Live on Sky News. This is Sharry Good Evening.
Donald Trump withdrawals funding from UNRA after meeting with Benjamin Natanyahu. Would Peter Dutton do the same. His new Foreign Affairs Shadow minister joins me tonight. Transport Minister Joehlen resigns overtaking taxpayer funded chauffeurs to wineries. There's now pressure on Housing Minister Rose Jackson. I'll speak about this scandal with Bronwyn Bishop and Holly Hughes.
Also it's tonight.
A former AFP senior commissioner questions why the government isn't cracking down on Islamic terror and only neo Nazis. He'll join me on the show live. Plus we'll look at how the core claim in Antoinette Latoufe's case perpetuates a dangerous anti Semitic trope about Jews controlling the media. This is Aitabachos's private emails about two are read in court. Aaron Patrick will be on the show, but first tonight. Peter Dutton is channeling Ronald Reagan's famous challenge to Jimmy
Carter in nineteen eighty. The times have changed, but the issues remain the same. Ronald Reagan in the presidential debate forty five years ago, asked voters these very simple questions, Are.
You better off than you were four years ago? Is it easier for you to go and buy things in the stores than it was four years ago?
Those questions help deliver Reagan a landslide victory because the most critical issue to any voter at any time is providing for their family and their families prosperity and security. That never changes and it's what this upcoming federal election boils down to as well or Peter Dutton today called on the Prime Minister to apologize to Australians for breaking his premise that they'd be better off under his government.
My questions to the Prime Minister. Under this week Alberanzi Labor government, interest rates have increased twelve times, energy bills have risen by one thousand dollars, living standards have collapsed, twenty seven thousand businesses have gone and solvent, and we're in a record breaking household recession. Will the Prime Minister now apologize for promising Australians they would be better off and admit that they can't afford another three years of this week Albanzi Labor government.
Of course, there was no apology. There never will be. Now there's no question that in focus group research, cost of living is the top issue all day, every day, and on this topic, Alberzi has breached the trust of Australian voters last election. As you know, he made solving the cost of living crisis his camp pain mantra.
Costive living increases, costive living, costive living pressures, living living, cost of living, the cost of living, cost of living, cost of everything, living, cost of living issues. Bear in mind the cost of living pressures.
Albanese's squarely blamed Scott Morrison for the cost of living crisis, despite the fact at that point in time there'd only been a single rate rise. Yet now that he's Prime Minister and there's been a dozen rate rises during his time in office, he takes no responsibility.
Now, this is illogical.
It was Morrison's fault back then, but it's not Albanese's fault now. Before the last election, Albaneze promised a new era of transparency and he pledged to own up to his mistakes and.
If I get something wrong, I'll line up to it.
Yet have we seen him own up to anything just one thing, of course, not it's always someone else's fault, especially the cost of living crisis, which is because of overseas factors the Middle East War, Ukraine and now Donald Trump. No one mentioned homegrown inflation, and Albanezi wouldn't answer either of these. Following questions today in Parliament.
Prime Minister, by what percentage has the cost of food increased since the election of the Abeneze Labor government.
Can the Prime Minister provide a single example of an Australian family that has received a two hundred and seventy five dollars cut to their power bill as was promised before the last election nearly one hundred times.
The Prime Minister just hopes these questions will all go away if he keeps.
Insisting that everything is looking great.
Optimism, as I told you last night, is his new phrase.
We do need hope and we need optimism, and as we begin the parliamentary year, that's precisely what I have. Optimism for the year ahead and optimism that we can create a better future for Australia.
But voters aren't feeling so optimistic. Families are feeling the pain, which is cumulative. The Albenzi government is well aware the cost of living crisis is the single most critical issue.
To mainstream Australians.
It's why Albinizi is desperate for a rate cut, and if he gets one at the next RBA board meeting, it may prompt him to call the election. The RBA meets on the eighteenth of February and the first of April, and then again in late May. Economist Judith Sloan wrote last week that despite Albanesi and Charmers saying they respect the independence of the RBA, a lot of nudging has
been going on for some time. She writes, when Chalmers declared last year that high interest rates were smashing the economy, he was in effect telling the bank what to do, and here was Charmers making that very point.
The combination of global economic uncertainty and higher interest rates is smashing household budgets and slowing our economy considerably.
Now that might have been a subtle hint, but some current and former labor politicians and also union leaders have been far more direct. As rates rose over the past couple of years.
We're outside the Reserve Bank of Australia today, and that's because working people are urging them to cut interest rates.
Now we have headline inflation right in the middle of the RBA's target band, which gives them maximum room to move in terms of bringing interest rates down. Of course, that decision is up to the independent Reserve Bank.
The Reserve Bank is putting economic dogma over rational economic decision making hemmering households, hemmery mums and dads with higher rates, causing a collapse in spending and driving the economy backwards.
Now, the rates decision by the RBA in February and April will put its.
Independence to the test.
It's thinking reflected through the board minutes will be under the spotlight. There's no question Michelle Bullock is under considerable pressure to bring down rates before the election. She's Labour's appointee after all, and there's a lot writing on this rates decision. As far as the Prime Minister is concerned, well, he thinks it could mean the difference between him winning or not. But even if the rates come down and Albanezi promises life will be more affordable, well, who would
believe him this time? He's like the boy who cried Wolf. He's lost the trust of voters. Yet Albinizi keeps insisting privately and publicly that he's on track to win government, despite the polls clearly trending in Dutton's direction. The Australians Jeff Chambers wrote that the Prime Minister is immersed in self belief.
Well, I'd call it self delusion.
Like with the Voice, he thought Australians loved him and loved his vision, but they rejected him, and they rejected the Voice.
This election is a repeat.
Albanesi is insisting that voters really like him, they think he's a nice guy, even as they desert him and his weak leadership. In truth, Albanzi has no reason to be confident. When he won the election last time, it was with one of Labour's worst primary votes in Australian history, despite the chaos of the coalition era, and Labour's appeal has only catapulted since then, and Albanzi's his own personal.
Appeal is at its lowest level.
His net favorability is as low as Scott Morrison's was prior to the twenty twenty two election. As the polls show, and as we all know anecdotally, the momentum is now in Dutton's favor and he is feeling Peter Dutton cautiously optimistic while acknowledging the hard road ahead.
I am ready for the election. I believe it'll be tough, It'll be always hard for it, but I do believe that we can win and that will be a decision for the Austrange people.
The election not yet cold, but Dutton is already treating this like it's the election campaign, fronting the media every day. Meanwhile, we know alban Ezi has one eye on retirement, his wedding to Jody and the cliff top mansion he bought with her in Copacabana. Alban Easy was never personally desperate to become prime minister. He didn't believe it was his one and only destiny in the same way that other
leaders have always believed it was theirs. Alberizi has one foot out the door already, and it's why if he does lose the election, it's unlikely he'd fall into a bitter depression like prime ministers past, because the.
Job meant the world to them.
For Albanize, this was an unexpected ascension to the top job for a radical left wing political activist, and our country is the worse for it.
Now.
Donald Trump has met with Israeli Prime minister Benjamin nettan Yahoo and Elon Musk as well joined in for a chat.
The fact that this would be President Trump's first meeting with a foreign leader since his inauguration is telling. I think it's a testimonial to the strength of the Israeli American alliance. It's also a testimonial to the strength of our personal friendship.
It absolutely is their own personal friendship. It's had rocky times, but it's been back on track for a long time now, and the strength of the Israel American alliance under Donald Trump, that alliance has been returned. America will be a solid friend of Israel. This meeting the first foreign leader to meet with Donald Trump, Benjainette Nyau. This is a signal of how the US sees Israel. It's a signal of
how important that partnership is. And in the next twenty four hours, Trump is expected to sign an executive order withdrawing the United States from the UN Human Rights Council and prohibiting future funding for ANRA.
That is leadership.
There are other ways to ensure funding and aid gets to Gaza.
So this isn't about.
Cutting off eight It's about UNRA as the vehicle for it and UNRES links to terrorism are well established. The latest proof is that British Israeli hostage Emily Demari was held captive in UNRA facilities. She was deprived medical care despite two gunshot wounds. She's spoken of how her muss is running those UNRA facilities in Gaza and the response from UNRA, oh, there'll be an investigation. Yet another one.
Yet Penny one continues to send tens of millions of your taxpayer dollars to UNRA in a move that is now indefensible. It's further proof that she is Australia's worst ever foreign minister. And joining me now to discuss this Shadow Foreign Affairs Minister David Coleman. David, thank you very much for your time.
Now you are now.
Shadow Foreign Affairs Minister, as I just said, this is your first nighttime interview on Sky News. As I just spoke about there. Donald Trump says he will cut off funding to UNRA. What's your view on this? If there is a Dutton government, would you do the same.
Yes, we would, Shahi, UNRA should not be funded. Those links to October seven were established by the fact that nine un employees were terminated for suspicion being involved in those hideous evil attacks, It should not be funded. The federal government sent sixty million dollars to UNRA, including six million dollars since October seven. Now, of course, we all want humanitarian aid to get to people who desperately need it in Gaza. We all want that, but that cannot
be through UNRA. It is utterly unacceptable and we would not continue you that if we were elected.
David, what do you think it says about Penny Wong and the Albanesi government that they still haven't stopped funding UNRA even after hearing that the hostage Emily de Maari was held captive in UNRA facilities.
Well Shari that funding should not be going to UNRA. The United States doesn't provide a funding to UNRA because of the extremely grave concerns about its conduct. And if Penny Wong or Anthony Albanizi have intelligence or information that says that UMRA is an appropriate organization to which to provide these funds, they should release it. If they have better information than the United States about UNRA, they should
release it, but they haven't done that. We do, want, of course, aid to get to the people of Gaza, but certainly not through UNRA.
Yeah, and there are other methods that we've se spoken about it at length on the show of doing that. Now you've suggested reforming are the United Nations bodies as well? Which body is in particular and what needs to be done.
Also, I think if you go back to first principles with the UN, if you look at the first words in chapter one of its charter talk about the role of the UN is to create peace and security for the world. Now, plainly that's not occurring. We're seeing shocking violence in the Middle East, We're seeing shocking violence in Ukraine and so many other places around the world. So it is self evident and logical to say that the UN needs to be scrutinized. The UN does need to
be reformed. Its primary goal of establishing peace and security is a very noble goal that I think we could all agree with, and that's where its primary focus should be. So if if we are elected, seeking to ensure that the UN does the best job but absolutely can on its core responsibility will be a big focus for us.
So important.
Look, there's also reports from the United States that Donald Trump is set to transfer one billion dollars worth of military arms to Israel.
Look, this sort of attitude.
That we're seeing from Trump, as I just said, his meeting with Nadi Yaho, the first foreign leader, this couldn't be more different from the hostility we've seen from the Albanesi government.
What do you think, Look, I think the conduct of the Albanesi government towards Israel has been appalling. To abandon a twenty year plus bipartisan position in relation to a two state solution and basically to say that Australia is now supportive of unilateral recognition was outrageous, completely inappropriate. Labor and Coalition governments have supported that position for more than twenty years. Republicans Democrats alike have supported In the United States,
President Biden didn't change his position, but Labor did. And the worst thing, Shari, the worst thing is this wasn't done for some high principle or for some a principle of improving the situation in the Middle East. This was done by the Labor Party because of votes in a few Green's Labor seats. And to abandon such fundamental principles for such tawdry, sordid political motives tells you everything you need to know about the Albanese government.
Yeah, it speaks a lot to its lost morality. David Common, really appreciate your time on this sitting week.
Thank you so much.
Now on New South Wales, Transport Minister Joe Halen has resigned and after a string of damaging revelations about her use of taxpayer funded vehicles. This included summoning a chauffeur to her holiday house to then take her and her friends to a boozy three hour lunch in the Hunter Valley.
It was a four hundred and forty six kilometer round trip. Now, Joe Halen refused to resign after journalist Linda Silmalis in The Sunday Telegraph first broke this story on the weekend and Joe Halen arrogantly claimed it was all within the rules. She also insisted to the Premiere that this was just
a one off incident, but it wasn't. Today there was news and it was broken as well by the Daily Telegraph and Ben Fordham of another trip to a winery last year with her husband, and when it turned out that she breached the trust of the Premiere, she had to go.
From the very minute I was appointed a minister I have worked my ass off. I've made some mistake. Yes, people aren't perfect. I did not break the rules, but I acknowledge that that's not the only test here. I've let the public down and I'm very sorry for that.
Now.
Joe Halen used to work for Anthony Alberanzi and there was a view that his power as Prime Minister offered her some protection as she faced difficulties over the past.
Year in the role.
Now this doesn't reflect well on alban Easy Housing. Minister Rose Jackson hasn't resigned either, and she also caught the Schaffir driven car on the Australia Day Long weekend. In fact, the whole trip was for her fortieth birthday. To discuss let's bring in our panel Farmer, Speaker of the House Bronwin Bishop and Liberal Senator Holly Hughes.
Welcome to you both, Bron.
When the fact that she thought she didn't have to resign when this firse broke, and you know, just the arrogance of saying, loh, this is all within the rules, despite the public outrage, it's incredible.
Well, I think the fact of the matter is that this was her personal enjoyment. Boothy luncheon in the Hunter Vlley, something which should have been paid for. Personally, I found myself in the position where I used a helicopter to go to work. I was a guest speaker at a fundraiser. The precedent for that was set by Wayne swan keip On earlier, who in two thousand and nine spent eight thousand dollars taking a charted flight to a Labor Party fundraiser.
But of course different rules for socialists, different rules for everybody else. But when it comes to this instance, it's different from all of that. It's difference because this is for going to a party and just having a good time, and that is totally different. And I think that means and his interview on two GBN, in which I did listen to, was really scratching to try and find a way around it. But of course she hadn't come clean with him.
No exactly. And then there were more revelations. Holly chris Mens is from the right faction of the Labor Party, Joe Helen's from the left, yet she supported him in the leadership contest, and perhaps there was that sort of politics playing into it. You know, this is a brilliant story my friend don A Cordwell edits a Sunday Telegraph. She put it on the front page on Sunday. Linda
Somalis broke it. But you know, if it wasn't for that journalism, these labor politicians are getting away with this sort of misuse of taxpayer funds.
It's certainly a government of doers. I say, not as I do, and we know that's how labor governments act. They love to get that stout in the trough. And as you said, miss Halen or I think she's better known as Van Halen now worked for our easy and probably learned the benefit of a freebie while she was there. And you know, to be fair to her as the Transport minister, the trains weren't running, so you know, maybe this was her only option.
Well, she probably just didn't want to drive so she could drink at the wineries, it was probably, and didn't want to pay her for her own car. Now there's
more bad news in the polls for Albanesi. There's this essential poll in the Guardian which showed that sixty three percent of voters think the Prime Minister is out of touch with everyday Australians actually surprised it's not higher than sixty three percent, and despite Albanese's effort to attack Peter Dutton, the opposition leader led the PM on the question of
decisiveness fifty six percent compared with forty three percent. And then the poll also showed that sixty four percent of people agreed that Albanezi changes his opinion depending on who he thinks is listening.
Rowan, that's not a surprise, is it.
No, it's not. I keep saying with him for twenty years in that chamber and nobody ever said he was a leader, and we just see proof of it every day.
But I thought an interesting part of that survey was also that a combination of forty percent of people who thought that anti Semitism was a major issue and forty three percent thought of minor issue, means eighty eight percent of people think it is an issue exactly only thirty percent of people didn't, And I think that says a lot about why it is a major issue in this campaign. It is not something that is not relevant to the debate.
And that decisiveness, which Peter Dutton is showing very much, has shown up because of the attitude he's taken on this issue exactly.
I mean, it's a question of national security ultimately, which does affect all Australians.
Holly, what's your perception.
Of you know, it's the start of the last parliamentary fortnite before the election. What's your perception of the mood among the government and the Labor senators that you I'll see.
Look, I think what's really interesting, you know with that poll, is that Australians are looking for someone of conviction. They're looking for a politician who actually stands for something and they know what they stand for. They might not always agree, but they know where they stand with you, and with alban Ezi, you know, when you stand for nothing, you'll set you know, fall for everything.
So and I think he.
Demonstrates that regularly. I really do think in the Senate we have the same motion today that went to the House with regards to anti Semitism. You could see on Labor faces how much they didn't want that motion. They really don't want to be talking about it. It's something that they know they have absolutely abjectally failed in to show any leadership and it's led to this escalation of events that we've seen. And you can just see they don't.
They don't want to talk about that. They're not quite as cocky as they were towards the end of last year's So I'm not quite sure you know what they're saying in their center party room, but certainly in our chamber they're not sort of demonstrating the same cockiness they weren't towards the.
End of last year. And I'm going to speak about those anti seventies emotions with cam Red in a bit later in the show. By the way, now let's turn to this video of Sam Kerr that came out overnight, because it is really quite extraordinary that you you don't usually see video like this.
Here it is did you stay on the phone long enough to even speak someone?
That's the thing. Okay, but they wouldn't do that.
Though they wouldn't do that, you should have spoken.
To the.
Honestly, we have stupid.
And white Okay, so stupid.
I'm over this.
This is the world problem.
Wait on the call, Wait on the call.
Wait all right, I'll go over at the moment. Then at three seventeen, you're under rest of criminal damage because there's an allegation that you smashed that taxi window. You're also under rest for racial aggravated public order for those comments that you've said.
So she was already under arrest when she made those comments brun when stupid and white. And yet there are people who are suggesting today that this isn't racism.
Only on the airBC. Everybody else who's quite sensible knows that that was a racist thing to say. And to suggest that you cannot insult somebody bit in a racist way because they're Caucasian or white is just a nonsense. And personally, I was just so embarrassed. And so this, this woman who'd been lauded, being made famous, made a great hero for young girls here.
In this world model exactly, and here she.
Is using this foul language and behaved in a very abusive way. And just thinkcause it's okay, I'm afraid it isn't. And she's apparently by not being included in the team, which they're insisting is because of her knee injury two years ago. I suspect it might be otherwise.
Exactly.
It shows though I think it's fascinating wholly. I mean, obviously there was damage to the taxi window on various other things, but we've seen on the streets of London such horrific anti samitism. Police don't take any action on that, but you know they are in this instance. What do you think about that inconsistency?
Well, I mean, I think we've seen on the streets of Sydney all sorts of behavior that in any other circumstance police would have acted, particularly to pro Palestinian rallies, the use of terrorist organization flags, some of the hate speech that we've heard, and there's been no action whatsoever. But that video of Sam Kerr, if that's not the end of her career with certainly the Matilda's I don't
think she'll be doing any more Wheetbix commercials anytime. So it's just embarrassing as an Australian, it's embarrassing as a woman, and it's embarrassing to think, as Bromwin said, she was held up as a model for young girls.
Yeah, yeah, not a good look at all. Right, Brudwyn, Bishop, Holly Hughes. So great to have you both on tonight. Thank you so much. Sure, all right, We've still got a lot more to come on the show tonight. Labor attacks Dutton's policy of tax deductible business launches, plus why the core claim in Antoinette Latouf's case perpetuates a dangerous anti Semitic trope about Jews controlling the media. This is Aita Butcho's as private emails about Latouf are read in court.
I'm going to discuss all of that with Aaron Patrick after this quick break. Welcome back, We're pro Palestinian activist Antoinette Leatouf has now finished giving evidence in the Federal Court in her unfair dismissal case against the ABC, and today it was a busy day at court, with the court hearing explosive statements from Ititebacho's I'm going to talk about them in a moment. The court also heard about
Latouf's self medicating with drinking. Now, this case stems from her being let go as a fill in ABC host after she shared a post on social media claiming Israel was using starvation as a tool of war, simply untrue. The fact is Antoinette Leatouf is a well known pro Palestinian activist who is hostile towards Israel. The ABC should never have appointed such an activist as a fill in host. They should appoint objective journalists, not activists. So the ABC
has brought all of this on themselves. Now, remember Latouf was one of those who were writing all the stories so called investigation important journalism, claiming that gas the Jews was never uttered at the opera House, as if it matters because the other phrases were so offensive, like f the Jews and where's the Jews?
Now?
Her case right now is taking place against the backdrop of horrific anti semitism in Australia. Her case is listed for seven days of hearing in the Federal Court. That's two days longer than her original contract with the ABC was even meant for. She was only hired for five days. And the cost of all of this isn't a laughing matter. Taxpayers are being charged hundreds of thousands of dollars with ABC hiring Ian Neil sc Now there's going to be no costs either, will that the ABC will be able
to recover because this is no cost jurisdiction. The Nightly is Aaron Patrick Jones me now and been following this case in cod Aaron, thank you so much for your time.
Now you write in The Nightly.
That Latouf's barrister argued she was fired because of the demands of a group of people that ABC identified as a pro Israel lobby and you write that the implication is that a cabal of Jews late in this case by a group called Lawyers for Israel, can control the media. Now, this theory, as you say, has a long and ugly history. You write in your article that you know this brings up it reminds us of the old conspiracy theories of Jews controlling the media.
It's so distressing to hear this.
I think, Charie, that we've got to call this out
when we see it. And I was really struck watching the opening address by her lawyers making this case that essentially Lawyers for Israel, who were just a bunch of Jewish lawyers, that somehow that they could control an organization as independent, s fiercely independent as the ABC under someone's experienced and toughness chairman Ida Buttro's And it just brought to my mind, as you said, just these historical tropes that come up again and again, and I was really surprised.
I was shocked. I was sort of shocked to see it coming up in the federal court as the key argument.
And you write about the origin of these tropes as well.
No, the anti Semitism, as you know, goes back hundreds and hundreds of years, but the media angle of it really got sort of currency back in very early nineteen hundreds with books which became the basis of Nazi ideology. And so the idea that Jews control the media and
control finance has this long and glorious history. And you know, I've worked in the media a long a long time for a lot of different organizations, and the whole idea that one religious group could control something as sort of chaotic as the media just doesn't stand up to real
world experience. And two, I think really suggests in this case, and quite seriously suggest in a court of law, that the Jews made the ABC, which is notorious for being sorry, which is well known for being of the progressive side of politics, that the Jews could force the ABC to fire anyone strikes me as sort of echoing this this long and bad history of this anti Semitic trope.
If that was the case, John Lyed, John Lyons would have been fired from the ABC a long time ago, that's for sure.
Now.
The toof was never impartial on this topic. She is a pro Palestinian activist. You know, she always has been, and she signed a petition wanting media outlets to give a more you know what she CAUs balanced view on the war. You know, the petition was so biased that prominent journalists, even those who are antie Israel, ignored it.
Look, Antonette latoof wants to be pro Palestinian. I don't have a problem with that. That's her right, of course, and there's plenty of journalists serious or Peter Laylor, this great cricketing journalist, lost his lost his commentary job over this. But the problem problem is is that if you become a journalist, you take it. You know, you agree to try and accept that there are two sides to an argument.
And in this case, in a particular, the petition that you spoke about, which was came out of the Journalist Union, didn't seek balance. It didn't seek to real acknowledge that their arguments on both sides and that there can be just wars of retaliation.
No, it.
Wanted the media to take a side which was the non Israeli side.
Yeah, exactly, now the claim, Well, I'll get to the Idebacher's emails. One of the emails that emerged in the CO proceedings was quite funny.
She emailed the.
Managing director, David Anderson, saying, I have a whole clutch of complaints. Can't she come down with flu or COVID or an upset stomach?
We owe nothing.
What was going on here was this was an organization struggling to get through a really uncomfortable situation, which is senior leadership has found out they've got someone ideologically biased on radio, and so they're trying to essentially deal with this in a way that saves them embarrassment, but also could have said Antonette latoufe embarrassment and perhaps hurt. Okay, and so that to me was actually a really sensible
way to deal with it. If she had gotten the cold and disappeared, she would have her reputation would have been preserved too, and Ida Bartros wouldn't have to appear in court this week to explain why she said that, which is going to be pretty awkward for her.
Yeah.
Well, the best thing is that ABC should never have hired Antoinette in the first place, because it is in their charter that they need to be impartial and unbiased, and you don't put an activist as a journalist in if that's in your Charter. Aaron Patrick, thank you so great to have you on the show again in twenty twenty five.
Good to see again, Terry.
Now still to come.
Why doesn't the Albaneze government want to talk about the threat from radical Islam? A former senior AFP superintendent will join me live. Plus the debate over tax deductible business lunches. That's next after this quick break. Welcome back. We're in the final parliamentary fortnite before the election and cost of living is the biggest issue, but Albanzi is trying to claim everything's all rosy.
Prime Minister, by what percentage has the cost of food increased since the election of the Albanese Labor government.
What we know is that inflation is now at two point four percent, not one, but two budget surpases back to back surposes. If they had their way, they wouldn't be cheaper medicines. If they had their way, it wouldn't be cheaper childcare.
The Prime Minister was asked the question about his promise to make Austrains better off.
That cannot strain to opposition policy or the previous government.
All Right, Sky News political reporter cam Redden joines me. Now, cam as I've said before, this is the mount everest of broken promises and cost of living, and voters know it, and Albanesi also knows it. How is this now going to play out? How is he going to handle this in the campaign?
I want to give you one statistic, Shary, and it comes from the Bureau of Statistics. In addition to all the inflation data we get every month and every quarter, the Bureau of Stats now records the cost of living index is what they call it, and essentially what this does, and it records things like insurance and things like mortgage repayments and the interest that's paid on that as it's gone up, so it actually includes a few more real things for working people, and it says is a pretty
accurate reflection of the cost of living. It's gone up since the election seventeen point one percent, so since the election to today, that's how much the collective cost of living has gone up for workers, people that go out, do their job, pay their bills. That's the difference. Now we're in this strange political limbo land, if you like,
where two things are kind of true at once. The government can say, look, you look at the headline rate of inflation, it has come down, that's true, But the Coalition is pointing to the pain that's already in the system, saying, look at how much prices have already gone up, and from a political sense, they want voters to punish the government for that. So really, where we're at now, Shari
is people have a choice to make. They can decide, well, okay, we are better off now numerically in terms of things could have been potentially worse. And that's the government's argument. Look at the recessions around the world. We didn't go into that. But the coalition wants to really seize on this, saying, hey, you're doing it tough. Look at how tough you've been doing it for the last couple of years, and now's
your chance to make the government pay. So that is really the political combat when it comes to cost of living, which is by far and away the number one issue when it comes to swinging.
Votes, absolutely, and it's coming up in both the research for the Labor Party and the Liberal Party.
And look, politicians need.
Research because they don't get out there enough and talk to real people. They think everything's fine. Albo keep saying, you know, everyone's optimistic. No one's optimistic. Now here was Peter Dutton in Parliament today attacking the Prime Minister over cost of living.
Well, the Prime Minister now apologize for promising Australians they would be better off and admit that they can't afford another three years of this week albanezy Labor government.
So ways down unemployment low here, that is what has been achieved through the hard work of Australians.
So cam Labour's attack line. You know, they turned a lot of these questions into attacking Peter Dutton's policy to allow small businesses to claim business lunches back as tax deductions. They attacked Dutton over and over about this. Now what was Dutton's response to this? And do you think there is pressure on the Coalition over this policy.
I think there's pressure for them to show their homework when it comes to the costing Shari. This is where there's a dispute.
Now.
We even reported today were revealed on Sky that Angus Taylor, the Shadow Treasurer, has written a fairly pointed note to the Secretary of the Treasury Department, Stephen Kennedy. The Shadow treasure was ropable that they have gone and costed this policy. Now the government will say that it has put forward a hypothetical policy to go on cost it and see how much it would cost the budget, and Treasury has come back with a figure as high as ten billion
dollars a year. The Opposition says no, it's more like one hundred and twenty five million dollars. They're citing the Parliamentary Budget Office. So you've got two departments essentially coming up with different figures, and the Treasurer is really daring Angus Taylor and the Coalition to put their costings out there, which it hasn't yet done. I think, to be honest, this is all political bunfighting. Shari, I don't think that
is a real needle mover. Where it will be interesting, though, is once we do get to the campaign in what the coalition could add in addition to this. This would be one measure in theory to get small businesses and their workers, maybe help with staff retention, go out and put some money into cafes and restaurants, so you can see the logic behind that. Will there be more, I think is the big question because the one attack line the government really has on this is it's the boss
taking themselves out to lunch that's their argument. What else the coalition will flesh out when it comes towards policy and other potential tax changes.
I think that will be key, and.
Maybe putting out some bigger carrots if you like to dangle, rather than just this one at this stage.
Look putting the policy aside.
I think what it shows is that Angus Taylor is emerging as one of the weakest links or the weakest performers on the coalition side. You know, cost of living is the biggest issue, and you don't see him often doing media interviews. He is not out and about and Jim Chalmers you can see that he's vulnerable and so they're choosing to attack Angus Taylor. We've got about a minute left, Cam, but I want to ask you about
the anti semitism motions we saw today. Dutton clearly much stronger than the Prime Minister on.
This and where this is becoming a political problem too, Sharry, is there is a policy difference between the two major parties. Because there's been a lot of talk over many weeks and months now and the condemnation of these attacks and incidents, of course, but there is a genuine policy difference. Now we've seen another layer of the coalition's plan for these
mandatory sentences. That would include, under its proposal, sending some people who carry out particular anti semitic refed he acts sending them to jail for up to a year or at least a year in some cases a mandatory minimum. Now there would be details about what would have to meet that threshold, but that is part of the suite of law changes that the Coalition would seemingly bring in if it wins the next election. The government not going down the mandatory minimum's path, and Shari, I know we're
so close to an election. So all of this has a political implication. It's been put to me by some in the Liberal Party that they think this language by Peter Dutton, this proposal for tough penalties brings seats like Wentworth for example, into play. That it might bring the Liberal parties some political gain in areas where these attacks have taken place. That's the brute reality of the politics of it. But the policy difference is where there's a bit of a rub here for voters. I think too.
I mean, I think that's no question that a lot of voters will be supporting it, but I don't think That's why Dutton's doing and I think you can tell when he speaks he genuinely cares about this issue. Is not doing it for the politics.
You know.
You can just see that I've spoken to him about this issue so many times and there's no question that it's genuine Camerand and thank you, really appreciate your time tonight. Now coming up after the break of former AFP Detective superintendent joins me to explain why Albanize's waffle over not knowing about the caravan with explosives just makes no sense.
Welcome back.
Well, let's bring in now former AFP Detective Superintendent of counter Terrorism David Craig. Thank you David for your time. Look, the Prime Minister claims he can't answer questions about when he found out about the caravan of explosives. He says it would compromise an investigation, despite Premier Chrismins happily revealing he was briefed on January the twentieth.
Is there any accuracy.
To this claim that it would compromise operational matters?
Thanks Sherry. Look, I can answer that question coming from having been involved with or in charge of Australia's largest Cana terrorism investigations, and I can tell you with some authority that there is no conceivable way that a date the Prime Minister was briefed would compromise any cataterrorism investigation. The content of that briefing may, but not the data of it.
So he's just hiding behind this because clearly there's a problematic answer. Either he wasn't brief as some media reports have suggested.
And if that is the case, do you think it.
Could possibly because me because the agencies didn't trust him with that information.
I would hope that's not the case, Shari. I certainly know that the Sensitive Investigations Overside Board of the AFP, which is chaired by Deputy Commissioner. I know a lot of the people that sit around that board, and they would not, in any circumstance have looked at a caravan laden with explosives outside Sydney with target addresses in it as not worthy of briefing up unless they've been told I'm not interested, or it only brief us on particular dates.
This is a very significant matter. The AFP would have taken it extremely seriously and I don't know really why the Prime Minister would be saying he can't reveal when he was breathed.
Exactly one hundred officers assigned to investigating it now. David Albanesi and Penniwang often speak about white supremacists and the threat of neo Nazi is a very real threat, but you don't often hear them speaking about the threat of radical Islam. Why do they ignore one form of anti Semitism?
As an investigator, Shari is a detective, it's very hard for me to answer that with any logic at all. Absolutely, the hard right is been a threat to the Jewish community, and quite rightly, the government has taken some positive measures this week. That's brilliant. But what they need to do is do the same for the radical Islamic leadleaders that
are promoting violence in our society. I would like to see the same proactive measures taken by this government that would promote the effective and proactive work of the police to bring those to justice that promote this evil hatred of the Jewish people.
When you have the Prime Minister not taking a strong enough leadership position on anti Semitism, what message does that center law enforcement?
Do you think?
Look, I think that there's a visible dichotomy between what has happened with the new South Wales Police and the strong leadership of Premier Ins He has been forthright and saying that he wants to catch the bastards behind this. He's given a lot of impetus and a lot of higher power to the police for them to undertake their
duties come to the federal side. And we're just seeing, as I said the other day, a spineless approach of it's okay, it's not such a big matter, and that sends a message to the police that well, maybe this government's not so interested in this, so we can concentrate on other matters. But I can tell you now that there is no bigger matter to deal with now than
anti semitism in Australia, and it's escalation. It is escalating, and it will end up with a loss of life if we don't do something to arrest it.
One hundred percent. That's what we need to prevent. That's why we're fighting so hard against this. David Craig, really appreciate your time. Thank you everyone for your company tonight. I'll see you tomorrow at eight. And here's Paul Murray