Why On Sky News Australia, This is to Nika de Giorgio.
Hello and welcome to the show coming up tonight, Chris Bowen's secret climate files. Why won't he release details about Australia's emissions reduction targets? Victorian Premier decint To Allen leaves a door open to bail changes, but her cabinet says no, no wonder the States had a mess. Shadow Police Minister David Southwick will join me shortly, and King Charles becomes the first British monarch to pray with a pope in five hundred years.
But first tonight. The Coalition has.
A real chance next week to come to a position on net zero when MPs meet on Friday to discuss the policy. Now, look, I've got to say this slow and steady approach by Susan Lee and her twelvemonth review into energy is quite frankly boring and uninspiring at a time when labor is destroying our energy future.
This government's energy policy is a train wreck, and every day we stand up there and we.
Hold them to account.
I'm pretty sure the answers that are coming back to our surveys, we'll be telling our team, the costs are going up, that affordability is worse, and that it's getting harder and harder to pay your bills, your energy bills and balance your family budget under this government which doesn't care about productivity and doesn't care about rising prices.
Well, the reality is we know this, You at home know this. The question for Susan Lee is what are you going to do about it? We desperately need an alternative government with an alternative approach, a strong opposition to hold labor to account, not one with unclear positions, disunity and a labor light approach. Now labor can and is doing whatever it wants to wreck this country, and in particular when it comes to our energy rid because it can. Our power bills are going up and up.
There was a.
Record heat wave across New South Wales this week. In surprise surprise, the electricity grid did not cope. Thousands of residents across the state were left without power. And we're only in October, it's not even summer yet yet. We are bending over backwards financially and environmentally to save the world from the alleged climate change armageddon.
Why are we the ones.
Doing the heavy lifting energy policies are sending us broke and backwards. It is time to dump net zero. Former Prime Minister Tony Abbott has called on the Liberal Party to ditch what he described as a strait jacket. Here he was speaking with my colleague Peter Kredlin.
There is no climate crisis, and to the extent that climate is changing, we shouldn't assume that mankind is the main factor in it. Reducing emissions is nice to do, but the net zero straight jacket is doing all sorts of damage to our country and we've just got to get away, get away from it.
And look he's not wrong. You can't be in and out on this.
I mean, it's not the hokey pokey where you put your right arm in and you take it out again. Our energy future cannot be compromised. And the reality is the opposition took this policy of net zero twenty fifty to the last two elections and still lost.
So have some courage to make a position now.
This week Chris Bowen addressed the Financial Reviews Energy and Climate Summit, and here is how the paper summed up the event. It says Chris Bowen tells us the economics for investing in renewables remain utterly convincing, but new wind and solar farms have stalled, and we've heard about little
other than the challengers for the past two days. Another analysis went on to say that speaker after speaker try to be positive, but the replacement of an aging fleet of coal fired power plants with a combination of large scale renewable energy firmed by gas and batteries isn't happening fast enough. The rollout of transmission infrastructure isn't where it needs to be.
New supply isn't.
Coming into the market nearly quick enough to meet rising demand. How much more evidence does the opposition need to get us off this renewables only magic carpet right? Meanwhile, the minister in charge of this mess is up to his tricky tricks again. Climate Change and Energy Minister Chris Bowen and his bureaucrats are refusing to release critical advice around the challenges and potential pitfalls of Labour's net zero plans.
Now the Minister and his department have repeatedly resisted Senate attempts to compel them to release a government brief prepared for mister Bowen in the wake of the May election. This brief has been the subject of a freedom of information request and multiple Senate orders to produce the documents.
According to The Australian, the advice would likely have canvassed issues around Australia's current and future emissions reduction targets, advice to government on nuclear energy, as well as a challenger's facing Labour's push to secure next year's COP thirty one conference.
But to no avail.
Chris Bowen is keeping his secret files secret. Clerk of the Senate Richard Pye, has declared Labour has no grounds to withhold.
This brief, So why the secrecy? I mean, if.
Bowen has nothing to hide about our energy transition, why is he hiding this? And all it can be put down to is that the evidence is stacking up against him. We were told our power bills would go down under renewables.
Reducing power prices by two hundred and seventy five dollars.
Reducing power prices by two hundred and seventy five dollars.
By twenty twenty five, two hundred and seventy five dollars a year one.
Hundred and seventy five dollars a year will get.
Power prices down by two hundred and seventy five dollars.
A year, two hundred and seventy five dollars for the average house lower in twenty twenty five than today.
Yeah, instead they've gone up by one thousand dollars. Labor also told us about how confident they are that we will reach our emissions reduction targets.
Net zero by twenty fifty is not enough, but it's the beaar entry point to a conversation.
We have legislated net zero by twenty fifty. We have one energy policy and we are delivering it.
The world is changing and the speed of that change is accelerating as we move towards net zero by twenty fifty.
Net zero by twenty fifty is the absolute bare minimum required to avoid one point five degrees of warming. Hence the government and the country remain committed to it.
We've got our own ambitious set of commitments to get to net zero by twenty fifty.
A plan that we have legislided, a plan we took to an election of net zero by twenty fifty.
Of course, net zero by twenty fifty is the end goal, but you've got to have important targets in the meantime, Yet.
We've been worn time and time again by experts that we will not reach our emissions reduction targets as they are via an experiment of transmission lines, giant wind turbines, green hydrogen, solar farms and batteries.
The situation is so bad.
Ross Gano, a longtime advisor to the Labor government and a backer of renewable energy, said Australia is currently on a trajectory to miss its renewable targets because of low investment and output in grid scale solar and wind.
Not by a little but by a big margin.
Yet, as we know, Labour has now drummed up a sixty two to seventy percent by twenty thirty five target with absolutely no clue what it means for your power bills and how much it will cost you.
What will the total cost of net zero be by twenty fifty Prime Mini.
At third, Well, it depends what figures you look for if you look for investment for twenty thirty five, The Business Council of Australia saying that the cost will be around about four hundred to five hundred billion dollars if you ask for what our policy is yesday we announced it an additional eight point three billion dollars of investment, meaning our total investment is seventy five billion dollars.
Can you name figure? Yeah?
Six hundred billion was the cost of Peter Dutton's plan. Yesterday we announced an eight point five billion dollar investment that takes total government expenditure to around seventy five billion.
What will be the total cost of net zero by twenty fifty.
In terms of the budget. That's seventy more than seventy five billion dollars that we've outlined. The total cost of not achieving net zero, as is outline in the National Risk Assessment, is many times more than that.
We've got a bit annoyse coming in.
I think that's a good rap. Thanks guys.
Yes, So, while your bills continue to go up and up under the net zero fantasy, Chris Bowen's game of heide and seek of briefing documents does not cut it. What is in your secret climate file?
Chris?
Australians want and deserve to know, Joddy. Now for more on this is Shadow Attorney General Andrew Wallace. Andrew, good to see he as always, thanks for joining me. Look first, he has his own set of facts. Now Chris Bowen and his bureaucrats are simply refusing to release information that
we're told underpins their whole net zero agenda. I mean, even the Clerk of the Senate, this is the top level parliamentary officer, has said Labour's got no ground to withhold this brief, and yet Andrew somehow it's still locked away.
Well, Denika, this is an incoming government brief. So this is a brief that would be provided to the government after the last election, which would set out the challenges that lay ahead.
For the government.
There would be all sorts of nuggets in there about the costs of the government's net zero plans, and jeezn't it it's pretty strange that the government would want to try and keep that from the Parliament, even more.
So from the Australian people.
I smell arout here, Daneika, and we've got the master of missing disinformation himself, Chris Bowen. This is a government who have consistently promised transparency, accountability, and now they won't be upfront with the Australian people about how much their energy.
Policy is going to cost the Australian public.
Yeah, not only how much is going to cost the Australian public, but how much energy bills are actually going to come down by that? Everything has been kept very secret right now, which is highly suspicious. Now, Andrew, the rubber is really going to hit the road for your party next Friday with a party room meeting to thrash
out the division on net zero. Now, obviously you know we're probably not likely to get a policy position next week, but surely it is time that the Coalition settles this matter because every day it's causing more and more division.
Well, Deniko, I just want to pick you up on something there, and that is we don't have a party room.
Meeting next Friday.
It's just it's a policy committee meeting for those people that are interested in this very very important policy area. It's not a whole of the joint party room. It's in fact one of the many policy committee meetings that are going on across all of the portfolios that Susan has set up that we are working hard across all these portfolios to build policies to take to the next selection. Now, as far as your concerns, we've spoken about this quite a lot, and I understand your concerns.
I understand that Australians.
Want to know what our policy is on net zero, but we're going through a very very detailed process that's been.
Led by Dan Tien. We can't rush this.
We've got to get it right and so don't expect an outcome next Friday. It's going to take time. We're only less than six months since the last election. There's a lot of groundwork we need to do. There's a lot of consultation we need to do. We need to make sure of all policies that we land this one right.
So we don't want to rush it.
But I mean, you know, Susan Lee's standing out there even today saying, okay, you know Lab's wrecking our energy grid.
The reality is is we know that we know Labor.
I have absolutely no clue how to keep the lights on in this country.
But what we want to know is what is the.
Coalition going to do about it? And that I think is the key issue here.
Yeah.
Look, we are absolutely driven and committed to ensuring that our energy grid, our national energy grid, is a ford and that it provides dispatchable base load power.
We don't want to see.
Businesses, large scale businesses closing down.
As we are starting to see.
We don't want to see them becoming totally reliant on government subsidies as we're seeing under this government. Australians deserve this is twenty twenty five, for God's sake, Danika. When people turn on their air conditioner or their heater, they expect to be.
Able to use them. We don't expect the power to go out. But that's exactly where we're heading under Chris Bowen.
We need to ensure that we have a reliable grid that provides dispatchable power, but importantly that it provides affordable energy to Australians.
So there's a lot of work to do.
It's not something you can just click your fingers on and produce a policy.
But bear with us, we're working hard on it.
Well, I understand that everyone's saying everyone, all liberal MPs are saying, bear with us, with us.
I just wonder though, for how long for Andrew?
You know, But look, as I said, I don't even if it was just a policy position, you know, I don't think anyone's saying come out with a huge, you know, a big policy now, but just having a position at the very least.
Well, Danika, our policy position is this, we need to provide an energy grid, an energy system in this country that provides dispatchable base load power that's affordable for Australians and Australian businesses. That's what we're working on. The detail will follow, all right.
Before we let you go, I want to ask you about this.
In new report for the US Studies Center finding that our missile defense systems are quite inadequate to protect us against Chinese missiles.
And if that's not concerning enough, we learned that.
The ADF has embarked on an austerity drive, delaying projects and slashing costs.
Andrew, okay, fine.
I will say that the Prime ministers had to win this week in Washington in Orcust, but that's years off.
Right now, this sounds like we are very exposed.
Well, Danika, we absolutely are utterly exposed.
There's no doubt about that.
I've been on the Defense Committee now for probably five or six years. Our ground based air defense systems a laughing stock. Our northern bases, our bases that provide intelligence services and communications equipment, their ability to be able to project air power from our northern bases, all of these places are at risk. Intercontinental ballistic missiles. Now, this is not some sort of dream time. We're seeing these attacks take place in other parts around the world, like in Ukraine.
We live in the most dangerous geostrategic time since nineteen forty five, and we have critical, critically important assets in the north of Australia and they are absolutely exposed. They are literally undefended at the moment, and that is criminal.
This government needs to act.
It's putting all of its money into Orcus and it's ripping the guts out of defense. The author of the one of the authors of the Defense Strategic Review, Peter Dean, has identified this very issue himself that we are utterly
exposed with our lack of ground air defense systems. And you know, you're absolutely right what you said before, Deneka, and that is this absolute cannibalism that is going on in defense where we see reserve hours being cut from two hundred hours a month under one hundred and fifty hours.
We're seeing pilots being effectively.
Grounded and not being able to get air time to be able to train because we can't afford to.
Put them in the air. This is madness.
It is it's a huge, huge worry and leaves us even more exposed at a time where you know we are wide open. Andrew Wallace, We've got to leave it there. Nice to see you as always. Thanks very much for joining me on the show this evening. Well remember last week when Victorian Premier just sent to Alan told us this.
The CBD of Melbourne is safe, and I wish to reiterate that the Melbourne CBD is safe.
Well it was a joke then and an even bigger joke now. Labour seems to have lost control of crime and serious questions are being asked about the leniency of bail applications after three teenagers accused of a machete attack at Luna Park this month were set free on bail, despite the magistrate acknowledging the allegations were extremely serious. Joining me now is Victoria's shadow Police Minister, David Southwick.
David, thank you for your time.
Look, the Premier is leaving the door open to further bail changes, we're told, but that in spite of all we've seen, some of her cabinets still don't want to see the laws tightened. Surely this is completely at odds with community expectations.
Yeah, gratefully with you, Denika you're absolutely right. So the government's very much divided on toughening out bay laws.
And don't forget.
We had the Premius say we've got the toughest bail laws in the nation. Yet we're seeing, as you mentioned, an offender that had allegedly two other machete attacks being bailed again. I was at Luna Park yesterday actually where the attack took place. That's a family friendly area, that's somewhere that people take their kids and enjoy. I was outside the big mouth of Luna Park, which some would
say that he's smiling. I would say very much that young offenders are smiling and laughing at this government because they have weak laws and if you break the law in Victoria, you're out and about, certainly before police even finish their shit. Police are exhausted, they're frustrated. Victorians have had enough, they've had a gut full. It's a law of state. And you mentioned as well, you know the rocks being pelted at police. It's all happening in Victoria.
It's hopeless. It gives no confidence for anyone wanting to restart Victoria. And we've got to ensure that the state's safe and it absolutely is not.
Well, you're right.
I mean, this is exactly what Victoria's you know, toughest bail laws.
In the country looks like.
And it's been an absolute disaster from day one.
What does the opposition want to see.
Done right now to crack down on really what feels like daily stories of serious knife crime.
Yeah.
Well, if you're committing a serious crime, and particularly when somebody is going into your home with a machete or taking a knife at another person on the street, there's got to be consequences and that's not happening. The government produced a whole lot of bail laws, but they are exclusions with young offenders. It's the young offenders that are actually committing these crimes. Now. I don't care whether you're
fourteen forty. If you're taking a knife to a person and threatening their life, then you should not be allowed back on the street to recommit those offenses. There's got to be consequences and we need to ensure that victims are put first and community certainly can go about their lives not having to look over their shoulders. That again is not happening and we've got to change it up. And as I say, young people using social media, they're
talking about how to get off. They're actually using AI to be able to suggest what they might say in a court so they can get off and get back on the streets. Simply, that's not good enough, and we've got to lock up violent offenders, no matter what the age.
No, I agree, you know, it does not matter what age they are. Teach these kids a lesson before we let you go. It's not just your federal counterparts that are fighting it out over net zero, but you're also in a bit of a bind. Victoria's opposition leader Brad Batton is coy about committing to net zero by twenty forty five with a policy announcement before next year's election.
Surely net zero by twenty forty five is feasible, and what's more, you need to be calling out the twenty thirty five target this is of seventy five to eighty percent, given that that in itself is actually unlikely to be met.
Look, I mean, we'll have policy when it comes to targets. But what I will say on this, because I did have the energy portfolio, is we've got to have supply and competition, and this government back when I had that portfolio, we said more on shore conventional gas. If the government would have accepted what we had suggested, we would have more supply and lower prices and not the energy crisis.
That we're in.
That's what we need.
Competition supply will bring prices down and provide certainty, and.
The government needs to do that.
The fact that we've got a ban on new homes for being able to use gas, I think says it all in Victoria. We've got to change it up and I'm big on ensuring that there is the right types of energy mix and we transition to clean energy. But at the same time, all going through the roof, like Daron,
Victoria is not the answer. Competition is, Supply is, and let's get the market in to do the job, not the government, which we know everything the government touches falls to a miss and that's not the way to run our energy system.
No, it's happening across the country as well. David Southwick, appreciate your time, Thanks very much for joining me for coming up after the break. Hubris has set in for the PM as he returns to Australia from his US trip, dotting a Rock and Roll T shirt.
Would you believe I'll discuss this and more with my panel next Welcome back.
Well, I came across this research being described as groundbreaking by left wing think tank the Australia Institute Today, and I wonder if it got its talking points straight from the Chinese Communist Party. The report claims to reveal how tensions in the South China see a quote misunderstood and misrepresented in Australia. The paper is written in Mandarin and translated into English by Frank One, a postdoctoral fellow at
the Institute. He says that the often repeated claim that China is aggressively expanding into the territory of neighboring countries is an oversimplification. China's territorial and maritime claims in the South China Sea have remained largely consistent since nineteen forty nine.
While China has become more assertive in exercising those claims in recent years, its actions have not been solely responsible for tensions in the region, he says, assertive or more like aggressive, whether it be Chinese Coast Guard ships using water cannons on other countries vessels to performing reckless maneuvers and repeated attempts to ram other vessels like those from the Philippines.
In fact, reports of.
Aggressive and dangerous conduct by Chinese vessels in the South China Sea have surged over the past few years. In August, a China Coastguard vessel collided with a Chinese Navy ship while pursuing a Philippine Coastguard vessel. This illegal behavior has been going on for the better part of a decade, not to mention its ongoing threat of war with Taiwan, prompting US Secretary of warpete Hegseth to warn that an
invasion could be imminent. And you know, just this week, a Chinese fighter aircraft released flares close to an r double AF aircraft that had been patrolling in the South China Sea. On this the paper claims this marked the second time when China publicly accused Australian military aircraft of intruding.
In its airspace.
These developments would have confirmed the suspicion expressed by a senior academic in the National Institute of South China.
Sea Studies that Australia's.
Involvement and that of Japan would cause additional complications for China.
What if one of the flares had blown up our aircraft.
I mean someone could have died thanks to China's reckless and aggressive actions.
And that our double af aircraft was.
Not even flying in Chinese airspace. So this was by no means just an intrusion. But Frank says Australia sales its warships into the South China Sea to challenge China's maritime claims Now, I'd argue, if China has recently exercised its right in international waters adjacent to Australia, why can't
we exercise similar rights in Southeast Asia? Because China's continued aggression and illegal activities in the South China Sea are a threat to freedom and to democracy worldwide and obviously to us here, and perhaps left wing think tanks should wake up to it. Johny now is New South Wales Independent MP Taniam Halek and former New South Wales Police Minister David Elliott.
Hart of both of you.
Happy Friday, as always, thanks for joining me. I want to get your thoughts on this, David, as a former defense personnel yourself, what's your reaction to this piece by this left wing think tank?
Well, their apologists and that happens with the left wing media, is that they will always want to challenge what the West is doing because it suits their narrative. But they're completely off campus because, as you said, China cannot come towards adjacent to Australia's sovereign borders and have maneuvers and then complain about the rest of the world doing it in South China Sea legally doing it in the South China Sea. So, I mean, we don't know why Australian
defense assets are up there. I'm actually quite impressed that they are up there. It shows that the Commonwalth government is being assertive. We obviously have to be very very careful, but we've also got commitments through a number of treaties that we support our allies up there, including Japan and
South Korea and indeed Taiwan. So we've got to make sure that people know that, you know, we're not rolling over and allowing them to attend our international waters, international wars adjacent to our sovereign borders, and we're not prepared to do the same exactly.
Absolutely.
I just thought it was a very bizarre article. The think take Now, look, let's move on. It's been a big week for elbow over in the US hasn't it. He's given himself a pat on the back. It's like a victory lap. Touching down in Sydney yesterday with his Joy Division Rock and Roll T shirt on. Look, Tanya humorous as has well and truly set in. How would you rate his meeting with Donald Trump this week?
Look, I think Alberanizi is probably right to have a bit of a spring in his step.
It's got a bit fun, been a good week.
I mean, this is a groundbreaking, rare earths and critical minerals deal with the US. He's also been able to cement to the Orcus, although that should never been in any doubt and it came out largely unscathed out of this meeting. I'm ensure Rad received a bit of a spray, but you know, we all had a chuckle and we will trightly enjoy them, I think in Australia. But it hasn't stopped the US and Australia from executing I think a terrific deal for Australian.
So I think the joy.
And that's the shirt that he's running around with at the moment, is in Alberanze. It will be short lived because the reality is for US. Unlike the US, Australia is bogged down with bureaucratic red tape and green tape, in particular in relation to the net zero targets. That's not bogging down the US, and the US will want rapid development of this deal in Australia. You've already had the Greens issue a statement the other day Shoebridge and a Shoebridge issue a statement concern that any of the
their requirements changed for this deal. But what we don't want is any of this green tape to be a statuary handbrake on what is a large resource and energy intensive projects. That's what these are, and we want the wind for for Australia. So I think the big thing for ALBERNIZI will be nowt to make sure that green tape that is strangling Australia often in our minerals and mining divisions, doesn't impede or be a barrier for this terrific deal for US.
That is a fair point. Look, and it has been a funny week. It was a funny meeting. Let's talk about Kevin Rudd. You've got Susan Lee this week saying Rud's got to go now.
But if you've got.
One backbencher after another, David saying no, no, no, that was the wrong call.
It's getting a bit aw well.
It reminded me when I was a child, and you know, when you got in trouble, mums would say, you know, you've suffered enough because you've been embarrassed by it all. And I do think that Kevin Rudd has suffered enough. He looked very sheepish, but he brought it all on himself. And it's a message for people going into politics. Be careful about the butcher kick on the way up, because the ones you're kissing on the way down. And it seemed that Trump was not going to be for turning.
But I think, I mean, I'm prepared to give the Prime Minister the credit for the meeting. Of course they're all saying Kevin did all this work. Well, that's what he's paid to do. And the Prime Minister is the one who's carrying the political risk in all of this and he did it. But that T shirt he mustn't have got the me mate, because I'm told by Labor that suss Street is paranoid about Hubris and they, particularly after the federal election in the New South Wales by
election win earlier in the year. Sussex Street has told the Parliamentary Labor Party be careful of hubris that will bring us down. And coming off the VIP plane wearing a T shirt was not something you would expect from a world leader.
No, absolutely not joy division as well, he's loving himself and that's that's the problem right now.
And he had got his peak this week.
In case that's Dan Hill.
Well, Parliament returns next week, so let's see how it goes now. Look, Australia's Border Force has sees more than half a billion cigarettes and millions of vapes in just three months.
This is one of the biggest hauls on record.
Between July and September this year, officers intercepted five hundred and eighty six million cigarettes and more than three million vapes. Tanya, what does this say about criminal networks in this country?
Well, they're well and truly entrenched in Australia, aren't they. I mean five hundred and eighty six million cigarettes, three million vapes? Just what a three month period.
Shocking.
This is on the back of what's something like one hundred and one hundred and five five bombings of tobacconists in Victoria.
We might remember that.
Was usually long ago, that was about a year ago, and that was also organized crime that was involved in that, and turf over who owns what amongst the criminals and look they're still in control. I think they've just it's extraordinary how much the criminal syndicates are running.
This trade in Australia.
Obviously there's a demand. I think there needs to be a reset and a relook at how much we can keep going with the excise to do that, we do put on tobacco and we don't manufactural grow any tobacco anymore in Australian We certainly don't make vapes. But this is something that needs to be I think considered again by the Australian government. Need to re look at this because there is a demand for the product, otherwise they wouldn't be involved in it.
And think that's a fair point cost managing this.
I can only imagine what Warder Control has to spend just to be able to find what they do find, let alone what they don't find.
Yeah, no, I agree, Well what do you put this down to day?
This is prohibitional over again, I mean, we just haven't learned from history. This is I mean, I'm not a smoker, but I'd be horrified if we had prohibition. I think that the government really needs to work out where the sweet spot is with taxation. And yes, we need to do things that would discourage people from smoking, like we
need to do anything that is causing us harm. But I think the government is allowed these by overtaxing this product, the government has allowed the criminal element to take control of this money laundering.
I completely I agree with you. It is a big problem, a huge problem. Let's end on a bit of fun. In your column in the Daily Telegraph this week, David, you wrote about what constitutes a good leader in Australia. Jah, I wish we had a good leader right now. You've given us a list. Go on, who's your best?
Pick? Here your top go on.
I mean I liked all of them.
I think I think the intellect of John Howard and Peter Cosgrove was superior. Gladys obviously had a lot of charm, Bronwin has was you know, certainly let everybody know where she stood. My favorite one of I don't have favorites of exposes, but I did sure.
The team.
I did love working for Mike bed he had magic. Mike, I like I had magic, and he had a lot of charm and was a good one and he was yeah, and he could be won everybody over.
And you're almost out of time, and I'm like, God, I've got a chair. Good leaders. I work for Anne, good leaders.
Okay, I worked for the Labor Pasa seven years.
I've got no good stories at all. I haven't got what constitutes a good leader.
What do you recond Look, I think being patient, resilient, being measured might be definitely a good example a bad guy.
Yeah, there you go, the glory, Gloria, the glories.
Of your South lives.
There you go, Tanya Mahal of David Elliott. Thanks as always, We'll see you again next week. Have a nice weekend coming up. After the break, King Charles becomes the first British monarch to pray with the pope in five hundred years. Plus the winners and losers of the week, including the reader is Raeli hostage to proposed.
To his girlfriends. That's next. I'm back.
Let's bring in my next guest, LLENP and P. Garth Hamilton, Hi, Garth, thank you for joining me. You've written an opinion article in The Australian Today calling for those on the center right of politics to reach out to actually work with the union movement, which, as we all know, is very
much in bed with labor. And now you point out the two issues of net zero and mass migration, which are largely at the detriment of blue collar workers, and I've got to say, Garth, look, I agree with you that there's certainly ground you could take from labor on these two fronts.
But we've all seen.
Labor all too willing to concede everything to the unions on ir which I can't see the Coalition doing, nor it should.
No, when you're absolutely right, I think we should be reaching out to union members and making that differentiation.
Very clearly.
Union members are just Australians with jobs, and right now those jobs are under threat from policies like net zero. We've seen that play out across the nation. It's really important that we do differentiate ourselves and ek we've got an opportunity in the Liberal Party to walk away completely from net zero so that we can look those workers in the eye and say we have a different proposition to you from labor. We will always put good jobs and good pay above the ideology of climate change and
that zero. We will put you first. And that's something that labour can't say right now. And we know within those labor movements, within those union movements, they're having those conversations, they're having those problems. We've seen this play out for a long time now, and I think it's the opportunity for Liberal pay to stand up and say who we are and create a vision for ourselves as a party that supports workers.
Oh.
I think you make an absolutely fair point, and I want to stick on net zero because the cost is getting out of hand. You've been pushing new data based on Princeton University research that shows the capital costs of hitting climate targets is between seventeen and twenty two billion dollars a month, which is extraordinary and in practical terms, that's eight hospitals or four hundred new aged care homes.
Look garth.
Too often this debate is framed in abstract terms.
Why are more people not framing it in very practical ways.
Like this, Well, this is exactly what I want to do and take the net zero conversation out of the bush. And that's have done a very good job of talking about what net zero does to farming communities. I want to bring the conversation into the city and talk about the impact on infrastructure, the loss costs that we have by paying these exorbitant costs. This report was done by Princeton University, University of Melbourne and the University of Queensland,
three very reputable universities. Chris Bowen tries to tell everyone that's misinformation. I know who I'd rather trust. It's not Chris Bowen. That figure of twenty billion dollars a month is incredible and when you break it down into basic infrastructure things that we need around the country right now, it's startling. We've just built into Woomba, or we're building a new hospital, it's going to be about two billion dollars,
just a little bit over. So for that figure of twenty billion a month, we could be building a new hospitals a month around Australia and goodness meet with the ambulance ramping, with the overcreating, with the worn out facilities that we see in hospitals all around Australia. These things are needed, but it could be other things. It could be high schools, age care facilities, roads that have been
worn down. There's so many things in our community where we look around and we think Australia is falling behind. We're going backwards. Our standard of living isn't what it was. This is why the money is going to net zero. It's going overseas, it's taking jobs with it overseas. I think we really need to understand this isn't a freebeat. Net zero doesn't come for free. It comes at a huge cost to this country and that's why I'm so opposed to it.
Look, I think you're absolutely spot on it. It's good to see it laid out in practical terms. Eight hospitals or four hundred new aged care homes. I think that's a really good selling point because this scheme is sending us broken backwards every day. Garth Hamilton, we have to leave it there. Thank you for your time, as always, appreciate it.
Thank you well.
King Charles and Pope Leo the Fourteen have taken part in a joint prayer inside the Sistine Chapel as part of the monarch's historic two day visit to Rome. The pair prayed together in a mark of strong ties between the Church of England and Catholic Church in an event that has not occurred in five hundred years.
Glory with the Father and the time and expence, as.
His wife said at the beginning, is now as.
Russell Meyer's royal editor for The Mirror, was there and joins me, now, Russell, good to see you as always. Why was this such an important moment for the King?
Well, I think when you look at King Charles's legacy, which he is undoubtedly doing, and not just because of his cancer treatment, but of course he's a man in his approaching his late seventies, he's very very in tune with what sort of legacy he will leave behind, and it's very very important for him to meet the poet he met Pope Benedictine. Then he is meeting Pope Leo as well, because he is the head of the Church of England and Pope Leo coming in as the head
of the Catholic Church. You know, this ecumenical service that they had between them is really history making, and I think King Charles is looking at this hit the history of his legacy as well, and being in the Vatican, it was very very much steeped in history. That though way they were very much in tune with what the presentation of this visit to the Vatican was.
And look, I've got to say, the King and Queen may be in Rome, but they just can't escape the ongoing scandal surrounding Prince Andrew, can they. You've written in the Mirror today what a stain it has been to have led up to this visit to the Holy See and an historic meeting with the Pope to face more scandal concerning his disgraced brother Prince Andrew. Do you think that this trip, while obviously very significant, has actually been overshadowed by Prince andrew ongoing indiscretions.
I don't think there's anything that they can say otherwise, whether that's the Palace or in the politicians looking into it. You know, the fact that members of Parliament in London are discussing the affairs of the royal family tells you that we are living in quite bizarre times because certainly this scandal from Prince Andrew and his relationship with Jeffrey Epstein has been going on for many, many years, and I think what the Palace tried to do last week
was certainly to draw a line under it. But it's done anything But what we've had is four or five days of front page headlines commentary about the finances of the Royal family. Questions over Prince Andrew's use of Royal Lodge, which is a thirty room mansion in the grounds of Windsor Great Park, and certainly how on earth he has afforded this luxury lifestyle that he's leaded and why that has sort of moved on for his associations with Glenn Maxwell,
Jeffrey Epstein and so on. So very very unwelcome news for in Palis and the King, and the commentary surrounding the visit to the Vatican, which was supposed to be this huge, huge, momentous historic event was overshadowed unfortunately.
Well, you mentioned there that MPs are talking about it. I find this extraordinary because they're pushing for an inquiry into Prince Andrew's residence at Royal Lodge, where he has lived for more than twenty years without paying rent. Even the Prime Minister, Keir Starmer, has indicated that he's open to MPs actually questioning Andrew in person. Russell, could we see a situation where Prince Andrew is hold in front of a committee.
Well, indeed, certainly that the Public Account's Committee could bring him in. That would be very, very embarrassing, not only for Andrew. We've seen how he performs under pressure in interviews after that infamous BBC Newsnight interview, so the Royal
Family will not want him anywhere near public camera. But that isn't the only problem for Prince Andrew and the rest of the family, because after relinquishing these titles, the sense of public revulsion over his not only his living arrangements, but the fact he is still essentially front and centis still popping up at events for the Royal family. But the Metropolitan Police are now looking into claims that he had used his position to smear his sex abuse acuse,
a Virginia Geffrey, in conjunction with Jeffrey Epstein. So not only had he lied in the interview by saying that he cut off contact with Epstein, he was actively trying to smear her. So that is a jeue due problem for Andrew and the Royal family. Could he be involved in a police investigation. Could he be hauled into questioning by the police as well as MP's. It's certainly very interesting to see what the next developments will be.
Wow.
It sounds like a complete mess and just more complete and utter embarrassment for the royal family. Meanwhile, Russell, a friend of Sarah Ferguson, has revealed that she's on the cusp of a nervous breakdown as her daughters are being dragged into the scandal over her association with Jeffrey Epstein.
What what can you tell us?
Well, of course this situation has affected Sarah Ferguson. She's been forced to relinquish her titles. I think it's quite unfortunate, you know that we have to discuss people's mental health in all of this because it will no doubt take a huge effect on the people involved and those around them. You know, they've got a family to think about. Their daughters haven't said anything, They've been rallied around the family.
But what what is next for Sarah and Andrew? And we do the public want to see them disappear from a public view?
Yes? I think so.
I think that certainly Andrew will have to explain himself. The King has tried to move him on from raw Lodge. He understands that the damage is doing to the monarchy. And if Andrew and Sarah, who is still living together, in this great and favor mention, were to just slip off into the to the distance and not be heard from again, it's probably best for all parties.
I think at this point you're absolutely right, best to just go quietly at this point, Russell Meyer is nice to see you as always, Thanks very.
Much for joining me on the show.
My pleasure.
Thank you.
Well, it's that time of the week where we saw the winners from the losers. And helping me to do that is former Liberal Senator Holly Hughes. Holy Happy Friday. Good to see you. Thank you for joining me tonight. Now, your winner of the week is Anthony Albanezi after his successful meeting with Donald Trump.
He's had quite the week.
Really.
I think that meeting went as well as could possibly been quote for by him. I think the only thing he and his team may have been a little bit disappointed in was the fact that so much of the coverage was swallow up by Kevin Runn and his previous commentary around the president. But certainly I think Albin easy whether it was the August the critical Minerals deal, both of those things were really good things for him to be able to bed down. I had to say I was a bit of a cynic. I thought that this
meeting may actually never happen. I think he I have been wanting to try and avoid meeting with Donald Trump in person, certainly in an event that could have been embarrassing. But look from his perspective, I think a win as well as it could have. And as Australians we should all be pleased. I'm no fan of alb and Easy, but as Australians we should all be pleased that into our relationship to the US is clearly on the very strong footing.
Oh look, I agree.
I think we're all maybe expecting maybe Anthony but Easy to get addressing down.
But it ended up being the elephant in.
The room Kevin Rudd, which I thought was quite delicious. But overall it was a very successful trip. But you know he's come back now he's got to face the music because there's a lot of issues on the home front. So let's see how this week in Parliament pans out, now, Holly, my winner this week is former Israeli hostage Elliot Cohen. He was released from Harmask captivity eight months ago and this week he proposed to his long term girlfriend, who survived the Nova Music Festival Massacre.
Have a look at this Lucky Holly.
I just thought that was just so nice. After everything that the pair have been through, they've found happiness and now they're going to get married.
I thought it was beautiful.
What do you think absolutely beautiful that your winner of the week is the winner of the week.
That is just absolutely beautiful.
And you know, when we were packing to start our move the other week, I found.
My yellow pin that I have worn for.
Many many months and years now that it was acknowledging the hostages. And it's so lovely that that Kim didn't have to come out with me and be something that I had sort of easy access to because it's so wonderful. I mean, obviously devastating those that didn't return alive, but the ones that were all alive are now returned and back with their families, and this is just absolutely beautiful and.
I'm just so happy for them.
And I hope that all the hostages manage to find some peace and happiness in their lives as.
They move forward.
I completely agree, perfect sentiment. Now you'll loser this week is the push for net zero. It's doomed.
I think net.
Zero well finished gone, And I mean, you know, I've been saying since Fili of Parliament beyond that, you know, I really felt net zero was a bit of a red herring in the fact that there is absolutely no achievable pathway to it in reality, and it's now a sort of a catchphrase that most people don't even really understand what it means. But I think, you know, I gave up an easy the winner of the week because
part of that is the critical minerals deal. Now, the thing about critical minerals, it's all good to get the critical minerals out.
It's about the refinement of them.
And if we really want to be the West sufficient when it comes to critical minerals, we are going to have to put our big boy pants on and actually start to look at refining them ourselves, not sending them to China for refinement when ninety percent of refinement is occurring.
And so for any of that to happen.
They are going to have to get over a whole lot of their next zero aspirations because we're going to make this work.
It ain't going to be under their safegallemy.
No, and it's sending us broken backwards in the process. So I couldn't agree with you more absolutely. Now my loser this week is the Bureau of Meteorology. I don't know if you've seen their new website update, Holly. I think it is an absolute shocker. I was confused when I went on there the other day, and it looks as though I'm not the only one. Social media has been flooded with complaints and it's cost US four million dollars to do it as well. Why wouldn't they just
stick to what works, Holly. We're almost out of time. But have you seen it? What do you think of it? What?
As my husband says, he wants to be someone who works at the BOMB sometimes because you can just have a guess.
And there's zero consequences if you're wrong. How we know what it's going.
To be in one hundred years time when we can't work at what it's going to be on Saturday afternoon, but you know the BOMB. I just prefer them to get their predictions right on what's actually going to happen, as opposed to worrying too much about their website.
But again, agree, thanks dollars, yours are my money for what?
For what?
Exactly? More confusion? Absolutely ridiculous. Holy Hughes, have a nice weekend. Thanks so much for your time this evening.
That's it for me.
I'll be back seven pm for Deneka and James on Sunday. Steve Price is up in a moment.
Good night,