Live on Sky News.
This is Sharry Good Evening.
We're just to recap that breaking news out of Paris. An Australian hockey player, Tom Craig has been arrested by French police after allegedly buying cocaine at the Olympics. The Australian Olympic Committee released the statement saying they have confirmed an Australian hockey team member is in custody after being arrested in Paris on August sixth.
No charges have been laid.
The AOC is continuing to make inquiries and arranged support for the team member. So hockey player Tom Craig arrested in Paris unsuspected charges of cocaine use. Will bring you live updates as they unfold throughout the hour. Well, it's an absolutely jam packed show tonight. We have exclusive Liberal Party research that reveals voter attitudes are hardening again. He's the Prime Minister over the cost of living crisis. This as the IBA blames high government spending for stubborn inflation.
Former Treasurer Josh Fridenberg is on the show tonight with a warning about the need to confront authoritarian regimes.
And right now we're seeing authoritarian regimes on the march around the world, and the battlefields of Europe obviously Ukraine and Russia, the Middle East seeing tensions in the South China Sea, and we see tensions on the Korean Peninsula. So authoritarian regimes are on the march around the world, Yet democracies are very divided.
So my exclusive interview with Josh Fridenberger coming up in the program. Also tonight, the joy of Australia's youngest gold medal winner, whose parents now have to honor their promise to buy her a pet duck.
I said, if I did win, could I get a duck?
And she said yes.
But first tonight I can exclusively reveal secret polling which shows voters are starting to blame Anthony Albanesi personally for the state of the economy. The internal research carried out for the Liberal Party suggests Australians are now holding the Prime Minister accountable for soaring petrol prices, increasing energy bills, the high cost of groceries and crippling mortgage repayments. This
is dangerous for Albanezi. He'd been hoping inflation would start to moderate, a hope crueled by the RBA's reality check that there's no prospect of a rate cut anytime soon. Albanzi is already seen as a hypocrite for blaming former PM Scott Morrison for the first interest rate rise, while now not accepting responsibility for the thirteen sins, but his largely escaped blame for the cost of living crisis.
This new research.
I'm reporting tonight shows that vote sentiment is hardening against alban Easy over his handling of the economic crisis. Given he campaigned at the twenty twenty two election more than two years ago, now on a promise of making life more affordable, he can no longer escape responsibility for the
tough times many of you are experiencing. This comes as his government and many of the States seem intent on spending money to win over voters, spending that is now being blamed for keeping inflation and interest rates higher for longer. It puts alban Easy and the States on a collision course with the RBA after injecting an extra twenty two
billion dollars into the economy this financial year. It's one of the reasons inflation is now not expected to return to the target banned until twenty twenty six, and why the RBA even considered hiking rates.
This week.
Governor Michelle Bullock stung the Albanese government when, in part she blamed high spending for the need to keep rates higher for longer.
Make no mistake, inflation is still too high and the Board does remain concerned about the degree of excess demand in the economy. In the statement of Monetary policy, we've revised up our forecast for demand growth and that's due to stronger forecast public spending.
She also spoke about the impact of low productivity. Other senior IBA economists fronted are Senate Estimates Inquiry today to reinforce the message that government spending is partly responsible for this cost of living crisis.
Public spending is one part of demand that we track. We're looking at the latest announcements coming out from the very state budgets, from the federal budget and what we actually see coming through the data as well, how projects are progressing on some of the big infrastructure activity that's happening here in Sydney, instance, a lot of the work around the bridge and the tunneling of things. If this is big enough that we can see it coming through in the aggregate data.
And the RBA's statement on monetary policy specifically says that public demand is forecast to be stronger than previously expected, reflecting recent public spending announcements by federal and state and territory governments. We're Treasurer Jim Chalmers rejects the notion spending is fueling inflation.
Budget spending is not the primary determinant of prices in the economy, but we can be helpful, and we are being helpful with the design of our cost of living policies which help us get back to target sooner.
Despite his remarks, economists today seized on the RBA's comments to urge governments to stop spending so that rates can begin to fall. Amp Chief economist Shane Oliver told a Senate committee today that government spending was having a significant impact on inflation.
When I asked, well, whif of the forecast gone up, she specifically referred to We've got some numbers on high government spending. There's other things in there as well, but I have a feeling that if we had, say, lower growth than government spending, the Reserve Bank would either be considering cutting or much closer to cutting.
Chris Richardson is one of the only economists who's consistently argued government spending was inflationary. He told me today that extra state government spending this year amounts to around twelve billion dollars, so that from state governments, while federal government decisions have added around ten billion dollars extra into the economy. Add in the Stage three tax cuts, and Chris Richardson says, this is an extra forty six billion dollars being poured
into the economy this financial year. And he told me that this is equivalent to the best part of just under two percent of national income. He says, that's huge relative to the amount of money the irba's rate rises have taken out of the economy. He says, the Reserve Bank is taking money out of the economy and the
governments are putting money back into the economy. And Chris Richardson also argues the energy subsidies of seventy five dollars a quarter were simply delaying the pain and that inflation would rise once the subsidies end. Now, while they reduce the energy component of CPI, they are also still inflationary. And Chris Richardson said, and I quote the basic point is that families have more ability to spend than they
otherwise would have had. It's a point economist Warren Hogan made on this program the other night.
If electricity is one hundred and it goes to one hundred and ten, but the goverment gives you a subsidy and says it's only going to cost you one hundred and five. The electricity generator is still getting one hundred and ten, but the CPI says it's only going up to one hundred and five. The following year they remove the subsidy, the consumer pays one hundred and ten, and even though the electricity price hasn't changed, the CPI will measure it as an increase. So it's just a mask
in terms of inflation. So if you remove the subsdy, inflation will go up.
Now for the RBA to even publicly mention government spending, it's an indicator of the level of frustration at the Central Bank economics. Economics journalist Tom Jusifik writes that the scene is now set for an almighty tussle between the bank's board and politicians facing voters over the coming year. He says there will be harsh words, finger pointing, and
no political prisoners. Now, if this new message from the Central Bank hits home to voters the government spending is responsible for higher interest rates, then Albanezi will become a national villain. That new research I revealed at the start of the program showing voters are turning on Albanzi personally for his management of the economy, well, this will put pressure on him to act if he wants any chance of winning the next election. The path from now to
that election is full of risk for Albanesi. His political prospects are inextricably linked with our economy. All right, let's bring in now our Wednesday panel to discuss this and much more former Victorian Liberal Party president Michael Kroger and Labor legend Graham Richardson.
Great to see you both.
Michael, I want to start by asking you about this internal Liberal Party research that shows voter attitudes are hardening against Albanesi. They're starting to blame him personally for the cost of living crisis.
Look, they remember that he said he had a plan to fix Morrison's cost of living crisis, and he kept using those words cost of living crisis because that's what the strategists and advertise as the agent he told him to say, I've seen these things over the years. They said, repeat that at every opportunity, so he did. He left people with a very strong impression, Shari, that he could fix us. And then he said he had a plan to fix it, and he said he could cut electricity prices,
turn on Sidney five dollars, blah blah blah. He gave everyone, He gave everyone the impression that this was just Scott Morrison's lost control of the economy. It's all Scott Morrison's fault, and he would fix it. Now people realize this was just political chicanery, it was bulldust, it was cheap advertising, they were false promises. He never had any idea and they're blaming him for it.
Now.
They're now saying, Albo, you lie to us and that's his problem and it'll keep going until he fixes it, which he can't.
Well, rich O, there's no question the Prime Minister would have been hoping for some more positive news that inflation was moderating, but that seems a remote possibility. Now that's far off, judging by Michelle Bullock's comments yesterday. So where does this leave Albanezi politically?
I think he'd prefer it wasn't the case. But you remember it's a long time between now and the next election, and so I don't think it's time for panic, but it is certainly time that we stayed alert and you know, we're making sure that whatever we can do is being done to try and moderate this.
Look, it's been a shocking week for the Prime Minister, not just the news, although the RBA's comments that inflation isn't going to come down over the next six months, it's not going to be a rate cut over the next six months. That is absolutely disastrous. But then also on the national security front and his weak handling of these issues have come under scrutiny. Last night I brought you the exclusive remarks from AZEO Director General Mike Burgess.
He called the comments by the Iranian Ambassador to Australia disgraceful and deeply unhelpful. But the ambassador hasn't even been hauled into a minute offers. And then also this week our terror threat level raised to probable.
This is a worrying sign.
And then Labor is still not stopping millions of dollars in hard earned taxpayer funds being sent to a United Nations agency despite its staff having undeniable links with a terrorist group. I mean, Michael Kroger. Some leaders rise to meet the crises of the times, but not Albanezi.
Weakness is provocative, and Albanesi has been hopeless, hopeless on the Middle East, hopeless on Israel. The only person who's put in a worse performance than him is Penny Wong, who wouldn't even visit the Nava music festival, side wouldn't visit the Kible scene in on the on the border with Gaza when she was there in January. He seems to agree with the last person that speaks to him, and so does she. So they go to America. I
es the Americans got to do more with Americans. She meets the head of the Australian Palestinian Network and gets photographed with him. People complain about funding to UNRAS, so she increases the She restores the funding before the final report, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera, allowing two thousand people circa from Gaza to come to Australia, and now Tony Burke because he's trying to win votes amongst the Muslim
community to give them some kind of residency here. Well, I'm sorry, How many Hammas supporters are there amongst those two thousand, because seventy percent of people in Gaza who have been polled support Hamas. And how many refugees have been taken by the Jordanians? Look at the Jordanians, I mean that Jordanians. King has Saying expelled the po in nineteen seventy one. King Abdullah expelled the Hummas leadership from Jordan in nineteen ninety nine, right.
Why did they do that?
Because they took the view that the Palestinian leadership of Hummas were trying to create a state within a state. How familiar is that? And they were built by Jordan. How many refugees from Gaza have gone to Jordan or Egypt or Lebanon or Syria? Answer? None, except for those that have paid across the border into Egypt. None. None.
Why are we taking these refugees at a time when there is enough social dislocation in this country largely caused and fueled by these disgusting anti Jewish demonstrations and universities in streets and now in retail shops.
Sherry, It's an excellent point.
And actually the Australians Foreign editor Greg Sheridan was on with Peter Kredlin. Earlier Michael Krogan, he made a very similar point. He said, why fly Palestinians all the way to Australia when Arab nations are surrounding Gaza? Why aren't they going to any of the surrounding Arab nations. That's exact question, the point you made. And you know, fine, if there are genuine refugees, our heart goes out to
any families who are in trouble who need help. But the security checks, as we've shown over and over again, are not being.
Done, but being done in as little as one hour.
You can't rule out that someone, whether or not someone has terrorist associations, in as little as one hour. Actually, let's have a look at some of the other things Greg Sheridan had to say tonight.
I'm a great admirer of Mike Burgess, the head of ASIO, but I thought he said some ridiculous things this week. He said Islamophobia is more or less equal to anti Semitism. Well, that's just preposterous if he believes that he's taking some hallucinogenic in his morning coffee. He also was instructing people how to speak. I don't think that's the job of the Director General of ASIO. That's the government trying to
misuse the institutional authority of ASIO. And he did an interview with your colleague Laura Jays and he referred to Christian terrorism, but he wouldn't refer to Islamus terrorism. I think the government's gone really off the track this week, Richard, What do you.
Think about that?
Do you think that criticism of Mike Burgess from Greg Sheridan is fair?
Ah?
Sadly, I think yes. I don't think that Burgess has had his greatest week. I think some of his remarks have been out of place, and it doesn't it doesn't reflect well on him. But I think Albo still knows he's still got a good political nose. He understands where he must stand and he will stand.
Let's have a look at the Airiring coul fired power station now under Matt Kean, the former Treasurer and Energy minister. There were plans to shut it down in August next year. The new Labor Premier, Chris Mins, extended its life cycle. Will we find out today that just how much higher power prices would have been had it shut down? Fifty five dollars lower every megawatt hour.
Michael.
This advice apparently shaped Chris Mins's deal with Origin Energy to extend the life of aerering, which is obviously a very sensible decision.
Well, another good decision by Chris Mins, who is becoming a very sensible premiere in New South Wales, apart from the fact that his police force haven't yet prosecuted anyone for the riots and the anti Jewish riots at the
Opera House, but that's another issue. Look, I think what this shows is this that the Australian public, and through the polling you mentioned before, Sharry, the Australian public are coming to the view that renewables may not be cheaper and may not be as reliable, and they don't want blackouts, and they understand that you need base load power to keep the lights on.
And you know, we know that.
Hospitals need continuous electricity. Okay, they've got generators in case of blackout, but they're diesel fueled in most cases. And so this whole Chris Bowen notion that he keeps repeating this mantra of it's cheaper, it's cheaper cheaper, people are now thinking that may not be right and it's certainly not as reliable, and this is one of the great problems Albo's got. He's been trying to sell this thing to the public and the public's own right, their own experiences.
Not only haven't bills gone down to seventy five, they've gone up twenty and twenty three percent in the last year in the case of gas and electricity. It's just not becoming believable and Albow has been caught out again unfortunately for him.
Final word, rich I mean Matt Kean had failed to do the deal to extend the eraring life cycle when he was minister, but he's now the Albaneze government's top climate change authority guy.
Yeah, Samrony there. Matt Keane's a great survivor and seems to be able to sell himself to anyone. So I'm a fan. That's what politics is about. You've got to have the capacity to move when you need to and move quickly.
Well, there you go, all right, Graham Richards and Michael Kroger. Great to see you as always on a Wednesday. Now, as we've been.
Discussing at the start of the show, inflation is proving persistent and sticky. Cost of living pressures are still hurting families and there's no interest rate relief at least for the next six months. For some expert analysis, Economics editor at The Australian, Judith Sloan joins me.
Now, Judith, great to see you. Look.
I thought these comments by the RBA Governor Michelle Bullock, where she actually mentioned government spending, I thought that was extremely rare because usually we've seen the RBA refrain from giving any sort of commentary that could be critical of the federal government's decision. So does this indicate a level of frustration at the Central Bank that spending both the states in federal governments is stopping their ability to rain in inflation.
Yes, I think she's proving to be tougher than I thought she might have been. Actually, she's a country girl. She tends to call a spade a spade, and.
In fact, you know this.
Idea of the press conference after the release of the decision, this is an innovation.
I think the.
Journalists are getting better at asking questions too. But I think she's fairly forthright. But I would also alert attention for the audience to the actual release, the release in words and that was very strong. You know, in the context of the Olympics. It sort of reminds me of those races where there are sort of two often men, often in a long race, or in boxing or something, where this is this sort of word competition. So that's
kind of what's happening, you know. I mean Jim Chalmers, I think really doesn't understand it.
I think he thinks.
That he's got this licked because he's sort of introducing these, for example, energy subsidies and that will reduce headline inflation. And then the Reserve Bank, you know, that gets battered off to them and they say no, no, no, we don't take any notice of those subsidies.
And you know, bear in mind.
Shari, we're talking about inflation not coming back into target till the end of next year, and it's actually the year after that when within the middle of the target. So this is a very long time and the longer it goes on, the more costly it is.
Look, you've absolutely slaughtered the treasurer and your latest to column. But you know there are some positive points, aren't there, Judith. I mean, he has delivered two budget surpluses.
He has rained in spending to some extent.
I mean, the level of spending for a labor government what his colleagues would have wanted to spend on. He has managed to keep that relatively in check.
So do you give him credit for at least those two things.
And on the energy subsidies as we've been discussing tonight, Yep, they'll rise again when those subsidies come off, but at least for now, it does make life a bit easier for families, doesn't it.
Well, of course, I mean that's the politics of it, and I accept that.
No.
No, I think as an economic policy maker, he's been terrible. And the two surpluses that they've been able to achieve, you know, the driver's dog would have achieved those surpluses because they were essentially because of the high commodity prices and the surgeon company tax revenue, and also the fact that income tax payers we're getting hit through bracket creep.
No.
No, if you look, he kind of did a slightly okay job initially, but that was partly because the COVID sped was coming off. But if you look at this financial year and next financial year.
They're expecting big deficits.
I mean, I can't believe that he has the hide to hand down a budget, and you know, really without any sense of embarrassment, is prepared to be predicting these large deficits. So I think, I just, I mean, I guess maybe I've been an economist for too long and he is not an economist. That is that he basically, I don't think gets it. So I think he thinks that, you know, he talks about these carefully crafted costs of living measures without realizing that it's all Peter and Paul stuff.
So you might be able to reduce someone's costs of you know, electricity bills, but then that releases money for them to spend elsewhere. So you've got to worry about the level of aggregate demand. And that's really what Michelle Bullock is saying. That the federal government and the state governments are putting too.
Much into the economy.
It's a bit like having your foot on the brake and then another one on the accelerator at the same time.
Not a good idea, Yeah, yeah, And I went through that in detail in my editorial at the start of the show.
Judith, you do, though, give a big tick.
Two of our regulars on this show here, Andrew Charlton and Daniel Molino, and you say you have hopes that they might be good managers of the economy.
Yes, of course that was you know, bad Judy saying those things, I guess, but you think about it. Andrew Charlton in particular, you know he's actually run real business as he built up a fabulous business.
He's got a doctorate.
In economics, He's written a book with Joe Stiglitz, he did some incredibly interesting consulting work. I think he's a real brain and he really understands these things. And then of course Daniel Molino from Victoria. He has got a PhD in economics from Yale and in some really interesting ideas about the role of welfare and how that messures in with good economic policy. So they've got some talent there, it's just whether the factional system would allow them to use them.
Indeed.
And actually Daniel Milino's on the show a bit later tonight, so we'll hear from him. Then, Judah Slow's really good idea. Thank you so much for your time, appreciated. Now coming up after the break, Josh Fridenberg joins me to speak about the rise of authoritarianism, and he laments the strong leadership we've lost, plus the unraveling of a one billion dollar taxpayer funded grant by Labor to a US tech company.
That's all after this quick break. Welcome back. Well.
Josh Fridenberg has been awarded the twenty twenty four Monash Medal for Rotary for his significant contribution to the Australian community, both in Parliament and beyond. He follows in the footsteps of distinguished Australians who we've also been recognized with this honor. They include High Court Judge Michael Kirby, Professor Fiona Wood and America's Cup Captain John Bertrand. The award is named after one of our military giants, Sir John Monash, a
proud Jewish Australian. But you wonder how would Sir John be feeling if he were alive today about the current global environment. Well, it's a question that Friedenberg himself put to the former Governor General Peter Cosgrove in an interview for his documentary What do you.
Think Sir John Monash, is Australia's greatest general but also Australia's greatest Jewish Australian, would be feeling right now?
Well, I think Sir John would say, this is not the Australia that we fought for in the water wind All Wars. He'd be very sad that there is such an outbreak of violence in the Middle East, but here in Australia, he would be a guy.
And I spoke to Josh Fredenberg a little earlier. Josh, welcome again to the show.
Nice to be with you, Shari.
You're standing outside the Shrine of Remembrance. Australia's greatest general, Sir John Monash was the driving force behind it. You've now been recognized for your leadership and service with this medal during your parliamentary career, but also since then, what does this metal mean to you?
Well, Shari, it's a real honor, particularly at this time, as Sir John Monash is unarguably one of our greatest ever Australians and his personal qualities but also his personal contribution to secure the freedoms that we now enjoy echoes through the ages and so to be recognized with this medal at this time is particularly special.
Some of our viewers might not know the detail about Sir John Monash's legacy and the importance to Australia.
Of his contribution.
Can you tell us why his story and his legacy remained so powerful even today.
Well, Chai, it's not just his feats in war, but it was also his contributions during peacetime which were so significant. Sir John Monash was trained as an engineer and he brought those skills to the battlefield in World War One.
After Gallipoli, he then went to France and he commanded Australian American troops who went into battle for the first time together on the fourth of July nineteen eighteen in the Battle of Hamel, and they routed the opposing forces in just ninety three minutes, and it was seen as an example of modern day warfare where he was able to integrate infantry, artillery, tanks and the air force in a very superior and wealth brought out a battle plan.
Then in the Battle of Army n later on, again he played a significant role in commanding his troops to victory and that was described by General Ludendorf from the German Army as the blackest day for the German Army in World War One. And those achievements Shari were recognized when King George the Fifth actually went to Burtangles in France and knighted Sir John on the battlefield, the first time a reigning monarch had done so in some two
hundred years. And then, of course after the war he was really important in repatriating some one hundred and sixty thousand Australian troops and then played a leading role as the head of the State Electricity Commission here in Victoria,
turning Victorian to an industrial powerhouse. He was the vice chancellor of Melbourne University, he was the president for the Association of the advance of Science, and he just played a lead role across society in Australia at that time, so much so that when he died in nineteen thirty one, some three hundred thousand Australians lined the streets in Melbourne to pay their respects. That was more than a quarter of the Melbourney people who lived in Melbourne at that time.
Quite a remarkable sign of respect for quite a remarkable Australian.
He is indeed one of the great Australians.
Reflecting on his contribution.
And not just here but globally, how is his legacy still relevant around the world.
Well, so, John Monash wasn't a warmongerer. He was a brilliant mind who recognized that he needed to bring those skills to help secure the freedoms that we now enjoy. And right now we're seeing authoritarian regimes on the march around the world. Battlefields of Europe obviously Ukraine and Russia, the Middle East and the conflict between Israel and Iranian proxies. We're obviously seeing tensions in the South China Sea, and we see tensions on the Korean Peninsula. So authoritarian regimes
are on the march around the world. Yet democracies are very divided, and I think you know, the message of Monash is you know how to bring that strength to bear to bring victory on the battlefield, and as well as that, all these other contributions to the community are so significant. So it's really the values that Monash espoused which are so relevant today.
Josh, you referred to the unrest we're seeing globally. We just played a moment ago Sir Peter Cosgrove's comments from your documentary where he said he thinks Monash would be aghast at the anti semitism we're seeing today. Do you think he would be empla shocked at how the democratic world is dealing with this problem.
Well, Sharis, Sir John Monash was a proud Australian and also a proud Jew, and he never saw a conflict between his faith and his citizenship. He was a foundation president of the Zionus Federation of Australia. He sang in
the Hebrew choir at his local synagogue. And I think Sir Peter Cosgrove is absolutely right when he sees here in Australia demonstrations outside synagogues, and when he sees some of the sloganeering on our streets and the intimidation and the violence against the Australian Jewish community, he would be appalled.
And back in his day because he was such a towering figure, because he was so integral to the success of Australian and Western forces in Europe in World War One, I mean anti Semitism was not allowed effectively because there was just no credibility to it at that time. Because of Monash's example and the standing of Monash, among other things. I think today anti Semitism has to a degree been normalized even here in Australia, which is quite horrible to consider.
So he would be aghast, and I'm sure he'd be using his voice, Shari to call for reason and vicinity to prevail.
And Josh, congratulations once again and thank you for your leadership and your strong comments again tonight.
Thanks very much, Shari.
My pleasure.
Now to another topic.
Now, there have been questions raised over the Albanezy governments captain's pick when selecting si Quantum for their one billion dollar investment. Sarah Eisen reported that the US tech company si Quantum signed a non disclosure agreement with the government as part of secret discussions to build a one billion dollar quantum computer, nearly five months before expressions of interest were open to other players. New documents reveal this is just extraordinary and.
I'm joined now by the Shadow Minister for Science.
Paul Fletcher, who has been closely examining this issue.
So, Paul, I mean that reports quite amazing.
The Australian says that this is fueled speculation that the deal was underway long before the government then approached other companies about their interest in this investment.
Are you concerned that proper process wasn't followed here?
I am very concerned the proper process wasn't followed and that the expression of interest process you've just referred to, which kicked off in August twenty twenty three, in which a number of Australian companies were invited to participate, was essentially a backward engineered sham to cover up for the fact that the government and particularly Minister at Husick, already made the decision. What we know is that SI Quantum
approached the government in late twenty twenty two. We know that Minister Husick met with them at least twice, including once in Silicon Valley in January twenty twenty three. We know that work was kicked off within his department, all kinds of briefing material was provided, and we also know that this expression of interest process was then conducted later in the year. But as part of that expression of interest process, the companies that were invited to participate, there
was one email only inviting them to participate. They were told they could not have engagement with government officials. Bear in mind that PSI Quantum it had had eight months of talking to government officials up to and including the ministuff So it's a very very unfair process and those who participated in it said that it looked like it had been written so that only sy Quantum's technology could be found to meet the requirements.
I mean, there are questions anyway over why taxpayer funds are going into a company that's already backed by a massive VC firm. I mean, one VC firms get it wrong all the time. But also if the company was so successful, then why does it need government funding. Wouldn't it be able to attract capital through investment and private investors anyway?
Well, I think there are very real questions about what the government's objectives are here in putting almost a billion dollars of taxpayers money between the Comworth government and the Queenslane government into this company, which, as it happens, is an American company incorporated in the US based in Silicon Valley.
But what we also know, because it was announced about three or four weeks ago, is that as well as the almost a billion dollars Australian that is being provided to a PI Quantum, they're also getting five hundred million US from the government of the state of Illinois in a deal that was announced just recently. And under that deal,
SI Quantum will be building a computer in Chicago. So we're told they're going to build a computer in Brisbane, which apparently is going to be the world's first fault tolerant, error corrected quantum computer. But now we're told they're also going to be building one in Chicago. So the more we learn about this, the stranger it looks.
Do you think there needs to be an inquiry into this process?
Well, I've written to the Order to General to the
Australian National Ordered Office. I've laid out the facts as we know them, including the timeline and when the government first started talking to side Quantum, and the fact that Australian companies were not given a look in, and indeed Australian companies were being told there is no more money for quantum from the Albaneze government than all of a sudden, out of the blue came this announcement in April of this year of almost a billion dollars going into side Quantum.
So I think there's a lot of questions to ask. I've written to the Order to General and asked that there'd be an investigation. Under the Act, the Order of General has the power to carry out these investigations and I think that would be an appropriate step so that taxpayers could find out what's really.
Been going on.
Yeah, and I think we need the correspondence between ed Husick and his office and side Quantum as well. From when they started meeting and corresponding in late twenty twenty two.
We've been pressing for all of that through freedom of information. We've got some things, We've got some things for estimates. The government's resistingly every turn that will keep digging.
Yeah, indeed, of Fletcher, thank you very much for joining us.
Now still to come Queensland Premier Stephen Miles' latest hair brain scheme to bring down petrol prices and Chris Mins goes toe to toe with his own uncle over working from home.
All of that with my panel next.
All right, lots more to get through, so let's get straight into it with Tonight's political panel, Shadow Resource Minister Susan McDonald and Labor MP Daniel Malino Well. Channel seven Tonight revealed that China is about to buy up the Papua New Guinea power grid. This at the same time the Prime Minister is playing in the little leagues with his six hundred million dollar deal to launch a PNG NURL team. Channel seven Tonight expose that move as a farce,
with China said to be moving in aggressively. Have a look at this from the six PM News.
Blackouts are so common in Pampa, New Guinea. There's even a song about the that seven News can reveal. When it comes to the electricity network of our closest neighbor, Australia has been left in the dark. The CEO of state owned provider traveling to China open to investment, saying the Chinese are very easy to deal with, admitting he's open to Beijing filling a void left by Canberra.
All right, Look, PNG, our closest neighbor, the state owned provider actually traveling to China, and he's been critical of Australia in his comments. Daniel Malino, do you agree with Simon Birmingham that this is a failure on the part of your own government.
Well, Hi, Shari, and no, I wouldn't agree with that. Look, clearly, we have a very special real life relationship with PNG and when the PM Prime Minister James Marape spoke to the Joint Sitting earlier this year, that was a really special time and one of the most special times in
Parliament for me. I noticed that story and what I would say is we just need to take a step back that story quoted a visit by the CEO of a state owned entity that was traveling to China to explore investment options, but it was pretty vague as to what that trip was about. I think if we take a step back and look at the p andng's latest statement of their official position, my understanding is that William Juma in his last statement said that they have no
intention of selling p andng's grid. So I think we need to look at that position before we speculate on what may or may not come out of particular trips. The other thing I'd say is that Australia, with the US and New Zealand and other partners, is investing massively in Papua New Guinea and their grid and tens of thousands of connections and in the grid itself. So there's a very good relationship there and I think we just need to take care and what we look into.
Susan Penny Wang is going to be in Fiji for the Pacific Islands Forum tomorrow on her way back from the US. Is this embarrassing for her?
Well? I think it is.
I think this is another example of the Albanese government being distracted. They're happy to have photo opportunities with the Chinese, but they're not keeping an eye on what is happening to our near neighbors. When the Solomon Islands was given as an example, Label was very quick to jump on that, and yet they're not taking care of what's happening in
our own backyard. I think this is an example, as I said, of the Prime Minister and the Foreign Minister just being simply distracted and not keeping an eye on what's happening in China's influence right here. And I think we have to think very carefully about the sort of
leadership that the Prime minister's providing in this regard. Is that the sort of leadership that we want, a distracted prime minister, one who's seeing less numbers of flights over our northern borders of watching Chinese activity, or would we prefer to see Peter Dutton making the decisions in this important space.
All right, let's move on now.
The Queensland Premier Stephen Miles is defending his plan to build state part of me state owned petrol stations after it was strongly criticized by economists in the industry. Daniel, look, you were by the way you were praised.
By Judah Sloan earlier in this program.
So surely you would say that we don't need government intervention when it comes to petrol stations.
Well, look, far be it from me to provide running commentary on each policy being put forward in state elections. But I just stayed a couple of broad propositions. One is that I think, in general, if we're looking at markets and looking at how well they're functioning for consumers, look the more the merrier, the more participants, and the
harder they're fighting as to each other, the better. I think my default position would be the first place I'd like to look is that we want to reduce barriers to entry so as to make private sector entry as easy as possible. There are instances where governments sometimes intervene in markets, but I think where you do so, you have to be very clear that you look at risk to the taxpayer. I would also just make an interesting
historical observation here. This has been a market which has been of great interest to consumers, obviously, given how often they go to the petrol bowser and how important those prices are. There was an interesting example of the ACTU and an independent petrol operator joining together in the late seventies and early eighties Solo Energy, and they actually ended up selling two hundred locations of petrol stations to Ampol
in the late nineteen eighty. So I thought, there's fascinating history in this market as two different attempts to intervene for the consumer, and maybe that's a business case that the Queensland government could look at to see how.
That worked, apart from not having more market intervention and just leaving it to the private sector. Susan, the Queen's Lane government hasn't even got healthcare right. Fix that before you start getting into petrol stations.
Well, it reminds you of the class clown shouting look at me, look at me. And I think that Premier Miles, this is the greatest example of clownery that we've seen so far in this election. To see the government intervening into a market where they will be competing with small businesses that are already doing it tough, into a market where as you say, they can't run healthcare, we have youth crime out of control, there are hospital waiting lists, and yet now they think they can run a business
in a complex environment. It is truly I think We're all caught between a laugh and a gasp at just how ridiculous this proposal is. And if I can quote Jared Blay, you know what's next. Butcher the baker, the candlestick maker. This is a government that's out of ideas and this is just the latest and a very bad one.
All Right, Susan McDonald Daniel Malino, thank you both so much for joining me tonight.
Now, up next, we go to the.
US where presidential hopeful Kamala Harris has selected her running mate. Adam Crichton will join me life, Welcome back. Well, let's go live to the US now and bring in the Australian's Washington correspondent Adam Crichton.
Adam, great to see you again.
Look, let's get straight into the biggest news coming out of the US, Kamala Harris selecting Minnesota Governor Tim Woles as.
Her running mate.
How has this news been received by both the Democrat and Republican parties.
Well, certainly, I.
Think on the Republican side there's been a sign of relief because it was not the candidate that they feared most. That candidate was the governor of Pennsylvania, Joshapiro which is a state that certainly both of the parties really need to win in November to win the presidency. So Harris has gone with this guy from a very small, fairly left wing state. Tim Walls, of course, a sixty year old former teacher, a former soccer coach or football coach.
I should say he comes across well, he speaks well, but his policy record is extremely left wing. And so the question now is how is that going to play to the wider American public. It's worth pointing out too that ninety percent of Americans don't even know who he is, so he's not very famous here. I mean, of course he's going to become famous now, but I mean he's the governor of a small state with less than six
million people. He's been elected twice. So now it's you know, it's really a question of the rush to define him by Republicans.
Are you concerned that his policy positions are quite radical, are extremely left wing?
Well, look they are. I mean he's silentgislation to put tampons in boys' bathrooms, to gender reassignment surgery, much much easier for teenagers, to give illegal migrants free health care, free education, to phase out fossil fuels. His behavior during the twenty George Floyd riots was extremely questionable. I mean, in effect, let the biggest city of Minnesota, Minneapolis, burn for three days before sending in the National Guard. So there is plenty of material for Republicans to attack, and
certainly they have already started doing that. So it's just going to be a matter of whether, you know, whether it sticks or not.
There's speculation that Josh Shapiro wasn't chosen because he is Jewish, because he has been nowhere near a support of Israel as we have, but you know, relatively for the Democratic Party supportive of Israel.
This is very concerning.
And do you think it gives an indication of how Kamala Harris might differ when it comes to Middle East policy and her support for Israel from Joe Biden.
Oh yeah, Look, it's certainly concerning. I mean, we can't get inside Kamala Harris's head and really know why she did not choose him. I mean, most of the reporting is that she just liked him well, so she liked
his demeanor and she got on with him. So look, I'm gonna have to take that at face value, but certainly there's an element in the Democratic Party that is very anti Israel, and some reports suggest that that she feared protests at the convention, which you know, which starts in a couple of weeks, if she had chosen Jos Shapiro. So look, I mean, you know, I mean, I basically think the Democrat Party is overall pro Israel, but you know,
but certainly there are elements that are not. And you know, I think this recent episode has really illustrated that.
I would have to disagree with you.
The Democratic Party has not shown itself to be pro Israel at or I think, I mean, were there were eighty Democrats, weren't they who wouldn't even sit through Vedronette Ya who's addressed to Congress. I mean, that's not even listening to the Israeli leader who's been training.
I think it was just I think it's just twenty five or so. Look, but you know, point take it.
There's a signal they couldn't even sit there and listen to the Israeli Prime minister who's been single handedly fighting the war against terrorists since October seven. I mean, Joe Biden, over his career has been supportive, but you just worry that you know, he might be among the very few that have had a long commitment to Israel. You wonder how whether US would continue to send weapons to Israel
if Kamala Harris was president. I mean, you know, these are questions that we need to be able to ask Kamala Harris if she ever did an interview.
Well she hasn't.
Yeah, that's right, she hasn't.
Exactly, All right, Adam Crichton, we're out of time. Great to see you early there in Washington. Well, thank you so much for your company tonight. I'll see you tomorrow at eight. And right now, here's Paul Murray in the man Cave.