From the Skying Center. This is Paul Murray Live.
Thank you, Shery, lovely dulland looking forward to tonight's show. Come on into the man cave because I've got about four hours of stuff to talk about. Let's make the most of the sixty minutes that we have. Of course, no sook's, no lefties. We like to do this every few nights because we know you love it. James Morrow, Mtcanavan, they'll be here in a moment of twoth time. I'm going to absolutely give it both barrels to Anika wells Now.
She was out there preening and carrying on today. Wait till I tend you about just how cushyer life this Shela has gone versus the good people of small business in Australia. And an Australian has played in and won the Super Bowl, A very proud Australian, a very proud Western Sydney boy.
And I'll get to that in a moment or twoth time.
But first, as we know election, Prime Minister call it when he designs, it'll be some time between April and May. Earlier in April means less chance of a budget. We'll ll wait and see when it is going to be. But who do you believe the polls or the bookies. Well, if like me, the United States election was very instructive and the bookies were the ones who had greater clarity than the polsters, then today is a very important day because the odds of the Coalition winning are getting stronger.
In fact, according to the very latest numbers which have just been posted by sports Bet, the Coalition is now down to a dollar fifty three, the Labor Party out to two dollars fifty. Now what version, whether it's a majority of minority, which way, all the rest of it. That's the fun to watch, But that is commanding, not total,
not complete. Obviously, once you're starting to get down where the wa Labor Party is a like a dollar one and the opposition is out to eleven bucks, then something seems inevitable.
But they have been consistent.
They've been consistent since the end of last year and it has been getting better for the Coalition since the start of this year. After the Prime Minister trying to take as little time off as possible in summer reset reset their speech speech.
There no big change.
But you will have heard today about the opinion poll which was up at the Redbridge people and given to the Herald Sun this morning, which was about the outer suburban factor. Now, of course the seats that Labor would take for granted, places like where it we in the state election. Well, we now know that there's a few holes and that block of cheese, and there is a good chance that there could be some dramatic things that
are going to happen in the suburbs at the election. Now, whether that's enough to get the coalition closed or even over the line to seventy six seats, well, that is the entire game between now and then. But I wanted to take a moment or two. Once you've heard all of the insights from Victoria, and we did all those last night. Another reason to join us on Sunday nights, regardless of what sports on or anything else that's on.
Make sure that you watch it live recorded or catch up on streaming, because we get right into the granula on the Sunday night, meaning most of that chat has been done and you can start your Monday fully informed. Now you've heard many people talk about this pole. I want to take a couple of seconds to go through the poll because it is going to start to tell us the story of opportunity for the opposition, worry for the government, or are there some silver linings in them
political clouds. Let's look at all of this together, all right, the overall right now Labor Party is behind fifty one and a half to forty eight and a half. Obviously that would be a change of government. But let's start to slice this pie up men and women. Now, there is going to be a massive gendered part to this
election and about how people are going to vote. Now, we know that men have been getting behind the Conservative cause in places like the United States, Canada, and even in places like New Zealand of course of recent times. You can see there though the lead that the Labour Party has with women is only fifty one to forty nine. The lead with men is fifty four forty six in favor.
Of the coalition.
Now, basically in Australia, the electorate is male, half the electorate is female, Half of the electorate is under the age of fifty. Half of the electorate is over the age of fifty. So when you start to see big trends, then you're starting to see like a whole bunch of people pulling in the right direction when it comes to the rowboat, so it is starting to tilt towards the right. Now, the best hope for the Labor Party is to hold on to as many young voters as possible. At fifty
seven forty three. But I really want to show you this number here because this is the silver lining for the Labor Party people thirty five to forty nine. Labour currently leads fifty one to forty nine. Now, generally speaking, this is the demographic. This is the demographic that ultimately is where most of the young families or people towards the start or middle parts of their professional career are.
This is generally speaking, where a lot of swing voters are. Now, as I mentioned before, over the age of fifty, well, that obviously tends pretty hardcore blue.
Under the age of fifty. It only goes.
Hardcore in eighteen to thirty fours. So fifty one forty nine is razor. I mean, that's rounding errors and did they ask enough people in this place or that place? But that tells you that obviously, the reason how they've been able to get to a scenario where the Liberal Party ends up in front is because of those massive leads. Sixty five plus and fifty to sixty four, So people over the age of fifty at least fifty five up to sixty percent of those people going one way, and
not enough young people going Labour's way. Hence why this thing starts to get tighter. Now I want to get into another bit of detail here, because I reckon you can cop it. Let's slice and dice as much as this information as possible. Let's have a look at where people live and how that is breaking down right now, and how does this compare to where you are. You can see, how's to slightly flatter picture than what you just saw when it came to age and when it
came to gender. Unsurprisingly, people who live right in the heart of the city is fifty four forty six in favor of labor in the fifty five forty five would see the Labour Party lose a whole bunch of seats. Now, this basically is the bet that you wouldn't need teal seats, that you would be able to get enough seats to get yourself to say seventy to then start negotiating after seventy.
If suburbs and there's plenty of those in Sydney Melbourne and Brusban that are up for play, plus of course what's happening in outer suburban adelaide what might be happening in Darwin. And then once we get over to Western Australia as well. The government however, sees a little bit of a silver lining here in the provincial numbers, so that would be say Woollongong or a Newcastle speaking in
New South Wales. Whether you count places like Darwin as provincial or as capital cities, a demographer can get involved in that. The reason I keep mentioning Darwin is the seat of Solomon now that was held by the Liberal Party for quite a period of time.
It then left the Liberal Party. It's been Labor ever since.
But it is a place that can swing Lingiari And again, whether you counterplace like Alice Springs is a provincial place or a country town again up to the demographers right. But as you can see, suburbs they are moving and moving hard. A ten point swing in those is pretty bad for the government. The provincial sectors, though, may they be able to hold the Liberal Party back from being able to get near its minority and Labor able to
hold onto its minority. There are lots of seats in it and around the Hunter Valley that along sort of spoken as a bit of a white whale for the Nats or the Libs.
Is that what's about to happen?
We'll see And unsurprisingly the same margin in the suburbs is reflected in regional Australia.
This one is really fascinating to me.
People that are born in Australia fifty one to forty nine in favor of the Coalition people born overseas. But hang on, aren't the Coalition the racist people trying to scare people about foreign buyers and immigration?
No?
Guess what again? That fascinating number. And I don't know if my team can toggle around here, but we'll do our best. Okay, As you can see people born outside of Australia fifty two percent. Then go back to out of metropolitan areas. That's where people that are newer to the country end up living. So if you've got a lead amongst those outs born outside of the country, and you've got a substantial lead in that out of metropolitan areas, that's where maybe some of the taken for granted labor
vote will start to disappear. All right, A couple more because I think you can handle it. And again I want to get right into the data here. I know there's an awful lot of it here, but you can start to see the picture and you'll also start to hear what they are saying when it comes to the election. Now, lot about education. Now, this is a big issue in American politics, about people who got a university education or
people who didn't even finish you at twelve. Fascinatingly to me, people who have got a tafe or a trade Those people are fifty eight to forty two right now in favor of the Liberal Party. People who didn't finish your twelve sixty four percent in favor of the Liberal Party. The silver lining for the Labor Party is the people who finished school but didn't go to university. They have a pretty sizable lead there, fifty six forty four, and again a sizeable lead of people who have been to university.
In the overall picture of Australians and what sort of education they have, it's pretty even amongst all four of these sectors. So you have a look at, say, the leads of the people who never finished year twelve, the leads of the people who are tayful vocational, and that's how the Liberal Party gets its nose ever so slightly
in front, at least according to this one. The other defining factor of what happened in America, and again why they talk about what they talk about every day, is none other than the amount of money.
That we all have.
For those that are sitting pretty in fact, earning more than two thousand dollars a week, guess what they prefer. The Labor Party people are running between one and two thousand dollars. They are preferring the Liberal Party. People earning less than one thousand dollars a week. They are preferring the Labor Party and the people who would prefer not to say because they are either way about two thousand, or perhaps way below one thousand, fifty nine to forty
one in favor of the Liberal Party. So if you said these numbers and you go, jeez, how's it fifty one forty nine, this is how you get the fifty one to forty nine, right, A little win here, a little win there, a little win here, a little win there. And then finally, we have talked a lot about renting versus owning, versus paying off a house or somebody who has.
Paid off their house. Have a look at how.
This looks now when it comes to homes people who own the house outright Liberal sixty one thirty nine. That's a third of the country. Remember, a third of the country's trying to pay off a mortgage, and right now, amazingly, despite the fact that they have had thirteen interest rate rises since twenty twenty two, twelve of them under albow the mortgage belt, well, that is basically a tie the mortgage belt thirty to fifty four. Those are the two regions that if they start to build a lead in
either direction, they're going to win the election. Fascinatingly with Renters, generally the Greens vote helps push them. But you can start to see that picture about what I believe to be the general statistical path towards a prime ministership. People who have a mortgage don't have an awful lot of money, we're born in Australia, have pretty average education, and again you can see a slightly spotted way that things are
leading when it comes to the polls. Again, everyone else can talk the headlines, everyone else can tell you what they know about the numbers. I'll show you the numbers because on this show, remember I want to try.
To give you the data.
If I can give you the data, then those are the bricks in the wall of the arguments that you can have with other people. If you want people to see what you have just seen here on Telly, spread the video. It'll be up soon at skynews dot com dot au. Now, if this is headed towards a minority parliament, let's be honest. Green's MPs they're automatically going to go with Labor. Andrew Wilkie is going to go with labor.
Helen Haynes is going to go with labor. So the Labor Party probably thinks that they can afford to lose even more seats than the coalition can if it gets into a fight about whom.
Is owing to form the next government.
Now we know people like Rebecca Sharky and Bob Catter have previously said that the first person that they will turn to in a negotiation is the person with the most number of seats. No way of knowing that until, of course, after the election, which brings us to the Tiffany teals. Now they will play quite a game between now and the election, and for some reason the media will let them play it where they will not even begin to tell.
Us what their process of decision making will be.
Now they're going to say that's because they want to leave everything open. But you can go into it saying, look, obviously, whoever has the most seats, they'll be the one who will call first. That doesn't commit them to going one way or the other, but at least gives us an idea of how it starts. But as a group, if they wanted to, they could take the one with the fewest number of seats, add them and then that brings
them to the closest number to seventy six. Well, today, finally we've got a little bit of it lit in the indication of which way one of the teals is going to go. Sophie Scomps represents the seat of mckeller, formerly a Bromin bishop Fame and a place where James Brown would like to take it back for the Liberal Party. Well, she has started to put and I wouldn't say meat on the bone, perhaps tomato sauce on the bone, but
this is what she says. Scamp said she would decide her support in a hung parliament based on policies including public integrity, while there already is, of course the National Corruption Commission. Climate Change, well, that would be code for labor health presumably code for labor, a key issue given her.
Background as a doctor.
Quote, I personally have not been impressed with the policy ideas that are coming out of the coalition. So she is now leaning read in a seat that has not voted read. As best as I know, ever, will this be part of the consideration of people going into this next election.
We'll all find out together. She decides to.
Hone in on what I explained in great chapter and verse last week was truly about giving small business the same tax concessions as big business, to take clients out to lunch to say thank thank you for helping them stay above float. Their lunch's policy is lightweight. It's a lightweight sugar hit. It's not serious policy. I want to see serious policy on the table about how you're going to make a more prosperous, stronger, safer and secure country.
They're the only things that I'm worrying about. So we'll wait, We'll see which way she's going to go. But she is now starting to put together what the picture is of which way she would go. If it came down to her vote at an election. I want all of the independence, regardless of where they own the country, to start to put some meat on the bone. I want the people who are paid to talk about politics for a living to actually push them to go. Okay, I
know you're not going to tell me. I know you're afraid that if somehow you show a little more red or a little more blue, you're going to scare off the people who've decided to go to teel a shade of green. But still, can you start to tell us what? And if they don't tell yet, then you can't vote for them because there could be a very big decision which is coming up on their way. But I've got to go back to where we were last week because there's another example of somebody who is talking about the
lunch's policy, and this one's going to be fun. In Australia, there is a substantial difference between a small business and a big business. It could be defined by the number of employees you have or the turnover that you have. According to Bureau Statistics, they define small businesses people who have fewer the nineteen employees. By the way, about sixty seven percent I think it is of small businesses are sole traders, but small business makes up ninety seven percent
of all businesses in Australia. As you know, the decision of the Liberal Party is to say that up to twenty thousand dollars that a small business, including a sole trader, would be able not to have to pay fringe benefits tax on taking a key client out to lunch. It's not about buying tickets to the opera, u oasis or getting a box and taking people to bathist. It is
about trying to do two things. One stimulate the cafe and restaurant industry, which we've shown you many times is on its knees because local people who might say be the pool cleaner or their hairdresser or the person doing the lawns might be able to take some of their key clients out for a sandwich or a snitzel. Of course, remember when it comes to this policy, it's pegged at
twenty thousand dollars. But the number of soul traders or very small businesses that would have twenty thousand dollars to spend on such things as of course virtually non existent. And I've spent some time talking about how the Labor Party is trying to make this out like it's a dollar of taxpayers money for monocle wearing, top hat wearing cigar smoking.
Bosses to rip off their workers.
Ninety seven percent of all business in Australia are not those people. And you know how much I am fond of the cigars as it is for my health. Don't do it, don't start. But perhaps that's why I focus in on this blow. But that's the caricature that they are trying to paint in and around this policy. We'll step in Anika Wills. Now Anika Wills is the Sports Minister. She's also the Age Care Minister. And didn't she think she was so special today prancing around in question time?
Here she was trying to make it out like your average local hairdresser was going to use taxpayer funds to go off to the Super Bowl.
According to the Collison's publicly defined parameters of their own policy, business could spand up to twenty thousand dollars of Elizabeth's own taxpayer funds to attend something like, for example, the Super Bowl, to lather themselves in buffalo wings and babyback ribs. Nodding along to Kendrick lamar.
Plase, Please now, I know all of this is just about impress all the people behind her, or all of the people up in the press gallery, which is every time they look up, that's who they're trying to talk to, or the people in the public gallery because they've got a made up there.
Look at how I shoved it into the libs.
All right, Anika, let's have a chat about who's got the pretty life when it comes to sporting events. The average small business and small business owner makes seventy five thousand dollars a year. You make four hundred and three thousand and sixty three dollars from the taxpayer. You were accused of bending the travel rules so you could pretend to have business in a place like Melbourne. But it just happened to be at the same time as the
Melbourne Cup. Remember the photos that we have and have discussed in the past as you're mucking around in the bird cage, something that she did at last year's Melbourne Cup as well. And if she wants to talk about people who like going to sporting events at somebody else's expenses, have a.
Look at this. Now.
Yes, she's the Sports Minister and she's going to tell you that being the Sports Minister means she can do all of these things. She went to the cricket a lot this year over summer, she went to the PGA Championship last year, the NRL, the AFL, the Brownlow that live, the Formula one on a couple of days. She's often got tickets to bring people with her or in some cases as many as five.
People with her.
The sale GP tickets to Taylor Swift because that's part of the job. Lots of other ones with cricket and a league. And she was a guest of the Treasury wine estates of the Melbourne Cup last year, the Women's World Cup, where she, along with other Labor MPs, attended the Labor Party conference in Brisbane, flew down to Sydney for a game before flying back, all on taxpayer expense.
So the high of her to walk into Parliament today and pretend that a tax policy that would mean small business will be applying the same tax standards as big business, i e. Ninety seven percent of the country's businesses would not be charged fringe benefit tax for entertaining key clients. How many businesses would she have any idea have got twenty thousand dollars lying around to fly to the Super Bowl next year in San Francisco.
Four fifths. Bugger all.
The average person who owns a small business minister barely pays themselves. And even when they do pay themselves, you earn how much more? Oh that's right, that much more, and you've received not one, but three pay rises in this term of parliament. Now, Anika Wells does consider herself to be a potential rising labor star, and god forbid your criticize her on social media. I've got quite a few people who live in her electorate who send me
emails about how easily her team block constituents from social media. Well, she's not going to be able to block this video because of course her government wasn't able to censor the Internet last year. So spread this around her electorate of Lily that the lady on four hundred thousand dollars is yet again sneering at every small business that she will pretend to be on the side of between now and
the next election. She will claim that these small businesses are so flushed with cash that if they want to, they could go to the super Bowl, when they barely have enough cash to go to the pub to watch it on television. But it wasn't her only moment of foot in mouth. Today Sam Kerr and what is playing out with her case in the United Kingdom, I'm pro cop so no surprise how I feel about that particular case. But as also the father of soccer mad Matilda's daughters,
I understand the hero that is to kids. But just as male sporting stars have lost their chance to be captain or vice captain because of what they do off the field, I think the same will probably apply to Sam Kerr on No Know But Anika Wells who accepts how many tickets to go and watch the Matilda's play or jumping on and off the taxpayer funded jet to get there?
She says, we're all with Sam.
I would never seek to interfere or comment on a court trial process whilst it's in action, but I think Australia certainly has Sam certainly has Australia behind it.
These people, right, they represent working class areas and they pretend to be you know, for the worker, for the normal person. Yet if God forbid, God forbid, the local person with the lawn mowing run doesn't get hit with fringe benefits tax when they go for schnitty. These people they deserve what I hope is coming their way at
the election. But if they somehow are able to slide their way through to another three years of government, well they probably will try to see to the internet to stop what I've just said, making it any further than your television set. An interesting bit of study today about a very significant number of Australians and I know there's many of them watching us right now that really do it tough. And it's not just renters, but it's a
specific type of renter. Now you know that I always talk about this because there is fewer than zero point seven percent of all properties in Australia that are currently available for rent. Are you looking for a tenant? This is with one and a bit million people being added by this government where they're all paid pretty penny and they don't have to live with any of its consequences, but they bring in more people so they can barely
squeak a budget surplus. Well, retirees and particularly women is a very significant area of those that are struggling to pay their rent. Most older working Australians who rent do not have sufficient savings to keep paying rent in their retirement. More than half of all households as sixty five and older who rent report a total net financial worth of less than twenty five thousand dollars. How's that twenty five thousand dollars, So back to the less than one thousand.
Dollars in the bank.
Meantime, same people, same report, different spin though from the ABC it shows you hear about the number of people who are in pretty serious, pretty serious financial circumstances because they are still renting.
This is after they have been working.
Single women the biggest single men couples, then the homeowners with a mortgage. Of course, in terms of the financial stress, you can see where the pressure is on. No, no, no, no, they don't understand that because they've got their hands out for the free upgrades and the free flights are but they're still on the side of the worker.
Please.
As for cost of living and the overall issue, that will be one of the biggest at this election, that along with housing, is going to be front and center. We learned today that the average Australian family has forked out more than a one thousand dollars extra extra at the supermarket than they did the previous year before. The average izz he now spends two hundred and thirteen dollars on groceries a week.
Jesus this person.
Anyway, that's a fraction of what we spend in our house, equal to an eleven point five percent increase. This is compared to where we were twelve months ago. That of course, is worse than twelve months before and worse than twelve months before that. Overall, eleven hundred bucks extra more than a quarter of Australians twenty five percent. So the cost of groceries is one of the biggest worries they have when it comes to financial issues in the next couple
of years. Unbelievable stuff. Now, let's also talk about other people's money and local council, not Citney Council will make a decision in the next couple of hours. I'll double check what it is about a mega increase in their rates.
This is despite the fact.
That they make millions and I mean millions of dollars out of parking fines. But there are plenty of councils that well, I don't think of that judicious with the spending of the rate payers money. Yet they are crying poor and they are saying that we need to increase the taxes on them. Seven hours on climate change and benefits of cycling. We're among the overseas visits that were taken by council staff and councilors. Last financial year, Sydney councils ran up a combined seven million.
Dollars in travel overseas.
The City of Sydney rate payers one hundred and eighty three thousand dollars, including twenty three thousand dollars on flights and accommodation for eight staff, not the councilors, the staff to go on overseas visits. Paramatta seventy one and a half thousand dollars for its counselors and its staff to, among other things, go to a library conference in the Netherlands or a six day study tour in London. You know the Internet exists, kids, You can get reports from
how the systems are going. You don't have to go and see it with your own eyes. Camden and Blacktown they also have overseas travelers well, with millions of dollars. Back to the Northern Beaches Council that we've talked about over the recent weeks, here on the show. They of course are planning well. They have voted for a massive increase. Yet guess what they've had forty percent increase in the
amount they spend on food and grog on themselves. A Sydney council proposing a forty percent rate rise that happened is splurging one hundred and forty thousand dollars on booze and food for official meetings. The Kringa Council spends twenty thousand dollars on a two night workshop up in the Blue Mountains of Sydney at the Hydro Majestic, where, among other things, they were going to have to leave their own council area to talk about how to respond to
the government's force development push. They couldn't do it in their own council chambers, They couldn't do it at their own local restaurant. They couldn't rent a function room somewhere up and down the Pacific Highway. No, they've got to bager off to the Blue Mountains. Unbelievable. Will waste these and then the balls to turn around and say we're so skinned when you are not paying the press secretaries
for these councils. One hundred thousand dollars when you are not flying the staff overseas to check out what a library looks like in the Netherlands.
Then we'll believe you.
When you actually take the millions of dollars in rates that you all get and fix the freaking potholes, then we can have a chat about the increase. But of course you'll just do it anyway. People will complain, and because people don't really care about who their counselors are, when it comes time to election, you'll be able to slither away back into office because I think I remember that person's face from the local paper. Disgraceful. So let's
end on something happy though. The Philadelphia Eagles absolutely turned the Kansas City Chiefs inside out like a pair of socks today at the Super Bowl. I love the NFL and obviously this is its showcase event, and how good is this? An Australian did not just play but one as a part of the Philadelphia Eagles, and did not the Australian media love the Aussie win of the Super Bowl, and they were all over the place covering things like his school in Western Sydney and the kids who were watching.
So what do you think he's thinking, feeling, are going to be calm, nervous, excited.
I think he's a bit of everything to us.
By the day's happy days.
One's there, Yeah, everyone's next supporting.
How's Jordan playing so far? He's going all right.
I mean the score says it ah, but we really need to say anything.
But without doubt, the best Ossie angle on the Aussie playing in the team that won the Super Bowl.
His dad, I fall off Joe and Shaul crab of him. Killer jacket, killer jacket. I love it.
I love it all right now, as you know, we're coming to Bateman's Bay in a couple of weeks for our first ourtown of year. The following night we're going to do our first pub test and we're not waiting for the Prime Minister to call the election.
We are into it.
Which is the seat of Gilmour, one of the most marginal in the country in and around that Batman's Band South Coast area. If you would like to join us, and you are someone in the area who would like to ask a question of the candidates, send me an.
Email right now.
Pub test at skynews dot com dot au. If we see requests for thirty tickets. We know that is someone trying to rig the room. Okay, so we want the good people of Gilmour. Yes, you can double up if you're coming on the Sunday too, It's okay, relax. Two shows from that part of Australia. That one Monday, the twenty fifth, the first pub test where it's kind of politics in the pub but on the Telly and I
love that part of what we do. You send the email at pub Test at skynews dot com dot au quick break back with more no sooks, no Lefties and a very special guest from the territory. Before we're done, I had good sis, no sooks, no left is James Morrow here kicking us as always on the US Report, doing his best and doing so on the wonderful outside his programming. Your reading of the Daily Telegraph and send
in Matt Canavan. First place he drops into each and every week on his Round of Sky is here on pal Marie Live. And I do very much appreciate it, my dear friend. All right, let's talk about Trump and tariffs. All right, everyone's sitting down, everyone's sitting down. We're going to get an exemption. Okay, We're going to get an exemption because in the same way the relationship between Australia and the United States is at times irrelevant as to who the president, who the Prime minister is.
The reality is is.
That Trump made this announcement while he was on Air Force one speaking to American American reporters. Australia will get one, okay, whether it's the long way or the short way. There are plenty of people around him that aren't in government that are very pro Australia. And we just gave five hundred million dollars with the exchange rates and now eight hundred million dollars when it comes to orcus.
So, James, am I a little too rosy in my thinking? Or is that where we're going to get?
Yeah? No, I think we do wind up somewhere around there. We also we need to sort of put the soul in perspective to the US doesn't make the top five of our steel export correct destination. So this is not the huge blow to the ustry. Yes, disappointing. I mean a couple of other points about this too. Timberlair has got a great column in Tomorrow's Daily Telegraph where he talks about how you know, why are people on the left so upset? Why is Malcolm Turvill upset? They've got
what they want. They've got a carbon tax essentially on you know, the steel and almdium ministries, which they would have gotten you know, otherwise. But I think but there will be some sort of quid pro quote. There's never it was. There's an art of the deal here, so there's going to be something else. Now the question is whether or not the Prime Minister is sophisticated enough to
see what that is and make that deal. I don't suspect that Albanezy and Trump are going to have a warm relationship like sure Morrison did with him, and you know, like other leaders like the Japanese Prime minister did in the four one does you know? So?
Yeah, well, this is the thing.
I'm just not going to fall into the trap of, Look, we don't know how to phil about Karen Rott and Karen rod and all of these guys. It makes it all harder, right, But Australia as its fundamental and our proximity to the United States means we're not going to get the asterisk in the major announcement. It happens under a flood of other announcements in the next couple of days. That's my thoughts, Senator am I offered the theories, or is that probably what happens.
Look, I hope you're right, and I hope you're right, Paul, I'm not so sure. I think we should prepare for the worst. It's always the wiser strategy in life. I mean, Donald Trump seems pretty committed this time, and maybe this time will be different than last. And as you point it out, we're not quite as strong a position as
we were when Joe Hockey was there either. But look, I mean, going to James's point, not only has the Labor Party in the Greens and Malcolm Turnbull got the carbon tax they always wanted, we've already put a carbon tax on all of these facilities.
So the steel.
Mills in our country, the aluminium smelters, all faced labors carbon tax, which they call the safeguard mechanism.
It's just a Normalian name for US carbon tax.
So why don't we just take our internal TI tarff's off our own businesses? Why is there this meltdown when the US president puts effectively at tax on our own industries, And as James has pointed, out. They're not the biggest markets we face anyway. Yet we are turning around and putting our own internal tariffs on our own internal businesses and factories. Other countries don't do this, They're not putting carbon taxes on their businesses. Why are we weighing down
and anchoring down our own businesses. If we're that worried about Trump's tariffs on our aminium and steel, let's get rid of the carbon tax on our aminium and steel too.
What seems to be the last chapter of the long saga of the protesters who went to the house of the boss of Woodside over in Western Australia.
None of them are going to be going to jail now, you know.
This is when the ABAC was tipped off, came with them filmed at all for all to see.
And there's plenty of issues in and around that.
But Matt, at some point, regardless of what you how holy your cause happens to be, how does somebody not even get like a weekend of weekend detention for going to somebody's house and terrorizing them.
Look, I think that's a very good question, Paul, and I don't know the details of this case, but maybe the law is inadequate here because I think they've only been given fines of two and two and a half thousand dollars. It does not seem adequate for the crime that occurred here.
I mean, we just.
Passed the law last week that does have multi year penalties for people who graffiti swastikas or other hate symbols and intimidate people. Well, of course there's not much an act more intimidating and going to someone's house and their home like these people have. So if it's good enough for those crimes the hate symbols to carry with it a prison sentence, I think the same should happen here.
The basic fact is that this is not free speech.
You do not have the right to interfere with other people going about their day. You don't have a right to go to people's home and terrorize them. There needs to be tougher penalties to get these bars off past straits and stop trying to make these cheap and political points.
Yeah, I mean again, James, you know, I'd love seeing the tales and the rest of way more simpler and humane.
Society and the safest society all the rest of it. Right the public square, I get it.
We're all up for the people to say what they want, but the public square is not your driveway at your ass.
Yeah, I mean, like you know, as with Matt, I'm not as familiar with this case and the real details and were they on the property or not, what were they doing where they say? But you know that said, you know, I also get a little lyric to oh, well, let's just pass more laws, because passing more laws doesn't actually do anything if you've got a judiciary that doesn't
use the laws that are already available to them. You know, here in New South Wales we have theoretically very tough laws, very tough laws, Paul, about you know, protesting in such
way that you are interrupting economic activity. And yet you have had over and over again, you've had the people who go and block the port of Newcastle Harbor, who go and do things where they hang off of Gurney's over you know, realize the stuff call trades and you know, the punishments have been very fad in the week in most cases, and you have these people who are serial protesters, and Paul, you know, I am a huge free speech guy. I am a First Amendment guy all the way, and
I wish we had protections like that here. For our speech bore generally that said, you know these people who are not protesting, they're just vandalizing their committee. Economic vandalism, you know, that sort of thing has to be discouraged.
Well, I get to block the Harbor Bridge because of my feelings, judge children, But the judges don't use the law.
We don't need more laws.
We need to use the laws that we've already got on the book.
So Australia as miners, in their pre budget submission would like the treasure which would be a little smarter with the money and the billions of which that come out of the ground thanks to the hard work and the investment of the mining companies. Senator, it makes obvious sense that they would like a little better spending here. But are we starting to see a bit more confidence back into the mining sector, who previously used to sort of sit in the corner now turning around and saying, you
know what, charmers, we actually are the reason you're in surplus. Well, that and a whole bunch of taxes on things like you know, booze and smokes. But we're actually going to rattle the tin here, because without us, you've got nothing.
Look, I am sensing that, Paul, I think I suppose a lot in the industry have reached a tipping point to some degree. There were a lot of significant profits made on the back of the Ukraine War and the commodity prices that occurred after that. That has now, that has now come back in and what a lot of these money companies are left with is much much higher costs. It was just out of Cold Mine a few weeks ago, just before Christmas, and their costs had almost doubled in
the space of the last six years. And that's just not sustainable. Of course, their energy costs are up, diesel costs are up, the red tape and approval costs are up, the new industrial relations laws, and we've just got to get to a stage here. We've got to stop putting barriers in the way of Australian business.
It goes back to my point earlier.
Let's stop all panicking about another country's president in Donald Trump, and actually start doing things that help our own country. We have so much natural resources, we have so much opportunity. We should not have to be reliant on another country for our prosperity. Let's take our own let's make our luck again. Right, We're a lucky country, but you've got to make your own luck. Let's start doing that again.
Lots of conversations about where to save and how to save in the federal budget. And James, can we just take a second just to take people through some of the stupidity about Musk and Doge and all the rest of it. Right, Okay, here's the deal. The United States is thirty something trillion dollars in debt, thirty seven trillion dollars in debt. There clearly is a need to pull back any additional monies onto that. Okay, so At is heart and soul. That's the job that Musk has, right.
Yet the freakout is the freak out. But isn't this what they were hired to do.
It was what they were hired to do, you know. And we had a CBS poll.
Out today which found that seventy percent of Americans say that Trump is executing on his promises, and he's got a fifty three forty seven approval rate overall, which is, you know, pretty good, especially for a guy with as much controversy around him as he is.
And the media.
And you know, the thing is, we have had all of this stuff exposed, and the crazy thing he is here. You know, every time there's something exposed, you know, they get more mad at the exposure. Yes, then the fact that the money is being wasted. They found, for example, hundreds and hundreds of social security efforts where benefits are being paid to people who were one hundred and fifty
years old. Small amount of money overall, and yet it's like the first question isn't why weren't there ways to stop this?
And a million.
You know, and you've got that and again, you know we were talking about judges before, Paul, Well, you know you've got the same activist judge problem. You had to judge issue a temporary restraining order, say all Trump political appointees could not go into the treasury, including the Secretary of the Treasury.
This is how insane it is right now, Yeah, yeah, it is. It is ridiculous. I've got thirty seconds though. Senator but Ross Kittens, writing today in the Nine Papers, he says, look, everyone loves the idea of cutting spending until it's the thing that you like government spending money on. Isn't that one of the central problems of all politics.
I think things are shifting though, Paul. I've since I spoken to someone the other day and focus groups people are now saying that the governor's got to spend less money.
I think people understand.
People understand that over the past few years they've done it very tough and almost everyone in this country has had to tighten their own belts and they look it down at Canberra and are very perplexed why their own governor is not doing the same.
So that's that I think is resonating right now.
Yeah, correct, all right, and you know as again that sports minister banging on about small business and police pretending they're all preparing to run on for the Super Bowl.
Welcome back to the real world, my friend.
All right, thank you to appreciate it, Senator, future senator, if you'd like to at any point in time, I'm good.
Yeah, I thought you might be.
Or it's got to come up with his US citizenship.
Well it might be running against AC. It'll be a fun primary, all right, WHI the Republican? All right, quick break back with more.
Leah Fanokio is an absolute star of Australian politics. She's a young, dynamic leader who is turning the territory around. Let's talk to her about the job ahead, but also about how women like her have gravitated to the right side of politics. Morna see, I couldn't be a bigger fan of this lady. She's the Chief Minister of the Northern Territory. Leah Fanokiaro joins us now from that beautiful
part of Australia. Chief Minister, Hello, been first time since you took on the position, so firstly, congratulations, but secondly thanks for the chat house Darwin tonight.
Where are you in the territory. It's good.
I'm out in Palmerstan, which is where my allectriate is. But monsoon has finally arrived, so we're actually getting some rain, which is great to see. We were all a bit worried for a while there, but it should be a good one.
All right, good stuff. I want to talk about a couple of things.
I love your rockstar moment when last year a whole bunch of protesters are carrying on You're at an oil and gas a conference and you basically said bugger off, go back to Melbourne.
I know how that played in every bar in Darwin.
I know how that played when people saw you on the street note out after.
But this is the reality.
We've got to have people in leadership who know whether the threats are organic, whether the protests are local, whether they are real, or whether they are just people that are going on sort of you know, protest tourism.
That's exactly right, Paul, And the territories in too fragile a position to waste any time. I'm not here to maintain the status quo or quite frankly, do anything that labor's done for the last eight years. And so we've got a mandate to deliver change. We've got an enormous debt, and we've got a lagging economy, and we don't deserve any of those titles. So my job is to get rid of that red tape, forge the territory ahead, and call out the activism and law fare that's been destroying
the territory for far too long. That ends on my watch.
So how does it work in a very practical sense? I mean, obviously, one of the things that anyone who is able to sit in a high office like yours is that part of the job is you know, you're all powerful, and at times you don't have the power to wiveh the magic ones that you want. But of the power you have been able to exercise, how have you been able to push some of the roadblocks out of the way to help the territory.
It's been fantastic, And today I launched our year ahead, which is going to be marked by action, certainty and security. So for example, starting one July, we're lifting our payroll tax free threshold from one point five million to two point five million and excluding apprentice and trainee wages, which is huge. You want to run a business, come here. We're starting our Territory Coordinator legislation this week, which is a game changer in how we're going to facilitate projects of significance.
In the territory.
We're also really excited today I announced that we're abolishing third party merits review from the Petroleum, the Water and the Planning Acts and that's got some of the environmentalists there's a little bit rough with their pool, but we're just going to continue to push through. We know it's in the best interest of the territory. And like I said, until we change the regulatory framework for the territory, we're
going to keep going down This dark hole. And my job is to pull us up, move us forward, and deliver a territory where people can achieve their dreams and aspirations.
What about Alice Springs. How do we help Alice Springs because we know the tough times that they've had and the tough times that haven't extended into these days.
Yeah, it has been tough. I've been down there I think seven times now, and it's you know, it's starting the road to recovery. People in Alice, as you well know, are absolutely sick of it. They're traumatized by the experience they've been subjected to for too long. But we stood
up some really key operation. I mean, there are five hundred more people in prison today than there were before the August election, and we stood up a fugitive task force that went and tracked down high risk, high harm offenders and we arrested over sixty in Alice Springs alone. So we've put in the hard yards, given our police
stronger powers. We'll continue to back that town. And we've made some great infrastructure investment announcements at a really important community level, like a new multicultural hall, a new library, the Alice Springs Art Gallery, some great projects that mean a lot to the people on the ground, and we'll just continue to show Alice Springs we've got their back and we'll deliver. You know, our actions will speak louder than our words, and that's what that town needs right now, is action.
Yeah.
Now there's another thing I want to ask, and it is a little bit more personal. So forgive me.
You are a mum, You're forty years old, You're at peak life with plenty more life in front of you, right, and you're roaring right, just in a nampaging proprice. She's roaring too. What is it about the sheelers of the Northern Territory. You don't just see the light, but they take the bull by the horns and they just get on with it.
Yeah, well we It's called territory tough pole, and I've got a hat to prove it.
So look, you know, when you grow up here.
You have an extraordinary opportunity at life and everyone's treated equally and you can go and achieve your dreams. The territory has given me everything. I just had the most wonderful childhood growing up fishing and running around barefoot and getting ready for goose hunting season in the wet season, I mean just iconic stuff, camping outdoors, family values, and I think that's what's really important, is getting the territory back on track. You know, we've lost our way big time,
and it's actually not that complicated. People want to raise their families how they want to. They don't want to be told what to think and when to think it. They don't want government in their laundroom telling them how to run their lives. My job, and I know we've hit success when people feel safe, when that we've created an environment where their families can achieve their dreams and aspirations.
That's what a government should be looking to do, is setting up the environment for everyone to choose their path forward. And you know, I think you know what's drawn me to this is that reward for effort, the sense of personal responsibility and you know, we can all, we can all do great things for this world and for our families, and you've just got to put the hard work behind it.
Well, you're a rockstar.
That sounds you can hear from a long way away. Many people around the country just just punching the air. Thank goodness, people like yourself are in leadership again. Congratulations let's keep talking, but I wanted to take a couple of minutes to hear what you were doing, but also to say we got your back, mate, We got your back all of us layer.
Thank you, Take care everyone.
How good is she Leah fornookiaro there? She is the chief Minister of the ryal And Territory. I mean getting midle of labor and the territory is really difficult because once you've had a party that's there for a long period of time, like what Chruso Fooley has been able to do in Queensland, what hopefully others will do in other places. It's tough, all right, but what an example we keep being told about the Liberal Party and the
profile of women all the rest of it. Remember I was talking about before about women thirty five fifty five, bang in that, bang in that an example of the types of people who've picked aside and are trying to get a result a Leah Fanuki aio and you sent an amputuper price both on the absolute front lines and big weapons, big weapons coming for the federal government at the upcoming election. That's our show tonight. Thank you very much for watching. None other than the Great Niger farrages
on tomorrow. The Late Debate next