Sho Welcome Well.
First tonight more downing allegations about the nine News cover up over the allegations of sexual harassment against former news boss Darren Wick. This time it involves a senior female executive. Two women have claimed that director of Communications and Public Relations at nine, Victoria Buckan, spoke to them about allegations of sexual harassment against Darren Wick five years ago.
But he remained in his job.
This comes as nine News chief executive Mike Sneezeby broke his overseas holiday where he was celebrating his fiftieth birthday to order an external investigation into the complaints against Wick that we first aired on this show a week ago. And in a moment, I'll show you an astonishing video of Wick at a Logi's after party where he holds
the hand of a female colleague. But before that, we can tonight reveal the conflicts of interest and paul governance that led to serious allegations of sexual harassment, sexism, and a toxic culture being swept under the rug at nine Victoria Buchan sought to suppress the scandal of Wick's inappropriate conduct after the twenty nineteen Logis after party.
At the function. We've now learned of four women.
Who Darren Wick allegedly groped, sexually harassed, or propositioned. One on air presenter who was the victim of sexual harassment claims that Victoria Buchan rang her in the weeks afterwards to ask about the incident, and the woman says that Bucan asked her whether she leaked information to the media about Darren Wick's behavior and whether he had sexually harassed her.
The woman said she hadn't leaked to the media, and the presenter claims that Buchan, along with another nine female executive, asked if she intended to make a formal complaint. Well, like many women at nine, she didn't want to lodge a formal complaint so that it wouldn't affect her career at Progression Now, Wick remained in his job.
Another woman who works in an.
Off air role at nine received a call from Buchan to ask if she'd been gossiping about Wick's behavior at the Logi's after party, and the woman claims that Bucken defended Wick by saying he had mixed medication with alcohol.
Now. Buchan denies this.
When the woman pressed Buchan on the sexual harassment allegations.
Bucken said that it had been dealt with.
One nine employee told me today and I quote, HR is working hand in hand with publicity, so it's not really a safe space.
Now.
I've asked Victoria who buck and twice whether it's correct that over the years she'd become aware of allegations that Wick behaved inappropriately towards women when he was intoxicated. I asked her what action she took about this, and whether she was more concerned about bad publicity for nine and protecting Wick than a duty of care to vulnerable women. Buckan responded to say, I was aware that Darren Wick was intoxicated at the Logis.
He was spoken to and left the event.
After the event, I spoke to people who came to me about his drinking. I spoke to Darren Wick on a number of occasions about his drinking.
People knew this.
I was never at events where I was aware of the behavior described as Hansy occurred. I didn't receive any internal complaints to deal with or external media inquiries about such behavior.
She said.
My role here is quite clearly to have media inquiries about our business and our people, which are many and varied. It requires consultation across all parts of Nine. Victoria Buckin said, I have always done my best to operate with integrity and support for all our people.
Well tonight we.
Can show you clear evidence of Wick's love of partying with staff who worked under him.
Have a look at this video.
As you can see there, Wick reaches down to hold an on air presenter's hand on the dance floor. This was taken at the previous year's logis. It was the after party in twenty eighteen, and it clearly shows Wick on the dance floor holding the hand of a woman who we know was an on air colleague while dancing.
The video clearly demonstrates that Wik was.
Happy to blur the lines of appropriate employer employee interaction, especially when the logis and alcohol were involved. Now it's not just Nine's corporate affairs that women claim covered up allegations of inappropriate conduct. During mister Costello Peter Costello's term as chair of nine, a high profile nine News presenter raised concerns about Wick's workplace behavior with a board member.
The presenter, who first shared her story here on Sky News' last Wednesday, said that she was so distressed, she felt she had nowhere else to turn, so she called a director in confidence to speak about the toxic culture under Wick. Now, this director, who is still on the board, was sympathetic and assured the senior presenter that they would deal with the issue. The nine Star was then extremely disappointed when nothing was done to.
Address the situation.
She said there was no assistance provided by the network to source the leaks, stamp out the toxic behavior, or change the culture. After board level, there's nowhere to go, and I was fearful of losing my job. So, as I said those revelations we first aired last Wednesday, Well, I asked Chair Peter Costello.
About this again today.
I asked him whether any board directors had raised issues about darren Wick with him, and.
If so, what action did he take.
Costello declined to answer the question, even though it was put to him three times. The board member also didn't respond to specific questions about whether they fulfilled their obligations as a director. There are now serious questions being raised about the board governance at nine and about why a six figure payout was given to darren Wick despite the
known legal complaint of inappropriate behavior. One employee told me today They're all talking about budget cuts that are coming, yet Wiki gets a massive payout.
It leaves a bitter taste.
So far, dozens of women have bravely revealed their stories of sexual harassment, inappropriate behavior or a toxic workplace under Darren Wick. We broke the story of Wick's history of hansy and inappropriate conduct here on Sky News last Monday. Our coverage was the front page of the Daily Telegraph on Thursday. The Sydney Morning Herald spoke to more women on Saturday for their front page, and The Australian also
ran it on their front page today. After first reporting last Monday that a complaint of inappropriate behavior had led to Wick's departure, nine chief executive Mike Sneezeby, as I said, broke his overseas trip and address staff. Today he fronted the news he announced an external investigation into complaints. He also offered to confidentially speak to any women at an
off site location. He followed this with an email at four pm where he said, this afternoon, I'm meeting with our people across nine News to talk about recent reports about alleged inappropriate behavior and broader cultural issues in our television newsrooms. I want to begin by saying I'm aware this has been a very tough time for many of you, and I acknowledge the distress and frustration the substance of.
Those reports has caused. He said.
The recent reports that detail alleged serious failings of leadership in television news clearly tells me more work needs to be done to ensure we have a safe and inclusive workplace throughout Nine. Now Mike Sneeze be the chief executive. He said, the recent reports and the internal feedback he'd received and other nine leaders had received in recent days has made it clear that he needs to accelerate the work he's doing to build a culture of respect and trust,
and he announced the external review. He announced that there'd be an ongoing formal complaint line. He also allowed open door access to nine's executive group and said there'd be a helpline for emotional.
Or psychological support.
Now, this is all a good start in external review into a long history of complaints or issues with inappropriate conduct. But this issue, and specifically how Nine protected a senior television executive with a long history of shocking conduct towards women. While this has a long way to go. Now, let's bring in tonight's Sky News panel, sky News host Liz Storer and commentator Joe Hildurrand.
Welcome to you both, Hi, Joe.
Look, this is now a major scandal for Channel nine. It's an ASX listed company. There are questions being asked not only about Darren Wick's conduct, but about why this was allowed to go on for so long when so many people clearly knew about the issues.
Do you think enough has been done at this point?
Look, it seems that Mike Sneedsby is taking this seriously, the fact that he's cut forward his holiday, his birthday celebrations to come back and deal with it. That email struck me as fairly fairly sincere. I think the problem that I've been reading all about this, my overwhelming feeling is just one of sadness. I mean, the legacy media, the mainstream media, is fighting for its survival in the
twenty first century. We've got all sorts of new and often very sinister threats to just you know, just good old fashioned news reporting, news breaking. The skills and the abilities and the platforms we need to be able to do that, and to have yet another body blow like this and and again you know Channel nine is not alone, but another body blow. It just fills me with a
sort of sense of sadness. I think that we also need to the thing that upset me the most, and I met Darren Wick, I think on two occasions, once in an event in Canberra and another time we had lunch after I left Channel ten. But you know, and I had heard and i'd heard, you know, I never seen or witness but had heard some of these reports. I didn't realize just how bad it was.
I think no one knew how extensive.
I think a lot of people. I think a lot of people thought it was you know, like you know, it's just people getting drunk having a good time. Maybe some people went a bit too far, woke up with sore heads and regretted things, and obviously there seemed to
have been more than that now. But also what really struck me, and I know has really hurt at least some of the people involved, is that that cold kind of freezing out of people after those incidents in the cold light of day, and crushing their careers, often their dreams, and that all sort of been tied into it. And to me that almost feels like the more sort of toxic element, that stuff that happened in the cold light of day.
Look, I think you know you're right that emotional turmoil is very difficult. But you know, I've spoken to a number of women now who were sexually harassed.
They I should say they alleged they were.
Sexually harassed, and you know the trauma of that, the distress, the tears, because you know you can't do anything.
It's your boss.
He's the most powerful television executive in the media company, and they felt that they had to put up with it.
And sometimes there.
Were repeat instances over many years, and very difficult for people to live like that and to work like that and to know how to handle it, especially when, as we've reported, at least some senior female executives knew about it and apparently didn't do anything, or at least if they did, it was nothing that meant that Wick didn't have his job. Now, let's have a look at another
out of touch leader, well, the PM Anthony Alberanizi. He opened last Tuesday a new affordable housing project in western Sydney, but just hours later he was feasting on apparently three lobsters with billionaire Justin hems at his new restaurant, where lobsters are said to cost up to two hundred and fifty dollars a kilo. Three days later, Anthony Alberanzi was back out in Western Sydney again, making a big speech where he said that he too could feel voter's cost of living pain.
Have a look, I know that when you are living week to week, it's hard to even find the time to think about the future, let alone plan for it with confidence.
Liz, you know you can bet if this had been Albanese's counterpart and the opposition team, he would have accused them of being out of touch for having lunch with a billionaire, as he has in the past.
Yeah, and look, there's nothing wrong with being wealthy. There's nothing wrong with having wealthy friends. Where where yeah, enjoy your two hundred and fifty dollars obs tomate. Where this rubs Australians up the wrong way, as it should is when you also want to pretend to be a man of the people. I was raised in social housing, etcetera, etcetera, and so on his whole I'm still Jenny from the bronc.
He used to have a little, Now I have a lot. Routine is getting really, really old.
This cost of living crisis is dragging out. His government is doing little to nothing to save it. So when he still tries to pretend like, oh, I'm a man of the people.
We all know your master five million.
Dollar portfolio of land holdings he takes home almost six hundred thousand dollars a year. Just don't pretend to be one of us as well, which he still tries to stir up. I am you, you know, I'm one of you. But it's talking these people, especially out in Western Sydney, being like, oh me as well, no, not you as well.
Yeah, yeah, it seems like he has forgot in his roots. But I think what's funny is that at that Western Sydney function where he was claiming to be a man of the people and talking about how tough the cost of living is with Joe in the Daily Mail article on this, he was seen hugging one of those men of the people.
That's right, you exactly, absolute tally and good on the Mail. They do a great job with that. And then I say the PM sort of beaming because he's hugging somebody at this Western Sydney event, and I'm like that's me. I know that cheap ass off the rack Jack's and beautiful long brown locks as well. But yes, I was there. I thought it was a very good speech. I think this is all a bit and again there's always.
Kind of who the person going after going pleasure.
Well, unlike Laura Tingle, I don't pretend I'm impartial, but unlike I mean, obviously, if you're going to you know, if you're going to go and eat lobster with a billionaire, the media is going to taie you up the Daily Mail or the Daily Telegraph, will whoever. Obviously, if you buy a couple of you know, bowing seven three sevens for your prime ministerial fleet, you're going to get a towel up on two GB or whatever it may be.
So it's also a fair game and good sport. But honestly, does anyone actually think that the Prime Minister of Australia is earning a pauper's wage and wearing a hair shirt and living in the straight Of course, he's made it. That doesn't mean he didn't grow up poor. It doesn't mean he doesn't understand what it was like, far more than most prime ministers. But I think the whole point of a labor government should be to raise people from poverty, from the working class and help them get ahead.
I mean the accusation is that he's forgotten what it's like to do it tough in this cost to live in crisis. So just before we move on to the next topic, let's have a look at Joe hugging elbow for next time he tries to him as he always loved, really leaning in there for a friendly hug.
Joe.
Look how happy he is Minister as an objective, free and fairless and partial journalist. I think that was a great peak, right all right.
Well, let's move on to ABC journalist Laura Tingle, who's landed herself in hot water after she claimed that Australia is a racist country. She says, the comments that Opposition leader Peter Dutton has given license for migrants to be abused when looking to buy or rent property in Australia.
Have a look, I mean.
We are a racist, calculates face that we always have been astray depressing. To give a license like that I find more profoundly depressing and a terrible prospect for the next election.
Look, Liz, even Tanya Plubisek disagreed with the remarks. She says, while some Australians have experienced racism and we're seeing a lot of antisemitism at the moment, she said, overwhelmingly the country's not racist, and I'd agree with that.
Yeah, And what Dutton was talking about was the unprecedented level of immigration that we've seen in the last year and how the math simply doesn't add up. We're letting all these people in when we can't even accommodate basic needs of a people who are already here, and claiming that is racism or as she claimed, gives people license to discriminate against people if you're at an auction and somebody's bidding and they don't look Australian, whatever that means. Anyway,
We're a very multicultural society. No one looks Australian anymore. Is outright ridiculous being against these high levels of immigration. As a Resolve poll showed just this month, two thirds of Aussies are like, yeah, cut that back even further than you've already promised to. What are we all racist now for saying that it's got nothing to do with the color of people's skin or where they're coming from or who they are. It's simply about putting Australians first.
And that's what done. Putting Australians first.
I think the issue dote In is trying to highlight is the strain on the housing supply. And Joe here's link exactly their first access with the high immigration levels. And we have seen unprecedented immigration levels.
Yeah, I've gone on the record on this network on my podcast. The real story with Jojo something that actually that's a false equivalence. The idea that more migrants just means less stuff for everybody who's already here is actually wrong.
So simple for a million people last year.
Not that simple. And I and that's.
Not affecting the housing crisis. A million extras in one year.
Houses get built when people think there are more people coming to buy them. And the reason why there's been a glut and a trough is because everyone stopped building houses when we stop letting my migrantcy in during COVID. You're welcome having said that.
And what has the government done about it that they're letting them in?
I'm nothing.
The idea that anyone who raises these concerns is racist is incredibly unhelpful. It's the sort of rhetoric that lost the Voice referendum just last year, and it had me tearing my hair out. We had everyone saying, oh, you don't know for this year racist or Australias the racist country, or anyone who poses it's racist or it's rooted in racism. You would think that people who think that they are so smart and consider themselves part of the intelligence here
would be intelligent enough to learned from that lesson. Clearly they have not. I would say, I know the sort of crowd that goes the Melbourne Writers' Festival. They're whiter than a polar bear in a snowstorm. It'd be great to see, you know. The whitest electorates were the ones that actually voted. If you want to talk about racism,
let's talk about racism to Indigenous Australians. The whitest electorates, the whitest and richest electorates, were the ones very few ones who actually ended up voting yes for the referendum was the most multicultural electorates who voted no. So if Laura Tingle is accusing Australia of being racist, she's accusing a land mass of being racist, and I'm not sure how a lump of rock can be racist. If she
is accusing Australians of being racist, then she is. It would appear by all the data that we have, unless she's got any other data that she might want appoint us to that she is accusing.
Didn't point to any.
She's accusing migrants themselves.
You know what, for a supposedly objective ABC journalist, she is very opinionated.
Sometimes it helps to admit your bias.
Far All right, Liz Storry, Joe Hude Bran, thank you both so much, and list we'll see you back here ten o'clock now. Coming up, Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles says anti Semitism in this country is the worst he's seen.
In his lifetime.
Well, that's no thanks to months of inaction from his own government. Senator James Patterson will join me next. Plus Lisa Wilkinson's million dollar legal bill revealed over Bruce Lehman's.
Failed defamation case.
Will have the latest from the Federal Court today with the legal expert Chris Merrit.
Welcome back.
Well, anti Semitic chants could be banned under new hate speech laws being drafted by Attorney General Mark Dreyfuss. The bill will reportedly carry criminal and not civil penalties for serious offenses of vilification based on someone's race, sexuality, gender, disability, or religion. Now, the timing could not be better. After Melbourne's biggest Jewish school was vandalized with tragic death threat sprayed.
Across its fence.
The statement jew die was graffited across the entrance to the school last Friday night, terrorizing and upsetting students and parents. Here was the school principal and Deputy PM, Richard Miles.
Today there are a number of families who chose not to send their children to school today. This is off the back of the community already feeling quite unsafe, given the anti Israel protests that have been going on, and the fear that our families have that they might find their ways to high schools, not just or to Jewish schools, and not just university campuses.
The levels of anti Semitism that we have seen in the past few months more than any that I've seen during my lifetime, and it must stop. It has no place in our country.
So deeply upsetting.
All right, Let's bring in now Shadow Home Affairs Minister James Patterson. I mean, James, look all all these protesters and others claim that you know, this is about Israel, this isn't about being Jewish, that they're not anti Semitic. Well, graffiti like that Ju Dae just shows what a mockery their claims are. And I strongly believe that right now, if you're denying Israel's right to exist, that anti Zionism is indistinguishable from anti Semitism.
What do you think, of.
Course, that's exactly right, Shari. Scratch the surface on almost every vehement anti Zionist and you will find an anti Semite if they're smart enough. They couch the language in terms of Zionism in the State of Israel, but it doesn't take much before you get to what's really underlying all of it, and that is a hatred of Jewish
people and racism towards the Jewish community. I agree with what the Deputy Prime Minister said today, but I think we would all be forgiven for wondering whether Richard Mirles has been in an induced coma for the last six months and is only just woken up and realized what's going on, Because it shouldn't have taken what has happened at Mount Skoper's for him to realize how serious the anti Semitism crisis has been in our country for more
than six months now, since the seventh of October. It's abundantly clear what's happening and where has been the action to complement these serious words that we're now hearing out of the deep Prime Minister and some others.
Well, next week it will be eight months.
Actually, you know, it's eight months that we've seen this extreme anti semitism. And look, as I've said repeatedly, the strong daily anti Israel rhetoric that we see from this government where they wrongly accuse Israel of targeting civilians, of causing of not acting in accordance with humanitarian law when they call for an immediate humanitarian cease fire because they
think they claim again wrongly that Israel is targeting civilians. Well, all of this sends the message to people on the street, to Australians that you know, Israel isn't behaving properly, isn't behaving in accordance with international law, and this is part of what's driving the anti Semitism. So doesn't the government have to take some responsibility for the levels of antisemitism that we're seeing.
Of course they do sharow, that's exactly what they should do. But the Prime Minister right now can't even control his own caucus when it comes to these questions. He's had Senator Fadam a payman out there the previous week endorsing a phrase which the Prime Minister has said is a very violent statement which has no place in Australia. And again today she is tweeting that we should end all trade and economic relations with israelm and we should unilaterally
elect recognize a Palestinian state. I mean, what she knows is there are no consequences for defying a weak prime minister. And if the Prime Minister kind of control his own caucus, what hope does he have defending the Jewish community against these unprecedented levels of anti Semitism.
And look, he's barely lifted a finger to even try defend the Jewish community in my opinion. Now, Immigration Minister Andrew Jaile were his order apparently to go soft on foreign born criminals who have ties to Australia, has continued to haunt him. The Australian Today reporting that thanks to the Immigration Minister's direction ninety nine, a child rapist was
allowed to stay in the country. Now, James, this New Zealand bond man reportedly raped his fourteen year old stepdaughter while his wife was giving birth to his child in hospital. Surely Andrew Giles has to resign for this. How does it get worse than this?
Every minister would hope that they would have a Prime Minister who was as tolerant of incompetence and weakness as Anthony Alberanzi is. But surely even Anthey Albanesi has his limits. Surely allowing a pedophile to stay in this country who should otherwise been deported is a bridge too far, even for Anthony Alberenzi. But that is exactly the effect of
Andrew Giles direct to his department. Because under Andrew Giles, and under this direction issued in January twenty twenty three, he told his department and therefore also the AAT and other bodies that consider their decisions, that as a primary consideration they must evaluate the connection of this person to Australia, and if they have a connection to Australia, regardless of the level of their offending, they must be allowed to a stay in Australia and there's now been not just
one case like this, but dozens of cases like this. Andrew Giles should be sacked and tomorrow Direction ninety nine match he issued should be repealed and replaced with what the Coalition had in power, which is if you're a non citizen and commit a crime, you'll be deported no if nobuts.
Look, this is a major issue and it's unbelievable how many lives Andrew Giles has and I think Anthony Albernizi boasts about the fact that he hasn't lost a minister in his first term as Prime Minister, but it is nothing to boast about because when you see this much incompetence and it has affected public safety. We have seen people who've been allegedly bashed, assaulted, injured by some of these release detainees. Then this is affecting public safety decisions directly made by his government.
He's got to go.
It's a sign of weakness that he won't sack him. Not something to boast about.
That's right. And I bet the family of the young man who was allegedly murdered by someone who was allowed to stay in Australia after they breached the character visions of the Migration Act. Doesn't take much comfort from the fact that the Prime Minister hasn't lost a minister. In fact, I don't think they care at all. I don't think
most Australians care at all. It's a bizarre boast when your ministers are failing to protect the community, which is the sacred and first duty of every Australian government.
Indeed, James Patterson, thank you very much for your time tonight. And James is, of course the Shadow Home Affairs Minister. Well, Lisa Wilkinson is seeking one point eight million dollars from her employer, her old employer, Network ten, to cover her
costs of fighting the defamation case against Bruce Lehman. A shot hearing this morning discussed whether Wilkinson's cost should be sent to a referee for assessment, after ten had agreed to pay reasonable costs for her defense team earlier this year. But they say they won't pick up the bill for anything that was unnecessarily deceptive or wasteful. Well, let's bring in now the Rule of Law Institute of Australia's Chris Merritt.
Chris, thank you very much for joining us. Look what are the court here today?
And you know, is there any real point to determining the costs when we know that Bruce Lherman can't afford to pay in any case?
Well, we know that for sure now. Justice Lee made the point that there are limited prospects of recovering anything from mister Luhrman. He strongly urged Ten and Lisa Wilkinson to narrow the scope of their dispute over how much Ten should pay Wilkinson for the costs of her separate defense. If that there's no ability to narrow that dispute, it will probably go to a referee to objectively assess it.
That will cost money. Justice Lee was very strong in his encouragement for them to narrow the terms of that so that they don't lose more money. They're the losers if you look at the reality here, the financial reality, the winners of that defamation case in financial terms, are the biggest losers.
So, you know, Bruce Lehman brought on this defamation case. I mean effectively he has nothing to lose. Really, he's lost the case, but he's not going to be able to.
Pay any costs.
Shouldn't there be some provision or new law that litigans shouldn't be able to take up defamation cases that are going to cost those defending them millions of dollars if they can't pay.
But there are provisions for plaintiffs in these circumstances who are impecunious to post security for costs. Courts are extremely reluctant to do that. The worst example of that reluctance took place a few years ago with a war criminals known as Captain Dragon, who know the case well, who lost, who caused News Corporation just spend millions of dollars and they never got it back and they won. They won in the end. So it's yes, there is a scope
for serious reform here. People with limited ability to pay the cost of the other side can impose a massive financial detriment on people who have done nothing wrong.
Seems like there could be reform in that area.
Now, I want to ask you about these text messages that have emerged in discovery process between Britney Higgins and her fiance David Charaz and how this relates to the defamation case that Linda Reynolds is pursuing against Higgins.
And Schirats book.
This is extremely significant during the pre trial discovery process, Linda Reynolds solicitor Martin Bennett discovered a WhatsApp exchange between mister Sharaz and miss Higgins and what it shows that they were arranging. He would argue, he has argued in court that they were arranging between themselves who would post things. It appeared to be a joint enterprise. Now why is that significant? Because Linda Reynolds is suing over four social media posts that were posted not by miss Higgins, but
only by mister Charraz. Now this is very relevant when you consider that mister Charaz is already effectively given up. He's agreed to judgment against him and in favor of Linda Reynolds. He's impecunious.
Well, he says he doesn't want to take part in this legal process.
The bottom line is he can. The judgment against him could be millions and millions dollars. He's unemployed, he doesn't own a shadow in France. He doesn't have two point four million dollars, but miss Higgins does. She's got two point four million dollars. So the joint enterprise argument is how mister Bennett, Martin Bennett, Linda Reynold's lawyer can impose liability, could impose library.
On Higgins because of those what's that messages where they discuss posting. Fascinating, Chris Merritt, thank you very much. You're always across the detail. Now coming up, why new polling says a minority government is a fifty to fifty bet at the next election as Labour losers support in the regions. My political panel will join me next. Welcome back with new polling out today shows that a minority government or a hung parliament is a fifty to fifty bet.
At the next election.
The Thin Review reports that Labor is predicted to govern at the next election, either in a hung parliament or with a thin majority. Now, the poll they published today also shows that the coalition could win back a number of Labor held regional seats. Let's bring in now Tonight's political Insiders panel, Bill Shotton's former chief of staff and now gxostrategy is director Cameron Milner and Sky News host kayleab Bond.
Welcome to you both.
So, Cameron, this is fascinating because this poll is predicting that the Liberals could win back seats in the outer suburban regional area, including Robertson and Gilmour in New South Wales lines in Tasmania. But they're saying that the Liberals aren't strong enough to win back the Teal.
Seats that they lost.
So based on this, Peter Darton's prospects aren't looking great at the next election.
What do you think, Well, I think it's very true. I think we are heading towards a minority government given the trajectory of the Albanese government. And let's not forget that Gillard and Swann took a much larger RUD majority and destroyed that and created a minority government in twenty ten, so Lava knows how to do this with the first term. But what a horror show. What a horror show we're contemplating. I mean, can you imagine the marriage of labor after
the next election if this is the case. The groom there's Albow, Penny Wong's the best man, the blushing and bearded bride and bands there at the altar, you know, with the Teals being that, you know, the maids of honor. I mean, it would be a horror show for Australia in the midst of a cost of living crisis. So let's hope that's not going to happen, But Albo would be very happy because he'd be a promise suit without having to do any more than he's already doing, and
they'd be perfectly perfect for Alba. So no threat to alban He's been Prime Minister in I'm already government. Just the rest of Australia.
Yeah, Caleb.
Look, it is going to be a tough ask for the Coalition to claw back the nineteen seats that they need to win majority government. But I do think that there are shortcomings with polling, particularly when it comes to the Teal seats. You know, the emergence of the Teals are really a new trend at the last election, so it might not capture whether or not people have tied
of the tials. And you know, partly the reason people in at least in wealthier seats embrace the tials is because they were turned off Scott Morrison at the last election. They didn't want to vote for Morrison, but they weren't prepared to vote for Labor.
So I think you might see some of these seats return to the Coalition.
What do you think potentially My feeling is that the Teals haven't had their day. Yet we can't also forget that part of the Till phenomenon, beyond, of course the moneyed up Champagne socialists who voted for the Teals, is that the demographics in a lot of these seats have
also changed. They have a much higher proportion of renters than they used to because you've had a lot of large properties that have been subdivided and turned into apartments, etc. So you still have those rich types, but you also have a much larger cohort of renters who are more likely to vote for a left wing candidate any way, and then we know how the preferences will flow after that. Given the nineteen seats, as you said, that the coalition would need to claw back in order to form government,
it's basically a statistical impossibility. The government has a majority of only two or three seats, so it is highly likely that that will be lost and they will go into minority. That is what I have been saying for quite some time will happen, and then it's just a matter of which independence they get on board. I haven't gone to check what the odds are on sports better any of the bookies yet, but that would be my bet.
I reckon a minority government formed by Labor because the problem for the coalition is, let's say they craw back five or six seats, which would be a pretty good result, they then still need a huge number of people on the cross bench in order to get them over the line. And I just can't see.
That happening now.
Yeah, well, there's still a long way to go, potentially up to a year, so anything could happen now. Earlier in the show and the last segment, we were talking about how Andrew Anthony Albanezi is proud of the fact that he hasn't lost a minister in his first term as PM, and he wants the perception of stability leading into.
The next election.
And you know this is partly why he hasn't sacked Andrew Giles, even though the reports today are that Giles allowed a child rapist to remain in Australia thanks to his nonsensical direction ninety nine. But Cameron Milner, there's another reason as well that Albanize hasn't moved on Andrew Giles. And I bet you can explain it to us. You would know it more than most. It's that Giles is one of his factional heavyweights. It's one of his numbers men.
You know, tell us about whether you think this is why, at least partly why Albanize would be protecting Andrew Giles despite he's repeated and proven incompetence. And I think we've just lost and now he's back. We've got Karen Milner back. I think we've we've got you back, Cameron Hope.
So yeah, all right, well I can hear you, yes, yeah.
Okay, we'll tell us about Andrew Giles been one of Albo's factional men.
Well, is definitely an Albanista. That's the only possible reason for his survival. But the second reason is the worst kept secret in Canberra, is that Albanize is going to have a minister or reshuffle. This guy needs to refresh with his numbers. So Albot's going to have a ministry or reshuffle very soon. And I think in that stage, Giles if we move sideways and put in a different portfolio to save the embarrassment, but he'll still be a minister.
And then people like Andrew Charlton or Gillian Hill who's very ambitious, they'll be promoted into the ministry to refresh the ministry. So I think Albo's is waiting for the minister a reshuffle which is coming to refresh his own numbers in Canberra.
Yeah, I mean it's extraordinary.
I think you know, as much as I on this show care strongly about the anti seminism crisis, and we talk talk about it every night. Caleb, you know we will do we will do. Yes, thank you Cameron. But Caleb, to perhaps mainstream Australians, it's stories like this that the minister allowed a child rapist to stay in Australia that really cut through and are own example of the government's and competence most certainly.
And I know mister Giles is generally pretty useless, but I'd be checking where he was about two minutes ago when Cameron cut out, because I think he might have pulled the plug to prevent what he knew was coming.
But not that part.
Let's talk about why this happened. This Directive ninety nine was essentially because New Zealand and its Prime Minister at the time, Jacinda R. Dune, was herself facing an election in New Zealand, which he won in twenty twenty. But we know what happened to her after that, and she was taking this hardline at the time that Australia was,
you know, dumping its criminals on New Zealand. You're trying to deport these New Zealand citizens back to our country even though they've lived their whole lives in your country. They're your problem and you should deal with it now. Scott Morrison, to his credit, did not cave into that and as good as said get stuffed. But soon after Alberanizi became Prime Minister he said, oh, we'll take a
look at this. There's something we can do about this, and sure enough, in January last year that's exactly what they did. That directive was sent out to say that people who are not citizens but have lived a significant portion of their lives in this country should be allowed to remain. Now you saw Richard Miles today say the government tried to deport this fella and then a decision
of an independent body sorry overturned that. Well, no, no, If it weren't for the decision of Andrew Giles that people who have lived a significant portion of their lives should not be deported, he would have been deported. The government's talking out of both sides of their mouths and claiming it.
Wasn't their fault.
As a direct result of their decision.
Now, just before we go, Ukraine has been left waiting for six months for a response from the Labor government after the Ukrainian ambassador requested an urgent shipment of coal as its power plants are targeted by Russia. Now the Age Today reporting that Ukraine lodged the request in December, with a follow up written to Foreign Minister Pennywog just
earlier this month. Cameron, you know that this clearly seems there are so many examples of this, how the Albanizi government has let Ukraine down over and over.
Again they have, and it's been terrible what we've done in terms of Ukraine, but it's also terrible what we have done with China as well. I mean, Penny Wong is completely distracted with winning a PLA award for the Palestinian Liberation Army at the hotline her mass you know, I mean, this is a terrible woman distracted by political movement in the Middle East and everywhere else, couldn't care less about and that's terrible for Australia.
Yeah.
Yeah, And just before I get sued by Penny Wong, of course she claims. She says she doesn't support her MASS or the PLO or any other terrorist group.
She would be arguing that she Mass.
Certainly supports Penny Wong has put.
Out statements supporting moves that Pennyone has made. That is true.
All right, Cameron, Mina, Caleb, thank you both very much for your time. Now after the break the train wreck speech that has voters concerned that Joe Biden isn't fit for another four years in office. Koshagada will join me next. We're just five months out from the election. A Gaffield speech has intensified criticism that President Joe Biden is not fit for another four years in office.
Have a look.
And when I was Vice president, thanks were kind of bad during the pandemic. And what happened was Rock said, and he'd go to Detroit and help fix it. Well, poor Mary spend more time with me than he ever thought he was going to have you well.
The White House reportedly issued nine corrections following that speech for the Black Civil Rights group. It was filled with mispronunciations and factual errors. Joining me now, Sky News contributed Kosha Gata Koisha, thank you very much for your time.
Look what were some of the errors here, it kind of ran the gamut.
Some of them were you could be charitable and say that he just misspoke, and they were relatively minors. Some, as you say, were quite factual, like, for example, he said the average American household can expect to save eight hundred thousand dollars a year, when the fact was eight hundred dollars a year from some amendments they made to the government run healthcare Obamacare system, so that one was
kind of funny. And then some just unfortunate use of words, such as, instead of an insurrectionist for the January sixth issue, he used something else like erectionist or something that was sad and funny. But I think you know, all it does is this advances the opinion that everybody has that he's.
Not fit cognitively right now.
And it just also advanced the speculation of are they going to pull a SWITCHARU or are they going to go with him?
Yeah, it's amazing they're leaving it so late, but again it could still happen. Trump, though, also received a frosty reception and a major gathering of libertarians in Washington, DC. Here he is now I think you should nominate me, or at least vote for me and we should win together. So you can hear the booing there. He left after just thirty four minutes. This is unusual for Trump. Was it the area, the venue, what happened?
I think it was the party, the Libertarian convention that he spoke to. It was definitely a mixed reception, the resumpturing a lot of booing and heckling, as you mentioned. But I think what's important to remember is who the intended recipients are and were for him in this. It's not the diehard libertarians. He would not be appealing to them,
for example, just his spending record among other issues. Those are people who are really purest about purists, about limited, extremely constricted government in all aspects of life.
He wouldn't be there, guy.
But who he is appealing to, not just those attending in person, but the tens of millions of people who view speeches that he gives any time anywhere, is the independent minded voters who are dissatisfied with both sides and are maybe considering an independent vote to an RFKJ or Jill Stein or somebody like that.
That's who he's courting.
And one other observation I'd make too, is he is playing on offense right now, where he's going into the Lions den of crowds that would not historically be favorable to him like these guys, or he went into the
South Bronx, which is a Democrat stronghold. No Republican candidate has been there for forty years, so he's doing that, whereas you see the other side seems to be on defense, where they're also speaking to the black vote in Detroit and other places, which is something that typically they wouldn't want to be spending their time doing because it should be a lock.
And do you think there is a chance that Trump could pick up some of those areas that haven't traditionally voted for Republicans or is this just a strategy game.
I think so, because these elections are won and lost on razor thin margins. So it's coming down to ten thousand votes twenty thousand votes in select areas, as you know, in a country with three hundred plus million people, so it really will make a difference if he can peel away a little bit more. All eyes seem to be on the black vote because he got eight percent of them in sixteen twelve percent in twenty twenty, so he's grown his share and that those are numbers that Republicans
have not seen since Ronald Reagan forty years ago. So if he can even peel off a little bit more, that puts the Democrats on defense. It's not that Republicans are going to take the black vote, but they could stye me the other side. And then also, I think appealing to these libertarian minded independence not the hardcore libertarians, is another one where if he could peel back a little bit ten thy twelve thousand folks in those battleground states, it could make the difference.
Look, a lot of commentitis have suggested that Trump would easily win against Biden given his age and incompetence, but it seems like the polls have them a lot cloiser than we expected.
Indeed, I think, you know, one thing, polls are polls, and they haven't exactly covered themselves in glory the polling industry in recent times, so we take it as an indicator, but with a huge rain of salt. The second thing, too, though, is that US elections are increasingly about the machinery because it rather than the candidates, because we don't have mandatory voting.
So these elections are won and lost ultimately on turnout and who has the better apparatus on the ground, and they can go out into those specific counties and battle ground states and get voters who don't vote typically to come out, and when it comes to that, the domoates just seem to do better, which is why you see that tightening.
Thanks so much for your time, Koshagada. Now I'll see you all tomorrow night at eight o'clock. Don't forget, Josh Fridenberg's documentary is on at seven PM.
All looking forward to that. Here's Paul Mari