Why. On Sky News This is Sharry.
Good Evening tonight. Under scrutiny from the Australian Electoral Commission, the influencers paid by the Teals are forced to disclose their endorsements. Plus I'll tell you the real reason a Legraspender pulled out of a debate against Roeknox. Also on the show, the internal Liberal polls that show Dutton is ahead in outer suburban areas and can still win. I'll
speak with James Patterson about this in a moment. Plus Albanese's backflip on Tanya Plebisak, how he was forced into confirming she will still have a job if he wins government. And just when you think the Greens can't get any worse, they're forced to reschedule a dance party planned for Anzac Day. Roman Bishop and Steve Price will get stuck in shortly. Also on the show, the link documents that Facebook is monitoring children and exploiting their anxieties and insecurities. All of
this coming up, but first tonight. Young influencers endorsing TLMP Allegraspender have now been forced to disclose that their posts were paid partnerships. These disclosures are highly embarrassing for the weightworth MP who's built her reputation on integrity in politics.
And you've told me you want more integrity in politics. You want protections for our whistleblows, you want to ban gambling pads, and you want to see better behavior in our parliament from our leaders in our country. These are the priorities you've told me that are important, and this is what I fight for.
And here's the irony Allegraspender's office has told a business owner that she wouldn't debate her liberal rival Ronox because there's a lack of editorial standards at Sky News. We were meant to be hosting the debate. This fascical response came literally at the same time as she was caught out paying influences without proper disclosure in potential breach of AAC rules. Spender reluctantly admitted on Friday that influencers who were endorsing her were paid, but she didn't admit this
as a matter of transparency and accountability. It was under repeated questioning on the ABC. What does that mean?
Does that mean in collaboration you've paid her to make the video? What does that actually mean?
Yeah, so We've worked with a sort of agency and a bunch of influencers and you know, content creators to try and reach different audiences. Because what I've noticed really in this in this particularly this election, is that a lot of people have switched off politics.
So you did your campaign pay her?
Then?
So the so our campaign has paid an agency who's paid some influences or content creators to you know, collaborate on different posts.
Okay, so ultimately she probably got paid by that agency.
Yeah, I think so.
Don't you love the reluctant transparency. It took three questions before that admission that yes, the influencer was paid. Now, the agency she referred to is called Sentiment. And here was some of that paid content that was meant to be simply organic support from the younger demographic you're about to see. TikTok creator Luke Gallagher.
I live in Wentworth and I'm voting for the independent allegrospender and I'm here to tell you why.
Well, that video was deleted and then re uploaded yesterday with a disclosure that says this content was made as part of a paid partnership with a legraspender Edgecliff And here's another influencer endorsement for a legraspender.
This is the first time Millennials and gen Z outnumbered the Boomies. So let's talk about what happens when majority of Ozzie's ditched the two party system. Bye bye, Meet a legraspender. She ran as an Indian twenty twenty two.
Not for her.
She had a perfectly lovely life. People just kept begging her to do it, and nobody else was at the time. He took the seat right out from under some liberal guy Paul Bloke and now fights. I'm in fights for actual climate action, political integrity and lowering cost of living.
She's chill, She's chill, so chill.
Well.
That influencer Millie has one hundred and thirty seven thousand followers, and she was paid to produce content for Spender. And here's another of her posts where she endorses the Teal and then describes Peter Dutton's policies as terrifying.
Somamp is a legal spender and she votes consistently for strong climate action, housing affordability, and protection.
Of minority groups. I'm very happy with my representative and I will be voting for her to stay in power.
To keep doing what she's doing. If we compare that to someone like mister Dutton, he's.
Voted for increasing indexation of hex, against transgender rights and to cut penalty rates for workers terrifying.
So Dartanique was terrifying and Allegra is so chill. And by the way, this influencer, Millie, also was invited to Canberra for the budget.
What gives you hope?
You know better than anyone in Australia right now, what gives you hope for the next generation?
Not just as a politician but as a person.
Yep.
She was part of a group of thirteen content creators invited by the Albanezy government into the budget lock up, and some of the group even had their travel and accommodation costs covered by labor Well. The AAC has now issued new rules for influencers, saying that they need to disclose any payment involved to produce the political material. Now this influence of Millie didn't initially disclose that her content
was paid. She said it was in collaboration, but now, like Luke, she's updated her posts to read that this content was made as part of a paid partnership with a legraspender. Edgecliff. Now, as you know, most influencers routinely declare just as a matter of course, if their content is paid when they're spooking a handbag or skin creep. So it's bizarre this didn't happen automatically in the case of those paid by Allegra Spender. So what was her
response to all of this? Well, stunningly, despite being caught out secretly paying influences without the proper disclosure, she said she wouldn't apologize for this lack of transparency.
As is appropriate for any professional. We paid merely for her time, but the content she chooses to post is all her own. Sounds fair enough, right, I'm not going to apologize for finding new ways to connect with young people and for finding for their future on issues like housing, climate change, and mental health. Doing politics differently means changing the status quo.
Yeah, doing politics differently, she says. Well, by this, does she mean potentially flouting the rule and instead engaging in cash for comment, because that's what the coalition is calling this.
Alger Spender has been paying social media influences to promote her cause.
Has she crossed the line?
I just think when it comes to.
The whole Teal movement. The whole thing's a conjob and that's why people are now seeing through the Teals.
And Spender held an event at the pub with that influencer Millie last night, but the media were blocked from entering. Again, so much for transparency. Well, her fellow teal in the Victorian seat of ku Jong Josh Fridenberg's old seat, Minnie Ryan, has now clarified her position on the matter after that dreadful train wreck interview on the ABC where she didn't quite know what she thought about this scandal.
Oh, I don't want to have an opinion on it, really, I think, well.
You don't think you think voters does to know that if someone they're watching is saying great things about a politician, whether they're being paid by that politician.
I have to give some thought. It's not something I've given great thought to myself. Obviously, I haven't engaged in anything like that myself.
You'd have to give that some thought.
Well, I would think that it would be clear.
I don't know.
I think.
I'd have to give it some thought.
Done so, despite everyone despite her being obsessed with everyone calling her a doctor, Minnie Grian wasn't smart enough to think of an answer to that question on the spot,
and that was Sunday. It took her two days before she worked out what to say about this, and finally today she posted a statement saying that, having now had an opportunity to look at this issue, I fully support the aac's position statement from last Friday that influencer content paid for by politicians should be clearly labeled as such. So this is what accountability looks like. The teals have
to be dragged kicking and screaming to it. Interesting then that when a Sydney businesswoman, the owner of a florist in Double Bay, which she told me that she phoned Allegra Spender's office to ask why she'd pulled out of the Sky News debate against Roeknox, and this is what she told me. That Spender's office said, Allegra doesn't have
any faith in the editorial standards on Sky Now. As you know, Sky News hosted fair and balanced debates between the Prime Minister and the Opposition leader, between the Treasurer and the Shadow Treasurer. There's been no suggestion, even from our worst critics, that these debates weren't anything other than even handed and objective so it's unclear what concerns a legraspender could possibly have about the editorial standards at Sky News.
Perhaps she's worried about more of that pesky transparency and accountability. Well, let's turn to the bombshell reports from today that Russia wants to have a military base with a long range aircraft in Indonesia. This would be a mere four hundred kilometers from Australia's mainland. The geostrategic threat from a hostile
dictatorship so close to Australia would of course be significant. Now, Albanezy had nothing of substance to say earlier today when he was asked about this, except that he was being briefed. He truly is utterly hopeless.
Have a look, we have a good relationship with our friend in Indonesia and we're seeking further clarification. Obviously do not want to see Russia an influence in our region.
He never knows what's going on. He is never across the detail. He's stumbling, mumbling his way through the answers. Peter Dutton meanwhile said it would be a catastrophic failure of diplomatic relations if Albanzi was oblivious to Russia's reported move.
We would want to hear from the Prime Minister about what if it's have been undertaken. Obviously, surely they must have known about this before it's been made public, and if not, then that is a catastrophic failure of Penny Wong and Anthony Alberzian.
Now it's taken hours and hours and hours to actually get to the bottom of this, and now Defense Minister Richard Miles Tonight says that Indonesia has told him the reports are not true, that they won't host a Russian aircraft. He said he's spoken to his counterpart and he's told him in the clearest possible terms that the reports of the prospect of Russian aircraft operating from Indonesia are not true. Let's bring in now Shadow Home Affairs Minister and Coalition
campaign spokesman James Patterson. James, great to see you again. Are you convinced by this assurance from Richard Miles Tonight.
Well, I certainly hope that it's true, and it would be welcome news if the Indonesian government had ruled out any Russian air Force access to Indonesian military bases.
But it's not sufficiently clear.
I think from the minister's statement that that is the case, and I look forward to official confirmation from the Indonesian government that not only will Russian aircraft not be based in Indonesia, but they won't have any sort of visiting or access arrangements at all. Because Indonesia is an incredibly
important national security partner for Australia. We work very cooperatively with them on things like people smuggling, account terrorism, anti narcotics trafficking and other important issues, and we want to
make sure that relationship main strong. The thing that concerns me most from today, though, Shari, is that it's very clear that until this was reported in the media, the Australian government, the Obernezi Gap and had no idea that Russia had made this request of Indonesia, and they were rushed into a panicked phone call to try and get
to the bottom of this. Well, a good relationship should make sure that you know about these things in advance, and good intelligence should make sure that you know about these things in advance. But it does seem like a pretty significant failure on this government's watch.
Okay, let's turn to the polls now, which show a labor that is on the ascendancy. It shows the coalition falling behind now. The Nationals leader David little Proud was on with Chris Kenny earlier tonight and he said something really interesting. He said that the national polls weren't an accurate reflection of the election or what the internal Liberal polls are showing here.
He was, I don't think the national polls are reflective of the hyper local campaigns are taking place there and I think to your point, it's exactly about cost of living about in particularly as you get out of the inner suburbs where there is not necessarily a bigger cost of living crisis as these you get at further out,
they're not feeling it as much. And I think what's important is that what we're not walking away from the national polls and what they reflect what we're seeing now we're internal polling, is that as you get out where Australians are struggling and we're saying to them we're going to give you a tax cut of twelve hundred dollars an individual twenty four hundred family.
James. He also said this was more like the twenty nineteen election than twenty twenty two, So is he right? Or your internal polls showing the Coalition ahead in those out of suburban seats.
Sure, you won't expect me to disclose internal polling on your program tonight, but let me point to something that's in the public realm that shows something very interesting about leaders. Peter Dutton was in three seats in Melbourne today. He was in McEwen, he was in Hawk and he's in Gorton.
Now.
One of those is a traditional marginal seat in McEwen, but we haven't held it for some time. Hawk is a new seat, but it covers territory that's been safe flavor and we've never held the seat of Gorton. And that's where Peter Dutton spent his time today and he got a terrific reception show that even the press gallery wrote it up. Where was the Prime Minister today, Well, he was in Franklin in Tasmania, and he was in Cooper in Victoria. Now, your most scarce resource in a
campaign is your leader. And it's a very strange thing to send your prime minister to safe labor held seats if you've got no concerns at all. So perhaps the Greens are surging in Cooper and there are danger of losing it there. Perhaps the Independent in Franklin is a grave danger of taking the seat off Julie Collins there, and.
That could be a very big upset.
And if the Prime Mister has to spend time and money defending seats like that, well it makes other contests much more competitive.
I mean, you said that that you wouldn't talk about internal polling, but of course the Nationalist leader did. He said that your internal polling showed that Darton was ahead in those outer suburban areas. But we're hearing a lot of public criticisms about the coalition's campaign, including that the work from home policy wasn't dumped early enough, that other policies were announced too late, that the tv ads didn't
start soon enough. What do you say to cons earned coalition voters that the election is slipping away from the coalition? You know, what is the path to victory?
I would say that when people hear our message, they are incredibly receptive to it, to it and to us, and they're inclined to vote for us. And particularly when they hear that we're going to cut people's petrol and diesel tax by fourteen dollars a tank, they're going to vote Coalition when they hear that will give them twelve hundred dollars of their taxpayer's money back is a cost of living repaate.
They're inclined to vote Coalition.
When they hear that we're going to push more gas into the system to drive down prices, they're going to vote for the Coalition. When they hear about our comprehensive housing plan to get first home buyers back into the market for a first time in a long time, they're very open to vote into the Coalition. So we've got to sell to make over the next two and a half weeks.
We know that. But when people hear.
Our message, they are very receptive to it and very inclined to vote for us.
Chris Kenny revealed on his show earlier today that although the Labor government officially opposes your taxation benefit for first home buyersmps are actually able to claim these deductions personally. So, James, do you think that the Prime Minister and other ministers and coalition figures as well should declare, if they're receiving this benefit that they object to first home buyers having.
Well, I certainly hope that there's no Labor MP claiming a benefit that they want to deny to a first home buyer. But when it comes to the Coalition, we're very clear we think we need significant change to our tax system to facilitate first time buyers getting into the market. We want to give them a leg up, we want
to give them advantage in the market. We want them to be able to go to an auction and bid with confidence knowing that they'll be able to get a significant tax rebate if they're a first time buyer buying a new home, to the tune of eleven to twelve thousand dollars a year, which would be transformative for a lot of young people who feel that been locked out
of the market. In conjunction with our other policies to boost supply and reduce demand by cutting back on immigration, that's what the offering we're making to young Australians to restore that hope of home ownership. And we think that we and they hear that message, they'll increasingly vote for the Coalition.
But if labor's objecting to this tax benefit and they're personally receiving it, then shouldn't they publicly disclose that disclose that.
Certainly that would be certainly that would be an active hypocrisy, and probably not the first one from this Labor Party. They're often ones to claim benefits for themselves that they deny to others. But for us, we are about getting Australians into the home into the home mark all right, I just.
Want to ask you about my report from the start of the program where the Teals have been paying influences to endorse their policies. Now you personally wrote to the AEC Commissioner asking for an investigation. What are your concerns here and is the coalition paying any influencers to produce positive content?
Well, the only content that the Coalition publishes in the election campaign is authorized and released by the coalition. We're not covertly paying anyone to say nice things about us without declaring it.
And that's the problem here.
The Teals run on a platform of integrity and transparency, but this is not true. Sparent and integrity is doing the right thing even when you think someone's not watching. But when Allegrath Spender thought no one was watching, she thought she could get away with secretly paying influences to say nice things about her without disclosing that to voters.
It's similar behavior that we've seen from.
Other teals, like Manique Ryan's husband, who thought when no one was watching, it was okay to steal your political opponent's signs. And that's why a lot of people are
waking up to the teals. They're realizing that what they bought, what they've got, is not what they paid for, and it's time for them to take a different choice at this election and return liberal members to the Federal Parliament who will actually fight for their communities, who will actually have a seat around the table, who can actually make a difference.
All right, James Patterson, really appreciate your time and insights as always. Thanks so much. And by the way, I've got Roe Knox coming up on the show a bit later, so we'll get back to that teal topic then. But now let's bring in farm a Speaker of the House, Bronwan Bishop and Sky News host Steve Price. Great to see you both now. The Prime Minister snubbed Tania Plibsek on Sunday, then yesterday he wouldn't even guarantee that she'd
have a job after the election. Well today he was under pressure over this, over their relationship, and he finally said yes, she'll be in cabinet. It was a capitulation of salts. Have a look.
I got the same answer yesterday that i'll give today, which is I expect Tenure Polibacy will be a senior cabinet minister. She's an important member of my team.
Bronman Albanizy is no champion of women. He didn't want any investigation into the mean girls. He played a key role in toppling Australia's first female prime minister, and now he's treated Tanya Plibisec like this. It would be a scandal if it was a coalition figure, you know, who had rebuffed a senior woman like that at a campaign launch.
Absolutely, I was pretty fucked.
I really was.
Of course, that was no gentle pushback. It was very physical and it did show animosity. There's no two ways about it. And you're right about him being the key driver to get rid of Julia Getar. I distinctly remember seeing him convening a group of people in a restaurant just before it all happened. They happened to be sitting down near the Ladies' Loo, so I went down to intervene. It was quite obvious with Dicky bee Kish, they had all their numbers around and they were busy plotting away.
But it's not the only one. I mean, when Susan Lae was under attack in the Parliament, Albernezy was heard to say, smash her up. You know, it's not nice terminology, your words to that effect. But he pretends to be out there being the friend to all and whatever. But that's not nice behavior, and particularly Titania, who is well respected as a person, and of course his competition for him.
What do you think, Steve, if this was a coalition figure who had pushed away one of the most popular senior women at a campaign lodge, it would be a massive story with claims there was a women problem.
Yeah, imagine if Scott Morrison, Tony Abbott, Peter Dutton had done it, it would be a huge story. Look, I think and Bromin probably knows these two better than I do. But there is mutual loathing between the pair of them. I mean, Tanya doesn't like Anthony Albanesi about as much
as Anthony Albanesi doesn't like Tanya. I mean, this, of course is the Prime Minister who, when he won the election, ripped education out of Tanya plivosex hands and gave her the environment and said go down to Tasmania and fix up the salmon problem. I mean, she didn't want to have anything to do with environment. It's a poison chalice, horrible portfolio to have, and so he dumped her in there. He said today that she'd be in a future cabinet if they win the election on the third of May.
God knows what portfolio he's going to give her, and could it get any worse than the environment. And when you go back and look at that vision again of him today, I just asked you to have a look at the facial expression of Kate Gallagher, the senator who's over his left shoulder and every time he speaks about a range of things. Today it struck me. I don't know if it struck you the same, Shari. She was looking at him as if, what the hell are you talking about?
He did notice that. I did notice that, because he was trying to tell some story that he obviously thought was amazing about goal for his dogs, like some kabood or birthday party. What was on about, honestly, and she was just looking quite concerned over shoulders.
I actually did daggers Daggers.
Yes, browin Albanezy has been accused of measuring up the curtains. He claims he wants to run for a third term. Look, the Poles are in his favor. But we've heard David Little Proud come out tonight. Perhaps he said something he wasn't meant to when he said their internal liberal research showed they were ahead in the out of suburban areas. James Patterson wouldn't repeat that. But what do you make of all of this, of where it's headed.
Well, I think Obaniece has become very cocky. He's feels he's head, he's going to get there, and when he starts me in that mood, he gets very careless. And that rambling business about walking Toto in the park and Marckle was just bizarre an example of it, Seriously, it was. But I think if you look at this question of arrogance, it does perhaps indicate there could be a fall before
the next eighteen days are up. I just feel that when we see these Poles showing so much of a lead to the Labor Party, which has happened in such a short period of time, I think the Poles have become themselves part of the campaigning they used to demoralize people. And to be honest, I've spent two days in Perth over the weekend, indeed I did, and they're not demoralized. They're working so hard and I can just say those
candidates are in the field, they've got their chipper. They're there because they know Western Australia is under threat if a labor has returned, the Nature positive legislation, the Northwest Shelf, keep the sheep, those are issues that are very real to people in Western Australia and they know that they're in trouble if labor gets real increasing.
I think you're right that the Poles can set a mood, they can become a self fulfilling prophecy. And Steve, you know, the Poles were wrong in the recent US election, completely wrong. They were wrong in twenty nineteen with Morrison's when they've been wrong at other points in time in the past
as well. Not to say that they definitely will be wrong now, but just to take them with a grain of salt, particularly when you hear the leader of the Nationals say it's not what our internal research is telling us.
Yeah, it's interesting you mentioned twenty nineteen Sharry, I'll take you and Bronnie back to that election because Bill Shorton talk about people measuring up curtains for the lodge or Kurabilly house. I mean Bill and Chloe Shorten apparently had the removal trucks parked out in the front of their house in Essendon ready to go on Sunday morning. And of course you know Morrison won three seats and short and lost one. That was the unlosable election. Shorton should have
been Prime Minister. He thought he was going to win. He was full of hubris, a little like the way Bromin's describing Anthony Albanesi at the moment. There's a long way to go in this. Yes, Stutton's behind, but I just I mean one thing I'd point out the Canberra Press cutty. Imagine how painful it would be on the traveling bus going around with Anthony ALBANIZI every day to
stand up there. And I watched on Sky News' election channel yesterday the full Adelaide media conference that he did with with Premier melanawskis the waffle let the bloke goes on with the funny stories that he wanders off down on sort of windy roads telling us about I mean, golf courses in his seat. I mean, what who asked? What's it all about? I mean, he just he's not inspiring. He gives no one. I don't think he gives anyone inspiration that Jesus blokes he's strong and tough and he
could lead the country. I mean, he turns me off. I've got to say he's.
A waffler, you know what I have to say. The polls say he's ahead, but I haven't met anyone except for Richo and Joe Hildebrand, who says to me, I think Albo's doing a great job. I'm going to vote for him again. Richo and Joe hilda Brand are literally the only two people who tell me they're going to vote for him. So I don't know where all these voters come from. No one else thinks he's doing a
good job. I mean, I talk about politics all day, every day with everyone I see in every location, and everyone's angry at Albanezy, even if they've been lifelong labor supporters. So you know, I don't know where these votes these are come from, who are being picked up in the national polls. But I have to get to this story. Before we go to the ad break. The Greens were
planning an outrageous Anzac Day rave dance party fundraiser. It has now been rescheduled after there was outrage today Ron when this was being called the Greens party party promoted as a ticketed fundraiser. I mean, you can't get more disrespectful than this.
Only the Greens would contemplate metaphorically dancing on the graves those who served our country. Only the Greens who hate this country. Only the Greens who want to deny the sacrificer was given not only by people in war, but by people who struggle to build this nation, this modern Australia as we know. So they're not to be given any credit about anything. They truly are a vile party and should be last on everybody's ticket.
Absolutely. I mean you think they can't get worse than they go and do something just appalling life?
Absolutely?
All right, Brow and Bishop Steve Price, thanks both so much. We'll see you next week.
Thanks.
Now, still to come evidence Facebook is spying on anxious children, plus the police have been called in over Liberal candidate Roe Knox's posters being defaced. She'll join me live next Welcome back, with the integrity of the teals is under
scrutiny this campaign. Minnie Grian's husband was caught tearing down posters of her young female Liberal rival Emilia Hamer, and Allegraspender has been exposed for paying influences to post positive content in a scandal the Coalition has dubbed cash for comment with a Liberal candidate for Wentworth, Roe Knox, is up against these tactics and she joins me, now Roe, good to see you again.
Yeah, great to be on the show.
Chari Peter Duttan's come out and said that you would be a minister in his government if there is a coalition government. That's the sense of how the campaign's going. What is your internal research telling you?
Yes, So the campaign on the ground is going really well. We're getting a huge amount of positive feedback. And when Worth ready for a change, they really want to have a seat at the table again. They want to have a member of Parliament who's in a cabinet, who has abilities to vote on policy, influence policy.
And be in the party room.
I reported earlier tonight that a florist, a business owner in Wentworth in Double Bay, rang Allegra Spender's office asked her why she pulled out of the debate, and this business owner was told that she didn't trust the editorial standards at Sky News. Why do you think Allegra would have such a problem with Sky News when we hosted fair and balanced debates that were good enough for Alban Easy and Jim Chalmers.
Look, I can't speak for Allegra spender Shari, but I think it's more that she's got a problem with debating me, in debating our campaign team, rather than actually a problem is Sky News. And my view is I'd really welcome her to review this decision. I'd welcome Simon Homes of Court to let a debate. I think it's really really important.
That the constituentings he's pulling the strings, he's not letting her debate.
Well.
I think it was very unusual that she'd agreed to do a debate and then pulled out from a debate. And my view is the people that wentworth they deserve to hear what their candidates stand for.
There's a big issue with your posters being pulled down, and I'm told dozens, if not maybe even hundreds of posters have been removed. This is very frustrating for your volunteers in particular what's going on here.
Look, it's very hard.
We don't know who's pulling them down, but disproportionately our posters are being pulled down over other campaigns, and my personal view is everyone should keep up everyone's posters.
We should. This is part of the democratic process and it's.
Really disappointing that our volunteers will finish up a long date work, they'll go and put out some posters and quite often in the morning they're all gone and replaced with other posters.
The police have even become involved because some of your posters have been quite severely defaced, swastikas, Nazi symbols and even dog smear. What's the police involvement here? What action are they taking?
So we've reported, particularly the anti Semitic ones straight to the police because they've also used symbols that are now outlawed in New South Wales. I don't have an update from the police yet, but I can certainly check in and get one of those. But I've never seen anything like this in a federal campaign before.
Because it's not just a couple, it is.
A massive number of our posters have been to faced in this manner.
Is it personally upsetting to you because you're not used to this sort of treatment. You know, you've been a private individual. Do you find it upsetting?
I find it upsetting that people think it's acceptable to do this when it's posted for.
A democratic campaign.
And I think the prevalence of it the fact that the Israel issue has come into our electorate and that people think it's acceptable to put these things that are so hurtful, particularly for Jewish people in our seat.
I've been reporting tonight and it's been a big issue this week about Algraspender paying influences for positive content that was a disclosure issue. What's your view on this?
So, Shari, obviously the Teals have run on pillars of integrity and transparency, and I don't see integrity or transparency in paying for endorsements and not disclosing it appropriately. And my view is as well, these personal endorsements are so powerful that to not disclose it a brittle is I think it shows a complete lack of transparency and integrity.
And I can assure you, Sharhi, that all our endorsements on our social media are not paid for their people of the community that really really want to change.
They really want to change for the better.
There's also been concerns about a wealthy US based trader, Andrew Killian. He's reportedly this has been reported in The Australian given half a million dollars to the tials since twenty twenty two. This has come our own investment vehicle built from shares in foreign companies. Do you think there are concerns about this, whether this amounts to foreign funding at all?
So there are concerns with a whole suite of Climate two hundred where that funding money has come from. My view is this is something that Climate two hundred and Legraspender have to answer the question on.
They have to prove, in.
The interest of transparency and integrity that this funding is accords with all rules and it was done in a proper manner.
I mean we as you say, they ran on a platform of integrity and transparency. But the original source of this of these donations then isn't quite clear is.
It seems it seems murky and also I noted that the entity didn't have GST status, but the actual donations are so large, so I think once again this is a question that needs to be answered by Climate two hundred and by a Leger spenders campaign.
All right, so just to finish off tonight where we started, you would still like to debate a Legraspender. You're calling tonight for her to do a debate.
I would love to debate a Legraspender.
I think will be fantastic for our community to see what their candidates stand for.
I mean, no one has suggested that Sky News debates haven't been objective of even our worst critics Criikee The Guardian, no one has.
Suggested they weren't fair. So yeah, I don't think it's an issue with integrity at Sky. I think it's an issue that Allegrosbinder doesn't want to have a debate.
All right, we'll enjoy the rest of the campaign. Bronox good.
Great to see Shari and still to come.
Albin Easy. You can't answer questions about how he'll pay for all his election promises. A senior former insider from Treasury will join me on the show. Plus the leak documents that show Facebook is monitoring and cashing in on children's anxiety. That story after this quick break. Well there's a spotlight now on Facebook's dark arts its exploitation of
children has been exposed. Internal confidential documents show that Facebook can detect when children are feeling stressed, defeated, overwhelmed, stupid, nervous, useless and like of failure. It's even boasted about this insight to media agency, saying that it can then target children who are feeling like this. Now, these allegations first emerged in twenty seventeen, but now a whistleblower has given evidence to the US Senate Judiciary Committee about some of these strategies.
Here she was, and so what the company was doing was letting these advertisers know that these thirteen to seventeen year olds were feeling depressed and saying now is a really good time to serve them an Advertisementor if a thirteen year old girl would delete her selfie, that's a really good time to try and sell her a beauty product.
It's just appalling exploitation. Now joining me now to discuss is the Australian Newspapers Managing editor and commercial director Darren Davidson, who's investigated this story in the past and written about it today. Darren, thanks for your time. So Facebook, as we heard there and as you've reported it boasted to me agencies in internal documents that it can target kids
when they feel worthless and insecure. So can you give us a bit more detail on how they then exploit children who are in this state.
The idea is that they can pinpoint exact moments when young children, particularly females, are feeling anxious. As you said, depressed. Worthless was one of the emotional fields that Facebook's sophisticated the algorithm can target. The document I obtained talked about young girls building confidence between a Monday and a Thursday, and then from Friday through the weekend they would being what they called broadcast mode, talking about their achievements and
things like that. And the document essentially outlined how media agencies and barf for their clients, and in this case, in this document it was a bank and a chewing gun manufacturer could actually target young girls and adolescents and children as young as fourteen and thirteen during these moments when they might be more susceptible to advertisements. And I
was astonished when I got hold of that document. As you know, we reported it in The Australian at the time, and it's now resurfaced eight years later in this US Congress investigation into Facebook. Sarah Wynn Williams, who you just saw there in the grab, she was actually dispatched by Cheryl Sandberg that then second in command to Mark Zuckerberg, to essentially kill my story. And in the book which I've been reading over the past week, Sarah talks about
her attempts to actually do that. They gave me a misleading statement, another misleading statement, And in the days after the story was published, I was phoned by two journalists in Australia, one at Fairfax and one at the ABC, who told me that Facebook had contacted them and personally sort of attacked me and attempted really to smear me, an attempt to stop dissuade other journalists and media outlets from following our story.
And it's taken years for this to be, you know, center staged for Sarah Winn Williams to give evidence in such a public way in a congressional committee. How seriously is this now being taken by well the Trump administration, but also both sides of politics in the United States, And what's being done about this now? Because parents right around the world are already so concerned about the impact that social media is having on their children.
I totally agree. I mean, I think parents are in this kind of sticky situation of feeling a little bit helpless about what to do in regards to screens. I mean, many schools will have tablets in the classrooms now, and we've kind of moved and transitioned from sort of play based activities to screen based playtime now and then that's kind of that's quite sad. I think a lot of parents would like to see legislative action to actually address
and deal with this problem. I think our Anthony Albert Easi's proposals to ban social media for under fourteen's will probably resonate quite strongly in this federal election in a few weeks time. It is gaining traction in the US. That inquiry is also centered on Facebook's links to China, so that's a focus for them as well. But I think there is a groundswell of opinion now around the world and a bit of momentum behind this to actually
do something about this and bring Facebook to account. I think the other idea that's been floated on Australia by our executive chairman at the Newsical of Australian, Michael Miller, is for a social license for platforms like Facebook to operate. And I think that idea is now starting to gain
a bit more popularity as well. It's considered quite radical at the time, but I think it's now becoming something that people are prepared to accept and adults if politicians on both sides of the fence to get behind the idea.
And by the way, Dahan has the same policy of course on children under the age of fourteen being banned from having access to social media here I think actually announced it. Sorry to fact check you on that, Darren, but you got to get the policy sequence right here. There's also this movement though in Australia, and I've had the parents on my program even to stop children having
access to smartphones until at least year eight. So this movement to give for parents to give their kids dumb phones so they can still contact them for security reasons if they need to. But it just means that children
don't have access to the social media apps. And given what we're now hearing in a very public way in US Congress that these apps like Facebook, the most common, probably one of the most common apps in the world, is exploiting children like this when they are feeling most vulnerable. I mean, it's terrifying really concerning just a quick fightal comment, Darren.
I think that's a great idea, the one that you just haven't lind there about phones. I think all parents know instinctively that something quite founders happened with the introduction on the smartphone back in two thousand and seven. And we've had this period over the last ten years where you know, we've seen handful effects and it's one of the biggest I think challenges we are facing society today social media and handful effects is having on children.
Yeah. Indeed, all right, Garon Davidson, great, have you on the program, Thanks for your time. Now still to come. How does the Prime Minister plan to pay for his election spend? A thonon? Well, former senior Treasury insider will join me next. Well, it's been a sugar hit spenderth on this election campaign, and today the Prime Minister was pressed on how exactly he's going to pay for it all.
You've ballparks so far at the halfway mark, announced roughly forty billion dollars of new spending in this campaign.
Will all of that be borrowed money?
Or is this just the cost of an election campaign.
We put a lot into my EPO and we did a lot of work in the lead up to the budget. So a range of things that have been seen as new investments are not are things that we've already account for.
Finance Ministercata Gallagher then offered up this equally abysmal reply.
Any concern that any of you have over the budget should be focused on Peter Dutton and he's six hundred billion dollars of spending that he's going to have to make for the nuclear Well, this is a contest.
This election campaign is the contest.
We're very proud of our budget and what we've been able to do with our budget and the commitments we've made.
Classic case of deflection will form a Treasury Assistant Secretary David Pearl joins me. Now, David, thanks for your time. Look, there seems to be no care for responsible spending, of fiscal restraint or even proper answers about how are they going to pay for this? Do those responses that we just heard concern you.
They do, Shari, but they don't surprise me.
Obviously.
The focus groups aren't showing that people in marginal electorates are complaining about deficits and debt.
But just to be more serious.
Clearly the government's election spenderon is not being funded. If there is a funding strategy, Shari, it's a combination of bracket creep which both the Government and the Opposition continue to support, and future debt on our children's generation.
Yeah, it's so worrying, and we know the budget figures show that next financial year it's forecast to hit a trillion dollars in debt. David, I want to ask you about the economy more broadly. We know inflation isn't back to target bound yet, but now we're seeing this discussion about whether there could be a rate cut as a result of Trump's tariff. So how do you see the Australian economy and inflation for the remainder of this year.
Well, the economy I don't think is out of the woods as far as inflation is concerned. The RBA at its last meaning was concerned Shari about a still tight labor market which hasn't been loosening at all, and moderate rage growth but productivity still flatlining. Activity is also picking up, and overlaid on that, Shari, of course, is both major parties spending plans in the election. So leaving aside the uncertainty associated with Trump's tariffs, I don't think that we're
clearly over inflation. And of course, if both the government and the opposition were committing to tightening spending, it would be much easier for the RBA Board to cut rates and inflation would be much lower.
So you of course saying that that irrespective of who wins, all of this big spending could be inflationary. Basically it could ultimately see rates either held for longer or possibly even hiking again.
Well, the other point I wanted to make, Shari is that if you look at the supply side of our economy, we've had too much demand in recent years because of government spending. But on the supply side where effectively imposing a tariff on energy, and we've reregulated our industrial relation system, so the supply or growth potential of the economy is less.
And that's why even though disposable incomes have fallen more in Australia than any other OSD country, we still are not out of the woods as far as inflation is concerned. So it's a collapse of supply, but the weak demand is not defeeding inflation, So that is a concern. The Trump tariff, as you know, Shari could affect inflation either way. If a flood of Chinese and other goods heait Australian shaws. If Chinese demand for Australia raw materials drops, then that
would be deflationary. But of course if there are global supply change, supply chain disruptions, then that would have the opposite effect. So again I don't think the RBA should be cutting prematurely. They should be waiting for the hard data.
I want to ask you about housing policy. We saw the treasure during another debate with Angus Taylor last night. He was asked if anybody had actually moved into one of the houses.
Have a look, is a single person living in one of these houses? From this program we've built a couple of as a single person actually moved into one of these.
We've built a couple of thousand houses.
There's twenty eight thousand more in heavy pipeline right now, and there'll be fewer your supposal, because you want to cut the Housing Australia Future Fund so that free to use viewer homes.
Not a single person who's living in one of these houses.
I mean, that's concerning, isn't it That billions literally are being promised for one point two million new homes by the end of the decade, just in five years time, and yet not one new house has actually been constructed. According to Katie Gallagher's own admission.
Well, again, it's not a surprise because it reminds me of Bob Hawk's election promise many years ago that no child shall live in poverty. Governments and oppositions roll out these promises and these ambitious targets, but if you look at the nitty gritty details, as housing experts have made clear in recent days, local government planning and zoning, shortage of materials, and a whole range of other supply side factors are limiting our capacity to provide additional housing to
Australian people. So again, the government just gets the headline that it's going to build these houses, but the consequences of that dishonesty won't be clear until after the election.
Yeah, all right, David Pearl, always good to have your independent analysis on the show. Thank you very much for joining us. All Right, well, we've got another two weeks until the election campaign. Two and a half weeks make sure you're watching Sky News every single night, especially the next man coming up. So all we've got time for today. I'll see you tomorrow night, right here at eight o'clock. But right now, my mate, the wonderful Paul Murray