From Schwartz Media. I'm Daniel James. This is seven am. Peter Dutton is making a bold move aligning himself with Donald Trump. His colleagues are drawing in the comparison, pitching him a strong and decisive But it's a political strategy not without its risks. Drum's return to the White House is already causing global instability, from a new trade war
with China to extraordinary announcements on Gaza. With the election looming, Dutton is hoping a strong man approach will resonate with the electorate during a time when cost of living is the priority. Today columnists for the Saturday paper Paul bon Jorno on how the chaos in the US encroached in the first sitting week of the year and how both leaders are coping. It's Friday, February seven. Paul, we just said the first sitting week of Parliament for the year
and possibly one of the last before the election. What's the mood like in Canberra?
Well, I have to tell you I was in Parliament House this week and you really can feel the tension. Look, everybody knows in truth, there only might a matter of weeks, a couple of months, maybe from having to face the people and their jobs and their next are on the line. So they want to make every post a winner. They want to score points against their opponents, and we get a whiff of that in question time certainly in both houses of the Parliament. But I can tell you one
thing's for sure. Donald Trump is dominating our politics pretty much in the same way as he's dominating politics around the globe. And the installed leader in the Senate of the Coalition, Michaulia Cash Well, she's now claiming that Dunton is like Trump.
Certainly under pay to duttin, we will ensure that the years ahead in terms of our lives with the US are some of the most defining for us and that benefit both Australia and the US.
And that quote the American people, well, they expect action and that's what they're getting and they'll get the exact same attitude under repeater Dutton government.
Right.
And we've recently seen Dutton himself try to emulate Trump when he announced an e Long Must style role for the Center Price as Shadow Minister for Government Efficiency. Well, can you tell me about the Coalition's plans there and whether acting like Trump is a good move politically, there's.
No doubt in appointing just Center Price to this job. Is very confident that he's star. No campaigner Well can at the very least discomfort the government, and we've got more evidence during the week that Price is happy to emulate Trump. To center, Price said that the coalition has ideologically driven program spending. That's the way she put it in its sites, saying she'd like to cut welcome to country programs and diversity and inclusion positions. That's straight out
of the Trump playbook. But it remains to be seen whether this is popular with voters. One labor inside has said to me that well Cash is doing our job for us, and by that he meant Trump in opinion polls, especially in the last days of the US presidential election, was massively unpopular in Australia, and not much that he's done since he's actually got into the White House would have changed that opinion.
And Tramp's popularity. He may take more of a hit depending on how we fare as a result of his trade wars. It's not just how Trump decides to deal with Australia, but crucially what happens with China. Can you tell me how the government is reacting to the news that China and the US are slapping each other with tariffs. Yeah.
Well, the President imposed a ten percent tariff on China this week and Beijing immediately retaliated with tariff's of fifteen percent on US cole and LNG and ten percent for crude oil, farm equipment and some vehicles. Australia readily acknowledges through its Trade Minister Don Farrell, that this could have an impact here. It could set the ball rolling for a world trade war and as a middle order trading nation,
that would do US a lot of damage. But on ABC Radio, Don Farrell, the Trade Minister, was urging calm, although he was admitting that he was quite apprehensive about the possible impacts.
We want to have a cool, calm and collected approach to this issue. We believe that we have a very strong argument to defend free and fair trade.
But Farrell says he's going to use the same arguments with the Trump's new trade secretary that he used with China to get them to end trade embargoes that you might remember were imposed to punish the Morrison government for or it's perceived belligerence against China. Peter Dutton, of course, played a key role in stirring anti China sentiment in that episode, which costs the Liberals dearly among Chinese Australian
voters at the last election. The analysis is that it did cost the Liberals at least three seats that went to labor. So the states are pretty high given that this election is certainly not shaking as a landslide election either way, but a very tight one that could well end in a minority government.
So Pharrell is saying he'll make the case that free and fair trade is the way forward with the US, just like he has with China.
Will that work, Well, that's a very good question. I mean, he has a strong case to make here. We have a huge trade deficit with the United States. We import almost sixty five billion dollars worth of American goods annually while we only export thirty three billion two them. And I think I could tell you have comments that Arthur cynadinas he was our former ambassador to the United States, he already says that the world trading system, even before
Trump came back onto the scene, was in trouble. But it's clear that if you're big enough you can do whatever you like and get away with it. Cenadinas, who you might remember was a former Liberal cabinet minister. Well, he said what Trump is interested in is not so much what he can do for you, but what you can do for him, and that really transcends other ideological issues.
Coming up after the break, the fight over hate speech.
Pull.
This week, President Trump shocked pretty much everyone on the planet when he claimed that the US is going to take over Gaza, kick out two million Palace Dinians, you call it home and redevelop it. What was the Prime minister's response to.
This, When you'd have to say that he certainly didn't want to respond. He called a news conference in his courtyard at Parliament House with the Health Minister to announce a major health policy to take into the election that actually is government policy and will be activated now at one point seven billion dollar boost to public hospital and health services. But the gathered media still I think reeling from the Trump news conference in the White House just an hour or so before, so I.
To the Middle East.
I mean, this is a huge break the story.
We would be very keen to hear your reaction.
So alban Is he was bombarded with questions looking to see if Australia would well repudiate this new policy coming out of Washington.
What I would say is an Australia's position is the same as it was this morning, as it was last year.
Albanezy said that as Australian Prime Minister he wasn't going to give daily commentary on statements by the US President.
And always came right at the time as the Australian Parliament started debating you hate speech legislation, well, can you tell me where these laws are up to?
Well, on Thursday, after a lot of negotiating, mainly between the Government and the opposition, the amended laws passed the Parliament. So what we now have, and this is quite an eye catching backflip by Labor, We now have laws that enable minimum jail sentences for threatening force of violence against people on the basis of their race, religion, nationality, national or ethnic origin, political union, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity,
and intersect status. Now, if you break these laws, there is a mandatory sentence to be imposed between one and six years. And this of course is in spite of Labour's own policy platform. But the Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke and the Prime Minister say it's a carve out
from labor policy. It doesn't set a precedent. But at the same time as the Parliament, in what they call the Federation Chamber, was debating these laws, a leg Respender, the independent member for the Sydney seat of Wentworth, which has a very high Jewish population, or she moved a motion in the House calling for the Parliament to deplore the appalling and unacceptable rise in anti Semitism across Australia.
Now I give the call to their real member for Wentworth, thank you.
I seek leave House to move the following motion that this House won deplaus the appalling and unacceptable rise in anti Semitism across Australia, including violent attacks on synagogue, schools, homes and childcare centers.
It's quite unprecedented for the government to give an independent member the floor of the House in this way, and in fact they moved standing orders so that Spender's motion could be a priority business and it also went up into the Senate. But the Spender steered well clear of partisan politics, and in fact there was a starkly different approach to Allegoris Spender from the opposition in the debate, Julian Lisa and Peter Dutton weren't afraid to politicize it.
They still accuse Anthony Alberanisi of being responsible for anti Semitism in Australia.
Should we act surprise that this is escalated now it's an attempt to terrorist attack. Now we shouldn't and the Prime Minister needs to show national leadership here.
This willingness to go for the government's political juggler on the whole issue of anti Semitism is in line with Dutton last week saying that Penny Wong, our Foreign Minister, and even Mark Dreyfus, our Attorney General who's Jewish, weren't fit or proper to represent Australia at the Auschwitz commemoration in Poland.
Petty Wong has real issues in relation to this issue. The relationship with Israel has been trashed. Pedtywog can't go to Israel and Mark Dreyfus, I think was they're under sufferance.
Well, can you tell me a little bit about how Peter Dutton has used the outbreak of anti Semitism as a political worpon against the Alberenezi government.
Is I think we have to stand here that while Dutton accuses Labor of pandering to the Greens, the Muslim and Arab community in some key electorates in Sydney and Melbourne, especially inner city ones, he himself, without doubt has his eye on three electorates held by the Teal Independence that have significant Jewish voting populations. I thought, though it was edifying to see the Independent Member for Goldstine, Zoe Daniel. Her electorate is one of those electorates with a high
Jewish population. She told the Parliament that no Jewish person in Australia should be blamed for the actions of a government in Israel. But she spoke I thought quite eloquently of the twin tragedies of this conflict.
The suffering in Gaza and to some degree the West Bank, and the fear among Jewish communities coexist. Their peace and their safety is intertwined.
Hatred must not be allowed to fester, as she said, adding life and death must never be weaponized for political gain. Hate in all its forms, Zoey Daniel told the Parliament, including anti Semitism, must never be allowed to shape our discourse. I'm afraid that horse is botted, but I think it's a timely prick of our consciences.
It's certainly a lovely sentiment. But like you said, the horse has bolted. Paul is going to be quite a year. Thank you so much for your time.
Thank you, Daniel Buye.
Also in the news today, the Prime Minister has announced an eight million dollar relief fund for flood stricken communities in North Queensland. One million dollars will be made available to local governments that have experienced almost two meters of rain over the past week, and as arts of recovery. Payments of up to one thousand dollars will also be made available for those affected. And Foreign Minister Penny Wong has launched an international Gender Equality Strategy to advance the
human rights of women and girls. The government says the strategy focuses on five priorities, including ending gender based violence, protecting reproductive health, gender responsive peace and security, and gender equitable climate action. Seven Am is a daily show from Schwartz Media and The Saturday Paper. It's made by Atticas Basto, Shane Anderson, Chris Dangate, Eric Jensen, Ruby Jones, Sarah McPhee,
Travis Evans, Zotnfecho and Me Daniel James. Our theme music is by Ned Beckley and Josh Hogan of Envelope Bordeo. Thanks for listening to the show, See you next week.