Live on Sky News Australia. This is Denique to.
Georgio, Hello and welcome to the show. Coming up tonight. The expenses scandal widens as Susan Lee offers to sit down with the Prime Minister to reform entitlements. Victoria exposed as the gag order capital of Australia, as the identity of a rapist from a high profile family is finally revealed, and Labour's social media ban on shaky ground as Reddit launcher's high Court action but first tonight, the expenses scandal in golfing Canberra is widening by the day.
It's been revealed.
Indigenous Australians Minister Melanderri McCarthy build taxpayers almost thirty thousand dollars a week for staff travel during the election campaign. So each week she charged you thirty thousand dollars.
Can you believe it?
According to the Independent Parliamentary Expenses Authority, the Northern Territory senator spent more than three hundred and fifty two thousand dollars on domestic travel for eighteen employees in the three months to July. In fact, she outspent the Foreign Minister Penny Wong and Defense Minister Richard Miles by almost fifty thousand and one hundred thousand, respectively. Only the Prime Minister and former Opposition leader Peter Dutton spent more on staff
travel during the same period. Look, it's just not stacking up, is it now.
Look the Senator says.
That travel and expenses have been accessed and reported in line with the relevant rules and guidelines. But that's the same line we've heard day in, day out from Anaka Wells this week to justify her one hundred thousand dollars New York flights, the Paris troop, threadbow ski holiday, expensive meals, concerts, events, limousines, including taking her husband on some of these lavish adventures. So if most of what happens is indeed within the rules,
then clearly the rules are not working. And if you're throw in Green and Senator Sarah Hanson Young splashing fifty k of your money to fly her lobbyist husband to and from Canberra, and of course Labor Minister Don Farrell flying his family around the country at the cost of ninety.
Thousand dollars, this stinks to the high heavens.
And after days of stopping short of calling for a review, Kieran Gilbert on Sky News revealed today that Opposition leader Susan Lee has written a letter to the Prime Minister offering bipartisan report reform on the expense of scandal.
I can sit down with the Prime Minister anytime and go through measures that he would like to propose to implement to restore that public trust in the system that delivers these entitlements to parliamentarians. That's really important because my focus now is actually on people who are struggling in the lead up to Christmas and what this means for them.
Good on Susan Lee, who, of course herself has previously been caught up in a skill you recall in twenty seventeen she u is a taxpayer funded trip to purchase an apartment on the Gold Coast and build taxpayers to attend two New Year's Eve events hosted by a prominent Queensland businesswoman and donor. That scandal forced her resignation, so it's kind of an extraordinary turn of events now for her. But any review into entitlements could engulf both sides of politics.
The reality is there is no political cover when the political class are conducting themselves in a way that is beyond what is expected, and after ducking and weaving any accountability this week, Labour is now apparently open to change, but it won't do so off its own accord. It will only do it if recommended by the Independent Watchdog after it reviews Minister Wells as spending.
That's obviously an opportunity for them to have a look at those claims, but also to provide any broader advice and recommendations about these rules. I think these rules are important. We would welcome that advice and recommendations if they then have to be enacted through legislation. I'm sure that's what we would do.
Yeah.
Susan Lee says that that doesn't even go far enough.
What Minister Anika Wells has done is scandalous, clearly scandalous, and the whole country is reeling from all of the information that they've received about what she has done. She has not shown an ounce of contrition, but it is incumbent on the Prime Minister who trumpeted this code of conduct, who talked about transparency and integrity and new standards and on and on and on. Why is he silent about this minister?
And it's a good question, why is the Prime Minister so silent. The Albanezer government has already twice delayed a major review of travel rules and entitlements, including as recently as March this year, when it postponed the probe until late t twenty twenty seven.
Why the secrecy? What has labor got to hide?
And perhaps this is why the PM ran away at every opportunity when the very topic was raised this week.
I haven't changed I haven't changed the rule. I haven't changed the rule. I'm not the finance minister. I haven't changed the rule. One of the issues of Minister Wells, for example, has three young children. She go birth to twins while in office.
The rules have.
Been there since they were put in place by the former government. When my son was above as some of you would know him, for all of that time. A turned twenty five on Monday. I should bring him down to Parliament when Parliament sat that made it possible for me to do my job.
Well, this is a Prime Minister who loves to shift the blame, pretend like nothing has happened so he can keep his head buried in the sand.
And we've seen it all before.
I've been traveling in the car, so I haven't been advised about that contact with Ram.
And that should up following those strikes further night.
No, well, I've been here in Melbourne, so no, I had not.
I stepped back one step.
I didn't fall off.
The stage, just one leg went down.
But I was sweet.
Yeah.
He loves his excuses, doesn't he.
And this week should have been a big moment for Labor as it unveiled its social media ban for under sixteen's, but the expense of Saga has completely overshadowed it, and speaking of the band has already hit its first hurdle. US online platform Reddit has today filed a challenge against it, claiming the ban infringes on free political speech and poses serious privacy risks.
I wonder what Donald Trump thinks of it.
Now to the worst kept secret in Melbourne and a shocking example of how that state suppressed open justice to keep the full details of a rape case involving the rich and famous hidden from you.
You might have heard of the case.
Of a twenty three year old man from a high profile Victorian family who was convicted of rape a week ago today and whose name was suppressed by the court. Well yesterday that gag order was lifted and Tom Sylvanney, the son of AFL Carlton Great Stephen Sylvanny, was named as the rapist, and if you follow AFL, the Sylvanni surname is a dynasty. His brother Jack Sylvanney, currently plays for Saint Kilda. His mother, Joe Sylvanney, is a TV
personality and former host on Sale of the Century. But Tom's case has been shrouded in secrecy after multiple suppression orders were granted on the grounds of mental health and to avoid reputational harm to his famous family. But it was never really a secret. A quick Google search, a look on social media, name was everywhere. Tom Sylvanni rapist, Tom Sylvanney rape case. These were some of the searches
on Google, even on TikTok. Despite the court's gag, Yet the lens gone to suppress this case and his identity a quite frankly extraordinary and I'll get to that in a moment. But here is how the case unfolded.
Twelve jurors unanimously agreed a son of this high profile Melbourne couple raped a woman twice. We can't tell you the man's name or identify his famous family for legal reasons.
Do you look at your son differently? Today.
Their son is in custody tonight after the sensational conclusion to a ten day trial. He denied the crimes. At his Melbourne home. In January last year, a woman claimed he raped her in a dark room, pretending to be another man who she had a sexual relationship with. Afterwards, he docted an uber receipt to back his version of the events that night.
Tom Sylvanney had been working as an AFL player manager, and a ban on his identity was in place for five hundred and forty five days. His family through what would have been hundreds of thousands of dollars in legal fees, backed up by the who's who of King's Counsel, to convince the court that their son, who sexually assaulted a woman,
needed protection. But the protections he was granted even after he was found guilty of rape, are a blight on the legal system, and the timeline of events has been laid bare. In The Herald's Sun, Sylvanney was charged with rape on June fourteenth last year, hours after the first intim suppression order was made and granted in the Melbourne Magistrate's Court, suppressing his identity. The Herald's Son then published an article describing him as an AFL industry identity from
a well known AFL family. Neither his name nor the employer were referenced, but the paper was hauled before a magistrate over the story and was ordered to pay Sylvanney's cost of the hearing, the legal cost for Sylvanney's legal team, plus a separate barrister for his mother. Magistrate Brett's Sonnet then slapped an even stricter gag order that there be no publication whatsoever, directly or indirectly, of any information concerning
the proceeding. On February four, details of the rape were aired for the first time and Sylvanney was ordered to stand trial. The suppression order was set to lift three months later, but by April, his defense barrister, David Hallows SC pushed for another suppression order to quote protect the safety of his client during the trial. Judge Peter Rosen sided with the media and the prosecution and opposed it,
but it didn't end there. The defense barrister immediately applied for a judicial review, calling for a Supreme Court judge to examine the ruling, and so on August fifteen, Supreme Court Justice Michelle Quigley ruled that Judge Rosen was in error, and another suppression order was made no November twenty one, A final suppression order was made days before the trial was set to start, and it didn't end there. On day one of the trial, Judge Gregory Lyon warned, I
want to make this absolutely clear. Read my lips and listen to this message. There is to be no reporting of this case.
Full stop. Now.
Media sought clarification and ultimately made a decision to go ahead anyway and air the trial, albeit name suppressed. Silvani was then found guilty and his name was still gagged.
And what did it achieve? Nothing?
His name was out there in public, circulating all over social media, and all it did was create gossip, innuendo and drew even more public speculation.
Who is the high profile family or you didn't have to look hard to find it? Now.
I worked as a reporter for more than ten years, and I too have been involved in matters where the media, where media outlets I've worked for have taken suppression orders. And I'm talking big cases. One example was the Claremont's serial killer in Western Australia. But I've never ever heard of a case like the Sylvannis before to be so gagged from start to end even after a verdict.
As lawyer Justin.
Quill, who I'll speak to shortly rites in the Australian today, you might think this is an unusual or unprecedented case.
Unfortunately not. In Victoria.
Suppression orders are so common in that state that this year there are more suppression orders made there than in all the other states combined. Tom Sylvanney is a convicted rapist. He never deserved the private treatment, but he got an invisibility cloak because of his family and under the guise of mental health.
On that Justin Quill rights.
Mental harm is the new battleground in the fight against suppression orders and a big reason for the large number of suppression orders made in Victoria. Defendants visit a psychiatrist and tell them some facts about their mental well being. The psychiatrist isn't required to test their patient's facts. They accept them. Then the facts appear in the psychiatrist report
submitted to the court and effectively become unchallenged evidence. Now, the Open Court's Act says anyone charged with an offense should be identified, Yet his case went to three different court jurisdictions in the name of suppression.
Judge Andrew Palmer called.
For a review yesterday due to the significant public interest in the case. He told the defense everybody knows on social media that the person convicted of rape in this court from a high profile family is mister Sylvanney. He added that even people outside of legal circles had personally told him Sylvanney had been convicted of rape, and so he was finally able to be named. All that to protect a convicted rapist, a man who now awaits sentencing.
All should be equal before the law, regardless of wealth, regardless of who you are or who you're found is because what.
Precedent does this set?
Well, if you've got deep pockets and your claim mental health, then you just keep winning a gag order after gag order because judges.
Can't or just won't challenge it.
But that's just another day in Victoria, the gag order capital of Australia. All right, let's get into the day's news.
Now.
Joining me is a shadow Attorney General, Andrew Wallace. Andrew, good to see you as always, Thank you so much for joining me. Let's start with the expenses scandal. Susan Lee today is offering a bipartisan expenses reform. Effectively, she's almost forcing the Prime Minister's hand on this. Are you concerned about how many MPs or senators on both sides of politics could now get caught up if indeed there is some sort of a reform.
Well, I think Susan's right to write to the Prime Minister and ask him for a meeting to discuss how these expenses can be reformed, because it's not just a matter of whether something complies with the letter of the law. Australians are doing it incredibly tough at the moment, Damika. We're in a cost of living crisis. It's Christmas time. There are many people who can't afford to pay their bills and pay presents, pay for presents for their kids.
And to hear some of the absolutely outrageous costs that are being clocked up to the Australian taxpayer, it really angers me. I've got to tell you, because it just becomes sort of like a pox on both your houses. Australians don't care whether you're labor or liberal or whoever you are, if you're a politician. As far as Australians are concerned, they think that you've got your you know, in the trough and that is just not correct for the vast bulk of us. But it gives us all a bad name.
Well, look, it absolutely does.
And it's certainly not what any taxpayer would expect from the political class right now. So it'll be very interesting to see where this goes. Whether or not the time Minister does agree to do some sort of reform, we'll see. But of course this has now overshadowed the social media ban this week for under sixteen's. We just found out today that Reddit, which is a US platform, has filed a challenge against the band, claiming it infringes on free
political speech and poses serious privacy risks. Andrew this was of course a bipartisan policy. Do you expect that more social media platforms will take action like this against it?
Look, Tom will tell Daneka, I don't know, is the short answer. I don't think anybody does. But the reality is that these platforms make billions of dollars from Australians and even a whole lot more across the world, and the eyes of the world are on these new reforms. We saw at the UN that there are many countries that are now looking at these reforms. It was a coalition policy that we took to the last election. Let's be serious about this, where the drag the government kicking
and scream on this to keep kids safe. So these platforms will view these laws in Australia as a litmus test and they will do They will stop at nothing to try and ensure that, as far as they're concerned, it doesn't spread to other countries because they will lose hundreds of billions of dollars if other countries start taking this up, and I hope they do. I want to see kids, not just in Australia protected from these platforms, I want to see kids across the world protected from.
Them as well.
It's been a fascinating week. Look, I want to get to some other topics. It's been a busy news day
in the last few hours. Britney Higgins is now officially bankrupt after the Federal Court on today formally actually approve that, of course, following her defamation case lost to former Senator Linda Reynolds, and just on that, Linda Reynolds has also indicated that she would ask the Corruption watchdog to reopen its investigation into that two point four million dollar settlement that was of course handed to Britney Higgins from Labor.
Would you support an inquiry?
I would absolutely support the Knack reopening this investigation. The National Committee, the Corruption Anti Corruption Commission, it is set up to establish and investigate whether there was any systemic or corrupt conduct on the part of government officials. What we have here is a stench over this whole affair. We've seen a payment made to Brittany Higgins by the
Government of some two point four million dollars. Let's just put this in perspective for the average Australian punter DNIKA, that's twenty seven years of blood, sweat and tears in income. Twenty seven years it will take the average Australian to earn that sort of money before tax. That is a
long time. It's a lot of money. And what we saw was the Government hand that two point four million dollars over to Brittany Higgins in very dubious circumstances where Linda Reynolds was refused the right to be able to go to a mediation and defend her good name at the mediation. She was refused that opportunity. After a half day mediation without any proceedings even having been filed in the court. That's just it is just mind blowing. And that was after an extension of time was provided in
which Brittany could have actually commenced proceedings. That decision was made by the Commonwealth without any reference to Linda whatsoever. This stinks to high Heaven. I was really disappointed to read the decision of the Knack when they initially dismissed it, and I was very pleased to hear that the Commissioner the other day said that Linda Reynolds should She's welcome to reapply again for a further investigation based on the outcomes of the two court cases.
Well, I mean, you're right, Reynolds has nothing to lose now, you've got two judges that have already said no, there wasn't a political cover up. We still don't know why Britney Higgins was given that two point four million dollars of our money. All these years later, we're still none the wiser as to actually what went on during that time with Labor Andrew Wallace.
We've got to leave it there.
Good to catch up as always, Thanks very much for joining me on the show.
Well let's return now. To the story I brought you earlier.
Tom Sylvanney, the son of AFL Carlton Great Stephen Sylvanney, has been named as the high profile rapist whose identity up until yesterday was suppressed. Joining me now is Justin Quill, partner at top tier law firm Thompson Gear.
Justin good to catch up. Thanks very much for joining me.
Firstly, take us through the lens gone through to suppress Tom Sylvanney's identity from start to end.
Yeah, well, I know you went through a few of them, through a few of the steps in your intro. Basically I can take the rest of the show if I went through all of the steps. But it started back June of last year. We've been through at least twelve different hearings, and I'm not talking anything to do with the criminal case, just his demand for secrecy. We've been in the magistrates Court, the County Court, the Supreme Court,
and we've even had a Court of Appeal proceeding. We didn't end up having to have a hearing in that proceeding, but we were in the Court of Appeal, Victoria's highest court for a time. So this has been going on about eight months twelve hearings, four courts, lots of QCs, and lots of money I suspect.
Yeah, well, I can imagine his family would have thrown hundreds of thousands of dollars of.
Money to keep the name suppressed.
What I don't understand justin is you know we've had other high profile cases George pell for example, Bruce Lehman, his name was named even before it even went to court. Yet, how is it that Tom Silvarney's name was even after he was found guilty of rape?
How does that happen?
Yeah, Look, the fact that it was suppressed after he was found guilty, he was a bit of an admiration. It was a timing issue. The order was said to go for three months after the trial. That was probably a mistake by the court. Ultimately it should have been lifted or it shouldn't have been in place in the first place, But it very well should have been lifted as soon as he was found guilty. It took six
days for that to happen. I'm glad it did happen in the end, But you know you mentioned Bruce Lehman. That case happened in a different state. The Cardinal Powell case as worth mentioning. Of course, his entire first trial where he was found guilty, was also suppressed, and I might say dozens of media organizations were actually charged with contempt of court for trying to report without naming Cardinal Powell. That was a case where his name was all over
social media, and not dissimilar to this case. People were saying that the media were part of a Catholic conspiracy. Here it was said on social media and other places that the media were part of an AFL conspiracy because the public couldn't understand why this person wasn't being named, and I tend to understand the public's concern here. Ultimately it was because he claimed mental harm and that his mental well being was going to be impacted by this.
He turned up with psychiatrists and was able to a chief the order he got, and mainly because it's almost impossible for the media to fight these cases. We can't disprove what he has told a psychiatrist in the psychiatrist's rooms when we're not there, and we can't cross examine the Tom Silvannes who are trying to get these orders.
No.
Look, I just find it really bizarre to be honest, and you write that great piece in The Australian that I referenced earlier, and you spoke about how in Victoria when it comes to suppression orders this might seem unusual, but it's not over in that state.
What is going on there? Why is it the gag capital of Australia.
Yeah, well, look, as you put it out of your intro, there are more suppression orders this year made in Victoria than all the other states combined. Now that's an extraordinary statistic. It can't be said that, you know, our crime or our crooks are a little bit different down here in necessitating. That's just not the case. The population, of course, isn't more than the rest of the states combined. So there's something else. There's a problem with the Frankly, there's too
many applications being made by barristers. I suspect it might be a bit of a hangover of the Ganglan War from the early two thousands. But judges also need to pay more than lip service to the open core principles. Time and time again, I have been before judges where they start their judgment saying, I, of course absolutely agree and understand and accept and support the open core principles however, and then they go on to make a suppression order
and on this mental harm argument. I can tell your viewers that there are a number of cases involving high profile people that all your viewers would know going on through our courts in Victoria, and we can't tell you about it. And we can't tell you the names of these high profile of an affluent people because their names have been suppressed and I doubt they would have been in other states.
Yeah, and they're all hidden by this invisibility cloak because that they're allowed to in Victoria. Absolutely extraordinary, justin Quill. Appreciate your analysis. Thank you so much for coming on the show. Thank you, and look, it's good that we finally have a name after weeks and weeks of this trial going on.
So there you go.
Coming up after the break my panel, we'll discuss a police memorial vandalized in Melbourne overnight. Plus David Jones admits it was a mistake to scrap its iconic Christmas windows.
That's next. Welcome back.
Joining me now is New South Wales Independent MP Tanya Mahalick and forming New South Wales Police Minister David Elliott. Good to see you both as always thanks for joining. Look, we have to start, of course with this expenses scandal. As a current MP and as a former minister, I'm very interested to get your thoughts Attaka Wells.
I mean, that's been an absolute shocker this week, and.
I have to question why she actually did the interview with Andrew Clenell, because he's one of the best, is formidable, and she agreed to that and it was a train wrek of an interview and of course has provided a lot of fodder for the rest of the week as every single channel and news medium as really a crucifieder and look rightly so, because it doesn't pass the pub test.
People are talking about this in every workplace. It's just extraordinary that somebody could have such a lack of judgment when it comes to what is acceptable and what is an accept I have to say a bit of confective outrage from Susan lay though, and I'm not sure she's the right person to offer her assistance in this.
Well here her background.
Her argument is is that she's saying I resigned over this. I had to resign, therefore you have to resign as well.
Well.
I think they need an independent regulator to come in and actually have.
A really good look at what expenses are acceptable and what's.
Not, because even the Greens can't moralize given you know, normally do given Sarah Hanson Young has spent fifty thousand dollars on seventy trips so her husband the last three years travel for from Camber Adelaide. So look, I think it's been it's been an opportunity for people to really have a think about what is acceptable, what isn't acceptable. I don't think we can say that, you know, you can completely have no travel entitlements.
Because we do need these politics to do their job.
But it's about moral judgment, about having that sort of integrity and standards in place to actually have a think. Would you be happy with this being exposed in the newspaper?
That's the test.
Well, one hundred thousand, one hundred.
Thousand dollars of flights to New York or having a limousine waiting for ten hours while you attended, you know, a grab by, It doesn't pass the pub test, obviously. Now Susan Lee's coming out saying, well, I'm offering you bipartisan support. Why don't we have some sort of reform on this but that could expose a lot more people on both sides.
Well, they're throwing each other under the bus, so I suspect that everybody that's got a skeleton in the closet is probably going to want to drag it out themselves because it's self inoculation is a lot better than having Andrew Clenell find out yodot. So it take it from experience.
I think.
I think at the moment, these are big figures. So these aren't a helicopter ride, This isn't taxi gate, this is nothing like that. These are big, big figures. There's the stench of death around around the minister at the moment, and Minister Well was at the moment. I think that she's going to have to go. I think that I think that this the momentum has built up to a
point where it's aid the point of no return. My view is like Joe Halen, she goes now, and she might be able to come back and resurrect a career after the next election, but this is certainly something that is going to take the gloss off of the Prime Minister at the end of the year, when you know you want to finish the year on a high and he certainly hasn't done that well.
As I said earlier, it's overshadowed open under sixteenth social media because every press conference day and had Annaka.
Wells standing the line, him nodding away when the whole.
Score at least she tells Uples.
She turns up. That's it. Not that the Prime Minister had much to say about this whole issue this week. He's been in the not someone else's problem mode. Now look, let's talk about this in Victoria. This is shocking.
A police memorial has been vandalized in the Melbourne CBD overnight, which had been set up to remember officers who were killed in the line of duty. Red paint was splattered over parts of the police memorial on Saint Kilda Road.
Graffiti was sprayed on the walls, including.
Shame good cop, dead cop and aca B meaning all cops are bastards.
I mean, well, this is the lowest of the low in my view. Tanua oh look absolutely disgusting.
I have to ask the question our councilors providing CCTV footage, there are they supporting them? I mean, when you've got such a significant memorial, maybe we do need councils to step up and actually ensure there's CCTV trying assist the police in actually getting the assailants. And once we catch these assailants.
You know, you're going to throw the book at them. You can't just have a judge to slap them on the wrist.
It's actually, you know, do the time for the crime essentially, and make sure they pay the costs, the huge costs of repairing these type of memorials, and maybe they actually.
Have to play a role in cleaning up themselves. I think it's the only pain is you know, financially hitting them where it hurts.
But look, it just tells you the sort of levels of disrespect that we're seeing in some parts, so particularly Victoria. Victoria has now had repeat offenses like this where they've had a whole string of different memorials being damaged and destroyed and what Obviously there's a very relaxed attitude coming from the government. There time to start legislating some tough laws around this. Maybe there should be some separate offenses relating to damaging these.
Type of memorials because otherwise young.
People keep doing it, you know, and there's no consequences.
Well just I mean let's let's start not to give Jacinta Tallen any credit that she'll actually do something about this, because she hasn't done anything, you know, about anything really, but look, this is appalling, you know, targeting police. Is that an attitude that you found as a former police minister.
It's an anti policew it is, and.
I saw it a lot as veterans minister when it came to war memorials as well. This is the violent left. This is the aggression, the aggression of the left. They don't have the intellectual capability to win an argument in a debate, so what they do is they go out and they present some shock value to the community. And this is very similar the way the Nazis behaved in the lead up to in the lead up to the growth of the Third Reich. So I think I think
it's unfortunately behavior here to stay. It's sad because, like I used to say when the Greens used to vandalize statues of Captain Cook, they are a physical threat to anybody. These are memorials, these are statues. They're not a physical threat to anybody. But I think it's unfortunately a reccurrence and I just feel sorry for the families of the constables that are and the police officers that are listed there, because they must feel very aggrieved at the moment.
Yeah, very victimized, almost trying to do their job. Look, I mentioned the social media ban for under sixteens. Let's talk about it. The world's watching. A growing number now of Magut Republicans are reportedly calling for the US to follow our leed to protect their children from online harm. I thought this was interesting, Tanya, because the US online platform Reddit today came out taking this social media band to court. They say it infringes on freedom of speech
and infringes on security. I'm not sure how Donald Trump would approach something like this. We haven't actually heard from Trump yet. I'm curious to know where he would sit on a ban of this sort.
Well, you would think that he wouldn't be that keen on it, to be honest, and look, for America, it is all about civil liberties and freedom of speech and their rights and so forth.
So I have to say to the US and to any other nation.
Thinking of taking this on, maybe we need to watch to see how it plays out. In Australia, Greast, I would because at this stage, all we've done is announce it. It started now supposedly, we haven't really seen whether this is going to be you know, a real exercise and actually assisting young people or not. I think ultimately what my biggest worry is is you're going to have a bureaucracy go wild. Here the ZE Safety Commission, she's on four hundred thousands.
It is how many.
You know, they'll be hiring an army your online you know, pretend police to start monitoring.
Everybody, and that's going to cost a lot of money, and there'll be a lot of issues, and there'll be a lot of loopholes too.
There'll be people coming up with different social media platforms to be able to avoid whatever regulation comes out. They've already started on this, and I think that this is something that the US and others should really watch and see whether it's really what worth completely following on Australia, does he I think yes, is by part of the support here in Australia. In America, I'd hate to see it become a real political issue. You know, the Republic
is a one side of Democrats on the other. I think, you know, we have yet to really demonstrate to the world that this is successful we're about a year or two away, at least in my mind, two years away before we can actually argue and say, hey, we've successfully banned this. It's a bit like banning the weight, it's a bit like banning cigarettes.
I think it still happens.
I've thought that affair, and I also think David that the big test is going to come now on the summer holidays, when kids are off school, when they're probably more likely to be using their phones and using social media. This is going to be the biggest test for labor coming up pretty soon, and let's hope that they're prepared well.
I'm a fan of it. I think that anything that's going to protect kids is a good thing. I think it sets the right message. I think it sets the right tone. I mean the Americans, they're protecting their kids by making sure that the drinking age is twenty one, whereas in australia's eating. So they've got a culture of protecting children as well. And of course they have the death penalty for child sexual assaults in some jurisdiction, so I think that the right in America will probably embrace it.
I'm thrilled that the Daily Telegraph led this campaign. I'm having seen some of the awful cases of bullying of young people in recent weeks, including the stabbing and in Rouse Hill, and including some terrible assaults around Glebe only recently and the inner City only recently. This is a good message for people. And yes, it's not going to be perfect, but let's not let perfection be in the
way of the good. I mean, it's we want to make sure that if it can be improved, we're flexible to having it improved.
While kids are already finding other platforms to use, as we just mentioned, and they're already saying.
I survived the band. You know, they're dancing, they're doing all these we've done.
That's part of it too, David, because you don't want another bureaucracy.
The social media companies doing it already.
The Safety Commission, I mean, they already said they're going to play a huge role, Marris, So who pays for that plan?
Yeah, And I mean who was it going to effect ultimately us when we have to put our digital ideas forward. So stay tuned for that, David Jones Choper of a week. It's admitted that it's made a mistake by scrapping its popular Christmas window display this year in favor of a reward program and luxury brand display. It's hinted though, that it might return next year, saying we acknowledge that this year's display has fallen short of expectations and has not reflected what many in.
The community were hoping for.
I don't know about you too, but you know I loved the David Jones display.
Why don't why change what works?
I don't get what happened here.
Look, I think they tried to do what I think Wools and Coals and everybody else did around Australia Day. You know, the Australian flags and all the Australia Day merchandise.
So bad move from David Jones.
Obviously they've learned and they've back flipped and realized it's a huge mistake. I don't know why they didn't think it was a good marketing strategy for them to bring people in. Any event, I would have thought having people congregating around David Jones is great for them.
What you've got to do is enticedled to get inside.
It was maybe some you know, a little free Christmas gift or some special or a discount. I don't know why they've done this really bad move. But people are really sick of this stuff because, as per usual, it's so tired of people attacking Christmas, attacking Christian traditions and our heritage as well. And I think David Jones will definitely learn the hard way because it'll be less than less people wanted to do any of their Christmas shopping this year.
I went to Woolworth's the other day and they were selling gingerbread people. So long a gingerbread men.
They're now not not binary, they're all inclusive.
But look, David, what do you think? Well, bad move by David it was.
I mean, I remember a couple of years ago clover More dumb down Christmas in the city and then she got so badly criticized. Now she supercharged it. Sydney is you know it's a walking Christmas decoration and so what marketing guru in David Jones thought that sort of behavior response wasn't going to be similar. And I'd like you since my dad, since I was a little boy, took me to David Jones and I've just finished taking my
son's in there. In the lead up to Christmas, it has been a big family tradition for fifty years, they've done more damage. And I think I personally, and I went to have a look at it the other day for research purposes, I personally think that they should just spend the.
Weekend recently for itself, suit you went shopping.
I personally think they should be spending the weekend putting the decorations back because next year whatever, that's going to be great. But they've got that they've done a lot of damage to themselves. They haven't learned, particularly in the United States, when you've got all those companies that have gone broke.
Over, these go worke that's what they do. I mean, look what happened to Woolias, as you mentioned.
And we've got to end on David's column, our favorite part of the week this week in the Daily Telegraph.
You're talking about awful Christmas dishes. Please take us through.
Well, I mean, I don't anybody that wakes up on Christmas morning and has to face tripe jelly feel should file for divorce. That is an outrageous attempt to really dumb You're talking about dumbing down Christmas. So I think I think, I think, I think the gourmets of the world need to unite, and they need to make some of these dishes completely illegal, particularly around the festive.
So I like Bubble and Squeak as leftovers though, where you just mash a bit of everything together, and I like it with Brussels sprouts.
Sprouts are more popular than you think.
You never never returning to the show has done anything you don't like.
Look, I remember the young kid cabbage rolls having a cabbage roll. Well I didn't when I was young, and aspect the meat, jelly, meat and jelly jelly, and that was really that is East European dish, and it was we should call it dog food.
Now I love it. I'm there you go.
Oh the other one, cow's tongue.
Oh oh wow, you haven't heard of that one?
I know?
Is that an Eastern European.
Special specialty as well? Wow? And very horrible memories of that as well.
There you go. I'll come on. You take the Bubble and Squeak over, oh yeah, and the dishes over my exactly.
Ironically. I was at a lunch today and it's like served Brussels sprouts. I thought you obviously don't read the tellig.
Yeah, they don't read a copy, mate, oh they did. They just look they've done it, Liberty, don't well, you know what, if we're all the spirit of Christmas, it doesn't matter, doesn't you wait? As long as you're with your family, That's what I think. Good to see both, David Elliott, Tanya ma Hailey.
Thank you so much. We'll see you again next week. Appreciate it.
Coming up after the breakwall, cross to the UK and look at new figures showing the enormous cost of getting to net zero over there.
That's next.
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Welcome back. Well.
In an ominous sign for US, UK Labour's plan to reach net zero by twenty fifty could cost three hundred and fifty billion pounds. That's more than seven hundred billion Australian dollars. Johnny now Is Reform UK Counselor Darren Grimes, Darren, good to see you.
Gee.
I thought we're in trouble over here in Australia when it comes to racington net zero. But it looks like the UK is going broke and backwards as well, and it's race to renewables.
Absolutely, Denikah, great to be with you. Look the cost of going green, right, that's what they say, this is well, I don't think it is, Daneka. I think actually this is the cost of fanaticism. This is an ideological push to make the poorer poorer and colder. You know, the so the National Energy System Operator, you know NESSO, it's called they've said the quiet part out loud that you and I have been saying for quite some time on this that Ed miliband the minister in charge his ideology. Well,
it has a price. Tag, and that's five quid a year for every single family, every single household in the
United Kingdom. Now that's in the middle of a cost of living crisis, and the Labor Party are basically happy for there to be a green luxury tax on working class families, not benefits claimants, not illegal migrants, but those in work to meet twenty a target that is so extreme that the rest of the world is frankly laughing all of the way into their petrol and diesel cars whilst we all shivel shiver and all the rest of it.
You know, China is building a new cold power plant every single week, but we're asking pensionism and all the rest of it to shell out more money on their energy bills that they're struggling to pay so Ed Milliband and the Labor Party can feel more virtuous at their next climate summit. It's a con, That's why they call it cop It's so close to con it's absurd. It's economic suicide dressed up as environmental policy. And I find it all growth esque, to be perfectly frank with you, Danika.
I mean I think it's anonymous warning to us. So we're also on the renewables only, magic carpet ride and going.
Broken backwards in the process.
Darren, this was an extraordinary investigation by the Telegraph. Migrant crossings in the English Channel in small boats are now bringing heroin into Britain because they're getting in for free.
There's some sort of deal going on. Tell us more.
Yeah, it's true. So a big expose on the As you well know, we have a major crisis at the southern border that none of the politicians that's conservative or labor politicians seem to be willing to do anything about. It's reached this stage because we have a ferry service for these criminals. What are criminals who are breaking our laws? We used to talk about this in the terms of humanitarian crisis, but actually this is a logistics chain for
national cartels. Whilst Donald Trump is smashing the gangs in the Venezuela and all the rest of it, we're basically saying, come one, come all to those who want to bring Class A drugs into our country. Acting as a taxi service for the product. We're merging human trafficking with heroine smuggling in a two for one deal for these gangs. That's the absurdity that we've got going on here, and it's important misery direct to our streets as well as
a lack of safety for women and girls. It is the most absurd state of affairs for a country that used to manage the world from Whitehall. We've become a total joke, Danika.
Yeah, look absolutely, Darren, it's extraordinary. And also you know what happens when those drugs reach the shore. I mean, it's just so dangerous for so many reasons.
Darren Grimes, we're gonna over there.
Nice to see you as always, Thanks very much for joining me. Coming up after the break, the winners and losers of the week, including a singer's foul mouthed durrant at an audience member, plus a skydiver's lucky escape. That's next, and it's that time of the week where we sought the winners from the losers, and helping me to do that is sky News contributed James grad To have you back. Your winner this week is Anaka Wells's husband.
Yeah.
Absolutely, because I think we're making so many good points about how entitled politicians feel to the taxpayer dollar this week, and they're good points in your analysis was fantastic, but I think we also need to step back and go how incredible is this guy's life. He's been to AFL Grand Finals, He's been to Oasis, he's been to the snow. I mean, when I wanted to go watch my beloved Denman Nuggets in the NBA Finals, I paid for my flight like an idiot. I bought my own tickets like a fool.
Like I don't know what I was thinking.
This guy's got it all figured out.
I'm very jealous.
Should have married a politician, Well.
That was my first mistake.
You would have got the perks.
Yeah, yeah, look, you know what, that's actually a good point because he has indulged in the lavish lifestyle that's been afforded to him because of his wife. So yeah, he's he's the missing link out of all this. I think you're absolutely spot on.
Now.
I had to give my winner this week too at Chavorne Murphy. She is a UK interierry designer.
Have a look at this. I thought this was cool.
She worked her magic by transforming secondhand tutus into a ballerina treat. James, could this be the best you've ever seen?
I don't know.
It's eighteen feet five point four meters long. It's actually on display in England.
It took years to do. How's that? Can you imagine?
Yeah, if you're asking me, look, I've seen a lot of Christmas trees made entirely out of two twos in my time. But yes, I would have to say that is the best one.
That's the best one. Crowded, crowded field, it's pretty.
Pretty in pink. I kind of like it. So good on her, very creative. You'll loser this week is a skydimer.
This vision is incredible.
Sorry, look, d Nika, I'm not the best flyer, like I'm getting better, but it still makes me nervous. I still wish there was like a service where an IT flight attendant can whack me in the back of the head with a hammer and I wake up in my destination. I thought I had all the fears unlocked about flying until I saw this video. Here you see it saying it is a skydiver. He is about to jump off a plane and then who even.
Thought this was possible?
On the tail dangling, just completely helpless in the air. Thankfully he's okay, minor injuries. There was reserved parashares. But I watched that and I go, well, I didn't know I needed to be scared of that as well.
That is my worst night, maare Actually that makes me feel quite sick. And looking at that vision, that is incredible that he survived that that that is very very scary. So kudos to hear me must be very experienced, I would say, because that is terrifying to be my loser this week is the front woman for the nineties band and if you garbage Shirley Manson, have a look at her absolute tirade at one of the fans at her Brisbane concert.
Why because he brought a beach ball to the event. Tablov there's a lead.
Seriously, with that attitude, James Bolt, we gotta leave it. They have a great thank you so much for joining me on the show. Really appreciate it.
That's it for me.
I'll be back Sunday night at seven for Deneka and James. Steve Price is next.
Good Night,