Line sharing.
Tonight, we have new details on how four protesters managed to evade AFP detection and climb up the roof of Parliament House, and how they did it will shock you. But first, what occurred today was an assault on our democracy, an act of extremism on the nation's capital. Parliament House in Canberra has been compromised. Pro Hamas sympathizers have invaded the building in more ways than one, and our social cohesion is truly in tatters because of a war happening
on the other side of the world. It all culminated in a major security breach this morning. These protesters climbed the roof, shouting anti Semitic insults and unfurling banners with pro Palestine slogans.
The alban Easy Labour government's persistence of blots for this genocidal chetla colonial state comes as no Austrailia resignation founded among genocide. We will not begin, have we well continued to retin for.
More than two hours. These racist banners were on full display for the world to see at Australia's home of democracy. And these weren't just ordinary slogans. They had sinister meanings.
But that upside down red triangle is Hamas symbology that is supposed to indicate IDF targets and Israeli targets in the context of the war in Israel and Gaza, and for that to be appropriated on our parliament, hung from the front of our parliament is a disturbing And what we.
Saw up there was support for Hamas. Hamas killed more than one thousand Jews, the biggest single loss of Israeli life since the Holocaust on October seventh last year. That is a fact. And so to see this here, it's really discussing.
Yeah, they were pro Hamas slogans and this is meant to be a safe space, yet it's taling Jews. They're not welcome. What an appalling act and an even more frightening breach of security. It's now been revealed exactly how they did it. Australian Federal Police has confirmed the group used diversionary tactics like calling in false protests at other locations to throw off police so they could invade the building.
There are some some actual deliberate actions that these particular this particular group has taken I premeditated to use diversionary tactics and move very very quickly. But we did also have some false phone calls of other protests happening at nearby areas that did not occur. So there was not only was there diversionary efforts at Parliament House, but there was on diverting AFP resources to other areas. This is quite what I would call a criminal act, hence the four arrests and the charges.
It was that easy. It is unacceptable that this group determined to intimidate Jews and inflict fear on Australians could get past security, let alone using diversionary tactics to throw off police and it worked. It is a complete and utter security failure. What would have happened if these people were armed or carrying explosives? What sort of a message does this center our enemies that our Parliament House is so easily accessible. There's some very.
Bad people watching this and go now that's interesting.
They're there, They got through.
And while security will become or has become a major focal point of the investigation, I can't help but wonder what on earth is going on in Canberra because the political left actually agree with the anti submitted statements on display by protesters look no further than the Greens, the most UnAustralian party in our history.
I do support and have participated in the change from the River to this sea. This is something that I think supporters of Palestine are very clear about.
Even thinking solo the Greens, as we know support of the pro Palestine vandalism of our nation's war memorial. And then there's Labors rat in the ranks, Fatima Payman, who today finally quit the party to sit on the cross bench.
The ongoing genocide in Gaza is a tragedy of unimaginable proportions. We have all seen the bloodied images of young children losing limbs, being amputated with our anesthetics and starving. As Israel continues, It's onslaught live streamed across the world.
No mention of the hostages or the slaughter of Jews on October set. It makes no sense how someone who fled the Taliban in Afghanistan is now criticizing Israel for defending itself against Hummas. And when asked about the phrase from the River to the Sea.
Front of Parliament today there was a sign saying from the River to the sea, Palestine will be free.
What does that phrase mean to you?
So for me, that phrase is a call to freedom from injustice, freedom from occupation, freedom from inequality, and it's a call to be able to live harmoniously.
It's a call for self.
Determination, for liberation of the Palestinians.
There's nothing harmonious about it. It calls for the destruction of Israel. And here was the alleged outfit on display by Greens turned independent Lydia Thorpe at last night's Midwinter Ball. I'll let the pictures speak for themselves now. The Prime Minister condemned today's protests, but he failed to identify the common theme.
Peaceful protest has an important place in our society. But this was not a peaceful protest. These actions have done absolutely nothing to advance any cause. Indeed, they have hurt the cause that those engaged in this reckless activity believe they are advancing.
Peter Dutton showed him how to do it.
Rivets of the Sea is a statement about wiping out, eliminating a race of people. Let's be very clear about it. There's been a lot of debate in this place about how that might work and whether those words have a different form of meaning or perhaps they can be justified in some way or other. They can't be, and they never will be.
The religious fractures that have been bubbling away in Australia since October seven have tipped over into Parliament House inside the walls and now on the outside. Not even our nation's capital is safe anymore, and it's dividing society more than ever. One thing's for sure. Hamas would be looking at Canberra right now and smiling. These protesters are emboldened by the Labor government. We have seen this with anti
Semitism in the country being allowed to flourish. Once the horse has bolted, there's no going back because it has been allowed to go on for so long it's now impossible to crack down. And what sort of a message does it send pro Hamas protesters when the Albenzi government hauls in Israel's ambassador for a dressing down over his country's war in the Middle East and they send in a junior Burger minister to do it. More on that
in a moment. Israeli ambassador Amir Mahmon was formally summoned to a meeting in Canberra ten days ago and warned that the Jewish state could not expect Australia's support if it goes to war against Hesbala in southern Lebanon. What an appalling move, as Israel desperately for its own survival and as it faces a conflict now on all fronts.
There are fears of a tip for tat response by HESBLA, which Australia lists as a terror organization, and since the conflict began, sixty thousand Israelis have been forced to flee northern Israel due to attacks from the Iran Bat terror group. Yet in the event of Israel having to protect its citizens from yet another terror group, Australia has told the ambassador, well, don't expect our support. They want Israel to just down tools and just simply walk away. And let's not forget
it was Harmas who started this war, not Israel. Now formally summoning an ambassador is considered considered a serious step in the diplomatic world. Given the gravity of such an important message that Labor chose to convey, well, you'd think they would send in the Foreign Minister Pennywong to deliver it personally, but in fact it was not delivered by Foreign Minister Pennywong was left to Miswong's underling, Assistant Minister Tim Watts, how appalling Israel's ambassador wasn't even given the
courtesy of a visit by Penny Wong in person. It is a slap in the face to Jewish Australians and Israel, who has been an important ally from the Anzac kissin Besheba in nineteen seventeen which ultimately helped create the state of Israel to the present day. I mean Israel has supported Australia, not to mention the important contribution of Jewish Australians in this country, but that's all been ripped to shreds over the course of the last nine months by Labor.
It's betrayed Israel and emboldened the anti Semitism like what we saw today at Parliament House.
The Foreign Minister Pennywong needs to step up today and explain exactly what it was that her assistant Minister Tim Watts meant when he hauled in the Israeli ambassador and told him that if our friend and ally Israel found itself in a war with his Belah, a listed terroist organization, that they could not count on our support. That is a deeply disturbing revelation. Hezblah has been attacking northern Israel
since the seventh of October every day. This is the world's best armed terrorist organization.
The relationship between Australia and Israel, once cherished, is under more pressure than ever. It's so bad, sources have told The Daily Telegraph. Mister Mamm's relationship with Senator Wong has been in the freezer for several months. It started with a limp response to the burning of the Israeli flag on the steps of the Sydney Opera House. Labor rewarded Hermas by backing Palestinian statehood at the United Nations vote.
It appointed a special advisor to monitor Israel's response to its air strikes which killed Australian Zomi frankem And now the summoning of the ambassador is a new low. The dressing down marks a bad flash point in the relationship. The horse is well and truly bolted, and I fear there is no going back. And I'll speak to Shadow Foreign Affairs Minister Simon Birmingham, who says this is all
a mess entirely of the Prime Minister's own making. Also tonight, Democrats in denial standing by President Biden despite serious questions over his fitness for the top job. But how long can they keep up this facade? And as BRIT's head to the polls, Kirstarmer stands on the cusp of one of the biggest UK election wins in history. We'll cross live to London for the latest. For now, though, let's bring in my panel, The Australian's National Affairs Editor Joe
Kelly and One Nation Chief of Staff James Ashby. Hi to both of you, Thank you so much for joining us. James. The AFP has confirmed the protesters used diversionary tactics today to throw off police. How big of a security fail is this, Well, it's.
Pretty clear that Parliament haven't learnt since Bill Heffernan tested the security of Parliament House all those years ago when he brought in a fake pipe bomb. And this is a real concern, not just for the safety of politicians who make decisions on our behalf every single day, but on any given day the public are in their drives and I see the first line of attack here affecting more so the public and so many school kids that thankfully do visit the Parliament. This should send shivers through
the presiding offices. So Milton Dick here has a big task ahead of him as well as the President. Sue lyons this would be one of the greatest concerns. I was once in the Speaker's office, so I do know precisely how much security means to these presiding officers, and the money that has been spent on this parliament one hundred and twenty six million has just been wasted and proven to have been wasted in such a short period of time. If there's one thing I'll note, Damaki, You've
been in that Parliament enough. I have seen the change in the quality of security guards in that Parliament House. Upon a time we had strapping men that were securing the front doors, securing the entrances also to the Senate and to the House of Reps. I see all too often now more very lean women and men with painted fingernails and more lead and bolts through their faces than ever before. I don't think these people are up to the task of being able to defend our parliament House.
And as for the lack of funding that has been provided to the AFP, they are the lowest paid police in our country, and it is a crying shame that our federal politicians and the act government have not done something to make sure that our federal police officers are paid appropriately in this country. They put their line, their bodies on the line for the sake of all politicians and the public.
Well, this is a prime example, isn't it, of why there needs to be more funding to prevent something like this from ever happening again. Joe, Europe Parliament House at the moment you saw it all unfold today, were you surprised that this actually was able to happen?
The sad reality is I was not surprised at all. And for people who aren't familiar with Parliament House who might not work here, I've worked here for nearly fifteen years and certainly there's a very casual feeling about most things that happen in Parliament House. So James referred to
Bill Hefln's pipe bomb experiment. Well, I remember when I was covering the Gillard government, a press conference being conducted in Parliament House by the then Prime Minister as effectively gate crashed by someone who was able to just simply walk into the building and walk into the room where the press conference was being conducted. So I think today was a serious incident. It should be taken extremely seriously.
These people just jumped over the fence, the security fence around Parliament and then marched up to the top of the building where they could display their banners and their signs. And as many people have said over the course of the day, we're simply fortunate that there were not even darker intentions at play. So I think its cause for thought to get more serious about how we treat things here at Parliament House.
Most certainly absolutely a wake up call, I would say for many today. Now look, Fatima Payman has officially confirmed her departure from the Labor Party following her suspension over repeated defiance of her Palestinian vow. Now the embattled senator front at the press today saying this.
Our actions must align with our principles. When history looks back, it must see that we stood on the right side of humanity.
James. She made this announcement that she was quitting during question time, knowing that all eyes would be on her instead of on Parliament. I think she's gone about this very badly, and there are also reports that this has been months in the making. Why do you think it took her this long, though, to actually pull the pin.
This has been so well orchestrated, and for the last two weeks she's acted as a distraction to the government who really have been blindsided by this woman. It's been too well orchestrated for my liking to think that this has just been a spur of the moment decision. She had a right to sort things out with a political party, and if she felt so strongly about leaving Labor, she
should have left Parliament altogether. I really despise these people who take Senate positions that belong to the party and go and think they're beyond or they're bigger than the party itself. Something's got to change here. You can't legislate this. This would require a change to the constant. The problem with that is if you force somebody to stay within a party, they can become a bigger wrecker at the
end of the day. So look, she's probably better outside of the Labor Party, but it has made things difficult, especially when trying to get your legislation through, particularly in the Senate, as we've seen this last two weeks.
Joe, do you think that this could damage Labor.
Oh well, it's already inflicted an enormous damage on the Albanese government and served as a distraction. But I think there was in some sense very little they could do. The real culprit in this saga has been Senat Fatimer Payment herself, and I think what she has done, as James said, is completely lacking integrity. She was elected to the Senate to represent the people of Western Australia on
behalf of the Labor Party. That was the basis on which she was elected, not to represent them as an independent. And we have seen frankly this happen far too often, where people elected to the Senate with long six year parliamentary terms and then defect, sometimes quite early on into their term. Senator Payment's done it, but we've seen it recently with Senator Lydia Thorpe a phrase Running did it with One Nation, Jackie Lamby did it with the Palm
of United Party. Corey Bernardi did it with the Liberal Party. And if they were setting the example for all, the Upper House simply wouldn't be workable. It wouldn't be workable, and it makes a mockery of our democratic system.
Yeah, I completely agree with you, and it certainly is at that stage at the moment.
Now.
Look, housing industry experts are warning that the Albanese government's dream of building one point two million new homes within five years is beyond reach, James. The building industry has long been warning about this. Experts have been saying that we'll even be lucky to get one hundred thousand new builds this year alone, So that's way short of the annual target. Immigration is up, houses aren't being built, no wonder we have a housing crisis in this country.
You bet. And they say we've got to build a house every two minutes to meet the target set by this Labor government. How disgraceful and how unachievable to even set that target in the first place. Was just you know, pulling the curtains over people's eyes here. This is just rubbish that Labor said about. All it will take is another national disaster of some sort. Queensland here is vulnerable every year every time you know, summer comes around and
we get a cyclone warning. All it will take is a natural disaster to come through any of our states, wipe out a couple of thousand homes and all of a sudden, the building trade is then forced to go and work on repairs and rebuilding of that area as well. This is a disgrace, So I spoke to the real estate agents. Today, property prices just continue to go through the roof. I couldn't afford to buy my house again, is the honest truth. If I had to go and buy it today, there is no way I'd get the
money for it. The appreciation I've had on my property, and every other person I know that's in the property market and probably thankful that they've got that property and the increase. But for those trying to get into the market, it's getting tougher and tougher, and you're having to move to smaller houses or more regional areas to be able to buy.
In Joe, it's really tough out there, and as James said, people are having to move far away from the cities just to be able to get into a property. But how do you think that we ended up here?
Well, I think one of the ways we ended up here is because we have a debasement in our politics where we have aspirational targets and we don't have the policies to achieve them, so we see this in climate we have a net zero target by twenty fifty. We've got a forty three percent target by twenty thirty. Most people will tell you that we won't get there. And we now have a labor government that initially had a million homes target over a five year period, then they
oup that to one point two million. Now there's no building group in this country that says the one point two million homes is achievable. So I think one of the problems with our politics is that we have aspirational targets. It's too much about the target setting and not enough about the policies to get there. And there's too many
contradictions in labors. In Labour's policy, the reregulation of the labor market means that they're simply working against themselves in trying to achieve some of their economic objectives.
Yeah. Absolutely, the policy has been out from the very beginning. James Ashby Joe Kelly, we have to leave it there. Thank you so much to both of you for your time this evening. Coming up after the break, Shadow Foreign Affairs Minister Simon Birmingham is up next. He'll have more to say about the diversionary tactics used by pro Palestinian activists at Parliament House today to throw off the AFP, and as the Democrats stand by Joe Biden, the world
continues to question his incompetence. That's next, returning now to our top story tonight on the pro Palestinian protesters that managed to climb up to the roof of Parliament House shouting anti Semitic insults and unfurling banners with pro Palestinian slogans. Now, as I mentioned at the start of the show, these protesters used diversionary tactics like calling in false protests at other locations to throw off police so they could invade the building.
But we did also have some false phone calls of other protests happening at nearby areas that did not occur. So there was not only was there diversionary efforts at Parliament House, but there was on diverting AFP resources to other areas.
The group have now been charged with Commonwealth trespass, but it's a criminal offense in itself to give false information to the AFP in the diversionary way that they did, so will they be messed with the full force of the law let's bring in Shadow Foreign Affairs Minister Simon Birmingham. Thank you so much for joining us this evening. What do you expect the favorite of these protesters will be, Will they indeed be met with the full force of the law.
They should absolutely be met with the full force of the law. Whilst we have of course independence in our police force and in those who make decisions around prosecutions as in our courts, I would be urging those authorities to make sure that wherever offenses have been committed or appear to have been committed, they should be fully investigated and fully pursued to the full force of the law. What we saw today was appalling, was appalling on numerous levels.
The security breach itself was appalling and needs thorough investigation, including investigation as to whether any assistance was provided from inside this building or elsewhere to individuals as to how to go about or the undertaking of their protest actions. It was appalling in that it put others in danger in the way in which they positioned themselves at very elevated parts of Parliament House, and of course then requiring
security and other officials to remove them. And it was most appalling in terms of the sentiments, the anti Semitic statements and slogans that were hung from the front of our nation's parliament, creating a stain on our nation's parliament. Of course, there's a right to freedom of speech in this country, and indeed the very existence of this parliament is a testament to the right to freedom of speech.
But how you go about exercising those freedoms matters, and what we saw today was reprehensible in the conduct and the content of the actions.
Absolutely, it's just astounding that this happened in what should have been Australia's most secure building. It is an absolute assault on democracy. It's terrible. Now, look let's move on now, Simon Birmingham, because I was shocked to read this morning that the Israeli ambassador has been formally summoned by Canberra to be told not to go to war with Hesbela, a list of terror organization whose attacks have seen tens
of thousands of Jews flee Northern Israel. Who does this federal government think it is telling Israel to basically down tools.
We weren't the only person who was shocked to reading those stories. And indeed, there are really two issues at play here. One is what was said and the other is how it was said. Now in what was said, the idea that Australia would not be standing by a democratic partner and friend in Israel with its right to self defense against a terrorist organization seems to be an extraordinary concept and if that is truly the message that the Albanezy government delivered, then it is one that they
clearly need to correct. The record on Israel has faced a constant barrage of rocket attacks from southern Lebanon, launched by Hesbelah, intended to kill and hurt Israelis, and that have caused the displacement of thousands of Israelis from their homes in northern Israel, fleeing to safety from those rocket attacks and the risk of other attacks from Hesblah. So the consequences of this are real and invite all viewers
think about this. If it were Australia and Australia were faced with a terrorist organization attacking our people, our homes, what.
Would we expect.
We would expect our government to respond, our government to defeat that organization, and our friends around the world to stand with us when we did that. In Israel, is right to expect no less in terms of the way that Australia should respond in supporting Israe as it deals with this terrorist threat from Hezbolla, as it continues to face the threats from other Iranian sponsored proxies like Hamas
and elsewhere. But it was also how this was delivered which was pretty damn remarkable too, because it appears that the Israeli ambassador was summoned to a meeting to have this extraordinary statement given to him. But did the Prime Minister do it No, did the Foreign Minister do it No, it was delegated to the Assistant Foreign Minister, which is seemingly a fairly deliberate insult on the part.
Of the government.
Absolutely, it's completely offensive. I mean, you would be stunned if you were Israel in the first place to be told no, down your tools, but then to have been given this message by an assistant minister as just appalling. Now we're almost out of time, but I just want to get your thoughts on Fatima payment. Finally resigning from Labour today to sit on the cross bench. This is what she said.
My family did not flee from a war torn country to come here, as refugees. For me to remain silent when I the atrocities inflicted on innocent people, witnessing our government's indifference to the greatest injustice of our times makes me question the direction the party is taking.
Yes, Simon, I'm not sure how folleing the Taliban in Afghanistan and then criticizing Israel for defending itself against Hamas makes any sense. But what do you make of her finally pulling the pin today.
Well, I'm not sure it makes much sense either. But I also would note that the attempts at appeasement by the Albanese government in shifting Australia's position, as they have done on so many occasions since October seven, to vote in favor of ceasefire emotions, even those that don't call for the release of hostages, to vote for the recognition of the state of Palestine without what had been the bipartisan position around the need to ed all borders, rights
of return, security guarantees and other factors. All of these shifts haven't worked. From Anthony Alberansi, they haven't appeased people who just want to keep dragging the Labor Party to new and new and further More, extreme positions in relation to this, and Fatima Payment is the ultimate example of that in terms of his approach not working. It hasn't worked on the policy substance. It also hasn't worked on the internal politics of this, where he's flipped and flopped
for the last two weeks. And ultimately it wasn't Anthony Albanesi who made the decision to enforce Labor Party rules and have her expelled from the Labor Party. It was Fatima Payment who decided to walk away, which just shows the indecisiveness and weakness from the Prime Minister on these matters.
Well, it's been a huge day in camera, Simon Birmingham. Really appreciate you joining us tonight. Thank you very much for your time.
Thanks my pleasure.
Well, the White House has today denied reports that Joe Biden is consulting allies about whether to continue in the US election race. It was a rumor backed in by Biden's favorite Republican rival.
He just quit.
You know, he's quitting the US.
Is that right? Yeah?
I got And that means we have Kamala.
I think she's going to be better.
She's now.
It comes after that horrific performance from the President where he resembled a space cadets. You remember this one with the COVID.
I could be with dealing with everything we have to do with. Look if we finally beat medicare.
But the Democrats were out today still trying to pull the wall over our eyes.
I'm here to tell you today President Joe Biden is in it to win it, and all of us sudden we pledged our support to him because the States could not be higher.
Let's talk to former US studies, to Senior Stephen loosing out for more on this. Thank you so much for your times, Stephen. Look, the excuses the Democrats are coming up with for the President are just getting ridiculous. Yesterday the White House put his debate performance down to a bad day. Today was he had a bad day in a cold How much longer can they keep protecting him?
Well, what tends to happen in a situation like this, but in the United States or Australia or other democracies, is you have a shift in terms of the broader party. Your donors stop contributing. Your candidates, particularly your incumbents in marginal seats, start getting a very edgy. Finally, the powerbrokers in the party understand there's a need to act, and the Democrats are moving through those stages at the moment now.
Joe Biden has an extraordinarily loyal base, particularly around him in the White House, beginning with family and stretching out to senior staff. But the pressure will become overwhelming and the Democrats will need to look at another candidate well prior to the Democratic National Convention in Chicago in August.
Well, that's not too far away then, And there have been suggestions that Karmala Harris would be the next in line, that she would step in. Do you think that she would? And is that really a smart move?
The vice president is guaranteed the presidency if the president, of course dies or is incapacitated with the twenty fifth Amendment to the US Constitution, So clearly the vice president is under scrutiny here, and very senior figures in the party I'm thinking of Congress and James Blovern of South Carolina have made it clear I expect if there's a change of candidate, and the vice president would be foremost
in consideration. Her poles are not particularly strong. She has her critics well beyond the Democratic Party, and there are probably stronger candidates amongst governors, for example, upon whom the Democrats can draw. But it is a blessedly difficult situation in which the Democrats find themselves now, and it would be an extraordinarily difficult step to pass over a woman of color who's occupying the vice presidency and look elsewhere.
The only comparable circumstance in our lifetime, so certainly in my lifetime, has been Linda Johnson's withdrawal, completely unexpected except for his immediate family, particularly his wife, Ladybird, from the Democratic presidential contest in March of nineteen sixty eight, were announced at the end of a long statement on Vietnam. I'm paraphrasing here, but I think I've got the sense he said, I will not seek nor will I accept the nomination of my party for a further term as
your president. And that cleared the way to an extent for the Democrats to move. They moved to Hubert Humphrey, who ran a vigorous campaign, always behind, but ran Richard Nixon a reasonably tough race. So that was what happened when there was time. There's very little time now. But if Joe Biden is the candidate for the Democrats in November. I think you can see the White House returned to Donald Trump the first time since Grover Cleveland, and the
Democrats may well lose both houses of the Conference. So bose stakes.
He made a good point there about time, because the polling is not in the President's favor either. A USA Today poll shows Biden is trailing Trump, but according to a CNN poll, fifty six percent of Democratic voters say their party has a better shot at winning with a candidate other than Joe Biden. So, Stephen, you know, if these polls are indeed correct, no matter which way you look at it, Joe Biden is cooked. He's gone.
Yes, So I think the President's future is determined and he should not be the candidate for the Democratic Party in November. What happened in the debate Anica above everything else, was it a great Many Americans saw just how aged and how frail the president had become, and a lot of people were expecting another performance along the lines of the State of the Union address earlier this year, where he was fiery and feisty and answered his critics very directly.
He performed extremely well, But I'm afraid that the years have not been kind overall, and it's time for President Biden to depart and hand them on to you. Is Jack kenn expression on to someone else.
As simple as that? Absolutely, Stephen Loosely, good to speak with you. Thank you so much for joining us this evening. We're coming up Canberra's Night of Nights hijacked by senseless political activism. My panel will way in next welcome back. Well. Australia's political heavyweights and hype profile names have all gathered at the Midwinter Ball in Canberra. And what's a ball
at Parliament House without a controversial political stance on display. Well, Independent Santa Lydia Thorpe rocked up dressed in a white gown with the anti Semitic phrase from the River to the Sea plasted all over it, amid many other social commentations last night at the event. Let's bring in my panel commentator Jason Morrison, a News Corp columnist Age Lama Mollard. Hearted both of you, thank you so much for joining us.
You know, Jason, we saw the same words plasted at the front of Parliament House today, the same ones plasted on her dress. I just think it's so inappropriate to rock up to a ball like that.
What do you think You're so wrong?
She's just so on message.
I mean, she's on brand.
You know, there's this phrase and I wish I could remember who said it, but they said that, you know, politics showed biz.
For ugly people.
And there was a reminder of that last night with Senator look at me. You know, they're making sure everyone looked at her and got photographed. They're such shallow people.
And you know, in the real world, in the real.
World, outside of that big house with all those people who kind of treat these people like their rock stars.
You look at some undressed like that, you'd say, you're just a dickhead.
And I look at her and I think that, And I'd say most people think that, other than the very small percentage of people who think you go, girl, I look at that and I just think, what a pathetic attention seeker.
Yeah, I completely it is. Is it attention seeking thing to do? You know, Angela, why aren't these people just go to an event, go to a ball without making these grand political statements.
She wanted to make a statement. Obviously to me, it looked like a year nine textiles.
Project as bad.
I mean, I haven't seen you know, tweens do better job in fashion than that, although I do know it is subjective. But presumably this is an invitation from the Prime Minister. I don't know how the whole thing most but presumably it is. He hosts the evening, so he's the host. So you know that he has condemned that phrase. He has openly condemned it. He has said, you know, it is a hate speech phrase. Well he hasn't said it's hat speech. He said it's violent speech. It could
be interpreted it's hate speech. So you are just as well as ignorant.
You're rude, and you know what being in.
That position, as Jason said, you know, it is not a red carpet Hollywood event. It is politics. It is we vote for you people, So you know, just show some respects, show some respect to the people there that that message might hurt.
Absolutely, it is just so disrespectful and I feel like it treats Australians with contempt at the same time to do that now, look, Quantas shareholders are urging the board to take a hard step after executives at former chair Alan Joyce I yet to receive their lump of bonuses The comments came as the boarder waited their advice from a consulting group who has been asked by Quantas to advise if mister Joyce is worthy of a sixteen million
dollar in long term and short term bonuses. Jason, you know, Alan Joyce spent a lot of time grants standing over the last few years before he left the company. In those dived it's done so bad and now he could be lining up for sixteen million dollars. Does he deserve it?
And how amazing that you've got a shareholder's lobby the board to do the best thing for shareholders. And this a little insight into a few things the weakness of corporate Australia, the board. When you look at the Contus board, there's some of the biggest names in business and Australia who should be able to look and say what's in the best interest of shareholders and this company.
It's not rewarding the guy.
Who's history and has almost driven the joint into history. And to kind of think that you've got people now who are frustrated that there's a chance they may actually pay him this dosh. They're having to sort of put on a song and a dance to get the board to realize not everyone agrees with this.
It's a bad state.
And you know, we kind of get the companies we deserve in this country because the very small pool we draw executives out to sit on boards. And if the quotest board thinks this is a legitimate way to spend the shareholders' money, then you know it's time for some resignations.
I completely agree with you and Angela. You can see why these shareholders are up in arms.
Absolutely, And he's already got a reportedly fourteen million, so there's only.
A little bit more to go.
Look, presumably he did meet those performance indicators, otherwise he wouldn't be getting the money. But also want to ask the question, you know, on paper, I know in actuality autely.
I'm laughing because he pulled off the most amazing corporate achievement. He sold flights services that didn't exist.
I mean, that is miracle stuff, mystery flights.
Now, how much are they spending on consultants looking at whether or not they should try and hold us back from him, which then can potentially lead to a legal battle with him, which could cost anymore. So draw a line on it and I don't think short term bonuses are the thing. I think long stretched out bonuses that you might get three years after, after you've looked at what's happened, you know, behind the scenes, when someone's leaves.
Absolutely, don't make a haste decision, and you know, give the man sixteen million dollars. It's not a bad day out now. Look, there's a fresh push for a sugar tax to tackle obesity. It would be slapped on Australian's favorite fizzy drinks in a federal government bid to tackle diabetes as well. Look, I think we don't need governments to constantly decide what we can and what we can't do. Give us a tax, but we'll disguise it as we know what's best for you. But Jason, do you think we need this?
I'm an expert on sugar. We already have a tax on sugar products. It's called the GST. Yeah, because fresh food doesn't have GST, processed food does, so we have a tax. It's not designed like that, that's turned out like that. Why do we need to pay more for this? But by the way, you know, they say, oh well, look it works with cigarettes. It works with cigarettes because the pack is sixty bucks. Right, by increasing your Pepsi max or your coat fifty cents is not going to
change behavior. It's just going to take money off people. And where does the mystery tax end up? Who gets what?
I wonder? I wonder who gets that money? I wont it who it is.
I'm completely in opposition with you on this one. I believe that it's actually the beverage industry which will change, so that what's happened in the UK is that what happened was in twenty fifteen, fifty two percent of products were above the tax threshold of five grams per one hundred mils. Four years later only fifteen percent. So actually the beverage manufacturers having been hit, you know, they lose
sales because they charged more. So if you actually pull down the sugar quantity the manufacturers do, then you sell few of those products.
It's healthier all round. Yes, you're right.
It only goes up about fifteen cents on a two hundred and fifty MILI bottle, but you are encouraging better, better, you know, better health behaviors in people.
Because if you've got a big.
Bottle of coke there and you're sitting there on the soupermarket shelf and it's super super cheap.
Then that just totally normally you absolutely no I can understand. So I think if you.
Can teach the industry to think more carefully. Of course they're interested in profits, but you know your only ways to legislate it. One hundred countries are doing it, so you know it's.
Not the largest in profits, but in market share. And the market share will go to the person who has the tastiest product. And I have a body to prove it the sweetest, the sweetest product.
People, we've got to go. But you know what, we all love our sugar. Let's be honest. It's not just you, Jason, we all do. Come on, Jason Morris and Angela. I'd good to have you both on. Thank you so much for joining me. The break will cross live to the UK, where the poles are officially open ahead of the nation's
first general election since two thousand nineteen. To the UK now, where the nation has officially begun making their way to the polls, with the opposition Labour Party the heavy favorite to gain power and end fourteen years of Conservative rule. It's the first time since twenty nineteen that the nation will have their say. Since then the nation faced a pandemic, and of course now the war in Ukraine, but also the death of Queen Elizabeth and the political landscape could
not be more drastically different. For more, let's bring in an editor for Spiked Online, Tom Slater, live from London. Tom, great to have you on. Thank you so much for joining me. As I said, fourteen years of the Tories looking likely to be coming to an end, is there any chance of turning this around at the eleventh hour?
Not if the polls are even slightly accurate. I mean, we political journalists are sometimes given to being a bit over dramatic, but currently the most optimistic scenario for them is that they're going to get oou one hundred.
And fifty seats. That would be their worst.
Ever result in the modern era. Some of these polls are suggesting they could go low as sixty seventy seats, which would mean they would be in a fight for
third place with the Liberal Democrats. It's not an exaggeration, I think if with that caveat, if the polls are correct, that the Tory Party could be being shut out of power for a generation and they only really have themselves to blame if you look at not just how this campaign has gone, about how the past forteen years have gone as well, there's.
Well when did it all go wrong? Particularly now for Rishi. Sunaki called this snap election, presumably thinking that he had a chance now facing electoral wipeout. What happened? Do you think.
He had a bad hand going into it? There were twenty points behind in the polls. That hasn't really budged. I think he also had a bad inheritance. As far as the Tories had this great opportunity post Brexit to carve out this new coalition. They've got a lot of labor voters. Last time around, they were really picking up seats across the country, and I think they'd wondered that the combination of COVID and Ukraine not the stuffing out of them, but also they forgot the voters that they
were there properly to be serving. And then Richie seen that inland of himself. I mean, he's supposedly very good of a spreadsheet, is a good technocrat, but he's got all the charisma of a breeze block to be perfectly frank, and he's taken a campaign that was always going to be difficult and made it a laughing stock. He started off calling the election out in the rain for some reason. There was the D Day snub where he left those
World War Two commemorations early. It's been one thing after another, and it's really it's not an exaggeration so that it's been one of the worst run campaigns for a sitting government that certainly I can.
Remember, well looks like Kis Starmer's in the box sage. What would a Labor government mean now for Britain.
I think that's such an important question, not least because Kiirs Starmer is an incredibly slippery character. He's tried not say very much during this campaign. Historically he's often said one thing and inn staid another, depending on what he's who he's talking to. But it's very clear to me that if you're talking about reopening the question of Brexit, if you're talking about more hate speech codes, if you're talking about more Net zero's elotry, that's in the DNA
of this Labor Party. It is now very much the kind of parliamentary wing of the metropolitan elite. And I think anyone expecting Keir Starmer to be as cautious in government as he has been over this campaign may get a bit of a rude awakening in the days ahead.
Nigel Faraja's Reform Party had climbed their way up in the polls, particularly over the last month, but they've had a bit of a setback. How do you think that they will fare in the polls?
That is one of the big questions going into this. Some of the pulses at the last minute are starting to suggest that maybe the Reform vote has been slightly underestimated. They're seeing a lot of undecided beginning to break for the Reform Party. So I think the question of how high their votes shore overall it will be an interesting one. They're very unlikely to get more than one or a few seats because of just our electoral system and the fact that their vote is quite spread across the country.
It's not concentrated in constituencies necessarily. But I think they're looking at, regardless, a significant incursion into British electoral politics, and even if that doesn't materialize into many seats in Westminster, it means they will have that more populars voice in Parliament, at least in the form of Nigel Ferragencys like.
We're almost out of time. But when will the first seats be announced in the UK? Do you think it will start happening quite quickly.
Yeah, essentially from ten o'clock onwards. We've got the exit poll and then there'll be some seats in the Northeast which are always kind of rushing to the player first so they can get their moment in the spotlight. That would be very much the kind of bell weather for where things are going. But yes, they'll be rolling in pretty soon after that and throughout the night.
All right.
Well, we've actually got some live pictures on our screen of some of the polling booths there as they are getting ready for what I'm sure will be a very busy day ahead. That's live in London at the moment. Tom, thank you so much for joining us this evening. Really appreciate it. And that's all we've got time for today. Thank you for your company, but stay tuned up. Next is Paul Murray.