Showing well, good evening and first tonight the Albanezi governments that Climate Change Authority is aiming for an even higher emissions reduction target of sixty five to seventy five percent
by twenty thirty five. This is a massive increase on the current target of forty two percent by twenty thirty Now, while the Prime Minister wouldn't answer questions about his twenty thirty five target, today I can reveal the Climate Change Minister Chris Bowen, has written to his agency asking for advice on what the emissions reduction targets should be by twenty thirty five, and documents show that the agency once a target of between sixty five to seventy five percent,
even though electricity prices are already through the roof. In this letter I've obtained, Chris Bowen writes, and I quote, I request the Climate Change Authority provide me with advice on potential national greenhouse gash emissions reduction targets for twenty thirty five, and he's asked for this new advice urgently, he wrote, in order to allow for sufficient time for
consideration of all relevant issues. The government would appreciate the Authority providing its advice no earlier than first of October twenty twenty four. Now, the Climate Change Authority is on record in these documents saying that the emission's reduction target needs to be even higher than the current twenty thirty target of forty two percent, which labor is already unlikely
to meet. Tony Wood from the Gratin Institute has said the government will face immense challenges trying to meet even its current target.
We're about halfway there, but it's taken this the last twenty years to get halfway there. We've got, you know, only five years to get the other half, and that looks really hard. Is it possible technically? Is but looks to be very challenging.
Well, now let's go to the documents.
In fact, Chris Bowen's agency once a target of sixty five to seventy five percent, as you can see in this twenty twenty four issues paper they've produced, and it states the evidence to date suggests the Authority consider targets broadly within the sixty five percent to seventy five percent range. Now, just to show you how extreme that is, it was the Green's policy at the last election to have a
target of seventy five percent by twenty thirty. So here's Chris Bowen's own agency recommending that same Green's target of seventy five percent just five years later. And they admit in this document that this will need to meet that target, there will need to be even more action by households in businesses, and they say that ambitious targets could impact
on our economy and society. And I quote the evidence the Authority has considered so far suggests a twenty thirty five target in the range of sixty five to seventy five percent below two thousand and five levels would be ambitious and could be achievable and sustainable if additional action is taken by governments, businesses, investors and households to achieve it. They say, however, attempting to go much faster could risk significant levels of economic and social disruption and put progress
at risk significant levels of economic and social disruption. Now, electricity prices have already gone up by around twenty five percent a year since the election in twenty twenty two, and there are warnings that we could face blackouts in New South Wales and Victoria come summer.
This is partly why labor.
Premier are Chris Mins, the premiere in New South Wales, has now extended the life cycle of the state's largest coul fired power station.
Well.
The Opposition leader Peter Dutton said today that if Australia has a forty two percent target, well, he says, imagine what a sixty five percent target would do.
We saw the Prime Minister and his very angry state that he was in telling people that he couldn't really explain what a sixty five to seventy five percent target looks like. In February of next year, the government's going to have to sign up to a new target by twenty thirty five. What does it mean for families who are struggling at the moment where Anthony Albnezi promised at the last election that there would be a two hundred
and seventy five dollars decrease in your power bill. Instead there's been one thousand dollars increase in your power bill. But how much higher will your electricity prices go under this prime minister?
And the Prime Minister was asked about his twenty thirty five targets today and it's a relevant question given they need to be submitted to the UN by February next year, but Albin Easy didn't want to speak about what their twenty thirty five target would be.
He wouldn't say a word. Can you gallantee?
He will announce it thirty private target for minutes year.
I'm guaranteeing the twenty thirty target that we have legislated, as well as knit zero by twenty fifty. What we're concentrating on is delivering forty three percent by twenty thirty and we've got a mechanism to get there well.
Now.
As I've revealed tonight, Chris Bowen has given his agency until the first of October to prepare their formal advice on their twenty thirty five targets. But his own agency's analysis from this year shows that they do want an even more aggressive target of sixty five to say five percent, and there are concerns that this will have major social
and economic consequences. Now, everyone can have their own view on what our targets should be, but there is one thing that we can all agree on that more ambitious targets in just a decade's time is something that the Alban Eazy government should be clear, transparent, honest and open about it. Shouldn't take us tracking down the detail to
tell you about what they're planning. It's just like before the federal election when they took a small target agenda to the polls and then implemented radical change that they never told you about, whether it was on Middle East foreign policy, on border security, on immigration levels, or on
ir reform. Once again, we're seeing alb and Easy today waving away questions, and you just saw it waving away questions about twenty thirty five targets when their own documents show plans are currently underway for extremely ambitious and aggressive targets, targets at the Greens held.
In just a decade's time. Now.
We'll discuss this with my panel in a moment. But also tonight, Labor under threat from Muslim independent candidates. This is partly why alban EASi is taking such a strong.
Anti Israel stance.
To discuss this, my exclusive interview tonight with former Labor Minister Mike Kelly on how his own party.
Is betraying the Jewish community.
Also American concerns about Australia's commitment to ORCUS. Shadow Defense Minister Andrew Hasty will be on the show live and the President's son Hunter Biden found guilty in his gun trial. Across Live to Washington for the latest. But first now let's bring in tonight's panel labor legend Graham Richardson and Liberal Senator James McGrath.
Welcome to you both.
Well, let's start with that climate change topic. And we saw today Peter Darton accusing the Prime Minister of destroying the economy while trying to meet net zero targets. Let's have a look at what he had to say.
We want to make sure that we've got an energy policy that's working for Australians, not against them. I'm not going to sign up to an arrangement that destroys our economy and sends families and small businesses into bankruptcy.
What Peter Dutton is saying is that he won't have a twenty thirty target. This is an extraordinary failure of leadership from Peter Dutton. It shows he's not up to the job of being the alternative prime minister of this country.
Well, as The Nightly put it, the Prime Minister's attack on Peter Dutton's decision to dump the twenty thirty emissions target was and I quote, a hollow distraction from the real issues of cost of living and how our nation is going to handle the inflation challenge. All right, rich O, you think do you agree with that analysis there in
the Nightly? Do you think the Prime Minister has dredged up the climate was once again as a distraction from his detainee scandal and in the hopes of scoring some political points over Dutton after that disastrous news poll for him just earlier this week.
Yeah, I don't think this is Anthony's finest hour, and I think Dutton has had the best of the week, and I think there's been quite a gap between them. Dutton hasn't had a tremendous time as opposition leader, but he's coming into his own.
Now and he's doing very well.
Labor ought to be taking very very closely over, watching very very closely everything he does, because this thinks he can get there.
Look, James, let's bring you in here.
What is the coalition argument on rejecting net zero by twenty thirty, Because if as Peter Dutton says, and as the analysts say, just like Tony Wood from the Gratin Institute, if Labour's not going to meet those targets anyway, why not just put pressure on labor over that point.
Because labor are misleading the Australian people. They've got these targets, they know they're not going to reach them. And what they're doing is what I call dead cat politics. You get a dead cat, you put it on the table. Everyone's looking the dead cat and forgetting about the real issues. And politicians do this all the time and Albanize is doing it. The number one issue in Australia at the
moment is cost of living. It is everywhere. I was at Farmfest last week in Twomba and that's what people were talking about. And for labor to have these unrealistic targets, but targets are actually hurting businesses, hurting Australian families because it's driving up the cost of electricity. The Coalition's position is pretty clear. We support net zero by twenty fifty, but we want electricity to be affordable and reliable and we want to look at all forms of energy rich I.
Do you agree with that?
Do you think they're it'll be voter frustration with Albanezi returning to climate was when, as James McGrath says, cost of living is the central issue that families are really struggling with right now.
Yeah, I think Albow is going to have a hell of a battle on his hands to convince people that his priority is greater than their cost of living.
Cost of living, cost of living, they're the first.
Three issues, and you can't pretend that anything else is going to knock one of.
Those three off. That's it, and you know.
We have to work within that framework, and that's what labor's not doing at the moment.
Yeah.
Look, it's going to be a big issue.
And of course we hear the news that it now looks like interest rates aren't going to be cut until at least twenty twenty five. So just sticking with you for a minute, Richo, that's going to do You think that would rule out any early election this year because the argument for an early election was off the back of an interest rate cut.
Yeah.
I think certainly, were I in the job, I would not be going to the places this year. There'll be no relief inside and therefore you've got absolutely no advantage in going early. And you know people in the past you go early if you think it's going to be a big help to you. Well, I can't see any aid whatsoever going to Labor over this, so I'd be keep him a power to dry and I'd be looking at next year.
And that is what the PM keeps saying. He keeps saying he intends to serve his full term. But the reports are James, that your side, the coalition is preparing for an early election. So are you expecting that Labor might go later this year?
Our Poland House last week was full of rumors about an early election, whether it's going to be in August or There is one well known cabinet minister who was telling people to prepare for an early December election. Good oppositions always prepare for an early election. I know that Andrew Hurst as the Federal director and they can follow as the people NATS director, and David will Proud and Peter Dutton are getting their teams ready. We've got candidates
being pre selected. We want an election sooner rather than later because we know that that Alban Easy is not up to the job of being Prime Minister.
James, can I just pull you up on and what you just said said there which cabinet minister was talking about a December election.
I don't want to say that, but the building was full. The building was full of rumors about this particular Labor cabinet.
Minus always and.
Those rumors are true.
Also probably started them.
It's just friends, tell us cabinet minister.
That's officious and hurtful allegation. No, I won't say that, but what I'm going to say is that clearly the Labor Party are also looking at an early election. The Prime Minister has not ruled out calling an election this year, and to Richo's point, he will go when he thinks he can win, and I think in hees rates stay as they are. He probably won't go this year because of the economic circumstances. But all right, things can get a lot worse. So be scared, mister Albanizy, be scared.
I'm honest warning that.
All right, let's have a look at the advice today from Australia's former Deputy Chief Health Officer, doctor Nick Coatesworth. He's told ben Fordham on t GB that he's not going to get another COVID vaccine.
Have a listen.
I've had my influenza vaccine and I'm still being vaccinated for COVID. No, when did you stop doing that? About two years ago?
I had three vaccines and that's been enough for me.
Any reason why?
Because I don't think I need any more, Ben and the science tells me that I don't. Rich.
Oh, people would be very frustrated hearing this, given Nick Coatesworth encouraged everyone.
To get a vaccine.
In fact, it was mandated you couldn't go to a cafe with our one. And now he says, I know I haven't had one for two years.
So find that a bit extraordinary given what he has said in the past, and the way he said it so nonchalantly, just really surprises me.
And it's got to say it disappoints me.
What do you think, James, I mean, the advice around vaccines has changed dramatically, And you know what is worrying about this is that the reports are now that the take up rate for regular non COVID vaccines for children is now falling because people have lost confidence in vaccines as a result of the COVID pandemic.
And that would be disappointing if that's the case, because I'm someone who believes that people should be vaccinated and should get the JAB, especially children. But what is concerning with what doctor Coatsworth said is is that he stopped at three, but he also did say to follow scientific advice. And I'm not a scientist, I'm not a medical professional.
I will do what my doctor tells me to do and what the scientists tell me to do, and hopefully they've got my best interest at heart, and I would encourage other people to listen to those people in relation to their own health matters.
Well, I have to say the advice has been confusing, especially Nick Coatesworth was a figure that a lot of people trusted and here he is saying he's only had three James McGrath, Graham Richardson. Great to see you both this evening and thanks for your time. Now coming up, I'll be joined by the former Labor minister who is now urging the Prime Minister to preference the Greens. Last, why won't Albanezi say that he's going to do this? Stay tuned after the break.
Welcome back.
Well.
The alban Ezy government today announced an extra ten million dollars for Gaza, on top of the sixty two million dollars it has already given since October seven since the terror attacks on October seven, sixty two million, and none of it to Israel Foreign Minister Pennywong has this week refused as well to celebrate the brave rescue of four Jewish hostages from the grips of Hamas terrorists, and Labour shut down debate on a judicial inquiry into anti Semitism
on university campuses twenty four hours after the Prime Minister himself claimed to care about the issue in question Time. Now, part of the reason for Labour's moral confusion is pure politics.
Labor is under threat from the.
Greens in inner city areas of Sydney and Melbourne, and now it's under threat from the rise of Muslim independent candidates in Southwest Sydney. It's something Peter Dutton referred to when I interviewed him ten days ago.
Even though the first term government hasn't lost since nineteen thirty one, that the best outcome from a Labor Party perspective is that they could form a minority government which would include the Greens and the Teals and potentially, as you say, Muslim independent candidates from Western Sydney or perhaps elsewhere.
Now.
The excellent journalist at The Australian, Alexei Dimitriadi reports today that community leader with Sam Shakawi is mobilizing the Muslim vote across Keys Southwest Sydney federal seats to topple Labor at the next election as prominent figures won the alp of electoral abandonment. He writes that although Sheik Shikawi campaign may not run candidates, several pro Palestine independents will run as viable protest votes and likely would be.
Endorsed by it now.
The Labor and PAS under threat include Andrew Charlton in Parramatta, Tony Burke and Watson, Jason Clare in Blacksland, An Stanley in Werrowa and the new South Wales Premier Chris Mints. And the Vote for Palestine group is planning a rally outside of Tony Burke's office this Saturday. In an Instagram post, they've said to Tony Burke in twenty twenty.
Five, we will vote you out well. Shakhawi said on social media.
That we are grassroots, mobilizing, funded and coming for your seats, and he also wrote on Instagram that he was mobilizing for the federal election with a video taken outside of our regular guest Labor and P Andrew Charton's office. Have a look at these two clips that he's posted on his Instagram page.
Need people who can echo the voices of the Palestinians who are being decimated and subject to genocide. We need people to come out. We need people to echo their voices. We don't need people to work behind the scenes. We don't want a seat at the table. We want you to speak out. We want you to be opened, We want you to lobby. We want you to speak on behalf of your constituents, which you promise to speak on behalf of. To some of these politicians, the facts don't matter.
We've said it before and we'll say it again. The definitions of genocide don't matter. The definitions of apartheip don't matter. The definitions of ethnic cleansing don't matter.
They only understand one language.
And that's votes, and that's power, and that's people power. That's the only language that they understand. Are we going to let them hear our voice? The date, not a single not a single major MP of government, both state and federal, has said the words Israel and condemn in the same breath.
Well, the political pressure in areas of Southwest and Western Sydney are thanks to the changing demographics and this is part of the reason labor at a federal level is so anti Israel. It needs to hold on to Western Sydney, needs for the Prime Minister himself.
To remain in the top job.
But this is putting politics and self interest above the national security interest. It's putting politics above the need for the law to be upheld on our streets, and it's putting politics ahead of the need for social cohesion, for an end to anti Semitism, and for a safe environment for all Australians.
Including Jews, to live and grow up in.
All right, let's bring in tonight my special guest, former Federal Labor Minister Mike Kelly. Mike, thank you very much for joining me tonight. It's wonderful to have you with us. Look what's your reaction sure to this what we've just seen, this new political pressure on labor and how this is influencing Australia's foreign policy and even our national security.
Well, look, I think it's possible for any one person to claim they're representing the entire Muslim community in Australia. It's an incredibly diverse community with very differing views, and I know most of them. The number one priority is putting food on the table, getting jobs, education for their kids, and the Middle East is very far from their thoughts
for most occasions. A lot of them aren't even from the region, of course, so you know, I wouldn't take them seriously as claiming to speak for the Muslims of Australia. But of course at least they're talking about working within a democracy, which is something that doesn't exist throughout the entire Middle East other than in Israel, so perhaps they've learned something. But the other side of this coin, too is to misunderstand the huge subterranean feelings amongst the Australian
community about Islamistic extremism. Frankly, you know, we've been on the receiving end of it in Bali and the World Trade Center in London and Barcelona, so a lot of Australians understand perfect what that threat is.
And I think the.
European elections just recently show where the sentiments of people are in that respect, and it was also reflected even in the Eurovision votes. So to ignore that va subterranean sentiment in the Australian community is to not understand the political dynamics of Australian's security concerns and our domestic desire for social cohesion and adherence to the rule of law.
Such a good point, because I agree with you.
Mainstream Australians are sick of the lawlessness that we've seen that we're seeing, the vandalism, the hate speech and basically very few, if any.
Arrests over it.
Can I ask you, Mike, I mean you were part of the Labor Party. I have other people on here, like Michael Danby who also were part of Federal Labor. But it's changed so much in its attitude towards Israel. Do you think this is a reflection on the politics of marginal seats or do you think it's more the figures of Anthony Albanesi and Pennywong coming from the socialist left and the beliefs that they've held over a lifetime.
Well, certainly the Middle East issue has been a plaything of the factions in the past without really any knowledge significantly existing on the side of that debate. Most of the time. It's just not simply a matter of putting on a kafir and becoming a geopolitical or international law or laws of conflict expert. But it's just simply was previously one of those factional game playing issues which have
delineated the two factions. Of course, these days it's more a question of looking at each individual MP and what their opinions and attitudes are. But there's been of course a massive campaign of emailing these MPs, and of course the horrendous and vile disobeying of the law through the vandalism that we've seen, the boycotting and blockading of MP's officers.
They're interfering with the democratic process in this respect. And the thing is that these demonstrators, they're not the lovely, huggable sort of peace activists of the Summer of Love and the sixties. This is the winter of hate. What they're advocating is actually an escalation of the war. They want to eliminate the state of Israel and see a genocide happen of the Jewish community there, and promoting so
called resistance but really just violence. And they're legitimizing and the Greens and promoting this Hamas propaganda and commentators who do this are legitimizing violence not only against Israel, but against Jews in general, because as we well know, the Hamas Covenant designates all Jews to be killed, and that's what they showed us they wanted to do and would do given the opportunity.
On the of October.
Well, indeed, and actually we've just seen in the Wall Street Journal comments from the Hamas leader, from Jaha Sinwa, and they show that the terrorist organization is using civilian casualties as part of their strategy to.
Win the war with Israel.
In one message that was released, they call them and I quote necessary sacrifices. And the Wall Street Journals reporting that in an April eleventh letter to Hamas political leader is Mael Honeyeer, after three of his adult sons were killed by an Israeli air strike, Sinhwa wrote that their deaths and those of other Palestinians would infuse life into the veins of this nation, prompting it to rise to its glory and honor. But Mike Kelly, again, this isn't
reflected in the political debate. We hear every day criticism, condemnation from Penny Wang and often from Anthony Albanizi about Israel, and you know, there's no recognition, of very little recognition that actually it's Harmas that is using human shields, that's embedding their weapons in civilian sites and infrastructure, and that was holding hostages in the middle of a refuge e cap.
These are their standard tactics, and I've seen it all before during my year long service in Iraq during that war and then dealing subsequently with the ISIS threat and the horrendous activities they conducted, and knowing that to eliminate them and liberate Iraqis The Siege of Moses, for example, was exactly this scale of urban conflict, producing exactly the same really unfortunate and tragic destruction and damage and loss of life, because that's the only choice you have left
to you when you're dealing with an evil of this scope and dimension. But to tell you the truth, Hamas has really exceeded anything I saw from ISIS or l CADA in Iraq.
Wow.
Their systematic rape and their gratuitous and sadistic sexual mutilation conducted on a massive scale, is nothing that I've ever seen before. And the depths to which they have plum really means that we do as you say, I mean, we do have to recognize that this was a war of aggression launched by HAMAS. Now that is an international war crime. If they were a state they would have been held accountable for that, but of course it's actually a Ran that's pulling their strings, so we should be
taking Iran to the International Criminal Court. But in any event, they have complete agency in this conflict, and so the pressure and the international voice of unity should be to direct and demand that Hamas end this fighting, end their aggression, release the hostages, and allow the free flow of relief to the Gazans because they've been hoarding and stealing it and selling it on the black market and interfering with it because of the combat activities they conduct against the IDF.
So the walk it end right now as we speak if her Maas laid down their weapons, and that's where the pressure should be applied.
Absolutely completely agree Mike Kelly.
Do you know it is so refreshing to hear a labor figure speak with such clarity. If only you were still in the federal government, if only Michael Danby was, and the late Kimberly Kitching, I think we wouldn't be seeing the levels of anti Semitism that we are at the moment. That strength is certainly missing. Thank you very much for your insights and intelligence here tonight. Now let's
return to or let's talk about orcus. This is the key method with which we can protect ourselves should there be Chinese aggression.
Now incint estimates.
Today it was revealed that WA Labor Premier Roger Cook had only met with the Director General of the Australian Submarine Agency twice amid infrastructure concerns.
Have a look at this.
You're saying that you'd had what is it eighteen or sixteen or eighteen meetings with the I think that was a few. So that was with Premier mill and marsus have you met with How many times have you met with the WA Premier?
So I've met twice.
I think Anmiral Buckley has met.
I've not met with the Premier.
Center those comments last week, not today, I should have clarified now. This comes as representatives from the US have already raised concerns about just how prepared Australia is for August, particularly the infrastructure needed in the HMAS Sterling vicinity. Well, to discuss this, let's bring in now Shadow Defense Minister Andrew Hasty. Andrew, thank you for your time. Look what has concerned you about what unfolded in Senate estimates there last week?
There are a number of things sharing which concern me. The first is the lack of commitment from the way state government to deliver ucas on time. As your viewers would know, from twenty twenty seven, there'll be a base Submarine Rotational Force West out in Perth which will host up to four nuclear submarines, three from the US, one from the UK. We've got two years to get that ready. What we learn in estimates is that we're behind on
schedule with the building of the infrastructure. And we've also uncovered that Premier Cook, the WA Premier, is not serious. He's only met twice in fact, with Jonathan Mead, the Admiral who heads up the Australian Submarine Agency, whereas if you compare that to Premier Malinowskis since South Australia he's met sixteen times. So there's a lack of drive and
aucas is a national mission. All local governments, all state governments and the federal government has to be driving hard to make this happen in twenty twenty seven and then by the start of the next decade when we get our first Virginia class submarines.
And just how concerned do you think that the US is over the pace that Australia is moving.
Well, I've had plenty of feedback from the US and the UK. There is an ambivalence about August, particularly in Western Australia from the state government, and I think Richard Miles and the Prime Minister needs to be doing more to drive this. Premier melanowskis, I've got to give credit to him. He is mission focused. He said a couple of weeks ago in Canberra that UCAS is a single mission for the six states, that they all should be working to deliver it, along with the leadership of the
federal government. And I think that's the message that we need to take going forward. So there is concerns and we've also uncovered last week that there's an offshore wind farm. Well we know the offshore wind farm is being proposed by Chris Bowen off the coast of Wa, eight thousand square kilometers in fact, just to the south of the base, which is also a problem.
All right, Well, keep coming back to that topic because it is incredibly important. Nothing more important for our national secure right now than ocus. But I want to ask you about Chinese Premier's upcoming visit. Of course, the Prime minister announced.
That just yesterday.
Do you expect Albanesi will address the problems that exist with the aggression we've seen from Beijing, not just in the South China Sea, but to our navy divers, to our recent fighter pilot jets. Do you expect Albanzi will actually raise these things that he has failed to do so far at any sort of ministerial level.
That's right. I think it definitely should be on the table. In any relationship, there has to be boundaries, and the Chinese military has breached a number of boundaries over the last year. We saw last year our navy divers experience as sonar attacked whilst unt the water from a Chinese destroyer, and just recently we saw a Chinese fighter fire flares at a Royal Australian Navy Seahawk, which was very, very high risk behavior in both instances, and the government failed
to raise this at the appropriate levels. Anthony Alberanzi had an opportunity last year to raise it with President g he didn't, and so I think this is a perfect opportunity to do that and also to raise outstanding cases Young Jen Hung, who's still being held by the Chinese government. There are plenty of things that we can raise even while we talk about our trade relationship, which is important.
Exactly exactly, we still have an Australian imprisoned in China.
We can't forget that.
Just lastly, before you go, the Prime Minister, in his press conference late yesterday, was asked whether he'd follow our other like minded allies, the US and UK and take action against TikTok.
Well, have a look at his response.
US and kind the governments are both considering in terms of TikTok potentially fanning they.
Sight serious concerns about democracy.
Is our intelligence the same He's so worrying we're going down the same path.
And if we're not, why not?
Well, I'm surprised you asked me to to reveal what our intelligence should be at a press conferences. Well, our position hasn't changed.
Next question, Andrew.
I mean, he didn't even seriously consider the question, and it is a reasonable question given the action that is being taken by UK and the US.
Precisely, I think it was a weak answer from a week Prime Minister, particularly when it comes to national security matters. It's very clear that TikTok has a very close relationship with the Chinese government. There's a reason why the US is banning it, and we know already that the Australian government won't allow TikTok to be installed on Australian government phones.
So there is a problem there, and we need to think about how we're going to protect the data of young Australians which will be harvested by TikTok and potentially end up in the hands of the Chinese government. So these are really important questions and I think that was just a very offhand and weak response from Prime Minister.
He didn't even take the question seriously. All right, Andrew Hasty, thank you very much for joining us this evening. Now coming up, the man behind the Paris Agreement says the future coalition government will not be kicked out of the international treaty. My political panel would join me to debate
the twenty thirty target after the break. Welcome back with the man who drafted the Paris Agreement has said that a future coalition government would not be pushed out of the accord if it endorsed a lower twenty thirty emissions reduction target. Let's bring it now Tonight's political panel. National Senate Leader Bridget McKenzie and Labor and.
P Daniel Melino. Welcome to you both.
Bridget, what's the thinking here. Do you think there is going to be continued pressure on the opposition leader to say what is twenty thirty target would be prior to the election?
Well, that shouldn't be.
This is simply the Labor Party attempting a scare campaign. The reality is the Labor Party set a twenty thirty target that they can't meet and in the middle of a cost of living crisis, Australians are absolutely sick of a federal government who can't get the story straight. I've been out tonight here in Woodonga meeting with locals who are having renewable projects rolled out through their communities, through their own properties, and they've got no recourse.
Here in Victoria thanks to the state Labor government.
So this is about having a pathway to net zero that is credible, that is based on science and technology.
And that Australians can have confidence in will get us there.
Right now under Anthony Albanizi, with Bowen's plan, we're just trashing the joint prices are going up and we're not even going to meet our mission's target. And I think that's that's a great tragedy and it undermines our credibility as a middle power globally because typically Australia is the country that when we say we're going to do something, we do it. And unfortunately under Albow, that's not going to be the case with the twenty thirty.
Target, Daniel as a government and p are you disappointed and concerned that your own government isn't going to meet at this point the targets that it's set of forty two percent by twenty thirty.
Well, look, I wouldn't concede that we're not going to meet it, but what I would say is I agree with Bridget that we need to have science based policy making.
But after that, I think we differ in that the opposition criticizes the trajectory that we're on, but they're voted consistently against just about every practical measure to bring down emissions, whether it be the safeguard mechanism, whether it be a mission standards for vehicles, where one of the few countries in the world without one, and they're running constant scare campaigns on a whole range of renewables policies. So what I'd like to hear from the opposition is what's their
credible strategy to get emissions down. They really have left a massive goals when it comes to their own policy. All they do is criticize our trajectory and yet vote against every single practical measure.
Do you both agree that the public right now is worried about cost of living and doesn't want to have this debate about the climate laws again?
I know it's like groundhog Day, Shahi, and you know it's too cute by half.
Daniel. You guys are in government now.
You've set aggressive targets on emission reductions that are cruling our economy, whether it's advanced manufacturing as you send energy prices through the roof, or the private property rights of the communities that I represent out in the regions.
On any measure, you've got it wrong.
You're more interested in having a fight with the Greens and out greening the Greens in inner City than actually having a credible pathway to twenty fifty. No one else in the world is doing one hundred percent renewables.
They all have gas or.
Nuclear as part of the firm being power behind their renewable trajectories. So you're just setting us up for a pathway to fail. We're interested in having a credible proposition, and Shari, I think people are absolutely sick of this. We've put this to bed. The Coalition is committed to net zero by twenty fifty.
We're on the journey.
We're just not doing it for short political gains, all right, which.
Is why Labour's targets are over aggressive.
All right, let's have a look at the latest Shari.
Can I just correct on one quick point? Go for it, Danielle, I'm certainly not trying to outgreen the Greens. Look, I'm in hand to hand combat with the Greens in my seat day and day out on a whole range of issues, including climate.
Labor has the middle path here.
The Greens have incredibly high and unrealistic and unmodeled strategies, which I've critiqued in a number of ways publicly and in the chamber. Labour has a path that has been endorsed at the last election by the BCA, and a range of business interests which they want certainty going forward. So look, Labor is definitely the party that is providing the middle way.
All right. Let's move on to interest rates.
The ANZ has pulled cold water on the prospector of the RBA cutting.
Rates this year.
It now looks like the RBA won't reduce interest rates until at least February twenty twenty five, although of course that could change. This is one forecast. Daniel, you follow economics closely, do you agree with this analysis that you know we're looking at either rates staying the same or actually potentially going up this year.
So, look, Paul Samuelson is arguably the greatest economists since World War Two, and you know he's somebody as a macroeconomist I look up to.
Look.
He famously equipped in the nineteen sixties that economists have successfully predicted nine of the last five recessions. And he wasn't having a gratuitous go at his professional colleagues, but really just saying that predicting the macroeconomy is extra reemly difficult.
And I think what we're seeing.
Here is that as new information comes to hand, some economists are adjusting their models in different ways. I mean, the A and Z has tweaked its model in the way you just referred to, But there are a whole bunch of other macroeconomists who think that interest rates need
to come down. Look, what I think is being confirmed by the data that's coming out is that the government was right to put well calibrated cost of living in the budget and that in the medium term everybody is expecting inflation to continue to track down.
Look, Daniel, they're referenced, you know, predictions about recessions, but bridget we're not in a technical recession. I mean, we've had growth of zero point one percent, but we are in a per capita recession, so it feels the same for a lot of families.
That's exactly right, Shahi.
You know, Daniel can talk the talking points out of Jim Chalmer's office all he likes. The reality is Australians aren't feeling it, and they're not feeling it because they're mortgage rent payments are going up higher than their wages are, so the household is going backwards and every single month is getting harder and harder to get the school fee bill out of the way. Are the kids going to go, How the swimming lesson's going to be paid for?
Etc? Just to keep the roof over their head?
And this is coming because labor hasn't got inflation under control and the RBA therefore can't reduce interest rates when we have an inflationary environment like we do at the moment here at home, and it's home grown, thank.
You, Jim Chalmers. Is it is the vulnerable that pay the most. It is the poorest in our society that actually feel it the most.
And until labor gets their spending under control, these interest rates won't go down and households won't have relief.
And this is going to be the predominant issue leading into the next election, no question. Bridget McKenzie, Daniel Melino, thank you both very much for your time the break. Hunter Biden now a convicted felon, he faces present time after being found guilty, and yet the media treatment of him and Donald Trump couldn't be more different. Will cross live to Washington for the latest. Okay, welcome back. Let's bring in now the Australians. Washington correspondent Adam Crichton, Adam,
great to see you. Look, let's get to Hunter Biden in a minute, but I want to get your take first on Marine La Penn and the French EU election.
Well, I mean it's not really surprising her support, her party support has been growing now for years. Remember she ran for president in twenty seventeen, in twenty twenty two, and her support's been growing each time, and all the forecasts are that she'll probably win in twenty twenty seven. You know, the so called far right parties, the growth of them is a symptom of widespread dissatisfaction with a
rampant immigration, with rising prices. And you'd probably also have to say the European case, fear of a war with Russia.
Okay, well, let's turn to the big story today, Hunter Biden. This is history making the first child of a sitting president to be convicted of a crime.
I'm interested in the different media treatment.
Initially, the Hunter Biden laptop story was fake. You know, it was pulled off social media. The established media refused to cover it. You know, most of that he hasn't been prosecuted for or even investigated for. Here this is drug addiction and a gun crime.
Yes, well, look certainly, I mean the big takeaway for me, I think the long term impact of this case is really, as you suggest, the verification of that laptop. I mean, this was a censored it was obviously real. The FBI had this laptop. In fact, as you probably know, from twenty nineteen, so they knew it was real. I certainly knew it was real, and yet the story from the New York Post was censored in October twenty twenty. That's
just extraordinary stuff. And so, you know, the confirmation that that the laptop is real really is extremely embarrassing for most of the mainstream media and of course those famous fifty one intel experts.
All of the media, the left media presented the outcome today is our very sad story for the Biden family. You know, many families in America are going through this. But then there was this desperation to get Trump.
Is this purely politics?
Well, look, I think both. I really think that both men are the subject. I think the victim rather of the weaponization of the justice system. Certainly, in the case of Donald Trump, he saw the Democrat Party hankering for him to be prosecuted. But I think it's also fair to say that the only reason that Hunter Biden was prosecuted was because he's the president's son and there were
constant calls from Republicans for him to be prosecuted. I don't think if he was an ordinary Joe blow in the US that he would have been prosecuted for this crime, which, after all, is extremely hard to whether or not someone is taking drugs at the time when they buy a gun. But of course, in the president's son's case, there was so much scrutiny of his private life that it was well known that he was so Look, I think it's a pretty sad day for the for the US justice system,
for both cases. But you know, the irony is that I don't think it's really going to have any effect on the political the political outcomy that for Trump or for the Biden family.
I mean, we thought many people expected Trump would be further ahead in the polls by now. The fact that he's not overwhelmingly ahead of Joe Biden, does this show that the criminal cases have had an impact perhaps with undecided voters.
Well, look, I think both of them are very weak candidates. I mean, Trump is ahead in the polls, he's ahead in the betting markets, and I think the takeaway, you know, from the hush money case is that it didn't really seem to effect his standing a very much at all. I mean, of course, sentencing hasn't happened yet, that's on the eleventh of July. That could change things. I suppose
if he's sent to prison, but he remains ahead. And of course you know from the hush money case, he raised about one hundred million dollars or more for his campaign,
so if anything, it may have actually helped him. I mean, I think on the Biden side, I think the tax evasion case, which is going to be heard in California later this year, that could be more politically damaging for Biden because of course in that case you're going to hear more about the extravagant spending, and of course you know there'll be more allegations of corruption in relation to Joe Biden and Hunter Biden's finances and their operations in
Ukraine and China when the older Biden was vice president. So I think that could be more politically damaging.
Yeah, all right, it will not be out of the news for long. Adam Krichton, thank you very much for joining us tonight. Thanks everyone for watching.
I'll see you tomorrow at eight pm.
And right now, here's Paul Murray