My This is Paul Burray to ask me an effect with Peter Dudhead Gay and welcome to a special edition of Paul Murray Live. An opportunity for you to spend an hour with the man who would like to be the next Prime minister. Yes, minions of people have already voted, but far more still yet to make the decision and yet to walk into a polling booth. Peter Dutton joins us in the man Cave here this evening.
Peter. It love you to see you, Glad to see you too. Thank you.
Now, as you know, we started the campaign in your home electorate in Dixon. What I wanted was not questions from me, but questions from as many people who watch the show as possible in your local electorate. The People's Forum was a great example to be able to sit there opposite a prime minister. But that's one hundred people
in a room. This is questions from all over the country and I want people to be able to see see how you respond, but also to give you a little bit of time to answer questions that people are sincerely invested in. Put simply, it is about them, not me. So let's start off. We're going to have a collection of questions around the country, including let's start that Allan, who's going to be joining us live now from the mighty Gold Coast in Queensland.
Alan, good evening to you mate. What is your question for Peter.
Dat Good evening, Paul and mister Dutton. Thanks for joining Paul Murray live.
Thank you all.
Labor is spending lot like I'll do that again. Labor is spending like kids in a candy store, building up massive debt.
I have this cheeky blue cap. Well, good man, how about's got it go?
Saying Elbow's debt got to go to add fire to the coalition sha A campaign. Most importantly, this escalating debt should be paid off as soon as possible. My question is what is your plan to stop our grandkids inheriting a budget black hole?
Well, well, and it's a it's a great question.
Firstly, you know these figures, but this government spent an extra four hundred and twenty five billion dollars, which means that they're the biggest spending government in four decades now.
When that last happened, labor thrust us into recession and as we're seeing with the ratings Agency now they're warning that this government spending is going to result in the prospect of a downgrade of our credit rating, which of course means that we pay more for that one point two trullion dollars worth of labor debt, and the interest payments go up, and it means you have less to spend on the essentials and on defense and other areas
of expenditure. Which said that, we, as John Howard did, want to look at the budget, identify where the for tax players who are paying more than ever in tax and working harder than ever, where the money is not being spent appropriately in the budget, where we can find savings. We've said, in relation to the public service, they've increased the size of the public service at a rate three times that of Kevin.
Rud and Julia Gillard.
So there are ways in which we can identify the savings and get us back to balanced budget, which is what a liberal governor always does, add it to the economy more effectively, and that'll allow us to get us back into balance, get us into surplus and then start to pay down labour's debt. But it's not going to happen overnight, as you know, John Howard, inherited ninety six billion dollars worth of debt in ninety ninety six, and you've now got over a trillion.
Dollars worth of labor debt.
And it'll take time to grow the economy to make sure that we can keep the essential services running. And we've committed to all of that expenditure. But your point is well made, but labor will always tax and spend.
Good only Halan, thank you, mate. Guess the ground for me in the.
Gold Coast, beautiful part of Australia. Sophia has a question for you as well. Hurst comes from moss Vale in New South Wales.
Let's have a look.
My name is Sophia Flight and I'm a psychologist student from mos Val. The question I would like to ask mister Peter Dunn is during the budget reply you announced a four hundred million dollar investment into youth mental health services aside from the National Center for Excellence in Youth Mental Health and the Medical Research Fund, how are you planning on expanding treatment access to youth mental health across the nation?
Sophia thank you very much for your question.
Look, I think it's an incredibly important discussion and as you identified, we very early on announced additional funding for mental health services. We need to make sure that we can get people the support that they require. The government fairly early on cutback. In fact, they cut in half the number of psychology sessions that people with complex needs could access from twenty back to ten. Services we've adounced
and we did it again fairly early on. So we've already announced this, but we'll increase the services back to twenty and that will provide younger people, but older people as well with the clinical support that they require. It means that we can provide support to young people, as you point out, through the Headspace sites and through the Medical Research Future Fund bringing money into research, which is incredibly important, not just the primary care services but also
the support around research. I think that's something that we've believed in, as you know, for a long time, and is a really significant benefit to try to find new care models, to try and find ways in which you can provide support. A lot of young people as well are really being harmed online, and we've led the call in relation to making sure that the media companies are careful in the amount of harmful content that our kids
are viewing online and all of that. I think adds up to a much better picture than what the government's offering in the run up to this election.
The issue around mental health, use mental health. I know that it's something that you've spoken about in budget and reply spoken about it as a dad. Why is it important as a matter of public policy for you?
It's important because I have a fundamental belief that particularly children and adolescents should be able to live the best life that they can. Paul A really sincerely, you know, put a lot of work into child protection over the years and funded these trained center account of child exploitation and similarly for kids with mental health issues as well
or health issues more generally. I think that's why general practice is so important, and making sure that you can form a relationship with a practice or with a doctor, getting that early intervention and providing a pathway to better health is essential, and otherwise kids are missing out on the joy of childhood and they're being robbed of that. So from a values perspective, it's something that's very important to me.
Yeah, I mean, it's one of those things where the conversations in their own lives, the evidence that comes out from a report, the conversations that we have with police or medical professionals. I often talk about I don't mean this in a derogatory way. I say this as a parent whose heart breaks for the generation that my little girls are, you know, ten and seven. But it's like, sometimes the kids are not all right, and it's not just about you know, old school kind of oh, you know,
cement and harden up. There's something that we truly need to deal with. It's not because there's something wrong with them. It's because clearly we know more about the way our brains work than ever before, which means we've got to
help more than ever before. And you know, you've been consistent since the very start of this term about people's access to telehealth when it comes to your mental health, your ability if you can't leave home to be able to talk to somebody, to advocate for things like the kid's helpline.
These are really vital things.
I agree, And you know, my time as Health Minister and the Bok building rate was about eighty four percent.
It's now down to seventy seven.
So it's harder to get in to see a doctor, people paying forty three dollars out of pocket on average. Now it's the case that people are not making doctor's appointments because they can't afford the initial consult or, they can't afford the follow.
Up period a minute.
That's the reality of the cost of living pressures in people's lives. Over the last three years, whilst we talk about thirty thousand small businesses closing, two hundred and seventy two of them have been general practices because they face the same input costs pressures that every other business does. So yes, and we've put more money into providing support around research, and I really think that side of it
is incredibly important. As health mian As to we created the twenty billion dollar Medical Research Future Fund and that's been drawing down on the earnings to look at research into kids cancers and brain cancers, et cetera, where I think as a country we're underdone in terms of the amount of money that we spend in research, particularly on
some of those difficult cancer types. And generally early intervention can provide a better health outcome regardless of what the condition might be, and that's why I think general practice is incredibly important. But the government's got the scare campaign out there as they always do around medicare, But the reality is as people realize in their own lives, it's harder to get into a doctor and it's more expensive than it's ever been.
Yeah.
Absolutely, Look, you know we all know our own life circumstances. If you're paying attention to the reality of life versus some of the stuff that appears in the media, well then I think again the tenor of some of the stuff that's been set in and around the election seems pretty obvious about what is not true and what is an obvious focus. Now, I'm not going to tell Australia where our next guest comes from, but she's live right now and Levina wants to talk about something sensitive and
that is of course domestic violence. Out of respect for her and her circumstances, again, we're not saying where her location is. But what's your question for Peter Dutton tonight on this special version of Paul Murray Live.
Levina.
Thanks Paul, thanks for having me on. I think there's a common theme that ALBO makes proposals, but that's all they are. No houses are built. DV is at its worst despite worded funding. How from your experienced perspective as a.
Former prospective policeman, would your government help women, children and men understand and support women escaping violence, and additionally, just educate without ideology demonizing boys about healthier, respectful relationships.
So how would you approach this.
Well, Levina, thank you very much for talking to us about what I think is one of the most important topics we face as a country. We need to make sure that in our own families, in our own lives, we're instilling those values into our own kids. I mean, in our own experience of raising our sons, we've always instilled in them a very young age respect for their mother, for Kiralei, respect for their grandparents, for their aunts, for their sister, and we've always been really consistent with that.
And there are many families where that works and others where it doesn't, even when you've passed that on to your kids. I think one of the big concerns at the moment that I've got is the financial pressure that families are under and the fact that that can lead to domestic violence.
And it's not an excuse by any.
Stretch of the imagination, but it's an indication of the pressure that families are under, and in many circumstances, when there's a separation, you've then got two households to run, so it becomes even more difficult. I think the family court system is clunky, would be the polite way to describe it, and I don't think in many cases it
works for either party. So we've announced additional funding in relation to how we can streamline some of those services, get matters out of the court and resolved as quickly as possible. We need to provide support to police who
are responding. We were up in Cans just the other day and whilst we were there speaking there were six what they call Code two jobs which meant to domestic violence jobs where it required lights and Sirohn response, so pretty serious matters and that was just in that short period of time. So the incidence continues to rise. There's a lot of effort that we've put into reducing knife crime and a lot of effort that we've put into,
as I say, protecting young women online as well. So I think there is it's a whole of government approach that needs to be applied to it. But there's nothing more confronting than going into a household, into a house, into a home where you know you've got a woman being held down.
On the floor and I can.
Picture this as I tell this story at West End in Brisbane many years ago as a police officer, and this like just punching into his wife, his partner on the ground, and you know, kids screaming and blood on the walls and holes in the wall. It is just
their horrific circumstances. And as a police officer, you can go to PARF a dozen to those events a night, and I'm absolutely passionate about making sure that we can reduce that violence because I believe solemnly that somebody's home is their sanctuary and you should be safe in your own home and it shouldn't.
Be a place of fear.
So I'll do whatever I can to make sure that we protect women and to reduce domestic violence and the violence against men in some circumstances as well, which is a part of the reality.
Thank you, Levina, I really sincerely appreciate it. Just just again to this question that Levina was asking as well about educating men and conversations that blokes have to have. Now, I understand that these topics are fraught with difficulty, and I say this because it applies to me and my mates, and I would assume it's yourself and your mates that we would die for the women in our lives because we loved them right.
And anyone in anywhere was a threat.
So this conversation about educating our boys is really important, and I think that in many ways it's the example we set for our boys as much as sort of public education is there as well. And again, I don't want anyone to take this part of the conversation out of context. It is a bigger, complicated one. But where do you sit about that concept of how we bring up the next generation?
No, well, I agree with that absolutely. I think the standard you walk past is the standard that you accept. So it's within your friendship group, it's within your family setting, it's within the environment.
That your children are exposed to.
And I think that's absolutely essential and it's taken for granted in many of our families because that's the way that we were brought up, But in many circumstances that's not the case. And I also think there's an element of drug use that's involved now as well, just mind altering drugs that are more prevalent now than when I
was a policeman. And you see some of the footage on TV where you've got three or four police officers trying to wrestle some guy to the ground who's not that bigger bloke, who's as high as a kite and just develops a strength. And when you put that person into a domestic setting and something triggers a reaction or there's a violent reaction, you see the sort of violence that.
That abores all of us. So the past acceptance now of so called.
You know, drugs that are freely available and part of a social set, I think that is a bigger influence than what we realize in some of these domestic violence matters as well.
Well, and in New South Wales.
I mean the stats and I talk about this a lot, which is that you know, it's about six point something offices a day every day Monday, Tuesday, Christmas to Hate Good Friday are assaulted when they go to work. And part of that, of course is the attacks on paramedics, male and female emergency workers a little and that it is a huge issue, and I'm really glad that it's part of the national conversation and it has to be. It truly does have to be confronted, and of the
belief that you will Jason is now joining US. Jason joins US now from North Adelaide in South Australia. Jason, We've got Peter.
Duttonbild to prominstunity, especially in military supply chains, and currently with USD coupling from China for these resources has them, but red and green tape stop us from opening these minds all too often. So my question is what are the hurdles currently in place from stopping Australia to take this opportunity. What are the risks involved with an Alberanezy bank government continuing and what would could the coalition government do to advance this opportunity.
Jason, thanks, thanks for the question. I think it's an absolutely vital one. There's a huge opportunity for Australia to increase the exports. We know a company like Rio Tinto pays ten billion dollars a year in royalties and company taxes. We don't fund hospitals and we don't fund policing, we don't fund education, et cetera. Infrastructure that without that revenue. So there's an enormous opportunity for us to expand it.
But when you speak to companies now, they're moving capital out of Australia into Africa and into North America, into Asia, and they just see Australia as a sovereign risk under this government the time that it takes. For example, a Northwest Shelf extension which tennya polibisk delayed the announcement of that decision until after the election, till the thirty first of May, which will tell West Australians that they're not
going to proceed with that project. The fact is that that had been with the Cook state government for six years, a project that was well known and all of the environmental considerations had taken place six years. It had been with the Cook government for a decision. They said yes, gave it a tick of approval and then that triggers a referral to the federal government and then their processes start. Why if you're a company looking at investing in a project where you've got.
Six or eight or twelve years delay.
Why would you be holding capital at risk when you could move into another country where you've got the ability to get a return on your capital straight away. So first point I'd make is that we need to condense timelines, and we've advised the WA government and the people of Western Australia. More broadly, as a national policy, we get to have the approval times for those projects. We're going to defund the Environmental Defender's Office, which has been disgraced
in matters that they've joined in the Federal Court. The Labor Party funded the Environmental Defender's Office. They can go and take an action against a project even if approvals.
Have been granted.
And this is a Labor Party's way of saying that we've got everything under control to try and stop mining projects. Nudge nudge, wink wink to green voters inner City Sydney,
in Melbourne, but they're killing the economy. And to your point about the defense supply chains and the assurances that our partners need, the Americans are bending over backwards to do more with Australia, and we should be doing more in the guide of weapons space, in the autonomous vehicle space, and we have an abundance of these natural resources and I think there are many ways in which we can
add value to the relationship. When we struck the deal with the United States on ORCAS, it was always my belief that we could add more to the overall output, the industrial capability and output in ucas, which would make us a more valuable partner and not just a Mendican party. And we were just taking from the arrangement between the
US and the UK and our country. We've got an enormous ip within intellectual property and capability within particularly the communications space in this country, and that is really valued by the Americans and others, and that all requires critical minerals and investment into different components. At the moment, we've got defense industry companies closing down in this country because
the governments ripped eighty billion dollars out of defense. And our proposal, as you know, is to put twenty one billion dollars more into defense over the next five years. If we do that, I think we've got a much better chance of keeping our country safe but also being a really good partner in ally to the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada and other countries.
Good stuff more with Peter Dunne in the moment, ask me anything tonight. The questions are all from you, a little follow up from me here and there. But the idea is we're getting to as many people around the country as possible, and you're spending an hour with the alternative Prime Minister, Peter Dunton more in a sect.
Thank you so much for watching.
We are here with Peter Dunton a little session we call Ask Me Anything. It's well basically like a giant nationwide pub test, a giant nationwide opportunity for you to ask whatever question you'd like of the man who'd like to be prime minister. More than three million people have already voted, eighteen million all up, meaning there's still plenty more votes out there. All right, let's get into the
questions that come from all over the country. They come from the people who watch this show, and we very much appreciate them coming in. Beverly and Dudley have got a question for us this evening. You're in tweettheads, mighty tweettheads go and say good ay to twin towns and seagulls for me. Beverly, what's your question for Peter Dutton?
Hello Peter, Hello Paul. The focus seems to be focusing on what can be achieved in city areas. You know, what's the best for the city. What we want to know is what can you do to stimulate development in all the regional and rural areas. You know, in housing jobs, essential services, some decentralization of things.
Beverly, thank you very much for joining us. Thanks for the question.
My mum and dad won't be happy with me conveying the story, but I do remember as a kid, if we were the Gold Coast on holidays and this is before Bi Jocky Pedis and Joe sort of knocked out, didn't allow the pokies in Queensland, we were able to drive down to the border and we'd have to sit in the car with one parent while the other went in and played some pokes, I presume. So you just remind me of that story. So sorry mum and dad
for relaying that. But it's a beautiful part of the world. Look, it's a really really important to question that you raise because our party instinctively wants to provide support to people from regional areas and you've got huge both where you
are as well, so infrastructure is required. One of the things that we've worked on really closely with David little Proud as a Leader of the Nationals is on a fund where we can provide additional support for infrastructure in regional areas, so upgrades around airports, around health services, infrastructure upgrades and I think sometimes, particularly probably most acutely in the energy debate, people in cities just expect people in regional areas to take the solar farms and to take
the wind turbine projects etc. Let that spoil your amenity and bad luck to people in regional areas well. That's not how we think. We want to make sure that we can take care of people in regional Australia and in remote parts of the country as well. So there is a real desire to do what we can to
upgrade that infrastructure through the fund that we've announced. But in addition to that, there's a lot of money that, as you'd be aware when we're in government, that we put into try and hence it's health services and trying to track specialists into regional areas, putting more places into regional universities in medical school so that we can get more doctors who graduate and are more likely to then stay on and practice in regional areas and instead of
coming back to the cities. So yeah, I think it's a very very good point, and we're instinctively in our DNA in the Liberal National Parties wanting to provide support to people in regional and remote areas people.
You mentioned your mum and dad. How is dad? He's really good, thanks bout.
Yeah, he's back home and he turns eighty on Monday, so I think we're going to try and get a run together for a stake. But yeah, he's good and he'll be watching tonight. He's a big fan of Paul Murray.
I love your dad. Good on your mate. All right, I love the dad's mum's of Australia. All right, let's get to Ken. Who's got a question for you this evening that we're doing Ask me anything here on Sky News.
What's your question, Kenny?
Hi, Peter As there is no motor industry left in Australia, there's no need for it. The prices of all popular cars will soon reach levels where this insidious luxury tax kick seeing.
Will you please remove it? Ken? It's a great question.
It's a fair point you make in terms of the just to go back a step, I guess the tax was imposed in the first instance in part to try and protect Australian industry and that's gone and we're now import vehicles from all countries, including China, and there are many lower cost vehicles coming into the market. It's a fair, fair request to see the tax removed. It's just a question of what services you then cut if you haven't got that tax, you haven't got that revenue, or what
new tax you put in its place. And it's a fair point that you make. But I don't think there's any prospect of it being shifted at any time soon, would be my honest answer to you. And it makes a difficult day for the Toyoda land Cruiser which is captured by it.
And that's a.
Vehicle that's readily adopted by people, particularly in regional areas, who need a bigger vehicle safe for to drive on country roads and the full drive aspect obviously, and a lot of self under retirees and others who are telling a caravan around the country.
So there's there's an argument for us to have a look at the way which it applies.
It's pretty crude the way it applies to vehicles of that nature at the moment, So I can't pretend to that we're about to abolish that tax.
Yeah, I mean, something that Ray Hadley was talking about before was something that you have been focused on the past few days, which is there is going to be significant price rises on some cars as a result of the government's position when it comes to trying to essentially introduce a carbon tax on what they considered to be the high meeting vehicles.
Well, we've said we're.
Not going to go ahead with that tax, and on a Forward Ranger it's four hundred dollars. A lot of highlus about twelve thousand dollars, and we're going to scrap that tax. And Prime Minister has been out and proud of the fact that cars are going to go up under his government for many young Australians. For many Australians, I mean, it's probably the second biggest asset to purchase
in their lifetime. And where I just I don't understand the argument about where people are supposed to find a lazy fourteen thousand dollars to pay for a Ford Ranger and people are doing it tough under this government as it is.
Yeah.
Now, also, let's go again further around the country. And I'm so pleased. We've got everyone. We've got Victoria, we've got tweettheads, we've got it all here. Let's go to a question which is coming in via email. This one is from Alice Springs and it's from Drew and I'm just going to read this one for you here, which is in my twelve years in the public service, here that we've seen many people come and go, that being from the territory, mostly watching people leave the Red Center.
How would your government support the Northern Territory and remote Northern Australia in general terms?
Well, Paul, a couple of points.
Firstly, I think Drew, you know, raises a very significant concern that we've been trying to address for a while. We've been to Ala Springs just hit. A price obviously comes from Ala Springs and we've seen the tragedy and the circumstances, the crime and the violent crime and the death that's resulted, and not just in our springs, but
in Darwen as well, most recently. It's terrible to see we're up in Darwin only a couple of days ago with de syndrome, with Leathanocciario the Chief Minister up there.
They have a big job to do to clean up Labour's.
Mess, the appointments to the judiciary, the bail laws which have been weakened, which is what Labour did in Queensland, certainly in Victoria.
It's led to some.
Catastrophic outcomes and it's going to take some time to turn it around. To Lea's for credit, they haven't been in government for twelve months and I think they've started to see a change already, but there's a long way to go and we will provide financial support. We've announced our intention to support the Finocinaro Finochiario government's seven point plan and that will go directly to cleaning up what is a really bad situation.
And I mean a lot of young.
People we've spoken to in in cafes and in not just Alice Springs but Darwin as well, in industries where they just say, look, you know, I'm not going to stay here like we're moving and people are in a really desperate situation. I really feel for the Northern Territory in what people are going through at the moment. There's an enormous opportunity through the gas projects of Beatleloo et cetera, to really ramp up the activity and.
Create the jobs.
It's a tourism mecca. Alice Springs should be bursting at the seams with caravan drivers and at the moment they're not. People are just bypassing Alice Springs because they're concerned about safety and it's the most beautiful part of the world to visit. And we've got a lot of work to do to support the territory government to really clean up that mess.
Yeah.
Great people too, and with no offense to I think Tazzy A part of Tazzy the one place you can still let off fireworks. July the first you can still do it there. I wouldn't suggest. Look, if you want to take a national feel free. It was fun, but that'll get you into trouble in the next couple of days.
All right, let's get to Shane. Who's got a question.
Shane's in West Perth. We're just back from wa after a great show in Cowgooley. What's your question for Peter Dutton?
Mate a miss Dutton, thank you for your time. As a third generation Liberal voter who grew up on a farm and has run small business for over twenty years, I'm struggling to recognize the party are once proudly supported. The Liberal Party was built on values like entrepreneurship, backing small business and supporting those willing to have a go,
values that now seem lost. Small business is the heartbeat of this country, yet there's little support, no meaningful policies, and no safety net for the people taking all the risk. We don't get a guaranteed income, we don't get super and at this rate, small business will disappear. When will the Liberal Party return to the foundations that built it instead of chasing a center left identity that abandons the very people who made it strong.
Well, so I've got a difference of opinion, I might say in relation to our support of small business, most of us come from a small business background, and our instinct is to help We increase the instant asset right off from small business to thirty thousand dollars. Labor put it at one thousand dollars, and we have done that because we know that it helps business invest into capital infrastructure. It helps people advance their investment at a time when
they otherwise wouldn't have done so without that incentive. We've announced a twenty thousand dollars deduction for small businesses if they're going to spend money on expenses to take.
Their staff out.
For example, at the end of the month, if you want to go down to a local hotel and take your workers, your farm workers out there to celebrate a contract or whatever it might be, end of month's sales figures. Then you can do that. It's tax deductible. We take
the FBT complication out of it. We've done that, and I think, as we demonstrated when we were in government over the course of COVID, we provide a job keeper to small businesses, which kept literally tens hundreds of thousands of small businesses alive.
The Labor Party has no interest in small business whatsoever.
They see small business owners as exploiters of their employees and labor, not as people who are the lifeblood of their local community. So there's an enormous amount of support that we provide to small business. I've given you just two examples. But as I say, instinctively, for us, we
want to create an economy where you can grow. We were talking to free shop owners this morning in Naurope in Andrew Constance's electric You know, their power bills going up by forty percent, and that is as a result of the government's renewables only policy.
We're opposed to that policy.
If you look at the price of groceries gone up by thirty percent, but so too is gas by thirty four percent and electricity by thirty two percent.
Small businesses are feeling that as well.
That's the reality of a labor government. And the whole idea of our East Coast gas reservation is to bring natural gas that we're exporting at the moment back into domestic use, flood the market with natural gas. We're going to bring the price of gas down, the wholesale price by twenty three percent. Now that's going to be an enormous benefit to cafes, to heavy energy users, including.
Small businesses and people.
If Labour's re elected with the Greens will just see higher and higher prices. A final point that I'd make is that a Labour Greens government spending and taxing is going to drive up inflation, which will drive up interest rates. And interest rates will always be lower under a coalition government and one of the major beneficiaries not just mortgage holders, but also small business owners as well, who have got a double digit overdraft that they're paying at the moment
to or alone. It will be cheap but under us, So our instinct is always to help and provide support to small businesses.
What about insurance, because obviously this is something not just for small business about everything from public liability. But I mean the amount people of spending is thousands more than it was three years ago. Now that might mean there's a lot more people claiming. It might mean that where the money comes from, but it just as an extra expense. So how can a federal government get involved in that process?
Well, there's market failure at the moment, there's no question about that. Insurance is up by thirty five percent. Australians are paying thousands and thousands of dollars more each year, as you point out, Paul, And for many Australians they're deciding to by a self insure, which is a very risky prospect unless you know what you're doing and you're
a bigger business with a big balance sheet. But for some people, they're just making a decision not to renew their car insurance and not to renew their house insurance and they don't have any choice. They just haven't got the money to pay that insurance. Now, there's either a market concentration problem or as some of the companies will point out, there's a problem around reinsurance. And the reinsurance generally comes out of out of London and it is
having a catastrophic impact. We were in Victoria and the Grampians not too long ago with Anne Webster just talking to businesses there.
A local bloke who bought the pub.
He couldn't settle a transaction because the bank wanted proof of the cove note and he couldn't get insurance, and he ended up having to change the finance arrangements to settle the deal. The transaction couldn't proceed, and the banks obviously want the insurance in place if they've got a mortgage against that property. So it's having all sorts of distortionary impacts in the economy and for local shows and other groups who are just facing astronomical increases in their
insurance as well. It's a huge problem and I think it's one that the federal government can have an impact on, but at the moment that the government just seems to have no interest in it at all.
Joan has got a question for us Jonas in Bateman's Bay, which is in the seat of Gilmore, Labour's most marginal and one that is absolutely on the line on Saturday. Your question for Peter dunt't mate.
Labor and the Greens have allegedly been discussing bringing in the death and inheritance tax. Is there a possibility that you would venture down this pathway if elected to government and during your.
Firm Joan, I think we need to have a serious discussion about what is that risk at this election. In terms of taxes, Prime Minister went into the last election saying there'd be no changes in relation to superannuation. We now find out that that's changed. The government has, as you're aware, a tax on unrealized capital gains. That means in lay terms, if you've got shares, the shares go up in value even though you haven't sold the shares,
you go to pay tax on that paper profit. So in some cases people haven't got the cash to pay that, because it's like saying to a salaried employee, to a doctor or a nurse, or a policeman or a taxi driver, well you're going to have to pay the tax before
you get paid the wage this week. For a business, they're going to have to pay for evaluation if they've got a farm, for example, in their self managed superfund, or if you're a delicatessen, or if you're a mechanic and you've got a workshop in your superannuation fund and that goes up through the course of the year.
You're going to have to pay for evaluation.
And what happens if the share market turns down next year and the shares are worth less than what they were valued at the year prior, even though you haven't sold them. So I think the government's created an enormous mess. It is in essence an inheritance tax because it's taking money away from people before they can access it for their superannuation or leave it to their children. And it
goes beyond that. The government has done research. As we know the Prime Minister doesn't want to acknowledge this, but the Treasurer Jim Chalmers has commissioned the work in Treasury for negative gearing to be abolished and for the capital gains discount.
To be abolished as well.
And of course that is the first demand of the Greens in negotiations with Anthony Alberanezi after the election. And I think there is a lot at risk at this election in relation to new taxes that are likely to be imposed by a Labour Green's government, and I think we provide stability and we've given assurances around no changes to negative gearing right from the very first day of announcement, we said that we wouldn't support Labour's proposal to tax
unrealized capital gains. We've been consistent in that and we always manage the economy more effectively than labor, and we do it in relation to stopping these taxes. And we'll do whatever we can to stop Labor from imposing the negative gearing changes because it'll drive up rents, it'll make it harder for young kids to get into housing, and it'll.
Make it.
Creates an aspect of sovereign risk where people don't want to invest into housing, which is the last thing we need at the moment.
When you mentioned Jim Chalmers, yes there was modeling right, There's no question about it. Jim Jumers himself had eventually come to that last year. But when he was advocating in the twenty nineteen election as the shadow Finance Minister, he was saying that a housing policy without changes to negative gear or capital gainst has a.
Hole in it.
Now we've seen the Prime Minister wants to talk about what you said ten years ago. They've even Frankenstein quotes in order to invent and that was the early part of the election. But if we know that that's what he believes, then that's what he believes.
Of course he believes that The Labor Party believe in inheritance tax every.
Day of the week. Pole it's part of their socialist agenda.
They believe that you've got too much money and the person next audio hasn't got enough, and how do we find a way to tax you look at labor in Victoria. I mean, they nearly destroyed the economy in Victoria. And again, if somebody has an approval on a block of land, or a farmer has an approval to develop that block of land, if the zoning changes and the value of the land goes up, you're taxed. And this is a quasi inheritance tax. And that's caller for what it is.
I mean, that's the reality of it, all right, plenty of other questions. We go from Bateman's Bay, let's go to Geelong and Victoria where we've got Jeff. Who's got a question, Jeff, what's your question for the alternative Prime Minister for Peter Dunn.
Thank you for the opportunity, mister Dutton. As a Navy veteran, I fully support and thank you for your courageous decision to finally increase funding to the Defense Force, which is needed to protect our great nation. A major shortfall that needs to be considered, though, is encouraging our young men and women to join our services. A possible reason for young people not wanting to enlist is the treatment of
our past Defense Force personnel. So my question is part of the defense budget going to speed up needed services to the men and women who have served our nation.
Jeff Well, thank you very much for your question. I think it's incredibly important, and as Defense Minister is very acutely aware of the treatment of some of our veterans which had been appalling, and we tried to rectify some of those issues. We've got Barnaby Joyce, as you know, who's very passionate in this area and very determined to provide justice and support to veterans, and that'll be backed
up with money as well. And I believe very strong and I've made this comment publicly in the last couple of days, but the highlight of the campaign so far for me was going to the RSL in Townsville with Phil Thompson and hanging out there with some of the vets who were just young blokes who and young women who.
Were just amazing, and it filled me with pride.
Thought that we wouldn't take care of them, whether they got injured in active duty or in warlike conditions, or if they were just injured in training is completely unacceptable. So I do want to make sure that we've got a better situation for our veterans. That requires funding, there's
no question about that. And I want to make sure that it's an attractive place to continue to work because the separation rate is way too high and we invest a lot of money in people to train them up to be the best in the world, and then we're happy to see them go out the door after three or four or six years service. That's not something that we should tolerate and we should provide every encouragement for
people to stay on. But in addition to that, make it more attractive for other young Australians to look at it as a positive career and when they speak to the former diggers, for them to tell them, actually, you get taken care of and it's a good job.
So I think it's a really good point.
You make you like it, no clocks on the screen, no music playing, you off just a chance to actually answer questions the good people of Australia. We'll get more of them in a moment's time here on put Murray Life. Thank you so much for watching it.
Thank you to everyone for these questions.
Honestly, thousands of people sending us messages and these are plenty of people who've got lots of things to ask the alternative Prime Minister, Peter Dutton, who could be headed to an election win on Saturday. So much has this and how of time with the person who'd like to be the next prime minister? A chance to see questions from your follow viewers of this program, and of course that man is Peter Dutton, who's taking those questions.
I really appreciate it.
I know it's busy, I know there's a million people pulling in lots of directions. I appreciate that you wanted to answer these questions tonight. And Peter is our next Peter coming from the Act. Peter, what's your question for Peter Dutton? With all this messing around from Albany, easy redoing deals with the Greens and preference.
Vaulting and so forth, why don't we just make the how to vote illegal?
That way nobody's telling you who to vote for, how to vote, You're making your own decision.
For me, that's true democracy.
Well, Peter, I mean, you don't have to take the head of vot kind. Increasingly people don't, but for a lot of Australians it's confusing.
And look, for you.
Know, a lot of us were political tragics and we live and breathe it each day. And for most astrainers, though they're just starting to tune in, I'm always amazed and you sort of get presented with the stats each day from the pulses, et cetera. But the number of people who aren't even aware there's an election taking places, you think a lot of blissful existence.
They must lead.
But for a lot of people they get confused, and particularly the Senate how to vote card. So I think it is best that you take the how to vote card from your Liberal and National candidate and please follow it, because otherwise you could inadvertently vote for the Labor Party, particularly if I mean you look at what Clive Palmer has done with his how to vote card. He's preferencing Teals,
Greens and Labor ahead of Liberal and National candidates. And I just don't think supporters of that party would want that to be the outcome.
So please take the card from your Liberal.
Or National Party candidate and follow it, and that way we'll get to the best outcome for our country.
But also I noticed Sophie film Micah Afternoons presenter on four BC. She was talking about her experience at a prepole booth that that she felt and this wasn't about Team Red Team Blue, but just the whole process is running a gauntlet, right, And I get it that. The reality is we live in a compulsory voting system. All
of these things. How do we square that circle where for obvious reasons, there are quote unquote low information people who need the information, but then there's also the people who would like a little bit of a step back. Do you think how do you work around that?
Paul?
It's interesting because I mean there's different arrangements at different prepolling booths and obviously on election day as well. In some cases there are sort of standback areas and it's hard for people to hand out how to vote cards, and there are others where you sort of dodging people to get through the line to cast your vote. It
has to be done in a respectful way. And I mean we've started employing security guards because the ETU and the CFMAU thugs are intimidating older women on the line. So it's not just voters, but it's also the volunteers as well who are suffering. So we have to make sure that you've got a respectful process. I think a lot of people now putting it on their phone as well, or they've got it in their pocket and they just don't want to take the how.
To vote card.
But there's nothing more frustrating when you see a one marked against your name on the ballot paper and it's invalid and the vote doesn't count. So please make sure you're numbering every box if you're voting for your Liberal and National candidate.
Barbara is standing by for us with a question of her interest. She's in West Kempsey in New South Wales and around the mid North coast there, she joins us, Now, what's your question that you would like to ask Taty Dutton.
The reduction in fuel tax will certainly help pension us. However this will likely end after one year. Will your government consider raising the pension increase to a good and creditable amount. Instead of the four dollars sixty or fortnite received this year, two dollars thirty a week would barely buy a cup of coffee.
Barbara, thank you for your question. And it's a fair one as well, just in relation to the fuel excise. So our proposal, as you know, is to cut in half the fuel excise, the fuel tax, so cut by twenty five cents a liter, and it's going to be of benefit to pensioners and two UNI students into families, to delivery truck drivers. We were talking to a charter boat operator up in Darwin. He was talking about the amount of fuel.
That he used. It'll be of benefit to him as well.
So it has an economy wide benefit to try and reduce some of the cost pressures that people have in their business models and in their households. It costs about six billion dollars a year to do that. So we've said that we'll do it for twelve months and then we'll review it at the end of that twelve month period.
It's sort of similar to what we did with job Keeper during the course of COVID, where we said, okay, we meet the initial demand and we don't need to block it in year after year because the economic circumstances that we're trying to deal with will be dealt with. And our proposal is that we give the twenty five cent a letter cut and then we do the twelve
hundred dollars tax rebate that provides support for pension. Is also we're saying that you can work more hours if you choose to do so, and that won't impact on your pension. So that will increase the number of hours that people can work. Because as to the point you're making, and it's true for self under retirees and people on anewities. Otherwise you've got a fixed income and your costs still
continue to rise exponentially under this government. So it's a question of what we can afford to do and how we can do it responsibly. And coalition governments normally will provide short term support, but ultimately we want to bring taxes down across the economy so that we can provide further incentive for people to work harder and to receive more of the money that they work hard for.
All Right, our last question, it is a farm one, and it's a quick one. Before we'd done tonight. It comes from Andrew. Andrew, what's your question?
Just interested in knowing your immediate thoughts.
When the Prime Minister said in Parliament they are delulu without a salulu. If there's anything sums up the old and easy government, it's not a clue they honestly. I mean we sort of joke about it, but there's a lot of damage been done Paul over three years. I really feel in particular for those thirty thousand small businesses that have gone break. Somebody's life, savings, a house, their dream just shattered, and the government has nothing to say
about it. People who are working second and third jobs, picking up a job at servo on a Friday night or over the weekend at the bottle shop just to try and pay the bills or the school fees. And we shouldn't be making it harder. We should be making it easier for people. And I want to make sure that we can get a change of govern and so that we can help really turn things around.
And I believe that we can.
If we manage the economy world, which liberal governments always do, we can help deal with the real pressures that labor's put in there. So a lot of hard work to do between now and Saturday. But I want to say thank you very much to all of those who asked questions, and sorry to those people who are not able to get their question forward. But it's a great program and really appreciate your friendship and what you do for our country.
Mate. Thank you, you good man, thank you, thank you pinion. Dat you'll see you're getting tomorrow night. From another edition of Paul Murray Life