From the sky Center.
This is Paul Murray Live. Hello Sharry. What a debate and what a game changer for Peter Dutton. Extraordinary stuff in the past hour over on the ABC. Full analysis with Team Red, Team Blue and the team in the middle in a moment or two time. But first the countdown, of course onto this election tonight officially the halfway point. Why because we have just seventeen days until the election,
six until early voting starts. For the past hour, the Prime Minister and alternative Prime Minister have been debating on the ABC and their Western Sydney studios. No audience, no worms, no one but you to decide who won and who loss. And those of us who had been waiting hoping for the moment that Peter Dutton went on attack, well it was there time and time and time again. Here are the five things I think you need to know about
this debate. This was good stuff from Peter Dutton and those of us that have been cheering him on, well we were punching the air tonight.
Approach the third of May, many Australians will be asking themselves are you better off today than you were three years ago? People have seen food prices go up by thirty percent. Their mortgages have gone up on twelve occasions over the last two years. The government's brought in a million people, all of whom want homes, and all of whom are competing against young Australians for that rental property
or to purchase a home. That's a million people, which is seventy percent higher than any two year period in our country's history. And that your government has modeled negative gearing changes NCGT changes, the Treasurer has done that.
That's not right.
Well, it is a publish This Prime Minister has a problem with the truth. And it's not just in relation to this debate. There are many aspects that you could pick up during the course of this campaign. With the Prime Minister constantly telling people they're much better off now just defies the reality in their own lives. There are thirty thousand small businesses which have gone bankrupt over the course of the last three years, a record number in
our country's history. Over the last twelve months, households have been in a recession for seven consecutive quarters almost two There's been a three fold increase in the expansion of the public service compared to the repgular years. We have the highest per capita rate of public servants in the world.
It was fantastic. Honestly, I can't wait to see what everyone else thought about it. But I thought that was one of the best displays I've seen in a debate. Not harsh, not aggressive, not nasty, but just hold the issue, hold the issue, turn the defense into attack. It was very well done, very well prepared. As for Anthony Abernezi, he had many bad moments, but his worst moment was on a central question three years ago. It was two
hundred and seventy five dollars cut in power bills. He was held to that account tonight by David Spears, and I'll have more to say about his moderation of this debate in a moment. But he has no answers on when power bills are going to go down because he wants to avoid what has been the failure of his promise last time. I'm going to show you the entirety of a back and forth that I think was very bad for the Prime Minister.
You and Chris Bowen keep saying that renewables are the cheapest form of power. When will we see our power bills come.
Down they are.
Well, what we know is that renewables are the cheapest form of power, not because of what we say, but because of what the Australian Energy market operator says. The bills come down and what the market is delivering. See, Peter has to have government, state, taxpayer funded. We stick with your taxpayer funded, taxpayer funded proposals. What we're dealing with here. During the former government, twenty four out of twenty eight coal fire power stations announce their closure. We
need to get supply and certain in energy security. We can't wait till the twenty forties a nuclear Just.
Stick with your plan, mister albinezy. When will the bills come.
Down under our plan? We know that renewables are the cheapest form of power and that is why we are doing that, rolling it out, including through gas. Peter Ray's gas gas is now thirteen dollars.
It was thirty dollars and when we came cheaper, when.
We came off, thirteen is cheaper than thirty.
When do we see the bills come down?
Well, what we need to do is to roll out renewable to make sure there's energy security, make sure it's backed up by batteries, by hydro and by gas. That is what all of the private sector is backing and investing in.
We take the pick, Oh the Peter dudn't thing is all about taxpayers money. Remember there's spending twenty billion dollars on rewiring the nation. Because they're trying to tell you that the three wheeled car is going to be able to win Batist. It can't. It may one day, but it can't today. Let alone the billions of dollars in subsidies, government payments, let alone the destruction of the earth in
order to save the atmosphere and all of that. Because Australia is one percent of the world's problem, China continues to thumb it's nose at the rest of the world. Don't forget, of course, that many of the products that this government is saying we have to put in by law in solar and wind are made by slave labor in China. Terrible, terrible answer. Prime Minister doesn't have a number, doesn't even have a trajectory. It's just renewables, the cheaper.
The problem is they have to be built. And as I have said he for fifteen years, I have talked not about the existence of climate change, but the cost of the transition, the CSIO RO told us years ago, was one tea for trillion dollars to go from what was the system to the new system. All of that either comes from the taxpayer or it goes to a private company. The private company then sends it on to you as a bill. This bloke is a champion, world
champion gas lighter. But when he came up against a bloker was willing to call him out and the questions, which were spectacular, he just fumbles. He was terrible tonight. I know his champions will say it doesn't matter, move on. A draw is enough. If this is not a draw, I'm telling you I've watched it. It is not a draw, which brings us to the moderation. Now, you know, David Spiers and I worked here for a long time together.
In fact, the very first election I over covered was in two thousand and four when I was a kid and he was basically a teenager. I thought he was spectacular tonight because the questions were not about gotcha's, but instead the questions were, you know what, let's get off script. I know you've got an answer on this, and you've got an answer on that. And you can tell me what you're doing on housinggain, you can tell me what
you're going to do when it comes to petrol. No, No, I'm going to shape the questions in a way that forces them to have to think on their feet. And when they tried to move back to the stump speech, he wouldn't let them do it, honestly, Spearzy ten out of ten, mate, well done.
Can you honestly say that your plans will make housing any more aford? Australians will ultimately have to pay for the debt here, mister Alberezi, what do you say to them? Where's the money going.
To come from?
Your cuts to the public service going to be enough to cover it all? It's the one big change you'd like to be remembered for. It's your one thing. Reform about some elements of the renewables roll out, particularly offshore wind in places like the Hunter in New South Wales, what do you say to those locals and those local community concerns, when will we see our power bells come down?
Well, that's busy. I know that doesn't help you with the mates on Blue Scope or whatever that thing is, Blue Sky, whatever, the lefty version of Twitter is. But for those of us who watched you in mind for a while, it was great to see those questions. And those who think that he was doing anything other than the people's work, well, I think you just wanted him to be holding the hands and asking the questions that the Green Left wanted ask. I thought it was good.
Get them off the script, get them off the separate answers, pull them back onto some stuff that makes them have to think on their feet. Also, Prime ministers hit hit after hit, or should I say lie after lie after lie, They miss the mark. Take your pick on how these worked. What about this garbage that he had to say about superannuation, which remember is only for first home buyers, only for first home buyers, but he pretends it's for any and everyone who's going to put their hand up on an
auction for the next twelve months. Have a look at this for a swing and a miss.
If you give everyone super access to up to fifty thousand dollars and everyone at the auction will just have fifty thousand dollars more, And of.
Course the debt on there. Watch this budget this year, not some right wing thing tank. I didn't pull the number out of my ample backside. No one trillion dollars in their own books that they will swear by as if it is the truly holy text of the Great Saint Jim Charmers one point two trillion dollars. But the gas lodder in chief, he wants you to think the debt's going down. It's going up.
Where are the only government in the last twenty years that have produced consecutive budget surpluses. And we've harved the deficit this year as a direct result of the responsible economic management that we have. Then debt is one hundred and seventy seven billion dollars less.
And then when it comes to the nuclear situation, and I mispronounce it as badly as he does. Have a look at this again, swing and miss from the Housing commission boy, of course, who's just the same as you. Forget the million dollar property on the hill. No, he's just like us.
That's before they get to the six hundred billion dollars they need for their nuclear reactors.
I mean, there you go.
It looks like it's true.
We know what happened last time the cuts came to health, they came to education, fifty billion dollars out of hospitals, thirty billion dollars out of schools.
This plock is so shameless in his lives, all right, which is far left group, turns around and makes up a number about how much it's going to cost when it comes to nuclear They get to six hundred billion dollars. The CSIRO, that far right wing think tank, says that it's between half and a trillion dollars half five hundred billing and a thousand billion dollars for the transition that
he would prefer. Now, all of this gets the heads nodding in the in the drum circles of some universities around the country, but in the real world it's garbage. Both of their plans are very expensive, but one is one that will make sure the twenty four to seven there is support for the grid. The other, I repeat, it's the three wheel car. They're telling you he's going to set a new lap record at Bathist. Itat won't happen, and it certainly won't happen without the mega costs associated
time and time again. And then of course we've got to talk about Donald trump book.
When President Trump made the announcement that every single country in the world will be hit with tariffs. The alternative Prime Minister suggested that we should put defense and our defense relationship with the United States on the bargaining table.
Forgive me, that is bullshit. So fifth and final, Dunton won this. He won it clean, He won it clear and even. It'll take you a few group texts for the lefties to work out what the pushback is because I can't see it. Did Albahavi's moment? Sure everyone does in a debate, but if you're actually paying attention here, Dunton was on the attack. The PM had the worst moment because sustained word moment. The questions pull them off script,
which means albow is all at sea. Remember he's trying to tell you everything's better when you know everything's worse than it was three years ago. When he tries to throw a lie, you know them not to be true. That's why I say done one by a country mile.
My thoughts, you can tell me yours Pault's Gonews dot com dot A, You, my colleagues, my friends, the people I rush to get to tonight because we all know I like talking until about half past It's none other than Laura is Chris Kenny loving to see you both all right, how far off the mark?
Am I?
Laura?
No, I think you're right. I think this style suits Peter. I didn't think he was more cautious tonight. He was aware that he was speaking to an ABC audience, so he's a little bit more cautious, particularly on the Donald Trump question. Do you trust him? Well, he doesn't know him, that's fair enough. But I thought, you know, that shows that he knows he's on the back foot. He's being extra cautious.
But you know he didn't know.
He still went for it.
I thought he still went for it absolutely. And sorry, no, no, I keep talking notes are we talking?
Call my mom? No, I'm trying to people.
Look.
But I did think it does show that Anthony Alberinezi on the power price issue, that is his weakest spot, and the Coalition have not gone him enough on that. And there was the moment there in that debate where Speezy pushed him on coal or you're saying we shouldn't extend the life of coal. Oh no, I'm not saying that,
but doesn't have an answer for it. So he's kind of throwing out the confetti gun on all of these things, but none of It quite quite adds up, and I think people are sick of being told that renewables are the most reliable and cheapest form of energy. They might be down the track maybe in ten years, but they aren't right now. And that is the reason your power bills correct.
And by the way, Ring Chris, did I get it wrong? No, he smashed it out of the park. This is the Peter Dutton we know and love. I've been wanting to see. This is what we should have seen from day one of the election campaign, face to face making the strong points to alber and EZI. I've written this up for The Australian and he makes this point, whem this one power It's like the cartoons albanize.
He got knocked from pillar to post.
Why because on these key policy issues he's all at sea. And the other key point is that Peter Dunnon pulled him up on his dishonesty. This plot was just on national television effectively denying that they've been modeling on negative gearing, and within twenty seconds that well, actually he couldn't deny it.
The honesty thing is a real problem.
Now.
Spearsy was good Spears.
He tried to mock Dutton for coming up with cost of living.
Measures in an election campaign.
Dunton comes back and say it's not actually it coincides when people are doing it.
Tough ca Pow, well done.
But when it came to energy prices again shows how the press gallery each day is not doing the job. Because he was asked four times Albanezi today, four times when will prices come down?
And he did not answer at once. Refuse to answer it.
Now that should be asked of him every day at every press conference.
Why isn't it now? I can tell how this gets processed by some parts of the media. You saw in one of those answers that Anthony Aberneze's talking Peter dudn't takes his glasses off now obviously very minor moment, but that will become a photo guardian probably running it on their front right now, panics don't all the rest of it. I liked the clearly the ABC had a bit of a rule about when and when they weren't on camera.
That was obviously important because certainly when you turn around and you watch things like the C and N debate, if they're just there both the whole time, you started to see when they don't think they're on camera, they start to wilt away. I thought that was interesting about how the thing was stage Again, I'll get back into the best questions and the worst questions, but let's get
back to our former colleague here. What I liked at the center of the questions that were asked, and for the Channel seven debate that's coming and the Channel nine debate that's coming, watch that model, which is, don't let them just blither what they say all day every day. Just say, look, basically, you've got twenty three hours in the rest of the day to talk the way you want to talk. I'm going to ask you the question you don't want to answer. And I liked that, and
I liked the follow up. And it's a test of both of them whether they make it or they don't.
Well, absolutely's Busy's all class, and he knows how.
To follow up and let it breathe. Let's say.
But look, I think the problem with this campaign in general is that, particularly on the labor side, it's trying to get out a ten second line for TikTok that's run over and over and over again. There is no contest of ideas until you get a debate like this or a people's forum, right, and all you're doing and you see it from every minutes at the housing debate, they just want to get their lines up and then you've got ALPHQ. Look, liberals are doing it as well,
and they're running it on TikTok. There's no contest of ideas allowed. And this is why these baits are so important, and you've got to watch them in full to get an idea of how both men interact with each other and interact with an audience, interact with a host like David. But Paul I still find there is just like this
thread of borification through the campaign. And maybe that's because we're fully invested in it each and every day, but it is just so anti ambitious and that is how Labor has framed this for the last three years.
And it does.
Water but in finis and I agree, but I think that this is often when you are playing a defensive game as a government, which is if you can try to board down as much as possible, then it's better the devil, you know, right, and certainly Albinizi who's been trying to and despite the fact they have a go at Trump as much as they do. He follows the Trump strategy of flooding the zone. Let's talk about the twenty fourteen a bunch, let's talk about the fifteen hundred
different thelms. But when it is down to so okay, great, you get rehired for three years when the power prices come down, bye bye bye bye, blah blah bah.
Well, this is the point with the debate. Let's get back to debate. But where does it sit. Well, it sits just after halfway through the election campaign, when we've got the Easter break and the Anzac Day holidays to come, and is there time for the coalition to get any momentum? Big question marks about that. That's the way Labors wanted it. They wanted to be a boring, piecemeal, superficial election campaign
and they've got that so far. But this sort of performance tonight from Peter Dutton is exactly what he needed to do.
As I say, he should have been doing it weeks ago.
But it was a very good performance and just on that point with Spearsy trying to get him to talk about what they don't want to talk about. Sure, but the thing tonight was that Peter Dutton didn't let that control him right at the outset, He's asked about their housing policies by Spearsy and Dunton goes straight to immigration. How that's the killer point. Immigration is what's driving this, and Spearsy then tries to drive him back to his
own policy. Sure, but he kept doing that during the debate, getting that back onto his strong ground and pushing it back onto alb and easy. It's not happening enough. It should happen all the time now to be fair. Of course, Peter dunn't got hit with a couple himself in that debate. He had to admit a mistake about the way he framed the Indonesian thing yesterday, and I think the climate change stuff, do you believe it or not? That's a
bit awkward for him as well. So he had a couple of awkward moments, but overall it was done playing politics where it needs to be played, especially from opposition on the front foot.
I'm not sure about the immigration thing. Yeah, it does work in some cohorts, but it does a work in the seats where it needs to.
It works everywhere.
Does it work in lessons in.
Yeah, sure does because the places where they have the highest levels of immigration are the ones who are most keen on orderly immigration.
Yes, and I get the idea of you know, climbing up the ladder and pulling the ladder.
Up, pulling up the ladder, just being fair.
People who have come here fairly want everybody to come here fairly.
You'll find no parts of the country more fairly.
We're not talking about both.
Well, they think there's too many, too quick.
Different than coming well, I know, I think, well, I think a lot of this is that also don't have the workers.
But I'm not talking about the illegally.
I think there's a lot of a lot of concern that people come here as international students as a backdoor way into the company and.
Family reunion and all of those things as well. But about that Wes sin Sydney question. The reason that I think, and I know that there's there's been this conversation and we've seen it in certain places, right Andrew Clenell door knocking in Paramatta. Some people did interpret that as conversation
about immigration, trying to turn it into something cultural. But think about mayors like Frank Carboni, Fairfield mayor Blacktown mayor all of those places where essentially they go to Sydney, they go to Melbourne and the people in the mayors, the mayors of the areas where people end up going are saying hey, who who whoa enough dially saying things like that. So again it's look, it's juggling.
Knives, juggling knives going. Does it work in Adelaide? Does it work in Tazzi? I mean Adelaide's I've got a ten percent one student accommodation rate that.
I think immigration is the big issue of the campaign that the Coalition haven't hit on enough. I think right around the country, housing crisis, cost of living crisis, everybody knows, driven by record immigration, out of control immigration.
This is the point. It's not as if this is what Labor said it would do.
It's tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands more than their own plans.
And I don't think they can mention that enough. And there's nothing.
Xenophobic about it. It's about managing our immigrant nation problem, that's.
Right, But it's still you know, no one's really touching on the supply side as much as they need to. It's all just tinkering around the edges. And the biggest problem here, Chris, is the cost of building or renovating at the moment, it's totally out of control and neither leader is talking about that. If you really want to talk about how to build homes, I mean, councils get out of the way. But also the cost of labor. There's not enough tradees coming exactly with.
All these immigrants, but no trade's coming in. Well, the Union is playing a role in that.
Perhaps, okay, well, but is it a problem with the number of immigrants or we're not getting the right skills two very separate issues. Both if you could fix the skilled migration issue, I mean you'd be on your way.
So of course.
But also but also I think that it speaks to what I hear in the conversation is a generational failure that we have had to tell kids it's okay to be your trading. It's actually advantageous, it's good to be a trade. I'm going way back to the Kim Beasley.
Much money they're making at the moment.
Yes, which is one of the plenty all play plenty and a lot of theatre that Dutton has Harry out there on the campaign. Trill with you saying something, I'm proud my son's are trading and I'll.
Tell you load of middle income are not load the intern asset right off that labor basically trashed down to one thousand dollars in the budget, then quickly hurriedly shoved it up again for twelve months. There's a lot of tradees ABN's all right, and those people want the ability. So the idea of the working class only being the unionized, no, no, no, there's plenty of people out there being the subby's being their own. Now a poll just dropped from the Financial Review.
This one is from the fresh Water Organization. At the halfway point, they say fifty to fifty. Now what's interesting about this is they say the primary vote the Liberal Parties at thirty nine, the Labor Parties is at thirty two. But this is the even more interesting because they actually put the numbers on seats. They say the coalition will win nine seats at this upcoming election. Labour would lose seven, which would of course take it from the majority position
of seventy six down to seventy one. Now let's imagine that is the final result. Well, obviously, guess who forms government. It'll be the current government. The night messcenario for Albernezi is just how many he would need. Because Rebecca Sharky, who yes, has said Dutton gets the first crack at it. She's also said, whoever has the most number of seats, that's a more stable person. But that's only seventy two.
Then of course maybe Bob Cadott, that's only seventy three. Okay, you start looking around, Helen Haynes, who's to the left, seventy four and then we're off to Tealtown. All right, we're off to Tealtown. We're off to Greenstown that pole and again you're responding to it in real time. But I mean the mats and all that matters is the seats, and we've seen the fall that's happened when it comes
to the coalition. Obviously the Coalition would love to win an election, but if they end up in the mid to late sixties, then it's a better two term option than where they've been. And for Labor, who's already pretty cocky saying that, you know some people saying we're on their way to eighty mate, they'd go needing seven. What do you think of that?
Pot, Laura, Well, you can't disagree with the trend. I mean, you can argue with individual polls like Freshwater. The numbers are interesting, absolutely, but the trend has not been going Dotton and the Coalition's way. Since the campaign began. I've been thinking about as to why that is, and I think this debate tonight showed why. In many ways, I thought Dutton was good, but he was cautious, perhaps a bit too cautious. I mean, when he first became opposition leader,
it was his era. I just want to get things done. I don't care if people love me. These are my ideas.
The voice he took the sixty to forty position of voice. Absolutely, this is malin in the sand, old defender.
Nuclear, he defended, He was across the detail. He still is and that and people gave him a lot of credit for having balls to have actually have a crack at something. I think since the campaign begun and there's so much noise, there's so much feedback. Every day, there's you know, there's press conferences, the press gallery is in your face every day. You're going to question after question, and you're being wedged on certain things. I think some of his best instincts are a little bit dampened at
the moment. I think he needs to get that back. I mean, he's I think he looks like he's been too worried about being painted as being aggressive because that's what Labor has been able to do.
So it's really hard for him.
But I just think that those instincts that he had when he first became leader and will into this term were spot on and he needs to get a little bit at that.
Well, I think.
But I think that's exactly what happened tonight, Paul. That's I mean, he got onto the front foot.
And look he does it. He's not aggressive in his manner.
You've taken this party in the most conservative bent that's ever been. I mean that was not challenged by him or Peter Dunton. But it's just playing on TikTok tomorrow.
Well it's the nonsense they going on.
But let's get back to this pole though, right, because it's only one pole. But if the Liberal Party gets a nationwide but almost timary vote of thirty nine, I'm telling you it's not going to be that hung parliament. You're talking about that just about win on thirty nine given what you get getting from one nation and the others, because it's not going to be uniform.
Right, they're getting.
Those swings in the outer suburban and regional seats and Labors vote, then the Greens will be holding up in the cities and you'll see some till Suaits disappear if they get thirty nine. They'd be very happy with a thirty nine primary. So that's very very interesting. But of course just one pole, just one other thing. But when you talk about the trend in the polls, it really Labor hasn't been picking up anything, correct, It's been a bit of the edge coming off the coalition primary vote.
So that's what it's all about.
Peter Dutton Patriots One nation, One nation, Yeah, one nation.
So that's what it is. Dutton's got to just attract people back to the Coalition.
And that alone its in and of itself. I mean Albo's saying tonight that Dunton's taking the party in the most conservative bent that it's been in recent.
Times, modern era.
It's just appointing.
That's not true and this poll does show that. I mean there's a lot of people on the right that don't think Dutton's been conservative enough. In every Conservative leader in the last twenty years for the standard.
Dross that's a standard dross you get from your socialist left prime minister. Anyone you know who believes in the private.
Schools is some sort.
Of can I also say too, I think one of the issues that is fiddling with a lot of liberals, be either the supporters, the advisors, or maybe even the principles right is the blitzkrieg on social media, I think is giving them a distorted depiction of what people all over the country are seeing.
Now.
I think clearly labor multifaceted hitting from every legue, different angle. The idea that you don't even speak about what a policy is, you just play all good Booker music and put it with Darth Vader on it. I mean, this is a level of campaigning that I think is getting in their head a bit, and I think they don't need to be reminded. As massive and important as that area is, and it is, it ain't where everyone is.
Can I just throw you one more thing about this pole, because in real time we'll try and just again how issues are falling. It's one pole who knows, all right, we know where the greater trend is. We know where the poles and the bookies are. Okay, have a look at this because on the left hand side, in the yellow the priority of issues cost of living, housing, healthcare, economy. All right on the other side is who's winning that debate.
Cost of living right now is thirty three to labor thirty five to the coalition thirty two with a neither. Housing is thirty five to labor, thirty one to the coalition thirty four. Who knows? In healthcare? Unsurprisingly where the Prime Minister wants to get it, it's forty two to thirty one. On the economy, that's interesting here, it's thirty
two to thirty eight. So labor leads on welfare, healthcare, family, education, employ but employment, housing all the same, Climate change, labor up, cost of living lives up, industrial action, labor up, economy lives up, infrastructure lives up, tax lives up, immigration lives up forty to twenty seven, Defense forty two to twenty seven, and crime, that issue that they all want to pretend is not in this campaign, not allowed feats.
That they don't have electricity or energy in there at the sub level.
See when I was for my sins watching of course the Bolt report here on Sky News on the main computer and on the side computer has happened accidentally. See what they were doing over there on the seven thirty report and they were showing Katie Allen going around her seat of Chisholm or trying to get the seat of Chisholm before Member for Mensis. And guess what came up? Crime, crime, crime, and it was crime from people who spoke a second
language at home. So again, what's being said at the door to door level, what's being done at the letterbox level. These are all things none of us see and we'll all sit there and be surprised about as such on the night last one here and Laura, you know that I had thoughts on this throughout the day, But I want to show you a reporter from the Age asking a question of the alternative prime Minister. Now we know that treading dollars in debt isn't the third rail of
Australian politics. We know that power prices not a third rail of Australian politics. Tax not a third rail of Australian politics. But how on earth does anyone answer a question like this?
During your campaign, law to your National's leader spoke extensive about how much of a man you were. Your deputy Opposition leader spoke and gave ode to the boys in Blue and the tradees. You talk about mining, construction, agriculture and energy being the four killers of the economy. In your own campaign launch speech you mentioned women twice, and that was in relation to how you protect them from domestic violence and crime. A lot of your campaign has
been at petrol stations. You've been in trucks. When you speak to about female dominated industries like education, you talk about the work agenda. What are you offering modern working women?
I'm offering them a chance to get home?
All right, Laura, it is impossible, impossible for any politician to adequately answer the question of the satisfaction of the person whom he's asking it. And as the representative of all women on this panel, you've seen how this has played out. You saw how badly it played out for Scott Morrison, and this was deployed, I think to get in his head. He answered as best as he could
the idea that somehow sexism is petrol bowsers. What do you think of a question like that, and what do you think of how Peter dunn't answered it and how fair or unfair it was to frame him in that way.
The whole exchange. The Teta tet went for about five minutes as well, so we just saw part of his answer there. It's worth going back and having a look because I think on his feet this question being asked to him, he couldn't have entered it better. There was a follow up from the journalist. I think, you know, not a bad question if you want to frame it in that way, but yeah, not fair. It should be
asked to Anthony Abernezi well as well. If it is asked Anthony Abernezi, there would have been a whole day of a whole team pouring over answers and strategizing this. But I think this is a feature of this campaign that's not getting as much traction as it did when Scott Morrison was the Prime minister. Did you see also David little Proud describing one of the candidates of having you know, all the pull of a chi chihuahua. Then you had Clara O'Neills saying, oh, he's comparing it to
a dog. I mean women's equality is when you can make comments like that and have those comments when there is just not even a batter of an eyelead because the same questions are asked to men.
So, look, I mean there is. I mean how I don't know.
How to answer that question, to be honest, I mean there is. We want a quality right, Yes, what she suggesting that housing is Amen's demain.
Sexist gentral stations are only for men.
Apparently, this is insane.
This is this question, This is insane politically.
But the line, the invisible line that she was trying to draw, yeah.
Bok, Look it's insane.
She's some I don't know who she is, but what she's done in gender studies at at the Tribe University or something. But it's just about pushing some pathetic agenda. It's just there to embarrass people. It should be dismissed as nonsense. But that's what they're tempting him to do. If he dismisses it as nonsense, then they portray him as a misogynist. I've noticed on social media tonight, Zoey Daniel and others.
Are cutting it up. It's all about that women and tills and lefties. It is mine numbingly stupid.
It's mind numbingly stupid. I agree with you, but this is what you get when you have a boring campaign where most politicians just want to give you line.
No, I disagree. I disagree.
This is what you get when you're a right of center politician. You never see that deport against the left.
Not yeah, that's that's absolutely a fair comment. But you get these these journals are on a bus, right, They've got Stockholm syndrome there for a week, they get swapped out. They're getting the same boring answers every day that are designed just to be on high rotation on TikTok. You're on that bus. You're trying to think of an answer a question that's going to.
Get What's name, I don't know. Well, here's an idea for her.
What if she turns up at Anthony Albernesei's presser tomorrow and asks him, given the renewables are the cheapest form of energy, when will our power prices come down, and keep asking it until the answers?
That would be challenging anything else about man and correct anything else, anything else about the debate where we sit tonight, that we've got to mention.
Before one the last question. Actually, I thought the last question from Speezy was really good, you know, given the.
Camp I was preparing in this last minute before the show, they did really.
Think it's to remind us.
Do you really think oh it was you know, do you really think that other guys as bad as you're.
Making It was all.
Part of the campaigning and there was a little bit of softness that you know, they find it.
I give in, but they I would have gone hard.
I don't much as I think.
I think that was good for Peter because Anthony Abernezi stands up every day and says is terrible. But obviously they do talk across the aisle, you know, they do have private meetings.
And this is the thing.
And look, I say this about politics right as hard as I fight it, I know the participants love their families, have their friends, you're like, and the best thing about a result, and a definitive result is that there's that elective breathe out, unlike of course twenty ten, where when it's a dead result, everyone stays in that phase for a long time. Chris, anything last worth mentioning?
Not really, mate.
I just think pet you don't needs to resurrect the campaign over the East to break and maybe this was just a start.
All right, Thank you guys, do appreciate it. We'll see you five o'clock, nine o'clock and on the other side of the break on Murray Life. Thanks for watching, Thank you for watching. If you are just joining us. The second leader's debate has taken place over on the ABC. I think Peter Dutton did very, very well. He was on the attack for most of it, or at least had good responses. So I really liked the moderation because
they didn't just get into their preset answers. Instead, they were starting to be pulled into territory that they didn't want to talk about, and that wasn't good for Anthony Abernezi. I think many of his pushbacks were just blatant, sort of Haymaker lies. But that's my worldview. Let's find out what Roman Bishop and Stephen Conroy thought of it, and we'll start with you. Why am I one hundred percent wrong? And this is the greatest performance from the greatest prime minister of all time.
No, look, I think that was probably Perry Dutton's best performance of the campaigner And I think Chris Kenny said, you know, if he'd been if he'd have kicked off his campaign like this two and a half weeks ago, he might not be having the bumps in the polling that you're seeing today, But I don't score it as a decisive victory. I think Albot was very solid as well, and I think that it was a quality debate. And like you, I give kudos to Spearsy. He pressed both ladies,
he pressed them fairly, he held them to account. He wanted to get past, as you say, the scripted answers. I think he did a good job of that, and I think it was a quality performance across the whole debate. So I would score it as a draw. But I do absolutely agree that it was Dutton's best performance elevated to the godlike status that you have, Paul.
It was performance.
I'm not quite there, but I thought it was a pretty good showing. Broman, what did you think of it?
I thought Dutton was the clear winner. And as for your comments about Albanisi, Steven, he was the biggest fibbre of the night, that's for sure. And the constant use of figures which are wrong, denied, just untrue constantly make people angry. And I have to say, when I was listening to a lot of the debate driving in the car, and when I hear him trot out six hundred billion
dollars for nuclear power stations. I want to scream back at him because it's such a lie, but it doesn't get challenged enough and that makes me cross.
That's why I sweed back at it.
But again, what I love about a debate we saw this year here with huge audiences for the People's Forum, no doubt the same when it comes to the ABC one, hopefully the same for seven and nine. It means they're not seeing it in bites, they're not seeing it in selective grabs, they're not seeing it in TikTok. They're watching it for an hour. They're seeing the body language, they're seeing how things respond, and I think that's good. So I'm going to ask you both an uncomfortable question. First,
what was the worst moment for your leader? Stephen? I think on your feet. What was the worst moment for Albo? I say it was the power?
I think now, I think both you and Chris Kenney made the point that Dutton hasn't targeted that enough in the campaign. I think that's where it's obviously a tough one. They made a promise, real world came along and it became challenging to deliver it. They have done good things in energy price reduction, but when you ask the question, you can see that they're cautious about doubling down on it. Peter Dutton's the same. He won't promise when the first
fall because of the gas reservation in the next three years. Peter, I think that I agree with you and Chris Kenny Billimps have not done enough to press on that issue.
All right, this is the man you can think on his feet. Brom Win the same, but I'll ask it the same way. What was the worst moment for done?
When Peter Dublin was asked about did he believe in climate change? It was a wooly answer and maybe cringe.
Right because it opens the door to that left at tank.
No, because the whole point is is that there is a commitment made to twenty fifty. That's the commitment, yes, and the nuclear plan is designed to make that commitment. In the meantime. Right now, you've got things to do to keep the lights on, to keep the country going, and that is you keep maintenance on the coal fire at power stations to keep them working and keep you put the gas in as in accordance with the policy is outlined. Good policy. That's the answer. It's not a
question is this flood worse than that flood? Is this heat wave worse than that heat wave? It's a question. We made it commitment. This is how I'm going to fulfill it.
Yeah, and certainly the line you know, I'm not a scientist. We know how that'll get spun in that.
And if I hear the word much for the science again, I'll scream, because.
There is no such thing.
There are various scientists who say different things.
All right, that's all. Now, I want to get back to this pole out of the financial review. It is in terms of the dipping poles, it's the best for the Libs in a little while where the dip is still there but the prime is at thirty nine. If their prime is at thirty nine and the era is you know, the statistical eraor well, then they're going to be doing a lot better. Obviously they could end up
doing a lot worse. But I tell you what with some of these poles, labor losing according to this seven seats the coalition winning nine, meaning they would also get back a couple of Teal seats presumably there as well. But more interestingly, let's get to that issues that I mentioned before. Number one issue in the country cost a living well. That's changed by three percent in the past since March, and that's now in the favor of the
coalition thirty five to thirty three. Similar number in the middle, but still important right considering how much we've discussed In housing, Labour leads that thirty five to thirty one. There's been a six point change in that over the past little while. In healthcare unsurprisingly massively dominant issue for the Labour Party at fifty two, sorry, forty two, thirty one. But crime now crime at ranks immigration, climate change, defense, tax, welfare, employment, education, infrastructure,
family and industrial relations. The Leaves are leading on that thirty nine to twenty seven, and the lead keeps growing. What did you think of all of those stats that I've just screened at you? But of any of them, what gives you hope? Will gives you concern?
Romin Well, I think when you hear regularly on the radio in the mornings that there's been another drive by shooting and one person's dead, that resonates with everybody. When you look at the crime road in Victoria, you understand why Victorias have no faith in their government or their
police force anymore. When you look at the crime in the regions, what's happening in places like Mare, around Dubbo, in different cities around New South Wales, but also up around North Queensland where it is horrendous, And then of course you've got the dreadful incidences of domestic violence in
the Northern territory. I can go state by state, but I think the interesting thing is that the other issues which you mentioned in their order of precedence before, I think the question that people are waking up to is that this entire country runs on diesel, and that's why the tax cut in the petrol and diesel tax is so vital because it doesn't only affect mums and dads, pensions and everybody else who'd get nothing out of a tax cut, but it does bring down the actual cost
of living by lowering the cost of transportation, and that is why those issues are so important, Steve. And one other issue, I think the reason that Dublin's tale was up to light and why it was so good despite what I said about the climate change issue.
Is that he's been out in the field.
He's been out talking to people, he's been out in the Electric so I was over in Western Australia on the weekend. He was in Western Australia. He's hearing what people are saying and what they're complaining about and why they don't like this government.
All right, Steve said to ask, but give me the thirty second version of your response to the poll.
Yeah.
Look, it is clearly the best of the polls for Dutton in the campaign, but it has the same consistent trend. Its Labor bottomed out in November December, hand that's been tracking up. So I think the trend it is Labour's friend, and Dunton really needs to perform like he did tonight every single day between now and the election day to put himself in the frame to get past seventy, which
gives him a better chance to form minority governments. A lot of those seats are within margin of errors and so there could just easily be some of those seats to be on Labor.
So maybe Labor's only.
Losing five instead of seven, which puts it back into a Labor I think the pole still shows a minority Labor government. So all of the polls across Australia have shown over the last three or four weeks is the size of.
A labor minority government.
But I think it's a really good wake up call for anyone in labor. Anyone in Labor is walking around saying this election is done and dusted.
We're heading to eighty seats.
This is a poll that should give people pause and they should go It is not one. It is not over. Dutton is in proving and we have to double down and be focused and targeted and on our best campaign efforts like it.
I like caution at times like this, so I really do all right, quick break back with more so we have some time on the other side of this, and I'm not two's time here on Paul Hurry life. I can't wait. We're heading to Western Australia in a couple of weeks time. Now. We love everywhere we go with our town, but I love when we get in the red dirt.
I love it.
Cal Gooley, can you join us? Not this next Sunday, calgool in Western Australia. Ourtown that's gone news dot com dot Au. Ourtown that's goews dot com dot Au. How goods are going to be in Wa? Not this Sunday, but next Sunday from when Bishop Stephen Conroy here, let's talk about what Paul Kelly wrote in the Australian newspaper today when he's talking about what he believes is perhaps some of the ghosts of the twenty twenty two faties of the Libs that may will still be alive in
twenty twenty five. And I've got to say, well, I disagree with many of the points. I think that there was a very fair observation, which is that many people have overestimated the result of the Voice to be indicative of what might happen at an election. Bromin your thoughts on what a bloke who's seen a lot has to say about some of the darker clouds around the Liberals.
No, I don't. I don't think he was right. I think that the voice was very important issue. But I don't think no one lays it down over the map of Australian and says it's all going to be repeated, that doesn't happen. But it was nonetheless very important. But what I do think is relevant in this debate, or in this point in the election, is that there is an attempt to try and say once again that there is a woman problem with regard to the Coalition and
mister Dutton in particular. If there is a woman problem, I've got to say it is Astra Alberan Easy his actions towards Tanya Plebisset the other day. That was almost in the salt.
It was that bad.
It was a physical pushback. There's no love lost between those two, that's for sure. She's a very well respected woman.
Well, and also have looked at the primary vote a central pole divided by a gender. Guess who has the worst numbers at the moment when it comes to the female to female it is not the coalition, but the same lines get trodden out all the time. All right, Stephen, what did you think of the analysis? And again, caution for those people in the same way that you've just said about your own people saying hey, you haven't won
anything yet, pull your heads in, work hard. For those in the Libs who maybe did think that there was a direct correlation between places that went hard no as being of possible targets, particularly places like out of western Sydney.
If I could just respond to one of Brobmin's comments there about the Albo Tanya into change, we must have been watching agent.
It was awful.
Clip we must thought it was clipan no way awful.
This was almost in assultant pushback. Just stop it. So now moving on.
To Paul's question, I actually thought it was a really insightful article.
I think there was a lot of hubris.
After the Voice was defeated on the conservative side of politics. I regularly remember when you even used the phrase, Paul, everyone's saying, get the map out, let's lay the voice over the electra because you turn that voice now. No, no, I'm just saying you just mentioned, but described it because we both heard it so many times that the voice vote will resonate, it will stand up over the two years.
The smartest thing that Albo did was you made sure it was done and dusted and well before the action. You remember the people saying, no, no.
You should differ it, you should defer it. They've got going down.
All right, I apologize five seconds if you can do it.
I'm just going to say, Stephen, it is still relevant. It's not the defining issue that it was at the time, but it is still relevant to say that there is a willingness for people to consider what your attitude is to the whole question.
Of the all right, the bells are ringing. The bells are ringing for you can do it all again. Next week.
We'll see you. Then.
It's mixed