SharriPeter Dutton pledges to end public servants' work-from-home privileges, Jacinta Allan apologises to crime victims as tougher bail laws are unveiled, and Trump drops his threat to double Canada tariffs and dismisses recession fears.
Why on Sky News This.
Is Sharry.
Good Evening tonight.
Donald Trump refuses to take Albanesi's phone calls, exposing our prime minister as a liar. I'll talk about this with Michael Kroger.
Shortly.
Police publicly confirm our report last night that the AFP withheld critical information from them about the identity of the Australian offshore criminal behind the wave of anti Semitic violence.
More on that in a moment plus.
Peter Dutton commits to all of the outcomes from our anti Semitism summit.
This includes major migration reform. I'll discuss this with.
James Patterson and the madness of Victoria looking to import energy. Why Chris Bowen ran away from a debate on his own record.
That with Tet O'Brien a bit later.
But first, Donald Trump has refused to take our easy's phone calls and has now slapped twenty five.
Percent tariffs on Australia.
This is a direct result of Australia having a left wing weak prime minister in Albanizi, who's repeatedly voted against American interests at the United Nations and.
Has cozied up to China.
Now it's Australian businesses that will suffer, with about fifteen percent of Australian aluminium and steel exports going to the US, and there's an estimated one hundred thousand workers in this steel industry. And the stock market also fell one point three percent today, wiping about thirty billion dollars from the ASX. The White House confirmed at six am that we wouldn't be exempt from the tariffs, with the Press Secretary Carol Levitt saying that Trump considered it and considered against it. There will be no exemptions, and that was first in The Herald. As you may recall, last Monday, I reported that alban Ezi had been desperately frantically trying to get Trump on the phone, but that the President was refusing to take his calls. Here was the start of that report that Prime Minister Anthony Alberzi has not managed to schedule another call with President Donald Trump, despite trade tariff's due to take effect in just eight days and a Chinese warship circling Australia.
Three sources tell me.
That Albinizi and his representatives have been desperately contacting Republican networks in the US, so That was just eight days ago, and at the time Albinizi strongly denied to me that.
The President wasn't taking his calls.
Sources tell me Albanizi has been trying to set up a call with Trump.
Easy denies this.
The Trump administration is well aware of both Albanzi and Kevin Rud's past comments about the President, and I approached Rudd and the Prime Minister for comment. A spokeswoman for Albanese said, this is wrong. It's an absolutely incorrect insinuation that they have been rebuffed. So just last Tuesday, Albanzi categorically said my report was wrong that Trump wasn't refusing to take his calls. Now, Albanzi promised to return integrity to politics. He said he do politics differently, but it turns out he's just as grubby a liar as any politician that came before him. And today the Prime Minister was caught out lying over his desperate attempts to get Trump on the phone, because he finally admitted the truth that the President of the United States.
Has been rebuffing his cause.
Albanezy was asked today why we haven't spoken to Trump since February the tenth and he had admitted that he had.
Been trying to get him on the phone.
Did he John set up a second call with Trump on tariffs?
And if not, why not? Look will continue to engage in all vehicles. We have continued to put in a request for another discussion with President Trump.
Are you disappointed that requests to have second phone calls with Trump couldn't be fulfilled?
Friends should pick up.
The phone, shouldn't we?
They web engaged, web engaged, including through writing, including at senior levels of the government.
People would be aware.
The Treasurer, the Trade Minister, a range of the Foreign minister have all visited and have all engaged.
And thanks to Sky News journalist Chrystal Wou for asking that second question. But how embarrassing for Alban Easy, How utterly humiliating. But also isn't it a sorry state of affairs when you can trust a journalist more than you can trust the Prime Minister. Albin Easy and those who speak for him are professional liars and evaders of the truth, and there's been no apology today for lying. The reality is Trump hasn't taken his call. He's busy, sure, but Trump works on relationships leader to leader, man to man, and albin Easy has no personal relationship with Trump.
The president would.
Also be well aware of what alban Easy and his team have said about.
Him in the past, comments like.
This, and as the United States in the last four years has been run by a village idiot because of the essential incoherence of the man himself.
We have an alliance with the US.
We're going to deal with him.
But that doesn't mean that you're uncritical about it. He scares it out of me.
And so much more material where that came from. As you've seen the fact that Alberanzi would appoint Kevin Rudd to that critical posting shows the lack of respect he holds for Trump. And Trump also knows exactly the type of left leading leader Albanzi is, as one source with close ties to Trump told me last week about Albanizi, Trump's ending the Third World War no time for anti Trump left wing globalists.
So Trump and his team see.
Alber Eazy as a left wing globalist, according to this sauce. But Trump can also see through Albanzi, as Ray Hadley said here last night, he's the worst prime minister in our country's history.
Albanizi, he's pipped them by a short half head. Now he's the worst.
Prime minister I've seen in thirty five years of broadcasting.
Now Australian businesses had no hope of avoiding the tariffs when this is the person running our country. And Peter Darton today squarely blamed the Prime Minister.
It's obvious that Anthony Albanezi and Kevin Right have had a shoka. The Prime Minister can't secure a phone call, let alone a meeting with the President of the United States, And how on earth can an outcome be negotiated if the President won't even take the Prime minister's call. So it's not just Australian to see the Prime Minister as weak and incompetent, it's our trading partners as well. And the sad reality is because of the Prime Minister's because of the Prime Minister's inability to deal with this issue, Australian jobs are at risk and Australian industry is at risk. And the Prime Minister needed to get this right and he didn't.
And Darton said he believes if there's a change of government, if he wins, he could get a deal done on tariff's with Trump. Now we don't know if this is true, but we do know that from a prime minister's Malcolm Turnbull and Scott Morrison have previously negotiated exemptions with the last Trump administration, and Trump has found time to meet with many other presidents and prime ministers from around the world since his inauguration.
He's invited to.
The White House the leaders of Israel, Japan, Jordan, India, France, the United Kingdom, Ukraine and more. And Australia is the only Quad partner who hasn't visited Trump in Washington. Now, this is all highly damaging for Albernizi. With a federal election looming, his failure to maintain any sort of communication with the President is disastrous. The United States is our most important ally. We have crucial strategic ties, strong economic bonds and shared democratic values. Long term, the relationship will endure despite the incompetence of our increasingly weak leader.
But in the short home it's.
Australian businesses and families who'll suffer the most. Now I'm going to come back to that topic, also to the big news of Dutton backing in our anti Semitism summon outcomes in a moment. But now let's stay with this news that Trump has confirmed we won't get the exemption, and let's bring in our panel Victorian Liberal Party president Michael Kroger and former Labor Minister Gray Richardson. Welcome to you both. So, Michael, who do you blame here? Alban Easy, Kevin rud or Malcolm Turnbull.
Well, the first two out of the three. I don't think Malcolm's comments were helpful, but I don't think that made much difference. Look, Shari Dan Scavino, who is one of Trump's He's a deputy White House Chief of Staff. He was the guy who back in November put up that hourglass on X in reference to Kevin Rudd, meaning he won't be here long. Right. That's a scaveno when you talked, when you're talking to Trump about exemptions, Scaveno would be saying to Trump, Yeah, Australia. This is the country whose ambassador, as you've just pointed out, called you a trade of the Western, a village idiot, whose prime minister has said bad things about you, whose country has allowed anti Semitism to grow to an extent we've never seen before, who basically anti Jewish, anti Israel, have done nothing to help Israel. The Prime mister hasn't been to Israel, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera. I mean Trump and his people will get the impression that this government really isn't very friendly to Trump and even though we got an exemption at Adeen, they are disinclined to do it now. Albertiz, who was told not to appoint Kevin Rudd, he went and appointed Kevin Rudd. You couldn't have a worse person in the country running around Washington seeking an exemption than Kevin Rudd. What a catastry to have that go running around and you know, thinking we can get that'll be saying, look this is the bike they call the president of village idiot. Oh yeah, well that's really helpful, Kevin.
Well done, Elbow No exactly.
And just to add to your list there, Michael, comprehensive though it was. Even under the Biden administration, there were concerns in the United States about just how close Australia was getting to China under the alb and Easy government, and also concerns under the Biden administration for how Australia kept voting against the United States' interests and position at the United Nations. So those were two issues that were there before Trump came into office. Now, Richo, you've got to admit it's utterly humiliating for your mate Albow that he can't even get a phone call, let alone a meeting with Trump.
Well, I wish circumstances were a little different. I think Albo is going to have to work on that relationship a little bit. It seems to have slipped. But I think you know, anything you get you give Rudd to, you give to Rudd finishes up a mess.
You blame him, You mean.
You blame right this Folke's record suggests that he is just plain bloody hopeless. And why Alvob persists in that friendship I will never know.
Well, he obviously feels like he owes him. Does any rich Sho.
Well in Mayfiel That I don't know, But he doesn't he owes Kevin Rudd absolutely nothing the same as our country.
Just looking at the tariffs themselves, Michael, you know most commentators are saying, look, these tariffs are terrible for the global economy. There are some analysts, I mean, brianman Bishop was here talking about it last night. I've also got John Lee who's going to be on the show. Later, he argues that there is method to Trump's madness. He says, continuing to do that is the surest way of putting oneself in the worst possible position to not just gain an acceptable agreement with Trump, but also prepare our economy for what's ahead. Mikeel, do you think there's any way in which the tariffs could work out.
For the US or is this just uniformly about idea.
I think economic history tells you that tariffs are not a good idea. I mean, countries are successful by doing what they do best and importing what they do worst. So take for example, the Albanesi government. We import solar panels from China because they may cheaply. Elbows trying to do a Trump by starting up a solar panel industry here in Australia and spending a million dollars, so those solar panels will be far more expensive than the ones made in China. We are great at many things, and that's why we're such a great export nation, and those things we're not so good at we import from low wage countries. You can see what Trump's trying to do, which is to rebuild America, but in a high wage country. Essentially, what happens is the cost of goods and service is much higher. You can see what he's trying to do, but historically tariffs are not good for trading nations. And you know, I don't agree with what he's doing. You can see why he's doing it, but you know, obviously Frustralia. The question is what is the next on the tariff list? If they get to things like beef, then we are in trouble.
Rich O, what do you think?
I think I would basically agree with what Michael said. I worry about Trump. I worry about him because I don't think he knows what he's doing, and that's a rare thing. I mean, Biden didn't know what he was doing, but he had people around him who could do it. I don't know if this Blake has, but one thing's for sure, he himself has not a clue what's going on.
I think Trump does know what he's doing, and he does have a strategy here. Get into that a bit later in the show with John Lee. I want to talk about this ceasefire agreement. This is a thirty day ceasefire plan that both America and Ukraine have agreed to. Trump now needs to get Putin on board, and Trump has said he will speak to Putin have a look.
I'll talk to Vladimir, But yeah, I want to get look, that's the other takes two to tango, as they say, right, So hopefully he'll also agree, and I really think that would be seventy five percent of the way. The rest is getting it documented. And you know, negotiating land.
Michael, this is going to be difficult. Of course, Russia is going to want more land. Ukraine's obviously not going to want to give up more land. How do you think this will play out?
So, Shari, I looked at this way. The success of JD. Vance to succeed Trump as president of the United States all depends on whether the Trump presidency is a success. If He's seem to fail, then Vance will fail. And I think that so much of the Trump legacy depends on what happens in his relationship with Russia. Why do I say that, because he made such a big campaign issue of resolving the dispute with the Ukraine and Russia within one day, meaning he didn't mean one day, he meant within three to six months. You know, you kay, what he says, he hopefully has already had discussions with Putin and through his advisors talk to Putin's people, and hopefully he knows that the Russians have prepared to back away from their public statements, which are basically all the land they've got, non membership of native et cetera, cetera. You've got to hope that Trump and his people have reached some kind of in principle deal already with Russia, because if this goes bad on Trump, it will taint his entire presidency, and that will be disastrous for J. D. Evans, who's likely to follow him.
I think it's quite remarkable that, you know, we're still's not even three months into Trump's presidency. Already he seems to have broke it, at least an initial ceasefire agreement.
You know, if you can pull it off, well, all those people who.
Said, you know, everything he was saying about Ukraine will perhaps it was just to get food into the table. We'll see, we'll see, but you know, maybe we should give him the benefit of the doubt on this. All right, let's come back to Victoria now, because we've seen the premiere Alan today saying she's going to introduce the toughest bail laws in the country. This after there's been a major youth crime problem and you know, kids being let out and bail dozens of times going on to reoffending. Graham, how can the Victorian public trust her to get it right when she hasn't so far. They've been in power forever now.
Yeah, I think if you're looking at any great failure in the Victorian Labor government, law and order's got to be up there. I think it's it's been a black mark again them for a long time, and they've got to do something about it. I think really tough stuff is the only way to answer your critics when you're in a situation like this. So they're going to have to bring down laws that are really tough now. I just don't know if there's a willingness within the Labor Party to do that.
Michael, you're obviously you live in Victoria. Crime has become such a big issue that it is USO now playing into the federal election as well. But on these bail laws, what do you think is it all just too little, too late?
Yeah?
Of course. Look, Jacindra Allen, the Premier here has been in Parliament for more than twenty five years. She's grown completely drunk politically, drunk on power, on three four hundred dollars, thousand dollars salaries, chauffeured cars, pays for nothing. She's completely lost touch with Victorians. She is the Marie Antoinette of Victoria. She has no idea what's happening out there in the suburbs. To now totally reverse what she did last year tells you that she's desperate, clinging to a life raft. She doesn't believe in any of this stuff, because she did exactly the opposite just twelve months ago. So this is desperate stuff. No one trusts the Premier or any of this stuff. She doesn't believe what she's doing as a seed. She's drunk on power. And hopefully she'll be gone next year, as she should be. I mean, these people like her have been in Parlam for it more than twenty five years. Enough, it's too long.
You know.
They're out of touch with what's happening in the suburbs. And she won't be missed, I can tell you that.
Yeah, yeah, And like I said, the issue of crime and national security are going to be very big issues in many seats in Victoria. Come the federal election as well, so you know this might change the outcome. You know, Darton's focusing on Victoria. He has he feels like there's a lot of seeds he can pick up in Victoria from labor and from the tier, and this is one of the most prominent issues at the federal election. All right, Richo, Michael Kroger, thank you boy so much for your time. All Right, let's move on to now some very welcome news on our Sky News Antisemitism Summit. Peter Dutton has endorsed all of our fifteen summit outcomes across education to law enforcement. He says there is strong and necessary response to the disturbing rise of antisemitism in our country. The Coalition supports this plan and is committed to enacting the measures for which the Federal government has responsibility to ensure antisemitism has no place in our country. He says the Coalition has been unequivocal in its approach to condemning antisemitism and will continue to do so under his leadership at all times. He says, enough is enough and the response from the Prime Minister well so far. The Executive Council of Australian Jury and Alex Rifchin haven't received a reply apply to their letter detailing the summit outcomes. And let's hope alber Easy commits to these reforms.
And let's hope this isn't.
Yet another example of weak leadership on anti Semitism. Now, one of the measures that Peter Dutton supported on the day of our summit was reform to the Migration Act.
Have a look. Do you think the.
Migration Act should be amended so that anti submitted conduct is grounds to refuse.
A new visa?
Yes, without question. We've announced it will tighten up section five O one. I want to send a very clear message to people who hate us, hate our country, hate Jewish people, hate other segments of our society that's under a government dirily, they'll have no place in this country.
We will reform the makeweak, we.
Will reform the migration program.
All right, to discuss this now, let's bring in Shadow Home Affairs Minister James Patterson live from the New Liberal Party headquarters in Paramatter. I suppose James, you were expecting an election this week, as campaign as we all were, hasn't pound out, But to start tonight, can you commit to or can you comment on how Darton and the Coalition is committing to all of our summit outcomes.
If you win the next election, we'll char This was.
A great active leadership by Sky News and the Executive Council of Australian Jury responding to genuine and deep community concern about the antisemitism crisis which has fested in our country over the last sixteen months. And frankly you had us at hello. We didn't require much persuading when we saw the list of proposals. We've gree with all of them in principle and we'll implement them in government. And it's particularly important that we implement those ideas around the migration system. As Peter said, some of those we'd already talked about already and others you've extended. And it's self evidently obvious that someone who's a guest in our country here on a visa, who has violated the principles of Australia, violated our values by engaging in antisemitism and spreading it in our country, that they have no place in this country and that we will hesit. We will not hesitate for us second to cancel their visit and deport them.
All right, I want to turn to this caravan bomb plot. I want to ask you about the exclusive story I had here last night which revealed that there was serious mishandling of the caravan investigation by the AFP. The AFP refused to disclose the identity of the offshore Australian criminal to New South Wales Police, yet insisted that information coming from this person was credible and that it needed to be acted on now. As I said last night, New Southwales Police early on were inclined to treat this as suspicious, but the AFP fell for the hoax. They claimed that their source had credible intelligence. This led to a Jewish businessman being under twenty four hour police protection. Well today, New Southweal's Police Deputy Commissioner David Hudson was grilled about some of this at budget estimates and he confirmed my story.
Have a look early on in the investigation from the outset we had about it, but because of the ingestion of information into the investigation by another agency, we had to treat it at its heist and until we discounted that, we couldn't come out and say that.
So, James, what's your reaction to this that the New Southwell's police were happy to handle the matter under Strike Force Pearl, but that the AFP fell for the hoax, escalated it to a joint counter terrorism information and then pass on information that they claimed as credible when it wasn't.
Shari, I was very concerned to see your report last night, and even more alarmed when I saw the Deputy Commissioner's evidence in the New South Wales Parliament today which seemed to confirm it. We need the federal police and the New South Wales Police working together more closely and more seamlessly than ever before, and it is of grave concern if that relationship has broken down to the extent it appears to have based.
On your reporting.
And the most remarkable thing about this is that, let's throm simba that both of them ultimately report to labor leaders, a labor premier in New South Wales and Chris Mins, and a Labor Prime Minister in Anthony Albanesi in Canberra. Why can't these two political letters get together and sort this out and make sure that in the middle of an antisemitism crisis, that our police forces at the state and federal level are working together in a seamless way, It really is a very poor reflection on Anthony Albertez's leadership. It shows how weak he is. We know he doesn't get along with Chrismins very well. We know he's been embarrassed by chrismins stronger leadership on antisemitism over the last sixteen months. But that is not a good reason to not roll his sleeves up, get in behind this and fix it.
Yeah, one hundred percent.
And also the fact that there was a Jewish businessman under twenty four hour police protection for more than a month based on information that wasn't credible. You know, the alarm that creates in the community is extraordinary. James, just sticking with this for a minute. I also reported last night that the New South Wales Police didn't even know the identity of this Australian criminal offshore until two weeks ago because the AFP refused to share that information. Now, when Dave Hudson was asked about the criminal's motivation today under interrogation, he said this, we're not.
Exactly sure of that motivation. That's from another agency.
But that's from another agency. We weren't sure of that criminal's motivation. Now, as you said this isn't cooperation between the agencies. Do you think, as my sources have suggested, that there should be an inquiry into the joint arrangements between the AFP and New South Wales Police.
Given this was such a debacle.
And given national security and terrorism are so critical and we need to prevent mishaps happening in the future.
Sure, I think there is very good grounds for an investigation here. Peter Dutton has already called one into what the Prime Minister knew and what he did about it, and the Prime Minister has still not come clean after police have made arrests. But there are many questions to be answered about this investigation. It was a very serious and very high profile investigation and there does appear to be some very serious issues with it. One that I would add to the list of concerns is that the Albanese government publicized the theory that this was possibly a foreign government or a foreign terrorist organization who was sponsoring these attacks on Australian soil using organized criminals. Now, if that turns out not to be the case, and based on the public reporting, it doesn't seem like that's very likely. I believe that police have ruled that out now as a possibility. Why was that fear put into the community publicly causing the Jewish community to believe that Iran or Russia or some other foreign government was sponsoring terrorism on Australian soil.
Yeah, very good point, and you're right the press conference on Monday, the police and the AFP completely ruled out a foreign actess foreign state actor being involved, as I reported at the time when the Federal government first floated that idea, bizarrely because there was no basis for at all. Now, James, you've come under attack by Tony Burke, the Home Affairs Minister, in relation to this matter. He claims that you and Peter Darton exaggerated confected a crisis.
What's your response to this?
Well, it must be a day ending in why Shari. If Tony Burke's attacking me, I have to say he does seem a little bit obsessed with me. I wish he put as much energy into fighting anti Semitism as he does to stalking me. But I think this is a pretty desperate attempt on his behalf to try and distract from the government's obvious failings in this area. He knows he has a weak prime minister who has no instinct for national security, who doesn't have the stomach to take the tough decisions in the national interest, and so he's throwing out as many red herrings as possible to try and distract from that. But the truth is that it was the Prime Minister and the Premier New South Wales who first calls this terrorism. They never corrected the record, despite being updated by police along the way, and it is them who are responsible for that, not anybody else.
Just turning to the trade tariffs, Albinizi finally admitted today what he had denied a week ago, which is that he has been trying to call President Trump and Trump hasn't been taking his cause.
How humiliating is this?
Sorry, my main thoughts today are with the workers and their families in the steel and alimenium industries who've been hit by these tariffs today, which are totally unjustified, and I'm disappointed that the Albanese government has taken, frankly, such a low energy approach to this issue. It sounds like he's been pestering President Trump for a phone call and that hasn't happened. But why didn't he get on the plane. Why didn't he go to Washington, DC like so many other of our allies and like minded partners did. As you pointed out in your editorial, every member of the Quad other than Australia has had their leader visit at DC and meet with President Trump. Why hasn't the Trade Minister Don Farrell got on a plane? What on earth we have a trade minister for if not to lobby in Australia's national interest in Washington DC on big trade questions like this, But they've failed to do so, and I think they have to take responsibility this.
Do you think this is partly a reflection of the fact that Alberanezi has been cozying up to China and also Australia's voting record at the UN which has gone against the United States.
Well, that's possible. I certainly hope it's not the case. I hope it's not all the indiscreet and inappropriate things that the Prime Minister and senior ministers have said about President Trump over the years. I hope it's not the indiscreet and inappropriate things that Kevin rad Our, ambassador said about the President over the years. When you have big issues at stake in a town like Washington, DC, you have to put your best foot forward, and I think we've got to ask real questions about whether the Albinsi government and its ambassador are the best people to put our foot forward on this issue when they're so hopelessly compromised by their public attacks on the president.
All right, indeed, James Pattison, thank you very much for your time. Now still to come.
Christians and Alois are being persecuted in Syria, yet silence, Where are the protests? Michael Silka would join me to discuss this hypocrisy, plus Chris Bowen shying away from an energy debate, and the analysts who say there's method to the madness on Trump's tariffs.
John Lee would join me next. Welcome back.
Okay, we're going to get to Chris Bowen and also the hypocrisy of the world remaining silent over Allowhites and Christians being persecuted in Syria. But first let's stick with the biggest story today, Trump's trade war. Now, mostly you'll hear commentators criticizing the tariffs, but senior fellow at the Hudson Institute John Lee writes in The Finn Review that many underestimate Trump's economic wit at their own peril, saying that on economics and trade, there's sophisticated reasoning and method behind what Trump is doing. One may still strongly disagree with it, but understanding it is necessary for dealing constructively with the administration on these matters.
And John Lee joins me, now, great to see you again, thanks for joving.
Good evening.
So explain this sophisticated approach that Trump is taking here.
For me, what Trump's trying to achieve is American reindustrialization. A lot of people talk about tariffs as if it's an evil thing. It's neither evil nor good. It's just a tool of policy and a theory behind it as far as Trump's concerned, is to make it more expensive for foreigners to sell products in America and incentivize American firms, American based firms to produce for the American market. Now, of course you have to do all sorts of other reforms to make it attractive from efficient to make stuff in America. But ultimately the tariff is tarifts are being imposed by Trump to get companies to produce more in America. That's not an unusual or terrible policy objective. He just has to do a lot of other things to ensure he gets the outcome that he wants, and.
This would be popular, of course in the ross belt states.
It's a ross belt states, but there is a pretty broad consensus throughout America outside the East and West Coast city. It's not trouble through America. Quite a fair beer that a lot of American trade partners have their own forms of protectionism, tariffs and other so called behind the border measures which have come at the expense of American industry. So yes, there is an element of wanting America to start making things again, but that speaks to both trying to increase the outcomes of American middle class. But it's also due a political argument that American needs industrial resilience because we're not living in the benign world that we were in nineteen nineties and two thousand.
Look, and we saw the dangers of reliance on Chinese goods, for example, during the COVID pandemic, but in terms of pushing up the price of goods, because this will mean that imported goods do become more expensive.
So you know what about the cost pressures and the risk of a recession.
There's clearly risk involved here, and in the short term they probably will be increases in prices because the cost inputs have gone up. The theory and a practice of what they're trying to achieve is, yes, imported parts and goods will become more expensive for American consumers. But America needs to make sure its energy is a lot cheaper, and Trump is obviously doing a lot of things to achieve that. America needs to deregulate, it needs to change the dustrial relations to make it a lot more flexible. So these so called supply side reforms, they're very difficult to do. I have no idea whether Trump will succeed, but if it does those supply side reforms, then he may achieve something close to what he's after. If he fails in those supply side reforms, then yes, it could actually be an economic disaster for the Americans.
Could be a disaster for US as well.
Just in two days, fifty billion dollars wiped off the ASX.
How should Australia be handling this?
Well, just on the stock market, I mean stock market prices in a short term, they're driven more by psychology and it's really fear and greed than it is about fundamentals, so we have there.
Will be real impacts for one hundred thousand workers in the steel industry. We don't know the exact figures of how many companies will be affected by these tariffs, but it will be substantial.
It will be substantial. But I'm distinguishing that between distinguishing between the impact on the steel and amnium ministries, which clearly won't be good, and a broader stock market, which I think is unnecessarily pairs a mystic at these stage because we have no evidence whether it's what the outcome is going to be in terms of how we should handle it. And I saw parts of your show earlier. Look, you know the alban Easy government does have a problem with the Trump administration. There's a personality problem, which you spoke about a few minutes.
I just might remind you or tell you, is that you are close to parts of the Trump administration.
Well, I do see some people in the Trump White House, and yes they are very aware of past comments made. But it's not just the personality issues, and that's some serious we can't get past that. Just the personality issues. I think the alban Ezy government treats the Trump administration and Trump himself like he's an idiot, like he's a fool, like he's doing self destructive things because he's too stupid.
No otherwise very patronizing.
Well, if you treat an American president like that, then he's not going to respond where you want. And I should say as well that Trump has defined not just American politics, but American policy, industrial policy, foreign policy, policy towards China views, and globalization. Trump has defined American foreign policy and domestic policy for the last ten years. Whether you agrieve him or not, he's clearly a substantial person. He's going to be transformed, if one way or the other. So if you're an Australian government, Albanesi or otherwise, you really need to understand what is happening in America rather than just ridicule what you see.
And you'd have to think that a lot of Australians actually would prefer Trump's foreign policy positions than those taken by Pennywang and Alberan Easy on on Israel, I mean, they seem to have turned our allies into enemies and our enemies into allies. Our foreign policy has been far more bizarre than the Trump administration.
Well, certainly on Israel and Middle East. That has been noticed in the United States. Now even on China, even back to the economic argument, I mean, I've heard it said in the United States and DC this element of Australian hypocrisy here because the biggest distorter of the global economy in the world is China. Australia does not say a word against China because Australia benefits from Chinese overproduction Chinese obsidization. So Austraia has never said a word against Chinese policies, but Sunny rails against Trump's terrst. So that has been noticed.
All right, John Lee from the Hudson Institute, appreciate your time, Thanks for having me.
Thank you.
Now still to come, why Chris Bowen is running away from a debate on energy policy and his own record. Plus Christians persecuted in Syria, yet silence from the global community.
Michael Souka would join me next. Welcome back.
Well now to the horrific scenes in Syria where thousands of civilians, including Christian minority groups and Alowites have been murdered. Women and children among those executed on the streets, with graphic footage showing bodies on the side of the Road, the Islamist group Hayat Taria al Sham and the interim i Met al Shara governments militant forces are responsible for this murder. Yet despite the tragedy of both Alowites and Christian minorities being killed, the world has been strangely silent. No mass protests, no United Nations condemnations. Social media isn't in uproar. It seems if it doesn't involve Israel, the world isn't interested. We're joining me now to discuss shadow housing, Minister Michael Suka.
Michael, great to see you again.
Look, these are horrifying images that are being horrifying crimes, murder, slaughter that's been committed against Christian minorities following the overthrow of the Asade regime.
What do you make of this in the world's silence.
On it, Well, it sickens me, to be perfectly Frank Shari, because we've seen elevated interest on the Middle East, particularly from the United Nations, particularly from the sort of radical global left movement, and yet here we have an example of a jihadi militia which has now taken control of Syria in HTS. As you rightly point out, massacrering minorities in Syria, whether they be Christians, whether they be Alohites, and a range of other minorities. And we hear nothing. And not only do we hear nothing from the United Nations, again presumably because it doesn't involve Israel. No one has called out the fact that Turkey has funded, has has supported HTS, so they are fully backed by Turkey. They're now running right and massacring people. And to add insult to injury, we have the European Commission has invited the HTS regime to Brussels.
I mean, it's that's insane.
It sickens me. We have Christians in the Middle East when even there's conflict. Christians are the ones who suffer from these jihadi movements throughout the Middle East. And we do not hear a peep from the United Nations, and we do not hear a peep from the global left, presumably because they can't beat up on Israel, so they're not interested.
I think you're one hundred percent right.
Sadly, because we know the figures, there are a disproportionate number of resolutions at the United Nations and human rights groups related to the United Nations against Israel, but silence. And you know, you think of the tens of thousands of people who came out into the streets to protest before Israel had even lifted a finger to respond to October seven. And yet where are the protests now? Why doesn't the world care about this? Why doesn't the world care about Christians being killed? It's devastating, Michael, to turn to your shadow portfolio.
Your area of housing.
Now this was quite interesting because a couple of weeks ago, the nine newspapers reported that the Albanese government had built three hundred and forty houses under their Housing Australia Future Fund. But it was then revealed at Senate estimates under questioning by the Coalition that in fact, none of those homes had been built, they'd just been acquired and converted. Now, I was quite surprised to see that ABC's Media Watch criticized this.
Have a look figures from the fund to be released today will show three hundred and fifty eight homes have been completed.
At a centate estimates. Hearing that day, nine scoop took center stage.
Apparently, according to the Sydney Morning held in the Age today, the Housing Straphage trainers now built three hundred houses.
Three hundred and forty homes are complete and as these have been quite and conversion into social and affordable housing.
Acquired and converted?
What does that mean?
And it went on.
Now this is quite a different approach from the new host of Media Watch, Lent and Besser. But Michael, you know this is quite appalling that this was a key Labor campaign pledge to build more housing for Australians, yet it seems no houses have been built.
Well sharing to be frank, after three is of being in government, you'd think that a government would be to embarrassed to loudly proclaim on the front page of the Age and the City Morning Held even that they'd built the grand sum of three hundred homes. I mean, I think that would be embarrassing enough. But we were able to unveil in senate estimates. We didn't very short time. I made at it didn't take much digging that. Actually, after nearly three years of this Albanesi government, not one home has been built as a result of a Labor government policy. Not one single home that directly relates to a policy that they've put in place. Media Watch called it out. I mean it's you know, Australians who have any have any sense of the housing market, know that on every single metric, whether it's new home starts, new home completions, how difficult it is to get into a first time, the costs for enters. That on every single metric, housing has got catastrophically backwards in this country. And whilst labor's delivering no homes and Australia is building fewer homes than we have for a very long time, they decide to ramp up migration to absolute record levels, bringing in five hundred thousand people per year, with absolutely no idea where those people are going to. So it completely unraveled for them over the last couple of weeks. But I suspect it's not a huge surprise to austrain So I think I've already marked this government down as having been a disaster for housing in this country.
Just quickly, because we've got to go. But this is a multi billion dollar fund, yes, this housing fund.
Yes, it's a so called ten billion dollar fund that's delivered zero hut no houses.
Insane all right, Michael Sioka, thank you very much for your time. Now still to calm Chris Bowen in hiding over his record on energy. Teto Brian will join me next to reveal why.
Welcome Backward.
Just under an hour ago, two hundred and fifty Pot Stevens locals sat down to Well. They wanted to watch Climate change Minister Chris Bowen and his shutow counterpart Ted O'Brien debate energy.
It had all the hallmarks of a great.
Discussion, probably fiery, except Chris Bowen didn't turn He declined the event despite Ted O'Brien repeatedly inviting him. And let's bring you now the Shadow Minister for Rategy Tetobrian. Ted, So have you debated Chris Bowen before and why didn't he turn up to this debate?
What was the reason he gave you? Shari?
Great to be with you tonight. I have debated Chris Bowen before, but he will only appear on the ABC or a debate that is streamed on the ABC, basically where he feels most comfortable. I wrote to him well over one hundred days ago saying I'm very happy to debate you on the seven thirty report dunk tick, but I also want to debate you on Sky. But most importantly, I want to go to regional Australia. It's regional Australia which are not only paying exorbitant prices for electricity, but they're the ones we will be relying on, whether it be labor or whether it be the Coalition, to basically guarantee Australia's security moving forward. And what I put to Chris Bowen was let's go to your state.
First.
Let's have a debate in Port Stephens because they want to talk about offshore wind Labour's program. And then let's have a debate in Muscle Brook so we can talk about the coalition's nuclear plan. You know, I can't get him out of the Canberra bubble or an ABC studio.
I don't know what more of social media other social media accounts now one of the major that's right, The major issues that could change votes, particularly in regional areas are offshore wind farms. What sort of commitment are you looking for and would you reverse the current wind farms if you win the election?
Shari here in Port Stephens, this community, we heard it again tonight has been steamrolled by the Albanese government when it comes to offshore wind. We have been very clear under Peter Dutton's leadership once and if we win government, we will scrap this offshore wind zone. So in the event of a coalition government, there will not be win farms offshore here across from Port Stephens. So that is our commitment. It's black and white, very clear. You know, we had Lawrence Antcliff tonight, the Liberal candidate here in Patterson. When people here locally vote for him, they are voting for a coalition government which will scrap this offshore win zone.
Period ted them.
If Chris Bowen was there tonight, and he wasn't, but if he was, he probably would have pressured you over the costings of your nuclear policy.
Are you going to release more information on that?
I so wish he was, and I so wish we could have a conversation about the economics of his plan versus the coalition's plan, especially amidst a living crisis where people are hurting.
Our plan is.
Forty four percent cheaper. Now, the work done there independently by frontier economics. Labor has not been out of land of glove to criticize that modeling because they know very well it's accurate.
That's that's it.
What was that?
What's the total details about the assumptions. So what was the total cost under that modeling.
Of the nuclear plan or of our overall plan, our nuclear plan capital costs will be up to one hundred and twenty billion dollars. Now when you hear Shahi, by the way, we heard this from the Prime Minister, the Treasurer, the Energy minister, they will multiply that by five an outright lie. It is up to one hundred and twenty billion dollars capital cost They times are by five five, because that's what they do. They are related to.
People quickly ask you about this quite shocking story that Victoria is reportedly to the Australia and considering importing gas when Australia has so much supply.
Schari, have you ever heard of a bigger policy failure in energy than that? I mean, labor has basically suffocated the supply of gas. And the energy ministers are getting together this Friday and under Chris Bowen's leadership at the behest of Victoria Labor they want to import gas. Here we are as a country blessed with abundance of gas, and Labour's solution is not to improve approval processes, not to add gas to the Capacity Investment scheme not to improve infrastructure for gas, but to import gas from other countries. It speaks volumes about failed policy. It'll only lead to higher prices forever.
Yeah, it seems completely ridiculous when we have so much supply. Tet O Brain, appreciate your time. Thank you very much, and thank you everyone for your company tonight. I'll see you tomorrow at eight pm. And right now, here's poor Murray, a man case
