Live on Sky News. This is Sharry.
Good Evening. Welcome to the program tonight. The sophisticated operation that targeted terrorists. Why experts around the world have been flawed by the pager attack that in a moment. Also tonight, Testin Russell will be live on the show as he tears the ABC to pieces. There are now fresh revelations over journalistic misconduct at the public broadcaster. Their war crime reporting is such a disaster that now the Minister is
demanding answers. Plus, Penny Wong embarrasses Australia on the world stage refusing to rule out supporting a pro hamas un motion. Dave Sharma, Bridget Mackenzie and Michael Danby will join me to discuss. But first, this is the work of a genius intelligence operation targeting terrorists directly by detonating their personal pages. It doesn't get more sophisticated and surprising than this. And
here's how it unfolded. Hesbela terrorists were using low tech pages to evade Israelis tracking their location, and their pages detonated at around three point thirty in the afternoon local time. The terrorists opened a message on their pager that said from Hesbela HQ and then their devices exploded. Here's one Hesbela fighter opening his device at a be Route supermarket. The explosions from the detonations weren't large. You can see this that it was only the person who was holding
it who was affected. Now have a look at this next vision in a supermarket, a grocery store. Again it was very targeted. The other two men on the right and the left were on a affected. They were able to run away. It was only the hes Blood terrorist who was holding the pager who was taken down. As a former CIA officer pointed out, this fits with Israel's playbook of trying to avoid civilian casualties.
Although Israel has not taken credit for this or responsibility, it's likely Israel. The nature of the technology used, the large number of pagers involved would require an organization with significant intelligence, significant technical capabilities, and a reason to focus on Lebanese has Belah, and also a culture in which they seek to avoid civilian casualties. And this is a very surgical tool aimed at killing only the people who with has Belah.
The terrorists could never have seen this coming. The very devices they were using to avoid detection were ultimately ticking time bombs. One of those injured was the Iranian envoy in Lebanon, Moshtaba Amani. You have to wonder why the Iranian envoy had a Hesbela paja. It shows the link pretty clearly between the terrorist outfit, which is funded by Iran. But there were civilian casualties. Sadly, two girls aged eight and ten, along with the son of a Hesbela politician
were killed. Three thousand people were injured, mostly on their hands and faces, and we don't quite know how many were terrorists or civilians. But as we said, this was targeted and it looked like just the people holding the devices, just the terrorists holding the devices were mostly affected. Now Israel hasn't commented on this operation, but according to reports in the New York Times, this was a joint effort
by Mossad and the IDF. The pages were from the Gold Apollo company in Taiwan, and it appears that Israel intercepted the delivery before it arrived in Lebanon. Explosive material was placed right next to the lithium ion battery. A detonating switch was also reportedly installed. The pages then increased in temperature before exploding. This has owed and flawed commentators around the world.
I mean, this is just an extraordinary operation.
I've never seen anything like this, what have.
You, There's never been anything like this. Nobody has ever supplied the communications devices for an entire organization that was their opponent and then done what they call a command detonation by sending a push message to all of those devices just simultaneously. They must have been planning for some time. Has Bel sources have told CNN that these are pages that they that they got delivery of, you know, a
non months ago. So it suggests that the Israelis, if they are behind it, waited till they were confident that most of the shipment had been distributed to the key operational Hesbela people.
Well.
Reut has reported that a Hesbela terrorist speaking anonymously, said it was its biggest security breach yet. And there's no question this will now make Hesbela paranoid and create internal division. It's a point this former NYPD Deputy Commissioner of Intelligence and counter Terrorism, John Miller.
Made still sends this important message. And consider the gravity of this. If you're at the top of Hesbelah, you have to say, Okay, the Israelis knew us better than we thought, better than we thought they did, and our supply chain, our procurement process. We're a big organization. We have to consider all of that compromised. What else are they into my automatic car starter, the laptop in front of me? Do they control an explosive in my phone? So their heads have to be spinning.
Exactly. Israeli intelligence is therefore unlimited, but showing how warped. The United Nations is its special coordinator for Lebanon, condemned the attack, saying it marked an extremely concerning escalation in the conflict. That's the un condemning an attack on terrorists,
a targeted attack. They overlook the fact that Hesbela has launched more than eight thousand rockets against Israel since October seventh alone, and there are sixty three thousand people displaced from northern Israel as a result, sixty three thousand Nettenawho wants these Israelis to be able to return to their homes. As I said, this was a targeted attack and it acts as a warning yet again that terrorists ultimately can't hide,
they can't escape. Sophisticated Israeli intelligence that will outrun them every time. This operation also has the added benefit of taking every HASBELAOD terrorist offline, destroying their communication method Now, while the United Nations may tomorrow demand an unconditional ceasefire, Israel's strategic objective is not just to end the war, but to annihilate the terror threat in order to have
lasting peace. And with four hundred Hesbela terrorists killed over the past year and leading her Mus figures taken out as well, it seems like Israel now is on its way to winning the war on terror. All Right, We've got a lot coming up in the show. Dave Sharma will join me a bit later to speak about that,
as well as Bridget Mackenzie, Michael downby Michael Shubridge. But now let's bring in my regular Wednesday panel, former Victorian Liberal Party president Michael Kroger and labor legend Graham Richardson. Welcome to you both. Look, this was really a stunning operation. Michael Kroger, what was your reaction when you woke up to hear the news of it today?
Well, it was an incredibly successful operation by the Israelis and it was directed towards military targets in Lebanon and Syria, and it worked incredibly successfully. Unlike hes Blah, by the way, who fire rockets at Willy Nilly civilians or otherwise into the northern parts of Israel, I don't care who they kill. So as a target operation, this was incredibly successful. They said we're going after military targets and that's exactly what
they did. And the fact that up to three thousand hes Bala fighters have been injured probably ultimately will curtail a lot of their activities. And very clearly the Israelis, where Nasrolla is the leader of Hesblah, he would know that they know where he is and they could take him out at any opportunity. So, as you say, this will probably be a good step towards ending this fight between Hesbla and the Israelis.
Rich O, this will go down as one of the legendary intelligence operations.
Don't you think, Oh, this is brilliant. I think that's the only word for it, Absolutely brilliant. And it means that if you're against Israel over there, you are worrying every minute of every day, will I be alive tomorrow. I think that's a good way to have your enemy.
No question, about it. Look, we're going to return to this. We'll have analysis throughout the show because it was the biggest story around the world today, but more locally in Australia. Last night, who's who of the business community gathered for the BCA and Your Dinner where the Prime Minister claimed that he is pro business and pro worker but Michael, he tiptoed around the union backed IR laws. This is the main point of contention. He did admit there were
crucks in the relationship with a business sector. Let's have a quick look at that.
I am optimistic that government and business can do this together. We have different responsibilities that demand different approaches, so it is inevitable we will have occasional differences of opinion.
Michael, do you think Albanezi is facing to some extent a revolt from the business community.
Well, of course he is. The question is whether the business community can act on that and change votes. I mean, the Trading Moon for decades have given money to and supported the Labor Party elections. The BCA and state based affiliates and hangers on tend to be neutral during election campaigns, which doesn't do their cause any good because the government then doesn't their labor government never fear them, so they've got to get active, like the mining companies did over
the mining tax. I mean, if you don't fight, you lose. The Business Council doesn't fight, so it keeps losing. So it has these wonderful dinners and cocktail parties where they have these meetings. But I'm sorry, Labor politicians take no notice of the Business Council of Australia and increasingly so the Liberal Party politicians don't take much notice of them. The last public campaign the business community ran will full force was to give millions of dollars to the Voice.
Well that was a debacle and a disaster and makes them just insipid. So if they get back to fighting for their members, people will start taking them seriously. And the incoming Liberal government, if that's to be the case, will take them seriously.
And they have shown a bit of fight over the past fortnight, and we hear that behind the scenes the Prime Minister hasn't been happy about this is communicated some of that privately, as I understand it, to senior leadership in the BCA. But Richard, it's not just the business community who's complaining here. Your old mate Bill Keilty has come out at a private lunch and to say that, well, the government's not doing enough to lift productivity. What did you make of his remarks?
Well, I think when Kelty speaks, you're a mug if here don't listen. That's the main point here. Kelty is wise beyond belief and has.
A stellar record.
So if I were the government and I heard Kelty taking a stance like that, I'd be listening and I'd be acting upon it.
Would you agree with what he said that there needs to be tax reform? He said personal income tax brackets. When you add in GSD, he's saying it's over fifty percent, it's too high. You put in bracket creep on top of that, and even with the tax cuts, people are paying more tax than they were two years ago. This is what he's saying, there needs to be tax reform.
Well, there does wise.
You do what we're doing now, you chase your tail, You just go around in a circle, and.
That's all we're doing. So something's got to be done to break that.
And if we don't break it, then I think all we're doing is condemning ourselves to committing the same sins.
I mean, the problem is Michael Kroig, that government spending just gets bigger and bigger and bigger than ndis, you know, one of the biggest cost blowouts. So no government is going to want to rain in personal income tax. But I mean it's it's unsustainable, isn't it.
Absolutely unsustainable? I mean, as I said, the problem with Charmers is he's too weak. He's spending one hundred and thirty billion dollars more between twenty twenty three and twenty twenty six, according to the budget papers, one hundred and thirty billion more than he's than he's getting. And so when you've got a weak treasurer who cannot resist the demands upon him, right, he always wants to spend money.
And you know, look, you can say, you know there's no cause that isn't a good cause for government infrastructure, welfare, health, education, but you've got to draw the line somewhere. And when you've got a weak treasurer who doesn't have an economics background, like Jim Chalmers, who's floundering, it's very bad for the government. And you know, to be a successful government, you state or federal, you've got to have a strong treasurer who
can resist the overtures of your own supports. Charmers can't do that, Albanies, you can't do it. The captives of the sort of the left wing, you know, activists. And that's why the Australian economy is in a mess and it's not going to get any better under Charmers because, as most people think, he's spending far too much money, and that's why inflation is still just under four percent.
Yeah, exactly, inflation is. It has come down, but it is persistent. Rich O, the Prime Minister was clearly hoping for a rate cut before he calls the election. This is what he wanted to announce that he's got the cost of living under control. You've had your first rate cut, inflations coming down. But now we're seeing reports that actually the might not even be a rate cut in the first quarter of next year. He has to call the election in that time period, so it's not looking good for the PM.
No, I don't think that there's any good timing ahead for Anthony. I think the problem is whenever he goes there are problems. I think he was looking for a sweet spot. It's not going to come. So he's got to face that reality. And then then he's got to face up to an election that is not going to be easy to win.
Look, and even the unions turning against him. We saw today that there were thousands of CFMEU members both in Sydney and Melbourne who again stopped work in protest at the foster administration of their union. Michael. The union members have threatened a seventy two hour strike. They say that this would cripple the construction sector. I mean, this is quite extraordinary, these scenes against a labor PM.
Yeah, they are, and you know they've got a right to strike. Unfortunately they're striking over the wrong thing. They think that, you know, they've got this belief that there's an attack on wages and conditions. No, it's got nothing to do with that, as we all know. But I've got to say it's a single minded achievement, Alban. Easy to have both business and the unions against you. I haven't seen that for a long time. But he's achieved that. He's got the Jewish community against him, and the mkal
community against him. He's got the Aboriginal community against him, and the mining community, gold mining community against him. Boy, he's getting almost he's almost a Gold Medal status. I mean for offending everybody. Well, this is what happens if you're a weak prime minister like Alboiz and you try to please everyone, You've got to compromise your own beliefs, which are hard socialist left. I mean, he's a Jeremy Corbyn, he's a Bernie Sanders. That doesn't work in Australia. So
he tries to appease everybody. You've got Wang over there. I mean, look, what is the purpose of the Albanzy government. That's what people are going to ask himself. Answer, there is no purpose. It fell into government after we'd been in power for nine years, we had no full term agenda, we'd had three prime ministers. Okay, the electorate said hey, we've had enough of you, time for change. But this bloke got into government on false prefaces that he had
a plan to fix everything. Everyone knows not only he didn't have any he didn't have a plan. He doesn't have any idea what he's doing. And I think, as I said last night, Jerry, that's why I think Dutton's probably favorite now to win the election. This guy's polls are just getting worse every single day, and I can't see what's going to stop them continuing to fall.
Rich Are You come on this show and you often say, look, people like Albo, and I always point out that no one I know says they like Albo, But that just could be the circles I'm mixed in. But you insist that he is a likable bloke and so people are going to vote him back in. But the floor in that argument is that the voters didn't love Tony Abbott. He wasn't in the polls a popular figure. He won
with a fourteen seat landslide. Do you think there's a chance that the Liberals could have a swing coming their way of that size? It might not be enough to get them into government or even into minority government, but it could be a big swing.
Nonetheless, I doubt it, That's all I can say. I doubt it. I think Anthony is always able.
When an election's on too somehow just zoom up and the moment maketh the man.
He just seems to be able to do it every time.
I couldn't do it with the voice, though, could he? That was another voice?
Hang on the voice an election, It was totally different. I always thought the voice was a very weird thing to be involved in.
And you know I wouldn't want to tell you how I voted on it. All I know is that I ever happy with it being raised.
They know how you voted on it because you came on this show. You said you disagreed with the vice. The PM wasn't happy with you, so you changed your position and you felt like you had to support the sake of the labor rubbish. You definitely said you disagreed with the vice. You'll shut out on this show, ID went in doubt.
Labor politicians should ring you, mate, they should ring you when they're in doubt. And that's been the law in this country for forty years. Bill Hayden should have listened to you in those leadership battles thirty odd years ago. And you were right on the Voice. Alba was completely wrong and Richo nothing has done more damage to the Albanesi government than the Voice because he said to the
whole country, this is my major priority. And everyone thought, mate, if that's your major if that's your major priority, you're the wrong man to be Prime Minis for this country at this time.
There's some truth in that. I'd have to agree.
I think it was a strange thing to be adopting as such a big deal. You know, if it's not a big deal to the great majority of Australians, it's not a big deal period.
You're not going to change their mind.
Well was also the way he went about it, you know, and and the way he fought the campaign. I mean, the polling show that sixty percent of people kind of agreed with the idea at the beginning. But when the Prime Minister started calling people chicken littles and racists, accusing no supporters of misinformation, he turned anyone who might have even been inclined to support it off it, you know, created a lot of bad will. Just before we go. I want to finish on ambulance wait times now. This
is a major issue around the country. We've seen new figures today that ambulance wait times in New South Wales for critically ill patients who need urgent care have blown out. This story in the Citney Morning Herald. The worst areas were the Inner West, Northern Beaches and the Hawkesbury waiting longer for help than a year ago. But this is the same situation in Queensland, Victoria and South Australia. I mean, my point is, we see we pay more tax than ever.
Governments are getting involved in all sorts of things that they probably don't need to get involved in. The most basic requirement is to deliver healthcare when someone's about to die, having a heart attack or a stroke or something else that an ambulance turns up. Gentlemen, why can't governments fulfill the most basic things? Michael Kroger, Well, it's.
A very good point. And those areas where the ambulances are free, which is most areas, I understand people are going to emergency wards, and I don't know that those stats in the Herald article prove this, but anecdotally, I tend to think a lot of people are going to emergency wards so they don't have to pay for, you know, seeing a general pretitioner where they're not built. So the out of pocket expense is I think people are not paying it and they prefer to get or an emergency ward
at a hospital by an ambulance. That's what I suspect is happening. Because there are too many examples, these numbers have blown out of all proportion with no particular reason.
Rich.
I mean, I think it's something a lot of people are worried about that if you need an ambulance urgently to be there quickly before you could get to a hospital yourself, that they just won't turn up in time, that you'll lose your life. Is that something that you think is a concerned.
I think that people do think that. I think there are far too many who think it. I think all governments have to have.
Another look at healthcare and ambulance times in particular. It's expensive to try and fix the problem, but if you don't fix the problem, it costs actual lives. It has a terrible effect in the community. So you've just got to change your priorities and make sure you do everything possible to fix agree.
All right, rich O, Michael Kroger, Great to see both of you. Now let's return to the biggest story making headlines around the world today, the surprise attack on HESBLA where their personal pages were detonated. This was an unprecedented operation and joining me now Strategic Analysis Australia Director Michael Schubridge, Michael, good to see you again. Look waking up to this
news in Australia today. It has surprised many with its brilliance in the execution What was your reaction when you took the time to analyze it.
Well, I was shocked, like you were, Shari, But when I looked at the nature of it, this is the most deep and a devastating blow to a terrorist organization's leadership that we've seen in the last forty fifty years or maybe ever. The device were used by Hasbola's entire command structure and only by them, so it injured or killed a bunch of them and maybe some of the people that were holding the pages of these terrorist leaders.
Hasblah has now threatened retaliation. What shape do you expect this will take? Given they are weakened as a result of this attack, Planning retaliation will be very difficult given their communication method has been literally destroyed.
Well, has Bolla are absolutely in shock about this, and they're in disarray.
You're right.
These pages were a main way they led and commanded the Hasbolla terrorist organization, so they're on the back foot immediately in giving orders and instructions and coming up with a plan. I think it'll be like the Iranians that when that assassination happened right in the middle of Tehran of the Hesbola leader Hania they said, we'll do terrible things and they still don't know what to do.
Hamas leader, of course, yes, because that embarrassed both Tehran and Hamas. Look, I just also want to ask you about ORCUS. It looks like it could expand. The US, Australia, and the UK are considering allowing three other allies access to the Pillar two technology here with Senator James Patterson speaking about this, South.
Korea, New Zealand and Canada. They are advanced economies, they are like minded partners, they are fellow democracies, and we can work together on solving some of those technological problems, whether it's quantum computing or advanced hypersonics or cybersecurity, in a way that enhances our shared values and shared interests.
So, Michael, they wouldn't be included on the nuclear submarine program, But what's your view on whether ORCUS should be extended. Well.
Pillar two, which is the non nuclear submarine bit of UCAS, is meant to be about rapid improvement in military capabilities by getting new technologies into the hands of the UCUST partners' militaries. It's been underwhelming. It's been about government to government to government meetings and international travel. So these new partners need to bring urgency, money and technology. And really Japan is the one we haven't talked about. It's already indicated its interest.
The problem with Canada and New Zealand is it looks like fear of missing out rather than them bringing real capability to the party.
I also want to get your reaction, Paul Keating, Gareth Evans, Bob Carr. They're still objecting to Orcus. They seem to think they're the only sensible voices.
Well, what's that line they would say that, wouldn't they? Paul Keating talks about the loss of Australian sovereignty by being laced into American military technology. Well, when he was the Prime minister, our military was replete with American military and intelligence technology. That ship sailed before he was the prime minister. So maybe he's forgotten, but I think it's right to look closely at how AUCAS is being implemented and being critical is not somehow disloyal.
All right, Michael Schubridge, great to hear your thoughts. As always, Now before we go to the break Outgoing nine Boss Mike Sneezeby has spoken today for the first time since announcing his sudden resignation from the network. The Australians Leam Mendes confronted sneezeby outside Toronga Zoo this afternoon where nine was holding its strategy and people for him, have a.
Look your departure from nine is that linked to the cultural view findings?
And today's a lot about our people that are in there.
But you're purchasing our learn focusing on our strategy and of course it's going to be a terrific day.
So why have you decided to leave mine? Miss Stansbeak? Are you leaving? Why are you leaving?
Before the report turned it down?
And it seems or at least the top brass at nine have learned one lesson get out of the car talk to Liam Mendi's because last time when Peter Costello shoved him over, well that didn't end so well for Costello. And this all comes after months of turbulence at the networks. It awaits findings from an external report into the culture at the company. Now, after the break and angry, alber Eazy takes aim at the Greens and the Coalition for blocking his agenda, but is he prepared to use this
to call an election? And the worst foreign minister in our nation's history. Pennywong is now embarrassing us ahead of the United Nations vote. Once again. I'm going to get Michael Danby and Bridget McKenzie's take on this after the break. Well, a lot more coming up on the show tonight. Let's get into it now with our political panel, National Senate Leader Bridget McKenzie and former Labor and p Michael dan
Be great to see you both. Look. Anthony Alberinezi has accused the Coalition and the Greens of teaming up to block Labour's housing policy in the Senate. The PM tweeted this afternoon that Australians want their leaders to act now to make housing more affordable. Yet today the Liberals and Greens teamed up to block more help to buy a home. Now. There is speculation that the PM could call a double dissolution election, and he didn't rule it out when Clenell
asked him about it yesterday. Bridget McKenzie, what are the coalition's issues with this legislation.
Good evening, Sharhi, Well, we just don't think it's the right approach to actually free up supply that we know is needed in this country. We've seen images all day of construction workers on the streets of Melbourne. We know we've got the lowest new starts of new homes since twenty eleven under Labor. Meanwhile, they're pouring you know, a million over a million people into our crowded suburbs. So this is not the right mechanism with which to do it.
The Greens think they can land a deal with the Labor Party if they have some more time to negotiate, and that's what they've sought to do and you know we've been able to facilitate that.
So it's up to.
The Labor Party in the Greens to bury the hatchet, get the band back together and for the Labor Party to actually either put the deal on the table that will get Adam Banton his team across the line or not, or'll be voted down by the end of the year.
But we've got a whole raft of a suite of initiatives that will be taking to the election to open up supply on the supply side of the housing market, because it's not just about social and affordable housing obviously, we want to see Australians own their own home too, and this.
Is becoming a major issue home ownership and the high price of renting with the inflation and cost of living crisis. Look, I just want to talk about the fact that the Prime Minister didn't rule out a double dissolution. It seems like that's our talk. He's unlikely to do that because he doesn't want to go to an election this year.
What do you think, Michael, it'd be a fool But then that's not beyond the possibility with him. Look, it ended up with even more frost benches in the Senate already. We've made a tragic mistake of giving preferences to the Greens, which has got them elected in.
A number of lower House seats. Those Greens wouldn't be elected without Labor Party preferences, and there becomes such an existential danger to the Labor Party that even the socialist left should understand it and a double d would be madness.
I really think you know that the pressure now needs to be ramped up on the PM about what preference deals he is going to do with the Greens. He criticizes them all the time, correctly, but is he going to rely on them if he needs to to form government? And what are the preference deals. I think we need to have the answers to this. What do you think, bridget Yeah, I.
Couldn't agree with you more Sharin, It was pretty fiery question time this week. It's the Senate only sitting and these are exactly the types of questions that Penny Wong and Murray Watt, two of the factional left labor ministers, are getting and their response to the Greens political party here in the Senate every single question time this week is a very emotional one.
They're furious and they know.
They're stuck between a rock and a hard place. The Greens are monstering the you know, the left wing labor constituency, and they're powerless to do anything about it.
But Michael's dead right.
The Senate and the House are full of Greens because of the Labor Party, and so I think the coalition had a lot of fun today. That's exactly what we were asking them during question time across the raucous chamber was you know, well, if you hate it so much, put them last. Didn't look like they were going to take that up.
No, of course not, because for them, you know, power is everything. Well, let's see it drilled down a bit more on Penny Wong. Tomorrow Australia will vote on a United Nations resolution. As you know, this calls for a ban on arm sales to Israel, even calls for a boycott on Israeli companies. It calls for an unconditional withdrawal from Gaza, never mind the fact that there are still one hundred hostages held by terrorists in Gaza in dark tunnels.
No mention, of course of Hamas or October seven. The Biden administration has slammed this resolution, calling it inflammatory and one sided. Penny Wang is already embarrassing Australia by giving this pro Haamas motion consideration. Michael, how can she possibly even be considering supporting this? And has she already lost all credibility as Foreign minister.
She's more scared of the majority socialist left in her government and the alleged Muslim vote, which I think is greatly exaggerated in Western Sydney, than she is about political realities. The history of the Labor Party, Anywong, is that we always supported negotiations between the parties, not resolutions in the United Nations General Assembly passed by automatic majorities. With the
Islamic countries imposed on the parties. You'll never get a settlement if you don't have both of them sit down and Obama, Clinton and Bush all had the Palestinians nearly at the table and they ran away face up to that.
Yeah, good point, very good point, bridget This will be a major test for Labor. I think they're going to abstain. That's my instinct. What do you think.
Well, we're reading in the most recent reports that Australia is attempting to water it down and amend it, etc. I mean, this is a point in time again for Penny Wong and Anthony Albaneze's Labor Party to take a stand on the global stage, to stop equivocating, to stop siding with Kamas sympathizers and terror sympathizers, and stand with our ally Israel at her time of need. It's an opportunity to send a very clear signal, not just to
the international community but here at home. I'd be encouraging the Foreign Minister to not do it a third time in the UN to actually do the right thing, because as we know, the only thing necessary are for evil to triumph. For good men and women in the twenty first century to do nothing and This is her chance to stand up not just for Israel, but for the Jewish community here at home. That's very supportive of obviously the Israeli community.
And at the end of the day, the fight is against terrorists. We just had the anniversary of Stromber eleven. I mean fundamental Islamic extremism, terrorism, l you know, was what caused September eleven. This is a war against all of us in the West, not just Jews and loss Bridget McKenzie, Michael Danby, thank you very much for joining me once again now after the break, the man at the center of this week's bombshell story would join us live.
Heston Russell will speak about the ABC doctoring video to accuse him of war crimes, plus today's fresh revelations. The ABC journalist promised a positive story misleading a US soldier that secret recording has now been published. That's all coming up after the breaks, don't go away, Welcome back on now to more shocking revelations around the ABC's war crime reporting. The ABC is now being accused of manipulating comments from
a former United States Drug Enforcement Administration leader. Brett Hamilton said that he only agreed to an interview with the ABC journalist Mark Willacy because he was promised that it would be a positive story. Now the Daily Telegraph has obtained this secret recording where you can actually hear the ABC reporter making that promise.
Have a look, I am interested in doing something more broadly about the positive sort of relationship you know that developed in twenty eleven, continued and then through to twenty twelve, about you know, the actual achievements you guys, you know, racked up with the commandos. At some point, I'm not too interested in going down the road of this negative stuff.
Hown you if.
Anything, if somebody could capture the successors that we had.
He literally said, I'm not interested in going down the path of this negative stuff. But the story that he was pursuing was about war crimes, highly misleading to lie to someone like that. Hamilton's comments were then, according to Brett Hamilton himself, taken completely out of context. Now Communications Minister Michelle Roland has today finally demanded answers from the ABC.
I will be seeking a briefing from the ABC on this issue, because you are absolutely right, Australians need to have trust in their national broadcast.
All right. Well, now, retired Special Forces Major Heston Russell joins me live. Heston, thanks so much for your time. Look, firstly, I want to get your reaction to that secret audio of Mark Willersy promising Brett Hamon that it was going to be a positive story about working with you and your platoon.
Yeah.
Hi, So that recording was actually submitted to the Federal Court. That's actually the recording of the conversation Mark Willisy had with Brett Hamilton, and Brett then subsequently came on the Spotlight program. Brett even did an interview with ben fordham during my court case to say how discussed he was at, how his interview was manipulated, and also you know, the invitation to have him come on it was in complete ruse to get grabs from him to further try and
incriminate me. I mean, I've maintained contacts with Brett Hamilton since we deployed Afghanistan in twenty twelve, So as soon as that came out, I linked him with Ben Fordham and the team and the fact that the ABC is willing to take the comments from a us DEA Drug Enforcement Administration commander, someone who works in Washington, DC and manipulate in such a way is not only fraudulent, but how is that for a representation of the Australia TA Australia treats out US diplomats.
I have to say I find it very shocking personally as a journalist to hear a journalist like Mark Willisey make a phone call like that where he promises something was going to be a positive story when he knew all along that he was chasing a story about war crimes. I just think that's shocking. And then to make it worse, Mark willisy called us at NewsCorp bottom feeders, but his
lack of ethics seems to be unmatched. I mean, it doesn't get worse than And of course he has said he didn't know about this, doctoring a video to add gunshots, or lying about whether something was going to be a positive story. How would you describe the journalism at the ABC that targeted you.
Well, let's get this very clear.
So there's all the hype about these six shots that were originally one shot and now another six that turn into twelve. But the key point here is that Mark willis he got fifteen seconds worth of helmet camera footage and put together an entire seventeen thirty report that said that me and my soldiers, he said it was me personally firing, were flying around in helicopters shoot at unarmed civilians.
Then in April last year, during my court I gave the ABC the full five minute video that shows us chasing these insurgents.
It shows us firing those shots.
Landing on the ground, moving forward to capture them, and then getting ambushed and shot at, and you can physically see me on the camera getting shot at with my soldier. The ABC has had this full narrative, there's full context for over eighteen months now we're arguing over shots being manipulated.
That's shocking in itself, but they have had the full context of where Australian soldiers actually performed pretty well magnificently on the ground in combat, and instead of chosen to just stick to their narrative that they manufactured from fifteen seconds.
Worth of footage, that's where we're at in Australia.
That you can call my entire career and those of my soldiers in the Special Forces into disrepute because you come across fifteen seconds worth of footage and decide to make up your own narrative and then when we give you the full narrative, you stick to your guns.
Heston. What other legal options are you looking at?
Now?
There's too many?
And look, I want to say a massive thank you to Skye to seven to everyone has picked up on this. So many people are going to my website Heston Russell dot com and sending me emails about criminal defamation, about you know, maladministration, on the Commonwealth law, all these sorts of things. And look, I'm working with an amazing legal team already to rack and stack what we could and should do. But as you've heard, I've written to Kim Williams to ask to meet with ABC.
I've written with Mitch.
I've written to Richard Marles to ask to meet with him because where is the Department of Defense. They've had this footage, They've had this footage in their archive. I was questioned on this footage in the Breton Report and they've remained quiet this whole time, even after the ABC had been found to manipulate shots like this.
Is this moral.
Injury the Royal Commission is talking about as leading to the degrad and veteran mental health case in Point Ladies and gentlemen here it is defense. Step up and do your job and to get back to your shari. We'll find out. I don't want to go down that legal path. It's a long path.
I'm tired. But hey, if that's what's needed, I'll do it.
So you are considering the options. If Kim Williams hasn't agreed to meet with you, I take it you haven't heard from him yet.
Haven't heard from anyone of the ABC yet.
Yeah, it's a disgrace. All right, Hess and Russell, thank you for your time. Now after the break, all eyes firmly on Penny Wang how Australia will vote at the UN. She's under pressure from the Biden administration to vote this down. Dave Sharma is going to join us after the break. I'll also ask him about the Hesbala attacks and law. Welcome back. Well, let's bring in now Liberal Senator Dave
Sharma from Canberra. Great to see you, David, not just liberal senator of course, but Australia's former ambassador to Israel. And I want to ask you about what we are presuming is a joint operation between Mossad and the IDF against Hesbela pages Overnight very targeted operation. How sophisticated and unprecedented do you think this is?
Well, Look, firstly, Israel has not claimed responsibility for this, nor would they do so in normal circumstances, but Hezebela has certainly said Israel is responsible. I think it's important to understand that Israel and Hesbeler have been at Warnow for eleven months, have been about over five hundred people
killed on both sides of the border. There's over one hundred and fifty thousand people displaced on both sides of the border, so they are in a state of conflict, and in a state of conflict, you target your enemy, and that's clearly what this operation has intended to do in quite a targeted way, to go after Hesbela operatives and key figures who were in possession of these pages.
Well, Hesbela has fired eight thousand rockets towards Israel just since October seven alone. As you say, a lot of people displaced, Some sixty three thousand Israelis have had to be removed from the northern border. Benjamin Ettina, who's sat on the weekend, that he wants those people to be able to return home. A couple of days later, we've
seen this very targeted attack. Hesbela pages detonated, so this is quite an extraordinary operation, but it does fit with the fact that he wants the Prime Minister wants people to be able to go back home.
Look, that's right. Nssen Jojuanyov Galant his Defense minister, have been saying quite insistently in recent weeks that Israel's northern population needs to be able to return. Schools need to be able to reopen, families need to be able to go back to their homes. And I think this what this operation says to Hesbla is we have the capability
to do signify really more harm to you. We need to reach some sort of accommodation that de escalates tensions and allows people on both sides of the border to return and stops the incessant firing of rockets from Hesbela across into Israel. So I think it's a demonstration of capability but also intent, and it's designed to send a strategic message to Hesbla that now is the time to back off.
I want to turn to this United Nations vote. Pennywang, Foreign Minister seems to be trying to negotiate to have the language changed, Dave Sharma, isn't this motion so extreme that you couldn't even begin to tinker with it to have it in any shape or form that would be acceptable.
I agree with Linda Thomas Greenfield, who is Joe Biden and Kamala Harris's ambassador to the u N that this is a one sided, inflammatory resolution that will do nothing to advance the cause of piece. It doesn't condemn the Hamas terrorist attacks to the seventh of October, it doesn't recogniz Israel's right to exist behind peaceful and secure borders.
It doesn't call for the release of hostages. For all these reasons, it should not even be an internal debate within the Australian government about what position we should be taking. We should be opposing it. But the fact that the government seems to be considering doing what the Green's are urging them to do, which is to support the resolution, I just think shows you how much they have outsourced foreign policy in the Middle East to what the Greens say and do.
I mean, you know, as a diplomat, you must be a former diplomat, you must be shocked at where Australia's foreign policy is at the moment. Can you imagine having to be the Australian ambassador in Israel at the moment?
Well, I think it's a very difficult job because what this government has done is consciously and quite deliberately not only sought to downgrade our relationship with Israel, but to quite grievously damaging damage it through its public rhetoric, through its tendentious interpretation of the Mark Binskin Report, through its change in voting positions on you and resolutions. And it's not in a way that is helping to advance the cause of peace or a two state solution or Palestinian
self determination. It's in a way that's designed to appease, to appease local constituencies in Australia and alleviate political pressure from the Greens. That is no way to be setting foreign policy.
It's utterly extraordinary that there's a couple of marginal seats in Western Sydney that seem to be ultimately determining foreign policy and seeing us break with our ally the United States. Dave Sharma, thank you very much for your insights and that's it for me. I'll see you tomorrow night at eight o'clock. Up right now, though, Paul Murray,