Welcome to the Late Debates.
Good evening and welcome to the Late Debate. I'm Caroline Marcus, joined tonight by Sky News contributors Kel.
Richards and James Boltz.
Let's start now tonight with yet another shocking attack on Sydney's Jewish community. After a car in Queen's Park in the city's east was found spray painted this morning with the words f the Jews, residents and the heavily Jewish suburb were left shaken.
Do you mind if I ask you why you were so upset about it?
Because my father was killed in the holocause.
This is how it's still.
I heard it was racial slurst, but I didn't. I thought it would be anti Israel.
Didn't think it to be anticipate.
And that's kind of the whole point, isn't it.
With each one of these attacks, acts on cars, on buildings, on a firebombed synagogue, the mask about these protests being motivated by anger at Israel's slips even further revealing this simmering due hatred underneath. The Executive Council of Australian Jury co CEO Alex Ripchen tweeted, no one just vandalizes a car with a racist slogan. It is the product of endless incitement, demonization, and a belief that such attitudes are
freely permitted, even celebrated. He's certainly not the only Jewish community leader to make that point, certainly not the only person on Star newsed to make that point. The government has a lot to answer for, doesn't it, In how it's emboldened these activists.
They haven't acted quickly.
Well, I haven't acted very much at all, but fourteen months ago when this began on the ninth of October twenty twenty three. Getting on for fifteen months ago. They could have acted then and done something. Janet Alberton had a brilliant article in The Stradian over the holiday break in which he said the way to act would have been to change the incitement of violence laws.
Slightly, not a great deal.
There's a funny defense in the incitement for a to violence laws. There's one in which genuine belief is a defense. He said, that's silly. Knocked that out and specify anti semitism. That's if you look at that expression on the side of the car, it is an incitement to violence. It said, be nasty to these people. So legally he could Albanezy as our Prime minister, could have called the parliament back by the tenth of October. He could have put up
changes along these lines. He could have condemned in the parliament anti Semitism in general. Had people say to me, oh, you know, it's the most ancient hatred of all and it is as if that justifies our government today not doing anything. They can do something. Australia used not to be like this, so we don't need to be like this. We're a tolerant, easy going society. This has been imported. We have to say to the people who brought it here.
This is not Australia. This is not how we live, This is not how we treat each other.
James couldn't agree more with Kel and I've heard the Prime Minister himself make that point too. You know that this is an ancient hatred, as if that somehow justifies it or puts it in any kind of context. But this really reveals that these sorts of actions, they're not about legitimate.
Criticized criticism of Israel. It's anti Semitism. It's Jew hatred, pure and simple.
Well, yes, I mean that is not saying Israel or Benjamin Nanya who had said Jews. But I do have to say this is an ancient hatred and in no way does that give any context or leeway to the people that are committing these crimes. But I think it's true to both say the labor has been absolutely terrible in handling the anti Semitism issue over the last year and a half and also that there's very little they can do. I mean, I remember the will Hire incident.
Descend to the last year where someone spray painted kill Israel on the wall. They misspell at Israel. This is not like a very intellectual or thoughtful kind of people that are doing There's not people that are up to date with Penny Wong statements.
To the UN.
So I just think like, yes, labors should be cracking down, they should be looking at the laws that are people are taking advantage of to do these crimes. But at the same time, this is an ancient hatred and we do need to really think about what is Australia doing to these people from communities that come to Australia. What are we teaching about the Australian dream that makes them think that the pool of the old country is stronger
than the pool of the new country. I mean, this is a country that values peace, values MAJA, but has done for our years now. For some people that are coming here, they don't see that. They don't feel the same pride in Australia that you and I do, and so they go back to the hatreds of the old world and they bring that here. So what can we do about Australia. What can we sell about the Western dream that is going to start winning hearts and minds.
Well, it's often second and third generation, it's not always the first generation people who've come here that commit these sorts of crimes. We don't know in this case who sprayed this anti Semitic slogan on the car yet kel. But I have to disagree with James because I think there is so much more the government could do. For one, take action against the people who commit the crimes, who commit incitement to violence.
I'm talking about the hate preachers. I'm talking about the.
People who preached that kind of hate on the steps of the Opera House on October nine, and we were quibbling, the police were quibbling about exactly what was being said.
But how many people have been arrested. None, not one that was horrific, that was hateful. And remember the Imam who was out in the street saying, it's a day of pride, it's a day.
Of joy that we know who he is.
So he's not a faithless person, he's not an unknown person. There's no reason why he cannot be arrested. We don't need to change a lot of laws. We need to start using the laws we've got. We need to sharpen the laws we've got, and we need to start making arrest The idea that this goes on and on and we can't find anyone and we can't arrist anyone, so it just has to happen. The people who this is.
Not Australia, this is foreign.
This is people who've come from elsewhere, as James said, and they've imported their hatreds with them. They need to be told you import your hatreds, you get locked up.
Well, there are some people on the far life two are Australian who also hate the West and they hate Israel, and they put the two, they lump the two together because it's Western freedoms, it's colonization and the rest of the rubbish and they hate, they hate Israel too, and they sometimes verge, well, they often verge on the border of jew hatred too. I've seen it from progressive university academics online who've made horrific.
Threats against the Jewish community as well.
So it's not always coming from other cultures.
And what I would say is not that we should just go, oh well, throw our hands up, like we can't do anything to stop this.
Obviously there are hate breaches out there.
Obviously they are stepping over the line of what is acceptable speech. But I just wonder if you do arrest them, the followers of these hate preachers going to go, oh, well, he must have been wrong. Or are they going to go, that's that global Jewish conspiracy coming again to take my preacher.
But they're going to blame the global Jewish conspiracy either way.
So I think this is a multi generational thing of reclaiming hearts and minds and going Okay, there is something about the West that does make it different. There is something about individual freedom, religious tolerance and peace among people that we can sell to people, and I think that is I mean, eventually the complete rise of anti Semitism will start to go down to what is unfortunately usual levels.
But the idea has to still be that we need to keep preaching that same tolerance, We need to keep preaching that same hope for peace for future generations.
I don't know. The history has shown that if it isn't curved, if it isn't stopped, then kell it does lead to horrific things like the Holocaust. We know that it only happened a few.
Generations, and we saw the biggest number of Jews since the Holocaust killed on the seventh of October two hundred people, two hundred and fifty captured babies, butchered. We know how horrible it is, so we know what comes if you don't stop it. And James is perfectly right. We do need to work at the causes, and we do need to do as much prevention as we can, but you don't hold back from arresting people and charging people and
jailing people for vile things. I mean, on a talkback program once on radio, a chap who'd lived in Germany said, he said, in Germany, calder I don't use the word aud his epotism. They use the German expression for due hatred, because you've got to be honest about it. You've got to be honest and say this is racial and religious hatred combined and it kills people. It is that dangerous. So you don't just stand there and say, well, we'll
fix the next generation. You've got to say we're going to lock up the people who will incite to violence.
And you know what, at least there was some honesty about the f the Jews graffiti today because they didn't hide behind code words Zionist and Zionism.
At least they were honest about their do hate to it. That's all I can say about that. Look, it all.
Comes as the Ice Hockey World Championships were canned in Victoria over fears that Israel's presence there would make the event too dangerous for players and fans. That Victoria Police have confirmed that they provided feedback to organizers about the risk of a security incident at the event, but they say it was up to Ice Hockey Australia whether to cancel.
James.
Here we go again pandering to this extremist element in society, which if there's even a threat hanging over a sporting event, we can't possibly let it continue and put more security on. We just need to get rid of the whole thing. It reminds me of the Maya Christmas windows. As soon as there was a threat from activists that they were going to target it.
It's off.
Yeah.
I noticed the Ice Hockey Australia president, in comments to The Australia Today said that the decision was not politically motivated, but it was because of safety.
And security of participants can't be assured.
So they always say that.
I know, but unfortunately you're going to have to stop believing in political issues because you're in one.
But the other angle there.
I mean, obviously there's the anti semitisis an angle, and obviously it's the fact that Israel's participating which is causing this. But the other angle as well, which makes it interesting for Victoria is that this is not a state that really cracks down on intimidating protests.
We saw the weapons Expo.
So both if Victoria has an anti Semitism problem they need to address and also a failure to correctly police intimidating protests.
Jane Kel I think the more you capitulate to these people, the people who threaten these events, the protesters, the more they're going to make those threats because it's like trying to negotiate with a terrorist.
Well, what's happened in this case is terror has won. We've got to recognize this is a win for terrorism. The terrorisms are the champions. We are now the dummies.
Let me give you.
A parallel, which is a bit strange, I accept, But in New Orleans we had a terrorist inspired by Islamic State who killed fourteen people. Now that was a fairly big deal for the Americans. Coming up is Trump's inauguration. Now you would think, big public event. This has got to be perfect for someone who believes that sort of stuff. Let's cancel the inauguration. Let's move it indoors to somewhere that can be protected by the National Guard. They're not
doing that. They're not going to do that. You don't give in to terror, you don't let the terrorists win.
And that's so true about Trump because after that first assassination attempt on him at the rally, he refused. I mean, I think he did one indoor event after that where he was sort of hidden away, But after that he refused to give in, and he continued to do his outdoor events because he didn't want these people to win.
And I think that's how we enter approach it. Look mentioning that horrific attack in the Uskel, a Muslim leader here in Australia has warned that it takes just one low wolf who's radicalized online to commit that kind of deadly attack that we saw in New Orleans on Newsday, an attack that killed fourteen people. Now this leader is Jamal Riffi. He's been a long time moderate Muslim voice
in the community talking about radicalization. A very welcome moderate voice, I have to say, a fairly uncommon one.
Unfortunately.
He says Muslim Australians are increasingly on highlight for similar ISIS style attacks here, and the fear is that the terror group Islamic State is on the brink of unleashing a second wave of global carnage. But doctor Riffi also said James that their influence has very much waned. But I wouldn't be surprised if they find the position that the West has taken to what Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanya, who is doing in Gaza to actually affect some people.
To do the wrong things. Now, I think it's.
Great he's speaking up for this, but I still see this element of victim blaming coming even from moderate voices.
Yeah, well, it hrks back to what I said in the first topic. You can say that the West needs to do X and why about Israel, and it's the actions of the West that are fueling this. But we have to remember that these kids that are getting radicalized don't feel themselves to be members of the West. What do they care what the West is responding to Israel. They feel themselves to be of the East. So what we and I'm repeating myself here, but what we have to do is think about how why are these extremist
ideologies so enticing for young minds? What is it about the kids and what is it about the ideology themselves that is attracting people. I mean, we've all been exposed to extremist ideologies. It didn't take for us because we're happy, healthy, normal adults. But what's happening to these kids? Why are they getting sucked in? And how can we reclaim them back to normal society?
Kel I mean, terrorism is not a new thing. Radicalization is not a new thing, certainly, but there is an issue with what's happening.
Online and how easy it is.
I guess to influence these young minds and these people I guess who, perhaps young people who confused, who haven't.
Found how they belong. But what is the answer here when any one person can be affected?
Oh look, if I had the answer, I would tell you. The answer is obviously not easy. Two quick points. The first is doctor Rufe's correct. The lone wolf attacks are the ones they can't find. When there's a cell this communication, there are texts, even coded texts, and we've got intelligence services that can pick those up. But when it's someone like the American acting alone, it's really hard to detect them ahead of time. And James is right, why does
it happen. It happens because they lose the balance of their mind. They're not entirely sensible, they're not entirely sane. And if you've got someone who's got that kind of problem, they are the ones who will listen to this kind of prompting from Islamic State or from al Qaeda, or from somewhere else, and they may well act. The second point I need to make is we have to be
careful about Islam. A friend of mine who's an ex spurret on Islam, said, don't make assumptions about Muslims, just because doctor Reef is a really good example of the fact that you don't make sweeping assumptions about Muslims. You're going to meet Muslims, shop, believe one thing or another thing, talk to someone, get to know them, make friends with them. Don't just make assumptions ahead of time and build the wall because of a handful of really horrible, screaming pro
Palestinians in the street. They are not the Muslim community doctor Reefy represents. I think, I think quite a big slice of the Muslim community, and we have to be we have to be careful about making assumptions.
Yeah, we absolute shudn't make sweeping generalizations, but I think there are far too many radical members of the community as well. That seems to be the problem. Clearly, if these Islamic hate preachers like the one you mentioned, cal can go on the streets and talk about a day of pride, a day of victory.
And have a chance cheered by them, Yes.
That's too many.
Look, let's move on and go to the UK now where there is trouble in Paradise. Just as the right wing Reform UK was celebrating a huge membership surge and the support of billionaire and Donald Trump right hand man Elon Musk.
Musk has used his own.
Platform X to announce he's withdrawing his support for the party's leader, Nigel Farage. He said the Reform Party needs a new leader. Farrage doesn't have what it takes out and they seem so close in this happy snap from Trump's Mari Lago resort alongside Reform treasurer British billionaire Nick Candy.
A few weeks ago now James.
The cracks started to form after Musk launched a series of social media attacks on British PM Secure Starmer, accusing him of failing to bring these grooming gangs under control and to prosecute them while he was the Director of Public Prosecutions.
This has been a huge story again in the UK.
I know that the show covered it quite a bit last week while kel was hosting, but.
This fallout has really been about.
This central figure, Tommy Robinson, and a difference of opinion I guess between Elon Musk, who wants to see Tommy embraced by the Reform UK Party and Nigro Feraj, who doesn't want a bar of him.
Yeah, I'd say it's interesting that Elon Misk is both completely transparent and also it's quite hard to figure out what he actually wants. So I think when he tweets out that we need Tommy Robson as a head of Reform UK, I think he's doing it for three possible reasons. And it's all got the backdrop for me of the fact that Elon Musk is mulling up a donation of nearly one hundred million dollars the rumored to be one
hundred million US dollars to the Reform UK party. So why would he want to change your leadership either One, he genuinely wants Tommy Robinson.
In charge too. He says it's leverage over policies.
Okay, I'll back down on Tommy Robinson, but I want you guys to start focusing on X, Y and Z or no money.
Or three.
He would feel that Nigel Faraj and Reform are acting like the check's already cleared and he wants to put them back in their box.
But here's what I would say to me on Maskin.
Who knows if he's ever going to watch this, But here's what I'd say to you, which is what do you actually want out of this? Because if you want a new political party to be in charge of the country, don't deal it with Tommy Robinson. Keep Nigel faraj So the political poll of polls currently has Labour at twenty seven percent, the Conservative Party of twenty five percent, Nigel Farraj's Reform Party at twenty two percent. So Faraje could very realistically be the next opposition leader of the UK.
He's even got an outside chance of being Prime minister. So to replace him, Tommy Robinson is throwing over a successful candidate, So someone who let's go through the wrap scene and if you don't know who Tommy Robinson is, I really I'm so envious of you.
But I now have to break the illusion. So this is a guy.
He's currently in jail for contemptive court right, and people can go, oh, you know, they always take the ones who speak up.
They're always trying to find he's also in his past.
Two thousand and five, he spent twelve months for bodily harm after a violent assault of an off duty police officer.
Twenty thirteen, ten months for trying.
To get into the US using someone else's passport in twenty fourteen eighteen months for mortgage.
For this guy is a loser, he's im bored, and he's violent.
And he's certainly not the artwer in.
This case, Kel he didn't. Just to clear it up, the grooming Gambs were in case anyone has doesn't know the story, were and Ah these gangs of mainly Pakistani dissent adult men who prayed on working class, poor white girls. And they were girls, they were children in the UK in poor suburbs, and the authorities largely turned a blind eye because of racial politics and it didn't suit their agenda.
They didn't want to cause social discord and unrest. They turned a blind eye and these gangs were allowed to continue to operate. Now, Tommy Robinson isn't in jail over what he said about that. Currently, he's in jail over contempt, as James pointed out, on a different issue.
Because.
It's complicated. But there was a Theorian refugee he spread.
It's a long, complicated story. Tommy Robinson is basically a fairly ugly person. He started out as a young right wing thug and now has got a long rap sheet. Because so he's not the answer. But can I just say, look Elon. I know you're watching because you never missed an episode and you are the richest man in the world, because you're one of the cleverest people in the world. Mate, you got this wrong. You are absolutely wrong. Nigel Farage
is brilliant. I've been in the auditorium man, I've heard him speak. Is one of the world's great communicators. This is the man who got up Brexit and got Brexit through in Britain when all of the polls and all of the commentators said it couldn't be done. He is an achiever. So Elon, I don't know what's going on. I think James may have tweaked to the fact that there are a whole lot of scenes playing out here. But just drop this. This is really silly. We need
Nigel Farage. We need a communicator as effective as witty, as powerful as sharp, isn't it Nigel Farage.
He's the man. He's going to get us there. Elon, get on board.
Well, look, I hope Elon is watching and listening to some common sense. I don't know if he wants Tommy Robinson to lead the party, but he certainly said free him from jail. And if he's there, on quite serious offenses then perhaps jealous where he needs to be right now, look, let's move on to other issues at the moment, and back to Australia, where Anthony Albinizi has fired the starting gun on his ground campaign ahead of the election whenever
that's going to be its due in May. He is due to spend the week in regional Queensland and Western Australia, where he will tell voters that Peter Dutton's nuclear policy will put up electricity prices kel Now, while Labor is unlikely to win Capricornia or a seat on the Sunshine Coast, a visit to these regions would give Albo the chance to warn residents against the two nuclear sites that the
coalition has proposed in central Queensland. Cal How do you think that this ground campaign is going to go over him?
Well, he doesn't have a message. He can't sell his accomplishments. He can't sell his achievements. This is a government that spent its way into high inflation. This is a government in which we had twelve increases in RBO rates, in home loan rates for in a row, right, and they're not likely to come down anytime soon. There's a very good chance there will be no drop in interest rates
until twenty twenty six. He put up as his big bold policy, his signature policy, the Voice, and he was absolutely humbled by what happened with that, absolutely put to shame because it just didn't work at all. He doesn't have a track record, he's got nothing to sell. Hence he has decided Caroline that his only message is look at Peter Dutton and be afraid, be very afraid. He's sort of recycling the slogan from the old movie Poltergosh, be very afraid. Well, if that's all you've got, you
haven't got a message. I think this is a man who looks and sounds unhappy and uncomfortable because he's desperate and he's on the way out.
Well, all the poles certainly do show that James that hit that message of just don't vote for that guy over there.
Being Peter Dunton. Haven't been working in his favor.
No, they haven't.
And you'd think he after three years in power, you'd be able to do something a bit better than that. But first off, I think we should at least spend some time praising the fact that a labor leader has cared about a regional road. It's been a long time since the last time that happened, so I think you should deserve some curdise for that. But to Keil's point about how angry and frustrated he looks, I thought today's press conference was really relevatory on that. I mean, today's
the first day back. Could work for a lot of people, including alban Easy. He's been off there for a couple of days, and you'd think, like a lot of people, you know, they wake up first day back at work.
I'm feeling better about the new year. I'm happier.
I can't wait to see my colleagues have a look at how Alberi spent his press conference. And I've only got like a little piece here.
It was so through all the journalists questions, I really felt this vibe. But this is where I got worse.
That's not our slogan, good try.
Is there a one word slogan, one sentence slogan we're using.
We've done this with backdrops, We've done this with media releases. I did this today again. It is building Australia's future. I'm not sure which LMP member has sent you that question to ask but they should pay attention and you should be cautious about just reading out things that are sent from the LMP.
It's just so angry and frustrated, and I just go, I'm a big body language guy. You can tell who's in charge, and you could tell who's leading in a poll through how their body language is. And that's not a guy who's going this election year. It's going to be a piece of cake and someone who's gone, you know, coupled up the voice before. Now, I really reckon if I went out out of our Benezi after the voice went down. I have not seen him that happy. I've
not seen him relaxed. I've not seen him selling a positive vision. I think he's genuinely just feeling like he's just walking through caramel every day, just slowly, slowly getting forward, and he's.
Just over it.
He really shows when he's under pressure, doesn't he. I've noticed this about him in press conferences quite often, Kell and he'll start to attack the messenger. He'll start not the journalists should be without criticism above criticism, but he does this quite often. He'll throw it back in them and accuse them of taking questions from the opposition.
Like the guy.
The poor guy couldn't have come up with that question on his own about how what vantage is he trying.
To send yes, yes, which LNP member told you to ask that question. So he is not a good campaigner. I don't think he was a good campaigner last time. He hasn't come to terms with the fact that he didn't win that election. Scott Morrison lost it. And I mean there's an old saying in politics it's not oppositions that win elections, it's governments that lose them.
That's what happened last year time.
So if he had a high view of his ability to communicate, his ability to sell a policy, his ability to campaign, he's mistaken. He actually said fairly recently said I've been underestimated all my political life.
No, actually, elbow, we got it fairly right. And you're not as good as you think you are.
I'd say overestimated, yes, exactly.
And if anyone's going to come back feeling refreshed, it should be now over Christmas and New Year's and he's had a break and yet he's this testing on the first day back.
Yeah, five months and sell an election campaign. You'd think, Okay, I met my peak energy right now, I can't be I'm raring to go.
I can't wait. Kel. You said that opposition St.
Louis elections, governments, sorry, opposition some when elections comes. I've always thought that you can basically pull bring down every election to who would voters rather have a beerwith. I think that US UK Australia is always that question to me. And when Peter Dunton became opposition leader, I thought, it's just the Australian public is never going to warm to this guy as much as they do alb and Easy.
Now I genuinely think that you did. UN's gone in charge.
I think he's still got to trouble with female voters, but I think he's definitely in front.
On that one. Yeah.
I think he's become a lot more likable and an electable.
Has become less likable.
Absolutely, and the polls are reflecting that look. Speaking of the upcoming election, the Energy Minister Chris Bowen has made an interesting decision ahead of it.
He has quit X and he's more.
Than one hundred and forty thousand followers saying it's no longer the place for respectful conversation. Instead, he's moved over to another social media platform.
Blue Sky, described.
As an echo chamber for left wing politics, because I guess that's how the government thinks they're going to win votes now by preaching to the converted. Tell me kel Bowen is winging here about respectful conversation. He's taken a number of cheap shots about the opposition's energy plan. He's called it on x rubbish an absolute mess.
That's respectful conversation.
And also wasn't it Victorian Labor, his own party that posted their shots of Peter Dutton and his wife say having a crack involving his wife saying he is not a monster.
Yeah, he's got nothing he can boast about in this area.
You're absolutely right.
And if you think about every time energy comes up in the Parliament, all he does is to make jokes and hoop with laughter and think it's you.
Know, nuclear energy hysterical.
Carefully forgetting that we're about to put our sailors next to nuclear reactors, but we can't have them on land running the rest of the country. I have to say, I mean when he says it's no longer respectful, what he means is it's no longer sense it because it was censored, so that if you were slightly right, have said that you didn't get on and your opinions weren't. So now there are people who actually disagree with you. Chris,
Isn't that terrible? You can't cope with that? And he's not being honest because the truth is what he's worked out is no one now believes a word he says. Nothing's going right for him, not the building of this massive network of power generation across the country, not the number of soul of farms that he needs, not the number of wind farms. None of it's happening. It's not going anywhere, so he's not going to meet any of
his targets. The transition is not happening. The leaders of the energy industry are complaining that we need certainty for this so called transition. Nothing's going right for him. This is just a man having a bit of a wind because life is unhappy.
I think, James, you know it's largely it's not that it's not a respectful place. And look, you know X can be a bit of a sewer at times. Let's not pretend otherwise. But he doesn't seem to want to engage with voters who might think differently and have reservations about renewable energies, which is a large proportion of.
The Australian community.
I think people should feel quite outraged that he's not willing to engage with these people and instead considers any criticism or any concerns disrespect.
Yeah.
I think politicians always want to be in our lives, tell us what they're what they're thinking, tell us what they're doing every day. But the second the conversation flips and we talk to them, hang on, can you just wait your turn for in the next three or four years? Sorry, really, this is the actions of ASUUK Chris Bowlin, you are a souk.
For doing this.
But the other point I want to make is that I come back to my body language thing that I said in the last topic.
Right, it's an election year.
Chris Bowen has nerved a platform where he has one hundred and forty thousand people reading his tweets to go to a platform where I saw today he has three thy six hundred. That's a drop of one hundred and thirty five thousand people on the outlet. I mean, it's an election year. You want to get your message out there, and that's what he's doing. That's not the actions of a winner. That's not the actions to someone engaged in
what he's doing. It's someone who just goes I can't handle it, and you need to handle it.
It's an election year. You're the Energy minister. Energy is a huge issue. You need to be able to handle this now.
He needs to take a leaf out of Trump's book and get on there and dominate. I mean Trump was kicked off x but that was obviously before it was ex under Elon Musk.
That's a whole other story.
Look, let's move on to Queensland now, where the new Chris of Bully government has halted the delivery of the recommendation from the recommendations I should say from a Queensland Labor review into state gender services.
Now, this review found that.
Care being provided to children with gender dysphoria in other words trans kids, was safe, evidence based and aligned with national and international guidelines. This was Queensland Health Minister Tim Nichols on how the party feels about the review.
The concerns that have been raised and were raised by me in debate in Parliament back in twenty twenty three about the delivery of the children's gender service, and particularly the use of puberty blockers, and we remain very concerned about the use of those puberty blockers, particularly in light of evidence that's coming in from around the world.
Applaud the Queensland government for this, but the British government has effectively banned the use of puberty blockers after a landmark review called the Cast's Review found evidence for their use was weak. And yet kell they remain in Australia. Why has it even taken this long for a government.
To not only are they here, we can't even look at them. I think five times Pauline Hanson has moved in the Senate for there to be a Senate inquiry into the current treatment of kids who are trans got this gender dysphobia problem, and every time the Senate votes against it. I simply don't understand why Australia has become
a backwater, an unscientific backwater. Doctor Hillary Cass, who wrote the review that you referred to as a leading pediatrician and the former head of the Royal Council of Pediatricians and Child Health in Britain, she knows what she's talking about. She says there's no evidence that proves these things are safe and you can use them. What we do know and know for certain is puberty blockers make children a sterile for life. So children can't make decisions. Children don't
understand consequences. They don't know. It's why they drive the way they do it, because they don't understand consequences. So you don't say that children under the age of eighteen, and including kids in their mid teens, you don't say, do you want to undergo this treatment be sterile for the rest of your life. This is so close to being child abuse it's frightening. So Australia is behind the rest of the world. I think Australia is still hurting children. I think it's time to catch up.
It is a form of child abuse in my opinion, James. When the long term effects are things like sterility, I mean sterile and as well as that, not being able to enjoy sex later in life, I mean there's all sorts of long term impacts on someone who's undergone these sorts of who's gone on these puberty blockers.
I think it's.
Really really a scandal of our time that we're allowing this take place under our watch.
Yeah, and I think it's interesting how far the pendulum has swung on it. I don't think there's such a thing as bold and courageous plans from politicians. I think every idea they have has been focused, gripped and polled and to the inch of its life. So when the Queensland government says like, oh, you know, we voted for this, we're pushing it out on this, I think it's because they know that people have switched from going let's defer to the experts, let's just open our hearts to the kids,
to now going this is madness. So I wonder, like too, that's how far it's gone in two years. I wonder where we're at on this issue.
Three years.
Well, I think a lot of things are going to change in twenty twenty five, and we're already seeing it happen in the UK and in the US, where Trump has said he's going to make all sorts of changes in this area as well. Look, let's move to Victoria, where teen offenders are using social media to boast about police chasing them, helicopters, police pursued on car, all sorts of things. It comes as youth crime and violence absolutely explodes.
In that state.
Now the Herald Sun is reporting young people posting photos and videos of themselves posing with knives and machetes, driving recklessly, and even aerial data like that from a police helicopter while they're being allegedly tracked or speeding more than two hundred kilometers an hour and being pursued by a police car. Now, both federal and state labor have rejected the coalition's calls
for tough new post and post laws. They cite that they are already existing offenses and powers that cover these crimes. Yet kel we continue to see these crimes too often. It seems that young offenders at court and then a magistrate feel sorry for them, maybe gives them a slap on the wrist, maybe gives them bail, and they're out reoffending again because they're only kids.
Yeah, well, this is a national problem. We're noticing what's happening in Victoria at the moment. It was part of the Queensland state election, big deal there, and it's happening in western New South Wales, in countrytowns particularly, I'm told so. We actually supposedly have a national cabinet, a meeting of premiers with our Prime minister to make decisions about national issues. This needs to be dealt with at that level because state governments can't deal with it very quickly.
James, Yeah, I actually disagree. I don't think these laws are needed. I think it's already illegal to steal a car driver two hundred kilometers an hour and fight, So why would an extra law do anything other than give judges another law to be lenient on. I think, and I also find it interesting that this push from the
Coalition would give the E Safety Commissioner more power. Now I'm old enough to remember when we were against the E Safety Commissioner getting more power after the Misinformation Bill. I think the problem the Conservatives have. We can fight this one out in the ad break and know we've
better very quickly. But I think the problem conservatives have is that they are very willing to hand over individual freedom to bureaucrats, and the names are being tough on crime, then get shocked later when those exact same freedoms they handed over are used against them.
Well.
Look, I think Hell and I are both a fair bit older than you Steel James, and are old enough to remember a time without social media.
Where we didn't post boast about these awful crimes.
I think a lot's to be said for a ban on young people using it now after the break, with only two weeks to go, Biden has managed to disgrace himself yet again by honoring the dishonorable.
Our national debate is full of people tiptoeing around, scared to offend, frightened to take a stand.
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As the day ends, Chris Kenny is your first responder.
At five o'clock.
I'm ready to tell you what the day's news means. Who's telling the truth and who's not.
Chris, you might want to respond to this NUnit zero claim. What do you reckon?
It?
I reckon facts matter and what they mean matters. This is breaking now We're going to need your response. You'll be live right after the PMS presser.
What do you reckon?
What do I rec I'll tell you at five five seconds, Chris, the first strong opinions.
And the news of the day right here.
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Welcome back Well.
US President Joe Biden is still president for another two weeks, that is, and he is using his final days in office to cause more outrage. This time it's for bestowing the Presidential Medal of Freedom in the country's highest civilian honor, to Democrat Megadona, George Soros and one time presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton.
Yep.
She championed democracy worldwide, and her nomination for president broke barriers and inspired generations. Through it all, her career has been dedicated to an eternal truth. America's ideals are sacred and we must always defend and live by them.
Yes, that is the Medal of Freedom for the woman who said people who post misinformation should be prosecuted.
I also think there are Americans who are engaged in this kind of propaganda, and whether they should be civilly or even in some cases criminally charged, is something that would be a better deterrence.
I feel James, like Biden, just has given up at this point. He's just giving these honors to his mates. He's handing out pardons left, right and center, record number of those, and he still thinks that he could have beaten Trump.
You have to respect it on some point. I mean, this is really a guy that's gone, well, I've lost anyways, it might as well just do whatever the heck it is I want, like pardoning my son or giving Hillary Clinton the Presidential Freedom Medal Freedom Anyway, It's also very funny to see him have to give that award to someone who famously the Democrats completely rolled him for in
twenty sixteen to put her up. So I wonder how actually enthusiastic he was to be like, oh, this lady, I'll tell you what the other part to me is this might be their last opportunity to hand out the awards for their favorite signs for some time. I think Trump's going to be in Judge four years. I think Jade Vance's at the box seat for at least four years. After that, it might just be a hey, who might
not be here next time we have a president. We need to get this going pretty quickly, because Trump's already measuring the curtains.
Well, George Soris, I can see that happening. He's pretty old, man Clinton. That is a little bit rough.
Col What did you think of these honors today?
I watched this live on television. It was gripping television. There was this frail old man trembling a lot, and you kept thinking, every time, will this time he dropped the medal? Will this time he not quite get it connected? Around the next and the awarding of Magic Johnson, where Magic Johnson had to almost kneel on the floor was hilarious. So you do feel sorry for he did it a little speech at the end and they kept him to about fifteen seconds. Look what you're saying is absolutely right.
It's a give a made of gong event, is all it is. He's not the first president to do what other presidents have done, a giver made of gong thing at the end of their four years. So it means that to some extent British honors can work like that as well. So I mean, it's what they do. They're in charge of the place, they decide what they're going to do. I haven't got a gong, so obviously the systems.
Read obviously it is you've got a gong here, You've got figures.
As gong from your rostel.
But you know, it's more of this strain the swamp stuff that Trump talked about. And I guess why he got voted in. I don't think the.
Voters like it.
Look further north now and it could be au revoir to Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who is widely tipped to announce his resignation as early as today, ahead at least of a national caucus meeting on Wednesday. The embattled leader has been under immense pressure in recent months, as Paul polling shows his government is on track to be defeated by the opposition Conservative Party. James, it's been quite the fall from grace for misster Trudeau. At one point
he could do nothing wrong. Even when he was pictured in blackface for example, It's still he was fine.
Yeah, this is the guy that was the anti Trump. He was going to be the bold new way for Conservative leaders to rule.
And here we are. It's set for one of them. I mean defeated.
As you said before, defeata doesn't quite put justice under the electoral thumping that these guys are about to get.
And it's either the case of Judori.
Just wants to be the selfless guy and help the party save a bit of furniture, or he just doesn't want to be the guy giving the resignation speech at the end of it. But I wonder, you know, at the end of someone's reign like this, you always wonder how will history remember him. I know how I'm going to remember Justin Trudeau and you it's two of the greatest headlines I've ever read in my life, and the first one I want to read out.
As you said, justin Judori says he.
Doesn't know how many times he's warm black face in his life. Imagine not knowing how many times, Like.
Oh, man, I remember three vividly. But after that.
Once Antie Trump did that, Yeah, exactly.
Now this next headline, it's definitely not funny, but it's also very funny. It's Canadian Parliament accidentally honors Nazi.
Yes, I remember that too.
If you remember, this is when the Canadian Parliament honored a Ukrainian Canadian citizen who, in the words of the Speaker of the House at the time, fought so bravely against the Russians in World War Trea. I don't know if either of you guys are history buffs or not, but it turns out that we were on the side of the Russians in Bord War area, and someone should have done the mass on what that would mean the Ukrainian soldier would have been.
You don't need to be a history buff to remember supreating basic information like that. Look, I want to go to the next story here because in the US, Biden's successor Donald Trump. He's enjoyed a dinner with Italian PM Georgia.
Maloney at Mary Lago.
Now before this came before screening of a documentary decrying the lawfair that was used against Trump's allies who tried to challenge his twenty twenty election loss. And the surprise visit comes ahead of Joe Biden's final visit to Italy on Thursday.
Kell It seems a much.
More natural relationship here between these two leaders then it would have ever been with Biden.
She is brilliant, absolutely wonderful. It is weird that the mainstream media still talks about her party Brothers of Italy as a far right party. It's not a far right party. It's a center right party. You've got to be hard left to think it belongs to the far right. And she's governing in Italy very cleverly. Her popularity ratings in Italy are huge. She's becoming the most powerful voice in the whole of the EU. So she is a model of how conservative leaders lead. So I think her and
Trump are just a natural combination in a sense. And there is a dear old man in the White House she could have visited.
She decided not to, didn't she No, Well.
She wasn't getting any bravery honors and freedom honors, was she, So perhaps it wasn't worth her time. Now, let's move to this horrific crime wave that's been taking place on New York subways, and the city's governor has now touted these new security cameras that are being installed in every subway car, which she says will help police fight and solve crimes faster. Now, James, we've seen recently horrific, horrific events, including an illegal immigrant who burned a homeless woman alive,
someone who pushed a commuter into an approaching subway. But do you think laws like this are going to change what's happening?
I mean no.
And at the same time, I mean, these attacks are so horrific and there is they think, oh, we've got to do something about this. But when governments feel the need to do something about it, that's when bad legislation gets made. So when they do stuff like oh, we're going to put a camera in every surveillance car, every subway car.
Well, who has access to the footage? What can they use it for?
We are the restrictions on the ability to use that footage I'm reminded of in the middle of COVID hysteria, when we were all checking in everywhere. We were told, okay, well, we're never going to touch it. We just really, we just want this for health purposes, we want this for contact tracing. Until it came out that the police were accessing the safewa app for a murder investigation. Again, like
you should be able to investigate murder murder cases. But at the same time, like when we hand over these civil freedoms, we have to be prepared to never get them back. And that's kind of what I worry about house cases.
Cal I just think everyone's got smartphones these days.
These crimes that I talked about specifically, they were filmed on people smartphones, you know, in a lieu of people actually stepping in to.
Help these poor victis.
Yes, and then you've got cases where people like Daniel Penny, who did step in.
He's prosecuted.
He was the guy who subdued someone making violent threats on the subway.
Yeah.
Basically, the governor of New York, Kathy Hopel, is saying she doesn't know what to do. She has no clue how to make this better. She doesn't know how to make New York safer putting cameras. She actually said that the majority of these attacks are done by people with mental health problems. They won't be deterred by the fact there's a camera in the subway carriage, So this will achieve nothing. This is just someone thrashing around because she doesn't.
Know what to do.
Honestly, it's been a lost case there New York for some time. Looks still to come on the program. North Korean desk spot Kim Jong Un launches an unusual crusade against a fast food favorite, Welcome back. Well, We've long suspected our phones are eavesdropping on us, and now a
multimillion dollar lawsuit appears to have confirmed it. Apple has agreed to pay one hundred and fifty three million dollars to settle a case accusing the company of turning a virtual assistance Siri into a snoop who listens in on the users of its iPhones and other devices.
Kel The allegation is that the phone is.
Listening before you even say the magic words, hey Siri. It will be disturbing to some people, but not unsurprising.
Not to me.
I'll tell you why I don't have Sui, and I've been disturbed for a long time as to why I don't have Sui and all my smarter, tech smart friends all have it.
Now I know, well.
I ask Siri sometimes James, I go hey, Siri, and sirih doesn't seem to be listening to me. I don't know if she has a problem with me, but I have to say it about five times.
I would absolutely keep it that way, and I thought it was interesting, Like you want to.
Talk about the relationship people have with their privacy.
A claims administrator says that only three to five percent of people that can file a claim against Apple on this one plan on doing so. Three to five percent of just like you know, ninety seven percent of people, like I knew it all the time.
Yeah, well exactly.
I think a lot of people would go, well, I'm not really saying anything either way. But it doesn't until you get in trouble. I guess it's not a problem now. Finally, despot Kim Jong un has further asserted his authority over North Korea by banning wait for it, hot dogs and ordering couples who divorce be imprisoned in a crackdown that could be straight out of the two thousand and four Classic Film Team America. The leader claimed the humble Snag
is too Western. Now, James, I kind of love the fat that the Aussie sausage sizzle will be the ultimate act of defiance here. And I think a few married couples would say, continuing to be married when you're so unhappy is like being in a labor camp.
But what do you think about all of this?
For me, it's just the times like this of real pain for people. You need to show you solidarity. So from four North Koreans that are no longer going to be able to eat hot dogs, I'm sure this is coming through you through Elon Musk's watching this, so I'll speak to you now.
But you need solidarity, you need allies in this time. So for you.
Guys taking one little tea, I am with you, Kel, how can you top that?
You can?
You can't.
And then for Kim John, you'll join me at Bummings on a Saturday morning.
We'll have a good time.
I'm sure he is going to take you right up on that offer. James bowl Kel Richards, thank you for your time tonight, and thank you at home for watching. I'll see you back here tomorrow on the later bake up. Next, Catching the clam Onto Killer