Sharing well good evening.
Tonight, the scandal surrounding Channel nine deepens with shocking allegations that the company betrayed the confidence of a high profile female presenter when she raised concerns about sacked newsboss Darren Wick. The on air star was horrified to discover that soon after discussing her concerns through the appropriate channels at nine, her confidence was breached almost immediately when the top news
exec was told about the complaint against him. Our latest revelation about the toxic culture and the mishandling of serious complaints comes as I can also reveal tonight that the chief executive.
Of nine planned a staff conference.
Where there would have been a humiliating ice bath challenge. Senior women were horrified that they were being asked to strip down to their swimwear and jump into freezing water.
In front of colleagues. The plan was later abandoned.
It's also emerged that Vic had multiple consensual relationships with women working for him, as well as being accused of sexually harassing others. According to a senior company figure who spoke to me, because they're so concerned about events at nine, a famous presenter went to the people and Culture Department to confide in them about Wick and his toxic management style. Wick was her direct boss, yet he refused to speak to her or respond.
To emails, texts, or calls.
The woman requested that HR deal with her initial conversation in strict confidence, as she hadn't yet decided whether to formalize her complaint against Wick, the most powerful man in the news division. Yet her concerns were immediately conveyed to Wick and her identity was also revealed. Now, the senior nine figure who was familiar with the events that unfolded, told me that the woman was horrified that her conversation hadn't been kept confidential and that her trust had been breached.
This is now the third nine employee known to have raised concerns formally about Wick. The first is the woman whose complaint led to his departure this year. The second is the woman we raised here last night who had raised the toxic culture at nine with a board director.
And now this presenter is the third. Now when not accusing HR staff of telling Wick themselves, only that the supposedly confidential process at nine failed, the loss of confidence in the HR department has been raised in the past week amid concerns that women don't feel safe to raise complaints about their superiors, and these concerns fed into the email by Channel nine chief executive Mike Sneezeby to staff on Wednesday, when he gave assurances that the HR process
was confidential. He said in the email, if you raise an issue, including making a complaint, our processes are designed to ensure the confidentiality and protection for the individual, as well as the confidentiality of the person who the complaint is directed at. He said this is critical no matter what level you are in our business to ensure you feel safe to make a complaint and know that it
will be handled seriously and discreetly. In the email, he also said that making complaints about inappropriate conduct wouldn't be career damaging.
Now I can.
Report that Sneezbey is understood to have broken his working holiday in Los Angeles to fly home to deal with this crisis. He didn't respond to my questions or calls today. My questions were about why Wick, who had a complaint point of inappropriate behavior leveled at him, was allowed back in the office for at least six hours on April twenty fourth, and whether this was a failure to protect employees and to provide them with a safe working environment.
It's also understood that Wick was given a large payout.
Now I do know I have confirmed the identity of the woman who made the complaint against Wick that led to his departure, and of course we will keep this confidential, along with all other details about her.
But my understanding is she hasn't received any.
Compensation as yet, while Wick has received a large payout and her matter against the company is understood to be ongoing. It's not yet clear at all whether the claim she's made against Wick will or won't affect her career. And why Wick was allowed back in the office was a question that one female employee at nine asked when Corporate Affairs boss Victoria Bucken, hrboss Vanessa Morley and TV executive Michael Healey addressed.
All staff at three o'clock yesterday.
Well, they were told that it was so he could return his equipment and collect his belongings. Now Sky News has learned of a culture under Darren Wick where he refused to engage with some staff, which was seen by them as a tactic to keep reporters, often women, on edge, while he forged extremely close bonds with others, so close, in fact, that Vic had multiple consensual relationships with either direct reports or junior.
Employees in the newsroom.
One of his relationships was with a nine News reporter and another with a producer who was promoted to an interstate role. This created an unhealthy environment amid allegations of favoritism. There's now deep on rest at nine this week, as women debate whether or not to come forward to HR with their experience of experiences of harassment while they worked at one of the country's biggest TV networks. Even before our revelations this week about Wick's history of alleged inappropriate behavior,
company morale was low. Confidential sources tell me that the recent staff engagement survey across the entire nine group recorded scores in the low sixties, reflecting both on the culture at the company and Mike Sneezebe's own leadership.
Senior women were.
Also appalled by the plan to hold a staff conference in Bowrel around eighteen months ago that would feature an.
Ice bath challenge.
It would have subjected some of the company's most senior female employees to a humiliating public viewing in their swimwear in freezing temperatures.
Now.
Our revelations tonight come after a nine network star told me in an emotional interview yesterday that Vic had groped her and breathed heavily down her neck at the Logis after party in twenty nineteen.
She said he had his hands everywhere and she had to peel him off her.
She said she might have kicked or pushed him if he was any other man, but he was a boss. She also expressed concerns held by multiple nine female employees about the head of Communications, Victoria Bucken. She said that while Buckan's job has nothing to do with HR, it did involve working, and it does involve working with talent, including young women, and the star said she would brush aside any suggestion of inappropriate behavior, saying that's just wiki.
But the presenter's most damning remarks were for the board member who ignored her concerns about the toxic culture at nine.
She said there was no.
Assistance provided by the network to source the leaks, stamp out the toxic behavior, or change the culture. She said, after bod level, there's nowhere to go, and I was fearful of losing my job. Nine newspapers and television thus far have failed to report in this scandal that the network is facing. But Ray Hadley, who is ass senior He's untouchable today, said that the bad behavior has to stop, and he even offered to intervene and support women who had experienced issues.
No young woman in any workplace, whether it's nine Radio nine entertainment, generally, should have to put up with unwandered advances. No woman who reports such behavior should not expect, of course, to be facing recriminations. And if you wished me to become involved, I'm happy privately become involved, not publicly privately, I'm available. A couple of young women have already reached out to me, and I'm happy to not give you advice, but just direct you to where you should go. The
lines have been drawn in the sand. The CEO, Mike Sneezeby, has laid the ground rules, so be assured any complaint about this sort of behavior will be dealt with promptly and discreetly, particularly if that's how you want to handle. And don't think this is simply the domain of nine Entertainment. It's happened and probably still happening in other workplaces, and I'll tell you one thing, it's bloody.
We've got to stop.
Strong remarks there from Ray Hadley.
Now Fine nine finally announced Wick's replacement today after months in former a current affairs boss for Your Nadea, she appealed to staff to support her in the role in a video leak to us.
To the news leadership team that I've been a part of for the last I don't know how long.
I can't really think today.
I need all of you guys so badly, so can we please do it together?
I want to do this together.
This is not a captain's thing.
This is We've got to do this together.
Now.
I'm going to talk about this with my panel in a moment. But also tonight, yet another bungle. Immigration Minister Andrew Giles once again refuses to resign after a release detainee was charged with murder. Also tonight, the harrowing new footage that exposes Hermasa's atrocities against young women. It's distressing but timely given the comparisons being made completely wrongly between Israel and these terrorists. Former British commander Richard Kemp would join me live in studio.
He's in Australia to discuss this.
Meanwhile, the Prime Minister finally fronts the media only to deflect blame after refusing to defend Israel against the ICC's disgraceful charges.
But now let's bring it to No It's panel.
Sky News hosts Steve Price and Perth maare Basil zemplus.
Welcome to you both. Steve, Look, let's first touch.
On this nine scandal that we've been reporting on and breaking news of every single day this week. Do you think it's surprising that nine hasn't been reporting about this topic in the papers or on TV, despite going so hard against their commercial rival Channel seven Spotlight program when they were being exposed for allegations of poor behavior.
Of course, I'm in your story today is page one of the Herald Sun in Melbourne. But I listened to much of the morning radio program on throughout w which nine owns not a mention of it at all, and I pat on the back my old mate Ray Hadley for bringing it up on two GB. Not one word of it in the Age newspaper, not one word of it in the Sydney Morning Herald. Now those two newspapers in particular, they've always been an odd fit to the nine corporate feeling in the company, the way that that
company operates. But you would think, given how strong they are in these matters of the treatment of women, whether it be domestic violence or workplace attitudes toward women, that they may have had the courage today to come out, report your story, back it up, ask questions themselves. But there has been a deafening silence, and that's disgraceful.
Now, Basil, you know you're Perth Mayre, but you're obviously aligned with the seven network. I mean, we saw such a strong campaign of mostly legitimate news reporting from the Sydney Morning Herald, you know, in its newspages, in its gossip columns, but nine Television as well a current affair, all their television programs against Channel seven when the spotlight
scandal was unfolding. But yet not a word, even though so many women, I mean, we've been reporting every night this week, more women, more women, more women are coming forward with quite serious allegations of inappropriate conduct or sexual harassment that they've experienced at Channel nine.
They're very serious allegations. That's the first thing that needs to be said. And the culture that evidently or apparently has existed is a very poor one, and it is refreshing, I think to see Ray Hadley take a lead and perhaps that is the first domino within the group to fall. I'll also say, though, just because one group might choose to report about another in a certain way doesn't mean
it has to be reciprocated. And ultimately, these are decisions for the Nine Network and the Nine Group to decide how they're going to report about affairs within their own organization. They need to make the decision now, how do we want to reflect, how do we want to be portrayed from this point in and how do we want history to judge we have dealt with these very serious actionsations
that have been made against one of our executives. I'll also say that as somebody who's been in television and continues in television at around the thirty year mark, just just full stop, it doesn't make you feel good as somebody who's been involved in this industry to hear these
sorts of allegations. Television today is a very different place to what it was when I first joined thirty years ago, and twenty years before that, and even fifteen or ten years ago, but it clearly needs to continue to evolve. There's no doubt about that. This behavior is very very poor.
Indeed, indeed it is.
And you know when I did that interview yesterday with a female presenter, and when I spoke to her yesterday, hearing the emotion the tears as we spoke, you know, it really brings it home.
Just how much this matters.
Now after growing calls for Australia to perhaps boycott, maybe withdraw from the ICC that's the International Criminal Court, after its decision this week to issue arrest warrant for Benjamin Netanyahu alongside hermas Well. Once again, Albanezi has refused to directly comment on the ICC. Instead, he just shifted the blame, can you believe it to the Howard government.
Have a look which.
Actually was signed up to, of course not by my government, but by the Howard government when Alexander Downer was the Foreign Minister. So it's up to them, I think, to explain those decisions at that time, be very clear about what's happened to here. There's been an application, there's been no determination by the ICC against any individual or anybody at this point in time.
If they do proceed with the restaurant, there.
Hasn't been and I don't respond to hypothetic alls about court cases that haven't.
Occurred with respect.
We also call for since then a humanitarian cease fire.
Steve, can you get a more week? A worse PM? He won't even rule out that should.
Natanyahu come to Australia, which obviously is not going to do that.
He wouldn't be arrested. Can the PM get any worse?
Well, it got worse again today. His response today was even more confused. Its weak leadership and I think the Labor Party has a real problem here. Anthony Albanezi is being shown to be a weak man. Now. I looked back for the reason that it was two years ago Tuesday this week that Anthony Albanesi stood at an RSL
club in Sydney and claimed the prime ministership. I watched the whole speech of him claiming that victory over Scott Morrison back to write a column about it for the Herald Sun this week, and the one thing that he kept going back to was his main focus was going to be as Prime Minister, shari to bring the country together his words, not mine, accusing Morrison of being the visive and he said he was going to bring the country together now, I've been around a long time, even
longer than Basil. I can't remember a time when Australia has been more divided than it is today. I'd have to go all the way back to the early seventies in the Vietnam War to remember a time like that. And I think Anthony Albanizi has to step up now and show leadership, or someone into his own party is going to start saying this bloke doesn't deserve to be the boss.
And you know, I think you're right.
We are seeing this unprecedented level of anti Semitism. But the issue is, and you know, I've been saying this for a while, and it just keeps getting worse that Albanasi is making it worse by refusing to call out the ICC, by refusing to say, no, we can't equate Natanyahoo with har Maas.
This isn't right.
He's making it worse because he's telling everyone, all those protesters, all those students, everyone at home, that actually Israel might be committing war crimes, that it should be arrested, that it's PM should be arrested for crimes against humanity when and this just fans the flames of antisemitism, when in fact the opposite is true. You know, I'm going to go into the detail of that a bit later with Richard Camp when I interview him.
But Basil, what do you think about this?
You know my view, he's making the anti Semitism crisis worse by not shutting down these falsehoods.
I think Peter Dutton's got an absolutely spot on He's used very simple language to explain what's happened here with the Prime minister. He said the Prime Minister has squibbed it and that is exactly what he has done. He has refused to take any responsibility or even take a position. I mean that blaming that John the Howard government ridiculous. No matter how we signed up to it or how we became a part of it. The issue for consideration
is what is happening right now. And sometimes here in Australia we look at Joe Biden and wonder about how he became the President of the United States or what sort of a leader he is. But Joe Biden has spoken out against what's happened with the ICC, and incredibly incredibly Anthony Albanezi has not. Who is he fearful of? Why won't he take a strong position. Who is he trying to appease with this very wishy was she view? And again I say, Peter Dutton got it spot on.
He squibbed it here, the Prime Minister. That's not what we want. We want leadership in times like this and we're not getting it.
Yeah, exactly right.
Now over to the US, and you mentioned Joe Biden, will Nikki Haley, who was once Donald Trump's rival, and she only had unkind words about to say about him, which is now saying that she will vote for him in November.
Have a look, I put my priorities on a president who's going to have the backs of our allies and hold our enemies to account, who would secure the border, no more excuses. Trump has not been perfect on these policies. I have made that clear many many times. But Biden has been a catastrophe.
Steve.
I mean, it wasn't overwhelming support for Trump, but you know she's going to have to get behind him.
She's going to have to be a loyal.
Republican with friends like Nicki Haley, who needs enemies. Really, I mean, it was quite a performance. She came out there and said, well, you know, Donald Trump. I don't really like him, but I hate Joe Biden more, and so I'm going to vote for Donald Trump. I mean, it would have been ridiculous if she said something different to that, and that was going to support Biden. But all the points she raises about the weakness of Joe Biden are absolutely correct. Donald Trump, obviously going to court
every day in New York, got his own problems. He would probably look at Nicky Haley and say, gee, thanks a lot.
Now just over in your neck of the woods.
Actually, Steve opposition leader John Pursuito reportedly ditched a Liberal Party multicultural dinner and she the night. Well, the reports are, the claims are that he was told he couldn't make a speech. Now Basil apparently we're also hearing that John Persudo and Peter Dutton on not having such a good relationship at the moment.
Look, sometimes there is a blue on behind the scenes because of how people have been treated, what role they've been given, what opportunity to speak, etc.
Etc.
And either side of the argument may well be right, But what really matters. The only thing, in fact it matters with this stuff behind the scenes or the internal stuff, is what the perception of the public is and the perception of the public when they hear things like this is this is school yard stuff. It reflects very poorly on the individuals, and it reflects poorly on the party. And so every consideration, no matter how aggrieved somebody might
feel about a situation they've been dealt. Come on, they have to make assessments. Come on, how will this play out to day?
They hate each other, They can't stand one. Haven't spoken for me, consideration, they haven't spoken for me.
Are we going to expressing that?
I have a question, Steve, I have a question for you, Steve. Does anyone like John Persuto?
No? I don't think his dog even likes I mean, seriously, the bloke came out today and said there'll be no nuclear power in Victoria. We don't support nuclear power for Victoria. I mean, goodness, gracious. I mean the Premier to Senator Allen today said it was toxic and we're never going to have it and it's dangerous. What if John Persuito wants to get elected when the next election is two years away, what does he say on we can't have
nuclear power here? I mean, the bloke is a dud and the sooner the Liberal Party in Victoria get rid of him, the better off will all be.
Yeah, And look, the worrying thing is the Liberals could actually have a chance to win the next state election in Victoria, but not John Persudo is the leader. But I don't know if they have any other better options anyway.
I think we were actually saying the same things there, Steve. He's let it get away from him here, really, and isn't It doesn't matter, don't matter how bad he feels about how he's been treated. You can't say this stuff if it brings it out publicly and makes the party look bad. And clearly that's what's happening, all right.
Vasil zamplers Steve Price.
You'd get elected if you came here. We could make you premier basis.
He wants to be premier.
Wa.
I think Perth now premier next Victoria needs all the helper can get.
I reckon Still, all right.
Tree, thank you both so much for your time.
Now coming up distressing video of the harmasatrocities against Israel while Israel recalls ambassadors from three countries after they decide to recognize a state of Palestine from a British Commander Richard Kemp will join me live in the studio. Class will cross to London, where the Conservative government seems to be planning its own demise.
Stay tuned, Welcome back. Well.
Harrowing footage of five Israeli female soldiers being abducted during the October seven massacre has been released by their families. We're now going to show you just some of the clip, and of course I need to warn you it's distressing. This video was taken from the body cameras worn by Hamas terrorists. Now, these five young women are Israeli soldiers. There are reports from Israel that about sixty soldiers were
killed at this particular outpost. The IDF has translated the video and where you can hear the chilling moment these terrorists discuss the beauty of the women they are holding captive.
Have a listen, do Jan and Sean?
Hi?
Hey, how you have?
You're beautiful?
Now the families have chosen to release the footage eight months after October seven, and it is during a time of turmoil for Israel. We've seen the shocking decision by the International Criminal Court to request arrest warrants for Benjamin Nettia, who alongside Hermas, basically drawing an equivalence, a wrong equivalence.
Between the two.
I'm joined now by former British Commander Richard Kemp. Richard, thank you so much for your time. Look, let's start with the ICC decision. Do you think it morally confuses the oppressors with the oppressed, the victims of the October seven massacre with those who are trying to destroy them.
Yeah, This attempt to arrest Netanya Who and his defense minister is nothing short of an obscenity. It's actually the ICC is a successor to the Nuremberg War tribunals after the Second World War, and it's almost the same as trying to indict Hermann Goerring and Heinrich Himmler, but also
indict at the same time Winston Churchill and President. It's the same kind of attempt to have moral equivalent equivalents between vicious, brutal mass murderers and democracies that are trying to defend their own people.
I mean, can you imagine, you know, you draw the comparison with World War Two? Can you imagine if we had the woke Left Brigade then that we have now, there'd be cause not to go defeat Hitler and the Nazis or to free people from concentration camps, because people would say, oh, you know you're going to cause civilian loss of life.
Yeah, absolutely, and it's tragic. The civilian loss of life in Gaza is a tragedy, but it is entirely due to Hamas. If her Mass has not invaded Israel with such barbarity on the seventh of October, then there would be no war in Gaza. There would be no casualties in Gards, no deaths. It's entirely down to Hermas, and Israel has taken the most extraordinary steps to minimize civilian casualties in Gaza, despite it's the actually opposite of what
so many people in the media, in the UN. In the International Criminal Court accused Israel of.
Well, the ICC prosecutors relied on a panel. The panel was far from impartial, that you was stuffed with mass sympathizers. But you know, they accused Israel of crimes against humanity, of war crimes.
They claim they were targeting civilians.
Can you tell us a bit about what the death told the civilian death toll figures in Gaza actually show and how they compare with other wars.
Yeah, and the ICC is a political court, as kangaroo court, which has no jurisdiction in this case over Israel anyway. But they're nevertheless said, attempting to seize jurisdiction to prevent Israel from defending its people. And one of the main allegations is civilian casualties. By my calculations on the figures I've got available at the moment, the civilian to military death ratio is zero point eight to one. In other words, zero point eight less than one civilian killed for every
competence every terrorist. And that is a terrible thing, of course, But this is a terrorist organization that is fighting hiding within its civilian population, and Israel, despital its efforts, has no choice but unfortunately, to kill civilians while trying to get to her mask. But if you yeah, I was going to say, if you compare the zero point eight to one ratio that Israel has achieved, if you look at Afghanistan and Iraq. In Afghanistan the ratio was five
to one, five civilians for every terrorist killed. In Iraq, three civilians for every terrorist killed. That's by US forces a similar level probably from British forces as well, but hugely worse, I mean, and those countries did their best to minimize civilian countes as well. The Israelis have achieved a great deal better than that.
Now we see the news overnight that Israel is recalling ambassadors in three countries that plan to recognize state of Palistine. And even though HAMAS is the governing body in Gaza and the Palestinian authority in the West Bank virtually agrees with the October seven terror attacks.
What do you think of this move?
Well, I think Israel's absolutely right to take this action. And what these countries and the United Nations General Assembly, which voted to recognize the so called state of Palestine, what these countries are doing is they are rewarding terrorism. They are rewarding Hamas supported by the Palestinian Authority, by the way, on what happened on the seventh of October.
It's absolutely despicable and every country should reject this and certainly not even contemplate recognizing a state of Palestine, particularly at this time.
Look, you've been in Australia for about three weeks now, what's your assessment of the levels of anti Semitism that we're experiencing here and how it compares to the UK.
And the US.
Well, I've spoken to many Jewish people in Australia since I came here, including quite a large number of students and high university and high school students, and they've told me many stories about the way they feel intimidated, whether it's on the streets, on university campuses or or wherever. And basically this is it's anti Israel sentiment and anti Israel action, which is basically the new form of antisemitism.
It's anti Semitism in some ways in disguise exactly, and it's the similar situations that exists in the UK and the US. And actually, if you look below the surface these people, and I've spoken to students that there what I would call jew hate encampment at Sydney University. I've spoken to them. They refuse to condemn her mass. They can't really explain what they're doing there the real They even support her mass, of course, indeed.
They say they say so openly.
They do. And actually, if you scratch the surface of most of these protesters, they don't really know the cause. But what they do know is that they're opposed to Australia, they're opposed to Britain, they're opposed to the US. These are people who jump on the anti Israel bandwagon in many cases as a means to undermine and express their displeasure at our society and our values.
Look, we hear a lot, you know, from people saying, oh, anti Zionism is distinguishable from antisemitism. And in fact, there's an entire article on the ABC website about this, by the way, even though they haven't covered the antisemitism crisis in any meaningful way. But yet you know, you look at some of the videos that the students put up, the Propalestinian students, which I have, and they're chasing Zionists
of campus. Well, that is basically chasing Jews, because the majority of Jews support Israel, which is of course what Zionism means.
Yeah, anti Semitism. Sorry, anti Zionism is anti Semitism, there is no doubt about that. And the reality is that these encampments, these protests, which are accelerated a lot and expanded since the seventh of October, existed in many ways
before that. They exist pressure governments like the Australian government to oppose Israel's defense, oppose Israel's existence, and at the same time, the second reason for their presence is to intimidate Jews, because of course Jews are the main supporters of Israel in our countries and they try and intimidate them out of supporting Israel and succeed in many cases.
We have had a lot of support from Christians here too, which has been wonderful.
Richard kemb It's.
Been terrific to have you tend to meet you in person as well, so thank you very much for your time and of course your trip is thanks to the Australian Jewish Association.
Really appreciate you.
Thank you a great pleasure.
Now let's turn to the United Kingdom now, where a very desperate Richi Sunak has called a snap.
Election for the fourth of July. Have a listen to his pitch.
Only a conservative government led by me will not put our hard earned economics ability at risk, can restore pride and confidence in our country, and with a clear plan and bold action, will deliver a secure future for you, your family and our United Kingdom.
British political commentator Emma Webb joins me live now. Emma, thank you very much for your time now. This was a very dramatic movement. It was quite unexpected, the PM standing in the rain there the song things Can Only Get Better playing in the background. This is a huge gamble for Rishi soon act. So why do you think he's taken it at this particular point in time.
Well, I think it's come as a shock to a lot of people, not just the Labor Party and Reform who frankly unprepared for this. The Labor Party don't have their manifesto ready to go, Reform don't even have all of their candidates selected at this point. But it was also an enormous shock to other Conservative MPs. In fact, there was talk overnight of attempts to Ourrishi Sunak in
order to stop this election from taking place early. I think originally people thought that it was going to take place in the autumn, because it can still be stopped before Parliament is dissolved next Thursday. So this has been an enormous shock to his own MPs, to his own party. There are a number of reasons why he might have chosen to take this decision early. One of them is that inflation is down, which is one of his primary goals. It's down to two point three percent, which is just
above the goals of the Bank of England. He's also managed to get through his legislation on Ruanda, which he's now almost using as a as a kind of threat to say that the planes won't take off unless he is Prime Minister on the fifth of July, which I think some people think is a bit of a dirty tactic. So there are a number of reasons, including as you were just speaking about, there this issue with the ICC that the Labor Party is in complete disarray over Gaza.
It's having an enormous impact on our politics here. They lost Oldham Council because of the Muslim vote. We've seen George Galloway being elected again on the Muslim vote over the issue of Gaza. So when we see someone like the Shadow Foreign Secretary David Lammie coming out and standing by the ICCC, this is a big, big problem for
the Labor Party. So it's possible that Rishi Sunak thought that now was as good a time as ever, given that there isn't a great deal that they can do over the summer recess.
Now, I mean you just outlined some of the reasons he's called the election now, but I understand that also he was concerned about his leadership, which led him to bring forward the election so that he wasn't rolled before a later election if it was called in August. But you just said there that he might now even be ousted as a result of him calling the election, So you know, it looks like, if I'm reading that correctly, that his leadership was on the line.
Either way, it's not entirely beyond the realms of possibility. There was some talk overnight, and you know, even even the Telegraph, which is some people jokingly refer to it as the Torygraph. Their headline today was things can only get wetter, and him standing in the rain and that kind of pathetic fallacy getting increasingly soaked over the course of his speech. I think, you know, it's just played into the hands of people who would accuse him of being a bit of a Tory wet So, you know,
it's not completely beyond the realms of possibility. I don't think that it's going to happen, but either way, it's not good for the Conservative Party if they replace him as leader. Now, a general election has to happen before the end of the year, so you know, the chances that that would would have any positive impact at all on the Conservative Party's prospects a zero to none. So
I don't think that that's necessarily going to happen. But it is possible that he's chosen to call this election now. And you know he's not. He's a very cautious person. He's not. He's not want to take risks, and I think he's had to have his arm twisted by his advisors to make this decision, to make this jump now, and he's obviously done so because he thinks that now is as good a time as any.
Yeap, All right, Emma web thank you very much for your time tonight. Now coming up, the life of the country's largest coal fire powered station extended today after years of governments using taxpayer money to force out coal and the immigration minister finally fronts the cameras are only to pin the blame once again elsewhere.
Stay tuned, welcome back well.
Today, New South Wales Premier Chris Mins announced that he'd extend the life of a Raring col fired power station until at least twenty twenty seven, at a cost of two hundred and twenty five million dollars.
A year.
Let's bring in our political panel tonight, National Senator Matt Canavan and Sky News commentator Jason Morrison.
A welcome to you both.
Matt.
Look, for a long time we've been discussing on this program. I've had Matt Kean, the former energy Minister and treasurer, on the show arguing that if you got rid of a wearing, there just wouldn't be enough power supply to keep the lights on in New South Wales. The math just didn't add up. It's quite incredible that it's taken a labor government to say, yeah, look we need this energy sauce.
Well, look, I'm just glad common sense has prevailed.
Shari.
There's no doubt that the energy plan that Matt Keane presided over is an utter failure. Our problem is that he's close partner in crime. Chris Bowen is now in charge federally, and Chris is doing federally what Matt did to New South Wales over a number of years. So we're not out of the woods yet. But this arrangement is going to potentially cost taxpayers up to just over five hundred million dollars for two years, just two years, over five hundred million dollars.
I mean, the.
Question's got to be asked here, at what point do we just bite the bullet and build a new coal fired POWERstation.
They last for fifty years.
It would only be at a cost of a few billions, so you'd make that back. If it's costing US two hundred three hundred million bucks a year for just one power station, we'd make our money back in less than a decade if we just built another one. And why don't we just do that? We should have done that years ago. But as the old Chinese saying goes, the best time to plan a tree was twenty years ago. The second best time is now. So let's get it done.
Look, Jason Morrison, you know, I remember so clearly during the state election campaign and Chris Mins was on air with Ben Fordham and Ben said, you know, are you considering extending the life and Chris said he was. And I wondered at the time whether this is just, you know, a promise that a leader makes in the run up to an election. But the fact that he's done it today is saying something about just how desperate and how die the energy supply is in New South Wales, you know, in.
Critical condition, and the report the other day largely confirmed that.
I mean, here we have, you know, the collision if.
You want, of ideology versus reality, and the collision is we ain't going to have enough power.
And Matt's right.
I mean, if we are to really approach this from an economic rationalist perspective, the obvious outcome is coal is cheap. Right now, coal is very cheap. Coal's twenty twenty one prices.
Again.
You know, all this talk about it being really expensive because of Ukraine, that's history. And we have this sort of blind walking to the jungle and hope and pray that the winds there and the sun shines, and that the solar panel supply of what we need it just simply won't work.
What we're seeing.
I guess hopefully out of this is the first step of the premiers starting to actually come to the realization that it's all well and good to talk the Matt key in Chris Bowen kind of chitter chat, but the bottom line is we need reliable based power. And the only reliable based power we have at the moment right now, including at this very instant that we're on air, is Cole. Cole's doing sixty seventy percent depending on where you are
in the country, even eighty in New South Wales. Percent of the of the heavy lifting right now, we wouldn't be on without it.
Perhaps some people would like that, but that's just a.
Realan all right.
And look, as you mentioned the Australian Energy Market Operator WAND just this week that New South Eales and Victoria are facing.
Blackouts this summer.
So maybe it takes blackouts for people to realize that, you know, the energy mix we've got at the moment isn't going to last. Now The Nightly is reporting this is an exclusive by Mark Riley that the Australian Border for US has actually set fire to dozens of illegal fishing boats. They say that they've seized almost two hundred boats and almost one thousand fishermen and women have been apprehended.
This is quite an extraordinary story by Mark Riley, and he's reporting that this was going to be the biggest assault on our territorial waters in almost two decades.
Matt Canavan, have you.
Ever heard of Australian Border Force doing this before? Setting fire to dozens of illegal Indonesian fishing boats that might have come to Australia.
I haven't sharia.
I mean I don't sit on the particular estimates committees Senate committees that look into this stuff. So maybe this is not unusual, but it's pretty shocking. And I don't know, I've only just heard this news, so I'm not sure if it's it's just breaking now pel smuggling or illegal fishing activities. Yeah, so, I mean, you can go on a marine app. You can go on these apps that look at where boats are, just like the plane tracking
apps that most people probably have used. But you can go on a boat tracking app and just go outside of international Astralian waters into pup New Guinean waters out to the Pacific Ocean, and there are swarms of boats sitting there, most of them Chinese flagged, just fishing in these areas, and obviously many of them probably do cross
into Australian waters at times and do fish illegally. And it's just so ridiculous that we regulate our fishing industry to such an extent that we have to imput more than seventy percent of our seafood. Yeah, just over just over the line, the ocean has just fished to all ends. So it says a lot about our own regulation and how we realise so much on imports and think we pat ourselves on the back, think we're doing something of the environment, when the opposit it's true.
Jason, what do you think about this story by Mark Riley?
And you know, have you ever seen this before?
I've never seen it before, setting fire Australian government to dozens of illegal fishing boats.
Well give it, Mark Riley's got it. I dare say there must be video footage of it as well, being Channel seven's political letators.
So if they that's the case, good on them.
I mean, you know, you want to send a message back to Indonesia and back to other nations that want to do this.
This is what happens when you head out.
I mean, these are organized criminal syndicates that are out there doing it. They might not consider themselves that and in fact there's some dimwits in Australia who think they're humanitarian assistance programs. But this is a real problem for this country and it's a real problem we have to tackle head on. And if it means getting the people off, arresting them, taking them to wherever they're going to be taken and setting the bones alight and filming them.
Do it and stick it out online and let the.
World see it that Australia is serious about protecting its borders.
All right, Let's quickly go to this former detainee who's been charged with murder. Andrew Giles once again fronted the cameras and deflected the blame from himself and his own government. Matt Canavan, this is really I mean, it just keeps getting worse and worse. But a former detainee charged with murder. How does Albo get away with not sacking Andrew Giles.
Well, obviously, Andrew Joles is the most protected species of all animals in the country right now, it doesn't seem like he can do anything wrong and continue to keep his job. This is not nicelated incident. Of course, there are now dozens of people that have been charged or convicted of crimes that were released by the governor after the YQ court case. They didn't have to release those people.
Their court decision didn't say that. They preemptively released nearly one hundred and fifty detainees, many of whom had either been convicted or charged with crimes before. And you know, we've got this ENZYQ case. I mean, I think we could basically now rename NCIS Sydney NZYQ Sydney because it would fill a whole season of crime. Shows the amount of alleged and convicted crimes that have occurred by these detainees, not just.
Sydney, It's across the country. And you know, I know for a fact the Prime Minister prides himself and the fact he hasn't lost any ministers, had to sack any ministers. But I think it just shows his own weakness once again. All right, Matt Canavan, Jason Morrison, thank you very much for your time. Now after the break Labour's migration crackdown failure as our university see a record boom in international students. Leith Vanonslin will join me next.
Well.
Despite Labour's promise to crack down on immigration, The Australian reports today that Australia's universities have recorded a seventeen percent uptick on overseas enrollments compared to last year, and they say this was driven mostly by one hundred thousand Chinese students. Reports today a record one hundred and sixty thousand international students enrolled at the group of eight universities in February,
Macrobusiness chief economist at leithvan Onslin joins me. Now, Leith, look, you've been arguing we need to reduce our immigration levels, So what do you think of this story.
I'm not surprised, Sharry. Look, the blowout in student visas is an unfortunately path for the course for the alban As government. It's consistently underestimated Australia in that overseas migration. It's whole time and Spain in office. So to give you some quick examples, the October twenty twenty two federal budget projected two hundred and thirty five thousand net overseas migration for last financial year. Last year's May federal budget
then increase that to four hundred thousand. Guess what it ended up coming at five hundred and thirty thousand, which is more than double Labour's initial projection. Now, the migration circus continued with last year's migration protect projections for this financial year. So December's my IFO projected three hundred and seventy five thousand net overseas migration this financial year. Last
week's federal budget upgraded to three hundred and ninety five thousand. However, all the indicators suggests it's going to be more like half a million. So quite frank, this is why I don't trust labor on immigration, Sharry. Just prior to last federal election, they promised that they're going to run a lower migration program that we had pre pandemic. Instead they've lifted immigration to record highs and delivered a se rental crisis.
Well, Peter Darton says that if he were PM, he'd slash migration levels to about one hundred and forty thousand a year for the first two years. You've got thirty seconds. Do you think this is a good idea?
Absolutely great idea. Look, Austrains do not support big Austrai immigration. Every single opinion poll before the pandemic said so his opinion poll. Since I just commend Peter Dutton for finally bringing this in the public domain and we're going to have finally had the debate and immigration that we deserve.
Yeah, and he's very closely tied immigration to the cost of living crisis, to the housing crisis, as you've been arguing.
Leith Vanonsen, thank you very much for your time and.
Thank you for watching this week.
If you missed my revelation at the start of the show and Channel nine, head to the Sky News website it or also be in the Telly tomorrow. I'll see you Monday at eight. And here's Paul Murray.