Sharri | 17 July

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Welcome everyone, Yes, Steve Price, with you filling in for Shari a week and I'll be back on Friday at six with our normal program coming up. Disciplined and silent. Donald Trump turns up for day two of the Republican Invention, keeping the world hanging on his acceptance speech, which will be Thursday, US time. Leaving the stage today to Nikky Haley and Ron DeSantis will cross to the US shortly back home. Immigration is top three when you look at

First.

A couple of hours apart today, the chaotic and dysfunctional, delusional federal labor government running this country was on full show live right here on Sky News. Now, I can't split Industrial Relations Minister Tony Burke and Agriculture Minister Murray Watt. But given the seriousness of the CFMEU corruption allegations, I'll give Burke the gold Medal Goose of the Day award.

Sometimes additional evidence comes through the media. On this occasion, the evidence about organized crime has come through the media. I'm grateful that that's been exposed and that's why we're acting. I think some of this goes to the nature of organized crime. But this is something I had not been previously briefed on. And it is something that as I say, not in terms of organized crime, the organized crime issue, and I just go to it was published as an exclusive.

Seriously, that was Michelle Gratton, the veteral veteran Canberra Bureau member giving it to Tony Burke. Now, as I said last night, blind Freddie was aware of the SEPKA led union in victoriating the big build projects, extracting inflainted salaries, threatening non union outfits with violence, getting double six figure salaries for sign holders, blowing out project budgets and delaying

Quite properly, they're not made by ministers. These decisions. I usually only find out about amounts when journalists know the numbers. It's not something that interests me, and certainly not something that influences me. But the national Executive will be meeting tomorrow and dealing with this in a fairly firm fashion.

Get off the grass, minister, you know nothing to do with me, he says. I can't do anything. I don't know how much money was paid. I never asked the classics don't ask about something you don't want to know the answer to would be my version of that. Burt

In an election. Here it was Burke on donations.

The concept of handing money back is one of the most astonishing and absurd ideas I've seen. Are the Liberal parties seriously suggesting that at this moment the action of the government should be that we hand money to the CFMU.

Okay, don't end it back, but put it in a safe place and don't spend it on getting re elected. And what about the hapless Murray Watt? I mean, please, this is the bloke who's the agricultural minister who wants to ban the live expert of experts of sheep. Now he was speaking at a global food forum in Queensland this morning. What could possibly go wrong? You'd think, Well, it didn't start all that well.

I'd also like to start by acknowledging the traditional owners of the land that we're gathering on today, our first farmers, and pay my respects to elders past, present and emerging.

Now, the idea Indigenous Australians or First Nations people were farmers in the modern sense is highly contestable, unless, of course, you are that author Bruce Pasco who wrote Dark Emute. Clearly, what is a fan minister. What also at the Food forum full of people you won't believe this who need reliable base load power electricity for food production, decided to unload on Peter Dutton and the coalition's nuclear policy.

Nuclear energy production is a thirsty endeavor. The generation of nuclear energy requires a significant amount of water. The fact is that for an already risky policy, mister Dutton hasn't outlined where any additional water is going to come from for his nuclear reactors.

Gee, Murray, I'm not sure that was the time or the place. While extolling the advantages of renewable energy the great Government wind and sun mantra to combat climate change that's threatening the future of the planet, he.

Let a little cat out of the bag big time. Today.

Australian agriculture has been notching up quite a few wins lately, whether it be record production levels, massive grain harvests and exports of beef and sheep meat.

There you have it.

So, while the world climate is in such bad shape and people like Tim Flannery talked about dams never being full again, no snowball or normal panic merchant stuff, we are growing record grain crops to make food. Well played, Murray, and finally, just by accident, the Prime Minister found himself in Brisbane today. There must be some sort of rugby league game on tonight, and his tough guy talk about cutting the cancer out of the CFMEU was even less convincing than that from Burke.

We're not waiting, we're being decisive and we've worked through with the Fair Work Commission as we said we would do, and with legal advice as we said we would do.

There's a lot of words to describe Anthony Albanez, Trime Minister, Decisive, in my humble opinion, not be.

One of them.

Then late today, obviously at the urging of the PM to try and stem the bleeding, the ACTU held three hours of meetings and they cut the construction arm of the CFMEU loose and urged the union to work with an independent administrator. It shows how playing with the devil hoping you don't get burnt never turns out well.

In the end, and a tip from me gets it.

For the CFMEU protests, the project lockdowns, the concrete pause being stopped and a major pushback on any of this. They will not be pushed around. First up, let's bring in our panel tonight, joining me former Victorian Liberal Party president Michael Kroger and former Labor Minister Graham rich O Richardson. Great to see you both. The ACTU they've agreed to suspend the CFMEU as an affiliate of the movement's peak body, Sally McManus came out late today. Have I listened to what she had to say.

This is the best path forward in terms of satisfying their members, the trade union movement, the public that they are the union that is free of criminal elements and of violence.

Pretty grim little gathering there, Graham Richardson. The unions and the Labor Party, they are forever linked. And I don't have a problem with that. But when you start reading what Channel nine found and you watch sixty minutes, clearly the construction arm of the CFMEU in many of the states has got to be cut loose, doesn't.

It Absolutely should have been cut loose years ago. I mean, we've all known about it, Everyone.

Speaks about it, Soto Voce.

You know, we just don't want to stand up and say, hey, there are really crooked people in our party and in our movement, and we should turf them and.

Turf them quickly.

And when you were there when the BLF was de registered. Is it worse now or not as bad? Is it worse?

Look, I think it depends which state you're in. Some of the BWU CFMU, to use the current phrase, are pretty good, but sadly too many of them are not. And we've got to be very careful and so state by state you've got to have a look at it. And where you find people who are basically crooks, you just got to get rid of them. You cut them loose. You don't let them just hang around like a bad smell.

And a lift. You just get rid of them. Michael, we're in Victoria.

We knew about it. Everyone knew about it in Melbourne. I mean you look at all of those big projects. They're all over budget because of the fact that all of these deals have been done. How could the premierges Siner Allan not.

Know about it.

Right year wrong? No one knew it, No one knew anything about it. It's a complete shock to everyone down here in the Victorian government. Tony Burke, he's completely shocked. Words have failed him. And to Cinder Allen, who was in charge of infrastructure for a decade here, it's a complete mystery to Hershey knew nothing about it whatsoever. No, this is all complete news to them. I must say credit where credit is due to Channel nine Fairfax and

Were they lobbied at.

All by the CFMU, and if they were, could they release all those communications? Because this inquiry is got this administrator thing. This is not serious. As the BCA have said today, correctly, there needs to be a judicial inquiry. But let's see if the government were lobbied at all by VCFMU over the Building in Construction Industry watchdog, that would be very interesting to see.

Pricey, that's very good point, now, both of you. One of our favorite people on the planet, Kevin Rudd, was back on the TV today. He's astrated, his ambassador to Washington very kind to me in several interviews I've done with him, and he did send me a very threatening letter at one point. But Kevin was out speaking on the sidelines, batting away speculation that his criticism of the former president Donald Trump could jeopardize his job in Washington.

The really good thing about the United States is brand Australia is in good working order, and therefore we are in a good position to work with whichever party is elected. If the American people vote for Donald Trump and for j. D. E. Vance, Australian government led by Anthony ALBERANUZI will be in there working hard, positively, constructively with incoming Republican administration from day one.

Rich Oh, I hope I haven't triggered you with that vision, have.

I Thankfully, when you're in this seat you don't get any vision, because, I mean the side of that Blake just does terrible things to me, terrible things. I mean, I just wish I was happy. When he went to America, because it was a long way away. But I just wish he wouldn't bob up.

Ever. I want it disappearing, Kevin.

That's what we want you to do, mate, Just disappear.

Moderating one Pricey that thought that Kevin looked a bit tired during that interview, tired or emotional.

One of the two was that just me.

No.

Look, here's the thing when Trump gets elected. If Trump gets elected, he gets a briefing on Australia, they're going to say, He's going to say, right, tell me about the Australian government. They'll say, well, the Prime minister's views are like those of Bernie Sanders, the Foreign minister's views are like those of Hillary Clinton. And the Australian ambassador in Washington hates your guts. So that's a good start

Rich O.

On a serious note, former Home Affairs Minister Karen Andrews today says, in the wake of the shooting attempt on Donald Trump's life, that it's only a matter of time until similar attempts are made on Australian politician. She's backed a review into protection of MPs that Mike Presulo called for. You were in politics for a very long time. You were I'm sure at points in time potential risk. I don't tend to agree with her. We don't have the

No, not really. I think we're very fortunate here. You know, our Prime minister can walk down the street, buy a newspaper and have a cup of coffee and no one is going to do anything about it. No one will take any action against him. You can't do that in many countries in the world. So we are really really fortunate.

In that respect.

But you know, I think with what happened with Trump this week, it just shows you that if you've got guns everywhere, someone's going to use them, and somebody's going to use them for an illegitimate, in the shocking purpose, and that's why we don't have the guns. I've always had a soft spot for John Howard for the actions he took in respective guns, and I think, you know, it's one of those things where both sides are united

Michael the Richos mentioned there at John Howard, I mean that famous photograph of the then Prime Minister with a bulletproof vest on under his suit addressing members of the National Party while he was trying to get his gun laws through the Parliament. That's one of the most identifiable photos we've ever had of a Prime minister in this country.

Yeah, it is, and all credit to John Howard. That's why in times of Cristis you need leaders with courage and Howard had it on that issue and so many others. So he did the right thing there.

I met it that it didn't help him. Years later.

I remember him telling a story how he and George W. Bush spoke at a Republican dinner in Texas where the MC was going through Howard's achievements as Prime Minister and mentioned his restriction on guns, and he said it didn't go down too well amongst the Republican crowd at the dinner in Texas, but you wouldn't expect it would. But here in Australia he did a great job on that issue and all credit to him.

He did indeed.

Michael Croger and Graham Richardson, great to see you both, Thanks very much for joining us tonight. Now after the break the cfma U saga spreadston New South Wales as the opposition calls for a Royal commission plus more from the United States. On day two of that extraordinary Republican National Convention. Welcome back Steve Price in for Shari. The English do pomp and ceremony better than anyone else. And

He will open the.

British Parliament shortly as I said, he will read a speech that's the tradition in the UK where the incoming government will have outlined what their prospects for Britain are. So wonderful pictures in from the UK the Parliament sitting and there will be shots on that as we go through the night.

I'm sure.

With King Charles opening the Parliament in the UK, well let's see if MEU scandal gets worse by the hour. There has been calls or obviously for a Royal commission into that trade union and deals and allegations of corruption and thagish behavior.

It just goes on and on.

It started on Friday night with John Setka quitting. The Victorian branch was in the spotlight.

Well, that spotlight's well.

And true now changed and it's shining straight on the New South Wales branch. After the nine investigation, a revealed security vision I've seen it today online which captured the state's construction union boss Darren Greenfield allegedly being passed a five thousand dollars bundle of cash under the table as part of a suspected kickback. Now this is in twenty twenty, but still, if that's true, then that crisis is worse

Well, it's an enormous problem. And in fact, Steve, what I'd be saying to you, of course, is is that the real person you should be interviewing now is not me but the Premiere, and he should be on the front foot in relation to this and assuring the people who work in the construction industries, both the employees and the employers, that their integrity is something that he holds sacred. But it has taken the New South Wales premiere three

You and I have been around a long time.

The ACTU came out today late this afternoon suspended affiliation with the construction arm of the CFMEU. You I can only suspect that either the Prime Minister's office or Tony Birk's office have been on the phone saying, for goodness sake, try and drag us out of this mess, because the state premier is initially including Jacinta Allen here and Victoria did not want to get involved.

Well.

The problem that the ILP has in relation to this is that the general perception that who pays the piper calls the churn runs absolutely true to this scenario. This is a union engaged in corrupt activity building some of the most important infrastructure for the state, hopefully dragging us through a housing crisis that we need to get through and build the cheapest possible housing. If they are part of the construction which is renovating the states and delivering

The state of.

New South Wales, largely under a government of which you were a member, and I talk about the bad, beveragicli and Peritate governments, did a remarkable job building huge, huge infrastructure projects. I mean we can winge about the tunnel tolls and all of that stuff. But do you suspect when you look back on that now the construction costs of some of those projects would have been highly inflated by the wage demand and the contracts were written to use CFMEU workers on those projects.

Well, the answer it clearly is probably the only way to really find out the extent to which some of those contracts were impacted by CFMEU negotiations could only be found out by a Royal commission with wide ranging powers. But let me just say this is the New South Wilds government has a procurement pipeline of about thirty to forty billion dollars a year. It is the largest procurer of any corporation or corporate entity in the Southern Hemisphere.

Now, the extent to.

Which unions are involved in that procurement process and that there is a stiff of corruption around the manner in which those tenders are being procured, then we can't be satisfied that we're getting the best value for dollar. And what happened in Victoria was this, Steve is that.

For the.

Big build down there, the certification process to get the

Just finally, Damien.

I criticized at the beginning of the program tonight the inaction from Tony Burke based in New South Wales. Anthony Alberezi, the Prime Minister. They seem to be wanting the States to bear the burden of this, but surely they need to take some responsibility. After all, it was Burke who shut down the Australian Building and Construction Commission.

And.

That is absolutely right because the ABCC acted as a vehicle for being able to field complaints. Where do you go if you've got a problem with the with the union making demands on you and you want to get some relief from that. If you can go to the media, that's one out, but you should have an organization where you can go and lodge a complaint, have it investigated and dealt with. That's been dismantled federally by getting rid

Well said Damien Tudo. Thanks for your help tonight. Good on your thanks to Let's go to the United States now, where it's been another pack at the Republican National Convention, Donald Trump making another appearance today to a unified party. His former rivals Nikki Higley and Ron De santis I gave speeches praising the now official candidate for president.

He listen, if we have four more years of Biby or a single day of Harris, our country will be badly worse off. For the sake of our nation, we have to go with Donald Trump.

Our enemies do not confine their designs between ten am and four pm.

We need.

We need a commander in chief who can lead twenty four hours a day and seven days a week. America cannot afford four more years of a weekend at Bernie's presidency.

Joining me now is commentator and host of Outkicks, Tommy Larin is feelss Tommy larn Day two the RNC, I watched the full speech of Ron de Santa San Nikki Highly. What do you make of Nikki Highly being back into the tent? What do you think Donald Trump would.

Make of that?

Well, listen, I think that former President Donald Trump is happy to have the party united. We simply cannot win if we don't have a united front, a united Republican Party.

Do you think the attempted assassination at the weekend, that all full event that unfoulded has galvanazed Donald Trump's campaign.

I think it certainly has. And I'll tell you what, just watching former President Trump at the convention for these couple of days, I think that there is a notable change in his demeanor. I think that he realizes that this could have very different and very much so been in a very different situation for him, and he could have been injured much worse or even died last weekend.

Look, you could excuse Donald Trump for not turning up there until he speaks on Thursday. I think yes that I and again today that Trump looked, in my view, a little shike and a little bit rattled to me, which is understandable when you've missed death by after all, a couple of centimats.

I don't know if he looks rattled to me. I think that even you know, seconds after what happened happened, he looked very defiant and obviously like the battleborn warrior that he is. I think what we're seeing really from Donald Trump is he's soaking in the moment. He's understanding that he is the nomineeth a Republican Party for the third time, that's already a historic accomplishment, but he's also realizing and soaking up the moment that this is really

Look gay, I think you know, lists of people would have walked away, and I think it's a credit to him that he's not done that. We learned today that US intelligence has uncovered a plot by Iran to assassinate Donald Trump, and that's before what happened on the weekend.

Right.

Well, what I think, also beyond this just being really disturbing, I also don't think that it should be surprising. He was the leader of the free world. He could likely be the leader of the free world again in just a few months. So the fact that there wasn't more protection for him when he's standing in a wide open field in the middle of Pennsylvania, and the fact that the director of the Secret Service is trying to excuse the lack of protection on a sloped roof being unsafe

Given that excuse, which I still can't believe about a sloped roof, Tommy, I mean, goodness me, you could have no event out in the open ever again if there's a sloping roof, because a sniper wouldn't be able to get on top of it.

It's just crazy stuff.

It's crazy, it's a ridiculous excuse. I think that there are a lot of former military members, special operators, even those in law enforcement that would be happy to protect and guard the former president in a much better way, in a much more secure way than he received over the weekend. And I think we're going to see a lot more coming out, at least I hope that we do. I hope we get a transparent investigation about exactly what

What expecting the tone of the speech from Donald Trump that who are going to get on Thursday.

We've heard reports that he's actually rewritten the speech after what happened over the weekend, after the assassination attempt. So I think what you probably would have heard is Donald Trump the fighter, Donald Trump going after the record and the poor legacy of current President Joe Biden. But I think what you're going to hear in this speech is

Just fondly, I mean Jack Black and his band Tonicius d made a terrible mistake here in Sydney, where the stupid guitarist said, don't miss Trump next time. Look, they've apologized Ivan not the two has been canceled. God, I believe the apology. I mean, with they the same a piece of some Joe Biden fundraiser recently.

Exactly, Yeah, Jack Blocke at that fundraiser, when George Clooney, Jack Black and everybody in attendance saw our current president cognitively failing and refuse to say anything. That's a whole separate issue. But I don't buy the apology either. I'm not somebody that's for cancel culture, but when you have somebody that goes on stage with that kind of an audience so soon after a former president's life was literally centimeters from being taken and you make that kind of

Tommy, thanks very much for joining us.

Thank you so much for having me.

God bless.

That convention continues tomorrow.

Looks so forward to the jd vance speech, which you're going to see coming up, off to the what's the Secret Services Director's b excuse on that Trump assassination attempt a sloped roof? It's possibly the most bizarre explanation I've ever heard. You don't want to miss that explanation. Plus, forget Peter Dutton and now Anthony Albanesi's biggest election threat, it's now Adam Band calling himself Robin Hood.

Welcome back.

Steve Price with you, James Morrow coming up filling in for Paul Murray after me, the panel in the sect. Now, I'm no fan of cancel culture. It's not my thing, but today it seems pretty well fair enough. Tenacious D, which is something I'd never heard of, was a comedy rock duo. I think I have interviewed Jack Black before

Have a look at what happened there came with Trump next time.

Stupid stuff, And I never thought i'd say these words. I think I'm on a unity ticket note with Kevin. I can't say that with Kevin run. But that is sick. You can even hear the audience. I'm in the audience doing joining me now our panel tonight National Senate of Matt Canavanah was great to see him and Sky News contributor Joe Hildebrand. Joe, you strike me as a Jack Black fan.

Well, I'm certainly a fan of free speech and no fan of cancel culture. But look, there's always been a line with free speech, and that is incitement to violence. And while the joke was obviously not a literal intent to go and murder Donald Trump, at least I hope not by putting it out there that this is something that you should do that would make you wildly popular if you did it, Because of course, the crowd explodes

Mat It just goes to that whole argument about entertainment elites who are all of the left and hate Donald Trump. They want to have Joe Biden back in in the White House. The same thing happens here. We get actors and actresses talking about politics that we don't really need to hear from.

Yeah, well, look, I don't really care too much what Jack Plack or Tenacious D he's been. I don't know who the other guy is who's made these comments. Look, I think it's appropriate the tour has ended over this. It's big enough to do that. What I'm more concerned about, though, is that these people are just silly enough to give voice to their opinions that, in effect they would like

I mean, we've seen.

Senior Democratic politicians in the US engage in incredibly dehumanizing language towards former President Trump. And if you did seriously believe that Donald Trump is Hitler, which many of them have said, then you probably would be considering things like trying to kill him as people did to Hitler at the time. And that's what's really concerning here. People have got so many questions about what happened on the weekend.

Man, I want to get your view on development.

Today, Andrew Forrest's fortes Q Mining company announce they're slashing seven hundred jobs and affirming its resolute commitment to green technology vision. But they've also made the point that the green hydrogen that they think they're going to produce is still a hell of a long way away.

Well, I'm glad that Twiggy is coming back to the land of common sense seemingly. I don't know all the details of this announcement yet, but it's been clear for a long time that hydrogen has a long time to go. I mean, the old joke is that hydrogen's great, it's only twenty years you know, it's twenty years away. It's just always been twenty years away. Now, look, I'm hopeful. I'm hopeful we can crack something with hydro in the future.

Well, said Joe Adam bans Gift that keeps giving. He gave me today to write for Friday. He's likened himself to Robin Hood.

Well they both wear green, so you know, look, this is again just another sign. This is not the first time the Greens have declared their intent to basically like Cuckoo's in the Nest, to hollow out, to cannibalize the Labor Party and then to kill it. And yet there are still some on the left who seem to think that they're this sort of benign force.

They're not.

They're nasty, radical Bolsheviks. And just like the Bolsheviks, their true enemy isn't the right. It's not conservatives, it's moderates. It's the people on their own side who they think are not stream enough. So Adam bans gone out. He's cast himself his cast Labor as, accused Labor of being a part of the center right, which I'm sure will surprise many viewers of this show, and basically said that he wants to he wants to overtake them, take them over.

It won't happen.

The problem is they want to send us all back to the Nottingham Forest. Matt Tenavan and Joe Hildebrand, thank you very much for joining us tonight after the break. Remember Prime Minister Abenese's promised to return immigration to quote sustainable levels.

So much for that.

We learned today Australia is adding a new migrant every single minute of every day. We'll unpack the numbers next.

Welcome back. I've always said.

Immigration is in the top three of issues when we get to a federal election. There was some doubt data out today from the Australian Bureau of Stats. It's been analyzed by the Institute of Public Affairs and this is what stood out Australia is adding a new migrant to our country every single minute. Joining me now to dissect those figures is Saxon Davidson, research fellow at the IPA. That figure really whacked me between the eyes today.

How did you arrive at that?

Well, we analyze the stats that came out from the ABS and then analyze that from the most recent financial year and basically compared that to the government's promise at the last budget. Now, the government has already over the promise that they made at the last budget by almost fifty thousand new migrants, and this is before an extra month during this year has been collected.

The government.

Simply this promise from the government is simply not worth the paper that it was written on, and it shows they have truly no desire to turn off the tap and to let the supply of housing catch up with migrants.

And I think that that statistic or those numbers from the Bureau didn't even include the last month of migrants. They've still got to be added in, don't they, Saxon.

No, absolutely they do.

And so far it could get worse, but so far it's currently a migrant permanent. That means for every minute you're spending inspecting a new property or even waiting to inspect a new property apartment or house, a new net migrant is being added who will also need property to live in. Currently, the supply of housing is just not catching up to migrants. The only policy lever available to the federal government considering housing is migration, and it's a

I reckon cost of living energy costs included in that and the migration question plus the overall green energy argument are the three big issues for the election campaign. I reckon the case on immigration, especially on research like yours, is only going to grow.

Absolutely.

And what this increase of migration has also shown when you look at economic data is that the reason the government has no desire to stop migration is because their entire economic plan is reliant on the growth of population.

Figures.

Eighty five percent of our current economic growth is attributed to the growth and population. When you compare that to when we had proper productivity driven prime ministers such as Keating and Hawk and John Howard. In the nineties it was as low as one third. It actually just lays out to the lack of economic plans zaccon It just that the government has.

It says to me absolutely, it says to me that they're not serious about it. Thank you very much for joining us and coming up next. James Morrow is filling in for Paul Murray. I'll be back tomorrow