 Speaker 3: kind of raise much money to be able to spend. 72 00:03:26,320 --> 00:03:29,440 Speaker 3: And basically what's happened is an enormous economic crisis. For 73 00:03:29,600 --> 00:03:31,480 Speaker 3: like I can't get the things that its people need 74 00:03:31,520 --> 00:03:34,080 Speaker 3: to meet basic daily needs. So there's been a shortage 75 00:03:34,240 --> 00:03:37,560 Speaker 3: of food and medicine and fuel for some time. Maybe 76 00:03:37,640 --> 00:03:39,880 Speaker 3: the most dramatic escalation in that sense has been in 77 00:03:39,920 --> 00:03:42,800 Speaker 3: the last couple of weeks where the government banned basically 78 00:03:42,800 --> 00:03:46,040 Speaker 3: the use of fuel for all non essential vehicles for 79 00:03:46,080 --> 00:03:49,240 Speaker 3: a couple of weeks. That's a really significant in position, 80 00:03:49,280 --> 00:03:51,800 Speaker 3: of course on the entire country. But for months really 81 00:03:51,880 --> 00:03:54,640 Speaker 3: it's been in a really dire position. As I mentioned, 82 00:03:54,680 --> 00:03:56,120 Speaker 3: it got to the point where the government was unable 83 00:03:56,160 --> 00:03:58,000 Speaker 3: to pay its debts, and it's really just become more 84 00:03:58,040 --> 00:03:59,960 Speaker 3: and more clear that there's not an easy way out 85 00:04:00,160 --> 00:04:02,400 Speaker 3: of this for Sri Lanka, that it's found itself in 86 00:04:02,640 --> 00:04:05,760 Speaker 3: a really, really difficult position. You know, COVID made a 87 00:04:05,800 --> 00:04:08,720 Speaker 3: big difference to that in terms of taking away tourism revenue, 88 00:04:08,720 --> 00:04:11,640 Speaker 3: which is very important. Russia's invasion of Ukraine made a 89 00:04:11,680 --> 00:04:13,640 Speaker 3: big difference. You know, Like a lot of countries, they've 90 00:04:13,640 --> 00:04:15,960 Speaker 3: been buffeted by the same sorts of winds that have 91 00:04:16,000 --> 00:04:17,880 Speaker 3: been making life difficult for all of us. But Sri 92 00:04:17,960 --> 00:04:20,800 Speaker 3: Lanka found itself in a particularly precarious position and its 93 00:04:20,839 --> 00:04:23,320 Speaker 3: government has made some serious missteps, and that's part of 94 00:04:23,320 --> 00:04:26,160 Speaker 3: where this public anger has come from. It's been bubbling 95 00:04:26,200 --> 00:04:28,680 Speaker 3: along for months in the form of peaceful protests and 96 00:04:28,720 --> 00:04:31,080 Speaker 3: it's sort of erupted over the weekend. And the big 97 00:04:31,080 --> 00:04:32,960 Speaker 3: headline that's come out of that is that the president 98 00:04:33,080 --> 00:04:34,120 Speaker 3: is now about to resign. 99 00:04:34,520 --> 00:04:36,880 Speaker 1: And tell me a little bit more about the government 100 00:04:37,000 --> 00:04:40,400 Speaker 1: and the president. I know that there's some familial connections 101 00:04:40,480 --> 00:04:43,360 Speaker 1: up the top of the Sri Lankan political tree. Is 102 00:04:43,400 --> 00:04:44,159 Speaker 1: that true? 103 00:04:44,520 --> 00:04:48,600 Speaker 3: Yeah, So the key family here is the Rajapaksa family, 104 00:04:48,800 --> 00:04:51,760 Speaker 3: and the Raja Paksa family has been you know, kind 105 00:04:51,800 --> 00:04:54,280 Speaker 3: of in power or very close to power in Sri 106 00:04:54,400 --> 00:04:59,240 Speaker 3: Lanka for really two decades. So Mahinda Rajapaksa was briefly 107 00:04:59,240 --> 00:05:01,240 Speaker 3: the prime minister, I think in two thousand and four, 108 00:05:01,279 --> 00:05:03,279 Speaker 3: and then he became the president in two thousand and five. 109 00:05:03,360 --> 00:05:06,880 Speaker 3: He was president for a decade. His brother go To 110 00:05:06,920 --> 00:05:10,560 Speaker 3: Bayer Rajapaksa was the Defense minister. Go To Bayer is 111 00:05:10,560 --> 00:05:13,080 Speaker 3: now the president, and Hinda and go To Bayer have 112 00:05:13,120 --> 00:05:15,440 Speaker 3: both sort of spent time as president, prime minister in 113 00:05:15,520 --> 00:05:18,440 Speaker 3: various senior positions. As I say, basically, you know, most 114 00:05:18,480 --> 00:05:20,560 Speaker 3: of the time since two thousand and four with very 115 00:05:20,560 --> 00:05:24,039 Speaker 3: few exceptions, and over that period it's been quite a 116 00:05:24,040 --> 00:05:26,960 Speaker 3: controversial government with a checkered record. There was a civil 117 00:05:26,960 --> 00:05:29,680 Speaker 3: war in Sri Lanka for a period of time during 118 00:05:30,120 --> 00:05:33,000 Speaker 3: Hinda Rajapaks's government, and there was a lot that went 119 00:05:33,040 --> 00:05:34,600 Speaker 3: on in that war. One of the things that came 120 00:05:34,640 --> 00:05:37,159 Speaker 3: out of it was a UN investigation in twenty eleven 121 00:05:37,160 --> 00:05:40,760 Speaker 3: which found credible evidence that Mihinda Rajapaks's government, with his 122 00:05:40,839 --> 00:05:43,760 Speaker 3: brother go to Bayer's the Defense minister, was responsible for 123 00:05:43,839 --> 00:05:47,000 Speaker 3: war crimes and crimes against humanity. So again that was 124 00:05:47,040 --> 00:05:49,520 Speaker 3: kind of a you know, a un independent investigation that 125 00:05:49,600 --> 00:05:52,680 Speaker 3: found that. But more broadly, it's a family that has 126 00:05:52,680 --> 00:05:55,320 Speaker 3: had tags of kind of corruption and corrupt behavior that 127 00:05:55,360 --> 00:05:57,599 Speaker 3: have followed it around for a long time. For this 128 00:05:57,680 --> 00:06:00,480 Speaker 3: most recent crisis, there were I think something like five 129 00:06:00,560 --> 00:06:03,560 Speaker 3: members of the Rajapaksa family who were in the governing cabinet, 130 00:06:03,720 --> 00:06:05,560 Speaker 3: and so they really did have, you know, kind of 131 00:06:05,560 --> 00:06:08,279 Speaker 3: a pretty firm grip on Sri Lankan politics in a 132 00:06:08,320 --> 00:06:11,240 Speaker 3: whole range of different ways, and there have been criticisms 133 00:06:11,240 --> 00:06:14,119 Speaker 3: of that government for a long time. But what brought 134 00:06:14,120 --> 00:06:15,920 Speaker 3: this all to a boil in the last few years, 135 00:06:16,000 --> 00:06:18,200 Speaker 3: So it was really twenty nineteen when the Raja paks 136 00:06:18,200 --> 00:06:20,880 Speaker 3: has made a big return to power. They have, as 137 00:06:20,880 --> 00:06:23,760 Speaker 3: I mentioned earlier, made some really serious missteps that brought 138 00:06:23,800 --> 00:06:26,440 Speaker 3: on this economic crisis. So one of the first things 139 00:06:26,440 --> 00:06:28,760 Speaker 3: that they did, I guess is the sort of populism 140 00:06:29,040 --> 00:06:30,920 Speaker 3: for the middle and upper classes in Sri Lanka was 141 00:06:30,960 --> 00:06:33,120 Speaker 3: a really big tax cut which took a lot of 142 00:06:33,120 --> 00:06:35,960 Speaker 3: the government's own kind of revenue away from them. And 143 00:06:36,000 --> 00:06:38,159 Speaker 3: then you've got sort of poor management of international debt 144 00:06:38,160 --> 00:06:41,000 Speaker 3: which left the government in a really bad financial position. 145 00:06:41,440 --> 00:06:43,159 Speaker 3: And so then I guess at the same time, you 146 00:06:43,240 --> 00:06:45,440 Speaker 3: had this Sri Lanka's reliance on the rest of the 147 00:06:45,440 --> 00:06:48,159 Speaker 3: world and this economic crisis leading to this food shortage 148 00:06:48,160 --> 00:06:50,400 Speaker 3: in a fuel shortage, But the government's own role in 149 00:06:50,440 --> 00:06:52,200 Speaker 3: managing that meant that it just really wasn't in a 150 00:06:52,240 --> 00:06:54,960 Speaker 3: position to respond or to help people through this crisis. 151 00:06:55,320 --> 00:06:57,440 Speaker 3: And I guess there are also criticisms of the way 152 00:06:57,440 --> 00:07:00,640 Speaker 3: the government has handled kind of the domestic capacity for 153 00:07:00,680 --> 00:07:03,160 Speaker 3: the country to look after itself in a period like this. 154 00:07:03,200 --> 00:07:06,159 Speaker 3: So there are a lot of reasons why the ragipass 155 00:07:06,160 --> 00:07:08,600 Speaker 3: are viewed as being kind of responsible for making this 156 00:07:09,080 --> 00:07:12,400 Speaker 3: most recent crisis more severe than it might otherwise have been. 157 00:07:12,680 --> 00:07:14,440 Speaker 3: But it really is sort of the culmination of two 158 00:07:14,520 --> 00:07:16,760 Speaker 3: decades in which this family, I guess has a bit 159 00:07:16,760 --> 00:07:18,800 Speaker 3: of a rap sheet now, and that's part of the 160 00:07:18,840 --> 00:07:20,800 Speaker 3: anger I think that we've seen erupting over the last 161 00:07:20,800 --> 00:07:21,679 Speaker 3: few days and months. 162 00:07:22,040 --> 00:07:25,320 Speaker 1: And so you've got a situation where these two decades 163 00:07:25,440 --> 00:07:30,480 Speaker 1: of tensions have seemingly boiled, triggered by some economic changes, 164 00:07:30,760 --> 00:07:33,640 Speaker 1: a pandemic, and now the UN reports that more than 165 00:07:33,680 --> 00:07:37,480 Speaker 1: three quarters of the population have reduced their food intake. 166 00:07:37,600 --> 00:07:40,680 Speaker 1: So it really is hitting the average person on the street, 167 00:07:40,720 --> 00:07:42,240 Speaker 1: and it seems like in the last few days they've 168 00:07:42,280 --> 00:07:44,800 Speaker 1: made that very known. So we put some photos up 169 00:07:44,800 --> 00:07:46,880 Speaker 1: on Instagram of the storming off the palace. Tell me 170 00:07:46,920 --> 00:07:49,360 Speaker 1: a little bit more about what actually happened there. 171 00:07:49,640 --> 00:07:51,720 Speaker 3: Yeah, So, as I say, these protests have been going 172 00:07:51,760 --> 00:07:55,440 Speaker 3: on for months, pretty consistently and pretty peacefully. There was 173 00:07:55,520 --> 00:07:59,600 Speaker 3: one incident where the police open fire on protesters kind 174 00:07:59,640 --> 00:08:02,000 Speaker 3: of a few months ago and someone was killed, but 175 00:08:02,040 --> 00:08:04,680 Speaker 3: from the protester's side, you know, they've been peaceful protests. 176 00:08:05,080 --> 00:08:07,400 Speaker 3: What happened over the weekend was kind of, I guess, 177 00:08:07,400 --> 00:08:09,800 Speaker 3: a major escalation in terms of the scope and the 178 00:08:09,840 --> 00:08:13,160 Speaker 3: size of the protests, and in particular concentrated around the 179 00:08:13,200 --> 00:08:16,120 Speaker 3: president's residence. It's very luxurious, I think it's sometimes called 180 00:08:16,120 --> 00:08:19,920 Speaker 3: the Presidential Palace, and an enormous crowd, it's quite extraordinary 181 00:08:19,920 --> 00:08:22,680 Speaker 3: footage gathered outside the palace and then made their way in. 182 00:08:22,920 --> 00:08:26,239 Speaker 3: The president wasn't there, and the president's whereabouts were unknown. 183 00:08:26,520 --> 00:08:28,680 Speaker 3: I think he may have sort of been seen fleeing 184 00:08:28,680 --> 00:08:31,280 Speaker 3: on a ship or something along those lines. But yeah, 185 00:08:31,280 --> 00:08:33,520 Speaker 3: it was sort of this kind of eruption of, if 186 00:08:33,559 --> 00:08:35,640 Speaker 3: you like, sort of people power and the people kind 187 00:08:35,640 --> 00:08:38,440 Speaker 3: of reclaiming the palace was certainly the way that it 188 00:08:38,480 --> 00:08:40,720 Speaker 3: was conceived of for the protesters, and so there's some 189 00:08:41,120 --> 00:08:44,120 Speaker 3: amusing footage really of people swimming in the presidential pool, 190 00:08:44,240 --> 00:08:47,839 Speaker 3: someone filming themselves lying in the presidential bed, taking turns 191 00:08:47,840 --> 00:08:49,600 Speaker 3: to sort of sit in the President's chair. They were 192 00:08:49,600 --> 00:08:52,000 Speaker 3: playing on his piano at one point and using the gym, 193 00:08:52,280 --> 00:08:54,600 Speaker 3: and in general, I think there was also some footage 194 00:08:54,640 --> 00:08:57,160 Speaker 3: of them comment during the TV to put the cricket 195 00:08:57,160 --> 00:08:59,520 Speaker 3: game on. There's an Australia srilank A Test match that's 196 00:08:59,520 --> 00:09:02,840 Speaker 3: going on, and contrast that has really stark there between 197 00:09:02,880 --> 00:09:06,400 Speaker 3: the luxurious conditions in which the president had been living 198 00:09:06,760 --> 00:09:09,720 Speaker 3: and the kind of humanitarian crisis it's unfolding everywhere in 199 00:09:09,760 --> 00:09:11,319 Speaker 3: Sri Lanka. And I think that there are sort of 200 00:09:11,360 --> 00:09:14,280 Speaker 3: a lot of people remarking on that kind of contrast, 201 00:09:14,400 --> 00:09:17,240 Speaker 3: and I think sort of reflecting the dissatisfaction that had 202 00:09:17,280 --> 00:09:19,920 Speaker 3: evolved with the Rajapaksa family. So that was what we 203 00:09:19,960 --> 00:09:22,679 Speaker 3: saw at the Presidential Palace. Then we had the speaker 204 00:09:22,720 --> 00:09:24,680 Speaker 3: of the Sri Lankan Parliament come out and say that 205 00:09:24,720 --> 00:09:27,320 Speaker 3: the president now intends to resign. The plan is for 206 00:09:27,360 --> 00:09:30,280 Speaker 3: that to happen on Wednesday. It's a little bit unclear. 207 00:09:30,400 --> 00:09:32,080 Speaker 3: We can get to this in a moment, you know, 208 00:09:32,120 --> 00:09:34,840 Speaker 3: what exactly the next steps will be. But it certainly 209 00:09:34,880 --> 00:09:37,680 Speaker 3: seems that this is the end of the Rajapaksa family. 210 00:09:37,760 --> 00:09:41,000 Speaker 3: The Hindu Rajapaksa resigned as Prime Minister a few months ago. 211 00:09:41,400 --> 00:09:42,800 Speaker 3: Now his brother is going to go as well. 212 00:09:43,200 --> 00:09:45,400 Speaker 1: So we have this very dramatic storming of the palace 213 00:09:45,760 --> 00:09:49,440 Speaker 1: and some key resignations. What are the next steps for 214 00:09:49,520 --> 00:09:52,680 Speaker 1: the country. Yeah, that's an interesting question and the answer 215 00:09:52,760 --> 00:09:56,120 Speaker 1: is kind of unclear. So we've still not yet formally 216 00:09:56,160 --> 00:10:00,280 Speaker 1: heard from go to Bayer Rajapaksa, the Prime Minister krima 217 00:10:00,360 --> 00:10:03,079 Speaker 1: singer who was appointed kind of only a month or 218 00:10:03,120 --> 00:10:06,240 Speaker 1: two ago. He's another political, kind of establishment figure who's 219 00:10:06,240 --> 00:10:09,280 Speaker 1: been around for some time. He's spoken and he said 220 00:10:09,320 --> 00:10:12,199 Speaker 1: that he's happy to step down. And again the Speaker 221 00:10:12,240 --> 00:10:13,960 Speaker 1: has said that the President will sit down, but we 222 00:10:13,960 --> 00:10:17,400 Speaker 1: don't know exactly where where god Abaya is and you 223 00:10:17,440 --> 00:10:20,080 Speaker 1: know sort of for how long he'll remain before he 224 00:10:20,120 --> 00:10:22,320 Speaker 1: steps down. It seems that what will happen is the 225 00:10:22,320 --> 00:10:25,520 Speaker 1: Sri Lankan Parliament will now get together and appoint a 226 00:10:25,559 --> 00:10:29,080 Speaker 1: sort of a consensus government that involves the opposition parties 227 00:10:29,120 --> 00:10:31,680 Speaker 1: as well getting together to agree on someone to take 228 00:10:31,720 --> 00:10:35,080 Speaker 1: forward the role of acting president, and then that elections 229 00:10:35,080 --> 00:10:37,240 Speaker 1: will be held kind of as soon as it's possible 230 00:10:37,440 --> 00:10:40,000 Speaker 1: to do so. So that's sort of the next series 231 00:10:40,040 --> 00:10:43,439 Speaker 1: of political steps. You know, exactly how smoothly and how 232 00:10:43,480 --> 00:10:46,680 Speaker 1: peaceful that transition of power will be, I think remains 233 00:10:46,720 --> 00:10:49,880 Speaker 1: to be seen. But beyond that, whoever becomes the next 234 00:10:49,960 --> 00:10:52,360 Speaker 1: government and the next president and Prime Minister of Sri 235 00:10:52,480 --> 00:10:55,920 Speaker 1: Lanka has a really difficult time ahead of them because 236 00:10:55,960 --> 00:10:57,800 Speaker 1: this is not this is not something that you know, 237 00:10:57,840 --> 00:11:00,920 Speaker 1: a new administration can resolve with waving of a magic 238 00:11:00,960 --> 00:11:03,480 Speaker 1: wand it's a really, really diret position that Sri Lanka 239 00:11:03,559 --> 00:11:06,400 Speaker 1: is in now. It will not find it easy to 240 00:11:06,559 --> 00:11:10,679 Speaker 1: raise money from the international community. It's already talking to China, 241 00:11:10,760 --> 00:11:13,600 Speaker 1: to India and to the International Monetary Fund for you know, 242 00:11:13,640 --> 00:11:17,440 Speaker 1: looking for basically crisis loans to be able to help 243 00:11:17,480 --> 00:11:19,360 Speaker 1: to spend their way out of the crisis. But those 244 00:11:19,400 --> 00:11:22,360 Speaker 1: sorts of loans come with conditions, and it's never a 245 00:11:22,400 --> 00:11:25,280 Speaker 1: good position for a country to find itself in financially. 246 00:11:25,800 --> 00:11:27,600 Speaker 1: And then there's I guess the more pressing thing of 247 00:11:27,640 --> 00:11:29,960 Speaker 1: how do they manage to get enough sort of fuel 248 00:11:30,000 --> 00:11:32,640 Speaker 1: and food into the country. Again, this is a country 249 00:11:32,679 --> 00:11:35,400 Speaker 1: with a population the size of Australia's. It's quite a 250 00:11:35,440 --> 00:11:38,319 Speaker 1: diverse population, with everything from poorer people who work in 251 00:11:38,640 --> 00:11:41,959 Speaker 1: rural contexts, but also very much a middle class. There's 252 00:11:41,960 --> 00:11:44,240 Speaker 1: a lot of university educated people in Sri Lanka who've 253 00:11:44,240 --> 00:11:46,480 Speaker 1: been at the forefront of these protests. It's a diverse 254 00:11:46,520 --> 00:11:48,640 Speaker 1: in a modern country and it's really been brought to 255 00:11:48,679 --> 00:11:51,640 Speaker 1: its knees by this economic crisis. If you imagine the 256 00:11:51,640 --> 00:11:53,960 Speaker 1: amount of money and resources it would take for Australia 257 00:11:53,960 --> 00:11:56,640 Speaker 1: to pull itself out of a similar position. In a sense, 258 00:11:56,679 --> 00:11:59,560 Speaker 1: that's where Sri Lanka finds itself, and so how easy 259 00:11:59,600 --> 00:12:01,840 Speaker 1: it will be and whether a new government will be 260 00:12:01,880 --> 00:12:05,920 Speaker 1: able to satisfy the frustrations, the understandable frustrations of people 261 00:12:06,200 --> 00:12:09,199 Speaker 1: with where they've found themselves is a really difficult question. 262 00:12:09,280 --> 00:12:11,880 Speaker 1: I certainly don't envy whoever's going to take over. It's 263 00:12:11,880 --> 00:12:14,160 Speaker 1: going to be a while, I think before Sri Lanka 264 00:12:14,360 --> 00:12:16,960 Speaker 1: is back on its feet. An interesting subplot here is 265 00:12:17,000 --> 00:12:19,360 Speaker 1: the Australian cricket team is actually in Trilanka at the 266 00:12:19,360 --> 00:12:22,280 Speaker 1: moment playing a series of test matches and the tour 267 00:12:22,320 --> 00:12:24,240 Speaker 1: is about to wrap up. But there was this moment 268 00:12:24,320 --> 00:12:28,120 Speaker 1: yesterday where some protests actually stormed a castle near the 269 00:12:28,120 --> 00:12:31,480 Speaker 1: cricket field and you could see them protesting on the 270 00:12:31,520 --> 00:12:33,280 Speaker 1: television broadcast of the Sport. 271 00:12:34,160 --> 00:12:37,080 Speaker 3: Yeah, the cricket tour has been a really interesting one 272 00:12:37,080 --> 00:12:39,640 Speaker 3: and a controversial one that the Australian players were quite 273 00:12:39,760 --> 00:12:42,200 Speaker 3: on the fence about whether it was appropriate to tour 274 00:12:42,280 --> 00:12:44,280 Speaker 3: in the first place, and in particular I think they 275 00:12:44,280 --> 00:12:46,880 Speaker 3: were concerned about, you know, for night games, the amount 276 00:12:46,920 --> 00:12:48,920 Speaker 3: of power that they'd be using just to run the trip. 277 00:12:49,120 --> 00:12:51,200 Speaker 3: And there have been sort of fans at the game 278 00:12:51,240 --> 00:12:54,440 Speaker 3: who've been very grateful for Australia to visit and to 279 00:12:54,440 --> 00:12:56,439 Speaker 3: tour during a time like this and to show support 280 00:12:56,480 --> 00:12:58,760 Speaker 3: for Sri Lanka. But equally there have been sort of 281 00:12:58,800 --> 00:13:01,440 Speaker 3: protesters suggesting that it was inappropriate for the tour to 282 00:13:01,480 --> 00:13:03,880 Speaker 3: go ahead. So it's an interesting position for the Australian 283 00:13:03,920 --> 00:13:07,760 Speaker 3: cricket team to find itself in and an interesting question 284 00:13:07,880 --> 00:13:10,679 Speaker 3: I think, more broadly for Australia in terms of its 285 00:13:10,720 --> 00:13:13,520 Speaker 3: attitude to Sri Lanka and how closely we work with 286 00:13:13,640 --> 00:13:15,439 Speaker 3: Sri Lanka. I think it's sort of notable that the 287 00:13:15,480 --> 00:13:18,760 Speaker 3: Australian government announced about fifty million dollars worth of aid 288 00:13:18,960 --> 00:13:21,280 Speaker 3: for Sri Lanka. But for a neighbor that is as close, 289 00:13:21,440 --> 00:13:23,560 Speaker 3: you know, has so many cultural ties. There are so 290 00:13:23,559 --> 00:13:26,600 Speaker 3: many Sri Lankans here in Australia, including my own family, 291 00:13:26,800 --> 00:13:28,440 Speaker 3: and you know, I have some family back in Sri 292 00:13:28,520 --> 00:13:30,280 Speaker 3: Lanka as well. That the countries have a lot of 293 00:13:30,320 --> 00:13:33,000 Speaker 3: reasons to be close. But I think that there's an 294 00:13:33,000 --> 00:13:35,600 Speaker 3: interesting question to ask for Australia about how much more 295 00:13:35,600 --> 00:13:37,520 Speaker 3: we could be doing to, you know, to support the 296 00:13:37,520 --> 00:13:41,160 Speaker 3: people of Sri Lanka, and exactly what Australia's diplomatic engagement 297 00:13:41,200 --> 00:13:43,040 Speaker 3: with this has been over the last few years. I 298 00:13:43,160 --> 00:13:45,920 Speaker 3: note that as we wrote about the first trip of 299 00:13:45,920 --> 00:13:49,200 Speaker 3: Australia's new Home Affairs Minister just a couple of weeks ago, 300 00:13:49,440 --> 00:13:51,960 Speaker 3: was to go to Sri Lanka to visit President, go 301 00:13:52,000 --> 00:13:54,320 Speaker 3: to baier Roja, Paksa, and the main item on the 302 00:13:54,360 --> 00:13:56,959 Speaker 3: agenda was to talk about cooperation on stopping Sri Lankan 303 00:13:56,960 --> 00:14:00,800 Speaker 3: asylum seeker boats. Many asylum seekers currently trying to leave 304 00:14:00,840 --> 00:14:04,400 Speaker 3: Sri Lanka to reach Australia because of the economic conditions there, 305 00:14:04,800 --> 00:14:06,800 Speaker 3: and so I think that the nature of the way 306 00:14:06,840 --> 00:14:10,640 Speaker 3: that Australian governments engage with Sri Lanka and what Australia 307 00:14:10,679 --> 00:14:12,920 Speaker 3: could be doing is a good international citizen and you know, 308 00:14:13,000 --> 00:14:15,800 Speaker 3: certainly seeking to be a friend of Sri Lanka to 309 00:14:15,840 --> 00:14:17,959 Speaker 3: help them through this period of time. I think it's 310 00:14:17,960 --> 00:14:20,000 Speaker 3: an interesting question for Australia and for all of us 311 00:14:20,040 --> 00:14:21,160 Speaker 3: here in Australia to reflect on. 312 00:14:21,520 --> 00:14:23,880 Speaker 1: Thanks for that, Tom, really appreciate you coming on and 313 00:14:23,920 --> 00:14:26,640 Speaker 1: having a chat about what is an extremely now complicated 314 00:14:26,720 --> 00:14:29,200 Speaker 1: and developing situation. That's all I've got time for on 315 00:14:29,280 --> 00:14:31,640 Speaker 1: today's episode of The Daily OS. I hope you have 316 00:14:31,760 --> 00:14:33,680 Speaker 1: a wonderful Tuesday. If you want to catch up with 317 00:14:33,760 --> 00:14:36,600 Speaker 1: news throughout the day, check us out on Instagram at 318 00:14:36,600 --> 00:14:39,320 Speaker 1: the Daily OS. It's where nearly three hundred and eighty 319 00:14:39,440 --> 00:14:43,080 Speaker 1: thousand Australians are getting their news today and we're loving it. 320 00:14:43,320 --> 00:14:45,120 Speaker 1: That's all I've got time for. We'll speak to you tomorrow.