Credlin

00:02 Peter Credlin, live from News 24. 00:07 Good evening. Thank you for your company. Welcome to the program. Here's what's coming up tonight on Credlin. It seemed it could be all the talk yesterday, all about Ben Carroll. Well, today, two Jim Chalmers obsessed with One Nation. Clearly, One Nation's biting into Labor's vote. I bet that's what the internal party polling is telling them. We'll get to that in a moment. Inflation down today, good news for struggling families. But has the Treasurer jumped the gun in claiming it as his win? Those underlying numbers aren't good, particularly in a state like Victoria. 00:39 Our business guru, Ross Greenwood, will join me for his take. bad news to Chris Bowen. He's wasted millions of your money booking out all of those luxury hotel rooms in Fiji. Well, we learned today most of the world leaders have said, thanks, but no, thanks. We're not coming, Chris. We're not coming to your climate change talk fest. 00:59 And new Victorian Premier Ben Carroll, first day in the job. So what have voters made of him? I've got more to show you later, but here's a little of their verdict. 01:10 Do you know his name? 01:13 No, because he's a Labour. I'm just concerned that maybe there might be some similarities here. 01:18 Are you happy that he's replaced us into Eleanor's Victoria? Very happy. 01:24 Well, stay with that. Day one in Victoria's top job. It was not an auspicious start for the new Premier, Ben Carroll, out at the Kmart where he'd worked as a teenager. In fact, it was a comedy of errors. Our own Pete Stefanovic was covering it on air this morning and it went so wrong so quickly that it promptly was turned into an ad by Liberal HQ. 01:49 Things are not getting off to a good start here from the new Premier because apparently he's insisted on doing this press conference in the basement of a Kmart. So if you want your message to go out live, you're going to need better reception. So he's trying to be the new guy. He says, forget the past, but are people going to forget the past because he was part of previous governments? 02:11 Yeah, well, not a good start, I would say. 02:15 Now, two things out of this, two things that are instructive. The first, most obvious, is that Liberal HQ is now running at a pace that we haven't seen in many years. It's grabbing Labor's mistakes and it's turning them into real opportunities online and fast. So well done there. But the second thing I want you to pick up tonight is that Labor's internal machine is starting to fail. 02:38 Working up a stunt, you know, heading out to Kmart, you might think that someone would think to check whether the basement had mobile phone coverage. After all, without it, there's nothing for the media to run. So basement Ben, that's a fail. And if you think I'm being tough here, calling this morning's event a stunt, have a listen to this from long-time Melbourne broadcaster, and he's no conservative, Neil Mitchell. 03:07 There's a report today, I don't know if it's right, that he's holding his first all-in press conference at the supermarket where he worked as a kid, as a checkout. 03:17 If that's right, that's silly. He's going to put a hard hat on or an apron. Let's stop the tricks. Let's stop the stunts. Talk direct to people and be fair dinkum with them. 03:29 Now, in the whole scheme of things, this morning wasn't a huge deal. His back office, well, they'll get better, they'll improve. That's inevitable when he's got hundreds more staff than his opponent. And I mean that literally. As Premier, he's got over 100 political staff in his office, almost double that of the Prime Minister. Whereas Jess Wilson, well, she'd be lucky to have a dozen. But that's not the most instructive thing that happened today. It's this. 04:01 A tactical move by the opposition, later on the floor of the Parliament, that was more significant. More significant and more telling. Remember, this was Ben Carroll at his first press conference as leader yesterday, announcing a Royal Commission into Victoria's building and construction industry. 04:21 My first action as Premier, will be to call a Royal Commission into the construction sector. 04:31 As I said to you last night, don't be fooled into thinking that Labor now believes in transparency and integrity, despite this now infamous line from the new Premier. 04:44 We are saying enough is enough. 04:48 In my government, integrity will not be optional. 04:55 He doesn't believe in integrity. Labor doesn't believe in integrity. 04:58 If Carroll did, he would have demanded a royal commission when he sat around the cabinet table as deputy premier and resigned if he didn't get it. Now, he did none of that. He's only calling a royal commission now so that he gets to choose who the commissioner is and so that Labor sets the terms of reference of the inquiry so as to keep their secrets buried. Because if they don't do it now and the Liberals win, well, all hell will break loose. 05:31 Carroll's Royal Commission is not about finding out the truth. It's about keeping it hidden. It's about protecting Labor's CFMEU mates. It's about protecting the rivers of gold in terms of union donations that flow into the Labor Party, state and federal. So what happened in the Parliament today that was so significant? Well, it was this. 05:56 It was this from the Shadow Attorney General, James Newbury. 06:00 Has the Premier issued a direction to all current and former ministers and their officers, departments and agencies to stop documents relating to corruption, misconduct and criminality on the big bill from being shredded or destroyed? 06:14 What safeguards has the Premier put in place to stop the shredding of documents and deletion of records taking place in the offices of Premier, former Premier or outgoing ministers as we speak? 06:27 This is really important. Here's why. 06:31 Not many people understand that between Premiers, there's a wholesale changeover, both in terms of the office or the political staff, but also in terms of public servant protocols. 06:44 Now, yes, Jacinta Allen and Ben Carroll are both members of the Labor Party. But as far as the public service is concerned, they are two very different premiers. And so documents between the two different administrations, well, they are closed out. 07:02 Right now, Ben Carroll would not even be in the Premier's office yet. Right now, Jacinta Allen and her staff would still be there cleaning out the cupboards and I can guarantee you they would be running the shredder day and night. 07:18 And that was the importance of that declaration today from Newbury. With or without the connivance of Ben Carroll, documents that should be legally protected, now that he's foreshadowed a royal commission, may be being destroyed. Now, Labor could be playing cute here, given Carol has said he'll call a Royal Commission, but as yet the formal letters pattern to make it happen, well, they have not been issued. 07:49 So does that mean that documents destroyed are not subject to the legal protection that they would have once the Royal Commission's officially underway? 07:59 Well, that's debatable. 08:01 Certainly politically and morally, if they are destroyed, then Labor's in breach. So good on the Liberals, good on James Newbery for picking this up on day one of a new regime and running it as hard as they did through the parliament. 08:15 Again, just like their quick action with that ad about the media debacle this morning, it shows an energy and a nimbleness that's long been missing from the Victorian opposition. Finally, it gives a warrior like me a bit of hope that the Victorian Liberals are not just up for a fight, they're actually throwing themselves into it, body and soul. 08:36 Now, in my column in The Australian Tomorrow, I make a couple of observations, and I think it's worth foreshadowing them with you tonight. Alright, things will inevitably change now that Alan's been replaced with Labor rights man Ben Carroll. It's just how much they change, that's the question. Will Carroll get the same sort of bump as Andy Burnham, who after spearing Keir Starmer has got, drawing level now with Reform UK in the most recent polling? 09:06 Or will it be the tepid improvement that a returned Kevin Rudd delivered after he replaced Julia Gillard on the cusp of the 2013 election and at least saved some furniture? Now, I go on to say I expect there will be a lift, that there will be a lift for Labor over the next few weeks following the removal of Jacinta Allen. But that doesn't mean it will be sustained. 09:32 How the Liberals react to this lift will determine whether any boost is locked in or dissipates. 09:41 Now let's not forget, we have cabinet government in this country, and Ben Carroll has been sitting around that table for most of the past decade, including time in the key portfolios of justice, crime, roads and transport. 09:57 Whether he can shrug off that history or be forced to own it will all come down to how well the Liberals can frame him. 10:05 Now, that's not just the job of Jess Wilson to frame Carol. This is where her colleagues really need to step up and stop expecting her to do it all. She's got to sell hope and policies that can turn around a bad state. It's up to them now to go after Carol and nail Labor's record to his chest. 10:24 Now, for Victoria's sake, for Australia's sake, let's hope that happens. 10:33 We have a lot to get through tonight. And, of course, Chris Ullman's back at the desk. We'll get to Canberra now, though, for the headlines with our Sky News, Sky News, News 24 political reporter, I did it again, Ruben Spargo. 10:45 Good evening. Hopes of mortgage holders are being boosted in the face of next month's Reserve Bank meeting. The headline inflation figure has fallen 0.2 percentage points to 3.8%, beating market expectations. Underlying inflation, which is closely watched by the Reserve Bank, remains unchanged at 3.6%. 11:04 These are welcome numbers in the circumstances, but we know that we still have an inflation challenge in our economy. 11:12 The RBA board meets in two weeks, and according to the markets, it's unlikely to lift interest rates further. Nearly half of the country believes multiculturalism is becoming problematic for Australia, according to the News 24 Pulse poll. 37% of voters believe it continues to serve the country well. Only 10% say it has never been good for the country. 11:33 Cut back on the immigration. I'm selecting to figure around about 130,000 people. 11:37 The opposition has closed the gap on One Nation on primary vote. The coalition is on 22% and One Nation is on 25%. The opposition leader is distancing himself from a group at the centre of a New South Wales corruption investigation. Angus Taylor denies giving it money after claims he was asked to make a financial contribution. 11:58 I'm not going to give a running commentary on something I'm not party to. 12:01 No payment was made. ICAC is investigating an alleged plot by Liberal operatives to solicit illegal donations, stack branches and discredit political opponents. 12:13 Look, well done Paul Murray. 12:15 Q&A last night with Pauline Hanson was must-watch TV. But as I foreshadowed, back at the desk of News 24, political contributor Chris Ullman joins me now. Before I get into the headlines, Chris, and get all your analysis, I know you've been away overseas on leave. I'm always keen for observations that people pick up on their travels. What struck you? 12:39 Well, Peter, I was in the UK for a while, and what strikes me, apart from the fact that it's very much a basket case, but with the change of government to Andy Burnham, the first thing he went in was on electricity prices, because, of course, the UK has some of the highest electricity prices in the world. Why? Because they're pursuing much the same policies that we are. So he cut the VAT tax, the value-added tax on that. So cost of living measure, that'll only get him about £45 a year off a usual bill in the UK, which is staggeringly high. What will be interesting to see is what he does with North Sea Oil because there are two projects there that are under consideration that could be ticked off on oil and on gas. 13:17 If he does move on that, that will see a significant break from what the Labor Party has done in the past on that. And around the world and everywhere I went, the word on everyone's lips is energy security. That is the most important thing for governments and for countries. And certainly the cost of energy everywhere is a talking point. So it's not just here that this is happening, but elsewhere it seems that one of the shoes has dropped on the cost of these policies to governments and to people. 13:47 All right, before I go to other things then, what did you make of the Prime Minister's announcement from Karratha and WA yesterday that they'll have a scoping study, four millions on the table. If the project goes ahead, we're talking many multiples of billions. But, but, does this tell us that Labor's dropping its fossil fuel phobia? 14:11 Well, Peter, I always say that the best way to view politics is to watch what governments do rather than to listen to what they say. And this is a fairly significant thing for the Prime Minister to be doing to try and look at a way of shoring up Australia's energy security and particularly its liquid fuel security. So you have to give him points. For that, and the truth about the way that Australia actually is run and the energy that it runs on, is 96% of our energy, so once we get away from electricity, but all of the energy that we use to run this country, 96% of it comes from coal, oil and gas. 14:45 And that's a truth that's not going to change in the short term. And we know that we are severely liquid fuel insecure at the moment. So good on the Prime Minister for doing that. And it does give you a nod in the direction of travel of this government. 15:01 Okay, well, just staying with this then, you know, you will have seen the story that broke late this afternoon in The Australian, that you've got all these heads of government around the world who are saying no to Chris Bowen. They're not going to come to the latest climate change talkfest. that he is promoting, I think it's in October this year, in Fiji. He's spent many millions booking all the luxury hotel rooms. Well, they'll all be no-shows. Again, if you look at data centres, if you look at Net Zero, even Tony Blair says that's got to go. 15:33 Are we seeing a shift here, Chris, given what you've also witnessed overseas? 15:39 Peter, there is undoubtedly a shift, which Chris Bowen, of course, refuses to acknowledge. One of the many things that he said, which is flat out wrong, which is that no one around the world that he talks to is talking about getting more oil and gas. Well, he must have missed... the statement that was put out by Mark Carney, who formerly was a champion, of course, of net zero, about the fact, and he made no bones about this, that Canada's emissions are going to rise because he's going to lean more heavily into the natural resources of that country to make the most of them, to make sure that Canada uses the real strength that it has in oil and gas. 16:17 He's opening up a new pipeline he intends to export gas into the export markets into which we export them. So right around the world, the world understands now that energy security trumps everything else. And what Chris Bowen says and does is in some ways a sideshow, but I would say a very expensive one for Australia. And we continue to pursue policies which will in the long run make us a poorer nation. So It's good to see the federal government on some, in some fronts, like when it comes to liquid fuel security, has the memo. 16:52 It's certainly lagging when it comes to others. And if it actually believes that it will deliver productivity on the energy path that it's on, then it's diluting itself. 17:05 The latest polls, Chris, we just read the Sky Polls poll. There's an uptick there for Angus Taylor. I think a steadying of the One Nation vote. Still bad polls for Labor. 17:18 The government's really gone, I think, hard now after One Nation. They lampooned them for so long. The Prime Minister always, you know, going after Pauline Hanson as some sort of joke. But now he's become very full frontal in his attack. So too the Treasurer. Here he was today. 17:36 The very dangerous risk that One Nation poses to wages and working families in this country. 17:45 And the thing about One Nation is there is no way that the Liberals and Nationals can govern without being in coalition with One Nation. 17:56 And those three parties, that three ring circus, They share a very divisive anti-worker agenda. 18:06 And, mate, this mirrored, I guess, the rationale we saw yesterday from Ben Carroll. It was all about the polls. That's why Jacinta Allen went. It was craven self-interest from Labor MPs who wanted to keep their seats. But he made it himself all about the risk come November of a coalition, one-nation government in Victoria. What do you make of this? 18:30 Well, it's Politics 101 for the Labor Party. It's what I would be doing at the moment, which is to paint your opponent as a risk, to paint One Nation in particular as unpredictable, inexperienced and certainly a danger of a vote, a risk of a vote, and that he's trying now to put everyone in the same pot, so essentially to say that the fractured right-hand side of Australian politics is unfit to govern. And unfortunately, it's... 18:58 true to a certain extent that they keep offering proof points to this you know so that so that One Nation and the coalition at the moment are certainly you know the One Nation in particular is certainly making up some ground but unfortunately it's really hard to pin One Nation down as to what they would be and what they would do in government I've got to say when it comes to Victoria who leads One Nation in Victoria if people people want an option And if that option really isn't there, if it looks to them like the coalition and One Nation is going to be a risk, then it forces them back into the Labor Party's ticket. 19:31 So, you know, of course, this is the sort of thing the Labor Party would do and it would be helpful if the coalition and One Nation didn't provide proof points so often that they were incapable of governing. 19:43 I guess, though, in aggregate terms, Chris, a few things it says to me. It says to me, clearly One Nation is showing up in internal party polling for Labor. Not the published polls, not the stuff that we see, but that really fine drill down polling that only a political party does. So it's there. The PM wouldn't have made it such a feature of the national conference the other weekend if it wasn't. But also, if you look in aggregate terms, and they're not a multi-party coalition yet of any shape or form on the centre-right, but you have got this concentration of anyone but the government vote, anyone but Labor, and that's occurring federally and certainly occurring in Victoria. 20:22 And Labor, rather than, I guess, take the concerns of people who have left them seriously, They're now wheeling around and attacking One Nation supporters. Now, I say to the Liberals, don't do that either. 20:35 Fight the ground, the policy ground where the differences are, but don't attack people who've left you. Labor's got to be careful about that as well. 20:44 Yes, certainly, and I'm sure that in working-class suburbs that One Nation is mopping up the discontent that people see there. But the problem that we've got in the two-party preferred system is I see a lot of people who just add up the One Nation vote and the Coalition vote and think, hey, presto, that transforms into government. Well, no, it doesn't. Not if it fractures and those preferences spray everywhere. And that's what the government does know. So if the Victorian Labor Party can lift its primary vote high enough, and that... will not necessarily be that high in this day and age, then it's back in this fight. So it's obvious that what you would do is try and work on the weaknesses of your opponent. 21:18 The biggest weaknesses of the right-hand side of politics at the moment is it's absurdly divided and looks completely disorganised. So that's a problem, certainly a problem for Jess Wilson in Victoria. 21:32 Let's play this comment from someone you know well, I know well, our former Labor Front Bencher, Mike Kelly. 21:40 But the bad news is that there's these elements that are rising within the Labor movement that have this unholy alliance between extreme revolutionary Marxists and Islamist extremists that are trying to pervert the party. And their goal is not a two-state solution, which is aligned with Hamas, because Hamas doesn't support a two-state solution. 22:03 All right, we've both seen what the politics of radical Islam's done to the left in the United Kingdom. Is that where Labor's headed in Australia? 22:14 Oh, look, we've seen certainly, you know, the latest iteration at the Labor Party conference of the push, which has been coming from the left forever. Look, as long as I can remember that there's always been a debate over how the wording should be on the Labor Party's attitude to the state of Israel. And usually, you know, the sanity did prevail. And now what we've seen is that it gets chipped away at time and time again at these conferences. And I'd have to say that a large section of the party, the parliamentary Labor Party administration, and certainly a large section of the base of the Labor Party now is completely split with the State of Israel. 22:48 It is actively hostile to it at the moment. And that's the frustration you can hear coming out in someone like Mike Kelly, who is a good friend and a man of enormous principle. He's been fighting the good fight for what he believes to be the right thing. And what I agree with him is the right thing on our attitude to the State of Israel. But I'm afraid that I think that the fight is lost inside the Labor Party now, certainly within the membership and I'd say pretty much two within the parliamentary Labor Party. So we've seen another step towards moving away from the state of Israel and the support the Labor Party had historically given it, and that will continue. 23:25 That's heartbreaking, Chris. It bodes a very bad omen for this country, but we're seeing it in the United States, of course, with the Democrats. We're seeing it in the United Kingdom. Not good. We'll catch up back to your usual spot on Monday next week. Thanks for your time. Right after the break. On the ground with voters today, what do they make of Ben Carroll? Or better question, actually, do they even know who the bloke is? Plus, inflation's down today. What does it mean for rates, though? Ross Greenwood joins me. 23:57 Welcome back. We're going to get into the latest inflation data out today and what it means for your mortgage. If you've got one, I do. I'm a bit interested. We'll get to that in a moment with Ross Greenwood at first. Not 24 hours after he knifed Jacinta Allen as leader, Ben Carroll was out and about this morning, starting with that picture up. We've talked about that at Kmart where he got his first job and then in the parliament repeating some familiar talking points straight off the cuff. 24:22 I'm not Daniel Andrews. I'm not Jacinta Allen. Wow. 24:28 I'm nobody's girl. Well, maybe the case, Premier. But do voters even know who Ben Carroll is? News 24 reporter Jack Nyhoff got out in the street, spoke to a few punters this morning, and this is what they had to say. 24:42 Does the name Ben Carroll mean anything to you? 24:45 Who? Ben Carroll. No. 24:47 Do you know who this man is? 24:50 Oh, that's a new one. I see the tiwi. Yes, do you know his name? I don't know. 24:55 Does the name Ben Carroll mean anything to you? It does not, unfortunately. It's just a shame mob, isn't it? 25:02 And as far as I'm concerned, he's just tarred with the same brush. 25:08 And my vote is going to go liberal. 25:10 Do you know who this man is? 25:12 I've never seen him in my life. 25:15 Looks like he's got a bit of work there, doesn't he, to not just repair the Labor brand, but also lift his public profile ahead of the election. He's got four months to do it. Better get cracking. All right, let's go now. Politics to one side. Let's talk about all the other issues across the country in terms of the economy. But I want to have a bit of a focus tonight, if I can, on Victoria, because outside of crime and safety, It's the parlous state of the Victorian economy that's dragging down not just Victoria, but the entire Commonwealth. 25:45 Joining me now to discuss that and, of course, the Inflation Data Rout today, News 24 Business Editor Ross Greenwood. Well, you're the guru here, Ross. I had to get you on this week. They've changed the leader. Can they fix the economy? Because across almost every indicey, Victoria is in trouble. They're in trouble in terms of the debt, of course. The Premier, the outgoing Premier, was crowing about a deficit. Well, mate, your deficit's not your problem. It's your debt that's the problem. Unemployment's a problem. Housing completions, housing starts. 26:18 Of course, the auction rate. Tell us more. 26:21 The let's go for, for example, manufacturing in Victoria is slowing faster than the other part of the country. There's a lack of raw materials or any sort of mining activity because of the difficulties to go and actually discover new gas fields in Victoria. That's a problem. The credit rating is the worst of any state in Australia, and there are warnings from the credit ratings agency that it could be cut if they continue to spend in the way in which they have. You've got a metro project right now whose costs are out of control, which means it's compromising not just other infrastructure projects in Victoria, but also then crowding out the private sector when it wants to get on and do any building or expansion because its costs are higher. 27:09 And so all of these things compound onto the Victorian economy. So Victoria's economy, as you point out, is right now an outlier when it comes to unemployment. The unemployment rate in Victoria is 5.1% compared with the unemployment rate in New South Wales of 4%, 4.0%. 27:30 and, say, Queensland, Western Australia at 4.3%. So it is an outlier. And the problem is that if you don't have an economy that grows faster, if you don't have settings to allow it to grow faster, you'll simply try to hoover in more debt, in particular, or rather taxes, from property owners in particular, and you'll not make the economy more competitive, then the problem gets worse. It doesn't get better any time soon. 28:00 I was listening to the radio this morning and there were people on there talking about the fact that someone had sold a home just recently for 20% less than they bought it five years ago. The auction rate in Victoria is the worst of the country. Just the stuff's not on the market and what's on the market's not selling. 28:20 When you look at Victoria's revenue, the government revenues, so much of that is taxation, so much of it is property revenue. taxes, that also bodes ill for the future. 28:31 It does. There's another little thing here is that on those employment stats I just showed you, remember that they are inflated in Victoria because of the massive public service that there is. There's close on 400,000 public servants in Victoria. Now, though New South Wales has more public servants, it also has an economy that can actually provide for those public servants. and for the public service they provide. But in Victoria, close on one in 10 employees or workers is a public servant. 29:04 Whereas in New South Wales, by way of comparison, it's around one in 15. So if you were an incoming premier and you wanted to change things, it's hard to do it. There's not terribly many assets, government assets, to sell to try and get your debts down from this $200 billion that it's going to be. There's not very much you can do by way of trying to incentivise business to try and invest more, partly because you're building so much infrastructure yourself, you're crowding it out. And then the second thing as well, as soon as you try and give tax breaks to business to try and expand in Victoria, you're your debts are going to get worse, not better in the short term. 29:43 And so it really is one of these issues whereby Victoria, for the time being, is stuck and there's no easy way around it. And to your point, it's also a situation if you've whacked your homeowners with massive taxes, those homeowners and investors are not likely to want to turn over their homes, and as a result, your stamp duty revenue is lower. You're not getting a boost as a result of that. So, you know, it's a problem. And it's a problem not just for the new Premier, Ben Carroll, coming through, but it's potentially also a difficulty if the coalition were to win the election in 16 weeks' time. 30:24 It's also a problem for everybody else around the country because, you know, I talk about Victoria, they've got an election coming, it's looming, of course, it's topical news for the nation. But in economic terms, everybody else will have to bail out the basket state of Victoria, the basket case state of Victoria, if things don't get fixed. And I keep underscoring this point about the credit agencies. If it wasn't for the Commonwealth, well, they'd call in their loans to Victoria, you know, lenders around the world. 30:56 But I think, I guess, importantly, those revelations a couple of weeks ago that when he was the Treasurer, Labor's Tim Pallis knocked on the doors in Canberra and said, we want you to bail us out. Now, fortunately, Jim Chalmers said, you know, bugger off, that's not going to happen. But that's the risk for everyone, isn't it? 31:16 Well, that is the risk. And to be fair also, Peter, I've in the past couple of months or so spoken to two Labor treasurers, different states, obviously not Victoria, who have expressed genuine concern about this and wondering why on earth they should be on the hook for Victoria's profligacy. And I mean, this is of Victoria's own making. The infrastructure problems, the big build and what's taken place there and the quite clearly the investigations of the Royal Commission that has to happen into that. 31:48 And so the waste is the real problem, the lack of incentive for business to grow. In fact, really almost trying to push business out, not trying to exploit your own natural resources, just simply relying on it coming across the border in pipelines is not good enough. relying solely on, you know, sort of renewable energy when that's absolutely fine to do that. But you've got to have something else longer term to back that up. So especially with the data centres that need to be built. So these are all fundamental flaws that the Allen government and before then the Andrews government committed that have left the Victorian people poorer and quite clearly now potentially looking for welfare from other parts of the country, which I've got to say there is significant resistance to. 32:37 The suburban rail loop, you mentioned that there, this rail line to nowhere that almost no one in Victoria wants other than Jacinta Rowland. And it would seem perhaps not Ben Carroll. This is a comment made from Bill Shorten today. He's formerly of the Labor right in Victoria. He's a great mate of Ben Carroll's. I saw this as a bit of an indication. Have a listen. 33:00 Someone's got to say it, but Suburban Rail Link seems a very expensive investment and I think a lot of people have got reservations about it. So I think running the ruler over that, I think, will be pretty urgent. Suburban Rail Link is a marvellous idea. But, you know, I'll be straight. I think that if you're having trouble paying for that and for hospitals and for schools and getting your debt down, I mean, I know the priority's got to be the immediate over the nice things to have. 33:32 Right, that's the ABC last night. He repeated it again with my colleague this morning, Laura Jayes. That looks like it's going. 33:39 Well, you would imagine so. Running the ruler over it, if he's giving the advice to Ben Carroll, that's certainly what would happen. And the other point also is for decades and decades, people have wanted a rail link to the airport. Well, while you've got the suburban rail loop not working and not operating and clearly taking up a lot of resources and a lot of money, then the other things that are needed in the city are not going to be taking place. So, as I say, it needs a kickstart, there's no doubt. The beginning would be to reduce the size of the public service, but there'll be a scream. 34:13 You saw, say, for example, how out of touch even the teachers are looking for or rejecting a 28% pay rise over four years and wanting 35%. And again, this is at a time when Australia's got an inflation problem. So, you know, this again recognises a place that is not in step with other parts of the country right now, where other states, New South Wales, Queensland, WA, South Australia in particular, are growing faster and therefore infrastructure is growing and being built and being afforded. 34:47 And this is the reason why some of those other states are really looking very warily at Victoria right now. 34:55 I tell you what, Ross, if our bosses were going to give us 8%, we'd grab it, let alone 28%. The teachers are crazy. Hey, just very quickly, inflation. A reprieve today? Does this mean we're not going to get the rate hike that some were thinking was coming our way? 35:11 Yeah, this had been worse than expected. You could have almost guaranteed that a rate rise could have been on the cards in August. Look, there may be a rate rise later this year. You've got to look at these things on a monthly basis. It looks right now as though that inflation rate is starting to just ease off from the peaks it was previously. That being said, the Reserve Bank hasn't actually put the inflation rate in Australia, the underlying rate, which doesn't include fuel prices. in its preferred band of 2% to 3% for 12 months. And really, even over the past 10 years, it's only got there basically of 120 months, about 10 months of that 120 months. 35:47 So I don't know why you have a target when you can never hit it. But the point is right now, interest rates in the short term are likely to be on hold for a very, very prolonged period of time. And to a certain extent, that's the way the Reserve Bank likes it. It simply can sit back, wait and see what the impact of those three rate rises earlier this year will be. 36:10 Thank you, as always, my good friend, the guru we call you, here at News 24. Got it right that time or after the break. Another legal case out of the whole Brittany Higgins saga settled. We still don't have all the facts, though, behind that multi-million dollar payout she got. And the Jews made to disappear from our upcoming census. That can't be right, you're telling me. Not after Bondi. Well, I'm afraid to say it is. A Wednesday panel up next. 36:43 I'm just laughing in the break because I'm looking at my phone and my good friend and colleague, Rita Panahy, the Rita Show, don't miss it, of course. She's got merchandise on the News24 website. We need some Credlin T-shirts too. We'll see what happens with that. Let's get into things with my panel, though. More important things to talk about with the Head of Advocacy at Women's Forum Australia, Stephanie Bastien, and Liberal Senator for New South Wales, Jess Collins. Welcome to you both. Steph, I want your take on this because I know you've been pretty brutal online. The former Victorian Premier Jacinta Allen pulling the gender card yesterday. 37:16 Have a listen. 37:17 If you're a woman making your start in politics, let me say this to you today. 37:24 Please don't look at what I have experienced this week and think, stuff that. I don't want to be involved. 37:30 Look at the support I've experienced over my career and think, I can make a difference here too. 37:39 It's not your biology, lady. You're a dud, Steph, isn't she? She's an absolute dud. 37:45 Oh, I'm still bristling looking at that, Peter. It's just a disgrace. I mean, no one let women down at every opportunity more than Jacinda Allen as a leader, as Premier. I mean, she spent millions of dollars on a campaign to convince women to accept men into private spaces, releasing commercials funded by the taxpayer, depicting scenarios where women are leaving spaces or sporting scenarios where they did not feel safe against trans-identified males in their personal space. She failed women in the prison system where she... 38:18 In 2022, her government was aware there was a woman who was assaulted in a female prison by a male trans-identifying prisoner. We have been campaigning for years and it's only this year that she updated her guidelines, not to exclude them but to make it harder for male offenders to enter female prisons. She ran a health inquiry for women. Women's health has been under-researched historically because there are so many biological variants and she allowed men to participate, skewering the results. She has been a failure and she is a disgrace, and I don't think there is any sympathy from the public in her going. 38:49 But as far as female leadership goes, she has failed. 38:54 There you go, you didn't mention words. I'll go to you on another issue, Jess, because this struck me as shocking. I thought I'd got it wrong. I thought you clearly are reading it the wrong way, but it's actual fact. The census, it has a drop-down menu of a whole lot of religions you can identify with. Of course, they put the first one up the top as no religion. Well, no surprises there with the ABS. But they've taken away Judaism, as a religion that you nominate. So there's a whole lot of other religions there. 39:26 You have to tick other on the box and then right in Judaism. Now, given Bondi, given all the funding we have to keep Jews safe in Australia, sadly, it might be a good idea to know how many Jews are in the country, given how much we need to spend to keep them safe. 39:45 Peter, it's an absolute disgrace. I mean, after, as you say, after everything that the Jewish community has been through, I mean, it's not like it's a small community as well. It's a very significant community across Australia. And to have this, it's, you know, just another slap in the face for them. I mean, the things that they have to go through, I couldn't even imagine. I've got young children and to have to be afraid and scared about sending your kids off to school, about sending them off to daycare every single day, about being worried about being spat on in the street, having your house graffitied. 40:17 And then the government sends this signal to the Jewish community. I just don't know what is going on with Australia right now. I just think it's an absolute disgrace. 40:27 Steph, I have to ask you about the lead story in the Australian newspaper today that the Commonwealth has settled their case. 40:36 This is a case involving former Liberal staffer Fiona Brown. She initiated a lawsuit over the Brittany Higgins saga. Now, the Commonwealth spent a lot of money fighting her. They've now settled it. And in doing so, they've avoided a trial that would have revealed the conduct of the Albanese government in pushing the false allegations against her, against Fiona Brown, but also her boss, the former senator, Linda Reynolds. Now, yes, I guess it's good that it's been settled for her, but I really wanted to see in court the government under some heat. 41:11 I wanted to see ministers under oath giving evidence because I think Australians deserve the truth. 41:19 Oh, they absolutely deserve to know, and it is disappointing this case didn't go through to trial. We know that this whole case was used as a political football. It was very successful, in my view, in the way that they exploited this particular case, and I think that... 41:34 She has been vindicated, Fiona has been vindicated in other cases, but in terms of the corruption and the way that this was handled through government and the press and the payout, it's a shame we're going to be left in the dark. I just hope that Fiona does find some peace and a way to heal following everything that she's been through because it has been horrendous. 41:54 Yeah, nearly $3 million was paid to Brittany Higgins. And part of the calculation, Jess, of the sum pertained to the fact the argument was that she'd never be able to work ever again. Well, she's hardly been out of work ever since that money was paid to her. 42:11 When she had a judgment that went against her in terms of defamation involving Linda Reynolds, she was ordered by the court to pay money to Reynolds to pay legal costs. 42:20 She's now declared herself bankrupt, though. I doubt Linda Reynolds will see any money. And we don't know where that $3 million went anyway. 42:29 That's absolutely right. And I'll tell you what, Linda Reynolds and Fiona Brown have been through it. And I think it's been about seven years since this saga began. Can you only imagine how long this has gone on for, for someone like Fiona Brown, who just wants to clear her name, I suspect, and get through this. So I'm pleased for her that she's managed to find settlement and stay out of the media with all of this case. But of course, as you said before, we haven't really uncovered the truth of all of it. which is a shame, but I am pleased for Linda Reynolds and Fiona Brown trying to find closure on all of this. 43:05 Stephanie Bastien reports today that Chinese cars will account for some 50% of all our new car sales by 2035. Some say it'll be close to 60%. But there's also a report in The Australian today that there are serious security and privacy concerns that effectively these smart cars can be turned into foreign weapons. 43:30 I think there's some very serious concerns there. But this is what happens when you outsource your manufacturing. Australia should be producing our cars here. We used to. We've destroyed our industries. And I think it's a real shame. So I think if we are going to continue importing these cars and they are bringing in new technologies, they should be vetted by the government to make sure that they aren't spying, particularly when it comes to government vehicles and all the rest of these vehicles are used at state and federal level as well. 43:59 So I just hope the due diligence is done. 44:01 Yeah, it's quite alarming. You'd know this, Senator. It's quite alarming to know and see in the fleet of government vehicles just how many of them come from China. In other countries, they're banning these Chinese cars. 44:14 Well, they absolutely are, and for good reason, Peter. Look, you know, they are a huge security risk. We know that they can collect intelligence. They can collect data. They've got cameras all over them. The software is a problem. The hardware is a problem. 44:27 I think we need to call a spade a spade here. These aren't electric vehicles. They are connected cars. And we need to be worried about who is making them and who remains connected to them, who is a manufacturer and who can remain connected. Now, there were reports last year that there are a whole lot of electric vehicles from China... that were dumped right next to Amberley Base. That's our largest airfield in Australia. And, you know, that could be collecting all the data from Amberley Base. It's just disgraceful that this government doesn't think about this stuff. They're not taking any action. 44:58 If they know about it, why aren't they doing something about it? Why are they leaving us so vulnerable? And why are they creating these national security concerns for us? 45:06 Smart, smart analysis. I'll leave it there, Senator. Thank you, Stephanie. Great to see you. See you both next week. All right, quick break. After the break, Kel, and your flag photographs. I've got a few to show you. 45:24 Welcome back. Joining me as he does every Wednesday, wordsmith and broadcaster extraordinaire, Kel Richards. Before we start, Kel, as I look at you sitting there in your magnificent library full of all of those books. I mean, we know they're not books. It's very clever work by the good team at News 24. 45:41 I want you to have a look at this tweet. My husband found it for me. He sent it to me and it reads, following a standard workplace safety check, I've just received an email from a university administrator in which my custom of keeping books on the shelves in my office is described as an unnecessary storing of combustible materials. I mean, this is an academic at a university. 46:04 Oh, I'm horrified. 46:05 Breaks my heart. 46:06 Books are not... Breaks my heart. ...materials. They are things that feed our minds and feed our souls. Combustible materials. 46:13 100%. 46:13 Yes, yes. Dreadful. 46:15 All right, let's get into the words. Let's get into the words. John, one of our viewers, says, where did the term tall poppy come from? 46:22 Ah, this is interesting because this compound noun, tall poppy, meaning prominent people, was coined here in Australia. It is ours. It belongs to us. First time it ever appeared in print anywhere, 1841, in a Victorian newspaper in the Portland Guardian. Now, I said that on air on my radio show once, and a talkback caller rang up and said, no, no, no, no, Kelly, it came from ancient Rome. Now, there's a bit of background. It is true that the last king of ancient Rome was Tarquinus Superbus. It's a wonderful name, Tarquinus Superbus. 46:55 And he had a policy of slaughtering all the most prominent people in any city that he conquered and called it cutting the heads off tall poppies. But he said that in Latin. Nothing like that appeared in English until it was said here in 1941 by a journalist in Portland, in Victoria. So, yes, this is ours. We own this. The longer form of it... tall poppy syndrome, not coined until 1979. And that just means an irresistible impulse to criticise prominent people and a fairly silly one. 47:26 Let's go to the word satire because it's, you know, been prominent, I think, in the last couple of days after the ABC broadcast that disgusting video about Gina Reinhart. We've all seen it. I'm not going to play it again. And the ABC, though, defended it on the basis they said it was satire. 47:43 Yes, and their defense does not hold up. I'll tell you why. It's all to do with the definition of the word. I checked all of the dictionaries. I've got connections with lots of them, as you understand. They all say something along the lines of satire means criticizing person or idea humorously. They all have those two elements. It has to have criticism and humor. Now, the peace run about Gina Reinhardt had neither. There was no criticism of Gina Reinhardt, just violence towards her, and there was no humour, not even the hint of a joke. 48:14 So if the ABC pretends that was satire, the last thing it was was satire. It wasn't that. So in this case, the emperor has no clothes. That was not satire by any definition. 48:28 Clap, trap. We've got time for that one. 48:30 Yes, claptrap is interesting, goes back to 1730, was born in the English theatre world in London in that year. And claptrap meant something that it acted in on stage, something humorous or dramatic or something to incite applause. In other words, claptrap originally meant something done on stage to literally trap the claps. Now, over time, people worked out that what was being done to trap the claps was usually nonsense and rubbish. So claptrap came by the early 1800s to mean rubbish and nonsense. 49:03 But it originally just trapped the claps. 49:07 Brilliant, Kel. I'll leave it there because I want to show some people at home the flags that they have sent me from all around the country. I asked you to send them in and you have made my day. I've got so many flooding my email. You can see some of them there on the screen. They've come from farming communities, country towns. They've come from the suburbs. 49:28 It's absolutely fantastic. If... 49:30 Proof was ever needed. This is it. Forget what that bloke in the lodge thinks of our flag. You love it as much as I do. You love our country as much as I do. I've got a whole lot more to show you. I'll bring them to you over coming days. Thank you for your company. More flags tomorrow night. More me too. But right now, here's Andrew.