Lately.
Welcome to the late base, Thanks for joining us. I'm James Macpherson, with Liz Storer and Caleb Bond coming up. A US court asked to declare elephants to be persons deserving of human rights. But wait until you hear the reason the judge declined to grant the request. We'll get to that a bit later. Plus we'll look at what's
making news in tomorrow's papers. Anthony Albanezi releases a statement supposed to clarify his Quantus upgrade situation, but it only serves to raise more questions, and Victorians who dared to question Dan Andrews's COVID response will labeled pigheaded. Know it alls in government emails. All of that a little later, But first you would have heard successful businesses boast about
the fact they were able to do more with less. Well, you'd never accluse the ABC of being a successful business, and they've reversed that adage in their annual report, boasting they've done less than their ever done before, with more of your money than they've ever had before. Despite receiving funding of one point one billion dollars last financial year, the ABC's total audience dropped by six hundred and seventy thousand people a week on average. But it's even worse
than that. According to their annual report, they still, despite receiving one point one billion dollars of your money, have budget challenges. It goes on to say the ABC operated within its total sources of funds and revenue from government for the twenty twenty three to twenty four financial year recording get this, a minor technical operating deficit of two point two million dollars. So oh, it's the most money they've ever had, but the audience is declining and they're
losing money. And to add salt to the wound, outgoing manager Director David Anderson was paid one million dollars to oversee this abject failure.
Caleb, isn't it great the rest of us in commercial media or having to cut costs and as you say, do more with less, Because of course we want to remain on air and we want to keep bringing you news and whatever. But that's the market that we operate in, not the ABC. They get the money that the government compulsorily takes from you and then do absolutely nothing with it.
I mean, you would think that the ABC could stop for a minute and go, Okay, look, if we're having these major arrest in audiences, there must be something wrong with.
The content, right.
That's when people come to the ABC for. They want to watch things, they want to listen to things. Clearly they don't want to watch or listen what the ABC is putting out. And no wonder when you look at some of the stuff that they put out. I mean, you know, they're spending money on people putting content on social media about furries and they've got a special social media page for LGBTIQ issues like stuff that is just
not mainstream. As I've seen so many times before, and I'll say it again at the risk of repeating myself, the ABC does its best work in the regions and rural parts of Australia and that's what it ought to be focused on. There is an argument that the ABC doesn't necessarily have to be worried about how many people are consuming its.
Media as long as that media is.
Of great quality and of great.
Importance to people who can't get commercial media. Instead, what they are trying to do, and they've done in recent years, is centralized lots of stuff in the big cities, particularly Sydney and provide content to people who have access to a vast array of commercial media, which is why they're not consuming it because they can get it somewhere else.
Give content to people who can't.
Get it anywhere else.
That's what the ABC is for.
I just feel like we bash our heads up against a brick wall every time this comes up. It never changes and it will never change until someone has the guts to actually a minister, a communications minister. And we haven't seen anyone labor or liberal to say we need to seriously reform what the ABC is. They need to be an ABC for the modern age. But that doesn't mean going on TikTok, which increasingly seems to be what they do.
And you think these people would have KPIs we the taxpayer fund them. What other business do you know that can return less than ten percent of their operating costs in terms of revenue less than ten percent and.
Get budgeted more money for next year? You heard me right?
So they've never had more money than they do now. Things are going very poorly. So what does our government do up.
Their budget next year?
They've got one point one nine to six instead of one point one three seven billion to play with. This is not a problem that throwing money at it will make it disappear.
And what a year it's been for the ABC.
Remember in June they had their bullying and and Sexual Harassment survey, which found twenty five percent of their employees were like I've been bullied, thirteen percent of them said that they had experienced sexually sexual harassment. Then in October they had their survey regarding racism. Only one called employee cultural and lingually diversified employees. Only one of them said I haven't experienced racism here at the ABC. And now we get to have a look at their numbers and
it's an absolute abomination. And like you say, Caleb, is anyone at the ABC going maybe it's our content, because that's the only way you get views on TV, that's the only way you get people tuning into your radio stations, that's the only way you get readers online clicking on your content. Until they address that issue, this is just going to continue to slide. We've talked about the phenomena of podcasters and others.
Again that's available in the regions.
People are going elsewhere for readily available content. ABC can't keep up with those kind of outputs anymore.
And of course if you listen to those at the ABC, the issue is not content, it's funding. They just need more. How much money would it take to fix the ABC? The answer just a little bit more.
It's like the education Union, right, Like, the reason the education system is broken is because we don't have enough money. Well, we've been just throwing more and more and more and more and more and more money at it for twenty years and the results get worse.
We've proving that theory for a very long time. Now.
It's like that Simpsons meme, and it's like, you know, is it the kids that's the problem? No?
No, are we the problem?
Know the kids of the problem? Seriously, get your act in order.
Speaking of spending a lot of money and not having a lot to show for it, why don't we talk about the great state of Victorian Now, Victoria, as we know, has the largest debt of any in the country. In fact, when compared to comparable jurisdictions around the world, it is one of the most indebted places in the world for its population size. I mean, seriously, one hundred and eighty
eight billion dollars in net debt. They are currently projected to reach in twenty twenty six twenty seven financial year, but of course they'll have a budget review in December and it is strongly tipped that that will increase even further. Here was the Opposition leader, John Persuito on all of this.
Today, we have the highest debt in the nation, we have the highest taxes in the nation, and what's worse, we have no transparency in the way Victorian's money is being spent in various types of programs, whether it's blowouts on major projects, whether it's the debarkle of the Commonwealth Games which were overseen by Premier de ciner Allen, or
it's the misuse of contingency funds and treasurers advances. We're going to restore transparency, accountability and responsibility to the way Victoria's finances are reported.
Now.
What he is describing there, lo and behold is actually a good idea.
I can't believe that no one else has suggested this before. Less so can I believe that it's come out of the mouth of John Pursuto, one of the most ineffective liberal leaders in the country. But he has actually had a good idea, which is that there should be a website where the taxpayers of Victoria can go online and
monitor how public money is being spent in real time. Yes, you would be able to go online and see exactly how many dollars are being spent by the government every day and what they are.
Being spent on.
What a revolutionary idea that we, the taxpayers who can pulsorily give our money to the government to spend it, would actually be able to see where they're spending it. When I read this today, I honestly was like, how has no one thought to do this before?
This is the least impressive idea I have ever heard. Victoria, as you said, have got a net debt of one hundred and eighty eight billion dollars. For John Persudo, he's going to produce an app. That's right, you can go online and you can watch the decline of your state live on the internet. This is fantastic, and to be fair, Labor would have done this that we're just trying to figure out a way to tax people who went online
to watch the decline. If you're going to fix the problem, then come up with some policies to cut spending, which is going to mean some very hard decisions and I defy anyone to convince me that John Pasudo has got the kahunas to make hard decisions on the finances. But we're going to get a website and you can go and you can log on and you can check out.
Oh no, no, they're not going to get a website.
I mean, being the opposition leader a the liberal opposition leader in Victoria is like being in IKEA.
You are never getting out of there. Okay.
So this is a great idea coming from an opposition leader who knows he will never be premier and therefore never have people tuning in too, said app to criticize he's government blowouts and all the spending and government waste that goes on with our hard earned taxpayer dollars.
So this is a it sounds like a great idea.
And to be fair, let's have a golf clap for John Pursudo for finally making a headline that isn't pertaining to him, throwing out a sitting m theme or deeming out of his party just for attending a pro women's rally on the steps of Parliament that was gate crashed by some whack job neo nazis that she had no knowledge of or anything to do with ever in her entire life. So thanks to finally making your headline that wasn't about your atrocious treatment of that woman, John Persudo.
So in that case, golf clap. But otherwise this is never going to happen. Labor's not going to put it up. The limbs don't have the numbers to get it up.
He's saying, if.
A labor no longer rules in Victoria, the website doesn't fix the debt. The website about me. This reminds me of Grocery Watch. Like you know, the government now still have a website you can check grocery prices. It didn't change grocery prices, It just made you realize you couldn't afford.
He has also proposed that they should bring back a debt limit in Victoria, which yes, I agree with that, and have it intergenerational report, which is of course what the Howard and Costello government did at a federal level many years ago, and went, hang on a minute, we have a problem in terms of debt now and what that means for people in the future.
I think his aims are noble, but we shouldn't.
Discount the possibility of Alan not being premier forever.
I hope she's not premier forever.
But some of the recent polling has shown there is a chance that the Libs could win an election in Victoria and I'm just glad to see him actually talking about something sense.
What about this?
What about an app where you can go online and see which Liberal MP is suing which other Liberal MP for defamation?
You could do that on our taxpayer dollar.
By the way, we're the one who's as well as all the inquiries and all the reviews that they have that they do absolutely nothing about but want to be seen to do something. One oh one politics is the less you intend to do about something, the more you've got to be seen talking about it and caring about it, so you can fool the masses into thinking you are or might do something about it. But the day Dan Andrews was re elected in Victoria was the day we all knew we will die before we see a liberal
government in that state. You can quote me to South Australia now, where despite last year South Australia's top cop, the Police Commissioner Grant Stevens, being given a one hundred and one thousand dollar pay rise, it turns out the state doesn't have the money to equip everyday policemen with the essentials. They have started buying their own dash cams in their police cars in order to feel safer, to record what's going on around them as.
They're doing the rounds.
A quote from an anonymous police officer, always got to be anonymous.
Can't be caught out blowing.
The whistle on your own employer when it's the state. He says, a lot of officers are buying their own dash cams. They're spending their own money on equipment. It makes them feel safer. We notice a massive improvement in people's attitudes when they know they're being recorded. Opposition police spokesman Jack Battie spoke to this issue today. He said Labour's Police Minister Dan Kreagan seemingly expects top cops to pop into JBI Fi in their spare time and buy
their own dash cams for our police vehicles. Dash Cams are a simple safety measure for police. We must do everything to protect those that protect us. Interestingly, also the South Australian Police Minister said, well, there's issues around using this kind of technology in police vehicles due to data storage and security issues and the legalities around that, Well,
get through in charge of the law, buddy you. So if there's issues around that and that's why you're not adequately arming the police to do their jobs in a good way, look.
No further than in the mirror. This is one of.
Those stories we're constantly talking about, why on earth would you sign up to the police force.
As far as I.
Know, every single state is crying out for more police officers. The pay is not good, you don't get treated well, you're working way more hours than.
You're usually rosted on.
If their reports can be believed, and I certainly believe them, and now we learn simple things like this, a piece of equipment that a lot of everyday citizens have to feel safer in their own cars, our own police officers don't.
Hang on this argument about we don't know about the legalities and the issues with privacy with collecting the footage.
The police officers already have, but body.
Can backlist right which they can activate at any time. So if it's okay for the police to collect body cam footage, why would it not be okay for them to collect dashcam footage.
I think the difference is bodycam is obviously utilized in even if they do breathalyzers.
I was breathalyzed recently.
They've got their body cams on because it's a one on one interaction. So if you're going to swear at them or assault them in any way, it's captured on a body cam. A dash cam is different because it's constantly recording despite nobody doing anything.
But people are innocently.
Getting around in their everyday lives in their cars being recorded.
But most South Wales and taxis have yeah, and a lot of dash cams have got a button on the side a bit like the body cam footage where you can press it and it will automatically take like the last twenty seconds of footage and then record like it doesn't keep every bit of footage it ever takes otherwise that had just run out of room to do it.
I don't know how that's an argument at all. I mean, you go to JBBI.
Naturally he needs to define defense.
You go to jb High fight as these coppers seem to be.
You get a dash cam for about one hundred bucks, right, and you said that the police commission of grund Stevens was given one hundred grand in a pay rise. Let's say they've got a thousand odd police cars in South Australia. I don't know what the exact number is. I know a few years ago they rolled out like a tablet iPad system in police cars and they fitted that to
about six hundred and eighty police cars. And I'm assuming that's not the entire So let's say they've got a thousand police cars one hundred dollars a pop.
That's one hundred.
Grand, which is the same as the pay rise, and they can have every police vehicle in the state with a dash cam in it, like as if the government, the state government doesn't.
Have one hundred grand blowing around, that's chump change.
They'd blow one hundred and grand in five seconds flat if they were given the opportunity. It is such a basic thing. And the other argument they've run is well they've already got the body cams.
Well, I mean, a body cam's not.
Much use if you want to get footage of someone going one hundred kilometers an hour through a fifty zone on the street, right, Because often what they come into trouble is they go off to court. Someone's elected to be prosecuted in court and then the cops are asked for the evidence and they're like, well, we don't actually have the physical evidence because there's no way to film it, right, so there is your opportunity to film it.
Oh we couldn't possibly do.
I just don't get how there is any argument to not have a DASH Canada Police.
The only thing this does is it answers the question why are so many police resigning. Resignations are up fifty five percent in the South Australian Police Force in the last twelve months, which is why they're going to you know, the UK, New Zealand and Ireland to try to find
people who want to work as a police officer. I'm not sure how successful that will be when they tell applicants that once you get a job in the South Australian Police you will need to go down to jbhi Fi and by yourself a DASH camp so that you can feel safe and protected staying in South Australia. The Federal Parliament has just passed legislation to permit a nuclear waste facility being established in Port Adelaide. That's in connection
with the submarines that will operate out of there. The irony, of course is it's only a few months since the government decided not to pursue, having spent seven years prepping it. A nuclear waste facility in kimber in Regional South Australia. So you can't have a nuclear waste facility out in the boondocks now, No, we're going to put it right
in the middle of suburbia in Adelaide instead. Richard Miles, speaking about the facility he's a defense minister, said submarine construction, test and commissioning activities planned for Osborne that's in Port Adelaide will generate small amounts of low level radioactive waste, including personal protective equipment. This low level radioactive waste will need to be managed and temporarily stored in a licensed facility.
No immediate level waste or intermediate level waste or high level radioactive waste will be managed or stored in the facility. That's Richard Males, spokesperson speaking now this it's been a local petition of four thousand people complaining about this, saying we were promised submarine jobs, not nuclear waste. But I mean they're missing the point, aren't they, Liz That Hospitals, Universities, Lucas Heights reactor. Nuclear waste at the low level is
stored in multiple places. Sterling in Wa has just been approved to store low level nuclear waste. But the point that I started with is the most ironic part of this. Just in August, the government said no, no, we can't have a nuclear waste facility out in sort of the regions of South Australia because an indigenous group, of course opposed it and said we will not have this, And so
now you've got it right in the middle of suburbia. Ironically, a lot of the indigenous people who opposed the Kimbert nuclear facility actually live in suburban Adelaide.
This is Backfvies spectacularly. But in terms of awareness, I don't think enough has been done to educate populations just how safe this is nowadays. I mean, we're still haunted about massive nuclear reactors that went off sixty odd years ago, and nuclear waste is always depicted in movies as being highly toxic, and it's usually some Russian spy jabbing someone with the tip of an umbrella or something, et cetera, and so on. Not enough is done to explain to them just how safe this is.
In the twenty first century.
When is the last time you heard about a nuclear waste dump having any kind of leak or being compromised.
There was an episode of The Simpsons I saw.
Which is which is where most Australians get.
Their Labor Party.
Yeah, with the eyes the fishes with the ten eyes and that kind of thing. And obviously the Labor Party hasn't helped either. They've really stoked that fear mongering because of course that is a very strong bastion of the Liberals campaigning for federal government talking up nuclear the benefits that will bring to the nation, and all late has been able to do in order to push back, and that is this really old.
School fear mongering.
The truth of the matter is anyone who's done any homework on nuclear.
Waste, how it's stored, how.
It's reduced, how it's disposed of here in the twenty first century, would have absolutely no concerns.
I wouldn't have any concerns.
If it was literally next door, because I've done my due diligence and that's where we're at nowadays. So even though for peace of mind, people would rather consider oh, well out in Kimber's that's away from ever it genuinely makes no difference.
It makes no difference whatsoever.
But I have a suggestion for a place where all nuclear waste in Australia should go. And I think if we took a poll, the nation would be on board camera camera. It is the where all nuclear waste belongs naturally or.
In the first class cabin of a quantity flight person that the Prime Minister has gained a free before. I mean, I've written before that anyone who opposes a nuclear waste dump being built in Australia should refuse all nuclear medicine, don't go for any X rays. Where do you think this waste comes from? Right, Like, we're not just creating it for giggles. It is from primarily medical procedures like X rays, And of course it will be generated in
the building of nuclear submarines. Now those nuclear submarines, we're only talking about the waste that will be generated in the production of the submarines. At this point, when we actually commission them and have them floating around in the water, they will generate high level nuclear waste which will have to go and we don't have an answer for that
at all yet. But I just reckon anyone who lives in Port Adelaide, who opposed a nuclear waste dump being built in kimber in a totally geologically stable place that the locals all supported. That was far away from most of the locals. Now they've got it in their backyard and they got exactly what they deserve for opposing it in the first place.
What did you think was.
Going to happen?
And by the way, even though.
The federal government says that they will only have low level waste at this particular dump, the legislation that they have passed to allow the dump does not specify what level of waste can be put there.
True for all purposes, they.
Could put high level waste there one day watch this space, let's go.
But as I said, that would still be absolutely perfect. Quote Liz Storer, you can take my word?
Can I just say, Liz store has had a massive week on the late debate. You have said you would like to be removed from the electoral role on account of being a woman, and you'd like to live next door to a nuclear waste facility.
I said what I said, I stand by.
Unfortunately, unfortunately for Liz, she rents if she actually owned property at the moment, she could just elect to have her property turned into a nuclear Waiste jump and make shd loads of money.
I'll dig a basement and be like exactly, and we'd never see her on the Late Debate again because you'd have squillions and squillions and squillions of dollars do whatever the hell she wanted. Lit Hey da, if it means getting nuclear up and running in Australia, they can have my space for free.
Let's go to the US now where you saw the other day, Donald Trump, of course did an interview with Joe Rogan on his podcast, The Joe Rogan Experience, which is one of the biggest podcasts in the world.
And so the question has rightfully.
Been asked, when is Kamala Harris going to do in appearance And it has nothing to do with the fact that Joe Rogan doesn't want her there. He has invited her to appear on the podcast, but she and her team have set down some ground rules about how it would operate. Now, keep in mind that Donald Trump went to Rogan's studio in Texas.
He was interviewed for three.
Hours, which is generally how long Rogan's podcast go for Nah not good enough for Kamala Harris, she must maintain control. Rogan said, for the record, the Harris campaign has not passed on doing the podcast. They offered a date for Tuesday, but I would have had to travel to her. I only wanted to do an hour. I strongly feel the best way to do it is in the studio in Austin. My sincere wish is to just have a nice conversation and get to know her as a human being. I
really hope we can make it happen. He's tried to make it happen. He's made the offer and they've said no, it will only happen on her conditions.
Well, why was it that Trump.
Was unafraid to go to his studio, his territory and sit down and talk for three hours, but Kamala Harris won't.
Hmm.
I wonder why.
Maybe because she couldn't fill in three hours of interview, Particularly knowing the way that Joe Rogan conducts his interviews. He doesn't go in there and let anyone get away with anything. It's a very conversational style of interview, right, and even more so than a formal, sit down, hard
hitting interview. I think that is a space in which she would really struggle unless she's on friendly Tearror like that Call Her Daddy podcast that she did, because when you're asked to genuinely be you and you try to sell policies that you don't necessarily agree with, people see through it right away.
She knows the danger.
That there would be in going and doing.
That podcast because she couldn't sit there for three hours and talk you know, about all and sundry like Donald Trump could, because she doesn't have a clue about all of it.
And that's the problem. It's less of an interview and more of a conversation. And most politicians are really good with talking points. Well, Kamala Harris is a talking point machine. That's all she does. I was raised in a middle class family, and a three hour conversation is going to expose her because while Trump can explain himself, Kamala Harris is completely unable to explain herself. But the other interesting part about this, Liz, is that Kamala Harris really needs
Joe Rogan right now. Ah, But Joe Rogan does not need her at all. Joe Rogan's podcast will continue successfully well after November, but Kamala harris may not, which is probably why politicians right around the world are so desperate to regulate online podcasts, blogs, social media because they no longer control the narrative. And Joe Rogan says, will you talk to me for three hours or you won't talk to me at all? And he's calling the shots, and Joe Rogan is like a what was he a school
dropout who ended up imitating on UFC? He's dictating terms to the US Vice president Democrat candidate.
To be clear, Joe Rogan has the most listened to podcast in the world. He gets millions and millions of people tuning in every single week for the most fascinating conversations. Like Caleb said, most of them are three hours long, so it's a long form conversation with some of the most famous.
People on the planet.
And Kamala could have really done with this, but her team knows better. When you have someone like Trump and jd Van see, their campaign is very smart. Trump and Jdevans have gone on a podcast spree. This is not the first podcast Trump has done. Certainly the most famous Jade Vance last week when on a podcast with theovon who is the most hilarious comedian? He's very sacrilegious, and so most of the time they just spent it laughing
their heads off. But the amount of people who watch that on the Theovon podcast instead of Jdevans, I can't believe I was ever told by the mainstream media.
That this guy was a weirdo. He's hilarious.
He's just sitting around with Theovon talking for ages about releasing the Epstein client list and all these really interesting things. Kamala's team knows that she can't do this because how many times have we seen her, even in short form interviews on mainstream media like CNN, refer people to her website When she is asked about her policy, she'll be like, oh, I've got over eighty pages.
On my website.
I know I'm referring you to a website, but that's what you got to do. No, it's not because if you stand on principle and you have convictions about anything, and you haven't changed half of your policies, if not more, in order to run for president, you know exactly what you're going to say about any given topic. That's how they've been shown up once again.
Trump and JD.
Evans have been dancing through these podcasts having a whale of a time. Millions of people, not just Americans, people around the world have watched these and gone, these.
Guys are lads. I really like them.
They can really hold their own. The Kamala campaign has done the only thing that they could do in this situation, which is decline, by setting parameters that the new Rogan could never agree to.
And it's.
Oh, I've lost my train of thought. There, you've done me over, Liz. I was going to say something, but I not remembering what I was going to say. I'll give you a funny line that I'm sure I've used before that the only convictions Kamala Harris has are the ones.
She achieved as a prosecutor.
Speaking of going.
Back to Kamala Harris, she went today to give a speech at the same location where Donald Trump gave his last speech before the capital was stormed on January sixteen, twenty twenty one. And of course, you know they try to say it was the insurrection it setha Now. She started off by saying, look, what we really need in America right now is to do away with the division.
America. For too long, we have been consumed with too much division, chaos, and mutual distrust. And it can be easy then to forget a simple truth. It doesn't have to be this way. It doesn't have to be this way. It is time to stop pointing figures. We have to stop pointing fingers and start locking arms. It is time to turn the page on the drama and the conflict, the fear and division.
The conflict, the fear of the division, it all has to go out of the window, which is why in the next breath she brought up the fake insurrection again.
We know who Donald Trump is.
He is the person who stood at this very spot nearly four years ago and sent an armed mob to the United States Capital to overturn the will of the people in a free and fair election.
I mean, please, you cannot in the first instance. So we had to do away with the division and the fear and then say that Trump sent an armed mob to the Capitol even though he had plead with people to be peaceful. She is flat out lying and like much as we'll get to Waltz and all this stuff about the Trump being a Nazi in a minute, but they try to sell themselves. We can't have the division anymore. We've got a unite We've got to bring America back.
But then they go straight to the grab bag. Trump is hitler, Trump tried to stage an insurrection, He's a fascist, he's a threat to democracy. I mean, that's a great version of just not having the division, isn't it.
I mean it's just shameless. You know, We've got to stop pointing the finger. And then she went on to use terms like Trump is a petty tyrant, he's a want to be dictator, he's obsessed with revenge. I'll go to the White House with a to do list, He'll go to the White House with a to get you list. It's just absolutely shameless, and they don't even pretend or apologize.
But that's all they've got.
And I tell you who hasn't gotten Kamala Harris's new memo about oh, we're going to clamp.
Down on the divisive stuff.
Now we are the UNITEDS and we are bringing thee together and that's our message to the American people. Her VP running mate Tim Waltz does not seem to have gotten this change of heart memo from the Harris Biden administration, because here he is earlier this week, same old stick, comparing Trump's Madison Garden rally, which was ginormous in New York, once again comparing it to a Hitler rally because he once had a rally in Madison Square Gardens too.
Donald Trump has descended into madness over the last few weeks. And I think some of you don't miss on this. Go do your google on this. Donald Trump's got this big rally going at Madison Square Garden. There's a direct parallel to a big rally that happened in the mid nineteen thirties at Madison Square Garden. And don't think that he doesn't know for one second exactly what they're doing there.
Speaking of descending into madness, this is what the.
Dems have come to.
It's like, oh, do you drink water? You know who else strength water?
Hitler? That is how desperate they are.
That is how grasping at straws this campaign has become. Now after the Madison Square Garden rally, Tim Waltz was asked again, do you still back that up? Now that the rally is done and dusted, Nothing bad happened. Plenty of Jews were in attendance, people of all kinds of shapes and colors and nationalities that certainly would not have attended a Nazi rally.
Were there?
It was a packed house at this rally. Do you want to maybe reconsider your comments?
You stand by the comparison, though, to a Nazi rally.
Look the rally. You saw it for yourself. I'll let the American public make the decision of what they saw. What about you, though, So I know what I saw, and I'll just leave it at that.
I know what I saw, and it was obviously a Nazi rally, like I said.
It would be.
So Hitler wasn't actually at this rally all those many years ago, but there was a Nazi rally that place at.
Madison Square Gardens.
And that is how these guys are running with this nonsense. Well it's a copy paste scenario. I mean, you've seen it there for yourself. Couldn't back it up with a single example of how this might have had anything to do with or resemble in any way said Nazi rally. He just says, well, I know what I saw, and I'm sure people watching saw it too, and we're supposed to know what he's referring tonight.
I ask you, James, you're a big fan of Billy Joel. Yeah, Billy Joel has performed at Madison Square Garden, has he not?
Which really worries me. Was that a Nazi rally? I've seen the New York Knicks play at Madison Square Gardens the Nazi rally.
They drink water because Hitler drank water.
But I mean, speak of people not getting the memoy. It gets even worse, right as if whilst talking about this being a Nazi party at Madison Square Garden, then Joe Biden ups the ante even further and literally calls half the country garbage.
Puerto Rico, where I'm in my home state of Delaware for good, decent, honorable people.
The only garbage I see floating down there is just orders.
Now.
Of course, Donald Trump had a brilliant retort to that.
Remember Hillary, she said deplorable and then she said irredeemable. Right, but she said deplorable. That didn't work out. Garbage, I think is worse, right. But he doesn't know. You have to please forgive him, Please forgive him, for he not knoweth what he said these people. It's terrible, terrible, terrible to say a thing like that. But he really doesn't know, he really honestly, he doesn't. And I'm convinced that he likes me more than he likes Kamala.
Donald Trump being very gracious there, Joe Biden ends fifty years in public life by describing half the country as garbage. We're going to go to a break. When we come back, we'll look at what's making us tomorrow, Including Anthony Albaneze. He tries to explain those count to upgrades. His explanation only serves to raise more questions. That's coming up in just a moment. Welcome back. Well, let's look at what's
making news tomorrow. Caleb and Liz Anthony Albanese's quantus relationship has been used for a few days, and it's going to be news again tomorrow.
It is so easy to put these things to bead. Just say sorry, own the mistake, instead of waiting five days to give a carefully worded response that answers nothing but no. That's what his team has decided to go with. The splash reads no call to Joyce seeking upgrade Pim's carefully worded defense or should we say lack They're off.
Anthony Albanezi has ruled out ever having called Alan Joyce to seek a flight upgrade in a carefully worded statement, issued five days after the Prime Minister was embroiled in controversy over whether he used his relationship with the former Quantus chief executive for personal gain and made decisions in government that benefited the airline.
It's ruled out I never called him.
Doesn't mean you didn't text him, doesn't mean you didn't email him, doesn't mean you didn't send a carrier pigeon or get one of your staff to call one of his staff. I mean, it really clarifies absolutely nothing.
But it's not a matter of who he called.
It's a matter of whether he called anyone at all.
Right, we're not talking although actually I was going to say we're not talking about with or not he received freebies, because Paul outlined at the beginning of his program tonight how even if he had accepted unsolicited freebies when he was Transport Minister, that could be a breach of the ministerial coast. Yes, but a lot of this has centered around whether or not he solicited freebes from Quantus. It doesn't matter whether he spoke to Alan Joyce or anyone
else at Quantas. And you will note he has not denied ever soliciting a freebie from Quantus. All he has denied is calling Alan Joe to get a freebie from Quantus. He could have put out a statement and say I have never contacted anyone from Quantus to ask for an upgrade. It's all he had to say, I've never done it. It would put it to bed. I mean, of course then we'd want the receipts and.
That he has his staff anyone that that would.
Put it to bed. So why has he not said that? Is the first question.
And I think the other thing as well that we haven't talked about as much, but I think is really important in all of this is it's one thing for politicians to receive or solicit freebies, but it is this particular industry, the airline industry, over which the federal government has so much control, and as a result of that control, can decide, in effect, how much you and I pay
for flights. And what we're talking about here is a transport minister allegedly soliciting cheaper flights than he would otherwise pay for, while also then making decisions that can affect how much you and I pay for a flight. That's the problem here, made It's got nothing to do with whether you've got a free be out of quantas. We know lots of politicians have had a free be out of quantas. It's whether you asked for it while you had control over that market.
It affects us. It's not just about whether.
You've got a couple of free drinks in the air.
It actually affects you and me because we pay certain prices for flights based on how many operators there are in the market and who decides is in the market.
The Transport Minister that.
The other contrast that was really interesting today was so you've got Anthoni Albanzi saying I never called Allan Joyce, which is too clever by half. And then you've got former Prime Minister Tony Abbott saying I declined the offer of an upgrade, saying you know what, I'm not going to receive that because it would be inappropriate. That's what Anthony Albaneze should have done in the first place, if it was offered. Of course, the suggestion is he solicited.
But for this to have gone on for five days ah, And now finally a statement has been put out and the statement is clearly very very careful, using limited and very specific language so as not to get themselves into trouble. But of course it's just created more trouble now and it's on the front page of The Australian tomorrow and I suspect this will not be the final front page article on this topic.
Well that's what you're doing by not putting it to bed. Where is this guy's PR team?
Just kill it?
Just kill it.
There's no other way to do it, but accept responsibility for what clearly went on to.
The second splash on the front of.
The ODDS pig headed know it Alls, adding insult to illness. Victorian's concerned about COVID nineteen lockdowns were branded pig headed know it Alls in a mystery email the Allen government has been ordered to release after losing an eighteen month fight to keep it secret.
Well, I mean.
Like the report out of Victoria hasn't been damning enough and like we didn't know it would be.
We now find out there was name calling involved. Why fit in.
An eighteen month fight as well to get emails that pertained to these decisions which affected thousands and thousands millions of Victorians And now we get to read one and your name calling people for railing against the longest lockdown in the world. That's what these people really think of.
You don't forget that.
Can I just say we were called a lot worse by various state police ministers, state premiers, and state health chief officials. But that the hilarious part of this story is for eighteen months they fought to keep this email secret because they thought it would be contrary to the public interest to I love that line, So it would hurt our feelings too much if we read that they were calling us pigheaded.
No at all.
And it's also.
Worth noting that these emails were between the state government and a research firm that they were going to to obviously ask about public sentiment about what the government was doing, because as we know, so many of these decisions during COVID were not about health.
They were political.
Decisions, and in those dealings, well, you were pig headed. No it alls, that's exactly what Daniel Andrews and his government thought of you. Let's go to the Cam's post now, where there's another equally ridiculous story, Marathon deformation battle. This thing went on for about five years. Eanes's defendants ordered to pay five hundred k Jibber Jabber bust great headline.
A lengthy defamation battle over a cartoon depicting an LGAQ boss that's the Local Government Association of Queensland as Jabba the Hut and associated posts has ended with a court ordering the payment of more than five hundred thousand dollars in damages. Now we're talking about a former MP in Queensland who is now a counselor, who put up a cartoon on line depicting this boss from the LGAQ as Jabba the Hut and basically suggesting that he had been
involved in some sort of corrupt conduct. He then went on to post thirty other posts in which the bloke was not named, but the court has ruled there was an obvious connection between those posts and the Jabba the Hut cartoon. Now, for heaven's sake, I understand that the LGAQ boss might be aggrieved that an XMP, now a counselor, put something on social media depicting him as Jabba the Hat that suggested he might have done something corrupt? Is
that worth five hundred thousand dollars? I suspect not. And I tell you what if I were the boss of the LGAQ, I would be really upset. As we were talking about earlier James that the judge in this case actually found that when the boss rocked up to court there were obvious physical similarity.
Between him and jab of the Hut.
I'm not sure. I think we might have an image of Jabba the Hut for viewers who aren't familiar with what we're talking about. He's a Star Wars character associated with corruption. That was the premise for the defamation thing. My favorite part about this story is that one of the defendants who's now been ordered to pay up right is a former Greens MP, Rod Pine. He was interviewed in the Cans Posts, so he's been ordered to pay
money right. This is what he says. He said he could not afford to pay the damages because he was a socialist quote and not really into the accumulation of wealth to be honest.
Good.
All I know is any cartoonists out there, I need you to draw me as a depiction of Jabba the Hut.
I would love half a lazy million dollars.
I mean, someone, please just paint me, draw me however you like, in a really, really unflattering light.
I beg you.
Where to go to a break, will we come back a US court us to rule theph are people. That's coming up at a moment.
About jebb the Heart.
Welcome back. Well, the animal rights group in the US wants to free five elephants from a Colorado zoo. So they've gone to the Supreme Court arguing that the court should rule these elephants are persons deserving of human rights. They say that if the elephants you can see them there, have human rights, then they deserve emancipation as slaves would
be emancipated, or as women in abuse of marriages. Now, what's funny about this story is that the US Supreme Court Justice Melissa Hart, orso the Colorado Supreme Court Justice Melissa Hart, she has declined to rule that these elephants are persons. But this is her reason. She said, if I ruled that these elephants of persons deserving of freedom, what does that mean for the cats and dogs of America? They'll all be demanding to be emancipated.
Right across want to be emancipated from the people of Springfield, Ohio. All I can say for the people who've run this case is that they are a bunch of dumbos.
Well, trust me, I've got a master's degree in human rights and there were people in my classes who would have absolutely agreed with this case and said that the elephant should be released. Well, the British artesianal cheese community are reeling after what they are calling the Great Cheese Heist of twenty twenty four. Get this, Some crims have broken into a major cheese distributor and stolen thousands of
pounds of posh cheddar. Here's famous cook Jamie Oliver, known to everyone man who needs no introduction, just.
Being like, well, hang in a minute, what are your flogs going to do with that much cheese?
One of the best cheddar cheese in the world has been stolen. Twenty two tonsworth has been stolen from some I don't know robbers that basically pretended to be a French super market and basically done Niel's Yard dairy over. I mean, I don't know what they're going to do with it, really, I mean, are they going to like unpeel it with the cloth and then cut it, cut the skins off and grate it and get rid of it. In the fast food industry, in the commercial industry, I
don't know. I mean, it seems like a really weird thing to Nick.
That's a lot of cheese. Do you know a lot of cheese lovers that you're going to? Howk it on Facebook? Marketplace? What's the game here?
Well, don't look in my garage for the next few days, would be my advice.
I could get through that much cheese.
Like, if I thought I could pull that crime off, I reckon I would do it, and I would have no trouble getting through that amount of cheese.
Well, on that note, that's it from us, but don't go anywhere. Coming up in just a moment is the Rina pinnaheesho. Stay tuned.