Prime Minister, the law, the federal politics with Dennis Shanahan. And sadly, Dennis and I will be talking for the last time for quite a few weeks because I'm about to have a bit of a break he pooh, And Dennis is having his regular winter break, and when I come back, he won't be here. But when he does come back, I will be here, but that might be a few weeks off. So good morning, my friend. I look forward to resuming activities in a few weeks. In
the meantime, How is it in the Nation's Capital? I think I read it was minus seven point six earlier today.
Yeah, look at I tell you though, the weather is beautifully that there's no wind. You know you talk about wind chill factor and no wind at all. It is just perfectly sunny, clear, but it is cold. This morning, as I was preparing for my little chat with you, wash a big pied turrelong come in. He comes in every day to land on the on the bird bath, have a drink and a bit of a bath and then he flies off. This morning he went down and slipped straight across the board, fell off the other side.
It was solid ice. I've never seen a turrolong with surprised look on his face. It was col the third bath is solid ice.
Wow.
Fancy that now Dennis A PM's trip to Canada is over and ended with a whimper as Donald Trump ducked out of the G seven and didn't even give Olbow a sorry, I can't make it. There's no rush to NATO. In fact, I think that's been ruled out now, little prospect of a face to face meeting for some time. As I joke before, it's not like there's, you know, anything significant happening with our relationship. Potentially not if you count orcus and tariffs as things that are serious. What's going on here?
Well, look I think that yes, Donald Trump left seventh early. He didn't meet a number of other leaders, but Anthony Alberinase, he was listed as the second last on the agenda. I don't know virtually who was last. When Donald Trump said I'm leaving early, he rang other leaders and said, oh, look, I'm sorry, we can meet up later. Whatever. Anthony Albinase
didn't even get a call. And so what we're seeing is that the failure of Anthony Albinase is to try and establish an early relationship with Donald Trump despite the political differences and all the rest. The Prime Minister said on another a number of occasions, doesn't matter who's president, who's Prime minist we need this relationship. Well it's not happening.
The Prime Minister had gone to Canada with a whole series of ideas about critical men rolls that we're going to use as a bargaining chip to get lower tariff's. There was going to be discussion of aucas while there was a review on in the US, and nothing happened. The Prime Minister met some trade officials that Kevin Rudd,
as Ambassador to Washington, had already met. So what we've seen is a failure early on for the Prime Minister to try and establish that key personal contact with President Trump. He did consider going to the Netherlands because the NATO meeting on the off chance of getting a sideline meeting, but in the end has decided no, he's not going to do that. The likelihood is that he was good
go over there, not going to meeting anyway. So this has been a failure as far as a trip goes where the Prime Minister had hoped to meet and discuss and negotiate issues of tariffs, which are still very important for US and of course AUCAS to try and talk to the President about August before the US review is completed. Now looks like there will be no meeting until probably New York in September.
At the UN, Joe Hockey as ambassador play golf with Trump. Kevin Rudd referred to him as a really jdiot. Can you can you shoot any of the blame to Kevin Rudd? I mean they're not going to take him seriously, are they?
Look I think that actually Kevin Rudd's done quite a good job as far as ambassador on the grounds concerns is kept open. All the negotiations on tariff almost escaped the full brunt of tariff, but there was a political interference there. Certainly what Kevin Rudd had said previously about President Trump wouldn't help. But look, the issue here is
about leaders face to face and that relationship. This is what Donald Trump operates on and we saw the success of their care Starmer, a UK Prime minister who went early to see Donald Trump and put up the UK spending on defense very quickly. It is clear that Donald Trump talks to people who are prepared to talk to him and act.
You know, I reckon the PM's office would be wouldn't they very concerned that if he went to Washington there would be a you know what show if the meeting was in the Oval office. It's not like Trump has spared any other leader from embarrassing them or at least calling them out. There's no doubt in my mind that if Albo and the Trumpster sat together and the cameras were rolling, mister Trump would have some difficult questions, wouldn't.
He He would indeed, And look, I've mentioned before on the program, I've been there in that room. It was Scott Morrison, who is Prime Minister, and Donald Trump, and that was very warm and friendly and a little bit off a wall. But in any case, there would be no doubt that a trip to Washington would have to mean that appearance in what has now become a star chamber where the Prime the President is prepared to rip strips off people, so is the Vice president, and it
would be extremely embarrassing. The advantage of a so called meeting in the sidelines is that it's not televised, and there isn't that whole feeling of being interrogated. I think that the Prime Minister would prefer to go to New York and meet President Trump again in the sidelines of the UN meeting.
What about Aucus, mate? There's concern here, isn't there? The US want us to spend more on our defense. Richard Miles is going to have to come up with more than just words here, isn't he?
We certainly is. And of course, apart from tariffs which went nowhere, Aucus was the other big issue that Australia had to address with President Trump in Canada. That didn't happen. And now it is clear that the Prime Minister has made it clear is not going to the Netherlands. They thought about it and then thought, no, we wouldn't do it.
This means that Richard Miles, as Deputy Prime Minister and Defense Minister, has to go to the NATO meeting and there defend Australia's decision not to increase defense spending to three point five percent, which the US wants us to do. That's much less than what the US wants our NATO allies to He wants them to go to five percent of GDP on defense. We can see what's happening in Israel. We can see what's happening in the Ukraine. There is
a worldwide pressure pressure to actually increase defense spending. It's not happening in Australia. Richard Miles is going to have to try and explain this to the US. The Prime Minister has not been able to talk to Donald Trump while and we've already paid eight hundred million dollars by the way on the nuclear submarines, and we can't even get to talk about it while the US is reviewing it.
Our only hope has been a starmer of the UK who managed to get the President to nod to nod at the Joint press conference when he said yes that was still going ed with Aucus. This is how tenuous it is. It is a key issue, and as we discussed last week, the Australian government, the current Australian governments still refuses to put forward a very strong justification to the Orchist project and it looks as if somehow it's actually not committed to it.
Yeah, all right, Dennis, So we'll take a break before we do. Elizabeth has called through from Brisbane with a traffic drama. Elizabeth, thank you for this. What can you tell me?
There's like a car's got into a real estate on Logan Road at Moncrovit and and there's a car behind it smashed as well, and three lanes are blocked all the way to Garden City.
And do we have emergency services on the scene, Elizabeth, there is, yes, there is, Okay, am I right in saying this is a corner of Logan Road and Selborne Street.
That's the one.
Okay, thank you so much for calling and allowing us to share that news with people on the roads in Brisbane. Thanks Elizabeth. A car and there were a real estate agency blocked the corner of Logan Road and Silborne Street at Mount Gravat back in a moment. It's a quarter to ten and we're of course to Dennis Shanahan and Dennis. Jim Chalmers has considered the budget is unsustainable, promised not to shoot down any ideas on tax reform as the
Productivity Commission suggests changes to the GST would help. I don't know if he's open to everye suggestion.
Do you no, he's look. It was a very important speech by the Treasurer at the Press Club in Camber this week, while all the concentration was on what Prime Minister was doing Israel and Ukraine and all the other defense issues. The economy continues to be a grave concern and the treasure of this week actually said without change, the budget is unsustainable. Now, this would have been nice
to have heard about a little while earlier. You and I have been talking about productivity for as long as we've been on the show to get her, and of course it is the big issue. The treasure has now come out and said, yes, it is the big issue. That's why the budget's not sustainable. We have to have tax reform and we have to actually increase productivity. Now how he goes about that is going to be the
big issue. And can he continue to try and lift productivity while continuing to spend government spending is getting out of control and can he do it without introducing new taxes? Now, the Productivity commission Commissioner has said today in Australian, well, look, we could look at the GST, actually increasing the GST and increasing the coverage of the GST as well as how we distribute it to the states. So this is
a big issue. The Productivity Commissioner said, we should look at The Treasurer also said, oh, look he was going to stand by the tax the capital gains tax on unrealized capital gains tax for people with superannuation, and that he said, no, no, we're not going to touch that. This is the idea that I hear. All things are
on the table. He also, though obviously concerned about the fact that people are arguing that this unrealized superannuation tax, which is not indexed, will over ten years increase its grab to eight billion dollars as one inestimate from today. And what we've seen already is fears that the capital gains tax could be applied to a family home or some inheritance tax. Now Jim Chalmers has said no, we're not going to touch the family home. We're not going
to touch in inheritance or death tax. But he's leaving open the whole idea of family trusts and the continuing pressure on superannuation of funds at the moment over three millions when you start paying the tax on unrealized capital gains and that that will just grow. So what we're seeing on the one hand, the Treasure is saying and trying to make a very bold statement and it's about time somebody did it to say that debt and deficit
and lack of productivity means the budget is unsustainable. We're facing a decade of deficits. He says, something has to be done. He try and pull together a group of business leaders and union leaders and so on to try and do something about productivity. But the issue remains that there are still no go zones as far as he is concerned, while others are saying you're going to have to do much more than just put a tax on
unrealized capital gains a superduation. I think the Treasurer has been courageous here at the courageous tuger in opening up the issue. He has admitted it's not sustainable. But what is he going to do and what can he do? These are big issues for the economy and for the new the newly elected labor government.
Yeah, and with those taxes, it's it's time Brook starts. It's it's where it finishes. And that's that's the real concern. Are you Are you heading away to your weekender on the Mediterranean?
Not just yet, but I will be away, and I'm very sorry to hear that today is our last not on chat for a while, but I'll be I'll be around for a bit long yet Before I head off right to the Apennines and the Italian Alps.
Yeah, you're lucky, lucky thing. Well, mate, I'll miss you for the four or five or six weeks. You don't get the too, But of course I really enjoy talking to you. You know that, Dennis. But we'll catch you when i'm back and you'll be on with Trent next week. Stay well, my friend.
Stay well the week and have a good holiday.
Yeah, thanks so much mate, And when you get to have on you too, Dennis Shanahan