The Skyinging Center. This is Paul Murray Live.
Thank you, James, Happy Thursday. So much to get to tonight, including it's fun.
What's happening right now with parts of the.
Media turning on Albo Now, the Prime Minister has had a chockra of a year. He went for a reset after a choker of a year last year, yet of course it didn't work out. The bookies say the Peter Dutman's favorite to be the next prime minister, and increasingly the feeling is that Alba might not be able to even pull off a minority government. Of course, it all
happens when it comes to the teals. But as you know, the media have always given the benefit of the doubt to this bloke because they hated the last bloke.
Now you could say that's because.
They generally speaking don't like the right of center or the liberal, let alone a conservative. But these guys have always given the government the benefit of the doubt.
We have called it out on this.
Show the whole way through too little, too late. Tax cuts were too little and were too late. We saw that when this government took fifteen hundred dollars off ten million workers at the height of twenty twenty threes cost of living crisis. We saw that for the problem that it was, the media pretended that it didn't really even happen. And there have been many examples, many examples that when all else fails, blame Dutton.
You said, in your own words, this was a test of your leadership.
So have you failed that test?
Why shouldn't you stay as leader? It was branded a racist.
Peter Dutton is being blasted this morning.
You have been criticized for being racist.
The opposition leader has been branded as heartless and racist.
Can you understand that this it could be divisive and inflame tension.
To many voters.
The former Defense, Immigration and Home Affairs Minister is a hard head, a public image his own colleagues concede is problematic.
Now he's unleashing attack lines and what he claimed would be the most radical change to Australian democracy.
And then, of course the apex of all of it was the absolutely independent, taxpayer funded commentator. Because they're allowed to be both straight reporters and commentators. Sorry, analysis pieces is what they write. When I made lefty Lord Tingle sitting there with nasty Nikki Sava at one of the
book fairs around the country, Well just opines that. For Peter Utton to talk about immigration and the need to cut it because there's not enough houses, because there's not enough services, well of course that's all racist, even of course that famous dog whistle that could be heard around the country of her fear of how evil conservatives would turn on anyone who doesn't look like them.
For a major point the Core University saying, as Nicky says, you know everything that's going role in this country is because of my grants and this way. Shouldn't people to out to try to read a property or in an auction and they looked a bit different?
What have you to find different?
As basically he has given them license to the abused.
Now, of course, the person sitting next to a nasty Nicki Sava and oh hasn't she been.
Part of the hating on conservatives?
You know she was a Costello liberal and a turnable liberal and anything else other than that, Oh, they most terrible, terrible, terrible. She's written analysis pieces like this in the channel on newspapers.
Next we Alberonizi done in his labour's greatest asset. So she was quite the fan, so much so that even when people were doing freedom of information requests to see who the Prime Minister has been meeting with, because despite the promise of being a transparent leader, you had to pay for the right to be able to even ask his offers who he has been meeting with. And let's
read what the result of that was. The inner sanctum of those that have been given access to the Prime Minister in his first days in office one on one meetings, including with The Guardian's political editor Catherine Murphy, the Cydney Morning Herald columnist Nicki Sava, so she's number two.
And then of course Peter.
Hartcher James was Sola Pvo back when he was a Channel ten, Channel seven's political editor and the foreign editor of the Australian Greek Sheridan. But the number one seed in the Albo fan club. Well, she went on to work for Anthony albernizi Murfheru. Of course she couldn't just
objectively report. She had to become part of the Prime Minister's press office, which means, according to this list, second cab off the rank is there, I mate nasty Nicky Sava and these people were all excited because this guy was going to rule forever. The Prime Minister had a
dirt unit which was going to dig up everything. When it comes to Peter Dutton, well, guess who turned today on Anthony Albanesi Old nasty Nikki Sava, the second seed in the private interviews with the Prime Minister when he first came to office. If Alberzi wins the next election, he should celebrate, then step aside, she says, within twelve
months of the result. If there is a minority or a majority, but anything other than a labor loss, he's gone or should leave of his own accord within twelve months. If Anthony Abernezi wins the next election to govern, either a majority or a minority, he should after a decent interval one year. She said that on radio this afternoon.
Retire so Labour can regenerate.
If Alberzi loses next year, which once seemed improbable and now possible, obviously he's finished.
There'll be a blood bath. He'll be the one to blame all the rest of it.
Now, What an extraordinary turnaround from a media that let this guy get away with anything when he was the opposition leader, who let him pretend. Oh, I'm completely positive. When it comes to dealing with the pandemic, while of course every opportunity to put the ship in to every decision that was being made, voting for the end of job keeper, while winging about the end of job keeper, promising to do something about cost of living, yet cost
of living become demonstrably worse since becoming Prime minister. The bloke from the Housing Commission joint, who understood the working class, who just buys the joint for four and a bit million dollars for when he eventually needs a spare house at a time when millions of people are struggling to pay off their home. Now we've made this point from before this bloke became the Prime minister. We saw this disaster coming and on the front line of it every
day since he became Prime Minister. Now, before we all get too carried away, I still believe that, if I have to bet, most likely outcome of the next federal election is a massive improvement for the coalition, but most likely the Teal seats most of them staying, meaning that the government will be in a position to form a minority government. And because most of the people on the cross bencher center left, that's probably how it'll go but there's every chance it doesn't because it's been bad for
years under this bloke. But what I find quite strange is that the media has already decided who the next in line is, and it's grim Jim Charmers.
They believe that the bloke from.
Queensland, Oh, he could immediately neutralize Peter Dutton, his four D chess brain of a political doctorate in the way keeping soul economics, that will be the future for the Labor Party. The only problem is if the economy is one of the reasons why Albo might have to go or Australians might get rid of him at an election, why is there a magnificent improvement in their chances by replacing him with the bloke who has been driving the
economy down the drain. Charmers was asked about it today and despite the fact that, of course, please it's not going to happen, he knows now that the camera bubble who create you and destroy you, have decided that he is next in line.
My expectation and my hope is if we do win the election next year, that Anthony Albanezi serves a full term and runs again. That's what I would expect to happen. That's what I would hope would happen.
Why should that happen?
And the best version of the best version of that for me is to continue being the nation's treasurer.
Why why should that happen?
Though?
Like what's wrong with change?
Well, I think we've got. One of the things that we'll be taking to the Australian people is a sense of stability, a sense that we've got an economic plan. We're rolling that out in difficult times. We're helping people where we can. And that's a tribute to Anthony's leadership that we've been able to do that. And so people should anticipate. I certainly anticipate and expect and hope that if we win the next election that Anthony will be around for as long as possible.
Now, I've been critical of the Prime Minister for all the reasons that we have built the case for a long time about his lack of judgment. We saw him as a fake before he became the Prime Minister. Each way elbow all of these things that at times we have been ridiculed for or I've been directly abused for saying. Now seems to be the dominant view that this guy. His time is running out, even if he somehow finds
a way through the next election. And that mean that if the media starts to signal this, well, then they won't give him the benefit of the doubt. They won't give him the best possible spin on the ball. And this is because they think not that Peter Dutton is going to be a better prime minister, but because they think anyone but is the option that they have to get behind.
Now.
It is always dangerous trying to take another country's politics, clicking and dragging and pretending that it has some sort of overlap here in Australia, but this was the exact logic. We must get rid of Joe Biden because we have to beat Donald Trump now again, the caucus rules are very clear that you need to have two thirds of the party vote to get rid of a sitting prime minister.
That won't happen.
Ironically, you only need fifty plus one of the party room to vote to change the rule about the three quarters, so that's how they would potentially around it. But more importantly, we've started this crap again. Australia should be able to hire and fire its own prime ministers.
Okay, some will rule.
For multiple cycles, some will rule for shorter cycles. And Anthony Albinezki, of course, will have been kicking the proverbial and metaphorical pet at how angry he would be that somebody, as in the tent as nasty Niki Saba, is now openly saying, pal even if you win, please go away. But Jim Chalmers is not the answer for the Labor Party because he has been the steward over an economy that just this week is barely sputtering along. And again, finally the people who gave the benefit of the doubt
are not giving it any more. These are the headlines, A terrible set of numbers for a treasurer and a Reserve Bank governor.
Jim Chalmers can't walk both sides of sorry street.
Albo has wrecked our economy and left us poorer than we were seven years ago.
Ozzie's are thousands of dollars.
Worse under Labor as economic growth slows to a thirty year record. Changing the messinger is not going to change the message. And the message was that you promised to make it better, but you made it worse, which brings us to the alternative Prime Minister in Peter Dutton campaigning today and knowing that every day where Parliament does not return,
we are part of an election campaign. He was spending time in and around New South Wales, particularly Sydney today and actually up on the Central Coast as well, trying to launch a whole collection of candidates, candidates who may have been around for a long time, may have just been introduced, but he needs all of those people to win for him to be able to get anywhere close
to minority, let alone actual government. Yesterday it was on the Northern Beaches of Sydney where he was introducing the people to take on two of the teals that many believe are immovable. Yet these are good middle of the road smart options for people of the Northern Beaches and other parts if they want to come back to the
fold to be able to do so. But I want you to see in one thing that Peter Dutton said this week that to use cricket parlance, he can see the wickets when many people have buggerized around in public life. When talking about the Australia Day bands of the pub Company, there were people who are you know, the days complicated. Oh, everyone's allowed to do what they want to do. Go in whichever direction they want to go. This was Peter Dutton middle stump.
If you've got a Christmas booking at a pub or an Australia booking at a pub with your friends or family that's not celebrating Australia, cancel it and go to another pub that's celebrating Australia Day and you'll see the companies change their behaviors pretty quickly.
They're changing.
They're not closing down the pokies on Australia are they. They're not saying that they're going to reduce the price of beer on Australia Day because it's you know, philosophically what they want to do. They're still happy to make money, and I think they should be supporting our national cause, and our national cause is best advanced when we celebrate the great country We are.
Good, straight, fast bowling fump bales flying in the air. That's the line and length that an opposition leader needs to get through and to keep a government on the defensive. But most of the more importantly, what type of leader
do we want for our country? I want somebody who is as clear as that in relation to something as ridiculous as the pubs that will be open and we'll have their poker machines open, and you can still get pissed in on Australia Day, coming out and making some moral boziz about Australia Day.
I want that clarity of leadership. Now.
We will produce plenty of people who don't like decisiveness, but Australians like decisiveness, and certainly at a time when things have gotten much worse rather than better, they are going to start to term to this. Is this me sitting here tonight predicting the outcome of the next to federal election. No am I stupid enough to tell you what that is? No, nothing is inevitable. We knew this in the twenty nineteen election and it will be so
for the upcoming election. And outside of the message of Australia Day today, Port Stevens, north of Sydney, in fact, at north of Newcastle, they've got an offshore wind farm project which is on its way and many locals, including plenty who I wouldn't imagine I voted Liberal ever in their life, hate the idea of this stuff changing what is a beautiful part of Australia guess who is building the wind farms current government, who won't if they become the government.
If there is a change of government at the next election, then we can give it assurance to this local community that this project will not proceed. The Prime Minister's every decision is about how he can try and stop the hemorrhaging of votes from the Labour Party to the Greens. We've looked at the area design where these wind turbines were projected to go two hundred and sixty meters above the water. This is going to be a scar on the landscape.
Correct this concept of to save the atmosphere, we must destroy the earth. Common sense people know that that's not the answer. And even if Labor the Greens get everything they want when it comes tom newble energy projects, Australia is one percent of the climate problem. Places like China can continue to exponentially pollute until twenty thirty and while we're going to net zero for twenty fifty then not doing it till twenty sixty.
They pollute thirty three.
Times more than we do. Because of course they have a population of obidian people and they deliberately keep some of their people in poverty, some of their people working slave labor to build the very solar panels that we end up buying and installing in this country in order to be able to turn around and call themselves a developing nation. But we know China's not a developing nation.
They literally invented islands in the South China Sea, They've got an international space station, they held two Olympic Games so far in the twenty first century. The idea that they're a developing nation is of course garbage. But Australia under this government and under the green tinges that exist in the more comfortable parts of the country, they say
we must do this. But of course if you try to put a single wind turbine or a single solar panel in the local doggy park of a teal or a green seat, their heads will explode.
So what do they do.
They say, all of this must be built with four fifths of bugger all ability to argue against it. Literally, they change the law in Victoria to reduce the rights of local communities to be able to push back on these developments. And these people have had enough.
It just seems like an active environmental vandalism kept our climate.
But at the same time we want to make sure that we're not just throwing and damaging nature.
We won't rest until some level of common sense prevailed.
This is a community that don't believe that this is the right place to put a wind farm.
Absolutely support renewables, but they shouldn't be at the expense of small communities.
Take them somewhere else.
Take them down the west coast of Tassi, or somewhere you have miles and miles of land.
They're wind swept, nice and flat. Take them for thousands of them there.
You see, this, in part has always been the problem about the transition to renewable energy, which is it'll poll really well to say yes, we must do it. Are you willing to pay for it?
No?
Do you want it built near u Elm, Which is why the opposition's position of saying okay nuclear. Yes it'll cost a lot of money, and yes it'll cost a lot of time to get it up and running, but we've got colon gas to get us to that point. It's not going to have the same impacts on the land in terms of the literal number of sites that that's the policy of the opposition and pole off to poll Off to pole Off to Pole Off to Pole Off Pole Pole is now saying that the majority of
Australians are open to the idea of it. I think the way to sell it is to turn around and say that in any local government area where one of these things goes one hundred percent free power for life, all right, and you watch.
I've been to.
Many, many, many, many dozens and dozens and dozens of regional.
Communities around Australia.
They would put their hand up for it, put both hands up, as opposed to the very same regional communities who are just being told, sorry, the farming doesn't matter anymore. This is just a great place to plunk. The stuff that creates the energy has to go back to the city. Oh yeah, but if you want any of it like Broken Hill, no, you can sit in the dark for ten days, because our warm feelings more important than your fridge staying on. Now, we were first to talk about
the Australia Day Ban here from these pubs. We did so at the start of this week. Of course, it was allegedly reversed on its way through, but it's not a full reversal. And I've got to say, and where Rida Panahy is in her column The Herald some this week where she says, look shove your apology. So as you've heard me say before, the venue that is one of these venues that I've gone to many many times over many, many many years, and I've got incredible memories
of really happy occasions. I'm not going to that joint this summer at all because of what they had to say in and around the Australia Day stuff.
But it brought me up and it's one of the things that.
Has probably united us for a long time, which is that Australians are cool with change, but we're not cool with change for change's sake.
And for these people who believe.
That, well, if we move from January twenty sixth, then there'll be somewhere there.
Is no other date.
The marking of modern Australia, the celebrating of modern Australia is an absolute offense to the people who don't want modern Australia to have ever existed. Of course, some of these people like having it both ways, like old mate Lydia Thorpe, who hates the colony but will gladly take the colony's money to sit in the colony's parliament. But for others, they just had this view that no invasion day. That's the focus when it comes to January the twenty sixth,
nothing else. But jeez, it was good to see people push back against that band this week. It was a little bit like the Trumpy stuff. We just felt nice, didn't it. They're just normal people really quickly and all at once said no, no, no, no bug of this.
Just drop the moral grandstanding.
Why do these people have to think they need to tell the rest of us their views of the ethical structure of our society.
If you've got a Christmas booking at a pub, or an Australia booking at a pub with your friends or family that's not celebrating Australia, cancel it and go to another pub that's celebrating Australia.
I'm glad to see that this company got a bit of a whack around the head.
And it always come to come back to common say, if you want to change.
That, run for parliament and change it.
Convince your constituents and bloody oath. Absolutely absolutely.
But then there was the response of Labor MP was on the Shari last night. Now he was sort of wishy washy and all over the place when it came to Australia Day, and that's fine, he can have that position, but I'll explain what the problem is with it after you've seen what he said.
It is fair to say that it has become somewhat controversial in parts of our community, and I think we're in an interesting transition at the moment with Australia Day. When I was thinking about how pubs in my own electorate are dealing with this, it reminded me that Australia Day evokes very different feelings in different parts of my electorate.
What does that mean?
Compare that to what you just heard when it came to Peter Dutton before the absolute clarity of the wick at trum Bang hit it right. If that bloke doesn't like a straighted Day, then come and say I don't like Australia Day. Come up with the alternative position again, despite the fact that I can't stand much of her public utterances and the way she behaves. We will know where Lydia Thorpe sits on this right, and she has the minority position, but she's holding on to her position.
And just because you're in the minority position doesn't mean you automatically should ever have to give it up.
That's the way the world works. That's an open and free society.
But one of the problems for the government right now is expressed exactly by that MP on this issue. Where do you stand now? In their harder hearts? Do they want to get rid of it? But they can't say because they think that the majority of Australians will be offended?
Maybe?
Do they want to keep it but they think the majority of people who are in and around.
Politics want to change it. Maybe?
But unless you're willing to actually say what you think and say bug of the consequences, I am who I am, this is what I believe. Well, then people eventually start to see a problem here and they start to see again a bit of a whiff in the air about change for change's sake. Another example of it today there is a school in Melbourne and they sent out a little message that now they're pretending didn't really mean what
clearly it meant. But Elthemese Primary Schools set in a letter to families earlier this week that no food or Christmas themed items were to be given as gifts for this year's secret Center. Among year five and six students. The rules were emphasized in red. They've now turned around and said, oh no, no, no, Christmas is for everyone and
all the rest of it. No, someone somewhere has a position that for some reason, and if you focus on Christmas at this time of the year, then who you're going to offend somebody else?
Here's the deal about modern Australia. I'm cool when the shop says Chinese New Year.
I'm cool when it talks about all the different cultural festivals of all the different faiths.
I don't have a problem with it. But guess what.
Happens in December each and every year Christmas. Now you know that I am not a believer. I have respect for the people who have faith, but yeah, we do Christmas. Won't be doing Ramadan. I wasn't brought up in that faith. But if you want to do it, cool, If.
The school wants to do it, great, But the idea that we.
Must include everyone else's traditions but somehow be offended and afraid of ours, it doesn't float with people. And when you have leaders who know the difference, you have leaders who actually get it. What ex brings us back to old mate upgrade albow. Now you may well have noticed if you're on social media that you had lots of friends, me included, who were posting what they have been listening to on Spotify.
Spotify is the music.
Streaming service that many of us listen to where basically every song in the world and you can put together playlists and your kids can have something and it's awesome, right, But there's Apple Music and there's a thousand different versions of this.
Spotify is the one that lots of people choose to use.
And because this Prime Minister doesn't want to be a sixty year old dude, instead he's DJ Elbow, he of course had to put it out today that what he's been listening to all year, whoo, I'm so down with it. Man's a whole bunch of stuff that you know, it's kind of fresh new Triple je kind of music, but not really sort of middle of the road stuff that you may hear on an over or kiss all of those songs anyway, or today a f or Fox if
I missing anyone else out there anyway. What was funny was was that when he decided to put this up to show how cool and normal he was, the cycle is now starting to move against Anthony I beneathy that the news story is now focused on the comments, like when he put this up, where people say things like no one cares do your job?
Are you bored? What is wrong with you?
Worst economic growth in Australia in thirty years and you're worried about Spotify clown emoji. This is when you know you are starting to get into a world of trouble, which is why you shouldn't play in this sort of stuff or turn the comments off, which of course they can. But there is something slightly different that I wanted to talk about, apart from just the reaction to the Prime Minister's Spotify playlist where he let us see what he has been listening to.
And it was kind.
Of a freaky glimpse into the future. Now this was my Spotify playlist. You can tell that I've got two little kids the age of ten in my house because it was Taylor Swift Dua Lipa and then my obsessions kick in Chris Staple and country music artist amazing. Like my entire musical world's been rocked by this guy this year. Go and listen to any and everything and you'll fall in love. Glenn Campbell of course, one of the greatest of all time, and Luke Combs another awesome in the country music phase.
Right, don't judge me, but that's what I'm into anyway.
The thirteen thousand minutes of listening to music, that was what made it for me.
But there was a really.
Weird feature which Spotify released today, which was a personalized podcast of two people talking about everything you have been listening to. Have a listen to, well one of these.
Examples thirteen forty two minutes listening this year. WHOA Yeah, that puts you on the top twenty six percent globally.
Wow, seriously impressively.
A music expert at this point.
Right, that's like having a really great soundtrack for your life all year round.
Totally.
Here's a bit that's scary. Those people aren't real.
That's a computer that is AI being able to create fake voices using fake words, but speaking with specificity about the data that I have given Spotify about what I listen to. Now that you know these voices a fake, you will start to hear the slight fakeness. But have a listen to how good and by good I mean frightening. This stuff is about to become.
Top artist.
This is always a good one.
It's the one and only Taylor Swift.
No surprise there. She's amazing.
Six hundred and forty two minutes of listening time across eighty five days.
That's like a that's like a lot of listening.
Yeah, basically puts you in the top eight percent of her listeners worldwide.
Wow, you're swifty through and through.
Yeah.
And you know what, I think it's so interesting because she's just so good at capturing those universal emotions.
You know what I mean, totally she gets it.
Yeah. Is anyone else freaked out right now? That is not a real conversation. They are not real people.
It's a computer talking to a computer about the stuff I'm listening to and it sounds real.
Wow. We live in an incredible time, the greatest time in human history. I don't know how.
Many people are going to get that excited about listening to fake people talking to fake people about anyone a little sign of things to come, thankfully, whereas real as we've ever been.
And that's not me pinching muscles.
You know that?
For an absolute fact?
Quick break back with more a Winner and Loser of the Week. We will crown one before we had done, No socks.
No left is this Thursday? Glad you're watching? Why did I pinch the muscle?
Anyway, I'm real thanks for watching. No books, no Lefties, A libertarian and a liberal to their heart, join us now from beautiful Melbourne. I will not ask Michael Kraigo about the Spotify thing because I.
Know couldn't give her rats.
But still, Kristin Abrams, the Libertarian, I'm thinking she made Well did you double check did you get this little update today about what your number one song was in the world?
I did check for it.
I couldn't find it in time, but I am sure that it is. Believe they share now, Please come on, Michael.
It's a classic. But Michael, what did just like?
If you don't know, If you don't know, if you don't know that Suspicious Minds by the best song of all time, then you're not really with.
I should tell you there's a fascinating documentary that is around. I think it's over on Netflix, and it's about the behind the scenes of the sixty eight Comeback Special. If you're an Elvis fan, you should go double check it out. It's a very good little bit of work. Anyway, let's get serious. Now we know how this works because I've seen it for a very long time, Michael, which is when the press makes you a hero, they'll try to
turn away from you. Albo is now in the stage where the people that have given him the benefit of the doubt have stopped doing it. And old mate nasty Nikki Sava, who was right up there at the top of the list with Murpha Roo in terms of the closest supporters of the Prime Minister and getting the FaceTime in the early days, she's now saying, even if you win bugger off in a year's time, what does that tell you about the future of the Prime minister.
Well, what you know is he's not going to be the leader of the Labour Party at the twenty eight election.
Okay.
So if he's leader of this election in March or April, which he will be, they're not going to change you between now in April. He's not going to lead after that, okay.
So whether he resigns or gets the job, we don't know.
But look, Albow has grotesquely underperformed expectations. You never know what people going to be like till I get there, all right, I mean, quite frankly, Peter Dutton has surprised everybody and he's been brilliant as opposition leader. No one really thought John Howard would be as great as he was when he was Prime Minister or Mensis or.
Biolchie, Peterson or Balty. You never know.
Dutton's been a standout and I almost been very disappointing. Part of his problem was he over promised. You know, Mensis always said, never promised beyond your capacity to deliver. And the two seventy five, the bipartisan on Israel, the cost of living crisis will fix it.
All the renewables are.
Cheaper, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera. It's all been an economic disaster. And all these bricks are you know, falling on this poor Blake's head and he's incapable of getting out from under.
So either way he's this is his last shot.
Now now again, I don't want to overpump nasty, nicky savat you as she goes goes the nation. No, no, as she goes goes the gallery. Right, it's just a conversation about these people who are the you know, the people who claim to be the most informed, but seeinggularly also times completely unaware of what's happening outside the building. Exceptions there are plenty, particularly Philip Curry, who we know I talk very warmly of all the time at the
Australian Financial Review. But Kristin, can I just ask as well here and again, it's the way it works, right, It's about who's whispering and who's ear and all the rest of it.
Right.
It's a little bit like you know, when they come up with it's time for a cabinet reshuffle and then people start suggesting who should get promoted. Those are the people who are the sources to the reporters, right, that's the exchange. You tell me all the stuff behind the scenes and I'll talk you. So that's the free pushing. So for them all now to start saying Chalmers, Chalmers, Chalmus,
Chalmers Chalmers. If the problem with the country is the economy and the problem with the politics is the economy, then how the hell is the guy running the economy the answer to the problem.
Kristen, Now you and Kroger probably have more insight than I do and the inner workings. But when I saw this today I actually thought maybe Albro and Chalmers teamed up so they could get this article out there to give Charmers some credibility because the economy is so bad.
Well so.
I've done it for a while and you just walked up for a cunnel.
And then well done, big.
Well, Look I've said this on them for show before, Paul, and I'll say it again. If Albow and Charmers were CEO and CFO, they would have been walked off the Premiers months and months ago. So Charmers being considered for the top job is an insult to every Australian's intelligence and I think it is absolutely abhorrent.
And also despite the fact of the factional this and that, it is a much bigger leap to the left as well, right because he's sort of, you know, of the big day out, Triple J generation, remaking capitalism, huge believer in you can't borrow enough money because nobody really. It's a massive jump to the left apart from again all the factional stuff. But let's not focus too far into the future.
Let's again be where we are right now. It seems to me as well, Michael, that a perfect example about something that might be wrong and the Australian economy right now is playing out when it comes to the workers and Woolworths, because I understand why cost of living people want a pay rise, but normally you have to offer something up in return for the pay rise. I will work longer, I will work harder. Here's the way that
the productivity right, that's how it works. The workers want twenty five percent, and they also don't want any cameras or any sort of AI monitoring their productivity. The company says, sorry, you actually have to work harder if you want more money.
But we're now at a stage where the unions and other unions are now starting to say we're all going to get in on causing as many troubles for Woolies as possible, because if people can't buy what they need to buy, they'll lord get the Harry hits and the lead up to and then eventually the company crumbles. This is like nineteen ninety stuff, not twenty twenty four stuff.
Michaels not quite a Woolworth, you know, are easy pickings these days because they suffered such a massive loss in credibility over their ridiculous performance over the Voice. I think they're one of the companies to ban Australia A.
Products weren't they? Was that Coles?
Yeah, So, I mean they're just they're like a boxer, you know, they're like a Mike Tyson in the ring, you know, just getting pummeled and with no public sympathy whatsoever. To show you how bad Albow and the Labor Party going, they came out today with a statement saying they've got to resolve this dispute. It should be resolved. Whereas Bob Hawk thirty years ago, Hawk would have come in, called them together, had a meeting with him somewhere in Melbourne and been the resolved the dispute.
That was insting.
He'd coming to the last minute and then get all the credit. That's what Hawk would have done. I mean, how much intellectual you know, firepowers does it require to say this dispute should be resolved. You know that takes a lot of guts and courage to and experience and still make a statement like that. So you know, of course the union's pushing hard.
They always do.
I don't like their illegal pickup lines, but you know Wolworths have very little public sympthy left these days.
Mate.
Well and again you know another example is, you know, however Man years ago waterfront dispute, Peter Wreath line in the sand, a government that was very clear, let's change.
The law to get this day.
You saw the government picking a side because they saw that as a modernization of the system. It feels like the industrial relations system has regressed under labor. This was the stuff that was the great fear after the job summit. But again, remember Kristen, when when Peter duart't and again I'm not suggesting the man walks on water and everything's perfect, but the big calls are right, and when he turned around and with a job somebody and I'm not going here.
This is just a front for the union to get whatever it wanted, right, and guess what, they got what they wanted and we are where we are now.
In a scenario like this.
Do you think the government gets into the room and says, well, you talk to you, let's solve this thing here, or what do you think ultimately happens. Does the consumer just say I don't care, I blame everyone, or I blame you know, I'm not going to blame the union. I'm going to blame the company. How do you think normal people take this?
So it's a double edged sword on this one For me. I am a libertarian, so I believe that the government should absolutely stay out of the private sector. But I am also a hr professional and I could nerd out right now and tell you how the regulations have gone too far. They've given the unions too much power at one point that you know, power was needed to get industrial relations to where it is, and it is absolutely gone too far, and we are in this situation now
because of that. Now we're looking at a situation where the unions are wanting to band together and strengthen numbers to realistically bully a company, whether that's Woolworths or whether that's a smaller business, they're realistically banding together to bully company into getting what they want. Now. I've been on the other side of the negotiating tables with the unions when we're going through an agreement, and some of the
stuff they come up with is absolutely ridiculous. How could a company be expected to turn a profit?
Now?
I know we're talking about will words, but how could a company be expected to turn a profit when they go out asking those things? So I think rather than anyone in the government picking up the phone and calling wilwords and calling the union and saying, you know, sort this out and giving them a little you know, slap around about it. How about you look at the legislation that has allowed it to get to this point. And on one more thing, my mum always raised me to
say that every worker is important for this economy. Every worker, whether that's the cleaner in the street, whether that's the you know, senatary disposal man, every job makes this world go around. So their whole argument is the pandemic showed us that they're really important for the economy. Well, we're all important for the economy. We have a bad entitlement mentality.
Yeah, this is it.
And like all good libertarians, it's I'm a libertarian on this issue, but generally that's the way it works as well. That's one of the great internal conversations that libertarians always end up having. It's a particular strain of politics that I'm genuinely fascinated in, and I think a lot more
people need to get the hit around. But let's talk here as well about among other things, nature positive now banged on about this all week because I think it has consequences in Northern Territory those two seats and Western Australia and the multiple seats there. Why because we saw what things like nature not nature positive the heritage laws had in Western Australia so much so WA premier turns around says, for God's sake, made out stop, don't go
near this stuff. But the government doesn't turn around and say we're not doing it. Instead they just turn around and say, well, we weren't going.
To do the Greens version of it.
So how important is it, Michael, when you're putting together a political campaign that Okay, you've got the ad that runs nashtionally, you've got the message that runs nationally, but you've also got the state based issues. And do you think that, in the age of all the different ways that you can localize your message, that the local state parties should be that there should be a version of
the ads that is specific to the locations. Because it's something Labor has been good at with a WA message in Wa on watv as opposed to the same ad in Brisbane and Broom.
Sure, if you can localize the messages and they're powerful messages, not just in a polybabble, that's always incredibly effective. I think the electorate are more sensitive, more in tune to what's going on as country. They have been for a long time. That's because the economic crisis. Every government decision people are watching to see how it to affects their kitchen table and their ability to put food on the table, pay the rent, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera.
So this is.
Another you know, look look this way, Alban, Easy Wong and Pleversick towards the back end of their careers and they've decided, as you know, good socialist members of the socialist left, you know, let's not die wondering. Let's bring in these extreme policies whilst we're here, because we want to be remembered for doing something. At least we'll get a chair at the you know, Socialist left and your dinner in Carlton in for the next twenty to thirty years.
You know, he failed, but least at least he flew the flag of you know.
Hard left socialism.
So Cleversik wants to bring in another regulatory body, a national EPA, as if there aren't enough regulatory bodies. So, needless to say, the Wester is soon in premium and everyone in the bush have got very concerned about another massive overreach, all on the guise of protecting biodiversity, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera. But this is just another you know, massive government bureaucracy and a national information bureaucracy to monitor
what's going on. But contrasts that message that labour giving people in the bush to this. When when was the last time you ever heard Alban Easy say thank God for Australian farmers, correct, I mean thank God for our farmers. When was the last time he ever said thank God for the Australian mining industry, Thank God for coal and gas and oil and our gas exports. Thank goodness for the industry that's propped up the Australian economy, that pays
for Medicare, Jim, not you, your goose. It's paid for by the mining industry and our farmers. Right, they're the ones that are propping up Medicare. When was the last time you heard elbow say that? Now all you do is here Bowen say, We're sticking twenty thousand wind turbines all around the East Coast, all that of Tasmania and into South Australia. Twenty thousand of these monstrosities, I mean, country people have had enough. This government is not for them, right.
This government is not for farmers Queensland, as Western Australians, anyone outside Melbourne City.
This government's not for you.
Right, you're not waken up and this government's really not interested in you.
If you are the irritant, your job is to shut up, pay your taxes and do your bit. Thankfully, people don't do that, and we put it back and that'll be one of the big lines going into the next election.
Or right, quick break back with more. Let's find out who the winner and loser of the week is.
So give the guys time because I gave them no heads up about it before, so they've got a break to come up with.
It more in a second, thank you very much.
We are here with Michael Kroger Kristin Abrams before we get a winner and loser of the week very quickly. We are in Christmas party season at time, and of course that means there's an opportunity for somebody to write too many words in a newspaper saying, oh.
I just don't know if I like these anymore.
Kristen, are you somebody who just loves the social butterflying instead of can quickly go from one conversation to the other. Or are you one of these people who is very polite and ends up sticking with the one couple all night.
No, I never stick with the one couple all night. Paul can't do it. I'm an extrovert, so I do like to socialize. But at the end of the silly season, I can tell you that I am a little bit exhausted. But some people might choose to attend a Christmas party in Sydney and you know partying means that much to them. So I think, Look, I think the I think the article that was written was a little bit like, yes there's introvert and yes the holiday season is hard.
He's my five hundred wounds on it, Michael, to get here a social butterfly. I seen you in action, right, zip zip zip.
Yeah, the guy who sort of asks the question and then buggers off to the other side of the room.
Well, the answer to going to Christmas parties and events generally is this, when you get a bit older. I had a very good friend of mine in business and many years ago I was having likes with Roger Moore James Bond here in Melbourne. Long story for another occasion and invited a friend of mine in business and his wife to come, and they said, yes, I'll have to come meet Roger Moore, James Bond, Simon Temple, etcetera.
And then they rang and left him. It's so no, it wasn't coming.
And I just think he was down on his farm and he just couldn't be bothered. And he reached the age of life where it's now you just prefer to sit on the couch and watch the races and good on him.
So you know, sometimes you just you know, got to do what you gotta do.
Yeah, and then there's just that moment where you just go all right, winner and loser of the week, Christine Abrams, who is it for you?
So the winner for me has to be the Libertarian Party. We made a threat to the Liberals to say, if you vote in favor of the social media band for under sixteens, we will offer Liberal Party people a membership called the ex Liberal Membership, And in a week we've had over one hundred people. So that one is especially for you, Michael, thank you very much. The loser of the week is all the introverts in this silly season. I do know that it is actually a thing, and
your social battery does get trained. So I feel for you and if I can give you some of my extroverted energy, I'm doing that.
Very true, very true.
All right, Michael Yep. Winner of the week Boris Johnson. If you haven't got his book, get it. It's a very good read, very funny, lots of good insights. Loses the week.
A tie this week, mate, Australian Venue Co. These gooses. Can you believe it?
Man?
Can they read the room? This mob? They're tied with Jaguar.
Don't forget the Australian Venue Company has a pub called the Colonist. They've not changed the Australia, but the pub in South Australia is still called the Colonist.
And you can.
Play the Pope made but Jaguar please, as they say, you can't make this stuff up.
You can't make this stuff up.
Thank you guys. Talk to you again next week. Look forward to seeing you in person today. All Murray live. Christmas event, that's what it's called.
Not a festive gathering, not an end of year celebration.
It is a Christmas event. Have a great weekend, go Yankee. You see you Sunday