Why on Sky News Australia.
This is de Nika di Georgio.
Hello and welcome to the show.
Coming up tonight, Labour's weekend of memes, jokes and gaffes. Thank goodness, the Liberal Party has sorted out its leadership woes. It's time to hold this government to account. LMPMP Garth Hamilton is coming up. The Prime Minister sympathizes with the praying muslim men who defied a New South Wales police
order before being moved on. I'll chat to Alex Ripchin about this latest attempt to win over the Muslim vote, and I'll catch up with Reform UK's candidate for London Mayor, Laila Cunningham, wants to.
Boot out the woke and woeful Sadiq.
Khan, but first tonight, whoever said diversity was our strength? The Daily Telegraph is reporting fourteen children in New South Wales have been subjected to suspected forced marriages in the past financial year.
Now.
Some of these are claims of unofficial ceremonies conducted by Islamic.
Clerics in backyards.
The Sunday Telegraph has obtained exclusive data under freedom of information laws. It found underaged forced marriages in New South Wales reported to the Department of Communities and Justice child Protection hotline between twenty twenty four to twenty five have almost doubled in the past financial year. There have been one hundred and seventeen reports recorded since twenty eighteen nineteen. Last year, fourteen children were suspected of being forced to marry,
up from eight the financial year prior. And yet we are supposed to believe that multiculturalism is working now we have imported these problems into the country. A government source told the paper they were aware of some Islamic only marriages conducted by Muslim celebrants, mostly in the western suburbs
of Sydney, which are not legally registered. They said, I feel fe confident in saying that there are a small number of weddings organized by a girl's family taking place in parts of Sydney within hardline conservative Islamic communities.
There are many marriages.
That wouldn't come up on the government's radar because they're not official marriages and they are not registered. This of course makes it harder for authorities to investigate as it's heavily underreported.
So how many more are there? And the reality is we don't know, we don't know how fast spread this is.
These figures pertain to New South Wales, so who's to say it's not happening elsewhere in the country. Now, this is child abuse and many of these young girls would be terrified to even speak out. And this is not new, especially in Sydney. It's just gotten worse. This was in twenty seventeen.
This child is just fourteen years old and is about to be married to a man twenty years her senior. In a tiny room hidden at the back of a suburban mosque. This shy teenager, dressed in a light blue headscarf, sits anxiously. She's known the man she's about to marry for just a few days.
Send you.
The groom is paid for the underage girl, handing over a fourteen hundred and eighty dollars gold necklace in exchange for his bride. While the girl's mother watches on. She's given her full blessing.
Now imagine how terrified that child would have been and mum gives the blessing seemingly under the banner of Islam. The latest AFP national data shows there were one hundred and eighteen reports of forced marriage in the twenty twenty four to twenty five financial year in Australia. That's up from ninety one reports from the previous financial year. Not just in backyards, but being forcibly taken overseas to get married and then come back. And once again there's a
common denominator in all of this immigration. If this is not get another rallying cry to fix what is a broken system, then I don't know what is. We cannot bring people into this country whose values and cultures are incompatible.
With our own.
New Liberal leader Angus Taylor said today that he doesn't want a discriminatory immigration policy and that goes the same for successive governments.
That's always been the case.
But I think that this is exactly what we need, and that includes people whose cultures have sex of radical Islam. And that's not being racist. It's about identifying the key threats. Just last year, a Muslim cleric in Western Sydney pushed for sharia law in Australia.
We forget that there is a studio of a lost panel TLA waiting to be established. We forget that every single day that we live without the studio studio of a we are being dishonored. We're being belittled. The blood of the Muslims have become cheap.
We've got a glimpse this week of Muslim men at Monday's anti Israel and Anti Australia rally when they defied a move on notice and got on the ground and started praying. They knew exactly what they were doing, and in my opinion, that was a weaponization of religion. Yet Labor has kept the welcome matt firmly open. It granted three thousand visitor visas to Gazans with little to no security checks. It welcomed back the Isis brides, and guess what the brides are back for.
More Isis brides.
Still being held in northern Syria have applied for Australian passports in an effort to return home. At least ten women and children who were in Syrian camps have lodged applications. So clearly the g Hardy romance didn't quite turn out as expected. But who are we letting in? And who have we let in? And just on those reports of forced Islamic marriages, I have to ask where are the so called feminists, the same men hating left who champion the Me Too movement?
Where are they now?
What are their thoughts on the way some Muslim men treat and depress underage girls. The misogyny that exists in parts of Islam is astounding. Where is our Australian of the Year, Grace Tame. I mean, she's been silent on the plight of Jewish women and the rape of Jewish women? What about backyard marriages? Is that something she cares to comment on?
Or is she too.
Busy disgracing herself from Gadagil to Gaza. The brave feminist warriors love to rail all sorts of trivial nonsense, but not issues like child marriage and mass rape of Jews. There are reports of around eighty five Sharia councils operating in Britain. Let this be a warning to us diversity is not our st.
Well. Thank goodness, the.
Liberal Party has resolved its leadership woes and can get back to the job of holding this labor government to account, because this is who is in charge right now.
I think in Australian politics it's important not only that you have a good government. And of course I think Anthony Albanesi projects a sea of tranquility in an age of uncertainty.
I'm sorry, sorry, what a sea of tranquility that was a Trade Minister Don Farrell who clearly is all at sea himself. And notice he had to look down and refer to his talking points this morning just to talk about his own leader. So let me summarize Labour's weekend for you. Anthony Albanesi was busy playing the gender card.
Well.
I think people in the Liberal Party will despair that Susan Lee did as leader of the Liberal Party just months ago. It wasn't even given the opportunity to give one budget reply speech.
It's up to the.
Liberal Party, of course, to defend their own internal processes.
But the truth is that if you.
Look at the government and then what some see as the alternative government, my government has a majority of women in our caucus.
Great to hear he now knows what a woman is now DEI. Politics and gender ideology never bodes well, and
it's not what you at Homer thinking about. In the middle of a cost of living crisis, and when the standard of living has been crushed under labor, when bills are going up and immigration is at record levels, then there's the housing Minister Clare O'Neill, who was busy not dealing with the housing crisis, not dealing with the fact Labor has failed to achieve any of its housing targets, for dealing with her fridge.
Did Susan Lay lose the Liberal leader ship because she's a woman. When a man takes on.
A leadership role, authority.
Is immediately gifted to him. But when a woman takes on a leadership role, everything's a bit different. They have to earn authority and earn it again and again and again. And one of the things I really noticed with Susan Lay was it so many of her male colleagues they just never actually accepted that she was their boss.
Well, firstly, I'm distracted by the open fridge. Secondly, way to alienate male voters, And thirdly, Labor was always.
Going to make the Liberal leadership spill about gender and identity politics when it knows what a woman is.
Of course, now we know it's not about gender, it's about who's best for the job. And don't forget there were women within the Liberal Party ranks openly critical of Susan Lee too. Just sent a Nampajipper Price, Sarah Henderson and in the last few weeks new Deputy Jane Hugh. And then there's Don Farrell, who has admitted that he doesn't even know the rules of his own portfolio. This minister is responsible for overseeing the Parliamentary Expenses watchdog, but he's.
Not quite sure about travel entitlements.
I was negotiating a free trade agreement in Europe when this conversation took place, and I must admit I haven't caught up with the specifics of it since I got back at eleven o'clock last night. But each individual, each MP has to has to understand the rules and has to comply with the rules. That includes me and every other Member of Parliament.
And in another sign of just how out of touch this minister is, he has suggested that his recent ninety thousand dollars tax payer bill to fly his wife and adult children around the country passes the pub test.
Look. I could sit on my couch the beer watching the TV. I choose to go round the country and around the world to promote Australia. I'd ask you to have a look at my record in this regard one point three trillion dollars of trade, a record trade amount. Look at China twenty billion dollars worth of new trade.
Wow, don look at me, I'm doing so much. Therefore I can just justify spending all of your money, please. And then finally, to cap off Labour's weekend, there's Chris Bowen, who's back with the memes again. The Climate Change and Energy Minister seems to think your bills going up is a joke.
My question is to the Minister for Climate Change and Energy. My question is to Minister for Climate.
My question is to the Minister for Climate, Minister for Climate.
My question is to the Minister of Climate Change and Energy.
Question change energy paraphrase is my favorite, Taylor. It's actually sweet all the time, and you spend on me. It's actually romantic. As the Speaker, I won't be thinking about the National Party on Saturday, even if they're thinking about me my Time's Day, because they've says it is just a little bit over the top as the Speaker.
But I wish them all the best.
I mean, he seems to think that questions about why you never saw that two hundred and seventy five dollars in energy bill relief is a big laugh some sort of Valentine's Day obsession. Does he think it's funny when mum and dad can't pay their bills. I mean, this is not a serious government, but unfortunately one which has been allowed to run off the lead while the Coalition and Liberal Party were in crisis. Now this is why
the Liberal Party can't waste any more time. A longer way to change in leadership has come in Angus Taylor, a conservative, and already he's foreshadowing strong policies like on immigrations.
Now our focus is on bringing people to this country who believe in our values, who come here because they know this is the greatest nation on earth. They want to contribute and they want to be part of our way of life. Now, if they reject our core beliefs, if they reject our focus onocracy, the rule of law, obeying the law, our basic freedoms, freedom of speech, freedom of religion, if they reject those things, the door must be shut.
This is a really great start, but the window of opportunity is slim. The Liberal parties in the middle of an identity crisis. Who is it and what does it stand for? A Sky News pulse YUGAV poll put the Coalition vote at a catastrophic low of nineteen percent this week, as behind One Nation on twenty eight.
Now this isn't just a plan.
To save the Liberal Party, but Angus Taylor has to try and win back voters who have abandoned the party for One Nation, and I've got to say credit to Pauline Hanson for being the only politician to put issues like immigration, like who we're bringing into the country front
of the agenda. In the nine months since the election, Australia changed, but the Liberal Party never caught up and One Nation took advantage in one No wonder Pauline Hanson is the most favored politician in the country, but now the Liberal Party is going to have to work with her as well as the Nationals and finally we're starting to see strong coalition unity.
So it's just some downright common sense that Angus is getting back to getting back to our values as Australians, pulling the leaders without having to spend more of your money to solve the nation's problems. That's common sense. That's what the Nationals will sign up to with the coalition and I think Angus has proven that pretty strongly in his first outing.
This moment demands more than just a leadership change. It's a good start.
As I said, let's hope the Liberal Party does not squander it again because right now Labor is taking us all for fools.
Let's bring in.
LMP and p Garth Hamilton. Now, Garth, good to catch up with you. Thank you so much for joining me. Let's start with the Liberal leadership. Is Angus Taylor the right man for the job? I know that you were a big backer of Andrew Hasty and we haven't had you on the show since he pulled out of the leadership challenge. But are you satisfied with Friday's outcome?
Oh?
Absolutely, I'm not looking backwards for a second. I think Angus has absolutely hit the right note right from the get go. Australia is a place for people who want to be here. What a perfectly sensible statement. If you don't love it, leave it. Goodness me, I'm so grateful that Angus has come out and really been clear about that right from the get go. As you pointed out, immigration is an issue that we really needed to deal with early on in this term, and he's clearly going to do.
That right away.
Look, I couldn't agree more and I do think it was great to hear him talking about our values and saying that are people I mean his Friday, So there have people who've come into this country who.
Hate our values and I think.
You know you welcome that, you welcome that sort of rhetoric because it's a rhetoric we.
Haven't heard from for a long time.
I've got to say, Garthaman, the window of opportunity is quite slim. The Liberal Party needs to turn this around pretty quickly. When can we start actually seeing some genuine policy announcements.
Look, I think they will be coming very quickly, but the main thing you're going to see is that bedrock labe by Angus on immigration. Clearly this is a place for people who want to be here. On the economy, we need to be very sensible with our spending and it needs to be putting Australians first. And look when you see interest rates going up, this is a sign
that these things aren't in play. And I think Angus is best placed, I really do, of anyone on our side to leaders through these difficult economic times.
Yeah, and I mean he was also on the front foot speaking about the economy today as well. Getting back to those basics, he's going to be announcing his front bench soon. Do you expect to get a role on the Angus Taylor front bench.
No, I'm very happy being the Member for Groom. I'll leave it to Angus to choose what he wants, Tanika. I've been on your show right throughout this term, leading the way on quite a few policy issues. From net zero spoke about immigration policy. I've been very happy to speak out and make sure that people knew the Liberal Party was still in touch with Australia. Now we've got Angus at the helm. I think he's going to take the lead on that and that's going to be fantastic.
So you're not going to You're not worried if you don't get a spot. You want a spot, Let's be honest.
Oh look anyway, any politician who tells you it doesn't they don't want to spot his line to here. But I've learned a lot in this game. The best thing you can do is do your best and leave everything else to chance.
Yeah, no, no fair, Colin, You're right.
I mean you've been very much on the front foot on so many of these issues. How do you now look to claw back votes from one nation? I know that Pauline Hansen was very critical even of the leadership change on Friday, but clearly that there is a problem there. You have been bleeding votes to one nation. What do you do to win back that support.
Well, once we establish those clear policy foundations on the things that matter to people and energy, on immigration, on the economy, I think then we have to turn to everyone on the right of politics, no matter where they are, and say come with me. And I think Angus is going to do that. He's going to tell people, you know, we've got a long way to go to the election, but right now we have to be a credible opposition
to mister Albinizi. And if you need to wear your own shirt for a while, wear it for a while. But on these fights we have to have with labor right here, right now, come with us, and I think will show that strength over time, we will show the direction that we're heading in.
Yeah, look good to hear, as I said, it's a great start to hear Angus Taylor really firing on all fronts when it comes to those issues that I think a lot of conservative voters have been tearing their hair out about for so long. I want to ask you, I just spoke earlier about these reports of the Daily Telegraph that fourteen children in New South Wales have been subjected to suspected force marriages in the past financial year.
These are unofficial ceremonies conducted by Islamic clerics in backyards. It's up from eight to the year before Garth. My argument is that we've imported this, and again, immigration is key. It comes down to immigration policy. Now we'll point out the majority of Muslims live peacefully in this country. But I am talking about a radical sect of Islam that is incompatible with our values.
What do we do about it?
Well, I think we have to acknowledge it is incompatible. I'm one of the few guests you'll have who has lived un there Sharia law. During my time in Saudi Arabia, I could have lived there very well off quite frankly, but the contrast and the idea of trying to raise my kids under some of these sort of laws was just too much for.
Me to think.
And I came to Australia came back home. There is such a difference and we have to acknowledge that. And look, diversity of background is a wonderful thing. It's really interesting, But as a nation we need unity of purpose. Unity is about where we're going and it's about tomorrow. And unless we have that, and I'm talking not just individually but in the little groups around Australia, then we will never be our full potential.
No, that's it, and I do agree.
I think it comes down to a lot of acknowledgment that we have brought some people in whose values are incompatible with the Western democracy in particular. And you know, some who hate us, some who hate our values, and some who have no interest in assimilating into the this great country. So you know, we have to actually raise the point. We can't dance around it. That is absolutely key. Just on the Isis brides, there are some still being
held in northern Syria. They've now applied for Australian passports.
In an effort to return home. We're talking Garth.
At least ten women and children who were in Syrian camps. They've lodged applications. Look, here we go again. You know, the Jahati romance doesn't quite work out. They want to come back here to the country in which they betrayed when they left here to go to the death cult. What's your response to this look.
I have a lot of sympathy for the children. I imagine they've been raised in very difficult circumstances. The truth is, however, these mothers left Australia. The chose to go to join an army that was fighting against people who share our values, that wanted to violently fight against us. They made that choice. And this isn't a choice that's compatible with living in Australians society. This isn't a you can't be a a member of VIIs and live down the end of the
street and everyone be happy about it. This is something that is completely against our way of life, and they chose that. And they've spent time sadly in these camps, which would be an absolute hotbed of fundamentalism and all the sort of things that we try to avoid when we're looking at people who want to come to Australia. So I think I don't have much sympathy in these situations for these women. I'm sorry they've made their decision.
They chose not to be Australians, they chose not to support us at a pivotal time in history, and I can't see something that says why they should be back here.
No, I agree. I've got no sympathy for them either. They knew what they were doing when they left this wonderful country of ours to go and join the death cult. Sorry, no sympathy on MI end either. Garth Hamilton, always nice to chat with you.
Thanks very much for joining me on the program. Really appreciate it well.
Joining me now is forming New South Wales Police Minister David Elliott and Verb Communications Mcsweetenhi to both of you. Thank you so much for joining me on the show.
Boy. It's been a big couple of days, hasn't it. Let's of course start with.
The liberal leadership Angus Taylor. I think he's come out firing on all fronts personally pro and I think that this is exactly what conservative bases needed to hear.
What do you think?
Absolutely, I think he's done really well. And I was never a huge fan. I have to say, I don't think he's a great media performer or hasn't been up till now. And I was more of a hasty fan, even though I know he pulled out.
But I think.
Taylor has scripped it with both hands, and this is starting to say the things that we've been dying to hear about immigration, about the economy, all these things that have been bothering us so much that Susan didn't ever enunciate.
And you know, we've.
Got this pile on from you know, the usual suspects in labor about anti women. I mean these morons, these imbeciles in the back room who obviously think Gigley schoolboys, who are just smart us, yeah, who are in self team women. You know the fact that we want women vote based on what the policies are. How dare you insinuate that we vote for women because they're women, you know, I mean we want policies, we want things that we
can relate to. And if Angus keeps going the way he is going, I think he's as long as he gets a good pick of the front bench. He needs really strong performers, you know, just Center needs to be their Hasty needs their Garth Hamilton.
It's Garth's brilliant, So there's.
Plenty of strong performers there if he has the medal to do so.
Absolutely, And I do want to talk about the whole issue of gender gender with the Liberal Party in a moment. But David, we finally have an outcome it is Angus Taylor. Is he the one that's going to take this party forward to really have some sort of an impact at the next election.
Well, he's going to have to.
I mean, obviously he's going to have a massive challenge with the Pharao by election. And if the Liberal Party loses the Pharao bye election, that will put immediate pressure on Angus Taylor. I think his first seventy two hours can safely be seen as a pass. I think that he's steadied. He steadied the ship already and that was an early challenge for him and he's done it. I like Proue, think that now it comes down to who is going
to surround himself with. He needs to prove that he's a pluralist and he's going to have to have moderates as well as sender right and his own right wing faction in the shadow cabinet. He's going to need to make sure that he keeps the nice balance between Western Sydney and regional New South Wales and of course some of the other states which are going to be key to our victory. And quite frankly, now he has to rebuild the party because the party structure has been found wanting in recent times.
You know, we stuffed up local government last year.
So now it's timing to make sure he's got the right party president, the right state directors across the state, people that he trusted will give him full and frank advice and might be playing silly factional games.
How do you think he'll go in Farah because obviously one Nation they are looking to field a candidate there. This is going to be a big first test of his leadership.
What's the state of place?
It will come down to the candidate.
I mean, he will want Justin Clancy the state, the very popular state member who has just been elected Deputy leader under Kelly Sloane here in New South Wales. If Justin Clancy is the candidate, I think will hold the seat and we might even increase our majority because he's got a very strong personal following in.
Some of the New South Wales.
If Justin doesn't run, I think that we're very vulnerable in Farah and it will come down to how much of that one nation vote we're seeing on the polls translate to ballot papers.
Well, this will be the first test and I think all eyes will be on that. That'll be very very fascinating to see if the polls are actually correct, how one nation does and of course a big test of the leadership of Angus Taylor.
Let's talk about gender.
As I mentioned earlier, Labor's already throwing up the gender card. I mean, oel for goodness sake, unloading her groceries and the fridge, and you know, commenting on gender a lot of nonsense. But now the founder of a liberal women's network has resigned from the organization and quit the party altogether,
two days of course, after Susan Lee was toppled. Charlotte Mortlock, a former Sky News colleague of mine who founded Hillmer's Network four years ago to boost female representation of the Liberals. She has quit a comes a week after the party's new South Wales branch dumped a planned vote on gender quotas and improve as.
Charlotte Morlock had worked on the proposal with five other Liberal women.
But I think you alluded to this earlier gender quotas and that's not what the Liberal Party is based on.
For goodness, it isn't and it's insulting to women. This is what annoys me so much. You've got the Labor Party of course seizing on this because you know it's the party of the mean girls. Let's face it, it knows how to dish dirt so well, these beautiful, cultured, gentle women who have empathy for all the other women in town. Well, I tell you, sis, we hate the fact that you're a bunch of bullies, feral bullies from a school yard. And you know you don't even know what a woman is.
That's the you know, what is a woman? To the Labor Party, I put it, damn will know. So don't talk to us, don't talk down to us as women and tell us that we can't possibly have empathy and put a vote to the Liberal Party. You're a bunch of I was going to say fight us W with saying something with W, but I won't.
You all know it's a bit too early for that for that one.
No, but you're right as well. It's basically saying that a woman.
Cannot succeed unless there is a.
Gender quota actual and I mean the fact that the New South Wales branch, I mean your branch was even considering gender quotas at one point.
It's hard to say you're the Party of merit unless you've.
Got testicles right, because that's exactly what they're saying. We believe in equality here, we believe in equality there, except for gender, because we're going to run some now.
I try to be objective when it comes to quotas everywhere, whether it be for age, for gender, whatever, I'm open minded on an objective about it. However, as proven you have already identified the biggest people, the biggest demographic opposed to gender quotas are women with sons, because the women with sons will come to me and say, and regularly do, I don't want a mean girl taking the opportunity that my son has rightly worked for fair enough, and they're
they're the ones. I mean, it's funny, it's it's you know, it's left wing men. It's moderate women who when there's a conservative male needs to be replaced by a female. But when there's a when there's a moderate male, doesn't you know we should policy exactly and so, But the great challenge for the Liberal Party was always we can't say that we're the party of meritocracy unless, of course you're.
Talking about exactly what was arguing about Susan Lee and the fact why because she didn't perform exactly do.
His little bit later polling, it's been an absolute disaster.
It's got nothing to do with genders.
It's all to do with how bad basically she didn't have the cut through.
Nothing to do with gender.
Let's talk about the Trade Minister Don Farrell and that quote that I played you earlier about him talking.
About the Prime Minister one of his worst.
But he's admitted that he doesn't even know the rules of his own portfolio and yet he's the minister responsible for overseeing the Parliamentary expenses watchdog and he's so out of touch. He suggested that he's recent ninety thousand dollars tax paid bill to fly his wife and adult children around the country actually passes the pub test.
I'm sorry, Don, but what planet is he living on? What pub is he going to? That's what I want to know.
But the thing is I had a look and apparently these federal politicians spent between forty to sixty days away from their families in Canberra. So he must love his family a hell of a lot that he's got to have them, you know, tied like an umbilical court around his travel luggage case, because I.
Mean, he must be taking them everywhere.
There's no justification for it, and I just think it's just a raud. They're all on it and they don't want to criticize each other. He of courses in charge of the mob that sets the rules, but he doesn't.
Know the rules.
He doesn't know the rules, and we've really confused. So he's always been a joke that blow.
Yeah, and then he described Anthony Alberneezy as a man with like a sea of tranquility where I got that poetry from.
But that's one of his worst life.
But the fact that he said, oh, you know, look at me upset the record.
I travel around, look at me.
I'm doing deals here and there, as if it's some sort of justification for spending this much money on entitlements.
What really infuriates me is that we have soldiers deployed for six twelve months overseas.
Do you think their wives get a family reunion package? Good point, So, don that's great, you spent forty days overseas.
I spent one hundred and eighty days overseas when I was an army officer as a peacekeeper. My wife didn't even get a free train trip. So I think that that is quite an insult, and I think that it highlight to the fact that Dawn doesn't live in the real world. Setting aside the fact that he spent his pre parliamentary life as a Union official, we have to remember also that he also owns a vineyard, so he's
the original Chardona socialist. However, does he allow his managers at that vineyard to take ninety thousand dollars out of company farms whether they can go to Okay, he doesn't, I can guarantee. I don't know for a fact, but I will put the kids on. He doesn't know now behave the way that he is as a minister, and so I do I do find I mean, I think in twelve years in parliament, I used my family and
travel vouchers. Wants to fly my wife to Canberra to meet Prince William once in twelve years and it cost about two hundred dollars.
It's a big difference two hundred dollars versus.
And I help why it should be there, because sometimes there is an expectation on families to do stuff.
But ninety thousand dollars. Yes, I drink at a lot of pubs.
I'm going to the exactly, yeah, and you could be there with the sea of tranquilities. We actually this leads really nicely. We're all mass out of time, but I want to ask you about this. Ahead of the seventy fifth anniversary of the introduction of the National.
Service Conscription Conscription Scheme, there are calls.
To bring it back to shape a new generation of young ossies.
This is David Webster. He fought in Vietnam.
He's told the Australian it made him the man. He became a one star general in the Australian Army, a husband, father, granddad in the security of his home life. He believes that this controversial program was the best thing that ever happened to him, and of course his calls echo that of former Prime Minister Tony Abbott. David, I'll start with you, as somebody who has served.
Do we bring it back?
I'm not a fan. First of all, it's very very cost prohibitive.
Secondly, you have professional soldiers having a babysit, people that don't want to be there.
However, there is an opportunity for us.
To expand a whole lot of programs that are out there. My personal view, expand the gap year program that encourages kids to go from school, have a year in the army, and then maybe say to them, right, if you stay on as an active reservist, we'll cover your hexstead.
If you stay on.
As an active reservist, well then we'll continue that tax free pay that you've acquired. But I was actually having lunch today with two very senior form military officers, and nobody wants to turn the army into a dumping ground for the crap of society, because that's what's going to happen.
We get a job, you're going to go together the end.
But whether it is the crap or you know, job seek, one hundred thousand people between sixteen and twenty who are on the public teeth, why couldn't we at least train them and okay, set up another get some people like you retirees and I wouldn't doub you in, but people who've been in the army or navy or whatever, and train them because it will teach them self respect, give them massfiction, teamwork, all the things that.
Are so important.
Well, and I personally think that we should send the repeat offenders, the repeat juvenile offenders go go love you give a bit of time from the army and let's see if they.
Repeat offend again. Great to have you both on great discussion day. Thanks Promixtween. Thank you very much for joining me.
After the break that Prime Minister sympathizes with the praying muslim men who de fighted a new South Wales police order before being moved on, I'll chat to Alex Ripchin about this latest attempt to win over the Muslim vote. Welcome back will Australia descended into a farce over the past week, not even two months after the Bondi massacre, we saw those dreadful scenes in Sydney where protesters attacked police angry about the visit of Israeli President Isaac Herzog.
In Melbourne, the CBD was also hijacked by the anti Israel, anti Australia mob. Death to Herzog was graffited at the University of Melbourne and protesters even held signs.
Which read abolish Australia.
Joining me now is Executive Council of Australian Jury co CEO Alex Ripchin. Alex, thank you so much for your time. As always, is this not the type of behavior that the Bondai massacre taught us was so dangerous.
Well, this is That's what we've seen for two and a half years, and we know that the genesis of the horrific terrorist attack that devastated my community was the incitement on the streets of Sydney, these rabid street protests which have defamed and dehumanized Jewish Australians consistently weak in week out. We know that it didn't begin with a terror attack. It ended with a terror attack, and so to see it continuing even after the attack, it's disgusting,
it's shameful, it's depressing in a way. But no one is really surprised by this because we know we're dealing with a fanatical movement that, as they displayed there with their signs and graffiti, hate Israel. It's not about policies, it's about wishing to see the destruction of the state. It's about hating this country and wanting to wipe away the democracy and the freedoms that we all hold deer
in this country. So there's no surprise here. But ultimately, even their extremism, even their provocations, couldn't dampen a brilliant trip by the President. I think it achieved everything that he sought to do. It comforted the community, It recalibrated the relationship between the two countries. We look forward to better days ahead.
Look absolutely, and you know it was so worthwhile having him here to go to Bondi and to visit people, to speak to the grieving community. I mean, it was just so important to have his presence here in Australia. I want to ask you about this because we saw in Sydney, of course, that deliberate active defiance when Muslim men began praying as they were given an order to
move on. And it happened again in Melbourne this weekkend have a look at this, okay, and but once again the Prime Minister has shown that he does not have the interests of Australian Australians at heart.
Have a look.
I'm very empathetic about the hurt that's being felt by the Muslim community of prayers being disrupted.
You so you concern specifically around that element.
I think that is an issue that needs addressing because I think people need to have a right to practice their faith in peace. And you know some of the footage, of course, you need to be careful about footage because you don't get to see the full picture.
Okay, and that was what happened in Melbourne. We've got the audio on that.
What do you say to what the Prime Minister said, I mean, we saw these deliberate acts of defiancy. I think it was weaponizing religion, saying well, we were praying, but they're in the middle of a police order to move on. What do you make of the Prime Minister going into.
Bat Look, firstly, I think it's dangerous to preempt any investigation, and there's a lot of social media footage usually posted for a particular purpose to drive an agenda, and I think that needs to be looked at very carefully and investigated to see how this transpired. But on the face of it, no one would dispute the right of free prayer and the right to assemble and practice one's faith in this country. As a person of faith myself, that's
to me something sacred. But prayer is a solemn, personal, deeply private app that is done in a particular time, in a particular place. And I think that the scenes that we saw by the town hall in a protest area, in an extremely tense environment which police were doing their best to de escalate. Was it essential to pray in that spot at that time? Couldn't have been done ten meters down the road, outside the protest zone, outside the
presence of the police. It looks very much like an orchestrated stunt to create animosity, to drive further division in the community, to further demonize the police and somehow depict them as being uniformly Islamophobic. You know, there were people online far left commentators referring to these images as the
Rodney King moment in Australia. They wanted to be that the Rodney King moment in LA led to days of horrific, violent, deadly, rioting, destruction, really destroying that city, and they want to see the same thing replicated here. So to me, it looks like a stunt, and I think it needs to be separated out from the right of prayer, which is sacred in which no reasonable person would question. But that is something different.
No rights are unlimited. No one has the right to pray in public in an area that the police are trying to clear for their own safety.
Look, I couldn't agree more with you, absolutely spot on, And you know, obviously there's going to be an investigation now but still there was a move on notice in place, and that's what we have to keep in mind.
I just want to ask you about this very interesting.
Investigation in the Australian inside the Palestine Action Group, and I've got to say the findings of this are quite concerning. The pro Palestine protesters who orchestrated this week's violent Sydney rally, gloated about Israel's humiliation hours after October seven, and started organizing demonstrations while terrorists were still slaughtering civilians in their homes.
It says.
What is less clear about the Palestine Action Group is who else is behind it, the source of its funding, and how entwined it is with the disparate groups that have joined its protesters. I mean, Alex we've seen people like Josh Lee's for example, but when you hear that in the Australian, how concerning is the depths of the hate. This goes beyond justin anti Israel protest.
Again, we've seen this in plain sight for so long now, and as October seven was unfolding, and the Jewish community and all decent human individuals in this country, around the world, we're looking on mortified, fearful, anxious at the scenes of women being dragged off by the heron to captivity, families bound together and burned alive, to one hundred and fifty people dragged into captivity as Palestinian civilians paraded in the
streets and beat their bodies and cursed them. We all felt this extreme fear and terror and anxiety at that time. But the Palatine Action Group in josh Please put in a form one notice to organize a protest, and it wasn't to show sympathy for those people these are supposedly peace activists. It was to revel in it. It was to refer to this as the humiliation of Israel, and any notion that these people are peace activists just evaporated on that day. These people yearn for war, they want war.
They cheer on Iranian rockets and hoodie drones and Hummas terror operations. They simply want Israel to lose in this war. That's why they were so opposed to a ceasefire when it happened, and they kept protesting afterwards. So you know, sections of the press and society and the political class seek to rehabilitate these people as being peace activists. They're anything but and anyone who's actually paying attention and wants to see them for what they are, they don't even
disguise it. It's so evident, it's so apparent. Look at their posters, look at the timing of their rallies, look at what they say and do these are anti democratic, anti Western, anti Australian, anti Israel and certainly anti peace.
Oh.
Look, absolutely they don't want peace, and that they keep coming back for more. And you know there's already some sort of level of peace right now in this war, but back home they don't want this. Alex Ripchen, always great to have your insights. Thank you very much for joining me on the show. Really appreciate it. Coming up after the break, a deep dive into One Nation's rise.
Kevin Donnelly will give me his take next Welcome back.
Well.
I spoke earlier about One Nation leader Pauline Hansen's favorability rating. Author and culture critic Kevin Donnelly has written a very interesting article online called wake Up to Woke, It's Time Australia. In it, he writes, the surge of support for One Nation is further evidence, if one was needed, that Australian society is undergoing significant cultural change as millions of Australians seek an alternative to self seeking political parties that ignore
the will of the people. And Kevin joins me now, Kevin, good to see you. What's changed in your views?
An expression, Benika, the culture is upstream of politics. And what that means is politicians, the media. They all talk about politics every day, every week, you know whether there's a new leader or what the policies are. But what we have to understand and we need to take a longer term view, is that culture is upstream of politics. So when you look at Australian society, if you're compare to what we were like under the time Robert Menzies
was Prime Minister, that was a very conservative time. It was after the war, after the depression. People were more attuned to patriotism, to being part of society where there were conservative values. As I said, if you look at GoF Whitlam, there was a radical change. You remember his slogan it's time it was all about when he got into government, quite radical change in terms of gender, homosexuality policies,
the pill, Vietnam moratorians. Now, what's happened over the last ten twenty years is that the major political parties have not realized that culture has changed. A lot of mainstream voters. They want continuity, they don't want radical change. They want a focus on family, community and pride in being Australian and that's all fundamentally changed. And liberal parties, the Liberal Party and the Labor Party are responsible for that, and that's why people are flocking for One Nation.
And I mean I spoke about this earlier too.
I feel even just in the last few months, even since Bondi Australia change, it was a pivotal moment, but the Liberal Party never caught up. And I think that One Nation has absolutely capitalized on this when it comes to you know, issues like immigration, people who are bringing in you also, and I found this point interesting too. You write about conservatism in a modern world.
And that's a really good question.
We're having this debate now about what the Liberal Party looks like, what does it stand for?
So what does it mean to be conservative now?
Well, I have to be careful, Veneka, and I've been attacked for being male, pale and stale, and a lot of people don't like talking about the past. I mean ts Eliott, the English poet said it very well. We want continuity as well as change. We need to respect our past institutions, way of life. We are a Western liberal democracy that didn't happen by accident, or didn't happen overnight. It goes back to federation. In Australia, it goes back to and I often talk about seventeen eighty eight, the
arrival of the first fleet. Two of the books that arrived were the King James Bible and Blaxton's Laws of England. And what that meant is at the new colony. Eventually Australia we inherited that cold more broadly, our political, our legal, our religious from United Kingdom and from Europe, that Western liberal democracy and Christianity. So we time escape that. Now it does change, it does evolve. Edmund Burke many consider the father of conservatism. He understood that you need to
have change. But what he argued, and he was talking about the French Revolution at the time, you want evolution, you don't want revolution. And you only have to look at what's happening to a lot of young people with the gender and transgenderism debate to see the problem you have when you jump into a new policy without thinking of the consequences.
That's a really good point.
We've got less than a minute left, but just very quickly is political correctness killing politics again?
You know I've written about political correctness, about being wote ideology. What we have to be aware and politicians need to be aware that the way societies change has to be understood. And the reality is many years ago it happened with German radical really duce. He argued in the West that the Barrack people will never storm the barricades. So if you want to radical change, if you want cultural Marxism,
you take the long march through the institutions. And what Paul Enhanson has realized is that she has to focus as people want, on family, community, nation, more conservative values.
Yes, you're absolutely a spot on, a fascinating analysis and yep, so true to what's going on right now. Kevin Donnelly got to leave it there. Good to see. Thanks very much for joining me, stay with me. Coming up, Denik has done of the week.
That's next. Welcome back time Now for Denika's.
Dud of the Week, which goes to Ali Andrea Acazio Cortez. Now, this week, the Democrat representative was Ben touted as the party's next big thing when it comes to foreign policy.
Okay, she was going to go onto the world.
Stage in Munich and impress everyone, impress the Democrats for a run at twenty twenty eight.
Well, here is her take on foreign policy.
Would and should the US actually commit US troops to defend Taiwan if China were to move.
You know, I think that.
This is such a you know, I think that.
This is a.
This is of course, a very long standing policy of the United States.
The wheels are ticking, but there's nobody home. And I've got to say that she may even make Kamala Harris look coherent. And gee, that's saying something. If that's the best the Democrats have got, very much, so good luck. Well that is it from me. I'll be back Friday at eight pm for Opinionated.
Up next is the McPherson Angele. Goodnight,